An Interview with the Renowned LA Based Drummer

'Athena'

that took place on Wednesday 13th June 2012. Interviewed by Glenn Milligan

Athena: Hey!

Glenn: How ya doin' Athena?

Athena: Hi I'm good. How are you?

Glenn: I'm ok apart from getting cold over the last couple of days. What originally influenced you to get into music in the 1st place?

Athena: Honestly? Ok, where I grew up there wasn't a whole lot to do and thre were drums in the garage. My dad built a studio for my brother in the garage and there were drums in there and we hung around and watched a lot of MTV. So what I would do when my brother wasn't home, I would watch videos and what really honestly? My favourite videos were Missing Persons. So I would watch them and I would watch Dale Bozio and I would love their songs. I would watch a video and then run in the garage and try to do it and then I would literally go back in the living room and wait for like another hour for the song to come along again and then pick up the next part and then go back in and do it again. It was a viscious cycle.

Glenn: Yeah. That's before the days of Youtube isn't it?

Athena: Yeah no kidding. I could have learnt so much more faster. It would take me like a week to get one song down. But that's really how I started. I was a dancer all through school and then just like that ended up not working out and then the drums were there and then you know what, I just really.. once I started to figure 'em out I just fell in love and that was it and I just loved it.

Glenn: It's funny you should mention Missing Persons because they are playing The Whisky soon.

Athena: Out here.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: Well if you find out let me know cos I'm there.

Glenn: Cool.

Athena: I'll go see 'em. I was playing somewhere in Europe and there was a poster up and the guy looked familiar but then I didn't think anything of it and I walked by it again and it was Terry Bozio and he was playing the next night and I wasn't gonna be there but I really wanted to see that because never seen 'em play live. Never - so I'd love to see that and plus Missing Persons. I've never seen 'em.

Glenn: What was the 1st kit that you ever had?

Athena: My Brothers 'Theatre of Pain' kit - the Sonar with the comedy and drama on the front. That was my 1st kit.

Glenn: Cool.

Athena: I called him and told him I was playing and could I have a kit? So he let me go down to the warehouse and take those home. But they were so massive. I mean really. You've seen 'em. They're so huge. So just to make 'em sound right you had to beat the living sh*t outta them. But I think that's where I seriously learnt how to play so hard because I had to.

Glenn: Yeah or nothing would happen really would it because it was a proper stage kit?

Athena: Yeah. Like if you didn't play 'em hard you didn't hear 'em. So I didn't have a choice. But I thought that was really, really cool because that was my first kit. So that was a good, good fun kit to play on. To learn on especially because you had to kill 'em.

Glenn: I guess you are lucky that way as having Tommy as your brother. It's just handy because you are into drums as he had all the stuff and you could use them.

Athena: Yeah. It was cool. I never just went and picked out what I wanted. It wasn't like that. They had a warehouse. He gave me the kit and set me on my way and I did my thing.

Glenn: Awesome.

Athena: Yeah.

Glenn: What were the first things you learnt on the kit?

Athena: Do you know what happened? Okay, this is a weird story because I kind of b*llsh*tt*d my way into a band. Before this I could only play along with videos like I said and then I ran into a neighbour down the street and I hadn't seen her for a while. We actually went to high school together. I'm like, "Hey, what are you doing now?", and she goes, "Well I'm in a band and we're looking for a drummer", and she goes, "What are you doing now?", I go, "I'm playing drums", ans she goes, "Awesome - you're in. Let's go play". So I went in not knowing a thing. I've never played with a band in my life. I just went in and kinda faked my way through it and it worked. It was awesome because, you know, I don't know - 'fake it until you make it' kinda thing. But I had a really, really good friend of mine Jamie Harris who works with Aquarian Drumheads. He came down - seriously - he was in a band called 'Funhouse' at the time who we ended up doing a lot of shows with later. He actually came down, sat with me, listened to the songs for hours and taught me how to play every song which was just amazing. I mean, we're still great friends to this day. I just actually got a contract with Aquarian Drumheads.

Glenn: Awesome.

Athena: Yeah. So he like... I'm forever indeded to that guy. I mean we would spend almost like a couple of days at a time and then we would take breaks and just lay on the floor and laugh and then go at it again. It had a lot to do with him just being there and helping me out. Then once I learned what I was doing, then I was on my own.

Glenn: Got ya. I'm sure I remember that name 'Funhouse' from back in the mid/late 80's or something.

Athena: Yeah you probably do. They were really good.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: And like I said, we ended up doing a lot of shows with those guys and they were really good... and they were hot too. (Wolf Whistles) (We laugh)

Glenn: What were the first songs you learnt on the kit then?

Athena: Probably a Missing Persons song.

Glenn: Yeah?

Athena: Yeah.

Glenn: Got ya. What would you say your favourite albums are for drums that stand out for you personally?

Athena: You know what. I'm just gonna say.. seriously.. one of my all-time favourite albums, like when I first like got music and you know when you just first get a record and you just don't stop listening to it?

Glenn: Yeah, yeah.

Athena: You listen to it over and over and over and it became the theme song for like the entire Summer. That would be Van Halen's 1st album.

Glenn: Got ya.

Athena: Loved it. I still do.

Glenn: Yes. It's a good album.

Athena: Yeah.

Glenn: Like '78 or something.

Athena: Yeah it was pretty awesome and still is.

Glenn: I've got that one. I think we've all got that one. There'd be something wrong if we didn't have that one. (We laugh)

Athena: Yep.

Glenn: Who would you say your favourite drummers are? Do you have any particular favourite drummers?

Athena: I don't. I really don't. There's so many different... You know what.. I just like... I can respect it but I don't like it and I'm talking about really busy drumming or real like just constant (makes machine gun sound). I just don't like that. I just like groove and so when I see a drummer that doesn't really show off and doesn't really have to overplay - that's what I like and that's what I love cos once there's a beat and you just start goin' off on drums I get lost - it loses me. So just drummers that can just make you move and not have brainspace in the middle.

Glenn: Yeah you like your more Phil Rudd type drummers or John Coghlan from Status Quo. Guys like that who put the backbeat down and don't get too fancy and keep it going sort of thing.

Athena: Of course I mean AC/DC you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: Go into any bar any night of the week and someboy's playing it because it's simple and it's rad.

Glenn: I know you've been in California most of your life but what's it like living in California as I only see it around 5 weeks or so out of every year. But what's it like being there full-time?

Athena: You know what, I just love it here. The only thing that I could use more of is seasons. Like I really like change. I love thunder, lightning, rain, snow - I love all that stuff but we don't really get that. We do - not far if you wanna go to the mountains - everything's here. If you want that, you can go get it but I mean, there's just something really cool about just being somewhere and having thunderstorms break out in the middle of the day. We just don't get that here. When you see people on Christmas day wearing shorts it kinda takes the Christmas vibe away but you know what, I love it and it's my home. But hopefully some day I'll be able to maybe go stay somewhere else for a few months of the year and come back and then go.. you know I can go stay somewhere it snows for Christmas and then come back.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: There's so many places I wanna check out. I've been here my whole life, like I said and I'm definitely not over it. I love it here but I love change and I'd like to see some more.

Glenn: Try Britain.

Athena: You know what. I'm serious, are you kidding me? I've been to London and loved it. I would love more than anything though to go and check out some of those old Scottish castles.

Glenn: My dad's up there right now as he lived there.

Athena: Oh god. I love that kinda stuff. I could just go there and drive around and get lost and run into anything.

Glenn: There's a lot of castles close to me like Bolsover Castle and Nottigham Castle.

Athena: Well I'm gonna have to come out there sometime and see. When I was there I didn;t get a chance to see anythingl. Nothing spectacular in any way but I did get to see the city and it was awesome and I loved the people there. It was great but I didn;t get to see anything like what I would have love to see. Like castles and stuff but saw some cool stuff though.

Glenn: Yeah we take it for granted here but I know you guys would be real excited by it.

Athena: Yeah you know what, we drove across Europe one time and it was so much cooler than flying because the stuff that we got to see on the drives there's no way we could have seen flying. It's just amazing. You see something and you can pull over and just go explore so there's something to be said for just driving around and getting lost.

Glenn: Yeah that's what I hate about flying - oh look some clouds, oh some more clouds. So what were the first bands you played in?

Athena: The first band was the band I lied to get into. It was called 'Hardly Dangerous'. It was an all-girl rock band and it was really cool. I alread yknew the guitar player going in because she lived across the street from me and the singer... in fact on Friday night at The House Of Blues I am gonna sit in with them and play a couple of songs when they play in there.

Glenn: That's cool.

Athena: So they still play around a lot. So that's gonna be fun because the singer Tommy Rae - she's so funny and so cool. We've been close friends forever. She actually went off and got married to James Brown and became his main singer as well. We were in that band for a long time. We went off and did our own things. We are still friends and hook up when we can.

Glenn: What were your favourite gigs that you played and why do they stand out?

Athena: Oh my god. There were so many fun ones. We were all over Hollywood. To be honest, I can't remember. They all run together for me. It was just like 5 years of a blur. I don't remember any bad ones. I don't remember any ones where we just kinda showed up and went "This blows!". They were all fun.

Glenn: Yeah. The band that stood out to me was 'Butt Trumpet'. Who came up with that? That's a classic name that!

Athena: Oh you know what that was? That was this guy Tom Bone and Bianca from Betty Blowtorch.

Glenn: Right.

Athena: They had the band 'Butt Trumpet' and something happened to where Bianca left the band and I think she wanted to sing maybe? I'm not sure what it was. Anyway she left the band and she started Betty Blowtorch and so that started. I got in 'Butt Trumpet' and it was a disaster. (We laugh) It really was. It was really, really bizarre like I hadn't even played any shows with them and I just kinda got to like... not to talk sh*t or anything but it was just too much chaos for me and I was just kinda out of it as quick as I was in it. It was just a disaster. They hadn't wrapped up their issues between each other and I mean it was just non-stop. Whatever they had goin' on and I was just like, "You know what, this is just not working", so I left. I think after that I played with Ron Keel in Fair Game. That was him singing but with all girls. That was actually a good band though. Really good.

Glenn: Do you have many recordings that you did with these bands?

Athena: Yeah but you know, I don't know where they are. I really don't. I don't know what happened. So much went on during those times. Like with 'Hardly Dangerous' we were.. you know West Arkeen, I guess he wrote some stuff with the first Guns 'N' Roses record and stuff like that and he ended up dying and we were getting ready to work with him and he ended up dying. You know what, there were so many drugs and so much craziness during that time that it was different. I t wasn't like now or like you can record a song and throw it out there - it was different. Like that was back when you had to get a deal - record deal days. They actually got one with Maverick, Madonna's record. In don't even know what happened. Honesty. I don't know what happened. Everything just kinda fizzled out and moved on.

Glenn: Yeah there were just so many bands that didn't make it in Hollywood.There were so many bands that were very, very similar and it just got saturated didn't it no doubt?

Athena: Yep.There's a lot of... You know what, I remember a time like when there were certain bands getting pulled out of there and getting massive deals and going on to be huge and it just kinda seemed to me like it almost became... you could walk down the strip and it's just like there's 15 of the same guy looking that way doing this and it seemed like everything kinda became one big copy of everything and I just imagine that after a while these record labels went, "Okay we already have ten of you - we don't really need another".

Glenn: Exactly.

Athena: Seriously there was literally a point there where you could see the back of someone and you think it's your friend and you go up to 'em and just go, "Hey Steve!", "Oh nevermind" when they turn around because eveybody was having the same look, playing the same type of music. I think it just maybe got saturated.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: It certaintly did in Hollywood. But then those bands were actually really good so they just surived by just playing in Hollywood. They just never got to cross the line because maybe they were just a little too late or something, I don't know, but some of them were really, really good.

Glenn: I guess there were like 10 million singers with the same voice?

Athena: Yeah just about.

Glenn: What do you like to do outside playing drums with regard to hobbies and interests?

Athena: Oh all kinds of things. I love to play softball. I love playing softball. It's like I just look forward to that because at the end of the week you get to see your friends and it's not in a venue. You know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: You get to see what your friends really look like during the day. "Oh that's you I've known for a year".

Glenn: Because on stage they got all the slap and make-up on?

Athena: Exactly. "Oh that's what you really look like - oh wow - okay". It's a trip and it's just fun you know? There's nothing stupid like about it. Everybody's there for one reason and for one reason only - just to have a great time.

Glenn: Cool.

Athena: And we can play too. I mean somebody bleeds every game. That's fun too. But it's not me. Fortunately I've gotten out of there with no injuries.

Glenn: You're gonna jinx yourself after you've said that.

Athena: Yeah that's why I just knocked on my wooden table.

Glenn: Yeah exactly. I wondered what that sound was.

Athena: That's what that noise was - hahaha! (We laugh). Yeah I had a friend come ourt from Vegas just last month and he played with us he actually has a steel plate in his hip and I didn;t know this before I played the game. Right?

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: And we play rough and I guess he went slinding into a base and like cracked his leg in two places. Yeah they from Pure Rock Radio - funny, funny, cool, cool guys and they came out for the weekend and went home with injuries. Well one of 'em did - hahaha.

Glenn: Got ya. Nice. Dare I ask you what your favourite points were in you old band?

Athena: When I quit. Hahahaha.

Glenn: When you quit?

Athena: That was my highlight.

Glenn: It was that bad then.

Athena: Yeah it was that bad.

Glenn: Wow.

Athena: Put it this way Glenn, when I was finally done I disconnected the stereo in my car cos I didn't even wanna hear music. I was that turned off.

Glenn: Wow.

Athena: That's what it did for me. I'm still not in a band right now because I'm having such a good time enjoying life and sitting in with friends and doing things that couldn't do before. You know I'm sitting in with different bands that I would never ever have had a chance to do before and have fun with people. I didn't have a chance to have fun with before. I'm ready now, I'm ready now to go back in but there was a while there that I didn't even wanna hear music - let alone play it. So it took me a while to just start to forget about how bad it sucked and start enjoying it again. I had to clear out the attic in my head and fill it with fun again. You know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: Fun stuff - the way it's supposed to be.

Glenn: Yeah the first album from your old band is a pretty good album but the 2nd album is dare I say, sh*t in comparison. Nothing really stood out like on the 1st album as you had stuff like 'Ten Shots At The Back Of The Head'. I liked some of the tracks on that but the 2nd album wasn't as good even though I gave it an okay review.

Athena: That's because I'm not in it right now - writing.

Glenn: Yeah. It was the first one when you were still in the band.

Athena: I was up until this very last one. Obviously 'Attack' what isn't. But that album - I had nothing to do with that one. That one in fact is filled with songs about killing me so I've been told.

Glenn: Wow. (Athena laughs) Can't think why?

Athena: I had fun with that.

Glenn: What places in the world have you enjoyed where you have played and why have they stood out to you?

Athena: Let me see - that we did Japan and Europe - all over Europe. So Japan like twice. The last time I left. It was that bad. I left. I would never leave a tour in the middle but it was that I just left. I got on an a plane and hitailed it out of Japan.

Glenn: Wow.

Athena: Yeah. It was that bad. So you can understand why I just took a break for a while because it became like every reason that I got into music was gone and I was left with nothing but bitter feelings towards it because it was so unfun. It was like, I don't know, I can't really explain it. It was just a situation where I couldn't be myself. I was told who to be and what to be and all that kinda stuff and I just slowly found myself like sinking away. Just kind of just... I just became to where I didn't want to hang out anymore. I didn't want to see people. I was really depressed. So once I got out and quit and started to remember what... I was actually gonna quit, believe it or not I was gonna quit playing for good. I go "Man, uck, I just don't even wanna hear about it let alone play it". Then after a few months I started to go, 'What am I doing? I can't go out like this - I still have some fun left in me', and I refused to go out hating music because that's just everything I never stood for. You know, I'll go back, I'll go back out and I'll have the fun the way it's supposed to be so I can remember why I got into it in the 1st place and then if I decide to quit - great. How could I do that? How could I let one horrible experience just wreck music for me altogether. No. I'm not gonna do that. So I'm ready. I'm 100% ready to go out. But I'm not gonna go out unless I really enjoy. Like I'm not gonna whore out just to play drums. I'm gonna have to really like it - the music and the people involved.

Glenn: Yeah - you don't wanna go into a band that you don't even like do you?

Athena: I've already done that.

Glenn: Exactly. So there were no highlights at all in that band?

Athena: You know if there were I honestly can't remember. It was so bad during the end I didn't even know who I was. It was nothing but a drunken disaster.

Glenn: Jesus.

Athena: In every way shape or form. But you know me and the bass player Price are still great friends. We talk all the time. I love him and I felt so bad that he got stuck in the same situation. We don't really talk about it though. When we get together we don't really talk about it but we did have that initial talk. There's a lot of stuff that I felt bad for him that he had to go throught but it really worked out in the end cos now he's where he belongs. He's in a band with his Brother called 'Big Okie Doom' and there based out of Oklahoma and they're great. That fits him and he's happy and he's home in Oklahoma and he's went on to just.. like he refused to be shot down. He just went out there and he's doing it and I'm proud of him and he's amazing. The bands good and you should check 'em out. He's an awesome guy and a great bass player.

Glenn: Nice. How was the Vegas Rocks Awards for you last year?

Athena: It was fun and it was kooky. We'll put it that way. You get like a hundred or so musicians all staying there for the weekend and it's Vegas. You know, I don't need to say anything else.

Glenn: I've never been.

Athena: You've never been what... to Vegas?

Glenn: No not yet.

Athena: Oh damn - you have to. You know what, Vegas is awesome but if you are anything like me, you only need to stay a few days because anything longer than that is just trouble.

Glenn: Yeah, yeah.

Athena: So Vegas is good in small doses. We'll just put it that way. (We laugh) Free speech in moderation.

Glenn: How did you get to be associated with Rockitt Drumworks with Rikki?

Athena: I've known Rikki forever. We've been friends for.. I don't wanna say forever because then I'll sound old but we've been friends forever and I was actually with D-Drum before that. D-Drum are so cool. Everybody there I just totally love 'em and I was with them for a while. Basically when I made my way out of my last situation I just really wanted to start afresh and I had been wanting to work with Rikki for a really long time but I was working with somebody else. Once I decided it was time to start fresh I just called Rikki up and I asked him about working with him and he was just... didn't even hesitate. He was like "Hell yeah girl - let's go - let's do this", and so we did and I'm telling you that some of their drums are just so out there and they put like... they are only a few guys and they themselves do all the footwork. Everything from the art to the... well just everything and so whatever kit you get from them you're just guaranteed. They've spent some time on it and they're made with love. It's nothing that's been factoried.

Glenn: Yeah yeah - totally. You mean they aren't assembly line pieces of sh*t?

Athena: No no - not at all. Everything there's just made personally with love.

Glenn: Awesome. It's the only way. How was it doing VH1's 'Behind The Music' about Tommy?

Athena: It was really cool. It was fun doing it too.

Glenn: Was it a case of 'Can't say this, can't say that'?

Athena: Well it wasn't really like that. It was all good. It was all positive and all good. It was no problem. It was fun to do and I saw it when it was finished. It was really good.

Glenn: Cool. How did you get involved with the show 'Ex-Wives Rock'?

Athena: Ok, Lorraine Lewis, she's the singer for Femme Fatale - Rocker chick. She created this show along with her best friend Lisa Brucker and I was actually married at the time and they were doing the show and I didn't know anything about it. Then finally, I filed for divorce still not knowing about the show and they just came to me with the idea and I was like, "You know what, I'm in, I'll do it". You know I just saw it as at least for the Summer. I mean I hope the show does great. I hope it gets picked up everywhere, I really do because it was that much fun to film. Actually a very, very funny show and if I wasn't in it I'd still watch it because it's that funny. The thing is I'd just come out of such a disaster for the the last few years that I just saw it as a way to hang out with my friends and get paid. Seriously, I go "Really, you mean I get to get paid to hang out with my friends who I love and would hang out with anyway - Hell Yeah!".

Glenn: Yeah - I know you are friends with Bobbie Brown anyway.

Athena: Yes really, we just got paid to do the same thing. I mean really they didn't even have to ask me twice because it's not about the guys. It's not about them at all. It's about us and our dorkness. It has nothing to do with them. So it's not like they asked me to get into something to bag on, they basically just sai, "Do you wanna come and have fun with your friends and get paid?", I was like, "Yes".

Glenn: So where did you 1st hear the British/English accent from?

Athena: My Uncle. He was from Scotland. I can even better that one. He married my Mum's Sister who was from Athens, Greece. So he married her and she moved to Scotland and they stayed there for a few years. So by the time they came to America and we were little my Aunt had a half Greek/half Scottish accent - try to figure that out.

Glenn: Wow.

Athena: It was the weirdest accent ever. None of my friends could understand her but I knew her so well that I could translate. But still, it was the most bizarre greek/Scott Scot/Greek or Greekish/Scot or whatever I'd ever heard. Pretty awesome.

Glenn: Exactly yeah. Sounds crazy. What places have infleunced you that you have travelled to? What parts of Europe did you like and why?

Athena: So many. Like I said I'm super blown away by castles so I went to Castle Neufonstein (S.I.C.). It's just crazy - the history. You had to walk over a.. not a drawbridge but just a bridge just to get over to get to the castle and it was like hundreds of feet down and I hate heights. I'm like total.. I can look at a picture and get vertigo - I can't stand heights. But I love to fly - go figure.

Glenn: It's weird.

Athena: Yeah. So I always feel safe on aeroplanes. I do. But walking over a bridge with like a hundred foot drop - I'm not... I don't dig it. So you had to walk across that just to get over to the castle and then you just look at this castle and the stories they are telling you are just amazing. Right it was really just a lonely weirdo that lived there and he died on the lake that he owned and nobody actually knew if he actually killed himself or somrthing happened to him. He was just like this one guy. He never married. It's like it's not even so much even the castle - it's the stories that come with 'em that I'm fascinated with because I'm seriously that weird. I'm so into castles and pretend that I'm in that guys head. Like I wonder what he did here, ooh he slept in that little bed - weird, you know. Oh this is where he made his cocktails or this is where he ate his breakfast or.. you know? I get like really into that kinda stuff. I mean if I could just do a castle tour across Europe and just pack it up and just roll around all the castles in Europe, I would be happy doing that for a month straight.

Glenn: It's funny you should mention that because that's what Ritchie Blackmore does. He only plays certain venues and he likes to play castles and stuff with Blackmore's Night. So you'd be perfect hanging out with him for a few months.

Athena: Hook me up. I've always loved that kind of thing. I'm fascinated by history. Of course I have a major soft spot for Greece because I still have family there but it's there's so much history. Everytime you turn around there's history in Greece. So that, you know, that's obviously one of my favourite places ever and I'm hoping that some day I'll actually have a place to go and spend the Summer at.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: You know, just to do it, be with family because the last few times I was there I just kind of felt a litle weird to be with mym family because they're still in the house where we stayed when we were little.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: So it's so trippy but, you know, there's a lot of memories there - all good, you know?

Glenn: Yeah?

Athena: Yeah.

Glenn: Makes sense.

Athena: But yeah - I'm the castle kid. (We laugh). I'll drive my little smart car man for hours and days. As long as there's food along the way - it's all about food and castles.

Glenn: Nice.

Athena: There you go.

Glenn: And stick a drum kit in a trailer at the back yeah?

Athena: Hah! There's no room in the smarty.

Glenn: Exactly.

Athena: I'll pack it with food. Hahaha. I can rent drums whereever I go.

Glenn: Yeah. If you had the chance to play drums for a certain band, who would it be and why?

Athena: Ohh, you know I'm gonna have to say probably... it wouldn't be a rock band, I'll tell you that. I'm just being straight but probably like Pink or someone. That would be good cos she's sick man. I love that girl. She can sing.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: Yeah cos it's just edgy enough. It's dance but it's edgy enough. Man, her songs are great and you can still move to 'em. Anybody can like it.

Glenn: Cool. Makes sense. I guess you've had so many years of rock bands and this and that, it must become absolute overload sometimes and you want to go and check something else out. You don't wanna hear rock bands all the time do you?

Athena: No I don't and honestly I'm pretty over it.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: It's nothing to do with anything personal or people or anything like that. It's just that I'm just.. I'm ready for new.

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: I'm just kinda, I'm just kinda... because that's been me from the beginning. Although I love heavier stuff and it's even fun playing it because I'll tell you what, you get some agressions out, you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Athena: But it's just like, for me to just really, really just now do what comes from me, that would be more my style now. Not that I've grown out of rock stuff, I'm just, I don't know - I'm just being a selfish b*tch.

Glenn: Yeah I guess people just assume because of who you are they think you are going to like this, this and this and I think, 'Dude just come on all people are different - get a life check you know?'

Athena: And a lot of being around the same people who I love so I don't want this to be taken wrong but you can only see the same bands so many damn times.

Glenn: Exactly.

Athena: You know, I just can't... there's certain shows... as much as I love 'em I just can't sit through another one. I just literally can't do it. I would rather go.. I don't know I would rather sit around and play cards by myself. It's just like I just can't do it. And there's also a thing with me where I just kinda think, when things become.. once again not to make myself sound old because I am not old but when things become more age appropriate that's right for me. For me to see like certain people like in their like 60's or 70's and I love to see people like kind of evolve as long as they kinda keep themselves in shape and they do stuff like that, that's great.

Glenn: So what have you been working on recently that you are proud of?

Athena: I have a book coming out called 'Girls Don't Play Drums' (something my Mom used to always say to me. HA). I am writing it with Krishta Abruzzini. It's just a roller coaster ride through my crazy-*ss life basically! It should be out early next year.

Glenn: Finally, would you like to say anything to all of your fans out there and the readership of Metalliville Webzine?

Athena: YES!! I want to thank YOU for the huge laughs & stooof & thank everyone for being patient with me while I worked through my past funk! I've been working like crazy on a few amazing things (BEYOND proud of myself). As much as I'm bursting at the seems to let everyone know what I've been up to.. I must wait a few months for personal reasons. MADD LOVE & huge hugs to all! xo

So there you have it - the frank honesty of Athena - not a truer word spoken right there!!

A big thank you Athena for her time and great insights into rock 'n' roll, drums, castles and life in general!