Pop Quiz: Paolo Nutini

Pop Quiz: Paolo Nutini

Aidin Vaziri | Talk about the perfect package. Paolo Nutini not only has a great rock 'n' roll name, he's half Italian, half Scottish and all soul. At 20, the genetically blessed singer-songwriter has already played with Ben E. King, his personal hero, and supported the Rolling Stones. There's also his premiere album, "These Streets," a hit in the United Kingdom and creeping into the United States with spirited, soulful singles such as "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" and "Last Request."

Paolo Nutini
Q: You started playing guitar only three years ago. Do you have any advice on how I can get onstage with the Stones and have girls screaming at me everywhere I go by 2010?
A: I don't know how much of a challenge that's going to be. I first started to play guitar when I was about 17, so, yeah, about three years ago. But I was singing and writing lyrics and faking my way around the chords until then. Obviously, it might be different for you.
Q: Do you think you're gifted?
A: Touched. When I was young, a pelican landed on me -- and there are never any pelicans where I grew up.
Q: A whole pelican landed on you?
A: A whole pelican. Ever since then, they named me Pelican Boy, which totally ruined my whole primary school years. But people say because of the pelican, he gave me an old soul. That's the theory.
Q: So basically I just need to find myself a pelican.
A: If you want to play before the Stones and get all the girls, you need at least two pelicans.
Q: Wait, why do I need two pelicans when you just had one?
A: You need one for a backup. Pelicans are touchy things.