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PHOTOS John Decker Grant Pullman Kevin Orlosky Ian M. Graham David Kenedy Shelley Briggs Ward Tefft Jim Eicher Thomas Scott ILLUSTRATION josephrosser AD TEAM Christian Detres R. Anthony Harris Ian Graham Kim Frost David Kenedy Ken Howard Ross Trimmer INTERNS Doug Spooner Nhi Ha Emily Flowers
Christian Detres marketing sales director Marisa Browne copy editor Jeff Smack graphic designer Mary Heffley fashion WRITERS David Kenedy Andrea Olson Cesca Janece Waterfield Brandon Peck Mike Rutz Shelley Briggs Ward Teff Don Harrison Jeff Byers Fred Pinckard Sean Patrick Rhorer Mary Heffley Christian Detres Adam Sledd R. Anthony Harris
“ L ow Fro nt ” o i l o n pa ne l 4 ’ x 6 ’ 2 0 07
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JOS E P H M C COR K L E
“Explosive Im plos i o n ” o i l o n p a n e l 4 ’ x 6 ’ 2 0 0 6
“ Fo l l ow i n g t h e Tr i n i t y ” a c r y l i c o n p a p e r 3 0 ’ ’ x40’’ 2006
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READ THIS NOW By Adam Sledd
What Is The What by Dave Eggers Whatever your feelings on Dave Eggers as a writer, however much or little you know about the Sudanese civil war, What Is The What is a book that humbly demands to be read. It may seem like a backhanded compliment to point out a writer’s best work as coming with the sacrifice of his own literary voice, but in the transcribing and building upon of Valentino Achak Deng’s tale Eggers has managed a rare achievement: a captivating portrayal of humanity simultaneously at its most abhorrent and most decent. Told as a series of remembrances brought on by a robbery, What Is The What follows Valentino from his childhood in the southern Sudanese village of Marial Bai to near-present day in Atlanta. Along the way we witness a boy grow up amid wholesale massacres, long and perilous marches, and the fragile world of refugee camps. It seems that nearly everyone close to Valentino dies, whether by gunfire, lions, disease, or even the jealous rage of a lover. As he says at one point, “For many years, God had been clear to boys like us. Our lives were not worth much. God had found innumerable ways to kill boys like me, and He no doubt would find many more.”
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Yet Valentino and his friends never relent in their quest for a home, for the chance of a normal life which God appears so determined to deny them. Surviving through unspeakable violence, the “Lost Boys” somehow retain their humor, kindness, and camaraderie. It is no wonder then that Valentino continues his perseverance here in the States, finding work and furthering his education. He is not alone—like many other cities Richmond is home to its share of “Lost Boys” working on or having already earned college degrees. These men--and women-- have done more than survive a war. They have demonstrated the ability to transcend the worst of human nature and pave the way for a better future for themselves and following generations. In documenting (in a novel form) their experience, What Is The What is not so much about a war in Africa as it is about the possibilities for human strength and resistance. Valentino Achak Deng will be appearing at St. John’s church on May 9th for a book signing and Q & A. Check this magazine, www.mcsweeneys.net, or email us for more
Respecting the Elder by Russell de Leon images by Juanito A. De Leon
Kids often mock their elders. You know what I’m talking about. They star t talking in that old man’s voice. They say, “When I was a kid, I had to walk three miles to go to school. It was uphill and in the snow.” They make fun of these stories. I guess everyone’s grandparents have some sor t of hard luck story, especially if you are my generation and your grandparents grew up during the Depression. It is easy to overlook these stories and pass them off as nonsense or senility. The thing is, in my life, these stories are true. Juanito A. de Leon dropped out of school in the 6th grade in the Philippines. He worked odd jobs such as shining shoes and selling bread until he was 18. In Manilla, he came across an ar t store. De Leon walked in and asked if the ar tist working needed an apprentice. The ar tist did. De Leon turned the apprenticeship into a career. He found himself being a graphic designer, designing things such as movie billboards in the Philippines. Eventually, he would become the ar t director of Quest magazine, an American propaganda magazine in the Philippines. There he worked with Harry Reasoner, one of the original
repor ters on 60 minutes. Quest was put out by the American Embassy. Back then, there was a law that stated if you worked for the U.S. government for 15 years, you could apply for citizenship for you and your immediate family. This allowed De Leon to move to America with his family in 1967. Now, almost 40 years later, 5 out of his 6 grandchildren have graduated from major American universities (I’m working on it). And, at the age of 85, he will have his first ar t show, showing during April at Ipanema Café. If you walk into the basement of my grandparents’ house, you will find a framed letter from the United States government. In it, whoever wrote the letter wishes my grandfather and his family luck in their new home, America. I hate thinking of life in clichés, but my life is the result of one- the American Dream. I don’t know if he the intention was to always come to America or to make it to America for him and his family. Growing up, the kids never thought about what it took to get here. We never thought about all the hard work he had to. Outside of that, though, I do not know if I ever really thought of him as an ar tist. My grandparents’ house is filled with paintings he has done. The same can be said for my parents’ house and my uncle’s house. As kids, our bir thday cards were always drawings or paintings of us. However, for some reason, my grandfather was never an ar tist in my head. I mean, he was in terms of I knew he could draw. But, I never saw the creative side of it. I never looked at my grandfather as a creative mind. All of that changed about 7 months ago. There is a picture that I keep everywhere I have moved over the last 7years. It is a pen and ink drawing of a fisherman on a boat. My grandfather drew it in 1977. There was no room for it to hang anywhere in my latest apar tment. So, I gave it to my friend as a gift. In that moment, my grandfather ceased to become the grandfather that could draw and became the grandfather 17
that could create. I decided to get my grandfather an ar t show. Regular ar t shows are one of the sweet things Richmond has going for it. It’s not just in galleries either. Restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores all have regular shows. If you want to show your ar t in Richmond, you are going to find a place. Ipanema is one of these places. The process of getting my grandfather an ar t show first star ted with talking to him. I have never talked to him about things like this before. He has told me stories about growing up in the Philippines, however, we have never spoken about his ar tistic side.
“I work for a living like everyone else and earned every penny the hard way.� I think every man dreams of having that one conversation with his grandfather, the conversation where your life changes. This happened to me one Saturday afternoon last fall. I went up to his house in nor thern Virginia to talk about his ar t. We first star ted talking about the paintings. He showed me paintings in his house of when he first moved to America. The paintings were of villages in the Philippines. He could tell me all the details. He could show me what every person in the painting was doing. I showed 19
him a copy of the picture I had given to my friend. I asked him if he had any other pictures of that style. He said no. I asked him if he had other paintings or pictures hidden away. He again said no. Then he said, “Maybe, you could look through these,” as he pulled out two large bound books. These were his two por tfolios from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. These por tfolios would make up the majority of the show at Ipanema. Every piece showed such depth and creativity, I was amazed that it was my grandfather that did the work. “What’s amazing about his work is that during the time period only a few graphic designers were doing really good work,” says Archie Coates, whose graphic design firm Playlab is one of the organizers of the Ipanema show, “People like Milton Glaser and Paul Rand, people who are studied now in terms of type treatment and layout, were a few. His (de Leon’s) stuff is just as good and he didn’t have the education or schooling that these guys had. He was doing the things that good graphic designers at the time were doing and he didn’t know that they were doing it.” In the por tfolio was a letter that my grandfather wrote to his boss in 1990. It read, “I work for a living like everyone else and earned every penny the hard way.” If there is anything to take away from my grandfather’s life, it is those words.
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Riding the Pork Chop Express with Jimmy Cumberland! by Fred Pinckard
own so only gave it a star. The charcoal drawing later won the school art show. After that I knew I would never be accepted in the art world.
One cold rainy night somewhere in the dark streets of Richmond VA roams a man who is not only a man of adventure but also a true mad scientist. With a twinkle of insanity in his eye and the will to bring paint to canvas, Jimmy Cumberland breathes life into his own breed of being! Behold “The Robot Friends!”
FP Why did that make you feel like you would never be accepted in the art world? JC Because people can’t appreciate something for what it’s worth. For some reason it blows peoples mind that a third grader could draw an awesome picture.
Fred Pinckard So right off the bat the question that is on everyone’s mind, Did Gary do it? Jimmy Cumberland Yes without a doubt in my mind, I am 100% sure Gary did do it and I think Hank III will agree with me on that!
FP Ok, well let’s get serious for a second. JC Ok, mayonnaise sandwich.
FP Well facts are facts so let’s move on, when did you first get into painting or artwork in general? JC My first memories are around second, third grade. FP So going back that far can you remember who your favorite teacher was? JC Mrs. Brown, she was fucking rad! My grandfather taught me how to draw a battleship, and so while I was in her class I drew one out of yarn and she really liked it. Then in third grade she wanted me to do something really cool for county the art fair, so I would stay after school and work on this charcoal drawing of a cornucopia. Mrs. Brown, My mom and I were at the art fair and went to see how the drawing did in the contest, it only got a star, so Mrs. Brown went to the judges to find out why it only got a star instead of a ribbon. Turns out the judges didn’t believe a third grader could have created the piece on his
FP I’m sure that’s your biggest influence but if you had to name other influences who would they be? JC Ray Harryhausen, he did Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, did all the claymation back in the day. He pretty much brought Sci Fi to what it is today. Mark Ryden, he can take anything gross and turn it into something cute. My grandfather, Ralph Machio, and Jack Burton, he’s immortal. FP Is that why you paint robots? JC I paint robots because they are way cooler than painting humans. That’s just my personal opinion. A human is the same form same shape, maybe a little bit wider a little bit taller but a robot, Shit! You can make anything into a robot, you can make them look anyway you want to. 21
FP So what’s it like to play god? JC I play god on a different level, I play god on a scientific level. FP On a mad scientist level? JC That could be construed as that, I take things that aren’t human that god never created and make them awesome. I do what god could not do and that is make robots. FP Is that why you draw robots? JC Not really, I can’t tell you why it is that I draw robots. It just seams natural. If you look around my house, robots surround me. I don’t know what it is about robots, maybe it’s because they’re not human. There was an on going joke between me and Ken Brown that I was going to paint as many robots as I could, so I could be surrounded by my robot friends, then become an old man and die with all them. FP Do you get emotionally attached to your paintings? JC I’ll tell you what, when I had the art show at Empire and all of them left, I was pretty goddamn sad. So yes I do get emotionally attached to my paintings. It’s a stepping-stone for me; it’s me doing something for me, and not what other people want me to do for them. If other people like them or not I could give a fuck less, I like them, I like looking at them. That’s why I don’t sell my shit for pennies, if you want to steal my children you have to pay for them. You don’t want them I’ll hold on to them for the rest of my life. I’m picky about who buys them too. I don’t want someone to have them if they are going to fuck them up later or just throw them away because it’s not hip or cool later on.
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When I first started painting them, it was me trying to get away from what everyone else wanted me to do. They’re something that I enjoy doing. Mayonnaise sandwich! Taxidermy! FP Is that something you’d like to do? JC That would be kind of fun, my grand father did taxidermy. With taxidermy, you’re just putting something back together. FP Kind of like a robot? JC A world of turbo negro squirrels running everywhere. FP How long does it normally take you to finish a robot? JC It’s a definite process; I don’t sit down in one day and draw them. With a job that forces me to be creative it’s hard to come home and get back in a creative frame of mind. Most of the time I paint on my days off, but at night I don’t create, at night it’s all about smallville. Mayonnaise Sandwich! I try to not put too much thought behind the paintings I do, I just try to do them as quickly as possible. FP So they’re more spontaneous than contrived? JC Yea, it goes back to tattooing, I have to put so much thought into what I’m doing in that job to make sure everything is right so when I sit down to paint I take the freedom to just let what happens happen. FP So you did a series of Robot Friends, how did all that come about? JC It was just my trying to find things that we all come across or see, and change them into something I would want to them be. It’s pretty much just me turning 23
anything I can into a robot; hell I’d turn you into a robot. FP Do think the art community is more accepting here in Richmond? JC Definitely, you know I doubt I would’ve had the same kind of response in DC as I did down here when I hung my stuff at Empire. Richmond has the best art scene in the Virginia area. There’s just a lot of artist out there who can appreciate each others’ work, not just old ladies with a lot of money who want to paint landscapes all day. There is definitely a lot of originality in Richmond as opposed to some of the places I’ve seen. I’m glad I moved to Richmond and can be around liked people. FP I hear you’re a huge Guided By Voices fan? JC I used to only paint to Guided By Voices, they’re intense on a whole other level. FP Which Guided By Voices line would best sum up Jimmy Cumberland? JC Oh man, that’s a tough one. I’d have to say “Kicker of Elves.” FP So my final question, what does ol’ Jack Burton always say at a time like this? JC “Yes sir, the check is in the mail.”
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For more robot madness go to www.myspace.com/robotfriendsva
Murder by Death Inter view by Andrea Olson Photos by Kevin Or losky
Comprised of four friends from college and hailing from Bloomington, Indiana, Murder by Death (Adam Tur la – vocals, guitar ; Sarah Balliet – cello, piano; Matt Armstrong – bass; Dagan Thoger son – percussion) represent a veritable tour de force on the cur rent music scene. With hear tbreaking clarity and uncanny empathy, Adam Turla’s vocals cut swiftly to the core with all the passion and deter mination of a brilliant storyteller. Not to be outdone, Balliet, Ar mstrong and Thogerson meld their creative talents into a swir ling blend of lyrical melodies and deliciously brooding, haunting harmonies. Captivating the listener at the onset, Murder by Death distills all the drama and adventure of the American Frontier into moder nday rock symphonies. Undaunted and with a restless conviction that is mesmerizing, Murder by Death boldly marches through the velvet underbelly of the human experience, skillfully weaving a rich tapestr y of stories of the lost and forgotten. Before their March 22nd Richmond show (at the Canal Club with Reverend Hor ton Heat), I had an oppor tunity to sit down with the band and discuss music-making, touring and bad movies. Andrea Olson A lot of your image as Murder by Death is based around frontier America and the industrialization of the 1900’s. Is this an interest that is shared throughout the band or does this tie directly to one 26
par ticular per son? And can you remember specifically where that interest came from? Adam Tur la It’s funny because it’s an image that has developed not necessarily intentionally, and not even necessarily by us. We just wrote music and people were telling us what they thought about it. I didn’t consciously mean to put any sor t of timeline or spin on it really, I just wanted it to be old-fashioned; timeless really. And so it’s funny, ’cause it really did develop into that. Our job, more than anything else, is to write songs and then hit the road. Sarah Balliet But also I think when people star ted coming to us with that image, in a way we embraced it because, that’s a really fun time period and there is so much great imager y. We felt like we were playing this type of music that didn’t really have much of an identity. It made it easier when people said ‘oh what kind of band are you’ to say ‘oh, we’re kind of Americana’ than saying, ‘I have no idea.’ Matt Ar mstrong It also definitely helps get us away from the mistaken metal identity. AO And the name Murder by Death actually came from a murder myster y in 1976? SB Yeah, Neil Simon wrote a play called Murder by Death and they tur ned it into a movie. AT More and more people are figuring that out that we’re not a metal band. The thing is, metal’s sweet, but that’s just not what we are. We don’t want to tur n off people cause the tr uth is we do have a lot of metal fans due to the dar k material. SB I love our metal fans too. MB Dude, the metal heads are the nicest people. AT Metal heads are the most passionate music listener s I’ve ever encountered. SB I totally agree with that, aside from the super passionate high school kids. AT That’s a different kind of passion. SB It is a different kind of passion. Metal heads are the ones that are going to be going to shows until they fall down. MB You always see people at like Slayer shows with their three-year-old son on their shoulders. AT There is something really cool about that. Those people tr uly love music. AO Your music is so different from pretty much ever ything out there right now, and I know you are probably asked this all the time, but since your sound is so different from the cur rent scene, what are your influences? MB We all bring different influences to the table. At this point I think Dagan and I have the most similar tastes in music to each other but it’s all kinds of stuff from Tom Waits to… AO Rain Dogs? MB Yeah, yeah. Dagan Thoger son I listened to that yesterday. MB I like all your boring pretty rock too like your various Mogwai types and stuff like that, and then tough guy rock
like Shiner and stuff like that. AT I think with the influences it was never something we really thought about, but in retrospect we say, ‘okay, par t of the ethereal par ts Matt plays are ver y much rooted in that Mogwai sensibility.’ I come ver y much from a rockand-roll background like David Bowie, The Pogues… The Animals are probably my favorite and I think that in combination with the instr umental weird stuff, like just having Sarah play the cello and the piano probably helps. SB I have a huge classical influence, my whole high school life was just buried in classical music in a really positive way but I can’t escape that as far as being an influence. AT So it’s kind of just the fact that we came from different backgrounds as music fans that make us sound different. We never said lets make a really weird different band. AO Murder by Death has a timeless sound, an ageless
appeal that is contemporar y but also ver y unique. Does anyone find this makes it hard to relate to other people in the music industr y because of the difference of what you are doing? AT It creates problems but it opens door s at the same time. Sometimes we get credit or get asked to be on a tour because we are different, but it can be negative in that when we’re tr ying to find a band to open for, there just aren’t many bands that are perfect for us to go with. Every tour we’ve ever done someone is like ‘Why are you on this tour?’ MB I needed a new pair of shoes… AT It’s that, or stay home. I mean, if we could tour with whoever we wanted to we would. Finding the right label has always been a hassle because what is the right place for a band like us? There’s no obvious scene, you can’t just attack the punk rock angle, or say this is the hip, new, indie scarf-wearing band. There’s not an obvious choice because it’s music that is as diver se as most people’s musical tastes, most people aren’t as pigeonholed as they’re mar keted to be. AO The vocals and the lyrics in 2002’s Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing are quite a bit different from your last two albums Who Will Sur vive, and What Will Be Left of Them (2003) and In Bocca Al Lupo (2006)- do you feel you have grown into your self as a singer? AT Ver y much. In Like The Exorcist … we were 18 and 19 when we wrote and recorded that album, we were young. I was just singing cause no one else did. It was one of those things where it takes time to lear n how to sing. Even since we recorded [ In Bocca al Lupo ] a year and a half ago I feel like I’ve grown. You’re always growing as a musician.
SB From an outside per spective, you were singing a lot like the music you were listening to when we star ted the band, and then when we recorded our next album you really found your own voice, what was most comfor table for you which had always been kind of a crooner, a deeper voice. AT That’s how I sang in church. SB I remember you having that realization he was just like… AT It was like god! This is the voice I already knew I had! It was ver y natural. AO Where did the inspiration for Who Will Sur vive … come from? AT Sor t of randomness… We had written one song “The Killbot 2000,” because we wanted to do an over the top, epic song and we decided it would be funny to have a song about zombies. So I was driving home from visiting my folks over Christmas and I had the intro to the album just come into my head, and I was singing to myself and I called up Sarah and said ‘hey I just wrote this thing, it’s a weird little story’ and she liked it, and then the next song I wrote was similar in a way so it fit in and I felt like it was apparent we could do a concept EP, and then like two weeks before we were going to record I was just like lets just do a whole album. I basically wrote a bunch more lyrics and we wor ked them into songs and half the album was sor t of last minute, it was just coming so quickly… SB It was really crazy. AT It was just ver y, ver y natural. It was never even intended to sit down and write that album, which I think is maybe what made it wor k. MB I mean that was definitely the first time we even
had a story to work with. In Like the Exorcist … it was like we had enough songs to make an album and somebody wanted to put it out. Who Will Sur vive … actually gave us this new novel thing, focus! And we just star ted pumping them out. AT I remember on the way to the studio I wrote “Three Men Hanging” while I was sitting on the porch waiting for everyone to get in the car. In like 15 minutes I wrote that song. And that’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written. It’s just so funny how that can happen, it’s like when you’ve got it you’ve got it. It’s like any writer will tell you if it’s coming out, just take it and run with it. AO The composition of Who Will Sur vive … uses each song to tell a por tion of a larger stor y, whereas In Bocca al Lupo tells a different story for each song, though the album is thematically tied together. How did these different storytelling techniques change the bands approach to producing the album? Was one technique more difficult to accomplish than the other? AT The last one was way harder. It was a lot more ambitious. SB Yeah, we spent a lot more time on it. We essentially had to reinvent how we were going to record for each song. For Who Will Sur vive … we locked into a feeling of how we wanted the whole album to be and then just cranked it out, but then for this album we had to go down to the dr ums, down to everything and find out what kind of sound do we want for this, what kind of tempo do we want for this, cause it’s not going to be cohesive throughout the album. AT Which makes it a trickier album in general because you are literally trying to make it not wor k together at the same time you want the listener to enjoy the album. I think that In Bocca al Lupo hasn’t had as much of a cult following as
Who Will Sur vive … did because people love to latch on to one stor y. Some of the songs are stronger on the latest album, but it’s a tricky sell for some people. We wanted to branch out and tr y and do something more challenging and different. MB Who Will Sur vive … was a cool record but we didn’t want to record that record again. AT Yeah you can’t just write the same album twice. MB Not only is that lazy, but it sucks. AT We’ve always tried to have variety in our songs, throughout the bands histor y that has been a major motivator, tr ying to not just get stuck doing the same thing. AO With In Bocca Al Lupo a lot of the themes you are writing about are sin, guilt and hope of redemption. Your songwriting really addresses people living on the fringes of society. Where did those stories come from? And, if there weren’t any per sonal ties, how were you able to tell them so empathically? AT Well, some are real and some aren’t, and some are half of each, so it’s more like a matter of perspective. I was reading a lot and would use models from books and use things from real life. Fantasizing them, you know, waving my magic stick. AO You guys have been touring for several year s now, has that affected anyone’s life in a way that you couldn’t have foreseen? SB Yeah, it’s huge, it’s all we do. DT I think I am probably the only one figured I’d be doing this at 15, like ‘when I’m 28 I’ll be on tour’. MB Well, I definitely wanted it I just didn’t know that it would happen. SB I thought I’d be a doctor right now honestly, and soooo did my parents. But it is what it is and it’s wonderful. Essentially, ever ything is on hold. I can’t even have plants at home because they would just die. AT I think par t of it is that we are just a wor king class band. We’re just out there, we don’t have our songs in big movies, we aren’t getting checks in the mail. We make all our money just being on the road, showing up and singing and selling t-shir ts and CD’s. I think when we fir st got a record deal we had no idea how much we were going to have to be on the road, we had no idea how long it can take to sor t of get off the ground and be a serious band. Unless you’re Panic! At the Disco or something, but if you’re a pop star everything is easy, it’s a different wor ld. MB Easy come, easy go. AT Right, exactly. That wor ld has nothing to do with what we do. AO Do you feel touring has cur tailed your creativity as a band, or the other way around? AT Dagan and I were just saying it’s weird cause you don’t really have a chance to just sit down and write 29
songs when you’re on tour. DT You just have to tuck it away until you have time to play it, it’s been like three weeks since I just dicked around on the dr ums. MB It goes both ways cause it’s hard to find time to sit down and do stuff like that unless you are really disciplined and serious about it, cause if you’re out on tour you just want to hang out and socialize, and I think for me per sonally that has helped a lot, just talking to different people about the way they do stuff or they tur n you on to new music. AT I find it hard as someone who writes songs because I can’t sit there in a bar or a tiny dressing room full of smoke with a bunch of people all par tying and write a song, I can’t hear the guitar. SB You’re never alone. AT Right. We did this one tour that just did not go well for us and I found myself just going out to the van to have my own time, I was writing so many songs based off needing to be alone. The thing is we are pretty social people, we like to be out there, A lot of young bands today, they go on MySpace ever yday and post little videos of themselves doing skits or blogging all the time and we never do that stuff because we are too busy out there actually hanging out with the people who paid 20 dollar s to see us or have bought 15 of our t-shir ts. MB Suppor ting the other bands that are playing. AO How do you spend your free time while touring? MB Oh, you know, water slides and kickball. AT So far on this tour, actually, water slides, kick ball and we saw a couple of movies. AO Have you seen any movies lately? AT Black Snake Moan . It was all right. MB It was better than Ghost Rider . AT Ghost Rider , I shit on Ghost Rider . Fuck you Nick Cage for living. MB I would rather go to the dentist than see that again. AT I was so mad, because I had actually made a per sonal veto against Nick Cage movies because he only lets me down. MB Except for Raising Arizona . And Con Air. 30
AT Yeah, but how long ago was that? I was like five year s old. AO What’s the last album you really enjoyed? AT William Elliot Whitmore, Song of the Blackbird . SB Oh, man. It’s untouchable. He plays the banjo and the guitar and stomps his foot real loud. DT Sounds like he’s 90. MB And breaks your hear t. SB Yeah he’s like this 28-30 year old kid, he just has this amazing voice, he’s just captivating, just a wonderful perfor mer, and a great friend of ours. AT He’s the guy I’m putting all my chips down for. MB I’ve been listening Sword a lot, it’s sor t of refer red to as bong-ripping stoner rock. Lots of tasty riffage. AT We’re kind of into fantasy metal for pump up music. Any song about dragons is all right with me. SB You know Motörhead has been making a big appearance. AT They have this song called “(We Are) The Road Crew” where he wrote a song for his road crew. SB It’s seriously one of the best songs ever, it’s my favorite. I love songs about being on the road. It’s so funny I’ve been doing this long enough those songs are just like, (sob!). AT Yeah, like Bob Seger. MB I was just about to say, except for that fucking song! [“Tur n the Page”] AT I love that song! Dude, you will grow to love that song. MB No I won’t! AT One day you are going to be on the road like ‘I feel it Bob, I feel it’… AO So what’s next? AT We’re going to Europe in about two weeks, doing a headlining tour over there. Suppor ting the Reverend Hor ton Heat in Canada in May, then we’re writing all of June and July. Going to rent a cabin and just write a new album, record it in September probably. We are doing a tour with Reverend Hor ton Heat in August where we actually go up to Sturgis and play the bike rally. Fuck Yeah! For records, merchandise and more infor mation visit www.murderbydeath.com.
iSiS words+image by Ian M. Graham The gods of heavy metal have been greatly appeased for the past few years. It seems that in the early days of this millennium, after hardcore died down and radio-pop “metal” was huge, a new direction was taken. Hard working, intelligent, progressive metal bands such as Opeth, Mastodon and Tool had been achieving minor to medium amounts of success during the late 90’s, but truly took flight when the audience left radio to look elsewhere. Largely an act of the current decade, Isis has stepped forward as one of the leaders of the pack in progressive heavy music. Their albums are steeped with recurring themes (towers, prisons, mosquitoes, mirrors, water…), and the current album, In The Absence Of Truth , makes reference to historical, political, and social ideals. Isis recently finished a lap around the country opening Tool’s 10,000 Days tour and show no signs of slowing down. Tuning their craft as musicians and thinkers over the years, Isis is now headlining one of the best metal tours to come to Richmond
in some time. Suppor ted by the recent but already legendary Torche and Intronaut (Jesu, Justin Broderick of Godflesh’s new project was supposed to suppor t as well but encountered problems entering the country), Isis stopped by Alley Katz on March 10th and blew minds. For an incredible few hours, the entire crowd listened to some of the best heavy music being played. I emphasize listened, because it’s impor tant to note that there was no moshing going on-- which to me means that there was nobody trying to destroy my camera. Before the show, Parker and I sat down with Aaron Turner (vox/guitars) and Aaron Harris (drums) to talk about their methods of music, life, and perception. Ian M. Graham I only recently got your newest album, and noticed a reference to Hassan Sabbah. Would you mind going into some of the references in the new album? Aaron Turner Well, as far as the lyrical inspiration goes, Sabbah was just one of the subjects, but it wasn’t limited to that. It got me star ted on the whole topic. A few years ago, writing lyrics was more of an internal thing, I try to come up with things on my own, and bringing in ideas, drawing parallels to cer tain things that were going on in my life. In the last few years, I guess reading other writers, mostly fiction writers instead of other lyricists- that stuff has become more of an influence on me. Everything I was reading, even before we star ted working on the record, was well as when we were rehearsing the songs that eventually became the new record, ended up seeping into it somehow. That quote from Sabbah came from a book I was reading, House of Leaves, by Mark Daneieluwski, that book was in a lot of ways really influential. Don Quixote was another one. I didn’t read any books about Sabbah, but I did a lot of online research, and read a lot, including some of the stuff the Byron Gyson and William Burroughs had written about him, or inspired by him, and standard stuff like Wikipedia,
and historical repor ts like what Marco Polo had written about his encounter with Sabbah in his travels. One thing I wanted to make clear is that Sabbah is not the focal point of this record, and I don’t claim to know a lot about him- I think he’s an interesting character, and that quote specifically attributed to him I think is pretty significant to me, but beyond that I’m no authority on him or his life. IMG All of your albums have lots of metaphoric allusions. Do you see yourself as a fiction writer? AT I don’t really consider myself a writer of any kind. I feel that I’m a novice writer at best. I try to write about things that are interesting to me, and more impor tantly to the music that we make as a group. I’ve always tried, even when it’s something personal, to mask it with metaphor, or come up with some sor t of narrative to explain these ideas, because I don’t want the lyrics to be about me. I want them to be representative as us as a band. I don’t know how successful I’ve been as a writer, and I’m hesitant to even call myself that. I just try to write something that is appropriate for what we do, and I can keep some sor t of connection with- even after repeated performances and recording. Parker What’s your process like when it comes to writing songs? AT It’s different, over the years. AH Yeah, this record was a lot different just because Jeff (bass) and Mike (guitar) were- Jeff permanently was residing on the east coast, and Mike was bicoastal. Jeff would come out and write, in blocks, but he wasn’t there for the whole process, and neither was Mike. It wasn’t a problem, to do stuff, but it was a little weird, because we’ve always worked in a group
in the writing process. There were a few times where it would get a little frustrating, we’d get working on something, and we’d want to know what it would sound like with the bass- Jeff, and Mike, contributing, y’know? But, we were able to communicate, we did multi-track recordings and we able to send them back and for th. Without that, it would have been a lot more difficult. It was something we had never done, but man, it really helped the process- individually, and for the whole band. It just blew the old way out of the water, you know? We can be a very picky band, but it wasn’t so much scrutinizing the material, it was really hearing what everyone else was doing before actually getting into the studio. That made a big difference. AT In the past, we had maybe done some one-mic, multi-take recordings for reference purposes, but most of the time it sounded like a fuckin’ hair dryer. We couldn’t really tell a whole lot from that. Doing demos this time, especially with Mike and Jeff not being around the whole time, made it a lot easier. I think it made it easier for them, having something to listen to, and work on, even if they where not within geographical proximity. And for me, having those demos to work out vocals is very good, too. A lot of times, I would have an idea, and I would work on stuff, but I couldn’t really hear myself. I wouldn’t really know how my vocals would sound until I went into the studio. I think that, especially now that I’m attempting to do some more melodic singing- this was crucial for me. I didn’t want to go into the studio not knowing what I was doing. To make that step forward, I needed to have that reference available so that I could work on things in my own time, and not have to waste these guys time with my cadre and bearing. But, as to the way it all comes together- that changes every album. With this record, there was no set method to how we were going to do anything. Sometimes someone would have a very big idea, and we’d jam on it for hours, and come up with some par ts, and knock a song out of that. Or, it would be Aaron and me, or Aaron and Cliff, working out ideas as a pair, and then bringing it out as a group. But, overall, the process is always very democratic- we never consider a song finished until everyone is 100%, or as close as they can be. There are always going to be 33
times when some people aren’t happy with little sections- but as long as they don’t hate it, we’ll move forward. IMG Everyone is going to have their “not favorite” section? AT Of course. And those things change over time- but the more you play it, the more you become comfor table with it and understand it, you star t to enjoy it. Parker I’d say the biggest difference with Absence of Truth is that there is a lot more melodic vocals going on, and with you (Aaron Harris), there’s a lot more double bass and harder hitting. Y’all seem to have a very natural way of evolving from album to album- how did those two factors major into making this album? AH The inspiration for this record, for me, came internally. I was trying to find myself, trying to dig within myself. Coming out of Panopticon, I felt a little, I guess confused, about where I was heading, musically, personally. It was a hard time for everybody, the band had just moved to L.A., and everyone was still feeling things out, a lot of things were up in the airbut the record came out great, and that was the one saving aspect of that time, knowing that there’s still a purpose to all this. For this album, I think everybody knew that they had to dig a little bit deeper, to experiment. For me, it was to pull out some of those blocks on the creative outlets, to become a stronger musician, a stronger player, and go into the studio confident. I didn’t want to go in unprepared like last time. It killed me, and this time I wanted to be overly prepared. I think I accomplished it. AT Aaron, and everybody, has stepped it up with each record, and pushed themselves. I think that par t of the reason that the drums and the vocals get singled out is because some of those elements are a lot more obvious- some of the double bass stuff, and melodic singing- these elements were not present in our music before. But everybody, however, have pushed themselves to grow. It’s not that we’re trying to force ourselves, but it’s making an effor t to better yourself as a musician. One thing we talked about when working on this record is that more so now than ever before, we were able to set ego aside and consider the health of the songs and the album as a whole, not just focusing on what you’re doing but thinking more about how it relates to what everybody else is doing; trying to make your par ts compatible with the collective whole. That was something that made a big difference- when someone had a par t that was really shining, everybody else steps back for a minute, and we allow that par t to breathe. I also feel that this was the most democratically written record- I feel that just about everybody contributed equally, whereas in the past, especially the first few records, a lot of it was done by two or three people, as far as the 34
basic templates for the songs. IMG How much of your influence would you say comes from outside the general hard rock / heavy metal genre? AT I’d say that most of our influences come from outside the genre. Of course, we all grew up with that stuff, and it’s a par t of who we are, but we’ve always been into a lot of other things, too. I would be hesitant to narrow it down to a genre, or a handful of ar tists. There really are so many things that help us develop. IMG Well, what have y’all been listening to recently? AT Hmm… Well, we’ve got two vans on this tour, so it’s whoever’s driving is the DJ. AH I’ve been listening to a lot of Eastern, Indian music- I star ted taking Tabla lessons, so that’s what my ears have been dedicated to. Between us, our iPods are the most random shit, you know? And I think that’s impor tant, when you’re playing heavy music, on the road, playing heavy music every night, listening to something outside of that genre is going to
make me want to play it more. If I just listen to heavy music, my drive gets repressed. I’ve gotta mix it up.
What’s impor tant to us is the integrity of the music. If more people listen to it, and we become bigger and bigger, that’s great. I’m not going to complain.
IMG Do you mind me asking who you’re studying tabla under?
AH We often get asked the question, “How does it feel to be an inspirational band?” It’s really weird to hear that, because like Aaron said, we’re not doing the same thing now that we were doing in 97, but there are a lot of similarities. We’ve stayed pretty true to ourselves- you know it’s an Isis record. It’s just weird that this kind of music has become so popular. Not that we’re a prog band- but King Crimson, that was a really obscure name to hear five or ten years ago, and now they’re a household name, and that’s great, but really strange.
AH Aloke Dutta. He lives in L.A., and I was referred to him by some friends. He’s taught some pretty reputable drummers, and I have the time now to dedicate myself to that- I figure that now that drumming is my job, I’m going to take advantage of it, and pick up some new techniques. I’m a self-taught drummer, so any teaching I’m going after is going to mean a lot for me. Parker It seems to me that the last few years have seen a resurgence of intelligent, heavy, progressive music. A lot of people, when you talk with them about heavy music, they don’t really associate that with words like progression and evolution, but those words fit what you do very well. AT There’s been a lot of popularity for this kind of music recently, but there have been a lot of bands- going back a long time- that, while not actually being heavy metal, have been making something like it. I’m grateful that there’s a surge of popularity for what we do, and it’s good for us on a couple of levels, but honestly, I think we’d be doing what we’re doing even if that weren’t the case. When we star ted out, the style, or sound, of music- whatever you want to call it- that we were putting out was extremely unpopular. Now that there are so many bands doing that, it’s almost good for us to star t moving away from that, forcing us to think about things differently- reconsider what it is we’re doing, and how we want to go about doing it. Not that we would’ve been complacent and made the same record over and over anyway- I just think that we’ve never wanted to fit into a specific genre, or be such-andsuch type band, we’ve just tried to be Isis. Weather we’re par t of some larger movement or not, I think we’ll continue doing what we do. Parker It’s always nice to do what you want but have more people listen to your message. AT Definitely. Like Aaron was saying, the fact that everybody can do this as their job has been great for us. Par t of the reason In The Absence Of Truth came out the way it did is because we were able to dedicate ourselves fully to the process of writing this record. We were rehearsing five days a week; everybody wasn’t coming into rehearsal after a long day of work and feeling totally spent and unenthused. There are some definite benefits to being a somewhat popular, yet underground band. We’re not going to shy away from succeeding, and not going to try to stay underground- that’s not what’s impor tant to us.
AT There will always be metal that’s more concerned with theatrics, image, and extremity, but there will always be other bands- if not metal, still heavy in nature- that explore really interesting territory, that are more forward thinking and progressive than bands operating in other areas. A lot of that stuff didn’t get its due in the day- when I met Aaron, he was into a lot of the Amphetamine Reptile stuff- Hammerhead, the Melvins, shit like that. To me, that stuff was extremely unique at the time, the first few Today Is The Day records- there’s still nothing that sounds like those records. There was obviously a great deal of creative energy and inventive thought that was put into that. It’s sad that people are just now recognizing how good that stuff was. Even if it’s in a secondary way, people getting into bands that were influenced by those bands- ultimately it’s a good thing. It’s nice that people can talk about heavy metal and hard rock and not have it be associated with the lowbrow, Cro-Magnon knuckle-dragging stereotype. IMG I’ve been into metal since I was ten or twelve- I first got into Metallica, and kept running with it. But I’ve never been to an Ozzfest- I can’t stand giant swarms of drunken rednecks. I’m from the south, I’m a Southerner, and I can’t stand that crowd. When I was four teen, a bunch of my buddies went to Ozzfest, and I asked, “How was it?” They said that there were drunken rednecks everywhere, and I said, well, I guess I’ll never make it to an Ozzfest. AH When we did the tour with Tool, it was unbelievable to be playing to this lawn of twenty thousand people who came to see Tool. Think about it. That’s a band that plays ten minute songs, has the most insane time signatures, there’s screaming… it’s really bizarre that they’re as big as they are, because there’s other bands out there that are doing the same thing, and I guess it’s really hopeful that there’s so many people that are receptive to the intelligent music. Parker That there’s actually that many people with enough of an attention span? 35
AH Yeah, people actually care about quality music. The music world hasn’t gone totally to shit. AT Especially in the mainstream realm, where most of the music that rises to that level of popularity is so vapid, there’s nothing redeeming about it. So it’s really encouraging to see a band like Tool thriving to that extent. You hear that they sell, you know, x amount of records- but then you go to the show, night after night, there’s tens of thousands of people. It’s really encouraging. And of course, at a Tool show, you’re going to get the cross-section of chest-beating morons, but at the same time, there are a lot of people who are really dedicated listeners who really enjoy music. They’re not just there to be enter tained, they’re there to get something else out of it, and there’s something to be said for that. IMG When you see Tool, it’s an A/V display, not just a concer t. Parker We came and saw you guys in DC, with Tool. For me, that was more of a religious experience- and I’m not religious- but after I left, I felt very elevated. It leaves me hopeful that there will be many music events like that to come. AT Thank you, that’s awesome. I think that for however many people that are out there looking for a quick fix and don’t want to bother to seek out something that’s different, I think there’s an equal number of people who are fucking sick of being fed FM radio bullshit, and want something else, and are actively seeking an alternative. I’m grateful that we can be par t of that alternative, which is also a solution, to an extent. As a side note on the Tool thing- outside of who they are, as a band, the fact that they take out bands like us, or The Melvins, or Fantomas, to expose their audience instead of taking the easy way out- a generic new metal band that would help them sell tickets, I think that’s really impor tant too. Not only are they making this stuff, but they’re also encouraging others to do the same, and trying to expose their audience to something that’s a bit more off the beaten path. AH And… not to keep licking Tool’s balls, but in the age we live in, where everything is done to a click track, computerized and pitch corrected down to the last detail- those guys are playing drums and guitars, man. There’s no click track, no auto-tune, same with us, or like Mastodon, bands that just go up there and devastate on shit you can buy at Guitar Center. Then there are bands that go up on stage, and their sound is totally manipulated down to the littlest thing. It’s good to know that there are still bands that can make good music without all the bells, whistles, and bullshit. IMG The recording studio smoke and mirrors? 36
AH Yeah. Parker Thanks for coming back to Richmond after that blundered last show (back in May of 2006). AT It wasn’t anybody from Richmond’s fault- except for the people responsible for the club. When it comes to bad shows… we were talking about this earlier, at some point we just had to step back and laugh. We used to play in basements. We still sometimes play in BFWs with tiny PAs, so it’s not like we’re some spoiled rock band who will tell people to fuck off if we’re not happy with the PA that’s provided. That being said, we’re very happy to be playing a club that has something a little more adequate than that place. AH We’re psyched to be back here. We were totally frustrated at the time, but we got emails from people saying that it was one of the best shows they’ve ever seen. I M G If Isis had to enter the Thunderdome in a two bands enter, one band leaves kind of scenario, who would you want the other band to be, and why? AH You mean, we have to kick their asses? IMG Yeah…Thunderdome. AT I’d say Cult of Luna… but those guys are actually really nice guys, and some of their music is really good. Um… it’s hard to come up with anything, a band that’s both terrible at making music and a bunch of douchebags. I M G OK, well I also want to know which one of you beat up Danny Carey (drummer of Tool, who cancelled par t of their US tour due to a ripped bicep muscle). AH I arm-wrestled him. Parker The whole boxing accident was a ploy? AH Yeah. I arm-wrestled him, and he couldn’t handle it.
A couple of year s ago while on tour, I r ead an ar ticle in Spin r ealm of being. about Thur ston Moore. What str uck me most that I continue to reflect upon was the por tion wher e Moor e r efer ences While a band can be musically better after a couple Er ase Er r ata. During the time I r ead the ar ticle, Er ase of r ecords, the embr yonic stages of a band ar e much Er r ata was a burgeoning band that T hur ston highly lauded. mor e fascinating to which I am apt to agr ee. T he fir st Ultimately, Moore posited that a band star ting out is mor e couple of songs that bands write together make for interesting to pay attention to than a band that’s been intriguing sociological experiments. Some member s may around for awhile to see what they do within their new be meeting each other for the fir st time while other s might 38
TRIPLE TWINS by Jeff Byer s Images cour tesy of Triple Twins
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know each other from gr ade school. Dr awing from differ ent environments and musical tastes, pr actices can be war zones for per sonality clashes and the sonic asser tion of various ego mitigations or something fun to do on a Friday night before going out. Deliber ately tr acking the sentiment, a band’s fir st few tour s is also more adventurous because ther e isn’t an alr eady accr ued bank of contacts to pull from concer ning decent shows and places to stay. During these fir st tour s, a band can encounter people who hand out Ziploc bags of air plane liquor bottles because they can’t drink anymor e “due to their medication” or experience their own band member s har assing show-goer s by spr aying them with a garden hose while r unning around a backyard, naked. I think this is gr eat because you are out of your comfor t zone and meeting people and seeing things you never would have experienced if you stayed home. When Richmond’s ver y own Triple Twins asked me to sub for them while bassist Shane Jenkins would be on tour playing guitar in Homemade Knives, I natur ally jumped at the chance, because hey! It beats wor king. “We don’t have connections within a lar ger community, so we play [r andom shows] because they are the oppor tunities we have,” says guitarist Ben Tur ley. Maybe it’s a sign of the times that a pr etty str aightforward pop-rock band can slip through the cr acks in between noise projects, stoner riffs, ’88 throwbacks and screamy hardcore, or maybe it’s because Triple Twins is the fir st actively touring band for four out of its five member s that the Twins ar e wont to picking up odds and ends for shows. “We don’t fit into… I think we have kind of the non-classical str uctur e attributed to punk bands because that’s how we all gr ew up. So, I don’t know, it makes it awkward because we are taking the idea of one thing and tr ying to put it somewhere else. Because we ar e so fr agmented it makes it hard to fit easily with other bands…to me anyways,” says Tur ley. Triple Twins’ music can be deeply rooted in influences like Lou Bar low, T he T her mals, and a slew of other indierock bands. Yet member s ar en’t ashamed to let the influence of contempor ar y pop music wor m its way into their lives. “I need to hear that Beyonce song right now! T hat shit’s like fucking cr ack 40
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to me!” shouts Ben Tur ley as the Twins load up into the Pittsbur gh club, T he Lav a “I have to. My son is in this band,” she r esponds. I felt this was a Lounge. When the song “Ir r eplaceable” does comes on it takes all of fifteen seconds pleasant point to end the conver sation. for a member to accidentally drop a glass that r esultantly shatter s on the floor. The Lava Lounge is filled with Pittsbur gh native guitarist Br ent Young’s family, old As Mike infor ms me later, the lady appar ently shushed me. But at the time friends, and various show-goer s. Decor ated as what one can pr esume the inside of that conver sational epiphany my attention was placed elsewhere. After of volcano might look like, the bar is comfor table as well is the company. the headlining band, T he Jeffer son Center gets an impromptu perfor mance of a woman from Brooklyn fr ee-styling with a man from Roanoke playing the This is a vastly different scene than the pr evious evening wher e our young washboard. And this was how tour star ted. musicians found themselves at T he Jeffer son Center in Roanoke, VA. Ar riving fifteen minutes before 8 PM, the Twins had fifteen minutes to set up and sound While Br ent is cooking avocado, egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches for breakfast check before playing to a room mostly comprised of wallflower par ents of the mor ning after the Lav a Lounge show, Triple Twins ar e infor med they can play the headlining band. at the Veggieplex in Philadelphia that night with fellow Richmond band, Souvenir’s Young America. Six hour s later Triple Twins find themselves playing four songs to “You guys are too loud. Can you tur n down?” asks the sound gir l who a dozen or so people for a noise/hardcor e band show. T he set went well, the songs seems slightly less r ude than the guy setting up the microphones. wer e well r eceived, and the tofu hoagies from Fu-Wah wer e delicious. But you could tell “At what volume do you want us?” asks singer Adrienne Brown. they wer e the odd band out, and that’s just fine with them. Triple Twins is one of the “As low as you can go.” most genuinely sincer e, gr ateful bands I’ ve encounter ed. Not afr aid to admit they’ ve been r eading Esquir e and listening to Lily Allen in the v an, T he Twins are content with Pulling out all the stops, the show begins with not one but thr ee floating along playing their songs to anyone who will listen and wants to have fun. false star ts as the band tries to get their bearings and fumbles around on stage. One can only assume the set that followed left T he fifth and final day of the tour found our heroes hung over waking up at 8 AM after a much to be desired for the patrons patiently awaiting the next long evening with their Long Island buddies, Bridge and Tunnel. Even though most retired band. around four in the mor ning, Mike didn’t go to sleep because he was too busy losing money he won ear lier playing cee-lo. Even if Mike had padded gas money, the drive from Long Island “BUH BUH BUH BUH.” I can bar ely hear the lady speaking to Richmond would have been quite the under taking. Drinking anywher e from twelve to thir ty to me over the sound system as the headlining band is beer s each will do that to you when at 2:30pm you discover T he Car amel Lounge (featuring Eddie playing while I sit at the merch table talking to dr ummer Munster as a bar tender!) which has 2-for-1 specials and then you go ahead and purchase more Mike Ashley. beer for when you play and par ty afterwards. Fueled by a steady diet of the pr evious night’s pizza, the drive went pr etty well, ar riving in Richmond to meet up and play with Pittsburgh’s Black Tie “BUH BUH BUH BUH.” Revue in a crowded Jackson Ward basement. T he show left the band with a feeling of accomplishment and camar aderie that can only be attained when r etur ning home to faces you haven’t seen in awhile. “I guess you like this band?” I politely ask still not under standing what she is saying. T he Triple Twins ar e cur r ently r ecording a full-length r ecord for the D.C. based label Exotic Fever Records. As the band builds its own community and sound, it will be inter esting to see what adventures may come next. 42
T[a_Q [R XaWMeM tues - sun 12 - 10 1717 e. main st richmond va 23223 804.377.3380 photo by thomas roberts - trphotozvze.com
T her e ar e ver y fe w musical movements in the punk genr e that inspir e mor e nostalgia than w hat w as ca ptur ed in Ric hmond during the ear ly 90s. To hear old, has-been punks talk a bout it, you’ d think the R amones played e ver y show in your neighbor s’ bac kyar d and that Ig g y Pop tuc ked ever yone into bed at night. While maybe not as idyllic as all that, ther e w as something special about the riv alries, the hedonism, the v ariety and the talent Ric hmond cr adled a little mor e than a decade ago. If you wer e her e, you know w hat I mean. If you wer en’t, then shit, you have my condolences.
Once Upon a T ime:
44
An Inter view wit h Inq uisition By Christian Detr es
While e ver yone car ried the tor c h of their favorites – Av ail, Hose Got Ca ble, Four Walls, Damn Near Red, Action Patr ol and w hat have you, ther e w as one band that tied them all together into a neat pac ka ge la beled “Ric hmond PUNK”. For anyone that ignited the cir c le pit during the pr oto-r ap of “Bloodc hant” or felt the union of r aised voices in the call-and-r esponse coda of “Mayday”, Inquisition WAS Ric hmond Punk. T hey embodied ever ything that g ave the scene its unique hymn to oneness, singularity and str aight-up sweat-flying abandon. T heir music w as a mélange of righteous indignation and adolescent angst. Spittle str e wn w hip-smar t lyrics sung loud bac ked by guitar s and dr ums that defy inaction w as the calling car d of Ric hmond’s finest. Ele ven year s after their last show, Inquisitions’ member s, str e wn acr oss the globe and busy as e ver, have decided to r eunite for a weekend of
w hat-once-w as and dust of f their musical Molotov coc ktails. On May 18th and 19th, dr ummer Russ Jones (also of Ann Ber etta and Foundation), guitarist Mar k Aver y (River City High and now living in London), Rob Huddleston (Ann Ber etta and Foundation) and T homas Bar nett (Strike Anyw her e – r elocated to Por tland) will play to a sold out Alley K atz cr ow d. RVA Ma g azine got an exc lusive inter vie w with all four member s of the band. Christian Detr es Fir st of all, thank you ver y muc h for the inter vie w. As all of you know, I have been a f an for as long as you guys have been to gether. I’m r eally excited about the show and I know the r est of Ric hmond is too. T homas, I feel you’ ve been r esponsible for helping institute the legacy of activism and community cohesion in Ric hmond. You’ ve been ver y vocal lyrically for righting wr ongs against the poor, the downtr odden and of cour se, animal rights. Remembering that you wer e bar ely an adult w hen Inquisition w as at its’ peak, how did you sell your conviction for these issues so well and how has this willingness to speak out af fected your car eer? T homas Bar nett It star ted out that I tr eated the band as a platfor m to simply expr ess my per sonal anger at the systems of power str uctur e in Ric hmond and disgust at the w ay cer tain people, c lasses and r aces wer e tr eated. As it went along and people star ted listening it cer tainly w as gr eat to feel like some momentum w as being ac hieved and then, yes, it w as significant and felt gr eat. But r emember most of this time the band w as a fun pr oject for four delinquent teena ger s w ho
constantly wer e being fir ed fr om their jobs and living in squalor to suppor t their music fetish. It w asn’ t all grim and serious. It w as all of this, the seriousness of an activist cause, or causes r ather, mixed with the liber tine a bandon of youth that helped solidify Ric hmond into a discr ete punk scene for the fir st time. Ric hmond bands wer e being inf luenced by Ric hmond bands for the fir st time and it allowed for a incubation of its own sound, and ther e it is. CD Cool. And for the r est of you, w ho had to bac k up T homas’ lyrics with your music, w hic h by no means comes in second as to quality, w as it har d to kee p up the necessar y intensity? Did the expectations of w hat you had to bring to the ta ble to be Inquisition make you over ly conscious of your wor k or did you natur ally gel with w hat w as going on lyrically? Mar k Aver y T he gr avity that T homas br ought to the lyrics w as a gr eat platfor m to bring out the intensity fr om w hic h we wr ote music. I feel the mix that made it wor k w as the lyrical weight plus the uplifting joyous natur e of the music. It w as just as muc h a cele br ation of being young and the music’s emotion definitely showed that. T he feeling of hope mixed with angst w as w hat gave Inquisition its’ vital and immediate sound. You could lose your self in both the r elease of negative and positive emotions. One without the other ends up cr eating either a totally de pr essing or completely ir r ele v ant, or disposa ble sound. To gether, they enca psulate the wide spectr um of experiences that being a teena ger is all a bout. CD You’ ve touc hed on it a bit, but is ther e a unifying philosophy of Inquisition that makes it special? T he experience of the band w as huge. To w hat do you attribute that? MA I think the one thing that made it special w as that the band w as a lot lar ger than the four people that wer e in it. Ever yone that e ver bought a tic ket or e ver came to pr actices or just simply hung out w as essentially a par t of the band, and necessar y to it. We felt just as excited to be playing the shows that all of you wer e so excited to be attending. It w as a r eunion of sor ts to be ther e, as often as we did play, to be at the Metr o seeing all of you in the audience. We often felt as if we wer e actually going to a show r ather than being simply the attr action. T hat sense of going to a huge par ty w her e all of your friends get to just let loose for a fe w hour s w as I think the unique experience of being at an Inquisition show w as all a bout. It w as mor e than “going to a show”. It w as mor e like a f amily e vent. 45
CD I agr ee. T her e w as a complete lac k of a “four th w all.” T her e w as no disconnect between the band and the audience. It w as har d to tell w her e the sta ge ended and the pit began. Russ Jones It’s funny, ther e wer e so many times people would actually for get I w as in the band and ask me “Ar e you going to the Inquisition show?” and I’ d be like, “yeah, you might see me ther e.” CD T his is a bit topical, but could you describe w hat you think is the dif fer ence between Ric hmond now and then? I mean, ther e’s a lot of gr eat bands w ho have followings but nothing like I’ ve seen bac k then. Maybe VCR a couple year s a go had that intense of a fun atmospher e at their shows, but it seems some of the joy of having a local band that ser ves as a coa gulating principle for the scene has been lost. What’s your take on that? Rob Huddleston I’ ve been talking a bout this for the last couple year s. It w as r eally weir d how in ’96 and 97 ther e seemed to be this pr ecipitous dr op-of f in substance to the Ric hmond scene. T her e’s been some r esur gence her e and ther e but the suppor t isn’ t ther e like it used to be. Don’ t get me wr ong, ther e is still something special about Ric hmond and it’s place nationally as a music scene but something died – and it’s har d to figur e out just w hat that is. Maybe, hope fully, ther e’ ll be something coming down the line soon that will r esur r ect it. 46
MA One thing too that bear s mentioning is that bac k then ther e w asn’ t a huge fr acturing of pigeonholed sounds at shows. You’ d have thr ee dif fer ent bands on one bill that sounded nothing alike and that w as a plus, not a ne g ative. I feel sometimes that if people ar e given anything exce pt w hat they expect to hear, they’ r e disa ppointed. I think the willingness to be sur prised by something ne w and out of left field is missing.
..t he suppor t isn’t t here like it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, t here is still somet hing special about Ric hmond and it ’s place nationally as a music scene but somet hing died... TB It’s wor th noting that the access to infor mation and music has af fected all music “scenes”. Bac k w hen Inquisition w as ar ound, ther e w as no Internet, no v ast networ k of MySpace pr opor tions. You wer en’ t being bombar ded on a minute-to-minute basis of “hey, listen to my band”. It w as pr etty muc h w hat w as going on in your high sc hool or on campus that made your weekend list of activities. T he spher e of av aila ble inf luence w as r ather small. Also, bac k then ther e w asn’ t the incessant posting of your e vents, a g ain, on MySpace, to aler t you of ten dif fer ent things to do. To get the wor d out a bout your show you had to per sonally pass out f lyer s to friends and friends of friends. T his made a muc h mor e per sonal connection to
the band itself, and if you wer e in the band, personalized the audience. You can’t r epr oduce that kind of intimac y online. All the attendant emotions that come fr om that connection fuel a fir e of bombast and melt inhibitions. I r emember so many times riding in our v an and leaning out the window to the car next to us to hand out flyer s because the people in it looked like they just might be punks. Later on, w hen they show up, ther e’s immediate f ace r ecognition and happiness that they made it. MA Being in a band bac k then meant you had to live it, actively. You had to wor k har d to get anyone to your shows. Whether that putting up f lyer s on lampposts or handing them out after c lass, you wer e muc h mor e invested on a str eet le vel than you need to be now. CD T hat’s a good point. Par t of w hat we do at RVA is to fight a g ainst the globalization of information and bring e ver yone’s focus bac k home, to build community a g ain. I r emember handing out f lyer s for you guys and feeling a sense of pride in my city, but e ven smaller than that, my neighborhood, my immediate “cr e w” and it’s impact on peoples’ tastes and social plans. Moving on to mor e r ecent stuf f, how ar e the pr actices going now? MA T her e w as a gr eat sense of ner vousness at
We had an idea that it would sell out but not on the fir st day. T he r eaction has been sur prising to say the least. MA We had no idea that that many people car ed that muc h a bout the band. T his is going to be the best high sc hool r eunion e ver. None of us went to our actual high sc hool r eunions – they could never matc h this. I guar antee you we’ r e mor e excited to play this show just to see all of our old friends in their f amiliar places in the pit and since now that they’ r e old enough, cr ow ding the bar. RH We’ r e definitely ca pitalizing on the feeling of bringing bac k the spirit of those times with the sup por ting line-up. Old Ric hmond sta ples like Channel 43 and Ensign ar e playing. Good friends like Hot Water Music member s’ band the Dr aft will be ther e as well. CD What’s the most sur prising mention of Inquisition as an inf luence for you guys? MA Chris Car r a b ba (of Dashboar d Confessional) opened for River City High once and in the middle of his set he played a medley of Inquisition songs. It ble w me aw ay that had e ven hear d us. It tur ns out he w as a huge f an. Dashboar d’s not my f avorite band in the wor ld, but it w as an unexpected honor. RH I don’ t know, pr oba bly has to be Ne w Found Glor y, I guess. fir st and all but by the second day it felt so good to hear those songs again, we wer e a ble to thr ow our selves completely into it. We’ r e all excited as shit. CD A couple weeks ago Russ and I wer e sitting ar ound talking about the upcoming shows and I looked online to c hec k out w hat the buzz about it w as. I found pa ges and pages of message boar ds and for ums fr om all over the wor ld pac ked with exc lamations of anticipation. How do you r eact to that?
RJ I think for anyone to be inf luenced by anything I did w hen I w as fifteen year s old is pr etty cool. T he inter vie w digr essed into a discussion of times past, par ties cr ashed, r andom nudity, twenty-four hour par ty lifestyle and intentional er r oneously sung lyrics. T his memor y lane is cr ow ded with gleam ing monuments to fun had and gone. As it a ppr oac hes the inter section of now, let’s r un the flashing light of r eluctance and speed thr ough to a futur e equally ric h in experience. See you at the show Ric hmond! I’ ll be the old fuc k fr ont and center scr eaming the wor ds I memorized as a boy. INQ UISITION WILL PLAY TWO REUNION SHOWS AT ALLEY KATZ ON FRIDAY MAY 18TH AND SATURDAY MAY 19TH. BOTH THESE SHOWS ARE ALL AGES, START AT 6PM …AND COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.
RJ Well, at that point both shows wer e alr eady sold out. 47
Al abama Thunderpu s sy Open Fire Rel a pse When the label summarizes Open Fire as “delivering the finest metal this side of the hard rock classic s” and the website says “hardrock songs with a tip-ofthe-hat to classic metal songs of yore,” well, the review is prett y much done. Alabama Thunderpussy have built a career playing this t ype of firey Southern music and need make no apologies. The addition of new vocalist Kyle Thomas ( E xhorder, Floodgate ) has fueled the band’s metal tenden-
cies and that’s where Open Fire kicks. Songs like the title track and “None Shall Return” are reminiscent of Thomas’ thrashier days and “ Void of Harmony” is one of the best weed jams to come out of Richmond. You can’t miss their Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet influences, which are ar tfully displayed on the ‘pussy’s last t wo album covers, respec tively.
played, more badass moments. Alabama Thunderpussy have a lot of those, too, some on their new record and many more you will find in their back catalog. Maybe Open Fire brings it all together, but ATP are at their meanest when there’s more classic metal and less classic rock.-Mike Rutz
Botox Par t y
Bring in t he Suck EP UpChuckRecordz That being said, some of w w w.mys pace.com the songs on Open Fire /botoxpa r t y va will make you sigh. Kind of like when “Freebird” Botox Par t y is a new trio comes on the radio comprised of a member and you wish for one of each from I Live With Southern Rock ’s less Zombies, Red Angel
48 titles in color represent local work - ed.
Dragnet, and C entreline. For Richmond punks, this is a most promising lineup and their debut EP delivers in 6 shor t blasts. “New Year” is your first introduction to the increased aggressiveness in Chuck ’s already inspired songwriting. It’s apparent that he’s exorcising some demons, a few possibly relating to the sudden dissolution of ILW Z. Luck y for you, he always stays positive and saves the real anger for social issues like social securit y ( “ Work and Suf fer” ) and punk elitists ( “Elitist Social Class” ).
Al so helping Botox Par t y stand out in a genre that of ten lacks new ideas is their bleeding metal hear ts. The shredding that you hear in “Stealing Childhood” brings a Swedish solo to mind, but once Botox Par t y drop the clutch, it’s tumbling bass, thrashing drums, dir t y vocal s, a few whoaoh’s, and all hardcore punk. And while the EP was recorded by some friends in Moravia, New York, these guys are veterans of a Richmond scene that cares less about fashion and more about communit y and DIY. -Mike Rutz
David Shult z & The Sk yline Sin ner’s Gold Triple Stamp Records w w w.myspace.com /davidshultz Af ter seeing David Shultz and his band play numerous times leading up to the release of this new album, I couldn’t wait to hear what ultimately became Sinner’s Gold. Surpassing all of my expec tations, Shultz and gang have created something truly remarkable, teaming his hear tfelt songwriting with a per fec t sense of melody. Names like Paul Simon, Tommy Pett y, and R yan Adams
seem to come up of ten when discussing Shultz’s music, although these comparisons only of fer introduc tion to his influences rather than giving credit to his originalit y. Fans of acoustic singer/songwriter tunes with a folk /alt-countr y tinge would be hard pressed to find someone doing this st yle better in Richmond ( or beyond for that matter).-Sean Patrick Rhorer
El- P
I’l l Sleep When You’re Dead Definitive Jux It’s been almost 5 years since El-P released
Fantastic Damage and proved to ever yone that he didn’t need the rest of C ompany Flow to revolutionize hip-hop. Since then, he’s craf ted smaller projec ts like his jazz record, High Water [ Mark] , and his b-sides and rarities collec tion, C ollec ting The Kid . Neither of which quenched the thirst of his devout fans, who af ter t wo years, still hadn’t heard a peep out of him.
gained notoriet y for not only his attention to his lyric s, but almost more impor tantly his attention to detail in the music he produces, something several of the ar tists on his label Definitive Jux have tried to emulate, few to the star tling degree he’s achieved. The compositions on this record are some of the strangest and most inspiring heard in recent years, nearly bridging the gap bet ween hip hop and rock and roll, without coming of f as a cheesy crossover.
es on this record. It’s no secret that El-P has gained a cer tain level of notoriet y for himself, but many of the guests he brings aboard for this projec t may catch the casual listener of f guard. It’s no surprise that Aesop Rock graces a track on here, as well as Mr. Lif, Tame One, Rob Sonic and Hanger 18, as the Jukies tend to stick together. The real surprises lie in the guest appearThree years later, we ances by C edric and come to the present, Omar of Mars Volta, C at with the release of I’ll Power, Dar yl Palumbo Sleep When You’re Dead , of Glassjaw / Head a formidable follow-up Speaking of crossovers, Automatica, and the to his groundbreaking one might be surprised almight y Trent Reznor. debut album. El-P has by the guest appearanc- The guest appearances
are laid out and scattered throughout the album, and presented in such a way that the songs don’t rely on the newcomers, but only gain momentum from them. On the epic opening track “ Tasmanian Pain C oaster” it’s easy to not even notice the core of Mars Volta as the song winds to an end. On what is quickly becoming known as the album’s single, “Flyentology” Trent Reznor’s vocal s pepper the track emerging as something near a chorus as the t wo discuss and manage to mock the Christian religion while coming across as genuinely confused and interested in the
teachings. So many things can be said about this album, it’s exac tly what should have been expec ted ; an advancement in a form of hip-hop no one has been able to copy. I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead is a masterpiece. One that ends as subtly as it star ts and leaves you with that “ Wait, what? ” feeling as you hit play for a second time. The entire thing plays not only like a soundtrack to a movie, but a movie itself. Even if you don’t think you like hip hop, chances are that you will find more than one redeeming fac tor in this
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record. I dare you.Brandon Peck
Glös Harmonium Lovit t Record s w w w.myspace.com /glos The long-standing shadow cast over Richmond’s music scene by the three musicians involved in Glös is undeniable. Featuring brother/sister team Maura and Keeley Davis, as well as C ornbread C ompton, this projec t band fits per fec tly within the catalogue of their other musical outputs as members of Denali, Spar ta, and most
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closely Engine Down. Somewhat disappointing though is the lack of Maura Davis taking the lead vocal position throughout most of the album, instead of ten of fering back-up to her brother. Never theless, Glös accomplishes what most will expec t : an album that is slick, yet not overly so... filled with charac teristically ar tful songwriting and strong dynamic developments. -Sean Patrick Rhorer
Olympia Emergencies Hope Division Records w w w.myspace.com /olympiaband
Featuring former members of semi-local s Fair weather and Brand New Disaster, Olympia have accomplished quite a bit in their rather shor t time as a band. On their second release, their first full length Emergencies , Olympia bursts for th with eleven rock anthems drawing from their previous bands’ sounds while adding a new spin on the overall presentation. With deep roots in the poppy punk and melodic emo rock side of things, it’s somewhat surprising how polished and mainstream this new ef for t feel s. In fac t, without prior knowledge
of the membership or background, one might easily be convinced a major label scouted this band from some bar in Southern C alifornia. For ward thinking fans should enjoy the more accessible presentation, while purists might just balk at Olympia’s shiny tone. -Sean Patrick Rhorer
of Brainworms material, Which Is Worse? . Add to the list their most recent release, Pink Razors’ First Degree 7 ” .
For anyone not familiar, Pink Razors play pop punk, and they do it the way it should be done – fast, loud and catchy. Following their most recent debut LP Waiting To Wash Up ( Robotic Pink Razors Empire ), and the Scene Fir st Degree 7” Suicide EP, this threeRorschach Records song release doesn’t fall far from the tree. Rorschach Records is This record does, howon a roll these days, ever, mark the first time what with the release that Pink Razors have of the Triple Twins / crossed the t wo minute Roman Holiday split 7 ” mark, on not one but t wo and the recent collec tion of the songs. Al so pres-
ent is a somewhat more mature approach to songwriting. The songs are a little less play ful here, but still maintain the same energy as previous works. The once present trading of f of vocal s bet ween guitarists Mike Morris and Jef f Grant is al so gone, focusing more on Grant’s voice, with solid emphasis in the per fec t places by Morris’ backing vocal s. Overall, this is a solid release for a solid band, and will leave longtime fans with a smile on their face, and first time listeners clamoring for more. -Brandon Peck
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Chris Nieratko hates by Christian Detres
you...
In the course of publishing a small indie magazine like this one, there’s an ongoing dance on the precipice of Success Mountain overlooking Failures’ Gorge (also referred to as “Living In My Parent’s Basement Hollow”). Thousands of tables waited on, dozens of paychecks never received and still we soldier on in the chase of confidently answering the question “What do you do for a living?” with a publishing-related response. The Richmond Zine Fest is coming up this month (April 28th) and when it arrives it will bring with it a host of entrepreneurs who can relate to that sentiment. The musk of hope, ambition and sometimes desperation will linger and create a communal vibe of improvisational creativity we all need to survive in this business. As RVA finds itself on the cusp of “arrival” (but still doing that dance) we take heart in the success stories of others that have come before and added something new to the experience of independent media. One of my personal heroes and favorite writers to make the same journey is Chris Nieratko. He’s been a long time contributor to VICE Magazine, clearly the vanguard publication in upstart media, and a feature of other groundbreaking publications like Big Brother and Paper. Skater, writer, interrogator, prank artist (he’s been linked to the CKY films, Jackass and other cultural depressants) and recently husband (check out his burly man-fist choking his lovely wife on the cover of this issue), he is as much a renaissance man of underground publishing as you’re going to find. Chris has a new book, Skinema (Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Books) coming out June 7th, that compiles his many columns in Vice Magazine by the same name. If you’re not familiar with his work, Skinema is set up as a monthly review of some random porn movie. The twist is that the review is never really about the movie. You’re lucky to get two sentences out of Chris that directly relate to the supposed topic of the column. His quick and eager digressions into his own past as a junkie, asshole or grumpy dissertations on whomever he hates at that given moment are without parallel in wit, scabrous insouciance and devilish glee. “I’m not an egomaniac, but I’m a million times more interesting than anyone I’ve interviewed” encapsulates his ever-present humility. Not to be overshadowed by his work with VICE, Chris is equally revered for his interviewing style frequently showcased in Big Brother magazine. He makes 52
an art out of pissing people off and yet somehow keeps them engaged in conversation. His interviews lay his subject bare by unwittingly getting them to admit their prejudices, test their limits of cool and forcibly make them drop the towel of celebrity long enough to glimpse their shrunken, wrinkled id. A simple concept brilliantly executed is what indie media is all about. Christian Detres What’s your educational background? How do you prepare for this career? Chris Nieratko I entered and dropped out of at least six colleges. I read a LOT of comic books and skated too. I don’t know that I’m comfortable recommending that path but I guess if you were successful the first time through college you wind up writing for BusinessWeek instead of describing the best lapdance ever. I can now recommend it. CD How did you get started with VICE?
CN I met Gavin (McInnes) Shane (Smith) and Suroosh (Alvi) in Montreal when Vice was still a newsprint publication. They were French Canadian and therefore did not speak English. They came up to me in their berets and striped shirts slurring Frenchese while miming erratically about some magazine they were doing. I spoke loud and slow, in English, so they could understand me. Somehow we made some deal in which I would write for them and I’ve been making them incredibly rich ever since.
CD If I had come to you with a Chris Nieratko-style antagonistic interrogation, what would be your reaction? Considering your reputation as a journalist, do you get that a lot and what makes you better at it than most?
CD Yay for revisionist history. Your new book Skinema is a collection of your VICE columns. Considering how much of these columns are basically anecdotes from your own past, do you feel like you’ve just written an autobiography? How does that kind of personal exposure affect you?
CN If you came at me in any way that was reminiscent of what I do I would have exposed you for the fraud that you were in record time. Nothing really gets me too worked up, I would have simply said, “You just don’t have what it takes, kid. You’re much better at being you then you are being me.” What makes me the best at interrogating and torturing people in interviews is that I’m doing it for the enjoyment of the reader. It’s not about me or the subject having a good time, I’ll suffer an awkward interview so a reader can get a good laugh. I’m kind of martyr in that sense.
CN I can say that Skinema is as autobiographical as they come, I’m not some bullshit fiction writer lying about his drug addictions to get on Oprah. When I say I was an alcoholic, drug addict who had a gun put to his head by a pimp for refusing to pay a hooker I don’t remember ordering in Vegas or that I had AIDS for two weeks, I am telling the truth. I don’t know if it’s something to be proud of but I will say I’ve always been entertained by the mistakes of others so here’s a chance for people to laugh at mine. CD How much of what you do is credited to talent versus hard work? CN I don’t really much believe in talent. There’s nothing you can’t accomplish through hard work that you can with simple talent. I think talent is the product of hard work. I get up at five in the morning everyday and write for five hours before I go open my skate shop (NJ Skateshop in Sayreville, NJ - www.njskateshop.com). It’s all hard work. CD Describe your interaction with Richmond. CN I love Richmond. It just has that affect on people. I didn’t understand what the saying “Virginia is for Lovers” meant until I went there. The first time I was in Richmond was to interview Dave Brockie of Gwar and to do a photo shoot at the Slave Pit. One of the photos of Gwar hitchhiking in Richmond is actually in Skinema. After that I continued to come back for Gwar-bques and to skate Richmond. There’s a really great shop called Dominion Skateshop that does a great job for the Richmond scene.
CD You’re very opinionated about a great many people. I don’t like long-hairs either but what segments of society especially burn you? CN On any given day I can love or hate anyone or anything. I’m constantly contradicting myself especially when I can press someone’s button in the process. I’ll completely argue the opposite of my own beliefs with someone just for the simple fact that it pisses that person off. And since I
don’t care either way, I always win, because I have nothing to lose. CD If you were a dildo, what special features would you have? CN I’d have temperature sensitive hooks that eject, like a grappling hook... [Ed. note: the rest of the answer was far too hilarously graphic and disgusting for publication. Sorry.] It makes it
easier for me to talk to pretty girls.
CD Tomorrow, Larry Flynt will approach you with an open-budgeted proposition to publish a magazine of your choice. What would it be about? CN God, what hasn’t been done yet? Urban Karate? Tantric Skateboarding? Electroclash Scuba Diving? Honestly, it wouldn’t be about shit unless there was a lot of money on the table, because, as you know, owning your own magazine is a labor of love. Generally the financial rewards are shit in comparison to the hours of headaches, more so now than ever with the demon known as The Internet. But if the price is right, shit, I’ll write about anything. I’ve got mouths to feed and I wouldn’t mind renting a six-pack of porn stars to service me and my wife for a long weekend.
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Slip Slidin’ Mary on a Broomstick! by David Kenedy
The epic battle cries, Aunt Jemima, that one naked guy, 666 high fives, Beer, goofy races, dir ty riding, and an Isle of Misery’s wor th of mutant super bikes!!!! This year’s Slaughterama, was a dashing success as many, many dudes from all over the country poured into town to spor t their spokes and ride with pride. With about 750 dudes to be exact, this was the biggest one yet, and perhaps the sweetest. So let’s break it down on paper Best in Show Stinky of Black Label - New York 6 Pack Attack Skidmarks - Texas 4 Way Whiplash Get Loose - VA Beach World’s Smallest Bike Courier 1st Place, Stew Louder of Richmond Couriers 2nd Place, Pork Chop of Black Label Chariot Racing 1st Place, Black Label 2nd Place, Middle Fingers Galore - Richmond, baby! Chicken Fight Drag Race Black Label Jousting 1st Place, Black Label 2nd Place, Bad Cactus - Florida Congratulations to all! Sorry if there are inaccuracies on that, but is it really that impor tant? Good times were abound and had by all, which is all that matters. Truly a day to remember. (Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who “doesn’t remember” everything that happened!) For those of you who are scratching your pants and wondering what exactly all this is about, here are Cut Throat correspondents Howdy and Evan of Richmond, VA to clear things up:
David Kenedy How did the Cut Throats come to be? Howdy First we had an ice cream social. This guy Zack from Por tland, Zack Archibald, decided to star t a bike gang. We had kinda an ice cream sesh going on for a minute, then everyone went to New York to par ticipate in a bike event. First we were called Dump Trucks, then we kind of evolved into the Cut Throats. Just a bunch of people that get together to ride bikes and decided to form a group and do cool shit. DK What the hell is Slaughterama anyways? Evan Celebration of the bicycle. Howdy: Bam! Evan It’s a movement to have more fun for free. It’s a congregation of people with like interests in an open environment. DK If you like to compete in physical activities that bring people together in an atmosphere of communal recreation, why not just play spor ts? Howdy It’s a lifesytle. Evan Yeah, it’s a lifestyle. I think cycling is a very individualist uh, hobby, or whatever you want to call it, I don’t really like that word, but at the same time something like Slaughterama brings that together in a very fun loving competition. Howdy It’s not like a spor t, it’s more like…some weird shit. 55
DK Can anybody trace back the exact origins of our present day bike culture? Evan Errughg! Evan Oh man, that’s heavy. I don’t know, I mean, free thinkers are gonna find something that they can relate in. DK Was it from a par ticular area? Evan I’m thinking way, way back, I’m thinking if we didn’t ride bikes we would probably be together on whatever that outlet was, whether it was pogo sticks or whatever. We would still be able to hook up and get together and say… let’s pogo! (Laughs) DK How has Richmond changed since bikes star ted becoming more popular? Evan There’s bike parking at bars now. 56
Howdy There’s two wheel Tuesdays. (Laughs) Evan It’s the same as it ever was I guess. DK How has the music scene changed since bikes became more popular? Evan It’s faster and heavier. Or maybe that’s just where I’m hanging out! (Laughs) DK Aside from riding dir ty and chilling hard, what’s it all about? Evan Fun Howdy Fun, yeah true. Evan I mean that’s the biggest defining factor. Howdy Fun is free. Much thanks to all the organizers who got their hands dir ty to make things happen, and of course to y’all for rolling deep and keeping it real. See everyone next year!
Need A Translator !! + Other Observations From 72 Hours At VCU’s French Film Festival I Really
by Ad a m Sle d d
p ho t o s by G r a nt P ullm a n
Day 1
58
*Hundreds of people mill about the ent r a n c e t o t h e B y r d t h e a t e r, m o s t o f t h e m speaking Fr ench. A filmmaking master class star ts in five minutes, and I suddenly r emember that I am ter rified by this par ticular kind of crowd. It’s not that large groups bother me (I love par ties, a n d N e w Yo r k c i t y ) , b u t t h a t o n o n e h a n d I have never met any of these people, and on the other I am somehow supposed to be posing insightful questions to absolute stranger s who do not naturally speak E n g l i s h . I t d o e s n’ t h e l p m a t t e r s t h a t t h e staff ’s pace is breakneck. When Richard Haselwood, the fest’s assistant director and resident drill seargeant, tells me that the filmmaker s are too jet-lagged t o t o a n s w e r m a n y q u e s t i o n s t o d a y, I a m far more relieved than any good jour nalist should be. They’re disoriented? I’m standing on the sidewalk chainsmoking and feverishly hoping that one of the director s bumps into me and launches into a monologue on the state of Fr ench film. At the ver y least someone could tell me where to find a good par ty when I go to Cannes.
* I t i s n o w a l m o s t e i g h t p. m . , t i m e f o r t h e fest’s second feature film, and I’ve never seen the Byrd this crowded. The situation i s e n t i r e l y u n r e a s o n a b l e — w he r e d i d a l l these Fr ench people come from? Has Richmond been harboring some long-forgotten br anch of the Fr ench r esistance since Wo r l d W a r I I ? I h a v e n o w a y o f t e l l i n g w h o is originally from a Fr ench-speaking nation (Fr ance, Haiti, Quebec, et al), and who is a third-year language student from VCU or U of R. My colleagues Kuni and Chuck agree that at times the proceedings seem like an inside joke. The fir st film, La Vie est A Nous!, is the sor t of friendly family comedy that could see distribution in the U. S. D u r i n g t h e p o s t - f i l m Q & A s e s s i o n , actress Josiane Balasko cracks a joke about initially under standing Richmond via Patricia Cor nwell novels and it takes a full two minutes before the translator (festival co-dir ector Peter Kir kpatric k) can catc h me up to the rest of the audience. Day 2 *It tur ns out that having Hunter S. T homp son as one’s jour nalistic hero has its drawbacks. I decided to spend Friday night alter nating between whiskey shots at the New Yo r k D e l i a n d w a t c h i n g N o s J o u r s H e u r e u x (which I recall as a thoroughly enjoyable summer camp underdog stor y), which led to missing this mor ning’s shor t film pro-
gr am. After spending the ear ly par t of my day with t h e R VA a c c o u n t a n t — s h o u t o u t t o R a c h e l a t G o o d m a n a n d C o. ! — I m a n a ge t o c a t c h t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e F r e n c h d e l e g a t i o n a n d m o s t o f L a u r e n t Tu e l ’ s J e a n Phillippe. This stor y of a superfan in a parallel univer se attempting to teach a bowling alley manager how to be the rock star that he really is comes the closest to American high-concept comedy of anything I saw this weekend. In regard to all of the feature films playing this weekend I have two small disappointments. One, despite the presence of Gerard Krawczyk (who got his big break from the awesome Luc Besson), there a r e n o c o o l F r e n c h a c t i o n f i l m s t h i s y e a r. T w o , w h i l e ever ything I’ve seen has been well done, nothing has really pushed boundaries or genre the way that classic Fr ench cinema did. T her e is hope- tomor row brings Jean Marbeouf ’s Coup de Sang, shot in fir st per son so that the audience watches ever ything through the protagonist’s eyes. Otherwise, it’s been interesting to compare how these films stack up stylistically against American fare. The lighting and composition are just d i f f e r e n t e n o u g h t o c r e a t e a s u b t l e r, m o r e i n t i m a t e feel to these films. Also, not so many overblown music montages. *On the whole, Fr ench people smoke way mor e than I do, w hic h I find simultaneously r eassuring and dis concer ting. What’s the aver age life span over ther e again? There is simply not enough Xanax in the wor ld to get me to crash the official gala dinner over at VCU’s Scott House. Besides, ther e’s a CBR7 par ty over a t t h e Tr i p l e t o a t t e n d , a n d ( t h e o r e t i c a l l y ) e v e r y o n e there will speak English.
Day 3 *The one thing you have to under stand about the Fr ench film festiv al is that it is a l l a b o u t t h e F r e n c h . Ye s , I u n d e r s t a n d h o w incredibly redundant that statement seems on the surface, but after three days of this
the wor ld gets jumbled. At a cer tain point it seems that I am neither in Virginia nor a mini-Fr ance, but a bizar r e dimension where some of Richmond’s best filmmaker s hang around as temp assistants and videotape a group of famous Fr ench auteur s (who’ ve probably never even heard 59
o f M a y m o n t o r S t i c k y R i c e ) g e t t i n g t o k n o w e a c h o t h e r a n d t a l k s h o p. Maybe what I mean to say is that the festiv al is mor e impor tant to the Fr ench than i t i s f o r t h e l o c a l s . A s m y c o l l e a g u e To d d R a v i o t t a n o t e d o n e n i g h t , t h e R i c h m o n d festiv al may be the only chance some of the younger Fr ench filmmaker s have for unfettered access to established star s of the scene. Soaking up knowledge is probably just as impor tant for them as is screening their wor k. At least one shor t film director passed up the chance to show at Cannes and other prestigious European festivals to come out here. While the fest seems to gar ner little press stateside, the event is clear ly impor tant in Fr ance wher e cover age r an on the nightly ne ws. Festi v al dir ector s Peter and Fr ancoise Kir kpatric k have a ver y r eal pr esence in the F r e n c h f i l m i n d u s t r y, s c r e e n i n g o v e r t w o h u n d r e d f i l m s a y e a r d u r i n g t h e i r s e l e c tion process, sometimes going so far as to visit the set or editing room of Fr ench productions. *Another case in point: as the filmmaker s drift back towards their hotels late Sunday night, I manage to have a conver sation with Josiane Balasko (a huge comedic star in Fr ance), her husband, and assistant fest dir ector Richard. When the subject tur ns to American r esponse to Fr ench film, Mr s. Balasko seems ver y sur prised to l e a r n t h a t R i c h m o n d i s q u i t e s m a l l a s f a r a s A m e r i c a n m e t r o p o l i s e s go. I f w e a r e s u c h a s m a l l c i t y, t h e n w h e r e d i d a l l t h e F r e n c h p e o p l e c o m e f r o m ? M y q u e s t i o n e x a c t l y. * T h e s t a f f, w h i c h h a s b e e n i n o v e r d r i v e f o r m o r e t h a n s e v e n t y - t w o h o u r s , b e g i n s t o finally relax. This is the fir st time I have seen assistant director Elodie genuinely smile. Sunday’s movies were good if not great, but I agree with Elodie—sometimes we all need to see something not produced solely for its commercial value. Even if these fine people never give me another pr ess badge, I believe the Fr ench film fes t i v a l i s w o r t h s p e n d i n g s o m e q u a l i t y t i m e w i t h . M y o n ly o t h e r g r i p e i s t h a t i t d o e s n’ t d o e n o u g h t o i n v o l v e t h e l o c a l f i l m c o m m u n i t y. S o , M r. a n d M r s . K i r k p a t r i c k , h e r e ’ s a f e w c o m p l e t e l y u n c a l l e d f o r s u g g e s t i o n s : e x p a n d t h e f e s t i v a l b y a d a y, s h o w t h e s h o r t f i l m s a t a r e a s o n a b l e h o u r, a n d h o l d a m i x e r f o r F r e n c h a n d A m e r i c a n f i l m m a k e r s t o m i n g l e . J u s t t h i n k i t o v e r, a n d m a y b e w e c a n t a l k s o m e m o r e a t C a n n e s i n M a y. 60
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RVA’s
“E Z 2 L ove Those Sc hools ”
by Don Har rison
QUIZ
How well do YOU know the Ric hmond educational system, and those contentious debates sur rounding recent cur rent events related to the s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s o f o u r c i t y ? Ye s , I ’ m t a l k i n g t o y o u . We l l , t h e n , y o u w o n’ t m i n d t a k i n g t h e R VA “ E Z 2 L o v e T h o s e S c h o o l s ” quiz in or der to find out the depth of YOUR knowledge of suc h things as administrative costs, per-pupil ratios, tr uancy rates and p r o c u r e m e n t a u d i t s . R i g h t ? ( T h a n k s t o R i v e r C i t y R a p i d s a t w w w. rivercityr apids.com for the inspir ation.) C ’ m o n , f o l k s , l e t ’ s g o t o c l a s s . Ta k e t h i s q u i z a n d G E T S C H O O L E D : 1. Mayor L. Douglas Wilder and the Richmond School Board are: A.) Fighting over the closing of old schools B.) Fighting over the building of new schools C.) Fighting over the efficiency of the Richmond school system D. ) F i g h t i n g o v e r a n e w a u d i t o f t h e s c h o o l s y s t e m E.) Fighting over the scope of a new audit of the school system F. ) F i g h t i n g o v e r w h o w o u l d p e r f o r m a n e w a u d i t o f t h e s c h o o l system G.) Fighting over the Mayor withholding funds from the school system until an expansive audit is done H.) Fighting. 2. Richmond’s public school system: A.) Ranks highest in the total dollar s spent by a Vir ginia sc hool system in seven out of 10 categories. B.) Keeps its money in a non-interest bearing account (when it could 62
ear n $130,000 annually). C . ) S p e n d s $ 3 6 m i l l i o n m o r e p e r y e a r, w i t h f e w e r s c h o o l s a n d s t u d e n t s t o educate, than it did in 1995. D. ) C a n b o a s t o f 4 7 % o f i t s 9 t h g r a d e r s m a k i n g i t t h r o u g h t o g r a d u a t i o n E.) All of the above 3 . A s a l e a d e r, L . D o u g l a s W i l d e r c a n b e c o m p a r e d t o : A . ) A m a n w h o a s k s q u e s t i o n s f i r s t , s h o o t s l a t e r. B.) Adlai Stevenson. C.) A wily pol who knows how to gently seduce the tree to get the desired apple. D. ) S h e r i f f B u f o r d T. J u s t i c e , a s p o r t r a y e d b y J a c k i e G l e a s o n , i n t h e o p e n i n g scene of “Smokey in the Bandit,” where he approaches two car thieves with a w a r m s m i l e b e f o r e k i c k i n g o n e o f t h e m i n t h e n u t s a n d s t a t i n g , “ N o w, t h a t was an attention getter!” E . ) D. I ’ m g o i n g t o g o w i t h D. 4 . I n F e b r u a r y, a c i t y a u d i t o r A.) Identified near ly $20 million in annual wasteful spending from Richmond Public Schools. B.) Found that the sc hool system is guilty of bad r ecor d kee ping and over staffing in clerical positions. C .) Found that Ric hmond sc hool buses oper ated without students 40 per cent of the time. D. ) C o u l d n o t l o o k i n t o t h e $ 7 6 m i l l i o n i n s c h o o l p r o c u r e m e n t c o n t r a c t s because the school administration would not give access to those par ticular records. E.) Was hesitant to identify exactly w ho denied him access to pr ocur ement records so he could do a complete audit of schools. F. ) W a s s i t t i n g n e x t t o t h e S c h o o l s u p e r i n t e n d e n t D e b o r a h J e w e l l - S h e r m a n a t
the pr ess confer ence wher e he explained his audit of schools. G.) All of the above. 5. Name one quote that w as NOT gi ven by a r ecent sc hool boar d c hair man or Vice-chair man: A.) “This Board has never chided away from any audit, any look, and any help that w a n t s t o c o m e d o w n t h e r o a d . I d o n’ t t h i n k w e a r e d e v i a t i n g f r o m t h a t n o w. ” B . ) “ L e g a l l y, w e h a v e t h e r i g h t t o d e c i d e w h e t h e r o r n o t w e a r e a u d i t e d . ” C.) “Our job is not to constantly answer audits and deal with detr actor s.” D. ) “ I c o u l d k i l l D o u g W i l d e r. ” E.) They were all given. 6. Critics of Richmond Public Schools point to examples of needless waste and i n e f f i c i e n c y. F o r e x a m p l e , i n 2 0 0 3 , R i c h m o n d P u b l i c S c h o o l s p a i d l a t e f e e s o n utility bills on a regular basis, including delinquent gas payments made out to the City Public Utilities Depar tment for a total of $3,389.47. The City Public Utilities Depar tment was: A.) Willing to let our poor children freeze in their classrooms over a bit of coin. B . ) A b u n c h o f j e r k s a b o u t i t . I m e a n , t h e y c o u l d n’ t w a i t u n t i l F r i d a y ? C . ) $ 3 , 3 8 9 . 4 7 r i c h e r. D. ) I n t h e s a m e b u i l d i n g a s t h e R i c h m o n d s c h o o l s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ! ! ! ! ! 7. Whic h sc hool’s plan has the mayor NOT pr oposed under his “City of the Future” initiative: A . ) To s p e n d $ 1 6 9 m i l l i o n o n 1 5 n e w o r r e n o v a t e d s c h o o l s . B . ) To s p e n d $ 1 6 9 m i l l i o n o n t w o n e w s p e c i a l t y h i g h s c h o o l c a m p u s e s C . ) To s p e n d $ 1 6 9 m i l l i o n b u y i n g l o t t e r y t i c k e t s , b e c a u s e ( t h e l o g i c g o e s ) i f y o u b u y t h a t m a n y, y o u a r e a c i n c h t o w i n . 8. When the mayor threatened to withhold $1.8 million in payroll funds from schools:
A. The school board announced a bake sale and rock concer t with a “No Thanks Wilder” theme, and it was not only a whopping financial success but ser ved as the basis for a r ad TV movie on t h e D i s n e y c h a n n e l s t a r r i n g H i l l a r y D u f f. B. The school board agreed to a complete audit, including procurement, and got to wor k closing old schools, because they could recognize the mayor’s deter mination on this. C . T h e s c h o o l b o a r d h a d a g o o d c r y. D. T h e s c h o o l b o a r d s u e d h i m . 9. What’s the most obvious thing that a city official has said in the wake of this battle over schools, or in his whole entire life? A . ) “ We r e a l l y n e e d t o g e t t h e s e p e o p l e t o g e t h e r s o t h a t w e can get these things ironed out.” — City Councilman Douglas G . C o n n e r J r. 10. What’s the scariest thing about this heated battle over renovating, upgr ading, auditing and funding Richmond schools? A.) The lasting effects of bureaucr acy and political backbiting on the education of our children. B . ) T h e f a c t t h a t i t i s n’ t o v e r b y a l o n g s h o t . C.) The fact that a lot of tax money continues to get wasted. D. ) L a w y e r s h a v e b e e n c a l l e d i n . E.) City council has been called in. F. ) A l l o f t h e f r e a k i n’ a b o v e ( D o n H a r r i s o n i s a R i c h m o n d - b a s e d f r e e l a n c e w r i t e r, a n d t h e co-founder of Saverichmond.com) A n s w e r s 1 . H , 2 . E , 3 . D, 4 . G , 5 . E , 6 . D, 7 . C . , 8 . D, 9 . A . 1 0 .
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Things Are Going To be Dif ferent Around Here, You’ll See! by Cesca Janece Waterfield ima ge by jose phr osser
T hat’s w hat he alw ays said after he came to sometime ear ly after noon and sur veyed the squalor of his second f loor a par tment. He flitted timor ously a bout, stealing glances at Vi as she moved between the bathr oom and bedr oom getting r eady for yoga c lass. He tried to catc h sight of her ar ms, c heeks, and eyes, to note if they’ d been scr atc hed, br uised, or blac ked. Digby hadn’ t alw ays been a late riser. Year s a go he’ d been a top seed minor lea guer. Ever y spring the paper s mused a bout w her e he’ d land, w hic h luc ky team would scoop him up, how f ar they’ d car r y the jolly good fellow. City skylines drifted acr oss our ima ginations, images bac k then we
had only gather ed fr om ESPN, lying on our bellies, pr opped up on elbows, tell ing tales about the hometown her o. He cut an exotic pr ofile bac k then, mane of blac k hair jutting out like a blade as he leaned into his f ate of f ame, and fir ed the ball str aight into his futur e. It w as our futur e, too, for any accolade Digby ear ned flatter ed us by pr oxy. We w atc hed the ball as if we wer e along for the ride. Look at it go! we seemed to cr y. Digby’s perfor mances at the base ball diamond hazed with pollen, and in the sexual smog of Shoc koe Bottom dance bar s g ar ner ed the r ookie a f an base w hose loyalty w as not diluted by its disparity. And he alw ays took time to meet the f ans. You could sur e say that a bout Digby. You fr om Ric hmond, c hief ? he asked, squint-smiling down into a young f ace. Whatever the answer, this is w her e Digby bit the w ad of c he wing gum deci sively between his fr ont teeth and pr onounced: Well, I’ ll putc hya on the ma p. His fan’s glow of admir ation outshone the athlete’s post-g ame sweat. Digby winked, a rising star, and moved to gr eet the line of f aces to w hom he alr eady w as. T hese days he spent moving thr ough his a par tment, drifting the path he’ d c lear ed, sear c hing for something. A ma p, a destination. Some young thing with either to take him home. Or better yet, he str ategized, some body without ma p or goal.
Round and r ound, he r eminded himself: T he Phillies, Orioles, even the ‘lanta Br aves had cour ted him. And they wer en’ t the only ones, he r eminisced at night, cutting a thin wedge fr om a yellowing lime. Leaning over the cutting boar d, his shoulder s wer e bent in suc h a w ay that someone looking in might think he wer e cr ying. T his would not disa ppoint him if they did, he consider ed. Did think he w as cr ying, that is. Pity often inspir es people to lean in, lend a hand, he ac knowledged. He should know, in his life, geez. He told Vi at the barbeque r estaur ant, Even my mother says, she says I’ ve had a har d time of it. He c he wed with gusto. I’ ve gone without, I’ ve seen dr eams die, Vi. To her silence, he w aved dismissively, How old ar e you, anyw ay, a pinc h of c hic ken meat between his thumb and for efinger. I’ ve seen em go. After Vi signed the cr edit car d slip, Digby w added his na pkin onto the stac k of plates, leaned bac k and pledged: But things ar e going to be dif fer ent ar ound her e, you’ ll see. T hings wer e going to be dif fer ent. She w as gone alright. And he’ d seen them go.
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S T RU T: E VO LU T I O N by M a r y H e f f ley
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Upon ar ri ving at the Sie ge l C e nt e r I no t ic e d a n int e ns e v ib e o f s us p e n s e a nd anticipation amongst the c a s t , c r e w, a nd a ud ie nc e . I w a s, ho w e v e r, und e r w he lm e d by the spar se and matter- o f - f a c t s e t d e s ig n. T he p r o lo g ue inc lud e d a s ho r t f ilm documenting the pr e-pr o d uc t io n o f t he e v e nt . At f ir s t I t ho ug ht , “ w hy d e my s t if y the final pr oduct?” but a s t he s ho w p r o g r e s s e d , it d a w ne d o n m e “ O h, Ev o lut io n, duh!” STRUT: Evolution star ted o f f s lo w but f inis he d w it h a b a ng. T he s ho w ’ s s t r e ng t hs lay in its inventi ve styling a nd c ho r e o g r a p hy. M y f a v o r it e se g m e n t w a s “ H o w Sur r e al.” T his scene mad e a g r e a t im p r e s s io n w it h im p e c c a ble g a r m e nt c ho ic e s and exa g ger ated, marione t t e - lik e m o d e l s t r ut s. T he c ho r e o g r a p he d int e r a c t io n between the models pr e v e nt e d s uc h a n a m b it io us und e r t a k ing f r o m b e c o m ing a n endless str eam of emotio nle s s m a n ne q uins. T he show w as br oken int o nine t he a t r ic a l s c e n e s, e a c h d e p ic t ing a n e p o c h of ci vilization’s jour ney. So m e m a d e m o r e s e ns e t ha n o t he r s d id , but t hey a ll enter tained. Adam and Ev e s e r v e d a s p lay f ul m a s c o t s m a k ing c a m e o s b e t w e e n scenes. I liked the conc e p t but I fo und t ha t t he a c t s w e r e a b it c o nt r i v e d a nd c lic hé, save for a fe w ho n e s t ly c u t e nu m b e r s t h a t d id n’ t p a nd e r t o t ir e d j o k e s. Over all, this year’s STR U T s ho w c a s e d c r e a t i v it y a nd g um p t io n m is s ing f r o m r unw ay shows pr oduced by t he VC U Fa s hio n D e p a r t m e nt . I le f t im p r e s s e d a nd with an over riding excite m e nt fo r ST R U T ’ s f ut ur e i nc a r na t io ns t h a t w ill a llo w t he pr oject to gr ow and dem a nd a w id e r a ud ie nc e w o r t hy o f t he t a le n t a v a ila ble .
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P ho t o s by J im Eic he r a nd T ho m a s Sc o t t o f JimScott Photo gr a phy 79