Our newest feature here at Scene Point Blank is our semi-daily quickie Q&A: One Question Interviews. Follow us at facebook or twitter and we'll post one interview every Monday-Thursday. Well, sometimes we miss a day, but it will be four each week regardless.
After our social media followers get the first word, we'll later post a wrap-up here at the site and archive 'em here. This week check out Q&As with Billy West, Morning Glory, Vacation and 20 Buck Spin.
Billy West (voice actor, Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, many more)
SPB: You've also played music in your past and you do some singing ("Shut Up and Love Me") in Futurama. How much creative say do you have when your characters create music?
Billy: Most of the music was always written for us and we sang exactly what Ken Keeler (writer,composer and producer) wanted.
I really didn't have much say in what my characters did except the acting choices. But on "Shut up and Love Me" they came up with the song title and I wrote the music and lyrics.
Beautifully puerile!
Ezra Arrow Kire (Morning Glory)
SPB: What do you think of Record Store Day?
Ezra: Record Store Day? It should be an official national holiday! Why? Because every child of the '80s and '90s remembers going down to their local record shop and listening to those big, shiny black, magic pieces of vinyl with those gigantic headphones on, going over and over that large format art for hours on end, reading every little detail in the liner notes, all the way down to the smallest credits.
Sometimes when browsing around my record shop I would run into other music enthusiasts and get to discussing and arguing over the value and content of "good" bands. Occasionally it could become quite heated and I'd leave slightly irritated (mainly because I knew they were right), but still elated to have discovered something brand spanking new! Not only is it the truly tangible experience of musical exploration that you just can't find online, it's often educational! A musical library stock full of hidden gems and rare treasures.
And now-a-days I have another reason to go into a record shop--I get to see my own records in the "M" section (or maybe once in a while they'll turn up in the used "99 cent bargain" section, hehe). Hell, either way it's a great way to get my own music for cheap! Or sometimes I'll just autograph it and slip it back into place. And if they don't carry my record, well I just go pester the shop owner directly until he gets hip and agrees to stock it! And since it's good luck to go out and buy a copy of your album on its release day… there's only place you can do that--your local record store! I vote national holiday for this one.
Evan (Vacation)
SPB: What is your primary tour food?
Our primary tour food is PIZZA. Like as much as your town has to offer, and if you know where we can get a New Jersey-style slice let us know! Bbeen achin' to try some. Also see this, except no riboflavin for us.
David Adelson (20 Buck Spin)
SPB: What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
David: Worst job I ever had was one of my first. When I was 16 I was suspended from school for smoking weed on campus. Since I could not go to school for 3 days my Dad said I'd have to make use of the time by finding a job. I got two jobs at once, one at Round Table Pizza (probably the 2nd worst job I ever had) and one at a pet grooming place where I was hired to clean up after the people who did the pet grooming. That entailed sweeping up pet hair mostly. But I immediately knew I'd made a mistake as smelling animals in the place all day and cleaning up after people and pets was not what I was ready to do. I quit after 2 days. Actually I don't even think I quit. Being 16 and as such a completely irresponsible and unaccountable asshole (like almost every boy of that age), I believe I just stopped going in without letting them know. Given minimum wage in California was $4.25/hr at this point (1993), I don't think I left more than about $25 behind.
