N 0 1 / / T HE R E A LIT Y ISSUE
For those who sing and think at the same time For the defiant ones and those who love fiercely For the stories we tell ourselves
May 2015
CONTENTS
6–9 Sounds like hearing double
10 – 13 Perfect moments
14 – 17 The real world
18 – 21 One shared experience
22 – 57 Anthony Gerace
CONTENTS
6–9 Sounds like hearing double
10 – 13 Perfect moments
14 – 17 The real world
18 – 21 One shared experience
22 – 57 Anthony Gerace
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the reality issue
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Neil Krug
AMUSED
Although he can’t recall the first image he snapped, L.A. based photographer, director and filmmaker Neil Krug is certain it wasn’t any good. Now, at the age of 29, Krug has developed a signature style so distinct it’s as though he was born right into the psychedelic world represented through his art. A self-taught virtuoso who knows no rules and whose work is defined not by the echo of what can and cannot be done, but by the artist’s ultimate vision. Like, for example, the use of expired Polaroid film to create the mood of “looking at a beautifully beat to hell dusty LP cover.” With concepts like this, it is no wonder Krug has quickly become the go-to for seminal bands like Devendra Banhart, Ladytron, Bat For Lashes, and Justice, producing album art and promo videos with that grainy, filmic impression of an era bygone but far from forgotten.
the reality issue
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Neil Krug
AMUSED 12 – 13
the reality issue
Neil, what have you been up to today? Just another day in the studio for the most part. At the moment it’s blazingly hot here in Los Angeles so I’ve kept my work inside whenever possible. Also for the first time, I tried to take a summer break but now I’m in catch up mode. Where do you call home and what are the requisites that make it home for you? Los Angeles is my home and has been for the last few years. It doesn’t take much for me to settle in and get comfortable for the most part. I’m also a caveman so a decent desk and bed are pretty much all that’s required for my house to be in order. You work with an incredible array of musicians – can you recall a particularly memorable experience shooting an artist or band? Shooting Ladytron atop a mountain in Montserrat Spain was one of the first shoots I did, so great memories come to mind of that experience. I met Alejandro Jodorowsky for ten minutes in London during The Horrors ‘Skying’ shoot; probably the most fortuitous meeting of my life and I also recently befriended the Foals guys and have since had
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a blast with them on a few occasions. They feel like long-lost friends. The best experiences probably can’t be shared publicly in an interview. What do you look for in a subject and in what ways have these collaborations come about? I try not to look for anything and let things come about organically. Keeping things fresh demands some sort of randomness or interruption to the process, I suppose. I say that like I’m a true professional but who really knows. I have a few friends I shoot with pretty regularly but for me it’s comparable to working in a band and going for a sound you know you can only make with those people. Your inspirations include Spaghetti Westerns and counter culture films of the 60s – what is it about this era of film? Simply put, everything. If you’re talking about Spaghetti Westerns then the first thing that comes to mind is the unique and iconic use of the music with the picture. I recently read something about Sergio Leone constructing all the standoff scenes around the Morricone music to build the tension in time with the cues. Not that he was the only one
Neil Krug
AMUSED 14 – 15
the reality issue
FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS I’VE HAD THE MOST CREATIVE MOMENTS IN A STATE OF UTTER FATIGUE RIGHT BEFORE I PASS OUT AND SLEEP. IT’S A SYSTEM THAT’S NOT GREAT FOR HEALTHY LIVING BUT IT ALWAYS GIVES ME A STRANGE CLARITY DURING PROJECT TIME.
to do that but that specific combination will always be identified as his. I enjoy watching film prints more so than digitally shot films but at the end of the day, a great story is a great story.
ogy has given an entire generation a platform to promote work without having to going through traditional channels. People’s lives have changed from MySpace pages, so I’m thrilled to be living right now.
Outside of film, where do you look for inspiration?
What is catching your eye at the moment?
Lately I’ve tried to soak up nature and the city rather than looking through monographs for mood or inspiration. I keep thousands of fragmented images in my office of things I want to chase but I don’t just sit there and stare. For the last couple of years I’ve had the most creative moments in a state of utter fatigue right before I pass out and sleep. It’s a system that’s not great for healthy living but it always gives me a strange clarity during project time. Other than that, a great piece of music goes a long way. There is a sense of nostalgia to your work – do you ever feel as though you were born in the wrong decade? Not at all. In fact, my parents have always said I was born at the perfect time. Never before has it been this easy to get things going for young people. The Internet and technol-
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For the most part I’ve been diving into older Japanese design books such as Japanische Plakate and Katsuhiro Otomo’s Genga book. I’m a massive fan of Otomo, and his black and white drawings are such a blast to live in. Also, a friend recently took me to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery here in Los Angeles and that had a profound effect on me. There’s a lot to absorb visually in cemeteries and the atmosphere is a good reminder of how little time we have on the planet. Aside from my morbid curiosities, there’s a bunch of spots in the California desert that I recently discovered and I hope to spend more time in once the weather cools off a bit. If you were to cast yourself in one of your films – what type of character would you play? God, I would love to play a Toby Dammit type of character in someone else’s movie but sadly I don’t have
Neil Krug
AMUSED 16 – 17
much going in the actor presence arena. If it’s been a moment since you last saw Spirits of the Dead, I highly recommend it. Skip the other two shorts and go straight to Fellini. Any upcoming projects you can talk about? I have two photo monographs I’m starting work on later this fall. I’ve had the ideas and titles forever but only recently figured out how to actually make the pictures. Anyway, I hope to get moving on those once I wrap a few things. I have a few 3D animated videos for various bands that will be released sometime this fall as well, which I’m excited about. That and I really want to try and finish my longterm film project Invisible Pyramid. I’ve been actively working on it for 5 years and very close to wrapping. If I book a big ad job then I’ll pour a bunch of funds into the project to speed up its completion. What’s on for the rest of day? Coffee, editing, and Dunwich Radio. I have a new thing in my studio where I spend half the day listening to NPR which is the National Public Radio here in the USA, and then other half lost in Dunwich Radio, which is a Swedish musical tastemaker that puts together the best mixes I’ve ever heard in my life. If I was in a position to make films prolifically I would hire Dunwich Radio to music supervise all my features. Do yourself a favor and check him out. And lastly, any chance of exhibiting in Australia sometime soon? I’ve been trying to make it over to Australia for years with no luck. I had an opportunity to exhibit this year but had to turn it down due to prior commitments, which was a real drag. All of my aussie friends are the greatest people I know so there must be something in your water.
the reality issue
Words by Edwina Hagon for Russh Magazine
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Neil Krug
AMUSED
the reality issue
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Sounds like hearing double
AMUSED 20 – 21
SYFFAL: Our readership is most famous for being part of a mass movement of plushy sex addicts who have trouble reading through their sex costumes and shame, for some reason they have decided to turn to us for all of their music needs. So in order to help us help them please answer the following: Who the Fuck are you?
Your EP I Want To Fuck All The Girls In My School is a delicious garage punk offering that makes me long for doing whippets with my friends that still live in their parents basements. Is that what you were gunning for? If not what were you hoping to achieve? And if so, what the Fuck is wrong with you?
Bazooka (BZK): We are the descendants of the great ancient Greek civilization fucked by Christianity.
BZK: Actually our goal was to make a record for decent families that enjoy getting high on LSD. And what the Fuck is wrong with you sucking gas out of a can?
SYFFAL: Who does what in your band? BZK: Xanthos plays the guitar and sings, Billy plays the guitar and struggles to sing backing vocals, John and Plathios are playing drums and sing backing vocals SYFFAL: If you were able to be a cast member of any 1980s teen sex romp which one would it be and why? BZK: Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High because he was the classroom stoner. SYFFAL: Everyone knows the only acceptable Fast Times cast member is Brad or Damone.
SYFFAL: It wasn’t a can, it was a balloon bro! I met Joel, my partner in all things SYFFAL back in 2009. We were both heading to the nation’s capital to see the cherry blossoms; it really is a site to see. Anyway we were on a Greyhound Bus that encountered some issues with some undesirables, and we were forced to pull over to the side of the highway for 37 hours until authorities finally arrived to take these fuckers away. During the down time Joel and I got to talking about all manners of things, from Politics (he is a libertarian and I am a staunch liberal), sports (he calls soccer football and I called him a
the reality issue
pussy), books (we both love a good romance novel) and finally music. It was here that we realized we had caught some lightning in a bottle, now every year we celebrate the launch of SYFFAL by getting drunk and riding a bus to nowhere in particular, we just talk music. How did you guys meet and when did you realize that you had something special? Subquestion - what do you do to celebrate yourselves? BZK: The story goes back in the mid 2000s in the little town of Volos near the mountain Pilion. Xanthos was a young and beautiful boy that used to play his guitar and sing heavenly melodies near the sea. Billy was a fisherman from a nearby town that used to fish near the sea of Volos. When he heard Xanthos singing he knew that he had to start a band with him. But he was not the only one listening. An evil centaur, half horse half human was seduced by the melody and decided to kidnap the beautiful singer. When Billy went to meet Xanthos he saw the Kidnapping and swore on his mother ‘s eyes that he will save him. He went to meet his lumberjack friends, John and Plathios and together with axes started looking for the centaur in the forests of Pelion. Three days later they found the centaur village where Xanthos was tied and forced to sing for the evil creatures. Then Plathios, John and Billy attacked the creatures and brutally dissected them with the axes. They saved Xanthos, lit a fire and decided to start a band. To celebrate ourselves we go to Pelion and slay a bunch of centaurs! SYFFAL: So typical we lived in the suburbs and had no friends shit then? I Want To Fuck All The Girls In My School is the first I am hearing of you guys, am I just out of touch or is this your first release? If it is the former, please bring me up to speed with what I have missed, if it is the latter, why you being so lazy bro? BZK: Yes, you are out of touch....We have released another 7’’ inch on inch Allah Records (France-Paris). SYFFAL: I’m out of touch but you are releasing punk music in Paris? Those fuckers
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are about as punk as Rick Santorum. Speaking of Rick Santorum, your EP I Want To Fuck All The Girls In My School, is fucking awesome but from what I can gather most EPs are a game of just the tip for a full length album that is on its way, so is this the case, and if so what can we expect? (Please use the words Moist, Gaping, Ball Gag and Russian Bathhouse in your answer) BZK: There is a full length album coming that we’re recording now. It will sound like a gifted man’s erect penis fucking a moist, gaping asshole of another man with a ball gag in his mouth... In a Russian bathhouse. SYFFAL: Oh so it will be pop music? Like any great movie or a great TV show, the best bands are made up of the sum of their parts; no I don’t mean the members of the band, because everyone knows that musicians are pieces of shit. I am referring to your influences, who are your top three influences? BZK: Our influences change all the time. Our three top influences for now are The fall, Hellshovel and Black Lips.
Sounds like hearing double
AMUSED
the reality issue
SYFFAL: If you guys were in a classic TV show or Movie which one would it be and who would be who in said TV show or Movie. BZK: We would be in the Police Academy movies. Plathios would be Zed, Xanthos would be Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry, John would be Sgt. Larvelle “Motor Mouth� Jones and Billy would be MAHONEYYYY! SYFFAL: Our site started out as a series of friends who liked to share the music they loved while drinking high end beers, in this spirit who are three acts we should be looking for, please include their best album and which craft beer goes best with it. BZK: Hellshovel - Hated by the sun goes great with a cold Amstel The Fall - Dragnet suits the taste of a cold Amstel Black Lips - Let it bloom really fits with a cold Amstel SYFFAL: Amstel? You guys must have shitty beer on that island nation of yours. I often have dreams were I am surrounded by my idols and we are doing all sorts of bitchin shit like drinking beer, playing horse shoes, and blowing things up.
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Sounds like hearing double
AMUSED 24 – 25
Let’s say, in your dreaming life, you were able to start a super band with anyone you wanted, who would play the following: Guitar BZK: James Hatefield SYFFAL: Bass BZK: Sting (of course) SYFFAL: Drums BZK: Dhalsim from street fighter SYFFAL: Keys BZK: Vangelis SYFFAL: French Horn BZK: Gibby Haynes SYFFAL: Spoons BZK: Hasil Adkins SYFFAL: Groupie BZK: Belladona SYFFAL: Tour Manager BZK: Hugh Hefner SYFFAL: Ugly groupie BZK: Barbara Streisand SYFFAL: Guy that you tolerate cause he gives you free drugs BZK: Steve-o from jackass SYFFAL: Bus Driver BZK: Charles Manson SYFFAL: Have you ever given yourself a stranger? BZK: Not really, but we have been involved in group masturbation rituals. And remember kids, always buy Greek olive oil. It’s the best guys, the best...
the reality issue
Snapshots from Bazooka’s ‘Koritsi stin Akti’ Music Video directed by Elias Papastamatiou Interview by Tim Baker for syffal.com
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Sounds like hearing double