I recently had a chance to chat with Little Jimmy Urine over the phone while he was pretending to be driving the band’s tour bus as it sat parked on Clark Street in front of the Metro in Chicago.

Jimmy: Hello? Is this Adam-I-can’t-pronounce-your-last name?
Popular Underground Magazine (PUM): Yes, this is Adam-I-can’t-pronounce-my-last name-either.

Jimmy: Hey, this is Jimmy, I have a last name too, it’s Jimmy.

And this would be the beginning of one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve ever had. According to Jimmy, Mindless Self Indulgence was started out of pure boredom. “I wanted to give people entertainment,” says Jimmy. But MSI’s entertainment is not cookie-cutter and neither is their music. They have figured out a way to combine metal, punk, industrial, hip-hop and whatever else you can think of into a tightly packaged, hook-filled musical orgy. Their live show parallels their music and is fueled by the crowds reactions and attention. Throw a bra at Jimmy and he’ll put it on, yell something to him and he’ll comment on it. In some ways going to an MSI concert is like going to a circus, a comedy show and a punk show. It’s tough to describe. “I want to sleep in a box, have it pushed on stage, wake up and play a show,” says Jimmy about a new act he’d like to perform.

PUM: What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about your band?
Jimmy: That their mom really enjoys us.

Jimmy has heard his fair share of fans telling him that MSI changed their lives, but he doesn’t see himself as a musical savior. “I just make records, I didn’t make the fucking Panama Canal,” says Jimmy. So how do they go about making such complex songs with such pointless, yet well written lyrics? “Melody is number one. All my lyrics are straight fucking forward,” says Jimmy. “It’s not poetry. It’s whatever’s clever for the moment,” he adds. Jimmy goes on to explain that MSI are not trying to put out music with deep emotional meanings that make the listener think about what he’s saying. Hence we hear songs about Jimmy’s dislike for Jimmy Page, masturbation, hookers and any everyday thing that Jimmy feels like writing about.

PUM: I had read that the members of MSI, liked to blow things up? Have you blown anything up lately?
Jimmy: Hopefully, I’ll blow up my career. I want my motherfucking yacht!

Whether you are chatting with Jimmy or listening to one of his band’s records, MSI are very up front and honest. When asked what the goal of MSI is, Jimmy responds by saying, “Money in my pocket, it’s just a job [to] pay my rent.” He’s not afraid to admit that he’s in it for the money and why not? We discuss how some bands will claim to be in it for the sole purpose of making music, but we share the same sediment that it’s all probably bullshit. Jimmy stresses that people should be unique, yet honest and open. “People want to make money and that’s fine,” says Jimmy, “But it’s also about you being you and you being a complete freak.”

PUM: You seem to be pretty open-minded. Is there anything that offends you?
Jimmy: No, not really.

As we begin to talk about MSI chances of getting on mainstream radio or a major label, Jimmy’s tone changes a little. It becomes obvious that we’ve hit a topic that is serious to him. When asked if the band’s lyrical content inhibits them from being a huge mainstream band, Jimmy says, “I do what I do and the kids will listen to it.” He says if MSI make it to a major label or radio, great, if not, it’s no big deal. Jimmy believes that radio makes bands change their format in order to have a product be more marketable or listener friendly. He uses System of a Down as an analogy, their new record Mesmerize is extremely different than their previous one, but people ate up the new one because the other one was a perfect rock record. They had to make a radio friendly rock record before the world would listen to what System really wanted them to hear. Honestly, it doesn’t sound like he wants to do that. Jimmy wants to keep making the music he’s been making for the past seven years and if MSI makes it, a wesome.

MSI’s most recent release You’ll Rebel to Anything is an album filled with radio worthy hooks, choruses and elements that make you thirst for more. Even though the album only clocks in at about 30 minutes, it sticks in your head for days. Perhaps the only thing holding MSI back is in fact their vulgarity and perhaps the world will learn to embrace it, but for now, MSI are content with where they are. Jimmy emphasizes that they’re just doing their thing, one day at a time.

PUM: If someone walked up to you and gave you $50 in cash, what would you do with the money?
Jimmy: I’d put it in my pocket, turn around and walk away thinking, why is this idiot giving me $50? Wait, is this a moral question or is this, “What would I do with $50?”

PUM: What would you do with $50?
Jimmy: I’d go to a DVD store a video game store and then to a peepshow. Peepshows are cheaper than a stripper. You pay $200 or $300 bucks and you’re never going to get with a stripper. At a peepshow you can jack off in the booth for three bucks, go out and get some food and be civilized for an hour and a half, then go jack off again and still have money left over.