|
Due to poor financial planning, you've got to eat for an entire week on only US$10. What do you buy, food-wise?
Heather McEntire: Coffee.
What's the biggest misconception that people have about you?
Nathan Buchanan: That we once played live on a Dawson's Creek episode.
What's the worst injury you've ever suffered for your art (i.e. second degree burns from shorted-out mic, broken leg from failed stage dive)? Tell us about it.
Heather McEntire: Insult to pride = tripped over guitar cables and wiped out.
Nathan Buchanan: Stabbed in face by broken drum sticks; tendonitis.
You've locked your car keys inside the tour van and don't have AAA. How do you get the door open?
Heather McEntire: This happens all the time. We're currently on tour with three spare keys between us.
Nathan Buchanan: Call Elizabeth or Mike for favor #2.
Ever find useful stuff in the garbage? Describe your best-ever dumpster find and how you used it.
Nathan Buchanan: The coat hanger I used to open the car door.
Heather McEntire: An awesome pair of stable boots.
If you were a 50ft high Tyrannosaurus Rex, would you use your powers for good or evil? Who would you go after first?
Heather and Nathan: People with "W 04" stickers on their SUVs.
You've decided to write a musical. What's it about and who's the star?
Heather McEntire: Not sure what the musical would be about, but E.L.O. (Electric Light Orchestra) would certainly be the stars.
What's your favorite board game? Why do you like it?
Heather McEntire: Trivial Pursuit. I grew up watching Jeopardy with my grandmother so it's a time when I can get deep in some self-competition.
Everyone likes at least one cheesy/crappy song that totally kills their cred. What's yours?
Heather McEntire: Just one? Okay. "Black Velvet" by Reba McEntire.
Nathan Buchanan: That song with the chorus "get outta my dreams / get into my car".
What was the best meal you were supplied by a tour venue? What was the worst?
Heather McEntire: Best -- vegan potluck at the Nottingham co-op (Madison, WI).
Nathan Buchanan: Worst -- fried chicken (we're vegan; went hungry that night).
Will it ever truly be possible to "rock the vote", or will apathy, indifference and laziness always triumph over activism?
Heather McEntire: There's nothing triumphant about apathy, indifference or laziness. If more people continue to be active and speak their minds against issues that hold back our country from progress (i.e. homophobia, racism, sexism, consumerism, other forms of discrimination), we'll be closer to evolving into a truly democratic nation.
You want to cry? I'll give you something to cry about. What would you like to cry about?
Nathan Buchanan: It upsets me that the road we're driving on right now was paved through the everglades. It upsets me that by touring we're supporting large oil companies and there's no way to avoid it.
If you could watch one historical event re-enacted by a cast of chimpanzees, which one would it be, and why?
Heather and Nathan: The presidential debates.
What is the coolest tattoo you've ever seen (and don't choose one of your own)?
Heather McEntire: Tie -- an old Smith-Corona typewriter; a Gustav Klimt painting on the forearm.
How long after an unopened gallon of milk's "use-by" date has passed would you be willing to use it?
Nathan Buchanan: Soy milk or rice milk?
What is the most unusual item you've thrown up on/in?
Heather McEntire: A hat.
Do you prefer the term "underwear" or "underpants"? What does that say about you?
Heather McEntire: Underwear. But underpants sounds better.
Nathan Buchanan: Heather's favorite word is "panties".
You've been asked to submit an anecdote or "tip" to a book called Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned On Tour With My Band. What do you tell them?
Nathan Buchanan: After leaving shit in random towns across the states, just break down and write a checklist, even if it feels lame. Like so:
| Nathan | Heather |
Cell phone (and charger)
Glasses
Merch case
Nalgene
Sleeping bag
Toothbrush (and toothpaste)
|
Cell phone
Glasses
Little bag
Big bag
Pillow!
Toothbrush
Perkulator
Travel clock
Sleeping bag
Nalgene
Coffee travel mug
|
Due to a breakthrough in technology, it's possible to learn any skill, no matter how complex, pretty much instantly, by uploading the information directly into your brain (yes, like in The Matrix). Unfortunately, you can only do it once. What skill would you learn, and why?
Heather McEntire: To be multi-lingual... or to drive a stick shift (shut up, Nathan).
Not to be morbid, but let's assume that (a) you've died, and (b) you filled out an organ donor card and potential recipients are lining up. Which part of your body do you think will be most sought-after? Are there any bits no-one will want?
Heather McEntire: I don't think anyone would find my eyes useful. I have terrible vision.
Nathan Buchanan: Yeah, ditto on that. I'm colorblind.
Heather McEntire: Most sought-after = lungs.
Nathan Buchanan: Most sought-after = liver.
A long-lost possession has turned up on Ebay, and you're prepared to pay much more than it's worth just to finally get it back. What is it? Why is it worth so much to you?
Nathan Buchanan: A He-Man toothbrush holder. If you put the batteries in backwards, he talked backwards.
A few years ago, anal sex was still taboo; nowadays it's trendy. What will be the next major sexual taboo to fall?
Heather McEntire: Hopefully homosexual sex.
What, in your opinion, is the best book ever written? And why?
Heather McEntire: The Great Gatsby, a book I continue to re-read. There is a hopefulness about it.
Right this very second, what are you most looking forward to, and why?
Heather McEntire: Finding time to go for a run on tour.
Nathan Buchanan: Meeting new amazing people, and realizing how much I miss the ones back home.
The standard touring vehicle is always a beat-up van. What has been the worst/weirdest method of conveyance you've had to use on a tour?
Nathan Buchanan: A Subaru outback... We still tour in it.
· · · · · · ·
Bellafea is Heather McEntire and Nathan Buchanan. Bellafea is from North Carolina, originating in Wilmington, now based in Chapel Hill. Bellafea embraces musical minimalism, opting for dual instrumentation (electric guitar, drums) and rejecting traditional arrangement -- the notion that complexity exists merely in quantity.
-- George Zahora
| 
