Photo courtesy of Fat Wreck Chords
In an ideal world, what are some other artists dead or living that you would tour with – either as Sundowner or with The Lawrence Arms? Yeah, I know it’s a loaded question but…
Oh man. That’s crazy tough to answer. We’ve been really fortunate. We’ve toured with a lot of my favorite bands. We’ve toured with Hot Water Music. We’ve toured with NOFX. We’ve toured with No Use for a Name and Lagwagon. We’ve done shows with Bad Religion and The Dead Milkmen. That stuff is amazing. We did Europe with Millencolin. We’ve done Australia with Frenzal Rhomb. That stuff is pretty mind-blowing to me when I think about it. And personally I’ve been really fortunate too. I just did some shows with Joey Cape and Jon Snodgrass. I’ve done shows with Chuck [Ragan] and played on the Revival Tour here and there. I feel pretty fortunate, man. It puts a smile on me in terms of that. If I could open for Leonard Cohen, that would be awesome. Even if I could just see him play and hang out, that would be awesome. But yeah, we’ve been fortunate. There is going to be a new Lawrence Arms record and I’ve got this thing going on and there is a new chapter ahead.
Did you guys contribute any songs to the Tony Sly tribute album that is coming out in October?
No, unfortunately we did not. Tony was just an amazing guy and we got to tour with [No Use for a Name] a lot. They’re all great dudes. Tony is just dearly missed. He was an amazing songwriter and just a great dude.
So I’ve got one more for you. Let’s do some word association. I’m going to name a few things and you’re going to tell me the first word that comes to mind.
(laughs) Alright.
Ramones.
Classic.
The Beatles.
One of the best. Is that a word?
Naked Raygun.
Ah dude, home! Chicago. That’s not exactly word association but I grew up going to Naked Raygun shows and listening to Naked Raygun. They’ve got a special place in my heart.
Johnny Cash.
Outlaw.
Queen.
I don’t even have a word to…I mean, majestic? Triumphant? (laughs) Freddy Mercury is one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time.
Operation Ivy.
Energy is one of the best punk rock records of all time.
Nirvana.
The ’90s?
Smoking Popes.
Smoking Popes…what’s the word I’m looking for? Again, growing up in Chicago, I got to see the Popes at a young age and had all those early seven inches and they were just an incredible band. Neil from The Lawrence Arms actually plays drums for The Smoking Popes and having gotten to know those guys over the years. They are just tremendous musicians. And Josh is an amazing songwriter. Raygun and Popes are part of the Chicago history that I come from.
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