KROQ's Klein & Ally welcomed Kris Roe of punk band The Ataris into the studios in Los Angeles to discuss the band's 20-year anniversary of their 2003 fan-favorite record, So Long, Astoria, and upcoming reunion shows.
LISTEN NOW: Kris Roe of The Ataris with Klein & Ally
In celebration of the 20th birthday of The Ataris’ 2003 album So Long, Astoria, the band will be getting together with some old friends to perform the album in full on a number of select dates.
The first show is on Friday, April 7 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles featuring Save Ferris, Bad Cop Bad Cop, and Samiam (playing their first L.A. show in 15 years) as openers. The second show on April 8 at the House of Blues Anaheim is already sold out, featuring openers Strung Out, Mest, and Pollen (playing their first show in over two decades). The band will also be on hand at the 2023 edition of When We Were Young in Las Vegas on October 21.
"I find that every ten years or so, it's like that new group of kids, especially now with the Internet... people rediscover all these bands from when we were kids," Kris says of the focus on the nostalgia of Pop punk over the last few years. "For me, when I was young... I remember being like 15 years old and seeing Metallica wear a Misfits shirt or Ramones shirt or whatever, and being like, 'Hey, I love that band,' and knowing there's some young kids that are younger than me that are discovering those bands. Or, how so many people would come up to me and be like, 'Hey I discovered Jawbreaker through The Ataris,' and to me, that's always an honor because those bands always meant a lot to me growing up. It's nice to be that gateway drug for some young kid in the Midwest like I was."
With all of the ways people can discover and listen to music now -- streaming services, vinyl, even cassettes are making a comeback -- Kris says he's not concerned how anyone hears the music, as long as they get there. "I think in the early '90s, when Punk rock or whatever it was for me hadn't broken into a mainstream kind of faction, it was still a thing where it belonged to this little group of misfits and weirdos. So, when Green Day and those bands broke big, we loved those bands... and we were like, 'This is our thing!' Now these people who would beat us up would listen to these bands, So, it was kind of weird. Now, I'm happy if some sort of Alternative culture reaches some person that maybe all they knew was mainstream music -- it's gonna change your life. Because for me the only thing that really helped me through those hard times, and saved me in times when I needed it -- music was it. It was like a form of therapy."
One track that has stuck with Kris and is finding a resurgence today is the band's cover of Don Henley's "The Boys Of Summer," which they still enjoy correcting new listeners on regarding the song's origins. Looking back on what made him choose that as a cover, he remembers visiting alone with his grandmother for the first time after his parents had split up, and listening to that record while missing them and spending the rainy summer inside. "I was stuck in her little trailer listening to music," he says, "and it helped me through that time."
"I'm grateful that it turned a lot of people onto our music," he adds, "and that they were able to discover some of the songs that we wrote. We still play it to this day, and it's an honor."
WATCH NOW: The Ataris perform 'The Boys Of Summer'
Before the band had set their sights on a 20th-anniversary celebration of So Long, Astoria, The Ataris were getting prepared to head out on the road in early 2020 with a tour booked. However, not only did a tornado cancel their first scheduled date in Nashville, COVID put a stop to any further plans they had made. "Three days later I was around my daughter for the first time we rekindled in a very long time," Kris explains, "and then got COVID. I had it so bad I ended up in the hospital, I was sick for five weeks... It took me a long time to ease back into shows because it was really traumatizing going through that."
Once recovered, Kris did a few shows with Lit, Hoobastank, and Alien Ant Farm, which gave him some much-needed confidence back, allowing him to start discussions on this 20th-anniversary reunion. After three full years off, the group's longest pause, Kris called the rest of the members and started preparations. "It was just the natural thing to do," he admits. "We'll make it two shows, just L.A., Anaheim -- ver special, kind of where The Ataris came up. You know I'm from Indiana -- this was the first place to give Ataris love."
Listen to Klein & Ally's full interview with Kris Roe of The Ataris above, and stay tuned for more conversations with your favorite artists right here on Audacy.
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