Ray, I noticed that you talk about vegetarianism a lot on your latest album?
Well, I think for the most part its one of the most necessary thing to live a decent life that most people really neglect. One line in the song”No More” is, “so No More just looking out for myself/When the price paid is the life of something else.” That's the basic concept. People in this world are just looking out for number one instead of others, and that's a big factor in why the world is falling apart, serving themselves. When we start having compassion for something else is when we can start having a real change, a real change for the better.

Is there any spiritual reason why you're a vegetarian?
Yeah. Will, I cant speak for the whole band, but for me, yeah. Even in Christian literature it says, “Thou shalt not kill.” That means its wrong to kill things, especially when its wrong to kill things, especially when its not necessary, when you don't have to kill. Especially us, living in an abundant country like America where you have all the nice vegetarian foodstuff to eat. Why take lives? Why take animal lives? Why take much more advanced species lives when you don't have to?

Well, some Christians say that “Thou shalt not kill”, pertains only to humans.
Well, then God would have said, “Thou shalt not murder.” I mean ”murder” is also used in the Bible. So if that's what He meant, then HE would have said that: “Thou shalt not murder.” With followers of other scriptures. like Eastern philosophy which is much deeper and much more pure over the years, like Bhagavad-gita, the Vedas, and just Eastern philosophy in general, who still stick to what their scriptures say, you'll find a bona fide religion where teachings on vegetarian diet still hold through. There's one book on our lyric sheet, where we listed a bunch of vegetarian books. Its called Food for the Spirit. That's a good book that shows how the major world religions had the same ideas about vegetarianism. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, the Hindus, and the Buddhists, they all had the same ideas of compassion and vegetarianism. The books called Food for the Spirit by Steven Rosen. Its a pretty heavy book and it shows how all religions are coming form the same place.

So, on this point of compassion for all living creatures, is that what you were getting at with the song, “What goes Around”?
Not Really “What Goes Around”. More with songs like “Prejudice” and “Break Down the Walls”, those songs. The whole scheme of things is to treat all creatures as living things and respect life. Don't take what's not necessary. Just like the songs “Prejudice” we judge people by there bodies, what body their soul is in, and we think that just because a souls is not in a human body or because its less advanced, that we can kill it. I think the real thing about “Prejudice” is not to say that blacks have been oppressed for so long so blacks have to unite, or the whites have to unite, or the women have to unite. We have to stop putting these labels on ourselves. We have to see that we're all spirit soul and this body is just a a mere shell that were wearing like a suit of clothes that we constantly change. That's where your going to have true equality, when you look at each other like that. This body is nothing. The fact that I'm born in a male body, or female body, black body, Asian body, white body that has nothing to do with it. Were all spirit souls and in that sense were all equal. In that sense we should give each other a certain amount of respect. “What goes around, comes around” is about the law of karma. You do an action, you get a reaction. The songs is actually about illicit sex and how people abuse, especially the males in our culture just abuse women. Its jut a very selfish thing. Sex has turned out to be not a spiritual thing, not a loving thing, just a very selfish thing. Sex has turned out to be not a spiritual, not a loving thing, just a real nasty thing where people twist their minds and misuse each other, messing with peoples feelings, messing with peoples minds, all based on body. Just living for that temporary sense pleasure, and then afterwards left with nothing. The song is not condemning sex, its condemning real cheap sex, you know, loose sex. Sex has its place. When you want to raise children, its time to have sex. I know, I've been through it. Its not like I'm speakin some Jerry Falwell ultra-right conservative ideas, and never done it. I mean, I've indulged in sex and its hit me hard and I've mad a lot of mistakes, so its like you learn form your mistakes. You eat dirt and you don't want to ear it again.

Tell me about your song “Slow Down”.
“Slow Down” is about how material life can drag you down. It was mainly about my boss, because he seemed like a sort of a spiritual guy at one time and he just got so wrapped up in material things. Its pretty sad to see someone who has a little taste for spiritual life get trapped in material life. Also, I've got a lot of friends who graduated from highs school and went right to college, and the net thing I know my friends are getting married and there all settled down and they haven't done anything. They've stayed in New York or Connecticut, wherever they were brought up, and there missing what life has to offer. They're missing a chance to really search for themselves, to search for self realization because they're preoccupied themselves with so many bogus things. They've kept themselves busy be getting someone pregnant, having a baby, or falling in “love” or lust, and trying to build a relationship out of that. So “Slow Down” means, take a break and realize why were alive. The lyrics are pretty much self explanatory: “Take a break appreciate before this lifetime slips away.”

What about that line, “Caught in a cycle that wont give you a break”?
You can take that two ways. You're caught in a cycle of waking up every day, going to work, eating, having sex, sleeping. You can be caught up in that cycle, which is like the cycle of an animal, just eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Or you can even look at it on a larger scale of karma, of dying and being born again, being caught in a cycle of birth and death an never really searching for anything except more sense gratification, and getting really absorbed in material life.

So you believe in reincarnation?
Yes.

You mean that we could come back as an animal or something?
Yes. Well, what I know about reincarnation is just what I've learned from hanging out with the devotees and books I've read. According to the karma that you've built up in this life and your past lives, you can come back as whatever, depending on your karma. You can act piously and advance or if you live life like an animal-where you're just doing these eating, sleeping, mating, and defending-then you can take lower births, you can regress. All religious scriptures talk about life after death. Sometimes Christians say that there's no such thing as reincarnation. Then what's going to heaven or hell? Its taking another birth somewhere else. One thing I like about the Vedic literature that the devotees study, is that its more complete. Srimad-Bhagavatam talks all about heaven and hells and different planets. Instead of just saying, “Your going to go to hell forever”, or “You're going to go to heaven”, its very complete. It tills how we can keep getting more chances until we get it together. So you can understand more about reincarnation and afterlife experiences by studying Srila Prabhupada's books, like Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Vedic scriptures.

How did you get involved with he Hare Krsna's?
Well, I was always into religion and I was into vegetarianism and I was curious about all types of religion. First I met Prabhupada's devotees, but I sort of Stopped hanging out there for a while. Then I went to all these yogis who didn't know what they were talking about, and then I just realized how potent Prabhupada was and where he's coming from. All the others never really taught scripture and I enjoyed going to the Hare Krsna temple because I could actually study scriptures and there is actually a disciplic line that can be traced back from spiritual master to disciple, and you can trace it back five thousand years to Krsna Himself. Most of the others, they have disciplic lines, but there very limited and they couldn't really tell me anything about God. To learn about God is actually the purpose of religion, not to “merge” with God or merge with some “white light”. So I wanted to know about Krsna, or God. Prabhupada did so many translations, even as old as he was. He was like seventy years old and he translated tons of books like Srimad-Bhagavatam which is as big as an encyclopedia, and Bhagavad-gita and Caitanya-caritamrta. he translated tons of books so there's so much nectar there to be appreciated and learned So what it really was, I was very dissatisfied with material life. I was in a band, had a girl friend, had a good job, wasn't working that much. Seemingly,everything was going my way, yet I was still really distressed, I was still really searching for something really left empty, even with all these material things. I was really filled materially. I had enough money, I could go wherever I wanted, we were going on tour, yet I was still very empty inside. I didn't drink or smoke or any of that, but just rejecting that stuff is not enough to give you happiness. If you can fix yourself in Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness, that's where real happiness takes place. Just desire to be Krsna's servant, that's why you get fulfilled and satisfied. Otherwise, a typical materialist is just always thinking of things to fill up his time, always hankering for something else and lamenting over things he lost and that’s basically what I was doing for the longest time. Not that I'm such a pure devotee now, I'm an aspiring devotee, I'm still a real neophyte, but I try to learn as much as I can, and I realize now that there's is no happiness outside of love for Krsna, love for God. The only pleasure that exists outside of love of God is temporary. Its just like there's pleasure in illicit sex, but once you have that sex you're left with nothing, you're left empty. Its like the pleasure in drink beer. Its temporary pleasure. There's nothing there. There's nothing substantial there. So if you want a girlfriend or if you want to get married, first fix your mind in Krsna consciousness. Then get married, then love Krsna together. Or else, you can marry your wife an you get bored with each other. If there's nothing solid there, then relationship cant last. I once had a girlfriend and I thought, “Wow, now I'm fixed up cause I have a girlfriend.” Then, when we break up, I'm left with nothing again. So once you're in love with Krsna, you're set, then you can go out and get married or whatever.

How do your listeners react when they find out that your into Krsna consciousness?
Its weird, because when I first saw devotees I thought, “These guys are nits.” But actually I wasn't used to the attire, because its another culture, its Eastern culture. As westerners we're were all going, “These guys are crazy, they're chanting, they're singing, they act like they're in constant ecstasy. What's so good about this life to be in constant ecstasy?” So of course it seems really crazy and I'm sure when I start talking about karma or life after death and abstinence form those certain things, people are gonna think, “Yes, he's off in another world.” SO of course its a very slow thing. It took me two years of going to the tempt to realize the gift Prabhupad gave by bringing the Vaisnava culture to the Western world and educating us. Before Prabhupada gave by bringing the Vaisnava culture to the Western world and educates us. Before Prabhupada come over, you could really get this knowledge. The only way to study Vedas or to study Vaisnavism [the worship of Lord Krsna], was to maybe go to Columbia or some obsolete school, and even then, you could get it from a guru, you could just read it from book knowledge which is totally different, or you'd have to go to India. So were really special here, because Prabhupada gave us such a gift, he gave us the essence of all religion. So its a very good feeling and it makes you want to tell people about it. Just like if you see a really good movie, you want to tell people about the movie. SO with Krsna consciousness, just like with straight edge, you want to tell people about it because you know you're better off. With straight edge, you're better off not drinking than you are drinking. With Krsna consciousness you're better off Krsna-conscious than you are in maya [illusion]. I can tell you from experience, I've been on both sides and when I take Krsna consciousness seriously I feel very ecstatic. I get very filled with love and joy just doing any kind of service for Krsna. And its not like its “brainwashing” or anything like that, its like brain cleansing. Our minds are so defiled and so perverted just because of growing up with so much nasty stuff in this society like sex life. You cant walk down the street without a billboard trying to grab you in and twisting your mind. And movies and books. Some people say its good to be “open-minded” and read all these different kinds of books. But books are like knives, they can be used to spread butter, or they can be used to cut your throat. Its like a razors edge. So fix yourself in transcendental literature and you're so much better off. Be careful about who you associate with. For example, when I’m around the devotees I feel love, these devotees are so saintly and it makes me aspire to be like them. it makes me aspire to be pure. For straight edge kids, since most people drink in today society, its like, “Wow, I’m straight edge, I don't eat meat, I'm so much better than all these people.” That's only because we’re comparing it to just typical karmis (materialists). But when we hang around more saintly people, we strive to be like them. So if you van be vegetarian and straight edge in this lifetime, that's a pretty good advancement, but if you can, go beyond that. Why waste this life? Go beyond there. Go beyond and be the best you can be.

What's something practical that someone can do to go beyond straight edge?
Well, the only way I know that you can go beyond straight is to take to Krsna consciousness. You know, read Prabhupada’s books, all his translations of scriptures. And like I said, association with devotees is a great thing. Also chanting Hare Krsna. Of course, when I first got into it I thought, “Well, I can be spiritual without chanting.” And you can to a certain point, but I never realized how potent the chanting was till I went on tour. And when you go on tour there's all types of temptations, and you can really fall down, whether it be your diet or being really lustful towards women. I speak down on that because when you're lustful you don't treat a women with respect, you actually look at her in a perverted way. So really the goal is to look at each other equally. So anyway, when I'm chanting Hare Krsna on the road, I chant a lot of rounds on my beads. I like to wake up early, say, if I'm in Seattle or somewhere around the country, Ill wake up earl and chant. Its a really unique feeling, you cant really describe it until you do it, but you'll feel really blissful and you feel really fixed up, almost like a high, by chanting. Its a transcendental sound vibration. There's so many different reasons why its good, but all I know is, it works and it totally fixes me up. So whenever you get really down, chanting is a great way to really pick yourself up. Chanting and reading Prabhupada’s book are really good way to stay fixed up when its hard to associate with devotees like it is on the road.

What do you think Krsna consciousness has to offer people in the straight edge scene?
Well, using myself as an example, I was straight edge and everything, yet I was still left really empty. With the straight edge scene were always saying, “Don't do this, don't do that.” Don't intoxicate yourself, don't eat meat, don't have illicit sex, things like that. But those are just negative points, like that. But those are just negative points, like “Don't do this, don't do that”, but what can you do? So with love of God, or love of Krsna, you actually get really fulfilled. Were giving up these things for a higher taste, a higher feeling, love of God. That's where we get real satisfaction. Were not left hankering for any more, were left fulfilled, were left satisfied.

Tell me about your song, “Keep it Up.”
“Keep It Up” is basically about myself. Although the lyrics sound like I'm pointing it at someone else, its really about myself. Even though its like “Yes, were straight edge, we don't do this, we don't do that,” temptation or maya [illusion] is all around. The reason we call it maya is because everything material is temporary, there's no permanent happiness there. The only way we can find real happiness is by fixing our minds on Krsna. So anyway, maya is all over, no matter how straight edge we are, or how firm we are in our beliefs, we can fall into maya. So “Keep It Up” is just saying, for all the people who know better, like myself,you better watch out, because if you keep up these bad activities, your gonna get burned in the long run. Especially if you're in a position of respect, like a devotee or a popular straight edge kid, or, in my case, a singer of a band. I'm in a position of respect and I have to live up to that. I cant let people down. And I cant set a bad example or else people are gonna follow those examples and say, “Well, if he does it, why shouldn't i?” So the song is about really trying to fix yourself up in spiritual life and trying not to fall form it.

How's your latest record doing?
Well, its been about two months and we sold about ten thousand copies, which is pretty cool. I like that. And we started pressing it over in Europe, so hopefully well get a European tour going. That should be in the winter.

Can you talk about some of the books an pamphlets that you've been passing out on this tour?
We listed a bunch of books on vegetarianism on the lyric sheet of the new album and some of them we brought on tour with us. One of them was Steve Rosen's book, Food for the Spirit, which I mentioned earlier. That talks a lot about how vegetarianism stems from a lot of religious philosophies. It talks about how a lot of the scriptures have been changed to satisfy the lust of certain interpreters and kings. Steve Rosen did some incredible research, like eight years of research to put that book together. I really admire the author and the book itself, so after I met the author, he hooked me up with some books to distribute on the road. So I distributed those and that book that the devotees put out, The Higher Taste, based on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings about vegetarianism. That one, mainly because it had a big effect on me. When I first became a vegetarian, I stopped eating red meat, just because I thought it wasn't healthy, but in that book Prabhupada made me realize that all creatures are living and everything is struggling. All creatures in this world are struggling, humans, ants, cows so don't just be prejudiced, judging thins by their bodies. So that book made me me stop eating chicken and fish. That one had a lot of impact on me so I thought it was a good one to distribute. So I distributed that and another book by Satyaraj [Steven Rosen], The Four Regulative Principles, which a lot of the straight edge kids get into.

What do you hope to accomplish with Youth Of Today?
Well, although the spiritual messages in the lyrics may not be so strong, there are subtle messages about spiritual life. That's not gonna have that big of an impact. So basically, since we live in such a debauched society, all we can try to do is slap kids in the face, not physically, but try to jar them, try to wake them up and say, “Look, there's a better ways to live your life,” and introduce the four regulative principles: no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling, and no illicit sex. I want to show them that there's an alternative and show them how dangerous those things are to human life, and how damaging they are to the rest of society, and how nothing positive comes from those things.

Has anyone actually taken up spiritual life as a result of your work with Youth Of Today?
I don't know about spiritual life, but the straight edge thing got bigger than I thought it would. Kids say, “Your music and lyrics have changed the way I live.” Probably they were very much into intoxication and things like that. A lot of kids have said they quite intoxication or quit meat eating, so in that sense its helped out. I don't think I've really made any people spiritual, but hopefully we've touched some people with this tour, and they've read Prabhupada’s books. I don't think that I have personally made them spiritual, it was Prabhupada and Krsna. I was just a tool for them. But definitely I think that Youth OF Today has helped to make some impact on the scene. IN New York City there was no straight edge scene and now there is a very big one, a very popular one, also in Connecticut, New Jersey, especially the East Coast, and here in LA too. Very popular scenes for straight edge and vegetarianism, and I think we need that in the world if we want a nice change to come. We have to start showing compassion, we have to start looking out for others.

I noticed a lot of your friends are wearing neck beads and chanting on japa beads.
Yeah, when I go to the temple in New York a lot of my friends go because they're already into things like vegetarianism and straight edge so they really tend to be attracted to it. Its the same here in California, I have a lot of friends and the last time I was out here, we went to the temple together and when I was back In New York they started going a little more, and now we’re all here at Ratha-Yatra, which is a big festival that the devotees have every year. Also when we played in Berkeley, about ten of us went to the temple there, a bunch of the people from the scene here in California. So its pretty cool.

Do you feel that these people have been influenced by you?
Well yeah, maybe slightly, but Krsna is really the attractive one. I could Lead them to something nasty an nasty things don't attract people, but if I introduce them to something really nice, like Krsna consciousness, then because Krsna is the attractive one, because Krsna is all-attractive, He attracts everyone. So Krsna did it really. The philosophy is so nice, the people are so cool, the books are so great and the food is so great, that how can you not be attracted to it? So maybe I've introduced a few people to it, and maybe a little more on this tour, with the books, but all credit goes to Krsna.

Do you have any closing comments?
Nothing major, just check out the new records, its called “Were Not in This Alone”, and read the lyrics definitely, don't just buy the records and play it. And check out some of the books, especially the books I mentioned in this interview. If you're like a typical human and you want to improve yourself, and you want to make yourself feel better, do it the best way. Done do it by wasting your body away, ‘cause in the long run that’s not going to make you feel better, that's just going to make you feel worse. Hare Krsna.