ATOMIC 13 
BOSTON’S BEST KEPT SECRET
UNSIGNED BUT DELIVERED
By Kim George

It all started when Dan Nutton, singer/guitarist of Bully Blitzkrieg, was filming his friend's band at a show outside Boston. There he met Stephen Gibson, singer/bassist of Cold Front. Cold Front's progressive-oriented funk was garnering rave reviews, but ultimately falling on deaf ears. 

Soon the two were playing in one of the most popular bands in New England, The Bars. When covering metal, pop and rock songs proved to be somewhat unfulfilling. Dan and Stephen then joined forces with hard-hitting Cold Front drummer, Todd Smith. Together they formed Todd's Hobby, a powerful hard rock project that self produced and released two full-length CD's, the second of which has reached near best-selling status at Newbury Comics.

During the summer of 1999, they performed with such artists as Corey Glover, Godsmack, Sevendust and Reveille. It was during this incarnation that Dan, Stephen and Todd gained both an enthusiastic and loyal following, as well as a new sense of what was to come.
ATOMIC 13 were then born, combining driving supernatural rhythms from Stephen and Todd with crunching low-end guitars and powerful guttural vocals supplied by Dan.

ATOMIC 13 are the quintessential power band for the next century. Their frenzied, live shows, stage presence and slick debut CD all manifest a monster in the making....

I recently had a chance to catch up with the Dan Nutton, lead singer/lead guitarist/manager of the unsigned Boston band, Atomic 13.  Dan is the man with a plan, who goes by the moniker of DNA.  And so the interview goes…

KG:  Here is your chance to plug your band.  Tell the people what Atomic 13 are all about.

DNA:  We are just three guys who developed a brotherhood by playing music together.  GIBBY and TAS have been playing in bands together forever.  Everything from funk and soul to Metal.  I have always been a metal head guitarist with a love of all styles of music. We really have stretched the boundaries on the new stuff! It kicks major ass! We have two other albums under a different name…those two CDs really show us growing as a band.

KG::  You know people are going to want to know the story.  Why did you guys change the name of the band?

DNA:   We used to be “TODD’S HOBBY” - it was sort of a joke thing but people seemed to like it. Then we had a friend of ours who got our stuff listened to by Godsmack’s Management, PGM, to try to get us some help. We used to play in his (Paul Geary) club in Haverhill MA (The Backstage) a lot. Although he didn’t like our first demo and he didn’t like our second album either, he let us open for Reveille and Godsmack at a WAAF Show (Boston Radio; 5-15-99) because we had a great live show and a huge local following. So after our set, we got called back for an encore...and we were the opening act! It felt good for us with Reveille, Godsmack and Sevendust in the house! I remember Lajon and Morgan standing right in front the whole show and Sully and Tony side stage. After a few months we got Paul Geary to meet with us at his office and listen to the new tracks we just started recording at The River’s Edge Studio. He was very impressed; he thought it was a different band. He told us that the name no longer fit the music and if we wanted to do something with the band to keep writing with this sound and get a name that described the music, so people had something to associate the sound with. That is how Atomic 13 was born; besides Atomic 12 was taken.

KG: There are not too many three-piece bands anymore. Have you ever thought of adding anyone?

DNA: : To make along story short, yes and no.  We tried out 12 Singers and 3 guitarists. TAS won’t let me put down the guitar, and after the response I have had on my vocals lately, I got the gig. Our only requirements were you have to kick my ass on the mic. A lot of people think they can sing in the shower and in the car, but you put them in front of a mic and they can’t put it out.  I know I suck - but I suck the same every time I sing, so at least I can do the stuff live and still play guitar. Besides, Gibby doesn’t want any more guitar gear on stage I have quite a large amp set up.

KG: Do any of you have formal training?

DNA:  Gibby is like my chord dictionary; the man is amazing in his phrasing.  He went to University of Pennsylvania and minored in music and finish 4 years in 3. He is definitely the best bassist in the area.  TAS and myself just learned from killing it on the road in clubs and rehearsal rooms around New England.

KG: The songs seem to be heavy but yet still positive…is there any message you guys are trying to deliver?

DNA:  We are just about living life and taking care of business, we write about stuff in our lives. Like “Breathe” is actually a song written to Paul Geary after he didn’t like our first 2 CDs, every breath I take is to prove him wrong. The irony is that is one of the first songs he liked when he gave us the opportunity to talk to him. “Rewind” is about TAS’s brother-in-law who had amnesia after a motorcycle accident, and his life was rewound for a while.  Without hate is just about a world without prejudice. My will is about not giving up - which ATOMIC 13 has no intention of doing!

KG: When will the new CD be out and where was it recorded?

DNA:  It is self titled ATOMIC 13 and will be out in February 2001. Where it was recorded is the tricky part - this disc started out at The River’s Edge in February 2000. Then our friends in Godsmack decide to commandeer the studio for pre production work for a few weeks. So we went into the Atomic 13 studios, which meant rolling my 24 track studio into the unused rooms of the River’s Edge on Godsmack’s off nights. When we finished with this, we still weren’t happy with our tracking compared to the stuff previously recorded at the River’s Edge.  At that time Godsmack decided to just bring in Mudrock and do the new album there.  So we called the other happening studio in Boston, New Alliance (which Mudrock owns and is were Godsmack recorded their first album). We tracked 5 songs fully in 10 hrs and then couldn’t get back in to mix for 2 months because of New Alliance being so booked. This was like recording hell! We had the best studios and engineers in the area and all these tracks recorded and we had no time available to finish the project. So we did what any up and coming act would have done, TOURED!!! Every weekend night from Maine to Rhode Island 38 shows in 3 ½ months. We played sometimes 2 shows a day.  Now that River’s Edge is freed up and we have dropped 3 of the older tracks and recorded 6 new songs at the River’s Edge.  Also, thanks to Godsmack they have a lot of new gear.  We just finished mixing at the end of November and it is getting mastered January 10th. Thank God.

KG: Sounds like you guys had a very interesting and challenging year.  Since you changed your name, do you think Paul Geary was right?

DNA:  Absolutely, he gave us a lot of insight on the industry. He led this horse to water and we are drinking in everything we can get. Godsmack is also very good to us. It’s up to us now; we have to make the right impact on the masses. I know our live show stands up to the nationals out there, even my friend Tash who techs for Sully says we belong out there….and that’s right where we are going!!!!

KG:  Tell the readers how they can hear and correspond with Atomic 13?

DNA:   Visit our website at www.atomic13.com.  We are just starting to work with WBCN in Boston.  They are waiting for the new disc. We are also starting to book for shows February.  We have taken December off to spend time with our families and finish our graphics and stuff for the CD.

KG:  Any last words?

DNA:   Remember friends and fans to ROCK THE F*%K ON!!!!
 

Dan Nutton AKA = DNA
Guitarist /Vocals
Main Axes = Ibanez Universe 7 string, Les Paul Standard.
Main amp = Mesa Triple Rectifier, Mesa Triaxis and Mesa 2:90 Power amp 2 4-12 Rectifier cabs

Stephen Gibson AKA = GIBBY
Bass guitar/Backing Vocals
Main Axes= Warwick 5 string, Tobias 5 string
Main Amp = Hartke 4000 head, Digitech BP8 2 4-10 Hartke cabs

Todd Smith AKA = TAS
Breaks Things and percussion
Main Kit = Premier Signia maple recording custom Zildjian cymbals
DM5 Electronic brain 4 triggered Pads
 
 

Listen to Atomic 13 right here!

Videos are in production now, but check back here in the near future to see some cool footage!

Like what you hear? Vote for Atomic 13 on FarmClub.com right here!
 

Atomic 13 Official Site
River's Edge Productions
WAAF

Kim George is a contributing writer to the iconoFAN Network and webmaster of the XXX Get-Smacked! XXX site