Erin
Rock Floor Person Extraordinaire
2.5 yrs employment


Miss Ess: First, let's talk about something we both love: the new Joanna Newsom record. Tell me, what is it that makes it so fantastic for you, and what are your favorite tracks?

Erin: Okay, so I am really into the new Joanna Newsom record [Have One on Me] for a number of reasons. I was obsessed, totally in love with her last album, Ys, but that album was very structured, very rigid compared to this one. It was definitely a song cycle, whereas this one is a little more free form. She's loosened up quite a bit and her singing has improved. The things I love about her are still the same -- her love of words, her incredibly poetic turns of phrase -- but she has relaxed a little in a way that I'm enjoying. Some of the songs on here, like "Good Intentions Paving Company" and especially "Baby Birch," are some of the best she's ever written, I think. She's really only getting better. 

ME: What else is turning on your record player these days?

Erin: I've also been listening to Greg Gardner's comp In A Cloud -- all really great local artists. My favorite track on here is the Paula Fraser one. And the first Giant Sand record -- Valley of Rain. 

ME: I know you love Montreal. What bands from Montreal are you favorites? What do you think of the music scene up there?

Erin: My favorite Montreal band has to be the now-defunct Les Georges Leningrad. I saw them once and they were insane. Really abrasive post punk with a crazy, costume-y live show. Beyond that, I really don't know very much about the Montreal music scene. I think Besnard Lakes are from there and someone told me that they're good.

Do you have a daily music ritual? What is it and what purpose does it serve?

My daily music rituals are pretty predictable, like needing to have music on while I'm getting ready for work, or doing something boring, like washing the dishes or biking to work. It gets me pumped about doing something mundane.

What are your favorite local bands?

I can't say enough positive things about The Sandwitches. Their album was one of my most listened-to albums from last year. It's so good. They're really, really talented and deserve to be way more popular. 

What's the best live gig you've ever seen?

That's a tough one. I saw Gang Gang Dance in Big Sur at an outdoor festival last summer and my friend and I snuck into the VIP area and took shots and then danced barefoot in the woods. It was really hot out. 

I also saw Glasser, my favorite new artist for sure, perform her pump organ project with Tauba Auerbach in New York. That was really special. The organ is called the Auerglass and it requires 2 people to play. They had special costumes and everything. They played the organ and then Glasser performed. She's a good dancer.

Cameron of Glasser used to live here in SF not so far back when she was just starting to make music. She was a friend of Amoeba. Tauba too, actually. Do you remember the moment you first really got into music when you were a kid?

It was when I was like 14 and I bought Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral. I listened to it on headphones and felt really shocked and exhilarated by it. 

 Whose posters did you have on your walls when you were growing up?

I wallpapered my room with pictures of Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, who I was in love with. I also had a Tori Amos poster. I am totally humiliated now!!!!

I don't think those are embarrassing posters at all! If you could go back and see an artist play, someone who is dead or no longer touring, who would it be and why?

I would love to go back to the 70s and see Fleetwood Mac in their prime. I also kind of wonder what the crowd would be like...They're one of my favorite bands ever, and I can't really get down with reunion tours. And Stevie Nicks is one of my idols. 

I feel very, very similarly. It's tempting but I haven't gone to see them and I'm not sure if I can fully get with the reunion, especially with no Christine McVie (although it is really all about Stevie). I just wanna go back in time! Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

I feel most guilty about liking super new Pitchfork-approved bands, just because liking them makes me feel like a lemming. And they haven't yet stood the test of time. But I really do like a lot of it, like Girls and Beach House.

What song makes you cry?

"Be My Baby" by the Ronettes makes me cry. 

Please name an album that you love that more people should listen to.

People should totally check out the Hall & Oats album Abandoned Luncheonette. Cashier Scott recommended it to me. It's less hit-driven then their other stuff but really mellow, pretty and good! A hidden gem, for sure.

What's your favorite music-related movie?

Monterey Pop. Amazing, beautiful footage of the crowd, not to mention incredible performances by the Mamas & The Papas, Otis Redding, etc. Hippies!

What's your favorite thing about working at Amoeba?

It's a tie between my coworkers and free music. I love them equally.

What has been your best find at Amoeba?

Nearly my entire record collection is from the Amoeba dollar bin. For example, I just got Stretchin Out in Bootsy's Rubber Band, not to mention like every Bob Dylan & Joni Mitchell album ever. 

Thanks for your time!