20 Questions with… Shearwater

10 July 2008, 12:00

Shearwater’s main man Jonathan Meiburg is officially the nicest man in indie… at the moment. His answers to our 20 Questions came back faster than anyone previously, even The Thermals! Anyway, after hearing the wonderous music that is their sophomore effort, Rook, we had to get someone from the band to do these… It’s just a shame he missed one!

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Mount Desert Island
or
New World Vultures

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms”, at a record store in the mall in Cary, NC. I loved it.

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Water before bed – 3 pint glasses. Ice cream, too, next morning, if you’re still feeling it.

4. What’s on your rider?
Water, fruit, veggies, boring stuff. Alcohol and lack of sleep are your main enemies on tour.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
Check and re-check my instruments etc to make sure that whatever goes wrong, it’s not something I could have fixed beforehand. Then drink half a beer and do 15 push-ups. Then put on my show boots.

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
That cover of Talk Talk’s ‘The Rainbow’ was fun. Haven’t done that in a while. Of our songs, I really enjoy “I was a Cloud” right now.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
There’s no such thing!

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
Stoat. Mustelids are incredibly powerful and vicious for their size. Goat wouldn’t know what hit it.

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
Couldn’t really tell you as I don’t feel very up-to-date. I’m a huge fan of bands I’ve toured with recently: Bill Callahan, Xiu Xiu, Clinic…

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Jim Caviezel. Wait. Crispin Glover.

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
Can I just watch instead of having to play? If that’s the case, then:
Nina Simone
Mark Hollis
Africa 70
Stones 1972
Glenn Gould

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
Probably Glenn Gould plays Bach 2 and 3-part inventions.

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
Climbing cliffs by moonlight in the Falklands. Stuck in a knee-high forest in Tierra del Fuego. Lost in the jungle in Madagascar. Goose-egg gathering in Kowanyama. Diving for abalone in the Chatham Islands. Drunk, a little insane, and scared of ghosts in the Galapagos. Peering into the dumbwaiter in my grandfather’s old house.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
“Stop acting like a promising young man.” After I got over the shock, I think I did. I hope I did.

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
Definitely not the brain!

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
Book: Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, by Rebecca West. Film: Little Dieter Needs to Fly, by Werner Herzog.

18. What three things could you not live without?
Avocados, birds, memories.

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
I live with my gal, three cats, and a one-eyed dog named Jack in a tiny, tiny house.

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
Nina Simone Live Tracks
Black is the Color (live from ‘Black Gold’ album, with response from male guitarist/singer)
Ain’t Got No (I Got Life) (also from the ‘Black Gold’ album)
Little Girl Blue (1964 live NYC version)
My Sweet Lord (from “Emergency Ward”)
Dambala (from “It Is Finished” live album).