Q & A

Photos by Mark Savage (Zoom), Jack Gould (Alvin), and Myles Robinson (Rocker) CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: > FREDDIE BROOKS leads Freddie Brooks & the Dirty Crooks.

> LEE ROCKER is the former Stray Cats bassist and a current solo artist.

> CHRIS GAFFNEY leads Chris Gaffney & the Cold Hard Facts.

> MIKE ROUSE (not pictured) is the bassist for the Bleeders and a local promoter.

> BILLY ZOOM is the guitarist for X.

> DAVE ALVIN is the former Blasters guitarist and a current solo artist. He's actually from Downey, but we'll claim him anyway.

Which musician cut the worst fart you ever smelled?

ZOOM: Is Cheeseboy a musician? I don't know if he counts as a musician. He's an Orange County celebrity, and he had a band called Cheeseboy. He was the one. He was very proud of himself.

BROOKS: Willie Brinlee. He's a bassist who played with William Clarke. It was onstage—he backed up to the drummer, who was a captive audience, and let one rip. He stood there laughing about it. It was brutal—here I am playing a harmonica, and I couldn't hold my breath.

GAFFNEY:That would be me. You know how enamored you get with your own farts. No, actually it was Billy Bacon. In a van. He went off, and then he went, "Enjoy!" I love him anyway.

ROUSE: Paul Fox of the Bleeders. Road trip to San Francisco. Too much liquor and Indian food. Let me tell you, it doesn't suit him well.

ROCKER: Buddy Blue. At that session we did in San Diego. Bad.

ALVIN: Gil T, the bass player in my first solo band. His actually smoked and steamed.

Who is the most underrated band or artist in OC?

ZOOM: Me.

BROOKS: Junior Watson. He's known around the world in kind of a cult sense, but the general public here doesn't know who he is. The guy's a monstrous guitar player, a great singer and a hell of an entertainer.

GAFFNEY: I like that band Supernovice. They fucking kick ass.

ROUSE: The Bleeders, of course.

ROCKER:I don't know if this is close enough to OC, but Billy Bacon & the Forbidden Pigs. I think of them from the Doll Hut thing. I think they're one of the most underrated bands around.

ALVIN:Chris Gaffney.

Who's the most overrated?

ZOOM: Me.

BROOKS: I can't think of anybody in Orange County who I think is overrated. I feel like just about everybody who's getting anything has earned it.

GAFFNEY:I'd hate to pick on anybody.

ROUSE:The Bleeders, of course.

ROCKER: I don't want to make any enemies here. I'll have to cop out on that one.

ALVIN:Anyone who's sold more than a million records.

Finish this sentence: "Woke up this morning and . . ."

ZOOM: I don't know, I'm usually pretty proud of myself just for waking up.

BROOKS:Scratched my balls.

GAFFNEY:Got myself a beer.

ROUSE:I was still at the frickin' Hootenanny.

ROCKER: Had my coffee and my smoke.

ALVIN:Had to catch a plane.

Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera?

ZOOM: Is this for music or sex? Christina Aguilera, but it's close. She's a couple of years older, isn't she?

BROOKS: Christina Aguilera. She's got a more powerful personality and is a little bit earthier.

GAFFNEY: Britney Spears. Christina lets it all go in the first 10 seconds.

ROUSE: Christina. Man, that's some salsa there. I don't go for that white-bread stuff.

ROCKER: Britney. She's a lot better.

ALVIN: Good question. Uhhhhhhh . . . I refuse to answer that without my lawyer present.

Gore or Bush?

ZOOM:Bush. He's not Gore, and I liked his dad.

BROOKS:Are those my only two choices? Let me put it this way: anybody but Bush. I would bring Fidel Castro in if it would keep Bush out.

GAFFNEY:Bush because he'd be easier to kill.

ROUSE:Oh, man. I don't believe in a two-party system. It would have to be Bush because I'm so anti-Gore.

ROCKER: Gore. I'm a hardcore Democrat.

ALVIN:Gore. Supreme Court appointments are the most important thing.

Who was the last person you punched and why did you do it?

ZOOM:A guy at an X show in Vancouver in the early '80s. He threw a beer on my guitar, and I punched him in the eye. It was good. He spent the rest of the show holding his eye with one hand and flipping me off with the other.

BROOKS: A nightclub owner who shorted my bread. I did it in a back hallway. I can't elaborate.

GAFFNEY:My brother. He was trying to show off that he was a boxer in front of my other brother. He was my bass player at the time, and I sent him to work that night with yellow arms. I don't hit him in the head anymore.

ROUSE:I've thrown a person or two off the stage, but I haven't punched anyone.

ROCKER: The last person I punched was Slim Jim [Phantom]. We got into a drunken brawl one night about 10 years ago. I don't remember why. He probably spilled my pint.

ALVIN:My brother Phil, at a Blasters rehearsal, over a song or something. It happened every time.