Let’s get some general background on you and how you got started with B-side?

Listening to music has been one of my main obsessions for almost as long as I remember. My parents played public radio in the house quite a bit, so there was a fair amount of classical and jazz and folk on. But I liked to listen to comedy records. Bill Cosby, George Carlin, and even the musical comedy of the Smothers Brothers. Then, as a child of the ’sixties and ’seventies, I loved listening to AM hit radio (back when hit radio was more rewarding than annoying). So early on, the hits that got to me were The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and British Invasion stuff in general. Now that you know I’m an old codger, I’d like to emphasize that I’m not entirely stuck in the past musically…I love tons of current artists (even if many of them display influence by my youthful faves). Anyway, radio played a big role in my musical education. There was such a thing as progressive, free-form commercial radio (!) here in Madison from 1970 until 1979. WIBA-FM (now a “classic rock” station) was then known as Radio Free Madison. I learned so much about underground music from them.

One day in ‘79, the station suddenly sucked. Format change. It didn’t take me too long to switch to listener-sponsored WORT-FM. It was a pretty good place to continue my musical education. In fact, in ‘85, I became a music programmer there. But first I had to get hired by B-Side. As a life-long record store hound, there were certain shops I gravitated to. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, my favorite State Street store was Slatewood Records. It served me well. Then in the fall of 1982, B-Side arrived a block away from Slatewood. I was forced to split my purchasing loyalties. Soon, B-Side was my new favorite. Dan, one of the owners, used to eat lunch at the sandwich shop I worked at down the street. I proposed a deal: discounted sandwiches in exchange for discounted records. Win-win. Of course, I dropped a few hints about how I would love to work at B-Side. In ‘83, it happened. Finally, I was working at a place that I liked. Part time became full time. Then I became the “manager”. A few years ago, I purchased half the store from the other founder, Ralph. It was my destiny! Or so I like to think.

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?

As stated above, I loved the Brits. I bought Beatles records. Played ‘em over and over. Rolling Stones. Cream. Also some U.S. stuff like Paul Revere & the Raiders. I even bought a Monkees record. From there it was a flood of emerging bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Grand Funk Railroad, Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd and so many more.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

Wait…”some” of my favorites? Do you mean 3 or 4? Or 30 or 40? Or 300 or 400? I really hope you don’t mean 3 or 4. Because I can’t really do that. How about 30 or 40? Is that fair? Even this will be tough to trim down. Some pop/rock faves…in no order, except for The (eternally eminent) Beatles. I’ll just say “Revolver” and qualify that by saying it could be nearly any record by them. Plus, I heart XTC “Black Sea”…Soft Boys “Underwater Moonlight”…The Clash “The Clash”…PJ Harvey “Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea”…The Chills “Kaleidoscope World”…Mekons “Rockand Roll”…Minutemen “Double Nickels On the Dime”…Pink Floyd “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”…Barbara Manning “One Perfect Green Blanket”…The Who “Quadrophenia”…Throwing Muses “The Real Ramona”…Sonic Youth “Daydream Nation”…Rolling Stones “Between the Buttons”…Robert Wyatt “Rock Bottom”…Calexico “Hot Rail”…Tom Verlaine “Tom Verlaine”…Yo La Tengo “I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One”…Beck ” Sea Change”…The Shins “Oh, Inverted World”…Led Zeppelin “III”…Frank Zappa & the Mothers “Absolutely Free”…Bettie Serveert “Attagirl”…The Spinanes “Strand”…Elvis Costello “This Year’s Model”…Brian Eno “Taking Tiger Mountain…By Strategy”…Aimee Mann “I’m With Stupid”…The Bats “Daddy’s Highway”…Jimi Hendrix Experience “Electric Ladyland”…R.E.M. “Automatic for the People”…Fruit Bats “Mouthfuls”…Mary Lou Lord “Live City Sounds”…Elliott Smith “XO”…The Band “The Band”…Los Lobos “Kiko”…Liz Phair “Exile In Guyville”…Luna “Lunapark”…Clem Snide “Your Favorite Music”…Velvet Underground “Velvet Underground”…Big Star “Radio City”…Neko Case “Furnace Room Lullaby”…ok, I’ll stop now.

How about some albums that have been released lately, any recommendations?

I’m really loving the new Jenny Lewis disc “Rabbit Fur Coat”. It’s not that rockin’, but it’s pretty special. Also I like the new Cat Power a lot.

The new Beth Orton might just become my favorite of hers…it’s sounding pretty fine so far. The new Sub Pop guy: Kelly Stoltz is quite worthy.

There’s a Madison guy: Dietrich Gosser, who is very talented. If you like Calexico, you should check him out. Charlemagne is another Madison artist worth your while…”Detour Allure” is the latest and greatest. Plus: Sara Pace “Simpatico”. Really good singer/songwriter. I’m just sayin’.

I can’t help but plug one more regional act that is (as yet) unnamed. It’s a project by my friend Jeff Jagielo and a couple of his pals from midstate Wisconsin.

He used to head a band called Ivory Library that was around here from the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties. I was a big fan. Anyhow, Jeff finally has
a new (unnamed) CD coming out this spring on Boat Records (that’s the label run by Dave Benton from our friendly Madison competitors Madcity Music Exchange). So, I can’t tell you what the damn thing will be called, but it’s pretty special. Jeff is super-talented, and I can’t help but nudge you all to ask me or the folks at Madcity about the new (Ivory Library-guy band) CD in a few months. Especially if you enjoy dreamy psychedelic pop.

What were some of the best selling albums at B-Side in 2005?

The latest CDs by these artists:

The New Pornographers… Spoon…Sleater-Kinney… My Morning Jacket…The Decemberists… White Stripes…Calexico/ Iron & Wine…Blackalicious… Death Cab For Cutie…Sigur Ros.

Are there any 2006 releases that you are looking forward to?

Sure. I’ve heard the new Ray Davies and it seems like a fine effort. I heard the new Neko Case once. I know it’s lovable already. Hey, it’s Neko. Need more be said? NEKO! But, unheard, yet…I like the potential of these > Eef Barzelay… Megan Reilly…Quasi… Centro-matic…Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan…Irving… Drive-By Truckers…Built To Spill… Sondre Lerche…Josh Ritter… Golden Smog…Loose Fur… Jolie Holland…Starlight Mints…

One of the things I like about B-Side is the friendly staff, and this goes back to the first time I was in the store in the late 1990’s. To me, you have the ideal, and in my opinion very important job of helping people get good music in their hands and then to their ears. Can you tell me what you like most about your job, and what you would change about it?

Friendly staff? Wow, luckily you haven’t witnessed any of our Jack Black High Fidelity moments. Whew! (kidding…sorta). Actually I hope we are generally a lot less surly than the stereotypical snotty aloof record store clerks. I think it’s because most of us feel fortunate to be doing what we’re doing most of the time…and I hope it shows. Yeah, I usually feel like I have the best job ever. It won’t make any of us rich, but still. Honestly, who wouldn’t enjoy working at a non-corporate-type indie music shop, in downtown Madison no less? See? Okay. So…what I like most about my job is actually clerking! I love to sell good music to our fine customers. Interacting with our clientele is fun, and it helps me feel connected. What would I change? Hmmm, well, placing orders can be tedious and time-consuming, but it comes with the territory so what the heck. Also I put in about 60 hours a week, which can be a little draining for a family guy like me, but again, this ain’t exactly workin’ in the coal mines, so I better not complain. I never dread going to work in the morning, and how many can say that? I’m livin’ the dream!

There has obviously been a lot of file-sharing going around the internet and amongst people, which has lead to a decrease in album sales. Has B-Side seen the affect of this, and how do you think Independent Music stores like B-Side move forward?

Ah, file-sharing. Sigh. If I had a nickel for every time I was quizzed about this subject… well, I’d have a couple a bucks anyway. My position is, well, there’s nothing I can do about it, it’s out there, so I deal with it. There are many positive aspects of file-sharing, or at least the web can be a great way for curious music lovers to find lovable music. Some are willing to pay for music and some are not. I can only hope the people who still buy music will be thinking of B-Side as the place to look for it. If these music lovers find out about an artist from the web, then everybody wins. There are those who
only freeload music, and the only winner is the freeloader. Again, nothing I can do about that (of course, I’m not referring to those who take free song downloads when they are offered from artist sites). File-sharing is a bundle of positives and negatives. All I can do to move forward is to try to appeal to the folks who are still willing to support the art they enjoy (and local art-related businesses).

I would like people to be conscious of the need to support art & artists financially. And maybe, by extension, those art/music dealers like B-Side who really try to spotlight worthy art/music, beyond the crassly commercial product that can be found at every chain or big box. I want my shop to help our community cultivate a richer music culture by offering selections that are beyond any sales charts…focusing on some of the many under-the-radar CDs that we feel deserve a little more exposure than could be expected from the mainstream media. (Without ignoring the “classic” or timeless music that is more well known). I think Muzzle of Bees is a quality example of a media outlet that is a cultivator of exceptional, but not so widely known music. I aspire to be a “quality booster” as a retail outlet. We hope our efforts make a good difference in people’s musical lives, for both the artists and the consumers/appreciators.

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

There are lots of musical heroes. Most of them I would be intimidated by, but I might be brave enough to spend time with Andy Partridge of XTC.

He is impossibly smart and witty, and I love his songs so much. I would probably feel like a dumbass, but maybe he would be forgiving. Maybe.

I would love to hang out with Barbara Manning. I met her once and she was so sweet and nice. She has been making up wonderful songs for almost a couple decades now for a paltry few thousand fans, and it’s criminal she hasn’t been properly exalted. Anyway, I bet she has tons of good stories.

Finally, I can’t help but say: Neko Case. I mean, well, not that she would find the likes of me the least bit interesting, but, c’mon. She’s funny, she’s super-sassy, and what could be more enjoyable than to pick the brain of Neko? Oh, to dream…

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?

I truthfully can’t remember the actual first concert. Was it at Summerfest, or what? Whatever, here are a few early concert memories from my hometown of Whitewater, Wisconsin: The Association in about 1970. Also, It’s A Beautiful Day around the same time. My first big venue show was Grand Funk Railroad in Madison in 1971. I used to enjoy seeing the Chicago blues band Siegel-Schwall in those formative years as well. I remember seeing Kenny Rogers and the First Edition in about ‘71. I even got autographs after. This was when Kenny had a kinda cool rock band, before he went bland country.

Stand out shows? Oh, man. How does an old guy pick? How about The Runaways or The Who in 1975? Queen in 1976? Springsteen in 1977?

Bob Marley in 1978? The Ramones in about 1980? Gang Of Four or REM or Tom Verlaine in 1981? And a few hundred great shows since then?

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

My biggest lament would have to be not seeing XTC, having purchased 12th row tickets in 1982, only to have them cancel the tour, and all future tours, forever. I’ve seen video footage, but still. Anyway. I was also severely disappointed when Bettie Serveert had to cancel their gig here last fall. I thought it was my big chance to see ‘em, at long last. That last-minute cancellation was PAINFUL. Waaahhh.

Some other bands I would love to see: The Chills, The Bats, PJ Harvey, Stephen Malkmus, The Go-Betweens, Beck, Sonic Youth, Lambchop…

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

Um, no time, really. Music is pretty much it. I love movies, but don’t see nearly as many as I would like. Same goes for books. Not nearly enough time…

Do you have a favorite Madison live music venue?

Hands down, The High Noon Saloon. Best shows, best room, best staff, best ambiance. Love it. Thanks to Cathy and all who work there…you all make Madison better.

In your opinion, what’s the best place to eat in Madison?

I would have to say Monty’s Blue Plate Diner. A creative menu to please almost anyone, plus great atmosphere and waitstaff.

Bonus: now featuring breakfast all the time!