we talk to Ron Athey about growing up with weird religion, having sex in the 1970s, having aids in the 1980s, being used as a pawn in the NEA Culture wars, the early West coast punk rock/ industrial performance circuit, The pre-lapsarian Los Angeles tattoo/body mod scene, being banned in the USA being received in Europe collaborating with classical musicians, blood and death, sanctity in mortification, politics, subculture, grant money, generation gaps, and trying to keep your art out of the hands of music video directors