The Unknown are a swell pop (not really even pop-punk) band from right here in Cleveland. Let's just say that if you like the poppier side of All (ie Allroy for Prez, Allroy's Revenge) you will love the Unknown. Also they are very nice.

Don't you think it's funny how appropriate the name of your band is? Do you think maybe it's a self-fullfilling prophecy, like maybe you'd be more popular if you called your band "The Beatles 2" or "The Famous Guys"?
Hmm. We've been asked a lot of questions about the name of the band. The people who came up with the name aren't even associated with the band anymore. They haven't been for like 8 years, seriously. Once the band had a name it was never an issue anymore. And as the band changed members (there's been about 11, i think) the name always just stuck around. I have always wanted to change it, but somebody, usually the newest member, doesn't. After a while its not worth thinking about anymore. Maybe that's the curse of this band. We're called the Unknown so we'll always be. I'd like to think we'd be more popular if we changed it, but I know that's not gonna do it either. People hate us for what we sound like, not what we're called. We've accepted it.

Have you ever found yourself longing for the affections of a female baboon with estrous swelling of the genital tissues? (question stolen from Jellobungresia zine)
Female baboon? Naw, maybe an orangutang. Wayne's been without a girl for a while now... maybe he might....

So what's up with this new CD? When is it going to be out, and what's going to be on it?
Well we've lived up to the name of the band once again as I have tried over 30 labels in trying to get this new CD put out. So for a while I just kept saying I don't know. Now we've pretty much decided to do it ourselves again and we hope to have it out by February.

You were telling me that "Biff the Cat" was based on a true story. Please tell me this story.
Wayne + Chris have a large family. Three sisters and two cats and mom all live in the same house. (Wayne and Chris did too...) well one of the cats is named Biff. Well, he's actually named Boutros, and he belongs to Aimee. He's not the brightest cat. We always hit him in the head when he acts stupid, which is like constantly. We don't hurt him or anything, we just play around and boff him around cause he's such a dumbass. Wayne has stryofoam numbchucks and a red plastic wiffel bat that he uses on him. But the song was originally a stupid joke song that would have been a hidden track or B-side, but it came out better than we thought it would. So we decided to make it a legitimate song.

Did you like on the Simpsons when Kang (the alien) asked Marge "You look lovely. Have you decreased in mass?" I thought that was a good line.
Shit, I missed that one. Sounds like a good line though.

Do you have a Mac or a PC? Don't you hate how on PCs the mouse is so jumpy, and you just flick your wrist a little bit and the cursor jumps across the screen?
I have a Mac PowerPC 6500. PCs suck. Macs will always rule. Unless your some average american meathead that only wants a computer to "surf" dude.

The cover of your latest 7" is pretty funny. Is Brian trying to look like the singer for Beatnik Termites, because he does, only scummier.
Uh oh....Time to face the music I see... Well. The Unknown has been around for going on 9 years now. 9 years. Thats a long time. We've seen a lot of bands come and go in that time frame. Plus Brian has been in bands for over 15 years. He's really seen a lot. We just think its really silly to dress up to be in a band; Whether it be a rockabilly band, metal, new wave or punk. So we all decided to make fun of 4 different styles of music on the latest record. We all donned the proper apparell and Brian was the "punk" dude. As we put the costume together, he started looking more and more like Pat from the Termites. Brian used to be in the Beatnik Termites, and he's good friends with Pat and Reggie. So yeah in a way he's looking just like him, but its all in good fun. In fact the Termites have a picture of Brian all dressed up posted on their
webpage, so they took it for what its worth.

Which do you think would be the worst name for a grindcore band: Rotten Puke, Used Bandaid, Slayer 2, Third Trimester Abortion or Compound Fracture?
Do you mean worst as in the best? Then definately Rotten Puke. If not then Slayer 2

Which do you think would be the worst name for a tough guy hardcore band: 12 Gauge, Pitbull, or Critical Beatdown?
If you mean worst as in the best? Then definately 12 gauge If not then, Pitbull

Why did you choose to cover the song "Dag Nasty" on the "Her Head's On Fire" comp? My favorite part of that song is when it goes "Hal's spilling malt liqour on his minor threat sticker." What is "her head's on fire" supposed to mean, anyway? I always thought that's how the song went, but that doesn't make any sense.
Wow, do you actually have that thing? It was released in like Belgium and no one has ever seen it....Um the song we did was "Dag Nasty" but it doesn't have the line you're talking about (thats "wig out at denkos") [How embarrassing!!! Shown up on Dag Nasty knowledge!!! -Finn] and "her head's on fire" is a line in the song "dag nasty." So i guess you're not really confused at all. We were excited that the name of the comp was taken from the song we did. It actually is the coolest cover comp CD I've ever heard. all the bands are really great and do awesome covers...

Is "Blaze" your real last name? Because that's an awfully "rock and roll" name to be born with. My friend Mike is in this band called All Out War and his real last name is Score. We think it's pretty cool, because "Mike Score" is like the toughest name in the world.
Yes Blaze is really my birth name. My dad's last name was Blazevicius. When he was in the army everyone called him Blaze, so at one point before I was born he changed his name to Blaze.

Write a short rhyme including the following words:
- Trowel - Rodent - Twirling - Larceny
I was digging with my trowel when I spotted a rodent
Thats what i get for living in "low rent"
Whrithing and twirling he finally died
With a final twitch and blink of the eyes
Larceny was charged from a big talking rat
So I killed her too with a baseball bat.

When I was about 4 or 5, I zipped my dick in my pajamas and my mom had to unzip it.
Did your pj's have the "crap flap" in them??? Ya know, everyone has their "first erection" story....

Well that's about it on my end... Anything you'd like to add?
Well. Whoever reads this, please drop us a line at
http://members.aol.com/~kenunknown/, or write at PO
Box 110361, Cleveland Ohio 44111 for more information about us. We'll write back to anyone.... and maybe someday soon...I'll see you on the moon.