We won’t beat you over the head with what could be an infinitely more in-depth story about the Lay Down Mains and the way they rock with the precision of a German diamond cutter and the might of a killer whale.

Nor will we shamelessly and endlessly gush about how talented each is, and how, collectively, their huge sound makes any thirtysomething who was raised on Van Halen and AC/DC then later found the Reis/Froberg projects and cried when it all ended, realize there is hope for rock music in the future.

Besides (full disclosure) it’s pretty well known the Lay Down Mains – Rick Moore, David Lane and Lee Corum – are three of our favorite people and they’re certainly one of our favorite local bands.

So for the uninitiated, we’ll advise you to not listen to the either of the tracks from “Mama Go Rest on High,” the band’s new and yet unreleased record if you’re in search of something new to listen to through your shitty speakers on your work computer.

I take that back. Do it anyway. It’ll only take 4 minutes and 12 seconds of your time to listen to both, bring them forth and declare them into your future. And you’ll leave your cubicle with a Napoleonic determination to crush your enemies like Hemingway on a bird hunt in Cuba.

Of course, disregard the above and indulge in “You’re the One Freaking Man” and “The Theme from the Lay Down Mains” if you have seen the band live and are familiar with their staccato rhythms and Corum’s unreal drumming.

(Listen to “You’re the One Freaking Man” and “The Theme from the Lay Down Mains” from “Mama Go Rest on High” by clicking the audio player below)

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And, as Moore tells it, some fluffy feature story would be an exercise in futility anyway:

“It’s hard to describe music in words, it’s kind of pointless. If you play your music for someone and they relate to it somehow, to me, that’s way more fundamental than thousands of words in a description. We’re convoluted by words. Thinking in terms of words is something we do, but we don’t feel in terms of words.”

Amen. So while you listen, Rick gives us some answers in words.

Dry Ink: What the heck does Lay Down Mains mean?

Rick Moore: Lay Down Mains… Well, it specifies a certain mounting orientation for a power transformer. Any electronic product that operates on a voltage other than what’s coming out of the wall is going to have a power transformer in it. The earliest 100-watt Marshall amps, like the ones Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Billy Gibbons played, they had the transformers mounted on their side, so they were laying down. So those specific handful of amps are referred to as lay down mains.

DI: So you’re into amplification and electricity?

RM: I’m an analog, tube kind of guy. I’ve built a handful of amps. I never learned any of that in school. I just picked it up by being obsessive about my own sound.

DI: So will this new record be the proverbial face melter?

RM: Um, it might be?

DI: Give us the details.

RM: It was recorded at Chase Park Transductions in Athens, Ga. with David Barbe over two weeks in October, and it was just mastered. Chuck Petro (Petrakopoulos) and Moodswing Records will put it out and Gavin (Frederick) and Stickfigure will distribute. I hope that it’ll be available by the end of this month.

DI: Well, we’re very impressed from what we’ve heard from the Lay Down Mains thus far.

RM: Thanks. To me, it’s not like our music is all that crazy or out of the box or anything. They’re short songs that really aren’t that challenging mathematically. The rhythms are actually pretty simple – but not to the point where they’re so simple because that’s what the kids want. I like energy, lots of energy – I don’t consider our music negative, but it’s definitely macho, cock rocky… but at the same time, it’s kind of triumphant feeling. I’ve always been into making tough music, which, I guess, a lot of people have gotten away from lately, but there are still a lot of people who like it. And, it tends to be guys who like it, but I know some girls who like it, too. I’ve always approached writing music as getting people who I know would be into it and see what happens, instead of finding people who want to play ‘this kind of music’ or ‘have a band that sounds like this,’ and then fill in the gaps. And to always pick people who are better than you.

DI: Yeah, your drummer, man… Not that he’s better than you or, uh, er, I mean…

RM: The most common comment I get, is, ‘Man, you guys are great. But that drummer of yours is awesome!’ So all the attention gravitates to him, which is fine.

DI: Whenever you practice, does he ever just laugh at you guys and say, ‘I’m on another plane, mortals?’

RM: Nah, but I’m constantly amazed by him.

DI: You mentioned you tinker with amps to create a particular sound, can you describe what you mean?

RM: The whole essence of tube circuitry is that it’s kind of modular, and there is a certain architecture to it, so a lot of it is just tweaking. I take known circuits and play with them, and try to get what I want out of it. I’ve always liked a lot of distortion – punk rock, in my opinion, is rooted in it – but it’s hard to get a lot of distortion and gain without a lot of harshness. The problem is, you try to emulate a recording, but you just can’t do that live. The short answer is through a lot of trial and error, I solder different components inside and out, and I’ll find stuff I like. Really, it’s ongoing and I’m still doing it.

DI: Are you going to be able to tour in support of the record?

RM: Yeah, we’re going to try to do some regional dates on weekends. Our focus is on live shows and I just want as many people to hear it as possible, and I just want to play for more people. I got the title from something I saw on a dump truck, it’s called “Mama Go Rest on High.”

DI: I like it. It has a nice ring to it.

RM: Yeah, me too, I think it sort of maintains a very Southern, Faulknerian way.

William Inman is editor of Dry Ink. Write to him at william@dryinkmag.com