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Of Banana Hammocks, Subway Planes and Stinky Tour Buses. When in Vancouver, the Ataris
visit nude beaches and those of us left in the wake of the visuals will never be the same for it.
The wrangler runs over and asks if I would like to do The Ataris interview
now instead of later and before I know it, John and Mike are politely introducing themselves. The two of them are easy going guys who have an air of confidence about them and you can sense the sincerity in everything they say. When they speak of music, an uncharted dedication to the craft emanates from their entire beings.
With recorder in hand, I prep my seating area to minimize the noise pulverizing the
airspace from the Ernie Ball stage. Rearranging the seating plan permits everyone
a few minutes of chat in the shelter of the shade but just as I am about hit record,
he spots her, "Wonder Dog", and the golden lab cross with her chocolate brown bedroom eyes, sweeps him off his feet. All at once, gentle John has fallen into a love-like trance with the four-legged canine within my entourage. He finds comfort in her presence and never ceases petting her throughout the duration of the interview, content to let Mike lead the way.
The reason The Ataris have survived for so long in such a competitive industry is clear to see; they love what they do and it shows. Although they have been around for seven years, the passion and thrill of the hunt still burns brightly in their eyes. They enjoy sharing their music with everyone who understands their message and it transcends in every word they speak. You will never find a more refreshing band to spend time with.
Since this is the Fourth of July...
Mike: Right
For you guys...
Mike: Right
We had Canada Day a couple days ago...
Mike: Yeah, we were here!
Really?
Mike: We were in Winnipeg for Canada Day.
I'm so sorry.
Mike: [laughs] That's what everybody says!
If you could declare your independence from anyone or anything, who would it be and why?
Mike: I have a theory where I think California, where I'm from, should secede from the rest of the US
because it's really...I
like the rest of the US. I like them to be our friends sort of like Canada is but...uh you know it's uh... [He searches for the
right wording but doesn't find it.] So...I would like to declare California's independence but I do want to annex Hawaii. [I
watch as he gestures with his hands and goes into detail as if he's been planning this for years.]
The republic of California will be split into three states - Hawaii, Southern California, and Northern California.
We have the third strongest economy in the world. Click
John: I'd like to break from California as well. I'm a New Yorker. [laughs] With their pompous attitude, good weather...
Mike: You have Guiliani, he can be your president!
There you go!
Mike: I'll take Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It'll be the two coasts & the middle section.
Mike: Exactly!
John: [Throws his arms up in the air] The hell with Cali!
For those who have been living under a rock, can you describe your sound a little bit?
Mike: Ah...ahhhh We're just a rock band I guess.
John: Yeah, a rock band with pop influences that come from punk rock.
Mike: We started out a punk rock band and I think over the 4 full length records and the EP we turned into pretty much a rock band.
What's the one thing that you believe separates you from all the other bands out there?
Mike: I think our storytelling is the big difference between us and all the other bands out there. We play music that's a lot like other bands
but I think this is what sets us apart.
John: People are writing too many pop jingles these days with the same repetitive chorus. We believe in storytelling and I think that
sets us apart from everybody else.
What do you do to ensure the integrity of your music?
Mike: We stay true to ourselves!
Are there any misconceptions out there about you guys? Anything you would like to clear up?
Mike: A lot of people out there really think we're a bunch of young punks you know, or young kids but we really don't
listen to punk rock at all. We listen to all kinds of music; some punk rock, but we listen to just as much classic rock, or
even dance music and we listen to everything so...
John: There's misconceptions that we're like a Simple Plan or Sum 41 but we're a lot different than those kind of bands.
What's the most rock 'n roll thing you guys have ever done?
Mike: Played the Warped tour man!
John: I think that and some venues that I never thought we'd play like the Fillmore in San Francisco and the Roseland in New York...
Mike: Those were pretty rock 'n roll.
John: Those are places I saw rock 'n roll shows more the Roseland and not the Fillmore but it was just an amazing experience to be
able to play...
Mike: CBGBs, The Whiskey...
John: Yeah, yeah
If you could teach a music appreciation class to a bunch of kids, what albums would you make mandatory for the class?
John: I would say the White Album by the Beatles, Appetite for Destruction by Guns'n'Roses...
Mike: Nirvana Nevermind
John: Nirvana Nevermind, Weezer Blue Record, U2 Joshua Tree, Fugazi 13 Songs & Repeater, Bad Brains Rock For Light...
Wow that's quite the class!
John: We want to cover all bases.
Mike: We could go on for days man! I took music appreciation in college and they didn't have enough rock 'n roll.
Who's the one person that helped you guys get to where you are now?
Mike: I'd say Fat Mike the singer from NOFX. He gave us a lot of good advice in the beginning.
He put out San Dimas High School Football Rules, our most famous indie song.
He was the one that saw that and really helped us along. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here right now.
People often turn to music when they are having a bad day. What or who do you turn to?
Mike: I turn to my girlfriend
John: Music is definitely something that can get you into a bunch of different moods you know music can make
you angry, music can get you happy, music can get you sad...
Mike: My girlfriend makes me happy.
Awww.
John: [to Mike] Shut up!
Somebody wants a copy of this for brownie points!
John: My dogs.
Mike: His German Shepherd makes him happy.
John: and the Chocolate Lab.
Are all bands dysfunctional?
John: I'd like to hope so! [laughs]
Mike: We have been in this band for seven years and we have always been dysfunctional so... we're
brothers and brothers fights and argue and have good times.
John: When you're in a band, there's not much responsibility in your life.
Mike: Right.
John: I mean there is, but you like to think there isn't.
I want your job.
John: Well, that's the thing. A lot of days you're like what is today? Is it Monday or Sunday?
Mike: Look! [points to the sky and yells out with all the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas day]It's the Subway Plane!!
[We all look up to the sky and nod approvingly as if to say yes, why yes it is.]
CSI or the Simpsons?
Both: The Simpsons! Any day!
Mike: The Simpsons! I have a nine year old daughter so when you have a little girl, it's like you want...I love cartoons that she
can enjoy and I can enjoy for two different reasons, like Family Guy, the Simpsons, those ones are great...Futurama.
My daughter, it's not so scarring to her, not like other things I let her watch.
John: Let's go on!
Right.
Mike: The Simpsons!
So what's the one thing that would surprise your fans about you guys?
Mike: That I have a nine year-old daughter.
John: That I'm thirty-one [laughs] I don't know...that we're real people. You know what I mean? That we're no different
than anybody else.
You don't look it.
John: Thank you! You see? [laughs] I'm thirty-one but I act like I'm thirteen.
Besides your own, what song or lyric best describes you guys?
Mike: Ah! That's tough! [pauses] "It's better to burn out than fade away"
John: "Don't ever compromise what you believe."
That's a very good one. [winks]
John: That's Kris Roe. (Losing Streak)
And so it is. Hey, you were supposed to look outside of your band!
John: Oh! Umm...
No, it's true, it suits you very well.
Can you name five other bands on the Warped tour? (Warped sobriety test.)
Mike: Can I name them? I can name every band! Mad Caddies are from Santa Barbara....
John: Damone, we just took them on our last US tour, Andrew W. K. 'cause it's grueling, umm Thrice, Poison the Well...
Mike: Tsunami Bomb...
John: Drop Kick Murphys because of their Irish beer parties!
Mike: Less Than Jake our great, great friends.
[John is having an OCD moment and just like the Energizer Bunny, he keeps going and going, naming off all of
the bands on the tour, much to my amusement.]
John: The Used, Simple Plan, Vendetta Red...
You can't say the used, they aren't here!
John: Oh right, not in Canada! Mest didn't make it in either!
Mike: They'll all be there tomorrow.
John: Face to Face... [and going...]
[We talk about The Used for a while reflecting on things that don't fit well in interviews.]
John: S.T.U.N. [and going...]
So how has the warped tour been treating ya?
John: Slick Shoes...Matchbook Romance...
Mike: The Warped Tour? The Warped Tour's been great!
John: Pennywise... [and going...]
Have there been any bands on the tour that have really kicked your ass? That have really blown you away?
John: Vendetta Red and Damone. [I am just about to stand up and remove the battery from Mister Collura when he finally decides to move on.]
Well, we already knew Damone so I'd say Vendetta Red is the new band that kicks ass.
Someone in the music industry said to me that the Warped tour was like a traveling circus...
Mike: Yeah...
Which act would you be?
Mike: Oh! We would definitely be the clowns.
Yeah?
Mike: Send in the clowns my friend.
Who's tour bus do you spend the most time on?
Mike: Not mine!
John: Ours stinks!
Mike: Ours stinks, it's broken there's no heat, no air...
What do you need heat for?
Mike: huh?
[I take a look around] It's the summertime.
Both: There's no air conditioning!
Well okay!
John: It's horrible, it's horrible!!
Mike: I spend the most time on Less Than Jake's bus because they're really fun.
Which band has the most girls on their bus?
Mike: [without hesitation] Mest!
John: and Damone.
Have you had an experience on the Warped tour that you thought would never happen?
Mike: Going to a nude beach. I thought that would never happen on the Warped tour.
John: Good enough.
There you go. Which one?
John: Right down the street.
Oh is that Wreck beach?
Mike: yup.
Oh No! [I begin to laugh. Wreck beach is known for being a really seedy place to hang out. I don't believe him for a second that he went over there and even if he did, he would most likely not have stayed long.]
Mike: No, I'm heading there right now.
Okay, fill in the blanks. I'd rather be dropped by my label than...
Mike: I'd rather be dropped by my label than...
John: Write songs that they want us to write [He barely spits it out before he breaks out in devilish laughter]
Mike: That's a good one!
Touring for me can be compared to....
John: A pirate.
Mike: [animated] Yeah! Yeah you're on fire!
You wouldn't catch me dead in...
John: Oh...a...a...a thong! [laughs]
Oh the mental image!
Mike: What? You wouldn't wear a banana hammock?
John: [in a low, dry and assertive masculine voice] NO. We're not from Quebec.
[I have a puzzled look on my face] I didn't think so.
John: I've seen those. See it's an old story...where I grew up in New York, our vacation spot was the Jersey shore and there
would be a massive amount of people from Quebec that would go there and all the older men would wear a banana hammock
to the beach and it was disgusting!
Mike: Shit happens!
John: I was scarred at seven.
[in a child-like voice] Daddy what's that?
John: Sorry!
[Everyone laughs]
You just gotta run.
John: Exactly! [laughs]
I don't leave home without my...
Mike: Towel.
John: What? Do you have a woobie? (John, what the hell is a woobie? Don't you mean woodie?)
Mike: No.
For Wreck beach right? You need to be ready!
Mike: A clean towel is the most important thing.
John: My phone...I don't leave without my phone.
[In a moment of panic brought on by John's comment, we all frantically check that we still have our phones on us
and then collectively breathe a sign of relief upon displaying our lifelines to one another.]
It's better to play Warped than...
Mike: Anything.
John: I won't knock out any of the other festivals but...Warped's my favorite.
You could say that it's better to play Warped than it is to be at home.
John: There you go!
Mike: You're so politically correct!
I'm a naughty little...
John: Boy.
[Everyone laughs at how quickly and naturally the answer flows from John.]
No hesitation there!
John: I'm a naughty little snide bastard.
And the last one is...Always eat your....
John: [Contorts his face] Greens? [The look on his face says it all, that he wanted so desperately to say something else. We all burst out laughing.]
Someone is going to go there eventually. Has anyone ever asked you a question you didn't want to answer?
Mike: Fuck yeah! all the time!
So what do you do?
John: They're always like, who do you not like on your tour?
Mike: We just try to be nice to them...I'm a nice guy. The worst question that we get asked a LOT
is...If you were a kitchen utensil, what utensil would you be and why?
John: I think people spread that on their website just because.
Okay...so if you were a kitchen utensil, which one would you be and why?
Mike: Oh baby, I would be a spatula so I can wipe you all down and smooth and clean.
Earmuffs! [John begins to laugh and repeats "earmuffs" as I reach over and cover Wonder dog's ears!] What? She's still a minor!
After somebody listens to your album for the first time, what do you want them to take away from it?
Mike: I don't know what...I guess when you write songs, honestly man, I want them to feel emotion...
John: Yeah feel emotion.
Mike: ...and be a part of the album when we put it out there.
John: ...to feel like they are a part of it, to feel like they are a part of that song.
Mike: I just want them to feel, I just want them to feel man.
John and Mike, why should the world care about the Ataris?
Mike: Ahhh because man, because we rule.
John: I think the world should care because I think we try to write stuff that's positive, I think we write stuff that people can relate to.
Mike: I just want them to take away a piece of us man, we're just laying ourselves out there man just bearing our souls. We're doing
that so people can feel.
John: Yeah, we're just people like everyone else but fortunate enough to be doing this.
It was an absolute pleasure.
John and Mike: Thank you! Thanks a lot!
John: [Leans over Wonder dog] and you give me a shake! [The pampered pooch is more than happy to oblige]
FIN
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