'Paolo! I'm glad everything is working out for you. Those of us who create for the love of it often tangle with the details of our own existence. This is why I'm a waiter feeding tables three days a week and Linc works in a bookstore. These days, don't we all live like Dostoyevsky? I digress. Thank you for the interview. Like all good things, it was worth the wait [shit, i know, it took me so long to prepare this stuff, guys ^_^, - k's note]. Actually, your timing was perfect. Alot has happened the last few weeks and you caught both Linc and I around the computer. Here are our responses: DK = David Klopfenstein LM = Lincoln McGrath'

1. ok, introduce Your-self, You know, always that old opening question.. where are You from, and where are You going to?
DK: Dave. Portland, Oregon. I'm slowly going from today to tomorrow under a little patch of sky.
LM: I'm Linc, from Portland also. I hope to go to Italy some day.

2. why people should NOT listen to Your Music.
DK: Long answer: They lack the tools necessary to interface with our paradigm. Short answer: They hate lullabyes and tape hiss.
LM: because they're out of hashish. no really, you shouldn't listen to us if you want slick clean sound with nothing out of place or off-key. we do what we do the only way we know how.

3. three tapes on BKS mean a lot of songs, do You have a kind of Muse? What does Music mean for You?
DK: A muse? Yes, one could say that an epic romantic story with an unhappy ending led to a thousand nights of songwriting. She was amazing. Life goes on. To answer the second part, I'll paraphrase Brian Wilson: I write about girls, cars -- in my case
machines -- and where I live. Music goes through you, like a radio. It isn't from you.
LM: Dave is a song-making machine. I just try to hang on. I think it was Neitsche who said "without music, life would be a mistake."

4. at komakino, we think SIMRF is a real undiscovered 'gem', are You in touch with any other name besides BKS? D You perform live too?
DK: Thank you. Our only goal is sharing our music. To that end, it has been very difficult to find the right people. Alessandro [Crestani, - k'snote] shares our philosophy and working with him is a pleasure. We will be releasing "Stolen: Honda Dream" this year on Best Kept Secret. It is still in the early stages, but we are very excited to be working with A Bouncing Space [good indie label already met on koma - k's note ] on a full-length release. Also, when we finally get some stuff to Bliss, we hope to be on an upcoming compilation. I love to play live. Ross & the Hellpets are my favorite Portland band. It's always fun to share a night with them and I hope we tour together someday. I also play drums for the Persimmons.
LM: you know, I've always thought so, but Alessandro is the first to think it was worth putting on his label. we play live when we can, but Portland has so many bands that it's hard to get an interesting show put together. I should add that we're ready to tour Europe any time...

5. do You use to re-listen to Your own Music in Your everyday life?
DK: It plays in my head constantly.
LM: I put our old stuff on every once in a while when I start to forget what it sounds like.

6. what Bands/Names can we relate to Your songwriting? Let's help people to image what they risk to meet..
DK: I will side step that question this way: If my space capsule washed up on a desert island and I had to kill a little time before I met a Jeannie, I would need these records: Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, the 8 1/2 soundtrack by Nino Rota, Something Else by the Kinks and Sister Lovers from Big Star. I would also want Linda Smith, the Clean and some old Roger Miller. Then, I could look for Barbara Eden and Bill Dailey.
LM: boy, that's a tough one for me. I was reminded of Syd Barrett when I first heard Dave's stuff, but I think he's past that phase... me I like everything, pretty much. when I was really small, my parents played me a lot of broadway musicals and American folk music.

7. Rocket Isla..what? Usually i don't ask about Band's name.. in Your case, i do...
DK: It seemed long and absurd at a time when people were obsessed with one word band names, so we kept it. The ironic twist is that many dangerous defense facilities in the United States are nestled in wildlife areas. Sauvie Island is downstream from two of the most notorious.
LM: Sauvie Island is the largest fresh-water island in Western America. there's your little geography lesson. it's right here in the Portland area and you can take a #17 bus out there from close to where I'm sitting, if you have all day. the Moon Rocket Factory is a little thing Dave and his brother Tim cooked up when they were little. there's this grain silo there that is pretty intimidating to a little kid, very big and ominous. why we decided to name our band that is another thing--I guess it's the dorkiest thing we could come up with.

Thanks,

Dave and Linc