Spottiswoode & His Enemies "Youngest Child"

Here's another song I was reminded of, while cleaning last week . . . 

My wife is a Public School teacher, and most of her career has been spent in a Grammar School setting.

From time to time, we'll be out in public and she'll run into one of her kids.

"Mrs. Finn!  What are you doing here?"

As if teachers don't, you know, grocery shop.  Or go to restaurants.

When we think of musicians, we think of them doing normal musician things, like playing on stage.  Or being interviewed at a radio station.  Or riding in a van to the next gig.

Generally, when you think of a musician, you do not picture them ironing.

But yeah, musicians need to iron too.  Especially the dapper ones.

Barbara and I were representing mvyradio at a convention that brings together non-commercial and independent radio stations, and the record labels and artists who appear on those stations.  It's called Non-Comm, and in 2005 it was being held in Philadephia.

Non-Comm is 3 days of a handful of panels, discussing the state of the industry, and a whole bunch of music showcases---abbreviated sets of music from artists that have new records.  They start as early at 10 in the morning, and go on well past midnight.  Much of it takes place right in a hotel conference room---not exactly Red Rocks, but it's a really great chance to see for yourself if this much-buzzed-about artist is "the real deal."

Not being ones ever let an opportunity to relax and enjoy ourselves get in the way of working a little extra, we had set up some interviews with some of the performers.  And because the whole convention takes place in a hotel, we did the interviews right in Barbara's hotel room.

And that's where we met Johnathan Spottiswoode, of Spottiswoode And His Enemies.  He was charming and dry and English, and he was happy to join us for an on-the-mic chat.

But he was most happy that he could, after the interview, iron his shirt before his showcase performance.

So while I thoroughly enjoyed the interview and the acoustic songs he played in it, and I enjoyed the full band performance later in the day, I most enjoyed chatting with him casually, as he pressed his outfit.

Because there's nothing more real-deal than that.


Hear the interview in the mvyradio archives.


Hear the song on Youtube.