Henry Dumatray: Why did you choose that strange name: "Ixnay on the Hombre"?
Greg K: Without particular reason. It means "down authority", but there are others meanings...

Henry Dumatray: It looks like you didn't have too much stress, all throughout the "Smash" success, 'cause Ixnay is full of positive energy.
Greg K: Really? Why, not... But we were a still a little bit stressed, because recording a sequel to "smash" isn't easy. But now, we realise that we can still have fun, and play the music we want.

Henry Dumatray: So you like success?
Greg K: Yes, but try not to loose our head... We aren't in every magazine or on TV, we don't claim ourselves superstars or this kind of bullshit... We walk back home, we're alone, and nobody bothers us, because our lives aren't dramatic enough to be in tabloids... We still have a private life... much more than other bands anyway...

Henry Dumatray: The album starts with "disclaimer". A kind of advertisement to the audience?
Greg K: Yes, we thought it would be cool... Instead of hearing people saying our lyrics, our music sucks, we tell them the kind of music they're about to listen to, and if they don't like it, it's no use listen to the album...

Henry Dumatray: The problem is that they already have bought the album!
Greg K: That's why we're great! (He laughs)

Henry Dumatray: What's the most important thing in The Offspring?
Greg K: It's think it's that we're not serious…We try to have fun with the music we like…Business is totally separated from music...

Henry Dumatray: Sometimes, you talk about serious problems in your lyrics...
Greg K: That's true. We stare at the world, and we starting to understand what's wrong. There is always a message in our songs. People can think about it or not. They do what they want.

Henry Dumatray: What do you think of bands using their madness, their sadness to sell records?
Greg K: I think they should do something different if they don't like rock. Maybe it would be better for them to find a regular job. Personally, I love my job. I think touring in a bus is still better than waking up at 6,and going to the factory. That's true it's getting a little boring at the end, but playing live is so fun...

Henry Dumatray: What is the thing you like the less about touring?
Greg K: I saw some bands coming back home totally smashed up. Nobody forces you to get drunk, and go to bed à 3 am... if you want it, you can be in bed at 11 o'clock... But sometimes, I miss my girlfriend, my home, and my friends.

Henry Dumatray: Do you think The Offspring is still as successful as before?
Greg K: Yes, in the USA. But in Europe, we're touring in smaller places... But, it's still unbelievable...

Henry Dumatray: Your audience is quite young. Do you think you can be a leader for them?
Greg K: We realised what's going on, when "Smash" came out. It was exactly when Nirvana disappeared. But we didn't claim ourselves leaders. We know some of our fans may want to look like us, and that's good. It's not a problem. But we're playing just for fun, not for being leaders...

Henry Dumatray: Does the youthfulness of your audience mean that "old" audience can't have fun any more?
Greg K: I think the kids like our music because it has got a lot of energy. The more you grow old, the more you listen to the music, the less you feel its energy. We still have old fans, but we're having fun with the young ones on stage. I'd rather play in front of a energetic, youth and awake audience than a fat, old sleepy one. That's all...

Henry Dumatray: It looks like "Ixnay on the Hombre" is more complete than "Smash".
Greg K: Yes that's true. We've got open minds, so we try different things. The one who were expecting a speedy album were right, but we also proved we can do more. Thanks to our success...

Henry Dumatray: Do you think it could your fans to discover new things?
Greg K: Yes, maybe they could realise the music we play is only pure-punk-rock... But our audience come from different musical background... The older come from punk, and the youngsters prefer songs like "Self Esteem" or "Come Out And Play".

Henry Dumatray: How would you qualify this kind of music?
Greg K: I don't know... I think that's why they're successful...

Henry Dumatray: The "Self Esteem's" intro looks like the "Smells Like Teen Spirit " one. You've dropped this kind of song now. Why?
Greg K: I don't know either... We never wanted to look like someone or any band. Dexter was working on the songs for a long time, but when he started, he didn't even know Nirvana. In fact, the intro was a guitar riff, but we've recorded it, we realised is looked like "Smells Like Teen Spirit". So, we've decided to sing instead.

Henry Dumatray: "Don't Pick It Up "is quite ska. So, you like ska too?
Greg K: Yes. We've also written a ska song on "Smash". It was "What Happened to You?" We've been touring with Rancid, and they also play Ska. But the bands we prefer are: The Vandals, Social Distortion, T.S.O.L., Dead Kennedys...

Henry Dumatray: But you don't look like pure punks…"no future" doesn't suit you...
Greg K: We're not very optimistic, but giving up isn't the solution. Punk is mainly a musical influence.

Henry Dumatray: What does France remind you of?
Greg K: Well... The fist thing that come to my mind is the Eifell Tower, the moulin rouge... but i don't know anything about this country, sorry... I don't even know what kind of music you play.

Henry Dumatray: Are the audiences different from a country to another?
Greg K: A little bit. In Germany, they love stage diving, but the rest of the audience doesn't really care about the band. They drink and chat. But in Italy, they jump around everywhere.

Henry Dumatray: Do you like stage diving?
Greg K: If nobody's hurt, it's ok. We like stage diving. But if you can control it, it's unbearable. One time, we had 20 people on stage. We couldn't play anymore!

By Henry Dumatray - May 10, 1997
Translated by Punk Jerk