1 - Tell us how your project(s) were started.
My roommate had an acoustic guitar she never used, so I would sit around making up stupid songs on it. A few people heard them and encouraged me to do something with them. That's the short version, anyway.
2 - What does music, in it's entirety, mean to you?
I don't really think about it like that, really. It's art, like any other art -- and it's a means of communicating things in a less formal fashion, that allows for us to exchange ideas, convey emotions, etc. in ways that are not laid out in front of us, and which we can exercise more control over and agency in. That's how I approach it, anyway.
3 - What does art, in it's entirety, mean to you?
Oops. I should've skipped that last question, eh?
4 - Who is your favorite author, and why?
Hmmm...that's a tough one. I don't really have "one" favorite, because I really enjoy the disparate qualities that different writers bring to their work. There are always authors whose books are the sort that you don't want to finish, you know? Those stories you don't want to end. James Baldwin has always moved me that way, in his books. And certain biographies and autobiographies too -- Audre Lorde, Emma Goldman, Elaine Brown.... their life stories were such that I didn't want them to end. Then there is more theoretical stuff that I really enjoy, but the names are too many to mention here. Subcomandante Marcos (from the Zapatsistas) has really sort of birthed a whole new genre of political writing, that I think defies all the stereotypes people have developed about that sort of thing. So, he's definitely one of my favorites.
5 - As your best friend, describe yourself.
You'd have to ask one of my best friends, probably.
6 - As your worst enemy, describe yourself.
Adolescent. Passive-aggressive. Better on paper than in person. Does that work?
7 - If you were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?
Stewie Griffin.
8 - Do you think there are conspiracies against the "everyday person"?
Conspiracies? No. Systems of oppression and domination? Absolutely.
9 - What do you do with your spare or free time?
At the moment, I'm in the West Bank of occupied Palestine, working with the International Solidarity Movement. I have a meeting in five minutes with local community groups here, to plan some sort of action against Israel's apartheid wall, as part of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I'll be here for another few weeks, I guess, then head out on tour for 7 weeks. This is more or less how I try to spend my time.
10 - Please give us your interpretation of "the meaning of life".
I don't know how to answer questions like this -- I see some utility in trying to minimize alienation, isolation, etc. and transform social relationships of domination into ones of cooperation and support. That can take any number of forms -- whether it's throwing your body on the gears of global capitalism, or staying up late and listening to a friend who's having a shitty time. If we can commit ourselves to that, and try to creatively expand that concept... I think we'll be better off for it.
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