History | Press Release | Artists | Interviews

8-11-03

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

dum, chi, dum dum chi. wicki wicki dumdum dum chi.

If you could meet one person dead or alive, who would that be?

Robert Nesta Marley.

Do you have any religious/spiritual/philosophical beliefs? If so, how do you feel they affect your music?

I base my spiritual beliefs off of an ancient Chinese proverb (at least I think its ancient, and I think its Chinese) that I remember my mom telling me when I was very young, "Believe in everything, because you just never know...". I have looked into every religious path that I can emotionally grasp, and in all of their wisdom I still see a landscape that has boundaries. I have allowed myself to paint my own hills and forests. These ideas influence me to my very fabric, including my music in a sense of; If this is how its going to be, then this is how its going to be. Things can only get better from that point.

What advise do you have for beginning musicians/artists?

Don't let a crappy computer get you down ( I do all my stuff on a 440mhz pent II, 64 megs of ram and Tuareg). Don't let mistakes change your ideas. Ideas are all anyone has; to lose those is to allow yourself to be led off of the path. Whether you lead or follow, the path is what matters. Vibrate YOURself.

When was the first time you performed live? What was it like?

Hard one. I do almost all of my stuff live. However the first time I did a live gig in front of a group of people was for a good buddies birthday party. It was a dense evening. There was a stench in the air of freshly opened homebrew pale ale, and the wafting of smoky aromas. The stars were lit with a feverent fire and as were the headlights pouring into the field. The grass started attracting water, as the night air started to cool everything off. I started up the groggy laptop, his cords lay across my lap, inside the cramped escort. Sound tests were underway as the bottlecaps flew, the 12-inch home stereo speakers already hooked up through the trunk splayed out behind me resonated with a certain tang that I was all too fond of. The stomping of onlookers increased as the droning loops of bass and drum started up like a rusty old engine. The skinny laptop, beaten and tired from constant use, grappling at its last bits of attention, gearing itself up for a night of scratch disking, spins out a perfect ram skipp to start the lacing of progressive sound intrusion. The measures getting layed out on the fly, samples being pulled out from old dusty directories. My cousin leans over my shoulder, head bobbing "Try those samples man.." and without hesitation I load some obscure tentacle of a sample. Its grip on the harddrive was apparent. The ramskip prevails though, another perfect inclusion. I drop the bass to bring a sense of purpose to it. A rolling vocal sample wafts up loops for a few minutes and the people look off into the barely lit cab "Duuuude, change the sample....". I relent. With outspoken humility, I fade the sample, and drop in the bassy bongo loop I've been working on. Slip in a riff from an old bob marley tune and the faces begin to bob. This is where I leave you.. I step from the car, grab a tasty 22, light up the cap and take it down to a lull for the rest of the evening. Damn that beer was good.

If there was one thing you are particularly proud of, what would it be?

The track I have submitted to the compilation CD. My marriage and my little girl on the way.

What are the primary ingredients for a great song?

A good collection of drum loops. Some bass. A dash of sodium free guitar. And some 10/50/10.

How do you feel about the latest changes with the RIAA (new chairperson, more strict copyright lobbying)?

I think too many people whine about the wrong reasons. In doing this, they mislead people into believing this propaganda that weakens the very fabric of what music is about.

What do you want the listener to get out of the music?

A good vibration. A tingle in the back of their neck. A nod of the head. In reality though I only strive for my own approval; once I have that, any feedback is good feedback.

At what point did you realize or were told that you had the talent to be a performer/musician?

When I was about 3 or 4 and sang the dukes of hazard theme song and rudolf the red nosed reindeer in front of my whole family and they all told me in utter amazement that I had perfect pitch and timing. At the time I didn't know what that really meant, but looking back on it, coming from my family, it was pretty amazing information to offer up to a 4 year old.