The Real Deal Tim Parsons
Where are you from?
Kihei (key-hey), Maui. Southwest side of the island. Hot mostly sunny and very dry.
What was it like growing up there?
Hardwork, small town, camping, fun, free diving, fishing, surfing, skim boarding when I cut school at Big Beach, Makena.
What was your favorite cartoon growing up? Why?
Didn't have one... wasn't allowed to watch much TV at home. We only had a 13" black and white and it was rarely on. When I visited my grandmother I would watch Rocky and Bullwinkle, Tom and Jerry, Mighty Mouse was great too.
Which Breakfast Club character were you most like in high school?
Skater punk for sure... Don't remember the characters name. Went street/ramp skating almost everyday after school. I guess I was an art punk too. Always in the art room, photo lab.
What was your first concert?
Joint concert summer raggae jam on Maui. Maxi Priest, Ziggy Marley and the Whalers, Shaggy, Gregory Isaacs... can't remember exactly who all was there.
Tell us a story about getting in trouble with your parents when you were a kid.
Wow... where do I start. There was a lot of that. This is a good one. My dad was building the family home and would work on it a lot on Saturdays. One Saturday my younger brother and I were working upstairs helping out. I was about 12 and my younger brother was 10. My dad asked us to clean up and go make lunch for the three of us. We went downstairs and found some canned corn beef. We thought it would be good to makes some corned beef sandwiches so we start mixing away. Well, we got carried away. We ended up getting very creative with the mix. We put in some nutmeg, honey, salt, pepper and a few other spices that should never go into corned beef. We made the sandwiches and told my dad that lunch was ready. He came down and we started to eat. He took his first bite and we knew we were in trouble. He lost his temper, yelled, and I'm sure we got spanked too. Then he said we had to eat all of it. So he made himself something to eat and went back upstairs to work. My brother and I decided to go out in the backyard and bury the nasty tasting corned beef. I'll tell you what, my cooking has really improved over the years.
Tell us a story about getting away with something when you were a kid.
Once again this is a story with my younger brother. We loved fire and playing with fire. Did I tell you my dad was a Captain in the Maui County fire dept (So can you really blame us for loving fire?)? So our nickname for the family was the Arsons not Parsons. Well we raised our own ducks and chickens for fresh eggs. We had a huge chicken coop out back. We would go in there and light things on fire and when we'd hear someone coming we'd bury it really fast to put it out. One day after school we were lighting things on fire again. We heard my mom drive in the driveway in front of the house (it was gravel at that time). We quickly buried what we where burning and ran to the house, jumped into bed and acted like we were sleeping (we were supposed to be taking a nap after school). 10 minutes later we hear my mom yelling that the chicken coop is going up in flames. The fire dept. is called and the whole thing is put out before any major damage is done. We deny everything! My dad and mom come to the conclusion that it self combusted due to the heat and the chicken sh*t (it has happened before on farms). We didn't tell them about it until we were out of the home at the age of 21 or so when we were all gathered together a family function. It got some good laughs and my mother slapped us across the shoulder affectionately.
Where did you move when you first left home? Why?
Same town just closer to the beach. I think it was about 6 months after I turned 18. Why? I was 18. To be out on my own, no other reason.
What brought you to Central Oregon?
My wife is the short answer. She moved up here when she was sixteen with her family. They were refugees from California, escaping the crazy traffic and lifestyle. She has a lot of family that lives on Maui too. I was friends with them when she came to visit and met her through them. About 18 months later we were married and starting our new adventure together. We lived in Sisters, Oregon for a little more than 2 years, moved back to Maui for 2-3 years and then moved back to Bend about 10 years ago to raise the beginnings of our family.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
Spend time with the family, fish, camping with friends and family, artwork, dream of new ideas, work on the house, paint, create things.
Have you ever almost died? What happened?
Yes.... I was racing my friend down the street when we were kids on our bikes. I knew I was in the lead but wanted to see where he was. I turned around (big mistake) to look and the next thing I know I slam head first into a mailbox, fly off the bike into a power pole, bounce off that and fly into the bushes where I land chest down. As I'm falling a piece of 18" rebar scrapes across my heart almost going in through my chest.
What is something about you that people would be surprised to know?
I'm a pretty shy person. Don't really get talking until I've been around someone for awhile. Most people think I'm being standoffish but it's really because I'm quiet and shy.
What's your favorite part about working at Buzzsaw Studios?
Being able to work on and create new things everyday with people that have just as much fun.
If you ruled the world, what would you change?
Haha... Everything.
What inspires you?
My wife, my kids and everything in my life inspires everything I do. Other artists, writers, poets, musicians for sure.
If I were to look in your 3-CD changer, what CDs would be there?
Black Uhuru, 311, Gwen Stefani
Do you have a creative outlet? What is it?
The biggest project I've actually worked on lately is actually designing and building a home from the ground up. Of course I didn't actually build it all but that was a 2 year outlet that put a pause on my other forms of creativity. I love to paint, dream up furniture ideas (once I have the tools I'll execute some of those ideas). I guess dreaming up new business ideas would be one too. We have a lot of those ideas sitting on the table right now.
If you could be a super hero, which one and why?
Wolverine... not sure why. Maybe I identify with the character a bit. I like the aspect of instant healing too. That would open up a whole lot of things you could have fun doing.
