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I called Chris Lopez, main Rock*a*Teen, at his home in Cabbageville, Georgia, during the band's weeklong hiatus from touring, and harassed him with the following dumb-ass questions (we don't count too good here neither): JJN: How is the new CD Golden Time different from your earlier ones, in terms of how you approached writing, playing, and recording it? LOPEZ: I think it's a little more sharp, whittled down, to the point. JJN: What kind of vehicle do you tour in? LOPEZ: Big Gary - which is a blue and white 1984 Chevy Beauville. JJN: What things about home do you miss the most while on the road? LOPEZ: Hmm.... The atmosphere, the feel - there's a palpable feeling, a taste in the air that's specific to this area of the country, I think. JJN: What's the worst club experience you've had while touring? LOPEZ: In Tucson - no no, Phoenix - it was an all-ages show, and they had a fence up separating the all-ages from the drinking people. So you'd come in the back door and be fenced off, you'd go all the way back to the bar and if you were over twenty-one, you'd turn right and go around the fence up to the front of the stage. But if you weren't twenty-one you were like off to the side of the stage, kind of hanging out behind the fence like refugees or something. It was pathetic. And the people there weren't very polite either. We kinda felt bad for the people at the show - you just wanna go see a show and you're kinda like corraled. JJN: How do you imagine the typical Rock*a*Teens fan? LOPEZ: Somewhat melancholy yet gets quite extroverted when plied with alcohol. JJN: Ford or Chevy? LOPEZ: Never really given it much thought - but I'm gonna have to go with Chevy 'cause Big Gary's a Chevy. I pledge allegiance. Gary's a champ. JJN: Which band member makes the worst dietary decisions on tour, given that you're all sharing a vehicle? LOPEZ: Whoa - that could be self-incriminating. Or it could cause problems.... When you're traveling, kind of one of the healthiest choices you can make is probably burritos - so I guess everyone's equally guilty. JJN: Which musician, living or dead, would you most like to have collaborated with? LOPEZ: Hmm.... Bruce Springsteen - but early, in the late '70s He was at the peak of his powers and kind of freaky. That was before he got too...overtly American. Born to Run and Darkness at the Edge of Town, but you gotta kinda stop there. Born to Run altogether, he's got the beard going, writing about people strapping their hand across my engine, velvet rims - weird characters. JJN: What's the band's onstage drink of choice? LOPEZ: Whatever they're giving out for free. Usually beer...then you get kinda burned out on beer, so bourbon. Bourbon and gingerale, bourbon and ice, bourbon.... We like to drink Maker's Mark, top-shelf stuff, when we can get it. JJN: If the band were an animal, what kind would it be? LOPEZ: Kind of like a mangy dog, or a mangy cat. A mangy dog. Little skinny thing. JJN: If Roy Orbison arm-wrestled Elvis, who'd win? LOPEZ (not a moment's hesitation or doubt): Roy Orbison. JJN: What's the band's preferred road reading material? LOPEZ: Newspapers, news magazines.... And the Bible. JJN: What record, other than your own, do you wish you could have made? LOPEZ: Let's see... A Ronettes record, with Phil Spector. JJN: How would the world change if the Rock*a*Teens were as popular as Puff Daddy? LOPEZ: Oh man...the love would cover the country, the whole world, like a soft blanket. Everyone would run around kissing each other. More R*A*T*S: Cry; Baby, A Little Rain Must Fall
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