Between playing in about 800 other bands, the members of Ottawa's Hilotrons find the time to get together and make energetic, new wave-tinged rock music. Singer/guitarist Mike Dubue takes a moment to answer some questions and randomly list his favourite nicknames for a particular part of the male body. Sometimes Emily Gove has that effect on people.

You have 977 more MySpace friends than me, including a couple of cats and plenty of fine ladies. Any hints on how to get more e-popular?

Are we e-popular? I don't blog, I don't constantly take pictures of myself, I don't have a cell phone... Am I e-worthy?

You all seem to play in a million other bands including, among others, an instrumental Asian surf music project (The Empiricals) and the awesomely monikered Boycrusher. Do you think this adds to what you bring to the Hilotrons? And how on earth do you find the time?

Actually, we should also add some other bands to that list: Double Pumpers, Ukrainia!, Sarah Hallman, Clark The Band, Hammerheads, Holger School Trio, Bande Senore, Sugarsticks, Paste Taster... I think I might be missing a few. Well, we have the time to play in a lot of bands because we make the time -- we love music and we're super-geeky! Playing in a ton of bands helps with group dynamics (excuse me while I push my glasses up my nose).

You've got a hugely diverse list of influences, and some (like the Talking Heads) are a bit more audible than others. Where do Public Enemy and the Boredoms come in?

What?! We sound like the Talking Heads?! Chuck D + Yamataka Eye = 1/4 Hilotrons.

Was it difficult to capture the energy of your live show while recording?

No. We just had to do a lot of drugs and cry in each other's arms. But seriously, we try to use a process that allows us to do everything live and we try to do the same thing with any overdubs.

I applaud your frequent use of the vocoder and synth handclaps. Any other 80s trends you'd like to bring back, or should giant shoulder pads just stay buried?

I don't really write or produce my music based on trends. I grew up listening to pop radio in the 80's. I love it, so it worked its way into our sound, for now. Gee, I hope the songwriting isn't drowning in a world of vocoders, synth claps, and string machines. Anyhoo...

Excited about playing with Kardinal Offishall (sadly, not at Wavelength)?

Excited about getting paid! However, I'm pretty excited about playing with Socalled on Sept. 16th at Barrymores, in Ottawa. Socalled (Josh Dolgin) is one of my/our biggest music influences and he makes hip hop that I've never heard before.

What is 'œScience Fiction Music'? and what's the best dance to do to it?

I have no idea what "science fiction music" is or how to dance to it. However, I can list off my favourite penis impersonations in alphabetical order: Danger Mouse, Holy Cow, Mr. Choda, the Watch.

Ottawa vs. Toronto: which city's got the best dance moves?

Answer: Guelph

Anything else you'd like to add?

We're currently recording our new record which will be released in spring 2007 and check out our new website... www.hilotrons.com. You can buy music from there...

By Emily Gove