"Pub-crawling down the dead-end, cul-de-sac alleyways, the twenty-four-hour drunks are sleeping it off, weapons of choice lying empty nearby:" from "Night in Albany"
The eyes of the commuter are often red, swollen, nearly closed and always searching. Searching for the end, a relief, an escape plan, or some kind of diversion. A non-driving commuter has even more time to investigate the scenes that paint his journey from home to work and back again. Alan Catlin spent most of his professional life commuting to and working in Albany, New York. This collection, his 59th, features a series of street scenes one darker then the next. On his journey he finds the homeless, the violent, the fast moving, the successful ignoring the world, the lost, the feared, and the fearless. These little snapshots of society flow together to create a look at society that is dark and uncertain. Each character more lost then the one before, but the only truth is that no one can ever really leave or break free. Hence, Only the Dead Know Albany because only in death can you escape and finally understand.
One of my favorite aspects of each publication by sunnyoutside is the Colophon. This is where David McNamara explained the typeface and paper choices for the book. He doesn't just print the name of the typeface, but fully explains the history behind it. According to colophon, this book is set in Bell, which was originally cut in 1788 by Richard Austin and whose vertical stress and horizontal to serifs reflect its birth during the British industrial revolution. Fascinating information to top off and incredibly fascinating fast-past collection of poems.
One of the most underrated singer/songwriters around today in Washington's Karl Blau. He is also one of the most prolific. He runs his own label, of sorts, called Kelp Lunacy Advanced Plagiarism Society, and has released many of his own albums and albums by others. What really sets him apart is his ability to craft perfect pop songs, but also add just enough electronics and lo-fi beauty to give a captivating layer of depth. In the last two years I have been fortunate enough to receive three albums of Karl's to review. Each has been more creative and intimate then the last. This album, Nature's Got Away, features my favorite song by Karl, "Before Telling Dragons". It's like a fairy tale told in verse, sung in the perfect cadence, with understated music guiding the way.
Nature’s Got Away made it to tape fresh off of a tour in Spring 2007 where Karl Blau traveled to Japan and performed with some of his biggest musical influences: namely Tori Kudo (Maher Shalal Hash Baz), Reiko Kudo, Nikaido Kazumi, the Moools, Tennis Coats, and Arrington DeDionyso (of K Records, Old Time Relijun). Written on the road and recorded at “home” at the beloved Dub Narcotic Studio by Karl Blau accompanied mainly by: Olympians-- Peter Dolan (Chin-Up Merryweather), and members of LAKE: Lindsay Shief, Eli Moore, Mark Morrison, Micah Davis-Wheeler, Andrew Dorsett, and Ashley Eriksson; with also Portland folks Nate Ashley and Greg Olin (Graves); and Seattle’s Steve Moore (Earth, Sunn0)))))).
Move On From Dreams • Nothing In the Way • Carry and Rob • 2 Becomes 1 • Make Love That Lasts • Before Telling Dragons • Ghostly Appearance • Mockingbird Diet (mp3) • It’s the Stars • Of Your Feet, Of Your Place • That’s the Brakes • Stream of Ganders
It was 2002 when Passage, Telephone Jim Jesus, and Bomarr monk (aka Restiform Bodies) exploded onto the scene with their self-titled debut album. Their genre slashing mix of hip hop, electronic, and everything else with refreshing and left the underground fans wanting more. Since that time all three have released solo album, and now they finally together again for colorful TV Loves You Back. In just ten tracks this trio cover all aspects for hip hop and sonically ventures into new and refreshing territory. Making their debut on Anticon, on Sept. 30th these three show the world that there's TV's really do love them, and that hip hop does not have to sound like the Game or 50 cent.
01 Black Friday 02 Foul 03 A Pimp-like God 04 Panic Shopper 05 Consumer Culture Wave 06 Bobby Trendy Addendum (mp3) 07 Pick it up, Drop it 08 Interactive Halloween Bear 09 Opulent Soul 10 Ameriscan
On Sept 16th, Louisiana's Brass Bed will release their debut album Midnight Matinee. A mix of pop ballads, surf pop, country twang, and experimental noise rock, this quintet has already started making noise with their self-released ep and their live performances. Brass Bed is Christiaan Mader (vocals, guitar), Jonny Campos (guitar, pedal steel, vocals, bull horn), Peter Dehart (drums, vocals), Jacques Doucet (bass, banjo), and Andrew Toups (synths, keys, percussion).
With great cover art, and heavy does of electronics Mr. Meeble comes alive with Never Trust The Chinese. They swirl a bed of sound, deep and dark, around their lyrics of denial and despair of lost love, personal accountability, remembering, mourning and finally, just maybe, a glimmer of hope. Drawing comparisons to Air, Massive Attack, and Radiohead, they use minimal sounds to create a feeling a distrust and fear.
Three years after their first album, Toob return in September with their new album Push Me, Pull You. The new album takes the audience on an exciting journey through melodic electronica, breaks, dub, afro-beats and punk funk. The album includes taster single "Clipto" (Released in March 2008), the follow-up single "Skinbox", gig-closer "The Toob Show", Bomb The Bass collaboration "Pirate Teeth" and DJ favourite "Open The Gates".Toob are Rich Thair (drummer of Red Snapper) and JakeOne (sometime collaborator with Red Snapper). Their acclaimed first album How To Spell Toob was released in 2005 on Lo Recordings. Push Me, Pull You will be released globally on Process Recordings in September 2008.
This one is a little different then my usual recomendation, but I was intrigued when I saw it come into the inbox. Borrowing melodies from well-known opera masterpieces, East Village Opera Company imagines classical opera- with its over-the-top plots- as if staged today (Boston Globe). The results have been a hit across the board, with Time Out New York hailing their grandiose yet genuinely touching operatic pomp and AM New York praising their special brand of rocked-up arias a unique mash-up of old and new. The touring outfit features 2 vocalists, a 4-person rock band, and a 3-piece string section, all led by East Village Opera Company co-founders Tyley Ross (vocals) and Peter Kiesewalter (keyboards). Rock opera may sound strange, but I suppose it's fitting.
The Peel Back: The Murmurs The Murmurs (MCA Records, 1994)
"You paralysed my mind and for that you suck"
As a sixteen year old boy, this album was not really what I was listen to, but I came across too many girls who loved the bold attitudes, vibrant hair, and biting lyrics of The Murmurs. Oh the angry chick rock, that's right, but with a slight touch of humor thrown in. Leisha Hailey and Heather Grody began performing as The Murmurs in 1991 while the duo were both students of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. They self-released their debut album, Who Are We, that same year. Yet, they didn't start blaring through the stereos of suburban teenagers until 1994 and their signing to MCA Records. At which time they gave the angry and hurt teen girl an anthem to scream and pound out on their guitars, desk tops, notebooks, and on the hood of car.
Listening: 1. I Am Three: Irving and Hughes are two Manchester lads making a combination of folk, pop, and oddly enough rap. Check it out. 2. The Deer Tracks: Heavenly melodies out of Sweden. I know I should just move to Sweden, but seriously this duo is incredible! Listen to: Slow Collision (mp3) 3. Anna Vogelzang: Chicago folk-rocker, Anna and her band of boys are sure to impress. Listen to: Buckets of Rain (Dylan Cover) (mp3)
Reading: 1. Grocery Store Check Out Girl by John Grochalski: An ode to memories and whatever might bring them on. 2. The Warhol-Sleeping Quartet by Peter M. Ball: This is a long one, but very interesting. 3. Sorry by Chris Killen: Never wake your wife up to talk about dreams. 4. Battling for Gucci by Jennifer Walmsley: That's right battle for Gucci, not world peace, not decreased eco-footprints, gucci.... I love it! 5. Hed by Colin Bassett & Janelle Barr: A love poem, I think. 6. Everything They Say About Sailors Is True by Donna George Storey: This wasn't what I was looking for, but I couldn't stop reading. 7. I Am Being Honest by Matthew Savoca: Sometimes it is better to not be so honest.
Wishing: 1. Red Reign Designs - Art Objects by Michelle Miller: Incredibly intricate origami objects, she can even customize! 2. Joe Scarano Letter Pressed Trading Cards: I am a sucker for letter press. 3. Jeff Koons Limited DVD: Colette is selling this unique dvd of Jeff's work. I am still undecided on the work it's self, but people seems to dig it.
Getting (Underground Lit Edition): 1. Indiebound : A great resource for the indie bookstore.
2. Love Chicago : I like the design of this site, and it appears to be Gapers Block for the young generation, but it just needs to be updated more frequently. Maybe they a need a music and lit writer? (hint) 3. Little Bang!: I can't wait for October to get here! 4. Skeleton News: This is a print newspaper that is filled with fiction and comics and all sorts of amazing stuff. However, they have no web presence and I don't know where to find more issues of their publication. All I have is an e-mail address that they put inside the paper. They are looking for writers, distribution, reporting, web design, and more. Contact: theskeletonnews@gmail.com.
Watching: 1. The Interiors and Matt and Kim on Rolling Stone.com 2. The Bug ft Warrior Queen "Poison Dart": I can believe I've slept on this one so long. It's a banger if I've ever heard one! 3. Wild Sweet Orange "Sour Milk": "Don't tell me that man is my father"... Powerful!
5. Excerpt from Yum Yum I Can't Wait to Die by Sam Pink 6. Mr. Lif "Home of the Brave" (live) w/ Aesop Rock & El-P: There really is a better to listen to this week!
It has been said before and I will say it again, the backbone of hip hop is the DJ. The DJ is widely considered the most vital of the four pillars of hip hop, and in recent years has been all but removed from the scene. Yet, a track built by a DJ typically has much more substance then those built in pro-tools and on a drum machine. The DJ brings unique perspective to the hip hop sound. They have collected a vast catalog of sounds and classic albums that can be shuffled through to find the perfect sound. The samples, the scratches, the breaks and beats, from Kool Herc on up, there are few who do it better then DJ Revolution.
Revolution, a member of The World Famous Wake Up Show, released his first album In 12's We Trust back in 2000. An album similar in structure to the his forthcoming release, In 12's featured some of the best underground talent at the time. Since then Rev has put out several mixtape, and a couple albums filled with breaks. Yet, over the years the popularity of the DJ has faded a bit and has nearly left the scene completely. On September 30th, Rev will try to correct the current path of hip hop with King of The Decks and help from Krs-One, Qbert, Planet Asia, Defari, Evidence, Jazzy Jeff, Termanology, and many more.
Recently, Revolution was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): There seems to have been a swell in the popularity of 'turntablism' in late '90's that peaked around 2002 and the release of Scratch. What is the state of the DJ today, and how does this relate to your new album? DJ Revolution (REV): The DJ and DJ'ing as most of us knew it back when you are referring to has been splintered and sub-divided into many groups that are all under one 'DJ' umbrella. Celebrity Dj's, Wanna-be Dj's, Electro-hipster-burnout Dj's. The only thing that is common among the majority of these many groups is the lack of Hip Hop or connection to the Hip Hop community. The sad part is they learned all of the traits they possess, the so called skills they rely on professionally and things like their fashion and ability to act like they are cool, even the way they talk from Hip Hop Dj's and the culture that they created. Most of them abandon these things or hold on to them only to get accepted when they get what they need or reach a certain point in their career. The popular DJ of today is also disconnected from the MC in a way that has made the music take a serious turn for the worst. I wanted to re introduce and reconnect the DJ with all of these things on my new record. Especially the MC. I needed to do this by making a straight up rap album with a DJ influence. In order to make people understand what a DJ does, and that we have more to offer than playing silly vegas clubs or being tokens in commercials i had to make all that we do accessible to the average Hip Hop fan. The DJ's will easily get it and absorb the progression of skills and production value. But because MC's have not really featured real Dj's on their records and most artists have little or no scratching on the albums they release, i had to serve it up on a nice plate in the context of a meal that looks appetizing so i wouldn't scare em away. Hopefully they like it.
OA: Speaking of "King of Decks", what an all-star line-up! How did you select the artists that you wanted to work with? REV: It was a well thought out process. I needed to figure out which artists would complete certain visions i had for songs. I also had to figure out which artists would give me something to fit the album without me giving them to much direction. As a producer I always like to let the artists be themselves but at the same time i needed them to fit whatever they were gonna do into the context of my album, which had a theme and a purpose. Its not just a compilation. For instance the song with KRS was planned out long before i contacted KRS. It was completed in my head with him as the cornerstone of the song as soon as i heard the sample i used. Overall i got A+ performances from all of the people on the record. Even the songs that didn't make the final cut of the album came out great and it was hard fro me to decide which ones wouldn't go solely due to the amount of music you can fit on a CD. I think picking the right artists for the right beats and concepts is the difference between an average compilation and a classic album full of great performances.
OA: When you DJ for someone like Rakim or Kayne live on stage how do you restrain yourself from just tearing up the track? REV: Its quite easy. There is a time and place for everything. People came to see the artists perform the songs they know the way they know them. You just have to realize that its not about you. Its about whatever artist you are supporting and the fans that paid to see them. As a DJ its your responsibility to be the backbone of the show and make sure everything goes according to plan. If the artist gives you a window to cut shit up, then you take it. Otherwise its the easiest thing in the world. You just sit back in the cut, do your job and enjoy sharing the stage with someone. It can be stressful at times due to the pressure of certain situations and some artists are easier to work with than others. For instance, the difference between working with Kanye and Rakim was night and day for many reasons i wont go into. I just did my job and let the experience unfold.
OA: Last year I saw Dj Craze and Klever perform here in Chicago. Craze used vinyl and Klever used a laptop and rubber mats. In my opinion, Craze's performance was more genuine and had less problems. Klever had trouble finding files and his songs started and stopped several times. Do you use vinyl or a laptop on stage? What would be the argument for each? REV: There is no argument. Using a laptop puts my sets far and above anything that is possible with vinyl. I cant speak on the sets you happened to see, but rest assured if you know what you are doing and have experience you should be able to put anyone using just vinyl to shame and completely rock the party. If not, you have NO business using the computer. It is a tool for professionals. Don't get me wrong, i love vinyl. Still rock it from time to time and still blow lots of money collecting it. Maybe vinyl might be better for just straight battle routines or some quick prepared sets but for rocking extended sets at a club there is no comparison. Digital rules.
OA: You have been working on The World Famous Wake Up Show for quite sometime. What is the hardest part of doing the show? How long do you see yourself working with Sway & Tech? REV: When the show was live on the air, the hardest part was actually finding a way to squeeze everything we wanted to do into a 2 or three hour period. Artists, music, interviews and special segments. I'd say no, the hardest part is struggling to stay on the air at a station that really doesn't care about the show, us or the real Hip Hop Community that supports us. Its a fight and requires more patience than i have. tech is the glue that keeps the show stuck on the station. I have nothing to do with them because i feel like they've been waiting for us to die off for the last 5 years. We get no cross promotion, no involvement in station events, no attention from the the programming department. Shit, we couldn't get a key card to get up to the station when we were live every week. Its also hard now that we were ORDERED to pre-record the shows by the station. They started freaking out over some new ratings technology and pushed a lot of panic buttons. Asking all the specialty shows to pre record and cut the talking, limit the guests and do our best to throw in some familiar artists. Commercial radio sucks. But hey, at least they still got a spot for us.
OA: What's next for Dj Revolution? REV: Next for me is a year long grind promoting this record. Lots of touring, more installments in all series of my mixtapes. Making more music for TV and film and hopefully taking a vacation before my head explodes!
Bonus Questions: OA: Coffee? If yes, where is your favorite place to get a cup? REV: yup. Balcony cafe, West LA, CA.
OA: Who has been your favorite MC or DJ to perform with? REV: Evidence. Cuz ive known him for 10 yrs and i think its just like hangin' out a stage with a homie practicing and playing some cool ass music for music people that know his shit.
King of the Decks 1.) Intro f/Jazzy Jeff2.) King Of The Decks f/ Sean Price & Tash 3.) THE DJ f/ KRS ONE (mp3)4.) Do My Thing f/ Guilty Simpson & Royce Da 5' 9" 5.) LADJ (skit) 6.) Funky Piano f/ Bishop Lamont, Crooked I, Styliztik Jones 7.) For The Kids (skit) 8.) The Big Top f/ Special Teamz 9). Start The Revolution f/ Boot Camp Clik 10.) Scratch Nerds (skit) 11.) Invaders from the Planet Sqratch f/ DJ Qbert 12.) EY! f/ Joell Ortiz and Termanology (Produced by DJ Revolution & DJ Numark) 13.) Casualties of Tour f/ Rakaa Iriscience (produced by Marco Polo)14.) Damage f/ Blaq Poet & Bumpy Knuckles 15.) Willie Lynch f/ Styliztik Jones and KBimean 16.) The Biggest Up f/ DJ Premier (Skit) 17.) Blow Da Spot f/ Strong Arm Steady 18.) School f/ Planet Asia19.) Spit Ridiculous f/ Defari 20.) Pro's & Con's f/ Evidence 21.) Calling Haul (Skit) 22.) Man or Machine 23.) The Set Up f/ Sway & King Tech24.) The Re-Match f/ DJ Spinbad
For more information on DJ Revolution please visit his website.
I have never liked the word experimental. Whether it is used to describe music, art, or theater, there are so many problems with that description. First, without experimentation there would not be art. All creative output is in some form of an experiment. There is nothing to say that one is more experimental then another. The goal is to simply express emotion, tell a story, and hopefully entertain.
Chicago playwright Chris Bower is both an entertainer and a storyteller, and likes to try and find new ways of telling stories. Combing audio and video and straight performance with his fiction, poetry, and plays, Chris is able to consistently take the audience to new and unusual places. His most recent piece, "Promises to Keep: The Poems of Robert F. Kennedy", found him performing in New Orleans. A one man show, filled with the inner thoughts and struggles of RFK, glimpses of heaven, and oranges, "Promises to Keep" is a perfect example of the inventive work of Chris Bower.
Recently, Chris was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): As a playwright, poet, and fiction writer, you have a unique look at all three genres. How does your approach to each differ? When you get an idea or see something that sparks your imagination, how do you pick which outlet you will utilize? Chris Bower (CB): I just like telling stories and enjoy telling them in different ways. As to what becomes which and why, it's always the circumstance. I started writing poems because I had a broken computer program that would not allow me to type across the screen so I had to squeeze sentences in and was so frustrated with word-wrap-around that i just started thinking in lines, not in any kind of smart way but in a totally stupid way. Stories became poems accidentally. In a similar but different way, stories became performance and then plays mainly out of opportunity and possibly out of a frustration with getting people to publish my work. Publishing it publicly, throwing it out there seemed like a viable thing to do, and it became something I grew to love. These days, I am a little less naive as to what genre I am going to work. I am getting a lot less done that way. Sometimes the biggest struggle is trying to forget how everything works.
OA: Your plays are often called 'experimental'. What are your thoughts on that word? Is that a negative or a positive comment? CB: Experimental is a word often meant to mean innovative, inaccessible and bullshit. Have I written shows that were all of those things? Maybe. Two of those things? Maybe. One of those things? Probably. All I know is that I try new things, new ways to tell stories. My last big show was an hour and half poetry reading with videos in between poems. Is that experimental? Possibly nobody has ever tried that before, but would I want to see that show? I am not sure if people called my RFK show "experimental", but I am sure they called it "weird." Robert Kennedy has hands made out of orange peels and lives on the outskirts of heaven in the skull of George Washington. It is weird but I am not satisfied with that, the struggle is getting back to being a show that is about something more. I am not an activist or overtly political in my work but I am overtly active in the politics of the sad and the ridiculous.
OA: You recently performed your piece "Promises to Keep" in New Orleans. What was the theater crowd like in New Orleans? What are your thoughts on performing in general? CB: New Orleans is a gorgeous city. I find any excuse to go there. We (Found Objects Theatre Group) were lucky enough to get an invitation to do some shows out there. Our friend, former Chicagoan Michael Martin is a leader in the "store-front" theater scene in New Orleans and we went down there as a test to see if out of town acts could do well down there. Of course, coming in unknown into a city is a difficult thing, especially with limited press resources, but we did well, not every night, but overall it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for all of us.
I am not a natural performer. I am not an actor. I am shaky and don't like making eye contact. I am happy when a show is over. I use all of my bad qualities to help my performance become more uncomfortable for everyone and try to make that part of the show. I want them to stop looking at me and just listen. That never works in that people still look at me suffering but it seems to work for some people, the way I perform. In New Orleans, the audiences were not going to accept me doing that. A midwest audience will allow themselves to be tortured and consider it a feat. If they hated it, they will curse you over drinks after the show. A New Orleans audience will just walk out happy into the streets with their drink, 15 minutes into your performance. I am generalizing of course, a lot of people in Chicago drink on the street too.
For the New Orleans show, I had to drop a lot of the stuff I was doing in Chicago. I put a lot more energy into the actual performance. I made eye contact. I even interacted with the audience, showed them I knew how to tie a tie and demanded applause and shook all of their hands. I hated myself through the whole thing but it was a good thing for the show. This is why I am not an actor.
OA: What are your thoughts on the Chicago literary and theater scenes? Are they receptive to new voices? CB: There are amazing people in Chicago in all of those areas. I think we, like all scenes tend to turn inside of ourselves. There are a lot of companies doing work I will probably never see, writers living in Chicago I will never read. With a huge amount of public readings and performances, those two worlds are getting closer. I wish people would go to plays more. I wish that about myself. I am very excited about the future of the literary and theatrical scenes in Chicago and I am glad to a part of them both.
OA: Why don't you have more of an on-line presence (i.e. a website, videos, etc)? CB: I will have a website. It is called holdmyhorses.com and it will be on-line very soon. The wonderful Susie Kirkwood is designing it for me and I just have not been able to get her any content to make it a website because I am a mess. The short answer is: I am not a computer guy and I am a mess. I do have videos on youtube.com/user/cbower54 and some audio at esnips.com/web/chrisboweraudio.
OA: What's next for Chris Bower? CB: I am writing a new show for the Bruised Orange Theater Company which will be coming out this fall. It is based on Dostoevsky's White Nights and is also not based on Dostoevsky's White Nights. I was very fortunate to get involved with a really ambitious group of people. It has been a while since I have done a show with a company and with actors and I am really looking forward to it. Also, I am writing a show with Tim Racine about the shuttle disaster and rogue clouds that decide to ignore the wind. It is called Shuttle-cocked and will be at the Rhino Festival in January.
I Hate My Walking Stick
Bonus Questions: OA: Coffee? If yes, where can you find the best cup in Chicago? CB: Yes, coffee. I don't know the best but the worst is on the third floor of 33 E. Congress at Columbia College. It comes out of a machine, the color of rust and comes in a cup that has poker cards on it.
OA: What type of music do you enjoy, and who are a few of your favorites? CB: Anything that makes me both sad and crazy. Tom Waits, Goran Bregovic, The Clash, Ween and the best local band that does all of those things for me is The Bitter Tears.
What inspires art? What requires art? What drew me to the work of Neil 'Women158' Parkinson were the illustrations that he had created for the latest album by That Handsome Devil. There is nothing that says the liner notes of an album must be filled with art, especially art that relates to each song. However, Neil created a unique piece for each song and was able to capture the essence of an entire album after only hearing demo versions and receiving a few quotes. Neil's work, as with all of his work, captures a struggling innocence cloaked in images of the street and its rugged reality.
Neil, like a lot of young artists, perfected his style and his nickname on the streets but he has really taken to the galleries and clients and all that goes into being an artist. He is now commissioned to work on murals instead of running for authority. His ultimate goal in anything he does is to make you smile, and if that is the goal or inspiration of art then the results will be magical. Aside for painting and illustrating Neil is also working on a collection stories that will be turned into a hybrid collection of illustrations, stories and more.
Recently, Neil 'Women158' Parkinson was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): How would you describe your work? Neil Parkinson (NP): My work is it's own beast really, I let my hand drive the beast from my mind and manifest itself in some inky character. My work varies from being just silly fun or a cute girl, to having a lot of passion and meaning behind it, drawn from an endless array of sources and inspiration, it's there if you want to find it. It's hard to describe your own work, and I never like to, I find it's best to approach it with neutral eyes and form your own opinions. I hope they make you laugh, smile, think or feel something. And I'd much rather hear your opinion on what I do, than mine.
OA: Where did the Women158 name come from, and what does it mean? NP: That's a hell of a long story, lets just say after many years painting illegally, getting busted and changing names, I decided to go legal. I chose a name that wouldn't allow me to take it too seriously, thus women. 158 was a tribute to old New York writing your street number, and my family, 15 was my dads house and 8 my mums. I've heard many theories though and they're all much more interesting than the truth.
OA: You recently did a series of illustrations for the band That Handsome Devil. What were they like to work with? How long did you have to listen to the album before these images came to you? What was your process like? NP: They are absolute stars; it was great to work with a band I had a great amount of respect and love for. Easy guys to work with, I was in touch with Godforbid occasionally checking in, he wasn't as crazy to work with as I expected, there where mentions of alien porn, but I think he must have been told to behave or something haha nice guy though. and Matt from traffic was a great guy to be dealing with, it all went smooth, and he was holding it down keeping everyone mellow and checking we where all good coming up to deadline. For the best part of the creative process I hadn't heard some of the songs, I was sent 6 tracks unmastered to start with, and had pretty much finished by the time I got the whole mastered album. Most of the project was just working with quotes Godforbid had sent from his iphone. I think it lead to some odd work. I think there are things I would have done different maybe better with more listening. When I listen now I get total different images to draw, but I guess that's the mark of a good band if they keep you thinking. And hopefully it won't be the last time we work together.
OA: In past interviews you have mentioned working on a collections of short stories. How is that coming along? Will this collection be more like a hybrid of illustrations and stories? NP: Yeah man that's on the cards, I've done so much writing and the initial feedback has been great. The idea is to produce a great book you can pick up and read cover to cover, or pick up for one page. It will be a mix of just prose, illustrations, photos, short stories, comics, thoughts and a million other things, so it's gonna be some weird hybrid like you where saying, my test tube baby. I think it has potential to be something a bit special. But it will probably be a long haul to try get it published. I was going to go diy with it, but it's taken so much time and emotional drive, it would be good to see if I can get a publisher behind it and get into the wider world.
OA: Given your history in graffiti and now your experience as an illustrator, do you feel that graffiti loses some of its meaning when it is taken from the streets and moved into the galleries? NP: I have no problem with the gallery scene and I'd be a hypocrite if I said otherwise. I feel a writer should have paid his dues and done his time getting his name up and his skills on level. It's vital for graffiti to have the street element, but I think in the same respect it's god it has the gallery option now. The illegal or street side to it gives graf it's integrity and soul, and the new gallery route and legal side kinda shows people it's not all gangs and turf, people still think that man, shocking I thought we where smarter now, but when you have the council standing up saying we're evil the general public will follow blindly, and that's why illegal or just street based graffiti is important, unadulterated media, I think people walking to work or on the bus seeing a big piece that's just appeared jolts them back to the real world, where life is full of possibility and beauty. I don't mind graffiti in a gallery, what I have a problem with is galleries and advertising companies who hire fools who pretend they're a writer but have made a few poxy stencils for their university course prior.
OA: What's next for Neil 'Women158' Parkinson? NP: Work more on the book, seek more work, paint more walls, paint more canvas, draw more, keep creating relentlessly, whether I'm paid to or not. I never know what's next and that's the excitement, but I look forward to it coming along. Keep flying the flag for peace, love, unity and positivity the 4 zebra men of the utopian society.
Bonus Questions: OA: Coffee? If yes, where can you find the best cup in your area?
NP: I love coffee; it's as essential as blood and oxygen to my day. There isn't many great coffee spots in Leeds it's all massive chains, it's lost a lot of soul. My favourite coffee right now is Guatemala elephant, got a bit of a honey and chocolate taste to it. Can't be beat right now. I shouldn't be so positive about coffee.
OA: What type of music do you enjoy, and who are a few of your favourites? NP: I listen to all sorts' man, my taste is so diverse, if something's good, it's got to be acknowledged as good, despite genre. Must say I love my ska and reggae. Favourite bands are hard to define, depends what mood I'm in, and I love different bands in different ways. A constant has always been Sublime though, I can walk through town smiling if I've got that bubbling in my headphones.
For more information on Neil Parkinson please visit his website.
Dylan Champagne New Equation (Broke In Oakland, 9/9/08)
"This is the moment when all the pieces of your life converge."
Dylan Champagne has created an album full of stories of change, the scars of ripping away, and the slow process of healing. He comes with a new equation, a new process for functioning. When you think of change as a formula, or living as a formula, it seems to make the risk appear more manageable and calculated, but still harmful and potentially rewarding. In reality, there is no way to calculate the outcome and prevent the scaring. You just leap, rip, pour, pound, advance and search for that moment of revelation. That moment when, as Dylan puts it, "all the pieces of your life converge"
Dylan Champagne himself is trying a new equation. Mostly known for his time spent with the math-punk band One Step Shift. In fact, he has been listening to or involved with punk music his entire career, and now he has decided to lock himself away and record his thoughts, his troubles and triumphs, in the most straight forward and stripped down way. The results are riveting and starkly honest.
From Here to There (mp3)/Junk Parts (mp3)/Cemetery on the Hill/Time Unkind/Dead Leaves Part II/The Majestic/Bookworm/Market Street Canal/New Equation
"... departing as scheduled luggage racks empty unfilled w/ your rain & your rain... how it adds to the morning..."
I believe I have said this before, but I really enjoy KSE's Sound Library series. I know many of you out there can not listen to music while you read, but I suggest you listen to the song or album first and then read the poems. The subject for this chap, AJ Kaufmann's second KSE release, is the wonderful album Trans-Europe Express by Kraftwerk. I don't want to delve to far into the album itself, but if you can recall Trans-Europe is such an airy and epic journey that seems to glide along the hillsides and meadows, towns and villas, with songs like "Franz Schubert" and "Endless Endless" and of course the title track. Yet for all their beauty there was that disconnect, the electronic coldness that loomed in the distance. Kaufmann's poems have that same feel as he rides through Paris, Vienna, Dusseldorf, Warsaw, and Prypiat, looking at the world through glass. In a world of synthetic coffee, showroom dummies (or mannequins) dance and the train moves on to new discoveries. AJ does not only relive the album, but adds an even stranger view as he translates the music into words. It really is magical.
There were only 54 copies of East-West Train by A.J. Kaufmann printed and I hold copy #20 in my hand. To order you copy send a check for $4 (or well-concealed cash) made payable to Bill Shute, 8141-B Pat Booker Rd. #399, San Antonio, Texas, 78233.
This past week one of my favorite bands, LoveLikeFire, announced that they have been signed to the UK label Heist or Hit Records. Over the past month they've been busily recording songs for their debut full-length at Tiny Telephone studios in San Francisco with producer Bill Racine (Mates Of State, Rogue Wave). Upon finishing up work in the studio they take off on a 35 + date tour that sees them crossing the country as they make their way to and from CMJ 2008. Here are their midwest tour dates, and more info on the new album will follow. You can find all of their tour dates here.
9/24 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews 9/25 - Minneapolis, MN - Nomad Pub 9/26 - Madison, WI - The Frequency 9/27 - Urbana, IL - Courtyard Cafe 9/28 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's Pub 9/29 - St. Louis, MO - Bluebird
Listen to: Unlighted Shadows (mp3) from An Ocean in the Air (2007)
If you want your dance music to have a few rough edges and an attitude to match the come this October 9th, pH10 will deliver what you want. Over the last ten years this duo has been developing a sound that perfectly represents the club scene in Brooklyn. However, their journey took them all over the country and Canada, and now they bring you Well Connected. These beats are hard, aggressive and unforgiving. pH10 will get in your face and not back down.
Listen to: Enter The Underground (feat. Pete Miser and Jamalski) (mp3)
LAKE's third album, first on K Records, can be classified as lo-fi optimism with a hint sarcasm. Oh, The Places We'll Go is a light and whimsical salute to Dr. Suess, home studios, and up-beat male/female sing-a-longs. LAKE's core membership is Ashley Eriksson, Eli Moore, Lindsay Schief, Andrew Dorsett, and Markly Morrison, a group of long-time friends based in Olympia, WA. The members of the band came from Washington, the Los Angeles area, and the Midwest but soon found themselves drawn together in the inspiring forests of the Pacific Northwest, and thus LAKE was born. Each is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in their own right, and contributing melodies and complementing one another's strong points has become the process for LAKE's intimately nurtured songwriting.
Oh Sweden, it's always Sweden. Fredrik is the latest import, and on October 28th Kora Records will release their latest album Na Ni Ni. This album is an adventure through a beautiful and strange countryside, through the forests and villages, through danger and darkness, and ultimately home. This journey in experimental pop is epic and a much needed diversion in storytelling and collective noise and grace.
Listening: 1. From: Roni Brunn is the lone woman behind the sound of From. She has quite the incredible story, and a light and fun style as well. Brunn grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel, attended high school in Beverly Hills, and graduated Harvard University with a major in economics. After college, she launched a line of high end handbags that sold in exclusive shops around the world and appeared in top fashion magazines, including Vogue, InStyle, and Marie Claire. In 2002, she created Math-Club, an organization that puts on recreational math events as documented in Time Magazine, Wired, BON, and NPR. In her work as a web developer, she created sites for Ringo Starr and Justin Timberlake. She is a self taught musician who writes, arranges, performs, and produces all the tracks for From. Listen to: One Spring Away (mp3) 2. The Unabombers: Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford are two DJ's who on October 6th are going to take you straight to the legendary Manchester club 'Electric Chair'. Electric Chair - Saved My Life is an incredible DJ set featuring some of the best underground dance music around. 3. Welcome to the Cinema: Just released their debut album Blocks and Hills, these five South Dakota boys play a great a brand of pop music. Listen to: Tasty Taste (mp3)
Getting: 1. Library of Inspiration: What a great concept! Journey into a virtual dedication ceremony, celebrating great works of art in the fields of music, film, and literature. 2. Writers on Writing: A literary interview show hosted by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett. 3. Open Books: Working to promote literacy. They are looking for volunteers, and it is a great cause.
Have you ever listened to song and suddenly heard a sound that you were not expecting? A sound so overpowering and beautiful that you had figure out how it was created? Well, then you may not be listening to the right music. When I first heard the fifth studio album by Tyler Ritter and Stefanie Goodwin (aka Shalloboi) I was completely blown away. If I was asked to sum up their sound in one word it would be reverb. Reverb like a thick and pulsating cloud slowly creeping through words and over drums. A reverb that acts like an instrument, and pulls you into every song on, Down To Sleep.
Tyler Ritter has been performing as Shalloboi since 2001, and released his first album, Blue-eyed, in 2004. Stefanie joined him in 2005, a together they have found inventive ways of recording in old buildings and condemned stairwells. The process is almost as fascinating as the sound, and the vigor and passion that Tyler has for his music trumps all. Recently relocating to Chicago, this duo continues to make album after album. The magical part of it all is that they believe so much in these song that they are giving them away for free on their website and at cllct.com. They also sell their cds, and after listening to the first song on Down To Sleep I don't know how you could not purchase the entire album.
Recently, Tyler was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): Down To Sleep is your fifth album. What can you tell us about the album? What were you trying to accomplish? Tyler Ritter (TR): 'down to sleep' has been floating around for about 10 years now- it was based around a set of songs i started when i was 18. 'to the sky,' 'ahn' and the title track were all on the first version, but sounded very different back then because they were some of the first 4-track recordings that i made that i ever took very seriously. the basic idea was to use some of the production techniques that kevin shields used on 'loveless' but to combine that influence with others. it sat on a shelf for a while, but i always had it in the back of my mind that when the time was right i'd return to those songs and those ideas and by then they would have changed and more songs would've come about that would fit into that cycle of songs. all of the shalloboi albums have been done one on top of the other- 'petals' and 'blue-eyed' were done almost at the same time. once 'petals' was finished i came back to 'down to sleep' and started working on the loops. the original idea was to make ridiculously symphonic loops- basically fill up the 8-track with sounds that would be mixed and sampled- 'to the sky' and 'angels floating on the head of a pin' represent this idea well. once we'd started it we had started using live percussion and gotten tired of using loops and new songs that were being added began to reflect this more so we had to bide our time so that we could buy more microphones and equipment to record live drums with which we'd never done before. a lot of the reason the album took so long in general is because i was trying to get ahold of nicer equipment- using tube amps for example- and it took time to raise the money, but eventually it paid off. all we were doing during the last two months was recording drums. what i was trying to accomplish changed during the course of the album a lot. i think initially i didn't want to use any live strings on it and by the end i'd written more songs that called for live strings until they became a large part of some of it and a key element i wanted to explore because the juxtaposition of organic melodic elements against the loud and very droning, almost formless guitars became a key element that really made the songs work much better which is where things like the glockenspiel came into play. the first version of 'ahn' was done on keyboards and sounded like a siouxsie and the banshees song and i just tried a version of it strumming the keyboard part on a guitar and singing it at the same time. when i was recording with billy (our cellist) i had him play the parts on cello thinking that it wouldn't end up being used. i was sure it wasn't going to be used clear up until about march when the violin was added. the main aim was to keep things organic. all of the effects were achieved in a natural way. a lot of the guitar sounds are accomplished with the use of volume and some techniques for recording guitars that kevin shields used a lot- i.e. taking two amps and set them up facing each other and miking all of the spots where the texture that you're after is occurring. the vocal doubling effects were something i'd heard about kevin shields doing as well and i also always loved the way that elliott smith did doubling. all of the reverbs are recorded by capturing ambient spaces where it occurs naturally. even reverbs on the loops were recorded that way. the exception is the reverse reverb that is on the guitars- that actually does come from an effects processor. at the same time we've always wanted to capture a moment on our recordings rather than spend hours and hours and take after take getting parts absolutely perfect. while things took a long time to set up and tracks took a long time to finish the individual parts were always done very quickly so as to keep the performances and the emotions fresh. 90% of what's on the album is first take. there are even a few songs built on first takes of first attempts.
OA: One of the most impressive aspects of this album are the massive sections on reverb. Can you talk about the process of organically capturing that sound? TR: there's a stairwell in our apartment building that doesn't lead anywhere- the exit is sealed off so no one really uses it because there's another stairwell down the hall and an elevator. a lot of the reverbs were recorded in there. we'd sing in our bedroom ahead of time, double it 10 times and then i'd bring all of the recording equipment and an amp into the stairwell and run the vocal tracks through the amp and record the reverb with a mic that was set up a few floors up. some of the earlier tracks were recorded while we were living in an apartment that was above the congress theater. the landlord owned the entire complex, so the residents were allowed to use the theater when it wasn't booked. i'd just walk around and find different spaces with high ceilings and i'd put an ambient mic up as high as possible and sing the 10 vocal tracks live. 'angels floating on the head of a pin' was done there mostly- the vocals and the loop at least. there are a lot of outtakes that were done that way. before we moved to chicago we were staying with stefanie's parents and we recorded a few vocal tracks in one of their showers- stefanie's vocal from 'to the sky' ended up coming from one of those times.
OA: What is the biggest struggle for a musician who self-releases his or her product? TR: getting people to pay attention because while you're free to do whatever you want you also are completely on your own as far as how you're going to get people to notice it. also you have to make all of the mistakes you possibly can to learn about how to go about getting people to notice your music. not to mention to the sheer amount of money you have to pour into it.
OA: How did you decide to join cllct and make your music available for free download? TR: all of our music was already available for free on our website. it's also available to download on last.fm. when i heard about cllct it just seemed like a logical thing to do. it's so user-friendly from that standpoint that it's ideal to use as a promotional device particularly for something like an album because while people are able to pick and chose from the albums, the album is there to stream in its entirety so it can sometimes save you from sending someone a promo cd who isn't going to bother to write about it.
OA: What are your thoughts on the music scene here in Chicago? Are there an adequate amount of venues and opportunities? TR: it has been astronomically easier for us to get shows here than it has been for us in kansas city or in portland- especially portland. in relation to portland there are proportionally about the same number of venues, but since portland is a much smaller city (and because people from all over the country flock there, particularly bands) it is much harder to get your foot in the door if you don't know anyone who lives there because people who have lived there their whole lives are very wary of people who have moved there. that isn't really the case in chicago- most places are willing to give you a chance if they think you're interesting enough. it's possible to just try different places until you find venues that suit what you do. we hit a wall last year where we were kind of lost in a sort of nether-world of playing shows but in the end it was just a question of us being too immersed in making our album and didn't have as much time or energy to devote to booking shows. chicago also seems to be the kind of place where persistence will pay off, which is a new thing for us. there are also some incredibly enthusiastic and helpful people who go out of their way to find and help new bands- namely flabby hoffman. no one had ever offered us a show out of the blue before he contacted us.
OA: What's next for Shalloboi? TR: we're playing our record release show at the empty bottle on september 3rd, and then going on a short west coast tour in mid-september. we have an ep that will probably be finished by november called 'dandelions.' it will kind of be a bridge between 'down to sleep' and the next record which we've also started. the ep should be out by the end of this year, hopefully. the next record will be incredibly stripped-down and minimal and the songs will be more subdued. there won't be any distortion on it at all. the songs are also much shorter and have more empty space and room to breathe. i've gotten back into using a bow on the guitar with this set of songs. i believe that it will be called 'all hope is blind.' after we get back from our tour we are trying to get a quiet(er) show set up at a diy space like elastic where we will play with a string trio and perform a handful of songs from that new record as well as older songs with ornate strings that we've never been able to play live properly. after that we're going to kind of take it easier next year- maybe go to sxsw in march and then do a short east coast tour in september after we release the record. it will be a vinyl-only release- which is something i'd like to do for the rest of our releases- just a handscreened cover, vinyl and a cdr copy of the record included. i've written and demoed songs for about three or four more records besides the two impending releases.
Bonus Questions: OA: Coffee? If yes, where can you find the best cup in Chicago? TR: definitely coffee. i work at beans and bagels in ravenswood. the best cup in chicago is at metropolis, which is around the corner from where we live.
OA: What was the last great book you have read, and where is your favorite book store? TR: 'home land' by sam lipsyte. i think probably quimby's in wicker park (in chicago). the best anywhere is powell's in portland. stefanie- the 'johnny the homicidal maniac' graphic novel by jhonen vasquez. powell's on burnside in portland.
The challenge of the fiction writer is to entertain with stories and words that may or may not be based on pieces of their lives while not injecting too much of their own history. Yet if you are too mysterious or unusual then people will believe that it is all an act or false persona. The writer must walk that line where they are visible, accessible, blogging, but always holding something back. The problem comes in when the reader and the critic confuse genuine thought and creativity for an artificial reality. True, literature has been known for pen names, ghost writers, larger than life persona's, but their are a growing segment of writer creating honest, perhaps unusual, stories simply because that is what comes out.
Sam Pink could be considered an internet writer, and he maintains a strange and entertaining blog that is currently called, CROWN YOURSELF THEN KILL YOURSELF. His writing is hilarious and random, and you never know what is coming next. He currently has a chapbook out on Jaguar Uprising called Yum Yum I Can't Wait To Die, and his first collection of short stories called "I AM GOING TO CLONE MYSELF THEN KILL THE CLONE AND EAT IT" will be published by Paper Hero Press in the fall.
Recently, Sam Pink was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): Earlier this month you announced that your first book, I AM GOING TO CLONE MYSELF THEN KILL THE CLONE AND EAT IT, will be published by newcomers Paper Hero Press. What can you tell us about the book? Sam Pink (SP): I can tell you everything I know about the book. But if I said one thing I would have to say it all. I don't want to tell you everything. So I will say nothing about the actual book. I will tell you about the time in which I wrote it. I wrote it last year during a period of time that was horrible. Every day I wrote parts of it. Sometimes I took long breaks because I felt like I couldn't do anything. One day I stayed in bed with the blanket over my head and I kept looking at my knees while moaning. Some people came to my door and knocked to find out where I was but I didn't answer the door. I kept feeling like I was about to throw up. One time I took a break and went for a walk. I found the skeleton of a deer. It was off a big road, on a decline near some woods. The bones were all pretty much still in place. They were atop a bed of fur. I am assuming the fur was the deer's fur. The fur was laid out like a bath mat. I picked up two of the vertebra and took them home. I boiled them in a pot and all the black shit around the bones floated off. It smelled horrible. I inhaled some of the steam by accident and after that I kept worrying that it would kill me or change me. Then I stopped caring about that. I put a shoelace through the hole of the vertebra and hung them over my bed. That felt good to me eventually. But the first night I couldn't sleep at all. I just kept looking at the bones. I feel like I could talk for a really long time about the book but I would rather people just read it and then whatever. I feel like I don't care if people know about what I think about the book and that as long as I know what I know I am secure.
OA: Many of the stories in this collection have appeared on-line. Do you feel having a story printed makes it more legitimate? Do you write differently when you know a story will be printed? SP: A small amount of the work has appeared online. After reading this question, I copied and pasted the things online that would be in the book. The things totaled 4000 words. The book is 32000 words right know and even the things that have been online are different in the book than they are online. I have sent some people the book, but no one except for me and barry graham have seen the last edit. I say this because I like to change things constantly. Internet is one thing, and print is another thing. I feel like if I have a collection that is long, I want people to have it in their hands and not have to read it online. Online and print are two aspects of publishing. Having it in print does not make it more legitimate to me. I do not have the either/or attitude about media that some people seem to have. The internet is the shit and I still really like books. A book is one way of expressing things. The internet is another way. Songs are another way. Cartoons are another way. You pick the one that suits what you do and how you want to distribute. As for the third part of the question, I have never thought to myself "this will be in print, time to write like it will be in print" or "this is for the internet, time to write for the internet". I write whatever entertains me and then I do whatever with it. I am glad there will be a book because I like to make things. Maybe the next thing I will do is write a long poem and print it all out on a huge piece of paper and fold it up like an atlas.
OA: Also you recently had a chapbook released by Jaguar Uprising Press. What can you tell us about YUM, YUM I CAN'T WAIT TO DIE? The cover is great, who designed that one? SP: The Jaguar Uprising are cool as hell. Mike Bushnell emailed me after I posted that I had written a book. He said he'd be interested in publishing it or whatever else I had. I sat down and wrote the chapbook YUM YUM I CAN"T WAIT TO DIE. I love the chapbook very much. I feel that is different from CLONE in that it is one long piece. The style is similar. It is a hand made chapbook that will probably not be read by a lot of people but I wish it would be. Every time I read it I feel proud. I drew the design of the guy with a hole for a head eating his own eye and then the jaguar uprising put the American flag over the cover. When I saw that I laughed. I think it is a great addition. If it could only have a belt buckle on the cover it would be complete. We discussed maybe somehow putting a spring loaded knife on the inside cover so people would get killed before they could even read the book but then someone said "if people die that shit will get around and then no one else will buy it and we are all only doing this for money". I agreed because I want money. That is all I want. I don't even really care about the chapbook or the book anymore. Honestly, I just beat an old man half to death and recorded what he said and that's the chapbook. Even though all the money goes to their press, I want money. I want a lot of it. I figure, money is awesome, so I should just get a lot of it, because then I have a lot of something that is awesome. If there wasn't money, I wouldn't write. Writing is stupid and pointless. Oh look at me, look at my fucking poems. Aren't I deep and interesting? Don't I have like, the deepest thoughts? I am so philosophical and fucking artistic. That's not me. I just want money.
OA: There seems to be a community of writers/bloggers forming that all appreciate each others writing, but have never met each other. Do you feel writers are connecting and sharing ideas and stories in ways that had yet to be fully utilized? Do you value the ability to connect with a writer for London and a writer Boston all in a matter of seconds? SP: Yes, the internet has done something with distribution that has never been done. There is no way to put writing in as many hands as the internet. I value the ability to connect because, I think, like most people, no one around me really gives a fuck about writing let alone writing like mine that could be perceived as "stupid as hell" or "shitty" or "totally fucking lame as hell" or "unimportant" or "poopy" or "about as dumb as that movie 'fantasia'" or "not even good enough to wipe my bleeding asshole with". So the internet is a good way of getting away from the people who would say the writing is "shit ass shit" or "like those little pieces of toilet paper that get stuck on your butthole" or "pretty much the stupidest ass thing since those Charlie Brown cartoons" or "motherfucking lame".
OA: Word association: Give me one word for each... SP: I only got phrases. Here are some phrases that these names evoked. A. Blake Butler "flaming dildo bazooka" B. Tao Lin "melted condom" C. Chris Killen "when I went to England I watched chris killen break his roomate's legs while his roommate was sleeping and chris killen turned to me and said, 'should've refilled the ice cube tray'." D. Daniel Bailey "super hot dude who is really hot and totally hot as hell" E. Colin Bassett "while I was trying to think of something to say after seeing the name colin bassett I saw a video on tv that showed a person stomping on a fox's head to make a fur coat or some shit and when the guy stomped on the fox's head blood drooled out of the fox's nostrils" F. Sam Pink "probably implanted in a woman by a penis that wasn't fully hard" G. Noah Cicero "one time after going for a walk I came home and was turning off lights at my apartment to go to sleep and at the end of the hallway I saw my dead uncle and when he saw me he put his finger to his lips and smiled and went, "shhh"."
OA: What's next for Sam Pink? SP: Finish editing the book. Finish chapbook for a collective book coming out sometime later on this year. Write story for "Dragons with Cancer" collection assembled by Bradley Sands and Mike Young. Finish novel. Hopefully get novel printed. Then I don't know. I seem to always think I am done. Then I think of something to say again. I have no clue. I would like to have a girlfriend and have sex more often. I think the one thing I am making sure I never encounter is making myself into a caricature. So many people talk to me like the writing is part of some persona. I don't understand that. These are my thoughts and my attempts to entertain people. If I want to write a romance novel tomorrow I will. I am whatever I want to be. A persona is a commitment to stagnation. The idea of a persona means that you are contriving something to show to people that is qualitatively not who you are. But I am this. And tomorrow if I delete my blog I am that too. I don't believe you can ever know another human. So I am not trying to put my picture on the internet or release information about myself. To me that is celebrity garbage. So, looked at logically, I could either try to manifest myself in my entirety on the internet, thereby eluding any persona (but ultimately this is impossible), or I could put up writing and that's it and if people want to in retrospect assemble a persona about me, then fine. But the idea of a persona is a pretension and if I want to completely write something else I will. I am very aware.
Bonus Questions: OA: What is the coolest indie bookstore in your area? SP: My floor.
OA: What type of music do you listen to, and who are a few of your favorites? SP: I will only say what I read while writing the books. Otherwise it will seem like I am trying to characterize myself. Honestly, I will listen to anything. The coolest thing I ever heard was a bunch of frogs in a swamp. But, while writing the books, I listened to the album "constantly terrified" by hair police and "junkyard" by the birthday party. Sometimes I listened to prurient. I think the albums by prurient that I was listening to were "shipwrecker's diary" and "black vase". Also "creature comforts" by black dice. I like to write to those albums because they are all almost painful to hear. Prurient actually hurts my ears and brain. I start laughing and moaning and rocking back and forth when I listen to prurient. I saw a video of the guy from prurient playing live on stage while some guy molested his girlfriend. But I am not one of those people who is like, at a party and I go, "oh have you ever heard of "_______" to show people how different I am. I can still listen to slayer and eat arby's in my car.
For more information on Sam Pink please visit his blog.
If you are a musician, writer, or artist and would like to see your work presented or reviewed here, we would love to hear from you. You can send submissions to P.O. Box 3897, St. Charles, IL 60174 or contact us at orangealert31 [AT] gmail.com. Thanks!
My Week in Pictures
We talk with local artist Kari Karus about her work and her involvment with Water Street Studio.
We discuss Quickies! (her monthly reading series) and Theodore Huxtable with Mary Hamilton
We explore the layers of sound contained in the work of Benoit Pioulard.
Click the pic to download!
The Orange Alert Reading Series @ The Whistler Jan 18th: Chris Bower, Jill Summers, Nick Ostdick, and Scott Stealey
John Updike (March 18, 1932 - January 27, 2009) Remembered Here
Orange Alert named one of the best web sites in Chicago by Chicago Magazine! Check it out
The material (pictures, mp3's, opinions, etc.) posted on this site are for the sole purpose of promoting the work of the artists that created them. They will only be posted for a short period of time, but if anyone would like them removed please contact us at orangealert31@gmail.com.
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Karl Blau Nature's Got Away (K Records, Sept. 23, 2008)
