Online Chat with Stephan

Third Eye Blind Chat:

ThirdEyeBlind: We are talking on the day before the last day of the tour after spending a whole year on the road. "Losing A Whole Year." Its been an amazing experience for everybody. So I am talking to everyone today from the stand point of the tour and thinking about the summer tour which will be called the Bon Fire Tour.

Bretclancy: Why did you play all small venues? Will you be playing an amphitheater tour anytime soon?

ThirdEyeBlind: umm okay the answer is, we played small venues because we didn�t know so many people wanted to come and see us. This summer, yes we will be playing amphitheaters, but we will try and keep it as intimate and intense as the small shows have been.

Starbucks_Coffee: What's the best thing about being in the position you are?

ThirdEyeBlind: I get the opportunity to realize my ideas.

Bretclancy: Why didn't you make a second video for 'Losing A Whole Year?'

ThirdEyeBlind: We felt like making a live video cause we had all 'of this live footage but the label wanted us to do a concept video so we compromised and did both.

NYRManiaguest_238d38004: When does the band plan to have a new album out?

ThirdEyeBlind: We will tour through the end of this year start working on a new record in February, and have a new record out sometime next year. Thanks for asking.

Disco_Lemooooonade: How did you like being on Road Rules. Did you get a chance to hang out with them and if so who did you think was coolest?

ThirdEyeBlind: ummm I didn�t spend anytime with anyone on Road Rules. If you watch the show, you could see that I was whisking them out of my hotel room as quickly as possible. So I really don�t know anything about them and I have never watched the show.

Starbucks_Coffee: What's your best advice for a person who wants to start a career singing?

ThirdEyeBlind: Sing all the time. Learn how to play the drums and learn how to play the piano.

JohnnyFootballHero: How did you think of the band name Third Eye Blind??

ThirdEyeBlind: We got really drunk on vodka. Brad pulled out a ouwije board and guess what it spelled?

Bretclancy: Will you be on MTV Live?

ThirdEyeBlind: We just did MTV live before we played Saturday Night Live. Carson Daley is a good friend of mine. I knew him when he was a DJ on KROQ so I am sure we will go back there sometime.

Coral1200: How does it feel to have 2 top 10 hits in one year?

ThirdEyeBlind: I don�t know yet. Its certainly some kind of good. I feel very blessed.

Third_Eye_Blind_fan: Would you ever consider making a blues album?

ThirdEyeBlind: No.

Bretclancy: Why did you write "Jumper?" Were you inspired by a friend or family member committing suicide?

ThirdEyeBlind: A friend of our managers jumped off a bridge and killed himself in highschool because he was gay and thought that he would not be accepted. I never met this guy, but when Eric (our manager) told me the story about it I thought that all of us have a little bit more understanding in ourselves for other people then we give each other credit for. That�s why the refrain of "Jumper" says "I would understand."

Louie_14_98: When did Third Eye Blind get together for the first time?

ThirdEyeBlind: We played our first show opening for the Counting Crowes at the Fillmore in San Francisco in 1993.

Third_Eye_Blind_fan: When you write does music come 1st or lyrics?

ThirdEyeBlind: They come in all directions. The songs come from all directions.

Sprite6: How long have you been in the music business?

ThirdEyeBlind: I don�t know what the question means. I have played music since I was 15. If I had done it as a business I would certainly be out of business by now.

Bretclancy: What's up with that red chair you had at your concerts on stage?

ThirdEyeBlind: Uh I have no idea why I put it there. I just wanted a comfy chair on stage.

Third_Eye_Blind_fan: Who did you listen to while growing up?

ThirdEyeBlind: The Police, The Clash, De La Soul, Camper Van Beethoven, Jane�s Addiction and the Cocteau Twins.

SonicNetHost: I understand you contributed the song "Train In Vain" to the upcoming Clash tribute album. What does your version sound like, and in what way was Third Eye Blind influenced by The Clash?

ThirdEyeBlind: How did you know! Where did you hear that?! We haven�t decided yet if we are doing "Train In Vain" Or "Somebody Got Murdered" and our record label hasn�t even decided if they will even let us play. But we hope they do because The Clash is one of our biggest influences. We love the raw quality of their playing and the sense of experimentation and lack of pretense in their music. They are one of the only bands I think successfully combined politics and music.

Third_Eye_Blind_fan: Do you like Howard Stern?

ThirdEyeBlind: I have never listened to Howard Stern�s radio show ever. Somebody told me he liked one of our songs, that is all I know about him.

CIRCUSMIDGET666: What�s your favorite kind of guitar?

ThirdEyeBlind: Les Paul and PRS Mcarty.

Third_Eye_Blind_fan: What inspired you to write "Semi-Charmed Life?"

ThirdEyeBlind: Being at a Lollapalooza when Primus was playing. Listening to hip hop and living my life in that glorious summer, with all these hopes and fears.

Goddess20_98: Is "Horror Show" going to be on the new album?

ThirdEyeBlind: No "Horror Show" is the b-side to the single "How�s It Going To Be."

Skilvr98: Is the song "How's It Gonna Be?" based on a real life experience?

ThirdEyeBlind: Yes.

Katie612: Do you and everyone in the band get along good all the time, or do you argue?

ThirdEyeBlind: I am not telling.

PSUBrat: What have you found to be the most amazing thing that has happened since you've become famous?

ThirdEyeBlind: I don�t have to sleep on the floor anymore and somebody else carries my gear. The fact that I am staring out the window at a line of fans waiting for the doors to open, is certainly a very gratifying feeling as well.

Miagirl: If you could be an animal, what would it be?

ThirdEyeBlind: A dolphin.

Scarena55: Do any of you have girlfriends?

ThirdEyeBlind: Maybe.

Rainbowbutterfly0123: What does you look for in a girl?

ThirdEyeBlind: Long legs, big butt, big brain, good teeth, can tell a joke and can take a punch (kidding).

Scarena55: No offense, but why do you have to put all those curse words in the songs? ThirdEyeBlind: I have never sworn once in my songs- there is no profanity in my lyrics. I believe that their is nothing in them that need to be censored that's why when TV shows ask me to I say no.

TerrificLips: Have you ever explored any other types of the performing arts besides music, like acting or art?

ThirdEyeBlind: No but that doesn�t mean that I wont in the future. I studied film and playwriting in college. Maybe I will do that someday but I haven�t done it yet and I have no desire to do it now.

Gingerfish77: What's your favorite song on the album??

ThirdEyeBlind: "I Want You."

Gingerfish77: Do you like touring???

ThirdEyeBlind: Yes the personal connection that we have made with the fans has been the most profound thing that has happened to me this year. Also all most every night a little piece of magic happens. I feel very lucky to be a part of that.

Blue882: HI STEPHEN. I wanna know what your next singe will be??

ThirdEyeBlind: "Losing A Whole Year."

Jkenzie40: Why are the newer album covers red?

ThirdEyeBlind: We never wanted them to be yellow. Finally we got our way.

Guitar_101: What is your favorite song to play live?

ThirdEyeBlind: "God Of Wine."

Driewhctib: Who is the person that has influenced you the most?

ThirdEyeBlind: Professor Steven Booth at UC Berkley.

DroidM3: How you feel about being a sex symbol?

ThirdEyeBlind: I feel like DR. Frankenfurter sometimes from the Rocky Horror Picture show.

Lady_andromeda16: What are some of the downsides to being as popular as you are right now?

ThirdEyeBlind: I can�t go out into the audience and check out the opening band. Sometimes I go out with my sweatshirt hood up, but I usually get caught. Other than that its not so bad.

SemiCharmedGuy_: So how was it touring with fellow Eric Valentine vets Smash Mouth?

ThirdEyeBlind: We really enjoyed having them on tour with us.

I_luv_3eb: Are you glad that so many young people look up to you now?

ThirdEyeBlind: I wasn�t aware that they looked up to me.

KennedyRey: What instruments can you play?

ThirdEyeBlind: I play guitar drums with some skill. But I am more studio literate than I am birthed on an instrument.

ThirdEyeBlind101: Were you really born in Wisconsin?

ThirdEyeBlind: I was born in the hills of Southern CA, and taken to Wisconsin as a baby. So I achieved consciousness in Wisconsin.

Blachowicz: Has your opinion of the music industry changed since you have become famous?

ThirdEyeBlind: Yes. I am not sure that we have changed it though and I am not sure that the industry is aware of how its changing. I don�t care I am really only interested in what Third Eye Blind is doing and what the people who listen to us are doing.

Mystiqueguest_8bc39608: What was it like for you in high school growing up?

ThirdEyeBlind: People thought I was a freak they still do. Freak really y'all! I felt stupid and awkward like everybody else.

_Simkin_: What do you mean when you say "Like a jazz DJ, you talk me into sleep"

ThirdEyeBlind: If you have ever listened to late night female DJ's, they have this breezy quality to their voice that is very soothing. At least it is to me and that's why I said it.

Xena_120: Do you like the Spice Girls?

ThirdEyeBlind: I like Posh Spice. But when I met them, I have to say Geri was the coolest.

PeepersTheFunkyRoboticMonkey: What are Third Eye Blind's plans for the future?

ThirdEyeBlind: Hahaha. Let see. We will be making some more videos, planning the Bon Fire Tour, which will begin in July. We will be touring South America, Europe and Asia. Ummm, then I'll go surfing for a month. Then we will make another record.

KennedyRey: What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever done or said?

ThirdEyeBlind: A girl tried to bite my finger off. I pried her jaws off me before she broke the skin.

Mystiqueguest_8bc39608: Where are you currently?

ThirdEyeBlind: Northern California, the last show of the tour is in San Jose tomorrow. Seven thousand people.

_Green_Day_Girl: Do you feel spoiled sometimes?

ThirdEyeBlind: Yes.

Knights_Paige: Isn�t the fact you enjoy people waiting for you a tad sadistic.

ThirdEyeBlind: NO! Spanking somebody's ass with a leather swatter is sadistic. As far as the fans outside waiting I am just glad that they are here. But I am sorry that they have to wait for the doors to open to get in they seem like they are having a good time though they can�t see me either and its fun to watch them. I guess that makes me a voyeur. That's not a sadist.

Silverangel_5: How long do plan to keep playing in the band?

ThirdEyeBlind: 2 years. 40 years. I don�t know.

Miagirl: What bands do you listen to now?

ThirdEyeBlind: Sublime, Rancid, Foo Fighters.

Dmggoddess: Where was your favorite place to tour?

ThirdEyeBlind: Spain is pretty damn fun because they are all vampires there. Night people. But the US is probably the easiest. The Japanese fans are the most generous.

BuffySlayer2: Do you like Hanson?

ThirdEyeBlind: Hell yes!

Stutler5: What do you think of women who beg to touch your beard??

ThirdEyeBlind: I haven�t thought about that much today.

Sam1414: Don't you miss your family when you are on tour?? What do you to keep in touch with them??

ThirdEyeBlind: Yes I miss them and yes I try to keep in touch I talk to my mom every Sunday.

O0OLaurenO0o: What has fame/fortune allowed you to do that you couldn't do 4 years ago?

ThirdEyeBlind: Everything anything.

Jinsange: Do you drink, smoke? Or do anything hard core??

ThirdEyeBlind: Since when did drinking and smoking become hard core?

SkaterChic98: If you could CHANGE any thing what would it be?

ThirdEyeBlind: The general state of the world. Disease, famine, ozone layer. That sort of thing you know the typical beauty pageant stuff.

RenhuK: Do you like/play any sports?

ThirdEyeBlind: I hate watching sports. I would rather stare at a wall which could actually be quite entertaining. Sometime I like to snowboard and I like to surf sometimes I play frisbee.

Dmggoddess: If you could undo one mistake- what would it be?

ThirdEyeBlind: I would have gone to Madrid to meet a girl in 1990 when she asked me to.

Tigereyes_275: Who's your favorite author? And what else do you do besides music?

ThirdEyeBlind: Kerouac, Shakespeare, Sam Sheppard.

BuffySlayer2: IF you weren�t touring with Smash Mouth who would you want to tour with?

ThirdEyeBlind: I would like Camper Van Beethoven to reform and come tour with us.

MaD_3: Stephen, real quick. what do you think of Tooth and Nail Records???

ThirdEyeBlind: Kick ass graphics.

CHRONIK420: What's your favorite cereal??

ThirdEyeBlind: Count Chockula.

DarkStarRising: Is your life still semi-charmed?

ThirdEyeBlind: Sadly I am forever semi-charmed.

Giraffe_21: So how do you feel about the obsessed fans?

ThirdEyeBlind: uh hmmm. I don�t know they are probably obsessed over a lot of things, just not me but its hard to tell the difference between some one who is obsessed and someone to whom you just mean a lot to so I just try and give every one the same props that they give me.

Iceywaters: Did you ever have doubts about the band?

ThirdEyeBlind: No.

TwiggySlave_666: IS IT TRUE THAT YOU REALLY HAD AN AFFAIR WITH DAVE NAVARRO OF THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS?

ThirdEyeBlind: That�s the first time I have heard that one. I am actually straight and have never had an affair with anyone of Mr. Navarro's gender we met I met Dave once. I met Dave during the Foo Fighters set in Japan and he successfully kept his hands to himself funny rumor though

ThirdEyeBlind: Thanks for having me. Thanks for all your questions I really enjoy having the contact with all of you, even if it is only in cyberspace. Hopefully I will see you al at the Bonfire Tour this summer. Cheers! Stephen [*No, I didn't misspell his name, and I doubt he did either, so I'm guessing that it was either whoever typed this up or somebody else signed off for him*]