What John Said…

This is what John wrote to accompany the release of EDD’s “An Imginary Sitcom” in 1999:

“We could tell you about the year we spent living in an Econoline van in Austin, Texas. We could tell you about the time Jimmy got loaded after a gig and turned up naked in a truckstop bathroom with the Danzig logo tattooed on his inner thigh. We could tell you about the countless hotel rooms trashed, the women used, the time served. And don’t get us started about the transfusions. But it would all be lies, the kinds of lies that rock bands love to tell about themselves. Oh sure, when we were younger men, the romance of squalid living and self-abuse might have held some allure, but we’ve been writing and playing music since 1991, and, these days, writing and playing music is enough for us. It’s not cool to admit it, but Every Damn Day is a responsible band. We’re clean-living, day-job-having, 30-something guys from suburban northern New Jersey, insulated from the merciless excitement of Manhattan by a cushion of 20 to 40 highway miles. We have girlfriends, wives, homes, children. We go to the mall regularly. We eat at themed chain restaurants. We own at least one pair of nice khakis. We fall asleep each weeknight to “Seinfeld” reruns on the WB. We often perform in the clothes we wore to work that day. But have no illusions: Our music is somewhat more daring than our haircuts. Golf does not occupy our every waking thought. We write and play catchy, guitar-based songs about girls, love and self-appraisal. We do this not to avoid pressing social and political issues but because it’s what Buddy Holly taught us to do. Every Damn Day’s recorded material is top-shelf power-pop, marked by solid songwriting skills, marginally disciplined musicianship and a clear sense of what it wants to accomplish. It’s better than 80 percent of what’s on so-called modern rock radio. Anyway, one thing that can be said for our pedestrian, irrelevant lifestyles is that they enable us to write and play music simply because we love to do it. Because we have individual life and professional goals outside of the band, our pure affection for this project is our primary motivation. This proves to be a very effective quality-control mechanism, ensuring that the music always sounds good and real and not like the product of desperate careerists. When we were younger men, walking around like alternative-rock bad-asses was a great rush. Today, years since our first rehearsal in Jimmy’s mom’s basement, we’re satisfied just being an intrinsically good rock band.”