Friday Five Fifteen

What was the first band you saw in concert?

Uh, that would be Loverboy, 8pm July 5th 1982 in Portland Maine, with my first girlfriend, ailsaek. Although Huey Lewis and the News was the opener, so I guess they would technically be the first band that I saw.
 

Who is your favorite artist/band now?

The question is too ambiguous. I don’t think I could give you a favorite band of all time, although candidates would include Devo, Stan Ridgway and Wall of Voodoo, Billy Squier, KMFDM, the Toasters, Gangster Fun, Dance Hall Crashers, and They Might Be Giants.
 
Favorite local bands would include Beat Soup, Bim Skala Bim, Steady Earnest, Brass Monkeys, Pressure Cooker, and Concussion Ensemble.
 
Favorite band of the moment would probably be Joseph Hill and Culture, followed by Third World. I’ve been in a roots reggae phase for the past year or so.
 

What’s your favorite song?

That’s utterly impossible. Every year since 1991 I’ve put out a “my favorite songs” compilation, and I always have a hard time limiting it. How could I possibly choose between Devo’s “Going Under”, Sweet’s “AC/DC”, KMFDM’s “Brute”, and so many others? It’s just not possible.
 

If you could play any instrument, what would it be?

Drums. No question there. I’ve done some African hand drumming (on my klong yaw), and a little kit drumming (I own both acoustic and electronic kits), and there’s nothing as cathartic as banging on things. Unfortunately, I have no sense of rhythm at all, so it’s a lost cause. Hopefully, though, I can con my buddy Matt into giving me some lessons.
 

If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?

I’ve always wanted to talk with Bobby Chouinard, the drummer for Billy Squier. I’ve always admired his beats and particularly his fills, and aspired to his sound. Unfortunately, Bobby died about five years ago, and I was crushed when I heard the news. I’d always meant to actually look him up and get in touch with him sometime.

Originator's Song Play On

On Sunday, Babatunde Olatunji died. I can’t even begin to tell you the influence he had. Without Olatunji, there would be no African drumming in the United States. There would be no djembes, no jun-juns, no hand drumming circles at all. He brought West African music to the United States, and taught generations of Americans the compelling songs and rhythms of his native land. He co-founded Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum. He is the originator. The whole world has lost one of its most sparkling jewels.

Fanga alafayia, ashé ashé
Fanga alafayia, ashé ashé
Fanga alafayia, ashé ashé
Fanga alafayia, ashé ashé
Ashé-ashé, ashé-ashé
Fanga alafayia, ashé ashé