As I was walking in to The Court Taverns side room where Sundays all ages matinee was being held I was asked “Are you straightedge?” by a complete stranger. The question so caught me off guard. It felt as if I was just ambushed by the prize patrol and only the correct answer would give me a chance to hold the ridiculously over sized check. My first thought was “Maybe he recognized me from a show or affiliation with some older straight edge bands.” But somehow the question and the fact that it came from this complete stranger set me off or at least put me on, for lack of a better word, edge. I dryly asked “That’s the way you address a complete stranger?” “What the hell kind of question is that?” The exchange quickly ended and I moved to the bar to have a screwdriver. Later, after the show he told me he was doing a paper and if I had any knowledge or experience on the subject he’s like to ask me some questions. When I found out he was also interviewing Tohm from Four Fingers I said “Why Not” As we waited outside after the show I kept thinking this dude was off. Not a bad guy at all but at the very least, squirrely. We stood outside and spoke for a few before heading to the local Dunkin’ Donuts for what turned out to be one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever sat in on. Everything about it from the pre-prepared questions to the robotic delivery and request that we each answer the questions individually without any one speaking at the same time. I found Tohms answers to be very intriguing and honest and I learned more about someone who is becoming more and more of a friend. His friend Dana who tagged along also answered the questions thoughtfully and honestly all while listening to everyone’s answers intently and making some of the most direct and intuitive eye contact I’ve ever seen. Excellent, considering she herself is a Journalism student. All in all the interviewer was very nervous and anxious. Never giving an ounce of his own experience to the process. It seemed as if he just spun a roulette wheel and picked whatever topic the dice landed on. It made me think of how awkward I must have seemed doing interviews for my first zine when I was fifteen. Regardless of the weirdness of those exchanges I got to meet some new people including Dana and had a story to tell when I got home.
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