The Profiler - Jaysen Buterin

Each issue of OFF! highlights a someone who has achieved success in his/her field. This issue's pick is Jaysen Butrein of Cape Girardeau.

OFF! - Age? Birthplace? Give me the lowdown.

Jaysen - I prefer to think of myself as an ageless soul in a recently turned 24 year old body. Born in St. Louis, MO at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. (continued on next page)

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Matriculated throughout my existence always looking for something more, and only recently taking comfort and satisfaction with myself.

OFF! - Jaysen, you have an extensive vocabulary and unlike some people, who toss words around they don't actually know the meaning of, you're quite prolific. You must have a love for language and I suspect you read a lot. Do you have a favorite author or book?

Jaysen - I could no sooner choose a favourite author or book than I could choose a favourite star in the heavens. I've developed quite a propensity for the Romantics - Keats, Byron, Shelley, Emerson, Words-worth. I've always been an enormous fan of the Beat Generation, as well as greats like C.S. Lewis, Sandra Cisneros, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and I absolutely adour W.B. Yeats!

OFF! - Many readers may know of you as the drummer of Hyperglow. Do you write lyrics? What are your musical influences?

Jaysen - I haven't been the drummer for Hyperglow since last October. I do however do an enormous amount of writing, be it in lyrical, prose, poetic, or fiction form. As for musical influences, my parents always loved Motown and big band music, so I just kind of grew up with that. I can listen to anything really but country and "gangsta" rap - anything from U2 and Ani Difranco, to Tom Waits and Sunny Day Real Estate, even INXS and Al Green. I've also a huge fan of Fisher, recently signed friends of mine from LA.

OFF! - The Southeast Missourian employs you as their webmaster and you're currently working on a website for OFF!, you're a techie. Are you self-taught?

Jaysen - I've pretty much picked up everything from books and from studying coding as far as websites go.

OFF! - You're a college student. What are you studying? If I were to ask you what college experience has impacted you the most, what would it be?

Jaysen - I'm working on graduate school so I can get my Masters and Ph.D. in Literature.

As far as what experience has impacted me the most, I would have to say my incipient experiences with the English department. The professors I've had and currently do have, have influenced me greatly and opened up a myriad of doors for me.

OFF! - Do you have a mentor? Who has impacted your life most significantly?

Jaysen - My mentor would be a tie between my mother and my father. They are the two most important people in my life who have offered me every opportunity that has allowed me to become who I am today. A lot of people say they want to give their child everything their parents never gave them. I'm quite the antithesis. I would consider it an honour to give my child every- thing my parents have given me. Mere words cannot describe how special they are to me.

OFF! - You have a variety of talents -you play in a band, computer proficient, a columnist for OFF!É what are you most proud of about yourself?

Jaysen - That I'm still here amongst all my friends and family, and for all that I have and have yet to possess. I'm also proud of my ongoing body art gallery as well as an ever-growing thirst for knowledge.

OFF! - What haven't you done, that interests you?

Jaysen - One of the things I'm looking most forward to is receiving my Ph.D. and seeing the spark in my parents eyes as I walk across the stage to get it. Of course, I also want to get more tattoos - but you'll have to read the Dharma Bum for that. I haven't mastered telekinesis yet either, but I'm working on it.