JOE: So you guys interview at the same time?
RACHEL:
  Yeah, well we had both asked for an A.F.I. interview and we just decided to do it together.
JAKE: 
Yeah, cause we went to the same high school, and so we’ve known each other since then.  So, we were just kinda like alright, if we’re gonna interview the same band anyway, we might as well do it together, make it easier.
JOE:  You guys boyfriend and girlfriend?
RACHEL:
  No
JAKE:
  ah... NO
JOE:  No. . . ?  It’s cool. . . 
JAKE:
So how has the tour been so far?  How many shows have you played?

JOE:
We have played five shows, and we’re going to play four more (I think).  And then Lagwagon is going to continue with the Ataris, and we’re going to leave and go to Japan.  Yeah…  with the Offspring, you may have heard of them.
JAKE:
Perhaps…  umm… I was going to say, you haven’t played in NJ/NY other than say the Warped Tour in a long time.  I remember it was about five years ago you played at the Pipeline and Coney Island High (both of which, oddly enou
gh, are now closed).
JOE:
  Yeah, not so good…  Shows weren’t so good.
JAKE:
  That’s what I was going to ask, was it a problem?
JOE:
  Yeah, the shows – you know, we think we’re not very popular on the East Coast so we only come out here during times like this.
JAKE:
  So basically it was to do with that you didn’t feel like the reception was what you wanted, or…
JOE:
  well, it’s just  - we’re not big enough.  So we go out and we come out here with Lagwagon and the Ataris and  - “Wooo how weird our shows are sold out,” you know.  And then Warped Tour - “Oh, my god look – there’s thousands of people here.”  Come by ourselves, you know. . .
JAKE:
Does that bother you or does that piss you off, especially since you guys have been playing so long?
JOE:
  No I mean it’s like what are you going to do?  Some places you’re big, some places you’re not.
JAKE:
  Right, so this isn’t the case, like say on the West Coast when you play? Like you play at home and stuff and that’s not the case?  You sell out shows there and stuff?
JOE:
Yeah when we play in our home land it’s much bigger cause you know that’s just the way it goes and if we go to England or Italy it’s much bigger

(and then the office calls....cell phone interruptions....damn the wireless generation)

RACHEL: So, with playing with bands that are obviously your friends, like the Offspring and No Doubt, and a lot of your fans are still kids who consider themselves underground punk rocks, and look at bands like No Doubt and call them sellouts. How do you feel when your fans are calling your friends sellouts? What do you say to your fans?
JOE: Well, you know everyone has different kinds of friends. I have friends, some are sellouts, some are African Americans, many different kinds of friends. A good friend of mine is Marc McGraff from Sugar Ray. You heard of him?  . . . yeah. He has a quote, he says, “Corporate rock sucks,” but it’s been really good to Sugar Ray.
JAKE: Yeah . . .   (then we side track again while Jessie (?) from Lagwagon looks for his glasses which we located on the couch under Jake’s butt.)  JOE: Yeah so, you know, what are you going to do? We haven’t toured with Sugar Ray, but you know, we probably will some day. We’re friends you know so . . . Is that a good answer? Is there a follow up question on that one?  
RACHEL: Well. I was just gonna ask, “Oi to the World,” I know you wrote that and you gave it to No Doubt to record.  
JOE: Yeah  
RACHEL: Is it cause it would read a larger audience? Or why didn’t The Vandals record it?  (And here is were my downfall begins, and the fact that I was never a HUGE Vandals’ fan is realized. Alas I have been figured out. . . I am a fraud.) JOE: We recorded it.  
JAKE: They did!  
JOE: Yeah! First, and it was out for years and see people like you didn’t even know.  
RACHEL: Sorry… yeah...
JOE: And as soon as No Doubt recorded it.  
JAKE: I have it! I had it before No Doubt did it.  
JOE: Cause you’re more punk than her.  
RACHEL: Yeah, he is.
SOMEONE WHO WAS BACKSTAGE: No Doubt recorded “Oi to the World?” 
JOE: Yeah you didn’t know that?
SOMEONE: On the new album?  
JOE: On a compilation to help retarded kids for the Special Olympics.  
JAKE: It was a very special Christmas, or one of those.  
SOMEONE: How is it?  
JOE: I got a gold record* on my wall.
SOMEONE: nice::::wow::::  
JOE: No money though cause it was charity.
SOMEONE:  So you didn’t, they didn’t know, she didn’t know about the Christmas album or something?  
JOE: We’re gonna tell her about it.  
JAKE: I do  
RACHEL: I’m younger!  
JAKE: Sorry we didn’t check our interviews together before we got here. I’ve has that album for a while I just didn’t know she was gonna ask that.  (I am also quite certain that my stupidity resulted in them playing “Oi to the World” at their show that night) 
JOE:  No that’s fine, that’s okay, but that’s a good question and the answer is: we were on the road with them and the special Olympics people asked them to record a Christmas song for that thing and they were sitting around going “god what Christmas song – what are we going to do? We can’t write a Christmas song right now.” Then they all said, “Why should we even write a Christmas song when we’ll never write one," and this is exactly what they said, "we’ll never write one as good as the ones on the Vandal’s Christmas thing,” so they didn’t even want to try. And they were just joking you know, they were being flattering or whatever, and then they just said, “hey, why don’t we record one of those.” And we were there and we said, “Yes! Please! You know, Do it! Do it!” and they did and they even made a video out of it. So, that was a pretty good deal, and I only wrote one song on that record, and so that was the one I was pushing for--that one. I heard it on MTV or VH1 the other day for MTV cribs. Whatever, uh. . . I guess MTV cribs is on MTV probably.  
JAKE: Yeah  
JOE: Yeah and they play it all the time on MTV and they never ask permission and then I get to call them up and say excuse me um. . .  
JAKE: I wrote that song.  
JOE: Yeah they think it’s a No Doubt song, and then they have to deal with me.  
JAKE:  Actually speaking of that, MTV cribs, I though that was kind of funny, uh . . . I don’t know the drummer’s name for No Doubt . . .
JOE:  Adrienne
 

That’s the bond we have.  We know who it is.  That other world, those other people, they’ll never understand us.  

JAKE: He was, he flashed his Vandal’s shirt and then Warren was sitting outside naked.  
JOE: Yes, you noticed that?
JAKE: Was that like planned out? Like did he know they were coming to his house and so he invited people over?  
JOE:  yeah, yeah.  
JAKE:  Kinda hang out, do stupid stuff? And. . 
JOE: Yeah all his friends were having absolutely nothing to do. “Hey you want to sit in my house all day long, and when this film crew comes over and don’t leave until they’re done.” Warren, that was Warren.  
JAKE:  I thought it was funny because I was thinking to myself I know that’s Warren and I was thinking that it was hilarious, but most people watching this just think it’s a naked guy.  
JOE:  right  
JAKE: Just some naked guy with nothing but a skull cap on and that’s what I though was pretty funny.  
JOE:  That’s the bond we have. We know who it is. That other world, those other people, they’ll never understand us.  
JAKE: How’s the reception for the newest record been?  
JOE: It sells a tiny bit more than the last one, which is like good. We’re not free falling or plummeting in popularity but it’s not like oh my god this one is so much better than the last one or you know, moving up which it theoretically should do. Our ticket sales are up.  
JAKE: Right.  

JOE:  But our record sales hav
e kind of evened off, but once you have nine albums there’s very little urgency for you fans to go out and bye the ninth one if they’ve got like six albums, you know, they don’t really need a seventh one. They know it’s going to sit in the record store forever. They’ll get it, but if you come to town they all show up at your shows cause they have seven albums, they’re not going to miss the show. So the ticket sales, they’re just a little better than the last ones.  
JAKE: have any records sold as well as Live Fast Diarrhea? Did the old ones? Did Peace Tthrough Vandalism sell as well?  
JOE: No. The best selling one we have now is the new one.  

JAKE: Oh that’s sold more than . . .  
JOE: The one that’s sold the most. . . Hitler Bad, Vandals Good has sold the most.  
JAKE:  Oh really? I didn’t even know that.  
JOE: But the new one we have, it’s not past it yet, but it’s on a path to surpass it, but just barely.  
JAKE:  Right. I was under the impression that Live Fast Diarrhea was the biggest.  
JOE:  It used to be until the Hitler Record. People love the word Hitler, No . . . not really.  
JAKE: That’s a good reason to bye a CD. 
JOE: No people don’t like Hitler.  

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