Deitra Magazine: Issue 11

417-865-1188

THEPATTONALLEYPUB.COM

from

the

editor

I’M JUST GONNA SAY IT. I called it!

90s are back, and all the best parts!

I’ve been accused (ACCUSED!) of having too much of a 90s influence in fashion shows and other aspects of my work. And this was a few years back.

“And?” I would say, scornfully. “90s are rad.” And then I proceeded to send girls down the runway dressed in black from head to toe, combined with goth-esque dark eye makeup and vampy lips - a collection that was later dubbed as the “zombie fashion show.”

But oh, I would think to myself, let me count the ways in which you all should be wearing black! Black skinnies and black ankle boots. Little black dresses, black lace tights, and black combat boots. Black leather jackets and black wide-brimmed hats! Oh, ye of little faith, let me dress you in head to toe black!

Little by little, I saw the lightless hue creeping into the wardrobes of my formerly rainbow-clad friends and co-workers. Slowly the idea trickled in and soon they were looking quite like Stevie Nicks. It was all quite lovely and bewitching.

What does all of this have to do with the 90s, you ask?

Everything, my friends. Everything.

It’s all become quite popular in fashion lately. Ladies and gents are donning completely black garb, looking all chic and debonnair. I can’t get enough of it. And it’s all speckled with the best parts of 90s fashion and cuture.

Those cool destructed skinny jeans paired with Docs, grunge tees with Kurt Cobain’s face printed on them, cool cropped blazers, constructed leather jackets, and plaid button up shirts! Step into your favorite retailer these days and you’ve got yourself the makings of a 90s outfit. And as you can see, I’m pretty happy about it.

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In this issue, we celebrate the 90s in many ways - some more obvious than others. We share our conversations with local bands, musicians, artists, and entreprenuers who are carving out new paths with their creative careers.

This is our End of Summer issue, really, written and edited entirely by yours truly, except for the lyrically written and playful dojigger on local metal band, Transylvania, brought to you by local actor and entertainer extraordinairre, Ran Cummings, who has previously brought to you the cultishly popular James-Browninfused JM Buttermilk’s Hot Buttered Soul Review. You may have also seen him on such magazine covers as... this one!

All of the photography, save for a few contributed selfies, were taken by our resident feature photographer, Matt Loveland, without whom I could not have pulled this issue off. He’s my homeboy, and has outdone himself once again!

As the first issue of Deitra implemented by just the two of us (we can make it if we try!), it was both an exhausting and exciting process. We had a great time working with our contributing stylists, Kristen Edsell, Chelsea Bassham, Karlie Stephenson, and Melanie Patrick. We tried out a whole lot of new things on you guys, and we think it pretty much kicks ass. But let us know what you think! One of our new additions to this issue is “Fuckups and Love Letters,” illustrated by Ashley Gunter - where we publish your tweets, selfies, and comments about us, as well as some tongue-in-cheek pokes at ourselves for some of the fuckups we’ve made in previous issues.

Yes, we too can admit our mistakes and make fun of ourselves.

Our cover features Heidi Mae Herrington and her brother and partner in all creative endeavors, Joseph Herrington. Find out why we think this duo is so rad on page 54.

You’ll find our conversation with Brett Johnston on page 44.

Johnston is the founder of King Peanut, a brand spankin’ new publishing house supporting local musicians and writers, and it’s a must-know for any local aspiring artist.

See local skateboarder and owner of 41/7 Skateboard Shop, Jose Rojas-Natal, in action, and get to know more about the real ideals behind local skate culture. Catch it on page 48.

As huge fans of local music, searching for bands to feature is like mining for gems, and we are excited to find that we always meet so many more than we can feature in one issue. We could only choose a handful out of a slew of musicians and bands that we absolutely love, and many that are new to us. Our music section in this issue features some of those local faves, including Make Rocket Go, Kendra Lane, Justice Adams Band, JJ and the Soul Society, the aforementioned Transylvania, and the ultimate 90s tribute band, The Mixtapes! Check out these interviews starting on page 68.

In these pages you’ll also see our cravings for fall fashion and Andy’s ice cream, celestial beauty and pretty face tattoos done with eyeliner, and our goodbye to summer veggies with some garden-totable recipes that we will miss all winter!

Happy October to you all! It’s my favorite time of year.

XOXO,

deitra magazine is published by deitra productions, inc. copyright 2015. all rights reserved. reproduction without permission is prohibited. subscriptions one year (four issues) for $29.95 in the u.s. and possessions; $34.95 for canada and $59.00 for all other destinations. payment in u.s. funds must accompany canadian and international orders. subscription orders are directed to deitramag.com/subscribe.

For inquiries or letters to the editor, email editor@deitramag.com. advertising and sponsorship for advertising and sponsorship opportunities, write to us at advertise@deitramag.com.

PRINTED IN THE USA.

contributors ashley gunter

chelsea bassham kristen edsell styled the fashion feature “cool summer” with clothes and accessories from the review shoppe, and curled a few hairs here and there (page 26).

doodles. “my highlight was collaborating with the editor in chief!” dream vacation: uh, paris! take me back! viva la france!

styled hair and makeup for the beauty feature “graphic content” (page 20) and for michelle sewell of indie band make rocket go (page 68).

“ideally, a model loves what she’s wearing and it really comes through in the image or on the runway, and both the clothing and the model shine. i think we had more than a few of those moments during the shoot.”

personal style: oh my gosh, i’m so boring... gray t-shirt (like every day), boyfriend jeans, birks, and whatever accessories are weather-appropriate.

“my highlight would be the people, and stepping out of my box a little. it was fun working with makeup more outside of the basics and getting creative.”

2015 vacation: levitation music festival in austin (amaze); orlando for disney world and universal (exhausting but fun); and a week in branson with family types. my ultimate dream vacation is iceland, because elves.

fave andy’s frozen custard creation: i’ve never had it. i’m a yarnell’s homemade vanilla snob.

2015 vacation: the end of july has been crazy with traveling. my true vacation was in indianapolis for gencon. however, i was just recently in l.a., california for sexy hair training and got to have a couple of vacation days spent out there. i got to see beautiful beaches, a rad car show and a historical marine merchant ship, and shop at the besame vintage cosmetic store. then, on july 25th, i got to see my all time favorite band, the elms, have a reunion concert in indianapolis; which was everything i wanted it to be and more!

personal style: my personal style tends to often feature masculine elements and pieces or looks that play with proportion. i’m a blazer fiend and that serves me well during seasonal transitions. and of course, tights. fave andy’s frozen custard creation: i try and make a point of having a few of their seasonal offerings, but i’m an ozark turtle girl at heart. playlist: oh, boy. right now i’m listening to a lot of st. vincent, the goastt, the black angels, beak>, pretty much anything ty segall has a hand in, and on and on and on. locally, i always try and catch the gorlons, kudzu, thee fine lines, and sslyby (someone still loves you boris yeltsin) when they play.

playlist: ryan adams, madison ward and the mama bear, whiskeytown, houndmouth, sturgill simpson, and so many more!

90s faves: what don’t i love about the 90s?! radiohead, alanis, body suits, wayne’s world, alien heads and yin yangs, ecto-cooler hi-c, i could go on and on... mtv, overalls, doug, lisa frank, daria...

personal style: lately, my personal style for the end of summer has been a little of boho chic, or more of a pin-up style with sailor shorts, cute top, and wedges. i’ve been loving the mango, neon orange, and seafoam green to teal colors.

what people don’t know about me: i’m pretty open. i don’t really have any secrets...

fave andy’s frozen custard creation: i’m kind of a plain jane and stick with my favorite triple chocolate, but their blackberry is pretty stinkin’ tasty too!

instagram: @ashleyjonilla

guilty pleasure: i pretty much do/eat what i want... i don’t feel guilty about it. that’s weird.

playlist: the elms, kelly clarkson, maroon 5, various movie soundtracks, ac/dc, and paramore. a couple of local or independent artists i’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to are randall shreve and coyote talk.

90s faves: doc martens, my so called life, my daughter, and pretty much everything else. creative mantra: give your ideas room to breathe and become something wonderful, but don’t get so attached to them that you’re afraid to move on if something just simply isn’t working.

90s faves: n*sync, duh! ah man, 90s music takes me back to some fond memories. as a kid, i had to be cool and rock my lisa frank everything. then of course, my two favorite disney movies came out; pochahontas & mulan.

what people don’t know about me: i can make a really loud popping sound with my tongue. i’ve only met one other person that can make this sound.

creative mantra: aspire to inspire. i long/yearn to inspire/influence people positively all the time. one of my favorite quotes that i feel ties in perfectly to this is, “let your ambition lie into reaching people’s hearts and be grateful for every triumph.” - owen thomas

secret hobby: i’ve not had time in quite awhile, but when i do, i love reading pretty much anything about psychology. guilty pleasure: when i go to my mom’s house i like to watch all of those housewives shows on bravo. not like it, love it. and also dance moms.

what people don’t know about me: an incredibly rare thing most people don’t know about me is that i used to be a christian clown!

instagram: @seaham

secret hobby: once a year, i love crafting christmas cards for close family and friends. i also am getting more into the world of cosplay, dressing up as my fave characters for various cons. guilty pleasure: reading a ton of dc and marvel comics, eating hurts donuts, playing the roleplaying game dungeons & dragons, and baking. instagram: @k_stylist72515

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ran cummings wrote the brilliant, soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picturestarring-liev-schreiber, article on transylvania (page 88).

melanie patrick

“my highlight was getting to work with myself on an article that involved myself. i’ve always looked to myself for inspiration. i’m a delight.” dream vacation: somewhere nice, i suppose. it’s all relative.

karlie jean stephenson styled hair and makeup for the feature fashion “cool summer” (page 26). “i loved working with the models. they were fun and let me have creative freedom. they were so appreciative of my being there and made me feel great about my job!”

2015 vacation: i headed for vacation in san diego, california in august. i love california and always look forward to the beach and time with family! personal style: i am really into gypsy boho styles and a little rock and roll. any way that i can incorporate leather or fringe in my life, i will! fave andy’s frozen custard creation: my favorite andy’s creation is a mint chip concrete. playlist: chase rice, makenna and brock (local), sam hunt, janis joplin, joan jett...

90s faves: the music and the tv shows from the 90s were the best!

styled hair and makeup for kendra lane’s photo shoot (page 72).

personal style: a lagging alcoholism reinvigorated by cold air and hibernation.

“the highlight for me working on this shoot was boxed wine, of course!”

fave andy’s frozen custard creation: anything. my girlfriend’s a vegan/vegetarian. do you know the last time i had andy’s? because i don’t. i literally don’t. when will the nightmare end?

dream vacation: snowboarding in the swiss alps. i also would love to go to greece! personal style: definitely eclectic. some people call it weird, but i call it awesome! fave andy’s frozen custard creation: oh man. it’d have to be the jackhammer. if that’s what it’s called. playlist: chasing pictures (wish they’d launch a new album already), ingrid michaelson, death cab for cutie, foo fighters, justin bieber, sarah bareilles, mumford & sons, randall shreve & the devilles, and the jinns!

90s faves: rock, paper, scissors! the land before time, walkman, tgif, and toe socks!

playlist: cheeseburger. seriously. they’ll change your life.

90s fave: eating fast food without any notion of it being wrong. creative mantra: “you disappoint me.” what people don’t know about me: that i’m standing right behind them. secret hobby: dodging personal questions with seriocomic responses.

creative mantra: “creativity is intelligence having fun.”

guilty pleasures: all of them. i have persisting selfdoubt and absolutely zero shame. it’s complicated.

what people don’t know about me: i am a gangsta rapper.

instagram: you can’t handle me, but try @ranaldives. that guy’s the coolest.

secret hobby: talking in all of the accents. guilty pleasure: sunflower seeds (in the shell). chocolate milk. justin bieber. instagram: @misterpee

creative mantra: life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself. what people don’t know about me: i love archery and i love to paint. secret hobby: i don’t know if it’s much of a secret, but i love recycling or repurposing old clothes or old items! guilty pleasure: my guilty pleasures are sweets! i can’t stay away from them. instagram: @jeanwithenvy

wanna contribute to deitra? send your ideas along with a short bio and why you’d like to contribute to editor@deitramag.com.

the crazy ones

MONOMANIACLE FOCUS. IT’S a virtue that has become, in my mind, the true asset to any creative entreprenuer. You have to be, for lack of better terms, utterly insane to - in this day and age - drive yourself head first over a cliff in persuit of an artistic career. This is what I want in any person who works for Deitra.

Who is willing to follow me over a cliff in order to achieve the ever-growing cornucopia of ambitious goals?

The answer? Matt Loveland.

You may have seen Loveland’s photography around downtown Springfield. You may have even seen his work reach even farther outside his beloved hometown. But his he is most known because of his work for Deitra.

I met Matt Loveland in 2013 and gave him a shot at photography for Deitra. Since then, he has become an integral part of the magazine.

His walls are adorned with his own his own photography.

You’ll see boudoir and editorial shots of beautiful women, primarily done in deeply shadowed black and white, demonstrating his love affair with Old Hollywood glamour.

You’ll find live music shots that capture rare moments of pure adrenaline and emotion. He also bears a deep love for baseball - particularly the St. Louis Cardinals - as well as historical architecture that exhibits a rich history of his home in

Springfield, Missouri and the surrounding cities of the Midwest.

He’s a theatrical fellow who harbors a deep and heartbreaking love for Marylin Monroe, and never watches anything but Turner Classic Movies. But he can, I can tell you, recite Pulp Fiction in its entirety.

You’ll often see him at the beautifully adorned and architecturally spectacular Gillioz Theatre, his home away from home, or hanging out in the underbelly of the downtown music scene at afterhours hideaways and dives, camera around his neck, a simple budweiser in hand.

Dressed as one of the Rat Pack, in black vest and fedora, Loveland immerses himself in all things of downtown culture, including acting in local theater productions, and utitlizing his camera to document all of the cool and artsy things people are doing in Springfield. He frequents the Emmy Award winning late night talk show, The Mystery Hour, as well as anything else he can possibly attend. Frankly, I don’t know how he does it all.

While hanging out with him, you’ll find yourself engaged in enlightening conversation peppered with historical antecdotes, whimsical reinactments, and you’ll often see a veritable lightbulb forming over his head, his eyes growing wide as he exclaims (nay, proclaims!), “Photo shoot!” as if calling dibs or “shotgun” on whatever idea that may or may not have been introduced.

He is the absolute best at executing any idea I throw at him, and even better at sneaking in his own direction. Often times I will end up choosing his ideas over my own.

He has expanded his rhealm of work at Deitra to include advertising sales, marketing management, distribution, and even content editing.

Matt Loveland has stuck by me during the good times and the worst times, as both a friend and an employee. To have someone who wants to work for my magazine is one thing. But to have someone who believes in it whole-heartedly, enough to throw caution to the wind and completely immerse his life in it... well, that is the uttmost honor that any one person could have.

That, dear reader, is what Matt Loveland is to me.

All in all, I applaud you, Matt Loveland. I know it in my heart that you will achieve all that you want in this life. And thank you for being the Thelma to my Louise.

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matt loveland

photographed everything. and maybe a couple of other things. but pretty much photography. “every issue for me is epic. it’s a time for me to give everything i’ve got, and then some, to help make deitra awesome. it’s fun! i love it! i love doing shoots with friends, musicians, and - of course hanging out with gorgeous models! this issue of deitra is special for me because of how much of myself i’ve invested into it. aside from doing photo shoots, i’ve worked on other aspects to help make deitra a name known to everyone. and that’s something i enjoy doing! i love telling people about deitra! i love traveling to tell people about deitra! it can be exhausting at times, but it’s totally worth it!”

2015 vacation: i just recently took a mini vacation to eureka springs. love that town! personal style: style? umm... probably something that could land me a guest spot on mad men. fave andy’s frozen custard creation: about that! i, umm... haven’t eaten there nearly enough to have a favorite... please don’t judge me! but i love the rootbeer float. playlist: when i’m not listening to something theatre related or civil war era music, i’m usually listening to anything from randall shreve. surprise, surprise!

90s faves: i guess i’m still a bit of a sucker for 90s music and tv. always a nice reminder that i’m still a bit of a 90s kid! creative mantra: “photo shoot!” what people don’t know about me: the first concert i ever went to was garth brooks at the hammon’s student center in september 1992. secret hobby: i am also a local actor! wait, that may actually not be a secret... guilty pleasure: i like abba… yes! i said it! i like abba.

who would be your dream photo shoot? i’d say my dream photo shoot would have to be dita von teese. in a nutshell, she’s insanely gorgeous! but seriously though, everything about her is classic: her makeup, hair, outfits, lingerie, just everything! plus, she has done so many photo shoots covering my favorite photography styles ranging from old hollywood glamour to boudoir. what’s your favorite part of doing a photo shoot? i think my favorite part of doing a photo shoot is the feeling of freedom i get behind the camera. what’s the number one thing on your bucket list? take over the world through deitra! i just want to keep doing my own thing. do you have any pre-photo shoot rituals? usually a glass of wine and a smoke before the model arrives. if the shoot is a big deal, i’ll get pumped up by watching old clips of cardinals baseball! for me, there are times that getting ready for a shoot is like being a pitcher before a world series game and a big victory is on the line. sometimes i’ve also watched clips of queen performing live back in the late 70s! that’ll also get my blood going! what is something people should know about photographers? we’re not all paparazzi! what do you love most about theatre? like photography, i find it quite liberating. i’ve discovered that it’s a sort of safe haven for me. i can be among a group of people that are just as goofy as i am and it’s completely normal. plus, i love performing and trying to entertain people! it’s also fun when you get in a group of people like that and give everything you’ve got to a common goal, and a damn good performance.

instagram: @the_old_soul

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Absolutely amazing photography in the entire issue, but am a little partial to the front cover and featured artist Randall Shreve!

Thank you Deitra for wowing me!

@tattoochick72

I recently had the distinct pleasure of being joined in the studio by @ deitra_editor and @the_old_soul for an interview and photoshoot for the upcoming issue of Deitra Magazine. Thank you, Tamara and Matt for the honor. So excited to be a part of this.

@randallshreve

Back stage at the Deitra Mag fashion show. For some reason I never get pants lol.

Tina McLean Deitra Mag shows are always the best!

Sarah Vega

O.M.G. On the cover of a fashion mag? One of those dreams came true.

My dad’s going to shit his pants.

Shay Rainey

use the hashtags #deitramag or #fuckupsandloveletters to see your photos and comments in the next issue!

Well if this pic doesn’t speak louder then words!!! Thk u deitra mag for the awesome pic of my brotha!!

Rich Goodwin

@deitramag @DeitraEditor @ DeitraMagPhotos @DeitraMagStyle do a really good job of making people look gorgeous! Even when they are zombies.

@mromromro3 I have never ever been so proud of something I did. I am so happy. I am so blessed. I am so grateful. Thank you @DeitraEditor @deitramag

@daniel_ernce

Had a blast with the Deitra crew! Awesome night in general.

Jessical Manuel Thank you to DEITRA MAG FOR THE MOST GANGSTER REVIEW ON MY ALBUM #‎SIETE !!

Love this magazine ;) MUCH LOVE!!

Chelsi Rachelle Bennett

Droopy G

Loved walking in @deitramag fashion show last night

@sarahvegamodel

Thanks so much for the very complimentary review.

Aaron Roten

S/O to @deitramag @ DeitraEditor for the awesome review on, ‘Last Fall’

@itsrockyyoung

Thanks @deitramag @DeitraMagPhotos for the awesome photos!

@paralandra_rock

DEITRA EDITOR REGRETS: On Issue 06, the launch of our redesign, I misspelled the cover artist’s name - Rosco Wuestewald.

Amidst the craziness of editing an entire magazine and the stress of a quickly approaching deadline, I completely fucked it up, and spelled it “Rustewaulde,” which a quick search on Facebook would have fixed!

Also on Issue 06, I flubbed and a “w” got inserted into a contributing photographer’s name. On the page, it read, “Photographed by Lwevi Light.” Later, I heard that I had brought a grown man nearly to tears when he saw his name misspelled in the magazine!

What happened is that while designing, I was using a shortcut key, which happened to be a “W”, and I didn’t catch the mistake! Terrible fuckup! S/O to Levi Light for his awesome photo of Cole Porter Band!

Q&A with

miss

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selfie tip? man crush?

superpower?

ultimate woman icon?

beauty product

you cannot live without?

2015 fall fashion do?

2015 fall fashion don’t?

guilty pleasure?

creative motto?

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nts

grap

details check out deitra’s take on this season’s hottest beauty trend of celestial makeup. try out some simple dots drawn with black liner around your eyes and brows, or go bold with graphic lines, shapes, and even stars! it’s a cool new way to kick your beauty routine up a notch.

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With this first look, stylist Kristen Edsell blow dried Sarah’s hair with Big Sexy Hair Big Altitude to give a little bit of volume and some texture. Blow drying it back and away from her face, she then used Style Sexy Hair Shaping Cream, and a little bit of the Soy Renewal from Healthy Sexy Hair to cocktail that together, and slick it back for shine and hold. She then finished it off with a little bit of the Sexy Hair Get Layered, which is a buildable hair spray. “It’s something that’s great to work with for photo shoots because you can mold it in different ways and not have much of a hold, so that way, you can do other things with it,” says Edsell.

“A lot of it was experimenting with different eye looks,” says Edsell. “Whether it be different dots to make it look like tattoos on her face or something more edgy, where you have geometrical lines and playing with color to spice that up, and then something a little bit darker because, at Deitra we have our own style here, so having a little bit of a dark edgy look was fun. We decided to spice it up a bit with the hair and put a little curl in there to give it some playfulness, using some of the Soy Touchable and more of the Get Layered.”

q&a

with

model sarah vega what are some of your must have beauty products?

A full coverage concealer (Laura Geller Real Deal) and liquid/cream eyeliner (Liquid: Wet n Wild H2O Proof and Cream: Essence Gel) are absolute musts. A good coverage foundation is also important but personally a little tricky for me to find since I’m very pale. secret makeup / beauty tip that every girl should know?

Lip primer! I highly recommend Too Faced’s Lip Insurance to make sure that your lip color stays on all day and won’t feather into fine lines. what is your favorite beauty trend this fall?

Red lips and winged eyeliner! Personally, I wouldn’t consider this a trend because it’s what I already wear every single day. what was your biggest beauty disaster?

This is a good story. In May our car club went to a classic car show in Oklahoma. Knowing how long I spend doing my makeup I planned just to do it on the way to the show.

We met at 6 am and I called shotgun in my friend’s truck so I could use the visor mirror. As we were going down the highway the mirror was shaking but I managed the best I could. Eyeliner and lipliner were a real challenge! Having an audience of several guys was quite entertaining. From the backseat I heard things such as, “What are you doing to your eyebrows?” and “Did you just glue those spikey things to your eyelid?” Here comes the disaster part. It was very hot and humid that day as our group was walking around looking at the cars. I knew I was sweating and my eyes were watering but I didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until over an hour later that we met up with another one of our friends that he pulled me aside and said, “I don’t want to alarm you but you might want to find a mirror and check your makeup.” I did and, oh my, it was a mess! My eye liner had moved to my lid crease and smudged all under my eye. I immediately asked the guys I had been walking around with why they hadn’t said anything.

They got the deer in the headlight look and admitted to being too afraid to tell me. I fixed it the best I could and my makeup has been a joke with them ever since.

what look would you like to try?

I would like to try a bohemian smokey eye look. what look would you never try?

I am not a fan of the Kim Kardashian extremely contoured/highlighted face. The one where different shades of cream are applied in strategic places then blended out. Personally I think it gives the face too harsh of a look. what beauty products do you splurge on?

I splurge on foundation because a great base is the key to a successful look. On normal days I mix it with cheap foundation from the drugstore just so it will go further. I feel you can also splurge on highlighters and blushes since you use very little at a time and one product will last forever. As for a whole brand to splurge on, it would have to be Kat Von D and Besame Cosmetics. favorite drugstore product?

Jordana Best Lash Extreme. It’s only $3 at Walgreens. Go out and buy it now, you can thank me later! It is the best mascara I have ever tried.

Everyone I’ve recommended it to, also agrees. best red lipstick?

The lipstick I swear by is from Besame Cosmetics. For all my pinup looks I wear the shade Red Velvet. Besame is a vintage cosmetic reproduction company based out of Burbank, California. All the items are handmade and each tube of lipstick is hand poured. Not only is the packaging vintage-looking, but the actual lipstick shades are duplicated shades from the 1920s to1960s that Besame has in their vintage collection. They are pricier than most lipsticks but are worth every penny of $22. Besame’s lipsticks have a unique square tip unlike modern lipsticks.

This allows you to use it as a liner also. These lipsticks stay on all day with no feathering. my modeling career: I did a retro themed photoshoot when I was 14 just for fun. The photographer pulled my mom aside to tell her that I was unlike any other model she has shot before, and that I should look into being with an agency. The rest is history. In 2011 I was on a national TV show about modeling agencies called “Remodeled” that was on the CW Channel. On the show, my waist-length hair was cut into a dramatic asymmetrical pixie. It was a big step in my career. I’ve had so many amazing opportunities over the course of six years, and things are only going to get better! I recently went out to Los Angeles for two modeling jobs that have already lead to bigger jobs in the pinup industry.

cool summer we all know that winter is coming, but with the change of seasons, we want to hang on to the last bits of summer with transitional pairings of wide-brimmed hats, structured jackets, and sheath dresses! oh, and ice cream, of course.

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get to know the deitra models deitra fashion shoot: it was hot! but a whole lot of fun. highlight: andy’s frozen custard! creative occupation: making steampunk jewelry and clothing. dream vacation: new zealand so i can explore the shire. personal style: skater dresses with heals. crop tops and flared skater skirts. andy’s creation: jitter bug concrete! playlist: black veil brides, imagine dragons, rammstein, lindsey stirling.

90s faves: saturday morning cartoons. creative mantra: be happy, it drives people crazy. people don’t know about me: if you walk into my home, you’ll find my extensive collection of swords adorning the walls. secret hobby: i love larping!

leah haines

guilty pleasure: a large portion of my playlist is disney music that i play when i’m cooking and cruising. i know the words to every single song. instagram: @capn_scarlett

deitra fashion shoot: the deitra photo shoot was my first and it was insanely fun! i had the opportunity to learn so much about make up and fashion, it was a blast! highlight: the highlight for me would have to be learning a little about makeup and styling. creative occupation: i used to do some photography but i dont really have much time for it now. vacation: i went to new orleans this year for 3 days and it was amazing! i would love to go back. personal style: i dont really have a personal style. that’s one of the reasons why this was such a great opportunity for me. it gave me a chance to see what’s in style now. i usually just wear jeans and a t-shirt. andy’s creation: i honestly just really like the chocolate cone from andy’s. playlist: my current favorite band is panic at the disco, but i also really love the local band video vamp.

90s faves: my favorite thing from the 90s would have to be the music. hobby: my dogs and reading are my main hobbies.

karshta stockton

guilty pleasure: energy drinks are my guilty pleasures. i dont drink any pop anymore so its definitely a large cheat for me. instagram: @ kstockton13

jessica manuel

deitra fashion shoot: it’s definitely good for your self esteem. especially for those of us who don’t wear a lot of makeup or get the chance to dress up everyday. it makes me feel famous for a day! highlight: i love trying on outfits. the stylists find some crazy, unique, and beautiful clothes. things you wouldn’t find in a normal shop. creative occupation: i decorate cakes! i love art, and sugar, so naturally, i love creating edible art. look up the saccharine dagger on facebook! vacation: my favorite vacation destination is always home, but if i could travel, i have always wanted to visit italy. personal style: personally, black, white, and gray comprise 99% of my closet. this fall i plan on incorporating high boots with a colorful boot sock. andy’s creation: strawberry shortcake sundae! playlist: i’m listening to everything from the aquabats to avenged sevenfold. local acts subject to loss, feel no fear, and enduval always have their spots on my playlist, too.

90s faves: i can’t say i miss much of anything from the 90’s. expect maybe pokemon. creative mantra: be amazing! people don’t know about me: shortly after i was born, my name was changed from rheah to jessica. secret hobby: i am a member of a local live action role play group called eldaraenth. and i enjoy beating people up with foam padded swords. guilty pleasure: doing all the things adults aren’t supposed to do anymore. coloring, sitting on the floor, skipping. i can’t let go of my inner child. instagram: @babyundead

deitra fashion shoot: being a part of this photoshoot was almost like being at a slumber party! a bunch of girls hanging out, laughing, telling stories, talking about boys, doing hair and makeup and having fun. highlight: being able to represent deitra is the highlight for me. this was a new experience and i am truly grateful for this opportunity. creative occupation: i am a photographer with a penchant for concert/low light photography and creative portraiture. you can find me at facebook. com/leslietuckerphotography. i also love making things and being crafty with paint, paper, glitter, and whatever else i can get my hands on. vacation: i want to travel more. i want to see everything and go everywhere. my passport has one lonely stamp from manila, philippines and i hope that i can add more stamps soon. personal style: when fall starts to kick in, i get excited for the layered look. i love jackets with tanks, cowl neck sweaters, skinny jeans and boots. i wear a lot of black and for fall, i absolutely love using jewel tones as accents. andy’s creation: i am in love with the cream soda float and the old-fashioned sodas. playlist: i grew up listening to metal; i still have love for bands like ozzy, skid row, iron maiden, and motley crue, but some of my current favorites are bring me the horizon, motionless in white, the faint, atari teenage riot, deadstar assembly, death from above 1979, faith no more, behemoth, and so many more. while i do listen to a lot of heavy stuff, i like to change it up quite often with the neighbourhood, die antwoord, frank iero and the cellabration, santigold, strfkr. i have always believed that if it is a good song, and you like it, then rock out!

90s faves: i graduated from high school in the mid 90s, so for me my favorite thing about the 90s was being a kid without a care in the world. creative mantra: everything is better with glitter on it. people don’t know about me: i hate being breathed on or having air blow on me. confused? let me explain. when cuddling with my favorite person and he breathes on my neck or any patch of exposed skin - ew! when riding around in a car with the windows down or even being hit with a gust of wind and my hair blows around all willy-nilly - hello tangles. i also hate it when people touch my nose. secret hobby: i don’t know if i would consider it a hobby, but i am crazy about playing ruzzle on my phone. guilty pleasure: eating junk food while watching the biggest loser. instagram: @ lezlijean

leslie tucker

36

veg

out!

if there’s one thing we’ll miss when the weather changes, it will be garden produce. fresh, juicy tomatoes bursting with flavor from the vine. earthy, glossy green bunches of basil, thyme, & rosemary. the crisp bite of cool cucumber. so, to celebrate the end of a bountiful growing season, here is a taste of our own garden to table fare.

culture up: garden to table

it’s the end of the crops as we know it, and we feel sad. though the change of the season brings layers, dark lips, and leather driving gloves, it’s time for stews and warm meals to replace their light and crisp counterparts of summer. But fall time is still time for camp fires, grilling, and savoring the last good bits of produce from your home garden to your town’s farmers market. We’re not ready to let go of these yummy meals just yet!

39

garden season is for canning. it might seem like a lot of work, but all that chopping and boiling really does pay off all year. home made jams, pickles, and salsas make for great gifts - if you can keep from eating it all yourself! this recipe for mango habanero salsa is one that my friends and family can’t get enough of. it’s great on anything, from eggs to good old tortilla chips. it’s a little sweet, a little savory, with the spicy kick of habaneros that have a flavor unlike any other hot pepper. keep in mind, they are at the top of the hottness scale as far as peppers go, so you might want to wear some latex gloves while working with them. no joke. and never, ever touch your face. what you’ll need: large stock pot

water bath canning pot you can find these at most grocery stores. try the ball 21-quart fresh preserving canner with 4-piece canning kit. it comes with all the essentials for the beginning canner. you’ll want the gear for sure. canning jars and lids i like pint-sized wide mouth jars and lids, but you can use quarts or whatever you like. towels and oven mits lay out some big towels on your counter to prepare for the hot jars.

ingredients: fresh garden tomatoes you’re going to need more tomatoes than you think. i’ve done this recipe with over 100 tomatoes! but 30 to 40 should make a nice sized batch. dice these babies up with a sharp knife, chop them up with a food processor, or just crush them with a potato masher like my friend tina does. some people like to blanch and peel them first, but i don’t worry about that step. it’s all going into the same pot, so it all depends on your preference for salsa. i like mine diced and chunky. strain the chopped tomatoes and then throw them into a big pot. i like using a large heavy duty stainless steel stock pot, but anything big will do. turn the burner on about medium, and stir the ingredients in as you go. mango chunks you can give fresh mangos a try, but cutting them is a real pain, and makes a major mess. i found that frozen mango chunks work great, and you can find them right next to all the other frozen fruit (in the ice cream aisle, yes please). i buy five or six bags and let them thaw a bit before chopping. these frozen mango chunks still need to be chopped smaller, so a food processor would be a good call for these, or you can just give them a rough chop with a sharp knife. my favorite knives are from pampered chef, and i’ve been eyeballing the zwilling j.a. henckels professional “s” 18-piece jumbo knife block set from bed bath and beyond. obviously. onions any onions will do. i prefer jumbo yellow onions, and use about four or five of them. if you can find them, garden-grown onions lend a lovely flavor to anything, really, but they’re smaller so just eyeball it and use more of them. give them a good chop and throw them into the pot!

habanero peppers these orange little treats aren’t for the slight of heart. be extra careful, and use a food processor. you’ll need way less of these than you think. four or five should do it for a mild salsa, and 10-15 for a good kick. don’t worry if you put too many in there. you can always combine the hottest salsa with fresh cut tomatoes, mangos, or even pineapple to cool it off when serving. i’ve even mixed my hottest batch with a dollop of sour cream, greek yogurt, or ranch dressing to make a creamy chip dip. chop them finely, then drop them into the pot. are you remembering to stir? fresh garlic cloves everything is better with garlic! and salsa is no different. three to four crushed cloves should do it. as your pot of good stuff is cooking, give it a taste to see what else you might want in there. some salt and pepper to season it up is really all you need. i like to dip a chip or two in there to see how it tastes. you’re all set! if everything is in order, you’ve got your water bath going, your jars in place, and your salsa nice and simmering, you’re ready to start canning. i won’t go into the rest of the process here. that’s what google is for! it’s easy once you get to this part. and soon you’ll be enjoying the satisfying ting! of your lids sealing in all that habanero goodness.

the best veggies to buy when they’re not available at the farmers market or in the garden? go organic! find a mama jeans or other organic grocer like whole foods. if you must shop at a supermarket, try hot house or on-the-vine tomato varieties, and english or baby cucumbers are always a better pick than their giant, waxy counterparts.

sprouts are a great way to keep fresh greens all year round. mung bean and alfalfa sprouts are delicous on anything. top a sandwich, salad, or even an omelete with these crunchy little guys. my mom grows these right in her kitchen window. try out the sprout garden kit from handypantry. com or a prettier version: the sprouting kit with black walnut wood stand from “the sprout stand” on etsy.com.

get rid of your table salt, and replace it with grainier, tastier kosher salt or sea salt. keep it next to your stove in a cute sugar jar or in a salt grinder. a pepper grinder with black peppercorns is a must for every kitchen. this may seem arbitrary, but i’m surprised by how many people i know who haven’t tried this simple switch that makes all the difference!

we love salads at our home. we eat them along side of every meal, and sometimes as the main dish. this summer we were addicted to this simple greek salad. ingredients: fresh garden tomatoes, diced try purple cherokee or the classic beefsteak. cucumbers, sliced and quartered no need to peel when it’s garden fresh. black olives crumbled feta cheese get bold and try out some of the herbed flavors available at most markets.

ingredients: lemons extra virgin olive oil fresh herbs or dried spices (optional) squeeze a lemon into a jar and combine it with an equal amount of extra virgin olive oil. put on a lid and shake it up until it’s emulsified. drizzle over your salad, or anything for that matter, and enjoy! it’s got a bright citrusy punch that livens up most dishes, and it’s healthy to boot. try adding fresh greek oregano and a pinch of dried red pepper flakes for a little kick. get the oxo good grips® citrus squeezer from bed bath and beyond to make squeezing those bad boys easier.

make your own crushed red pepper flakes by dehydrating those little red chilis yourself. string them up with a needle and thread poked through the stems and hang them in a dry place, and crush one up as needed in any recipe. it’s simple and it looks pretty hanging in your kitchen.

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0

an absolute favorite of mine at any time of year, but something’s got to be said about cooking meat over an open flame. grill up these babies over a camp fire with an iron grate. you can find them at any store that carries camping gear. this year we even hung fresh herb-stuffed cornish hens over the “kiva.” de-lic-ious! ingredients: steak stick with top sirloin, ny strip, ribeye, or t-bone. anything else will not do! look for a nice, even marbling of fat throughout the meat. and don’t trim off that fat! it makes everything taste good. extra virgin olive oil give the steaks a nice drizzle of this good stuff first. fresh herbs try fresh basil, thyme, or greek oregano. mix them all together or just choose one. thyme is my favorite for steaks. kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper don’t be so shy with these. give the steaks a liberal sprinkle of on both sides of the meat. fresh garlic cloves this is optional, but if you love garlic, press a few cloves onto the steaks with a garlic press. my favorite is from pampered chef because you don’t have to peel the cloves. garlic cloves taste way better than the kind in a jar, so i always keep this staple in a pretty bowl on my kitchen counter.

rub, rub, rub! literally massage those seasonings into the meat, and leave them alone for a while while your grill or campfire is getting heated up. the rest is up to you. everyone likes their steaks cooked differently, but bobby flay says to throw them on the hot grill and leave them alone so that a nice crust forms before turning. got the nice dark brown, bubbly sear and grill lines on one side? it’s time to flip. the second side will cook much faster, so it won’t be long before they are done to a perfect medium-rare. take them off the grill and let them rest, for cryin’ out loud! keep in mind that they are still cooking even after you take them off the grill. at least 10 minutes will give the steaks time enough for the juicy slabs to be ready to cut. perfection.

and last but not least, we like to pair our steak and salad with a home made bruschetta. the bread is baking in the oven, the kitchen fills with the smell of fresh garlic and basil, and we poor up a glass of nice red wine to savor both the meal to come, and our time together. it’s a regular occasion in my family, and a wonderful time is had by all.

ingredients: french baguette preheat the oven to around 350 degrees. slice the bread into rounds about a quarter-inch thick and place onto a baking sheet. extra virgin olive oil drizzle the oil over the rounds. it doesn’t have to be perfect, but i use it pretty liberally. artisan cheese there’s nothing like a good quality parmigiano-reggiano, ramano, or asiago cheese. we like to slice it up and serve it with wine as an appetizer. but for the bruschetta, grate any one of these varieties or all three and sprinkle over the bread rounds before baking. bake the baguette rounds until slightly brown, but not crispy and hard. tomato topping: in a pretty bowl, combine fresh diced tomatoes, a few fresh pressed garlic cloves, lots of fresh chopped basil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste. the key here is fresh! stir it all together and top the warm baguette rounds with this delectable medley, and if you like, more cheese, of course!

king pea YOU MAY KNOW HIM as one of the founders of pop culture and lifestyle publication, TAG Magazine, out of downtown Springfield, MO. But these days, Brett Johnston is taking on a new sort of animal, and - as with everything he does in the local arts community - his new endeavor is already creating quite the stir.

King Peanut is a publishing and distribution company devised to empower people to do better for their communities and to empower musicians and writers to release their original works, then raise money for charity via their music and books through localized crowd-funding, concentrated marketing, and purposeful releases, and donating a portion of every sale to charity.

Here, Brett Johnston answers all of our questions about this new and exciting venture.

anut what made you want to start king peanut, and how did you come up with the idea?

include art, song lyrics, notes from the artists, and more.

It’s frustrating to me that we lose so much talent to larger markets.

I wanted to be a part of something which could eventually grow into something for Springfield to retain talent. I’ve informally brainstormed and consulted with bands for years and many of my favorite local and independent bands were releasing albums, putting the marketing focus on release shows with little residual impression of the album. Bands have been shortchanging the songs for the show for years. I knew there were alternate ways to release music.

how can artists and fans get involved?

Plus I wanted to curate a format which lent itself to an immersive experience, like I enjoyed before Digipack CDs became the standard. We’ll have a variety of formats, but the central product of every release is the album magazine with a digital download. These

Fans can primarily get involved by supporting the music — and books in the not-so-distant future — and pre-ordering our projects. Artists can get involved by submitting their work, reaching out. We’re keeping the roster relatively small at this point and taking each project on a caseby-case basis. There will be calls

for authors and artists coming in early 2016 for a variety of book and visual arts projects. what do you envision for the future of king peanut?

The immediate future holds the late 2016 releases of our first three projects from HeartPunch, Delta Sol Revival and Ryan Spilken.

King Peanut is focused on a slow, steady growth; getting our products into locally-owned shops.

We’re beginning hyper-locally, of course, but have been talking to mom-and-pop record/book stores in some major markets as well. One of the advantages I’ve found already with the album magazines is they aren’t immediately pigeonholed for any specific types of retailers.

I look forward to working with new creatives and non-profits. what is something you would like everyone to know about king peanut?

One part of this project which is really close to my heart is tying a different local charity into each project. In the grand scope, our contributions are drops in the bucket of non-profit need, but it’s important to connect with those in need.

Albums coming out: HeartPunch, Hinky — Yankton Sothern led, with a great lineup of contributors, including Mark Bilyeu (Big Smith), Marcus Chatman (Speakeasy), Joe Terry (The Skeletons), Jason Spell and more.

Ryan Spilken, Beloved Villain — People are going to flip out when they hear this album. It is absolutely unique and stunning. There is an incredible cast of players on this one as well, including Phil Dickey and Jonathan James of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Delta Sol Revival, Witness — It’s hard to believe this will be the debut release from Tyler Stokes

and DSR. It was produced by Blues Music Award winner Devon Allman and features one Grammy winner and another nominee. you have always supported the local arts and music. why?

I support local arts and music because I grew up on it and the people creating it are damn talented. The talent in this city couldn’t be more understated. I want to help change the perception that “local, original music isn’t as good as Top 40.” That’s simply not true. There are dozens of bands across the genre-spectrum I would put up against anybody on the radio. what are some things about springfield and the downtown scene that you think people should know?

Everybody knows about the food, but that’s just the tip.

There’s authentic retail, living spaces, and a phenomenal range of music, performance, and gallery venues.

Come explore downtown and don’t assume anything.

Good news and fun events happen so frequently that the news will not report on them — unless it’s one of the four or five gigantic SGF events (or if it’s the host). When you hear or read a story about the “dangers” of Downtown Springfield, it isn’t the norm. Media companies make money circulating victim-based headlines.

Big shows are hidden in the cracks. One of the benefits to this being a second (third) level market for live music means we get a ton of off-night shows to fill in dates for mid-sized touring acts. Be proactive and you’ll find some big names in small places.

forty-one hours

seven

&

days

what things inspired your love of skateboarding, and to start a shop?

SKATEBOARDING HAS ALWAYS LENT a cool vibe to any place, in our opinion. But not everyone agrees. Though skateboard culture brings a plethora of style and fun to downtown Springfield, the local skaters have met more opposition than welcome. In our interview with Jose Rajas-Natal, we find out what’s up with the antinomy, and how he’s trying to change it through the Forty-One Seven Skateboard Shop. how did you start 41/7 skateboard shop?

Forty-One Seven started on 11/11/11. That was after my mom passed away, actually.

I didn’t do a loan or anything, so after she passed away, being a nurse working for the government she had a good life insurance and left the family a piece. So I just took what I had and started the shop. By the time this magazine comes out, I’ll be 30, but I’ve been working skate shops since I was 16.

My first job was a seafood place when I was 16. A buddy of mine worked at Ski Shack here in Springfield, MO. He was going into the military and that’s what got me in. I worked at Ski Shack for 2 1/2 years. They sold longboards, skis, wake boards, and other board sport stuff, so I had to learn about it. I was just into skateboarding at that young of an age, and was lucky to have that job, but after 2 1/2 years the owner at Classic Boards - the main skateboard shop in town - caught wind of that, and he knew me because I was competition. I was the only other person getting sales against him, really.

He asked me to work, and I worked for him for five years. After enough of that, I quit and went to the skate park. I was there for two or three years and that’s when my mom passed.

With all of those years under my belt, it was the only thing I knew. So I just have done that and stuck with it. That’s how 41/7 Skate Shop started.

What inspired me was just seeing videos, typical of anybody, I think. Somebody looks cool and you want to try it. I think also another thing that clicks is when you start figuring out tricks. When you land one thing, then you want to land another. If you keep on going, then that hooks you, really. What inspired me to start a shop was after knowing all the shops here, which was barely any, and the owners never really did skate, honestly.

So I just felt like somebody needed to step in who had the experience and knew all the accounts. I just wanted a real skate shop with an owner that skates and runs the shop like a shop should be. I just think the town needed that. what are some of your favorite spots to skate in downtown sgf?

Skating in downtown Springfield is a little iffy. I mean, I love to skate, and I do. I don’t have certain spots. I like to move around.

Out here, cops don’t like skating, and the city made an ordinance last year that you can’t skate in the Square. A friend of mine got a ticket a couple of months ago skating through there, but when it came to court, the judge had asked if it was transportation. It was, and the ticket got dismissed. But I’ve also had a friend get a ticket at Founders Park, at the water park. He got a $200 ticket. So that just makes you not want to skate, but that’s what skateboarding is. You’ve got to skate sometimes out there because you don’t want to skate the same thing. So you just roll the dice, really. The bank out there is cool, and the Square, but that’s like a big no-no. There

culture up: 41/7 skateboard shop

52

are some alleys out there, over by the theater.

You’ve just got to be creative because spots people think of are like a big ledge or a perfect rail, but you can make things up, like manual curbs or a parking block. Small things are fun too. what would you like to see happen in the sgf skate community?

I’d like for the shop to get more love! That’s for sure. I want more local support, because people just shop at the mall and not at local shops, because people don’t know and it’s just their go-to. I guess shops in the mall just click into people’s brain without thinking of real shops, you know? I wish people would acknowlege shops that were here before, or owners who actually skate. Those stores in the mall are just corporate-owned. They just hire people or whatever. I’d also like to see the city allow skateboarding. I’m sure it won’t happen fully, because in a way I see that whole destruction of property thing. But most times it’s already messed up. They get onto us for skating on the sidewalk when it’s already naturally cracked, or a car wrecked into the curb and cracked it up.

Things are already messed up, and a piece of wood and some soft wheels aren’t hurting it one bit. That’s what is rediculous when they get onto us for things like that. So I just wish it was a little bit more lenient. how big is the skateboarding community in sgf, and how do you feel that most people view them?

The local skate community is pretty big, but it’s kind of broken up. That’s one thing I wish, that we were united. It’s kind of weird, because I can go to Fort Smith, Arkansas or Tulsa, Oklahoma or Kansas City and sometimes feel more love there, because there’s just no drama. I don’t know what it is, but that just tends to happen a lot here, and it hasn’t stopped since I can remember getting into skateboarding out here. It’s just really different versus any other area. In big cities, there are a lot of shops around each other. For example, Kansas City; they’ve got two or three

shops out there that are friends. There’s no whatever in-betweens because you ride for this shop and we ride for ours. They’re all friends, and that’s just one thing I really wish, that it was like just one big family out here. is skateboard culture an art form?

That has been asked a lot. You can consider it an art form because with skateboarding the first thing is, to each their own. You’re your own coach. There are no rules, so you can be a dude who likes to dress in all white - I’ve seen that trend, and there are people who can pull that off. Or you can be the dude with the tight knit pants, the leather jacket, and chains, or whatever. There’s the dude with saggy pants, the New Era hat and jersey on... there are all kinds of styles.

I guess you can call that art if they’re wanting to express themselves however they want. That’s part of skateboarding. Nobody should judge a guy because of how he dresses. He’s just really into skateboarding and all about skateboarding. People are expressing themselves, and I love that. what’s coming up in the future of 41/7 skateboard shop?

The future of Forty-One Seven is really up the the people, honestly. We need everybody’s support so we can keep bringing things band in, and just keep paying the bills, because it’s not easy. I want to try to bring demos and that kind of stuff for the future.

In the four years I’ve been open, I still haven’t gotten any pros or ams or any teams to come out here, so I really want to do that. Of course, more contests and anything that hypes up the people to get our name out there and recognize who we are and what we are. Really it’s just a shop that’s operated by one of the guys who goes out, skates, films, goes on trips, and then has another life. So the future is positive as long as we have all those people backing us up.

So, thanks to everybody, that is one thing I will say.

Thanks to everybody that supports the shop instead of going online and doing all of that mall shopping.

Because every sale definitely does count, so I really appreciate that.

stars lores

YOU MAY BE ASKING yourself, just who are Heidi Mae and Joseph Herrington? For the eleventh issue of Deitra, we decided to feature this brother and sister team who are gaining a following in the YouTube world producing parody music videos. Self proclaimed nerds, Heidi and Joseph incorporate Star Wars themes into parodies of Taylor Swift music videos and more. Sound fun? You’d be right. This duo is making waves with their self-produced comedic videos, and coupled with frequent gigs of promotional modeling and even writing their own music, they are having a blast doing it all. we’ve known about you guys for a while, and we’re fans of your youtube videos. tell us why you started!

Heidi Mae: Joseph and I grew up touring with our family, so we love performing, and we just wanted another way to do that, and put our own spin on it without having to join the rat race that a lot of people do. A lot of people go through studios to make their music, but we were helping our family with touring, so we didn’t have that option. how do you come up with the ideas for a parody?

Heidi Mae: When a new song comes out, my brother and I are always listening for a new one, and we’ll get together, and it typically involves a cup of coffee, and we just come up with the most random ideas that we can. We’ve been parodying stuff since we were ten. So, anytime we watch a movie, or any time we hear new songs that come out, we’re always creating parodies of them. Even some situations in life. We’ll just start joking around about something, and then spiral it out of control all the time. So we’ll just get together and come up with ideas. We’ll have like 35 of them that will never work, just to come up with one. We’ll be like, “What if a robot came to town, and all the buildings exploded.”

Then we’ll look at each other and say, “So, do you have pyrotechnic skills and a town that you can destroy?” (laughs) Joseph: Yeah, it’s usually more like three or four cups of coffee. (laughs) Basically we look for a song that’s going to be popular and fun, and we always use

something that we like. We never wanted to do a song just because it’s going to be big. We always want to do something that we love and that we think is hilaroius.

And we hope that our fans who watch on YouTube will like it as well. We kind of get Mad Scientist about it. We just take it as far as it can possibly go. The funnest part is always trying to name it, because there’s always just so much going on and the thing that’s the hardest about it is, what do we call this? Because we have all this different stuff going on, and that’s how we are. We’re very creative and we love making people laugh as much as possible. We watch it, listen to it, and just let the inspiration flow through it.

We write out all of the ideas that we want to integrate and figure out the best ones.

Heidi Mae: In our “Bad Blood” video, because Taylor Swift’s music video has so many characters, it’s pretty much just an introduction. It was like, what if we introduce all of our different characters. When we finished and wrapped it up, I flew to California for vacation, and Joseph was like, “What are we going to name the video?”

And then I watched it was was like, “Oh my gosh, we have created a Frankenvideo.

There is no real specific thing going on here. I think we spent a week trying to make it. It was crazy. We never officially called it a Frankenvideo, but that was the title for about three weeks.

you guys sound like you work really well together. are you close in age?

Heidi Mae: We are 18 months apart, so we were best friends all through growing up. Except for when we were ten, Joseph decided that he wanted to go solo. He was like, “We’re not going to be friends anymore,” and I was like, “What?!” So Joseph at ten years old did his thing, and had his own little career, and then we became friends again because I forgave him for the betrayal.” (laughs) We work really well together because we’re both a little bit off our rockers creatively, so we can make a joke or go off on tangents about what we’re going to do with a video that we could never actually do, and it’s not like, “Oh, how dare you!” Plus, we’re family. So if he gets mad at me, he has to get over it, because we’re family. Even if the group breaks up, where’s he going to go? I’m still going to see him on the holidays. (laughs) Joseph: Why it works so well is because Heidi and I are on the same page, so we’re able to switch back and forth between directing, acting, and singing while we’re making the music videos. We work the whole process together all the way, so it’s a really cool thing that we found where we can both get in the same mindset and create something. I’ve had other family members that I’ve tried to do this with and they just think so differently, and it doesn’t work out so well. tell us about your directing and editing process, and how you put it all together.

Heidi Mae: Whenever we come up with the idea, or the theme, the next thing we do is write the lyrics. And then the lyrics determine the scenes that we shoot. So, for instance on “Bad Blood,” Joseph came up with all of the imagery because I was away on a job on the East coast. So Joseph came up with all of the scenes that we shot. Typically though, we’ll do that together and write our lyrics together. If you’ve seen our “Walking Dead” video,

Joseph and I wrote and recorded that in a hotel room while we were doing a job. Then we’ll sit down and talk about the scenes. At the beginning, we weren’t very organized with it. It was like, just grab a video camera and bam! It has somewhat evolved from there. I’d like to think that we’ve become a bit more professional. So now we sit down and write out the scenes, and then we shoot them in a couple of days.

We’ll cast our family members in the roles that we want for them, and as long as they’re happy with it, and if not we trade their roles around. And then while we’re shooting, Joseph will shoot all the scenes that he’s not in, and vice versa. All the scenes that Joseph is in and I’m not in, I’ve shot those for him. So we’ll switch back and forth. For instance, the X-File scenes at the end of “Bad Blood,” we were in the Branson Park, and I was running after them with the video camera to get the running motion going. So we constantly switch between who’s doing directing, and then once the entire project is in the can, then Joseph does all of the post-editing on the actual film.

And then I do all of the photography editing. So all of the thumbnails and screenshots, like the posters for the “Bad Blood” video. I do that type of editing and he works for days on the video editing.

Joseph: On the topic of editing and the film style, what we do now is watch the music video from the artist, and we figure out the scenes that we want to recreate the feelings and the atmosphere so that when the fans watch it, they get into it more. Basically I just listen to the song, look at the lyrics, watch the video, and visualize all of the scenes. I’ve found that when you’re directing, it can help a whole lot to have an idea for every single scene. So we went through the whole song, we got all of the scenes thought out and written down, and matched them up to locations that we wanted to film, and then when I edit I already have an idea of where I want those scenes to go. Then it’s just working the right takes and the right shots in. Of course, there’s always room for some extra creativity, like adding an extra scene or something like that.

so, you said you started doing this when you were really young?

Heidi Mae: Yes. We didn’t put it online though. And I will say it wasn’t...

Joseph: We didn’t know editing existed.

Heidi Mae: Yeah, we didn’t know editing, so we would write parodies to songs that we would just sing, just for ourselves I guess. And we also made movies. Like home movies.

They weren’t your typical home movies. We made a movie called “Geek Man,” and it was about a superhero who was a geek, and he wore a diaper on the outside of his superhero costume. Which we didn’t really have access to spandex or anything like that.

There’s no budget when you’re 12. So it was like our other little brother’s pajamas, and our younger sister’s diaper.

Joseph: It was a clean diaper, though. (laughs) Heidi Mae: We’ve been making these films for a long time off and on, and we’ve got a ton of footage of all the embarrassing evidence from back then.

what made you guys lean toward doing parodies?

Heidi Mae: We’ve always parodied big subjects, but when it comes to art and being creative and putting it out there, I’ve always said that you could have the most amazing art on the planet. It could be a painting, a song, or a poem, but if no one sees it, no one’s getting to enjoy what you’ve done. So it’s almost like you create this beautiful masterpiece that you can’t get out to people. It’s almost a waste if the world doesn’t get to see what you’ve made.

So, he has his own music and I have my own music, he writes really well and I write poetry, but there was no way to be putting these things out and nobody was finding it. Nobody was was actually getting to see the artwork and enjoy it, and get any kind of experience or joy out of it. And then when we did a parody, because we’ve always done that, a song of ours would maybe get a hundred views, and the parody would get a hundred-thousand views. We realized that it was a way for people to discover and enjoy the art that we were making, and it was a form that we’ve always enjoyed, and

we did it well. So instead of making things that nobody got to see, suddenly people were able to see the art and enjoy it and get a laugh out of it. We’ve always been comedians our entire lives. We’ve always loved making people laugh. So we’re actually getting to make people laugh, and put it straight into their hands. For instance, we did a parody to “Die Hard,” which I’m going to forwarn you, not the best acting. But I think it has ten-thousand views or something like that, and people enjoyed it. They liked it, so we’re making something that people are actually getting to see and enjoy and experience, without our being lost in the shuffle and it never seeing the light of day. that makes a lot of sense. we work with a lot of musicians, and sometimes it seems like it’s difficult for artists to get noticed.

Heidi Mae: Yes. And because we were in a family business, and we toured extensively - like six to nine months out of the year - we didn’t have the option at 18 to go to Nashville or L.A. to try to figure this thing out. It left very few options, unless you’re super creative, which is why putting it all online works. We could still help our family out in the business and get to put our art out there at the same time, instead of having to choose: do I go for what I want, or do I stay and help my family.

Joseph: One thing that was important to us was to create a content that has value and meaning, and not just something that’s gross or whatever. So parodies are such a natural fit because we both love to make people laugh,

and we’re just very light-hearted people.

Anytime you can do a fresh take on a classic, it’s always enjoyed for the most part, if you do a good take on it. So parodies and covers are a great way for us to perform, entertain, make people laugh and feel good, and give them enough of a familiarity that they get it, but also put our own fresh wacky spin on it.

Heidi Mae: One of the things that Joseph and I had decided when we first started making parodies was that we didn’t want to be like other YouTubers who, when they make a parody, they just make fun of the artist. It’s just like, let’s cut down the artist, let’s make fun of them, let’s say really mean things about them, and they all tend to do the same thing. So Joseph and I decided early on that we didn’t want to belittle someone to get a laugh. We would rather it be a little bit tougher, and have to be more creative with it, but make something that was funny and also positive, and invest a good feeling for the people who watch it instead of making a laugh at someone else’s expense. do you generally choose taylor swift over anyone else?

Joseph: We do a lot lately. I was like, are we going to be like Taylor Swift 2.0 or something? But really she’s just a phenomenal artist and she’s been doing a lot of great stuff. But we do try to branch out and mix it up. It just depends on what’s out.

We had a dry spell earlier this year, like three or four months when there just weren’t any good songs that were out that we felt were fit to parody or make a fun video of. There were a lot of great songs, but a lot of them were slower, kind of sad, and so Taylor Swift has just really been doing a really great job this year.

Heidi Mae: And we never want to parody a song in any way that it would belittle the original song. For instance, the song about Paul Walker has a great video, but we both decided that we didn’t want to parody it because the meaning of the song is so special, and a memorial to such an amazing

Joseph: It was very embarrassing when we started. person that we were like, no, I don’t want to make a joke out of something that is not a joke, and is a very special thing to a lot of people. We’re hoping that someone else comes out with another number one. In fact, the next video that we’re shooting is not Taylor Swift, so that’s nice to mix it up. tell us more about your family.

Heidi Mae: Our parents had six kids, so they really liked each other. (laughs) My dad started out as a street musician on Fisherman’s Wharf. He was a hippie, as well, pretty much.

Joseph: Straight out of Vietnam.

Heidi Mae: Yeah, so he got out of Vietnam and then became a one-man band. Then he got into touring at outdoor venues once he found my mom and they got married - to support her.

So we would tour with him as kids, so all of our schooling was done through tutoring and online. And then it reached the point to where the industry was changing, and my dad could not support our family being a one-man band anymore. The times had changed and the culture didn’t really want that anymore. I was about 12 or 13, and our parents sat all of us kids down, and they had a talk with us and told us that our dad could not support us anymore. So the only option was to settle down in Cabool, Missouri, and for them to get real jobs. Neither of my parents had college degrees, so the options they would have had for real jobs would not have been very good because it was a very small town. The other option was to make a family show, and for us kids to become involved. It was a Hillbilly comedy and music show. Our two older sisters decided that they didn’t want to do it.

They were like, this sounds awesome, but it also sounds super embarrassing, so we don’t want to be in this Hillbilly show.

Heidi Mae: It was rough. But Joseph and I, and our younger brother, Gabriel, decided that we did want to do it. So starting at that point, we created a show together and we ended up getting our own stage, and touring that way. And we absolutely loved it, just performing and singing. I’ve sang since I was two years old, so music and acting and entertainment is very much in our blood.

We’ve always done this, and we found that the Internet was another medium to do the things that we loved to do.

Joseph: What was cool about touring was that it allowed us to cultivate and develop all of our skills and our passions for acting and singing, and everything that we do for the most part in all of our videos is all self-taught.

And that’s from all of the things that we learned and developed while touring with our family over the years. do you think that being located in branson was a positive thing for your art?

Joseph: I would say yes. We met a lot of really cool people. With our videos especially, much of it is about location, and getting a cool vibe, so while in Branson - while our parents were taking off and doing better - we connected with great people, a lot of actors and actresses in the area. We found a lot of really cool spots, like when we filmed in the park. And we also connected with a lot of people, like when we found all of the people to be in our Star Wars video. It was like the perfect hub to be connected to the arts and we got to be in a theater show in the summer, so it was actually a really cool thing. I think it definitley helped us develop our videos to the level that they’re at.

Heidi Mae: We recently moved closer to St. Louis. In our Bruno Mars video, the 501st Legion (the International Star Wars costuming organization) was a group that we connected with, and they’re all bad guys in Star Wars, and they do charity work. When we were working with them on the video, we both really fell in love with the organization and everything that they stand for, and Joseph is actually going to be a Storm Trooper and join the organization officially.

So that’s super exciting. We get to go with them to local conventions, which we just started doing.

In April we started going to Anime conventions and Comicons. They have a lot of local ones in the area. We actually get to go with the 501st Legion and help represent their charity, and introduce people to them, and then also just get to meet and spend time with the fans that are watching our videos and are enjoying it. It’s a really good way of promoting charity, and also getting to interact with the people that we’re making these videos for.

Joseph: We get to be around more people like us. (laughs) Heidi: Not everybody understands dressing up like your favorite character. (laughs) Joseph: You probably didn’t notice this, but we’re not exactly normal. So it’s great to be around other creative people. so, how excited are you guys about the new star wars movie?

Heidi: Oh my gosh!

Joseph: Do you want to hear a story about this?

Heidi and I were in this little town in Arkansas right after we put out our “Gamer Girl” video.

We were working for a Chevrolet event, and Heidi tells me that the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer is out. So as soon as I get a break, I run to the car and get out my phone, and I watch it. And I’m like, ugh, that’s kind of lame. So I tell Heidi to watch the trailer and that I’m really disappointed. This is a big Star Wars movie and I was so excited! And then I found out the next day that it was a fake trailer. When we watched the real one, we geeked out about it for days. I’m still geeking out about it.

Heidi Mae: I’m so excited, words cannot even describe! I’ve decided that I’m going to go in Cosplay to it! I can remember watching the fans at the The Phantom Menace. The first time I ever watched Star Wars, I was probably eight. It was bedtime, so our parents sent us to bed, and they were watching it downstairs. I snuck out of my bedroom and crawled on my belly, and layed in the hallway of the second floor to peer down the stairs and watch what they were watching. This TV was like 12 inches, and I watched the scene where Luke Skywalker goes in to rescue Han Solo in The Return of The Jedi. So the first time I ever saw Star Wars I was sneaking in all James Bond style. Ever since then I’ve loved Star Wars.

Joseph: What’s so funny about that is a perfect example of why Heidi and I work so well together. I actually, believe it or not, did the exact same thing.

But it was ironically the film before it, The Empire Strikes Back. But the exact same thing, sneaking out onto the top of the steps. The very first thing of Star Wars that I ever saw was when Darth Vader cuts off Luke Skywalker’s hand. We were raised in a small town, so we had never seen anything like that, and it was absolutley amazing. Of course because we snuck it, we couldn’t talk to our parents about it, and ask to watch the movie, because how would we know? So the next day I was really nonchalant about it, and said, “Oh, hey guys, you see any cool movies lately?” We actually kind of tricked our parents into talking about it, and finally they let us watch Star Wars. From that moment on, I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan.

Heidi Mae: Actually, from that moment on, he’s been honing his Jedi skills. (laughs) And I can remember him telling me one time, “Heidi, I need to tell you something. I have the force.” (laughs) Joseph: It’s really influenced what we do now.

Basically we are like, be a nerd, be you, be cool.

Whoever you really are, whatever you love, that’s awesome, and be proud of that. It’s important for everyone to just do what they love and be who they really are.

make

rocket go

MAKE ROCKET GO IS an up and coming indie band founded in 2012 out of Springfield, MO, headed up

by Scott Jones on guitar and vocals, Chris Lewis on drums, and Michelle Sewell bringing the vocals and the feminine sex appeal. Their sound carries a mashup of influences ranging from Jonny and June Cash to Radiohead. We’ve enjoyed the fresh sound of this trio since they performed at an indie music night we held at the little dive bar formerly known as the Highlife in downtown Springfield. And since then, they’ve continued to remain on our musical radar. what projects are you working on right now?

Scott Jones: We haven’t dedicated a block of writing in a while, so we are focusing on songwriting. Also we would like to play a little more consistently and branch out to a few more nearby cities. what inspires you to perform music?

Michelle: I love to be able to see people’s reactions to our music and how they get into it. I love to hear their feedback.

Scott: What inspires me is the fun and rush of playing live. Also, the family-like atmosphere of being in a band, and the bonds and memories we get to share together.

I love creating music and recording it, and being proud and excited to share it.

Chris Lewis: Music has always been inside me trying to get out. I find it’s so much fun to share it in a live venue, and to be able to interact and just give it all you’ve got.

who writes the songs and what are they generally about?

Scott: Everyone has a hand in making the songs what they are. We’ve tried to focus consistently on a collaborative aspect. Our music is about different pieces of our own lives throughout its entirety, and we try to express that through music. what is your favorite era of music to listen to?

Michelle: I love all music, but I have to say the 70s and the 90s.

Chris: I’ve always found that if I’m having a crappy day, I come home and put on 80s music and it makes me smile. I like listening to Tears for Fears on Pandora.

Scott: Mostly late 90s and early 2000s pop-punk. I also really like a lot of the newer stuff, especially Paramore and Jack White. what are each of your musical backgrounds?

Michelle: I was in a jam band for a while, then I was in a Christian band and choir in high school, and touring with the choir. Then Make Rocket Go. Scott: I was 16 years old and my best friend at the time started playing guitar, so I followed in his footsteps. Pretty much from the time I was 16 until I moved out at 18, I was perpetually grounded for one reason or another, so I spent hours and hours in my room playing guitar. Once I moved out I bought a cheap drum set and ended up playing drums in a band in KC for more than a decade. Then after moving to Springfield I played bass guitar for a while, and then ended up back on guitar in Make Rocket Go. Chris: I was born a drummer, I came out playing drums.

My dad’s a drummer, my brother’s a drummer, I’ve been playing drums since the 6th grade in every possible avenue that you can think of. From concert band and jazz band and pep band at school, to ska punk to rock to Make Rocket Go. I even played buckets on America’s Got Talent and The Cadence at Icon. I totally sealed the deal with the love of my life from playing on buckets.

do you think that online presence is important? what’s it like performing on stage together?

Scott: Most importantly we just try to have fun, and we think that shows in our performances. We hope that if the audience sees us having fun and not taking things too seriously that they will have a good time as well. We consider each other as a second family and have really developed a good feel for each other’s tendencies while performing. Having fewer members now than we’ve had in the past also allows a tightness that we haven’t had in a while, and the ability to recover quickly on stage if one of us decides to go on his or her own musical journey in the middle of a song. Otherwise known as a fuckup. what do you love most about performing or recording music?

Michelle: I love that we get to have a little piece of us out there for other people to hear. When I tell people that I’m in a band, or they find out that I’m in a band, it’s kind of surprising for them. So it’s really a neat interactive piece that I get to have with them. Also just having that experience, it’s very enjoyable for what you’ve been working so hard for, for so long. To actually come together and have people listen to it.

Chris: Music has always been a joy and an inspiration. It’s always been a positive part of my life, and the influences you get growing up, it’s neat to see how those can come out and see how they affect others when it’s a part of you that’s coming out. where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration, and what is your usual songwriting process?

Michelle: In my bed. Not anything weird or what you may be thinking! Just sitting in my bed and reflecting on my life. But really it comes from everywhere. You can be inspired by anything. You can start thinking of music while you’re at the park or on vacation, or anywhere at anytime.

Scott: The current songwriting process has been coming up with a few different guitar riffs, and laying them crudely down as a voice memo, and sending them to Michelle where she works some vocal melody line and lyrical magic. Then she and I get together to loosely establish an overall song structure. Then the three of us get together and allow Chris’s creative drumming to see where the song will naturally go.

Nothing is forced, and if it’s not coming together naturally and easily, then we take a break and rock out to some familiar MRG songs to get the music vibe back where it needs to be.

Michelle: Big time, it’s huge. It’s another way to reach people that you may not have an opportunity to speak to.

Chris: It’s the way music is being shared now. We’ve decided to keep our music free for downloading. what’s your outlook on the record industry today?

Scott: Everything has changed drastically since the days of Napster. It’s still easy to share music illegally, and having pretty much access to listen to any song you want to at any time on YouTube obviously means record labels have to use other approaches to make a profit. Ticket prices for major concerts have gone up substantially, and I think we will continue to see this trend. I do still think that there are tons of unsigned artists out there that deserve a chance that record labels just aren’t willing to step up and offer.

Which brings us back to why an online presence is so important. If you can establish yourself online and get a large following, it will force the industry to take notice. what do you think about online music sharing and giving your music away for free?

Scott: We, at the level we are at, have decided to give away our music regularly, and play for free regularly. Sure, making a few extra bucks is nice, but we all have other jobs and view what we are doing as just for fun and the love of music. We are all of the opinion that reaching out to as many people as we can, and sharing our talent is more important than trying to profit from a hobby.

Chris: Share your gift and, as the Red Hot Chili Peppers say, “Give it away, Give it away, Give it away now!” since everyone was a startup once, can you give any smaller or local bands looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Scott: (laughs) We are the smaller local band! We need the tips!

Chris: Most important, “Be nice!”

Michelle: Yes, be nice to every single person. It doesn’t matter if it’s a janitor or somebody in a suit and tie, or even someone at the very bottom of the barrel like a sound guy. (laughs) Be nice to every single person because you never know what it might turn into. Be nice, have fun, and be respectful. Not just to the audience, but the people that work at and run the venue you’re playing at, and the other bands. More than likely those connections you make with other bands are going to be what turns into more gigs in the future.

Check out Make Rocket Go on Facebook, ReverbNation, and CD Baby @MakeRocket Go.

71

kendra

ANYTHING THAT WE COULD write about Kendra Lane would fall short of the dynamic powerhouse that she really is. As the bass player for two popular bands, Chasing Pictures and Randall Shreve and the DeVilles, Kendra Lane is both musically talented and inspirationally thoughtful. What you’ll find in this interview is a piece of her truly beautiful mind. tell me about the first of the two bands that you’re in, chasing pictures.

I joined Chasing Pictures in early 2011 and have been in that band since then. We have an EP and a single out on any of the digital music venues as well as on CD. We’ve been playing for about four and a half years now, and have been through some trying times, but it’s been good. It showed us a lot about how much bands are almost identical to relationships. It’s very interesting. You get to know these people so much, and over time, it’s just like whenever people tell you that the people closest to you hurt you more than the people that aren’t. It’s the same type of a deal. If you’re in a relationship or a band or whatever it is, even family members can hurt you more just because they know you more. It’s not on purpose obviously, but a lot of times it just hurts because of how close they are to you and what they mean to you. Anyway, I’ve been through some major ups and downs, but it’s a fabulous band. I love every single guy in this band. Originally there were five members, and I was the only girl, but now we are a four-piece band. It’s going great, we are recording our first full-length album currently. We’ve been writing music for quite some time now, and finally we decided that instead of doing just EPs and singles that we were going to do a full-length album. We’re recording that right now, and we are hoping for a release later this year. I’m super excited about it! Being in the music industry, it’s crazy how you connect with songs that you didn’t personally write. I didn’t write the songs with the guys in either bands that I’m in, but either way you still get a part of the songs when you’re playing with them.

You come up with your own personal ways that you play the songs. When that happens and you play with a band for so long, you just become a part of that song and a part of the music. It just means so much to you whenever you release something like that. I write poetry and things like that, but I’ve never written an actual song before. Hopefully I’ll do that one of these days. Music has been such a huge part of my life for so long that whenever something like this happens, it feels like such a huge accomplishment. let’s talk about randall shreve now!

Okay! Well, obviously I’ve been with Chasing Pictures for a while now, and we just had a bit of a break at the end of the year where we focused on writing and getting ready for the new album. When that happened, it was just crazy because the next thing you know, I get a Facebook message from Randall Shreve asking me to come chat with him. My initial thought was, “Nuh-uh... There’s no way that he’s going to be asking me to come play music with him.” All I could think was, “Kendra, don’t get your hopes up.” I got over there when we met up, and he flat-out asked me to play bass with his new project he was working on, which ended up being The DeVilles. The crazy part is that I’ve actually known about Randall since I was about 16 years old. And I’m 33 right now, so if that tells you anything, about half of my years I’ve known about him. He’s always established himself as just this incredible musician, so when he asked me, it was such a huge deal to me. It was one of those things where if I want playing music to be my career, there’s no way I can say no. And if I can take more opportunities than what I’ve got on my plate right now, I’m going to do it. We immediately started working on songs and recording the album, and I mean it was fast! But it was awesome. It stretched me as a musician. I’ve never played music like this. The other band I play in is more of an alternative rock band with a Coldplay type of a sound.

The DeVilles are vaudeville rock, and I’ve never played this before, but I love it!

lane

have you played music since you were a kid?

I grew up in a family that had music in the roots. My grandmother on my dad’s side actually played piano, organ, guitar, bass, accordian... all of it. She was amazing. My dad ended up playing drums for quite a few bands as I grew up. He also played bass, and he played guitar at home a lot. It was just in our blood. I have an older brother and we’re super great friends. He has been a drummer mostly, but also plays guitar and other things. He is a super good drummer, and he started playing in bands when I was in my mid teens. And I was jealous! So I got in my first band when I was 17, and I’ve been playing in bands ever since. I’ve always messed around on guitar and been around a lot of music venues with my dad. I love it. I’m so glad that this was something that was embedded in our family. Me not playing music isn’t me.

What I remember about my mom growing up was that she always listened to music.

As much as my dad was a part of my playing instruments, my mom was the one who influenced me to just listen. That’s what was so cool, is that she introduced me to bands back then, which is why I have such a passion for 70s and 80s music. I love everything. There’s barely any genre that I don’t like. I like pretty much anything, and that’s what is awesome. I can still listen to it today and it just takes me back. what are you reading right now?

I’ve started reading a lot of inspirational books. I want my life to feel like there’s meaning. I want to live it to its fullest. I also love a lot of poetry, like Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe. I used to write a lot of poetry.

do you like to write music as well?

I would love to write music. I can write words, but when it comes to putting music to those words it’s been difficult for me. I would love to actually sit down and work myself to a point where I could write a song. A part of is that it’s scary. I don’t know what’s going to come of it. I don’t know if it’s going to be good enough. I’ve got this “good enough” complex, of course!

So that’s the tough part about that. There’s a non-profit organization called To Write Love On Her Arms (dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, and self-injury). When I heard about this organization, it blew me away. It’s a huge organization that at some point I hope I to be a part of. They help out with people who have issues with eating dissorders or cutting, or any of that kind of stuff that is obviously not helping you in any sort of way. And I used to deal with that when I was younger. So, it hit home. It’s awesome that they have this organization there that anybody can call, anytime that they need to. When I started writing, I noticed about myself that when I wrote it was all really dark things. It was painful. Things that I had thought about or had dealt with, or things that really hurt me. It was really tough to work through that personally, and it’s good to see an organization that is helping people work through it. I want to be part of something like that. That’s my ultimate goal in life, as well as doing something with music. That’s what I love about To Write Love On Her Arms, is that they partner with a lot of musicians, and I want to do that. I want to be a part of it, I want to help, I want people to know that they’re not alone.

Sharing my writing with someone started the healing process for me. It helped me to open up about the things that I was scared to, or that I didn’t really want to. It’s a helpful thing when you start opening up to people. I have really realized that the more that I’m honest and open, it creates this freedom. Do what you know is right, and do what makes you happy! Making music makes me happy. Music talks about life. It talks about experiences and things that you go through, things that happen to you and things that affect you. That’s what I’m about. I’m striving to affect all of those people in a way that they feel something when they hear a song.

justice adams band

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DEITRA GOT THE CHANCE to chat with Adam Schoeller, Sammy Sharon, Ruben Smith, and Cameron Stacy of local rock-country group, Justice Adams Band, about Sound Under Studio, their upcoming album, and the music scene in their hometown of Springfield, MO. tell us a little bit about the band and how you got together.

Adam Schoeller (lead vocals & guitar): I had gotten together with this other guy, Justin Schaffer, and we worked on a couple of songs and wanted to record them. We called Sammy (Sharon) because he plays drums, and we called Ruben (Smith) because he plays bass. We found Cameron (Stacy) through devious means, and we just put together a few songs that we liked, and decide we wanted to record them and play them. how would you describe your music?

Sammy Sharon (drums): It’s rock-country. We’ve been described as a rock group that has started playing country music. you guys have been getting an awesome response in springfield, mo. how did you get started?

Sammy: We kind of just started out cutting our teeth downstairs at the Outland.

The Outland Complex is a favorite of downtown Springfield’s local bands, and has three rooms to perform in, including two downstairs and one large Ballroom upstairs. “The Outland” downstairs is the prefered stage for up and coming bands starting out in the local music scene.

Sammy: It’s the little dank, disgusting room that everyone starts at.

Adam: Which is the best.

Sammy: And then randomly we got asked last minute to play the Eli Young Band show at the Gillioz Theatre.

That’s when we started recording our second record, and it all just started picking up from there. We’ve had a few other shows at Gillioz since then.

Ruben Smith (bass): There are jokes that we’re the house band there.

Cameron Stacy (guitar & vocals): We opened for Chase Rice, then Brett Michaels. That show was awesome.

Adam: A lot of good stuff, like right place, right time kind of stuff. We kind of just locked in, which was nice.

Sammy: Plus we have an engineer at our disposal and a studio, so we kind of get free reign to be creative whenever and however we want to without breaking the bank. tell us more about Adam’s studio, Sound Under.

Adam: It’s in the old radio station downtown, in the old KICK building. I’ve been here almost a year.

We’ve got a pretty cool setup. We’ve got a really nice analog recording console, but it goes into Pro Tools, and really nice microphones and pre-amps.

We get to work with a lot of different bands, too, which is awesome. I’m really lucky. I’ve worked with a lot of great bands. Gorlons came out this year, and I’m doing some new stuff with Gigantic. We also worked with Mood Ring Circus, Rocky Young, and JGrey. Loogey is coming in for four days straight. The Bootheel recorded their EP here, and so did Knife Death. Long Weird Word was a big record in Springfield. It seemed like a lot of people dug that. We’re staying busy! that’s a lot of really great up and coming bands in springfield!

Adam: Yeah, there’s a lot of really great bands in Springfield. People don’t realize that or they don’t appreciate it. The local music scene has always been an ebb and flow. A few years ago it was cookin’! There was so much happening, you couldn’t keep track of it. And then the same thing that always happens, happened. Everybody decided that they would move or get married or whatever they were doing that distracted them. And then the scene dies for like a year or two. I think it’s in the stage that it’s really coming back. I think a lot of bands are playing. Jimmy Kochs (owner of the Outland Complex) did a really good job of keeping all three rooms of the Complex booked five or six nights a week, which is pretty insane.

That’s opened a lot of doors for people to be able to play with bigger bands, and more opportunities for newer bands to get together and play, and meet each other through networking at a place like that or Lindbergs.

Ruben: I don’t think that it’s ever going to able to die since it’s such a college town. You’re always going to have an influx of new, younger people in the scene, and they’re probably going to be the ones who push that the hardest. They’re not jaded yet and they still care. They actually go out to shows and push their friends’ shows.

Cameron: With Eli Young Band, when we got off stage, we had several people come up to us and say, “So, where are you guys from? Where’s the next stop of the tour?”

Adam: The bar! (laughs)

Cameron: It’s been a lot better in the last year or so.

that’s an awesome side effect to playing at bigger shows. how can other local bands get onto shows like that?

Sammy: Yeah, festivals like Sertoma, Rockin Ribs, Chili Cookoff, Wingapalooza, and all that stuff. It’s only getting better. Even the cover bands are getting better.

They’re getting bigger followings, and there’s room for both. They’re not mutually exclusive, and they can share their crowds.

Cameron: Well, it was chance for us.

it’s so cool to see you guys playing at the gillioz on stage with famous acts!

Ruben: The Gillioz is awesome.

When we had to deal with going from 30-60 person crowds to 8001200 person crowds, it was a little bit of an adjustment. We were just a bar band in essence, and then we were stuck on a big stage. It’s a pretty cool transistion, though. do you think having shows like that has helped you gain more of an audience?

Cameron: Yes, for sure. We’ve run into a couple people who recognized us from one of the shows at the Gillioz, which is crazy.

Adam: I think the weirdest thing about trying to grow our crowd from those kinds of shows is that - even though I’ll say it a few times on stage - nobody thinks that we’re from here. Everybody just assumes that we’re on tour with the headling band. I’ll be on stage saying that we’re from Springfield, and come see us three weeks from now at the Ballroom or wherever, and people just don’t get it.

Ruben: They don’t believe it.

Ruben: But once you remove chance, you get your first shot. If you show up and you’re professional, and you put on a good show that helps the main band, and you can get the crowd ready for them, then they’re going to ask you back, if you do your job and do it well. You can get chances as a band to play in front of somebody big, but you just have to make the most of it, really.

Sammy: The first show was pretty much just referral. It was word of mouth, and they gave us a shot. The next shows, we were asked back simply because we made Springfield proud. If any band can make Springfield proud, repping the town that the touring band is coming to, that’s what it’s all about.

Adam: Speaking of proud in town, Geoff and Joy Steele do a killer job at keeping the Gillioz running the way they do. They’ve had a lot more good shows come through this year than all the other years combined, pretty much, with very few outliers. I would love to see more local bands play at the Gillioz. Honestly, things just happen last minute. Just stay practiced.

We practice usually three times a week, so it just so happened that we were ready for a last minute show. Every local band should be practicing a lot, and just making sure they’re on top of their shit, because you never know when somebody is going to call and say you’re playing in two days in front of 400 people.

Ruben: You’ll feel like a chump for having some sort of reason like not knowing the songs well enough.

Adam: Shit, we don’t even care if our drummer’s in town, we’ll take it! (laughs) a lot of people i talk to say that springfield has their favorite music scene out of the midwest. do you agree?

Cameron: I think that we have a lot of variety here, which we didn’t have not to long ago. You can go out and see a hip hop show. You can go out and see an indie show, or metal. It’s all here. That’s great for music lovers.

Sammy: With it being a college town, it’s also kind of transient. In the age bracket of 18 to 35, no one really stays around for more than three or four years unless they actually put down roots. I think that’s where that ebb and flow comes from. We’re at the end of a summer break right now, just coming into the school year, and you can kind of feel like everything is dead now and nothing is really happening. Then you go out and play your first show in the fall and the year is back on. For us, everything over the summer has been low key. We’ve been sort of holed up writing, recording, and getting our personal stuff in order so that we can stay available for the rest of the nine months of the year.

do you guys do any touring? i’m excited to have you guys play at the magazine release party! what else is coming up for the band?

Adam: We’re playing a bunch of new songs for the magazine release. We have two EP’s that we’ve already released and then we are in the middle of finishing demoing out our next one. We will probably record another EP or two in November. We’ll probably release it around the first of the year. We’re going to do it pretty quickly. It’s really easy to spend way too much time nit-picking at recordings. You want it to be right, but there’s also a certain amount of humanity that gets imparted that you want to keep in there. So it’ll be raw, but it’ll sound good. It’ll sound real. We don’t have a lot of tricks. We’re just a four-piece band, and we don’t have a sampler or backing tracks, or a harmony pedal or anything. We just do what we do.

Sammy: We just demo it until it’s right, hammer it out, and when the right demo happens, we all listen to it for a week, and then we come and practice it until we can’t forget it. And that’s how the record happens.

It’s a little more mentally and physically draining doing it that way, but when you’re making a record - as existential as this sounds - you’re making something that isn’t mortal. You’re not going to go back and change it. So we’d rather spend the time now to make sure it’s right so that we’re not pissed at ourselves five or ten years from now. has your sound changed from one album to the next?

Ruben: It’s definitely getting different.

Adam: Our first one was a little heavier. It was more rock-focused. The second one was a little less agressive, and had a little more swing to it. The albums are getting more dynamic, I would say. This next one will have some dark undertones, but also some happier stuff on it too.

Sammy: I feel like instead of saying “dark,” I’d say more mature.

Adam: We did a couple of acoustic shows in Nashville, just like songwriter kind of stuff. But outside of that, we’re just focusing on Springfield, because it’s pointless to go play in Denver once a year. You’ve got to go back every four to six weeks. While we’re totally open to doing that, when the time comes, we’ll know.

Cameron: Having the priority of getting a home base here in Springfield is so important. Because at the end of the day, if you don’t have some type of support where you’re from, and the people in your hometown don’t support you, why would you expect anyone else to care?

Sammy: Our philosophy is “be productive, not busy.” That’s our main priority. We’ve all been in other bands that have done the forced touring, where you have to prove to your friends and family that you’re busy with music. And then you end up coming home more exhausted and you don’t have any energy left to write a song. Our priority right now is just making sure that we have a home base, we have friends and followers here, and in between shows we still have the energy and the time to actually write more songs. That’s one thing that I don’t think takes precedence anymore these days with music. People don’t really put a whole lot of importance on the song.

Adam: They just churn out another record so they can go back on tour.

Sammy: That’s the serendipidous way that this band started. It was around one song. It was one song that Adam and Schaffer wrote. We started piecing together a few more, and pieced together some friends to play it, and here we are.

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Find all of the music from Justice Adams Band on any form of electronic music streaming or music purchase, including iTunes, Google, and Spotify.

Also follow them on social media @JusticeAdamsBand and @TheJusticeAdams, and catch them live at any local music venue in Springfield, MO.

jj & the

soul society DEITRA RECENTLY HEARD ABOUT this new soulinfused hip hop group headed up by Jonathan Joseph Williams and his band, The Soul Society. Williams is joined by Mikey Yates, CJ Harrison, Emmett McWoods, and Roman Purshaga, and together, they are making new music and pushing new boundaries on the Springfield music scene. tell us a little bit about you, your music, and what this all means to you!

Jonathan Joseph: Well, for starters, I’m from Arlington, Texas. I’ve been making music seriously for about five years now. I have always had a love for music. I grew up in a house where my dad played mostly soul music and west coast rap, with him being from L.A. As I grew

up, I was always drawn to soul music. Especially the music of the Soulquarians Collective, with artist such as D’angelo, Common, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and J Dilla. Their music had this feeling that was different from other music. It felt like it was from a real place, like it was really from the depths of their soul! They also had a conscious message in their music, which is something my band and I try to do with our music.

We want to make music that touches the soul, that makes people feel something. Music that makes people want to dance and, for those four minutes, takes them away from their problems. We want our music to inspire people toward love. I believe that is what I’m supposed to do with my life. I believe that is why God gave me this talent to share it with people and show them that you can do whatever your dream is. God gave you that dream for a reason and he wants to use you to touch people with that gift.

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tell us about your recordings!

There are two finished songs and two demos. we are still in the studio working on new music. All the songs on my SoundCloud we made together. what are your thoughts on performing solo vs performing with a group?

We are not so much a group as we are like a collective. We all came together to work on my album. Then our chemistry was so amazing, we were like, “We need to turn this into something!” Thus the Soul Society was started. It’s eight of us total, but the main three members include myself, DJ/

Producer Mikey Yates, and keyboard/violinist/producer/singer Emmett McWoods. I definitely prefer making music with them.

I’ve done the whole produce an album by myself thing. It’s hard because you get tunnel vision.

But when you have other people who get your vision and want to make it better, it makes the process fun and the music so much better.

Check out Jonathan Joseph and The Soul Society at soundcloud. com/jonathanjoseph3, and give them a like @thesoulsociety.

- We love the super moody strings in this track. It could find itself easily on a movie soundtrack.

- This is a fun laid-back tune with smooth piano grooves.

- With its groovy loop, this is the one we want to dance to.

I HAD THE AWESOME pleasure of chatting with the stylish and talented miss Katie Shelton of local 90s cover band, The Mixtapes. She performs along with her husband Johnny Shelton, Phillip Burmood, Chris Slater, and Lauren Slater. Katie is not only a popular icon in the music scene - performing with her fellow bandmates all of our fave tunes by R.E.M. and The Cranberries, just to name a few - she is also quite the famous blogger and social media extraordinairre. This particular happy convo happened to be on my birthday, and a rad time was had by both of us.

Check it all out here!

Tam: I’m really excited that you guys are in this issue, because I really wanted to do a 90s theme! So, what are some of your favorite things from the 90s?

Katie: Oh my gosh, I was just thinking about this earlier!

I don’t know why, but I was thinking about growing up in the 90s and how weird stuff was, and dumb trends and things like that. I love how everybody thought they were so important and serious and angsty. Whenever we play with 80s bands, their music is so girl-themed and sexdriven. And the 90s are just like, “Fuck everyone! You don’t understand me! Life is so hard!” (laughs) I love how serious everybody was in the 90s. People were so crazy. As far as just stuff from the 90s, I love 90s style. I love that it’s trendy right now. It’s easy for me to just walk into a store and buy a million things because I love 90s clothes. It’s like we’ve sort of taken out all of the oversized, crazy, baggy, ugly part of the 90s, and refreshed it. I also love 90s music, obviously.

Tam: Me too! I love 90s everything. This year especially, because it’s been 20 years since 1995, and that’s when Clueless came out, Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt, and so many iconic things from that decade.

And now everybody’s into it.

Katie: I remember several years ago, I bought this backpack purse, and all my friends were making fun of me. I was like, guys, I don’t even care! The fact that I can even find a backpack purse is everything, and I’m just going to wear it proudly. And now it’s just normal.

Tam: Yes! Everybody’s getting the backpack purse. I just bought one last year, and I was like, oh my god, I can’t believe I just found this. It was in a discount bin at Express. I was like, awesome! Nobody wants it!

Now everyone’s got one. 90s fashion is just the best.

Katie: I think my favorite 90s thing is clear plastic everything. So impractical, so uncomfortable, and I don’t know why, but clear purses, clear skirts, jelly shoes, even a clear raincoat! Anything that’s clear plastic I love.

Tam: I haven’t seen much resurgence of that yet, but I bet we will pretty soon.

Katie: Or maybe everybody’s like, “Man, that’s way too sweaty. You can’t do anything in it.” (laughs)

mixtapes Tam: Let’s talk about 90s music.

I remember when it was only 80s cover bands, like you were saying, and it’s fun and super energetic. It’s big hair and shiny clothes and anthem songs. But I always wished somebody would start a cover band for 90s music.

I would be so stoked!

Katie: The band started in three different phases. This was our drummer Phillip’s brainchild. We were at a birthday party with him for some mutual friends and he was talking about this 90s band he wanted to start. This was about three years ago, and Johnny and I had just moved to Springfield. So Johnny and Phillip started the band together, and then I got brought in a few months later. At first we were going to be very alternative, and only play cool, obscure 90s music.

Obviously we’re not doing the same thing anymore, because sometimes you have to give people what they want. There is a market for more obscure, harder, grungier 90s music, but at least where we are now, it’s a lot more fun to just throw a 90s party and play all the singles from the 90s. People sing along and they have a good time. After we started the band, it took us nine or ten months to play a show because we had to learn so much music. It’s not like playing your own music, you’re learning someone else’s stuff and

you’re trying to do a good job of it. People were excited to come see us play for the first time. We were blown away at our first show that we had anybody there, because we didn’t know what to expect. Then later after some member changes, Chris Slater and his wife Lauren joined the band. Since then, we’ve been adding more and more music. The 90s version of Katie would hate me so much! When I was a teenager, I would rather die than listen to this on the radio! But when we play it live, people have such a good time, and it ends up being fun. I think being removed from your teenage years and not being quite so angsty, you sort of just relax on stuff. I hated so much music in the 90s, and now I hear it and think, why did I hate that so much? Why was this the worst thing in the world to me? (laughs) Tam: let’s talk about your musical background!

Katie: I was always really into music, and I took myself very seriously. But I didn’t start playing music until my early twenties. I always had that chip on my shoulder girl thing that was like, “I’m not here because I’m a girl. I’m here because I’m good. I will prove myself to you.” And I never wanted to be the girlfriend in the band who got to sing background. I wanted to play something. So I started playing piano when I was 21. In your early twenties you feel like you’re too old for everything, which is idiotic. I thought I was too old to start something new. But I just stuck with it. I was in a band immediately, so it pushed me to practice all the time and grow, because I was around people who knew what they were doing. I don’t have a great musical background. My parents aren’t musicians, and I’m not really classically trained. I just wanted to play piano, so I bought a couple piano books and taught myself to play piano. Johnny’s been playing music since I met him when we were teenagers. We’ve always been in bands together. I think it’s good being couple musicians.

Tam: I get what you said about not wanting to be the background singer.

Maybe you wanted to be more of a front person.

Katie: It took me a long time. When I was younger I had a lot of confidence issues, and I always thought I wasn’t good at anything and didn’t have any talents.

Even after I was in bands, I was always sitting down behind my keyboard, sort of in my safety zone. I remember right before The Mixtapes played our first show, Phillip suggested that I stand up when I sing songs. I was like, “I’m not going to do that.” But when I did, I was like, “Oh! I can do this!” Honestly, The Mixtapes has been this totally different experience for me where I never thought I had it in me to be a front person in a band, who could have personality. It’s a really cool different experience. I love it! I love the person I get to be on stage. I think it’s fun.

Tam: It is fun! People like watching you on stage.

So, what’s coming up in the future for the band?

Katie: We had a really hot and heavy summer. I think we’re on an eight-week stretch right now, where we’re playing every single weekend for eight weeks straight.

We’re actually looking to cut back a little bit. I think we’re going to be playing Springfield a little bit less next year. We’ve worked really hard this year to build a following, and Springfield has been amazing to us.

Our Joplin market is growing really well, so I think we’re going to persue Joplin a bit more, and maybe St. Louis a bit more. But honestly, we all own businesses.

Phillip owns a hair salon. Chris owns the Albatross, and they’re trying to open a new building. I have my blog, and Johnny has his own stuff. Everybody is so busy all of the time, we’re looking to at least have one weekend off a month. That is a good goal. Other than that, we’re just hoping to keep building. Since our band is a little bit different than original artist bands, it’s fun and it’s an expressive outlet, but there’s not

a lot of artistic gratification with this besides the personality you can bring to it. This is a business for us. So, we’re just looking to continue to grow this business. We already have three or four weddings booked for next year. We’re about to nail down our New Year’s show. It’s going to be really awesome and really fun. We played at the Oasis last year to about five or six hundred people, and it was really fun. But this year has the potential to be even more amazing, so stay tuned! We are constantly looking to add more and more new songs to our shows. Even though Springfield has been amazing to us, you don’t want to burn out the people who like you. Nobody wants to come to a show and see the same songs over and over.

People want to hear fresh songs, especially now that we sort of opened up our catalog to more than just alternative music. We’re doing pop songs, we’re doing rap songs, and there’s just so much to explore from the 90s.

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Tam: Awesome! I’m going to follow that!

Tam: What are some of your favorite bands from the 90s?

Katie: When I was a teenager, and took myself very seriously, my favorite band was the Cardigans, so I wasn’t that alternative. But I loved bands like Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, and Smashing Pumpkins. I had Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness on the double cassette tapes, and I used to play it through my grandma’s hand-held tape deck. Do you remember when you could record tapes, like, that was a thing? I remember holding my tape deck up to the television and recording all of the clips of songs from Empire Records, and watching the credits to figure out what all of the songs were, and writing them down so when I went to the CD store I could be like, “Do you have this?” I got so many crappy albums just for a song. You’d hear a song and you’d be like, “Oh my gosh, this is important! I need this album!” And then you buy the album and you’re let down. But I was a pretty die-hard Garbage fan. I really loved Our Lady Peace. I’m going to look in my phone right now because I have a 90s playlist on called “Nostalgia” on Spotify.

Katie: I think I’m only saying bands that I still listen to now. I could listen to Portishead every day of my life. And Fiona Apple! I fell in love with Fiona Apple before I ever heard her music. I saw a picture of her in a magazine, and I thought, this is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. So, when her album came out, I just bought it. I had never heard her music, and it just happened to be amazing. I still freaking love her. It’s just part of being a teenager, where everything feels so important. Everything feels serious. I’m kind of a junkie for nostalgia anyway, so I love being in this band. I know a lot of people can relate with that, and I think that’s why our band works so well. Our crowd is all grown up now.

We have jobs, we have families. And I think that it’s nice to be able to step back into that care-free part of your life and just have a night where you sing along with all of these songs you remember from being younger. It’s a good time!

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TRANSYLVANIA IS BRILLIANT. Transylvania is EPIC. Transylvania is loud.

Transylvania IS metal.

Transylvania is the band I’ve been waiting to be kicked out of for almost three years.

For real.

It all started, well, three years ago. A young guitarplaying acquaintance, who would come to be known simply as “The President,” approached me and asked if I was still interested in fronting an Iron Maiden band he was putting together. This had been the subject of a drunken bar conversation punctuated with an enthusiastic “Hell yes!” months earlier and, faced with the prospect once again, my response was much the same.

This band had no name, no gig, no agenda except playing Iron Maiden tunes, and no members to speak of save a second, even more enthused individual - a guitar player who would be introduced to me simply as “Blades” (only later would I discover this was, in fact, his real name).

I was totally in.

So, we had an Iron Maiden band. Then, I got in a bike wreck. Like, that night when I left the bar.

1. Just a bicycle. I’m not THAT cool.

2. It was delightfully gruesome considering it was a low-speed, solitary incident on an empty bridge.

3. I put my throat into a wall.

Yes. An hour after agreeing to sing for a band whose music was as well known for its challenging, soaring vocals as much as anything else, I ran my vocal cords into the retaining wall of the MLK bridge. No broken teeth or bones, only seven stitches and a cool scar, but I was pretty sure I was going to sound like Tom Waits for the rest of my life.

Fast forward, 18 months later. After many months of rehearsals and many attempted demonstrations of my hopefully retained vocal ability, I had spent almost every week waiting for “the talk” - a polite dismissal

and a parting as friends. A founding member had been fired early on for not quite cutting it, and he was GOOD this was no idle fret. Instead, here I was taking the stage wearing RIDICULOUS leggings surrounded by five of the most talented guys I’ve ever worked with in front of a packed house: • There was the aforementioned “President,” Mr. James Craven: a dedicated Megadeth fan with gloriously spiraled locks, a mouth full of swear words and cigarettes, and far a better ability to play the guitar than any real Megadeth fan should ever have.

• Chris Blades (again, real name): a true guitar prodigy who’d been playing since he was a small child. A man so committed to his craft he grew up sleeping with his guitar (not in the creepy way). A man whose father, when asked by his child if he played rock n’ roll, informed 7-year-old Chris that “he played fucking metal.” He was our Maiden purist, our guiding force.

• On the third guitar (oh yes, this band has THREE guitars), was the elder statesman of the group: Trent Wilson. A Springfield standard who’d been playing tunes like these since before the young Blades’ voice had changed. A hard-working, no nonsense individual who knows every note. He was and remains the very definition of the “old salt.”

• Perched behind the drum kit: his cohort of as many of years, “Metal” Mike Rumsey. He sat calm and collected as only one can be who’s played virtually every genre for over half his life (especially metal, naturally), and played all of them like those were the only songs he had ever known.

• Finally, on bass: Reed Smith Herron. The low-end for famed Springfield band Speakeasy for almost a decade, plus a variety of others, he works a bass like a surgeon.

Considering that Iron Maiden’s bass player is specifically known for his incredibly complex licks, this was the ultimate operating theater.

What was I doing there?! I was an old, rock/punk guy who’d found some success singing soul tunes for people. I loved metal, but these guys LOVED metal. I hoped I could pull off this show, these guys knew they could. Like, twice.

Even after, let’s say, a hard day’s crab fishing - “Deadliest Catch” style.

transy

ylvania

Turned out, the show was a success.

We played another, eight months later. Much to my surprise, I had been asked to do it all again. Now we were called “Transylvania,” and this was becoming a thing. Before we were even done preparing for this next endeavour I was asked whether I would ever want to be a part of writing original material.

Making this an official “band.”

Of course I said yes.

Of course, what I thought was, “now I’m done for.” Like I said, these guys live and breathe metal. Classic, epic metal: Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, UFO, Rainbow, Dio, Accept (who the f@Ck is Accept??).

They know more about the Scorpions first three records than NASA knows about the moon. My extensive love for Deep Purple was only going to take me so far. I felt like a someone who’d faked their way through a Spanish course and suddenly found themselves asked to be the T.A. And so, it began.

Good news. Many shows and MANY more late night rehearsals later, the story continues. You’re reading it. Transylvania has grown to be a musical project that I’m almost more proud of than anything

I’ve ever had the pleasure to participate in. As we prepare for our SECOND ANNUAL HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR @ The Outland Ballroom this October 31st (you know, Halloween), this group finds itself ready once again to prove its bonafides to the unprepared masses.

And you are SO unprepared.

With a cadre of collaborators who each bring something different but have a very unified vision, Transylvania has a massive yet dialed-in sound that you typically don’t find anywhere else except on those old British heavy metal discs.

This is not mimicry, or petty theft, this is colossal material truly informed by its influences.

It’s also fun as hell.

First song: “The Burden of the Crown.” Seven minutes long and there is not a spare moment to be found. Follow that with equally bombastic pieces like “Surmounting Terror,” “Screaming Silver Wings,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Iron Master,” and “The Madness Yet to Be,” this is

something more than your typical riff, scream, riff sound. This is serious. This is big time stuff.

This is music that drives a Dodge Stratus (dated Will Ferrell reference, you’re welcome).

I’m a biased reporter, for certain, but I remain confident in my assertion. More importantly, the anxiety that pervades the first part of this article still remains true. These guys only get better as we move forward, I’m always just hoping to keep up.

Trust me, even if I was no longer around one day, Transylvania is still a band I would want everyone to see. Transylvania IS a band I want everyone to see. Transylvania is brutal and brilliant. Transylvania is a truly unique. Transylvania is no joke. Transylvania is everything your little heart desires.

Transylvania IS metal.

Come see Transylvania next time we perform in downtown Springfield, MO. You can check out our upcoming shows on Facebook.

It’s the thing to do.

music: transylvania