Writing this review on Fed By Fiction is one of the more selfless things I’ve done in my lifetime. Allow me to explain. You know how when you discover this amazing band, you just want to keep them all for yourself? As if by sharing them you would somehow lose them to all of the neoteric rock kids hungry for the latest and hippest in the underground scene?

But I’d be doing the band a great injustice if I decided to keep them from those not yet in the know. So, without further ado, let me introduce Fed By Fiction.

Revered as a vital vein of the local music scene, Fed By Fiction has a massive sound that’s raucous and sexy, although specifically defining the group’s music is a bit more difficult. James Turk, one of the band’s two vocalists, recently sat down with The Badger Herald to divulge the inner workings of the band.

When Fed By Fiction first formed three years ago, Turk said that they “wanted to sound like a mix of Mineral and Throwdown,” adding, “Thankfully, we never sounded anything like that.” He gives a lot of credit to City of Caterpillar and Blood Brothers for influencing them of late but claims the band’s musical tastes are very broad.

If he had to describe their sound, which he is hesitant to do (and rightfully so), he would say that Fed By Fiction is “a mix of punk rock, screamo (which evidently is becoming a real genre now), and metal, with influences from tons of other genres. The band is influenced by everything from techno to rock to jazz to country and a ton more.”

While Fed By Fiction is a very serious musical project, taking themselves too seriously is one thing the band members don’t often do. Anyone who caught their show at the Owl Sanctuary (637 W. Johnson St.) last Thursday can attest to that, as one song was about “love and donkeys” and the set was dedicated to “Step-By-Step” … you remember, that sitcom from the early ’90s about a step-family from Port Washington?

While the band’s show features random comic interludes, the between-song banter is juxtaposed with a vivacious live show that has a volatile, explosive gloriousness.

While Fed By Fiction technically formed in 2000, it wasn’t until 2001, when Paul Johansen replaced the group’s old drummer, that the band actually started playing live shows on a regular basis. They were tempted to break up before he came along, but James reflects that “it worked out well, ’cause of Paul Johansen.”

This was only one of many line-up changes that would take place within the next couple of years. The original line-up lasted one show, and then two more line-up changes and a year went by until a semi-stable line-up emerged. James commented on the situation and Fed By Fiction as a whole.

“It was really frustrating, and I think that’s why we’re doing it as a five-piece right now. I’ve known a lot of people in the band for over five or six years now, and it feels like a family. I feel like when we’re together, everyone’s happy with everyone else usually, and we can tell each other whatever’s bothering us, so it’s definitely a good situation.”

The present-day members of Fed By Fiction are Tammy Santiago-Ignasiak (vocals), Mike Santiago-Ignasiak (guitar), Ted Renner (bass), and, as previously mentioned, James on vocals and Paul Johansen on drums.

While Fed By Fiction is still a fairly young band, it has accumulated quite an extensive and loyal fan following. James noticed that “there are kids in Madison who come out on a regular basis, and, being in this band, I’ve made a lot of really good friends in this city. And in the Milwaukee area, our fans are really young — like, there were kids who were 11 buying our stuff. And we’re really big in Miami, Fla., for some reason. I don’t know why, but for some reason Miami loves us.”

Might the reason have anything to do with the fact that the band is ridiculously good? Fed By Fiction has an edgy and innovative sound that is unrivaled, and I expect even greater things to come as the members continue to push musical boundaries.

Check out www.fedbyfiction.net for shows coming up in Madison the next couple of months before the band heads out for a winter tour with The Great Red Neck Hope and Bleeding Kansas in support of its latest release, These Lives Crash on Three.