WHAT INSPIRED RUSTMONSTER?
by Craig Nybo ~ February 22, 2010
Today I thought I would write about what inspired RUSTMONSTER. First off, the RUSTMONSTER band lineup, Craig, Rick, Larry, Rob, Mike, Aaron, and Nate, have worked together in music and film projects for going on 25 years now. We are all lifelong friends. Ages ago, when most members of the band were in a funk outfit called Funktoast, we talked about doing some pirate themed music. We thought it would be fun to dress up and do sort of an apocalyptic pirate thing.
A very short scene in an obscure Rutgar Hauer film called THE BLOOD OF HEROS inspired this discussion. This film came out in 1989. It starred Rutger Hauer and Delroy Lindo as part of an apocalyptic sports team that travels from city to city playing a death sport that involves shooting goals with a goat skull while beating the ever-living tar out of each other. It really is a great film. I would recommend it. It feels like Hoosiers meets Mad Max.
In one scene, the whole town parties after a particularly bloodthirsty match. In a single shot, an apocalyptic band plays some music. The instrumentation is a combination of found percussion, scrapped together instruments, and an accordion player. When I saw the band in the film, I said to myself, someday, I want to do that. The result, roughly 6 years later, was RUSTMONSTER.
I feel I have to say that RUSTMONSTER is much more than my vision. There are 7 fine musicians that make up the band. Every one of them brings his talent and perspective to the band. I am only 1/7th of the creative process. But, from my perspective, this is what inspired RUSTMONSTER into existence.
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