April 2007 - It's not every day that you meet someone like Chris La Tray. First of all, he's the driving force behind THE LAZERWOLFS, one of the grooviest fuzz-rock bands you're likely to hear. Second, he really understands the basic principle of the underground -- that you have to give in order to receive. You won't find La Tray offering a limited edition of hand-numbered vinyl platters to be snatched up by the collectors, then disappear forever. You won't find him scanning message boards and whining over negative reviews. Interestingly enough, he's offering up the fruits of his labor for free. The hours of writing, rehearsal, and recording over these past few years have been channeled into THE LAZERWOLFS latest offering "Navaja Automatica", available for free download via the band's official site. Chris, who was just as interested in helping promote the revamped Peacedogman site as we were in "Navaja Automatica", took time out to answer a few questions from our own Will B.

Will Broadbent: First up, for those new fans out there, we'll get this obligatory question out of the way: Who are the LAZERWOLFS and how did they come to be?

Chris La Tray: LAZERWOLFS are myself on bass, Jimmy Rolle on guitar, and B. Henning "Bubba" Warne on drums. We all sing, but I do the majority of the lead vocal work. As for how we came to be, Bubba and I have been playing together off and on since high school. Just before LAZERWOLFS, we were in a band together called NOBODY'S HEROES. The 'WOLFS thing was originally going to be a one-off thing to record some material that we weren't getting to in NOBODY'S HEROES. We hooked up with a guy named Aaron Carlson on guitar and recorded the songs (we're talking Fall of '99), booked some shows, and things went great. NOBODY'S HEROES sort of collapsed and we decided to stick with LAZERWOLFS full time. In June of '00, Carlson bailed on us unexpectedly and we had some shows booked, including a big gig opening up for SPIRIT CARAVAN. We had known Jimmy for a couple years and been friends, and we asked him to step in until we could find a suitable replacement. Once we started playing with Jimmy, though, we realized that it was either him or no one, and so far we have managed to keep everything together since.

Broadbent: How did you come up with the name LAZERWOLFS? Lasers and wolves are two of the coolest things ever, so let us in on the spark of inspiration that led you guys to combine them.

Chris: Man, the name has been like an anchor around my neck, believe me. What I wouldn't give for a cool name! Like I said before, this band wasn't originally going to be a "real" band. When we were looking to name this project, we threw out a request for names to this internet forum a bunch of us wiseasses used to kill time at work on, and some guy responded with "Lazerwolfs." Another friend of ours threatened suicide if we didn't go with it, so we did. If I'd known then what I know now. . . . Still, I was thinking the other day. There is this cool local brewery in town (Big Sky Brewing) that makes beer called stuff like "Moose Drool," "Powder Hound Ale," "Scape Goat Ale," etc. They should make a "Lazerwolfs Ale." That would be about as cool as it could get.

Broadbent: Everyone should contact them and let them know that we want to see a "Lazerwolfs ale!" As of press time, your new release "Navaja Automatica" is available only for download on your website (www.lazerwolfs.com). As a huge LAZERWOLFS fan, I'm not gonna complain about being able to get your new record for free, but I was curious to learn about the reasoning behind this move?

Chris: I guess it was economic as much as anything else. We'd been sitting on the finished recording for over a year, trying to figure out what we wanted to do with it - '06 was a real shit year for us as far as accomplishing anything musically, for various reasons, and I just felt like the clock was ticking and I wanted to get the stuff out there. Frankly, with the amount of time that had already passed since our first record, I didn't want to spend a lot of time with trying to recoup the expense of putting this record out in a traditional sense, so we decided just to make it available for free and move on. It's best to have it out there for people to hear than get all wound up over thinking we need to be paid for our efforts. It seemed the best way to show people what we'd been doing, even as we were moving on to doing something else. The hope, of course, is that we can generate enough interest that maybe the next one we will do a more traditional type release, or even put out on vinyl or something (which is what I really hope to do!). We'll decide when that time comes.

Broadbent: It's certainly a bold move, and I hope it pays off! Do you think the album will ever be pressed?

Chris: I doubt it. We sell CDRs at shows, but I don't think we will ever do more than that unless we get so much demand for it that it becomes a no-brainer. I have plans for the next couple projects that I would rather spend the money on.

Broadbent: Where does the title "Navaja Automatica" come from?

Chris: Depending on which Spanish/English dictionary you look in, it basically means "Switchblade." Jimmy has this little switchblade knife he brought home from Mexico back when he was in high school or something, and we spent so much time messing around with that thing while we were recording these songs that we figured it would make a hilarious album title. Stupid reason, I know, but if you haven't figured it out already it should be obvious that most of our decisions are the result of stupidity.

Broadbent: Well, I think the title has a cool ring to it. Your first full length release "Get Mad" came out in 2002. What makes you mad, Chris La Tray?

Chris: There are a multitude of things, man, but the first thing that pops into my head was something Jimmy and I were talking about the other night: Headlining. It irks me to no end to be the out-of-town band and getting stuck playing last. People are like, "we figured you'd want to headline." Thanks-a-fucking-lot. For the record, "headlining" is either for people with tremendous egos or for bands who actually draw people who are willing to sit around forever to watch play. Most bar shows, all headlining means is you get to sit through 4 hours of likely awful bands for your chance to play for about 5 people, because everyone left after either the band before you or after the horrible hardcore band that chased everyone away at 11:30. Obviously some bands need to study their Band Etiquette manuals. Kids, listen up: Don't Make the Unknown Touring Band Play Last, for crissakes.

Broadbent: Speaking of getting mad, the almost five year wait between "Get Mad" and "Navaja Automatica" was nearly enough to send any LAZERWOLFS fan into a blind fury. What was the hold-up?

Chris: It sent me into a blind fury more than once too. There are several legitimate reasons for some of that time, though. First of all, when "Get Mad" came out, I had just been forced to move to Ohio because of work. It's not easy to keep a band moving forward when a couple thousand miles separate the members, but we did it. Even managed to write and record three or four songs. When I got back after the better part of three years, we started working on the material for the album right away. We had it finished and recorded in '05, and were originally going to release it then. At that point our drummer had some legal problems to deal with, then in spring of '06 he severely damaged his back and had to have surgery. About the time he was getting rehabbed, Jimmy was in the process of getting his new house built and his brood moved. That put us in Fall of '06, and it was around then that we decided to just put it out for download. I guarantee the next one won't take so long - I'd like to get it out yet in '07.

Broadbent: Not only is "Navaja Automatica" chock full of the wah wah wailing, cowbell-crushing rock anthems we've come to expect from the 'WOLFS, but you've also done a bit to expand your sound. You can't deny the dark ambiance of track #5 "Stone" There is also a cool cover of "Living Backwards" by SAINT VITUS on here. What was the inspiration for this subtle shift? Was going in a somewhat doomier direction a conscious decision?

Chris: Of the guys in the band I definitely have the highest appreciation for doomier music. Jimmy hates it. Bubba likes some of it. The VITUS one was a song I showed the guys before they ever even heard it, mainly just so we would make it ours a little bit. I'd like to re-record it, as I feel like we do it better justice now than at the time we laid it down. As for the shift in direction, I'd like to see us do a better job of capturing our live sound, which is definitely heavier, and much less clean sounding. That is what I am hoping for with the next release. We all bring different influences to the band's sound, and I know the stuff I am working on is very influenced by the sounds I've been tracking down, and it is all pretty heavy. Not just SABBATH-heavy either; some of the heaviest music ever made came out of the Appalachians or up from the Delta, you know? It's all about mood and emotion. You mention the song "Stone," for example; that is my favorite on the record. It's the same type of vibe you get from doom music when it is well done. It doesn't have to be down-tuned, and it doesn't necessarily have to be slow either. It just needs to carry some emotional weight, and that is what I am after as a songwriter these days.

Broadbent: "Stone" is my favorite track off the disc, as well! While the LAZERWOLFS have existed as a band for seven years, the nucleus of the LAZERWOLFS, you and drummer "Bubba" Warne have been in business for 20+ years. What gives you such longevity? How do you juggle the realities of everyday life with a long career in underground rock n' roll?

Chris: When we got out of high school, Bubba and I went to Seattle and had big dreams of "making it big" in rock. This was 1986/87. We were there when the whole Seattle thing went down, but the music we were making did not sound like what was driving people crazy up there. The whole thing left me somewhat jaded, because once bands starting breaking and getting deals, then all of a sudden everyone switched gears and changed their sounds and all that to try and get on the bandwagon. Hell, I see that locally where some of the local bands will change their look and sound based on whatever is currently cool, you know? Back then, I think one of the guys from ALICE IN CHAINS (who swapped from essentially a hair band to what they were on "Facelift" right before the record came out) was sporting a topknot thing on his head ala Gene Simmons. Two days later, every long hair in town was sporting the topknot. That was gay before anyone knew gay became gay, you know?

Broadbent: Hmmm...topknot?

Chris: So that whole experience had me leave music for a few years before a guy got me into his band again. At the time I was back in Montana, and I had heard Bubba was around as well, though we hadn't seen each other or spoken in several years (to this day, Bubba is the most difficult guy to get in touch with; if I wanted to reach him today, I'd have to drive 40+ miles out to his trailer and hope he was home!). The drummer in this band I was invited into had no chops, so the guy whose band it was drove 50 miles with me to find Bubba. We walked into the Alcan Bar in Frenchtown, MT, 2 miles from where Bubba lived in high school, and there he was. 5 minutes later he was in the band and we haven't stopped since. The key for us is doing it because we love to play. We do it because it's fun. I get frustrated sometimes with all the political shit that goes with being in a band and the community at large, especially being a heavy band in a wanky college rock town, but the positives still stack higher than the negatives. Plus, at the end of the day we know we can still out-drink, out-rock, and out-fuck all those little punks who think you buy rock credibility at Hot Topic!

Broadbent: Any crazy/memorable stories from the road you'd like to share with us? Every band's got at least one!

Broadbent: What can we expect from the LAZERWOLFS in the future? Any plans for future releases or touring as of yet?

Chris: Yeah, both, actually. I'd like to have another record out this year. We'd also like to get in a short tour or something. Hell, we've already done more shows in '07 than we did in all of '06, so I feel pretty good about this year. We'll keep doing this as long as it's fun. We may never make it big, but we have a good shot at being the last ones standing!

Broadbent: Thanks a million, Chris. The disc is great. Long live the 'WOLFS!!!!!!!

THE LAZERWOLFS are Jimmy Rolle (guitar/vocals), Chris La Tray (bass/vocals), and B. Henning "Bubba" Warne (drums/vocals). Their latest disc "Navaja Automatica" is available for free download via their website www.lazerwolfs.com.

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