There are so many things that kept forcing metal back down to the underground. It survives everywhere on the planet.

When I was really young, I was really into Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden and those kinds of bands.

As I got older, it turned into hardcore punk. I started getting into more aggressive music.

There are five of us. We've all played in various bands together, in different combinations. I know that Todd [Cook] and Tony [Bailey] are my favorite rhythm section - they're just like a unit. I guess we've all just played together in various capacities, so when the band was coming together, it was sort of like we just chose members because they had similar sensibilities and also because they're just cool. We all got along real well.

I'm still in the Midwest, but I'm in Columbus, Ohio, so I'm three and a half hours away from everybody. That's one of the reasons we're not as active as we'd like to be - it's an expensive chore for me to go down there just to talk or something.

I'm looking for anything interesting in the guitar playing, songwriting, artwork, and production. If you look at the stack of CDs on my desk and in my car, you'll find a very wide range of music under the umbrella of metal.

People like a story that has a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But I don't think the Slint story really has that.