Nine Questions

Singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player Trina Hamlin performs beguiling blues-rock infused with pop, folk and jazz. Based in New York City, this Berklee School of Music graduate is touring to promote her 2007 CD, Living on Love. She'll play Thursday, April 3, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. The show starts at 7 p.m.; admission is $4.

What was the first concert you ever saw?

The Captain and Tennille at the Minnesota State Fair, in St. Paul, 1977 or '78.

What CDs are in your changer right now?

New Arrivals: Volume 1 (a great compilation of indie artists); Natalia Zukerman, Brand New Frame; Ralston Bowles, Rally at the Texas Hotel; Bebel Gilberto, Tanto Tempo; Jan Vogler, et al., The Secrets of Dvorák's Cello Concerto; Susan Werner, Live at Passim. (Soon to be released. I play with her as a side person whenever I get the chance. Good stuff!)

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

Mostly CDs: 500-1,000; some (digital audio tapes) and 100 cassettes.

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

I don't download a whole lot, or didn't until this week. But then I pirated my friend's treasure trove of music the other day. I just bought Tristan Prettyman on iTunes, trying to keep the karmic balance.

What was the first album you owned?

The first record I actually purchased on my own was The Jungle Book. After that, it was the Captain and Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together.

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

I haven't thought about my own funeral. I've sung Jimi Hendrix's "Angel" at a few important ones.

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

I am loving the music in Shankar Dada Zindabad and Pokiri, two big Indian films.

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

The Captain and Tennille got me interested in music, piano and whatever their pop sensibilities were. And the One Eyed Jacks, a Boston blues band in '89-'91--I learned to trust my own rhythm through them. Brilliant musicians.

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

Peter Gabriel's So is somehow timeless.