Jason's Bio
Who are you?
Jason Fischer aka Fish
What do you do in this band?
Play guitar, keyboards, sing, write songs, and complain
What do you do as a day job?
Make Byron Allen TV shows and occasionally other TV shows
Hometown:
Pittsburgh, PA
Do you consider yourself an adult?
I quit feeling like a college kid around age 27. I still don't feel like a grown up exactly, but my bills certainly remind me that I am. Also the lack of hope and the feeling of imminent doom.
How old are you in age?
31, but by the time this is posted, probably 32
Why do you live where you live?
I moved to Los Angeles to go to film school at USC (where I strangely never officially met John, but where I did see his old ska band One Legged Bob play) and never left. Various relationships and financial responsibilities kept me here, and I recently bought a condo just a couple days before the housing market crashed. So I'm likely stuck here for the next thirty years.
Favorite weeknight activity?
Eating. Closely followed by watching TV.
Favorite weekend activity?
See above.
Weird hobby?
I play poker which isn't necessarily weird, especially after the recent poker boom on TV and the internet (followed by the swift drop off of internet poker), but some would probably say it's weird that I go to card clubs in bad parts of town by myself and give large sums of money to strangers. So, I haven't played in a little while.
Current musical obsession?
No obsessions of late. The blogs have gotten to me, so I'll probably buy the Vampire Weekend album when it arrives on eMusic.
All-time overarching favorite band?
I'm one of those boring people who likes The Beatles best.
First album you owned?
The first cassettes I bought were The Monkees Greatest Hits and Huey Lewis & The News Fore. The first CD I bought was Def Leppard Hysteria. The second was White Lion Pride. The third was R.E.M. Green which is the earliest purchase that I still have in my collection.
Favorite viral video?
Anything having to do with fucking Matt Damon or Ben Affleck. Wait, that didn't come out right.
Favorite blogs, if any?
I read Stereogum and The Onion A.V. Club regularly.
And of course all of the fantastic blogs that tout Pro Audio.
Best restaurant in the world, (or LA):
That's a tough one for me. I'll admit this, the best lasagna I ever had was at Ca' Del Sol in Universal City.
Favorite bar in the world, (or LA):
I'm a sucker for the HMS Bounty in Koreatown.
Has a band ever changed your life... or your perspective of music?
Many bands have I'm sure. The one that comes to mind is Quasi. I had just about given up any interest in music and then I read an article on Quasi in the (now defunct) New Times and thought they sounded like something I'd enjoy. I bought Field Studies in an overpriced record store in the Century City mall (back when record stores existed in malls) and that began my obsession with indie rock. Incidentally, it was the mention of Quasi in an music ad John posted that lead to me joining up with Pro Audio.
Weirdest/most embarrassing music phase you've gone through:
Too many to list. Let's just say in addition to Def Leppard Hysteria and White Lion Pride I at one time purchased:
a Michael Damien cassette
a Martika album
the cast recording of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
and a Dixie Chicks album
Most embarrassing album you own and still listen to:
I'd say many would say my extensive collection of Barenaked Ladies albums destroys my indie cred. But I'm most embarrassed to admit that I own all of the Digital Underground albums. And I readily admit only about 1 and 1/2 of them are listenable.
Album that you own just to make you look cool:
I bought and regret buying the first Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album. I never listen to that.
Pop culture: love it or hate it? Why?
I don't regularly visit TMZ or Perez or anything. But I like watching Best Week Ever and The Soup when I catch it. What does that say about me?
Something weird about you or your family or how you were raised:
Well, my family history is complicated. I went from being the youngest of four siblings to the oldest of four siblings at age 8.
Were you in band in school? Go to band camp? Cool musician/dorky musician?
I played saxaphone in the school band through 8th grade. I also took piano lessons for about six months from a nun in my pre-adolescence. Beyond that I was in a rap group called 2wice Fresh in high school. I also tried to form various rock bands in high school with friends who quickly surpassed me in musical aptitude on guitar and other instruments.
Has being a musician ever gotten you laid? Gotten you married?
No, if anything, being in Pro Audio has had a negative impact on my sex life.
Who are you voting for?
Barack Obama
Best band you've stumbled upon through blogs or some random way:
Hmmm... probably Sufjan Stevens after Pitchfork hyped the Christ out of him.
Trendiest device you own:
iPod.
Dorkiest device you own:
My accordion?
Do you wear pink fuzzy hats?
No, that's John.
Do you wear bowling t-shirts?
Do I? Is that a slam on my wardrobe?
Do you text message non-stop?
No, that's Bri... and Paul... and John.
Do you live in shitty-ass Korea Town half the week, but benefit from free music space?
Hey, that's not the only reason you live there half the week. And don't bitch to me, I was driving from North Hollywood to Fountain Valley on work nights before I moved in with my girlfriend.
Do you have doubts about being an indie-rock band in a Hollywood-glam-make-it-big Los Angeles
I'm held together with doubt and sugar.
