White Reaper's newest album kicks off with the sound of a screaming crowd.





It's an appropriate enough kickoff to what is their most convincing case yet for collective rock stardom. The braggadocious-titled World's Best American Band is White Reaper's tautest album yet. It's a collection of amped-up songs gloriously indebted to the gleefully, unrepentant world of hard rock excess. You can practically smell the hairspray and spilled beer by the end of track one.





But where hair metal may have represented a lack of ideas by the early 90s, White Reaper have enough enthusiasm and inventiveness to recreate the genre anew for their own purposes. For all of World's Best American Band 's accomplishments as an album of bonafide fist pumpers, it's most impressive feat in 2017 may be just how fucking fun it is.





With a stint at the second weekend of ACL Music Fest 2017 rapidly approaching, we spoke with the guys in White Reaper about the dumbest way they ever hurt themselves, their favorite bug, what they're paranoid about, and more.





SEE THE WORLD'S BEST AMERICAN BAND AT ACL LIVE WEEKEND TWO!





















Do512: What is the dumbest way you've ever hurt yourself?





Nick: Sam and I have a good one... When we were seven we were jumping off the bunk beds into this big pile of sheets and blankets and I jumped off the bottom bunk and then Sam landed on me, he jumped off the top bunk and broke my foot. So that was pretty stupid. I had to get crutches.





Sam: I fell off the stage in Manchester! It was like a 6-foot stage and I was doing some kind of spin move and I lost my balance and I just landed right before the barrier. I fell on my shoulder. It was probably the tallest stage we've ever played on. All of my shit got unplugged, and of course when I plugged it back in everyone was like "Yeah!!" and then I started playing and everything was out of tune. It was horrible.





Nick: I cut myself making guac' a couple months ago, that was pretty stupid.





Tony: I chipped my tooth on Nick's beer bottle one time.





When you think of Austin Texas what is the best memory that sticks out?





Hunter: Do512 crawdaddy special. That was one of the funnest nights of my life.

*Context: We took the band to Deckhand's for a final day of SXSW celebration.





Tony: For me, I think it was the first time I jammed with Hunter. It was in Austin, Texas and I said, "Hunter, you should be in our band" and now he is!





Sam: That whole South By was a great bonding experience.







Hunter: We just smoked weed and played Third Eye Blind songs.





Nick: What's that DIY bar that's open on weekends? They have beer and serve it until 6 in the morning?













Nick: Yeah! I went to a party there with the Ne-Hi guys and we stayed up until about 5:30 in the morning and that was really fucking fun.





Band: Also when we played the lounge here! It's never a bad time here. All good people, good fun.





Photo Credit: Roger Ho

Which bug is the best bug?





Sam: Are we including arachnids?





Nick: I think a nice Ladybug.





Tony: Yeah, I was thinking a lady bug, but I was also thinking a grasshopper.





Hunter: I think a beetle is pretty crazy.





Hunter: Flies are definitely the worst.





Nick: I think a Praying Mantis is a pretty incredible bug.







Tony: I'm fond of Roly Polys.





Sam: I have a history with Roly Polys... I feel like if I've touched any bug more than any other, its Roly Polys.





Hunter: Butterflies are pretty incredible because of the whole metamorphosis thing.





Sam: I'm voting lady bug or spiders.





Tony: I'll vote spiders.





Photo Credit: Roger Ho





Say I gave you $5,000 right now and you had to spend all of it within one hour, what would you go buy?





Tony: We're going back to Deckhands, baby.





Hunter: I'd put it toward rent, 'cause God knows that shit doesn't pay me!





Nick: I would also do that.





Sam: Yeah, I'd do a long term rent payment.





What is something that you're paranoid about?





Nick: Oh god, not being anything.





Sam: Dying when I'm really high.





Nick: Probably my most realistic fear that could potentially happen at any time is like having some kind of public bathroom accident.





Hunter: I would have to say, going to prison, like in a Shawshank Redemption sort of way, like an unwarranted arrest, and then just being violently assaulted every day in prison. Honestly, the police just scare me.





So, cops, being caught pooping, going to jail and getting sexually assaulted and dying when you're high?





Nick: Sometimes I'm also paranoid about what kind of clothes I'll be wearing on the day I die.





Tony: Yeah, I don't wanna be wearing some gym shorts and like a white shirt.





Sam: Tony, I've never seen you wear that in public.





Photo Credit: Roger Ho









You have a friend who likes to do Trivia all the time and they asked you to join their trivia team because of your extensive knowledge in what?





Nick: Honestly, it'd probably be rock trivia.







Tony: Nick, our resident rock expert.





Hunter: I feel like I have some revolutionary war knowledge that could be utilized.





Tony: I think I have some film knowledge.





Sam: If we did movie trivia, Tony would get every question.





Tony: Sam knows a lot about Germany and Europe and shit.









What's your least favorite song on your favorite album?





Hunter: I'm gonna say, one of my favorite albums of all time is Lust for Life and there's this song on it called "Turn Blue" and it just makes no sense. Even on the back of that record the lyrics for that song aren't there because I'm pretty sure it was all improvised.







Nick: This is an unpopular opinion, but one of my favorite albums of all time is Dark Side of the Moon. I think the song "Money" just blows.





Sam: Oasis, (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. Without "Wonderwall" I think it'd be a perfect album.





Nick: Oh please! Give me a fuckin' break!





Tony: I feel like on every Bruce Springsteen album there's like one or two songs that are like 5 minutes long where you're just like... "meh."





Photo Credit: Roger Ho









What is the weirdest sensation you've ever felt?





Sam: When people get close to my butthole when I'm having sexual relations with them, it freaks me out. Just so you know.





Hunter: Every dog has its day.





Tony: I tried a bidet in Spain.





Hunter: Do we have an answer that doesn't have to do with butts?





Nick: LSD or something.







Sam: I gotta agree.





Nick: Or food poisoning. I got some bad food poisoning once.





Hunter: That leads into a good story though





Nick: I don't wanna talk about it. You can tell it though.





Hunter: He was throwing up a bunch at a show. Ran off stage. We got someone from the audience to come up and play the drums.





Nick: I was literally in the bathroom like pissing out of my ass, almost like vomiting out of my ass. And then getting up, throwing up on my diarrhea and then back again. I wanted to kill myself. I played like two songs, but then I was like, I can't play this song. It was the worse I've ever felt in my life. I thought I was going to die from food poisoning.





Photo Credit: Roger Ho





If someone was writing the White Reaper biography right now, what would be the title of this chapter?





Tony: Probably: The Worlds Best American Band.





Hunter: I'd like to think it'd be called, The Hunter Years, But probably not...





Sam: It'd probably be called, I Hope We Get Paid Soon.





Nick: That or, Please Buy My Record.









White Reaper is triumphantly riding into battle, what song would be playing?





White Reaper: "Firestarter"





*WHOLE BAND STARTS HUMMING THE SONG*







