Final Draft of Article

As Noah Oberst slinked through the doors of Camden’s Hawley Arms on a January afternoon, a certain charismatic energy exuded from him to the appreciation of the crowd. He appeared both elusive and taciturn, like the love child of a deer and a walrus.  He modelled an Afghan Coat, carrying the scent of patchouli oil. ‘This is a seventies throwback!’ I exclaimed.

Oberst chuckled ‘Yes, I honestly believe I was born in the wrong decade’

‘Is that so? And what era would you feel most comfortable in?’

‘Oh my, I’ll struggle to answer that one’ Oberst expressed, taking a deep breath in. ‘Probably the stone age with a few rudimentary instruments for a bit of sound. The reason being because I detest machinery which is why I only play acoustics. Also with the Stone Age, I think my dress sense would seem quite advanced and I would be a throw-forward rather than a throwback’.

‘Now, we’ve been requested to discuss your recent global success and your music, but of course you famously refuse to’

‘I love making music’ he explained ‘But I loathe talking about it. You’re welcome to ask me anything as long as it doesn’t concern music’

‘I suppose that is a fair compromise, however, we may have to include at least one mention of your band and music, one teeny weeny one’ – I said eagerly.

‘Hmmm’ Noah sounded with a grin.

The subject turns toward Oberst’s educational background. ‘The only good think about my education was that, having gone to a grammar school pretending to be public school, I had a really inspiring English teacher who was also into music and he turned me on to Woody Guthie, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and stuff like that. Needless to say, he didn’t last long in my school. The rest of my education was spent mainly in a Greasy Spoon where I used to hang out miserably by myself’ – Oberst asserted with a smile.

‘Is there any particular subject that you excelled at in school?’

‘Indeed, I was good at sport, especially football. When I realised I was rubbish at actually kicking the ball, I became a goalkeeper which suited by outsider-ish, angst-ridden personality. I stopped doing sport in favour of mooning about unavailable girls and thinking about death. I also started reading a lot and went straight from Noddy to Sartre.’

‘And then you became a musician, presumably?’

‘I suppose so.’ It was an accident, really. I started writing music in my teens and solely for the love of it and then I met Heather and founded Mankind and Mayhem. I’m afraid that is all you’ll be getting’ he uttered with a wink.

‘What is your favourite tipple?’

‘Well, until last year, I used to drink a lot of neat brandy but I had to cut down as it was starting to burn a hole in my insides, now I’m just on the beer. I’m really into real ale at the moment, I’ve just discovered ‘Tipsy Toad’ which seems to really hit the spot and gives me the glow that seems conducive to good music.’

‘What about food?’

‘I have very subtle taste buds. My most common meal is what I call the ‘Everything Casserole’ where I empty the contents of my cupboards and put it all in the oven in a sea of gravy. It works for me’

‘I suppose with your new found stardom, you no longer have to make your own meals?’

‘I guess that’s so, to be honest it’s been a while since I’ve had an ‘everything casserole’, now it’s everything room service – I’ve become everything I hate about the world’.