Evil Twins

BRASH IMPULSES: NME just can't help riling people up with their songs.

NME's Mike and Peter Skilj aren't afraid to take on anyone and everyone, including each other. The San Jose punk band has been around since the mid-'90s, with members coming and going, but the heart of the group has always been the Skilj twins. With a new album out and another almost finished, NME have made a name for themselves as brash, intelligent, uncompromising and a lot of fun to see live.

The duo is full-blooded Croatian. They speak it fluently and visit family in their native country.

"We have family there and a house on 500 acres of land on a mountainside," Peter says. "Our family has owned that property for 450 years. Back then, it was dominated by the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish. If an American went in there and cultivated that land, they would make a huge amount of money."

According to Peter, the Bosnians are almost like cousins to the Croatians.

"They speak the same language, but they're Muslim. Our bloodline probably is Persian or Polish. Because of that, we've had an Islamic influence in our lives."

For Mike, spirituality ties directly into writing music, even if it sometimes comes with consequences.

"If NME is an extension of yourself, then it always comes back to how you deal with things, who are you are, how you interpret it and then relating that to the world. In turn, everybody is going to be pissy with you. It's not as if we want to create enemies, and we don't seek out to piss anyone off deliberately."

But with songs like "Bin Laden Airlines" and "Bombs Not Food," Peters know most people will jump to conclusions.