|
The Lightsabre Interview Oboe-Wan
Welcome to
Lightsabre. Our guest today is a name
very familiar to all regular readers of the official blogs on the official
Star Wars site. She’s a great fan, a
great musician but best of all she’s a great lady. Please welcome to Lightsabre Oboe-Wan
herself, Lisa Smolen Jenkins. Q - Lisa, welcome to
Lightsabre. A -
Its great to be here! It's amazing
how fast one can travel over the pond these days Q – You’ve managed to
become quite a name on the official blogs with your stories of real life and
how Star Wars seeps its way into it.
How good does it feel to get recognition for this? A – At first it was
really strange - I couldn't imagine why people even cared to read what I had
to say. But as the popularity of the blog increased, so did my desire to
improve my writing skills & style, and in many ways, how could I
traumatize a perfectly normal situation!! Q – Tell us something
about yourself. What do you do for a
living? A - I'm a musician, an oboist. I mostly freelance -
basically go wherever I'm needed. I also play flute, saxophone, piano &
clarinet, so I play musical theater quite a bit. Right now, I teach 3 days a
week at a private music school here in town, freelance & also am a sub in
the Phantom of the Opera production down on the strip.
Q – What is it like
to be a part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A - I’ve never known
a life without Star Wars, so being a part of the online community makes me
feel somewhat "official." In so many ways I feel like we're just a
big family - on the site, in real life, wherever. It's cool to have an outlet
for an obsession and to be able to share in that obsession with so many other
people. In many ways, it makes me feel normal! Q – You’re a working
musician – hence the name Oboe-Wan – living in Las Vegas. This must be a fascinating place to live
and work? A –
It has been an incredible experience
to move to Vegas. We came here with the hope of finding a better life for
ourselves and in the short 8 months we've been here it's feeling more &
more like a reality. It's really an amazing city to live in. I think because
most people here have relocated from somewhere else, everyone is looking to
make friends & contacts. Everyone we've meet have been outgoing & friendly
& the other musicians were quick to accept me into their circle. The
weather is of course gorgeous 99% of the time and the landscape is
astounding. People tend to think of Vegas as just the strip, but there's a
whole world out there to discover, lots of great hiking & exploring to
do. For average Joes like us, it's relatively cheap. I'd just like to give a
shout out to all the tourists who pay our taxes... Q – Tell us a bit
about your Jedi family. A –
My husband, Matthew, a Star Wars fan
as well, is a music teacher here in the Clark County School District. He too
is an oboist, though since we graduated college in 1996, he's been more of a
bass guitar player. For 5 years, he was a member of the rock band Plum Crazy. My son, Andrew, is 5 now. He is a HUGE Star
Wars fan. I thought I was bad, but he puts me to shame! At our wedding in
1997, my husband & I were introduced to the Imperial March. Not only did
it illustrate or love of Star Wars but pretty much made everyone aware of our
ultimate dream of total world domination. Q – What were your
feelings on Revenge of the Sith? Did
it satisfy your fan appetite, or simply whet it for more adventures to come? A –
There were some things in ROTS that
totally surprised me (like Padme's death), but watching Anakin descend from
Jedi to Sith was incredible. It wasn't about evil actions, it was about
manipulation - how one man can ruin his life & the entire balance of the
galaxy with poor choices. It's really a lesson on thinking for yourself,
retaining your individuality and remembering that our teachers really do know
more than us sometimes! Otherwise, the "third" movie was a great
way to end the saga. After watching it, I always feel ready to go on to ANH
and finish out the saga. Q – You’ve released
two CD’s, Simple Things and Complications.
Where do you get the inspiration for your music? A – Simple Things
seemed more like an observational collection. Almost like I was afraid to
turn that eye inward... so I wrote about things I saw happening in my
friends' lives, movies & books. For example the first track "Take Me
Away" is based on the character Eowyn from
Lord of the Rings. Complications, though, seems to be taking a more personal
turn. After our move, I was able to step back & reflect on the last 10
years of my life & write about friends I've had, still have, events I
experienced or things going on in my own life. The title song
"Complications" is actually written about all my friends i've met online at sw.com and how they brought me out of
my funk. Simple Things was put to print back in December 2005 - it took me
almost 18 months to complete. I began Complications in September 2006 and am
hoping to have it finished by the end of 2007.
Q – Which of the
myriad Star Wars characters do you feel the most affinity for? A – I've always felt like I identify the closest with
Princess Leia. I do tend to take charge of any situation I'm in, but also
have a deep, deep loyalty to my friends just as she did. Yes, if I were in
her place on the Death Star faced with that torture droid, I would have done
the same as her. Probably with a few extra screams, though, and my hair
wouldn't look quite as good. Q – Tell us something of your other interests outside of Star
Wars? A – The biggest
thing is yoga. I have practiced yoga for 9 years now, and the last 3 have
been solely dedicated to Ashtanga. I practice the
primary series 5 days a week, am vegetarian & try my hardest to be the
change I want to see in the world. The other thing I enjoy just as much as
Star Wars has to be baking! Currently, my chocolate chip cookies hold the
"World's Best Cookie" title among my friends & family. I'm
hoping to go national someday. Maybe I'll include a tin of cookies with each
CD purchased... Q – With the new television series on the way, what are you
expecting to see? A – I’m going into
this with a really open mind. I know we won't get to see any of the main
characters we're all familiar with, so I'm hoping to see some of the
"underground" movement, the birth of the rebellion. In fact, I'm
hoping it will be a Star Wars spin-off of the movie Top Secret. Q – If there was one thing you could
change about the two trilogies, what would it be? A - One thing that
bothers me the most about the PT is the need to "tie in" to the OT.
So one thing I would have changed was C-3PO & R2-D2 in the PT. I like how
"random" they feel at the beginning of A New Hope - like accidental
messengers. Having them in the PT obviously destroys that - especially this
idea that Anakin built 3PO! In the OT... I would love to see a newly CG
choreographed lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan & Darth Vader at the end of
ANH. With that awesome duel at the end of ROTS, I almost feel like Obi-Wan deserves a more dramatic death. Q - What lies ahead
for you in the future? A –
Right now I'm trying very hard to
just establish myself here in Vegas. I feel like I've made some great
contacts & am getting work. I'd love to have a permanent gig and with all the Broadway shows here, I feel like that isn't out of the realm of possibilities. But of course, playing hostess to anyone who wanders into my Hive of Scum & Villainy (aka Las Vegas) is always high on my priority list! So far, I have met four www.starwars.com
friends in Vegas.
Q – A quick question
about our site, Lightsabre. Any
comments? A –
I love it! Setnin Radio has been one
of my favorite parts of the site. But it has been
great to read the interviews & articles. I'm jealous that you have
contact with so many cool people I'm so honored
that you have asked me these questions! Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. You, The Stooge and Dark Moose are the last
three contestants remaining on The Weakest Link. Anne Robinson is banging out the quick-fire
questions, and at the end of the round one of you must be eliminated. It’s not always the weakest link that is
ejected, so who do you vote for, who goes and why? A – Dark
Moose. Because if there's any chance of getting to meet George Lucas, I must
keep Stooge close at hand. |
