by Nels Jensen
Hey dudes… We’ll start with the easy stuff. Who are you? What do you play? Where are you from? Spirit animals?
Michael Mckelligott: Guitar/Vocals. Various American military bases. Puppy dog.
Eric Tuten: Guitar. Boulder, MT. Chris Jericho.
Austin Dykstra: Bass. Oskaloosa, IA. Opossum.
Connor Lachenbruch: Drums. Helena/Jefferson City, MT. King Turtle.
How many different pronunciations of your name do you think you’ve encountered?
37? We’ve heard Chimera, Chiarrhea, Chlamydia (for real), Churreeuh... Not sure on a number, but definitely have heard every pronunciation. it’s pronounced like “cherry-uh.”
Bozeman’s scene over the past couple of years seems to have gotten considerably better… more venues, more bands, more radness. I know you guys are contributing… the Chairea house seems like a staple. How did this all happen? And how can we clone this and distribute it throughout the state?
Man, that’s such a hard question to answer. What it comes down to for me is that we finally have a group of people who are trying to build a small “music industry” infrastructure here instead of doing the kind of weak, bar show culture of waiting for some big-city booking agent, or manager, or whatever to notice you based on your refined internet presence. Like Ross from Whistle Pig and the Panther Car dudes throwing house shows kind of woke people up to the fact that you can just have shows with good touring bands, which turned into the Lotus Eaters when Chris was figuring out how to really refine the types of shows we do and make them better. Now the Lotus Eaters regularly have nationally known and fully unknown bands. It’s without hierarchy in a really interesting way. More and more bands are just taking it upon themselves to record and release their own music, there’s finally people in our newspapers and on our radio stations who care about DIY music of our ilk, my friends and I are starting a label to help lift up each other’s bands, and with hopes to eventually have the means to help out other younger bands. I really think it’s just a community of bands who have gotten fed up with waiting for their dreams to happen to them and decided to just put their head down and start making it. But it’s not like that kind of thing isn’t also happening all over MT right now. What y’all are doing in Billings with Waste Division/Dreyfest, and Shane at Kirk’s Grocery. Or Missoula with Anything Bagel Records and all the house venues and bands existing in defiance of the Logjam domination that looms on Bozeman’s horizon. It’s on the up-and-up for all of us in my eyes.
What is the best era of pro-wrestling?
Eric: Attitude era.
Connor: Lots of different answers to this, all equally acceptable, but I think right now, and more specifically this fall when AEW starts their show on TNT and WWE Smackdown moves to Fox, will be a really significant and interesting time in wrestling history. Not to mention that wrestling is generally like 10 years behind in terms of social issues, so A LOT of old wrestling can be a pretty cringey watch.
Ric Flair vs. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Andre vs. The Rock vs. Rick Rude… who wins? How do you know this?
Eric: None of those dudes win because Bret Hart runs in and puts on a damn clinic.
How do you respond to the statement “Pro wrestling is not a sport.”
Connor: Pro-wrestling is not ONLY a sport. There is a reason The Rock and John Cena are so tremendously successful in a mainstream context, and it’s because you have to have SO MANY different talents to be a genuinely above average wrestling star. Who else could handle the rigors of their ridiculous film schedules. Also “real sports” are just as pre-determined, believe that. Also everything in our world is pro-wrestling. Everything.
Rumor has it you have a van that will occasionally rent out to bands that need it for tour… and then if they don’t pay you… to take their kidneys and replace them with potatoes… is this true?
We’ve only rented it to one band, Go Hibiki, and they didn’t give us any reasons at all to get black-market with it. But I do have all these potatoes I need to get rid of...
Complete these analogies:
Dreyfest is to music as Chairea is to Chairs.
Vacuums are to brooms as Chairea is to pan-fried catfish.
Chairea is to Chairea as Chairea is to Panther Car.
