EXCLUSIVE FOR MYSPACERS: Tom Dumont of NO DOUBT interviewed Current mood: grateful One of Sublime's oldest friends in music, Tom Dumont of No Doubt took some time to answer some questions for us EXCLUSIVELY for our MySpacers. Thanks Tom! Enjoy MySpace friends. Q: In your travels around the world, have there been any particular countries or cities that surprised you in their response to No Doubt, any that really stick out as experiences you could have never imagined when playing dives in Anaheim just out of high school? A: We played Tel Aviv, Israel in 1997. Being in the middle east, it's very exotic and obviously full of some serious history. We played to about 3000 people there and the audience was really energized and singing along with everything. The day after the show we took a couple of vans through the desert for a visit to the Dead Sea and and to see the Old City in Jerusalem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem..Places_in_Jerusalem). Halfway there in the middle of the desert was a military checkpoint. Just a couple of tents with about 10 guards armed with machine guns. We had to pull over and we were kind of nervous. Our driver explained to the guards that we were the "American pop group No Doubt" and all of a sudden the guards all lightened up and one started singing "Don't Speak" to us in broken English. This was pretty mind-blowing to us, it was definitely something we never could have imagined years ago in the garage in Anaheim. Q: Do you have any favorite shows that No Doubt and Sublime played together? Can you talk about that experience. A: We played a lot of shows together, so many of them memorable. One time Sublime went on right before us at a show in Santa Barbara. We soundchecked and left to get some food at a restaurant around the corner. We got back to the club in the middle of Sublime's set, I looked up and saw Brad playing my only precious possession at that time, a '66 Fender Musicmaster. I kind of freaked out, knowing that Brad could put on a pretty physical show, and worried that he might ding up my prized axe. I found out Brad had broken a string on his guitar and need a quick backup and grabbed mine. I should've been stoked and flattered for him to play it, but instead I reacted like a dick and made our roadie go take it off of Brad and give him my other guitar which was a shitty backup itself. Looking back I wish I would've just let him get in some more licks on that guitar. Q: Do you have any favorite bands from your local circuit days that you are surprised have never made it to the next level of recognition? A: I always loved the Ziggens. They were the perfect mix of funny guys and great songwriters. Q: Are there artists you have dreams of one day collaborating with? Any dreams-come-true collaborations already happen? A: Elvis Costello wrote a song for us and we recorded it for a movie soundtrack with him producing. That pretty much fulfilled all dreams right there. He taught me that you don't need to be in the studio killing yourself 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Good music isn't the result of hours put in, sometimes it's actually easy and fun. A couple of weeks after we had finished the song ND was at SIR rehearsal studios in Hollywood and I walked into the bathroom as Elvis was walking out, he looked up and saw me and said "Hey Tom." I was pretty stoked he knew my name. Q: Heard the Sublime Tribute Album yet? What do you think of it? A: Love it, I love G. Love's take on Greatest Hits, he really makes it his own. Jack Johnson always does Sublime right, as do Pennywise. I'm proud of our version of DJ's, it was the first song that really got us hooked on Sublime when an early cassette version of 40oz found us so many years ago. Our live recording was from a time when I feel like we were really tight and flying as a live band. Q: What music is in your player right now? A:Akron/Family from New York. I got the new System Of A Down and I'm having fun digesting that. I'm producing more stuff for Matt Costa so that’s a staple around my house... Q: What's in store for you musically in the near future? A:Two projects: Producing Matt Costa (mattcosta.com) whose full length album sounds great an will be out in late June. Matt sounds like the Kinks and Big Star with some Robert Johnson thrown in. I'm playing bass in Matt's band this summer, we're opening for Jack Johnson, which we're very excited about. Also I make weird instrumental music in a group called Invincible Overlord (invincibleoverlord.com) and its purely for fun, we just give away all our studio creations for free on the website, never to release real albums or play live. It's really just a purely creative outlet. I can't wait to do ND music again, although I don't know when, hopefully next year.   Q: Any other exciting adventures you are involved in outside of playing music? A: Nope, just music. Q: Can you recall any moments listening to Sublime that stick out in your memory bank? Any memories of the first time you heard them? A: I remember we were on tour when "Sublime" came out, I think we got an advanced copy. We just played it over and over and over again, so stoked on the songs and to see our friends put out something so great for the world. Q: What advice would you want to give a young hungry band with the desire to go huge? Any key mistakes to avoid? A: Always enjoy the process; rehearsing, playing shows, loading the van. If you want to get rich there are a hundred better ways to do it than music. Just really have fun with it. Q: Our MySpace community will probably yell at me if I don't fish for something Gwen-related from you. A little-known fun fact... throw me a bone here? A: Uh, this one is hard. Okay, one time on tour we were all at the gym trying to be healthy, and I got on a treadmill next to Gwen and I swear she ran top speed for 50 minutes straight. That girl is in good shape. Q: Do you love the Ziggens anywhere near as much as I do? A: See above. Q: Thousands of people will read this interview on MySpace. Is there anything at all you'd like to convey to them here? A: Go get the Sublime tribute album.