What was the first concert you ever saw?
I think the first real concert I went to was the H.O.R.D.E. festival when I was about 13--Rusted Root, Nil Lara, Blues Traveler, King Crimson, Lenny Kravitz and some more bands that have escaped my memory.
What CDs are in your changer right now?
Coyote Grace, Boxes and Bags; Calexico, Garden Ruin; The Hereafter, self-titled; Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies, Dog Ears; Catherine Feeny, Hurricane Glass; Dolly Parton, The Grass Is Blue; Amy Ray, Prom; Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska; and an Ella Fitzgerald compilation.
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?
Probably around 600 or 700 CDs and a handful of tapes.
Do you download music, and if do, legally or illegally?
I don't download, though I do have some burned CDs. Usually, if someone burns me a CD of an independent musician, and I like it, I'll go buy it.
What was the first album you owned?
I think it was a Beach Boys tape I bought at the drugstore. Either that or Richard Marx.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
"Half Acre" by Hem, and then maybe some Dolly Parton and The Muppet Show theme song to keep things lively.
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
Most of my friends know my guilty pleasures, including bad pop like Pink and the Britney Spears song "Toxic." I also have a soft spot for '90s grunge rock.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
There's more than one ... but for starters, I'll say Led Zeppelin. When I first started playing guitar, I had my teacher show me how to play Led Zeppelin II from start to finish, basically. It was an excellent introduction to the world of rock 'n' roll.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
I'd probably have a different answer every day, but today, I think it's Patty Griffin, Living With Ghosts. It's solid and beautiful and raw the whole way through.
