Q: Are the Rent Boys planning a tour following the release of their new album, Autonomous Collective?
Plans are currently underway for the Rent Boys to hit the road in support of their newest CD. The logistics of planning the tour, however, are difficult due to the fact that the Boys are banned from several Asian nations as well as most of Eastern Europe and Texas. The Boys are still hugely popular and welcome in Poland, and so the first 10-12 shows of the tour will probably take place there, as soon as the inflatible pig from the '95-96 tour is located.

Why is it so difficult to buy Rent Boys merchandise lately?
This problem is due to the child labour scandal that became public last year. It was discovered that the plant in Kentucky that produced Rent Boys t-shirts and lunch boxes used child labour, employing children as young as four and paying them about twelve cents an hour. The factory was quickly shut down. Outraged, Halle vowed that the factory would be relocated "To a country that doesn't oppress its citizens and prevent a four-year old from putting in an honest day's work." Attempts to build a new factory in Mexico failed after the Rent Boys' representatives refused to learn Spanish.

I saw an advertisment for an episode of MTV's fanatic featuring the Rent Boys. When did it air?
Unfortunately, the meeting that the Rent Boys had with their fan did not go as planned. In fact, MTV has disavowed all repsonosbility for the program. One rumor has it that the fan is now on tour with the Boys as Katie's "personal assistant", but the rumor that Halle either beat the fan to death or sold the fan into prostitution seems more likely.