Asylum Street Spankers

An interview with Wammo of the Asylum Street Spankers

Slayer

In the past 25 years, Slayer have become more than a band; they have become a right of passage. From the first unholy alliance of frontman/bassist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman and drummer Dave Lombardo in 1981, through the release of their “Show No Mercy” debut two years later, and beyond the onslaught of last year’s “Christ Illusion,” they’ve embodied the very essence of heavy metal’s macabre roots, and become the lightening rod for bands that hope to prey on the genre’s unearthly future. It’s been a quarter-century, but even time can’t temper the band whose history has been set ablaze by such legendary releases as “Hell Awaits,” “South of Heaven” and “God Hates Us All.” Maximum Ink sat down with Araya on the eve of the band’s upcoming North American tour, a tour that promises more than just bringing Satan back…

Aerosmith

Try to define rock n’ roll without Aerosmith and you’re not going to get very far. After nearly four turbulent decades of breaking musical modes while struggling with severe addictions and internal dissent, the boys from Boston have proven themselves to be the quintessential American rock band. If there is any band that deserves to coast a little bit on their reputation, Aerosmith are certainly qualified. That said, legendary guitarist Joe Perry explains why it’s going to be awhile before Aerosmith put their feet up in this exclusive interview with Maximum Ink…

MAXIMUM INK: It must be interesting to experience the nature of your audiences changing over time.
JOE PERRY: Oh yeah. It’s not quite at drastic as it was 20 or 30 years ago. America has become more homogenized with all the malls and different things, national television stations and that kind of thing, so you have to dig a little further to see those kind of idiosyncrasies in each part of the country. That’s one of the reasons we stopped touring by plane and started touring by bus: You get more out of it, and it’s just amazing.

MAX INK: What is the best part of going on the road?
PERRY: Well, this is the most amazing country on the planet, and if you get to travel by bus, which we do, you get to see a lot of it, so we take advantage of that. I love all different parts of the country, because they’re just so unique because of the weather and the people, it’s just amazing. It’s never boring.