| Show fall back on" But I could say "Dad you're always the one who says The most important thing is to do what you like' Well this is what I like" Tray: All four of us had the experience of wanting to be musicians knowing we were musicians at a very early age — and then running into all those people who tell you “Oh you've got to do something real" For me there's never been anything else real Except love family I did an eighth-grad- e career day recently along with other people in different careen and one guy worked for a snowboard company He felt about snowboarding the way I feel about music It was his passion When he did it he was free like I'm free when I'm playing music It's the freest I am And people said “You can't make any money snowboarding" But you can't listen to people saying that If you have a love you have to follow it He ended up figuring out a way — he got this marketing job at a snowboard company and he flies around from one ski area to the next checking in as the company's representative at the pro shops The rest of the day he can snowboard and ski He was so happy I thought PNah Page McCoonall that was so great Mika Gordon No matter what I do it always ties Troy Anastaaio in to music While I'm out there padand Jon dling around on a surfboard I’m “Fiah” Fishman thinking "I'm doing this because I want to get in tune with nature and vented a machine I called “the good about what we’re doing — trythe way foe waves move because foe blemaker” and gave it to my little ing to bring happiness and joy into next time I get up on stage I'll have brother who was 7 or 8 as a present people's lives more to draw on" But he left it lying around the house Tray: My mother saved a tape of me and after a couple of weeks of telling interviewing her when I was 1 1 On Mika: We didn't plan on becoming us to put it elsewhere my father got the tape I asked her "What would big rock stars We would practice in very mad and said I had to take it you think if your son grew up to be a Fish's little bedroom — we had to move the bed out the room was so musician?" She said "The only thing away Then I lost my temper because that would disappoint me is if you did he hadn't recognized that it was some tiny And we were never "Well thing I had finally actually built by something just for money and not for we're in a band and maybe if we keep at it we'll make a lot of money and myself And that I had given it to my love" When I heard that on the tape brother who was responsible for it So recently I thought "Wow I never be able to tour around foe whole counI walked onto the second-flodeck really realized how much I got that try doing it for thousands of people" What we cared about was foe songs and threw it into the woods and it from her" That's so important to me and what we could do with them Fish: Yeah We had this guy come broke into pieces Then we had something so cool — we The average father might have be- - over to our house one time to fix had these fans who only came to see come even more mad at that point something and he was really miserus because of word of mouth We had But my father didn't He felt bad and able ornery And I was all mad But he went and got the pieces and my dad felt sorry for the guy I was complete creative control over our music We were having a good time brought them back He saw through like "Why do you feel sorcy for him? my temper to how hurt I was that he He's a jerk" But my dad said "The We could support ourselves And we were happy reason that guy is that way is because hadn’t taken the machine seriously And actually today when there are he's unhappy — because he gets up People always said "You have to do this" or “You have to do that" if I and his he hates tantrums job every morning throwing temper people am the one who tends to give them And that's the worst thing" My dad you warn to be in the music business But we always felt “Would we still would always say "The most importhe benefit of the doubL To look deepbe happy if we did that? We're haper and find the hurt behind the temper tant thing in the world is when you wake up in the morning you're exand feel compassion for the person py now" cited about what you do” l'3'XIC’MVCQV Pag My father who's a doctor start li But when my parents found out ed a free clinic after he retired staffed that it was starting to become drums by retired doctors and nurses to provide health care for people who can't for me there were times when I I MO Write LwmMte afford health insurance Both my parCwUMtteliwsH— TwfcHiY caught my dad saying to my mom a MBlMukMa Myth— phanaia ents are very giving people who feel "We should never have gotten that kid a drum set” And it was "Well it's important to give back to the comSt munity Their lives make me feel you should find something stable to (l-- r): things that always surprised me about my parents: They knew when to get mMl and when not to All this time I was also into music And although my parents probably worried “Oh my God all he cares about is playing electric guitar and drums in the basement — what’s he going to do?” my mom would always say “Oh you're really creative" and this and that She instilled a belief in myself that goes on to this day Mikac I was a weird kid Never played any sports or did anything like that 1 planned inventions to build A friend and and I wanted to make a rt we kept drawing up these plans Then it was going to be a sports car We spent every day planning and drawing Then it was going to be a line of sports cars But we never built it I planned things for most of my childhood but I almost never finished a project Which was what was peculiar about me since I spent all my time on them So I constantly felt like a failure The thing was my dad took me se1 riously One time when I was 8 built a paddleboat with him But when I took the boat out into the river it sank I don’t remember exactly what my dad said but I can imagine his voice saying "Hey you tried It was really kind of a neat idea And I'm proud of you for making h even if it did sink” When I was about 10 or 1 1 1 in- go-ca- "MVtf Mrif HWJjfl "I TIM BHlt BpOnBI (Mm k fhn or "Uni H Ufcl mg WW KM Bp I BBflfai 8S8IWH raft f wi |
