11 Questions with... Adam Levy

Today's installment of "11 Questions with..." features none other than Oscar's oldest pal on the planet, Adam Levy. Adam is oft-referenced here at the ol' blog site - we grew up discovering records together, and he's responsible for turning me on to a lot of stuff I wouldn't have heard at that age otherwise. Levy's played with everyone from Norah Jones to Tracy Chapman, Sondre Lerche to Amos Lee, etc - his latest cd, Washing Day, is available for download on iTunes and for sale here or at your friendly neighborhood record shop (at last count there were seven left in North America).

So, I need to make a confession... I really did think this whole "11 Questions" thing was a semi-original idea... that is until I went to Adam's website today and discovered his long-standing "13 Questions" tab. Dammit. So, subconsciously, I probably stole the idea from him. Levy's a good sport tho, and never said anything. And he was the first person approached with the questionnaire, so that alleviates some guilt.

At the bottom of his Q&A segment I've posted a YouTube video of Adam during his recent touring stint with power-pop god Chris Difford... the entire show seems to be up on YouTube - thank God for video camera phones and this whole world wide webs thing. You can find the entire batch of video clips here.

...but first, the questions:

1. Use the word "antidisestablishmentarianism" in a sentence.

I dabbled in antidisestablishmentarianism while at college, but I always missed the taste of bacon.

2. Please list your favorite movie, tv show, and snack food.

Punch-Drunk Love, The Electric Company, sesame sticks

3. What book should we be reading?

What It Is, by Lynda Barry

4. I say tomato, you say...

Fried green, at the Four-Way Café in Memphis.

5. What was your most memorable gig?

Playing guitar with Norah Jones at the Hollywood Bowl in 2004. Growing up in L.A., I'd revered the Bowl as a temple. And, as it happened, that gig was on the eve of my 20th anniversary high-school reunion. "Oh, you know, really I'd love to be there, but I'm stuck onstage at the Bowl."

6. Who is your fantasy musical collaborator? Living or dead.

Ry Cooder.

7. What is the most "unlikely" record/cd that you love?

I don't think there's anything in my collection that would be all that surprising. Maybe some avant-garde guitar stuff, like Noel Akchote. More surprising might be what's absent. I'm a late bloomer in so many ways.

8. What was the first record you ever owned?

Mister Rogers - You Are Special

9. Have a song you wish you'd written?

"Johnsburg, Illinois" by Tom Waits

10. Soup or salad?

Until they invent Cobb soup, I'll have the salad.

11. "I think, therefore..."

...I worry.

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...and, as promised, Levy and Difford performing Squeeze's "Up the Junction":