After more dead ends and false turns than duff records in the Virgin Megastore, Agent Fuzzco had finally traced The Fleshtones to a seedy drinking den just over the river called "Chez Renard," an odd kind of place decorated with plastic Sci-Fi objects and a fifties jukebox in one corner playing "golden oldies". As Fuzzco approached he pondered the nature of the threat that resided behind the Fleshtones' scuzzy exterior. Also, he thought to himself, did the tall, handsome one with the dimpled chin always act in such a bizarre fashion? Suddenly, as he clicked-on his secret tape machine, phrases from a long forgotten TV series swam around his head: "We want information," "You're not going to get it," "By hook or by crook," "Who is Z-man?" "You are the Ghoulman".

But hang on a moment, if Agent Fuzzco wasn't the Ghoulman then who exactly was he and who was he working for? Meanwhile back in the "virtual" control room, his deluded employers cackled to themselves and clapped their hands in anticipation of learning more about the missal's jealously guarded secrets. The following is a transcript of what they learnt.

Iam Fuzzco: There seems to be a balance struck on "Solid Gold Sound" between a light-heartedness, such as on "Line Check," "Beer Run," "Baja Weekend," and gritty real-life conflicts, like "Solid Gold Sound," "Dreaming About Work," and "Ten Dollars More." Was this something that the band set out to do, and how do The Fleshtones resolve the two after twenty five years together?

Ken Fox: Do we ever set out to do anything?

Peter Zaremba: No, we didn't set out to do that. I think the reason why both of those elements are there is because they are NOT resolved. They are the two elements of light hearted fun and gritty everyday reality.

Ken: When you start to think about it, though, it seems like it's always that way. Like, for instance, "Pocketful of Change" against "Take A Walk With The Fleshtones."

Keith Streng: Doesn't "gritty everyday reality" lead to wanting light-hearted fun?

Peter: Exactly!

Ken: I guess so.

Keith: There you go.

Fuzzco: Along those same lines, how do you respond to those who insist on pegging The Fleshtones as a party band?

Bill Milhizer: No problem whatsoever. We are a party band, it's so much fun being one.

Peter: I don't think that there's any problem with being a party band, and it's almost an honour to be called one. If we're an instant party starter, then all the better. However, like you said, there's the other element there.

Keith: Anyway, a good rock'n'roll band should have a party element, otherwise you're not a rock'n'roll band. It goes hand in hand.

Peter: There are rock'n'roll bands that make you think, "What kind of band is it?" And then when you put them on you wonder, "Am I supposed to cry?".

Fuzzco: The new album is called "Solid Gold Sound" after a recently written song of the same title. The song itself was recorded several months after the album. Peter, you went on record as saying "this is one the best songs I've ever written".

Peter: I think it's THE best song I've ever written.

Fuzzco: It's easily your most defiant song in years, with sentiments such as "just give me a break, it's all that I need" and "but when I crank it up I can't hear what you say." Is "Solid Gold Sound" a reflection on Super Rock Fleshtones, or a more general commentary on playing rock'n'roll?

Peter: Believe it or not, the song has nothing to do with golden oldies. It has to do with The Fleshtones' instant Sold Gold Sound. I think that what we're doing is so great and the fact is, the louder the better. If you still don't understand what we're trying to do then just turn it up a little more and maybe you'll understand it then. Keep turning it up, and you're bound to understand sooner or later.

Fuzzco: Ken, "Love Is In The Grave" and "Dreaming About Work" are two of your finest contributions to the Fleshtones' songbook. Would you tell us about the inspiration for "Dreaming About Work" and why you decided to take lead vocals on it?

Keith: Why you decided to take lead vocals!

Ken: Yeah, right. I'll get to that one. "Dreaming About Work" is a true thing. I work sometimes to a point where I can't shut down at night, and that was the only thing I had to write about when I came to writing a song for the record. And it was Peter's idea for me to sing it.

Keith: Well, that's because Peter just couldn't remember the words you wrote so there was no choice actually.

Ken: Peter said, "I want everybody to sing something on this record and I want you so sing your song".

Keith: Even Milhizer gets a verse.

Peter: Yes, he sings about the kick drum.

Bill: I do. I forget.

Keith: Well, don't worry about it.

Bill: You gotta be kidding me! No, not on "Dreaming About Work." I sing on "Soundcheck 2001."

Ken: But you can sing "Dreaming About Work" if you want.

Bill: If you say so.

Ken: Yeah, well think about that.

Bill: No. I don't really want to.

Fuzzco: "Good Good Crack" is a big musical departure from your other material.

Bill: It is not. I disagree.

Keith: Not to me it isn't. As natural as breathing air for The Fleshtones.

Fuzzco: In a different world, "Good Good Crack" would be re-mixed and played like crazy in the dance clubs. This song will surely raise the eyebrows of garage rock and r'n'r purists. Is this a sound you wanted to do for some time? Is there an intersection between Super Rock and Dance that we've missed all these years?

Keith: "Good Good Crack" was a commercial move on our part.

Fuzzco: Or are you so ahead of the game now that you're lampooning The B52's?

Bill: The B52 have nothing to do with us at all. We used to play "Do You Want To Funk?" by Sylvester. Where did people miss us then? I think that people that don't like the Crack song have not listened enough to The Fleshtones.

Peter: We also did "Word Up" by Cameo.

Bill: And also "Y.M.C.A." of course. It's mostly about being fun and up and everything. They've missed a certain little part of us.

Keith: Come on, let's face it boys, "Hexbreaker" was supposed to be called "Gay Disco"!

Peter: That is true, too, and not a joke.

Keith: So if that says anything, why is there a song called "Good Good Crack" on this new album? There you go.

Bill: "Hexbreaker" was "Gay Disco" but they wouldn't let us say "Gay Disco."

Peter: I think that they're offended that "Good Good Crack" is a straight disco tune. It sounds like a disco record, more or less.

Fuzzco: It's incredibly catchy, and the time that you guys did it at the Mercury Lounge it was ringing in my head for four days afterwards. I couldn't get it out of there 'cause of the hook.

Peter: My last word on that is that it's not for nothing at all. That song is dedicated to Manfred Jones of The Woggles.

Fuzzco: "Bazooka Joe's Vacation," a tale of facing up to a school yard bully, is one of the strongest and certainly most affecting songs on the new album. It is also the third song in a trilogy that celebrates the famous bubblegum character or does it?

[laughter]

Fuzzco: Please explain the significance of Bazooka Joe to The Fleshtones.

Peter: It's probably gonna be the last Bazooka Joe song. Maybe. Bazooka Joe is not that important to the Fleshtones, and I just think that he's a very interesting character. He's so ill-defined. We all grew up with Bazooka Joe, but it's all so ill-defined as to what really he was all about. It was obvious that he was a thug, he had a gang, he could tell your fortune and used to wear a turban, but other than that we don't really know too much about Bazooka Joe. It has more to do with a coming-of- age kind of thing, and not escaping a bully but a pedophile who is hanging around school yards.

Bill: Ha. [laughs uncontrollably].

Peter: That's pretty much what it's about, actually, and that's why the kid's on break, 'cause Bazooka Joe is on his vacation.

Ken: And we've all known guys like that!

Fuzzco: "Test The Flesh" is an abstract song lyrically. It puts the listener in the mind of Rasputin "The Mad Monk" with its reference to missals, prayer, vodka, women and sin. What exactly is a "medieval missal sent through the pages of history" and what is the inspiration behind that song?

Keith: "Medieval missal sent through history" is Rasputin, and it was a book that Ken was passing around our little tour van years ago. We all read it and we all liked it. I thought there was a song in it, and I just liked the idea of testing the flesh. "Testing the flesh" was one of Rasputin's favourite things to do.

Peter: That seems to be a pretty danceable tune, too.

Bill: Big time. May I say that?

Fuzzco: On the new album the lead vocals are split pretty evenly between Keith and Peter, with Ken singing one of his own compositions. Why is Peter's vocal presence lower than on previous albums?

Peter: I think there are a few reasons. On the first album that we did [the 1978 sessions for Red Star Records] the vocals were definitely split between Keith and I. Totally. So maybe we are coming back to our roots again.

Keith: Hey look, everything that we've done with The Fleshtones has been a circle. Let's face it. We're back to very straightforward recording, with minimal overdubs and Peter and I splitting the vocals. Well, that's how the band started. No horn section on the last few records or additional musicians, really, to speak of. We've hit a home run and we're back at home plate again.

Fuzzco: Do you expect the cycle to begin again?

Keith: Ha, I don't know if it has to.

Fuzzco: Why does the production sound different on "Ten Dollars More"? And did you have Dave Faulkner in mind when you wrote it?

Keith: Dave Faulkner!?!?

Bill: We had so much more money to make that song, actually. We did that in France in a big studio with everything you wanted. Am I right, or am I wrong? Bill, I think, is right at this point!

Keith: A different studio exactly, like Bill said. But we also did the recording in a hi-tech studio with the same approach as at Compactor Studios and with a minimal amount of overdubs. Doing it very fast and not flogging something. It still sounds fresh to me although it was done in a hi-tech studio.

Bill: When we have all the big studio technology behind us we can lower the tech but still bring out our talent. Real quickly.

Fuzzco: Would you consider the song a musical antidote to "Too Late To Run"?

Keith: No connection. The song is about people I have known.

Fuzzco: There are some familiar voices gang-singing with exuberance in the background of "Solid Gold Sound." Anyone we know? And who's in "The Queens Choir"?

Keith: Well, you know Jan Marek Pakulski.

Peter: And now you're talking about coming full circle. He's adding a lot of vocals.

Keith: Actually, a lot of the "lead" backing vocals are Marek. He's great at that.

Ken: We've also got Andy Shernoff back there. That's Andy Shernoff of The Dictators, for those who don't know him.

Peter: Fred Smith is NOT there, though.

Fuzzco: One of the consistent knock against The Fleshtones was that you've never fully caught your live sound and attitude in the studio. But on the last several releases, all recorded at Compactor, you sound closer to it, as if you're playing live on stage. Does this have anything to do with Compactor and the input of Paul Johnson?

Bill: It sure does.

Peter: A lot to do with Compactor. It was our decision to work at Compactor and to get with a more immediate and basic sound. Although quite honestly, we're trying to get more immediate but we're not really trying to sound the way we do on stage.

Ken: They're two completely different things.

Peter: When you're on stage, you look and get to know what's going on.

Ken: Sometimes you do lots of things that look good or seem like a good idea at the time that if you hear back on tape sound ridiculous. That's why if you get a lot of our live tapes they're unreleasable 'cause you get all of these things, and if you're there you say well, "this is when Keith is doing such and such" and it doesn't really translate onto tape, you have to see it. It just sounds like a big pause, or if we're walking through the audience then there's this riff going on for five minutes. It sounds ridiculous on tape, but to see it it's something else! Also, the answer to the other part of your question is that we've become a band that's been together as the same guys for ten years now. We're starting to play with more confidence as a four piece.

Keith: Also, we're producing ourselves in Compactor and that's really doing the whole thing.

Ken: Especially after some of the more produced records. There was a definite idea of going into Compactor and saying "look, it's just going to be the four of us, and it's going to sound like the four of us."

Peter: That's what happened. I think that's a real step in the right direction but I think that after this record we may have to go into yet another one.

Keith: There's gonna have to be a new direction after this record because Compactor is being dismantled anyway, slowly but surely. Hey, why don't we play you one of the new tracks we recorded in Compactor Studios earlier today?

Suddenly there was a screaming sound and the transmission signal went dead. It is rumoured that the following individuals are still locked away in a "virtual" control room deep under the Big City: Joe Bonomo, Jean Marc Rimette and Steve Coleman, and may eventually be released when The Fleshtones find the key.

Agent Fuzzco's whereabouts are currently unknown.

"Solid Gold Sound" (2001)