Most of what Bobble Tiki knows about Olympia he’s either gathered from the wild water cooler stories of Matt Driscoll or from his limited experience in our state capital. Bobble Tiki has devoured some Old School Pizza in his day, and gotten too drunk to stand at The Clipper on a handful of occasions. Once, Bobble Tiki even attended a nonviolence workshop at The Evergreen State College.

It kind of made Bobble Tiki want to strangle five or six hippies.

While Bobble Tiki doesn’t claim to know much about Olympia, one thing he knows about the liberal haven is metal music doesn’t have a huge audience there. Tumwater maybe, but who goes to Tumwater? In Olympia it’s all about experimentation, ironic facial hair, and music that Bobble Tiki finds about as interesting as tape recordings from the stalls at Qwest Field at halftime of a Hawks game.

So, when Bobble Tiki saw that War with Saturn — who according to their MySpace page are in the metal/metal/metal genre — will be playing McCoy’s Saturday, Oct. 13, naturally he was mildly interested. If anywhere in Olympia seems fit for metal it’s McCoy’s, but still, Bobble Tiki had to wonder. When Bobble Tiki found out War with Saturn actually live in Olympia, and consider it the home of the band, he was downright intrigued.

This led to some time tested Internet research and an e-mail conversation with Jay Calhoun, War with Saturn’s singer and guitarist. The band was originally started by Calhoun and guitarist Matt Crabtree, but recently Crabtree left War with Saturn. Among other questions, Bobble Tiki wondered just exactly what it’s like being a metal band from Olympia, and how the loss of a founding member was affecting things

BOBBLE TIKI: Explain how War with Saturn got to this point? What was the original vision? How has it changed? And how has the lineup change affected War with Saturn?

JAY CALHOUN: What we’re about is really pretty simple. We’re just trying to play some heavy triumphant rock music. You know, we’re not angry about anything. It’s for fun. As far as the lineup change, it’s hard for me to say how it changed the band musically.

TIKI: Explain the differences between War with Saturn with and without Matt Crabtree? Why didn’t you want to change the name?

CALHOUN: The biggest change is just that we take playing a little more seriously now. Matt had a lot of stuff he liked to do besides being in a band, Nate (the new guitarist) is a little more focused, I guess. Or he just likes it more. Practicing regularly makes a big difference. Also Nate has a much louder amp than Matt. We didn’t change the name because Aaron (drummer Aaron Kehl) and I never stopped playing and trying to do what we set out to do.

TIKI: You list your style on MySpace as Metal/Metal/Metal — what does that say about this band? Are you guys all on the same metal page, or are there differing influences in the band?

CALHOUN: It just says metal on our MySpace because I can’t stand ultra specific genre names. Also, part of what our band is about is how we’re stoked to be in a metal band. We all like different music, but there’s a lot of overlap in our tastes. I think as far as being on the same page, we all know what kind of music we want to make. Like we all know that in our band multiple guitar solos in a song are good, but guitar riffs in 5/4 time are bad.

TIKI: How are you received in Oly?

CALHOUN: Some people in Olympia get it and some don’t. There are not too many metal bands in Oly so sometimes we play shows where we don’t really fit in and people don’t quite know what to make of us.

TIKI: What are you expecting out of the show at McCoy’s?

CALHOUN: I’m expecting to drink some beers for free, and play triumphant rock in my metal band. It’ll be bitchin’.

TIKI: What should fans expect? Where is War with Saturn going?

CALHOUN: Fans? You know, more rockin’, more soloin’, more triumphin’.

TIKI: It says on MySpace that War with Saturn sounds like “Wizards using their wizardly powers to score with bikini clad babes riding robot dragons.” What exactly does that sound like?

CALHOUN: It sounds like 14-year-olds playing D&D in 1989.

As is typical, Bobble Tiki doesn’t give a hoot what you do this week because he doesn’t even know you. Besides, even if you did know Bobble Tiki at some point, you probably don’t talk to him anymore. Facts are facts. Bobble Tiki’s is a recluse and thinking seriously about growing out his beard for the winter. Settle for Breakfast with Bobble Tiki, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at www.weeklyvolcanospew.com.

[McCoy’s Tavern, Saturday, Oct. 13, $2, 418 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.352.0696]