Have you ever wondered what would happen if say Godzilla and Mothra decided to settle their differences inside a wrestling ring instead of the streets of Japan? Or if anthropomorphic plantains from South America would make a really awesome tag team?
If you haven’t then you may have had the fun and creative part of your cerebral cortex removed and replaced with poundcake. While this may sound delicious, it’s most likely unsanitary and definitely robbing you of some awesome daydreams.
But if you have had these scenarios run through your brain, then you need to step into the absolutely insane, over the top and beautiful world that is Kaiju Big Battel.
Borrowing from the world of professional wrestling, Japanese monster movies and improvisational comedy, Kaiju Big Battel has evolved from a student project thrown in an art museum in Massachusetts to a worldwide live and television phenomenon that has lasted close to 20 years.
This Saturday, July 20th, Kaiju Big Battel invades The Big Apple at Stage 48 (W. 48th Street between 11th and 12th in Hell’s Kitchen) for its “Brawl in the Family” event. Pop-Break procured an interview with longtime KBB announcer Louden Noxious to talk about the show’s evolution, Pacific Rim and world domination.
Pop-Break: Kaiju Big Battel started running events back in the late ’90s and has seen success the world over — what do you think has kept Kaiju Big Battel so near and dear to people’s hearts that nearly 15 years after it started, it still survives and thrives today?
Louden Noxious: I think at its heart, Kaiju Big Battel is Good vs Evil. That is timeless, it’s a story that will be told forever. We all want to see the Heroes defeat the evil world dominating tyrant.
Dr. Cube can symbolize so many things, our government, the corruption in our political system, the evil drug companies and medical business and so on.
But people love food. We all want to see Plantains kick his ass.
PB: Do you find that a lot of pro wrestling fans have gotten into Kaiju Big Battel over the years? And for all those wrestling fans out there that haven’t gotten into it, what would you say to convince them to give KBB a shot?
LN: Kaiju Big Battel is everything you love about pro wrestling. Sure these are monsters who crush cities, travel through time and space, and some are even food, but they all have one thing in common: they settle their differences in the Kaiju Big Ring ™.
I would ask, “Pro Wrestling Fan, what is it you like about wrestling? The cool moves? The stories? The spectacle and the costumes? Music and video? Good Guys and Bad Guys? The roar of the crowd?”
Kaiju Big Battel has it all.
But on top of that, you get this one-of-a-kind show the likes of which you have never seen before. Well worth the money.
PB: How should someone who’s new to the live Kaiju Big Battel experience prepare themselves — mentally, physical, spiritually and fashionably?
LN: Nope. Just show up. Maybe bring your dancing shoes because it has been known to get funky. I will communicate to the Kaiju Nation ™, everything you need to know. Who hates who and why? The Rules to a Rucky Charm Battel ™? When is it Mmmmmain Event ™ time? I fill you in on everything.
PB: What’s the most anticipated bout on the upcoming “Brawl in the Family” show at Studio 48 in New York City?
LN: Keep your eyes on Dr. Cube’s Posse ™. Evil Scientist Dr. Cube and patriotic hero American Beetle were the victims of a double murder and never seen again. A surge of panic has racked both the hero and villain camps. The Posse ™ members now fight among each other to take Cube’s throne. It looks like it will come down to “The One Eyed Demon from the Darkside” Hell Monkey and the savage abomination known as #13.
PB: Kaiju Big Battel features a plethora of insanely and unique characters. With that being said, what’s the most unusual, or let’s just say it … weird character to ever step foot in the squared circle of KBB?
LN: There are so many, Beefy Le Ox, Eargernon, Polo Cato, Atomic Cannon. My personal favorite is the lone Russian Minion that wears red and bears a hammer and sickle. He was the “Com-minion-ist ™”.
PB: Pacific Rim is one of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2013 and features a number of kaiju. How do you guys feel about this movie — do you view it as a fun summer blockbuster or a hard-hitting, close-to-home documentary?
LN: They really should have gone with us on some cross-promotion. Whoever dropped the ball on that should be fired.
By the way, don’t see Pacific Rim Job” it’s a completely different move that has nothing to do with monsters.
PB: What can we expect from Kaiju Big Battel for the remainder of 2013?
LN: Look for us we’ll be crushing a city near you!
Kaiju Big Battel’s Brawl in the Family is this Saturday July 20th. Doors are at 6pm and the show starts at 7pm.
Studio Kaiju is an American performance entertainment troupe based in Boston, Massachusetts created by Rand Borden and David Borden . The studio’s performances, which are called Big Battels, are parodies of both professional wrestling and the tokusatsu kaiju movies of Japan. These battels are presented in the style of professional wrestling events, with the costumed performers playing the roles of giant, city-crushing monsters similar to Godzilla and Gamera. The misspelling of “Battel” is intentional, due to a misprint of an early t-shirt design. In-jokes are plentiful and are aimed towards fans of professional wrestling (especially Lucha libre Mexican wrestling), superhero comic books and Japanese popular culture. Many of the names of the characters are in mock-Spanish or mock-Japanese, and Engrish is used liberally for comedic effect.