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Me: Alright, so what bands inspired you and
continue to inspire you to make music?
Rick: The list is super long. We are all into
different bands for different reasons. So i can only really
speak for myself. I love the Smoking Popes. I wish my
song writing could get up to that level some day. Also
there are lots of bands that we meet on the road that
really inspire us as well. The Ghost, Cruiserweight, 37
Slurp. The list is pretty long actually
Me: I know you guys played Warped Tour this
year, what was that like?
Rick: It was amazing. We met tons of bands
and made lots of rad connections. It was also cool
meeting all those kids. At the same time it was the
hardest tour we have ever done. We got no sleep, had no
AC, and hardly ate. But i wouldn't trade it for anything
Me: Was being on tour with bands like NOFX,
Bad Religion, and The Damned a dream come true?
Rick: For sure. Tony's dream was to drink a
beer with Fat Mike and he did it. One day i find Tony on
NOFX's tour bus drinking bud with the guys in NOFX. Its
hard not to get star struck. These are bands that i
worship. It was nuts
Me: Cool, so do you have any thoughts on our
president?
Rick: heh. that is a hard one. I am not really
the political type, and i don't pretend to be. Too many
people think they know what they are talkin about when it
comes to that stuff, and they just talk out of their asses. I
wont do that! heh. But he does say some funny stuff.
Me: Yes, when any elected official uses either
incorrect english or says the exact opposite of what
they mean to I can't help but laugh.
Rick: seriously, its great fun
Me: Are bands Simple Plan good for the punk
scene or are they just latching onto a fad?
Rick: Honestly i dont know much about
Simple Plan, so i dont wanna say anything bad. But i
definitly think there is something to say about being part
of the underground for a bit, and banging around the
country for a while before blowing up. But all bands hope
to be successful, at least i think they do.
Me: I saw you worked with Mass Giorgini on
your CD The Measure of All Things, what was it like
to be in the studio with someone with his hjstory in
the music industry?
Rick: we also have done our newest cd "the
death of the party" and our ep "taking back the covers"
that comes out in jan with Mass. He is one of the most
amazing people ever, and one of the nicest guys we
know. It was such an honor to get to do stuff with him.
We have actually become good friends with him now, and
i can honestly say he is our favorite person in the music
industry
Me: What music do you listen to that people
wouldn't expect to see you listening to?
Rick: i actually have a bigger jazz collection
than i do punk. I love jazz. Charles MIngus would be my
favorite. We also really dig on Tom Petty, CCR, and the
Police. O yeah, and i've seen Marilyn Manson 3 times in
concert.
Me: Manson is without question the most
misunderstood artist of his generation, and I must say
that I love a lot of his music.
Me: What five bands would you like to see get
more mainstream attention?
Rick: So do i. We love his shit, hmm this is a hard one, Cruiserweight, The Ghost, Duval, Latham and......US! woohoo!
Me: So true, with your sound I'd figure
someone would declare you guys cool enough to be
mainstream.
Me: Is the term sellout fair?
Rick: not at all. there are bands that just dont
compramise. Green Day for one, they are fucking rad as
hell, and people called them "Sell Outs". It is just so hard
to define. As soon as you start being successfull people
just start ragging on you. Its like making money in music
is bad. But there are some bands that for sure just come
out of nowhere, and flash in the pan, and then are gone.
Those Sellouts...heh
Me: Are public restrooms gross?
Rick: haha. holy yes. But when you are on
tour, there are no other options
Me: Are you into any of the older punk from
the 80's like Minor Threat or The Descendents?
Rick: I love the Decendents for sure, i grew up
on that stuff. One of the most kick ass bands ever. The
Misfits also seriously rule
Me: Where do you see yourself twenty years
from now?
Rick: o man. That is super hard to think about.
I would hope that i would be doing something with music.
Sound Engineering of some kind, or working with bands.
Music is my love, so i know i'll be doin that forever
Me: As a fairly underground band do you see
Mp3 downloading as a hurt or help to bands in your
position as long as it is used to discover the artist
before buying the CD?
Rick: We think it helps. Sometimes kids tell
me that they already have our cd from downloading it off
the internet, and that kinda sucks, but for the most part i
think it is a great tool for learning about new music. It
really opens a lot of doors for bands our size
Me: Are there any bands you can't stand due
to either their music or their ethics as a band?
Rick: haha. Well i dont like to talk smack
about other bands, but if i hear another Creed song or
another Disturbed song, (not to mention the endless piles
of crap bands that sound just like them) i am gona go
postal on somebody.
Me: Yes, grunge revival is by far the worst
music out right now.
Rick: seriously
Me: Any thoughts on rap music?
onethirdofatm: My friends and i wanna start a Public
Enemy cover band. I love some rap, hate others. Snoop
Dogg, Dr. Dre, NWA, Public Enemy, Black Sheep, we
listen to all these bands in the van religiously. But most of
the new stuff is just crap
Me: yeah I have to agree the last rap album I
bought was from '96 and it was by House of Pain.
Rick: yeah, good album
Me: Any side projects for you?
Rick: nah, I am so busy with this band, i can't
even imagine being in another one. I can hardly keep up
with the stuff that we are doing.
Me: I have one final question, which I'm sure
you get a lot, where did the name Amazing
Transparent Man come from?
Rick: it is a total shit 50's horror movie. It was
a rip off of the Inivisible Man. You can actually buy the
movie on DVD, and see it in all it suckyness for yourself.
We couldn't think of a band name, opened up a Movie
Monsters magazine, and there it was. Amazing
Transparent Man.
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