An Ozomatli show is the type of event where you make new friends. Their name is derived from the Nahuatl reference to the monkey deity of dance, which stems originally from Aztec mythology. My buddies Pete and Clinton couldn’t stop talking before the show about the time they’d seen them at the Canyon Club last year, how much the band went off that night. They didn’t disappoint tonight, either. It’s music that you can dance to, party music, but with a unifying theme.
In the beginning of the show, the band dances through the crowd to get to the stage. There was a Mardi Gras like feel as the Song ‘Superbowl Sundae’ was heard, along with giant ‘Ozo” puppets dancing throughout the crowd. Bass Player Wil-dog Abers came up to the Mic early on in the set and declared, “Everybody respect each other’s space!!!! Everybody show some Love. Are you ready L.A.?” And yeah, we were. A quintessential L.A. band, Ozomatli rocked the house for almost 2 hours, leaving a large group of people laden with sweat and more than a bit blissed out.
In trying to describe the group, they are hard to paint into any corner. At any one moment, you might hear some Rastafarian inspired hip hop, some “wave your hands in the air!” moments mixed with jamming beats, a touch of mariachi played hyper speed, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. As percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi put it in an NPR interview last year, “You drive down Sunset Boulevard and turn off your stereo and roll down your windows and all the music that comes out of each and every different car, whether it's salsa, cumbia, merengue, or Hip Hop, funk or whatever, it's that crazy blend that's going on between that cacophony of sound is Ozomatli, y'know?”. And there was a little bit for everytone! Whether you’re into fusion jazz, funk, or a Grateful Dead loving Phish head, you would have left the place satisfied.
But you had to be there! There’s no way to perfectly describe one guy rockin’ a handdrum, another banging an Jarocho, along with a trumpet, trombone, (excellently executed by Sheffer Bruton,) Saxaphone, guitars, bass, Percussionists, drummers. It’s not just a band, it’s a movement! Not everybody can pull that off. Of course this band has been at it for fourteen years now.
Fans of Chali 2na, righteous activist and leader of notable hip hop group Jurassic Five were glad to have him back in the band on the Mic. He was an early founding member of the group but had taken a break for a while. He was dancing and rocking the Mic, gelling particularly well on the dance moves along with Wil-dog.
And The backbeat of the band is a highlight. The lead drummer is Mario Calire, former drummer for the Wallflowers. He definitely kept the band swinging, along with Justin “El Nino” Poree, who alternated between percussion and rapping on the mic, and Jiro Yamaguchi, who specializes on the Tabla. At certain points in the show, we had Mario on the kit, and Jiro and Justin were also back there banging on various percussive instruments, leading to an unusually tight rhythmical backbone for the band.
You couldn’t say there was one single main frontman, either: more like a collective group of talented singers and poets who shared the limelight equally with each other, letting everybody shine their brightest at the same time. Asdru Sierra, who played the trumpet and sang with a pristine voice, stole the show a few times, but so did Ulises Bella, who not only rocked out on a Requinto Jarocho Guitar and a Saxaphone, but also sang many lead parts with vigor, as did Raul Pacheca, who was also a masterful lead guitar player, noodling out solos like a legend. He made us all shiver with his vocals on the song “Cuando Canto” which is just a beautiful, flawless ballad.
Wil dog, an unbelievable bass player, is quite impressive with his ability to dance back and forth maniacally while at the same time keeping the beat with his intricate lines. He wasn’t shy at grabbing the wireless mic and flowing with some fine beats, at one point insisting to “bring it back from 10 years ago” before launching into another song.
At one point, 5 of the guys were sporting some heavy dance moves and playing together, looking like a modern update of the Temptations but rocking that urban style and with instruments in their hands. When Wil dog asked the crowd how many were there for the first time, I was surprised to see how many people raised their hands. It was a crowd converted to the band’s fun loving vibe. At one point two people sporting chicken outfits with boxing gloves did a bit of crowd surfing- they looked like they were having as much fun as the band. Note to Ozo: If you ever need a Substitute Chicken, look me up! I’m ready for some crowdsurfing in a chicken suit too!
Mainly, they played their old standards, but they did some new songs too. “Ashes” sported some sultry singing from Asdru and once again, Wil Dog playfully admonished the crowd, “Remember, this is an Ozomatli show, so respect each other’s space. There is no fighting allowed at our shows. Unless you want to deal with Ulises, who’s been studying some Gracie Jiu Jitsu!”
Before launching into “City of Angels” members of the band were calling out to the audience, “What’s the greatest city in the world?” It made you feel glad to be here in L.A. Whatever right you have to complain about the traffic or the sprawl, you can’t complain about the Live music, (or the weather, USUALLY!)
At certain points in the show, Jiro Yamaguchi sometimes would saunter over to the front with a hand drum. This is group of guys that don’t like to sit still for very long, and they all had to get a workout in. It was especially interesting when he was back at his kit along with the other drummer Mario and Justin Poree. It really made the whole club bounce in rhythm. Every member of the band was gleaming and Wil dog announced that they’ve been together 14 years!
A truth about bands I’ve seen lately- the more they enjoy yourselves onstage the more that translates over to the audience. It’s a concept that was embodied at this show. Every member played with such a zen and joy and the music was beautiful, showing us what a vital band they are, not just to the L.A. scene, but to the international community, and we need to go out and support them, pay attention to them, while at the same time, listening to their message and helping them spread the good vibes.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Bullfighter by Jeremy Ferrick
Who hired this yankee to be my bullfighter?
This bullfighter, supposed to look like me.
I will take out my petition
against this malnutrition that I do not want the world to see.
They will sign their name in blood
I'm not waiting for the flood to wash me up, pull me under.
What's that you said, did you get lost,
you lonely writer?
He outdid you, the weak bullfighter.
He's staying in the picture
if you don't like it you can quit.
And he did a noble job
and made some money out of it
but who wants to be a puppet dancing slightly on the stage
If you could be the one to pull the strings
what would you do if you could do
anything at all
would you blow the whistle
or pass the ball
what would you do if you could do
anything at all
would you blow the whistle
or pass the ball
so get out your bullhorn
put your cigarette out
you can change the course of
someone's life you don't even have to shout
you can get up on your soapbox
you can stand up on your doubt
and if you don't know what that means than look it up.
This bullfighter, supposed to look like me.
I will take out my petition
against this malnutrition that I do not want the world to see.
They will sign their name in blood
I'm not waiting for the flood to wash me up, pull me under.
What's that you said, did you get lost,
you lonely writer?
He outdid you, the weak bullfighter.
He's staying in the picture
if you don't like it you can quit.
And he did a noble job
and made some money out of it
but who wants to be a puppet dancing slightly on the stage
If you could be the one to pull the strings
what would you do if you could do
anything at all
would you blow the whistle
or pass the ball
what would you do if you could do
anything at all
would you blow the whistle
or pass the ball
so get out your bullhorn
put your cigarette out
you can change the course of
someone's life you don't even have to shout
you can get up on your soapbox
you can stand up on your doubt
and if you don't know what that means than look it up.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Conquering Sugar Addiction with Kelly Keough: Episode 3
This time of year is great for spending time with family, and usually we like to stuff our faces with holiday treats. What would happen if instead of ingesting food from the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.,) we ate something more like, oh, I don't know, maybe raw Pumpkin Pies with a bit of cream on top? But how about, instead of average whip cream which leaves you feeling congested and prone to flu like symptoms, you put some "cashew cream" on top? Don't knock it until you try it! I got to sample these treats that Kelly Keough whipped up for us in class. As with everything else I've tried of hers, I definitely prefer it over the stuff we've all been accustomed to. When the pie crust is put through a dehydrator, which Kelly says she "can't live without," it retains it's freshness. The temperature of a dehydrator is usually around 100 to 110, so that the ingredients retain their vivacity, and the enzymes and antioxidants, etc. that are so necessary for good health don't get cooked to death. (The standard for Raw food is below 117 degrees farenheit.) Kelly recommended that if we didn't have a dehydrator, we could start off by using the stove, but heating it at lower temperatures then usual.
Stephanie, a homemaker from Thousand Oaks, figures it's worth the 40 + miles commute to real raw live for Kelly Keough's classes. She's been to the 2 previous classes I've written about, and is back today for more. "I've made all of the recipes 10 times or more, except the peanut butter cups, because they keep so well in the fridge, I've got plenty left." I told her I was impressed. "I've been doing the raw thing a long time," she said. But like anything worth learning, there's always more to grasp. That's why Kelly's class is a diamond in the rough, and there's a lot of wisdom to be mined from what she teaches.
At Real Raw Live this past Sunday, Kelly was talking about a woman who is one of the wealthiest women on the planet, and has battled weight loss unsuccessfully for a long period of time. Who is that? Oprah Winfrey. If only she could have some of Kelly's raw products in her pocketbook, "she would eat that instead of craft services. She has the world at her fingertips. All the money in the world. Access to all the psychologists, diet centers, trainers, and she still has the same problem. What is it? Sugar Addiction." That is something most of us can relate to.
She went on to describe sugar addiction as a disease, of spiritual, mental, and physical extraction. And raw/ vegan food being a tool that can help this addiction, by providing tasty alternatives- foods that in my own estimation are better than what we've been used to eating in the Standard American diet.
Stay tuned for next year's classes. And if you can't think of what to buy your loved ones for the holidays, buy Kelly's cookbook at www.kellykeough.com. Or maybe you can buy it for yourself as a kick off for the New Year's Resolutions, which should include a healthier you.
Stephanie, a homemaker from Thousand Oaks, figures it's worth the 40 + miles commute to real raw live for Kelly Keough's classes. She's been to the 2 previous classes I've written about, and is back today for more. "I've made all of the recipes 10 times or more, except the peanut butter cups, because they keep so well in the fridge, I've got plenty left." I told her I was impressed. "I've been doing the raw thing a long time," she said. But like anything worth learning, there's always more to grasp. That's why Kelly's class is a diamond in the rough, and there's a lot of wisdom to be mined from what she teaches.
At Real Raw Live this past Sunday, Kelly was talking about a woman who is one of the wealthiest women on the planet, and has battled weight loss unsuccessfully for a long period of time. Who is that? Oprah Winfrey. If only she could have some of Kelly's raw products in her pocketbook, "she would eat that instead of craft services. She has the world at her fingertips. All the money in the world. Access to all the psychologists, diet centers, trainers, and she still has the same problem. What is it? Sugar Addiction." That is something most of us can relate to.
She went on to describe sugar addiction as a disease, of spiritual, mental, and physical extraction. And raw/ vegan food being a tool that can help this addiction, by providing tasty alternatives- foods that in my own estimation are better than what we've been used to eating in the Standard American diet.
Stay tuned for next year's classes. And if you can't think of what to buy your loved ones for the holidays, buy Kelly's cookbook at www.kellykeough.com. Or maybe you can buy it for yourself as a kick off for the New Year's Resolutions, which should include a healthier you.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Meat Beat Manifesto tells it like it is.
Meat Beat Manifesto Tells It Like It Is
By: Jeremy Ferrick 12/11/08
Lights shift and beats trickle in, a booming voice comes over the PA and declares, "Only 11% of what we learn comes from what we hear." For two decades, Meat Beat Manifesto has promulgated the theory that the picture makes the sound come alive.
Here’s how: A collage of moogs and a clip of Marshall Applewhite of the notorious suicidal Heavens Gate cult saying 'survive,' repeats over and over. MBM's music provides an angsty backbeat as further clips of George Bush Sr., Jimi Hendrix, footage from old movies, vintage microphones, typewriters, buttons, and fractal patterns shift between double screens. When the song ends, transfixed cheers anticipate what will come next.
Basically, we have a blueprint of Jack Danger's creative brain, his obsessions, possessions, fears and joys. A lot of sacred and profane, yin and yang energy, showing us the absurdity of life on earth; the staples of society chewed up and spit out for all to see. Before the show, Dangers sat down on a couch with MetroWize.
MetroWize: How long has Lynn Farmer been your drummer and how did you meet?
Jack Danger: Back in ‘96, I met him in San Francisco and have been working with him ever since. He plays on the albums, he's been on every tour. I've worked with drummers before that, but it was sort of a revolving door policy. The first time I ever brought a drummer onstage was 1990. That was Phil from Consolidated. I had different drummers you know. It was like Spinal Tap—drummers dying in mysterious gardening accidents!
MW: How much preparation goes into your live show? Do you consider it during the recording process?
JD: A lot of work goes into the visual side. Ten years ago, we didn't have the technology to do what we're doing now. So, the music was definitely the first thing, and everything was built around that, where in the last few years it sort of drifted a bit into songs being written around the visuals. So at this point, it's sort of like fifty-fifty. We'll find something like the guy from Heaven's Gate, and build a song around what he's saying, and how it breaks. It doesn't translate unless you're doing a DVD, so it's definitely more of a live thing. So we work the whole process out in rehearsals.
MW: What made you decide to move to San Francisco?
JD: I met my future wife. It's a beautiful place. Nothing else like it in the States. It's open minded, not really like the rest of the country.
MW: Does living in America inform your work?
JD: Yeah, when you experience more. I lived in England for twenty-six years in one town, Swindon. Anybody would want to get out after a while. But I don't think I'll be here forever. You get that alienation thing as well, when you've moved from your own country. Even if you're American and you move to Europe, like Johnny Depp living in France. People ask him why? You get the third degree. Doesn't matter which country you're from. Like when you do an interview with somebody in Britain, they always want to talk about, "Why did you leave? What's it like there?" Well, I bet if you had the opportunity you would too! If there's any country it would be here, especially with music, it's the number one market, then it's Japan. I don't know if Britain is as big as Germany or France, but they have their own spoken language bands. You go to Holland, and they have a number one album but you've never heard of them. Over here, there's a formula, there's one language, more or less. People understand it.
MW: When you started out in the mid ‘80's, you worked with Andy Partridge and XTC?
JD: I was working in the studio in Swindon. I quit school when I was sixteen, in 1981. I got a job working in their studio, doing tape Op, and making the tea, stuff like that. And that's where they were rehearsing for English Settlement, and that more or less corrupted me! Made me want to make music forever.
MW: And you gravitated more to electronic music…
JD: I was definitely into Kraftwerk, Human Leagues' first two albums, definitely Caberet Voltaire. But XTC was good because they mixed some of that stuff in with what they were doing, like he was into electronics. His solo album, under the name Mr. Partridge, called Take Away, had dub versions of XTC. It was great. He was into that kind of music. He had Sequential Circuits, Prophet 5, in the studio at that time. Andy definitely helped me with my career.
MW: With your current album, AutoImmune, how much of your creative expression comes through politically as opposed to personally?
JD: If you listen to a Nine Inch Nails record, it's more “me, I, etc.” He's good at doing that. I tend, if I write lyrics, to look back at and take stuff out, leaving it more ambiguous and open-ended. With politics you can have the opposite reaction, you can play with it more.
MW: Are you still remixing other artists?
JD: Yeah, off and on. The last one I did was Excepter.
MW: Is there anything lately that's come out that you like?
JD: I like Scorn's new album. It's great, an inspiration.
MW: Are you still using a Synthi 100?
JD: Yeah, but I can't take it on tour. It's bigger than this sofa. It's all in one unit. It's a really odd shape. You can't get it through the door.
MW: Stockhausen used to use one right?
JD: He did!
MW: Is he an influence?
JD: Yeah, more his early stuff, later ‘60's, ‘70's, the theatrical stuff. More like Mauricio Kagel - who died recently, like a month ago. The way they did it back then, it's not really done the same way any more. The craft. That's why I have a big collection of that stuff. There's no one who's making it like that any more.
MW: You’ve gone on the record saying, "Meat is Murder." What are your views on vegetarianism?
JD: I used to be vegan, now I'm not so much.
MW: When did you start with that?
JD: Since working with Consolidated, Phil, it rubbed off on me in a good way. I've known a lot of vegetarians through the years who have gone back to their old habits.
MW: Vegetarianism is the healthier choice, and you’ve been applauded for putting it out there.
JD: It's better for the ecology as well, deforestation, cattle, the amount of methane that goes into the air. I wouldn't want to ram it down anyone's throats. I put the message in there where I can without treading on meat eater's toes. But…yeah, meat is murder.
By: Jeremy Ferrick 12/11/08
Lights shift and beats trickle in, a booming voice comes over the PA and declares, "Only 11% of what we learn comes from what we hear." For two decades, Meat Beat Manifesto has promulgated the theory that the picture makes the sound come alive.
Here’s how: A collage of moogs and a clip of Marshall Applewhite of the notorious suicidal Heavens Gate cult saying 'survive,' repeats over and over. MBM's music provides an angsty backbeat as further clips of George Bush Sr., Jimi Hendrix, footage from old movies, vintage microphones, typewriters, buttons, and fractal patterns shift between double screens. When the song ends, transfixed cheers anticipate what will come next.
Basically, we have a blueprint of Jack Danger's creative brain, his obsessions, possessions, fears and joys. A lot of sacred and profane, yin and yang energy, showing us the absurdity of life on earth; the staples of society chewed up and spit out for all to see. Before the show, Dangers sat down on a couch with MetroWize.
MetroWize: How long has Lynn Farmer been your drummer and how did you meet?
Jack Danger: Back in ‘96, I met him in San Francisco and have been working with him ever since. He plays on the albums, he's been on every tour. I've worked with drummers before that, but it was sort of a revolving door policy. The first time I ever brought a drummer onstage was 1990. That was Phil from Consolidated. I had different drummers you know. It was like Spinal Tap—drummers dying in mysterious gardening accidents!
MW: How much preparation goes into your live show? Do you consider it during the recording process?
JD: A lot of work goes into the visual side. Ten years ago, we didn't have the technology to do what we're doing now. So, the music was definitely the first thing, and everything was built around that, where in the last few years it sort of drifted a bit into songs being written around the visuals. So at this point, it's sort of like fifty-fifty. We'll find something like the guy from Heaven's Gate, and build a song around what he's saying, and how it breaks. It doesn't translate unless you're doing a DVD, so it's definitely more of a live thing. So we work the whole process out in rehearsals.
MW: What made you decide to move to San Francisco?
JD: I met my future wife. It's a beautiful place. Nothing else like it in the States. It's open minded, not really like the rest of the country.
MW: Does living in America inform your work?
JD: Yeah, when you experience more. I lived in England for twenty-six years in one town, Swindon. Anybody would want to get out after a while. But I don't think I'll be here forever. You get that alienation thing as well, when you've moved from your own country. Even if you're American and you move to Europe, like Johnny Depp living in France. People ask him why? You get the third degree. Doesn't matter which country you're from. Like when you do an interview with somebody in Britain, they always want to talk about, "Why did you leave? What's it like there?" Well, I bet if you had the opportunity you would too! If there's any country it would be here, especially with music, it's the number one market, then it's Japan. I don't know if Britain is as big as Germany or France, but they have their own spoken language bands. You go to Holland, and they have a number one album but you've never heard of them. Over here, there's a formula, there's one language, more or less. People understand it.
MW: When you started out in the mid ‘80's, you worked with Andy Partridge and XTC?
JD: I was working in the studio in Swindon. I quit school when I was sixteen, in 1981. I got a job working in their studio, doing tape Op, and making the tea, stuff like that. And that's where they were rehearsing for English Settlement, and that more or less corrupted me! Made me want to make music forever.
MW: And you gravitated more to electronic music…
JD: I was definitely into Kraftwerk, Human Leagues' first two albums, definitely Caberet Voltaire. But XTC was good because they mixed some of that stuff in with what they were doing, like he was into electronics. His solo album, under the name Mr. Partridge, called Take Away, had dub versions of XTC. It was great. He was into that kind of music. He had Sequential Circuits, Prophet 5, in the studio at that time. Andy definitely helped me with my career.
MW: With your current album, AutoImmune, how much of your creative expression comes through politically as opposed to personally?
JD: If you listen to a Nine Inch Nails record, it's more “me, I, etc.” He's good at doing that. I tend, if I write lyrics, to look back at and take stuff out, leaving it more ambiguous and open-ended. With politics you can have the opposite reaction, you can play with it more.
MW: Are you still remixing other artists?
JD: Yeah, off and on. The last one I did was Excepter.
MW: Is there anything lately that's come out that you like?
JD: I like Scorn's new album. It's great, an inspiration.
MW: Are you still using a Synthi 100?
JD: Yeah, but I can't take it on tour. It's bigger than this sofa. It's all in one unit. It's a really odd shape. You can't get it through the door.
MW: Stockhausen used to use one right?
JD: He did!
MW: Is he an influence?
JD: Yeah, more his early stuff, later ‘60's, ‘70's, the theatrical stuff. More like Mauricio Kagel - who died recently, like a month ago. The way they did it back then, it's not really done the same way any more. The craft. That's why I have a big collection of that stuff. There's no one who's making it like that any more.
MW: You’ve gone on the record saying, "Meat is Murder." What are your views on vegetarianism?
JD: I used to be vegan, now I'm not so much.
MW: When did you start with that?
JD: Since working with Consolidated, Phil, it rubbed off on me in a good way. I've known a lot of vegetarians through the years who have gone back to their old habits.
MW: Vegetarianism is the healthier choice, and you’ve been applauded for putting it out there.
JD: It's better for the ecology as well, deforestation, cattle, the amount of methane that goes into the air. I wouldn't want to ram it down anyone's throats. I put the message in there where I can without treading on meat eater's toes. But…yeah, meat is murder.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Steve Martini Interview.
Steven Martini is explaining Kundalini Yoga to me. He is not only a practioner, but has completed teacher training as well. We are in his car driving through the Pico Robertson neighborhood, and his tiny dog Bridget is resting silently on my lap as he explains the intricacies of his spirituality.
Acting writing, filmmaking, making music. They're all really related.
When I first started, acting is something that is very physical, you're performing. You're using your body, you're animating. Music comes from this other place, it definitely needs your body. Like when I write a song, it comes from some place deep inside.
Jeremy: How long have you been playing music and writing songs?
I took piano lessons when I was a kid. I hated them. The piano teacher, I used to hide under my bed when he was outside. But then my parents got divorced, and all those lessons that I actually did take seemed to come to fruition when I'd sit down at the piano and have this emotional sort of pain that I needed to get out. With this crumbling family, reality changing right in front of my eyes.
Jeremy: A lot of times when Parents make their kids take piano lessons against their will, they say, "you'll thank me for this later."
Steven:So true, I wish I'd taken more lessons. I wish I had more discipline at it.
So then I started emotionally expressing myself through music, and I was happy I knew the technical skills.
J: So you were in your teens when you started writing songs?
Steven: Yeah, I a lot of it was like trying to figure out a Billy Joel song on the piano and then singing it with all my heart. Like, "God, that feels so good." You know? And that was around the time, the whole nineties thing, which was just amazing. PearlJam came out.
Jeremy: I had the same thing with Pearljam.
Steven: With Pearljam, when they did Unplugged, that was just like, Oh my god! And that was the time, Art and Commerce was together! It's not just this pop, bubblegum stuff.
And Cobain had the ironic poetry thing going. The alienation, which was great. And Eddie Vedder, he had these spiritual truths that were coming out. He was saying stuff, and the stuff that was resonating with me was those spiritual truths that they were exploring when they were of the age. They were older, and they had already gone through so much shit that I understand now. When you're a teenager, you're like, this is cool.
Once I started really playing music, I almost stopped listening because I wanted it to come from that place, that raw place of emotion, and that's why I always hear something slightly different for my band. People always say it sounds like this or it sounds like that. It's always a little bit surprising, like when it sounds like something I never listen to!
So you've been acting for a long time too?
Yeah. I went to a high school for performing arts. It was like, you start off your writing exercises. So I was like, "Well, I'm just going to write like J.D. Salinger." You start mimicking, "I'm just going to act like Al Pacino." Then like, Nirvana. You start emulating and mimicking at some point, and that get's you to a certain point, and then you realize, oh, I don't necessarily want to mimic anymore. That doesn't feel real anymore.
How did you meet your current bandmates? And how long have you been in L.A. now?
I've been In L.A. now ten years. I came out to L.A. right after high school essentially. My grandfather died, and he left me his guitar. I didn't really know how to play it, I just played the piano. But I figured out the chords, you know, some friends would teach me. I learned E minor, which is like the easiest chord, and I didn't try to learn another song. I immediately just started writing. So as soon as I came out to L.A., I didn't have a TV, didn't have any friends. I was living in a pool house, just sort of alone from my family, my girlfriend I'd broken up with. So I wrote like a hundred songs. And it felt like a real outlet, like this gives me the writing aspect, which is real internal, in your head, and then when you perform it, it brings out the body and you're performing. So it's like acting when you're performing, and you're writing the song. It's so much more satisfying than just being an actor.
So you came out primarily to act but you got more into songwriting?
I think so, yeah. As an actor, I'd done a film I was brought out here and gone out on auditions and stuff. But then I started playing in bands, and people started hearing my songs. First I played keyboards in a band called Shag, with Raymond Richards of Idaho Falls. We started a band called Caboose, which was more like John Spencer Blues Explosion, but I was always much more song oriented.
You were the lead singer in that band?
Yeah I played harmonica and sang, I would bring songs that we would play, but we would also jam and come up with stuff, which lately hasn't been as much the case.
It's more solid songs?
Yeah.
So you've already played a lot of places around L.A.
I played a lot, and I played in a bunch of different bands, but then what happened was my movie career, I did my first movie and put a song in that.
Which movie was that?
Smiling goat and fish on fire. First movie that I wrote.
And that came out?
Yeah we made it for like 50 grand. And so that started off my writing career, I stared writing screenplays for film and television. That movie won the Toronto film festival. So then I started focusing more on writing screenplays, and getting really into the structure and storytelling. It was a really interesting change in pace but I kind of needed that extra dimension, to write my next Film, Lymelife. So this movie got us into sundance with Robert Redford, and we developed the script up here. I've never been to college, I've never been to film school, so this is like learning on the spot with people who........
So that film took a few years to find funding and everything. And a few years ago we had funding for it, six million dollars. We had 3 months preproduction, we spent a million dollars, shooting the film in New Jersey we were about to start the first day. We had Billy Joel doing the score of the movie.
So you got to meet him, and you said you're a big fan, right?
Huge fan, from when I was a kid. But at this point I'd already had my own musical journey, and he was like, "I haven't written a song in 15 years." I met him and I was like, "what happened?"
You asked him that?
Yeah!
And what did he say?
He was like, "I don't know how to explain it," He said, "Look at all the songs that I've written. Like I've lost, the silence."
but meeting him, I was really excited, it was like so cool. There was this burning thing inside of me.
Acting writing, filmmaking, making music. They're all really related.
When I first started, acting is something that is very physical, you're performing. You're using your body, you're animating. Music comes from this other place, it definitely needs your body. Like when I write a song, it comes from some place deep inside.
Jeremy: How long have you been playing music and writing songs?
I took piano lessons when I was a kid. I hated them. The piano teacher, I used to hide under my bed when he was outside. But then my parents got divorced, and all those lessons that I actually did take seemed to come to fruition when I'd sit down at the piano and have this emotional sort of pain that I needed to get out. With this crumbling family, reality changing right in front of my eyes.
Jeremy: A lot of times when Parents make their kids take piano lessons against their will, they say, "you'll thank me for this later."
Steven:So true, I wish I'd taken more lessons. I wish I had more discipline at it.
So then I started emotionally expressing myself through music, and I was happy I knew the technical skills.
J: So you were in your teens when you started writing songs?
Steven: Yeah, I a lot of it was like trying to figure out a Billy Joel song on the piano and then singing it with all my heart. Like, "God, that feels so good." You know? And that was around the time, the whole nineties thing, which was just amazing. PearlJam came out.
Jeremy: I had the same thing with Pearljam.
Steven: With Pearljam, when they did Unplugged, that was just like, Oh my god! And that was the time, Art and Commerce was together! It's not just this pop, bubblegum stuff.
And Cobain had the ironic poetry thing going. The alienation, which was great. And Eddie Vedder, he had these spiritual truths that were coming out. He was saying stuff, and the stuff that was resonating with me was those spiritual truths that they were exploring when they were of the age. They were older, and they had already gone through so much shit that I understand now. When you're a teenager, you're like, this is cool.
Once I started really playing music, I almost stopped listening because I wanted it to come from that place, that raw place of emotion, and that's why I always hear something slightly different for my band. People always say it sounds like this or it sounds like that. It's always a little bit surprising, like when it sounds like something I never listen to!
So you've been acting for a long time too?
Yeah. I went to a high school for performing arts. It was like, you start off your writing exercises. So I was like, "Well, I'm just going to write like J.D. Salinger." You start mimicking, "I'm just going to act like Al Pacino." Then like, Nirvana. You start emulating and mimicking at some point, and that get's you to a certain point, and then you realize, oh, I don't necessarily want to mimic anymore. That doesn't feel real anymore.
How did you meet your current bandmates? And how long have you been in L.A. now?
I've been In L.A. now ten years. I came out to L.A. right after high school essentially. My grandfather died, and he left me his guitar. I didn't really know how to play it, I just played the piano. But I figured out the chords, you know, some friends would teach me. I learned E minor, which is like the easiest chord, and I didn't try to learn another song. I immediately just started writing. So as soon as I came out to L.A., I didn't have a TV, didn't have any friends. I was living in a pool house, just sort of alone from my family, my girlfriend I'd broken up with. So I wrote like a hundred songs. And it felt like a real outlet, like this gives me the writing aspect, which is real internal, in your head, and then when you perform it, it brings out the body and you're performing. So it's like acting when you're performing, and you're writing the song. It's so much more satisfying than just being an actor.
So you came out primarily to act but you got more into songwriting?
I think so, yeah. As an actor, I'd done a film I was brought out here and gone out on auditions and stuff. But then I started playing in bands, and people started hearing my songs. First I played keyboards in a band called Shag, with Raymond Richards of Idaho Falls. We started a band called Caboose, which was more like John Spencer Blues Explosion, but I was always much more song oriented.
You were the lead singer in that band?
Yeah I played harmonica and sang, I would bring songs that we would play, but we would also jam and come up with stuff, which lately hasn't been as much the case.
It's more solid songs?
Yeah.
So you've already played a lot of places around L.A.
I played a lot, and I played in a bunch of different bands, but then what happened was my movie career, I did my first movie and put a song in that.
Which movie was that?
Smiling goat and fish on fire. First movie that I wrote.
And that came out?
Yeah we made it for like 50 grand. And so that started off my writing career, I stared writing screenplays for film and television. That movie won the Toronto film festival. So then I started focusing more on writing screenplays, and getting really into the structure and storytelling. It was a really interesting change in pace but I kind of needed that extra dimension, to write my next Film, Lymelife. So this movie got us into sundance with Robert Redford, and we developed the script up here. I've never been to college, I've never been to film school, so this is like learning on the spot with people who........
So that film took a few years to find funding and everything. And a few years ago we had funding for it, six million dollars. We had 3 months preproduction, we spent a million dollars, shooting the film in New Jersey we were about to start the first day. We had Billy Joel doing the score of the movie.
So you got to meet him, and you said you're a big fan, right?
Huge fan, from when I was a kid. But at this point I'd already had my own musical journey, and he was like, "I haven't written a song in 15 years." I met him and I was like, "what happened?"
You asked him that?
Yeah!
And what did he say?
He was like, "I don't know how to explain it," He said, "Look at all the songs that I've written. Like I've lost, the silence."
but meeting him, I was really excited, it was like so cool. There was this burning thing inside of me.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Kelly Keough's Uncooking class: episode 2: a Method to the Happiness.
Alright all you rawsome foodies out there. If you haven't been to Kelly's class yet, there's a new opportunity to join her the next few sundays at Real Raw Live on 5913 W. Franklin Avenue in Hollywood. Her classes are quite affordable when compared to other Raw Culinary classes. Kelly's classes are currently being priced at $20 for one class, or a package of 3 for $50. The education and inspiration that you acquire from watching and listening TO Kelly prepare her sumptuously sexy edibles is worth the price of admission alone. Of course the opportunity to sample the wares is a sweetly savored experience
also!
Kelly’s philosophy about food is fairly straight forward.. “My creations have to taste good, and they
should look gourmet or else
you're not going to eat it.” She doesn’t believe healthy food should be something you have to suffer through, rather a “great celebration.” She added, "if it's not fun, you're not going to do it." I can relate with that! A group of us met up with her to taste some of her delicacies and take in her positive, healing spirit.
“I’m trying to create a series of classes that nourishes the healthy lifestyle and creates community,” She said at the beginning of the class, “By making it affordable, and showing you how to do it yourself, This class actually builds your culinary skills and taste palate to be able to enjoy life to it’s fullest. We are the impetus of this new pioneering idea and creativity here in Franklin Hills, at Real Raw Live. This is a new group. Hopefully, we’ll spread and we’ll be doing some great things."
Well, I know for sure one of the great things she was
talking about were her delicious Hemp
Balls, which she originally called “Fudgits” when she was first developing them. Kelly is a self described sugar addict. I’m glad she’s been able to whip up some nice alternatives, because I’m one too- or maybe now, an erythritol addict, since I've been newly enlightened now! (Erythritol OR ZSweet is a newer sugar substitute on the market that Kelly encourages us all to try, along with Stevia, Swerve, and Agave, which she recommends using more sparingly..) She believes that combining sugar substitutes properly is the best way to fully bring out a sweet taste in whatever you're "uncooking."
The special thing about her products is that because of the heavy dose of nutrient content that you’re getting, even though it tastes like a desert, it’s practically a meal in itself. "These Hemp Balls are dear to my heart," she says as the class is scarfing them down in effortless indulgence.
"They've transformed, like a butterfly over
the last four years," which was when she began creating them, in an effort to come up with something that would replace the other junkfoods she was eating to satisfy her sugar cravings. "It's all about NOT supressing what you love- the more you start giving yourself what you love, the more love comes into your life." I'll have another Hemp Ball, than, Thank you very much!
To wash down the Hemp Balls, or Fudgits, she blended up one of the best smoothies available on planet earth and I'll tell you why: It combines what she describes as a "great combo for a total elixir of well being," cacao, which has a muscly supply of polyphenols, and Hawaiian Spirulina, which boasts Iron, and the highest protein content from chloryphyll available. Cool thing about Iron, it helps curb sugar craving. So you're curing your sugar craving, and curbing it at the same time. Iodine which is in Sea Vegetables does that too, according to Kelly. People were wide-eyed when she stuck in the spinach, but we somehow trusted that it would taste fine, and we certainly weren't dissaPpointed! After 2 Hemp Balls and a small smoothie I was full for several hours. In fact, I found myself having to run an extra couple miles that night to drain my body of the extra energy that I was feeling!
also!
Kelly’s philosophy about food is fairly straight forward.. “My creations have to taste good, and they
should look gourmet or else
you're not going to eat it.” She doesn’t believe healthy food should be something you have to suffer through, rather a “great celebration.” She added, "if it's not fun, you're not going to do it." I can relate with that! A group of us met up with her to taste some of her delicacies and take in her positive, healing spirit.
“I’m trying to create a series of classes that nourishes the healthy lifestyle and creates community,” She said at the beginning of the class, “By making it affordable, and showing you how to do it yourself, This class actually builds your culinary skills and taste palate to be able to enjoy life to it’s fullest. We are the impetus of this new pioneering idea and creativity here in Franklin Hills, at Real Raw Live. This is a new group. Hopefully, we’ll spread and we’ll be doing some great things."
Well, I know for sure one of the great things she was
talking about were her delicious Hemp
Balls, which she originally called “Fudgits” when she was first developing them. Kelly is a self described sugar addict. I’m glad she’s been able to whip up some nice alternatives, because I’m one too- or maybe now, an erythritol addict, since I've been newly enlightened now! (Erythritol OR ZSweet is a newer sugar substitute on the market that Kelly encourages us all to try, along with Stevia, Swerve, and Agave, which she recommends using more sparingly..) She believes that combining sugar substitutes properly is the best way to fully bring out a sweet taste in whatever you're "uncooking."
The special thing about her products is that because of the heavy dose of nutrient content that you’re getting, even though it tastes like a desert, it’s practically a meal in itself. "These Hemp Balls are dear to my heart," she says as the class is scarfing them down in effortless indulgence.
"They've transformed, like a butterfly over
the last four years," which was when she began creating them, in an effort to come up with something that would replace the other junkfoods she was eating to satisfy her sugar cravings. "It's all about NOT supressing what you love- the more you start giving yourself what you love, the more love comes into your life." I'll have another Hemp Ball, than, Thank you very much!
To wash down the Hemp Balls, or Fudgits, she blended up one of the best smoothies available on planet earth and I'll tell you why: It combines what she describes as a "great combo for a total elixir of well being," cacao, which has a muscly supply of polyphenols, and Hawaiian Spirulina, which boasts Iron, and the highest protein content from chloryphyll available. Cool thing about Iron, it helps curb sugar craving. So you're curing your sugar craving, and curbing it at the same time. Iodine which is in Sea Vegetables does that too, according to Kelly. People were wide-eyed when she stuck in the spinach, but we somehow trusted that it would taste fine, and we certainly weren't dissaPpointed! After 2 Hemp Balls and a small smoothie I was full for several hours. In fact, I found myself having to run an extra couple miles that night to drain my body of the extra energy that I was feeling!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Spaceship is taking off!
I’ve discovered a great band. They’re called the Spaceship Martini and fronted by Steven Martini, who is also a Writer and actor, and recently wrapped co directing a feature film with his Brother Derick. The movie is called Lymelife, and stars Alec Baldwin and Timothy Hutton. It’s a semiautobiographical story the brothers wrote together, and Steven’s band is going to be providing the soundtrack.
Hopefully the soundtrack will include some of the songs that I have had the privilege of experiencing at a few clubs around town. I feel like I had better see them in intimate surroundings while I can, before everybody else discovers them. As Yogi, a Kibitz room scenester said after the show, “Their sound is like catching lightning in a bottle.” I had to agree that was an apt description. As the band rips through the set, every song leaves you transfixed. The mad fiddler’s 7 string violin acts as an appropriate replacement of a lead guitar, giving the band a refreshing tone. He rocks out with an interesting combination of rock and roll and classical, adding a unique edge to songs that are already stand out quality work.
Terence Leclere, who is the frontman of another notable band, Ric Veda, pounds a floor tom and shakes tambourines. His backround vocals are quite strong and enhances the mix, adding a soulful psychadelic vibe to the quintent, which also includes Anya on backround vocals, and Arvin on a Cajon, a percussive instrument that contrasts nicely with Terence’s rhythms.
The songs are stars in their own right, sang with angst and intensity. Coming across as a survivor with battle scars that he proudly displays, Steven Martini does not hold back his anger in his lyrics. But he creates an equal amount of cheer and optimism. It is about the dark and the light. It is about a mixture of the things that destroy us, the cracks in our psyche, and also the glue that holds us together.
Lost Angeles deals with the contradictions of living in a city that is difficult to figure out whether you love or hate being here. “We’re so good it’s scandalous. Let’s take over Los Angeles.” With a well worn confidence and the feeling that he’s over putting up with bullshit, Steve Martini mixes up a cocktail that is best ingested in a spirit of thoughtfulness. It is the kind of music that can change your mind, whether you’re complacently happy or unreasonably depressive.
Hopefully the soundtrack will include some of the songs that I have had the privilege of experiencing at a few clubs around town. I feel like I had better see them in intimate surroundings while I can, before everybody else discovers them. As Yogi, a Kibitz room scenester said after the show, “Their sound is like catching lightning in a bottle.” I had to agree that was an apt description. As the band rips through the set, every song leaves you transfixed. The mad fiddler’s 7 string violin acts as an appropriate replacement of a lead guitar, giving the band a refreshing tone. He rocks out with an interesting combination of rock and roll and classical, adding a unique edge to songs that are already stand out quality work.
Terence Leclere, who is the frontman of another notable band, Ric Veda, pounds a floor tom and shakes tambourines. His backround vocals are quite strong and enhances the mix, adding a soulful psychadelic vibe to the quintent, which also includes Anya on backround vocals, and Arvin on a Cajon, a percussive instrument that contrasts nicely with Terence’s rhythms.
The songs are stars in their own right, sang with angst and intensity. Coming across as a survivor with battle scars that he proudly displays, Steven Martini does not hold back his anger in his lyrics. But he creates an equal amount of cheer and optimism. It is about the dark and the light. It is about a mixture of the things that destroy us, the cracks in our psyche, and also the glue that holds us together.
Lost Angeles deals with the contradictions of living in a city that is difficult to figure out whether you love or hate being here. “We’re so good it’s scandalous. Let’s take over Los Angeles.” With a well worn confidence and the feeling that he’s over putting up with bullshit, Steve Martini mixes up a cocktail that is best ingested in a spirit of thoughtfulness. It is the kind of music that can change your mind, whether you’re complacently happy or unreasonably depressive.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Kelly Keough's Uncooking class: episode 2: a Method to the Happiness.
Alright all you rawsome foodies out there. If you haven't been to Kelly's class yet, there's a new opportunity to join her the next few sundays at Real Raw Live on 5913 W. Franklin Ave. in Hollywood. Her classes are quite affordable when compared to other Raw Culinary classes, currently being priced at $20 for one class, or a package of 3 for $50. The education and inspiration that you acquire from watching and listening Kelly prepare her sumptuously sexy edibles is worth the price of admission alone. Of course the opportunity to sample the wares is a sweetly savored experience also!
Kelly’s philosophy about food is fairly straight forward. “My creations have to taste good, and they should look gourmet or else you're not going to eat it.” She doesn’t believe healthy food should be something you have to suffer through, rather a “great celebration.” She added, "if it's not fun, you're not going to do it." I can relate with that! A group of us met up with her to taste some of her delicacies and take in her positive, healing spirit.
“I’m trying to create a series of classes that nourishes the healthy lifestyle and creates community,” She said at the beginning of the class, “By making it affordable, and showing you how to do it yourself, and actually building your culinary skills and taste palate to be able to enjoy life to it’s fullest. We are the impetus of this new pioneering idea and creativity here in Franklin Hills, at Real Raw Live. This is a new group. Hopefully, we’ll spread and we’ll be doing some great things."
Well, I know for sure one of the great things she was talking about were her delicious Hemp Balls, which she originally called “Fudgits” when she was first developing them. Kelly is a self described sugar addict. I’m glad she’s been able to whip up some nice alternatives, because I’m one too- or maybe now, an erythritol addict, since I've been newly enlightened now! (Erythritol is a newer sugar substitute on the market that Kelly encourages us all to try, along with Stevia, Swerve, and Agave, which she recommends using more sparingly.) She believes that combining sugar substitutes properly is the best way to fully bring out a sweet taste in whatever you're "uncooking."
The special thing about her products is that because of the heavy dose of nutrient content that you’re getting, even though it tastes like a desert, it’s practically a meal in itself. "These Hemp Balls are dear to my heart," she says as the class is scarfing them down in effortless indulgence. "They've transformed, like a butterfly over the last four years," which was when she began creating them, in an effort to come up with something that would replace the other junkfoods she was eating to satisfy her sugar cravings. "It's all about NOT supressing what you love- the more you start giving yourself what you love, the more comes into your life." I'll have another Hemp Ball, than, Thank you very much!
To wash down the Hemp Balls, or Fudgits, she blended up one of the best smoothies available on planet earth and I'll tell you why: It combines what she describes as a "great combo for a total elixir of well being," cacao, which has a muscly supply of polyphenols, and Hawaiian Spirulina, which boasts Iron, and the highest protein content from chloryphyll available. Cool thing about Iron, it helps curb sugar craving. So you're curing your sugar craving, and curbing it at the same time. Iodine does that too, according to Kelly. People were wide-eyed when she stuck in the spinach, but we somehow trusted that it would taste fine, and we certainly weren't dissapointed! After 2 Hemp Balls and a small smoothie I was full for several hours. In fact, I found myself having to run an extra couple miles that night to drain my body of the extra energy that I was feeling!
Kelly’s philosophy about food is fairly straight forward. “My creations have to taste good, and they should look gourmet or else you're not going to eat it.” She doesn’t believe healthy food should be something you have to suffer through, rather a “great celebration.” She added, "if it's not fun, you're not going to do it." I can relate with that! A group of us met up with her to taste some of her delicacies and take in her positive, healing spirit.
“I’m trying to create a series of classes that nourishes the healthy lifestyle and creates community,” She said at the beginning of the class, “By making it affordable, and showing you how to do it yourself, and actually building your culinary skills and taste palate to be able to enjoy life to it’s fullest. We are the impetus of this new pioneering idea and creativity here in Franklin Hills, at Real Raw Live. This is a new group. Hopefully, we’ll spread and we’ll be doing some great things."
Well, I know for sure one of the great things she was talking about were her delicious Hemp Balls, which she originally called “Fudgits” when she was first developing them. Kelly is a self described sugar addict. I’m glad she’s been able to whip up some nice alternatives, because I’m one too- or maybe now, an erythritol addict, since I've been newly enlightened now! (Erythritol is a newer sugar substitute on the market that Kelly encourages us all to try, along with Stevia, Swerve, and Agave, which she recommends using more sparingly.) She believes that combining sugar substitutes properly is the best way to fully bring out a sweet taste in whatever you're "uncooking."
The special thing about her products is that because of the heavy dose of nutrient content that you’re getting, even though it tastes like a desert, it’s practically a meal in itself. "These Hemp Balls are dear to my heart," she says as the class is scarfing them down in effortless indulgence. "They've transformed, like a butterfly over the last four years," which was when she began creating them, in an effort to come up with something that would replace the other junkfoods she was eating to satisfy her sugar cravings. "It's all about NOT supressing what you love- the more you start giving yourself what you love, the more comes into your life." I'll have another Hemp Ball, than, Thank you very much!
To wash down the Hemp Balls, or Fudgits, she blended up one of the best smoothies available on planet earth and I'll tell you why: It combines what she describes as a "great combo for a total elixir of well being," cacao, which has a muscly supply of polyphenols, and Hawaiian Spirulina, which boasts Iron, and the highest protein content from chloryphyll available. Cool thing about Iron, it helps curb sugar craving. So you're curing your sugar craving, and curbing it at the same time. Iodine does that too, according to Kelly. People were wide-eyed when she stuck in the spinach, but we somehow trusted that it would taste fine, and we certainly weren't dissapointed! After 2 Hemp Balls and a small smoothie I was full for several hours. In fact, I found myself having to run an extra couple miles that night to drain my body of the extra energy that I was feeling!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Jack Dangers Interview.
MMM: How long have you had your drummer Lynn Farmer, and how did you meet?
JD: Back in 96, I met him in San Francisco and have been working with him ever since: he plays on the albums, he's been on every tour. I've worked with drummers before that, but it was sort of a revolving door policy. The first time I ever brought a drummer onstage was 1990. That was Phil from Consolidated. I had different drummers you know, it was like Spinal Tap- drummers dying in mysterious gardening accidents. (Laughs)
MMM: In regards to your live show, how much preparation goes into that, and are you considering all of it during the recording process?
JD: A lot of work goes into the visual side. Ten years ago, we didn't have the technology to do what we're doing now. So, the music was definitely the first thing, and everything was built around that, where in the last few years it sort of drifted a bit into songs being written around the visuals. So at this point, it's sort of like fifty fifty. We'll find something like the guy from Heaven's Gate, and build a song around what he's saying, and how it breaks. It doesn't translate unless you're doing a DVD, so it's definitely more of a live thing. So we work the whole process out in rehearsals.
MMM: When you started out in the mid 80's, you worked with Andy Partridge and XTC?
JD: I was working in the studio, in Swindon. I quit school when I was sixteen, in 1981. I got a job working in their studio, doing tape Op, and making the tea, stuff like that. And that's where they were rehearsing for English Settlement, and that more or less corrupted me! Made me want to make music forever.
MMM: And you gravitated more to electronic music……..
JD: I was definitely into electronic music by Kraftwerk, Human Leagues' first 2 albums, definitely Caberet Voltaire. But XTC was good because they mixed some of that stuff in with what they were doing, like he was into electronics. His solo album, under the name Mr. Partridge, called 'Take Away,' had Dub versions of XTC. It was great, he was into that kind of music. He had Sequential Circuits, Prophet 5, in the studio that time. So yeah, Andy definitely helped me with my career.
MMM: Are you still in touch with him?
JD: Yeah, I saw him just over a year ago. Bumped into him Swindon.
MMM: He's not doing any more recording as XTC?
JD: I know they'd be carrying on if he didn't have the thing about not playing live. The first 3 years they were a touring band, but then that happened, the keyboard player went, etc.
MMM: With your current album, AutoImmune, how much of your creative expression comes through politically as opposed to personally?
JD: If you listen to a Nine Inch Nails record it's more me, I, etc. He's good at doing that. I tend, if I write lyrics, to look back at and take stuff out, leaving it more ambiguous and open ended. With politics you can have the opposite reaction, you can play with it more.
MMM: So how's the contrast of supporting a group like Nine Inch Nails as opposed to headlining your own shows?
JD: I prefer headlining our own shows. Even when you're a band as big as they are, you're playing these big festivals, you don't always even get a soundcheck, doesn't matter who you are when you're playing those. It's all pretty rough, you get a lot more leeway when you're doing your own shows headlining.
MMM: You're still remixing other artists?
JD: Yeah, off and on. The last one I did was Excepter.
MMM: Do you have any favorite cities on tour?
JD: New York, London's alright. Grew up there, spent so much time there. We were always playing in Amsterdam, Paris. San Francisco's always good!
MMM: You've lived there for a while now, does that inform your work? Living in America, as opposed to England?
JD: Yeah, when you experience more. I lived in England for twenty six years in one town, Swindon. Anybody would want to get out after a while. But I don't think I'll be here forever. You get that alienation thing as well, when you've moved from your own country. Even if you're American and you move to Europe, like Johnny Depp living in France. People ask him why? Why did you move? You get the third degree. Doesn't matter which country you're from. Like when you do an interview with somebody in Britain, they always want to talk about, "Why did you leave? What's it like there?" Well, I bet if you had the opportunity you would too! If there's any country it would be here, especially with music, it's the number one market, then it's Japan, I don't know if Britain is as big as Germany or France, but they have all their own spoken language bands. Each country in Europe, you go to Holland, and they have a number one album but you've never heard of them. Over here, there's a formula, there's one language, more or less. People understand it.
MMM: Speaking of music, Is there anything lately that's come out that you really like?
JD: I like Scorn's new album. It's great, an inspiration.
MMM: Tell me about your Synthi 100, you're still using that?
JD: Yeah, but I can't take it on tour. It's bigger then this sofa. It's all in one unit, it's a really odd shape, you can't get it through the door.
MMM: Stockhausen used to use one right?
JD: He did!
MMM: He's an influence, right?
JD: Yeah, more his early stuff, later 60's, 70's, the theatrical stuff. More like Mauricio Kagel - who died recently, like a month ago.
The way they did it back then, it's not really done the same way any more. The craft, that's why I have a big collection of that stuff. There's no one who's making it like that any more. I'm big on that stuff. I've got a couple compilations out on Tino. I've got some stuff with music from Argentina, Chile,and Peru coming out.
MMM: When's that?
JD: Next year, earlier part of the year. We clear everything, it's not like a bootleg.
MMM: Are you gonna tour for that?
JD: No. That will just be produced on Flexi Disk.
MMM: How have you been enjoying this tour?
JD: Well, this is a really short one, 4 shows.
MMM: But you were out earlier in the year?
JD: Yeah, that was more a proper tour, 20 shows, you get into a rhythm. It's a lot more work.
MMM: What made you decide on living in San Francisco of all places?
JD: I met my future wife. It's a beautiful place- nothing else like it in the States, it's open minded, not really like the rest of the country.
MMM: So in the beginning of your career there was a fire in your studio? Did you lose some of your early work from that?
JD: It wasn't like everything was destroyed. But, the Master Tapes were unusable. The stuff was recorded on 2 inch. That's why it's called "Storm the Studio," we had to quickly go back in the studio for two weeks.
MMM: So you didn't completely lose anything?
JD: There was a couple tracks lost. Stuff got burnt in a flat, which was burnt to the ground. We were able to salvage some stuff, further into the tape. Like the first couple inches were unusable, the main tracks, the ones that were important to me, what you base the first few things around, they were OK. We were able to go back and Remix.
MMM: In one of your interviews, in the end you said "Meat is Murder." I was curious about your views on vegetarianism?
JD: I used to be vegan, now I'm not so much.
MMM: When did you start with that?
JD: Since working with Consolidated, Phil, it rubbed off on me in a good way. I've known a lot of vegetarians along through the years who have gone back to their old habits.
MMM: I think vegetarianism is the healthier choice, and I applaud you for putting it out there.
JD: It's better for the ecology as well, deforestation, cattle, the amount of methane that goes into the air.
I woudn't want to ram it down anyone's throats. I put the message in there where I can without treading on meat eater's toes. But, yeah, Meat is Murder.
JD: Back in 96, I met him in San Francisco and have been working with him ever since: he plays on the albums, he's been on every tour. I've worked with drummers before that, but it was sort of a revolving door policy. The first time I ever brought a drummer onstage was 1990. That was Phil from Consolidated. I had different drummers you know, it was like Spinal Tap- drummers dying in mysterious gardening accidents. (Laughs)
MMM: In regards to your live show, how much preparation goes into that, and are you considering all of it during the recording process?
JD: A lot of work goes into the visual side. Ten years ago, we didn't have the technology to do what we're doing now. So, the music was definitely the first thing, and everything was built around that, where in the last few years it sort of drifted a bit into songs being written around the visuals. So at this point, it's sort of like fifty fifty. We'll find something like the guy from Heaven's Gate, and build a song around what he's saying, and how it breaks. It doesn't translate unless you're doing a DVD, so it's definitely more of a live thing. So we work the whole process out in rehearsals.
MMM: When you started out in the mid 80's, you worked with Andy Partridge and XTC?
JD: I was working in the studio, in Swindon. I quit school when I was sixteen, in 1981. I got a job working in their studio, doing tape Op, and making the tea, stuff like that. And that's where they were rehearsing for English Settlement, and that more or less corrupted me! Made me want to make music forever.
MMM: And you gravitated more to electronic music……..
JD: I was definitely into electronic music by Kraftwerk, Human Leagues' first 2 albums, definitely Caberet Voltaire. But XTC was good because they mixed some of that stuff in with what they were doing, like he was into electronics. His solo album, under the name Mr. Partridge, called 'Take Away,' had Dub versions of XTC. It was great, he was into that kind of music. He had Sequential Circuits, Prophet 5, in the studio that time. So yeah, Andy definitely helped me with my career.
MMM: Are you still in touch with him?
JD: Yeah, I saw him just over a year ago. Bumped into him Swindon.
MMM: He's not doing any more recording as XTC?
JD: I know they'd be carrying on if he didn't have the thing about not playing live. The first 3 years they were a touring band, but then that happened, the keyboard player went, etc.
MMM: With your current album, AutoImmune, how much of your creative expression comes through politically as opposed to personally?
JD: If you listen to a Nine Inch Nails record it's more me, I, etc. He's good at doing that. I tend, if I write lyrics, to look back at and take stuff out, leaving it more ambiguous and open ended. With politics you can have the opposite reaction, you can play with it more.
MMM: So how's the contrast of supporting a group like Nine Inch Nails as opposed to headlining your own shows?
JD: I prefer headlining our own shows. Even when you're a band as big as they are, you're playing these big festivals, you don't always even get a soundcheck, doesn't matter who you are when you're playing those. It's all pretty rough, you get a lot more leeway when you're doing your own shows headlining.
MMM: You're still remixing other artists?
JD: Yeah, off and on. The last one I did was Excepter.
MMM: Do you have any favorite cities on tour?
JD: New York, London's alright. Grew up there, spent so much time there. We were always playing in Amsterdam, Paris. San Francisco's always good!
MMM: You've lived there for a while now, does that inform your work? Living in America, as opposed to England?
JD: Yeah, when you experience more. I lived in England for twenty six years in one town, Swindon. Anybody would want to get out after a while. But I don't think I'll be here forever. You get that alienation thing as well, when you've moved from your own country. Even if you're American and you move to Europe, like Johnny Depp living in France. People ask him why? Why did you move? You get the third degree. Doesn't matter which country you're from. Like when you do an interview with somebody in Britain, they always want to talk about, "Why did you leave? What's it like there?" Well, I bet if you had the opportunity you would too! If there's any country it would be here, especially with music, it's the number one market, then it's Japan, I don't know if Britain is as big as Germany or France, but they have all their own spoken language bands. Each country in Europe, you go to Holland, and they have a number one album but you've never heard of them. Over here, there's a formula, there's one language, more or less. People understand it.
MMM: Speaking of music, Is there anything lately that's come out that you really like?
JD: I like Scorn's new album. It's great, an inspiration.
MMM: Tell me about your Synthi 100, you're still using that?
JD: Yeah, but I can't take it on tour. It's bigger then this sofa. It's all in one unit, it's a really odd shape, you can't get it through the door.
MMM: Stockhausen used to use one right?
JD: He did!
MMM: He's an influence, right?
JD: Yeah, more his early stuff, later 60's, 70's, the theatrical stuff. More like Mauricio Kagel - who died recently, like a month ago.
The way they did it back then, it's not really done the same way any more. The craft, that's why I have a big collection of that stuff. There's no one who's making it like that any more. I'm big on that stuff. I've got a couple compilations out on Tino. I've got some stuff with music from Argentina, Chile,and Peru coming out.
MMM: When's that?
JD: Next year, earlier part of the year. We clear everything, it's not like a bootleg.
MMM: Are you gonna tour for that?
JD: No. That will just be produced on Flexi Disk.
MMM: How have you been enjoying this tour?
JD: Well, this is a really short one, 4 shows.
MMM: But you were out earlier in the year?
JD: Yeah, that was more a proper tour, 20 shows, you get into a rhythm. It's a lot more work.
MMM: What made you decide on living in San Francisco of all places?
JD: I met my future wife. It's a beautiful place- nothing else like it in the States, it's open minded, not really like the rest of the country.
MMM: So in the beginning of your career there was a fire in your studio? Did you lose some of your early work from that?
JD: It wasn't like everything was destroyed. But, the Master Tapes were unusable. The stuff was recorded on 2 inch. That's why it's called "Storm the Studio," we had to quickly go back in the studio for two weeks.
MMM: So you didn't completely lose anything?
JD: There was a couple tracks lost. Stuff got burnt in a flat, which was burnt to the ground. We were able to salvage some stuff, further into the tape. Like the first couple inches were unusable, the main tracks, the ones that were important to me, what you base the first few things around, they were OK. We were able to go back and Remix.
MMM: In one of your interviews, in the end you said "Meat is Murder." I was curious about your views on vegetarianism?
JD: I used to be vegan, now I'm not so much.
MMM: When did you start with that?
JD: Since working with Consolidated, Phil, it rubbed off on me in a good way. I've known a lot of vegetarians along through the years who have gone back to their old habits.
MMM: I think vegetarianism is the healthier choice, and I applaud you for putting it out there.
JD: It's better for the ecology as well, deforestation, cattle, the amount of methane that goes into the air.
I woudn't want to ram it down anyone's throats. I put the message in there where I can without treading on meat eater's toes. But, yeah, Meat is Murder.
Meat Beat Manifesto presents aural visual extravaganza at the Knitting Factory
When trying to put down words to describe a Meat Beat Manifesto Concert, I couldn't help but think of the Elvis Costello quote, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." But of course, MBM is not just about music. In fact, In the beginning of the concert, there was a booming voice coming over the PA that declared, "Only 11% of what we learn comes from what we hear." The group, led by Jack Dangers, a man originally from the U.K. who now presides in San Francisco, has been active for over 2 decades. He has developed a very strong stage show that I enjoyed immensely.
The visual in an Electronic Music performance, particularly a Meat Beat Manifesto concert, is essential. In the very first song there was a collage of Moogs and a clip of Marshall Applewhite of the notoriously suicidal Heavens Gate cult saying 'surivive,' over and over again. MBM's music provided an angsty backbeat as further clips of George Bush Sr., Jimi Hendrix, and footage from old movies entertained us on a double screen. There were pics of Old school microphones, typewriters, buttons, fractal patterns, and a whole myriad of memes to check out. Some people were dancing as they took in the spectacle. I had to just sit and stare to process it. At the end of the first song there was MSNBC footage of a man being restrained by cops and than cutting back and forth between that and Captain Kirk. When the song ended, everyone cheered and awaited for what was next, transfixed.
I must admit for me it was different experience. I'm used to your standard rock shows. But I've always thought having dynamic visuals to go along with music was a wonderful enhancement. Having a live drummer, Lynn Farmer, to Jam along with the tracks was also a plus.
The bassy beats and rhythms of "Children of Earth" treated us to a paranormal array of shots of UFO's dangling from the sky, an old shot of the LAX Encounter building, and footage of the golden gate bridge. There was A feeling that we were being looked upon, doted on as it were, from Space Beings in the sky. There was subtitles over comedic looking Aliens who were trying to figure us out, mixed in with large Yamaha keyboards and infomericals.
So basically, it was a blueprint of Jack Danger's creative brain, his obsessions and possessions, fears and joys. A lot of sacred and profane, yin and yang energy, showing us the absurdity of life on earth, taking us through a safe acid trip. There was also a clip of Obama repeating the words, 'Turn off the television," alongside A Televangelist, Gregory Peck, someone in a rubber mask, Dr. No, and of course Marshall Applewhite kept popping up over and over. I was mesmerized, I must admit. The staples of our society had been chewed up and spit out for all to see, and there was never a second to look away. We didn't want to miss Woody Allen, Charles Manson, and Charleton Heston all acting out Jack Danger's script, while Obama repeatedly told us to chuck our idiot box.
A few songs in, a televangelist is heard telling us about the evils of rock music and marijuana, and we're suddenly transported to Monterey Pop watching Jimi Hendrix destroying his guitar, as the televangelist quotes another "victim" of rock and roll, who says, "I didn't know what I was doing, and my clothes came off," as if the force of Rock and Roll could cause you to become that disoriented.
One of the last songs was a montage of drum solos, a simulated collage of drummers sped up and slowed down. Photos of Chris Walken, muppets playing drums, etc. I felt so overwhelmed by the footage. I was glad that before the show, I’d had a chance to catch up with Jack Danger to see how he was doing- I believe our conversation enhanced my overall concert experience, and led to a greater understanding of the show.
The visual in an Electronic Music performance, particularly a Meat Beat Manifesto concert, is essential. In the very first song there was a collage of Moogs and a clip of Marshall Applewhite of the notoriously suicidal Heavens Gate cult saying 'surivive,' over and over again. MBM's music provided an angsty backbeat as further clips of George Bush Sr., Jimi Hendrix, and footage from old movies entertained us on a double screen. There were pics of Old school microphones, typewriters, buttons, fractal patterns, and a whole myriad of memes to check out. Some people were dancing as they took in the spectacle. I had to just sit and stare to process it. At the end of the first song there was MSNBC footage of a man being restrained by cops and than cutting back and forth between that and Captain Kirk. When the song ended, everyone cheered and awaited for what was next, transfixed.
I must admit for me it was different experience. I'm used to your standard rock shows. But I've always thought having dynamic visuals to go along with music was a wonderful enhancement. Having a live drummer, Lynn Farmer, to Jam along with the tracks was also a plus.
The bassy beats and rhythms of "Children of Earth" treated us to a paranormal array of shots of UFO's dangling from the sky, an old shot of the LAX Encounter building, and footage of the golden gate bridge. There was A feeling that we were being looked upon, doted on as it were, from Space Beings in the sky. There was subtitles over comedic looking Aliens who were trying to figure us out, mixed in with large Yamaha keyboards and infomericals.
So basically, it was a blueprint of Jack Danger's creative brain, his obsessions and possessions, fears and joys. A lot of sacred and profane, yin and yang energy, showing us the absurdity of life on earth, taking us through a safe acid trip. There was also a clip of Obama repeating the words, 'Turn off the television," alongside A Televangelist, Gregory Peck, someone in a rubber mask, Dr. No, and of course Marshall Applewhite kept popping up over and over. I was mesmerized, I must admit. The staples of our society had been chewed up and spit out for all to see, and there was never a second to look away. We didn't want to miss Woody Allen, Charles Manson, and Charleton Heston all acting out Jack Danger's script, while Obama repeatedly told us to chuck our idiot box.
A few songs in, a televangelist is heard telling us about the evils of rock music and marijuana, and we're suddenly transported to Monterey Pop watching Jimi Hendrix destroying his guitar, as the televangelist quotes another "victim" of rock and roll, who says, "I didn't know what I was doing, and my clothes came off," as if the force of Rock and Roll could cause you to become that disoriented.
One of the last songs was a montage of drum solos, a simulated collage of drummers sped up and slowed down. Photos of Chris Walken, muppets playing drums, etc. I felt so overwhelmed by the footage. I was glad that before the show, I’d had a chance to catch up with Jack Danger to see how he was doing- I believe our conversation enhanced my overall concert experience, and led to a greater understanding of the show.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
People Die.
I know that's a cryptic article title, but I feel a little strange today. Somebody whom I met very briefly in an acting class a few weeks ago passed away. It was tragic and unexpected. She was 22 years old, and I saw her act in a scene. She showed a lot of promise, and her death came as a shock. I got the email yesterday. It's always been so hard for me to believe that people can just die. Last year our family lost my brother's best friend. He was not like a family member, he WAS a family member. I'd known him since I was young. I guess I just want to say that we need to be nicer to each other, because we never know when we can go. I would like to say an inner prayer to all of those who I love. I'm sorry I don't always keep in touch, but love is there. I also believe that our souls go on, that life surely can't be so tragic that people who die are just gone. May that girl's spirit live on.
My VIVALAFOODIES.com profile:
Jeremy Ferrick is an Omnologist, somebody who believes in bringing whatever passion lies within you, outside of you. To weave all of the disparaging and contradicting measures of humanity, the sticky and the sweet of what you love the most, and let them all blend into a mosaic that is ultimately you. He indulges his pen in poetry, song, and story. He indulges his body in martial arts, running, and rock and roll. He believes in raw foodism, but doesn’t adhere to it completely, at least not yet. (This may be subject to change.) He plays guitar with his righty but swings the bat with his lefty. Ambidextrous and ambiguous, you are invited to join me on my mountainous journey!
http://jeremyferrick.blogspot.com
http://jeremyferrick.blogspot.com
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Name of new song:
her chartreuse dress
It's not going to be finished until 09. It's not one of my quickly written songs.
It's not going to be finished until 09. It's not one of my quickly written songs.
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