MAD TIGER! MAD TIGER!: A CONVERSATION WITH PEELANDER-Z
Comic book punk rock band Peelander-Z recently played Fitzgerald’s with support from the Otonana Trio, a funky-punk band from Japan. Peelander-Z has recently put out their documentary entitled Mad Tiger, a film that captures clips from previous tours with an emphasis on the relationship between Peelander Yellow (Vocals, Guitars) and former member Peelander Red (Bass, Vocals.) Here is a quick chat with Peelander Yellow taken from their latest show in Houston.
Peelander-Z, Photo: Provided by band
Comic book punk rock band Peelander-Z recently played Fitzgerald’s with support from the Otonana Trio, a funky-punk band from Japan. Peelander-Z has recently put out their documentary entitled Mad Tiger, a film that captures clips from previous tours with an emphasis on the relationship between Peelander Yellow (Vocals, Guitars) and former member Peelander Red (Bass, Vocals.) Here is a quick chat with Peelander Yellow taken from their latest show in Houston.
Where does Peelander-Z hail from?
We are not human beings from Earth, we are from Planet Peelander. People from Earth think we wear costumes, but it’s our skin. I have yellow skin, Pink has pink skin and Green has green skin.
Are you familiar with GWAR? Are they from the same Solar System as Planet Peelander?
Yeah, I know Gwar. They’re a cool band as well. I don’t think they are from the same area as us laughs]. We don’t breed in our area, it’s a selective group.
Which celebrity or band does Peelander-Z want to take on tour?
I don’t think we’d take a celebrity on tour, we don’t know too much about celebrities. We’re only familiar with us, we’re all friends. We love to play with everyone, I don’t have a favorite band. One of my favorites is Guitar Wolf, though.
You played FPSF back in 2024; Guitar Wolf was also there. Do you remember any of the other bands you saw that weekend?
I remember seeing the band Fucked Up! It was a cool event to play, I’d love to play the event again. Hopefully it works out someday [laughs].
Your latest album was live recorded at the Austin venue Red 7, why did you choose that venue?
Because we love Austin, we always had a good time playing at Red 7. I think the show was like five years ago, everyone was happy to play there! We will miss playing the venue, they closed it down not too long ago. We first played Red 7 back in 2024 and we liked it. It just made for a good live record and it was in memory of the venue.
Austin is pretty open-minded when it comes to music, how was the band received the first time you played there?
I think the show was fifteen years or so ago. It wasn’t a large crowd, we were just some Japanese band just starting out, way before we started playing SXSW. We now have good sized crowds who enjoy the show a lot. It’s been a big change since we started.
Peelander-Z has recently taken over the world, what’s first on your agenda?
We will make a brand new noodle restaurant when we take over Earth.
The band has wrestled Nick Mayberry from the Hardkore Championship Wrestling during a set of yours a while back, any other people that you’d like to wrestle during a show?
Well, Necro Butcher has actually played bass during our set one time. Kota Ibushi has wrestled someone else during a show as well. We like incorporating wrestling into our shows. We have a squid character who occasionally fights people. It’s important that fans like our music, but we make sure to provide as much entertainment as we can.
How did the idea for the Peelander-Z TV show come about?
I picked some ideas from lots of things like wrestling as well as shows like Power Rangers. There is also lots of influences from comic books, cosplay and food competitions. There’s a little influence from other music [laughs]. I don’t know how to play music, just a couple of chords like A,E,D,A,E,D, just like that, over and over. I can’t shred the guitar, I don’t know how to do that, but I know how to have fun. The idea of the group was just to have fun with the audience. We want people to come on stage, come dance with me and just get loose for the night.
Do you think there is any resemblance of your show to something like the Aquabats show?
Yeah, I think there is some resemblance. We were actually going to play a show with the Aquabats a couple months ago, but we couldn’t make it out. I like the energy they bring with them on stage.
They put lots of skit into their shows, too. What are some other bands you’d like to play with?
There’s been a good scene coming from Japan lately. I enjoy Babymetal a lot, I’d love to play with them, they’ve gotten huge. Electric Eel Shock is another cool band, I’ve known them for quite some time now. Guitar Wolf is another cool one. We are bringing some unique bands from Japan with us for SXSW next year. It will be fun to see it all pan out.
You guys stay very busy that week. How many shows are you planning on doing next year at the event?
I’m not sure, maybe five That seems to be a good number for us. One time with did nine shows in three days, I was young back then [laughs].
It’s your lucky day; you get to eliminate one band from Earth, which band is it?
Hmm. That’s a tough one. I’d probably say Peelander-Z. I think that would be a good answer.
