Was the whole "BeatallicA" concept brought out by an obsession with MetallicA? Or the Beatles?
JAYMZ--The concept wasn't an obsession at all, really. It was, to be honest, a bit of an accident. The mixing began while Krk and I were rehearsing for a Spoof Fest show here in Milwaukee. This is a festival in its 12th year where local musicians emulate and desecrate their favorites. We were doing Metallica that year and we got to listening to some Beatles riffs, as we often do. The similarities to us were, I suppose, apparent, at least in regards to songwriting and melody. We started messing around with a few ideas just for fun, put them on a c.d. and gave it away at the show. Only later did we realize that it had made its way onto the internet. The band had a name, as dubbed by our now webmaster of puppets, David Dixon, before we even new we had an existence as a band! We're now at www.beatallica.org.

I know that Lars Ulrich came to your aid when Sony sent BeatallicA a "cease and desist" letter to stop the spread of you music online, What kinds of advice did he give?
JAYMZ--His advice was really more encouragement and being willing to direct us to the right folks to talk to. He offered up the services of Metallica's attorney, Peter Paterno. Both of them have been just great to us. We've actually received good advice and have a whole bunch of new knowledge thanks to a seminar at Harvard University we just did. All those lawyers surrounded by musicians makes for great conversation and discussion of the issues the recording industry finds itself in today. Things like downloading, the internet as a whole, file sharing, technology, and more....

Your sound recordings are great, I assume you recorded at a professional studio?
JAYMZ--Our engineer, Flemball Rasmartin, owns Bobby Peru's Recording Studio: bobbyperurecording.com. He's been a part of bands such as The New Loud and Highball Holiday and we've worked together on other projects besides Beatallica. His stuff is top notch and at the cutting edge of the newer digital technology that is out these days. He's been a big part of the band and loves to work with local and regional talent.

I see you have gotten some national attention lately, how are things going so far? Would you say most of the responses have been positive?
Jaymz--Yeah, you know we didn't go to the media with the whole cease and desist story. It got onto boingboing and it just exploded. I've had folks from all over call me to get a word: MTV.com, Reuters News, NPR, just to name a few. It's been a world-wide story, which is cool. Rest assured, however, we don't look to rub anything in anyone's face over this. It's an issue that came up, is still somewhat apparent, and will affect our future. The responses have been very positive for several reasons. If one person doesn't dig the tunes, maybe at least they understand the sentiments of good will and use of technology. Some folks enjoy the odd combination. Some just enjoy the whole bombastic, cartoon-humorish sort of fun behind it all. It's best to us when we hear from people who say they've discovered or rediscovered either The Beatles or Metallica because of Beatallica. I just never thought I'd be in a band that has such a cultural pull!

How do you feel about newer MetallicA vs. their older style? Did you get a chance to see their movie Some Kind of Monster?
JAYMZ--I touched on some thoughts before about how Het has really honed his craft as a singer. Their songwriting has become very professional. I know a lot of "old schoolers" wont be into that. Sure I still have "Metal Militia" in my head on a regular basis! They are a different band now than what they were in 1983. I give bands most credit for persevering and being able to bring it live. You don't get any younger or more spry, and these guys have been doing the gig now for nearly 25 years--holy crap! I did see "Monster". I would've liked to have seen the reels of outtakes to maybe get some more answers to situations and conversations that were outlined in the movie. You just never totally know what went on with all that.

Besides Metallica and the Beatles, what other kinds of music do you dig?
JAYMZ--Well I play in a few Irish outfits, Reilly and Tynkr Boys, as my whole family is big into the Irish heritage. I'm a Shamrock Club member and my family has been involved in that and Irish Fest forever, it seems. I don't do the bagpipe thing, but I do play acoustic guitar, bass, bouzouki, harmonica. It's historical stuff, sad at times, rollicking at others. I really enjoy acoustic stuff and folks like Ben Harper or Lyle Lovett. I am a sucker for the 80's heavier metal though and am listening to "Don't Break the Oath" by Mercyful Fate right now as I type. Basically I like skilled songwriting. There are a few bands I like that have sharpened their wits over the years. Bands like In Flames or Soundgarden, . It's called "selling out" sometimes. When it's done well, I call it intelligence and understanding.
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