The "last hair band in Seattle", Akimbo, was kind enough to answer this Q&A for Alternative Tentacles' 30th Anniversary. Jon Weisnewski takes a second out of kicking the ass of video game world.
What is your first memory of Alternative Tentacles? What were you doing in 1979?
In 1979 I was UNBORN.
I discovered Dead Kennedys and Alternative Tentacles at the ripe age of 14. I was just getting into punk and listening to some undoubtedly awful pop punk when my Dad came into my room and told me if I liked that, I should check out the Dead Kennedys. He then played me "Too Drunk to Fuck" and "Holiday in Cambodia" (what a Dad!) and I was in the club. By the time I got around to In God We Trust, INC, shit was real.
What is your favorite Alternative Tentacles band? Favorite release?
My favorite AT band was easily Nomeansno. I bought the Sex Mad/You Kill Me CD used in a record store, simply because it had the bat logo on the back. Loved the album, but wasn't officially on board until I saw them live in 1998, at which point I used that handy catalogue that comes with all AT releases to order everything of theirs I could afford. I hate those catalogues, until you want something out of it, and then they're awesome. My favorite AT releases are (hands down!) Wrong, Sex Mad, and the Jello/Nomeansno collaboration The Sky is Falling and I Want My Mommy.
When did Jello ask you to put out a record on AT and how would life be different if you hadn't worked with AT?
Akimbo caught a lucky break when we lost a show in Pittsburgh on tour, and we ended up getting thrown onto the opening slot of a Melvins show instead. Jello was there debuting some songs off of the first Jelvins project and he saw our set, and then asked us for a few LPs. That will freak any dude out. About a year later, Jello asked us to open for the Jelvins, and then after the show asked if we wanted to do a record on Alternative Tentacles. It's pretty goddamn insane to spend your most formative years foaming over a small group of bands on a small DIY label, and then through a loose chain of circumstances get personally asked to be a part of that very group by it's executive. It still blows me away when I think about it.
Where do you see yourself in 2039?
In 2039 I see myself playing the Biafra 8-0.
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