Nine Questions

Adam Blanchard

Native Oregonian Adam Blanchard grew up in the small town of Carlton before moving to Portland. In six years there, he owned several businesses and worked in music venues while studying entrepreneurship and marketing at Linfield College. In October, Blanchard moved to Tucson, where he works as a manager at the Rialto Theatre while he finishes his MBA.

What was the first concert you ever saw?

Weezer, when the blue album came out, at the Rose Garden (in Portland).

What are you listening to these days?

Red Fang, Frank Turner, Heartless Bastards, The Grouch, Macklemore.

What was the first album you owned?

Ram Jam, self-titled (the one with "Black Betty"), on vinyl; Onyx, Bacdafucup (the one with "Slam"), on cassette; Bad Religion, The Gray Race, on CD.

What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone seem to love, but you just don't get?

Fuckin' Phish.

What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?

Bill Withers.

Musically speaking, what isyour favorite guilty pleasure?

That's easy—the Presidents of the United States of America. It's the stupidest music on the planet, but for some reason, I love it.

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?

Something with meaning, like "Murder in the City" by the Avett Brothers, followed by something awesome like the Ramones.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

Less Than Jake, the Losing Streak album. That's when I realized there was amazing music that's not on the radio—punk, for example. Pre-Internet, when you grow up in middle suburbia, you were not always exposed to the awesomeness that exists.

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

Against Me!, Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose.