Tim Sukits, Creative Loafing staff writer

New CL staff writer Tim Sukits hails from Lafayette, a relatively small town in "the cornfield called Indiana." After graduating from Ball State University with a major in magazine journalism, Sukits (pronounced sook-its) tended bar, edited a music production company's newsletter and dabbled in graphic design. He honed his barista skills during a brief stint in Australia, where he played his music at venues around town. A lifelong musician, Sukits cites Jimmy Buffet and Blind Melon as influences on his blues-meets-funk style. You might find Sukits playing around town as Timmy John. "Because let's face it," he laughs, "when you read Sukits you think 'suck.'"

How do you like Sarasota so far?

I love Sarasota. It's not as crowded as some of the other cities I've been to. I like how it's split up into sections. It's real culturally diverse, there's young and old, black and white, gay and straight and everything else under the sun. Should be a lot of fun to cover.

What would your last meal be?

My last meal would be bacon-wrapped filet mignon with tortellini alfredo. A side of crab legs with warm butter and a European lager, like Stella Artois.

Did you follow the election closely?

Oh yeah. I probably watched more CNN than I have in my life. The most inspiring to me was when -- there's absolutely nothing [Indiana has] ever had to do with the election 'cause we've always been red. But in the primary, when it was getting to deciding time and our state just happened to be that primary, for the first time in history, our state actually mattered. I got involved and started knocking on doors for Obama, and he ended up losing Indiana by just a few percentage points.