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How were things this summer?

Jason: Bad. The national SMP tour ground to a halt only seven dates in with the demise of my van. I lost a ton of money on that deal and it was crushingly depressing to say the least. After I got back from that debacle, and I must give props to my ex-keyboardist Paul Furio of Static Engine for helping me limp back to Seattle, I quit Invisible Records, but more on that later. Anyhow I immediately immersed myself in plotting another tour but these plans failed because I attempted to work together with other bands to make the project fly. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so I'm done with that. I like to network and work with other people but sometimes it can bite you in the ass.

Was the break with Invisible Records a good thing in the long run?

Jason: It's a good and bad thing I guess. When your job sucks, you quit, but you don't get a paycheck anymore, so it's a mix. Of course when you are talking about Invisible Records there isn't any paychecks anyhow. I tried to have a nice amicable split with Invisible. I even offered to buy SMP stock off of them, but they wouldn't have that. In my opinion, it's obvious that they have no concern for their reputation in the industry at all. It's really a shame because the music over there is phenomenal. Of course maybe this is how Invisible stays in business, I've never run a record label so I wouldn't know.

Are you searching for a new label at this time?

Jason: Well, I was for a while. There were only a few labels I felt would be a step up from what I could do for myself like Metropolis, Cleopatra, and a few others but they pretty much passed on SMP so I'm going to be releasing Crimes of the Future on my own label as of now. We go into mastering next week so I'd imagine this record would be ready by Christmas. Ho-ho-ho kids.

Are there any labels as of now who really are interested in putting out the new CD Crimes of the Future?

Jason: There are some interested labels but they are some of the smaller ones. I am flattered that they want to get behind my music but at this stage I might as well just do it myself.

With this split from your label, will this make SMP more determined to make the best music possible?

Jason: Well, making good music is always the goal but there won't be any quality difference post-Invisible since we didn't have much of a budget with them anyhow.

In all the years that SMP has been together, what year has been the toughest?

Jason: 2001 I think, that year really sucked. I lost some of my band members and partners and was pretty broke. I pretty much had to start from square one again. As a result, SMP is just me now. I don't have to depend on or debate with partners anymore, which is a relief.

Does the new album title have any type of story behind it?

Jason: Yeah, well, a lot of the material deals with the future and the negative side of progress. I'm certainly not anti-technology, I'm just intrigued by our exponential growth and the moral issues that go hand in hand with science. Given that human nature is what it is we can definitely expect some future crimes.

You currently have new material ready, what kind of angles will these songs take?

Jason: Musically, we are still coming with the industrial-rap sound that most elitists hate. We also have some elektro-industrial on there and some charged punk rock with covers of TSOL and Agent Orange.

Fans have already gotten a glimpse of some of the new songs. Why do you think ?This Perfect Day? is a favorite already?

Jason: ?This Perfect Day? has been in the live set for some time and we get good reactions from it definitely. It's based on the novel of the same name by Ira Levin.

Will some of the songs have a sexier side, and what will give the songs this feel?

Jason: I'd say the beats pretty much. There are a few songs that are going to crawl up your back and give you goose bumps I hope. I don't really write love songs though.

Will the new material be aggressive but danceable as well?

Jason: Definitely. We are going to give all the DJ?s something new they can spin in confidence for sure.

How have you been working on getting tours up in running for the fall?

Jason: I'm still financially recovering from the last one! But I love touring and meeting people so I'm sure there will eventually be another tour but there won't be anything this fall I don't think.

Besides making music, what else occupies your time?

Jason: Let's see, I collect comic books and I like to play games with my friends a lot. Anything from cards to board games to strategy games. Paul, from Static Engine, and I went bowling last night with our girls. I whipped everyone's ass of course.

Are you working with any other bands on remixes?

Jason: Recently I did a remix for Idiot Stare, which was fun. I'm definitely into doing more remixes.

Can you tell me about any interesting song approaches that you have taken for the new songs on the album?

Jason: The stuff was recorded in Pro-Tools and mixed by Wade Alin of Christ Analogue. So it's really F-ing good! I've also got some stuff on there mixed by Garrick of Doll Factory that's excellent.

Will you have any sort of DJ gigs in the near future?

Jason: I'm always down to do new stuff, I like to keep busy, and so if someone offered I'd be there.

What can we hope to see in the next few months for SMP?

Jason: Well, we are doing a few shows in Washington and Oregon and getting our CD ready for release.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Jason: I'd like to add that people should check out the SMP website because we are slanging a lot of merchandise these days, lots of industrial, rap, metal and punk.