All Back To My Place

MOJO magazine has a regular feature where they ask musicians and celebrities a specific set of questions about their musical tastes. Not unlike the Bernard Pivot questionnaire that James Lipton used on The Actor's Studio program, but focused on musical taste.

The feature in the magazine is called All Back To My Place. Since it seems unlikely that MOJO will ever call me, I'll give you my answers here.

What music are you currently grooving to?
Right now it's Justin Currie's The Great War, Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, The Band Of Heathens' One Foot In The Ether, Melody Gardot's My One And Only Thrill, and Don Dixon Sings The Songs Of The Jeffords Brothers.

What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favorite album?
Oh well, sometimes it's Rubber Soul by the Beatles, or Kiln House by Fleetwood Mac. But the one that rises to the top of the list most often is probably The Band by The Band.

What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
The first record that was actually mine was 50,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, which was given to me for my eighth birthday. My older brothers always had records and I got to listen to those, so the first record I actually bought was much later, and it may have been The Guess Who's Wheatfield Soul. I always liked These Eyes, the single from that record. I bought it at Culver Military Academy, where I attended one summer.

Which musician (other than yourself) have you ever wanted to be?
I'd want to be a musician that isn't too badly screwed up. Who would that be? Maybe Eric Clapton, or Elton John. No, make that Van Morrison. But I just want their talent and money, and I'll develop my own psychoses.

What do you sing in the shower?
Whatever is stuck in my head at the time. I always liked a lot of Elton John's stuff, so maybe Rocket Man or Amoreena. But it could be anything I heard recently. Boppin' The Blues by Carl Perkins is always good.

What is your favorite Saturday night record?
Getting ready to go out, I might fire up some ACDC, maybe You Shook Me All Night Long, or Edgar Winter's Keep Playing That Rock And Roll, or Sniff 'n' The Tears' Driver's Seat, or NRBQ's Me And The Boys. Sometimes it's more dancable, like Kirsty MacColl's Mambo De La Luna or Jackie Wilson's Baby Workout, or One Nation Under A Groove by Funkadelic.

And your Sunday morning record?
For a long time my Sunday morning music was Donovan's A Gift From A Flower To A Garden. These days it's more likely to be a female jazz singer such as Karrin Allyson or Barb Jungr.