Tucson native J. Lugo Miller is a veteran of past local bands the Red Switch and Musica Obscura, and a current member of ... music video? He works at Plush and Centennial Hall, which, he says, "pretty much ensures that I watch live music seven days a week." When he's not watching live music or playing it onstage, he's usually seeking out new records, making music on his Akai MPC2000 or feeding his cat.
What was the first concert you ever saw?
INXS at the Tucson Convention Center on their Kick tour. My mom promised she would take me since she didn't let me go to the U2 concert a year earlier.
What CDs are in your changer right now?
I listen to about five records a day looking for samples, but the ones I go back to these days are: Curtis Mayfield, Curtis; Kraftwerk, Computer World; Brian Eno, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy); Burial, Untrue; and Isaac Hayes, ... To Be Continued.
How many total albums do you own (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks)?
Thousands of records and a handful of cassettes.
Do you download music, and if so, legally or illegally?
I don't know how to download music "legally."
What was the first album you owned?
U2, Under a Blood Red Sky.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
"I'm Set Free" by the Velvet Underground. I know, I know, sappy choice, but I truly love everything in that song.
Musically speaking, what do you love that your friends don't know about? What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
I really dig early '90s house tunes, especially anything by Todd Terry on Strictly Rhythm. I can't seem to listen to this music any other way than being alone in my room with headphones on.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
I got Dr. Dre's 2001 and Gang Starr's Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr on the same day. After that, I knew I had to make music on a sampler, and I have never looked back since.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
I'm still "Looking for the Perfect Beat."
