Quality time with JP

My friend Justin, who likes to be called JP, is a fellow blogger (check out his blog, The Inimitable JP, here) and a staff writer on Northwest Noise, and he has agreed to sit down with me and answer a few questions for all the loyal readers out there.

I know you've led quite the adventurous life, JP. You starred in a show pilot, you were the president of a professional business fraternity, you've traveled all over the world, and you used to be in a band called Grated Cheese. Care to elaborate on your favorite past adventures?

As an actor and musician, it's always an unbelieveable experience to perform in front of others. Twelve years ago I was the Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz and people still talk to me about that role and how much they loved that performance. I remember signing autographs for kids after those shows, which was very cool. There are plenty of crazy stories working with other performers. One of the funniest memories I have while acting took place while on set. My friend, Gears, and I were watching the filming and were hanging with the production crew. The interior of the vehicle being filmed in the scene was miked and the broadcast transmitted near where Gears and I were standing. The director had cast his ex girlfriend in a small role and she happened to be in the car. After the director yelled "Cut!" he ran up to the car to talk with the actors. As he headed to the vehicle, the director's ex started telling the other actor in the car how horrible the director was in bed, believing that she was having a private conversation. But since the car was miked, everyone was able to hear what she was saying, except for the director. All of the crew lost it and the director had no idea why everyone was laughing so hard.

On a serious note, one of the most memorable and encouraging experiences of my life was watching my little sister, Misty, fight and win her battle with childhood leukemia. She went through things that I could never go through and inspired me with her bravery. It was a difficult period, obviously, and very hard on my entire family, but it made each of us stronger in the end. It's really incredible to see her nearly twenty years later just as healthy as everyone else.

But if I had to pick one defining moment in my life, it would be when I met Seigfried and Roy. Though, sadly, they would not let me ride on one of their white tigers.

So JP, I hear you have a super cute bunny named Petey. Would you care to tell me more about your precious little guy and how he came to love the ladies so much?

You heard correctly, my bunny is super cute. Petey is definitely his father's son: he has big ears, no chin, is kind of hairy, and he loves beautiful women. Of course, he has a much easier time getting them to rub his belly. He certainly has good taste in ladies; he adores my friend, Clarissa, and is a big fan of singer/songwriter Jasmine Ash. I feel very blessed to have the little guy in my life, though I had to promise him that I would cease to eat rabbit meat. He really hates when I joke about throwing him in a crock pot, which I tease him about often. That little guy always puts a smile on my face.

I also hear that you are quite the gourmet cook. Can you describe everything that's inside of your refrigerator right now?

Sadly, I have not been grocery shopping in quite some time, so my fridge currently looks like a bachelor's and not a gourmet's. I've got some leftovers from a bbq I had over at my place a couple of days ago, and some Thai food that I made the other night (I actually can make a pretty decent peanut sauce). My roommate has some of his home-brewed beer in there and this time of year, there is always Jubelale on hand. And because it will show my appreciation for Asian culture, there is also some edamame.

So I know you work as a staff writer for Northwest Noise because you got ME to work as a staff writer, but would you care to share how you met Tim Germer (the founder) and got started with the website? Also, would you give the readers a little bit of background on how Northwest Noise came to be a reality?

My good friend, Gears, is the one that introduced me to Tim. Gears and I were both represented by the same model and talent agency and became fast friends. Tim and Gears had known each other forever. So we became quite the trio, a little scary given our sense of humor and raw masculinity.

Northwest Noise started out as one of the first podcasts ever. The concept of podcasting was innovative at the time and Tim was smart enough to jump on the technology right out of the gate. However, there wasn't a lot of focus with Northwest Noise originally, it was usually just Tim and a guest host B.S.-ing for a half hour or so. But it was getting a lot of listeners since there weren't a lot of podcasts available back then; these days everyone has a podcast. I guest hosted on the show a few times, but didn't see the value at the time of making it a serious hobby. So I quit my involvement with the podcast to focus on other things, primarily school.

Tim continued working on the website, focusing it on promoting independent music in the Northwest. The website began featuring artist interviews and quickly became a legitimate media outlet in the local music scene. Last year, singer Debra Arlyn approached the website about putting together a concert featuring female musicians and Northwest Noise jumped on the opportunity. Because Tim knew of my business background, he asked me to help out with the show. Recognizing the potential in where the website was going, I agreed to help out and I haven't regretted it. I've met so many talented musicians, some of which I had been listening to since I was a kid, we've put out a CD (a live album from Debra Arlyn), and we have become an authority on the local music scene with our music news, album reviews, and artist interviews. We also recently brought a talented (and beautiful) staff writer/graphic design artist on board that I know is going to take us to the next level.

Ok JP, final question: You are taking a fine-lookin' lady out on a date for the first time. Tell me what you would do to make the night perfect.

I'm a music guy, so naturally a perfect evening is going to involve checking out a local artist in concert. Intervision, Justin King, and Debra Arlyn are all great shows to take a date to. Double bonus if the concert is at one of Portland's great venues like Jimmy Maks or the Doug Fir. Of course, we would have to take in some of the great Portland cuisine that is out there, maybe hit up Saucebox, Pok Pok, or Oba. And then I'd finish the evening with drinks and conversation at a nice bar, like BlueHour, Masu, or Thirst.