In Decemeber of last year I posted an interview with Rachel from Scenestars and Rachel in the City for the “get to know your blogger” feature. Today I am happy to bring you an interview with EJ who also writes for Scenestars. EJ is a real nice guy and he knows his music, anyone digging Sly Stone at the age of 4 is a prodigy as far as I’m concerned. I hope you enjoy the interview and get a chance to get to know EJ. Thanks EJ for taking the time to answer my questions.
Let’s get some general background on you. Where do you live, how long, etc.
I’m originally from Memphis, but I have lived all over the place. After graduating from NYU some years ago, I ended up in Seattle on a whim. For seven priceless years that I remember fondly, I left the I-5 Corridor only to perform music and work. As a musician in Seattle, I toured opening for a whole slough of people – Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, Mary Lou Lord, The Posies, Lori Carson, just to name a few. I went through a change of heart, got burned out on “the Seattle scene” and retreated homeward in 1998. One move to New York and one move to Los Angeles later, I discovered there was great opportunity right here in good ol’ Memphis that I never appreciated before. I’ve stayed put for almost five years now.
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?
I started records at the tender age of three years old. My brothers were heavily into rock ‘n roll music and were already collecting albums by the time I was born. My father was an attorney who had several clients that worked for Stax/Volt and for record pressing plants. I loved music and I would sit for hours playing the boxes of records that dad’s clients gave him on my orange-and-white Playschool turntable – Junior Walker & The All-Stars, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Rufus Thomas, Brenda Patterson, Jimmy McGriff, Willie Hutch, and Johnnie Taylor just to name a few.
The first record I ever actually bought was Sly & The Family Stone’s “Fresh” which I convinced my mother to buy me for my 4th birthday. I still remember how excited I was to go with her to Zayre (the record store near our house) and pick it out of the record rack – I liked it because the dude on the cover was doing a jump kick! My brothers also bought me a 4th birthday present – I got to choose between “Bloodrock Live” and Jethro Tull’s “Stand Up”. I picked Bloodrock, but in retrospect I think I would have been better off with the Jethro Tull. The maximum overexposure to rock n’ roll and soul music led to my lifelong love of music. It has always been my best friend.
How about some of the more recent CD’s you’ve purchased?
I recently bought The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian, Hibernation by The Glass, The Soft and the Hardcore by Tender Forever, See No Stars by Cake on Cake, Multiply by Jamie Lidell, and a used copy of Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams to replace my heavily played copy.
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 try to buy things from Goner Records, Shangri-La Records, or Last Chance Records here in Memphis. The center of a music community is the record stores that support the local artists, and by supporting them it’s saying that you support local music and local businesses. Amongst the three of them, there is nothing that anyone else has that I could ask for. If they don’t have it, I don’t need it.
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?
First of all, let me state for the record that I have musical multiple personality disorder. I was, quite literally, into everything as a kid. I listened to all of it, and there was never a day of my life where I wasn’t into something new. I was fat, lonely, and highly precocious as a kid – while my friends were playing with Barbies and Tonka Trucks, I was getting records by bands like The Jam, Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Wreckless Eric, The Stooges, and X. I blame it all on a store here in Memphis called Rare Records where I spent many Saturday afternoons digging through the record bins with my father. Bobby, who ran the store, turned me on to so much music it almost seems surreal to me today. Everything about my knowledge of British music from 1978-1983 came from Bobby.
I was a fan of Prince from the first time I ever heard “I Wanna Be Your Lover” on the radio, and that love turned me onto Joni Mitchell (whom Prince called his favorite artist). Court And Spark was the very first CD that I ever purchased (back when CD’s were still relatively new). I stood in Pop Tunes for three hours looking at CD’s trying to decide what to buy for my new CD player, and I came home with that. What a stroke of good luck that was – Prince was out, Joni was in. I didn’t realize that Joni had written “Woodstock” which was one of my favorite songs by CSN&Y. I became a rabid Joni Mitchell fan overnight. That love turned me on to Neil Young’s solo records, Bob Dylan, and The Byrds.
Part of my musical evolution was learning to evolve with the music. What I listen to on a daily basis today is very different from what I was listening to even two years ago. I owe that to the freedom my parents and my brothers gave me to embrace music from a very early age.
What are some of your favorite records of all time?
Zuma by Neil Young, Hejira by Joni Mitchell, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan, Frosting On The Beater by The Posies, Truck Turner OST by Isaac Hayes, London Calling by The Clash, Computerworld by Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Roman Candle by Elliott Smith, Mezzanine by Massive Attack, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams, Lookin’ For A Love Again by Bobby Womack, Songs In The Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, Madman Across The Water by Elton John, The Low-End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest, Mecca and the Soul Brother by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Any idea how many albums are in your collection?
Until a fire destroyed them, I had nearly 5000 albums in my collection. I’ve been bitterly trying to rebuild them.
If you could spend time with 3 musicians, who would you choose?
I have been fortunate to be blessed with time with so many, but I’ll give you the ones I have not ever had a chance to interact with:
1) Joni Mitchell. She is my hero and that’s that.
2) Bob Dylan. Same deal.
3) Bobby Womack. He blows me away, plain and simple.
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 at the Mid-South Coliseum for The Kids Are Alright 1979 Tour of The Who. I almost got arrested for climbing over the railing so I could be on the floor. This fat, mean security guard came after me, running out of breath the whole way. My brother Charles talked him out of it. I sneaked over anyways and didn’t get caught.
My favorite shows: Pink Floyd at BC Place in Vancouver, BC 1994, 2 nights. I got to spend time with my friends Chris and Shaun and that was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
Coldplay at the Ryman in Nashville – I can’t stand Coldplay, but for some reason that night brought tears to my eyes.
Jeff Buckley, Café Paradiso, Seattle – I got dragged to this show by my friend Chris who insisted I would love it. I didn’t want to leave the house, but he insisted that I come down. I saw this scrawny-looking dude with big hair wearing a v-neck t-shirt and a key on a chain around his neck plug in to his amp and say, “Hello.” The next hour was filled with stunned silence as I heard a voice like Billie Holliday coming from the same guy who was playing his guitar like Robert Johnson and Jimmy Page. Somehow, I knew I would never be the same after that night. It was one of the most earth-shattering moments of my entire life.
Foo Fighters, Velvet Elvis, Seattle – Yes, I stood on the stage with a hundred other people and watched them rip through those songs I’d heard on the C-60 cassette for the last several weeks.
Smashing Pumpkins, Shudder To Think, Oz, Seattle – It was my birthday. My college friend Craig walked up to me in line and said, “What are you doing here?” I told him I was living in Seattle. He told me his band was opening for the Pumpkins. Both bands were stunning. After the show, Craig invited me to come with them to The Tiki Lounge inside The Dog House (a now-closed Seattle diner that had been there since 1939). I got tanked with Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Shudder To Think, Smashing Pumpkins, and my friend Shaun. D’arcy and James had a disagreement, I ended up being referee. It was surreal.
Built To Spill, Butterfly Train, Heavenly, The Halo Benders at the O.K. Hotel in Seattle – can you even begin to imagine that line-up? It was a benefit for the Northwest AIDS Foundation to boot.
Beck and Mary Lou Lord, O.K. Hotel, Seattle – Beck was still unknown in the rest of the world, but he was HUGE in Seattle. The place was packed to the gills. Mary Lou Lord opened. Chris Ballew auditioned to be Beck’s beat box and got the job (because he could play bass). It was a zany time.
De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Leaders of the New School, 3rd Bass, The Ritz, NYC – Do I really have to explain this? The heyday of hip-hop, and that show was BANGIN.
The Who, 1979, Mid-South Coliseum – I almost got arrested. The explosion at the end of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” blinded half the crowd. I saw Dan Akroyd and John Belushi hanging out at the side of the stage. What wasn’t to remember about this night?
What are some bands that you haven’t gotten the chance to see live, but would really like to?
I have this conversation all the time – Kraftwerk is the band I dream, dream, dream of seeing live. Can’t wait to see Fischerspooner, The Knife, Editors, New Pornographers, and Belle & Sebastian. Other than that, I’m not sure.
How did you choose the name of your blog?
Rachel chose it, actually. She got me into blogging and I will never forgive her for it.
Can you tell me what got you into blogging, and are you surprised by the popularity your blog has attained?
I connected with Rachel in 2004 and we hit it off right away. She told me about her music blog and I was just bored to tears with what I was doing. She asked me to write some stuff without ever realizing how deeply involved in music I have been my whole life. Surprised by the popularity? I think if you follow your heart, the popularity that comes with it is always a pleasant surprise.
What are some of your favorite blogs? Music or otherwise.
My Old Kentucky Blog, TTIKTDA, Fluxblog, Gorilla vs. Bear, Stereogum, Buddyhead, Aurgasm, and Brooklyn Vegan are ones I read every or nearly every day.
How important do you think music blogs are in general? Do you think they will continue to be as popular as they are today?
Who is to say what tomorrow’s movement will be? I think the power of blogging is representative of this time in history. They always come up with something newer and different. Eventually, if human evolution holds true, this will pass at some point in the next hundred years.
Let’s get away from music for a bit. What are some of your favorite movies and television shows?
My favorite movies are City of God, Breaking Away, Over The Edge, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder version), My Own Private Idaho, Scarface, The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Le Samourai, and Oldboy. I don’t watch TV, but I do like The Boondocks, Desperate Housewives, and Law & Order/L&O-SVU. If not for the fact that I don’t own a television, I’d probably watch way more.
Outside of music do you have any other interests or projects?
I work in production on film & television. Recently, I worked on Black Snake Moan, the new Samuel L. Jackson/Christina Ricci/Justin Timberlake movie directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) and I love to travel.
A lot of people have a favorite concert t-shirt, do you have one?
My 1977 YES concert shirt. I wasn’t there, but the t-shirt was. I never wear it.
In your opinion, what’s the best place to eat on your city?
Pho Hoa Binh. I love Vietnamese food because it’s inexpensive, it’s healthy, and it’s damned good. Pho Hoa Binh, man oh man….Han is the supreme tofu master of all the universe. You’ll never have better Lemongrass Tofu anywhere ever, period.
Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?
Hilarious! What if Animal Farm really happened?
