Me: So I guess we’ll start off with….What are your plans after Warped Tour?
After Warped Tour? Um, I believe we’re going to do a headlining tour of the United States in the fall…um which will probably start somewhere around end of September the beginning of October and will go for about a month and will hit like, just the major cities…um, come back from that and um, supposedly we were supposed to go to the Australian Warped Tour this year, and its supposedly moved to December of 2001. So if that works out then we will go do the Australian Warped Tour. And then, we would also like to go to Japan in December as well, but I’m not sure if that’s gonna happen. And then after that, we’ll start working on a new record.
Me: That’s actually my next question…Will there be a new e.p. before the next full length?
Nope, no…we’re doing a DVD but that will be the only thing that will come out before.
Me: Ok, then uh….What’s your favorite color?
Uh, I don’t have a favorite color, I’m sorry.
*Some kid says, “what about black?”*
Black is a shade, its not a color.
Eric: I have a question about the DVD, you guys recorded, like, two shows for that, right?
Ya.
Eric: Are both shows going to be on there, or are they just going to be highlights of both shows?
Yea, I think its going to be the highlights. Actually, I think we filmed, well, I guess we only did two. I thought we were doing three, but I guess we’re only doing two. And then we’ll be filming all of Warped Tour – or at least most of Warped Tour. So there’ll be highlights from most of those shows and then like, us like, sitting around and being stupid. Haha.
Me: Hah, alright. So then what kind of cereal do you like the best?
Cereal? Um, my favorite cereal of all time I haven’t been able to eat for years once I stopped eating gelatin, and that um, those were the Monster Cereals. I really really liked Dino Pebbles, which if it still existed, which they didn’t, they discontinued it after like a year I still wouldn’t be able to eat that either, so um, the stuff I eat now…I eat, um, Life…
Eric: Cinnamon Life?
Yea, I like both of them. Umm, what else? What others? I like granola cereal. Haha.
Eric: So um, did Boo Berry ever make your poop green?
No, wow.
Eric: Cause it makes mine green. Every single time.
Wow…that’s unfortunate.
Eric: Which was your favorite one?
Frakenberry I think was my favorite, followed by Boo Berry.
Eric: Did you eat Fruity Yummy Mummy?
Yummy Mummy? Yea. Yea, before they off-ed it. Yea, Yummy Mummy was good, but I prefer….there was a cereal called Kaboom, but I think it was only East Coast, like, I never found it on the West Coast. And that was pretty similar to Yummy Mummy. Yea.
Eric: But its not the same...there aren't any mummy shapes.
No, its not the same, its similar but, um yea…Mummy used to be Wolfberry years ago, and then it went away.
Me: Alright….So there’s a single for Days of the Phoenix, but its only out in Europe, why is this?
Well, England, yea. Um, Its only out there because um, its kinda how it works out there in England. They are far more single oriented, the United States doesn’t really necessitate that, so we never even bothered to even considering making one, but since we’re going over there to do, to headline a tour as soon as we get back from this tour, they said, “You need to make a single.” “Alright.” So we made a single.
Me: Is there anything on that? Like, anything special?
Yea, actually there is one unreleased song on it…its called, “A Winter’s Tale”.
Me: Shit, looks like I gotta pick that up…
(Laughter)
Eric: What about the artwork?
Uh, its just pieced together from the Art of Drowning artwork.
Me: Alright…um, how about….What’s your favorite pick-up line?
I don’t have a pick-up line. Someone asked me that already, just a few days ago. Um, I’ve, uh, I’ve never had one used on me, and I’ve never used one on anybody else…so um, I’ve heard some…I like the one that goes, “Did it hurt?”
Me: What?
When you fell from heaven? I like that. (laughs) I would never ever use that…but, yea. So far this is a very good interview by the way.
Me: Aw, thanks….I’ve just been thinking of stupid questions over the last week to ask you.
Hey, I like it. (laughs)
Me: What uh, what Star Wars character best defines you as a person?
Shit, Star Wars….see I’m not the big Star Wars fan, you’d get a much better answer outta someone like Hunter or Adam…let’s see…Star Wars character….not Luke…not Darth Vader…um, not Han Solo…oh, you know? (hearty chuckle) You know what? My friend Jeff…used to say that I was Salacious…Salacious…um
Me: Salacious Crumb?
Yea, Salacious Crumb. And whenever he used to see that, he’d say, “That’s you.” So I guess that’s me…unfortunately. (laughs)
Me: Alright this is a little bit older, but I’ve never really seen it asked…so uh, How was covering Guns N Roses for the Punk Goes Metal comp?
It was cool, I mean it was…they asked us to do the metal comp, and we love Guns N Roses, and I really think Appetite for Destruction was one of the best albums ever. And we talked about it, and My Michelle is one of…I think my two favorite songs on that album are My Michelle and Rocket Queen, and I happened to get my way. (laughs) Sometimes that happens…and we covered My Michelle, and it was really fun, and I love Guns N Roses.
Me: Any chance of playing My Michelle live ever?
No, sorry…this is the third time I’ve been asked tonight…
Me: Tonight? Wow, ok…how many times has this been asked…Are you 100% evil?
(laughs) One.
Me: Alright.
Oh shit, I lost a ring…I sure hope its in my pocket. This motherfuckin ring…ok, I had one and it broke in half and I got another one, and now it disappeared. Continue your interview, I’m hoping its in my pocket.
Me: Okay, let’s see, uh…well, here’s a little bit of a more darker and serious question
Okay
Me: Your earlier lyrics have been a tad depressing. 3 ½ even alludes to suicide. Yet ever since Black Sails, that depressing factor seems to be lifting…for example, “Narrative of Soul Against Soul” appears to be an anti-suicide manifesto.
Mmhmm
Me: Do these songs accurately portray your views on life?
Yes, all of them. (laughs) Really….each song is kind of a separate entity within itself, y’know…its an expression of how I’m feeling at the time or how I’m feeling about a certain aspect of myself or of my life, and they each kind of stand on their own in that respect, but they’re all from my feelings and how I feel, and they’re all very honest, so yes. And I’ve lost my ring. (laughs) Where the fuck did I lose my ring? This is not my day for losing things. It was such a good ring!
Eric: Don’t forget to ask about the swearing question.
Me: Oh yea! That’s actually a good question…
Ok, what’s the question?
Me: Here’s another question kinda like that last one…Some of the older stuff like, Very Proud of Ya and stuff like that, there was a lot of swearing –
Eric: A lot of good Swearing.
Yes.
Me: Yea, but lately, I haven’t heard any, sort of like you’re dodging it.
That’s true. Um, I’m over it. Just as a result of the superfluous, just unnecessary swearing that I did on that album, it was just so much, it was like, “Ok…alright, that’s done.” Y’know, I decided that…I’m not against using it anymore, um, it could happen again...it might, it might very well. But it just got to be overused, it just lost any sort of impact for me, y’know, where I was saying “Fuck fuck fuck fuck.” And its like, “Ok, its done. I can a little better than that. Now I can express myself better than that.” And I think now where I’d use it, it would have more impact...just because I haven’t used it every other word just like I was this time.
Eric: That answers your previous question, he’s not evil, he’s found Jesus.
Hey, I haven’t heard that found Jesus question!
Me: No no, the “Are you 100% evil?” question.
Oh, you asked how many times I was asked that question.
Me: Yea, well…Ok, so then are you 100% evil or-
No
Me: have you found Jesus?
No
Me: Neither? Ok.
Eric: He gave up the swearing…because its one of his commandments
(laughs) Well, Jesus and I are really close. Yea.
Eric: My friend’s family is really religious, and I got him into AFI, and he was really into it at first. And his mom doesn’t like it, and she told him it was Satanic, and he told me the same thing. He goes, “I don’t know why you like that band so much, because they’re Satanic.” I didn’t know how to answer him. I didn’t know whether to say, “No they’re not!”
Well, you know, its like…(sighs)…it, would depends, well, no…well, it depends on what your definition of that is, I mean, I guess one could argue that we are Satanic because there are arguments that, you know, anything that could be considered as sacrilegious, or could be seen as anything as glorifying yourself as opposed to God. I mean if you look at strict Christian teachings, you are to place God before everything. Anybody doing otherwise could be construed as anti-Christian, and as a result Satanic. I mean, you could look at the writings of Mark Twain and call them Satanic, and it just depends on what your beliefs are. So if your friend think we are, then I guess we are to him.
Eric: I always thought –
Do I worship the devil? No.
Eric: Yea, that’s just what I was about to ask…that’s how I’d always seen Satanism…but I told him, “Look, the music’s good…so just listen and enjoy.”
Yea, I mean the thing is that for a lot of really conservative people, its music that is going to make them question themselves, and its words that are going to make them push the boundaries of what they’re used to hearing. Because its not nice and clean and happy and God-fearing by any means. (laughs)
Eric:He originally liked you guys, he likes a lot of your stuff, he likes music that is really emotional. He really liked the new cd...but because of his mom....
Yea, that’s really too bad. That’s sad. (laughs)
Eric: He has a trampoline in his backyard though.
That’s good. At least he has that. (laughs) Get closer to God, right?
Eric: Right (laughs)
Me: How was the European tour with the Offspring?
It was great. I mean it was really fun…like our reception was on and off. Like, certain shows, people hated us, certain shows they really liked us, certain shows they were like, “This is alright.” As far as being on the tour, I mean, it was…like, luxurious. It was so great. The Offspring took such wonderful care of us, and you know, we were playing like, the biggest shows we’ve ever played in our lives. It was really cool.
Me: So there is no new material is to be expected from Son of Sam, correct?
No. As far as I know of. (Big smile) Well, I mean, there’s the stuff that hasn’t come out yet. (laughs) There’s the first album, but further on from that there are no plans.
Me: Rumor has it that Son of Sam might play some small shows?
Well, I…I definitely wouldn’t hold my breath for that, I mean, its possible, its not like we’re gonna tour. That’s not gonna happen. There is a possibility of us playing shows if we were all in the same place at the same time and had a couple days to set it up and practice and do it. But the chances of that are slim, because AFI is very very full-time for me, London is in Tiger Army, Todd is in Danzig, Steve lives in Jersey, he’s got China and his job, and its…it’d be tough. But, we’d do it if we could. It would probably be at most two shows, probably Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Eric: Around when? Where would you guys be around…say, June 15th through the 26th? Where are you gonna be at?
Where am I gonna be? At…in the middle of that I start Warped Tour.
Eric: Ah, cause I’m gonna be out there…
It wouldn’t happen then. It won’t…like, if it…there are absolutely no plans for it. So, it would be a matter of us calling up each other and saying, like Steve saying, “Hey, I’m gonna be in L.A. for two weeks at this time and Todd’s off tour, are you gonna be around?” And then we’d call May to see what he’s up to. Some day maybe.
Eric: I haven’t even heard it yet, I mean, chances are good I may hate it.
Yea, who knows? Who knows? Have you heard it?
Me: No, I’m keeping myself away from anything up until its released.
Oh, (laughs) your friend won’t like it.
Eric: No, I wouldn’t think he would
(laughs) Probably less than AFI (laughs)
Me: Where did the same “Son of Sam” come from?
Well, Todd came up with it. It’s a play on the modern pronunciation of Samhain, it’s a tongue-in-cheek play on that, as well as the connection to David Berkowitz.
Eric: I read a review that said your vocal styles are really different
Its different, yea…I mean, you can tell its me, but the music is not AFI by any means
Eric: You’re trying to sound like Glenn on that, aren’t you?
No, no! (laughs) I’m not trying to sound like Glenn, but let me say, I wasn’t trying to sound like Glenn, however I will say that when I get sent the tapes, I called those guys up and said, “I’m writing stuff that sounds like Samhain.” They said, “Great.” “But it sounds like Samhain…do you want me to try and do otherwise?” and they were like, “No no, that’s fine, go for it.” Cause y’know, the music to me it was just like, it really sounded like Samhain songs to me so the first thing that came to my mind while writing the songs was very Samhain derivative/esque vocals. Glenn was Samhain…so I wasn’t trying to do anything, but…you know, its very rock. Its a lot more like, dirty rock…like, if we’re…if you were to try to go to either end of the spectrum, and you were to say that we’re [AFI] more towards like the glam-type rock, more like David Bowie and T-Rex…then this is more the bluesy-type rock.
Eric: Are you expecting a lot of your AFI fans to appreciate Son of Sam?
I think they’ll like it, yea. I think they will. I mean really what it is…is its old deathrock…it really sounds a lot like old 80’s deathrock.
Eric: The review, by the way, its…its excellent.
Oh, yea?
Eric: Yea, it’s a very very good review
The one that you saw? Oh that’s great! That’s great. That’s cool.
Me: What’s your favorite Danzig song?
Umm….Soul on Fire.
Me: This is sort of a question for everybody, but I don’t really see them…so uh, do you still practice veganism and straighedge?
I am straightedge…I have been for many many years, 10 or 11…um, veganism, it depends on what your definition of veganism is. I eat honey and refined sugar. I don’t consume any other animal products to my knowledge in any way. I don’t care what you call it. Whether that’s vegan or not, whatever, that’s what I do.
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