POST BURNING SITE

[johnnynovato]

I love the twist of how I started out annoyed and confused by the Post Burning Site -- having assumed that the repeated dumb posts were spam perpetrated by some crazy person -- only to understand what it is for and to find myself doing the same thing.

Like how in 12 Monkeys, at the beginning the psychiatrist thinks Bruce Willis is crazy and then they've switched places.

[dicebourbon]

I really should have posted more over the years.

[dicebourbon]

And tweeted.

[johnnynovato]

Aqui me pongo a cantar
al compás de la vigüela,
que el hombre que lo desvela
una pena estrordinaria,
como la ave solitaria
con el cantar se consuela.

[johnnynovato]

Track listing[edit]

"Believe in Me" (featuring Slash) – 3:23
"I Love You" – 4:14
"Man in the Meadow" – 4:50
"(F@*ked Up) Beyond Belief" (featuring Jeff Beck and Matt Sorum) – 3:29
"Could It Be U" (featuring Dizzy Reed) – 3:04
"Just Not There" (featuring Slash) – 3:34
"Punk Rock Song" – 1:37
"The Majority" (featuring Lenny Kravitz) – 3:10
"10 Years" (featuring Gilby Clarke) – 4:29
"Swamp Song" (featuring Jeff Beck) – 3:04
"Trouble" (featuring Sebastian Bach and Dave "The Snake" Sabo) – 3:12
"F@*k You" – 3:24
"Lonely Tonite" – 3:03

[johnnynovato]

SO I NOTICE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN REALLY INVOLVED WITH PROMOTING THE MILITARY. [1]
Well, they actually came to us, believe it or not. Somebody in the Navy loves this band, because they used ‘Awake’ for three years and then they came to us and re-upped the contract for another three years for ‘Sick of Life.’ So, I don’t know. They just feel like that music, [laughs] someone in that place thinks that the music is very motivating for recruit commercials I guess. And hey, I’m an American boy so it’s not… I’m proud of it.
YOU’RE PROUD OF RECRUITING YOUR FANS INTO THE MILITARY?
Well, no. [laughs, then jokingly] Don’t be turning my fucking words around, you!

WELL, TELL ME WHAT YOU MEAN. YOU SAID YOUR MUSIC IS POWERFUL, IT’S GOT AN EFFECT, LIKE YOU SAID, AND YOU’RE LETTING THE MILITARY USE IT. THE MILITARY, WHO ARE THEY RECRUITING? 18 TO 30-YEAR OLDS, RIGHT?
I guess… I don’t know what their recruit age is. I know it’s at least 18. (...)

IN 2003 YOU DID A SHOW THAT STARTED WITH VIDEO FOOTAGE OF APACHE HELICOPTERS HONING IN ON A DESERT TARGET INTERSPERSED WITH THE WORDS “WE WILL PREVAIL./STRONGER THAN THEM ALL.” (...)
Yeah…?

SO YOU’RE USING MILITARY IMAGERY WITH YOUR MUSIC AT YOUR CONCERTS.
First of all, it was a COMPUTER image, a computer-animated helicopter that didn’t… There was no scene of a desert in there. It was a helicopter that rose up from the screen and scanned the audience. It was an EFFECT. And then it shot out missiles that hit the stage.

[johnnynovato]

JAY: Uh huh…

SULLY: Because the intro to “Straight Out of Line” has the sounds of like, a war thing going on.

JAY [trying to decide if Sully is dissembling or just obtuse]: Oh I see. So it’s just sort of a concept thing. [pause] Well, you’ve done a lot to help out the guys who are in the military, who are stuck there now, whether they chose to be there or they got hoodwinked into being there. For whatever reason, they’re in the military. And they’re doing their job. You guys did a show for them at Camp Pendleton–

SULLY: Yup.

JAY: –called “Rockin’ the Corps.” And so you’ve been doing a lot of benefit shows…

SULLY: [interrupting] Well, like I said, Listen you know, there’s a lot of young kids that die for our country, man, and they don’t have the choice once they’re in there.

JAY: That’s right.

SULLY: So I just feel well you know whatever we can do to say “thank you for protecting our country” is what we try to do. I’m not trying to make this a big political issue.

JAY: Okay. Have you done anything to prevent people from joining the military?

SULLY: No.

JAY: To maybe educate them as to what’s in store for them?

SULLY: I don’t have enough education in the military to educate them in anything.

JAY: Would you let your music be used for anti-military recruiting advertisements?

SULLY: I don’t know, I’d have to see what that was about.

JAY: But you’d be open to it?

SULLY: We’re open to whatever, as long as it’s not a Maybelline commercial.

JAY: [laughs] Maybelline’s more offensive than the military…?

SULLY: No. That doesn’t quite go with what we do.

JAY: But the military does?

SULLY: Listen. Where are we going with this thing? Is this interview about the government–

JAY: Well, I’ve never seen such a pro-military–

SULLY: Sounds like this is a personal attack or whatever.

JAY: Well I’ve never seen such a pro-military band as you guys. [4]

SULLY: But we’re not! I think [chuckling] you’re making us out to be a little bit more. When we’re asked about something, we just answer the question. We don’t go spend 23 hours out of our day supporting the military and what they do.

JAY: Um hmm.

SULLY: We just simply, an opportunity came up, they wanted to use some music for a recruit commercial. What are we gonna say, no?

JAY: Yeah. How hard is it to say ‘no’?

SULLY: Why would we, though?!?

JAY: Because…

SULLY [interrupting]: Is it because you don’t feel the same way about the government that we do, makes you right and us wrong?

JAY: Yeah. What do you feel about the government? Tell me what–

SULLY: Aw, that’s crazy, man! That’s just an OPINION.

JAY: I can back my opinion up from here to tomorrow if you would like to talk to me all day long.

SULLY: Well obviously you’ve done a lot of research and you’ve–

JAY [interrupting]: That’s right, because–

SULLY: –got a different opinion. We don’t know that stuff that you know, so–

JAY [impatient]: Why don’t you do some research before you get involved with these sorts of things? You’re talking about young kids’ lives. You’re talking about kids–

SULLY: [yelling] Would you rather not have us be protected so they can come and overrun our country?!?

JAY: Do you know what a “fool’s errand” is?

SULLY: I’m asking you a question!

JAY: No one is threatening–

SULLY [interrupting]: Would you rather us not be protected?!?

JAY: You know what I’d like, Sully? A Department of Defense, not a Department of Offense that attacks other countries — sovereign nations — who do things in a different way than us, who we have no right to go over and invade and change their governments. Would we want someone else to do that to us?

SULLY: I’m not saying –

JAY [interrupting]: How hard is that to think about?

SULLY: I’m not saying that we were right on every war that we’ve created. I know that we’ve been damn wrong at times about stuff–

JAY [interrupting]: When have we been wrong?

SULLY: [yelling] but they have also been wrong too!

JAY: When have –

SULLY [interrupting]: I don’t trust someone like fuckin’ Sadaam and Osama to come in here and try to control–

JAY: [interrupting, incredulous] When did Sadaam try to come in here and control our country?

SULLY: Dude, [yelling] WHY DON’T YOU GO LIVE IN IRAQ THEN IF YOU HAVE SUCH A PROBLEM WITH AMERICA? Why are you here?

[johnnynovato]

JAY: Why am I here?!? This is the top country in the world, my friend!

SULLY: Well, why do you think so? Because it’s PROTECTED.

JAY: No, it’s not because it’s–

SULLY [interrupting]: –ruled our country.

JAY: No one is attacking us, my friend. Certainly not Iraq. Every first world nation suffers terrorist attacks. Get used to it.

SULLY: I am used to it. I don’t have a problem–

JAY: Get used to it.

SULLY: [laughs] Sounds like you do.

JAY: You’re the one that’s saying it’s alright to not know about stuff and then to send other people to die in our name.

SULLY: I never said that! Don’t put fuckin’ words in my mouth.

JAY: I’ve got it on tape, bro.

SULLY: You’ve “got it on tape, bro”?!?

JAY: Yeah.

SULLY: You got me saying it’s okay for us to attack other countries?

JAY: I got you on tape saying they’re protecting us by attacking, by going over there and taking out people.

SULLY: Listen, don’t fuckin’ turn my words around to make it to what you want it to be! That’s not what I meant and you know that.

JAY: Okay I’m sorry. Then tell me what you meant.

SULLY: Listen, I’m not gonna get into a political fuckin’ conversation with you. This was supposed to be an interview about the band. Where is this going?

JAY: We’re talking about the power of your music and what you’re using it for.

SULLY: What is this for anyway? Who are you working with?

JAY: I’m working for my own magazine, my friend.

SULLY: What’s it called?

JAY: [laughing in disbelief] What do you mean, what’s it called? Are you serious?

SULLY: Yeah, what’s the magazine called?

JAY: It’s called Arthur Magazine. You guys are the ones that set this up.

[johnnynovato]

SULLY: Hey I was just told to do press today, man.

JAY: Hey man, you guys–

SULLY: I got a checklist in front of me, and I don’t have time for a lot of this bullshit.

JAY: Oh yeah?

SULLY: So write whatever the fuck you wanna write, because your magazine obviously is that popular.

JAY: It’s doing pretty good…

SULLY [interrupting]: Yeah I’m sure it is. All three thousand copies of it… [5]

JAY: On our own, without any corporate support.

SULLY: I wish you the best of– Why would you waste your time calling a band like us when you don’t even give a fuck?!?

JAY: I certainly do “give a fuck.” Cuz you know what?

SULLY: What is this about?!?

JAY: Because listen man! You know there’s 2,800 people, my brothers and sisters, have died over in Iraq?

SULLY: Yeah?

JAY: You know 30,000 Iraqi humans WHO NEVER DID SHIT TO US have died because of the attacks we’ve made over there? [6]

SULLY: [in disbelief] And that’s Godsmack’s fault?

[johnnynovato]

JAY: Did you know that 78% of women in the military report cases of sexual harassment? [7]

SULLY: [sarcastic] And that’s Godsmack’s fault.

JAY: No, man–

SULLY [interrupting, sarcastic]: That has to do with our new record.

JAY: Okay, let’s talk about your new record.

SULLY: I can’t believe this. This is [inaud]

JAY: Let’s talk about that new record, my friend.

SULLY: Get a life. [hangs up]

JAY: Let’s talk about the new album…

[johnnynovato]

Q: Has the band disciplined itself for life on the road? You tour so extensively ... you really have to take care of yourself.

A: We're not at all as crazy as we used to be. Now we know what we have to do and we do it. What's fun is getting to meet all the people whose music we listen to. It's a gas! We met Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick ... he was the greatest! He hung out with us when we played Rockford, Illinois and he got totally plastered! No more tequila for you, Rick! When he pulled that stuff out, I knew there'd be problems. What a wild guy!

Q: Who are some of the people who you'd like to meet?

A: The guys in the Rolling Stones ... we haven't met them yet. Ian Hunter. People like that.

Q: Is there really gonna be a 15-minute song on your next album filled with synthesizers and strings?

A: (laughing) Could be. There's talk. We constantly disagree and keep changing from one day to the next.

[johnnynovato]

 

[johnnynovato]

 

[johnnynovato]

The desert: unchanged for millions of years, yet witness to a Biblical prophecy come true, that one day the meek shall inherit the earth.

[johnnynovato]

Test for echo.