One of the very first blogs I ever read was Chromewaves. I think it was someone at Via Chicago that turned me onto the site, but I’m not sure. I do remember that after reading through the site for quite a while, I was hooked. I’m really happy that Frank from Chromewaves, took the time to answer my questions for the get to know your blogger feature. Thanks for your time and great answers Frank!

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

I live in Toronto, Ontario, pretty much my whole life. I like it here.

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?

Since I became “musically conscious” around grade 11, my first purchases were stuff like REM, U2, Blue Rodeo. Not necessarily stuff I still listen to much, but you can definitely draw a line from that to what I listen to now.

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

Post-Christmas shopping got me CDs by Slowdive, Seu Jorge, The National, Jens Lekman, The Mendoza Line and The Zephyrs. And I picked up some Bowie, Elvis Costello and Crooked Fingers on vinyl.

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?

I do a fair bit of eBaying and cdwow.com is great for UK imports. I like to support the local shops when I can - Soundscapes, Rotate This and Flash & Crash are fine Toronto shops whom I like to give money to in exchange for goods and/or services.

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?

You can probably play six degrees of Neil Young with pretty much everything in my collection. All roads lead to Neil.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Ride - Going Blank Again

Slowdive - Souvlaki

Neil Young - On The Beach

Elvis Costello - King Of America

Luna - Bewitched

Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

Approximately 1250 CDs. Maybe 30-40 LPs.

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

Oh geez. I’ve never really been a “meet your heroes” kind of guy. But for the sake of consistency, I’ll say Neil Young, Jeff Tweedy and Elvis Costello. I’m sure they’d all be fascinating.

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?

First concert would have been The Grapes Of Wrath, Lava Hay and The Skydiggers at the Oakville Waterfront Festival in… 1992? Best shows? Wilco at the Mod Club in Summer 2004 (a club with a capacity of around 500), Belle & Sebastian at Massey Hall in Fall 2003. And SxSW 2005 was a trip and a half.

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

If we’re talking active artists, then I’ll say The New Year, Built To Spill, Bob Dylan, Sparklehorse… But overall, I’ve done pretty damn well. I can’t complain.

How did you choose the name of your blog?

‘Tis a song off Ride’s “Going Blank Again”. Not my favourite song, but I like the phrase.

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

Boredom, and absolutely. It’s turned into a second job but I love doing it and it’s gratifying that people enjoy it.

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

Largehearted Boy is a daily read and Goldenfiddle, Information Leafblower, Bradley’s Almanac and Zoilus all get very frequent visits. I will cruise my entire blogroll at least a couple times a week.

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

Reasonably important, but probably not as important as some think. Blogs are an interesting and entertaining medium, but not exactly an essential service. Good music found its audience before blogs and would continue to do if they weren’t around - but they do make things easier. I’m sure there’ll be some decline in interest before too long, and it’s probably for the best. There’s too goddamn many out there right now.

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

I don’t really keep track of favourite movies but I do enjoy the Coen Brothers’ oeuvre, as an example. I just saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and enjoyed it immensely. And TV, I currently try to catch Arrested Development, The West Wing, 24, Veronica Mars and Justice League Unlimited.

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

God, I wish I had the time. I play in a couple bands. I’d like to get better at photography. I like to sleep. Sleeping is a real good time.

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

I had an old Wilco shirt that was well-loved and has pretty much been retired. I currently wear my American Music Club and Okkervil River shirts a fair bit.

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

Umm… not much a connisseur, but New Generation Sushi was good before it burned down and Island Foods has some damn fine roti.

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Only when they’re feeding on the corpses of the humans they took the clothes from.