What made you gravitate towards experimental music/sound art?

I'm not really sure, but I know that I never questioned it, which is to say I never listened to anything and thought "this is too weird for me".  When I was confronted by new sounds I embraced them, and I wanted more and more of them.  I don't really know why, though.  I was making mix tapes of strange sounds I recorded off of my short wave radio (and listening back to them with pleasure) when I was 8 or 9 years old.  The interest was always there, but why I can't say.

Where you are from, how do people react to your style of music?

I suppose people are largely indifferent to it or just straight up unaware of it.  There's a small scene of people interested in more, eh, I'll call it "adventurous" music here in Portland Maine, but our numbers probably rank, hmm, well, probably less than 20, but I feel pretty fortunate to have those 20 people (20 might be a generous guess).  Thankfully I'm not too far from some other metropolitan areas where there are (sometimes) greater numbers of people who might be interested in hearing me blather on.....

Are you ever faced with adversity because of the experimental nature of it?

There are certainly limitations as to where you can play or who will be interested in what you're doing because of the nature of the work, but I've never really seen it as adversity. It can be lonely, I guess, but there's a lot of freedom in the vacuum. If I wanted everyone to love me, I'd choose one bandwagon or another, jump on, and start performing and writing more conventional music.  I'd probably also need a new wardrobe and a stylish haircut of some kind. 

What are some experiences negative or positive you have had with audience reactions when performing?

Hmm, well, after a show in Paris, once a man chanted "you are shit, you are nothing" at me again and again, which I thought was pretty funny.  A very bad fight broke out during one of my concerts in Zurich, but I'm not sure how much that had to do with me. This is the only time my presence has inspired violence (that I know of). Generally, people won't give you negative reviews, so most of what I hear is positive.  Sometimes people find it funny.  Sometimes people find it moving.  Sometimes people hate it and leave.  Sometimes people just couldn't give a shit.  A couple of times, I've heard someone ask "is that guy okay?!".  I've heard a pretty broad range of responses at this point and it's all good with me.

Who and what are your main sources of inspiration?

This is always a tough one I never really know what to say.  At this point, I'm inspired by absolutely everything.  I spent 20 minutes the other day trying to imitate the sound of this one specific urinal flushing.  

Do you have a day job, if so - what do you do?

I work at a shop in Portland called Strange Maine with a couple of good friends.  We sell all kinds of things (records, movies, video games, tapes,  8 tracks, He-Man figures, Garfield decals, a mug with a killer whale saying "YOU'RE SPECIAL".....)

What is the story behind mangdisc records? 

There's not too much of a story there, really, I just wanted to release me and my friends recordings and I figured I'd put them all under some kind of banner.  I guess who else is going to release your stuff when no one has ever heard of you?  Most of the releases are projects of mine, or involve me in some way or another.  Most of the other stuff is by close friends of mine.

What is your preferred recording method?

I have an obscene number of tape recorders, and I try to have one with me at all times.  I also usually have a digital recorder with me.  I'm constantly recording.  Which format I use depends on the sort of texture I want.  I don't have any allegiance to digital or analog and find the whole argument about which is superior to be silly.  Both have attributes, both have limitations.  

You mentioned to me you are planning on coming to Australia, how did that come about and where do you plan to go?

I met this fella in Antwerp, he told me to come to Australia, I said I'd love to, and he set out work organizing it.  I don't know how much I should talk about it yet since nothing, to my knowledge, has been solidly confirmed, but it seems I'll be spending a bunch of time in Melbourne, then travelling about to most of the major cities.  I'll send you the details when I get them.

What are you working on at the moment, what should I expect to see in the future of your work?

At the moment I'm working on organizing a couple of tours (Australia in September, then Europe later in the year), and I've always got a million albums I'm working on at the same time. There are all kinds of unfinished and/or unreleased albums with titles like "Orbison Orb, Pitney Pit", "The O in Portland", "A Wilt Wind Fucker", "2sweet4hellsheat", "Jowls Without a Face".....all of those should come trickling out over the next long while.  Beyond that, I don't know.  Questions like this make me realize I really have no idea what the hell I'm doing.....