John Reis on curating ATP with Drive Like Jehu

[Editor's note: ATP 2.0 curated by Drive Like Jehu has been cancelled – the band have made a statement on the cancellation, which can be found on Facebook here.]

“It got to the point that we couldn’t get paid,” says John Reis, “because no-one was paying to get in. With so many people in the band we didn’t really earn much anyways, but it became difficult to tour, because… well, we need money for gas.”

He’s explaining the curious circumstance of his band Rocket From The Crypt’s sudden success in the mid-90s, where an offhand promise made to a fanzine (that fans with a tattoo of the band’s logo would get into their shows for free) suddenly got out of hand. “It was good to have people saying, ‘I love your band so much that I’m gonna get a Rocket tattoo’,” continues Reis, “but there was a point where it seemed like, ‘do you even fucking know any of our songs?’ One time this guy pulled up his pants to reveal a tattoo of a carrot. I was like, ‘You know, that isn’t really the deal?’ He was dumbfounded; he didn’t comprehend why the carrot wasn’t good enough.”

Quite simply, Rocket stole punk rock’s heart in the post-Nirvana era with their brand of brass-laden, high energy psychosis. Such was their underground popularity, it was inevitable that they’d sign to a major label – but curiously enough, it was largely down to Intercope’s fascination with another Reis project that it happened at all. Back in 1990, he and his buddy Rick Froberg had formed a much wilder and more complex outfit called Drive Like Jehu: a squalling explosion of sound that threw angular riffs and math-centric rhythms on top of each other to spectacular effect.

Beloved of post-hardcore cognoscenti, and completed by bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, they created two magical albums (1991’s self-titled debut and 1994’s essential Yank Crime) before fizzling out. Reis and Froberg later joined forces again to form Hot Snakes, but despite their cult success, and as successful as Rocket became, they never left the same mark as Drive Like Jehu. Now, however, all three bands are back – reformed for shits and giggles, with DLJ curating the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in its new Victoria Warehouse home.

“Oddly enough, we’re still getting better, so it’s getting more fun,” says Reis. “Drive Like Jehu would rarely play a song the same way twice, all of our music was a work in progress. Now, every time we play the songs a bit better, so for me it seems just as good if not better than it ever was.”

Manchester being somewhat different to San Diego, he’s looking forward to checking out the festival location: “We’re there to fend for ourselves. It’s kind of like Survivor, except we have food and electricity and clothes. And beer.” So what should people expect? “A good time. We’ve organized non-musical things, with art and games and installations and whatnot. We have a lot of ideas, I just hope we can execute them all.”

And, of course, the obvious question: will we get in free with a Rocket tattoo? The man they call Speedo laughs. “Probably not. But you can always try!”

Who to see: Speedo’s guide to the ATP line-up

The Flamin’ Groovies

1970s powerpoppers, reunited with original member Roy Loney

"Flamin’ Groovies Now and Teenage Head are two of my favourite records of all time. [Hit single] Shake Some Action was an amazing song; it seems like the later Groovies were more popular – the powerpop version of the band without Roy Loney. As much as I’m cool with that, on those early records they were really channeling a lot of 1950s rock’n’roll… it wasn’t revisionist, it was something new. So having Roy play with the band, for me, is massive. That was the number one band on my list, to tell the truth."

The Gories

Detroit garage legends featuring Mick Collins of The Dirtbombs

"The Gories were a massive influence on Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu… they were a massive influence on me. Their minimalism, and how kick-ass they were, was a revelation. Not only were their songs so great, but they also had exquisite taste and exposed me to so many great bands – their version of Ghost Rider [by Suicide] was the first version that I heard. Mick sang on a Rocket record too, on Scream Dracula Scream, on Born In ’69. The ‘Woo! Yeah!’ – that’s Mick Collins."

Holly Golightly

Long-term heroine of the UK underground, and former collaborator with Jack White

"Holly is a great friend; I love her music so much. Rocket toured with her, we recorded with her! She was one of our first good friends in another band [in the UK] – we were spending so much time over there, and we met a lot of great people, but we were already massive fans of hers, just through Long Gone John of Sympathy For The Record Industry putting out her records with Thee Headcoatees, so when we finally met her, we were a bit awestruck. We’re just so happy she’ll be there."

The Blind Shake

Abrasive surf-punks, fresh from a collaboration LP with Speedo himself

"I happened to be in Minneapolis when they were playing, and they were supporting my favourite guitar player of all time, Michael Yonkers, acting as his back-up band. It was just so powerful, their sound is insane. It sounds like a metal trashcan, or maybe even a dumpster falling down a massive staircase. It just sounds like metal banging on the walls, and ultimately just collides with real force in the cement. It was a no-brainer – they had to be there."

King Khan

Berlin-dwelling psych loon, performing with both BBQ and The Shrines

"Every time I’ve seen King Khan & The Shrines play, it was the best show that I saw that year. Khan is such a great frontman, and it’s just so fun. It’s everything I like about seeing live music. It’s loose, but it’s massive; it feels bigger than yourself, it’s something that you should make yourself do. You don’t watch from the sides, you just dive in and become a part of it. And then they really put on such a great show too – I’m so fuckin’ jealous."

Soulside

Reformed denizens of Washington’s harDCore scene

"When [Reis and Froberg’s 80s punk band] Pitchfork started, we were so blown away by Soulside’s record Hot Bodi-Gram. I bought it a day or two before we went in to record, and that completely changed the trajectory. It was way ahead of its time. It seemed spontaneous, made up on the fly – this piece of musical information that completely changed the record that we made, for the better. We were such massive fans. And friends as well, Rick especially because he played in Obits with the drummer [Alexis Fleisig]."

Martin Rev

Minimalist synth genius and one half of Suicide

"I keep using the phrase ‘one of my favourite bands of all time’, but I have so many favourite bands and they’re very important to me. It’s like, ‘Don’t talk shit about my favourite bands! Those are fighting words!’ Suicide was such a big influence on Hot Snakes, it was probably the main influence – that and the Wipers – so I really wanted to have them represented in some way. That was very important."

Mission Of Burma

Boston post-punk masters, reformed and re-energised since 2002

"If you were gonna nail down Drive Like Jehu – bands that literally inspired us, where we took their music and made it our own – Mission Of Burma would be on that list for sure. They had broken up when I was quite young – I think they stopped playing in 1980 or 81. When they reformed the first time to play a show in Boston, I bought a ticket ‘cause I didn’t know if they were gonna come back west. They’re still a great band."

The Spits

Raw Seattle punks, stripping the form back to basics in some style

"I always refer to them as the last punk band. They’re just bad-ass – their sound is thick as a brick, it defines the word buzzsaw. People find it so hard to believe that it’s the same set of influences for Rocket as for Drive Like Jehu. It’s just the way they manifest and the people that I’m playing with, and the objective of what we’re trying to do. This is definitely a Drive Like Jehu-curated ATP 'cause these are the bands that we like now, and that’s all there is to it."

The Monkeywrench

Garage rock supergroup featuring members of Mudhoney and The Big Boys

"We really love Mark [Arm], and we love Mudhoney. Rocket has toured with them, and we’ve become good friends with them, being on Sub Pop and whatnot. We really wanted Tim Kerr to be represented as well cos we’re both massive Big Boys fans – they were and continue to be an inspiration to the way I play guitar. So we just needed to have a way of getting all those guys together. The Monkeywrench is a killer band and I think people are in for quite a treat."