Doctor Sparkles / Idiosyncrasy

Doctor Sparkles
Ukulele
doctorsparkles.com

What was the first instrument you ever learned how to play? What was the first song you ever learned how to play?

"I am told I used to sing in harmony with TV commercials as a baby. My first music lessons were on the ukulele. The first instrument I studied with any regularity was the trombone. However, growing up in a rather musical home, I played with all sorts of string, brass and percussion instruments. Since I tended to take music for granted as a part of early life, I can't say any single song rises above the rest. But I was soaking it in... all the folk music, big band music, classical music... it's been with me all along, plotting revenge... (diabolical laughter)..."

If you could sit in on a jam session with any combination of musicians, who would they be?

"Gene Krupa on drums, Tom Waits on pile of junk, Captain Beefheart on bass clarinet, Jake Shimabukuro on ukulele, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on harpsicord, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Itzhak Perlman on fiddle, Ian Anderson on flute, Sting on gut bucket, Figrin D'an (from Star Wars Cantina Band) on Kloo Horn, The Bulgarian Women's Choir & Tibetan Buddhist Choir as back-up singers, Martin Short as Ed Grimley on triangle, and me singing with trippy effects on my mic."

Who are your favorite songwriters?

"Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Gilbert & Sullivan, Cole Porter, Glen Miller, Lennon/McCartney, Bob Dylan, Ian Anderson, David Bowie, Danny Elfman"

If you could wipe any band off the face of the planet and erase their name from history, who would that band be?

"Like a cosmic string of toilet paper? Like a 11th dimensional bidet? Like the Dogstar's living room carpet? I think it's already happened because I can't remember that band's name."

Five songs?
"Over the Rainbow" - Yip Harburg
"Morning Has Broken" - Cat Stevens
"Four Strings or Fight" - Sonic Uke
"Big Rock Candy Mountain" - Traditional
"Ghost Chickens in the Sky" - Sean Morey