1. Please introduce yourself to my readers.

Well, I'm Scott Stambaugh, more often known I think as Father Time, and I was one of the most visible artists at the old mp3.com. Music is my life, really. Some of the things I have done online are co-found a pretty large music site called IACmusic.

I also for a few years organized an artist rights organization. I've pretty much been in the midst of Indieland all this time, used to be more of a controversial figure because if you say exactly what you're thinking, you might be dangerous. I'm currently going thru another manifestation as I have a new band that just released a CD that I'm really excited about.

2. Please tell me a bit about your songs and history as a singer-songwriter and musician.

In my childhood I started with drums, then piano, til I found electric guitar which I love. I have written maybe 1000 quality songs (well quality, in my opinion :) ). To me songwriting is the crux of the issue, I focus on it very much in my own listening to the world of music. My specialties are harmonies, lyrics, and guitar solos.

I had a sizeable following at mp3.com, a lot of number 1 songs and I'm on many many internet stations now. The bulk of my music you can find at http://iacmusic.com/thelastrockhope.

I did a CD collabing with many talented artists called With A Little Help From My Peeps. Right now I'm in a band with Jill Wright called Coloured Vinyl which has made a bit of a mark, I think.

3. Who are some of your main influences and musical mentors?

People compare me to Neil Young often, and that makes sense because he's my favorite artist other than the Beatles. I also love Nirvana, Jim Carroll, Jefferson Airplane, CSNY, the Stones, Who, Hendrix, Floyd and the Sex Pistols. Oh and can't forget Led Zep which to me are right up there with the Beatles.

4. What projects are you working on currently?

Jilly and I are writing songs for the next Coloured Vinyl record. We just started a new forum/bbs called Artist Isles - http://inmusic.yuku.com - which has a lot of potential because I have come to know a lot of creative people over the years at all these music sites, including being focused on the artist community at IAC.

Please, everybody that reads this, come by Artist Isles, there is a chemistry that's happening and that will go deeper as all these great artists from different realms meet one another !

5. I understand that you are very interested in UFOs so please say a bit about your involvement with ufology.

I own probably one of the largest UFO libraries in the US. For a long time I was obsessed with them because I've had more experiences of high strangeness than I could tell in several books, I suppose.

For 5 years of my life, going on a couple decades ago, it seems the aliens took a huge interest in me. I believe they operate mostly during a person's sleep, in the REM state. However I've had many realtime awake occurances as well. I also feel there is some connection with government mind control operations though I'm not certain to what extent.

My 5 years of heavy involvement ended when I took a spontaneous trip to Dulce NM to contact the aliens in person and on the outskirts of that city, had a dream that they were removing my implant. Since that my interest has not been quite the same, I think, by their design.

6. Please share some memories of mp3.com as it once was and how do you view the future for indie musicians and unsigned acts?

Well I was a wildman at mp3.com, was finding my oats I think because the household I grew up in was rather repressed. What I remember most was that during 2000 and 2001 it was just an unbelievable scene, all the artists in the world who had never been heard congregating in one place, they all believed in the indie dream, and expressed themselves in every possible way. It was a once in a lifetime situation, that whole culture became fragmented and in some environments trivialized.

For a time though, if you shined, you shined for everyone and if the download gamers had not ruined things, the music biz would probably be a lot different today. As for the future of indie, I used to believe a lot more. Now I feel that there are so many people uploading songs on the internet that I feel there are less grains of sand on all the deserts in the world.

The cream does not rise to the top because you just can't find a needle in a haystack. It's become what they always said about the music biz, your only hope for that particular kind of success (selling your CDs) is mostly centered on who you know.

7. Anything else you would like to add? Please feel free to promote websites here.

Thanks for asking me to do this. I'd like to add that music is part of one's fiber. If you have a choice about whether or not you're going to do music, you may not belong in music because all the great soulful artists I know live it, they don't decide upon it. And everybody should come to Artist Isles and hang with your own (see link given above in question 4.)