Posted on November 2nd, 2008 by CV | more:audio, q&a
Peace to Yeti Beats for taking the time out. Look out for a new Kool Keith album produced by Yeti Beats and a compilation album featuring Aceyalone, Sizzla, Jr Reid, Bushwick Bill, and others.
Someone you look up to, dead or alive?
I always felt like i could have been the offspring of Andre the Giant and Mr T!
Someone you look down on
science… you can’t prove everything guy!
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
multiple personality disorders. Ok, himalayan kush too.
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
a lost himalayan backpacker or wandering sherpa.
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
kitty water! its a secret mix. yeti special.
Name a song you can’t stand.
Anything sung by the loch ness monster, bigfoot, the chupacabra, aliens,Barney the talking dinosaur, sesame street, or singing cats… or any of those types of major label a&r manufactured fakers!
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
hoooooowooooooo ooot ooot ooot! the song of lady yeti! On a 45!!!
Life after death?
without physical evidence you can’t prove that i ever existed.
How do you hope to be remembered?
a paranormal cryptozoological phenomenon…
How do you hope you are not remembered?
clearly defined and categorized into kingdom, phylum, class, family, order, genus, and species.
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
question the unknown… listen to your inner yeti. anything is possible!
—
Q&A Someone you look up to, dead or alive?
Malcolm x
Someone you look down on
Republicans
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
My son and his mom
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
King’s hawaiin bread
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
concordia bbq sauce
Name a song you can’t stand.
“Proud To Be An American” by some hillbilly — and not for the reason you may think. when I was in the military, they would use this song as background music for whatever stupid activity they had us do in bootcamp. fuck this song!
Posted on September 5th, 2008 by CV | more:audio, q&a
Peace to Swigga Da Don, super MC formerly known as L-Swift of the great Natural Elements, for taking the time out. Below are a few songs from his project titled Ready To Live released in 2006/2007. Swigga makes the type of music that inspires one to get back on their feet after hard times. Look out for his new album Swigganomics.
— Someone you look up to, dead or alive
I look up to GOD…..As far as human beings, my mother Agatha…R.I.P!
Someone you look down on
Anyone thats black, living in America, eligible to vote and NOT voting for OBAMA!
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
All the little things in life that people take for granted, like seeing, hearing, talking, breathing etc….And good head, that’s Definetly worth living for!…lol
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Carribean food, cause that’s where im from…St. Lucia in the West Indies.
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Grey Goose and Grapefruit juice
Name a song you can’t stand.
NO COMMENT!…
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Anything from SWIGGA!
Life after death? Yes/No
YES, im living in my afterlife right now!…L-Swift was my pastlife, SWIGGA is the afterlife!
How do you hope to be remembered?
As an individual that stayed focused on the BIG picture, and NEVER stopped till he fulfilled his destiny!.
How do you hope you are not remembered?
As a liar, a fuckboy or a fraud, or someone difficult to get along with!
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Yeah, catch up on your SWIGGA cd’s by going to myspace.com/swiggadadon or agathamusic.com. I’m going on my 8th cd with SWIGGANOMICS coming soon!!…Geah!
Someone you look look down on.
I try not to look down on anybody, but these emcees who be selling blacks into slavery, they’re my toughest test.
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Love.
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Frozen mango chunks.
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Orange juice mixed with pineapple juice.
Name a song you can’t stand.
Ten Crack Commandments. When Primo spun it at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival and I looked out over a sea of beautiful people bopping in unison to a song about selling crack, an incredible feeling of shame, disgust, and sadness overcame me.
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Everything Stevie Wonder ever did. I might not even get to finish that by morning. I’d go in chronological order from the oldest stuff to the most recent.
Life after death?
Absolutely
How do you hope to be remembered?
Honest. Principled.
How do you hope you are not remembered?
Money driven.
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
I used to love Ten Crack Commandments just like the next guy, but now that I’m honest with myself about how hip hop music is wielded against us, towards the aim of manipulating us into a feeble confused people who aspire to criminality and despicability, qualifying us for legal enslavement in prisons, stripping our children of their morals by making it cool to be everything you’d never want your child to be, I just can’t fuck wit it.
Besides holding it down for countless artists on the world famous Wake Up Show, Dj Revolution has been furthering the art of turntablism through his own records and contributions to a crazy amount of releases. He has always been an advocate of the DJ, providing lots of face time to the discussion of their role and the history of the form. His new album, King Of The Decks, is dropping September 16th. The first leaked single features KRS-One and is a reminder for you all of what a Dj is and what a DJ is not. Props to Noah and Will. Peace to Dj Revolution for taking the time.
Since the Karma360 joint has been bootlegged over the web and is even for sale as mp3s ( nothing to do with me ) then its best for you to get it from the source and download from my page.
For those keeping it really real and supporting vinyl then be one of the 500 and grab a copy.
Whilst you have the wallet open then the P Brothers ‘Gas’ LP is nearly on us … Vivit Post Funera Virtus … ya get me!
Earlier this month when I ordered my copy of the vinyl I sent Ed an email alerting him to the bootleg sites and asking him about what he thinks. This was his response:
i was going to leave a reply but I wasnt registered so left it. Would have been as follows :
“Nice piece - I sent a few ( like 10 ) CDs out for promotion on Karma360 and one found its way to be bootlegged - now its literally all over the web … I’ve even found sites selling mp3s of the track! I can’t see how sticking to vinyl and download can help - its only one simple step to get them to be mp3 files and then do what you want with ‘em. Even myspace you can record the track if its not downloadable and do whatever. I understand the argument that its ‘promotion’ but, as you said, its not. If it was there would be links to buy the vinyl? to contact the artist? Back in the day the ‘mixtape’ spread the word - copied and copied and copied again - but we wanted ‘proper’ ownership of the music - which meant buying the vinyl - the tape was just the ‘menu’ … vinyl was the main course arriving. Now people accept they are happy to not own anything … just a harddrive with some 0s and 1s on then theres no second step ( other than in the minds of the few ) - you have all you need already on your computer/ipod/whatever - I can’t see that you can call independent artists ‘money hungry’ … shit - if I break even it will be a miracle… but I can’t stop because I owe hip hop for all its given me.
1.ED
And here is my response:
Ed,
I find it very funny that you sent me that link because I wrote that.
It’s kind of strange that you found it on what appears to be a news aggregating blog. Also disappointing as it seems grandgood is being de-indexed from google, but that’s another story I won’t bore you with.
Thank you for sending your feedback. My original post was an attempt at sarcasm and subtle advice. I don’t actually believe independent artists are money hungry. I think bootleggers need to take into consideration that independent artists are entitled to some form of compensation. But I also see that independent artists can’t rely on others for their own benefit. They need to act on their own behalf. My advice isn’t necessarily to stick solely to vinyl. It is to use vinyl as promotional tool (the physical product that many people still want) but also to be “first to market” with mp3 distribution. In other words, from my experience, fans of your music that are willing to pay for your product are very interested in listening to the music, literally, as soon as it is possible. They would prefer not to wait around. If you are the one that makes the mp3s available first, then I believe the fans will support you with money, as long as it is reasonabley priced. But historically it is bootlegging sites that have made mp3s available first. Which I strongly believe is one of the main reasons they are successful in their dealings.
Thanks again for hitting me back. If you don’t mind, I will publish this on our site.
Chill,
This is raw, unadulterated hip-hop. Support if you can. Visit ED209°. Cop that P Brothers when it drops.
Posted on August 21st, 2008 by CV | more:audio, q&a
I noticed that Witchdoctor had a bunch of albums available on his mysp*ce that I’ve never heard about before, including last years “Escape To New York.” Intrigued by the title and artwork, I asked Witchdoctor a few quick questions to get more information about this album.
Can you tell me more about your album Escape to New York?
Its a project that is designed 2 bringing it back 2 where the art originated..Also the Majors are set up in NY. Its me on my journey east!!!!
When and where did you record it? What songs are it?
ESCAPE 2 NEW YORK………………
Recorded in Atlanta in different locations……Songs include Tristmas Island,Collie Feat.Kurupt,,A-list,Who iz the biggest Gangsta,and more…
Who are some NY artists past and present that inspire you?
NY INFLUENCES: LORD FINESSE, RAKIM, KOOL G-RAP,BIG DADDY KANE,EPMD, SMIF-N-WESSUN,BUCKSHOT SHORTY, HEAVY D, FAT BOYS, SLICK-RICK, WU-TANG, K-SOLO, LL COOL J, KOOL MOE D, BDP, PUBLIC ENEMY, REDMAN, NAS, JAY Z, ETC…..
Think we can get a song from the album so cats can hear?
Hell Yeah! Anythang else let me know..
Upcoming:
NEW ALBUM — TRANZYVANIA 2008-9
Philadelphia the founding fathers gathered here, statistics show you can easily be splattered here!!! Coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted on August 20th, 2008 by CV | more:audio, q&a
Bateria is the MC formerly known as Jedi Son of Spock, known for rocking stages and tearing up ciphers with his crew House of Repz throughout the 90s. He’s working on a half Spanish and half English album titled “Universal Hoods” coming soon on Vent Music and is back in the studio with the other House of Repz members for an upcoming album on Kings Link Records. Peace to Bateria for taking the time out.
Bateria Feat. Skam2 - Ride Til 305 (produced by BEATFIRM)
[from the upcoming Universal Hoods album]
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Someone you look up to, dead or alive.
mom & dad (alive), Bruce Lee
Someone you look upon?
honestly, I dont look down at anyone
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Family
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Arepa con queso
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Amstel light
Name a song you can’t stand.
macarena
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
sound of my first born’s cry
Life after death? Yes/No
Yes
How do you hope to be remembered?
As someone who made a real contribution to music
How do you hope you are not remembered?
Never really thought of that
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Yes!! um, you are not an artist just because you have a myspace music page:)
Will Hiphop grow or will it continue to be watered down? Will our youth ever experience the true essence of it’s culture?
Ride Til 305 is off my Universal Hoods Album half Spanish half English
(coming soon) on Vent Music. Skam2 (also known as SKAM is the one who put A.L on to Em in NY which A.L helped Em get unsigned hype with Riggs Morales. He is an ill emcee and amazing artist, did the artwork for beats rhymes life etc) blessed me with the Artwork. It’s going to be fire. Also, look out for House of Repz long time coming album coming soon on Kings Link Records. First single by Dj Premire “U Gotta Love US”
If there is such a thing as classic NYC Hip-Hop, Heltah Skeltah epitomizes the flavor. The beats they choose to rock, the raps, the voices, the swagger. It oozes out of them and represents what the 90s were about for a lot of us. After dipping for a minute and testing the waters on their own, Sean Price and Rock have undergone a recombination to bring back what is aptly being called, Da Incredible Rap Team. As if you ain’t know, D.I.R.T is in stores September 30th. The first single leaked last week, the video is coming soon. Peep the interlude for some audio from other projects. Respect to Sean P and Rock for taking the time out. Shouts to Will and Duck Down.
Rock:
Someone you look up to, dead or alive
Tupac
Someone you look down on
My accuser
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Bitches & Money LOL
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Something without cheese
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Loose juice
Name a song you can’t stand.
BLAH by FAB 5
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Fuck your hearing Nigga, you rich!
Life after death? Yes/No
YES. I will haunt yall mother fuckers
How do you hope to be remembered?
For who I am, the good, the bad and the ugly….oh and the handsome
How do you hope you are not remembered?
For only my bad
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Heltah Skeltah album “D.I.R.T.” In Stores Sept. 30th
I know the answer should be my kids, but i don’t like kids, so fuck it i don’t know
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Dos enchiladas…I’m a vegetarian
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
WATER
Name a song you can’t stand.
Everybody’s shit except mine
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Skihdur
Life after death? Yes/No
When I die if I come back and tell you the answer that means there is life after death, but when I die and there is no answer from me, then there is no life after death….stay tuned folks
How do you hope to be remembered?
Who says I wants to be remembered
How do you hope you are not remembered?
Skihdur
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
get the new Heltah Skeltah album on September 30th and look out for the random axe album with my man Guilty Simpson, & Black Milk on Duck Down in 2009. SKIHDUR!!!
Dj Soulpusher, aka Frank Conakry, took time out of his hectic schedule to partake in our humble questionnaire and audio. As discussed previously, he is in the funding stages of developing a film based on his record digging travels throughout West Africa. The featured mix includes music acquired primarily in Benin and Satos and is described as ritualistic Voodoo music and Folklore.
Hard choice since I have a lot of respect for a lot of people from very different walks of life. I could come up with various obscure personal heros of mine but I guess I’m going to be very cliché today and go for Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Just because the more I learn about his personal history, the more I’m blown away. I don’t agree with most people’s belief about him being the “inventor” of Afrobeat, that’s just the ignorance of those who don’t know much other West African Funk. I admire the effect he had and still has on people’s mind. I think that he is having some sort of revival amongst modern day African youth, even in the french speaking countries of West Africa. His music always carried a strong political message which sadly still perfectly matches the reality in most of the region. It is very important that music is being seen as a medium that can transport a message, an attitude and ideas. Music should always have a revolutionary spirit and not be misused for juvenile bragging about expensive cars, cheap women and overrated beverages.
Someone you look down on
I’m a much too bad person myself to be looking down on anybody.
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Good food, strong drinks and entertaining company.
You fasted all day, what are you dying to eat?
Funny, I lived like that almost every day for the past three years while digging for records all over West Africa. You have to understand that most houses don’t have a bathroom. There is no sewer system. Sometimes, there are open sewers that can even be cemented and wide and doubling as draining canals during rainy season. if you have to go, you just squat down on the edge and try to keep your balance while you do your business. I’ve seen whole neighborhoods where everybody shits into plastic bags which get discreetly dropped at the side of the road on the way to work or to the market. I always tried to avoid having to go by not eating anything all day. In the evening, I regularly was hungry like a wolf and the most satisfying meals I ever had on one of those occasions was antelope meat marinated with habanero peppers and other spices, sauteed in red palm oil and served with fried, sweet plantains. A close second was Grasscutter (some also call this
animal cane rat and it looks just like a nutria) simmered in palm oil, potato leaves and small, crunchy crabs that you can eat with the shell. This delicious meal was served with pate mais, a sort of pudding made out of fermented corn.
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
My preferred party beverage is Tequilla, either Patron Silver or Cabo Wabo if I can afford it or Sauza Hornitos if I’m less flush. I also love Sodabi but you can’t find this stuff anywhere outside of Benin.
Name a song you can’t stand.
There is too much music that I passionately despise all on an equal level, I simply can’t mention one specific song. Even thinking about what shit music is out there makes me nauseous . I really hate all those fake ass wanna-be punk bands, spoilt little brats. I hate electronic dance music, that shit never sounded new in the first place and now it’s even staler than an old fart. I hate modern R&B and all this overproduced whiney shit. I hate corny testasterone frat-boy rock. I hate test tube generated talent show boy or girl bands. I hate country-pop. I hate smooth jazz. I hate Middle class SUV classic rock and I hate fucking Bono Vox from the darkest bottom of my heart.
In real life, I’m a lover by nature and not a hater, that’s why I don’t listen to the radio (besides non-commercial stations like WFMU). First thing I do when stepping into a cab is to tell the driver to turn off the radio. I never watch MTV.
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
I’d start getting used to not hearing and not listen to any music at all. I guess I’d start buying a ton of books.
Life after death? Yes/No
The idea of life after death for me is somehow ridiculous. How should this work? No-one who’s mentally sane has any recollection of his previous life so your conscious life definitely ends with death. So that’s it. When it’s over, it’s over. I guess some people believe such nonsense because their life sucks and they can’t get comfortable with the fact that once they die, they’re dead. They need the hope that there is more. If it makes them happy, let them have this silly little fantasy. I try to lead a life that is fulfilling enough so i could die any day without having the feeling I missed out on anything. Why even waste a thought on such things? Humans take themselves way too seriously. Why should they get reborn? There’s nothing that special about mankind for this to make any sense.
How do you hope to be remembered?
If my wife has some nice memories of our time together, that would be plenty enough for me to be at peace.
How do you hope you are not remembered?
My wife gave me the best years of her life. I don’t want her to have any regrets about that. I don’t care what anybody else remembers or if they remember anything at all for that matter.
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
To be really honest, right now I can hardly think about anything else but how to succeed convincing the owners of this hot, new NYC nightclub to give me Thursday nights to do my new party. This is the most risky and important time of my life. My last money will soon run out and the question is if I can afford to stay in NYC or not…
Much respect and admiration to Frank for his time and his work. Visit Voodoo Funk.
New dub songs from Gile & Luka aka The Dublinerz, reppin’ Belgrade. We recently conducted a short Q&A with the hip hop and dub production duo. Previously, we featured their music on GRANDGOOD audiocasts 29 and 34.
Where are you from?
We are from Belgrade, Serbia. We are both guitar players, Gile played for years in many bands in many diffrent styles punk, hc, funk, hip hop. Luka, younger member of the duo finished the musical school for jazz guitar and plays in some jazz bands. We got together about 4-5years ago, we liked the same music and had some ideas but at that moment we did not have a band to play it, and at that same period we started to work on computer…
We’ve been looking forward to Envelope’sShark Bolt for some time. So when I got an advance a few weeks ago, I was very freakin pleased. I have been bumping it consistently since. I kind of make it a point not to write involved reviews ’cause I know how relative they can be (see this very skewed review as an example). But I did go in a bit on Envelope’s style when the first single leaked. In the one sheet, Blueprint describes his man’s style in a similar fashion as “regular dude raps,” contrasting it with battle raps or street raps. To add to that, I would just point out that most of our lives are made up of regular dude type things. Which is why Envelope and his regular dude raps are so damn meaningful. “Looking In” features Blueprint vocals and production. A two verse piece, both MCs show their grace on the mic while discussing social perspective. This track is an example of the excellent craftsmanship that can be found throughout the album. Hard beats, unexaggerated, intelligent and sincere lyrics. If you are going to buy one cd this year, let this be it. Peace to Weightless for the promo and to Envelope for his time.
Originally q&a was for questions and answers. Hopefully going forward, it will mean questionnaire & audio. First feature is courtesy of producer Mr. Cooper. UK is his home, beats are his fancy. May of 2007, we featured his instrumental work as part of our audiocast mix. Very pleased was I when I came across his latest release, another instrumental contributed to Project Mooncircle’s “The Heart On The Right Spot“. I’ve been playing this for my unborn child. Below you will find the audio plus his responses to questions we developed to give you a sense of the everyday man behind the music. Peace & respect.
David Hume. Philosopher from Scotland. Long dead. The guy was a genius I think. He profoundly affected the path of philosophy in several key areas and profoundly affected my own outlook.
Someone you look down on
Robert Mugabe. Pretty obvious why.
Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Life. Taking it all in, trying as much of it out as you can.
You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
A roast dinner with chicken, really good potatoes and lots of vegetables.
You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Strictly Louis Roederer Cristal 1990
Name a song you can’t stand.
Anything by the Spice Girls. Their stuff isn’t even funny because it’s bad, it’s just bad.
You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
That’s the hardest question on this page. If we keep it to one peice of music, at the moment I would choose ‘Music For 18 Musicians’ by Steve Reich. Because it’s long, so you would get your ‘money’s worth’ before deafness, and because it produces feelings of both being detached and of deeply introverted melancholy which would very much match how I would be feeling if I was to go deaf in the morning.
Life after death? Yes/No
I’d say i’m agnostic; I don’t think you can know, so I don’t profess to make a choice on matters of religion, the existence of a devine being and so on, but I fall to the more skeptical and atheistic side of that: No I don’t think there is a life after this one but I accept that I could just as well be wrong as I could be right.
How do you hope to be remembered?
A good man, a good friend, a good partner, maybe a good father, and someone who created some things that some people really feel.
How do you hope you are not remembered?
A moody, difficult, detached bloke uncomfortable in his own skin and uncomfortable with those around him.
Free verse, anything else on your mind?
I think i’ve talked enough profound crap above so i’ll leave it at that, thanks for featuring my track. Cheers.
Omid (photo by Barbara Talia, click for larger view)
We sat down with one of Los Angeles’ staple producers, Omid (or OD), to talk a little about his new works and artistic direction, in depth recollections about the making of Beneath the Surface, his debut project, and his role as an Iranian American producer in the world today. A genuine music man, Omid gives us a perspective from behind the boards in what is still a dynamic music scene. Visit him at mysp*ce.com/omidhiphop.
stream Gole Gandom by Omid
from forthcoming new untitled album
stream The Lakes of Turku by Omid
from Afterwords3
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So thank you for your time. First, I wonder if you could tell us a little about the Afterwords 3 album that was released on itunes only. It seemed to have limited promotion and was not released on CD, what was the purpose of that?
Yeah basically it’s a lot of tracks that I made the last couple years. A lot of them had to do with when I was going to go tour Europe, just wanted to have some new stuff; I was working with this dance troupe out there and they wanted…
Producer Mumbles new albumTransformations/Illuminations is available on Itunes now and everywhere else later this month. Features Aceyalone on tracks that could have been Book of Human Language sessions, legendary Brazillian singer Flora Purim, Cut Chemist, Blu and others. While the album has a live indian instrumentation feel to a lot of it, its in a completely different direction than say Bombay the Hard Way or Madlib’s latest beat konducta in India joint with samples from Egon’s indian stash or some Timbaland beat. link
Mumbles - Rise Reprise w/ Cut Chemist
We recently asked Cut Chemist about working with Mumbles:
GG: What was your involvement on the new Mumbles album?
CC: My role as an active participant was very small. I did cuts on Rise Reprise. I think thats about it. My role as a supporter of Mumbles and his album is and was quite involved. We’ve have been sharing music together for a lot of years. I dont think there has been anyone thats inspired me to make music more than him. We are cut from the same cloth with the ethic: find music from separate sources that were made to go together and put them together. He hasnt lost a step with this album. His use of samples is seemless as though it were made from live musicians. I had input on ruff mixes and giving my advice on certain things just like he did for my album.
We recently had the opportunity to exchange some words with Ben Barnes, a talented artist whose work has graced our pages in the past. He is responsible for some of our favorite music videos and most recently he directed the promo spots for Busdriver’s album RoadKillOvercoat. Besides creating quality videos he is an experienced cartoonist and a nice guy, why else would he take the time to entertain our questions? You should check out the hi-res versions of his work and the promo spots over on benbarnes.net.
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After extensive googling and only being able to confirm that you weren’t once the lieutenant governor of texas, can you please provide a brief overview of your background? Did you attend film school? How many years have you been directing or involved in the arts? Is this your primary career?
I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and originally was a cartoonist. I switched to directing in 1997 and went to grad school for film in Miami, FL in 1999 then moved out to L.A. in 2001. I direct and write, for the most part.
How did you become associated with the artists you’ve worked with? Did Mush/Epitaph approach you? Are you a fan of the music?
Labels haven’t really approached me; either the artist wanted to work with me and brought me to the attention of the label, or I made the video with the artist on my own.
I worked at Amoeba Music when they first opened until 2004. I worked with people like Thavius Beck, Gino Marks and Lance Rock and became very good friends with, and fans of, them. The first video I made was for The Ray Makers, a band comprised of Lance Rock and Chris Curtis. We shot it in the summer of 2002. After that, Gino was coming out with an EP and I wanted to do something for it, so I got photographer Tim Reed to shoot some 35mm stills and I shot some video in Gino’s apartment one night. It was mostly a lot of post work using National Geographic photos, textbook illustrations and an old, old version of After Effects. I knew Daedelus through Dublab events and our own DJ night, Forestry Service, so we got acquainted that way. Thavius and I shot a bunch of different promos and screen tests for his Adlib releases before he went to Mush Records about shooting a video for To Make Manifest. As far as the new stuff, Busdriver pitched Epitaph the idea of shooting promos and they liked the idea.
I would say I’m a enormous fan of everyone I’ve done videos for. I think Fear of a Black Tangent and Zwarte Achegronde, for example, are classic, classic albums. I haven’t made a video for a song I wasn’t totally amazed by, which is a huge help creatively.
We noticed the drawings on your site. Is that something you’ve considered pursuing seriously also? What’s with the tendency for big eye balls?
I used to be a cartoonist for a long time, from childhood on. About ten years ago I had a daily strip called “Despot Theatre” which ran in my college paper. All the eyeballs in that were of relatively normal size. I always thought I’d be a strip cartoonist, but I started making films.
Can you discuss the concept behind the Forestry Service? Besides having a good time your events seem to incorporate some greenish type goals. What drives you to promote these themes?
Forestry Service was a monthly DJ night put on by myself and Rob Schroeder, who has also produced many of my music videos. It ran from June of 2003 to June of 2004. We played mostly IDM. We had a bunch of guest DJs perform, including Daedelus, Thavius Beck, Ars. Nova. Strata…, Octavius, ADDj, and Boom Bip. Our one-year anniversary had all those folks, plus Adventure Time, Busdriver, Dntel, Morpho, and DJ Jun. It was a lot of fun. The green aspect was something we incorporated into our website but we ended Forestry Service before we could really incorporate it into the actual night.
Forestry Service was briefly revived in spirit later that year, when Rob and I put on a registration drive / concert for Kerry in Miami, with Metric, Midnight Movies, Busdriver, Thavius and Machine Drum. It was a great show. Kerry still lost.
You’ve done a great job at portraying Busdriver’s humor and sarcasm in the promo spots. How did you arrive at the concepts? Were the settings your idea? Does your process tend to be very collaborative in nature?
Busdriver is easy to direct, because he’s a naturally dynamic performer. The concepts were mine for the most part, but Regan’s
performances were all him. I’d tell him what I was going for, and then he’d just be himself. He’s really fun to watch, on stage or on film.
I really just listened to the songs we were going to use and some sort of idea would form. Some of them we changed on set, some were almost exactly as written.
In general, when I direct I like everyone I work with to bring their own perspective to what we’re shooting. People get much more involved and work harder at making a great finished work if they’re engaged in the creative process.
Besides artists you’ve already worked with, can you name some artists or just anyone or anything that you draw most of your inspiration from?
David Lynch was a gigantic influence on my life growing up and probably the reason I switched to film. I’ve also been heavily influenced all my life by Bloom County and Kurt Vonnegut. Oh, and seasons 4 through 8 of the Simpsons. There are many others, I’m sure, but there’s a good start.
Music that changed how I looked at things, in chronological order: Cat Stevens, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, Aphex Twin, mu-Ziq, Guided By Voices, Neutral Milk Hotel, Neil Young, cLOUDDEAD.
Music videos that changed the way I looked at things: Radiohead’s No Surprises by Grant Gee, & Karma Police by Jonathan Glazer, R.E.M.’s Imitation of Life by Hammer & Tongs, and Bjork’s All Is Full Of Love by Chris Cunningham.
As far as exposure goes, what do you think about the declining influence of MTV? Do you see this as a positive? Has the proliferation of social networking sites and video sharing sites like youtube and myspace benefited you greatly personally?
They haven’t benefitted me very much, personally. I think with YouTube and Myspace video, more people have seen my stuff but at a shitty, shitty resolution. They are great for spreading work, but the format leaves a lot to be desired in terms of content. On the other hand, you can make something for no money and walk into a meeting with a development exec and say “this thing’s been seen 1.4 million times” and they’ll throw a development deal at you. It’s exciting, but every aspiring filmmaker is trying to do that. So we get glutted with stunts, like lonelygirl and the haircutting bride, that are created to garner attention and rewarded for garnering it. It’s like a new genre. I’m not sure what to think yet, really.
Music video directors have a reputation for being cutting edge and pushing the envelope when it comes to editing and presentation. What would you consider one of the biggest drawbacks to specializing in music videos?
Music videos are very difficult to make a living off of. A lot of times, it’s a director’s hobby or vanity project between commercial
work. There’s also little chance to hone other aspects of directing. I think music videos are primarily good for honing your visual sense. If you want to be a good narrative director, you have to direct narrative films.
Is there a genre of film/movies that you prefer?
It’s really great to be surprised by whatever i’m watching. Just saw Children of Men. When all is said and done, i think it’s going
to be one of the highlights of the decade. Five of my favorite movies in no particular order: Eraserhead, Stardust
Memories, Miller’s Crossing, Boogie Nights, Rushmore.
Any projects you’re currently working on that you’re excited about? Can we expect more music videos or maybe a film down the line?
I’ve been working on a tv/online project for a couple years now with Joel Huggins called Fish Out Of Water (www.fishoutofwater.tv), about three Pittsburgh roommates hitting their thirties, one of whom is a 2-foot-11 fish. I’m shooting some shorts with a comedy troupe called Cabbage! and currently at work on a feature.
