“We're the only band that's got real communication between the stage and the audience. People know they can come and talk to us and pour beer over us, buy us a drink and spit at us. [on his group, the Damned]”
Captain Sensible
“That one ('Shaft') really split the audience. A lot of people didn't like that a white English band was doing a Southern soul classic. But that was part of the beauty of it. . . . I've always looked to American bands and music for inspiration. Then we put our take on it.”
David Gedge
“We want to be the band to dance to when the bomb drops.”
Simon LeBon
“We're always into that. It breaks down the wall between the band and the audience. It's a dream come true for the people who get onstage, but also for the people who watch it because they're seeing somebody who is one of their own. Sometimes it turns out great, sometimes it's a complete disaster. But even when it sounds bad, it's sometimes even better because there's a certain charm to it.”
Billie Joe Armstrong
“We want it to be an event rather than just a band up on stage playing. We wouldn't have it any other way. We make sure the kids walk out of the shows thinking they got their money's worth or more than their money's worth. We try to pack an arena show into a club.”
Zacky Vengeance
“It's flattering, but you start to wonder whether people that are becoming fans of all the bands that have taken on that look know where it's coming from. I'm not saying we invented it -- we drew influence from the Damned and the Misfits -- but it wasn't very popular when we started doing it. It's strange, but if you start worrying about stuff like that, it becomes less about being a songwriter and more about trying to control what's going on in some kind of scene.”
Dan Andriano
“In this band, it's pretty democratic. Anyone can come in with a part. I've been in bands where the parts pretty much got shot down immediately. This is the first band I've been in where everyone was willing to at least try.”
Dave Kushner
