Mr. Pacman

Those wacky kids on the Shizz Web-board sure do love off-the-wall theme bands. When they aren’t gushing over the whacked-out acts of the Minibosses, Treasure Mammal, or I Hate You When You’re Pregnant, they’re frothing at the mouth for a return of Denver’s Mr. Pacman. Clad in the “Pac-tastic PacFashion” of racing suits, moon boots, and spray-painted helmets, this quartet is like Speed Racer gone spastic, with energetic video-game-inspired synth-pop produced with a Commodore 64 and an eight-bit sound chip harvested from an old Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s as if Man or Astro-man? developed a taste for synthesizers following an afternoon of Pixie Stix and Atari 2600. Blasting out hyperactive hymns like “Paxcercise,” a workout tune imploring listeners to “Paxcercise/You gotta do it if you wanna survive/We take it one at a time,” this band’s jams are perfect for aerobics or just fighting evil. Front man Mr. Pacman handles screaming and playing the Yamaha “key-tar,” Silver Ghost mans the Commodore 64, White Tiger handles percussion, and the newest member, Anarchy Dragon, plays an “old skül” guitar. “It should be dynamite,” says Silver Ghost. “We’re ready to wrestle people, but we wear helmets, so we should be protected.”