December 09, 2005

Five Questions With: Nobody

1. WHAT WAS THE FIRST RECORD YOU BOUGHT?
The first record I ever bought with my own loot was Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s “Can You Feel the Beat”. It came in a picture sleeve with the dudes who look like Shabadoo and Turbo from Breakin’ on the cover with her. The B-side was the “Beat the Feel You Can Remix” which was a sick edit of the instrumental. Unlike most of us who were born with Can records in our hands, I only had the radio when I was young, so when a cute 3rd grade girl told me about this song when I was 8, I had to buy it. Thank you Aileen Mendoza.

2. WHAT IS THE MOST RECENT (GREAT) RECORD YOU’VE HEARD?
The Animal Collective’s new album “Feels” is my favorite new record right now. It’s a psychedelic record that doesn’t use any of the old clichés of 60’s psych and really sounds like a fresh new sound. It is akin to Olivia Tremor Control’s wall of sound but replaces OTC’s tendency to imitate with bold experiments. Some of the catchiest hooks on the record are indecipherable shouts crammed through a haze of tribal percussion and handclaps. If the Esperanto theory of forming a universal language morphed into a religion, this would be the music heard in church.

3. WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START MAKING MUSIC?
I was inspired by the golden era of hip-hop, which is often thought of as the years 1991 to 1993. Having heard 45’s by Parliament as a freshman in high school, I recognized “Knee Deep” as the source material for both De La Soul’s “Me, Myself and I” and the X-Clan’s “Funkin’ Lesson”. I realized that the producer of the tracks made the music out of old records instead of actual instruments. Making music out of old records sounded like the most fun thing in the world to do so I started doing it.

4. DO YOU HAVE AN INDIE RECORD SHOP STORY/MEMORY?
My fondest memory at work is when a sweet older woman came in and said she had a car full of records. Usually, one goes out and finds a trunk full of Streisand and a backseat of classical soundtracks. On this day, this was not the case. It was a carload of the rarest funk, soul, jazz and old school hip-hop. I knew it was the real deal when I saw price tags from Europe that were priced high. After trying to get my head around the collection I asked her who she was and she said “It’s my brother’s collection. He makes music. His name is Warren G.” I shit my pants, cleaned myself of, asked Jim to pay her the highest for a trade I’ve ever paid and then went broke for two months buying a quarter of the collection. Thanks Marcia Griffin.

5. IF YOU WEREN’T A MUSICIAN, WHAT WOULD BE THE NEXT RUNNER UP?
I would probably have pursued painting or drawing. I took art classes in college and really thought I would go that route when I started, but alas music and recording arts came calling. Now I can’t even draw a giraffe.

Buy Nobody's CD "...And Everything Else".

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Nobody's Discography
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And Everything Else

Pacific Drift

Soulmates
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