2. DATE OF BIRTH: 7/4/1969 (People shoot off fireworks to celebrate my birthday. Or so I'd like to think.)
3. OCCUPATION: Journalist/musician/record label partner
4. PLACE OF RESIDENCE: San Antonio, Texas, USA
5. WHAT YEAR DID YOU BECOME A FAN?:
Around 1984
9. HOW DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND,
AND WAS THERE A PARTICULAR SONG THAT MADE YOU SEE THE LIGHT?:
I've been a fan of the Captain's since the '80s, when older friends
would regularly dismiss some of my favorite bands of the time (Pere Ubu
and Butthole Surfers, for example) as "pale Captain Beefheart imitations."
After hearing his name 4-5 times in that context, I had no choice but to
purchase a copy of Trout Mask Replica. I was confused yet exhilarated by
what I heard, and I've been a fan ever since. I think the songs that made
the biggest initial impression on me were "Dust Blows Forward," "Moonlight
on Vermont" and "Dachau Blues" (that one still sends shivers down my spine)
10. NUMBER OF BEEFHEART GIGS SEEN, AND WHICH YEARS:
I've only seen video footage. He was retired from music by the time
I'd begun listening to his music.
11. ART SHOWS VISITED:
I saw a drawing of his at the Werner (sp?) gallery in New York but
it wasn't a full-fledge Don show.
12. ANY CONTACT WITH DON?:
None.
13. MUSICAL ABILITY / TRAINING:
I play guitar and sing in a band called Boxcar Satan and I'm also active
in improvised music in various groups. I
also have noodled around on sax, bass clarinet, harmonica and metal
percussion. I'm largely self taught, though I have taken some guitar lessons.
14. ANY OTHER INFO YOU WISH TO ADD?
My message to humanity: eat more vegetables, stop killing each other
and brush your teeth when time permits