by Beth Benson

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 08, 2009

A live interview with one of the most talked about bands in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Fast Breeder Reactor.

1. What is the name of your band? Fast Breeder Reactor

2. What's the origin of the band's name? When I was first starting out getting into bands, there was a local act called Heart of Darkness, who had put out a 3 song vinyl, and one of the songs was titled "Fast Breeder Reactor". It just sounded dark to me, like messy conglomerate art. Electronic. Angry. Sexual. And Punk Rock too. So it fit the experimental thing I was doing with drum machines and crazy effected guitars and vocals, and I hadn't learned about Industrial quite yet. Turns out- FBR is really a scientific term for a controversial type of nuclear reactor. So yeah.. that's fitting!

3. Have you ever changed the band's name or has it always been Fast Breeder Reactor? No always FBR. When we got together, I had been making demos for like 10 years under that moniker, and this was the live band version.

4. How many people are in Fast Breeder Reactor? What instruments do they play? Really right now there are four members. Pony came back on board in Nov 2007, and I was just ecstatic because he's turned into a heck of a keyboardist, as opposed to the guy who made the funny synth sounds. Our new material is more song oriented. Dwight Fry has been the bassist and rhythm controller onstage for 6 years now, and I truly don't see that changing ever, so get used to him! I play the guitar and handle most of the vocals, and some keys on the recordings. Jason Seta, an opera tenor from Philly, made a few cameos on the Anthems CD, but for our 2nd release, we had more time for his voice to be a much bigger part of the picture, at least on the recordings.

5. Do the band members have stage names? If so, what are they, how did you come up with them, and are they trademarked? Yes of course, that was just understood from the get-go. Dwight Frye is a huge Alice Cooper fan, so that's the reference there. Pony was always Pony, even before joining FBR. I had been J.F.Kilroy for years, playing in a bunch of punk bands, and just shortened it to Kilroy in 2000, when I was influenced by a lot of club music, trying to be cool like a DJ or something.

6. How long have you all known each other? How did you meet? Surprisingly I knew Dwight since we were teenage kids drinking at the same parties, but not really in the same room. We were both into that 80s Metal scene. And when we met up again in '02, I was looking

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