Hi-diddly-ho neighbourinos! You may have heard of a heavy new band on the block who’ve kicked the internet right in the kiddlehopper. Ned Flanders-themed metal act Okilly Dokilly have just unleashed a totally brutalino new music video for White Wine Spritzer, the first single to be lifted off their debut album, Howdilly Doodilly.
And to celebrate, their stupid-sexy-frontman Head Ned took some time out for a chitty-chat with Music Feeds to give us the low-diddly-owdown on all things Okilly Dokilly.
So get out the Crayolas and colour us “Tickled Pink”, because the results are seriously some of the greatest interview Q&As of all time… aroony!
Give ’em a cheeky gander below.
Music Feeds: Let’s get the first and most obvious question out of the way first. A Ned Flanders-themed metal band: why?
Head Ned: Myself and Bled Ned were trying to come up with really friendly names for really angry hardcore punk bands. Okilly Dokilly came about and the name introduced the idea of us becoming the character. The puns started to flow and the reasons not to do this band dwindled like a box of donuts in the break room at the plant.
MF: The response to Okilly Dokilly so far has been huge. Has anyone from The Simpsons ever contacted you guys or acknowledged your existence in any way?
HN: [screenwriter and producer] Al Jean responded to a tweet about us once. I squealed like I’d just seen a set of perfect purple drapes.
MF: How would you describe your fanbase so far, and have they come up with some sort of clever name for themselves? If not, what do you reckon a fitting name would be? (i.e. the Flanders version of Justin Bieber’s Beliebers, Slipknot’s maggots, etc).
HN: We’ve been calling all of our fans ‘Neighborinos’, and boy do we have some amazing Neighborinos. When we first started the band, we anticipated, and kind of hoped for, a lot of negative opinions, because what is a bunch of Neds without a bunch of Homers? Instead, we got a bunch of Neighborinos and these Neds can’t complain.
MF: We all know that Ned Flanders is the kind of guy who does everything the Bible says (even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff). What made you think he’d make such a great heavy metal icon?
HN: Ned is the antithesis of a heavy metal icon. We started the band to have a laugh and push this absurd narrative. We anticipated playing tiny, empty shows with a small demographic of people actually enjoying it. We thought Ned would make a terrible heavy metal icon, but we enjoyed the idea of him becoming one, so we did it anyway.
MF: What did all you Neds look like before you grew the old soup strainer and got full blown Ned Flanders makeovers? Do you find that you get hit on more or less often now?
HN: We looked like lost souls in Ned of something new. Definitely more. Everyone goes Krabappel over Flanders.
MF: As we understand it, Okilly Dokilly made its live debut just a few months ago… what was the vibe like at your first ever show? Did many fans dress up like Simpsons characters?
HN: We thought we were too weird for mass consumption, and booked our first show at a place called The Trunk Space, a wonderful venue that always hosted the best and the weirdest, and held maybe 100 people. We ended up having a lot more than that. A group called Flim Springfield put on an awesome outside carnival and a trivia with these amazing donuts and all sorts of themed things. A few people dressed up, a guy crowdsurfed in an inflatable donut and the evening news showed up to say howdilly doodilly. The vibe was full of excitement and ridiculousness and I keep that vibe in a memory that I bring to every show.
MF: Do you guys have any plans to tour Australia in the Ned-too-distant future?
HN: No solid plans at the moment, but lots of us wanting to, really hard.
MF: Are you aware of a Melbourne band from here called Dr. Colossus, who released a Ned Flanders diss track on pretty much the same day that you guys destroyed the internet?
HN: Yes! We tried to hate them, but we couldn’t. Their music is too good. In a weird twist of fate, I actually got to meet their singer/guitarist, Dr. Jon, in person a few months ago. He’s a really awesome guy and when we get to Australia, Dr. Colossus is the band we really want to tour with.
MF: Did you have any response to this unprovoked attack?
HN: I think the response was, ‘Oh diddly, they’re good.’
MF: Your debut LP is hilariously made up of classic Ned Flanders quotes. What are some other Flanderisms you think might translate into brutal AF metal tunes in the future?
HN: We recorded a song called Purple Drapes that was too brutal for human ears, so we left it off the record. Mur-diddly-urderer is a track for the future, and we’re writing some tracks that truly express our infinite hatred of footlongs and the post office.
MF: How method is your tour rider? Filled with White Wine Spritzers?
HN: Of course. We also request blackberry Schnapps. Our rider also demands ‘no footlongs’ and specifically notes that we ‘don’t want any damn vegetables’.
MF: How many members of the band are naturally left handed? Did those who aren’t feel pressured to learn to play that way in order to stay true to the Flanders dogma?
HN: Two members, myself and Red Ned are left-handed. The others are not responding very well to the conversion therapy.
BONUS QUESTIONS:
MF: Your neighbourino borrows your lawnmower and doesn’t give it back. What do you do?
HN: Confront him with the sternest “Okilly Dokilly” we can muster.
MF: Who would you rather fight: 100 Agnes Skinner-sized Lard Lads or one Lard Lad-sized Agnes Skinner?
HN: The first one. 100 Lard Lads means 100 donuts held up in the air. If Homer is anywhere near, and we’ve all seen Treehouse of Horror IV, then Homer vs. 100 donuts is nothing. That’s our best chance.
MF: Diddle/Marry/Kill: Helen Lovejoy, Edna Krabappel, Aunt Selma
HN: In the true spirit of Nedal, kill, kill and kill.
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Okilly Dokilly’s debut album ‘Howdilly Doodilly’ is out on Friday, 11th November.
Watch: Okilly Dokilly – ‘White Wine Spritzer’
