Snack Rock

On one of my first days here at WFMU, I noticed Mike Lupica drinking coffee out of a mug emblazoned with the “Go-Nuts” logo. Magic factory, indeed, Mr. Lupica. How did this piece of west coast rock memorabilia find its way into a Jersey City cupboard?

During my final year of residence in the people’s republic of California, I had the fortune of bearing witness to the mighty food-fighting genius of the Go-Nuts. A self-described snack-rock band, their music is poppy, punky, fun, and super cheesed up. But the live show, friends, the LIVE SHOW pushed the limits of reason.

With names like Kap’n Korn Nut, Donut Prince, Donut Hole, and Korn Dog, they could only be outfitted in superhero regalia (capes and masks included), with Go-Go Gorillas at their sides. At the time, I was told that the Go-Nuts only perform every few years because their stage act was so expensive. At first, the black plastic forming a sheath over the venue’s speakers and bar seemed overly cautious. Only when the show began did I understand that this effort was, in fact, an underestimation of the mayhem associated with a Go-Nuts performance.

Three thousand Twinkies. Fifty pounds of confectioner’s sugar. Popcorn, Ho-Ho’s, Sno-balls, various sugar-coated cereals, whipped cream, marshmallows, bananas, chocolate Quik, corn tortillas (apparently the flour ones don’t fly as well). The sound of the first chord commenced the food fight. Massive quantities of junk food were launched via Snack-A-Pult, rigged-up leaf blower, or by hand. Clouds of powdered sugar filled the venue throughout the entire performance, at times mixed with a rain of Frosted Flakes, a pelting of Twinkies and marshmallows, or tortillas whizzing by. The crowd was half dodging food missiles, half participating in the fight, and half eating the unsquashed ammo.

I left the show with sugar-coated lungs, cereal twisted into my hair, Ho-Ho shellacked to my ear and forehead, and Twinkie filling on my sleeves and shoes, all evenly coated with a thin white layer of powdered sugar. And, oh, how I wanted more.

Experience the full glory of the Go-Nuts (Real Audio from archives of “Greasy Kid Stuff”). But first, smash a Twinkie on your face.

"Go-Nuts Theme"

"S.N.A.K.R.O.C.K."

"Snik Snak Skaduliak"

Comments

[Kim Cooper]

Sugar-coated lungs ain't the half of it! I was coughing up Lucky Charm chunks for a week after foolishly agreeing to man their merch table, not noticing until too late that it was planted right in the path of the mighty snack-a-pult. Some kind of self-destructive, anti-capitalist statement, I reckon. Horrrrk!

[Rick Ele]

The most outrageous Go Nuts spectacle had to be their custom truck with its expertly crafted bodykit which featured a fantastic facia of a bulbous red clown nose and toothy maniacal grin revealing a mouthful of sugary treats. The modified exhaust was the kind of fiery bisected unit that runs the length of the side-strakes of 30's and 40's vintage hotrods and three-wheel choppers; sizzling red sausages were painted near the chromed piping so that the exhaust gave the appearance of cooking the sausages. This snacktruck certainly gave Oscar Meyer's "Weinermobile" a run for its money.