What was the first concert you ever saw?
Van Halen, on the "Jump" tour, with my brother and parents. I remember smelling something I hadn't smelled before and asking my mom what it was. She explained it was pot. My brother and I were such dorks; throughout the concert, we kept holding our breath so the "evil drugs" wouldn't hurt us.
What CDs are in your changer right now?
Um, I left my "CD changer" back in my car in 1989. The MP3s include: Blitzen Trapper, Furr; Best Friends Forever; Josh Ritter, The Animal Years; Destroyer, Destroyer's Rubies; KRS-One, A Retrospective.
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?
About 50 vinyl albums, 500 CDs and a lot of music now converted to around 2,000 MP3s.
Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?
Yes, mostly illegally. Bands have a problem if people aren't downloading their music, not if they are.
What was the first album you owned?
Kim Carnes, Mistaken Identity. I only really listened to "Bette Davis Eyes," though.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
"Revelations," Yoko Ono and Cat Power.
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
I'm pretty open about my classic hip-hop and gangsta-rap addiction, but my friends wouldn't know that I get teary-eyed when I hear the song "The End of the Innocence" by Don Henley, and I also don't hate Jack Johnson as much as I probably should.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
When I was 15, my best friend's older cousin played us The Velvet Underground and Nico. I've been chasing that high ever since.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Nina Simone, How It Feels to Be Free.
