My name is: Rob Hotchkiss.

Describe yourself in 5 words: Introspective, spontaneous, dislikes airplanes.

My current job is: mom.

My hometown: Moved around so much that my roots go deepest where I live now - the Pacific Northwest.

My current album or project is: Midnight Ghost.

Former bands: Train, Apostles.

My guitar influences growing up were: Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Skynyrd, Neil Young.

The guitars I use are: Fender strat, Epiphone Wildkat, PRS Swamp Ash, Gibson J-200, Alvarez Yairi, Fender Jazz bass.

The strings and tunings I use are: Fender strings, regular tuning, sometimes DADGAD or Drop D, or anything else I come up with spontaneously.

My current rig setup consists of: Fender Bassman 50 with Line6 PodXT Pro.

The greatest invention for guitars is: electricity.

My favorite Rob Hotchkiss song is: Golden.

My Career highlight thus far is: Recording my solo record, Midnight Ghost.

My most embarrassing moment on stage: Lip-syncing in Europe.

Other than my guitar, the one piece of my gear that I cannot live without is: my pod.

The first song I ever mastered on guitar: Leaving on a Jet Plane.

My first guitar was: a $10 no name.

If I am only sure of one thing in life, It's: Santa clause is real.

My Greatest fear is: wildflowers.

The one ritual I always perform prior to going onstage is: Not into ritual.

Favorite quote:” pardon my dust”

The exact moment I knew I would pursue a career in music was: Still trying to decide.

The one thing most fans don't know About me is: I’m really really tall.

The best advice I could give beginning guitarists: Ignore tablature, listen to music and figure it out.

The CD(s) I'm listening to right now: Various oldies (we do guessing-games, seeing if the kids can recognize songs like Maggie Mae or Let’s Get It On).

My 3 all-time favorite albums: Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch; either/or, by Elliot Smith; oldies but goldies (an import I picked up when I was ten, and have never seen since), by the Beatles.

I’m a sucker for: Bad Company.

Who was one of your favorite artists that you jammed with onstage? Charles Colin.

My best gig was: Headlining City Stages, Birmingham, Alabama (1999?).

If I could meet any ONE person living or Dead, he/she would be: Kate Bush.

My favorite junk food: Cherry Garcia.

My biggest pet peeve: waste.

The word or catch phrase I say way too often is: “If it was me…”

The hardest part of my job: Confronting negativity.

The first thing I do when I come home from touring is: Unpack.

I knew I hit the "big time": I’ll let you know...

My Favorite Website is: meathats.com

The worst job I ever had: Busboy at The Grinder.

Right after this interview I'm going to: Have supper.

I couldn't imagine being on the road without: Long nights on the phone to home.

If I wasn't doing the musician thing, I could really see myself working as: a goatherd.

My favorite movie ever: American Beauty.

My mission in life: Use my mind to it’s fullest.

My greatest obsession: I love the rain.

My first band was: Cyanide.

My next major step is: A major movie soundtrack.

The greatest contribution guitars have brought into my life is: Allowing me to express myself thru songwriting.

The coolest toy I had growing up was: Pogo stick.

Check out our Website at: www.robhotchkiss.com

The one musician I would love to work with that I have not yet had the chance would be: Joni Mitchell.

If I could have three wishes, they would be: an end to war, happiness, a new administration.

When it's all said and done, I want the world to remember me for: Having left it a better place.