Ben had the idea of calling the band "Smile" with the I and the L forming a frown in the logo. Bryan then suggueted they add "Ass9" to the name. The Ass9 part comes from us playing around with our friend Sioux who would call things asinine and we would be like "Ass9?"

No we don't currently play live. We don't even have a full band, Ben does the drums on a drum machine and we don't even have a bassist. We definitely could hire some people and play live eventually...but for now we are just a studio band.

I think it has definitely helped the music industry (despite the popular opinion of many). If it wasn't for the internet and mp3 exchange, many artists would not get the exposure they do today and would not sell as many records...period.

Definitely, but I don't know who would want to sign us (besides I Pity Da Fool Records!...our own made up record company).

Smile Ass9 started shortly after the release of Metallica's "St. Anger" album. Ben and Bryan found that song funny and recorded a parody of it on the sound recorder on Ben's computer. After that, the two of them continued to record comedy pieces on Ben's computer. Once they finally decided to use real instruments and got better recording software, Smile Ass9 was born.

On a musical note...Limp Bizkit, KoRn, Deftones, Cradle Of Filth, COLD, Chimaira, Staind, American Head Charge, Mudvayne, Slipknot, ect...but our lyrical themes are more so inspired by people's stupidity and our massive amount of spare time.

The Garage (a music venue in Burnsville, Minnesota)

We use Cool Edit Pro 2.1 to record, Ben uses HammerHead drum machine for the beats, Bryan uses Washburn, Ibanez, and other assorted guitars with Marshall amplification and built in distortion.

We are a joke band. Smile Ass9 is not to be taken seriously...it's all in good fun.