Interview with BUCK-O-NINE's JON PEBSWORTH By Caren Spitler With Libido, the band seems to have taken a slightly different direction, both with lyrical content of the songs and musically. Could you explain what influenced the changes in your sound? JON: We were ready to do something different. We are influenced by some many musical styles, it was time to incorporate that into our own songs. We had Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Culture, Hepcat, Led Zeppelin and Rush in our Cd players during the writing of Libido.

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It was almost two years between the release of you first CD on the TVT label, how much of that time was spent in production for Libido? JON: About 6 months, we were on tour for 28 Teeth the rest of the time! Could you describe your song writing process? Jon, I’ve read that you write most of the lyrics, do you all help write the music and lyrics? JON: Yes, it's a group effort. Everyone writes lyrics and music. I noticed that you chose Stiff Johnson to help produce and engineer the new album. How is this change reflected in the sound of the CD? JON: He added a cool east coast vibe, being from Philly. He had some cool ideas, but we were somewhat protective of our songs. Alot of the album was produced by us. It seems you have maintained a very heavy touring schedule since the last album. How does this affect your personal lives, especially those of you with wives and families? How do you cope with it? JON: Day by day. Phone call by phone call. It's hard. but it's what we do. We just make it work. We spend as much time at home as doctor or a lawyer. Hell, we could be in the navy, eh? Your original drummer is no longer with you. Who has been on tour with you? Is this a permanent replacement or just to fill in for the tour to support Libido? JON: Our new drummer is Jeff Hawthorne and he is a permanent addition to our family. He is working on the writing of our next album as we type. When we were writing Libido, we didn't have a drummer. Which was kinda weird. We kinda lost that band feeling on Libido, because of that. We had a studio guy do the album and he just learned the songs and recorded them. He wasn't there during the writing process. Do you feel the technology and availability of MP3 files helps you to make more record sales? Some bands are worried that this will replace the need to buy CD’s. What do you think? JON: Well, it definitely hurt the sales of Libido. But, it's cool that people are still getting the album. Hopefully they will come to the shows and buy a shirt. Are you at all worried that this will lead to bootlegging of your albums? JON: Yes. But, there is nothing we can do about it. Could you please give the full name of the new bass player, and tell us a little bit about what brought him to the band? JON: His name is John Bell. He played with Unwritten Law for their first 2 albums. He called us when he heard that Scott quit. He is gonna add alot to the next album!! If you had to sum up the band's philosophy using an Elvis song, which one would it be? JON: If your talking, Costello, it would be, Pump It Up! If your talking, Presley, it would be, All Shook Up!