Will you be playing many of the covers from the new album on this tour?
Tommy Victor [vocals, guitar]: “I’m trying to prepare them all. I want to get to the point where if someone yells for [Bad Brains’] Banned In D.C., we can do it. We are gonna do a couple of songs from our last album, Ruining Lives, and maybe something old too, but we’re definitely going to do a lot of the covers. There’s no doubt we’ll play Doomsday, the Discharge song, every night!”/o:p
Are covers something you have always enjoyed doing?
“When Prong started, I was designated the guitar player at the last minute and I didn’t know the usual Sabbath songs or an array of covers. I didn’t know what I was doing! The era we’re celebrating on this record is from when I started learning the guitar, and it was always simple stuff like Black Flag or Discharge. I enjoyed doing this album but I’m not usually a covers guy. If someone asks me to jam on War Pigs, I’d have to go back and learn it because it’s just not in my psyche.”
Does touring get easier or harder after two decades?
“It’s always a challenge. I’m not gonna say I have it down at all. I still get nervous about what I’m packing. I try to keep it minimal and then I wind up with a suitcase of stuff that I don’t use. I still don’t know what I’m doing; maybe one day I’ll learn! The truth is I never know what to expect and I don’t necessarily know how to adapt to things.”
Do you still party hard or have you calmed down?
“I don’t party anymore. I stopped for a while but then my stint with Ministry [Tommy played with Al Jourgensen’s crew from 2005 to 2008] interfered with sobriety to some extent… ha ha ha! I’ve taken it easy for the last couple of years. It’s a safety net. There’s always potential for disaster on the road, and you’re just adding to the gamble when you dabble in other things. So I try to stay balanced… but something weird happens every day and there’s always craziness or someone destroying something!”/o:p
Prong head over to the UK in April
APR 21: BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY 2
APR 22: LIVERPOOL O2 ACADEMY 2
APR 23: LONDON O2 ISLINGTON ACADEMY
APR 24: BRISTOL O2 ACADEMY/o:p
