Noize Pollution: A lot has happened since your last CD �Life� can you fill us in on the latest happenings?
Edsel: That would take an hour and a half. You gotta be a little more specific. In general, we are doing the same thing we've always done. Writing, recording and playing shows as often as we can.

NP: You recently moved to Chicago right? Why the move?
Edsel: Sort of. We are in Chicago to record the new album. It was just the right thing to do and it felt like the right place to be. It's a great city and its right in the middle of the midwest region of the country where Dope really rooted itself. We can record all week long and then shoot to a number of other killer Dope towns to play shows on the weekends. There are so many good Dope markets a stones throw away from Chicago. Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Milwaukee & St. Louis to name a few. We want to play as much as we can and moving out here makes that more possible. We are going kind of record our new stuff and tour at the same time.

NP: Will you continue as a 4 piece or do you plan on adding another guitarist?
Edsel: I don't know. I don't need to add anyone for working on the new record in the studio and I really like the band right now live. Its really balanced and less chaotic looking. It seems to allow the audience to soak in the whole show better with one guy on each side of me and my sick ass drummer up on the top of us in the back. Unfortunately a lot of the new Dope songs being written seem to have 2 guitar parts in them. I think we need to play the new stuff a bit more and see how we feel about a one guitar player approach to it live before we make a decision. But for the songs we are playing now, the one guitar approach is working out great.

NP: Primer 55 had a lot of the same problems with their old record label as you guys did. It seems not enough time or money went into your records which had a few potential radio hits.
Edsel: Yeah. I love those guys. They have eaten a lot of the same dirt we have. Enough that it would be the end of most bands. We toured with them a lot in the past and I used to play with their drummer Preston back in the day so we all know each other really well and get along like a bunch of bro's. I like to tour with them and hope to pair up again for more shows in the near future.

NP: You are no longer with Epic Records and you mentioned at the show that you were going to make and produce your own record and look for distribution. When will that happen?
Edsel: We have been recording for a while now and we are gonna try and be finished by March. We'll see. We have a lot of options for Dope right now. I just want to focus on new killer songs and playing as often as we can. This tour has been so positive for us and the kids have showed us so much support. The Dope fans know that as long as I want to keep making Dope records, Dope is gonna keep kicking ass and they are right there with us. Label or not.

NP: What�s the pluses and minuses about producing your own record?
Edsel: I produced the 1st one and other then the tones, I pretty much produced the second one too. I will always be heavy hands on, but I hope that when the record is complete, I can involve a killer producer to work on one or 2 key songs to see if they can take them to the next level. That's what I have been waiting for my whole life. Someone to take what I am doing with my sound and songs and blow me away with there interpretation of it. As far as the overall vibe, I really like the idea of making the majority of this record without the input of anyone but the people I'm close to. I feel like I did when I was putting together the first album and i didn't have a label yet. There is no one that we have to appease but ourselves and I love that.

NP: Your new song �Bitch� is fucking awesome. I can�t get it out of my head. Who�s that about and can you tell us about how you came up with the lyrics for that?
Edsel: I think anyone can relate to that one at times. It's about that struggle of give and take. How much you get for all the shit you take. The hook is "the one I love I hate, but the sex it great." Sometimes great sex is the only thing that makes it worth dealing with that someone else's bullshit. I wanted to write a really heavy song about sex and "Bitch" was the result. You can hear that one on our website.

NP: When Dope first started out�it was you and your brother and a lot of hired on musicians. Looking back at it now, would you have kept it the same or changed anything?
Edsel: I had to do what I had to do. I feel great about where Dope is now and I had to make certain decisions for it to be where it is.

NP: There�s been a few people who have jumped ship from the Dope team. With Tripp going to Static-X, Preston going to Primer 55 and Acey joining the Murderdolls. How hard is it cause to me it�s almost counterproductive? But yet you still Roll on unphased.
Edsel: I don't know. Most bands take a long time to develop before they ever get signed and make there mark. I really had my shit together early on and people dug the sound that I created for Dope. So I got a record deal unusually quick. I work constantly and all of the time I spent in the studio, I was by myself while the band was off rehearsing my songs to go on tour. It didn't allow me the time to get to know the people I hired into my band on a personal level to see if we gelled as people. The only draw back or counter-productive aspect as you called it for me is that a couple of those former guys have continued to do the Dope thing in their new bands. It's just forcing me to slowly mutate the Dope vibe of the future into a more modern streamlined version of what I started it out to be so I can distance myself from the past. Hey, god bless them all for continuing to make a living in this fucked up business. I am just doing everything I wanted to do with Dope all along and the fans get it. I am driven beyond my own understanding and that is what got Dope here and that's the same thing that will get Dope where we are headed in the future. I am thrilled to have as many fans as I have with Dope and I am excited that I have more ammo in this current lineup then I had in the past.

NP: From what I hear, Acey didn�t really tell anyone and just took off in the middle of your tour to join the Murderdolls.
Edsel: It's a little more complicated then that and it wasn't quite that fucked up. It really doesn't matter though. He's happy in his new band and we are happy in Dope without him. Nothing else really matters.

NP: A lot of us all read on Theprp.com and blistering.com where you kind of went off on Acey leaving and basically people grabbing and stealing people out of your band. Has anything changed or do you guys talk now?
Edsel: I just needed to speak my mind about how things went down. I have a hard time being politicly correct in these situations. I can't sugarcoat my feelings in order to try and make myself look better. I spoke out and if I was a bit of an asshole then so be it. I don't really care. I was done with it as soon as I got that off my chest and its history now. As far as keeping in touch. We never really talked much when we were in the same band, so not much has changed. I don't have any deep dark issues with him. I spoke my mind about how he left my band and that's that. I'll see him here at some point and It will be cool I'm sure.

NP: How did you hook up with Primer 55 for the $12 Riot Tour?
Edsel: I called Bobby from Primer 55 up and pitched him on my idea for the 12 dollar tour. He said yes.

NP: We all know that bands don�t make a lot of money on record sales unless it goes gold or platinum and that most of the money made is out touring. So my question to you is why only $12 or was that because of Jagermeister sponsoring the tour?
Edsel: No, its cause I am pissed that my old label charged 15 bucks for our new record and I'm sick of seeing kids get ripped off on high ticket prices for shitty shows. I knew we would rock this tour with Primer 55 and that they weren't afraid to eat dirt with us to keep the ticket price down for the kids. They are in a very similar situation. We did this tour for the fans.

NP: How�s the tour going so far? Any backstage sluts action happening (Society 1�s Matt Zane)?
Edsel: It's always nuts out here. Matt just adds to the insanity.

NP: The $12 Riot Tour runs through mid December. What can fans expect next from the band?
Edsel: New album and a bunch of shows between now and then. Hopefully another tour in March and a bunch of new internet stuff starting January at www.dopearmy.com

NP: Other than your new song, have you been writing any new material?
Edsel: Tons. We are very far along with the new record. We will keep writing but we have more then enough for the next record already.

NP: What direction is it heading? Will it sound more like �Felons� or �Life�?
Edsel: Its kind of hard to say. I'm definitely continuing to push the boundaries of what people think Dope is. I think it will be a combination of both with another twist to it. I am not interested in making the same record over and over again. "Fellons" was a starting point and "Life" had elements of "Fellons" on it but it grew into something more and now we have an even larger slate to build from for the sound of the new album. God knows its been a few years since "Fellons" came out. It would be totally dated for us to go and make a record that sounded like that in 2003.

NP: A few days ago, I e-mailed all of our street teamers that listed Dope in their top ten and I had them send me a few questions they would like to ask you. So here we go:

Nick of Cincinnati, OH asks: How do you feel having your music used by Rhyno in wrestling for so long? (Debonaire appears on Forceable Entry CD)
Edsel: I love it. I grew up on wrestling and its pretty cool to be involved with the musical side of something I spent so much time watching as a kid. I still watch it when I can. I just don't have a lot of time to kill right now and the plots change so quick now days that I get lost.