This little interview is LONG...but you will have a better idea of who I
am if you read it.  I have tried to make it as interesting, realistic, 
and truthful as possible.  Oh, in case you did not know, I am the producer
of this FREEDOM CD.

Lets BEGIN...

Handle:  Pallbearer
Def.  A person who carries the coffin at a funeral.  There was a Pallbearer
in the WWF who managed the Undertaker.  The name was chosen because it fit
the Toxic Zombie group name well.

Name:  Dan Wright
Age:  25
Affiliations (Groups):  Toxic Zombies
You could debate the groups status as I don't see us producing anything
in the near future.  However, I continue to use the name for the writing
I do as well as CD's--like this and Escape.

Location: Plantation, Florida 
Plantation is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale and in Broward County.  Somewhere
around 1.3 million people live in the county area.  It is a pretty big 
county with much of it being part of the Everglades (i.e. Swamp land).
Winters are nice--around 76 in the day--while the summers get pretty hot
and muggy--around 92 during the day and lots of humidity.

Work:  Miami, Florida
I won't name the firm but I work in North Miami doing hardware R&D for
an interactive TV company.  It is exactly what I wanted to do coming out
of college and it took me 9 months to get the job coming out of college.
I was hired by one company and one of our contracts was this interactive
TV company.  Now I work for that Interactive TV company.  I make less than
an Electrical Engineer should with a BSEE.  (Hint >25k but <35k).

Describe yourself:  This little piece written by Henry Rollins probably
describes me best.  Or, maybe I should say I can relate to the story as if
YOU were ME.  My height is 5'8" and I weight 145lbs.  Brown hair, blue eyes
and any "build" I have I worked to obtain.

I copied down the text below as I heard it from the CD.  It has been
checked and verified so what you read is exactly what is spoken.  This 
text also appears in ROLLINS book titled "Black Coffee Blues" pp. 120-123
printed in 1992 by 2.13.61 publications.  Course the text is formatted 
slightly different and some words are different.

I KNOW YOU  (5:34--ROLLINS, The Boxed Life Spoken Word [disk 2 #8])

I know you. You are too short. You have bad skin. You couldn't talk to
them very well. Words didn't seem to work. They lied when they came out of
your mouth. You tried so hard to understand them. You wanted to be part of
what was happening. You saw them having fun, and it seemed like such a
mystery--almost magic. It made you think that there was something wrong
with you. You'd look in the mirror trying to find it. You thought that you
were ugly and that everyone was looking at you. So you learned to be
invisible, to look down, to avoid conversation. The hours, days, weekends.

Ahh, the weekend nights alone. Where were you? In the basement? In the
attic? In your room? Working some job, just to have something to do, just
to have some place to put yourself, just to have a way to get away from
THEM. A chance to get away from the ones that made you feel so strange and
ill-at-ease inside yourself.

Do you ever get invited to one of their parties?  You sat and wondered if
you would go or not. For hours you imagined the scenarios that might
transpire. They would laugh at you. If you would know what to do. If you
would have the right things on. If they would notice that you came from a
different planet. Did you get all brave in your thoughts? Like you were
going to be able to go in there and deal with it, and have a great time. Did
you think that you might be "the life of the party?" That all these people
were going to talk to you and you would find out that were wrong. That you
had a lot of friends and you weren't so strange after all. Did you end up
going? Did they mess with you? Did they single you out? Did you find out
that you were invited, because they thought you were so weird?

Yeah, I think I know you.

You spent a lot of time full of hate. A hate that was as pure as sunshine.
A hate that saw for miles. A hate that kept you up at night. A hate that
filled your every waking moment. A hate that carried you for a long time.
Yes, I think I know you. You couldn't figure out what they saw in the way
they lived.  Home was not home! Your room was home. A corner was home. The
place THEY weren't, that was home.

I know you. You're sensitive, and you hide it because you fear getting
stepped on one more time. It seems that when you show a part of yourself
that is the least bit vulnerable someone takes advantage of you. One of
them steps on you. They mistake kindness for weakness, but you know the
difference. You've been the brunt of their weakness for years and strength
is something you know a bit about because you had to be strong to keep
yourself alive. 

You know yourself very well now and you don't trust people, you know them
too well. You try to find that special person, someone you can be with,
someone you can touch, someone you can talk to, someone you won't feel so
strange around. And you found that they don't really exist. You feel closer
to people on movie screens.

Yeah, I think I know you.

You spend a lot of time day dreaming and people have made comment to that
affect telling you that you are self involved and self centered. But they
don't know, do they. About the long night shifts alone. About the years
of keeping yourself company. All the nights you wrapped your arms around
yourself so you could imagine someone holding you. The hours of indecision.
Self doubt. The intense depression. The blinding hate. The rage that made
you stagger. The devastation of rejection. 

Well (sigh), maybe they do know. But if they do they sure do a good job of
hiding it. It astounds you how they can be so smooth. How they seem to pass
through life, as if life itself was some divine gift. And it infuriates you
to watch yourself with your apparent skill in finding every way possible to
screw it up.  

For you, life is a long trip. Terrifying and wonderful. Birds sing to you
at night. The rain and the sun, the changing seasons are true friends.
Solitude is a hard-one ally--faithful and patient.

Yeah, I think I know you.

--Henry Rollins

Education:  The University of Florida--BSEE with Honors!
My first semester I was able to get all C+'s and 1 C for a total GPA of
2.38.  I ended up graduating with something like a 3.31.  I was very 
dedicated at my studies.  Not the best studier, or smartest student but
definitly one of the hardest workers--turning in all or nearly all homework
assignments.  After 5 years and 3 summers I burnt out.  My brain is still
recovering to date.  I never had bloody noses until I reached my 3rd year
of college.  The placement of 3 test in one week cause so much stress my
nose started bleeding out of both nostrils.  Because of that I still get
nose bleeds every so often--but only out of one nostril.  College was a lot
of stress for me.  Softball, the 5 zines I published, and weightlifting 
help reduce some of that stress.

Hobbies:  Computers--demos!, lifting weights, roller blading, watching
the Outer Limits, Sliders, and other good TV shows/movies, reading--
obscure books mostly--, and of course writing.  I use to do a little
zine called "Fathoms Below" from 1990-1992.  I'm also working on a non-
fiction book called "Swimming in the Hate Pool" which has been delayed 
for at least another year or two because of the CD projects. 

Favorite book(s):  Sabotage in the American Workplace, Rollins books,
many short stories by Ray Bradbury and Stephen King.  I really don't
read many Novels--I'm a slow reader.  I mostly read Non fiction these
days.  Self help books are also cool but those never seem to work.

Favorite TV show(s):  Older stuff like:  Twilight Zone, Tales from the
Darksize, Amazing Stories, Ray Bradbury Theater, Monsters, One Step Beyond,
and the Outer Limits I can watch for days.  New stuff I have enjoyed include:
The new Outer Limits, Sliders, and Earth 2.

Cool movie(s):  Some of my favorites (not in any order):  Rambo, Die Hard,
Terminator 1&2, Goonies, The Fisher King, Awakenings, Natural Born Killers,
Wargames.  There are many more I should include but am forgetting at the
moment.  Just remember, not all the best movies come out in the theaters.

Some other, more interesting movies I've seen include:  Night on Earth,
Into the Mouth of Madness, the Hellraiser series, Motorama, Josh and S.A.M.,
and Airborne.

What motivates you:  I wrote part of a page in my zine called GET MOTIVATED!
Here is what I had to say back in late 1991 which still applies to me
today...

Sometimes, and I'm not sure why, it is very hard for me to get out and get 
thins done.  Like making copies of this zine or going out to get something
I need.  I need to be motivated much of the time.  Luckily I have my music
(ROLLINS) and quotes to get me going.  It is really a big plus.  I often
need to reassure myself that the apocalypse is not going to result because
of me doing or saying something stupid.  Perhaps that is why I am not that
out going.  Whatever the reason when I do go out, especially when doing
something I've never done before I have to feed myself positive affirmations.
As before, music, thoughts, quotes, and realizing that it won't be the end of
the world usually get me out of the house.  And if it is (the end of the 
world) then I have nothing to worry about--RIGHT?

If you could have THREE wishes, they would be:  Most people would wish
for MONEY but that is near the bottom of my list.  Yes, money helps but!
Like a quote I saw in a cartoon said:  "Money can't by me HAPPINESS but it
can buy me a boat big enough to sail close!"  So, being very reasonable
and realistic (i.e. goals maybe) my wishes are as follows:  1)  To be less
confused--to understand, comprehend, to doubt myself less 2)  To increase
my confidence level, and 3) to find that perfect mate.  All of these being
obtainable by most peoples standards including myself.  

What the future holds:  Moving to the GREAT NORTHWEST.  It is my calling!
Something keeps saying...RAMBO country to me.

Career Plans (waht do you want to do):  Many more years as an Electrical
Engineer working with state of the art equiptment on interesting products.

Biggest disappointments in life:  I find myself getting disappointed with
people far too often.  I demand quite a bit and would hope people would 
come through more often than they do.  Most people don't understand me
very well, they can't relate.  I also have the same syndrome Floss (see
flosiphy.txt) and Krystall have though maybe not as bad.

Craziest/Stupidest thing you have ever done:  Too many to name.

Good advice for others:  It is hard to be who you want to be--especially
with everyone offering their opinions.  Listen to others but also, listen
to your GUT feelings.  Had I listened to others I would have never made it
to NAID or ASSEMBLY '93.  You'll be happier if you are true to yourself--
and trust me, sometimes you will be right and sometimes you will be wrong
but hell, at least you tried.

Something OTHERS should know:  To be really good at something--coding,
composing, skating, drawing, weightlifting, sports, etc.--you have to 
dedicate MOST of your time towards that something.  It takes a lot of
time and a lot of effort.  Kind of like getting an "A" in school (college
for example).  It usually takes twice the effort to get an A than a B.  At
least that is what I have discovered.  Same thing applies to life outside
school.  Want to be really good at something--then dedicate ALL your free
time toward that something.  I'm not trying to say this is what YOU should
do just letting you know this is what you NEED to do to be really GOOD at
something.  Most the stuff I have done--drumming, construction, writing,
art, softball--I have been average at.  Simply because I did not want to
put in the necessary time to reach that next level--remember, it is twice
the effort.  Sure, this CD could be better, could reach the next level if
I doubled my effort.  Would I like that--sure--do I have the time/dedication
to do such...doesn't feel like it.  It is very hard to drop everything and
concentrate on that ONE sole task but do it and you will see results.  
Weight lifting is a very GOOD example of this.  It is easy to obtain a toned
body but only total dedication will achieve a muscular look.  So, it is your
choice...Jack of all trades...but master of NONE?

Something ELSE others should know:  Life IS hard...but it doesn't have to be.

This world needs:  More kindness, more people smiling and saying hi, more
"love," less greed, less hate, less politics, less violence.

Computer(s) own: Commodore 128, and Intel Pentium 90 w/ 700+ Meg HD.
Add a 14.4 Modem, Panasonic 24 pin printer, 100MB Iomega ZIP drive,
4x CDROM, 1.44 Floppy, 14" ADI monitor, and Diamond Video VRAM PCI 
card to that list too.

Soundcard(s) own:  GUS and Sound Blaster 16 SCSI

Music you like listen to:  Rollins Band, Stereolab, Cocteau Twins, 
Cranberries, Lots of New Age stuff (David Lanz, Miramar type stuff),
Hole, Sundays, ANYTHING dealing with SKA, lots of Punk stuff, some Polka,
some techno, and fill in the rest with New Wave/Alternative bands.

Favorite Utilities/Programs:  PKUNZIP, arj, Nortons Speed Disk...

Favorite demo(s):  Hive, Catchup, The Final Option, Amnesia, Unreal,
Crystal Dreams 1&2, The Good, Bad & Ugly, Second Reality, Untitled,
Saga, Elements, Project XYZ, X-14, and many many more...

Favorite intro(s):  Airframe, Sametech, Acme/Orange stuff

Project(s) plan:  In your hands--the Freedom CD.

What you hope to accomplish in the Demo Scene:  To spread the GOOD news.
Hey, Miramar makes $$ selling video animation (The Minds Eye) so why 
can't DEMOS be the next entertainment medium.  By the time it really takes
off I'll be out of the scene.

What missing for the Demo Scene:  Releases apart from parties.  Money 
seems to be a huge incentive for people to keep coding.  Will this destroy
the scene or make it better?  Stay tuned.

Demo Scene 10 years from now:  The scene has been alive about 10 years now
so it can probably keep going.  However, technology is changing rapidly
so there may not be enough time to code/do demos like people are now.
Whatever happens it will be interesting.

PC in the near future:  Kick ass.  And not this POWER PC stuff.  Intel
will continue to dominate!

How can people contact you: dmw@gate.net  If for whatever reason that
goes away try d.m.wright@ieee.org which will forward my mail to where ever 
I may be on this planet.
