Ted Whitten is a freshman aeronautical-science student at LeTourneau University that plays the bass guitar. His style has been called “fresh” by some and “strange” by others, but altogether he is a very original and much appreciated addition to Days on End.
J.J. Jazmine: “Ted, there seems to be a little piece of information we should get cleared up at the very beginning of this interview. Why don’t you tell the audience about your middle name?”Ted Whitten: “Ah. My middle name. The problem with that is that in order to tell you my middle name, I would probably have to tell everyone my entire real name. And I try so hard to avoid that as much as possible, even though Phil makes a point at every show to try and tell everyone what my real name is. I tell ya, the guy needs a hobby or something. Well, I might as well go ahead and ruin Phil's fun. My middle name is Edward. My full name is...Winslow Edward Whitten Jr. (gasp,gasp) There. Phil, I hope your happy!”
JJ: “Sounds like your life has been traumatic right from the start! What has been the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?”
TW: “Well, when I was a kid, living in Ohio, we lived right by the train tracks. When the train would come by, I would think that it was gonna come through the gate and get me, so I ran and hid in my fort. And so I had train nightmares all of my life. It's sad, really.”
JJ: “Surely you have some good memories?”
TW: “Well, one of the coolest times in my life was my 12th birthday. I remember that my parents got me a lot of cool stuff, and my dad took me to Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox play the Baltimore Orioles. And yes, the Red Sox lost. But it was still wicked cool.”
JJ: “Are you going to carry on the name tradition then?”
TW: “Probably. I really hate to put my kids through that kind of torture, but it's a family tradition that I am not going to break.”
JJ: “How did a northerner from New Hampshire end up down here in East Texas? I mean, isn't New Hampshire right next to Canada?”
TW: “How did I end up down heah in East Texas? That's pretty easy. I've been wanting to go to LeTourneau and learn to fly ever since I was a little kid. My grandfather, his brother, and two of my uncles have gone here also, so it's almost a family tradition. But, pretty much, I've known that I was going to go here all of my life.”
JJ: “What do you enjoy doing here in your spare time?”
TW: “Working on homework.........I'm just kidding! Well, not in any particular order, I like soccer, reading books, snowboarding, playing my bass, soccer, snowboarding, and (when I start in the fall) flying...Did I mention that I really like snowboarding?”
JJ: “Reading books, eh? What are your favorite choices?”
TW: “Well, that kind of thing really depends on what kind of mood I'm in. I mean, there are the big names like The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Ring series, but I think right now that my favorite book is Stranger Suns by George Zebrowski. There is not a chance in the world that you have heard of it, but it's really well-written book that has some very interesting ideas in it.”
JJ: “You like to watch movies too?”
TW: “Well, I hate to incriminate myself in any way, but ‘Platoon’ is a good movie. It is an accurate and artistic portrayal of the Vietnam War, which is something that I am really interested in.”
JJ: “Have you ever done anything with your hair besides the basic cut you have now?”
TW: “Ha! I have never, ever done anything crazy with my hair. I think I must have the most boring haircut in the world. I think that it has pretty much been the same for a long time.”
JJ: “If today was your last day on earth, what would you want the rest of the world to know?”
TW: “Man, I have no idea. I can imagine I would have a long speech all ready for them. I have always been a sucker for long, dramatic endings! Well, I guess I would probably say something about my baby brother. He is pretty much the coolest guy in the world! Yeah, that’s why I have a picture of him on my amp.”
JJ: “What is he like?”
TW: “My brother is about 19 months old. He has Down Syndrome and is the nicest little kid you will ever see. He is just a huge blessing to my family and we all love him a whole bunch.”
Click here to see pictures of Isaac.
JJ: “Do you have any favorite Bible passages?”
TW: “Well, I probably don't have any specific favorite, but for the moment I think it would have to be Psalm 136. In it, it talks about God's mercy. In fact, it says "For His mercy endures forever" 26 times. And for that, I am very grateful, because I think I use a super-sized portion of His mercy everyday! I guess the coolest thing is that He has totally changed me and saved me from a miserable life. Because of His mercy, I have become of totally changed person. Ask anyone who has known me for a long time. God got a hold on me and hasn't let go.”
JJ: “Now for the truth – how did you get started with Days on End?”
TW: “Well, I guess this is the part where I tell everyone how Fester and Kris just couldn't wait for me to play with them because I am so good. Yeah right! I am just an average guy who got very lucky. Not even 5 weeks into my college career, Kris came up to me and asked if I wanted to play for his band. I was floored. My dreams had come true! I couldn't believe it. So I'm just stoked to be here. I just try my hardest and let God do the work, cuz without Him, I wouldn't be able to play at all. But as far as what I contribute, who knows. I just try and be original and play interesting stuff. I have been playing the bass for maybe 4 years and I have had pretty much no formal training at all, so I am pretty much clueless about guitars. Because of this, I have learned to do stuff my way (like using flatwound strings on my fretted bass), which is why I might sound "original" (i.e. wierd). Ha ha. That's a pretty interesting way of saying that I have no clue what I am doing! But I guess my "cluelessness" must sound OK, cuz they haven't tried to kill me in my sleep yet! Oh, and Weston is telling me I have good musical intuition. Whatever that means. :-)”
JJ: “What are some highlights of performing for you?”
TW: “Uhhhh...well, I really like making a lot of noise. I get stage fright (a little), and I don't really know what to do with myself while I'm playing. I mean, should I jump off my amp, or jump into the crowd....? The choices are endless.”
JJ: “You used to live in Amish territory, correct? Care to put your musical talents to work and compose some lyrics about your experience?”
TW: “OK, no songs about the Amish people. Besides, they live way south of me, like in Pennsylvania. Besides, I try and write music, not lyrics.”
JJ: “Any additional comments?”
TW: “Nope. I think my interrogator [Name withheld to protect identity] has grilled me enough! j/k. Oh, can I say hi to everyone? Please? Hi, MattyL, Jack, Houle (whatsgoingon?), Ferrin, Abbott, KrisK, Curtiss, and the rest of the guys!”