The Mayor's Wife

Band: The Mayor's Wife

Members: Tyler Smith (guitar, lead vocals), Anthony Lehr (drums, backup vocals), Allison Klinedinst (bass)

Where'd the name come from? Tyler: It was really late, like 2 o'clock in the morning, and we were just sitting around literally just naming things around the room. It was like, "Hey, we could be called Stop Sign," and I'd be like, "No, that's a crappy name." After a while, I just kind of blurted out random objects that I thought of because I kind of have ADD, so I kind of thought of something random, The Mayor's Wife. We were like, "Yeah that's a good idea."

Describe your sound/style: Tyler: We usually sound punk or grunge-ish or loud. That's actually how we got our new CD name that's coming out on (March) 30. It's called "Insanely Loud Nothing" because we were playing somewhere and someone said, "That sounds like insanely loud nothing."

Worst song on the radio right now? Tyler: Anything by Gwen Stefani or Fergie. It's not actually music. It's like The Ying Yang Twins. That's a great example of not talented people getting paid so much money.

Who is your biggest musical guilty pleasure? Anthony: Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.

Tyler: I'm actually a fan of Limp Bizkit, but not Fred Durst. If you listen to old Limp Bizkit CDs, they're really good bass lines and guitar riffs and everything. But Fred Durst, I hate Fred Durst.

Allison: I've actually been listening to a lot of different techno my friend gave me.

Tell me a bit about this upcoming show at the Lost Ballroom. It's a fundraiser for the ONE campaign? Tyler: Anthony's friend . . . wanted to do (a show) for (the Red Campaign), but she couldn't contact them, so she said she'd do it for ONE because that goes to AIDS and poverty. She asked if we'd play, and we said, "Yeah," because we'll take any shows you throw at us.

Where do you draw inspiration from when writing songs? Tyler: Most of the time it's the ADD. . . . I think our most political song is "VD." It doesn't mean venereal disease. It's just two letters, and it can mean Vin Diesel or vast difference. Whatever you want it to mean, but it's actually about 9/11 and all that.

Shoutouts: Tyler: Slut Records. They're actually us. I have a recording studio . . . in my room, and I bought $300 worth of equipment to record. I record local bands like Tic for Tock and DaWaling. . . . We talked to a bunch of local record companies to see if we could get on them and they all said no, so we were like, "Screw you, we'll make our own."

- JASON COX, FLIPSIDE STAFF