The LP Questionnaire/Pick Three - Brendan Harney of Wheat

Written by Linda Park | Friday Mar 6th, 2009

The LP Questionnaire with Brendan Harney of WheatFrom the 2009 LPQ Archive

I can think of no better way to send you off into the weekend wilds than with the delightful LP Questionnaire and Pick Three of Brendan Harney, one half of the band that launched a thousand mixtapes of indie loss and love, Wheat. It is slightly regrettable that I'm running him today because this probably means I can't stalk him anymore. Boo to the hoo for me!

Perhaps only a person with a stone heart won't find his responses rather enchanting. You must spirit yourself away to Maggie Mae's on Friday night and be "together! with love!" with the band.

Some little known scraps of information about Brendan and his compatriot Scott Levesque...

They were once escorted out of a ghost town they came upon while driving through New Mexico by a guy with a .45 handgun.

They love spending time in basements.

They left their bass player in his pajamas at a rest stop in Sweden while on tour, and drove eight hours before they realized he wasn't in his bunk.

They both have brown eyes and bought their houses at the same time (without realizing it).

Brendan lives near the ocean and can't live without it. Or coffee. His dog growing up was Snoopy.

Scott has a great dane, two chiquaquas, and a lab.

They met in art school and started working together on paintings before they did music.

And last but not least, they have a bandmate that's a robot.

I bet alot of bands would prefer to have a bandmate that's a robot...

Without further ado, madames et messieurs, I lead you down the yellow brick road to the Le Questionnaire de LP avec Brendan Harney.

Name: Brendan Harney
 Pro Wrestling Name: Demolition Ironstorm

1. Pretend you’re 15. Name three songs you'd put on a mix tape for your girlfriend/boyfriend. Well, let's see.... that was a long time ago (back in 81). Um... I certainly wished I had a girlfriend then, but I was both too busy with skateboarding and too dorky to have a girlfriend, but in my imagination I had many (they all loved me in my mind).

I'd put: Devo - "Pink Pussycat" ('cause know.... fun with words.....). "Do Ya" by ELO (it asks the question that I wished I could ask in such a massive and beautiful way - total power rock and roll). And, finally, "Pigs on the Wind (part 1)" by Pink Floyd (one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded - this would be to let the girl know how cool and yet sensitive and expansive me and my thinking were... yeah, I was dorky, but not humble...).

2. Which evil villain would make the best President? Well... all our presidents are sooooo good, and soooo right all of the time, that it's hard to picture that office inhabited by anyone, but those with the most pure intentions........ :) I think the Riddler from Batman would make the best president. The double-speak is similar to saying everything in riddles... but, I fear the riddles actually have meaning... and, the double-speak doesn't... hmmmmnnnn.......

3. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Far and away - Spiderman. So cool, so casual... so city... so street... but, above it all. Nothing to do but swing and dig it.

4. What superpower do you wish you had? I wish I could fly - doesn't everybody..... get the hell out of traffic..... get out of bad dates...... cruise around at night and look at the beautiful world..... feel the heat pushing higher toward the sky...... flying over the ocean.... becoming nothing......

5. What would the title of your autobiography be? Half Assed

Pick Three
 Red Red Meat: These guys changed the way Scott and i thought about doing music in the studio - changed the sonic landscape, and showed us that the music can really be pretty out there, but still have a meditative beauty... and, Brian Deck and Tim Rutilli have been involved with Wheat here and there over the years.

Blitzen Trapper: Beautiful name - beautiful stuff - the beautiful northwest - the sky, the sea.... the everything....

Circle Jerks: What the hell can I say? I was a child, and everything about them opened the door to everything music that fills my world today. Yeah - another world of music that wasn't on the radio. Way cool.... way fucked up...... way lost......

{the end}

And here we are, back in Austin, realizing that SXSW starts in one short, and getting shorter with every second, oh the final countdown, week. The elusive insanity might be setting in, people, and I'm sitting here listening to The Muppets. Getting there is half the fun, come share it with me.

Or at least keep up with past LP?s and Pick Threes here.

Email pies in the sky to

Hey, I've never seen the sun come up in the west, lp