Poultry buys the farm, makes music By: Jessica Clare, UCR Radar! Editor One of the best bands you've probably never heard of is also probably one of the most bizarre--but with a name like The Radioactive Chickenheads, eccentricity is to be expected. The band's seven member lineup looks like a cross between a produce stand and a child's birthday party. The Chicken Heads are lead by vocalist Carrot Topp (no relation to the notoriously un-funny comedian) and feature the combined talents of Bird Brain and Cherry Tomato on guitar, Pastafarian on bass, Frankenchicken on the keys, Bonehead on the trumpet, and El Pollo Diablo on percussion and Puke Boy behind the drum set. The story behind the Chickenheads isn't drastically different from anything you might see on a typical "Behind the Music." Originally Joe and the Chickenheads, the band played their first show in 1996. All seven members lived on a farm together where the farmer's son taught them to play and then entered them in the county fair. However, due to artistic differences, the whole group was sold to Colonel Sanders and Ronald McDonald, who had a very different vision for the future of the Chickenheads. The fast food gurus chopped off their heads, and the bodies ran away--fortunately, Carrot Topp managed to save his friends' heads, pulled some bodies out of a dumpster behind a cryo lab, started a new band and entered the newly formed musical force in a battle of the bands. They didn't win, but the Radioactive Chickenheads decided to take their show on the road to prove that vegetables and chickens can rock just as well as any humans. And, judging by their live show, they just might be better than most mammalian musicians. The Chickenheads raise nerd rock to a whole new level: There aren't many bands that can pull off battling Chuck-E-Cheese halfway through their set and make mind-blowing music at the same time. So, what are the Radioactive Chickenheads up to when they aren't protecting children from giant rats? They are currently recording two full-length albums, both of which are expected to be released in 2005, Growing Mold and Tales From the Coop. In addition to recording two new albums, the Chickenheads are planning to film music videos to accompany the new material and hope to release a DVD in the next year. The movie will begin with the group's origins, culminating with their first show, and include epic struggles with a heavy metal bunny band. The Chickenheads predict that the final result will be a cross between the "Lord of the Rings" saga and the "Garbage Pail Kids." To find out more information about the Radioactive Chickenheads and when they'll be playing in our neighborhood, visit their website at www.radioactivechickenheads.com