I first met Scott in Minot at That One Place through a mutual friend. I had seen him at shows before but never really talked to him. We soon got to know each other after Scott took an interest in a now defunct band I was in, and by our shared enthusiasm for independent music. When I moved to Fargo, I assumed that I would still see Scott around whenever there were decent shows in town. He rarely ever misses a show, so I wasn't surprised that I ran into him at the Deerhoof show my first week in town. What did surprise me was that Scott just moved to Moorhead after landing a job at Concordia to teach French. Up until this point, I didn't really know anything about Scott besides that he was a walking encyclopedia of music information. So I set up this interview via email to find out what makes him tick. I'm sure you'll see/meet him at a show eventually, but to speed up the process...
1. You recently moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area to accommodate your new job as a French teacher at Concordia. How did you come about getting this particular job and how are you adjusting to it?
------I have been looking for ways to be connecting for the past two and a half years. I kept my house in Velva but also had an apartment in Minneapolis in the winter of 2001 and I went to see Boy Hits Car at the Ascot Room in March 2001.They completely blew me away, by the time they played the fifth song in their set, "The Rebirth," about getting connected before you die, my life had changed. I took off from work and traveled around to see them in the Midwest on that tour, and I started writing e-news for the band. Boy Hits Car E-News was my way to get connected. I built a mailing list of over 16,000 fans and then turned it over to Wind-Up, their label. I continued writing about music on my own, however, and in November 2001 I started Music for This Room. The name is based on a song by The Juliana Theory. Music for This Room became a weekly feature on Dynamic Rock, a music website based in Toronto. The guy who runs it said it became very expensive to pay for the increased bandwidth (we were getting over 10, 000 clean hits per week), so he took it down for redesign in January and it has not come back yet. So I kept looking for other ways to connect, and started writing about classical music for The Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis. I did a marketing booklet in French for Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, also in Minneapolis. I got a call from Minot State about teaching Spanish this year, but quickly found out about the opening at Concordia and it was a no-brainer to leave Velva and Minot behind, except for a few close friends, and start teaching at Concordia. No ones'going to come knocking on my door, and I know my friends realize that as well and would not stop me from fulfilling my potential.
I've adjusted well to Fargo-Moorhead, Concordia, and to Minnesota. It was my goal for a long time to have a job in Minnesota, and I take advantage of all the things going on in the Twin Cities. I no longer have to drive 10 hours from Minot to get to Minneapolis for concerts, films, art shows, theater, and a general sense of what is happening culturally and politically today. Concordia is an extremely challenging institution for a professor, because the standards are the highest.This year we are extremely fortunate to have the leadership of our former president, Paul Dovre, a renowned theologian and visiting professor at Harvard, who has stepped in until we locate a new permanent president. It is my particular good fortune to have the chance to work with our Dean and Academic Vice-President, Sabine O'Hara, who is a brilliant and dynamic reformer from Germany now in her second year at Concordia. I know I will learn much this year from both of them, and the entire Concordia community, as well as from the chance to be in a city finally, and within easy driving distance of one of the world's nicest cities to boot.
2. You've been to shows in the area before, but since you've moved here, how do you feel about, or what are your opinions of the local scene?
------The local scene in F-M is awful. But to be honest, there isn't a whole lot happening right now in Minneapolis. Personally, I have been really disappointed this year so far with the small number of shows. A couple shows were good, but held in 21+ venues. What this city needs are more people to stand up and not be afraid of what other people think. We have the talent, but need the confidence to get out there and just do it. I know of a couple bands that are reforming right now and I am anxious to hear what they are up to.
3. You obviously have a passion for music, so what role has music played in your life? For fun, what kinds of music and bands are you currently listening to these days?
------I have been into music my whole life. When I was in fourth grade, I had pneumonia and had to be in the hospital in Ottumwa, Iowa for two weeks. My dad bought me a portable record player and I remember listening to 45s over and over, stuff like Hey Jude by The Beatles, Rosemary by Edison Lighthouse, and Sugar Sugar by The Archies. My Dad said Hey Jude was a good song except for the screaming at the end. That got me started thinking, I guess... I studied classical piano for many years and even music theory. But my academic passion was literature, and I have degrees in literature and languages from Harvard and Stanford. I have written a lot of poetry, which of course goes hand in hand with music.
These days I have been completely impressed by the new CD by Thrice. I love the line in track 5, "Show me what it means to me in this world." Except I rewrote the line to read: "Show me what it means to be in this world" and printed it out in a big sign and have it hanging above my office door at Concordia. I think the Evanescence CD is tremendous. At first I was somewhat skeptical because I know Wind-Up bands and the kind of pressure they are under to achieve commercial success, while at the same time maintaining artistic integrity. Boy Hits Car is certainly a tremendous band. Evanescence has completely taken me over, no puns intended again. This is the story of my life:
Perfect by nature Icons of self-indulgence
Just what we all need More lies about a world that
Never was and never will be. Don't say Im' out of touch
With this rampant chaos... your reality I know well what lies beyond
My sleeping refuge The nightmare I built
My own world to escape In my field of paper flowers.
4. One characteristic that would separate you from the average show attendee and connoisseur of independent music would be your age. Have you found that to be an obstacle between meeting new people within the scene? How have you kept yourself from becoming jaded and cynical about something that most people get burned out from by their mid 20's?
------In the first place, there should be more people my age (43) interested in art and music and politics and society.The role of the individual in the world is all of our business. But there should actually be more of your age out there too, and the fact is that shows don't get the attendance they deserve because too many people are disconnected and uninformed or simply uninterested. "What's in it for me" attitudes rule, and the only way to change that is to educate yourself and become an example to others. I think that young people respect my independence of thought and action, and tend to admire my sincerity and convictions. Individual creativity is what most of this music is all about, and being jaded or cynical is a healthy thing, to a point. If it becomes disabling- if you dwell on negativity and reinforce your own limited conceptions of the world by not growing or being overly self-righteous - then you have crossed the line from independence into delusion. The trick seems to me to be able to play both games simultaneously- be yourself and also be someone important to other people.
5. Do you have any future plans of your own to more actively participate in the independent music scene? For example, starting a record label, writing for more zines, etc.
------I really got somewhat disillusioned about writing only about rock music because very few people were connecting with me. They would read my stuff, and some would respond, but the silence of the vast majority of my intended audience left me feeling lonely and intellectually isolated. That was when I branched out into writing about classical music more, and now I realize that I enjoy being up to date on all kinds of music, and I hope that I will make more connecting experiences as a member of Concordia this year. I would like to find a website or print magazine to pick up Music for this Room again. If I could find a band I like that can stick together internally and be 100% devoted to their vision, then I could see myself coordinating the commercial side of their success. In the meantime I pray for intellectual companionship and a sense of belonging to the right things at the right times. My life is perhaps half over, so I have to use every experience and lesson to help me reach my own vision of being able to enlighten the way people think about themselves and their role in their world. Scott Sigel [email protected]