• Joy Electric Put down the Prodigy and snuff the Firestarter. Real electronic music isn't an image - it's the future.

• Frodus Deep from the bowels of America rise the newly crowned royalty of rock and roll, the sultans of spazzcore, the icing on the cake of indie rock...and they can play music, too!

• Sixpence None The Richer Some people have been waiting for the new, self-titled album longer than heart transplants, for crying out loud. Why? Because they're so dang smooooooooth...We chat with Leigh, and she just nods her head and smiles...

• All Star United Remember Ian? Supersonic Dream Day Ian? Mr. "Toured with The Newsboys and Steve Taylor and yadda yadda yadda" Ian? Of course you do. This is his band. Neat-o!

• Model EngineBES (Black Eyed Sceva):RIP (Rest in peace). BUT...ME(Model Engine) ITUTCWTDATLYT (Is tearing up the chats with their debut album The Lean Years' Tradition).

• SwitchfootYoung. Tight. Minty fresh. The best new band of '97 is going to ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE!!!

• Roadside Monument They need no introduction...

• Damien Jurado Water S. Ave = Best Darn Album of the Year...

• Dan Michaels Sax dude for the Choir dispels myths at a rapid rate...and has a darn fun time with (whirl) while doing it!

• Brandston The most exciting new band of 1997..read on, compadre.

• Every Day LifeBring the funk, guys... after all, it is the American standard.

• Danielson The King of Rock himself...(whirl) is honored to interview a true visionary...

• Fold Zandura BEC's newest signing talks about...everything. See for yourself.

• Mineral Mineral smashed a home run out of the park with The Power of Failing, and you're a moron if you don't catch it...

• Honey Art rock newcomers are just Lovely...

• Common Children One of modern rock's most incredible bands sits down with one of the least popular zines in the world to, ummmm, talk.

• Zao Slam! Uptempo hardcore kingpins talk with Kurt Morris! Slam!

• Innermeans Slam! Slam! Part two of (whirl)'s summer double slam hyper-intense hardcore series...not for the faint of heart...

• Dimestore Prophets Who exactly is Hitler's girlfriend? We asked that and a number of other questions to DSP's boy wonder guiarist Masaki, and here's what he said...

• Sherri Jongeward Faces. Memories. Places. Old cartoons. Pedro. Aaron Sprinkle. Just a number of serious topics we touched with 5 Minute Walk's newest artist.

• PullerIf you has 2 minutes with Puller, what would you ask them? Not much, huh? Well, that's what we did...

• The Plain Janes One of California's coolest unsigned band just ripped it up at Mama Leana and (whirl) had the chance to chat.

• Vigilantes of Love One of the most underrated bands in the modern rock scene are just starting to get recognition for their rootsy blend of Dylan-esque folk and garage-y, American rock'n'roll.

• Aaron Sprinkle poor old lu is out of the picture...from now on, it's all Rose Blossom Punch, baby. The lead singer/guitarist of SaraBellum's newest band speaks out...

• Caedmon's Call A devoted following on college campuses...an acoustic guitar-driven folksy sound that makes you forget the word "jars"...3 singers, 2 guitarists, a bass player, a drummer, a percussionist...and a partridge in a pear tree.

• Crux Fight the man! Those political punk rawk madmen Crux are back with a new album, new members, and some cool stories...Kurt Morris has the story.

• The Throes Disco-king Bill Campbell is THE MAN! A short interview, but aren't they all...

• Skillet What do you get when you cross a drummer, a guitarist, and a bass player? Uh, a band.

• Bill Power Our favorite emo-punk band was definitely Blenderhead (RIP). But heeeeeeeeeeeeres Bill.

• Tim Taber The Prayer Chain (RIP) were true innovators of the modern rock world. Tim Taber lead this stellar band through countless albums and memorable songs.

• Five Iron Frenzy Ska has exploded like a gerbil in a microwave. Leading the pack of gospel ska bands are Five Iron Frenzy, who became an overnight sensation thanx to a little help from a friend...

• Ghoti Hook Sure, we all know the punk side of Ghoti Hook. The songs about sumos, junk food, and girls. But ask yourself:do you know the sensitive side of Ghoti? The beautiful group of individuals that enjoys bike rides in the park, fluffy animals, and the color pink? Nope, neither do we.

• Jeff Cloud Lassie Foundation, Pony Express, Jettenderpaul...they're all on Velvet Blue Music, a killer fledgling label out of Southern California. Jeff Cloud started this thang. Kurt Morris interviewed the leader of the pack....get ready for the invasion!!!

• Starflyer 59 People have called them the next My Bloody Valentine, they LOOOOVE layered guitars, and Jason Martin is pretty proud to be unhip. Thier new album Americana is set to be released, and WE have Kurt Morris's interview.

• Grammatrain Out of all my favorite gangsta rappers, Grammatrain's NOT one of them, quite possibly because, well, Grammatrain isn't a gangsta rap group. They play Seattle-ized modern rock (not to be confused with the g-word, y'know, grunge), and Pete Stewart is a NICE guy. Hear him talk about Flying, his refrigerator, and why Derek Walker could be...a spy.

• Havalina Rail Co. O.K., hotshot, pop quiz!!! The question:What does Henri Mancini, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Ringo all have in common? The answer:they're all dug by Havalina frontman Matt Wignall...

• Morella's Forest With their new album ultraphonic hiss-ing it's way up the charts, Morella's Forest is pretty happy right now. They ditched the latex jackets (they're all in MY closet now), changed producers, and fired out a 12 song masterpiece of noise pop that more concentrates on "pop" this time. Shawn Johnson's the guitarist. I'm the interviewer. Kinda like Jake and The Fatman...

• Hokus Pick Bookaboom!!! That's a cool word, huh? Let's say it together. Bookaboom. Bookaboom. BOOKABOOM!!! Besides being a cool thing to say when hit in the face with a hockey puck, it's also the title of Hokus Pick's latest album. If you haven't bought it yet...well, buy it dang it.

• Blackball Precious who?!! Everyone's forgetting about Chris Scott's old band (was it Precious Breath? No, that wasn't it...) and rocking and moshing to his new band Blackball. They released their debut earlier this year. They're hard at work on their follow-up. Gee-whiz, we need people like this in our postal system. I got it...it was Precious Head! Nope, that's not it...

• Velour100 The pews in my church are made of velour, but they don't sound half as good as Velour100. I bought Trey Many a huuuge dinner, and sat him down to probe his mind. Yeah, right, I never even met the dude. But there's still an interview to read, so stop wasting your time reading my compulsive lies.