When did you start drinking?
The early times?
You drank Early Times?
I did drink when I was 14 or 15—the first thing I ever drank was Mickey's because my brother was drinking and I asked if I could have some. And I ended up peeing on the floor and throwing up on the floor.
Tile or carpet?
Tile.
Is there anything you just can't drink?
Tequila seems to tweak me. You gotta be healthy—there's criteria to being a good drunk. If you're not eating right, you're not doing some exercise, then you can't drink too often because if you do it consistently, it's not gonna be fun. If you're drunk too many days in a row, it'll lose its specialness.
What kind of drinker will you be in 50 years?
I probably won't have a liver, so I won't be a drinker.
You could rub it on your skin and wait.
I'd like to be a grumpy old man.
How much does booze power the band?
It makes the show a lot more fun for the crowd. As for me, I think I play a lot sloppier. It's the audience's responsibility to drink, and my responsibility not to drink. I think with the band, I'm gonna make the same progression Van Morrison made. His stomach got bigger, his chops got bigger . . .
His liver got bigger . . .
He got uglier—I think I'm going that route. That's what drinking has done to me. Four or five years ago, I was a cute kind of kid—I had that Paul Frank modeling thing going. And then four or five years of drinking—you can see what it did to me. Don't drink, or you'll end up looking like Beetlejuice.
What's your most drink-inspired song?
“Lipstick Masquerade.” It's about the cycle of the bar scene: “All the little boys/want all the sexy girls/all the sexy girls/want all the classy men/only 16/looking 21/putting on the makeup/having all the fun.” A cycle that will never end.
The 9 p.m.-to-2 a.m. cycle?
Yeah.
Who is your favorite drunk fan?
This tall, lanky kid, Cole Waterhouse. He's a classic fan. I don't know if he has a home, but he goes home with a different girl at every show.
Rebel Fever takes care of their fans.
We try to.
REBEL FEVER PLAYS WITH AMERIKAN MADE AND METROID AT THE VIBE, 1805 UNIVERSITY AVE., RIVERSIDE, (951) 452-4459. MARCH 24, 11:15 p.m. $8. 18+.
