Welcome to 21 Questions, a regular feature where PHXmusic.com goes to the favorite hangout of a notable Phoenician and asks the "big" questions. This week we met up with Stinkweeds Manager Lindsay Cates at Yucca Tap Room in Tempe.
Cates splits her time between managing indie record shop Stinkweeds, maintaining online concert listing site Silverplatter, and playing bass in local bands Fatigo, Pick and Holler and Snow Songs. Cates tries to make it to Yucca every Sunday for Valley Fever, a country night hosted by DJ Dana and Johnny Volume.
Name: Lindsay Cates
Age: 32
Occupation: Manager of Stinkweeds. Everything else is kind of a hobby.
New Times: In one sentence, what do you do all day in your job?
Lindsay Cates: I get to listen to music and hang out with really interesting and unique people.
NT: What's wrong with the world today?
LC: Attitude. Sprawl. Waste. Politics.
NT: Who's your favorite local band?
LC: Flavor of the week would be the Green Lady Killers. But, I'd have to say the most underrated band are The Necronauts.
NT: What was the last show you attended?
LC: Shearwater and Wye Oak. It was probably the best show I've seen in a really long time, and Wye Oak are my favorite band right now. As a duo, they do a more intense set than any full band could do. It was so awesome.
NT: If you could time-travel, where would you go?
LC: Probably some place either in the past or the future where there aren't any humans. Maybe hang out with some animals that I've never seen before.
NT: What's the worst job you've ever had?
LC: I worked a research job, and I had to call up families and interview them in Spanish. I wasn't really prepared, but I'd convinced someone along the line that I could handle it. I would get so worked up having to call. I just kept going to work until they fired me. That one kind of jibed my confidence.
NT: How good are you at cooking?
LC: Not good at all. My favorite things to cook are soup and frozen potstickers. My boyfriend is really good in the kitchen, so I'm lucky I'm safe in that department now.
NT: Where do you go to be alone?
LC: The mountains. I like to hike a lot. When there's no mountains, the bathroom works.
NT: Who's your all-time favorite fictional character?
LC: I think I'm too serious for this question. I would say the guy from the safe car commercials. He's all over the IZ video channel. I would say that he's a fictional character, and the guy's totally bogus, but hilarious. I'm in love with his accent. It's on the all '80s music video channel. I don't have cable, but it's the actually the only channel I watch.
NT: What's the first album you ever bought?
LC: Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms'
NT: Where is the best view in Phoenix?
LC: There's a ridge on top of South Mountain. It's the highest point, and you get 360 views of the Valley. There's a nice breeze. I like to take a sandwich up there.
NT: What's one thing you hate about Arizona?
LC: I guess you could say politics right now. Yeah, politics.
NT: What's your homepage?
LC: I don't really have one. I'm not on Facebook or anything. I guess Stinkweeds.com.
NT: Do you give money to panhandlers?
LC: I do. Sometimes. And it depends on the circumstance.
NT: What's your drink?
LC: Tecate in a can with lime and salt.
NT: Who is your mortal enemy?
LC: I really hope I don't have one.
NT: What's the deal with Sheriff Joe?
LC: You know, I hear his approval rating has gone down. It's a complete and total embarrassment, but that bike TV thing, with the inmates exercising to watch TV... You know, where they have to bike to make the TV turn on? Years ago I had this great idea that exercise machines would be powered by the person using them. So it's kind of a good idea to think that he's conserving energy or whatever. But, otherwise, he needs to go.
NT: What would you do if you won the lottery?
LC: I'd probably get a dog and go far, far away.
NT: What's hanging above your sofa?
LC: A window.
NT: What's the best love advice you have?
LC: Can I cuss and stuff? Okay. Get your shit together, first and foremost. And don't expect to be able to fall in love until you have your shit together and you know what you're looking for. To that, I will add that I'm not qualified to give advice on such a thing.
NT: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear god say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
LC: Buen hecha, dude.
