Please explain what just happened.

I judged a high school/middle school battle of the bands. Female art-rockers prevailed over arena-ready, emo-tinted boy rock. Every one of the four categories of winners had a girl in the band–and only one was a high school band. The middle-schoolers were, predictably, more of a shambling lot, but were a lot stranger, and funnier, in their creative choices.

What is your earliest memory?

Disneyland. I’m in a stroller, and one of the seven dwarves is looming over me.

If you weren’t a musician what other profession would you choose?

Penniless song collector.

1. “Supernatural Superserious” – R.E.M.

It starts like this: the immediate slash and burn of guitar. And a voice reminding us that there was once a time in our lives when we were ghosts, so supernatural/superserious in the face of this occasionally cruel world. Pasts we can hide from, pasts we can ignore, rediscover, reinvent, or simply embrace and accept as they are. As we are.

My wife is pregnant.

Showing.

Growing.

Glowing.

Claire is fertilizing my seed, so to say, and supposedly on June 6th we’ll have a full grown zucchini ready for bucketing.*