MARTY DOWERS
    AMOEBA MUSIC, BERKELEY:


AMOEBLOG: How did you end up working at Amoeba Music, Berkeley and what is your job there?

MARTY:   I was working at a record store in Hawaii and wanting to move back to the Bay.  My sister inquired as to if Amoeba or Rasputins were hiring. Turned out they both were. I never heard back from Rasputins, but Marc (Weinstein)  said come on out for an interview. This was just as the San Francisco store was opening -- so some of the Berkeley buyers moved over there, and there was a spot for me.


AMOEBLOG What makes working at Amoeba different to other jobs you've had?                          

MARTY:  I've been in the 'industry' since 1980, but always wholesale -- one stops, rack jobbers. The store in Hawaii was the first retail job. Going from that little store front shop to Amoeba was quite an experience. Amoeba has become an institution!

 
AMOEBLOG: Best place to  grab a bite nearby Amoeba Berkeley?

MARTY:  Good luck. Where's the Japanese ramen?


AMOEBLOG:  What's the best record of all time?

MARTY: (laughing)  Obviously that's a very difficult question. It depends on mood, genre, etc. But how about this :  Who's That Lady (from '64) by the Isley Brothers.- a perfect single!



AMOEBLOG: Best album cover art of all time?

MARTY:  Also a tough one. In the days when we were intimately involved with our record covers, I remember looking at Abraxas (Santana) for hours. How about Here Come The Warm Jets (Eno)


AMOEBLOG:  Your top five fave artists of all time?

MARTY: Okay. off the top of my head:
Miles Davis
James Brown
Jimi Hendrix
King Crimson




AMOEBLOG: First record you ever bought? - And do you still like it or have listened to it recently?


MARTY:  The first 45's I remember buying were Popcorn by Hot Butter and Uncle Albert by Paul McCartney.  The first three LPs were:




AMOEBLOG: Can you tell me what your music career history is?                                                                    

MARTY:  I come from a musical family. My mom performed in musicals professionally. She still teaches piano and voice. My sister and I took piano lessons briefly, but it was not for us. She chose drums and I chose sax.  The first time a saw a saxophone was on the Lawrence Welk Show. The second time was Roland Kirk on a PBS special. For those of you unfamiliar with him-- he was blind and he played multiple horns at once and circular breathed. (look it up) I knew that was for me.  I started playing when I was 10. We had an amazing teacher in Jr High,  Mr. Phiel. He would  write out his own arrangements & do things like bring in an Arp 2600 Synth for us to check out. This was in '72.  I played in stage bands throughout school. I've been in a handful of bands since; R&B, post-punk, art-rock, Fripp-hop.



AMOEBLOG: Tell me about your current band?

MARTY:  I'm currently in a group called Subtle. We got together through Dax Pierson (ex-Amoeban). Dax was in a band with Jordan (another ex-Amoeban) in San Diego. Dax & Alex (our cellist) and I all performed together.  Dax put the four of us together with Adam Dose Drucker (ex-Amoeban) and Jeff Jel Logan-- already well known as Them(selves) Anticon. 

(  www.subtle6.com,  The following clip is Subtle's video for their song "The Mercury Craze" made by Norwegian/Japanese animation collective SSSR)