QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – der gig-blog-Fragenkatalog: Folge 17 mit DANIEL CARLSON

Als kleiner Vorgeschmack auf den von Arnd Zeigler organisierten Abend am 30. Juni auf der Breminale mit Orwell und Jochen Distelmeyer, die sehr charmanten Antworten des ebenfalls dort auftretenden Daniel Carlson.

What are the first things you associate with Stuttgart?
A really lovely guy named Mark who was a friend of my flatmate when I was living in San Francisco. He spent a week sleeping on our sofa and telling us funny stories about his friends from university.

Please describe your most embarrassing moment on stage.
This is quite a while ago, but it involves completely forgetting the chords to a song I was playing, right in the middle of playing it. I can’t remember what I did to play it off, but I cringe when I think about it. I’m cringing right now, as a matter of fact. Ugh.

Can you list all the things you lost on tour?
Most of my dates tend to be close to NYC (which is where I live most of the time). I do lose stuff at home all the time: socks, cd’s, guitar picks.

We’d love to hear from you that your latest record isn’t your best one.
I could say „yeah, it’s the one in my head that I haven’t made yet“, but I think that’s even more annoying than the answer didn’t want in the first place. I do enjoy my new record, but I like the other one, too.

Which was the last movie you saw in cinema?
„Get Him to the Greek“ – is that what it’s called? The one with Russell Brand as a burnt out rock guy. It was ok.

Which was the last album you bought?
Eugene McDaniels, ‚Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse‘ from 1971. I guess you’d call it soul album, but that doesn’t really come close to describing it. Lyrically and musically really provocative. Difficult to engage with initially, but more difficult to put away once it’s taken hold.

Which was the last book you threw into the corner?
If you mean which book did I last give up on without finishing it, I guess it was ‚Atonement‘ by Ian McEwan. Not sure why, everyone else seemed to like it.

Which song makes you run on the dancefloor?
‚September‘ by Earth, Wind & Fire. Not a very original answer, I know, but that song blows my mind whenever I hear it.

The world’s best live club?
The Bimhuis in Amsterdam is pretty close to perfect.

Why are your concerts the best ones?
Best? I think they’re different. Not as loud. Different chords. Melodies.

If your music was food, what would it taste like?
A bialy with gravlax on it from Russ & Daughters in NYC. Mostly simple, but a bit complicated. And salty.

Are the Beatles overrated?
No.

Your greatest mental defect?
Hard to pick just one.

Which question do you absolutely want to be asked?
„Did you have any pets when you were growing up?“

Why does beautifully crafted, highly listenable pop as played by you or Orwell hardly get through to mainstream audiences?
Great question. There was a time, not all that long ago, when there was more melodic/composed stuff on the radio. Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, Harry Nilsson, Paul Williams, people like that were writing great songs that got made into huge hits. But things seem to have shifted and I don’t understand why. Orwell is making beautiful records, as are Testbild! and many others. I do think that some indie people (like myself) have turned some of this 60’s/70’s style of music in on itself a bit – and as a result, it’s not quite as conventional as a lot of that earlier stuff. Not a judgement of that time or this time, just an observation that today’s version of that music is, in the end, not quite as catchy or infectious as the Carpenters, the 5th Dimension, those kinds of records.