LISTENER OF THE WEEK: HUNTER BENNETT
Have a good time, all the time!
I live in … Chevy Chase DC.
I work as … a lawyer.
I discovered “Rockin’ the Suburbs” when … my band, Dot Dash, was opening for the Nude Party at DC9. After our set, Jim introduced himself and invited us on the show. I listened to some episodes the next day and I’ve been hooked ever since.
My favorite episodes are … Patrick’s highway dispatches, The Who Countdown, Scott Parks on Neil Young’s ’80s albums, Nick Scalera’s Flying Nun Week[s], Nate Scott on New Orleans’ lost scene, and any EPJ call. But if you held a gun to my head and forced me to pick a single episode, it’d be the one that turned me on to Lori McKenna’s “People Get Old.” It’s such a great song that becomes increasingly poignant as my parents age. Cool bass line, too.
My favorite artists are … The Jam, Billy Bragg, Warren Zevon and the Descendents.
The first album I ever bought was … whichever Chicago LP has “Baby, What A Big Surprise” on it. (Chicago 139 maybe?) I loved that song so I bought the album with Christmas money when I was about 7. But my sisters — who were into Kiss — all thought Chicago was impossibly uncool, so they wouldn’t show me how to work the family record player.
The last record I bought was … the deluxe Record Store Day edition of Aimee Mann’s Bachelor No. 2. It has all of the Magnolia songs on it, which is why I bought it. That’s my favorite soundtrack.
The first concert I ever saw was … The Circle Jerks at Love Hall in Philadelphia on November 20, 1983. It changed my life.
The best concert I saw was … The Mekons, acoustic (and sitting in a semi-circle) at Iota in 2012 or so. ’m not a big Mekons fan, but I was bored so I went to the show by myself. Not only did they sound fantastic, it was clear that they really, really love making music together. I felt like I was spying on a bunch of old friends having a great time at a dinner party. “Ghosts of American Astronauts” — which I had never heard before that night — was so beautiful it sent chills down my spine.
My favorite song … at the moment is “Tank Park Salute” by Billy Bragg — the version from the Best of Billy Bragg at the BBC record. Before that, it was “Pure” by the Lightning Seeds.
My favorite lyric … well, I’ve always loved the simplicity of “I met her at the Burger King. We fell in love by the soda machine.” Then again, there’s a lot to be said for “Son, I’m thirty. I only went with your mother ‘cause she’s dirty.”
I play … Hamer 8-string bass guitars.
I have met rock stars … Mike Mills borrowed my bass once. But my favorite rock star encounter was in the Fall of 1991. My band — STABB — played in Vancouver and, after the show was over, we went to some bar to see Jon Card from SNFU’s country & western group. We ended up backstage where Joe Strummer — who was singing for the Pogues at the time because Shane MacGowan had consumed too much sake and cracked his head open outside of a Tokyo karaoke bar — was hanging out. Joe was rocking a perm and had gotten his teeth fixed and there was a kinda cheesy, hair-metal-looking woman sitting on his lap. At one point, he got up to go to the bathroom and, as he passed me, the following exchange took place:
JOE STRUMMER: [in a ridiculously thick British accent] Y’aven’t got‘ny skins, ‘ave yeh?
ME: [looking confused] Huh?
JOE STRUMMER: Skins. Y’know [repeatedly rubbing his thumb against his index and middle fingers], rolling papers?
ME: No. Sorry.
JOHN STABB: Good luck with the Pogues, Joe.
JOE STRUMMER: Luck????? I was inna Clash, mate.
We left shortly thereafter.
My favorite basketball team is … the 1995-96 Washington Bullets. Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Big Gheorghe Mureșan!
My favorite Premier League team is … I don’t watch much soccer, but my family and I went to a West Ham match when we were in London in 2015 and got some ridiculously good fish and chips outside the stadium. So I’ll go with the Hammers.
My philosophy of life is … Have a good time, all the time. (Thank you, Viv Savage.)
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