Sheila Ren: Have you had to withstand joking about your last name now that computers have made us more aware on the word, font?

Henry Font: Oh, forget about it. I had my name before all this happened. (laughing)

SR: Before we even get started what's up with the numbering on my advance copy? I'm going crazy trying to get the songs to line up properly.

HF: They screwed up the manufacturing of the CD. It only happens on the promo copies. The album is pressed correctly.

SR: Great. It was driving me crazy. Obviously, your first and second goal has been met. Now it's touring, touring, touring.

HF: Exactly. And then more touring after that.

SR: You've been touring with some of our better bands throughout your career such as Life Of Agony,Type O Negative, Korn, Clutch and Souls At Zero to name a few.

HF: We started two years or so just playing with everyone we could. That's the key to breaking a band. If you have an album out, you have to support it on the road.

SR: What are your best writing situations?

HF: After a lot of alcohol usually. (laughter) Actually the majority were written only after a couple of glasses of wine, every day life experiences and putting it down on paper. Fortunately, I've been able to come up with some pretty good ones so far. I'm happy about that.

SR: You do have a way of using the fewest amount of words to get your point across.

HF: I look at Kurt Cobain because he wrote that way as well. He didn't use many lyrics. But then again some of the bands I'm influenced by bands like Rush who use a lot of lyrics. I like U2 as well. I don't believe in using a lot of lyrics.

SR: How did you come to sign with Fierce?

HF: We actually had done a couple of shows in our area and they became interested in us. They liked what they heard and they kept pursuing us. Maria at Metal Blade Records put in a good word for us as well. We were fortunate that they liked us. We're very lucky. They've been great so far. They're supporting us in every way possible. One key to signing with them was that they're willing to grow with us.

SR: With your long association with Josh Silver, you might just as easily gotten signed to Roadrunner.

HF: Yeah, we were talking to them for a little while. We weren't really happy with their plan for us. I've known Monte Connor with Roadrunner for years and I think he felt it was a conflict of interest thing. They were looking for the quick money but that's not what we're about at this time. If it happens quickly, great. We're just not pushing it. Type O Negative is a classic example. It took them three albums to get to where they are today.

SR: How much time did you spend with Josh in Systems Two Studios?

HF: Well, we first started working with Josh in 1993. We did some demoes with him and every song on this album except for "Gray Flap," "My Feet" and "Exit Wound" was demoed with him. The actual time frame was about three weeks roughly, working ten-hour days. It was relatively quick. One thing about Josh is that he knows exactly what he wants to do before he goes into the studio. So, with him you don't have to sit around and wait for ideas to pop into your head. That was definitely a big plus with him. It was a real pleasure working with Josh again.

SR: You've spent about five years getting your sound together...

HF: Actually, it's been about three years.

SR: What happened that said it's time to sign and record?

HF: I think what happened was just by playing so many shows we got really good response. We wanted to give our fans more than a demo. We recorded the album last August and the Systems Two people let us record it without paying them right away which was really nice. We did pay the bill about a year later. We felt the songs were strong enough and Josh wouldn't have recorded with us if he hadn't felt they were strong. We've laid a good foundation with this album.

SR: Do you think a large number of your old fans and new fans can relate to songs like "I'm Afraid Of Life" and "I Am No One?" I certainly relate to them and I suspect I'm older than most of your fan base.

HF: I would hope so. If I were a teenager and I bought the album I'd understand it. I hoping that people definitely get that. If they can relate these songs to their own lives that's good.

SR: Holy Smoke! Is that a guitar solo I hear on "Parole?"

HF: Yeah, it is. (laughing)

SR: I'm so impressed. Maybe guitar solos can come back.

HF: Wow. That's Paul Poulos. Honestly, I'm not that big into guitar solos personally. I thought that song could use a solo and Paul did a great job. Josh is very much into solos...the big guitar hero thing. The solo fits in that song, I think.

SR: "Turbulent" comes in with soft and hard sounds to get the song across.

HF: That's a lot of Josh's influence. He's very much into atmosphere and building dynamics. When I wrote the song he said knew exactly how he wanted to produce it. That was one of the first songs that really got us going.

SR: You must be a fan of Morrissey since you covered his "Shoplifters Of The World Unite."

HF: Yeah, I am. I'm a big fan of The Smiths in general. I like the desparate things that most people can relate to in their music. I related to them. I wasn't quite as depressed as he was at that time, but I related as a teenager growing up in New York.

SR: That song goes way back to '86-'87.

HF: It was on the Louder Than Bombs album. We did that song as a tongue-in-cheek thing and got some good results. It was our tribute to Morrissey.

SR: I like your version. It has a little better edge on it for my taste.

HF: Exactly. That's what we wanted to do..to make sure we incorporated our sound into it. To do it on our terms, so-to-speak.

SR: When I listen to "Down & Out" I think of the strain of touring.

HF: It's was kind of written about that, but actually the song itself is about the shooting from the University of Texas tower in Austin back in the '70s.

SR: That crossed my mind when I heard it since I'm in Austin. I was living in California when it happened but I haven't forgotten the incident.

HF: The funny thing was that I saw a documentary on the shooter and I was fascinated about how he could get into that frame of mind. I was puzzled as to how someone can get pushed into that situation. It has to be after years and years of psychological pressure and damage.

SR: Very clever little yellow box here matching the name.

HF: That was Val's idea.

SR: The queen of sarcasm.

HF: Yeah, exactly. She was in New Jersey at the flea market and we saw this thing for a dollar. She decided it was something we could use. I thought it was a great idea. The label was a little hesitant at first, but we liked the idea.

SR: Did they give you any problem with the name?

HF: No. Some radio stations say they can't say the name so they just say piston. We don't care and we figured eventually there might be a problem with the name if we move in the K-Mart direction for sales. We're not dead set against changing the name.

SR: Piston would fit right in there with Clutch. You're car part bands.

HF: Exactly. We love Clutch.

SR: As far as songwriting goes, what were some of your early influences?

HF: There have been so many influences. Growing up I was into KISS and I bought the first Van Halen album. I was into bands like Rush, Big Country and then The Cure and The Smiths. I tried to combine them all into one sound. The "psychedelic slush" as Josh calls it.

SR: I hear a lot of different voices from you. I hear a little James Hetfield-tinged voice, a little Rush and some I can't put to a name.

HF: Yeah, actually I wanted to use that voice. Josh wanted me to try something a little different and a little harshier. It helped give a different mood on songs like "Parole" and "I'm Afraid Of Life." We wanted to create different atmospheres by using different voices. We're very happy with the results.

SR: How would you describe your music?

HF: Good question. People have been asking us that. When we went to Europe the label manager asked us that question. The best way I can describe it is the way Josh described it..."psychedelic slush." We're actually metal with a little alternative edge.

SR: It has some soft and heavy sonic sounds with great backing vocals that makes it intricate.

HF: That was a goal for us. That comes from the stuff I like. I like pop music because it's easier to hum along with. I just incorporated that into something more agressive and heavy. I like that different feeling on each song.

SR: If someone listens just to "Parole" the first tune, they'll miss a lot of good stuff.

HF: That's the kind of question we have. We're hoping that they'll listen to the entire album. That's the thing, we weren't sure which song to lead off with, but went with "Parole."

SR: ...I'm on the edge, I'm on the edge, I believe I'm on the edge...and those words set the tone on "Parole." I believe you can get some hardcore fans with that song.

HF: I wasn't into hardcore stuff except for maybe Carnivore. That was Josh's first band. Peter mixed up a lot of stuff and his subject matter was definitely out there. It's something I don't really agree with, but that's his opinion. He put a lot of melody in his stuff too.

SR: Let's do a word association on the members of the band? Val is proudly standing in the inside photo wearing a guitar strap that reads "cunt." The forbidden word.

HF: (Laughing) Yep. We've been friends for years. I met her in '89 and she's the perfect person in the band. She provides a lot of attitude and a great player as well. There's always the comparison to White Zombie. I didn't pick her for that reason. She can really play her bass and she's a friend. Being female or not doesn't make a difference to me, it's in the playing. I trust her and she's perfect for this situation.

SR: How about Paul?

HF: I guess you haven't heard that Paul and Danny have left the band.

SR: No, I had no idea.

HF: They didn't think that we were going in the right direction and left a couple of weeks ago. I don't understand that but at the same time we had a problem with our manager Ken Kriete. We're not with him anymore. Type O Negative and Life Of Agony have fired Kriete as well on election day.

SR: Who are the replacement musicians?

HF: The lead guitar will be replaced with Burton Gans from Brooklyn. The drummer hasn't been chosen as yet. We have some people lined up to audition for us. Those guys were with us all those years and I guess it was a hard thing to do, but they just quit. I think Paul was just afraid to make the huge commitment to touring.

SR: Afraid of life...

HF: Exactly. I think that song sums up a lot of people's fears. They're afraid to leave their cozy home for ten months out of the year. Life goes on.

SR: When are you hitting the road? I heard from the label that you'd be out with DIO.

HF: We got the invitation and we can join the tour whenever we want. Hopefully, within the next three or four weeks we'll be set. We'd love to go on the road with Ronnie James.

SR: He's in the dark about this.

HF: We were talking with Wendy and she's definitely into the band. We're anxious to tour over in Europe as well.

SR: What has your favorite tour been so far?

HF: We loved touring with Life Of Agony and we enjoyed our time with The Misfits as well. We did ten or eleven shows with them. There are so many good bands out there that we could tour with. We've been pretty fortunate that we've been able to tour with so many big bands. They've all treated us very well.

SR: What's the significience of the title of the album?

HF: The only thing about that is that it's our first album and when you were little didn't you ever use number one as the phrase for pissing?

SR: Of course. I didn't even think of that.

HF: Well, that's exactly what it's all about. People are probably thinking how arrogant we are by this number one stuff.

SR: It has certainly become an accepted word on television.

HF: Hopefully, that will carry over to radio.

SR: Congratulations on your impressive success with airplay on this album.

HF: We're very excited about that. Having people just enjoy our music has been a lot of fun. We didn't expect it would do as well as it has.

SR: Has e-mail brought you more fans than you expected?

HF: Definitely. It seems our manager didn't get around to paying the bills so we have a new address. We've sold a lot of merchandise through the website. It's a lot of fun.

SR: I'll be sure to catch your show in Austin. I'm looking forward to meeting Val. That lady has BALLS!

HF: (laughing) Indeed. I'm sure the two of you will get along well. Thanks, Sheila I appreciate it.