POLLUTEME/POLLUTED EZINE/Hangin with Apathy
Hangin with Apathy
written by: Jacob Robison
I hooked up with one of Apathy's guitarists,
Richard Smith, through a website that offers
free downloadable music by undiscovered bands
called mp3.corn. I performed a search on artists
from Kentucky and their name was on the list.
Apathy sounded interesting, so I downloaded
their song "4.19" and gave it a listen. Even
though the quality of the recording wasn't the
best, they still sounded tight. Anyway, to make
a long story short, we got in contact with each
other and decided to get together for an
interview.
Now here's the bitch part: it took two weeks of
emails to get it to where everyone involved had
the same time off from work. While they
I weren't working for the man, they were busy
recording their first CD. Finally, fate shines as;
Richard emails me and tells me that they will be
playing a show on one of my days off, so I made
plans to travel to Metropolis to check them out
live. The day before the show was supposed to
happen, Richard emails me back and tells me
that some crazy shit happened with the planning
of the show and that they weren't going to play.
Bummer. But he gave me his number and told
me to call him and we would set up the
interview.
When I called, he told me that they were going
to be practicing that night. When asked if they
would mind me sitting in, Richard replied, "Hell
no!" What follows is my account of the time
that I spent in the state of uncaring.
5:30 PJB.: Left Cadiz driving west on U.S.
68/80. The rain is relentless on its' assault on
my windshield. After almost eating the first
bridge going over Lake Barkley due to
hydroplaning, I contemplate pulling over more
than once. A few miles later and the rain lets
up, and I continue towards Mayfield.
6:30 p.m.: After arriving in Mayfield, I realize
that I have absolutely no idea where Wal-Mart
is (I am supposed to meet Richard there at 7:00).
So I do what most intelligent people do, I ask
for directions. After being set on the right path,
I find Wal-Mart without a hitch. My assistant
manager lent me her camera, so I go inside to
get some film. Thought about buying batteries
too but I decide against it.
6:50 p.m.: After loading the black and white
film into the camera, I walk back to wait in front
of Wal-Mart for some guy that I've never seen
before. I consider pulling out my hackey sack
and going to town on it when a short dude with
his eyebrow pierced approaches and says my
name. Introducing himself as Richard, he
informs me that we now have to drive to B.F.E.,
where they practice.
7:15 - 8:05 p.m.: I somehow manage to keep
up with Richard through a series of maze-like
turns and straight ways. Arriving relatively
unscratched at their practice place (the singer's
mother's garage), I gather my tools (notebook,
pencil, camera, and the last issue of Tribalized)
and take a deep breath. This is my first
interview of an actual band, and I don't want to
@#$% it up.
The first member of the band that I meet other
than Richard is Eric Alexander, the drummer.
He's in his car listening to a CD. After
introductions are made I follow them into the
garage where the third member of the band,
guitarist Jeremy Turner, is busy stringing his
guitar. I wade through the empty Sun Drop cans
and musical equipment to a chair and sit down,
nervously fingering the camera. Pretty soon
Richard and Eric get to work tuning their
instruments and I relax a little bit; so far, so
good- I give Richard the copy of Tribalized,
and he and the others check it out. Richard gives
me a copy of their CD, Defective.
Richard informs me that John Blalock, the only
member of the band that I haven't met, will be
showing up shortly. He also tells me that John
has a case of bronchitis, which really sucks
being that he is the singer. I turn on the camera
and realize that I should've bought batteries
when the damn flash ready light on the camera
doesn't come on. Jeremy gives John a call and
asks him to bring AA batteries with him when
he comes.
8:05 p.m.: John shows up with the batteries and
his bronchitis. He has his hair pulled back in a
ponytail and a hat on. He apologizes for being
late and we start the interview. He looks over
the magazine and gives his approval. After ten
minutes of questions, John picks his bass up and
starts tuning. I put my notebook and camera
down and prepare to be blown away
8:15 - 8:45 p.m.: They don't disappoint. They
begin by working on songs off of their CD,
entitled Defective. John's voice shows signs of
his ailment, but I'm sitting so close to the
speakers mat it doesn't matter. Each of the
musicians is perfectly in sync with the others,
showing a chemistry that can't be faked. And
even though I'm the only member of the
audience, they play with an energy that kicks
my ass. The first few songs that they play are
heavy with a lot of distortion. The only bad that
that I can say so far is that their music isn't very
diverse. Then again, that's not such a bad thing
when you kick as much ass as these guys kick.
8:45 p.m.: First break. The band has already
worked up a sweat (the garage doesn't have air
conditioning), and we're only thirty minutes
into the session. After quenching their thirst, I
ask some more questions of the band.
Eventually they pick their instruments back up
and start jamming again.
9:00 - 9:50 p.m.: They continue to go over the
material from their CD. By this time I've taken
all of the pictures that I need, so I put the
camera away and concentrate on the music.
They continue to get heavier and heavier. I
continue to be impressed.
9:50 p.m.: Second break. This time we step
outside where it is a lot cooler than in the
garage. John and I take a 'smoke' break, while
the others relax. By this time I've made up my
mind that I would buy their CD, even though I
got one for free. Jeremy took that as a good
sign.
Eric and Jeremy take off after drinks, while the
rest of us sit around the garage shooting the @#$%.
Not only are they excellent musicians, I find out
that they are pretty cool people to hang out with.
By the time that they get back with a half-case
of Sun Drop, everyone was in the mood for a
quick game of hackey sack. We head back
outside and attempt to play. Poor lighting and a
sloped hill work against the game, but we end
up with a good session anyway. One by one
everyone goes back inside and picks up their
instruments, until only Eric and I remain. I
pocket the hack, and follow Eric inside.
10:45 p.m.: Right in the middle of a song Eric's'
drum kit starts falling apart. Undaunted, they
finish the song without stopping. "We practice
until we break something", Richard says with a
smile. Eric spends the next ten minutes
searching unsuccessfully through the mess in
the garage for a replacement piece so that he can
fix his drums. After several attempts at playing
with the damaged drum kit, practice is called. I
have to decline an invitation to drink beer with
the band in order to get home and start working
on the article.
12:20 a.m.: I arrive back in Cadiz with my ears
still ringing from the music. I had a great time
on my first ever interview, and I got to listen to
some kick ass music. Thanks go out to Apathy
for letting me catch a glimpse of their world. I
hope we can do it again sometime.
If you were paying attention, you might have
read that I took some pictures. However, a
sudden case of stupidity came over me and I
exposed the whole damn roll on accident. I
went to Apathy's website hoping to find
some pictures that I could use, but
alas... they were all too dark. Oh well. I'll
try harder to control my sudden fits of
stupidity in the future.
