Interviews!!!

So I had an interesting end to my work day today. I went out to my car at 5pm and had planned on making a few phone calls on the way home to set up interviews. I know, it's terrible that I talk on the phone while I drive, but some weeks, it's really the only chance I get to make a call to someone other than one of my family members. So first, I called Marcellus Pittman, who I had been waiting to hear from for a while about setting up an interview. He responded to my MySpace email asking me to call him. I called him today and I have an interview set up with him now!!! Then I called Brian Gillespie, another DJ. He's white – the second white person that I have officially interviewed since coming here. That's kind of funny. Anyway, we had sent each other a few Facebook emails and then regular emails. I barely got a chance to introduce myself over the phone before he started chatting with me about music making and Red Bull Music Academy, and Detroit music. It was such a great phone conversation. Usually, when I call a DJ, it's a brief introductory conversation where much of the time is spent deciding when and where to meet. But this was great – I can tell that the interview is going to be very long (good long!) and really full of great information.

So, sorry to car safety, but my ride home after work is becoming my chance to make a few research related phone calls.

On a totally different note, James and I were talking about my night out at the Ribs n' Soul festival this past weekend. I was telling him about a DJ that I spoke with who has a full time job and a family and has a pretty active touring schedule and produces a lot of music. This DJ is relatively famous and has been a DJ for a long time, so it was surprising to learn that he also had a "day job." James then commented that I am really living the Detroit DJ life of working full time and going out to parties and researching this music! Trying to make me feel better about having a job and being away from the kids and having to reconfigure my research schedule also. Ha ha!