Chat with Brad Hargreaves and Stephan Jenkins at Rolling Stone Online
October 7, 1997

OnlineHost: Copyright 1997 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

OnlineHost: Your hosts for tonight's Rolling Stone event are Bob XR (AOLiveMC15) and KellyRP (AOLiveMC7).

AOLiveMC15: Third Eye Blind, welcome to America Online!

RS 3EB: Stephan: We're looking forward to this jaunt into cyberspace..so what up ya'll?

RS 3EB: Brad: We're stark advocates of cyberspace...

AOLiveMC15: Ready to start fielding your fan's questions guys?

Question: What kinda music do you like to listen to?

RS 3EB: Stephan: I look the new Verve record...Foo Fighters...I listen to a lot of ambient and I still listen to the Police, Clash..sometimes to Puccinni, and I fall asleep to Sarah McLachlan.

Question: How is it to open with the likes of the Rolling Stones and U2?

RS 3EB: Stephan: We don't know...we haven't done it yet. But we're very honored that U2 asked us and Mick asked us.
Stephan: We'll let you know how it is..

Question: When is your next video due out?

RS 3EB: Stephan: Probably in the middle of the month for "How's It Going To Be" and it's a Martin Scorsese stakeout movie meets Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate but then there's music video stuff mixed in.

Question: How autobiographical is "Semi Charmed Life?"

RS 3EB: Stephan: For the record, I am not a speed addict...I knew a few of them...maybe I dated one but all the songs on our record come from a real place.

Question: Where did you get the song "Jumper from?"

RS 3EB: Stephan: Jumper comes from a whole lot of places but the start of it was a story a manager told me about a friend who jumped off a bridge in high school because he was gay...and I thought that everybody had some things in their past that hurt them or something so that it was a story that everyone could relate to. That's why I say put the past away, which is also the name of our current tour.

Question: How did you pick the name Third Eye Blind??

RS 3EB: Stephan: We love you but we can't tell you. It's a huge secret.

Question: What do you think of your newfound fame? Has it gone to your heads/has it affected your lives in any way?

RS 3EB: Stephan: The four of us have always been what 3EB is about...and what we've noticed is that we haven't changed so much as other people have changed around us. The biggest thing that's so different is we're never home in San Francisco anymore. We live on the road. This morning we woke after driving all night on our tour bus in NYC, then we got on a plane and flew to L.A. where we are now. Tomorrow we'll be in Philadelphia...it's always like that. The road is home. That's the biggest change.

Question: Hello, I went to your show called KAMP KOME, with about 18 other bands. I was wondering if you do any other shows to benefit the Surf Rider Foundation? Thanks!

RS 3EB: Stephan: I'm a surfer myself. I know what it's like to get tar all over your wetsuit when surfing Santa Barbara and I know what's it like when the dolphins come in and surf with you at Black's Beach in San Diego. I'm a big advocate of the Surf Rider Foundation...and I hope we can do more benefits for them. We do as many benefits as we can.

Question: What's your favorite song on the album ??

RS 3EB: Brad: I don't have a favorite. We play those songs every night so I kinda think of those songs as a whole and not individual songs anymore.

RS 3EB: Stephan: There's 14 songs on the record and we bled for all of them, but if I had to choose I'd say "I Want You," "God of Wine" and "Narcolepsy."

Question: Hi guys :) I was curious about how long you've been together and how you all got together?

RS 3EB: Stephan: We came together four years ago in the San Francisco underground music scene. I was looking for like minded musicians who are very independent in the way they played and wanted to do something other than what was going on at the time in the S.F. scene. It took a long time for us to get together but once we did, things started to click.

Question: How would a kid like me, I'm 14, get into a business like you guys??

RS 3EB: Brad: I wouldn't think of it as a business.

RS 3EB: Stephan: If you could possibly do anything else with your life, do it. You have to be willing to starve. We certainly did.

Question: Stephan - how do you react to the fans that are really into you? Who was the weirdest fan you've met and what did they do?

RS 3EB: Stephan: Most of the fans are really nice people and they want to let me know that they connected in some way that was important to them to our music. I'm always flattered and humbled by them and I'm always glad to meet them. The weirdest thing that ever happened to me by a fan I don't want to tell you, because I don't want to have it repeated. Nevertheless, I usually have someone from the crew nearby when we're doing lots of signings. But I keep approachable...music is about making a real connection with people so I try to talk to fans who want to talk to me when possible at shows.

Question: how did you guys get your break that started your career??

RS 3EB: Stephan: I don't think we had a break. We had a long series of things happening to us....all the while what kept us going was that we were into the music we were making it was exciting to us because we were into it. People started noticing.

AOLiveMC15: A lot of folks wanna know if you have a fan club or web site?

RS 3EB: Stephan: There's a fan club that's just forming and should be up and running in the next month.

RS 3EB: Brad: We have a web site -- www.flip.net/~3EB/

Question: Do you prefer the club scene or a concert scene...I saw you in a club and I enjoyed the experience greatly.

RS 3EB: Stephan: We like both. Every time we play whether it's a small of a thousand people or something as big as RockFest that was 310,000 people, it's a chance to make the music happen. We always really to take that chance.

Question: What do you do in the tour bus?

RS 3EB: Stephan: Tee Hee Ha Ha Ha Ho Ho Ho...wouldn't you like to know???? Have you ever seen Lord of the Flies?

Question: I would like to know what the reason behind "Motorcycle Driveby" was...it is an incredible song and I can really relate to it.

RS 3EB: Stephan: Thank you very much for the props. That song started as a journal entry made on a trip to New York to visit a girl I used to go out with. Needless to say, the trip didn't work out. I went back to San Francisco and went surfing which is what the last verse is about. The main idea in the song is that sometimes when you're really lonely, you really feel alive and you feel like you know who you are.

Question: I am writing a column on you for my school newspaper. Can I quote you? How would you describe your music style?

RS 3EB: Stephan: Thanx for writing the article describing our music style is your job though...good luck.

Question: Do all of 3rd eye Blind ride motorcycles for fun, or was it just for that Semi-Charmed Life music video??

RS 3EB: Stephan: Kevin and I both ride motorcycles...I currently have a 1972 Triumph 750 Tiger Twin. It's got more power than God...

Question: When do you guys plan on recording another album?

RS 3EB: Stephan: They're telling us there's going to be like 7 singles released off this record so we'll probably be touring for the next year. During that time we will make some B-sides, some more videos and we're working on live video now...but we won't be making another record for a year.

Question: What do you all like to do on your spare time

RS 3EB: Stephan: Spare time? What's that? Drink martinis, hang out with friends, snowboard, surf, sleep.

Question: Where did you come up with the song Losing A Whole Year?

RS 3EB: Stephan: It started from a riff that Kevin was playing on the guitar, the words were how that riff made me feel, the story is just lamenting the end of a relationship and all of its wasted time.

Question: Do you guys enjoy being this famous or do you wish it wasn't all such a big deal? What inspired your writing?

RS 3EB: Stephan: Life is a blur. We're having a ball. Our music is inspired by the life we lead and the lives we see.

AOLiveMC15: Where would you like to see yourselves in 5 years?

RS 3EB: Stephan: In space...

Question: What one thing would you change about the music industry if you could?

RS 3EB: Stephan: I would give it a sense of humor. It always seems like they never get the joke.

RS 3EB: Brad: I can't say what I would change. I don't want to hurt people's feelings.

Question: Who/what band has been the biggest influence in your career?

RS 3EB: Stephan: The Police.

RS 3BD: Brad: There's no one record that would have a single profound impact on my career.

Question: Why did you take out the whole "When the Plane Came in..." verse on the radio/single version of Semi-Charmed Life?

RS 3EB: Stephan: We didn't take it out...somebody else did. If you want him, get him for me....find him, get him for me (sorry).

AOLiveMC15: There is time for one final question.

Question: Are any of you married? Wanna be?

RS 3EB: Stephan: None of us are married. I would like to be someday...it's plenty to think of. She's out there.

RS 3EB: Brad: I'm dying to meet her.

RS 3EB: Stephan: We have confirmed faith that 3EB fans are the most kick@#$ people on earth. Walk like kings, all of you.

AOLiveMC15: Any comments for your fans tonight guys?

RS 3EB: Brad: I like this format....I hope next time you'll be given the benefit of the doubt with our typing skills, we'd like to do this again.

RS 3EB: Stephan: Thanx everybody for logging on...sorry we couldn't get to everyone. Peace, out.

OnlineHost: All good things must end. We've run out of time for this event!

AOLiveMC15: Thanks for joining us here tonight guys, it was very entertaining! Thanks to each of you in the audience for being here also! Good night!

OnlineHost: Copyright 1997 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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More about this Event:

10/07 Third Eye Blind 8:00pm ET (AOL Live)

Third Eye Blind
Live Chat @ Rolling Stone Online
Tuesday, October 7, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
In AOL Live

Third Eye Blind are taking over the world -- or at least the airwaves. Begin left of the radio dial and spin it to the right: You're bound to hear "Semi-Charmed Life," "Graduate," "Losing a Whole Year" or "Jumper" at any given second (in fact, "Semi-Charmed Life" is *the* most played song on radio this year). That's the price 3EB doesn't mind paying for releasing a precocious debut album chock full of addictively catchy alternapop songs.

Predominantly written by frontman Stephan Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Carogan, "Third Eye Blind" tackles a variety of subjects such as one-hit wonderism, love-gone-bad and suicide with themes of regret and vindication.

Third Eye Blind has toured exhaustively in support of their now gold-selling debut album and will continue to do so until at least the middle of December, with select dates opening for U2 and the Rolling Stones. 1