So let’s get the obvious question out of the way -- why the switch from Fat to Pure Noise?

Well, people will say it has to do with pending litigation or whatever and that’s not even close to true. Like that’s not even close. Whatever pending litigation that there may or may not allegedly be would definitely not have anything to do with it…allegedly. And I mean it’s just – I don’t know if you know any that about that Pure Noise Records. That Jake guy he’s hungry. You ever have someone that’s hungry working for you? It’s a good thing. It’s like an expression – it’s like if you’re really hungry, you are going to work harder. You ever see that show Game of Thrones before? It’s very complicated, but you gotta form alliances that will surprise your enemies. That’s basically it. It's complicated.

Let’s move to the new EP, which I am really enjoying. I noticed that there are a lot more riffs and soloing notably in the song “First Star Tonight” — was adding those musical elements planned? Do you see the band not writing the straight power chord songs in the future as much? I do notice that there is a lot of blues-based rock on it.

Thank you!

Yeah, right. You know, I think if you just try to do the exactly the same thing at all times. It's not very artistically interesting. And it might be what some people would prefer that you do, but really who gives a shit? At the end of the you got to make up what you think is cool and I think that the responsibility for any artist is to subtlety expand on their territory so that they stay perpetually interesting without totally betraying the original founding precepts of that art. So we still have that power chord “juice” in there, but you know, you sprinkle a couple sevenths, maybe a ninth here or there and some extra guitar solos and some riffs in there to keep it cool. I mean I think back to the records that I would listen to when I was a kid like NOFX or whatever. Think about that. All of the sudden you hear a riff and you think, “Oh, that’s cool!” But then you got The Longest Line and you’re like, “Oh, that’s cool, too!” and you got White Trash, Two Heebs, And A Bean -- I think I switched those up. One of was before the other one. No, I got it right. And then after that you got Punk In Drublic. And Punk In Drublic was all different and you're like, “Whoa! That’s totally different! That sound it kind of different or whatever.” But that’s like part of the important thing. You understand? That’s where it comes from, but I think it’s cool personally to do a little bit more here and there. I don’t think you can take it as necessarily as an implication for what exactly will be on the next release. Some of that stuff gets determined as the record is getting made and you gotta let it be what it is, you know?

In your new song “Running From The Cops” you talk about how much fun is it to do that. Why is it so much fun? Is it just the adrenalin rush? What is it?

That’s a good question. I don’t know if it is just the adrenalin rush, but I do that would have something to do with it. Running from the cops is fun -- it’s true. Doing anything that would be very dangerous and potentially wrong could be a lot of fun, like robing a liquor store or stealing a car or something. Did you ever see that movie Gone In Sixty Seconds with Nick Cage?

Yes.

I never saw that.

(laughs) Well I’m sure you would enjoy it. Yeah, I probably I would. So anyway, I gotta get my kicks otherwise so like running from the cops would be a good way of doing that. They’re trying to get you and that makes you feel sort of wanted in a way. It's also exhilarating because if they catch you, there’s going to be trouble, but they probably won’t catch you – well they could catch you, like if they got a dog or a helicopter. I don’t know if you have seen that show Cops before, but it’s pretty much like that. They could be closing in on you and it can be terrifying. So if you get away that is what it is extra rewarding and fun. It is the adrenalin as you put it. You know I can't really say it better than that. I’m not like a scientist or whatever, but it is definitely fun as hell. I would recommend that you would try it, but you gotta be careful, too you know? It's like going on a rollercoaster or something. You might be sitting in someone’s puke.

I noticed The Wonder Years reference you make in the lyrics of “If Only.” What was it about Winnie Cooper and Kevin Arnold’s relationship that made you want to reference them in that song?

Yeah, that’s a good question. I mean when you watch The Wonder Years it kind of like reminds of you a childhood that you didn’t have because it’s too perfect and cool and when you were a kid it was way more stupid and creepy and like gross and weird and like threatening and terrifying, you know what I mean? It’s kind of about using that example of just wishing that things could have been different and things could have been more TV-style for you. Good kind of TV, not like that TV shows that you wouldn’t want to be in like Cops for example. That would be one example of where you don’t want to be there. But I loved that show. I think it's cool. Did you know that Winnie Cooper grew up and she’s like a grown up, beautiful woman now and she’s like good at math, too?

I didn’t actually! That’s awesome!

Yeah, you should google it. She’s got like a bikini on – I don’t know if it’s all the time, but at least for like one picture. And she’s like a math professor or something. It's really cool!

I noticed that with all of your records that the production quality is noticeably great. Do you think in some ways that back fires on you as a punk rock band?

Yeah, I think it makes sense in light of the fact that production has become so slick in pop music and punk rock is supposed to be an alternative to that stuff. But it makes sense that people that are punk fans – and I think it’s true for a lot of metals heads that they would like stuff that has more of a raw production. The reason that we go for that more smooth production sound is because we are setting out to make like a pop record. It is punk rock, but it’s like we’re going in the studio and saying, “Hey, let’s make a record that sounds punk rock.” It’s not something we're as interested in doing. It's more like, “Let's make a record that's sounds like a weird pop record that people don’t know how to understand it.” Think about the Ramones – what were doing when they went into the studio, you know? They weren’t trying to make a punk rock record. They were making punk rock records, but they were trying to make pop records. So the Ramones were doing it. It was probably the right thing to do – except for dying. I would not recommend that, but most of them have done that.

What are you first? Hardened criminals, hopeless romantics, or punk rockers? And if you want to put them in order, you can do that.

(laughs) That’s very interesting. That’s a good question. I was definitely into punk rock before I was a hardened criminal – back when I was just a soft criminal. So I would have to say that would be first. And when do you exactly become a really hard criminal? Is it your first stint in the clink. Is it your second stint in the clink? Is it the first time you get hit with a bar of soap that’s in a pillowcase? And that’s actually the answer. So that was about fifteen years ago and I was a hopeless romantic before that. Actually, I think I may have been a hopeless romantic before I was a punk rocker. I would say hopeless romantic, punk rocker, and then hardened criminal purely in chronological order.

What is your ideal/perfect first date and with who?

Ideal perfect first date and with who? That’s a good question. I got a lot of crushes, alright? You know there used to be a thing on TV shows where you would have like a Brady or something would get a date with two girls and he’d be like, “Oh! I got a date with this girl” and his friend would be like, “Oh, you have a date with this girl!” and he would have to go on two dates and have to go back and forth? Maybe that would be a good one and have it be like Kirsten Dunst and Jennifer Lawrence. Actually, that sounds complicated. Can I change my answer?

Sure.

So I would just go with Kirsten Dunst because I like because she’s so cool. And then I think doing something fun is important for a first date like going mountain climbing or stealing a cop car and joy riding around in a bad neighborhood. I would do that. That would be probably what I would go for because I’m not very good a rock climbing, but I do like to watch American Ninja Warrior so it’s not like I know nothing about it.

Just to follow up on that, I do notice that you guys send tweets to celebrities to see if they will go on dates with you. Have you gotten a response from any of them?

No, I have not received a response yet from any of celebrities that we would tweet at, but I would have to assume that is because they're management of whatever advises them not to reply. The tweets are very carefully worded and very sweet and they would assume that they would inspire feelings of love back towards us. Unless they just happen to be discriminatory and they don't have any interest in dating a pop punk band, which is possible. It’s not the most popular music these days. So we have not heard anything back, but we still hold our hopes.

What is your ideal/perfect robbery? What would you go after?

It would be just be one where you get away with it. But do you mean like what kind of stuff you would steal?

Yeah.

Well really a convenience store is kind of the answer. Because if you think about it, they pretty much got whatever you need. Alright? Just hang with me for a second and think about it. You’re thinking, “Oh yeah, I need some money, ya know? And some smokes and like a 40 oz. and maybe some candy.” But what about your future needs? You might need some pizza so you can get a couple freezer pizzas, alright? And you maybe in the morning you might need to get up early. So you need a nice energy drink. Well guess what. They got a whole fuckin’ cooler of energy drinks you goofball! You go in there and it’s a “one stop shop.” It’s like really convenient, which is really where that name probably comes from. I don't actually know if that’s true or if was started by Henry Convenience or something.

I think the last time that I saw you guys at the Fat Wreck 25 Years tour and by the end of your set Officer Bradford was down to his underwear. Do you think he is starting to “lose it” a little bit?

Yeah, I think that Officer Bradford – I couldn’t say that he is starting to “lose it” a little bit because that would imply that he wasn’t losing it before. I think he’s lost a good deal of “it.” And whatever of it that he’s got left, he’s willing sell for next to nothing to any kind of weirdo in an alley.

Thanks Blue for taking the time to talk. Is there anything you would like to say to add or say to the Punknews readers/commenters?

Yeah I mean, we like Punknews and the people on the Internet there. So I would say, “Hello” and “Thank you.” And if you are a lady and you know, give us a call.