NOTE: this interview was done in 2019 for my printed zine.
While Atrophy enjoy a well-deserved success with their latest album "Asylum", let's dive in the history of this awesome thrash metal outfit and relive some fun and odd moments with the singer Brian Zimmerman!
Before Atrophy the band was called Heresy. Were you in this band back then? What kind of music was that?
The band Heresy was in the same lineup. The reason we did not use the name as it was already taken probably. It was a little more punk sounding because we did not have a good double bass drummer at the time that would be the main difference between the two.
The demo “Chemical Dependency” had really good sound and professionally done artwork which is a bit different to what young bands do with the first demo. Was it your main goal to represent the band as good as possible right from the beginning?
Chris Lykins and myself put a lot of thought into it before we send it out. Because a lot of people were making demos at the time we wanted it to stand out and be professional looking, the artwork on the cover was a concept I thought of after seeing an article in Time magazine. There was a picture that was somewhat similar… I told the band about it and we found an artist in town who could draw it better than I could do. The only thing I did not like about it is he use someone’s name, Luis R Drake MD.. So we find it out and got very positive response!
Almost every song from this demo was re-recorded for your debut album but what happened to “Suicide Pact”? Why didn’t it appear on full-length albums? Did you think that the song was a bad one?
Suicide pact was the song that I had written, and I do like the song. We just had more material and it did not make the cut on the album, we still talk about it… Maybe thought it was a little unpolished?
Yes. it was an amazing response we were overwhelmed with offers from record companies it was an amazing time! We couldn’t ever imagine having a better response!
By the way, I must admit that the band sounded very matured both music- and lyric-wise from the very beginning. Did you practice a lot before you went on to the studio and recorded your first demo? Did anyone in the band have a music education?
Nobody in the band has a musical education oddly enough, we were all students going to college, Chris Lykins is very intelligent as he went on to be a doctor, I was going to school for electrical engineering… As far as the lyrics go, we educated ourselves before writing material. We did not want to be like the other bands at that time of having songs it meant nothing! I think that’s what connected us to our audience.
I really love your voice. How did you discover your singing abilities? Did you take any lessons?
First off thank you very much, I actually started off playing guitar in the band with Chris, we decided we needed a second lead guitar player. And trying to find a singer with a decent voice was impossible, so we hired another guitar player and I stepped up to the mic! To be honest I had never really heard thrash metal before so I just started singing in what I thought sounded appropriate for the band. I’ve taken voice lessons after I left the band but had none prior to recording.
In 1988 you recorded another demo. Would you say that it was received a way better than the first one and helped you to get a deal with Roadrunner Records?
At that time we had already had a deal, there was no second demo. Roadracer asked us to go back in the studio in Tucson to send them a sample of what would be coming out of our other songs. That was never meant to be for release it was strictly for them.
You recorded both albums with Bill Metoyer. Would you say that you learned a lot from him? He was already established producer at the time so did he treat you well or was he a kind of “rock star” maybe? Is it true that during recording sessions for “Violent By Nature” Bill asked you to slow down some parts to make them sounding heavier?
Bill Metoyer is a great producer he is one of the nicest guys and it’s very mellow. He never asked us to change anything, he simply captured what we we had recorded. I learned a ton about production as well as recording from Bill Metoyer, he always treated us just has another band coming through! I still talk to him. To this day.
We toured quite extensively in the United States with "Socialized Hate". Or manager hooked us up with Sacred Reich who she also managed. We went out for about two months. Blondies in Detroit was very memorable. Lubbock, Texas... The headliners could not play that night so we had to headline, I thought the fans would be upset but it was packed and was an excellent show.
I know you were close to Sacred Reich and toured a lot with them. Can you recall any stories from the road like that one when Whiley Arnett was thrown out of a window in some bar?
Yes, we toured twice with them. In Europe we walked into a bar, I walked into the bathroom and a huge guy walked up next to me and said. “Where are you guys from?” Unbeknownst to us, we had walked into a biker bar all dressed up and leather, I think they thought we were in a motorcycle gang. We learned later that they were Europe’s version of Hells Angels! After the gentleman asked me where I was from I had a weird feeling, I walked up to the guys and said, "I am out of here! I’m going back to the tour bus". Moments later our stage hand Scott came on the bus with a broken nose and blood all over his face. It was Phil Rind, the singer of Sacred Reich, they pulled his jacket over his head, and threw him through a plate glass window. MTV heard about it and put a blurb about it I later learned!
During your European tour you had a chance to play in “Marquee” club in London and Dynamo festival in Holland. Wasn’t it a kind of shock for you like “Me in these acclaimed venues? No way!”?
To be honest I did not know of these places when I was younger. They simply gave us our schedule and we played the shows. I did not know what the Dynamo festival was! Nor the Marquee. Of course it was the absolute privilege to be so new and being able to play at such an incredible places!
I don’t think the other guys in the band paid any attention to the lyrics. Me and Chris wrote all the lyrics. My drummer told me recently he had no idea what we were singing about. I cared because were the kind of people we do care about what’s going on in our world!
Probably one of the funniest songs in Atrophy’s discography is “Beer Bong”. Who was the main beer drinker in the band?
We were all beer drinkers back then, we used to bring a beer bong with us on tour and I would drink on stage mainly at the end of the set. That song was written by a friend of ours as a joke song. We did not want to seem overly serious, we wanted to make a fun song. That’s one of the main things I do remember about Bill Metoyer. He thought it would be hilarious to put a burp at the end of the song so I went along with it. He made me redo that 20 times until finally I said, "Hold on a second". So I walked into the lobby of the studio and bought myself a Coke. I walked back in and I put my headphones on and said, "I am ready", I chugged half the bottle and belched so loud! I started laughing at the end and that’s what was recorded. Good times!
How do you see both your albums in retrospective? Would you say that “Violent By Nature” was stronger than “Socialized Hate”?
I never really thought about it until recently when we put the band back together and I talk to some of our fans. I think "Violent by Nature" is a much more mature album both in playing and in sound where as "Socialized Hate" is more raw.
Is it correct that the band had an attempt to record a demo for the third album? What happened to those recordings?
Yes, there is a third demo that was recorded for Roadracer. It is gone as far as I know, nobody has a copy of it. We also have seven songs that are recorded after that that I have not been released.
The band broke up in 1991 because Chris Lykins went on to study biology. Why didn’t you just replace him with another guitarist?
The band did not break up when Chris left, we did not break up until 1992 when I left the band! We did replace him with another guitar player. It was never the same. I was used to write a lot of music with him, but when others tried to step in and fill his shoes, I knew it was coming! I spoke to the other band members and told them we need to really buckle down and start writing together and they laughed at me! I guess in my mind I knew what was going to happen. We had it so easy, we never really had to try to write music, it just came naturally. After Chris left the band everything was a struggle, plus the music was changing people were getting into the grunge scene!
After Atrophy’s demise James, Tim and Rick went on to play in Head Circus. And what about you? What were you doing after the demise of Atrophy?
I was sick of it to be honest! I got married and had a little girl at home who needed a father. I left the band and never looked back until recently. I had a daughter to raise, I had to get a real job and pay real bills!
Sorry for asking, but I heard you had some drug issues but as far as I understand you overcome them. What helped you in this fight?
Don’t apologize! Yes, I was a drug addicted piece of crap! I broke my back when I was young and had two surgeries and I turned to the streets are used heroin, crystal meth, cocaine. marijuana, LSD. But I have been clean for 20 years. That includes alcohol! I went to a pain clinic to help deal with my pain that was the root of my addiction! Back pain was killing me! I could not sleep. Every moment I was awake I was in pain. I did attend one meeting but found it was not for me. The way I quit, I stoped doing it. I had to be honest with myself why I was using. The way I got a clean is a stop hanging around with people that were not good for me! I believe people are addicted a lot of times because they are chaotic, they like the chaos and all that comes with it. You have to love yourself enough to walk away from your so-called friends. People in that culture do not give two shits about you. They are not your friends, they use you. My problem was with going to meetings. I did not want to be around people who are using drugs drinking all of it. I had to surround myself with people who did not have that lifestyle. We are currently writing songs about this very topic, depression, drug addiction. I hope we can touch people that way, drugs are a road to nowhere, you have two choices you can die Or you can get clean your choice no one else’s.
How did the reunion come about? Who was the first to say “Hey, let’s do it!”? How was it to rehearse all together for the first time in many years?
My daughter started using the Internet and went on Wikipedia and found some stuff out about the band, and she told me about a Facebook page that was created. I told her I did not care. In 2014 I joined a local band. I told everybody do not post pictures of me, and they did literally the next day. A guy who runs the Facebook page started blowing me up with messages, asked me if I would re-join. I finally called my drummer Tim and said, “Who the hell is this guy?” He told me if we got back together we could do the Maryland Deathfest. It was only going to be one show. I figured what was the harm in doing it so I flew out to Arizona to play with the guys! It was magic. They spent a lot of time really learning the songs and it sounded awesome. Tim turned to me and said, "Holy crap! My hairs on my arm s standing up!" And we’ve been doing shows ever since.
You said you flew to Arizone to re-join the band. When and why did you quit Arizona?
I had moved away with my family to Arkansas about 1500 miles away from Arizona in 2000, so I do not live there anymore. We have to do everything over the Internet.
It’s been 4 years since the reunion. Is the band still alive? Do you work on a new album?
Yes, we have written a whole bunch of new material, unfortunately we have had three changes in the lineup so that has really put a hold on our new album. But we have songs we are intending on releasing this year!
And last question: why did Rick and Chris leave the band after the reunion and how did you find Bobby and Casper? They seem to be a bit younger than you, Tim and James. Did they play in any pro bands before?
So Chris never came back for the reunion, nor did Rick. It was me, James and Tim. Nobody played in a professional band ever. Casper is no longer with us. We have a new guitar player! He had some very unfortunate things happen to him which I will share very soon. The way we found Casper was Casper and Tim had played together in another band. Rich Olson was the guitarist we re-formed with, and played with us for one year, he is no longer with us. Bobby has been with us for two years now and he was somebody that was playing in local bands around Tucson.
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