Interview with Attica! Attica! - Podcast 104

This is Aaron from Attica Attica, and you are listening to Sound Scene Revolution.

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We have a really, it's kind of a really exciting interview for me, actually. We sat down this week with Aaron Scott, ex-singer of Marathon, ex-singer of De La Hoya, and currently of Attica Attica, which is a project he's kind of the mastermind behind, if you will. And I've got to give a little background information on this. I knew who Marathon was. I was a fan of Marathon, and I liked their music, and I knew they had broken up three, four years ago. But I was unaware that Aaron had actually gone off and done solo stuff. I know two of the guys had gone on to form Polar Bear Club, or maybe they were in it at the time. But anyhow, they're in Polar Bear Club. I didn't know Aaron went on to do Attica Attica.

And so he dropped us a line probably about a month before the interview, and was like, oh, I'm going to be in the area. Would you be interested in doing an interview? And he was really cool about it. Like, it wasn't presumptuous. Like, he was like, I don't, you know, I wouldn't normally ask, but I know I listened to the No Trigger interview that you guys did, and they mentioned Marathon, and you had mentioned that you liked the band. And so I thought maybe you'd be interested in sitting down with me. And I was really stoked, not only because, A, it means someone listened to our shows, but, B, that, you know, it was someone from a band who I was actually, you know, a fan of. And so we, of course, jumped at the opportunity between the time Aaron wrote us and the time of the interview I had downloaded, legally, the Attica Attica album, Dead Skin, Dried Blood, and listened to it, like, pretty religiously, like, probably, like, twice a day for, like, three weeks.

It was pretty ridiculous. And so I got super into the album, and it was a really cool experience to kind of talk to him. And he's a really, really interesting guy. So if you're not familiar with his work, check him out. And please, like, if I can urge you to listen to, like, one of our interviews this year, it would be this one because, you know, he likes the show or, you know, he claimed to. If he didn't, if he doesn't like it, he at least did his research into past shows. So check it out. We're going to play some music. Oh, and if that doesn't work, we have a ton of shit to give away. I should have said that, like, those should have been the first words out of my mouth. Aaron Scott gave us a ton of shit because he's a really rad dude.

We'll call it the Aaron Scott Prize Pack. It includes both the Marathon EP and full-length on CD. It includes the Attica Attica full-length on CD. It includes a Red Leader sampler on CD. It includes a shit ton of stickers. And it includes the Red Leader 10-inch cake picture disc, which features Attica Attica, the new dress. I'm never going to, I can't pronounce this band's name. I feel like such a hillbilly when I try and pronounce it. Nakatomi Plaza. And Scream Hello. And they all do cover songs. And it's a picture disc, 10-inch record. I think they made 500 of them. And so, oh, and you get a t-shirt. It's a large American Apparel gray Attica Attica t-shirt. So you get three CDs, a record, four CDs because you get the sampler, a record, and a shirt.

And so all of that will be given away at the end. And it's really worth listening because Aaron's a really interesting dude. And so we're going to kick this off with a track off of Attica Attica's full-length, first full-length, Dead Skin, Dry Blood. And we're going to start by playing Dirge to the Underground. So enjoy it, and we'll catch up with you guys later.

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Yep. Hello. Yeah, there we are. The little hello introduction. The high part. Yeah. Got that. That way everyone knows you're actually here with us. But I guess, so this is your first time back in California in like five years, you were saying? Yeah, I think the last time I was here was with Marathon, but that was, we actually never made it out here after our first California run. Because we were so awesome, you were just. We were like, you know, we don't really need to come back here. We're never going back to California. No, it was good. We played, you know, we got a chance to play Gilman and some sort of art gallery in San Francisco. But then we just got, I think we just got really practical about it, which is less fun, obviously.

But we just kept touring more regionally. And because we lost so much money on that first tour. We toured for seven weeks with a band called Nakatomi Plaza. And we went all up through Canada and everything. And I mean, it was totally great, but it was just so long and so draining. And it just, being that early in the band, it really sort of set us back financially. And we were like, okay, we're not doing that again unless the right thing comes along. And we just kept finding more like regional stuff to do. You kept finding better reasons not to go back to California. Yeah, I mean, well, I've been out here a bunch. My sister used to live in San Francisco, and I really like it out here. And, you know, now I live on the West Coast, but I just haven't put it together until now.

That's cool. Yeah. So this will be your first time out here playing Attica Attica stuff? Yeah. I've played in Portland a bunch, and I have sort of a little bit of a, it's cool. We're kind of building like a little bit of a, I don't know what the heck you want to call it, alternative folk or folk punk thing there. But it's my first time playing outside of Portland on the West Coast. Very cool. And we don't consider Portland part of the West, like down here. It's totally, we look down on it. Okay. I'm not offended. Yeah. I don't want to say we like, dislike them, but like if they seeded from the nation, we wouldn't, you know, if they decided they were, I'd be like, bye Portland. Bye. Don't let a, you know, like Olympia hit you on the way out.

Well. Like they're close, by the way. Yeah. They're totally, they're right next to each other if you ever look at a U.S. map. Well, so what about Seattle? Seattle's all right. Okay. Seattle's okay. Portland's okay too. I don't like most of Oregon. Oh, okay. Portland's all right. Well. You got Oregon beef. I got, well, my family lives in Oregon, but they live out in like the sticks. Like my mom lives out near Roseville. Okay. Which, I don't know if you know where that is. I don't. Yeah, no one does. It's, it's. Well, I don't know anything about Oregon. Okay. I don't have a car, so I know a lot about Portland. You know a lot about the Portland area? Well, if you were to walk like two days, you would hit Roseville. Just get on five and head south.

I'll look into that trip. Yeah, let me know how that is because they have nothing really out there to attract anyone, but. You're really selling me on this. I know. It's a great place. Believe me. Right. If you ever get the opportunity, totally go. I'll check it out. Right. One of these days. Increasing tourism. Well, it took me five years to get back to California, so I guess how long it'll take me to get to Roseville. Two days if you walk quick. Right. I've already told you this. We've gone over these details. Fair enough. But, so, I guess the, talking about music, as that's what you're here doing. Yes. So, your current project, Attica Attica, it's really, really different, like, musically than anything you've, well, that I'm aware of that you've done before.

Maybe not, but. Right. No, you're right. What, like, what inspired you to do that? Was that just something like you wanted to just reach out there? Or was it like music you had been working on for a while? Or, you know, during the whole tenure of Marathon, I would bring in songs, and the vast majority of the songs, I mean, I wrote all the lyrics and the melodies, but the vast majority of the music I brought in, they were like, that's not a Marathon song. And it's not a punk song, and it doesn't sound good with drums. Okay. Fair enough. Well, because almost every song I was writing, I was writing the melody first, and then I was trying to, like, craft the music to meet it, and I couldn't really, I don't necessarily hear drums in my head the way, you know, better musicians do or whatever, so.

A drummer. Right, exactly. Well, everyone else in the band, basically, so most of my songs were getting discarded, as far as the full songs I brought in, and they were right, you know, they weren't a good fit, and so I started putting, you know, banking them and working on them a little bit, and then when we decided to break up, I was like, well, I have all these songs anyway, and why not just finish the record? And almost all of my friends moved out of Ithaca around that time, which is where I was living, and I had a buddy who has a home studio, and he was like, hey, let's just do this, so it took, like, six months to record the whole thing, not because we're the Mars Volta or whatever, but because we decided, you know, let's just make it nice and easy, and so we did a couple hours, a few afternoons every week, and it just came out so different from how I thought at the beginning.

I thought it was just going to be really rough demos, just me and a guitar, and then some of it came out pretty epic. Like a friend, an old roommate of mine had a cello, and she's a concert cellist, she didn't happen to have a cello, but she... I happen to be a concert cellist, and I own a cello. Right. Wonders, man. Yeah, the height of coincidences, and she came in, and so there's... just all these things came together, and in a way that I wasn't even planning, I wasn't even... the way the timing worked out, it almost looked like, well, you know, he quit Marathon to do all his solo stuff. I didn't then, and I don't even now necessarily have aspirations, like, these are the things I'm going to do with this, and it's been really awesome to just... like my friend Jim from Ray Giussance, who I'm on tour with, Ray Giussance, and Red Tag Rummage Sale, both of them are from New York State, and Jim called me up, he said, hey, I'm touring up the West Coast, do you want to come for a few days?

And I said, totally. And because I don't have... Holy Christ. Whoa, biker game. Yeah, it's like a cavalcade of guys on really loud bikes. I'm not a big fan of, like, flame detailing, but I did like that neon one with the black flame. Yeah, that was nice. That was pretty good. I just, I don't like Harley-Davidson's in general, so... I can't say I'm particular about motorcycles one way or the other, but... Yeah. Well, anyway. In fact, point, matter ahead. Whatever I was saying, it's nice, it's nice, because I can just show up somewhere. Yeah. And, but I can also call up friends and say, like, past couple tours I did, past two summers in the East Coast area, had a couple friends who came along and played with me, and one of whom was Chris Antall, who recorded this stuff with me.

And, and then, you know, I've toured with other bands, and they joined up for a few songs and whatnot. And I don't want to go as far as to say, like, oh, yeah, it's a collective, or whatever, but, but I did, I did want to name it Attica Attica, well, a band name instead of my name, just because I felt like it would feel better if other people were playing with me. Yeah. You wouldn't be like, hey, it's me, and these guys. I know, yeah, I think there's a certain area, well, I mean, I don't want to indirectly call out all the people who do that, but, like, I think it's a little arrogant of me if I was like, hey, I'm Aaron Scott. Yeah. And there's three other people on stage. I'm Aaron Scott. You don't even know about these jerks, you know.

Yeah, these guys aren't part of the guarantee. Right, exactly. They don't make. Right, I pay them out of, actually, in most of those situations, if, if those backup people are paid, they're paid way better than the solo person. I mean, unless you're like, I don't know, Jason Mraz or whatever. Yeah. Is that his first name? Jason Mraz? Jason? I think that's right, yeah. I saw it in the paper the other day. Yeah. I was grasping at a successful single singer-songwriter, but. Ben Harper? Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson. Dave Matthews, but he's got the Dave Matthews band. Yeah, he's big enough that everyone has their own cult of personality. Yeah. But I actually, I've heard they split the money evenly. I don't know if that's true or not, or if that's what his PR guy put out there.

Wow. It could be like the Aaron Scott experience. Ooh. If you had an experience, it's good. Experience. Well. You need laser shows. A friend of mine, I think it was Matt from Red Leader, said I need to be called Aaron Scott and the astronauts. Why? But I don't think something rhyming is justification for. I think that might be the greatest reason to do anything. I think that. We'll cut that out of the interview soon. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. So you can unveil that later. Right. The grand unveiling in my big marketing scheme. Hell yeah. Yeah. The giant push. I like that. Well, have you heard about this new guy and all the astronauts he has? Yeah. All right. Let's listen to that. Let's talk about that for a little bit. Right.

But, so, to the music, there's the full length that you have under the Attica Attica moniker. I do. Dead Skin and Dread Blood. It has, it's kind of like thematic. I mean, especially with like the first track and last track, Motion Signals and Flamethrower, where they both kind of encapsulate each other. Was that one of those things that when you were like writing it, that was something that you would thought or like as you were kind of putting the songs together? I mean, obviously, first song, last song, there's forethought in that. But like the rest of the tracks, was it just kind of as you were putting them together, it kind of like told the story or?

When I used to write songs, I'd write like really try to put the whole arc of whatever theme for that song in the song. And then I realized that all the, I mean, I was doing a lot of traveling at the time and just really not sure where to go next with myself. And I realized so many of the songs were coming out the same. And I really, and I wanted to, one of my biggest problems with being in bands and touring a lot prior to, you know, slowing down and just doing some solo stuff was that a lot of the themes were about making your world better or community or whatnot. And meanwhile, we were just constantly traveling. And so, and when I wasn't traveling, I was booking shows or I was, I don't know, just doing dumb web promotion or whatever.

And so then I'd go somewhere and people who really liked Marathon would say, oh, so, you know, what are you guys involved in at home? You know, they're like really into the activist-y lyrics. And I said, well, you know, uh, and I look over and my bandmates are like debating who farted, you know, like, well, I don't know what they do. And, and I, I, I book shows and that's like all I have time to do. And, um, and it just, it seemed like there was a huge disconnect between what I was singing about and what I was actually doing. And I was getting really sort of bummed out that I had never really tried to invest in my community in any way because I was just singing about how great it would be for everyone to invest in your community.

And I think it's sort of like, I'm not really into people saying like, oh yeah, my, my music is my activism. It's like, okay, well I, I can appreciate that people get inspired by music and then they go do stuff. But I don't think it's right to be like, well, I don't need to do anything else because Did you hear the song I wrote about doing community service? Excuse me. I, uh, I spent a lot of time on that and, uh, I got, I got my graffiti, uh, ordinance violation, you know, cleared up because of all that community service I did writing that song. Exactly. Yeah. I did a PSA. It was pretty, not don't drink and drive PSA. It was pretty good. Yeah. Featured Kelsey Grammer. Oh man. I would listen to that. That'd be fantastic.

Amazing noise. For, for a guy who married a stripper, he's, yeah, he sounds really like cultured, but he married a stripper. So I don't really, you know, I, I think it's okay for a stripper to be cultured. I, I, I think it's okay. I don't think it happens. I mean, theoretically they're all going to medical school. We're going to have to look at some stats. Yeah. We're going to have to go talk to some strippers, find out which one of them are entering higher education. So in regard to the album, there's also, there's tracks on it that are very narrative. There's ones like, um, Oh, hold on. I wrote the names down cause I'm glad with names. Oh, here we go. Tires and meant and like blackout that are like, they're, they're very narrative.

Like they follow a certain character. Right. And, uh, I was wondering how many of those or any of them are they based on like actual life experience, like incidents in your own life? Well, you know, everything, everything's based on life experience, um, to a point. I mean, the tires and mint is all about my dental experience, which has been nothing short of a horror movie. What's up? Everyone's trying to talk to you or something. Oh, I'm just excited. Do you see how steamed these windows are? Yeah. Sorry. Sorry there. Anyway. So, so, uh, yeah, like tires and mint is a, um, it's all about my dental experience. I, I, all my teeth are fake. Really? Yeah. Because I don't know, I had some sort of family disease or whatever where so many of my permanent teeth were never there.

Like the genetic information wasn't there. Really? So they just never came in. Yeah. So the insurance company paid for them to like straighten all my teeth and then pull a ton of them out and then shave them down to fangs, what was left, and then put these caps on them. The veneers on them? Yeah. Oh. So, I mean, it was like this four year process. That sounds horrible. Yeah. It was real bad. And so now, you know, I, uh, I needed, I needed to talk about it. I, I dream about my teeth falling out all the time. It's really, that's actually a really common dream. Yeah. Well, but it's like, it's really specific because it's like the caps falling off. And if that happens, like I don't have the money to, to deal with that.

I don't have insurance or whatever. So. Can we see them? Uh, yeah. Yeah. For the radio. Wow. Can you see that? They are really straight though. Well, they, yeah, I mean. Yeah. It'd be messed up if they weren't straight. If they put them in a whole fucked up. Yeah. Well, they gave you these really not straight teeth. Well, teeth are interesting. Cause like. They should interlace. Like there's. It's like a, like a basket. Yeah. Like, no, like where it comes down, like where there's a bottom tooth, there's not a top tooth. And when there's a top tooth, there's not a, and they just come together like a zipper almost. That, you know, I think that'd really mess up the muscle in your jaw. Cause when they shaved down my teeth, there was just like a millimeter less of like, I don't know how to explain this, but like of, of tooth basically.

And so my jaw could close just like a millimeter more. Yeah. And when it did that, when my muscle could stretch, it was the most nauseating feeling I've ever felt. I almost puked right on the spot. Cause I would imagine. Yeah. Like it would almost go through everything entangled with that whole area, which possibly your equilibrium and all that shit. But, um, so anyway, yeah, that's about my life. Not to make fun of your dental, it sounds like a terrible experience. It was bad. It was bad. But, you know, I mean, it's, it's a, it's intended to be a slightly humorous song. Yeah. Um, the like blackout, for example, that's more based on how, um, I've been through a few like pretty long blackouts that lasted, you know, an indefinite amount of time at the beginning, you're like, Oh wait, the lights aren't going to come back on.

And it just changed everything. Restaurants started giving away food. Everyone came outside and just hung out and I met people I'd never met before or live right next to me. Yeah. And so I was already writing all these songs about traveling and that's actually the last song I wrote for the record. I said, you know, I needed one more that was like a little bit different from all the other stuff. Yeah. And so I just took this idea of, okay, well, what if you intentionally created that now, you know, if you shut down a power station, if you could even figure out how to do that, you know, you'd, you'd probably be like put in jail for, you know, terrorism or whatever in our current climate. But, um, so it's not based on my life in that way, but, uh, but you know, it's, it's that fantasy of like, okay, well, how do, how do we create community and how do we, how do we get people out of their little world that exactly.

I live in a condo complex and I know exactly zero of my neighbors. Right. Exactly. And like how, how could the idea is how could we change that on a grand scale? I mean, you know, like each of us know theoretically how we could change it on our own. Yeah. So I want, I wanted to just feel like I've really covered a lot of the topics in really uninteresting ways in other songs I've written over my life. And so I, I, part of, part of this record was to kind of take another look at that stuff. Mm-hmm. Sounds cool. Hey, we're re-recording the middle section via my phone and sending it out to sound guy Nerman because Aaron actually sent us an unreleased Attica Attica song that we're adding to the show. Uh, it's called Hobo Stew.

It hasn't been released yet. So enjoy it. We'll get back to the interview and then we're going to give away a ton of Aaron Scott stuff, uh, Marathon CDs, Attica Attica CDs, uh, 10 inch, uh, record. We're giving away a ton of stuff. So enjoy, uh, here's Hobo Stew and then we'll go back to the interview. Thanks. Sorry for the shitty, uh, audio quality.

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The song, uh, the last one on the album, Flamethrower, that I mentioned earlier, um, it shares, like, lyrically and thematically a lot with the first track, Motion Sickness, but, um, musically it's very different from the other ones on the album, it has, like, almost like a synthesizer type beat to that, and was that something, like, were you just like, eh, I'll just make the last one different from... Well, I mean, if I had my way, it would have been that, the music to that would have been somewhere else in the record, but, um, I was already doing it acoustic, and then Chris, who I recorded with, said, you know, we need, we need this to be more interesting, so he put together all the synthesizers, and there's some cool parts where he actually cuts up the audio to the acoustic guitar, and makes that more mechanized or whatever, and, uh, I think it works, but it also sort of sounds like my next record's gonna sound like Kraftwerk or something like that, you know, as the last song.

So, and that's not the case, I mean, it's probably the only, like, synthesizer song I'll do anytime in the near future, because I don't have those skills, nor am I trying to hone those, but... We can get you one, we can find a synthesizer, we can make this happen. All that was standing in my way was... The lack of synthesizer. The equipment, I guess, yeah. And now that we can get you, oh, a whole new world has opened up to you. Eat your out, Timbaland, I'm gonna be the next producer. I would love to hear that. Actually, speaking of producers, this, um, you know, like, on, I don't know, 90s hip-hop or whatever, that there's always some guy who isn't really involved, this sort of led into the featuring specific rappers on top, there is just, like, some studio guy just freaking out in the background, just, like, singing about, you know, I'm talking about Snoop or something like that, and I...

That guy's my hero. Yeah, exactly. At some point, I decided that that was my dream job, is to just get called in to a studio. We just need you to shout in the background. Yeah, there is no one else who can do this, and everyone who's in the studio already has decided that you are the person to do this, and come in and just freak out. You're our background, man. Yeah, that's what I want, and, um, and I, I got to live that dream. Polar Bear Club was recording in Seattle, and they're like, why don't you come up and sing a few lines? And I was like, this is the call I've been waiting for. This is it! Yes! So, uh... Talking about Polar Bear Club! Yeah, exactly. That's all I do, is I just, I give the hype shout-outs.

Nice. They're too embarrassed to self-refer. New single! Exactly. Nice. Actually, I say it's the remix, even though it's the first. Even though it's not the remix? Yeah. Oh, is it? I don't know when the hell it's coming out, but... Neither do I. Sometime soon. I think... Actually, no. I do know when it's coming out, and I'm embarrassed, because... Oh. It's coming out on the anniversary of my wedding. Oh, okay. So... So on your anniversary, you're going to be standing in line with... I'm going to be waiting... Oh, I'm going to be waiting... Fuck that, dude. I'm going to be downloading that two months ahead now. Oh, don't say that. I don't... I'm actually... I can say... I'm one of, like, four people on Earth who doesn't illegally download still.

No one's in denial anymore on the internet. No, I just... I'm too lazy to, like... I've looked for stuff before, and I can't find it right away, and I'm like, oh, fuck it. Right. Well, you know, I think that's a weird advantage of being a lesser-known musician, is people actually kind of have to buy your physical copies, but at this point, for me, I mean, I've given up any sort of delusion that I'm going to really make any money or make... And by make money, I mean just, like, pay off what I put in. Yeah. Break it, man. Right. And I just want... I'm sort of tired of a price tag being an obstacle to hearing my music. Yeah. And so, I'm actually... My next plan is I'm going to record some stuff, I don't know, this summer sometime, hopefully, and then just put it online for donation.

Nice. Sort of follow the quote-unquote model or whatever. I mean, I don't know if anyone donates to them, but it's sort of like, if people are already downloading, then, like, who am I to stand in their way, you know? Jeff says they do all right. I mean, they do enough to pay for what they record at least, so... Well, I mean, they also have some pretty damn good music on there, so that helps, for sure. Yeah, it doesn't hurt. Yeah. Plus, when you're backed by the guy who fronts bomb the music industry, he's called a personality right there. Yeah. I saw them, actually, last Sunday. Their fans are scary crazy. Are they super into it? They're super, super, super into it. Yeah, I missed him when he came through, or them, I don't know how many people were rolling with them.

Yeah, technically, it's a them, I guess, but, I mean, it's like, you know, if everybody but him didn't show up, people would still probably go. If he didn't show up, it didn't matter if the other five guys were there. I still haven't seen them play. I need to do that. Depending on the night and time, it can be... Well, I mean, I've seen them where it's him and two other guys, and they're drunk, and they're falling off stage, and it's fun, but you don't... I don't know what they were playing that night, but this last time, they were good. They had drummer, bass player, guitar player, keyboardist, trombonist. Holy cow. Yeah, they had, like, it was six dudes. It was really good. So, yeah, it just depends on what you're into.

But, I want to talk about, on your website, you have blog postings by, I guess, a friend of yours, Bruce. Yeah. Who, I don't... He shouldn't... Is he out yet, or is he still? He is out. He was incarcerated for, I think, about three years.

He sent me letters, and I was like, man, your life is so fascinating. And I think that prisoners deserve so much more of a voice than, you know, us, basically. I mean, I think there are pop cultural representations of prisons that are effective in some ways, but then they, you know... I mean, he was in a prison where there was, like, almost no violence. Yeah. But it was still a prison, and you still have, like, these dehumanizing conditions. And I think that it was... I just said, you know, someone else has to hear this besides me. So, I asked him to start writing letters. And so, all those, yeah, all those are posted on AtticaAttica.org. And it's just a cool window into a life that I think no one really pays attention to, because they just assume it's not going to happen to them.

And it's important, especially, you know, with all the Bush-era policies, that Obama isn't getting rid of fast enough to make me happy. Yeah, that are still there.

And the fact that the state just can do whatever they want, in almost any circumstance, that, you know, we really humanize the prison conditions. So, we're actually concerned for the millions of people who are in the prisons. And our interest in legislation that makes, you know, decriminalizes things that are, shouldn't be illegal, and et cetera, et cetera. But also, so we're, I mean, I think it's good to be concerned about what can happen to you if you're, like, the state doesn't like what you're doing. And I know that sounds like tinfoil hat paranoid, but I think that in my opinion, in my view, that's just how things work, and it's important to be concerned at all times. Yeah. Well, I mean, like, when I was going through it, I mean, he got three years for a first-time non-violent offense.

Right. And to me, like, I mean, granted, I guess it was for, he, what, possession with intent to sell? Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I mean, you know, it is a crime, but I mean, three years for a non-violent first-time offense just, it blows my mind to think that you can get that. But, I mean, it happens, clearly. Right, and then when you get a felony on your record, then you can't find good work. And so, like, what's the, you know, you can't vote, you can't find good work, and so what's the incentive to stay, you know, straight or whatever? To go out there and try and find a real job. Right, if all you're finding is dead ends. Yeah. You know, I mean, if it's between two applications, someone's got a felony on there, like, nine times out of ten, or ninety-nine out of a hundred, someone's got to just pick the other person.

The guy without the felony, yeah. Exactly. Well, I was, I mean, I was reading through them. I've read, I spent, probably, well, no one of my work listens, spent a good portion of my last couple of work days reading through them. Cool, yeah. And, I mean, it just, the whole thing from, you know, the fact that there was, like, no fence to, you know, that there was just, like, a line that you couldn't cross. But if you cross that line, you're getting five more years, and, I mean, to, the fact that, in terms of additional programs, they had the horticulture program. Yeah. And that was it, and I'm kind of like, what the fuck are you going to do with that? I mean, logically, when you get out, you're going to be a, you know, work in a greenhouse?

Like, that's your option. Yeah, and, yeah, they don't, and I read, I remember reading some Time Magazine article, and I mean, I think Time is trash, but, like, you know, back when I was a kid or whatever, and I'm reading some Time Magazine article about, like, should inmates be allowed to have TV and weights and stuff, and it's like, man, do you think just, like, not being able to do what you want to do at all times, do you think that anything gets worse than that? Yeah. You know, like, you're taking away, like, these little things, but, like, that right there is just the worst, even if you're in a minimum security facility or whatever, and so, you know, anything you take, you don't provide to create, like, a somewhat comfy life is just, like, totally unnecessarily punishing someone.

Well, that's, I mean, it started in, like, what is it, I guess here in California, like, the 80s with the tough-on-crime bills. Yeah. And which now, apparently, guess what, they're responsible for us having one of the highest prison populations and now have bankrupted the state. Right. Good job, but, you know, and that's the way everyone views it is, you know, prisoners should have no rights, like, they fucked up and now let's chain them to a wall for five years. Totally. Well, that's where the name Attica Attica came from is, I don't know if you're familiar, but there was a prison revolt in upstate New York, Attica State Penitentiary, and they basically, the state came in and, you know, just started, threw down tear gas, I mean, like, really oversimplifying it for the sake of time, but basically threw down tear gas, shot indiscriminately in this crowd of hostages and prisoners, blamed the hostage deaths on the prisoners, and then bulldozed all the evidence, didn't provide ambulances for the prisoners, and, you know, sadly, as a result of that, it was an excuse for all these prisoners to get, like, go for the tough-on-crime stuff and all that, and it's like people don't get the point, it's like, oh, why are the prisoners revolting, you know?

Yeah. Not like, oh, because these conditions are so dehumanizing. Yeah, because they're terrible people. Yeah, exactly. Clearly. So, you know, and, like, if you already have a crime on your record, then, you know, like, people are pretty willing to be like, oh, yeah, obviously it's your fault. Yeah, you're the criminal, clearly. Right. You're the one to blame. It's an uplifting topic. Yeah. I don't engage in it on a regular basis. I would recommend, I mean, that's one reason why I put it on my website, and I would recommend it to anyone who's, you know, curious about expanding their vision, even if they think they know everything about the prisoners, you know? Well, I like it because, I mean, he was in a graduate program at the time, wasn't he?

And so... At the time I was incarcerated. Yeah, when he was in college. Oh, yeah. And so it's like, he's an educated guy, and he knows, you know, and so it's good to read from that standpoint of someone who, you know, he understands the workings of the political system. He's kind of a smart dude, and so, you know, he analyzes especially what happens to himself on a much better level than I think I probably could if I was in prison. Right. I would just be like, everything fucking sucks in here. Right, right. Prison blows, but it's good, so... Yeah, you know, he definitely provides a more thoughtful look at it than just like, I don't like being here, which you'd think would just be the... Yeah, line after line of, I want to get out, I want to get out.

Right, right. And, you know, and he, yeah, it's just worth reading. I shouldn't even speak for him too much. Yeah, definitely if people get the chance, check it out. But, yeah, so before we wrap up here, is there anything you're working on now coming up? I mean, I know you said you're going to be recording this summer. Yeah, I'm trying to record to put it online for donation to build up a little bit of money because I'm going to do a tour where I bike from Boston to Key West. Holy shit. Yeah. That's a long ride. Yeah. How do you know? It should take about two and a half months. Jesus. Do you know what the mileage is on that? It's about 3,000. Oh, my God. Well, because it's sort of circuitous. You have to, you know, you can't take I-95 all the way down.

Just shoot straight, straight line. I'm in the middle lane on my bike, yeah. So that's where it's going to be a charity tour. Nice. Not that we would, I mean, I don't know how much money we're going to make. What you do make will go to charity. Yeah, it's this charity called World Bicycle Relief, and they provide bicycles to sort of like disaster-stricken areas. And my friend Blake Jensen called me up. He's put together, I think he did something with Mike Park, like a Plead for Peace bike tour thing. Yeah, up and down the West Coast here. Yeah, exactly. So he had a big hand in that. So I knew he was trying to put something like this together. So I was like, hey, can I get in on that? And it just feels really good.

I'm a little bit burnt out on typical touring. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it just feels like the right thing to do. I'm getting a little burnt on. I can't stay one place for more than like nine months without being like, I got to get out of here. So yeah, we're going to do it. And it's open invite. So we're going to post. I wish I had the URLs right now, but we have a blog that we're just starting up and a Facebook page and everything. And we're just calling it the Back East Tour. And we're going to have a GPS set up where you can follow us. And we're going to have the whole itinerary there so people can contact us if you want to ride your bike with us for like three days or two months or whatever. And it's just, you know, anyone's welcome as long as they have a good attitude and they don't like camping and all that shit.

Nice. That should be good times. Yeah. So, I mean, I know you said you don't know the URLs, but you'll have them up on your website. Yeah, definitely. Certainly, by the time this gets posted or whatever. Nice. So, yeah, it should be really awesome. But if you're on the East Coast and you're listening, it would be awesome if you came out. We're going to just try to do most of the major cities on the East Coast. Yeah. And we're also doing some pretty indulgent stuff like doing the Outer Banks of North Carolina. And, you know, there isn't a huge scene in the Florida Keys where we're going down there for our own enjoyment. Yeah, you got to go. I mean, if you're doing the whole 3,000-mile trek, might as well go to some interesting places while you're down there.

But we'll be at the Fest. And I'm pretty sure we're going to be playing. Yeah, they haven't announced it yet. Yeah. They said July 1st. And then July 1st came and went. Right. And I'm still waiting. Right. Well, we're going to, I mean, if we don't get a slot, I'm pretty sure we will. But if we don't get a slot, you know, we'll do some weird after shows or whatever. Yeah, like really it's, everyone plays everywhere. Right. Like someone's like, hey, I got a flatbed truck. You guys want to hook up to my car battery and play? And everyone's like, yeah. Yeah, we'll be there. We'll be doing it. Why not? Yeah, well, especially because we don't need amplification. So we're just bringing acoustic guitars with us. Very nice.

There's another performer who I think we have lined up. But I can't say it because I can't say for sure if he's doing it. But right now, yeah, it's Bono. Bono is totally going to ride his bike. Bono is going to be there. Yeah. He's going to bring his blackberries. You know, he's giving out blackberries. You see that new commercial? No. It's so weird and bad. No. You two is so bad now. I don't know. You two is terrible. Anyway, we should probably go in and play a show now. Yeah, get going for that. All right. Well, thank you for taking the time. Yeah, thank you. And best of luck with recording and the tour and all of that. Chances are, if you guys do make it down to Gainesville, I'll see you there. Okay, perfect. Awesome.

And bye. Bye-bye. All right. That's the whole interview with Aaron Scott of Attica Attica. I hope you guys really, really enjoyed the show. It was a ton of fun to do. If you have any interest in checking out his stuff, I would highly, highly recommend it. Just, he's a really interesting guy. Like, he's one of those guys who really tries to put himself into his music and what he does and believes in what he says, but he isn't, like, full of his own shit and he doesn't look down on people, which is, you know, you get a lot of people who are super into music or political scenes or social scenes and they kind of turn into dicks who look down on everybody else, but he's not like that at all. So, if you get the chance, see him live, say hi to him, buy his stuff, visit his websites.

You know, just check him out and, you know, tell him you heard it from us and that you're, you know, because that way he won't think we totally suck. That's how it is. Anyhow, he bought us a beer, too. We're really cheap to buy off. Like, if you buy me a beer, chances are your band will get the same push. So, anyhow, on to the contest. We have a, uh, the Aaron Scott prize pack to give away of the Marathon full-length, the Marathon CD EP, the Attica Attica full-length on CD, the Red Leader 10-inch cake picture disc featuring Attica Attica, Scream Hello, the new dress, and Nakatomi Plaza, and a large Attica Attica t-shirt on American Apparel. So, if you're into those guys or just their shirts, this is for you.

Um, to enter the contest, send your name, email, address, uh, well, I guess your email address would be included, but send your name, address, pertinent information, and if your address is your work or your parents' house, in case I write something obscene on the outside of the package, I would hate for it to be the reason you got fired. I wouldn't, I wouldn't, or kicked out of your house, I wouldn't hate it, uh, because it'd be kind of your fault, but, um, I don't know, I'd feel kind of bummed, because if you got fired or kicked out of your house, chances are you wouldn't be listening to our show. So, in interest of self-preservation, put that in there, and, uh, send it to soundscenerevolution at gmail.com and put AtticaAtticaContest in the subject line, or simply put, um, Aaron Scott Contest, if you can't spell Attica, twice in the subject line, and, uh, then just so we know that you're listening, in the body of the email, uh, Attica is, of course, um, the, the prison we discussed in the, uh, the show where there was the riots, and basically, uh, the police came in, and enforced, like, martial law, and started blowing people down, and shooting everybody, and pretty much fucked some shit up.

Um, so with that said, what's your favorite prison? My personal favorite is, um, Oz. Oz is a fantastic prison. Um, probably, uh, Folsom Prison, because they've not only had performances by Johnny Cash, but also Metallica. So it's kind of like the best prison on Earth, if you're into butt rock. Um, but just, you know, any prison, if you want to put a reason why, go for it. If not, don't. Doesn't even have to be a real prison. It could be The Rock, but not the, not Alcatraz itself, but Alcatraz with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery. Technically a prison.

Like Dwayne The Rock Johnson, lording over you. That's also, that's, that's probably the best prison ever. I would just ask him about wrestling, and Mick Foley, and steroids. Anyhow, so send that all in, and we'll hook you up, uh, possibly with a prize pack. All right, um, before we go, we're gonna play one last track off of Attica Attica's full-length dead skin, dried blood. Uh, we're gonna play the last track, Flamethrower, which is, uh, as Aaron has mentioned, not at all indicative of his work, or what he plans to record. It's very different from the rest of the stuff on the album, but that's kind of why I'm gonna play it, because I think it's kind of cool and kind of fun to, uh, wrap up the album.

So, enjoy, um, we'll catch you guys next week, and, uh, send all your email inquiries to soundscenerevolution.com, and I mean all your inquiries for any shit. I mean, if you're curious about what college to go to, if your boyfriend's cheating on you, uh, all that, just send it to us, uh, myspace.com slash soundscenerevolution. We don't have Facebook or Twitter yet, but we're working on that, um, so, no, well, I'm working on it in that, in my head, I'm, I'm putting together a sweet layout, but it's not getting done. But, uh, we'll catch you guys next week, uh, bye.

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