MTV: "I Did It" was the first song by a major-label artist to be officially released as a single on Napster. What's the story there?
Matthews: I don't see the sense in fighting something that is the future. I don't feel that I'm in the position to say I'm being ripped off by Napster in any way. It is the future of music. We have to go with it, we have to embrace it. We will always be able to play music and no one will be able to take that away from us. There will be a lot more positive things that come out of Napster then negatives. It's going to give people access to music they otherwise wouldn't have, because of the nature of the industry. It's nothing but a good thing in the long run, so why not do it? I mean, they got the album anyway.
MTV: People tape your shows and trade them. Do you think there are parallels between that and what people do through Napster?
Matthews: Exactly right. I think one of the reasons Shawn [Fanning] came out with Napster was the idea of trading tapes. So hats off to him.
MTV: Do you find it strange to be an adult oasis in a teen-pop world, and a music world where there are a lot of violent messages as well?
Matthews: Kudos to all those guys. I don't have a problem with whatever people want to sing about. I think the most dangerous thing would be if we ever start saying, "This shouldn't be happening. Art shouldn't be happening, music should be like this. Music should never depict things that aren't nice and fuzzy, or music should never depict things that are too nice and fuzzy." Music is whatever it is. Music will always be here and it will always be an avenue for us to express whatever we want to express. I have no problem with any of it.
MTV: What role do you think pop culture has in affecting people's perceptions of those who are different from them?
Tinsley: One positive thing I see is that hip-hop, rap and rock music seem more integrated now. There used to be a time when there was black music and then there was everything else. But now it's not so much like that. A lot of rap music and hip-hop music is more integrated into the mainstream. Kids are more accepting of this music as just American music, no matter where it's coming from — a black artist or a white artist. I think Eminem is just as much accepted in the black community as a lot of black artists are. It's a very positive development that kids are not segregating music in their minds. I think we're developing a common culture.
MTV: Are you looking forward to taking this record on the road?
Lessard: We're excited!
Matthews: We haven't been able to play.
Tinsley: We'll be on tour for a very long time. It's cool, though. We haven't had an extended tour probably since the last album came out. This tour is going to be pretty extensive in the U.S., from April until sometime in the fall, like September. There's probably going to be some international touring into next year, and then some more U.S. touring. In that time, we are really going to get intimate with these new songs that we're just learning. And they're going to evolve into something completely different by the time we're all through with it. We're ready for the journey to see what they become.
