Atom & His Package
Interviews | Feb 20th, 1999
Imagine this. A metalhead from the outskirts of Pennsylvania programs 80s pop into a sequencer, throwing humor, dorkiness, and pro-metric system propaganda into the mix. Now imagine this person suddenly becoming one of the most revered names in the underground punk and indie circles, to the horror of punk puritans. Meet Atom & His Package…. a boy and his sequencer.
Does it get lonely being in a one-man band?
Not really. I enjoy my own company. I do travel a lot by myself, but the people I meet feel sorry for me so they’re overly nice to me. Sometimes they buy me pizza.
You get a lot of negative responses from the punk scene, don’t you?
Oh yeah!! I got horrible feedback a lot! My favorite one of all time was, let’s see… I was reading a description of myself in a mag and it said I was “retarded Sesame Street music.” (laughs) And a girl came up to me in Quebec City and she said, “Please take this as a compliment. Your music is crap in its purest form.”
You’re an advocate of the metric system…
That is true. The metric system is logical and easy. The American system of measurement is dumb and embarrassing, and it’s hard to convert within. I hate it.
How tall are you and how much do you weigh?
Umm… 7 meters and 5 million kilograms.
You’re making that up!
No I’m not.
Oo, you are! You don’t know what you are metrically, do you? Ha!
I’m 7 meters tall…
You can’t be! (frantically punching numbers into a calculator) That’s like 25 feet!
So? I’m tall. Have you ever met me?
I’ve seen pictures. You’re not 25 feet tall.
(getting angry) Well, obviously they had to shrink the pictures down!
(getting angry) What?!! You’re lying! Why don’t you just admit it!
(very angry) Admit what? It’s none of your business how tall I am! Getting a bit personal, are we?
Oh come on! You just don’t want to… Okay, fine. Fine. Interview’s over, moog boy.
Atom & His Package have out a lot of records, obnoxious shirts, and stickers. Check out his site at: atomandhispackage.com