Tuesday, March 3, 2015

My Q&A With Spencer Tweedy




The following is an interview that took place between me and Spencer Tweedy. He is an extremely talented artist. I recommend you all check out his blog here. Special thanks to Spencer and his patience with his time.

1.      When was the point in your life where you realized you wanted to blog?
I started blogging when I was about twelve years old, because I was super into technology and just thought it might be fun.

2.      What kind of support did you receive when you started out blogging?
The only people that knew about it were my family, but eventually, fans of my dads band, Wilco, started to discover it.

3.      At what age did you begin to play music?
I began playing music when I was very, very young. I think there are pictures of me playing drums when I was about two years old!

4.      What were some of the hardships you experienced when you were getting your blog off the ground?
Well, its really difficult to find a readership. But the most you can do is just try to satisfy yourself By writing about things you care about. I also had a lot of fun experimenting with web design because of my blog.

5.      How important do you think music is at a young age?
I think its extremely important. Having an outlet in musicor any form of artis a really healthy thing for people to have, especially when theyre young and still learning how to articulate what they feel. I think that if more people played music, the world would be a lot better.

6.      Do you have a specific place in Chicago you like to go for inspiration?
Not really! I spend most of my time at home.

7.      Whats your favorite restaurant in Chicago (*cough cough* Gibsons Steakhouse)?
My favorite restaurant in Chicago is Superdawg. Best hot dogs in the city!

8.      How do you handle the haters?
Well… I think empathy goes a long way with the people you disagree with. I think that a lot of timesnot every time, but a lot of timesyou can neutralize a vicious person by imagining why they might have an anger and just speaking to them with rationality. Its a lot harder for people to attack you when you show them you care.

9.      Is there a specific album or song you go to when thinking of a post or a new riff?
I love jangly music from the 1960s.

10.  How are you able to balance out your music, blog, and school?
I graduated school last year, so that has taken a big portion of my workload off! But while I was in school, I just tried to make routines of finishing my homework that allowed me enough time to work on the other stuff I wanted to do, like music and writing. Sometimes its not possible; sometimes it is.

11.  Do you plan on continuing your work in film?
I dont think so. I like visual art, but I think I only plan on doing photography or film when its convenient or to document my life.

12.  What advice could you give to those bloggers out there who are just starting out?
Dont focus on building popularity. I spent a lot of time pointlessly worrying about my visitor/pageview count but that doesnt really matter! I know its exciting to watch it growits really cool to think that other people are seeing your workand theres nothing wrong with wanting attention for it. But dont let it get in the way of just making stuff.

13.  Whats one thing you love about Chicago?
I love that it has a great music scene, its on Lake Michigan, its in the Midwest. Oops, thats three things.

14.  Whats one thing you dont really like about Chicago?
The deep winter is brutal.

15.  What is your favorite film?
Maybe Inglorious Basterds, or Paper Moon.

16.  Who is your favorite musician?
My favorite musicians are the Davies brothers of the band The Kinks.

17.  What do you think is in store for Mr. Tweedy? (Thats you)

Ill be going to college, and I hope to make some more music!

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