positivexposure Mar 05 2010 • Issue 5
art • music • creativity
Andrew McMahon:
The Dear Jack Foundation
contents MANAGEMENT Sunny Landon General Manager
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Photographer Ashlie Chavez
Photographer Anna Szczekutowicz
Part-time artist, full time human Colin Frangicetto
Photographer Simon Filip
Artist Cory Sever
Photographer Francesca Roberts
Photographer Elizabeth Sarah
Photographer Rona Keller
Dewinter
The Lighthouse and the Whaler
The Rise of Science
Fight From Above
Sarah Nitt Copy Editor PRODUCTION Emma Hope Creative Director MARKETING Tyler Vick Marketing Asst. ASSISTANT EDITORS Ashton Dixon Copy Editor Annabel Smith Art Editor Clara Dee Features Editor SITE Alyce-Keli Reviews Jillian Minor Blogs & Editing Nicole Wisler Blogging
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E-mail us for anything editorial@positivexposure.com Advertising enquiries ads@positivexposure.com Join our mailing list http://tinyurl.com/positivemailinglist Official site www.positivexposure.com
Photographer Yuli Sato
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POSITIVEXPOSURE positivexposure is a digital magazine that features music, art, activism, and creativity- exposing what we like, not criticizing things we don’t. We believe that creativity is a community, not an industry. We look forward to continue building this from the ground up with you, not in spite of you.
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Rachael Cantu
PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE: Ashlie Chavez, Anna Szczekutowicz, Francesca Roberts, Cory Sever, Simon Filip, Elizabeth Sarah, Rona Keller, Yuli Sato: respective artists, Colin Frangicetto: Brooks Reynolds, The Rise of Science: Austin Hewitt, Fight From Above: Chris Cuttriss, Rachael Cantu: Rebecca Sirmons
contents expose yourself!
up & coming
grass roots
N.A.M.B.
Laura Stevenson and the Cans
Andrew McMahon on The Dear Jack Foundation
Disco Curtis
featuring:
cover story recommended by
Post Harbor
Tegan & Sara
Lisa Papineau
Miniature Tigers
PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE: Laura Stevenson and the Cans: Orlando Perez , Tegan and Sara: Pamela Littky
FROM THE STAFF Hello and welcome to the newest issue of positivexposure. March is supposed to mark the start of spring, right? Well, in ordinance with the new season, we’ve done some spring cleaning and made lots of changes since our last issue. • To tide you over between issues, we will have the usual CD and live show reviews, but we have added a photo section - any concert photos will be uploaded to our Flickr and will be accessible through the site, too. • We have also launched the positivexposure Flickr group - a place where our readers can post their own photos and connect with us artistically. We hope that this group will be a great way for us to expand and find new artists and creative types to interview in the future. • We have had a redesign of the magazine’s layout, making it cleaner, brighter, and better looking. • We are also pleased to welcome several new staff members, including our assistant editors, Clara, Annabel, and Ashton, as well as bloggers Jill and Nicole, who we are sure will help us continue to improve positivexposure. • You can now download the issue and read it at your own convenience, even when not online! Have fun on spring break, we’ll see you in May! March 2010
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Meet LA-based photographer Ashlie Chavez, who has completely renounced the digital world. We think you should know her because she shoots exclusively in film. The combination of the collaborations she does with her twin sister, Amber, and her hand-me-down vintage equipment from her mother prove to be simply brilliant. Does being a twin affect your photography? Very much so. Over the years, my twin sister has been one of the strongest forces behind any motivation. I really cherish being able to collaborate with someone that has the same DNA as me. How long have you been a photographer? I was always around it, starting from childhood because of my mother. I started getting comfortable in the dark room during high school, but I really only started considering myself to be an actual photographer probably around my second year of college when people started showing interest in what I printed. How did you get into photography? A lot of what I do stems from my mother. She opened up a photography business when she was my age and worked out of her home. Pretty much all of her equipment, she gave to me and my sister, so it kind of feels like photography picked me, even though that sounds dumb. Where do you draw your inspiration from? I'm most moved by the notion of sincerity. I'm currently devoting an entire portrait series trying to capture this virtue. It seems like during the whole romanticism movement western society started thinking of sincerity as some kind of artistic ideal or social sublimity as if honesty was supposed to be some kind of movement. Well, with the way the world has degenerated, I think sincerity is just a necessary facet of someone's personality. I find it strange that there was once a time when certain cultures considered sincerity to be part of an intellectual enlightenment, when in fact, God created us to be sincere creatures from the very beginning. In my mind, this makes sincerity an ironic truth. What message do you want to send through your art? An honest one. Do you have a favorite photographer? I'm not positive who my favorite is yet. I still have a lot to see. I really admire Diane Arbus though for kind of paving the way to controversial portraiture. It seems that people are either fascinated or appalled with the "supposed exploitation" of her subjects, but to me her work seems so neutral. It's refreshing. She didn't take photos of people that were beautiful and happy or ugly and miserable, she just took photos of people as they were. I also admire the fact that even though she came from a wealthy background herself, she took it upon herself to redefine normalcy. She photographed what most people considered to be outcasts. But her portraits strip
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expose yourself! each subject of that stereotype and replace it with mere individuality. More recently, I've been obsessed with Franck Juery's work, who I believe works out of Paris. It's been hard to find information on him in English. I also like William Eggleston, who did amazing dye-transfer work in the 70s and 80s. He's pretty well-known. And I'm really interested in John Divola's untitled diptych series he did in the 80s as well. Overall, I tend to admire modest photographers that pay more attention to analog aesthetics and personal conveyances than to shocking content or commercialism. In more general words, I dislike digital anything. And I have stopped caring that that makes me narrow-minded or out of date. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? Cows. For sure. What gear do you use? Haha, gear. That's funny. I just use whatever I can get. I've been shooting with the same 35mm Minolta x-700 for quite a while. When I don't mind lugging around my 645 Pentax, I'll use that. But I'll pretty much shoot with anything. Most of my cameras are old or hand me downs. Do you have a favorite camera to use? Just anything that can suck up film. I'm not picky, but a working light meter is always great! If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? Any place where I could live with wild animals. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? Yes. Unless you have a problem with stealing parts of people’s souls. What’s your favorite thing about photography? It makes everything worth the trouble. That sounds like a vague statement, but it's not. Every experience is happier when it's looked back on through a photograph. I went to Mexico this one spring in an attempt to escape some pretty bad depression. The entire trip I was so teary-eyed and lonely but all the photos taken of me look happy and sunny. So for me, I guess photography enhances our happenings through a better remembrance. What’s your least favorite thing about photography? Probably the fact that it's becoming more and more computer-based. What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? My most cherished image I've ever taken in my entire life was last October. It's a candid moment in a small pumpkin patch. A boy named Matthew is sitting on top of a very large pumpkin like it was a horse. Every time I look at the photograph I get so happy just because he looks so happy. Maybe he was even sad in the photograph, or maybe I was sad when I took it but it still emulates a happiness I will never forget. Do you think photography will always be in your life? Yes. Is there an element you think every photo needs? Natural light.
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All photos by Ashlie Chavez
www.flic.kr/anarae
March 2010
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meet anna szczekutowicz, a young photographer from toms river, new jersey. we think you should know her because she provokes strong emotions through her photos, making us wonder just how she does it. How long have you been a photographer? Wow, it's almost strange for me to be called a photographer because I am simply a kid who takes photos as a hobby. I started taking photos around the age of fourteen, but in the past year it has become a passion for me. I really only count the past year because in that time photography has changed my life forever. It has opened my eyes to the world. It has slowed me down and made me smell the roses. It made me take a deep breath. It taught me to close my eyes and imagine. How did you get into photography? As nerdy as it sounds, Neopets. I used to be addicted to that site! When I was roughly twelve years old, I got into graphic design from all the designs I saw all over Neopets. For a while, graphic design took my interest. I always played around with some fashion designing and collage-making, but I believe I started to pick up a camera when my mind would start to envision photographs for collages and graphic design. I would borrow my mother's point and shoot camera and it just escalated from there. Where do you draw your inspiration from? I draw inspiration from a lot of dreams that I have... the little that I can remember! I also listen to a lot of music and that always juices inspiration. I also love to go to arts and crafts stores and buy supplies that are on sale and I think to myself, "what can I do with this? What can I portray?" In some cases, I also draw my inspiration from my thoughts, my emotions, and my experiences. I want to share my journey with the world in a photograph and those four factors all contribute to my inspiration. What message do you want to send through your art? I would like for people to feel something from my photos. By something, I really mean anything. I do not want people to look at my photos and feel nothing. Whether they feel sad, happy, angry, inspired, hatred, etc., I want to pull emotion out of people. Do you have a favorite photographer? Yes, Lara Jade. She was sixteen when I discovered her work and I was fourteen at the time. Her work took my breath away and it made me want to pick up a camera. Without her, my work would not exist. She made me want to show my point of view in a photograph. She will forever be my favorite photographer. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? Most definitely people. It may seem that my work is overloaded with self portraits, but self portraits can be very frustrating at times. I love shooting with models, or friends who pretend they can model, and creating a situation and being able to capture the beauty of humans in a photo. Do you have a favorite camera to use? Quite honestly, I have not been privileged enough to use many different types of cameras other than the ones that I own. I used to use a Canon Rebel XTi and now I have a Canon 50D, so naturally I pick the Canon 50D. I have actually been looking into medium format cameras such as the Mamiya medium format cameras. So, in the future, I hope that a Mamiya will be my favorite to use. If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? This thought always provokes me. I simply cannot decide. I love traveling, I love seeing the world. I want to photograph everywhere, if that is possible. I want to show people that every inch of the world is beautiful. I want to open people's eyes to realize that wherever they live, it is beautiful. I simply cannot decide one just one place, that is too hard. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? Anyone can pick up a camera, point, click, and produce a photograph, but it takes a real artist to make magic.
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expose yourself! What’s your favorite thing about photography? My favorite thing about photography would have to be the outlet of expression it has become for me. A picture is worth a thousand words, and in some cases, a thousand tears, a thousand smiles, a thousand moments. You can say so much without having to speak with words. Speaking through photographs is, without a doubt, my favorite aspect of photography. What’s your least favorite thing about photography? How much it eats me alive. I get so frustrated when photos do not come out as planned and it stresses me out until I feel like it has come out like my vision. What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? Well my favorite photo I've ever taken is with my brother and grandfather, but another personal favorite would be...It was the second to last day in Poland while on vacation there in the summer, and my personal life had been crashing. So much was going wrong at once that I just took my aunt's bike and rode further than I ever had before to find an area to shoot photos. I was not feeling any inspiration at all to take photos because I was so upset, yet once my camera was turned on and set up, something took over me. All my emotions took over and I just took photos of how I felt, 100%. When I was reviewing the photos after I took a handful, when my eyes saw that photo, I almost cried. Everything I had felt at that moment was in that photo. Do you think photography will always be a part of your life? Yes. As I have said in a previous answer, photography really opened my eyes to the beauty of the world. What made you decide to do a 365 project? I think it was because I realized I would only pick up my camera once or twice a month. Photography was something I enjoyed, but I rarely would set time aside for photos. I happened to take a self portrait on January 1, 2009, and then a photo the next day. For some reason, I thought, “why not take 363 more photos for the rest of the year?” It was a challenge, since I had school, homework, and my job that I worked five days a week. Even though I knew I would be busy for the year, I wanted to push myself to set time away doing something I loved. I didn't want to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the world and lose a love of mine. Even though I started a 365 just to do more of what I loved, I never anticipated how much my 365 would change how I viewed the world and how much it would open my eyes. That, I could have never predicted. What were the challenges and rewards? With my 365, there were many challenges. It was very hard to keep myself motivated to take a photo every day. There were days where I just did not want to pick up a camera. There were times where I had tons of time for a photo, and no inspiration. Yet, my 365 pushed me to take a photo no matter what. As much as I hated the “bad days,” I was reminded that there is always tomorrow. I have had one great reward... finishing my 365! It was a huge weight off my shoulders and I almost cried when I took my last photo. It was such an uplifting amazing feeling that I will never forget. It was as if every challenge I faced within my 365 had been erased and that was the best feeling.
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All photos by Anna Szczekutowicz
www.flic.kr/annaszczek
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Meet COLIN FRANGICETTO, an artist from Philadelphia and one fifth of rock band Circa Survive. We think you should know him because he manages to intertwine art and music to create something truly beautiful. How long have you been painting? I’ve always messed around with art but I didn’t start trying to paint stuff until about three years ago when we were on Warped Tour. It really helped me work through unprocessed emotions and ideas. Great stress reliever, too. Have you taken any art classes? I went to an after school art class once a week when I was in elementary school. Then I took foundation courses when I majored in graphic design for a year in college. I couldn’t take it, the professors were so brutal and rigid that I lost all interest and changed my major to film. Do your music and art ever intertwine? Constantly. I can’t paint without music and I always get visual ideas when playing music. Quite often, I will do commissions for people where they tell me their favorite song and I try to capture it in a painting. Is it the same creative process? Very different processes. I find that visual art is a much more forgiving medium. I feel much less restrained to style, vibe, theme, etc., with painting. I suppose it depends on how well known you are. Circa is much more known then I am as a visual artist, so I suppose I feel much less pressure to deliver an expected result. I’m sure Basquiat or Dali felt pressure to stay in their style. Maybe not though. Who knows! Does your art ever change depending on your recording status? Not particularly. It just changes based on what’s going on with me personally/internally. How does your location affect your painting? If I’m not at home with my normal set up and paints, my music, my cats, my girlfriend, etc., I’m not as comfortable and I think at times my work suffers from that, and at other times it grows because I’m forced to adapt. Why haven’t you drawn for a Circa Survive album? I don’t know that I’d want that job! Haha. We’re a tough bunch to please. No, but honestly I wouldn’t want to do it unless all of the guys were like you should do it!” Otherwise, I would feel like I didn’t deserve to be doing it. Have you designed any merchandise? Are there any future plans for that? I have designed a few t-shirts now and am working on some things for my web store. It’s fun to do and I get a kick from seeing people wear something I drew. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Anything and everything. Lately, it’s been all about normal life and love. I feel most inspired when I am around the people I love and who love me. Negativity kills my creativity like RAID on insects. What message do you want to send through your art? All different ones. I just try to grab an emotion or feeling and whisper it down the lane. Do you have a favorite subject to paint? I’ve been stuck on people and geometric shapes lately. I want to branch out to animals and flowers soon, haha. What’s your favorite thing about painting? The way it makes me feel when I complete something. Cleansed. Heard. Vindicated. I don’t know how to truly explain it. It’s one of the closest things I’ve experienced to true freedom in my life.
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What’s your least favorite thing about painting? Running out of a color you need kind of sucks. It’s like breaking a string and not having a replacement. Off to the store! What’s your favorite painting you’ve created? I don’t have a favorite. It’s always the one I’m currently working on. They all have stories but for now, they remain untold.
www.theunconsciouscollective.bigcartel.com
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Paintings by Colin Frangicetto
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meet simon filip, an eighteenyear-old photographer from sacramento, California. We think you should know him because of his dreamy and stunning portraits. How long have you been a photographer? I'd say I started in September of 2009, which is when I started to get serious about photography. How did you get into photography? I first got into photography when my uncle gave me a very old DSLR in January 2009, which I used to do a lot of macro photography. I then bought a new camera in the summer and started to take photos of different subjects, mainly people. Where do you draw your inspiration from? I often draw inspiration from everything I see around me. I get just about all my ideas so far when I'm listening to music in bed, which is good and bad. I get a lot of ideas but I don't get much sleep, haha. What message do you want to send through your art? I'd rather my photos tell a story than send a message, but I like to keep my photos open for interpretation. Do you have a favorite photographer? There are a lot of photographers on Flickr that I like, but Tim Walker will always be my absolute favorite. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? My favorite subject to shoot is people. I love the emotion they can bring to a photo. What gear do you use? I use a Canon Rebel T1i, and Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. Do you have a favorite camera to use? My favorite camera to shoot with is my Canon T1i. I really love the feel of shooting with my film camera, but I don't have the funds for that yet. As a young photographer, do you find it hard to be taken seriously? I do find it hard to be taken seriously sometimes. Especially these days, there are so many young people that call themselves photographers. As I progress, I hope the quality of my photography will help people take me more seriously. If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? I would love to go to Iceland one day. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? Anyone can pick up a camera and take a picture, but I think people need to have an artistic eye and imagination to create something unique. What’s your favorite thing about photography? My favorite thing about photography is that I love capturing life in art form. All photos by Simon Filip
What’s your least favorite thing about photography? My least favorite thing about photography right now is not having the resources to do all the things I imagine in my head. Do you think photography will always be a part of your life? Definitely. Is there an element you think every photograph should always have? Light. I love working with natural light.
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www.flic.kr/simonfilip
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Meet cory sever, a twenty-yearold artist from edwardsville, Illinois. We think you should know him because he has a wild imagination coupled with immense artistic skill and an approachable vulnerability. How long have you been drawing and painting? I, being a son of a mother who is an artist, have had a pencil in my hand since I was old enough to hold one. My most vivid memories of drawing are at church, sitting in the pew and just cranking out some made up characters and what not. Where and how did you learn? I learned a lot through my mother and my older brother. Overall, I think my everyday practicing has made me grow the most. I draw every day, some days for several hours nonstop. It’s the one thing I can never get sick of. Which artistic medium do you prefer? This is a super tough question. I think I'd have to say colored pencil, mainly because it’s what I'm most comfortable with and I love color. Lately, however, I've grown fond of collage, so paste and X-acto are high on the list of mediums. You draw a lot of owls, do they have some special significance to you? Well, at first I looked at it as a whole mystery, because I had never seen one, but in my visit to Australia I saw a white owl on a drive and it had a sort of symbolic meaning that’s truly evolved into a sort of concept. Really bizarre. How did you get into photography? I got into photography when I bought my current camera from my friend Andy. I remember the first day I got it I was overjoyed and took pictures of anything and everything! With photography, I sort of struggle because I work a lot in self portraits and if it weren’t for the self timer, I’d be screwed! I love capturing a mood or feeling, and with my photo work I do limited to no editing, mainly because I feel it takes a sort of originality away, but also because I don’t have Photoshop! Where do you draw your inspiration from? Love this question! Well, let’s see… this calls for a list: Communication, in every sense of the word; friendships; isolation and the separation of ones self from others; wrinkles; crevices; scars; fat rolls; odd proportions; the elderly, because I do work with them a lot; triangles and resemblance of balance; and travel, mainly after my trip to Australia - it’s shaped my concept of space and distance. What message do you want to send through art? More or less that I have a viewpoint and ideas. Do you have a favorite photographer? Hedi Slimane forever and always. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? Is it okay to say myself? I just know what I look like and I’m super critical and I can do it without hurting my own or someone else’s feelings. What gear do you use? Minimal. My Canon Rebel!
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What’s your least favorite thing about photography? Over-editing and the death of the print. What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? There are two pictures, one is from my trip to Australia and it’s the side of the wing and the ocean below, it was the first time I saw the ocean and really was me being truly alone in a foreign place. The other is a picture of myself tipping my head really far back, it was a really bad day, my hair is a mess and there’s something about it that just feels so raw, and real. I can relate to it, and I feel it’s bare enough for people to "get" who I am. Do you think photography will always be a part of your life? It’s vital to the art world, and for capturing memories and documenting growth, so yes I do.
If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? I’d have to say Ireland, never been there!
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Is there an element you think every photograph should always have? Not really. Each person is looking for something different; it’s all in the viewer’s preference. What you might hate may be someone's favorite piece.
www.flic.kr/coryseverartwork
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All photos by Cory Sever
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MEET Francesca Roberts, a photographer from hertfordshire, UK. We think you should know her because she combines fashion and fun to create surreal photos. How long have you been a photographer? I would say five years, two years of A level and three at University degree level, but I have always had the desire to take pictures. How did you get into photography? I studied A level photography which I really enjoyed, but I have specialized in fashion photography on my degree studying B.A. (Hons) fashion photography and styling. As a teenager I always wanted to be the person who created the beautiful fashion editorials in magazines. Where do you draw your inspiration from? So many places - magazines, fashion magazines, traveling, culture, trend, the street. My mind’s always thinking I can just walk down the street and see someone that inspires a whole shoot or an item of clothing that could enthuse a whole trend. What message do you want to send through your art? I would love to think people would see my images as fun and a strong fashion direction with a sense of surrealism. Do you have a favorite photographer? Juergen Teller or Tim Walker, I love the surreal images he creates and the styling is beautiful. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? Women’s fashion editorials, but I am open to anything and love trying new things. Do you have a favorite camera to use? I currently shoot on a Cannon D400. If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? Thailand was beautiful to take pictures of, but I would love to do street reportage in Tokyo. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? No. Well, anyone could learn the technical side - photography is a very self-taught subject - but they need a passion, a creative flair, and patience. What’s your favorite thing about photography? I love that every image has a hidden meaning and one image can mean so many things to different people. I love seeing a finished edited image, which started as a crazy idea in my head, it’s so rewarding. What’s your least favorite thing about photography? The technical side and getting lighting perfect, but I have had lots of guidance to help me and now I am fairly self sufficient. What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? I quite like the childhood shoot I did. It was based on children’s memories of their childhood and what they remembered. It is based on make believe and dressing up which were key things when being a child. Do you think photography will always be a part of your life? Yes. Even if I don’t go into fashion photography as a career, it is a strong hobby and passion I will always keep it up. Is there an element you think every photograph should always have? A story... an image contains a thousand words.
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All photos by Francesca Roberts
http://francescaroberts.blogspot.com/
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meet elizabeth sarah, a photographer from queens, New York. we think you should know her because she captures every day life beautifully and honestly with various vintage film cameras. How long have you been a photographer? I remember playing with my dad’s 35mm Nikon EL as a small child just walking around with it around my neck, snapping away at everything, and enjoying how much more intriguing everything was through a viewfinder. Realistically, with actual intentions and concepts, I would say about five years. How did you get into photography? Art has been favorite subject and biggest strength since nursery school. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Everything my eyes see. What message do you want to send through your art? Who am I to say if the message someone gets from one of my photographs is right or wrong? Of course I have my own intention or feelings for taking a photo, but what I love is that everyone can come up with their own story based on seeing what I see. One thing I always try to maintain in all of my work is a sense of innocence. Do you have a favorite photographer? Henri Cartier-Bresson and Sally Mann are at the top of my long list. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? Not at all. I see beauty in everything and am constantly finding beauty in new things I see every day. What gear do you use? Polaroid Land Camera 100 and 195, Polaroid SX-70 alpha, Polaroid Spectra, Canon AE-1, Nikon EL (passed down from my father), Nikon N4004s (passed down from my boyfriend’s father), Yashica-A, Brownie Hawkeye, and Canon XSi. I hope to get an Instax and 4x5 in the near future too! Do you have a favorite camera to use? I prefer vintage film photography, so I lean toward all the above and try not to use digital quite as much. How did you get into Polaroid photography? It was calling my name. If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? There’s nowhere in the world I don’t want to go. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? That is very hard to say. With today’s technologies, it is almost as if everyone is a photographer. What is art and
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All photos by Elizabeth Sarah
expose yourself! what is not? There is definitely a technique involved and fortunately some are born with the knowledge and some are capable of being taught. Photographs need to please the viewer and not all people that take pictures are capable of doing that. So I suppose my conclusion is no, not anyone can be a photographer. But you can still try and never give up! Tell us about your projects like “Hannah’s house” and “All life is meaningful.” Hannah’s house is a place that I sort of stumbled onto. I was visiting Hannah, a 92-year-old widow, who is a friend of my boyfriend’s mother. His mom told me I was going to die when I saw her home, knowing how I have such a strong love for old things with stories and a history. At first, I played it cool with my Polaroid SX-70 hidden away in my bag, smiling and making conversation. Finally, I worked up the nerve to ask if she’d mind me taking a few photos. Unfortunately, I only had a few shots with me at the time and haven’t gone back yet to complete the series, but I am welcome back any time and she and I can’t wait for the rest! “All life is meaningful” is an ongoing series of lost lives of creatures that I encounter. I only capture the least morbid and non-bloody ones to keep the innocence and so as not to scare off my audience too much with its bold message. It is simply my attempt to record and document lost lives which would normally be forgotten as they disintegrate into the earth. What’s your favorite thing about photography? Capturing moments that may have gone unseen to the world otherwise or forgotten in our overflowing memories. What’s your least favorite thing about photography? How competitive it is. What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? The shot from my series, “Maps,” with the geese and dog. While on the first shoot for the series, a dog came by and she started to pet him as you see in the photo. I asked the caretaker if she minded if I included the dog in the photo and she was surprisingly nice. In these types of situations I tend to rush a bit because I don’t like the feeling that people are getting impatient; then I noticed I had to hustle even more because just to the left of my composition was the most perfect line of geese swimming in the background. My anxiety and unfortunate curse of a hand tremor caused the blur in the photo, but I like to think that it adds to its nostalgia. The photograph was completely unplanned and came together from fate and that is why it is my favorite photo…it proves that magic is real and fairytales do exist! Do you think photography will always be a part of your life? Hell yes!! Is there an element you think every photograph should always have? Yes…having a story to tell.
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All photos by Elizabeth Sarah
www.elizabethsarah.com
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Meet Rona Keller, a german photographer from gomaringen. We think you should know her because her images are stunning and whimsical. How long have you been a photographer? I started taking pictures in July/August 2007, so that makes it about two and a half years. How did you get into photography? I don’t really know. I actually got an account on DeviantArt before I even took pictures. I guess all those wonderful images I saw made me want to create beautiful pictures myself. And that’s all I did in the beginning: take pictures of what I thought was beautiful. The feedback I got on the internet made me so proud that I just went on with taking photos and trying out different areas of photography, but I haven’t been into it as much as I am today until the end of 2008/ beginning of 2009. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Literally everything inspires me. Most of all my personal feelings, what I experience during my everyday life, and my memories. I often get inspired by all the pictures I see on the internet, too, as well as by music. What message do you want to send through your art? I guess I just want people all over the world to have a look through my eyes for a moment. I want to make them understand me without explaining what my pictures are about. I want them to feel what I feel like and I want to show them who I am. Do you have a favorite photographer? I have a list of people that inspire me most, but I keep finding so many wonderful artists that I need to update the list soon. At this very moment, one of my favourite photographers is Raychel Sonveeco and I think I should just let her images speak for herself. I fell in love with Lauren Withrow’s work the moment I first discovered her. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? I enjoy taking self portraits very much because that is the best way to put all my personal feelings and experiences into my photos. And as memories are very important to me, self portraiture is a way to retain a little bit of myself, for me to see and remember in the future. What gear do you use? I use a Canon EOS 400D (named Summer) and a 50mm f/1.8. My other lenses are: 18-55mm, 55-200mm and a fisheye. Quite recently, I bought two film cameras, a Canon EOS 3000 (Jenna) and an AE-1 (June).
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All photos by Rona Keller
expose yourself! Do you have a favorite camera to use? As I only have one digital camera and know that one very well, it’s probably my 400D, but I’m actually already fairly into using my film cameras, too. If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? Canada. Not necessarily to take pictures, but just because I always have wanted to go there. And as I take photos everywhere I go, that would be my first choice. I would love to travel to New Zealand one day too, though…and Norway. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? Yes, I do believe that. For me, being a photographer simply means using a camera to capture certain moments in our lives, and I think pretty much everyone can do that. Many people wouldn’t consider someone taking snapshots and photos of bad quality a photographer, but technically, they are. What’s your favorite thing about photography? That I am able to capture the most important moments in my life, only by using a camera. What’s your least favorite thing about photography? The frustration that comes with every other shoot. I often imagine my photos completely different from what they actually turn out to look like, and sometimes I’m disappointed because I am not able to create what I have wanted to. I’ve been thinking about starting a project concerning my childhood memories, but so far I only came to the conclusion that it’s not possible to convey what I feel like when I remember them for everyone to see, so I kind of gave up before I even started. What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? I just love ‘headless‘ photos, I have ever since I started taking pictures and I don’t even know why. I just do. However, I have to break the rule and select another one that shows my personal struggles. Many people probably like this photo because of the colours, the setting sun, and the dreamy look. But I see different things when I look at it. I created it to display my problems with getting up in time. When I have some time off, I am a night person. I go to bed late and I wake up late. I ruined many of my days just by falling asleep again after waking up at a reasonable time, because when I actually get up then, I’m all grumpy and in a bad temper. That is what the picture should show: waking up to a beautiful day, but just ignoring it. And then, by the time you wake up again, the day isn’t so beautiful anymore. This does not mean I don’t think the picture is beautiful. I just like it for other reasons. Is there an element you photographs should always have? The ability to make the viewer think beyond. + All photos by Rona Keller
www.flic.kr/ronaaa
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meet yuli sato, a photographer from montrEal, canada. We think you should know her because her photographs are surreal and have a magical vibe that we can’t get enough of. How long have you been a photographer? I have been taking photographs since I was about twelve, and now go to Concordia University for photography! How did you get into photography? My dad has always been into photography, but I hated posing for him. My real interest in being behind the camera came when I went to Japan when I was thirteen for a summer. I can’t remember how many rolls of film I took, probably about thirty. Where do you draw your inspiration from? From everything and everyone! I’m constantly on the web searching for new photographers whose style I like, and I love looking through magazines. What message do you want to send through your art? That the world is a beautiful place. Do you have a favorite photographer? There are way too many photographers whom I adore, but I especially love Hellen VanMeene for her use of natural life and brilliant poses. However, I draw just as much inspiration from young, lesser known photographers such as Eleanor Hardwick and Olivia Bolles. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot? People, especially young women in surreal landscapes. What gear do you use? I have a multitude of cameras that I use regularly, plus an old tripod. Do you have a favorite camera to use? My 35 mm Minolta, a vintage Perlux from 1952, and Polaroids! If you could go anywhere in the world to take pictures, where would you go? India, or maybe Iceland. Do you believe that anyone can be a photographer? Anyone can take a beautiful photograph, but I believe you must have artistic intention to be called a photographer. What’s your favorite thing about photography? That it can capture a moment that the eye cannot. What’s your least favorite thing about photography? That I can’t always produce the image I desire, which can be frustrating. Oh, and maybe that some people don’t think that photography is a legitimate artistic medium! What is your favorite picture you’ve taken? My favorite photo constantly changes, but I think my favorite series that I’ve done is “Ghost.” Do you think photography will always be a part of your life? I hope that it will be until the day I die. Is there an element you think every photograph should always have? The only element that should always be present is one which produces an emotion in the viewer. +
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www.flic.kr/yulibow
All photos by Yuli Sato
up & coming
With half of the band in Dallas and the other half residing in Beaumont, Texas, four-piece outfit Dewinter has a problem that most bands don’t worry about: distance. While they have faced the challenges of practicing and recording, Vocalist bo king tells us how they have proven themselves to be determined and capable of creating something great. Dewinter seems to have the motivation and inspiration to achieve anything they wish - even if it means a run-in with some fairly useless railroad spikes. What made you want to create music? We’ve all been writing music since we were teenagers. Music offers the artists a very unique outlet for channeling emotion and coping with difficult situations. The first time I wrote a song, I felt one of the greatest senses of fulfillment my life has been able to offer. It became like a drug that I had to have on a daily basis. I craved the release that came along with channeling all my energy intensely into the perfect song; expressing myself and my feelings fully and honestly. I shudder to think of how I would have dealt with my
teenage years without music. Let’s just say music kept me sane as well as out of trouble. Haha. How did you come up with your name? There really wasn’t a “naming the band” discussion. I had presented the guys with the idea of forming the band in the early winter months of 2009. The name Dewinter was something I had begun toying with before the band was ever a serious consideration. At the first practice, I kind of mentioned the name and we just ran with it. Haha. I do remember a situation where I was in Austin with Jonathan, our drummer, where he asked me to buy him a new pair of sunglasses. I told him I would in exchange for him agreeing with me to call the new band “Dewinter”. Later we found out that Dewinter means “of the winter” which really fits perfectly into our original formulation date which was in the winter of 2009. How long did The Close of Summer EP take to write and record? We spent a good five months writing and piecing together a good solid set. The total recording time was only three days, but I attribute the short time spent to our incredible producer/engineer Chris Rocha of CE Productions in Houston, who has the ability to absolutely fly through a tracking session with great ease and skill. Chris has been doing this sort of thing for years, and let’s just say he knows his way around the studio.
Did you self release it? Painfully, yes. Crazy Story: We scheduled the recording dates prior to coming up with the money to pay for everything. So, in an effort to come up with the money in time, we tried out every hair-brained scheme we could think of which included but weren’t limited to: selling hot dogs and links out of our van in a local neighborhood, doing a car wash, re-roofing a house, assorted yard work, and selling scrap metal. In one particular attempt to make a little extra cash we decided to walk the train track and pick up discarded railroad spikes and ties (you know, like in October Sky) to sell at a scrap yard. We ended up running into a train station operator who told us that they had piles and piles of the stuff over at the actual station. In good spirits we drove over and met an attendant with a giant magnet who proceeded to load around 700 pounds of spikes into our flat bed truck. It was only after that he told us that, “in case we were wondering” we couldn’t re-sell any of it at a scrap yard due to state laws. In the end, we had to unload it all by hand into a gas station dumpster. It was probably the biggest waste of time in the life of the band. Haha. What are the pros and cons of self release? Obviously the biggest con was having to put together the funds to get everything produced, engineered, mixed, mastered, and March 2010
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finally packaged. Our estimated figures for such ventures are never correct, and we end up scrounging around even hours before the payment is due to for extra cash. The pros would be that we maintained complete creative control over the entire process, which is, in my opinion, one of the biggest pluses for independent artists. Can you tell us anything about your upcoming EP? The new EP will contain five completely new tunes. The overall sound will be a little more mature with lyrical content that we hope will inspire our listeners. I think that the new music is a much better representation of who we are as individuals and what we believe. We really had a chance to sit down and take our time with the initial writing and pre-writing this time around; more time to think about what exactly we wanted to say and convey through our music. I hope that our listeners will be able to relate well to the sort of deep thought and hard questions we’ll be addressing in this new release. It’s sort of like the mission statement from the movie Jerry Maguire that Tom Cruise wrote entitled “The Things We Think and Do Not Say”. Album title? Who knows? Haha. Will it go in a different direction
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than your first? The music is a little more thoughtful introspective. Our influences have changed somewhat in the past six months, which has caused us to write a little differently. We are really going to try to incorporate a lot more ambient instrumentation this time around as well, which we feel will really smooth out our sound. We hope that the changes will be a better representation of ourselves as individuals as well as how we see the band progressing. What influences you most? Typically, our influences are selected from a pool of different personal convictions and experiences as well as our mutual faith in a real and loving God. While most of our previous music was written just for fun, we really hope to new material will be affective in bringing a positive message that inspires others to challenge themselves and question what they believe about the world we live in. Lyrical influences on the new EP range from failed romances to deep spiritual questions. It’s sort of a hodgepodge of everything that’s been on our minds for the past year. What’s in the near future for your band? We are busy booking up our spring and early summer schedule while also trying to gain new sponsorships and plan for the release of our new EP. Everything is a bit hectic right now, but
we are confident that it will pay off in the end. What aspect of music excites you the most? The feeling we get when performing to a crowd is perhaps one of the greatest feelings we’ve ever experienced. To see our music make an impact on the lives of complete strangers is always an awe inspiring experience. What aspect of music discourages you the most? It’s a really bad time for indie artists right now in the record industry. The major labels are falling apart, and it’s becoming harder and harder to get noticed. The music industry today is saturated by thousands of “cookie cutter” record industry creations that offer the same product over and again. Dewinter seeks to break out of this mold and offer our listeners something unique and attractive enough to stand out amongst the vast sea of musical similarity while also maintaining an ear friendly tone plausible for play on modern pop/rock radio. This is a very fine line and difficult balance to maintain, but we feel that it’s a definite must for us as individuals. If your band was an ice cream flavor what would it taste like? Rocky Road with some Colbert’s “Americone Dream” thrown into the mix. We’ve had a rough go of it, but we keep chugging along because making music is a dream we have all shared since we were young.
www.myspace.com/dewintermusic
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up & coming
Cleveland’s the Lighthouse and the Whaler was literally born in a field, a testament to the simplicity that can be heard within the most stripped down tracks, but also through more intricate layered pieces of their music. Michael LoPresti talks about their massive success over the past year. What made you want to create music? I grew up playing and singing in my church and seeing how powerful music was there; it made me want to write about anything and everything. How did you come up with your name? It comes from a chapter in Moby Dick called “Nantucket.” Were any other names considered? There were a few, but we'd rather not share them in fear that someone may steal them and inadvertently have a terrible band name. What influences you most? We take a lot of what we hear, see and feel in our lives and transpose that into music. Those different emotions make writing and creating music much more meaningful to us. A lot of the songs we write are based on people we know or events that have happened to us. What’s in the near future for your band?
We are showcasing at SXSW in March and then touring the east coast throughout the end of March and beginning of April. We will also be hitting the west coast in June.
we’re headed as a band. We wanted the album to be a journey, but we weren't really expecting it to be our own. It just sort of happened that way.
What aspect of music excites you the most? It's being able to connect with people through our music. We believe music is such a powerful thing and growing up we often connected important, difficult or meaningful moments in our lives with music. Being able to do that now through our own music is really extraordinary.
How long did it take to write and record? We wrote the album in a few small periods throughout the year in 2009, adding and taking away from the final album track list as we went along. Some of the songs we'd been playing in our live shows for almost six months before the album was recorded. We spent two and a half weeks in the third story of an old house in Cleveland recording the album.
What aspect of music discourages you? The financial difficulties are definitely one of the most discouraging things about music, but you sacrifice for what you love. If your band was an ice cream flavor what would it taste like? It would taste like Cool Whip because it’s good on top of everything or all by itself.
Who did the art for the cover? My fiancée Kristen actually painted the cover of our album while studying art in Italy a few years ago. The girl on the cover is Nicole, a good friend of our band and Kristen. The funny thing is Nicole didn't even realize she was on the cover until we released the album and her brother showed her a copy.
As an unsigned band what is the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? We've found it's difficult to get people to give us a chance, whether it be booking shows or getting people to listen to our album. That's one of the more frustrating things we face.
You guys already have a lot of acclaim from magazines and it’s only been about a year! It's been very encouraging and a little surreal. We’re very humbled by the opportunities we've been able to be a part of.
You just self released your first full-length album...can you tell us a bit about it? It really is the culmination of this last year for us - a journal in musical form so to speak. When we finished the album, we sat down to listen to it all the way through and when we finished, we realized the album demonstrates not only where we came from but also where
Did you ever think you would already be this far? I don't think any of us thought when we started we would be this far in such a short time, but we are very thankful to be where we are and are excited to see what the future holds for us.
www.myspace.com/thelighthouseandthewhaler
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area over the years.
Channeling early 60s pop and surf rock, Philadelphia’s Cheap Seats have created a totally unique sound within the ever-expanding music industry. Going from writing in winter to performing by spring, Cheap Seats have proven they have the motivation and talent to rise quickly. Although unsigned, Cheap Seats doesn’t seem to be in a huge rush for a record deal or fame and fortune - Vocalist vincent john and pianist paul sipio tell us that right now, it’s about being positive and spreading their feelgood music to everyone. What made you want to create music? I've always wanted to express myself and music was the most natural way to do that. I knew at an early age that I wanted to create music, all day, everyday. How did you come up with your name? Our name comes from the concept of looking at the world from afar, as if you're watching life like it's a movie, from the “Cheap Seats”. Were any other names considered? Yes. We probably came up with many different names between the five of us. Cheap Seats was the obvious choice. How did you all meet? Through mutual friends in the Philadelphia
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You have a VERY unique sound for the times, sounding like the very early rock in the early 60s…what made you decide to go in that direction? This is what I grew up listening to. I would listen to the oldies station as a child, riding around in the car while my mother did her errands, mesmerized by the unique arrangements and jingle-esque vocal hooks of Motown, rock 'n roll, soul, and surf tunes. After spending several years as a writer, the influence crept into our stuff very naturally, so we decided to run with it. How has audience reception been? It's been really positive. Sometimes people who have never seen us before don't know what to make of it right away, but by the end of the set it's obvious that people are enjoying themselves when they begin dancing and feeling it. It's truly an amazing feeling. Would you like to see more of this sound, maybe in the mainstream? Sure. We like to think that good feeling music will never go out of style no matter what decade it is. What influences you most? Our lives and the people in it. What’s in the near future for your band? Taking what we have grown so far and continuing to grow it. We can't see the future, but we feel that it will be good to us.
www.myspace.com/cheapseats
What aspect of music excites you the most? Vince: I love the recording process. It can become tedious at times, but the end result is one of the most gratifying feelings I've ever known. I love to perform, too. I like making people feel good. Paul: The moment in which you achieve the idea, the motif you’re hearing in your head - that’s the most exciting aspect of music to me. Creation of the big picture and subsequently focusing on the finer details. What aspect of music discourages you the most? We get disheartened when we see people making music for (what we feel) are the wrong reasons. Who’s your favorite under-rated artist? Vince: Lee Fields and the Expressions. Paul: Tyler James. If your band was an ice cream flavor (real or made up!) what would it taste like? We’d have to say Cookies & Cream - white guys with a little bit of soul. As an unsigned band, what has been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? We think it has just been finding the perfect outlet to perform live. Our mentality behind the music we create is simply to remind people what they love about music in the first place, and that can be a challenge in itself at times.
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up & coming
Since 2007, georgia sixpiece The Rise of Science have been making a name for themselves in the vast Atlanta music scene. Currently working on getting signed, Zachary Boswell tells us how they’re concentrating on touring, anywhere with anyone. Tell us a brief history of your band. Me, Catlin and Jason used to play in a band called Crimson Addict. Shortly after Lorenzo and our original guitarist, Mike, joined Crimson Addict, we recorded an album called Casey. We changed the name of that band because the new record no longer matched the previous sound of that band. In late April of 2007 we became The Rise of Science. What made you want to create music? We are big fans of film. We wanted to make music that was similar to the way composers score films. We write short stories that we adapt to music in order to match the music with the story. What makes it difficult is trying to administer this formula all while trying to write great songs that can stand alone on a record. Writing high quality, catchy music is hard when you have other agendas as well. How did you come up with your name? I was sitting in the studio with Cody from As Cities Burn when we were Photo by Austin Hewitt
recording Casey. We had shared Excocet Studios with them when they were recording Come Now Sleep. I had written a bunch of names down that I liked for the band. The top picks for me were The Rise of Science and Deep Speech. Cody liked The Rise of Science and said he thought it fit well because we seem to formulate our music. I took his advice. Were any other names considered? We also considered the name Deep Speech. What influences you most? Movies with sad movements. What’s in the near future for your band? We hope to be on a label soon and take over the world! What aspect of music excites you the most? Making music videos. I hope to own video equipment soon so I can make more music videos. I write the stories of these songs so they can be adapted on film as well. I really hope that we get to do more of these videos. What aspect of music discourages you the most? When bands don't understand that writing music that impresses yourself is the first step of being in a band. I wish I could give some bands I know a crash course on writing songs. I'm not saying that because I think I'm awesome or anything, I just get the feeling that bands these days don't know what's good for them, and it hurts them in the end when they aren't fully happy with their songs. Who’s your favorite underrated artist? Harvard.
www.myspace.com/theriseofscience
If your band were an ice cream flavor what would it taste like? Something mild, kind of sad looking, with pastel colors, haha. Tell us about Casey, and why you chose the name. I'm not sure why I chose that name for the character in the story. In case you are wondering why the album is named Casey, it's because the main character in the story that occupies the hidden tracks is named Casey. I suppose because that name is genderless and I suppose the way me and my brother sing apparently sounds like it could be a girl or a guy? I don't know, that sounds pretty Freudian! Atlanta has a pretty big music scene, what makes you stand out? We can play on a bill with almost any kind of band, in any genre and still rock it. We aren't scared of metal or emo or punk rock, or anything really. As an unsigned band, what has been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? We don't get the opportunity to tour like other bands. We need to be on the road full time, and we are unable to do it because of bills, being that we need a place to live. If we had the means to have a consistent touring schedule, we wouldn't need a house. In March you guys were in a car accident due to icy roads, did that give you any new perspectives on life? Not really. It just proves that we prepare with insurance well enough to bounce back from a snag like that pretty quickly. Our van has broken down before on the road, and we have to accept that those things just happen. It wasn't really anyone's fault or negligence, and I'm sure it won't be the last time!
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love to say Coldplay because that's a "rock band" that they listen to. But we'll take it, because it would be great to obviously have the success to they have but to play shows in front of a mass audience like they do [full] of people [who] love their music would probably be the best thing ever. Do you guys like touring most? Shows are definitely the pinnacle, there's no question. There's nothing better than They might be a little nuts, but Fight getting in front of an audience and sharing From Above is without a doubt, a that energy. There's definitely [that] fun deeply inspired band. Influenced by experience of sharing that moment and with the ever-changing and evolving city people that are singing your lyrics, dancing, and really appreciating what you're doing. of Los Angeles, their hometown, And then feeling that moment like "Wow, Fight From Above is out to paint a new picture of the city they love so we're not playing a good show" and you much. Here, the whole band took time can feel it in your bones because everyone else is letting you know that. It's a good out to tell us more. humbling experience which obviously With Zack and Dave being childhood every band goes through from touring. The friends, do you think that changes the writing process is a lot of fun for us. A lot dynamic? of the songs from this album came from I feel like, you're growing up together, so just a lot of good jamming which turned you're that much more comfortable giving into structuring and then turned into Miner each other such a hard time for no reason hiding in his cave and writing great lyrics. over the dumbest shit in the world... then like That's the most fun for us. And as annoying men, ten minutes later, saying "Okay, that and as brutal as the recording process is, was stupid." The cool thing about it is over we love that too because there's a moment time seeing like, "Wow, we've come a long when you hit that delirium and that's like way, matured so much musically," which is something that you had with your friends great. We've matured so much just in this when you were in like camp when you were band, in the course of five years, let alone really little and you get to relive that again with Zack and me playing pop punk when with your friends when you're older...and can Blink-182 was the happening thing. drink. Have there been any comparisons of your music that have made you think people are crazy? Yes. People basically just compare you to whatever band that they happen to be listening to at that moment and sound vaguely similar. It depends on the depth of their musical knowledge. The older folks
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On the opposite side of that, what is your least favorite aspect of music? Everyone is collectively saying, "Carrying the gear and lugging the music." That's always been one of my things, especially. I don't need much in life - if I could just have someone to set up and carry my drums around. But like, lugging shit around is
www.myspace.com/fightfromabove
definitely not fun. By the way, Zack is here, a flavor has been added to the mix. Speaking of flavors, if your band were an ice cream flavor, what would it be? I would like to say white chocolate. White dark chocolate. Interesting combination. I'm gonna change it. Rocky Road....we look like shit but we're awesome. We don't look so good but once you try it...I was gonna say Rocky Road because we're all nuts. On your newest record you wanted to claim parts of the city that your love for your own...what parts of LA do you love the most? Downtown, five years ago. Five years ago, we were all hanging out downtown so we were just downtown and it was before LA Live and the 300 bars and just everything that's been put there now and it's such a bigger place. Downtown is still awesome, but back then you could walk like five blocks to a hidden bar and you wouldn't see another human being. It was such a sparse place. You'd walk into like a gutted deck and there'd be this bar and like fifty people. It was just kind of a cool place and that's definitely our favorite place. We love everywhere in Los Angeles It's what this album kind of means to us - we love and hate it all. We're not always comfortable here, but at the same time, I think being comfortable is sometimes over-rated and to a degree we come out here and see the most ridiculous crop section of life. It's such a diverse city and there's so much to love and hate about it that as songwriters. You feel the really strange thing that goes on in this city, which is the way that it can be so beautiful and so ugly at the same time. This city gets more hate than any other city I've ever come across in my life. I was on the hate side for a while, so a lot of this album is about me learning to love LA for what it was. Once you kind of accept LA on its own terms, it’s a very beautiful place.
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Photo by Chris Cuttriss
up & coming
great record.
She’s toured with B.B. King and she’s self-released two albums. Rachael Cantu has certainly proven she deserves a spot in the music industry. While she’s had a three-year gap between records, Rachael Cantu is determined to be heard and taken seriously. Despite the obstacles of self-released records, she knows the rewards of self-production are better than anything else. What made you want to create music? Once I picked up the guitar and taught myself a few chords, I was sold! I learned all the songs I loved at the moment and sang them with friends. I was hooked. I started writing my own songs because I got bored playing other people's songs. You recently released Far and Wide... how long did it take to write and record? These songs are a collection of a few years of songs. It was not by choice that it took three years between records, but I'm glad that it did because some of the songs on the record would not have made it. Once all the business stuff was sorted out (after three long years), we got into the studio and knocked the recording out in six days. That's how ready I was. It was worth the wait and I was working with some amazing musicians and an incredible producer/ engineer (Futcher - in Vancouver, Canada). I had the honor of working with some great, supportive people on this record and I really think that, together, we have produced a Photo by Rebecca Sirmons
What are the pros and cons of selfrelease? Pros: Creative freedom, which is pretty priceless in this industry. Cons: Money and promotion. It's hard to get your name out there without any label or publicist backing you. There is a lot of work to be done with a self-release, but it's a learning process and I think everyone should have to go through it at least once. Everyone should know what's going on in their business, and this is the best way to have your hand in every step of the process. How is Far and Wide different from Run All Night? Far and Wide is definitely a more "me" record. It's very organic and full of a lot of heart. I've grown as a writer in the past three years (that's how long it was between Run All Night and Far and Wide). I look at Run All Night as an early demo, and Far and Wide as a debut record. As an unsigned artist, what has been the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome? The biggest obstacle is getting people in the industry to realize that I'm serious. And for that to be done they have to actually HEAR the record. Sometimes CDs will sit in a big pile of other CDs, for years! I just keep trucking away, trying to get it HEARD. It's happening, but on a very grass roots level. I'm confident about it, but it's hard work and I'm very proud of everything that's happening. The rewards feel so much better when you are the one doing all the hard work. You got to tour with B.B. King! What was that like? It's pretty surreal. It never hits me until his
www.myspace.com/rachaelcantu
band takes the stage. That's when I think to myself, "what did I just do??" The audiences are amazing, BB's crew of guys are so kind, and the man himself is very gracious. You've also opened for Pat Benatar and been featured on Private Practice... did you ever think you would be able to experience those things? No, because, honestly, it wasn't even on my radar. I didn't even know that these things existed. I mean, of course I knew Pat Benatar existed, but did I ever even think to think of opening for her? No. As far as hearing my song on a television show, it's amazing to watch your song make the scene what it is. There is such a necessity for the marriage between film and music, and I'm proud to be a part of that. What’s in the near future for your band? I have been invited to play a showcase at SXSW, I'll be back on tour in April with BB King, and some other tours are in the works. I'm going to continue to work really hard to get my music out there, tour as much as I can, write more and more music and keep this ball rolling! What aspect of music excites you the most? Everything about music excites me. Music is everything. Sorry to be so cliche, but it's that easy. What aspect of music discourages you the most? I can't think of anything in music that discourages me, except on a personal level. I get discouraged when I feel as though I'm not living up to my potential. But, I know it's all in my head, and that thought process only holds me back. Once I shake that and keep moving forward, I am nothing but positive about music in general.
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Do you prefer singing in English or your
the left one, then move on the right one,
native Italian?
jump from one to the other, go forward and
I know it's quite strange but I prefer to sing
backward, do a couple of pirouettes...but the
in English. As the Futurist said, "Consonants
main road is defined on the ground. When
are the noise part of the alphabet, while
you are approaching your music, you are in
the vowels are the musical part." As you
front of a desert, in front of the sea, inside a
know, Italian is really full of vowels more
forest or a glacier... you can choose to try to
than English and so it's more complicated
walk on the ice or dive in to the sea, or roll
to create strange sounds and noises and
down a dune, swim with dolphins or leave
be rhythmical with Italian, while I think it's
the moon to fly to Antares and light yourself
more natural with English. Another reason
[on fire] or bite someone with the sting, or
is the fact that I've been listening more to
go back to the city and the safe, dangerous
foreign music than Italian and I really like the
asphalt...or dive into a factory...everything
way English sounds - the structure, different
is possible and it depends on you...and
Are we correct in thinking that N.A.M.B.
meanings for the same word. Sometimes
your imagination. So the two things are not
doesn't have a set meaning?
being a foreigner allows you to appreciate the
comparable. You can do a cover one or two
Yes, you are absolutely right and that's why
musical and noise skills of another language
times to have fun...but doing your own music
we decided to call the band N.A.M.B. Once
because you focus more on the sound of the
is something totally different.
upon a time in a small town called Torino, four
words.
The concept album seems almost like a lost cause in the century of instant fame and spotlight. In the century where the value of storytelling has significantly decreased throughout popular music. That is, until one discovers a rare treasure such as that that is the Italian electro group N.A.M.B. Singer and guitarist Davide Tomat talks about the story of BMAN and everything N.A.M.B. stands for, both in musical and literal terms.
What tour has been your favorite and
nice guys were trying to find a good name for a new band. Everyone started to give their
You've covered Black Hole Sun by
why?
suggestion. I was in the mood for "Nonni
Soundgarden. Why did you choose this
Playing live is always amazing, but right
Anziani Marziani Bambini" that means "old
song, and what other songs would you
now we need to play outside Italy and see
grandparents child martian," while Branco, who
like to cover?
what’s outside here - to breathe something
loves beer, was in the "Nastro Azzurro Moretti
It was a kind of game, because Black Hole
totally different. So our favorite tour will be
Becks" mood. The old guitar player, who was
Sun remind me of Stand By Me. It's like a
the next because it will be the next!
trying to stop smoking, was fixed with the name
cover of Stand By Me, so we decided to try
"Nicotine Affects Mind Behaviors," and each
to do another cover of it. At the same time in
What was the inspiration for the robot
time we tried to find a name, we realized we
that period, we were doing remixes for some
tale in ‘BMAN’?
were finding names with words that started
Italian artists, so we decided to try to do a
“No Acronyms Means Bman” - it’s in the
with N, A, M, B...it was a kind of universal sign...
remix of a really famous song. We also tried
sentence, so we needed to use BMAN,
so we decided to go for N.A.M.B. It was a
a song by David Bowie called “Telling Lies.”
because we couldn’t call it in another
good choice because it allowed us to play with
Last night, we were thinking about the idea
way cause no acronym in the world
names and meanings...especially if you are
of doing a live version for "Blue Jay Way"
means BMAN. BMAN is N.A.M.B. in the
like Gemini are, who change their ideas quite
by The Beatles...don't know...we all love that
mirror. BMAN is part of the Superbudda
often. Well, I'm not only talking about jumping
song.
tales - true life that became the subject for our music. Superbudda, after the
from one idea to another randomly, but also developing your thought. Having an open
Is covering a song more or less difficult
superego era, tries to play with names to
name helps you to develop your vision, too...to
than singing or recording your own?
hide himself and becomes N.A.M.B. and
train your brain...and in a way, stay coherent to
I think they are two totally different things.
after that, he realizes that there’s a world
your thought...and in case you need to say, "I
Doing a cover is easier because you are
outside, that he can only hide himself
never said N.A.M.B. means that!!!"
inside the rails, you can move inside them,
for so long and so he watches himself
go from one to the other, keep one foot on
in the mirror and he understands that he
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featuring needs to try to “BE a MAN”. He
What bands do you draw
observes what’s around from his
inspiration from?
naif point of view, takes his own
So many, each time we like
responsibility to follow his true self
something that something really
and so the story goes!
inspires us.
The booklet for BMAN is
When did your band form?
96 pages, and the album is
Me and Branco started playing
70 minutes long. Was that
together a lot of time ago inside
a difficult or overwhelming
the project Superbudda, now
undertaking?
our studio is the Superbudda
To be honest, that wasn’t so
Temple. We are all Superbudda
much difficult, neither the music
adepts here, a new religion of
nor the booklet. Everything
Superbuddisti. N.A.M.B. band
came out really spontaneously,
was born in 2004!
like everything was there from the beginning mysteriously tied
Tell us a brief history of your
together. The same for the idea of
band.
the concept was growing. At the
Me and Branco started playing
beginning, it wasn’t clear, but with
inside Superbudda with two
the flow of the time everything
other guys, Canna and Topo, the
stretched together to coincide
guys who played also in the first
with all the other stuff. Each song
N.A.M.B. record. Superbudda
that came out had its own point
was quite an experimental
in the whole story automatically
project made only with loopers.
and the same for the drawings.
We played stuff inside loopers
When three years ago I asked
and at the end, all these loops
Ma4qka (which is Naive As Maya
were sampled inside the
Be) to draw a hypothetical BMAN,
sampler. This is how we used
the first drawing she did was the
to make music. After a while,
one we’ve used for the cover and
we experienced other projects,
we all liked it. The more complex
really different ones with other
things at the end were the last
people, and then in 2004 we
steps - mixing sessions, trying to
built our studio “Superbudda”
find the right packaging for the
and we started working on the
booklet - all the technical stuff of
first record. During the touring,
the record.
the guitar player, Canna, left the band and after the tour, me
Are you excited that your
and Branco started working on
newest album, BMAN, will be
BMAN while the drummer lost
released soon in the United
interest in it. We came in contact
States?
with Gas and Compa, because
You can’t imagine how! It’s
we did another record/project
something you always think
together (Niagara).
about. Making music in Italy is something really sector-based. It’s
What made you want to create
strange and difficult for an Italian
music?
band to go outside of Italy and
The simple daily need to express
so now that we are approaching
yourself and the simple daily
it after hoping and working hard
need to explore yourself!
asked me, “Hey Davide, what do you think about Tango?” I’m a bit scared now; I’m afraid he wants to do something with Tango. I don’t have a clear vision of that question, but usually BMAN doesn’t speak too much, so if he asks you a question, there’s something growing in his mind. Anyway, I think right now he wants to travel and see planet Earth, so I think we will try to tour a lot to allow him to see the most he can before he decides to leave us for another place. What aspect of music excites you the most? The fact that music is something that you will never know completely and so it is something you can always improve your sensibility to. The fact that Luciano Berio said, “Music is the science that studies the ratio between instinct and reason.” The fact that music tries to describe the flow of the time. The fact that music touches and massages you. The fact that each time I’m inside music, I’m ok! The fact that music is endless. And last but not the least, girls love music and BMAN loves girls! What aspect of music discourages you the most? The business side of it. Who’s your favorite under-rated artist? Shabba Ranks, Mr. Loverman. If your band was an ice cream flavor what would it taste like? Liquorice with a gin lemon sprinkle over it!
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BMAN is now available in the US on Monotreme records!
on it for a long time, we are really excited. It’s really big because
What influences you most?
it allows your music not to be
The universe.
confined inside the place where you live and so it allows you to
What’s in the near future for
fly outside both mentally and
your band?
physically!
It depends on BMAN - what he has in mind for us. Yesterday he
www.myspace.com/nambzone
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If you see a 15 passenger banana yellow Chevy van driving down the roads of America, more than likely, you just passed the band Laura Stevenson and the Cans. An eclectic group of musicians accompanies Stevenson and her angelic voice on their first album, aptly named a Record. With the re-release of their first record and the release of their second record looming in the horizon, Laura Stevenson and bassist Mike Campbell show us why they’re the cans, not the can’ts. What made you want to create music? MC: I think for me and maybe for all of the other Cans, it's not really a choice to create music. You just are a person who needs to. I don't know if that makes sense. It's in all of our blood. We all came from similar scenes when we were younger, for the most part, D.I.Y punk scenes. I think that gives us a common understanding of where we've been and where we're going as musicians playing together. How did you come up with your name? LS: I know, right? My friends Neil and Sean (part-time Cans) came up with it at a show we played maybe four years ago. Then it kind of stuck even though sometimes I hate it, but I feel like we've all embraced it even though people on message boards take it to an offensive place and use it to discuss
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my body. That makes me not want to give in and change it because I am constantly setting 15 year-old boys straight and making them realize that they can't talk about women that way. So I don't know... it does some good I guess.
the new batch of songs, that's all I can really think about right now, personally.
Were any other names considered? MC: The Can'ts? Just kidding. When Laura, Alex Billig (accordion, trumpet) and I first started playing shows and put out our first record called A Record through Quote Unquote Records, we just went as Laura Stevenson. At the time most of the songs on that album were straight bedroom acoustic guitar songs written and arranged entirely by Laura, so it seemed to make sense that Alex and I (and anyone else accompanying her) were just that... accompaniment.
What aspect of music excites you the most? MC: I think the potential energy of the music industry is extremely exciting. I just finished reading the Led Zeppelin biography called Hammer Of The Gods and in it there are all these stories about gargantuan record sales, over the top debauched touring and bleeding millions and millions of dollars away on the most excessive luxuries. It made me realize just how different pop music is now -- especially how it exists as a business. I mean, don't get me wrong, Zeppelin is great and everything... but that over the top rock star demigod stuff is bullshit. I'm glad that this is slowly (or maybe not so slowly) becoming a world where the gap between musician and fan is shrinking. Maybe not in the case of Lady Gaga or Kanye or something... but in indiepop-folk-punk, etc.... it seems like everyone is sort of coming back down to a reasonable level, ego wise.
Now, it's much more of a band dynamic. Laura still brings the framework of the songs, but a nice report of collaboration has been developed among all Cans. This started happening on our last few 7"s and has increased even more so in writing for our next full-length record. What influences you most? LS: Each other! MC: I agree with Laura. We all play in tons of other projects and it's cool to see someone you play with doing the thing they do best. When you're playing WITH someone, you don't really get to appreciate fully what it is they're doing.
MC: Plus, we just spent a majority of our band fund on a fifteen passenger banana-yellow Chevy van so... hopefully that's exciting.
What aspect of music discourages you the most? LS: Wanting to play music for the rest of my life and not being able to afford to live. I'd say that discourages me everyday. MC: I guess we have to find a compromise between being able to eat and pay rent, and having a collection of hundreds of vintage cars. Somewhere in the middle would be nice.
What’s in the near future for your band? LS: Practicing, touring, TOURING, writing more, and recording. We're heading to Europe this summer and we are re-releasing our first Who’s your favorite under-rated artist? record with Asian Man Records in April. The LS: Let's see... someone that never got their next record is the brightest star on the horizon due? Coldplay. though, because we're all really excited about
Photo by Orlando Perez
featuring
MC: Those guys never had a chance at success... It's a real shame... haha. If your band was an ice cream flavor (real or made up!) what would it taste like? LS: It would taste like all ice cream: magical and cold, and it makes the pain go away. Harry Simeone was your grandfather, and your grandmother was a jazz singer...did this have any affect on your musical interest growing up? LS: It definitely broadened my horizons vocally weeith my grandmother's influence and compositionally from my grandpa. I tend to write very sort of classically-based arrangements and that's thanks to the hours of Bach I was forced to play. I rarely play the piano now which may be my way of rebelling I guess but yeah, I'm really blessed to have them in my blood-line. My dad, on the other hand, took me to every Grateful Dead show in NY since I was tiny tiny tiny and raised me on the Beatles (instead of cartoons we watched The Yellow Submarine) and I think that gave me an appreciation of pop and rock music for sure. How many people actually play in the Cans? LS: That varies - right now it's me, Mike Campbell on bass and omnichord, Alex Billig on trumpet and accordion, Chris Parker on drums, Wen-Jay Ying on violin, Jeff Rosenstock on guitar, sax and keys, Matt Keegan on trombone, and Steve D'Agostino on banjo and slide guitar. Those seem to be the core Cans. We have some additions and subtractions based on people's other commitments but... I hope to phase that out. Having a solid group of people is becoming the life-force of this band right now. We're no longer a collective. Photo by Orlando Perez
Why did you name your record A Record? LS: Well, those songs were kind of a "Best of", chosen from the group of songs I had written over a period of about three years. I felt that they documented my life best up until that point, so it was a record of... my experience I guess. A lot of musicians overlap in The Cans and Bomb The Music Industry...how did everyone meet? LS: I met Jeff from the Long Island scene, he was in a band called The Arrogant Sons of Bitches and I used to go to their shows and we became really good friends over the years; he asked me to join Bomb the Music Industry when ASOB dissolved and I went on a bunch of really awesome tours playing keyboards with them. MC: The Cans and BtMI went on a six week U.S. tour together this past summer. We also put out a split 7" at the same time. As with any long tour, it definitely solidifies personal relationships because you're living in confined spaces together and sharing in a lot of unique experiences. Chris, the drummer of The Cans could only come for a portion of the tour, so after he flew home, John DeDomenici from BTMI finished the tour on drums for us. After a few weeks of playing shows together every night, Jeff and Matt from BTMI asked if they could jump on and play slide guitar and trombone, respectively. It started to gel really well and we decided, "Hey! When we get back to Brooklyn, let's try to do this more." Tell us a little bit about BtMI! LS: Bomb the Music Industry is Jeff Rosenstock's brain-child. He writes the songs and... is one of the best song writers I can think of. There's a solid bunch of wonderful young men that are also a crucial
www.myspace.com/laurastevenson
part of BTMI and they're all my best friends. The shows are crazy, Jeff loses his mind, kids fucking love them... it's awesome to be a part of. Quote Unquote records is a donation based label...what are the pros and cons? MC: Quote Unquote is wonderful. It allows thousands of kids instant access to your music. Especially for our band at the time A Record was initially released, the three core Cans at the time (Laura, Alex and myself) were stuck in New York because of our jobs, school or other obligations. We wouldn't have been able to tour on that record when it was released. But so many kids all over the world downloaded and donated and when we did have the opportunity to tour, there were kids in every city who came to see us and knew the words and sang along. And that live experience is really the only concrete evidence you can have as to what level of appreciation people have for your music. If it hadn't been for Jeff and Quote Unquote, The Cans would not have had the opportunities we've been fortunate enough to have. Your record A Record was just picked up for re-release...does a re-release feel the same as a new release? MC: It feels a little different than a new release, obviously, because eight of the songs are older. But it's exciting as well because there are three new songs on it that haven't been released. We just recorded them over the past month and we're REALLY excited to have them come out on April 13th to compliment the original eight. What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? LS: I guess the biggest obstacle is the difficulty of touring and working enough to live in NY. We need to get OUTTA HERE!
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With five people collaborating on music, Post Harbor has a lot going against them - particularly, each other. Although it’s difficult to combine so many ideas into one outlet, Post Harbor seems to stay level-headed, and they allow their collective and gigantic list of music influences guide the way. We’re just glad we’re not doing it... What made you want to create music? Music connects with people in a real, visceral way. Each of us had that first band or that first song that opened us up to how powerful and exciting music could be. For some people, that first moving experience with art might have come from a painting or a sculpture or some bad-ass macramé. For us as a whole, it was music. And looking back now, it seems like a pretty natural fit for us as individuals to gravitate toward making music as a group. How did you come up with your name? "Euphony," as it’s called in the field of phonaesthetics, refers to the inherent pleasantness of the grouping of certain words. The idea is that some word groupings have an intrinsic value that is independent of their given meanings. This value is based solely on the sound of the enunciated words when spoken. Cellar door is the classic example. Post Harbor is our personal favorite. Post and harbor are also both words that have dual meanings. We liked that built-in ambiguity and wanted to leave some of the interpretation openended.
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What influences you most? The five of us are influenced by a horde of different things. And our music influences are the same—all over the board. But that's a big part of why we enjoy writing music together. Kenny and Colin both played in very different bands before joining Post Harbor. Aaron had a short-lived solo project that was a little bit Phil Collins and a little bit Michael Jackson. If you looked through our combined record collections, you would find everything from pre-rock, space-rock, post-rock, rockabilly, rock, hardcore, metalcore, barn-core, electronic, instrumental, elecstrumental to jazz, jazzercise, folk, Fripp, children’s, Tejano, trance, rap, pop, hip hop, doo wop, skiffle. It’s all there … mostly in Brandon’s collection. What is the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome? Each other. There are too many alpha males in this band for things to go smoothly. One of the best aspects of a solo project—which ours is not—is that one person retains total creative control and calls all of the shots. Of course, that can also be boring. We prefer high-drama. Our rehearsals and writing sessions are like late-night Spanish soap operas. Communal creativity can be frustrating, but as far as we are concerned, it’s the most rewarding. How long did They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them take to record? We set aside a year to write and record this record. We didn’t play any shows during that time so that we could give the process our full attention. We wanted to avoid throwing together ten independent tracks and calling it good. So we focused on making a seamless album, where each track compliments the work as a whole. We also put a lot of effort into making sure that the instrumentation could stand on its own, rather than having it become a platform for
www.myspace.com/postharbor
the vocal parts. We wanted the vocals to be used as just another instrument, an equal part of the whole mix. Where did the album name come from? There’s a story behind the title, but it’s in the vault, so to speak. And we prefer to leave the album title open to interpretation regardless. We like the idea of listeners making their own interpretations and coming to their own conclusions about its meaning. That’s more personal than shoving a second-hand experience down somebody’s throat, if that makes sense. What aspect of music excites you the most? If we had to call out just one, it would be the music community. Being a part a music scene is priceless. The local and international friends and fans we've made, the incredible bands we've played with, the people who've gone out of their way to work with us—it’s an incredible thing to be a part of. What aspect of music discourages you the most? Having to occasionally deal with elitism can be discouraging. We have been really lucky to meet and work with some great people. And those people have been down-to-earth and fun to work with. But every once in a while bands have to deal with other people or bands or middle-men that leave a bad taste in your mouth. Luckily, such folks are rare. Who is your favorite under-rated artist? Panther Attack! (The exclamation point is part of their name, by the way, but we’d still include it even if it weren’t part of their name.) Their expansive, manic, precise, jazz-tinged, instrumental rock-wizardry keeps us up at night. We love them and hate them, they’re so good.
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good way to pretend with music, or, at least, I’ve never found the way. Maybe I just shake my ass a little bit harder. Dancing hard helps.
Still suffering from stage fright, Lisa Papineau is just another normal person - well, not quite. She is and has been, among other things: an actress, a playwright, a songwriter, a vocalist, a member of both Big Sir and Pet; she’s provided vocals for bands like Air, M83, P.O.D. and Farflung, and, oh yeah, she co-produced Treasure Island. Even with all of these projects and collaborations under her belt, Lisa Papineau remains approachable, humble, and yes, afraid of the stage. What aspect of music excites you the most? Making a collective sound with others. What aspect of music discourages you the most? My own foolishness. Who’s your favorite under-rated artist? I don’t know if it’s under-rated, because I think everyone who hears Bron Tieman’s Crooked Cowboy and the Freshwater Indians music loves it. But it is definitely my favorite “unheard by most” music. How do you deal with stage fright? I generally try to find a place to be quiet by myself before the show. Usually I just feel afraid beforehand; once I’m on stage the music takes charge. But if I do get frightened on stage, or suddenly become aware that. I’m. On. Stage. It always seemed best to just let it show. There’s no
You started out playing the flute and oboe. Why those instruments? I don’t remember why for the flute. It was the girly-est? People always mistook me for a boy then, so maybe I was unconsciously trying to balance things out. Later the oboe because the teachers were pushing one of us flutists to jump over, since there was no one on the oboe in the school band, and the fingering for the flute is similar. And I was pretty struck by the tone, even with my feeble honkings. What do you like most about acting? Nothing. I totally stink at acting. It’s terrifying! Performing in experimental pieces or films felt more chaotically comfortable. Or anything where I got to do Jazz Hands. How has your experience in theater influenced your music? Actually, doing summer stock (from Vermont! Shut up!) as a teenager had me convinced that I could never “sing”, because all the performers had such big, sky-high voices, and I have a fairly small voice. When I began to write songs, it started to make more sense how a smaller voice could work. Also, microphones. They are good. You started out your career as an actress and a playwright, how did you stumble into playing music? I have acted in a few movies and stage performances, and did take some performance classes (be the Tree), but I don’t think I ever considered myself an actress in quotation marks. I have collaborated on some performance art pieces, but I’ve never written a play. I did start writing a musical once called “The Biggest Pile of Socks in New York,” based on a true story, and a friend and I contemplated writing the musical “Martin
Luther: The Musical!”, but it never coalesced. What happened that made Pet break up? Tyler and I talk about that sometimes. I think part of it was that, at the time, we hadn’t yet learned how to say “no” to people when it was necessary, and eventually it was too exhausting. Now, we are making music together again, and we’re having nothing but good times doing it. As an artist that has done everything from theater to co-producing the film Treasure Island, where do you draw your inspiration from? I’m sure it’s like everyone else; just by making huge mistakes every day and going… “Oh.” Recently you started your own solo project, how has that been for you so far? Insofar as one can say anything is solo, I’ve been doing music under my own name for a while with one-off songs here and there, and then with my first album, Night Moves. It is frightening but wonderful to step off this ledge. As a musician friend and I were recently discussing, to let your own name take the responsibility for what you’ve laid out to bare. You've collaborated with a lot of different artists...if you could collaborate with any artist, ever, who would it be and why? Collaboration is completely intoxicating… This kind of shared energy makes me feel like a drunk. There are too many people who blow my shzt up… Terrence Malick? Grace Jones? A lot of your song titles are names...are these real people? Yes, they are. Originally all the songs on Red Trees had names of people, but then I realized that for some of them, that just wasn’t the honest name of the song. But they all do reflect on our human tendencies in
www.myspace.com/lisapapineau
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assigning names to things. About Red Trees: I do not have any ability to tell anyone else about the nature of fear, or the nature of joy. Perhaps not even myself… What could be new to say? But the things need to be expressed anyhow, somehow. Maybe lyrically all one ever can do with words is observe. Or, be some kind of cheerleader. Or, some kind of doomsayer. But that’s about all. I think the way certain words ring out, and the sounds, the silences between the words speak to us, or better yet, sound off to us more directly, more concisely than the personal story we may be recounting. It is these things I believe that are what bring us into a collective connection, or even just a connection between the person giving the song and the person willing to listen. One vessel of music to another vessel of music? One vessel that is too full and starting to spill over, pouring itself into a vessel that is empty and ready to carry. Hmm, this is starting to sound unintentionally sexy. Or “creation-y.” but I guess most everything boils down to the same paradigm. Sonically on this album we wanted to get as close to how we were presenting ourselves live. Usually I get really excited to do one thing in the recording studio, and then find different arrangements for live, but this time the songs just seemed to ask for a more direct approach. I think we got 60 percent of the way there…now that we’ve begun to really perform the songs live for audiences,
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I keep getting sick to my stomach wishing that NOW we could record the album, or add this new drum part, or that new harmony. But every band feels that way. The songs always keep growing, whether with the people who created them, or in the ears, and perhaps hearts of the people who listen to them, the people who decide to make this song or that song a part of their lives (as a song that speaks to them of a lost love, a song that’s great to clean the bathroom with, etc.) We just have to be ready to give them up in a certain sense, or enjoy them for what they’ve grown to be, not what we thought they should have been. Its hard, because there is a perfection that one hears in ones head as the song reveals itself, that no matter how hard one tries, one can never attain. For me, it’s is always a glorious failure to finish a song. Another sonic approach we decided to take was one that was a big influence from my childhood, and some of my first introductions to the world of music. I talked to the guys (Matthieu and Johan) about it, and we all agreed it was organically in keeping with our ideas to present the songs as close to our trio formation as possible. … growing up, my family was very religious, very involved in the Catholic faith, but specifically in a very liturgical, living, dare I say, groovy kind of faith. I don’t think it was just some obligatory spin off from the 60’s, but a way of worshiping coming from a very Canadian French approach to faith (I grew up across the border in New England, but many here are 1st, 2nd, 3rd generation Quebecquois)…
with a lot of gentle, but soul stirring folk music. I have many memories and fuzzy images, both visual and auditory, of being a little kid surrounded by walls of people singing along with a nun or priest playing the acoustic guitar, sometimes being accompanied by the big rumbling church organ. This mix… large group unison singing with one folk guitar and the fat PHAT bass of the organ… really overwhelmed and touched me. It ripped me apart. Driving on the French auto route one day, I heard a radio broadcast from Notre Dame, just one little nun singing alone, playing guitar, accompanied by the huge cathedral organ there, that completely brought me back. Not that I forgotten, but rather, it was just the right moment in my life to think we could dare to try to capture a bit of this. Coming back to the things that I don’t really know how to talk about, but nevertheless needed to write about, or at the very least express when words did not come…this approach was the direction that was being asked for in the songs. This quiet, stubbornly determined place that remains, tightly wedged and walking the barely visible line between suffering and great joy. The sound of wherever it was that I go in my head when my illness would give so much physical pain that I couldn’t even open my eyes. The place that we hold on, barely, but we do hold on, when our hearts can’t take one more blow, when they seem too heavy to beat even one more heart beat. I think it is this “place” that connects us all, that tender raw place that makes us remember that we are all here together. And I think this little place has a door that opens our hearts to joy.
www.myspace.com/lisapapineau
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ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA, or ALL, IS the most common type of blood cancer in children. It can affect any one at any age, and it did affect andrew mcmahon. You may know him from the bands something corporate and jack’s mannequin. diagnosed with ALL in 2005, andrew mcmahon spent the summer undergoing two rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and a stem cell transplant. in 2006, about one year after his diagnosis, andrew decided that surviving cancer wasn’t enough. He was going to help fight it. When did you first decide to start the foundation? I guess I want to say ‘06, probably about six to eight months into my recovery. We just started identifying a lot of our fans that were trying to get involved and were trying to find ways to channel the interest that they had developed in the cause since I had gotten sick and we decided to make a centralized place where they could commit those efforts if they had dollars they wanted to support. With the cause, we would take that money and find great charities that we could grant money to. It was about ‘06 that we began. How do you decide which charities to work with? Over the years, just sort of naturally through my experience, there have been a few that have popped up; obviously, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which is just one of the most well known and most forwardthinking organizations as far as research is concerned for blood cancer. That’s been one of our primary, if not our primary, partner with the foundation. In the early years we were definitely doing a lot of stuff with
the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Kids are obviously one of the most affected by Leukemia so a lot of the best research in cures goes on in children’s hospitals, so that’s definitely one that we’ve stayed close with. Beyond that, the Transplant Research Facility at UCLA who saved my life - we fund some research for them as well. One of my childhood friends had Leukemia, but she had a bone marrow transplant and now she’s about 20 years in remission. It’s a powerful operation. You talk to anybody who’s had a transplant and it’s scary, but it’s a very hopeful and very amazing sort of cutting edge technology that we’re basically able to re-grow the stuff that makes humans work again out of these transplants. It’s a powerful operation; it’s definitely something that we’re
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It’s scary but it’s a very hopeful and very amazing sort of cutting edge technology that we’re basically able to regrow the stuff that makes humans work again out of these transplants.
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behind, getting as much research done for and as many people saved as possible. What would you say to people who are against stem cell research? Well, to clarify, a bone marrow transplant, a stem cell transplant - these are therapies that aren’t controversial, for the record. They’re done with living human being stem cells; it has nothing to do with embryonic stem cell
www.dearjackfoundation.com
research or anything to that effect. That said, at least the operation I went through is not in a controversial place. How I feel about stem cell research overall...I think it should be done, there are amazing cures there, I think God gave us science and I think that science is a powerful thing when used correctly and I don’t think that stem cell research is in any way a violation of some sort of code of ethics - at least not my code. I think a lot of the arguments against stem cell research come from a very hardcore, far right position where people tend to imply things like cloning and the abuses that can go on, but for the record, those abuses have never occurred in the course of this research. I think the more reasonable way to fight that battle is to find out what possible violations or immoralities can go along with it and try and legislate those rather than put a stop on the process altogether. It’s hard to define. Personally, I think if you look at the majority of the civilized world they support and are behind the idea and I’m with them. An acoustic fall tour recently raised over $10,000, is that right? We went out and it was kind of a fly by night thing. I booked a run of dates and I went out with Bob, my guitar player, and the idea was to try and do something new. I’ve been on the road for a really long time since I recovered in ‘06, and I think the longest amount of time that I can count that I was off the road or out of the studio was ten days. So when the idea started going around to do a tour in the fall, I didn’t want business as usual and I didn’t want to just go out with a band and play big venues - I just knew I would be burnt out. So, we took on this challenge of rearranging a ton of music. I think throughout the course of the tour, we played between 30 and 40 songs. It was just kind of an opportunity to do something new and to challenge myself and to raise a little bit of awareness around the documentary and raise a little bit of extra dough for the foundation. I’ve gotta be honest, I would’ve liked for it to be more; unfortunately, when March 2010
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featuring you do the super small venues there’s just a lot less money coming in, but I am proud that we were able to get the 10,000 dollars raised. We met a lot of goals this year. We raised $100,000 with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through the Light the Night walks. It’s been a good year for the charity and it’s cool to do something sort of artful and tour related to help the charity out as well. Are you guys planning anything big for 2010? Well, I’m getting ready to head out in February with Jack’s, so that’s exciting. We’re gonna do probably the last major tour on The Glass Passenger. That’ll be fun. Then I have that Something Corporate show at Bamboozle on the west coast so that will definitely be an exciting and nerve racking new-old endeavor, I guess. Just spending the good part of 2010 writing and refining and recording new music to come out hopefully within the next year here. A lot of people that had cancer would have, I think, wanted to try and close that chapter on their lives and try and move past it completely. What made you want to keep fighting the war against it? It’s funny, I think, when you find yourself in this position and you get well; there is the part of you that wants to detach from it as much as possible. The reality of who I am and what I do for a living made that quite a bit more difficult because I think being obviously not a major public figure, but somewhat of a public figure, a lot of people gravitated toward the story and people like a good underdog story and to see somebody get out on the other side of it. There was clearly a fascination that was unavoidable. There were moments when I was extremely frustrated with having to relive it in the course of interviews and conversations with people on the road. There were moments when it was exhausting. I think the documentary became for me a way to personally close the chapter and give people a
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You do in a lot of ways go back to being who you are.
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window into what it was really like instead of having this mystery hang in the air. I think a lot of people had a tendency to turn me into some sort of beacon of hope or something ridiculous that I appreciated, but frankly, I wasn’t. So, I think the idea was to show people what this really looks like and erase some of the grander perspective that some people seem to apply to me. I think to fight cancer is a brutal thing, but it’s a brutal thing that so many people go through. I think it became important for everyone to identify the reality of that and disassociate it from their perceptions of me as a human being and kind of actually get to see what it looks like. I don’t know...I don’t know why I did it. Somehow, I feel healthier and better and more moved on now than I have in several years, so, something’s working.
was definitely some anxiety about it as we got closer to its release. That said, in a lot of ways, if you listen to my music over the years, I kind of have a [laughs] tendency to hang myself out there, you know? This sort of seemed maybe one of my greatest experiments in vulnerability and exposure, but in a lot of ways, I think I’m comfortable with the fact that there’s so much about me, even if you see this documentary, that people don’t know. I sort of lead a pretty private life other than some of my artistic endeavors. I’m not a Twitter guy, I’m not a Facebook guy, I’m not one of those people who is constantly telling people when I’m at the grocery store or what I did today. So I think maintaining that balance in my life has made it okay for me to go out on a limb at the times where it feels ultimately necessary. It’s funny - I have a lot of friends in the music business and everyone is like, “Why aren’t you on Twitter, why don’t you do this and that,” and it’s like, because the exposure of the every day stuff - I invest those moments into what I write. I like to share those moments when I’ve corralled them into something more artful. When it came to the documentary and I saw the final edit and it felt that they had actually made a great piece of film, a really cool piece of art around these things, I stopped looking at it as my story as much as I started looking at it as a story worth telling. I think in that sense, it felt so much more important to me than sitting around and blogging about it.
Was it hard to share that much of yourself with the world? I think there were moments. I didn’t really ever think about it. I mean, I thought about it sort of as a passing thought like, “Wow, we’re really hanging ourselves out there,” but it took us years to develop and edit the documentary. It really did, it took a long time. It wasn’t really until maybe the month or two leading up to its release that it occurred to me, “Wow, people are really gonna see this thing and really kind of know me in that period of time in my life.” There
A lot of people with the platform and the ability to do good in this world sometimes don’t. Why do you think not everybody tries to reach out? I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t know that if I hadn’t been so deeply affected and I hadn’t been on the receiving end of this horrible kind of thing that I would be out there donating lots of money and raising money and getting behind the cause. I think my cause found me, and I went out and swung for the fences with it. At the same time, I’m a firm believer in the to-each-their-own principle and of course I think if you have a platform it’s good to use it to do good. I also know a lot of people who do their good in private and like to keep their causes separate from their art and frankly, if I hadn’t been a survivor myself, I don’t know that I would have linked my cause so closely to my art. I can’t blame anybody for how they
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www.dearjackfoundation.com
Photo by Melissa Mullen
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approach what they do. I think for me, this works and I feel compelled and motivated to help because I was lucky enough to survive and a lot of people aren’t. I think that’s what motivates me. I can only really speak for myself on that. A lot of people who you might assume are in a position to do something major, who knows what they’re dealing with personally and privately. I try and reserve my judgment. Has there been a lot of support for the foundation from fans of your music? Yeah, absolutely. I’d say that’s where the majority of the support comes from. Also, people within the music business and people who I work with and also just families who find themselves in that position themselves to learn about what I went through. I think in some respect that’s where the interest in the foundation comes from. How can one person help? There are a million different things that people can do. It’s not about money and turning it over, of course that is a huge benefit. There are a lot of programs out there, you can volunteer at hospitals and go cheer up some kids. There are these amazing summer camps where kids get to go when they’re sick to try and just be kids. Those are great places where people can volunteer their energy. This is my cause. If you relate to it, that’s great. If not, and it doesn’t connect to you; go find a cause that does. Just find something that moves you and get behind it. There are a lot of people who need help out there; it’s not just cancer patients. It’s not even just people with illnesses. There are a lot of great causes out there that could use support and I don’t by any means say to anybody, “Oh you’ve got to adopt mine.” There’s a lot of stuff going on in this world that we could use help on, there’s no question. If just seeing what I’m doing inspires someone to get behind another cause, I think we’re doing well. The energy that you put into your performance is phenomenal. Did your illness and how unexpected it was give you a new outlook on life? Yeah, it does that for sure. You do in a lot of ways go back to being who you are. I think there’s a little something extra in the back of your mind that I think gives a little additional purpose to the successes of the day and just getting through the day. I think there is a greater appreciation in some respect. I think a lot of people would be surprised; it is easy to fall into a pattern where you forget that stuff, too. I definitely wake up and I’m glad to be Photo by Bianca_Sike
here but just like anybody else, five years after this whole ordeal, some days I wake up and I kinda go, “Oh god, I wish I didn’t have to go do this today.” [laughs] You know what I mean? There is an effect that having the illness had on me but it doesn’t make me immune to the malaise of any given moment, either. Life is relative. I get that and I think it’s important for people to keep that in check and understand that we do have it better than a lot of people, but we’re still people and there are still trivial things that are gonna bring us down and I don’t think that there’s shame in that. The shame is if you can’t find a way out of it. We’re all still human and the effects of the day are gonna hit us all. Everybody gives a lot of shit to rich people because their problems seem so minor compared to theirs but I think that people in situation, those problems still seem very important to them. It’s good to get some perspective on that and know when you’re being indulgent, of course, but I think all of those problems become relative to what your day to day is. For those of us who don’t understand medical talk, tell us about ALL. I don’t even know that I can understand it and I lived it. It’s essentially one of the many blood cancers. It affects the bone marrow, which processes all your blood. Instead of having your marrow process it in a positive way that provides all of the functions of daily living, because your blood is kind of what keeps you running in a lot of respects, it makes it extremely anemic. The parts of the blood that bring oxygen to the rest of your body, those are affected, so there’s less oxygen going through your body. The parts of your blood that help you fight illness, those are destabilized so they can’t fight other sicknesses that come. Essentially, all the blood and all of the stuff that keeps you working ends up not working anymore. The idea is that you have to rid the body of the cancerous cells that are affecting the marrow and the blood and try and get it well enough and get it back to creating healthy cells. It’s scarier the first time you hear it, but it’s like anything. When it shows up at your door you just put the boxing gloves on and get to work.
Donation checks should be sent to: Dear Jack Foundation | C/O: KPS | 12100 Wilshire Blvd., #550 | Los Angeles, CA 90025 Please provide mailing/contact info with each donation check. If you are donating $250 or more, the CCF will send a letter in return within 3-4 weeks. The Dear Jack Foundation is a charitable organization set up through the California Community Foundation, IRS Tax ID 95-3510055. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. +
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Crediting their success to their MySpace, Disco Curtis began at a young age with one photo on their music page and an infinite amount of talent. This group of friends from Dallas, Texas are sure to explode onto the music scene this year with their emotionally charged lyrics and memorable tunes. Tanner howe talks more. Tell me a brief history of your band. Disco Curtis started in August of 2008. We’d been in other bands before, but when we started Disco Curtis we had a new idea and direction we wanted to take it in. AJ, Garrett and myself started the band and we later added Brenden, who was a friend of ours from the Dallas area. We started playing shows and building stuff up on the internet and around the Dallas scene and over time started working around Texas and up until this past year we hadn’t done much touring and now that we’ve been touring we’re starting to build a little bit more outside of Texas and it’s been fun. Lots of touring. Do you prefer large venues or smaller ones? You can look at it two different ways. We
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prefer both, really. In a small area it’s very intimate and you can feel all the people right up in front with you. The cool thing about it is even in a large venue, during the show even though people are farther away, after the show we always make sure to go out and hang out until everyone is gone. We’re always the last people there. Either way we still get to talk to people. You credit your MySpace fan base for getting you started, right? Definitely. That’s been a huge part of our band. That’s where it all started actually, just from talking to people on MySpace. Spending hours a day talking to people is where it started and doing the same thing at shows has been a huge part of Disco Curtis...just talking to people. I remember when I was a kid growing up and I’d go to shows, there would be someone I really wanted to meet and I’d hope the band would come out and talk because there were people I’d looked up to and I wanted to meet them and talk to them and get to know them, so we try to do that with everyone who comes out to a show to see us and even listens to us online. How do you think MySpace has affected the music industry? It has had a huge effect on the music industry. Before, you would go hand stuff out at schools or just tell people by word of mouth. It’s sped up the process so much. I don’t know exactly where our band would be without MySpace, honestly. We still work as
hard as we can to promote ourselves in all forms but, having had MySpace from the very beginning, from day one, that was our main way to promote our band. I’d spend eight hours a day just contacting people. It’s been a great social tool to be able to get our music out so much faster than we could have before. And not just your music, your videos, too, I’ve heard your video is insanely popular. Oh, we just released it a week ago and once again because of MySpace it traveled quickly. We debuted it on MySpace Video and within a week we watched it go up to number one which was very exciting for us, having been a new signed band. We really do owe that to all the fans that are looking for the music and everyone that has been listening to us and been awaiting the video for so long. We actually recorded it over the summer and we’ve been building it up. People were starting to anticipate the video and we were like, “I promise there will be a video coming out soon!” It was really exciting for everyone to finally get to watch that. It was bigger than Jay-Z and Gwen Stacy’s videos? Yeah, I was kind of blown away, actually. I was completely blown away. I didn’t expect that, being our first music video we didn’t know what to expect. We’d never done one before. We recorded the video with these two guys out of Dallas called Saint Productions, and we were like, ‘Let’s do
featuring this low budget video and see what happens,’ and then it went above Jay-Z on the charts and we were blown away. Crazy. Who was the brains behind the video, or did everyone have input? Everyone definitely had some input in the video. I remember one day we all went out to eat just to talk about making a music video and I can’t remember who it was, but he came up with this idea of this high school clique kind of scene with a jock, and a nerd, and the preppy person, and all these different ideas. We started building off of that and who could play what character. We decided I would play myself and there was this girl named Ashley, and Tanner was trying to get Ashley to notice him, which is actually what the song was about, so we were able to build off of what the song was about and actually create an entire scene and story around the song. It was good stuff. Every song has a purpose and a story behind it. Ashley was actually written about a girl that I used to date and I created this concept of Ashley which was her, and when we did the video...there wasn’t really a jock or a nerd but the idea is that there were other people involved so it was cool to create the story. It’s a good visual aid that makes it come to life for people. How did you come up with your name? We came up with the name Disco Curtis because of this disco master that we knew named Curtis. He was a disco drummer slash instructor, dancer back in the 70s and 80s and he was a drummer that for every single song, no matter what type of song it was, he would play a disco beat over it. He was known as the mystery drummer and he would wear a brown paper bag over his head and play at different venues for different bands. We know the guy and he’s a good friend of ours and he’s older now but we named the band in honor of him. The summer we were coming up with the name we had been around him a lot and we had joked with him and called him Disco Curtis and that’s how we got the name of the band. We considered others; we tried to figure out what defined us. Disco Curtis to us was so out there. Disco Curtis...it has this sound to us that we liked and it was really weird and it didn’t really sound like other names that we’d heard so we stuck with that one over the others. We kind of wanted a more unique flair on the band name. What aspect of music excites you the most? For me, it would be writing. I love writing and seeing a song come to life. It’s always very exciting, especially if I’m feeling something or something happens in my life...I instantly want to write about it; one, to remember, and two, if it’s something bad, I can vent and get rid of it. So, I’ll have a song to remember all that I’ve been through. Other than that, hanging out with people. We’re blessed to get to be able to hang out with as many people as we do and meet as many new people. It’s something we wouldn’t be able to do had we not gone into this industry. Writing and just meeting new friends and hanging out. I couldn’t ask for anything better. What aspect of music discourages you the most? I guess whenever it comes down to it, there’s a lot of business involved and a lot of logistics that people don’t see and sometimes the business world can get stressful and there’s a lot of different things involved with that. I won’t go into details but, sometimes it can be hard because all you want to do is play music and hang out with the kids but you always have to remember there’s an important business side because this is a career. I guess that can become burdensome at times but we still do it because we love doing it and we wouldn’t want to do anything else. What has been the biggest obstacle you guys have had to overcome as a band? I guess overcoming...there was this...I wouldn’t say it was a fear but I would say it was an uncertainty...especially for the other guys of not going to college. It’s a hard pill to swallow for parents whenever they say, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life, I want to be a musician, I want to be in this rock band.’ Parents want you
to take the safe route and go to college. Our drummer AJ had been accepted into this drum program where they only took two people out of the nation and he was one of the two. He got accepted into all these colleges and had great grades all through high school and was a super smart guy and graduated at the top of our class but he gave all that up to be in this band. It took a lot of faith. If we hadn’t had the support from the fans and friends and family that we had then, I don’t think we would have been able to make that decision. Thankfully, we were able to do that. I remember that was kind of a hard time because every part of all of us wanted to do this but there was so many different logistics involved with giving up the safety of a career and doing something like being in the rock band which is so much more of a risky thing to do. It’s not safe but we love it, so that’s what we’re going to do. We stuck with it and so far everything’s been working out. Even though things were hard at the time it was more of a mental thing and we pushed through it and we’re committed to it, to all of this. We don’t want anything to come between us. This is what we do. I can’t believe he gave all of that up. I know. It was really hard for him. I was talking to him and I told him, ‘I really want you to do this,’ and he wanted to do it too. I mean, Garrett was the same way. He had been accepted into different colleges and Brenden actually graduated high school his junior year to go on the road with us. He’s only 17 now; he had to give that up too. We all gave up a lot of things. I kind of gave up my senior year simply because I was just doing band stuff all year. We had to sacrifice a lot of guarantees to take this risk and do what we ultimately wanted to do. There were some uncertain times but we have faith so it’s all good. Who is your favorite under-rated artist? AJ here who is driving the vehicle at the moment, just turned around and said Seven Story Fall. They’re good friends of ours, they’re in a band from Atlanta, GA and they’re really good. That’s a tough one. Memphis May Fire is a really good band. They’re one of the best hardcore bands that I’ve ever heard live. I love their music and I think they should be bigger then they are right now. Say Anything is pretty well known but I still think that they should be bigger than they are. Max Bemis has been a huge inspiration for me and I feel like people should know his music. If your band were an ice cream flavor what would it be called and what would it taste like? I actually went to this ice cream store once and there was this ice cream flavor...what was it called? It was called disco something. Disco candy or something. Disco sparkle. Disco cotton candy? We would be, Disco...I like berries. We’re going to go with Disco Berry. Yeah, I like that. We’re going to open up a yogurt store called Disco Berry. Oh yeah, Pinkberry. Disco Berry. Good stuff. Blueberries, I’m a big blueberry fan, Raspberries are okay, I’ve never had one but I know the smell and it was okay. Strawberries for sure, I like strawberries. I can’t even think of any other berries. Lime berry? Bean berry. I don’t know. Is there a name change in your future? Yeah, we’re going to be Disco Berry. That’s almost as random as Disco Curtis. Tell me about you and Warped Tour and how excited you are. We are thrilled for Warped Tour. It’s out first year to be on Warped Tour. Last year we only had one date in San Antonio and this year we’re on a lot of dates. We are thrilled and thankful. It’s going to be fun. All the cities that we haven’t hit so far...we’re going to be seeing a lot of those on Warped Tour and we get to hit them full band with so many great bands. Some of the bands on Warped this year are some older bands like Sum 41 and there are a lot of huge names that I saw. All American Rejects. We’re honored to play with some of those bands that we’ve looked up to for so many years. It’s going to be a great experience and we’re going to get to hang out with a lot of new people as well. We’re looking forward to the bands, the people, the events; it’s going to be a time of growth for our band. I’m really excited for Warped Tour. I’m going to have to load on the sunscreen ‘cause I burn like a lobster.
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The Canadian twin sister team of Tegan & Sara are not new to the music industry. Since 1999, the pair have released six full length albums, including last year’s Sainthood. But despite their long musical history, Tegan & Sara manage to stay fresh and interesting to indie music lovers everywhere through their haunting vocal abilities and alternative writing styles. Sara Quin talks about life, love, music, and growing up. Is it ever hard to put a lot of yourself into a song that you know so many people will be listening to? Honestly, not really. There’s a lot of you in the music and the stories and the feeling and that sort of thing, but they’re not detail-specific and they’re generally vague emotional terms and I think that that’s similar to the music that I grew up with, you don’t name names...it’s more about the internal dialogue and struggle. I don’t feel too exposed. There’s sort of an impenetrable forcefield that goes up around you when you’re making art, you kind of leave your self-conscious part, the struggle, behind closed doors. Do you ever regret what you put into a song?
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positivexposure
March 2010
No, god no! There’s a huge process that happens before a record gets released or a song gets recorded and generally by the time a song is being released to the public, I’ve probably been sitting on it for at least a year and a half or two. Generally, a lot of the things that I’m thinking about or talking about when I’m writing have passed or have cycled through and they’re not void of emotion, but I think they’re ready to be a vehicle for somebody else’s feelings and thoughts and projections and it’s less about my feelings and my own experience. Are you planning on writing together more often like you finally did on Sainthood? I think we would write together again. Only one song that we wrote together made the record, but, we wrote half a dozen others in New Orleans and then also collaborated on some other material that was sort of maybe more like instrumental, I don’t want to say that it was dance music, but there was sort of some electronic music that we worked on as well and we’ve collaborated on other people’s projects. We’re definitely sort of in the beginning early stages of collaborating together but I don’t think either of us had any plans to sort of not go back to that place. It was a pretty positive experience. Why are you just starting to write together recently? Certainly logistically, until 2005, the internet wasn’t what it is now and it wasn’t as easy as it is now to share music and share files and Tegan and I wrote independently but we didn’t live in the same city so a lot of the times we were sending CDs of music that we’d written at home in the mail to each other and there wasn’t that ease of collaboration like there is now. I can write a song and e-mail it to Tegan and in six hours she’ll send me the song back with
guitar parts and background vocals and stuff, so, I think partly, it was just materials we were working with and the distance between us, which has obviously become much smaller now. It sounds so anti-art, but we’re business people, Tegan and I run our merchandise company and our band and we own our own publishing and we tour constantly and we write, and we do all of these things and we’re really really busy and we’re always sort of in flux and we always are with people, so the moment I have any alone time I think, ‘oh, I want to write.’ I rarely think, ‘oh, I want to write AND include someone.’ I’m always like, ‘thank god, I’m finally alone, I can channel my thoughts and feelings into some art.’ It’s a really solitary experience. I wasn’t trying to not include Tegan, it was just about how lovely and inclusive it felt to just be alone. Do you ever find that people have a weird image of you guys being attached at the hip? I think in some weird ways, that’s true, as much as I’m also tied to the hip with my band and my tour management and my bus, and fans, and show. There’s a lot of my life that I do spend with Tegan and the group of people that I’m making music and working with, but because they obviously see that image so often, it’s hard for them to imagine that when we’re not on the road or releasing videos or blogs that we don’t spend all the other waking hours together. I think that part of my life is really special because it’s not a public life, it’s just my life and it happens to be quite separate from what Tegan does and less because we engineered it that way to be away from each other and more because we have such different interested and different needs from a city and social circles and from an art perspective so we both ended up in really different living and social circumstances, but it’s a really nice contrast to what we do together the rest of the time. Photo by Pamela Littky
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How do you combine such different interests into something that always has your mark on it? I think a big part of that has to do with the instrument of our vocals, the truth is that although we use our vocals differently and anyone listening to our music who are listening for it can hear the difference in our song writing and also the way that we sing and throw our voices. I also think the the average listener, what may be so different about us from a song writing or a singing perspective feels cohesive because there’s such a similarity between our voices. I like to think of it as, I pick up a guitar and play it, and a different kind of guitar player can pick up my guitar and play the same guitar and it can sound like a completely different guitar. Although Tegan and I have the same genetic vocal cords, we’ve used them so differently, we’ve developed them so differently, that at the end of the day, what are sort of huge differences to me probably aren’t as audible to the average person, so luckily, Tegan can write a song like “Northshore,” which is kind of a punk/pop song where she’s sort of really hollering and there’s staccato vocal delivery and you can put that up against “Alligator” which is a completely different genre and sung completely differently and instrumentation couldn’t be on a more opposite end, and yet they feel like they’re written by the same person. I think that what makes the band work. You can take these different styles, but because of the vocals, it almost sounds like the same person. How do you decide who does what in terms of vocals? When I’m writing a song, often you hit a chord and there’s a cool melody line for the lead vocal and you spend time in the mental process working through what would make Photo by Pamela Littky
cool back vocals or what would make a good harmony or counter melody and it’s like any instrument. It’s sort of trial and error, I suppose, and sometimes the core melody or the core structure will suggest other melodies. It just really depends. Each song is really different and needs a different kind of approach. Do you sing the songs you write or is it just whoever’s voice goes best? We write completely separately unless it’s a song like “Paperback Head” which was a cowrite where we pretty much both sing the entire song together; I would never write a song and have Tegan sing the lead on it. Your love songs have always been poetic and don’t really sound “teenage.” I appreciate the compliment but I feel like it’s not totally true. I do feel like we did write like teenagers. We saw love in this hyperbolic,intense, end of the world kind of way which, obviously as we get older we put it in perspective and you realize that the person that broke your heart may not be the first or last to break your heart and you realize that love is so much bigger than possession and reciprocation...love is devotion and commitment and partnership and what kind of sheets you have on your bed and what kind of life you’ll have and what kind of witness to that life you’ll have. I think that when I’m 40 years old I’ll look back at this record and think the same thing I think when I look back at the first couple of records we wrote. We attempt to write smart pop songs and we’ve never wanted to dumb it down. We always took it offensively if people said our music was ‘straight from a diary.’ I always found that very patronizing and almost sexist, like we were teenage girls writing in our diary. We felt as raw and as tough as the stuff we grew up listening to, but because we weren’t as punk rock or because we were girls, people would sort of think we were too
www.myspace.com/teganandsara
precious. De-constructing our music now, I can see how people thought that about the music we were writing. I do think sometimes when I hear a song, ‘oh my god, we sound like teenagers, broken hearted teenagers.’ I think the information is universal, the idea is universal. I think it’s the delivery or perspective that sometimes can be what puts people off. There’s music that I feel like is aimed at certain generations and you know that it’s not necessarily meant for older people, but I definitely think that Tegan and I wanted to write music that could appeal to our parents’ generation but also see that our peers would get it. Sometimes you can’t help it, you sing something that’s not simplified enough and it becomes prickly or too ornamental, it’s trying to be hard to be smart, and I feel like some of the best lines in music are so simple, so straightforward that ten thousand people singing along to one simple line can be uplifting in this way that feels almost like a religious experience. I think everyone’s been in an audience singing some chorus to some song and you look around and you realize there’s a whole auditorium or stadium of people singing along to the same line and it can be the most simple series of words and yet it just feels so transcendental. You feel like your head is lifted off your body and you’re part of one consciousness, like a spiritual experience. Sometimes when you look at the words on paper, you never would have thought that it would feel like that, and yet, there you are singing along and having a spiritual moment with twenty thousand strangers.
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March 2010
positivexposure
37
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As an artist, what has been the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome? I don't really have many obstacles thankfully. I feel a bit misunderstood at times, but in a very mild way. What aspect of music excites you the most? In our last issue, Christie Dupree I love playing live. 2009 was the first year recommended miniature tigers, a band that we toured; we started in January and toured began as pen pals split between California and Arizona, and gradually centralized in LA. all year. I love touring and connecting with Now, Charlie brand talks about anticipating people, getting to play these songs every the release of their new record, Fortress night. At the end of the day I still love being in and passing the time with copious amounts of the studio and creating music more than any Tiger Phood. thing else though. What made you want to create music? What aspect of music discourages you I've always played instruments and been into the most? music. I got really into Weezer when I was I don't like how long everything takes. We're younger and I think Pinkerton inspired me just finishing our album and it's February; it to start writing songs. I get a lot of joy from will come out sometime in the summer. By writing music. the time it comes out, I might have a bunch of songs already written and already sick of this What influences you most? album. I was so sick of Tell It To The Volcano I'm inspired by a lot of different things. by the time it was even released. In the grand Directors like Stanley Kubrick or The Coen scheme it's kind of a small complaint though. Brothers really inspire me. I feel like directors are a lot like bands. Each Kubrick movie is so I love music and what I do and try not to get too discouraged. different and has its own unique vibe. I think we try to apply that to our albums. I love when bands drastically change and always keep you Who’s your favorite under-rated artist? surprised. Then there's directors like McG who Rick's music project, Alvin Band. He's a genius in my opinion. He made this album keep making the same shitty movie over and using nothing but his voice for all the over again. How many bands like that do you instruments and it's insane. Crazy harmonies know?
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positivexposure
March 2010
www.myspace.com/miniaturetigers
and mind blowing compositions. He's my friend but I'm a fan first. If your band were an ice cream flavor what would you taste like? Vanilla with stripes of peanut butter or caramel or something. Tiger Phood. You recorded your album at the legendary Dreamland Studios...how did it feel to be recording in the same studio as Joan Jett, The Misfits, and The B-52s? It's an amazing place. It's out in the middle of the woods in this big church. We all lived up there and recorded all day. It was snowing and had a magical quality to it. . What can you tell us about Fortress? We're still in finishing it up. I'm kind of half out of my mind right now. We just did a track with this guy Allen who has a band called Neon Indian. We were in the studio till 7 am. We're in the final stretch and I'm really excited with how everything has turned out. The album has a diverse sound and a lot of different vibes. It's a departure for us. Our last album Tell It To The Volcano was a collection of poppy love songs I had written over the course of 5 years. I feel very grateful to the people who love and support that album. I have a soft spot for it but we've moved on. I still feel like this album sounds like us but it sounds like us a few years later and now we've got demon faces.
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