THE MoM Q & A With SCOTT LOOMER   1. Describe the moment in music that changed your life. In August of 1968, when I was seven, the whole family drove down to Burlington, Vermont from Montreal to buy our new “fall wardrobes” for school. Paisley shirts, boldly stripped stovepipe pants and the all important ringed neckerchief. In short, we were the Monkees. My older brother used his hard won allowance to buy Sgt. Pepper and I was desperate to do the same. My ever practical mother – the Prairie Stoic – balked at the idea of both of us spending good money on the same album and forced me to choose something else. Glen Campbell had his own TV variety show at the time and I was under television’s thrall so that’s how I came to own my very own copy of Wichita Lineman. Between my brother and me we wore the grooves off of both those records. An early start to the Donny and Marie musical schizophrenia that’s still there to this day. 2. I wish I wrote this song and why. Leiber and Stoller’s “Is That All There Is”. Why? Because it answer’s all the questions. 3. If you could have been at any concert in history, what would it have been and why? Well, at the risk of stating the obvious, Johnny Cash at Folsom or San Quentin. Except of course for the whole being in prison thing. An intensely emotional experience for everyone there no doubt. 4. What have you blatantly stolen and incorporated into your songwriting or performance? As far as songwriting is concerned I have never consciously stolen anything. On the other hand I can’t escape the feeling that, subconsciously, I have stolen pretty much everything. I mean, correct me if I’m wrong but I did invent the 3 minute 30 pop song, did I not? Performance-wise, I’ve incorporated as many moves from the Neil Young choreography hand book as possible. That man can dance. 5. With a gun to your head, describe your music. With a gun to my head? I have say that more than a bit of the Prairie Stoic rubbed off so it would take a fairly big gun in the hands of a reasonably good shot to get me to speak seriously at length about our music. Maudlin music for the melancholic. Had a friend once refer to us as Gloomer but we don’t talk much anymore and we’re definitely a little sunnier than that. My favorite quote was from an Italian magazine that described our music as “…a western mood that gets under the skin, provoking long shudders of pleasure up and down the spine”. Cigarette anyone? Lyrically, I’m partial to fuzzy stories verging on the opaque. 6. One thing I hate about the music business is: Don’t need a gun to my head for that. So many, many things are wrong with it but I think the saddest, perhaps unintended consequence of having a music business period has been to discourage most folks from making music of their own. The needy ones like me will always be there to tap dance for the crowd but people used to make more music at home for their own pleasure. Oh and music videos. Yes, I know that makes two things. 7. Who is the artist your parents or older sibling listened to that you swore you never would like but have come to appreciate? I ashamed to admit that as a child I was not hip to the whole Nat King Cole thing. I’m happy to report that I have fully recovered from that unfortunate bout of musical ignorance. The folks saw him live in San Francisco during their honeymoon. Not surprisingly, my older brother came along shortly after that. 8. What song could you never cover because it’s just too damn good and you’d be afraid to ruin it? We really don’t perform ANY cover songs for precisely that reason. Specifically though, you’re pretty much heading towards Niagara Fall in barrel as soon as someone decides that it would be a good idea to cover Paperback Writer. And don’t even attempt to cover Crazy unless you’re Patsy Cline, which you’re not. Right Willie? 9. What’s the one creature comfort you crave while on the road? Vegetables. Fruit. Food that isn’t fried and/or brown. 10. I can die after I’ve met: I think pretty much everyone in my “I can die after I’ve met” category is already ready dead. Normally, I don’t aspire to meet famous people but I do remember thinking a while back that it would be really interesting to meet Johnny Cash before he died. And then he died. So, I don’t indulge in that sort of wishful thinking anymore. Just in case. 11. What’s your favorite poison? After bacon? For a slow, steady evening of reasonable impairment it’s gotta be Guinness. 12. The best way to ride out a hangover? One needs to lay down a solid foundation of starch followed by plenty of healthful juices and such. Oh, and golf on the TV because that will cause you to sleep. Or you could invent time travel. Avoid the whole day. 13. If you were a Simpson’s character, which one would you be, and why? A perplexing combination of Krusty and Lisa. World weary and self-serving and yet righteously indignant and disturbingly naïve at the same time. Is this therapy really helping me, doctor? 14. Rate these bands best to worst: Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Kansas. Explain your reasons. As my friend Tony explains it, this one of those “would you like mustard or mayonnaise on your sh*t sandwich?” questions. So, in that case, in reverse alphabetical order… 1. Styx 2. Kansas 3. Journey 4. Foreigner 15. You’ve become king/queen of the world, what’s your first move? Try not to wake up. > IT'S A CRACKER! LOOMER Songs of the Wild West Island Loomer's sophomore release expands on their exceptional debut. Scott Loomer's songwriting and the band's rich, cinematic sound, compliments of Andrew Lindsay, Brian Duguay, Mike Taylor, Iain Thomson, and John DeHaas, move them into the upper-tier alongside stalwarts Ryan Adams, Wilco, and The Jayhawks. From the opening notes of Bang The Nails to the closing of Endless Holiday, Loomer stakes their claim as one of the best bands working in the loosely-defined Americana genre. - Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music (self released)(Newtone) Review + Sound Clips CD $12.49 LOOMER Love Is A Dull Instrument. Review + Sound Clips CD $11.99