ANTiSEEN just got a great write up promoting their show tomorrow night in Johnson City, TN, check it out:
Add flavors of wrestling, country music, aggression, blood and a deep dose of the South.
Now presenting, Antiseen.
The legendary punk rock veterans will headline a three-band bill at The Hideaway in Johnson City on Jan. 28. Acts supporting Antiseen include Joe Buck and a band whose name cannot be mentioned in a daily newspaper. Surprised? Needn’t be. It’s only punk rock bash and roll, and that’s how Antiseen founder Jeff Clayton likes it.
“It’s just stripped down rock ‘n’ roll, nice and loud,” Clayton said by phone last week from his home in Rock Hill, S.C. “It’s punk rock but it’s not Green Day. It’s Southern but it’s not Lynyrd Skynyrd.”
Formed in 1983 in Charlotte, N.C., Antiseen has long been described as destructo rock.
“That was dropped on us in out first year,” said the amiable Clayton. “We played our first show in October 1983 in Boone, N.C. The other band on that night was White Cross out of Richmond, Va. At the end of the show our guitars got smashed, drums, bass and so on.”
A member of White Cross remarked that Antiseen was destructo rock.
“The name stuck,” Clayton.
Antiseen embraced the term. For example, Clayton loves professional wrestling. “I’m way more influenced by (former wrestler) Greg Valentine than (Guns ‘N Roses leader) Axl Rose. But,” Clayton said with a laugh, “you won’t see a bunch of us wearing spandex.” Couple that with Antiseen’s Southern punk rock and Clayton’s sense of showmanship and his scarred forehead. Though not during all shows, Clayton has built a reputation for slicing open his forehead. Do that for 27 years and imagine how it looks.
“It’s pretty rough,” Clayton said. “I’ve actually had people ask if I was in a car wreck and in a way I’ve been in one for 27 years. It’s definitely a road map.”
How’s this for a road map. Antiseen has performed in all but a handful of the 50 states, more countries than Clayton can quickly name, with such heroes as the Ramones and he’s met country legend George Jones.
Scan Antiseen’s catalog. Alongside such riveting bomb-droppers as “Stormtrooper” and “No Apologies” come covers of country music from Ernest Tubb’s “Thanks A Lot” to Jones’ “I’ve Aged 20 Years in 5.” Why country covers from an aggressive punk rock band?
“Well, man, in songs we cover we never ever cover anything to be sarcastic,” Clayton said. “We cover things because we genuinely love the singers and the songs.”
For example, there was the time that Clayton, scar-headed punk rocker, met Jones, kindly country legend. “I said, ‘George, I’d like to give this to you because we covered a song you did,’” Clayton said. Jones leaned back and grinned. “He might have thrown it out the window when he got home,” Clayton said, “but by God I gave him a copy.”
Add all of the above. In an era when the mainstream flows with such force that it swallows unwitting millions, Jeff Clayton and his band chose another road and it has made all the difference. Hence the band’s name, Antiseen, a play on the word scene.
“I think we’re the footmen in the trenches,” Clayton said. “We’re a cult band. Our audience doesn’t just like us. They love us. That’s for me.”
Tom Netherland is a freelance writer. He may be reached at features@bristolnews.com.
Who: Antiseen and Joe Buck
When: Jan. 28, 10 p.m.
Where: The Hideaway, 235 E. Main St., Johnson City
Admission: $10
Info: (423) 926-3896
