All hail Monster Magnet! Purveyors of the finest stoner rock available since 1989. Although the lineup has changed many times over the years, the one thing that remains constant is frontman Dave Wyndorf, the band’s lead singer and “noise” guitarist. It is his vision and voice that have driven the New Jersey-based group through the decades. Monster Magnet songs like “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” and “Space Lord” have blared through many a gathering where bong hits and beer pong were the main entertainment—if it’s a cool party, then Monster Magnet is on the playlist. For Monster Magnet’s 11th studio album, Dave dug deep into his own record collection of obscure psychedelic rock records to create an inspired collection of covers called A Better Dystopia.
We caught up with Dave from his lair in New Jersey to discuss his first time with HUSTLER, what it takes to be in his band and his love of psychedelic music you’ve never heard of.
HUSTLERMagazine.com: Are you cool with being interviewed by us?
Dave Wyndorf: Oh, hell yeah!
Do you remember the first time you saw a HUSTLER?
I do! Because I was actually old enough to be around before it was there. I was in my last year of high school [1974] when it arrived. I got it at a 7-11 before it was called 7-11. HUSTLER was brand new. At the time the pre-release stories promised it would go “over the top.” This was after Penthouse moved the needle on adult mainstream magazines. They showed the first gash. If I can use that kind of French. HUSTLER promised to be more than that. I saw it and said, “Holy shit; it’s a lot more!” It was so different. It had its own thing. I loved magazines ever since I was a kid and was pretty well versed in the fact that magazines were the best way to get long-form explanations of information. Magazines were the shit back then.
