RO: Because you weren't trying to be just a continuation of that band.

EC: Yeah. We brought along most of the Minutemen fans. But I think we pissed some of them off (laughs)! But I'm pretty proud looking back at it. I mean, I hadn't listened to a lot of fIREHOSE in 18 years! So I went out and bought all the records.

RO: You didn't even own your own records?

EC: Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying! It's weird. I never really listened to them. When you're in the studio, you listen to it hundreds of times. And then you're just tired of hearing it!

RO: Both bands were so closely identified with the city of San Pedro. Did the geography influence the music?

EC: Well, Pedro is really kind of... technically, it's part of L.A., but not really. It's an old harbor town, lots of fishermen, that sort of history. But it's sort of isolated from L.A., 20 or 30 miles down the freeway from Hollywood and all that nonsense.

It's got a small-town feel. I don't know how it influenced [the music]. It's very laid-back here. It's got a different feel. George and Mike lived here pretty much their whole lives. I only lived here seven years, but I enjoyed it. I live in Pittsburgh now.

RO: Any memories of Houston?

EC: Sure, we toured there a bunch of times. Houston was always good. We had some friend who lived in La Plata, and we'd go down and see them after the Houston shows. We'd cook out and drink some beer and have a good time.

RO: And you also have a new band, Food.

EC: Yeah! We have a record coming out April 24, an EP called Four Pieces from Candyland. It's another three-piece with Eric Vermillion on bass and Mike Quinlan and drums. I'm pretty excited about it.

Really [it's] the first band I've been happy with since fIREHOSE. I worked with Whiskeytown for about six months and then had a band called Grand National, and then I was with Southern Culture on the Skids for about seven years.

RO: And, of course, I have to ask. Could there be a new fIREHOSE record?

EC: Yeah, I mean, there's... we haven't really sat down and said anything, and it depends what Mike has time for. But it's possible. It would be a blast!