CURRENT MISSION

World Domination

ABOUT ME

I'm a pretty friendly guy, I think, and I'd love to be your friend!

I run a small DIY/DIT record label called Birthquake Records - if you're interested, you should check out what we do, and get to know our artists!

PHILOSOPHY

I'm scared I'll live a formulaic, boring life. The last way I want my life to turn out is to be living in a suburb, working 9-5 at a desk for the rest of my life.

I want to make art, experience life, travel the country and world, grow my own food, play music, make friends, and learn what's really important to me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Well, I've been a guest so often that I've got a serious karmic debt that needs to be repaid. Now I'm in a position to host, so I'm super excited to do just that!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I spent nearly two years solid traveling the country surfing couches, touring with bands, hitchhiking, and sleeping in cars, and, while I kinda burnt myself out pretty hardcore, I'm really glad that I did it. I learned a lot about myself and other living situations, and learned empathy and understanding way faster than I normally would have if I just kept living in houses and staying in the same place.

Interests

I think you'll get the idea from reading the rest of my profile, but the long and short of it, is that I'm obsessed with music.

• dogs
• arts
• diy
• dining
• cooking
• running
• gardening
• reading
• traveling
• cars
• music
• surfing
• jewish
• agriculture
• sign language
• hitchhiking
• tours

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm very interested in music, mostly that which falls under the umbrella of punk and folk music, including, but not limited to ragtime, dixieland and other pre-war jazz, New Orleans-style street music, old-time, country, selected bluegrass, blues, raunchy hokum tunes, Eastern European/Balkan folk music, brass/marching bands, cabaret and vaudevillian-inspired silliness, folk punk, etc. Bands I'm interested in:

Tom Waits, Brown Bird, Alamaailman Vasarat, Blackbird Raum, Mischief Brew, Jason Webley, Squinch Owl, Thorn & Shout, Gogol Bordello, Inkwell Rhythm Makers, Beirut, o'death, Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell, Buke & Gase, Two Man Gentleman Band, The Dirt Daubers, Mallory, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship?, Man Man, Leonard Cohen, Early Noise, Mumford & Sons, Murder By Death, Deep Chatham, Dark Dark Dark, Hurray for the Riff Raff, the Flaming Tsunamis, Lead Belly, Elizabeth Cotten, The Taxpayers, Defiance, Ohio, Yann Tiersen, the Slick Skillet Serenaders, Mucca Pazza, What Cheer? Brigade, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, Butcher Boy, The Act of Estimating as Worthless, Crass, Bessie Smith, Patsy Cline, Tuba Skinny, etc.

I've sadly fallen off of the book-reading wagon, but some books I've read in the past year I've liked have been The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, miscellaneous stories by Franz Kafka, miscellaneous stories by Issac Asimov, Possum Living by Dolly Freed, Make Your Place by Raleigh Briggs, In Every Town by Shannon Stewart, and the Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.

Some TV shows that I totally dork out for are Battlestar Galactica, the X-Files, Carnivale, Stargate, Firefly, and Twin Peaks.

I love weird, off-kilter movies - Army of Darkness, Troll Hunter, Six-String Samurai, Rubber, Fido, Cabin in the Woods, From Dusk 'Till Dawn, Wristcutters, and Feast all come to mind. There's a million others, though.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've gone on a dozen or so tours with several bands in the last two years - some I played with, some just as the road dog or merch guy. Touring is a lot like traveling, except people are ACTUALLY EXCITED to have you crash over their place, cook you dinner, etc. It's like a paid vacation where you get to play music.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to play the saw, jew's harp, spoons and washboard...I can teach you how to make a washtub bass or a canjo...I can talk your ear off about music...I can give you advice on how to run a house venue...(Is the bulk of my knowledge really music-related?)...I can teach you how to (or strongly encourage you NOT to) screenprint in a home-studio...

I would love to learn as much as I can about communal/sustainable living, gardening, agriculture, permaculture, traveling, music, American Sign Language, cooking, and other fun DIY skills.