Nine Questions

James Grip

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When not at Hotel Congress, James Grip spends most of his time working at the Rialto Theatre, teaching English to adult immigrants, doing a bit of photography and filmmaking, and playing drums with Golden Boots. Until recently realizing it to be a pipe dream, his life's ambition had been to one day complete a Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. He's settled for helping to pay off Jon Tokar's truck.

What was the first concert you ever saw?

It was either Robert Plant or Jimmy Page; I can't recall which. Far more memorable was the opening set by Joan Jett. So I'll say Joan Jett.

What CDs are in your changer right now?

The first record by Os Mutantes; Captain Beefheart's Safe as Milk; Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers; Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy; Jolie Holland's Escondida.

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

500-some CDs; 216 records; about 120 cassettes.

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

I don't. Not due to any ethical concerns. I just have an un-thought-through aversion to it. Maybe it's relying on my computer to complete its intended task.

What was the first album you owned?

When I was 9 or 10, I heard an Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass album of my father's. It quickly came to be in my possession more often than his, until I eventually acquired it. But it was too long ago for me to remember the name.

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

Gonzo's "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday." The saddest and prettiest song ever sung by a Muppet.

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

Hmm. All I can say is that it's something involving nachos and Joy Division.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

Fugazi, upon hearing 13 Songs in the ninth-grade. It made me realize that there was an abundance of great music that I would never find by listening to the radio or watching MTV.

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

Either Tom Waits' Bone Machine, Fugazi's Repeater, Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady or (the upcoming) Rhymin' Ryman, Dr. Airlift and DJ KingKong Blowjob's MC Landfill Deals With the Judgment Danish. It's a toss-up.