DOPE Frontman Says PRESIDENT BUSH Is 'An Idiot' And 'A Puppet'

Rock Is Life recently conducted an interview with DOPE frontman Edsel Dope. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Rock Is Life: The name of your tour this year is the "Music for Freedom" tour and you're offering military personnel free admission. Do you have friends or family that are serving?

Edsel Dope: "No. MUSHROOMHEAD and DOPE both have a pretty good military following. I think it has to do with the aggressive music. These people that are sent over to Iraq or training for war, whenever they throw this stuff in there headphones, it really makes them feel like there not alone. I can't tell ya how many e-mails we have gotten and letters from soldiers over there that have used 'Die Motherfucker Die' in their CD players and kept it on repeat. They're waiting for some shit to go down. Every time there’s been some kind of function put together for bands to go over to Iraq to perform, we have always thrown our name in the hat. Nobody ever calls us back because we're DOPE, and because the United States military isn't going to support DOPE going to play to their troops. So we decided to try and put something together on our own to give something back since going through the proper channels was not going to work. We want to let them know that there important to us."

Rock Is Life: What do you think of the U.S. involvement in Iraq?

Edsel Dope: "Well, I think our president is an idiot and I think that he's a puppet. I think most people will agree with that. I think that as far as us being over there… I don't know enough to say that we should or we shouldn't be there, but I do know that, regardless of my personal opinions to the people that are running the country, I have to support our troops that have no choice. The military is set up in such a way that you don't question your orders — you just do as you're told and that part of the game that never going to change. Saying all that, I'm very supportive of our troops. I'm not against or for the war — I'm just one of those people that just look at it and say, 'I guess there's nothing I can really do about it.' I guess all I can do is look at those people and go 'Best of luck, be safe.'"

Rock Is Life: Do you think people still read print magazines when you can get your news around the clock online?

Edsel Dope: "That's a different one. I think that obviously people are more apt to go to the more quicker online reality, just like people don't buy records anymore because they can just go listen to them online, iTunes, or whatever it is. At the same time, I still think there's something to be said about the people that are real diehard fans that want something physical in there hands. I'm all about the Internet — you know, click on and get the information that I want — but I’m also the guy that grew up knowing that that new MÖTLEY CRÜE spread came out from Hit Parader magazine. So saying all that, that's my opinion on that one. I think you're probably right in that magazines are probably going to be a thing of the past eventually. I still think that as long as there is a checkout line at the grocery store, where they put the stupid Enquirer, there will be magazines for different things that people find interest in that's going to be bought."

Read the entire interview at Rock-Is-Life.com.