Event: Thursday afternoon/evening chat with Ben Mathews, who is Jon's cousin and plays guitar for Jon's band. Date: Thursday, 3/17/05 Time: 4 p.m. PT, 5 p.m. MT, 6 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. ET Place: JPLm Message Board
The chat with Ben will be conducted as follows:
There will be 3 threads you will want to access during the chat.
1) The Questions Thread – This thread is only for posting fan questions. You may submit multiple questions. Add your name to the end of your post. Please do not post random comments in the questions thread, as they will be deleted.
Please note: Ben only has a limited amount of time here, and may not be able to answer all questions posed to him.
2) The Response Thread – This is the thread Ben will use to reply to questions posed to him in the Questions thread. Only Ben will have the ability to post in this thread.
3) The Discussion Thread – This thread is where fans can gather to discuss the event
Jon and Ben just called to inform me they are having Internet problems. Jon said that they almost had things fixed and they would be on momentarily. We apologize for the delay.
Glad you could make it here. Do you sing? Also, will we be hearing you and the charango on Jon's album?
--Iris
Thanks, Iris. Yes, I do sing, though not nearly as well as I'd like unfortunately. I'll definitely be on the album, but I'm still not sure about the charango. It's a great instrument with a cool texture, but we'll have to see how well it fits into the whole project.
Who's your alltime favorite band/musician and why? -Betts
Well, it's hard to pick any one favorite. That would be like asking an elephant which peanut is his favorite out of a whole bag of them. Sure, there are some who stand out. Bach and Albeniz to start with classical. From Jazz it would be John Coltrane and Joe Pass. From rock and roll, the Beatles, maybe Zeppelin, and a few others. All those have really shaped modern music.
Ben, I read that you were in a punk band. What was the name of the band? Who were your influences?
Also, who are your favorite current bands, punk or otherwise? -Ms. Moneypenny
Yes, once upon a time I was in a punk band. It was called Spare Change, which incidentally is not the same Spare Change which currently works out of San Diego. We were influenced by NoFX, MXPX, Lagwagon, Strung Out, Descendents, Home Grown, and pretty much anyone else on the Fat Wreck Chords label. I don't really listen to punk anymore. I think jazz education has filtered it out of my brain. But my favorite current bands would be, let's say, The Flaming Lips, The Strokes, Fountains of Wayne, Simon Dawes, The Postal Service, Duncan Sheik, Ben Folds, and a slew of others too numerous to enumerate.
I can't wait to hear you play quitar and see you perform in the band. Do you write music? -Lucky
I can't wait to see myself with the band either. It's been a long time since I've been in a rock and roll band. I love being on stage, especially with high energy performers. I do write my own music, but sadly, very few people have ever heard it. I haven't had time in recent years to develop any of my own music, but that time will come shortly, I think. I'll let everybody know when my own stuff is ready to be heard. And it will rock.
Hi Ben. Will there be any Latin influences on Jon's album? -BeatrixKiddo
Yeah Kiddo, I'd say there should be. Both Jon and I lived in latin cultures, and of course that has had some affect on our musical sensibilities. I, for one, love the infectious groove of a lot of latin music. It's addicting, don't you think?
Ohmnibus: Hi Ben. (Hi!) Will you be taking time off from school to play in Jon’s band? (Yes, school is taking an extended break from me, thank goodness.) Do you write music? (I love to. Every once in a while I have an idea for a song running through my head and I can't sit still until I've recorded it or written it down.) Will you and Jon co-write any of the band’s songs? (Of course! It's much easier to write music when two brains are involved. We've been able to come up with some really cool stuff in the past month. I'm really excited about it.
Do you have a name for your band yet? (Not yet, but I like JPL and the Deferred Toaster Crustacean. What do you think?) Do you have any candidates for bass and drums yet? (That's an emphatic yes. I'll leave it up to Jon to talk about that. Suffice it to say, we have some excellent candidates lined up. Thanks, ohmnibus!)
What are some of your favorite old movies and actors? -JLPDLS
Dang, your name is really hard to say fast. It hurts my brain... Great question, JLPDLS, I love watching a good black and white. I can't think of very many of them at the moment, but I can tell you that To Catch a Thief is very good. I like Audrey Hepburn, Carey Grant, Sir Alec Guinness, and a handfull of others. I think Bridge Over the River Quai is my current favorite.
Hey Ben well I am really glad you are a member of Jons band! I was just wondering what the first song you ever played on the guitar was? By the way you have a great biography Ben! lol -BritneylovesJPL88
I'm glad I am too Britney, and I'm glad you're glad, otherwise we'd both be in trouble... It's been really cool so far. Well, the first song I ever played on the guitar was from They Might Be Giants. I think it's called "Birdhouse in your Soul". One of my best friends was really into TMBG at the time and it was an easy enough song that I could pick it up pretty quickly. Those were indeed the days.
If you could meet anyone from History (i.e. a dead person); who would you pick and why? -Jolie
Wow, Jolie, that's a really tough question. There are so many people I'd like to meet and talk to. I think right now the one person I'd like to meet most is Ernesto Guevarra, otherwise known as Che. He was an Argentine revolutionary who is most recognized for having worked with Fidel Castro. I'd be interested to hear Che's side of the story.
2. Any favorite movies and TV shows? How about movie and TV shows you wish you could be part of?
3. What's the worst, most embarassing thing that has happened to you at a gig?
4. Have you ever been outside of the United States? If ever, what's your favorite non-USA place? -hyperren
Well hyper, My favorite song to play right now is a jazz tune called "Misty". I don't watch TV these days, so I really couldn't tell you much about that. I would have liked to be in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". I'm not much of an actor, but I like movies that portray real life experiences and such. Most embarrassing gig moment, probably having my best friends walk into a party where I was playing with my punk band, and then watching them walk right out the door a few minutes later because they didn't like the music. I've been to about 13 different nations, and I'd have to say my favorite has been Chile. Austria and Switzerland would take 2nd and 3rd. Good questions! PS, How's life in the Phillipines? I hope to go there someday to check it out.
...do you and Jon sit around at night thinking up cool pseudophilosophical expressions about music? My man, where does this come from?
Cheers, Iris
No Iris, I'm sorry to say that we don't, but wouldn't that be so cool? I think we just see things with similar perspectives. He and I are both deep thinkers, I guess. I love hearing a song that makes me want to turn around and create my own music. It's a great high.
Hey Ben well I read in your biography that you went to Ricks college which was later called Bringham Young University! Well in Napoleon Dynamite Napoleon wears a shirt that says Ricks College on it did you happen to see that movie?
Britney
Two words; MOVIEMAKING HISTORY. I love that movie. It's... It's... It's incredible... What a great commentary on society, you know? I just love it.
Ben, what is your favorite and least favorite thing about jon? -Mishtat
Wow, I'm going to get into trouble here, but I might as well come out with it now. My favorite thing(s) are that he's talented and smart, and of course, he's family. Least favorite things, well, he's talented, and smart, and he's family. And he's so dang good at Halo. I can't beat him... ARGH!
