What’s your sign?
Scot Scheer: Virgo
Duncan Aspinwall-Winter: Pisces
Tony Kukulich: Aquarius
Ryan Burd: Gemini
Most underrated song that, in your opinion, should be a classic?
DAW: “Icarus” by Ralph Towner
TK: “Black Crow” by Joni Mitchell
RB: “The Lady in my Life” by Michael Jackson
Biggest compliment you’ve ever gotten from a fan?
SS: A major artist told me they wanted to take me on the road with them.
DAW: “Man, you’re lucky to be jammin’ with some great musicians.”
TK: Nobody pays attention to the bass player.
RB: “Drums just sound different when you play them.” I mean, I think that’s a compliment, right?
Favorite piece to perform?
SS: “Love Won’t Let Me Wait”
DAW: “Song For Bilbao”
TK: “Elegant People” by Weather Report
RB: Impossible to answer. There’s so much music I love to play.
What do you sing in the shower?
SS: No singing
DAW: No
TK: Not well.
RB: I definitely don’t sing in the shower.
Favorite cereal?
SS: Chex
DAW: Cheerios
TK: Honey Nut Cheerios
RB: I can’t remember the last time I ate cereal but if I had to pick one from my childhood, it would be Ohs.
At what venue do you most like to perform?
SS: Los Angeles Coliseum, in front of 100,000 people during the 1984 Olympics with my group Scheer Music.
DAW: Wherever Domino Theory is currently booked.
TK: Ruby Lee’s. Kind of Blue is great, too.
RB: I love to play at Kind of Blue and Ruby Lee’s.
Most requested song at shows?
SS: “Spain”
DAW: “Happy Birthday”
TK: “Spain” by Chick Corea
RB: It seems like there’s always someone who wants to be funny and yell “Freebird!”
First concert you attended?
SS: Black Sabbath, unbelievably
DAW: “The Marriage of Figaro” at Met Opera in NYC.
TK: Genesis at the Spectrum in Philly, probably 1980, was the first concert I went to by choice. My parents took us to see Jim Stafford, a country/pop singer who had a novelty hit called “Spiders and Snakes” back in the mid-70s.
RB: Hootie and the Blowfish
Favorite artist?
SS: John Coltrane
DAW: Chick Corea, among many others.
TK: Weather Report
RB: Snarky Puppy
Place you go to get away from it all?
SS: Valley of Fire, Las Vegas
DAW: My screened-in porch located in exotic Pritchardville, SC.
TK: I kayak out on the New River and try not to antagonize the alligators.
RB: A non-crowded beach.
Do you tweet, gram, book, or Tok? What’s your handle?
SS: Book: scotscheer
DAW: If this is asking “do I read books,” my answer is “yes,” voraciously. I don’t do the other stuff.
TK: tkukulich on Instragram, but it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. You can find the band at Domino Theory Band on Facebook.
RB: Instagram: @ryanburdmusic
Who would star as you in the epic retelling of your life on film?
SS: Rahssan Roland Kirk
DAW: A young Robert Redford, but unfortunately, he’s dead.
TK: A younger Matthew Broderick
RB: Tom Hanks
First instrument you learned to play?
SS: Clarinet
DAW: Clarinet/saxophone
TK: Started with guitar but quickly moved to bass.
RB: Guitar
Song you were thrilled to finally master?
SS: All of them
DAW: “Joy Spring” by Clifford Brown
TK: I haven’t mastered anything.
RB: I don’t think there’s any piece of music I would say I’ve mastered. Music is something you don’t get to the end of. There’s always more. There’s always somewhere deeper to go.
What do you wish you knew more about?
SS: Quantum physics
DAW: Physics and astronomy
TK: Quantum mechanics
RB: Other languages
What animal do you most identify with?
SS: A mosquito
DAW: Ospreys. Beautiful to look at, but independent and a bit predatory.
TK: Badgers. They live in the fields away from people and they’re generally pretty cantankerous. I have a badger carved from stone on my nightstand. My wife, Jennifer, says it’s my spirit animal.
RB: Elephant
If you got super famous and had to change your name, what would your new name be?
SS: Scot With One Tee
DAW: The Kooltrane.
TK: My granddaughters call me Pops, so I’d go with that. Just Pops, like Sting or Cher.
RB: I would make a symbol, like Prince.
What famous musician would you love to sing a duet with?
SS: Singing is out
DAW: Daryl Hall, but he’d never agree to it.
TK: I’m a bad singer, but assuming I could sing, it’d be Tom Waits.
RB: I’m not a singer but there are so many great musicians I would love to play with: Joshua Redman, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Christian McBride, Robert Glasper, Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau … There is no end to this list.
