Hi there, I’m here reporting live from a raddison hotel in Fresno California. It’s about 289 degrees outside so I’m pretty psyched to be here. Also, shout out to all the people who have come to see my shows. San Diego, L.A. and S.F…you guys kicked ass. I hit colorado later this week , as well as Austin. Check the dates on my Facebook page is you live in either of those places.
Anyway, this is another edition of “Answers for questions”. You ask, I answer. If you’d like to be a part of this, please, send me questions. Either email them to me at phatfriendblog@gmail.com or leave them in the comments below. I accept both with open arms. Let’s dig into this weeks batch.

What’s your stance on music piracy. More specifically what if someone downloaded all your music, but then still went to see you live? Would you consider that bad form either way or is it something that doesn’t really bother you. I’ve heard touring makes the most money so I was curious.

I think it’s safe to say most artists who are from my era feel the same way about piracy. We don’t like it but there’s also nothing we can really do about it. We were around during a time when record sales actually mattered (and paid bills for us personally) so the jump into a an era where that’s pretty much impossible for any artist not on the radio, is a bummer. That said, it’s the times we live in and sitting around complaining about it is pretty futile. Acceptance is unavoidable if you want to continue with making music.
Because of that reality, musicians have to bank on touring as a means to get paid. It’s just par for the course. I can honestly say that if I made enough money off music to not tour, I probably wouldn’t do it much. Simply cause I hate traveling and I’m super content just being home all the time. But , I don’t so I tour and it’s totally fine.
As for the second part of the question, coming to my shows is exactly what I want people who steal my music to do. It’s literally one of the only benefits of people pirating your shit. I’ve had people come up to me at shows and had me $40 like “hey man, I stole all your music so heres some money for that”. While that’s is kind aver the top and unnecessary , it is pretty cool of them. But, yeah, coming to the shows makes a difference for sure. Let’s be honest, for an artist like me, an album is pretty much promotional material for my live show. It’s backwards and crazy that that is how it is now but , hey, fuck it…that’s the world we’ve created.

what’s the most ignorant and belligerent you’ve ever gotten? i hesitate to use the word gangster bc it implies violent crime… but what’s the most gangster shit you’ve ever done? where you really abandoned any pretense of giving a fuck and got straight disrespectful. or straight gutter if it went that far. i’m mild-mannered, but i’ve surprised myself a time or two w the shit i’ve done. so it’s always fascinating to see other mild-mannered ppl break character, right or wrong.

Sadly (or thankfully, depending how you look at it) I’m a very careful person. I always have been. I’m not reckless at all and think about consequences for all my actions. Because of this, I haven’t done a ton of bad shit. Off the top, I’m drawing a blank of anything that would even begin to classify as gangster. I suppose there was that time I was with a friend in connecticuit at his family’s country house and we went around the neighborhood breaking into peoples houses and eating food from the fridge’s then bouncing. But I was more just following my friend. Trust that I was having a panic attack the entire time.
There was another time in high school where i got so drunk at a party (It was actually at Uma Thurman’s little brothers house) that I vomited out of a window, looked down and realized I just puked all over a parked police car. Luckily, they weren’t inside it though.
Also there are all those times I murdered people. Can’t forget about those but, you know, whatever. Shit happens.

You’re a musician who makes a living creating and performing his work. Even though you’re not über famous or rich, you seem to have a loyal fan base, you do things your own way, and you’ve been at it for years; I think that’s a pretty objective metric for success. However, I’m curious, how do you view your own career? Do you see yourself as being successful?

I’m pretty happy with where I’m at and what I’ve done. Sure, being wealthier and more stable would be nice but I actually like my level of notoriety. I can go anywhere and no one knows who I am. My “fame” doesn’t infringe on my day to day life and that’s ideal. The majority of people I meet in real life have no clue what I do. Hell, a lot of my close friends have never even heard ante of music I’ve made and that’s pretty cool to me.
The bottom line is that I get to make money doing something that’s fun. That in itself is a victory. The only downside is the longevity. Who knows where I’ll be with this in five years and how long can a guy really make the kinda music I do? Aside from those fears, it’s awesome though.
Keep i mind, I’m writing this from a hotel in Fresno right now.

These following questions really means well but it is a shit storm of cliched questions i’ve been answering since the early 2000’s. So I’mma breeze through them speed round style.

How are ya, man?
Fine. My allergies are acting up but life will go on.
What are some of your biggest influences in life?
Satan, mostly.
How did you become such a down to earth, funny, caring, and simply being yourself?
I’d guess my mom raised me right? Also, being an emotionless robot actually makes a person come off as fairly humble and good natured.
Who are some of your biggest influences and why? How are or were they as people.
You asked this one already…like two seconds ago. What’s the better with you, bro?
What’s your favorite candy if you like candy?
I like gummy bears. But I also like chocolate stuff. Skor bars are very underrated.
How often if ever do you smoke weed anymore? I know you don’t get along with it and I recently found out the same.
I never smoke weed.
Where do you like to travel most and why?
San Francisco. I got family there and , in general, I like the vibe. It’s the city I’ve spent the most time in outside of NYC by a landslide.
How many records do you go through
on average for a 3 minute beat?
I listen to tons of records cause it’s all trial and error but I’d say I use at least 7 or 8 different samples on every beat I make.

Have you seen Bobbito García’s “Doin’ It In The Park”? …any thoughts on it?

In addition, Do you have any favourite films/documentaries about basketball?

I have and I enjoyed it. I dunno if it’s actually good or not but the topic is so near a dear to my heart that it’s impossible for me to not be into it.
As for basketball movies, Hoop dreams is obviously the GOAT. But “Soul in the hole” was good too. The ESPN 30 for 30 about the pistons is excellent. I could watch that kinda shit forever.
For non-documentaries, my standards are incredibly low. I’ll watch most movies if they have even slightly realistic basketball in them. For example, I’ve seen Coach Carter probably 40 times. I’m also willing to be I’ve watched “Finding forrester” more than anyone else on earth. It just be like that sometimes, I guess.

my question is what message are you sending with your blog banner of the fat girl with her skinny friends

i’ve been a fan of yours for 15+ yrs, but dude, that image pisses me off

Yeah dude (or ma’am), my message is that fat people suck. Obviously. What are you talking about? My blog is called “Phat friend”. That’s a picture of a bunch of friends, and one of them is fat (phat). Is it mean? I guess you could see it that way. But it’s not a statement on fat people. It’s just a picture I thought was funny and went well with my blog title. Would it make you happier if I photoshopped my face on her? If i knew how to do that, I’d do it in a second. Cause it would be hilarious X10.
Basically, if this kinda thing pisses you off enough to make a stink about it, you are either too easily pissed off to read this kind of blog/website or bored. I can’t control what offends other people. if this bothers you, that’s unfortunate but , like all things on this blog, it’s not that serious. In fact, that picture is probably the least serious thing on the entire site. It’s a joke. JOKES. Picking you battles is very underrated and I think, in general,people on the internet would be much happier if they didn’t let outrage over something as pointless as the banner pic on my dumb ass blog effect them in any way.
Side note,
I have no issues with fat people and plan to be one in the near future.