Lauren Ash
We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed singer/songwriter/musician and actress Lauren Ash; greetings and salutations, Lauren! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how has your summer of ‘23 been treating you?
Summer 2023 has been a wild ride so far! I just played my first public show at the Whisky a Go Go in LA and it was an absolutely amazing night! I’ve also been spending time in my homeland of Canada which has been super fun.
Major congratulations on your freshly-minted new single Umbrella which is your crackling and pop-punk rendition of Rihanna’s beloved hit song! What’s the secret to pulling off a successful cover version of such a well-known hit tune?
I think it’s a few things. First, I wanted to make sure someone hadn’t already done something like I was thinking. So after doing some extensive googles I felt like I was in the clear. Second, I think it’s about finding the balance of making sure to honor the original source material while also making it your own. My version of Umbrella is in no way a competition with Rhianna’s, that’s an impossible feat. This is a complete reimagining. And I feel like it lends itself SO WELL to the pop punk genre!Which really is a testament to how good the song is. To be able to cross wildly different genres and still be a total banger is a rare scenario.
Just out of curiosity, have you copped any earplay about Rihanna’s reaction to your amazing spin on Umbrella?
I have not! I would DIE if she heard it. Please! Everyone! Tag Riri and share the song! Let’s get it on her radar!
Who was your producer on Umbrella and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like in the studio?
Both Umbrella and my debut single “Now I Know” were produced by Shane Soloski in Los Angeles. I met Shane earlier this year. A friend had connected us when I was interested in playing a concert for my birthday in February. That concert ended up being the single best night of my entire life and Shane, who is also an amazing producer, asked me to come to his studio and play some of my original music for him. We gelled artistically basically immediately
and got my first two singles together very quickly. I think the collaboration between artist and producer is really important. You both have to feel like the other person is extremely talented and get invested in the process of working together while also not being afraid to tell the other when you think something they’re doing isn’t working. It quickly becomes a very professionally intimate relationship in many ways and really is what can make a song great or just mediocre.
What differentiates your version of Umbrella from the Distinguished Competition on the 2023 music scene?
There is SO MUCH music happening all the time now and social media has made it easier than ever for musicians to get their music heard which is super exciting. That said, this also means that the competition to get music heard is fierce. I think my version of Umbrella is just so fun that it’s impossible not to smile when you hear it. A lot of feedback I get is that they can’t believe no one thought to do this before. Which is a huge compliment!
Umbrella is your second offering music-wise this summer, your first single being June’s beautiful Now I Know. Are you gearing up for an eventual EP or LP release before the end of 2023?
Yes! That’s the goal. An EP sometime in fall/winter 2023!
Can you introduce our ever-inquisitive readers to the super-talented members of your band?
I would LOVE to!
Guitar - Federico Navarro – Federico is a BEAST on the guitar. His solo at the end of my single Umbrella makes me smile every time I hear it. Hailing from Uruguay, Federico played with Hugo Fattoruso and Ruben Rada (a Latin Grammy Winner) recording and touring the world for 15 years. I’m so grateful that our paths crossed and he has shared his talents on my songs.
Guitar - Eric Dover – Eric is an INCOMPARABLE guitar player and singer. He has played with The Jellyfish, Slash’s Snakepit, Alice Cooper and many more. His raw talent has been absolutely incredible to get to collaborate with. The opening guitar sounds on Now I Know were all him and I love it so much every time I listen.
Bass - Shane Soloski–My amazing producer and KICKASS bass player, Shane has played with huge acts and produced countless albums at his studio in LA. He has played bass for Brian Wilson and with Five For Fighting and I can’t rave enough about his talents as a music producer. A keen ear and inherent musicality have elevated my work significantly.
Drums - Ty Dennis – An insane talent, Ty has notably played with The Doors since 2003. He’s also played with Booker T, Robby Krieger and many other established acts. I am consistently blown away listening to his drums on Now I Know. Every nuance of his playing on that song made it come together in such a special and contagious way.
As a successful and respected actress, you join a long line of other fellow actors such as Keanu Reeves, Juliette Lewis, River Phoenix and Kevin Costner who have also established careers as musicians. Why do you feel that the field of acting cross-pollinates so often with the world of music?
Keanu actually played a show with his band Dogstar at the Roxy the same night I was at the Whisky! That felt like such a wild full circle moment for me as I was such a fan of theirs in high school. I think that often creative people aren’t single faceted. In my experience, it’s not uncommon for great actors to be great singers, musicians, visual artists or dancers. Even if it sounds cheesy, I think the truth is that some of us just have this undeniable desire to create and share art with the world. Because of this, I think we often have been blessed with more than one gift. And, like they say, every actor wants to be a rock star and every rock star wants to be an actor.
9.) Who inspires you musically?
I am inspired by the female singers and female punk rock/rock lead bands of the 90s/early 2000s. Hole, 7 Year Bitch, No Doubt, Tracy Bonham, Bif Naked, Veruca Salt, Holly McNarland, these were all huge influences on me. The punk rock and rock worlds have always been predominantly very male dominated. Even now! And these women were rocking harder than many of the men even 20 to 30 years ago. It’s super inspiring. I’ve always just wanted to do what all of those women do.
10.) Word ‘round industry campfire has it that you’re set to perform your first public concert at the nigh legendary Whiskey-AGo-Go in Los Angeles onTuesday July 18th, 2023 – which will be free to the public. Congratulations! How do you feel making your concert debut at such an iconic location for musicians?
This was honestly a life changing experience for me. I grew up in small town Canada where the pinnacle of music, for me, was the shows I read about in magazines happening in Los Angeles at the Viper Room, Roxy and Whisky A Go Go. Getting to perform publicly for the first time on that historic stage was honestly the stuff that dreams are made of. It was electric.
11.) Has it been difficult juggling your acting work alongside your music?
Well as you’ve probably heard, the WGA and SAG are currently on strike. So when I’m not out on a picket line, I’ve been able to focus on music. But even before those strikes began I had started to immerse myself in this world in a way that I typically wouldn’t have in the past. Writing music has been a huge part of my life since I was very young. I’ve just never shared my music with anybody in basically 2 decades. So I guess this year it has just felt like “if not now, when?” in the most beautiful way. My hope is to continue working and exploring both art forms simultaneously for as long as I possibly can.
Danny Casale
We’re extremely happy to be speaking today with acclaimed viral digital creator/artist and Forbes 30 Under 30 winner Danny Casale (aka Coolman Coffeedan); greetings and salutations, Danny! Before we meander too far down the Q&A pathway, can you tell our ever-inquisitive readers how you landed the unforgettable and altogether memorable artist moniker of “Coolman Coffeedan”?
Howdy! Ah, great question. Pretty much, in my junior year of high school, I learned how to use Photoshop. What was the first thing I did? Photoshop a skeleton face onto my face, of course. It was Halloween time, so it made sense. I made it my Twitter profile pic and changed my display name to Coolman SkeletonDan. It was 2012, so it felt hipster and quirky. The following week, I changed my Twitter pic to a selfie of me drinking coffee (I discovered coffee around that time, so I was very much in the honeymoon phase), and I changed my display name to Coolman CoffeeDan. “How fun!” I thought, “Every week I’ll update my profile picture and display name! Twitter is so awesome!”
I literally never changed it again, out of sheer laziness. I became Coolman Coffeedan forever. We have Twitter to thank for that, I guess.
Major congratulations on the highly successful launch of your debut global institution exhibition Dumb Dreams and Messy Hands from V/Collective in partnership with chi K11 Art Museum! What was the genesis of this jaw-dropper of an exhibition? How did it all come into being?
A few years ago, I noticed my art/animations were being discovered in China in a powerful new way. Videos that I created earlier in my career were being translated and re-dubbed into Chinese, which allowed millions of new people to enjoy my work. I suddenly had tons of new fans on the other side of the globe, who previously were unable to even access my content on Western-native platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Around the same time, V/Collective and I connected. It was clear that the demand for an IRL Coolman experience in China was through the roof. And so, we got planning.
Does Dumb Dreams and Messy Hands feel like a culmination of years of hard work on your end?
What does it mean for you personally to introduce this exhibition to the world at large?
The exhibition itself took a few years to come together. Between planning stages, navigating the COVID situation in China, and manufacturing the actual materials… it was no small feat. It’s largely why the opening night felt so special to me. It finally happened! It was finally real.
But as for the years of actual content and career growth leading up, it’s definitely a magical feeling. I uploaded my first animation that went viral in 2017. But even before that, I was creating and experimenting for as long as I could remember. I uploaded my first YouTube video in 5th grade circa 2006. My goal was always to make something, get it in front of people, and enjoy watching people experience or react to it. It’s been my life’s mission. So the fact that it’s all accumulated to this… is nearly unbelievable.
The Dumb Dreams and Messy Hands exhibition launched earlier this month on July 7. Precisely how long will it run through?
The k11 Shanghai venue will be hosting the exhibition through October 6th.
Can you take us behind the scenes of the launch day for Dumb Dreams and Messy Hands? Did everything go off without a hitch?
Over 1,300 people attended the show’s opening night, which broke all previous K11 records. That’s mindboggling to me. I’m grateful to my incredible team for making it all go so smoothly. Seeing everyone interact with my characters, take photos with the figurines, and immerse themselves in my animations nearly made me burst into tears.
What made chi K11 Art Museum the perfect venue to host Dumb Dreams and Messy Hands?
K11 is one of the few major institutions in the world that truly celebrates art and the artist. When you step into K11, it’s no ordinary experience. You truly feel like you have stepped into another world, filled with incredible architecture and wondrous displays. It puts art on a pedestal, in every sense of the word. When I first visited, I knew I wanted it to be the home of my first exhibition in China. I’m honored that they had me.
You made a huge impression early on with your efforts on YouTube. After your tenure at film school, what led to you making the decision to hang your fedora on this specific and very public shingle?
If it wasn’t for my passion for film, I don’t think my animations would’ve ever come to life. I remember being as young as 6 years old, picking up the family camcorder, and filming homemade movies with my younger siblings. I was obsessed with telling stories and turning ordinary life into something larger. The main reason I dropped out of film school was because my animations took off online. The only reason that happened is because I was itching to tell stories and create in general, outside of the classroom. I believe whether it’s an animation, a short film, a music video, a photograph, or a poem… it’s all storytelling hoping to captivate the viewer enough to ideally create an emotion so strong that they can’t help but remember it forever. The medium that ended up being able to do that, at least for me, was animation. But I do have a desire to pick up the camera someday again soon. I try not to get too comfortable!
Dumb Dreams and Messy Hands is sponsored by brand partners FARFETCH and Hisense. What made these two the ideal partners for the exhibition?
Since my animations require the optimal digital viewing experience, especially on a larger-scale screen, we needed top-notch equipment. Hisense coming in as a partner was a home run because it feels like you are nearly stepping into my Universe when you stand in front of the screen. On the same note, we needed a partner who celebrates the vibrancy of everyday life. Since people love to express themself through their fashion, a major form of self-identity and expressing yourself to the outside world, Farfetch also coming in as a partner was a dream come true.
Can you give readers a hint or three as to what you have coming up in the future?
Getting Spesh and his “UR SPECIAL” message to touch the lives of his many humans as possible is, and always has been the goal. The main difference is in years past this felt like a pipe dream, and now it’s actually happening in real time. In 2021, this was done through publishing my book “Ur SpecialAdvice for Humans”. In 2022, it was done through my web3 project Coolman’s Universe. In 2023, it’s done through massive IRL experiences with industryleading brands and culture-paving people. And the ride has still only just begun! I expect the next few years of my journey to be some of the wildest yet.
You came of age on Long Island. How do those roots inform you as a digital creator and artist?
Long Island is a quiet place. It forced me to create my own fun and adventures. I chose to do that through moviemaking and drawing. Anything to get out of my day-to-day boredom. I knew I never wanted to feel that feeling, so I had to create my own ideal reality. It also instilled many of the thoughts/feelings/emotions that my animations cover. Discussion around feeling alone, anxious, depressed, ect… these are all very real things I felt growing up. My art, creations, and characters helped make me feel better. It makes sense that now, they are helping millions of other people feel better too.
What did it mean to you professionally and personally to land on the vaunted Forbes 30 Under 30 list?
To be honest, that was the moment it became real to me. Millions of followers don’t mean much to people anymore. But the recognition from Forbes is what made people take notice. Which is kind of funny to me. Things have different meanings for different people. But all that aside, it made me realize that my works have amounted to something larger than just social media. That was back in 2019. In hindsight, it was truly a foreshadowing for how big things were about to become.
Pressing Strings
We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed Marylandbased Indie, folk, and soul trio extraordinaire, Pressing Strings! Greetings and salutations, gang! Before we dive into the proverbial Q&A mosh-pit, could you each say ‘hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?
JORDAN: Hello Vents Magazine and its readers! We’re excited to be featured here. Even though the name Pressing Strings may sound like a bluegrass string band and often gets assumed as one, that’s not really what we do. It’s more of an electric rock band and we play a mix of bluesy, soul, groove-based pop music that leans heavy on lyricism and hooks.
Major congratulations on the freshly-minted July 14 release of your amazing new album …And I For You! Jordan, what was the genesis of this new gem, how did it come into being?
This album’s beginning goes back a few years and most of the songs were products of demos that I began working on around mid-2020. I tend to work on songs in phases, whether it’s a riff or a melody, and periodically go back and add a verse here or a pre-chorus there until it feels complete. We handpicked these songs to make an album that we felt was easy to consume for the modern day short attention span listener. This album is a little different from previous albums that we have put out in the past. The process became a lot more of a team effort from all three members as far as arranging the songs and coming up with individual parts. We have really worked hard on three-part harmonies to color the songs which is a new addition to the band with Justin Kruger joining the lineup and giving us another voice in the mix.
Nick, how is …And I For Yousimilar to such past music from Pressing Strings as Where We Are and Settle In? How is it different?
…And I For You is a lot more similar toSettle In than Where We Are. Where We Are was the band’s first release in 2008. I joined in 2011 when we recorded the Pressing Strings self-titled LP. I’d say the main similarity is Jordan’s songwriting. Josh Kachura sang and wrote some of the songs on the albums from 2008-2012, after that all of the songs have been written by Jordan. …And I For You was produced and recorded (except for the live tracks) at Wright Way Studios in Baltimore by Steve Wright, where Settle In was recorded as well. Adding Justin Kruger to the group on drums a couple years ago has been great. …And I For You also has more of a soul/ rock vibe to it than our previous albums.
Justin, who was the producer on …And I For You and what did the collaboration between band and producer look like in the studio?
Our beloved producer and engineer on the album is Steve Wright, owner of Baltimore’s Wright Way Studios. A completely
unassuming side street studio that opens into 4600 square feet of beautiful historic walls of music recording! There’s rooms I haven’t even seen. Artists from Rihanna to Steel Pulse have recorded there. Many of our local peers like Super City and Outcalls do lots of their work there. I’ve done work there with other groups and PS’s last album Settle In was almost completely done there, so I had complete trust and comfort walking into this relationship. Steve Wright CARES. He pushed us to do one more take. Try this note. Try this guitar. Lay back. Lean in! As a drummer, I’ve been fortunate to do a TON of recording sessions, and I don’t always walk away in love with my drum sounds. Steve is some kind of Jedi in this field. Our studio collaboration looked like a happy, open, and welcoming space that Steve Wright facilitated into one of my proudest releases to date.
Jordan, what differentiates …And I For You from the distinguished competition on the 2023 music scene?
That’s a tough one. The bar is set really high and there are so many bands coming out with incredible music, and I find that comparing ourselves with other bands in a competitive sense is useless and kind of uninspiring to me. With that being said, I think this record is our strongest and most realized version of the band. There was an effort to blend a polished studio sound at the beginning of the album and a handful of live one-take, no overdub versions of songs on the back end of the album. That way it feels like the album goes somewhere instead of sounding overly homogeneous. So, I think that’s what separates this album from others. There is a great flow to it that gives a really authentic picture of the band right now.
Nick, …And I For You is being released this July 14 via Evil Teen Records. What makes Evil Teen the perfect home for the new LP?
Evil Teen is the perfect home for our new LP because they are able to show our music to a wide variety of music lovers. If you are a fan of classic rock, country, or soul/funk music…then I believe you will enjoy …And I For You.
Justin, on the heels of the release of …And I For You, can fans look forward to catching Pressing Strings on the touring/performing circuit?
July and August are stacked full of really fun tour stops including a AAA radio conference in Colorado. That one features heavy acts like Grace Potter, Andy Frasco,and Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, but what we are there for is to shake hands and impress radio folks. A new album in hand and a chance to turn heads is maybe my favorite position to be in on stage. Underdogs. The unknown group that in minutes creates a buzz and starts some talk. Beyond that, YES of course. We have been working with our team to properly release this album and perform it. Wheels are turning and working well!
A question for all of you: Who inspires you musically?
NICK- I listened to a lot of 90s/early 2000s rock when I was first learning bass in middle school. As I got older, I started listening to a lot more classic rock and funk/R&B from the 60s and 70s. I also played upright bass in orchestra in middle and high school, as well as jazz band in middle and high school on bass guitar. All of those helped me be exposed to a wide variety of genres. I wouldn’t say one specific thing influences me musically.
JUSTIN - My inspiration comes from different places! Lots of days, it comes from the band! You should love who you play and perform with! Some days it’s the teachings my musical parents gave me. Other days it’s knowing my wife is in a hospital making people’s lives happier and healthier. SOME days it’s just me! Remembering that I’ve worked hard, earned a place in the world of music, and I too make people happy when I play.
JORDAN- It’s not always a question of who but also what inspires me. I love trading gear and having new, interesting toys and guitars to play and see what songs are sitting in them. I’m a dad to 3 young daughters and just witnessing them grow into themselves with my wife has been the most inspiring thing I’ve ever experienced, and that’s what most of this new album is about. This band and our dedication to the cause really inspires me. I really feel like we can play on the same stage as anyone in the world and hold our own and that’s a great feeling. AfieJuravanan (Bahamas), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Dan Aurbach (Black Keys) are all people I find inspiring that continue to put out amazing work.
Jordan, Pressing Strings hails from the beautiful city of Annapolis, Maryland. How do those roots inform the sound of the band?
The scene in Annapolis is pretty organic, mostly bar gigs. It’s all very tightknit and supportive and the thing that makes this town really
special is the comradery among the musicians and audience. I’m not originally from Maryland and didn’t have any experience playing in bands when I was young, so I always sort of looked at it from an outsider’s perspective when I was first playing bars at 20 yearsold. Watching all of the veteran musicians tear it up on any given day of the week inspired me to get better and showed me that there was a path to doing this for a living. We literally developed a lot of our band’s material playing weekly bar gigs for years straight and you learn a lot about how to connect with an audience that way. That kind of repetition really tightens up a band.
Nick, can you give readers the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on how Pressing Strings came together as the incredibly tight and harmonious group that we hear today?
Jordan started the band when he was attending Salisbury University with Josh Kachura, who also played guitar and sang. I joined the group in 2011 on bass and we played as a four piece for a few years with Bob Novak on drums. Josh left the group after that and we’ve performed as a trio since then. Brandon Bartlett played drums with us 2014-2020. Justin joined the group in 2021 and also can sing harmonies as well. It’s been fun/challenging making up three-part harmonies and performing them live. We got connected with Hard Head Management in 2019 after opening up for Jerry Douglas at The Hamilton in Washington D.C. One of Stef Scamardo’s friends was in the crowd that night and introduced us to her.
Jordan, at the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving …And I For You many-a spin on their respective hi-fi systems?
I hope they listen to it over and over again. I hope they pass it aroundto their friends and family and it continues to grow and help bring people joy. I want it to inspire other bands and singers and pass that feeling along like it’s been passed to me.
Final - SILLY! - Question (for all of you): Favorite movie about the music scene - This Is Spinal Tap, Almost Famous, 8 Mile, American Hot Wax, La Bamba or Oliver Stone’s The Doors?
NICK - My favorite movie about the music scene is probably Airheads. The entire movie is completely ridiculous and all of the old SNL people are great in it.
JUSTIN - this is hard. I really love movies. But I’m gonna go with Airheads. Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser, and Steve Buscemi are a band and they take a radio station hostage with fake squirt guns to demand their new single get played, and their lives change forever into rock stardom. It’s so damn absurd, especially now. If you’ve never seen it, it’s full of amazing actors, and incredible comedy.
JORDAN -Annnd we all picked Airheads…but I’ll change my answer. I’m a big documentary guy and I think the Peter Jackson Beatles doc Get Back might be my favorite music movie. It’s fascinating to get a fly on the wall perspective of those sessions all these years later considering how massive those songs ultimately became. Their personalities are all under a spotlight like I’d never seen before.
Alexander Hacke & Danielle de Picciotto
We’re super-excited to be speaking today with acclaimed musical duo extraordinaire Alexander Hacke & Danielle de Picciotto; greetings and salutations, gang! Before we saunter down the proverbial Q&A musical pathway, how has the first-half of 2023 been treating the two of you?
Danielle: It’s been pretty full on. Europe is pretty explosive at the moment with inflation rising and war very close by. Ever since the pandemic started people have been very emotional and worried. I guess everybody is wondering what the future will bring. As artists we feel we have the responsibility to create art that can comfort but also raise questions in difficult times so we have been pretty busy. We have been working on finishing our album, I have been doing exhibitions with my art, Alexander has been recording with neubauten, we have organised charity events and toured. Financially everybody is having problems and less people go to see shows but we have been lucky to pull our usual crowds so I guess and hope that our music is giving people something they need or enjoy.
Alexander, for anyone not in the know, how would you describe the vibe or style of music which you and Danielle so lovingly create?
Alexander: In the past we tended to call our music „Cinematic Drone“, which is a term we coined for this purpose I believe, because if you google it you get linked to those flying camera contraptions. It’s hard to say and really not something I am good at. We see ourselves in the tradition of the old school drone artists like LaMonte Young and Tony Conrad, but also embrace a more modern approach if you will, while also really enjoying to combine the very different backgrounds of Danielle and I; her being classically trained and me being this nonconformist noise-head.
Major congrats and kudos on the freshly-minted new single Scharze Milch which is off of your upcoming July 28 album! Danielle, what was the genesis of one of the best singles that we’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to?
Danielle: Why thank you! So happy you like this song! It is dedicated to a dear friend of ours that decided at one point (influenced by Satie who only ate food that was
white) that he would only eat food that was black. That is why the song is called “Schwarze Milch: Black Milk”. As he was also very much into the Romanian-born German language poet&writer Paul Celan, the title is a nod in that direction and as he was a wonderfully elegant existentialist, we added a little jazz to perk up the darkness. We enjoyed recording this song very much and are extremely happy that the song is being received so well.
Speaking of that eagerly anticipated LP, Alexander, can you give our ever-inquisitive readers a hint or three as to what they can expect from Keepsakes when it premieres this July 28?
Alexander: Where our previous albums cover the grounds of a rather epic doomsday, or even post apocalyptic scenery, concerning ourselves with universal philosophical and spiritual matters, this is an homage to very specific people we love, so there is a lot of tenderness and subtlety in our approach this time around, which will hopefully please, but also confuse people. It‘s very personal, but still a trip and I am proud of its many eclectic layers.
Danielle, who was the producer on Keepsakes and what did the collaboration between artists and producer look like in the studio?
Danielle: We always produce our albums ourselves. We have such specific ideas on what and how we want our music to sound like that we have never wanted anybody to water down our ideas. But we do have an amazing friend Victor Van Vugt with whom we always mix our music. He has the uncanny skill of being able to place very small and delicate sounds inmidst huge walls of music without being overpowered or undermined. It’s magical and one of the most important elements of our music. Victor is the only engineer we have ever met that can do this.
Alexander, we’re tremendous admirers of the Song of Gratitude track off of the upcoming Keepsakes album! What’s the story behind this little gem?
Alexander: It is dedicated to our fathers. Respectively and alsoas an archaic concept. They both experienced very intense situations, being of the WWII generation and we are attempting to sonically celebrate the impact their strength and care had on us.
Danielle, can fans look forward to catching you and Alexander on the touring/performing circuit in the weeks and months after the July 28 release date of Keepsakes?
Danielle: Yes absolutely ! We will be performing in Meaford, Canada on the 5th of August at the EE Festival (one of the best festivals ever – very recommendable) and performing our new album there for the very first time. The next show will then be in France in Le Mans on the 26th of August at the fesivalSiesteTeriaki. After that we will be touring all of fall into 2024 through Europe and hopefully after that also in the US.
A question for the both of you: Who inspires you musically?
Danielle: Ennio Morricone
Alexander: The work of wonderful artists of very different genres, the traditional music of various ethnicities, but also the crap oozing from streaming services and other commercial outlets, because generic music I despise will motivate me to try and create something superior.
Alexander, what differentiates Keepsakes from the Distinguished Competition on the 2023 music scene?
Alexander: Well we don‘t have a marketing agenda, we don‘t work with Svengali producers prone to get us in the charts, we don‘t care if our work makes you feel too uncomfortable to function in the rat race out there. Quite on the contrary: If
what we do works as a wake-up call, then we have achieved our goal.
Danielle, you and Alexander have been creating amazing music together for over twenty years. What’s the secret to your longevity?
Danielle: I think that it’s the fact that we both love music and that we just do not allow difficulties to stop us. We have spent all our lives working on art and music that are not mainstream and that have never been easy to sell but I guess that’s the best kind of training to learn how to persevere. We know that there will always be good and bad times and to take it all in with a grain of salt. There is nothing else we would want to do and nobody else we would prefer doing it with. Of course we have our differences and sqabbles but in the end the happy moments are just so much more important and to experience this with the person you love is an everlasting joyous miracle.
Alexander, at the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving copious spins to the upcoming Keepsakes LP?
Alexander: I hope to reassure them that they belong, to motivate them to evolve and to embrace change, to conquer fear and tobe compassionate with their fellow man and actually all of creation. This may sound pretentious and deluded with grandeur, but really: we‘re all in this together and the time is now.
Larry Gaiters ofHost Monththe
Our nationally syndicated radio show, Global Spiritual Revolution Radio, reaches on a weekly basis over 25 million people worldwide. Our central focus is on Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Each show is aimed at helping the world address pain and trauma. Our staff and production team sets up interviews with clinical psychologist and psychiatrist who examine the philosophy that trauma is not what happens to you, but rather that trauma is what happens inside of you as a result of what happened to you.
You’ve been at the helm of your radio show for twentyfive amazing years. In that time, how has your show evolved and how has it remained consistent?
It’s actually both evolved and remained consistent, meaning our core values remain true to who and what we are.The way my staff and I see ourselves is not just as a radio show, but as a global movement where minds are being stretched so that their thinking will never go back to its original shape. Each show utilizes“Frame Control” where a guest can impart to the audience how they see the world and themselves through the lens of their own life experience.
Alongside your duties as radio host, you’re also the CEO of Global Spiritual Revolution Media Group. What exactly is Global Spiritual Revolution Media Group and how did this worthwhile endeavor enter into your life?
By Ryan VandergriffWe’re very happy to have with us today as a special guest, acclaimed radio host, author and TV producer Bishop Larry Gaiters; greetings and salutations, Larry! Before we dive down the proverbial Q&A rabbit hole, how goes your 2023 thus far?
My 2023 has been the very best year of my 60 years of existence. I’ve beenpreparing for the 2024 launching of our upcoming television talk show and studio. I’ve been attending many events this year, television and movie premieres,meeting amazing people, andestablishing important relationships in the Hollywood industry.
Congratulations on your amazing work as the radio host of iHeart Media Group’s WMCA’s AM 570/FM 102.3 faithbased station in New York! For anyone not in the know that might be approaching your show for the first time, what can they expect?
Global Spiritual Revolution Media Group is a worldwide movement fulfilling the wordsChrist spoke to my heart over 30 years ago, which was: “Are you preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ or are you teaching the gospel that I taught 2000 years ago?” That life-changing question has allowed me to build my movement. Ourmedia groupteaches through our global satellite classes that our true design by GODis asspiritual beings living inside of these bodies called flesh.
Global Spiritual Revolution Media Group has offices currently in both New York and Los Angeles. Going forward, do you see that sizable footprint expanding in the future?
Absolutely! We’re already expanding in both the eastern and the western hemispheres. We have satellite classes inAfrica, the Middle East, South East Asia, and Europe. Before the war in the Ukraine, one of our students was
pastoring the largest Church in Europe and is nowpreparing to run for the presidency of the nation of Nigeria.We presently have 275 million student pastors registered on our global website (https://GlobalSpiritualMovement. org).
Can you talk with readers about your upcoming 2024 television show and what specifically it will address?
It will be launched, GOD willing, through a major network that I’m unable to mention at this time. It will specifically addressthe pain and the historical trauma by interviewing the greatest minds of clinical psychology and clinical psychiatry. And in doing so, it will give the world the tools on how to properly heal their pain and trauma, as well as how to heal themselves so that who they are can flourish. We will also be launching in 2024 The Global Movement Studios that will be the industry’s platform for Christcentered directors, executive producers, and screenwriters who have a red-pill pattern of thinking in visual content. The studios will be revolutionary in pushing the envelope of content that can actually change the trajectory of how people see themselves and the world in which they live.
How have churches reacted to your own philosophy and belief about the importance of academics, theologians, and the corporate world in healing emotional and psychological issues versus relying solely on the church itself?
The church world has responded well to ourcore beliefs. The complete healing of the emotional and psychological aspects of the person do not just rely on the church itself.The present-day church by and large does not deal theroot issues of modern-day pain and trauma, which has restricted this generation from discovering their authentic selves.The church world is also not dealing with mental illness, mental sickness, mental disease and syndromes that often lead to physical sickness and diseases, including suicides in the church. Pastors are not reaching out for professional help because of the stigma that has become attached to mental illness.Our classes are changing the paradigm of how leadership must be taught to address trauma in and outside the church. This generation must know that The Church of Jesus Christ is not something one merely does on a Sunday morning. The Church of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of Christ that encompasses the world of the academicians, the corporate world, the medical world, as well as the theological world.We have adult leaders in every facet of society who yet remain emotionally at the age of five—the age when the trauma initially took place.
Secret Origin Time: How did you find the path to doing the important work which you’ve been engaged in now for decades?
The origination of The Call of Christ on my life is as follows:”If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten.”I had a speech impediment until I was 14 years old and never in my life didI think I would be doing what I’m doing now in transforming the world.
Word ‘round the campfire has it that you’re also set to be a part of the 2024 Oxford Union Round Table. Can you talk with us a little about this honor?
I’m very excited about being a part it! It will take place July 22nd through the 25th, 2024at the Harris Manchester College University of Oxford designated for the world’s foremost theologians. I have the special honor to both attend and to participate in lecturing fellow theologians and great spiritual thinkers from all over the world on the critical topic of the manipulation of pain and the weaponization of trauma.
Beyond the radio station and Global Spiritual Revolution Media Group, have you given thought to perhaps writing a book on your life’s mission?
I have a four-volume book series entitled “Comprehending the State of the Human Condition.” And I’m also currently writing a biography of my entire life and global work entitled “The Anthology of a Present Day Revolutionary.”
In such a fragmented time, how can we begin healing ourselves as a country? Is religion at least one option for some type of a reconciliation of the human spirit?
In The Gospel according to Saint Matthew chapter 14 (Verse 20), the twelve apostles took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. The mandate that GOD has anointed me to accomplish is to remove the global system of religion from theological thought, because religion has indeed become the opium of the people.Christ did not teach religion (Re-LEGION). It was through religion that nations were held captive. Religion was never designed to liberate mankind.My mandate on a global scale is to gather the fragments of broken lives who not only need religion but need a truly intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.Our nation needs to examine the very root ofits pain. Trauma is what has given birth to addiction. And the first stepto fully heal is by coming back to GOD because without Christ our nation will be ultimately destroyed.And without the father in the home, the family structure will always remain out of order and the nation will never completely heal or become whole.
J.R. Adduci
We’re very happy to be speaking today with acclaimed and award-winning actor J.R. Adduci; greetings and salutations, J.R.! Before we meander down the celluloid Q&A pathway, how has the first-half of 2023 been treating you?
Thanks for taking the time to to chat with me. Happy to be here. I’m enjoying my 2023. I have been spending some much needed quality time with my family and getting excited to see some of these projects I have been fortunate enough to be a part of come out. I’ve enjoyed organizing my home office over and over and over again in hopes of actually sitting at the desk and possibly creating something lol. But yes…Overall the year has been a blessing.
Major congratulations and plaudits on your upcoming turn in director Justin Simien’s iteration of Disney’s Haunted Mansion which is set for release this July 28! For those not in the know, could you tell us what the film is about and how your character figures into the proceedings?
So excited for the world to see what fun Justin and the rest of the cast and crew has cooked up! Without giving away too much, what I can tell you is the film is based on the actual haunted mansion ride from the Disney theme parks and has a huge fan base based on the ride alone. I was fortunate to be cast as the role of William Gracey the original owner of the mansion. I can tell you that the entire film is made to feel like an immersive experience almost as if you are taking the ride along with the main characters. With such a powerful ensemble it’s sure to be a fun filled cinematic ride for all as well as some really spooky and amazing surprises along the way mixed with humor and drama it’s truly a film for all ages and without jinxing anything I feel like we have something special with this one.
Did you know as soon as screenwriter Katie Dippold’s script for Haunted Mansion crossed your path that this was a production you wanted to be a part of?
To be honest I had no idea about what the film was about or based on prior to booking it. I put my audition on tape, sent it in, and two or three months later received the booking call. I have never had the chance to visit Disney land or world so I wasn’t aware of the ride or the lore that is The Haunted Mansion. I quickly realized during my first costume fitting with the Amazing Jeffery Kurland that this was a special role. I think I tried on eight or nine different custom pieces and looks… when I saw my headshot on the wall with inspiration pictures and wardrobe ideas pasted up alongside the likes of Lakieth and Rosario I quickly realized I had stumbled across something very special and exciting.
You work with such a brilliant ensemble in Haunted Mansion such as Winona Ryder, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto and Danny DeVito, among others. What was it like exercising your own considerable acting chops alongside this merry band of thespians?
Oh man, this film was such a blessing for me personally as an actor! I am not going to lie… once I saw the call sheet and where I was in relation to these iconic names I started to immediately feel my heart jump out of my chest. But after meeting the core cast in hair and makeup, I settled into the job and felt welcomed and very much a part of creating something, which is what every actor wants to feel. Rosario Dawson and Jamie Lee Curtis really treated me with kindness and generosity and the whole thing felt very collaborative, which was ideal. Working with Lakieth was also a dream! He is such a talent and when we were on set he was so cool to share some business advice with me and more than that, when we were working together on
camera heapproached things with such a creativeand collaborative vibe it was easy for me to settle into the scenes and just play. So things felt fresh and new and everyday was full of discovery. It was super dope.
Speaking of collaborations, what was your working experience with Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien like? Is he what some actors might refer to as “an actor’s director”?
I told Justin on the last day of filming that I would work with him anytime anywhere and for free!!! He laughed and said “no no no not for free!” But seriously Justin was an amazing captain and he fostered a safe and creative space for all of us to create together.He was dealing with so many things at such a grand scale and while dealing with all of that he took the time to really communicate and work things out with every actor. So yes he is the definition of an actors director. He instilled trust from day one. I got a sense he really had a specific vision with this film and that’s what every actor hopes for… a director who knows what he wants yet is open enough to discuss and discover things with his actors and creative team. I freaking loved every minute of working with Justin and there is not a doubt in my mind that he will go down as one of the world’s most celebrated directors.
You’ve got some exciting-sounding productions waiting in the pipeline for release such as The Slumber Party, Red Ones and The Space In Between. What can you tell our ever-inquisitive readers about this trio of films which you are featured in?
The Slumber Party is another Disney feature film and coincidentally is being released on Disney plus the same day Haunted Mansion hits theaters! That’s so wild to me. The Slumber Party is a coming of age tale surrounding a group of teenage girls the summer before they go to high school and they have an epic adventure. It’s been described as the family version of The Hangover
movies, which I thought was a pretty cool concept. I was lucky enough to be cast as Mr. Guerrero and play the father of one of the lead girls. Mr. Guerrero has a cool storyline and working with the incomparable Veronica Rodriguez was so much fun.
Red One is positioned to be a holiday release with Amazon. While I can’t say much about it I can say you will not want to miss it! It’s a different movie in regards to holiday films. I believe it has the potential to become a holiday staple film to view for many years to come! And it was such a huge production…scale story and creative team! I’m super stoked to see what they cooked up.
And while I’m uber excited for these blockbuster films to release and be shared with the world I am probably most excited and proud of my involvement in “The Space In Between”. It’s an Arthouse indie short film shot on 16 millimeter film and I am the only actor in the film. I try and push myself as an actor whenever possible and take on things that scare me a bit and this was definitely one of those. Film is expensive and with a limited budget we had little room for multiple takes. And being the only actor on camera presents it’s challenges as well. I play a character named Carson Quod who finds himself alone in a space rover after a crash and is trying to find his way home. He experiences what felt like the entire spectrum of the emotion wheel during this film �� it was definitely an experience I will never forget for all the right reasons. The director Taylor P. Hawkins wrote and produced it with his wife Sarah and they gathered an A-list crew of all the top talent in the south east. We filmed in Charlotte, NC and when I saw the set and saw who was on board I became over the moon excited! We as actors hope and dream to work with a crew that feels like family. That’s the experience I took away from this one. The crew protected me and made me feel warm and incubated if that makes any sense? �� whatI mean is they took such care in everything they did and everyone was in it together to build and create something special. We all had the feeling we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. It was magical. And I’m so excited for the world to see it. I believe they are gunning for Sundance and Cannes and after that I’m not sure but seeing some of the raw footage I can tell you it looks freaking incredible.
7) You studied acting under the very respected Gene Frankel. What valuable lessons about the craft of acting did you take away from that experience?
Oh man that’s a loaded question �� ifI had to share what lessonsI learned as an actor that have become a big part of my process today I guess the biggest thing I took away from Gene was “Specificity.”He taught me so many gems over the years of training with him but one thing that always screams loud in my head when something isn’t quite working is his voice yelling out…”Specificity JR! We need to see you being specific about everything!” Interesting and compelling performances are filled with such a specificity. It’s something we need while researching and building a character and while doing our prep as well as when on stage or on set actually doing the job. We are not in this craft to be or play generalized thoughts or feelings or characters. The more specific, the more interesting. The more interesting, the more people care. So yes Specificity. I miss Gene and am so thankful for my time with him. I could write a book on my experience alone in his classes. Love that man.
Your first credited on-screen work came in the form of the 2003 short film Baltimore. Any special memories of that freshman production?
That’s so funny because what IMDb has me credited for on Baltimore is not the actual film I was in �� my first role in front of the camera came
right after conservatory training in NYC and it was the lead role in an indie feature called Baltimore where I played the king of Baltimore graffiti. The film never came out. I have the rough cut somewhere on VHS though. What I learned on that one was what a collaborative process film was and how important it is for an actor and director to trust each other and be on the same page. I didn’t have that experience on Baltimore and I’ve been working on fostering and building that trust up with every project since. One way I do that from my side of the coin is to make sure I put in the prep work and really dive into the work before I even walk on set to film. I want to have my character figured out as much as possible so I can let go and trust myself. Then in doing that you can instill trust with your creative team. Also don’t ask permission to try out every idea you have. Just try it and then adjust if needed. I learned that as well.
Acting-wise, who inspires you?
You know that’s an impossible question to fully answer right!? Well first off I’d say Al Pacino and his earlier work definitely inspired me to embark on the acting journey. Then and now there have been so many amazing actors and performances I’ve witnessed and also had the pleasure of working with that there is too many to begin to mention without leaving others out. So I will say that any actor who I see having honest vulnerable moments of truth, whether onstage or camera… I am inspired by those moments and actors. I love seeing actors play the opposite of the standard choice… I enjoy watching nuance as well as bold choices as long as they are encapsulated in organic truth. I don’t want to watch “acting” I want to watch “being” that is what inspires me and what I continue to strive for.
Your acting has graced no less than two pop culture phenomena: Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. Is it at all surreal to have contributed to these two immensely popular shows?
Surreal? Absolutely! I was a big Walking Dead fan and had auditioned a few times for them over the years and when I got the call to play Alvez in the last season I felt like I had arrived! It was a dream come true for real. Working opposite of Norman Reedus was such a cool experience and I’m thankful I didn’t end up becoming a zombie haha. Stranger Things was also very cool for me to get to meet and work with Sherman Augustus. And obviously the Duffer Bros.. it was a quick and small role however it was lots of fun getting to be a small part of that world. I never auditioned for that role it was my first “offer” and I jumped at the chance to be a part of it.
Final - SILLY! - Question: Favorite movie about the making of moviesLiving In Oblivion, The Player, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Barton Fink, Ed Wood or Swimming With Sharks?
Wow it’s been such a long time since I’ve seen any of these… never seen Swimming with Sharks so it’s now on my list. Thanks for that. I guess off the top of my head I’d say Ed Wood was a special film… one because I’m a fan of Depp’s work and two because if I remember correctly that film made me feel that the passion behind creating and chasing your dreams is more important than the actual outcome of said art. The doings are where an artist gets the juice. And that’s so true. Once it’s made we move on to the next project because it’s in the actual work we feel while. Not in the accolades or recognition but in the creating. If we can keep creating we can sustain a level of happiness that is not easily compared to others…
Thanks so much for having me! I had fun answering these.
J.R.
Derek Johns
We’re excited to be speaking today with actor Derek Johns. Before we dig in, how has the summer of ‘23 been treating you?
The summer of ‘23 has been great! I spent a lot of early 2023 recovering from a knee surgery, so I’m happy to be back on my feet and in the sun.
Major congratulations on your upcoming film We Are Zombies which is set to make its world premiere at this year’s 2023 Fantasia Film Festival! Can you tell us what We Are Zombies is about and how your character of Freddy fits in the plot?
Thank you very much! I’m very excited to see the film, and share it with the world! We Are Zombies is based on an ongoing comic book series written by Jerry Frissen and illustrated by Guy Davis, called “The Zombies That Ate the World”. It’s a zombie movie that’s different from the standard zombie film. It’s a zombie comedy, along the lines of Zombieland. Think Shaun of the Dead, not World War Z. It’s set in a world that’s post-outbreak, the zombies have already turned, however, they’re not flesh eating monsters, they’re just, a little less human. They are referred to as “Living-Impaired” throughout the movie. The film follows a trio, a brother, a sister, and best friend, who’re trying to make a quick buck, by stealing from a big corporation that runs the world, a bit like Amazon. I play Freddy, who is Karl’s best friend. Freddy is obsessed with wrestling, and not very bright. I think Freddy is charming, which is a big departure from the comic book character he’s based on, who is much more abrasive and off-putting at times. He’s also Belgian in the comic books, whereas in the film, he’s not.
Did you know as soon as you saw the script for We Are Zombies that this was a production you wanted to be a part of?
Oh yeah, my mind was already racing with ideas the first time I read the script, I couldn’t wait to get started. It’s such a pleasure to do comedy, and I feel like there are far fewer comedies being made than maybe 10-20 years ago. Tack on that it’s the same trio who made Turbo Kid, and how can you not be excited!?
Going into We Are Zombies, how aware were you of the Jerry Frissen and Guy Davis popular comic book series on which the film is based off of?
Going into it, no, not at all. I’d never been introduced to graphic novels or comic books growing up, so it wasn’t on my radar at all. But Jerry Frissen was nice enough to send me a copy when I hit him up on Instagram, and I’ve enjoyed reading it since shooting the movie. Thanks again Jerry!
The directors of We Are Zombies are François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell. What was your collaboration process like with this talented trio? Are they what some actors might refer to as an “actor’s director(s)”?
They were awesome. They are definitely actor’s directors. They communicated with the cast so well. They let us play, if we had an idea, they were all-ears. They know what’s funny, and what will detract from the plot of the film. I wish I knew more about how they worked, but it seems like they all have different things they’re looking at to ensure that all their bases are covered. They’re very meticulous, but they’re very fun, there were lots of laughs between takes. It’s really an honour to have worked with such a talented team as RKSS, and I hope it won’t be the last. What can you tell us about your castmates? What was it like working with them on this film?
It was a dream. Everyone was so fun to work with, and very talented. This was my first experience working on a full shoot from day one to the last day. Alexandre Nachi is an energizer bunny. He has endless energy, and he loves to play. Megan Peta Hill, is one of the most talented and hard-working people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. All three of us were very close throughout the shoot, we’d run lines together, we always wanted to be as prepared as possible for every scene, because we knew that the more prepared we were, means that we had less rehearsal time on set, and thus had more time to play with the cameras rolling.
We Are Zombies isn’t the only film which has its premiere at the 2023 Fantasia Film Festival: You’re a featured actor in the upcoming film The Sacrifice Game. What’s The Sacrifice Game about?
Yeah! It’s crazy that I shot two back to back feature films in the same summer, and they both landed at the same festival! The Sacrifice Game is a horror film, set in the 70’s about a couple of girls stuck at their boarding school over the holidays. A group of deranged killers show up to that school with the intention of summoning a demon. I play Grant, one of the killers, who’s a Vietnam vet suffering from some survivor guilt, who’s hitched his wagon to some rather unsavoury folk, in hopes of looking for some purpose in life. It should be a film filled with fright, and I’m very excited to see it!
Final - SILLY! - Question: Favorite movie about the making of movies - Living In Oblivion, The Player, Swimming With Sharks or Barton Fink?
I haven’t seen any of those movies. Should I be embarrassed by that? Barton Fink I definitely know of, because I’ve always meant to watch it, it would always catch my eye at the movie store back in the day, and looking at it now, it has an absolutely brilliant cast. To answer your question, I’d have to say Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Does that count? I think that’s a film every actor should see. For many different reasons. Also, Quentin, if you’re reading this, I’d love to work with ya.
Brit MacRae
We’re super-excited to be speaking today with actress Brit MacRae!
Woohoo! So excited to be chatting with YOU! Thanks for having me. :)
Congratulations on your upcoming role in the third season of the hit series Departure! For those that might be watching Departure for the first time, can you tell us what the show is about and how your character of Jessica Hicks fits in?
Ahhh, thank you so much. Departure is an actionpacked procedural drama where every season the team tackles a different tragedy. Season 1 we watched investigators work to sort out the truth from a conspiracy around a plane crash, in Season 2 there was a horrific train crash.
Season 3 centers on the mystery of The Queen of the Narrows ferry, destined for St. John’s Newfoundland. En route, an explosion occurs on the ferry, and it sinks in record time with 500 passengers on board. My character, Chief Officer Jessica Hicks, is a rookie and is completely caught off guard when an explosion occurs… Throughout season 3, I work with the investigators to help figure out what happened and why things went wrong. My character is a big feeler, and I’m feeling a LOT of things through the season.
In your opinion, what differentiates Departure from any other shows currently on the television scene?
Aside from a stellar cast? Departure is refreshingly smart television. Each season is an EPIC whodunnit…. right when you’re certain about one person being the “bad guy,” you realize you’re completely wrong. Smart storytelling coupled with beautiful cinematography and epic action scenes makes for really good TV.
What was it like working alongside Archie Panjabi and the rest of the cast?
Archie is an absolute dream. I feel truly honored to have had the chance to work opposite her. She is a true master of the craft and a gem of a human!
There’s something magical about shooting on location. You can’t go home after a day of work so
you end up truly getting to know each other. It almost feels like an elevated version of summer camp where people from all over come together to create something great. Archie, Kris, Eric and everyone the cast was so generous… and TJ Scott (our fearless leader) was fantastic.
Can you give fans of Departure a hint or three as to what they can look forward to with season three?
An explosion, terror and fear, heartbreak, loss, the human will to survive, hope, love — tv!
Who inspires you acting-wise?
There are so many artists who inspire me, but if there’s one performer whose career I would like to emulate most, it’s hands down Reese Witherspoon. Reese is a talented versatile actress (Legally Blonde VS Wild VS Big Little Lies…THE MORNING SHOW… come on!) but she’s more than an actress. Reese is a businesswoman, a powerhouse producer and a finder of stories. I love to read and love how she finds ‘fan favorite’ stories through her book club, options them and turns them into TV shows and films where she works alongside her friends. That’s the dream.
You’ve served as a producer on at least one occasion. Is producing something which you might like to do more of in the future?
Absolutely! I want to work as an actress and a producer. I love finding meaningful stories and helping create the engine to bring them to life. I think it’s important to understand the business side of entertainment, and when the more that we produce and create opportunities, the more we get to have a voice in the stories we help tell.
Final - SILLY! - Question: Favorite movie about the making of movies - Living In Oblivion, The Player, The Big Picture, Barton Fink or Ed Wood?
Ed Wood all the way, baby!
Lamar Richardson
We’re very happy to be speaking today with Tony Award-nominated producer Lamar Richardson; greetings and salutations, Lamar! Before we meander down the proverbial Q&A pathway, how has 2023 been treating you thus far?
Greetings and salutations, my friends! It’s an honor to chat with you – thank you again for the opportunity. 2023 has truly been a whirlwind! I closed Death of a Salesman in January, which was my Broadway debut as a Co-Producer and opened New York, New York in April, which is still currently running. I also received my first Tony nomination as a Co-Producer of New York, New York and just attended last week’s ceremony, which was truly a magical experience. As an actor, I also filmed an episode of CBS’ Blue Bloods, which aired recently and have an upcoming film, Richard Lawson’s Black Terror, premiering soon. We’re halfway through the year, but things are pressing onward and upward.
Major kudos and congrats on your freshly-minted Tony Award nomination for your work as producer for Best Musical for New York, New York! Starting from the top, what does this honor of being nominated mean to you personally?
Thank you very much! This nomination means the world to me. I am a first-generation Caribbean American, with my roots in Antigua & Barbuda, so this is very culturally significant to me for many reasons. My parents moved to the U.S. in 1988, and I am the first in my family to pursue a career in the Arts, so this acknowledgement is extremely humbling. I am a tangible representation of what is possible with hard work, sacrifice, and an unwavering belief in yourself which will inspire so many who will come after me. It’s also a major goal post of hope in my entertainment career overall, which has surely had its shares of ups and downs over the past decade. Funny enough, I actually used to work as a cater waiter a decade ago and always worked the Tonys after party at the Plaza, so this is truly a full circle moment for me to have attended this year’s festivities as a first-time nominee. Dreams are valid!
For anyone not in the know, can you give our everinquisitive readers a summation as to what New York, New York is about?
New York, New York is a beautiful, multicultural love letter to the Big Apple that follows a group of artists in 1946 on a quest to achieve the “major chord” of music, money, and love. It’s a big, energetic, compelling new musical from Kander and Ebb with additional lyrics from Lin-Manuel Miranda, a book co-written by David Thompson and Sharon Washington, and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman. It’s literally the quintessential Broadway experience that is of New York and all about New York. It is not to be missed!
Some film aficionados reading our interview may be familiar with the Martin Scorsese 1977 film from which New York, New York is loosely based. For those folks, how is this adaptation similar to Scorsese’s take? How is it different?
This musical is inspired by and loosely based on the film, but it stands alone as its own unique product. There are musical numbers featured that were written for the film version alongside new music from John Kander and Lin-Manuel Miranda. David Thompson and Sharon Washington also co-wrote an original book, for which they were recently nominated for a Tony Award.
Secret Origin Time: How did New York, New York the musical enter into your professional life?
I was an investor in the Fall revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, and the opportunity to “be a part of” New York, New York was introduced through the same Lead Producer team. As soon as I read about the premise of the show, and later watched footage from an earlier workshop presentation of it, I knew that I had to be involved. New York City changed my life and enabled me to pursue my dreams as an actor, so I deeply resonated with the themes and characters depicted and couldn’t miss out.
Have you been surprised by how quickly audiences have embraced New York, New York?
I am not surprised one bit! New York City means so much to so many people locally and internationally, so this show is truly for natives, tourists, artists, dreamers, and everyone in between. The City is a melting pot, and this show is representative of its diverse spread. The title song is recognizable and
beloved by everyone, so it is absolutely the icing on the cake and the thing that everyone anticipates singing along to when coming to see the show. As many times as I’ve seen the show, it never gets old seeing people jump to their feet and belting out the beloved lyrics as they leave the theater.
Did the recent worldwide pandemic affect the production of New York, New York at all?
Broadway as a whole is still recovering postpandemic and working towards the full return of the local audience and domestic/international tourism. The response to our show has been wonderful, and we look forward to seeing things continue to move in the right direction as audiences return to Broadway at pre-pandemic levels and beyond.
Along with being a lauded Tony Award-nominated producer, you’re also an acclaimed actor. With the recent success as a producer, do you envision a day when you segue entirely into that profession, or is there room for both acting and producing?
Acting will forever be my first love. I am currently striving to marry both paths across all mediums, and I aim to ultimately produce projects where there also acting roles for me available. I am currently producing both a new play and a new television project with amazing characters written for me to bring to life. In today’s multihyphenate climate, this is becoming more of the norm for artists to wear more than one hat and I feel like my arrival to this stage in my career is right on time.
Speaking of acting, you have two intriguingsounding projects forthcoming: Born a Stray and Nergig. What can you tell us about these films?
Funny enough, Nergigwas a short film I worked on years ago, almost 10 years ago actually, from a wonderful filmmaker, Conrad Caton. It addresses the meaning of the “N word” within today’s mass popular culture and focuses on a group of Black high school students in a discussion around its effect on the youth within the Black community. It’s a powerful exploration of opposing views on the meaning of the word and really sparks necessary conversations. Born a Stray is a supernatural coming-of-age thriller from Adel Morales, who recently made NYU’s Purple List, that follows an orphaned, teenage foster child on a quest to find his
real parents, only to discover that he is half-vampire. It’s really a cool project, and I really enjoyed my time filming on it. As I mentioned earlier, I also played a role in Richard Lawson’s upcoming film adaptation of Richard Wesley’s Black Terror that he co-produced with Tina Knowles-Lawson and their WACO Theater. The film was recently screened as a part of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which was really exciting for the entire team.
You’re slated to produce the upcoming 2024 revival of The Wiz. Can you talk about what this project means to you? Were you an admirer of director Sidney Lumet’s 1978 film?
I am so excited to be a Co-Producer of this exciting, highly anticipated revival. The Wiz has multigenerational ties and appeal within the Black community and for theater lovers at large. I love what it represents to so many and am thrilled to have helped bring it back to Broadway. I cherished the movie as a child and actually recently watched it again in anticipation of our revival. It’s a timeless, beloved story that is long overdue for a fresh, revamped new production on Broadway. I can’t wait for everyone to ease on down the road again very soon!
Final - SILLY! - Question: Favorite film about making films - Living In Oblivion, The Player, Barton Fink or Ed Wood?
Ed Wood, hands down! I absolutely loved that cast and always find myself drawn to underdog stories with a lot of heart. As an actor, I actively seek out roles in this vein and also aim to accomplish the same feat as a producer.
The Rockit King
Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hey VENTS! We’ve been great. Playing shows, generally rocking.
What can you tell us about the title and meaning behind your most recent release?
The new single is “So Long Goodbye” is essentially a love letter to the sunsetting Boomer. Born after the War into a golden era, raised on television series like Howdy Doody, the Lone Ranger and Ed Sullivan, the Boomer was forever changed by the arrival of Elvis, came of age with The Beatles, Cream and Hendrix, encountered adulthood during an age of plenty and now, as they enter elderhood, are unable to avoid the struggles associated with interesting times which we currently inhabit. Kind of a “cheers” to the funnest Generation.
How was the recording and writing process?
Recording was fun. 2” tape, no funny business, no editing. Writing was quick. Great all around, just the way we like it.
Where did you guys find the inspiration for the song and lyrics?
The song always had a modern Thin Lizzy feel to me. Lyrically I wanted to encapsulate, in broad strokes, the general disposition of my Dad’s generational cohorts.
Will you be hitting the road this year?
We’re playing select shows this Summer, back into the studio in the Fall, more new music and touring in ‘24.
What else is happening next in your world?
We’re always trying to reinvent what we do. New music is definitely the priority these days. Keep your ears to the tracks!
POLYACHi
Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
We’ve been disgusted. Here in the USA, as you’re surely aware, fascists feel comfortable walking the streets in broad daylight. Our art has been a lifeline though, and we’ve been growing through adversity. The hatred, greed, and callousness of our environment darkly shades things, but there is love and hope and a great many wonderful people are finding their voices and their power. Round these parts, we’re all becoming quite good at making lemonade from lemons. As for the two of us, we feel tremendous gratitude to be making art during this time of crisis.
What can you tell us about the title and meaning behind your most recent release?
ROME WASN’T BURNT iN A DAY is our latest release, and the first single from our forthcoming album, THE BLUEBiRD OF NOTHiNGNESS. The album itself represents the process of us choosing ourselves and taking off the kid gloves that we have worn, as workers and as culture hostages, to appease the villainous hostility of our everyday environment. Once upon a time, we both tried desperately to create harmony with horrible people. THE BLUEBiRD OF NOTHiNGNESS sings of liberation from conceding such appeasements.
ROME is the first of several abusive numbers we wrote to squirt lemon juice in the eyes of American fascists and further expose them as soft cowards. ROME mocks the January 6 insurrectionists and their admirers as the infants they are, and exists to provide solidarity to the rest of us who are made to struggle and fight simply for the right to live peacefully in our own bodies. ROME WASN’T BURNT iN A DAY is us howling with laughter as boot-lickers froth with impotence over the certain downfall of their institutions and culture.
Mirth and schadenfreude were overwhelming responses to those billionaires dying in helpless terror and cold darkness. Americans are gradually coming to understand that All Lives, in fact, do not matter. It is cathartic. It is mania. ROME WASN’T BURNT iN A DAY is about taking that energy and shoving fistfulls of it down the throats of fascists, boot-lickers, and all their enablers.
How was the recording and writing process?
Furious. Manic. We were livid last summer when the US Supreme Court went fully rogue and eliminated the right of bodily autonomy for birth-givers. We were livid at the culture of lies and racism and patriarchy that led up to that moment. ROME was already a song on our minds, but with fascism overshadowing Pride, our rage became urgent and torrential. We’d soured entirely on patient civility and became of a mind to do some damage.
We wrote some of ROME, and most of BLUEBiRD, in Wisconsin while watching kids during weekend days and then huddling around a kitchen counter with a pen and pad by night. We recorded/mixed/mastered the record ourselves last winter in Iowa, as is our way.
Making BLUEBiRD was a transformative experience for our artistry. Every song is deliberately direct and unambiguous. We disregarded, rather than cowed to, the social repercussions of making such brazenly disrespectful and subversive music. It is liberating to express oneself plainly and publicly without compromise or fear. Having done this through music fundamentally elevated us and brought joy to our daily lives.
Where did you guys find the inspiration for the song and lyrics?
Our lives and the world around us. Prolonged, increasing mass suffering has created a cascade of personal tragedies and deaths of desperation. We don’t have to read about it in the news, it’s in our neighbourhoods. Where we work. In our schools.
Life in America has reached an intolerable zenith of degradation, alienation, and fear. The two of us have had community with each other, and with our chosen families. We have seen the punk and metal scene in the Midwest bring people, and especially queer people, into community together. Being a part of that feels enormous and vital.
Our inspiration for ROME WASN’T BURNT iN A DAY and for every other song on THE BLUEBiRD OF NOTHiNGNESS came from our lived experiences in this environment of struggle and solidarity.
Will you be hitting the road this year?
No. It has taken twelve years for us to build to this point. We will play some events in Iowa during autumn, but at present our lives hardly accommodate even that. For the most part, our immediate future is about creating and releasing as much music as possible. Our plans must be laid many months in advance, but we are patient and we are plotters.
Our momentum is becoming autocatalytic. Much of the adversity that used to hamper us now fuels us. We are learning that we can do whatever we want, so long as we sweat for it persistently. And we want to get on the road next year.
What else is happening next in your world?
Our next song, GOOSESTEP, comes out August 4th. GOOSESTEP spotlights the trans genocide being carried out in legislatures across America. It is a call to action for any decent person to demand an immediate halt to violence upon the trans community, especially trans youth. And, for any who are less than decent but more than a fascist, GOOSESTEP is a reminder that fascists eventually come for everyone. Everyone.
We want people to find the courage to stand apart from institutions of oppression and act with conscience and compassion. We want those who are frightened into silence, or frightened into the closet, to know that they are not alone. We want the bigots to know that they very much are alone, that their movement has no future, and that their defeat is simply a matter of time.
After GOOSESTEP, we release DEATH WORSHiP, which addresses white supremacy culture and its connection to police, religion, and domestic terrorism. Then after that we’ll start putting out some ho shit.
Divinex
Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
We’ve been great! We’ve just finally released our 3rd full-length “Dreamscapes” after a few months of heavy promotions and dropping singles ahead of time to hype it up. Seeing the fan response has been awesome, especially since this album project has lasted years and we worked so hard to finally get to this point!
We absolutely love it and we’re so excited to finally get to share it with the community
What can you tell us about the title and meaning behind your most recent release?
So “Dreamscapes” is meant to mean exactly what it sounds like - the idea of an atmosphere or environment that exists entirely in the mind. Being an instrumental band, there are no vocals to convey any particular emotion or message, so it’s all about creating a sonic space that you can tap into whenever you play our music, and letting it take you on a little adventure and feel whatever you may. We’re known for the atmosphere we create in our music, and “Dreamscapes” so eloquently captures that, while also using the root word “Dream” which has beautiful connotations of imagination and personal connectio.
How was the recording and writing process?
It’s been a long but awesome experience. Writing started basically on and off as soon as we had released our last record way back in 2017. Just little ideas in the background of whatever else we had going on, some that will never see the light of day, and others that eventually came to be the songs we just released. This round of writing was wild too - we collaborated with fans and let them sing on this album, we ended up writing the first song after the last song which was meant to be a call back to the beginning, and we even cut a song in half and inserted more material in the middle of it to bring it to its epic current form at over 11 minutes long!
We tracked the drums in a studio session early on in the recording process, then spent months and months tracking guitars at home to really dial in on the precision and voicings. Then we worked with the well-known studio brains, Steve Sopchak, remotely to mix the album, and had a ton of fun adding extra sounds to build out the atmosphere as we went. There are some really out there
sound effects in that album too everything from making weird space noises with analog delay pedals, to the sounds of waves crashing, to beating the heck out of a snare rim in an old stairwell to get the sound that was needed. It’s unique and there is so much depth and dynamic and we love it!
Where did you guys find the inspiration for the songs?
It’s all about the general feel of the song and keeping it going. Some idea for a cool riff or intro usually kicks off the process, and then every riff written after that is meant to continue, evolve, and build on that feeling. We’ve always really focused on flow and transitions, and trying to structure songs so there is a clear arrival point that the rest of the song builds to. Music is very much about tension and release (especially when you don’t have vocals to draw attention to language), so we try to build that tension to a satisfying release and just make the whole song feel good from beginning to end.
As far as other artist inspirations, we definitely track similar bands in the space like Animals as Leaders, Polyphia, and Intervals, but also take a ton of inspiration from other bands in or adjacent to the prog/djent space - Periphery, Monuments, Vola, BTBAM, Haken, older Bring me the Horizon, Protest the Hero among many others.
Will you be hitting the road this year?
That’s hard to say. We’re older now and have a lot of other responsibilities, but we will still likely do individual shows or short runs of shows where possible, like we did around the time of our last release. We have a few talks in progress about some possible appearances and collaborations with other killer bands, and we’ll try to get performing wherever possible as the overlap in our lives permit.
What else is happening next in your world?
We’ll soon be transitioning to thinking more about organizing shows and other performances, and also following the record up with singles incorporating our new members, but the main thing right now is just enjoying seeing where this album goes and what people we reach.
When we released Create. Affect. Repeat., we did it with almost 0 know-how and we were lucky enough to hit over a million streams, and wonderful interactions and relationships came about because of it. This time around, we have a bit more experience in promotion and a much bigger initial footprint and already-aware fanbase, so we’re excited to see what happens. Who knows if this album will even do better than the last, but we’re hoping it reaches a ton of ears either way, because it’s some of our best writing and it’s freaking sick, and we put our heart and soul into this thing! Thanks to everyone who’s already heard it and to anyone who will in the future <3
THE DINAH UNVEILS ITS 2023 LINEUP:
PRINCESS NOKIA, DOECHII, PHEM, G FLIP, XANA, KEEANA KEE& BLACK BOX FORM THE EXPLOSIVE ROSTER OF THE NEW WAVE OF MAINSTREAM & QUEER ARTISTS BLAZING NEW TRAILS
Palm Springs, CA – The Dinah unveiled today another epic lineup for its 32nd anniversary, blending mega mainstream and queer headliners and under-the-radar buzz talent into a sensational musical extravaganza.
This September, be it members of the LGBTQ+ community or allies, people from across the globe will once again flock to the Californian desert, packing into Palms Springs’ most iconic hotel, the Margaritaville Resort and Spa, for the world’s biggest, largest, and most renowned annual music festival for queer women, The Dinah.
Taking place from September 20th through the 24th, this year’s inimitable festival promises once again an unforgettable and distinctive experience of community, acceptance, and pride in a safe space enhanced by an incredible and refreshingly super queer line up highlighting the exciting changing faces of music embodying the LGTQ+ community and slaying the music game.
“The Dinah is as much about celebrating our queerness unfiltered and in the most authentic way as it is about elevating the inspiring new young queer voices of the moment – the queer idols of tomorrow – who are bettering the lives of the LGBTQ+ community and allies around the world,” says Mariah Hanson, founder and producer of The Dinah.
Making their highly expected Dinah debut is a new generation of queer artists bubbling up and developing new sounds defining the major music trends. The future is queer!
Not only are queer talents more and more visible but they are also on top. And there’s no better proof of that than the emergence of Princess Nokia.
The electrifying gender-nonconforming queer NY Rapper and newest star to be is set to deliver an explosive headlining performance on Saturday night, September 23. The Harlem-born rapper, self-proclaimed “disruptor”, Arista signee rose to prominence with her 2017 studio album 1992 Deluxe. Her single “I Like Him” racked up nearly 200,000 TikTok creates, becoming the singer’s first single to earn an RIAA gold certification. Continuing to reverberate throughout both the queer community and the music
underground, Princess Nokia released her latest EP, i love you but this is goodbye, this past March, taking an intimate look at the journey from heartbreak to self-love. Quietly rising up as a voice the game needs, Princess Nokia continues to rap for all the right reasons. And with new music on the way, her Coachella debut this spring, her contribution to an upcoming benefit album alongside Taylor Swift, and a hometown show at Madison Square Garden with Haim all set for 2022, the possibilities are truly endless for Princess Nokia.
After nearly a decade as a leader and icon for outsiders and misfits, the New York-born Puerto Rican MC, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, style icon, actress, and activist Princess Nokia continues to speak up and speak out. She may have been born Destiny Frasqueri, but today, Princess Nokia is a symbol of possibility.
Re-invited to perform for The Dinah 2023 is Doechii, one of today’s most magnetic rappers, who will take centerstage as the headliner on Friday night, September 22. Doechii rose to prominence in 2021 with the viral success of her song “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” on Tik Tokin 2021. She signed with Top Dawg Entertainment and Capitol Records in 2022 releasing her sophomore EP, She/Her/Black Bitch. She dropped her single “What it is (Block Boy)” featuring Kodak Black, earlier this year which marked her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100. She has received nominations for an MTV Video Music Award, two Soul Train Music Award, and was awarded the “Rising Star Award” from Billboard Women in Music.
Bringing their timeless repertoire of empowering, feel good and infectious radio hits to The Dinah mix on Friday night is 90s dance floor icon, Black Box. Black Box have been keeping millions of fans dancing beneath disco balls and neon lights for 3 decades now with their dance floor staples “Everybody Everybody”, “Ride on Time”, “Strike It Up”, “I don’t know anybody else”, and “Fantasy” - all part of their seminal album “Dreamland”, considered one of the strongest and best-known dance albums of the 90s.
Among the weekend’s high points will be the Dinah’s legendary pool parties showcasing a string of galvanizing queer emerging performers. Get your swim on!
Making pool party dreams come true is Phem, one of the most prominent up-and-coming queer indie genre-defying singers, scheduled to perform poolside Saturday September 22. The LA native singer/songwriter was featured in Billboard, Rolling Stone, Galore. 1883, Euphoria magazines as an everrising icon within the alternative space. Phem has receive commercial and critical success throughout her career as she has released songs with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Iann Dior, and Steve Aoki. Cementing her star power amongst the industry, Phem just concluded a world tour with Avril Lavigne and is gearing up to hit the road again in the fall. Look for her new single, “Ikea”, this summer.
The riveting non-binary Melbourne-born, LA-based singer, songwriter, producer and drummer, G Flip will kick off the pool party festivities on Friday. G Flip sold out Australian headline tours, major festivals and US tours supporting Fletcher and K.Flay. They recently won MTV’s EMA award for Best Australian Act for the second year in a row, appeared on The L Wordand cohosted and performed at the closing ceremony of Sydney World Pride. They released their new single “Be Your Man” in May and announced their first US headline tour kicking off in September on the heels of a string of Pride Month performances.
Xana, another captivating queer rising pop powerhouse andLatvian-born New York based lesbian fashion model turned pop star Keeana Kee are slated to take the Sunday Pool Party by storm and close out the roof-raising 5-day event.
Continuously renewing its commitment to give rising talent a platform to be seen and heard, the Dinah will be showcasing two artists as part of its “Emerging Artist Contest”. Created as a commitment to the community to offer queer women and non-binary talents coveted stage time and exposure, the two winners (TBA soon) will headline the openingand closingparties at ReformaPalm Springs.
With an impressive repertoire featuring some of the past three decades’ most influential superstars, not to mention prominent spots on hugely popular TV shows including Showtime’s The L Word, ABC’s Jeopardy!, Hulu’s Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne and more recently, Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Queer Love, The Dinah has certainly assured its place in the pop culture canon. Yet, the event continues to make history making phenomenal strides on LGBTQ+ representation, capturing year after year the vibrant, bold, and unfiltered groundbreakers fearlessly pointing fresh ways forward and showing off in spades how to change the music industry game.
The longest running music festival for queer women, The Dinah is an event that legends are made of. Not just a party, it is a life changing experience that lasts a lifetime.Whether first timers or Dinah veterans anticipate Instagram feeds to be inundated with festival fashion, red carpet glamour, pool party selfiesand live stories of spellbinding DJ sets (#FOMO Alert!).
2023 is already poised to be the most audacious, daring, and boldest Dinah ever.
An absolute MUST experience!
For more information and updates go to: www.thedinah.com
OFFICIAL HASHTAGS @thedinahshore @thedinahshore #TheDinah2023 #TheDinah
