(This interview was conducted on April 13th, 2002 at various locations throughout the Hawk's Nest at the University of Hartford.   Thanks to Henry, Matt, Jeronimo and Jolie for taking the time to talk to an idiot like me.)

Josh: I'll start with a boring question- how did you get your name?

Henry: It's a short story from D.H. Lawrence.  We just needed a name.

Josh: So you stole one?

Henry: Yeah. (laughing)  But we don't know how to read though, so no one thinks we took our name from a book.

(everyone laughs)

Josh: Ok, name five other things he wrote.

Henry: Umm... the Rocking Horse Winner. (laughs)  I knew another book he wrote, I just can't think of it.

Josh: I don't really know the answer.  You could have said anything and I would have been like, "All right, you know your shit". (laughing)

(everyone laughs)

Josh: Right now, there's this whole kind of surge of bands coming on EVR, are you at all concerned by that being that you are perhaps the most unique of all the bands?

Matt: I'm not worried about being promoted wrongly, they seem to know pretty much what they're doing.  EVR's done softer bands before, which was one of the reasons I was happy when we signed with them.    They're pretty smart guys.

Josh: They know what they're doing.

(everyone agrees)

Josh: Does them being a primarily hardcore label have any effect on you?  I mean, they're not so much just a hardcore label any more though, you know.

Jeronimo:  Yeah. they're trying to expand. 

Josh: Is it weird for you at all to play with Bane or bands like that?

Henry: We'll play with anyone, really. 

Jolie: We played with Converge at CMJ.

Henry: It's funny, cause a lot of times the kids won't be into us, but the heavier bands will be. 

Jolie:  Yeah, the heavier bands like us.

Henry: We played a show with Zao and the drummer bought a CD. 

Josh: It's like, if there's five hundred people there, as long as you reach Zao's drummer, it was worth it.

Henry: Yeah, exactly.

(everyone laughs)

Jeronimo: We're a band's band.

Henry: We're all into a variety of music, so we'd rather play with bands that aren't like us. 

Josh: But what bands really are like you?

Henry: Well, I mean... I don't know. (laughing)

Josh: I'm curious.  Give me some examples.  Give me something else to listen to, you know.  (laughing)

Jolie: We're compared a lot to the Sundays.

Henry: I don't think we sound anything like any other bands with a girl singer.  I kind of think we got our own thing going.

Josh: I don't listen to that many bands fronted by girls, I mean, there's only a handful, like, probably four or five right now. 

Matt: There are definitely more male fronted bands than female.

Josh: Do you know of any secret female bands or anything?  Who are you listening to right now for female music?

Henry:  I like a lot of Cindy Lauper.

Jolie: Aimee Mann.

Henry:  Aimee Mann is the probably the band's favorite, that CD gets played all the time.  Besides Aimee Mann, it's just a lot of '80's and Fleetwood Mac. 

Josh:  There just aren't any good female bands any more. 

Henry:  There's always Madonna.

Jeronimo: There are a lot of female singers, I just can't think of any right now. 

Josh: You're associated a lot with Dashboard Confessional.

Henry: Who? Never heard of him.

(everyone laughs)

Josh: I want to know what you think of his success, and how his video is all over Mtv2, that kind of thing?

Henry: Yeah, I remember seeing the commercial on Mtv2 the day his video was going to premier and it was weird. But he's been big before that.   It's weird too because Mtv2 is kind of taking over the scene.  We see Jimmy Eat World on Mtv like it's nothing, you know.  It's weird that this little genre is taking over.   I mean, the videos aren't dominating TRL or anything, but hopefully that'll change.

Josh:  It's weird because I saw the Thursday CD "Full Collapse" at Target the other day for $9.99, sitting inbetween all of these radio bands.

Henry: It's cool though because I've always thought this kind of music was more appealing.  In a perfect world, we'd flip it around, the mainstream would become underground.

Jeronimo: It's definitely changing.  Kids are going to grow up now listening to Dashboard. 

(This is where I explain my Jonathan Davis factory theory, and I make a hand motion which I can not describe with words, so, moving on...)

Josh: On the whole subject of growing and getting bigger, what do you think about it?  Do you forsee it happening at all?

Henry: I- we all- would really love to make a living off of what we're doing.   But I think it'd be cool to still be able to walk down the street without being mobbed. 

Matt: I would rather have a loyal following than a huge crowd of people who only know us for one song or something.  It'd just be weird. 

(This is when Henry explains that they want to make a video for the new CD, but none of them want to be in it
, which leads to talk of the White Stripes' lego video.)

Josh: Ok, let's talk about the new CD.  Was there any kind of pressure for you, coming from a smaller label and having this CD on EVR?

Henry:  Not really.

Matt: No, basically, we write what we write.  And when it comes out, we have no idea who it's for- it could be for anyone.

Henry:  We didn't feel pressure, we had fun.  It took us longer than anticipated and we ran into a lot of obstacles, but there was no pressure.  We're not going to put out what we're not happy with.

Jeronimo:  It wasn't like, "Oh, I wonder what EVR's gonna think, I hope they like it", it's like, we were writing it knowing that they really liked us or they wouldn't have signed us.

Josh:  But did you still kind of have it lingering in the back of your mind, like, this is going to EVR, it's going to be exposed to a lot more people... ?

Henry: Yeah.

Jolie:  We were excited.

Jeronimo:  Yeah, it was more exciting than pressure.

Josh: This is a question that has no real meaning, but, when does your web site come back?

Matt: Uh-oh.

Henry: Uh-oh.  Jeronimo does all the web site stuff.

Jeronimo:  When I think it looks good, it will be back up.  That's my answer.  When I'm done, it will be up.

Josh: But when will it be up?

(They all debate when they will get back home.)

Henry: It will be up by June 1st, that's his deadline.

Jeronimo: Yeah, it will be up by June 1st.

Josh: And what do you do after this?

Henry: We go to the west coast for the summer.

Jolie:  Yeah, west coast, Canada, Europe- that's the plan.

Josh: Do you have any idea who you're going out with?

Matt: We were supposed to go out with the Ghost, but that fell through.  We may go with Fairview.

Henry: I don't like playing with sissy bands though...

Josh: Do you not like the pop punk?

Henry: I guess what I'm trying to say is...

Josh: Say it!  Say you hate pop punk!!

Henry: Can we ask Aimee Mann to go on tour with us?

Josh: Ok.  She won't read it, so she can't say yes, but go ahead.

(laughing)

Josh: You're still free to ask.  I'll make a special copy and set it aside just for her.  I'll send it, "Urgent, urgent!! Important tax information inside!!"

Jeronimo:  "You just won one million dollars!!"

(laughing)

Josh: You should really tour with... Umm... What was I listening to on the way here?  Oh yeah, Fall Silent.  Umm... Forget it, I don't care who you tour with, I won't be on the west coast or outside the country. 

(laughing)

(Jeronimo leaves, Matt says it's because he was upset over the web site jokingly.)

Josh: Are any of you straight edge or vegan?

Henry:  We're all pretty avid meat eaters.  We're a steak and potatoes type of band.  Meat and potatoes. We have fillet mione` on our rider.  (laughs)  And those huge turkey legs you get at Disneyworld.

Josh:  You can't limit yourself when it comes to food, cause it's like music. You know, you may not like ska, but that band maybe ska and you might like them.

Henry:  Right.  You have to keep an open mind.

Josh: This is the worst possible question in the world, but this is something I thought of one day.

(everyone laughs)

Josh: You know how when straight edge people do something non-straight edge they say you "break your edge"?  Well, when vegan people do something non-vegan, like eat meat or dairy, don't you think we should say that they "break their veg"?

(everyone laughs)

Josh: Yeah, that was the worst thing I ever said.

Henry:  It's funny.  It's all about doing what you want to do.  I actually congratulate the people who start drinking.  I think everyone should start drinking and smoking cigarettes. 

Matt:  But at least half the band doesn't drink or smoke, we just don't call ourselves straight edge.

Henry:  I do like the "losing your veg" thing, it just shows how stupid it is to "lose your edge", you know?   I like that, I'm going to use it.  I'll get the southeast, you get the northeast, together we'll meet in the middle.