September 16th, 1999
Simon was given an interview for a magazine for the recent release of Alvin Meets Frankenstein before he got started on working on the new Halloween movie for the day.
Q: So, Simon, what was your favorite part of your latest direct-to-video movie?
Simon: Hands down, "If a Monster Came in Our Room". We worked hard doing that number. Also, it gave Alvin an excuse to do his Arnold impression. (imitates Alvin as Schwarzenegger) "I am Munkanator!". Trust me, he does a great job with that imitation, even Dave thinks so.
Q: Did you (Alvin, Simon, Theodore) write all the songs yourself?
Simon: Most of them. Dave is actually the head songwriter. Theodore, believe it or not, wrote "If You Wanna Have Friends" all by himself. Alvin and Dave wrote "Monster in Our Room", well actually, I added in my share of that one. The song I'm mostly responsible for was the opening number, "Things Out There", which was a really fun song to do.
Q: Speaking of songs, who's idea was it to do a rendition of Dem Dry Bones at the end credits?
Simon: My idea. Guilty. (laughs)
Q: We've noticed that you did a LOT of special effects in the movie. Like Alvin going wacky and inflating, you guys on the rollercoaster, wow! How'd you do all that?
Simon: It wasn't easy. The rollercoaster part where our faces shifted to our Alvin Show and 1958 faces, we used motion capture helmets and let the computer animation people do the work. As for Alvin blowing up like a balloon, all the did was gave him this inflatable suit that blew up so much. And Alvin gone wild from Dr. Frankenstein, a little bit of special effects make-up and more computer animation.
Q: We gotta ask, is Alvin always sensitive about his cap?
Simon: Oh, you mean the parts where he goes: "Don't. Touch. My cap!"? Yeah, he's very protective of his hat. Dave gave him that hat when he was a baby. The hat means a lot to Alvin because it was from Dave, and it showed that Dave loved him very much. If you want the full story on Alvin's cap, go interview Alvin. I hope he won't mind.
Q: What was the deal with the Sammy Squirrel thing?
Simon: Oh no, the Sammy Squirrel song? Dave had to come up with an annoying mascot song for the amusement park in the movie. A jingle so annoying, that it even annoyed the heck out of not just him, but also Alvin.
Q: The theme park looked familiar in your movie. Should it?
Simon: Actually, yeah. We went to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida to film the theme park scenes. Well, most of them. For the Dragon Rollercoaster scene, we filmed that in a soundstage. Between you and me, I wanted to check out that Special Effects Lab in the movie.
Q: What was the monster like in the movie?
Simon: The guy who played Frankenstein's Monster was very nice. In fact, he'd been a long-time fan of ours. The moment he saw us on the first day of shooting, he wanted our autograph for not just him, but his wife and children, too.
Q: You're working on another Halloween movie right now, correct?
Simon: Yeah, we're in our second week of shooting. Our next movie is called "Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman", in which Theodore got bitten by a werewolf and got a wolfman's curse.
Q: You mean, Theodore's turned into a wolfman?
Simon: Yeah, and he's really excited to be a monster. He says it his big break.
Q: Amazing! One thing that concerned us and your fans was why weren't the Chipettes in your movie?
Simon: Well, they were busy on tour while we were working on "Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein". They really wanted to be in the movie, but sadly, they were booked for a world tour. Luckily, the girls are going to be in our next movie. We're really happy to be working with them again.
Q: Final question. What can we expect in the future with you guys?
Simon: Hmm. I'm not sure. We're thinking of a new album. I have this song called "Dumped for Someone New", which I've wrote during the "Chipmunks in Low Places" sessions, and has yet to appear in one of our albums. So, I guess maybe another Chipmunk album is in order soon.
Simon: "Dumped for Someone New" was written by me in the spring of 1992 when we were starting "Chipmunks in Low Places". It's a doo-wop styled song but has heartbreaking lyrics.
May, 1992
Dumped for Someone New
(Simon's Home Demo)
Simon: He cries and you come running all the time,
You're wrapped around his little finger,
But I remember when that finger used to be mine,
All mine.
(guitar strumming)
I used to be the one you used to hold at night,
I used to be the one you used to squeeze so tight.
You laughed whenever I spoke,
Came running when I awoke,
I don't know what to do,
'Cause I've been dumped for someone new-eeww!
Ahhh...
He takes up so much time,
He's driving me out of my mind!
How am I supposed to feel?
He was never part of our deal!
Why can't you send him back?
I'll arrange his things to be packed.
I think you'd feel like this, too,
If you were dumped for someone new-eeww!
Ahhh...
I remember the days
We laughed and you'd stay.
And when the day was done,
we'd go to sleep and I'd sing you a song,
what happened to all of our fun?
Uh, uh, uh, oh, oh, oh...
We used to be so close,
I thought you loved me the most,
But now I fear the worst,
He's gone from zero to first.
He's taken over my world,
He's got my friends and my girl.
I can't believe it's true,
That you have dumped me for someone new-eeww!
Yeah, dumped for someone...
Wa-wa-wa-wow!
Ooooh-yeah...!
Back to 1999
"How was the interview, Simon?" asked Alvin.
"Uh," said Simon, blushing. "The magazine wants to do a article about you and your cap. I kinda told them about how you got it from Dave."
"You didn't!" Alvin reacted.
"They were asking because of the 'Don't. Touch. The Cap.' scenes from our last movie."
"Oh. How many times did I say that?"
"I, uh, lost count."
"Okay, so maybe I'm sensitive about my cap."
"I know the cap means a lot to you. I'm not judging you. It's your trademark."
"Thanks, Simon."