A Dirty Dozen with NUCLEAR DUDES – September 2025

According to a recent press release: “Truth Paste, the latest full-length from ​deranged electro powerviolence duo NUCLEAR DUDES is out now and streaming in its unhinged entirety! Forged in 2022 by Jon Weisnewski, known best for his screams and string punishment in both Akimbo and Sandrider, NUCLEAR DUDES is a manic mix of extreme metal, synth-prog, powerviolence, and industrial noise and initially a prolific bedroom project that sated Weisnewski’s desire to write complex, bone-pureeing riffs and drum machine blasts. While previous full-length Boss Blades featured guest vocals from Dave Verellen of Botch and Irene Barber of Dust Moth, Truth Paste is the first record to feature vocalist Brandon Nakamura (Doomsday 1999, Cat Toy, Teen Cthulhu), who played with Weisnewski in the short-lived 2010’s grind act White Jazz. Originally brought on for live performances, Nakamura was recruited to perform most of the vocal duties for Truth Paste, with his scathing delivery and abstractly humorous lyrics punctuating the synthetic chaos and adding density to the massive riffs behind him.” We get the duo to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Brandon: This shit goes by REAL quick, so if you can catch anything resembling nuance in one or two listens you should probably be at Julliard. I just realized that there’s one person we sampled twice in this record. If you figure out who that is, I’ll kiss you on the mouth.

Jon: I don’t think the music is smart enough to hide nuggets. It’s an open kimono situation.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Brandon: A desire for attention mostly. The second I got that attention, I was a fiend for it.

Jon: Grammy’s. Any year now it’s gonna happen.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Brandon: Crom’s albums and live shows are peak destructive horseshit. Heart emoji.

Jon: The closest match in our tone and delivery is probably Behead The Prophet No Lord Shall Live.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Brandon: Luigi Mangione. That flugelhorn cannot be topped.

Jon: Michael McDonald. His collaborations are next level. Secret weapon.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Brandon: I’m so into soaking in a bathtub. Couple candles, a book. Maybe some weed. Perfection.

Jon: Sitting alone in a quiet room. I say that with zero sarcasm. When you’re married with kids an activity like this becomes fleeting and rare.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Brandon: I’m not explaining it to anyone. This is not Sesame Street. I tell folks who want to ‘come see my band play’ that they should really just stay home. If I accidentally nail some rando, that’s fine, but I’m not going to explain to someone’s mom why I busted their son’s lip during my ‘performance.’ Since this is my first rodeo with Jon in Nuclear Dudes I have the privilege of never having been reviewed. I’m sure it’s coming though.

Jon: I tend to dislike genre descriptors, but the description that I keep coming back to is “Gary Numan locked in a studio with Carcass trying to figure it out.” I can’t recall anyone saying a thing about us that I disagreed with. End of the day an opinion is an opinion and people are free to express them how they see fit. Life is short and there’s enough vitriol out there. No need to let it rile you up or fuck up your day. I did have one guy send me a whiny email reply to a bandcamp notice I posted once. I’d like that person to know I didn’t give a single fuck about their comments and genuinely hope they’re having a great time at this exact moment.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Brandon: Jon and I switch off on buying shots.

Jon: Brandon and I are highly aligned in our opulent, hedonistic tendencies. We’re like Freddy Mercury hanging out with Liberace. Non stop enabling.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Brandon: I was in LA and I saw that actor who plays the guy who dies of a heart attack by the dumpster in Mulholland Drive.

Jon: David from Love on the Spectrum once complimented my co-worker’s Kirby shirt at the Irvine Spectrum Center.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Brandon: I’m not a musician. I’m an entertainer. If I get fired from this gig, I’m thinking it’s time to retire, Riggs.

Jon: The best part is definitely the enormous amounts of money you make. Playing shows, self releasing albums, digital royalties, it’s a literal fountain of cash. I’m already doing my dream job. I get to work as a videogame designer. Nuclear Dudes is the high profile side hustle.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Brandon: I could go for some political questions, that’d go down real nice. I never get tired of yapping, so I’ll answer anything. Keep ’em coming.

Jon: I would like it if interviewers started asking highly contentious questions about benign topics. Like “what is the best breakfast cereal?” Corn Pops. A lot of interviewers ask what your influences are and what your song writing process is. I don’t mind, but it’s almost every interview. Clearly I only give serious, thoughtful answers in band interviews.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Brandon: There are so many people I should have stabbed but regret is a wasted emotion. Cross each bridge as you come to it. Burn it as you go.

Jon: I think I would have spent less money on musical equipment.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Brandon: I’d have been sitting in the background during the recording of ‘Feels So Good’ with a glass of wine and a benzo under my tongue. Now that’s music.

Jon: I would probably go back and watch Steely Dan fire an endless stream of guitar players while they were recording Peg. Pure rejection porn.

NUCLEAR DUDES LINKS:

INSTAGRAM

Category: Interviews