(3) Do you feel politics have a role in music? And what are your views on groups that preach and use their views as an image?

Blake: Try as it may, I doubt music will ever escape politics. It's basic history; people have been manipulated through music (anthems, marches, etc.), people have used music as some sort of weapon (the 60s, to some extent, and of course, punk and all the variations therein). So, I think it's there, and I think it should be. Creative people, musicians/indie label people/alternative lifestyle people/ should all have a say because they seem to have freer minds, more soulful, you know? People who feel should find a voice for themselves (in our case Jawbreaker, whatever). Preaching, as we all know, is bullshit. No one's turned around, or if they are it's for the wrong reasons (it's not free choice, or willful membership, it's because someone fucking twisted their head around). However, that's not to say that we should refrain from a strong presentation of our views. As it happens, our views are basically, 'Be a nice guy, don't fuck with ANYONE, and do what you can when you're not too busy mending your own damaged life.' Damage is a given, it's innate. you're born fucked, and you gotta work with yourself and your world. Then you die fucked. This has nothing to do with any of the Krishna brainwash bullshit -- if some macho, homophobic fuck thinks he's been alive for 5000 years then he's clearly moshed all his brains out and has been around 5000 years to long.

Chris: 'Politics' have a role in our everyday thought; we should think about what we do and why. i have a problem, though, with 'preachy' bands sometimes because it seems like a lot of them are saying, 'I'm right, you're blind, you have to change.' I mean, yeah, maybe they are right, only we have to realize that people would rather be happy than right, and sometimes it's pretty painful to admit that we've been deluded about something that, now, needs to be abandoned. Any band that wants to change people's minds can't just yell in their faces. People just get defensive and cling more tightly to what they've got. We've got to convince, not condemn, we have to make it clear that the alternatives we offer aren't hostile assaults on a person's ideology, we're just trying to make them see that maybe a different way would work better for everyone. Of course, if that fails, feel free to blow up their Beamer or force them to grow their hair or whatever.

Blake: Yeah, feel free to blow up their hair.