His vocals are distinctive, clean and clear, but he can also turn to a low, powerful growl. According to Werny, this has "just always been my style. I don't know where it comes from--it's just an ethnic edge that just sort of came." His vocal palette is still expanding, as he is currently honing his Tuva throat singing skills which, while not part of the Diamond-Fist Werny repertoire yet, have been incorporated into his solo performances.

A Deejay, an Uncle, and Frank Zappa

"I grew up hating commercial music," says Werny, "and listened to a lot of '50s stuff and surf music. I got into newer music through skateboarding, because my skateboard heroes--Brad Bowman, Jay Adams --those guys, they were all listening to punk rock.

"There was this deejay named Lee Paris from WXPN in Philly. He had a show called 'Yesterday's Now Music Today' and he was just the most incredible deejay. I'd stay up late to listen...I was in Elementary school, Junior High. It would come on from two in the morning 'til six, so I'd stay up and listen to it and record it.

"Punk rock and post-punk, mixed in with really ridiculous stuff, like...for instance, AC/DC was just the biggest joke to anyone listening to punk, but he would mix it in and say, 'What the hell's the difference between AC/DC and Black Flag? There is no difference." And everyone listening would scream, 'What is he talking about?!' Or he'd play Killing Joke and Parliament and compare them. He really opened my mind to seeing that there is a difference, but there isn't.

"The bands I'd consider my biggest influences--The Clash, Devo, The Cramps, Ramones, Iggy Pop, Suicide, Dead Kennedys--have incredibly varying styles. Nowadays, the 'Alternative' music is so narrow and conservative, artistically speaking, and no one's stepping out at all. It's all designed for the commercialism. The unique bands are smothered by the big companies pushing the generic sound.

Soba cites influences a bit closer to home. "My father was an inspiration as an artist and musician--he received gold records writing songs for Marty Balin and Jefferson Airplane. But as a drummer, my uncle was my biggest influence. He was a drummer in a local band back when punk rock hit America. There I was, this 12, 14 year old punker, watching his band The Max play at the Showbox, and they'd play with bands like The Blackouts, [the blackouts included paul barker and william reiflin, who would later join ministry. --ed.] Gang of Four, and the Ramones.

"My stepfather had one of the earliest synthesizers--some weird Oberheim--and he'd lock himself in a room and record all day long. He'd have these crazy sounds come out, and these really odd things, and it really affected me. So then I get a sampler drum machine and these PC cards that have drums from Uganda, and Chile, and China--I'm just a kid in a playhouse, changing sounds left and right. That's why my drums have been electronic from the start; it's just so fun to be able to hit something and have a completely different sound come out.

"I'm not really too into the music business or music scene. I just don't have much to do with it; I don't really keep up with it or seek it out, ever, except when I join up with these guys. The stuff I gravitate toward on the jukebox at work are clear and clean sounds. For me, it doesn't have to be something new or different or weird or whatever. I like Soul Coughing and Cake--clean and crisp."

"I have so many wide and varied influences," he continues, "it's hard to pick. About every six months, I go through different phases and listen to different batches of things. Right now, I'm listening to nothing but ambient and illbient-type stuff. There's some good shows on KCMU for that. Talvin Singh, DJ Spooky...I think those are the last two albums I bought.

"As a kid, probably the first person who really got me into music, and who I listened to a lot and probably idolized--and actually met when I was 12--was, of all people, Frank Zappa. I don't know why, or how I discovered him, but all my friends thought I was insane because I'd sit home listening to my Frank Zappa records, and they never quite got it. I think he's probably my biggest influence, but not so much musically, because that whole kinda crazy jazz thing--he's the only one I even really listen to. More philosophically; his approach to life."

Ten years together is a long time for a band to be around without serious personnel changes. "We haven't had a major disagreement in our history," says Werny. "While we don't hang out socially, I feel like these guys are my brothers."

"When people ask me why we've stayed together this long," says Soba, "I say 'why not?' Todd has always had a vision of what he wants to happen. It may mold, bend or change over the years, but I trust him enough to go along with his intuition. Every time we play together, I leave refreshed in my bones and body."

On The Web:
Official Diamond-Fist Werny site

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