Young Blood
May 2009
Young Blood Magazine Editor In Chief / Co Founder Jordan Rickman Video Blogger / Co Founder Gabriel Perez Co Founder Julia Connally
Staff Writers Henry Cole / Daniel Hadley / Jordan Rickman / Julia Connally
Staff Photographers Francesca Tamse / Jesse Alford / Krystle Poovey Graphic Design / Layout Design Jordan Rickman Logo Design Gabriel Perez
May 2009 p. 4 Letter From the Editor
p. 9 Daniel Hadley talks about the dying art of writing
p.6 Things we like : cleaning up & good graffiti!
p.14-18 Armando Ayala tells all about what inspires and motivates his music
p. 7 Things we don’t like: littering & bad graffiti!
p. 8 Henry Cole talks about Acting as an Art form
p.12-13 Karen Clementine opens up about her secret desire to work with Rhianna
p. 19 Poem by Alex Rybicki
p. 10-11 Logan Kinard shares insights about his paintings, including “Capricorn”
p.20-22 Krystle Poovey talks about working with her BFF and trying to push the limits with her photography
Hey Guys! I’m so excited to be able to bring you yet another issue of Young Blood Magazine. Everyone’s support has been so inspiring to all of us here at the magazine! We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s addiction to social networking, so thank you! This issue we get to talk to Armando Ayala from “Calling All Kreeps” about French house music, peanut butter on mixing boards, and anything else that happens to provide some sort of inspiration for him. I also got a chance to meet up with our photographer, Krystle Poovey. We liked her so much, we had to hire her on! So go ahead and check out the interview with one of our newest staff members. Trust me, you won’t be dissapointed. We also have a whole lot more this month than we did last month, including submissions from Alex Rybicki and an interview with acoustic singer, Karen Clementine. If you’re looking for our usual “Who you should know”, don’t be worried! It’ll be back next month, I promise. I’m also excited to be able to give you a couple articles written by our new staff members about some lesser recognized art forms. Be sure to check back next month for more interesting articles! Sincerly, Jordan Rickman Editor-In-Chief
Write a letter to the editor! Send all letters and submissions to: youngbloodmag@hotmail.com
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Things We Like
Things We Don’t Like
Acting as an Art Form by Henry Cole Staff Writer
When I hear people talking about art, surprisingly, acting is usually one of the last mentioned items. However, whenever we hear anything that relates to Theatre, we always think of “Theatre Arts”. The Theatre Arts department of Las Positas is the only institution where I’ve received instruction in the performing art niche of acting, but I feel my three years there have provided me with adequate insight to the industry (if not the experience, than the networking aspect of it all; you can learn some pretty interesting things from a lot of the actors that come through the school). My Las Positas instruction classifies two types of actors: Professional and Amateur. Contrary to popular belief, these have nothing to do with ability, talent, or general behavior. A Professional actor, according to my education, is someone who does what he or she does on stage (or behind a camera) for a living. Their job IS acting. The paychecks they live off of come from productions. An Amateur actor, on the other hand, is someone who performs solely for the love of the art. Not that Professional actors don’t love what they do, it’s just that Amateur actors have other jobs and other careers that tend to take precedence. For instance, the Drama Workshop (the Spring-Semester Student Directed One Acts that perform in early March and mid-to-late May) tends to have fewer Amateur actors than those working towards a Professional career. Furthermore, the class itself is structured a bit differently than most productions. Auditions are done the first couple weeks of class; if you sign up for the class, you are guaranteed some sort of role in the productions (be it acting, directing, or technical). The first day of class, the instructor takes a poll of who wants to do what: act, direct, or be apart of the technical crew. Once he gets his answer, the process of finding and putting on a One-Act begins. The way I definite art is any piece of media that inspires a true emotional reaction. Not a particular sketch that makes you angry, or a song that makes you laugh. I’m talking about a portrait that makes you remember the first time you fell in love, or a show that uncovers your residing anger over a past injustice. By those standards, acting (specifically Las Positas Acting) does its job in being art. Every comedic show, I’ve heard genuine, tear-bursting laughter. For every drama, I hear sobs and immense applause afterwards. The musicals are excellently chosen, with talented singers to boot. A fellow musician of mine gets lost in his music. When he picks up a guitar, or sits at a piano, he disappears, and all that remains is music. He pours his self into his “art”, and hopes the listener jumps on for the ride. That’s pretty much how I feel about acting. It’s the getting the message out (be it emotional, political, or otherwise) that makes Acting an art, in my opinion. It takes words and emotions and puts them in a more identifiable medium. You can listen to music, and it can evoke some pretty interesting images, but it doesn’t compare to a man professing his love for a woman ten feet from your face. You can’t see the look of agony on a musician’s face while you’re listening to your iPod. But, I’m not one to say that any medium is better than another, and acting is just as important as literature, music, and the physical arts. It just works our brains and our hearts in a different way.
Writing as an Art Form by Daniel Hadley Staff Writer
There is a miracle in this world known as synesthesia. It is the blending of senses. To someone with such a condition, the scent of mint might sound like dimes falling on the floor. The letter “A” may shine in a bright pink. A person’s accent might evoke the smell of peppermint candy, and not because they’re chewing on a piece of strident. To these people, I begin to wonder what reading a book might evoke. I wonder if the letters glitter on the page like they were bedazzled with gel pens or smell like the dogs, raindrops, and tabletops they describe. To these people I ask, what is art? There is an epidemic that when directly confronted, dissolves. But a look at high school courses, college applications, resumes, and other sorts of classifiers that categorize talents and “marketable” or “transferable” skills causes some alarm. Painters, photographers, film makers, your talents are remarkable and your ability to draw and capture and evoke are profound. Something, though, is missing. Where are the letters, the imagery, the metaphor? Since when did writing become solely a matter of words-per-minute and not a matter of meaning-per-metaphor. Writing seems to have lost it’s honor as an art. Poetry slams are held in left-wing coffee houses in left-wing neighborhoods. Sometimes, in large towns, but only on the second sunday of the even numbered months when the moon is a waxing crescent. They are almost transparent anywhere below college save that one month for English class that Sophomore year. It’s not just poetry, but plain old good literature in general. Now it seems being able to spot a metaphor is better then being able to write an original one, and it saddens me, for all the use of bluntness in the world, there is value in making people feel what you mean. Anyone skeptical of an author’s ability as an artist. Watch one write, on muted, lined paper, with their favorite pen (they probably have one). Watch how their handwriting lends a quality to the speech. How the letters slant left or right, or the entire sentence curve off the lines when he or she tries desperately to chase their train of thought off the page. Watch them squeeze words between each other, or cross one out and add two there. Add and subtract punctuation back and forth, back and forth, and purposely misspell a word because it “works” as they draw arrows between sentences noting a switch to make later. These are artists at work. Read a writers journal and don’t just read what’s written, but how it is. Our journals often become battlefields with pits and blotches and ink seeping through pages, smiley faces and weird symbols whose meaning we forget next time we see them. (It was probably to remind us of something to add later.) So much like a painter’s sketchbook with cross-outs and experimentation that a child could tell little difference. I say, let us bring back this idea. Let us bring back Meaning Per Metaphor and reject the common WPM desire of 45 or higher. Let us post framed pages on walls of our home that bear words that evoke scents, colors, desires. The synesthetes know something of what I’m talking about. Let us return to words the attributes they can portray. I want the word “lemondrop” to turn your mouth bitter like the stinging fruit, and I want “a dark and stormy night” to make you shiver and wrap the blanket tighter.
n a Log d r a Kin ...talks about comic book inspiration
Ever since I was but a boy I have always been inspired by dangerous and intriguing women. Women who will kick your ass and then expect some light foreplay afterwards. I am very much inspired by fictional characters such as Catwoman, Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider video game series, Lady Death, and many of the women from the X-Men comic books. I've never had any type of training when it comes to drawing or painting, and believe that it's a skill I was simply, and thankfully, born with. My artwork is very much a versatile mix of character design, and comic book illustration. Creating characters that evoke a sense of seduction, dark charm, provocativeness, and temptation is something that I thoroughly enjoy about being an aspiring artist. I still have much to learn, however find that alot of the knowledge gained about being an artist is by experimenting with techiniques, letting go of all inhibitions, and pushing the limits. As for the future (which is coming more quickly than anticipated) I hope to attend the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco, where i'll strive to become either a comic book designer, concept artist, or commercial advertiser. Until then boys and girls, you'll just have to watch out! You'll be seeing me, promise. ~LK
Capricorn by Logan Kinard
Karen Clementine Interview by : Jordan Rickman
Young Blood Magazine’s Jordan Rickman goes behind the scenes with small town acoustic singer and guitar player, Karen Clementine. Giving all the credit to Jesus Christ and her friends, this modest girl brings the sweet sounds of the guitar and her low, but powerful voice to everyone who has the pleasure of visiting her Myspace page. Here Karen tells all about her inspirations and aspirations, all the while remaining dissillusioned by the dying music scene that we call the Central Valley.
Young Blood:How long have you been writing and playing music? Karen Clementine: I started playing guitar seven years ago. I was a freshman in high school and playing guitar back then was a religious experience for me, literally. I wrote songs about Jesus back then. Over the years, that's changed entirely. What influences in your life have helped you make that change? Even though music started out as a gateway for focusing on my religion, as I started to divert from that path, I had a few close friends that strongly encouraged me to keep playing, which is how I started recording in the first place. I would bring my guitar to social gatherings and provide commentary for nearly everything going on at any given time. It's surprising how much people enjoy being serenaded when you're singing entirely about them, even it if it's offensive. -laughs Yeah, I know a lot of musicians who feel playing music for a living or studying it would sort of cheapen it somehow. In some respects, I do agree with that though‌ Absolutely. I think of bands like Fugazi or Pedro the Lion, who existed to make stellar music and received a shit ton of criticism for their lyrics or style because they weren't creating albums to please the public or make a lot of money. I want to have that same attitude, because when that changes you become... I don't know, Rhianna. So, besides Jesus, what inspires your music? A handful of artists like David Bazan or Kimya Dawson, those are some of my favorites. Making music is not only an outlet, but also a great way to get to know what is going on inside of my own head. Sometimes I start to write a song and I think, "Are you kidding, Karen? Are you really that upset about this dude?" or "Do you really want to write another cheesy fucking song about yourself?" I have to force myself to be introspective, and for someone as attention deficit as I am, that can be really helpful.
“The idea of music as anything more than a hobby makes my head explode.� Ok, backtracking a bit, do you think that "pop stars" and other artists like that shouldn't really be considered artists? Absolutely not. I'm actually a huge fan of Lily Allen and Britney Spears. I think it's a lot easier, though, to lose sight of the importance of staying true to yourself as a human being creating a piece of art with your signature on it when people are willing to pay you absurd amounts of money just to sign their tour merch. And I think that's a part of human nature, not necessarily pop music. What do you think about our generation's music scene being, apparently, mainly on the internet? Oh man. I think there are some extreme pros and cons. For example, you probably would have no idea that I'd been recording if it weren't for social networking. And that's great for new artists. Like any art form that is open to posting by the public, though, the quality of what is produced is often lessened. Do you think it takes away from the integrity or what have you, of music? Not necessarily. People have been making shitty music for generations long before the dawn of the internet. True, but now it just gets to the masses quicker. And generally, it fades out quickly. Music lives on. That's my hope, anyway. Do you have any final words for the readers you'd like to tag on? Just don't let them know that I am really only doing all of this music stuff to eventually tour with Rhianna.
l l A g n i l l Ca s p e e Kr
Interview by : Julia Connally Photographs by : Francesca Tamse
“It all starts with a melody.”
“I didn’t know that less is more applied to shows,” he told me. “There were way too many bands, some of which didn’t get to play. Peoples attention span can only go for so long sometimes.”
My interview with the newly twentyyear-old Armando Ayala (AKA DJ Merrick) takes place at the local In & Out burger, where he orders a double. We sit in the corner where a patch of sun shines on us and he describes contentment to me. We ramble on about contentment throughout our meal and afterwards he leans back onto the window as I ask him to describe his Dj title, “Calling All Kreeps”. He answers, “It’s inspired by my childhood and my fascination with horror… Being spooked is fun.”
As for future shows, band set-ups would change and most likely would include himself and Mondu his new “muse.”
His Dj set is “Fun, that’s what comes to mind. It works when there is a spontaneous connection between the songs your playing and the crowd. Then everyone is surfing the same wave.” Talking to Armando is kind of like reading a self-help book: He’s full of metaphors and positive advice, which according him is not forced. His laid back personality allows his music to be aggressive without being negative. After all, “in the end it will still lift your spirits.” Armando’s last show, “For Cool Cats Only” was a successful house show that included several local bands such as Catch Hell, Bears! Bears! Bears!, The Winter Formal and The Bitches. “It was stressful and felt forced at times. The best time was watching the spontaneous interaction between Mondu and Mike. (AKA the bitches) I noticed that not only was there music good but people were actually staying inside to watch them, more than the other bands.”
We pause to laugh about a short Oizo film where a cop and a random female discuss “visions” whereupon they can be described by the cop… “For most people it’s a rare occurrence, but for an artists it’s common and happens all the time.” More laughter ensues and we discuss how handsome he is and awesome it would be if we were dating. He describes me with a circuit board spreading peanut butter on it, claiming that its art; a sort of modern electronic Yoko Ono. This leads into a discussion of French house music, “It has given back a sense of originality and a sense of playfulness that was not prevalent when the DFA had the reigns,” Armando explains. “Its another way of showing how you can make something really original with literally nothing; a lot of French house is made up of samples off of a computer.”
“[Music] works when there is a spontaneous connection…and then everyone is surfing the same
How he makes his music is slightly more complex: “I’ve learned to approach it with a sense of humility and childlike play. There’s no point in rushing something that may grow into a beautiful song. Technically speaking, sometimes I’ll be in front a piano and ill mess around with a new scale I’ve learned a new technique and then I start trying to play it to a beat. I keep it in my head until I get in front of a synthesizer or a program. It all starts with a melody.” What mainly inspires Armando comes from, “nowhere. I think a lot of inspiration comes from out of the blue, in a sense it gets you when you least expect it… I have no expectation as to who my audience will be, I like to be surprised by who will be the audience.” His first record was Aqua, in the third grade. The second was TLC Fanmail. The first record he sampled was Marvin Gay’s “Call Me”“I caught on to sampling really fast, and usually when you catch on to something fast, that shows you know you’ve got something special.” Future plans include a lengthy EP release party with adequate merchandise. “I won’t let my songs leak out this time, they’ll all come out at once.”
“When you catch on to something fast, you know you’ve got something special.”
Untitled by Alex Rybicki I know your secret Deborah I've seen parts of you that you would rather have left unknown, unseen by people like me And in my dream we were closer then we should have been You asked me to kiss you but I could not I thought " This is only a dream, just do it." But my movements were slow and almost painful. And when I woke up my hands were over my eyes, and I thought I had gone blind
Alex Rybicki is a new resident of Hillsboro, Oregon and writes lovely poems when he isn’t rolling cigarettes.
Dynamic Duo : Krystle Poovey & Lynnae Lampreda
Interview by : Jordan Rickman Photographs by : Kyle Thrash
Local photographer, Krystle Ann Poovey opens up about working with her best friend, finding inspiration in every day things, and creating new ways to cross the line in her work.
So you said you've been taking pictures for about 5 years, do you think that grown as an artist? What’s helped in that? Any life changing events that influences your work? Well, having a good life helps! Having a good boyfriend who's supportive, and having a family who's supportive, and Lynnae, has the same things, so that helps a lot. That’s complete opposite of what you think of when you think of artists. Normally, you think of tortured depressed people who are alone and that's like, their pain is inspiring they're work. Do you think that's why you're able to do more dark things because that's not a presence in your life? Possibly, it's easy, nowadays w/ horror movies to get dark, and when you're a writer it's easy to get more depressing poetry. It’s just easy to do something that's not really you, sometimes. I’m a happy person, it's easy to do something that's not really me, just get out of the box, just surprise people, you know? So you can use that as an outlet so you don't have to carry that with you? Yeah…it's nice, like with photography, you can do something totally not you and it's nice because you're doing something you're not used to. You can use your mind and create something with it Do you think that this, sort of densification of America influences your photography because you have to be more creative? In a way, yes it's around the world, when you see what's going on you can get inspiration to do something opposite what's going on or you can sort of use it for inspiration. Like the shoot with my sister, there are a lot of people
even in this town, who are doing drugs. So with the shoot, I was trying to say go do drugs and at the end of the shoot, I even said not to, it's just basically saying hey, this is what happens to people you’re gonna die you're gonna overdose. You try to do a photo shoot, that it might look sad, but at the end, it's always a good story and message. Do you feel like you are obligated to push it? I think when you're a photographer; any body wants to be able to push it. Every photographer wants to push the line. It’s easier to sort of cross the line a little bit, it draws people's attention to what the photographers or what I’m trying to portray So do you see this as an option as your career? Yes, Lynnae and I are going to be doing this for the rest of our lives. This is our business. Though, the business is just for us to get money to keep doing what we want to do. Like, you feel bad telling people this is how much I charge, but it helps her and I out so we can do more and get more creative with it. Well, you're lucky you can have the best of both worlds. So do you see yourself doing more social commentary mixed with high fashion? Not necessarily, sometimes we will. We’re trying to get more open with our photography, we're trying to get into high fashion, glamour, dark, creepy, anything.
Young Blood: So, how long have you been taking photos? Krystle Poovey: I've been taking photos about 4 to 5 years. I’ve been into it, but Lynnae and I didn't start the business until 3 years ago and when I first started, I sucked. But it's one of those things you have to practice every day and study to get better. Has Lynnae, as the hair and make up artist, gone to beauty school? Yes, she went to Elite academy and She's really creative and gets her inspiration from high fashion magazines. She’s done all the hair and make up for my photo shoots. Have you taken any classes? No, I didn't take any classes but I did used to work for Sears portrait studio, and they did put me through a training program, but…mostly I’m self-taught.
“Every photographer wants to push the line. “ Do you think that photographers who have taken classes are somehow less than those who just have a natural talent for it? No, I think that taking classes is amazing. I’m planning on taking some classes, like about lighting. I don't think that you have to take classes to be good photographer. I mean, I think I’m a good photographer, but I do think it'd be nice to learn more You and Lynnae work together, does having your business partner being a good friend create a conflict of interests or do you think it's better? Actually I think it's better, I’m sure that there are best friends that are business partners who clash, but Lynnae and I, it makes us stronger.
And since we are best friends, it's easier for us to be honest with each other. We don't hurt each other’s feelings as much because we can just be honest Do you think that photography being a somewhat of a "fad" that it makes it less of an actual art? In a way, I do. I think that if you have the talent for it and you want to be a photographer, then you should go for it. But if you just want to do it because maybe one of your friends does it, it does make the rest of the photographers, who actually have the talent for it...it just makes it less artsy and photography is supposed to be an art form. So it needs to be with the people who have talent for it and have skills and can used their creative mind and it can be not the same thing all the time. Do you feel like people dismiss your photography on myspace because everyone has a "photography" myspace? No, I don't think that my photography isn't looked as much as it was, but I think it'd be nice to have a little less people who look like they're just into it for the moment. But, if they get into it and get bigger, that’s awesome. There are a lot of people in town who are amazing. Where do you draw a lot of your inspiration? I've seen you have a lot creative photo shoots, like the one of your little sister called, Delusion. Lynnae and I get our vision from mostly high fashion, that's what we really want to get into. But we get inspiration all through the day, from like movies. And Delusion reminded us of the move Gia with the whole drug thing. And it's a little deep, but sometimes we like to cross the line. Just a little bit, not too much, but just something that can tell stories of emotion and that's what we try to go for.
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