A Barenaked Wonderland
Time: 19.45 2 December 2004
Place: Dressing Room, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK

THE INTERVIEW
The interview started off with Nic handing round Mum's mince pies (sweet pastries that we eat in the UK at Christmastime), closely followed by a sack of presents. Ed went first and picked the jangly one...

Ed: I think it might be a sleighbell wreath or something...
Well - he was right! Luckily this led to a quick rendition of Walking in a Winter Wonderland - Ed singing with a mouthful of mince pie, with Kevin on harmonies.
See a video clip here. :)

Ed: Thank you
Steve: That's "or something"
Ed: A sleighbell wreath or something

You said there's going to be more online stuff coming up soon.
Steve: Yeah, cookies, delivery of flowers... What happened was when we moved from Warner bros, to our kinda indie status, we just weren't prepared and Warner did a pretty lousy job of updating our website. We really had pretty high hopes about what would happen. They were in charge of that, of BNLmusic.com, and they talked the talk..
Ed: And we kept giving them content and it would never show up on the website.
Steve: So we're looking at different ways to create a more hands-on experience for usso we can get content up there quicker without having to go through administrators

Does that mean that bnlmusic will now disappear?
Steve: No, it's now ours. We just got it. That's why it's been updated in the last few days, we finally got ... Chris Kane is our friend who runs it for us, we finally got it and it's now all his to play with
Ed: Of course, now that we've got it, it may disappear! Because one of us may just misplace it!
Shaun: Ed, you're guilty of not blogging as much as you should!
Ed: Clearly.
Jim: Ed's blogging... well he probably has a 100:2 ratio, cos he blogged so much before... I think he has a little room...
Ed: Yeah, I'm able to sit out for a while.
Kev: He's gotta play video games, so you'll have to wait a little while.
Nic: And Steve's just busy upsetting the Americans at the moment!
Steve: Isn't that fun?
Nic: I love it!
Steve: I'm not as sorry as I pretend to be, by the way.
Nic: Yeah, I gathered.

Shaun: I do admire you for sticking your beliefs up there when it could be commercially damaging.
Steve: You know, I've said this before and it's true, people trust us for our beliefs about love and relationships and God and music and art and all those things. And politics are no different from that. It's just our set of beliefs and our ethic base, and I'm surprised that people are so surprised by that, but there was a point, I think during the 2000 election, when I realised that we had fans who thought we were like them and they were ardent Bush supporters.
It's because we have this kind of everyman quality about us. But that's a lie to transmit that to people. I don't want people to ever think we're something we're not. And that was behind the Everything to Everyone title, we didn't want people to think we agree with everything just to make them like us. That's not what art is supposed to do. Art, you can allow for different interpretations. But it's amazing to me that that is what's polarised people as opposed to any number of other things that we've addressed in our music or onstage.
Ed: I don't quite understand why it's not acceptable for musicians or actors to make their political views known. Someone, somewhere decided that it's not supposed to be done, and everybody else is echoing that sentiment, but I think if they really thought about it, they would realise that it's just a person issuing an opinion. Why would you care what kind of shampoo they use, what kind of diet they go on, what kind of car they drice and what novels they like, but not care what their political opinions are?
I just mean that people get attacked for speaking openly, like "Just act in your fuckin movie, actor boy".
Tyler: "Shut up and sing".
Ed: Yeah.
Steve: You know there's also this odd culture in the United States that says, especially since they've taken apart the structure that allowed for donations to political parties, they now have to do these 5.7s instead, which are these kind of moveon.org, or some of those bigger ones, are trying to get people to vote, but weren't allowed to say the words "Democrat" or "John Kerry".
[Steve digs a magazine out of his suitcase and shows it to us.]
This is Patagonia, a clothing company that's socially aware. Ad says, "Vote the Environment", but nowhere does it say vote democrat. It drives me fucking nuts. That you can't, that in the States somehow you're crossing some sort of line.Now it's illegal if they think this is gonna raise money or solicit votes, for an individual party or a candidate. You're just supposed to get people to vote. And that's the whole "Vote or die" thing that Puff Daddy did, it doesn't make any sense because that just means go and vote for Bush. If we as people with a voice say "This guy is dangerous" that shouldn't be illegal or something to frown on.

If you were an American band, would you get away with it?
Steve: No.
Ed: No.
Shaun: Because it would be trying to influence an election unduly or something?
Steve: Well it actually is illegal, I guess, for us to try and influence an election, being foreigners. But in America, people want you to say "go out there and vote but I don't care who you vote for". But I do.
Kev: There was that big tour that Bruce Springsteen went out and did.
Steve: But that wasn't for the Democrats!
Kev: But it was pretty anti-Bush.
Steve: But they weren't allowed to say "Vote for John Kerry".
Shaun: But he stood there with John Kerry didn't he?
Steve: Separately yeah, but that was outside of that. That tour that they did was actually organised by Moveon.

Shaun to Kev: I think you can open that now.
Kev: I can?
Steve: Mine's almost open!
Nic: I should warn you, there's only actually one decent present in the whole bag - so don't get disappointed!
Kev: This is decent! A little rubber ducky! Look at that. Sweet.
Ed: Lor' luv-a-duck!
Jim: Does it float?
Kev, dropping it on the floor: Nope!
[laughing]
Ed: Does it squeak? [Singing:] Rubber ducky, you're the one...

Nic: I think we might have to have a mass present opening session.
Shaun: I don't know who got the decent one!
Nic: I do... [It was Steve, who picked the Little Britain DVD]
Steve: So tell me about Little Britain?
Shaun: It's funny...
Nic: and very rude. You were saying last time that you all liked Ali G and the Office... it's kind of along those lines, but, ummm, much ruder!
Shaun: It's exactly what makes us laugh over here. And perhaps you can get into it while it's still current.
Steve: Exactly. Not missing the boat by two years.
Tyler: And therefore making it crap!

What's happening next year? Another album?
Ed: We're working on a TV show right now. That's kind of big in development. That's taking up a lot of our mental energy right now.
Nic: Are you involved with writing it?
Ed: Yep. We have hired some real television writers as well, but we're giving them a lot of input.
[Kev says bye as he's going to join Boothby Graffoe on stage]
Nic: Will each episode have a story or will it just be... how will it work?
Ed: It's the show is really just kind of developing now, but if it works out the way we want it to, it'll be unlike anything you've seen. It won't be a variety, it won't be a sitcom, it'll be
Steve: It won't be the Monkees
Ed: Yes.
Steve: But it also won't be Sonny and Cher as it were.

[It's Tyler's turn to open a present - he gets Humphrey the humping dog - it straps to your leg then makes the most revolting noises and humping motions, ending with a satisfied sigh... Well I told them the presents were mostly crappy!!]
Shaun: He must've come already.
Tyler: I think he did. But he can go again.
Shaun: Famous popstar has dog humping leg - I can see the headline in the Sun now!
Tyler: Famous popstar?!
Ed: He moves rather sensuously actually.
Jim: It's getting a bit steamy in here.
Ed: I love it when dogs are humping - they're just out of their minds.

Part Two is here...

©2004 Copyright Nic Blackmore and Shaun Greening