[Is music your full-time pursuit or do you have a dayjob?] I do anything I can that pays, is creative and isn't a day job. My various forms of employ have in the past few years ranged from writing independent film screenplay re-writes, to acting in TV commercials (I did a Ford Ranger commercial a year ago where I played a musician in a band, and the "onstage" footage was shot at Fais Do-Do, one of the clubs where I perform in LA.! In my first commercial for Secret all I had to do was kiss Denise Richards under the Santa Monica pier and then collect the residual checks for a year -life was easier then...), to composing  and producing music for TV documentaries (my co-producer Keven Brennan and I have done docs for TBS, Discovery Channel, and MSNBC,  to name a few. That's mostly what I do now...I am also writing a musical called STARGAZER (to be workshopped and developed in 2001 by LA acting guru Larry Moss!), but there is no money involved there yet... 
 
[What was your old day job?] I've done a lot of stuff, from waiting tables in Maine to construction work in Colorado. The most interesting job I had was working for Japanese rock star Yoshiki, whom I accompanied to a three-day music festival in a Buddhist temple near Osaka, featuring Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, INXS, Jon Bon Jovi, The Chieftains, Wayne Shorter, Ry Cooder, and others. All I had to do in the ten days was videotape Yoshiki buying expensive clothes and help him with some lyrics. The best part was the VIP all access pass that enabled me to rub elbows with Joni and Dylan in the mess tent. Go figure... 
 
[At Brown, what did you major in and what did you like to do?] I majored in music at Brown, and I honestly could have partied a little less and learned a little more. They do have a great recording studio there, which I spent a good deal of time in, learning a bit about production. C'est la vie. 
  
[Did you do a lot musically with Lisa Loeb, Liz Mitchell and Duncan Sheik?] Liz and Lisa and I played a lot of acoustic gigs together, and I played bass for them one year (my senior year). Duncan joined the band the year after I graduated and moved to LA with my band "Onion". Duncan and I shared a rehearsal space in the basement of one of the dorms, but we never really hung out - we were cordial. There were also a lot of other amazingly talented musicians there. A band called "roundband", which consisted of singer/songwriter Dan Seiden (who became the guitarist in Onion), Joe Quigley on bass, and Jon Feinberg on drums, all of whom play on Lisa's first album. Also bands called BOX (now Babe the Blue Ox) and Dolores. My good friend Chad Fischer, with whom I later shared an apartment in New York, was in a band called the eyes and also played with Lisa for at least a year. He also played in "School OF Fish" and now has a band called Lazlo Bane. He is a producer here in LA.
 
[Aside from Lisa, do you still work with many Brown alums in music?] Chad occasionally jumps onstage with a drum, that's about it though. My friend Sirsa Shekim has a band here, but she was at Brown after I graduated. I still work on projects with my friend Anthony Avildsen who was my best friend in College (he went to RISD) and was the drummer in Onion. 
 
[How did you become a singer-songwriter?]  I always loved banging on the piano, but I didn't really start writing pop songs until I bought a guitar and started to learn my way around that thing freshman year in college. I formed a ska cover band called the "Casuals" ( we did mostly English Beat and Specials tunes), but I got tired of covers and started writing some original tunes. That eventually led through a succession of noisy and bizarre rock bands to the singer/songwriter thing. 
 
[What instruments do you play and which is your favorite?] I play anything they'll let me get my hands on, including guitar, bass, keyboards, clarinet, saxophone, percussion, drums (a little), flute etc. my favorite instrument is the piano, which I rarely get to play. however, i recently acquired a vintage electric piano called a "wurlitzer", which I play on "Myself In You", "Shakytown" and the new tunes "The One YOu want", "Beautiful Small", "Sean Connery" and more... I'm diggin the wurli. 
 
[Who are your musical heroes?] The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Ani DiFranco, Stevie Wonder, Thomas Dolby, the Smiths, Eleven, Frances Dunnery, and my various talented friends who play.
 
[What are the moments of musical glory you've had in your so far?] Few and far between, I'm afraid! I was approached by Meshell N'degeocello a few years ago in a guitar shop. She loved what I was playing, came to my next show, then offered me a production deal, which, unfortunately, did not pan out, as she became distracted by other ventures. Nonetheless, I felt honored to have the respect and enthusiasm of such a talented musician.  
  
My band Onion was offered a record deal by Michael Douglas' label Thirdstone. They treated us like rock stars and sent me a big Onion shaped cake on my birthday. Unfortunately, I got in a motorcycle accident, broke my femur, and the band broke up and the deal fell through (I was still able to play, mind you, but morale was low...) 
  
My song Oxygen is supposedly going to be played on "morning becomes eclectic " on KCRW this weekend. if so, it will be the biggest moment of glory yet, as KCRW is the coolest radio station in LA, if not the country... 
 
[What words of advice would you offer an aspiring musician?] Practice yoga, eat organic produce and study anthroposophy (that's my advice for everyone). Be true to your self in every way, especially creatively, and play and sing what feels best to you, regardless what other people think. If you are considering this as a career, abandon this idea unless you honestly feel there is no other choice for you. In that case, 
prepare for an uphill battle, and try not to become too cynical. remember, if you can lift one person's spirits a little, or change one person's life, your eforts have not been in vain. the record industry is full of sleazy, hypocritical cowards, but there must be a few cool people out there, too, how else can you explain the success of Radiohead?
 
[Some people have said there is a world of difference between your solo acoustic sets, your full band shows and your studio-produced CD. In  which of these formats do you think your music sounds best and why?] The ideal would be a full acoustic band with percussion, cello, piano, backing vocals, drums, electric guitar, trumpet. This isn't possible right now, so I vaccillate between the raw, immediate vibe of the solo stuff and the more powerful, but less intimate small band arrangement (with whom I like to rock a bit  I can). I hope to take the studio stuff even further on my next record - simpler in some places, more experimental in others, etc.
 
[Which song on Shakytown is your favorite?]  That's a tough one, but songwise probably Planets, Moons and Stars or Late Night Walk. Production wise, I think Oxygen and That's A Lie came out the best.
 
[Why is the album Shakytown missing the track "Shakytown," with which you opened your set at the CD release party?]  The title for the album came from my cousins, who are truckers. They told me truckers call LA Shakytown because of the earthquakes, and I liked that, especially because there are other aspects to LA that are a little shaky. I wrote Shakytown the song after we had finished the album. 
 
[What's your relationship status? Do you have any kids?] None that I know of! I have been single for almost a year now, following a wonderful two year relationship. 
 

I guess I'm hard to pin down unless I meet the right woman. Right now I am just "dating" (however you want to interpret that!) 
 
[Who's the little kid that introduces all the tracks on Shakytown?] That's my 3 year old Godson Sacha, (son of my first love, Tatiana, who is still one of my dearest friends, and who used to manage Lisa Loeb!)
 
 
[Why did you shave your head?] I am actually growing my hair back  now (I have what you might call very short hair now, but it's there). I originally shaved my head about five years ago when I was in a frustrating, intense relationship; it was like a desperate bid for control in some way. However, I soon found that I liked having it shaved or buzzed, because it looked cool ( I thought so anyway), it was easy, and I wasn't always being vain about my hair, which I tend to do when I have hair. Furthermore, like any man of Scottish descent, I am definitely going bald, so it's kind of a convenient style. Like I said, though, I am going to see what growing it out longish does for me...why not, while there's still some there?