What do you believe in?

I believe in love.

I believe in human beings' potential for magnificence.

I believe in striving neurotically for self-awareness and emotional honesty.

I believe in believing in magic.

I believe in art.

I believe in books.
I believe in music.

I believe in the possibility of true empathy.

I believe in fighting to preserve wonder and curiosity and playfulness and generosity of spirit (commonly known as being a child).

I believe in affection.

I believe in the right of all human beings to dignity, to the facts, to expression, to respect, to agency.

I believe in the quest of all human beings to trust and be trusted, to see and be seen, to grant and receive acceptance, to challenge and be challenged.
I believe in striving for honest communication.

I believe in honoring deep down truths.

I believe in the deep, wild, knowing, creative, burning self.

I believe in story.

I believe in kindness.

I believe in chasing questions.

I believe in stopping for beauty.

I believe in passionate looking (listening, tasting...)

I believe in savoring.

I believe in the intense pursuit of juice.

I believe in talking to trees.

I believe in the wisdom of nature.

I believe in the power of sanctuary.

I believe in transcendent connections.

Wednesday Duologues: Ashley Willard

Ashley Willard.  Editor and co-founder of Boston Band Crush, arguably the online lifeline & loveline of the Boston music scene.  And I got to spend the afternoon chatting with her!  But you can eavesdrop.

Prologue:  

me: bah.  i won't bore you with tales of my workday. but i will apologize.
is now good?
Ashley: hi!

sure!

i mean if you can't it's ok

we can do it 'nother time

me: no way, now's great for me!

just let me take a deep drag, i mean sip of coffee.

almost 2 years since i quit smoking, in fact.

okay ready?

Ashley: gun it

me: who are you?

Ashley: where am i?

it's me ashley!

me: ha

hi!

Ashley: hi!

tell me when it starts

haha just kidding

you keep entering text and then deleting it

i see you doing that

me: okay, let me go back a few minutes and say "nnnnnNOW"

Wednesday Duologues: Brad San Martin

For a coupla years, my supersmart friend Jess (who was in Boston but moved to my former home of Lexington, KY - weird!) kept telling me TBH should really check out and maybe play with her friend's band, One Happy Island.  Eventually, I got a clue and checked them out and (gig pending) one result is that I've had some very interesting impromtu Facebook exchanges with member (don't even bother asking what he plays - the answer is everything) Brad San Martin.

"it's me playing a solo show (backed by Ian Evans of the awesome UK noise-pop band Horowitz on chair) in the merch tent at the IndieTracks festival in Derbyshire, UK...from late July of this year"

Brad would challenge my attempts at deep status updates and suddenly we'd have one of those long comment threads that aggravates anyone who simply "liked" the status in passing and tried to continue on their merry way.  Brad's comments were always decidedly thoughtful and unusually articulate, so when I posted the first duologue link and he was the first to volunteer -- not just to chat with me, but to "antagonize" me, OBViously I had to take him up on the offer.

me: so - you'd be happy to antagonize me, eh?

Brad: oh, hey -- one sec!

me: no problem!

Brad: sorry -- designing gig flyers. be back in 45 seconds.

me: take your time

Brad: ok.

me: okay you'll take your time or okay you're ready?

Brad: hmmmm

ok. ready! i don't mean antagonize in a bad way, necessarily.

me: ah - the good kind of antagonizing?

Brad: well...i just mean it's good to ask questions and engage in discussions. it seems like people aren't used to reconciling opposing viewpoints: it's all black or right, right or wrong...the art of the debate/discussion has sorta withered in the face of political correctness, i suppose.

but what's that got to do with rock'n'roll?

me: (sorry, back)

isn't rock'n'roll supposed to be subversive

?

Brad: well, i suppose your walking the line between rock'n'roll and pop music. before rock and pop were synonymous, it was VERY subversive. people thought it would bring about the death of society as they knew it. now there is plenty of rock'n'roll that extols the status quo quite openly.

(you're)

me: and what about pop?

Brad: pop is music for everyone, right? anything can be pop.

pop/rock is sort of an oxymoron, isn't it? it's a contradiction, and the friction between the two can be really interesting...or really boring.

me: pop is music for everyone, as in, pop = popular = status quo?

that seems different from saying pop can be anything.

Brad: not necessarily. to me, it's music that is relateable, not necessarily popular. but you know, you can attach labels to anything, and endlessly pick at them and undermine them. who am i, derida?

me: i hope not... otherwise, i could be in serious trouble here.

Brad: don't worry.

me: i think relateable is a good distinction, though.

Brad: that's a key word/idea.

me: i've been listening to your full length today. i dig it!

this lyric popped out at me:

Brad: wow, thanks.

(i was being sincere!)

me: (funny how periods have come to indicate sarcasm to some.)

"i insist on not insisting on anything. i insist on not resisting what is happening, it's just happening"

did you write that ["flounder"] lyric?? 

Brad: i did write that lyric.

all though replace "on" with "I'm" -- I insist I'm not insisting on...same idea, though.

me: ah - thanks

Brad: i insist i'm not resisting...

of course, by insisting that you're not, you're insisting that you are.

me: ohhhhh that's quite different.

that sounds more like you (though it should be said i've never even met you)

Brad: well, it's a song about being trapped in a corner: physically, romantically, socially, whatever. all of a sudden i'm insisting that it's not my fault that i'm here.

which means that it is.

me: because you're saying it's not.

Brad: right :)

me: yeah.

Brad: that's a really old song.

me: when did you start writing songs?

Brad: i started WANTING to write songs in middle school. i wrote a few bad songs in high school. i wrote a lot more bad songs starting in college.

me: do you remember your first song?

Brad: hmmm...i remember bits. the first song, beginning to end, finished song escapes me.

for me, i write constantly, and rarely is anything finished.

that's the way it's always been.

and sometimes the song changes even if you don't change the music or lyrics.

me: what does it take for a song to make it to a finished state? is there some criteria?

Brad: well, if you're a songwriter AND a performer, it changes every time you play it. it means different things to you as time passes. but strictly as a writer, i have a hard time saying when a song is finished. i rely on my bandmates for that, or just when it seems to develop a beginning, a middle, and an end. it has an arc.

i toss as many finished songs in the dustheap as i do scraps of songs...i recently compiled an album of outtakes/demos, and it had 22 tracks on it, i think.

me: bandmates are good for that kind of thing.

can you describe your band dynamic in a word or two?

Brad: my bandmates are wonderful. i'm very lucky.

hmmm

it's basically the democracy that every other band says they are, but aren't.

me: ha ha - so why should we believe you? :)

Wednesday Duologues: Olivia Outlund

So, I'm traveling and visiting family for a couple of weeks out in the Pacific Northwest, and I decided to take advantage of rare sister time and interview one of my youngest sisters for this week's duologue. We had an awesome chat, my sissie and I, and covered all the truly important subjects: imagination, music, trusting yourself, and chocolate. And in the process, we probably revealed a thing or two about what it is to be an Outlund.

Also, we did this interview sitting across from each other with our laptops at the kitchen table.

me: hallooooo!

Olivia: Hellloooo!

me: yay! are you so excited for our interview?

Olivia: I am SO excited!

me: me too! i don't get to talk to you nearly enough.

silly busy lives.

Olivia: Indeed, very silly :)

me: okay, ready?

Olivia: All set

me: ::ahem::

who are you?

Olivia: Olivia

me: great!

Olivia: Am I supposed to find a deeper answer?

me: there are no right answers here.

Olivia: Phew!

me: is that a relief?

Olivia: Quite.

me: how come?

(want me to go in the other room? would that be easier?)

Olivia: No, would it be easier for you?

me: i don't think so... this is funnier.

okay i know

last night i made you watch the first episode of the most recent season of doctor who.

did you like it?

Olivia: Yes, I am curious to find out what happens to Amelia Pond and a show must be good if it has you hooked after one episode.

me: yipeee!

after watching that episode, if you were in amelia's shoes, would you go with the doctor onto his time machine?

Olivia: Oh yeah!

me: what about if you were in YOUR shoes?

Olivia: Still yes.

me: so imagine he says to you, "all of time and space, anything that's ever happened or ever will. where do you want to start?"

what's your answer?

Olivia: I think I'd like to go to Greece and see some of the myths played out-cause in my mind they all really happened.

me: oooh nice!!!

knowing doctor who, zeus was actually an alien from some other galaxy. y'know. the kind that gives birth through the head.

what's one of your favorite myths?

Olivia: Heehee, I'll bet you're right :)

Hmm, I like the one's about Athena. She is such a strong female and it didn't seem like they respected females much back then, so it's nice that one really kicked ass.

me: do you identify with athena?

Olivia: Not really, I think I'm drawn to her because she is what I'd like to be. She is strong willed and does what she wants and it'd be nice to have that quality.

me: so you don't feel like you're strong willed?

Wednesday Duologues: Brendan Boogie

Introducing Wednesday Duologues!  I had so much fun conversing with my bandmates and the singer-ladies in anticipation of our EP release bill that I've decided to make it a weekly part of the blog!  Which also means I get to have interesting conversations with fascinating people every week!?  Honestly, I love this idea so much, I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner.

I've made the executive decision to preserve the chat artifact and will be pasting from IM start-to-finish verbatim (and yes that does mean that I struck up the conversation below with a pudding non-sequitur), so please do your best to enjoy any quirks in punctuation, spelling, profanity and continuity.

If you think you might be interested in being a part of this little adventure and taking about an hour out of your day to chat with me for public consumption, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email at mack@thisblueheaven.com or message me on Facebook!

And now, without further ado, I give you my first duologue - with my good friend Brendan Boogie!

me: do you think the world can possibly comprehend how much i love butterscotch pudding?

Brendan Boogie: It is beyond human comprehension.

me: amen.

Brendan Boogie: I had an idea - combining butterscotch with honey BBQ sauce and putting it on grilled chicken.

Make it happen, science.

me: and the interview was going so well...

Brendan Boogie: It wasn't going THAT well.

me: i still have half a cup of pudding left so i think i'll make it.

now my next question is this... how many serious answers can i expect from you today?

Brendan Boogie: Don't you worry - I have a well-developed serious side.

me: (it'll help determine which ones to ask)

Brendan Boogie: Ask them all. I've got all day, baby girl.

me: righto.

who are you?

Brendan Boogie: My name is Brendan. I'm a Leo. My turnoffs include rude people, venereal diseases, and hipster cupcake joints.

me: ooooh! brilliant! let's make this a contest to see who can catch all the thinly veiled digs & instances of trash talking in your interview and who they're aimed at! it'll be a good scene-building exercies.

*exercise

Brendan Boogie: I try not to trash too many people. By name, anyway.

me: that's why it'll be fun :)

Brendan Boogie: Here's hoping!

me: do you consider yourself a nice guy? not y'know, "nice guy" like "oh he's such a nice guy" but just... a nice guy...

Brendan Boogie: I value kindness very much. Probably above just about anything else. So I try to be kind, yes.

Do you consider me a nice guy?

me: in my head i call you Brendan That Big Sweetie.

what else do you value?

Brendan Boogie: Hmmm... kindness really trumps everything. I think it's the most important thing a person can have. I think everything comes out of that.

But I also value humor.

And pain.

That's sort of a weird thing to say, I know.

Countdown to Spinning & Shining: Naked On Roller Skates' Leesa Coyne

Who needs wordless Monday when you've got friends to write the words for you?!

All this week on the blog I'll be featuring the frontwomen from the supersweet line-up I (humbly) put together for our EP RELEASE SHOW AT MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 7TH!!!!

Before I turn the blog over, I just want to make a quick request to you for support.  This Blue Heaven's tune "Generous Soul" (track 3 on Spinning and Shining) is in this week's 100.7 WZLX Boston Emissions New Fave Song Poll, so we've made the song STREAMABLE on Reverbnation and Facebook!!!  If you dig what you hear, please CLICK HERE to vote for our song this week!!!  Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!

Okay!  Without further ado, I'm gonna start this thing off with a bang and let the sparkling frontwoman for our band-soulmates Naked On Roller Skates take the stage!  I sent my interview questions to all the ladies of the week, asking them to select 3 or more to answer... but Leesa answered a whole bunch (all of 'em?) so this should provide you with some fun Monday reading!  Enjoy!

***UPDATE, Wednesday 8/4:  See...this is why I do photos on Mondays.  I'm just not, like, in writing-gear yet.  As a result, I'm afraid, I have been much more expressive with my specific adoration of the later-in-the-week babes than with Leesa, which creates an absolutely FALSE impression that I have nothing to say about her.  So let me just fix that retroactively right now.

Leesa is one of the women from this line-up that I've gotten to spend some real time with.  In fact, I don't mind telling you that after our first real encounter with Leesa & Travis (the GP of NORS and Leesa's lucky beau) at karaoke night at Razzys, Stu & I made a conscious decision to stalk pursue friendship with the pair.  I can't speak for Stu, but I can tell you what drew me to Leesa: NO BULLSHIT. And let's face it, this is a culture in which bullshit thrives (and vice versa). Philosophers have written on it. It feels and is inescapable. But every once in awhile you meet someone who seems utterly incapable of it. They say what they're thinking, they mean what they say, and they do so in no uncertain terms. And yes, of course it's intense, but it's also completely freeing. Because their humanity is on full display and as a result, you feel you can be what you, in fact, are... which is human, too.

I decided recently that the true "it factor" that makes a rock star a rock star is the ability to exude strength while expressing honest vulnerability. In other words?  No bullshit.  Yeah, Leesa's got it.  And you gotta love her for it 'cause she leaves you no other choice.***


LEESA COYNE, NAKED ON ROLLER SKATES

What kind of "shows" did you put on as a kid?  Any favorites?

I used to put on routines with my cousins (who were about the same age) where we would dress up and sing into hairbrushes. We were called “the fashion girls.” I was like 10ish at the time.

Who/what are some NON-musical influences on your music?

My neighbor Laura who taught me how to play guitar and that you are never too old to try something new. Other neighbor Tom who supported me when I first started playing music, his wife Jane who still supports me. My grandmothers, one who played guitar and another who has been way ahead of her time.

If you had to choose another genre of music to learn/perform, what would it be?

Bluegrass or electronic music (like Danger Mouse or Faithless). Bluegrass cause it is so simple and honest. Electronic cause it leaves so much room for experimentation.

What about a career path you haven't pursued, but might later or would if you had time or even another lifetime?

I would really love to be a landscaper or a garden designer. Me and a couple of my lady friends joke around about starting an all female landscaping business called Bitches with Hoes. It would be cool to start a business for Boston’s first roof top organic farm, too. Anything outside that is working with the earth.

Do you ever have pre-show moments when you wish you didn't have to perform?  What would you rather be doing on those occasions?  

I love to perform, which comes with being a Leo. The only time I would not want to be on stage is when I am missing something important going on with someone I care about or when I am super sleepy. At which point I would rather be sleeping.

Describe your band dynamic, in three words.

One Hot Mess

What is the strangest thing you've found yourself doing since being in a band?

Other than excel spreadsheets. Parading around in the freezing cold with nothing but a pink sparkly dress and roller skates for my recent photo shoot for the record with Kelly [Davidson]. Pretty sure there are other more strange things I am just not thinking of at the moment.

If you could open for anyone (let's say in all of history, 'cause that's more fun), who would it be?

Led Zeppelin  - Just cause it's mother f*ckin Zeppelin!!!

 

Describe the perfect scene of solitude for you.

I am a pretty high strung person until you put me on a beach somewhere, I can basically sit there for hours content listening to the ocean, watching the waves roll and seeing the gulls fly.

Where would you like to travel?

Machu Picchu in Peru and to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatina in Spain!

You may or may not know that I've recently become obsessed with Doctor Who, not that it really matters except to provide context for this question:  If you had access to a time machine (and a superhero time lord, if need be) and could go anywhere in the universe at any time in its history, what/where/when would it be?

Female Queen in Egypt around the time the pyramids were built so I could see if humans really made them or if it was just some sort of aliens that did. Only as a Queen though cause women’s rights really suck for the peasant folks pretty much any time before the 1950’s and I just can’t deal with some man telling me what to do.

What do you believe in?

Karma

What do you know for sure?

1+1=2

What's one thing you don't know but wish you did?

Are we really just someone’s dream.

What're you reading or watching, lately?

The Omnivores Dilemma and Californication

What is your favorite moment in the course of a show?  (general or specific)

I got to spike a microphone at this battle of the bands I played in like 5 years ago it was one of the first shows I played with a band instead of solo acoustic, I felt so f*cking rock n’ roll!!!

When do you find yourself aware of yourself *as a woman* in the band context?

Sometimes when people are looking at me funny cause I am putting makeup on in the ladies room before a show or the time I needed to have the waitress at the Plough N’ Stars help zip up the back of my dress. Or when Kelly and I talk about “girl things” at rehearsal and the boys get weird’d out.  Never in a bad way though its all been good fun.

  

(Enjoy these three killer tunes from Naked On Roller Skates - they'll have an EP coming out soon, I'm told - and be sure to catch them at 8:00pm SHARP this Saturday at Middle East Upstairs!!!)

Meet This Blue Heaven: Stu/GP

 

me: aha!

  hello!

Stu: well good morning!

 me: got any coffee in you?

 Stu: presently imbibing.

 me: great!

  when you wanna do our interview?

 Stu: oh i thought we just started!

me: rock.

  let's play free association first.

  ready?

 Stu: set

 me: rock

 Stu: plymouth

 me: turkey

 Stu: rollup

  (huh)

me: twister

 Stu: hardly know 'er

 me: you win

  or wait

  does that mean i win?

 Stu: we'll call it a draw.

 me: okay.

i'm nervous about this interview!

  weird.

 Stu: you should be. i'm one scary s.o.b.

me: i can just feel everyone (our bandmates especially - one in particular has already checked the blog three times this morning) waiting for this one...

  yeah. you're terrifying for sure.

  okay

  let's do this.

 Stu: oh, that was me, sorry.

 me: heh

  rrriiiiiiight

  who are you?

Stu: i'm Stu. i play guitar and sing a little in This Blue Heaven.

 me: you're the first to get that right! good job! A+

  you know, the problem with this interview is i already know all this stuff. every question would be leading. like...

  did you get a lot of A's in school?

i know of course you did, so if i ask you that, then it's like i want everyone to know you're a smarty pants.

  so

  i guess i should just ask totally bizarre questions, maybe.

 Stu: wait i want to answer that one!

 me: do it

 Stu: ahem.

  i got a B in math in 5th grade, and a B+ in theoretical physics II senior year college.

me: ...

 Stu: the rest were A's. BOOYEAH.

 me: smarty pants smarty pants

 Stu: oh man, was i pissed about that B in 5th grade.

still am. i was robbed. we was robbed!

 me: do you think of yourself as a perfectionist?

 Stu: does the tin man have a sheet metal...

  sure, yes.

me: what's the earliest memory you have of being frustrated that something wasn't, y'know... right.

  "perfect"

 Stu: hm.

having a hard time thinking of one. i guess for me it's about stuff that i have control over, so...i think i end up working on it til i'm happy. frustration is just an early part of the process.

  but i do remember in middle school one kid calling me a perfectionist and i took it as name calling and got really upset :)

 me: really! was it a mean kid?

Stu: oh--not really.

  in general i mean. lots of kids could be mean sometimes and really nice other times.

y'know. that whole growing up thing.

oh! also in middle school, maybe 6th grade there was a group writing project in english class, where we got put in small groups. i wasn't happy with what anyone came up with so i basically did the whole thing myself. that might be the earliest memory.

although it was sort of out of necessity b/c no one else was really trying.

GOOD STORY STU.

me: i think that's a perfect story.

i hated group work for the same reason.

and now we're in a band.

  mark described it as an enlightened democracy

  any idea what he meant by enlightened?

Stu: i avoid politics.

 me: me three.

  how would you describe the band dynamic in three words or less?

Stu: position players.

 me: twss

  what's your position?

 Stu: wait does that sound no fun?

  i tried to work team in there somehow.

 me: sounds plenty fun to me...

absolutely

aaron dodged the "roles" question a bit... is it a squishy issue?

 Stu: interesting.

  well i think we all play the various roles at some point.

 me: mm.

what's your favorite role in the band?

 Stu: i think i'm the indian chief.

  (can you say that? my high school mascot was the "Indians.")

my brother called me that once.

 me: where i grew up, you couldn't be an indian for halloween.

  it was on a list.

  along with witch

  hippie

  basically anything a person could conceivably be

 Stu: you couldn't be a hippie?

 me: although come to think of it

  i don't think rock star was on that list.

  those jerks.

yeah the iowa city list was featured on that show...

  politically incorrect?

  was that it?

 Stu: with bill maher, yes.

 me: that's the one.

  so, now you see.

 Stu: said the blind man who picked up a hammer and saw.

me: are you saying that in your dad's voice?

 Stu: i'll try to type it in his voice now:

  i SEEE! said the blind man, who picked up his hammer and SAW ...

 me: you still need to call your mother.

 Stu: crap.

 me: guilt!

 Stu: it's been like a year by now.

me: maybe she's forgotten she even has a third child.

 Stu: (not true, for anyone reading. MAYbe 6 months.)

 me: terrible.

 Stu: (also not true.)

 me: ...

 Stu: (okay true.)

  (haha NO not true!)

 (::nodding::)

 me: i can see it will take a really good question to get us out of this loop.

  so... how 'bout them sox?

Stu: 3 in a row!

 me: twss

 Stu: oh HO!

 me: all right

 Stu: k how bout this:

  ask me what i did this morning.

 me: (i'm gonna pull a fred and barney on you right now to demonstrate who's in charge of this operation.)

  no that's a terrible idea.

  gah.

  hmmmm

  oh i know!

  hey stu, what'd you do this morning?

 Stu: great question mackenzie!

 me: thanks!

 Stu: why, i bought a new guitar!

 me: wait NO WAY

  which one did you get???

  the blue one?

Stu: i got a blue early 90's telecaster plus.

 me: holy crap!!!

  did anyone else bid? did you get it for the price it was at last night?

 Stu: with the humbucker lace sensors in the bridge.

me: (that must be for the folks at home 'cause i don't know what that is.)

 Stu: nope, i was the only bidder! i'm telling you, these auctions that end first thing eastern time are totally rigged in our favor.

  first thing in the morning.

 me: genius.

  well good for you!!!!

 Stu: yay!!!

  MAYbe will have it in time for the EP release show. maybe.

me: what're you most looking forward to about that show?

 Stu: the naked audience.

 me: oh um

 Stu: oh wait am i confusing this with mark's interview?

 me: yeah, if the world conformed to mark's version of ideal, well...

there'd be no shoes, probably no clothes for most people, and probably no mornings.

  sounds okay actually.

  what's your ideal audience? in one word

Stu: so to answer your first question, i'm looking forward seeing if we can pull off all the surprises we have in store.

 me: like when we all get naked halfway through the set?

.... oh whoops.

 Stu: and also playing with so many great bands who are also great friends.

 me: ruined the surprise.

  that is nice, isn't it?

 Stu: GAH mackenzie. thanks for RUINING the big finale.

 me: guess we'll just have to think of something else.

 Stu: socks maybe?

 me: or shorts

that'd be a real shock.

 Stu: or jorts.

 me: ugh. no jorts.

 Stu: jean jackets and jorts.

  and doc martens.

 me: you're killin' me smalls.

  if you could open for anyone in all of history, who would it be?

  wiat.

  *wait

  perfect audience, first.

try to keep up, will you?

 Stu: oh, right.

  smiling.

  and arms anywhere but folded.

 me: (i'm having a swoony moment.)

  yes. like in their pants.

  or, better - in each others' pants.

let's shoot for that.

  okay now the opener question.

Stu: great question!

  hm....

  hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

 me: oh c'mon, i know the answer to this.  let's get on with it so i can imagine fooling around with the edge backstage

Stu: well there is an obvious answer: U2 in 1992, Zoo TV tour.

 me: actually he wasn't as hot then.

 Stu: but as brandon would mock that one...

 me: bah.

 Stu: BAH.

  ok final answer.

 me: well

 Stu: sticking to it.

me: what do you say to the U2 haters?

Stu: OH GO F*CK YOURSELF YOU COLD HEARTLESS JERKOFFS.

  ahem.

  did i say that out loud?

 me: oh you bleeped it out for me!

  thanks!

  how do you feel?

 Stu: dirty.

me: ...

  in a good way?

  sorry, i'm still backstage with the edge.

 Stu: right, me too.

 me: let's move on, shall we!

  awesome.

  um.

  i had a good one.

what was it?

  ...

um.

  of all boston musicians, who would you most want to scuba dive with?

Stu: that's just crazy talk.

 me: fair enough. walk on the beach with?

 Stu: wait.

i'd scuba dive with Tad from Sidewalk Driver.

 me: and the romantic walk on the beach?

  still tad?

Stu: hm. present company excluded?

 me: (swoony moment #2)

  yes - outside this blue heaven.

Stu: this is a romantic walk?

me: it's on the beach. just saying.

  (travis richter is holding his breath right now.)

  (and probably just spilled his coffee.)

 Stu: (was gonna say...)

 me: (poor trav.)

 Stu: has to be current?

me: uhhh i guess not?

 Stu: ok kim deal.

 me: mm

  maybe she'd like to join us with the edge backstage....

 Stu: maybe!

me: okay how about if you were going to take a member of the boston music scene (current now) with us on the tardis?

  (that's the doctor who time machine for the folks at home who don't know, but if you don't know you REALLY should watch the show and i'm not gonna tell you again.)

  (today)

Stu: i'd love to hear brendan boogie trash talk the Doctor.

 me: ha!

where/when in the universe would you want to go first?

 Stu: the beginning!

 me: really!

 Stu: that might not be theoretically possible though.

 me: (swoon 3.0)

i think they go to the very end of the universe at some point in the series.

 Stu: (maybe i'd have a better grasp on that if i'd gotten a better grade in theoretical physics.)

me: twss

 Stu: oh! "grasp"!

  good one, peter.

 me: yeah yeah ha ha

  what do you believe in?

Stu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBfdl6hNZ9k

 good night.

 me: haha ha ha

  do you know that video has no sound?

that's so, like... existential

 Stu: no it does, only on 1 channel.

  put in your other earbud!

  (twss)

  (ouch)

 me: oh i have all the sound shifted to the right one. can't have both earbuds in at the same time.

  that's not existential at all.

  omg i love susan sarandon.

  okay, but what do you believe in?

Stu: i believe life is the universe's way of marveling at itself.

 me: (do i really need to count the swoons after 3?)

  what do you know for sure.

Stu: you live, you die.

  also, arrested development is and will be the greatest sitcom ever.

 me: what's one thing you don't know but wish you did?

Stu: if the tardis could travel to the beginning of time without disintegrating. that would be helpful in deciding how much stock/time/fantasy to put into this Doctor Who question.

b/c it's really tugging at my core.

 me: what is your favorite moment in the course of playing a show (general or specific)?

 Stu: (really? nothing? tugging?)

 me: (that's what your mom said.)

 Stu: ( )

 me: :D

Stu: when the music takes over and you suddenly realize you haven't really been conscious or in the way of it, and several songs or even the whole set has gone by. it doesn't happen all the time but it's magic when it does!

sometimes your mind gets in the way of the music, y'know?

 me: i do.

  do you think of yourself as a mystic?

Stu: not on the whole? but it's important to chase that sense sometimes, i think.

me: right now on facebook, the boys are (not entirely unobnoxiously) scrambling to say how well they know you... and, ironically, that the gist what they know is that you're a bit of a closed book.

  what do you think would surprise them the most about you?

Stu: i don't know!

drawing a blank.

 me: are you a closed book?

 Stu: i don't think so.

  i'm just not a movie :)

  you just have to open it, see.

 not literally.

  that would hurt.

 me: what are you reading, lately?

 Stu: that's a little personal, don't you think?

  j/k

 i'm re-reading watership down.

  cute little bunnies.

 me: aw, there. now aaron can say TOLD YOU.

 Stu: also all the music rags.

  as per usual.

 me: do you read poetry?

  i have a favorite poem question on my list...

 Stu: not of my own accord :)

 me: yeah yeah

 Stu: shel silverstein's "my beard"

 me: okay one word answers, fast. ready?

 Stu: set.

 me: what makes you happy?

 Stu: kitties.

 me: what pisses you off?

 Stu: waste.

 me: what cracks you up?

 Stu: vonnegut.

 me: what freaks you out?

 Stu: money.

 me: (you needed another guitar! don't worry!)

  what makes you go "hmmm"?

 Stu: interviews.

 me: what turns you off?

 Stu: heat.

 me: do you hate me for locking us out of your room the other day?

 Stu: nope.

 me: whew.

 okay tell the folks your myers-briggs type.

 Stu: INTJ*

# moderately expressed introvert - 44%
# moderately expressed intuitive personality - 38%
# moderately expressed thinking personality - 25%
# moderately expressed judging personality - 33%

 me: typical ;)

 do you think of yourself as moderate?

 Stu: moderately

  sure, yes. except for my "extreme" vegas getaways every few months.

 me: HO!

me: oh - and aaron wanted to know if we're closer to the kind of music you want to be making.

 Stu: closer :)

 me: that's just the kind of answer that'll drive him batty. :)

 do you wanna ask me anything?

 Stu: ok yes. when are you going to work in some mandolin or guitar in the band?

me: hmmm...

  probably after i'm done with your mom.

 Stu: well she's been wondering the same thing, so.

 me: you win. :) maybe i'll take the mando on vacation.

  OR

 Stu: totes.

me: maybe you'll let me play your new blue guitar!

 Stu: maybe.

 me: you still haven't fulfilled that promise.

  of letting me play the electric with the volume cranked (or at all).

  that's how you got me to audition in the first place.

  so thanks for nuthin.

 Stu: oh. next rehearsal!

me: :)

  k

  are we done here?

 Stu: you're the boss!

 me: i could do this all day!

  (twss x 3)

  oh

  one more question.

is it 5 - 3 = 2 or 5 - 2 = 3?

 Stu: yes.

 me: see how much you've accomplished since kindergarten!

what's really bugging me right now is that i thought of like 12 great questions for you in the course of this interview and then forgot all of them.

 Stu: i got nothin'.

 me: probably because of the swooning.

  or the chocolate croissant i had for breakfast.

  terrible.

 Stu: lucky!

me: way'll. can always do a follow up.

  all right you're off the hook!

  now back to ichat.

 Stu: goodbye everyone!

 me: thanks for the lovely conversation!

  have fun storming the castle!

 Stu: goodbye FW!

INTJ: The outside contractor
INTJs are solid, competent personalities who may seem aloof and even arrogant, but who are typically highly skilled in any field which interests them. INTJs are confident in their skills and knowledge, self-assured, and imaginitive; their exceptional problem-solving skills make them ideal architects, auto mechanics, and tools of the evil empire. While it requires the driving will to conquer of an ENTJ to imagine the Death Star and the evil genius of an ENTP to invent its devastating weapons systems, the skill and technical prowess of the INTJ is what makes the whole thing work.
The INTJ sees life as a problem to be solved. For that reason, the INTJ is the person a company brings in from the outside to streamline production processes and identify redundant assets for termination. The INTJ's combination of analyticial problem-solving skills and complete and utter disregard for the morality or consequences of his actions also make him ideal for the job of hatchet man, CIA operative, and helpdesk operator.
RECREATION: INTJs are often baffled by the strange and incomprehensible recreational rituals of other people, such as going to parties, watching television, and having sex. Instead, they prefer to spend their leisure time installing twin missile launchers in their cars to deter tailgaters and playing chess with megalomaniac CEOs of the Tyrell corporation.
COMPATIBILITY: Silly person, INTJs don't have relationships! They may, however build their own friends.
Famous INTJs include J. F. Sebastian and Sgt. Apone.