The Hottest in Music / Art / Technology / Film / Fashion - Issue 14 / Spring 2009 scion.com
A Georgia Saturday COMING TO AMERICA Home Grown Flavor boot heaven One Nation, On the Air At Home in the 5th Dimension AMERICAN WORKWEAR Rebel Cinema Reinventing the Color Wheel Underdog Bites Everything Old, New Again Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This The Greaser Abides High and Tight It Ain’t Blue (Collar) Period Up North They Rumble Talk the Talk
staff
Scion Project Manager: Jeri Yoshizu, Sciontist Editor-in-Chief: Tunde Whitten Automotive Editor: Stephen Gisondi Accessories Editor: Korey Tsuno Managing Editor/Music Editor: Jeremy Dillahunt Creative Direction: mBF Art Director: Ryan Di Donato Production Director: Anton Schlesinger Copy Editor: Stefanie Schumacher Automotive Copywriter: Martina Chaconas Automotive Photographers: Dave Folks, Jeff Li Contributors: Words: Ian Anderson, Jonny Coleman, Jeremy Dillahunt, Stephanie Gardner, Josh Hassin, Josefina Hellsten, Lon Kaiser, Roxanne Knausse, John Lee, Mario Magstein, Anthony Marshall, Kiko Martinez, Veronica Meewes, Sum Patten, Will Powers, Tunde Whitten, Mr. & Mrs. Wonder Photography: Jim Bennett, Doctor Daks, Ginger Di Donato, Jade Edwards, Miana Grafals, Megan Luke, Veronica Meewes, Clayton Miller, David Perry, Julian Sambrano, Siege, Mara Taber, Joshua Black Wilkins, Zach Wolfe Illustration/Collage: A + K, Diane Barcelowsky, Billy Fischer Shanti Garcia, Mickey Sumner, Thelossprevention.com Styling: Corban Poorboy Cover Photography: Joshua Black Wilkins
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For additional information on Scion, e-mail, write, or call. Scion Customer Experience 19001 S. Western Avenue Mail Stop WC12 Torrance, CA. 90501 Phone: 866.70.SCION Fax: 310.381.5932 E-mail: Email us through the contact page located on scion.com Hours: M-F, 6am-5pm PST Online Chat: M-F, 5am-6pm PST To advertise in Scion Magazine, contact OEM Ad Sales: Matt Costa, Beyond Marketing matt.costa@beyondmg.com Lifestyle Ad Sales: Eric Shorter, mBF eshorter@malbonfarms.com Scion is published by malbon Brothers Farms. For more information about mBF, contact info@malbonfarms.com The advertisements within this magazine are non-Scion company advertisements. Scion does not warrant the performance of the products. Modifications using non-genuine Scion parts or accessories may void Scion warranty, negatively impact vehicle performance and safety, and may not be street legal. Š 2009 Scion, a marque of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved. Scion, the Scion logo, xB, xD, and tC are trademarks of Toyota Motor Corporation. 00430-mag14-09
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Calvary lions maskot, MULE DAY PARADE
SCION MAGAZINE - PAGE 03
A Georgia Saturday WORDS MR. and MRS. WONDER PHOTOGRAPHY DOKTOR DAKS , MIANA GRAFALS and ZACH WOLFE
Scion Magazine identified small-town parades and festivals as some of the purest living expressions of Americana, as they signify climactic focal points for culture of the very places that are most uniquely American. Months of planning go into each parade and festival, as each town marshals its creativity, industry, and hospitality. Then, at the given time, on the given day, it all rolls right down the middle of Main Street. These occasions define the character and spirit of thousands of small and medium-sized towns all over America, as they celebrate local history, town fathers, holidays, livestock, agriculture, and other time-honored traditions. A healthy percentage of any small town’s population might pitch in to make these events happen, with each parade a canvas upon which a village articulates its collective imagination. Represented amidst the pageantry, you’ll find the key elements that define a community: from costumed children to festival royalty, from marching bands to papier-mache floats, and from venerated soldiers to classic cars. Beyond mere flights of fancy, these parades speak to the pride and vitality of small-town America.
On November 1st, 2008: three parades took place in three small towns, scattered about the Georgia countryside. Situated hundreds of miles apart, they all started at 11 AM sharp, so we tapped native Georgian and longtime Scion collaborator, DJ Rob Wonder, to investigate them. Here’s his report: In an age of technology and instant gratification, there are still places in America’s small towns where people gather to celebrate their community and their history. This rings especially true in the South where on any given weekend you can find festivals and parades celebrating just about anything that is good in life. These events seem like a snapshot of more simple times. They are occasions when American pride is flying high, and true Southern hospitality is alive and well. We visited three different festivals in Georgia, and though they celebrated different things and different places, the camaraderie, smiling faces, and aroma of great Southern food were present at all three. My travels took me to the Cotton Gin Festival in Bostwick, GA, and I later spoke with the organizers of Mule Day in Calvary, GA, and the Pecan Festival in Americus, GA. The Cotton Gin Festival was started by June Whitaker 19 years ago to save the Susie Agnes
Hotel from demolition, which has since been renovated and turned into the Town Hall. While the town only boasts a population of 350, the festival, always held on the first Saturday in November, attracts between 5,000 and 6,000 people, most of whom are there to see one of the largest tractor parades in the state. I have never seen so many tractors in my life, and I was born and raised in Georgia. The vintage tractor seems to be a symbol of an honest bygone era and the days when farming was a way of life, and for the crowd, a chance to remember and celebrate the town history. And trust me, there are some ill tractors— most of them members of the Two Cylinder Club which specializes in vintage John Deere models. I interviewed the Mayor of Bostwick, John Bostwick IV, whose grandfather and great-grandfather were both Mayor. I asked him about the Two Cylinder guys and he said, “Oh, yeah man, they’re hardcore—they love it.” He added that Bostwick is a “nice small town with friendly people that are just tryin’ to keep on keepin’ on.” It’s great to go to a place where you can approach the Mayor at a festival and get an interview on the spot. They still have a working cotton gin, which I was able to just walk through freely, and I learned that cotton, AKA “white gold,” is Georgia’s
number-one crop, as well as America’s numberone value-added crop. That’s reason enough to celebrate every year. Angie Howard, the event organizer, summed up what she liked best about the event. “It makes me swell with pride to hear the hum of tractors. The North was not agricultural like the South was, and we’re still known for agriculture here in the South. It’s the tractors, it’s the fact that we farmed for a living, and because it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, it has something of meaning to you.” On the other hand we spoke to the three generations working at Jim’s Deli (great hotdogs if you ever visit) and the youngest family member said what he liked best about the day was the food and the money—he’s saving for a PlayStation. There was also an open market selling only handcrafted items, everything from honey to the marshmallow gun made out of PVC pipe that I picked up. The Fifth Annual Pecan Festival in Americus, GA, was also full of events and entertainment. I wish I could have been in two places at once. Aside from the parade, there was a race, a bike ride, cloggers, magicians and musicians, but my favorite elements were the ones that
MULE DAY PARADE
“I have never see and I was born
COTTON GIN FEST
MULE DAY PARADE
PECAN FEST
seemed to reflect true American pastimes, like the pecan pick-up contest and the hotdog eating contest. Marty Belcher took out last year’s champ by eating 11 dogs in five minutes. When asked how he did it, he said, “I really didn’t have a strategy, I just ate as much as I could. I guess you just do it.” Americus is the birthplace and headquarters for Habitat for Humanity, and everyone seems to get in the spirit of community and charity. There was a local Judge who sat in a dunk tank and for $50 you could sink him, with all proceeds going to charity. No Southern event would be complete without boiled peanuts and rebel flags and there were plenty of both in Americus. A nice thing to see was the diversity of the crowds at the events, and though they celebrate the past, I think even small towns are moving towards the future. You know your festival is hot when Japanese exchange students show up. The parade had a few more formalities than the one at the Cotton Gin Festival, complete with Grand Marshall, King, Queen, Prince and Princess. And you can’t forget about the pecan pie. The photographer we sent said it was the best he’s ever tasted!
the old beast and we started having Mule Day.” All of the proceeds from the festival go to local charities, and people come from all over. They estimate the crowd to be over 100,000 every year, and that’s not counting the mules.
The most unique and longest running of the three festivals was Mule Day in Calvary, GA. Sponsored by the Lion’s Club, this year was the
The common thread in small-town parades, whether they celebrate mules, tractors, pecans, or cotton, is good food and good people. It’s
MULE DAY PARADE
en so many tractors in my life, and raised in Georgia.” 36th annual event, and it’s all about celebrating the mule. There were mules everywhere— mules pulling old-fashioned wagons, mules in costume, and mules grinding cane and corn into syrup, old-school style. In addition to the parade they hold a mule auction, golf tournament, plowing contest, flea market, singing and clogging, and a slingshot turkey shoot. Then there’s the main attraction, the mule costume contest, where the noble hybrids get dressed up to compete for prizes—ugliest and prettiest both win awards. Bob Maxwell, President of the Calvary Lions Club, summed it up best. “This community was an agricultural community and they used the old mules to do the cultivation, and that’s the way it started. Somebody came up with the idea to celebrate
nice to see people gather to celebrate their community and their pastimes, and not only on holidays or only with family. I was born and raised in Georgia, but have lived in Atlanta all of my life, which is a far cry from the rural towns that hold these festivals. So as a Southerner and a city boy, it was nice to “get country” for a day. I won’t be buying a farm or mules anytime soon, but I had a great time, and even ran into some cousins and an Aunt I hadn’t seen in awhile. So next time you have a free Saturday, or especially if you travel to the South, make a point to check with the local Chamber of Commerce to see if there’s a festival or parade. You’ll eat well, see some interesting stuff, and maybe even learn a thing or two.
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COMING TO AMERICA
The new immigration
Gone are the boatloads of huddled masses riding transatlantic steamers into New York harbor, gazing hopefully upon the Statue of Liberty. Gone are the large families of village folk, pouring in from rural parts of Europe. Ellis Island is now a museum. Yet New York, Los Angeles and many other cities around the United States are steadily receiving a new type of itinerant soul. Young, ambitious, and creative, these new arrivals are more likely to disembark with lofty goals than with a gang of relatives. Despite an international reputation that may have acquired a few scuff-marks in the past decade, America is still a magnet for the talented and ambitious from all over the planet. Scion Magazine polled a few friends and collaborators who were born outside the US borders to find out what brought them to the States, and what keeps them here.
Malco Kim: Creative Director From: Seoul, Korea Has Lived in the US: 18 years I originally came to study orchestra conducting. My images of the US before I came here were The Karate Kid 1 and 2 and Back to the Future 1 and 2.
LENKA KRIPAC: Musician From: Australia! Born in Bega, NSW, grew up mostly in Sydney. Has lived in the US: About two years, on and off. Been living in LA about nine months. I like that in America it is not an “embarrassment” to strive and be ambitious. Sometimes in Australia this can be a problem. We call it “Tall Poppy Syndrome.” I thought it [the US] would be way more plastic and annoying than it actually is. I was surprised at how much cool counter-culture there is in every pocket of this country.
DJ Hiro: Producer, DJ From: Far East where the Sun rises Has Lived in the US: Quarter century Erik Lavoie: Publisher, VICE Magazine From: Montreal, Canada Has Lived in the US: 6.5 Years Work brought me here.
I’d probably be married and have two kids, a car and a nice country house, had I stayed in Montreal. That is what all my friends back home do.
I came for the music, sports, and “recreational activities.” Also, because I could not stand my probation officer in Japan.
JAMIL GS: Photographer, Director From: I was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, son of AfricanAmerican jazz musician Sahib Shihab and Danish beauty queen Majken Gulmann.Has lived in the US: 18 years Initially, what brought me here Lisa Alisa: Artist, Scion Installation 5 From: Mars Has Lived in the US: Long enough I came to study dance professionally.
First thing that surprised me [about America] was the portion size of all the foods at eateries in the airport. Also, everyone was talking about “crazy competition” in every work field in this country and I was surprised to find out that in reality there’s no such thing.
Fernando Cwilich Gil: Senior Editor, Blackbook Magazine; Artist; Wrir;Founder, ProyectArte A non-profit art school in Buenos Aires) From: Buenos Aires, Argentina Has lived in the US: It’s hard to say how long because I’ll be here one year and there for two and then back for eight months…like a nomad. 77 Klash: Producer, Artist From: I was born in Kingston 11, Jamaica Has Lived in the US: Since 1993 My parents migrated here.
I had a way-different vision of America before I came here. I really thought that what I was seeing on television was a reflection of American society.
If I had stayed in Argentina, I’d probably be more normal, more of a mainstream type of dude, whatever that means. When you are a stranger in a strange land you never quite fit in, and that outsider Monica Müller: Photographer From: Switzerland Has Lived in the US: Eight years
I came here for college and stayed.
Being able to be picky about my photography work is a very big part [of why I like it here]. Also, I’ve been here eight years now. I consider this home. This is where I know how things work, this is where I feel comfortable, and...places are open 24 hours! Once you get used to this, it’s very hard to be somewhere where 90% of all places close at 6:30!
Tessar Lo: Artist, Scion Installation 5 From: Indonesia, Canada Has Lived in the US: I’m now coming up on one year in LA. I came here to pursue a career in the arts. [Living here] is everything I had ever imagined it to be. I am immersed in a community of creative people and others who support us. It’s a great feeling of belonging and contributing to a scene.
SCION MAGAZINE - PAGE 13
Home Grown Flavor
Chicago’s Publican among leaders of farm-to-table movement WORDS Kiko Martinez PHOTOGRAPHY CLAYTON MILLER ILLUSTRATION DIANE BarcelowskY
THE PUBLICAN, CHICAGO, IL
In the popular lore, the American family farm has always symbolized virtue, prosperity, and wholesomeness, and once upon a time, it also represented a cornerstone of a nascent American economy, and provided most of the food consumed by its citizens. As recently as the early 20th century, consumers knew not just what farms, but the names of the farmers their groceries were coming from when they went shopping at their town’s rural store. Today, however, agriculture has evolved into a multibillion-dollar corporate industry where commercial farming is the fastest and cheapest way to market produce. The family farm has lost its central importance in the American cornucopia. For consumers, the fact that their tomatoes from a thousand miles away are watery seems less important than having something colorful in their garden salads. While that may be true for some American grocery shoppers, there has recently been an upswing in consumers wanting to buy food
grown in closer proximity to where they reside. The farm-to-table movement (or local-food movement) has been gathering strength all over the country. Everyone from food critics, to food snobs, to average people concerned about their health have begun to look for ways to eat fresher, better food. A welcome bi-product of this movement is that, the relevance of independent and family farming has experienced a resurgence.
writes Peter Mann, international director of World Hunger Year, a non-profit organization fighting against hunger and poverty in the U.S. “Whether in family meals or in restaurants, Americans are enjoying the delicious taste of local dairy, vegetables and fruits. Farmer’s markets are springing up in towns and cities across the country.”
While many historians agree that America was built on the backs of farmers, it’s the food industry that has been changing shape inside the stomachs of environmentally conscious consumers who want to know exactly who is uprooting their rutabagas. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, organic produce is a $20 billion industry growing at 20 percent a year. It is by far the fastest growing sector in the agricultural industry.
In Chicago, it’s no different. According to the Chicago Tribune, there are over 30 farmer’s markets in and around the suburban area. That’s where you’ll find Brian Huston, Chef de Cuisine at the Publican (located in Chicago’s Warehouse District), on most days. When he’s not at the farmer’s markets, farmers themselves are delivering their freshest produce straight to Huston’s backdoor. His contribution to the farm-to-table movement is something he’s been committed to for more than a decade.
“There is a quiet revolution happening in the U.S. and it is connected to local food,”
“[The farm-to-table movement] changed my attitude about food and cooking,” Huston, 37,
a farmer dropped off a bushel of cherries and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is what a cherry is supposed to taste like?’ I had been eating these bland things from Chile and now there was an actual bar set.” said. “There was a whole aspect to the industry that I wasn’t aware of.” Huston first learned about the movement when he moved from Chicago to San Francisco in 1996. While in California, he says he worked for a market-driven restaurant whose chef didn’t purchase certain produce just because it was available. For example, if tomatoes weren’t in season, the restaurant would not have dishes containing tomatoes on their ever-changing menu. Huston brought those food values back to Chicago and lives by them at the Publican, where locavores (people who eat locally grown food) visit him regularly because they know he chooses quality over everything else. “It wasn’t until I was out [in San Francisco] and
When it comes to locally grown food and food that is mass-produced miles away, the undeniable difference between the two is taste and freshness, says Huston. It’s no wonder Huston jumped on the farm-to-table bandwagon before it could rightfully be called a “bandwagon.” From The Publican’s apple salad with pancetta and pistachios in a chili garlic vinaigrette, to its lemon-bathed anchovy manicata with carrots, cauliflower, and radishes, Huston always strives to cook with the freshest ingredients. His cuisine is constructed to feature each vibrant flavor of the ingredients rather than muddle them. Huston’s approach has earned The Publican plaudits among food writers and hungry Chicagoans alike. A food blog called Chicago
Gluttons (somehow you trust them) writes, “Five minutes later [the waiter] came out with the Burrata; a dish composed with KinniKinnick Farms finest produce….Brussel sprouts, pecans, balsamic, and fresh mozzarella. Moms around the World need to cop this recipe, QUICK.” Prominent food critic, Phil Vettel of the Chicago Tribune, gave the Publican Three Stars, writing, “…within the parameters of what it wants to be, it’s spectacular.” Part of the reason behind the superior taste of local produce, and thus the Publican’s food, is that unlike mass-produced fruits and vegetables, local organic farms do not use petroleum-based chemicals and pesticides. “You have the farmer’s market tomato that is a bit scarred and you have this perfect red tomato that is mass produced,” explains Huston. “It’s like two different movies. Do you want this ripped Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that is bland and doesn’t have much of a storyline or do you want something with more texture like an independent movie that has bumps and bruises and flavors?”
The FarmFresh Express WORDS Mario Magstein
Auntie Em’s Organic Produce and Dinner Delivery Service is the brainchild of Terri Wahl, a farmer’s market maven who has come to embody the farm-to-table movement. Wahl’s delivery service brings locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables directly to her customers’ doorsteps, arriving in her signature designer coolers that ensure produce remains cool and crisp. Each week the mixture of produce changes, depending on what is in season, ripe, and delectable. People don’t always know what they’re getting in advance, but this encourages them to try new things and be adventurous in their cooking, much like the cuisine at Wahl’s restaurant. As chef and owner of the hip Eagle Rock eatery/ market, Auntie Em’s Kitchen, Wahl has come to be well known for her fresh made, all locally grown faire. Tasty dishes like White Bean Rosemary Stew, Roasted Organic Chicken with Morels on Asparagus with Cream Sauce, along with delectable deserts like fresh fruit cobblers and cakes, are all made with locally grown produce—winning her acclaim and a loyal following. As Wahl’s following developed, she realized that many people wanted to shop farmers markets, but simply didn’t have the time. That’s when she came up with the idea of creating a delivery service that could do it for them. “Many people wish that they could eat local and shop farmer’s markets, and just can’t get to them. But it’s absolutely insane, the interest I’ve gotten from this,” says Wahl of her entrée into distributing locally grown food. The growing popularity of Auntie Em’s Delivery Service is just another sign that the farm-totable movement is gaining momentum. So is there really a difference between the locally grown fruits and vegetables you find at the farmers market versus the food you find in the produce section of your local grocery store? The only way to find out is to experience it for yourself and taste the difference. Open up a fresh box from Auntie Em’s Delivery, and you’ll be greeted by blossoming flavors, unmistakable vitality, and the slight scent of earth in an impressive array fruits and vegetables. The colors and textures are as nature intended. Compared to what you might be accustomed to getting at the local grocers, the freshness and selection can be a revelation. For more info, or to sign up for deliveries of fresh, locally grown produce, check out AuntieEmsDelivery.com.
From the farmers’ perspective, chefs and restaurateurs have become a major client base over the past few years. The locavore movement has breathed new life into the business of independent farming. For Beth Eccles and her husband Brent, who own Green Acres Farm, a farm Huston purchases from frequently, the natural flavors of their produce is what they say has made them successful for the past 12 years. Each week, the Eccleses travel 70 miles from North Judson, Indiana to sell at farmer’s markets in Chicago. “It tastes like real food and not food that’s been transported thousands of miles to get there or tomatoes that have been gassed to ripen versus tomatoes ripened on the vine and brought to you the next day,” said Eccles, who uses healthier methods of fertilizer and bug repellant like fish emulsion and garlic berry. “I think people are more aware of the farmers who are growing food the right way. They’ve just never had access to it before.”
While industrial agriculture has made food less expensive, Huston says he has seen the interest of a younger generation wanting to know where their food is coming from. With restaurants like the Publican leading the way, he believes the movement will increase in popularity as more people learn the benefits of eating organic and buying local. Along with the delicious foods the farms provide, Huston says another part of his job that he loves is developing friendships with the farmers. “Doing business with the farmers is really exciting,” Huston said. “There are always stories behind the food. There are people and faces and names involved in the food. It’s a lot different than just having the Cisco guy or the produce company dropping off everything and making you sign for it. I think working with the community makes the Publican a lot better.”
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boot heaven WORDS Veronica Meewes PHOTOGRAPHY VERONICA MEEWES and JULIAN SAMBRANO/MEGAN LUKE
There are several things Texans take very seriously. Opinions on football and barbecue are best stated with care, depending on the company. Passion is a mild description of the fervor these subjects can arouse. There is one thing however, that’s never up for debate in Texas: what constitutes fine footwear. From the rugged open range to fancy formal affairs, cowboy boots are what you put your feet in. And as much as Austin is the capital of Texas, Allen Boots in South Austin is the world’s capital of cowboy boots. It’s like the Library of Congress for boots—if it’s a cowboy boot and it exists, you can probably find it here. The place is pretty easy to spot, too. A massive red boot tops the sign like a cherry, right above the stone storefront this independent retailer has called home for 31 years.
Allen Boots owner Stephen Greenberg grew up in Dallas but relocated to Chicago, where he owned a jewelry store. Austin’s warm weather and Lake Travis drew him back to the heart of Texas in the late 1970’s, when he opened up his store on South Congress Avenue. “I opened here because there was a competitor one block up and I wanted to be close to him,” Greenberg explains. “Back then South Congress was completely different. There weren’t that many retail stores. It’s changed a whole lot.” Now South Congress is a hip shopping and dining district with some of Austin’s best vintage stores, several high profile salons, a charming old fashioned soda shop, a hoppin’ cupcake stand, Mexican folk art galleries, the locally famous Continental Club, and the closest thing to New York-style pizza in town. “This place is classic for people watching,” says Allen Boots employee Cristina Grace (who goes by “Cookie” since a customer decided she needed a spicy cowgirl nickname). “South Congress has great rock ‘n’ roll appeal. I thought
it was a stretch for me to work here because everyone was in plaid shirts and Wranglers when I walked in. But it’s really a wide variety of people.” Cookie herself has punk rock Southwestern flavor, rocking a beaded floral vest, layers of chained charms and amulets, and python skin boots. “I’m here for the fashion, and the history behind it. The boots, they got me,” she admits with a smile. The selection of boots in the store is a testament to the diverse clientele it attracts daily. The
sea of footwear that greets you upon entering is overwhelming, and the aroma of leather is intoxicating. When I asked Greenberg to explain his thoughts on Austin’s craze for cowboy boots, he looks at me almost surprised. “People in Texas, we wear them because it’s the type of footwear we’ve been wearing for years,” he states plainly. “Now we serve the local people but we also have fashion boots for the tourists, which a lot of local people also wear.” Allen Boots has in recent years also become a global source for boots, as their online sales continue to skyrocket. When asked how they rose to this status, Greenberg very matter-offactly answers, “We carry a huge selection of trendy and more colorful boots…and we’re just nice to people. Isn’t that right, Gayla?” he hollers over to one of the managers who’s busy taking calls. “Yes, sir!” she calls back. “And we’re not a chain!” “We expect everyone to wear cowboy boots,” says Greenberg. He eyes my feet suspiciously and says, “Where are yours!?” I am quick
to let him know I own several pairs…but when he asks what kind, I am stumped. I give a vague description and Greenberg’s response is, “You need some boot boots!” I ask this boot connoisseur how many he owns. “Well, you know,” he modestly trails off, “about a dozen or so that I wear regularly. But probably around 250, 300 pair.” As my mouth falls open, he defends, “but that’s over 31 years!” He beckons me to follow him out onto the floor, where I receive a crash course in western footwear. The two companies most highly recommended and purchased at Allen Boots are Lucchese, established in 1880 in San Antonio, and Old Gringo, based out of Leon, Mexico. Both companies are known for their quality hand stitch-work and use only the finest skins. A pair of custom-made boots takes 8-9 weeks to craft. Greenberg points out a pair of Old Gringo goat skin Mad Dogs, one of the most popular styles. He shows me a pair of shorter, distressed turquoise numbers that just arrived. “Now that’s a good-lookin’ boot,” he admires, turning it around in his hand. Next he brings me to a towering rack of polished Luccheses and takes down a $6,000 pair of alligator skin boots. Employee Luis Medina explains that it was hand caught rather than farm raised, adding, “someone probably got hurt getting that gator!” Greenberg points out that there are more working-class price tags in the store—$60, $129, $140. But for a pair of flashy fashion boots one can expect to pay upwards of $400. (The Lucchese website reminds us, “You can’t put a price on unprecedented fit and comfort.”) With some boots at such celebrity prices, it is no surprise to hear that the store has seen the likes of Claire Danes, Trisha Yearwood, Miranda Lambert, Marisa Tomei, and Rose McGowan. Marty Stewart and Robert Plant are frequent customers, and Cookie tells me that Drew Barrymore’s production team recently came in looking for materials. Lacey Puryear, an extremely knowledgeable and personable member of the Allen Boots team, can tell you the history of every boot within arm’s reach. “Rose McGowan got these gold Fryes,” she points out. “Robert Plant came in here during the Austin City Limits music
ALLENS BOOTS 1522 S CONGRESS AVE. AUSTIN, TX
festival and got a pair like this model called The Razz.” She holds up a distressed, camelcolored pair. “Most of the cool, gnarly boots we have are Old Gringos. His were even fuzzier and looked like they’d gone through a mill, with the toe curled way up at the end.” What’s great about Allen Boots is that you are as likely to have a star-spotting as you are to strike up a conversation with a quirky local, or even a traveler just passin’ through. A girl in a suspiciously spandex-like jumpsuit has a line-up of boots in front of her. I learn this is Isabelle Webster, a sculptor and performance artist from London, who is in town visiting and on a search for the next best addition to her wardrobe. “Can I afford this?” she wonders aloud, on her third pair of boots. “I keep picking the most expensive ones up. This really isn’t typical.” “Buying cowboy boots is like getting tattoos,” muses Lacey. “Once you get one, you’re hooked.” So hooked, in fact, that you’ll see cowboy boots on everyone from hipsters to businessmen to babies. Even weddings are leaning toward the Wild West. “We’ve had brides come in here and set up portraits against the boot racks,” she tells me. She points out some candy apple red boots people have been ordering to wear under their gowns, as well as more traditional cream and white boots. In the back of the store, you’ll find walls lined with true blue Wranglers and endless Resistol
hats, a quiet reminder of cowboy boots’ humble beginnings. “What people don’t realize is that the boots were designed with a purpose in mind,” says Luis. “The bottoms are smooth and the front is narrower in order for ranchers to slip in and out of stirrups more easily. The tops are typically tall to protect from thorns and brush while riding.” Roberto Ramon, who works at Allen Boots, grew up riding horses on a ranch in Guajillo, Mexico, and swears by his well-worn ostrich skins. More ranchers frequent the store’s Round Rock location just north of Austin, where the footwear selection leans toward utilitarian over fashion-conscious. However, Luis adds, “a lot of guys do come in here [the South Congress store] for boots because they want the comfort and durability.” An older, laidback couple walks through the next aisle. “Wish these were less than $500,” the man says, admiring a pair. His lady friend is not far behind him. “Oh?” she answers distractedly. “I didn’t even look at the price…I just saw a nice boot.” What do they have in common with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Doris Day, Ronald Reagan, and Britney Spears? If you don’t know by now, you better get yourself on down to Texas.
“Buying cowboy boots is like getting tattoos... once you get one, you’re hooked.”
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One Nation, On the Air WORDS Sum Patten with Kiko MartinEz PHOTOGRAPHY GINGER DI DONATO
From its outset, American television shows have been a faithful mirror of American society. If mankind were to spontaneously disappear, there would be a digital footprint of how we perceived ourselves as a society through the shows we produced. If extraterrestrial visitors were to stumble across a DVD collection of classic TV they would probably get a decent idea of our collective hopes, fears, desires, and tendencies. Beginning in the 1950s and continuing on up through the 70s, our rapidly changing culture was on display, as show after show broke new ground, both reflecting and driving the popular consensus of what was socially acceptable. Taken as a whole, the history of American television might well be a mapping device for our country’s social and cultural evolution.
The 1950s As seen on black-and-white TV, the nuclear family was composed of a happily married mother and father and 2.5 kids. Dad provided for the family while mom stayed at home and maintained the household. In the evening, kids did their homework, families ate together at the dining room table, and couples would retire to separate quarters or beds. Despite the pleasant atmosphere in TV Land, there were real-world worries. The Cold War had just begun and fears about nuclear war and Communism lurked in the background. As a result, 50s television mostly portrayed familiar, orderly, and comforting themes and outcomes.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
In what could be called the first “reality show,” this show had audiences believing that they were looking in on the real life of the Nelson family. As the first television couple allowed to share a queen-size, Ozzie and Harriet broke barriers in the bedroom. As the popularity of rock ’n’ roll continued to grow in this era, the couple’s son Ricky Nelson started playing his
music on the show and became the teen idol he is remembered as today. Fiction became fact. At the time, the rock ’n’ roll genre was still considered destructive and many conservatives took offense to it becoming a part of a family show.
Dragnet
Families found a way to escape from everyday life by vicariously joining the Los Angeles Police Department in 1951 when Dragnet added a television show to go along with its popular radio program. The show ran into some controversy when it was given the seal of approval by a corrupt LAPD if it promised to not depict police officers poorly. The show was the first to use real police cases as storylines for episodes and had one of the best-known theme songs of all time. Father Knows Best Another flawless portrait of a middle-class American family, Father Knows Best taught American parental figures that a positive upbringing was critical for a child’s success, especially when the father figure was giving life advice. Ultra conservative even for its time, Father Knows Best made parents the
all-powerful figures while their children were depicted as absent-minded youngsters always looking for an extra handout.
I Love Lucy
You could not avoid the active imagination of Lucy Ricardo as she dreamed to one day join her husband Ricky in the world of show business. Her aspirations were considered unorthodox at the time when women were thought to be homemakers and should not be obsessing over something so unrealistic. At the time, Lucy was a novelty you could not find anywhere else on TV—a free-spirited woman who had her own plans for life.
Leave it to Beaver
The pinnacle of the suburban middle-class centered on the Cleaver family living in the fictional town of Mayfield. June and Ward Cleaver became the perfect example of American parents as they raised two straightlaced sons and tried to instill strong values. Very few cultural references were mentioned in the show’s six seasons as Leave it to Beaver focused more on the family dynamic and the value of cleanliness.
to wear Capri pants during a time when TV mothers were only seen in dresses and skirts. Dick van Dyke was a groundbreaking show for its time. It also touched on topics that weren’t discussed on other shows, including religion, race, and politics.
Lost in Space
In outer space, family values are especially strong. The Robinson family proves this when they lose their way in the great beyond while looking for another planet to inhabit after the Earth becomes overpopulated. Spaceflight was on the nation’s mind as NASA began sending manned spacecraft into the cosmos. The year after Lost in Space was cancelled, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The 1960s Along with the Vietnam War, Americans had the anti-war and civil rights movements to confront, as well as the countercultural revolution. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had just been formed, which opened up new worlds for exploration and research. While people were traveling to the moon and experiencing altered states of consciousness, the American television family got a whole new lease on life.
The Beverly Hillbillies
When the Clampett family strikes it rich by finding oil on their land, they are whisked away to California where they’re “uncivilized” way of living clashes with the high-class culture of Beverly Hills. In a three-week period, the show rose to No. 1 faster than any other show before, and opened the door to other shows like Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. When the show was cancelled in 1971, it began what the industry referred to as “the Rural Purge” as networks began to favor shows that went after an urban audience.
Bewitched
A shift in the family structure happens as the TV mom on Bewitched, who is still a homemaker, is given power over everything because she is a witch. The marriage between Darrin, a mortal man, and Samantha, a female sorceress, doesn’t sit well with Samantha’s family. One episode during the show’s eight-year run also touched on racial issues when the couple’s young daughter, who also has supernatural powers, adds polka dots to her own and her African-American friend’s skin so people would see them as equal.
The Dick van Dyke Show
Debuting in 1961, the show set a standard for other TV productions that centered on relationships. It caused controversy when Mary Tyler Moore, in one episode, decided
In 1964, the U.N.C.L.E was the only American spy show broadcasting on TV. It followed Napoleon Solo and Illya Kullyakin, two agents from a secret organization, fighting against the criminal organization THRUSH. Ian Fleming, the writer who gave us James Bond, contributed to the creation of the show and its characters. Like the Bond films, U.N.C.L.E. was praised for the intricate props it used to recreate the high-tech world of international espionage.
77 Sunset Strip
Though this show first aired in 1958, it truly belonged to the 60s. It won the Golden Globe for best television series in 1960, and featured an attitude and ethos that presaged the jetset era to come. The show revolved around a pair of private investigators who worked out of swank offices in the most desirable part of town. Hard-boiled crime drama this was not, the stars were young and handsome, the comic relief came fast and steady, and the mood was reflected in the show’s upbeat jazzy theme and score. The music for the show was so popular in fact, that an album featuring the music reached the Billboard top ten in 1959, and variety shows featured dancing girls strutting to the tunes.
My Mother the Car
Once voted the worst TV series of all time, although it was popular among kids, My Mother the Car told the story a man who purchases a car that turns out to be the reincarnation of his deceased mother. The show followed the same type of supernatural themes many networks were picking up during the 60s. In 2002, TV Guide named the show the No. 2 worst TV show ever after The Jerry Springer Show.
The 1970s Even as the economy went south, technology was on the rise. Inflation and unemployment increased and the oil crisis was hurting the entire world economy. People became more tolerant in their understanding of race relations and even sought entertainment that bridged some of those long-standing divides. American women found strength in the ERA movement and lifted their voices for liberation.
All in the Family
As the standard “family sitcom” became obsolete, TV-watchers searched for a champion to rail against encroaching modernity. American television’s favorite curmudgeon Archie Bunker answered the call. As one of the most politically incorrect characters ever shown on TV, Archie spoke candidly and represented the push-back from the traditionalists. He was derogatory and edgy and proved that bigotry in this country was alive and well…and sometimes hilarious. Therein lied the sneaky genius of the show: by parodying bigotry, it exposed its fundamental stupidity.
Mary Tyler Moore
A groundbreaking television show, when it premiered in 1970, it was the first to revolve around a single career woman who was single by choice, not widowed or divorced. Not only was she in her thirties and single, she was happy that way. The show had a strong seven-year run and remains one of the most critically acclaimed of all time. It was also way ahead of the curve culturally, with episodes that dealt with sensitive questions of body image, homosexuality, the humor of death, infidelity, and women’s independence in a nuanced, intelligent way.
The Bob Newhart Show
The show followed Robert Hartley and his adventures as a Chicago psychologist. The show’s main character was originally written as a psychiatrist, but Bob Newhart asked for the occupation to be changed because he did not want to make fun of seriously mentally ill patients. The show ran for six seasons on CBS. Newhart’s character Bob Hartley was revived in Newhart in the 90s when it was revealed that the entire eight seasons of the latter show was just a dream conjured up by Hartley.
The Jeffersons
The show is still the longest running TV series with a predominately African-American cast. It was a spinoff of All in the Family, with George Jefferson, an upper middle class AfricanAmerican business owner, taking the place of Archie Bunker. Like All in the Family, the show focused many of its jokes and scenarios on race relations. It featured one of TV’s first interracial married couples, the Jeffersons’ neighbors Tom and Helen Willis. It was one of the first shows to feature a number of two-part episodes in its 11 seasons on the air.
Sanford and Son
The show follows the lives of Fred Sanford and his grown son, Lamont, as they run their salvage shop in Los Angeles. The show proved to be a popular showcase for the comedic talents of Redd Foxx, who played the role of Fred. It was one of the first shows set in what was just becoming known as “the ghetto” and featured a mostly African-American cast. It featured an unforgettable theme song by Quincy Jones, with unusual percussion sounds that fit perfectly with the junkyard in which Fred lived and worked.
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At Home in the 5th Dimension The Twilight Zone still haunts the American subconscious WORDS Sum Patten with John Lee, Anthony Marshall, and Josh Hassin SCREEN STILLS COURTESY of CBS
The Twilight Zone is a hallmark of Americana and the mother of all televised science-fiction anthologies. Behind the creepy sci-fi façade of Rod Serling’s brainchild was a steady social commentary on the era and country in which he lived. From the Red Scare to the fears of space travel, The Twilight Zone touched on it all, usually in a clever plot twist revealed at the end of each episode. Decades later we can look back at Rod Serling and see an intense man, and liberal-minded writer, who used his creativity to shed light on darker corners of the American psyche while weaving in striking moral tidbits. Let’s take a look at a few episodes… “The Invaders” Episode 51 The Serling Quote of Note: “A house untouched by progress.” The Plot: A lady living alone in a rural cabin gets attacked by little spacemen in shiny suits with guns that make a really annoying sound. She ends up bashing, chopping, burning and destroying the little space invaders to defend herself. The Twist: The “invaders” are actually American astronauts who’ve landed on an alien planet inhabited by giants. The Commentary: When this episode first aired in 1961, the first human had flown into space only months before. As exciting as this was,
imagine the fears it raised for Americans. The ultimate unknown was out there, and it might wrap us up in a blanket, slam us against a wall and throw us in a gigantic fireplace, just like the lady in this episode did. “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” Episode 64 The Serling Quote of Note: “You’ve heard of trying to find a needle in a haystack? They’ve got to find a Martian in a diner.” The Plot: Two troopers follow tracks that lead from a UFO to a diner to figure out which of seven bus passengers is really an alien. Everybody in the diner becomes increasingly suspicious of each other and paranoia runs high. The Twist: There’s more than one alien, and the diner owner is one of them. The Commentary: Anti-Communism was running rampant throughout America. Innocent people were being wrongfully detained and interrogated, and general distrust was the poison of McCarthyism. At the end of the day it was as ridiculous, unfounded and absurd as aliens from Mars and Venus having coffee in an American diner…or was it? Episodes like these helped The Twilight Zone become so influential that the phrase has merged into the vernacular of spoken English… “I just had a Twilight Zone experience!” Beyond it’s initial life in the late 50s and early 60s, The Twilight Zone became a fixture of syndicated television re-runs. In its second life, it has influenced a generation of artists and filmmakers—creeping them out and sparking their imaginations.
WE talked to a few of the filmmakers in the latest Easy 10 short film series. These directors gave us their views on what made The Twilight Zone such a powerful influence, and a landmark of American television
John Lee THEME Magazine
Josh Hassin RE:UP Magazine
Producer of “2 Makes 1”
Producer and Director of “Boxed”
I grew up watching The Twilight Zone during my early years growing up in Borneo. We had a black and white television, and my sister and I used to sneak the show on when my folks were sleeping. Some of the episodes would freak me out and I’d have to sleep with the lights on for days after, but it was soooo worth it. I loved that show—the freaky tweaky music intro, the words “there is a fifth dimension...”—it still brings a chill to the back of my neck! There are a few episodes that I can vividly remember. One was where a dude walks around a deserted town, starts to think he’s crazy, and starts talking to himself. It turns out he’s part of a military experiment, and is sitting in a 5-foot box for weeks to simulate space travel. The moral of that story is that people need interaction to stay sane, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Sometimes I fantasize about leaving the city and buying a farm to grow potatoes or something when I get stressed out, but then I think about stories like that, and I always come to my senses. There was another episode where a man couldn’t go to sleep because he was going to die if he did. That one gave me nightmares for weeks.
I remember The Twilight Zone from childhood. It had a huge impact on my life because of the nature of my attention span. Twilight Zones were like these 20-minute worlds. They got to the point, they messed with your head, and it was over. “Be good to your neighbor,” “Don’t be greedy,”—there were always these very succinct little messages, and the morality wasn’t clouded at all. There was always an interesting twist. One that sticks out in my head is one in which Burgess Meredith plays a ‘book worm.’ He wears these coke-bottle glasses and all he wants to do is read. Everybody he comes into contact with just bugs him. He’s irritated by humanity. He can never get a quiet moment to just sit down and read his books. And then, there’s a nuclear holocaust, which is one of the themes that recurs throughout The Twilight Zone series because of all the cold war madness going on at the time. After the holocaust, for whatever reason, he was safe from the destruction in his vault of books. He comes out and everybody’s gone, and he’s finally alone. He can now be at peace and read his books. But then, his glasses drop, and shatter. “Be careful of what you wish for,” might be the moral of that one.
Anthony Marshall AllHipHop.com Director of “BDK”
My favorite Twilight Zone episode is called the “Eye of the Beholder.” It’s all about a woman who has her face wrapped in bandages. This is her eleventh visit for injections to cure a horrible disfiguration. One nurse says she would “go dig herself a grave and bury herself ” if she looked like the woman. The suspense continues to build as the conversations surrounding her face intensify. In the end, all is revealed when the bandages come off and we all see that the true horror is in everyone else’s faces. The woman is the only one with a normal human face where the others, literally, have pig faces. The obvious moral of the story is that beauty is in the “Eye of the Beholder.” The Twilight Zone was an amazing series because they did an incredible job scaring the mess out of you without any real special effects. Just great suspense created by great writing, acting, and directing.
PHOTO: SIEGE
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AMERICAN WORKWEAR PHOTOGRAPHY JULIAN SAMBRANO/MEGAN LUKE STYLING CORBAN POORBOY
Vintage Military Boots
Simple, durable, and comfortable—workwear has been a fixture in the wardrobe of Americans for so long that the term “blue collar” was coined. Somewhere along the line, however, workwear stopped being the exclusive domain of tradesman and laborers. Onto the streets it came, on the backs of mechanics, soldiers, factory workers and builders, and the people who wore it defined an image of rugged American masculinity. Movie heroes such as Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, and Paul Newman cut sharp figures in wool shirts, army uniforms, and straight-leg jeans. In the 90s hip-hop artists would contribute new swagger to the vein, rocking military, construction, and hunting gear in music videos. Today, what began as the utilitarian garb of the American workingman is a global fashion standard, and the age-old clothing brands you’ll see below hold sway in the fashion houses of New York, Tokyo, Paris, and Milan.
Woolrich Vintage Flannel Wrangler Penfield
SHIRTS
Dickies Levis Stan Ray Ben Davis Vintage Field Trouser
TROUSERS
Woolrich Filson
VESTS Vintage Military Camoflage Pendleton Vintage Safari Dickies
JACKETS
COATS Army Coat Penfield Vintage Bomber Coat Denim Coat Filson Felt Coat
ACCESSORIES
Converse Hightops
Vintage Postman Shoes
Sperry Top-Siders
Zig Zag Canvas Midways
Chipawa Work Boots
Vintage Military Boots
Redwing Work Boots
Timberland Work Boots
SHOES/WORK BOOTS
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For Every Man, a Job…For Every Job, an Outfit WORDS Tunde Whitten illustrations Thelossprevention.com
Certain uniforms have had great influence on the style of everyday civilians in a gradual cultural shift from strict utilitarian origins into the stuff of fashion statements. We took a look at a few of the professions that have had their standard dress codes appropriated by the style-savvy, and investigate the origin and evolution of their signature apparel.
SOLDIER
Combat clothing has significantly impacted fashion, mostly in the streetwear sector, with items such as camouflage, combat boots, and cargo pants becoming popular as streetwear ascended in the 80s and 90s. Sometime around the early 80s, it quickly took hold among the style conscious. In an ironic twist, camouflage, designed to conceal you in the forest, became a way to stand out in the city streets.
YACHTING
The blue blazer, light pants, and boat shoes. Based on naval uniforms, the blue blazer, light trouser combination basically gives off the air of an admiral on vacation: officious and understated, yet luxurious and relaxed. The boat shoe, epitomized by the illustrious Sperry Top-sider, was born out of the need for a shoe made with a sole that provided grip on wet, smooth surfaces. The ridged white-rubber soles were actually based on the bottom of dog’s feet, and also have the advantage of not leaving dark streaks on expensive wooden decks. The late 80s saw a serious Sperry fad break out, and they’re having a second renaissance at the moment.
MECHANIC
The clothes were designed for durability and comfort, and they eventually made it out of the garages and onto the streets. Work pants were cut with room to spare, and still looked good worn baggie. In the 90s it became hip to sport a mechanic’s shirt with name patch and all, even if ‘Dave’ was not your real name. Brands like Dickies, Carhartt, and Ben Davis are the enduring standards of the vein.
COWBOY
Wide-brimmed cowboy hats offered protection from the elements, and were derived from an original design by John B. Stetson. They combine elements of the Mexican Sombrero and Confederate Calvary hats of the Civil-War era. Thick denim jeans were cut to fit snugly, protect from thick, thorny brush, and accommodate tall leather cowboy boots. The inner seam is always smooth to allow for a more comfortable day in the saddle. Jean shirts with pearl snap-buttons and decorative stitching came along later. The cowboy look has come in and out of vogue over the years, but in Texas, it will forever command respect on par with black-tie formalwear. As for the boots, well they get an article all to themselves. [see page 18]
Racing
For those who like to feel fast even while standing still, there has always been a place for racing leathers. The leather used was not fashion leather but protective leather that was stronger, moderately flexible, and much tougher. Even while slightly restrictive, the angular lines and snug cut of racing jackets give them an obvious fashion appeal.
PILOT
Bomber jackets were created in early days of combat flight to deal with freezing temperatures but maintain mobility. Distinguished by high wrap around collars, zipper closures with wide, thick wind flaps, fur lining, snug cuffs and waists. Copied by Members Only jackets, as well as women’s readyto-wear versions by Gucci and Versace. Aviator shades were the first sunglasses created under the Ray-Ban brand in 1936. Modeled directly from the flight goggles they made for the U.S. military, their shape covers the entire range of vision. Worn to this day, unchanged from original design. Never out of style.
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Rebel Cinema
The anti-hero as seen on the silver screen WORDS Will Powers FILM STILL COURTESY of American Zoetrope
Back in the 1940s cool wasn’t yet defined cinematically, or for that matter socially. The closest thing to it was glamour, the Cary Grant and Breakfast At Tiffany’s kind, and ball-gowns tuxedos, the pinnacle of normal society. But then along came Marlon Brando and James Dean and the concept of cool developed into how we understand it today—those who stand outside of conformity. And they did it by playing, more or less, greasers.
Starting with The Wild One, and moving on to films including Rebel Without a Cause, The Lords of Flatbush, The Outsiders and finally Rumble Fish, the genre’s apogee, Rebel Cinema has produced narratives focused on protagonists written off by society—rebellion for the glory of destruction. This is the facile surface of cool, however, the knife fights and leather jackets version. Limited to these basic components such characters would be easily dismissed as, well, punks, and deservedly so. There needs to be something more, something tragic about them in order to elicit our sympathy and adoration. Only then can they transcend the mere average and become cool. The most poignant moments of Rebel Without A Cause and The Wild One are not the edgy automobile standoffs, motorcycle races or ‘I don’t care’ attitudes but the reconciliation of loneliness and isolation felt by the film’s characters. Their profundity lies in the portrayal of people trying desperately to connect with one another in a society that enforces separation and homogeneity. This is the tragedy, and therefore the attraction, of these enduring characters— they are simply being who they are, and for that, society judges them. Though this tragic component seems counterintuitive to cool as we recognize it, the desire for inclusiveness and acceptance are
expanded upon in both The Lords of Flatbush and The Outsiders. Following groups of friends that band together in support of one another, these films are about nothing if not camaraderie in the face of popular alienation. They present isolation not as a conscious decision, but rather as the answer to the unrelenting expectations of society. These kids are born apart from the whole and band together as a result, not visa versa. But is this cool or the male version of Steel Magnolias? Why do young men and women around the world feel attracted to these tortured souls? The answer lies with each wise pockmark on the face of Mickey Rourke. More than any other portrayal of a renegade, Rourke’s version brought the soul’s turmoil to the surface and put the rebel’s somber side in the limelight. In Rumble Fish he plays The Motorcycle Boy, a legend of things past in his brother’s mind. Rourke presents a character forced into humble acceptance by the innertorture of being an outsider. With a sad but omniscient smirk, he conveys an elegant truth that is often overlooked when considering rebels—they do not practice social norms but they still live within society. Rejected, treated as an outcast, this is what The Motorcycle Boy tolerates without reciprocal hatred. This truth is distilled into four elegant lines before he is killed by his nemesis, Patterson the
Cop, a police officer with a long-standing grudge against The Motorcycle Boy. While looking at a fighting fish in a pet store he says: MB: Take a look at the fish. I don’t think they would fight if they were in the river; if they had room to live. PC: Someone ought to get you off the streets. MB: Somebody ought to put the fish in the river. The Motorcycle Boy can live with never getting what he desires. He doesn’t conform even knowing that his defiance will alienate him from society, even kill him. Another way to describe this is that he has principles—that he stands for what he believes in. By being an outsider, Rourke, paradoxically, embodies the very qualities society expects of its citizens. And for that he wins our adoration and emulation, even if it’s just for the duration of a movie. We can thank rebels for providing us with the desire and courage to be alone—in our beliefs, our practices, even just our dress. What is cooler than that?
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Reinventing the Color Wheel
Americana in the Arts Re-Examined WORDS Jonny Coleman ARTWORK A+K, DIANE BARCELOWSKY and MICKEY SUMNER
In order to investigate how Americana is consumed or perceived right now, it must be recognized that Americana is not a fixed, tangible, or even real genre of art, or anything else. Americana is middle-class, surely. Americana is accessible, populist, blending elements of the familiar to natives and Natives. So, art Americana would be that art under $5000, sometimes under $50—something attainable, something precious but not priced out.
Americana is not a singular aesthetic. Certainly, many younger artists have appropriated techniques, crafts from regional art styles. The crucial base of anything to be considered nouveau-Americana is craft, traditionally taught in specific regions in an apprentice system, mixed in or inbred with other ‘new genres,’ to create hybridized artworks that embrace, ironically or not, the craft of Americana tempered with the relevance of flashier, more modern styles and techniques. The ability to appropriate another style to then in turn rebirth it, is wholly American. Pan-everything DIY aesthetic—that’s Americana. Remix culture. A Flickr account— that’s Americana. Lo-fi illustration and graphic design, lowbrow, pop surrealism, street art. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. They all have roots in the States and offer a populist approach to imageand object-making.
The Obsession of Craft Craft has probably survived for so long in the States due to its nationalistic and religious
signifiers, a reminder of where you come from for a nation of immigrants, mixed with the terrain, colors, and wildlife of the present. A visual correlative for your genealogy or story. Historically, many crafts required an apprentice/ master relationship in order to develop certain skill sets for working with very specific materials (usually, but not always, functional): glass, quilting, silhouette, ceramics/pottery, taxidermy, needlework, furniture, textiles, and on and on. People learning any of these crafts often did so as a rite of passage and/or to cement a very specific career. Craftophiles engage in a huge art/craft marketplace Etsy.com, and they learn and engage with publications like Craft Magazine. While U.S. life expectancy rate grows next to the national rate of career change, artists/ craftsmen that specialize in one trade or product are a static breed, whereas the dabbler or (more P.C.) interdisciplinary creator has poked his head out of obscurity and become the norm in many circles. Creatives and craftsmen are living longer, changing careers more often, and absorbing bits of technique, craft, and culture from everywhere—and anywhere.
A&K
“...it’s very hard to pinpoint and describe Americana. This country is so huge, so fascinating in its diversity, I wouldn’t want to generalize or stereotype.”
MICKEY SUMNER
A wide contingent of emerging artists is tackling craft head on, combining the traditions of craft from one’s rearing with the criticality of a BFA. Los Angeles’ A&K, an American duo of young female artists, use the concept of home and a home’s materials as their form and workspace. A (Alicia Borg) & K (Kate Kendall) met while studying abroad in South Africa and quickly realized a similar yearning to play with materials associated with homemaking and tradition from their American roots. In one exhibition, the two created three hundred and sixty five felt roses, glitterful resin coasters, and dime store felt poster repaintings. A&K exude a great deal of attention to craft in relationship to the home or domesticity, but their goal isn’t necessarily to be political in a classic sense. Instead, as Borg acknowledges, “there are these qualities that had influence from craft and fine art.” Similarly conjuring up the
Textiles + Texture Consider the psychedelic inkings of Diane Barcelowsky. In most of her hundreds upon hundreds of drawings, Barcelowksy references all sorts of American, international, and cosmic patterns and textiles, creating a mélange of history and craft culture. The young artist admits that she works with whatever is most convenient. “I’m so cheap,” she says, “that I won’t go buy materials usually but just react to what’s around, markers, gifts from friends.” This approach can also be applied to her subject matter and how she spits out years of subconscious imagery in a single piece. Her Copenhagen curator has described Barcelowksy as “[having] made up her own world combining all of these traditions.” Much like A&K respond to the literal surroundings of a home/work space, Barcelowsky admits, “I have ADD really bad. I felt like I was self-medicating [through using] pattern...whatever is around. I think that’s why it’s seen as so crafty.” Access to materials and humility often typify these neo-craft artists. Many have to convert living space into studio space. They do not have a team of thirty assistants like certain other underwritten art tycoons, and these crafters therefore represent a more typical American experience, that of being less wealthy and having fewer high-end, flawless materials to toss about than those in the millionaires club. LEFT: DIANE BARCELOWSKY
craft of American holidays, A&K used a garage, where someone had lived, as a space to make and exhibit their most recent body of work. Decorated with hand carved pumpkins and fake cobwebs mixed with real ones, their garage exhibition fell the week before Halloween, as it milked the general kitsch of the Halloween atmosphere. Within the garage, they had collaged two giant walls with garbage, mostly food packaging and most familiarly American. In the corner, a child’s pony has been stripped of its paint, exposing the original wood material it was constructed from. This negative painting, Kendall laughs, “will be the name of our next show of videos and photographs.”
A&K
Art-Americana represents an open access channel that, much like the history of the nation, is elastic and responsive to influx of non-native perspectives. Even without a conscious pursuit of definition, a foreign eye may achieve a crystallization of Americana with natural ease. UK-born Mickey Sumner depicts animal and human hybrids in her paintings, again using symbols of local lore. Her use of animal imagery is no doubt inspired by her upbringing on a Wiltshire farm and her time spent in India. Now living between NYC and the UK, Sumner finds it tricky to distill Americana down to singular ideas or themes, even as her work is possessed of its markings. She admits, “I’ve traveled across America twice, both the southern route and the northern, and I think it’s very hard to pinpoint and describe Americana. This country is so huge, so fascinating in its diversity, I wouldn’t want to generalize or stereotype.” Nevertheless, her work evokes a rural familiarity, a warm sense of hearth, even if both sides can’t agree on what exactly is a slice of Americana. aandk.us thediane.com michaelimagirl.com/artist/index.html
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Underdog Bites
The Budos Band comes from where you least expect, which is why they knock you off your feet WORDS Stephanie Gardner SCREEN STILLS Jade Edwards (COURTESY of DAPTONE RECORDS)
Staten Island, a place so passed over that it has to be that quintessentially American phenomenon, an underdog. You just know that there’s some musical illness going on somewhere in its battered warehouses and cheap-rent basements. It’s one of those places that no one knows anything about except the people who live there. Which means it’s been left alone to do its thing. To use two words that have had the meaning gutted from them: Staten Island—it’s real, it’s authentic.
Of course the Budos Band, a truncated version of Los Barbudos, or bearded ones in Spanish: one of the guys shaved, would come from Staten Island. Where else could an 11-piece psychoafrosoul outfit come from? A band that, like Ike Turner and The Kingsmen, hits hard and struts long. A band that blew 100 notes and was signed on the spot by Daptone Records. A band that sounds exactly like what they are— 11 guys that have been stuck in a Staten Island warehouse for the past 5 years listening to Fela, James Brown and Mulatu Astatke. Jared Tankel, the band’s “leader,” i.e. the guy who has to try and make everyone else show up on time, is powered by a silently inquisitive energy. No doubt the product of a brain that processes more oxygen than your average bear considering he plays the baritone sax, an instrument that requires lungs the size of garbage bags. “When we first started writing songs we were listening to James Brown and other classic soul guys,” he says of the band’s influences. “But now we’re listening more to Ethiopian jazz from the 60s and funk from that era. But our take on it is darker, more intense.” In part this intensity no doubt derives
from a rhythm section—Daniel Foder on bass and Brian Profilio on drums—enamored with the early metal sounds of Black Sabbath.
we just try to make it as close to a party as we can get. It’s just fun to get out and play shows, wherever they may be.”
But influences only go so far in the making of a band. Taken as a unit, the Budos Band are a group that quickly swings back and forth between old-friend camaraderie and biting, if respectful, criticism. At practice sessions and in green room banter, topics include girls, parties and football. And then there are the more subtle lines of tension, the joshing over a missed cue or the truncated discussion about why someone’s going on tour with a different band when they’re supposed to be performing in another state the same night.
So far those shows have taken them across the United States and to Europe. The Menihan Street Band, a side project by Budos Band members Mike Deller, organ, and Thomas Brenneck, guitar, went all the way to Jay Z, who copped “Make the Road By Walking” as the foundation for his hit “Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)”—not a sample either, just straight rapped over it.
How do 11 egos function as one? They get on stage and they play as hard, as tight and as loud as they can. And when they do, they dominate. People don’t chitchat at Budos Band shows. They point their faces towards the two trumpets, saxophone, guitar, bass, organ, drums, congas, bongos, clavés and shekere and move their bodies to a soundtrack that plays like Isaac Hayes riding an Ethiopian lion into a Detroit sunrise. Jared, true to nature, simply says, “Whenever we play
But that’s what has been, not the American what will be. Getting ready to record their 3rd album for Daptone, the band grinds out its thoughts and ideas through the lens of their Staten Island weekly practice session. They pack in a tight circle with everyone’s instruments pointed at everyone else and Jared raises his hand. Daniel and Brian look at each other and nod one, two, three, four…and a powerful wave of years of practiced, pent up expression is released inside a non-descript warehouse in New York’s least-known borough. “We’re definitely more comfortable here than in Manhattan,” Jared says.
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Everything Old, New Again
Numero GROUP digs deep into the heart of American Soul WORDS Lon Kaiser ALBUM ART COURTESY of NUMERO GROUP
By most accounts Phoenix, Arizona, was pretty sleepy in 1963. In April of that year an unusual cloud was spotted floating over the outskirts of the city. Rev. William Marion Branham took it as a sign of Christ’s resurrection but it was later identified by the state’s meteorological society as a nacreous cloud. While the city debated divine apparition Mike Lenaburg, a Liverpool transplant with a burning love of American music, set about recording, promoting and exposing Phoenix’s soul scene and players. All of which, like the cloud, is now largely forgotten. In fact, if it weren’t for Tom Lunt, Rob Sevier, and Ken Shipley, founders of the Numero Group record label, Lenaburg and his Mighty Records label, would remain invisible. Numero’s releases often focus on city or individual music scene. Collectively they expose music not as an extension of mass culture, but as expressions of individual joy, frustration and sadness: music for music’s sake, by the people and for the people.
What is the Numero Group philosophy? Since everyone involved is a collector and archivist at heart, the philosophy is simply to make the collections we would want to own. What is the process you go through when you find something you want to release? Most of our collections expose a tiny corner of an already tiny niche. We may like one song, but unless its part of a larger world, there’s not much we can do with it. We don’t do collections with titles like “15 Northern Soul Hits!” They would be fun to do on one level, but what do you write in the liner notes? “This song is funky. The singer is cool.” Who cares what I think? The releases need to stand on their own and be placed into a sensible context as a piece of history. If there’s no story, there’s no record. What are some of the regional differences you’ve heard from your digging? By the mid 1960s individual artists were more influenced by what was on the radio than what was on their street. That said, folks were probably more likely to take after someone from their own city or town. The commitment to falsetto in Chicago groups must have something to do with Curtis Mayfield. Much soul in the Detroit
area sounds like Motown but that’s because Motown artists were millionaires, not because of something in the Detroit water supply. There is a vernacular element to any music produced on a completely local level but it’s generally overshadowed by the popular music it aspires to be.
unfortunate circumstances though with those that stayed in the music game too long—the smoking and drinking and late nights and long hours in clubs and studios took a serious toll. We’ve definitely worked as hard as we can to make them money for whatever material they were responsible for.
Are there common social themes that you see cutting across the Eccentric Soul Series? The folks we’re licensing material from are the people who realized that employment is fleeting but self-reliance can’t easily be stolen. In that way Eccentric Soul is more about the origins of the black middle class in the United States. Even after their tiny [studio] operations fell apart the heroes of these stories channeled these lessons into smarter investments, better businesses, and more stable situations. There was only one Berry Gordy [founder of Motown Records] but this series is proof that there were thousands working towards those same ends.
Any success stories or changed lives because of Numero Group releases? The advent of re-release has changed the lives of everyone we’ve worked with to some small degree. Nearly everyone eluded success the first time around and to have the material available now on CD and found in the same sections as their favorite artists is a major life event. It’s redemption on a very small scale.
What are some situations you’ve found these artists in? Most people we’ve tracked down are living normal middle class lifestyles. They got perspective and went into some sort of gainful employment. We’ve certainly seen some
What does Eccentric Soul Series tell you about life in America? People want to make music and people want to make money. People fail at both but what’s left behind can still be beautiful. Numero Group’s catalog can be browsed at numerogroup.com. They offer CD, Vinyl and MP3 formats for most of their catalog.
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Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This Justin Townes Earle sings the voice of redemption from the heart of southern country WORDS Roxanne Knausse PHOTOGRAPHY Joshua Black Wilkins
Justin Townes Earle is the quintessential hardlife songwriter, most of it brought on himself. It’s in his life’s blood, both literally and figuratively. Son of the infamous Steve Earle, and carrying the mantle of the Roots hero flame-out Townes Van Zandt, Justin has been writing songs for as long as he can remember, and even sometimes when he couldn’t. For his short 25 years he has a life rap sheet that reads much longer—at 21 years old he was put in the hospital after suffering from his fifth major overdose—perfect fodder for the lyrical grist mill. Where his youth was misspent partying too Ragnarok, his transition to responsibility and self-awareness is marked by considered deliberation of that time. “I try to be as obvious as I can about what the songs are about,” he says in his muted Tennessee drawl. He calls out the pantheon of American music themes: broken hearts,
broken families, poverty, folk heroes, death, friendship, alienation, redemption, falling in love and identity. But where most of his vein— in his own words, “I play Southern American music”—are satisfied to simply evoke the symbolism, Justin brings it closer to home. On “My Mother’s Eyes,” from his second album for Bloodshot Records, Midnight At the Rodeo, he sings, “I am my father’s son. I don’t know when to shut up… I am my father’s son, but I’ve got my momma’s eyes.”
Along with the lyrics, delivered from moment to moment with neck tickling intimacy, bemused distance or resigned sadness, Justin’s instrumentation sounds like the roll call of country’s greatest influences: he’s got Carl Perkins’ sway, Django Rheinhardt’s swing and an Elvis Presley’s stomp. It’s this classic combination of depressing subject matter and, for the most part, uptempo downbeat that keeps his, and all of country music, from turning into a giant mope-fest.
Brevity and directness are the calling cards of the Southern vernacular, but it’s also the state of being for someone who experienced the closeness of death in the early moments of life. Justin knows what a song should do, “If it doesn’t evoke emotion there’s no point,” he says, itself a comment both on the plasticity of contemporary American country roots music and a manifesto of his artistic goals.
Justin’s music is the acknowledgement of life’s hardship, one’s own hand in it and the awareness that the only thing to be done is to make the most of it. It’s the blues in a different coat, the workingman’s comfort, a moral lesson delivered without moral judgment. Tell us something JTE.
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The Greaser Abides Some 50 years after outcasts drew pomade through their hair, the style and the attitude maintain WORDS Jeremy Dillahunt PHOTOGRAPHY Jim Bennett
Greaser begins and ends with the a particular look: slicked back hair, leather jacket, white t-shirt and blue jeans, but the middle is an amoeba gobbling up and attracting all walks of life. It has moved far beyond its urban, American roots and now calls countries as disparate and Japan, Russia and Mexico home. And while the original inspiration is still in effect, the lifestyle has been adopted and championed by subsequent generations. It’s no wonder since it is, and always has been, the mould for youth rebellion. Each generation must creatively destroy what has come before, and out of those ashes make something new. For some, Greaser is their vehicle to do so.
Greasers—the first wave of American youth rebellion—abide some half-century after they first captured the world’s imagination. But far from an anachronism, the lifestyle, look and sound thrives and flourishes in 21st century. You can see it in on cable’s custom car shows, hear its influences in the Top 40 charts and immerse yourself in it at the dozens of rallies that happen every spring, summer and fall across the U.S.A. The Beatles named themselves after Lee Marvin’s bike gang in the rebel film classic, The Wild One; Marlon Brando’s gang’s name, The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Nic RoulettE (The Hillbilly Casino) at KEXP’s 20th Annual Rockabilly Ball
While some influences are obvious, others are harder to pin down. Greasers may not have created the generational phenomenon of youth rebellion, but they are certainly the first example of it in the United States, if not the world. For them, the 1950s prosperity and sameness of America was not a comfort, it was a straight jacket. Their release came to form the holy trinity of Greaser lifestyle: cars, rock ‘n roll and independence. Cars were things you could
work on, apply your blue-collar knowledge to and make your own. Rock ‘n roll was the soundtrack of life. Independence was expressed as much with the hair and the clothes as it was with any slogans. If you were a greaser, you were simply that, a greaser. But for the average person, being a greaser was like spitting in the eye of society. Greasers were dangerous and unattached. They were different. But the stigma didn’t last forever. Just as the cowboy came to symbolize America’s early historical character, the greaser carries that mantle in contemporary times. A 1970s pop nostalgia for the ‘50s recast Greasers as the lovable Fonzie in the TV sitcom “Happy Days,” and to say that there was anything dangerous about John Travolta in “Grease” is, well, laughable. The lifestyle regained some of its dangerous edge when the punk bands picked up greaser style, but for the most part a greaser is simply seen as something uniquely American, someone a little outside of normal, but not antisocial.
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High and Tight It Ain’t Tomcats Barbershop caters to the local community, and greasers and rockabillies nationwide WORDS Josefina Hellsten PHOTOGRAPHY MARA TABER
Inside Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s, Tomcats Barbershop a grandfatherly man in a suit and fedora reads the paper while a young guy across from him, hat pulled down over his ears, bares a tattoo of a blonde pin-up girl on his arm. A fellow sitting in a barber stool has shaving cream applied to his face by a primly dressed redheaded woman in a sweater and circle skirt. “Hey Joe, get up and hand me the razor behind there,” she yells. Below the proper façade her calves are inked with tattoos of samurai warriors and geisha girls.
The old fashioned ambience is accentuated with red leather barber chairs, pinups and acoustic guitars leaning against the walls. Carl Perkins whines over the speakers, ‘Well, how can you say you will when you won’t… Say you do, baby, when you don’t? Let me know, honey, how you feel… Tell the truth how is love real.’ Outside, Joe Covington, one of the owners, having delivered the razor to Renee, begins polishing his motorcycle. “It’s a ’79 Cranker,” he says with a hint of pride. “I painted it to look like it’s from the 30’s; gave it new forks, fenders, seat and a tail light.” Two years ago, before Tomcats existed, owners Renee and Alex Melnichenko worked fulltime in their custom cycle and hotrod shop. Covington, Alex’s Barber at the time, also worked part-time at the bike shop. One night over drinks Tomcats was conceived by the trio. The idea was to create a traditional barbershop,
one that gave the community a place to hang out, talk and just lounge. And to that end it’s a success. Locals stop by to read the paper, listen to some bluegrass or talk about the Jets game. Word of Tomcats has spread far and wide, however, and the shop has become something of a nexus in the greaser and rockabilly communities. “We’ve had ‘billies come all the way from Maryland to get their hair done here,” says Renee. Derek Hakes, one of the shop’s barbers, explains Tomcats’ niche, “Classic barbers are a dying breed. There aren’t many places you can get a hot towel and razor shave because not many people know how to do it.” Nor are there many who can give a Tomcats client what they want. According to Hakes, rockabilly haircuts require precision. Most of their greaser clients want a customized version
of a pompadour, the classic style in which the hair is shorter on the sides and slicked back but pumped up in the front. “It can be done with or without a Duck’s Ass,” Hakes notes. (A crease in back that goes right through the middle.) “You start with the classics and get creative from there.” Hakes suggests playing around with various pomades, strong hold for control and a lighter one for a looser look, until his client’s find something that suits them. Unlike their forbears, greasers today have many options. “In the 50s, guys used spun lanolin because it’s what they had. It gives a high lacquer shine but virtually no hold, which is why they were always carrying combs around,” says Hakes. No doubt it’s this kind of nerdy attention to the style that keeps Tomcats customers loyal.
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Blue (Collar) Period Greasers gave mass-produced clothes mass-appeal, and in doing so elevated the cultural status of the working class WORDS JOSEFINA HELLSTEN PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID PERRY
When fashion combines with attitude you get something entirely different, you get style. In the 1950s greasers did this with everyday clothing and a rejection of a defacto second-class social status. The uniforms worn to the factory and produced by it—blue jeans, t-shirts, coveralls and work boots—became the look representing working-class pride, outsider status and youth rebellion.
We can say all these things about greaser fashion retrospectively but at the time it was simply the affordable option. Originally the term ‘greaser’ had more to do with the job you had and less to do with your hair or race. Before Levis, Redwing and Dickies were the choice style of youth culture, they were simply companies that made clothes that you could get underneath a car in. They took a beating well—in fact, they took them so well that they became more comfortable as they aged—and they lasted a long time. By default these companies produced the uniforms of the working class at a time when the United States was an industrial country, a country that rewarded technical skill and trade knowledge with salaries that could support a family, buy a home and pay for several college educations. Greasers took clothes that were functional and filled them with an unashamed working class attitude, one that exuded independence, selfreliance and rebellion. “It’s the first fashion that chose the mundane and the everyday in lieu of over-priced and over-conceptualized style,” says Suze McCaffery, a New York City-based fashion consultant. Of course this wasn’t a conscious decision. Like the American cowboy, greasers simply wore what they could afford and what fit into their lifestyle. Which, according to McCaffery, is the character most essential to greaser style’s longevity. “Functional fashion serves your life as it is,” she notes. “It’s not something that says that your life
Where to Look Mainstream contemporary designers continue to reach into Greaser’s past to inspire the present-day. In 2008 Alexander McQueen’s McQ label borrowed heavily from the look as did John Varvatos designs for Converse. Boutique designers like Shipley & Halmos, Mike & Chris, Mary Ping, Kova & T, Chloe and Jeffrey Campbell have all recently included nods to the look in their collections. Outside of fashion, the greaser influence is easy to spot. Musically, rockabilly and punk owes a large piece of its visual canvas to Greasers. Popularly Gwen Stefani, The Stray Cats and Jesse James, of West Coast Choppers and Monster Garage, and model Agyness Deyn consciously evoke the style; even the World Wrestling Entertainment duo Deuce ’n Domino have adopted a greaser look. Clothing stores like Dirty Devil Apparel (dirtydevilapparel.com), Daddy-Os (daddyos. com) and Electric Chair (electricchair.com) cater to the contemporary scene. Of course, the original, old school labels—Levis, Redwings, Converse, Murray’s Pomade and Dickies—are still the look’s standard bearer.
serves something else, like the perpetuation of a corporation.” Greasers were the first to say this, though in a round about way. Before they became the greasers of our popculture imagination—Arthur Fonzarelli or James Dean—they were hoods, children of working class parents who lived in cities and hung out on the block. Their lives weren’t compartmentalized and skills learned in the factory were easily applied to customizing cars. “Work clothes were social clothes, there was no difference” says Eddie McGary, a “lifetime” greaser who grew up in northern New Jersey in the 1950s and 60s. Whether at the drivein, diner, drag strip or simply cruising down the avenue the clothes stayed the same. And like everything else of the look, the trademark slicked-back hair was, “how you covered up dirt picked up on the garage floor,” says McGary. The greaser look wasn’t socially acceptable until popular culture discovered the sales value of the image of rebellious youth. But these incarnations—the standard-issue leather motorcycle jacket, white t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots—have more to do with popculture’s take on the look than its origins. “Back then you could tell where someone was from by the way they styled their hair or wore their t-shirt,” says McGary. The subtle modifications—the tuck of the shirt or roll of a sleeve—we’re all signs that told those who could decipher them, ‘This is who I am, where I’m from and what I stand for.’
PHOTO: JIM BENNETT
THE BLACK CRABS
SCION MAGAZINE - PAGE 55
Up North They Rumble Seattle, Washington, is a rockabilly shangri-la WORDS Ian Anderson PHOTOGRAPHY SIEGE and JIM BENNETT
THE ROY KAY TRIO
Rainy, gray and secluded, Seattle was once described by a disillusioned hippie as, “As far away as you could get from the man and not be in Alaska.” How things have changed. Microsoft, Boeing, Adobe, G7 summits and greasers roving the streets in chopped rods that look like cats in heat. The DIY, leave-mealone desires that marks Seattle as a haven for entrepreneurs, independents and loners fits the Greaser mentality perfectly, and they have indelibly marked Seattle as a home for all things pomade and twang.
The Cranial Proctologist Much of the credit for Seattle’s place on the Rockabilly map lies square on the shoulders of a steel driving man. Metal dealer by trade, Doctor Leon Berman spends his Friday nights hosting the Rockabilly show “Shake the Shack” for local public radio station KEXP. When asked about the “Doctor” moniker, he claims to be a “cranial proctologist.” This sense of humor shines even brighter on the show, but surprisingly, it’s not what keeps
people listening. Berman took over the slot in 1986 and though he completely lacked radio experience, Leon did have something more vital to a DJ: a killer record collection.
wasn’t easy. “A lot of bands,” he laughs, “didn’t believe this actually takes place in Seattle.” Word of mouth, and a lot of help from a billionaire, would eventually change this.
At the time, KEXP (then KCMU) had only a fifteen-mile broadcast radius—just enough to turn listeners on to Rockabilly’s infectious rhythms and superb musicianship. “Shake the Shack has influenced all of us,” says Marshall Scott Warner, a local drummer and bandleader who cites the mere presence of Berman’s show as a big reason the genre has flourished in Seattle. “If you expose people to the music,” says Berman, “they will dig it.”
At the turn of this century, KCMU joined with Paul Allen’s, co-founder of Microsoft, Experience Music Project to become KEXP, and nearly doubled its signal strength. More importantly, it began broadcasting online, in effect taking Shake the Shack global. Aficionados tuned in from Spain, Sweden, South America and Japan. As Berman would discover from the constant influx of emails, “in almost every country there’s a rockabilly scene,” and now each one knew exactly what Seattle was up to. Fans from outside the U.S. began requesting tickets to the Rockabilly Ball, and bands started soliciting spots in the lineup.
At the end of his first year on the air, Berman curated Seattle’s inaugural Rockabilly Ball, a celebration of the lifestyle, fashion and, of course, sound. It featured all of two bands and one night of music. Twenty-one years later the ball lasted three days, included eighteen performances and a Hot Rod car show, all motivated by Berman’s desire to see his favorite Rockabilly bands live. In the early going, this
A Pomade Crucible Rockabilly’s gravitational shift towards the upper west corner of the map included old school artists like Wanda Jackson and Ronnie
Dawson. The old-timers and regional groups, including Ray Condo and Jo Miller and Her Burly Roughnecks, would heavily influence local musicians like Warner who carry the Rockabilly torch. “Seattle has bands that run the gamut from Rockabilly Revival bands to Psychobilly,” says Jonathan “Johnny 7” Stuart. His band, The Black Crabs, recently toured Europe, but remains a staple of the hometown scene, earning one of those coveted slots at this year’s Rockabilly Ball. “We all know one another and often sit-in [with] other bands.” Stuart also attributes this thriving creative community to Shake the Shack, which has always supported local live music. The scene centers around Ballard, an artsy neighborhood in the northwest part of town. Here, you’ll routinely find Rockabilly and Roots shows at the Conor Byrne pub, or across the street at the larger Tractor Tavern, which has hosted the Ball for the past decade. Up the avenue a little ways is Bop Street Records, the city’s best source for classic vinyl, and in nearby Fremont, a bevy of thrift stores provide the sort of vintage threads that make Rockabillies the best-dressed of all musical subcultures.
Brothel Creepers Though diggin Rockabilly doesn’t necessitate copping a retro look, it’s definitely part of the program. It’s that rarest of cultures where men in colorful suits or embroidered jackets don’t look out of place, even standing next to guys in bowling shirts or the greaser classic white tees and brothel creepers (shoes). Gals likewise can range from prim shirtwaist dresses, peppier poodle skirts with crinoline slips, and the more scandalous, by 50s standards, pinup looks. Associations between rockabilly and drag racing or burlesque cultures of the 50s may be somewhat conflated, but here in the 21stcentury they’re intrinsically linked. Local vintage car clubs with names like The Rooks and The Coffins boast a lot of Rockabilly members, and the newly opened Motor Club on 1st Ave. hosts a Thursday night burlesque show that appeals to pinup’s visual sensibilities, if not the music.
But to the faithful, being seen is no substitute for a top tier performance, and to many of the musicians in town, preserving the quality of the music trumps any fashion show. “When I think of traditional music I don’t think about reliving the past, following some set of esoteric rules, wearing the “right” kind of clothes,” says Roy Kay, of longtime local favorite, The Roy Kay Trio. More relevant than attire is an interest in good music: “It’s simply diggin’ a certain sound so much that I want to be a part of it.”
Jive Floor There aren’t many regular events to be a part of, but the third Friday of each month Leon Berman broadcasts from Slim’s Last Chance Chili Shack, where the RAB heads convene to catch the Northwest’s best acts on stage (and eat chili). You may also dine to good Rockabilly shows on occasion at the acoustically sound
Highway 99 Blues Club, or seek out the original roadhouse vibe at the Shanty Tavern or the Anchor Pub in nearby Everett. Locals usually find out about shows by word of mouth, though the uninitiated may keep up on the website ForceWeb.com. Additionally, both Yahoo and MySpace feature a Seattle Rockabilly Central group. Each have played a role in bringing the community together, going back to the mid-nineties, though naturally changing tastes, interests and priorities have scattered the group a bit today. For example, Knuck’s band, Drag Strip Riot, is not, he stresses, technically Rockabilly, though the influence is unmistakable, even as it verges with punk and surf rock, both of which have shared the music’s energy and panache over the years. “Seasons change,” Knuck says, “but ultimately the Rockabilly crowd in Seattle really just wants to hear some good tunes and dance.”
OPPOSITE: Jimmy Kolodziej (The Mighty 18 Wheeler) at KEXP’s 20th Annual Rockabilly Ball ABOVE: Nic Roulette (The Hillbilly Casino) at KEXP’s 20th Annual Rockabilly Ball RIGHT: OUTSIDE THE TRACTOR TAVERN at KEXP’s 20th Annual Rockabilly Ball
Ruby Dee, of Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, echoes this sentiment, describing the Seattle scene as “fairly constant overall. There are always good bands, good venues and great crowds who come to the shows.” Ruby leans to the country sound of rockabilly, which of course jives with the original Memphis, Tennessee, approach; the unwitting soundtrack of the national character. “The crowds are incredibly diverse,” she says, “You’ll see lanky cowpokes two-stepping alongside hardcore greasers, and your next door neighbor’s doing the stroll.” This happens in America, and more precisely in Seattle, Washington, international home of Rockabilly.
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Talk the Talk Like any subculture, greasers have their own manner of expressing the world WORDS Jeremy Dillahunt
Greaser is a universally adoptable lifestyle. Its expressions did not grow out of ethnic mashups of accent and language—such as Brooklyn’s Dutch influences which substitute “th” with “d”; “dis,” “dem” and “de” for “this,” “them” and “the.” Instead, Greaser lingo is defined by a poetic, metaphorical street quality whose subjects are all things Greasers find attractive: girls, cars and rebellion.
Call it on: To arrange a rumble Brushmush: Mustache Cold Cut: Jerk Pardon: Diploma Off The Cob: Corny Home Cooked: Excellent Job man: A social worker who tries to help gang members. Gangs saw it as an indicator of how tough they were Potent Little Pigeon: A stylish girl King Size: Really nice Early Black: Evening Pucker Paint: Lipstick Latch Your Lashes: Look at that P-38: A fit girl Folding Lettuce: Paper money Drafted: A guy with a girlfriend Tell Me Another While That One’s Still Warm: I don’t believe you Skin Me: Shake hands You Aren’t Just Beating Your Gums?: You’re serious? On The Buttered Side: An attractive girl Wolf Bait: A young or naïve girl Bopping: Fighting against a rival gang Cool it: To call off the rumble Fair one: A fight without weapons Chickie: Police Hey Chickie: warning the Cops are coming Hack: beat, or walking, cop Neck Happy: Hickies
SCION MAGAZINE - PAGE 59
ABOUT TOWN
Artist SoMe and friend at SCION SPACE, LA
ERIC NAKAMURA & Sheldon Candis at EASY 10, LA
French, David Choe & Kenton Parker at Installation 5 art tour, Miami
Dirty Dave & Franki Chan at Scion House Party, LA
Juan MacLean at Scion House Party, LA
Pink with artist Jodee Knowles At SCION SPACE, LA
German superstars in front of the title wall “Fairytale of Berlin” at SCION SPACE, LA
Berlin artists in the rabbit hole “Fairytale of Berlin” at SCION SPACE, LA
Stephanie Ortiz, Max Perlich, Kai Perez at EASY 10, NYC
PAGE 60 - SCION MAGAZINE
ABOUT TOWN
Exhibiting artists having a grand time CURATED by Giant Robot, SCION SPACE, LA
Ron English and Daze at Installation 5 art tour, Miami
Jason “Wee Man” Acuña at Scion Metal Show, LA
Todd Tourso, Topher and French at Installation 5 art tour, miami
Meredith Danluck, Jake Burghart at EASY 10, LA
Shepard Fairey and Blek Le Rat At SCION SPACE, LA
Michael Rapaport AND Big Daddy Kane AT EASY 10, LA
Retro Kidz and C-Rayz Walz at EASY 10, NYC
Trash Talk’s Lee Spielman and friends at Scion Metal Show, LA
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