Let's start off by talking about the new CD you guys put out a couple weeks ago - were any
of the songs recorded by the new band, or is it all new material?
Well, it's recorded by the new band, the old band, and some are a little bit of both. Some are old songs that I
didn't like the way they sounded so much and needed some new guitar, vocals, or keyboards.
Tell me about the songs, why did you pick those songs?
Well, we recorded close to twenty-six songs over the career of this band - we picked those songs because they tended
to work together ... I don't know, it was just a weeding down process. I knew some of the songs were definitely going
to make it, but I just wanted to see how it would work together as a record - I'm old school like that, to me it's really
important that it works as an album and not just a collection of songs.
Tell me about the day you found out that Craig and Greg were not returning to the band, what
were you going through that day?
I don't know. It wasn't that big of a deal. Well, one of them wanted to quit - one of them didn't, I thought
it was a good idea that both of them left.
Did you ever think you'd bounce back from bankruptcy and the other members leaving?
Craig and Greg were great in the band when they were in it, they were not the first guys in the band ... they know it
... they weren't the last guys in the band. Everclear has been my project from the beginning, they weren't full members
of the band. They got a lot of compensation, they did well ... I took good care of them, they have no complaints.
They left the band and did their own thing, and that's not my opinion, that's fact. So the bankruptcy question, how
does anyone bounce back - you just keep going.... you just keep doing what you do. I was watching a TV show today about
this guy who was considered one of the fathers of our country, but at the time ... John Adams ... it's phenomenal, he got
discredited ... beat down ... but he kept to his guns and never stopped doing what he was doing, and he succeeded - both in
life and his passions in life. He was an extremely successful and happy man. With his family, with his friends,
and everything he believed in. Sometimes you make mistakes, man... you make bad choices in life, I know all about that.
Sometimes you make good choices, but they end up being bad choices because you can't control what other people do, that's
just life.
Compare yourself now to yourself fourteen years ago, how have you changed as a person?
As a person, I am a lot more comfortable in my skin ... fourteen years ago, if you go back a little bit longer there
was a big difference before my daughter was born. But I've learned a lot, fourteen years ago I was poor. I guess
I've grown a lot, I've been humbled, I've been exalted, all sorts of stuff - had highs and lows, and learned to weather it,
not take it for granted and not take it seriously, learn how to have a good time. That's kind of where I am now.
Loving life every day.
Have you changed any of the older material to fit the new band?
Ok, you mean the band I've been playing with for five years? What, have you been under a rock?
No, I didn't know it's been five years though...
We've been together for five years, five years in June. No... I change songs anyways regardless who I play with.
You've got an idea about the band that really isn't correct, this has been my band... I don't say that egotistically, it just
is. Trent Reznor does his band, it doesn't really matter who is playing in it, they play what we want them to play.
A lot of old fans don't like that, but it's the truth. Have you seen this band play?
No, but I have seen you twice before.
You should come out to see this band. I've heard a lot of people who like the old band who see us and say; "this
is way better". We've got better musicians, they make me better because they're just so good. More importantly,
we're having a great time ... I'm smiling on stage, something I never did in the old days... because I like these guys, and
they like me... it's good times. If you're not having fun playing rock 'n roll, you're in the wrong business.
I know you've done some acting in the past, is that something you'd like to do more of?
No, not really. I've done acting for people that ask for favors, and I'll do it because I want to make films,
but I don't want to act in them... I want to write, direct, and produce them. That's what I went to film school
for, back in the day.
Is there a certain genre you'd like to tackle?
No, all of them.
What's planned for Everclear this year?
We're going to tour our butts off, and hopefully make a new record. We're going to make a single that's going to
be downloadable for sale, and that's called "Jesus was a Democrat", that should be out in about two or three months.
I'd like to tour England, do all sorts of stuff... we have a lot of plans. I'm working on a book, we're just busy busy
boys.
What's the book about?
The book is called "Letters to my unborn child". It's going to be letters to my daughter before I knew she was
a daughter. I've already written a lot of these, I just need to compile them and edit them, it's going to be cool.
Some of it is memoir's, it's like if you could tell your kid... your brand new baby something when she is twenty years old.
Hopefully I can keep her from reading it until she's eighteen or twenty years old.
