Have you gotten a chance to check out the Bows + Arrows blog? With a name taken from one of my favorite recent albums, I can’t help but enjoy everything that Brian posts on his blog. I was glad he could take the time to answer my questions. Please check out his blog and read the interview below. Thanks Brian!

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

Right now I’m in Edinburgh for a year of university, studying geology. Kind of a random happening that I couldn’t be happier about. Except it’s further north than I realized, and besides being colder than I’m used to (I live in Davis, California) it gets dark about an hour after I wake up on the weekends. And on weekdays I’m in class for the few light hours of the day. That’s a bummer. But being able to go to pubs and shows and other things you find in big cities - it’s new to me and I love it.

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?

It’s funnier to be honest, right? Well I remember getting Sting’s best-of, Fields of Gold, when I got my first boombox, because I loved the title track. I was little, but that’s no excuse because I still like that song. And before you pigeonhole me as a fan of sentimental adult contemporary, know that the second album I got was Boyz II Men’s II, showing I also liked sentimental R&B. And I remember begging my dad to buy me Kriss Kross’ Totally Krossed Out, the one with “Jump,” because I felt I needed some rap in my collection. I’ll leave it to you to make the connections to my current music library, because I sure as hell can’t.

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

This is tricky, because I haven’t been buying very many. That sounds bad, but it’s because I’ll have a hard time shipping everything back to California at the end of the year, so I have to be selective. I’ve been surviving on mp3 blogs, and buying the best of what I hear. The National, Page France, Calexico/Iron & Wine, and Grizzly Bear are all that I’ve bought in a few months. I want The Constantines’ new album really badly, but can’t find it anywhere. I’m missing out.

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?

The store I’ve bought most from here is called Avalanche Records, it seems pretty hip. I’m not entirely satisfied with the two choices we have in Davis, which are a Tower Records and an overpriced indie. I don’t feel bad anymore walking across the street from the indie store to Tower to save $5. I’m in college, come on. And when I go home to Goleta I’m usually feeling pretty good, so I’ll pop down to Amoeba in Hollywood if I get the chance and blow all my cash. Talk about a feeling of satisfaction - that store is heaven.

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?

Yeah, two in particular stand out to me, ones that have been a sort of catalyst. The first is The Weakerthans. In the beginning of high school I liked punk rock, and probably that had a lot to do with fitting in with my friends, which is completely ironic. I mean I liked it just fine, but I’ve always been a sucker for melody - something lacking sorely in what I was listening to. But one day I bought a Sub City comp, and it was full of the same fast and sloppy stuff I had been listening to, except for a Weakerthans track that stood out like a sore thumb. It was mellow and pretty, and made me realize that I liked listening to music that was actually sung a lot more than the other stuff. That led me down the indie path, which of course first stopped at emo. The Anniversary is the emo band I loved most, and by the end of their short career they weren’t really emo anymore, just pretentious. But I loved the harmonies more than anything, which sent me searching for boy/girl vocal stuff and led me to indie-pop. Oh, and I found out about Cat Power because I read that a skater hero of mine listened to her. Thanks, Brad Staba.

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What are some of your favorite records of all time?

Unordered:

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks

Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

The Beatles’ Abbey Road

Cat Power’s Moon Pix

Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois

Neil Young’s Harvest

The Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday

Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

and of course The Walkmen’s Bows + Arrows

Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

A rough guess would say a few hundred, not too many. I had 40 gigs on an external hard drive, but that broke recently. My iPod is just the right size to be a backup, thank goodness. I’ve got a little colletion of 7” singles and vinyl, most of which is my parents’ that I’ve co-opted. How is it that some people amass music collections with thousands of albums? I’ve never understood that. I mean, I wish I could too, but the cost… maybe they don’t eat food.

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

I would love to meet Sufjan Stevens, he really fascinates me. Everything from his faith to his bewildering surge in popularity I find interesting. I’d like to understand him better, because his work has affected me so greatly.

I would also go for Bob Dylan, it’s clichéd but how could you not? Such an enigma… I doubt I’d be able to understand him any better by talking to him, I think that’s wishful thinking. In fact, I don’t know what I’d say to him at all.

Lastly, I’d like to meet either Feist or Jenny Lewis or Emily Haines or Eleanor Friedberger or Katrina Kearns. And see where things go from there.

I’m sure you’ve seen some great concerts. Can you tell me what the first concert you saw was and when? To follow that up, are there any particular shows that stand out in terms of being favorites?

My first concert was a graduation gift from my dad, we went to see The Wallflowers, who I absolutely loved. “Sixth Avenue Heartache” - man, that song is a classic.

I don’t go to nearly enough shows, but I can remember some really awesome ones. Before either were nearly as big as they are today, Hot Hot Heat and The Walkmen came to my little town and played in an itty-bitty venue aptly named The Hard To Find. That was where I fell in love with The Walkmen, really my first exposure to them.

At the other end of the spectrum would be Coachella. That was quite an experience, and my only regret is not catching the entirety of the Black Keys’ set. I walked in to their tent and they were wailing.

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

That one’s easy, because I think about this a lot. I need to see My Morning Jacket and I need to see Wilco. They’re both so talented, I know it would be amazing. I have to admit I usually find shows to be too long, even if I like the bands. But I would be happy to watch either of those bands, or both of them, play a five hour set.

How did you choose the name of your blog?

Bows + Arrows is the name of The Walkmen’s last album, one of my favorites. It sounded good and concise, and I like bows and arrows. I don’t do archery myself, but I could watch Legolas shoot orks for days. A nice bonus is all the hits I get from people trying to find information on bows and arrows.

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

My friend Heather showed me music blogs earlier in the year, and once I realized how often I relied on them and how useful a tool they are, I decided to try my own. It seems like a new thing, with no right or wrong way to go about it, so it was as much an experiment as anything. And it still is. As far as the popularity, I’m not surprised in that I had no expectations going into it, and besides the poor suckers searching for archery information it’s not that popular. Yet. But I really, really appreciate all the feedback I get - I don’t mean to sound ungrateful - and I’m happy to see that traffic’s on the rise.

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

I only read music blogs, and my favorite’s always been Chromewaves. And Gorilla vs. Bear. He really seems to have a love for all kinds of music, and his enthusiasm alone has always made his recommendations that much stronger. The one I find most consistent with my personal musical tastes has got to be An Aquarium Drunkard. He seems to be about good, solid music more than hype, so there will be really old stuff I enjoy as well as obscure new bands. And I’ve been enjoying So Much Silence’s vinyl rips lately. Of course there are all the other great blogs that I won’t be the first to mention: My Old Kentucky Blog, Said The Gramophone, Largehearted Boy, Stereogum, etc. One of the ones I loved at first was Welcome To The Midwest, but that guy totally disappeared. And a recent discovery is The Rock Robot, where you can find cool music as well as little treatises on pop culture, it’s pretty neat.

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 think I’m only really beginning to see how important they are, I’m still pretty new to this. Regardless of whether they become ubiquitous or mainstream or whatever, I love the idea. It’s unabashed subjectivity all around, all really honest stuff, and the best way to find new music. I certainly think they’ll be around for a while to come. I can’t wait for the record industry to catch on, for Sony’s attempt at a music blog, where they try to reach the kids with 30-second samples of Audioslave songs or something. That will be funny.

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

I like movies, and I’m a bit picky about which ones I like, but not to the point where I only call them “films” and seek out weird art houses. My favorite movie is Local Hero, it’s a beautiful and understated and humorous story about a guy who falls in love with a little Scottish town. Of course I like Wes Anderson’s movies, but I think he needs Owen Wilson to co-write them. And Winged Migration was amazing.

As far as TV shows go, I really don’t watch many. Especially over here in the UK where I’m unfamiliar with them. Specifically, I like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and I think I like Arrested Development, but I need to see more of that to be sure. Too bad it was canceled. I loved The OC’s first season but haven’t watched since then. I mostly watch TV for sports, ESPN is what television was made for.

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

I like basketball and baseball a lot, both to play and to follow. I’m sad about missing the NBA season this year, only really being able to follow via stats online. I’m pulling for Kyle Korver to have a big year this year, I can feel it. I play guitar a lot, although I guess that’s not “outside of music.” I like to write and read. And, ladies, sandwiches are the way to my heart.

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

I have a Sufjan Stevens Greetings from Michigan shirt that I love, but it isn’t from a concert. It’s alright, though, I’ve seen him live.

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

I’ve only been here a few months, so I’m not that knowledgable. I ate at a great Indian restaurant recently, I think it was called Namaste. It was good, but I won’t be going back there for a while, it was more of an expensive special occasion thing. I go for chips a lot, there’s a great place by the campus but I’m not sure it has a name. The same goes for pubs, I’ve been to a few by now but couldn’t say which is the best. Although there’s one across the street called the Holyrood Tavern that we had been eying for a while because it looks pretty sketchy. We finally went one night, and it was a pleasant surprise… we were definitely out of place but they were nice there.

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Not so much. But Gorilla vs. Bear’s idea of animals vs. animals, that’s golden. The possibilities are endless!