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Tom: Unlike many of the bands that come through here, you guys actually have a little bit of history with the Salt City with you Adam, your grandmother directed the Landmark here and I read that you used to do ticket sales here and stuff where you would come up and work in the box office or whatever.
Adam: Well, kind of in a kid-like way. I wasn't really employed. But I mean I would come up and just hang out and she would let me sell some tickets and answer the phones and stuff.
Tom: Well, now this is a weird question. This place, the Landmark Theatre, is rumored to be haunted. In any of the times you were here, did you ever see the ghost?
Adam: Oh, really? How long has that been? I never heard that rumor before.
Tom: Really? It's even on the website about the place.
Adam: It is?
Tom: Yeah, it's a Central New York legend that this place is haunted. It's the ghost of an actress or something, they see her on the stairs and stuff here. You'll be in different parts of it and this cold thing will just wash over you, this icy cold and then she's gone.
Jody: Is she hot? Does she put out? (Laughter)
Tom: I don't know… I guess she was an actress or something.
Jody: So she puts out. (Laughter)
Gina: She was an actress, I guess. They call her, she's like the "Lady in White."
Tom: The other thing with that is, do you think this it an ironic twist of fate that your new tour is starting here? It's like the biggest, you guys got the big hit with "Stacy's Mom,"and the whole thing. Do you think it's a little ironic that the place where you grew up in is the place where the new tour is starting?
Adam: I suppose so. I mean… we've actually been on tour for like a year. We took a break of about a month. But it sort of feels like a continuation rather than the beginning to us. But yeah, I mean it's a cool place to start and it was a nice thing for them to offer a gig here.
Tom. Cool. Opening the show tonight are a couple of local Syracuse bands, Candid and Last American Virgins. I think it's cool you guys are doing that. It's something a lot of bands used to do it back in the day, used a lot of local talent for opening the shows. Is this something you guys are doing on the entire tour or does this just happen to be for here?
Chris: Well, Cradle of Filth couldn't make it tonight, so we're using a local act. (Laughter)
Tom: Yeah… they did the same thing when Type O came. They were supposed to open.
Gina: Yeah, they didn't show up for that one, either. (Laughter)
Adam: Yeah, usually we have somebody touring with us but there's always some gigs on every run where there's local bands for whatever reason, I think. This leg we're about to do, Evan Dando is opening a bunch of the shows but he wasn't available. The people that are promoting the show suggested these guys and we said, "Yeah, that sounds cool."
Tom: They're both great bands, have a great reputation around here and stuff. Now, speaking about the tour, what should people expect to see when they come out to see you guys on tour?
Chris: It hasn't changed much since we started. You know, we go out and give about 50 to 75 percent most of the time. (Laughter)
Brian: That would be about 60 minutes of music.
Tom: Cool, alright, before I get to the other questions, I wanna ask about road stories. I love road stories. I read one of the things on your site where you got to play with somebody and they fell off the stage drunk, was it Bryan Adams or somebody?
Jody: What?
Tom: I dunno, maybe it was Ryan Adams or somebody. There was somebody you guys played with at a show and he fell off the stage or something.
Adam: That was Chris.
Brian: He didn't fall off the stage… he fell on the stage.
Adam: I dunno, maybe I'm confusing 2 different stories. Chris broke his leg on stage in the last chord of one of our shows.
Chris: I fell off the stage and you fell off the stage at a base in New Jersey. That was, also, I know, Ryan Adams but I don't think that had to do with Ryan Adams, I think it was one of mine. Then these soldiers got me with bayonettes and they were like, "You gotta get this guy outta here." I think I just ended up staying. And then they showed us… they had this contract… and I don't think we're gonna get invited back, and it said something like,"No foul language from the stage."
Adam. "No drinking." Because it was a naval base…
Chris: "No drinking." It was a naval base. But in our trailer they gave us like 4 cases of beer and like 3 bottles of Jameson's and all this liquor…
Adam: And asked us to get there like 8 hours before show time, too.
Chris: So what were we gonna do?
Tom: Yeah, right?!
Jody: He used the word "fuck."
Adam: I did actually. I told a Sarah McLachlin story.
Jody: And this was a family event and those military types they got all upset, 'cause they can't let their hair down.
Tom: So, basically, what is your favorite road story? What's like the coolest, funniest thing or whatever you guys would wanna pick for a favorite story?
Chris: Oh god, there's so many of them.
Adam: It's all a blur, really.
Brian: One thing that stands out high among the others would be sitting backstage listening to Billy Corgan do vocal warmups. He sounded like he was skinning a cat.
Gina: You guys didn't do this leg of the Pumpkins tour for some reason.
Adam: No, we did Rochester.
Gina: Yeah, 'cause I think Grant Lee Buffalo did Syracuse. That's around when I first started listening to you guys, I thought you guys would do this one.
Chris: We did Albany.
Tom: I'm glad to hear that because I personally hate Billy Corgan.
Gina: I like Billy Corgan.
Chris: He's a nice guy.
Tom: I respect him as a musician. He's very talented.
Jody: No, no, no. You're thinking of a different Billy Corgan. (Laughter)
Tom: (Laughter) But Tim Harrington, the guy who used to produce my band, he worked
with him on some of the stuff for Zwan and he'd come back telling us stories and on top of everything I'd already heard about him, I was just like, wow, how does he handle working with that guy? (Laughter) Alright. Shameless self-promotion time here. The album Welcome Interstate Managers got tons of praise from critics, made a bunch of lists as best album of the year. What does the title mean and tell me how it differs from the last album?
Adam: Well, the title is something we found on an old photograph, I think it was of an insurance convention. There's all these salesmen and they're just underneath this banner that says "Welcome Interstate Managers" and we just liked it. Chris and I both collected these old antique photos of big groups and we just liked it. It kind of related to the songs we had that were set in the workplace and stuff like that.
Chris: It turns out we weren't allowed to use the actual photograph so Adam went to the New York Historical Society and found a few that were similar, so we just kept the title without using the picture.
Gina: Did they have a copyright on it?
Chris: Well, no, the legal department at the label was like, we can't use this photo without these people's consent and we were looking at them like, this is 1920, these people are all dead.
Tom: Yeah, right…
Gina: Wow.
Adam: But the album is not that different from our other albums. It's longer, it's probably a little more diverse.
Brian: The title's different.
Adam: The title's different and the artwork is different, but we just tried to have different kinds of songs on this one, make it a little more varied with some acoustic stuff, you know, mix it up a bit.
Tom: Describe the creative process that goes on with you guys when you're writing new material. Do you guys collaborate together? I know you and Chris write most of the stuff. Do you guys work together on stuff or do you just to it separately and bring it to practice and say, "This is what I've got"?
Chris: We used to collaborate when we first started working together. Prior to the first album we did a bunch of writing together that never really went anywhere. But on the first album there's like 2 legitimate collaborations… Brian, you better watch out, you spilled some crap on your…
Adam: On your wi-fi.
Brian: Aye.
Chris: Yeah, the first album had 2 legitimate collaborations but other than that we don't really write together at all, we write separately and bring these guys into the process to do arrangements and record as a team… You know Artie Fleiss? Steven's brother? He's gonna be on that "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Did you know that?
Brian: I just got the e-mail.
Adam: He's gonna be the guy that they make over? No way! How did that happen?
Jody: We passed on it.
Tom: Didn't those guys do the new 20-dollar bills, too? I see they're all colored. They're all peach and pink. I think those guys did the new money, too. (Laughter) Whom do you guys consider to be some of your greatest influences?
Adam: I think we're all Beatles fans, first and foremost, but we've all listened to so much music, listened to all the classic stuff from every era, I think that's part of what goes in with this band. We'll bring in a song and it'll remind us of something, a sixties thing or an eighties thing. And everybody immediately knows what the reference is and gets what to do.
Brian: There's a big kind of classic rock reference, too, isn't there? - .38 Special and Steve Miller…
Adam: What Brian was just saying, like now Guns N' Roses is like classic rock. You listen to a classic rock station and it's Boston, then "Welcome to the Jungle."
Tom: Yeah, 95X here in town puts on the classic rock and new rock and that's their big thing. And they bust out, they play some classic rock and then they'll play the Clash. And if you listen carefully, you can hear that sound, it's like Joe Strummer spinning in his grave because they're calling it "classic rock." I'm waiting for him to crawl out of his grave any day now and come back and punch somebody.
Adam: We met that guy actually. We played at this festival in Japan about 4 years ago and we met Joe Strummer. I had a whole video of Jody talking with Joe Strummer, which Jody's ex-girlfriend disappeared with… the tape.
Tom: Oh, the tape, I though you meant she was out there with Joe Strummer. I was gonna say, she'd probably be your ex-girlfriend at this point. Speaking of Japan, I wanted to ask you about that. You guys are going to be going to Japan for Summersonic. What's the fan reaction like over there as opposed to here?
Jody: They're fairly little folks and they mosh to even the slow songs.
Tom: Really?
Chris: It's like an army. Everything happens in unison.
Adam: Every American band will tell you that when you go over there you feel like the Beatles. They really go bananas. I thought it was just us at first but then we realized that they do it for everybody.
Jody: They do it even if you're a tourist and not even in a band.
Adam: When The Posies went over there, it was like that, wasn't it?
Brian: Nope. Not like on Utopia Parkway. I mean, like the last time we went there. We were hanging out in the lobby.
Chris: They knew where you were gonna be somehow. People were waiting for you at the airport and stuff.
Brian: Sleeping with the travel agents.
Tom: I was doing an interview, I think it was with the Supersuckers, and they were talking about they went and played there and then they were doing a couple of other dates somewhere else and then like a month later they came back and it was the same crew in some of the places they were at and when they walked in, the crew knew from the last time they were there, all their settings.
Adam: They're so on top of things.
Tom: They were so anal about it.
Adam: They are so on top of their game with that stuff. And the clubs are in these malls. First of all, you go onstage at like 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. The tickets are about 70 bucks.
Jody: And like here, it's on a Wednesday.
Adam: And the tickets, even to see a band like us were 70 bucks. You go to this mall, you go up in an elevator and there's a rock club. You go onstage, you play for an hour and then you're done at like 8:30 and you don't really know what to do with yourself.
Jody: So you go and drink sake until you pass out.
Brian: Then you do it all over again in a different city that looks exactly the same.
Tom: The album in November went to number one on Billboard's Heatseeker chart. How did that make you guys feel? What was your reaction? What did you guys think about that?
Chris: That chart, all that means is that it's climbing fast, right?
Tom: Yeah, you're shooting up faster than anybody else, pretty much. If you hit number one on that you're going to the top ten faster than anyone else.
Jody: I think that's when I first realized that we were the best. (Laughter)
Tom: That's gonna be the quote on the front page of the article right there.
Jody: Leave it to Billboard to set the record straight. I dont even knowwhat that is.
Tom: I just thought I'd ask about it.
Brian: You guys know that song Stacy's Mom? Well, have you met Stacy's cooler? (Points to beer cooler.)
Tom: So you got her cooler, no kidding.
Jody: Stacy's cooler. I'm liking it. [Brian Begins Passing Out Beers.]
Tom: Alright, you guys brought up Stacys mom, you guys brought it up so I'm gonna get to that part now. The video, man, everybody that I know watches that thing, you cant escape that thing. Now, getting Rachel Hunter for the video, was that you guys idea or was that the video directors idea?
Adam: It was the video directors idea to ask her. We had the idea of getting someone well known. We were kind of kicking around ideas with him and I think he was the one who suggested Rachel Hunter. I mean, sort of our top 2 choices were either her or Paulina Porizkova, and she didn't ever respond, and Rachel Hunter said yes.
Tom: Now, did you guys get to meet her?
Brian: You mean m-e-a-t or m-e-e-t?
Tom: I'll take either one, preferably the juicier of the two...
Adam: Yeah, we met her. I mean, we hung around the video shoot for 2 days even though we really only had to do our part for 10 minutes.
Brian: And he got the whole thing with his home camera.
Adam: She gave me some nasty looks after a while because I was out there with my home camera.
Tom: Now, what's she like as a person? Is she pretty cool?
Adam: She was nice, right?
Chris: Yeah, a real pro. A professional. Very tall…
Adam: It's really funny because she just did the cover of Playboy last month.
Tom: Yeah, I know. I heard.
Adam: Jody and I went to the party, they had this Playboy party to celebrate her cover and we were just hanging out talking to her like, "Oh, hi, so nice to see you" and it was just really kind of a surreal thing, were all sitting there making small talk and meanwhile she's dressed in this see-through kind of Amazon costume and it's because were celebrating her being Stacy's Mom on the cover of Playboy. It was definitely a funny moment.
Chris: We still haven't seen the photos from that.
Tom: Now, is there really a Stacy or was it just, like I know every kid had the biggest crush on his buddy's mom, somebody's mom, you know.
Adam: It's not a real person.
Tom: It was just a random name?
Adam: We pretty much just made it up, yeah.
Tom: Cool. Speaking of irony and all this stuff and weird things, you guys got nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.
Adam: 2 Grammys…
Tom: Yeah, 2 Grammys. Considering you guys released your debut in 96, what did you guys think when they announced you were nominated for Best New Artist?
Jody: We thought it was very Grammy-esque. However, then somebody told us, "well, you're new to the public," and were like, no, were not. (Laughter)
Adam: And it was like, you're nominated for Best New Asshole.
Chris: Actually, there's an explanation on the Grammys website about that because so many people are confused by it. Like who was it, Shelby Lynne who won it on her 5th album or something. And they say, like you said, new to the public awareness. Breakthrough artist is a better word for it, I think. That's what MTV calls it, right?
Tom: Right.
Jody: Its a good thing we didn't win or they would've needed like a 15 minute delay. They didn't have a 15 minute delay, but they would've needed it in this particular case. I think the reason that we thought we were gonna win for a second is because everybody came over to congratulate us. But we were laughing at this woman who was singing this song, I don't remember who it was and we just couldn't hide it.
Adam: It was Martina McBride.
Jody: So we're on worldwide TV and I just cant hold back the tears because this is some really bad music.
Adam: "Concrete Angel," by Martina McBride.
Tom: Oh, yeah, I know that one.
Adam: That's why well never be superstars because we just can't get through that stuff with a straight face. Like everyone's looking and being polite…
Tom: Yeah, like my roommate and her boyfriend were arguing and he walked out… she tried to talk to me and she's all bummed out and kept saying, "I just want my baby back, I want my baby back," and all I kept thinking was that line from Austin Powers where Fat Bastard was like, "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs". She's crying her eyes out and on the inside I'm laughing like crazy. I couldn't help myself. I probably looked like a real jerk to her. But… Alright, in the past you guys have had hits with "Radiation Vibe", "Leave the Biker", and "Denise" among others, received tons of kudos from critics praising your songwriting ability. But you guys always remained somewhat underground. Now that you guys have the big hit and your stuffs all over the place, are more people recognizing you now when you walk down the street and stuff like that? Does it cause any problems?
Jody: I don't think we walk down streets very often. Were usually driven.
Tom: You guys just walked past us a few minutes ago when we were walking up here.
Jody: Well, this is Syracuse, though. No one knows who we are.
Gina: We knew who you were.
Jody: Well, then, yes.
Adam: But that was once.
Chris: It just depends where we are.
Tom: Yeah. I was just wondering about stuff like that. I had a weird experience. I'm doing this thing and its starting to catch on, the Tom Around the World thing and here in Central New York I'm home and I walk around and people are like, "Hey Tom, how ya doing?" everywhere I go.
Jody: Are we gonna have the chance to give you money to go on other dot com kind of things? Is it over with?
Tom: No, its still going on, I do it all the time. I'm constantly doing stuff now. I talked to a PR agent and she got me working more with the rock end of it, because I did my band and everything else I already do. So she told me use that to keep on going with your thing, I'm like, Okay, so I focused it better and it works out. But I showed up down in Texas to do a thing with ... And you will know Us By the Trail of Dead.
Jody: I love that band name.
Tom: And I'm 15 or 18 hundred miles from home and I'm walking down the street and a guy walked past me and said, "You're that Tom guy."
Adam: Nice.
Tom: And I was just like, to me it was a little weird.
Adam: You're huge now.
Tom: I was just wondering from you guys perspective, you're going all over the place now and things are getting pretty good, you got the big hit, everybody knows who you are.
Adam: Sometimes we go and stand right outside the venue after we play and see if anyone recognizes us. Like well stand under our poster and do the same pose were doing in the poster. Still they're like, "doesn't ring a bell."
Tom: Really? That sucks.
Jody: Yeah, they're like, "There's those assholes trying to get mobbed again."
Brian: It worked last time, but that was about it.
Tom: Ok, I got just a couple of little quick ones left for you guys then I'll get out of your way so you guys can do what you gotta do. If you guys could tour with any bands or performers living or dead, who would you guys pick for your ultimate dream tour?
Jody: Larry Hagman.
Tom: Larry Hagman? Does he sing?
Jody: He acts.
Adam: You could have the band, the Hagman.
Brian: The Hagfish.
Chris: Opening for us, or us opening for them?
Tom: Either way you wanna do it. You could have them open for you or you open for them. I mean, obviously depending on whom you pick, it would almost direct itself in that area.
Chris: I think Peter Frampton.
Tom: Opening for you guys, right?
Band: (Laughter)
Tom: Like, "welcome to the way back down."
Chris: He had the double album, the triple album. The Beatles only did 1stadium show.
Brian: He still tours every summer. He's one of those guys.
Adam: He was in Ringos band, too.
Chris: It doesnt have to be, you said, living or dead. Does it matter
what decade it was in?
Tom: No.
Chris: Peter Frampton in the 70s. That would've been a good tour to be on.
Jody: Ill stick with Hagman in the 80s.
Adam: We got to play with Cheap Trick recently. That was pretty cool.
Gina: Oh, wow.
Adam: I know there's a top 4 list somewhere. I wrote it down.
Tom: I was out at the casino out here a while back. They played out there and I was sitting there playing roulette and this dude comes and sits down next to me and I'm looking over going, man this guy looks familiar and I couldnt place it. We start winning together. Finally Im like, Hey, we're winning together, I should know your name. I shook his hand and he said "I'm Robin" and I go, "Hey, I'm Tom" and he says You coming to the show tonight?" I was like, "Oh, duh, youre Robin Zander from Cheap Trick." We
laughed and we sat and talked for the next 3 hours and played roulette. It was pretty fun.
Chris: Did you watch that show?
Tom: Actually, I didn't go to the show. I had to work. I work at the Blue Tusk right over around the corner over here. If you guys aren't doing anything after the show, come over for a beer. Its one of the 10 best beer bars in the country.
Jody: There are a lot of brew pubs around here, aren't there?
Tom: Yeah.
Adam: I remember when we were sound checking at that gig we did with Cheap Trick, it was like an empty outdoor arena. These 2 girls come up to the front of the stage and they're like, Play Mamas Alright, Daddy's Alright. Were like, Ok, first of all, wrong band! And that's not the name of the song. Get that straight before Cheap Trick shows up. That was like 2 strikes in 1 sentence.
Tom: Yeah, right. So, what are you guys plans for the future here? I know you guys got the tour going on in the summer in Japan, then what's up after that?
Adam: we don't really have any plans besides just touring right now.
Chris: Yeah, as soon as the tour settles down Im sure well start work on a new record, because we have to. Those pesky contracts…
Tom: Im gonna wrap up here. Any final words that you guys wanna throw on here before we wrap up?
Chris: Restrickley.
Adam: I don't know what that is, but it is a final word.
Chris: Bulindoplig.
Tom: I'm gonna have to ask you to spell that.
Adam: That would actually be B-U-L-I-N-D-O-P-L-I-G.
Tom: Ok, I got that. Anything from you?
Jody: Yeah, this is a wonderful city, man. It was great to be here.
Adam: He doesn't even live here. You don't have to kiss his ass.
Tom: Who, me?
Adam: Yeah.
Tom: I still live here.
Adam: Oh, you do?
Tom: Yeah. And I love it.
Brian: What he said.
Tom: Cool. (Laughter)
Adam: And send us a dollar, God damn it, not Tom.
Tom: I'm gonna edit that part out. (Laughter) All right, thanks, guys.
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