What’s the most exciting thing about the new CD? (Seasons)
Clint: The most exciting thing? It’s just a natural record. We didn’t really rely on too much ear-candy
that we usually rely on. We just wanted a real open and straight record.
What song should people look out for on this CD?
Clint: It depends - we have different styles on this one. The song "Disease" is definitely one of my favorites. It’s
one of the heavier songs on the record. Playing it live is great. "Suffocate" is also a good one - the energy from the song
is great. Then there’s songs like "Skeleton Song" - it’s one of those songs that I really needed to get off of
my chest.
Do you know what the next single is going to be?
Clint: No - right now we’re touring with Staind and we’re kind of cycling the songs to get the feedback
from the people. That’s how we’re going to pick it. They’re never wrong. We rely on our fans.
I noticed that the CD is #14 on the charts - how does that make you feel?
Clint: It’s good man... we’re happy with what we have. To be in the music business at all is a great thing
- I love it - my whole family plays music. If I can make a living at this - we’re happy with that.
Are you guys doing anything different on this tour?
Clint: Right now we’re doing such a short set. So we really don’t get to do as much as we like. So we just
play a 45 and try to play as hard as we can. But when we headline our own tour we’re going to try a bunch of new things
that we’ve never done before.
What was it like working with Butch Walker again?
Clint: Butch is great. A lot of people wouldn’t expect that connection with us, but Butch understands what we’re
about. He’s a great musician. He’s a great singer and has a great sense of melody. So we kind of speak each other’s
language.
I noticed that you guys use a lot of working titles for your songs - how do you come up with them?
Clint: Well, sometimes it can be something going on in a particular situation. Like when we were doing "Waffle" - Sharon
Osbourne was talking with us about something and she said "Oh, just waffle on..." - and we were in the middle of writing that
song. So it depends on what the situation is.
Have you ever regretted any of them?
Clint: That’s a good question. (Laughs) I know there’s songs that I regret, but not really titles.
A lot of bands always mention their best tour or best show - can you tell me about your worst tour?
Clint: There’s been some bad ones. We’re the kind of band that has some really good tours then some real
crappy tours. The first tour we ever did was the Roar Tour - it was a bomb. It was us, Tonic, Sponge. It was
a weird tour. It was in an amphitheater that holds 12,000 people and only 90 people showed up.
You wrote "X-mas Day", right?
Clint: Yea.
That’s one of my favorites - what’s it about?
Clint: I have a friend - really it’s based on two people. This friend of mine was really self-destructive. I
was a mess at the time as well - and we were just dragging each other down. We didn’t try to figure things out and repair
the friendship. It’s about someone who’s self-destructive and they were just killing me. Then on Christmas day
I got a phone call - and it was the last phone call I had with that person. But I want it to mean whatever it means to the
listeners.
Woodstock ‘99 had to have been a great experience for you guys - what was one thing you learned from it?
Clint: That American festivals don’t go over as good as they are intended.
Would you do another one if they asked you?
Clint: Oh yea, we’d definitely do it. It was a great experience for us personally - it was the biggest show we’ve
ever done. It humbles you in a way - even though you’re playing in front of all those people... a hundred ten thousand
people... or whatever the number was...
In your eyes - how is each album different?
Clint: We’re starting to change with different styles and different elements. We’re making the real heavy
stuff heavy and trying to make our own sound.
Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?
Clint: I have a personal prayer afterwards. And I just kind of jump around about ten minutes before. That’s what
I do. We all do different things.
Are there any religious meanings behind any of the songs?
Clint: I believe that there is a God - there are a few references, but we don’t like to go too much into that.
There are songs that I have written about God, but we haven’t used them yet. The bands that do that like P.O.D. - I
love them do death but we don’t tap into that too much.
Do you have a band that you consider a guilty pleasure?
Clint: A guilty pleasure, that’s funny. I have a lot. As far as real cheesy stuff - there’s a lot of stuff
that I like. I like Britney Spears (laughs).
Who is "Bitch" about?
Clint: I can’t really say. One of Lajon’s roommates.
How did your acoustic shows go?
Clint: It went great. It’s something that most of the bands in our genre can’t really do. We just wanted
to do it one time. A lot of people said it was the heaviest acoustic show they’ve ever been to.
Would you ever do it again?
Clint: Right now we’re just going to concentrate on doing the heavy -but at the end of the cycle we can go out
and do another small tour. Because it really was a success.
Are you going to release an acoustic CD?
Clint: Yea, it’s possible. We recorded so much material on the acoustic tour that we could put it out right now.
If people want it then we’ll put it out.
Do you ever wake up in the morning in shock that you’re actually doing this for a living?
Clint: I did it today. This is unbelievable.
