Saturday, August 15, 2009

Think Tank

Think Tank

Think Tank is songwriter, musician and producer, Paul Robb. Originally from Minnesota, he's a founding member of the synthpop band, Information Society, and has also recorded with Barbara Cohen as Brother Sun Sister Moon. Think Tank has at least five releases on Glow and Hakatak Records.

I first heard Robb's work on commercial radio, in the late 80's. Their sample of Star Trek's Mr. Spock, on the Information Society track, "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)," really caught my ear in highschool, and then in college, Think Tank's "A Knife and a Fork" got stuck in my head for the longest time as well.

He keeps busy composing music for film and television, working on projects such as Trey Parker and Matt Stone's 1997 film, Orgazmo. He also remixed the South Park theme song, and does commerical work for companies such as Polaroid and Sprint.

After their summer tour (2009) in South America, a recently re-formed Information Society will be releasing a digital-only remix EP called "Modulator'. Also be on the lookout for a 25th Anniversary live DVD, called "It Is Useless To Resist Us".

Without further ado, here's the SAR Q&A with Think Tank's Paul Robb...


*Name: Think Tank

*Are there any additional names used to describe this project: At various times, the project has been called the Captains of Industry, Wirehead, Diabolical Johnson, Satan's Little Helper, Shining Path, BitCrusher, the Crusher, and Wesley Krusher (which is the name I am using now).

*Do you use a pseudonym? See above :-)

*Members: Just me, Paul Robb

*Tape manipulations, digital deconstructions or turntable creations: Digital deconstructions seems as good as anything!

*Is there a story behind your name? Think Tank was originally going to be the name of the Information Society backing players, like Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army...

*Location: New Brighton, Minnesota in the hizzy. (I live in LA now, sadly.)

*Original Location: Minnesota

*What is your creative/artistic background: I've been doing electronic music since I was 17, in 1980. Before that I played saxomophone in school.

*History: Initially, Think Tank was a dummy name for an Information Society white label 12" called "A Knife and a Fork", which was released prior to our second album, "Hack." It actually charted in Europe, and has ended up on dozens of compilations. But since then, Think Tank has been a sort of a catch-basin for all my work that’s not vocal-based pop.

*Born: February, 1963

*Motivations: Generally speaking, Think Tank tracks were the ones that were more underground, less poppy. Eventually, though, Think Tank became the catch-all for my own output that wasn't tied to a particular project (e.g., INSOC or Brother Sun Sister Moon).

*Philosophy: Whatsoever I play, it's got to be funky. Uh!

*How would you like to be remembered: As really excellent in bed.

*Web address:
www.hakatak.com
www.paulrobb.com

www.informationsociety.us


www.some-assembly-required.net

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