A TZEEEAC INTERVIEW: Whores.

Whores. is a noisy band hailing from Atlanta, Georgia that will wreck your speakers. We featured them last December, and their album has been on heavy rotation since then. Buy their stuff here, and go say hi on their official Facebook page.

1. Hey guys! We’re fucking ecstatic to have you here. How’s things in Atlanta? 

ATL rules so hard. We’re gearing up to leave for tour, which we absolutely love, but the A is an amazing place to live. 

2. Instead of asking about how you met/how your band came to life etc, we’re going to ask you an even more boring question: Why Whores? What was the thought process behind that name?  

We get asked that a lot. Too much, actually. It’s basically intended as a commentary on the gross state of the world we live in; oppressors v. oppressed. It’s unfortunately rarely taken that way. I have to monitor the shit out of our online presence, and I delete / ban people constantly who have the wrong idea.

3. We noticed you cite The Melvins as a band you like. I’ve been meaning to get into them since forever, but their huge discography, sprawling across genres, is too intimidating. How did you become interested in them and where do you suggest a newbie should start his/her Melvins journey?  

I think the first thing I heard was Gluey Porch Treatments or Ozma. It sounded to me like very smart people intentionally playing fairly dumb music on purpose. I mean that as the highest compliment possible, by the way. I’d like to think that we’re honoring that tradition, or at least the second part. It’s like, when I hear some super technical rock music, I immediately assume the people making it are idiots.

For the uninitiated, I would start with Houdini, or maybe Bullhead or Stoner Witch.

4. We were surprised to see your band featured in countless music publications across the Internet, including the all mighty Pitchfork, whom we’re patiently waiting to be competing with on an equal level one day. How did you become so notorious in such a short time (three years from your formation, to be exact)? Was it a gradual process or were you stalked by paparazzis as soon as you released your first album?  Please let us know so we can copy everything you did and become famous.

Ha. Well we still technically haven’t released an album. It’s just two EPs so far. It is surprising that we’re kind of catching on or whatever. I mean, I love our band. But it’s not exactly easy listening. I don’t know if I’d necessarily refer to us as notorious, but I can tell you that we legitimately play as hard as we can at every show. I know it sounds trite, but we’re totally playing for keeps. This band isn’t a hobby for me. 

5. Your cover artwork punctuates your sound and attitude really well! The heavy font and minimalistic design reflect the stripped-down, no bullshit nature of your music, while the gun and burning matches instill a certain sense of impending danger. Is this all intentional or are we reading too much into it? Who does all your artwork and how do you come up with ideas for your covers?

The simple and graphic aesthetic is definitely intentional, but it’s also born out of necessity. We don’t have any kind of budget for the band. The deal we have with Brutal Panda is a licensing deal only, so we basically hand them the finished record and they handle production. I had the idea for the simple design for both records and the logo, and my friend Patrick handled the layout. I wanted a simple image that was vaguely threatening, but I wanted to stay away from anything too cartoon-y. I try to do the same thing with the bands songs and merch. Simple and muscular design. Like a Hemingway story.

6. Whores is well known for the vicious live show and tremendous energy, while at the same time you guys look like you’re about to collapse in piles of bones any second. Still, every show you play looks like an absolute blast! How do you prepare for shows? Do you get hyped up on booze and energy drinks and scream at each other on your way over to the venue?

I used to never warm up or stretch or anything, but now I do both. When we’re on tour, I cut out all dairy, drink a gallon of water a day and sleep constantly. I also can’t really talk too much when we’re on the road. It’s boring, but I want to give people the best and most intense performance possible. Jake was drinking Red Bull and vodka before our last show, but I think it’s usually Jamison’s. Ha. We all love this band, so it doesn’t take but a few huge waves of noise before we’re all in the zone.

7. 2014 is already shaping up to be a busy year for you, with Spring dates across the US in the excellent company of Lo Pan and Fight Amp. What other plans do you have for this year? 

There is a TON of stuff in the works for us this year. We just released a split single of Cure covers with the Portland band Rabbits last month. There’s also the Amphetamine Reptile series “Dope, Guns and Fucking in the Streets” that we were asked to be a part of. We are unbelievable flattered to even be on Tom’s radar. We sent him our track last month. It’s a new song called “Bloody Like The Day You Were Born.” I love it. It’s one of my favorite Whores songs already. We have a tour kickoff show in ATL in like a week and then we leave for SXSW and a U.S. tour directly after that. We’ve also received a few different offers that are unbelievable and exciting, but I’m not at liberty to discuss anything official yet. I can tell you that’s it’s pretty big news for us and it will likely be pretty amazing.

8. A quick yet ineffective Google search tells us Man vs Food host Adam Richman used to study in Atlanta, Georgia and even featured the city in one of the episodes, where he gorged on chicken&waffles, burgers and a monstrous 11 pound Carnivore pizza. What is some of your favorite food to wolf down in Atlanta after an exhausting gig? Please describe it in painful detail.

Waffle House on tour. If we’re in the South, it’s pretty much a guarantee that we’ll be eating there on a daily basis. 

ATL is a super rad restaurant city, actually. Tacos are my favorite food, and my lady and I go to this place on the west side called Bone Garden a ton.  

Have you seen that Disco’s Kitchen thing on YouTube? He’s this rad dude from Oz who does experimental three-ingredient cooking to a soundtrack of bands he digs. Here’s a link to the one we did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_qtKja375g 

(EDIT: HAHA, Chester will love this!)

9. We’re big fans of Walking Dead, both the comic and the TV Show. Since it’s being filmed in Atlanta and across Georgia, have you ever considered auditioning as zombie extras? Are we ever going to see Rick Grimes smashing the head of a zombie Whore? Speaking of which, what other TV shows do you guys enjoy in your off-time? 

I’m a set dresser for TV and film, so I have some friends who work on that show. I don’t really watch too much TV, but I do watch a ton of movies. I’d love to sort of move up the production ladder and get into acting or writing. I have a journalism degree with a telecommunications concentration, and I’ve done a bit of writing on the side. It doesn’t really pay the bills though.  

Also, The Simpsons is the greatest show in the history of the medium.

10. Typically, we leave the last question to the band, so take it away guys! You’re free to spew any obscenity you fancy at our poor readers. Thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview, hope you had fun!

Thanks for the thoughtful questions and for thinking of us. All the best.