One can feel Jimi Haha's pain. The joys in his life are simple. He likes to tour with his band--playing over 200 shows a year. He likes to get laid back with his fellow "lazy-boys." He loves to paint and watch TV. But time and time again, he finds one factor that consistently prevents his simple euphoria: his ex-girlfriends and a broken heart. Maybe he won't make his bed up straight. Maybe he always stays out late. Nevertheless, this lead singer of Jimmie's Chicken Shack--the self-proclaimed "Music of ADD"--has a successful new album, a broadening fan base, a great attitude and a Joey McIntyre T-shirt. What does Haha do right? Apparently, it's quite a lot.

The Harvard Crimson: First of all, I get a feeling that Haha isn't your real last name.

Jimi Haha: Why would you think that? I come from a long generation of Hahas. (Laughs) Well, it might be a little made up.

THC: Where is Jimmie's Chicken Shack? Do they have a good rotisserie?

JH: Actually, it is from the biography of Malcolm X. One of our friends was reading the book at the time. He told us that it was a sketchy restaurant in Harlem. And since three of us are named Jimi, we thought Jimmie's Chicken Shack was appropriate.

THC: Ok... enough about names. Let's talk about the new record. Your first album, Pushing the Salmonella Envelope, had a very raw, in-your-face sound to it. Your new album, Bring Your Own Stereo, sounds much more produced and neatly crafted. Was this a conscience choice or just an evolution in your sound?

JH: On the first album, we were just trying to record the songs like we play them live. We lumped all of our hard stuff together, and we really didn't want to do a whole lot of producing--we wanted to avoid that overproduced sound. Above all, we didn't want to have Bring Your Own Stereo sound exactly like the last record. Listening to a record and going to a live show are completely different venues and ways of hearing music. We wanted for the album to be a different experience than the live show-show our fans different sides of the band.

THC: Were all the songs written recently or did you put some old stuff on the album?

JH: Some of the songs have been around--some more recent. "30 Days" was written three years ago, but I never thought that it would ever make it onto one of our albums. But the guys liked it and thought it would fit well on Bring Your Own Stereo. But a lot of the songs are new. For the first time, we actually had a practice space, so we got together and played all the time. Four of the songs were written together as a band...they really just came together while we played. I don't know if we were doing anything really different, but this time we were all much happier. At first, recording can be a tense experience. Some times you just don't want to be there. Now we have a much better time.

THC: Who are your musical inspirations? Were you listening to anything in particular when you recorded the new album?