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Nine Questions

By Linda Ray

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Bill Mackey

Life's a lot different with a first-born, 4-month-old son, but architect Bill Mackey and his wife, Rachel Yaseen, are live music fans who had already arrived at an age when they began to wish shows started earlier and didn't involve inhaling others' smoke. As owners of the Monkey Box, they host small jazz combos of local artists on holiday from larger venues. Mackey says he still goes to live shows occasionally; Sufjan Stevens and Chris Mills are recent favorites.

What was the first concert you ever saw?

Elvis Costello on his Imperial Bedroom tour.

What CDs are in your changer right now?

Neil Young, On the Beach; Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, Streetcore; Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks; Sufjan Stevens, Illinois, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Moanin'.

How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?

Vinyl, about 36 inches; CDs, a couple of club soda boxes worth; cassettes, one Swiss Army electrical component box worth.

Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?

I didn't buy a CD player until 2002. It takes me a while to catch on to the new music format. I assume in the future, I will download music and do it illegally.

What was the first album you owned?

The Who, Hooligans (a 1982 "best of" compilation). I probably bought it when I was 11 or 12. I'd just gotten a record player.

What song would you like to have played at your funeral?

"The Big Country" by Talking Heads. I love that vision of removing yourself from daily life.

Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure

I love the soundtrack from Grease. It's just so happy!

What band or artist changed your life, and how?

Talking Heads. I got into them at my "coming of age" stage in life. The lyrics and the music said a lot to me at the age of 13.

Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?

I can't pick one. The Clash, Sandinista!; Frank Zappa, Uncle Meat; Talking Heads, More Songs About Buildings and Food; Camper Van Beethoven, II and III; The Band, The Last Waltz; Grateful Dead, Stanford 1972 concert bootleg, set one.