Lesson from the Barbershop
Among my group of friends, calling oneself a fan of a band or musician is a pretty significant claim. It generally means that you can recite albums, songs, members, location of origin, etc. It’s especially gratifying to point out a hole in their knowledge, like knowing that The Clash actually had five drummers in their history or that Alex Désert, the lead singer of Hepcat once starred as a teacher on a popular TGIF sitcom.
This past week, while getting my haircut at Valentine’s, Seattle’s best barber, I found myself in a similar situation, with a rather embarrassing outcome. Valentine’s has played host to a number of music figures over the years, namely local Seattle producer Jake One and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. As a result, discussion tends to center primarily on music.
During my past visit, my barber asked if I liked Stones Throw Records, to which I affirmed, they’ve released albums from underground hip hop fixtures like J Dilla, Madlib, and MF Doom. I was then asked if I was into Peanut Butter Wolf, to which I gave a puzzled look. I had never heard that name before. He then loudly said something about him and pointed toward someone sitting next to me about 4 feet away, who evidently was Peanut Butter Wolf. I sheepishly smiled, not knowing if I was supposed to know who was next to me.
Flash forward to about 10 minutes ago, I find the Stones Throw Records page on Evri, and notice that Peanut Butter Wolf is the top connection. It turns out that Peanut Butter Wolf, a.k.a. Chris Manak, founded Stones Throw Records in 1996. Not only did I not know the founder of a label I claimed to like, but also had the misfortune of admitting so in his presence.
On Evri, there are endless examples of interesting connections between people, places and things. Spending a little time browsing through your “favorites,” can potentially will help you avoid some serious social mishaps.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
funny! nice post.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Wonderful Post!!! no wonder people would try to open EVRI in future and check if they are anyhow connected to the debut actor who grabbed an award at the award ceremony the previous night.