What
musicians have inspired you the most! (I
ask this first because I know you hate
this question!)
Right off the bat you ask me that
dreaded question! Let me start by
saying that I have a love/hate
relationship with jazz. My father tried
to push it on me when I was young and I
rebelled. But a friend of mine recently
pointed out that the exploration of
colorful chords and progressions, which
is a cornerstone of jazz, probably had a
bigger impact on me than I realized.
Like most people,
my likes and influences are too numerous
to list, but a handful of the bigger
players would include
Syd Barrett,
Joe Jackson, Blondie, Lightning Hopkins,
Morphine, The Doors, Hal Hartley's film
scores, James Brown, PJ Harvey, The
Reds, Leonard Cohen, Television, Jeff
Buckley, Pylon, Hank Williams, Alice
Cooper, early Elton John--shit,
where to stop??
But I can say that
the album which had the biggest effect
on me was "Unearthed" by
Steve Kilbey.
That's the record that made me want to
make music. It was lo-fi before that was
really even a term, it's spooky, and
it's very psychedelic. The man is an
underrated poet, a genius songwriter.
And through the internet, I have
discovered some amazing sounds, mostly
very obscure bands or one-man projects.
Are there any
non-music related inspirations that have
somehow inspired your music and perhaps
manifested within your songs?
Absolutely. And I think that's true of
every artist, whether they realize it or
not. All of my positive and negative
experiences--everything from trying to
navigate the Chattoooga River while
tripping on acid to watching my dad
catch himself on fire when I was six
years old...that all plays into it.
What
is your idea in regards to the purpose
of music and making music?
That's a tough question. I like the way
Alan Watts looks at this question.
Leaves are a part of a tree, therefore
"trees leave." I discover chord
progressions, melodies, etc. because it
would be against my nature not to. As to
any other purpose, I think music and art
can be used as propagana or to teach or
otherwise influence groups or
individuals.
What
are the stages you go through when
writing a song?
Though I don't practice very much, I
pick up an instrument just about every
day. Most of the time I'm just goofing
off. But sometimes goofing off leads to
real magic. But for me it's hard to
define a forumla. Sometimes the melody
comes first, sometimes the chords or
maybe just a rhythmic pattern. Other
times I get words coming in and I go
from there. A lot of my best discovries
come when I'm not near a pencil or a
recording device.
What other musicians have you
collaborated with in the past?
Most of my time has been spent creating
of discovering the various parts of
songs myself. But in recent years I have
collaborated with some friends--Toby
Taylor an dAngela Fish (Vermillion X,)
and Andy Pena and Brandon Eason from an
as of yet un-named project. And I've
recently been working with Dan Sweigert
o f9 on Bali and sooner or later you and
I will get something going. All very
talented people of course.
Do
you come from a musical family?
yes--my father and mother were
professional jazz musicians.
What city(s) have inspired or
influenced you?
Well I'm not the most well traveled
individual, but i must say that trips to
New York and San Francisco had an effect
on me. I lived in Athens, Georgia for a
time, and kind of, "grew up," musically
speaking, in that city. Savannah is my
hometown, so being so close to it i am
unsure of how it has influenced me.
What
would be your ideal city to live in as a
working musician?
I'm not sure, but I'm very attracted to
Asheville, North Carolina.
If
you could give a color scheme to your
music, what would it be?
Another tough question. I suppose
there's a little of everything in there,
but I would say that currently various
shades of blue and grey tend to dominate
the landscape.
What
are your favorite instruments that you
play or use in your music?
Well I certainly like guitars, but
really anything that makes a sound might
be fair game. I like toy instruments a
lot. I'm really into film scores,
particularly horror film music, so an
open mind is crucial.
What
types of instruments or sounds do you
stay away from?
Ross Perot's voice, maybe...but even
that has comedic potential.
Would you describe the shapes of
your music as geometric or organic? (or
both? neither?)
Both
If your
music was a famous poem, who would it
have been written by?
Maybe Edgar Allen Poe or Shel
Silverstein
What makes your music stand out
from most?
I don't know--perhaps you can answer
that better than me...
What is your favorite thing?
Are we talking objects or something more
nebulous? Love. Everything else, whether
negative or positive, is flowered by
Love.
Do you keep
to a particular "signature style" or do
you change it up each album (or song)
and explore new areas?
I think that I have carved out a
particular sound but I certainly don't
wish to box myself into a category. One
realm I like to explore is something I
call, "melodic dissonance."
What is your
favorite type of venue to perform at?
Small intimate
clubs sitting inside historic buildings.
Which do
you like better:
night or day?
dusk
cash or credit?
neither
paper or plastic?
paper
fast or slow?
slow
hi-fi or low-fi?
both
acoustic or electric?
both
coke or pepsi?
coke...bad shit though
mountains or beach?
mountains
color or black and white?
both
email or snail mail?
snail mail
stalactites or stalagmites?
stalactites, definitely!
If
you picked out one of your favorite
songs to cover, would you want to show
respect to the artist by striving to do
your best to replicate in its original
perfect form or would you think it was
better to change it up and do it
differently to make it your art and not
just a copy of a version that already
exists????
Actually what I'd like to do is find a
song that I don't lik very much and then
re-shape it to something that I could
love.
What is your goal or future
aspirations for PCM?
World Domination, of course.
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