anwyays today was pretty decent..but then as the day wore on it got better and better, and seems to be ending on the highest fucking note possible.

you remember a while back how i said that i was trying to do an everything interview. well i sent off my questions a while ago..and hadn't heard anything, until tonight. so as promised here's the first part of this 'interview' the second part i hope to get done over the phone with the guys on wednesday.

oh yea and the craig and dave people are the lead singer and the bass player respectivly for the band.

1] First off, the question I'm sure you guys have gotten before during this period inbetween albums. Why the numerous push-backs of the release of"People are Movin?"

CRAIG - The multiple push backs of "People Are Moving" has been due almost entirely to Record Company woes. We have been shuffled and juggled by companies in the throes of mergers and have spent about 18 months trying tofinish a record under the most confusing and frustrating of circumstances. If you have ever read about a "nightmare" scenario involving a talented band and a major record label, then you have a pretty good idea of what we have been going through. It is a subject that writing about too much is a waste of energy. On the other hand, this record represents a lot of hard work and true spirit. Due to the delays, we have had a chance to really look at our work and re-track some of the things we felt needed a little extra love. We also ended up producing about half of the record ourselves, which is important, because nobody understands our vision like we do. The whole process has been painful, but I feel that we have made a breakthrough recording of this band.

Dave: The music industry is a very volatile business to be in. We have seen record labels, some that we have been affiliated with, merge or lose their backing. We have seen friends in this business lose their jobs or move on to bigger and better things. Since June 1999, when we first began to demo songs for "People Are Moving," the climate around the band has been in constant flux. For whatever the reason, the release "push-backs" only gave us time to make a stronger album. "People Are Moving" has been a work in progress for about 2 years. Hey, I'm still waiting for that new Guns 'N Roses album!

2] Now with the recent departure of Rich it seems more and more like the band is moving away from the horns-sound to a more..well dance type sound, is that true or are you guys just slowly evolving more and more into something new and different? Also how does Rich's departure tie-in with the new album, because last I heard most of the songs still seemed pretty heavy on the horns and whatnot.

CRAIG - Rich's recent departure has been a long time coming. We have worked very hard for a long time and spent many years on the road. Every few years it seems that we reach a cross roads and the trials of this business push you to new levels within yourself. This record was made with only a minimal amount of input or sound from Rich. He had simply burned out on the music and the scene. The whole horn thing was never really designed to be the signature sound of this band. We have always tried to explore the muse with whatever we had available, and really our audience sort of latched on to that aspect as being something to remember us by. We have gone through many phases and feels. This album has only one real "horn" song and it features the horns from the Rustic Overtones.......our friends from Portland, Maine. We are always listening for new sounds and you would probably be surprised by some of the recordings we have made just for fun. In my mind, we have always been about the "dance" in our own, unique way. Our shows always seem to "pop" open when the band is in a serious groove, and the audience is locked in with us. Personally, I think that the music being made in the

dance world right now is totally fresh and inspiring, so I am all about make things rhythmic and dance-oriented. There are a million types of "dance" music and humans have been dancing as long as we have had rhythm and singing, so I am happy that we are trying to pitch in on the whole thing. There is so much inspiring music being made, from Radiohead and U2, to D'Angelo, BT and Ben Harper, The Roots..........I sit here all day and name artists who are slamming right now. So yes we are evolving and yes I love dance music.......

Dave: The band's sound is an evolution. As we are exposed to different types of music, life experiences, etc. we are influenced and our sound changes as a result. Every song we write and every album we make is truly an exciting process because it is always something new. We have always been about pushing our levels of creativity. The use of horns will always be an avenue that the band can take and they are present to some degree on the new album. I think that more recently we have been influenced by what bands like Radiohead and U2 are doing sonically as rock bands. Rich and the band had a completely mutual split.

3] Getting off the e:-sound and whatnot for a moment. The current state of rock' or should I say metal-rock, do you guys think that the new "sound" that seems to be everywhere is a goodthing, or bad? And why?

CRAIG - On a professional level, the current state of modern rock radio is a bit frustrating for us, because some stations might not immediately jump at our sound, because it is a bit outside there view of the norm. It is important to remember that even radio evolves and we will probably see some change here pretty soon. The sounds of radio are easy to get focused on, and we all can always grumble about how they play the same songs, or the same type of songs or whatever, but that is the nature of mass-media. There is always a ton of great music being made, one just has to look for it. I also think that the rap-metal thing is indicative of our times. There is a lot of angst and inner turmoil due to the nature of our society. On the other side, you have the whole Pop thing......which is like turning blind eye to the suffering in this life and keeping it very, very light. I think that because we are so overwhelmed by mass media, that it is easy to get cranky about some things, but that is the ......finding the true flowers in all of the asphalt. All that being said, I grew up on AC/DC, so I love to crank up Rage Against the Machine. There are some great artists who are dark and heavy, so I don't ever want the world to be without some ass kicking jams........

Dave: Music is cyclical. I see today's metal-rock or rap/metal hybrids as just a more aggro extension of what was going on with the hair metal bands back in the 80's. I think 10 years from now we'll look back at bands like Limp Bizkit and laugh the way we look back at bands like Poison today. There do seem to be a number of bands today that are playing pissed off music to pissed off kids. I think there will always be music that acts as an outlet for people's rage, whether that music is underground or mainstream. I think the record labels decided to capitalize on people's anger, particularly kids, and make some money by signing and promoting bands like Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, etc.

4] Along those same lines, what's currently in all your cd-players? Or what band that you might not have had time to really listen to, interests you?

CRAIG - In my CD player right now is a lot of dance music. The new John Dibweed, Oakenfold, Scott Henry (local D.C. DJ who is legendary), BT, Groove Armada, Danny Tenaglia, Josh Wink, The new U2, the new Radiohead, some Debussy, St. Germain, the new Rage Against the Machine....

Dave: Albums by Laika and Groove Armada have turned me on to how organic dance music can be. I am psyched about what hip-hop groups like Outkast and Nelly are doing. Craig has helped to turn me on to some great DJ's like Paul Oakenfold.

5] What do you guys think about some of the local, or at least Northern VA bands, that were big in the mid-90's that have seemingly faded away, ex. emmet swimming. Do you guys miss some of the bands you used to play with a lot at some of the smaller clubs, or no?

CRAIG - I don't really miss playing in smaller clubs with other bands from NOVA........We still see a lot of the great friends that we have made along the way and that is what I treasure the most.

Dave: There was quite a scene of music in and around DC when we left JMU in 1992. There was a real sense that we were all connected somehow because we had all decided to do this music thing and become road dogs. I really miss playing with a band called Egypt. They were the funkiest thing going on back then and would tear your head off live. They were the band that gave us our first taste of road life by letting us open up for them. We played this show at this now defunct club in Radford called Lucky's. We had like 700 sweaty people throwing down. It was total rock and roll.

6] After having done the big festival's the summer of 98 in various places for "supernatural" do you guys enjoy doing those more, or the smaller clubs, like the Norva and 9:30? And how come?

CRAIG - Some of those big radio festivals were pretty cool. We rocked 30,000 people in Oklahoma. We rocked about 12 people acoustically in a coffee house in Burlington, VT, and then took those twelve people and had a parade downtown for about two hours until we got shut down by the police. Both we unforgettable in there own right. I don't really miss smaller clubs, because we have done that for so long. People try to romanticize it, but it's not very romantic if you do it for 250 days a year for 6 or 7 years.

Dave: There is this incredible rush that you get when you walk on stage to 10,000 or more people. It's this sea of energy. Unlike a smaller club or theater gig, it's really hard to contain. The biggest crowd we had ever played in front of was 30,000 at this radio show in Tulsa. We were sandwiched between Candlebox and Third Eye Blind as the headliners. It was total mayhem, like going to war or something. When we broke into "Hooch," the crowd totally focused on us and went berserk. I'll never forget the roar the crowd made when we played the first few notes of that song. Overall, I prefer the smaller, intimate gigs where you can focus the energy of everyone in the room. In a smaller situation you can feel the dynamics, the ebb and flow of the music.

7] During that same summer of '98 did it feel weird to go to these places in like say, Oklahoma, and find these people who all knew of 'Hooch'?

Dave: At first it was absolutely shocking to have people react to a song like that. Radio is an amazing thing in that respect. No matter where we played, in whatever part of the country, that song was the bomb. It was a little odd having been a band for so long and be known as this new band with this hit song.

8] Out of all the songs on "Supernatural" how come, or who, chose to have "Hooch" the main single? I ask mainly becuase those who have been following you guys for a while all sort of agree that "Hooch" isn't well..representative of the e:-style. So do you guys regret at all that song being the single, or no?

CRAIG - The whole "Hooch" things was it's own unique trip. When you sign to a label, your are married to a huge staff of people and the needs of a large company. The label chose the single, because they are the ones that had to work it. People think that the band is always making the decisions and making all the cash, but this is generally not the case with a major label.The song ended up having a career of its own and the greater U.S. knows the song, but not the band. It did give us some cool opportunities, and in the long run, it is a funny thing to look back on. The future beckons however, so onward and upward. We are excited to show the world what this band is really about.

Dave: There were a lot of decision makers on that one. A record label sort of tests songs with radio stations to help determine the single. We were actually thinking that "Good Thing" was the stand out song. When the label decided to go with "Hooch" we felt it would be a good set up song, not the Top 40 hit that it became. I think "Hooch" was something fresh for us and for the listeners. It didn't really sound like anything happening at the time.

9] After playing all across the country, with all sorts of bands. What's your most favorite place to come back to time and time again? And what's the one show that in your mind is the "best" for whatever reason?

CRAIG - I personally am very influenced by the location of the show. Feeling the energy of the town or area that we are playing in is huge. I love NYC,Telluride, New Orleans, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago.......Colorado or anywhere beautiful. I have to say that there isn't one particular show that is the "one". Every once and a while we will all talk about a particular experience and really enjoy the memory. There are quite a few, and I feel many more to be had.......

Dave: It's always great to come home and play for the people that have known the band since the beginning. It's hard to say what show was actually the "best" but a definite highlight of being in this band was performing at Red Rocks outside of Denver. Before I ever played music I was a huge U2 fan and U2: Live at Red Rocks was one of my favorite albums. The video footage of them playing at Red Rocks in the mist with the fires on the sides of the stage looked like the coolest concert and coolest place to play ever. To actually perform there gave me a sense that I had somehow made it as a musician. It was like a dream come true.

so there you have it..part one of the interview.

oh yea the other reason that made this night awesome. my pens won game 6 in OT to end the series. aww fuckin yea..a bit too close for my tastes..but still a win's a win.

hopefully tomorrow night i'll have the second, and last part of the interview done.

scud.