Epignosis does not need any introductions. He is a very much valued contributor here and his album Still the Waters is a popular album.

I sent him a truly nerdy question sheet (put together by the vice-chairman of The Royal Society Of Dull Men) as opposed to the other interviews he has given so far. Here is his responses to this trial.

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You are a popular participant and contributor to the life in PA and your biography is very extensive so I refer everyone to the PA profile. But just to start with; please give us your long or brief afterthoughts on Still The Waters from 2009.

Still the Waters was a milestone for me simply because it was my first completed studio project. I began writing and recordings songs ten years ago in my room with a little Tascam four-track tape recorder. I believe I still have those tapes in the closet (where they’ll stay)! I’m pleased the album is finally out there, as it’s given me a solid place to continue on with what I hope will be a long and wild journey. Thanks to everyone who reviewed it (and will review it) for your kind words, constructive criticism, and general encouragement.

Just to find out some more about you, please give us your opinions on........

Classic prog rock bands like Yes, Genesis and Camel

Such bands were pioneers. Modern progressive rock musicians are in their debt for the tremendous risks these groups took and for the scope of their visions. And more than inspiration, these bands have given us hundreds of hours of wonderful entertainment.

Zeuhl

Gesundheit.

Black Metal vs. White Metal

I only knew one black guy who liked metal, so I’m not sure what to say here. His name was Leonard, by the way.

Record labels

I’ve had no experience with them. I love being able to have complete control over my work and being able to record when I see fit without any regard for business obligations. That doesn’t mean I’m not open-minded when it comes to the possibility of a label, but I certainly haven’t tried shopping my material around to get picked up. Honestly, I think record labels will gradually become more and more obsolete as general access to technology increases.

Music festivals

I’ve never been to one of these. I’m actually kind of reclusive. I go to the bank, the store, and to church. That’s about it. I’ve only been to a half a dozen concerts in my life, partially because I do not like crowds. I really think I would enjoy attending a festival though, like NEARfest.

Growing up in the USA

I’ve not only grown up in the USA, but I’ve never left the country (except twice to the Bahamas, but I don’t really count that). I’ve never even been on an airplane before. I grew up in a quiet neighborhood consisting of old mill houses. I rode a bike, cut people’s grass for money, got good grades in school, listened to country and classic rock music, played in the woods, visited family (almost all my relatives, both sides, lived around where I grew up), made lifelong friends at church, enjoyed a lot of home cooked Southern food, shot guns, watched cartoons, ran terrified from the neighbor’s dog that used to chase me every time I walked to my friend’s house, played video games, and had swordfights with my dad using PVC pipes. It was a golden age, and I’m a little sad that life will never be the same. Enjoy being young because you never get it back.

The Baby Boom generation vs Generation X

Having been born in 1983, I’m not a member of either (I think they call us Millenials or Generation Y). I’m not really sure it’s useful to group people according to when they were born and give them all generalized characteristics (otherwise, astrology might have more credibility). I’ve met people of all ages, and I kind of find the same thing among them all: Some individuals are kind, some are awful, some are winners, some are losers, etc. And people tend to fluctuate among all these characteristics throughout their lives.

Barack Obama vs. Sarah Palin

I like our President’s demeanor, but not his politics. I disagree with about every bit of “change” our President wants to make. I still respect him, though, and you will not see me driving around with a “Not My President” bumper sticker like a lot of W-haters were doing not long ago. I think that’s disrespectful. As for Sarah Palin, I liked her initially, but now I think she’s become merely someone to lampoon, especially with the reality show-like attention given to her family. I still respect her and agree with many of her principles. However, she certainly would not be my ideal candidate for President in 2012.

Fox News vs CNN News

I get almost all of my news through Henry Plainview. I do enjoy the occasional Fox News program though (particularly Bill O’Reily). Glenn Beck is too over-the-top for me. I don’t bother much with CNN. Seriously, most of my news comes from various Internet sources.

Cats vs. dogs

We have had two cats, Tunces and Hazel, but never had a dog. Tunces used to try to drink my beer. Were we to have another pet out of the two (we won’t be), it would be a cat, simply because they are smaller and require less maintenance than dogs (but we’d rather have a fish, I’m sure). My mother-in-law does have a brown toy poodle named Cody. He loves me when I go over there- I throw his favorite toys and we have a good time. But I don’t have to pick up his turds, so there’s that.

The south vs. the north (in USA)

The farthest north I’ve ever been is Indianapolis, Indiana (which is also the farthest west I’ve ever been). I love the South (except the heat- I prefer cold weather and Florida has about none of that). I love sweet tea, chicken and dumplings, fried pork chops, apple fritters, field peas, collards, and fried cornbread. I also find the Southern drawl pleasing, while most Northern accents tend to grate against my ear. I wouldn’t mind visiting NYC.

Football vs. soccer

I’m not a sports fanatic, but I like watching the NFL playoffs and getting enthusiastic with other people. This past Super Bowl was the most exciting game I’ve ever seen. I like playing football with friends, but I would be horrible at soccer.

The Vietnam war vs. the Iraq & Afganistan war

I’m not sure either war was “better” than the other, so I’m not sure what’s being asked here. I won’t comment on Vietnam because it’s easy to demonize something so infamous in hindsight (and I wasn’t even alive then). As for our current military engagements, I know hundreds of soldiers (I lived next door to Fort Bragg), many of whom have been there and back. When my good friend returned from Afghanistan, I shared with him a bottle of rum and he shared with me the details of his time overseas. The way he passionately spoke on the subject I knew he was eager to go back there. When he described the plight of the people and the various situations there, I realized even more that it’s easy to criticize something like this based on what we hear in the media, but to hear things from a soldier’s mouth (and from the mouths of other intrepid men and women), we get a much more intimate perspective.

Black coffee vs. coffee taken with milk & sugar

When I was younger, I took my coffee white (loads of cream and sugar). In fact, I used to drink a whole pot of coffee before bed as I found it relaxed me (this is no longer so- now more than two cups and I get the jitters). One night, I was in bed, reading, with my stainless steel carafe on my nightstand, and I realized I had not brought any cream or sugar. As a result of laziness, I decided to just drink it black. My tastes changed almost overnight. I now take my coffee black, and in fact, I rarely eat sweets at all anymore.

On a related note, it’s funny how coffee is the subject of paradox in our modern culture. Every week there seems to be a study about the health benefits of coffee or the dangers of the drink. Nutritionists tell me to avoid cream and sugar to eschew extra calories. Dentists tell me to use cream and sugar to lighten the coffee so that it won’t stain the teeth as badly. Researchers tell me coffee will reduce the chance of certain diseases. Doctors tell me to avoid coffee altogether because it raises blood pressure.

Damn, if it weren’t so early, I’d have a beer.

Nascar vs. Formula 1

I’ve got this uncle who loves racing (I have more than one uncle who loves racing, but I’m only talking about one of them in particular). I remember during some family gatherings when there’d be a race going on, he’d have his little radio out and would actually listen to the race on the radio. Listen to it.

I’ve never cared for racing at all. I’ve always found it boring and kind of wasteful, really. About 6,000 gallons of fuel used per NASCAR race- there’s something for you environmentalists to harp about!

Cars is an awesome movie though. Thanks to my son, I’ve probably seen it about 30 times.

The American Dream vs. The European Welfare State  

The American Dream has become a Welfare state. Some corporations rely on bailouts and so many people have this bizarre sense of entitlement. Even children are “learning” that they don’t have to make much effort to get good grades in school. I am reminded of the NY standardized test in which students got credit for wrong answers. Speaking of schools, children are taught to have good self-esteem no matter what. Educators looked at successful students and saw they had good self-esteem, and promulgated the notion that good self-esteem breeds success. Maybe it’s that students had good self-esteem because they were successful. Anyway, sometimes bad self-esteem is just good common sense. I was taught to feel bad about myself when I performed poorly or behaved badly.

In a nutshell, we are becoming a society that expects more and more from the government and also expect to be shielded from our poor choices. Not good.

The epidemic drugs culture in USA

Epidemic drug culture in the USA? According to this: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/eighthsurvey/5678svr.pdf%20 - , the US has a drug offence rate comparable (or better than) some European countries, including Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, and Scotland. New Zealand also ranks high (no pun intended).

I’ve never done illegal drugs- not even marijuana. I smelled it in someone’s house before and it stunk to me. That said, I think it should be legalized. We as a country invest too much money in criminalizing pot smoking. Has Prohibition taught us nothing?

Your Christian outlook on life.

The world was created for Jesus Christ.

Christianity is not about moral superiority, manipulating large groups of people for financial or political purposes, building giant churches, learning how to live a happy life, murdering abortion doctors, protesting at funerals, or taking over other nations. It is about recognizing the moral bankruptcy in every person. All of us are sinners (Romans 3:23), and all of us are accountable to a holy God (Revelation 20:11-15). But God allowed the only man worthy of all honor to suffer the shame and pain in our stead (Matthew 20:28). Those who accept this gift will repent of sin and become more like Jesus Christ- blameless and with great joy (Jude 24-25). Jesus Christ didn’t die so that he could fix man’s sin- man sinned so that Jesus Christ could die and be glorified (Revelation 13:8, 1 Peter 1:19-20).

I do not know where I would be without Jesus Christ or the powerful wisdom of the Bible. Joy and peace would have been far from my grasp.

After these rather untraditional – and very nerdy- questions; how is the Epignosis business model ?  

Bait and switch.

By the way, my next album will have several awesome pop songs featuring T. Pain and Justin Bieber. It’s gonna be hot, yo!

What is your plans for the rest of this year and when will we see the follow up to Still The Waters ?

Refulgence, my second album, will be out this fall. Refulgence will have some heavier tunes compared to Still the Waters, but I think also has several similarities (I love the acoustic guitar). I’m also working on an EP, but I have no idea when that will be done. Got a third album halfway done and planned for this coming spring also...

Anything you want to add to this interview ?  

I think A Person and Salty Jon have a thing for each other. I could be wrong though.

OK................? 

 Epignosis PA profile is http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4642 - and homepage is http://www.mymusicsite.com/MediaDetails/AlbumMediaList.aspx?albumid=2926 - I will soon scramble together a new Epignosis interview sheet for the annual ProgArchives Christmas special (to be published on Christmas Day) which will include questions about rein deers, vacuum cleaners with hamster protection and his solution to the Canadian trade deficit. 

Show your wife whose the boss by order your online time now.    

Seconded. 

Ehhhh......