PERMANENCE
HEADS
ISSUE #001
Some things are for life. Some things last forever. But what is forever? Things are always moving and in the end, nothing is actually permanent. Continents drift, empires fall, people come and go in your life and you will come and go in others. But due to our short time on this planet certain things seem permanent to us in one way or another. Some things don’t need to be physically permanent to last the lifetimes that they have. With this being the first issue of Heads we thought it would be relevant to touch on the subject of permanence and longevity. Some things last 5 minutes, others last a life time. Lets see how far we go...
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WHO WE ARE
Well, let me first start by telling you who we aren’t and what we don’t do. We aren’t pretentious. You won’t need a thesaurus to read this intro of who we are because I’m not going to use words like unmitigated, stringent, convivial, and you wont hear me or anyone else describe our work as visionary, inspirational, groundbreaking or anything else of the sort. Now who we are, that’s a little tricky. Or is it? At the end of the day, we’re people, just like you, and we like people just like you. To some, we might come across as slightly askew, but we just like the little quirky things in life, and the quirky people that come with them. You could say we’re quirky ourselves. But we also like mystery, and think that some doors should be left unopened, and for that reason you won’t be able to see the face of anyone in this magazine. “Wait just one minute there partner, aren’t you called HEADS?” Yes. Yes we are. Heads as in people. Heads as in, “There are mad heads in here tonight.” Thats the trick, and seeing as you bothered to read this whole thing you’re in on the secret. You cared enough to read about who we are and all that mumbo jumbo. But now that you know who we are, we’d like to know a little more about you. Well, I would. That’s my job. If you want to be in HEADS just send us an email with your reason, and if we like it, we’ll feature you in our next issue.
INKED An Insight to a Girl and Her Body Art
A tattoo is for life. There are endless reasons as to why people decide to get one. To put something on your body forever is a pretty big decision. Different tattoos have different reasons, are in different places and are done at different times of the persons life. But is that the way it has to be? Can one not just get a tattoo for the crack of it? Eileen Pegg is someone who begs to differ. Her tattoos are all about fun, some thought out, others done impulsively with no looking back. These are her tattoos. This is their story.
RED LOVE HEART ON FOOT First tattoo, aged 18. Was decided to be done on a whim. Didn’t know what I wanted, heart seemed a safe and obvious choice. Unfortunately the red ink used to fill in the tattoo did not sit well in my skin and now looks like a have a red shiny scar on my foot. Mother wasn’t happy.
RUSSIAN DOLL Again done on a whim. Always liked Russian dolls for no real reason. (If I wanted to get deep I could pretend it was to represent the multi layered personality I possess, but that would be a lie.) Simply walked into Paper Chase and picked up a card with a Russian doll on it and voila. A few years on now I wish I had thought about the decision more carefully as it is my least favourite tattoo. It is of a bad quality and there was potential for me to personalize the doll myself. However, I was young and hasty so you just got to laugh.
THE PEGG Done during freshers week of uni when I had money to spare. Pegg being my last name, it would be rude not to get a clothes peg permanently on my skin-forever a Pegg. ACID SMILEY A rash decision the day after a very good night at Back to Basics 20th birthday party in Leeds. Longest running house night in the UK and just bloody good fun.
IF ITS NOT FUN WHY DO IT Whilst studying Ben and Jerrys ice cream brand at university , I discovered this quote within the brands mottos and decided it was so good I went to get it inked the next day.
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MEXICAN SUGAR SKULL When in my young and just turned 18 phase I rushed out to get a unthought out tattoo which was a heart with an arrow running through it-done very badly by a guy who was in a wheelchair. In recent years I decided this just looked silly, so decided to get it covered up with a skull that has hearts for eyes.
HEART ON WRIST Flatmate went to go get inked. I felt left out so again chose the first design that popped into my head and joined in the fun.
SKULL BALLOON ON ANKLE An image I’d seen on pinterest and took a liking for. My friends mother is a tattooist in Brighton, so when she came to visit her at uni, she brought her kit and apprentices along, and I got my dream tattoo done on the cheap with a personal touch.
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LEATHER Because Human Skin Won’t Cut It
Leather is a durable and flexible material created by the tanning of animal rawhide and skin, often cattle hide, but you probably already knew that. It can be produced through manufacturing processes ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry. Clothes come and go, things get lost, worn out, stained, burnt, ripped, bleached, scuffed, and stolen but leather can outlast most of those things. Not only can it outlast physical damage, it seems to have outlasted time itself. Leather was made as early as 7000 BC, and back then, tanning was not a pretty process. Skins typically arrived at the tannery dried stiff and dirty with soil and gore. First, the ancient tanners would soak the skins in water to clean and soften them. Then they would pound and scour the skin to remove any remaining flesh and fat. Next, the tanner needed to remove the hair fibers from the skin. This was done by either soaking the skin in urine, painting it with an alkaline lime mixture, or simply allowing the skin to putrefy for several months then dipping it in a salt solution. After the hair fibers were loosened, the tanners scraped them off with a knife. Once the hair was removed, the tanners would bate the material by pounding dung into the skin or soaking the skin in a solution of animal brains. Among the kinds of dung commonly used were that of dogs or pigeons. Sometimes the dung was mixed with water in a large vat, and the prepared skins were kneaded in the dung water until they became supple, but not too soft. The ancient tanner might use his bare feet to knead the skins in the dung water, and the kneading could last two or three hours. It was this combination of urine, animal feces and decaying flesh that made ancient tanneries so odoriferous. But lucky for us we live in a more hygienic world, and although animal brains are still used in certain tanneries, rest assured your jacket’s distinct leathery smell isn’t someone else’s piss.
THE JACKET
Elvis Presley. Johnny Ramone. The Fonz. Almost every badass since the 1940’s has rocked the leather jacket (excluding Danny Trejo, but he’s Danny Trejo). They make you look tough, like the kind of guy who isn’t afraid to let his chest hair pop out of the top of his tank top, look you in the eye and with the thickest of Brooklyn accents ask you, “Are you talkin’ to me?” But they also keep you warm and dry, and will last you longer than anything else you own. But don’t go buying fake leather now, because its just going to tear and that wouldn’t be nice now would it?
“Aaaaeeeyyy!”
Some cowboy phrases for when you go out West...
“A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse.” “Cowboy Coffee ain’t safe drinkin.” “Keep all skunks, bankers and lawyers at a distance.” “Don’t go milkin your neighbors cow.” “When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.” “Sometimes you get, & sometimes you get got.” “Always drink upstream from the herd.” “Just cause you put your boots in the oven, that don’t make ‘em biscuits!” “Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaw!”
The jacket on the left might look like it was worn by a cowboy out in the west, but it’s being worn by a city slicker in the UK and was made in.....Italy? Yup. Surprise surprise huh? Although the cowboys of the USA are the ones we all know and love, Italy has some cowboys of their own, known as the Butteri. There are around 5-6 herds still tended to by the Butteri today. But is this jacket here one of theirs? Probably not. It was bought in a thrift shop in Nottingham and was probably made based on the Butteri’s American cousin, the wild wild rootin’ tootin’ gun slingin’ cow herdin’ chili eatin’ buffalo huntin’ raccoon hat wearin’ trail blazin’ 10 gallon hat purchasin’ rattle snake stompin’ saloon door enterin’ whiskey drinkin’ bar brawlin’ outlaw killin’ town protectin’ men of the outdoors. Oh well, you know the old saying, “Don’t squat with your spurs on.” Oh wait, you don’t know that saying? Don’t worry, it’s just the cowboy way.
BOOTS HEELS & SNEAKERS
Footwear is a prime example of leather’s durability, as well as its versatility and customisability, both before and after the manufacturing of the shoe itself. Certain footwear is made for function, while others are purely fashion based, but a certain few fit right in the happy middle. These are also prime examples of the many different leathers that can be made.
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The inside of a banana peel can be used to clean and buff leather. It even removes tiny scratches, just remember to get rid of the gunk first.
TRACKS Digital And Vinyl In Perfect Harmony
Words: Stephen Williams About seventeen years ago my older brother, a teenager at the time, stepped into Soul Sense, a record shop in our home town, having saved his money and been enthused by the bourgeoning jungle scene from pirate radio and raves. Receiving the wisdom of the guy behind the counter, he left the shop with a bag full of tunes and future memories that would become so influential to his four year old little brother. Fast forward to the now and I still play those passed down, surface scratched records, the popped and crackled sounds from the likes of MBeat are small remnants, glowing in the hazy, weed tinged fog of a 90s musical landscape that could never be recreated today. But enough of waxing lyrical the past, the future is here and it’s a 320 encoded mp3, or so some may think. My story is not uncommon and now many people my age are returning to vinyl, with sales reaching its highest point since 1997. There could be a number of reasons for this, audiophiles will point towards the perceived improvement you hear from analogue sound (“feel that warmth bro!”) And despite it seeming like more than everyone is a DJ these days, this surge in sales hasn’t only been filled by record spinners wanting that street cred. Really it comes down to the appealing idea of having a collection, a set of music unlike anyone else’s, that’s taken care, time and thought to build up and then eventually to be passed down to your loved ones. This seeming permanence of vinyl has a charm that digital has yet to replicate but these pieces of wax aren’t permanent, they degrade, they warp, they get scratched.
And here’s where digital comes in. Technically a file with its ones and zeroes would never lose its quality. Thus it can be said digital is the true permanent medium, you want to hand down to your kids a song that still sounds as great as when those vibrating airwaves first reached your ears? Well digital is surely what you need. However a number of factors have joined forces to make this not the case: the explosion of the internet and with it a plethora of quickly made, often half assed tunes has coincided with a kind of rampant consumerism and sense of entitlement that has given many a music lover and DJ the idea that if there’s a new tune out and it’s not bad you must have it on your hardrive. Many have lost a sense of delayed gratification and won’t put the care that is needed in building up a unique collection of quality, leading to the digital landscape gaining an easy throw away culture. A culture that doesn’t exist with vinyl and this, I would like to think, is why we have seen vinyl sales increase, people are buying into that permanent, loved culture that comes with vinyl and long may it continue. However, there’s no going back to the 90s, digital is here to stay and rather than moan bombastically over this fact like most vinyl vs digital debates, perhaps we should all question our own approach to online downloading. Do you really want that tune that you heard Julio Bashmore and a string of imitators play out? Or are you downloading simply to have it? A readjustment in our engagement with music online could see vinyl and digital live like ebony and ivory, and provide some more interesting, worthwhile DJ sets and collections. So think before you click.
WHEELS Some Things Aren’t Built to Last
But some are. Whether you cycle or skate around town, you’re showcasing part of your personality with what you ride and how you ride it. A custom built bike is a work of art, and so is the bottom of a skateboard. The only difference is that when you cycle, the art stays on the bike. When you use the skateboard to its fullest potential and go for a board slide, you’re just tearing into someone else’s artwork. But that’s okay, they knew it was going to happen eventually. It was all part of the job description. In fact, most of them are skaters themselves, about 90% to be a little more specific. Oh well, at least you’re getting exercise. That’s me on the right next to my bike. I built her myself, and her name is....well, that’s the thing. She currently doesn’t have a name. Kind of depressing huh. Anyway, that’s Maddie with her longboard. She won’t ruin the artwork by doing board slides. She also doesn’t have a name for her longboard. Maybe the two of us should sit down and discuss it. Maybe our rides should just remain nameless. Permanently.
SPRING/SUMMER 2013
INKED LEATHER TRACKS WHEELS