Posted on: August 11, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0


1)Can everyone give me their names, and what instrument that they play. Also, describe to me the current happenings surrounding A Planet for Texas. If you could give me a little information about the latest album Sprechen Sie Rock?, it would be excellent. Atom Gunn, M.D. – Drums, vocals
Reasonable Steve Texas – Guitar, vocals
Joel J. Gunn – Bass, vocals
Diamond Ike Midnight – Guitar, vocals

We’re very proud of “Sprechen Sie Rock”, but it took forever to come out, because we are lazy, lazy men. We couldn’t have made the album without “Millipede” (an old video game from the 80’s that was in the studio), and drugs. Ya gotta have drugs.
Right now we’re busy pushing the new record to press & radio… doing shows occasionally till it warms the fuck up!

2)How did all of you get together? Were any of you in different bands before joining A Planet for Texas, and if so, were they of any note?

Reasonable Steve & Joel were in another band that was not of note… “SUCK” – Then we recruited Adam… to play drums. And the he played the drums. Adequately. Our professionalism soared. Then one night whilst playing a gig at Bernie’s Distillery, Steve broke a string and couldn’t complete the last 3 songs of the set… Joel cracked a joke about holding auditions for a new guitar player. He said it really sarcastically, but Ike, who was in the audience that night, was so drunk that he thought Joel was serious and showed up for the next practice. Ike played in Columbus’ DOGROCKET at the time… when that band split, he did full-time w/ APFT. Hijinx ensued. Two CD’s, two 7″ vinyl releases, and a plethora of comps later, Feidling scripts for a new sitcom and setting up a midwest tour for Summer 2003 to promote the new record and drink.

3)I just wanted to say thank you for taking this time to do this interview for NeuFutur. I know you all have dealt with ‘zines that are literally thousands of times more popular. I guess my question is what do you perceive as the difference between how a major paper/magazine like the Columbus Dispatch or The Other Paper would treat you as opposed to NeuFutur or Corn Zine.

On the whole, a paper like TOP or Dispatch probably isn’t as familiar with the genre like smaller mags more in the scene, so they’ll tend to throw around the word “punk” more and in some odd spots… and smaller mags/sites will usually come up with more valid comparisons… but there’s something to be said about a face to face interview… probably a less subjective interview. But an email interview is more convenient since we don’t have to wear pants. And now we’re not wearing pants. It’s not like we’re gay or anything, but we’re just not wearing pants.

4)Do each of you have a favourite album in A Planet for Texas’ collection? Most acts will say that the latest album is their favourite, but notable acts such as Weezer have recently went on record, lambasting their latest effort.

Who gives a flying fuck about Sneezer? Those four-eyed muppet-fuckers couldn’t rock their way out of a wet paper bag. Well Since you asked…
Joel likes “Sprechen Sie Rock”
So does Steve
. Adam likes the new Linkin Bizkit album titled – “My Uncle Touched My Butthole… RAWWWRRR RRAWRRRR RAAWWWRRRR!!!!! Wikki Wikki.”
Ike digs “You Can Still Rock In America” – the first full-length

5)This is sort of a two-part question, but what bands (either current or past) have influenced you the most, and what attributes did each of these bands possess to make you all consider them influential?

I’ll tell you whut, we were influenced by The Ramones, The Descendents, Minor Threat, and The Misfits for their “can do” attitude, and their “stick-to-it-ive-ness”. Husker Du for their “Protestant Work Ethic”. Man, was Bob Mould a sweaty bastard. You bet your ass he was! And…. Elvis… Man! That guy got all the Poon Tang!

6)This is a little off-topic, but what is Diaphragm records? What I mean when I say this is how long has the label been out, who exactly are on it, and what albums you plan to release for 2003.

Type this in your browser: www.cringe.com/diaphragm. Hit enter. The label was started by Ike in ’99, mainly to promote APFT, then started doing other bands. Up to 13 releases now… the newest is a 26-song CD by Ft. Wayne, IN’s THE BEAUTYS www.thebeautys.com Great band! Features Kathleen from THE SMEARS and ex-QUEERS Erickfromindiana. The record is kind of a retrospective… 7″, comp. tracks and outtakes from the last seven years. These guys tour like motherfuckers, so go check them out!!! Also out this Spring, Split 7″ vinyl from FAT ASS and PWINCE, also from Indiana. www.fatassstinks.com www.pwince.com

7)I know this is old news, but how does it feel meeting someone like Jello Biafra and having him dig your band? I mean, news on your site, http://www.aplanetfortexas.com said that he liked AP/FT’s music so much that he traded some spoken word albums for Diaphragm releases. What exactly do you say to someone that is so heralded in the punk and leftist political scenes?

Who gives a flying fuck about Smello Gozinya? That four-eyed muppet-fucker couldn’t rock his way out of a wet paper bag. Well Since you asked… It was feckin’ awesome!!! We’ve all been big fans of Dead Kennedys for years, so it was almost surreal looking out into the audience and seeing Jello standing there rocking out and stuff. He’s a really outgoing and friendly guy, and he prefers vinyl to CD’s.

8)I live in Lancaster, who most of you probably know of as a town that is about 35 minutes outside of Columbus. Through all my years of listening to the local alt.rock station, CD 101, I’ve never really noticed much of a Columbus punk scene. Could you possibly tell us about what is currently happening to the punk scene, and even the independent music scene, in Columbus at this time?

You, sir, should tune into CD 101’s Independent Playground on Thursdays and Sundays from 10 PM to 12 AM, and 11 PM to 1 AM, respectively. There’s a decent punk scene is Columbus, and lots of young, up-and-coming bands. However, there are too many goddamned, shitty EMO bands. Emo rock sucks my cock.

9)This is a truly trite question, but where do you see AP/FT going in about 10 years? In the period that the band has existed, you all have released two seven inches and two full length albums. Are there any plans to try to reach a greater fan base, and possibly do a national tour? Are there any incredibly odd places where the band has been surprised to find fans?

In 10 years, Diaphragm Records will be buying out Vivendi-Universal. The Virgin Megastore will be replaced by the Diaphragm Megastore. A Planet For Texas will be huge. Bigger than mashed potatos. Bigger than underpants. Yeah, we’ll be that fuckin’ big. We’ll all be older than dirt, too.
We do well with all-ages crowds in po-dunk towns like Portsmouth. This summer’s tour will likely be just midwest – Ohio & surrounding states since we’ve got old haunts/connections in Detroit, Indy, PA, Chicago, Toledo, DC. National tour ain’t in the immediate future, maybe down the road?

10)Finally, are there any final words that the band has for the loyal readership of http://www.neufutur.com and the zines NeuFutur and Interstitial?

We’ll see you at the top. – Keep one foot in the gutter, one fist in the gold.

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