Press

They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. Feel free to judge for yourself. Below is a fun mix of what people were too afraid to say to our face. If you are interested in writing an article or review, or would like to schedule an interview with either SPO-20 or the Professor, just email us at press@satanicpuppeteer.com.

Interviews and Articles

Interview with San Diego CityBeat:
"Michael Buchmiller gets all kinds of reactions when he tells people about the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra. Everything from 'What the fuck?' to '“Cool!' and, of course, 'Are you high?' But for him, the standout came in the emergency room while explaining to a nurse how he busted his ankle." Read full interview

Interview with San Diego State University - Literature Blog:
"...With the recent release of his debut 4 CD box set and a handful of live shows since last December accumulating what amounts to a cult-like following and earning him a full-page article in this week's San Diego CityBeat, the man (and his robot) are now in the spotlight." Read full interview

Interview with Mostly Harmless Magazine:
"I can not put into words the way I feel about the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra. I’ve been trying to write this introduction for about an hour now. How do you describe a group who’s is part Robot, part Mad Scientist? They have a Devo meets Adam and His Package. Songs about Jacques Cousteau and being kidnapped by REMAX and becoming a gardener to be taken seriously (White Nose, Green Thumb). Imagine that. A Robot Gardener. How do you describe such a group? I guess you don’t. So I won’t." Read full interview

Live Reviews, Mentions, Misc

Nominated for 2009 San Diego Music Award - "Best Electronic" category

Live Review From SDDialedIn.com:
"On the outdoor stage, opening for Monsters from Mars, was the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra. Deeeelightful! The mastermind Professor B. Miller was dressed in a white lab coat and stood behind a fur podium, where he appeared to be mixing while dancing. The real star of the show, SPO-20, was a life-sized robot with a brain inside of a clear domelike head and devil horns on top, of course. On SPO-20’s torso, a mesmerizing round screen provided the perfect visual complements to the bizarre lyrics—all sung in a robot voice. He/they opened with 'Ornithophobia,' a hilarious song about the possibility of poisonous birds." Read full write-up

Mention in 2010 from Music For Maniacs
"Their latest project is a multiple choice Name That Tune game, featuring hilariously devolved covers of pop hits, performed as only a mad scientist and his random-sense-of-pitch singing robot can perform them." Read full write-up

From Disgaea Forums:
"I don't think there are many people here that are very into metal, but i know i'm probably the biggest addict here, i have 60+ GB of just metal music. I have another 40+ which is an amalgamation of punk, hardcore, comedy, electronic, rap, rock, classical, video game & movie soundtracks, compilations, and bizarre stuff like Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra and Charles Manson's jailhouse recordings. "

From SignOnSanDiego.com:
"On paper, everything about Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra sounds strange. The duo’s debut album was an 8-year-in-the-making five-CD box set, they have a fan in Ashley Olson and the frontman is a giant metal robot that sings about time machines and Jacques Cousteau. But here’s the thing. SPO is solid entertainment." Read full write-up

From San Diego CityBeat:
"Here's where I'd be // From Dolly Parton to the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, we've got the best of the best live-music shows pegged... Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 -- PLAN C: Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, Crocodiles, 300% Dynamite @ The Casbah. There aren’t many musical acts—consisting of a 'mad scientist' and his faithful singing robot, no less—that spend a decade making a 'debut' four-album box set. In fact, like Santa Claus, Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra rides alone. "

From San Diego CityBeat:
"Here's where I'd be // Our music editor tells you, kindly and gently, where to see some good live shows this week... Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 -- PLAN A: The Nightmares, Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, The Cankles @ The Casbah. The bands’ names pretty much say all you need to know about what you’re going to hear here. "

From the San Diego Reader:
"Club Crawler // Down at Casbah, the Anti-Monday League presents "Haunted Holiday" sets by the Nightmares , the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra , and Cankles . The Satanic Puppeteers are Prof. B. Miller on all manner of electronica and his SPO-20 robot rocking the mike. Apparently their '07 debut is a four-CD box set. Check out their MySpace page for a taste of S.P.O.'s kitsch glitch."

From the San Diego Reader:
As I Hear It - Song: "I Stole Your Daddy’s Time Machine" from their self-titled four CD box set): "It was cool. It’s very different. At first it reminded me of a video game. I don’t listen to a lot of electronic stuff. I don’t know if the vocals were in key, but it was cool.... I don’t really go to [raves], but I imagine they’d play stuff like that." Read full article

From the San Diego Reader:
"BEST BANDNAME... So many contenders for this one -- Psychotic Serenity, Worth Every Scar, the Napoleon Complex, the Bloody Hollies, Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, Naughty Nuns, Disgruntled Hippos, Ape Lust, Chimichanga and the Sour Chives, Jane Likes Dick, Nocturnal Emissions. We finally settled on Spell Toronto, known for going through guitarists the way Spinal Tap used up drummers."

Reviews - Debut 4 CD Box Set

Review by Treble:
"...Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra consists of SPO-20, vocalist and front-bot, and Professor B. Miller, the mad scientist behind the operation. Together they take their robotic pop music well beyond absurd realms, somehow circling back to yield some highly infectious and enjoyable curiosities.... I guarantee you will hear absolutely nothing like this anytime soon, but these four discs provide enough wild, catchy and just plain odd enjoyment to last through any length of cyber music drought. Long live the robot band. " Read full review

Review by Hybrid Magazine:
"While Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra comes off as a crew of uber-literate geeks with way too much time on their hands, the product they turn out is undeniably funny, catchy, and somewhat irresistible.... The music sounds like a Casiotone version of mid-80's Madonna elevator music.... Not simply a novelty record, SPO's debut release is filled with some pretty great stuff..." Read full review

Review from 2007 by Music For Maniacs:
"The music is simple electronic pop, and almost every song made me laugh.... Overall, one of the most over-the-top feats of silliness I've encountered lately." Read full review

Review by The Plugg:
"In a truly overzealous gesture of elevating the somewhat strange to the wholly ridiculous, Professor B. Miller has completed a 4 disc, mega-release of his minimalist, robot-lead compositions under the name Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra. Combining Adult Swim style set-ups (with songs like Cheap Trapeze Lessons, I Stole Your Daddies Time Machine and Haunted Rental Car), concept album consistency (um, the entire thing is sung by a robot) and enough musical range to keep things actually interesting, the new release conjures roughly 20+ years of absurdity and satire the likes of which Spinal Tap, Blues Brothers, They Might Be Giants and Devo are just a small reference." Read full review

Review by Machtdose:
"Robots can’t Cry« vom Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra gestoßen, einem schönen Cure-Cover. Hinter dem Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra verstecken sich der verrückte Professor B. Miller und sein Roboterfreund SPO-20. Von der Musikindustrie genervt, beschloss der Forscher seinerzeit, einen Roboter zu entwickeln, der die Kompositionsarbeit übernehmen sollte. Fehlende Begabung und anhaltende Erfolglosigkeit zwangen später allerdings zum Umdenken: SPO-20 wurde Sänger und Frontman des Satanic Puppeteer Orchestras, der Professor hielt sich mehr im Hintergrund. Auch gut." Read full review

Review by Jimbomaniac:
"Dans la lignée de the Moog cookbook voici the Satanic puppeteer orchestra et sa version décalée et tres synthétique du standard des Cure la chanson a meme été rebaptisée pour l'occasion 'robots can't cry'." Read full review

Review by Space City Rock:
"The saddest part of this whole debacle, really, is that the lyrics are actually pretty entertaining, in a Talking Heads-/Andy Kaufman-esque fashion. Heck, I even enjoy their "cover" of The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" (and the roboticized "It's Still Rock'n'Roll to Me" sounds surprisingly like the original)." Read full review

Review by SanDiegoPunk.com:
"After sitting through the first three tracks my brain began to slowly evaporate causing severe, and what could potentially become fatal, injuries." ... "The Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra is said to have been in the making for the last ten years. Frankly, this has been a clear and utter waste of a decade. " ... "It is safe to say that SPO-20 is responsible for putting to waste what could have been sixty-four incredibly put together beats. " ... "...this band is a complete abomination and a complete waste of time. " Read full review

Review by FakeTrain.com:
"I hate to say it, but this is the worst album my ears have experienced in all my thirty years. There’s a reason why Stephen Hawking is a physicist and not a singer. Music is suppose to inspire, however Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra repels ears with boring, droning electronic awfulness." Read full review

Review by Ink19.com:
"The Led Zeppelin box set has four CDs. All of The Clash's material fits on three discs. The Sex Pistols changed the world with one badly-mixed LP. So why does Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra need a five-disc debut to present their trivial electronic tunes and digitally synthesized singer to the world?" Read full review

Review from 2005 by Music For Maniacs:
"They're called the Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, but I don't detect anything particularly satanic about this good-natured band, nor are there any puppets in evidence. For that matter, it's not much of an orchestra - one man largely handles the music, a "mad scientist" whose robot creation sings lead. Therefore, it's the perfect name for this bizarre, funny bit of musical dada." Read full review

Airplay

Radio:
* Dr. Demento
* FM 94.9 in San Diego
* Rock 105.3 in San Diego
* KCR in San Diego
* KSDT in San Diego
* WFMU 91.1FM in New York
* WIDR 89.1FM in Kalamazoo
* WEVL 89.9FM in Memphis
* WTJU 91.1FM in Virginia
* WXPN 88.5FM in Pennsylvania
* KRBX 89.9FM in Idaho
* BBC Radio 6 in London

Radio Appearences:

• FM 94/9 Local Member of the Day
• October 27, 2010
• July 23, 2010
• June 30, 2010
• December 17, 2007
• The Local 94/9 in-studio guest on FM 94.9
• July 18, 2010
• June 27, 2010
• August 3, 2008
• September 2, 2007
• Del Mar Fairgrounds Radio
  wsRadio.com on Oct 28, 2010
• The Deuce Project - WIDR 89.1FM
  Guest hosts on Nov 6, 2010