me: you got any time to chat with me today?
Brandon: hey there
how much time you need from me?
me: eh, it can be later.
tomorrow?
i'm doing bandmate interviews for the blog this week.
Brandon: today
can work for me
i need like 5 more mins and then can be yours for 30
until about 11
...
Brandon: i'm yours
well...
sort of =)
me: righto!
so this morning i've been trying to get people to play what i call "the favorite things game." it's a reference to the song from the sound of music, where maria distracts the kids from the thunderstorm by having them make up a song about nice things.
stu was reportedly too crabby (pre-coffee) and didn't last long.
then i called my mom and she did better.
wanna play?
Brandon: i'll give it a shot, sure
me: okay, so we just take turns listing our favorite things.
Brandon: (is this on the recird?)
me: yup.
Brandon: record*
great!
me: okay.
madonna's true blue album
Brandon: what about it?
me: that's mine.
your turn
Brandon: oh
moving pictures -rush
me: kelp
Brandon: using lubriderm as my prefered hair product
me: dogs on the beach
Brandon: basset hounds
me: yes! especially the puppies.
that trip over their ears.
Brandon: oh, zoe did that when she was apuppy
it's the reason i saved her from the pet store
was downright adorable
and could not leave her there even though it made no sense for me to get her
me: that's how they get you.
Brandon: well, that and she was just the best puppy and dog ever to exist
me: she could probably gallop along just fine without tripping on her ears, but she saw you and pulled out all the cute-stops.
Brandon: she was a manipulative little bitch
me: punny.
clever.
Brandon: and when i say bitch i really mean female dog
i don't use such crass language in reference to the better sex
me: ::snort::
no no, no sexism here
okay let's do 2 more favorite things and then i'll ask the tough questions
Brandon: ok
me: umm clean club bathrooms with big mirrors and decent lighting and doors that lock.
Brandon: my kids giggling and laughing and climbing all over me
me: aw!
the a being so pleased with stu pushing her on the swings that she just busting out with her version of twinkle twinkle.
*busted
that was the best.
Brandon: the e and a snuggling with papa in the morning before getting goin for the day
me: man. sounds like a good life.
Brandon: THAT is the best!
me: :)
Brandon: well, those are the good moments, for sure
me: quite.
all righty, let's dig in, shall we?
Brandon: oh
i thought we had one more good thing
me: oh!
sure
hit it.
Brandon: like laying down a super mean groove that gets asses shaking and people smiling
i like that
me: that's a good one.
and the perfect transition to my first question!
describe the perfect audience in one word.
Brandon: superkalifragisexydancing
me: cheater
okay
if a madman with a time machine landed in your proverbial backyard and asked you to come traveling all of space and time with him, would you go?
Brandon: sure, i like to travel
me: where/when in the universe would you want to go first?
Brandon: Tatooine
me: really? what would you do there?
Brandon: i'd meet luke and anakin and han solo and all the greats
maybe play a gig at that bar
sit in with the badass alien band
me: that would be a good gig
Brandon: seriously!
me: would you try to reason with anakin - save him from his fate or anything?
you are a trained professional...
Brandon: can't change the sand of time
me: maybe meds?
Brandon: it's too good a story
he doesn't need meds
he needed good therapy
to control his id rages and all
me: quite
but i guess we need id rages for stories, don't we.
Brandon: among other things, yes =)
me: what about van gogh?
Brandon: what about him?
me: (this was an actual doctor who episode this season)
Brandon: great painter and artist
me: if you found yourself visiting ol' vincent in the months before his suicide, would you try to give him meds or anything?
Brandon: tought to say
me: or analysis?
Brandon: i mean, sure, i think i'd try and help him out and all
me: okay ::SPOILER ALERT::
in the episode, they take him to the Louvre in the future and show him how beloved and famous he and his work are.
but
he still offs himself when they take him back.
Brandon: sure
can't change history
screws up the future
me: yeah
okay next question
Brandon: hit me
me: okay but then i'm going to ask another question.
Brandon: absolutely
me: if you had to choose a different genre of music to learn/perform, what would it be?
Brandon: well, i'd love to become more proficient and skilled in the whole latin music arena
all the poly-rhythms and things of that nature
me: really! huh
i would not have guessed that.
Brandon: good to know i can still surprise the FW
me: what's the strangest thing you've found yourself doing since playing in bands?
Brandon: being a father
me: i mean related to being in a band
Brandon: oh
right
sorry
me: heh
Brandon: well, i think that answer still stands
i mean, the balance between being in a band and being papa to the e and a...
kind of strange if you ask me
i guess i do not really find i do "strange" things playing since being in a band
i've been in bands since 9189
1989
me: talk about that balance - what's strange about it for you?
Brandon: well, not sure it's a balance, but there's the going out, playing music, socializing and being "single" on the scene
and then there is the responsible, must be a papa to little kids and set some sort of good example and not be too much of a f*ck up
me: does that mean you don't feel like you're being a good example when you're "on the scene"?
Brandon: well, let's just say i don't have the pull of responsibility, going home early, i can be more "adult"
but let's be honest here
hardly do i live a rock star existence, even when not with the kids...
like when recording
asleep early
ready to go in the morning
while the party rages around me...
maybe the road has offered me a chance to take more liberties in the past... =)
me: if by "rages" you mean the rest of us drunkenly videotape your snoring.
where is that recording, anyway....
Brandon: KP or BP have it i think
but i am sure it is out there, to be put up on the site to my great delight
me: ah. never to be seen again, probably.
i'll get on that.
Brandon: twss
me: okay describe the band dynamic in three words or less
Brandon: superkalifragisexydancing
GHA
ONE WORD!
me: a-ha.
oh
what do you play?
(tell the folks at home what instrument you play)
Brandon: oh
right
well, i play percussion
a four piece, signia series premier set
me: when i first joined the band i got scolded for confusing "drums" with "percussion."
i was told "percussion" was like... rain sticks.
Brandon: well, aside from the drums (which are a percussion instrument) i also play cow bell, tambourine, train whistle, and anything else i can bang
wait...
me: good one.
Brandon: that may be interpreted in the wrong way
ah
nevermind
=)
me: do you think i've gotten better at dealing with your sense of humor over the years?
or have you just toned it down?
or both?
Brandon: you had a hard time with my sense of humor?
hmm...
yes, i think we've all grown
me: twss
Brandon: good one
me: okay so how'd you get into the drums?
were you given pots and spoons as a kid?
Brandon: i think i've been drumming all my life
i have a picture of me around 3 years old playing a mickey mouse drum set
and then in 4th grade, when we could pick out an instrument i went straight for the drums
so, at like 9 years old i was all over it
and it was great
everyone else had to carry instruments home
all i had were drumsticks!
then at like 11 or 12 i got my first drum set
i have a great video of me at 13 playing drums at my bar mitzvah
huey lewis and the news!
power of love
great stuff...
but i've always been rhythmically oriented
i remember playing air drums when i was a kid in my grandparents house, listening to 45s (yes 45s) of the beach boys and the beatles
i wanted to be ringo since i was like 5
in 4th grade my brother brought home rush and i was just astounded
it was sick to hear that you could do things like that on the drums
me: rush obviously sounds a bit different from tbh... do you feel like you still bring something of that influence to your playing?
Brandon: i think i bring a mishmash of all sorts of stuff
but yes, i think there is a "precision" or controlled nature to drumming that i've gotten from neil peart
it's about technique, and setting up the same, and knowing what to play and how to play it
but i've been influenced by many styles and many drummers
and i do think i have developed my own style, maybe not that special or unique, but certainly feel like i bring something of my own style that someone else would not bring to the music
playing jazz through high school and especially college i think helped influence me to not be so damn busy and be more musical in the approach
imho
me: i can see that
Brandon: i think nick mason (from pink floyd) said it best
"i get paid the same amount whether i play a lot of notes or a few"
me: ha - in this case, you pay the same amount.
Brandon: this was in response to why he's so laid back and not so "busy" when he plays
well, sure.
me: so far, anyway
Brandon: but it's not about the amount of notes, but what each note says
me: okay let's get into some more personal stuff
Brandon: great!
me: what do you believe in?
Brandon: superkalifragisexydancing
me: ...
Brandon: my kids
the power of music
me: what do you know for sure?
Brandon: one of these days i will die
me: what's one thing you don't know, but wish you did?
Brandon: how would i know?
me: knowing what you don't know... is like... wisdom. (that's socrates.)
Brandon: well sure
there are things i don't know, but can learn about
and then there are unknown unknowns
me: (it was a direct translation from the greek.)
so. what's one of those - that either you'd like to learn about or that you wish weren't beyond your ability to know?
Brandon: again
if it's beyond my ability to know, an unknown unknown, hard to say i want to know about it
as for the other things
me: but there are plenty of things you can't know.
that you're aware of.
Brandon: i accept i have limitations
me: i see.
as for the other things?
Brandon: maybe i'm just lazy
oh
me: eh, maybe there's just enough to figure out as it is.
Brandon: i want to know why i'm not a super successful drummer (but i think i know the answer to that question)
me: really? what is it?
Brandon: see above
i'm lazy
and made different choices
and wasted my 20s in school
me: wasted :)
med school. what a waste of time.
i think that's their motto.
Brandon: it's all about perspective
me: like be all you can be.
for the army.
Brandon: something like that
me: okay. describe the perfect scene of solitude for you.
Brandon: beach type scene
comfy chair
good book
music i like
not too hot
me: nice
last question, since i just saw we're way over time.
Brandon: no worries about time
we can keep going
me: what's your myers-briggs type?
(i can send you the abridged quiz we've all been taking if it's been awhile)
Brandon: been a long time for me
Brandon: istj*
me: all introverts so far!
not too surprising :)
Brandon: we're band geeks
of course
me: do you think of yourself as a geek?
Brandon: sure
i spend my time getting excited about things like specific parts of a song, a two bar phrase, listen to it over and over again
and then try and get others to be all excited about the same thing
me: got an example of that?
maybe we can send people off to listen.**
Brandon: drum fill at the end of "every little thing she does is magic"
me: brilliant.
do you want to ask me anything?
Brandon: stuart copeland plays the most perfect, awesomest fill EVER recorded
as for a question...
what is love?
me: (baby don't hurt me... don't hurt me... no more)
or
(love is watching someone die)
or (it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah)
Brandon: oh i watch people die...
i don't think that's love
me: that was a death cab reference.
Brandon: oh
oops
me: take it up with ben g.
let's see.
love between human (and maybe other) beings has lots and lots of various iterations, but i think essentially love is the antidote to or possibly just rebellion against the isolated nature of human consciousness. it's the drive to cross the impossible distances between us.
and maybe it's the times when we succeed at that.
Brandon: hmmm
i'll have to think on that
me: sweet.
Brandon: =)
me: thanks for taking time out to chat with me!
see you tonight
Brandon: my pleasure
and i will SEE you tonight!
For an ISTJ, work is very important to a sense of self-satisfaction. Happiness comes most easily for you when you have a job that allows you to express your ethic. Whether it's blasting traitorous rebel scum as a proud Imperial Stormtrooper or monitoring the population's cerebral implants searching for evidence of unauthorized thought patterns as one of the Thought Police, you're most satisfied when you are crushing the population beneath the iron boot heel of oppression on behalf of your masters.
RECREATION; ISTJs approach leisure with the same dedication they bring to spreading tyrrany and oppression. Common ISTJ pasttimes include cleaning their rifles, improving their marksmanship, betting on political dissidents in the Gladiator Arena, and macrame.
COMPATIBILITY: ISTJs are capable of stong emotional connections, bonding closely with the other ISTJs in their unit, platoon, or sector.
Famous ISTJs include TK-421, Torquemada, and Yuri Andropov.
**
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