Interview: The Lyndsay Diaries – Summer 2003

S&S: Tell me about recording. Do you prefer recording over playing live?
Scott: No way, I love playing live. I don’t like recording. I don’t do very well in the studio. I get scared, because I’ll be recording [and thinking] “Hey, this is permanent,” and I freak out. Plus, a lot of my songs are more personal and emotional. I wish I wouldn’t have said that word. It’s kind of hard to sing in the studio by yourself, because it’s like fake. You just have to keep singing it over and over, so you kind of lose the real feel of the song.

S&S: When you’re writing songs, do you go home and think, “Alright, I’m going to write right now,” or do things just sporadically come to you?
Scott: I definitely don’t write when I think I have to. I think that’s kind of bad and forced. I just write when I feel compelled to, and things just come out naturally.

S&S: Do you only play guitar or do you play other instruments?
Scott: I play drums. This tour is just me. [On] the last couple of tours, I’ve had a full band. It was a lot of fun, but it’s hard to get people to go on tour when they have jobs.

S&S: What was your favorite childhood toy?
Scott: I think I’ve been asked this before, and I couldn’t think of it. I think in school I had to write this for a paper. I know what my favoite book was – Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shell Silverstein. That’s an awesome book. I’m actually thinking about getting a tattoo of one of the pictures, but that’s besides the point. (laughter)

S&S: Do you ever write poetry that you don’t use for a song?
Scott: Oh yeah, all the time. I just write a lot with no form or anything. Some of that goes into songs and some of it doesn’t.

S&S: Ever think about putting out an anthology of your unreleased writings?
Scott: No one cares. (laughter)

S&S: Do you drink alcohol?
Scott: Yeah, I drink a lot. (laughter) Well, I used to drink a lot. It’s bad to drink.

S&S: Do you smoke?
Scott: I just quit, actually. I quit in January, [but] I’ve smoked a few times since then. I don’t do drugs. I’m against drugs. I do drink, though.

S&S: What’s your favorite drink?
Scott: I like White Russians a lot. I like beer. I drink beer a lot and wine. I drink for the wrong reasons though.

S&S: What was your first car?
Scott: A Bonneville. A Pontiac Bonneville. I loved it. It was my dad’s. Now, I drive a stupid van all over the place, and I hate it.

S&S: In the new movie coming out, Jason vs. Freddie, who do you think will win?
Scott: I hope Jason wins, because when I was really little, I saw a Freddie Krueger movie, and I was scared to go in a certain room in my house for a long time. He ruined a couple years of my life, so I hope he dies, once and for all. (laughter)

S&S: Do you watch porn?
Scott: No, I don’t. I’ve obviously seen it. I won’t deny that, but I try not to watch.

S&S: Do you have any new tattoos?
Scott: I just got one like four days ago. It’s not done. It’s an angel watching over a clipper ship, with faith and a star.

S&S: Have you ever had any piercings?
Scott: I’ve had piercings. I had my tongue pierced for a long time. That hurt bad, but I’m a wuss. Some people say it doesn’t hurt. I’ve had my ears gauged really big. That’s it.

S&S: How have you changed since high school?
Scott: I don’t know. I kind of was in a weird place in high school, because I was a punk rock kid who had all those friends, but I always thought they were pretty stupid and totally political. They didn’t know what they were talking about, but we had the same musical tastes, so somehow, that made us friends. I didn’t understand it. I was friends with all the really popular kids, too. I was kind of just friends with everyone. I didn’t really fit in to a group.

S&S: What’s your favorite shape?
Scott: An octagon or a trapezoid. (laughter)

S&S: Have you ever had a recurring dream?
Scott: Yeah. I had them when I was little, scary ones. I can still remember one I had a lot.

S&S: How many different houses have you lived in?
Scott: Actually, I have moved a lot. Now that I’m on my own, I kind of move around a lot into different apartments. Even with my parents, we lived in four different houses in St. Louis. I lived in Nashville for two years. I lived in California.

S&S: What’s your favorite kind of movie?
Scott: I like comedy. I like to laugh a lot. I like dark comedies, too.

S&S: What’s your favorite movie?
Scott: Bottle Rocket.

S&S: If you could be any mass murderer, who would you have been?
Scott: I would be the guy in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (laughter) It freaks me out, but for some reason, I really like it.

S&S: Do you believe in reincarnation, and if so, what would you want to come back as?
Scott: If it is true, I would come back as a better singer/songwriter. (laughter)

S&S: Is there anything you would like to ask us?
Scott: What could I do better? (laughter) I read this book. I read a lot, and there’s this line that says, “We accept the love we think we deserve.” I think that’s the truth. That’s true of my music, too.