Q - Ok to get the ball rolling, Crapmetal said that he would like to ask "little black box (not amp channel selector) on his pedal board does and the a/b box on his pedal board and if piano thing was improvised and also "the dead star chorus settings, and fuzz factory settings"

Matt: the black thing is a mains hum reducer, custom-built piano thing was partly improvised. I think I recorded the guitars through a big muff into chris' bass amps.

Q - Ask them something like: "do you think as a band the way you come up with new material is easier or bloodly hard to come with a good song like bliss now. or do they take compltly different approach to it all since you started like getting pissed and try to play scales untill you cock up and sounds?

Chris: I think that in a way its been easier on this album purely because we’ve had much more time to spend together as a band and really work on the stuff. Its probably been the first time since being signed that we’ve had regular rehearsals and had our own space to use when we want.

Q - What is the main inspiration for songs, do they just come to you or do they take lots of planning and effort, are you finding it easier to write songs now than before? - also new albulm info purlease! THESE are IMPORTANT questions to me....(honestly) -

Matt: hmmm, inspiration for new album has come from many places, some stuff has come from how world events have affected our personal lives and how often when consumed by fear, pure joy can sometimes be found in the simplest things. Some stuff is just pure hatred and mistrust for the people of power who are shaping the worlds destiny without our consent and some songs are suggesting that the short time we do have should be enjoyed and exploited to the full. New album should be released in september (apart from USA) and we will be releasing a single (on the internet only) around July and a regular single end of august I think.

Dom: the album will come out in september with a single just before and we will start to tour in sep/oct/nov

Q- Matt: How the hell do you stick your hair up like that, what kind of incredible hair stuff does that???

Matt: dax

Q - Dom: Explain how much fun it was to smash into that bigtable of booze with a quad bike at Reading (I think)

Matt: a lot

Dom: it was a whole lot of fun. theres nothing like driving a golf cart into things that you know are definitely going to break. the problem is taking so much pleasure in destroying other peoples belongings.

Q - Chris: Does your hair naturally go curly when you grow itor did you get a perm (admit it if you did get a perm!!!! ;-)

Matt:natural

Chris: I swear there is no perm or any other unnatural hair treatments involved

Q - Matt: How the hell do you play plug in baby so fackin fast, I suppose its just practise

Matt: erm

Q - How do you compose your songs?

Matt: there's no formula

Q - Do you compose on the sheet, when you're singing or when you're playing guitar?- is it only matt who has ideas for songs?

Matt: no to both

Q- Are you writing the lyrics or the music first

Matt: music 80% of time

Q - Well I know people will ask this/have asked it already in previousinterviews but maybe if you just keep perstering them with the same questions then they'll give a definite answer!!! stupid pillocks.. WHEN THE HELL WILL THEY BLOODY COME TO AMERICA ALREADY??!! IT'S NOT FAIR TO US [Americans and non americans a like..]... well, it is sorta fair, but still!!ask matt what the advantage of having freakishly long fingers is...meh, but that's silly cause we all already know that..

Matt: origin of symmetry didnt get released in america. this is because maverick thought that the album wasn't commercial enough and they wanted us to change it. we said fuck off, they said fuck off and somewhere along the line all touring plans for america were cancelled. our next album will be released on a different record label in the usa (around january 2004) and we are planning to spend alot of 2004 in usa touring.

Dom: the deal with states is, our last album didnt come out over therebecause maverick didnt find it "commercialy viable" and wanted more "radio singles" - jesus.. they had a period of time to release it and didnt, so we parted company. we've just been meeting new labels in La during the mixing of the album and hope to get album out and tour there at the end of this year or early next year. but we're definitely coming over with this album. I 'll leave matts finger legnth up to your own imagination.

Q - Matt, Have you ever considered writing tab books to your
own songs? That would be absolutely brilliant. A lot of people are disappointed with the current tabs. Some piano songs have been arranged for guitar instead - The Gallery on Hullabaloo for instance and some tabs seem to be done awkwardly. I am not a plagiarist but would love to play all your songs on guitar and piano for myself. Definite favourites are Bliss, Space Dementia, Muscle Museum, Micro Cuts, Dark Shines and too many others I do understand if you don't like people playing your stuff for personal reasons. I just think a lot of money and VERY pleased fans would be on the cards

Matt: I 'll look into it

Q - Do you have an address where people can write to you?

Matt: I think so, ask tom

TOM: I’m in the process of sorting out a PO Box and will have a confirmed Muse Address for any post within the next couple of weeks. When it’s set I’ll post it on the news page.

Q - Why didn't you use the piano for Dark Shines on Hullabaloo? (if you did then I apologise because it doesn't sound like you did) I think the piano makes a great sound before you start singing "Darkshines..."

Matt: I can't run over to the piano then back again quick enough

Q - "What does "H Eight" mean?" (refering to Space dementia's lyrics first word)

Matt: Using a microcomputer (Hitachi H8 / 3048F) which can
be built into the industrialmachines, you can learn and understand the inputs /outputs of the microcomputer as a basis of robot control and conduct theexperiments by C-language for steppingmotor control, servomotor control (PWM control) and serial communication. H8 model, a 16-bit microcomputer consists of 32-bit registers, has a flash ROM of 128KB, a RAM of 4KB (SRAM) with external extension of 128KB and 78 I /O terminals with the built-in A/D and D/Aconverters. H8 is a microcomputer usually built into a TV, VTR, mobile-phone and
car navigator. Since it has ample I /O terminals, H8 microcomputer is also used as a brain of a small robot.

Q - What kind of digital piano do you use?

Matt: I did use some roland thing, but im getting a new one soon... cant decide between Kawai MP9500 or General Music Promega3

Q - Is it true that you taught yourself to play the guitar? Does that apply for piano as well and if not where did you learn the piano?

Matt: I had a few lessons on spanish guitar, but not on piano

Q - Are you going to ever use the riff that you used to play before sunburn live, in a song? I noticed that the riff from 'get a grip' was used live in between songs from even before OOS came out. I think its the best riff I 've ever heard and you would do well to use it.

Matt: isnt it a bit aerosmith?

Dom: we haven’t used it as a full track yet. it was always just
a riff to play in a live situation which is where it worked best. I think we tried to play it in a rehearsal situation, but it doesn’t give you the same feeling as when you play it on a stage in front of people with fat sound in your ears. thats when it makes you want to start smashing things up.

Q - What music does the band chill out to...

Matt: chill out zone 2 / palestrina benedictus, Ocean sounds all played at the same time whilst watching the blue planet.

Chris: four freshmen, god speed you black emporer, the oxes, palestrina

Q - What was matts and chris's first guitar/bass and amp???

Matt: carlsboro stingray, trucker bass amp

Chris:I used to use an old carlsbro stingray amp that was actually a guitar amp but it was so heavy I couldn’t lift it into a car on my own so I ended up getting a little marshall combo

Q - How long have they all been playing their instruments..

Matt: 10 years
Dom: 10 years
Chris: 9 years

Q - Do they have any advise for people like me.. who have been playing a few years... and still are crap

Matt: don’t give up?

Q - What was the best thing Matt ever did to help with his guitar handling technique??

Matt: gave up guitar lessons

Q - What are the big tickertape filled balloon's all about?

Matt: check out a 70s cult TV program called ‘Prisoner’

Q - question for all the band: which is the best; Playstation, X box, Gamecube, nice book

Chris: xbox
Dom: splinter cell

Q - questions for dom: What drummers are better than you?

Dom: theres too many to list.

Q - Who inspired you to take up drumming?

Dom: stewart copeland, dave grohl, buddy rich.

Q - Out of all the instruments in a band, is drumming is probably the easiest?

Dom: its the easiest for me.

Q - Questions for chris: Do you get headaches from all that head bobbing?

Chris: I get frequent neck spasms but nothing to worry about

Q - questions for matt: Who are your favorite band at the moment?

Matt: the yeah yeah yeah’s

Q - What was "muscle musuem SCREAMING" all about, very funny, possible drug involvement. find it on microcuts.net?

Matt: not sure what you mean

Q - who you most like to just smack across the face?

Matt: george bush

Q - what is you opinion of the band "busted"?

Matt: don’t know them

Q - Why did they stop visiting the board officially and do they visit unofficially sometimes?

Matt: there has been the odd unofficial visit, but we've been too involved in making the 3rd album, when we start touring again more website activity will commence.

Dom: we all visit the board quite a lot, we just haven’t posted on it for while. its going to kick off.

Q - Oh, I wanted to ask something similar to cookie Are you still going to interact with your fans or you're too busy / too big for it? Remember, they used to visit this place, took part in chats, invited fans for their parties, videos etc.

Dom: we will allways try and interact with fans as much as possible. I dont think any band is too big for their fans and as soon as you think you are, you end up looking like the singer out of Live.

Q - Should we expect any changes on stage? E.g. more spectacular show, different instruments?

Matt: yes, you'll have to wait and see...

Dom: there are definitely going to be changes on stage which we're working on at the moment, and of course its going to be bigger and more spectacular. I think with this album we will all have to push ourselves further on stage with more instrumentation.

Q - Do you like playing bigger or smaller venues and why?

Matt: dunno, sometimes the sound is crap in really small places but it can be a more intimate atmosphere than a large venue. but there is a kind of excitement in a large venue which can be spectacular.

Chris: I think both venues are good for different reasons. Small gigs are grat because of the intimacy. I think some of the best gigs ive ever seen have been at small venues. But big gigs are cool too purely because of the amount of people that you are palying too. Its a great view.

Dom: I like both for different reasons. its amazing to play in a large venue in front of thousands of people. to comprehend that many people coming to see us play, what they look like from the stage and what is sounds like when thousands of people respond to our songs, is a really amazing experience. But when we play in smaller venues there is a raw, intermit and spontaneous energy that can lack in large venues.

Q - Matt: When was the last time you took magic mushrooms

Matt: last year

Q - All: Who came up with the name "Orange in a Cemetary"

Matt: you?

Q - Matt: How did he come up with the ideas in what effects to put in his Mansun guitars, and why. Plus why didn’t he use the black one more on the hullabaloo that’s well his best one.

Matt: I put effects in the guitar so I can do certain effects when I am away from the pedal board. the black one probably is the best, I might use it a bit more live. but im thinking of getting a new one

Q - Marmite: Love it or hate it ?

Matt: chris: heaven matt: ive just been sick dom: im a poof

Chris: Love it

Dom: I used to hate it, now I love it.