PZO: As a band, what are your best qualities?
Pete: How we interact with each other, like our creative relationships are good and how we are on stage is one of the biggest things. Secondly, sincerity, honesty--its what you see is what you get. We'll tell people how it is.

PZO: What event on your life had the greatest impact on you?
Pete: I guess it would single down to be like a single friend. Me and my friends in general or when my aunt died.

PZO: What do you remember the most about your childhood?
Pete: Probably my toys. I was obsessed with them. I think the 80s were great. I remember like toys, and clothes and stuff. I still have them that's probably why. I remember all my He-Man, all my G.I. Joe's, all my Transformers--
PZO_Camera_Friend: Hey, Transformers, Nevra. She had a band say that her last name sounded like a Transformer.
Pete: What's your last name?
PZO: Azerkan.
Pete: Oh, it does. It's like the Decepticons. They all have cons at the end of their name. So it's not like a specific one, but it sounds like you're a Decepticon. The bad one.

PZO: What keeps you grounded and optimistic?
Pete: There's two different things I'd say. What keeps me grounded--sounds weird, but like playing a bad show or if we have to drive for a few hours in a van or whatever it is. That makes me realize that we're probably not the biggest band we think we are. Your head swells from playing a whole bunch of shows outside of your hometown. Just like the trials you go through as a band, I think they ground you. What keeps me optimistic is I feel like we've always been--we're not the type of band that has a buzz among the critics, we're not the kind of band that has a buzz within the industry, we're a band that's always had a buzz among kids and that's what keeps me optimistic 'cause I think that's way cooler. <pause> You didn't like that answer at all.
PZO: Yes, I did.
Pete: It's so hard to please you.
<laughter>

PZO: What's the worst advice you've ever been given?
Pete: Anytime, especially in this band, we've been given advice to try to be more like someone else or try to do something to fit in, it's probably the worst advice we've received as a band.
PZO: Do you still get that?
Pete: We used to. Not anymore because we've had success now. We're doing our own thing. In the beginning people were always like calm down on stage or do this less, that kind of stuff. It doesn't really matter. I think that's the worst advice anyone could give anybody.

PZO: What is one thing you would not do no matter how much money you were offered?
Pete: I just think there are certain things I wouldn't do no matter how much money I was offered. Like somebody I didn't want to have sex with. I wouldn't have sex with them for no--like if it was two million dollars. You just have to draw your line, have a standard somewhere. If you bend it for money, I think that's when you sell out, you know?

PZO: What is a common compliment people give you?
Pete: The band or me personally?
PZO: Both.
Pete: The band…we get complimented on our energy on stage, we get complimented on our lyrics, we get complimented on Patrick's voice and that's about it and me I get complimented on the lyrics, on things I write, and on my smile.

PZO: What has been the biggest decision you've made this year?
Pete: The decision to do this band full time and the decision to go on Island/Def Jam Records. We've had a lot of big ones. Those are the biggest.
PZO: Why did you make those decisions?
Pete: The 'be in the band full time' we decided because the amount of time we were spending on the band was consuming the rest of our life. At some point you have to juggle between--like our lives with our friends and our girlfriends and our school or work was suffering because of it. Island/Def Jam, the people over there we believe in. I think it's important that before we play music, we are fans of music and the music that has come out in the past five years, six years is just polished turds. I think that it's important for bands to have something honest to be at the forefront of music and that's what we're going to do.

PZO: What is one of the most misunderstood lyrics in your opinion?
Pete: In general, any band?
PZO: Yeah.
Pete: Misheard or misunderstood?
PZO: Misunderstood.
Pete: The only thing I can think of is on the new Give Up The Ghost record there's a lot of references to God and religion, but they're meant as metaphors and I think a lot of people take it literally. I think a lot of our lyrics have a metaphorical sense like they're not situational or literal and I think a lot of people misunderstand that a lot.

PZO: What band would you like to see back together?
Pete: Lifetime.
PZO: Is that all?
Pete: There's other bands I guess, but that's the one I think about the most.

PZO: What is something mean you've always wanted to do, but never had the guts to?
Pete: Mean? I don't know. There's lots of things I want to say to people that I don't always say, but I'm a pretty outspoken person. Whenever I feel like I've been wronged I pretty much write about it or say it. There's probably some physical things I've wanted to do to some people, but like I mostly just write about them. It's just in your head; it's funnier that way too.

PZO: What's an insult or would be insult you've heard or used?
Pete: Your mom. <laughter> I guess, I don't really think about it.

PZO: If you could have your own 1-800 number what would it be?
Pete: I-800-Ask Pete. You could ask whatever you want.
<laughter>

PZO: Given the opportunity, who would you kidnap for a day?
Pete: Probably the first girl I ever had a crush on. I don't know why really though. <laughs>
PZO_Camera_Friend: Awww.
Pete: I'd probably kidnap her back then, but now I don't know. I really don't want to kidnap anyone for real.
PZO:Just like taking them out for a day, so you can chill with them. No negative connotations.
Pete: Yeah, probably the girl I had a crush on.

PZO: What's a slang word or phrase that you are sick and tired of?
Pete: Fo' shizzle. Shizzle in general. It's played out. It's like one of these things, I hate to even say it like this, but once white people get their hands on anything it's just like over. You're just like oh my god that is so not cool. Oh, here's another one. Emo. My mom says emo all the time. So annoying. She's like, "You guys are an emo band, right?" I'm like oh my god, stop talking to me! <laughter>

PZO: What question are you tired of being asked in an interview?
Pete: I don't like: "How'd you get your name?", "How did you form?", or "I heard you guys started as a joke." Those questions are not interesting at all.

PZO: What questions would you like being asked?
Pete: I like being asked really in-depth questions where you can tell the person studied up kind of. I like it when people ask us questions about something that has affected them about us. Like I've had this reaction to your band or I read this lyric or I read this thing about your band and it made me feel this way. It's a better interaction and you feel a better connection to the question I guess and they're more interesting to answer 'cause they're all different sort of. I don't think about it all that much. I think some interviews you can do with autopilot on and some you can't.
PZO_Camera_Friend: What's ours?
Pete: It's not autopilot on.