What was the first concert you ever saw?
The Beach Boys playing in the parking lot of a dry cleaner's store in Santa Ana, Calif., 1963. We found out later that a friend of the Beach Boys' dad and manager, Murry Wilson, owned the store. The sound of their live electric guitars made a huge impression on me.
What CDs are in your changer right now?
Antonio Carlos Jobim, Black Orpheus soundtrack; Austin Powers soundtrack; Quincy Jones, Q's Jook Joint; MC Hammer, Too Legit to Quit; Sergio Mendes, The Swinger From Rio.
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?
A couple thousand.
Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?
I don't personally download music, because I'm not that computer literate, but I trade music with friends who find a lot of cool stuff online.
What was the first album you owned?
The Beatles, The Beatles ("The White Album").
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
I'm too superstitious to think about that.
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
My musical tastes are so broad, I'm constantly irritating one group of friends or another. ... Guilty pleasure? I really got into '70s disco recently.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
The Beatles. I was aware at a very young age that they were, first and foremost, great songwriters, which is what I wanted to grow up to be.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
An album I've easily listened to as much as any other is Santana, Abraxas. It's got some of the best guitar work ever recorded and also turned me on to Tito Puente and Latin percussion.