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Nuclear OReilly - An Interview by Indie Artists Alliance

Interview with Nuclear O'Reilly conducted by Indie Artists Alliance, a resource center and knowledge bank for Independent Musicians and Video Producers: http://www.indieartistsalliance.com


What is your performance name?
Nuclear O'Reilly

What is your real name?
Jared DiDomenico and Brad Naprixas. The "and" means there are two of us, it's not part of one name.

How long have you been making music?
Since we were kids- the early '90s are a blur, man.

How did you get started?
We started out writing and recording with guitars, keyboards, drums, and bass as teenagers. We played in rock bands downtown in New York City a couple of years ago. In the early 2000s, Jared got an MPC sampler and our electronic experiments as Nuclear O'Reilly began. He lost it in a poker game, but luckily, Brad got some synths, so the electronic music continued.

Who are the other members of your band?
You mean, like, spiritually?

What genre of music do you usually perform?
We've performed rock in rock clubs and are feeling out how to approach performing Nuclear O'Reilly's electronic (c)rap.

Not using typical genre classifications, how would you describe your material in as few words as possible.
Spirited. Celebratory. Eccentric. Rubenesque.

Who is your inspiration?
Gandhi, Picasso, Gonzo, Bill Maher, our friends, Grimace, Tony Robbins, Outkast, John Lennon, Henry Miller, Beck, Jack Nicholson, Ronaldinho, Beastie Boys, Tony Sinclair, The Streets, Bennie Lava, The Joker, Led Zeppelin, Sammy Davis, Jr. Frog and Toad, Harold and Kumar, Homer (the poet), The Rolling Stones, Tim Curry, John Coltrane, Nirvana, Katamari Damacy's soundtrack, Ocean's 11, old Michael Jackson, James Brown, early George Washington, Wes Anderson, The New Yorker, New York, curious people, Carl Jung, Jay Kay.

What was the name of the last song that you wrote?
"Reading 5," though that's a working title. It's vaguely about New York, subways, regrets, social codes, and identity.

Who or what inspired you to write that song?
It wasn't really conscious. Musically, it came about as all the others-the two of us going back and forth on a sequencer. Lyrically, once a direction is established by the first few lines we want to use, we just subtly let that direct us and it just takes shape.

Who are some of the musicians that have a sound like yours?
Beck, Beastie Boys, Outkast, late Freud

What was the name of the last CD that you produced?
"Planet of the Grapes Presents Vol 1" because right now the "albums" are really just collections of the singles released each month on PlanetoftheGrapes.com. Planet of the Grapes is the company under which Nuclear O'Reilly functions.

Who or what was instrumental in helping you make it a success?
Well, musically it's a success because we say what we want. But in terms of getting it out in front of a lot of people, this is just starting and we don't feel it can be called a "success" yet by our standards. Certain people in music promotion and PR have been helpful and supportive, and Lorenz Vauck at XARC Mastering helped by mastering the recordings.

When was that?
The past several months.

Do you have any concerts or tours coming up? (when and where?)
We may be at some parties in New York. Bar Mitzvah's are not far off

Do you have a new CD coming up? Anything that you are currently working on?
Glad you asked. As we referred to earlier, Nuclear O'Reilly is our identity as a music production team, and we're the music arm of a creative group called Planet of the Grapes. Every month, a new song we produced appears on the site for streaming and downloading, and every few months the most recent 4songs are collected and made available on an EP sold on the portals like iTunes. We call ourslves a production team to give ourselves a lot of leeway, since we have many interests, but we're still artists at the end of the day. We write and perform the electronic hip hop as Nuclear O'Reilly- in other words, Nuclear O'Reilly is both producer and artist in that case. But starting in 2008, the monthly song releases will also include rock material from the bands Naprixas and The Best. Those we write mostly separately, but still produce the recordings together as Nuclear O'Reilly. Nothing's easy with us, but just remember Nuclear O'Reilly=Jared and Brad. It'll make sense when it's all laid out on the site. We always have to be ahead of ourselves, and are finishing up the songs that will take us through July 2008.

Where can people learn more about you? What's your website?
www.planetofthgrapes.com. On the second Tuesday of every month, a song produced by Nuclear O'Reilly debuts. But on the other Tuesdays, depending on which one it is, there are comedy radio shows, t-shirts,
and bathroom reviews released. It is eclectic and at the forefront of digital delivery, a big party.

What's your e-mail address?
nuclearoreilly@planetofthegrapes.com

Is there anything else that you would like to share with the fans?
Aside from the requisite "we're already huge in Laos" jokes?.... This whole setup with Planet of the Grapes is new and exciting...don't be scared. It's natural. Just come in. That's right.

(C) 2008 Universal Music Ireland Ltd..

(C) 2008 Universal Music International Div..

(C) 2008 Def Jam.

(C) 2008 J Records.

(C) 2008 Island Def Jam.

(C) 2008 Zomba Recording LLC.