By STEPHANIE McGRATH

AllPop

TORONTO -- Jason Levine and James McCollum find time to slip away from their alter-egos, Simon and Milo (of Prozzak fame.)

The two share brushetta and laugh as the slight, dark-haired romantic Simon sits across the restaurant, crying into his coffee while the bigger, bolder and blonder Milo tries to comfort him. No one in the restaurant seems phased by two cartoon characters eating lunch. After all, Prozzak may someday rival Pokemon for favourite cartoon.

Jason and James, (Simon and Milo in that order), only have time for a quick bite to eat. They're busy these days, plotting the fate of their elaborate cartoon characters and preparing for a live show that's so big and bold, they say it will make "Kiss look like 54-40."

Who would have thought that two tecnhicolored musicians could generate chart-toppers, home videos, hundreds of fan letters and a live concert?

Their debut album Prozzak, Hot Show, is still reeling in Canadian hits and was released two days ago in the U.S. but Jason says he's already excited about the next album.

"When we first thought of the whole Prozzak idea, it was such a period of inspiration that we really have like 60 or 70 songs that we've already sequenced in order because they're sort of chronological," says Jason.

Talking about future songs causes Jason and James to backtrack and explain the whole Prozzak plan.

"The whole Prozzak thing is really not like a band, it's not like a band, it's like a play and we're playing our characters," explains Jason. "They're exaggerated for dramatic effect but there's actually a lot of truth in all the characters. I am still searching for love...that's true."

James, who looks like he wants to avoid talking about Jason's failing love-life, quickly changes topic.

"I'm really excited about the live show," he says.

"Yeah, we're rehearsing for it right now," Jason says.

How will they bring in two animated cartoons for a live performance?

"We're going to do it in ways never seen before," says Jason.

"We're going to make Kiss look like 54-40," James says, gesturing wildly with a piece of bread.

They promise there will be NO lip-syncing during the live shows that should start in February.

Simon and Milo will perform via movie screen while Jason sings and the band plays. Simon's cartoon mouth will somehow be synchronised with Jason's singing.

They're not sure when they'll perform in Toronto. The thought of a home performance makes them both nervous enough to put down their food for a minute and actually pause for breath before explaining how Simon and Milo were born in the first place.

In the Prozzak story, (you can find it on the Prozzak official website), Simon and Milo meet as enemies during a great war and eventually find common ground through their love of music.

James and Jason say this mystical tale isn't far from the truth.

Jason says he and James were arch enemies when they started off with the band The Philosopher Kings. But, after a concert, in the back of a tour bus, they put aside their differences and Simon and Milo were born.

"We were always fighting in the Philosopher Kings," says Jason. "We were like, bitter enemies."

"One day we just decided we'd try to work things out by writing and we really, just came across this style," says James.

James interrupts the explanation for a minute to ask for cheese and pepper.

"See," says Jason, looking at his non-cheese, non-pepper lunch. "Cheese and pepper. We still have different personalities."

Their cheese and non-cheese personalities are creating some interesting story lines. The boys tell fans to watch out for some new characters popping into Simon and Milo's lives.

Minnie May, who you may remember from the videos, (Jason says she's a combination of all his ex-girlfriends) and a new pet, Peter Possom, will be joining Simon and Milo on some of their adventures.

The fashion world can expect two new, brightly coloured super-models too.

"Milo's very interested in the fashion district," says James. "He's got a lot of European flair. We want them to strut it on the catwalk. Simon and Milo are going to be super-models."

Will Simon ever find true love? Jason says when he figues out his love life, then Simon will but, that could mean the end of Prozzak, so fans can hope that Jason stays love-hungry forever.

"If I ever find true love, I don't know what would happen with Prozzak." says Jason. "Simon is a hyper-romantic character. He's kind of like Woody Allen. He's always crying or on the verge of tears. He can never make a relationship work."

The only thing that lifts Simon's spirits these days is fan mail.

"We get the best fanmail," says Jason.

"We get, literally, 30 cartoon drawings a day by 10 year olds. It's amazing," says James.

Fans can expect to Simon and Milo to be around for a long time. James says he wants to do a feature film and Jason's already talking about what will happen to Simon on the fourth album.

But today, they need to get back to rehearsing for the Prozzak tour.

Before leaving, Simon asks if AllPop can pass a message on that all available, tall girls who want to listen to his music and talk about his problems all day can visit the Prozzak website. Next Prozzak Info Thingy