June 2011 Volume 2, Issue 10
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mindblowology
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feedback
Editor-in-Chief James Johnson james@fayettevillefeed.com
Photo/Art Director Raul Rubiera Jr.
raul@fayettevillefeed.com
Head Correspondent Jaymie Baxley
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veelee
14
Several Devils
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What You Should
jaymie@fayettevillefeed.com
Listen to 22
The Pursuit of horribleness
FEED Magazine is published twelve times annually by VERB, LLC. Address: 219 Hay Street, Studio B Fayetteville NC 28301, Web site: www.fayettevillefeed.com No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. Copyright 2011. All images Copyright 2010 VERB, LLC., FEED Magazine, and Raul Rubiera Jr., unless specified otherwise. Publication of an advertisement in FEED Magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the product or service by FEED Magazine, or VERB,LLC. FEED Magazine is a registered trademark used by VERB,LLC. All rights reserved. Printed by Angstrom Graphics, Hollywood, FL.
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Rhode to nowhere
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Avett brothers
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Game review: L.A. noire
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music schedule
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several devils
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Horrible folks
Rhode to Nowhere 24
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Avett Brothers
Mindblowology THE
FEED
IS
BIGGER THAN
EVER
(metaphorically speaking) By James Johnson n the FEED’s first print issue, February of 2010, (I remember it as if it were just last year) I had began this column by stating that the hardest part of anything worth doing, was starting it. I should take this opportunity to correct myself. The hardest part of anything worth doing is, most definitely, restarting it. Entirely. From scratch. I must have rewritten that first paragraph six or seven times before deciding on something so vague and imperfect that I could finally feel comfortable enough to stamp my byline above it. I’m a lousy pontiff so I’ll spare you any more double talk and get right to the heart of the matter. After the release of the October 2010 issue of the FEED magazine, we inexplicably stopped printing. Why? Usually when you don’t give people answers, they make up their own more dramatic explanations (“the staff was eaten by bears!” Pass it along), so here is the uncensored and slightly embarrassing truth: When given no specific deadline, every journalist will inevitably ... procrastinate. We intended to make a detailed chart proving this point, but decided to do that next month.
I
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Okay, now for what led to our procrastination. Local entrepreneur and musician Paddy Gibney had invested oodles of money into the FEED as a show of his faith in the persons putting it together (I won’t say how many oodles, but I will say it had a few more “O”s in it than the word “oodles”), when the FEED changed management midway through last year, that put Paddy, as the largest financial investor in the FEED, in charge of the publication that he’d never actually intended to be in charge of. This, as you could imagine, was pretty awkward for Paddy, as the guy already had a very popular local bar and an active music career. Being supportive and not really knowing what other option he was left with, Paddy tried to play the role that was thrust upon him and steer the FEED in the direction of financial bliss and to everyone’s amazement,
including his own, Paddy did a damn good job pointing us in the right direction. Sadly - after three months with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Paddy could take no more of the ridiculously stressful world of magazine publishing and in October of 2010, decided to step down, placing the FEED in the hands of its original creator, namely me. I’m a 27-year-old journalist / Star Trek geek with no real experience in the realm of publishing anything besides a website (FayettevilleFEED. com - “catch the FEED-ver!”), so I asked FEED photographer Raul Rubiera Jr. to help lighten the burden by coming on as co-owner. Rubiera is a Star Trek geek too, but he is a more worldly and experienced Star Trek geek with a far more impressive resume than my own. The two of us got to brainstorming ways to make the FEED better and to give ourselves a greater reach. This brainstorming, combined with waiting for our LLC papers and of course good ol’ procrastination is what led to the giant hiatus, but it also led to a few awesome ideas, the results of which you are holding in your hands right now. The smaller size of the FEED is to allow us to expand our circulation. By the end of the year, we expect to be printing in not just Fayetteville, but Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. This has also allowed us to better serve our advertisers, by making sure that their ads are seen by more people (which, is really kinda the point of advertising). We are also implementing QR-codes not only into our magazines advertisements (as so
many publications have done), but into our editorial content. With a quick scan using your Smartphone, you can see music videos, listen to the FEED’s podcast, go to websites and receive discounts instantly. Also, each QRcode is scratch and sniff. Go on. Try it. Now lick it. Anything worth doing is made far easier by remembering two simple words that should be said at least once a day to all those who have helped you do that which is worthy to you. “Thank you.” ~ James Tiberious Johnson, Editor-in-Chief, Founder, Co-publisher, Job-Title Inventor.
June 2011 | FEED Magazine | 7
FEEDback
Photo sent to us by talented FEED fan Eddie Harris. As if print media didn’t have enough competition, we now have to compete with LASERS. Dammit!
Hey guys. We’re back - and, to be honest most of the letters we’ve gotten in the past few months have included questions about where the hell we’ve been, which is covered in the editor’s column, so this month’s FEEDback page we’re going to attempt to preemptively answer some questions regarding our return to print so as to kill your sense of wonder and curiosity. Q.) What the hell are those weird looking boxes all over your stories and ads? Does this have anything to do with the government trying to control our minds? A.) Those, our dear readers, are called “QR-codes.” You have likely seen them in a lot of places, but in print they have
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been mostly reserved for ads. We, however, saw potential in the QR-code being used to enhance our editorial. QR-codes can allow readers to watch video interviews, listen to music and be sent to websites simply by scanning them using your smart phone’s camera and one of the many code reader apps available. Some Smartphones come with QR readers pre-installed, but others require a quick download. Popular code readers include Red Laser, NeoReader, ScanLife, i-nigma, QuickMark and BeeTagg among many others. Q.) Is this magazine smaller or have my hands gotten huge?
A.) Puberty is a confusing time for all of us. The FEED went through our awkward gawky phase, but now we’ve got our braces off and have traded our training bra in for something with more support … A less creepy way of saying this is: the FEED is expanding our distribution this year from 10,000 issues a month to 40,000 issues a month and in order to do this, we have shrunk the size of the magazine. Next year we hope to deliver the magazine in pill form. Q.) Is former FEED publisher Paddy Gibney still involved? A.) Ol’ P. Gibs (as he is known on the streets) will always be a part of the FEED family and he will likely
continue to write for us when he has the free time and regale us with stories of debauchery. To keep up with these stories or possibly make a guest appearance in one of them, go to Paddy’s Pub at 2606 Raeford Road. Q.) What stories have you guys got coming up? A.) And risk being scooped!? Seriously though, as the FEED expands our distribution, we are also expanding our creative scope. We intend on focusing on artists and subjects from all over the North Carolina region and continuing our mission to make you feel entirely out of touch with today’s pop culture.
Eff E
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atthew Park and Ginger Wagg were nervous. An estimated 500 audiophiles had gathered at The Cats Cradle, March 4 on a Friday night to witness the legendary rock band Superchunk do what they’ve been doing for more than 20 years: redefine the North Carolina music scene. This night, however, they had personally asked Park and Wagg to use their band Veelee to help them accomplish that task. Simple enough. “Being invited by Superchunk is flattering and humbling. We’ve played The Cradle before, this is our fourth time. We opened for big name artists before too, like Caribou and the Bowerbirds. It was a similar kind of
thing,” said Park. “But this is the first time we’ve opened for artists I was listening to when I was just a little kid … It’s different.” Veelee is a two person outfit. Each song produced by the duo is a multilayered mosaic of hypnotic drum loops, soporific grooves and chilling vocals. It is as much marching music as it is a meditation on sound. “I like grooves. I like to study grooves. I could listen to a solid groove for 10 minutes.” Something that sounds nice that you can nod your head to,” said Park. “ … attempting to write simple songs is more of a challenge than people might think. How am I going to make this
s s e l t r fo t r o f f E
Story by James Johnson photos by Raul Rubiera Jr.
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song have movement and emotion in it without any chord changes?”
dancing is essentially drumming with your feet.”
After a project with another musician fell apart due to that musician impulsively moving to California, Park found himself with a lot of left over equipment and no band to play it with. Fortunately, Wagg, whom Park was living with at the time, turned out to have a natural sense of rhythm and was able to learn percussion fairly effortlessly.
Park not only found in Wagg a person who could hold their own as a musician and singer, but someone who could share the burden of writing music as well.
“I feel it came easier to me because of my experience in dance. It takes a lot of coordination and a lot of knowledge of music theory,” said Wagg, who graduated with a degree in modern dance. “Dancing is all done in counting, unless you are doing so abstractly. To me it is very similar with music. You have a song that has a specific time. If you are dancing, you need to know what the rhythm is. Tap
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“I was interested in playing with minimalism and the way she was playing with the drums was very suited to that. It kind of fit together really well,” said Park. “Most of my life as a musician, recording – the act of recording – has been very important to me. As soon as we had some songs we started to record them right away. We just put them out as soon as we could ... we burned a bunch of CDs, handmade all these covers and started handing them out to everybody, then started playing shows right away.” In April of 2009, Veelee had released
Three Sides, a three song E.P. which garnered the attention of the newly established independent label Grip Tape Records, who signed Veelee almost immediately. In October of 2010, the band finally released their first full length album, The Future Sight. Unlike their first E.P., The Future Sight is only available electronically and on vinyl. “[Grip Tapes] had similar aesthetics in mind, like making a vinyl record. Obviously we are in this place in time here where media is in a flux, we are in a place right now where CD is a dying media and we were in agreement about that,” said Park. that we were right in the middle of our “We were very excited about making a regular lives,” said Wagg. “That was vinyl record.” almost the biggest crowd we had played before. We needed that moment. On the night of March 4, the night We were still happy to be invited of the Superchunk show, Park and and wanting to live up to whatever Wagg had temporarily gone missing. expectations, but after a while we had Apparently the two had decided on an to think of it as any other show.” impromptu taco run following their sound check. For more “The walk was important. It calmed me information down a bit. It felt really good to step on the outside The Cradle and feel at home band go to in Carrboro. It felt good to know a lot http://www. of the people walking by, to see record veeleemusic. stores that are selling our album, to see com friends on the street… just to realize
n e d i f n Co Men
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Story by James Johnson photos by Raul Rubiera Jr.
R e nc
aw, smooth and carefully aged, The Several Devils Band is the musical equivalent of a bottle of straight rye whiskey. However, with its founders Adrian Warwick, Joey Miller and Joel Highsmith having all originally been members of the Fayetteville metal movement, it might be easy to dismiss their new project as a cheap knockoff brand of real southern folk. Good whiskey is hard to swallow. The Several Devils Band is the trouble making inbred stepchild of the Fayetteville-based metal band Pinebox Destiny. Warwick, Miller and Highsmith had served as members of the popular metal outfit for years before the group finally dissolved. It was during this time that Highsmith, Miller and Warwick began to revisit the Americana, country western and blues that had first piqued their interest in rock ‘n’ roll. “I wasn’t really into metal, but this stuff I had always liked,” admitted Highsmith. “Joey, Adrian and I would do this on our own for years and I guess over time this just developed. This music fits me more than anything else I have ever done.” Finally in late 2009 Miller and Warwick decided to take their private sessions to the stage, forming The Several Devils Band with Michael Strickland of Beard Eats Face on drums and both Miller and Warwick on guitar and vocals. Though their sudden shift in style was initially well received by audiences, it wasn’t long before both audiences and the band itself began to notice that something was missing. “We did some really bad shows and I think people just began to wonder if we just sucked,” said Miller. “We began to regret it, thinking that maybe we’d made a mistake, but really we just needed to get more rehearsal time in and Adrian felt strongly that we needed to add more members so that we’d have a richer sound.” The band went back to the drawing board, hiring Highsmith as their new drummer and adding new members who had already gained reputations within the scene for heavier music. Derek Wiltse of Schmegma and Rot Gut Likker joined as bass player, Enesto Rivas of Evans City Saints joined as keyboardist and mandolin player and Tyrek June 2011 | FEED Magazine | 15
Hearon of The Token Black Experience took on lead guitar.
by former Pinebox Destiny member Chad Blanton.
“Adrian was pushing toward adding more members. After we went to a four piece, I really liked it a lot. It had that basic simplicity to it,” said Miller. “Adrian wanted to add more and more. It is a bigger sound and it sounds so much thicker than before, man. It has layers. It sounds awesome.”
“It means a lot to Chad, who lost his father to ALS, so we figured we’d do it. It would just be an event for charity,” said Miller. “We have done it before. This will be the third time that we have gotten together. I won’t say that it will be the last time. We love the music. We have fun.”
“There are some elements of blues in their music and I have always loved the blues. Joining this band, it challenged me and put me out of my comfort zone,” said Hearon. “I have
Currently, the band is setting out to expand their reach by booking shows outside of Fayetteville and will be finalizing their first L.P. before the end of the year.
learned to play whatever the fuck I feel like playing. I learned a lot from them.”
“All my years playing, I wanted to play in a band my dad could come out and enjoy,” Warwick noted. “Also, you get a lot more girls in the audience with this music … Not too many ladies can be found in a mosh pit.”
“I Allwanted my years playing, to play in a band my dad could come out and enjoy”
On March 19 at The Rock Shop Music Hall in Fayetteville, North Carolina, The Several Devils Band shared the stage with their predecessor Pinebox Destiny for a special benefit show to raise money for research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The event has been organized
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What You Should Should o Listen To:: : By Jaymie Baxley
Our monthly rundown rundown ofOur themonthly best new music. of the best new music.
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AD SPACE AD SPACE
1. Goblin, the second solo outing from Odd Future ringleader
Tyler, the Creator, manages to live up to the impossible hype surrounding the provocative L.A. hip-hop collective. Goblin is a gripping, occasionally polarizing affair marked by menacing lo-fi production and the burgeoning rapper’s inflammatory verses (which often border on concerning).
2.
Meanwhile, hyper-literate, Austin based indie-rockers Okkervil River embrace ambiguity on their sixth full length, I Am Very Far. Boasting some of the group’s most ambitious arrangements to date, I Am Very Far is a visceral, challenging work that constantly dodges interpretation.
3.
Freak-folk darlings Fleet Foxes return to deliver another batch of pastoral ballads on Helplessness Blues, the band’s highly anticipated follow-up to their acclaimed 2008 debut. The arrangements might be a little more direct this time around, but no less stately or gorgeous.
4.
Burst Apart, the latest from Brooklyn dream pop outfit The Antlers, is rife with moody soundscapes and blissful electronic flourishes.
5.
On Past Life Martyred Saints, California firebrand EMA grapples with macabre subject matter while channeling female alt-rock subversives like Patti Smith, Kim Gordon and Courtney Love.
6.
And even though it has a little age on it now, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention W h o k i l l, the latest from Merrill Garbus avant-pop project tUNE-yARDS. W h o k i l l is a dynamic, adventurous effort that easily ranks among the year’s best. June 2011 | FEED Magazine | 19
The
Pursuit of
Horribleness Story by Jaymie Baxley, photos by Raul Rubiera Jr.
Local comedy troupe, Horrible Folks Productions, took a number of risks with their new live comedy series which kicked off its first season March 26 to a sold out house at downtown’s Cameo Art House Theater. The Horrible Folks Comedy Show, which will be having their season finale Saturday, June 4 at 11:30 p.m. in the Cameo Theater, is a demonstration of the power of blind faith. Of course, as experienced improv comedians, The Horrible Folks have gotten pretty good at throwing caution to the wind and operating without a net.
Cameo Art House Theater. The Cameo, long recognized as a local sanctuary for independent film mavens, may seem like a peculiar backdrop for a live comedy show, but according to the troupe, the pairing isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
Horrible Folks Productions was founded in 2009 by four aspiring local comedians, Dashawn Byron, Jules Ollie Ford, Brick Jackson and Debby Olavarria (who was unavailable for interview).The group’s profile has risen steadily over the last couple of years, thanks to a string of popular YouTube clips, short film projects and live performances.
Much of the negotiating was handled by frequent Horrible Folks collaborator Brian Dukes, who has served as host for almost every performance of the show to date.
One risk the Horrible Folks will be taking is with the venue, the
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“It was kind of serendipitous. Someone suggested the Cameo and the Cameo was looking to expand and do things other than movies,” explained Ford. “Once we told them what we wanted to do, they were totally behind it.”
“The Cameo is such a prime location, previous venues we’ve performed at have had location problems,” added Byron. “The Cameo is a really recognizable location with a lot of history behind it.” Another gamble is the format: Improv
comedy (and stand-up comedy in general) hasn’t had the best track record in Fayetteville. Previous attempts at serialized comedy shows in the area have flopped (with the longest lasting attempt being The Stage Door Theater). The Horrible Folks aren’t blind to this statistic, as a matter of fact, they are quick to point out that they were involved with many of those flops. The group believes that their previous experiences with failed comedy shows has provided them with valuable insight into what clicks and what doesn’t. “We sort of formed from the remnants of other live improv shows around the area and we’ve learned how to do it right. To promote as much as we can and to make it as big as we possibly can.” said Byron.
One way the Horrible Folks plan on differentiating themselves from previous comedy shows is by embracing a broad spectrum of performance styles. Horrible Folks shows feature improvisational style comedy, written sketch comedy, musical performances and video presentations. “We’re bringing in so many different ideas, there’s going to be something for everybody,” declared Jackson. The troupe also says that they have no intention of coasting on established material and estimate that roughly 90% of the show’s content will be original. Yet another risk.
“We’ll
be
bringing
back
June 2011 | FEED Magazine | 21
characters that did well (in previous sketches), but for the most part, we want to keep it fresh and show people things they haven’t seen before,” said Byron.
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Despite all the risks involved, it appears as though the Horrible Folks may get the last laugh. As previously mentioned, so far the ticket sales have surpassed even the group’s expectations. More than 19 audience
members had to be turned away at the door during the first night due to overcrowding. If the show maintains the momentum of its first season, 2011 is poised to be a banner year for the group, who are also currently in the process of filming their first feature length film, entitled The Devil’s Bored Game. Byron attributes his group’s success to it’s members compatibility. “We’re all in the same place, we gel… we’re like jelly,” said Byron. “Jam,” corrected Jackson. “Okay … Jam.” Currently the Horrible Folks are offering improv comedy workshops every Saturday, 12 - 3 p.m. at the Arts
Council building downtown. Classes are entirely free to the public. The next season for the Horrible Folks will start Aug. 6.
The Horrible Folks Comedy Show is presented bi-weekly on Saturdays at the Cameo Art House Theater. Season 2, will begin Aug. 6. The show runs from 11: 30 p.m. – 1 a.m.. Tickets are $6. Attendees are asked to pay for tickets in cash, as they can not accept credit cards. Due to the show’s popularity, it is suggested that those hoping to attend buy their tickets early at the Cameo Theater during the Cameo’s regular business hours. For more information, including a line-up of upcoming guests, visit:www.facebook. com/horriblefolkstv
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Rhode to Nowhere
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Story by James Johnson, Photo Courtesy of Albert Stichka
ovember 2008, I and members of the band Quell the Rebellion, Stephen Waters and Manquillan Minniefee, embarked on an impromptu road trip from Fayetteville, NC to Providence, RI taking with us only $200, musical talent and six of the largest balls this world has ever seen. Since late last year, I’ve been writing about our journey - this month, after a lengthy hiatus, I bring you part III of our adventure. Did we get back? Did I get mauled by a bear? Where the hell is my car? If I ask any more questions will I meet my word count quota? All these answers and more can be found here.
new roomies, Rhode Island College students, Dan Ferrell, Dan Baker and John Birt (Baker and Birt are members of the Providence Irish rock band Craic Was Mighty). Before any real introductions could be made, the three students let us in on their plan to rid their apartment of a fridge that they couldn’t quite fit down the stairs.
For such a small city, Providence was brimming with eventfulness. So much, in fact, that I’m going to have to break this story down into concise, vague and unhelpful blurbs.
Some celebratory fridge tossing pasta was prepared, friends were invited over, and finally the main event.
Day 1 Minniefee, Waters and I meet our
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“See, a cop came by and told us the fridge was blocking an exit, and when we told him that we couldn’t fit it down the steps, he said to toss it out a window,” Ferrell explained. “… That sounds like permission to me.”
Ferrell, Birt, Minniefee and Waters crowded around the apartment sized fridge and squeezed it through the tight window opening on the side of the building. The usual hunk of metal sounds were heard, however an
uninvited sound effect arose - “KERKLASH!” “There wasn’t any glass in that fridge,” noted Ferrell while trying to peak out far enough to see what could have possibly made such a sound. Soon enough the long arm of the law was called in (it didn’t have to stretch very far, being as their apartment was located directly across the street from a police station). The men were given a nasty talking to by one cop after another (seriously, it was like every cop in town was forming a conga line outside), and even got a nasty ticket. As it turns out, the glass we heard was the window of the downstairs apartment which the fridge had apparently hit on its way down … Reminder, this was just “day 1.” Day 2 Minniefee, Waters and I decided to search the local Craigslist for jobs
so that we’d have enough gas money to get back. I found a local indie paper which was willing to pay for freelance writers - though not very much. Meanwhile Waters found a post requesting a woman who would tie him up and watch a movie with him - somehow Waters saw this as a great opportunity, deciding that he could get a female friend to do the job, and take a cut for standing with her and acting as protection. This wasn’t actually that bad an idea, but sadly the creep who posted the request didn’t want to play along. Minniefee was told by members of the band Craic Was Mighty that a gifted guitar player such as himself could make a pretty penny playing on the street in the rich area of town. The three of us decided to pin our hopes on the generosity of others and set out to street perform the following night. Check back next month for the dramatic conclusion.
The BROTHERS AVETT It started out so simple. Two brothers, Scott and Seth Avett, raised in Concord North Carolina playing street performances for friends. These stripped down acoustic performances were received well by locals and eventually led to the boys creating what they called “The Back Porch Project,” in which they and their band at the time, Nemo, would host large get-togethers. It was through their time spent with Nemo that the boys began to craft a sound all their own, blending elements of rock, folk, honky tonk, bluegrass and ragtime to create a string of mostly selfproduced albums and EPs under the name The Avett Brothers. In 2009 the brothers released their major label debut under producer Rick Rubin, entitled I and Love and You. Like their previous albums, I and Love and You easily won over critics, but unlike their previous albums it had received national recognition, peaking on the U.S. Billboard 100 at #16. Currently the Avetts are on tour with band members Bob Crawford, Joe Kwon and Jacob Edwards promoting their newly released live album, Live, Volume 3. Going from playing street corners to performing on stage with Bob Dylan at the 2011 Grammy Awards can be fairly jarring, however the Avetts have somehow managed to keep their heads firmly attached to their bodies, their fingers in the dirt and their focus on their family. FEED: Was music a big part of your childhoods?
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Scott Avett: Sure, sure. It seemed like a normal childhood. It was a normal aspect of life. We heard and danced to a lot of music growing up. Our father was, and is now, he was the son of a Methodist minister so he was well involved in music. He sang a lot and picked up a guitar later. He played a lot when I was born. FEED: Huh, we heard a weird baseless rumor that Seth Avett was incredibly shy and so we’d probably be getting more answers from Scott. Seth Avett: (laughing) You heard that? Well, I guess that depends. Sometimes you have got to be shy, you know? FEED: Right … So you guys are selling out arenas now. How are you handling this? Scott Avett: I think it has been a progression all along. As people define success, it … Well, the definition of success seems to equate to more of everything, more stress, more travel, more of everything. Good and bad. I think with the growth in the past nine years it has all been a nice slow progression. We primed ourselves. Seth Avett: It hasn’t felt like an issue yet. It has been a very gradual thing for us, you know? I think it was less noticeable when the crowds grew. It has never been a point in which the crowd grew exponentially. In the beginning it was maybe, 20, 30 or 40 more people at a time. Besides, I don’t see us turning into a band that only plays amphitheaters. So far the crowd has made us feel very at home. FEED: What was it like working with the legendary Rick Rubin? Do you think you’ll be working with him on your next studio album? Scott Avett: We will work with him again for sure though I don’t know if it will be the same way. We talk a lot with Rick now. We enjoyed working with him. With each record there is a different approach. He
Story by James Johnson Photo by Crackerfarm. was very unobtrusive. He was nothing but a positive force. FEED: So now you guys are producing an album for singer G. Love, Fixin’ to Die. How’d that come about? Scott Avett: The experience has been terrific. Seth Avett: I love the record. We have always been big fans of his, so to be involved with him is great. It is our first experience as producers of music that we did not write. I think that there were just enough similarities though. Musically, he loves hip hop and blues. Scott and I can talk pretty easily about blues music. We listened to a lot of blues music in our Scan Here for their video, teens. We have some Murder in the City
hip hop we’re into as well. FEED: You guys are fans of hip hop? When can we expect the Avett Brothers hip hop release? Seth Avett: I don’t know if we should ever attempt it. (laughter). There are some really great hip hop artists who are coming out of the Midwest. Brother Ali is one of the great artists out there. We try to find quality in every genre. I am a big fan of hip hop. FEED: What are you most grateful for? Scott Avett: Oh man. This is cliché, but I am so thankful for my daughter. All those clichés you hear as a young man about family life, they go in one ear and out the other. There is nothing like the love you share with someone you see growing up. She is 2-years old now. Scan Here for more Q&A from this story
Game Review:
L.A. NOIRE By Staff Reports Since the ESRB started handing out “M” (Mature) ratings way back in 1994, we have been treated to an overwhelming number of adult games (“Mortal Kombat,” “God of War,” etc.), but very few “games for adults.” Like last year’s “Heavy Rain” for the PS3, developer Rockstar Game’s latest creation, “L.A. Noire,” (for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360) is for all intents and purposes, a game for adults. The game’s refusal to pander and ability to fearlessly embrace long stretches of gameplay in which nothing blows up is a rare demonstration of restraint which pays off as one of the most addictive and innovative gameplay experiences of the year. “L.A. Noire,” as the title suggests,
28 | FEED Magazine | June 2011
is a game set in the world of 1940s detective mysteries. This is a world thoroughly explored in countless movies, radio shows and novels but rarely seen on the home console. Rockstar is best known for their “Grand Theft Auto” series and “L.A. Noire” certainly has many of the elements that the GTA series was known for, such as a fully interactive city and even a similar control scheme (if you’ve played “GTA,” you’ll immediately know how to drive a car in “L.A. Noire”), but don’t be fooled. “L.A.
Noire” is by no means “GTA in fedoras.” “L.A. Noire” is a completely unique and immersive experience all its own, that challenges the player in entirely different ways than what is normally called for by a video game. More on that later. “L.A. Noire” is a homage, not a parody and that much is evident in its story. You play Cole Phelps, an LAPD officer with some left over emotional scars due to his actions during World War II. Phelps starts the game out as a patrol-man, then is later promoted to traffic detective, homicide detective, vice and arson investigator. Each chapter of the game starts with Phelps being assigned a case. There is plenty of driving and shooting to be had, but the game’s meat is in its investigative elements. Most people who have read anything about the game in the past few months are aware that “L.A. Noire” incorporates a technology called MotionScan, which allows the developers to scan an actor’s facial expressions and recreate them with startling accuracy within the game. This isn’t just a great step for technology or a gimmick, as the ability to read a character’s nuanced facial expressions and body language play an integral part of the gameplay.
As a detective, you’ll need more than evidence to close a case - you’ll need instincts and the ability to tell when someone is lying to you (this is one of the few Rockstar games that will prove particularly difficult for sociopaths or those with Asperger’s disorder). While interviewing suspects or “Persons of Interest,” you’ll have to pay attention to facial cues, signs of nervousness, anger and pride, so that you’ll know what areas to press to get your confession. It is truly one of the most fascinating aspects of the game as it challenges players in a way we’re not usually challenged. The game’s use of restraint might turn off gamers who are looking for an adrenaline high or something quick and brainless to make the weekend go by faster, but for everyone else “L.A. Noire” will likely go down as one of the year’s finest games and another name to be brought up during the ongoing “games as art” debates.
4/5
Note: A special thanks to Elite Zone gaming center for allowing us to review L.A. Noire on their system.
Music Schedule: Dates may be subject to change.
The Rock Shop Music Hall 128 South King Street Fayetteville, NC 28301 (910) 321-7625 June 4 8 PM Move To Destroy, Phuket Underwater June 5 6 PM Koffin Kats, Nashville Pussy, SCHMEGMA, The Dielectrics June 10 8 PM Brand New Sin, Legacy Kills, DRIVEN, StellaFlesh June 11 8 PM Consider the Source, The Bamfs, Any Color You Like, Eros & Agape June 12 6 PM Hounds, Sustainer, Contention, Overlooked, Broadcast, Start Again June 18 8 PM Red, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Taddy Porter, Oh No Fiasco, Evans City Saints June 25 8 PM REHAB
Black Cat Lounge 2918 Fort Bragg Rd Fayetteville, NC 28303 (910) 489-4291 June 2 10 PM Jason and the Punknecks, Izzy and the Kesstronics June 3 8 PM The Plow, Harrowvex Laid Open June 4 9 PM The Campaign 1984, Mumu Tutu, No Mercy June 11 8 PM Archbishops of Blount Street (World/Reggae) June 17 9 PM Jason Ross June 18 9 PM StiTS, IAMDYNAMITE, Cattletruck June 23
10 PM Uncle Mountain June 24 8 PM The Worm Guns (Ricky Stein), The Hufton Brothers, Christian Jenkins June 25 7 PM Along Those Lines, Madrone June 29 8 PM Brutally Frank, The Prescription Cat’s Cradle 300 East Main Street Carrboro, NC (919) 967-9053 June 1 9 PM Okkervil River, Titus Andronicus, Future Islands June 2 9 PM Matt and Kim, The Hood Internet June 3 9 PM Nashville Pussy, Koffin Kats, Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass Kickin Team June 4 8 PM Paul Thorn, Dark Water Rising June 8 9 PM Jet Life Tour, Curren$y, Trademark, Young Roddy, Fiend, Corner Boy P June 9 8 PM Sondre Lerche, Nightlands, Kishi Bashi June 11 Brice Randall Bickford Album Release Show June 12 8 PM Joe Purdy, The Milk Carton Kids June 14 8 PM Jonny (Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub and Euros Childs from Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci), Apex Manor June 16 8 PM Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones, Los Straitjackets
June 18 9 PM Jennyanykind, The Moaners, Pinche Gringo June 24 8 PM Ben Sollee, Thousands June 25 8 PM Healin’ with a Feelin’ - A Night of Burnin’ Love, A Night to Benefit UNC Hospital Jaycee Burn Center Silent Auction begins at 7 PM The BilliTones, Rebecca and the Hi-Tones, South Wing, Willie Painter Band June 27 9 PM Dinosaur Jr. performing Bug in its entirety, Henry Rollins interviewing Dinosaur Jr. live! June 28 8 PM Music from the film Winter’s Bone performed live featuring, Marideth Sisco, Dennis Crider, Bo Brown, Van Colbert, Tedi May, and Linda Stoffel Local 506 506 West Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC (919) 942-5506 June 2 9 PM Times New Viking June 3 9 PM Twin Sister, The Ropes June 9 9 PM The Design, Jack The Radio, Spiralfire June 10 9 PM Jessica Long, Vess, Supreme Fiction June 11 8 PM Thao & Mirah, Bobby, Led To Sea June 13 Alberta Cross June 14 8 PM The Parlotones, The Daylights June 15 8 PM David Mayfield Parade June 19
The Spits, TV Ghost, Temperance League June 22 9 PM The Elected June 23 Heaven, Americans in France, Nightdogs June 25 9 PM David Bazan + Band, Centro-matic, Sarah Jaffe June 28 9 PM Hanni El Khatib, Bass Drum of Death, Where the Buffalo Roamed June 30 9 PM Kinch, Jarrod Gorbel The Pour House 224 South Blount Street Raleigh, NC (919) 821-1120 June 1 Natty Greene’s Taste the South Music Series w/ The Morning After & Consider the Source June 2 Gimme Hendrix, (Jimi Hendrix tribute) June 3 Leagues (feat. Thad Cockrell) June 4 The Balsa Gliders w/ Lowbrow June 5 An evening with: Ian McLagan June 7 Dopapod w/ KinGator June 8 An Evening with: Jerry Joseph June 9 Wide Eyed Mischief w/ Jahman Brahman June 10 Sweetwater Brewing Presents: “Save the Neuse” Benefit with: The Moderate June 11 Sam Robinson and the Groove Elaters (featuring Artimus Pyle) W/ Garland Mason Band June 12 AFTON Presents: Showcase June 14 AFTON Presents: Showcase June 15 Ugly Radio Rebellion featuring: Ike Willis performing the songs of Frank Zappa
June 16 Visions to Fruition w/ Katherine Roach and David Titchener & the 17’s June 17 Pick N’ Funk Party Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band w/ Clay Pigeons June 18 The o’PHISHal after party with: The Mantras w/ Chasing Edison June 19 AFTON Presents: Showcase June 21 Dark Water Rising
June 23 Lizzy Ross Band w/ The Lasting Happiness June 24 Kooley High w/ Tom Hardy & HaLo June 25 Set The Controls (Pink Floyd Tribute) June 26 Gorilla Entertainment Presents: Battle of the Bands June 28 Dru Fit Lincoln Theatre
126 E Cabarrus St, Raleigh, NC (919) 821-4111 June 4 9 PM Experience This (Jimi Hendrix Tribute), Night Prowler (Bon Scott & AC/DC Tribute) w/ August June 5 4 PM Michael Gardner Benefit for Parkinson’s Disease, Featuring: Michael Gardner & Friends, PKM, Dave Adams and Glass
Moon, All My Rowdy Friends, Medusa Stone, The Original Cirkus, The Moans, Brimstone June 17 9 PM Shoot To Thrill (All Female AC/DC Tribute), w/ Mostley Crue (Motley Crue Tribute), Up The Irons (Iron Maiden Tribute) June 19 8 PM Borgore, w/ Special Guests June 26 8 PM Robin Trower