{"id":44113,"date":"2019-04-24T10:21:32","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T17:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/?p=44113"},"modified":"2019-04-24T10:21:32","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T17:21:32","slug":"we-are-all-made-of-stars-a-brief-conversation-with-moby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/we-are-all-made-of-stars-a-brief-conversation-with-moby\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are All Made of Stars: A Brief Conversation with Moby"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do you do when you realize you have everything you think you\u2019ve ever wanted but still feel completely empty?<\/strong> In the summer of 1999, Moby released the album <\/span>Play<\/span><\/i>, arguably the album that defined the millennium and propelled him to stardom. But then it all fell apart. He\u2019ll discuss the second volume of his memoir, <\/span>Then It Fell Apart<\/span><\/i>, on May 10 at Seattle First Baptist Church. <\/span>You can get your tickets now<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong> Before he hits the stage, he sat down to chat with Town Hall\u2019s marketing manager, Jonathan Shipley. <\/span><\/p>\n

JS: I was curious as to how you navigated and navigate friendships, pre-fame and post. Post-fame you must be leery of anyone befriending you, asking yourself, \u2018What do they want from me?\u2019 Friendships you made before you were famous must have been hard to navigate as you became a star.<\/b><\/p>\n

M: <\/b>It\u2019s not so much that I question people’s\u2019 motives, it\u2019s more that pre-fame friendships tend to be based around shared circumstances and frames of reference which makes friendships more effortless. It can be hard to navigate resentments and bitterness on the part of old friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

JS: What celebrities that you\u2019ve hung out with have been positive influences on your life? Which ones, not so much?<\/b><\/p>\n

M:<\/b> David Bowie, Lou Reed, and David Lynch have all been wonderful, positive friendships. I\u2019ll avoid that second question\u2014I don\u2019t need more enemies.<\/span><\/p>\n

JS: Now that you\u2019re on the other side of fame, what skills do you wish you had developed before becoming famous?<\/b><\/p>\n

M:<\/b> I honestly have no regrets, nor do I wish I\u2019d done anything differently. I\u2019m grateful for the weird life and perspective I have. Life and perspective are, by definition, the product of the circumstances that led to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

JS: What did you wish you did differently after <\/b>Play<\/i><\/b> blew up?<\/b><\/p>\n

M: <\/b>Nothing. I love the mistakes I\u2019ve made, as they\u2019ve taught me more than any of the things I ended up doing reasonably well. <\/span><\/p>\n

JS: Having \u2018fallen apart,\u2019 what are you most proud of about yourself after the fact?<\/b><\/p>\n

M:<\/b> That I can still, at times, string sentences together. <\/span><\/p>\n

JS: Are there ways that being a music celebrity better than being, say, an actor?<\/b><\/p>\n

M:<\/b> In a way it\u2019s better that I have a lot of creative autonomy. A musician\u2019s work can generally be more bespoke, personal, and <\/span>sui generis.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

JS: You mention being sad and lonely before <\/b>Play<\/i><\/b>. Post <\/b>Play<\/i><\/b>, did that amplify it or diminish it? In what ways?<\/b><\/p>\n

M: <\/b>Curing loneliness post-<\/span>Play<\/span><\/i> became compulsive, at least until I got sober.<\/span><\/p>\n

JS: What sort of emotional connections to audiences are you hoping to make with your music?<\/b><\/p>\n

M:<\/b> Ideally, a connection based in honesty, shared experience of the human condition, and service. That might sound clich\u00e9, but it\u2019s true.<\/span><\/p>\n