Balloon Boy Screen Grab - H 2013
Balloon Boy is looking to extend his 15 minutes.
Now 10 years old, Falcon Heene is best known as the Colorado kid who gained national notoriety in 2009 when his parents led the public to believe that their son was trapped in an airborne silver helium balloon that floated away from their Fort Collins home. The event captured the nation’s attention as cable news broadcast the spinning silver disc as horrified viewers looked on. After the situation proved to be a hoax, the boy’s father, Richard Heene, plead guilty to one felony count of attempting to influence a public servant, serving 90 days in jail. Today, Heene is in his fourth and final year of probation.
PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Memorable Mea Culpas
The family, who had appeared on two episodes of Wife Swap prior to the incident and would later appear on CNN and Today, have now moved across the country to pursue a heavy metal career for their three young boys. In a feature published on Gawker Tuesday, family patriarch Richard says he’s not attempting to profit off the family’s infamy, since court orders prevent him from doing anything to profit from the hoax. “I can talk about anything I want as long as I don’t get paid for it,” he said in the interview. “But I don’t want people thinking the only thing on my mind is that.”
As soon as they were legally able, the family moved to Florida, but they are currently touring the Northeast with the kids’ heavy metal band Heene Boyz. At 13, 12 and 10 years old, the brothers have recorded a four-song EP titled American Chili, featuring songs such as “Duct Tape Man” and “Cactus People.”
“It’s called an EP for now, but it’s going to be a full album,” Richard said. “If a record company picks them up, they can always go, ‘OK, you guys can finish it.’ It’s already written.”
For now, the Heenes will continue to book tour dates for the Boyz. The band made its New York City debut at Sullivan Hall and are scheduled to perform in Rochester on July 6, Delaware on July 11 and Elmhurst, New York, on July 20.
