Well, this is the end of the line. It’s been along and winding road since I was recruited for the fledgling AZNB site straight out of the booking department at Club Congress in summer of ’05. A whole lot has happened in the world of music, the world of newspapers and the world in general in that time, good and bad. And though I will sorely miss the joy of writing about my greatest passion in life, the true tragedy here is that the loss of Subbacultcha, Confirmation Hearings and the jobs of the many well-qualified Arizona Daily Star staffers… well, they are just drops in the bucket that is spilling into the sea of casualties caused by an industry unable to keep up with technology.

“They asked us if we believed in God. It was the weirdest press conference ever. They didn’t know what to ask us. We sat there and they were silent… and we were silent.” So what was your answer? “I said I believed in Motorhead.” No, you didn’t! “Yeah, I did. And then I asked them who would win in a fight, Lemmy or God? It’s a trick question because Lemmy is god.”

And dear reader, you may not realize just how rare the interview you are about to read is. There is a surprising lack of information out there on all things Bloat, not to mention that any “facts” that Serge has put out there in the past have generally been… err, colored for his entertainment. But not this time. So this is your opportunity to get the cold, hard Bloated facts for the first and who knows… maybe the last time. In fact, Serge had so much to make up for that this will be a two part interview. Here in part one, you get the Bloat Records history complete with stories of how Mondo Guano, Doo Rag, Johnny Balls and Bob Log III rose like mighty phoenixes from the ashes of other Bloat bands.

Arizona Theatre Company’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ is not a musical revue for fans of sassy, upbeat jazz. It’s not for fans of blues. It’s not for those who are enthusiasts of the Tin Pan Alley era of the twenties and thirties or the Harlem Renaissance. It’s not even for die-hard Fats Waller fans, even though the show’s byline is “The Fats Waller Musical”. Sure, it’s all of the above, but when you get down to the heart of this energizing whirlwind of a show, it’s quite simply for people who love music. So that’s just about everyone, right?

So where is this self professed “comic, a drunk and lover of losers” these days? Well when he’s not in front of a camera or onstage, Doug Stanhope in his home in Bisbee, Ariz. And if you aren’t yet considering plunking down $20 to see Stanhope on Club Congress’ intimate stage this Saturday, Dec. 5, please be informed that there is much more to the man than “Girls Gone Wild,” s**tholes a go-go and Howard Stern.