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Written by PLAYBACK:stl Tuesday, 16 May 2006 07:27

Ted Bruner was the chief songwriter/singer for the St. Louis band Colony. The band lasted through member changes, two record contracts, and even having one of its songs used in the movie Rat Race. Colony abruptly broke up in 2003 and Bruner moved to LA. He is now working with a music publisher, writing and helping to produce upcoming artists. He has also co-written songs with established artists, including Bowling for Soup. You can currently hear Bruner singing “Bender,” which was the River Homegrown champ for November.

Listen to “Bender” while we Take Five with Ted. (Or on the current Breakthrough Audio compilation (available through PlaybackSTL).

OK, first off: What the hell is this Silly Fish anyway?
Silly Fish is a song I made up in Vancouver to describe us as we [Colony] stumbled drunk around the streets during the months of recording. I used the same name for my publishing company and decided to also use it to temporarily name this project I’m working on.  [The song is now called “Bender” by Silly Fish. – Eds.]

Who are you working with now?
Right now, we’re focusing on a chick named Marie Digby (pronounced Mareeayee), a talented dude from the St. Louis area named Jonathan Cour, and a chick named Stephenie Pearson who is Ashlee Simpson’s best friend and roommate, oddly enough.  I’ve also been co-writing a lot with David Walsh from The Exies, Gina Schock from The Go Gos, and Zac Maloy from The Nixons. (The song on the Bowling for Soup record came out of sessions with Zac and Jaret [Reddick] from BFS.)

Do you see the old members of Colony? What do you think of The Bell Heads?
I’m actually creating “Bender” with our first bassist, John Stuller, who lives out here, too. I do talk and e-mail with Jon [Armstrong], Matt [Hickenbotham], and Andy [Conrad]—saw them drunk like sailors a month or so ago when I was in town. I think The Bell Heads are great, but I don’t agree with their views on baby seal torture. That’s going too far.

How is life under Schwarzenegger?
I guess it’s no worse than life under any other politician, but it is nice that he doesn’t need the money. Still can’t believe he’s governor. He’s governor, Bush is president, and Uncle Kracker is still going strong. Maybe the Unabomber wasn’t so stupid.

Best “I’m in LA” story?
Seeing Fiona Apple at the grocery store probably still tops my list. Though Matt came out and visited months ago and he and Stuller and I were approached by the bass player from Green Day at a bar off Sunset. We were hammered, so it was surreal times ten as he began to sell us on the upcoming album and how it would leave current “punk” bands scratching their heads and how they felt they had a responsibility to teach them. Then we all watched a mechanical bull ride for a few moments and he shook our hands and left.