Mike: I see you guys just got back from Europe how was it?

Brendan Kelly: it was incredible. we saw tons of great places, met cool people and ate and drank and smoked like kings. neil is very popular in germany. we now call him "hasselhof"

Mike: Do you prefer touring Europe or the states?

Brendan Kelly: europe is great, they treat you well, give you tons of food and great accomidations every night. that said, it's also very cold and lonely. the states is really great too, but we have done way too much touring over here right now. some of the lustre is kind of gone.

Mike: Is there anywhere in the world that you would like to tour that you haven’t yet?

Brendan Kelly: japan, africa, south america, all of asia, austrailia.

Mike: How much a year do you guys tour?

Brendan Kelly: we do about 200 shows a year.

Mike: Do you seem to have more possibilities as a band now that you guys are on Fat?

Brendan Kelly: kind of. the main thing that fat did was make it so people have heard of us, not necessarily heard us, but we are a recognized band name now. we definately had a way better european tour with fat hooking us up, but overall things are pretty much the same.

Mike: Any plans for a new album?

Brendan Kelly: yeah. we are gonna start writing after the new year. it'll be on fat.

Mike: What’s the Lawrence Arms favorite place to play in Chicago?

Brendan Kelly: the fireside. what kind of question is that?

Mike:. Who are your favorite bands to play with?

Brendan Kelly: the 4-squares and the faction of the fox. and tub ring.

Mike: What bands do you not like to play with?

Brendan Kelly: i dunno.....we don't really have any problems with any chicago bands. everyone around here is cool to us.

Mike: What are your 5 favorite Chicago bands of all time?

Brendan Kelly: styx, chicago, cheap trick, enuff z nuff and skagina

Mike: What do you think of the Chicago scene compared to ones in other cities?

Brendan Kelly: it's better.

Mike: Do you think the scene suffered when Dave Eves turned his back on it?

Brendan Kelly: yeah. he was a real workhorse, and that angelic laugh....... i heard a few things. i heard that he got hit by a bus and broke both his legs, then i heard that he only does christian shows now. the funny thing is, i think that you (mike alfini) told me both of these things.

Mike: Do you think the scene suffered when Roy started working for the Metro?

Brendan Kelly: who's roy? what's the metro?

Mike: Would you rather be at a 1994 show in Elmhurst seeing 30 Seconds deep, or a 1995 show at Scrap seeing Apocalypse Hoboken?

Brendan Kelly: scrap. for sure. Hoboken used to scare the shit out of me. they were amazing. 30 seconds deep covered 88 fingers louie songs.

Mike: Any last words?

Brendan Kelly: harpo, larry, moe and curly can't compare to brendan kelly.

for more info on The Lawrence Arms please visit: www.thelawrencearms.net