"Gabriel! Your "Griller" CD is coming your way, baby! SQWARK! Does anybody else see that pink bunny up there, or have I just been drinking too much lately?" - Zombie Stanley by Art Tedeschi

If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering if you won a contest or something. I won’t keep you waiting, so let’s get right down to it.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I know that the questions were a bit frustrating, but hey, welcome to my world!

Winners: Gabriel Bernard and Marisa Graham!

Only one person correctly answered all twelve questions and he was also the first person to send his answers in. Literally… The first person. It probably isn’t fair that he won since he runs his own Frustrators fan website and knew all of the answers. Congratulations, Gabriel Bernard! You win a CD that I am pretty sure you already own!

"F" - Released October 12, 2010 - Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits. Baby Goat of Rock Photo by Corbett Redford I, 1942. Cover design by Jon Carling

The second place winner is Marisa Graham. Marisa took the photograph that appears on the back album cover and insert to the Frustrators’ 2000 EP, Bored in the USA, taken at the band’s second-ever live performance, at 924 Gilman. It’s probably not fair that she won, either, but Marisa was the first person to answer eleven of the questions correctly as well as the second person to enter the contest.

Marisa’s only incorrect answer was to Question #11: “What is the name of the upcoming album by Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits that lead singer Jason Chandler designed the album cover for?” Marisa answered F, which was released by Bobby Joe Ebola last year on October 12, 2010, on Silver Sprocket Records. The album that Chandler (lead singer of the Frustrators and graphic artist) designed the cover, CD, and booklet art for, Meal Deal with the Devil! is Bobby Joe’s upcoming album and book release due in mid-2011. (See below for more!) Sorry about that, Marisa! But, on a bright note, you won what you wanted… the Frustrators bag. Congratulations!

Prize #2: Frustrators Felt BackPack Bag

A shout out goes to Crystal S. who was the only other person to answer eleven of the questions correctly, but unfortunately, I have nothing else to give away but my sincere thanks for taking the time to enter the contest! Unfortunately, your answer to “Did the Frustrators play their first ever live gig at 924 Gilman?” was incorrect. See below for the answer!

Gabriel and Marisa, send me your mailing addresses at greendaymind@gmail.com and I’ll send your items out as soon as possible. Or just wait until I email you, one or the other!

Dang, that was frustrating! What is this? School?

And here’s the answers. I have to say, it was great fun looking this stuff up! But then again, I’m a nerd…

1. The Frustrators have four songs/EPs/Albums on the Adeline Records label. What are the four Adeline numbers of these recordings?

Griller - AR 046

Might as Well... Can't Dance - "Trout" - AR 008

Achtung Jackass - AR 020

Bored in the USA - AR 005

The Frustrators have four songs/EPs/Albums on the Adeline Records label. Each record released by Adeline is numbered in the Adeline logo by the order of release. The numbers for the Frustrators releases are: Griller AR 046, Achtung Jackass AR 020, Bored in the USA, AR 005, and Song #6, “Trout,” appeared on a Adeline showcase album entitled Might as Well… Can’t Dance, AR 008.

2. The band had two potential names before settling on “The Frustrators.” Name one of the potential names.

This was the hardest question because it’s not readily found on the Interwebs. In fact, I had to ask where to find it! But I did try at first. Kinda. Sorta. Anyway, here’s the bebo.com inteview posting from The Frustrators to find the answer.

Where did you guys get the name The Frustrators?

It’s funny about the name. At first we wanted to call ourselves “the Ropers.” It is such a great name. It brings to mind all kinds of good things, like cowboys and Three’s Company (that show with Suzanne Sommers, the landlords were named the Ropers). It was cheesy. We liked it. But we found out there was a band signed to Velocity Girl’s label in DC already named “the Ropers.” Ooh, we were pissed. So then we came up with “the Regal Beagles,” which was the bar in Three’s Company. And we had them put that name on the flyers for Backyard Believers [the venue of the band’s first show], and then we found out there was a ska band in LA with that name! So now we were frustrated. And that is where the name came from.

The answers, the Ropers and the Regal Beagles are from a television show that I watched a lot back in the day, Three’s Company. In fact, I think I got most of my life’s philosophy from this show, which is really, really weird. The show’s plot entailed three roommates, Janet Wood, Chrissy Snow and Jack Tripper, two women (one bombshell blond, Suzanne Sommers and one brunette everywoman, Joyce DeWitt) and one man (John Ritter, one of the funniest guys on the planet, RIP). The three mixed-gender roommates lived together because of the cheap California rent and hung out at the local bar called the Regal Beagle. The show ran from 1977 to 1984, a time when men and women who weren’t married or related were beginning to openly share homes as roommates. If you weren’t married or related, you were living in sin, even if everyone had their own bedrooms! Their landlords were Mr. and Mrs. Roper. Mr. Roper (classic comic genius Norman Fell) was opposed to a mixed-gender living arrangement if the man was straight, so Jack had to constantly pretend that he was gay in order to satisfy Mr. Roper’s rental requirement. Mrs. Roper (the wonderfully wry Audra Lindley, seldom without a drink in her hand) loved her dopey, but cheap husband and liked the tenants, and she knew that Jack was straight. Jack also had the heavy hots for busty and blonde Chrissy. Believe me, hilarity ensued. It was a show full of classic comedic pratfalls, subterfuge, innuendo, double entendres, and boobs. Ah, the 70s.

All in all, I’m glad that the potential names, the Ropers and the Regal Beagles, were out of commission because The Frustrators is the perfect name for the band, and I totally get where their sense of humor comes from. Oh and yea, cowboys, too.

3. Name the Frustrator who sculpted the zombie version of Stanley the Chicken which appears on: the cover of the Griller 7″ vinyl, inside the CD fold-out, and on the t-shirt worn by Mike during the tour? (See the t-shirt on Mike)

Zombie Stanley - Sculpture by Art Tedeschi - Courtesy of the Frustrators

Mike and Stanley - Photo: Kerry Harris

Art Tedeschi, drummer of The Frustrators, is a former makeup artist among other professions, and sculpts and does life casts for fun. He sculpted the zombie image of Stanley the Chicken. In fact, it’s called… Zombie Stanley! If you’re wondering how it was made like I was, Tedeschi was found in his corner of the bunker and asked. He says that: “It was sculpted by hand with stone clay, I used clay tools to do any detail work, then painted with water-based paints and finally, it was fired in a kiln! He is the Zombie Stanley!” Tedeschi went on to to say: “I used to go to all the make-up trade shows in LA and got to meet some cool professionals. I even modeled for the make-up artist that ran the dept. for Buffy the Vampire Slayer teevee show. He gave me a vampire forehead and when I wore it outside, no one seemed to notice. That’s LA for you.”

Needless to say, when he mentioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I swooned. Best teevee show ever.

The sculpted head is pretty amazing, and the details and coloring are nicely done! I did not ask what the inspiration was for the Zombie Stanley sculpture. I figure that I’d leave that to the Frustrators themselves to explain one day, but there is a slight resemblance to a certain bass player…

Griller EP Special Vinyl Cover with Zombie Stanley

4. Which two Frustrators members played with Green Day on an episode of Mad TV?

Terry Linehan Performs with Green Day on Mad TV

The two Frustrators members who played with Green Day on MAD TV were Mike Dirnt and Terry Linehan. Jason White was on tour with the Influents during this performance and Terry stepped in for him. Linehan is part-owner of a bar located in Providence, RI called the Scurvy Dog. Arrgh! Pirates! Go in and have a drink if you’re ever in the nabe! Terry is also in a band called Hope Anchor. They recently were featured on a compilation album of cover songs called, Failed Tribute Bands and have a pretty awesome version of “Stand By Me” included [Direct LINK to song track here]. I was listening to this compilation celebrating the 100th release of the independent record company, 75orLess, and there are some gems on it! The download is free, so check out Hope Anchor as well as the other local bands that appear on the free download.

5. The animated cartoon character in the tease leak to the song, “Prettiest Girl” has a name. What is it?

Joy McQueefy

Joy McQueefy, Punk Princess! Find her on Facebook, where she occasionally gives out punk beauty wisdom such as:

Joy’s Punk Princess Beauty Secret #2 — Discounted white-label Japanese cosmetic contact lenses that say they’ll make your eyes look bigger and show up at your house in a crushed box wrapped in newspaper are TOTALLY WORTH THE PINKEYE LADIES!! I looked awesome for a few minutes there, and will do it again just as soon as my stupid antibiotics run their course.

6. What year did their first live performance take place?

They partied like it was…. 1999!

7. Did the Frustrators play their first ever live gig at 924 Gilman?

The cover of “Bored in the USA,” shows the Frustrators at their first-ever show performance… but it’s not taken at 924 Gilman. The first-ever live performance by the Frustrators took place at an outdoor vintage car event called the Backyard Believers, a week or so before the Gilman show, which took place on August 20, 1999! The answer to this question is found in the link below, though the Backyard Believers part was a bit more difficult to track down on the Internet. The Wayback Machine Archive of the Frustrators old website had to help me with that one.

The Wayback Machine Archive has links to two photos of that first show, but the links are dead. Pictures for this gig’s show might be lost forever in the bunker, back in the days of actual film!

This passage is from an interview that Lis Booth of “PunkGlobe.com” did with JasonC last year:

The big photo on the back of “Bored in the USA” was from that [Gilman] show. I think Gilman was our 2nd show, and maybe the first one where we called ourselves the Frustrators. … I just Googled it, yes indeed it was our 2nd show and the first one where we used the name “The Frustrators.” It was in 1999. At that show we handed out hand-burned copies of our unmastered “Bored in the USA” which had just been mixed. It was our first indoor show so it was nice.

8. What two legendary and well-known venues besides 924 Gilman did the Frustrators play in 2001?

The Fillmore in San Francisco and the Troubabour in Los Angeles. The shows were for an Adeline Records showcase. The Frustrators were on the bill with several Adeline bands, including The Influents: Jason White, Bill and Greg Schneider, and Willie Samuels. An archive of old postings at Greenday.net and a list of past shows at the Influents website helped with this one.

9. From which European country does a rock surf band named “The Frustrators” come from?

If you hear talk of the Frustrators touring around in Europe, make sure it’s the Frustrators from California! There’s a surf rock band from the Czech Republic who share the name, “The Frustrators.” Sadly, it’s unlikely that the first and true Frustrators will ever tour in Europe, so if you find yourself at a Frustrators show in the middle of a landlocked, former Eastern bloc country with awesome beer and limited available surfing, you are probably hearing the surf rock Frustrators of the Czech Republic and not the ironic pop-punk Frustrators of the East Bay. Check out the surf rock Frustrators at their Bandzone.cz site. They aren’t bad!

10. Within the last week, The Frustrators posted Youtube videos on their Facebook page of several young bands covering Frustrators songs. Name one of the bands, the country that they come from, and the song that they covered.

There were four cover songs (two acoustic solos and two band recordings) that were featured on the Frustrators’ Facebook last week. One of the bands were Loudstuff from Italy. The other was The Razorblades from Brazil. Both bands performed “I Slept with Terry.” It’s nice that they support these young bands from around the world. If you have a cover of a Frustrators song, whether solo, acoustic, with a band, in your pajamas, whatever, send it to them at their Facebook page.

Loudstuff – Italy – I Slept with Terry [Starts about 5:30] – 2009

The Razorblades – Brazil – I Slept with Terry – 2009

11. What is the name of the upcoming album by Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits that Jason Chandler designed the album cover for?

Meal Deal with the Devil- Bobby Joe Ebola and Children MacNuggits - Design by Jason Chandler, Horrible Comics 2011

Meal Deal with the Devil- Bobby Joe Ebola and Children MacNuggits - Design by Jason Chandler, Horrible Comics, 2011

Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits will release their upcoming recording Meal Deal with the Devil! later this year. The cover features Chandler’s characters, “The Flies.” Kinda adorable. From what I understand, there’s a comic or graphic book that goes along with the album. Combined with the storytelling genius of those Ebola dudes, Corbett Redford III and Dan Abbott, and Chandler, it should be pretty awesome. I can’t wait to hear and see what these guys have cooked up for us!

Meal Deal with the Devil will be released in mid-2011 on Silver Sprocket Records and I think that Bobby Joe Ebola is gearing up to tour this summer. Don’t miss these guys if they pass through your town! Keep up to date with news from them at their website. Bobby Joe Ebola is currently working on videos from their album, F, released last year. Photo stills posted on their Facebook page from the video shoots range from mimes in a bar to psycho pig-snout human butcher demons. Hmm! Check out the video to their release from last year, Freaky Baby, from Funny or Die.

The answer to this question comes from a press release at Silver Sprocket Records as well as a blog posting from yours truly, Green Day Mind.

12. Name one other band that Mike Dirnt has recorded with that is not Green Day, the Network, the Foxboro Hot Tubs or the Frustrators.

Everyone who entered the contest sent in the name of the same band that Mike Dirnt has recorded with: Screeching Weasel. You can view the DJ Rossstar video below, starting about 2:30, for more bands that Dirnt has recorded with.