If you could collaborate with anyone dead or alive who would you chose and why?
It's funny, most of our musical role models that I'd name of Spud's and mine (Zappa for him, Stephen Sondheim for me, Randy Newman, Tom Waits or Warren Zevon for both of us) are not really best known for collaboration.
I'd probably answer this question differently depending on what day you asked the question but today I'll say Keith Richards (plus, he nicely bridges both sides of the open-ended dead-or-alive part).
He's been half of one of the greatest collaborations in music history, he's iconic himself but effectively co-existed for 50 years now with another strong-willed icon, has solo/side career with a completely different feel apart from the Stones, is really open-minded about genres, vastly underrated as a songwriter and particular not acknowledged for sweet non-rockers like "Backstreet Girl", "How Can I Stop", "Fool To Cry", can be in background and foreground depending on situations and first and foremost seems just like a genuinely intelligent, nice person.
I read somewhere that you have made music for TV/Films is this correct and if so what shows?
Spud had a song in the Rob Lowe movie "Class" from when he was young that still cuts him checks years and years later! I've been doing some small-time scoring; one documentary soundtrack I love "Don't Change The Subject" (sorry for the advertisement, except I'm not sorry) and landed some cues in some Bravo, TLC shows.
We've got the 2016 movie placement we'll announce soon. I've got a collection of small things of music different places: podcast theme songs, original trailer music for indie projects, a friend's theater project. It's good to stay busy, I just want to keep getting my music outside of my house. And when you're trying to write pop-rock songs, it's a great outlet to write a simple theme or cue from something that you could never get quite right as a real "song".
(This question was a big favourite on our Twitter Tuesday Live show, so im bringing it back into my interviews! )
If I sent you off to a deserted island, and allowed you to take 3 things with you (People not included) what would you take and why?
1 - Music player; whether a guitar or an MP3 player, I really think I might lose it without listening to music all of the time.
2 - My dog. You said I can't take people but this is a good loophole to have a loved one with me. There is no dog better at lying around than Dave (my dog) and I suspect we'll have a lot of lying around time on the island.
3 - Thyroid pills. I had thyroid cancer (really was not scary or life-threatening in my case ... all it did is let me play the cancer-survivor sympathy card; very easy cancer, it's the one you want to get). But if I don't take the pills, eventually I'll die.
3a - Answer 3 was too easy. How about a good kitchen knife or spice rack? Food is already too important to me now; I think it would become even more important to me on that island.
A big THANK YOU to Charlie from Leaders in the Clubhouse for this awesome interview! Now you have read about them, go check out their music and enjoy them as much as I do!
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