30 Seconds With Zoe Keating

Rocks Off sat down with the amazing one-woman orchestra they call Zoe Keating to find out what we could learn about the avant-garde cellist in 30 seconds.

zoekeating.com

Zoe Keating: One person's pleasure is another person's poison, so let's just say I put my fingers in my ears and try to escape to my happy place when forced to listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

RO: What is the best lyric in the world?

ZK: I'm so focused on music that I'm notorious for not knowing the words to my favorite songs. That said, my favorite lyric is "And if a double decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side/ Well the pleasure, the privilege is mine" from "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" by the Smiths.

RO: Someone throws a beer bottle at you while you're on stage. What do you do?

ZK: I'd use my body to shield Ariege, my French, custom-made and totally priceless cello!

RO: Without worrying about space, time, or the laws of physics, what would be the ultimate gig?

ZK: The International Space Station. Do I need to say why?

RO: What would you buy with a millions dollars?

ZK: I'd buy my mother a comfortable retirement. She deserves it.

RO: What would you buy with your last dollar?

ZK: I'd buy some matches, and then I'd leave civilization and try to survive in the forest.

RO: If you could canonize another musician, who would it be and what would they be the patron saint of?

ZK: Charlotte Moorman. Patron saint of alternative cello.

Zoe Keating plays House of Blues Thursday May 12.