Today’s interview for the “get to know your blogger” feature is Ethan from BerkeleyPlace.   You can find a lot of great things on this blog, which has a lot of great features and insight.  If you haven’t had a chance to check out BerkeleyPlace, I hope the interview below peaks your interest.  Thank you Ethan for your time!

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

First of all, let me say this is a really cool feature. I’ve enjoyed looking at it and discovering/rediscovering some of the blogs you’ve profiled. I love it when bloggers get great ideas. It makes it fun to be in the ‘sphere.

Anyway, I live in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of D.C. I’ve lived here for a few years. Before that I lived in San Francisco where I went to law school. I’m an old fart, but I have street cred! I was born and raised in Brooklyn and went to Murrow High School. F—k you Midwood! (Sorry.)

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?

My first albums were my parents’ LPs (Beatles, Stones). My album was Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I was 7 or 8 and really liked “We Don’t Need No Education.” After that, I was into 45s. Had hundreds of them. When I was in 9^th grade I was asked to leave my school for assaulting a teacher and got thrown into a public school where I discovered rap. Newcleus, U.T.F.O., LL Cool J, Melle Mel, all that old-school stuff. When I got to college I got back into classic rock and heavy into The Clash. Then I became a deadhead until NWA broke out and I rediscovered hip hop. I was into West Coast for a long time after that.

Basically, I’m a sponge seeking to absorb new stuff all the time. The only thing I never really got into was grunge (except for Pearl Jam, I like them). I knew my girl was going to be my wife when we drove down to Big Sur together and both of us knew all the words to “Cold Lampin’ With the Flav.”

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

Well, I’ve gotten a bunch of rap mixtapes. I’d highly recommend Chino XL’s Poison Pen. I just got turned on to Az’s AWOL album. I know yours is an indie site, though, so on the indie side I recently bought (and am not yet sick of listening to) the new Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Paul album; The Deadstring Brothers; Husky Rescue; and Bell X1’s Flock. I’m going to use my next month’s emusic Dls to get the Eels new disc. I’m looking forward to that.

Also, I got (but didn’t buy) The Diggs, Morning After Girls, and Empty Rooms from promoters and I LOVE these albums.

(And I don’t advocate or host downloads of leaked tracks, but the new Gnarls Barkley is phenomenal.)

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?

Emusic dot com. And “The CD Cellar,” a used store in Falls Church. I buy some stuff from ITunes, but most of my interests are non-mainstream.

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?

Ah, artists as a gateway drug! Usually, when I’m into an artist I try to hear everything they’ve done. I’m obsessive like that. The Dead exposed me to their cast of supporting players (Neville Brothers, Dave Grisman) and Neil Young has played with everyone under the sun. But really I find cover songs do a lot for exposing me to new artists. I discovered Feist by hearing Bright Eyes’ cover of Mushaboom; I discovered The Shins because of their Postal Service cover; I discovered Detroit Cobras because of their Pink cover.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

Stranger’s Almanac-Whiskeytown; Reasonable Doubt-Jay-Z; Elvis Costello’s first album; Nas’ Illmatic (of course); The Killers’ first album; Foo Fighters’ Color and the Shape; Grateful Dead’s Dead Set; MF Doom’s Operation Doomsday; NWA’s first album along with Ice Cube’s Death Certificate and Dre’s first Chronic album. It’s so hard to just pick a few. Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday. I also wanna say Death Cab’s Plans, DJ Muggs vs. Gza, and Welcome to Jamrock by Damien Marley, but they’re too new to tell.

Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

Too many to count. I’ve digitized all my music because albums are too bulky. Plus, I’m more of a song guy than a record guy. Life’s too short to have an album-long attention span. I might buy an album and keep only half of it, then sell it used. I keep rare stuff/cherished stuff.

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

Is this like the game “Marry, Screw or Kill?” Liz Phair, Christina Aguilera, and The Pussycat Dolls.

Seriously, I guess I’d pick MF Doom first, ‘cause I wanna know why Grimm suddenly hates him. Then Adam Duritz to hear about all the girls he’s banged. And Ryan Adams, so I could ask him why he never plays, “Summer of 69” anymore and watch his head explode.

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 show was Eric Clapton’s August Tour, 1985. I used to go a lot but not much anymore. When I got shot, it hit my lung and the smoke aggravates me. Plus, the sound systems are always crappy, and I’m a dad now. But the best shows I ever saw were probably Roger Waters (for the theatrical) and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s last New Years Eve show, when he played guitar with his teeth better than most folks do with both hands. I saw the first four or five Lollapaloozas, and I enjoyed them.

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

Well, I don’t want to go to stadium shows ever again. If I could see them in a club, I’d like to see Feist, Ben Gibbard (I don’t think Death Cab will be playing small venues anymore), and I’d love to see Ryan Adams do an acoustic show. And Jill Sobule.

How did you choose the name of your blog?

It’s the street where I grew up. And Jack Berkeley is my porn name.

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

Is it popular? How can you tell? I never see hit counters on blogs so I never know what constitutes a popular blog. If you know, let me know. Seriously. I’m curious. How many hits do you get in an average week?

I got into blogging because I read a bunch of them and kept saying, “Oh, come on! That’s crap!” So I decided to throw up my own stuff. Plus, I used to DJ in college and I miss it. I like to impose my musical views on others.

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

I don’t do political blogs—I can bitch on my own, thank you. On the real, your blog is one of my favorites. I also like Scatter O’ Light; Copy, Right?; No Frontin’; Palms Out Sounds. Those guys I check every day or so. I like Chromewaves, too. I go to www.datpiff.com for mixtape stuff a lot. I generally don’t blogroll someone unless I like them/approve of their content, so my blogroll is fairly representative of the places I visit regularly. I don’t wanna dis anyone, but some blogs I used to like/visit a lot have gotten too big; they post too much or add so much stuff around each post that I lose focus and can’t tell what the music is about or if they like it.

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 think blogs have a dramatic effect on album sales . . . Yet. The industry hasn’t really figured out how to capitalize on them. I mean, I’ve bought stuff and I know other bloggers have bought stuff due to blogging, but there’s no real data on how many sales blogging generates vs. how many people just download singles off blogs and then figure they never have to buy the album. Also, blogs that put up entire albums or studio movies, instead offering live shows; unreleased (not pre-released leaks) material; demos, or a few songs from a particular artist, are making it harder and more dangerous for guys like us who stay away from major label releases.

I have a policy on my blog to post any music by an unrepresented artist who contacts me and ask me to do it, so long as they offer more than one mp3 for my readers. But I only recommend stuff (or “highly recommend”) that I actually like. As for promoters/labels who send me stuff, I try to post anything that I think is good or that I think other people might like. Some bloggers post any crap they get for free, without editorial content, etc. They run a risk of being co-opted by the record producers, because even indies have an agenda. If that happens, blogs won’t be any different from label sites. That’s why I don’t allow ads on my site. (Also, because if you have an advertisement, that’s interstate commerce and you can be sued anywhere in the country.) So, I’m really trying to help smaller artists and labels. Although I admit, I post mixtape stuff, knowing I could conceivably get in trouble for it.

Will blogs keep being popular? Popular is relative. I don’t think they’ll get any less popular. People always want free stuff. But more prevalent? No. I see video blogs emerging (and I HATE music videos) and overtaking guys like me. Also, I see the studios finally figuring out how to blog and squeezing us out via lawsuits, out-marketing us, or regulating us. Senator Ted Stevens has called for Congressional regulation of satellite radio and the internet. Sen. Lieberman is affiliated with various media watchdog groups. It’s both Democrats and Republicans. Trust me, it WILL happen. The only question is when. We have a responsibility to protest and resist governmental overreaching, but few in America seem to give a shit.

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

My favorite movies of all time (that I can watch over and over) are Boyz in the Hood; Evil Dead 2; Reservoir Dogs; Supersize Me; The Godfather 1&2; New Jack City; and of course Demi Moore’s Striptease (but I only watch it for the Ving Rhames parts). Recent films I liked a lot were The Matador; Serenity; and I saw The Door in the Floor on HBO and liked it a lot.

My favorite current T.V. shows: Arrested Development (R.I.P.); The Shield; The Wire; The Sopranos; Survivor; Rescue Me; Deadwood. A few older shows I liked: Homicide: Life On the Streets; Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

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

I have a 5 and a 6 year-old boy. There is no such thing as free time. But I have been known to write novels that everyone likes but no one will buy.

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

If I ever spend $30 on a shirt that shrinks the first time its washed, please shoot me.

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

I was gonna make a crude sex joke, but I’ll go with Haandi, an Indian restaurant in Falls Church and the great and wonderful Lost Dog.

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Don’t blame me, I voted for Gore.