Avenged Sevenfold

An exclusive interview with Avenged Sevenfold as they embark on tour with Ozzfest 2006

Jill Sobule

After a series of near failures with the record industry, Jill Sobule scored with the heavily played tongue-in-cheek MTV hit “I Kissed a Girl,” and followed up with “Supermodel,” which appeared on the Clueless soundtrack. Her first album was produced by Todd Rundgren, and she recently played lead guitar in Lloyd Cole’s band. The Denver-born singer/songwriter/guitarist has penned songs about such diverse subjects as the death penalty, anorexia, shoplifting, reproduction, the French resistance movement, adolescence and the Christian right, but a lot of her songs are about love. Sobule’s music secretes an aura of love, so instead of asking my heartthrob a bunch of questions that she has probably been asked a hundred times before, I asked her to ask herself the five questions that she has never been asked in an interview, that she always wanted to be asked, then answer them…

The Goo Goo Dolls

From their days as an indie-rock band with punk roots on an upstart Metal Blade Records in the late-‘80s, to their present status as one of the premier Top 40 rock bands in America, the Goo Goo Dolls have been defined by a single constant: Damn-near perfect songs. With the May release of Let Love In, the band’s eighth studio album and tenth release overall, frontman John Rzeznik and bassist Robby Takac have returned with eleven tracks ripe for radio and primed to conquer mainstream America. Days after completing a six-week club tour that debuted the new material, Maximum Ink caught up with the bassist to discuss the evolution of the Goo Goo Dolls, and life as a pop culture staple.

Eagles Of Death Metal

Just when it seemed that rock ‘n’ roll was destined to be overrun by mall rats and emo-chic haircuts, Eagles of Death Metal have returned with no pretense and nothing to pretend. From the sexy-as-fuck swagger that swings through the ‘70s-inspired rock ‘n’ roll sound of new release Death By Sexy, to the sexier-than-thou mustache that frontman Jesse Hughes sports as a proud vestige of his manhood, it’s all part of a much bigger picture: “This ain’t no Bible study, it’s rock ‘n’ roll. I came here to shake my dick and have a good time,” boasts Hughes, who started EODM with his best friend, Queens of the Stone Age frontman and EODM drummer Josh Homme. Sitting backstage at the Coachella Valley Music Festival, an annual musical mecca held not far from the frontman’s Palm Springs home in the Southern California desert, Hughes juggles our discussion amongst a seemingly endless sea of friends, fans and family, and amidst the din of the dissident sounds of bands as varied as reggae throwback Damien Marley, hip-hop heavyweight Kanye West, DJs Carl Cox and Daft Punk, and more emotive indie-scenesters Sigur Ros. But even in such cluttered musical confines, the unadulterated power of rock ‘n’ roll lives, and the sexy-machismo of Eagles of Death Metal thrives. It’s all about the rock, baby, and no one rocks harder than Eagles of Death Metal…

The Gomers

Very few bands can say that they have had the mayor name a day after them (Feb. 1, 2003), and when it comes to Madison area bands, very few (if any) have matched the longevity, durability, or diversity of The Gomers. As guitarist Biff Blumfumgagnge explains, when they formed in 1986, “the band was initially a goofy punk project to entertain bored Emerald Choir members after rehearsal. Well, I had a bunch of silly songs, and so did Gordon. The early shows were theme-heavy (meat and toys, have a nice day) affairs with sometimes just a three-piece of Gordon and I and a rotating drummer that established a base of goofy songs about fish, alien abduction, antennae, big ideas and such. That was Gomers part 1.”

The Gomers Part Two was established as a Comedy Sportz band around 1988, which prompted them to learn a gi-normous amount of cover tunes, as well as beginning their, according to Biff, “bizarre and creative” musical exploration, often being compared to Zappa. The period included shows with national acts like Mojo Nixon and Molly Hatchet, as well as Wisconsin greats like Poopshovel and Couch Flambeau.

Droids Attack

In an age where music bands are defined by their range of MySpace graphics and anyone that can strum a hackneyed power chord is a rockstar, it is no wonder that originality in local bands today is alarmingly scarce. Droids Attack is, however, the exception.

Droids Attack consists of Madison’s rock triumvirate: lead vocalist and guitarist Brad Van, bassist Nate Bush, and drummer Tony Brungraber. Droids Attack’s premier album, “All Your Chicks Are Belong To Us” garnered much deserved recognition in the punk-metal realm of the Midwest. In 2004, the album won a MAMA (Madison Area Music Award) for Best Punk Album.

Currently, the band is promoting their sophomore album, “Fatal Error,” due to be released in late 2006/2007. Fatal Error maintains the same rhythmic foundation of the first CD, but with tighter riffs and a distinctly sharper sound.