WE’RE GETTING TO KNOW YOU, BOB PYLE

By Claudette Vaughan Vegan/animal rights humour will keep us all sane. Having recently  won Bob Pyle's latest CD called ‘Apples and Oranges' on 2RRR, the Sydney based animal rights radio show – we now can't get enough of him!  Here's the man himself – funny, refreshing and very down-to-earth.

Bob, give us the low-down on yourself?

I have been a vegetarian for twenty-five years. Recently, I have become a vegan. I have a practical side and an artistic side. I graduated college in business and have my own gutter cleaning and gutter repair business. This helps to finance my artistic side, which includes performing, composing songs, painting, and writing.

‘Apples and Oranges' is your latest CD and it's hilarious. You're a dangerous man being that funny.  What kind of feedback have you received using humor to incite people to become ethical vegans?

The feedback has been generally very good for the CD. It has had several reviews and sometimes the reviewers don't know what to make of it. They think the CD is a joke, or something. However, most of the reviews have been very positive.

How did "A World Made Out of Spam” come about?

I wrote that song at a coffee shop in Baltimore, Maryland, about five years ago. I had just come from a restaurant where mountains of hotdogs and bacon and sausages were being served, and it made me feel frustrated, as though the world was turning into meat. That's how this song came about -- out of frustration.

All the songs are great but "When They Close the Golden Arches" is a personal favourite of mine. What inspired you there?

Basically I wondered why do people eat at a place like McDonalds. It's basically poisonous food! I was hoping that someone like the president of McDonalds would hear my song and get worried and furious!! I was also hoping to get sued so that I could get some free publicity!!

At the end of the CD there is one very serious song about factory farmed animals called ‘Gentle Creatures'. It's very effective amongst so much humor. Did you do that deliberately?

Yes, as you can tell most of my songs are humorous. I found that being too serious and intense tends to drive people away, especially around the issue of animal rights. It is just so sad, what is going on concerning cruelty to animals. I need to use some humor to stop from going crazy! Yes, I did include two or three serious songs, which provided the message that I hope to impart to those who listen to the CD.

What was the defining point that turned you into an activist and against factory farming?

I became a vegetarian when I was sixteen years old. However, I only learned about factory farming fairly recently. When I realised that eating meat involves killing an animal, I stopped eating meat. I read a great book by John Robbins called 'Diet for a New America' which describes factory farming. It is really a wonderful and informative book, and I used the chapter on factory farming as the inspiration for my song, 'Factory Farm'.

Is ‘Petunia the Pig' song a play on how country folk go on about ‘their' animals?

I also learned from John Robbins' book how pigs are more intelligent than most other animals, including dogs. I met a nice pig at a small farm and fed him an apple. He talked and grunted, and was very friendly. I patterned Petunia the Pig after that pig, and also after my cat, Rosebud, who is very sweet and has a personality all her own! I know that sounds kind of weird! But, that's how it happened!

Why haven't we heard about Bob Pyle before? What have you been doing these past few years? Are you this funny in real life?

Consider yourself lucky! I have been working on this CD 'Apples and Oranges' for about the last four years. It was a major goal for me. Many people tell me that I should be a comedian. However, after I insult them with a joke or two, they change their minds and tell me to consider a career in window washing, instead!

How can readers get your fab CD?

'Apples and Oranges' is available through my website www.bobpyle.com. It is also to be found at cdbaby.com.

Any last thoughts Bob?

What can be better in life than to help those less fortunate than ourselves, including suffering and exploited animals?

Now for the Quickie Two-Minute Mile Questions Bob: Time Starts Now…

My earliest memory is: seeing what I think was a "flying saucer" going by my house and disappearing behind some trees across the street. I was two years old and looking through the front window of my house.

At school I could not believe: those were the things they chose to teach us. I wished I could choose the  subjects myself !

I don't like: talking about politics. It gets me angry!

My drink of choice is: half water and half orange juice.

 My mother and father always told me: to be " More like other people". I didn't listen!

 I wish I had: more power. I would outlaw meat eating!

 My last meal would be: an avocado dipped in soy sauce.

 The book that changed my life was: 'The Autobiography Of A Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda.                        

 People think I look like: I'm tired. I have my ups and downs!

 I'm loving: learning to meditate!

 Friends say: I am not funny. (They are wrong!)

 The last big belly laugh I had was: when I read someone's definition of love. They said, "To me, love is love".

 I'm always being asked why: I don't eat meat. I say, "It isn't necessary"!

 My favourite game is: using my ESP to guess facts about people I meet. I have a good record!

 I often wonder: why I am here.

Catch Bob at www.bobpyle.com