Interviews

THE ATARIS

Interview by Emily Kendy

   The Ataris have been around since...well, seemingly since the first-generation video system of the same name was invented. While the members of this band may not be ancient, they are veterans of touring and recording, with a current stateside tour in progress, soon to be followed by a quick jaunt through Europe and this summer's Warped Tour on the agenda; and the addition of their sixth album, SO LONG, ASTORIA, to the merchandise table. Talking to John Collura, the soon-to-be 31-year-old guitarist, it's evident these guys are happy lollygagging in adolescence. Johnny is jabbering on his cell phone in the tour van while fending off members of other bands and the eager knocking of radio contest winners waiting to meet these four thoroughly engaging, upstanding citizens of the modern-day punk world.

    Johnny tells SKRATCH about what it's like to mature on the road, how he feels about the band being labeled a less-frivolous Blink 182, and the recent air-time he and bassist Mike Davenport shared on the freakishly popular radio show, Loveline.

SKRATCH: Where are you guys right now?
JOHN: Kansas City. We're playing at this place called Beaumonts. It's weird—it's more like a sports club.

SKRATCH: I read an interview with you guys when you were still on Kung Fu Records, and you were talking about seeking out a different label, but you didn't want to "sell out" and were adamant about maintaining your independence as a band. Has this happened for you with Columbia Records?
JOHN: I totally feel that way. We still do everything on our own: merchandise, music, tours, choosing the bands that open for us...Nothing has really changed, other than Columbia providing us with far more promotion. With Kung Fu, we'd done three records for them under the contract, and we also did some extra, but it was time to go in a different direction.

SKRATCH: So you guys are big GOONIES fans, referring to the town in the movie in the title of your CD, SO LONG, ASTORIA. Give me a line from the movie.
JOHN: "This is my wish: I'm taking them back, I'm taking it all back." Remember that? I think the reference in our album is part of the theme of nostalgia. The album is about the band's life, the adventure of six years. It sort of relates to the movie, the kids' adventure and sticking together through good times and bad.

SKRATCH: How do you feel about The Ataris being called a less frivolous Blink-182?
JOHN: I always thought The Ataris were different. Blink 182, they are pretty much known as a pee-pee poo-poo band. I mean, they had a couple serious songs, like that song [He sings the word "holiday"]. That was a good song—but a little too late for them. The Ataris are never at the point of being tasteless. This band gets lumped in with a lot of other bands, but there's something different about it—and I'm talking from an outsider's view, because I've been in the band for [only] two years. The first time I heard them, they had just put out an EP on Fat Wreck Chords, and I was on Fearless with a different band (Beefcake), but we had the same promoters. And when I heard their EP, I was astonished, you know? I was waiting for double-time beats, quadruple-time beats, but they were such a songwriting band…and the band's been maturing naturally. "Sad Song" and "My Reply" are really powerful songs.

SKRATCH: Well, you guys tackle some issues on your latest release.
JOHN: Well, Kris [Roe, singer] writes what he knows. I think in the past the band was known for its "relationship" songs, but now Kris is married, so there isn't any heartache or woes to write about anymore.

SKRATCH: If you could compare The Ataris style to that of a car, what sort of car would the band be?
JOHN: That is a very…interesting question. I have not been asked that before. I want to think of a car that doesn't break down easily. What's a real reliable car?

SKRATCH: Uh, Honda?
JOHN: Yeah, like a Honda, or a Toyota Camry. We're not too flashy, not looking to speed ahead and break down, [but] just to last through the winters, the salt on the roads—with enough room to pick up stranded hitchhikers.

SKRATCH: What is a current fixation?
JOHN: Well, I guess you could say reading, because I'm reading this book by Michael Moore called STUPID WHITE MEN.

SKRATCH: Yes, I work at a bookstore. I know the book well.
JOHN: Well, here's what I'll say about Michael Moore: 80% of the time he's right on, but about 20 % [he's off]. I mean, I really admire him, but some things he says really piss me off. Like when he says that it's hard for people on welfare with six kids, but he doesn't talk about why these people aren't using protection, you know? Or he walks through L.A.'s South Central at noon one day and says, "Oh, it's not so bad," but he doesn't try going there at night. So he's an extremist, but he's still rad.

SKRATCH: How do you guys spoil yourselves on the road?
JOHN: Oh, I don't know: go to music store, read. Mike is a video-game freak.

SKRATCH: Sounds like you guys are a bunch of nerds.
JOHN: Well, I mean, when we first started playing and touring with our bands, we'd wander aimlessly during tours and check everything out. But, you know, now it's like, "Oh, here we are in Boise, Idaho, again," you know? We already know where the tattoo shop is, the Supercuts, the deli…I mean, in Europe we're more into going out, to museums, like the Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam.

SKRATCH: I went there!
JOHN: Did you go to Germany? Man, Berlin was cool. They had a space needle—like the one in Toronto—and up at the top in every direction you looked was rebuilt [areas], or the remains from World War II.

SKRATCH: So it just gets a bit mundane re-crossing territory in the States?
JOHN: Well, you know, the scenery from Utah to Colorado on [Interstate] 70 is beautiful. It's like Mars. (Now I sound like a hippie.)

SKRATCH: Let's talk about guitar. How have you improved since you began playing?
JOHN: I like to think I've gotten better. I know that playing with The Ataris [has forced me to improve] because it's such a different style. Chris is creative, and the melody lines can be tricky for me to keep up with. (He plays a right-handed guitar upside-down.)

SKRATCH: Why? Did someone in his family have a left-handed guitar that he learned on or something?
JOHN: No, he's just always played that way. I think there's a picture of him as a kid playing like that. So he's able to reach parts of the guitar that I can't, and he'll write melody in G, B, and E, and so that can be confusing for me at times. I'm often pretzeling me fingers.

SKRATCH: How do you keep yourself inspired on guitar?
JOHN: What? I…I don't know. I just love music. I mean, if we played the same songs every day for three years, I'd probably want to kill myself but…I have this Pandora Box, which you hook up to your guitar and into a Walkman. It has 100 different sounds and effects. I just convinced Mike to buy the one for a bass.

SKRATCH: How have your formative years impacted your playing?
JOHN: Well, in high school I was into metal. I didn't start playing the guitar seriously until 23, though. But back then I wanted to learn Yngwie Malmsteen solos and look cool at parties—until I heard Fugazi and Nirvana and Green Day. Suddenly I was like, There's no need for [rippin' solos].

SKRATCH: What's been your strangest celebrity encounter?
JOHN: Well, does Fat Mike count? I still turn into a nerd when I see him, I always feel like such a dork, you know? I remember trying to track him down, to give him my demo tape or stalking him at the Warped Tour shows. NOFX is still one of my all-time favorite bands. I think now, though, [Fat Mike] knows my name. Oh, and Mike [from The Ataris] and I were on the Dr. Drew show last week.

SKRATCH: No way! Did you give out advice?
JOHN: Yeah, it was hilarious. Actually, we really wanted to meet Adam Carrola, but he was conference-calling from North Carolina, where there was some sort of DAWSON'S CREEK shoot going on. What was funny though, was after the show Dr. Drew was all, "You guys really got to set limits with your fans, you know that? You're way to nice! I'd just tell them to beat it!" You know the way he talks, hey? He kept saying things like, "You should just tell them to fuck off!"

SKRATCH: You guys aren't really about that?
JOHN: We are a band for the fans [...]. We're tight with our fans. We're constantly on our message board, and we read all the letters we receive. Nine out of 10 shows we try and stick around and talk to the kids.

SKRATCH: Do you have any shout-outs?
JOHN: If I gave a shout-out to every band I liked, that would be a whole other interview. I'll say Chics Dig It. They're a band out of Canada, from Calgary. I haven't heard anything about them for a while. Where are they? Let this be an official shout-out to them. Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I hope I didn't bore you.
SKRATCH: Nah, it was this or watch daytime television.

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