What was the first concert you ever saw?
Chicago at the Tacoma Dome in 1985. I was seated in the nosebleed section behind the stage and nearly fell asleep. A few months later, I saw Motley Crue on their "Theater of Pain" tour ... a completely different story!
What CDs are in your changer right now?
I've been listening to the new Maktub album, Fireproof Your TV by Music Video, and DJ Karlito's Success in Life mix tape quite a bit lately.
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?
I honestly can't keep track. Most of my vinyl is back in Seattle at my brother's house ... a few hundred albums. I have well more than 1,000 CDs, and I was dedicated to cassettes as a teenager ... never enough ...
Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?
Thanks to the trend of posting MP3s on MySpace and indie label/band Web sites, I can satisfy my curiosity about new music without guilt before I purchase.
What was the first album you owned?
Country Is by Tom T. Hall. My Uncle Robbie bought it for me when I was about 6 or 7. The first record I saved my allowance for and bought was Crimes of Passion by Pat Benatar.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
"Ornery" by Nowhere Man ... an old live version with Beth Holub on bass and Merritt Jacob playing the guitar solo!
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
I have no shame, but I've learned to downplay my love for Journey and the Grease soundtrack in certain circles. I'm still the hardest rocking Hall and Oates fan you know.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
Seeing Soundgarden at an all-ages show in September 1988 showed me that exploring your local music scene can turn out to be the most enriching musical experience of your life.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Figurative? It would take an actual firearm to make me seriously ponder such a ludicrously hard question, but I can say that I never get tired of Young, Loud and Snotty by Dead Boys, even though I've been listening to it regularly since I was 9. That's one hell of a cool record.