THE FIRST SINGLE OFF YOUR LATEST ALBUM IS CALLED THE ROAD—HAVE YOU READ CORMAC MCCARTHY'S BOOK, THE ROAD? No, but I have read Kerouac's "On The Road". I was actually toying with calling the song that for a while.
IF SO, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE BIT WHERE THEY BARBECUE THE BABY? Sounds awesome.
WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU LEARNED ON THE ROAD? At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I've learned most of what I know on the road. Self-reliance being the main thing. I think spending time on the road makes you very good at being self-sufficient, and independent. And it teaches you how to sleep f--king anywhere.
DO YOU FIND IT HARD TO BE HEALTHY ON THE ROAD? It's a challenge, but it's doable. Vitamin tablets come in handy.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE CITY IN THE US? A tough question.. Portland, Oregon gets a vote, and I totally love the south—Birmingham, Alabama is an improvement on Birmingham, England, to say the least.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SMALL TOWN IN THE US? I spent some time in Topanga, California with an old friend recently. It was beautiful.
YOUR MYSPACE PROFILE PHOTO CURRENTLY SHOWS YOU STANDING ON A ROCK THAT SAYS “I LOVE YOU”. WHERE WAS THAT? DID YOU WRITE IT? That's a rock in North Shore, Massachusetts. It was on the rock already. My friend Matt Pike took it, I'd been down at the sea washing my feet.
WHAT IS THE MOST ROMANTIC THING YOU’VE EVER DONE? I flew to India once to see a girl I'd only spent two days with before, and took her up to the Himalayas. Is that romance? It didn't work out in the end.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON FACIAL HAIR AND ITS RELATION TO THE FOLK MUSIC SCENE? I have a beard because I simply can't be arsed with shaving, haha. Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie didn't have beards.
YOUR LABEL EPITAPH IS THE SISTER LABEL TO TOM WAITS’ AND NICK CAVE’S LABEL. IN A BATTLE, WHO WOULD WIN, TOM WAITS OR NICK CAVE? Nick Cave for sure. He is, after all, the devil incarnate. I mean that as a compliment.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO COVER “YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE”? IT’S A REALLY SAD SONG! I NEVER REALIZED THAT UNTIL I HEARD YOUR VERSION. I guess that was the reason. I stumbled across the full lyrics and it really blew my mind, the contrast between the common perception of the song and it's real content. I like songs that take you somewhere unexpected emotionally.
EAST OR WEST COAST HARDCORE? Man, tough question. Probably East in the final analysis, but I'm going to be thinking about this all day.
WHO WOULD WIN IN A BATTLE - HENRY ROLLINS OR IAN MACKAYE? Rollins. MacKaye is a weed, physically.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN IS YOUR MAN—WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SPRINGSTEEN SONG/ALBUM AND WHY? Favorite song is "Thunder Road". It's an absolute masterpiece of songwriting, and the lyrics are out of this world.
WOULD YOU PUNCH AN ALIEN? I think the real question is, would the alien punch me?
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