What is your nickname and why?
"The one that has stuck with me the most is Big Daddy. It's because I'm the oldest guy in the band, I am a daddy, and a busy-body - and cos I've got an armadillo in my trousers!"

At school, were you a dunce or a teacher's pet?
"I was definitely a trouble-maker, so I was probably a dunce. I was the one in the class cracking jokes, making the girls laugh, getting kicked out. There was a path that I had worn between my desk and my principal's office. I was in trouble for all kinds of things: having cigarettes, drugs. I was a bad boy."

What was your first shag like?
"It was randy, for sure. I was 13, I was in the back of a car, it was the fourth of July and she was 16. What was it like? I was so high, I don't remember!"

Who is your best friend?
A guy called Lars Fox, who was the singer in a band called Grotus. He worked on our record, doing loops and samples. I've known him since 1986. He's one of my oldest friends, and he's one of the few people who remembers me as a drinker."

What is the best pet you've ever had?
"I grew up being afraid of dogs, because I used to get chased by a St Bernard every day on my way home from school. But then when I started dating my first wife, she had this huge Doberman - and he became my dog. He's dead now, but he was the greatest dog. And now I've got a greyhound that I rescued. He's called Clayton and he looks after my girls when I'm away."

Have you ever been arrested?
"Many times. I haven't been arrested for years, but I don't recommend it. There's nothing cool about jail. There's nothing cool about being with the worst dregs of society, with having people treat you with no respect, or having no rights."

What would you be if you weren't a rock star?
"I'm not a rock star - I'm a musician and I play in a band. If I wasn't in a band, I would work in the record industry in some other way, helping to find other bands and helping them to put out great music."

How would you describe yourself on a blind date form?
"Quirky sense of humour, intense looks, scary but ugly, generous, self-effacing but arrogant at times, very ambitious and very driven. And likes to have fun out of bed and in it!"

What's the most extravagant thing you've ever bought?
"A half-million-dollar house. But that's not extravagant, that's a good investment. And I've got a $50,000 car, a Toyota Land Cruiser. I f**king love that car!"

Who is gagging for a shagging?

"I have such a thing for Kate Winslet. I have a thing for just about any English actress, but especially Kate Winslet!"

Who is gagging for a smacking?
"Gavin Rossdale. Why? Because he's Gavin Rossdale! I don't really have any problems with anyone else."

Who would you least like to see naked?
"Gavin Rossdale! Or any of Metallica. Or my mother. In fact, you just don't even want to think about your parents naked or having sex. Gross!"

What's the best rumour that you've ever heard about yourself?
"That I was gay! And someone once put a letter on the Internet full of lies about me saying that he was my best friend and that I used to f**k his wife, his sister am him all at the same time. And also that I f**ked every single eligible woman in Portland. I wish I'd got laid that much!"

What's in your wallet right now?
"I don't leave money in it, so a few credit cards, a couple of bank cards, a driver's license, photos of my lovely daughter, a picture of my guitar tech's baby, and a high school ID card. Check out the love bit on my neck!"

What's your favourite joke?
"Any dialogue from 'Austin Powers' - or any Mike Meyers movie. He cracks me up."

If you were marooned on a desert island without food, which member of Everclear would you eat first?
"Maybe I'd eat Craig first, cos he's so skinny that he'd just wither away. I'd save Greg for later cos he's got more meat on his bones."

Which Everclear song would you donate to a compilation album entitled 'Crap Songs Of Our Time'?
"I don't think we have any crap songs! No, that's a lie: 'Drunk Again'. I like the lyrics, but the music's jerky."

What's your drug of choice?
"Cadbury's Fruit And Nut!"

What does God look like?
"Is there one? When I think of God, I think of Charlton Heston. Could it be a woman? I've no problem with that!"

When you die, how do you want to go?
"In bed with a younger woman. Come hard and die with a smile on my face!"

Words: Clare Dowse