The Eye of the Hurricane

5 Questions For Fans - Meg Ruffing

Welcome to the 2nd installment of 5 Questions For Fans where we’ll hear from Meg Ruffing, who was selected by suzy in our last installment. Meg is a New England transplant living in Houston with her husband and one year old daughter. And admittedly… she’s never met a cup of coffee she didn’t like.

1) If you had to pick 2 albums that you would be the only music you could listen to from now on, which would they be?
The more I think about this question, the harder it is to decide so I’m going with my initial reaction:

2) When was the first time you realized that music was going to be an impacting force in your life? Or perhaps a “turning moment” in your love of music.
A definite turning point for me was when I took my very first trip to Texas in April 2004 for Greenfest. It was a crazy experience because I didn’t “know” a soul in Texas; just people I had talked to online because I was looking for Pat Green tickets. I met so many great people and was introduced to a ton of new music that weekend. I flew home to Boston completely overwhelmed but invigorated by it all. The only thing I was sure of was that I needed more of it in my life. Less than two years later, I convinced my husband that we should pack up our lives and move to Texas.

3) Do you have any words to live by… something written in a song or spoken/quoted from a musician?

If you lay your whole life upon a shelf you got no one to blame but your own damn self - Pat Green, Carry On

4) Any concert/road trip/meet & greet/restaurant/hotel tips to share? Choose one…
I’m probably the last person who should be shelling out meet & greet advice. Avoid crying on Wade Bowen’s shoulder is a start, and about the best advice I have to offer. A good friend once told me never to be afraid to take back roads on a road trip. I’m starting to believe him.

5) Who should I ask these questions to next?
Heather Jank - I’ve known Heather for years and she has some great stories to tell about her adventures following the music.

5 Questions will be back after the new year with answers from Heather!

Previously, 5 Questions for Suzy Johnson.

HYPE01

Last Monday I took a trip up to Dallas with two real good friends, Mike and Phil, for an art show called HYPE01. There were over 20 artists represented that primarily seemed to target in on photography. I don’t know much about photography, but I can really appreciate the way the artist can capture a scene in ways that the regular eye would never be able to. I learned a ton on this trip and had a great time getting out of my “normal” view of the arts. As for the  roadtrip itself… 10 hours in 1 night… that included a buffet, several truckstops and a Jesus cube (don’t ask)… it was almost as fun as the event itself. Can’t wait till the next one!

5 Questions For Fans - Suzy Johnson

I ran across a cool feature that Flickr does on their blog where they talk to various photographers and ask each one a standard set of 5 questions. The cool thing is that the last question gives the person a chance to pass the questions on to someone else. It’s a great way to learn more about the community, techniques and photography in general. I really wanted to try this out on our music famly and what resulted is the first installment of “5 Questions For Fans”.

First up is my good friend Suzy Johnson. She lives in Austin with her two dogs, loves the outdoors, is an adrenaline junky and has the best friends in the world! So lets dive right in:

1) If you had to pick 2 albums that you would be the only music you could listen to from now on, which would they be?
My first response…ONLY TWO? I think this would probably change on a daily basis, but for the most part I would rely on:

2) When was the first time you realized that music was going to be an impacting force in your life? Or perhaps a “turning moment” in your love of music.
I was raised in a musical family and was singing in church and taking piano lessons by the ripe age of five. More often than not, the record player was playing and I was singing along with my grandfather’s recordings, Hank Sr., or Johnny Cash. Growing up, the family made two trips to the Smoky Mountains each year which always included a stop for the Grand Ole Opry and a show of the Mandrell Sisters at Opryland. Eventually, I was introduced to Pat Green’s music and in 1998 finally made it to a live show. That’s when it all really started…

3) Do you have any words to live by… something written in a song or spoken/quoted from a musician?

Everything comes back around, no matter how much you cover your ground… - Ragweed

4) Any concert/road trip/meet & greet/restaurant/hotel tips to share? Choose one…
The artists take time out of their busy schedules to do meet & greets, so be appreciative of that. Try not to take five million pictures of the same kissy face pose, but enjoy the few minutes you have to actually talk with them. Always ask what they’ve been listening to lately, you’ll be surprised with some of the responses and will be exposed to new music.

5) Who should I ask these questions to next?
Meg “Megalicious” Ruffing. Her story of meeting people through music and moving to Texas never gets old.

Thank you Suzy for being the first to answer the questions! I should be in touch with Meg to get her answers soon. Hope you enjoyed it!