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You can choose to have one -- and only one -- super power. Other than gaining that power, you remain exactly the same as you are now. What super power would you pick, and why?
Jerry DeCicca: Superhuman strength. I'm exceptionally skinny so it would be nice to be able to easily open doors, carry laundry, wrestle bears and change flat tires.
What was your favorite day job, and why? If you hated them all, what was the best (meaning most interesting) way you ever quit a job?
Jerry DeCicca: One of my current/occasional day jobs is as a balloon sculptor named Dr. Silverfoot. I wear a tuxedo, top hat, silver ascot tie. I make animals, hats and flowers. It makes children and beautiful young mothers very, very happy.
We've all heard variations on the phrase "there are two kinds of people in the world... Those who (do or think something) and those who (do or think something else)". What are the two kinds of people in the world for you?
Jerry DeCicca: Funny and not funny.
If money/ambition/significant others/et cetera were all non-issues, where would you choose to live and why?
Jerry DeCicca: Maui. It's beautiful and I could play cards and drink iced tea with W.S. Merwin and Kris Kristofferson.
Summarize your driving ability in 25 words or less.
Jerry DeCicca: I drive slow, really slow, usually under the speed limit. I never tailgate, and always let people cut in front of me if they're a minority or a woman -- sort of a motorized affirmative action.
What is the function of your music in a capitalist society?
Jerry DeCicca: Hopefully, my music sounds like the opposite of everything society is pushing and moving. So its function, then, is to be as un-utilitarian as possible.
You've just entered a contest in which the prize is an MP3 player loaded with the complete, exhaustive recorded output of any artist you choose. You win. Who do you choose?
Jerry DeCicca: Bob Dylan.
What are you carrying on your person -- in your pockets, purse, et cetera -- right now?
Jerry DeCicca: A library card, three two dollar bills, one key, a rubber band.
You're on tour, you're in an unfamiliar city, you haven't eaten in 24 hours, and due to some poor financial decisions, you have only a single unit of the local currency -- one dollar, one pound, or thereabouts. What do you eat?
Jerry DeCicca: A cup of coffee and piece of candy -- maybe licorice.
What was the last song you danced to? Who, if anyone, did you dance with?
Jerry DeCicca: "Electric Avenue". I was by myself, shaking it in an aisle of the grocery store beside bleach and sponges.
Post-Schwarzenegger, are there any high-profile people you'd like to see run for governor or other high office? Who and why?
Jerry DeCicca: Denzel Washington -- the thinking man's Arnold.
Apart from cheeseburgers, what is the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast?
Jerry DeCicca: I don't eat breakfast -- just coffee. Food upsets my stomach before noon.
You receive a series of e-mails stating that Grace Jones, Junior Brown, Missy Elliott, Ian MacKaye and Philip Glass are interested in a collaboration. How do you respond to each request?
Jerry DeCicca: Grace Jones: "Anything you want as long as we have matching outfits and haircuts on the album cover."
Jr. Brown: "I hate you."
Ian MacKaye: "Meet me in an alley."
Philip Glass: "Only if all compositions are recorded with just nose whistles."
Miss Elliot: "We should talk about this over many drinks in a hotel bar."
Let's assume that God is a DJ. What's on his playlist right now?
Jerry DeCicca: Rev. Louis Overstreet, Gabby Pahinui, Kate Wolf.
What is your favorite Meg Ryan movie?
Jerry DeCicca: I first came to Meg in Armed and Dangerous. Not much of a Top Gun fan, so D.O.A. and Presidio made me love her next. Joe Versus the Volcano was cute, but adoration ran deep years later with Addicted to Love. Not a Sleepless in Seattle or You Got Mail fan. I like my Meg a bit raw, so I saw In the Cut twice. Still, Addicted to Love, probably her best work.
What is your favorite "comfort food" when you're on tour?
Jerry DeCicca: Pretzels -- soft or crunchy.
Tell us about the least likely place you ever sent a CD/demo. Why did you send it? What happened?
Jerry DeCicca: To Maggie Gyllenhaal's management company. Step one in a delusional but healthy dream. I'm still waiting to hear from her.
What's the deal with those goddamn racoons?
Jerry DeCicca: I once had an apartment with a boarded up fireplace. One winter night, I kept hearing cries and scratches and wheezes behind the chipboard, inside the brick. I thought a cat had trapped a bird. The sounds repeated for the next four nights, so I finally called my landlord. He sent someone out to fix the seal on top of the chimney since it must have blow off. Turns out, racoons mate in the winter like this: a group of male raccoons pin one female raccoon in tight quarters. I fell asleep five nights in a row to the sound of a raccoon gang rape. Very unsettling. So what's the "deal" with them? Uh, I think they're sick and evil and loud and eat garbage.
What is the most awkward moment in which you have caught a person adjusting, scratching, or otherwise handling his or her own genitals?
Jerry DeCicca: I don't really find any of those things awkward.
What would you consider to be the worst fate imaginable for your music, and which contemporary artist would you most wish this terrible end upon?
Jerry DeCicca: To have it only enjoyed by Republicans and fratboys. I wish this upon... hmmm, this would be very bad karma.
Which non-music related product (i.e. No instruments, microphones, etc.) would you most like to be a celebrity spokesperson for?
Jerry DeCicca: Gillette Mach 3 razor. Or any taco shell company. I fucking love tacos.
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Formed in 1999, The Black Swans make a sound that’s austere and dark and slow. They perform in a variety of decibels and sizes, from Planet Waves-era Dylan to minimalist, avant-garde folk-blues. The lyrics have a purposeful drift, playing out strained, private moments similar to early-'70s Kristofferson or the confessional fragments of Robert Creeley. Guilt and doubt run through the songs, but they are ultimately ethereal and elegiac.
-- George Zahora
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