By Therese McKeon

Standing in the kitchen of a Long Island, New York club with the members of California-based Alien Ant Farm gives one some perspective on just how playful and downright goofy this band can be. But is rock supposed to be... fun?! Just two days prior the release of their New Noize Records release "ANThology", this happy touring foursome can think of nothing else. As drummer Mike Cosgrove put it, "And plus, we're too happy to be angry about rock music. We're having a good time." In personality and attitude, these guys not only talk a good game, they follow it up with an energetic, in-your-face live show that proves to be everything that is rock.

Dryden Mitchell - vocals
Terry Corso - guitar
Mike Cosgrove - drums
Tye Zamora - bass

Shoutweb: I know you guys are friends with Papa Roach. The last time I spoke with David he told me that he was giving advice to Linkin Park about blowing up as a band. Have the Papa Roach guys imparted any knowledge on you yet or are you giving them advice? Dryden: We just kind of talk like friends. We haven't really talked about music lately. Terry: We haven't really... talked lately! Mike: I talked to Dave the last time we played with them in San Diego and he was actually sitting there exhausted from the road. He wanted to be around his loved ones. He said, "Be careful what you wish for." Then he said, "Don't get me wrong. I love it all and I want to be here but..." I don't even feel the other side of it yet. We're out having a good time. Every day is like a party.

Shoutweb: It's good to know that you guys are still enjoying it. I know there comes a time when fans get out of control and success is sweet but overwhelming at the same time.

Dryden: Nobody really knows who we are yet!

Terry: Kids know who we are but they can't put a face to the name. A lot of kids are like, "Yeah, we like Alien Ant Farm" but they don't know what we look like right now. We could be standing there next to our biggest fan in the world and they might not know who we are. Then friggin' Ryan from Orgy will walk by and they'll be like, "Ohhhhhhh!" They can instantly identify him. We're just like ghetto kids.

Dryden: I was in the bathroom about a week ago. We were in Pontiac, Michigan. I was in the bathroom and one of the kids was ripping one of our posters off the wall and telling his friend, "Yeah, I can't wait to see these guys!" It's a perfect example because he's looking straight at me. I was like, "Yeah, those guys are rad!"

Mike: That's funny because I went to the bathroom too.

Dryden: Were you going number one or number two?

Mike: I was going number one.

Shoutweb: But you're a drummer. Did you at least stay in rhythm? (laughter)

Dryden: He's regular like that! (laughter)

Terry: On the West Coast, there are kids who travel many hours to come see us play. There are kids we've seen in one place and then they'll be at the next place and we're like, "Wow, how far is that?" That's flattering and honoring.

Shoutweb: I love this record. It's one of those rare ones that you can just put on and listen to the whole way through.

Mike: That doesn't happen too much anymore, does it?

Dryden: Have you listened to it?

Shoutweb: Yes! Many times! There are many records that you have to be in a certain mood to listen to them but this record is not like that.

Terry: I like to think that it takes you to different moods – from one mood to another. I know what you mean. The anger rock thing is definitely beyond us. I mean, look at us! We're real scary, aren't we?!

Mike: And plus, we're too happy to be angry about rock music. We're having a good time. There was a time when we were getting bitter about trying to get a deal but I think that's pretty much common for anybody trying really hard to get somewhere.

Terry: Yeah, and we wrote our song about that and moved on to the next feeling. (laughter)

Shoutweb: "Movies" is obviously huge and getting more huge on radio by the day. What was it like to hear yourself on the radio?

Terry: It was cool. The funny thing is that the song sounded exactly the same.

Dryden: For me, it sounds bigger and weirder. I remember KROQ in L.A. played it when we were still in the studio in fact. KROQ played it at one in the morning on one of the specialty shows and Mike and I were in the apartment listening to it and I was like, "Oh my God!" It's the same song but it sounded all crisp and weird.

Terry: It was a trip.

Dryden: Like three days ago we got the finished album with artwork and everything. I popped the CD in and it's the same CD I have but it's been done up with artwork and I was saying, "It sounds different." But it doesn't. It doesn't sound any different! (laughter) But psychologically it sounded a LOT different. I was in the mood I guess. I was all, "Yeah, this is my CD!"

Shoutweb: Were they songs you had been working on for a long time?

Mike: Some yes and some no.

Dryden: Practically the first song we ever wrote is on the record.

Shoutweb: Which is?

Dryden: "Wish"

Mike: It's on the sampler.

Dryden: We wrote a song before that but it was gay so this is our first song. (laughter)

Terry: What? "Tatter Tots Jerome"?

Dryden: Yeah.

Terry: Come on. That song was cool! (laughter)

Dryden: It's cool that we're that kind of band. A lot of bands might say, "Oh, we don't sound anything like when we started." I think we want to present ourselves that way because there is music on this record from when we started. It's just awesome. And then there's music that we were still trying to figure out in the last week in the studio like "Attitude".

Shoutweb: How do you go out there and create the music live that is so crisp and perfect on the record?

Dryden: You just wear cooler clothes. (laughter)

Mike: Or... you spend all your time practicing.

Terry: That's always a good way to try and pull it off.

Shoutweb: Oh, Mike. Good answer. Good answer! (laughter)

Dryden: We kept the album fairly basic. We didn't want any kind of... I mean, YOU hear it! It's not like anything crazy is going on there. You hear a guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Every once in a while we had some friends come in and do some little cameos with like a pedal steel or something like that mainly for ambiance.

Terry: Obviously, we're not going to be able to pull off the string section until we can afford that.

Mike: And that gives us something to shoot for. It would be a great achievement to really get the backing to go and perform that. With a song like "Universe" it will be a bonus to making a successful record.

Shoutweb: Vocally, I hear that you're not doing any cookie monster voice in these songs. But the songs are very lyric friendly and very vocal friendly.

Dryden: I had a problem in the studio with my throat and I went and saw this opera singer. Basically, she told me to just stay away from the screaming mainly and I don't do much of that anyway. I'll puff on a cigarette every once in a while which is not a smart thing to do. Drinking beer is not a smart thing to do either. Cross my fingers! I think I take care of my voice better than most people do. I've been traveling around and seeing other bands and I think I'm doing an okay job.

Shoutweb: I saw you guys open for Linkin Park in New York City a couple of weeks ago. The crowd there was very positive and a bit of a different draw than the usual heavier metal shows.

Mike: It's fun to have kids slamming and having a good ol' time but I also remember loving bands like Fugazi who absolutely hated moshing. They'd stop and tell everyone to stop moshing or they weren't going to continue playing. I want kids to do whatever they want to do. I remember going to shows with Primus as opposed to say a Slayer show. With Primus the pit was just way more friendly and a good time rather than just roughing around. There weren't these big guys who were going to go kill somebody if they got their hands on you. I hope we attract that kind of fun just so that everybody can have a good healthy time.

Shoutweb: Roseland Ballroom is a medium sized venue but it's quite a crowd. Does that impact the kind of show you put on?