"I think that's what's really fun about this it's one hundred percent recreational," explains Adam Goren, the brains behind Atom and His Package, the influential, synthesised solo punk experience that played its final show in 2003. "I loved doing Atom and His Package stuff, but it's a different feeling when something's your livelihood and you're doing it all the time."
Three years later, Goren has returned to the punk arena with Armalite, a complete rock'n'roll experience with a total lack of synthesisers. With a full-length out now on No Idea, the band still maintain modest goals and quiet ambitions or no ambitions at all. "Everyone else in the band has other bands that they play in more seriously and more frequently. With something like this, it's done because it's fun."
Those "other bands" are nothing to scoff at: rounding out the Armalite line-up is Dan Yemin, guitarist for punk legends Lifetime and Kid Dynamite and current vocalist for Paint it Black; Mike McKeem, editor of Rockpile and singer for Kill the Man Who Questions; and Jeff Ziga, whose drumming credits include True If Destroyed and Affirmative Action Jackson. It's a wonder they are even able to rehearse, let alone record an album of fast, melodic, socially aware punk rock tunes that combine Goren's signature nasal delivery and McKee's harsher vocal style.
"Our friends at No Idea were happy enough to put out a record, which is totally awesome," says Goren. "But if no one ever puts out a record again, we'll probably continue to practice in the basement and play a show when we can. And that's cool enough for us. I love writing music and playing with Armalite, but I'm basically just a big music fan and I'm more than happy to listen to other people's music who play and write much better than I do."
Three years later, Goren has returned to the punk arena with Armalite, a complete rock'n'roll experience with a total lack of synthesisers. With a full-length out now on No Idea, the band still maintain modest goals and quiet ambitions or no ambitions at all. "Everyone else in the band has other bands that they play in more seriously and more frequently. With something like this, it's done because it's fun."
Those "other bands" are nothing to scoff at: rounding out the Armalite line-up is Dan Yemin, guitarist for punk legends Lifetime and Kid Dynamite and current vocalist for Paint it Black; Mike McKeem, editor of Rockpile and singer for Kill the Man Who Questions; and Jeff Ziga, whose drumming credits include True If Destroyed and Affirmative Action Jackson. It's a wonder they are even able to rehearse, let alone record an album of fast, melodic, socially aware punk rock tunes that combine Goren's signature nasal delivery and McKee's harsher vocal style.
"Our friends at No Idea were happy enough to put out a record, which is totally awesome," says Goren. "But if no one ever puts out a record again, we'll probably continue to practice in the basement and play a show when we can. And that's cool enough for us. I love writing music and playing with Armalite, but I'm basically just a big music fan and I'm more than happy to listen to other people's music who play and write much better than I do."
