Fish-Free Friday : Country Joe is back. He’s still singing about the Vietnam War, but has some new things to say too.

“Gimme an ‘F!’ ” he screamed to the cast of thousands stretching before him at Woodstock in 1969. And thousands answered, thus beginning the famous “Fish Cheer,” which ended up spelling an altogether different F word.

Now Fish-free, Country Joe McDonald will bring his brand of protest folk music to the Ventura Theatre on Friday night for his local debut as he opens for another hippie hero, Arlo Guthrie.

And just as Clark Gable shocked the public when he didn’t give a damn back in 1939, McDonald was equally shocking 33 years later with his more obscene obscenity, a memorable moment of the movie “Woodstock.”

On the album, the “Fish Cheer” was actually “F-I-S-H.” Either way, they were both still merely the catchy intro to the anti-Vietnam song of all time, “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag.” LBJ probably didn’t listen to the song during those quiet hours at the White House. Country Joe and the Fish were banned from every PX in the world, yet their music and especially that song became nearly as popular as a DD-214 (proof of discharge form) among GIs in 1967.

Country Joe and the Fish were one of a zillion hot Bay Area bands to make it during the Summer of Love in 1967. Before breaking up a million times, the band released a number of albums--the first two being the most memorable. (Inside the second album was the infamous Fish Game, sort of a stoned Monopoly.) Country Joe himself continued as a solo artist, with his last several releases on his own Rag Baby label.

The Vietnam War ended officially in 1975. It still rages within Country Joe, who continues to sing about the war and veterans issues. He spoke recently from his Berkeley home.

*

How often do you play these days?

Well, I guess I average 40 or 50 dates per year. I have never been continuously on the road. The most touring I ever did was with the Fish. I’ve always taken time off to stay home and do different things. I’ve got about 30 albums now, I guess, with probably 15 of them available on CD.

*

What was it like being a rock star in the ‘60s?

Um, well, I was never really a rock star in the sense that most rock stars were rock stars. It was very definitely life in the fast lane, but the war was always with me and that colored everything.

*

You were about the only rock dude of the ‘60s who was actually a veteran, right?

Aside from Jimi Hendrix, I was the only one that was a veteran. I got out of the Navy in 1962 and was always completely out front with my opinion of the war.

*

Do you think rock ‘n’ roll ended the war in Vietnam?

Well, I think I’m the only person that wrote intelligent lyrics without blaming the people who fought the war for the war. I think many things ended the war, but I don’t think rock ‘n’ roll ended the war.

*

I was just listening to your song “Superbird.” Do you still think LBJ was so bad?

You know, every President has a multiple personality. LBJ did. He did more for civil rights than anyone had ever done before. LBJ picked up the course from Kennedy, but then he ended up selling us the war. We ended up paying the death benefits for all the Korean troops, plus he armed the Thais and let them keep the weapons. Since then, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush turned war into big, big, big, big business. Now missiles are patriots, not people.

*

Do you think this new optimism associated with President Bill is reminiscent of when Kennedy got elected?

Kennedy wasn’t one of us. He was a fascist, a womanizer, a coke head and had a Cold War mentality. Our generation is one that admits to a lot of things. We’re getting into a live and let live situation. They held us off as long as they could. We’ve reached middle age now, but we’re still on the cutting edge. In the ‘60s, we were right about almost everything. Clinton was elected as the civilian President, but I voted for him because of Gore. Clinton doesn’t, but Gore does talk about veteran’s affairs. He knows what military means, and even his wife doesn’t bother me at all. I think labeling a record is fine. I don’t agree with Zappa at all. I have a bunch of kids and I don’t have a problem with kids’ music and adults’ music.

*

You’ve never stopped being involved in veterans’ affairs?

Well, I got out in ‘62, and I didn’t find out about the G.I. Bill or any of that until years later, and then it was too late. Who knows, I may have never become Country Joe if I had gotten the G.I. Bill. I might’ve gotten into psychology or history. I have played at a lot of different places because of my activism. Just recently, two years ago on Jan. 16 in San Diego, I was playing at an anti-Desert Storm rally. It was really weird because I had gone to boot camp down there. Anyway, people were yelling at me “We Want Oil” and “Give War A Chance.” Other people were singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I’ve played at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington on Memorial Day and Veterans Day--I’d put those gigs up there with Woodstock.

*

How did you get started as a musician?

I grew up with left-wing parents in Southern California and I started playing when I was very young. I took guitar lessons when I was in first grade. I had a rock ‘n’ roll band when I was 16 years old at Arroyo High School in El Monte. We played all original music and almost got a record deal. Before that I played trombone for a long time but I stopped because I wanted to be in a rock band.

*

What ever became of the Fish--didn’t one of them become a judge?

They’re all in different places. I’m still in contact with all of them. Barry Melton ran for judge, but he didn’t win. He’s been a lawyer for about 10 years now. A reunion will never happen.

*

How come “The Fish Game” never overtook Monopoly as America’s favorite board game?

Hey, I still have a couple of them. Pot has yet to make it as acceptable, but we’re getting closer to respectability. But recreational drugs will never be as popular as money.

*

You don’t think much of Nancy Reagan as a drug expert?

I think it’s a very sad situation. I saw all these people on cable TV the other night talking about drugs, and none of them had ever taken any drugs. It’s like the Pope--who has never had sex--telling people about sex. They’re sending kids to jail for 10 years for a joint, even weighing the seeds and stems. They won’t even give pot to terminally ill patients. The war on drugs is a war on drug users, and there’s a lot of people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

*

Is there anything you’d change about your career if you could?

Well, I really wish I hadn’t appeared in the Woodstock movie singing that song. It was not a money-making move. It stuck with me, being labeled as right out there. I never wanted to be that. I’d like to be remembered for writing “Sweet Lorraine” or “Porpoise Mouth.” Then on the other hand, a lot of people over the years have told me that the song saved their life and their sanity when they were in the military. I’ve been in my own little world for a long time, just writing country songs about the Vietnam War. I do something nobody else does. Some people are still afraid of me.

*

Who goes to your shows, a lot of old hippies?

It’s a mix. I get some of the old hippies, and some newer hippies, too. I get a lot of people born in the ‘70s who know me for my Greenpeace stuff. I get a handful of vets who have been with me for two decades because of my war stuff, plus some people just show up by accident. I’ve got new material; I’m in a new mood now. I’ve got a new album ready that’s going to go out solo unless someone has a better idea. It’s moody, reflective, spirited and transcendental. I used to always have a raspberry for somebody. It took me a long time to get over the war and Woodstock.