photo by Stacy Schwartz, edited horrifically on Paint by me.

Five Questions Friday has been off gallivanting around for the past two weeks, and now makes it's triumphant return.

Reveille launched on Tuesday and I thought it would be fun to ask two of its staffers the fabulous five questions. Heads up, music loving friends - they'll continue celebrating tomorrow night at the Nomad Pub over on the West Bank with a launch party, loaded to the brim with Minneapolis' finest bands.

Onto the show...

In your opinion, who are some of the best local bands that maybe not as many people have heard about?

Andrea Myers: My favorites right now are City on the Make, a blues-based punk band with a really unique vocalist who sort of sing-growls his way through the music, and Abzorbr, an indie hip hop group with a jazz improv backbone. I think it's great to see new bands combining different genres and really going out on a limb with their sound.

Steve McPherson: Hm. Opening with a toughie, eh? A nice thing about the Twin Cities is that no worthy band really manages to fly under the radar for long, but a couple that I know of who haven't gotten any major press are Switzerlind, who play instrumental indie rock that's melodic and pastoral, and City on the Make, who'll be getting a write up on Reveille very soon thanks to Andrea Myers.

What is your preferred method of listening to music?

AM: With headphones, for sure. I go between CDs of bands I am reviewing, old CDs I am obsessed with and old stuff on vinyl, and it all gets played through headphones. It's like being in my own little musical world.

SM: I really tend to go back and forth between in the car and on headphones, and you really need both methods. I like the car because, as lame as this is going to sound, the music is soundtracking the changing environment around you, and that can make for beautiful moments. Headphones let you dig deep, though.


What's the best show you've been to in the past six months?

AM: It's a tie between Ryan Adams at the Cedar and Built to Spill at First Avenue. Oh, and every Dance Band show. I can't decide. Can they all be the best?

SM: The Arcade Fire at the Chicago Theatre was definitely one of the best big name shows I've seen in a long time—those guys really know how to work a stage.

If you could interview any musician, dead or alive, who would it be?

AM: Ani DiFranco. That girl blows my mind.

SM: John Coltrane, hands down. My favorite interviews have been with musicians who are really interested in the process of making music, and Coltrane worked tirelessly on challenging himself and taking on new directions with his music. I would have said Miles Davis, except I'd be afraid he'd beat me up.

As musicheads, are there any kinds of music out there that you just totally hate?

AM: James Blunt. Pop country. Mainstream, misogynistic rap. I pretty much love anything that doesn't fall into those categories. And yes, James Blunt is a category.

SM: I was just having a discussion about this with my friend (and co-editor at The Bottle Gang) Max Sparber. I feel like good hip-hop or country or jazz has more in common with good rock or blues than it does with bad hip-hop or country or jazz. Max said he agrees with Oscar Wilde, as do I, that there are only two kinds of art: boring and interesting. At least, I think it was Oscar Wilde.