The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jex Blackmore from Love Interest

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I am a musician, artist, and activist. I came to do all of these things because I am enraged at the condition of the world and need to channel those feelings in productive ways or risk losing myself completely.

Describe your first musical memory.

My dad used to play piano with me strapped to him as a baby and would later play to me as I crawled around in my toddler years. I still remember this.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Cocksparrer at the Wonderland Ballroom in Revere, MA; complete chaos and the biggest and most violent sing-a-long I’ve ever witnessed.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I’ve lost a lot of friends to drug use. I believe everyone has the right to decide what they do with their life, but when loved one after loved one started dying, I found myself having to reevaluate this. Ultimately, I had to accept that everyone gets to make their own decisions, even if those decisions are not what I would want for them, and that’s ok.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Self-awareness.

How do you define success?

I hate the concept of “success” because the only thing it seems to represent is a measure of how well someone has performed a task to the standard of normative society. I don’t want to define success. I don’t want to think about success. I just want to exist and feel good about it.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

I saw Captain Sensible fall off the stage during a Damned set and get carried out of the venue by an EMT. That was sad. He was ok in the end.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A full-length Love Interest album.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art allows us to communicate with the world in ways that aren’t always possible with words or actions. It bridges the gap between the individual and the universal. We need an abstract language to express abstract ideas and that is one of the most essential roles of art.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to growing Hydra-Fund, a mutual aid abortion fund in Detroit.

https://www.instagram.com/loveinterestdetroit/
https://loveinterestdetroit.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/loveinterestdetroit
http://www.loveinterestdetroit.com/

https://www.instagram.com/council_records/
https://councilrecords.com/
https://linktr.ee/councilrecords

Love Interest, Motherwound (2023)