By MEREDITH YOUNG
Meredith@newsroom.byu.edu
Don't shy away because of their name. It does have an interesting background. While discussing band names at a Caribbean bar, Freddie Mercury from Queen shouted, 'Call it Angry Salad.' And the name stuck.
With a tour bus known as 'The Salad Shooter' and crouton throwing fans following them all over New England on weekdays, the members of Angry Salad may soon become a household name.
The Boston based band, formed in 1993, has toured with the Goo Goo Dolls, Counting Crows, and Sugar Ray, and dreams of playing with U2.
Angry Salad is comprised of Bob Whelan, the lead singer and guitarist; Hale Pulsifer, the drummer; Brian Vesco, the bassist; and Alex Grossi, the other guitarist.
Whelan calls the band 'pop music with a little depth.' They have been compared musically to mainstream bands Matchbox 20 and the Gin Blossoms. Angry Salad has toured through 42 states, and 'The Milkshake Song,' from their self-titled album, plays on radio stations all over the nation. To hear some of their music and to find out when they are coming to your hometown, log on to the official Angry Salad Web site.
Interview with Bob Whelan:
Q: If any of your fans ever come to Boston, where do you recommend they go to eat?
A: 'Fire and Ice' and 'Mr. and Mrs. Bartley's Burgers,' which are both in Cambridge.
Q: I read that Brian was diagnosed with Hodgkin's. How has this affected Angry Salad?
A: We're all in our twenties. We had to face the whole mortality thing. It has been really hard.
Q: A lot of people vent through music. Did the experience inspire any songs?
A: Yeah. I heard someone say, 'They say you're creative when you bleed.'
Q: What did Hale do for the Big Apple Circus? Was he an acrobat or the bearded lady?
A: He was the box office manager.
Q: Bob, you sat behind Lisa Loeb in Music Theory at Brown University. Did Angry Salad ever do a show with her?
A: She was in a band called 'Liz and Lisa.' Liz was the primary singer. Duncan Shiek played guitar with them. They had a winning combination. Each year, 'Campus Dance' spotlighted the 'hottest band on campus.' She played one year and the next year we did.
Q: Which of your songs do you connect with the most?
A: Rico. Every night it (the power of the song) never ceases. Also, 'Saturday Girl' because I used to work in a psychiatric ward with kids. I'm the son of a psychologist, which is why the band is as screwed up as it is.
Q: Explain to me the obsession with Brittany Spears.
A: A tape got stuck in the VCR in 'The Salad Shooter,' the band's bus, so they decided to learn her choreography. Four white guys will never be able to dance that well.
Q: What bands inspired you?
A: Goo Goo Dolls, Willie Nelson, Robert Smith.
Q: Have you ever had an obsessed fan?
A: We have a rating system in the band from the movie 'Fatal Attraction.' We will call her an avid supporter. I think she was from Utah. She made a bra out of lettuce and threw it on stage at our New Year's Eve show.
Q: What other kinds of things have been thrown at you?
A: Croutons are thrown pretty regularly. Dressing. A sweat sock.
Q: Are you ever going to tour in the West Coast-maybe Utah?
A: 'We start touring in March. We will play in California in May.' However, they are going to Los Angeles in February to record the theme song for 'D.C.,' a new show on the WB network that will come out in March. The song is a re-make of Bob Dylan's 'My Back Pages.'
Q: What is in your CD player now?
A: Genesis is in the band's CD player. Other CDs that have been floating around are Ani DiFranco, Bob Dylan and Kid Rock.
Q: What is the most extreme thing anyone has ever done to get your attention?
A: People take off their clothes. At one show in Kentucky the crowd parted and it was a naked guy on a bicycle. We still managed to erect a good show.
Q: If you could tour with anyone who would it be?
A: Sugar Ray was great. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Q: Where is the most bizarre place you have ever played? A: Three years ago in northern Maine at this airforce base. In a hangar.