The Warner Sound’s SXSW #AskWayne Q&A

UPDATE – On April 3rd, Wayne did another Q&A session, this time a “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) with reddit.com.

The mood of the Terror suggests despair and hopelessness. Why release such a dark album in the spring when the northern hemisphere is emerging from the dark?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 165 points

i think it’s also a record about acceptance. when the world expects you to be all sunshine, you want to express feelings that are the opposite so that others can share what you’re feeling. You want what you’re going through to be expressed and shared. It’s even more useful when you’re not just happy that the suns coming out. You can be happy in the beginning of the day, sad in the middle, and happy in the end of the day.

MrX16 83 points

I’m a big fan of Christmas on Mars, do you have any future plans on making any more feature films?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 147 points

yes, the video that came out yesterday “The Ashes in the Air” video is the beginning of our next feature.

paul004 231 points

Do you still have Ke$ha’s blood?

If so, how glittery is it?

You’re the best, thanks for the music Wayne.

therealwaynecoyne[S] 741 points

Yes and it’s VERY glittery. It came out of vagina that way. That’s the truth.

toppoyay 81 points

What was it like to work with Ke$ha?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 214 points

SHe is a blast on all levels. She’s funny, she’s humble. She’s badass. She’s everything. She’s awesome. We’re actually already working on an album with her. It’s called Lip$ha.

satellitebob 59 points

Any young, up and coming bands we should look into?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 140 points

There’s a lot of bands that are still up and coming that I really like right now. Polica is kind of big now but they’re not super big yet. Then there’s a cool group of out Dallas called New Fumes. Also I really dig Hour of the Time Majesty 12, which are from my studio.

DirtyWolf 30 points

Hi, great musician, great artist, great person.

Name the members of your ideal superband (not Flaming Lips members allowed).

Thanks!

therealwaynecoyne[S] 106 points

They already exist! A group like The Beatles, The Beastie Boys, etc. I wouldn’t change anything about them!

andrahaha 58 points

Hi wayne, first of all, THANK YOU for all the wonderful music you made with your band!

A couple questions..

I feel like the Lips have always been a very “visual” band.. I feel like even the music itself has a “visual” quality to it… it’s hard to explain.. the question is… who are your most favorite visual artist/artists?
what is actually your all-time favorite drug?

thank you!

therealwaynecoyne[S] 79 points

Everybody loves all the classics but damien hirst, maya who painted our gallery, and many others.

RosieeB 51 points

May I ask your opinion on the lack of art and music in schools? I know I probably would have stopped bothering to go to high school were it not for band and orchestra.

therealwaynecoyne[S] 155 points

To me (and I know this sounds very Republican) I’ve never thought art and music should be what schools should be responsible for anyway. It should be the parents. Even though it looks like you spend the majority of your time in school, you’re really spending the majority of your time with the people you love (or at least you’re supposed to anyway). For example I grew up in a household where my parents were very supportive of my painting and drawing. That’s how it should be.

jackbowen 69 points

wayne, whats your biggest musical regret?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 272 points

i don’t really have a regret but if i did it would be that i was too young in the 60s to have made music with miles davis.

itsiilegal 72 points

What is your favorite album you have helped make?

What is your favorite album someone else has made?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 189 points

i haven’t helped that many people make albums- “The Good Times Are Killing Me”.
that’s just a weird question try and rephrase that.

OhMyBrothers 77 points

What is your favorite book and favorite film?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 174 points

Favorite book: AMOK. It’s a collection of all the weirdo books ever made. You get like the best 2 paragraphs of every weirdo book ever made. My kind of things. Favorite film: The Life Of Pi. I just saw it on the plane. I really loved that movie.

theroob85 137 points

Bad Days was one of my favorite songs growing up, it helped me stay positive when I really needed it. Can you tell me more about coming up with that song? What inspired you to write it?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 172 points

there is a title in the Amok about seeking revenge on the corporate institutions. Fantasy gets you through conundrums that you have- it’s useful.

FlippySquirrel 29 points

How did you persevere through all the years it took to reach the level at which you now find yourself in terms of success and critical acclaim?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 66 points

I knew someday I would be able to seek sweet revenge!

I’m kidding!

wuhoo25 110 points

What has been your favorite form of packaging for your music so far? Mine was definitely the 24 hour song in the human skull.

therealwaynecoyne[S] 215 points

the human skull with the 24 hour song.

mattpicasso 268 points

What’s the weirdest gift a fan has given you?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 589 points

Some woman (she’s actually an insane person) sent me sent me a $3,000 lips shaped couch once. That was really weird.

walkinglucid 74 points

Strangest display of affection from a fan? (not that it could be any stranger than the displays of affection you show us!)

therealwaynecoyne[S] 292 points

A guy wanted to give me a blow job and said he would set himself on fire if I wouldn’t let him. I’m not proud of that one.

gluestick300 72 points

So you’re saying he didn’t set himself on fire..?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 277 points

He did neither, actually.

velvetcrayon 860 point

hi wayne! i’m erik, i’m a musician/freak/cripple and a totally huge big fan. my question is related to the show you’re playing in montclair nj on may 16th. i use a wheelchair so i have to get accessible tickets whenever i goto a show. the way the wellmont theatre does its accessible seats is that the floor is accessible but they don’t set aside any “accessible seats” within the floor seats.. the floor is full, obviously, so no more accessible seats (but the show isn’t sold out, there’s still balcony seats, but those aren’t accessible). but when i asked the wellmont about this they said that more accessible seats may become available if the band (you guys) don’t use all of your comp seats (meaning your comp seats are wheelchair accessible). so, my question is, is there anyway i could buy two comp tickets from you guys since they’re the only wheelchair accessible one’s left? i am not asking for anything free, or anything special, just asking to buy two of the accessible seats from you! it would make my year. my first healthy year in a long long time. i’m a huge fan, a huge freak, will come in costume and be a total weirdo. maybe you could point me in the right direction for this or something? i can give you my email address or phone number or anything that’d help :)

i hope you can help me out. i promise i won’t scream out “play she don’t use jelly!” or anything, i promise! it’s just, it’s not right that there’s so little accessible seats. i know you have a lot of fans that use wheelchairs or have disabilities and it just sucks that we can’t come join the freaks.. because, i mean, i don’t know how many people with disabilities that you know, but i know a bunch and they’re a freaks. lovable freaks, sure, but freaks. okay, end of ramble. heart you!!!!!!!!!

therealwaynecoyne[S] 863 points

can you message your email? we’ll see what we can do!

shecabuge 169 points

Hi Wayne!! I’ve been following your shows in the southeast area for 3 years now, but will you draw a doodle for me to tattoo on my leg? THANKS. LOVE.

EDIT.

A lot of you want me to deliver on this. I’ll post it in /r/flaminglips when i get it then PM everyone in this thread with a link.

therealwaynecoyne[S] 381 points

Here’s two options just for you! Take your pick! Option 1 Option 2

AmieBPhilly 126 points

Hi Wayne! As a fan whose life goal is to dance on stage with you, what’s the beat way to be picked from the crowd?

Also, will you ever play the Spiderbite Song at a show?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 180 points

just to be a freak- get there early and get dressed up!

Sanit 67 points

How much confetti and balloons do you guys use at an average gig? Isn’t that shit expensive?

Also, what do I have to do to be on stage with you, dressed up as something, next time you come to Dublin?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 145 points

It is expensive, yeah. I don’t know what the number would be really. We use about 3-4 boxes of confetti a night and they run about $600-700 a box and then about $500-600 worth of balloons. It seems like a lot, but it’s not a lot compared to like Beyonce or something like that.

norton51 420 points

Does it get hot in the giant inflatable ball?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 460 points

it does yes! but im not in it very long.

cigarettesmoke 195 points

Why do you say “C’mon motherfuckers!” in concert so much?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 497 points

it’s just a way of saying there are no rules here and everything is an expression to heighten the experience. I love cuss words the most because it cuts to the most sacred of things.

lily_badwolf 33 points

Hiya, Wayne! I’ve been a huge fan for many many MANY years- I was so stoked to dance onstage with you guys in the Yo Gabba Gabba getup a couple years ago in Denton, TX- my husband and I also went to all of the March of the 1,000 Flaming Skeletons each year it was held- I was wondering if there were any plans to revive that this year, or any time in the future?? It had become an October tradition for us and we miss it!! So stoked to see you on the Virgin mobile commercials- hope all is going really well for you and the rest of the Lips- we love you dearly! You are hands down the chillest and sweetest “celebrity” I’ve ever had the fortune to talk with- thanks for loving us back, Wayne! hugs

therealwaynecoyne[S] 46 points

it’s always an option but the fire marshals were very cautious- the bigger the march the more cautious they got. They didn’t want any accidents to happen. For example, for every person carrying a torch, i had to have two fire extinguishers. It felt really restrictive.

houseofsharks 69 points

WAYNE,

If you could come back as any animal or creature, what would you be and why??

therealwaynecoyne[S] 178 points

i think it would be cool to come back as a dinosaur! a t-rex or something.. it would be fun to walk over volcanos.

Longfeller 175 points

You recently posted an instagram photo of yourself taking your first poo in your blue leather pants… and I’m curious… Who did you get to take that photo?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 185 points

i just had sachem come in and do it.

downtothecellar 28 points

Wayne! Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized Pink Robots or 1 horse-sized awesome scarf-thing that you wear occasionally?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 104 points

i think the duck sized pink robots would be wicked because i can crush them! it’d just be cool!

bizarrodude 147 points

Are you still drug free as you claimed in “The Fearless Freaks”? Or has your outlook on drug use evolved since then?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 379 points

ive never been drug free but ive never been on the level of addicts and i don’t use hard drugs. there are some like mushrooms that i think are fun. but i think im more empathetic with the nature of anxiety. physical health is a dilemma.

Captain_Lovely 257 points

What would you want you and/or the Flaming Lips to be remembered for after you guys and all of the readers here today are dead?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 1912 points

i think like all artists and musicians, we want to know that we disturbed the comfortable and comforted the disturbed.

mp6521 41 points

Why was the decision to retire “Yoshimi” at SXSW made? Is it primarily because of the musical or are you and the band ready to move on past the strange legacy of the album?

therealwaynecoyne[S] 124 points

that wasn’t retiring it.

Original Post

The Warner Sound’s SXSW #AskWayne Q & A

Ask @WayneCoyne your questions on March 14 at 7pm EST via twitter. Use #AskWayne to participate. Tune in here: http://t.co/8NGrGGRpgC

— The Warner Sound (@TheWarnerSound) March 13, 2013

https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312272105016283137
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312345146933002240
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312369205968244737
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312373811616022528
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312374337455943681
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312369448206102528
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312369725705437184
https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312373410598621184

Do you still have the taxidermied weasel that I gave you at Firefly?!?!? Love you Wayne!!! #askwayne http://t.co/Ij2ojimZ69

— Jackson (@mmmbrahh) March 15, 2013

@theflaminglips @waynecoyne #AskWayne What design cake do you want me to make when you come to Brighton in May? pic.twitter.com/maftuUPRcm

— Tweety👩Sam Revill (@TweetySamRevill) March 14, 2013

https://twitter.com/theflaminglips/status/312370017519939585