SHOOTING FROM THE HIP!

20 questions with Lars Frederiksen.

Ian: You meet Joe Strummer and he accuses you of being a Clash rip-off band. What do you do?

Lars: Kick his arse! No, iīd say: How about joining the band? But i know for a fact that he dosenīt think that, neither does Mick Jones. The Clash are just one of millions of bands weīve either seen or heard about that have had an influence. But i think the Ramones had a bigger influenc on us than any other band. I mean Tim Armstrong learned how to play guitar while listening to the Ramones. They were the ones that changed the whole fucking thing.Without the Ramones there would have been no Clash.

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Ian: Which is better, English or American punk?

Lars: I like them both equally. I love the Ramones as much as i love the Business, you know? Iīd have to say equal but theyīre different. Nothing is really better than anything, itīs just different.

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Ian: Have you ever been accused of selling out?

Lars: Yeah. But when people say that weīve sold out itīs just basically lies mixed with jealousy. And thatīs the way it normally is. When people try to take something away from you theyīre just jealous of what youīve got. But we never actually planed for this to happen, and now that it has weīre not gonna play some act of god and say that somebody canīt listen to our music. Our musicīs for everybody.

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Ian: You meet Perry Farrell and he accuses you of aiding and abetting the downfall of the Lollapalooza festival. What do you say?

Lars: Weīve actually met Perry Farrell when we toured with Porno for Pyros in Australia, and he didnīt say that. Heīs pretty cool. But the way we see Lollapalooza is a Rancid and Ramones tour with a funny name. We donīt know anything about those other bands. Weīre not trying to take anything away from them, itīs just that we wanted to be on tour with the Ramones.

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Ian: James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich wish to join Rancid on stage for the last song on the last date of Lollapalooza. Do you let them?

Lars: I donīt know. If theyīre cool, yes; if theyīre not cool, then no. If we became good friends with them then iīd love to have them join us on stage. But i donīt know if that is going to happen. I donīt even know if we will get to meet them.

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Ian: Is it true that youīre Brett Gurewitzīs favorite band on the label?

Lars: I donīt know. Brett loves his bands, whether it be Pennywise or NOFX, Red Aunts or Total Chaos. I think he gives equal love to all his bands. Whether we are his favourites or not i donīt know.

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Ian: When Brett heard that youīd decided you werenīt going to leave the label, he went out and got himself a Rancid tattoo. What was your response when you first saw it?

Lars: Wow! That was my response. Wow, cool!

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Ian: Aside from Rancid, whoīs the best band on Epitaph?

Lars: Pennywise. I love ém all, but Pennywise are definitley my favourite.

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Ian: Why did you turn down a seven-figure deal and not go to Epic Records?

Lars: Because we wanted to be where all of our friends are. We just made the decision to stay home. Epitaph is the label we grew with when we first started. We worked hard to get where we are, and it just seemed logical to stay where all our friends are.

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Ian: Whatīs your opinion of the Sex Pistols re-union?

Lars: Funnily enough, i was talking to Steve Jones the night before last and thatīs where his lifeīs at right now. And thatīs okay. I donīt have anything bad to say about that. The guyīs our friend and i wish him the best of luck. But i donīt know, man... it sounds to me like itīs going to be a total disaster simply because they couldnīt get along in the first place.

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Ian: Which is the better band, the Sex Pistols or the Clash?

Lars: I couldnīt decide. If you pointed a gun at my head and asked me the same question then youīd have to shoot me.

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Ian: Which is the worldīs most underrated punk rock band?

Lars: Thereīs a million of them. Over here in the States i think itīs Sick of it all and Social Distortion. But thereīs a million bands i think people should pay attention to but for one reason or other never get acknowledge.

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Ian: The Pistols offer you a slot on their upcoming London Finsbury Park show. Do you accept?

Lars: Well, we were offered the opening slot on their tour, but we couldnīt do it because were already going to be touring. I think Rancid would rather be a spectator than a participant of the actually swindle!

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Ian: Charlie Harper from the UK Subs gives you a call and asks you to rejoin the band for just one gig, again with the Pistols at Finsbury Park. Do you accept?

Lars: Probaly not. Just for the fact that iīm in a much better band now. But i still love the UK Subs; Iīm still a fan, and me and Charlie are friends again, because there was some sour grapes between us. But letīs say no simply because iīm on tour with Rancid.

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Ian: Is it true that Modonna sent you some nude photos of herself in order to persuade you to sign to her Maverick label?

Lars: Yes. She sent us one nude photo, but it wasnīt a beaver shot. It was a very sweet photo. I have it in my closet and thatīs where it is going to stay.

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Ian: Is it true that the first time you toured mainland Europe you hated the place so much you vowed never to return?

Lars: Yes. We were travelling during one of the bitterest winters Europe had seen a while, and every place we went was really cold. There was no heather in the van and it was just miserable. Barely anyone knew us, and we were over there for seven weeks. A dog ripped up the bench seat on the first day of the tour. Plus we were living on something like ten Deutschmarks a day, so you couldnīt even eat on the amount. We were lucky if we ate once a day. But we always loved England.We thought that if we could just tour England and the States then weīd be just fine.

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Ian: How important is each member of Rancid to the collective whole? Could you carry on if anyone left?

Lars: No, we just couldnīt. We have a chemestry that is the kind you only find once in a lifetime. I donīt even want to think about that. It would be horrible. This is like a family. Nobodyīs out for their own little ego, itīs just all for one and one for all. Itīs been us against the world on so many occasions that itīs totally the four of us now. And if you get in our way then weīll fuck you up. All we had was each other for so long, and weīre all still pretty working-class.

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Ian: What singel act could Rancid commit that would make you feel it was time to call it a day?

Lars: Not be friends any more.