“20 Questions” with Steve Choi of RX BANDITS

October 10, 2013

 

I met this next interview-ee when he came into the cafe I work at a few months ago. Turned out we shared some mutual friends and that he was 1/4 of the talent that makes up RX BANDITS! I am happy to call him and friend and I am also excited to share this interview with  you!!! Enjoy!

 

Name: Steve Choi
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA
Current Location: Long Beach, CA

Website(s): https://twitter.com/Rxchoi http://peacedout.org https://www.facebook.com/rxbanditsofficial

 

1. When did you know that you had officially fallen in love with music?

I think the first time I realized that it was easy for me and that I enjoyed it was when I won my first classical piano competition at the age of 7. When I first heard Smells Like Teen Spirit is when I knew that I had officially fallen in love.

 

2. What would you consider your “TOP 5” favorite albums in your life thus far?

I think this is probably an ever changing list, but for right now it would probably be

Fugazi- End Hits

Bjork- Homogenic

Superdrag- Head Trip In Every Key

No Knife- Fire In The City Of The Automatons

Nirvana- In Utero

Deltron 3030- Self Ttitled (maybe squeeze a 6th? This is so hard!)

 

3. What was the very first record you ever purchased with your own money as a kid? Do you still enjoy listening to it?

 

I believe the first purchase was Paula Abdul- Forever Your Girl. And yes, there’s still some seriously catchy songs on there that are wonderfully horrible.

 

4. What would you consider the BEST LIVE SHOW you have ever had the joy of witnessing?

 

One of them would have to be At The Drive In at Gilman St. It was the first time I had ever witnessed the live spectacle of that kind of focused energy on stage between a group of people.

 

5. Who is your biggest musical influence?

I’m not sure if it’s any “who”, but rather my self-critical desire to always be the best at creating the music as I hear it in my head.

 

6. If you could be in any other band, past or present, what band would you choose and why?

I would have loved to play guitar/keyboards in Radiohead. Johnny Greenwood has such a fun role in that band. For throwback, I would have loved to have been a Cellist in Pyotrilych Tchaikovsky Orchestra. His pieces were amazing.

 

7. Which RX Bandits song is your favorite to play?

We have so many songs now….In Her Drawer is a great one because our crowds always sing so loud during that tune. It often gives me chills hearing a thousand people singing so loud it overpowers a full P.A. system.

 

8. I am sure you have had many memorable moments throughout the years. Is there a favorite band moment that you have?

My favorite moments would have to be much more mundane that most would guess, but times after a good show when your bus is heading to the next city and you are city in the back lounge enjoying a drink with your best friends and bandmates is a wonderful moment. And we get to have that moment most nights on tour.

 

9. What’s next for RX Bandits?

Next for RX is our StageIt online acoustic show!

 

 

10. What advice would you give to anyone looking to pursue a career in the music industry?

Be honest with yourself about what you want to achieve and what you have to offer. Improve what you need to and always keep perfecting your craft.

 

 

(begin random/silliness)

11. If Hollywood made a movie based on your life, who would you like to play the part as YOU? What genre movie would it be?

 

It would have to be a drama/comedy/dark comedy/coming of age/music centric film. I don’t know who would play the part of me. Some might say one of those asian comedians, but maybe I’d bring Brandon Lee back from the dead to play me so I could be depicted as much stubblier and manly than I actually am.

 

12. Let’s say that movie becomes a huge hit and you become the topic of all the tabloid magazines. What would you like those headlines to read?

 


Korean/American kid’s pipe dreams of playing in a rock band for a living come true. Can he handle the pressure?

 

13. If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose and why?

 

That’s tough, because many people who I respect and would to chat with are dead and I have hygiene issues, so eating with a corpse would be pretty gross and freak me out. I’d love to sit down and chat with Christopher Nolan the director, so that he could let me start scoring his films and because he is alive.

 

14. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

 

Food: Frozen Pizza

Music: Enya

Life: Being a fucking dork.

 

15. What trend in music and/or fashion would you like to see disappear?

Perhaps a bit idealistic and against the social current of human nature, but I’d love to see the trends themselves disappear. To Live in an ideal world where no one felt insecure and that their own choices might not be good enough so as not have to follow and like what others suggest as a form of approval and acceptance would be great. Art and music in particular being created and digested with no pretense and without the system of genres to judge and be judged by would be amazing. Until then…..My guild of musicians will continue to do what we do in spite of that.

 

16. If you stumbled upon a time machine in your back yard, what time would you travel to and what would you do there?

I would take the time machine back to 1988 and overthrow the CEO of Columbia Records and Gramaphone company and thusly create a business model of recording and releasing records that was fair to musicians.

 

17. If you could acquire an superpower, which power would you choose and what would you do with it?

 

I would want to choose something powerful, but when I think of It I’d rather fly or be invisible so that I never create an ethical issue for myself. I’d ultimately want benign power I could enjoy that would require me to be afraid of losing myself and getting out of control.

 

18. If you had to dress in a costume for the rest of your life, what costume would you choose and why?

 

I would dress and a young Asian mail who used to love skateboarding and punk rock as a kid who is now trying to grow up and be more responsible because more people actually depend on him so he needs to learn to have fun while being responsible at the same time…..Wait…..

 

19. Which song would you pick to be the soundtrack to your life at this moment in time?

 

I’m happy to live a life that at the moment is unique enough to elude any songs I can think of.

 

20. What makes you come alive?

 

Creating music makes me come alive. It reminds me of why I am on Earth, and that I was specifically put here to make music and share it with as many people as I can. No matter how sick, grumpy or tired I can be, as soon as I walk onto stage and see thousands of people who went out of their way to buy a ticket to my band’s show. I remember I have it REAL good, and that I have many awesome things to live for. My fortune makes me come alive.

 
 

You’re probably going, “Is this like a Noxzema commercial or what?” But seriously, I actually have a way normal blog for a 43 year old girl.