by JOHNSON CUMMINS

When one thinks of “jock rock,” the first images that bombard the brain are usually pseudo-military NYHC types with short-cropped hair and an extra heaping of testosterone grunts in their music. Providence, R.I.’s Athletic Automaton may dress like your standard high-school sportos, albeit ’70s high-school sportos, but they also seem to project an image of two guys more interested in doing wall tokes outside the gym than running laps around a court.

To further confuse things, A.A. play the type of music that is diametrically opposed to jock rock. Their noisy repetition of guitar and drums (with occasional lap steel and even more occasional vocals) would guarantee them a season on the bench in that arena.

“We’re really not much of what you would call jocks,” says guitarist/lap steel player Stephen Mattos over the phone. “I guess the basketball uniforms are just something that appeals to us because we grew up in the ’70s. When we were coming up with the name, we really liked the word ‘athletic,’ and that word just itself lent to the uniform. We really wanted to keep it a ’70s look, because a current basketball uniform just wouldn’t work.”

If Mattos’s name isn’t ringing any bells, that of his previous band Arab on Radar may—victims of the Velvet Underground syndrome, they garnered more attention after disbanding than when they were around. Although Mattos insists he would not want A.A. riding on the coattails of his previous band’s growing legacy, he remains proud of his days with them. “It’s nice that people have been curious about us because of Arab on Radar, but this is a really different band. I must admit, though, I’m still really surprised at how many people are just getting into Arab on Radar now. People talk to me like Arab on Radar was this huge band, but when we were around, we really weren’t. I guess the band gets namechecked a lot now, and that’s a nice feeling, but—I don’t know, it’s just weird.”

Out of the ashes of Arab on Radar came two other bands that would help put Providence on the musical map, the Chinese Stars and Made in Mexico (with whom Athletic Automaton share a split release). Along with the pummelling crusty core of bands like Drop Dead and the sheer devastation of Lightning Bolt, Providence has definitely raised the bar of underground music.

“Providence is a tight-knit community and people here just don’t put up with bullshit trends, like emo or something like that. If people want to play hardcore, they do it full-on, and people really respect other bands just doing their own thing. It doesn’t really matter if you are mellow or loud, but if you are doing it full-on, people will support it. If you are an emo band and you are going to play on a bill with Lightning Bolt, or most bands in Providence, you’re just going to look like an asshole.”

With Orthrelm and Diebold at Zoobizarre on Monday, March 13, 8 p.m., $8

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