"Jeremy Roenick is an idiot."

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This should be good.

When Ministry vocalist Al Jourgensen toured the country last year in support of Houses of the Mole, this veteran of the industrial/metal scene made it a point during many of the shows to emphasize his dissatisfaction with the Bush administration as well as take the opportunity to verbalize his disappointment with the state of American politics today. The band printed T-shirts depicting the anti-incumbent theme, and Al made it a point to leave absolutely no room for conjecture as to where he stood on certain issues. The result, of course, was that some in the audience embraced the message while still others felt alienated by all the politicism, then again, that isn‘t too surprising--if everyone agreed on a particular topic, then it wouldn’t exactly be controversial for a person to publicly express their personal sentiment either. Just remember though, Al was articulating his discontent long before the latest round of useless approval ratings came out proving once and for all that some people are just way, way slower than others.

Al is back in the public eye again with the release of Ministry’s latest offering, Rantology, a record that features mixes of many of the group’s classic selections while also featuring sound bytes from the Texan Wunderkind interspersed as well. Besides various versions of the old reliables, there is also a new song included on Rantology entitled “The Great Satan” which will also be on the next full-length disc by the band--Rio Grande Blood--that is slated to release in April. The new record will contain fresh material from the band--new material that Al has promised will reflect his disdain for the corruption inherent in America’s two party system. Jourgensen and company won’t be the only ones present in the studio as he creates his own personal brand of auditory aggression either--instead, he will be joined by the likes of Tommy Victor from Prong as well as Paul Raven of Killing Joke. If this extensive touring and recording schedule doesn’t constitute a dizzying enough itinerary, there will also be a new Revolting Cocks album on the horizon as well. All of this production combined with his outspoken views and unabashed willingness to speak his mind insures that Al and company are destined to be in the news and entertaining audiences for many months to come.

KNAC.COM: I’ve been dying to ask you this since last November—what was running through your mind when you saw the electoral map and state after state kept coming up Bush red?

JOURGENSEN: First of all, we were in Nashville that night--a red state. Let me tell you…we were walking around that night because we were on tour, and people were stunned, so as far as did he win the election? No. Did Karl Rove and his minions find a way to tap in to the E-voting system? Yes. I don’t think that fucker won again. I’m either in denial or I’m pissed or both. It was creepy.

KNAC.COM: I remember the last time we spoke, and you told me that you had just attended an Anti-Bush rally in San Francisco, and at the time you said something to the effect that it was the proudest you had ever been to be an American.

JOURGENSEN: Absolutely.

KNAC.COM: Did that make the result that much more suspicious in your mind when all the exit polls taken in the morning seemed to point to an overwhelming Kerry victory?

JOURGENSEN: Yeah, by a lot. I’m telling you--Karl Rove and his minions figured out a way to hack the system, and that’s why they want to do system reform now on E-voting. It’s so scripted man. I’m sick of the Democrats and the Republicans. I just want to blow up everything at this point. I’m just so pissed. I will never forget that night for as long as I live—I was pissed. The new record will definitely be a result of my “pissedoffness” over the last two years. The candidates are just so obviously manipulated by the special interest groups. It’s a shame that it has all boiled down to whether or not a candidate is photogenic or not. It’s not even about ideas anymore…it just boils down to how you do in a debate or two. It’s all about special interest and putting the right puppet head up in the pulpit.

KNAC.COM: Why do you think Karl Rove isn’t in jail for outing that special agent when virtually anyone else would be?

JOURGENSEN: Rove is Machiavellian, man. He is a fucking evil genius. He is the Rasputin-Machiavelli of our time.

KNAC.COM: Was everyone so wrong at first when they thought that Cheney was running the administration?

JOURGENSEN: Yeah, Cheney is too blue collar. He’s running on formaldehyde and nine volt batteries at this point.

KNAC.COM: Do you get the feeling somebody in Washington reads Orwell?

JOURGENSEN: Exactly. Orwell predicted this long before. I am beyond disappointed at this point though. Now we take to the streets, and now we take action. We don’t wait every four years so that we can get our pictures taken like Ben Affleck and go, “I’m a Democrat! I hate Republicans!” It’s like, let’s get out for the midterm elections. Let’s get on the Supreme Court nominees. Let’s go crazy. Let’s start ramming the fuckin’ streets with people who are disenchanted and disenfranchised.

KNAC.COM: In fact, isn’t Bush’s legacy going to be largely defined by who he appoints as well as how many judges he appoints to the Supreme Court? Do you think he has a great shot at getting Roe Vs. Wade overturned?

JOURGENSEN: I don’t think that will ever happen, but what I do think is that his legacy will include the fact that he’ll end up with the biggest protests of any sitting President including Johnson and Nixon during Watergate. They’ll be protesting the most failed policies ever, and why should this be a surprise? He couldn’t even make the Texas Rangers win. He’s a loser. Everything he has ever touched…he’s an idiot. Let’s deal with it, and let’s move on.

KNAC.COM: So basically, your message to any fans out there or any others out there who might be unhappy with the way this administration is conducting itself would be to basically take to the streets and make their disenchantment felt?

JOURGENSEN: That would include shooting…but you didn’t hear that from me. (laughs). All my handlers are going, “he didn’t say that! He didn’t say that!” (laughs again).

KNAC.COM: Hypothetically speaking, if Bush were to be assassinated though, how do you think the person who did it would go down in history?

JOURGENSEN: That person would end up being a martyr for the right wing cause, and things wouldn’t ultimately change because Bush doesn’t run things anyway. The difference between Bush and Reagan though is that as much as I hated Reagan, he knew he was just an actor acting for special interests--he was good at it. The problem is that Bush actually thinks he’s in charge, but he’s not. Basically, all it would do is repel people and make them feel sorry for the poor right wing fanatics. Everything like say, stem cell research would end up being in jeopardy because someone shot Bush. I hope someone doesn’t. (laughs)

KNAC.COM: What role does the church play in all of this? How responsible are they for this administration?

JOURGENSEN: Well, the whole tax exempt for churches has nothing to do with Bush’s new found “no more alcoholism” and “no more crackism”—it has to do with more money in the energy industry’s pocket because they don’t have to subsidize anything. They want to take the government down to nothing like it was during the 1900’s when the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers and everybody ran the railroad and made all the money until Teddy Roosevelt, who was a Republican actually, attacked these conglomerates and shattered them to some extent. Now we’re back to the future again where we have nothing but special interests and huge energy lobbyists running not just the government but the entire world.

KNAC.COM: Don’t you see though why a person would want to just give up? The system seems almost beyond repair---what can one vote or one person’s effort possibly do?

JOURGENSEN: That’s the wrong attitude though. Now is the time you absolutely must vote. I mean, hasn’t the fulcrum turned? Even people in Mississippi and Alabama and shit are realizing that “hey, you know what? I think this guy sucks.” (Quote made in full hillbilly accent.)

KNAC.COM: Who cares what they think now though? It’s about a year too late, isn’t it?

JOURGENSEN: Yeah, no shit, but still now is still the time to vote.

KNAC.COM: But as someone who was able to appreciate Bush’s suckitude factor years ago, doesn’t it irritate you to see opinion polls finally starting to reflect an attitude that should have been prevalent long ago?

JOURGENSEN: Exactly. Like I said, I was devastated on election night. I walked around like a zombie. I almost cancelled my show. I was so freaked out…I was crying. Then I decided to just turn my attention to the mid term elections and the Supreme Court nominees. That’s what people need to realize—there is more to it than all the glamour and the glitz of a bunch of stars throwing fundraisers every four years for a Democrat. By the way--that happens to be a party that is equally corrupt. Let’s just get on to the business of governing ourselves. That’s what the Constitution is for.

KNAC.COM: How is that going to be possible though when we are never going to see another President ever again who isn’t a multi, multi millionaire?

JOURGENSEN: No, that’s right--not under this system. That’s why it’s the system that needs to change more than the President.

KNAC.COM: In order for some huge systemic change like that though, there would have to be a huge groundswell of people. Do you think citizens could ever be committed enough as a group to accomplish that?

JOURGENSEN: It’s been done—look at Spain or look at the Philippines. It can be done. This country can do it.

KNAC.COM: Do they care that much though?

JOURGENSEN: You know what? Even if they don’t the media could do it. The media spins everything anyway. The media is spun by Karl Rove. The media has spun itself Edward R. Murrow style. It’s just a wish, you know, that we could all work for.

KNAC.COM: In any case, you’re going to keep this agenda on the radar for the next record and into the near future.

JOURGENSEN: Yeah, he’s definitely on my radar. The new one is called Rio Grande Blood--we’re keeping up on our take offs of the 70’s albums. Of course we had Dark Side of the Spoon and Houses of the Mole, so now we turned Rio Grande Mud into Rio Grande Blood. It is equally ironic that Billy Gibbons was working on the latest Revolting Cocks album, and he’s a Republican. It’s all good though. Read between the lines.

KNAC.COM: Ministry also contributed a track called “Waiting” to the film, Murderball.

JOURGENSEN: I love that fuckin’ movie, man.

KNAC.COM: Well, there you have a documentary about a group of paraplegics tearing it up and playing rugby simply for the love of sport. Being an NHL hockey fan, how do you reconcile the recent yearlong strike? Are you as much of an enthusiast as ever?

JOURGENSEN: You know what? I kind of empathize with all the sports players. Does anybody give piss tests to entertainers? Does anyone give them these contracts that state that if they get hurt, they don’t get paid? Hockey players are entertainers. They should get viewed as entertainers. They make a lot of money for a lot of people. I’m not a Terrell Owens fan or anything, but I do understand the point.

KNAC.COM: Yeah, but as a sport, how can you have your poster child, Jeremy Roenick, tell an entire fan base that if you’re not in agreement with the strike, you don’t have to come out?

JOURGENSEN: Jeremy Roenick is an idiot. He’s not a poster child—the media has made him into one. You know what he listens to? I know this for a fact because my best friend in the whole world is the grandson of the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks. I am a diehard Blackhawk fan. I sit behind the bench for at least half the home games every year even though that means a commute from Texas. Jeremy Roenick a spokesperson? Some of the guys wanted to play “Thieves” and Ministry stuff in between face-offs—you know what he wanted? He said, “no, I want Bryan Adams.”

KNAC.COM: Like, “Summer of 69” or some of his edgier material like “Run To You“?

JOURGENSEN: I dunno, but Jeremy Roenick is a wanker. I don’t even want to hear about him.

KNAC.COM: Yeah, but he is a wanker making six million a year…and complaining. That’s what irritates fans—it irritates me.

JOURGENSEN: Exactly. Fuck him. He’s a wanker. He doesn’t represent the majority of hockey players though any more than Terrell Owens represents the majority of the football players. People should just do the right fucking thing, but they don’t. Agents and lawyers just prey on the mindless and it all turns into this huge business conglomerate that could be Enron or Exxon. It just becomes this morass of crappiness and mediocrity.

KNAC.COM: So you will be at the games and enjoy yourself just as much as you always do even though they took a year off?

JOURGENSEN: For me? No. I sit behind the bench, and I heckle the fuckin’ players. For me, it’s a gas. I’m forty-seven now. When I was six, my dad had season tickets in the 300 level, and eventually I got a gold record which put me in the 200 level. Then, I got a platinum record, and I made it down to the 100 level. After that, I met the owner’s grandkid, and now I sit behind the bench. Yeah, you bet, I’m totally into it--and fuck everyone else.