THANK YOU TO PHILLIP HARRIS FOR OUR FRONT COVER IMAGE
phillip harris
Phillip “PJ” Harris is the photographer of our cover as well as the photo story, “What it Ain’t, What it is” appearing on page 38. PJ is currently traveling but based out of Oakland, California and he is probably tagging your mom’s house right now, so call her and tell her you love her.
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@pjpjpjpjpjpj cargocollective.com/phillipharris
marty baptist Marty is an artist living in the King’s Cross area of Sydney, Australia. Not only did he allow us to print several of his artworks in this mag, including the back cover, but he also went to a whole ‘nother level with the fill-in-the-blanks we gave him. He’s done way more cool things than I could begin to list. Proper lord and the rest of the story begins on page 26.
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@martybaptist martybaptist.com
bad liz hayes Bad Liz is a visual artist and one of the founders of House of Hayes. Along with being a constant consultant at every hour of the night on direction of the magazine, Liz also contributed the story “One More Memory” with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (page 54). Working, living, and loving in Brooklyn, NY and wherever planes fly and wheels drive.
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@badliz badliz.tumblr.com
joseph cuillier Joe Cuillier is Texas-raised graphic designer who has been living in NYC for years and recently graduated from the Pratt Institute with his MFA. I like the nickname “Kool Aid” for him because his smile is so big and thats a slant pronunciation of his last name, but apparently that was mostly only a middle school thing. We included work he did based on his thesis and it starts on page 85. @josephcuilllier josephcuillier.com
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Michelle is a veritable dreamgirl and photographer currently living and working in the south and nationally and is based out of Athens, GA. A portion of her series, “The Very First Sunrise on Earth” is included here on page 16. “Color inspires me to create new worlds and to capture the one around me”
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@michellenorrisphoto michellenorrisphotography.com
emily earl Emily Earl is a photographer local to Savannah, GA who is often working in analog practices and has found a niche in polaroids and instant film. Her feature in this issue is based on the unihibited youthful beauty of a recent solo exhibition of hers at Safe//Sound Gallery that she entitled, “Late Night Polaroids”, starts on page 60.
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@emilyearlphoto emilyearl.tumblr.com
sarah tobi Sarah Tobi is a photographer recently living in Savannah while attending SCAD, but now in Brooklyn. She has an amazing portfolio of work but we included specifically a story she photographed from time spent in Bangladesh working with the Tripty Project. I really want to meet the redhead surfer that I scoped in a couple of her other pictures. Bangladesh story is on page 46, check her website for the redhead and other brilliant work.
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sarahtobi.com
patrick byrnes Patrick Byrnes is the designer and creator of Shrimp Sauce clothing and masterminded his feature in this issue from his S/S 2014 line. In addition to the operation and design of Shrimp Sauce, he is also prolific in creating stunning original paintings and drawings and was raised by wolves. Feature on page 70. @shrimpsauce shrimp-sauce.com p-byrnes.com
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contributors/in this issue
michelle norris
desert noises
“Coming & Going”
A profile of Desert Noises with Kyle Henderson as they found themselves far from the desert and right in the Atlantic
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MORE...
“Later than Sooner” Issue one
This is Kirchin and a giant printer named “Orbitty”, she is one of the “sisters” when it comes down to it. Together, along with even the combined efforts of the two of us and Mama Hayes and some other large but nameless printers, we tried our damndest to create physical copies of the last issue on our own to make available to the public, but it was going to cost a billion dollars because we arbitrarily chose for it to be a 10” square. (yeah! oops) This issue, you will find to be a very familiar 8.5” x 11”, which will be available in print immediately, whereas issue one is currently being reformatted to fit a standard size that will be made available for public purchase very soon. Please pardon our progress, as they say.
letter from the editor
What would you be doing without the threat of punishment? Without the threat of eternal damnation...Spraying paint on a wall? Killing your husband? Skipping out on paying the parking meter? Whose law are you gambling with? Your own? A God’s? The state’s? Do you run a red light when you can see that there’s no one coming and no one watching?
This is a loose paraphrasing of a quote I’ve heard/read and can’t find the source of: but if the only thing keeping you from doing something is the threat of punishment....that’s kind of backwards huh? We have to be responsible for ourselves and our loved ones. And we should all be eachother’s loved ones on some level, that’s called compassion, that’s called seeing yourself reflected in the spirits of the people around you and being able to discern that on some basic level, we are all part of the same thing. Respecting that connection is going to be a very essential step towards getting where we’re trying to go. How can we create a collective responsibility of handling ourselves well enough to all just be able to do our thing without getting shut down?...Let’s get to the point that no one’s getting arrested for skateboarding or smoking grass anymore... We gotta get better at living without the rules... We can’t all just eat french fries everyday, my great Uncle Dan did and he was fine. That’s just not gonna work for everybody. You have to discover your own thing, figure out what makes you tick. Most of us will be at our best with some other vegetables mixed in with our fried potato consumption. Do what you need to do to be at your best. What is really keeping you from living to your heart’s content? If the answer to that question has anything to do with the status quo, go find a better excuse. and if it has anything to do with another person holding you back, send out the vibes and find some people that will send light to you and will help you motivate towards your next moves. Of course, it’s always going to be a lot more dificult to blaze trails... Jay-Z said, “Remind yourself, nobody built like you, you design yourself...” All we’ve really got is time and energy and love to make our lives what we want.
A lot of times there’s not even real barriers and it’s just based on some notion we’ve been told to make us keep going along complacently with whatever is happening, because change is the unknown and most people are terrified of precisely that. They’d rather get served “the way it is”. So what? Fuck that noise. You can be what you want to be. There will be consequences and you might die trying, but it’d be boring if there wasn’t any friction on the slide to home base. It’d be boring if it was always easy, if it was color by number, drag and drop template.
Go by your own standards and on your own time. I hope that time is fulfilled by things like making art and music and being around good folks and getting a whole bunch of fresh air in your lungs and doing a bunch of rad things and not killing your husband, because that’s pretty messed up and you can definitely find a more creative solution to your problems than causing other people problems too. “TO LIVE OUTSIDE THE LAW, YOU MUST BE HONEST”, good ol Bob Dylan coming through on that one, and that lyric happened to appaear on one of the first drawings I fell in love with of Marty Baptist’s (feature on page 26). Here’s a picture of me holding it in front of an American flag (credit to Kenny Vasoli). out of rules to break issue, bon apetit...
maggie hayes (@melanisticjaguar) maggie-hayes.com / thehouseofhayes.com
don’t everybody like the smell of gasoline?
photos by maggie hayes
this would look good on you
the very first sunrise on earth
photographs by michelle norris
not just a lie built on a bunch of other lies
not how I imagined my half-birthday
no one thing in particular
a very clear reason for having to go back
a first kiss for the hundredth time
such an unfabulous day (next)
love
to
fight
fight
to
love
m
a
r
t
y
b a p t i s t
Martin (Marty) Baptist is a wonderhuman and artist from Australia, and I have been captivated by his works for quite a good amount of time now. He has indulged our curious minds by answering a whole bunch of questions for HXH because we think it is really fun to know what’s in the brains/lives that are responsible for creating some of our favorite art. That’s really the whole point of this magazine...getting a glimpse at the processes of people that endlessly inspire us and then sharing what we find, whether through interviews or photos or some combination and whatnot... Also, he just “gets” it, like how when reading a book and the author is almost explaining your own thoughts back to you better than you could have ever put it into words. Marty does that with combinations of colors and images and phrases that allow the viewer to put some puzzle pieces together in their minds that might not have all connected before. HXH: What’s for breakfast? We love breakfast. MB: Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, bacon and toast HXH: And how do you take your coffee? MB: Flat white HXH: What’s in heavy rotation on the record player/cd player/tape deck/ipod? MB: It’s alway changing right now it’s Neil Young, Keith Richards, Sonic Youth, Suzanne Vega, Paul Weller, Ronnie Lane, Bob Dylan, John Lennon.... HXH: Favorite book(s)? MB: Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry HXH: Do your musical influences play into some of the re-purposed phrases that might make their way into your art? MB: Sometimes they do, sometimes its TV talk or snippets of random conversations I’ve had or heard. HXH: Who made the rules? and why are or aren’t “the rules” important? MB: The masters make the rules, no. What rules are we talking about? Some rules are meant to be broken, rules set boundaries and sometimes its nice to ride close to those boundaries. But at other times if you want results, its just best sticking to the rules.Well I’m only talking about the rules in the process of art making. HXH: Lover or fighter? Been in a fight? MB: I’m a lover and a fighter, love to fight and fight to love. (laughs) HXH: Tell us a little about your spot...how does location/environment play a part in your creative life? MB: I live in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia,it’s changing fast but has a wonderful history of artists, hookers, junkies and harbour views, action-packed area. Environment plays a huge part in the work as does company, food, music and materials...Did you ever hear the story about the kid in pre-school who always painted with black.They thought he had a lot of issues so they got a psychologist in, and it turned out, he was a polite kid and let all the other kids get to the paint colours first and black happened to be the only colour left, that’s why he painted in black. HXH: What is the best part about being from/living in Australia? MB: The landscape. HXH: Having shown work/traveled internationally, do you have a favorite city outside of Oz? What’s a place that you would like to visit but have yet to? MB: I like London a lot and a very small town in north Sweden called Umea it’s great ,its right near the Arctic Circle, the indigenous people of the land own all the reindeers. If I could go back in time I would have liked to have been in Greenwich, NYC in the early 1960’s.
“We are living in a weird time where everything is moving so fast and chewed up and spat out like bubble gum�
HXH: You often incorporate found objects or materials into your work, how does using found objects provide different allowances or restrictions than using bought or new material? MB: The spontaneity of finding materials is great, and most of my art is pretty spontaneous so they go hand in hand. As far as process goes, that’s more planned. The Kings Cross area is great for that stuff. Like little godsends! I’ll be thinking ummm, I need some thick ply wood blocks, then I will be going to get some groceries and BOOM!! there will be a pile of ply wood blocks one street away from where I live. (Well, it doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen.) I’ve got people calling me up or sending photos of stuff on the street and they’re saying , “Hey do you want me to grab this for you, I’ve just found a heap of wood on the street”...As far a subject matter goes, that can come from anywhere. A lot of my work isn’t pre-planned and neither are the materials I use. I do get hyped on a new roll of canvas as well (laughs). Artwork where you can see the hand at work is important to me, I saw some real nice Raymond Pettibon art with wine and coffee stains all over them. HXH: I find that artists and skateboarders are often the most capable of making use of refuse, bringing to life the trash and concrete and angles that are often overlooked by others. It is no surprise that most communities of skateboarders also include people dabbling in various visual arts, photography, and video. Do you think that the self-motivation to make a practice of skateboarding helps build the discipline to have a self-motivated and highly exploratory creative life as well? MB: A lot of creative people in skateboarding, I think skateboarders are generally more inclined to be creative as that’s part of skating and as they get older, they focus on other stuff as well. You’re always building things and solving problems when you’re skating...just looking at stuff differently to the general public. Objects take on another life, like a park bench isn’t just something to sit on, theres a zillion tricks to try on it .The thing I like about skateboarding is you might be trying something, and then end up learning something else...It’s like that with painting sometimes as well, like the act of it starts something, and just because you are doing that act, it triggers something and creates something you had never planned. Or if it doesn’t even do that, its like successful failure. Beause failure is just part of the process that ends up with what we call success. The whole skater art thing has been done to death. There’s skateboarding and there’s art, I find there are a lot of similarities but that’s just the way I look at it. Some can make it look like an art form and some can make it look like a sport. The self-motivation side of anything can be tough at times, but generally you only get back what you put into something....you reap what you sow. Sure, there are gifts and naturally talented people, but you will find everyone works very hard to reach a certain level and its not always fun. I like that quote “the harder I work, the luckier I get,” or whatever it is. HXH: It’s fun to imagine a sort of loose constellation of philosophies from the narrative of your artwork. MB: I would hope my work has some sort of message or hits someone in a certain way. That’s the point isn’t it? I would like it if it has the unexplainable “x-factor” or buzz, but that’s up to the viewer to decide. I do use text sometimes to give the work another dimension, but it’s all up to the viewer and what they take away from it. We are living in a weird time where everything is moving so fast and chewed up and spat out like bubble gum and that’s creeping into art now as well. HXH: Do you find most phrases relating to a semi-autobiographical worldview? MB: Umm, I guess so, you know I’m always listening to music, eyes wide open on the streets, listening to conversations. It can come from anywhere, the problem is trying to get it all down before it moves on. I like to have a slight distraction when I’m working, like music playing or something else going on, so there’s something else at play. Picture words, I call ‘em. They can really take you places, it’s just enough of a distraction not to be a distraction. Stuff like music and environment can really change a painting. Most of the time I really think it’s all just floating around and you just need to tap into it, and get it down before it floats off. It’s a nice feeling when it feels like it’s flowing through you and you’re some sort of messenger.
HXH: I think the work speaks very well for itself, so I don’t want to get much more specific on anything relating to actual pieces, but do you find that you have aesthetic influences, as far as other artists who have been important to developing your own creativity? MB: Of course, there’s nothing wrong with influences, we are all influenced every day. Even learning how to talk as a child was only possible because of other people and their influence. It’s more about what you do with it, that’s what matters, theres a quote by Chuck Close -”Inspiration is for amateurs — the rest of us just show up and get to work.” You must be active! You just have to start and see what shows up, the idea that things get handed down is great, all these creative things are just floating around and you have to make yourself available if you want to tap into them or not. I believe in creation and that everything is coming from a higher source. It is crippling to sit around and worry if someone is going to rip off an idea, and it only holds you back. But some stuff you do need to keep very close, because there are people out there that want to destroy it. HXH:... as limiting as having titles of genres/movements can be, what do you find are the main differences between an untrained folk artist and someone who has been educated in art but has found most resonance in simplified imagery? MB: Not much difference at all except art college gives you an advantage in the commercial world. It gives you a slip of paper and some knowledge on how to talk yourself up and try to explain your work. Art college was good for me to learn some nuts and bolts stuff, most of the history/theory stuff should be put to sleep. They say history is written by the victors...I say, “art history is written by bankers and art dealers.” So much art history has been left out. It’s a crime that indigenous/folk art weren’t even touched on at my college. If its not easily digestible or force fed though the media to the masses, its like doesn’t exist. Even now, theres so much going on. It seems if it’s not all over the Internet or on the cover of a magazine that it isn’t happening, but it is happening.... HXH: Any advice for aspiring artists/humans? Are we seeing the lines between high-brow/ low-brow art becoming increasingly blurry? MB: I guess just keep at it, try and be persistent and consistent, or should I say, consistent at being persistent haha... and don’t compromise too much.Yeah, I’d say that if you want it to be your only career, understand that you have to still go to work everyday and do your art. But there are many different approaches to take. Don’t get caught up in all the art bullshit and stick to your gut feeling. Joan Miro had a saying, “Believe that you must plant your feet firmly on the ground if you want to be able to jump high in the air. The fact I come down to earth from time to time makes it possible to jump higher.” My mother actually had that quote pinned to a cork board in our family kitchen when i was growing up, great words of wisdom. I’m hoping to be around for a while and hope that my next painting is be better than my last one. I’ve always enjoyed doing other odd jobs to bring in some money as well, it’s been my naive way of saying, “Stuff you art world, I can do this on my terms”. Only now I understand the importance of an agent or manager to do the less desirable tasks for the artist. And, yes the lines between high-brow and low-brow art are becoming increasingly blurry but with huge black spots.
what it ain’t what it is
photographs by phillip harris
bangladesh and the tripty project by sarah tobi
This is a documentary on the people of Bangladesh showing the contrast of the indigenous female workers living in the country side compared to the men working in the city of Dhaka. This observation of two different worlds in one country was something I was drawn to photograph while working for The Tripty Project in Bangladesh. Tripty wants to “create a transparency that allows you to know the faces of the people...as well as the stories behind the design and materials.� This enables you to develop a personal connection with the item which was made with love and care but also has a broad benefit for the vulnerable communities [they] work with.� While the men in Dhaka are working to develop the city into a modern progressive work force, the women in Chittagong are working hard to keep their native traditions alive. This is possible for the women because of organizations like The Tripty Project.
“Tripty is working to be a forerunner in handicraft sector by providing International customers with a high end product that is made with the most sustainable resources on the market. We have researched and developed a complex supply chain which provides us with organic cotton, natural dyes, upcycled material and more. We also focus on creating a social impact that improves the lives of indigenous people, Rana Plaza survivors, rehabilitating sex workers and vulnerable women all over Bangladesh.�
find out more at thetriptyproject.com
THOUGHTS FROM A FEW SUMMER NIGHTS WITH EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS
STORY BY LIZ HAYES PHOTOS BY LIZ AND MAGGIE HAYES
I HEARD SOME FAR AWAY MAGIC NOISES... TAMBOURINES EXPLODING AND BANJOS BUSTING AND THE YELLS OF MEN IN LOVE. IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 2010 AND I HAD NEVER HEARD OF EDWARD SHARPE OR HIS MAGNETIC ZEROS BUT THEIR SOUNDS HAD GONE DEEP AND WERE THERE TO STAY. AFTER SOME STAGE CRASHING IN SAVANNAH, LATE NIGHT SWIMS IN FOLLY, BAREFOOT BILLIARDS FOR FUN, CEE-LO FOR MONEY, SWING DANCE LESSONS IN CHARLESTON, MUSIC IN THE STREETS OF NEW ORLEANS UNTIL THE SUN WAS UP, SHOOTING GAMES & BEACH HANGS IN PENSACOLA, I REALIZED THESE GUYS ARE SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING HUMANS I’D EVER KNOWN. THERE’S ALWAYS ABOUT A DOZEN WILD SOULS ON STAGE BUT ONLY A FEW WHO’VE BEEN THERE FROM THE BEGINNING. THIS IS BECAUSE, SINCE THE INCARNATION OF THE ZEROS, THE MENTALITY HAS BEEN EVER-CHANGING AND EVER-EVOLVING. WHEN JADE CASTRINOS AND ALEXANDER EBERT FOUNDED THE BAND, IT WAS PART OF THEIR ARTIST COLLECTIVE AND JUST A PROJECT OF EXPRESSION THAT HAPPENED TO FIND SUCCESS AS IT GREW. THE BAND’S STEADY ROTATION OF MEMBERS IS JUST ONE PART OF IT. WITH MANY OF THE GUYS HAVING SOLO PROJECTS AND BEING PART OF OTHER BANDS OR OTHER ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS, IT MAKES SENSE THAT THERE WOULD BE AS MUCH COMING AND GOING AS THERE IS. IN 2010, THE LINEUP WAS DIFFERENT THAN TODAY BUT THE SPIRIT OF THE MUSIC IS THE SAME. THE CROWDS ARE BIGGER, THE TOURS ARE LONGER AND TO MORE FAR-AWAY PLACES, AND THE “ALABAMA, ARKANSAS” SONG IS CALLED OUT A FEW THOUSAND TIMES BEFORE THE ERUPTION OF CHEERS ONCE THEY FINALLY PLAY IT. KEEPING THINGS FRESH, THEY ALSO OCCASIONALLY CHANGE HOW THEY SING THEIR SONGS, PLAYING AROUND WITH EXISTING LYRICS, TRADING THE JADE & ALEX STORY DURING THE INTERMISSION IN “HOME” FOR AUDIENCE MEMBERS’ STORIES, THINGS LIKE THAT. THE LAST TIME I SAW THEM, THE BAND OPENED WITH “THE LOVE BOAT VERSION” OF “40 DAY DREAM” AND ARE CURRENTLY TOURING SANS JADE. DURING THE SHOW, THEY ASKED FEMALE AUDIENCE MEMBERS TO THE STAGE TO SING HER PARTS. WHAT WAS SURPRISING WAS THAT FOR AS ENTHUSIASTIC AND EXCITED AS THESE GIRLS WERE TO BE ON STAGE, THEY WERE MORE INTERESTED IN TAKING SELFIES WITH ALEX THAN THEY WERE IN SINGING THE SONG. EVEN MORE SURPRISING WERE THE STORIES THE CROWD CHOSE TO SHARE DURING “HOME”. THE FIRST GUY THEY ASKED FOR A STORY JUST SLURRED “IF YOU GOOGLE ‘DOUCHE BAG’ THE FIRST THING THAT COMES UP IS A PICTURE OF ME IN A YELLOW SPEEDO.” THE ZEROS WERE BEING GOOD SPORTS ABOUT THE WHOLE SCENE BUT ALEX WAS QUESTIONING THE AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ON THIS PARTICULAR EVENING, “DOES ANYONE IN THE CROWD KNOW THE LYRICS? LIKE THE ACTUAL LYRICS, NOT JUST THE BEER VERSION?” PEOPLE LAUGHED AT THE JOKE, BUT THERE WAS SOME TRUTH IN WHAT HE WAS SAYING, AS THERE MOST OFTEN SEEMS TO BE.
AND WHEN I ASKED HOW DIFFERENT IT IS TO PLAY SHOWS NOW AS OPPOSED TO WHEN THEY FIRST WERE TOURING, PERCUSSIONIST ORPHEO MCCORD MENTIONED THE INTIMATE SHOW THEY WERE PLAYING “ACTUALLY REMINDED (HIM) OF SOME OF (THEIR) FIRST SHOWS. (THEY) PLAYED A LOT OF SPORTS BARS AND WEIRD VENUES STARTING OUT.” EVEN IF I HADN’T KNOWN THEM THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT WOULD BE OBVIOUS FROM A BRIEF DISCUSSION WITH THEM THAT THEY AREN’T PLAYING FOR THE FAME OR THE MONEY. THAT’S NOT WHAT’S IMPORTANT IN THEIR MINDS. JOSH SAYS HE KEEPS PLAYING, ”BECAUSE PEOPLE FEEL THINGS THEY’D NEVER FEEL IF WE DIDN’T PLAY.” THAT COMBINED WITH A GENUINE LOVE FOR MUSIC AND COMMUNITY, AND IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE HE’S STOPPING ANYTIME SOON. GUITARIST CHRISTIAN LETTS ADDED THAT “TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY THAT PLAYING GIVES YOU AND OTHERS IS THAT FEELING THAT KEEPS YOU GOING.” ORPHEO ALSO EMPHASIZED THAT IT’S NOT WHO’S IN THE CROWD THAT MATTERS... “THE ONE THING EVERYONE HAS IN COMMON IS THAT WE’RE ALL JUST TRYING TO FULFILL SOMETHING. EVERYONE JUST WANTS TO ENJOY THEIR LIFE. AS LONG AS EVERYONE’S ENJOYING THEIR LIFE, I DON’T CARE WHO THEY ARE.” WHEN THEY’RE ON STAGE THEY’RE PLAYING AS A BAND OF BROTHERS. THEY’RE FOCUSED ON THE MUSIC, THE SOUNDS, THE FEELING, THE VIBRATIONS. IF THEY’RE HAVING A GOOD TIME UP THERE WITH EACH OTHER, THE PEOPLE DANCING AND SHOUTING ALONG ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME TOO. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO. THERE’S A HUGE SENSE OF COMMUNITY AT AN EDWARD SHARPE CONCERT, WHEN ALEX JUMPS INTO THE CROWD AND SINGS IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUDDLE OF PEOPLE, THERE’S A CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN PEOPLE THAT WOULDN’T EXIST OTHERWISE. THESE ARE PEOPLE WITH BRILLIANT MINDS AND RADIANT HEARTS WHO MAKE MUSIC BECAUSE THEY LOVE MAKING MUSIC. WHO MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND THEY LOVE EXPRESSION AND THEY LOVE SHARING IDEAS AND WATCH IT TURN INTO SOUND. THEY MAKE MUSIC FOR YOU BECAUSE THEY LOVE YOU JUST FOR BEING ALIVE AND SEARCHING. THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO CHANGE THE WAY THE EARTH TURNS WITH THEIR STRUMS AND BANGS AND HOWLS. THEY’RE JUST TRYING TO OPEN YOU UP TO ALL THIS WORLD’S GOT TO OFFER. TO THE “MAGICAL, MYSTERY LIFE” THAT’S RIGHT HERE WITH US FROM MOONRISE TO SUNDOWN AND BACK. :)
Late-night Polaroids by Emily Earl
dirty...
Jules and Adelin
Skateboarders on Tybee Island
Skeleton Girl at the Jinx
Sam Breathes Fire
Andrew Walker at Hangfire
Talia at the Sparetime
Girl at the Dollhouse
Paige Playes Dice
Dru Kid Lights Up
...south
and interview by
This is our conversation with Kyle Henderson about the journey so far and all the goodness they encounter and create along the way.
photos
I was given an enthusiastic heads-up from a mutual friend about checking out the four-piece band, DESERT NOISES, from Provo, Utah as they made their way to Coastal Georgia with a couple of last miute additions to their touring schedule. That enthusiasm was well placed and we were lucky enough to catch up with them for a bit before they rambled further into an exciting summer of shows all across the country, alternately playing huge festivals and venues of all different shapes and sizes in support of their recent full-length release, 27 Ways...
maggie hayes
Patrick Boyer (guitar) Kyle Henderson (vocals/guitar) Brennan Allen (drums) & Tyler Osmond (bass)
HXH: How do you feel like growing up in Utah has influenced your sound? KH: Mostly, it was the culture…being raised in a very religious community, being raised mormon. even though we’re not anymore…A lot of music came out of that, mormons are really into music. HXH: They are really into music? KH: Yeah, It’s a big part of the religion. Singing praises to God. I think growing up like that influenced us a lot, but kind of coming out of that was a big influence as well, to be separating ourselves from that norm…being a person that has gone out and then come back.. Everybody looks at us maybe as a little weird because we’re always on tour, and nobody is really on tour from Utah. HXH: Are they more supportive you think? Because it’s kind of rare? or you think it’s a mixed thing? KH: I don’t know. We do play in our hometown…it’s kind of rare now but it’s always really good. They’re always really supportive. I think they might think we’re a little bit nuts haha. HXH: How do you feel like spirituality is interwoven with your music now versus when you were growing up, having come out of a religious community? How has that evolved? KH: Thats a really interesting question, I think it will always be in our hearts to have something to look to in every down time, no matter whatever you believe in. Having something to look to. In music, that kind of is what we look to. We look to being on tour…we say, “yeah it’s hard, but look at what we’re doing now.” and that kind of makes us feel spiritual about what we’re doing. and it might be different for every person, it’s not like you have to believe in some god to feel amazingly spiritual about aspects of music. There’s songs you listen to, where your whole body will just shake, you know? and then you show those songs to someone else, and they might be like “that song sucks” haha. So, it’s also different for everybody. HXH: When did you guys all meet? KH: Kind of randomly, through music scene stuff. I had played a show with Brennan way back but I didn’t remember him at all, we were really young, 18 or something..and so one of the times I met Brennan was at band practice and he was gonna get in the band for a month in a half. So I didn’t really know Brennan and now we’re best friends. And all of us met through this band. I had been doing it for years before them with my brother, and then another friend. Our friend left, Tyler (Osmond) joined, and then Tyler was roommates with Pat when we were leaving on tour and our other drummer quit. It was all through this band. We all get along really well. HXH: Who do you find to be some of your bigger influences in songwriting? KH: When I first started listening to music it was like Modest Mouse, Bob Dylan really blew my mind…and then I found Neil Young and that kind of took over everything. HXH: Your lyrics are very poetic in the tradition of americana music and folk songs. ....Do you feel like it’s important that there’s still poetry in music? KH: Oh, Absolutely. I think lyrics, at least for me, are some of the most important parts of a song. Thats what I listen for a lot. Maybe I’m one of the onlys, but I love a good lyric, that can make the whole song for me. Like if someone has a good line, that can make the song. It’s just the way they say it. It doesn’t have to be any genre of music, if the line is there, that’s what changes it for me. HXH: You guys have a lot of lines like that. KH: Thank you.…there’s a lot of “hey-ho” choruses right now, that don’t have any words. and I’m someone that likes a chorus to get actually get to the point of meaning something. the chorus can be down or high or whatever, but as long as that line is there pulling it together.
HXH: What’s your favorite thing to have for breakfast? KH: My own breakfast burritos that I make myself. HXH: What do you put in them? KH: Just the regular: eggs, jalapenos, avocados, onions…well do you wanna know my process? ...First heat up the pan…then onion and green peppers then eggs. Make sure the eggs are cooked. Then, take uncooked tortillas and cook the tortillas. Lay them out, put the eggs and peppers in there, maybe a little bit of jalapenos, hopefully they’re pickled jalapenos. maybe even tamed jalapenos. They’re just not spicy, but they have the same flavor. And add avocado, fresh tomatoes. And I’m an excellent burrito roller. HXH: How bout coffee? KH: Lots of coffee. Black, yeah. There’s a couple coffee shops that I find really nostalgic though. There’s a place in Portland called Albino Press. It’s right by our manager’s house, and just going in there in the morning…a lot of our friends work there, there’s places like that…their coffee may not be the “best” cup of coffee I ever had, but to me it is the best cup of coffee. And there’s this place back home called Juice and Java, and it’s not some pour-over or whatever, you just press the airpot and it pumps out, but the environment of being in that shop just reminds me of good times and having fun. and I think that’s what most important about coffee. not necessarily the actual process. HXH: So does that kind of help connect you to different places as you’re touring a lot? ...Finding these little pockets where you connect with spots? KH: Yeah, absolutely, bars or whatever too. Bars we’ll go into before a show, and we’ll start talking and then next thing you know, you’re drinking for free and you go back every time and those become your best friends on the road, that’s what you look forward to when you’re getting into a city. There’s bars in Chicago like that for me, where it’s a random ass sports bar that I walked into on my day off and made a friend with the bartender and now every time I go to Chicago, I want to go back to this dinky sports bar on the corner of whatever. HXH: So who’s your on the road family that you’ve found that’s been special? KH: Oh in Charlotte. Our second parents. I was touring with another band and was playing bass and we stayed there, then I started booking our own tour and asked if I could come play their venue again that they worked at and they were like, “yeah, of course, come back…” then we ended up staying there for three or four days at a time, and eventually became like family with these people. So now that’s like our mom and dad and grandma, that cook us food every day. It’s been like having a family clear across the country. and we’ve even invited them back to Utah, and we had a big dinner with all of our parents and them. So we threw this big bar-b-q in Brennan’s parents backyard...all of our parents came and they came, and any other family members that could make it. We basically showed them to all of our family and just kind of got to say, thank you, thank you for hosting us. and that’s where we’re going tomorrow. HXH: So do you find that is one of the biggest joys of touring and sharing music? Just connecting with people? ...or do you find the studio process is equally exciting? KH: They’re very different. The studio can be very trying, but really personal. You learn a lot about yourself. But that is what keeps you being able to meet more people and make more connections and have more good times and new experiences. That’s what is so great about being on the road, and that’s what makes us happy. It’s the greatest part about this life. We’re always smiling and ready to hang out haha.
Kyle Henderson is songwriter, lead singer, and guitar player for Desert Noises, (www.desertnoises.com), who are touring nationally through the end of summer. Their album 27 Ways is available for download at Amazon and Itunes as well as physically on vinyl and cd by order or at the shows.
h r y h s image being projected is by Bryce Wilner
j o s e p c u i l l i e h a s a w a w i t w o r d
In “Exploring the Space Between Words and Meaning” in which I wheat pasted text-based posters around various neighborhoods in Brooklyn, NY...I am reclaiming language, the visual language of corporate branding and large-scale public institutions. I am reappropriating the minimalist aesthetic of mid-century contemporary art and corporate graphic design. Anytime you see a logo for a massive, faceless corporation, anytime you see rules in a public place it’s always written in the same Helvetica-like, bold san-serif typeface. We’ve been socially conditioned to believe the myth that this visual language is objective and authoritative because that’s what old white men have been telling us for the last 5 decades. Old white men do that a lot - try to tell us their opinions are objective and authoritative. Their opinions even transcend mere opinion to be seen as natural and inevitable. And at the same time we’re socially conditioned to believe the opinions of men of color and all women are radical, insignificant, or dangerous. I’m not trying to make work that is objective. That’s not what I want to make, nor am I foolish enough to think that’s even possible. But I am trying to make work that is authoritative. And you don’t really have to think its significant, I think it’s significant. I know it is. For me to say, as a black man in this white supremacist patriarchy, I am an authority is to decentralize and demystify power. With all the technological advancements of the last half century, the personal computer, the internet, social media, self-publishing, open source models of development, digital distribution platforms, and file sharing, more than anytime in history the power of the individual to conduct his own education, shape his own environment, and to engage with a public. In my work I take full advantage of this agency.
“I look at my work as a separate to me, as a product of my labor because it literally is. But I am the one who created it, and every creation is a reflection of its creator. My work spills from my mind into existence and spills right back into my mind as I experience it. The stream flows as one loop... Everything is connected in some way...
it’s all stardust.”
The text in this series of poster is mostly compiled from my MFA thesis and some poetry I was writing at the time. At that point I was doing a lot or reading and writing, just beginning to develop a political language of my own for the the resistance in which I have been engaged all my life. I was spending so much time and effort writing my thesis, but I knew no one would ever read it except for my advisors and I. I wanted to get these ideas out into the public sphere. Wheat pasting posters on walls around the city was my way of sharing these ideas with people, liberating the words from the page. Sometimes words get trapped in books where they really don’t help anyone. The Situationist idea of detournement is a theme that also reoccurs often in my work. These posters were created in that lineage, the lineage of the grafitti of the May 1968 student protest in France. The posters are intended to disrupt individuals’ daily routines, transforming passive consumption into critical engagement. America can you see? I am educating radicals, so they may fling feces for their cages to explode on your doorsteps. This society rest on papier-mâché pillars wet by the rain. J. Cuillier
THANK YOU TO MARTY BAPTIST FOR OUR BACK COVER IMAGE
“KELLY’S GANG” BY MARTY BAPTIST