Probably far more interesting are the things that I'm not interested in: never smoked a cigarette or had a cup of coffee, never had a glass of wine or a single shot of hard alcohol, still haven't ever eaten an apple or a banana, never been married or had kids, never shot dope or smoked speed, still haven't ever watched Star Trek or American Idol, never touched an XBox or been snow skiing, have still never had a credit card or taken out a loan, and I didn't go to college. I don't own a bong, computer, camera or nice suit, and I'm an chronic epileptic who has no medical insurance. So, yeah. What's left? Basketball and Dr. Pepper. And MySpace. I know I look really serious in a lot of these photographs, but that's just me frontin'. I really love to laugh and smile almost all the time.
Obviously I add everybody. Not lookin' to hook up with anybody, so all you hookers and fake bitches can save your spam. I usually delete the "thanks for the add", "check out our music!" and "have a nice day!" comments after a couple of days, so don't think I'm blowin' you off or anything. I guess if I had to come up with someone specific that I'd like to meet, I'd say Richard Branson, Rick Rubin, Quincy Jones, Chuck Eddy, Sarah Silverman, and PJ Harvey. And Michael Ware, the CNN reporter based in Iraq. His reporting is absolutely amazing. The man is one brave motherfucker. Anyway, introduce yourself. Bless your heart and support mom-and-pop records stores while you still can!
Air, Beck, Ben Harper, Bjork, Buck Pets, Butthole Surfers, Centro-Matic, The Clash, Company Flow, Cut Chemist, Cypress Hill, D'Angelo, Daniel Johnston, Dave Brubeck, Devandra Banhart, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, DJ Spooky, DJ Swamp, The DOC, Dr. Dre, Dr. Octagon, Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, Elliott Smith, Erykah Badu, Fela Kuti, Fiona Apple, Geto Boys, Grandaddy, Hydroponic Sound System, James Hall, Jeff Buckley, John Coltrane, Korn, Lil' Wayne, MF Doom, Miles Davis, Mix Master Mike, Mos Def, Neil Young, Nina Simone, Nirvana, Norah Jones, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Paul Wall, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Pleasure Club, The Roots, Roy Hargrove, Sage Francis, Shareefa, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Sparklehorse, The Spores, System of a Down, The Toadies, Tricky, Wilco, Willie Nelson, Wu Tang Clan
Adaptation, American Beauty, American Splendor, Boogie Nights, Bottle Rocket, Borat, Capote, City of God, Crumb, Dazed and Confused, The Departed, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Dig!, Eternal Sunshine and the Spotless Mind, Garden State, Gimme Shelter, Gummo, High Fidelity, Hustle and Flow, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Kids, The Last Picture Show, Laurel Canyon, Let's Get Lost, Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation, Magnolia, Mayor of Sunset Strip, Nashville, Old Man, Pi, Punk: Attitude, Repo Man, Rising Son: The Christian Hosoi Story, Rize, Sexy Beast, Sid and Nancy, Sin City, Slacker, Sweet Science, Tarnation, This is Spinal Tap!, Three Kings, Trainspotting, True Stories, Waking Life
CNN, HBO, ESPN, PBS, History Channel
"The New American Story" by Bill Bradley, "The Contortionist's Handbook" by Craig Clevenger, "Money" and "The War Against Cliche" by Martin Amis, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Songs of the Doomed" by Hunter S. Thompson, "Choke" and "Diary" by Chuck Palahniuk, "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs, "The Stamp Art and Postal History of Michael Thompson and Michael Henandez de Luna", "Prozac Nation" by Elizabeth Wurtzel, "Letters at 3AM" by Michael Ventura, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, "Et Tu, Babe" by Mark Leyner, "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung" by Lester Bangs, "Stairway to Hell" by Chuck Eddy, "Heavier Than Heaven" by Charles Cross, "Imperial Ambitions" by Noam Chomsky, "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole. Favorite artists and photographers: Robert Williams, Ron English, Bill Haveron, Terrell Moore, Jex, SAMO, Frank Kozik, Mark Merchant, Keith Haring, Koop, R. Crumb, Frank X. Tolbert Jr., Windy Kaye, Denny Doran, Judith Lea Perkins, Nobuyshi Araki, Dean Karr, Melodie McDaniel, Joel-Peter Witkin, John Holbrook, Cesario "Block" Montano, Judy Walgren, Steven Walker, Jilly, Hal Samples, James Bland, Charles Peterson, Fred Stuhr. I beileve that important art is drawn from pure inspiration and that you don't have to be a trained artist to manifest creativity. If you need an good example, check out the scene in the film "Hustle and Flow" where one of the girls discovers that she can sing. If that scene doesn't bring tears to your eyes, nothing ever will.
Three people: First of all, Bill Wisener has been a hero to many people in the Dallas area for well over 26 years. His record store served as safe haven from the typical mindless music retail experience - it was a place where music fans could go and hang out and shoot the shit with other hardcore music lovers and was an ongoing gift to the literally thousands of indie artists who can't get their material stocked in the larger chain stores. Bill Wisener has dedicated his time, his money, his energy and his soul to this record store. "the last record store" is filled with a number of personal reflections on Bill's contribution to the Dallas music and retail community, as well as testimonials to his gracious contribution to the personal lives of the many less fortunate people who have tended to gravitate to his store over the years. Secondly, musician James Hall has lived an absolutely amazing life. He has experienced the ugliest side of the music business and it has never affected or altered his creativity. James lost his home and most of his gear in Hurricane Katrina, and yet he still continues to make amazing music. If you've ever heard his music or seen him play, then you know James Hall is on a level on which only he exists. He's simply the most incredible performer I've ever seen, and I feel honored to have him as a friend. Lastly - but certainly not least- Sage Francis might be single-handedly saving hip-hop. His lyrics are astounding and informative. If you've given up on rap music, see if Sage Francis doesn't drag you back in to the fold.