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This page consists of a couple of interviews which we do from time to time with bands that are willing. There are a lot of interviews in the works so stay tuned!!

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FLOGGING MOLLY
CROOKED FINGERS
KAOSPILOT
PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS
SILVERSTEIN
UNDYING
HOT WATER MUSIC
EARLY DAY MINERS
MURDER IN THE RED BARN
FRENZAL RHOMB
ATREYU
CRAW
DILLENGER ESCAPE PLAN
DEAD POETIC
WAKING KILLS THE DREAM


CROOKED FINGERS (Dec 2005)




1) Hi Eric, so how did Crooked Fingers begin, and why that particular name? Were you writing some of this material whilst still in Archers of Loaf, or was it something you subsequently went about?

Crooked Fingers began when the last band I was in stopped...and I just don't view music as something I would or could stop doing...and the name comes from my grandfather...he was a truck driver and his CB handle was "Crooked Fingers"...he passed away right around the time I was doing the first CF record so I named it after him...and yes, some of the material from the first Crooked Fingers record was floating around while the Archers of Loaf were still going.

2) How would you describe the Crooked Fingers sound?

I wouldn't...that's not my job.

3) What Crooked Fingers song means the most to you and why?

There's not just one...and my favorites change from time to time...

4) Your new album Dignity and Shame has recently been released by Fargo records and appears to have taken a new musical direction. May I ask you the reason why ye moved from Merge Records and state the basis for the musical change in direction? Was it a natural progression do you think or did ye as a band want to create a new sound for yourselves?

I do my best to not be in control of what comes out musically...it seems that whenever I have preconceived ideas about what I'm going to write it always chokes me...it's best when songs happen to you...with that in mind I suppose it's safe to say that there wasn't any conscious reason for the change...I think the only thing that was intentional was that I wanted to work with people and be more collaborative than I had been on previous releases...and obviously that can have a huge impact so that's what probably happened...and as far as the labels go...Dignity and Shame is released on Merge records in the US...Fargo licensed it from Merge for European distribution...the reason for doing that was so that we'd have better distribution through Europe for this record.

5) What are your influences? What kinda stuff do you listen to?

My mother and father are probably my biggest influences...although I listen more to people like Nina Simone, Townes Van Zandt, Billy Joe Shaver and Mississippi John Hurt...and as far as newer artists I've been listening to Micah Hinson, Jose Gonzalez, King Creosote and Devotchka...among others.

6) The most life changing album you have heard?

A lot of albums have had a significant impact on me...Astral Weeks by Van Morrison...Live at the Old Quarter by Townes Van Zandt...First Take by Roberta Flack...those Richard and Linda Thompson records...there are so many that I've decided that this is not a reasonable question.

7) You guys played in Dublin, Ireland this November, how did that go for ye? Any plans to head back someday and play more European shows?

To be clear, it was only me by myself who played in Dublin...it was great...I played a lot of new songs and the crowd stayed with me...that doesn't always happen...and yes, we/I plan on coming back.

8) What is the happiest/saddest/craziest/funniest Crooked Fingers moment?!

I killed a man.

9) What do Crooked Fingers like to do in their spare time? You know hobbies apart from music and what not, perhaps any side jobs ye may have?

Believe it or not, I like to travel...and sometimes I work in a mail room and sometimes I work construction. Mostly, though, being an American, I like to start wars...

10) Your lyrics are quite often cryptic and always interesting, what makes you tick and what subject matters tend to interest you the most?

Like I said before...I actively choose not to consciously think or talk specifically about these things because when I do it tends to give me writer's block...but in a very general sense, I'm mostly interested in why human beings have such a hard time.

11) Do you vote?

Sometimes...

12) And finally, what is the meaning of life?

I don't know.


PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS


1) Hey guys, thanks for doing the interview. Ok, first question: How did ye guys get together and what kind of music would ye consider yourselves as currently playing?
MATT: Ok, well Mikey can answer that one!
MIKEY: Well we all formed back in 1997 I think, and it just kind of fell together. I was playing in a band called KEEPSAKE and ....
CONOR: KEEPSAKE, they were a pretty class band?!
MIKEY: Yeah, well we never got big or anything .. .
CHUCK: It was the KEEPSAKE before the KEEPSAKE, ..
MIKEY: Yeah! And through that band I got to know these guys and me and Gared and this guy NY stated jamming, and we actually wrote a few songs, and Matt was actually away at the time, and when he got back we all started playing together, and the next thing we knew we all wanted to focus on a band, you know, do something other than just playing around the area; we wanted to get our shit out so we went and recorded the songs that we had, and decided to tour so we went around the country. We pressed the first 1000 cds ourselves, and so yeah, thats basically how it started.
MATT: And uh, what was the end to that question again?!!
CONOR: Basically, what kind of music would ye consider yourselves as currently playing? Apparently BIOTHRASH, ASSRIOT!! Stuff like that!

CONOR: Your first recording on DEEP ELM Records was a lot mellower than some of you more recent stuff; Was there a reason for this directional change or did ye find that it just happened?
MIKEY: I think it was that we all agreed to make a little change. It was like one of those things where we heard what we were playing and there were a lot of bands kind of doing a similar thing as us, and we kinda wanted to take a heavier edge to it. I dunno, we just didnt want to be grouped into the whole .. .. ..
GARED: This is a quote; As the dude from HATEBREED says, I feel more hate every day! Maybe thats what we should have started saying!
MIKEY: Yeah, you know, we just wanted to branch out a little bit, do sometinhg a little different. In a way we just went with the flow!

BRYAN: And what is it difficult to take that kinda direction?
MIKEY: Nah, it was pretty natural really. Well, A lot of it, well not a lot of it, part of it, had to do with when we got our new bass player Jamie at the time and our original bass player (Aaron was only in the band for about a year and a half), he was really into the heavier kinda shit, and we kinda wanted to go that direction anyway.

Cool. Ok well I gotta ask ye guys; Jamie left the band recently, how did that come about and how is Chuck settling in?
MIKEY: Jamie decided to leave the band coz he just didnt want to be in a band anymore. He was sick of the whole, playing shows, going on tour.
MATT: Yeah, he was just tired of having his life planned out six months in advance.
MIKEY: Yeah, he just wanted to do his own thing. He was a really great artist and writer.
As far as Chuck fitting into this band, He was just like the fuckin jigsaw that fit the fuckin puzzle! He is making the band better.
MATT: I have known him for what, like a good three years now;
CHUCK: and my old band Paralta toured with them for like two years straight
MIKEY: Yeah, like we were brothers before we asked him
Like when Jamie quit the band we were like oh my god! What the fuck are we gonna do! And the first thing that came to our mind was Chuck. I mean Gared said; Im gonna ask Chuck to join the band, and I was like, Wow! Yeah, if anything thats the perfect fit.
GARED: If it werent for Chuck we would probably have quit! And its been great since he joined!

CONOR: Ok next question! Well, I looking at your website earlier this week and I see that ye have recently recorded a new album entitled TODAY, so what is it gonna be like? Any surprises?
GARED: Actually it is called OPENING GUTS!
CONOR: Oh, did ye decide to change the name?
GARED: Well, we were never gonna call it TODAY!;
CONOR: Really?! Coz thats what I saw on the website!
GARED: Its called OPENING GUTS man!
CONOR: Hmmm, I had better check my resources! ELAINE: Ya Conor; you should check your resources!!!
CONOR: Ok, I think I should just go now; Byran, wanna take over for me?!

BRYAN: Maybe it was just posted on the site that particular day! Hehe
GARED: hehe, ok well, yeah, the album is a bit heavier, but in a way that people wont expect. Its not as heavy in the sense that it has to be totally spastic, its just more, well without sounding tripe, its more emotionally heavy.
MIKEY: We tried to keep ourselves a lot more based in the writing. We figured you can still be slow and heavy. I mean its still got the freakout parts but its certainly a lot more textured.
GARED: We are pulling back a little bit but pushing forward, you know, its more blood letting!

CONOR: And what was it like working with AJ Mogis who recorded your album?
MIKEY: He is a fuckin hard guy to know man, he is an interesting fellow! He is a good guy and definitely knows what the fuck he is doing! MATT: It took a while for us to get to warm up to one another, you know, get beyond the we are cool you are cool kinda barrier..
CHUCK: Yeah, like we are way in your face, kinda like forward, and he was way reserved. We recorded that record in like 13, 14 days, no 12 and a half days, and it took us like 6 days before we realised if we hated each others guts or not! But at the end of the day, he is just a fuckin cool dude and he totally knows what he is doing!

CONOR: hehe, cool. Ok, Gared, well with a surname like O Donnell there has gotta be some Irish connection?!
Ireland? I never heard of it!!!
Nah, Obviously like, of course, like that guy said tonight, the whole set was for Phil Lynnott!
In relation to the Irish connection; well, my grandfather, actually, there is a whole long story about that!
I was born with a different name, but I didnt meet my father till I was like 19, originally my name was like Cotherin (Editor: this was recorded on a Dictaphone so I have no fuckin idea how that is spelt but as Bryan pointed out, that roughly translates in a different accent as Catherine!), but like, my grandfather was really my father. And when my grandfather died, I promised him I would change my name to O Donnell, so I did.
I mean I grew up in American Legion Halls. He never taught me how to play pool or nothing but I watched him drink a lot of beers! SO THATS WHY IM IRISH!

CONOR: hehe, thats the Irish way alright!

CONOR: So hey, how did ye guys feel about coming to Eurpoe with the Ataris?
CHUCK: Great dude, fan-fuckin-tastic!

CONOR: So whats the home town scene like? Ye guys still in Denver?
MATT: Denver is like our home town but its kinda not coz we are not from there originally, so we dont really feel obligated to play. I mean we have lived there for five years but we are all in our late twenties and we have lived in Purela Illinois,

BRYAN: Do ye like to go back and play in Illinois?
JARED: Its a headtrip to play there. Its kinda like a highschool reunion every year;

BRYAN: Kinda like your cousins wedding kinda thing?
JARED: Thatss kinda what it is.
MIKEY: Some kind of Legion Hall show whereby we know a lot of people there and then there is like all these kids from highschool and we have no idea who the hell they are but they just show up. Its a great time!
JARED: Its like that movie: We keep getting older and they keep getting younger!

CONOR: How did ye come up with the name PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS?
GARED: Its real easy. I was bummed out one night and I was really having a hard time in my life. So what I used do was look up at the sky and wish on a star for better times. Only thing is though, this one night I looked up and wished on this particular star and then thought, why the fuck is it moving?! And thats basically where the name came from!
Thanx for doing the interview guys, hope ye enjoy the rest of the tour!

This interview was conducted by Elaine, Bryan and Conor. Planes even stayed over in Bryans that night and turned out to be a great bunch of guys!!


SILVERSTEIN (Dec 2003)



S1: Hey there guys. Thanx for doing the interview. Ok, for all those that may not have heard of ye by now (must be few and far between!); let us know bout the band members; who does what and how long have ye been together?
Josh Shane sings and screams, Paul plays drums, Bill plays bass, Neil plays guitar and I (josh) play guitar. We have be together for nearly 4 for years.

S2: What is the current top five favourite albums for Silverstein, and who do ye think has influenced ye the most?
JoshWe listen to alot of different things... Currently we've been listening to Armor For Sleep, Boys Night Out, Saosin, Between The Buried And Me, and Bayside... Older stuff like Lifetime, At The Gates, The Get Up Kids, Grade andMineral often find their way into our cd player, and I think that theolder stuff is where we find most of our influence. Its hard to say who influences us the most, because we all listen to different things... I think that is what makes our sound... a little bit of punk rock, some emo, a touch of hardcore and a pinch of metal.

S3: Do you guys like playing live? Any tours coming up and what has been your favourite tour so far?
Josh We love to play live... Thats why we started doing this!!! We just actually got home from touring the west coast U.S. and it was increadible. We played some awsome shows and met some great people. I'd have to say that it was my favourite tour so far. We're taking Christmas off and then in the new year we are going down the east coast U.S. and then heading to Europe in february. The rest is yet to be confirmed, but we're going hard at this, so expect to see us playing just about everywhere!

S4: Whats the funniest thing that has happened to Silverstein?

Josh We stayed with a kid in California that decided he wanted to give us something to remember him by.... so he douced his genitals in nail pollish remover and lit himself on fire. it smelled soooo bad and he burnt himself pretty good.... but he's right, we will NEVER forget it.... i nearly died laughing.

S5: So how did ye guys get signed to Victory Records?
Josh Its not a very exciting story really. We sent them a press kit and they liked it enough to come and meet us... then they came out to a show and liked what that saw, so they signed us... and then there were some explosions... and a shark. (just to make it more exciting)

S6: Who is the best looking member of Silverstein?!!
Josh Is this a trick question? I am going to have to say that our new van is pretty hot... i love it.

S7: Any plans to come over to Europe soon?
Josh We've got a European tour booked for february... for details just check out http://www.silversteinmusic.com

S8: Are you guys focusing on the band full-time or do ye still have some embarrassing jobs on the side?!
Josh We are giving this everything that we've got. its definitely a full time job.

S9: And the final question, what is the Meaning of Life?!!
Josh Definitely a tricky question... and probably not one best asked to a 21 year old musician... but I'll say this... Life is what you make of it. Things don't just happen, and you DO have influence over YOUR life... Make the choices and decisions that have possitive outcomes and enjoy your life. It all comes down to you.

Thanks for the interview!
Josh Bradford

Thanx to Russell from Victory who set this Interview up, Cheers!


ATREYU (Aug 2002)



A1: So how did Atreyu get its name?Our friend scott thought it up from the movie the Never Ending Story!

How did the band get together?"Dan Brandon and myself (Alex) were in a thrashy punk band when we were a lot younger and just kinda developed into this. Then we added chris and travis later and have had the same lineup since then."

A2: How did you get signed to Victory? I take it you were happy?yes. We were extatic. They are a great group of people and we are and lucky to work with them.

A3: Who are your influnces/ what kind of stuff so you listen to?We listen to evertyhing from swedish death metal to power pop... we like it all

A4: I guess you have been touring a lot recently. What was your favouriteshow and how do the crowd react to your stuff?Its hard to pick a fav show. Any show where kids go off and enjoy what we do is great for us.

A5: So your new album was released last Tuesday, how do you think it will do?We have no idea but obviously we hope well since we are very proud of it.

A6: Do you guys have any plans to do a European tour in the near future? If so are you looking forward to it?Not yet but hopefully soon because its has always been a dream of ours



This review was done by Chrissie on behalf of Rebelation. Cheers


FRENZAL RHOMB (Dec 2001)



So how did Frenzal Rhomb get together?Well, thats a funny story. I guess it all started in Woodstock in1969. We took a lot of acid while listening to the Flower Cunts, and somehow this turned into the incarnation of Frenzal Rhomb. From there its been a big haze, but somehow we ended up drunk in Dublin!

How did you guys get signed to Fat Wreck Chords?"There was a NOFX tour in Australia, and I had a pool game with Fat Mike. The bet was that if I won I would get a record deal with Fat Wreck, and if I lost he'd get my first born child!"

Hows the tour going?"Pretty cool, it's our first headline tour. The thing is though, that everyone speaks in foreign languages (probably calling us shit!), but we take everything they say as a compliment. We've had a good response, especially on the back of a good tour with Less Than Jake, and we had a good laugh tonight."

Are you enjoying touring Europe?We didnt really know what to expect, but its being really enjoyable.

How are the Aborigines treated in Australia? "They're treated really badly. We played in the outback and the crowd was really divided. There's lots of racism there but that's probably because there are lots of rednecks".

Do the Aborigines stand up for themselves?"Australias only 200 years old, the Aborigines have been there for 40,000 years. They arent violent at all, but they do put up a fight.

What was your reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11th?
"Australia is really detached from the worldmedia-wise, but was the first to pledge its aid to the USA."

What do you guys like to do in your spare time?
Shit eating, porn, gardening and sitting on the couch.

So how did you guys get into Punk Rock, Who are your influences?
"We were influenced by the Hardons and Fugazi cause they did a lot of Australian All Ages Shows.I guess we were also influenced by the Ramones and a lot of English stuff."


WAKING KILLS THE DREAM
(December 2002)



So when did WKTD kick things off?we started in early 2000. After about 3 weeks we went in and recorded ourdemo, chasing angels, we were really eager to get under way!

Who does what in the band?I scream, Joe sings, Matt plays guitar ,Aaron plays guitar we just got back our old base player jason and j bird plays drums. 3 of them are new and didnt play on the record. J Bird Joe and Aaron are new.

How did WKTD get signed to Goodlife Recordings and what do you make of all the talk going on at the moment? Goodlife always told me whilst I was in Morning Again, that if I ever got something new together to get a hold of them. Thats just what I did and its history from there.
im pretty tired of all the drama. I just want to play music and rock out and not deal with others issues with this or that. Goodlife Recordings have done so much for us .I have no complaints.

Do you guys focus mainly on the band or do you have jobs on the side?" Joe has a coporate job, I run a coffee house, Aaron works for a medical >staffing agency, J Bird makes pizzas, Jason does heating and cooling and >Matt is a loser he doesnt work at the moment! ."

So what are you guys listening to at the moment? Right now I like The Used, New Found Glory, Finch, Blindside, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, Further Seems Forever, Dashboard Confessional ..so on and so forth.

So you guys have been doing a bit of touring recently, hows that going for you?
Our reaction has been great. Everyone sees to dig it, I am very thankfull for the support we have been getting from everyone!

Any favourite shows? "We dont have one! We just like playing so everyone is a good one".

Any plans to come over to Europe for a tour?" We were going to come in dec/jan ,but we are going to put it off a while. I cant wait to go back europe. I have gotten so much support from the kids over there! We were actually suppose to have 4 shows in ireland on the tour we cancelled but we will be making it there soon.


EARLY DAY MINERS
(April 2003)




Hey guys thanks for doing the interview, so how did Early Day Miners begin, and why that particular name? Well, EDM was formed while Rory (our drummer) and I were playing in another band called ativin, a band which i still make records with. We began playing our first shows here in Bloomington, Indiana in 1997. The band name came from a promotional flyer I had picked up for the town of Silvergate, Montana. I worked in a national park that summer here in the states and had visited the town and on the front of this handmade, poorly photocopied flyer was a picture with the caption "early day miners" underneath. The whole thing looked like an excellent record cover so we just kind of went with it.

What are your influences? What kind of stuff do you listen to? ahh, so many influences. Right now I'm really into Lisa Germano. She did a record a few years back on 4ad called "Geek the Girl". It's jaw dropping in it's intensity. Really dark with barely a glimpse of hope visible. We love Ry Cooder, Angelo Badalamenti, film soundtracks of that sort. Also the heaviness of Part, Gorecki, etc is influential. Early to mid period u2 has been a lifelong influence. We're all pretty into Unforgettable Fire, great stuff. The past 2 Emmylou Harris records are beautiful.

So whats the Midwest like for music? Is there a good scene? It's pretty great. It's one of the things that has consistently kept me from moving around the country. I don't think i could go for very long without being able to ride my bike to a show at someone's house. Bloomington has a vibrant little scene. I'm always surprised with how weird it is. Each of the bands in Bloomington right now has something really unique about them. It's not weirdness for weirdness sake or just strange to be strange at all. Bloomington is just a quirky little town and that comes out in the music. Very creative, original sounds. Other midwestern towns are the same, take Dayton Ohio for instance. Pretty desolate place if you were to drive through it but the breeders, guided by voices and swearing at motorists were all spawned there. must be something in the water.

Are any of you guys in any side-project bands? " I'm the only one. I've got another band called Ativin that has been making records for about 8 years now. It's basically a project between Chris Carothers and myself. Chris lives in Portland, Oregon now so it's become a long distance project. We're working on a new record right now for Secretly Canadian. ."

Do you guys have any part-time jobs, or other interests apart from music? Most of us have full time jobs, which definitely puts a strain on things with the band. I work a part-time job with a company here in Bloomington that plans high end cycling tours in France. It's a great job because the owner of the company is also my 'boss' and he takes an interest in the music our band makes. I also record records for bands that i like here at my house. That's a pretty serious job for me. It's actually becoming a bigger part of my life, working on records with other bands. More and more i find myself spending less time in Bloomington as a result.

So your new recording on Secretly Canadian Records will be out soon, What can we expect from it? Are you happy with it?
We're very happy with it. It's called "jefferson at rest". This record is a little more upbeat than the last one but still manages to retain our sound i guess. I thought it was somewhat of a drastic departure but my friends tell me it sounds like an edm record so I don't know. I feel our songwriting is constantly improving, the songs on this one are a bit more composed. Less meandering. Not that there's anything wrong with meandering. Our past two full lengths had more in common with films than conventional LP's in my mind. This would be our first stab at making a 'rock' album.

Whats the deal with the single-sided 12 inch? Whats wrong with the other side!!!?? " It's actually part of a series of 12" records burnt toast is doing. One side is music, the other an etching of the artist's choice. For our record we chose the symbol of bloomington, indiana for the etching side. It turned out great, hopefully it'll make it to your neck of the woods. If you try to play the etching side then there would definitely be something wrong with it.

Do you guys plan to come over to Europe (namely Ireland!!) sometime soon? That would be very cool indeed "It's hard to convey how much we would love to play in Ireland. We are planning a fall tour of europe but i'm not sure ireland is on the list. A friend of mine in Windsor for the Derby told me their tour there was great. Maybe we'll do a record there one day, that'd be nice.

thanx to jonathon from Secretely Canadian Records for hooking this up!!this interview was done with Dan, Cheers!


MURDER IN THE RED BARN
(April 2003)




Hey there guys, hows it going? Ok, if you had to describe for us, what kind of music would you say you guys play? I get asked this all the time usually at shows, I normaly say wait and see. In this case that won't work. SO, I'd say somewhere in between Captian Beefhart, NOmeansNO and Nuerosis. We seem to fit in at most indy, punk and hardcore shows that go on in the clubs, basements and VFW hall's that we play.

How long have you guys get together? Actually as I type, it's the third anniversery of the origonal line up. We first played with our drummer three years ago today. About a year later, Billy Zeintara joined us, to make SIX members!! I think we played 2 stages that could hold us comfortably! We all had known Billy for awhile, the other guys longer than me, but he was busy singing in Hero of 100 fights (Divot Records). I saw him in both of his other bands Managra and Tintoretto (both fucking good) and he is my favorite vocalist in town. So when we were on our first tour, we found out Hero was done, we quickly snagged him up. Before we got home!! I'm very happy with that decision. Tony left about 10 or 11 months after Billy joined. Changing the band signifigantly.

Was it a collective decision to have a brass section at the commencement of the band or did that come as on afterthought? My brother Isaaic and I moved to Milwaukee (It's a looooong story) and actually started playing with Tony the Sax player. Then we saw our Bass player Erics band Axtident (an old local favorite) play their last show. I said that guys great, we should get him. A few months later we played with James the drumer and decided we would Rock. There was a weird chemestry that we liked so we stuck with it.

How did you guys get your name? Anything to do with a Tom Waits song? " Some of us had been Tom Waits fans for awhile. Tony sugguested Murder in the Red Barn as a band name. It seemed to really fit. I still really like the name, and people seem to rember it despite it's length. Murder in the Red Barn is also the name of a story about a man in 19th Century England killing his wife in a fight. ."

Whats the home town scene like? Milwaukee is like most industrial towns in the U.S., the music scene (I'm talking about rock) fluctuates. When I got here it wasn't too bad. We had a steady 21 and up club that got awsome acts all the time, it still does. There was a basement that had been around about 5 or 6 years putting on all kinds of good shows. It's since been shut down, and unfortunatly that's the case for many of the basements and one all ages club since I got here. Milwaukee is full of talented people. I've known or whatched several bands that have toured and released good music. I've got my fingers crossed for two all ages places that are starting right now, which could bring an upswing of a mucic scene. .

Can we expect anything new from your upcoming album?
) On both the EP comming out on ED Walters and the record we are about to do , there is no sax. That's a big difference. The approach to writing changes when there is more space. In some ways our songs have become a little more normal, especially as far as song length is concerned. We still have wacky arrangements. I like a good linear tune. I'm starting to really appreciate short songs. Say what you gotta say and be done.

You guys do a lot of touring, I take it you enjoy the road? " I'm not sure I'd say we do alot of touring. We do as much as we can because Murder enjoy's traveling and playing in a new town each night. Finances are a big limitation. We would gladly tour at least twice as much as we do now if we had some label assistance. Our goal for now is 3 to 4 months a year.

What are your influences, what kind of bands do you listen to? "We have a wide range of influences I think. I personally love jazz and old country stuff, to whatever degree, I think we all do. As far as rock bands everyone in the band enjoys NOmeansNO, Tool, Rodan/June of 44/Hoover, and Shellac. Music just has to be soulfull, ya know?

What do you make of the whole WAR situation at the moment? "I try to stay on top of events as I can, I learn more everyday. Since we have played many DIY shows, we have learned so much. As far as the current war goes, I don't trust our current adminestration. Based on the shady way things are talked about.. They never really sold anyone on this war (though they pretend they do), yet they brought it on anyway. Also, at no time in the past has the government really worked for it's own people any way. How many times have they been caught lying? All the reasons they say Hussein is evil, like the killing of the Kurds and what not, was done with our rubber stamp!! Hussein is fucking nasty, but I fear Bush more. It's all apart of the buisness take over of my country. It's so weird that hardly a word in mainstream press has mentioned anything but support for the war. Protesters are made out to be monsters! I don't know how much, but it seems they are all in bed together. Scares the hell out of me. There is a strange blind fundamentalism that has huge power in buisness and government, and millions of selfish, fat idiots screaming "GO!, GO!, GO!" and not even thinking what freedoms we are quickly loosing. It's like I'm not even included in the "American" catagory if my opinion differs from the Bush Camps. There is a lot of trying to make me feel guilty for not waving the flag around. All these flags around seems erily nazish. I allmost think the American people will find the toll heavier than the Iraqi's.

thanx to joshua for doing this!!