Greetings, one and all, and welcome to
the first post in a very special month of posts here at Clockwork
Conversations!
In honor of the release of my novel
WISHING CROSS STATION, I am interviewing, and guest posting for, some
incredible authors! I would like to thank each and every one of them for participating
in this special event.
First, I want to welcome back a
previous guest to the blog: author, poet, and songwriter Dane Cobain!
Please, Dane, share your bio, tell us a
little about who you are to get us started...
Dane
Cobain is a writer, poet and musician from a place you’ve probably never heard
of, somewhere in England. When he’s not writing books, he’s reading and
reviewing them on his book blog – SocialBookshelves.com – or working at his day
job in social media marketing. Find him at Facebook.com/DaneCobainMusic or
follow @DaneCobain on Twitter.
Q1: As an artist, you’re not only
a blogger, poet and novelist but also a songwriter. I checked out some of your
original work on your website, as well a cover or two. (Enjoyed the One Man
Band videos!) What is your absolute favorite song to cover?
DC:
Great question – but it depends entirely on your meaning! I have favourites for
different reasons – my overall favourite is probably House of the Rising Sun,
but my favourite to play is probably Personal Jesus by Johnny Cash and my
favourite to sing would be something like All You Need is Love by The Beatles.
But ask me tomorrow and I’ll have changed my mind again!
Q2: What is your favorite of your
original songs you’ve written so far?
DC:
Another good one! Probably ‘Shine’ – it’s the most personal of them, for sure.
I also really like the guitar part to it, it sounds like something out of a
dream!
Q3: Who were/are your major musical
influences over the years?
DC:
Kurt Cobain is the obvious one – I was into Nirvana a lot when I was a
teenager, although I don’t really listen to them anymore. Then there’s The
Beatles, who influenced everyone. But a few of the more obscure ones are Simon
Joyner (a singer/songwriter from Omaha) and Malcolm Middleton (also a
singer/songwriter from Scotland).
Q4: Is there a song someone else wrote
that you especially wish you’d written? Why?
DC:
Great question! There are loads of them, but I’m not sure if I could pick
something in particular – probably something by Tom Waits, maybe Smuggler’s
Waltz. Again, it’s just because it’s so haunting and beautiful – simple and
complex at the same time!
Q5: Since you’ve visited me before,
you’ve already answered the “do you collect anything” question so I’ll pose you
a new one. If you could perform on stage for one night with any band, past or
present, which one would it be and why?
DC:
Surprisingly, probably not The Beatles – their best stuff was released after
they stopped touring, and all of their live footage is ruined by screaming
girls. I’d probably go for the Jimi Hendrix experience – can you imagine how
awesome that would be? Although I’m not sure if I’d be able to compete,
musically.
~*~
Whatever happened in that jam session I bet it’d be a great
time!
Thank you so much to Dane Cobain for being my guest today!
You can learn more about Dane, his writing, poetry, and music by visiting his
website at: http://www.danecobain.com
Don’t forget to stop by on Wednesday for our next Clockwork
Conversation: The Great June Clockwork Conversations Blog Extravaganza is just
getting started!
