Crash McLarson - The Aquabats (02/12/2014)
Hi Crash! Firstly I would like to congratulate you on the Aquabats turning 20 this year, so how old does that make you all now?
Individual as people, well I'm 48
I didn't think Super Heroes aged! So how is it that you continue to be a Super Hero and are able to play music and save the world?
It's difficult because the costumes doesn't fit as well as it did in my 20's, it used to be a little more streamlined, now it is a little tighter and snugger. You learn to be more like Michael Jordan the basketball player, learn to be a better player in a better way as you get older and be a little smarter about fighting monster's I guess!
Bringing in new members like Ricky Fitness, has he given you a new lease on life with the new regime and teaching you the goodness of kale and vitamins?
LOL... He has, he tries hard to teach us good health habits, it's hard to fight common sense and eating grain smoothies when you can drink a strawberry milkshake you know! As we get older I suppose we should focus on the workout regime and the kale smoothies.
Now I have seen the Aquabats several times live myself and the stage performance is a fitness routine in itself and he should be happy enough with that right?
You'd think, yeah you know your right, it is a fitness routine, you would think that we would be in better shape - maybe that's the problem! If we toured non-stop we would be the typical super heroes you see on television. But you have to remember that we are "real life" super heroes and not the fake ones on tv.
Now you do have your own TV show which is very successful, is there any plans to do a movie?
There's ah, been lot's of talk about it. Been a lot of talk within the band about it and it seems like the next logical step. I feel it's just figuring out the right way to do it, because obviously the Aquabats have a cult following, we just have to find the best way to do so it would be special.
Now as the band has been around for 20 years and are still very current and young, which is great as you can cover up the ageing and wrinkles which is a great retirement plan and is a great way to get yourselves out to a wider audience - was that part of the plan when creating the television show?
No, I mean! The reason for the tv show wasn't done for the business sense it was more to do something creative and funny. You know obviously money is cool and we would like to continue to make money but I think that we just wanted to do something that was interesting on television. There is a lot of non interesting tv, well at least different and that was more important than my 41k.
Now the band started out as poking fun at the Californian punk scene. So I guess your really laughing at them now. Have you caught up with many of those acts and been able to have a laugh as the band has lasted 20 yrs and still going strong?
Yeah sure, more at the industry though than the Punk movement you know! I think, we all felt as though we were the underdogs, no one thought it could be the success that it is and is continuing to grow and I think even now people would doubt it's success, but we've always believed in it! So I guess in a way we sort of win. The music industry, business and television industry were like that will never work, we know what works - and I guess we are proof that the corporate world doesn't always know what works. Individuals in the public know that even though the masses may choose otherwise, there are people that know that being the individual can be successful.
When you watch the tv show and listen to the album and see the live show, you all seem like your having a ball are you guys still having fun even though its a big business?
Yeah it really is! In a lot of different ways, its still run by a core group of people who have control over almost every facet of it. And to me like when we get on stage for example we did some shows last weekend and we had written this song 'Shark Fighter" on our last record... a song about Jesus fighting sharks and how ridiculous it was when we wrote but these kids are so passionate about it and are like screaming "Shark Fighter".
I saw you perform that song at Pamona Warped Festival last year and you killed a dolphin rather than a shark, I think you need to get some new goggles!
Hahahaha! Do we need maybe need some contact lenses, that's not really cool to kill a dolphin is it? Not like killing a shark. That just goes to prove our point of the "imperfect super hero". I appreciate your attention to detail and asking one of the more interesting questions I've been asked in an interview.
Aquabats will now be joining the epic 2015 Soundwave Festival line up and is spread across 2 days, so they are building up to be one of the biggest Festivals in the world. Its very heavy and happy that it's going to be a burst of colour visually but with sound also. Your obviously pumped, any excuse to get to Australia right? How are you guys looking forward to Soundwave.
It's gonna be amazing, obviously as you said as I love Australia, there are always people who hear the name the Aquabats, they don't think it's something they want to watch or listen to and then they just happen to be there or just walk by and they are like "we shouldn't like" that and then we win them over...that's amazing! Seeing people kinda confused and then like oh, ok I get it!
Do you see that with other super metal dudes on the lineup also?
Yeah! I have definitely seen that, sure for years and years! They are like I have heard of you and then like oh now we get it! Not everyone has to love everything right? It'd be a boring world!
Have you met other masked bands like Slipknot and ever had a bro-out with them on that level?
Slipknot, no I have never met them! We've never done anything connected to them, but they look pretty tough, but I don't think they are as tough as we are. We are old and wise and crafty, we fight monsters every night! They just look tough, just because someone looks tough doesn't mean they are. If they play maybe I'll just walk on stage in my costume and strike up a conversation.
Cassie Walker
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE
Individual as people, well I'm 48
I didn't think Super Heroes aged! So how is it that you continue to be a Super Hero and are able to play music and save the world?
It's difficult because the costumes doesn't fit as well as it did in my 20's, it used to be a little more streamlined, now it is a little tighter and snugger. You learn to be more like Michael Jordan the basketball player, learn to be a better player in a better way as you get older and be a little smarter about fighting monster's I guess!
Bringing in new members like Ricky Fitness, has he given you a new lease on life with the new regime and teaching you the goodness of kale and vitamins?
LOL... He has, he tries hard to teach us good health habits, it's hard to fight common sense and eating grain smoothies when you can drink a strawberry milkshake you know! As we get older I suppose we should focus on the workout regime and the kale smoothies.
Now I have seen the Aquabats several times live myself and the stage performance is a fitness routine in itself and he should be happy enough with that right?
You'd think, yeah you know your right, it is a fitness routine, you would think that we would be in better shape - maybe that's the problem! If we toured non-stop we would be the typical super heroes you see on television. But you have to remember that we are "real life" super heroes and not the fake ones on tv.
Now you do have your own TV show which is very successful, is there any plans to do a movie?
There's ah, been lot's of talk about it. Been a lot of talk within the band about it and it seems like the next logical step. I feel it's just figuring out the right way to do it, because obviously the Aquabats have a cult following, we just have to find the best way to do so it would be special.
Now as the band has been around for 20 years and are still very current and young, which is great as you can cover up the ageing and wrinkles which is a great retirement plan and is a great way to get yourselves out to a wider audience - was that part of the plan when creating the television show?
No, I mean! The reason for the tv show wasn't done for the business sense it was more to do something creative and funny. You know obviously money is cool and we would like to continue to make money but I think that we just wanted to do something that was interesting on television. There is a lot of non interesting tv, well at least different and that was more important than my 41k.
Now the band started out as poking fun at the Californian punk scene. So I guess your really laughing at them now. Have you caught up with many of those acts and been able to have a laugh as the band has lasted 20 yrs and still going strong?
Yeah sure, more at the industry though than the Punk movement you know! I think, we all felt as though we were the underdogs, no one thought it could be the success that it is and is continuing to grow and I think even now people would doubt it's success, but we've always believed in it! So I guess in a way we sort of win. The music industry, business and television industry were like that will never work, we know what works - and I guess we are proof that the corporate world doesn't always know what works. Individuals in the public know that even though the masses may choose otherwise, there are people that know that being the individual can be successful.
When you watch the tv show and listen to the album and see the live show, you all seem like your having a ball are you guys still having fun even though its a big business?
Yeah it really is! In a lot of different ways, its still run by a core group of people who have control over almost every facet of it. And to me like when we get on stage for example we did some shows last weekend and we had written this song 'Shark Fighter" on our last record... a song about Jesus fighting sharks and how ridiculous it was when we wrote but these kids are so passionate about it and are like screaming "Shark Fighter".
I saw you perform that song at Pamona Warped Festival last year and you killed a dolphin rather than a shark, I think you need to get some new goggles!
Hahahaha! Do we need maybe need some contact lenses, that's not really cool to kill a dolphin is it? Not like killing a shark. That just goes to prove our point of the "imperfect super hero". I appreciate your attention to detail and asking one of the more interesting questions I've been asked in an interview.
Aquabats will now be joining the epic 2015 Soundwave Festival line up and is spread across 2 days, so they are building up to be one of the biggest Festivals in the world. Its very heavy and happy that it's going to be a burst of colour visually but with sound also. Your obviously pumped, any excuse to get to Australia right? How are you guys looking forward to Soundwave.
It's gonna be amazing, obviously as you said as I love Australia, there are always people who hear the name the Aquabats, they don't think it's something they want to watch or listen to and then they just happen to be there or just walk by and they are like "we shouldn't like" that and then we win them over...that's amazing! Seeing people kinda confused and then like oh, ok I get it!
Do you see that with other super metal dudes on the lineup also?
Yeah! I have definitely seen that, sure for years and years! They are like I have heard of you and then like oh now we get it! Not everyone has to love everything right? It'd be a boring world!
Have you met other masked bands like Slipknot and ever had a bro-out with them on that level?
Slipknot, no I have never met them! We've never done anything connected to them, but they look pretty tough, but I don't think they are as tough as we are. We are old and wise and crafty, we fight monsters every night! They just look tough, just because someone looks tough doesn't mean they are. If they play maybe I'll just walk on stage in my costume and strike up a conversation.
Cassie Walker
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE