Pennywise

Are you partial to a big feed after getting drunk? It is the custom over here to go to Taco Bell, because they have really greasy horrible food that you can eat really quickly in burrito form. It’s really convenient when you’re really drunk to pick up some Taco Bell. I have meat pies when I am in Australia.

Worst lie you have ever heard about yourself? There are so many… there was one that I was dead. Somebody called my wife when I was on tour and said that I had died in a motorcycle accident. She got all panicked and worried about it and was like “oh that’s crazy I just talked to him on the phone”

What is the best present you have ever received? My dad got me a guitar for my twelfth birthday and I still play it and write every Pennywise song on it.

Got any party tricks? I don’t have any but I know a guy that has this match trick. He can leave the room and you can point out a match on the table and he can come in and tell you every single time which one it is. Most people think he is clairvoyant or possessed, I think the latter. But I can’t give away his secret otherwise he’ll kill me.

Have you ever received any hate mail? Not directly, I have received one piece of hate mail years ago from Ben Weasel, (critique for maximum rock and roll, which Jim tells me is the punk rock bible over in the US). He sent me a hate email saying that bands like mine are ruining the punk scene, I hope you’re happy in your mansion.  

Beer, bourbon or jagermeister? All three in progression is probably the best, but I have to say I’m partial to beer. Bourbon is my dad’s drink and jagermeister usually causes regret. These days I’m more about drinking beer in the backyard with a barbeque.

Do you always insist in taking control over any backyard barbecue? Exactly the opposite - I always insist on whoever my guests are to control the barbeque while I sit and drink beer. It is so overrated that if you’re the host you have to do everything. When people come to my house I just sit around and make them do everything. I just have to clean up afterwards which is so much harder. People love to cook - nobody likes to clean. If I’m the one manning the barbeque I usually concentrate on the beer and end up burning everything. Because things catch on fire I end up dousing all the meat with beer.

Excluding tattoos, what is the craziest thing you have seen a fan do for your band? We have had a lot of people that have stormed the backstage area that have been refused entry and they just come rampaging through.

What is your opinion on downloading music online? Legally downloading music is fine-that’s the way technology is changing. But I think that it’s too bad that people are not buying the entire album to get all the artwork and the lyrics, the way the band meant for it to be presented instead of just buying one song for 99c. Illegal downloading is tough because it can hurt so many people- a lot of people depend on it for their livelihood. It’s a tough situation for a band to be in.

Favourite song to perform live? Fight till you die always gets people fired up, whenever we play it people always seem to go off and have a really good time. Bro hymn is always really inspiring to play.  

Worst job you have had? I was a janitor at a military building. I would clean toilets Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for four hours and vacuum offices. I can really clean a good toilet.

Funniest thing that you have seen? The hardest I laugh is watching Funniest Home Videos at home with my kids - it’s the only show where you can sit there the entire time and laugh because its people getting hit in the groin with various objects. But there have been so many stupid things that have happened on tour pretty much every night provides you with something that is absolutely ridiculous.

What do you do in your spare time while on tour? If your not travelling or hurtling down the road at 100 miles an hour a lot of the time we are sight seeing or looking at different things depending on where you are- a lot of the time in Australia we go down to the beach and go surfing, but if I am stuck in a hotel room or something like that I’m usually writing, working on books or stories or song lyrics.

I suppose that’s why so many musicians get caught up in drugs? Exactly. That’s how a lot of people get themselves into trouble because it is so absolutely boring. For me it’s cigarettes. Off and on I’ve smoked over the years and usually when I’m on tour I’m like ‘well what else is there to do?’ so I’ll have a cigarette. That’s when your bad habits come out definitely. Each tour I’m either drinking or not drinking, the ones when I’m not drinking are unfortunately really tedious, coz you can get really drunk and you just don’t care about anything.

Really what is wrong with society? Probably right now it’s religion and reality television. I think there’s too many self serving religions out there which delude people into thinking that their life is the most important one and they can do whatever stupid things they want to do. Reality TV gets people watching someone else’s life instead of living their own. You’ll find yourself sitting their saying ‘well I just watched an hour of someone else’s life while mine just passed me by’. American idol is the biggest thing going- I think that they should make American idol relevant again- they should put a death metal band on there and then have them win the whole thing and then it will be cool again.

Best thing about punk rock? What’s really cool for me about punk rock is the explosive energy. That’s what makes a live show different from a record because of the visual energy. If a band is just standing there performing what are they doing? Collecting a pay check. I think that The Doors are really underappreciated as the band that really started punk rock in the sense that every show was completely different. You never knew who was going to show up and Jim Morrison could be inspiring or antagonistic towards the crowd, not to mention that they are just an amazing band. I think that kind of spontaneity in a music performance is what makes it great. Be sure to check out Pennywise live at the Palace on the 16^th of July.