> 1. hello john, first of all, are you fond of internet communication? is it ok for you to do interview this way or you prefer to "online" live talk?

Actually I prefer internet communication. It's very fast and I get the opportunity to really think out my responses and edit them until I am happy with everything. It's ideal, actually.

> 2. ..... on your first lp pictures you look very young, how old was you when you started with out cold? can you remember the early days of "notorious" boston hardcore scene; since when you were involved into it ? did you play in any other bands before out cold?

I was the youngest member of the band back then. At that time I was 16. Mark was the oldest and he was 20. No, I don't remember the "glory" days of Boston hardcore. I did not get into punk/hardcore until around 1985/1986 and by that time there was nothing good left, especially in Boston. No, Out Cold was my first real band.

> 3. on internet we can read that the reason out cold was formed for was the distaste for the contemporary music scene, it was then. but after about 12 years of being here there had to be something positive, great that leads you through ..... hm? is it still so exciting for you like 12 years before? and what do you think about "pride of being here for 12 years" ?

The only reason we're still doing this after all this time is that we love the music. We really don't have much of a following and we pretty much constantly lose money. So, nothing has really changed for us since we started. The biggest difference is that the scene in general has gotten a lot better. When we started out there was nobody playing this type of music. Now there's tons of cool bands. It's just as exciting for us because we still love the music. It's a completely personal thing. When we play there's usually no audience participation or even enthusiasm, but we are not playing for them. We are playing 100% for ourselves so it's usually good.

> 4. out cold lyrics always looks very personal and internally, i think. my question is, what do you think, is hardcore more political or personal subculture? of course, anybody should say that it can fits both, but i mean for you, is it more about personal life frustrations or about the ways to resist? or maybe the question should be : what do you looking for the music known as "hardcore" ?

Hardcore can be either personal or political. Both approaches are valid. It all depends on the individial and/or band. For us it's always been personal/internal. We're not political at all. We just write about our personal feelings of frustration, alienation, etc. not even to find or seek solutions to our problems, but just to express them and get them out of our systems. It's an outlet. What am I looking for in hardcore music? A feeling. The music has to convey a certain feeling for me. I don't really care what the message is. If the lyrics are well-written and meaningful that makes it even better, but it's the music and the overall vibe behind it that really matters to me. The Bad Brains were good at incorporating great lyrics and great music, so were Black Flag, but I also love a band like Poison Idea who weren't exactly profound lyricists, but their music itself spoke volumes. I like political stuff too, but the music has to back it up, like Discharge or Dead Kennedys are political and also play kick ass music. Basically what I'm trying to say is the music itself is what really matters. Think about it, we're talking about music here, not books.

> 5. one political question ..... maybe you don't care about the politics, but i can't neglect that the change of your president can't be worse, I simply don't like mr. bush. and so, can i ask you : a) are you interested in policy b) what do you think about mr. bush ?

I have to admit that I'm so non-political I am a little ashamed. I'm really a dummy when it comes to policies and government. It's just not in my blood. It's all so complicated, especially in a country like the US. I mean, we have so many different demographic profiles here that one policy will impact different segments of the population so drastically different that I find it hard to judge what is good for everyone. It's a little over my head, I guess. I am interested but not very adept at it. As for Bush, I don't like him either. I'm speaking completely from my gut feeling here, but I trust him less than I've ever trusted a president. I'm not sure why. It's just the way he talks and carries himself. Just my gut feeling, but I didn't vote so I guess I have no right to complain.

6. another special question for yourself... what do you think about the words : "look normal, play brutal" ? i'm asking you, because you're the one of out cold, who looks really of my taste, always wearing rifle and t-shirt, don't you? I mean I like colorful mohawks very much, but i don't need to have one and I am much more into that slogan above. it seems like everybody try to act like clothes doesn't care, but I think in some way (and maybe right because everybody trying so hard) they do ... what about you?

"Wearing rifle"? I'm not sure what you mean by that. I think people should dress the way they want. All that "punk" or "hardcore" fashion is cool if it's real. I despise when people dress that way just to fit in with a certain scene, though. That's no different than the jocks or the preppies back in my high school. I dress "normal" because that's what I like. I hate gimmicks, and the punk fashion is a big gimmick for a lot of bands. That's probably one of the reasons we're not very popular is that we dress normal. It's all about the music, not the image.

> 6.5 with "wearing rifle" i mean, you looks like you never needed to put some fucking dirty t-shirt with ton of patches, to have ten piercings on your face and big "fuck off" on the back of your jacket and that IS a bit strange for punk, at least here (not for me, i am kinda of your taste!). i mean, it is much more harder to absorb wearing trousers and t-shirt, nobody is curious about the "normal looking punk" ..... i am interested in what do you think about this?

Image means absolutely nothing to me. If your music sucks and you look amazing, then you suck. If your music is amazing and you look boring, then you are amazing. It's all about the music and nothing else for me. Sometimes when a band is too image oriented it actually detracts from the music for me. The Misfits are a good example. Lately they've really pumped up their image so much that I've lost respect for them as musicians and songwriters. They're like a cartoon band now. I thought American Psycho was a good album, but the last one was pretty lousy in my opinion. I think they should've focused more on writing good songs as opposed to sharpening the spikes on their drum set. A good example of a band who plays killer music with no image bullshit is the New Bomb Turks. They are truly an amazing band in every aspect and they just look like average Joes. To me that just makes them even cooler. Props to them.

> 7. has out cold any special relation with the Netherlands? and by the way, can you tell me a story how did you get into release of cockroach ep?

Our label, Kangaroo Records, is in the Netherlands. That's really our only connection with the place. It's a great country and I'm glad that we have had the opportunity to play there. I heard Cockroach on a compilation and really liked them, so I sent away for their demo and liked them even more, so I wrote to them and asked to put out a record by them. That's the whole story. They're great guys. I regret that we couldn't play with them when we came through there last year. Maybe next time.

> 7.5 do you know they are really young guys, they were even younger than you when they start with this music? and they have very nice song about this, something like "no one born as punk" ... what do you think? what are your experiences with 15-16 years old punx over there in united states?

I knew they were pretty young but I don't know how young. How young are they? Yeah, I know that song. That's "Does Age Matter?" from the Mihoen split. Yeah, I totally agree. There is this shitty attitude in the punk/HC scene that says "I've been into this longer than you, I am superior to you" which is totally stupid. All that is childish ego gratification based on nothing. I hate that idea that punk is like some elite club. It's that type of immature attitude that punk is supposed to be against. Cockroach defintely have the right attitude. Let's hope they don't grow old and jaded (haha). I'm not too sure about those young kids here in the US. I don't really have any contact with them. They're probably similar to kids over there.

> 7.7 don't you think that whole scene is getting much more older than it was before?do you think is it good movement even for the older generation .... what about any punk gurus, annuitants with red mohawks, haha??

I'm not too sure about the scene in general. I'm actually a pretty isolated person and don't really know what's going on unfortunately. I think they'll always be new kids coming into it and hopefully getting into the older stuff, but I'm not quite sure what's happening. Yeah, I definitely think it's a good movement, especially for the older generation. Kids can sometimes be stupid (it's not so much their fault, they're young and immature) and punk is kinda like a weapon, you have to be careful how you use it. Still, punk is the most liberating form of rocknroll and is good for everyone in my opinion. It really sets you free and makes you feel alive. Wow, you know English better than me! I had to look up the word "annuitant"! Haha. Some of my punk rock heroes are Greg Ginn, Billy Childish, Pete Shelley, all the Ramones, Dick Lucas, many more. These people deserve much respect.

> 8. do you think deranged rec. is good label? is that a reason why you put out your last two lps ("will attack ..." and split w/ voorhees) on this one instead of kangaroo rec.?

Well, the new album ("Will Attack...") isn't out yet, so the fate of that is still up in the air, but the reason we chose to go with Deranged for the vinyl pressing of the Voorhees split was that we wanted something a little different for a change. We did 3 albums with Kangaroo and we haven't parted ways with them, but I think Deranged gets more distribution in the US which is something we've been sorely lacking for our entire career. Actually, that thing isn't even out yet. We're expecting it any day now, though. We'll see how it goes.

> 9. are you possible to orient in the music by the names of record labels? if yes, what are your favourite ?

I don't really subscribe to everything a certain label puts out. I don't even subscribe to everything a certain band puts out. I take each record on it's own account.

> 10. whose eyes are on the cover of "no eye contact" ep? my tip : j. gagarin .... :-) ?

Hahaha. Those are Gary Numan's eyes. Gary Numan is fucking god (well he was from '77-'81 anyway). Who is J. Gagarin?

> 10.5 you don't know who's jurij gagarin???? man, it was the first human in the space (from russia), what the fuck are they teaching you at the schools ..... ? by the way who is gary numan, haha, i think actor or so...... ?

Oh. Well, don't you know that we hate the Russians and don't acknowledge any of their achievements? (haha). As for my lack of knowledge, you're one to talk. You don't know who Gary Numan is??? He came out of Britian in the late '70s playing stripped down, cold & calculated punk but shortly morphed into a new sound that was equally as good and proved that the synthesizer, when applied correctly, didn't totally fucking ruin everything it came in contact with. He was popular for that song "Cars" in the early-80s. He is one of my all time favorite artists. He is amazing.

> 10.7 it looks like you don't like synthesizers and similar equipements too much, do you? are there any other artists of "non-rocking" music style you like? and by the way, what other equipments used in "music" you hate as well...?

Yeah, I think 99.99% of the time synthesizers, drum machines and things like that sound like complete shit. I think dirty old-fashioned instruments always sound much better. However, like I said, in very rare cases these things can be applied correctly and sound good. This is very rare, though, in my opinion. Oh, I also hate the harpsichord. I've never heard that instrument used to good effect. As for "non-rocking" music styles...yes, I love a lot of relatively laid back music such as the Beatles, early Dire Straits, Neil Young, early Bee Gees, David Bowie, Simon & Garfunkel, early Elton John, Leonard Cohen, Donovan, Cat Stevens, etc. I love many different styles of music.

> 11. what is it Alien Blood Transfusion? is there any connection with o.c. ?

ABT is a side band of Mark and I. Actually it was going to be our main band when Out Cold broke up in 1997, but of course, we didn't stay broken up so ABT has really been on the backburner for the past few years. It's still an ongoing project though for when we have some free time.

> 12. what does the ramones means to you .... of course i am asking because that sad accident of joey's death. can you name any other essential influences on out cold?

Mark should answer this question. The Ramones are his favorite band of all time. We all love the Ramones dearly. They were the greatest, most influential punk band ever. Joey's death totally sucks. I still can't believe he's gone. He was way too young to die. I fucking hate cancer!! It kills so many people and it's so insidious, it just takes over your body and rots you from the inside out. Man. The Ramones' importance cannot be overstated and Joey is of course, sorely missed. Black Flag is a main influence. So is Poison Idea. Others include the Freeze, Bad Brains, GBH, Dead Boys, Minor Threat, Germs, etc.

> 12.5 ...... oooh, not too many people i know are into g.b.h. i think. what do you think is their best lp ????

Man, we fucking love GBH. Those Clay years are truly inspirational. My favorite album is either "City Baby Attacked By Rats" or "Leather Bristles Studs & Acne". It's almost a toss up between the two.

> 13. will you be touring also the old continent in october this year?

We're trying to set up a tour of Iceland, Ireland, and the UK for October, but that's it. We won't have time to make it to the continent. I'd like to do the mainland and Scandinavia next spring, but that's just an idea.

> 14. ok, all i think. really nice interview, thanx a lot ....... oh, what's going to be on the cover of your new lp? ..... any new colour???