ASIDE FROM DYING, WHAT IS THE DUMBEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE ON DRUGS?
KARMAKID, TALLHASSEE , FL
Ha! Take them in the first place. Moderation was never my M.O.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NICKNAMES?
PEGGYSL/E99, FORT COLLINS, CO
A paramedic who, well, I wouldn't say I became friendly with him, but he treated me a few times for overdoses, was like, this guy is a cat. He's got nine lives. So some people have called me "Cat."
OUT OF YOUR 11 RECORDS, WHICH ONE IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE?
PRINCEODARKNESS, FORT LEE , NJ
Ultra was my least favorite to make. That was a bit of a mess. But my least favorite record in terms of sound was Broken Frame, our second one. That was when Martin was thrown into the deep end to write all the songs [after Vince Clarke left the band]. We struggled for a few albums to try to find something, our sound.
WHO DOES THE BEST COVER OF "PERSONAL JESUS"?
DUFFBEER, MEMPHIS , TN
Johnny Cash, by far. He pared it down to its barest form. Martin originally got the idea from reading Priscilla Presley's biography on Elvis. She said that Elvis was her personal Jesus.
.
IT'S 1994, YOU'RE MIDWAY THROUGH THE SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION TOUR AND IT'S 10 MINUTES BEFORE YOU GO ONSTAGE-PAINT A PICTURE OF THE SCENE BACKSTAGE. JLANNERT, OSSINING , NY
Well, I was usually locked away in my dressing roomwe had separate dressing rooms at the time, separate everything, actually. The weird thing was, during that period, even though I was messed up, I'd do an hour of yoga before the show.' people are really in the grips < you often think you are on a higher plane, and doing yoga was all part of that. I was really disciplined about it. I think it amazed people, because I would come offstage and get straight into the drugs and the booze and that would go on all night.
HOW IS IT THAT YOU LOOK SO GOOD AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?
TPEBBLE, BAYONNE , NJ
Well, I don't go there anymore with the booze and the drugs, and I haven't for about eight years. That might be part of it. I still wake up in the morning full of gloom and doom. I do not jump out of bed going "Wooo hooo! Let's go!" To get myself out of that funk, I get moving. I run three, four times a weekonly for 30 minutesbut I run pretty fast.
ARE YOU STILL THE WORLD'S FOREMOST NEW-ROMANTIC GOTH FISHERMAN?
FUNKYDANCER, GERMANTOWN , PA
Yes! I just went actually with my brother Pete. It was cool, just sitting next to each other. After all the stuff that's happened, I still have my fishing poles. I think the biggest fish that I caught was probably a 10-pound carp. That might be exaggerating a bit.
WHY DID YOU STARTED WAXING YOUR CHEST?
JHENKLE5, ANAHEIM , CA
I've got one of those chests like the guy from 4o-Year-Old Virginhairy and kind of patchyand I'm very vain. I don't really like body hair, to be honest. I like to be streamlined, like a dolphin. I don't really do it anymore though.
HAVE YOU TALKED TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT DRUGS YET?
JESUSISMYPAL, MODESTO , CA
Oh yeah, we talk about it. If there is one good thing that has come out of all of this, it's that we are open to talk about those things. Drugs aren't things that our kids are going to be able to hide from us. We know all about it. It's not going to be like, "Oh, hmm, I wonder if he's smoking pot." But if they choose to go down that path, I'm way more equipped to be supportive and to give advice.
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT GETTING MARRIED IN LAS VEGAS ?
REALELVIS, RENO , NV
Not a lot.
WHAT WAS THE WORST JOB YOU EVER HAD?
CRUMBS88, NEW YORK
I've worked so many jobs at construction sites and in factories, paperboy, washing up in hotels and stuff, but I would never last long. Sometimes I would go to lunch and never come back. One job I really liked, though, was landscaping. We'd all get in the back of the truck and the boss would drop us off at a bare field and we'd rotovate the land, then come back the next week, throw some seeds around and plant small trees. Months later, it would be grass with trees and we'd dance on it and then mow.
IN ALL, HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU THINK YOU STUCK IN YOUR ARM?
KHARRK, VIRGINIA BEACH , VA
One of the first things you have to do when you go to a rehab is try to work that out, to take an inventory, so that you see the value of what you've wasted. The answer, especially if you include all the rehabs, is a ridiculous amount of money, a shameful amount. For a few years, I was spending $2,000 to $3,000 a week. I'm sure it's a lot more than that, if you figure in all the damage it caused. It's insane.
WHAT SONG IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS DO YOU WISH YOU HAD WRITTEN?
BIGDIPPER9, AMHERST , NY
Hiding All Away," from the new Nick Cave album, Abattoir Blues. The line "I was hidden, dear, hiding all away" particularly rings in my ears. I think he's an absolute genius, a poet.
WHAT ARE YOUR VICES NOW?
PAPERPU5HEROO, WILMINGTON , DE
Dark chocolate. I prefer it to be from Belgium . I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't eat some. It's my reward
by Victoria de Silverio. Blender, December 2005
.
