RPG.

TYPE THE LETTERS RPG into an Internet search engine and you'll get pages and pages about Dungeons and Dragons and other gaming geekery that has absolutely nothing to do with the rock and roll band from Richmond, VA, that call themselves by the same three letters. Their drummer, Michael Marunde, named the band. He was in the army during Desert Storm, where he learned about the makeshift rocket propelled grenades that are to this day blowing people up all over Mesopotamia. So that's what that means, Rocket Propelled Grenades, not Role Playing Games. Or maybe it's Richmond Pussy Generator. The band has that kind of sense of humor. It's on display in all its wackiness on the DVD that accompanies their new album Full Time on Arclight Records. The foursome (which also features Tony Brown on bass, John Partin on guitar, and Matt Conner on guitar and vocals) don't play games with elves and wizards; they play fast and loud rock and roll that makes the mouth water for Jack Daniels and the tongue of a tipsy gal in a jean jacket. Here's our chat with Matt.

So, what's going on?

I'm at work right now.

Where do you work?

I'm a painter at a metal shop. That's pretty fucking glamorous, isn't it?

Well, you could get high on the paint fumes all around you.

That is pretty much what I do when I'm not on tour.

So is the job cool with you taking time off to tour all the time?

Oh yeah. I only work here just part time. They're actually really cool. I have a really, really cool job. I kind of make my own schedule. I'm almost like freelance. Luckily there aren't a whole lot of people who can, or like to, do the job that l do. I'm sort of in demand.

I read somewhere that RPG is already planning to release another album. Are you guys recording now?

On rock and roll time that's right about on schedule. We're working on songs. We're looking for money. That sort of thing. Picking a studio can be kind of nerve racking if you let it.

The DVD that comes with Full Time is pretty funny.

When we finally finished it we were like, "Hmmm, you know, some people might think this is funny, some people might think we're just idiots, and some people might not understand it at all. It could turn into an inside joke real fast, and that is pretty much what it is.

The drummer seems to be, well, kind of an odd bird. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Yeah. That's an understatement.

What kind of job does that guy have?

Anything, anytime, anywhere. Really. If you need someone to the your bathroom, he'll do it for you. If you need someone to build you a fence, he'll do it. If you need someone to come and rebuild the underneath of your house, again, he's the guy do it.

Who smashes him with the beer bottle in the DVD?

That's Matt Flowers. He's the guy who made the video.

It seems like he might be one of those guys who might just sit there and be really quiet all the time, and then when he finally opens his mouth he says some profound wisdom.

Oh no, man. There's a bunch of bullshit coming out of that guy's mouth 24 hours a day. It's when you turn the camera on him that he pipes down. He's totally out of control. He's actually said to us, "You can't expect me to know what time it is." But we get along really good. We probably have too much fun. Like all that stuff on the DVD is just dumb stuff that we think up to do.