In a world full of Blaines, he’s just a Ducky.

MC Chris talks like he raps — quickly, and frequently about G.I. Joe. The former voice of Hesh on Adult Swim’s Sealab 2021 and MC Pee Pants on Aqua Teen Hunger Force started swelling the ranks of his geek army when “Fett’s ‘Vette” and “I Want Candy” aired on the two cartoons respectively. Now he stands at the helm of a fanbase dedicated enough to lend him a pitch-perfect Boba Fett costume last Halloween that he wore to the Playboy Mansion party in order to fulfill a longstanding fantasy of nerds everywhere — involving a 19-year-old in a Princess Leia metal bikini and a surreptitious trip to the woods.

Though other geek-powered performers have captured the aesthetics of the subculture, few seem to have touched on the alienation (“Freaks”) or the rage and revenge fantasies (“Geek,” “Peer Gynt”), putting Chris in position as one of the first champions of the misunderstood: The Jackie Robinson of nerds. (Although we think his stolen base totals from last season were a little low.)

He recently dropped his fifth album, MC Chris is Dead, as an independent release, and will join Warped Tour on Friday. First though, he has a 7 p.m. stop in town at Jillian’s (450 Fremont St.). We spoke with him about his tumultuous relationship with nerdcore, his ever-expanding geek bucket list and working with Neko Case on a unicorn-centric show.

The last Vegas show you played, you had that whole story about borrowing the kid’s Fett costume and bringing it to the Playboy Mansion. Did it work for you?

Oh yeah. It worked out quite well. It’s definitely one of those things that’s happened to me in my life where I’m just like I can’t believe — not only, I couldn’t believe while it was happening and looking back on it, I can’t believe that it did happen. But yes, I totally got to go to the Playboy Mansion for their Halloween party. I was dressed up as Boba Fett, she was dressed up as Princess Leia. We had sex on the grounds. It was great.

In the transition of setting up shop and releasing your back catalog online and going completely independent, what are the trials and tribulations of that?

Just to be clear, I haven’t put my back catalog online. My back catalog is unavailable. It’s off the shelves. It’s pretty much up to eBay shysters and fans to share it and kind of get it on torrents and stuff like that. They were kind of doing that anyway. A lot of my friends are collectors though and they want to have hard copies, so it’s a little bit frustrating for them, but all that stuff is on eBay and Amazon.com as a used item. As far as being an independent artist, I’m a success story I think because I have met with labels the whole time. It’s kind of been a blessing that they didn’t quite know what to do with me. They weren’t really interested in signing me. I think they were more intereted in how I run my business and how I sell records without backing. I think it’s gone really well. It’s gone better than I ever hoped it could.

It’s kind of like the Playboy Mansion. It’s kind of exceeded any preconceptions I had about doing this. It was always just kind of a small thing on the side, and now there’s a regular flow of cash. In terms of how it worked, why it worked, I think the responsibility or the blame falls on fans. The way they street team on the internet, the way they stay involved in my life. They come on the message boards, they read my blog. It’s a big community and they’re there to support me every time I ask anything of them, and that includes buying records and coming to live shows.

Do you think it’s enough in the marketplace right now to just be a good musician? You seem like you’re very accessible to your fans and that creates that kind of community.

I wouldn’t even call myself a good musician. I just kind of make my own stuff. Thankfully, it strikes a chord with a lot of people who have maybe been overlooked by the industry. … I think if you go onto Youtube, you’ll find a lot of unsigned talent. People who are obviously amazing, but they don’t quite know what to do with themselves. How you market yourself and how you get the word out is crucial. Your message or your music is going to fall on deaf ears unless you learn how to get it to people. I think that means being diligent, creating a fan base that will eventually become like a street team for you. People who will talk up your music and pass it on to others.

You have to have that water cooler kind of vibe going and you’ve got to build that up and that’s going to help you every step of the way. It’s not enough to be a good musician. You have to wrap it in a lot of crap. I actually enjoy all the marketing and promotion and stuff I do myself, and interacting with the fans and going to movies with them, and creating a fanbase. I really love it. That’s probably why it’s turned out so well, is because it was an effort of passion.

Even though there have been other guys out there who have been kind of playing up their geek side, you’ve got your Brian Poesehn and your Patton Oswalt, you seem to be the only one who gets into the the insecurities and the alienation and all that.

That’s just me saying basically, I say to myself the more honest you are about this, the better the reaction is going to be. As much as I feel like I’m alone in this world and I feel kind of like an oddball or a misfit toy, there’s a whole Island of Misfit Toys out there. There are tons of people like me. I think one of the key things that’s helped me through this whole thing is just being honest, and that’s about being honest about who I am. That’s going to have a lot to do with unrequited love and insecurities and all kinds of stuff like that that maybe other geeks don’t want to talk about.

I think Brian and Patton Oswalt, I think those guys are like married and rich and a lot happier than I am, so they might not talk about it so much. I think a lot of kids that come to see my shows, they want some sort of validation or almost revenge for their past. That whole culture is kind of part of that.

One of the things that doesn’t really get talked about in other interviews you’ve done is kind of the sweetness in a lot of the songs. Do you think that’s something that’s been overlooked when people talk about you?

I don’t know about that. I think it makes me different though because hip-hop is all about acting as tough as you can and putting on as much of a front. On every album I’ve put a couple of songs on there to let everyone know that I’m pretty sensitive, pretty emo and probably a lot more of a pussy than most rappers are, and I think that connects with a lot of people. It’s not just about being a rapper, but being a man. It’s not that great of a risk to bare your soul these days as men have become the women and women have become the men. It’s definitely something that’s worked out for me.

Do you think the whole idea of nerdcore as a concept is played out? Does it even matter anymore?

You’re asking the question, so I’d say no. I’d say it matters a lot to people who are a part of that scene, people who make that music. I think it’s very important to them. I’ve definitely smack-talked it quite a bit, but I’m never against anybody being creative or doing their own thing or expressing themselves. That always makes me happy. When it becomes negative and they start taking pot-shots at me because I won’t let them take part in my success, that’s annoying. But I’m all for people doing their thing. It’s too bad that they look to me in the way that they do. They probably look to me in the way they do because I’ve been on cable and I’ve got a bigger audience.

I really would like to see what my life would’ve been like if I’d been this small kind of act. I doubt I would’ve gotten all the attention that I have from other people in that scene. Is it going to go anywhere? No. Are any of these kids going to get rich? No. Are there going to be lots of articles written about it because reporters only read other articles and they’re lemmings? Yes. There was a time when it really got me frustrated to talk about it. I didn’t want it to be mentioned in articles, but it comes up in every interview. Rather than just seeming like a jerk every time, I kind of like say live and let live. Let them do their own thing and hopefully they’ll let me do mine.

This is your second go-round with Warped Tour, right?

Yes. I was only on it with 10 days last year. I kind of wanted to check it out and see if they’d beat me up or what. It just went so well. The head of Warped Tour became a fan. He was really into it so they asked me back for the whole thing. Usually my show starts out with my 25-50 hardcore MC Chris fans. By the end of the set, which is only 25 minutes long, there’s like 500-700 people watching me doing all the motions that I have all the audience doing. It’s just great. It’s just like basically I’m a real oddball because everything is really heavy metal and punk rock and a lot of crunch to it, and then I come on stage and I sound totally different. I’ve got all these electronic beats happening. It’s just me and a laptop on stage. It’s really just all about what can I pull off on my own, and the crowd responds to it in an amazing way. I’m really looking forward to it.

What’s the one big geek moment that really stands out in your mind?

I got to meet George Lucas and see Revenge of the Sith with him. I became friends with his daughter and got to stay overnight at Skywalker Ranch. That was pretty amazing. MC Chris got featured in an Avengers comic book (on a shirt) worn by my favorite superhero, Hawkeye. That was something that blew my mind.

I had a Marvel artist (David Mack) draw my last album cover. There were so many really cool geek things that have happened. It’s a little sad that I’m not as much of this perfect geek as many ubergeeks would want me to be. I have my own little things that I would like to have happen. I have a little bucket list. These things are kind of coming true for me. Like childhood wishes, you don’t really expect a lot of them to come true. But some of these things have just kind of blown my mind.

Meeting George Lucas, shaking his hand, going to Skywalker Ranch and all that. I don’t see how I could possibly beat that unless I start to get allowed to make my own stuff. Make my own cartoon, my own movies. That would be really a dream come true for me.

What else is on your geek bucket list?

Well, I wanted to open for Reggie and the Full Effect. That might be coming true right after Warped Tour. I might be joining them. I don’t quite know yet. I wanted to be in a video game. That’s going to be coming true in August. I can’t really talk about it, though. I wanted to work with a real rapper. I got to do a song with Talib Kweli. I wanted to work with Andrew W.K. He’s on my last record.

Things that I haven’t accomplished yet? Let’s see, what do I want to do? I definitely want to have my own video game. I don’t know what it would be, but I think I have the title, which would be MC Chris in the Haunted Graveyard on Roller Coaster Island. I’d like to make my own game because I love them so much and I play them so much. I’d like to do more work as a voiceover actor in games. I think that’s really cool and I really haven’t been able to do that yet. What else would I like to do? I’d like to have my own G.I. Joe figure. I’d like to go to the G.I. Joe premiere next year. I’d like to do a show in Hawaii for my fans in Hawaii. I’d like to do a show overseas for fans in London and Ireland and Australia. Basically the English-speaking places. I really want to go to Japan. That’s definitely on my bucket list, because they have a love of pop-culture like I do. I’m kind of excited to dive into that whole world.

What other kind of geeky things do I want? I’d really want to focus on having my own cartoon and then making movies. This year we get to make toys for the first time, which is really cool for me. I really love toys. My whole apartment is just filled with toys. While I’m on tour, I’m going into Wal-Mart and buying G.I. Joes and stuff. Thankfully, Shocker Toys came up to me at New York Comic Con and gave me a Scud doll and now we’re working on having tons of stuff. It’s going to be a Comic Con exclusive for my first toy, which is just really really cool.

Other than that, though, let’s see, what else? I’d like to visit the set of Lost and meet the people who are on Lost. Let’s see. … There’s just tons of stuff. I think my bucket list is kind of like Santa Claus’ good and bad list. It just kind of one of those things that just rolls off onto the floor into the next room.

I’m surprised you didn’t say you’d want to write a comic of your own.

Definitely. That’s definitetly going to happen as well. The guy who does all of my art is a comic book guy who works with (Robert) Kirkman on Invincible. He does something called Atom Eve. His name’s Nate Bellegarde I’m also friends with Tony Moore. David Mack just did all my stuff for this last record and put me in the Avengers comic book. I definitely have friends in the industry and I definitely want to make a comic book. I also want to write a book. There’s this book idea I have that I want to do. I also want to release a book of lyrics. My to-do list is ridiculous.

What are you most excited about for what’s coming soon, musically, movies, video games, comics?

I love Secret Invasion. I’m really enjoying it, the Marvel crossover event. That goes all the way until the end of the year, until Thanksgiving or so. I really love that. In terms of what movies am I looking forward to? I’m looking forward to WALL-E and Hellboy 2. The summer movies have been pretty disappointing. My expectations are pretty much at the bottom for all things I go see.

But what else am I looking forward to? I’m looking forward to starting on the next record. I’m looking forward to working on the pilot of my cartoon, recording the audio on that before I start the next record just to get the ball rolling. I’m looking forward to the end of the summer. I think there’s going to be tons of cool things that happen. I don’t have confirmation on any of it yet, so I can’t really talk about it. Really excited about the end of the summer. I think a lot of cool things are going to happen, MC Chris-style. And I’m going to be in a new cartoon on Adult Swim called Cheyenne Cinammon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge. It stars Neko Case, MF Doom and T-Pain. I play a Gummi bear. I’m excited for things to start up with Adult Swim again. Last Sunday I made in appearance on Fat Guy Stuck in Internet, a brand-new live-action show on Adult Swim. I’m happy just to be busy and looking forward to all that stuff.

I really can’t wait for G.I. Joe, because I’m more into that than I am into Star Wars or Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or any of the other big toy franchises. G.I. Joe, even though it’s being put out by Paramount, it’s like my paramount love as a child. It was my thing. My whole basement, there wasn’t any space to walk because it was just a G.I. Joe world. My brother and I made bases for Cobra and G.I. Joe and the Dreadnocks and everything. It just kind of covered the entire basement floor. I’m really looking forward to that. That doesn’t happen until next year, but there’s tons of stuff. There’s always nerdy stuff that’s happening that’s fun to consume.

Can you talk a little bit more about the cartoon? That’s kind of a pretty big lineup: Neko Case, T-Pain?

I can’t really talk about it other than what I told you. I recorded for it a couple of times. My part seems to be getting bigger and bigger each time. It’s definitely my biggest role that I’ve ever had on an Adult Swim show. There’s tons of music, and I think it’s going to be a great show. I know that the animators are working on it right now and I’m excited to see it. It’s kind of one of those things you have to forget about it and it’ll pop back up before I know it.

By Jason Scavone

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