7/27/05; by Ruth Zaslow
Field Interviews
- What kind of car do you own?
An Audi S4. It's my dream car. See, I'm a real car enthusiast.
- What made you choose the Audi S4?
I like to go fast, and this car does. In general, I like things that are understated, not flashy. It's also got all-wheel drive, turbo engine, I'm sure you could look all the specs up on the internet. I've liked Audi's since I was a kid.
- How did you first hear about them?
When I first heard about them, they had a bad reputation. I've always been fascinated with German engineering. But I've never wanted a BMW, not just for the sake of the brand. So the Audi predecessor to mine had a lot of problems, but they solved them in this model. It's a classic family style. They only made it for three years. There was a six-month waiting period for it. But I was patient and I bought it as soon as I it came in.
- What kinds of driving do you do?
The first thing to know is I do a lot of driving. Like my car is a 2002 model, but I've already put 116,000 miles on it.
- So how do you rack up those 116,000 miles?
I live in Austin. It's hill country, and I love taking the car out over the winding roads. I like to drive, to explore. Sometimes I'll go check out a barbeque joint or some funny attraction that's around. I've driven all over the entire state. I also like to ski, but there's no skiing in Texas, so I've driven to Colorado, New Mexico. I've also driven out to San Francisco. A friend of mine was moving out there, so I drove her out.
- Sounds like you take a lot of road trips. What do you like best about them?
That's easy. The freedom of the road.
- When you take road trips, are you usually on your own or do you have passengers in the car?
It's about 50/50. For the barbeque joint trips, I usually go on my own.
- How about the longer trips? You mentioned driving your friend to San Francisco. Did you have passengers for your ski trips?
I went on my own once and twice I took my parents.
- What's going on for you in the car during these trips? Not so much the make-the-car-go actions, but the other things you're doing.
Music. Definitely music. It's my biggest interest in life.
- How are you listening to the music?
Never the radio. I carefully plan out the music for my trips.
- Tell me about planning out the music.
If I'm driving by myself, I'll listen to just one album, one artist, sometimes just one song over and over. I analyze it, I concentrate on it. See, I DJ as a side job, so I bring music in the car, see where the breaks are, see where I could meld one song into another, make it part of a larger whole.
- And how about if there are passengers in the car?
I have to admit I'm selfish. I pick the music. Usually, I try to something I think will be new for whoever's in the car, but that they'll like. I try to get them engaged with the music.
- How can you tell if they're engaged?
They're moving along to it, maybe asking me what it is, telling me they like it, asking me how they can get it.
- How about if your parents are the passengers? What do you listen to then?
With my parents, something downtempo, mellow stuff. Eighty's stuff, they can relate to that.
Yeah. My dad got me into music. He really used to enjoy it. But now he seems to despise it. I think he feels like it's his fault that I like it so much. He worries about that. So he pretends that he doesn't like it, but I think he really does.
- So after you've taken these trips with friends or your parents, do you find yourself talking about them later, reliving them in any way?
Not really. I mean my friends might ask me about music we were listening to, like I said, but the experience is the experience. It's like music itself. It's there, it may change you, but then it's over.
- What is your favorite music?
I like all kinds. My current favorite is electonica. Also indie rock, which I think is almost a resurgence of punk. I also like German music. See, I'm good at math, so I like music that has patterns. I like tech house and a few other things.
- What do you play when you're DJ'ing?
It depends on the audience. The point is to try to take people on a crazy journey. I might start with something they know to get them up and moving, then slide into something that's unfamiliar. Then I might throw in a little 80's stuff-it's very popular now-to given them a hit of something they know. Then it's back to new stuff that I like, and on and on. I try to overlap something new with something they can relate to. It's all about setting the vibe.
- What kind of equipment do you use when you DJ?
I'm a purist. I use vinyl records. Wax is the only thing to use. And I have two turntables, headphones. I try to keep away from MP3 players and things like that. It's not pure.
- Do you feel the same way about devices in your car?
(laughter) No. I plug my I-pod into the power source, you know with I-Trip. I have a 20 gig I-Pod and an I-Pod shuffle. I like it. It's like having my own radio station. I play stuff and think: this is what I'd do with my own station.
- How did you hear about the I-Pod?
I heard about it right after it came out from a friend of mine. I Googled it to find out more. I've had it for about a year and a half.
I use that when I'm running. I got it when I was in a friend's wedding. He gave them as gifts to al the groomsmen. But I would have bought one anyway even if he hadn't.
- What else do you take with you when you run?
Just the bare minimum. Housekey, ID, depending on where I go, maybe a bill or two.
- Do you take your cell phone or anything like that?
No, just the Shuffle.
- We've talked about music in the car. What else is going on for you in the car?
One thing is . . . I grew up in Bombay, in India. And the streets there, the traffic there . . . it has to be seen to be believed. I've always entertained myself by driving fast. I play this game with myself, getting from point A to Point B as fast as I can. So I'm coming up fast behind people, changing lanes on a dime, looking out for cops.
- Do you talk on the phone in the car?
On short trips, not long ones. I don't have a hands-free set-up in the car. I'm not much for talking on the phone in the car. I usually let it go to voicemail.
- Let's imagine it's sometime in the future. Your career is going really well and you can buy any car you want. What would you buy?
I'd buy something bigger than the Audi, but still a performance vehicle. I'd still want it to be fast, to be subtle. I'm not interested in brands. I'd like it to be limited, to be classy.
- Any examples of a car like that?
It sounds like the BMW M5, but if I got one, I'd leave the decal off. Like I said, it's not about the brand.
- Tell me more about your lack of interest in brands.
Brands, like for clothes, or anything else, it's all about advertising. That's meaningless. I buy a car for what it makes me feel inside, not for status. I don't want to treat cars as things. I am to be who I am. I also don't like the attention. I'm not better than anyone else.
- So what's the ideal feeling you can get from a car?
Being one with the car, understanding it so well, you can handle any situation with it, feeling one with it. Also, a solid feel, not a flimsy feel. I want to feel grounded, one with the car.
Like with my Audi, it has all wheel drive, so you can feel the tires slip. And when that happens, most people's reaction is to let up on the accelerator, to slow down. But with all wheel drive, you actually have to give it more gas, so the wheels slip, slip, slip, and finally grip.
- How much of a priority is your car for you?
Well, I spend about $2000 to $4000 a year on it. I have to replace tires-you need good quality tires on a car like this, or something breaks. I paid for it in full when I bought it, so now it's just maintenance and repair. I'm thinking a little about a new car, but I should buy a house first. If you'd asked me this question two or three years ago, the car would have been the top priority.
- Let's talk about your history with cars. What was the first car you ever drove?
That was in Bombay. It was a Suzuki 800. A four-door. It was a lot like a Honda CRS four door. I was 13.
Yeah. You didn't need a driver's license to drive in India. My dad paid some guy off to get the papers I did need.
- What was the first car you owned?
A 1997 Honda Civic. I started school here in 1993 and I didn't have a car. So when I graduated, I got myself a Civic.
- How did you decide on a Civic?
It was cheap, reliable, affordable. They keep their resale value. I was thinking financially on that decision.
- And your next car after the Civic?
The Audi. Not a financial decision.
- Let's go back in your history a little more. Do you have memories of a family vehicle when you were a little kid?
Yeah, my dad was in the Air Force and the first car we had was a Herald, a British car. It was always breaking down. One of my first memories is being in the car with my dad and my sister going somewhere, and the wheel came off-we watched it roll past us! That car has a special place in my heart.
- What gives it that special place?
I think my dad felt bad that he couldn't afford anything better. I remember him actually telling me that when I got a little older. That's really something to hear from your father.
- Other childhood memories about cars?
I think that's it.
- We've talked about the past. Let's talk about the future. Imagine it's ten years from now. What would you like to see as standard in cars that's not standard now?
I can't think of anything. Actually, I'm not happy with all the technological progress in cars. I'm a purist.
- What kinds of things are you unhappy with?
These days, we can't find things easily. Like my air conditioning stopped working a while ago. Turned out it was a computer problem. But it took a long time to diagnose. It was hard to diagnose. So more electronics and technology adds to the complexity. I resist advancements.
- You do computer programming for a living. Do you feel the same way about technology in that area?
I despise computers. I'm good at programming because I'm good at math. I do it because I use my mathematical ability in a lucrative way.
- What would you like to do?
I'd like to do something that makes people happy. That's why I do the DJ work. To see people have fun is cool. These days, I help people do e-procurements and it's more about efficiency. I like to think it contributes to making people happy, but that's not what it's mostly about.
Interview 29 (zaslow)
