Rubin Recommends

(Part of The Weekly Check In series)

I first found Bob Nanna when I wrote to him to order Braid’s record “The Age Of Octeen” through the mail in 1996.  Braid was from Illinois so they came to Kansas often and I was lucky enough to get to see their last shows in Chicago in 1999.

Bob has played in a lot of  bands over the years, Braid, The Sky Covair, Friction, City On Film, Hey Mercedes, and now his new band Certain People I know. He spends his days working at Threadless and also spends time showing his Never Ending Polaroid project. You can keep up with everything he does at bobnanna.com.

Side Thought: You should get this Braid song “Forever Got Shorter,” (which is one of my favorite Braid songs) that was on the Post Marked Stamp Series split 7″ with The Get Up Kids.

RR: What are you currently working on or just finished that you’re excited about?

Nanna: I have a few things on my mind right about now. Firstly is a new band I’m working on called Certain People I Know, with Damon. Even though I NEEDED to get an actual rock band together to stay sane, watching him play the drums again is a true joy. The guy amazes me constantly… I’m also in the process of scanning and uploading my massive Never Ending Polaroid project – and you can learn about it at neverendingpolaroid.com!

RR: Where have you traveled so far this month?

Nanna: I love traveling so much but sadly in ‘09 the farthest I’ve gone from my Chicago home is a mile or so to work every day. Last year I had my first true vacation (as an adult) (with no shows), driving around California and visiting wineries. It was amazing and so relaxing. There have been ramblings about maybe doing a City On Film tour with Owen in South America this year but that may have been just drunk texting.

RR: What’s your favorite music right now?

Nanna: I’ve been so entrenched with writing songs for CPIK, I haven’t spent too much time casually listening to music but if I had to choose one band it would be Aloha. They’ve been my favorite band for quite some time. And hey, feel free to friend me on last.fm.

RR: Best food you’ve had in your neighborhood lately or while you were traveling?

Nanna: Any vegetarian that’s spent any time in Chicago knows of the Chicago Diner. You may love it or hate it, but you’ve definitely had it. I go occasionally, given my affinity for fake meat, and a few days ago I had an INCREDIBLE fake Jamaican jerk chicken wrap, presumably made by a fake Jamaican.

RR: Anything Else You Want To Mention?

Nanna: Sure! I work at (online t-shirt community) Threadless.com and so I’m absolutely integrated into all of the online social-y networks and spend a lot of my time chatting with folks, posting photos, doing videos, and it rules. You can get to all of the channels (twitter, fb, flickr, etc) at bobnanna.com. I’m a damn e-butterfly.

(the photo of me was taken on the first City On Film tour. This is the one that lived on my fridge for a year before the idea for the Polaroid project came to fruition!)