Interviewer: Miranda
Time Period: September 16th, 2005
Thanks To: Rooney

Q: Alright, first off, a lot of fans are asking about the upcoming album. Where are you at in the recording process right now, and can we still expect an early 2006 release date?

A: Sometime before next summer. Since we are still working, we don't have a release date yet. We finished drums for the whole record and now we are starting on rhythm guitars.

Q: As a kind of follow-up question to that, is there a certain step in the record-making process that you enjoy the most, and why?

A: Right now, we are only thinking about finishing up and getting back out on the road.

Q: Is the "Lost Album" that leaked a while back still up to what you believe to be the "Rooney standard"? Are all of the songs something that you would want the fans to get a chance to hear?

A: The "leak" wasn't an album, which is what many people don't understand. They were a collection of home demos... many were never even recorded. The only studio tracks anyone has heard are the recent things we've put up on MySpace, and even those were unmixed b-sides from the shelved record.

Q: What are some of your favorites from the new material?

A: Better Place, Walkin' All Over You, Not So Easy

Q: What should the fans expect from this new record? Will it be a lot different than the first? How has the band evolved since the first one was made?

A: We've all gotten much better at our instruments and made a whole other record since we made the first. We learned from alot of mistakes... the hard way, as they say. The new record has a little more edge and sounds like a rock record... closer to the live show that many will remember.

Q: I think my number one most asked question was about where you will be going on your upcoming tours. As I'm pretty sure this hasn't been decided yet, I'll ask some more broad questions.

A: We're going to just about every major city in the U.S. and Canada.

Q: Where would you most like to tour, that you haven't been to already?

A: Australia and Scandinavia for sure.

Q: What bands would you like to tour with?

A: Any band whose audience we can turn on, really. We used to be picky about who we toured with but we quickly realized we sort of live in our own world musically. We can get on with most bands. We definitely won't be doing doing any more singer/songwriter tours. That was the only one that felt weird in the past.

Q: Is there a particular reason that you don't play a lot of older material at shows? I mean, is it because it's more simplistic musically, or because it's not the sound you're looking for anymore? Or is it just to keep things really fresh? I know that the older material gets a great response from the fans, so that's why I'm asking.

A: The really old songs only go over with small groups of fans. Many of them are so old they simply don't resonate with us anymore. We always have way more new songs than we can ever play so it's a bummer to play stuff we really don't get off on... we're already stuck playing the singles.

Q: What bands have you had the best tour with (either because your music is a good match, or because it was the most fun, etc.)?

A: We probably had the most fun with The Sounds. Something about the pairing just worked really well yet we weren't really competing. The Strokes were fun to watch.

Q: What kind of venues do you enjoy playing at the most, and what is it that makes them great?

A: First of all, they need to be nice and crowded. A full small room is better than a half full arena. The crowd is obviously what we feed off of as arrogant musicians... if you get off, so do we.

Q: What are your thoughts on MP3 sharing over the Internet? I know that fans sharing MP3s was how Rooney built up their fanbase in the beginning, so do you think that affects at all what you think about it?

A: The cool part is, more people probably hear our music. The bad part is that the record label expects us to sell lots of records and when you have a million people downloading instead of buying, the label puts us in a precarious position and make creativity more difficult. The irony is that the public complains about the crappy music state but since the business can't generate revenue, they look for less creative solutions... if it worked once, "it will work again" mentality. It can be a bummer but we do our best to keep the rock and roll dream alive.

Q: What are some CDs you think should be in everyone's collection?

A: The Beatles stuff, uuuuhhhh... everone is a little different in that respect.

Q: Are there any producers that you would really like to work with on upcoming albums, and why?

A: Not this minute.

Q: How do you picture the next two years turning out for the band? Anything you'd really like to accomplish?

A: We would like to put out number three to adoring fans, get back on the road for some major shows and eventually have everyone hear the record we made with Tony Hoffer. Believe it or not, we've stayed quite busy this year even though no one believes us anymore.

Q: Is there a question that no interviewer has ever asked, but you've always wanted them to? What is that question, and what's your answer?

A: You want to sleep with me and my hot twin sister? Of course.