Rock and Roll and Ancient Mythology By Sean Casteel
Rock and Roll and Ancient Mythology By Sean Casteel There is nothing new under the sun. So it says in the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. And author Christopher Knowles has taken that profound truism and created a marvelous prism through which to view both ancient mythology and its links to the rock and roll music of the postmodern era. Knowles’ book is called “The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” published in October of 2010 by Viva Editions, and it’s worth tracking down on Amazon or at a local bookstore. It begins with a 90 page crash course in ancient mythology designed to bring people new to the subject up to speed. His basic concept, so clever that one is tempted to call it a literary “conceit,” is explained thusly: “In order to understand rock ‘n’ roll,” Knowles writes, “you have to go back – all the way back – to the earliest days of human civilization. The drugs, the drums, the noise, the wild costumes, the pyrotechnics, the controversy, and the outrage of 20th century rock ‘n’ roll are waiting for you there, in temples filled with your horny, blissed-out ancestors who believed that if they got out of their heads and away from the ego, they could actually meet the spirits that their neighbors could only talk about.” Ancient cults, Knowles continues, organized themselves around specific archetypes, and those same archetypal themes would reemerge largely intact in the rock era, among
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the various subcultures and genres that evolved out of a musical form itself derived from the pounding music of ancient cults. “Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t just another form of music,” he goes on. “It’s an indelible part of the human experience. It may well be the oldest form of cultural expression in human history. It didn’t simply spring up like some Atom Age mutant in the 1950s; it simply shook off the dust of centuries of repression, took on a new incarnation, and picked up where it left off.” One of the earliest cults that Knowles makes reference to is nowadays called “The Mysteries,” a form of worship that is thought to have begun in the Neolithic Age, around 9000 to 4500 B.C.E., and is one of the oldest forms of cultural development known to humanity. It centered around what was at the time the new science of agriculture, and the rituals of the Mysteries were designed to appeal to the grain gods of the Underworld by acting out their myths, which celebrated the cycles of planting, growth and harvesting. The earliest distinct Mysteries were practiced in Egypt, and the beliefs spread through Asia and into the Mediterranean Basin and eventually throughout the known world. As the religion progressed and evolved, it came to require strict discipline and study, though it also offered a direct connection to the gods without a priest as middleman. Its rituals included songs and dances, usually fast and wild, with crashing drums and screaming flutes, which Knowles says is an ancient form of rock ‘n’ roll. Simple pyrotechnics, like specially treated torches created to give off a strange effect, made for a kind of “light show.” In some of the wilder incarnations of the Mysteries, such as the Roman Bacchanalia, public sex often broke out. Sounds a little like the first Woodstock in 1969, doesn’t it? In part two of “The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Knowles continues to expound on his basic theme by saying, “Throughout the Classical Age of Rock, certain genres and subgenres would evolve into virtual cults, many of which bear a startling resemblance to the cults of the ancient gods. But this wasn’t ‘religion,’ as the word is commonly understood; this was a return to the raw, experiential roots of human culture. But ironically, many of the cults would come to develop their own doctrine and dogma, even their own languages and dress codes. Many of these continue to survive to this day – punk, skinhead, metal-head, hippie
– long after their original inspiration has been forgotten. Their longevity is a testament to the power of archetypes to manifest themselves in ways that are easily grasped by successive generations.” One of the most powerful ancient archetypes of a certain genre of rock music was the god Apollo, who was the god of prophecy, music and arts, and healing. “Most importantly,” Knowles writes, “Apollo was himself the ultimate rock god. ‘The Homeric Hymn To Pythian Apollo’ depicts him as an ancient cross between Hendrix and Bowie, ‘clad in divine perfumed garments . . . at the touch of the golden key his lyre sings sweet.’ When Apollo did his act for the Olympians, ‘the undying gods think only of his lyre and song.’ Another Homeric hymn to Apollo reports that ‘the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched lyre, always sings both first and last’ to the gods.” Just as there is an Apollonian school of the ancient Mysteries, there are, according to Knowles, a group of rock stars who embody the old Apollonian archetype.
“The artists of the Apollo archetype,” he explains, “serve up heroic, populist music for the masses. These are the superheroes of rock ‘n’ roll, the gods of the arenas and stadiums. The sunny aspects of Apollo are reflected in the predominant use of major keys and up-tempo rhythms. The Apollonian archetype often trades in political and religious moralism, serving up its singalong anthems with a social conscience.” In this grouping of rock stars, Knowles includes Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Elton John, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Journey, Blondie, The Police, U2 and Green Day. He writes a summary of the various artists’ careers and fills in some detail to further his arguments as to why these particular rockers correspond to the Apollonian ideal. It may not be airtight scholarship, but it is very interesting nonetheless.
A kind of diametric opposite of the Apollonian idealism is the worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and the harvest. Knowles says that a lot of writers misuse the term “Dionysian,” and confuse it with “hedonism,” or “living for pleasure.” The Dionysian cult instead had a religious method and meaning, but its wild excesses would make today’s rock shows look like a church picnic, jokes Knowles. Dionysus had a band of female followers, “groupies,” if you will, called “Maenads,” and the god boasted to a mortal Theban tyrant named Pentheus that he had “driven these women from their homes in a frenzy” and that they now “live in the mountains, out of their minds.” The Maenads would dance and scream to the music of Dionysian rituals, which included the loud beating of drums. And who has Knowles consigned to the Dionysian school of rock? Who are the true party animals of our present day? In Knowles’ opinion, that would be The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, The Beastie Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Guns n’ Roses. Jim Morrison, the late poet laureate of The Doors, took the mythological bull by the horns with the song “The End,” which climaxes in a spoken-word passage in which Morrison tells the story of a modern Oedipus who “takes a face from the ancient gallery” and murders his family before raping his mother. One may recall that at the end of the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus tears out his own eyes in remorse. The great myths sometimes take bloody, frightening turns as their stories unfold and the chips fall into place. “The End” is not exactly a Dionysian party song, but there is a definite co-opting of a story that began in ancient Greece and eventually filtered down to Sigmund Freud and
his theories regarding psychoanalysis and the unconscious mind.
Rock and Roll and Ancient Mythology By Sean Casteel
Rock and Roll and Ancient Mythology By Sean Casteel
The female side of the mythological continuum is also represented in “The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” The archetype of the nurturing Earth Mother and its embodiment in the Eleusinian Mysteries is said to be fulfilled by Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt, Heart, Chrissie Hynde, Pat Benatar, Courtney Love and Sleater Kinney. The darker, more witchlike aspects of the female personality can be seen
manifested by Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Cocteau Twins. The witchy women owe a debt to the mysteries of Isis, an Egyptian goddess who first began showing up in sacred texts around the third millennium B.C.E. Isis festivals made for a great night out, Knowles writes, complete with torchlight processions and entertainers as well as loud music, dancing, and endless barrels of beer. Knowles says that scholars still argue about whether temple prostitutes and sacred sex were common in shrines to Isis, but sexually explicit icons have been found in her cult centers excavated by archeologists. In a chapter called “Princes of Darkness,” Knowles makes the mythological connection between rock bands that trade on wickedness and the darker gods of the ancient pantheon, such as Pluton, the Underworld god of bounty and riches who became a model for the early Christians, who overlaid their beliefs onto Pluton and similar overseers of Hades and created the notion of Satan as we know him today. From its inception, the new religion of Christianity had its disgruntled followers who rebelled against church discipline, thus creating the “black mass.” “Some rock ‘n’ roll bands would latch on to the Plutonian archetype,” Knowles explains, “as a way to shock and provoke the mainstream. This trend first became explicit in the late Sixties as influences from Satanism and black magic became fashionable in some quarters. There was a highbrow kind of Plutonian energy that traded in art and sexual transgression, as well as a more sensationalistic, lowbrow stream that wallowed in horror and gore.”
Knowles adds that groups under the Plutonian influence would shock parents and the mainstream media to a degree not felt since the earliest days of rock ‘n’ roll. Some of these bands should be easy enough to guess: The Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke, Throbbing Gristle, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, as well as Marilyn Manson and the exponents of genres Knowles calls “Devil Music,” “Thrash and Grindcore,” and “Death Metal.” This has been just a brief survey of only parts of what Knowles offers in “The Secret History Of Rock ‘N’ Roll.” One can no doubt find other personal favorites and see how their star aligns with the ancient gods and mysteries. For example, Neil Young is said to embody the woefulness of the story of Orpheus, while Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel are descendants of Hermes, the messenger of the gods who was also the patron of writing, among other things. In addition, Hermes was a “psychopomp,” one who escorted the dead to the Underworld.
“Hermetic artists focus on technique and equipment,” according to Knowles, “using the studio itself as a musical instrument. Hermetic bands are usually driven by artistic concerns more than commercial ones,
and they often compete with one another to expand the formal constraints of form, technique and technology.”
Knowles has done an excellent job of throwing light on the origins of mankind’s myths and their rebirth in the rock ‘n’ roll era, with stories and concepts that transcend time and continue to exert their powerful hold on the nature of what people are. Our “collective unconscious,” according to the term’s originator, the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, is inevitably tied to our primitive beginnings and we have never really advanced beyond the same spiritual and mythological archetypes that governed the spirit of ancient man – an ancient man who loved to rock out to loud drums and lyres in a manner that is quite obviously familiar to us all in the 21st century. It was ever thus.
[If you enjoyed this article by Sean Casteel, visit his website at www. seancasteel.com Casteel is the author of several books on UFOs and spirituality, to include “UFOs, Prophecy and the End of Time” and “The Excluded Books of the Bible,” both of which can be purchased on Amazon.com or from his website.]
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other half of me and that’s what this music is currently doing. It’s has elements of Rock, Blues, Soul and some tiny sprankles of country twang in it. Just good, good stuff.
and for that I’m grateful. My art will be forever changing as will I. So it is both freedom by success and evolving by necessity.
Rockstar: This sounds like
and Halloween is upon us. Any ghost stories for your fans this month?
fun, Aaron. Who has collaborated with you on this project?
Midnight Stroll is Aaron Behrens
current form of musical expression. And he talks about the new project and his upcoming show dates. We last spoke to Aaron in 2011 in Weird Magazine when Ghostland was coming off the Codename Rondo tour. Thomas and he were about to perform for the Red Bull Soundclash on South Padre Island. We recently caught up with Aaron here in Austin in September. Rockstar: Hi Aaron. Been a while
since the Weird Show in San Marcos. How have you been, my friend?
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Welcome to Rockstar Magazine, my current form of publishing. Aaron Behrens: Yaeah, Russell, it’s been great man! Just been chillin at home making albums and making babies!!You know, living the good life :) Rockstar: Haven’t spoken with you since last year, but Codename Rondo did really well for you and Thomas didn’t it.
Aaron Behrens: It has been a
while hasnt it. Yeah Codename did pretty good man, Ghostland period has been good to Thomas and I.
Rockstar: Hope Thomas is doing good. Is he manning that Observatory Tower?
Aaron Behrens: Some great Austin Musicians lended a helping hand with this. Just to name a few, Matt Drenek from BattleMe, Lions Nic Armstrong did some guitar work. Alex Maas from The Black Angels did vocals on one song, and now Jonas Wilson from Lomita, White White Lights is playing guitar in the live band. Aaron Behrens: Yeah he is doing good. I don’t think he is at the observatory but I would bet he is cooking up something tasty in some strange off the grid facility.
Rockstar: Tell me about the new project: The Midnight Stroll. I’m digging this Day & Night track. Aaron Behrens: Thanks Russell!
It’s something that I have wanted to do for a long time and it finally all came to fruit this year. It’s songs that I have written as far as my third eye can see and then i brought in a band to help fill in the blanks. Its a completely different beast than GLO. Which that’s the whole point. I just needed to fulfill this whole
Rockstar: Nice. Why the name The Midnight Stroll? Aaron Behrens: Well it just worked, man. There was a lot of late night moon lit strolls taken during the writing period. Plus it’s got class and mystery! Who doesn’t love that combination???!!!
Rockstar: Creativity constantly evolves.
Has success given you some freedom to experiment with this project, or do you think that it’s just the evolution of expression? Aaron Behrens: Success with
GLO has definitley given me the time to focus on this new project
Rockstar: Aaron, it’s October
Aaron Behrens: Ghosts are ev-
erywhere. Mainly in your mind. They are imbedded in memories. Ghosts of all shapes,sizes and colors live there. All you have to do is close your eyes and they appear.
Rockstar: So where can
we see the new project in October?
At the ACL Fest Sun, Oct. 6th from 11:15 - 12:00 PM. KGSR Radio? Aaron Behrens: I’m doing a couple of songs for the KGSR ACL radio show Oct 5th at Threadgills south, but first I’m playing a show at Stubbs indoors on Oct 3rd with BattleMe and Nic Armstrong and The Thieves. Doors open at 9. That will be my first show ever with this project! Gonna be a good time!!
Rockstar: Thanks for your
time Aaron! Final thoughts to readers from the Aaron Behrens and The Midnight Stroll.
Aaron Behrens: Be the programmer not the programmed!!
MONIKER GUITARS
We spoke to local guitar crafters Kevin & Dave over at Moniker Guitars in south Austin last week. These guys are Innovating! Build your own guitar on their website and it gets mailed to your door in about a month! To learn more about this exciting company visit their booth at ACL this month or log on to monikerguitars.com and start building your very own custom guitar today! Rockstar:Welcome to
Rockstar Magazine Kevin and Dave.
Moniker Guitars: Thanks
for having us. We almost feel like Rockstars.
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Rockstar: How goes the guitar business?
new ablum. It has some logos and art from the album in the design of the guitar.
Moniker Guitars: Busy, busy... but we don’t fret. Get it? Fret? Haha.. no? Yeah, terrible.
Rockstar: Talk about the high-tech aspect that goes into building these great guitars.
Rockstar: HAA! Good one! I understand that you can custom build a guitar online on your website and you guys will spec out the build and mail customers their new guitar. Am I warm? Moniker Guitars: Scorching! Yes, we have a “guitar configurator” on our website which lets you design your custom Moniker guitar online at MonikerGuitars.com. We then build the guitar in our shop in Austin and ship it to your door in just four weeks. The guitars start at $849.
Rockstar: That’s awesome. Kind of like the Dell computer online order for guitars! Can I make a Rockstar Magazine guitar? Moniker Guitars:Just like Dell. We can definitely make a Rockstar Magazine guitar. We do branded guitars all the time. Currently we’re building some for the band, Silverstein to help promote their
Moniker Guitars: Well, there is obviously a tech element to the whole “design online” part. However we actually use some new technology in building the actual guitars too. We have a waterbased paint that’s environmentally friendly and dries quickly. We also use a clear coat (the shiny protective finish on the guitars) that dries in minutes when you shine a UV light on it. We have some other tricks too but if I told you, I’d have to hire you and put you to work.
Moniker Guitars: Kyle is a huge sci-fi fan which is why we ended up building a 2001 themed guitar. However, he’s such a fan that he actually built his own space pod. Kyle lives in Austin where we’re based, and during one of the early test flights, he crashed the pod into our shop. It was ugly. There were flames and burning flesh BUT, at the sametime, it was sooo metal. We were able to put out most of the flames by hitting Kyle repeatedly with a guitar and in the process he fell in love with it. What a guy.
Rockstar: Buiding guitars! When do I start?
Rockstar: I hear you work with some Austin area artists to design some if these guitars. Tell us about that process.
Small world since we are also interviewing The Sword this issue. I saw on your YouTube channel that you guys did Kyle’s guitar; A 2001 Space Odyssey inspired design. I bet that was fun to make. How did this come about?
Moniker Guitars: Yes, we’re currently working with about 10 to 12 local artists on some super-custom, hand-painted guitars. We’re just giving them the raw wood guitars and letting them put their spin on them. In doing so, we’re hoping to emphasize the custom nature of our guitars and also its just a great way to get involved with some incredibly talented local artists. We hope to promote these artists along the way. You’ll be able to see some of these guitars as early as ACL and then again at the East Austin Studio Tours which take place in November. The project will culminate with a gallery show December 7th at Up Collective
on E. Cesar Chavez. We’ve gotten a few of the guitars back already and they’re killer! Each one is so different. We’re very excited to see them finished as functioning guitars and put them on display.
Rockstar: How did Moniker gui-
tars come to be here in Austin TX? Give readers some back story as to how you guys ended up here in the Live Music Capitol!
Moniker Guitars: We’re origi-
nally from the Boston area, but both of us had visited Austin for music events like ACL and SXSW. So when we came up with the idea for Moniker, we immediately considered Austin. Its not only a great music town with lots of guitar players but its also a great town for start-ups. There are so many resources available for new companies. We’re definitely glad we chose to relocate for this project. Also, the BBQ and breakfast tacos don’t hurt.
From the Band THE SWORD: Kyle’s 2001 Space Odyssey
Rockstar: I hear you will be
attending ACL this year with a Booth. Where can we find you guys at ACL?
Moniker Guitars: We’ll be in the ACL Art Market with a wide range of guitars that we’ve designed. People can come by and see them, try them out and of course purchase these guitars. We had a booth in the art market last year and it was so much fun. Just great energy. This year we have a better idea of what to expect so we’re going to do it bigger and better.
Rockstar: Kevin, what art-
ist or bands are currently playing Moniker Guitars?
Moniker Guitars: We just built our first bass guitar for Matt Noveskey from Blue October. That was a really fun project. He wanted his kids’ names on the back of the guitar neck so we did him one better by having his wife bring the kids to the shop to stamp their fingerprints on the neck. Matt had no idea and flipped out when he saw it. For guitars we’re working with Kyle from The Sword obviously, Shane and Paul Marc from Silverstein, Andy Lane from the Austin band, Driver Friendly, James Brindley of For The Foxes, Tori Vasquez is another talented local musician who is opening up for Blue October on tour this fall. We’ve also worked with Danny Listrom of Austin band MEGABIG, Justin from the band Anarbor, and Patricia Lynne from The Wind and The Wave.
Rockstar: What other prod-
ucts does Moniker guitars offer besides custom guitar builds? I thought I saw a peddle.
Moniker Guitars: We recently did a Kickstarter campaign and we offered a pedal as one of the rewards. This will be the first pedal we’ve built. We’re not sure if this will become a regular thing for us or not. We’ll have to wait and see. We do hope to launch the line of bass guitars soon.
Rockstar: About
how long does it take for a customer do recieve their guitar after they custom build it online at monikerguitars.com . Moniker Guitars: It takes about 4 weeks to go from the website to their door.
Rockstar: Dave, not
only do these guitars look cool with sleek designs and custom artwork, but the sound you get out of them ROCKS!! Talk about the Moniker sound.
Moniker Guitars: Our guitars have been designed to be extremely versatile. We use carefully selected premium grade Alder wood for all of our bodies. Alder has a great tone to weight ratio and pairs extremely well with our North American Hard Maple necks. You can select our signature Moniker pickups or from a variety of Seymour Duncan pickups.
From smooth jazz to screaming leads, Moniker can help you find your signature sound.
Rockstar: Guys, in closing, what would you like every band or artist to know about Moniker Guitars. Moniker Guitars: First, we of-
fer an artist discount on our guitars so if you’re a professional musician and you play out in front of people, we want to hook you up with a nice discount on a Moniker guitar.
Second, most guitar companies look to endorse players that are known for the their technical prowess. “Shredders” if you will. We want to work with artists who have a style that’s quirky and unique like each of our guitars.
Rockstar: Thank
you both so much for your time. I look forward to customizing our very own Rockstar Magazine Guitar!!
Moniker Guitars:
Please do! Thanks for having us.
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Sciborg By Russell Dowden
& the
Robopimps able to hear all this great music. To be quite honest, the music on our planet was rather boring compared to what was coming through the pipe. So we learned it all and have been on this quest to share what we came up with ourselves. Our stuff sounds like Parliament Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, Frank Zappa, some guttural Clash or Sex Pistols, a bit of 80s Metal and some Psychedelic the likes of Jim Morrison with the Doors. So what we bring to the table is over the top guitar rippage, intense drumming, a psychotic horn section and of course a funky ass bass player. We’re looking to give the next cd a little 60’s surf vibe. Look out.
Rockstar: From one of your songs; “ Take a case of AstroGlide and Go to Town . . . . . put some on your booty and shake it all around” Rockstar: State your name
and business on this planet?
Sciborg & Robopimps: We are Sciborg & the Robopimps, and we’re here to solidify the funkified freaks of planet Earth. We’re here to Funk out, Rock out and thrash out some Punk Rock Music from outer space. We’re also here to earn space credits by collecting mojo which is created through booty shaking. Rockstar: From which sector of the Galaxy do you hail?
Sciborg & Robopimps: We are from a galaxy not too far away. It’s actually the closest one to the Milky Way called the Andromeda Galaxy. See, your radio transmissions have been getting sucked into a massive black hole in your galaxy and then spewed out of a cosmic wormhole in our galaxy. Therefore we’ve been
hearing all your music over the last century your time, and we like your Funk, Punk and Rock & Roll the best. Anyway, we may as well tell you that the Andromeda and the Milky Way are set on a collision course that will happen several hundred billion years from now. Needless to say, we probably won’t be around to witness this, so we might as well party like its 1999.
Can you comment on this lyric?
Rockstar: Describe the
Rockstar: Back to earth guys . . .. Where are you gigging this Halloween?
Sciborg & Robopimps: We first
Surely there are requests for Parties and Events during October?
Funkodelic sounds of the Robopimps.
started hearing the funky sounds of James Brown in another place and another time. Then there were the bloody Beatles and the Rolling Stones and all kinds of other Rock & Roll. This cosmic wormhole just kept opening up in spurts spewing out all this information. We had like this cosmic record player to be
Sciborg & Robopimps: Yes, that makes it easier to enter orbit of a full moon of course…when you shake it all around. We planned to arrive on your planet around 1969-1970, but we stopped by Uranus and decided that it was bootylicious. There’s also a deeper philosophical message in it about love, joy & happiness.
Sciborg & Robopimps: We are booked for Poodle Dog October 11 & Gypsy Lounge October 23. We’re leaving a few dates open for requests.
Rockstar: I’ve seen you guys around town as of late, Poodle Dog Lounge and Infest a while back. What other venues welcome the Sciborg Mothership? Sciborg & Robopimps: Oh the Poodle Dog is a great place to play! There’s plenty of parking, and it’s away from all the down town hubbub. You can avoid the throngs of Earthling scum whose sole purpose is to put their genitals together and move back & forth really fast. Other than that, we’ve played at
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Antone’s on Riverside, Trailer Space Records, Headhunters for Ta Ta Tuesday, the Channel Austin EXSE Live TV Showcase, Babe’s for SXSW and some private parties. We burned our bridges at Red Eye Fly, but that must be a blessing in disguise. My ex-Earthling girlfriend always gave me guff about it saying that was the worst place to play and if you played there, your band wasn’t going anywhere. I have a precognitive feeling that we’ll be going East to New Orleans in the near future.
Rockstar:The sound is pretty groovy these days with the Horn section. How many Robopimps are there now? Sciborg & Robopimps:
There’s 8 of us including me, but the 3 piece ensemble grew to include Pppppppat on Tenor Sax long about 2011. It’s been a dream for me to have a three piece horn section including Tenor Sax, Trombone & Trumpet. But now we have a 5 piece horn section including Tenor Sax, 2 Trombones and 2 Trumpets. I’ve seen Funk bands with 3 or 4 horns, but not 5. I think that makes us the horniest band in Austin, TX. Band members include: Sciborg on Guitar & Lead Vocals, Death Ray Jay on Bass & Vocals, Nick on Drums, Pppppppat on Tenor Saxophone, Mike Anderson on Trombone, Patrick Morris on Trombone, Nathan Hoppens on Trumpet and Andrea H. Lowrey on Trumpet. The entire horn section tends to do backup vocals too.
“This cosmic wormhole just kept opening up in spurts spewing out all this information. We had like this cosmic record player to be able to hear all this great music. ”
Sciborg & The
Robopimps
Rockstar: Tell us about the
new CD.
Sciborg & Robopimps:It’s called “Hot Bootie on the Space Train (Live in the Studio).” It was recorded LIVE in the studio in one take. There’s 10 original songs on the CD including 5 Funk songs, 3 Punk songs, 1 Heavy Metal song and 1 totally Psychedelic song. You might say it’s all over the board, but we like to mix it up. Songs on the list include: 1) Her Lips are so Alive, 2) Goin’ Down Town, 3) Space Brakes/Corn Flakes, 4) Gutter Punk Girl, 5) Sex Robot, 6) I’ll Sell Ya!, 7) Booty Booty Baby, 8) Shake That Thing, 9) The Binky’s Outside, 10) Ode to the Lizard King. It was recorded at Pink Elephant Studios and our good friend C-Bot mixed it down for us. The results are incredible if I say so myself. You can also find the CD in Austin, TX at Waterloo Records, End of an Ear, Encore Videos & Music, Trailer Space Records, Antone’s Records and Lucky Lizard Curios Shop on 6th St.
Rockstar: How many years has The Sciborg been spreading the Robopimp gospel in Austin now?
Sciborg & Robopimps: Whew, it’s been since May 2001 when the first fully fledged incantation of Sciborg
& the Robopimps came to be. We played just about every venue you could imagine including the late Blackcat Lounge. Long about 2005, we returned to our mother world of Funk-O-Rama to regroup. Since then we’ve come back in 2010 with a whole new lineup including Death Ray Jay, Ppppppat and Nick Welp on Drums. The horn section just magically happened.
Rockstar: Do you still do
the Access TV Show?
Sciborg & Robopimps:We’re getting another TV Show and you’re going to host it, Russell.
Rockstar: How can people
book you for their Halloween Show this Fall? Is there a key phrase for YOUTUBE NATION. Sciborg & Robopimps: Is that some little island in the Pacific that Google kicked the indigenous peoples out of? If you’re referring to Reverbnation, there is a clause in their terms of agreement that basically says they can rip off your music. Otherwise, go to ROBOPIMPS. COM and you can get in contact with the higher power of the
Intergalactic Music Consortium to book Sciborg & the Robopimps for your party or venue.
Rockstar: Thanks for stopping by Earth. What search words on YOUTUBE can readers learn more? Sciborg & Robopimps: “Sci-
borg & the Robopimps” “Sciborg Gear” “Vladimir Platenko” “Flaptop” “Attack of the Fucktards from Planet Cornloaf” “I am! Yes, I am” “Sciborg & the Robopimps EXSE” “Mandolina Las Modelas” “Desert World” Just check out the two channels we got on youtube: Sciborg Gear and Sciborg Robopimps. You can also friend us on facebook if you look up “Sciborg Robopimps.”
ROBOTS
FROM SPACE 512-696-7159
FOR HIRE
Thanks for having us in Rockstar Magazine, Russell.
Follow Sciborg & The Robopimps on Facebook by searching,Sciborg Robopimp - Russell Dowden
Page 13 • www.rockstarmagazine.com
Blackfly: Totally! You know, for a
lot of us Halloween is like Christmas, so the month of October is a celebration of all the things we love most. As for myself, there is nothing I love more than Rock ‘n’ Roll. So for Rocktober we’re going to offer a 2 for $30 special on the Rock Wall. We’re also going to run a 13% off sale on our Lucky 13 store within the store all month!
Rockstar: You come from a Rock n Roll family. Tell readers a little about your background in music. Blackfly:
Blackfly Austin is a home-grown, Rock ‘n Roll boutique style retail outlet specializing in Vintage, Kustom, Rockabilly, Pin-Up, Punk, Hard Rock, and Heavy Metal clothing and accessories from the best national, lifestyle brands like Lucky 13, Folter, Metal Mafia and Hollywood Body Jewelry, as well Austin original brand names and designers like Pallbearer Press, HellCat HardWear, 313 Clothing, and much more!
Rockstar: Welcome to Rockstar Magazine Robert. Blackfly: Thanks for having me, man! It’s wicked cool here.
Rockstar: Tell us why your
store is so Unique.
Blackfly: There’s a lot of things
that make Blackfly unique, but the most important thing is the people; all of our local musicians, artists, designers, and, of course, my staff. All the people who help me do what I do at the shop are what makes Blackfly something really special. It’s also about our location, in Lakeline Mall. Just being an Austin original is cool enough, and there are some great shops in South Austin that I love, but bringing that South Austin Boutique vibe up to the “Northies” is all part of the master plan. Many of our regular customers and friends wouldn’t normally shop at a mall, but we’ve found that the location is really convenient for most people. And being left of center, literally and figuratively, helps a lot, too.
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Rockstar: So it is the Ulti-
mate retail outlet in Rock n Roll apparel.
Blackfly: (Laughing) Well, we offer the best in local brand names like Pallbearer Press, HellCat HardWear, 313 Clothing, American Built Clothing, Criminal Class Creations, and vintage cupcake aprons by Tara Braddock Designs, as well as top brand names in the Vintage, Rockabilly, and Pin-up lifestyles like Lucky 13, Folter, Steady, and Sourpuss. We also have a killer collection of local band merch, as well as our local artists showcase. And then, of course, there’s “The Rock Wall”! That’s about a hundred bands from the classics, legends, and gamechangers of the 50’s & 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, as well some of the best of today’s rock and metal. And every band shirt in the store is under $20, including the tax! And that’s just the highlights of the shop; so, yeah, our goal is to be one of the ultimate Rock ‘n’ Roll apparel shops in Austin.
Rockstar: Your Rock Wall is insane. Do you have GWAR Shirts? BlackflyAbsolutely! I had to have
GWAR shirts on the wall! GWAR is one of the ultimate game-changers in the business. But, the best GWAR shirts are the custom ones the band makes for you at each of their shows, of course!
Rockstar: Are you offering
any Specials this ROCKTOBER?
Give us a good deal . .
(Laughing) That’s a long story, brother! My Dad was a phenomenal guitarist and singer who spent his life on the road as a working musician backing up people like Freddy Fender, and Gene Christian, as well as fronting many of his own bands and projects. So, I was literally born and raised on the road in the music business. I was on stage in front of 10,000 people before I could walk. There is no place that feels more like “home” to me than the road, the stage, and the Holiday Inn. There was never really any doubt about what I was going to be. Over the past 20 years I’ve been traveling all over the country playing with several different projects. My first professional band was a glam, punk trio called “Toy Oyster”. There’s a live record out there from that band, as well as some Studio singles. I worked for a few months with an electro-metal band, “Whiplash Smile”, before moving to Austin and putting together a classical, acoustic-rock duo that recorded an album called “Resurrection” that was dedicated to my Dad, as well as re-arranging and performing covers like an acoustic version of Alice In Chains’ “Man In the Box” and Bon Jovi’s “I’ll be There For You”. In 2005 I got a call from an old friend from my Toy Oyster days who was on the west coast working on an American Visual Kei/concept project with an independent label and needed to put a live band together. So, I moved to San Francisco and signed my first label contract for 3 years of touring and promotion for “The Bleeder Project” as its Religious Tyranny character, “Reverend Kräh”. The contract was extended for another 6 months and to include recording bass and vocal tracks for their first album, “The Systematic Subversion of Fear and Insecurity”, which was released by Toystaar Records internationally. My favorite
part of that record is the song, “The Waiting”, which opens with my vocal homage to one of my biggest musical heroes, Prince.
Nowadays, I dedicate myself almost exclusively to Blackfly and helping other musicians do what they do.
After my contract with the label came to an end in 2007, I moved out to Rochester, NY to join up with Thrash Metal Band, Impalement. These guys were in the studio working on their sophomore album and had asked me to help them write new music to expand their style and sound.
Rockstar: Nice! Do you still
I spent some time in traveling between 2008 and 2010, performing solo gigs and writing, until finally coming back to Austin and joining forces with a fellow veteran singer/ songwriter, Heidi Allen, to form a World Music, Electronica, Jazz, Rock, Fusion project called “Her Veins Ran Lightning” after a Lord Byron poem. This has been my favorite project to date because it was such an amazing challenge; you see, Heidi is primarily a computer programmer so all of her music is written with a computer keyboard and it was my job to translate what she wrote to the strings. I also learned more about singing from her in two years than I had during my entire career.
play music for fun?
Blackfly : Hell yeah! I play every
day! I always have my 6 string at the shop with me and I also have a circle of guitarist friends who stop by for jam sessions all the time. We also host acoustic performances in the shop that showcase local talent, and every so often you might catch me joining in and playing some fill-in leads or harmonies. I guess you can take the rockstar off the stage but you can’t take the performance out of the rockstar.
Rockstar: Your a Rock n
Roller at heart. Does coming to work feel like work?
Top 10 Favorite Bands of All Time . . . . According to BLACKFLY: Blackfly : (Laughing) That’s a tall
Blackfly :
(Laughing) Never, man! I ask myself everyday if there’s anything I would rather be doing. Then I think of all the amazing, talented people around me and how much what I do helps to move them forward. I think of all the people I meet and talk with at the shop every day and how rewarded they feel when I share all of this with them and send them home with a little piece of it in the form of a badass T-shirt, a pin-up dress, or custom jewelry. I think of all that and I am so jazzed to go into the shop!
Rockstar: What inspired
you to create such a cool store?
Blackfly : It’s all about the love of
Rock and Metal, brother! There’s an ongoing conversation at the shop that has included customers, friends, and musicians, from all over
the world, about Rock ‘n’ Roll and Metal. And that conversation will never end. I love that!
Rockstar: I hear you just
had a really cool sale last month on Friday the 13th.
What kind of discount can Rockstar readers get if they come in before Halloween? Blackfly : I love the idea of Rock-
star Magazine and I am happy to give my fellow readers a killer deal; If you guys stop in the shop and tell us about reading Rockstar Magazine we’ll give you “buy 3 get 1 free” on every band shirt in the store.
Rockstar: AWSOME DEAL!!!
order, brother! I grew up listening to every style and genre of music; Dad always taught me that good music is wherever you find it. I’ve come to discover that the music business is like the restaurant business. There’s some music out there that’s like fast food; it’s blanded down to appeal to the widest range audience. But there’s some wicked tasty stuff in the local joints and dives, off the map and below the radar; they may not be as flashy or make as much money, but , man, it’s good!
So, we could talk about the great bands like Sabbath (Ozzy-era and Dio-era), The Misfits, Opeth; the typical regurgitated lists of bands we all know and love. But let’s talk about some of the amazing stuff that’s going on right here in our own back yard. My top 10 favorite Austin bands of all time are subNatural, Pushmonkey, The Prophets Whisper, Cathexis, Kill Mercy, Tombstone Union, Rend, Squid Bucket, Pernicious Phenom, and Insurgence. And there’s one more local band from Waco that I have to give honorable mention to: Autumn Stay, who I have recently fallen in love with. There are plenty of other great bands out there but those are my favorites.
Rockstar: Robert, thanks
man! Your store Rocks. I’ll be back soon for more Apparel from 313 Clothing.
Blackfly : 313 is badass! And so is Rockstar Magazine! Thanks for having me, man!
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Austin Hot Mods by Christopher Jordan lap properly, if the fret board feels funny under your fingers and it just doesn’t “resonate” with you, or feel like a part of you then the sad truth is, no matter the monetary value you will not enjoy playing it...pure and simple my friends this is where it starts. A perfect example of this is Willy Nelson’s guitar named “Trigger”. It’s an old, beat up classical, with holes literally worn in it. But even though Willy could buy a guitar factory tomorrow he continues to use “Trigger” because he loves it’s sweet dulcet tone and it feels right to him when he plays, nothing more. It just feels right. Don’t be afraid to shop around and find a guitar that clicks with you to start with, it will make all the difference.
Achieving Your Tone – Chapter 1: Instruments By: Christopher Jordan
The one question I have been asked more than anything by musicians over the years is “How do I sound like that”. While I have understood the question and more than that the desire a musician has to capture a specific tone or sound I had a hard time explaining to them that it truly comes down to a combination of many, many things that make up the ever-quested “Sound” either live or in the studio. It begins of course with musicianship. Hey man let’s admit it, we all can’t be a Jimi Hendrix when it comes to skills, but that does not mean you can’t come close to emulating the sound -- with or without the chops. Let’s take a closer look at how tones are achieved. There are truly only three components, aside from talent, involved in crafting one’s sound. 1) Instrument 2) Amplification 3) Outboard Gear (i.e. pedals, rack mounted effects, etc.) In this edition we will focus on that which every musician cannot do without: your instrument. I firmly believe that before anyone buys any gear ever they should first know what it is they are buying and why they are buying it. Let’s begin with a quick definition: in•stru•ment Webster’s Dictionary noun \ˈin(t)-strə-mənt\ : a tool or device used for a particular purpose; especially : a tool or device designed to do careful and exact work : a device that is used to make music Now you may say “Hey man, I know an instrument is a device used to make music...DUH!”
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Well if that’s the case you missed the first definition. Let’s take another quick look at it, because it tells the first part of the story of what our quest entails. 1.“a tool or device used for a particular purpose; especially : a tool or device designed to do careful and exact work”
This is of the utmost importance. If your instrument is of low quality it can be hard to attain the sound we are so ardently searching for. “But I can’t afford a $1,000 guitar”. No need for that, my friend. As I said, it can be hard, but not impossible. You can get fantastic sound out of just about any guitar or bass with the right arrangement of pickups, electronics and other factors. Here are a few guidelines to maintain as you are finding the proper axe to start crafting your tone with. Make sure first of all that your guitar is comfortable to YOU. That’s right, you could have the best rig in the world and a $5,000 guitar, but if it doesn’t hang just right around you, if it just doesn’t seem to sit on your
From comfort we move into technicalities. Here we are talking about things like the “action” on the neck, the bridge style, fret size, neck leveling and electronics, even the type of wood can affect the sound. The term “action” refers to how the strings rest over the fret board due to the settings of the bridge and saddles. Some people like a high action, which means the strings are lifted higher off of the fret board. Low action means that the strings are very close to the fret board. I prefer my action low (action is literally the guitar equivalent of salting food...everybody likes it a bit different) -- consult your local guitar tech and he can make recommendations for you. Fret height is important. The bigger the fret the faster your guitar will intonate, but also the harder chords will be. If you’re a shred guy, you might like big chunky-size frets. I am a rhythm player and personally prefer a smaller, low-profile fret. Again, fret your guitar according to your preference. Finally, we move into the neck leveling. This is very important because it is what is directly responsible for stray sounds such as fret buzz and loss of sustain. The easy way to check neck leveling is to lay the guitar down on a flat surface and bring your eyes to plane with the bridge looking toward the headstock. Pay close attention to the level of the neck under the strings in relation to the butt of the bridge. They should be parallel and the neck should have a slight tapering slope on the left and right edges. If one side seems to be higher than the other, or if you see a dip or rise in the level of the fret board then, my friend, you have a torqued neck. Not to worry though, most guitars are fitted with a truss rod under the
name plate or just inside the body which can be used to reset your neck’s alignment. This process of truss rod adjustment is very delicate. One can unseat a truss rod and move into hundreds of dollars of repair trying to do it themselves while trying to save $25-30 at a local tech. DON’T DO IT! Would you try to straighten and set your own dog’s leg or would you go to a vet? These are the moments to spend a few bucks and have it done right, folks. It’s not worth a $150-200 dollar repair and what could be many weeks without your musical friend. Get it done right and you will notice a big difference in your old friend’s playability. Finally let’s focus on the last part of the tone in this article: the electronics you have in your guitar. When you are listening to your favorite rocker and find that sweet spot where he digs into the solo just right and your
ears say, “There it is - that sound!” Please remember one thing first. The chances of that musician using an off the rack guitar is more than slim, it’s almost non-existent. The fact is the electronics are more than likely custom in some way, shape or form. For example, changing the values tone capacitors and potentiometers (a.k.a. “pots”) can have a drastic effect on sound. The larger the value the more sound. A 250k pot literally can be ½ as loud as a 500k pot and a .22uf tone capacitor will cut less high end than a .33uf capacitor. When it comes to pick-ups, a lot of things make a difference: the number of pick-ups, single coil vs. Humbucker, the number of switch positions.
Austin Hot Mods by Christopher Jordan Achieving Your Tone – Chapter 1: Instruments By: Christopher Jordan continued . . . In this example I am replacing the pickups in a Peavey Generation EXP series guitar that I got because it played well, it felt great and I loved the look. I have always wanted a Telecaster, but found them to be a bit too bright and twangy due to the two pick-up design and not always the sound I am looking for. While this guitar has a Telecaster style neck, body and bridge providing the feel of a Telecaster, it maintains a three single coil pick-ups configuration with standard 5-way switching. This means that I have the pick-up configuration and tonal options of a Stratocaster at my disposal. While I love the feel of the guitar, I was always a bit disappointed in the sound of the pick-ups -- they were obviously stock and nothing amazing. A good friend of mine named Dave, who is my local ear to the ground in Houston for gear I am searching for, came across a great deal on Craigslist for a pair of Fender custom shop ’57 reissue Telecaster pick-ups for under $100. I went and met him, swapped for the
pick-ups (it doesn’t always have to be money out of pocket you know), then made my way back to the shop and got started with the planned upgrade and soon-to-be switch mod on my beloved but rarely played Peavey EXP. I started by removing the strings, followed by the bridge and pickguard, in order to gain access to the gooey insides where the pick-ups live. I then heated up the soldering iron and removed both the bridge and neck pick-ups, making sure to notate in my bench notes which pick-up went to which switch position. This would prove very important for the future switch mod to be done. After disconnecting the stock pick-ups I then mocked up how I would be mounting the pickups and proceeded to place the in the bridge and neck position of the pickguard. They looked very pretty. From here we move to running the wires through the body and soldering the pick-ups into their respective positions on the 5-way switch. After this comes what would normally be the final step of the installation process, which is the reassembly of the bridge and pickguard back onto the body of the guitar and testing the pick-ups’ connectivity. With this done we move onto the final two steps of my guitar’s tone transmogrification.
While most Telecaster style pickups provide a very bright and high range profile, I prefer my guitars to be a little more on the mellow jazzy side. To achieve this I raise the micro farad (uf) value on the tone pot from the standard value, which on this guitar was .22uf to a larger value of .33uf . Now, while this small value change of .11 may not seem like a lot, it is enough to just get rid of the sharp edges my ears perceive on a typical Telecaster and bring it into the range of my sound as I like it. Finally, to this guitar I decided to add one extra little bonus: a standalone micro toggle switch that, when activated while the standard 5-way switch is in either the neck or bridge position, will allow the opposing pick-up to become active and immediately allow me to have the neck and bridge pickups active simultaneously. This is where I chose to emulate part of the tone of my personal axe-slinging favorite: David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame. He has had this switch on his legendary black Strat for years and it is an integral part of attaining his classic tone. So there you have it, the instrument you have been looking for for so long. You don’t have to spend thousands; you just have to be picky enough to know what you’re looking for and yet flexible enough to know that
slight flaws and imperfections can be hammered out and tone can be achieved through many facets of your instrument. Next month we’ll explore the second part of crafting your tone: amplification. Until next time, be nice to your neighbors and keep it below eleven. ~ Christopher Jordan has been a live audio engineer and recording artist for over 15 years and owns AustinHotMods.com an Austin,TX based pedal modification company.
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Forged from the soul of the Austin metal scene, Dead Earth Politics is a blade that cuts like no other. Having been compared to the likes of Lamb of God, Iron Maiden, Pantera and other legends, this band strikes at many cores. In 2013 Dead Earth Politics was honored with the Austin Chronicle’s “Best Metal Band of 2012” award, held for the previous four years by The Sword.
Rockstar: Welcome to Rockstar Magazine, guys. Dead Earth Politics: Thanks, Russell! We really appreciate your support of the local and regional music scene!
Rockstar: Congratulations
on the bands success this year. How does it feel to be recognized as the best Metal Band in Austin?
Dead Earth Politics: Over-
whelming and somewhat odd. We have been working incredibly hard, not unlike every other metal band in Austin. For a local act to come in over an INTERNATIONAL band is strange enough and for it to be US? All I can say is that we do what we love because that’s what we don’t get paid for! Lol The real reason why anyone gets placed on any top list is their fans and their support. We obviously had the best fans this last run.
Rockstar: Introduce the
current line-up of band members.
Dead Earth Politics: Sho nuff! You have Tim Driscoll on the git-sticks – straight from Berklee, but we don’t hold that against him! Mason Evans wrangles the drums and Will Little tries to keep him in line with the bass. Then there is myself, Devon Brown (Ven Scott) on lead vox. Will and Mason have been jamming the longest – something like ten years? I came abroad about eight years ago and Tim was duct-taped, tossed into a windowless van and
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forced to sign his soul over about a year and a half ago.
Rockstar: I hear that you guys are recording a new EP follow up to The Weight of Poseidon (2010). Dead Earth Politics: This
is true! We are in the process of putting new tunes together for consumption shortly! We’re gearing up to take the world by storm! We have new management and just finished up a photoshoot with world class photographer Christopher Durst. We are also aiming to set up some tour dates and target a handful of festivals. This EP is opening a lot of doors for DEP right now. Tim is the new guy on the block and brought to the table a huge pallet of creativity. We are still a metal band who holds on tightly to its rock n’ roll roots and are enjoying the vocal and musical experimentation we are embarking upon. I have a feeling this bad boy is the tip of the ice berg!
Rockstar: Any Idea what
Then there are lesser known acts that deserve praise – Headcrusher, Death Will Tremble (formerly Prey for Sleep), Course of Ruin, Critical Assembly, Evil United, Rend… so many, dude.
EP is called “The Queen of Steel” and we plan on a late November release. This isn’t the last of it though; it is our goal to have another EP, possibly LP out in Q3 of the coming year. That time frame may need some flexibility but we don’t plan to wait as long as we have again.
Rockstar: Tell me some of your influences as a band? What Metal did you guys grow up with? Dead Earth Politics: Damn
– what influences aren’t part of this thing we call a band? Django Reinhardt, Alan Jackson, Elton John (Madman, era), Oingo Boingo, Tchaikovsky, Slayer, Megadeth, Death, Cynic, Lamb of God, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Sabbath, Dio, Holy Grail. List goes on. If it is kick ass music, regardless the genre, we love it.
Rockstar: You recently
launched an IndieGoGo campaign to assist in song writing process begin financing marketing and for Dead Earth Politics? advertising of the album. How can readers and fans Dead Earth Politics : There is support that? no stock way. We have songs that Rockstar: How does the
begin with a simple riff or progression. I, myself, may chat up Tim and show him something I wrote. He, in turn, makes it sound like music. Tim has brought in full songs and there have been tunes where one of us will say, “Hey Tim, listen to this song and make a song that sounds like this”, lol
Rockstar: Tell us about the
Housecore Horror show your guys are doing this Month.
you are calling this new Dead Earth Politics : A big bad ass metal music/horror movie fest. Album? a HUGE shout out to Tammy When is the release date?* And Moore for representing local bands
Dead Earth Politics: The new
kill it than with this fest! That leaves us more time to pre-produce for the music video and write (we plan on releasing another CD shortly)!
on this one and all the others in the past. I’m really honored to be a part of this thing in its first year. The first year of a fest needs to start of with a bang so to be considered good enough to leave an impression on festival goers is humbling.
Rockstar: Nice yeah GWAR,
DOWN, The Melvin’s, Phil & the Illegals, Goatcraft, Blood Farmers, should be a great event!
Dead Earth Politics:I know! It should be freakin’ amazing! I will see you there!!
Rockstar: Any other up-
coming shows for October? Dead Earth Politics : Nothing for October! We are closing it out with HHFF. Wanna end this year with a bang, ya know! What better way to
Dead Earth Politics : That campaign actually ended in early September but support can still be had! You can download “The Weight of Poseidon” right now at http:// deadearthpolitics.bandcamp.com/ and all our physical merch is at http://deadearthpolitics.bigcartel. com/. Personally touched by us before its sent out. You’ll probably have to wash it twice to get the smell out. :)
Rockstar: Congratulations Devon and the rest of you guys! Hard Work pays off. You earned the title of Metal Band of the Year! Look forward to the new EP!! Dead Earth Politics : Thanks, mah brudda! We work hard - this is true - but the real credit goes to fans and bad asses like yourself who support local and regional metal! Thank you for giving us and others like us a voice, man! Stay metal! Deadearthpolitics.com Facebook.com/deadearthpolitics Twitter.com/DEPAustin
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Ashlocke: The Funny Man audiences and great audiences everywhere but in vacation areas you’ll be introduced to Amazing audiences. I was baffled, I introduced myself to the audience and they began to giggle. Then I realized I was naked. No, I’m joking, they didn’t giggle, it was more of a chuckle. Based on this truth in comedy, I thought the cruise ships were going to be a delight. They are good but not so relaxed. People on cruise ships seem tense still. Im not sure why that is..
RM: You’ve been making waves in comedy since we last heard from you in 2009, how does the rockstar life feel? Ashlocke: It feels like a wave. Ups and downs. I always thought It would be cool to be noticed by people, then it started happening. People know your name but you don’t know theirs, sometimes I pretend to. “Are you Ashlocke?”, “Um.. do you work at Best Buy”? When I look back at my career from its meager beginnings I feel proud of where I stand today, but it seems like the further you get into your career you just realize how much farther you have to go. The horizon is relative to where you stand.
RM: I see you are traveling everywhere, what are some of the best spots in the world for comedy? Ashlocke: Location is not the key in comedy, its audiences. I find that in vacation spots, the audiences are better as they have a lot less stress. When I was in Aruba this summer I had to hit the brakes. I went from New York City to this tiny island, I felt like I hit a wall. Life is slow and relaxed in Aruba and as you know, life in the Big Apple.. well, frantic. There are good
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RM: You’ve toured the world, I see you are in Australia soon. Have you performed there before? Ashlocke: No. But I cannot wait. Its funny, when I tell my woman, “I just got booked in South Bend, Indiana!”, She says, “thats great!” but when I tell my woman, “ I just got booked on a tour through Australia!”, she says, “When do we leave?” The tour is in November and its called; “Ashlocke: I Come From The Land Up-Over”, we are making a DVD and doing a daily video blog on my website, www.imakefunnyhappen.com. The best part is, when I was in Alaska this year I wrestled a bear, In Australia, I am going to box a kangaroo, this too will be video’d and probably embarrassing. I am going to fight one animal per continent that I visit. Hey, China! Hide your dragons.. Im in a damsel saving mood.
RM: What was it like to wrestle a bear? Were you scared? Ashlocke: Me, no. I went in too intoxicated to be afraid. I was shadow boxing and calling the bear’s mother names.. After the fight, and after I made the bear breakfast and did his laundry, I snuck out of there and don’t see myself going back near that bear for a while.
RM: Do a lot of comedians ask you for advice?
Ashlocke: Comedy is a weird world. Yes. The short answer. But after my time in comedy I realize that comics are such divas. They trash talk everyone and then contact a booker and try to get shows with the same people they talk trash about. It boggles my mind. Every city has a comedy clique, this is what is wrong with comedy in my eyes (one of the reasons). The cliques stay together and keep out the new comics or comics who are not part of their clique. The new comics get bad advice from other new comics. It is a mess in the comedy world. I have my group of touring professionals that I work with, were not a clique by any means, but I prefer to work with someone I have toured with before and know. And when I go to comedy clubs I always meet new comedians, I especially like to talk with BRAND new comics as they have yet to be corrupted by the clique mentality, I tell them the truth, “If a comedian talks trash about someone to you, they talk trash about you to someone else”. Stay away from this, it only limits your comedic universe. But, keep this in mind, the more comics hate you.. the better you are doing. I just bought a mansion so I have had to learn to ignore comedians like I’m wearing blinds.
RM: Tell us about your mansion. Ashlocke: Well, its great! It was built by Tony Alamo, of the Alamo Jackets.. know who I’m talking about? He use to have tons of religious followers. He would send in one of his followers to a town in a wheelchair and have them live and work among the citizens for months or years, I’m not sure, but they would go to city council meetings and such, and everyone would get to know them. Then, Tony Alamo would come to town and erect a tent. He’d have a revival in the town and at the end to the revival he would “heal” someone. It would always be his follower or “plant” as we say in showbiz. Yea, he is serving 175 years in prison.
RM: Didn’t Tony Alamo try to resurrect his wife or something like that? Ashlocke: Yes. Apparently he had her body on display at the mansion for months while his followers prayed for her to be resurrected. He even floated her in the pool for a few days or something. I think thats essential in resurrections but I’m not sure. Its pretty crazy but I plan on having a Haunted Mansion party for me and my friends or something.
RM: Do you believe in ghosts? Ashlocke: That steak I had in Amarillo haunts me, does that count?
RM: I hear you signed with New Wave Entertainment, how does that feel? Ashlocke: Feels great. New Wave is the top of entertainment for comedians, so I feel very comfortable. My team, Abbey, Josh, and Mike are the best. After our initial meeting I left feeling like we were friends and
that is what ultimately made the decision for me. Also that they are known for comedy specials. We are in talks of mine currently. Inside I am doing flips but the exterior is all business. Your readers can check them out at www.nwe.com. They make movies, I’m sure you’ve seem more than one.
RM: Mr. Ashlocke we are always excited to speak to you and are big fans. Do you have any shows in Austin soon? Ashlocke: I have a corporate show here but no public shows yet. They will come. And when they do, ill make sure security has your picture on the Do Not Allow List. (laughs)
RM: Pick Up Ashlocke ’ s new album “Head Full Of Tales Pt. 1” on iTunes today and see what all the hype is about. He is one of the funniest men alive. Ashlocke: Great, now your readers will see me blush.
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THREADS THAT ROCK! artist to collaborate on the different styles of shirts. Josh Hall from Forsaken Tattoo is one. Name some others.
We’re here with Bagger of 313 Clothing from Austin Texas.We are going to talk about his custom brand of clothing and where you can get your grubby hands on some kick ass threads this fall!!
Rockstar:Welcome to Rockstar Bagger! 313:Thank you for having me. Rockstar: Great line of merchandise. I see the brand around town often. I got my 313 Shirts at Blackfly in Lakeline Mall. Tell us about 313 Clothing. 313: The best way I can explain 313 is true tattoo art from the tattoo artist directly. When I was out looking for a tattoo artist a couple years back I found myself spending hours looking at portfolios for the right style, only to walk out of whatever tattoo shop in middle town America. I was wasting time and money looking for that right artist for me. I also spent time looking at the inter webbings only to find that the tattoo artist I liked had moved and they didn’t know where they went, or just couldn’t find what I liked. Then it hit me, why not get together with artists and have them design the style they would want people to see, put it on clothing, and make sure to have the artists Bio attached. If I walk in a shop, look at a portfolio and dont find the style I like, but on the way out see a shirt I want with a must have design, it becomes a win, win. I get a great shirt and the information of where to find the tattoo artist, and the shop makes a little bit of money for me just walking in. I like to think I have a promotion company over a clothing company. The other question Im asked all the time is am I from Detroit? Lets just put this question to rest. 313 is my birthday, March 13th, thats it. Call it a love for the 13th, and in the tattoo world Friday the 13th and the number itself is an icon. Rockstar: Is it hard to start your own clothing line? 313: Its not easy for sure!! Tattoo artists dont like to promote another shop or artist at all. Its seen as promoting the money out of their wallet. But now with shows talking about the money to be made with clothing in the front of the shop, more people are calling each day. Rockstar: I hear you are working with all kinds of
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313: Josh Hall has designed most of this last years art. His style of art goes across the board. From “Hell Rider”(Piston and Skeleton) to “Gunslinger” (Skull with Pistols) gray shaded art, to “The Pirate” (Pirate Compass with Cross Bones) and “Skull Rose” (Skull and Rose) line drawings. His work keeps pulling me in. My other artist Beth Cupples from Junkyard Ink in Denver, CO designed most of the girls line. “SS Gipsy girl” (Day of the Dead holding skull) has been a top seller with ladies that men want to buy for them. She also designs the “Pirate Girl” (Skull and Cross Bones with Bow) that we are just introducing to the winter line. Im always looking for new artists!!!! Rockstar: What are some ways folks can purchase your brand? 313: For now you can purchase at Blackfly Austin in Lake Line Mall (Tell them Bagger sent you), but we will be adding our entire line from shirts, work shirts, jackets, vests, hats and more towww.313threads.com at the first of the year. Rockstar: Name some your influences. What inspires 313 Clothing? 313: My influences….. I would have to say No Fear and Sullen. No Fear was a line started in a garage by friends that has turned in to a major line known in almost all households. Sullen being the other that makes me get out of bed. They are everywhere!! Talk about chasing down your competitor, they are on my list of what I want 313 to become. Rockstar: 313 Clothing = Attitude! 313: I would say so!! Underground style, in your face art, fashion for all! Rockstar: Do you have a favorite local band in Austin Bagger? 313: My local band was Killing In Apathy, a sound that kicks you in the face, then says get up and does it again. But a local band that I feel is my favorite would be Outlaws To Kings! From the pit pushing lead singer to the bass drop that starts you guessing, they are the ones to watch at The Dirty Dog. The other would be Critical Assembly, also local to The Dirty Dog. This is another beat you down band that has you asking “Please Sir, may I have more”? Rockstar: Bagger thanks for talking to us! Keep Rockin out kick ass Threads man. 313: My pleasure, thank you for inviting me!!
Rockstar: Welcome to Rockstar
Magazine.
DNAtheG: Wheww, man. It’s good to be on the scene.
Rockstar: I caught your show about a month back at Spiderhouse for the Poetry Slam/ Mic Exchange. Yeah man, when I heard you go up there you really stood apart from the rest of the guys. Thought you’d be a groovy interview. But then you sent me this link to The Code (EP)! All these tracks JAM! Tell us where you are from and your background.
DNAtheG: I appreciate that
because there are a lot of talented guys who go through there. I’m from Dorchester (Boston), MA and moved down here to Austin about a year back. I went to Boston College and graduated with degrees in English and Secondary Education, but found myself teaching back at my high school (Boston Latin School ) one year out of college. I just wasn’t really happy with what seemed like an extremely small circle of my life. Honestly, I just needed a change and decided to pull a Ben Affleck and just get out of town for a while. I was thinking LA, but my best friend got a job down here in Austin, so I just went along for the ride, and boy I am glad I did. I’ve met a ton of cool people, made great connections, new friends, and found a beautiful girl to hold me down. With regard to how I
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got into Hip-hop, I have always found writing to be a great emotional outlet. I love writing just about anything, but I always found writing lyrics to be particularly cathartic, and so it was just a natural progression for me to get into the business.
Rockstar:Tell us about your group and who all is involved. What LABEL are you with? How can folks get your music?
DNAtheG: Well, I’m an indepen-
dent solo artist, but I really enjoy working with other musicians and friends. Not only do I like having multiple perspectives, but so many of my friends are so extremely talented that they are only going to add to my songs. I love learning from other people and sharing my knowledge and point of view with them. I think that’s the only way we grow as people. Not many of us can make the climb alone. But for this album I featured one of my former students and also a former player that I coached in basketball, Bizzurke, because I love his drive, intensity, passion, and obviously his talent that he brings to the tracks. His look and voice are both so unique, and his youthful energy inspires me to bring it on a track or else I know I’m going to get bodied. We have very different styles, but people love how we complement each other. On some of the other tracks I have one of my lifelong best friends, Phil Keefe (aka PK), singing the hooks along with another talented, longtime friend, Joe Gal-
lant. Phil is so well-informed and talented (even though he’ll deny it to the death) that I could not have made this EP without him. He is always providing constructive criticism and fresh ideas for how to approach these songs even if I haven’t asked him to bless the hook with that vocal honey. And Joe is just a great kid and was a late addition to the album. He was a few years behind me in high school and I used to bring him to my classes and to parties and just make everyone listen to him sing. In fact, he even provided live entertainment at my graduation party! I’ve always been a fan and it was an honor to be able to work with him in the studio. And finally, I have my friend Raquel Llera-Stern singing the hook on my love confessional track “Wishing You Were Here” because her voice is just so different and jazzy that I knew she’d add the perfect amount of a haunting quality to a song that details the women who have always inspired me to create by staying on my mind. I had one girl in mind when I wrote that song, but it’s probably not who my friends would think.
Rockstar: I heard that there was 42,000 downloads of THE CODE right off the muscle! Man it is well produced, tell us about the downloads.
DNAtheG: (laughing) Well, I think
you added a zero on there man. It was more like 4000, but I do have this one track on Youtube that is in the 50k range. My buddy had access to this Mario demo and asked me to throw a couple verses on for the fun of it. So I did without really expecting him to do anything with it, btu he threw it up on Youtube and before you know it there were 30,000 views. But honestly, for this album I wasn’t even sure to expect one thousand, nevermind four. I’m just hoping those numbers continue to climb as I continue to get out on the town to perform and promote my music. HotNewHipHop is even featuring “One Reason” as one of their “Heatseekers” so that is pretty cool and hopefully by the time this interview airs I’ll have won the contest. The hardest part about everything is that all of my featured artists are living their own lives and live back in Boston, so it’s just me and my hype man up there on stage, and even he can’t make every performance. My collaborators are merely voices on the instrumental, but they still bring it. Hopefully when I go on tour they’ll come along for the ride. If not, I may have to find some people to fill in.
Rockstar: I love the first 2 Tracks ONE REASON and Let THIS ECHO, but these two songs really set the tempo for the rest of the album. Are there CDs of these tracks? I bang the soundcloud link in my truck rolling down MOPAC! BTW: here is the link for readers: https://soundcloud.com/laureate/ sets/the-code-ep
DNAtheG:
Yeah I have hard copies of the CDs which I sell at shows for five dollars, and the album is also available for purchase online on iTunes. https://itunes.apple.com/ us/album/the-code/id714158038
Rockstar:So Tell us more about ECHO Studios.What is the Boston to Austin connection?
DNAtheG: I got turned onto Echo
back when I was substitute teaching at my high school when one of my longtime little brothers (Boobie Hines), approached me with a song idea where he wanted me to write his lyrics and lay down a verse for him (the song, “Coming Home,” is unfinished but hopefully we get it out on my next album). We went to Echo and boy was it a disaster! I had never recorded in a studio and had no idea what to do, and my man Robie Rowland (whom at the time I didn’t know) was simply terrifying sitting there in his glass cage bark-
ing directions at me. So I was unsure right then and there if I was cut out for a studio, never mind a stage, but I kept at it, and if you ask Robie, he’ll tell you how far I’ve come since that first day. I still feel I have a lot of room for improvement as an MC, but I think I’m only just starting to realize my potential as a performer and a lyricist. But anyways, when I made the move down to Austin I hadn’t recorded any of the songs on the EP besides “Summerplace” (but it was a very crude version) until I hooked up with Ruler Why Recordings, a producer living in Austin via San Antonio. Ruler and I have a great working relationship and collaborated on these beats to put out what we think is a great sounding project. Ruler is an amazing producer, but Robie is just as important back at Echo. If Ruler births the baby, Robie makes sure it lives a long, productive life. And together we have created some amazing sounds (though they have never met in person). I’m just glad I have been able to work so closely with two immensely talented producers.
happened I found myself next to him at the urinal and figured this was my best chance to strike up a conversation. So we ended up talking for about 10 minutes in a bathroom at this venue in Boston. It was pretty funny, but I’m glad it happened. Lyrical is just such an inspiring dude and if you listen to his album “Put ‘Em All To Shame” you will understand why. I hope I reach that level someday.
Rockstar: Why the name
DNA -G? I mean I get the name of the album the CODE . . . that pops right off the name . . . but why DNA-G?
Rockstar: Where are you performing during October?
DNAtheG: I perform at the Austin
Mic Exchange every Tuesday at SpiderHouse, but I’m performing at Loft 718 on Congress on one of Ruler’s shows on the 18th. I’m talking with a few other venues like Triple Crown in San Marcos, but I might not be able to get anything booked until early November. Until then I’m going to be hitting up every open mic I can even if I have to hit three in one night. I just love being on stage man. Like I say in one of my tracks “I’d rather be on stage than on shoulders.” So if you’re interested in booking a hungry MC, please email me at bookingthegenome@gmail.com
Rockstar: I love the
beats, the hooks, the back tracks, and the mixes! It’s just nice to hear somebody local have such a fresh and original sound! DNAtheG : Wish I could take all of
the credit for that man. Like I said, Ruler and Robie are so talented, and then PK and I talk very often about the hooks, but we also talk about anything creative we are trying to do. It is just the relationship we have. I send him a rough draft of a track for feedback, and he sends me back a short story or a script he is working on. But that’s the one thing I didn’t want my debut album to be: generic. I’m not one of those rappers who’s going to talk about guns, sex, and violence on every track. I like promoting a more positive message, though some tracks, like “Let This Echo” and “Summerplace” have elements of that style of music. But honestly, I’d rather stay away
from that, so it is important that my music is sonically pleasing because some people might hear me rapping about something that isn’t trivial and gimmicky and rather throw on some trendy rapper getting his one month of fame. “Teenager on Drugs” and “One Reason” are more of what my next album will sound like, but I promise the next album will blow people away. I don’t know when I’m going to complete it, but I do know it will called “Here Cometh the Dreamer”!
Rockstar: Your pretty young if you don’t mind me saying.How long have you been rapping your music?
DNAtheG : Well, I’m 24, despite
the baby-face, so I’m not that young, but I’m very early into my career. “Let This Echo,” which was recorded in November 2012, was the first time I ever felt like I truly belonged behind a microphone. So it hasn’t even been a year since I felt alive in the genre. I’ll tell you what though. I’m not stopping. This is too much fun.
DNAtheG
: Well, like I said earlier I was teaching back at my high school out of college. I inherited a group of Biology classes around the time I was considering pursuing Hip-hop, beyond rapping in my attic in my free-time. I was an English major, so I had to study the material before I taught it to the kids, and oftentimes I was only a few days ahead of the kids. So one day I was preparing a lesson on DNA and was awestruck with how cool it was. Obviously, it is our genetic code and every living thing on earth is comprised of this material. It kind of made sense. I think I’m putting out music that everyone can connect to. I’m human. I’m always trying to do better, but seemingly always failing. Hopefully this album is one of those times I finally succeed. And my given name is Greg, so “The G” takes that into consideration, as well as the fact that I can mess around with lyrics using “G.” Like when I perform “Aloft Life” I like shouting out “It’s DNAtheG, the G stands for Gifted,
I’m living aloft life, man I’m so lifted”...so it just adds more opportunities for me as a lyricist. Looking back on the journey I’ve been on, it really feels like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m feeling really thankful right now.
Rockstar: Thank you for your time. We will keep an eye on you DNA-G! Best wishes for success in the future! You
got a fan for life!
DNAtheG: (laughing) Thanks for
having me! Obiovusly as an MC, I love talking about myself. Thank you for indulging my vanity. Make sure y’all show your support for independent music and feel free to contact me with any inquiries! Like the Facebook page (Facebook.com/DNAtheG) and follow me on Twitter @DNAtheG or @miniminoe!
Rockstar: Name some of
your influences? DNAtheG
: Growing up I listened to Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, Kanye, and Nelly, but my biggest influence right now is a man by the name of Professor Lyrical (just Google him. He’s a beast). So when I went back to Boston this summer, one of my goals was to meet him since he also records at Echo and has similar professional experiences (working with “throw-away students”) as I do. So I attended a show he was hosting, but he was a busy man so I couldn’t get a chance to introduce myself. It just so
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The Stench of Punk Rock with Stig Stench of StenchRadio.com
The name Is Stig Stench. I started a Live Internet Radio show called “Stig’s Punk Rock Radio Show” on The U-Stream Channel back on April 21, 2010 with three listeners, two from the U.S. and one from Belgium. Now, in 2013, we have our own website, STENCHRADIO.COM with Internet DJ’s from Texas, Los Angeles, Indiana, Japan, and The UK! Over the years, my guests have included my Uncle Gary Floyd, Greg Ginn and Ron Reyes Of Black Flag, Kim Fowley, Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys, Mike Watt of The Minutemen, Milo Aukerman of The Descendents, Dick Lucas of The Subhumans, Dave Dictor of MDC, Mensi of
The Angelic UpStarts, Keith Morris of OFF & the Circle Jerks, Doyle of The Misfits and too many more to even name! I am excited to contribute a punk rock segment to readers of Rockstar Magazine. Future articles will include excerpts and reviews of artists, bands, shows and releases. I have a World-Wide audience , but I feel that Austin, Texas has a very special, kinetic energy that is unique. I will focus on what is happening with Austin’s punk scene and how its influence is felt globally. This past September at INFEST (Formerly Antone’s), my dear friends, Jerry A and POISON IDEA made their ONLY Southern States appearance for 2013, and people are still talking about that show! Why is that? Because there was a tangible energy in the air due to the unified efforts of not only Ben and Chelsea Riseman, but The KRUM BUMS,The BULIMICS,DYING TIME, ANTI-CLIMAX,ANIMAL TRAIN The Father and Son bands on the bill ENDIT and ANTI-ALLS. KRIGBLAST performed an awesome set on the showcase as well, but there was such a festive energy and presence at that show that it made a lot of people excited about Austin Punk Rock. Fun, Fun, Fun Fest is coming November 8,9 and 10th . Graham Williams and Transmission Entertainment have helped
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generate a lot of excitement for our wonderful city and underground community. I will bring ROCKSTAR readers exclusive interviews and reviews with many of the artists appearing at the upcoming Festival. Jeff Goldblums character “Dr Ian Malcom” in the 1993 film “Jurassic Park”, said, “Life cannot be contained.” No matter how much we try to box, mainstream or pigeon-hole Independent Music and Punk Rock, we will always have the last say. Punk Rock is about The Human Spirit. Punk, when used to change the complacency of stale music and art, is a vehicle for being outspoken and shaking your fist at authority. This is a good thing, as long as the authority you are shaking your fist at is against the greater good of the human spirit ! I get asked sometimes, “Is Punk Rock still Alive?” My answer is as long as fans are still jamming Black Flag, The Ramones, The Misfits, The Vandals or the Sex Pistols, then as Dr. Ian Malcolm might say; “Punk Will Find A Way”
-Stig Stench/STENCHRADIO.COM Send Your Music for Review and Airplay at : StenchRadio@GMail.com
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CACOPHONY RECORDERS By Richard Whymark Good Music Club CACOPHONY RECORDERS Cacophony Recorders is the studio for engineer Erik Wofford. Here he has worked on recordings for The Black Angels, The Octopus Project and Explosions In The Sky to name just a few local heroes. I know Erik from the University of Texas radio station, KVRX. He was at UT getting his geology degree… GMC:How are you using your geology degree? CR: It’s all about the rock! The number of times I’ve had to make that joke, it’s not even funny to me anymore. It’s pretty amusing when someone comes up with the pun on their own and they think they’re soooo clever. But in all seriousness, I value my education as a scientist every day. It’s taught me to look at problem solving in a particular way. So much of making a recording is problem solving, but it’s a multi-dimensional abstract problem that requires creative thinking about not only what is right in front of you,
but what lies beneath the surface, which can be very subjective. Those are very similar issues that you have to address in the field of geology as well. It’s always a balancing act to try and look at things from an analytical standpoint but then just letting go and relying on a creative artistic approach. GMC:Tell us how you got into live recording. What did you learn not to do? CR:The first time I remember recording something was when I was a small child, I really wanted this cheap Yamaha keyboard for Christmas because it had a sampler built into it. You could record any sound into the keyboard and manipulate it in so many cool ways. It’s really the beginning of the path I’m on right now, and I still use it to this day. Once I was a teenager, I started playing in bands and was always the guy who would document everything. I started with a handheld cassette recorder, moved up to a fourtrack and then to a computer. When I was in college, I volunteered at KVRX, mostly with the Local Live depart-
ment where I learned how to record a live band and mix it all down to stereo as you were going. We had to work quickly and without the safety net of going back later to fix anything, which was a great way to learn. I think that approach of documenting a live performance still influences me to this day. I like to try and represent a band in the best possible light, and what I’ve learned is not to try to mess with their vision too much unless it’s needed. If somebody has put a lot of work into their art, who am I to say that it’s wrong? People hire me for my taste and my skill, so I take what I’m given and try to present it in a way that best achieves their vision. That said, sometimes people want a collaborative approach to make something really different that they wouldn’t have thought of before. GMC: How did you find Cacophony? CR: Darwin Smith lived here. We met during a local live recording where he was playing guitar. He said he needed some help engineering a project that he was producing and playing guitar on. The moment I stepped into this space, I could tell it was magical. At the time, it was really just a living room with really tall ceilings and some bare bones recording equipment. I graduated from college and decided to give recording bands a shot, so I just started asking people to come in and do a song here and there. Word got around and things really started to come together. It was a combination of the excitement of doing this new thing that I love, a great sounding room with a unique atmosphere, and a very strong, talented, close-knit music scene. It’s such a special place, and I feel very fortunate for having just lucked into the space. It’s been worth pouring my heart and soul (and all my money!) into it for the last 11 years. GMC:Who have you recorded there? Who stands out? CR:The stand-outs in my mind are The Black Angels, Explosions in the Sky, The Octopus Project, Maserati, Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Bill Callahan, Roky Erickson, and many many more amazing people. There have literally been hundreds of bands and projects through here. GMC:As I understand it, you’re all analog, correct? What does that do for the sound? CR:Well, I’m not 100% analog. I incorporate a lot of analog into everything I do because it sounds better. Analog
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is richer, deeper, more colorful, more alive and musical than its digital counterpart. Digital processing is getting closer to the real thing, but that last 5-10% is important to me. I’m a handson learner, so the tactile feel of a knob or a fader is very powerful in the way you use something. I like to track a band live to 2” tape, partly for the warmth, saturation and depth it gives me, but also because it shuts your brain off from the visual distraction of a computer monitor. When you’re tracking to tape, you’re just listening to the entire band playing an actual song. No tricks. You’re not fixated on watching a cursor move across a screen or looking at waveforms to see if they line up. You just listen. Imagine that! You can see the big picture early on, which is essential in defining the vibe of a record and getting the band excited. I start out on tape, but just about everything ends up in the computer eventually these days. I’ve found that the workflow of being able to use analog processors for the sound, but with the ability to automate volumes and effects with a computer is a good compromise. I still use mostly tape delays and physical reverbs like the rooms, plates and springs, but being able to accurately reproduce a mix move is pretty valuable these days. It used to be when I WAS 100% analog, a final mix of a song was the same as a live performance for me. I had to get everything in one shot and not mess anything up, straight from one tape machine through the console without automated faders to another tape machine. I usually had the band right there with me and we would work on it until everyone was happy (or I just tell them, that’s the best it’s going to be!). Nowadays, everyone knows the limitless possibilities of the computer and they want to tweak forever. I’m guilty as well; it brings out the perfectionist tic in me. I still try to retain that raw initial energy as much as I can. GMC: How do bands and listeners react to the analog sound? CR:I think trying to keep things focused on more of an analog approach of performance, vibe and sound rather than perfecting every little detail usually equates to a more emotional involvement in the song, which in the end translates to the listener as something real and unique. I always feel like I identify with a more oldschool approach to making records, which is what has attracted a lot of bands to me. I like a record to be warm and inviting. Something you want to sit down and enjoy listening to, not just have as annoying background music to your life. I think listeners recognise when there was a special vibe going on in the studio the day we
recorded a certain track and it takes them back to that feeling of when you heard great music growing up, back before everything was beat to death in a computer. GMC:What techniques have you learned by accident (without giving away your secret sauce)? CR:I love leaving myself open for accidents. That’s when you learn something new that you wouldn’t have ever thought of. I learned early on from working with The Octopus Project who have always done a lot of their own recording - but in a very untrained bizarre way that you need to throw everything you know out the window and break all the rules. Who says you can’t record vocals or drums through a guitar pedal? Not me, anymore. I’m a big fan of the happy accident of completely overloading something and falling in love with the explosion and mayhem. You plug the wrong thing in, and bam! There’s your drum sound. GMC: As bands have musical inspirations, you may get inspiration from engineers. Are there others who’s style you admire and are there albums you can point to and say “That’s close to perfection”?
CR: I’m a huge fan of Tchad Blake. He seems to always have a unique vision to the music he works on and has a masterful skill at manipulating sound. His work with Los Lobos, Ron Sexsmith and (don’t laugh) Sheryl Crow has some wonderful ear candy. I’m also fan of Peter Katis (Interpol, The National), Dave Freidmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Tame Impala). Geoff Emerick’s work with The Beatles by pushing the boundaries of what was possible in recording is pretty staggering. Phil Spector is a huge influence in my perception of recording. The wall of sound can be built so many ways! Just about anything from the ‘60s blows my mind, thinking about what they achieved with what they had. I feel like I gravitate towards recorded music with a slightly warped reality to it, but still
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enough familiarity to draw you in. GMC: What’s changed in Austin’s music scene in the last ten years? CR: I’ve lived in Austin for most of my life, so I’ve witnessed a lot of changes in Austin and a lot of different music scenes come and go. That’s the thing about music - it’s a life-form that needs nurturing but also responds to outside pressures. When I was in high school in the late 90’s, you had the post grunge era of indie band explosions with Trance Syndicate bands like Sixteen Deluxe and Trail of Dead heading the charge out of Austin. That was a really big part of my life. I witnessed that recede away and there was a little bit of a lull in town for a while. Then, post-2001, I felt like
people wanted to start making a more lasting impact again. I was a part of the rise of Explosions in the Sky, The Octopus Project, The Black Angels, Voxtrot, Sound Team… the list can go on and on. There was a period of five or six years that it seemed like Austin music was going to just lift off the ground and go to space. Luckily, some very lasting groups were formed during that time. A lot didn’t make it; they went on to form the evolved form of their ancestors. The important part was the interconnectedness of the scene and the support everybody gave to each other. It’s difficult for me to see that same semblance of a scene today, but maybe it’s just bubbling under the surface. Everything travels in waves. We’ve ridden the crests and valleys many times and I have full faith that Austin is still a great place for the incubation of a great music scene, but no one band can do it alone. It takes a village. GMC: Can bands earn a living here?
CR: Can bands earn a living HERE? Chances are not too good. The only bands that I know who make a living doing music have spent the majority of their time on the road. I’ve always told bands the only way you can make it is if you get out of Austin as much as possible. Even though it’s getting more difficult to tour these days, a band will probably make more money on the road than with record sales. Music sales is a sadly downward trending
chart and doesn’t show any signs of getting better, so the only two ways to actually make a living through music are through performances and licensing. I personally feel like people would rather go to a bar with no cover charge than pay a band the same thing they would have 15 years ago. People take for granted all the great music this town has to offer unless there’s some festival attached to it. Even though we like to call ourselves the Live Music Capital of the World, it’s become extremely difficult for bands to make much money actually playing that live music. On another note, licensing your music for a commercial, TV show or film can be a great source of income and exposure. There are several companies in Austin that are specialising in doing this with some success. With Austin as a burgeoning film capital, I see a lot of future opportunity for music to be marketed in that direction, but it’s still pretty rare at this point for a band to get a successful license. In my experience, most bands I know are struggling to make ends meet, financially and supportively. They’re working several jobs to pay for everything a label used to, but labels are drying up because the album sales aren’t there. Artists are doing everything themselves not because they want to make a lot of money, but they need to create music to feel alive. There are always exceptions to the rule. Some artists are very fortunate and get to make a living as a musician
and they absolutely deserve it for all the hard work they’ve put in. The vast majority of musicians, however, don’t have much of a chance to make a living through music in Austin. GMC:What’s next for you? CR: The music business is an everevolving entity, so it takes some adaptation to be able to make a living in this industry. I’ve been very lucky up to this point to be able to do what I love every day, so I’m just looking forward to what the future brings. I’d like to work on more music for films, which is something I’ve been doing lately with my band-mate, John Constant (Candi and the Strangers). I will probably eventually want to move more towards mixing and mastering because the hours (and volume levels!) aren’t as intensive. If I could focus on that and have Cacophony be a studio with a couple of different guys running sessions, that would be my dream. GMC: Thank you Erik for your time.
DAVETV
An Interview with Dave Prewitt of DaveTV.org
ROCKSTAR: What do you think of the local music scene now in Austin? The city has grown hasn’t it. Dave Prewitt: This town grows in leaps and bounds! Like rabbits! I love the scene here, always have. Constantly a hot bed of bands, good, bad, and indifferent. Some of my favorite acts to catch today are Izzy Cox, Capture Theory, Fight Plan, The Replacement Killers, Hey Gurl!, Chasca, Sabbath Crow, anything with Houston Ritcheson in it, and I could just go on and on and on!
ROCKSTAR: Last live music show you attended here in town? ROCKSTAR: Welcome to Rockstar Dave. How have you been Sir!!? Dave Prewitt: Life is good. Work n play at a very tolerable and enjoyable level.
ROCKSTAR: Saw you a few years ago at my Weird-fest Event in San Marcos. Hope you still got the Shirt! Dave Prewitt: Dude! That shirt rocks! Always a guaranteed conversation starter!
ROCKSTAR: Damn Man!! I was watching you interview all the greats in the early nineties!! Are there any shows that stand out as your favorite interviews in recent memory? Dave Prewitt: I’ve put the on tv guy to bed for some time. Haven’t done much in the way of on camera stuff. I did produce a dvd for a friend’s wife who lost her husband. Had Members of ALL, SABBATH CROW, M.O.D., NEON COBRA, and more interviewed for inclusion between live footage clips. https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akfrc1/882446_280425528755067_349975476_o. jpg
ROCKSTAR: How many years have/were CapZeyeZ/ RawTime been on the local AIR Waves? Dave Prewitt: We went live in November of 1990 and turned out the lights with a show stopping interview in 2007 with comic giant CHINAMAN (aka KIDWOK)
ROCKSTAR: Are all the CapZeyez archives online? Dave Prewitt: I’d say out of the entire archive, I may have a third on line. That equals over 2000 clips.
ROCKSTAR: Tell us what you are working on now? I hear your starting an Internet Only show. Dave Prewitt: I am presenting most of my work at www. davetv.org This showcases photos, videos, and reviews. I have yet to do another regularly scheduled broadcast of any kind.
Page 36 • www.rockstarmagazine.com
Dave Prewitt: Last night, Erin Byrne played for her birthday party along with Jeremiah Houston. As far as BIG shows, attended this years WARPED tour courtesy Sean Claes of InSite Magazine. Saw amazing bands, was able to document 21 in one day. New fav’s BEEBS & HER MONEY MAKERS! So amazing!! ROCKSTAR: Agony Column, Dangerous Toys, Joe Rockhead. Steamboat, Liberty Lunch, Black Cat Lounge, The Back Room. Those were the days!! Still talk to Nathan?
Dave Prewitt: Always! Nathan is working on a new cd for his project “Stupid Drama” He always works with class musicians and has some amazing new material that will blow your mind. www.nathanmedia.com
ROCKSTAR: When and where can we see your new show? Dave Prewitt: To quote Don Dokken “In My Dreams” :)
ROCKSTAR: Thanks for the update Dave!! Any last minute announcements for local shows in Austin? Dave Prewitt: Dangerous Toys yearly gig at Red Eyed Fly! A family reunion everytime! December 7 2013 with Bible Of The Devil, great stuff!
ROCKSTAR: Keep on Rockin Texas Music Dave! Dave Prewitt: Thank you so much Russell for everything you do & for this opportunity! Looking forward to seeing you out again! ROCK!!!!
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is like an extension of my living room… haha… because if it’s either music or horror movies, I love to turn friends on to such things in a comfortable environment.
ROCKSTAR: What is Philip H Anselmo’s Top 5 Favorite Horror films of all time?
Phillip H Anselmo: Oh Rockstar…. why did you go HERE? This question is damn near IMPOSSIBLE for me to answer dammit!!!!! There are so many different movies in the horror genre that I adore, but for different reasons! It’s a mood thing. One day I might be into haunted house flicks. Another, zombie flicks. Another, black and white classics! But, for the heck of it, and this is 100% unofficial, I’ll say, 1.) Evil Dead I (original of course), 2.) The Old Dark House, 3.) Return of The Aliens: The Deadly Spawn, 4.) The Vij, and for the heck of it, 5.) Black Sabbath. But once again, this list is completely off the cuff and interchangeable at a moment’s notice. If I had to list all my favorites, you’d have to add extra pages to your magazine by the time I was through compiling the list! ROCKSTAR: Great line up for the first year. How long have you and Corey been cooking this event up? Legendary metal front-man Philip Anselmo joins forces with best-selling true crime author Corey Mitchell to bring horror and metal to Austin, Oct. 24-27, 2013 at Emo’s - Dirty Dog Bar & Antone’s. Visit housecorehorrorfilmfestival.com for more info!
Phillip H Anselmo: Well, off the top of my head I’d say going on about 2-years, give or take a few months. I love the bands on the bill, and the known horror movies speak for themselves. The newer flicks will eventually speak for themselves after they’re viewed.
ROCKSTAR: Welcome to Rockstar Phil. How was your summer?
ROCKSTAR: What made Austin TX the choice for this event?
Phillip H Anselmo: Thanks for having me! The summer was busy and even more busy… if that’s even possible.
Phillip H Anselmo: This was a suggestion of
ROCKSTAR: ROCKTOBER is among us and we are getting ready for the 1st Annual Housecore Horror Film Festival. We are looking forward to be slain with great Metal and Horror! Should be a Blast!
Phillip H Anselmo: I’m very anxious to get rolling
as well. Corey, I and the rest of the team are looking very forward to this event, and hope it goes off without a hitch! But if there are challenges, let ‘em come. I believe we have enough ammo, whether it’s films or bands to accommodate.
ROCKSTAR: Well thanks for talking to us. Big fan of your work. First off , how did the Idea for the festival come about? I hear Corey who is working on your Autobiography, originally suggested it.
Phillip H Anselmo: This is true. Corey was pretty impressed with my horror collection when he first came to my house. I’ve never considered throwing a horror fest so to speak, but in truth, I always wanted to perhaps one day have my own small movie theatre… y’know, a “bring your own booze” kinda place where I could show insane classics for whoever wanted to check out cutting-edge flicks. So, The Housecore Horror Festival in some ways, Page 40 • www.rockstarmagazine.com
Corey’s. Remember, I lived in Texas for several years whilst fronting the mighty Pantera, so I consider it my second home. Austin is an amazing city, so why not?
ROCKSTAR: What can Austin expect from this film festival?
Phillip H Anselmo:Hopefully a great time! And hopefully folks will get to see some movies they’ve never seen before. That’s the part I love the most. And that’s where some of the submissions from lesser-known directors come in. Modern-day horror is extremely hitmiss, and today’s generation of horror fans have their own opinions because of their personal experiences with the horror genre, in general. Many films are judged (in my mind at least), in context of WHEN I saw them. Would a modern-day 15-year old kid feel the same way I felt at the same age seeing a flick like, “Don’t Go in The House”? I’m not sure. So, for all new-age fans, I can’t wait for them to see some of the classics I grew up with. And for horror fans of my generation, I can’t wait to get a reaction from them as it pertains to some of these lesser-known, newer film makers who have submitted their films. Some of them are absolutely excellent. So I’d like to see how the “mature” horror fan feels about what I’d call “tomorrow’s go-to directors”. Because I think some of these newer films and directors are somewhat destined for success, whether it be on a mass-level or cult-level. We shall see.
ROCKSTAR: I see you are featuring Brazilian director and actor José Mojica Marins during HHFF. Explain to the novice horror fan like myself , a little more about this classic film maker.
Phillip H Anselmo: José, aka Coffin Joe was not known to me till the early ‘90’s, but he’s now one of my all-time favorites. The guy has done every type of film imaginable, but somehow his horror flicks are the ones that still stand the test of time. His “Coffin Joe” character stands out especially. He is creative beyond description. He is an artist. An unflinching artist at that. My all-time favorite of his bunch is, “At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul”. It is shot in black and white, and is a TRUE horror flick that packs a heck of a wallop, and on so many levels! I’m extremely proud he will be part of this shindig, and another plus is he’s also bringing some of his actual artwork to be displayed at the fest. I haven’t even seen it. So i’m looking forward to that. His films are a thing of legend in my house, so I have no doubt his artwork is equally as impressive. The man is an unparalleled visionary. ROCKSTAR: When did you first become a fan of the HORROR genre?
Phillip H Anselmo: Ever since I was a shrimp, about 3-years old. I grew up in the French Quarter the first handful of years as a kid, and in that environment, there wasn’t many safe places for a child to go outside and play, so I’d be glued to our 12” black and white TV set. “King Kong” was the first film that truly effected me. I cried my eyes out when he died at the end of the film. But absorbing that movie spawned a love for monster flicks in general. But there was also other mediums that effected me as well, especially TV shows like, “The Twilight Zone”, “Outer Limits” and “Rod Serling’s ‘Night Gallery’”. I’d beg my mom to allow me to stay up and watch ‘Night Gallery’ when I was a youngster… ha! But I was also lucky enough to have grown up at a time where local TV in New Orleans would show a horror flick on Friday night, then have a Saturday “Creature Feature”, and then, my favorite of all was “The Sunday Morning Movie”. That particular program showed incredible movies like, “How Awful About Allen”, (the original) “Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark”, “Fiend Without A Face”, and so many others it was mind-boggling. I also have to say Disney’s “Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of The Haunted House” LP blew me away as a kid. I still own 3-different copies to this day.
ROCKSTAR: Can you talk about the ‘Housecore Horror Film Fest EP.’ ?
Phillip H Anselmo: Sure. It is a 2-song 10” vinyl EP that was written sometime between 1996-1997, then revamped just a couple of years ago. My work with The Illegals is a contribution to Extreme Music. Earlier this year, we released, “Walk Through Exits Only”, and that was extreme in its own sense, but this EP is a very different take on “extreme”. It sounds NOTHING like “WTEO”, as it shouldn’t. Every release from The Illegals will, and should have a completely different vibe and feel. The Housecore Horror EP is no exception. Both songs are very epic in feel, and vey raw at the same time. And for now at least, it will only be available at the HHFF. Definitely for collectors! ROCKSTAR: How is the book coming along with Corey Mitchell? Is the title still tentatively - “Mouth For War: Pantera, Pain, & Pride - Heavy Metal Highs, Drugged Out Lows, & The Battle For My Life.”
Phillip H Anselmo:Truthfully, with all the stuff on
my plate with The Illegals, the new Down EP, the HHFF, other crazy stuff in the possible works for the future, plus the ever-evolving path my career has taken, the book is a slow chore. I want it to be done correctly, I want it to be done perfectly. So, it will take some time.
ROCKSTAR: I hear that there will be a live scoring of ‘Suspiria’ by the band Goblin! That has to be great!
Phillip H Anselmo: In my opinion, having Goblin be a part of the HHFF is a first round knockout. And them scoring Suspiria is even crazier. I can’t wait to see it myself. I’ve been a fan of Goblin for over two-and-half decades, so to host them is a pleasure I can’t put into words. They are pioneers, and their soundtracks are the epitome of stark, gory Italian horror of the highest quality.
ROCKSTAR: Your from New Orleans LA. Do you think there is the culture from Louisiana that makes for a good mix of Haitian Voodoo, Vampires, and Horror in general?
Phillip H Anselmo: Well, the voodoo thing is a given.
Anne Rice has done incredible heaps for the modern-ish Vampire tale, but the way I see it, a person is either born with a love for horror movies, or literature, or whatever medium, or not. I know plenty of folk from New Orleans who have absolutely ZERO interest in horror, so I think it’s up to the individual.
ROCKSTAR: Looking forward to your show and the films! At 42 I grew up with your music in the 90’s with Pantera and later Down. Anything you wish to say to all your fans of our generation?
“Well, from my perspective, I gotta say the fans of the bands I’ve been in are the best. They are extremely loyal, and the fact that I’m still relevant after near 30-years speaks for THEM.”
Phillip H Anselmo: Well, from my perspective,
I gotta say the fans of the bands I’ve been in are the best. They are extremely loyal, and the fact that I’m still relevant after near 30-years speaks for THEM. I’d be nothing without the people who love what I do. And i’ve done a lot of genre jumping in my career, so I do realize that some of the music I’ve been a part of isn’t for everybody. But I am a music fan myself, so maybe that’s the magic formula…? I don’t stockpile barriers between myself and fans. I am one of them, and I think I’m seen i that light, thank goodness.
ROCKSTAR: Thank you for your time Phil to speak with Rockstar Magazine.
Phillip H Anselmo: Thanks for having me! Anything for you cats at Rockstar Magazine!
Page 41 • www.rockstarmagazine.com
Dave Sebree’s AUSTIN SCHOOL OF MUSIC thing that makes the lives of others better in some way. Music can make people happy, it comforts us when life gets hard, it causes the listener to have more meaning in life. Choosing the path of being a musician is generally one of great sacrifice to first of all develop the skills necessary to create the art and then the dues paid to bring that music out into the world. To choose the path of the Musician is not for the faint of heart! However the reward can be breathtaking.
ROCKSTAR: : Did you realize at a young age that you were on this path of music? What life changing event if any, placed music as your destiny?
Dave Sebree: Well the question is not choosing the
Dave Sebree has been performing in the Austin area since 1981 and is the founder and CEO of the Austin School of Music and Rock Camp USA,which also offers franchising opportunities in multiple markets across the US. I recently caught up with Dave after he invited me backstage to the HAAM benefit at the Moody Theater for the ALL ATX show. ROCKSTAR: Welcome to Rockstar Magazine Dave.
Dave Sebree : Thanks for having me. ROCKSTAR: Congratulations on your 18th year with the Austin School of Music!
Dave Sebree : Im not a person who reflects on the past too much but I feel the school has contributed quite a bit in that time. ROCKSTAR: Give readers a little history on the artist Dave Sebree and you musical background. (YouTube “Native Sun - Samba Gringo” for a history lesson.)
Dave Sebree : I have played guitar now for 44 years and had the chance to play with a pretty diverse group of artists including rock, blues, R and B and Soul, Jazz and latin music.( Im not talking about playing those type songs at frat parties either.) I once even did a record with a Bulgarian folk singer who wanted Texas blues style guitar interposed with her music. So I really love music in any form as long as its pure at heart. ROCKSTAR: Dave, you and your staff have been teaching kids and adults how to rock for nearly two decades. What motivated you to start the Austin School of Music and Rock Camp USA?
Dave Sebree :I have always loved learning and then sharing that knowledge with others. When I was on the road back in the day very often someone in the audience would ask about something I played and I found that when Page 42 • www.rockstarmagazine.com
I had time I really enjoyed sharing what I love so much. Music! I also have always believed that when real performing musicians have a desire to teach that it was a great situation for a student as they are learning what really works and they are usually more inspired to play and get better. The Austin School of Music started from that idea and in 1995 there weren’t many music schools in Austin. As for Rock Camp I wanted teenagers to have the opportunity to rock out and get better in a safe environment. When we started camp there was no teen music scene in Austin whatsoever. That has changed significantly and I think we contributed to that in a positive way. I am actually very proud of that!
ROCKSTAR: You now have other Rock Camp USA franchises in cities like Rio Grande Valley , Texas Walden, New York - Poughkeepsie, New York - Miami, Florida - Davenport, Iowa - Chicago, Illinois - & Honolulu, Hawaii. This is awesome!
Dave Sebree: The rock camp idea is a good one and
it seems that a lot of people are trying to have similar businesses. Unfortunately many other camps don’t put the effort we do into it and the kids oftentimes don’t have a great experience. Our camps are extremely well organized, we let our students express themselves however they want to, they get to record in very nice recording studios and always perform at real world venues. Not some high school auditorium or coffee joint. My efforts at expanding were based on bringing our Austin experience elsewhere. And we are!
ROCKSTAR: The philosophy at the Austin School of Music is, that, in life, we all choose a path. Elaborate on this path of music.
“Choosing the path of being a musician is generally one of great sacrifice to first of all develop the skills necessary to create the art and then the dues paid to bring that music out into the world.”
Dave Sebree: Thats a very deep question. I think
choosing a path in life should mean committing oneself to that path entirely. In this case the path of creating some-
path but it speaking to you and pushing one in its direction. I do know the night that the life of a guitar player had some cool benefits: When I was 13 at summer camp a band came to play at a sadie hawkins type dance. The singer was a young girl named Dee Dee Ritter who had on a white mini skirt, white patent leather boots and was a really pretty dark haired girl who sang incredibly well. All the other boys instantly had a crush on her and they were all cooler than me or so I thought. I had braces and was miserably shy you know. Well her band took a break and all the coolest athletic type guys were hitting on heryou can see the picture. It turned out I had jammed with the drummer a few months before and he asked me to sit in. You can imagine how nervous I was all of the sudden standing in front of everyone and right next to Dee Dee. So she asked me if I could play Johnny B. Good and so I did but I sprinkled in a little of Jimi Hendrix’s arrangement. BOOM! Everyone went crazy and I ended up making out with Dee Dee afterwards. That experience really just put an exclamation mark on a path that had already chosen me.
ROCKSTAR: Heck yeah!! The Musician always gets the girl!! Who were your musical influences when you were learning guitar?
Dave Sebree: Really everyone from Miles Davis to the Beatles. My first real guitar hero was Duane Allman and then Jeff Beck.
ROCKSTAR: Back to the school. Many of your students move on to very successful music careers. Is there a formula for molding Rockstars at ASM?
Dave Sebree: Our formula is the lack of a formula.
Every student has different ways of retaining knowledge different musical realities and different fluid goals. The key for educating them is to listen and adapt to them as a teacher. Its also very important to be their friend.
ROCKSTAR: Yeah...name some of your students who are performing locally in Austin or Texas or around the United States or even internationally.
Dave Sebree: So many of them have moved on to
have nice careers. There are so many I can’t think of all the names. Of late Max Frost is creating a buzz and there is a young vocalist named Payton Keller who is making waves wherever she performs.
ROCKSTAR: The HAAM benefit at the Moody Theater last month was a great turnout! You were performing with Eric Johnson, Monte Montgomery, Shake Russell, Christopher Cross, Will & Charlie Sexton and Jimmy Vaughn and many others. How often do you jam with that kind of a line up?
Dave Sebree: I wish I could say all the time. That was a very special night. I have had some pretty incredible Jams over the years. Monte and I were remembering a jam we had with Van around Christmas of 2002. I think we started out playing God Rest Ye Merry Gentelman and ended up in outer space. That was live on KLBJ’s local licks so there is recording of it somewhere. I have been talking to some guitar playing friends of late about creating a guitar night somewhere perhaps once a month. That could be fun. What do you think?
ROCKSTAR: Absolutly! Lets find a venue!! Dave, music offers a real give and take when you are sailing on its path. How does it feel to be where you are right now musically?
Dave Sebree: I love where I am in life right now! From about 2003 until 2010 I had lost any passion I had for playing music. There are many reasons but I suppose I was just burned out. Something happened around 3 years ago and I am smitten once again. I play ALL THE TIME. If I could play 12 hours a day I would. I really feel something transformative happening.
ROCKSTAR: Do you ever perform with Native Sun anymore? Where can we hear the melodic tones of Dave Sebree and his guitar?
“We offer private lessons on all instruments and we have an improvisation class and a class where you can come and just jam opening in two weeks at both of our locations.” Dave Sebree:
Native Sun played a few gigs last year at a really cool club called Jax’s. We are rehearsing tomorrow night actually and might play a few gigs. I don’t even know where we would book that band. The music is so eclectic but I love playing with those guys. I have been recording with Roscoe Beck, Tommy Taylor and Red Young and thats been amazing so we may play out some. That will be something to see!
ROCKSTAR: The most fulfilling part about founding the Austin School of Music is . . . .
Dave Sebree: The energy at the school is so posi-
tive and knowing that the school creates such a positive impact in peoples lives.
ROCKSTAR: What about the Austin music scene has surprised you in recent years?
Dave Sebree: Audiences really don’t “listen” to mu-
sic these days. It’s happening all over but the degree of it in Austin is surprising…. and disheartening.
ROCKSTAR: Inspiring words to young musicians in a band or students just learning play an instrument.
We also have a very nice recording studio at the school. A lot of great artists have worked there including Doyle Bramhall, Marcia Ball, Eric Johnson, Stephen Bruton, John Hiatt, David Grissom and Suzana Choffell. We have very competitive rates as well.
ROCKSTAR: Dave thank you for your time! Keep up the outstanding work you and your staff do, molding today’s youth into the Rockstars of tomorrow!
Dave Sebree: Thank you Russell. Good luck with Rockstar as well.
Dave Sebree: Do it for the love of music. Take your
time and feel it like you would smelling a rose. Its not some vehicle to become some kind of star. Its precious.
ROCKSTAR: : Any final thoughts . . . would you like to invite Rockstar Magazine readers and their families to come on down to the Austin School of Music and check out what classes are available?
Dave Sebree: Everyone is always welcomed with
open arms. We offer private lessons on all instruments and we have an improvisation class and a class where you can come and just jam opening in two weeks at both of our locations.
Page 43 • www.rockstarmagazine.com
UNCLE GARYS BAR Uncle Gary: : I started out
putting in everything I ever wanted in a laid back bar.. then I just kept adding and adding to it until I got the outdoor neighborhood bar you can bring your family and friends to without the drama and headaches of a normal bar downtown.
Rockstar:What are the hours right now Gary? Uncle Gary: We’re open from noon till 2am 7 days a week.
Rockstar: Welcome to Rockstar
Magazine Gary. Love this place.
Uncle Gary: I wanted to give my neighbors the best place in town for cold beer, live music and a great outdoor experience!
Rockstar: Tell us about
how long you have been officially open now.
Uncle Gary: This bar’s been
Rockstar: I understand ladies night is Wednesday nights. What are the guys missing? Uncle Gary: They’re missing
one hell of a great night if their not at Uncle Gary’s, I can tell you that!
Rockstar: I hear you sell
more beer than anyone else in the area.
Is Pflugerville super thirsty or are you are Rockstar: Ok, so you’ve there extra pretzels at been here many years . . . . the bar? Just the bar is now open to the public. What do you contribute your success to? Uncle Gary:I’ve been throwing around almost 13 years.
private parties out here for a long time and decided to open it up to everyone back in March... and couldn’t be happier that I did.
Rockstar: What makes this
place feel so comfortable Gary? Feels like my uncles backyard?
Uncle Gary:Where else can
you go hang out in this gorgeous weather, have a beautiful waitress bring you ice cold beer and listen to live music any night of the week?
Rockstar: What night is
there live music?
Uncle Gary:I try to have 1-2
bands here every night. They range from classic rock, to blues, to country to everything in between. If you want to rock under the stars, you come to Uncle Gary’s in Pflugerville.
Rockstar: You recently had a fire. I saw you on the news. It didn’t keep you closed very long. Is everybody ok?
Uncle Gary:We lost a roof to the
fire but it didn’t phase us one bit! That same night we threw a party and had $3 Fireball Shots all night long with a live band. We’ve got the roof fixed and the place looks just like before. It’ll take more than a fire to slow us down.
Rockstar: Well you are on top of your game now.
Uncle Gary:Top. Bottom.
Sideways. My job is to make sure everyone out here has an amazing time with their family and friends. If they’re happy, I’m happy. And I’m one smiling SOB, I can tell you that!
Rockstar: Speaking of games. Do you have the NFL packages for sports fans out here on your Big screen TVs?
Uncle Gary:This is Texas. If you
don’t have all the College and NFL Games going all weekend long I don’t know how you can call yourself a bar! You won’t miss a moment of action at Uncle Gary’s.
Rockstar: I see you have a couple of food Vendors out here now. Great Stuff! Love the GSB BBQ and catering!! Especially the Jalapeño wrap Dove! Food out here is working out great!
Uncle Gary:
Austin isn’t the only place to get amazing trailer food. We even have caterers come out on the weekends with family meals as well.
Rockstar: Live Music, Volleyball, Cold Beer, BBQ, and Flat screens with Sports, beautiful ladies,
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plenty of tables. What more could a guy ask for?
Uncle Gary:
If you can think of it, let me know... and I’ll make sure I get that for everyone, too!
Rockstar: Thank you Gary . . . Some place you got out here! Give Em’ a Texas Welcome to come visit your place and relax!
Uncle Gary: Hell Yeah! Uncle Gary’s Bar is a true Pflugerville Oasis. I’ll see you tonight!
$3.50 each or 0.99¢ wholesale. Call for custom stickers 877-873-9626