Interviewer: Michelle
Time Period: August 9th, 2004
Thanks To: Taylor

Q: What was the first song you ever learned on guitar, or the first song you
remember playing?

A: i dont know

Q: Did you teach yourself guitar, or did you take lessons?

A: both

Q: Where the hell does that guitar freakout come from during "My Sickness"?

A: When a new song comes into the band i just try to play off the lyrics and vocal
melody and find guitar parts that fit the mood. i am very inspired by vocals. we are not the type of band to work on a piece of music that doesn't have words yet. when i know what the song is about, and how robert plans on singing it, i find it easy to think of guitar parts that are exciting and appropriate. "my sickness" has a bluesy and rigid groove to it through the verses and choruses, so the plan for the bridge and outro was to cut loose.

Q: Was it you or Robert that sang with Carrick on "So Turned Around"? (There has been debate about this, that's why I'm asking).

A: robert and carrick recorded a demo of that song originally, but it became a rooney song and carrick never recorded or performed it again with us after that. so if you have the band demo (or live bootleg) then its just robert singing lead with myself (and possibly ned) doing backgrounds. however, if you have got your hands on the home demo version ( i dont know how you could) then its carrick and robert trading off lines.

Q: Are you ever freaked out by fans that cry/faint/scream/etc when they meet you?

A: i guess

Q: What about a song grabs you the most? (i.e. lyrics, melody, riffs, etc).

A: im a stickler for lyrics. i dont care if a song is about love, or politics, or drugs, or rock and roll itself.....but i do care that the words are carefully crafted and have some kind of sense/meaning. there are a lot of vague songs these days (its called "emo", isn't it?) and that kind of lyricism doesn't do if for me. a song must deliver a message. it doesn't have to be a big idea or "lets change the world" kind of message, but some small message or story is a must for me. both robert and ned have been writing nice "storyteller" lyrics lately and i approve of that style.

Q: Are you planning on keeping the same roadies for future tours?

A: we hope so

Q: There are pictures of you mixing the sound for Ozma on this past tour. Is that
something you like to do often, or something you were just messing around with at the time?

A: i have always been into sound and i would be open to mixing other bands in the future i had the opportunity.

Q: And finally, what show on this tour, if any, stood out as being overall excellent (crowd-wise, performance-wise, mood-wise, etc)?

A: chicago! loved it!