T A F O O T KATE S TO Issue #4
PAGAN · FULL OF HELL · LAKE MICHIGAN
INTRODUCTION
So here we are again, writing the introduction to your least favourite zine’s new issue….Too Fat to Skate Issue #4! We really need to get our affairs in order and start releasing these in a proper static timeframe but Harry and I just moved out of our previous residence so that’s essentially taking up the last, well, since we put out our last issue. In this issue, we give our unwanted opinion on what our favourite albums of last year and we couldn’t agree on one so you’ll get ten opinions of ten albums. What a treat!
Words by Matt Lynch.
I have a chat to some grouse bands too; the one man wonder and endearing bedroom pop that is Lake Michigan; Australia’s most phenomenal cult leaders Pagan; and a band I was shitting myself over, Full of Hell. I extend my love out to those bands from the bottom of my heart. You should listen to them all, if you’ve not done that already. Also, a huge thank you is extended to the gentleman who took our cover, Flavio Brandli. The man know his way around the camera and gave us such a good spread, it was hard to actually choose what we wanted to use. He also plays bass in a super grouse Brisbane band called Dangerpenny and can do really high punk jumps and he knows a lot about Seinfeld.
This issue looks beautiful because our good friend and staunch supporter, Megan Starr-Thomas of The Brisbane Collective worked her magic. Thank you, you legend. You are the true MVP.
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MATT’S TOP FIVE OF 2016 PUP - The Dream Is Over (Side One Dummy Records) Straight away, this is a damn fine punk record. Without a doubt there are some wonderfully self-depreciative moments on here but you never get the sense that this is a downer of a record because of how damn funny some of the lines and how relatable Stefan Babcock’s story telling is. Plus, the seamless transition between “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” and “DVP” makes those two opening tracks an incredibly memorable one-two punch. Their debut record showed much of the same shameless emotion and shambolic charm but on “The Dream Is Over”, the Toronto quartet have improved exponentially and crafted a record that is a charming as it is haunting, and ultimately come out victorious. “The Dream Is Over” holds itself in high regard and while happily takes its own legs out from underneath it. The overall rawness of the Canadian gents captured with this release channels itself into the frantic paces of “My Life’s Over and I couldn’t Be Happier” and “Old Wounds” and maintains the heart-on-the-sleeve mentality when “Pine Point” brings the album to a triumphant close. This record is a benchmark for modern punk. It’s devoid of the anti-establishment anger of previous eras and sets about dissecting yourself because you can’t deign to function without first analysing yourself.
Clever - KEWDI UDI (Homeless Records) The soundtrack to bombing a hill on a skateboard, drinking whiskey straight from the bottle, with a nail bomb strapped to your chest, Clever are a band not for the faint of heart. A train wreck you can’t tear yourself away from. KEWDI UDI sounds like fever dream, what happens when you’re trapped in your head while it’s racing with anxious and agitated thoughts and you can’t escape it. It’s paranoia. It’s a bad acid trip. It’s made to make you feel uneasy. It’s a record that makes you simultaneously misanthropic and self-concerned. It grips you with the angular guitars, keeps you on your toes with the rapid fire and ever changing drumming, puts an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach with the throbbing bass rumble, and launches an aural assault on your ears and tried to alienate you with the howling, animalistic vocals. Clever play at a pace alluding to a possible self-destruction as a result of committed every ounce of their person into each songs. If they’re not trying to finish a song before you’ve had a chance to settle and find some logic in the musical chaos, they’re lurking. They’re stalking. They’re plotting. Interpersonal and My Head are perfect examples of the later. Both have droning guitar lines that lull you into a false sense of security and by the time you’ve been bashed upside of your ugly mug by a spastic burst from the rest of the instrumentation, you’re left dazed and bewildered. KEWDI UDI is pointedly anti-social, a combination of equal parts alienation and distaste, and a desire to create an outlet for such a point of view. To say that this quartet is from Brisbane makes me brim with (ridiculous) local pride and I cannot wait for an opportunity to see them again.
Homeboy Sandman - Kindness for Weakness (Stones Throw Records) Kindness for Weakness is a record that cannot be pigeonholed, much like the artist behind it. Admittedly, this is the first Homeboy Sandman I’ve listened to and this was such a perfect introduction to a guy who’s been dropping game changers for years. This record has so much variety, not just in Homeboy Sandman’s flow and lyrical content but also in the extensive list of different producers who jumped on board for this project. The dreamy eyed nod to the Father Almighty on God brings about involuntary head bobbing, Keep It Real will cause rap hands to be thrown and poor impression of your favourite rappers to be delivered. This record also is home to my favourite punchline all year, being just one step of ahead of Denzel Curry’s “I’m like Jesus with a blacker penis, that is fucking genius. Who says Jesus can’t be a black guy? Even Luke Skywalker’s father was on the darkside.” Homeboy drops a killer play on words and is possibly the only rapper I’ve heard to use the word “minotaur” in a song. The line in question on the track Real New York and is as follows “Know that you’ll fans of ours. You talk shit like senators. Go half ass like minotaurs”. I was wheezing with laughter hearing that for the first time and it’s stuck with me all year. Kindness for Weakness shows Homeboy Sandman’s iron grip on his rhyme schemes, while he switches up his flows constantly over a myriad of unique instrumentals, all the while maintaining an audible charming smile. The features that pop up here as well don’t steal the limelight away from the album artist but what they do, and do quite well, is create chemistry between Homeboy Sandman and his guests. Mystro delivers a scathing verse on Keep It Real addresses the apparent disregard for lyricism that emerging hip hop artists are now embracing (see: essentially every member of this year’s XXL Freshman class sans Lil Dicky, Anderson .Paak, and Denzel Curry), while the almost cypher-esque Earth, Wind, Fire, Water has a triple up of features, all of which are knocked clean out of the proverbial ball park. Aesop Rock makes a small gratuitous appearance alongside Kurious and Breeze Brewin, which makes sense seeing as Aes and Angel dropped the second edition of their LICE project not long after. It could be my heavy bias towards essentially any record that Stones Throw put out or it could be my absolute adoration for wordy rappers who drop thought provoking and witty bars of jazzy, organic instrumentals but for whatever reason it may be, Homeboy Sandman’s Kindness for Weakness, in my opinion, is a future classic.
Aesop Rock The Impossible Kid (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
I’ve tried for so long to get into Aesop Rock. He’s the exact kind of obtuse, slightly nerdy, and enigmatic artist that I eat up like a bowl of Cornflakes with honey and bananas (which is exactly what I had for breakfast). His discography had always intrigued me but there was always something that didn’t really click for me. He had solid flow, mind-blowing wordplay, and an unrivalled ability to deliver these pummelling bars with ease; but it was too close to word-soup for me….and then comes along The Impossible Kid. Right from the very start of this LP, everything clicked for me. Everything down to the Alex Pardee designed cover, the artist who Aes references in Lotta Years, is a culmination of what I loved. For me, this is Aesop Rock at his most actualised and focused project. Rather than flexin’ constantly on his absolutely stunning vocabulary, he spends most of this project crafting visceral and vivid imagery. I mean, who else can make a song about their cat as much of a banger as Aes does on Kirby? Short answer; not many if any. Blood Sandwich struck a chord with me and it was that chord that was the turning point to falling in love with this record. Each time I listened to this in full, I’d pick up on a line that I didn’t realise the last time. Aesop Rock’s unique ability is to get his audience involved in his music. It makes you think, it makes commit time to his work and that work will only yield a greater connection. Seriously, sit there with this record on and read the Rapgenius annotations for any song off this project and the depth behind all of these tracks in simply stunning. All of the production is handled by the man himself and this only strengthens The Impossible Kid. Grimey boom-bap beats punctuate Aes’ aggressive and relentless flow, with the only respite we’re given is on Get Out the Car, a song that is morose in it’s own way; detailing the death of fellow American MC Camu Tao. This juxtaposition between a lighter instrumental and slightly more morbid song add so much weight to this track, not to mention the transition between this and Shrunk links the subject matter together incredibly well. This record is one of those releases that will keep drawing you back for repeated listens and each time you succumb to its power, you’re going to be rewarded. It’s kind of like Seinfeld in that way, I guess. The more time you commit to it, the more you’ll appreciate. That or I’m just drawing similarities between this album and that show because I’m obsessed with both.
Dikembe Hail Something (Rorschach Records) Gainsville four-come-three piece Dikembe are a musical anomaly, or so they’ve admitted. Whether that refers to their knack for writing songs that sneaks under your skin and project your inner most thoughts into audio or if it implies that they write guitar riffs that make you think “fuck yes, it’s this song” during every intro, I’m not sure. What I am sure about though is that Hail Something is a record that houses crushing negatives alongside the soaring positives and bringing them to the forefront of your mind and then telling you that it’s okay, they know how you feel. Hail Something is far more confessional than previous efforts and is an honest reflection of the past year of the band’s life. In that sense, it’s an emo record. In another, it’s a cathartic journey to be invited on and experience as Dikembe drive you through personal turmoils with walls of down-strummed guitars, beastly drums, and nimble lines. From when opener and eponymous song Hail Something crashes into your consciousness after a few bars of luring guitars to the fuzzy sustained outro and audio sample of Eat, this record doesn’t let go of your hand as it leads you through a series of reflective and self-analytic songs. Vocalist Steven Gray shows of his vocal versatility and his delivery really solidifies the nature of this record. He comes across as deeply earnest throughout but sounds anxious as he wails through Box Spring, slightly exhausted at the end of Shelf, and pleading of both All Wrong and Fix. This record isn’t all sullen and downtrodden but the inclusion the emotional dichotomy is what makes it as great as it is. This record’s narrative is placed on top of some of the best three chord emo / punk that leans slightly more towards alternate rock with the sheer size of the instrumentals being banged out by three dudes. Steven’s guitars are constantly switching between the quiet / loud dynamic. When they’re loud, you’ll be hit with down-strummed chords that’ll make you air guitar. When they’re quiet, they work in small melodic lines that’ll latch onto your brain and you’ll be humming them for weeks to come. I can’t stand the term “emo revival” that’s been brought back into vogue of late and so many bands are riding that wave. While jumping on that bandwagon, they’ve flooded the market. Luckily, we’ve got bands like Dikembe who have been consistently putting out wonderful releases since their debut EP (which I recently found out had a fucking Freaks and Geeks audio sample in it) and look like they’re going to operate well outside the trend and continue to make guitar driven, emotionally charged music. Maybe that’s why the call themselves an anomaly.
HARRY’S TOP FIVE OF 2016 BIG UPS Before A Million Universes (Exploding In SounD Records) Been a long-time fan and viewer of The Needle Drop, there was a recommendation about this album in Fantano’s “Albums I’m Anticipating in 2016” video earlier in the year where he described the band as, “…noisey, hardcore-punk…” Immediately this passage of words caught my attention and I was very eager for the album’s release, especially after hearing the slow-burning lead single, “National Parks”. The result is a mixed bag of exhausting and snappy tracks with just the right amount of roughness on the production side of things. As well as the occasional monotone, spoken word venture that could have easily found a home on Slint’s “Spiderland”.
FRANKIE COSMOS Next Thing (Bayonet Records) I came into contact with Frankie Cosmos one late night whilst scrolling aimlessly through my Facebook feed. I was impressed with how prolific songwriter Greta Kline was after having a quick browse of the band’s back catalogue. But the thing that drew me the most to Cosmos’ music was how beautifully concise, warming and to the point her songs were. It could be argued that Next Thing could be ranked as a “punk album” due to it clocking in under the 30-minute mark. But for what little time the album has, it makes up for it with some of the best lo-fi recordings that could give bands like the Moldy Peaches a run for their money.
LUME Perennial Phase (Mayfly Records) After seven years, the heart and sole-owner of Mayfly Records, Bob Mayfly, decided to put the label on hiatus. But not without putting out some fantastic releases in 2016. One of them that appealed the most to me was LUME’s debut effort, “Perennial Phase”. The Chicago three-piece channels lush reverberated waves of fuzzed out riffs across a series of eight tracks that flow effortlessly into one another. Giving nostalgic nods that are reminiscent of the 90’s shoegaze, slowcore and post-hardcore era. The band is currently wrapping up production on their sophomore release, so expect a lot of hype on the Too Fat To Skate Facebook page coming from yours truly as we gather more details.
PITY SEX White Hot Moon (Run For Cover Records) Despite the unfortunate news of member Britty Drake leaving the quartet shortly after the album’s release and the announcement of a “indefinite hiatus” in October last year; the Michigan outfit were successful in pulling off another stellar record. Stand out tracks like, “Burden You” dance between jangly chord progressions and pummeling walls of fuzz as Brennan Greaves and Britty Drake exchange lyrics like, “I’ll never say I love/because you know I still do” and “I want your summer, salty skin/without yours, mine is wearing thin”. Drake accounts the passing and the final days of her Mother in “Plum”. It’s another example of how Pity Sex is able to perfectly execute and tackle head on the darkest of themes at times.
RADIOHEAD – A Moon Shaped Pool (XL Recordings) I couldn’t make this list without including this particular album. Fans and critics began to speculate the possibility of a new album after the bands presence disappeared from the internet in early May after deleting all content from their social media. After receiving a digital release within a week, it became clear it was the album Radiohead fans deserved. Opening track and lead single, “Burn The Witch” showcases some of Johnny Greenwoods brilliant orchestral arranging and a brooding drum machine and synth track layered underneath before it all erupts into a screeching climax at the conclusion of the song. According to science the album also contains the saddest Radiohead track to date, as well so what isn’t to love about this album?
PAGAN Words By Matt Lynch.
Simply by reading this, you’re being welcomed in the cult. Melbourne’s very own Pagan have been inducting members into their cult since 2013 and have recently earned the chance to expose that to the widest audience they’ve had to date, opening up the proceedings at this year’s Unify Gathering Festival. Having released a number of barn storming singles throughout 2016 and touring with all time legends Totally Unicorn, Pagan are poised to continue to spread the good word and will ultimately take over Australia. Lover of Norwegian black metal and true crime buff, Nikki, Pagan’s vocalist, had a chin wag with Matt about being dubbed the “Tour MVP”, taking band aesthetics seriously, and not limiting themselves in a rigid mentality.
PAGAN Cont. Firstly hey! How’s it going? Hey! I’m really well, thanks for asking! Firstly hey! How’s it going? Straight up, a massive congratulations to you for nabbing the Triple J Unearthed opening spotHey! for 2017’s Unify I’m really well,Gathering thanks forfestival. asking! You’ll be playing alongside a handful of bands who we personally love; namely the legendary Alexisonfire, and Every Time I Die. How keen are you to beup, a part of that?congratulations to you for nabbing the Triple J Unearthed opening Straight a massive spot for 2017’s Unify Gathering Festival. You’ll be playing alongside a handful of bands all super love; excited and honestly feel so honoured to have chosen of so many whoWe weare personally namely the legendary Alexisonfire, andbeen Every Time out I Die. How great Unify. When Josh Merriel (host of Triple J’s Short Fast Loud) called me keen are bands you toto beopen a part of that? with the news, I had no idea we were even in the running for the spot. I thought he was just calling for a chat! It didn’t click that feel I was recorded untilbeen about half way the We areme all super excited and honestly sobeing honoured to have chosen outthrough of so many interview, so to myopen reaction a lot of swearing I was soFast excited - which great bands Unify.contained When Josh Merriel (host ofbecause Triple J’s Short Loud) calledwas me thankfully edited out no of the it aired on the for radio night! I was he so was chuffed with the news, I had ideainterview we werebefore even in the running thethat spot. I thought just that weme were it feltclick especially exciting, justuntil gotten back from with the calling forpicked a chat!and It didn’t that I was beinghaving recorded about half waytour through Totally Unicorn. few of us grew up alistening to bandsbecause like Alexisonfire ETID, so it’llwas be interview, so myAreaction contained lot of swearing I was so and excited - which pretty special knowing played the same festival some bands shaped the way thankfully edited out of we thehave interview before it aired on theas radio that night!that I was so chuffed we music a young age. exciting, having just gotten back from tour with thatthought we wereabout picked and at it felt especially Totally Unicorn. A few of us grew up listening to bands like Alexisonfire and ETID, so it’ll be Having played the Yours & earlier this yearsasassome well,bands and now the the Unify pretty special knowing weOwls havefestival played the same festival thatwith shaped way festival being locked in to your schedule, we thought about music at a young age. have you found approaching these larger festival performances with a different psyche than you would to a club or bar show? Having played the Yours & Owls festival earlier this years as well, and now with the Unify I think Yours & Owls a huge learninghave curveyou for us as itapproaching was the first festival of that festival scale festival being locked inwas to your schedule, found these larger any of us have played. We werethan all pretty nervoustoata the thought playing on such a big performances withever a different psyche you would club or barofshow? stage and opening for so many amazing bands. When it came down to it though, I made it my mantra to just&have laughing through of as theitset was such a surreal I think Yours Owlsfun. wasI awas huge learning curve half for us wasbecause the first itfestival of that scale experience. It was so great playallwith some of my at best a cool festival. any of us have everjust played. We to were pretty nervous thefriends, thoughtatofsuch playing on such a big Everyone worked on many Yoursamazing & Owls was so lovely professional, all ofIthe other stage and who opening for so bands. Whenand it came down to itand though, made it my bands sohave supportive. I was genuinely so grateful we because were given a spot onathe linemantrawere to just fun. I was laughing through half of that the set it was such surreal up. I think I will approach exactly same attitude I did Yours & Owls. I definitely experience. It was just so Unify great with to play with the some of my best friends, at such a cool festival. don’t wantwho to put too much pressure on myself I stilland want to make every stage Everyone worked on Yours & Owls was sobut lovely professional, and moment all of theon other count, weso have a fairly short slot. Hopefully there a few hung-over punters who bands as were supportive. I wastime genuinely so grateful thatwill webe were given a spot on the linedecide to check us out early, But even if not,the I’msame goingattitude to haveI adid fucking anyway! up. I think I will approach Unify with exactly Yours ball & Owls. I definitely don’t want to put too much pressure on myself but I still want to make every moment on stage Thecount, appearance at Yours & Owls really nicely conjunction with your recentwho as we have a fairly short coincided time slot. Hopefully thereinwill be a few hung-over punters tourdecide with the wonderful that are Totally Unicorn. It was a pretty to check us outgentleman early, But even if not, I’m going to have a fucking ballextensive anyway! tour that you joined in on, and if I’m not wrong, it was your first major east coast tour you’ve done as Pagan. Firstly, how did you find your firstnicely major in touring experience? The appearance at Yours & Owls coincided really conjunction with your recent tour with the wonderful gentleman that are Totally Unicorn. It was a pretty extensive tour all really when wewrong, got asked by your Totallyfirst Unicorn join them theyou’ve Dream thatWe youwere joined in on,excited and if I’m not it was majortoeast coaston tour Life I know it sounds cliché for first our first tourtouring together, there is honestly no way done astour. Pagan. Firstly, how like did a you findbut your major experience? it could have gone any better. We hadn’t met most of the guys in Unicorn before, so we were all little nervous how wellwe everyone would get along but after ourthem first on night Weawere all really about excited when got asked by Totally Unicorn to join theplaying Dream together, were all instantly best friends. It was one tour of the best times of is our lives and Life tour. Iwe know it sounds like a cliché but for our first together, there honestly no we waynot only became closerany as abetter. band We (andhadn’t muchmet tighter at of playing live)inbut we also madesolife-long it could have gone most the guys Unicorn before, we were friends with the Unicorns. At the show ofwould the tour, did a but littleafter thank and had all a little nervous about how welllast everyone get Ialong ouryou firstspeech night playing to stop before I finished as I was about to burst into tears! together, we were all instantly best friends. It was one of the best times of our lives and we not
Secondly, how was touring with Totally Unicorn? Like I said, it was a time of my life I will never forget. I know it sounds cheesy but it was so incredible play shows with a band that I love so much and also make real friendships with these beautiful people. I was warned that the Unicorn guys party pretty hard and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to keep up… I go to bed at 10pm most nights, haha! But I think we all surprised ourselves and definitely kept up. Matt even awarded me “Tour MVP” for my ability to party as hard as/harder than everyone else, but then switch into Mum mode when it was time to get shit done. Dan was pretty off it because he usually organises everything, but he is useless after a wild night. Haha! Seeing the Unicorns play every night was amazing. Drew is one of the best front-people I have ever seen and no two shows are ever the same, but that band is always incredible, no matter how big or small the show. My favourite thing about them is that they don’t take themselves too seriously. They are all gifted musicians and make killer music, but it is so refreshing to see a heavy band that can still have fun. One thing that surrounds you is the semi-serious cult that you’ve created around your band. It doesn’t have the same intensity as some other and comes across as very tongue in cheek, even down to the artwork for your singles, which was done by your sister. Did you always have that idea to craft that kind of band aesthetic? I think at the very start of writing music together, we didn’t really have a specific idea of what Pagan was going to sound like, let alone how we were going to present ourselves. As we started writing and recording, however, our imagery and designs came to us really organically. We thought it would be really great to play up to our sound of “blackened rock and roll” and the more we started writing, the more our sound and image and this “cult persona” took shape. I am a huge fan of Norwegian Black Metal, so we drew some inspiration from bands of this genre, and some of the way we market ourselves is also drawn from that. Having Dan and Matt in the band, who are both gifted writers really helps with the tongue in cheek aspect of the band as well. Like the music we make, we take our aesthetic pretty seriously - every Facebook status to new t-shirt design is thought about in meticulous detail. Speaking of those singles, you’ve a few of those releases up on your bandcamp available to download as well as your demo. I spoke to Matt after the Brisbane show of the Dream Life tour at The Foundry and he said you all work full time. Does working and general life happenings inhibit a full Pagan release? Yeah, it’s true that we all have a lot going on outside of the band, which definitely takes its toll on being able to tour or write an album. I think in a way it’s good though, because it makes us really think about what we want to do as a band and if we are going to tour or write, we really put 110% into it. All the singles you’ve recorded thus far have been done through High Tension guitarist Mike Deslandes at The Black Lodge in Brunswick, who’s done work for both Poison City and Resist records. He also recorded your friends Have/Hold’s new record as well. Was that how that relationship started? Dan had heard a lot of new stuff that Mike had recorded (Have/Hold’s album included) and loved his work, so put the idea of recording with him forward. We also used to rehearse at what is now The Black Lodge, when it was still Three Phase, so it felt really natural to record
PAGAN Cont. there as well. The guys had all done some recording at that space with previous bands, so we knew we were making the right decision. How’s the experience recording with him been so far? As soon as we started working with Mike, we all instantly hit it off. He is so talented at what he does and so great to work with. He is a total perfectionist, which I love and is really great at giving feedback, which I find really important when you’re recording. After seeing what he did with Xave, Dan and Matt’s tracks, I was a really excited to record vocals with him. We did them at his home studio, so I felt completely comfortable and we had heaps of fun in the process. I must say, I was a little worried I was going to lose my voice as he pushed me so hard every take, but that’s exactly what I needed. There is nowhere to hide with Mike, if you do a take and know it’s not your best, he will pick up on it right away and make you do it again. I love working with him and wish him all the success in the world. One single that garnered a lot of attention your way was “Wine and Lace”. Not only was that a ripper of a song but the lyrical content revolves around the Lawson Family murders. There was a blues band that had a song that covered the same events or had a similar theme around it. How’d you translate that into a Pagan song? It’s funny because the blues band, Elephant Micah, actually inspired me to write my own song about the Lawson Family Massacre. I had listened to their song on a podcast, which was so beautifully done, and became obsessed with the story of Charlie Lawson murdering his family. I am a huge fan of True Crime, therefore some of my lyrics in the past have touched on things I have read about, but after reading more about the Lawson Family I knew I wanted to write an entire song about them. I was inspired to write the lyrics because I wanted to tell the victim’s stories and had so much inspiration to write because of the feelings that story evoked in me. The lyrics are still very symbolic and personal, but I think there are certain lyrics that a listener may be able to relate to. Pagan has been a project running since roughly 2013 and is a coming together of your previous bands with Dan playing in Cavalcade and Matt and Xave playing in Kill the Matador. Has playing in those bands given you a different ethos with this one? I think that Xave, Dan and Matt learnt a lot from their experiences playing in those bands, but definitely don’t dwell on the past much. They were a lot younger when those bands started, and were very in to writing Propagandhi sounding songs which is fine, but also very rigid. I think their bands ended because they personally felt very limited, both musically and by the community around them and they just outgrew it. I’m sure those bands and that scene were pivotal in helping them get through their early 20s, but once it all had served its purpose they were very ready to move on. After that, Dan and I put some time into getting our other punk band, Little Lamb & The Rosemary’s going, but Matt and Xavier took some time away from bands all together. There was about 2 years between the time those bands stopped and Pagan playing its first show, which is a lot of time in between for travel and study and just genuinely figuring out who you are, I suppose.
When it came time to start writing for Pagan it was a really clean slate for the dudes with a lot of new ideas and direction. With that said though, it’s great that those bands existed because not only did it bring the three of them together to start Pagan with me, but I think it also gave them a really good insight into things like song writing and flow, as well as touring and releasing music sensibly, and also shaped their moral stance on music based on the things they were seeing a need for like wanting to encourage more girls, queer folk and people of varying cultures to be actively involved. While your songs do blend elements of punk, hardcore, and metal, you’ve adopted more of a rock ‘n roll styling. Those heavier influences are definitely prevalent in your music but they often have a more ironclad and rigid mentality behind them. Does embracing rock n’ roll free up your style and allow for more artistic freedom? I think just the fact that we aren’t trying to sound like any other band, definitely gives us artistic freedom. As you mentioned, we have sounds that inspire us but none of us have ever wanted to sound like anything in particular, so I think that’s what helps us to sound unique. The rock and roll style came out of nowhere, we just found it instinctively and it has worked ever since, which is I think what makes it rock and roll to begin with. To be honest, I really don’t understand bands who want to be a carbon copy of another band. I have known musicians in the past to say “I’m starting a new band, who wants to join - it will sound like (insert famous band name here)”- this attitude to music really annoys me. Obviously nothing artistic is ever completely original and everyone finds inspiration from somewhere, but if you’re flat out just trying to sound like someone else, where is the truth in that? Your first sold out headlining show was at The Tote not too long ago on Good Friday. Was that a surreal experience? It was certainly surreal and such a positive experience, it really gave us all the vote of confidence that we needed as a new band. The fact that we had been jamming for just under a year meant that we were all so ready to play a show. What surprised all of us was that there were so many people there who were excited to finally see Pagan. You’ve gone from strength from strength this year and it’s been a pretty big one for you. What’s the plan for 2017? We definitely have a few things in the pipeline already. Let’s just say that band practice of late has consisted of a lot of writing new material…. I’ll let you figure the rest out. Any final words or shout outs? Listen to Removalist, encourage girls to start bands and worship Satan. Listen here: www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/pagan Find more: www.facebook.com/pagancult666
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ULL OF HELL Words By Matt Lynch. Full of Hell are one of those bands that will always peak my interest, no matter what they release because since the beginning of their career, they’ve gone further than pushing the envelope. Instead, the Maryland quartet have kicked over your mailbox, thrown the postman’s bike off the bridge and firebombed the post office. Prolific in nature and constantly evolving their sound through collaboration, splits, noise compilations and a collection of undeniably brilliant albums, Full of Hell are one of the most exciting and interesting bands currently running. We were lucky enough to have chat with the band’s guitarist Spencer about the band’s vision, his love of Pinkerton, and why Dave Bland is the uglier Jane Doe. Please note: If you’re after questions regarding their collaboration with Merzbow, stop reading now. Those questions have been done to death.
FULL OF HELL Cont. Firstly, hey dude! How’s it going? Oh, pretty good I suppose. You’ve just released a 7” split with Nails, which is a complete blast of aggression from both bands. Both sides of the split are dealing with a kind of war, with the Nails side being focused externally to detrimental powers and your side is introspectively looking at the innate human violence in our genealogy. Firstly, how did the split come about? I guess Dylan (Walker) had been in contact with Todd (Jones) over the years and they had talked about wanting both bands to be involved with something together whether it be touring or a split. Todd started to come hangout every time we toured out to California and we became friends. I guess the split actually came to be out a mutual respect for each other’s art. The discography for Full of Hell is as remarkably prolific as it is sonically vast. Spanning all your records, split, collaborative records, and noise compilations, there is an overlying sense that no matter how aurally different each release is, they fit within the vision for Full of Hell. What is your vision for this band? My vision is just to write music that I would like to hear. To take as many influences as possible and build on them. That’s one reason we try not to define ourselves by a genre. We don’t call ourselves grind or powerviolence, etc because we don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves. We want our influences on our sleeve and we want to try to push ourselves musically as well. Being birthed out of the hardcore scene, something that your roots are still deeply entrenched in, there has been an overlying stigma of it being a relatively reductive genre that often lacks much depth. How’ve you found your constant evolution received within that community? Results can vary for sure especially when we doing something that’s not new per say, but something that’s maybe not as prevalent. We are either too noisy and fast for hardcore kids or maybe we are too hardcore for grindcore kids. That’s why we try to play very diverse shows or tours. We take influences from a bunch of different styles, so we try to spread ourselves out as much as possible. Speaking of that constant evolution and progression in your sound, you’ve said that you want to continue to push the boundaries in your sound. In retrospect, do you listen back to older material when your planning a set list and not enjoy it as much as the newer material due or do those releases act as a placeholder and a reminder of a point in the history? I’m proud of what we have accomplished so far, but some of our older material just doesn’t really fit where we are as a band anymore. As you said I guess I just look at certain songs and records as a placeholder, but I can’t deny either that we have also had some mis-steps along the way. Dylan and yourself handle a fair majority of the touring and managerial parts of the band. You’ve heavily involved in that aspect and have been since the band started. Why is that DIY approach important to you?
We both just love being in a band and playing music. I would hate not having a hands on approach to certain aspects of our band. Yeah it can be shitty, annoying and stressful, but in the end its still rewarding. We work off and on with a booking agent, but even then we give him suggestions for locals or cool small venues we have played before, or maybe even towns he would have never thought of having us in. We have toured with bands that are completely clueless about every aspect of their band; whether it be what designs they have for tour, who are the locals, what are the venues like? I would absolutely hate not having some sort of input. Throughout your interviews, you nod Dsytopia as an influence of the band. Their self titled album is one of the most bitter and misanthropic releases I’ve ever heard and not in a cathartic way. It is an hour of pure unrelenting misery. Do you try to convey the same sense of misery? We used to, but not as much anymore. I just try to write what sounds good to me now or something that may be unique from our previous work. Both you and Dylan share an incredibly close musical kinship, with most of what I’ve seen as you two as the ones in the band pushing for more cohesive and denser compositions. You’ve collaborated with other artists together but would it be a strange experience making music without him? At this point I think so. I’ve tried to start other bands, but nothing really gets off the ground. I guess not only is it a close musical kinship, but we both have ultimate goals we want to accomplish and it’s really hard finding people with that similar mindset. Both your music and your live shows are an intense experience, both sonically and visually. With the extensive amount of touring that you do coupled with the visceral nature of your live performances, how do you stop yourself from burning out on tour when you’re playing at such high levels each night? I mean sometimes we have burnt ourselves out on tour, but we have to take that as learning experience and find a new approach so that we don’t absolutely killing ourselves. We take mistakes we make on the road and learn from them and try to better ourselves and prepares ourselves more for the next time. You’ve made the trip down to our shores twice now, from memory. On your initial tour in 2014, you played at Caxton House and Fat Louie’s in Brisbane and then on the returning trip you played a well-attended show at Crowbar. Was it gratifying to see your shows grow in a town like this? I actually wasn’t on the 2nd Australian tour. Going back to the previous question I completely had burnt myself out from being on the road and had a mental breakdown while on the Asian portion of the tour and had to go home. But even my experiences from our first, pretty DIY approached, Australian tour I was so surprised on how well the shows were and the reactions we were getting. There were a few shows that were whatever or we suffered from a terrible soundguy, but overall it was one of my favourite touring experiences I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to come back on the 3rd one (whenever that may be).
Why is Dave Bland the uglier Jane Doe? Just look at him. Is your favourite guitar tone on record still Weezer’s Pinkerton? For those who don’t know, why’s that? I’ve just always been attracted to their tone for some reason. On Pinkerton especially it’s just super dense and powerful and gives the whole album a vibe. It’s like a pop band playing their guitars through a Doom bands gear. After you released the split with Nails, you’ve been alluding that a new LP is on its way. Alongside the new full length, what’s on the cards for 2017? 2017 we are just mainly going to focus on touring with our new LP. 2018 we already have a few splits in the works and a new collab already recorded. Any final words or shout outs? Shout out to Patty and Jordan from Lacklustre records, the Whitehorse guys, Idylls, Suffer, and all the Machina Genova guys. Listen here: fullofhell.bandcamp.com Find more: www.facebook.com/fullofhell
LAKE MICHIGAN So much beauty can come from one human being and their guitar. There is no shortage of singer / songwriters who use this formula and then there is Christopher Marks who performs under the moniker “Lake Michigan�. The English native has been steadily releasing a few unique and alluring style of sleepy eyed and softly spoken beauty. Each record Lake Michigan releases has distinct tonal differences but they all come back to the endearing whispers, something that can be easily compared to the warm embrace of your lover. Layered with fuzz, reverb, and the occasional Casio keyboard, Lake Michigan is the music you need to stop the anxieties in your head. Christopher and Matt caught up towards the end of last year to discuss recording full albums on his iPhone, his prolific nature, and he tells me I should buy a coat.
Words By Matt Lynch.
LAKE MICHIGAN Cont. First hey dude, how’s it going? Hi, yeah pretty good thanks, heavily caffeinated. You’ve released three separate records (Further, Gleaming, and Yellow Spring) this year alone, which is an impressive feat by the way. All of the albums have distinctive and defining tonal characteristics that separate themselves from each other. Did each album have a predetermined set of songs or was the writing and collation of them more organic and linear of a process? Further was written messily and in a bit of a daze throughout last year and in a way it fell together into place in the studio, the making of that record went by very quickly and I’m not too sure how it happened. Gleaming was quick and methodical - I had quite a bit of time to myself after work on evenings for the last few months of living in London so I spent a few weeks writing and recording a little piece of it day by day. Yellow Springs on the other hand was a far slower and more sprawling thing. I wanted to spend a lot more time sitting on the songs and also with recording - hence the less lo-fi nature of it. I used a better mic to record with too so maybe that’s noticeable. Out of the three releases, Gleaming stuck with me the most. Not only for the chorus of on “Clissford Park 6am” but the fact you recorded the entire project on your iPhone. Being able to hear and distinguish the Casio keys clunk is something incredibly rare and endearing. Overall, Gleaming comes across as your opus of stripped back, charming bedroom music. What sparked the decision the record that album in the particular way? I’m glad you’re into how it sounds! I could go on about how I thought the songs needed that kind of production, etc but a far more honest answer is I didn’t have any better equipment and was too impatient to save up to buy any. I’m pleased with how it turned out though. The inclusion of the Casio’s slightly dirty sound was a complimentary addition to Gleaming. You’ve used electronic keys before but one striking thing was the washed out drums means that were almost indistinctive. Are you expanding into more beat based music? I’d definitely like to have that at my disposal, I’m on the edge of getting a band together mainly just for the sake of layers and dynamics so we’ll see what comes out of that. I’m really into the idea of being able to play bits of my set alone and other bits with drums and a second guitar. There are several different projects you’ve worked with alongside Lake Michigan such as Trailer, Sorry Eyes, and Bouvier. Have completely autonomy over this project as opposed to the other ones, how do you find writing material for them? Ah...Trailer was a little side project thing with a good friend (Michael Griggs - producer of Further) and that was a lot of fun, we sat in his studio and threw ideas at each other until those two songs felt finished. It was very much a relief after spending a long time just playing on my own. Sorry Eyes was just me. Long story short I got temporarily sick of doing Lake Michigan and decided to mess around with some ambient stuff for a while.
The nicest thing about that project was having a break from writing lyrics and when I started writing again I had a totally different outlook. Bouvier stopped existing when I left York and moved to London. It was a proper “old fashioned” story of three friends having a lot of fun being loud together. Everything about that band was very enjoyable and I sincerely hope we get to play together again at some point. With this being the longest musical venture you’ve been involved in, having been running as a constant since your late teens, how have you seen it grow and progress since the embryonic stages? I’ve been doing Lake Michigan for between 6 and 7 years now, which feels quite strange to be honest. I hope it’s grown a lot and will continue to grow. Year by year I’ve felt more confident vocally and in song writing so that’s nice. At the moment it exists in a way I’m happy with so fingers crossed that’ll continue as stuff moves forward and inevitably changes. Overall, your sound is lush, albeit at a trudging pace, with dense prettiness and ethereal layers that differentiates yourself from a slew of acoustic singer-song-writers music. You’ve said that you bury hooks or refrains under layers of reverb or fuzz. Do you think doing so creates a greater connection with the listener, having them wade through those elements? Right now I’m thinking more about releases having an overall atmosphere and a mood that ties them together rather than specific bits of songs doing certain things. A lot of my production choices like the thing you mentioned about fuzz and reverb have come from me wanting to escape the label of ‘acoustic singer songwriter’. I first heard Pylons, Telephone Wires, Trees In Clear The Clearing when it was put out through Ruined Smile a little while back. You’ve worked with them for them as a distro for most of your releases so far. How’d that partnership come about? I think Matt and I got put in touch while Wolf Town DIY were still putting out my stuff! He’s a lovely guy and was very keen on doing something productive and interesting together. Also it was great to have my tapes and records more readily available in your corner of the world without people paying loads for postage. When Elvis Depressedley came through the UK on their last tour, you supported them at their Hackney show. How was that show? Really great, they’re one of my favourite bands and it was humbling to open for them. One of the best shows I’ve played I think. All of your digital albums on bandcamp are “pay what you want” or free. Why’d you choose to have it done that way instead of having set prices? To put it simply - I never pay for digital downloads, I’ll buy tapes and whatever other bits of merch from bands but I know if I can get something for free download or choose some sort of donation I’m much more likely to go for it... so I’d feel a bit hypocritical asking people to pay for my digital releases. Also I want my music to be as easy to access as possible.
LAKE MICHIGAN Cont. You’ve announced that you’ll be playing Carefully Planned’s “Carefully Planned Festival Number #6”. From what I’ve seen, Matt Boycott-Garnett and that whole Carefully Planned crew have been nurturing that niche festival for quite some time now and is the old You Are Invited. What’s it like playing in such a communityminded festival? That was this past weekend; my girlfriend and I were there for the day on Sunday and had a hell of a time wandering pretty aimlessly in and out of venues. ACPF is especially great because of the huge range of genres and there’s definitely a feeling of “what’re we going to get next?” It’s pretty impressive Matt and the crew manage to get that at the same time as unifying everything under the DIY banner. You’re very much involved in the local scene, heavily promoting the D.I.Y attitude and giving the proverbial middle finger to the “nothing happens here” mentality often found in small to medium sized towns and cities. Since you started getting involved around the Leeds area, have you seen an influx or steady growth of people? I’ve only been in Leeds for a couple of months, I used to come here quite a lot for shows when I was younger and the scene was already great then but it seems to be growing pretty rapidly. A lot of people are doing exciting things for good reasons. I hope that continues and I definitely want to throw myself into that as much as possible while I live in this city. Any final words or shout outs? Buy a coat, it’s getting cold out. Also check out Ratbath. We’re doing a split together soon and she’s great. Listen here: lakemichigan.bandcamp.com Find more: www.facebook.com/lakexmichigan