Excerpted from:
Panicsville, I Asked For An Autograph

ANDY ORTMANN: One memorable Panicsville show was a farce on Halloween in 1994. It was a small townhouse party in Illinois where many people witnessed fire-breathing nuns, fornication and broken toilets - all this before we even played. I was decked out in a fetching pink bunny outfit while Dave Forquer was something frighteningly ambiguous. The action took place in this rather dark garage. So we could see our fans more easily, we set up high-power floodlights, which didn't delight anyone more than ourselves. As we jumped from the gate with excruciating volume, Dave was hammering away at these computer keyboards he had filled with blood packets. I relentlessly fired an air gun at victim after victim. Everyone was well intoxicated and this confused them even more. Not five minutes into our set was I rudely asked to cease and desist. Despite unending cries for mercy, Panicsville prevailed! Partygoers attempted to cause harm to equipment and band members, but were prevented.

TINA GLADDEN: Any regrets?

About that show? Unfortunately, by the time our high-octane 20-minute set reached a pinnacle, the strategically placed dry-ice bombs had not yet exploded. That was a tough crowd.

I recall seeing footage of someone dressed like a bunny throwing stuff.

The bunny footage was shot on Easter 1997, in Austin. We played with the Haters that night, the day after the letdown of a Survival Research performance.

Why was it a letdown? Didn't anyone get their hand blown off?

I suppose I had an idea built up in my head that it was going to be a battle of the machines, but it was more like a display of how they worked. A good deal of their equipment was not functioning. They were in town for about a month and half, which you'd assume is a sufficient amount of time for professionals. But I'm sure we can all relate to technical difficulties.

So, the bunny suit...

Diane Nelson, as heard on the Extreme Music From Women CD, was in the bunny suit. I had filled up these plastic eggs with rotten food, pieces of moldy bread, old vegetable matter, whatever was left for dead, and hundreds of crickets that were thrown out into the audience during my set. It was really quite the task to get those little critters in those eggs.

Well, you're very brave to try. In looking at other live footage of Panicsville - you're grinding a mic against something, a shoe polisher maybe-

I was actually liberating that poor microphone on a power sander.

It didn't sound like you were liberating dick. The mic wasn't even amplified.

My, what a dirty little mouth you have.

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