What was the first concert you ever saw?
Rush, 2112 tour. Neil Peart was the shit even from the nosebleeds of the Checkerdome, St. Louis. I was the coolest fifth-grader for a while there with my black tour shirt--the old-school baseball jersey style, with the 3/4 white sleeves and the blazing, glittery iron on 2112.
What CDs are in your changer right now?
Rainer's Nocturnes is on now ... thanks, Howe, for remembering greatness. Pieta Brown's In the Cool--that "Far Away" song just gets me. Bob Marley, Live at the Roxy; Thievery Corporation, The Cosmic Game; and Madeleine Peyroux, Careless Love.
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks.)?
All in all, around 500. I've moved around so much, I've had to lighten the load a bit.
Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?
No. I mostly like to buy at shows; then I know where the money goes, and I have a personal experience with the music.
What was the first album you owned?
Either Frank Zappa's Apostrophe or Supertramp's Breakfast in America. It was the '70s. ... My folks would buy my sister and me one album every two weeks. It was always a tough choice.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
Tom Waits' "Come on up to the House."
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
My girlfriend still gives me shit about watching the Ashlee Simpson show. ... When I saw her blow the lip-sync on SNL, I lost all respect ...
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
When I was a kid, and people would ask what I wanted to be when I grow up, I had one word for them: ELVIS. I wasn't able to differentiate then, and I literally thought I could be Elvis.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
It's between The Doors' Live at the Hollywood Bowl and Jane's Addiction's Nothing Shocking. They always blow my mind. Get it?
