This is Roberto Cofresi from the New Town Drunks answering the questions. The band is Diane Koistinen & Roberto Cofresi, among assorted other musicians.
1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?
The question of being or not being a singer or a guitar player or a songwriter never really occurred to me. My uncle played music and when I was a little kid, he handed me down one of his guitars; I learned a song on one string and have been playing ever since. Already when I played that first song, I felt like some kind of guitar player and all I’ve ever needed to feel like a guitar player is a guitar in my hands. Certainly there have been times when I’ve wished I was as good of a songwriter as Nick Cave, or as good of a guitar player as Gabriela Quintero, or as rich and high as Keith Richards, but those moments pass and in the end I am the guitar player that I am and the rest is just dust in the eyes.
2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?
I listen mostly to Spanish, Latin and Brazilian music - rock en Español, classic salsa, flamenco, bossa nova, nueva trova, samba... I did go see Tom Waits on this last tour after being a fan for many many years. It was awesome and an incredible inspiration, and the concert will go right up there with the best concert experiences I’ve had, and probably the only one in a larger venue. He really made that 2400 seat auditorium seem like a little bar.
I also listen to some countryish/folkish american music, stuff like the Avett Brothers and the everybodyfields. And there is of course all the local live music I see in our little towns of Carrboro/Chapel Hill, most of which is mindbendingly good, people like Dexter Romweber, the Squirrel Nut Zippers (who just played a show last night at a small club in town), Southern Culture on the Skids, the Moaners, the Dirty Little Heaters, Twilighter, John Howie Jr, The Spider Bags, Pinche Gringo, and many many more. I am lucky to live in a very musical region.
3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?
This is I hard question, I don't really know the answer, my guess though would be, any time we play a great show? I forget the details of the best shows and I forget what made those great shows so great. It's more than just the musicians all playing perfectly, more than having an involved and appreciative audience. There is something that happens sometimes when everything is right and then there is that something extra that takes it over the top. When it's happening I can almost tell what it is, but as soon as it's over, then I don't know anymore. If you told me it had to do with the moon or the stars, I wouldn't be able to say that it didn't cause I don't really know, it is indeed a little magical.
4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?
Music can and has changed the world, but writing music to try to change the world doesn’t seem to work often and it doesn’t feel right. Trying to make music to change the world seems like parents who try to force their kids to go into a particular career. Music will do what it will, I just write it and play it.
5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?
It bores me to talk about technology. Yes it's there, yes I use it. Yes technology continues to improve the ease with which we record and play and listen to music. But ultimately music is still created in some fairly basic ways, blowing, striking, plucking, and now with sound generators.
6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?
The beat up, worn out shoes of someone who’s walked around the world.
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