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What band did you listen to most during the eighties? Do you still like
them?
Matt Tomich: The Kinks. Yes, we still like each other, but I moved away, so we
just talk on the phone now.
Eric Roehrig: The Beatles. Yes.
James Hepler: Either REM or U2. Yeah, I still like the stuff I listened to in the
'80s.
Matt Oberst: The Clash, yes.
What is your worst memory of elementary school? Of high school?
Matt Tomich: Bike Accidents.
Eric Roehrig: Elementary: Ronald Reagan. High: When Dylan broke up with me and started going
out with Kelly.
James Hepler: Elementary: getting in trouble for throwing a gerbil that bit me. High: the
prom.
Matt Oberst: I remember puking up spaghetti all over the playground in second grade.
High School was the people.
You're about to -- ahem -- get lucky. What album is playing in the background? Why'd you choose it?
Matt Tomich: The Avalanches' Since I Left You because it sounds like summer.
It's very nice.
Eric Roehrig: The 45 of "Alone Again, Naturally" by Gilbert O'Sullivan.
James Hepler: Anything by Barry White. You know why.
Matt Oberst: Ride the Lightning... it's romantic...or maybe the soundtrack to Conan the
Barbarian if I'm feeling epic.
What was the first thing you ever shoplifted? Why did you take it?
Matt Tomich: I swapped a box of 48 crayons for a box of 64 crayons from the supply
closet in elementary school because the bigger box had a crayon sharper.
Eric Roehrig: Dirt. I stole dirt. I was hungry.
James Hepler: Candy. I liked candy.
Matt Oberst: A pack of baseball cards from the local Ben Franklin... I was hungry.
If you could beat up anyone in the world and get away without the usual annoying real-world consequences -- jail time, lawsuits, bad press, etc. -- who would it be, and why?
Matt Tomich: Lennox Lewis, so we could put a sticker saying "Featuring the World
Heavyweight Champion!" on our CDs.
Eric Roehrig: Mr. Salty. He's a jackass.
James Hepler: Either Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Jerry Falwell. For obvious
reasons.
Matt Oberst: Ronald Reagan... he ruined my childhood.
What's the biggest risk you've ever taken? Why did you take it?
Matt Tomich: Probably challenging Lennox Lewis.
Eric Roehrig: I am risking my pro-tennis career playing rock and roll. I'm doing it
for the music.
James Hepler: I suppose smoking.
Matt Oberst: I jumped off one of those olympic sized towers after breaking into a
swimming pool one night... I was drunk.
It's better to regret something you have done than it is to regret something you haven't done. What do you regret doing (other than agreeing to answer these questions)? Why did you do it?
Matt Tomich: I regret having to set my clock to Daylight Savings Time, but the ISO
kept getting on my ass.
Eric Roehrig: I regret falling asleep. Until I wake up.
James Hepler: I regret every time I chose not to have sex.
Did you go to your high school prom? If so, who did you go with?
Matt Tomich: I went with Jill. We won some nice stuff. (She was nice too.)
Eric Roehrig: Yes. Mr. Salty.
James Hepler: I went to it for three years, but I don't remember who at least one of my
dates was. Must have had a great time.
Matt Oberst: No... but I did go to "mom prom"... if only it wasn't true.
What movie would you recommend to absolutely anyone? Why?
Matt Tomich: Airplane. Those with a sense of humor will laugh their asses off, and
those without will justly suffer for their lack of it.
Eric Roehrig: 18 Again. Because I'm a tool.
James Hepler: The Muppet Movie. To see a frog ride a bike.
For reasons we won't bother going into right now, you're going to be locked in the back of a truck for a sixteen hour drive between gigs. If you could have any musician, past or present, back there to keep you company, who would it be?
Matt Tomich: The booking agent, so I can show them how it feels when they book a
tour with sixteen hour drives.
Eric Roehrig: Elvis. Good eating.
James Hepler: Joan Jett, circa 1981. Sixteen hours of rock n roll sex. Hope I have enough
dimes.
Matt Oberst: Elvis Presley.
What is your strongest, most unshakeable belief?
Matt Tomich: I read a bumper sticker once that said, "Grass, cash, or ass -- nobody
rides for free." I think that's widely applicable to understanding the
motives of others.
Eric Roehrig: Size doesn't matter.
James Hepler: People are stupid.
Matt Oberst: Fall is the best time of year.
What's the worst band you've ever heard? Why do they suck?
Matt Tomich: Fleetwood Mac is up there, only because I hate cocaine rock.
Eric Roehrig: Creed. I think they do it on purpose.
James Hepler: Train. I fill with murderous rage every time I hear them.
If you were a porn star, what would your "porn name" be?
Matt Tomich: Reggie Cunningham.
Eric Roehrig: Johnny Dingleberry.
James Hepler: Big J.
Matt Oberst: Dean Manville.
You're on your way to a show, and all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of a huge four-way battle between pirates, ninjas, robots and
intelligent apes from the future. Your only hope of getting to your gig is to
pick a side. Who do you join, and why?
Matt Tomich: The pirates, because even if we don't make it to the gig, it'll still
be a good time.
Eric Roehrig: Ninjas. Duh.
James Hepler: Pirates. For the women and grog.
Matt Oberst: Pirates... Pirates have boats, eye patches, wooden legs, scurvy, drink
heavily and have swords. Ninjas wear pajamas and are so 1980s. Robots would
self destruct in water or turn bad... I've seen the movies... and everyone
knows apes are good actors but shitty warriors.
If you could sponsor any beverage -- appear in their ads, receive a lifetime supply and never be seen drinking a competing product -- what beverage would it be?
Matt Tomich: Pocari Sweat (the Japanese version of Gatorade).
Eric Roehrig: Windex.
James Hepler: Yuengling. Just hook it to my veins.
Matt Oberst: Pabst Blue Ribbon.
What's the best venue you've ever played? What's the worst? Why?
Matt Tomich: It's not the venue, it's the people in it.
James Hepler: Lots of bests. The worst -- a stage in the middle of a field at four in
the morning, 40 degrees and misty. Need you ask why?
Matt Oberst: The worst place we every played was a kid's bedroom... The attendance
included us, Bright Eyes, Drip, the kid, a girl and his punk rock neighbor
watching the Buffalo Bills on a TV with terrible reception. It was the worst
because the room was only big enough for the band -- you had to watch from the
hall.
What's wrong with Rolling Stone these days?
Matt Tomich: Not enough of those smelly pull-out cologne ads.
Eric Roehrig: Not enuff follow up coverage of 1989's Hottest New Band, Enuff Z'nuff.
James Hepler: They're still around?
Matt Oberst: Subscriptions are declining. I'm sure the marketing department is working on
it.
Why are frogs amusing?
Matt Tomich: Because if there's not enough males or females in the immediate area
during mating season, they can spontaneously switch sex.
Eric Roehrig: Because they are short, have funny accents and surrender a lot.
James Hepler: They always land on their feet.
Matt Oberst: Because they sometime muse on the age old question, "Why are there so many
songs about rainbows and what's on the other side?"
You've traveled back in time and meet yourself, age sixteen. What do you think?
Matt Tomich: Remind him to buy Microsoft.
James Hepler: Nice wardrobe, fag.
Matt Oberst: Get a haircut.
Which would be worse: three hours on a bus full of four year-olds, or three hours on a bus full of eighty year-olds? Why?
Matt Tomich: Both of them will be full of good stories.
James Hepler: Take your pick. Neither group is likely to share weed if they have it.
Matt Oberst: Four year olds, the old people would sleep.
The US government is considering far more aggressive regulation of leather pants. Under the new rules, who should or shouldn't be allowed to wear them?
Matt Tomich: Children under 5.
James Hepler: Anyone who feels compelled to do so.
Matt Oberst: I think they should make them the national public school uniform. You hit
kindergarten -- happy birthday kids, here's your leather pants, you earned them.
What, in your opinion, is the best porn?
Matt Tomich: Canadian.
Eric Roehrig: Trading Spaces.
James Hepler: Teen Orgies.
Matt Oberst: The free kind.
What food item could you eat every day for the rest of your life without getting bored of it? What's so good about it?
Matt Tomich: Water. It goes good with everything.
James Hepler: Beef Jerky, specifically my own recipe. I can't reveal my secrets. But
if you had it, you would eat it every day too.
Will the next Star Wars movie suck? Why or why not?
Matt Tomich: No, because third time's a charm.
Eric Roehrig: No. Wookie sex.
James Hepler: Yes. I've lost all faith.
Matt Oberst: No... Darth Vader.
How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man?
Matt Tomich: Depends on if it's a dry county or not.
Eric Roehrig: Three.
James Hepler: None. He only needs to kill his father.
Matt Oberst: 27.
Everyone's replacing their least-favorite body parts with cybernetic ones. Which part(s) of your body would you replace?
Matt Tomich: Medial nerve.
Eric Roehrig: My knuckles. Dude, cyber-knuckles.
James Hepler: Ever see Tetsuo, Iron Man?
Matt Oberst: I want a bionic gastro-intestinal system.
What topics or statements would inspire you to call in to a talk radio
program?
Matt Tomich: Modern Greek irredentism.
Eric Roehrig: Feet.
James Hepler: "The UNC basketball legacy is over."
Matt Oberst: The comic stylings of Buddy Hackett or witty theme nights in minor league
baseball parks. I've got a few ideas for Mike Veck.
What album(s) should everyone be given on their eighteenth birthday?
Matt Tomich: The Replacements' Let It Be.
Eric Roehrig: Big Star's Radio City.
James Hepler: David Bowie's Hunky Dory.
Matt Oberst: Jackson Browne's Saturate Before Using.
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From the Saddle Creek Records website:
Sorry About Dresden consists of two relocated Omaha, Nebraskans who now call Chapel Hill their home. When Matt Oberst (vocals, guitar), brother of Bright Eyes‚ Conor Oberst, moved from Omaha to North Carolina he hooked up with Matt Tomich (another former Nebraskan who had moved to the the tri-cities) to play music together. Using their Omaha connection as the basis for their music, they hooked up with Eric Roehrig (vocals, guitar) and James Hepler (drums) to round out the lineup for Sorry About Dresden. They released a debut album, an EP, and a handful of seven-inches over the years...
-- George Zahora
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