Crave Magazine » Content » Crave Northwest Feature - 2008 » A Night of Fear and Loathing with The Athiarchists

A Night of Fear and Loathing with The Athiarchists
By Ryer Star

    Known for their aggressive music as well as the hysterical Athiarchists TV, the duo has just put out their first full-length CD Don’t Be another Part of the Herd, playing their release party at the WOW Hall in front of 400 kids. They have shared the stage with metal giants such as Devil Driver, Hatebreed, and Hemlock and their DIY attitude is legendary. For example, they recently followed the Rockfest Mayhem tour just to play the parking lot at the end of the show. They play hundreds of shows all over the U.S. every year and are probably one of the hardest working bands I’ve ever met. They roll around town in their huge green van with the “free candy” sign in the window, scaring people with their PA system. I had been trying to nail down an interview with them for awhile, and we finally decided to go to the coast and do it party style. We checked into our room at the beach and started grilling up for fajitas, and we were ten minutes into our photo shoot when suddenly, there came an ominous knock at the door. It’s the hotel manager and he wanted to know what that smell was. After assuring him that we were on assignment and not up to anything illegal, he finally left. There was only one word to describe that moment...BUZZKILL.

    As we began the interview, guitarist and lead vocalist Aaron Tunnel was the only sober one. On stage you can often see him furiously punching himself in the head, angry and intense, and then suddenly his face lights up with a radiant smile as he looks across the crowd. That day at the beach he was intent, purposeful, and ready to share his story. His partner, drummer/vocalist Dano Lemm is an equally unique character, often hilarious, with a deep bass voice that can imitate almost anything. He is well known as the king of late night drunk dialing and the star of Myrmidon Sweaty Shorts, the most disgusting YouTube clip I’ve ever seen.

    We started out at the beginning. The idea grew from the word Athiarchist, something Aaron came up with as a way to channel all his hate and aggression. “I was just a drunk construction worker. I didn’t care if I died; I was driven to that point in my life where I just didn’t give a fuck about anything.” Dano added, “He was like the die-hard that would get in the jump suit, take everything out of his pockets, and jump in the pit.” I asked Aaron when things finally started to change. “I started writing all the time. ‘Vent’ was written in four days on the back of an envelope. When I wrote ‘The Athiarchist,’ I sat in my living room with the fog machine on and wrote the first thing that came to my mind. I wasn’t even thinking about a song; it was more a poem or statement. I took that first version out and played it for my Dad, and when he heard it he cried.” We talked about major influences, and other than Social Distortion and Propane, Aaron was quick to list his dad as an inspiration. “He was in a band for ten years and I talk to him about everything. Even now we bring him up on stage to play with us.” Aaron’s arms are tattooed with the band’s most meaningful lyrics. Dano’s arms are covered with the inked signatures of those that have inspired him. With dozens of signatures already, I asked if he would ever stop. “I won’t be done until my inspirations are done, or until I run out of skin!”

    The Athiarchist was singular at the time, with a seeming revolving door of flaky players until Aaron met Dano, then vocalist for Chainsaw Sex Vikings. It seemed like a fateful match, and as Dano’s band began to crumble and the players jamming with Aaron began to flake out, they both realized they were meant to play music together. “Dano and I were driving one day and I told him he should play drums. We both just knew.” That’s when the singular became plural, and The Athiarchists were born. Eventually, Aaron started messing around with a splitter and playing his guitar through a bass amp to create their signature sound. “We had a studio downtown and we would play music all night long. We would be smoking and drinking whisky and playing music until the sun came up.” Dano recounts, “Things were one big crazy party back then. We would get so messed up; we would be onstage and Aaron would literally pass out with his guitar still ringing. I would be behind my drum kit with my head on my snare, and we would still be there when the bar closed.” The band videoed every show they did for the first year, and that’s how Athiarchist TV got started.

    With their growing success, there has been a lot of jealousy from other bands. Despite this, they still have a healthy respect for other musicians. “I go and watch bands and I don’t leave halfway through their set, even if I don’t like the band. It’s having the respect to stay around and watch their performance. That’s the same attitude we both have; we’re never gonna fail anyone, that’s why we absolutely hate canceling shows. If it comes down to driving to Seattle and not getting paid, we’ll do it.” Another solid example of their work ethic, “So many bands worry about where they are in the line-up, if they open they say no one will be there, and if they close they say everyone will leave. We never rely on that. When you go on first and last and people are there to see you, that’s your crowd, and that following is up to you, not the club, promoters, or other bands.”

    I know they have taken a lot of criticism for how quickly they have risen in popularity in comparison to how long they have been playing their instruments. Aaron picked up the guitar and began singing only a few years ago, and Dano was a vocalist who only began beating the skins after the band’s old drummer became hooked on cocaine and had to be kicked out of the band. “We were not the best musicians; I’m still not a highly skilled musician. But we were doing the best we could with what we had, and it’s my belief that you don’t need to be the best guitar player in the world to write good music. You can be the worst player and write the most original song out there.” I asked Aaron about life on the road and I wasn’t surprised by the crazy stories that began to unfold, most of which I can’t even print here. “It was midnight, and I needed to get something out of my camera bag in the back of the van. I can’t wake Dano up so while I’m still driving I try to reach back and grab it and I fall over the center console. There I am, lying on the floor of the van, and it’s just Nick Cage-ing it down the middle of the road. I grab the camera bag, toss it in front like a grenade, get back in my seat and keep on driving.”

    When I asked how things have changed since the early days Aaron tells me, “We are obviously doing this because we love music, but it has gone from a hobby to a career, and we can’t do things how we used to. We gave away all our first CD’s for free. We knew we had to build a following. We played all the time, everywhere and anywhere, pay to play, you name it.” Dano remembers, “We were writing all these new, heavier songs, and after we wrote ‘Deathwish’,” everything totally changed. That’s where we went from a punk metal band, to a metal punk band.” That brought me to what seemed like a hard task, describing the band’s overall sound. When asked, Aaron spits the words out like bullets, “Two-piece anti-governmental hardcore thrash metal band with elements of punk.” He followed up, “We have a balance to our music, where everything sounds different. A few songs, some of them share similar riffs, but the hook is all different. The music is a saga that keeps developing.”

    They are known for their dedication as well as their epic set lengths; I have seen them play for over three hours in front of five people. “We’re stoked every time we get off stage, no matter what happens. One night I broke strings on my guitar and my back up guitar, and we never stopped. I ran backstage, changed my strings, and got right back into the vocal part after Dano finished. Not once did we stop. Dano pukes all the time, and just keeps on playing, never missing a beat. It takes commitment to do it, and it’s a feeling of pure accomplishment.” I asked him about preparing for a gig. “I’m so calm and quiet before shows. I don’t talk; I’m just focusing my mind and getting ready to rage.” Their live show is something of a phenomenon. “We don’t have a set list, and we don’t talk about what we’re going to play, we just go by feel. Before the show I think about everything that pisses me off, but I have a smile on my face while taking out that aggression on stage.” The band’s controversial lyrics have also caused them problems, including plenty of MySpace hate mail. “I have a way of writing that can make you feel like an idiot with just the brutal truth. Every one of those email wars ended up with that person putting us in their top friends.”

    When I asked how he felt about recording the new album, Aaron said, “I cried when I listened to it, it’s that good.” Recorded at Gung Ho Studios, they recount the experience as a positive one. “There were no artificial effects or digital compression. My bass sound was mic’d with a vintage mic, going through 1970’s pre amps. It sounds like the most perfect live show ever, and that’s what we were going for. I did my bass at the same time as my guitar; there was no double tracking, no double takes. It was straight through to the end, sweating like crazy, and twenty minutes later come back and do our vocals, screaming in each others faces.” He says animatedly, “It was seriously the most fun I have ever had.” Dano tells me, “When we heard it, we said, that’s exactly how we wanted it to sound. It wasn’t anything short of spectacular to us.”

    I asked the boys about their goals for the future, particularly their feelings on record deals. “It would be great if someone came around and believed in us, and wanted to help us tour and get our music distributed. But creative rights and the music itself, that is our heart we’re pouring out through our music, and no one is ever going to take that away from us.” Dano added, “The ideal goal for us is to be able to play shows and not have to worry about eating and paying rent. It’s never been about being a rockstar and drinking Cristal every night. It’s all about playing music.” I asked them what would change with success. “I think mostly I will just be a lot less stressed out. I’ve always hated tour buses, but now I see the necessity. If I didn’t have to drive and could just play shows every night and have a place to sleep, that would be ideal.”

    With the interview over, it was late and as I tried to get everyone to be quiet before we got kicked out, I kept hearing noises coming out of the dark. Dano said, “The sheep are revolting!” And as I tell our friend Wade to be quiet and stop making wild Ork noises he says, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead!” Then finally, as we begin to drift off, I hear someone mutter, “Beer is my blankie.” What a long night, and memorable adventure, but that’s how it always is with them, every day is like an episode straight out of Fear and Loathing. This dynamic duo could be compared to the infamous Blues Brothers, if not in music, then in their spirit and attitude. To find out more check out www.myspace.com/theathiarchists.