Digital Racket by Mike Pfeiffer

Interviews! Comics! Reviews! And more!!!!

Also: Jeremy Wheeler

Stars

Young Empires

WatchtheDuck

Bashful Hips

Other Assorted Artists

Online Version May/June 2013

DIY Artists DIY Zine

In this issue… What Is This Thing?

SAVOY

Young Empires

Stars

Big Gigantic

Bashful Hips

Milk’N’Cookies

Jeremy Wheeler

Digital Racket Photospread

Teeel

Matt Rosenberg

DJ ZEBO

Destructo

WatchtheDuck

Recommendations

2013 MPAD Media, Creative Commons License

So what is this thing? If I were a fancy-pants man, I’d call this a “dalliance.” Since I’m not, let’s call it what it is, a vanity project. What you hold in your hands is a collection of interviews, pictures and reviews I’ve done over the past few months printed on paper and bound. Back around 20 years ago we called these things “zines” and there were thousands of them. You’d pick them up at your local record store or magazine shop (those places existed once and they were awesome!) to keep up on what was bubbling underneath the staid and lackluster mainstream. I had my own zine called “O.D.” (where my moniker originated) that I published with my friend Dennis Lembree. Over a few years we published about a dozen issues, received lots of promo material to review and even got into a few shows for free. However, the most satisfying part of process was the zine itself. It was tangible proof we were doing something with our creativity and sharing it with the world. We all know what happened next. The internet came along making the publishing process cheaper and easier, hell, almost free. Blogs, podcasting and social media crop up while the zine becomes an evaporating medium. Following the evolution myself, I took up podcasting in 2005 with Most People Are DJs, expanding it to include videos, write for a local blog and take photos for a local weekly. All these activities keep me busy and I have a lot of fun doing them but there remains a desire to put something out in a tangible form that says I create content you can hold in your hands and flip through. It’s my “Digital Racket,” a companion to my latest podcast of the same name about people with a passion that drives them to create art for us, media adventurers that seek this stuff out and devour it. My hope is while I keep on making my Digital Racket you will keep on making yours. Mikel O.D. Writer, Photographer, Graphic Artist and Publisher Digital Racket Curator digitalracketmedia@gmail.com twitter: @Mikel_OD

SAVOY Rock the DJ!

Savoy started up in Brooklyn a few years ago as a traditional indie rock band. However, they found themselves leaning more towards electronic elements and incorporating it into their sound. They soon evolved Savoy into an electronic outfit. Savoy member, Ben Eberdt, puts it to me this way, "We are an electronic group that has as much in common with the rock band as we do the DJ. Our sets are mostly our original music with other electronic, hip hop and dub step brought in but it's not like a DJ set where you just hear the latest hits." Like most electronic dance bands that understand what it takes to put on a live show, the Savoy light show is an integral part of their stage presence. "It was designed for us and we have a person that tours with us and controls it as we perform. It was also designed for large or small venues so it doesn't matter where we play the sights will be amazing." Savoy recently released their "Personal Legend" ep, which features 4 new tracks. Their songs are instrumentals as well as tracks with vocals. When they perform live Ben adds "we will actually have the vocalist come on stage with us where we can arrange it. I think we're doing that in LA. For other shows we have sampled vocals we mix into our set." - end

Young Empires 4 Steps to Instant Success Young Empires is a band from Toronto that is just starting to break in the US. I spoke to their singer Matt Vlahovich before they played in front of a crowd that quickly warmed up to them. My takeaway from the conversation is Young Empires has what it takes to be a successful new band in today’s challenging music landscape. Matt explained four steps they took in building their Young Empire: 1. Develop a unique sound “When we got together we were all listening to different styles of music but that was a time when dance DJs were mixing indie rock bands. So you had bands like Phoenix or the Klaxons being remixed by Sebastian from the Ed Banger crew. What we took from that was let’s write music that’s almost as though a DJ already produced it. So we added more electronic drum beats and more synthesizers than your standard rock band set up.“ 2. Record it yourself “The songs on our ep were written over the first few years as a band that we produced ourselves. We don’t come from audio engineering backgrounds so it was a first experiment in how to record the band ourselves. We put those songs out to the blogosphere as demos to get attention from labels which we got. We had other people then try and mix them to sound better but in most cases the demo versions were the ones that ended up on the record.“ 3. Tour, even if it’s cold “This is our first tour through some northern Midwest cities so we don’t really know what to expect. And it’s freezing cold winter so we were really wise to choose this time of year to tour in northern coldest states apart from Alaska (laughs). We’re hoping to meet fans that we’ve never played for and just start building up the buzz here..” 4. Develop your image “The advice I have to any band when you’re starting up is you have to think of the brand you’re trying to start up and in addition to the music, what is the image you want people to see? When we designed our first band logo we wanted it to look like it was a fashion line, more ambiguous so it wasn’t just a band logo. It could be taken as a perfume logo or a clothing company. It could be anything. I think that’s a smart move because it creates a bit of mystique around the band. It also allows you to branch off into other domains, which we’ve done starting a clothing line with Handsome Clothing in Toronto. We wanted an alternative to regular rock band apparel.” - end

Stars: Illuminate The five-member Canadian band Stars make brilliant music by mixing beauty with sonic extremes resulting in songs that combine male and female vocals with stirring guitars and keyboards. They are currently on tour with their latest record “The North.” While “The North” may not have quite the visceral impact the “The Five Ghosts” had, it does pack consistently good indie pop songs that continue to show off the strength of Stars songwriting craft. While touring across the US and Canada, Chris Seligman–keyboardist and fench horn player for Stars found some time in his cluttered schedule to answer some questions their tour, music and promoting via social media. DR: The single “Backlines” is such a sweet short song, at just over 2 minutes, was there any thought to making it longer? Stars: I think it crossed my mind once, but it was born that way and we decided to relish its nature DR: With soundcloud, tumblr, youtube, facebook etc. all being places to expose your music, is this all a welcome chance to be heard or a burden to have to continually post somewhere? Stars: I'd say at this point it's nice to have these tools to just stay alive as a band. DR: I’m sure some (or all) you were all working day jobs and playing in the band at the same time, what was the signal or breaking point that prompted you to quit your day job and focus solely on making music? Stars: I'd say it was around the time we signed with Art-Crafts and had a true support system, things started to come together for us a bit more, but it was also just the process of slugging it for years, for a band like us we had to do the work, pay our dues.–end

Big Gigantic - Larger Than Life

There are electronic artists that make immense music, than there are artists like Big Gigantic who combine the traditional instruments of saxophone and full drum kit to produce an epic sound that spikes seismographs. I spoke to Jeremy Salken the drummer for Big Gigantic and he explained, "Big Gigantic began with making dance music and building beats but we wanted to do something more with the builds and drops in our songs. Since we both played traditional instruments, we made them a key part of our sound to add more impact and separate us." Big Gigantic hail from Denver, which along with Pretty Lights, Paper Diamond and a host of other electronic acts is a real hot bed for jamming electronic artists. Jeremy adds, "Colorado is a place for creative types and those of us in the electronic music community help each other out. We push each other and check out each other's stuff. It's a great scene and the fan base there is tremendous.â&#x20AC;? Jeremy ends our conversation offering some advice to other electronic artists that are just starting out. "You've got to figure out your social media presence and how to spread the word. Our fans are amazing at spreading the word about us to their friends. With the tools we have, creating our music is inexpensive, so we give it away to get people to listen. There's a much bigger picture to being an electronic artist than just releasing music. It's about playing live, selling merchandise and communicating with fans." -end

Bashful Hips “No Compromises” DR: When did the Bashful Hips project start? BH: I first started recording as Bashful Hips in June (of 2012). I played in more of a punk rock band for 5 years called the Abysmal Creatures. It was a very labor intensive project where I would spend 6 – 9 months recording 14 songs. The band fell apart just as those songs were going to be released. I was kind of lost and decided I was going to start a new project. I decided that I was going to put out five songs for free and see what happens. Once I did that, I just thought I’ll do it again. So I just kept doing it every month since. These are more like recording a moment in time and releasing it without worry about production. DR: Where did the name Bashful Hips come from? BH: I was incredibly depressed and wanted to make myself feel better. I made a list of the most beautiful nouns and adjectives and Bashful Hips came out of it. It sounds kind of lame but Bashful Hips means to me that dancing is a scary thing for a lot of people. It’s about moving your hips on the dance floor, not grinding, but a nice dance. DR: Describe the music you make BH: I describe it as noise which I know is not the best way to describe music. I call it noise because I feel like I don’t have much in common with AC/DC or other music coming out today. I make noise in a pop structure. There’s a chorus and a bridge then there’s these extreme visceral sounds and they’re supposed to hurt. It’s real poppy and nice and then there’s the hurt and the hurt is supposed to feel good. I think bands like Joy Division and Xiu Xiu who do (or did) things like that. My music is not music you listen to before a party. This is music you listen to in your headphones outside your apartment on a Tuesday night at 2am in the morning and having a smoke and knowing you have to go to work the next day. DR: Kind of like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. BH: Yes! I am a huge fan. DR: Your lyrics are very expressive and deeply personal… BH: That’s created some awkward situations with people I know that are in the songs. My writing verges on exploitation but it’s really how I feel. The lyrics of the songs are how I feel 24-7 or maybe 23. My lyrics aren’t written as poetry, they’re more like journal entries. I try to make the songs fast and not so produced because electronic music can come across very calculated. I like the hisses and pops.

Bashful Hips continued

DR: How to you find time to create all the music you’ve released? BH: I live a life of solitude, I don’t have many “friends” and I’m not in a relationship. I’m not into sports. It’s basically the only thing I do. I’m not saying I’m not a friendly guy but the making music is what I do. It’s hard for people to understand that I don’t go out, but I’m an artist. I write and I make music and vocals.

DR: Where should people start with your music? BH: I always tell people start with the most recent and work your way back. I also have these videos I make that people can watch. DR: How do you make your videos? BH: I have a collaborator I work with to make them. He goes by Dark Matter Jesus and he helps me. I come up with an idea for the video and start shooting. I try to inject some humor in my videos too. The music may be very down but the video is lighter. DR: You make everything available for free, do you want to make any money from your music? BH: I do have limited edition physical copies I sell. But it goes back to this band I was in and it was all about making money even though we were just a little punk rock noise band. It was all about how can we make a buck? With Bashful Hips I made a conscious decision that I was going to work a day job and that was going to pay the bills. I want to separate commerce from art. The whole rock star or professional musician is not something I want. I want to let my art be my art. I don’t want it to be compromised. –end

Milk’N’Cookies: DJ Powers Activate!

Milk’N’Cookies are a rising DJ duo from Chicago who possess that special quality in them that you can tell right off these guys are going places. I met them last year at Grand Rapids’ City Lights Music Festival where they played a sizzling afternoon set. I spoke to them after the set and discovered not only are the 2 DJs brothers, they are also twins, which they think provides them with a psychic leg up over other DJs. Watching them DJ, as they seamlessly interact and weave their set together, I could see the special link between them in action. For the past year they have been setting a trek across the US that has them playing at college campuses as well as some of the hottest clubs. They’ve also found themselves with prime warm-up gigs playing with alumni DJ acts like Showtek and Krewella. I saw them earlier this year at a show where they were supposed to warm up for Mord Fustang. At the last minute Mord couldn’t make the show so M’N’C just took over the reins and stunned the crowd to an extensive set of their mix of dance, heavy beats and hip hop. If you can’t make it out to see M’N’C check into their Soundcloud page they feature their own DJ tracks as well as special remixes.—end

Jeremy Wheeler— Movies and Art Graphic artist, comic creator, movie reviewer and DJ, Jeremy Wheeler is a real 21st Century Renaissance man. DR: When did you first start drawing? JW: I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember. My brother who is 7 years older than me is an artist and I grew up looking over his shoulder. I can remember drawing a killer Santa in church or drawing cyber punk stuff on poster boards. DR: Did you always think you could draw well? JW: I went to college for make-up and special effects, crazy monster stuff. In my first semester I realized I’m a way better artist than mixing up foam and making molds and stuff like that. So I switched to visual communications and started doing graphic design and it really took off from there. DR: Your artwork serves a couple purposes like informing people… JW: Yes. One of the people I got my start from was Scott McCloud and making comics. Those were a big influence on me as a comic explaining something and talking to the reader. Then I started working with Matt Delight and he was doing bio-comics. So the mix between the two, bio-comics and teaching comics My day job is an editor at the AllMovie guide so I do a lot of writing. I wrap all that up into one and that’s how my comics come out. DR: You recently did some work for Esquire.. JW: Yes, I did some spot illustrations for the 10 craziest drummers in Rock history. Then recently I did one on Bruce Willis and how he’s changed over the years. What’s cool is these just came out of nowhere and I’ve been working my butt off to keep up with it. DR: How is the person you draw as you in your comics different than the actual you? JW: I’m mostly always smiling in the comics. There’s a whole lot of time I spend frowning over a computer trying to draw. The comic persona is always on. DR: Your comics are about your reviewing stuff, how much time do you spend watching things? JW: There’s something always on the TV or computer that I have on. I think I’ve watched around 336 movies last year.

Jeremy Wheeler comic!

Jeremy Wheeler continued

DR: Tell me about a couple great things that happened to you through doing your art.. JW: I just got contacted by Joel Hodgson from Cinematic Titanic and Mystery Science Theater 3000. He saw my first piece in Esquire and when he came through Royal Oak we talked. I’m hoping to do some collaboration with him, no idea what, but that was pretty wild. Here’s a guy who likes the same crummy movies I do. He’s a great guy, totally gracious and funny. I’m still riding high on that. DR: How do you spend your time after you get home from your day job? JW: I get home and walk my dog. Then I sit down in my chair and get my drawing board out and turn my laptop on. Then I start working on a new poster or whatever from 6pm to midnight or later. That’s about 4 days a week and usually one day on the weekend. I’m really pulling a large load right now, but I’m getting to do a lot of awesome work. DR: So getting noticed and contacted makes this worth it to you? JW: Having people appreciate me makes me feel really good. The trick is just trying to get the work in front of more people. That’s the hard part today in this crazy world is getting people to see your work. DR: What have you had to sacrifice to keep doing your work? JW: I don’t get to see my awesome friends as much as I want to. I don’t see my equally talented wife as much as I want. There’s lots of life stuff I kind of miss out on because you’ve really got to work hard to be able to have more time to yourself. It’s a long steep road up and I’m making that trek up the mountain. If I’m not working on anything I go a little stir crazy. DR: What kinds of ways do you promote yourself? JW: Anything and everything! My portfolio site is on tumblr. I’m on twitter which has been great for connecting. Instagram has become a pretty cool way for artists to get together. Facebook is still good. There’s so many avenues that you just have to take advantage of them as many as you can. DR: Tell me about your DJ project The Bang! JW: The Bang! Is a mixtape DJ project that Jason Gibbner started in 2001. We have steadily done a Bang a month since then. I don’t know how many we’re at now probably around 120. We split DJ duties by making mixtapes and it’s kind of changed over the years. I do all the posters for our shows and I really love that I’ve been the one to give it a visual aesthetic. We do different themes and that goes into the visual aspect as well. –end

MAKING A DIGITAL RACKET WITH PHOTOS

I started taking pictures at concerts and clubs about 2 years ago. Initially, I took pictures because I found getting a photo pass brought me closer to the band and a closer perspective on the performance. Today, I take pictures because I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m actually pretty good at it.

This is Nervo, Australian twins who DJ as well as model . The pic was taken on my birthday at a nightclub in a local casino.

James Murphy pictured here was the force behind LCD Soundsystem. Put some glasses on him and he resembles a hip George Lucas.

There arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t many other cities that can claim to have a Siouxie and the Banshees cover band. Detroit can. They go by the name of Playground Twist and Erika the lead singer makes an awesome Siouxie

I saw Skrillex play on New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve 2012. A lot of people talk shit about Skrillex, but I love his stuff and he gets to DJ from the cockpit of rocket fighter.

Many of my pics are people at the shows I attend. This photo is one of a series I am doing using stark black and whites. Most of my pics can be found at : flickr.com/mostpeoplearedjs/

The Synth-ethics of Teeel Teeel is electronic/synth based music, pieced and played meticulously by Jim Smith. His home is in New Jersey where he says not many around him listen to his kind of music but that doesn’t stop him from making records and releasing more electronic music under his own label Synth Records. DR: Tell me about the first record you bought that meant a lot to you... Teeel: That’s a tough question! But, probably going back to the mid-90’s I was a big fan of Tool and Pantera. I was a 90’s hardcore metal kid. I think “Vulgar Display of Power” by Pantera was the first time I fell in love with a certain sound. Dimebag Daryl who was shot later and is a pretty tragic story was the one of the greatest guitarists of the scene and he inspired me to pick up a guitar. From there I eventually found my way to more darker electronic music and from there drum and bass. DR: I’m surprised by the metal influence. Did your friends listen to metal? Teeel: Yes, that’s exactly what it was, 2 of my friends that are a couple of years older lived close and played in a band. Another friend of mine and me would watch them play. In our area, Trenton, NJ there was a big hardcore metal scene in the mid-90s. So there were always shows to go to. It seemed like everyone I knew was a drummer or guitar player or tattoo artist. DR: What brought you to electronic music? Teeel: Diesel Boy is from my area and there were these drum and bass shows put on every week. So I fell into that because I always liked dark music. Diesel Boy was really big at the time and he kind of influenced me to get into electronic music. I found it a bit more simplistic and I felt more comfortable with it. DR: What was your first synthesizer? Teeel: Well it’s a two part answer. My first was a Moog Opus 3. It’s a really weird Moog , it’s kind of like an organ. It’s got a very specific sound, so after that I got a Yamaha DX-7 which is completely the opposite. It’s a digital synth from the 80’s. DR: How many do you have now? Teeel: I’m up to 17 now. It kind of became an obsession. Every time I DJ an event, the next day I go on Craigslist looking for a new synth.

Teeel continued

DR: Do you have a music background to play a synthesizer? Teeel: No, I’m more of a programmer. I can hear a song and figure out a melody. But if someone said play a minor A scale I would have to think about it to do it. I think with synthesizers once you figure out how to play one you can kind of figure out others. I think I’m really good at making sounds rather than just composing. DR: Tell me about the name Teeel and why it has 3 e’s? Teeel: That’s something I have to keep reminding myself as well. The idea behind that is my name is so common, (Jim Smith) that I wanted something memorable. My recording space has teal walls and it’s one of my favorite colors. And if you look it up it kind of represents my sound. Teeel has the character traits of being different and unique. I figured I’d switch up the spelling and own it. DR: When I hear Teeel I don’t hear much or your metal or D&B influence I hear more 80s. Teeel: Well, growing up with my Mom and my step-dad, he was really into new wave music and he always had the records lying around. I was a massive 80’s fan and getting into synthesizers. When everyone hears synthesizers they always relate it to the 80’s, but it’s really more just guilty by association. I just love the whole England synthesizer scene with Depeche Mode and Joy Division. I try not to limit my sound to a genre like new wave. If you listen to University Heights it starts off a little chillwave and other electronic elements are worked in and towards the end I’m putting a lot more guitar in. DR: University Heights is filled with 80’s movie references… Teeel: Yes, being a big movie buff I wanted to put some sort of movie theme on almost all the tracks. So, the first track Crystal Lake that’s my ode to Jason Vorhees. There’s also 88 Miles Per Hour, my Back to the Future song. I’m a huge of fan of the BttF trilogy. Moogwai is a combination of Moog the synth and Mogwai from Gremlins. Centari is from The Last Starfighter. So, I definitely have a head nod to some of my favorite 80’s movies. DR: Do you have a new release you’ve been working on? Teeel: Actually I’ve been so overwhelmed with remixes, I just did my last one this week, so I’m a little behind on my album. I’ve done my past releases on 2-22 but I’m running behind this year. There are lots of bits and pieces I’ve got started but I have to put it together. I have like 40 tracks set aside that I’ve been working on. I think the next record will sound completely different than the others. I’m thinking it will have a more of a dance vibe. From the live shows I learned to keep the tempo up to keep the people moving. DR: What would you tell people just starting out making music? Teeel: Stay focused on the positive and stay humble I think that’s the best advice you can give anyone. It’s amazing that people even listen to my music and I do it for myself and it’s fun but it’s so amazing when people write to you and comment on it . —end

Matt Rosenberg Gives 12 Reasons to Die

I talked to several different comic creators at C2E2 this year but the artists I kept getting drawn back to were ones that were incorporating music into the stories they were telling. One of them was Matt Rosenberg who is heading up the comic 12 Reasons to Die a companion piece to Ghostface Killa’s (from Wu-Tang Clan) latest album. DR – Why does 12 Reasons to Die exist as a comic? Matt Rosenburg - Basically the idea is in a more abstract way tell a story about their album “12 Reasons to Die” which they described as a soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t exist. The comic is an adaptation that movie. We took this idea and made our own thing. They made a brilliant record you should check out if you’re into hip hop and I made a comic that is sort of the same story that takes different turns. DR – Wu –Tang seem like really busy people… MR – It’s funny, I would go out to the studio to talk with them and it’d be like 1am and RZA would be editing soundtracks, doing interviews, giving me notes on the comic and two or 3 other things all at once. He’s the kind of guy that you can tell he is who he is because he operates on a different level than you and me. DR - What is it about Wu –Tang and hip hop culture that interests you? MR – What’s interesting about the book is it has Ghostface Killa in it. It’s fictional but he’s in it. It’s set in the 1960’s which is what hip hop can do that not a lot of other pop culture can do. These guys are larger than life characters that could be put anywhere. It’s more about how the world reacts to them. There’s not a lot of hip hop culture in this book, it’s more a mafia and crime story. The other thing we wanted to do was more around the early days of hip hop with record collecting and that kind of stuff. DR – Are you able to survive off doing your art? MR – No I have a day job. A crappy day job. With my girlfriend, I ran for many years an independent music label called Red Leader Records that put out punk hardcore records and that’s my scene and culture. It’s important to me that it stayed very pure so it was never about making money. We wanted it to be a hobby we devoted a 100% of our time to. I’m happy to work 40 hours a week at my job and then come home and work another 40 + hours a week to do the things I love. — end

DJ ZEBO—Caught In Trap

The latest label for a music genre I’ve come into contact with is “trap”. DJ Zebo who is renowned for his “Trap to the Future” mixtape series gave me a bit of education on trap. DJ Zebo explains the music comes from Atlanta, “they call it trap because it comes from trap houses. These are houses where they would store crack cocaine and sell it. The booming music played in these houses became known as “trap.” For the past year or so people have been making an EDM style of trap. Trap has evolved into what they call trap style which is trap but a little more repetitious. It’s got dirty rap and a few more elements added in. It’s one of the most popular forms of dance music out right now.” Besides playing trap, DJ Zebo has a long history with DJing that started in 1998, “I was sucked into the rave scene. I started going to rave parties in 1996 and I was blown away by this future-forward electronic dance music that was being played on vinyl.” DJ Zebo continues, “It kind of hit home with me and I gravitated towards it. So what I did was buy a pair of turntables and a mixer. Then I bought some records and learned how to DJ. My first love was drum and bass and jungle, then, I started playing house music because all my friends were into it. From there I wanted to know where these sounds came from so I got into disco and funk. I realized all the stuff I loved in electronic music was coming from old styles. Over the years I’ve learned to play everything. I’ve found there are only two types of music – good music and bad music. I don’t think any DJ should limit their self to playing one type of music. Play what you feel in your heart.” —end

DJ Destructo: Constructively Speaking

I interviewed Destructo on the phone as he was leaving a business meeting on his way out of a parking lot and trying to pay, Destructo offered various credit cards and Mexican currency for payment. As he scrounged his pockets and car for money I became increasingly aware parking in LA is damn expensive – $25 for 2 hours of parking!! DR: Let’s talk about your career in electronic music, you started with the scene about 20 years ago? Destructo: Yes, I started in 1989-1990, going to shows in downtown LA and then producing my own festival in 1991. In 1991-1992 we did the original Electric Daisy Carnival. DR: Where did the moniker Destructo come from? Destructo: Well when I first started DJing I was kind of aggressive with harder music and I would break stuff a lot. I’d break a turntable or a mixer and it kind of went with my style. So I was hard at a time when things were smoother. For better or worse I’ve stuck by the name but I think with that some people may expect something different.

Destructo continued

DR: How is the scene here in the US different than other countries? Destructo: Well, it’s a much younger scene. I think the kids in high school and college just discovered this music and it’s like a whole new thing for them to follow DJs and the scene. For other countries it’s not so new, so it’s not as fresh and exciting. To kids in America, you live in a place like Madison, Wisconsin this is like the new hot shit you just found out about. It would be like if you found out peanut butter and jelly goes together just today (laughs). Most people have known about that their whole life. DR: What are your DJ sets like? Destructo: It depends on what event I’m booked for and when I’m playing. I try to create a vibe that takes the audience on a ride. A lot of DJs today just come on and play the bangers. I always try to play stuff they haven’t heard and get them going crazy. DR: When you travel and play shows like this what equipment do you bring? Destructo: I’ve narrowed it down to headphones and a USB stick! DR: It’s crazy that’s all you need. Destructo: I bring my laptop so I can change my set around, but with a 16gig USB stick I can have pretty much my entire collection. I use to lug around these crates of vinyl, then I switched to CDJ’s and with your USB you’re good to go. DR: The people in the crowd for electronic music are very different… Destructo: For me, my preferred crowd enjoys house and techno. I like the old school, groovy smooth stuff. I used to like they heavy stuff. But, I like to DJ for the ladies and make the girls dance. I don’t like to see just a bunch of dudes jumping around. To me that’s not what it’s all about. At the end of the day, the DJ thing is like clubbing, going out and partying. It’s usually not that much fun if there aren’t a bunch of girls around. I’m married, but even so, for the guys to have a good time they want to see a lot of girls. -end 19

This Man Just Might Steal Your Girlfriend! WatchtheDuck’s Seductive Charm This show is dead. Can we even call it a show? Only around 10 people huddled around the stage. How did we even know about it? The band, WatchtheDuck just played a packed house the night before in Toronto so this had to come as a real disappointment. The crowd: 3 young, goofy guys in full-on party mode, 2 completely indistinguishable guys, 2 street smart guys (couldn’t you have brought some friends?) One nerd taking incessant pictures (guess who?), and a guy with his girlfriend. Yes, it gets even worse when you have only one female in the audience and said female is attached by the hip to her boyfriend. Things get interesting as the night wears on. WatchtheDuck hit the stage like this is a small house party they’ve been invited to perform at. The lead of the group is friendly with the audience making every song an audience participation track. He’s got charisma and has the throwback of a funky disco singer. He may even be sporting a little jheri curl. He can tell he’s caught the girlfriend’s attention and at a particularly upbeat moment he pulls her onstage. By this point she’s had a few drinks and is feeling pretty good up there next to this arousing and imposing man that has set the mic aside to dance a little with her. It starts as a polite dance with some distance between them and her boyfriend seems to be taking it in stride. He even raises his cup to the stage in a salute.

Watch the Duck continued

A minute in and the beat shifts seductively. Now the track has turned sexy and she works her way to up to a near grind with the singer. He moves a little closer, and whoops there it is, full on grind. At this point her boyfriend begins to notice and that smile straightens itself out then starts moving downward. The grinding continues and she is really up against him now. Her legs are wrapped around his and his hand is stroking her leg, moving ever so carefully up towards her back and deciding to pause and linger somewhere between. Now the face on her boyfriend is aghast with pure terror and embarrassment! This girl was at his side just moments ago. His trophy on display for all 8 others in attendance to be envious about. Now she was up on stage grinding away with this black singer who was all too happy to oblige her and show her some real “sexual healing.” In the heat of their moment, her boyfriend has one of two choices: 1. Ease up and realize at the end of the night this girl is still going home with you. Or, 2. Go with the rage of jealously and drag the girl offstage. Of course, being the douche bag most 20-something men are, he chose the latter, pulling her off-stage and exiting the building where I’m sure a fight took place, with him berating her for her “shameful” conduct onstage. For her part, she may express regret and say she was sorry. I hope not. After all that was the highlight of the night! Either way, I’ll bet it wasn’t her boyfriend’s face she was seeing that night with her eyes closed. — end

Digital Racket Recommendations

The M Machine Metropolis Parts I & II (Owsla) The M Machine are 3 guys from San Francisco that go way further than most electronic bands do to separate themselves into their own genre of music. The songs included on their 2 eps, Metropolis I and II form a sci-fi tapestry of sound that has intergalactic themes and tracks that feature both blistering dance tracks as well as cerebral songs complete with beautiful female vocals. More surprising is they even have a few songs that feature their own very competent vocals. Metroplolis Pt. I establishes the trio’s sound with smooth tracks that flow gracefully from one blissful track to the next. Metropolis Pt. II takes The M Machine an evolutionary step forward in sound as they get absolutely spacey and at times even delve into progressive rock territory. The tracks are longer with more peaks and valleys for the listener to get lost in. If you want a taste of M Machine brilliance just check out their animated video for Tiny Anthem. There’s an ongoing story online at their website where you can follow along their tale that encompasses Parts I & II. Both are so good, I can’t recommend one over the other, so just buy both of them. I should also mention I’ve seen M Machine perform live as a full band set and a DJ set and both sets brought the best of their music mixed in with other similarly great electronic music.

Digital Racket Recommendations continued

City Light (Mush Records) San Francisco based City Light is the electronic-pop project of singer/songwriter Matt Shaw and producer Nick Andre. Their latest effort, Memory Guide is an extremely pleasing album of fractured pop songs that combine elements of electronic beats, hip hop and indie rock. The result cruises somewhere between Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips and Death Cab For Cutie. Starting with “Devil In the Dark,” Memory Guide consistently tracks along good vibes with some deep grooves. Adding some more flavor to the set are female vocals by Ann Yu, she even gets lead vocals on the pretty and bubbly “Cross the Lines.” City Light doesn’t pack big beats or heavy rocks so they may not be tracking on anyone’s radar, but they make achingly good songs that make a lasting impression which places them mighty high on my list. The Devastator (Magazine) I came across the Devastator, a quarterly magazine/comic at C2E2 in artist alley. The artist Jimmy Hasse had copies out at his table and after just scanning through one I had to buy a couple issues. A printed magazine like this is a rare thing these days. Packed with humor in comics, ads (both fake and real) and other fun things, The Devastator is similar to Cracked or Mad Magazine but has a style all its own. Featuring contributors from the Onion, Funny or Die, Comedy Central and more, the comics have a biting sense of original humor. Each of the 7 issues has a running theme. I have #6, the indie issue and #7 the Spies issue. The asking price of $8 may seem a bit on the pricey side but I can tell you I’ve spent tons of time already thumbing through them and having some laughs. The Devastator is published quarterly, you can find out more at their website DevastatorQuaterly.com.

Digital Racket Recommendations continued

The Private Eye

(Panel Syndicate.com)

Looking through this zine you quickly get the gist I am all for DIY efforts. I’m especially pleased in cases like The Private Eye where an established figure says screw the industry and releases a book independent of publisher and distribution channels. However, what pleases me even more is the amazing quality of writing and artwork that TPE contains. The story is about a fully fleshed –out world where there are no more secrets so we hide behind masks, a private eye is commissioned to discover what he can about his client. The visuals and colors Martin uses to tell Vaughn’s story are gorgeously displayed in landscape mode that is perfect for tablet reading. This digital only title is the first issue of a hopeful 10 issue series that you can name your price to get at panelsyndicate.com. Btw, I paid $3.00 for this issue and I’m considering paying more for the next issue which just recently dropped. Vision Machine (Pak Man Publishing) Similar to The Private Eye, Vision Machine by Greg Pak is a story about the future with technology gone awry. The iEye is created and gives everyone the ability to enter each other’s minds and dreams. For the three friends the comic revolves around the impact of the iEye drastically changes their lives for better and worse. Greg Pak who wrote the excellent Planet Hulk series does a great job telling this story and at the same time bringing up several questions about the technology we use today. While Vision Machine at times gets a little carried away with exposition on its ideas, there are still enough thought provoking moments and fantastic artwork to make all 3 issues more than worthwhile. This comic is a digital only release and can be obtained in many different formats, PDF, ipad app and comixology, with the best part of all being completely and totally free at www.gregpak.com/vision_machine/.

BACKMATTER This issue is also available as a PDF file: www.mostpeoplearedjs.com/zine www.digitalracket.com Soundtrack for issue – for playlist see https://soundcloud.com/digitalracket/sets/digital-racket-zine-1

Young Empires – “White Doves” Savoy— “Kidz” Stars — “Backlines” Big Gigantic — “The Heavyweight Champion” Bashful Hips — “New City” Milk’N’Cookies— “Ghosts” Teeel — “Crystal Lake” Destructo—”Technology” WatchtheDuck – “Poppin’ Off” Nervo - “Hold On” The M Machine – “Tiny Anthem” City Light – “Devil in the Dark” Contact me – digitalracketmedia@gmail.com mostpeoplearedjs@gmail.com If you like the zine make a paypal donation to: mpfeiffer38@comcast.net Or use my coupon offers at: http://meviocoupons.com/show/mostpeoplearedjs.html Thank you for reading Digital Racket #1 Digital Racket#2 coming December 2013