Its mid-December and the band (including new guitarist Gem Archer and bassist Andy Bell) is spending a few days in L.A. after playing KROQs Almost Acoustic Christmas show. Oasis go on before Fiona Apple, Blink-182, Rob Zombie, and Bush. "A soul-destroying experience" is how Noel describes it. Their performance is remarkable mostly for its rote technical mastery.

"I asked Joe Strummer what it was like being in The Clash, says Tom. "He said, 'We used to walk around saying, 'Fuck you, we're in The Clash. But now that I look back on it The Talking Heads were pretty f****** cool. Don't close your mind and think you're the only thing out there.'"



And Tom adds that he put that advice into practice soon afterwards when he met another iconic British frontman…



"A few days later I played a show with Oasis and was like, 'These guys are pretty rad.' We got done playing and Liam Gallagher runs into our dressing room and says, 'Are you guys Blink-182? You're the best I've seen in America.' I'm like, 'You like us?' He said, 'I didn't say that, I said you're the best I've seen in America!' From that point on I thought they were awesome."