THIS INTERVIEW IS ALSO FEATURED IN THE #2 PRINTED ISSUE... WE GOT A SPOTLIGHT ON ALABAMA THUNDER PUSSY OUTTA RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, A BAND THAT CREATED A UNIQUE POWERFUL SOUND MIXING SOUTHERN ROCK, METAL AND STONER ROCK ALL TOGETHER. THEY RELEASED 3 ALBUMS ON THE RECENTLY DECEASED MAN'S RUIN RECORDS, AND THEY DESERVE ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION. ERIK LARSON, ONE OF THEIR GUITAR PLAYERS, IS ANSWERING. SO HERE WE GO...

GD- Why and when ALABAMA THUNDER PUSSY get started? And why did you choose this crazy name?
ATP STARTED IN 1996. THE FOUNDING MEMBERS, MYSELF- BRYAN- AND BOG JUST WANTED TO PLAY MUSIC TOGETHER SINCE WE HAD SIMILAR INTERESTS. SO WE STARTED LEARNING OUR INSTRUMENTS TOGETHER, AND THEN LOOKED FOR A BASSIST AND SINGER. THE NAME COMES FROM A 1970'S B-MOVIE WHERE A TRANSVESTITE REFERS TO HIM/HERSELF AS THE ALABAMA THUNDER PUSSY.

GD- Which were your influences when you started the band?
THE INFLUENCES FOR THE BAND ARE QUITE DIVERSE THEN AND NOW, BUT IN GENERAL I'D HAVE TO SAY WE ALL REALLY ENJOYED DEATH METAL, SOUTHERN ROCK, AND WHAT HAS BEEN NOW CALLED "STONER ROCK".

GD- You've played for many years with Avail that are pretty big. What can you tell me about that experience?
WELL YES, I PLAYED DRUMS FOR AVAIL FOR 9 YEARS. THE EXPERIENCE WAS WONDERFUL AND I LEARNED ALOT ABOUT MUSIC, THE WORLD, AND MYSELF. I THINK I WOULD NEVER HAVE HAD THE ABILITY TO GO ON MY OWN IF IT WEREN'T FOR MY TIME WITH THOSE GUYS. I LEFT IN 1999. BUT I WAS DOING OTHER BANDS WHILE IN AVAIL SINCE LATE 1993.(KILARA/DOPAMINE/SISSY/ATP) NOT ALL AT ONCE MIND YOU, AND ONLY KILARA AND ATP EVER RECORDED ANYTHING AND TOURED. IF IT WEREN'T FOR AVAIL I WOULD NEVER HAD MET SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW MY FRIENDS, LIKE BY ALL MEANS IN TORINO.

GD-Your first album is very heavy, in the last one there are a lot of soft and acoustic parts, what abou this change?
WELL, BASICALLY ATP JUST WRITES MUSIC AS WE FEEL IT, AND EACH ALBUM IS A REFLECTION OF WHERE WE ARE MUSICALLY AT THAT TIME. WE JUST FINISHED RECORDING OUR 4TH ALBUM FOR MAN'S RUIN RECORDS WITH BILLY ANDERSON. IT WILL BE RELEASED AUGUST 6TH, AND IS CALLED STARING AT THE DIVINE.

GD- I've read rewievs where they describe your music as southern-stoner, are you agree with that definition, and what do you think about the actual stoner-rock scene? Don't you think that most of the new bands are too into psychedelic stuff and not very rock like A.T.P. ?
WELL, THE TERM STONER ROCK HAS JUST BECOME THE CONVEINIENT TERM TO DESCRIBE HEAVY GUITAR ROCK. I WOULD SAY WE'RE A HEAVY ROCK BAND, BUT IF PEOPLE THINK IT'S EASIER TO DESCRIBE US AS STONER SOUTHERN THAN THAT'S FINE. TITLES ARE JUST REFERENCE POINTS. AS FOR THE NEWER BANDS, THERE AREN'T TOO MANY THAT I LIKE, I MOSTLY LISTEN TO 1970'S GUITAR ROCK STUFF THESE DAYS. THE ONE THING I WILL SAY ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH BANDS IS THAT I FEEL THAT THERE ARE TOO FEW THAT ACTUALLY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUND, AND NOT A REPRODUCTION OF SOME ONE OR SOMETHING ELSE.

GD- Are you thinkin' about all these bands that try to sound exactly as the Kyuss?
WELL NO, IT'S KINDA LIKE I SAID BEFORE, ALOT OF THE "STONER ROCK BANDS" AREN'T REALLY DOING ANYTHING EXCEPT LIVING UP TO WHAT THEY THINK THE GENRE SOUNDS LIKE. I DON'T THINK KYUSS EVER THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES AS ANYTHING BUT A HEAVY ROCK BAND.

GD- So, you don't feel part of any scene, right? I've always seen ATP like outsiders...
NOT REALLY NO, WE JUST DO WHAT WE DO, AND ENJOY IT OURSELVES. IF OTHER PEOPLE LIKE IT, GREAT, BUT WE DON'T TRY TO BE SOMETHING WE'RE NOT.

GD- Tell me something about your next album...
WELL, IT'S 10 NEW SONGS, PRODUCED BY BILLY ANDERSON. I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF ALL OUR PREVIOUS WORK, BUT AS WE GET BETTER AT PLAYING OUR INSTRUMENTS, SO DOES THE TECHNICALITY OF THE SONG WRITING, SO I THINK AND HOPE IT WILL TURN SOME HEADS. WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO CHALLENGE OURSELVES, AND IN TURN HOPEFULLY THE SCENE AS WELL.

GD- ATP have a big following , right now? Do you think is possible one day the band will have a very big exposure? I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD A "BIG FOLLOWING". THAT'S REALLY NICE OF YOU TO SAY. I HOPE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO NOT HAVE TO WORK DAY JOBS AT SOME POINT. THAT WOULD BE MY REALISTIC ANSWER. BUT YES I DO HOPE WE CAN BECOME REALLY SUCCESFULL AT THIS. WHETHER IT HAPPENS DEPENDS ALOT ON WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, AS MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT IT. BUT WE WILL ALWAYS TRY TO BE THE BEST WE CAN REGARDLESS AS TO WETHER "STONER ROCK" BECOMES A COMMERCIAL ENTITY.

GD- What do you think about the Confederacy of Scum? I think your attitude is not too far from bands like Antiseen or Hellstomper...
WE'RE FRIENDS WITH ALOT OF THE C.O.S. BANDS, BUT I WOULDN'T SAY WE SUBSCRIBE TO ANY SPECIFIC VIEW. EVERYONE IN ATP HAS DISTINC OPINIONS ON THINGS, SOMETIMES WE AGREE SOMETIMES NOT. POLITICS DOESN'T REALLY APPLY TO US AS A >BAND, BUT INDIVIDUALLY WE ARE VERY POLITICALLY AWARE.

GD- In your sleeves there are always a lot of rebel flags and references of the civil war...let's talk about your southern pride!
I'VE DONE REALLY EXTENSIVE DIATRIBES ON THIS TOPIC BEFORE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BORE YOUR READERS, HA HA, SO LET ME JUST SAY THAT AS A BAND, ATP ENJOYS LIVING IN THE AREA OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND IT'S CULTURE.

GD-Are you into cuban revolution too? I saw pictures with one of you wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt, and there's that song "Alta Vista"...
I HAVE A PORTRAIT OF CHE TATTOED ON ME, I RESPECT HIM AS AN EXAMPLE OF SELFLESS DEDICATION TO IDEALS, AND SELF IMPROVEMENT, AS WELL AS HIS COMPASION FOR THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE IN THIS MODERN WORLD. I'M BASICALLY A SOCIALIST POLITICALLY, SO I RELATE TO ALOT OF WHAT HE AND MANY OTHERS HAVE ASPOUSED TO ACHEIVE. I TRY TO ENCOURAGE DIALOGUE ABOUT POLITICAL ISSUES ON TOUR, AND THAT T-SHIRT HAS MADE SOME DISCUSSIONS HAPPEN, BUT I'M NOT AN EVANGICAL TYPE OF PERSON, AND I DON'T PUSH OR PREACH MY PHILOSOPHIES OR THEOLOGIES ONTO OTHERS. BUT I WILL PROUDLY SAY THAT THE WAY ATP CONDUCTS BUISNESS AND HOW WE TREAT OTHERS IS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY SOME OF MY POLITICAL STANCES. THE SONG ALTO VISTA IS NOT POLITICAL AT ALL. THE TITLE ROUGHLY TRANSLATED MEANS TALL VIEW, AND THE SONG IS ABOUT HITCH HIKING IN THE DESERT.

GD- How was touring Europe? And especially , what have you to say about Italy?
EUROPE WAS GREAT IN 2000, AND I HOPE IT WILL BE JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THIS YEAR WHEN WE COME BACK WITH THE SUPLECS. ITALY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SPECIAL PLACE FOR ME. I HAVE ALOT OF FRIENDS THERE, AND THE ENERGY IS REALLY AMAZING. PEOPLE ARE VERY GENUINE I FIND.

GD- A guy that I know, saw you live, and said that live, you were like another band... Every song was played faster and faster, and so fuckin' loud, and without any pause between each tune...what have you to say about it?
WELL WE DO TEND TO PLAY A BIT FASTER LIVE DUE TO ADRENALIN, BUT WE DO TRY NOT TO STOP BETWEEN SONGS UNLESS WE HAVE TO. WE'RE A LOUD ROCK BAND. AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME AWAY FROM OUR LIVE PERFORMANCE CHANGED IN SOME WAY. WETHER THATS ENERGIZED, HAPPY, EXCITED, OR DEAF, HA HA.

GD- Let's talk about a passion that we have in common...the mighty LYNYRD SKYNYRD. How much they influenced ATP?
I'D SAY THAT SKYNYRD ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST INFLUENCES WE HAVE.

GD- Which are your own ATP favourite songs and why?
I KNOW IT MAY BE A LAME ANSWER, BUT I LOVE THEM ALL FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.

GD- Tell me something about your lyrics.
WELL, JOHNNY WRITES THEM, SO HE'D BE BEST TO TELL YOU.


GD- A lot of so-called "stoner bands" use a lot of drugs. What's your position about it?
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MUSIC AT ALL, IT'S A PERSONAL CHOICE.

GD- Favourite barboun?
EVAN FUCKING WILLIAMS !!!!

GD- The wildest thing happened at one of your show?
IN LAFAYETTE LA. WE PLAYED AT AN OLD ABBANDONED STRIP CLUB, AND THE PEOPLE THERE WERE LITERALLY CLIMING THE WALLS WHEN WE PLAYED.

GD- Which are your all-time favourite bands?
TOO MANY TO MENTION

GD- What about your Aerosmith cover?
WHAT ABOUT IT?

GD- Tell me something about your next full-lenght.
WELL, IT'LL COME OUT AUG. 6TH, 10 NEW SONGS, VERY HEAVY.

GD- Please tell me the significances of the titles of your first 3 albums.
WELL, "RISE AGAIN" CAME FROM US JUST SAYING RICHMOND ROCK N ROLL IS COMING BACK. "RIVER CITY REVIVAL" KIND OF CONTINUES ON THAT THEME, BUT IT'S ALSO A REFFERENCE TO REVIVAL MEETINGS. IT'S KIND OF LIKE A SPIRITUAL CELEBRATION. "CONSTELLATION" IS A REFERENCE TO PARTNERSHIP IN THE WRITING PROCESS, AND TO THE ART OF MAKING AN ALBUM.

GD- All I know about Richmond, Virginia is that there's the biggest Tobacco Industry in the world, what else can you tell me? Is a good place to live?
RICHMOND RULES. IT'S A SMALL CITY, SO IT'S EASY TO GET TO KNOW EVERYONE, PRETTY UNIFIED SCENE, AS WELL AS DIVERSE. AND IT'S CHEAP!

GD- Ok, add what you want, and thanks.
THANX, WRITE US.
Go to their website.