Nine Questions

Phil Hemmo is the guitar professor at Pima Community College, and he runs tucsonmusicians.com, a kind of online local music classifieds. He also owns Southwest Guitar Studio, where you can find all kinds of reasonably priced classical guitars and take lessons.

What was the first concert you ever saw?

In 1982, I won tickets to see Ted Nugent from KLPX.

What CDs are in your changer right now?

In my Popular Music in America class, we did a section on alternative bands of the early '90s ... and I did some really intensive listening to Nirvana. I have to say I probably have In Utero and Nevermind in my CD player.

How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?

I have probably about 1,000 CDs. ... It's too hard to get a hold of all the vinyl and live in the electronic world.

Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?

I do download music. ...I think it's great that you have iTunes and new Napster and all (the companies) that are charging, because I think artists deserve their royalties. However ... there's a lot of stuff that isn't available. For example, try and download on iTunes some old Blind Lemon Jefferson tunes; you're not going to be able to find them. You put Blind Lemon Jefferson on a LimeWire search, and all of a sudden, you have 40 or 50 hits. ... It shows a point: While the technology is moving forward, it hasn't completely solved all the problems.

What was the first album you owned?

Parallel Lines by Blondie.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

The first movement of the Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony. I guess it'll be really a long funeral.

Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?

I'm a big chick rock fan.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

I would have to say the band Rush. ... I remember distinctly being 11 years old and hearing "The Trees," which has this kind of pseudo-classical guitar rip-off introduction, and ... I said to myself, "Wow, I need to know what this music is, because it's interesting and intriguing, and it's very different."

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

I would have to go with the ones that are timeless: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band ... Appetite for Destruction by GNR.