1/ So First Off - Tell Us your Name, City and Country and what you currently do for a living?
I'm Chris McCann. I live in Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast of Australia. I'm owner/operator of Noosa Decorating, and I specialise in artisan paint and lime based finishes.
2/ Is This Something You Always Wanted To Do? What Do You Enjoy About It?
I've always loved exploring and sharing new music but I've only recently moved over to the streaming world. I still buy copies of albums though - there's nothing better than having the real McCoy and not a compressed file. Even back in the days of tapes, it was always a buzz exposing someone to a new discovery. The streaming platforms take it to the next level and allow you to share on a global scale. Furthermore being part of the Music to community connects you with other like minded folk, artists and new music. It has so many facets that make it really unique.
3/ Tell Us About Your First Musical Memory - Why Do You Think You Remember It?
I was born into a vinyl household - fairly typical of my generation. I recall going though my Mother's paisley suitcase full of albums everything from Jefferson Airplane ,Cat and The Beetles. One track I remember hearing a lot was "Mull of Kintyre" by McCartney. I remember the Old Man whistling away to this out in the shed...He never got sick of that song...LOL!
4/ Who Did You Make Your First Mixtape / Playlist For - What Was The Result - Did They Dig It?
Initially for myself... when I was about seven or eight - mainly 60's stuff, Beach Boys, Donovan etc - It wasn't until the end of primary school that I was exposed to the broader music world via friends older siblings. My first mixtape worthy of a share was a Punk compilation - (the staples) The Clash, Dead Kennedy's, Ramones, Buzzcocks, and even a few Specials and Bad Manners tracks between the stage dives haha.
We went on to share and swap tapes at school until we had the coin to buy copies of our own.
5/ What Made You Go Online And Search About Music Curation?
I was chatting to Andrew the founder one night....I think I was guinea pig initially... but He asked if Id be up for a playlist and the rest is history.
6/ Tell us about the name of your Playlist - where did that come from?
It's actually a line from a live "Wayne Hancock" track, who also features on the list I might add. He's been a huge influence in my musical tastes and really capture's the heart and soul of the Ameripolitan scene.
Growing up I was slowly influenced into the world of classic cars, and while running in these circles it really opened my eyes and ears to whole new world of music - so it was a key point in the evolution of my musical tastes.
7/ What does a track have to have to make it onto your list, is there something special that you look for?
Sure Alt Country and Roots play a big part of my diet, but not exclusively. When listening to a track, and it conjures a memory of a personal experience - it makes it so much easier to connect with. I love the grit and honesty delivered by a story teller, it's not always pretty... but that's life. Songwriters with the ability to showcase the grey shades of life will always strike an interest with me. I find rainbows and lolly pops really quite boring, and possibly a little shallow - not to mention - you can find them on any street corner.
As you've probably noticed there's even a few Bazzoo Bajou tracks on the list, well known for their blend of Cajun and Americana flavours - so I'm not opposed to loops and electronica if it strikes a chord.
8/ What can an artist do in their track submission to your list to ensure that you'll listen to their track?
Have a read of the Playlist write up for a start - give it a listen - and tell me why you think it should make the list.
Its also really refreshing to receive a sub when someone will actually address you by name, you know someone has taken the time to read up on your playlist or bio.
9/ We know - these change all the time - but as of this week - what are your all time top 5 favorite tracks.
- Brian Eno & David Byrne "Moonlight in Glory
- Madness "Night Boat to Cairo"
- Ramones " Bonzo Goes to Bitberg"
- Frank Zappa " Dinah-Moe Humm"
- Paul Kelly "Gravy"
10/ And finally - which Music to Curator should we interview next?
Jesse from Music to Question Existence