By Noah Lopez

Arizona Daily Wildcat

{It's strange that Tucson's self-avowed "best riot grrrl band" only has one actual female member, but the moniker does fit local band Irving's lyrics.

Or maybe it has more to do with their lead singer, who, although best known as the former half-head man (when he had half his head shaved), was mistaken for "that Pat character" by two recent Student Union diners. At any rate, the} Wildcat {met with the aspiring punk band after their show at the Cellar on Wednesday.}

Wildcat: What is the actual lineup for the band?

Greg Petix Well, I play guitar and sing, Chrissy "Faludi" Bruce plays guitar, Hector "the Cutest Boy in Tucson" Jaime plays bass, and Gerard Schumacher is our drummer.

Gerard I'm a "tofu pup" on drums.

Greg I just relish being called Half Head.

Wildcat: What are your goals?

Greg: To write a lot of songs.

Chrissy: To get rid of little Nemo.

Gerard: Chicks.

Wildcat: Why did you guys form Irving?

Chrissy: Because Greg wrote a song about Oprah that he said had to be sung.

Gerard: We wanted to do something for the kids!

Greg: You know, for kids!

Hector: To give them some hope.

Gerard: Especially now that Kurt is dead.

Chrissy: And John Candy.

Wildcat: Why the name?

Chrissy: We took it from the name of one our songs.

Greg: It's about all the nice guys who can't get laid.

Chrissy: Well, it's about nice guys who don't have girlfriends.

Gerard: No, 'can't get laid' cuts to the quick.

Wildcat: So you guys are primarily a Riot Grrrl band?

Greg: Yeah, half our songs could have been written by L7.

Gerard: Greg writes about food, fat, ugly and comics.

Greg: I write about the constant war between beautiful and ugly.

Wildcat: What's your favorite song that you guys sing?

Chrissy: "Winding down"Dit's about Karl Marx spinning around in his grave so fast that they hooked up a generator to him and it powers a whole city.

Gerard: I like "Self-Help Smorgasbord".

Wildcat: Any upcoming shows scheduled?

Gerard: We're playing [tonight] in the vicinity of the Eggroll House.

Wildcat: What is Irving's manifesto?

Greg: First, that brevity if the key. Second, lyrics are only icing on the cake. Third, the only good guitar leads are ones you can hum while walking down the street. Finally, Minutemen, Minutemen, Minutemen.

Chrissy: For the kids, definitely for the kids.

Hector: Did you say 'cucumber'?

Wildcat: Any comments on Kurt Cobain's suicide?

Gerard: It should have been Eddie.

Chrissy: Vedder would have been better.

{Irving's latest tape, "You've Got A Pretty Mouth" is available from Swonk Records, P.O. Box 3321, Tucson, Arizona, 85722} Read Next Article