"I'm throwing around a few ideas. I like Jello Biafra's idea about Halloween. Every day is a costume with me," says Summer of Legs' colourful vocalist/harmonica player John Wolfgang Nuclear about the band's upcoming Halloween gig.

A very costumed and animated SOL will gig at 10 pm. with Vampires, Slattern, Royal Canoe and a gaggle of club spinners including DJ Rob Vilar (ex-Breath Grenades), Ofield Williams, Jamall Knight and Namowan at Ragpickers on Oct. 31. The show has been hand billed as 'Ragpickers' 25th Anniversary,' and as the 'Hilarious House of Ragenstein Masquerade.'

"I don't know the business. I just like to create things, and I don't understand $15 for a bunch of local bands and DJs," continues Nuclear (ex-Insaniacs, Nuclear Danger, Breath Grenades, Water Heads). "I don't pay that to see local bands myself. I think it's saying, 'It's Halloween, we can charge whatever we want.'

"I like Halloween. I like playing on Halloween. I just don't understand why the cost has to be cranked up. Keep it cheap, so that everyone can come to enjoy themselves."

When I last quizzed the infinitely opinionated and freethinking Nuclear, eleventeen weeks back here in S-Beat, he said the SOL quintet was ready to record a full-length debut album with Mike Petkau. Well they did, and the results are stellar, exceeding my expectations from this dynamic and fun local entertainment treat, tenfold and then some.

"We did it live off the floor," says Nuclear of the as-yet-untitled project. "I don't know what to say about it. The album ended up being a very expensive demo.

"I'm a fan of Killed by Death punk and all its idiosyncrasies, so I thought it was worthy of vinyl. We've been shopping it around, and people we've been playing it for have said that it should be multi-tracked. If anyone wants to put it out, they can put it out. We kind of blew the budget on it on our end."

Summer of Legs currently consists of Nuclear with keyboardist Jesse Warkentin (Mahogany Frog), guitarist Jesse Bilewitch and Josh Kerschtein on drums. SOL is living the Winnipeg band dream - sitting on a killer album while experiencing the classic band-membership shuffle.

"We just got back from Saskatoon this week," Nuclear says. "We played Amigos with Mahogany Frog. We were hanging out with Willy Fishlips from Saskatoon. We're in between bass players right now, so Graham Epp (Frog's keys dude/guitarist) filled in. Jason Penner (ex-Under Pressure) will be playing when we play with Electro Quarterstaff at the Albert on Nov. 6."

So it's Halloween, and if U feel like dancin' U street beaters should tear yerselves away from yer computers and leave yer cells in yer pockets while U hover relentlessly to SOL's fave rave trax such as When the Sun Goes Out, Falling in Love With the Critic or Strange Power Over You at any of the above-mentioned shows. In the meantime, the ever-observant ear-to-the-ground Nuclear has these informed words of wisdom to share:

"What about the return of disco? That's what I want to talk about, Don. Disco was dead, but this culture that's obsessed with retro, retro, retro, retro has brought it back, along with the disco drugs. It's absolute nonsense. It's the return of spending way too much money that you don't have on stuff you don't need. It's the '70s times 10. I see so many beautiful people caught up in this. It's tragic. If you want to dull your potential creative genius, do disco drugs. There's nothing smart about it."

Got some news to bleat? No attachment treat! Keep it textly sweet! Fire tips to Don at Street Beat! streetbleep@hotmail.com.