You've been gone for six and a half years - how was it recording this album? 

'Actually is was easier than the last record... 'The Process of Belief' which is the new one really felt like good old times, more along the lines of the mood we were in when we wrote 'No Control' 

 

Brooks Wackerman (ex-Suicidal Tendencies) is on drums - ...'he played one song in the practice and we knew he was the right guy' 

 

'We love 'em. The London audience is more like a NY audience who get to see shows every day so it's not such a big deal...they seem to have some kind of a funny accent as well...' 

 

'Only if we are near the entrance of a popular punk rock show where there's a line going round the block... but put it this way, it's not really cramping our style... we ain't Brad Pitt' 

 

One of my main influences in punk rock was Derby Crash from the Germs, his lyrical style... and as a songwriter Elvis Costello's one of my big heroes' 'also obviously the Ramones and the Buzzcocks and when we started out I wanted Bad Religion to have the same relationship to their audience as Sham 69 had to theirs...' 

 

Were not much glitz and glamour... no pyrotechnics... we try very hard to deliver the song the way it's supposed to be played and that's sometimes a lot harder than it seems 'cos these are not easy songs to recreate... and also you're going to hear a good sampling of all our best songs from our entire career, were not one of those groups who go out and only play the new record and the kids get all bummed out that they didn't hear the classic songs that they were hoping for...' 

 

I like it. It's very good for the kids. It's not like a religion where you have to bow to the almighty, so I don't really care where they got their inspiration. There's some great pop punk out there but Bad Religion's not a pop band... we're a punk rock band. 

 

It's not a concept album, you'd have to really ask what each songs about. There is something that runs through it about celebration of Brett's coming back to the band, the band being back on epitaph.. and I think the sprit of the album is very optimistic and hopeful. For a number of years there Brett and I were not writing songs together and I found those three albums I made in his absence were very difficult times to be creative...' 

 

We have about 25 people at Epitaph Europe... I trust their decisions... 

 

MY BOSS? Let me get one thing straight, Brett and I do not see ourselves as employee and boss... 

 

I really didn't do it as a ploy (to keep them on the label). 

 

Let me clarify for a second - on Hellcat Records we release street punk and Ska and a bit of psychobilly, and the anti-label is for things completely outside punk rock... on that label we have Tom Waits, Tricky... great bands with artistic integrity who aren't necessarily punk rock 

 

We've been criticising religion for 20 years and we thought that it's a good idea to offer a positive solution when you make to many critical judgements, and this was a way of promoting research in the field of naturalism... we're thinking of opening it up to international students. 

 

That's right - as I was working on my masters degree I was teaching comparative anatomy, then I started working on a PhD at Cornell where I was teaching evolution and comparative anatomy... actually I haven't finished my PhD yet... 

 

Coming to the UK first week of February, we'll be doing a few shows around Europe, and then I think late summer we'll be back for a proper tour... we're also doing the Warp tour in America this year which is a good chunk of the summer...