Name: Larry Hirshberg

Birthplace:  Boston, Massachusetts

Currently residing: Missoula, Montana

Musical past and present in one rambling run-on sentence: Saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and didn’t care. Was petrified by Led Zeppelin’s Dazed and Confused coming from my tiny transistor radio. Loved Cecilia. Loved Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. Loved Southern Man. Loved Roundabout. Loved Killer Queen. Loved The Piano Has Been Drinking. Loved Mud Shark. Loved The Grand Illusion. Went to college. Was turned on to The Grateful Dead. (Thanks Chris C.) Saw some shows in ’77-’78. Started playing guitar and writing songs in late 1978, after seeing a Jerry Garcia Band show in Cheney, WA. Saw some more Dead shows. Saw John Fahey. Saw Bob Marley. Saw Joni Mitchell. Got first electric guitar and Ibanez TS-808. Still have the 808. Formed The Porcupines in Santa Fe in late 1981. Saw some more Dead shows. Porcupines broke up in Eugene in 1984. Wrote a lot of songs. Played in Boston a lot between ’86 and ’94. Saw some more Dead shows, as well as some Sun Ra, some Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits and The Church. Wrote a lot of songs. Played in Strunk and White. Played in The Bagboys. Formed Th’ Spectacles in 1994. Returned to Missoula. Wrote a lot of songs. Played bass with Tom Catmull 1999-2003. Played some blues bass after that. Got paid. Wrote a lot of songs. Fronted The Trillionaires 2004-2006. Did not get paid. Now – Solo artist who wishes he had time to be in a band phase. I know there are a lot of periods in this “sentence,” but it sure runs on and rambles, doesn’t it?

Website: larry hirshberg 

1.  Who are some of your favourite composers, musicians and bands from the past and present?

Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Peter Case, Terje Rypdal, Sun Ra, James McMurtry, Steve Kilbey, Tom Waits, John Fahey, Aimee Mann, Son Seals, etc. 

2.  Is there a particular song or musical passage that never fails to move you emotionally?

“Polegnala e Todora,” by The Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir. No shit! 

3.  How would you describe your perfect day?

It has a bird in it that I’ve never seen before. 

4.  What would your friends say they appreciate the most about you?

A.)When I’m quiet. B.) My wife. 

5.  What is your most valued material possession?

2004 ALCS game 4 ticket stub….* 

6.  Who were you, or would you be nervous to meet? The dentist. 

7.  If you could blink your eyes and be in a favourite place right now, where would that place be? 

The place the words come from.

8.  Is there something you would like to do more of in the future?

Dream. Breathe. See Iceland. Eat lobster in Maine. My wife. Walk. Canoe. Play chess with my daughter. Model railroading. Listen to Dark Star. Good gigs.

 9. Where would you like to find yourself in ten years?

Having lunch in Rarotonga with my wife, daughter AND the person who discovered the cure for Type 1 diabetes, whom we invited on our vacation because we love that person and because we just won the lottery.

*(and regarding that 2004 ALCS game 4 ticket stub, that is total bullshit. Of course I didn’t go to that game.)