1) Who are the members of your band and how did you meet?
I’m a solo artist.

2) How long have you been in Austin and how long have you played music?
I’ve been in Austin since 1980 with four years of college in Florence, Alabama (across the river from Muscle Shoals). I started playing/writing around 1983. Released my first cassette in 1989 while in Alabama under a small cassette label I started called “Big Hug Records”. A few other cassette releases followed. A few years after returning to Austin I released a small run CD for friends, and a limited edition 10 CD Box set. In 2016 I began releasing music to the public steadily under the Splendid Obsolescence name at all the usual online digital outlets, Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, etc.

3) Has the city of Austin had any influence in the style or direction of your music?
Absolutely. I can’t imagine how my music would have been without Austin’s influence or whether I would be a musician/creative at all without those influences. I do not perform live so I will answer as a recording-only artist. At the base level there has always been an accepted DIY lowest possible budget aesthetic to Austin. And when a higher budget was available it seems local Austin talent has always been able to maximize the outcome of it. When I began, recording directly into a stereo cassette deck or 4-track was an accepted possibility if studio time or a record deal was out of reach. Past that my detailed writings on influence alone would probably fill a whole book if not multiple volumes.

4) Do you perform live shows in Austin, and if so, what are your favorite venues?
I do not perform live, but I spend quite often multiple days a week at live venues seeing shows. As an avid listener, my favorite rock/synth club venues are Elysium, Carousel Lounge, North Door, Barracuda, Come and Take it Live, Mohawk…. Favorite Listening rooms: The Townsend, Cactus Café …Favorite Larger Venues: ACL Moody Theater, 3Ten, Emos.

5) Are there other bands in Austin you’d recommend to your fans?
Yes, many… On the synth side of things: Night Drive, Adoration Destroyed, S U R V I V E, Sine, … Synth/Rock: Dead Love Club, Toxic Water, Afflicted by Design… 80s/BritPop/Punk: The Late Joys, Raul’s Royal Foot… Amazing Songwriting: Harold Whit Williams, Andrea Perry, Alice Spencer, Anneke, Robi Polgar… And in the NSFW Political/social commentary/wonderfully insane music category who doesn’t live in Austin anymore but deserves mentioning: Rudy Schwartz Project.

6) What musicians have most influenced you?
As for world famous artists who most people know: Laurie Anderson, Devo, B-52’s, Residents, Kraftwerk, Pete Shelley, Howard Devoto, John Carpenter, Gary Numan, John Foxx, Daniel Johnston, Wreckless Eric, and many too numerous to list. Others that people may not know, but should check out: Cotton Mather (Austin), Daler Mehndi (India), Bappi Lahiri (India), Ilaiyaraaja (India), Piknik (Russia) Messer Fur Frau Muller (Russia), Doppelganger (Russia), Mumiy Troll (Russia), Idiotape (South Korea), Malice Mizer (Japan), Pugs (Japan). Locally, the list is soooo long and in many ways more important than the “world famous bands” I’ve already listed, but here is a shortened list: YU, Glass Eye, Wax Elephant, Joe King Carrasco, Ditto, Argument Clinic, Late Joys, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Pong, Pocket Fishermen, Bouffant Jellyfish, Zom Zoms.

… and specifically these local songwriters: Harold Whit Williams (Cotton Mather guitarist, poet, solo artist), Andrea Perry (Wax Elephant, Kaliyo, solo artist), Alice Spencer (Victrola, Shiny Ribs, Donut Musik, solo artist), Robi Polgar (Late Joys, solo artist), Anneke ( BoJest, solo artist).

… and in the NSFW Political/social commentary/wonderfully insane music category: Rudy Schwartz Project.

7) What’s the best thing that has happened to your band?
I mainly feel lucky that I am able to create, and that my wife and friends support me without question. It is a lot of the time small things that are the best things. If you want to know a specific time that falls under the best things category, one of my tracks “Film Noir and the Melancholy of Justice (Variant 1)” was picked up for a Texas Noise show on KVRX Austin. The best thing about it was the track was found organically shortly after it was released, I had not at that time submit to the station directly so it was a very nice surprise.

8) Any cringe-worthy moments the band has endured that you’re willing to divulge?
Not that I can think of, but I guess something will happen at some point.

9) Is there anything you’d care to share or anything else you’d like to let us know about?
I just started selling a guitar pedal:

MUDBUG on ETSY
MUDBUG on Bandcamp

10) Give us one fun fact.
Not sure if it’s a fun fact, but as a builder/repairer or some of my instruments, I am always amazed at the fact that synth music, or any modern amplified music, is always one solder point away from failure. I find it magical that any synth or rock show is successful.