Sometimes one of us will have a riff or a bass line from home but it really gels when we come together. We really have a strong special chemistry that we take advantage of when we get together.

Drums all have their own particulars - each drum has a place where they sound the best - where they ring out and resonate the best, and the head surface isn't too loose or too tight, mainly so you get a good rebound off of the head.

In some of the L.A. clubs, people can act too cool to get into your music. That can get to be a bit much.

Flea and Anthony are into funk, like old school Meters and stuff like that.

The Meatbats are a throwback band.

I had sort of exhausted all the avenues playing in Detroit. So again, through the stewardship of my brother, I ended up in California and went to the Musicians Institute in L.A. I wanted to get better as a player.

Jazz can be so serious, no sense of humor.