He may have "killed a man" as he freely 'fesses here in this exclusive tell-all Amoeblog interview but Job O Brother is one hell of a gifted writer and his Another Witty and Unnecessary Blog contribution to this Amoeblog section of amoeba.com is always guaranteed to be must-read material;  the type of prose that leaves the reader fiending for more of its consistently engaging, well-written, and witty insights and observations on life - Job's life.

In fact Job O Brother's refreshing conversational writing style allows his readers an inside look at the personal details of his life - including life with boyfriend Corey and his workmates at Amoeba Hollywood-- is so natural and free-flowing that he makes it all seem really easy to write. But as anyone who has written a short story or blog will attest, to accomplish such results a writer must put a lot of time and energy into their craft. 

"Job is a born writer, truly gifted," offered Brady of Amoeba's Bay Area Crew - one of the regular readers of Job's Another Witty and Unnecessary Blog. But who really is this Job O Brother? Does he write for other outlets besides the Amoeblog?  Is he independently rich and only puts in time at Amoeba to get material for his writing? And did he really kill a man?

If you read Job's official Amoeblog bio we are told: "Mr. Brother was born into one of the wealthiest royal families in Europe. Having been raised in luxury only known to 1% of the world's population, he studied in the greatest schools and with acclaimed private tutors until he reached maturity, at which point he decided he "really, really wanted to work in a record store," which is what he's been doing and will continue to do until the demands of tradition force him to rule as King over his country or they hire him at "Donut Time" on Santa Monica and Highland. 'Which ever comes first,' he says." 

It should be noted that Job penned this bio and, like some things he says, you never quite know if it is truth or fiction--nor do you care when the writing is so entertaining.  So to find out a little bit more about Amoeba Music Hollywood employee Job O Brother I set up an interview with the man, deliberately conducting it via email since this way I figured I could get him to write/type out his answers which I guessed would be as witty and entertaining as his Amoeblogs always are.  I wasn't disappointed. Scroll down and read on...........

 
AMOEBLOG:  Exactly when and how did you end up working at Amoeba? Was it something to do with them hiring you before Donut Time on Santa Monica & Highland had responded to your application?

JOB O BROTHER: Confession time: A few facts in my Amoeblog profile are not entirely true. Yes, I am heir apparent to a powerful, European dynasty, but I’ve never actually applied for work at Donut Time.   When I first moved to LA (a little over three years ago) I assessed the work market and decided that Amoeba Music was the ONLY place I wanted to work.  I wasn’t sure when they would hire me, so I also applied to other places, but ONLY establishments that were soulless, corporate chains which I would feel no guilt quitting even after one week of employment, so that I’d be ready for when Amoeba called me. I even applied for a job at (insert f-word here, plus the suffix ‘ing’) Jamba Juice.

As reported in the Sunday Fashion & Style section of The New York Times, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova got in a little shopping at Amoeba Music while in Hollywood, in the days leading up to the Oscars. The musicians/actors and stars of the Irish indie film Once,  won an Oscar last night in the Original Song category for the film's moving composition "Falling Slowly"  --  which they also performed live at the televised event (see clip below). 

The picture above, courtesy of the New York Times'  Emilio Flores, shows the couple shopping at Amoeba Music on Sunset where they reportedly spent time shopping for DVDs (Amoeba prices are way better than back home in Dublin) and talking to fans of the indie success film Once, fans who were pleasantly surprised to see its two stars in the aisles of Amoeba Music.

Personally I was so happy Once won because not only did I fall in love with the film when I first saw it last March, but I saw it under the best possible circumstances: on the big screen in Dublin, Ireland, not far from where much of the film was shot.  And I saw it with two of my favorite people, my dad and sister, who both loved it and its soundtrack as much I did-- so much so that the next day, inspired by the film, we decided to take a short drive south of the city to Killiney, to that beautiful location overlooking Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea where the two main characters in the movie go on their memorable motorbike ride.

CD sales are down but record sales are up. Vinyl, long written off by the industry as obsolete, has been experiencing a renaissance of sorts over the last several years, with vinyl sales on the increase, steadily building in momentum over the past few years. In 2007 there was an estimated 15% increase in sales of new records just from the year before.

And it's not just DJs who are buying records these days. Nor is it just fans of hip-hop/rap and electronic/dance music -- the two genres most associated with vinyl -- but fans of other types of music, including different sub-genres of rock and experimental, among other genres. Additionally a lot of music fans, especially young fans who are tired of MP3s, are discovering the superior warmer analog audio quality of vinyl pressings -- be it on a 7" single or full-length 12" album.

In some cases artists or labels are pressing up vinyl-only releases, often as a way to beat the current rampant free-downloading of MP3 files. But even with a lot of vinyl releases, the record label includes free MP3s such with the new Cornelius vinyl copy of his Gum 12" EP on Everloving/Warner which comes with a printed card in its jacket containing information on the link to MP3 versions of the same songs on the vinyl just purchased.

"A lot of people appreciate the whole aesthetic of vinyl. There is something permanent about the LP format that they really like.  With MP3's, even with CDs, there is a disposability with the format," offered Chris Curtis of Hollywood Amoeba Music, where he is a vinyl point person between the floor and warehouse -- overseeing many smaller genres but getting a good overall grasp of the state of vinyl in 2008 with music fans. "To kids that were born after 1990, the LP was dead," said Chris, "but you see a lot of kids coming in to buy vinyl. I think there is a certain coolness connected with it."

Amoeba Music Hollywood got much love in today's (Jan 13th) New York Times in the Sunday paper's supplemental Travel section as part of its weekly  "36 Hours" feature.  Each week 36 Hours focuses on a certain town, city, or small region offering up a list of the essential things to do - imagining that one has only a thirty-six hour period to spend in that place. And for this week's "36 Hours in Hollywood" Times travel writer Jennifer Steinhauer picked twelve essential stops in Hollywood including Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, the ArcLight Cinema, and of course Amoeba Music on Sunset.


Under the heading "Before iPods" Steinhauer, who allocated a little under two hours for the Amoeba stop, wrote that, "From Roscoe’s, it’s a fast walk to Amoeba Records (6400 Sunset Boulevard, 323-245-6400; www.amoeba.com), one of the last great independent record stores in the country, where new and used CDs and DVDs are found by the mile. There are also live in-store performances (with a special emphasis on up and coming Los Angeles bands)."


To see the full article pick up today's NY Times (avail in most major cities) or check the article posted on the New York Times website.  Note that the printed version also includes a nice photo of the main floor of Amoeba looking down from the stairwell by the DVD section.

Kelly Watson,
Amoeba Music, Hollywood

Kelly Watson works in the New & Used Rock CDs department of the Hollywood Amoeba Music store and laughing says that she is the "only person who only works at amoeba" meaning that, unlike everyone else at the store (or so it seems) she is not a musician or artist in addition to being an Amoebite. Something else that distinguishes her is that she hails from down under, from Australia.  AMOEBLOG recently pulled Kelly away from her work for a few minutes to ask her some questions about music, her life, and working at Amoeba.


AMOEBLOG: How did you end up working at Amoeba Music and how long have you worked at the store?

KELLY: I used to work at Tower Records and that, as you know, came to an end so I got a job here at Amoeba Music where I started this April, 2007.


AMOEBLOG: What makes working at Amoeba unique compared to other jobs you've had?
 
KELLY: It's much more family here and  much more fun here too. For the last fourteen years I've consistently done music retail and this is the best gig by far.  Also the people that you run into here.....you never know who it will be.  Like Bjork was here last Tuesday and Johnny Marr was in here last Saturday. Oh and Benecio Del Toro was here the same day that Bjork was here,  last Tuesday.



AMOEBLOG: What is one of the places nearby Amoeba Music Hollywood you would recommended  to grab a bite to eat?