Phillyist Interviews...Jackson O'Connel-Barlow of Grand Buffet

After Grand Buffet's set at the Trocodero last night, we were lucky enough to score an impromptu interview with Jackson O'Connel-Barlow, AKA Grape A Don, in the bar upstairs. Credit for this interview (recorded in classic guerrilla-reporting style via a message left on our voice mail) goes to your author's partner in crime, the mysterious MC Cuppanoodles. Here it is.

Note: Just to keep us all on the same page, during the show, O'Connel-Barlow mentioned his Steve Maddens several times, professing his distaste for sweatshop labor and claiming the shoes as one of the sources of his power.

Can you please state your name?
My name is Jackson O'Connel-Barlow - it's a hyphenated name. My parents were former hippies. And now they're just retired, happy.

Can I call you Jack?
Call me Jackson. Jack was my name when my sideburns were shaved like an inch above my ear.

So the longer the sideburns get, the longer the name gets?
The longer the confidence gets.

How is the Police reunion going to change your life forever?
I think if I paid the $2000 to get a ticket for that show, the chorus and reverb sounds coming out of Andy Summers' guitar rig would probably make me sterile, but also make me see God, which would be the lead singer of the Police. So it wouldn't really do much at the end of it all. But I fucked up and didn't get my ticket.

You're known for your beautiful white shoes. Would you like to comment?
I found said beautiful white shoes at a park bench and they were in my size. They are Steve Maddens; they were made in a sweatshop. I make it a point not to buy sweatshop-made shoes, but when God gives them to me, by way of some poor son of a bitch, I'll take 'em.

You're known for your incredible live stage performances. Do you have any influences for them, or are those just straight freestyle off the top of your head?
If I'm freestyling you can usually tell as far as there will be lapses and little things where my brain is searching, you know. But as far as influences stage-wise, like, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Klaus Nomi, David Byrne, every show I've ever seen, whether I liked it or not. Just the energy that you get, the whole exchange. I'm a fan of that - I'm a fan of energy.

Well the energy is definitely there. Aside from the stage performance is there any musical influences that you have?
If someone were to ask what we sound like on stage, to give two bands that could like, mate and make our sound, I would say Audio Two and Sparks.

Any questions for me?
Um, were you a baseball card collector?

Yeah, I was. I think I have the entire 1994 Topps baseball collection. Ah, I'm missing a couple of rookies but other than that I think I got the whole thing. Oh, and I used to collect Marvel comic cards as well.
Marvel comic cards, I have some of those. They are absolutely fucking worthless. They ruined sports cards, they ruined the value of sports cards. It's true.

Alright, thank you so much. Jackson from Grand Buffet, thanks for your time.
Thank you, the king of the camp ground, signing off live in Philly. One time, God bless. Or not. Cheers.

Image from Grand Buffet's MySpace.