Kevin Bronson on October 16th, 2009

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We interrupt this evening of fun, fan-friendly Flaming Lips frolicking for a news bulletin: The Lips, joined by frontman Wayne Coyne’s nephew’s band Stardeath & White Dwarfs, convened recently in Norman, Okla., to record the entirety of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” with cameos from Henry Rollins and Peaches. “When it will be out in the world I don’t know,” Coyne says.

Coyne let slip that item during Thursday’s special show at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Hollywood on a day the Flaming Lips mounted a pop-up store to promote the release this week of their new album “Embryonic.” It wasn’t so much of a show as it was a fan-fest – the band played five songs off their new disc, preceded by a half-hour Q&A session with Coyne.

The 48-year-old frontman was characteristically gregarious and gracious, fielding queries – some serious and some, well, metaphorically, in bunny costumes – that were tweeted to drummer Kliph Scurlock. Has he ever been to Indonesia? (No.) How much does the band spend on confetti? (It really doesn’t matter.) Does his band’s music give him nightmares? (Scurlock admitted to one.) Will Yoshimi ever become a Broadway musical? (If Coyne ever has the time to devote to the project.) How did the bunny suits get started? (“We owe it all to a friend on ‘shrooms.”) What’s the future of the record album? (Who knows?) Who was that guy who played the gong on the Conan TV appearance? (“Ray, a fan and a musician who’s helping us out” [Note: And who broke the gong at the end of Thursday’s set.])

Asked about the use of Lips songs in TV commercials, Coyne explained that the proceeds from the (many) placements of “Do You Realize?” go to charity. Asked about performing while under the influence, he explained that substances aren’t really necessary in his role: “I mean, how could you stand up here and receive this much love and encouragement and not be intoxicated by it?” Asked what his most “magical moment” was, Coyne said it was when bandmate Steven Drozd overcame his heroin addiction.

Etcetera. It felt like a living room chat rather than a staged event, and Lips fans – some of whom stood in line for hours – ate it up.

The band followed the Q&A with a five-song set: “Convinced of the Hex,” “Silver Trembling Hands,” “See the Leaves,” “I Can Be a Frog” (with the crowd hilariously filling the vocal effects that Karen O provides on the album) and “Watching the Planets.” Afterward, the band adjourned to the pop-up store for autograph signing, and the theater screened the new Lips video.

Happy bunnies everywhere.