Disclaimer: The best way to describe Ian Greenhouse is enigmatic. It may be difficult to gauge when he is kidding and when he is serious. That said, I can now proceed - caveat lector.
Ian Greenhouse gives the story of his life: "My parents did 'that,' then my mom's egg was fertilized and then the cell split and - I think it's called a zygote - formed. And that's the story of my life - at least the origin," he explained.
"Then a lot of stuff happened and I came to Tufts," he added.
Hailing from Connecticut, this sophomore and tentative English major was brought up in a musical family. He began studying music at the age of five, and soon wrote his first song. He found a copy of the sheet music to this song over winter break and jokes that he might sell it on eBay.
Greenhouse then picked up various instruments including guitar, bass, synthesizer, and piano - "...anything I could get my hands on," he said. As for his favorite thing to play, Greenhouse explains that "It's a toss-up between guitar and violin...and also cribbage. Cribbage is a fun game."
With his song "What Is It?" featured as the first track on the newly released Jumbo Audio Project, Greenhouse has made a musical comeback of sorts. This comeback is so far only in its second week, following an eight-year musical hiatus. Greenhouse studied music from age three until he was 12, and stopped because he was fed up with the overly commercial nature of the business. "People started approaching me with ad campaigns," he explained. Another contributing factor, he alleged, was a brief drug problem.
While in high school, however, Greenhouse did have a band. His favorite cover was "Material Girl," because a friend would get onstage and strip during the song. As a result of his band's popularity, high school was fairly easy for Greenhouse: "I had a cult following; I had kids that did my papers for me."
Greenhouse decided to submit to Jumbo Audio Project after receiving threatening letters from friends. He said that they intended to harm his beloved pet gerbil if he did not to contribute to the music compilation.
For his solo endeavors, Greenhouse does vocals and plays guitar. His songwriting process is admittedly simple: "I'll sit down with my guitar, write a song, and record it."
Greenhouse has a great affinity for all his original work, rendering him unable to choose a favorite of his own songs to perform live. Unique in his musical tastes, Greenhouse cites a composer of music for pornographic film, Buster Gonads, as his primary influence. Female rock group Heart, best known for the song "These Dreams," has also been a major driving force.
As for his thoughts about becoming a professional musician, Greenhouse says, "I've thought about it but I wouldn't want to end up dead, on the street, because that 's what happens to a lot of hip-hop artists like myself."
Outside of music, Greenhouse writes many of papers- this semester he is studying 17th century British literature. He also enjoys coloring.
With regard to the Boston music scene he said, "There's a lot of good music in Boston, at least a lot that goes through Boston." He was also appreciative of the Applejam concerts held on campus. Concerning the music at Tufts itself, he feels that the facilities need improvement but there is a wealth of talent on campus.
Greenhouse leaves with one final thought - well, really more of a statement - derived from a friend's fortune cookie. "Wish you good health!"
