1. Where are you based?
Mankato, MN
2. What is the last food eaten?
Baked tilapia and mint tea
3. Last drink?
Surly's Furious beer
4. What do you do to pay the bills?
Teach
5. Last film watched?
A Band Called Death
6. Last book you've read?
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
7. What is the last thing you've listened to?
An insane amount of tapes from various labels, Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet's Photographs, and Sky Needles' Debased Shapes.
8. Do you have a favorite format? (ie tapes, CD, vinyl, digital audio)
I am open to music presented on virtually any format, but I can honestly say that I have a hard time organizing and fully appreciating music that is submitted to me on a purely digital basis. When I have a physical release, in any format, it works its way into my everyday life in some way: tapes are great to listen to on a boombox when making dinner, CDs are ideal for providing the soundtrack when driving about town, and LPs are the best when hunkered down for a night of doing whatever. I probably listen to tapes more than any other format, but they are a pain in the ass as a medium for radio purposes. In the end, though, I'm interested in the music itself, but I think presenting music in a meaningful and artistically engaging way, in some physical format, is so crucial.
9. Favorite piece of musical gear?
As a non-musician, I'm quite fond of my micro-cassette recorder and any potential percussive device at my disposal, be it fingers or otherwise.
10. What inspires you?
I'm inspired by the great number of talented DIY artists and musicians from around the globe that continue to press on with their craft in the face of total indifference and utter lack of support. I hope that the work that I do within my small musical realm serves to spotlight and to pay tribute to these artists and musicians in some small way. I'm also deeply inspired by the everyday folks I'm surrounded by that through their kindness, generosity, passion, and love can't help but change the world for those that come into contact with them. More than anything else, that is my true inspiration.
11. What is beautiful?
I'd like to think that I'm surrounded by simple beauty all of the time: my wife, my kids, nature, long walks, music, conversations with friends and family, home-cooked meals, pure silence, well-crafted beers, thoughtful prose and poetry - these all carry more weight for me than any glamorized notion of what is "beautiful".
12. Any upcoming projects?
I have a bunch of feature shows lined-up in the months ahead focused on various labels, artists, and writers, all of whose work I respect greatly.
