Best known for Being a part-time singer of the Smithereens.
Current city I currently live in Valley Stream, New York on Long Island, but I hail from my hometown, Tempe, Arizona.
Really want to be in If I could live anywhere else, it would either be back in Tempe or maybe Chicago… I like that town!
Excited about I’m excited about our upcoming tour with Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler and the recordings that I am producing that is a collaboration with those groups. I’ll be doing “Indiana Wants Me” with Blues Traveler and Chris Barron, and I’m doing “Dangerous Type” with Spin Doctors.
My current music collection has a lot of My favorite band lately is White Reaper. They are awesome, as good as anything I’ve ever heard, and I also like Soccer Mommy and The Dare.
And a little bit of I’ve also been listening to some jazz and classical—some classic jazz like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, that sort of thing.
Preferred format These days I just stream everything. You know, I’m old fashioned. I like vinyl and cassettes and all of that, but I don’t employ those media anymore to listen to music.
5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:
1
Candy-O, The Cars
The first time I heard “Let’s Go” on the radio, every neuron in my brain was firing. This was a record I always listened to in its entirety. I never repeated my favorite song over and over. So I always had to be ready to turn it over to hear Side Two without any delay. After all these years, it’s still one of my favorites, and I think my favorite song is “Candy-O”… the groove is just so great. Those guys are playing so great together and it’s just one big beautiful noise.
This came out when I was a freshman in high school. I was already a huge fan. They were my favorite band, and this record lived up to all the promises. The opening track is great. I love “Dragon Attack.” It’s some of Brian May’s best guitar work. And then you hear “Another One Bites the Dust.” But my favorite song is the 4th song, “Need Your Loving Tonight,” it’s just Queen rocking out. So many people think Queen is this huge elaborate thing and it’s great to see them just toss out a hard rock song with no bullshit. And then, of course, it just keeps going. There’s so much great stuff on this record, but “Sail Away Sweet Sister” is one of Brian May’s greatest songs, and then the whole album ends with “Save Me,” which is as good as anything Queen ever recorded, and the most powerful and Queen-like song on the record.
3
Murmur, R.E.M.
The day after I graduated from high school in 1983, I went to see The Fixx and A Flock of Seagulls in Mesa, Arizona. Before the show, they were playing music over the PA and a song came on that just blew me away. I actually went up to the sound booth and asked, “What is this song that’s playing?” And they told me, “It’s Martha and the Muffins.” So, I went back to my friends, I sat down, and then I heard the roadies from the mixing board yelling to me from like 50 feet away, and they said, “Hey, mate, this is R.E.M.” So, I rode my motorcycle to Tower Records the next day. (Incidentally, the motorcycle I had was exactly the same model as the one that Prince drove in Purple Rain.) R.E.M. Murmur was a transformative moment for me, and it showed me a completely new way to make rock ‘n roll.
By the time this record came out, the Replacements were the favorite band of me and all my friends. The album’s incredible. “Alex Chilton” was transformative, and we all became fans of Big Star immediately. “Never Mind” is one of my favorite tracks. The melody, the guitar riff are so great. “Valentine,” I absolutely love it. It’s a perfect rock ‘n roll record. When we were signed, we were offered a number of producers to work with, and when we found out that John Hampton had recorded Pleased to Meet Me and Tommy Keen’s Based on Happy Times, we chose John Hampton and Ardent Studios to record our major-label debut. It’s always been a point of pride that we were a part of the Ardent Studio’s legacy.
5
Cheap Trick at Budokan, Cheap Trick
The first concert I ever saw was Cheap Trick open for KISS on the Love Gun Tour in 1977—which was the same tour that they recorded this amazing live record. So many great songs. I think my favorite is actually “Lookout,” which is not included on any other album. My favorite Cheap Trick record (not live) is probably In Color. But a lot of that record, my favorite songs from that album, are featured on Cheap Trick at Budokan, along with the highlights of “Heaven Tonight,” and of course, “Lookout.” Period, they’re the best.
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