Progressive rock and synthesizers, exotic weapons, alternate history, military history, reading and writing (go figure).
I'd like to meet:
Tim Powers and James Blaylock, favorite American fantasists. Oh, you mean here on MySpace? Why, like-minded folks, of course! BTW, I've finally met Tim Powers -- a true gentleman.
Music:
Music has helped shape my work, and most of my influences span the progressive rock genre -- starting with ELP, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, through Rick Wakeman's solo works, Camel, Kansas, King Crimson, and Tangerine Dream, Synergy, Isao Tomita, Vangelis, and all the way to the neo-Progressive music of Fish & Marillion, Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree, Jordan Rudess, Liquid Tension Experiment, and Transatlantic, with a special place in my heart for the concept works of Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. I love the solo work of many fine prog musicians: Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Steve Hackett, Steve Howe, Peter Gabriel, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and so many more. The romanticism of the Progressive movement in rock -- with its blending of various styles such as classical, jazz, and R&B -- lends itself well to the Fantastic in its many literary forms. Also, it's adventurous and challenging music which tends to resist "backgroundization." I'm interested in vintage keyboards, especially the synthesizer in all its variations, the Hammond B-3 organ, and the Mellotron, but I'm well-versed in MIDI sequencing and notation technology, too.
Movies:
My movie influences range from Alfred ("Psycho") Hitchcock to Brian ("Body Double") dePalma, George ("Dawn of the Dead") Romero to David ("Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks") Lynch, Ken ("Gothic" and "Lisztomania") Russell to Sam ("Straw Dogs") Peckinpah, the Coen ("Fargo" and the masterpiece "Blood Simple") Brothers (of course!), Don ("Phantasm" & "Bubba Ho-Tep") Coscarelli, Dario ("Inferno") Argento to Tim ("Sleepy Hollow") Burton, Quentin ("Pulp Fiction") Tarantino, and many others. I'm also a diehard fan of the entire James Bond canon, though I acknowledge the many flaws evident in the series, and reserve the right to rank them in ways that may offend other Bond-ites.
Television:
Currently: The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Big Love, Real Time with Bill Maher, Entourage, Monk, Burn Notice, Californication (Showtime), Weeds (Showtime), John From Cincinnati (HBO), Mad Men (AMC), Hustle (AMC), the occasional CSI, Law and Order, and Las Vegas episode, Weeds (DVD), Veronica Mars (DVD), Desperate Housewives (DVD). Recent: Millennium, The X-Files, Carnivale, Deadwood, Homicide, Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Jack of All Trades, and occasional Buffy/Angel episodes. Classic: Seinfeld, Twin Peaks, Night Gallery, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Forever Knight, Friday the 13th: The Series, The Rockford Files, McCloud, Magnum PI, The Persuaders, The Saint, The Wild Wild West, Gilligan's Island (no, really!), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, and on.
Books:
My literary influences span from the works of Jules Verne to the mind-blowing fantasy tales of Tim Powers, with stops in between for Edgar Allan Poe, Harlan Ellison, James P. Blaylock, Karl Edward Wagner, Charles de Lint, Robert Bloch, Charles Grant, Philip K. Dick, Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, David Morrell, Gary A. Braunbeck, Matthew J. Costello, Ray Garton, Doug Clegg, Tamara Thorne, Brian Hodge, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake (Richard Stark), Alistair MacLean, Duncan Kyle, Desmond Bagley, Adam Hall, Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, Charles Spain Verral, George Wyatt, Robert Arthur, and too many more to name. Even good old "elusive" Franklin W. Dixon made an impact! And Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Rod Serling, Richard Matheson, and so many more. Some new influences include Lee Child and Barry Eisler.
Heroes:
Writers who challenge their readers, disturb their audience, and question the status quo. I think Art and Literature should push the boundaries and evoke a reaction -- any reaction -- in order to be relevant. Blandness is the Enemy of art.
