PM5K set to rock the Rock

When Powerman 5000 rolls into town they play their show like it's the only thing that matters in the world.

"That's the charm of a good rock show, that it's always different and you never know what will happen," said the band's frontman, Spider, in a telephone interview April 9 from his Los Angeles home.

Spider formed Powerman 5000, also known as PM5K, in Boston in 1991.

"It's amazing that I started this band so long ago and I never imagined that it would last this long," he said. "It still feels like I just started in some ways."

With seven albums and countless tours, PM5K is set to play Friday, April 23, at Nakai Hall in Window Rock. Tickets are $18 in advance, $23 at the door, and are available at Day Customs in Window Rock, Smoke City in Gallup and online at www.ticketweb.com.

The show will offer a mixture of old and new material.

"I want people to leave feeling like they were a part of something," Spider said about PM5K's high energy and audience participation.

In 1999, the band gained mainstream success with the album, "Tonight the Stars Revolt!" featuring the hits "When Worlds Collide" and "Nobody's Real."

As PM5K continues to explore musical boundaries, the members also understand who they are as a group.

"We know who we are and what the fans expect from us but we also like to experiment, I always get excited when bands take risk and try new things," Spider said.

The band's recent album, "Somewhere on the Other Side of Nowhere," reflects that spirit.

At the time, PM5K was not looking to make a new album. Instead, they were in the process of demoing the song, "Super Villain."

"We threw it out there on MySpace, just to get a gauge for what people thought about it," Spider said. "It started to go just nuts, people loved the song."

The new album grew from there.

"We made this record and it's been rewarding that the acceptance is overly warming," he said. "I feel we really nailed it on this one."

Spider and company have never been to the Navajo Nation; the closest they've been was Farmington, where they played a show last February.

"That means it'll be a good show because those kids haven't seen you before, so it adds to a lively show," Spider said.

The Window Rock stop is not part of a tour but a mixture of dates in Arizona, Texas and Nevada.

"No matter where we play and who is there, we do what we do and we give the best possible show we can give," he said.

Unlike shows in urban areas where each night offers a variety of entertainment opportunities, playing in a small town has advantages such as more fan excitement.

"They're psyched that you're in their town," Spider said.

For now, he's charging his batteries at home but keeping busy writing on his blog and attending cool events like the Revolver Golden Gods Awards.

The hard-rocking awards show happened April 8 in L.A., where awards were presented to notable musicians like Rob Halford, Zakk Wylde and Lemmy Kilmister. VH1 Classic is set to air the show May 22.

"It was a fun night, it was weird, I walked in there and saw just about everyone I (have) ever known," Spider said.

When asked if the night was similar to a high school reunion minus the drama and bad memories, he said, "It was the strangest high school reunion."

As for Spider's blog posting, he has 10 rules a person needs to follow if they want to be in a band.

"There's no rules to find success, but there's certain things you have to understand if you want to try this," he said.

Information: Day Customs, 928-871-3488; Smoke City, 505-863-8886.

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