All sorts of companies are getting into the sponsorship game these days. From the Scion Rock Fest (a car company-funded free concert in Atlanta featuring Mastodon, Converge, Neurosis and other ultra-hip heavy acts) to Rockstar Energy Drinks’ support of the 2008 and 2009 Mayhem tours, everybody wants to sell stuff to metalheads. Now Atticus Clothing, a company that’s previously catered to the punk/alternative scene, has jumped into the ring with the Atticus Metal Tour, a ferocious road trip featuring Emmure, Terror, Winds of Plague, Abacabb, the Ghost Inside and All Shall Perish. We quizzed Emmure’s Frankie Palmeri, Winds of Plague’s Jonathan Cooke, Abacabb’s Tyler Greene and Terror’s Scott Vogel about various issues. Here are a few of their answers.
Are you the heaviest band on this tour?
Palmeri: Nope.
Cooke: Absolutely not. We tune in E standard, and Emmure
tunes in drop-Z or something, so they definitely own on the heavy
scale.
Vogel: No, I don’t think we are. And that is not really what
we are going for. But if you asked if we are the hardest-hitting band
on the tour, well then, I think we are. Give me a few days and I’ll
know.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever played, and are you returning
there on this tour?
Greene: On our last tour, the best gig we had was Toronto.
There was a huge attendance, and the entire crowd was very into it.
Canada is just amazing, and yes, we will be returning to that city on
this tour.
Vogel: I’d have to say Full Force Fest, two years ago in
eastern Germany; 10,000 kids under a huge tent going buck wild, jumping
off 15-foot-high poles they climbed. We are not returning there on this
tour but will be there in early July.
What’s the worst gig you’ve ever played, and are you returning to
that city/town?
Cooke: We have had our fair share of bad shows. Phoenix on
the Blackest of the Black tour was really bad for us. Not because of
the crowd, but because of technical difficulties, and we had about a
foot of room on the stage. I ran out onstage all pumped to find out my
mic wasn’t on. I felt like a jackass, and that carried with me
throughout the set.
Vogel: Gainesville, Florida, at some tiny club like three
years ago. Like 25 kids showed up. No energy. Bad vibe. Just one of
those shows you wish was over before it starts. No, we aren’t going
back and haven’t since. It’s sad, ’cause one of my favorite bands ever,
Hot Water Music, is from there.
Sometimes bands get on each other’s nerves. Which of your
bandmates are you sure you could take in a fight?
Palmeri: My guitar player, Ben. I am taller, and I can smell
what he’s thinking.
Vogel: We are banned from two shows on this tour, and a third
threatened to shut us down. I can’t talk about things like this.
Bamboozle Fest is afraid of our reputation. I’m not allowed to use the
F word. What a fucking joke.
If you could quit your band and join any other band, which would
it be and why?
Palmeri: I would quit my band and join All Shall Perish,
because Matt is a sweet dude.
Greene: I wouldn’t quit to join another metal band. I would
rather be in Cartel, Copeland or Mae. But if I had to choose, I would
join the Ghost Inside because we listen to that band all the time in
the van.
Do you personally wear Atticus clothing, and are you getting free
Atticus clothing?
Palmeri: I don’t personally wear any clothing. Atticus is
gonna try and cover me in clothes, but they will be quickly
removed.
Cooke: Yeah, I like their jeans a lot, and most of their new
shirt designs are badass. I am very stoked to receive some new gear on
this tour.
On a tour like this, is it possible to make extravagant demands
for backstage luxuries, and what would you ask for?
Palmeri: I prefer a backstage with carpeting, fresh towels
and an iPod dock. I don’t make extravagant demands, because none of
them would ever happen.
Greene: We are the opening band out of six; I’ll be stoked if
we get a bottle of water. However, if I was headlining, I would ask for
some Chipotle burritos or something.
Cooke: We usually keep our demands pretty low and reasonable,
because you’re more likely to get a case of soda than two dozen red
M&Ms or whatever else jackass rock stars put on their backstage
riders.
Vogel: That’s not really our style. Towels, water, Red Bull
and vodka are all we really need. I’d rather have the money than a huge
catering budget, ’cause in the end you’re actually paying for all the
stuff backstage.
Are you bringing pets, and if so, what’s your most ridiculous
pets-on-tour story?
Cooke: No pets! They turn into unnecessary hassle and
stress. One tour we brought a mouse in a little plastic cage. By the
end of the tour, we had five mice and some ridiculous cage with all
kinds of tunnels and whatnot. We got tired of the smell and a lady from
PETA bought them at our merch table. Good times.
What’s your mom’s favorite song by your band?
Palmeri: I’m surprised when my mom even remembers my band’s
name, so I doubt she has a favorite song.
Greene: My mom bought the CD, but I don’t think she has ever
listened to it.
Cooke: She has “The Impaler” and “Decimate the Weak” on her
iPod workout playlist. She secretly enjoys us.
Vogel: My mom’s into Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, not
Terror.
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2009.