|
FRENCH
ENGLISH SPANISH
ourINTERVIEWS
Father
Time
Since arriving online years ago, Scott
Stambaugh AKA FatherTime has embraced the Internet with a number of missions
in mind. Initially as a place to put and promote his music, today he
sees the web and its music BB's as a place to voice his opinion and make
new acquaintances. His posts and responses are legendary, and he may
well have redefined the term "flame war", as hundreds tune
in to see what he may say next. With all this attention he has managed
to promote over 30 of his songs into the top ten of their genres at mp3.com
and is approaching the "40,000 plays" milestone. I chatted
with Scott and was surprised at how laid back he really was...
Mb:
So, what's a regular day for you? Do you spend a lot of it online?
FT: Hmmm, well, I don't keep normal hours at all, haven't for years.
The only time I can really predict is from 11 to about 2, which case
I will usually be awake, ha ha
Mb: I get it... night owl.
FT: No, I do stuff in my studio and outside it, but check in now and
again, not nearly as much time online as you might expect. I spend a
good bit of time with my kids.
Mb: I see you everywhere... You've made quite a name for yourself
online.
FT: If you wanna call it that, ha ha ha
Mb: It seems to be a very volatile relationship.
FT: Yeah, I go through changes with it by the day. I am much different
than when I came to the community.
Mb: So let's talk about the BB persona first.
FT: Hmmm, persona, well, let me tell ya :-)
Mb: What gets you "going"?
FT: When I came online, I was determined to keep it about the music,
but I just couldn't help shooting my mouth off, still can't in fact.
So while I may not say this stuff to somebody if I met them on the street,
as I'm rather soft spoken there, it's pretty much what I'm about, the
real article.
Mb:
And what value do you see in the BB world?
FT: Well, the best value in the bbs world is that it's exciting and you
meet some really nice people.
Mb: And makes some enemies too?
FT: Well, yeah, I have a low tolerance for bullies and I won't let them
do it to me.
Mb: So what drew you to it, the BB, in the first place?
FT: I don't really remember. The first one I was at was the VS Planet
cause I had bought a Roland recorder.
Mb: So was it information?
FT: mp3.com, I went there once I had a page up. But by then I had realized
that I could blow off serious steam on a bbs, let my freak flag fly,
ha ha
Mb: Ahh... therapy.
FT: Cause you can bitch about how much you hate Dave Matthews music on
the street and nobody even knows who he is, ya know ? :-) But all the
varied characters, that was just amazing. I mean, we exist in the most
vibrant environment imaginable.
Mb: So has the Internet become everything you wanted it to be?
FT: No, I think Internet music, practically everything that's happened
with it is fcked, except that you get the exposure. About that other
thing, where else on earth do you run into a Weapon X, a Paisley Face,
a Zeeza? Not at your local corner store, ha ha
Mb: So what would you like the Internet to do for you?
FT: Hmmm, well, I'd like to someday be the breakout Internet rock god.
:-) The chemistry isn't right just yet. ha ha
Mb: And how will you go about becoming that?
FT: Well, I think when people get past my personality and really get
into my music, that could make a difference. But honestly, I need a manager.
I'm incompetent to do it myself, so I just sort of end up where I end
up, which is
usually in the center of a lot of shit, though I'm not sure quite why.
I mean it seriously seeks me out at times, you don't know the half of
it.
Mb: Well, you seem to be an antagonist maybe that's it?
FT: Well, sure, sometimes, but a lot of the stuff that comes my way has
nothing to do with any aggressiveness on my part, usually that comes
after I see something flying at me.
Mb: So you know, most who read this will be looking for FatherTime
dirt... have any? Anyone on your hit list right now?
FT: Hmmm, well, I am very annoyed at something that's going on at mp3.com
and I'm trying to solve it through channels instead of my typical bbs
blasts, ha ha, but it may come to that soon.
Mb: I'm listening to your stuff right now... where do you like people
to find your music ...url?
FT: www.mp3.com/fathertime
is probably the main one at this point. But I have songs at Java
and Artist
Launch and
Ampcast too.
Mb: Your tunes aren't as heavy as I'd imagined them to be.
FT: Well, I have a lot of hard songs, just not many on my page right
now. I just do the songs I feel like doing. The last one was a soul song
that turned BeachBoysy. The next one is a novelty pop song like Louie
Louie.
Mb: What do you try to leave the listener thinking or reader for that
matter?
FT: I want to leave the tunes in their head like they used to when there
was a Beatles and Stones on the radio. Now I think I have a lot to offer
lyrically too but I can't seem to get listeners from the Neil Young/Dylan
audience that
I would think would like my stuff. The reader, well, I try to entertain
usually.
Mb: I'm listening to Flounder...
is that how you feel?
FT: Yes, it's about me actually.
Mb: More therapy?
FT: Well, yeah, I'd have to say that when I'm doing music I'm the most
content with my life, and the songs are usually about me and my situations.
By the way, want to join FU ? :-)
Mb: What's that?
FT: Future
Unity, it's an organization based pretty much completely in getting
up strength by numbers for artists, for various purposes as you might
guess. We have 183 members in 9 weeks !
Mb: And what's the idea? What will it do?
FT: No charge, you get a link :-) Well, it's grassroots now but what
we want to do is provide a bigger voice when the community needs one,
our ultimate goal being ALL artists, indie and label, so as you can guess,
we're very very far away. Leverage is really its purpose, but I didn't
mean to put you on the spot ha ha
Mb: So you know you've caught me off guard a bit. I was expecting
someone a lot rougher around the edges... but by your responses, I imagine
if music doesn't work out for you, you might want to consider politics?
FT: Well, if you had done this interview a year ago I might have mouthed
off at Wolfie or something, ha ha ha
Mb: That's the kind dirt we're looking for!! lol
FT: Well, Wolfie is a big pain in the ass. ha ha ha There you go.
Mb: So you've seasoned in your old age? Mulled a bit as it were?
FT: Old age ? ha ha I don't know, it's more channeled anyway but I find
that I go through real mood swings now I never used to, when I would
just go nuts.
Mb: And now you have control?
FT: Well, I've learned a few things from my stupidity, ha ha though you
never know what I may post tomorrow ha ha
|
