John Doe

Trailblazer John Doe, who first paved new punk ground with X in the 1980s, has never really rested -- musically or otherwise. After developing a distinctive sound that has inspired countless bands (Ray Manzarek, formerly of the Doors, assisted them with their first album, "Los Angeles"), Doe went on to record four solo albums, including the recently released "Dim Stars, Bright Sky." The album is an acoustic-based effort that features collaborations from the likes of Jakob Dylan and Aimee Mann and has received high marks from critics.

Doe also worked with The Knitters, X's country side project. Although they've released only one album, 1985's "Poor Little Critter on the Road," they continue to tour intermittently. Additionally, Doe is an actor, appearing in such movies as "Great Balls of Fire" and "Pure Country," and more recently had a role on the television series "Roswell."

In a recent phone interview, Doe spoke about his new work, his acting projects and his future touring with the band X.

Stephanie Myers: Tell me a little bit about "Dim Stars, Bright Sky." It's gotten great reviews. How did the album come about?
John Doe: That's kind of what I do. We've tried to make records. We've decided to do an acoustic record because of the rock trio.

Who was your favorite artist to collaborate with on the record?
That would be unfair. I consider myself very lucky to able to call people and have them call me back and say, "Yeah, I'll be there." [That's] one of the advantages of being in a band and people liking that band.

You've said that you prefer more "middle-of-the-road" music now as opposed to punk. How has your taste evolved?
Well, I do like punk rock, though. I never liked music that was atonal. I never liked music that was just noise. Or mad metal. So even punk rock bands that I like do have melody. I can listen to jazz, but it has to be good jazz. I like toward the end of bebop, in the '60s.

You've also said that there probably won't be any new records from X. Do you plan to continue to tour with them?
X will be touring on the East Coast in June. And we do songs off the first four records.

Any plans for The Knitters?
You never know about The Knitters. You never know. We did a tour about eight or nine months ago, not a full U.S. tour, some of it was on the West Coast, but I don't remember the rest.

Do you have any acting projects in the works?
There's a couple of films I've done that may or may not come out. "Pledge of Allegiance," coming of age movie with Freddy Rodriguez, I play his dad. There's also "Torque," a $100 million movie with Ice Cube. I graduated to the law enforcement phase of my career - pretty odd.

What are your thoughts on file-sharing and the RIAA's efforts to stop it?
I think if you're going to download something, you should have to pay for it. It doesn't have to be a lot. I think the wave of the future is file-sharing, but subscription. I would also say that people who suffer from burned CDs the most are small, independent record stores.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
Hopefully acting. I try to project myself six months in advance. I hope I'm still alive, first of all. I hope to see myself as some sort of dad on a TV show.

If you could work with any artist, who would they be?
I guess it would have to be Paul McCartney or Keith Richards.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I want people to be aware -- it's not anti-patriotic to protest the war.