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From Leigh Crutchfield:
Q. Is "Madam Doktor" still practicing and what is her field of specialization?

A. Ah, yes, she still is. Her field is a complex one: Socio-Psycho-Sexual-Economic Studies with a special emphasis on the Humanities.

Q. Is "Madam Doktor" from Switzerland and where and how did you two meet?

A. The "Doktor" is not Swiss. We met on vacation.

Q Were you REALLY a cheerleader as well as Student Body President at Chatsworth High School?

A. I cannot lie. Yes, I was a cheerleader. I was not Student Body President, but Senior Class President.

Q. When you get some free time , do you have any hobbies or other pursuits that you enjoy (other than music, of course?)

A. Love to ski. Really enjoy travel (put me in a car, train, plane,- I'm happy) Like to play paintball. Movies are still a passion.

Q. Will you please comment on the two artists you've mentioned in previous answers , Moby and John Hiatt?

A. I became a John Hiatt fan after the "Little Village" album he did with Ry Cooder. From there, it was a short jump to his solo work. I think he's an awesome talent - as American as Randy Newman, a great writer, huge voice. He reads the dark and soulful side as well as anyone I know. Moby is, for me, an example of finding the "soul in the machine." The real promise of electronic music won't be fully realized until people can make it emotional on it's own terms. I think Prodigy did that. I think Moby does it.

Q. Whom do you consider your heroes and why?

A. My Dad, because he's always been a man of character. Peter Townshend and Ray Davies for producing great bodies of work that stayed true over time. Steve Jobs (Apple AND Pixar!).

Q. What is the name of your sound studio?

A. "Mars Needs Music".

Q. What is a typical day in your life like? Do you have a routine?

A. I have three routines: "Regular Life" is life pretty much life on my own terms. I spend family time, time for myself, and time working in the studio. Pretty normal hours with opportunity to stop and smell the avocados. "TV or Film Life" is life dictated largely by THE DEADLINE. That usually means working nine o'clock to six, breaking for dinner, then working eight o'clock to eleven; five or six days a week. "Insane TV or Film Life" means fourteen or more hours a day, seven days a week.

Q. Do you have any pets?

A. Yeah - a great cat named Smokey who's learned how to outsmart the coyotes...

Q. How do you pronounce your producer Bill Szymczyk's last name?

A. Phonetically: "SIMM-ZIK" (accent on the "SIMM")

Q. What's your favorite fruit?

A. Actually, I look out over some avocado trees from my studio, so I guess that would have to be it.

Q. If you can remember, why did you cancel one of your solo shows in Houston in the late '70's?

A. Jeez, I can't remember. Could have been a number of reasons. Most likely: a money issue with the promoter that didn't get settled in time, or a leg of a tour that fell apart because of impossible routing. I can't ever recall cancelling because of illness.

Q. What kind of car do you drive? Are you a sports car, SUV or minivan kind of guy?

A.Actually, I have one of each. Currently, the SUV is my favorite (probably because it's the newest).

Q. Do you still keep in contact with any of the former members of Spirit?

A. I talk to Cass now and then; John Locke lives close but we can't seem to hook up for one reason or the other; Mark Andes is in Austin, but we talk from time to time also. Even though we don't see each other much, I think we all still feel connected. When we do talk, it's as if we were together yesterday.

Q. Have you ever had any jobs that weren't related to music , and if so, what were they?

A. I've worked as an assistant in a architectural office, as a theater usher, and as a guitar/piano teacher in a music store.

Q. Have you had any formal musical training?

A. Several years of classic piano training, and music theory and composition courses during my college years at U.C.L.A., although I was never a music major.

Q. What is your favorite Jo Jo Gunne song?

A. "Run, Run, Run" is pretty much the essence of Jo Jo - Matt's great slide guitar, a straight ahead groove from Mark and Curly, and a song about the road. My favorite.

Q. How have you most significantly changed in your lifetime?

A. I'm surprised at both how little and how much I've changed. There are still parts of the teenager very much alive and well within me; and yet some days I'm shocked to see how much like my parents I've become (having teenage kids will do that to you). When I was nineteen, life was a sprint to every goal. Now I see it as a long distance run; and I'm finally learning to savor the path.

Epilogue: Dec. 1999: Well , there you have it. Jay and I hope you've enjoyed reading this interview even half as much as we've enjoyed creating it. It may have taken us what seemed like quite a long while to do , but we feel that the end result has really been worth all of the time that the two of us have spent on this interesting project.

Please stay tuned for "The Jo Jo Gunne Reunion Interview" and "Jo Jo Gunne "Live" CD Compilation Review"- planned for sometime early next year! Thanks!

© Leigh Crutchfield 1999 Note: May not be used for any other publication without author's permission!

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