F5: Please inform the readers on your: Name, foot size, hair color, and the most important person to you is...?

* Name: Monica Nina Khemsurov, Rocket Fuel Diva #002 (features editor) Foot size: I've never measured my foot size before, but I will say that my shoe size is an 8. Very average. All of you shoe companies out there reading this, free samples are appreciated and I *will* wear your logo. I have no shame, thank you very much. Hair color: I can't quite remember but I know its in the dark brown range. I've been dying it black for almost five years now, but since *before* I was cool. It was merely an aesthetic choice. Most important person to me: Whoever invented macaroni and cheese?

F5: Describe Rocket Fuel: it's history, how it's created, and what it's about?

Rocket Fuel was conceived of the melding of one mind with a self-induced support system of its own careful selection. That mind was Dan Reed's, and the tangled web that became our infrastructure slowly built itself up from Courtney Miller to others and then to myself. Dan had been doing Rocket Fuel in its infancy by himself, offline, but September 1997 was our first online issue. I was enlisted in October of 1997, and we didn't have 'jobs' defined until several months ago. September will be our two-year birthday. I couldn't be prouder.

What are we about? That's a rather deep question! I will stay above ground and just say that we are about bringing the music to the kids. We're there to spread the word and keep everyone on the same page as far as the indie music community goes -- we help build that community. Plus, we'd like to be able to come back in five years when this shit blows up and talk about how cool we are because we knew it first.... Anyway, we like to keep it independent, keep it funny and clever as hell, and keep it pretty to look at (Courtney does a beautiful job with that, I must say.) And we like to keep it a family. Rocket Fuel means more to each of us than anyone could understand, it's a part of us, and I'm not just saying that to sound emo.

F5: Do you believe internet web zines are/could be a succesfull medium to the same level of print? Like, do you see web magazines pulling in the same amount of readers and attracting equal advertising interest?

My gosh yes!!! We have forged that ground and we are proving it every single day. We are free, we have more freedom and creativity open to us than any print magazine, and we have seen great return in the gratitude that our readers have expressed to us. Print might always lead the way because the percentage of people who have access to the internet is much smaller than the percent who can get their hands on a zine, but we have made amazing strides with what we have to work with. You can't hear a print zine, you can't talk directly to other readers and to the editors, you can't lose us because we'll always be there, and your mom won't find us under your bed and yell at you for it! You can't read us on the toilet, but you also can't spill your Coke on us while you're watching TV and we won't shrivel up like a raisin while you desperately try to lick it all off because you're too lazy to go get a napkin.

Those advantages also make advertising in online zines so beneficial. When you think about it, with print zines the implications of someone seeing an ad stops at name recognition. Online, they can click on an ad and go straight to that label's website where they can not only find out all the information they could possibly want, but they can *order* too! I mean, forgive my reference to consumerism, but c'mon let's get real here. That's what ads are all about. Rah!

F5: If you were the President of the USA, the first thing you do is...?

Cheap, super-hyper-speed trains crisscrossing the nation so I could be every place at the same time and I'd never have to miss anyone ever again. Then I'd turn my thoughts to world peace and social welfare, of course.

F5: Where do you see Rocket Fuel in the next five years?

Hopefully staying at the forefront of the medium. We've seen a lot of online zines creep up lately, some of which end up drawing a lot of inspiration from Rocket Fuel, which is awesome, but we'd like to keep being the innovators. Personally, being features editor, I would love to see the features section grow and include more variety, but since we don't make much money we can't afford to keep a host of writers under our belt as of yet.

F5: Will there ever be a print version of Rocket Fuel?

We have at times discussed a sort of promotional print version either as publicity or as a special edition, but that's never come into being. There will never be a regular print version, though, no. It's just not what we do; it's entirely outside our scope and purpose. Plus the excitement it would generate and the stampedes to buy it would cause a quake in the print magazine industry that could scarecly be recovered from.

F5: What book,zine, or any piece of literature that you've read that is so damn good, that you wish you wrote it?

Well my favorite book thus far in my life is the Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. It's so amazing and inspiring and no other book has made me think so much. I'm not sure if I'd like to be a devotee to her entire philosophy, therefore I wouldn't say I wish I had written it, but it's a damn amazing work of literature. If I could have written anything, it would probably be the scripts to the State, because then I would probably be the funniest person on earth. God please give us back that glorious TV show!!

F5: Why the name Rocket Fuel?

Because Spaceship Propellant was taken?

F5: How many hits does the Rocket Fuel site recieve every day (on average), and what is Rocket Fuel doing to increase that number or are you appeased by your current status with viewer numbers?

I'm actually not sure of this exact information... I believe the distinct user sessions is in the 100,000s (comparable to print magazine's circulation, except that one person looking at the entire site five times a month would count five times.) I do know, however, that the first couple of days that an issue goes online is when we get the bulk of our user hits. They tend to drop/level off after that, but we help boost them by doing things like the daily reviews. We're so thrilled at the numbers we've seen, especially considering how far it has shot up since we started, but we're always looking to reach more people. Our favorites are the letters we get from people in other countries; that completely blows my mind.

F5: If you could change one thing about Rocket Fuel, what would it be?

Easy -- everyone would live in the same city and we'd have a home office. You don't even understand the trouble we sometimes get into because we do it all online. It can get really frustrating. It's so hard to communicate well under those circumstances.

F5: So, you're allowed to invite 5 bands (defunct, still together, whatever) to a show in your backyard- which five bands do you invite?

Wow... I might look like a loser answering this one... Let's see. Definitely Helium, even though they aren't great live, because I adore them; probably Black Heart Procession because I just saw them play a little while ago and they were incredible live; maybe Radiohead because I'll never get that close to them in real life; My Bloody Valentine because I wasn't hip back then; and then I guess I should throw in something like Led Zeppelin or the Beach Boys so then my cool, hip boy friends would deign to attend... Hahaha... Although if I were ressurecting My Bloody Valentine, maybe that would work just as well in which case I'd go with Boilermaker because they're amazing and the only time I saw them play they had a mic problem and had to do part of it without vocals?!?!

F5: The opposite of Rocket Fuel is....?

Chalk. There is nothing indie about chalk.

F5: What's the best and worst thing about being a webzine versus a print zine?

Best -- Web has interaction and it doesn't cost extra to go full color! Worst -- People don't give it a fair chance, not yet at least..... We will show them!!! THOSE BASTARDS!!! Oh my god, that was scary. Nevermind.

F5: What did you bring to show and tell when you were younger and what would you bring to show and tell now if you could?

Wow..... That's a tough thing to remember, and I'm only 20. I always thought it was thee coolest when people would bring in their dogs/pets, and I was always so jealous because I was never allowed to have a dog. Well, that changed a few years back so you bet your ass I'd be marching right in there with my dog Oliver to finally redeem myself. I was always a sucker for getting attention. I don't remember what I did bring in, except one thing that will make me look like a big geek. It was this clear rock I got at a museum -- when you put it over something, for instance a piece of paper, it looks like that thing/paper is on the surface of the rock instead of underneath it. Pretty damn fascinating.

F5: Your favorite body part is....and why?

Does skin count? I like soft skin. I love to touch and soft things make me happy. I also like arms on boys and eyes on everyone. Eyes forge connections that can't be made any other way.

F5:Your nickname when you were younger was, why? Your nickname now is what and why?

My technical nicknames were/are: Mo, Mons, Monique, Mickey, Shmo, Meenie, Moni, etc... My abstract nicknames then were: Pickles, because my parents have a tape of me when I was little talking about pickles. Missy, that's what my mom always called me when it was time for bed, I'm not sure why. I can't remember the rest. My abstract nicknames now are: Piggy, because my friend teases me about my eating habits. Evil M, because my other friend and I are evil. And Cutie, well, everyone calls me that. HA!

F5: The best advice ever given to you is...?

Be yourself. Sounds simple, but my god what a difference that makes. Because first you have to try and figure out how, and that's the step a lot of people seem to skip.

F5: What's the most difficult part of putting together one issue of RF?

No one seems to understand the importance of a deadline. We always end up pulling everything together at the last second, and it's hellish. You'd think people wouldn't need to be getting paid to have a real incentive to get everything in on time, but unfortunately that is the sad case I guess... Otherwise, my job isn't terribly difficult. Ask Courtney this question and I'm sure she'll give you a laundry list.

F5: What's your favorite part of putting together RF?

Seeing all of the craziness that ensues every month finally come together into an organized whole. Sometimes I swear I don't understand how it happens, but it's always worth it.

F5: Final quote? Or anything you'd like to say to the readers?

Me: "Inspire me."
Brian Sokel: "I like to rub felt."

Go team RF!!

F5:THANKS very much.
You're welcome, thank you.

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