LUNATIC: What significance does the name "Armed to Intervene", hold for the band; and name the members with the instruments they play.

ATI: To be Armed to Intervene is to possess something that will help cause radical change. Along with enough motivation, that something can be a skill, an idea, or a weapon. The name has shaped our band in the sense that it motivates us to keep doing what we do. Our band consists of Erik Cantu on vocals, Matt Ramirez on bass, Alex and Rudy Martinez on guitars and Rigo Martinez on drums.

LUNATIC: If you had to describe or catagorize your music, what or how would you describe it? Also, what subjects/topics does the music cover lyrically?

ATI: The lyrics for our songs touch on a wide variety of topics ranging from homicide (Incision) to environmentalism (Sprawl, Suburban Decay). Bluntly put, anything that pisses us off will be written about. As for categorizing our music, we believe it offers something to any fan of metal and its many sub-genres, so if we had to call it something it would have to be Black Death Metalcore.

LUNATIC: What music do you have available physically and what do you have available on the internet?

ATI: Physically, we have copies of our first demo available upon request. Our first demo consisted of the songs Eroding Alliance, A Call to Arms, and Sprawl. We also have our new 6 song EP which has the songs A Mind Enslaved, Withdrawn, Conspirator, a re-recording of Sprawl, At the Mercy of the Elect, and Incision. You’ll find most of the songs from the EP on our myspace page.

LUNATIC: In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle, a RGV band has to face? And why so?

ATI: The hardest thing for a valley band to do is to break out of the RGV and get recognized elsewhere. A band can go on a tour but chances are the turnouts at those shows won’t be as big as if a better-known band were playing that night. Another drawback is the lack of out of town bands to pick up local bands for support on a tour. Fortunately, it is becoming much easier to spread music through the internet. Also, the scene is growing and it won’t be long before our scene rivals that of major cities. With these two things in mind and enough determination any band can break out of the valley.

LUNATIC: Any crazy band stories you'd like to share?

ATI: Recently, our band was on its way to play a show in Alice. We got to the checkpoint in Falfurrias and all of us got through without any trouble. That is, all of us except for Matt. When Matt was at the crossing, we saw the sniffer dog go crazy and Matt was waived to the side to get his car searched. The rest of us shit ourselves and decided to drive up to the rest area where we waited for almost half an hour. Finally, Matt rolled up with the biggest grin on his face and told us that everything was cool the dog just smelled traces from an earlier doobie cruise. We got to the venue late so we had to play a 4 song set but we were all really thankful that we at least got to play. Moral of the story: if you ever go for a cruise in your car, spray a shitload of febreze afterwards.

LUNATIC: If you all would star in a Midget Porno Movie, what would it be called?

ATI: Tiny Cocks and Teeny Twats.

LUNATIC: Any last shout outs, fuck yous, or thank yous, you'd like to add before you leave?

ATI: We’d like to extend our sincerest, most heartfelt thanks to all the bands we’ve played with, promoters who have had us play, and most of all, the metal and hardcore scenesters who always rip it up in the pit.

Thanks for your time. Learn more about Armed to Intervene @ www.myspace.com/armedtointervene.