Pastorale August 2014

+PLUS

INTERVIEW WITH

PETER MATTHEW BAUER

(THE WALKMEN)

hometown heroes pg 8

editor's note pg 6

on the cover pg 4

peter maTthew bauer pg 10

lets drive to alaska pg 20

BETTER LATE THEN NEVER...REALLY? pg 16

ANASTASIA ASHLEY pg 32

women's beauty pg 28 men's beauty pg 26

horoscope pg 68

highway mirage pg

60

good and bad pg 54

desert rose pg

46

next issue... pg 70

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model

ANASTASIA ASHLEY

photographer PAULIFORNIA

photographer’s assistant MATT GUY

hair and make up

RICKIE BOCANEGRA

stylist

SASHA GOLD

stylist assistant

ELLIOT ESFAHANIAN

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Hey everyone. So I’m blown away with the support this magazine is already receiving…. in fact it’s rather humbling. I always talked about “doing a magazine” and its been this dream I’ve had for several years,… it’s just really effing awesome to see it develop and become something that not only am I super proud of but that you guys seem to really enjoy. In our first issue without any real advertising of the magazine, we got over 5,000 views and people are really taking the time to read and flip through everything. Not only that, the goal we had in mind was met, to make this magazine for both women and men. It’s with these little milestones I celebrate privately with a little dance. I hope that every month you guys can keep me dancing. Seriously you all are amazing and thank you so much for reading.

This month we had the privilege to hangout and shoot professional surfer Anastasia Ashley who’s well known for her athleticism and beauty. The overall experience couldn’t have been better. The whole gang had fun during the shoot and after it was all over and Anastasia left, we started packing up our gear and talked about how much of a pleasant surprise Anastasia ended up being. The photos we got are (expletive) amazing. When I was narrowing it down I hit this point where I realized I had enough great photos we could do a 60 page special issue just of her!

I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in this issue.. and I would love to list you individually but words cannot express my gratitude for your hard work, from your Hand Drawn Illustrations, Writing, Photography, Modeling, Make up and/ or Hair Artistry, Advertisements, Music and not to mention your precious time. Without you this magazine wouldn’t exist. I’m also lumping you (the reader) into this group as well… you validate our hard work.

-Paul Rivera aka Paulifornia

Second issue is here! Had the ultimate pleasure of styling Anastasia Ashley for the cover. Super babe inside and out! Got to finally work with Rickie Bocanegra who is an amazing makeup and hair artist and a beautiful soul. Collabed on some clean beauty makeup (my favorite!) with Cara Underwood one of our talented writers and hair stylists for our beauty story “Pile up”. Glad to have one Veronica Chanel’s many talents brought to the table. Navigated some uncharted territory merging two photographer’s men’s fashion stories together. Thank you Chris and Prentice for your patience and faith. Excited to have two new advertisers on board RCK and Bri Seely. Both brands are worth checking out.

We partied down and listened to some great music at our launch party. If you weren’t there I wish you were! I hope you aren’t skimming over the horoscopes this month Antoinette’s funnies are on point. Big ups to Paul always killing it on the layout and photography. Coming soon: September issue!

-Sasha Goldenberger aka Sasha Gold

ATTN: BANDS AND MUSICIANS WE ARE GOING TO START DOING MUSIC/ ALBUM REVIEWS IN A VERY FUN WAY. IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE REVIEWED, SEND TO INFO@PASTORALEMAGAZINE.COM

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publisher PAULIFORNIA

editors in chief PAUL RIVERA / SASHA GOLDENBERGER

managing editor JACKIE SUEHR

creative director PAUL RIVERA

fashion & beauty director SASHA GOLDENBERGER

music director PAUL RIVERA

editorial assistant ANTOINETTE MATHEWS

editorial contributors COREY MANSKE, VERONICA CHANEL, JACKIE SUEHR, PAULIFORNIA, CARA UNDERWOOD, ANTOINETTE MATHEWS

illustration contributors BEN MATSUYA

photographic contributors PRENTICE DANNER, CHRIS VELASCO, SYLVIA GUNDE, PAULIFORNIA, DANNY YI SEUNG, VERONICA CHANEL

Pastorale is an online-only magazine, produced with the intent to unify music, fashion and lifestyle into a congruent publication. As individuals, we all possess a variety of diverse tastes; it is our purpose to mirror these variances and to incite reflection and intellect.

We are not a men’s magazine. We are not a women’s magazine. We are a human magazine. Our articles are not fluff. We aspire to produce an experience for our readers, to compel thought provoking opinions and to inspire creativity in all. Collaboration is what makes this special. We are you.

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Immediately following my visit to the Aura Knifeworks website and watching owner Noah Cowan’s welcoming three minute video introduction to his craft – I was hooked. It was instantly clear to me how our August 2014 Hometown Hero had managed to pop-up on our radar. In just a few short minutes, Noah explains the complicated process of fabricating an Aura knife in such a concise yet laid back way; I thought for a minute or two that we had been friends forever. Like he knew math and science were never my strong suits, and he cared enough to walk me through it in a way I could understand. Upon meeting Noah, his kind nature flows uninterrupted, and his genuine excitement for his work is immediately apparent.

Originally from Long Beach and crafting these entirely natural works of art in Santa Fe Springs, Noah Cowan and the Aura Knifeworks team is delivering a personalized kitchen tool to rival the most sought after blades in the world, and the joyous part about it is- they know it’s the best! Why? Because they see the science of utilizing a chef’s knife in a whole new way. Armed with an intrinsic knowledge embedded from years spent assisting his father with diverse projects that challenged his aptness at fabricating something out of any material available, and an ardor for cooking that began as a junior in high school, Noah was struck by a theory. A theory intended to cut back on the fatigue a chef experiences after enduring hours of preparation by boosting the natural inertia in a single slice and creating a tool made for that specific individual, an Aura knife not only lends to increased productivity it allows for an elevation in the world of food preparation.

In his laid-back easy going way, Noah explains how these high caliber knives crafted by chefs for the elite professional are made, he lets me in on the natural materials they are made from, and explains why he knows they are indeed, kick-ass:

full time. Right now everyone is putting in time pro bono.

Your knives are highly customizable with a special angle and science to them, can you tell us more about the specific process of creating an Aura knife?

(NC) Every knife we make starts from a clay impression of the person’s hand.

They are literally made only for that person and made to be used every single day5 hours at a time even. Most of our customers are professional chefs. We send our client a clay handle fitting kit. You squeeze it, you bake it, and send it back to us.

Aura knives are known for their rebound. The concept was adopted when I was wakeboarding with some local professionals, and they explained how the rocker on a wakeboard uses three stages to generate pop off the wake. I just made the connection, and figured out how to apply it to the chef knife. With an Aura knife, rather than arm numbing circles all you have to do is push forward. The inertia is recycled and the blade pops back. I also use an asymmetrical double bevel which combines the slicing power of a Japanese sashimi knife with the chopping power of its western counterparts. We also create a much steeper (and scarier) edge of 14 degrees. In a kitchen every chef cuts himself at some point, and it’s much better to do it with a razor sharp knife, less pain, less blood, and no stitches. As opposed to a stainless German wedge sending you to the emergency room.

Let’s talk about what Aura Knives are made of. What materials do you use and where are they found?

(NC) The wood I use does not come as you’d expect it to. Most of my tree pieces are urban foraged and in the perfect state of decay…. much like L.A. itself hahahaha. I’ve made some really great friends through woodworking, they taught me everything about it. Wood is a language to me and I take it very seriously.

You’d be surprised at what beauty and life you can find in your neighborhood!

The colors come from the colonies of microorganisms that inhabited that piece of wood. I use a vacuum chamber and a clear monomer resin to stabilize the wood or petrify it acrylically speaking. The carbon steel I use is a domestically produced ball bearing grade; it is really hard stuff! Occasionally I will make a stain resistant blade out of Swedish razor blade steel, but I’m a huge fan of the heirloom stuff. It stains many colors overtime as it patinas and outperforms the modern stainless steel; which means stains-less by the way. We do all the crafting in a shared warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, and our office is in the SoMa region of San Francisco.

Who do you envision using this knife?

(NC) I realize many chefs are content and don’t have a pressing need to expand in their love for food; this knife is for those who do.

What are you most proud of when you hold an Aura Knifeworks creation?

What’s your personal description of Aura Knifeworks?

(Noah Cowan) Aura is a knife with life. In a kitchen we use the pronoun chef to show our respect. The word chef actually translates into chief. Our knife is, without a doubt the one that the other knives would call chef - you know, if knives could talk.

Who shares in this venture with you? How many people does Aura Knifeworks employ?

(NC) Right now we are a rag-tag team of bootstrapping startup kids consisting of myself, a finance guy, a marketing chick, and two apprentices. Technically we employ no one. Everyone working on Aura shares and adds to my vision, the belief in the mission, and to the potential to change the way we make food. They are some of the coolest people in the world and I can’t thank them enough for reaching out to me to contribute. I have an awesome team of six. Adrienne, Teddy, Chris, Ian, Angelino, and Isaac. Three of them are professional chefs and want to do this 8 | PASTORALE | AUGUST 2014

(NC) When I hold my knife, I know it’s the best one in the world and can handle whatever comes up. A knife is an extension of your hand; there is something magical about being able to trust it, to control it, and to love it. When I hold it I do not feel a cold tool, I feel vibrance.

How do we get our hands on one?

(NC) Go to our website www.Aurachef.com and place your order.

Please shop Aura Knifeworks by visiting their website www.Aurachef.com Follow them on Facebook and Instagram: Facebook.com/Auraknifeworks & @ aurachef

HOMETOWN HEROES

are Small Businesses, Hand Crafted Artisans, Do It Yourselfers, and Inspirers. Trailblazing their own paths in their community by actually doing something special with their hands, hearts and/ or minds.

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L I B E R AT IO N !

Los Angeles is offering up one of its rarely seen, purely lucid blue skies for Peter Matthew Bauer and his band as they begin setting up for a sound check at the cozy Satellite on Silver Lake Boulevard. The venue is home to Bauer’s first west coast stop on an intensive tour in support of his recently released full length solo debut LIBERATION!. Bauer is no outsider to the road. Over thirteen years as bass player and organist for New York based indie faves The Walkmen who announced an “extreme hiatus” in late 2013, Bauer has earned his stripes exploring; but as the solo artist’s newly crafted album title suggests it seems as though he might be starting anew. Exceptionally humble about his own abilities as both a vocalist and multi-instrumental artist, Bauer’s live show includes a large band of talented individuals that seem a perfect fit to his solo vision. Made up of group of what seems to be both family and friends, Bauer is at ease performing in a city with a reputation for being unwelcoming in even the most comfortable of venues.

I was originally enticed to purchase LIBERATION! after fumbling upon its internet infomercial. Yes, I said infomercial! When watching it I was struck.

There are so many different ways an artist could choose to deal with the end of a collaboration that one had devoted years of life to. Peter Matthew Bauer seems to be facing it head on with the welcome combination of talent, and a great sense of humor. Touted in the less than two minute long infomercial as being “the record that will save your life”, the artwork and chants of LIBERATION! are thrown around the screen in a swirling whirling dance of vertigo while you the viewer are implored to purchase the record for only $17.98!

Musicians today are searching for new ways to connect with their audience in a visually driven market, and Bauer (with a little help from his friends) had found a way that caught my eye that I immediately began sharing with others.

It became clear fairly quickly after completing my purchase and listening, that LIBERATION! was more about telling the personal story of a past from the true beginning, and less about expressing the end of an era.

LIBERATION! Itself is reminiscent of the type of large, american-made

sound that most albums being produced now days are lacking. Rock n’ roll with big enough breaks to leave open space for the listener to day-dream are combined with a powerful vocal guide that brings you back down to earth without creating too much of jolt back into the atmosphere. There is a twist though – and that twist is the mystery surrounding what seems to be the religious symbolism and almost world music addition Peter Matthew Bauer has added to this offering. I stole a few minutes of Bauer’s time before sound check to discuss the makings of an album as a solo artist and how life on tour has changed.

Peter Matthew Bauer also allows our readers to see a glimpse of the modest ego stemming from a man that has a diverse talent that allows him the right to say that “an ease of living” has been achieved by going solo:

(Pastorale Magazine) Just last month you released your debut solo album LIBERATION! (Peter Matthew Bauer) Yes, late in June.

(Pastorale) With all your experience in recording albums in the past with The Walkmen, did you learn something new or experience something new with recording this particular album?

(Bauer) Very much so, it was a completely different process. We did everything with one person helping usually, different engineers, and played most of everything on the record except the drums. Yeah, it was very a different process.

(Pastorale) Sounds very different.

(Bauer) Not working as a group at all, so yeah.

(Pastorale) So it was just you?

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 13)

AUGUST 2014 | PASTORALE | 11

(Bauer) Yeah.

(Pastorale) What I get when I listen to LIBERATION! is that while it may have some touching of bases with your spiritual being, it’s not necessarily a spiritualized album. It doesn’t commandeer the listener to listen to a specific belief, but it more opens up spaces for them to explore their own?

(Bauer) Sure yeah, I think that’s the idea. It started out as trying to reconcile my own notions of what spirituality, for lack of a better word, meant. Which is sort of skeptical and angry, and then it got a little bit more joyful as time went on making the record. Yeah, it’s definitely not like - I don’t know, I’ve got no answers, so yeah exactly. I think the idea was not liking it when people feel like they have the answers basically.

(Pastorale) Do you feel like your ability to be a multi-instrumental artist allows the listener to get a bigger, more open space for themselves to make their own decisions?

(Bauer) I don’t know. I mean I wanted to make a bigger rock record, and I didn’t have any money and I didn’t have a studio so I made it in a factory with a tape machine.

(Pastorale) That makes it different again too. The lack of resources….?

(Bauer) Yeah, it’s like how you start out when you make a first record. I was fine with that because I thought it was better than going to a big expensive studio and working with dudes and ladies who have big names and stuff. Kind of just going on your own and starting from scratch. Which is what that sort of thing should be.

(Pastorale) Being able to play all the instruments yourself do you feel like the listener can move in and attach themselves to something specifically with you not just one thing, but maybe they get more options?

(Bauer) Not doing stuff with a band gives the person whose making something a way of like - it’s just an ease of living. You know how something should be, and you don’t really gain anything by translating it with other people but you don’t lose anything either. It’s just a different process. It’s a lot more fun when you have done a lot of group things for a long time. You just kind of go and throw whatever you can against the wall and see what sticks.

(Pastorale) Right, but not everyone’s lucky enough to be able to play piano, bass, and guitar.

(Bauer) Yeah, I’m terrible. I’m pretty bad at all of them.

(Pastorale) (Laughing) Still, being able to play them all though…..

(Bauer) I’m okay at all of them I guess. I’m definitely not good at any of them, so … (Laughing) Yeah, it’s like you get by kind of.

(Pastorale) Gotcha. You have a pretty intensive tour lined up for this month and then…..

(Bauer) Yeah, it’s terrifying.

(Pastorale) Then, you’re following it up again - it’s terrifying?

(Bauer) Yeah.

(Pastorale) Then touring again in the fall it looks like.

(Bauer) Yeah, more and more.

(Pastorale) What’s different touring now from touring for all those years in a group?

(Bauer) I used to make money touring. I would wake up in the morning and would just flush hundreds of dollars down the toilet basically. Everyday it’s like the brakes are gone and it’s just like … that’s the big difference. The other difference is that it’s a lot more fun because it’s a lot scarier. You don’t have any idea what’s going to happen and that’s exciting. At least for the moment. Yeah, I don’t know how much longer my heart can take of this, but it’s coming along. (Laughing)

(Pastorale) You can make it through this hopefully!

(Bauer) Yeah, exactly.

(Pastorale) Especially with all these dates that you have lined up.

(Bauer) Yeah.

(Pastorale) So, how do you prefer to access new music personally?

(Bauer) I access I guess through the Internet probably. Yeah, I feel like I’ve become - like I just write a lot of music and I work on that, so I’m in the dark with new music somewhat. I think also when you do this for a living as well it becomes a little like sports, and so it’s hard to get into new music because you start getting nasty about new music.

(Pastorale) Like competitive with new music?

(Bauer) Yeah, exactly.

(Pastorale) That a really interesting way to put it.

(Bauer) So, it’s much easier to be into a 65-year-old person or like a 200-yearold person’s dad, than it is to be into the upstart kid down the street. You just want to be like…..

(Pastorale) Not on the same playing field that you’re going for at the moment?

(Bauer) Yeah, exactly. It’s hard to really care about new music. It’s not that …

(Pastorale) Do you stay away from it during this stage of what you’re doing?

(Bauer) No, I think you learn about it because, probably much more than most grown-ups do, you’re surrounded by it. Sometimes you play with bands and that’s probably the best way to really start liking things is through friendship. You know how it is?

(Pastorale) Right, absolutely. Then how do you like to get your music to others?

(Bauer) Obviously, when you’re recording records you want them to buy vinyl records with the big fancy artwork and for people to sit down and really care about it. I’m also fine really if it’s like a ringtone or whatever. I really don’t care. I mean what are you going to do you know?

(Pastorale) You’re good with the ringtone download or an MP3 download?

(Bauer) That’s life. You’ve just got to deal with that in this day and age so whatever. I mean that’s what people do. They listen to it through their ... it’s like in their pocket playing your song it’s like whatever. (Laughing)

During a time in music where 10th anniversary reunion tours and rereleases of money making indie albums seem to be flooding the media relentlessly, Peter Matthew Bauer has made a conscious choice to branch out and fabricate a solo introduction to his world that reaches beyond a time spent devoted to one thing. LIBERATION! is a story that begins with “I Was Born in an Ashram”, a song based upon his experience spending formative summers in an Ashram in New York. Pauses with a song titled “Fortune Tellers” that teases at the unanswered questions regarding Bauer’s own education in Astrology, and ends at “You are the Chapel”, a song that unleashes to showcase Bauer’s abilities as a musician that reach beyond and prove that being one part of a larger collaborative effort doesn’t always allow for the freedom one might truly need to grow.

Peter Matthew Bauer’s LIBERATION! is out now on Mexican Summer records and he will be on tour for much of the remainder of 2014. Visit www. mexicansummer.com or follow Bauer on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ petermatthewbauer. Tour dates and other information also available at: www. petermatthewbauer.com.

AUGUST 2014 | PASTORALE | 13

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AUGUST 2014 | PASTORALE | 15

A

lright, here’s a conversation starter: Should previously unreleased music be released after the artist dies? Some think it’s great.

Others think it’s highly disrespectful.

First, let’s clarify one thing. Unreleased is not the same as unfinished. Something that is unreleased could actually be something that is complete, whereas something that is unfinished is most certainly incomplete. That is an important distinction to remember. Additionally, there is a lot of legal complexity involved with any posthumous release, but the purpose of this article is to focus on the opinions and emotions. So in the spirit of that, let’s all agree to set aside the applicable laws so we can get right to the heart of the matter.

There are so many examples of posthumous album releases. I chose the following five examples because they represent different musical genres, different time periods and generally appeal to a fan base with a broad demographic range.

• Janis Joplin ‘Pearl’ released 1/11/71 - 3 months after her death • Queen ‘Made in Heaven’ released 11/6/95 - 4 years after the death of Freddie Mercury • The Beatles songs “Free as a Bird” released 12/12/95 and “Real Love” released 3/4/96 - 15 years after the death of John Lennon • Michael Jackson ‘Xscape’ released 5/14/14 – 5 years after his death • Tupac Shakur - multiple albums released after his death in 1996 My knee-jerk reaction when I read those examples is: MONEY GRAB! Granted, each situation above is vastly different, but I have difficulty shaking the notion that these records were released to fatten someone’s wallet. To me, it feels like a slimy marketing scheme and I’m not entirely wrong in believing that. Someone, somewhere along the way in each of these situations identified an opportunity to capitalize on the popularity of the late artist. On the flip-side of the coin, there may be an ulterior motive which seems more dignified: legacy preservation.

Before we dig in to the details of the examples, let’s handle the difference between unreleased and unfinished by using a simple analogy. Imagine five years after the death of Stephen King, someone managing his estate discovers a portable hard drive containing a half-dozen unreleased short stories.

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UNRELEASED - Just to be clear, the stories are finished but they never saw the light of day.

We could all contemplate the author’s reasons for choosing not to release the stories, but we’d be guessing. Maybe he thought they weren’t good enough. Maybe he wrote them as the springboard to one of his best-selling books. Maybe he forgot about them in the sea of stories, drafts and rewrites.

Or maybe, he just didn’t want to release them. Let’s say the person handling Mr. King’s estate (remember we’re leaving law-stuff out of this) chooses to publish the previously unreleased stories. It’s fair to say there would be a large wave of excitement from Stephen King fans and a nice influx of cash too, but what would the fans think of the stories themselves? Some fans would love the stories. Some fans wouldn’t rate the stories among their favorites.

Some fans would speculate about why the stories weren’t released in the first place. If in the opinion of Stephen King the stories weren’t supposed to be released -- for whatever reason -- it’s hard to imagine those stories measuring-up to the stuff he did choose to release. In the eyes of the writer, his unreleased works were subpar in some way which begs the question: Why release them at all?

Stephen King product, it’s hard to imagine it measuring up to his previous products since there would be various elements within each story that were not spawned nor sculpted by his meticulous, personal, routine writing method. On the other hand, if it was released as a King & Craven collaboration product, that might be a little more legit but would diehard fans really be satisfied? Consider how satisfied you are with the dude from Linkin Park singing in Stone Temple Pilots. I dig both bands a lot, but that’s a highly mediocre product in my personal opinion. So now we’ve arrived at the ultimate question yet again: Why release them at all?

UNFINISHED – Again for clarity, the stories are incomplete and they never saw the light of day. From the author’s perspective incomplete is incomplete and therefore by definition, not fit for public consumption. The reasons for leaving something incomplete are moot since the end result is something that is not completed. Now let’s say the person handling Mr. King’s estate discovers the unfinished stories and wants to find a way to publish them. Well, no one in their right mind would release something to the public that hasn’t been completely finished yet. Enjoy this half-baked cake, ma’am.

Three of your car tires have been inflated, sir. Yikes.

Now we’re getting deep….those were analogies inside the analogy! Let’s get back to the unfinished short stories. If the choice was made to publish the stories, it would be logical to have them refreshed, added-to and completed. In that case, involving another respected, high-caliber author with a similar background and fan base would make sense. The person handling Mr. King’s estate calls Wes Craven to explain the situation and he enthusiastically agrees. At the end of this process, there would be a hybrid version of the stories that resembled Stephen King’s original vision to some degree. Skipping the initial fan excitement and the influx of cash brings us again to wonder how the fans would feel about the finished product. If that product is released as a

#1 - So it seems the Janis Joplin example is the most benign. I say that because the ‘Pearl’ album was finished according to Janis and her band Full Tilt Boogie. There are ten songs on the album, nine of which feature vocals written, arranged and performed by Janis Joplin. The tenth song, “Buried Alive in the Blues” remained an instrumental track because she died before adding vocals, but she had specifically approved it as an instrumental. Maybe we could debate that detail and maybe it could’ve been left off the actual album, but it’s clear the bulk of the work was, in fact, complete. Technically, this is a posthumous album release but I don’t actually classify it that way since there wasn’t a ton of work done after her unfortunate departure. ‘Pearl’ yielded a number one hit “Me and Bobby McGee” and the popular a cappella hit “Mercedes Benz” which was recorded just three days before her death. Timing for the release of this album was seemingly due to the process of mastering and product duplication, therefore not heavily impacted by her death.

As I said, each of the situations surrounding the five examples of posthumous album releases is vastly different. In my research I noticed several articles that seemed to use the words ‘unreleased’ and ‘unfinished’ almost interchangeably. Additionally, I spoke to fans of those five artists and heard them use those same words to validate or nullify the reasoning for releasing the albums. That’s confusing to me, which is why we just played the Stephen King analogy game. They’re clearly different. We’re all on the same page. Now we can proceed.

#2 – The Queen example is complicated.

During the three year process of finishing the ‘Made in Heaven’ album guitarist Brian May went from feeling he and the band were not on the right path to wanting to start from scratch to saying it was (CONTINUED ON PAGE 18)

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possibly the best Queen album ever made. Before all of that, while they were recording, everyone was aware that Freddie was on borrowed time because of his illness and that he would try to leave them with as much material as he possibly could. Nearing the end, Freddie continued to record as many vocals and piano ideas as he could while he specifically instructed the band to complete the songs later -- which is what prompted the band to revisit the material a year after his death. Of the twelve songs on the album, only three could be put together from what Freddie put to tape, “A Winter’s Tale” (the last song he solely composed entirely), “Mother Love” (his last ever vocal performance) and the song that ultimately became “You Don’t Fool Me”. Here’s where it gets complex: Knowing they had less than an album’s worth to work with, the band decided to revisit previously recorded material. They added fresh instrumentation to some of the recordings and eventually had the album ‘Made in Heaven’ as their finished product. It was released four years after Freddie Mercury’s death, and has sold 20 million copies worldwide. In my opinion, this album was the ultimate way for the band to honor Freddie Mercury and their internal agreement to complete the project. Aside from selling well and the generally positive reviews, I haven’t heard a single Queen fan rank it as one of their top 10 favorite Queen records. #3 – The Beatles example is a little weird. 25 years after their break-up and fifteen years after the death of John Lennon, the Beatles released two singles as part of the promotion for ‘The Beatles Anthology’ video documentary and the band’s ‘Anthology 1’ compilation album. Both songs “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” were versions of Lennon’s home demo recordings incorporating contributions added by McCartney, Harrison & Starr. Paul McCartney visited Yoko Ono to pick-up the original demo tape (recorded in 1977) when he traveled to New York to induct John Lennon into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. When the band brought the cassette tape into the studio – with a different producer, since long-time Beatles producer George Martin turned down the invitation – they worked hard to maintain the integrity of the original Lennon tracks. For the song “Real Love” the band had very little input since everyone agreed it was already almost finished. According to the band, they felt like merely sidemen for Lennon during the recording process. On “Free as a Bird” they had a bit more freedom since there were gaps in the original track which they filled in musically. They also changed some chords and expanded the arrangement to include breaks to sing extra lines and for Harrison to record a slide guitar solo. The song ends with a strummed ukulele part played by Harrison and the voice of Lennon played backwards. “Free as a Bird” won a Grammy Award in 1997 and was the Beatles’ 34th Top 10 single in the United States. I admit it got weird for me when I saw George Martin (the fifth Beatle) wasn’t involved, but here’s where it gets really weird for me: According to an interview for the ‘Anthology’ project, Paul McCartney revealed that Lennon’s original demos for “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” had actually been released and were well-known by Lennon fans. Most of the Beatles fans I talked to like both songs, however NONE of them consider either song a Beatles song! I tend to agree, since they were originally recorded and released by John Lennon after the band broke-up in 1970. And don’t forget, all four Beatles emphatically continued to propel their individual careers by re18 | PASTORALE | AUGUST 2014

leasing solo albums within the year 1970. There’s no disputing the impact of the Beatles. I’m not trying to minimize their influence. I just think the release of these two songs was fairly misleading.

Sometimes never is better than later... #4 – The Michael Jackson example may not be what it seems. Believe it or not there have been eleven Michael Jackson albums released since his death in 2009. The second compilation album ‘Xscape’ features eight previously unreleased songs.

The chairman of Epic Records enlisted a team of record producers to retool and contemporize the music by subtly layering modern electronic textures to give the mix a more modern sound. Each of the eight songs was originally recorded for an earlier Michael Jackson album but failed to make the final released version. After the songs were reworked, reinterpreted and reinvigorated, the album ‘Xscape’ was met with mixed reviews like these: “Feels like an album created to showcase a handful of Jackson songs that on the whole deserve to be heard.” [Michael Cragg, The Guardian] “Sounds like a recipe for legacy tarnishing.”

[Michael Arceneaux, Ebony] “This is more like a collection of B-sides from Off The Wall than a follow-up to Invincible.”

[Nick Stevenson, Mixmag] Then, critics began suggesting the product was only created as a way to promote Sony smartphones, since prior to the release Jackson’s estate announced a partnership with Sony Mobile. The partnership prompted an ad for the Xperia Z2 (Sony’s mobile phone) which featured the ‘new’ Michael Jackson song “Slave to the Rhythm”. Again, I’m not here to poke holes in Jackson’s influence on music. Like some of the critics, I just wonder if this album is legitimate or propaganda. Either way, I feel self-admitted Jackson-fan Nekesa Mumbi Moody – a writer for Yahoo -- said it best when she concluded “putting out music that falls below Jackson’s standards detracts from the carefully constructed catalog he spent decades creating and protecting.” #5 – The Tupac Shakur example is mind boggling with a pretty cool twist. Check this out: The Tupac example combines everything from examples 1-4…oh, AND…there were more Tupac albums released after his death (7) in 1996 than there were before (6) !! So, real quick, here’ the combo: His first posthumous album ‘The 7 Day Theory’ was completely finished before his death then was released two months afterward. That’s just like the Janis example.

All of Tupac’s vocal parts heard on the other six posthumously released albums were recorded during numerous recording sessions (for earlier albums) between 1991-1996. All of the production, overdubs, guest vocals and mixing took place after 1996. That has elements of the Queen, Beatles and Michael Jackson examples.

Amazingly, even without Tupac’s creative input all but one (‘Pac’s Life’) of the seven posthumous album releases have each sold more than a million copies in the United States. Each also featured previously unreleased material (along with a few remixes) and produced hits that performed well on the Billboard Charts. And now for the twist which I happen to think is pretty cool. In 1997 Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur felt as though her son left behind a large body of work so she created Amaru Entertainment to control Tupac’s posthumous releases. Although that’s still a ‘business venture’ I think it’s cool that his mom felt strongly enough to get involved. Personally, I’m not a huge Tupac Shakur fan, but I sincerely admire the simple fact that his mom volunteered to be responsible for carrying his creativity, message and vision forward.

Not only is that a cool component to all this, it’s the perfect set-up for the one thing we haven’t covered yet: legacy preservation.

Earlier, I mentioned that legacy preservation was possibly a more dignified element involved in all this. The intention behind preserving an artist’s legacy seems pure on the surface, but once we dig deeper it’s really just horseshit. What preserves an artist’s legacy more than the enduring impact their most beloved music has on the fans? When I think of Janis Joplin, I think of “Piece of My Heart” (even though it was a cover of the Erma Franklin song).

When I think of Queen, I think of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” When I think of The Beatles, I think of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” When I think of Michael Jackson, I think of “Billy Jean.” When I think of Tupac Shakur, I think of “I Get Around.” These artists (and many others) are iconic for the music they wrote, recorded, released and performed while they were alive.

We all love and remember them by the contributions during their vibrant careers, not by the table scraps cobbled together by others. Who needs any of the posthumously released music to preserve the true legacy and impact of any great, late artist? Not me.

In conclusion, let’s make sure we have everything straight before we tie a bow on this subject.

Toss the Janis Joplin example aside, since we can all agree that it’s only considered a posthumous release on a technicality. I submit that ‘Pearl’ would’ve still been released on January 11, 1971 and that those songs would’ve been smash hits no matter what – dead or alive. Considering the other examples (along with countless others) the fans and the critics rarely feel as though the music measures up to the stuff that was released when the artist was alive. To the fans, most of the music released after the fact ends up being nothing more than a novelty and the notion of legacy preservation is just an excuse for someone to cash-in on the name of any late artist.

So there you have it. Sometimes never is better than later, and unless you’re one of the people making money from posthumous album releases, they are utterly pointless.

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S

o, Lets Drive to Alaska is a super talented band, which have graced Southern California with their soundscapes for several years. Not really sticking to a genre, Lets Drive to Alaska’s music consists of a cornucopia of music styles. From early 2000’s Emo, to Post - Hardcore (Think: Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai), to Trip Hop (Think: Portishead, Massive Attack) and even some Hip Hop and Industrial elements thrown in. The band has gone through some member changes over the years, and when you see them live you’re never sure what you’re going to get from their music or their amazing visual projections.

Chris has been a long time friend of mine through the local music scene, so this interview is more of a conversation between the band and myself. The band speaks about their new intentions with this renewed lineup and all that comes with this rebirth.

Lets Drive to Alaska is currently a two piece with founding member Christopher Garcia and recently reinstated member Patrick Haag, who’s exceptional talent and musicianship really shows in their writing and live performances. This band has been paying their dues and it’s nearing the time for them to cash in.

Truly, the “next level” is what’s in store for these guys.

(Pastorale): All right. So we’re sitting here with Lets Drive to Alaska.

This is the ... what version is this? 2.0? 4.0? 5.0?

(Chris): 4.2. It’s beta, it’s still beta stages. We’re moving to 5, 5.0.

(Pastorale): 5.0, that’s awesome. So you guys are based out of Southern California. If we had to say something close, it would be L.A. right?

(Chris): We’re based out of Fullerton.

(Pastorale): So you’ve been doing Lets Drive to Alaska, speaking to Chris here, since when? When did it start?

(Chris): The project started back in 2005. 2005 I was still in high school.

(Pastorale): So it started off as a solo project?

(Chris):Yeah, definitely.

(Pastorale): Started off as a solo project and developed into a full fledged band… that’s cool cause a lot of bands, start that way.

(Chris): Exactly.

(Pastorale): We were lucky enough to have you guys play our magazine launch party, and you guys killed it. Seriously, everybody loved it.

Thanks so much for that. That whole evening was a real cool experience.

That night you guys briefly talked about some of your new endeavors as far as singles and remixes and EPs. Tell us a little bit about what’s going on with your latest release, or what’s to come.

(Chris): We just recently did a release remix for an artist named Liphemra.

She’s based out of Los Angeles. She has a pretty good scene going around here right now, a lot of big bands, she’s opening for them and playing at The Echo, which is a pretty big venue in L.A. We did the remix for her, and we are actually going to be releasing, hopefully a music video within the next couple of months. We’re going to be working with Rusty. Rusty plays bass in the band May McDonough & Co. Who we had the chance of meeting at your magazine release show.

(Pastorale): You guys never met before that?

the idea of us all doing a remix of the same track for her and releasing it on the same day just to see what happens.

(Pastorale): So as you are moving forward, is that another avenue for you guys where you can collaborate with other artists and remix, remake, or even just collaborate?

(Chris): Well one of the better parts about being an electronic artist is that we have capabilities of doing remixes and doing collaborations with people because it’s not too far-fetched. I mean nowadays it’s not uncommon to hear rock artists doing collaborations with hip hop artists and what not. But as an electronic artist you’re able to move between those lines and do remixes for people or have people guest vocal on a track for you. Us being a unit now, a band, we’re going to start writing as a full unit and it’s going to be a little more collaborative. So we will have more guest vocals and definitely more remixes in the future.

(Pastorale): That being said with the electronic route, yes you have analog elements such as drums and Rhodes, but with electronics I’ve always found it is hard to do improvisation. Is that something that you guys are able to do?

(Patrick): I mean it’s definitely something that we do, especially as we get more comfortable with the arrangements that we’re working with. The way we run our live sets, it leaves a lot of room for improvisation. We use a lot of just raw backing tracks instead of doing a lot of sample bass stuff. So we’re pretty much free as we become more comfortable with the arrangements to improvise. I would say that at least 20% of what we play, every single show that we play - is different.

That we’re trying to add the improvisational element to keep those interesting. It’s one of the other avenues that we’re trying to explore.

(Pastorale): As technology gets better and better, do you think that there’s a disconnect that’s starting to happen with true musicianship?

My reason for asking is that this is something that we’ve talked about doing an article about.

(Patrick): I don’t know. I personally think that there will always be people who experiment or learn more than the more traditional sense where there’s a lot more trial and error, there’s actual handling of instruments. I think that music in general is definitely progressing to more of this concrete, strange almost all electronic platform where instead of learning your one instrument and meeting with groups of people, now it’s like you get a computer and all of the sudden every instrument in the entire repertoire of music is at your finger tips.

It’s also like the dialogue of the parts is different. Because you sit down to write and the dialogue that you have with the part only exists in that short window that you were creating it, like you’re making the MIDI file or you were recording it. Then as soon as it’s set it’s in stone.

If you’re an electronic artist you go to play a live show. Sure you might be automating effects or modulating some things when you’re playing live, but your dialogue with the part is over. For someone like me, it was like drums is a completely analog instrument. So every single time that I play I’m using the improvisational element to have dialogue with the parts that I’m creating.

(Chris): I was thinking about that too because when you guys were talking about it I started formulating the idea. Music I think is always going to have some kind of grounding in improvisational jam. It’s a conversation. It’s emotion. It’s a lot of things entangled to one. When you play with a group of friends that know their instrument and can speak with their instrument, you guys all have that conversation.

You guys have good conversations, you guys have bad conversations. You guys get mad at each other, you guys are laughing. Charles Mingus said that best. He would have conversations with people on the stage.

(Chris): No. We got connected there and we’re looking forward to working together. Another cool thing coming up for us is we are also doing a residency this September in Fullerton at The Continental Room. Every Monday night we’re going to be having headliners left and right, big heavy hitters, and it’s going to be a good night every night. We’re going to be releasing a music video hopefully one of the nights there too.

I think that’s a very key point in music. Good artists, good musicians, even if they’re session musicians that go into the studio, they know how to talk to their instruments and they know how to talk with the track. I think there will never be a point where it’s going to get too cold, because then there’s going to be another Renaissance or something where there’s going to be no electronics sound anymore.

There’s just going to be acoustics again.

(Pastorale): So back to that remix thing you guys did. Did you guys remix Lipherma’s full album, EP, or was it one song?

There’s still both artists, and even in rock and roll, people that do rock and roll like old rock and roll like Chuck Berry stuff, that’s still going on. There’s never going to be a time when it’s not like that. People are even venturing back into recording analog from reel-to-reel now and trying to get that sound. With that idea-people actually trying to strive to get that sound, it will never die.

(Chris): Recently my friend Kalva Won (Keith Alvarez), had an opportunity to play at the Low End Theory and he did a live remix of one of her songs. She (Liphemra) got word of it and I told her, to let me hook them up. Kalva Won had

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AUGUST 2014 | PASTORALE | 21

(Pastorale): So I guess that is a whole different discussion (we can have another time) like who do you like better: Led Zeppelin or Queen?

There’s the self-taught organic from the heart feel, Led Zeppelin. Then that school book taught from the childhood music theory point, Queen.

(Chris): But there is, you will not deny that there is just raw talent with Freddie Mercury’s voice. That voice, have you heard the, what is it called? The ... Oh my God, the a cappella version of his song where he’s just singing and he’s doing all the harmonies with his voice? It’s like an organ and he’s just on point every time.

(Pastorale): Again though, that wouldn’t happen if he didn’t invest time in practicing and rehearsing and getting better. Nowadays I feel like the Freddie Mercurys of our time are going to be lost because of things like auto tune and just laziness that some modern musicians seem to have.

Music is always consistently changing. Regarding local music, it seems like it’s so over saturated with so many people playing in a “band” that it’s probably hard for you guys to get people out to your performances.

Is this the case?

(Chris): Well, what do you think? (looking to Patrick) (Patrick): I do not pay attention to those type of things any longer. If we get offered a show we say yes, because it’s an opportunity for us to practice and just basically earn life experience, earn our stripes. We’re out there playing and the reasons that we are there are much more intrinsic.

That leads me to believe that because of things like technology, and over saturation and just generally the way tastes are developing in our local industries I think, yeah, to a certain degree it is harder to get the show support. It may not be as easy as it was five years ago, 10 years ago. But when you put the right energy into developing an artistically interesting quality product, it doesn’t matter. The saturation is not hurting the groups that put in the work, because the quality it stands, the people can hear it, even if they’re just walking by and they didn’t even get invited to the show. They can hear the quality. They’ll stop. They’ll say something.

(Chris): Our favorite venues, we are used to playing outdoors. Venues like Art Walk, because we’ll just be playing, we’ll start with like just six people in the crowd and then as soon as you know it there’s like 20, 30, 40 people all surrounding us. It’s because you can hear the difference when you’re just walking by hearing musicians play as opposed to someone like you’re just saying, “Okay, well someone wrote my song and I’m going to play this song live”.

(Pastorale): Yeah, and then you guys are doing something special. I think that’s what turns heads and it’s really awesome to hear that people stop and appreciate. With this new version of the band, how long has that been in place?

(Patrick): Since January this year. Seven months.

(Chris): It’s still going through transitions right now. We’re going to be working.

It started with the idea of making just a two piece, then slowly but surely like we were telling you, we’re trying to stray away more from the backing, try not to use the electronics as a crutch. We’re trying to use it and utilize it like a paint brush now, using it to spice up certain parts. Then the structure will be live instrument like our bass, our drums, our keys and vocals. I think that’s what we’re going to work with next.

(Pastorale): Do you guys have a set goal in mind of what you guys want to do with the music? Are you guys just riding the wave and letting that wave take you wherever?

(Chris): I think it’s a little bit of both. I think right now we want to do! We’re trying to work at writing more songs as opposed to being a single song writer and bringing projects to the crew. I want everybody to have equal say in what goes on, and when and how it’s performed.

On top of that that, also open that door like free form and just improvisation, so it’s also going to be riding the wave of whatever happens, whatever sounds we’re going to be delving or diving into. That’s just going to be all part of the same process.

post rock band or an electronic band. It’s just every influence that we’ve all been feeling what we want to hear, that’s what we’re trying to get.

(Pastorale): That’s awesome. Do you guys have any plans for recording besides your video that’s coming out soon?

(Chris): Well, we do have a remix album for the last single “Lower Moon.”

Hopefully we’re going to be releasing it. We were thinking about maybe after The Continental Room residency. We were going to release it before, but we have a lot of things going on, including writing new music for the residency. So we were thinking about maybe pushing it back just a little bit, and then hopefully releasing maybe a five song EP or maybe just a couple of songs maybe December or November.

(Pastorale): Going back to your records and things of that nature, are you guys talking a whole digital release or are you guys trying to do something that’s going to be tangible?

(Chris): Actually you know what, we do have tangible hard copies of our last records, of their places, they’re all handmade. So that’s what we’re doing with that right now. We also have them digitally online too. I think digitally it’s a little easier to distribute because people can find it and you can link them to something they can download if they want.

Eventually it would be nice to get vinyl but we have to be releasing a record that we’re like, “Okay, the last record was kind more of like a backing catalog”. What we needed to get out and get it done just to show this is what our live sound is like.

The next record that we’re going to be writing is going to be more experimenting and trying to work on a record like an album. Not necessarily doing a back catalog, but more writing as artists - like this is the album. Hopefully with that one we’ll get some press maybe, even get talk to record labels about that one.

(Pastorale): So it sounds like you guys are at this, it wouldn’t be a fork in the road because there are so many avenues you can take and it’s just an exciting time for you guys and I think…….

(Chris): It’s like a pencil on a paper in the middle of the paper and it can go anywhere you want.

(Pastorale): For people being creative I think that’s a really good place to be! So we’ll keep in touch and we’ll find out where you guys are going.

(Patrick): Where we’ll end up.

(Pastorale): Yes, and who knows, next time we talk to you, you guys could be a Swedish death metal band. I mean you guys are such an open book. You never know.

(Chris): You never know. Maybe I’ll just crack Patrick’s head open and start eating his brains like a black metal band or something.

(Patrick): Oh my God.

(Pastorale): Well, that officially was the best way to end the interview haha. Where can people go and check you guys out? What’s the best avenue?

(Chris): The Interwebz.

(Patrick): Yeah, Instagram, follow us on Instagram. I mean you can find us on Soundcloud for sure. Google our name. If you type Lets Drive to Alaska in Google you’re going to find us.

MAKE SURE AND CHECK OUT LDTA’S LATEST RELEASES AT: WWW.SOUNDCLOUD.COM/LETSDRIVETOALASKA

Primarily the main goal is to be more song writers in that aspect. With aspects of jazz and hip hop, electronic music and even post rock still. But we’re trying to stray, we’re trying to do something that’s encompassing all of it now. It’s not just a 22 | PASTORALE | AUGUST 2014

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AUGUST 2014 | PASTORALE | 23

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WETTER IS BETTER M E N N E E D T O TA K E C A R E O F T H E I R S K I N T O O !

August summertime heat is in full swing, and that means extra outdoor adventures, and with that comes extra sun exposure. As you already know without a good sunscreen your skin can easily burn, and you (should) know to cure a bad burn you must hydrate the skin! Aloe Vera and or a lot of lotion will help turn that burn into a tan, and hopefully not a painful, dry, flakey peel. Not only does your skin need hydration when it’s sun burned, but it craves hydration everyday! Seriously guys, your skin is thirsty and taking care of your skin by knowing what products to look out for is important. Don’t just rely on the water you splash on your face and shave with to clean any daily debris away, or just applying a random body sunscreen to your face. Your skin needs and deserves more than that.

I was curious to see, what kind of skincare products my best guy friends were currently using in their daily grooming routines. When I got a peek into three of my friend’s medicine cabinets, I was pleasantly surprised! It’s really refreshing to personally know guys, who take a few extra minutes in the morning to take care of their skin. Here are just a few of our recommended grooming products to try this summer.

YES TO CUCUMBERS DAILY CLEANSER

A light and refreshing daily wash, made with organic cucumbers, aloe vera and green tea to help sooth and brighten skin. This mild wash is great for men. It gently removes daily environmental debris and built-up oil without stripping the skin of the necessary moisture. $9.99 www.yestocarrots.com

CERAVE FACIAL MOISTURIZING LOTION WITH SPF 30

This lightweight facial lotion gives your skin a full day of hydration with an added bonus of SPF. Contains Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide, which may help with any mild redness from excessive sun exposure or mild rosacea. $10.99 Target

MARIO BADESCU OIL FREE MOISTURIZER SPF 30

This lightweight daily moisturizer is currently in my grooming kit, perfect for keeping men hydrated without shine. A great product for both men and women. Unisex, I love it!

Might be a bit on the pricey side, but a little goes a long way, only a pea size amount is needed. $26 www.mariobadescu.com

DEVITA SOLAR PROTECTIVE MOISTURIZER SPF 30

100% vegan, and paraben free. This moisturizing sun protection is another one of my favorites, great for both men and women. Apply throughout the day with more sun exposure. $15.99 www.vitacost.com

BAXTER OF CALIFORNIA UNDER EYE COMPLEX

Here is a good investment for your grooming routine. A couple of my guy friends have told me about Baxter of California, not only that, but this under eye complex won Men’s Health Grooming Award for Best Eye Cream! This eye complex helps minimizes puffiness, smoothes and tones the delicate skin around the eyes. $22 www.baxterofcalifornia.com

BOTANICS FACIAL OIL

For dry skin, or men who don’t have time for both a lotion and eye treatment. Facial oil covers both those duties! Very beneficial to slowing down the aging process, active plant extracts soften and smooth dry skin. Drop a dime size amount in palm of hand, quickly rub hands together then gently pat hands over face to dab on oil. Use morning and night for dehydrated skin. Some skin types might look too oily for daytime use even though your skin needs the moisture, try only applying at night. $8.99 Target

AESOP CONTROL

Zap those occasional breakouts! Another great recommendation, Aesop’s Control is effective without stripping or dehydrating the skin, and this transparent gel can be used under or on top a moisturiser for daytime use, without a white residue! $23 www.aesop.com

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PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY AND STORY BY: VERONICA CHANEL MODEL: BRYAN CASSERLY PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULIFORNIA WWW.PASTORALEMAGAZINE.COM

STORY AND PRODUCT PHOTOS

BY CARA UNDERWOOD MODEL IS NATALIE MILLER PHOTOS OF NATALIE BY PAULIFORNIA

BAN.DO HAIR TIES

TIGI BEDHEAD HAIRSTICK

Ban.do hair ties are a fantastic way to hold your hair up without damaging or leaving a line. Sounds to good to be true, right? The soft elastic allows for ultimate support without any snagging, pulling or damage to your locks. And they double as a pretty addition to your arm party, available in practically every color of the rainbow. www.shopbando.com

Gone are the days of those pesky hairs at the nape of your neck and on your hairline flying away without your permission, turning your effortlessly polished look into a bit of a fuzzy mess. The TIGI Bedhead Hairstick is the best product around boasting easy application, product longevity and a semi-matte finish. Not only does it tame those flyaways, but you can also apply a small amount in your hands to give your ends great texture and definition. A little goes a long way, so it will last through Labor Day. www.bedhead.com

28 | PASTORALE | AUGUST 2014

KEVIN MURPHY NIGHT RIDER CREME Kevin Murphy is a frizz fighting super hero, and he has a few tricks up his sleeve. Our favorite? Night.Rider Anti-Frizz Creme. Apply before a blowdry for some polishing heat protection, or apply to dry hair for some frizz taming that will knock your socks off. Especially helpful to use right before you pile your hair into a big messy bun, Night.Rider will help a girl out all day long. kevinmurphy.com.au

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A N D

W R I T I N G

Very few people know what they’re going to do from a young age and actually make it happen. Anastasia Ashley is one of those people, but we’ll get into that a little later. We first fell in love with Anastasia based on her athleticism and beauty. So naturally we started following her on Instagram, which is filled with photos of her traveling the world, and glimpses behind the scenes of some of her photo-shoots. She really is living the dream. As the photos on her Instagram kept coming, we noticed that there was something super special about her that made her seem more down to earth and grounded. She’s living her life like she wants to. Balancing her surfing, modeling, personal life and fitness - she just seems to have it together. So when this magazine started up we knew Anastasia was someone we wanted to reach out to and get to know. We contacted Anastasia’s manager and asked if Anastasia would like to be our 2nd issue’s cover model. After some back and forth with her we found a date that worked for all of us.

Naturally, in preparation for the shoot and interview, we started doing a little more research. Of course, when googling “Anastasia Ashley” there’s the infamous twerking pre-competition warm up video that has made its rounds across the Internet, (which we do talk about below) making Anastasia (and her booty) famous. Once you get past all that, there are some amazing accomplishments Anastasia has made. Besides being a total babe, she’s a professional athlete. Anastasia got her roots surfing in Hawaii starting at age 6 with an abandoned surfboard left in her neighborhood. She began competing shortly after that. She had trouble surfing in competitions with girls her own age, so she also ended up competing against males (and beating them). It was at an early age she knew what she wanted to be. Now based out of San Clemente, CA, a self- proclaimed “gypsy”, Anastasia Ashley travels the world surfing some of the most sought after waves in some of the most exotic places.

In the studio while shooting we got acquainted talking about how awesome San Clemente is. We also started talking about music and what we’re all listening to. During lunch Anastasia shared with the whole gang some music on her laptop. We all really had a blast laughing and talking. While shooting look after

B Y

P A U L I F O R N I A

look the conversations kept flowing. So much in fact we realized that we were losing daylight! Our initial plan for Anastasia’s shoot was to do all the swimwear in studio and the other outfits at the beach. There was a whole second half left of the shoot! I guess we’ll have to invite her back another time huh?

Below is a little conversation we had with Anastasia and what she’s up to.

This is only a glimpse of what a truly awesome person Anastasia ended up being:

(Pastorale) So you’ve been super busy traveling pretty much around the world. In the studio we briefly talked about some of your new endeavors. Tell us about your jewelry line and anything else really cool you’d like us to keep an eye out for!

(Anastasia) I love fashion and design. I am launching my own signature jewelry capsule collection with OK 1984 which I’m super excited about. I just love creating stunning visuals, and seeing things come to life, and I have also recently gotten into taking some photos myself. Even on shoots borrowing people’s cameras. I am also planning some exciting big wave surfing stuff coming up later this summer!

(Pastorale) That’s awesome that you’re shooting photography. You definitely have an eye for it. Is that something you want to pursue in addition to your surfing?

(Anastasia) I love being creative and I love all sorts of art. I’m definitely buying some type of professional camera soon. I travel and meet so many fun people for my job now that it feels only necessary to document it.

(Pastorale) You also mentioned some big wave surf later this summer.

Where are you going?

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 44)

AUGUST 2014 | PASTORALE | 35

Bottoms - Lira Rash Gaurd - Albion Rings - Anastasia Ashley (brand) Cuffs - Paradigm Design

Sunglasses - Yellow 108 Jumper - Kenley Collins Ring - Paradise Metal Art Bracelet - Anastsia Ashley (brand) Cuff and Bangles - Paradigm Design

Suit - Kenley Collins Sunglasses - Kenley Collins Rings and Bracelets - Vitaly Designs Bangles - Paradigm Design

Suit - For Love of Lemons Shoes - Chinese Laundry Necklace and Rings - Paradigm Design

Sunglasses - Yellow 108 Suit - Lira Bangles - Paradigm Design

Body Suit and Lace Cape - For Love of Lemons Headband - Shop Krown Cuff - Paradigm Design

Suit - Kaohs Bangles - Paradigm Design

Suit - Kaohs Bangles - Paradigm Design

(Anastasia) I’ve been spending some time in Mexico, and got some waves in Pascuales. I hope to go back later this summer again and get some big ones!

(Pastorale) If you had to guess, what’s the largest wave you’ve ever ridden? Tell us about that experience.

(Anastasia) I would say it was probably my wave from my session on New Year’s Eve in 2013 which was about a 30-35 foot face. It was intense. I’ve surfed and been out on a lot of “BIG days” but never got any super critical waves or drops.

I went out and was super tense and nervous as it wasn’t super crowded because it was New Year’s Eve. I managed to get a nice wave that got me nominated for the Billabong XXL Awards that year and was a big accomplishment for me being able to push myself in that size of wave!

(Pastorale) Where is your favorite wave?

(Anastasia) My favorite waves overall are in Bali, or Hawaii. I love Keramas in Bali because it really fits my surf style, as well as the North Shore that has the best waves in the smallest stretch of zone. In Hawaii you can really push your limits as well.

(Pastorale) Being from the tight knit little surf town of San Clemente, is there another spot in the world that also just feels like home?

(Anastasia) I would say Hawaii on the North Shore. However, SC is such a cute little surf town and I love how friendly everyone is out in the lineup there. I definitely love to come home after traveling because it’s relaxing to have that small town mellow vibe.

(Pastorale) So you’re partially known (and adored) for your pre-competition warm up which rivals Michelle Jenneke (Australian hurdler).

Who do you think has the better warm up and why?

(Anastasia) Haha. Thanks. Yes it’s pretty crazy how many people ask me about it. I’ve always been super into music and it’s part of my vibe at every event.

I think Michelle is super hot so I know that there has been some comparisons for sure. I personally need music to get in the zone. I don’t know how she does it without music.

(Pastorale) Are you tired of people bringing that up? Or is it kinda fun?

(Anastasia) Well yes. More importantly though, I’ve heard “Bubble Butt” a billion times. I’ve had people turn it on when I’ve been out before. I’m sick of the song truly even though I love Diplo and Major Lazer. I was actually talking to Emily Ratajkowski (“Blurred Lines” girl) and we were saying we are sick of hearing the same damn songs over and over again.

(Pastorale) Ya, we can totally see how that would get annoying. After meeting and talking with you we can tell you’re a true lover of music and it doesn’t matter who’s looking you’re going to enjoy the music in your own way. It just validates the vibe we got from you that you’re super fashionable and music is a major part of your life, making you a perfect fit for the cover.

(A n a s t a s i a) Yeah totally, I am always listening to music and it’s kind of my release. Especially when I’m having a bad day or feeling emotional, I definitely crank the tunes hard and just figure life out sometimes! HA!

(Pastorale) On your blog you have “Music Mondays” which has been awesome to follow cause you’ve got awesome taste in music. Are there any groups or albums that are just too good not to talk about? (and have you seen them live?)

Thank you! I love music, it’s probably one of my other main passions in life besides surfing and fitness. I am in love with all different types of music. It’s really a hard choice asking which is my favorite because I feel like music is so tone based and it sets the mood. One day I could be into listening to Fleetwood Mac or The Four Tops, all the way to Kanye, Tupac and Avicii. It’s really all over the place!

Music helps me focus and get into things… if I’m working on my computer writing emails, working out, or surfing!

(Pastorale) What would your dream concert line-up be (living or dead)?

(Anastasia) Bob Marley. Fleetwoood Mac. Marilyn Monroe and/ or Jay-Z. Kanye and Tupac.

(Pastorale) So regarding fashion… who are your style icons?

(Anastasia) Kate Moss. Anja Rubik. I love tomboy, mixed with high fashion, meets gypsy!

(Pastorale) What could you not live without in your closet?

(Anastasia) Definitely my Airwalk kicks classic sneakers. It’s my every day goto. Those and just classic white and black tank t’s. Solid basic shirts are definitely a must have for me.

(Pastorale) So besides being an athlete, occasional model and taking some of the best selfies ever, what else do you like to do? Are there any hobbies or hidden talents that not everyone knows about that you’re proud of? (or not so proud of haha!)

(Anastasia) I love music as everyone knows. I love going and looking on social media like Instagram and Twitter and looking at funny people’s content, and being an internet dork. I’m really silly and boring for the most part!

We’d like to thank Anastasia for hanging out with us. She is the perfect first celebrity cover for us because she encompasses everything we’re all about.

Make sure to check out Anastasia’s website for updates on her jewelry line and other new endeavors. Do yourself a favor and check out her Instagram so you can see all the fun she’s having surfing, hanging out and traveling the world!

“Positive Vibes Only” must be the mantra she lives by cause she just glows with it. www.anastasiaashley.com Instagram @anastasiaashley

Bangles - Paradigm Design Jumpsuit - Lulu’s Hat - Lack of Color

DESERT ROSE PHOTOGRAPHER: SYLVIA GUNDE • STYLIST: JAMIE LUONG • MAKEUP/HAIR: JULI TANG •MODEL: AMANDA DARLING

Gown - Sue Wong Headpiece - Sacia O Couture

Gown - Sue Wong

Top - Greylin Pants - Hazel Shoes - Steve Madden

Gown - Sue Wong

Luxury Femininity for Iconic Women !

Los Angeles, CA www.briseeley.com

Photographer Prentice Danner Model Sam Eames

Photographer Chris Velasco Model Cody Hayduk

White button down - Brooks Brothers Bow tie - Ted Baker Glasses - Warby Parker

Jacket - Vintage Jeans - Commune T-shirt - Hanes

Jacket - Vintage Jeans - Commune T-shirt - Hanes

White button down - Brooks Brothers Bow tie - Ted Baker Glasses - Warby Parker

Tank -James Perse Cigarette Pant - H & M

Tank -James Perse Cigarette Pant - H & M

Boot - Isabel Marant Sweater - Free People Skirt - American Apparel

Boot - Isabel Marant Tank Dress - Vince

Boot - Isabel Marant Sweater - Free People Skirt - American Apparel

LEO (July 23 – August 22)

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18)

This is the ideal month for you to start the “getting into shape plan” that has been on the backburner for the last three years. This inspiration was likely ignited by all those thick meat thighs running around during last month’s World Cup (we certainly can’t blame you). Luckily, if you choose to take on this challenge, your hard work will totally pay off. Dissimilar to the no-hanky-for-you July horoscope, your newfound buffness will guarantee your desired genders’ attention. Game on.

What better time to go after your seemingly frivolous dreams than the summer? Unless you harbor a fantasy of becoming a glass-blower or a person who tosses coal into steam engines in trains (uh, do they do that still?). Because if either of those are your dreams, this weather is a goddamn scorcher for those aspirations. And, those dreams suck. Assuming those reveries are out, Aquarius babes will have the greatest luck in pursuing their goals in August.

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22)

Time for a lecture on selfies for the Pisces. Your vanity is getting the best of you, per usual. Although 5% of the comments you receive are reflective of, “OMG you’re so pretty!” (And let’s be honest, they’re probably using the incorrect “your”), the majority of us are rolling our eyes at your hollow shell.

Approved selfies are limited to: 1) if you’re attempting to convey humor 2) you’re modeling badass hair accessories or 3) you are making a serious attempt at an artistic self-portrait (success is tricky and rare here). Otherwise, we’re not buying your, “I’m sleeping selfie” and you do not look as great as you think.

Thanks.

You are feeling particularly politically motivated this month – as you should. The world is f*&%ed. Our advice? Simple: take that revolutionary madness and do something active within your community. Sign a petition you believe in. Volunteer somewhere. Read an ethically charged autobiography and then preach about it at a party, simultaneously becoming the ultimate tool bag that everyone hates but secretly is thinking, “Wow, that mo-fo is smart.” Or, just blow someone and then blackmail them. Keep our traditions alive. M’erica!

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22)

Important news is coming your way Libras! And by “important” we mean the positive/blissful type as opposed to the, “did you hear your ex has herpes?” sort of news. So unwind, stretch out, and relish life this month while you await the joyous, surprise information. Perhaps consider implementing a “pay it forward” situation and do something positive… for instance, if you have any friends who might be under the Cancer sign, read their horoscope and reinforce the hashtag rules. Civilization thanks you.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21)

August is about balance for you Scorps. Instead of reading a Sylvia Plath novel over three bottles of wine, take her glorious literary words to the beach/ lake/park/anywhere-outside and soak up that vitamin D. Also, this would be a great time to partake in a budgeted shopping adventure and beef your closet up. Nothing makes a dude or dudette happier than new rags. If you start to feel depress-yo’self at any point, per Scorpio’s nature, be happy you aren’t a Gemini. August is going to be a doozy for those tramps.

SAGITARIUS (November 22 –December 21)

This is a good month for you Archers. The fire element that Sagittarius’s emit will keep energies high, emotions upbeat, and will secure an overall randy mood in the ‘ol bedroom. The creative ideas that you will give birth to will be winners; the epiphanies you stumble upon will be vital to your future. And to top it off, you are going to… EAT A LOT OF CAKE. Random? Nope. It’s wedding season bitches = cake time.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19)

Your efforts this month will be focused on relieving a close friends’ heart due to some bummer rejection they recently experienced. And while that’s nice and all, it’s not particularly amusing. So we’re not going to get into that. Instead, we present a prediction brought to you by the late and beloved George Carlin: “Weather forecast for tonight: dark.” Additional advice: stalk up on fortune cookies since your horoscope in this issue is clearly lacking.

PISCES (February 19 – March 20)

ARIES (March 21 – April 19)

Your current “bang-mate” may begin to insist that you move forward in your relationship – YAWN. However, if they have put up with your shenanigans thus far, you might as well put a ring on it (ladies included). Or at the very least bequeath an improved social status. “Mom, Dad: I’d like you to meet my bangmate...” See? Not working. If you are not in a relationship or consider yourself an A-sexual individual or lifelong bachelorette/bachelor, this horoscope is utterly worthless to you. Moving on.

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20)

August is all about mystery and intrigue for the bulls, which translates to: you are going to get the opportunity to be a lying asshole. And you know what?

Even if you do go down that path, it is somehow going to work out for you. Bafflingly, this scheming enigmatic persona that you encompass will draw people towards you, much like a plethora of swarming flies mesmerized by a pile of fresh donkey shit. Word of cautionary advice though: never lie to your mother.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Looking at your finances this month is as painful as watching international news these days. Get it together please. It is time for some internal reflection and shit-or-get-off-the-pot movement; and not THAT kind of movement.

Take a meditation class. Stop eating those Taco Bell waffle tacos and pretending it is funny or sardonic rather than down right wretched. If you would prefer to hear happy news: well then, read the Scorpio horoscope – it isn’t happening for you this month. #sorrynotsorry

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Speaking of hashtags – Cancers: cool it. Hashtagging purposes: 1) used in order to ensure that your photo/post is placed within a category to be accessed through a search function. An explanation for you dummies; if someone searches a common saying, word or subject, let’s say, “#cute,” they will have many cute things to peruse. 2) The ironic hashtag is utilized to convey humor, unrelated to the other purpose as described above (e.g. #weirdalyankovicmakesmehorny). Bottom line – stop using stupid hashtags with no point or humor (e.g. #lookatthisamazingcheesecake #shutthehellupwehateyou).

By Antoinette Mathews

Our instruction guide to your life for the month of august.

Don’t F*ck it Up.

68 | PASTORALE | AUGUST 2014

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IN THE NEXT ISSUE...

COVER

NIGHTMARE AND THE CAT ROCKSTAR ASTERISK

MUSIC ARTICLE NEEDING A DAY JOB AND STILL BEING A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN

AND MORE.

70 | PASTORALE | AUGUST 2014

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