kp: Do you have a favorite palindrome?
JF: Nope!

kp: When we interviewed Sparks and Tenacious D, we asked them about other 2-person acts (including TMBG). What do you think of Tenacious D?
JF: I think they are very interesting, and obviously very funny, and I am a little jealous of their success.

Sparks?
I will always love them.

Ween?
I like them a lot, too.

Barnes and Barnes?
I don't really know them.

The Smothers Brothers?
Genius.

Laverne and Shirley?
Shitty.

I love Sparks so much. It's funny because I feel like there isn't too much community among the odd-ball bands that your site seems to feature--and I have to admit I wished they liked us. I like everybody...except Laverne and Shirley (I have to admit)

kp: It's hard to like Laverne and Shirley. It's really hard.
JF: A lot of talent on that show, but I am sorry to report it is essentially shitty.

kp: What is the last book you read?
JF: I just picked up Black Monk Time again, but its so strangely written I don't know if I'll stick with it.

CM: What were you reading 13 years ago?
JF: Let's see, 13 years ago I was 30 so I was on the road with Flood going around the world. Was I carrying around a dog-eared copy of Low Life by Luc Sante? I read so little. For a dude who people say is smart, I sure get by on magazines. Actually, I read a lot of magazines. Up until 9/11 I was a real news junkie. Now I'm kind of played out on that.

kp: Were you in town on 9/11?
JF: We had a pretty complicated and dreary time immediately after 9/11. We actually were going to fly out that day to begin a very long and large national tour, with our first show in Boise, Idaho. Of course all the flights were cancelled, as was the first bunch of dates. We ended up having to drive across country- an experience that really felt like a one act play of intense tension and tedium. Eight guys in two cars for a couple thousand miles--with everybody wondering what was going to happen next.

kp: Have you written any songs about it?
JF: Nothing good came out of it, and I can't really imagine it sparking anything in us creatively. It was pretty much 100% bad times.

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