Spotlight: The Band Taken from: Midnight Star Vol. 1 No. 3 July 1993 Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz: 1. Favorite thing to do on the bus between cities? Watch videos of Ringo Starr. 2. Do you have any pets? Ginger the dog, who jumps up and kisses you on the mouth. 3. What is your favorite Man from U.N.C.L.E./Star Trek episode? "The Tribble with Troubles", about a cute, furry little alien life form, working things out in therapy 4. What is your favorite food? Indian, like from India- didn't anyone read "The Authorized Al"? 5. What is your favorite Nick at Nite show? Don't have Nick, not at night, or any other time. 6. Any hobbies? Entering tin-foil chewing contests. 7. What cartoon character would you most like to be? Racer-X on "Speed Racer". No one knew he was speed's brother. Rex, get it? Racer Rex. 8. Do you have a favorite pair of socks? I stop in shops that stocks socks with spots. 9. What is your birthday (Year optional) August 18. Year hint: I'm the youngest band member. 10. Planet of origin? Why Earth of course! Don't be so Nermblim! 11. Favorite cable TV channel? Don't have cable. Not at night, not at any other time. 12. Favorite toothpaste? Baking soda gel. I'm a sucker for clever advertising. 13. Favorite movie/book? "Rebel Without a Clause". James Dean overlooks an important loophole in his contract and is forced to quit show business. 14. Favorite disco song? "Disco Man" (He played one, he played knick knack on my drum.) 15. What is your shoe size? 10 1/2 (10 if they're Doc Marten's) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spotlight: The Band Taken from: Midnight Star Vol. 2 No. 4 October 1994 1. Who were your musical influences as a kid? 60's pop radio, especially the Beatles and Motown groups. I also listened to whatever albums my parents had around- Gene Krupa and assorted Cuban records. Later, it was 70's pop radio, then 80's New Wave. 2. How old were you when you realized you wanted to get serious with music? I was 12 when I first decided to be a professional drummer. I'd been taking lessons and playing to record for about 4 years, and thought it would be a fun way to make a living. 3. What other bands have you played in? Too many to list, but all LA groups. Most notable: Rip Masters, Ray Campi, Nipper, KoKo-Jo, Honeymoon. 4. What other instruments do you play? Percussion, like tambourine, congas & bongos, also orchestral instruments like timpani, cymbals, concert snare and bass drum. 5. Do you write songs/movie scores, etc? Never tried writing 6. Who besides Al have you done session work with? Many tracks with some of the groups I've worked with, but only a few were released - Jim Silvers, Nipper, Rip Masters, X-Checker. 7. What brand of drums do you prefer and why? I've been playing Impact drums for about 9 years. They're custom made of thin fiberglass, and have a very "average" sound, so it's easy to make them sound like a lot of other kinds of drums. That's important to me because of the different sounds and musical styles required when working with Al. I also use Sabian cymbals and Rhythem Tech tambourines and percussion. 8. How did you come to work with Al? I met Al on the Dr. Demento show on September 14, 1980. That night Al played "Another One Rides the Bus" live, and I pounded a beat on Al's accordion case. Afterwards, I told him I would like to play drums with him (Al didn't have a band at that time- his recordings were mainly accordion and vocals). Little did I suspect that there was a career in doing this! 9. Any nicknames? "Bermuda" is the nickname given to me by Al shortly after we met. 10. Closing comments? I'd like to say something to all the kids out there: HI KIDS! This file is part of the "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Page located at: http://www.emsphone.com/Al. E-mail Marty at martyl@emsphone.com with questions or comments. Please do not distribute any part of this document without authorization from the Midnight Star. They can be reached at: Midnight Star PO Box 750112 Houston TX 77275-0112