By Therese McKeon

You may have heard about "God rockers" P.O.D. (Payable On Death) and their mysterious ability to get booked with some big name acts. Now playing on the main stage of the Ozzfest 200 tour, the quartet appears to be unstoppable. Shoutweb sat down with San Diego-based bunch to find out what makes them so irresistible. Sonny, Traa and Marcos answer questions about beliefs, influences, music, and their appearance on The Howard Stern Show earlier this year.

Shoutweb: The first question I have is in the "thank you" section of the CD liner there is a thanks to Kid Rock. Did you guys work with him at all?

Sonny: No. He’s part of the label. We did our thanks and then, not to take anything from the guy, but we have nothing to do with them. His Top Dog Records is part of Atlantic. There are a lot of thanks to people we don’t even know but they happen to have something to do with the label or something to do with the album. Our A&R wrote out a lot of personal thanks that we wouldn’t know anything about – personal names and people from the label, and then Kid Rock.

Shoutweb: So he had nothing to do with the record?

Sonny: Nothing. Never met him until we did a radio show.

Shoutweb: I know you guys have already talked about being on The Howard Stern show but many people may be hearing about it for the first time. Why don’t you tell me how that came about?

Sonny: It was completely by chance. Atlantic Records had done him a favor by having a bunch of people play for his birthday bash – Kid Rock, Sugar Ray. He was so grateful to Danny Bush for coming through at the last moment and providing some of the bands. He was so thankful that he told Danny Bush "I want to do something for you. Give me any band on your label to come down to my show." I think it was kind of in a prideful way, kind of like, "You bring them down here. I’m the king of media. I’ll blow them up and I’ll give them all the time they need." That type of thing. So before we knew it, he got Danny Bush on the phone and said, "What band do you want me to have. One that doesn’t really get much airtime and a band that you like and the label loves." He said, "P.O.D." And Howard said, "Well, you bring those boys down here." The next week we were told, "You guys are flying to New York to do the Howard Stern Show."

Shoutweb: Were you intimidated going into it?

Traa: Actually we talked about before, even months before like "Wow, it would be cool to go on The Howard Stern Show."

Sonny: We weren’t intimidated. The only thing we said was we were going to go in there and hold our own. We thought if we went in there and he knows were Christians or whatever then he’ll try to be smart or say stupid things. But we just told ourselves that the worst thing that could happen is he could bring a bunch of naked women out or something. We just told ourselves that if that’s the case then we’ll get up and we’ll leave. We’ll be known as the guys that walked out! Just because as we’ve said in many interviews, we’re married and we’re not trying to be a part of that lifestyle.

Shoutweb: And how did it go?

Sonny: The cool thing was that he had already listened to our album. He didn’t even know that we were Christians until five minutes beforehand. So when we went in it wasn’t prepared to do some type of bashing.

Traa: He already decided that he liked us. Howard Stern is a man of his word and he’s not going to go back on his word. At this point he had already decided that he liked the record.

Sonny: He decided that he liked it and that was it - Christians or not. He said, "So you guys are into Jesus or something?" (laughter)

Shoutweb: (laughter)

Sonny: And we said, "Yeah." He said, "Cool." They asked some funny things – kind of crude but it’s expected from Howard Stern. We knew that we were going to go in there and be faithful to what we believe but at the same time we weren’t about to be punching bags either. We weren’t going to go in there and take every little comment. I think Howard Stern knows how to pick at people right off the bat. He knows that he can treat them a certain way. It might be a little weak-minded sometimes. He knows how to take control. When we walked in, he knew were Christians a couple minutes before we walked in if you listen to the interview he saw us and he was like, "Wow, tattoos. I like tattoos." He had a totally different perception of the way we were going to be. I think he honestly said to himself, "I better watch my mouth. I can’t be talking a lot of trash." It was cool. It was mutual. He would goof. We would goof. We’d go back and forth. Bottom line is that by the end of the interview he was like, "Man, this album is great and you guys seem like good guys. Everybody buy the album." And we were thankful. That was cool of him. That was the first thing I said to him as we were leaving, "Hey, dude, thanks for not tearing us apart." He said, "I’d never do that, man. I love the album." And we said, "Thanks, man."

Traa: Despite what everyone says, he’s just a regular person. Just like anybody else.

Sonny: He was cool. I thought he was pretty hilarious. I expected Howard to be that way. I expected him to be a lot worse so I was thankful that he wasn’t.

Shoutweb: It’s funny because a few weeks after that I heard him one morning and he was complaining about his radio alarm clock. Apparently it’s stuck on 94.7FM which is a religious radio station. He was saying that it’s driving him crazy because every morning he wakes up to this same guy singing, "Jesus! We love you Jesus!" (laughter)

Sonny: Oh no! (laughter)

Marcos: As a matter of fact, I was talking to a friend of ours in Washington, D.C. and he told me that Howard brought us up in the morning show last week again. He will just occasionally bring us up because he likes us. He’ll be talking to somebody, "So you guys rock? Because P.O.D., man, they rock." He brings it up out of nowhere. And when he goes to immoral things, he’ll bring it up. Somehow our name gets in the loop like we’re the moral band.

Sonny: The clean guys. The moral guys.

Marcos: He says things like, "Are you guys clean guys like P.O.D.?" He brings us up because we had such an impact on him. He just keeps bringing up our name, "What’s that band – P.O.D.?"

Sonny: "That God band" or something like that.

Traa: God rockers.

Shoutweb: I don’t know the Christian rock scene or anything like that.

Marcos: We don’t either! (laughter)

Traa: (laughter)

Shoutweb: But what I do know is that there are tons of kids out there – some of whom don’t even speak English so that they can even read this but you guys are having such an impact even culturally. The tattoos, the music, the culture of rock and roll and what’s cool. It’s not typically cool to like God and if you like Him then don’t dare talk about it.

Sonny: Exactly.

Shoutweb: In a lot of ways but particularly in your expression of your beliefs I think you guys are more rebellious or more radical than any band out there.

Sonny: Well, that’s just it. What started from a little supposed rock and roll anarchy and type of rebellion became such the norm that…

Traa: Now, we’re rebellious.

Sonny: Now who’s rebellious? The guy who is saying, "I’m not down with that stuff." The way we look at it is that our faith in God is what it gets down to. We believe that Jesus was the first rebel. He was the first punk rocker going against all the rest of it. It wasn’t against the people. It was against this system that would use God to manipulate people for selfish gain. He was the one saying, "I’m not about that stuff." It’s people out there that are using you guys for whatever. Jesus was hanging with the common folk and doing all the awesome things with the regular people. That’s what we are. We’re hanging with the regular people. We’re just trying to spread love and love on them. Hopefully they get something from that.

Shoutweb: That’s what I love about you guys more than anything else. You’re making it cool for kids to be who they are. It’s not like every kid has to choose to be good or evil.

Sonny: It’s not even that they’re evil. I mean, I think Slayer. I like Manson. I like this music and this dark imagery. They are people that are saying, "Yeah dude, I’m Catholic. I believe in God." But it’s cooler to be into the dark stuff.

Traa: The really dark stuff and the bad stuff.

Sonny: We’re not trying to be the "white stuff" and they’re the dark stuff.

Traa: We’re just trying to be regular. We’re being real.

Marcos: You know, I just saw this thing in the hotel room last night. Peter Jennings did a special on let’s find Jesus and who He really is. It’s funny ‘cause they were doing a study. They went to Israel and they were studying all the little artifacts. They had archeologists talking about Jesus and what they have found out about Him. Basically what they came to a conclusion that Jesus was an outcast. He was an outcast to society. He was an outcast to the religious people because he didn’t fit the mold. He was hanging out with Mary Magdalene and all these different people.

Shoutweb: All these sinners – how dare He!

Marcos: All these people were asking, "What are you doing?" He touched a leper and that was forbidden back in those days. They were discussing this on this Peter Jennings special. They came to the conclusion that Jesus was an outcast and people disliked him because of it. These are all things that people think is a fantasy. This all actually went down in history. Schools have a problem in America with teaching it because they want separation of religion but it’s actually part of history. A lot of people don’t know that. When you think about mythology now those are stories. There was an actual man named Jesus that walked around and did this. Romans scribes who weren’t even believers of Christ actually have proof that this man walked around and healed people and did miracles. So they have the extremists on one end saying Jesus was really into magic and he was doing magic and that was back in those days. Then you had other philosophers that didn’t even want to touch it because it happened. It’s so real to them even though they don’t believe in it. Even though they see that it this is proven fact they don’t know how to deal with it. So Peter Jennings was asking them, "So you’re the college professor so what do you think about this?" The guy was like, "I don’t really have a comment because it was proven to be true by people that didn’t even believe in him – many people – there were a lot of witnesses of these things and they all wrote it down. There’s a lot of proof that this man was crucified. Pilate crucified Him. It was just amazing that they came to this conclusion and I am in this band with these guys. And like Sonny said, they are all these people going with the flow saying, "Put your joint in the air. Put your middle finger in the air." That’s going with the flow now. That not unusual. Maybe in the 80’when everything was feathered hair and everyone was like "Wow, they’re sticking their middle finger in the air!" Now, it’s gotten so reversed that we’re considered going against the flow.

Traa: We’re the outcasts.

Marcos: It was encouraging to me to see that program. I mean, Peter Jennings on TV, when am I ever going to watch this? And last night it was on when I was in my hotel room. Jesus was an outcast. He didn’t dress like them. We don’t dress like people who are television evangelists. That’s why kids are attracted to us. Jesus wasn’t offending the common man. We play in front of normal people. We’re not playing in front of status people. We’re playing to real kids and that’s why I think they’re taking a liking to us. We’re just coming to them with love and that’s what Christ did on earth.

Shoutweb: Do you guys consider yourselves outcasts?

Marcos: In the music industry? Yeah. On a daily basis things surround us.

Shoutweb: But you’re not angry.

Sonny: No, we’re not angry at all. The bible says that we’re in this world but not to be of this world. I can’t help that I live in this day and age. This is what’s around me. I’m born into a sinful world. By nature, I’m a sinner. It’s in my nature to do what’s bad. You don’t have to teach people what is bad or do what’s wrong. It’s my nature to do that. But for me as a Christian, a believer in Christ, Christian means to be Christ-like. To be Christ-like means to live by His example. I’m not always going to make the right decision and I’ll never be perfect but it’s like… in the way I treat people, in the way I love people, the way you deny of self. To be a Christian, the bible tells you what it takes to be saved. Believe in your heart and in your mind and you confess. That Christ is God and Christ has already paid for your sins. There’s this little belief system and it’s like, "Cool, God says you’re saved." But to be Christian is to walk like Christ did. When there are people out there blowing up abortion clinics and there are racists and places and churches where they don’t let anyone who is dark-skinned in. They say they’re Christians too but that’s not Christ-like at all. Who knows that? You don’t know that unless you find out for yourself and you read about who Christ was. The media with your average type of kid who grew up in whatever type of home, whatever type of background, whatever type of God influence in their life. They just know what’s out there in the world. And all the things that are out there in this world are all the vain things that have been done in the name of Christ. All the people who have stood and said, "Send your money and we can do this for you! If you really believe then you’ll send more." That’s all people see. They don’t see what’s real. They have to look for themselves. They’re responsible. They’re accountable to look for themselves. We believe that God has given each of us a choice and a responsibility in everything we do. I mean, P.O.D., we can’t live anybody’s lives and we can’t necessarily change anybody’s lives. That’s God that changes lives. For us, we’re example of changed lives. Hopefully someone can see us and say, "Dude, that’s cool. If God can get you off drugs and God can take that away from you. God can mend your families. God can do that for me too." That’s all we can do is be examples.

Marcos: I don’t even like the terminology. For me, the term "Christian", like Sonny said there are a lot of things that have been done in the name of Christianity that is embarrassing to me. That’s why I didn’t want to be Christian when I was growing up because I was like, "That’s wack." Everyone thinks that Christians are hypocrites. For me, a Christian is someone who is going to follow God with all their heart. All of the sudden, musically and religion-wise it’s a categorized thing. You know what I mean? I don’t know. It got a bad name through the years. P.O.D. is here to show people that it’s not all that way. The people that did these things back then. It’s not about the past. It’s all about the present. Right now, P.O.D. gets slack from really fundamental, extreme right, Christian organizations.

Shoutweb: You’re showing Christianity in a bad light!

Marcos: Exactly. That we’re the wrong people. At first they don’t like us. Then once they find their son listening to us they’d rather have their son listening to us then someone else. Then they change their outlook. "Hey, dude, I didn’t really care for your music but, just so you know, my son loves you guys and I think it’s okay now." Once it’s hits them at home then it’s a totally different situation. We tell kids, "man, we’re not perfect… but we never claimed to be." We always talk about how we’re always going to put God first but just so that kids know, you can put God first and not be perfect. With Christians, kids think, "Man, I have to be on this strict right and if I mess up, man, it’s over!"

Traa: It’s over for sure!

Shoutweb: There is no room for forgiveness.

Marcos: Yeah! That’s what it’s about.

Sonny: It’s ALL about forgiveness. I hope people understand. We have friends that are in a gang or doing this and doing that. They won’t completely surrender because it’s this fear of failing God. They’re saying to me, "Dude, if I’m going to go full on then what’s full on?"

Traa: They think it has to be extreme.

Sonny: Like they have to be in church on their knees 24/7, no food, no water.

Shoutweb: Like they have to be a monk.

Sonny: That’s the extreme. And it’s like "dude, that’s not it at all." My friends are so afraid of failure. It’s like, "If I confess and I let you know that I’m going to be a Christian. I’m going go all out." They’re afraid of their weaknesses.

Traa: They say, "We’re not really yet."

Sonny: Yeah! And I’m like, "Dude, that’s all I HAVE are weaknesses!" That’s one of my biggest things. How can I try to be like Christ when I know how sinful I am? I know all the temptations and lusts that I have. I know I don’t always say the right thing. Sometimes I get grumpy. I’m not good with mornings. You know what I’m saying? I’m like, "Dude, I’m human." Those are the things I have to give over to God. Okay Lord, I trust in You. If someone spits in my face today then help me to let him keep spitting or help me to walk away. It’s little things like that that you have to ask God for help with.

Marcos: Even throughout history you have a lot of holy wars that we’re because of "God". They said that in the name of God I’m going to go battle with somebody. They had crosses up there while they were going into the battlefield.

Shoutweb: The Crusades.

Marcos: You sit there and you’re like okay, God talks about wars in the bible but I mean to kill in the name of Him – there is something wrong with that.

Sonny: It’s totally ridiculous. But that’s all people know. They don’t see what Jesus is about.

Marcos: The media can put their viewpoint on something. For example, a crazy man walks into an abortion clinic and blows it up. They say "Christians" blah, blah, blah. This is all wrong. They portray it as if all Christians are like that. It’s the same with the gay community. It is nowhere near as large as the media portrays it to be. There is a community that is gay. But there are communities that are Afro-American, Mexican, Puerto Rican, that are all bigger than that. The media just over hypes things.

Shoutweb: Damn that media! (laughter)

Sonny: (laughter)

Traa: (laughter)

Marcos: There are pastors that get themselves into trouble. Either because he’s fallen or he’s messed up with the money or he’s cheated on somebody. I’m not going to jump on him. I’m going to pray for him. And I just know that the media is going to kill this guy. Everyone around the world is going to say, "There’s that Christian again."

Sonny: Like a Jim Baker. If you were to see him now… we met him because we did this show which was an outreach for the homeless. He was with the homeless. We played this show in Los Angeles, California and he was working with his son, Junior. It’s like an old hospital and they take in homeless people. They help people get off drugs. They help families and kids to get their G.E.D. (ed., graduate equivalency diploma) and whatever you need. He was coming in with his cap real low and covered up. He was coming in and bringing water to people at the tables. He didn’t want to be known. God humbled him and God humbled him seriously. I think when God spoke to him was when he was in prison. When he came back, he came back as a servant. He wasn’t saying, "I’m am going to lead you to God and follow me as the leader."

Traa: Everyone else would whine but he came back doing stuff. He’s making a difference in Los Angeles.

Marcos: Back to the bible, look at David. He messed up all over the place.

Shoutweb: They all did. Paul got knocked off his horse. There is one example after the next.

Marcos: Moses killed a man. David killed a man, committed adultery, but God knew their heart. I’m not saying that it’s good to do those things or justifying it but God knew his heart. That’s touching to me because, dude, P.O.D. messes up all the time.

Shoutweb: That’s what I want to hear about! Give me all the dirt! (laughter)

Marcos: (laughter)

Traa: (laughter) We’re not THAT bad. A little swear word here and there.

Marcos: We may not live up to what people want us to be and we never will. That’s why kids may get disappointed but when they see that we’re real to them they realize that this isn’t fake. We’re not putting on a show that exists only on stage. We’re going to represent the same thing off stage as we do on stage.

Shoutweb: What is the hardest thing about being on the road?

Traa: Being away from our families and being cooped up with each other for four months straight.

Shoutweb: My cousin was saying earlier today about how little things get magnified so big when you’re on a bus with three other people. Everything plays a part. You miss home. You’re tired of fast food. You’re sick because of all the weather changes. You’re grumpy because you didn’t get enough sleep. All these things play a part. We’re human.

Traa: You could say something to each other and just snap like that. (snapping fingers)

Shoutweb: So you get to practice that forgiveness part all the time!

Sonny: Yeah, we’re always in practice mode. Even when we play we say - Lord, please be a guide over our attitudes and give us strength and give us the love that it takes. It’s not only with each other but everywhere we go. There are places that want to jack up our sound or they want to give us attitudes because we’re in a band and we want to bring our wives in the dressing room. Some security guard getting paid four dollars an hour who thinks he’s Mister PO-lice. He won’t let you bring your wife and kid in and you’re like, "I’m going to rip this guy’s face off right now!"

Shoutweb: It’s easy to love the nice people, isn’t it?

Sonny: Exactly!

Marcos: You know, you can’t please everybody. You’ve got the extreme left, the extreme right, and P.O.D. is just right there, focused on what they’re going to do. You’re going to have people talking. There are people saying things on both sides. You sit there and you say, "I’m going to live my life like I’ve always lived it and I’m going to try to grow." We’ve been doing this for nine years and we’ve just said, "Let people say what they’re going to say." For example, the other night we went to a concert and someone didn’t agree with what we did on stage. They said, "I didn’t think you preached. I didn’t hear no wrath, no judgement…" We were like, "What? We never talked about that in the first place."

Sonny: That was considered what "real" Christians would do. "If you were of God and your band was of God, that’s what you would have done." We just said, "Who sent you? I’m so grateful that God sent you, you messenger you, to come and tell us that!" (laughter)

Marcos: Everyone wants to be "the one".

Sonny: We were getting pretty heated so we just let it go.

Traa: Then right after that some kid comes up to me almost in a position of tears telling me about how he has been a Christian for a long time and that at this show that we played that night God touched him. He said that he felt so good that he was going to re-dedicate his life to God.

Sonny: He was like, "Dude, I’m gonna make it this time."

Shoutweb: You guys are your best instruments. I was going to ask about your instruments but I think I already know the answer to that.

Traa: On and off stage.

Shoutweb: At some point we do have to talk about the music before our time together runs out here.

Marcos: You know what? It is all about the music because music is the actual tool, the instrument that is bringing the kid there. We wouldn’t be in front of these audiences if we were just talking. We’d be pastors somewhere. You’d be in your own little church. These kids are coming because they’re drawn by the music and you know what? We’re going to give them back something positive and love. We’re not going to condemn them or judge them. That’s why I hate the term. There’s this whole scene that we never knew about. We came out and we were rocking and the Christian scene embraced us right away. That was good. I’m not trying to say that it’s a bad thing but we are not representing Christian Rock. We’re just a band that loves God and we’re going to rock your socks off! (laughter)

Shoutweb: (laughter)

Traa: (laughter)

Shoutweb: Let’s talk about that.

Marcos: Seriously. There’s a reason why we’ve played with Korn, Primus, and all these bands that took a liking to us even though they knew what we stood for. The music is what got them to say, "Okay, let’s bring these guys on tour."

Sonny: It’s real to them. I think a lot of kids are picking up on that too. They're saying, "These guys are the real deal." We believe in something.

Marcos: That’s why Rage has a big following. Even though I disagree with what he talks about, you can tell that he believes it so much that he segregates himself from a lot of things. You may go, "Oh, whatever" but he believes it that strongly that you can respect him for it. You can say, "I don’t agree with you but I respect for standing for what you believe in." He’s probably thought the same thing about us although he is an angry individual so he may get mad but there is that respect there.

Shoutweb: You guys were out with Korn but then I saw some comments that you made regarding Korn’s music. Can you explain that?

Sonny: It was one of those tricky Christian questions, trying to catch me off guard. It was in reference to a question asking, "Do you listen to secular music?" I said, "Dude, I believe they’re all talented individuals. You’d listen to Korn’s music and it’s like – this is good stuff. Same for Marilyn Manson." But I said, "Why would I listen to something that is going to grieve my spirit?" We’re were talking about this earlier. I can only listen to so much rap music that says the "F" word so many times because I’m going to walk away and want to say it. I’m going to want to feel that way. If I’m listening to music that talks about how’s depressed I am or if I’m listening to something that gets blasphemous – no names, but they’ll get blasphemous. Why would I want to listen to that? I think what you take it is what comes out. Now, does this mean that I don’t go watch rated R movies or listen to secular music but I’m accountable for everything that I take in. There was a song by this one band. I’ll never forget it. The album is insane and so good and I listened to it over and over and over again. There’s this one song that is the best song on the album and I’m listening to it and I never really thought about what he was saying. I just liked the music and all of the sudden I’m at work and I started singing the words but there’s no music behind it this time and I’m just singing the words. I’m realizing that it’s complete blasphemy of everything I believe in but I’m sitting there and I could not get it out of my head. It’s constantly in my head. I had to get on my knees in the middle of this construction site and ask God to please take it away from me because I don’t believe that. Here I am singing blasphemous lyrics and it scared me that I would actually say something like that to a God that I worship and a God that I serve. It bummed me out. I said, "Lord, I know You know in my heart." That song was catchy. Even Marilyn Manson will talk about Jesus Christ or blasphemous stuff. That’s obvious nothing good. Korn is not as extreme as that but Korn can talk about a lot of depressing things. You know what I’m saying? It’s one thing to bring up issues and talk about certain things that exist. They do exist. Depression does exist. Suicide does exist. Abuse exists. But it’s like, "Dude, give me a solution!" At least in the last chorus or the end of the song.

Shoutweb: You want him to say, "And then he was saved"? (laughter)

Sonny: (laughter) Yeah, the last thirty seconds, "and then God came and they found him alive". (speaking rapid fire)

Traa: It’s like watching a good movie that ends depressing.

Sonny: You mean "City of Angels"? That’s a perfect example. "Untamed Heart" with Christian Slater is another one. The whole story is about how this guy has a bad heart and in the end she looks over and he’s all hunched over and she’s like, "Honey. Honey!" Then the credits pop up and you’re like, "I feel horrible." It was all good but now I feel horrible.

Shoutweb: You guys have a couple of videos out and so far they’ve included your fans. Have you always had this relationship with your fans?

Traa: From the beginning and over the past eight years it’s grown. You don’t understand. When we first started out we were doing shows with our own money. We would go to towns and cities and play in front of 30 or 40 people and even less than that. A lot of people that came we were sleeping at their houses on their floors and taking showers at their houses. A lot of these places that we go to, these people are our friend. They’ve been friends since ’92 and a lot of them are growing up and having kids now. We’ve always had that type of relationship with a lot of the people that you would consider P.O.D. fans. The music wasn’t there, our family, friends, and fans were.

Shoutweb: We were talking about the on-line street teams for P.O.D. and how they are the best kids. When I asked our guys in Los Angeles what it was exactly about these kids that made them so effective they said to me, "Because they’re doing it all for the Lord, Therese."

Sonny: It’s true. They’ve been following P.O.D. forever. They’re not just trying to promote another band that they thought was cool before the rest of the world thought was cool. But they are helping a band that shares the same beliefs. We’re the band that they feel has something to say.

Shoutweb: You’re promoting a message.

Sonny: Exactly. There are those people that say, "Dude, it’s okay that they’re Christian. It’s cool to be Christian. God is cool." There’s a whole other side to it and they’re going to see that through this little four piece band that play some crazy places. These kids see that and they have love for us. It’s not "that’s my favorite band" and all of the sudden, next year, there’s a new favorite band. These are kids that are saying, "Dude, I love P.O.D. I’ve talked with them."

Marcos: Just to set the record straight. We’re not perfect. For all the people that read this, let’s not get caught up on little issues like we’re watching a movie or Sonny making a certain comment. You know, we’re all about God and we’re not ashamed of that. A lot of people are getting caught up on the little things. They need to pray for us and not judge us. Everyone’s a critic and everyone has his or her own opinion.

Sonny: Just because you have an opinion…

Traa: …doesn’t mean it counts!

Sonny: That’s right. It’s your opinion. I have an opinion and it’s not always right.

Marcos: It just gets frustrating, you know? We’ll do an interview like this and we’ll hear about it later "why did you watch that movie?" Dude, I like watching movies.

Sonny: Because I’m not so weak-minded that I’m going to go and all of the sudden my life will be destroyed. That’s the choice that you have. Some kids say, "I became a Christian. I burned all my secular CDs." And I’m like, "What do you want me to say? Because I didn’t!" You better not come to my house and look at my collection then. That doesn’t make you more of a man of God than me. That’s your choice and a decision that God has given you. That’s the freedom we’ve got and people don’t realize it. Once you become a Christian or give your life over to God it’s not as if you put those shackles on "Okay, take me away. I’ll follow."

Marcos: Bottom line is a man is a man. I don’t care if you’re a preacher or you’re a baseball player.

Sonny: God bless them.

Marcos: You’re a man and you’re subject to every other temptation that everyone else is. You grow stronger from dealing with your daily trials in life. A lot of kids don’t understand that. They want to segregate themselves from the rest of the world. I know we’re not part of the world but you can’t hide from it. And God bless.

Shoutweb: How did you guys land on the "Return of the Rock" CD and tour?

Marcos: They wanted us. They’ve been real supportive. They wanted us I think because we represent a part of the generation that people don’t even take a look at. Marilyn Manson, Kid Rock, they represent a part of this generation but P.O.D. represents another side. There are tons of kids out there that believe the same way we do. It's the love music – the universal language.

Shoutweb: Tell me about Ozzfest.

Sonny: We can wait. We’re fans of a lot of the bands on there.

Shoutweb: What’s the deal with the gold record you have to show to fans?

Sonny: We have it on the bus right now.

Traa: Fans have been the integral part in getting P.O.D.’s message out there and we wanted to give something back to them. We had a gold plaque made up for the P.O.D. Warriors and every city we go to we have a picture taken of the Warriors with the plaque and we’re posting the photos on our web site (http://www.payableondeath.com).

Shoutweb: Can you tell me about the symbol on the CD and on the web site that looks like three interlocking rings?

Sonny: It’s an Irish Celtic symbol that we took from the King James bible. It supposed to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s the trinity – if you can see it’s the three all wrapped in one.

Traa: It has nothing to do with wicca!

Shoutweb: And the cover art?

Sonny: It’s an oil painting. We gave him all of our ideas and he put it all together. It’s a man that’s trying to separate himself from the world. He’s got the heart of God and a dove that is the spirit of God. He’s in a room like his bedroom. You have to see the real painting. They're darker colors are real gray and the really cold. You have the stone on the walls.

Shoutweb: Did he create this just for you guys?

Sonny: Yeah, we gave him the ideas and this is what he came up with.

Shoutweb: Where is the original painting?

Sonny: He has it. He actually painted the faces inside too and we have those. This guy (pointing to the center figure) represents the world so he’s got the noose around his neck and he’s got the suit saying, "Come on, be like us." He’s already got the dog trained on the little cart. You have the angel cutting away at the rope. Back on the wallpaper, if you look, its all the trinity symbols combined that looks like green wallpaper. When he’s ripping down the wallpaper of the world underneath you have the nature that God has given you.

Shoutweb: Are these opening supposed to represent heaven?

Sonny: People have different interpretations. These people are pointing and mocking him. People have said, "What’s with the wood separated from the body. This looks like Eastern philosophy." We talked to the artist about being rooted and grounded in the word of God so that’s what he came up with. Then the cross is supposed to symbolize the fact that just because it looks like religion it is still of the world. You have a guy looking in either waiting for him to make a mistake or just kind of seeing what’s going on. The monkey could represent God locking up that monkey that gets on your back.

Shoutweb: The "Rock The Party" video was shot in a bus?

Sonny: Yes, in a broken down bus that was also used for the movie "Speed". They tore it all out and put glass floor and the spot where people can hang out and the lights and everything. It was cool.

Shoutweb: Well, thanks for hanging out with me and being so open.

Sonny: No problem. God bless.

You can catch P.O.D. on the Ozzfest 2000 tour. If you’d like to learn more about P.O.D. visit their web site at www.payableondeath.com.