Mark Baumgarten

Editor-at-large Mark Baumgarten joined City Arts in 2009 following a decade of editing and writing stories about music and other arts for a long list of publications, including the late Sound magazine, Willamette Week in Portland, Twin Cities Metropolitan and Lost Cause magazine, the ill-fated local-music publication he founded while working as a banquet captain at a Minneapolis hotel.

In addition to editing the work of others and employing his vast knowledge of puns in pursuit of the perfect headline, Baumgarten often writes stories about cultural trends that he has no business taking part in. For instance, after reporting a cover story on the dancers who call themselves “Jerks” a few years back, he insisted on “jerkin’” around the office. His knees have not been the same since.

His favorite part of this job, though, is interviewing artists. Asked for a fond memory, Baumgarten wistfully recalls the time that Courtney Taylor-Taylor said, “I don't know why the fuck I'm talking to you.” He also recalls the time Damien Jurado threatened to punch him in the face (though, it should be noted, Jurado was going through nicotine withdrawl).

In addition to writing and occasionally editing stories for the magazine, Baumgarten often feeds his ego by hosting events for City Arts, including the quarterly Song Show, during which he interviews some of the Northwest’s greatest musical talents in front of a live audience. See his handiwork here:

Baumgarten also enjoys basketball, chess and crooning along with his Bob Dylan records. His least favorite words are “unique” and “literally” and he’s been praised by the blogosphere for having “great hair.” He is currently writing a history of K Records for Sasquatch Books, due out in the Spring of 2012.

Read more about Baumgarten at his website.