All Apologies: Ezra Furman

What's your present state of mind and being?

I am tired and grateful and full of tenderness for people I know who are having a hard time.

What's the most overrated virtue?

A quick wit. People are praised for it so often, but it's usually people most able to say something clever who are unable to say something true. I appreciate someone who thinks before they speak.

What one thing have you learnt from your parents?

There is so much. One big thing is to practice empathy for someone who is different than me, who has a different set of challenges than me. To really try to feel what someone else feels, particularly someone who is in some kind of pain, and respond decently, is a skill that takes a lifetime of practice. They showed me how to do it, and talked in those terms, my whole life. To be more generous and more loving than you think is possible. When there seems to be an obstacle to giving your best to the people you love, leap over that obstacle joyfully and toughly. I've seen them do that throughout my life and I've learned, or am slowly learning, how it feels to really live that way.

What the most desirable quality you look for in romantic partner?

Curiosity: being interested in things they don't know about. A bonus side effect is that they'll be willing to listen to whatever off-the-wall thing I want to talk about.

What and where was the greatest meal you ever eaten?

In terms of pure sensory experience, it was at Tre Scalini, a little Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, PA when my former drummer's mom took the band (my old band the Harpoons) out to dinner. A little old Italian lady runs the kitchen and inherited all the recipes from her mother. I had the greatest salmon I've ever tasted, encrusted with pepper, and I think some sautéed broccolini with garlic and some white wine. And I had a cut in my mouth that hurt kind of intensely every time I took a bite or a sip, and I started to lean into the pain and not try to avoid it, just ride the wave of it and feel the wine and the oral pain and the amazing flavors, and I almost lost my mind with a pleasure beyond pleasure.

What's your most treasured possession?

I don't know. I don't have one. I lose things. I'm a loser.

What was the last dream you had about?

My only dream is to make the greatest record ever made. BOO YAH.

What's the biggest lie on your Wikipedia page?

It doesn't mention founding guitarist of Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, the great Jahn Sood, who does crazy theater in New York City now! I'm going to correct that. But I'm glad for the opportunity to tell you that Jahn Sood is a very cool artist and you should look him up and see what he's up to. Also, it's always said my genre of music is Psychedelic Rock. I'm too amused by that to correct it. And who knows? It could come true at some point.

If you could say something to your 15 year old self, what would it be?

Listen to the Stooges, the Modern Lovers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits and the Mountain Goats immediately. You won't regret it and your songs will get better faster.

And finally, who would you most like to apologise to and why?

I'd like to apologize to President Hillary Clinton for spilling seltzer water on her at the dinner at the White House honoring me for my contribution to American culture. That sounds nice.