David’s “Hot Seat” 1.        Do you have any tattoos?  If so, where and what?   No tattoos. 2.        Do you find inspiration for (some of) your characters or stories in real life people or in personal experiences?   Rarely, though often characteristic of real life people will inform a fictional characterization. 3.        Are you a morning person or a night owl?  I prefer to write first thing in the morning, and stay with it into early afternoon.  Socially, if there’s music and/or interesting company, I love staying up all night.  I’ve also learned not to turn on Turner Classic Movies at bedtime – I may end up watching until dawn. 4.        What was the first piece of work you ever sold?  A song called “Elizabeth,” a love song to Elizabeth Taylor.   It surfaced years later in an off-Broadway show called “Howard  Crabtree’s Whoop-Dee-Doo!”  I hear it still gets performed in cabarets. 5.        What is your middle name?  George. 6.        What is your drink of choice? (Be specific—if it’s beer for ex.  Sam Adams Winter Lager)  Tanqueray and tonic.   7.        What do you do to unwind from a long hard day?   Tanqueray and tonic.  And… I cook.  Go to the theatre.   Play the piano.  Read. 8.        Name someone who is your hero or who inspires you.   William Shakespeare, if you’ll forgive an obvious answer. 9.        If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?  France. 10.        If you could travel back in time to see one musician/singer perform that is no longer with us, whom would you pick?  Edith Piaf at the Olympia in Paris, just after the war. Bonus tough question: Team dynamics are essential for success. You mentioned in Providence that the writing team for CSI works great together. Individually, what strengths do each of the writer’s bring to the table to make such a cohesive/successful team?   We’re so different!  Yet, we each respect the others, and that’s the secret.  We come from TV, film, hip-hop, law, physics, law enforcement, science, the theatre – all kinds of background.  You can have a bunch of writers with different backgrounds who don’t respect one another and still get a good show.  But to have this kind of respectful interaction between writers of such diverse histories is pretty rare.   Every season on CSI: has been stimulating and rewarding for me, each season seems to be more so than the prior ones, and it just keeps getting better and better.