Between 1998 and 2007, Alabama Thunderpussy released six studio albums; eventually calling it quits in 2008 stating, “There are no hard feelings between us and no bullshit politics. It’s pretty much just the end of an era. To quote George Harrison, all things must pass.”

15 years later, out of left field, comes an Alabama Thunderpussy reunion show! Totally unexpected yet incredibly welcome, on December 3, 2022, at Richmond Music Hall in the band’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia, Alabama Thunderpussy will play their first show since 2007. Founding member and guitarist Erik Larson, who also played with: Avail, Axehandle, Birds Of Prey, The Might Could, Backwoods Payback, Omen Stones, and Thunderchief, as well as releasing solo material, spoke exclusively with BraveWords scribe Aaron Small about ATP getting back together.  

“Well, yes, it was out of left field, and that was on purpose because we wanted it to be a surprise. Cause you’re right, no one thought it was going to happen. I give all credit for that to JB Matson from the Maryland Doom Fest, because he actually offered us the headlining slot for that festival, which happened in June (2022). But due to scheduling, it didn’t work. We couldn’t do it, cause Kyle (Thomas, vocalist) was initially going to be in England with Trouble. So, that got the conversation going – if we’re all into doing something, maybe we could do something? I got on the phone and talked to a bunch of people who are friends from the olden times, and people who are active in ‘the industry.’ I was like, ‘What do you think? Do you think people care? Do you think they’ll want to hear us play these songs again?’ And everyone was like, ‘Oh yeah, you should do that.’ It just seemed like the more we talked about it, the more we came to the conclusion, the best thing to do is be who we are. Let’s do a show in town and see if people care. It’s the easiest thing to do. We can practice here; we just have to get Kyle here (from Louisiana). So, that’s how it worked.”   

The last Alabama Thunderpussy album, Open Fire, featured vocalist Kyle Thomas, guitarists Erik Larson and Ryan Lake, bassist Mike Bryant, and drummer Bryan Cox. Four of those five guys will take the stage on December 3rd at Richmond Music Hall. “Everyone except the bass player,” confirms Larson. “About two meetings in, Mikey (Bryant) was like, ‘You know what man? I kind of like my really uncomplicated, simple life. And I know what band life is like, I just don’t think I want to do this.’ Fair enough, no problem. Immediately, we thought of Sam (Krivanec), who was on River City Revival and Constellation. His son and my son are best friends; he lives like six blocks away. Everyone was like, ‘Yeah, let’s call Sam.’ So, Sam Krivanec is back.” Talk about keeping it in the family. “Totally. We’re all older people. I don’t really have the patience to deal with youthful arrogance or opinions.”

Former Alabama Thunderpussy vocalist Johnny Throckmorton, who sang on the band’s first four albums, has shared the ATP reunion show poster on his Facebook page, along with the statement: “Obviously not me on vocals.”

Van Halen vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar hit the road together in 2002 and dubbed it Song For Song - The Heavyweight Champs Of Rock And Roll Tour. Did ATP give any thought to something similar with Kyle Thomas and Johnny Throckmorton both singing songs on stage this coming December? “No, I don’t think that would be appropriate; and I don’t really want to do that. Look, Johnny and I are friends. He’s a really talented singer. He’s now singing for Murdersome, who are a really killer thrash band in town. That just seems like, at very best, a lateral move. And we’ve always been a band that fought forward from where you are. So, when we were talking about doing this – there obviously was, and had to have been – discussions about who’s the singer we’re going to use? That was always the stumbling block… if we’re going to do a reunion, who’s the singer going to be? Realistically, it just came down to… we want to do every era (including songs from the Fulton Hill album, which featured vocalist Johnny Weills). I don’t want to have, ‘Hey, we’re going to bring up this guy from that lineup, and this guy from that lineup.’ Cause they’re all around. There’s multiple singers around, and tons of bass players in town that have been in ATP. Let’s just stick with where we were and move forward. That’s the best way to describe how it came about. It wasn’t a slight, or anything like that. And I feel like if you do the Van Halen thing, it becomes like, ‘Oh, they’re doing the Van Halen thing.’ And it’s more of a schtick. We’re a band who wants to play songs. That’s kind of where we’re at.”

What happens between now and December? “Like I said, JB made that offer last fall. By January, we had decided that we couldn’t do his festival, which happened last month, but that we wanted to pursue doing something. So, a couple weeks later, we got the idea of doing the show. Then it was, when do you want to do it? I had to talk to the promoters in town, for the venue. I didn’t want to book it in some ginormous place and have no one show up. So, we booked it in what I thought was a reasonable venue; it’s a 300-capacity room, which may prove to be too small. But we do have contingencies if that’s the event. We’ve been practicing since March – not a lot, once every five weeks or something like that. So, we’re just going to continue to do that, keep practicing until the show. In the meantime… I’m not trying to make a big deal about it. We’re not some super huge famous band, but there are people who have contacted me from significant distance. So, it gives people a chance to plan their lives. Cause I think most people who want to come, who would be really excited about it, are older folks who probably have jobs and kids. They can’t just say, ‘Oh I’m going, cool!’ and drop the coin on a hotel and flight, if that’s the case. I have a friend who lives in England, and he said, ‘Yeah dude, I’m getting a plane ticket. I’m coming.’ Are you crazy? I know people in Chicago and Texas who have been talking to me about it the last couple of days… it could be a cool, fun thing. We’ll see.”

Undoubtedly, the number of people worldwide who would love to attend the Alabama Thunderpussy reunion show, but simply cannot for various logistical reasons, will far exceed those actually in attendance on December 3rd. Have you thought about doing a livestream of the show and charging $5 or $10 to view it? “It is in the back of my head,” admits Erik. “It’s like a one foot forward first kind of thing for me. There’s all these different little pieces that need to be in play before we start thinking about other pieces. That is something I definitely wanted to breach with the guys in the coming months, as a potential. But I’d want to do it right, and that costs money. So, I’d have to figure out how that’d work.”

During the aforementioned rehearsals, have any new riffs surfaced? Are any new songs starting to take shape? “No, no. We’re just focusing on playing well for this show first. I’m thinking about it as a litmus test, just see how it goes; make sure that we function well as a band. You know, get along; people want to hear it and see it. Then if we want to do it more, we’ll see. I definitely don’t want to be a legacy act where we’re just doing the festival circuit. You can do that for a while, but at some point – like you said – you have to start kicking around some new stuff if you want to move forward as a band.”

Excited fans will of course put the cart before the horse, because when they hear about the reunion show in December, their thoughts automatically turn to new music and what shape it will take – a single, an EP, an album? Will there be a Greatest Hits with a couple of new tracks? “Yeah, I get it, and I can see the interest in moving in that direction, just in the conversations we’re having,” admits Erik. “But I’ve kind of been a stinky old man here, in that I reign everybody back in a little bit – let’s stay focused. We’ve just got to not suck at this show. Once that happens, then we can all talk about this. You know me dude, I’m constantly writing songs and putting out stuff. The material will not be vacant. If we want to write songs, we can do that very, very easily. But I want to make sure we have a good time, and we do the right thing for all the folks who come.”

The music business has changed drastically since Alabama Thunderpussy issued their last album, Open Fire, in 2007 via Relapse Records. If the band plans to release new music, would the search begin for another label deal, or would you explore self-releasing it? “I don’t know. We are a band, it’s not a dictatorship. It’s nice to know that we have options. I have consistently been working, to various degrees and levels, since ATP went dark. And Kyle obviously has resources as well, with people he works with through Exhorder and Trouble. I think we would have some options. But like you said, the industry has changed immensely, and if you want to take on the work, as a band, you can do it all yourself pretty fucking easily these days. It is possible, totally, to just keep it self-contained. So, who knows? We’ll see. It’s step by step.”

Tickets to see Alabama Thunderpussy, with special guests Suplecs and Loud Night, presented by The Obelisk on December 3, 2022, at Richmond Music Hall in Richmond, Virginia can be purchased now at this location.