Rhapsody: Has your family read the book yet?..:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />
Joseph: My mother just read it and she called me up all emotional. It was a heavy book for her to read, 'cause she didn't know a lot of the stuff that went on with us as kids. And I got to hear a lot of stuff from her perspective that I never knew, like: the state didn't want her to see us that first year because they want you to bond with the family, and that she was sending clothes to the [foster home], and they were just keeping it. I swear the book's brought our family closer to my mom; we're in a real good place now with her.

What inspired you to get into writing?
I was always writing, even as a kid. I wrote my first story when I was 8 years old. It was a vampire story [Laughs.] I was writing lyrics, and then I really started getting interested in writing films in '88 when I started going through a lot of insane sh*t. I started working on screenplays, not that I knew what I was doing, but I just started compiling a whole lot of notes and journals about all my experiences and hanging out with my brothers E and Frank, and just reminiscing and remembering a lot of stories and always writing it down. Initially, I was going to base characters on stuff we went through, and then it was my writing partner/girlfriend at the time that was like, "You should write this book." At first, I thought it was narcissistic to write about yourself day in and day out, but she just kept saying, 'It's a positive story, man, look where you're at and where you came from.' And when she moved to ..:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />Australia to act in a theater company, she left a note on the wall, and it said: "Write the book, dude." So I just started typing, man, and never stopped. And I'm still working on other books. I've got two or three more coming, including a cookbook. I've got a bunch of screen plays. I just finished an album. I just try to keep the creative juices flowing so that I don't get in trouble. [Laughs.]

Tell me about some of your other projects.
We wrote this movie called Don't Count Me Out about overcoming adversity. We took a lot of what happened to me and created this character who became a boxer like his father, [who] murdered his mother in front of him. His father goes to prison and gets murdered as well, so the only way to get back at his father is to outshine him -- to be a better, more famous fighter than his father ever was, and that's what drives him. It's an amazing story, and Joel Cohen (Toy Story, Evan Almighty) read the script and was blown away, so he hooked us up with his agent/manager and then the strike hit, so we've had all that down time. We just finished a comedy based on all the Hare Krishna cult stuff. And my next book is a vegetarian guide for training. I'm doing the brother book to Skinny Bitch for men, and it's called Meat is for Pussies. [Laughs.] The take on it is you might be strong now, but the harmful effects of meat and processed food and chemicals ravage your body. You can be on all the diets you want, but if you keep stuffing your face with hydrogenated oils and meat, it's not gonna work. And every dude now has the Adonis complex and they think vegetarians are weak; it's just a real New York kind of book.

Why was now the time to put Evolution out?
I started the book five years ago, but I kept seeing so much going on with the youth: suicide, drug addiction, eating disorders, all of this sh*t. The youth in this country are more confused than they've ever been; there's no direction. They put their faith in fallible soldiers and want to be like these f*ck*ng celebrities, and it's just become a shallow society. The more you get away from your true nature, which is to be searching out something spiritual – not religious, spiritual, there's a big difference – the more unhappy you'll become. And the first place that shows up is in the arts. My writing teacher Robert McKee said there's a direct correlation between a decline of value in society and a decline in the arts. Because look at what entertainment's all about: f*ck*ng reality TV. Everything's so cheaply done and just for immediate gratification. Look at music and film from the '60s, '70s and '80s compared to now. It just goes to show you what kind of entertainment people are looking for. I didn't want to put it out as a book to preach to anyone, what I did was just like the Cro-Mags. I said,  "Here's what I went through, and this is what helped me," and people can take from it whatever they want.

Since music is such an integral part of your life, is there any one band that resonates with you the most?
Bob Marley, big time. "So Much Trouble in the World" and "Small Axe" and Catch a Fire. Every one of his records is f*ck*ng brilliant, 'cause he was talking a lot about spirituality. And that's the difference. When you come across religion, religion is designed to divide people. Look at the message of Bob Marley, it was to unify people. You'll be able to listen to [his] records 50, 60 years from now and it will still hold up 'cause he speaks truth.

In your book, you talk a lot about the work you do to expose the Krishna cult. Do people from the movement respond to what you're saying?
They got wind of me blowing up the spot on them before, and a couple of dudes [threatened to] sue. I always show up at big Krishna festivals and hand out magazines that expose all the crap they've done, and they're like, if you did this in India, you'd be killed. They've had such a lock on people that they've turned what Prabhupada gave humanity into a cult where thought is controlled. If you have such a great philosophical stance and you're bona fide, why don't you let them read the magazine and let them decide? Why are you controlling what they're reading and what they're thinking? One dude stole money and another dude raped children, and they deny it. Meanwhile Dateline and 20/20 had them on, and they settled up a multi-million dollar lawsuit with all the kids. They want to keep their little scam going, so of course they're like, "Oh these are isolated events that he's harping on from 20 years ago." It's all still going on, they just conveniently sweep it under the rug and act like if you're exposing them, you're committing an offense by talking about it. They've got it all figured out, but they didn't plan on coming across a motherf*ck*r like me. And that was their mistake. Because of what I went through as a kid, when I found out people were lying to me and cheating me, I take that sh*t so personal. And it wasn't only that I found out what the Krishnas were doing, but I really love what Prabhupada gave to us. Prabhupada came to America at 70 years old in failing health and lived on the Bowery, slept on the floor and fed everybody. He owned no possessions. When you see the example he gave, then look at these so-called gurus, scam artists of the Krishna movement, it's completely different. They have million-dollar mansions, fly first-class everywhere, and have millions in off-shore bank accounts. So that's why I go after them; I know it helped me and I know it can help thousands of people, but because they got their scam going, they don't really care about helping humanity anymore. What kind of spiritual movement is that?!

There's so many lessons to learn from the experiences in your book, but is there any one you want people to take from it?
I would say, no matter what you're going through in life, there's always a spiritual solution to that problem. And I don't mean in religion. Sometimes adversity is put there in our lives so that we struggle and become better people; it builds character. No matter what you're going through, you just have to stay positive and look to the real answers in life. To be in a struggle in your life is actually a blessing. People that have it too easy just become complacent; they never have to try to achieve anything. People that have had the deck stacked against them have done some of the greatest things on this planet. So no matter what you're going through, hold strong and get that solid foundation which comes from really searching out truth in life, because everything emanates from that place. You're here, you have a certain period of time; utilize your time properly and be positive and just always be figuring out what this life is about. It's not about the next Xbox; materialistic bullsh*t don't make you happy. True character's only revealed under pressure – that's f*ck*ng rule number one.

Do you think the state of punk today is the way it is because no one's character is being tested?
Exactly. Punk was about an attitude, but it's lost that to a certain degree. It was about f*ck*g rebellion against what was going on, and now is the greatest time to be a real, true punk rocker, but it's become such a f*ck*ng joke. It's all about windmill kicks and tough-guy looks and my crew, this crew, that crew. When did it stop being revolutionary and accept the f*ck*ng lies this government is telling us? It's not about eye makeup and tattoos and piercings, anyone can buy that sh*t – that's why we used to rob the motherf*ck*rs coming out of Trash & Vaudeville. Another one of the projects I got [is] a great punk-rock comedy – its f*ck*ng hilarious; it slams all of that shit. Comedy is the angry art. You pick an institution, you go on the attack and you f*ck*ng let them have it in a funny way, but you make your philosophical point. The best way to honestly make a point to somebody is to not preach to them – let them laugh about it. That's what I did in the book. Let them see the farce in what the f*ck is going on and make your point that way. No one wants to be preached to in this day and age. But you have to open your mouth and speak the truth even if it's unpalatable. The people that I admire and respect the most are the people that go out on a limb and speak like that. Ian Mackaye, Henry [Rollins], Jello Biafra, HR – to me, those are the real-deal people that really had something to say, and that's something to admire.