 They're tasteless, crude, and downright vulgar. They've side-stepped overexposure with indecent exposure and created one of the most impressionable stirs in the rock underground since the first wave of American punk. They've proudly pissed on popular culture and cough up controversy with child-like enthusiasm. They aimlessly amuse themselves by spreading darkness, fear, and both cheeks at anyone who doesn't get the joke . . . yet anyone who's ever really listened to the music or seen the band play . . . well, there must be a point buried in there somewhere, right? They're Turbonegro and they don't like your kids . . .
Turbonegro are the embodiment of sex, sailors, food fights and F-words rolled up into a bong-sized hash ball that's a never ending toke into the mad rush of adrenaline that brings out the dirty dog in us all. And they make a statement like few others before or after them - not that either Rune Rebellion or Euroboy were too anxious to reveal the inner workings of a cumulatively mad mind. But if it sounds good, who cares if it makes sense? The statement? Death
Punk Forever . . . I Got Erection . . . Fuck The World . . . take your pick or pick your window for that matter, cause it doesn't have to be clever, just carefree and maybe a little bit crazy.
So after a well aimed pelvic thrust through most of the '90s that culminated in their finest hour - Apocalypse Dudes - and a five year period of self-destruction, they rise again, bigger and better than before and pointing straight at the ear of an ever-growing legion of fans who wouldn't let them die.
 Turbonegro are a self-deprecating slice of 70s showmanship and self-indulgence, swearing off the socially bound seriousness that's plagued the suffering music-first rock star hold outs who place playing at a premium.
They've released seven full lengths, two EPs and a live disc and already have a remarkable 26-track tribute done for them entitled Alpha Motherfuckers, which features some of the greatest indie, rock, punk and techno bands that ever existed. Now, after a lengthy recording lay-off they release the magnificent Scandinavian Leather, which follows a successful US club tour first opening for Queens Of The Stone Age and then headlining their own . . . and this after having played for hundreds of thousands of European festival fans on last year's comeback.
Prior to a recent show at The Bowery Ballroom in New York's East Village, I had the perverse pleasure of meeting the two guitarists from this under-the-radar, made for the stage character act born of hard rock, punk and comic relief.
counterculture: Why does't the live show feature any material prior to your last two studio albums, Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes? Rune Rebellion: It's partly because with this line-up was basically when we started touring for Ass Cobra, and that's when it all kind of formed. So these are our songs. cc: There's a huge difference in the sound between the Ass Cobra and Apocalypse Dudes albums, yet it's still undeniably Turbonegro. RR: Part of the difference is in the change of line-up. Obviously Euroboy came in and played on Apocalypse Dudes, and then there's Chris Summers who took over on drums . . . cc: Do you set out to make a statement or get a reaction with your music? RR: Not really; it's just about us making the records we want to make. But of course when we release a record we do want to get some reaction [laughs]. cc: Do you worry about cynics questioning your . . . judgment? RR: Well, we give them something to talk about . . . but we don't like to explain things to anyone. cc: Do you have any deeply rooted social or political sentiments you want people to know? RR: Death Punk forever! | 
