I first interviewed vocalist-bassist Adam and guitarist Dan of Home Grown back in sunny July on their headlining UK tour, and 6 months later I found myself in their presence again (along with vocalist guitarist John E. Trash and drummer Darren Reynolds), this time on the greatly anticipated Drive-Thru Invasion Tour; also featuring Hidden in Plain View, The Early November and Allister. Due to the last minute organising of this interview, the questions are a little more random than usual, but don't let that stop you from reading about the band's dreams, movies, porno careers, Michael Jackson and a long talk about how bad British food is!

What's the band been doing recently?

Dan: We've been drinking,
Adam: And sleeping.

And you've been on the Drive-Thru tour in America.

Adam: Yeah, for two months. Two months of pure debauchery!

Can you tell us any stories that you got up to?

John: De-virginising girls who are underage...
Home Grown's Tour Manager: (laughing) I'm out of here, dude!
Adam: Watching each other have sex. Our tour manager went to jail, that was pretty cool.

Did any of you go to jail? I've heard some people implying that you did...

Darren: Well, of course we did, because we always go to jail.
John: No, we're above the law! Steven Segal style.

Which bands were touring with you on the US Invasion Tour?

Adam: Senses Fail, The Early November, The Starting Line and Allister.

Do you usually know the bands before you tour with them?

Adam: Yeah, usually. Although I didn't know Hidden in Plain View much. We usually know the bands we tour with, randomly.

How did you get signed to Drive-Thru?

Adam: We signed to the label about two years ago.
John: Well, we were on Up-and-Coming, we were on the Hit Lists over in L.A, a really popular magazine, there was a lot of hype. We needed more money so we negotiated,
Adam: Yeah, we got more money out and that was it.
John: That's why we're like the richest band on Drive-Thru.

Have you got any new material coming out?

John: We're recording an E.P when we get back from this tour, which will come out this Spring.
Adam: We just figured that out like right before we left America. We just decided. John: And we're going to put a DVD together, like a 10 year thing.
Adam: Yeah, that'll be on the E.P too.
John: Then we're going to bring a new album out about August or September.

Do you get many breaks from touring?

Adam: Well, we're going to be recording after this, so it's not really a break.
John: We had a break this Winter, about 2 months.
Adam: That's a long time for us.

Is touring your favourite part of being in the band?

John: Well touring comes with the drinking and that's when the girls come by,
Adam: So it's a good part!
John: Yes.
Darren: Touring is definitely important.

Do you ever have any weird or reoccurring dreams?

(Silence) Adam: Reoccurring dreams... Dan: I had a really weird dream last night that I was hanging out with Brad Pitt. It was disturbing. Not in a gay way... Adam: My dreams all occur in a kind of movie-way. Like movies. Always with camera angles and things like that. I don't know why, it just does.

Have you got a favourite movie quote?

Darren: "Smells like meat and cheese." (laughs). That was 'ELF'.
Dan: "That's a nice piece of shit"
Adam: That's a good one.
Darren: "Green eyes gonna miss ya!"

Would you ever star in a porno?

Adam: Oh, yeah.
Darren: We have, actually.
John: No, I'm too small.

How much would you want to get paid?

Dan: I'd do it for free.
Adam: We have done it for free. That would be really nice if we got paid for it.

If you could pick your co-star, who would you pick?

Darren: In a threesome?
Dan: Peter North.
Adam: Peter North!
Dan: He fucks hard.
(General agreement from the rest of the band.)
John: Peter North, a girl and us.
Adam: Michael J. Cox. He fucks really hard.
Dan and John: Yeah, and loaded too.

What was the last film you saw?

Adam: The Mask.
Darren: The Mask is a great movie.

Suzi RP: There's "The Mask 2" coming out soon.

John: Shit, really?
Adam: There's a Mask 2 coming out? Man, I can't wait to see that.
John: Is Jim Carrey in it?
Adam: I hope it's not like Dumb and Dumberer. John: What a piece of shit.
Adam: That sucked.
Darren: I saw the new Lord of the Rings.
Adam: Oh, The Last Samurai. That was the last one I saw.
Dan: How was that?
Adam: It was so good.
John: Isn't it just Dances With Wolves set in Japan?
Adam: Yeah, but I love Dances With Wolves.
John: Well, there you go.
Darren: I fucking hate Tom Cruise though. He's too hot. He's in all the blockbuster movies.

Do you think he's too short?

Darren: He is pretty short. How tall is he?
Dan: About 5' 5''?
Adam: Yeah, but he's got the hair and the moves. You know in The Last Samurai? He's got everything. Pecs, full six pack,
Dan: You wanna get in his butt cheeks.
Adam: I do wanna get in his butt cheeks. He's got the body of like a 22 year old.
John: So, a body like us.
Adam: Yeah, like us.

How old is he?

Adam: I don't know, is he like pushing 40?
Dan: Britney Spears was the other person I was hanging out with in my dream. Brad Pitt and Britney Spears.
John: That's some nice company you keep.
Adam: Yeah. I had a sex dream with Britney Spears once.
John: Did you jack off when you woke up?
Adam: I don't know if I did...I'm too old to masturbate, I can't do that anymore.
Dan: You need viagra and shit.
Adam: Yeah, I need something to help me.

If you could star in a remake of any film, what would it be?

Dan: Top Gun.
Adam: Top Gun! (Laughs).
John: Stop, My Ass Is On Fire 3.

What would you do if you had 24 hours left to live?

Darren: I'd catch up on some sleep.
Adam: Catch up on some sleep?! (Laughs.)
John: Do a lot of drugs.
Dan: Do all the drugs I've ever wanted to do.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Adam: Well, Dan has some good advice on the website. "Don't smoke crack."
Darren: "You can't polish a turd." Those are the best words to live by.
Adam: That covers a lot of things.

Do any of you have any College or Uni degrees?

John: We're not really university material.

Are they the same thing in America?

Dan: Yeah, college and university are the same things. But you call college, high school. Or something.
Adam: Well we have colleges that are on the same levels as universities.
Darren: I went to college for 5 years and I still haven't graduated. Yet.
Adam: I went for 5 too. I'm half way there.
John: I've already graduated. With...er...
Adam: Electronics.
John: Yeah, electronics. Computers...
Adam: I got manicuring.
Dan: I have a PhD, actually.
Adam: PhD in what, Dan?
Dan: Er...science. I'm really smart.
Adam: Look at that face, you know he's really intelligent.

So what are the main cultural differences between your home town and here?

Adam: Ooh, good question.
John: More white people.

Is the food really bad over here compared to what your used to?

Dan: It's really bad.
Adam: Although that's nothing you haven't heard from, like, everyone, right?
Dan: I mean I'm sure it's different for you guys. Unless you think it sucks. Like, when you go out to eat are you like, "fuck, I'm hungry!"?

I think American food is probably better.

Adam: You've been to America? I think it's your fast food that's terrible. You have like little kebab and chicken stand places; it's really bad.
Darren: You fry the shit out of things here.
Adam: Frying, yeah it's awful.

Do McDonalds taste the same over here?

Adam: I don't really eat McDonalds in the US.
Dan: I hate McDonalds over here.
Darren: It's a little bit different over here. Especially the ketchup and the salt. The condiments are awful.
John: Your Coke, oh god.
Adam: Yeah, your Coke is like our diet Coke.
Dan: Your Coke should be called "Cock."
Adam: Anything we have just has a little bit more. There's more sugar in things, there's more spice, there's more salt. That's why we're all fatter in the States.

You must use service stations a lot when you're on tour. Are there big differences with the ones over here?

John: Yeah, you don't have Truck Stop Burritos.
Dan: The snacks you have are kind of weird. Like if you want sandwiches you have mayonnaise and prawn. On a sandwich, we would never eat that.
Adam: A lot of the stuff you serve, too, is at room temperature when we're used to it being chilled. Some of the other guys get Delhi meats backstage, but they're not kept refrigerated or anything, so it's like, "we don't want to touch that."

What do you think of Michael Jackson?

Darren: Love him.
Adam: We love him.
Darren: He was the King of Pop. After we were.

Do you think he belongs in jail?

Dan: Well he is...(long silence)...Michael Jackson...(long silence.)
(Lots of laughing).
Adam: Well, the court will have to decide that. I don't know if he did it or not.
Darren: When we talked to him, he said he didn't do it, so...
John: When we were hanging out in Neverland.
Dan: Yeah.
Adam: He didn't do anything with us! He was completely friendly with us.
Darren: Actually, we did stuff to him.
John: He invited us to stay over in his bed, what else were we going to do?! (Laughing)
Dan: Now, Cobey Bryant, he raped that girl!

Suzi RP: Say any random word on the spot. Go.

John: Shit.
Darren: Jizz.
Adam: Bums.
(Silence). Darren: (To Dan) It's not so much on the spot anymore.
(Yet more silence.)
Dan: (slowly) Yes. (Lots of laughing.)

What music are you listening to at the moment?

John: I just bought the new Muse album. Absolution. It's good.

Do you like quite a few British bands?

John: I think so.
Dan: I don't like Hot Hot Heat, because they're from Canada.
Adam: I actually really liked Hot Hot Heat and then I found out they're from Canada and I just threw the record away.
John: We like Span.
Adam: Yeah, Span. Good guys.
John: I like the typical British bands, like Radiohead and Travis.
Adam: I can't think of any others...name some and I'll tell you if I like them.

Have you heard of The Darkness?

Adam: Oh, yeah. We got that record. They're good.

Suzi RP: Do you like Kings Of Leon?

Adam: The Hair Farmers?
John: I'm not into them much.
Adam: They do have great hair, though.
(Talk comes to a stop as everyone listens to Dan and Darren singing their own version of 'Friday Night' by The Darkness.)

Do you think you'll be dressing up in spandex cat suits one day?

Dan: Oh, yeah.
Darren: We could do that.
John: When we play Wembley Arena, we'll dress up like that.
Dan: We wouldn't particularly look as cool as he does...
Adam: No. We need the hair really.
Dan: And we'd probably have to shed a few pounds, but we could do it.
Adam: I could be that bass player, too!
John: With that dirty moustache.
Adam: And have the door open and I'd do that walk! (Does the Frankie Poullain robot walk from the 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' video.)
Dan: Yeah, that's so good!

How do you find out about British bands? Do you get a lot of British music videos over in the US or is it just when you come over here?

John: Not lately. Apart from The Darkness.
Adam: John seems to find all the underground bands.
Dan: We follow what John listens to, because he finds all the hit bands first.
John: I just listen to them when I'm driving.
Adam: I probably own, like 10 CDs but I've burned about 350 albums. I don't need the CDs.
Dan: I don't buy records much.

Suzi RP: What do you think about being able to download music?

Dan: I think it's fine until you get found out.
Adam: Yeah but if you're just trying to get discovered, it's good. It's good promotion.

Do you get a lot of demos given to you?

John: Yeah, a lot.
Adam: Every show. In the States we get about 3 or 4 demos a night.

Do you listen to them all?

John: Yeah. We have demo days when we're driving when we'll just sit there and listen to, like, 20 of them.
Adam: Yeah. And what do we do if we don't like them?
Dan: Throw them out the window.
Adam: Highway frisbees.

Who designs your CD covers and sleeves?

John: John from Drive-Thru.

How much input do you get into those kind of things?

Dan: We pretty much said that we wanted a limousine, we wanted really old, fat girls, and that's what they delivered. They made it happen.
Adam: We give them ideas and then they work it out. If we don't like it then it doesn't happen, you know?

What have you got planned after this tour?

Dan: World Tour with Mest.
Adam: No, after.
John: Recording the E.P.
Adam: Yeah, and after recording the E.P we're gonna be recording the next album too, which will come out in August/September. Sometime around then. We've got the new website up too, by the way. It'll get better.

Who designs your website?

Adam: A friend of ours, is that still on? You can give him a plug, he's in a band called 'Ugly.' His site's www.uglyrocks.com.

Thanks a lot to the band for the interview, and I really enjoyed their set later on. Find out more about the band at www.homegrownonline.com.

Adam having a good time backstage with a beer and a guitar bag.