Jason Brown
Fave song off of Undone( and why) -
Valentine. I think it flows the best as a song. And I think the lyrics are some of the most crafty and fun to sing. I was involved in the writing process on this song from the early stages so I feel more connected to it.
Fave 5 cd's: -This is a tough one, and it may change over the years, but I think I can do it in order of importance to me. I couldn't live without these five CD's.
1. No Code (Pearl Jam)
2. Nothing's Shocking (Jane's Addiction)
3. Physical Graffitti (Led Zeppelin)
4. Life's Rich Pageant (R.E.M.)
5. This Desert Life (Counting Crowes)
Biggest influence(musical and/or personal) -Sorry, this is gonna sound like I'm president of the "Ten Club" or something, but Pearl Jam is the most significant musical influence for me. Let me explain though.. I thought the "Ten" album was cool just like everyone else when it came out in '92. Then I started to get bored after a while when every guy in America was wearing the flannel shirts and bellowing out the wrong words in unison to "Alive" in the fraternity at 2AM. After "Jeremy" hit MTV, I didn't give Pearl Jam another thought until 1997 when my good friend Levar made me listen to "Vitalogy" while we were on the road together. That's when I thought, "Damn, these guys didn't turn into sellouts from all the fame and glory and jocking." Their music is so full of energy and they have the balls to put out songs like "Bugs" and "...Mop"? I was hooked and that was the only thing I listened to for 4 months. Then, one day I bought No Code. I went back to my apartment, took the phone off the hook, locked the door and put the CD in. To be honest, by the time "In My Tree" was on (track 4), I was in tears. It was such a profound experience for me to be moved that much by a work of music. I decided then that I would try to make music with this band and do everything I could to make an album that would do that for someone else. I like the way this band runs their career. They are all about the music and all about the fans and "f" everything else. It's like they've distilled all the BS out of what a rock band can become and give you what's real.
1st album you bought:
"Abacab" by Genesis
1st concert you attended:
"Beach Boys" with my parents in Indy in 1981.
Who is your Hero:
My Dad and my younger brother, Pete.
Guilty pleasure (Musical or what not):
Skateboarding: Because the adults think I'm too old to do it, and the kids know that I suck.
If you could have dinner w/one person, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?:
John Lennon. I'm not quite sure why, he's just an interesting historical musical figure. I'd just like to hang with the guy for about as long as dinner would take. He'd probably bitch about me eating meat, but I'd order him a couple of drinks and get him buzzed so he'd chill out about it.
Fave Book:
I'm not a big reader, but I did read "The Celestine Prophecy" from cover to cover and I loved it.
Fave Author:
Again, not much of a reader these days, but I was a philosophy minor in college, so I had to read my a$$ off. I really dug Nietzche.
Fave Song (non PDT):
This one is impossible to say definitively. It changes every day or so. There's just too much to like out there. My favorite song is "Karma Chameleon" one day, and "Body Movin" by the Beastie Boys the next day. I'm also into listening to the whole album from an artist rather than picking things apart into singles like the radio does. If I ever get wireless internet, I'll do a "Jason's current fave song" thing for the website if you want! BTW, today it's "I've Got a Song" as recorded by Jim Croce.
Fave Musician(s):
PJ
Fave Quote: Changes every minute! I'm like a human channel surfer. I play quotes and music to myself in my head constantly so there's so many that I can't just give one. Here's the one that just popped into my head.. "Dude, America is like... one big freakin land-mass..." -Devo, after staring out the window of the bus for 6 hours on the 12 hour trip from Vanderbilt college (in Nashville, TN) to Traverse City, MI.
Most over-hyped thing in the world:
Creed
Most under-hyped thing in the world:
Liz Phair
Fave Movie:
Dazed and Confused or Spinal Tap.
Fave Actor:
Val Kilmer
Fave Actress:
Parker Posey (also one of the most under-rated things in the world)
Highlight of the band's career:
The album release of "Undone" this last Halloween.
Best PDT Show Memory:
The week-long, alcohol-soaked, stints at Spinnaker's in Panama City, FL over spring break many years ago... Too many stories to count. Too many dead brain cells to remember.
Most embarassing thing that has ever happened to you on stage:
I'm sure that if I had a video of all of our shows I'd have a lot more of these, but one time comes to mind. We were at the Vogue in '94 and lots of people were there including members of several other local bands and all of their friends. During the show, there was a group of really pretty girls that wandered over to the area in front of Tay and I. We were really wound up that night and were bouncing off the walls on stage. Tay did this running jump kick like something out of "Street Fighter II" on stage and landed solidly on the stage and continued playing. This seemed to impress our new lady friends quite a bit so I tried my hand at a high arial kick as well. In the air it probably looked very "David Lee Roth" but when I came down, I landed straight legged and on the back part of my heels. I teetered there for a moment, flailing as I tried to re-gain my balance, and then fell backwards on my a$$ right in front of the group of girls. They must have been overwhelmed by my coolness because they disappeared into the crowd never to be seen again. This was embarrassing on many levels. First, it sucks to fall down. Second, it sucks to fall down in front of chicks. Third, it sucks to drive girls away laughing from your performance. Fourth, it sucks to have fellow musicians and performers watching who will now remember you as "that kid who bailed at the Vouge". Fifth, and most sucky, is the fact that I had been publicly out-maneuvered by the notoriously clumsy Tay Bourquein who is usually about as graceful as a bull in a china-shop
Other:
Devo may love all the actresses, but his faves are the ones in the hit movie "The Women of South Central!"
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