poltr1 | Interview questions from filkerdave....

1. Bass Clarinet to keyboard was quite a jump. What prompted it?

I started organ lesssons when I was 6. My parents thought it would be a good way to improve my eye-hand coordination. I didn't start clarinet until I was 8.

In high school, I wanted to be in the jazz ensemble. But since I didn't play sax back then, there was no room for me. My experience at the keyboard managed to get me in the group, although as a third-stringer. We had a Fender Rhodes electric piano (until some idiot stole it from the school).

2. If you could play any one instrument that you don't already have any knowlege of, which one would you pick and why?

Bass guitar. I know I don't have the left hand for guitar, unless I play it left-handed (right hand on the neck, left hand strumming). I like being part of the foundation, and there just aren't many bass players in filk.

3. If you could travel back in time and see any one concert that you were at again, which one would you choose to relive?

Probably my first one -- Asia with Chris DeBurgh as the opening act. There are some I missed that I would love to have a second change to see -- Rush with opening act Marillion.

4. Is there any song, filk or commercial or otherwise, that you wish you'd written? And if there is, which one and why?

Oh, there are plenty, but none in particular stand out. I have plenty of unfinished songs, and a few finished ones. I'm envious of those who can hammer out songs in hours or minutes. Me, it takes months or years to finish songs.

5. Have you ever wished for the ability to play more than one instrument at a time so you could back yourself up?

Absolutely. But that's what recording tape and MIDI are for -- so I can accompany myself. The way I write songs is more orchestral than other filkers. I "hear" instruments playing certain lines in my head, and that's what I try to realize.