UP: I gotta ask about the cat. Now, thats your cat right? Well how did you get him to hold that pose, and did you know he looks like "Toonces"? (from SNL)

B: Yeah. I've been trying to get in touch with the NBC people for a while about that. I think they stole whole Toonces trip fom us. Copy cats, you might say. Well, the cat's name is Sammy, he was adopted, and he lives with me and my girlfriend in NYC. We dedicate all our time to seeing that he remains perpetually in the lap of luxury. I had always had the cover (of Unfun--ed) in mind--you know, for like a t-shirt or ad or something. I would always lie on the floor and Sammy would chill on the arm of our couch looking down at me, and I kept thinking, this is really cool looking, he looks larger than life, and there was a certain comic element there as well. So, one night, just started shooting pictures of him from the floor. The next thing you know, "Unfun." But I never asked or forced him to do anything he didn't want. That's the nature of our relationship, just support his slothful existence and let him do his thing, because I love him.

UP: The story of how the name "Jawbreaker" came about is really cool, just say it one more time.

B: Oh, okay. But now I bet people are expecting this great story with a car chase and everything when it's really quite simple. In LA, Chris (Bass/van), Treece (my girlfriend) and myself (my own friend) were all renting this little punkhouse. (It w asn't really, I'm just fronting like we're tough). But actually, it was a pretty punk little house -- we did all our layout and flyers there in the living room, we put together our EP there, and we practiced there sometimes. Anyway, we used to be called R ISE, but we found out there was one of those already, so we were trying to think of a new name. We made a list of names on a sheet of paper and when we went over it, we found "Jawbreaker" on there even though none of us recalls writing it down. So there y ou go. Oh yeah, then the earth blew up and we were hurled through space and we got superpowers and freed an enslaved colony on Mars and came back and reassembled the earth and made a Cop-Ray that kills pigs and we disbanded the United States and executed George Bush and burned Lee Atwater AND his fucking guitar, Jimi Hendrix style. Just a day in the life.

UP: Whats the best thing about being in Jawbreaker?

B: Never having to say you're sorry.

UP: Whats the worst thing about being in Jawbreaker?

B: Losing money at a vastly accelerated rate and being pushed around by people who think they know all of the answers. My password for the 90's: Nobody knows shit, so fuck'em.

UP: How's the LP (Unfun) doing so far?

B: I don't know how the LP is doing. It's too soon to tell. I know it sold out the first small pressing very quickly, but only about 1300 of those went for sale. We're touring very extensively this summer and if that doesn't make it do well, well, I'd be pretty discouraged. I think its going to do fine though. As to another LP, well we've got a bunch of new stuff that we want to really hammer out on tour. You know, we always have recorded songs almost as soon as we finished writing them. This time we're going to tour the new stuff for a couple of months so that we really get all the dynamics happening and just figure out what works, and what sucks. I think we'll be recording a tour EP with Skene! in late August. That'll probably be covers and stuff , a real romp. Then we might be doing something with New Red Archives later in the Fall -- like an LP type thing. We'll see. There's always Blackball too, our own label.

UP: Do you think Jawbreaker can last?

B: What time frame? I don't know -- when it gets stale I think we'll have the sense to chuck it. I think it has a few more radiations to go through, like it's not nearly where I want it, it's still very immature sounding to me, like too undeveloped , but there's parts that I enjoy a lot, that I think are successful. Not that I'm down on what we've done, I just see it as always growing. Like our brand new stuff, it excites me, and its an outgrowth of the older stuff. I guess when that growing feeling stops, then we're history.

UP: So, is David Hayes (Very Small Records) as cool and as fun a person as he's made out to be?

B: He's a road-hog and totally corrupt. He lives in a mansion in Emeryville and drives a fully restored Edsel and has two thugs with him wherever he goes. He's greatly feared and those who have crossed him are no longer around to tell about it. He' s got black belts in all the major disciplines and can kill you with a single, well-placed foot. Watch out! Actually, yes -- he's big fun and he's cool like a sno-cone.

UP: What are your thoughts or opinions on the punk/HC scene now days?

B: I'm a bit wary of scenes in general -- they seem like lynch mobs or something. There's this kind of witch hunt mentality. I've noticed that seems to say, "Let's hunt out all the wrongdoers and string 'em up." But then I'll see certain little com munities that seem to have a really nice open thing going on, so I don't know. I know that we three as a band are totally out of it -- we have our friends and musical friends and stuff but we're not really part of any scene. As I've booked this tour I hav e been really grateful to find that there is some kind of national network of people who really believe in new music and do shows and have a great deal of enthusiasm. That's been very encouraging. But there's still clubs and bookers and "promoter" types w ho just make you want to quit music and just get into terrorism or something. I think as a whole the HC scene is one of the most fascist-conservative organizations in the world -- people have all these performance codes they feel they must maintain and th ere's very little freedom to it. I mean, until people saw Guy dancing from Fugazi it seemed like no one felt good about moving to/with music without the old macho-mosh-crutch as an excuse. Now I've been dancing all my life, just goofy nerd dancing. For a counter culture I find it sad that people are affraid to move in unrestricted patterns at shows.

UP: Do you have any advice to a new band out there trying to get on their feet?

B: I really don't know enough, I'm still a total idiot and this band gets taken for rides all the time. I would say don't say anything you're going to regret and don't regret anything you say. I think you need to be careful about being coerced by p eople claiming that they can help you. Do things yourself, don't look for "big deals," you know? Sounds dopey, but its true. And, most importantly, play exactly what gets you off in your garage, or practice space. Believe in it and don't listen to "inform ed" advice.

UP: What do you see yourself doing in like 10 years?

B: I don't want to think about that. I'm really terrified of the future, it's my biggest weakness.

UP: What is the overall message you're trying to convey to the public?

B: I don't think there are any messages left to send. I think everything's been said and much more would be repetition. We all have a lot of strong convictions, each different in focus, but I think the only fundemental principle behind Jawbreaker i s the word: alternative, alternative to whatever the norm is. If its skinheads, then we say fuck skinheads. If its "Oh Jawbreaker sucks, they're too slow," then you know we're gonna go slower. Needling, ribbing and razzing. I get so juiced up with hate so metimes it's frightening -- and yet lycially our songs always have a sympathetic slant. I think my anger comes out of a feeling of powerlessness. I see an oil spill everyday now. Literally! Do you know what that does to a person's sense of control? I see the same fucking spokesman telling me its contained, "The situation is within reason." I see a lot of confusion and misguided cruelty and it fucks with me. In a way, the songs are set up as small retreats from this shit, that's their sympathy. Sympathy to those taking time to listen, those who might need consolence, I don't know. This sounds religous, we're not, Jawbreaker is a secular organization bent on destroying the notion of god or the afterlife. We worship punk. And cats.

UP: "See Thru Skin", is that about racism? What are your views on it as a whole?

B: Yes, it's about the more common, farreaching racism that is an outgrowth of apathy and classist divisions in schools and neighborhoods and attitudes. It's about being fairly liberal and thinking "Yeah, racism is an awful thing, but I'm not a rac ist..." but then still see people as black or hispanic or asian or women or men and reorientating yourself specifically to deal with these people as "types." Subtler racism, I think everyone has it, and it may be impossible to eradicate, but it should be recognized. Stereotypes are so easy, they're most people's first inclination (myself included, of course). Because the mind wants authority on all subjects it uses a small part to comprehend the whole. This is reinforced through all the media channels and throughout our development. The song (See Thru Skin) favors an unlearning of sorts. Dispense with all the cliche bullshit we've been choking on since childhood and approach people with a curious naivete. It's really a very naive song, a bit utopian perha ps, but it means well.

UP: What are your opinions/views concerning the environement? I care quite a bit on this issue, I'd be interested in hearing your opinions

B: I would think you'd have to be concerned having lived next to Lake Erie -- isn't that notorious for being sludge-laden? Well, I don't think the government is doing much of anything about reducing our detrimental impact on this planet. From what I can tell the EPA is more concerned with looking good rather than doing good. It can't be ignored but its so hard to change -- or at least we are intimidated into believing so. My step-father is actively involved in forest preservation in Nova Scotia, Ca nada, and his group seems to be branching out now towards other parts of the globe. I was just up there and saw some of their work and it's really great, great to see someone having a positive impact (however limited it might be). He gave me some great li terature (on recycled paper) and it both amazed me and terrified me. I may be working for/with him in the future but right now my life is here in the States with music and school and my relationship with my girlfriend. I think vegetarianism is a really go od thing that can help alleviate stress to the earth in a big way -- the cattle-ranching industry is largely at fault for a lot of heinous environmental damage and, of course, cruelty and slaughter of animals. So, that's one thing I do, although I'm not vegan, just vegetarian (lacto-veg), so I could be doing more. It's a hard thing when the American diet has always been meat-based, it requires more unlearning. I've only been doing it for about six months but its totally easy now, and I'm not malnourished or any of that shit people claim.

UP: Any last words anyone would care to read?

B: Well, if you're still reading this, then stop. Go practice! Do a drawing. Just make shit, you know, something that is exclusively a product of you. I used to make Super 8 films and I'm still really bummed that I stopped because it wasn't "cool" to be doing that by ninth grade. I think I'm going to make a little movie on tour this summer, like "Help" by the Beatles. Naw, maybe more like Spinal Tap, a punk rockumentary. Write us, damn you!