NEW TIMES How old were you when you first played guitar?

SAUCEDO I started taking lessons in sixth grade at the Kirk Community Center in Willow Glen. After that, I took private lessons from the guy who taught that class. Of course, I had played the guitar a few times before I took that class. My childhood friend's sister taught me "Today" and "Disarm" by the Smashing Pumpkins a year or so before.

NEW TIMES How old were you when you wrote your first song?

SAUCEDO My first song was "Let the Dreams Come," which I wrote at the age of 14 at a NFTY event at Camp Swig. I wrote it with the help of Dan Novack and the harmonica help of Mr. Rich Slaton. It eventually went on my second album, Also Ran (sadly, sans harmonica.)

NEW TIMES How are your comics coming along?

SAUCEDO I'm currently developing about a dozen comic book ideas. Their statuses range from one-sentence treatments to fully plotted stories and I've finally begun typing up the script for a one-shot story. Don't hold your breath until you get to read one of my stories, because it's going to be quite some time before I'm ready to hand any scripts over to artists. In the meantime, I will probably post some webcomic strips which will be more akin to Sunday cartoons as opposed to my serious work which is more graphic novel and superhero-like.

NEW TIMES You share a name and birthday with a popular Swedish musician. What do you think of his music?

SAUCEDO I have for sure heard his music and I love his music videos. What do I think of him? Meh. He makes mediocre pop music. I'm not angry he besmirched my good name or anything, I just think it's one of those great cosmic coincidences. I really hope to somehow interact with his life in the future.

NEW TIMES How would you define indie?

SAUCEDO I'll try to keep my answer succinct. I believe that much like the terms alternative and pop, indie no longer describes a state of being, but rather describes a certain sound and associated aesthetic and culture. Alternative bands remained alternative long after they became the mainstream sound. One can make pop music without being on popular radio stations.