Category Archives: Featured

British quintet gives North American audiences The Treatment with KISS and Mötley Crüe

KISS and Mötley Crüe have likely been responsible for a lot of firsts, especially for fans who have yet to reach the age of 20. But for British band The Treatment, whose five members are still in their late teens despite their ’70s rocker imagery, these two bands have not only been big influences on the throwback rock sound heard on the recently-released debut album This Might Hurt, they’re also responsible for The Treatment’s North American debut. Currently making its way across the United State and Canada, the co-headlining bill known simply as The Tour features the young quintet as the opening act (with additional club dates for The Treatment on off dates from The Tour). Being introduced to new audiences each night, The Treatment’s singer Matt Jones talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the tour, the album and what the rest of the year has in store for this young band.

You’ve already gained quite a following in Europe, but touring with two of the biggest bands in the world is quite a way to make your North American debut.

Yeah, I mean it’s huge. We’ve all grown up listening to these bands, so to be out here playing with them in America in front of that many people is just unbelievable.

What have the reactions been like for you so far on this tour?

I think people come in early because they want to get a good spot for KISS and Mötley Crüe. We’re going on about half an hour before the main bands go on, but we’ve had really, really good responses so far. It’s been really fun, too.

With KISS and Crüe, it’s not just the front men who have been able to capture the attention of audiences. And many of the other members of each band have fronted other bands of their own. As a singer and front man, who would you say have been some of the bigger influences on you between the two bands you’re currently touring with?

That’s hard because, like you said, their all such great front men. Vince Neil was the ultimate ’80s front man, then Paul Stanley is fantastic and Gene Simmons is fantastic. I don’t know that I could really pick one. I’ve grown up listening to both bands and both bands have had an equally big impression on us, really.

You’ve had the opportunity to play with some other big rock bands like Alice Cooper and Motörhead in your homeland. As I mentioned before, we aren’t that familiar with you here, but do you already have a pretty big following back home?

We’re doing quite well at home and we’re doing quite well in Europe. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind lately, but over the last year it’s all slowly, but surely, picked up. Hopefully after this tour in the U.S. we’ll be able to go back and do some more shows. But it’s been a fantastic start for us so far.

The new album has a lot of different influences, ranging from bluesy Black Crowes kind of sounds to harder rocking ’80s-inspired stuff. I’ve noticed a resurgence in the ’70s and ’80s rock sound in a lot of newer bands, as well as bands from that era seeing a renewed interest from fans. Why do you think that sound is making a comeback of sorts?

I think it’s just because we’ve all grown up with it. I mean, it’s something passed down from our dads and our mums because our parents were around in the ’80s and as we were growing up, that’s what they listened to. As we’ve grown up, we’ve listened to what they used to listen to. So when we come to writing music and started playing guitar and stuff like that, we’d go back to that kind of music to get inspiration because that’s what we knew. I think it’s a generational thing that was handed down to us.

You also released a digital-only EP of cover songs. How did you go about choosing which songs you’d cover?

We wanted to show that we don’t just have an ’80s side to us, but we’ve got a real kind of rootsy ’70s feel as well. We wanted to choose songs that people wouldn’t automatically think we’d go for and songs that might be a bit of a curveball, especially for people our age who might not have ever heard it before. Stuff like Canned Heat and ELO and stuff like that, people who are 18 back home in England don’t really know that kind of stuff. So we wanted to breathe some new life into some great songs and hopefully people will listen to that and go back to hear the originals.

How did you discover those bands if a lot of people your age haven’t heard them in England?

When we got into rock music, we all kind of sat down and went back to the roots. So if we liked Mötley Crüe or whatever, we’d go back and listen to what they were influenced by like UFO and Slade and stuff like that. We’re all massive music fans, so we’d sit down with records from the ’60s, ’70s and even the ’50s and ’40s, and listen to as much as possible.

This tour has you on the road through September. What are your plans after that?

After this tour, we go home and have a couple of weeks off to try and recoup some energy. After that we go on tour in the U.K. with Thin Lizzy, which we’re really excited about because we’re all massive Thin Lizzy fans. We’ve actually done a couple of dates with them before and they went really, really well. So a whole tour should be a lot of fun. Then we’re back in Europe through October. Then we’ll take some time off at the end of the year to see our families for Christmas and stuff.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes James Powers, Chris Damian and Eric Corvis

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Even though this week’s Georgia Wrestling Now was the first of the post-dany only era, we still felt the effects of the previous actions of “The Human Hand Grenade” when we heard from Beyond Wrestling‘s Eric Corvis. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Corvis is the man only inexplicably tried to stab following a recent Beyond Wrestling event. Having heard our send-off to only last week, Corvis requested some air time to discuss his dealings with our former co-host, and it turns out only was listening. And not happy with what he was hearing. As if that wasn’t explosive enough, we also heard from Dynasty Championship Wrestling Heritage Champion “The Mega-Star” James Powers about this weekend’s Wrestling for Miracles event. And we found out more about Pro Wrestling Resurrection (formerly The New Tradition Pro Wrestling) when TNT veteran Chris Damian called to talk about the promotion’s first show under the PWR banner. Wrestling with Pop Culture and Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins also discussed recent and upcoming events from Peachstate Wrestling Alliance, NWA Rampage Pro Wrestling, EMPIRE Wrestling, Platinum Championship Wrestling, NWA Anarchy and more. It all starts at 7 p.m. EST.

Beyond Wrestling's Eric Corvis has some things to say about former Georgia Wrestling Now co-host dany only on tonight's show

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Brooke Tessmacher looks to justify her championship at Hardcore Justice

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Women wrestlers have always struggled to get the same attention as their male counterparts. And many would argue that the focus on “divas” with backgrounds in modeling and dancing has only further diminished the legitimacy of women in the ring. But since the inception of its Knockouts Championship almost five years ago, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling has consistently featured some of wrestling’s top female wrestlers in competitive matches rather than pillow fights and lingerie matches. As a result, it was a surprise to many when Brooke Tessmacher, a former Hooters Swimsuit Pageant competitor who broke into the wrestling world as a valet and dancer, defeated Gail Kim, one of the most accomplished female wrestlers of our time, to become the new Knockouts Champion two months ago at Slammiversary. For those who thought this victory was a fluke, Tessmacher has retained the title with impressive victories over Mickie James and, most recently, Kim on Impact Wrestling. Having clearly come a long way since her days as a swimsuit model, Tessmacher takes on former champion Madison Rayne this Sunday at Hardcore Justice (hopefully, for Tessmacher’s sake, Rayne‘s new love interest Earl Hebner won’t be the referee). As she prepares for her next challenge, Tessmacher discusses her beginnings, how she has improved and how she hopes to continue as TNA’s top female competitor.

You’ve obviously come a long way since you started your wrestling career six years ago, with most of your success coming very recently. What do you attribute this recent success to?

It’s been a long road and I have been really giving it everything I had over the past few months. When I first came into TNA and Impact as a secretary, it really wasn’t fulfilling. It wasn’t utilizing my talents for what I wanted to do, so I knew that in order to make an impact I had to quit everything else I was doing. I gave up a Hooters pageant to start training, I gave up another pageant and two other modeling gigs because I realized wrestling was the most important thing in my life. It being the most difficult sport I’ve ever been involved in, and the biggest challenge, I did have to give up a lot of things to do that.

As everyone knows, Tara did help me tremendously in the ring and out of the ring. Also, Booker’s school with Paul Cook in Houston has helped me a lot with one-on-one training. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible. Being on the road with such talented knockouts as Mickie James, Gail Kim and Tara has allowed me to sit back and get a bird’s-eye view of how they perform, and that has really helped me step up my game. I’m constantly taking notes and to be there and see them yourself is the best way to climb up the ladder the quickest. I watched a lot of videos, a lot of tapes and spent a lot of man-hours. It’s been tough, but now I’m living my dream and it’s all paying off. It’s still very surreal to me.

How humbling or exciting is it to be the champion in one of the most stacked women’s divisions in wrestling?

I’ve had maybe 50, 60 matches now and for me to hold the championship and know that I’m the best at this time is very humbling. It’s a great feeling, it’s an exciting feeling, I wake up every day with the biggest smile on my face knowing I’m up there with these women and compared to these women like Mickie James, Tara and Gail Kim. I can only hope that I’ll have a career as long as them and that I’ll be able to hold this championship as long as them and, if I lose it, to get it back. I want to build my career just as they did. They’re amazing women and it’s crazy to be a part of it and compared to them.

With your improvement in the ring, do you think people are starting to take you more seriously as a wrestler as opposed to viewing you as a model in wrestling?

I do think they are taking me a little more seriously. I think I came in and really shocked people because I did improve a tremendous amount in a short period of time. And that was from all the work I put in. I think for a while I’l have to fight the stereotypical, “Oh, she’s just a model” thing. That’s fine. I’ll continue to keep improving and proving everyone wrong. But I think I’ve finally opened everyone’s eyes to say, “Oh, wow. This girl can work. She isn’t scared.” I’m a firecracker, so I can only go up.

How has your time in TNA compared to the work you did in WWE?

I look back and it’s a great company and it’s awesome to say I worked for them. But there really is hardly any comparison between the two when it comes to my career. I came out and did a sexy dance routine every week. It was fun, it was great, I made some good friends, but I’m an athlete and I wasn’t fulfilled doing a dance routine every week. Even though I wasn’t trained enough to have a full match, I would much rather have been training the whole time and getting ready for what I wanted to do rather than having to dance. At Impact Wrestling they’ve really believed in me and given me a chance. They opened the door for me and I just took and ran with it.

When you beat Gail Kim for the title, what was going through your mind before, during and after the match?

I remember sitting in the back before I walked out thinking, “OK, this is my one chance. I’m getting this right now. I have to be on my game now more than any other match.” And all of a sudden I just couldn’t breathe, the crowd was so loud and it just kind of took over me. I had been waiting for that moment for so long and I got so scared and freaked out. As soon as I entered the [ring], I just knew I wanted that championship more than anything. To win in your home state for the first time is indescribable. It was my moment to just take in everything that had just happened. My tears just started to flow as soon as I got backstage, it was just uncontrollable. I was just so happy and finally [realized], “Oh, my God. I did it! I did it! I cannot believe I did it! I just proved the whole wrestling world wrong.” No one took me seriously because I’m just a model, I’m inexperienced, especially getting in the ring with such a talented and tremendous athlete as Gail. It was a great feeling.

Do you feel more pressure now to retain the Knockouts Championship or was there more pressure for you trying to get to that level?

Of course there was a lot of pressure before because I was trying to prove everyone wrong about me being just a model that was trying to become an athlete, that I can do it, that I’m just as good and can hang in the ring. Now I do believe the pressure is a lot worse. Once you go up, all you can do is stay up and not fall down. So going out there every week to defend the championship is pretty difficult. With Gail Kim, Madison Rayne, Mickie James, it just takes one small mistake for it to be over, and that’s very difficult. When you’re as new as me, I still make rookie mistakes and I’m still learning. Thank God I have people like Tara and my trainers back at home to teach me these things because it only takes one wrong move to be done.

Since you won the championship, you’ve been on the road pretty much every weekend for TNA. How has working these house shows and live events helped you in terms of learning and growing as a performer in comparison to just doing TV in front of a live crowd?

My suggestion to everyone is to do as many live shows as you can because what they need the most is to get out there in front of people. It’s better to make mistakes when you’re not on live TV. You learn when you’re on the road, that’s how you get better and master your craft. When the title’s on the line, that’s not really the time to pull out new things and experiment. When you go on the road it gives you a chance to really master these things and try them out for the first time. It’s an awesome way to get out there and feel the crowd getting behind you. I love going on the road where people can see us who don’t normally get to see us. It’s awesome to get a new crowd out there and get new fans. So it’s great for experience, it’s great to help master your skills in the ring and it’s great to help calm you. I get so anxious, nervous, freaked out, excited and sweaty before I walk out and when you’re traveling on the road it teaches you to calm that, relax and really think about what matters and what you’re going to do in the ring and slow down.

Do you think it’s easier for women like yourself to make a career out of wrestling today or is it still an uphill battle as it has been in the past?

I don’t think it’s easier. When I got into the business, it was through the Diva Search. I don’t think they even have that anymore. I think it’s easier in the sense that women are getting looked at more, that we’re getting taken seriously. And we have Gut Check, which is an awesome way for people to come in and get recognized. But it’s still quite hard because you have to find your place to shine. We’re still proving ourselves every week, every month. It’s really just about putting yourself out there and finding where you can move forward.

As you’ve already mentioned, you got your start in wrestling through the Diva Search, then Extreme Exposé. You got your first big break in WWE around the same time that TNA introduced the Knockouts Championship. Even though you’ve defeated some of the top female talents to win and retain your title, you still have naysayers who only see you as a model and dancer. What more do you think you can do to win some of those people over and prove your worth as the Knockouts Champion?

It’s just me continuing what I’m doing at home, continuing the training, continuing watching these women every week and mastering what they’re doing and coming out there and doing my best. It will take time and I understand that. I understand that some people are like, “Oh, this is a joke. She doesn’t deserve it.” But in all reality, I do deserve to be where I am because I fought for this for a very long time. Some people don’t think I’m the best, but right now I am the best. I won fair and square. There was no cheating involved, there were no surprises and all I can do is come out each week and bring the fire that I bring and continue to win. And I will do that. I will not come out there and not bring everything I have each week. It’s going to take someone to kill me and lay me out before they take the championship from me. I will continue to prove everybody wrong each week, and I’m thrilled to do it. It gets me excited when I do hear that because I do want to prove everyone wrong. I’m a very competitive person by nature and you’re not going to be liked and believed in by everyone. One of my biggest priorities is to go out there and prove myself to everyone over time and prove that I do deserve it and can hang with these legends and be just as good.

We’ve seen former indie stars such as Austin Aries rise to the top of men’s wrestling in both TNA and WWE in recent months. Is there anyone in the indie scene that you’d like to see rise to the top in women’s wrestling?

I don’t really follow it too much, but I do follow the women that we have here and I’m very proud of the girls we have. Austin Aries is phenomenal and was kind of the underdog and look at him now. That’s a great story. I’m sure there are a lot of women out there and I would love to have them be part of our company and give everything that we give.

Many look at the feud between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong a few years ago as the pinnacle of contemporary women’s wrestling. Would you welcome a similarly hard-fought feud with someone like Kong?

I’ll never forget that. It was one of the best feuds in all of TNA’s history and in women’s wrestling in general. It’s something I don’t think anybody will ever forget and something you can never take away. I’ve watched tons of those videos to learn and grow myself.

She is killer, man. She’s strong, she’s tough and she is unlike anybody else we have right now. I’m up for any challenge and would never turn down any challenge. I know that would probably be one of the most difficult challenges I would have to face. I would definitely have to grow and get stronger and really learn her craft to be able to master it. I’d have to try and run circles around that girl because she is insanely powerful and I am very small. But I’d definitely welcome it, but I’m not saying it’s something that would be really exciting. It would be very scary for me because I am so new. But, yeah. I’d take her on.

When you are studying wrestling tapes to learn your craft, who do you find the most inspiration from? Is it just women wrestlers or do you find inspiration from men as well?

I watch both men and women. I watch a lot of Shawn Michaels and Trish Stratus. Trish came into the business as a model and was not taken seriously. To watch her grow and become one of the best female wrestlers today, hopefully I can be as great as that. Also, of course, Tara. I’ve watched a lot of her tapes and can only learn from the best. Mickie James, as well. But mostly Trish Stratus because we came in the same way. I can only hope my career can be as long and fulfilled as hers.

What’s your opinion of the direction TNA is heading and the role women’s wrestling might play in that development?

Now that we have one of the toughest and best [women’s] divisions out there – we’re shooting Impact live now, going to more countries – we’re only going to get better. As we have more time we’re just going to keep proving ourselves. I think we have made a huge impact in this company and in the wrestling world, and we’re only going to keep doing that.

For more information, go to www.impactwrestling.com.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes Chris Dickinson and says goodbye to dany only

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Over the past few months, dany only (alongside Wrestling with Pop Culture and Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins) has made Georgia Wrestling Now infinitely more interesting. But after a series of brutal losses at NWA Anarchy, EMPIRE Wrestling and Platinum Championship Wrestling, only has decided to take some time away from the ring to reconsider his future. For only’s final episode of GWN, his cohort from Beyond Wrestling, Chris Dickinson, joined us to talk about his work in Northeastern promotions such as Absolute Intense Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Wrestling with Pop Culture also discussed the recent changes at Pro Wrestling Resurrection (formerly known as The New Tradition Pro Wrestling) with PWR co-owner Jen Holbrook Sells. We also had a few surpise guests for only’s farewell, including his Hate Junkies tag team partner Stryknyn, his rival The Jagged Edge and more. And, appropriately enough for a man known as “The Human Hand Grenade,” only got a few things off his chest before his final farewell for the foreseeable future.

"The Human Hand Grenade" dany only, seen here just before his dog collar match against The Jagged Edge, says farewell to Georgia Wrestling Now (photo by Harold Jay Taylor)

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Fantasy becomes romantic comedy reality in “Ruby Sparks”

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Writer’s block can be a tough obstacle to overcome, especially when you’re also lacking a muse for inspiration. But such is the case with Calvin (Paul Dano), a modern-day J.D. Salinger who was catapulted to the top of the literary world after dropping out of high school and writing one of America’s most celebrated contemporary novels. Now celebrating the tenth anniversary edition of his acclaimed book, Calvin feels ever increasing pressure from his friends, family, agent and publisher to break out of his reclusive spell and write another book.

Calvin (Paul Dano) hides from the product of his imagination in "Ruby Sparks" (photo by Merrick Morton)

Then Calvin suddenly starts having dreams about a cute redhead whose irresponsibility and character flaws make her all the more adorable. He begins putting these endearing qualities to paper and before long he realizes he’s falling for this imaginary girl. But when he wakes up one day to find the girl of his dreams in his kitchen cooking him breakfast, he thinks he has finally gone mad. Previously convincing himself that the mysterious appearance of women’s undergarments and other strange items have been the result of his dog digging through the neighbor’s garbage is one thing. But when there’s a living, breathing fictional character standing in front of you as if everything you’ve written about her has actually happened, that’s a little harder to explain.

But there she is. Ruby Sparx (Zoe Kazan, who also wrote the screenplay), the somewhat wild-spirited painter who sometimes forgets to open her mail. The girl Calvin’s brother (Chris Messina) says sounds unbelievable on paper, but who is unbelievably real when she is cooking him dinner a few days later. Once Calvin gets over the initial shock of his situation, he then struggles with how to handle such power. His brother suggests he have as much fun as possible with the scenario, pointing out that Calvin could make her boobs bigger. But Calvin takes the ethical route and decides to stop writing about Ruby.

Calvin (Paul Dano) and Ruby (Zoe Kazan) have a very real relationship moment in "Ruby Sparks" (photo by Merrick Morton)

As Spider-Man has taught us, with great power comes great responsibility. And when Calvin’s relationship with Ruby progresses into the inevitable stages of her needing more space and wanting to be independent, Calvin can’t help but “fix” the situation with a few quick clicks of his typewriter. But just like any real relationship with a real person, working through such times is never as simple as he’d like it to be. And even with the ability to change Ruby’s actions and personality traits, she is still human, which means she still sometimes has inexplicable mood swings, can be desperately needy and might just strip down to her underwear at a friend’s party.

In much the same way that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (and, to a lesser degree, Total Recall) illustrated the philosophical struggles that come with the ability to pick and choose things such as human emotions, damaged egos and the natural progression of relationships (even under such unnatural circumstances), Ruby Sparks takes a similarly humorous look at the complicated subjects of human interaction and companionship. Like most any relationship, there are some fun times, some dark times and some mundane times. And even with the literal luxury of starting over, erasing the past or creating a new future, Calvin realizes certain things are inevitable and life often comes full circle.

Ruby Sparks. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Starring Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. Rated R. www.makerubyreal.com.

Evan Seinfeld combines passions for metal and motorcylces with Attika 7

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As the founding front man and bassist for Brooklyn-based metal band Biohazard, Evan Seinfeld was instrumental in the fusion of the New York hardcore sound with heavy metal riffs and hip-hop-like vocal delivery. After establishing Biohazard as one of the biggest names in underground metal, Seinfeld crossed over into acting, portraying the leader of a prison biker gang in the HBO series Oz. Seinfeld was further embedded into pop culture when he appeared alongside Ted Nugent, Sebastian Bach, Scott Ian and Jason Bonham in VH1‘s Supergroup reality show. After his marriage to porn star Tera Patrick in 2004, Seinfeld dove head first into the adult entertainment industry, appearing as as Spyder Jonez in several films. After nearly 25 years with Biohazard, Seinfeld parted ways with the band a little more than a year ago only to form his latest musical project, biker rock band Attika 7.

Evan Seinfeld (left) returns to metal with Attika 7 (photo courtesy Adrenaline PR)

Alongside famed motorcycle builder Rusty Coones (president of the Orange County Chapter of the Hells Angels), Seinfeld’s Attika 7 recorded its debut album Blood of My Enemies with former Static-X bassist Tony Campos (now touring with Soulfly). Having already had some of its songs (and the band itself) featured on the Discovery Channel show The Devils Ride, Blood of My Enemies sounds as tough as its members look. Seinfeld’s vocals are more soulfully angsty than before while Coones’ guitars alternate between Black Sabbath-like psychedelia and pure hard rock heaviness. As the band celebrates the release of the album today, Seinfeld takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about music, porn and his inherent love or pro wrestling.

How did you and Rusty come to form Attika 7? Was he already a musician or did he take that up just for the band?

Rusty played guitar as a kid, but more like rock ‘n’ roll/blues guitar. When he went to prison for seven years, he kind of invented himself as a songwriter and heavy metal guitarist. It’s very hard to not be influenced by the things around you and everything is somewhat derivative of something, which is somewhat derivative of something, which is somewhat derivative of The Beatles. Being in prison that long and having no knowledge of popular metal or any of the groups we actually sound a little bit like, when he was writing music it was straight off his emotion and his experience. When he got out of prison, he had these songs he’d written and he wanted to start a band. He was banging around with different lineups until he and I connected, then it took us a year to make an album, sign a deal and find the right lineup.

What’s the significance of the name?

Because the album and the band originated in prison, Rusty was looking for a name that symbolized his struggle and the oppression that takes place in the American injustice system. Most people never go to jail or prison, and most people don’t really pay much attention to what goes on there or to the fact that so many of their tax dollars go towards incarcerating people who are nonviolent offenders or were innocent in the first place. America prides itself on being the most civilized country in the world, yet we are the most incarcerated country per capita in the world. Attica was the famous prison in upstate New York that had all those riots where so many inmates were killed by guards and it seemed like the world didn’t care. The 7 represents the seven years Rusty spent in the federal penitentiary. I’ve always hated when I heard a band’s name and it wasn’t anything serious, unless it’s a non-serious band. Music doesn’t always have to be political or serious, but if you have an opportunity to have a voice, at least be clever.

Today is not only the release date for the album, but also the deadline for the motorcycle helmet contest on Facebook. Have you decided on a winner yet?

We may extend it. We’ll probably give a prize to whoever has the best helmet on the day of release, then extend the contest. I think it’s a really cool thing to see people express their creativity while supporting the band. Our goal was just to have a million people riding around on their motorcycles around the world with the Attika logo on their helmets. Two of my helmets are at the painter’s right now and it might be something we sell as part of our merch line in the future.

The Attika logo is kind of like an anarchy symbol, but it’s also kind of like a pentagram. But when you look at it, it’s actually an A and a 7. So it represents our band, it represents chaos and anarchy, it represents the dark side. What we want it to mean, whether it’s a sticker on your car or your helmet, it’s kind of like “I’m free and this is my statement that I don’t give a fuck what you think about me.”

Which is a common theme on the album.

Absolutely. I come form the school of “say what you really mean and mean what you really say.” We tried to put that down on the album as best we could. The album has a lot of different topics, but one recurring theme is, “Be yourself. Be free. Freedom isn’t free, you have to pay for it and, once you have it, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to waste it? Are you going to squander it? If you can live forever, what are you going to do with your time?”

Being free and making good use of your time is something you obviously carry out on a daily basis. From Biohazard to Oz to adult entertainment to Attika 7, you always find creative outlets for yourself. Are you still doing any of those other things or is Attika 7 your main focus at the moment?

I never really lay out a map and say, “These are the things I’m going to do.” I’m an idea guy. I have incredibly bad attention deficit disorder, and at the same time I have nonstop creative ideas. I don’t know how to just have ideas, so I have to follow through and try to make them into realities. Not everything I do succeeds, but if I’m passionate about something I put my life’s energy into it. So, yeah, I’ve done a lot of different things – I ran Biohazard for 25 years and that was an idea I started in high school. In the ’90s we sold millions of albums and I went around the world with that group. Then I was on Oz for five years.

The adult entertainment thing wasn’t something I was so passionate about. I love sex and girls, but what straight guy doesn’t? To me, the challenge was how do you figure out how to make money having sex with as many women as possible? I thought that was a challenging puzzle. That’s like walking into a restaurant and saying, “How can I have this amazing meal, then have them pay me when I’m leaving?” That was kind of the goal and I’m fascinated with connecting the dots. I love synergy. I have a production company called Sinnergy Entertainment because my thing is outlaw entertainment, the dark side of the entertainment business. If I’m going to produce a mainstream movie, it will be a gangster movie with some snuff in it. If I’m producing porn, its hardcore and over the top. If I’m making music, it’s Attika 7. If I’m promoting parties in Las Vegas, it’s hosted by porn stars.

My wife is Lupe Fuentes, aka Little Lupe, and I also manage her career. She’s an incredibly amazing woman who actually now has a music group called the Ex-Girlfriends. It’s an all-girl group and all the girls are really hot and really small and really exotic. They sing and dance and it’s all choreographed, so they’re something like the Spice Girls. It’s funny the power of sex. Last week after the girls’ dance rehearsal, we went to a diner to get breakfast and talk some business. There’s this diner in North Hollywood and there’s always people eating there, and it’s a bunch of Hollywood flunky guys wearing T-shirts with the name of their production company on the back. We sat on the other side and as we were walking out I went to the bathroom and when I come out the whole place is in dead silence staring over by the door. When I look at the door it’s my wife and her friends standing there. It’s just incredible the effect it has on people.

Haha. Yeah. Well, with the album out today, will we be seeing Attika 7 on the road sometime soon?

Absolutely. Back in the day, Biohazard was an underground, non-commercial band. We always made our money touring and selling merchandise. Other bands would sell albums and stay home, but I never did that. Not because I didn’t want to, but we just never sold a lot of records. And the records we did sell were based on touring. But now we’re a brand new band. We’ve got no expectations for this. But we’ve got an amazing lineup. We’ve got Scott Reeder from Kyuss on bass, we’ve got Zach Broderick from Nonpoint playing guitar, we’ve got Tommy Holt from U.P.O. on the drums, Rusty and myself. We rehearse at Rusty’s motorcycle shop, Illusion Motorsports in Orange County. We’re tight as hell and we really feel like we have not just a great sound, but we’re a great a live band and we’re really developing our act. Now that the album’s out, we’re really pushing to get tour dates solidified so we can go out and play this for people.

At the end of the day that’s what I’m passionate about is connecting with people through music. Porn is a way to make money and it’s kind of a joke. My friends I grew up with love to text me little one-liners about how funny it is that everybody watches porn and now somebody they’re friends with does it. For me it’s even funnier because it’s me, I’m doing it. But I’m not passionate about it. I’m passionate about the message of the Attika 7 Blood of My Enemies album. I’m passionate about the messages behind “Crackerman” and “Blood of My Enemies,” and I love singing “Serial Killer” and “Devil’s Daughter” and “All or Nothing.” And that’s kind of how I live my life, so I feel like I’m sharing my philosophy and my ideals. This is who we are as Attika 7 – we are all or nothing and we stand for what we believe in and fight for what we believe in. Whatever you’re into, whatever you believe, be passionate because this is the only life you’ve got.

Rusty and I are working on a concept for our own tour where we bring our whole lifestyle deal out. The culmination of the whole thing would be the band playing, but Rusty builds some of the best bikes in the world for the Sons of Anarchy show and real bikers. I see a different bike every single day that Rusty is customizing or adding to. That’s something Rusty and I are both passionate about is motorcycles and the freedom you feel from riding them. Rusty’s very well known within the motorcycle world. We’d love to have a tour where we bring 50 incredible bikes for people to check out, a bunch of hot and famous girls, whether they’re porn stars or models or just super hot chicks, and bands are playing and people are eating delicious food and drinking and maybe getting tattooed. Maybe we’ll have a side event where there’s a cage fight or something, like a rolling Thunderdome.

You seem like the kind of guy that might be into professional wrestling. Am I right in guessing that?

I was on your website last night and it’s very cool. It reminds me of me and Rusty, in a way, as people who have an entrepreneurial spirit who are like, “These are the things I love. I love heavy metal and wrestling, so I’m going to combine them in a website.” I think that’s awesome. Not everybody who likes heavy metal likes wrestling and not everyone who likes wrestling likes heavy metal. It helps turn people on to other things, but at the same time it makes you realize there are a lot of other people who like the things you like. I was a huge wrestling fan as a kid, so I can talk wrestling with you all day.

Have you ever parlayed your heavy metal career into anything wrestling related? It seems like your style of music would be a good fit with a lot of those guys.

I’m in my 40s, so as a kid I was a huge fan of the WWF, the NWA, the AWA, and I used to go to lots of wrestling matches and see all the old-school guys like “Superstar” Billy Graham, Dusty Rhodes, Ken Patera, Ivan Putski, Baron Mikel Scicluna, the Wild Samoans and my favorite wrestler was Mil Máscaras. Me and my friends used to build a wrestling ring in my friend’s back yard and emulate what we saw on TV. Everybody’d be a character and I understand the mania that it is. I got an autograph from George “The Animal” Steele in his heyday and I still have it. It’s on a trading card and I think it might be the only autograph I own.

I’ve become friendly with a few wrestlers over the years. The Undertaker is a bro of mine, he’s a metalhead. I know Tazz, who is a cool dude who always used to wear a Biohazard shirt to the ring. He’s used some of my music in the past. I come from Brooklyn, a place of street fighting and gangsters. So I write music about confrontation and the fight, in general. The fight could be a war, a wrestling match, your personal struggle with drugs, people who are after you, your war with yourself, your war with the world. And a lot of people connect with the adversarial thing. With Attika 7, every song sounds like someone’s fight entrance music. If I was a wrestler, I’d come walking out to the intro from “Crackerman,” the first thing on the Attika album with the bell ringing and Rusty playing that Sabbath-y guitar riff.

With all the things you have done, did you ever consider becoming a professional wrestler?

I wanted to be a wrestler when I was a kid, then you meet the guys and realize how big they are. Rusty’s 6’6″ and is as big as any pro wrestler I’ve ever met. People think he’s a wrestler all the time when we go out. People ask Rusty for his autograph and they have no idea who he is. He’s huge and jacked with long hair and a beard and when he walks into a room people are like, “I don’t know who that guy is, but I want to know him.”

I know a ton of MMA fighters and I trained on-and-off for years. I’ve written music for a couple of brothers from Long Island, Matt Serra and Nick Serra. Matt fought in UFC and they’ve both fought in all different leagues and I wrote music for both of them.

But I was always a wrestling fan and I used to picture the way Hulk Hogan would command a crowd back in the day. In the back of my mind, I was always way more Baron Mikel Scicluna. I always identified with the bad guy who had a foreign object down his pants.

For more information, go to www.attika7.com.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes Dragon Gate USA’s Larry Dallas

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This week’s Georgia Wrestling Now was brought to you by the word “only,” as in “The Human Hand Grenade” dany only. After taking a brutal beating in the main event of Saturday’s NWA Anarchy television taping, only welcomed one of his friends from outside the Georgia wrestling scene. Wrestling with Pop Culture, Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins and only heard from Dragon Gate USA manager Larry Dallas, who recently returned from Japan just in time to lead The Scene (Scott Reed and NWA Rampage Pro Wrestling‘s Caleb Konley) into DGUSA’s events in Michigan and Illinois last weekend.

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