What do you get when you combine a colourful geek convention with a nostalgic cartoon pop-duo that completely defined the ’90s?

You get one hell of a reunion show.

Yes, that’s right, you read the poster correctly; Prozzäk will be playing Atomic Lollipop 2015!

If you’re a Canadian who grew up in the ’90’s, and you’ve never heard of Prozzäk, you were likely living under a rock. Prozzäk consisted of Jay Levine and James Mccollum from Toronto, Ontario two talented musicians who played in a popular Canadian adult contemporary band called Philosopher Kings. Jay and James originally didn’t get along too well, but their rivalry in the band would soon grow into a creative musical collaboration like no other. During a European tour, the two decided to deviate from their usual music and created a song called “Europa”, in which they used faux-British accents and sang about European girls. After their performance, Jay and James realized that they had found their niche, but that this sort of music would never fly with Philosopher Kings. The two decided to form a new band, thus Prozzäk was born.

The name Prozzäk was inspired by the drug Prozac. In an interview with the New York Times, McCollum mentions that their music makes people feel good and happy which is an effect of the drug Prozac. They made animated music videos and was known as a cartoon pop-duo, using characters named Simon and Milo.

Prozzäk’s first album, Hot Show, was released in 1998 and became a huge success in Canada. Hot Show was filled with lyrics about love, lust and heartbreak; all told through the eyes and mouths of Simon and Milo by means of catchy, melodic music. To this day, their platinum singles “Strange Disease” and “Sucks To Be You” remain staples for music fans of the ’90s.

Prozzäk released their second album in 2000 titled Saturday People, featuring platinum hits “www.nevergetoveryou” and “Be As”. Hot Show and Saturday People were both nominated for Best Album at the Juno Awards in 2000 and 2002, respectively.

Prozzäk resurfaced in 2005 with a new album called Cruel Cruel World. Simon and Milo appeared to have gotten older and more modern, and the tracks featured a more adult-subdued theme.

So where are they now? Jay is currently focusing on the business side of music with Lefthook Entertainment, a company that helps other artists market music. James is the founder of UMI Entertainment based in Toronto, Ontario, and has worked as the guitarist for Nelly Furtado, among many other musicians.

On April 28, 2015, Prozzäk was confirmed to play a reunion show at Atomic Lollipop 2015 at the Ontario Science Centre. Atomic Lollipop is a combined convention, carnival, music festival, and massive party that fuses geek, love, and music for three days of non-stop adventure. It’s no surprise that Prozzäk is the featured musical guest of this year, seeing as how they can be described in the same three words: geek, love, and music.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Jay Levine (Simon) about the upcoming Prozzäk reunion show at Atomic Lollipop.

There was a wild response by nostalgic fans when your reunion show was announced. How did Prozzäk become the headlining band for Atomic Lollipop? What’s the story there?

After an article was written in Vice Magazine by Nick Laugher, a lot of people seemed to emerge, including the folks putting on the event at the Science Center. It’s really cool that the music is still in people’s minds and that we were a little part of their lives in that time. It will be cool to meet some of them and play some tunes.

What are you most looking forward to at your reunion show at Atomic Lollipop?

Besides a WAY overdue trip to see my parents, there are so many people from that time that we haven’t seen in years. Coming back to your hometown is always an emotional experience… Singing the songs from Hot Show and a few new ones will be super fun as well.

Atomic Lollipop is a fusion of geek, love, and music, and many people will be in cosplay. Are you excited to see people dress up as Simon and Milo?

I would love to see Simon and Milos there. That would be the biggest honor of all. I hope that happens, and if someone actually knows how to dress up as Simon and Milo could they let us know? We’re trying to figure that out!!

Have you ever attended Atomic Lollipop or any similar conventions before? If so, what do you enjoy most about conventions? If not, what are you hoping to see this year at your first one?

I’ve actually never been to a convention like that before. I hear they are super fun. Can’t wait!

Prozzäk has some of the most recognizable characters to Canadians who grew up in the ’90s. Art-wise, what were your main influences when creating the characters of Simon and Milo?

Well, we had a number of talented illustrators on board but for me it was creating a character that embodied the sadness of Simon’s lyrics and story in a slightly sarcastic way. Huge eyes and the constant burden of living life with no neck. Milo’s design was meant to be the antithesis of Simon always reminding him that there are healthy happy people around.

For many people, Prozzäk was one of the biggest bands to define the ’90s. How do you feel the music industry has changed since then?

At the time we had label support and that was standard. Now you have to prove yourself before labels will invest in you. There are good things and bad. One hand you get to control your release and you don’t need anyone’s stamp of approval to express yourself to the world. On the other hand, the old time budgets if you were lucky enough to get them allowed for a higher level of freedom and attention to the craft which created better productions overall not to mention the marketing funds needed to truly break something.

Is there any chance of seeing a new Prozzäk album in the future? Is this the last of Simon and Milo?

We’re recording some new stuff now, and if we’re happy with what comes out we’ll release it.

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Be sure to catch Prozzäk’s show at Atomic Lollipop on July 18 at the Ontario Science Centre! Tickets can be found here. Seeing Simon and Milo performing on stage once again will be a dream come true for many attendees.

It’s sure to be one hell of a party, so if you can’t make it to the show, well, Sucks To Be You.