Webmaster Kyle Says:
You ready?
Ken says:
Yes and thank you for this opportunity to speak to my global fan base
Webmaster Kyle Says:
How is your wife enjoying her first year as a practicing physician?
Ken says:
She loves it
Webmaster Kyle Says:
And your daughter?
Ken says:
Straight A student, horse lover, basically a clone of her mom. She's just started doing advanced jumps on her pony.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Whoa--does that freak you out?
Ken says:
I do this thing where I gallop in place with my arms outstretched as if I'm holding reigns. It's like I'm willing the horse over the jump. My 10 year old son won't come to the events anymore.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
What's he up to these days?
Ken says:
Gearing up for little league, playing a lot of guitar. He and a couple of his buddies just started a band called Cannonball Jenkins.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
LOL! Cannonball Jenkins?
Ken says:
Yes, I believe they're paying homage to a character from a Spongebob episode.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Truth or urban legend that Eddie Vedder was a big fan of the band you fronted back in the 60's, or 90's, whenever that was.
Ken says:
Well I think a real fan would have coughed up some cash to watch us play. Eddie would either charm somebody at the ticket booth or pretend to be one of our roadies.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Speaking of music industry icons, our readers might be interested to know that your wife grew up friends with Jack Johnson on the north shore of Oahu.
Ken says:
No, I'm fairly certain you're the only one interested in that.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Didn't you once say that she and Jack's brother starred in a McDonald's commercial together when they were teenagers?
Ken says:
Yes, that was earlier this morning Kyle.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
And you hired Jack's oldest brother to build your beach house on the north shore
Ken says:
Are you aware that you have a man crush on Jack Johnson?
Webmaster Kyle Says:
That was my last question about him.
Ken says:
Uh-huh
Webmaster Kyle Says:
So I'm trying to figure out how the college film major by day/punk rock singer by night learned to sell, let alone run a company.
Ken says:
That was actually a very entrepreneurial time for me
Webmaster Kyle Says:
How so?
Ken says:
The only gigs my band could get were at these dive bars in San Diego. We were clean cut college kids who didn't smoke or drink and here we were surrounded by angry old drunks throwing peanuts at the stage and screaming for us to go home.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
I don't know whether to laugh or cry
Ken says:
The low point was having our amps unplugged by this 80 year old guy with a parrot on his shoulder so he could concentrate on playing pool.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
You guys were living the dream
Ken says:
Exactly. So my friend and I decided to pawn everything we owned and promote a concert of our own.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
A real concert?
Ken says:
Yes. We got very lucky and tracked down the manager for Social Distortion. We met the band in LA and handed over our entire net worth as a deposit.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Did people show up?
Ken says:
It was amazing. We sold three thousand tickets in less than an hour and had to turn away people in droves.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Nobody unplugged your amps?
Ken says:
It was so strange to not hear senior citizens booing us. It was incredible. Our first big stage...there was magic in the air.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Sounds like a success.
Ken says:
That launched "Planet Earth Productions." We did many more shows with larger bands and put our band on every single bill. It was like an unaccredited MBA program.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
How did you transition to the telecom industry?
Ken says:
My wife got accepted into a PhD program at Cal Tech, so we moved to LA. My best friend's brother was aware of what I'd been doing as a promoter and gave me my first shot in sales, working for a headset distribution company.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
And now 20 years later you have a company that will celebrate its 5 year anniversary next month. What are you most proud of?
Ken says:
Probably these interviews of yours
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Hilarious
Ken says:
Our people-obviously.  Everything else pales in comparison.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
What were the early start up days like here at Quagga?
Ken says:
Scott and I holed up in a windowless office we called the sensory deprivation tank making cold calls from 5AM-5PM. Absolutely zero glamour.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
LOL-I pictured you guys happily shooting nerf baskets in one of those cool downtown lofts.
Ken says:
The worst part was being subjected to Scott's flamboyant end zone dances every time he closed a deal.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Would you taunt back?
Ken says:
Oh, mercilessly.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Your hyper competitiveness has become part of Quagga lore. Is it for real?
Ken says:
Ask my wife the Neurologist. She's completely awed by this element of my brain.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
"Awed" in a good way?
Ken says:
No, it's more of a "this guy needs electro shock therapy" kind of way
Webmaster Kyle Says:
OK--the time has come for "rapid fire." Favorite food?
Ken says:
Uh, meat
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Movie
Ken says:
Fellini's "8 and a half"
Webmaster Kyle Says:
TV Show
Ken says:
The Office...British version
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Novel
Ken says:
Tie: War and Peace and The Brothers Karamazov
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Your taste for culture is distinctly non-American
Ken says:
Did I violate the Patriot Act?
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Seriously, how about an American book you like.
Ken says:
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy....read it 4 times last year.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
You can spend one hour with any person that has ever lived.
Ken says:
Am I allowed to time travel?
Webmaster Kyle Says:
That's the idea
Ken says:
OK--take me to Vienna around 1815 to watch Beethoven conduct The Ninth Symphony.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Same question but with people currently alive
Ken says:
I had a vivid dream the other night that I was hanging out at the Galleria with Jack White and the Dalai Lama. I'll choose them.
Webmaster Kyle Says:
Complete this sentence: I feel shortchanged because I..
Ken says:
Can't dunk
Webmaster Kyle Says:
We're done! I'd give you a B+. Any final comments for your global fan base?
Ken says:
Email your "Save Kyle's job" ballots to ken.apperson@quagga.com