Get to know your blogger – More Cowbell

The person in today’s interview not only runs one of my favorite blogs, More Cowbell and the great Arcade Fire fansite, Us Kids Know, but also helped me get this blog started. My wallet hates the guy, but he’s my record collections best friend. I don’t know how many good bands that Kyle has turned me onto, but it’s an incredible amount.

He’s got one of the most impressive record collections, and if you are looking for tour dates, More Cowbell has the most up to date information available on the web. I’m really glad that Kyle took the time to answer my questions. Thanks for everything!

Let’s get some general background on you. Where do you live, how long, etc.

I’m currently a Network Operations Technician for a large telecom company. I was born in Colorado Springs, CO, grew up in Eastern Montana (a musical black hole), moved to the Twin Cities 6 years ago, and currently reside in St. Louis Park, MN (about 5 minutes west of downtown Mpls).

I want get an idea of your musical taste evolution if you will. What were some of the first albums/tapes/CD’s you bought?

First tape that i can recall playing on my Fisher Price tape player around 83-84 would have to be the Dukes of Hazzard. I initially started getting interested in actual music around 1985 (see first concert question), and the first actual tape i can recall buying was Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill. First CD i purchased in 1989 was Skid Row’s self-titled debut and Motley Crue’s Dr. Feelgood (i was a big 80’s hair metal geek for a while).

How about some of the more recent CD’s you’ve purchased?

Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run 30th Anniversary, Explosions In The Sky – How Strange, Innocence (re-issue), Cyne – Evolution Fight (Tour Edition), Uncle Tupelo – No Depression (re-issue)

Where do you buy the majority of your records? Do you support a particular record store in your area, buy online, and if so, where?

Mostly at the Electric Fetus. A few of the guys there know me by name and hook me up w/ promos, etc. Really great store that i recommend anyone who visits the Twin Cities check out. Otherwise, i order a lot of vinyl online at Insound, and i like to buy directly from smaller bands (online and at shows) if possible. I’ve been buying a lot of older releases to fill out my collection off of yourmusic.com lately ($5.99 a cd is hard to pass up).

When I started listening to music, there were certain musicians that led me in the path of a lot of other bands. Did you have any similar experiences with bands growing up?

Cliche i know, but obviously The Beatles have had the biggest influence on me musically throughout my lifetime. Followed closely by Dylan, and from the last 10 years, Jeff Buckley.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

Older (again, i’m sure these are totally cliché, but whatever, they’re my faves) :

Bob Dylan ‘The Times Are A-Chan gin’, ‘Freewheeling’ Bob Dylan’, ‘Blood on the Tracks’
The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’
David Bowie ‘Hunky Dory’, ‘Ziggy Stardust’
Led Zeppelin ‘Houses of the Holy’
Pink Floyd ‘Wish You Were Here’, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’
The Who ‘Who’s Next’
Neil Young ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’, ‘Harvest’, ‘On The Beach’
Aerosmith ‘Toys In The Attic’
The Clash ‘The Clash’, ‘London Calling’
Bruce Springsteen ‘Born To Run’, ‘Nebraska’
Elvis Costello ‘My Aim Is True’, ‘This Years Model’
Talking Heads ‘Remain In Light’
The Replacements ‘Tim’, ‘Pleased To Meet Me’
The Pixies ‘Doolittle’ & ‘Surfer Rosa’

More Recent:

Built To Spill ‘Keep It Like A Secret’
The Jayhawks ‘Hollywood Town Hall’
Jeff Buckley ‘Grace’
Pearl Jam ‘No Code’
Radiohead ‘The Bends’
ouster ‘Lost and Gone Forever’
Ben Harper ‘The Will To Live’
Elliott Smith ‘Either/Or’
David Gray ‘Lost Songs ‘95-98′
Whiskey town ‘Pneumonia’
American Analog Set ‘Know By Heart’
Badly Drawn Boy ‘Hour of the Bewilderbeast’
Appleseed Cast ‘Low Level Owl Vol 1 & 2′
Wilco ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’
Sun Kil Moon ‘Ghosts of the Great Highway’
Cat Power ‘You Are Free’
Arcade Fire ‘Funeral’

Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

I’ll guess around 1600+ CD’s, 60+ records, as for my mp3 collection… i’d rather not to say, other than it’s more than any one person should ever have. (i fully admit i have a problem).

If you could spend time with 3 musicians, who would you choose?

Jeff Buckley (R.I.P.), Henry Rollins, Bob Dylan

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I’m sure you’ve seen some great concerts. Can you tell me what the first concert you saw was and when?

Either The Beach Boys or Starship (not sure which was first), both at the North Dakota State Fair around 1985/1986.

To follow that up, are there any particular shows that stand out in terms of being favorites?

the list would be quite long, but a few off the top of my head:

Metallica/Faith No More – Billings, MT (1989), Fugazi – First Avenue (2001), Pixies – Fine Line (2004), Golden Smog – 400 Bar (2003), The Frames / New Pornographers – 400 Bar (2002), Arcade Fire – 400 Bar (2004), Pearl Jam – Missoula, MT (1995), David Bowie – Target Center (2004), Paul McCartney – Xcel Energy Center (2003), Explosions In The Sky – Northfield, MN (2004)

What are some bands that you haven’t gotten the chance to see live, but would really like to?

Rolling Stones, Idaho, Wellwater Conspiracy, Buffalo Tom, Kent, Afghan Whigs (still holding out hope)

How did you choose the name of your blog?

SNL ‘Behind The Music: Blue Oyster Cult’ skit featuring Will Ferrell & Christopher Walken. My friend Peter deserves credit for the suggestion.

Can you tell me what got you into blogging, and are you surprised by the popularity your blog has attained?

At first it was just for my own sake, to keep track of shows, tours, etc. My friends ended up finding it useful as well. Everything else since has been word of mouth and being linked from other blogs. And yeah, i definitely am surprised how many people check it out. I usually focus my blog to be “just the facts” style news & info. Concise and to the point, which is what i look for in other sites usually.

What are some of your favorite blogs? Music or otherwise.

Chromewaves
Stereogum
Productshop NYC
Largehearted Boy
Coolfer
You Ain’t No Picasso
The Big Ticket
gorilla vs. bear

How important do you think music blogs are in general? Do you think they will continue to be as popular as they are today?

I don’t know if important is exactly the word i’d use, but they often are very useful. I’d say that sometimes they can definitely overhype an artist (see: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah & Sufjan Stevens (whom i really do like) to death, but often times the hype is more than worth it (see: Arcade Fire). The good definitely outweighs that’s for sure. I really like the sense of community among music blogs as well.

Let’s get away from music for a bit. What are some of your favorite movies and television shows?

Movies: American Beauty, Fight Club, Matrix, Office Space, Lost In Translation, almost any cheesy 70’s or 80’s comedy (Airplane!, Police Academy, National Lampoons, etc.)

Television (i don’t really watch much TV, usually whatever my fiancee is watching): Veronica Mars, America’s Next Top Model, Amazing Race (the current family one is awful). Past faves: Simpsons & Seinfeld.

Outside of music do you have any other interests or projects?

Playing guitar, Traveling, Hiking, Biking, Hockey, Disc Golf

A lot of people have a favorite concert t-shirt, do you have one?

fave music-related t-shirt is a really old black ‘Twist & Shout Records’ (relatives record store in Denver, CO) shirt that feels like it could fall apart at any time.

In your opinion, what’s the best place to eat on your city?

Taste of India in St. Louis Park

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Funny, but also a bit cruel. Humans dressed as animals however? Totally creepy.