Heather: How did the blanks get started?

Sam Lloyd: The three of us went to school at Syracuse University and one day we drove out to California, and there was Philip hitchhiking by the side of the road. We were all singing in the van, but it didn’t sound quite right. Phil got in and everything just came together.

Philip McNiven: That’s not the way I remember it: I was working in one of those roadside diners, they walked in, and I threw my apron down, quit and hopped in the van. We’ve been together ever since.

Heather: When did you get started touring?

Sam: Well, we heard that there were people in Eau Claire who wanted us, so we put together a show and tried it out in other places, like New York and Chicago first.

Phil: It was all about Eau Claire in the end.

Heather: Is this your first time to Wisconsin?

Sam: We’ve been here before, but it was in a drug and alcohol induced stupor.

Phil: But we’re an a cappella group, so we’re used to that.

Sam: It’s sad to say we’re the stereotype of the typical a cappella group. You know – women, drugs and rock and roll. It’s a crazy life.

Heather: What do you think of Wisconsinites?

Phil: You know, there’s nothing sexier than layers of thermal underwear – just a girl with several pairs of waffle weave and cheese head hat – nothing sexier than that.

Heather: I heard a radio interview you had a few days back and you said that you hadn’t toured much before The Blanks appeared as “Ted’s Band” on Scrubs, and you attributed it to extreme laziness. So, just how lazy are you?

Sam: I do absolutely nothing.

Phil: I once tranquilized myself and then had myself shipped overseas and then I had them fly me back in a casket and then they switched the caskets and shipped me to a cruise ship, where I woke up on a deck chair – I hadn’t moved in a week.

Heather: How do you pick songs and how do you turn them into an a cappella song?

Sam: Very carefully. If you do it wrong, someone could die.

Phil: That’s right. When we get a song, there’s a label on it that says someone on the other side of the world will die.

Sam: It makes it easier to take the chance with the song, because it’s a faceless person we’re killing.

Heather: What if it was one of you guys that died?

Phil: It would have to be the drummer. But it did happen to one of our guys once. Actually, it was George’s uncle – his mother’s friend – Uncle Fred. That was kind of bad, we felt bad about that, but George was happy.

Sam: It was “Speed Racer.” When we started working on that song we didn’t do it right and we killed George’s uncle.

Phil: Hey, a cappella’s dangerous. There are levels of difficulty: deep-sea fishing, cage fighting and a cappella, but not necessarily in that order. Actually, Paul Perry (Emmy nominated) has such an amazing ear and can listen to a song and pick out every instrument, giving each of us a part to sing. I always get the piccolo – I call it getting the shaft.

Heather: What is your favorite jingle? What makes for a good jingle?

Sam: Well, it’s got to get you tapping your toe and clapping along, like the old Vaseline Intensive Care jingle. That’s a good one.

Heather: I know. I have that one on my iPod.

Sam: I bought the Pre-loaded Jingles iPod, too. Mine has my favorite jingle, “By Mennen.” You know, we normally get multiple encores after we finish a show and we were thinking of doing that as the encore for Friday’s show. We actually have several versions of that on our CD, Riding the Wave, in all different keys. You might be a key of C person, well I’m not, I’m a key of D person, but we can both be happy.

Heather: It’s good that you look out for your fan base.

Sam: Yes, absolutely, especially our fan base in Eau Claire.

Phil: I think we had a gig in London planned for this date, but we gave it up for the show in Eau Claire. In fact, we were going to prepare for the queen. Well, she said she understood and said, “We’ll work you in any other time. We would do the same.”

Heather: Had you ever made your own jingles? What would they be?

Sam: We’ve done it, but unfortunately nobody likes them.

Heather: Do you think The Blanks might instigate a resurgence of boy bands?

Sam: Definitely. Everywhere we go, every place we play, three or four boy bands spring out of the area.

Phil: I would buy my white pants and shoes now, because after the show, all the stores are going to sell out. After all, we are the original bad boy band.

Phil: We told you how we’re just a cappella, how a cappella is – we leave broken hearts by the dozen. And our hotels, we trash them. At least one TV out the window a night and that’s if we don’t break into someone else’s room and throw theirs out the window, too.

Sam: If you ever see a hotel that says “Closed for Renovation,” we just come through the town.

Heather: So, what’s with the name? Why are you The Blanks and not “live ammunition?”

Phil: Well, it’s kind of touchy subject for me – we were called Phil and The Blanks, but Sam got onto a TV show and then it was Sam and The Blanks, but it sounded like Salmon The Blanks, so now we’re just The Blanks.

Heather: Do you find that when you become a celebrity you are required to buy a tiny dog and carry it everywhere you go?

Sam: Oh yeah, I bought ten tiny dogs. Three of them are still living. Random fans snatched the others.

Heather: It must be hard being famous.

Sam: You know, we’re people, too. We had a big spread in US magazine called “Celebrities are people, too,” and there was a picture of us getting coffee.

Phil: It’s true, we’re just like everyone else – we’ll arrive in Eau Claire, get off our private jet, wearing fur, and take our own personal colored Trans Ams to the show with the a cappella blaring.

Sam: We like to stay in touch with the common people.

Heather: Do you think the fact that California is marketing itself as a dairy state may result in a rivalry between it and Wisconsin?

Sam: They’re desperate and they’ve been trying to take over the cheese market. It’s pretty pathetic and I think that’s wrong.

Phil: I know the people of Wisconsin will like our act because it’s very cheesy.

Sam: Yes, it curdles the crowd.

Heather: If you could be made into an action figure, what cool accessories would it need to have?

Sam: I would need a really cool gun, a utility belt with neat things, a grooming set, kung fu grip, a really cool car and a scooter and a dream house with lots of live-in Barbies. I would definitely need to have real hair and a real hair beard and real chest hair.

Phil: I would get the ability to sing underwater.

Sam: And a suit of armor and a horse, with real hair, and a guitar.

Phil: I would like my own railroad that goes from my house to Sam’s so we can rehearse.

Sam: I wouldn’t want to be seen with you – I’ll close down my station! I’d be sitting next to my pool with the Barbies rubbing my beard and grooming it with my handy grooming set.

Heather: What are your future endeavors?

Phil: Build a train to Sam’s house and world peace.

Sam: Saving the world one a cappella note at a time – one boy band at a time. That’s our plan, we figure if we can get hundred boy bands singing about love, world peace is sure to follow.

Heather: What can people look forward to during Friday’s show?

Phil: The show is very family-friendly, so we encourage people to bring the whole family.

Sam: It’s kind of like Monty Python meets the Blue Man Group. We don’t play percussion instruments and we’re not blue, but other than that were exactly the same.