Hellstomper are one of the best new bands I've had the pleasure of checking out the past year or two. They play a vicious cross between Motorhead style rock n roll and old school country. More and more, it seems as though having country influences is becoming more acceptable in the punk rock scene - but Hellstomper's sound and attitude are for real which is very apparent after listening to their recorded works. The following interview was done with Alan The Goddamn King (vocals) in November 1998.

2324: Can you give a quick history for those unfortunate enough to not already be familiar with Hellstomper?

King: We played our first show in late '92, put out the first record in 'early '93. We have been through innumerable band members, amplifiers, and bottles of whiskey since then. And I must say that we sound better than ever. Must be all of that pussy we've eaten over the past few years.

2324: Hellstomper's first record "Last Hoedown" raised some eyebrows amongst the more politically correct zines out there - presumably because of some of the lyrics of "Hellstomper" and "Rails" - any thoughts on all that?

King: Not really. Most of the people that were pissed off by it......well, the record wasn't made with them in mind, you know? They think it was of course. That's the thing I hate most about that whole PC punk crock mentality. Just like the latest review "Kill The Scene" got in MRR. The guy says that I set out to do what I accomplished - namely offending PC people like himself. Give me a break. These people think that they are at the center of everyone else's universe. I don't sit around thinking about what some other cocksucker is gonna think when I'm writing a song or doing anything for that matter. I mean, I do know how to and often do push groups of people's buttons for my own kicks, but what kind of geek sits around trying to deliberately piss off a group of people that I personally don't even think about in my daily life? I couldn't give a big nasty shit if that whole contingent of fuckers fell off the face of the planet. I probably wouldn't notice. If it offended someone - great! If somebody else dug it - great! Why should I give a shit either way? I'm out to please myself first. As far as "Rails" and "Hellstomper" goes........some people have a tough time swallowing certain words. I just ain't one of 'em.

2324: Hellstomper recently underwent another lineup change, can you fill in some of the details on that?

King: Yup. Out went Sammy the Hammer so Sweet Ga Brown switched over from bass to geetar. Our new bass player is the heavy Wes Reynolds. We fuckin' rock so goddam hard now that it's quite unbelievable. Best lineup ever.

2324: The split CD with Before I Hang features a comment from an irate listener that was received at a Cleveland radio station after a phone interview with you, how did that interview go overall, and what did you think of some of the inane comments received afterwards?

King: It was funny. I wish he coulda put me on live with the callers. Really tame interview. Funny how easy it is to put a bee in someone's britches by just bein' yourself. But let's face it, no offense intended, but Cleveland kind of is the armpit of humanity. But that won't stop us from playing there this spring. We WILL NOT play Cincinnatti. Goddam that place makes me sick to my stomach.

2324: You guys are one of the newer members of the Confederacy of Scum. How did Hellstomper get to be involved in this organization?

King: Well, I've been in the COS for quite sometime through my other endeavors. We aren't really that new to the ranks. The only reason that we didn't have the "endorsed by..." stamp on our first record was somehwat of a personal decision on my part because I knew that some of the lyrical content was gonna piss a lot of people off and I didn't want that to reflect negatively on anyone but me. But then my buddy Widowmaker (who we have recently written a song about) called me up and asked me why we didn't have Confederacy of Scum on there.

2324: Speaking of the CoS - you guys played 2 rather large CoS events this year - the supershow in Charlotte and the Antiseen 15th anniversary show in Philly - how did these events go?

King: Fucking great. Great, great shows. It's extremely nice to have all your friends in one place and play for people that actually get what it is that your doing. The Supershow was great cuz it had our special guests Born Bavarian and Nothing But Puke who came all the way over from Germany to represent the Communtiy of Filth which is a kind of European CoS. The legendary Simon Stokes flew out from LA to head up Conqueror Worm once again. We had the Tunnel Rats on the bill. And then all of the CoS bands. Still my favorite bands in the world. It's still a great honor to me to be playing with folks who have influenced me so much. The Antiseen show in Philly was a blast. Cheers to fifteen years! I hope they stick around fifteen more. The greatest rock n roll band on the planet - bar none, bubba!

2324: Hellstomper has covered quite a few old country songs including Coe, Paycheck and Merle Haggard - is it safe to say that you guys listen to more country records than punk rock?

King: Very safe assumption. Punk rock sucks these days. It's all bullshit. We still listen to the classics (Dead Boys, Anti Nowhere League, Dictators, GG, Plasmatics, etc). We love the CoS and CoF bands. But other than that.......the only new "punk rock" cds I've actually bought or found to be worth buying were by Hammerlock, Turbonegro, the Tunnel Rats, and Plainfield. I'm sure there's more out there. It's just hard to find. And then you've got folks like Jeff Dahl who consistently put out great LP after great LP only to be ignored by the majority of folks out there. It's not just punk rock......all forms of music seem to suck these days. But pardon my tantrum .....yeah, we listen to country music all the time. Raised up on it. Then we discovered AC/DC and Motorhead and pure grain alcohol........resulting in Hellstomper.

2324: Any recommendations for good country artists that people reading this could check out?

King: The list is endless. Coe, Haggard, Waylon, Willie, Porter Wagoner, Hanks Sr. & Jr. (coincidentally, I just worked on a benefit for the Governor of Tennessee a few months ago with Hank Jr. His new LP is gonna be kick ass!), Charlie Daniels, Dave Dudley, Dick Curless, Jerry Lee, Paycheck, Johnny Cash, Grandpa Jones, Jim and Jesse, George Jones, Buck Owens, Lefty Frizzel, and on and on and on. Wait 'til my new magazine comes out. It'll be chock full of country and western mayhem.

2324: Hellstomper is great drinking music - are there any specific beverages that you'd recommend drinkin while listening to Hellstomper?

King: Pabst Blue Ribbon or Sterling Beer. Most any kind of bourbon. Wild Irish Rose Wild Grape flavor. PGA mixed with Kool-Aid. Moonshine. My grandpa used to haul that stuff.....no shit. Don't circulate around like it used to, but they ain't nothin' hits the spot quicker or better.

2324: Besides Hellstomper, you also do a great zine called Kill the Scene, how long has KTS been going on now?

King: Jesus Christ. Six , seven years maybe.

2324: Your most recent release was a split 7" with the Tunnel Rats, how did you get involved with those guys?

King: John at Hardline hooked them up with our first record when it came out. They liked it and sent us their first record that was also newly out at the time. We were all struck by how alike yet how different our two bands were. So it has been a long standing mutual respect and admiration thing. That's a great bunch of guys there. Helluva band.

2324: Any extreme reaction at Hellstomper shows recently? I imagine that some of them get quite violent.

King: Sure. We had a big brawl last time we played in town. Hell, we don't mind stepping into a shit storm and getting a little (or a lot) bloody. We've had quite a few people come out to see us and try to start shit. They think it's all some kind of act that we're putting on. It ain't nothing to me to crack somebody's head. We got some damn good war stories, that's for sure.

2324: Hellstomper's sound has changed quite a bit from the first 7" - it seems as though the country and southern rock influences are taking over a bit - is this the direction people can expect in the future?

King: Yeah, I'd say so. But we'll always be balls to the wall heavy. Unless we ain't. Hell, that acoustic shit we did on the CD is heavier than most shit yer gonna find out there these days. Actually, we can all play better now. Got a better band so to speak. And we've always loved country music and Southern rock bands like Skynyrd, Hatchet, and Black Oak. It's bound to show eventually.

2324: Any upcoming projects in the works?

King: Working on a new LP right now. Our best shit ever. Ten originals and three covers. Also our split with Born Bavarian will be out sometime in '99 as well as the star-studded Antiseen and Alice Cooper Band tributes.

2324: Any final thought to wrap up this interview?

King: Uncle Goddam - rest in peace. I hope they got lots of booze wherever you're at. You was called home far too soon. So everybody out there better drink one for Uncle Goddam tonight!

Hellstomper Discography

The Last Hoedown 7" - Hardline
3 songs on "Sons and Daughters of the Savage Land" comp LP/CD - Hardline/Baloney Shrapnel
Split CD w/ Before I Hang - Baloney Shrapnel
Bootleggers And Ridgerunners 7" - Ruff Nite
4 live songs on "Confederacy Of Scum - Supershow Live 97" comp CD - Baloney Shrapnel
1 live song on "Confederacy Of Scum - Loathe It To Death" comp 7" - Carbon 13
Split 7" w/ Tunnel Rats - Wound Up

To get more information on Hellstomper and to check out their shirts, videos, stickers, records, etc - just send an SASE to - Hellstomper/POB 9042/East Ridge, TN/37412 - or you can send them email at TheGDKing@aol.com

More Apt. 2324 E-zine #3

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