| guitar, it's a Jackson Randy Rhoads, the guy who used to play with Ozzy Ozbourne he's a great guitar player. Have you christened it yet? Yeah, I've just been playing a few chords on it! What have you been up to since welcome to poppy's? Well we toured the world and went back to the city to try and have the semblance of a normal life for a while, we used it to write about what was going on and get back into the plus of the city. We then went onto write the new record. We finished mastering the album about a couple of months ago and it's due for release this week so it's all looking good. Where did you record this one? We actually have a studio in London that we used a lot this year, I use protocols an awful lot too so I had a set up in my own house in New York . We went into a proper studio to record the drums and stuff and we mixed it at Electric Lady Land in New York . So we've bits everywhere. If you're writing songs about being in the city then it's important to be there at the time but I also think it gives a good prospective to take yourself away from it for a while and it kind of makes it a little more nostalgic. If you can put feeling in something that's the spice of life. When do you start your UK tour? We start in Ireland on the 3 rd of September and then it's all go from there! It's not just a UK tour it's world wide. We are calling it the Lock Up Your Daughters Tour' everyone in the band is single now so we thought it was quite appropriate. Man, you guys do go through drummers pretty regularly how's t going at the moment? Ahh it's going really well. This time it actually feels like we are all in a band together not just me and fast in a band with someone else. Frank is actually from the Midlands in the UK , He's like John Bonham on Crack and he's a fantastic drummer. You used to play up in Leeds pretty regularly now you don't play around here, what happened? Haha, our old drummer got arrested up there so we decided it wouldn't be a good idea to take him back, at least we have Frank now so we can come back! We have a leg of dates in September but I think we are going to do a few extra dates over here either right before Christmas or straight after. Who are things looking with the album release? Good thanks; we released the first single called Mi Corazon which means My Heart in Spanish. It's a song of unrequited love. Like when you love someone and they love you back but know they can't be with you because you're not willing to change because you're an old grumpy bastard from New York . It's gotta be said that you are New York through and through! Well yeah, it's home for me. New York for me is little bit of everywhere. So many people come to New York . It's one of those places where you can see a lot of the world without having to travel anywhere. When you finally do get to travel to different countries and places you can see a lot of the time when people from different places come to New York they bring all the good things from their own country with them. You don't see a lot of the bad shit. Of recent I think a lot of people are looking for the bad in people, but for the most part I think the human being is pretty decent. Did 911 play a part in your writing for Livin' in the City? Yeah, I think it has to. For me it was like seeing an aunt that I really love that almost helped raise you get hit by a car and almost dieing. She's been making a slow recovery and it's like we have been watching it happen. It brings out a lot of complex emotions you know? Welcome to Poppies was closer to the event and I think now we have had a little time to watch the city recover, I think we have tried to celebrate its resilience. Everyone seems to be more in shape, the city it doing good we only have three more years of George Bush, everyone is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Your career is and has been huge, what has been the most defining part of it for you? I think it's been the little things for me. I remember every time whatever record label we were on telling us that we were gonna make our next record. I always thought that was a huge deal because we always have so much to do and we are still given the chance to continue doing it. I guess all the times when we kept our integrity, in this business it's really easy to give in to money; we never try to do that. We'd rather look back and say we weren't like Bill Gates; we did it our way like Frank Sinatra. In your day to day life what aren't you so good at? I know I have a lot of floors. I'm not all that good at talking. When I write music I can write things down and work on things that way, but when I try and talk one on one in a personal sense I don't think I do a great job of saying what I mean. I am getting better! I guess talking to different people all the time really helps. I guess I just fuck up when I try and tell someone how I feel about them. How do you find talking when you are onstage? Oh I find that OK. When I'm singing the blues I'm often singing what I would have liked to have said to that person who might have inspired the song. It's all true what I say but it's not like I'm saying it face to face. When I get in a situation like that I always feel like I am unintentionally saying one of my lyrics to them and that always sounds really corny to me. I don't think it does to them but I get all self-conscious about it. I also can't watch any videos or things like that with me in them, that bugs me out, It's like what the fuck is this guy doing on tv!?! Aside from music what else are you really passionate about? Well I always try and put everything I've got into my music. I'm not married and I don't have any kids but I am very passionate about the people who are in my life. So even though I don't have my own family I have created a really big one with my brothers and the guys from the bands. I guess I just have to find a girl to put up with me long enough to have some babies! Which movie bad guy who would you be? Actually I've just played a bad guy in a movie! It's called Head Rush and it comes out next month. I think I was pretty good in that, I play a transvestite bad guy! I'm like a really cruel Eddy Izzard. I like Eddy Izzard a lot. What's next for you guys? The tour starts in September and that's pretty much going to be the next year and a half of our lives! Anyone who has some electricity and some beer we will show up and will play! That's what we love doing. http://www.flcnyc.com | 
