We interrupt this entertainment product for an important public announcement: Spotted making music in Lakeview last Saturday, the Bzots–three assembly-line robots recently escaped from Globocrud LLC’s local plant–remain at large. Says Globocrud’s CEO, the Exalted Sir Cleve Crud, PhD, Esq.: “While these robots are in no way dangerous, they cost me a lot to build. If you see a suspiciously colorful, noisy, work-shirking robot, call the emergency Crudline at…”
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The La Grange-based creator of the Bzots, Dave Skwarczek, has a hard time admitting that the eight-foot-tall robots who appear on the kids’ TV show he’s developing–and in the elaborate live shows he’s putting on around town this summer–are really guys in funny foam rubber suits. “I don’t know whether to do interviews in character as the Bzots’ manager or not,” he says. “I want to create this whole thing. I want kids to really feel like Globocrud is a big corporation trying to crush the dreams of these independent artists.” The Bzots’ Web site even includes a link to the fictional Globocrud’s corporate site.
That same year he and his wife, Robyn, had their first child, and soon Skwarczek was knee-deep in kiddie videos, many of which he found saccharine, sterile, or just plain “not hip.” Thinking they could do better, he and Robyn founded a children’s media company, Eat Your Lunch, with proceeds from the sale of Streams. Then in 2002 a friend of a friend of a friend introduced him to musician Matt Meils. They hit it off immediately. “I came up with the idea of a robot band,” says Skwarczek, “and Matt and I pretty much started writing the next day.”
The Bzots play at 11 AM on Saturday, July 24, on the north stage at Summer on Southport (Southport and Grace). They also play Saturday, July 31, at 1 PM as part of Wicker Park Summerfest (Damen and North) and have several more gigs scheduled for August. For more information see www.bzots.com.
