by Micah

Micah (RM): I asked Tony [Campos] a question, earlier, that maybe I should have asked you.

Evil J: Oh yeah?

Micah (RM): We were talking about other bands that started heavy and then ventured out to other places, some ending up on pop stations. I asked him if he thought they could benefit by getting back to their heavy roots, because Static X kind of did that with Cannibal…

Evil J: Oh yeah! Juk juk juk juk juk (Evil J's Static X guitar sound effect.) Yeah, the same point… I mean, there comes a time where you need to realize: Do you want to do this as a career? Or, do you want to have it be something that you just came and went with? Like, I'm stoked that I've been able to do this for seven years, so far. And, you know… and hopefully for much longer, and with much more success, but that's the idea. It's like: How do you branch out? Like how do we manage to dump a song, or to come up with a song, like 'Perfectly Flawed' and 'Invisible' and really try to reach a broader, like, gap of people, and it's like, but we're not that far off. 'House of Secrets,' the song itself, was a really, really cool song. All these things still have these Portishead elements, you know, all that we really dig, and all that stuff, so… But you can tell when there's somebody who's doing it because they just want the easy, quick buck - because I fit in, I latched. I'm easily described, or easily understood in this genre of music, so it's…I mean, I'm, at least, guaranteed this much success. You know, and most of the times, you know, they never end up achieving as much success as the first, because by the time they come out, it's already been-there-done-that, so…

Micah (RM): As of right now, is OT3P still with Capital records?

Evil J: Yes. As of today, yes.

Micah (RM): How does the future look?

Evil J: Uh… The future's bright! I gotta wear shades. Um… I don't… I mean, I know where we would like to see it go, and I mean, there are options and choices, and things in the making, and you know… I think that it's going to be good, whatever it is. It's just a matter of, because of the opportunity to rethink and reassess the situation… it creates a new element, so like I said, we have to make sure we are choosing all of our options, to the best of our ability.

Micah (RM): You've played in a lot of different places, but if you could pick any city in the world, to play in tomorrow, where would it be? Don't worry, I'm not from Dallas, so…

Evil J: (laughs) No, no, no, no… I'm just trying to figure out the reason of why I would want to play there… I mean, I have my own personal reasons for the city I'd want to play in, tomorrow.

Micah (RM): Ok?

Evil J: Seattle, Washington…

Micah (RM): Seattle…

Evil J: But… I've only played there, once before, but it's not so much the show, as much as it's somebody I need to see…

Micah (RM): You're significant other…

Evil J: Yeah, but…

Micah (RM): Wow. That's the next question.

Evil J: (laughs) Uh-oh…

Micah (RM): I was going to ask if there was someone… I mean, I kind of knew, but…

Evil J: There, there is a… As of recent, there's been a girl, in my life. I've been single for about two years, and… but again, how long did it take to write the record? About two years… I didn't really have time for that stuff, ya know? I mean, I didn't even try to pursue it. It was just not on my planner, at that point. But now, there is a girl, in my life that I care, very deeply, for. That's where she is. I get to see her at the end of the tour, but… Yeah. Sorry ladies. Evil J is off the market.

Micah (RM): How difficult is it to maintain a relationship while on tour, like this?

Evil J: Yeah… It… It is. Trust is a big thing. You know? You have to know that you can trust each other. Especially, more me her, I guess. I mean, she probably has a lot of temptation, too. I'm lucky, she's cute, so… (laughs) But, uh… Yeah, you know, it is difficult. You know, our drummer's engaged, you know, so… You know, to a really awesome girl, that I know, and she's out of the Chicago area. It's just like, when we're off, we're never in the same area, but it doesn't really matter when you're not home, so, I mean this tour lasts for like two and a half months. So, it's like, Brian and I were out, on tour from December, till like, the end of November to the end of December, and then we're home for a handful of months now we're gone for two and a half months, and then hopefully, we'll go home for another month, and then we'll go to Europe for awhile and, whatever, but… Maintaining the actual relationship definitely has it's ups and downs, cause it's totally verbal, or technology, text messaging, where you know, you just try to maintain, and try not to let sh…you know… stuff really weigh you down and get too heavy, and… You know, if I'm having a bad night, and she's having a bad night, a bitching contest never wins for anyone… So… I, pretty much, am a happy guy. I'd like to be… I mean, who wouldn't want to be home all the time? But, I enjoy the… I love being on tour, and in that, I love being me, because I get to be on tour, and I work really hard, and all the bands love being out with us, because of the fact that, not only do they see that we're really hard working people, but we're really good people. We want to have a great time. We see the camaraderie of a tour like this. I mean, we're a traveling act of people, and there's… We all get along so great on this tour. The band work ethic is pretty much unison, throughout all of each band. Everybody takes it very seriously. It's just… It's a lot of fun, and because of that, I feel good, and I get to go and entertain, and feel happy, so I guess that helps me maintain a positive side of a relationship, because I get that reinforcement, continuously, because I fight for it. It's just great, so I usually tend to be happy.

Micah (RM): What's the best advice someone's ever given you?

Evil J: …Wow… I can't… I'm tryin' to nail it down in one phrase… (laughs) That's a hard question. Um… I guess I… I guess, since I've gotten, like, this collective advice… You know, everybody always tells you the same thing. Work hard, doing and pursuing what you love. Probably I'd have to say, it's been my dad. He's the one who reiterates to me, all the time, that… He… He reminds me of what I'm doing, and how I don't see it, sometimes, because I'm on this side, you know, and he gets to see it on the other side. He sees the actual genuine reactions to peoples' faces when we're playin' shows, and I don't. I'm sort of in my own world, and he sees how it helps kids, and he reads the websites, and he sees all this stuff, so… His advice to me was, to just always be true to yourself, and he allowed me to pursue, I guess, what I thought my dream was, and that was to figure out some way to play music, one way or another. You know, whether it was studio work or a band or whatever, but… I knew I wanted to play music, and I'm fortunate as Hell to be able to do it in this exact way, but it's all due to my dad.

Micah (RM): Will OT3P ever release a live album?

Evil J: I certainly hope so! We kick ass, live! Um… I would love to put out a live album, especially now, with the line-up we have, with our guitar player, Aaron. He's definitely one of the most efficient guitar players we have. He's been a guitar player for a long time. And, especially with Brian, our drummer. He's just insane, but I mean.. Yeah. Hopefully, once all of this hoopla gets sorted out, you'll most likely be seeing a live album. I mean, it would be a perfect follow-up for this record, because it would not only have new stuff, but it would have a taste of everything. You know, we play a little bit from each record at every show, so, ya know, I mean… We have a hard time not playing… I mean, you'd think after six years of playing 'Blood Pigs' we'd be like, Nah, I don't need to play it. Hell no! I love playing that song, everyday! It still hurts my arm to play it. It's that challenging. There isn't one song that we have that I would… that I get tired of playing, and that's because of how I pursue the performance of it. You know, I can always play something a little bit better. I can play it with a little bit more expression, or with a little bit more feeling, so yeah, I would love to do a live album. I would love to, even, do a live album… a live dvd of a performance. I mean, we had The Abominations come out, but it wasn't in stores. You could only order it online. And, it had a couple of videos that were done with Ozzfest 2002, which was really great, you know, and every time we watch it, we're just like, Yep! It was that hot! Everybody just looks sunburned, and sweaty, and you know it's great, but I would love to see that kind of stuff, and I think the fans would, too. I'm just disappointed that record labels don't see that, and just… Ok, if it is a risky cost, use your smarts to figure out more… more of a way. Itunes has all of this stuff, you know, there's a billion different… MySpace Videos, I mean… There's so many joint situations with corporations and companies, we just need a financial backer. You know, somebody who's willing to help you get the thing going, and then get it out there. But again, you need to… In some respects, you need to spend money to make money. There's one of the traditional ones. But then, promotion's huge! You know, the internet is big, but TV ads still work. Kids still watch TV, and kids still read magazines, and things like that. People are getting tired of pop-ups on certain things, ya know. They just start to pay no mind to that stuff, but… A live record would be rad.

Micah (RM): One of the reasons I ask, is because the people on the [OT3P] message board want to know. People are wanting a live OT3P album.

Evil J: Right on. Awesome. That would be so awesome… Plus, our tone is so good now. Yamaha… Like all the different groups we work with - all the different companies: Yamaha for drums, for the guitar rigs we're using Randall, you know, with ESP guitars, and then me with Peavey and Trace Elliot… It's just like, our sonic tones are at optimum efficiency, at the moment. You know, and that's one of the things that really fuels our live performances, even more now, is that we sound even better and our… Everything's more reliable, and the companies that we're working with are so much more cooperative and things like that, so…

Micah (RM): That's it, man. Is there anything else on your mind that you'd like to share? Anything I haven't covered?

Evil J: You got it all, man. I… I didn't think you left anything out. That was awesome! It was quite thorough, I believe.

Micah (RM): Thanks, Evil J.