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By Jay Stephens
Hey, remember the Balloon Boy from 2009? Falcon Heene, the-little-Fort-Collins-boy-that-could-fly-OOPS-nevermind-he-was-in-the-garage-the-whole-time-and-his-dad-went-to-jail is now the lead singer of what is being (self-)proclaimed as “the world's youngest metal band,” Heene Boyz, co-starring his two non-Balloon-Boy brothers Brandford and Ryo.
See also: Three Years After the Hoax, Falcon Heene Fronts a Rock Band
Here's our interview with the band, who are now based in Florida. We talked about their music and how they've signed boobs.
What motivated you to start the world's youngest metal band? Any particular reason behind the choice of genre?
Falcon: We chose this genre because metal is fun and most of the others don't appeal to us. Other genres aren't real music, like prerecorded pop.
Bradford: What motivated us to start the world's youngest metal band started when I saw our mom play the guitar on Wife Swap. She was playing “Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest. I thought it was cool, so I started to learn it. Then Falcon saw me play, and he wanted a guitar, so he got one. Falcon has an awesome voice, so he became our singer. Ryo got a First Act drum kit and he loved it, then we got him a better drum kit. We needed a bassist, so Falcon traded his guitar in for a bass.
Ryo: I chose metal because I liked the bands Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, etc.
Why did you decide to name the band the Heene Boyz, considering “FALCON” would've been a great metal band name, and he may have more immediate name-recognition?
Falcon: We decided to name the band Heene Boyz because it sounds cool, it's our last name, and Heene means “evil” in German–just kidding!
Considering the way a younger Falcon once reacted to media scrutiny (by unfortunately vomiting on national television), how has he prepared himself for the media scrutiny that will invariably come with the success of the Heene Boyz?
Ryo: Falcon didn't vomit from media scrutiny, he vomited from not sleeping and has asthma — plus the media bought us ice cream the night before and he had phlegm in his lungs which made him vomit.
Falcon: Ozzy was scrutinized for biting off the head of a bat, and people like him more. We will be fine being ourselves.
How has Falcon's past as “the balloon boy” impacted the development of the Heene Boyz?
Bradford: Once people hear Falcon sing and perform, they realize we are good people with good energy.The real impact is that we are currently the world's youngest metal band with two albums.
How has the press treated the Heene Boyz so far?
Falcon: Personally, (I think) they have treated us very good, but like sometimes in articles in the past they didn't treat us so good, but that's okay — we are in a band and we don't care about the past.
How have audiences reacted to your live show?
Bradford: The audiences are, like, clapping their hands and, like, cheering, it's really awesome to perform in front of people and get a reaction like that. We also had an encore before… well multiple, but sometimes we have to get on and off the stage for the next band, so we can't do some encores. When we get our own concerts, we can do encores all we want.
Falcon: We autographed boobies!
Ryo: They were hooting, cheering, moshing, clapping, and whistling.
What has been the most difficult part of the Heene Boyz experience?
Bradford: The most difficult part of the Heene Boyz experience is … I don't know so far its been easy and fun.
The most fulfilling?
Falcon: The most fulfilling are that we get to play, get to travel, we get to swim at hotels, we get to look at hot chicks, and hear the cheers.
Bradford: The most fulfilling is that we get to meet and perform with other bands and just being able to hear the crowd and command the crowd to mosh. Also I really want to do a crowd surf.
What do you envision for the future of the band?
Falcon: I can see that we will be 60 years old and be playing metal, also still signing boobs.
Bradford: I envision us playing with the big bands and at huge concerts with a large amount of fireworks.
Ryo: I envision us having an RV that doesn't break down every
five miles.
We asked infamous father/manager of the band, Richard Heene, a few questions, but he was unresponsive. When we asked why that was, he graciously offered up the following:
The boys wanted to answer all of the questions and kicked me off. They said I'm just the roadie. No, but seriously, I want what is best for the boys. I have done a lot in my life, so Mayumi and I have pushed aside a long list of things WE wanted to do to support the boys' dream. It really does give us more family time having all of this in common.
See also: Three Years After the Hoax, Falcon Heene Fronts a Rock Band
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