As it seems there is something of a deficiency of information concerning
Chris Ward on the Internet, I took it upon myself to prepare a few interview
questions for him. Chris Ward, better known as MC Chris, has written and
performed numerous pop-punk pieces, does improv, drinks, and is the voice of
Hesh on Sea Lab 2021. Chris also does music for some Cartoon Network shows, including "MC Pee Pants" for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and "Fett's Vette" for Sea Lab 2021. You might want to check his website out, at mcchris.com, where you can read more about his musical life and history, along with get his email address to send him picures of your veiny boobies.
Below are his replies to the questions I sent him in early January, 2003. What
you see is the raw transcript, aside from capitalization and spelling
corrections. Ladies and gents, this is MC Chris:
Q: Born when?
A: September 2nd, 1975.
Q: Born where?
A: Lake Forest, Illinois.
Q: Grew up where?
A: Libertyville, Illinois.
Q: Finish high school?
A: Yes.
Q: Where/when?
A: Libertyville High School, alma mater to audio slave's Tom Morello
and Dr. Moreau's Marlon Brando.
Q: College (undergrad)?
A: Yes.
Q: Where/when?
A: I went to the school of Art Institute of Chicago for a year and half
until I read in Rolling Stone that NYU was the best art school in the
country, so I transferred into their film school. I dropped out after a day,
too many f-stops, and enrolled in their dramatic writing program. I got my BFA
in screenwriting.
Q: Graduate school?
A: Nope.
Q: Any hobbies other than music?
A: I drink, play video games, do improvisational theater, make out with
my girlfriend, go to movies... I watch a shit load of movies.
Q: Pets?
A: I'm allergic.
Q: How do you feel about your music being called "nerdcore" or "geeksta
rap"?
A: Well, it's definitely not gangsta rap or too political, or hyper
intelligent like MC Paul Barman. I like nerd core, it sounds better. I like that
geeks like the music, 'cuz they aren't really known for their musical taste or
having any taste in hip hop. And it's a really hungry demographic. They
watch my cartoons and get my jokes. And they all make bank so they have dough to
spend on t-shirts and the like. I get a lot of fanmails about the new album and
how geeks are relieved to finally hear music about their lives. there's a lot to
talk about, a lot of fun and a lot of sadness. It's dramatic. As dramatic as any
hood. thankfully, nerdcore slayings are down. I plan to do conventions in
Atlanta and hopefully go to comicon, so I can finally meet some of the fans. I
look forward to that.
Q: Did you intend to cater to the geek/nerd goups?
A: No, we just made music and it turns out I'm a geek. I like Star
Wars. I'm not pretending to be black or cool or rich or whatever. I am who I
am. I try to keep it real, or at the very least, really stupid.
Q: How do you feel about being said to sound "nasal" in some songs?
A: I am who I am. On my new album I have a song called 10 year old makin'
fun of the fact that I have a high voice. I don't care. I've been made fun of
my whole life. Take your best shot.
Q: Which of your published songs would you consider your favorite and
why?
A: I'm honestly pretty sick of all them, because I listen to them so
much, until the CD breaks. That's why I'm always hankering to make more new
music. I get bored with stuff I've done. I like it when kids remix the songs.
I'm listening Karl Olson's remix of DQ Blizzard these days when I'm home alone
and drunk.
Q: Which of your published songs would you consider your best work and
why? (if the same as above, just say so)
A: The best is yet to come.
Q: Do you ever listen to your own work?
A: Like I said, too much.
Q: What or who inspires you the most?
A: Reggie and the Full Effect. My DJs band: Attention Deficit. I like
bands that try to do everything, take a samplers approach to music without
really using samples. Rapping wise I think Cee-Lo is great, Ludacris is a
great, clever light hearted, funny rapper. Liquid Swords by GZA is up there. I
also try to somehow incorporate pop punk into the music, or at least encourage
my DJ to do so. We both come from a punk scene, so we want to be hip hop rabble
rousers, piss people off with what we sound like. take chances, try different
things.
Q: How much fan mail (paper & electronic) do you get per month?
A: I get about ten a day, so about 300 or so. Sometimes it's funny,
sometimes repetitive, sometimes, scary, like the other day a girl just sent me a
picture of her huge veiny boobies. it was kinda nasty. I don't know why people
do that kinda stuff. I can only imagine what kind of IM sessions that kind of
person has. Only send me pictures of you naked if you're a hottie. No fuglies.
I get all sorts of stuff. I've been contacted by film producers and magazines,
kids working on their band or school projects, kids that want my job, that want
my autograph. Some people say a lot of nice encouraging things. I got one from a
guy who say his 3 year old only dances to my music and Sesame Street. Could
you ask for more?
Q: Do you like the attention?
A: Yeah. It's sad though when you have more fan mails than regular mails.
All my friends and coworkers are like: shut the fuck up.
Q: Do you have any regrets?
A: No. I wish I could get to NYC more often to make more music. I hate
that we're separated. I hate that I can't tour, because I love my job and feel
really blessed to have it. I regret missing this frat party that a fan invited
me to. I try to attend as many of those events as possible. I love meeting fans.
I love signing autographs. I get a little shy and nervous, but just try to
act nice and polite, even though I'm really sarcastic and acerbic. I try
to tone that stuff down when I meet fans so they won't rip me a new one on the
Internet.
Q: Where can fans see you perform live?
A: Sometimes I improvise live in Atlanta, but I think I'm taking a
break from that. When my friends DBA come to town on their spring tour, they
might let me up on stage to kick some lyrics like we used to back at NYU. other
than that...? I wish I could tour.
Q: Anything else you want to add?
A: Nope, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
xomc