Hailing from Providence, RI, Athletic Automaton is Steve Mattos on guitar and lap steel, and Pat Crump on drums.  On stage they wear their trademark '70's style basketball uniforms (complete with headbands), though they actually look more like the stoners who’d be smoking behind the school during gym class.  You can hear bits of Suicide, Von Lmo, even krautrock in their music, though they don’t actually sound very much like any of their specific influences.  Essentially, it’s slow to mid-tempo droning post-rock with extremely infrequent vocals.  Steve’s killer bee guitar buzz layered over Pat’s simple but powerful drumming creates a sort of postmodern technological tribal groove, trance-inducing fuzz for a drugged-out artificial intelligence.  They’ve played live frequently in town as well as tours up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest.  Their most recent show, opening for the Pay Toilets, found both Steve and Pat playing at their best, as well as dabbling with vocals to great effect.  Following the release of their self-produced demo cdr, Five Days In Africa, Athletic Automaton put out a split CD with Providence no wave worshippers Made In Mexico.  They are currently working on their debut full length album.

Scoots:  How is work on the full length lp progressing?
Athletic Automatron:  At this very moment we are in the process of mixing down the recordings at the Parlour with Rick from The Chinese Stars.  Release date is unknown at the moment.

Scoots:  What label will be releasing it and will it be available on vinyl, or cd only?
Athletic Automatron:  That's a good question.  We don't have anyone interested as of yet, except possibly John from New Addition, who put out the split with Made In Mexico.  We're looking for takers.  Oh yea, and we would love to put it out on vinyl as well.

Scoots:  Is Jay Ryan officially part of the band now, or were the vocals he did on the split cd merely a guest appearance?
Athletic Automatron:  Unfortunately, he was just a guest appearance since he recently moved to Colorado, but he did two tracks that will be on the full length.

Scoots:  How did this collaboration come about? Specifically, what was it about the combination of AA and Jay Ryan that you liked?
Athletic Automatron:  Jay approached us about doing some vocals for us, and we were both huge fans of him as a singer.  Here is a great example of how great Jay is:  When he came to do a show with us in NY, he was listening to the song that he was going to perform with us in his car on the way there!  We hadn't thought much about how it would turn out, but we knew it would be awesome.  And naturally, we felt that he should record at least that one song with us, which he did and then some.  He is a talented guy, that is for sure.  By the way, that live track he did with us is on our website:  www.athleticautomaton.com.

Scoots:  What do you think the vocals added to your sound?  Is that something you want to explore more in the future, or do you prefer playing as a duo?
Athletic Automatron:  Funny you should ask because we have been experimenting with vocals as of late.  We wrote a new song which will be on the full length, with us on vocals.  We have no interest in a third member, and we feel that we can accomplish what we want on our own.

Scoots:  Is there a danger though, that with only two members your songs will start to take on a homogenous sound in the long run?
Athletic Automatron:  It is not how many people that are in a band, it is how much they are willing to progress with sound and music.

Scoots:  What kind of feedback have you gotten on the demo and split cd?
Athletic Automatron:  The reviews of the split have been positive so far.  As for the Demo, that has been positive as well, the only real complaint was that the drum sound was not very defined, which we have fixed since that recording session.

Scoots:  Providence has a proud tradition of two-man bands, how has AA been received in other cities?
Athletic Automatron:  We have mostly toured through the East Coast and Midwest and the response so far has been very positive.  Places like Columbus, OH, St. Louis, and Iowa City were all very enthusiastic.  But we would have to say that the response in Providence is still the best so far.

Scoots:  Any cities that just didn't get you guys at all?  Audience horror stories?
Athletic Automatron:  No, not at all, believe it or not.  At least, not yet.  The only complaint we have at present is that the turnouts have not always been that great.

Scoots:  You're getting ready for a gig, do you ever say "fuck, what were we thinking with the shorts and tank tops?"
Athletic Automatron:  No, actually this is what we say, "Fuck, I'm glad we didn't go with the wrestling uniforms."

Scoots:  Do you get sick of the tag "ex-Arab on Radar"?
Athletic Automatron:  Since there has been such a decline of interest in the underground music scene of late, we feel that any exposure could only help us.  It just so happens that Steve was in Arab On Radar (who got some recognition in that music scene), so if that gets people curious as to what we are doing, then we are fine with that.

Scoots:  A lot of people consider AOR as being one of founding fathers of the genre-busting sound perhaps best exemplified by the Load Records roster, how do you feel about that legacy?
Athletic Automatron:  Arab On Radar always intended on creating something challenging in the music scene, right from the start.  Whether directly or indirectly, we were reacting to the present state of music at the time, which seemed very stale and uninteresting.  So we just did what we felt was in our nature to do, which was to fuck it up, and confuse the hell out of people in the process.  We intended that every aspect of the band infuse a certain aesthetic; including the uniforms, lighting, etc.  I feel that in our present culture you have to do that to get people's attention.  For some odd reason (maybe the water), many bands in Providence also wanted to fuck shit up.  And I think we all influenced each other, at least in an aesthetic sense.  We just played what came out of us, I don't think there is much else I can say about it.  I think that it is great that we are seen in that light though.  I never thought we would actually penetrate the music business as we did.  All I can hope now is that history is kind to us.

Scoots:  Give me your impressions of the Chinese Stars and Made in Mexico, your former AOR bandmates' current projects.
Athletic Automatron:  The only thing that I would like to say is that they are all extremely talented musicians and I am glad that they have continued to contribute to the music scene.

Scoots:  Very diplomatic.  I can hear different aspects of AOR's sound in both of those bands, as well as your own.  Do you think it's been a positive evolution in all three cases, or has one of these bands taken a step backwards?
Athletic Automatron:  Yes, it has been a positive evolution because everything happens the way it happens, and there is no real answer to why it is that way.  I believe that every band evolves in different ways, with different members, and the outcome is never going to be what you may perceive it should be.

Scoots:  It's been a year since the eviction of the tenants of Oak & Troy Streets and the subsequent closing of the show spaces there, how do you feel about the current state of live music in Providence?  What do you think the future holds for Prov's bands and show spaces?
Athletic Automatron:  Compared to other cities around the country, we feel that Providence still has the most interesting, and diverse music scene.  We had a slight lull for about a year or two, but it seems to be picking up again.  Hopefully, the future will bring a whole new crop of bands that will continue to challenge music, as Providence has always done.  Unfortunately, since the closing of Fort Thunder, people have been struggling to maintain a space like it.  And hopefully, gentrification will not totally destroy the whole city of Providence.

Scoots:  Is it necessary for Providence's music scene to have some kind of underground/illegal venues, or can it survive with only legit clubs?
Athletic Automatron:  We believe in the juxtaposition of both ideas, but we are still missing that happy medium.  The legit venues seem to be lacking the most.  We desperately need a venue that encompasses both aspects:  the underground aesthetic, with the security of a real club.

Scoots:  Steve, how was it playing guitar for the White Mice at the Green Room show a few months back and how did that come about?
Athletic Automatron:  That was a lot of fun actually!  A real bizarre experience.  It was totally improv on my end, I just created a lot of noise to go with their insanity.  Jolly just approached me about it one day, and we kept trying to make it happen.  Then, the show at the Green Room came about, and that one seemed to work best for both of us.  They have asked me to play since then but I have not been able to do it.  I would love to do it again sometime though.

Scoots:  Who are your favorite current local and national bands?
Athletic Automatron:  Locally:  Made In Mexico...Nationally: USAISAMONSTER...

Scoots:  Pat, is Kansas City as boring as I imagine it to be?  Is there any kind of scene there for underground music?
Athletic Automatron:  Kansas City is very boring unless you like drinking as a past-time.  One of the reasons that I moved here was because the music scene in KC was not very good for bands that like to push the boundaries of music.

Scoots:  Should steroid testing be mandatory in the Providence music community?
Athletic Automatron:  As long as they are just testing for steroids.

Scoots:  Bigger influence:  Von Lmo or Larry Bird
Athletic Automatron:  How about the exact combination of the two.

Scoots:  Will AA take home the pennant this year?
Athletic Automatron:  Umm, ok????