There s some soft spots on No Substance that wouldn t have been there if we d taken more time with it. The very first thing that hit me on New America was the positive tone. He was already conscious of trying to find more positive things, or at least trying to resolve our characteristic issues with an upward note instead of a negative one. Which really cut to the quick, because not only is he a great producer, but a student of music. It was kind of interesting that that was the first observation he had, and it coincided with the way things were shaping up songwise.
Every record is a reflection of where the band is at the time it was written.
Where we were and where we are now, it s just really difficult across the board to be angry. There s a lot of good stuff going on. Not if you watch the television news, but just in general. I think it s maybe the process of aging. We ve been trying to extend our childhoods artificially for so long that we finally capitulated to the fact that we re adults, and everything doesn t have to be some horrible situation.