It’s been a while. Let’s dive in!

Leah: Favorite book?
Gosh. I am one of those book hoarders that if you pick one off my shelf I MAY have read it, I MAY have read part of it, I MAY have good intentions to read it, and if I have read it I MAY have forgotten it. But I do love books. Some of my favorites I pick up a lot:

Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott
The Essential Rumi
A Moveable Feast – Hemingway
Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton (DON’T JUDGE ME I LIKE DINOSAURS AND GENETICS IT COULD HAPPEN)

Right now I’m reading “Listening Is An Act of Love” – a collection of NPR Storycorps pieces. Awesome.

Michael: What gives you the right?
America does. And Google. Google and America give me all the rights.

Mark: Why?
Because.

Bob: Why is this new MCC just not doing it for me?
It’s a different sort of album, isn’t it? Being as it’s made up of all of her slower, “deep tracks,” and then set to a symphony…I can see why it’s not going to ring everyone’s bell. (We’re talking about the new album Songs From The Movie). I think it has it’s place in her discography. And I will welcome the return of acoustic guitars, of course.

Heather: What causes the polar vortexes? Also have you seen the Poehler vortexes?
Polar Vortexes are caused when a bunch of people in Russia and Scandinavia chew Dentyne Ice all at the same time with a counterclockwise jaw motion. I get caught in a Poehler Vortex every time I want to watch “just one” episode of Parks and Rec and find myself Poehlerized and 7 episodes later I don’t know where I am. Once i had a dream that Amy Poehler and I went bowling. Truth.

John: which cartoon would you rather live in, The Flintstones or The Jetsons?
Absolutely The Jetsons, because…the future. Also, I can’t run fast enough to power a car made of rock.

Heidi: Why?
Because I said so.

Darbi: What big change could come in your life that would cause you to leave the glamour of singer/songwriting in a cloud of dust?
Truthfully, not much. If I won the lottery I’d still do what I do working with cool people, I’d probably just travel more and write more songs on more guitars. Except if NPR needed a Morning Edition intern, I’d do that.

Sharon: What is your fav part of being a merch girl?
Answering the question, “Which one is the best?” (Tip: they’re all the best).

Cody: Do you believe in magic? What’s the strangest roadside attraction you’ve seen?
I believe in slight of hand, for sure. In South Carolina there is a giant roadside tourist trap called “Pedro’s South of the Border” (apparently, south of the North Carolina border) and it’s old, run down, slightly carnival-esque, and maybe even a little creepy.

South of the Border

Drew: Jana, if you had to choose between being a Saguaro Cactus who will live to be 200 years old in a very boring desert (that thankfully has marvelous sunsets), or a housefly that would live for 30 days (its maximum approximate life expectancy– hey, I don’t make the rules) on a wall inside Bjork’s music room, which would it be? Bjork wouldn’t be on the road at the time in question, if that helps you make up your mind.
Drew…hands down best Ask Jana question ever. I am pretty positive I would choose to be Bjork’s housefly. She would inevitably adopt me (she’s Bjork, after all) and I would spend my days rubbing my tiny fly hands together while sitting on her leftover pomegranates that I am sure she eats while she makes moody ambient music. And then I’d happily kick the bucket by knocking myself out trying to fly through her window pane and peacefully decay on the sill in the studio of the Icelandic nymph rock star.

Kristina: Describe your personal version of “This Shirt”.
Kristina is referring to this MCC song, which is an epic one and indeed, about a shirt. I thought hard, and truth be told I haven’t kept anything around that long. I think the closest thing that goes everywhere with me for long periods of time are my flip flops, and that’s not very poetic.

John: If you could choose between being a unicorn or answering Drew Kennedy hypotheticals, which would you choose?
Drew Kennedy hypotheticals win out every day. Also, I’m not too sure unicorns exist.

Jason: Why do birds suddenly appear… every time… you are near?

Chad: What is a Janādo?
It’s what happens after the Sharknado is over and you think everything is cool and then you look up and BOOM! Janādo.

Josh: Can I get a what what?
What?
What.

Laura: What is your favorite coffee drink evar (iced or hot, can include chai or tea drinks)
I can go two ways on this. If I tell you what I get the MOST, it’s black coffee. No frills. However, when indulging I really like a soy green tea latte. It’s weird, since those things are pretty much opposites.

JP: Do ducks quack in their sleep?
If they are being chased in their dreams by giant swans, yes.

Ann: Are you coming to Idaho this summer?
Proooobably???

Roxanne: What song best describes your work ethic? or personal life? whichever you choose to answer?
Hmmm. “Slow Down” by Terri Hendrix is in my head right now and it seems like a pretty good personal mantra.

Lisa: Why can’t we all work in our pajamas?
I am answering this in my PJs, so it’s a little unfair, but I have to share that mine are covered with Buccee’s beaver cartoons, and no one wants to see that, so we definitely should not all work in our pajamas.

Larry: Where’s my free copy of the new EP?
Oh, Larry…ain’t nothin’ for free! Susan taught me that!

Jeffro: What haven’t you done in awhile Jana?
I have not taken a nerdy history trip lately. I need to go see a museum.

Jean: Why is cedar fever so much worse than any other pollen-borne allergy? When will it be over? When will someone invent something that works on it? When will the sinuous tissue between my epidermis and my skull quit itching?
Jean, cedar is clearly Mother Nature’s attempt to kill us all and start over. Luckily she only tries really hard with pollen during January, then she moves along to trying to fry us all to death. I predict sweet relief for you soon, and in the meantime…stay inside with all the windows shut.

Anna: Infinite cake or infinite steak?
MAN. That’s hard. I think infinite steak would keep me alive longer. Steak.