The Tripti Ensemble Crew is, was, and always will be the Tripti Ensemble Crew. I was given the unique opportunity to interview the bandmates, Chillbit, Angel, Pi, Chances, and their manager, Sid. Seven questions later, this is what I got:

 

Purple Penguin: What is the Tripti Ensemble Crew? When did it form?

 

Pi: The Tripti Ensemble Crew is The Thing We Do. It was formed in 1967 to fulfill some contractual obligation that Chances and I had with Luxembourg Television...then again six years later....and again a week after that...

 

Purple Penguin: Where can I go to see the Tripti Ensemble Crew?

 

Sid: You can go see the Triptis at www.tripticrew.com - but I thinks you need Flash to see it....and you can also see them every Tuesday night at Der Eingebildet Club in Schlossberg.

 

 

Purple Penguin: How did the TEC get involved with Radiohead in "The most Gigantic Lying mouth of All Time" project?

 

Angel: The Radiohead is a super bunch of chaps who liked our stuff when we sent it to them and then they did stuff with it. We love them.

 

Purple Penguin: If each of the Triptis were sounds, what kind of sounds would they be?

 

Sid: I like this question the best...Angel likes the "puppy-sniffin-at-your-ear" sound...Chillbit is the sound of an emergency room...Chances just smiled and looked away and Pi made up a new sound!

 

 

Purple Penguin: What music has influenced the band?

 

Chances: Chillbit loves some band called 'Oomot' -but he won't let us listen to the tapes and he won't say where they're from. Angel loves Miles and Carl Stalling...and we heap likey The Residents and the Beebles. Pi says he likes Indian classical music and Erik Satie. And so much other stuff too that it hurts our minds to think about it.

 

Purple Penguin: What can we expect you guys to do next?

 

Sid: They've already done what they're gonna do next, but they're bein' weird about it....Chillbit destroyed all the master tapes last time around and the rest of the band are trying to keep it a secret from him...even though he plays on it....

 

Purple Penguin: Freak Juice?

 

Angel: Oh, Yeeeeaaaahhhhh!!!!