Seven answers on 7Q (also known as the FAQs of life.)				Interviewed by Tom Mangan Steven Ovadia, rock critic of the 21st century		AUTHORS Michael Fuchs Elizabeth Hilts Paul Riddell Gary Rivlin Jim Motavalli Barbara Shafferman Jules Siegel Keith Snyder ARTISTS/POETS/ PHILOSOPHERS Jon C. Allen Will Baker Mike Leung Jon Sarkin COOL SITE KEEPERS Mike Cash Scott O'Neal Colf Godfrey Daniels Cliff Davis, DDS Tammy Hocking Wes Modes Frank Rogan DIARISTS Ralph Becker J. D. Bruns Linda DeVault Mike Reed Moira Richardson Jessamyn West FILMMAKERS Ben Kufrin Dean Mermell JOURNALISTS Bernie Mary Cooley-Jones Lindsay Crysler Jamie Dupree M.O.A.T.M.A.I. David Moll Robert Niles John Orr Steven Ovadia Pierce Presley Mack Reed Rip Rense Curtis Ross Neal Ross John Scalzi Catherine Seipp David Sheets Dwight Silverman Matt Welch MOVIE MAVENS MaryAnn Johanson Brian Koller HUMORISTS Debbie Farmer Mike Jasper Madeleine Begun Kane Patrick Keller Bob Sassone Valerie Sprague Ken Swarmer Ian Wolff SOLDIERS Maj. Jon Anderson, USAF TEACHERS John Warner TECHIES Chris Adamson Mike Gunderloy Michael Ivey Greg Knauss Floyd Maxwell Ellen McDonough Mike Pingleton Wayne Thume John Worth TEENS Gary Baum Marty Beckerman UNDECLARED Bev Gibbs Beth Reid WEBLOGGERS Jason Kottke Jish Mukerji
ONE				Tell us a few things that Queens has over Manhattan that you have to live there (in Queens, that is) to appreciate. I think the obvious thing is the parking. You can’t get a spot anywhere near where you want to be in Manhattan but in Queens it’s not that big a deal. Very convenient. Also, the people in Queens have usually lived there all their lives so they’re comfortable in the city, they’re friendly, and they’re "real." Manhattanites, the ones I meet that is, tend to be people from other states who are trying to make it in the big city by pretending to be the type of New Yorker they see on TV. People live and die in Queens, but people move in and out of Manhattan. Oh. And Queens has good diners.
TWO				What are your credentials to be a rock & roll writer? It probably works against me, but I just like music and have no desire to make the reader feel stupid. People are going to buy what they’re going to buy and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them, so you may as well be entertaining. But like I said, that’s probably why I don’t get as much work as I could.
THREE				Are you really making a living at this, or are you staying w/mom and dad until a good gig comes along? I’m sooooo not making a living from this. By day, I’m a writer/editor for a bunch of medical journals. It’s not bad though. At least I get to do what I like in the evenings (or during the day when no one is looking). And I made enough to move out of my parent’s house. It’s not what I thought I’d be doing when I graduated, but there are probably a trillion worse jobs to have.
FOUR				So much rock seems contrived to meet some market demographic these days. Any bands/albums/concerts come to mind that seem to break out of this rut? I saw Jonathan Richman a few weeks ago and he makes no effort to cater to anybody, really. He just sings these silly songs with a drummer who only has one drum. No kit. It’s so strange but so entertaining. Anyone performing in New York is probably being aimed at some demographic by some record guy. Or the band is playing a really bad club on a Wednesday night. I’m too jaded though. I can’t hear anything without thinking about how the label is trying to sell the band. Or how the band is trying to sell itself. I’m a little bitter about my being kicked out of the Backstreet Boys right before they made it big.
FIVE				Who's the best living rock guitarist, and how come? This is hard. I’d say the best rock guitarist who is still alive is Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. He really took rock and roll into a new era, for better or for worse. There are very few things done in rock today that he didn’t do first. I think the best rock guitarist right now, this very moment, is Neil Young. His sound was made for stadiums, he still sounds like some 15-year-old kid getting a first guitar, and he just encompasses all of music–avante garde, classical, rock-a-billy–everything.
SIX				Use your imagination and conjure up a suitable exile for Sammy Hagar. I think we should just give Sammy his own third world nation. Some place sunny. He needs attention. He needs to be looked at. Leading his own third world nation would give him that while sparing the rest of us from having to hear about him, or hear his music, or the new brand of tequila he invented. I think we have to move quickly though, because Van Halen is looking for another new singer, and Sammy keeps weighing in on the subject about every five minutes.
SEVEN				Recount a tale of something you approached with high anticipation that turned out to be a disaster. I thought freelancing would be more fun than it turned out to be. I figured I’d be lunching with editors, fielding offers all day, and getting increasingly better gigs. It hasn’t really been that way, though. New York Press gives me pretty steady work, which is nice, but breaking into new places is always really tough. That’s why I’ve started Pop Update, which is trying to be a vital online zine. Right now it’s just a small part of my homepage. It’s got commentary and reviews and generally funny things. It’s coming together slowly but at least it’s all mine. Or anyone who wants to buy it from me so I can retire to a third-world nation to be Sammy Hagar’s Secretary of Rock.
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