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The big question I think that's been on a lot of minds, and a few have asked outright: why did you leave Ministry?
It really was not my choice. I got stuck in the middle of someone else's quarrel. Al and Paul don't get along now at all. It's nasty. So, I guess basically at this point, Al thinks that he can't trust me or something because I'm a friend of Paul's. Which is retarded. See, I like Al just fine, but he and Paul have both done a lot of really great things for me. Both of them. Yes, I'm very proud of Al getting off hard drugs and taking control of his life, and I wanna be friends with Al. Shit, he was the best man at my wedding... but I'm also friends with Paul. And Al... just can't seem to deal with that. At the end of the Houses Of the Molé sessions, I went back to Austin and ended up helping Barker with his demo. In Al's mind, I think he felt that it was a conflict of interest. He flipped about it. I don't really wanna get too deep into it. It just sucks that it had to end on a sour note. But like a lot of lame things that happen, it was really an opportunity for me. I got what I really needed out of Ministry, anyway. I mean, that's probably not the best phrasing of it, what I'm saying is that I got a lot out of being in Ministry, but, I feel like I don't really want to spend my whole life writing songs only to have someone else get the credit for it. You know, Al gets all the credit for all that music, not me. Ministry is him, not me. I think I'm at a point where I'm about ready to start my own band. I've always been a sidekick\u2014in over 50 bands\u2014so, I guess I oughta be about ready to be the leader. Plus, it's like the whole Pink Anvil thing felt like it fell through when Barker moved. It's kind of the same thing, though, an opportunity. I really just need to start doing my own thing, so I'm getting my own demo together.
A few questions regarding musical influences, your interests, stuff like that. One person wrote to me stating that he read an interview that you did once mentioning Max Roach. Have jazz drummers, in particular Elvin Jones or Tony Williams, influenced your way of playing?
I wouldn't say a direct influence, I certainly like those drummers but I wouldn't call them an influence.
Are you a big fan of jazz and country music? What types did you dig?
Yeah, when I was growing up at a certain point, probably around seventh grade, I decided I didn't like distorted guitars, blue jeans, or rock music. So I just listened to bebop, avant-garde jazz, that kind of 'weird' stuff for a long time. And then the trucker country, outlaw country, I totally dig that, too, but I've only started listening to that in more recent years. The stuff coming out of Nashville lately on the other hand, that glammy shit... I don't like it at all. Can't stomach it.
Are you a Coleman Hawkins or a John Coltrane kind of guy?
I'm a Roland Kirk or Eric Dolphy kind of guy. I like both of those saxophone players, but I wouldn't say they're in my top players. You know, like Charlie Parker...
You have your own label, Frumunda Musick. when was this started?
It started right after I got out of college. 1991.
The first release bearing that label was a compilation put out in 1993, correct?
It Came Frumunda, yeah. That was a compilation of a bunch of underground Seattle bands, some, of course, that I was in. This was back in '91-'93. There was a bar in Seattle called The Store Room back then, and there was kind of a low-brow punk scene going on. Of course, all of Seattle was going crazy with grunge music, but this was like its own little micro scene. I used to invite bands over to my little home studio and record, so it's just a little home-spun comp. Some really cool bands like Sore Jackson and Sleepcapsule were on it, though. As a matter of fact, one of the bands from that comp that I was in, Creepy Stick, had the dude who became the singer from Presidents Of the United States Of America, that poppy band! I used to play in a band with him back then. Whoa. It was a really strange three-piece\u2014stand-up drummer, I played sax, and that singer guy Chris Ballew played a guitar with like half a string on it or something. We only played in parks, off sidewalks, places like that, not in bars. Anyway...
Are you putting out another Sangre De Toro record out? I assume you have two to your credit so far...
There are two Sangre De Toro records out, and there's another longer one in the can which [Brett] Bradford and I are planning to release at some point. It's actually my favorite one, too. For those of you who don't know, Sangre De Toro was Brett Bradford (guitarist from Scratch Acid), myself and several different bass players. Eventually we wound up with Jeff Pinkus (bass player from the Butthole Surfers), and so we decided to rename ourselves Areola 51. Areola 51 has one record out, and we're just now finishing up another one. Then, there's also me, Brett Bradford and Jason Craig\u2014who's an Austin guitar/bass player who is in this band called Pong and used to be in Pocket Fisherman\u2014we're in a band called Insect Sex Act. That band just finished a record. All of these are gonna come out really soon on StackedRecords.com.
Will this be the easiest way to contact you for future reference?
Basically, there's gonna be a way to get to me through that website. Unfortunately, not today. You'll be able to email me at max at stackedrecords.com I think. The site's gonna be coming up real soon. Like weeks.