FOR THE RECORD: DD SPARKS
(Reprinted CD review, following interview)



WHAT'S THE COOLEST PLACE TO HANG OUT, IN IOWA?

The Coolest place to hang out in Iowa may not come across as cool to other people, but to me cool is wherever I feel most ceneterd and at home. Chic is a state of mind....that said...the Greenbelt trail in Clive Iowa is where I go to walk for miles and miles all by myself to work outthings both creativly and personally and be close to nature during the barable seasons. I can don a big pair of sunglasses and go all Greta Garbo when I "Vant To Be Alone".

NAME YOUR FAVORITE (SO FAR) PLACE YOU'VE PERFORMED.

My favorite place to perform to date has been The Knitting Factory in NYC. I had the amazing honor to meet downtown legends as Deborah Harry and Joey Arias. The crowd was receptive. The venue was electic in energy, and the steep stairs leading to the stage...treturous in platform boots.

FAVORITE DRINK?

My favorite drink is easily Pantela "De Luxe Cigar Blend" Gautier. This is an Imported Cognac and, of course, impossible to find. So if anyone is thinking of gift ideas for me.....

WHAT LAW WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SEE ENACTED?

Law I'd like to see enacted...I'd have to think about. I'd probably have to say stronger punishment for abuse to animals. I was really saddened by a judge in a recent case in Sioux City Iowa in which a man beat a puppy to death, and in sentencing the man to only 30 days in jail, the judge was actually quoted as saying, "we must remember this wasn't a human being." I was horrified by his lack of vision and scope when in regard to suffering and murder.

OTHER IOWA BANDS YOU'D RECOMMEND?

Other bands that I would recommend...truth be told I'm not all that hip to a lot of the other bands around here but I'd have to say that Strick9 has been pretty entertaining when I've seen them. Great hooks and clever lyrics.

WHAT'S YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE (IN TEN WORDS OR LESS)?

My philosophy for life is still developing, thankfully. How's this?...Always be the star of your own life, never a supporting player.

http://www.ddsparks.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ddsparks



DD Sparks
"Maximus Aquarius"(Magic Cabinet Records)
reviewed byDC Larson

(That DD Sparks, creator of the "Maximus Aquarius" character, is my brother in no way moves my critical hand.)

Craft is the thoughtful choreographer of creative impulse. Lacking it, one has only unfocused spark, unproductive energy.But braced by craft's intuitive calculatings, virginal musings assume perspective.

On each action strasse here located, one upturns treasures alurk: Shadow-draped glacial movements, fizzy percolations, spectral intonations -- each distinct shard locks into unseamed correspondence.

(And while head may be above-clouds, feet are maintained to terra firma by trenchant six-string coloration and reassuringly familiar sax testimonies.)

About, one spots splinters of Roxy Music, T Rex, and ELO. But only splinters. Influences are subservient to Aquarius's own striking demeanor.

At once darkly sagacious and wit-flecked, the observational time-trifler character -- a technicolor pastiche of Victorian elan and fantastic consciousness -- imprints the whole with uncanny lilt and commanding presence.

Craft revels in its peculiar reward.

RECOMMENDED "Cutting In the Blue," "Beloved Nemesis," "trick of the light," "dangerous angels"


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