Third Eye Blind on 120 Minutes

Third Eye Blind on 120 Minutes from the HFS-tival

This is an interview with Third Eye Blind that was played on MTV's 120 Minutes. I did not get it from anywhere - which means I can take all the blame if anything's wrong. I just taped it and then watched it several (thousand) times with pen and paper ready... It includes stuttering, incomplete sentences, and at least one place where I just couldn't understand what Kevin is saying. Anything that is my note or comment will be found [in brackets] and is not something the band said.

Matt Pinfield: Hey, it's Matt Pinfield back here at the HFS-tival 1997. It's a yearly thing, and, you know, it's becoming tradition. Excelently, though, here on 120 Minutes. And I'm here with Third Eye Blind. It's great to have the band here, finally. I've been thinking, you know, gotta get these guys on the air. They have one of the most infectious singles of the year and an excelent album, too. And, uh, wanted to talk to you guys for a bit. So I'm glad to have you. Stephan talk to me a bit about - first of all I get on the air and, of course, talk about the fact that Semi-Charmed Life, you know, is about the illegal drug - I have to mention that since we're on television-

Stephan Jenkins: Not legal!

MP: -crystal meth, crank, um, preferred by bikers, uh, truckers and rock n’ roll road crews mostly. Um - lemme - you're probably going “well he knows a little bit too much about that, doesn't he?” No, I - I'm an educated man. Listen-

SJ: We were amazed because there was all these - there are all these - these - these words that were so cryptic that we thought no one would notice, but everybody at MTV, when the video came on, was like “No, can't say that, can't say that.” So my guess is that there's some people at MTV who know exactly what meth's about.

Kevin Cadogan: A lot of ex-truckers working at MTV.

MP: We're all truckers, bikers and rock n’ roll road crews. No, anyways, seriously - tell me a bit about - I mean - it's - the - you were signed - um - people - I mean - there was a - pretty much a - a - quite a bidding war-

SJ: No.

MP: No?

SJ: There was no bidding war. We didn't have a bidding war. We're not a bidding war band. We do not. We're just a band.

MP: There wasn't any of that stuff going on?

SJ: No, no bidding war. We're just-

KC: It was a battle.

SJ: Third Eye Blind is - there was - there was a small wrestling match, but there was no war. ‘Cause we're not - we're not - we're not pro-war.

MP: So the Elektra people won out in the wrestling match?

SJ: They were just good folks, you know? We just - just - we - it was really more about talking than - than warring, you know?

MP: Right. And the reality was, too-

KC: [I cannot, for the life of me, understand what Kevin is saying here... To me, it sounds like “They had the crab style” but I doubt very much that that's what he said.]

MP: I heard you guys got on real well because they gave you guys complete creative control as well.

SJ: Yeah, that was something that we needed. And, uh, Sylvia Rhone, who signed the group, um, was really supportive about - about - um - supporting what we were trying to do, uh, instead of, you know, instead of trying to make it into something else. So I think that was one reason why it really fit with - with Elektra.

MP: Yeah, I mean, it's worked out really well. Talk to me a bit about the fact - is it true - I've also heard a rumour that you're going to be doing A&R stuff as well. Is that true?

SJ: No.

MP: It's absolutely untrue - you're not going to be doing town scouting?

SJ: If it was true, I certainly wouldn't tell you.

MP: OK, it'd be like, conflict of interests! We better not do that!

SJ: It's not true! It's not true!

MP: Not doing A&R, so don't send him 500,000 tapes.

SJ: No, don't send me any tapes. And we - we - we - we lie all the time so it's never - it's never true.

MP: [to the others] Will you guys vouch for that?

KC: That he lies all the time?

MP: Yeah.

KC: Yeah.

MP: I appreciate that. OK, thanks for coming by you guys.

3EB: Thanks for having us.

MP: We will have you soon, you know, full time on the show, so we can really get into it and talk more, but thanks for coming by today. At the HFS-tival, Third Eye Blind - and we'll have them on the show real soon. Keep it here for more of 120 Minutes from the HFS-tival 1997. Stay here.

KC: Yeah... [referring to microphone] This thing's got some weight. [there's a random statement if I ever heard one.]

[BTW - Yes, Arion and Brad were there too, they just didn't say anything.]

Disclaimer- this is probably © MTV, but I really don't know. If you are some legal person and know the copyright info on this interview, please email me.