IamA internationally renowned rebel cello-jester Rushad Eggleston who broke all applicable rules and trained my brain to think in music 24/7. many people think i'm insane but i feel like the happiest dude in the world, AMA!

Hi! What exactly do you mean by "trained my brain to think in music 24/7"?

you know how they say music is a language? and if you get good enough at a language you can think in it. where you actually are not translating from english to say french but you actually have original thoughts in french. well that's what i mean, i have original thoughts, mind chatter, inward reactions, that are just music and it makes for a noisy brain! but is awesome because it is nice to get away from all the english chatter all the time

That sounds really cool! As a very visual person who also enjoys playing music (mallet percussion) I have a really hard time comprehending that but I wish I could.

just think if you saw someone and instead of thinking "whoa crazy pink sweater" you thought "bum buppaba bumti bum bummobummo bubammobubumm"

Not necessarily not believing you, but finding it really hard to comprehend that this is actually possible. To do this, wouldn't music have to be a full complete language to you, where the color pink is always the same noise, same goes for the word sweater?

good point but i think that is just a technicality.. i think it can make different notes at different times, because isnt music is more the feeling behind the thought than just the surface word-label? like okay you re thinking english see pink sweater you go whoa crazy pink sweater but then it sets off many memories and associations which can much more succinctly be expressed in notes even if its different notes every pink sweater

i think certain situations provoke similar if not identical musical thoughts. mainly though all input seems to go into some deep subconscious algorithm which completely obfuscates all source.

Yeah, you bring up a good point. I'm just doubtful in general because it seems like such a foreign concept to me. I definitely believe you can think in music to some extent, I'd just be really interested to see how exact your thoughts can be using music. Are they less focus and clear? Could you eventually get to the point where you could logically think in music? It's an interesting concept, I really am struggling to comprehend it because it is so foreign.

yeah they are way less focused and way less literal. its like getting lost/adventuring in a fluffy sea of abstract emotion containing all colors and textures and temperatures

i once did a clinic with a free improv violin buddy of mine Kip Jones at sacredheart in CT and the dude secretly asked us to improvise on certain emotions and see if his students could guess what we were broadcasting. it only worked for REALLY big obvious ones like LOVE or HATE or FEAR. the world is too literal already music is a way to fluff that up smooth it over and escape from the reason patrol for a sweetwhile i think

How long have you been able to do this? Do you think you could become more focused with it over time?

i think yes you could definitely become more focused over time with it. i personally don't have all that much desire to, because to me the joy of music is the unexpected, the magical, the dream-like logic where 2+2=7000 kindof thing. there are im pretty sure situations in which it has been really worked out as far as a language with meaning and all. for one the stories about how slaves in old america would communicate actual important information through rhythms but i dont know very much about that- good thing to research though! and also in my music school days there was lots of jazz around and i heard of inside jokes among the jazz elite which meant certain things maybe trash talking type of stuff. interesting.

it sounds like maybe you're synesthetic?

maybe a little. does that mean associating sound and color or all senses? i think music is naturally like that- like when youre falling asleep and 'walking along a cliff' becomes 'your relationship with your uncle' as your mind dissolves boundaries to blast into the beyond. i think that is the space music hangs out in 24/7

so i bet alot of folks who play LOTS of music especially kindof improvish abstract creative music are going to be a little of something like if not outright synesthetic.

what does the smell of onions sound like? i think i will go ruminate on that

do u think music can change the world

of course, it is right now, in some way. i think to like end all wars and stuff- well that would take a LOT of powerful thought i think. there seem to be dark forces working relly hard to keep this level dense

have you heard of synesthesia?

Yeah and actually thanks for asking because i just looked it up and i am pretty sure i would qualify as that. I am always analyzing the colors of numbers. 384 is like red and blue. 759 is black yellow and silver 36 is blue 37 is bluegrey and yellow. But totally works with other senses too

many people think i'm insane

Well, now I'm one of them.

Bibblo barneebius fohoastagreen lumpo-gwox of thnithy thnithy thnithy thnithy thnorbus-toast. On hontagee nibberark b'fuuumiosyde neepos nuntos nurgolox mortherant of petujjnia. Yeah man

to refine or revise this idea i just mean that melodies rhythms lyrics are popping into my head all day every day for no reason. brain music player always on and set to 'original' 'random' or 'scramble everything youve ever heard so finely that you cant tell what it used to look like'

also to demonstrate the weird subconscious music activity, i tell you something that happened to me on a walk one day: i was walking above a nice empty beach one day for some time before i noticed i had a song in my head. i always scan a song i find in my head to see if its my own and i can claim it or if its a classic by someone else hiding under a mindfold. sure enough on close inspection this song by the beach was revealed to be auld lang syne (the new year's song). and then i remembered that i had spent one new years eve on that very beach right there some 10 years before. so while rushad is walking along smelling seaweed and looking at rocks, his subconscious is sneakily at work disguising memories in songs that represent them! i thought that was rad and gave my subconscious a pat on the back which led to a million other things.

I'm supposed to make this a question so... Do you remember last year at DIO fest in Santa Cruz during the take off your watch and throw it out the window song when someone did take off their watch and tossed it and you booted it all the way out of the amphitheater? I do. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen done while playing an instrument (very well I might add). Bravo sir.

wow i am so glad you remember that because i had forgot even though i think often of that set because it was def in my top 5 favorite performances ever. i love punting, i grew up playing soccer and kicking my younger brothers. so it is second nature, as is dancing with cello to the side- combine them and you get a completely natural experience. also i have punted footballs with varying degrees of success at shows. you rock seeyou this year at diosity again i hope same stage double rage

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i decided to get the tats (my first ink) while flying in a cessna over the grand canyon at the end of the most chaotic wild emotional tornado rider (my metal band) tour. i called my cousin Forrest who was living in vegas and asked him if he knew any good late night tattoo spots bc we were driving in late from AZ. he said he didnt but he did meet this dude named Carlos who's whole body including face head armpits was inked, went into his kitchen at about 2am and laughed hysterically the whole time didnt mind the pain (fingers=ouch) because i knew that getting jick and jark tattooed on my hands meant there was no turning back anymore. i was weird and was going to be proud and wear it, and not try to be normal guy ever again

Does jick and jark mean anything?

Jark feels like a sneaky rotund boisterous type of horse energy But on the other hand Jick is a more pointy fire weasel vibration Jark is like har har har laugh Jick is like hee hee hee laugh Jark came in the first official transmission of words i received from the Land of Sneth along with wickyjara johrlu and jornk Jick was discovered in 2011 when it became my M.O. I was a jicky dude and the jick although hard to explain was a source of great delight and energy

Hey Rushad! I just discovered you this week, and you have been a marvelous source of inspiration from one fellow musician to another. I want to say thanks so much for the music man, if you can answer just one of these Qs that would be fantastic!

1. Your solo playing is very boisterous, energetic and BIG. You play with a command of your instrument, and are able to evoke so much music and emotion as a single player. What are your sources of inspiration, and how did you develop your style over the years? Any tips for practice?

2. As you know, being a musician in this currency and capitalist driven world is often difficult and hard to make ends meet -- Especially because we want to be playing music all the time. Can you provide any insight to your view or philosophy on the 'business' aspect of music? Do you book your own gigs? Cold call venues? Do you teach?

3. I admire your free spirit and seemingly boundless musical energy. I think we both view music as a magical and other-worldly force that is capable of capturing hearts and minds across the planet! How did you adopt your musical philosophy on life, and learn to quiet the negative self-critical voices in your head?

why tharnxtros maximus. i didnt always love playing solo. but my ears have become more and more open and my imagination has grown as time's gone on. things that once seemed impossible are now totally normal. i take inspiration from everything, and i think there is no substitute for wanting to explore and expand real bad and trying real hard ie; all your free time. haha my path is not followable for everyone bc its so convoluted. i think mainly desire is more important than time. sometimes my biggest strides were in 10 minute practice sessions. like DISCOVERY of KBLAM!!! the long sessions of 2 3 4 5-12 hours are for making it all second nature. i am all about making instruments second nature. that has to do with logging hours. i always say what do humans do most easily- breath walk and sleep kindof stuff cuz we're ALWAYS doing those. so if you do cello that much it too will become that easy.

as far as booking i lucked out bc i have alot of contacts through my years as a non solo artist, a sideman of sorts in the folk world with some groups that did well which has led people to be interested in me. not much cold calling. kindof wait for people to ask me stuff then cobble together last minute tours. i also estranged myself to alot of people in my wild years haha kindof a setback. but everything is as it should be and i wouldnt be where i am if it werent for you know... all of it.

last thing to quiet the voices of doubt i do transcendental meditation for one but ive been on and off with that. though it certainly makes a fricking difference its like washing your mind.

also the other way i quiet the voices is by motion, momentum, action- do something... like when the voices get too loud, i melodicize them so theyre singing. i have a lot of good songs called "i hate myself" . catharsis. my fav example is one called "youll never be good enough' a thousand voices in my head were literally yelling that at me but i turned it into a song which gave me the clue for how to deal with that. i like to say playing cello could get me through anything. even if i could only play it in my mind which is also important yay hope that helps myarrrnx

Hi! I appreciate that you decided to do an AMA today!

Are there any reasons for why people would think you're insane? I don't find any reason to think that, especially for a renowned cello-jester who would go beyond the rules and become successful by doing so. As far as history has taught me, the most successful people are the ones who go above and beyond the rules and limits.

that is right on, your last sentence there. i agree. there will always be people who can't see that big though... i think a bit of herd mentality is human nature. they just can't put me in a box that exists therefore i must be insane. its probably because i do babbling and screaming and things that crazy people do. its just called now "what crazy people do" but should be called "what people with lessened inhibitions do" its what comes out in the frarmangual freedom dance attempting to wrestle infinity. i am not actually insane, i think. i think insane would have some negative aspect, like the uninhibitedness goes too far causing real damage to self or others or really heavy emotions. i dont have that problem

rusharguanox aka rushadicus aka Jebuahad Athrithrimo has thoroughly enjoyed answering all these wonderfully intelligent questions. best interview ever. nobody even asked me the silly questions i made pre-emptive FAQ videos for!

I loved falling down the Rushad Youtube rabbit hole this morning!

Love your stuff!

How important is it to master your instrument before getting experimental and crazy?

great question, i think the best idea is to master your instrument WHILE getting experimental and crazy. because the more you "master" without getting experimental, the more you are conforming to existing ideas of how to play it.. and eventually you will have to unlearn alot of that in order to break free. it was so with me unlearning classical and unlearning jazz and unlearning bluegrass all of which i studied pretty hard

Yep you're really polished when you want to be but also really free. One of your recent videos of thumb position said the key was to not care how it sounds at first. How's this all work?

tharnox for thinking i'm polished, news to me. thumb position is hard man just because of physics. and its so high up and exposed and after playing really difficult stuff up there for years where people will come down hard on you if you mess up- it creates tons of fear. so i like to just pretend i don't care, or that i'm playing some indigenous instrument that has its own intonation standards and hang out see if i can have fun- recontextualize. an abused puppy learning to love people again

Ha I get the feeling and that's a good way to think about it to get around the fear! Thanks for the reply!

jontomneroby of rothequiandor? haha love youre still using that

Do you have any mentors? If you could choose the ultimate mentor, who would it be?

Darol Anger was a bit of a mentor when i was 20-23 and coming up in the folk world. he is a legendary freestyle fiddler and father of 'the chop'. also a pretty weird dude that has a wide range of influences, big 'ears' yknow.

the ultimate mentor would be a mix of the buddha charles bukowski joe satriani captain beefheart and Bach

What's a typical day for you?

wake up at noon, snuggle the mouse (wife), make coffee, meditate for 20 mins, make a list of biz things to do, write 3 songs, spend an hour making a video and posting, try to work but get distracted by more songs or a tempting instrument lying there seductively, play badminton against wife or dad, make vegan snacks, go outside during golden hour before sunset to practice bowtricks, give up on work in dark time, so just mess around all night jamming or watching sports and movies with the mouse, stay up late reading and posting more videos sleep around 3 or 4

When did you start inventing words?

sometime before i was 10, i used to play games with myself and announce, using these imaginary teams. the first name i remember was Ichtably, my soccer goalie

You are a bow bounce master. Any tips for a novice bouncer?

first one to get is the gallop (as in william tell fame) down up-up down up-up etc. then reverse it down-down up down-down up etc. then you can work up to doing an up bounce followed by a down bounce or vice versa resulting in 4 quick notes in a row. my fav is down up-up down up-up-down-down-up-up-down up non hyphens being 1/4 notes or half as fast as the hyphenity. then go after triplets... help?

Thanks, I'll give her a go. Did you adjust your bow technique to enhance the bounce?

my technique was adjusted before the bounce which may have helped it come about... see here a picture https://www.instagram.com/p/BDYr-TDRtlQ/?taken-by=rushadicus

i put my thumb under and my pinky half behind resting on the middle digit, which allows for retaining control. colle is kindof still possible. i can play very light and sweet like that, but... with thumb under its a way better transference of weight from the larger muscles arm shoulders back and gives you 8x more power!!!

Do you have any plans to record anything instructional on how to improvise melodically on cello, something along the lines of your great rhythms and grooves DVD? Or failing that any advice? Playing modes in one position works but it gets trickier to be fluid going all over the neck. I'd love to learn it better.

hmm no plans for that currently. my advice is practice sliding on 1st or 4th finger between adjacent mode boxes. also something which helped me is drawing a

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pretend cello strings/fingerboard and putting dots all the way up and down where the notes of the modes would be...basically draw a C major scale horizontally and vertically, and then fill in every note in that key up and down and what you end up with is an infinite fretboard which translates to any key good way to visualize and get ideas

also work out pentatonics. they work over everything and are really easy to slide around and embellish with other notes of garnish

Hi. I would love to learn the cello. I currently play guitar(20 + years) mandolin and the uke. I've heard that to play violin (and I guess by extension the cello) that you should start young (like as a child). As an adult do you think I've missed the boat?

i don't think so. i think you only missed the boat if you think you did. all in the mind. yeah there's many advantages to learning young. but nothing can mess with a burning desire. especially if you're down to just start creating and inventing and discovering right away. i have taught many people who started late in life and some of them really want to play an existing style and the going is so slow because of the mountain theyre climbing. detonate that sh;t and you are left with endless open space to play in.

I'm glad you are going this! I bought a viola because of you. I think a lot of people would worry about damaging their instruments playing with your level of... freedom? can you talk about that? do you have one instrument that you whack around more and another that is more protected?

i have a few beaters i stuffed with foam (feedback reduction) in my heavy metal days and got pretty wild with but now sadly and happily i use my nice cello from 1912 for everything and yeah sometimes it takes a whack or a crack but generally i feel like its part of my body and i know how to fall without hurting it. thats the price i pay for getting to play my favorite instrument all the time

I've been standing with the guitar strap for a few years now. I noticed you use your strap to the side. Have you ever tried it over your shoulder and under your legs? It has worked for me due to the familiar angle.

i tried that a couple times. feels dorky on me, perhaps emasculating to have something btwn legs- like a dog with its tail btwn its legs. i just got used to the more horizontal angle. yeah theres somethings i cant do but i can kindof slide it back upright and use my knee to lever if i need to go up the neck or something. the angle is like a drawl, its casualness embodied, like slash and his low hung guitar- of course its harder to play guitar like that but he does it for the sake of rock n roll and as a result i think can play with more feeling at least more of a laid back blues feeling of joyous decay

I get a lot of shit from my friends for it. They call it the cello diaper. worth it.

you ever try it just regular strap vibes kinda like my way but adjust your left hand position so its more like your palm touches the underside of the neck, thumb kindof sticking up?

SO much easier to play at least- chords- that way

Hey Rushad! I've seen you twice now, both at Grayfox Bluegrass Festival. Last time I had the weirdest/coolest experience of seeing a little girl, around the age of 7 cheering for you to play "I peed on a Bird." Did you ever expect that you'd have a following so wide and so amazing?

the kids are my favorite. it is genuinely moving to see someone look at me like i'm superman or something. but kids can be tough critics! if you dont play something scary enough silly enough or fast enough.

i feel really lucky to have the fans that i do. i never imagined anything what it might be like. my goals as a teen were to "spread love around the world through music" and "become a world class cellist" if you told me i was going to be mildly famous for singing about stuff like peeing on birds, i dont know... i would have started crying or something

Hi Rushad! I saw you when I was around 14 in Napa Ca. That was like 14 years ago or so, you were playing with Darol Anger (sp?) and the Republic of Strings. I was so taken aback by your antics that it inspired me to continue to practice and play music (violin) even more. Now years later, I've formed a band consisting of violin, cello and guitar playing instrumental music. We are called The Missing Parts. I think too, I know a lot of people that you have both toured with and played with. I guess I don't really have a question, I just wanted to thank you for inspiring me to be a better musician and human being. Even back then, I was so impressed with your musicianship and talent. I was studying classical violin then, but I think it was listening to you all play, that allowed me to pursue other types of music. Thanks!

awesome glad the ancient spark was passed on to create more fires of good vibes. it is true i have been normal probably longer than i've been weird. in a few years though the scales will tip and everything will go crazy. yay to it all and thankyou

PS definitely heard of missing parts

Hi Rushad! How does it feel to have the biggest ego in the world?

hi it is really humbling i am so lucky i was blessed with such a huge ego

you're kindof right though i do sound a bit egotistical, reading back over the stuff. early morning on 2hrs sleep is my excuse. however, we will just have to live with it and try to use it for joy.

Ego? No. You just know what you're talking about.

thankstros friend. and ultimately it is just a word- its the overall life residue that counts

okay my fluffy fwigguan fwarnox friends, its been a rad day of deep questions which made me smarter i learned stuff yes i did. find my facebook page or my youtube channel or visit my site www.cellogoblin.com and stay up to date with the greater eight of agwibar etc. i leave you with my FAQ song i made laaaaate last night in rookie-style preparation for this big 'interview'. see you in the snarnd of blomuga that gets jorked on juluga and is a ninnerant blasto of poblio- mottfar grueiyhingas of norno-narnacktickonockwees. https://youtu.be/Vqs8TLVsCfM

Any plans on doing a show in Ireland? I'd go for sure!

Yeah i am working on coming there probs october 2-8 where do you live?

dublin! So excited!

Ahh yeah will most certainly have a gig in dublin- Just follow me on fb or instagram bc i say when i go on tour there. Thankstrows and yayyy

Hi Rushad! I know I could probably just text you this question but this seems like a better venue to pose it. Anyhow...

Would you rather have a cello duel, Devil Went Down to Georgia-style, with one hundred cello-playing duck-sized horses or one cello-playing horse-sized duck? If you win they might get angry and try to fight you afterwards.

definitely the former, if combat is a possibility. as tempting as it is to see a gigantic duck in person, i am a little scared of ducks. i fricking looooove ducks though. man actually thats a tough question. mainly i would just want to hear 100 tiny horses playing little cellos it would sound so radical. i think i would form a band with them and lead them on a musical conquest in search of the holy grail of a horse sized duck, i would teach them sneth metal riffs as we galloped across the land. thankyou for this doorway

Rushad! HUGE fan. Question 1: What IS sneth? Where is this place and what is the inspiration for all these made up words and things? Question 2: You are an absolute hurricane of creativity, and in it's current state, it's just a scattered unorganized collection of random thoughts, ideas, and words, aimed at everything and going in all directions for total chaos and confusion. Do you ever have any desire to harness all this energy into a focused laser beam of genius capable of destroying planets and warping minds? Sincerely - Dean

thankyou sir. my pact with my own mind is i let it be and don't force it into preconceived notions of order or productivity. i think it gets its power from chaos. any time i try and impose order upon it (say trying to write a symphony or book or musical- something longform requiring extended consistent focus) it rebels and stops being itself- it starts generating content that sounds like its trying

that said though it's feeling like it is heading towards some stuff naturally on its own. it might be pretty random stuff but i feel the power and i feel more order brewing. this may be from personal choices and habits that have seen a sea change lately

Either way, I want to thank you for the daily videos in facebook, watching you walk the fine line between musical genius and jester buffoonery is the highlight of my day sometimes. Your process is interesting and it's always about fun, it doesnt ever ever appear forced, I've never seen anyone play the cello, mandolin, banjo, guitar etc the way you do. Even with all the randomness I really enjoy hearing you play something more refined. I hope you eventually land somewhere in the middle. Like totally beautiful and awe inspiring yet so purely raw and effortless. My point is I can't tell if you are lost in the forest, or if you know the way out. Either way I enjoy the show, please dont stop letting us into your mind

haha good way to put it. not compleeeetely sure there but i am pretty certain i know the way out and i don't want to go there, because i want to go into the void, i get a thrill going where no-one has ever gone, i'm an imaginary adventurer. see you on fb and thankyou for your continued support

Are you a Hipster?

That is a good question. When i see hipsters in a hipster zone i feel like i am not that, something about it feels different i think hipsters are more chilled out and hip, or cool, yknow- i skip down streets and jump over stuff and walk all weird and limbs flail and i do meowing and wear wild stuff. I feel like hipsters wear more skinny jeans and dark glasses and leather and boots. Hmm but its more than skin deep for sure. Which makes me often think regular people probably think "wow that guy is SUCH a hipster". I would define myself more as a hippie because i love carrots and oats and climbing trees and nature and animals. But i don't embody everything hippies do. I'm sure again many people are convinced i'm a hippie. But the truth is people are so much more than a word, and even if i said i was this or that what would change? The only thing that would change things is if i was trying to be a hipster so i was altering my scene to become part of something. I did that maybe as a teen with "hippie" and in my 20s with "rockstar" but now i am interested only in being myself unbounded free and full of delight

Hope I'm not too late. I'm curious what bands or artists someone as eccentric as yourself enjoys? I'm getting a 'They Might Be Giants' vibe from your music, which is definitely a good thing. Thanks!

I havent been a follow one band type of guy for a long long time. Bands are weird. But i am overdue now to check out they might be giants so thankyou for the reminder. I love getting turned on to stuff i havent heard before. Like last night i heard some really cool folk pop music from sudan. I love folk music especially from romania. Also was clued in to the genius of kendrick lamar lately. I love electronic music when it is friendly and heavy at the same time. I also love baroque music by italians like tartini and vivaldi. I just stay curious and wait for cool stuff to just turn up. I'm not an active seeker of musics because i have alot of stuff in my head and am always working on something. Huutho nirogauw of j'jarkwiiz

what does "marnguous" mean?

haha good question i don't know what it means. i can feel it but can't translate it really. i enjoy mixing nonsense words into sense sentences. its like putting a black hole at the edge of a solar system. or putting a marzipan flower on your cake. or putting feathers in a rock garden

Does playing the cello make you happier than watching cat videos?

yes definitely because there is no guilt. however. i will say that at TIMES cat videos can approach a similar level of happiness.

i think my favorite is called "cats knocking sh*t over or something

What exactly is a cello jester?

a person who plays cello with a strap so it can dance around and sing funny songs being weird and sometimes challenging.

Hey Rushad! What are some of your fears? It seems to me that you've transcended feeling afraid or doubtful of yourself and I'm wondering if that is true.

I've also always wondered this. Rushad, you're such a visionary artist and such a musical pioneer and your music is so rooted in joy and happiness. But do you ever have days where you think, damn, I'm a hack, or, man, I suck. I've just always wondered about the darker side. You're the man and thanks for always being authentically you.

i do have days like that for sure. not so much days but whiles, which can last minutes hours or weeks. but there is enough stuff going on where i should not fully go down that rabbit hole. still though even when all reason states things are good some dark force wrestles down. those times are when its most important to pick up an instrument and play your heart out. sometimes i play dark twisted angry atonal music because its important to be familiar with all the colors. you can scare yourself if you play dark enough music, its powerful. the worst thing is to sulk without an instrument or pen. because then youll sink too low to even want to pick it up and that is the danger zone. jump in the lake for happiness' sake

i cant say i exist in that state 24-7 but a guy can hope... there is always more freedom. i am sure i will look back in 3 years and wonder how i was ever so nearsighted in 2016

The Goat God is stuck in my head... it reminds me of the song played at the end of Cheech and Chong "Up in Smoke"

Are you a fan of the band The Presidents of the United States of America?

You should create cartoons for television with your creative storytelling/music playing!

yeah i like that band! clever and fresh. cartoons is a goal of mine. i draw tons of little creatures but dont know how to animate yet. one day someone will do it for me because of my influen$e

Cool man. Influen$e is better than influen¢e. I hope to see a Rushad's Magic Cello cartoon someday.

macshaun my stepbrother could probably do it he is sick with the digiskillz

Has this at all helped with your ability to write poetry?

What's the biggest con to always thinking music 24/7?

yes it helps to write poetry because poetry is as much (to me) about the musical value, the sound and cadence even if totally abstract... than the meaning. the biggest drawback to thinking music 24/7 is it makes it pretty hard to do business and get real world stuff done. because if a good fresh melody or word pops in, art always wins and i pick up the cello never to return to the biz, until hours or days or weeks later

Saw you at the Winnipeg folk fest last year, you were amazing! Do you see yourself coming back to Winnipeg? If you do, I know a great many people who would love to see you again. Also, what is your favourite type of kazoo?

hmm yeah that was awesome i would love to come back, you'll have to get someone to invite me. not this year but maybe next i hope. kazoo fav is a toss-up btwn metal and wood. i switched out the wax paper (bc it rips after a week or so) for a plastic circle on my metal one and it just feels awesome to play. like really athletic and bouncy. but i also love my Bambazoo i got from a traveling kazoo salesman in OR. its wood. wood ones are way grainier but real nice and slippery feeling. just different. some occasions call for a plastic pluxxx too.

Hi Rushad! Is Catfood Jackson human or another type of sentient being?

catfood jackson is not quite human, a creature of subtler vibrations who slips in the twilight crack from other (less dense) worlds and does a starry dance of mystic western prairies-joy

Was there anything particularly unconventional about your upbringing and environment as a kid that helped you find the path you're on?

i was encouraged

oldest child, young parents, very alternative people encouraged my to go on with my musical aspirations which were set in stone by 13. i got excused of my highschool obligations and was free to practice all day as a teen and i think thats where it really happened for me. everyone else was in school learning to socialize and going to parties and i would walk in the hills alone and just practice all the time. i definitely missed out on some type of street smarts and social understanding/world understanding but totes no regrets

Do you dream in sheet music?

never- maybe a long time ago but i don't deal in those wares much anymore.

What drew you to the cello as a voice for your expression? Besides kazoo, is there a close second?

yeah guitar has been. and it was my first love and drew me to music. for a long time guitar represented freedom and jamming and cello represented tradition and history and this weight i thought i had to carry. what changed it is when i started jamming on the cello and realized it could be fun too thanks to my cello teacher Margie Dally showing me there could be other ways of approaching it. then my dad made me audition for college and i had to pick one or the other so i picked cello because he said 'there's a MILLION guitarists out there, you'll make a bigger mark as a cellist', etc was he right? i think so. although some of my best friends just want me to play guitar

i have come to appreciate the cello's "talking" quality that because of the softness of the bow, even when i play rhythm/chord riffs it still sounds like some muted melody or that my friendly old cello is SAYING the riff to me

Hey! I saw you a couple of times at the Winnipeg Folk Festival last year, you are truly a phenomenal performer.

How much time do you spend practicing jumping up and down on a stool while holding a cello? Has it ever gone HORRIBLY WRONG?!

Haha thaaaynxistos No it hasnt really gone HORRibly wrong. I have fallen off but land on my feet always or roll on my shoulder in a way that cradles and protects the cello. One time though in santa barbara i was rocking out on a tall chair near the stage and it suddenly broke for no reason and i went down into it and smacked my shin really hard. But i braced myself and footlanded. The worst things happened when i was playing a beater cello. Once in texas i jumped off a trampoline and landed face first on top of my clo. The bridge got crunched pretty hard Then at warped tour in chicago i was crowdsurfing and made it back to the security guards near the stage who totally dropped me 6 feet out of the air. I went ksplam on my back but kept playing because i had convinced myself to just relax or something. It knocked the wind out of me but i was otherwise fine. I think there is a protective force in the momentum of music and performance where you are in a flow, in the zone, and therefore harmonized naturally with physics

What position did you play in soccer?

midfield, until i got to high school. i was a little right footed freshman and the only spot open on varsity was for left defensive back and it was SO not as fun as midfield. all that accountability and having to clear the ball in dangerspots with my weak little freshy foot at 5'5 or 5'6 and 130 while 6 foot big ass forwards are barreling bull like all over me. uuugh

How do you continually push yourself with your daily practice routine? Are there certain things you do everyday, or is the sky the limit?

these days its disorganized, which allows for some of the unexpected to happen. i look for new ways to expand the bounce or the syncing of vox/kazoo to cello, or just making a new tune. i like what stuart duncan the best fiddle player ever said to me once: 'my only goal every day is to put down the fiddle a better fiddler than i was when i picked it up'

I don't mean this to sound weird, but to what extent is your thought music? Can you do math in music? Algebra, trigonometry, calculus? Are people's names songs? Do you think of people as "songs?"

No its not so specific like equal to verbal thought. Musical thought is more ethereal and comes seemingly out of nowhere and i think it starts where words end. I say if you want to do math use numbers If you want to tell somebody how to fix their car use words. If you want to communicate subtler vibrations feelings dreams, good times, emotions, use music

But even if its highly abstract and different than regular thought i can still think in it all day. Mind is just a very advanced song machine.

There would be a time when people become songs, especially right before sleep and also on LSD. Its very easy to turn names into songs i'm asked to make songs for people all the time like that. Most of the time i dont know what is generating the melodies that pop into my head. Maybe its people but the subconscious blender renders ingredients unrecognizable when it churns out a song smoothie

Did you go to clown college ?

No but always wanted to. I met an awesome clown i split sets with at JestFest called avner the eccentric who said to look him up i'd love to be at his feet for awhile. I've known alot of people who studied clowning and i love what they do. Its all in 100% commitment. Myarx. Sometimes i just wanna go full clown

I've been a fan of your work for a while now.

You okay parsibro

Btw what is sneth exactly?

Hey awesome Ahura Mazda! I'm half parsi and my wife is 1/4. Rad to see the fire keep burning. Do you know much about zoroastrian mysticism? I am ever curious.

Sneth is just a placeholder word for my little slice of infinity i.e. My own universe populated by all kinds of creatures but its ever-morphing malleable dynamic i dont say this is here and thats there usually... This world is concrete and "real" enough for me. I like to feel like an astral harmoogian bunny prince from a fluffy world. Sneth has places like Harmoogia Blark Ornch nnumbulandforest etc. just good old playful happytime imagination same as when i was a kid but more powerful now thankyou for the sneth question yay

I stumbled onto your stuff very recently and I must say you are a talented chap. I would love to collab with you at some point (once my tour is finished) on my Kazookeylele. Anywhoo... you have a very interesting playing style. what drew you to slinging a strap onto a cello and jump around more enthusiastically than your average guitarist?

Much love - Pockets

One of my first heroes was angus young of acdc and later then i got into chuck berry the ultimate dancing guitarist. So one night my friends and i went to play in the street in oakland and i didnt want to bring a chair plus we were just improvising and i was buzzed so i just was like "hell i'll strap it on" we had an epic night of so much fun that i focused on what i Could play instead of all the things i Couldnt (as happened in previous strap attempts) and then i was forever changed