That Guy With That Name On May 15th, I called up JT Almon to interview him for KillerPOP. He began by interviewing me and asking what KillerPOP was. After I told him, we had a series of short conversations. Even after I began the interview, the conversations continued and virtually every question drew us off on a tangent or involved JT calling into question my methods of interviewing (Hopefully jokingly. It was often hard to discern.). Unfortunately, I do not have a tape recorder and many precious gems of conversation were lost in the abyss of our minds. What follows is what I was able to write down during our hour long conversation. Enjoy. kP: First of all, what are all of the musical projects that you’ve been a part of? JT: Total Pony Proposal, the band of the name, Swomee Swans... I’ve worked with Timbers Shivered, Jaunty, the solo thing, Lava Trolls… kP: Lava Trolls? JT: Yeah, Lava Trolls. They’re out there. You gotta believe in them. kP: I do. JT: I’ve worked with Glamour Patch. I’ve been thinking of starting a band called Fag and Cripple with my friend Anna. Don’t put that in there, what if I don’t start it. kP: People will hold you to it. JT: How many bands can you have. They’re like kids. You just give them a name. I’m working on a lot of things. I like working on the music. kP: Tell me about Jaunty. JT: It’s a nickname some people gave me…I’m trying to make some decomposed beats. It’s like a wrench thrown in the gears of your sex jams. kP: At the show I saw with Jaunty, you wore a mask of your own face. Do you always wear that? JT: No. That mask got ruined. I just thought, “This is pimp, wearing my face on my face.” I wore it for awhile. I just wanna experiment with things. Experiment with music and explore what there is. At this point, the interview was momentarily stopped while JT searched for his cell phone charger. A little while later, he called me back and the conversations, questions and tangents continued… kP: Alright… JT: Is this all just a ploy to get my number? kP: Yes. JT: Haha. kP: So, how long has the band of the name been around? JT: 5 years. I heard Lane on the radio and he was looking to do music. We worked on the Ocean Floor and then we started the band of the name. kP: Where does the group’s name come from? JT: We were sitting around and there was an apple… I didn’t hear the rest of what he said. kP: All I heard was “We were sitting around and there was an apple.” JT: That’s half of the story. kP: Okay. JT: Are you sure this isn’t all so you can get my number. I think that’s what KillerPOP should do. In the middle of fucking someone you’ll ask, “What does this song mean?” and then you’ll cum on their face. kP: Hahahaha. That’s a good idea. After additional chit chat and tangents… kP: Okay, I think the band of the name has really interesting musical dynamics. I remember when I first heard you a few years ago, I thought you were just an instrumental band at first. But then these vocals just erupt out of nowhere. Have you always had that same kind of style, or did it sort of evolve into that? JT: I think it was always…Yes. I’m just gonna say yes. kP: During your show at the Social last year with Band Marino and Yip-Yip you wore all black clothes covered in metal buttons I think. Something shiny. JT: The google eyes. kP:Oh yeah. Google eyes. That’s what it was. Do you always do things like that as far as wear costumes? How important is stage presence to you guys? JT: I dunno if it’s important. But sometimes we do dancing. We did a play with Swomee Swans once. I think Isaac is editing that play for a DVD. I think Anna did those costumes with her nimble fingers. Costumes are fun. I’d like to dress up as the other boys one time. kP: Speaking of stage presence, tell our readers why Total Pony Proposal is the greatest band ever. JT: I don’t think we’re the greatest band ever. Anna, would you answer a question like “Why is Total Pony Proposal the greatest band ever?”? A “No” comes from the distance. JT: I’m just messing with you. I’m mostly saying stuff to see what kind of a reaction I can get from Anna. I think Total Pony Proposal is fun as hell. I have so much fun in that band. I hope that a lot more people can see us in my lifetime. When did you see us? At Island Oasis? kP: Yeah. JT: That was a long one. That one was really different. Jeff just started going off, seeing how long he could keep it up. kP: Can we expect any new releases or debuts from any of your projects? JT: Yeah. band of the name has a CD coming out. Swomee Swans has a video that should be out by summer. Total Pony Proposal has a CD coming out when we finish it up. It’s called “Totally.” Some DJ Jaunty. I have to get away and reload and then I can put stuff out. kP: Tell me about Grandma Party. JT: Grandma Party is blowin’ up! kP: How often do you brush your teeth? JT: I have spotty hygiene. kP: Which name would you rather have: Topher or Wilmer? JT: I can’t pick Topher. Wilmer. kP: How vigorously do you brush your teeth? JT: When I brush, I really go all out. kP: This next question’s kind of confusing, so stick with me. If you had to kill off all the members of your other projects except for the members of one project and then had to combine all the dead projects into the living one, how would you combine the names of the groups for the new group? JT: I had a dream once where I lost an eye. Then I lost a hand. Then I lost a foot. All of my friends came to visit and said they were gonna start this band. And while we were playing, I remember stage diving into the audience. I think that is Swomee Swans. That pretty much sums up Swomee Swans. kP: Okay. But that didn’t answer the question. What would you call the band? JT: That is the answer. kP: Okay. JT: Do you have more questions? kP: One more. What is one word you want this interview to end with? JT: Ohmygod. Haha. That was it. interview by Matt Harrison