Joshua Cullen
By Robert Farley (cl_kaulana) | cl_kaulana@oocities.com | Vienna Strasse/7000
This month's zineterviewee is a world-traveler already at the young age of 14. A pianist of great talent, Josh Cullen was born in Hawaii, where he stayed only briefly before his family moved to Michigan. His musical talent soon became apparent, leading his parents to see to his training and development. Besides being a keyboard virtuoso, he is also a "great guy," according to CL Florian, who met Josh recently (see Austrian Insights Special Report) in Chicago, and CL Lauren, who went to the same school as Josh. Those interested in hearing Josh play can find several samples on his website at Vienna 1192. They are well worth the time.
Community Leader Joshua Cullen, center, jams on the piano recently with CL Florian Keller, left, and GeoCities homesteader Andrew, right.
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User Name(s) by which you are known in GC: Josh, jcullen
Real Name: Joshua Cullen
Geographical Location: Michigan, USA
URL(s): http://www.oocities.org/Vienna/1192
Email Addy: jcullen@oocities.com
Birthday/Age:14
Neighborhood(s) you are a CL in: Vienna/Choir
Family: Mona (Mom), Cal (Dad), Chris
(brother, 8), Catherine (sister, 6), and the wild-animal-cat-without-a-name
(just over a year old)
Vocation and/or School Situation: Student / Concert pianist
Favorite Composer: Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms
Favorite Composition: I can't decide!
Instruments You Play: Piano
Favorite Instrument (whether you play it or not): Piano
Kaulana: How long have you worked with computers?
Josh: "Santa Claus" brought our family a computer when I was three, and I've
been working with them ever since (almost 12 years now).
K: When did you first get a web page?
J: In July 1996, I signed up for my GeoCities account--that makes my
homepage almost three years old!
K: What's your favorite thing about GeoCities?
J: Probably the whole neighborhood idea is my favorite aspect of GeoCities.
I like being part of a community with other musicians who share similar
interests. The distinctive (long!) URL helps people identify me as living
in the music community. I also enjoy having all of the CGI scripts and
interactive functions, like the counters and guestbooks.
K: What made you decide to become a CL and how long have you been one?
J: I've only been a CL for about six months now. I always wanted to be a
CL, but I wanted to make sure that I had enough experience and knowledge to
be of assistance to the other homesteaders. When I realized how quickly
Vienna was growing, I knew that the community could use another community
leader so I finally decided to apply. It's been a great experience for me,
and I really enjoy helping the homesteaders. It's especially great to see
what our homesteaders are doing as well.
K: If someone were to ask you why they should become a CL, what would you
tell them?
J: From my experience, being a CL in Vienna is great because you get to
meet other musicians and you can make friends with a lot of interesting
people. Plus, if you're learning a foreign language, you can practice your
language skills with the international homesteaders.
K: What other GeoCities activities are you active in?
J: Currently I'm on the Millenium of the Arts contest committee. You can often
find me at GeoCities Help Chat in the evening as well.
K: Where do you see yourself in five years, what will you be doing, what
will your site look like?
J: I'm not sure what I'll be doing when I'm 19. I'll probably be working on
a graduate degree in piano and hopefully I'll continue to play concerts. As
for my site, I predict that my site will still have the same ideas it has
now, just with more interactive features. I'll have a lot more sound clips,
too.
K: Where is your favorite place to play music? Concerts, that is.
J: It's interesting that you should ask that question, because I just came back
from Germany where I was playing the Gershwin concerto on the Chicago
Sinfonietta tour. Of all the concert halls I've played in, I would have to
say that both the Stuttgart Liederhalle or the Düsseldorf Tonhalle are
my favorite halls. They aren't as big as, say, Tchaikowsky Hall in Moscow,
but they have absolutely fabulous acoustics and they're really gorgeous
inside.
K: Who is the most famous entertainer you've met, besides Florian, the
entertaining Salzburger?:o)
J: Actually, Florian is the only entertainer I've
ever met.
K: Hobbies?
J: In my spare time (in other words, when I'm not practicing piano :o) I
enjoy cooking, reading, yard work, and tae kwon do. Recently, I've also
become a car fanatic (hey, I'm from Detroit! What can I say?)
K: What do you like to do to "get away from it all"?
J: This might not seem to make sense, but giving concerts is really
refreshing for me. Practicing can get me feeling down, but all of the
intensity comes together in the performance. And exploring foreign
countries and their culture is really interesting, too.
K: What's the best thing about where you live?
J: I live in a suburb of Detroit, a city with fascinating history. Today,
Detroit is a little depressing for most, because much of the city is in
disrepair and crime rates are very high. Amazingly enough, there hasn't
been a department store in downtown Detroit for a number of years.
K: What's your favorite car? Related question: Chevy or Ford?:o)
J: It's hard for me to pick a favorite. I love European cars -- some of my
favorites are the VW Jetta/Bug and the Audi A4. Can't wait to see the new
TT roadster -- that looks really cool. I like American cars too, though.
Chevy or Ford? I'll take a Ford any day, thank you!
K: Who is your favorite modern musican or singer or group, etc., or all
three, plus other favorite kinds of music to listen to?
J: Well, honestly, I don't listen to much modern music. I know that most of
my friends listen to alternative or rock, but that just hasn't really
appealed to me much. Actually, I don't listen to much music in my free
time, but when I do, I listen to mostly classical music.
K: Favorite subject in school besides music?
J: Foreign language -- I've been taking German for about a year now, and I
love it. It's really useful in Europe, because most Europeans can speak it.
K: Are others in your family musical-oriented? How did you come by your
musical ability/interest?
J: Well, my dad used to be an opera singer. He used to teach voice at the
University of Hawaii, but he doesn't sing much anymore. Nobody else in my
family can play musical instruments. When I first wanted to start piano
lessons, we didn't even have a piano. Luckily, my parents decided to buy a
piano, and I started lessons. I went pretty quickly through the beginning
stages. When I was 7 or 8, I made my orchestral debut with the local
orchestra, which helped people realize my musicianship.
K: That must have been a great thrill, but then you've continued to add to your accomplishments, obviously. It's a great thing to see such talent being used constructively. Thanks for your time and we'll be in touch, eh?
Robert (cl_kaulana) has been a resident of Vienna since September 1997, a community leader since March 1998, and a liaison since February 1999. A resident of Hawaii and a former newspaper editor, he enjoys golfing, bicycling, and snorkeling, but not all at the same time.
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