What was the first concert you ever saw?
The Runaways with Cheap Trick opening up around 1977. ... I remember Tom Petersson started the show with a huge crescendo on his eight-string bass. By the time the rest of the band was on stage, I immediately knew this was something I wanted to do.
What CDs are in your changer right now?
Deadbolt, Voodoo Trucker; Joy Division, Closer; Echo and the Bunnymen, Ocean Rain; Kraftwerk, Autobahn; The Cramps, Stay Sick!
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?
Roughly 1,500, equal parts vinyl and CDs
Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?
Yes, I have purchased music via iTunes, and I have downloaded music that I already own on vinyl and/or want to learn to play myself.
What was the first album you owned?
Beatles '65.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
"Peace Pipe" by The Shadows.
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
I lived in Italy for a while when I was a teenager, and the only album that I had to listen to was Rod Stewart's "Blondes Have More Fun ... or Do They?" Every time I hear that album now, or listen to Rod Stewart's voice, it takes me back to those crazy days in Italy.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
Hank Marvin from The Shadows changed my life. I remember learning "Apache" on guitar and thinking I had always wanted to play the way Hank plays, but hadn't realized it. The way he uses echo and delay and the way he uses the tremolo bar to add emotion to his phrasing opened up a whole new world for me as a guitarist.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Gun to my head, huh? OK, then, (the Beach Boys') Pet Sounds it is.
