The Atomic TanLines

Photo By Ess Beckett 

Punks not dead, Queer is still core, and Black still has power. What am I talking about you ask I talking about the intensity behind The Atomic TanLines.

Kaos Blac: So lets get to the nitty gritty who are the members of the band?

Atomic TanLines: The Atomic TanLines are made up of a a bunch of damn dirty reject kids. You have Dick Male on the Guitar as well as Pablo Trill, Dromingo on the drums and Bobby Hill on the bass and last but not least Ally PlayNice on the voice box.

Kaos Blac: (how) Do you describe your music output as...?

Atomic TanLines: We describe our music as Maladjusted punk rock because we aren't punk enough for the "punks" and aren't fashionable enough for everyone else in the rocknroll scene. We're basically a ball of varied musical influences packed into a cannonball hurtling through your eardrum.. that also may just be me during one of our concerts, but look out for both.

Kaos Blac: Queers and POC have been apart of the scene for ages and I know thats what you guys rep, tell me more about why its important to have queercore and poc alliances on display in music, especially punk stuff.

Atomic TanLines: Well I for one have it on display because I'm not ashamed who I am and gender issues and sexual identity are very evident in the lyrics I write because they are very important issues to me. I come from Texas, predominately the Austin area and have been listening to queer posi bands like The Dicks and MDC for quite awhile now and coming from a small conservative homophobic town bands like these where a inspiration. It sucks not identifying with anyone. I felt that way with music for a long time until I found punk rock and even then I was dissatisfied with the lack of African Americans in the scene. Its important to rep who you are and what you stand for to find or build a community of people you identify with, to eventually change the world and challenge peoples prior judgments about the issue at hand.

There has been a lack of queer posi punk bands in the scene for quite sometime now and I find it disheartening. Now days women's rights are being threatened queers still arent aloud to marry and I can turn on my radio and hear a rape joke in a song as if it completely acceptable. Its mind boggling to me that even though we live in the most technically advanced age people are still so oppressed by a select fews narrow minded ideologies, and aren't you mad? Punk is about the people, it voice of the youth and its up to us that all voices are heard. I do this for the kids in the small towns who feel left out so that maybe somehow they can come across our music and feel alittle less different from everyone else. Because I know if I didnt happen on the bands I found then I would a completely different person.

Kaos Blac: I'm glad I came across your band, and you are putting your music and self out there as a signpost, a marker for those to find. It matters that you are conscious of whats going around you and aren't just fluff pluff flash pan theatrics, not saying that we don't need those sort of acts no one can be on the front lines of the negation wave forever, and you are doing it on your own terms. Thank you, all of you. Any thing else to say in parting for the piece?

Atomic TanLines: Yeah we would like to say Fuck Rick Perry. - We are The Atomic TanLines and we have lost our damn minds.