C14: The Fleshtones have always been a fun band, a party band. Do you see rock 'n' roll heading back to being fun, as opposed to very serious, mopey and self-indulgent?

PZ: Rock and roll will be fun, as well as moving, if we can help it. And there looks likes there's hope for the world.

C14: From your perspective, how has the record industry changed since the band started in the late '70s? Would a band like the Fleshtones just starting out even have a chance to get on a label like IRS in today's instant pop stardom environment?

PZ: I'm not sure how the industry has changed, but it looks like it might be easier for a band now. We were around for four years before we connected with IRS. After 28 years of non-success, I'm certainly not prepared to feel too sorry for today's bands. Enjoying playing the type of rock and roll you like should be reward enough.

C14: The Fleshtones have almost been on as many labels as they have released records. Has this been a conscious band decision? Do you plan for more releases with Yep Roc?

PZ: No, we did not set out to have a tortured recording career-although looking back on it, we certainly didn't try very hard not to! I think there was always something illusive about the marketing qualities of the Fleshtones. Other bands seemed to pick up on them and translate this into big money, but we've yet to cash in ourselves. The Yep Roc people are giving it a real go, however. They're old fans.

C14: Do you like any of the new bands coming out of the Brooklyn / Williamsburg scene of today? What new bands are you listening to?

PZ: I like the 45's, but they are good Southern boys.

C14: How was your experience playing the Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival? Any good backstage stories from the day's events? What do you think about his radio show?

PZ: We were very happy to be included. Actually, it would have been strange if we weren't, considering our quarter of a century of playing this kind of music-especially at times when most people couldn't figure out why we bothered-AND Little Steven coming to this scene by way of Cavestomp, which I hosted for years. We think we deserved to play later in the show, but I'm sure everyone else felt that way too. And we would have liked to play the ten minutes we were promised. Hell, I had four shirts on, one on top of the other, to pull off for each of the four songs we planned to play. Steven's radio show is doing a great job of getting this music, our music, heard. What's missing is that, in the days when 'garage' music was first being made it was integrated into the top 50 mainstream radio. I don't think that's the case today, do you? And he's great on the Sopranos...

C14: Do you enjoy playing festivals like the Underground Garage and Sleazefest, or are you still primarily a band that plays in clubs?

PZ: Yes, I enjoy playing these events these days, even though years ago we didn't. Sleazefest takes place in a club anyway, a really good one, the Local 501 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

C14: How does the band juggle the responsibilities of families/jobs/lives and still be able to deliver the Super Rock to the masses?

PZ: Well, the Super Rock is inside us so it's got to come out, to paraphrase John Lee Hooker. We do what we must, but I wish we didn't have to waste so much time and effort scratching together a little bit of money.

C14: What keeps the band going after all these years?

PZ: If we don't do it, nobody will. They can't. That simple.

C14: Why do you seem to have better tours (or just seem to tour more) in Europe than the US? Do you think there's a reason why Europeans are more ravenous about rock 'n' roll than Americans currently are?

PZ: Any band will tell you that they're treated pretty well in Europe; for us that means Italy, Spain, France and, after being away for 25 years, Scandinavia. But there's really nothing like the feeling of playing around the USA and Canada to connect with the heart of rock and roll. Too bad it doesn't pay better.

C14: Tell us what the "Children of Nuggets" box set coming out on Rhino is all about and how the Fleshtones factor in to this collection of music?

PZ: I haven't read the liner notes so I'm not sure. Again, it would be strange if we weren't included. It's also strange that I was first given a copy of Nuggets only a few years ago by Lenny Kaye. We were listening to the original 45s when we were starting out.

C14: Are you guys primarily concentrating on a new record, or are there any other side projects (like The Love Delegation, The Master Plan) in the works?

PZ: We are getting the material together for a new Fleshtones album, so don't worry. Of course, you should buy it if we go through all the trouble of recording it! Keith is also working on another Master Plan record. There will never be another Love Delegation record.

C14: What can we expect from a new Fleshtones release?

PZ: More Super Rock, of course. INTENSIFIED.

C14: What five people, living or dead, would you invite if you were throwing a Super Rock dinner party and why?

PZ: That's hard to say. I learned very early on, in my very first job at the Central Park Music festival in the early '70s, that liking a person's music doesn't mean you'll like the person when you meet them. A lot of pretty creepy people make good records. But if I could bring back two of the departed, it would certainly be Wendy Wild and Ricky Rothschild of the Love Delegation.

C14: Favorite Rock 'N' Roll story that involves the Fleshtones?

PZ: Are you ready for a book?