10 years of rVa Magazine 2005-2015

Transcription

10 years of RVA Magazine 2005-2015
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RVA MAGAZINE 22 | FALL 2015
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RICHMOND ROCKS HERE: LIVE MUSIC AND PRIVATE EVENTS
TICKET/INFORMATION AVAILABLE @ THEBROADBERRY.COM
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2729 W BROAD STREET, RICHMOND, VA
he just saved
money on his
car insurance
computer repair
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RVA #22 FALL 2015
2005-2015:10 YEARS OF RVA
WWW.RVAMAG.COM
R. Anthony Harris + Jeremy Parker FOUNDERS
Inkwell Ventures PUBLISHER
John Reinhold PRESIDENT
Drew Necci EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Brad Kutner, Amy David RVAMAG.COM & GAYRVA.COM
Tits Mcghee CREATIVE DIRECTOR
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Taylor Womack ADVERTISING ASST.
WRITERS
Drew Necci, Shannon Cleary, Doug Nunnally,
Kyle Shearin, John Reinhold,
Cody Endres, Tim Wellington, Angie Huckstep,
Becky Ingram, Mickeal Broth, Ryan Kent
PHOTOGRAPHY
Jake Cunningham, Patrick Biedrycki, Dennis Williford, BCMusic1st
INTERNS
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support your local business!
Carytown
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Don’t Look Back, Chop Suey Books,
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Ellwoood Thompsons, Need Supply Co.
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cover art by James Callahan
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RVA
RVA MAGAZINE
MAGAZINE 2222 || FALL
FALL 2015
2015
1010 years
years of
of RVA
RVA Magazine
Magazine 2005-2015
2005-2015
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RVA On Tap
THE LATEST IN Richmond BREW NEWS
CHECK RVAMAG.com/rvaontap for your daily pint
Original Gravity
Ready to Test Their
Mettle with New
Brewpub
Apocalypse’s
Current Offerings
Are Just The
Beginning
Original Gravity has been a go-to destination
for home brewers of both beer and wine in the
Richmond area for some time now. It follows
that the people that run a home brewing
supply shop know a thing or two about
brewing — now they have set out to prove
that, with Final Gravity Brewing Company.
As of now, Final Gravity is serving up beers
adjacent to the Original Gravity shop, with
a diverse slate of offerings. Current on-tap
options range from more mild styles, such
as their Amber Ale and Extra Special Bitter,
to those for more adventurous palates, like a
violet-flavored Saison and a bourbon barrelaged version of their Stout. Growler fills are
available for most of their current line of
brews.
Forest, Virginia’s Apocalypse Ale Works has
built up a modest, but formidable reputation
outside of their hometown with canned
offerings like their Honey Wheat Ale, Golden
Censer, and Hoppocalypse, a hoppy Imperial
Red, as well as some impressive keg-only
beers such as Winter Snack, a rich, spiced
Stout. Later this year, the Richmond area
should see even more of Apocalypse’s wifeowned, husband-brewed beer. Future canned
beers include a chocolate Stout, an ESB, and
a Belgian-style Blonde Ale. Coming in 22
ounce bottles is a Belgian-style Dubbel, an
award-winning Strong Scottish Ale, a fusion
of their chocolate stout and Winter Snack,
and a Double Alt Beer (Doppel Sticke), which
is a collaboration with Devil’s Backbone.
Legend Continues
Urban Legend Series
with
“The Bleeding Nun”
Our friends at Legend Brewing have a few
new brews just in time for the holidays. They
continue their Urban Legend series with The
Bleeding Nun, a habanero-spiced oatmeal
stout that should have a nice kick for those
dark beer lovers. As we get closer to winter,
they’ll put out their Belgian Winter White
Ale, a great winter warmer using a classic
Belgian yeast strain, lightly spiced. Finally,
we can expect to see the popular Chocolate
Porter make a return for our cold winter
nights.
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Hardywood’s Days
Are Just Packed
The last few months of this year will feature
a bevy of releases from the popular brewery.
In October: The rum-barrel aged variant of
their spiced, Wallonian-style Farmhouse
Pumpkin Ale launches on the third. A yetto-be-unveiled fourth anniversary beer will
be premiered on the 24th, and the massive
apple brandy barrel-aged Trickery Imperial
Milk Stout will appear on Halloween. In
November: The beloved Gingerbread Stout
launches on the seventh. RPG IPA, a black IPA
made in tribute to the Richmond-based rock
band, returns on the fourteenth. December
holds two Gingerbread Stout variants: the
bourbon barrel-aged version comes out on
the fifth, and the coffee-infused Christmas
Morning on the nineteenth.
Castleburg
Brewery Joins an
Already Packed
Scott’s Addition
Hardywood is about to have a new neighbor
— Castleburg Brewery and Taproom is
set to open just down the road from one
of Richmond’s most beloved breweries.
Hopefully opening near the end of the year,
Castleburg will be a nano brewery, making
“beers brewed to style.” So, barrel-aged
and fruited beers will be somewhat of a
rarity, unless the style calls for such a thing.
Though there is not much of a thematic
link style-wise, names like “Watchman’s
Wit” and “White Knight” (an IPA) suggest a
fondness for the medieval era, and possibly
beer-related history as well.
TRIPLE CROSSING
co-owners
Jeremy Wirtes
& Adam Worcester
Interview by John Reinhold
Triple Crossing is a brewery located on Foushee
St in the heart of downtown Richmond, VA. This
locally-owned establishment boasts a 7bbl brew
system and a tasting room featuring a rotating
selection of their homemade craft brews. We
caught up with co-owners Jeremy Wirtes and
Adam Worcester to get the scoop on how Triple
Crossing started and what they’ve been up to.
How did the idea of Triple Crossing come
about?
Adam: The name came from the triple
crossing down in Shockoe Bottom. We have
a picture of it on the wall, of the three trains
crossing back in the 20’s. It’s a unique thing,
the only [place] in North America where that
happens. It’s this Richmond landmark and not
a lot of people know about it. We thought it’d
be a neat idea to name a Richmond Brewery
after that. [Co-owner] Scott [Jones] and I
are Richmond natives and Jeremy has lived in
Richmond for several years.
Jeremy: It also worked out that there are three
of us. Someone else had to point that out to
us; accidentally on purpose, we did that.
Adam: Jeremy and I have homebrewed
together for a couple years now. We talked
about starting a brewery, got some ideas from
some other beer companies, places out west.
A lot of places at the time weren’t brewing the
styles of beers we were interested in doing.
We always knew the types of beers we like
were available here, they just weren’t brewed
here.
Jeremy: Anybody can make a hoppy beer, but
on the local side of things, it wasn’t really
happening, so it was what we wanted to do.
Our focus is definitely hoppy beers of all
kinds.
Adam: People come in and go, “Do you have
anything that’s not an IPA?” We’re like, “What
for?”
Jeremy: Everything from pale ales--which is
what they were called in my day, not IPAs. The
whole hoppy gamut, from pale ales to IPA,
double IPA, to blonde barley wine, we brew
in here. We won a medal at the Virginia Craft
Brewers Fest, and it’s our worst selling beer
of all time. People ask if we’ll do that beer
again and we’re like, “Nope.” It took forever
to sell--and we won the silver medal. I don’t
know if people were ready for what exactly it
was, because a lot of the beer people in town,
including other owners, would tell us that this
is really interesting and really cool, [but] it
wouldn’t sell.
Tell me a little bit more about your beers that
are most popular, starting with Falcon Smash.
our main one. Element 79, which is our
everyman’s beer, everybody’s beer. It’s a 4.5%
summer ale.
Adam: That was our entry-level beer, when
we were new to the craft scene. We recently
started using Clarityfirm, a whitelapse
product, and it removes gluten from the beer.
Jeremy: Gluten’s still there, but it reduces it.
It’s under the 30 parts per billion required to
make something gluten free. We cannot call
it that, nor will we; but it’s gluten reduced-let’s call it that to be safe. We’d like to get
that one nice and clear, just a 4.5% English
summer ale, which is a vehicle for me to play
with hops also.
Any special releases going on in October?
Adam: We teamed up with the Poe Museum
and got a local artist, Abigail Larson, to do a
design for us, so she did that and she’s done
another one. Black Cat IPA. It’s an imperial
red.
Jeremy: Yeah, it’s a big double red--it’s like
9%, really heavy. We just love that style
because when it’s fresh, they’re bitingly
hoppy, but when they have age to them, even
if the hops drop, it becomes more of a maltbased beer.
Adam: Demon Days--that’s the one we’re
launching this week--is a hoppy red ale, sort
of a smaller counterpart to that other beer.
That’s one of my favorite beers we’ve done,
but compared to some of our other hoppy
beers, it’s not done great.
Jeremy: Yeah, beers like that aren’t really
“in” right now, but we love them. They’re
everything craft beer can be.
Adam: That’s something nice about our size-we can brew beers that we want. It’s only
seven barrels, so nothing sits around too long.
Adam: You could call [Falcon Smash] our
flagship IPA. We do a lot of different IPAs,
but Falcon Smash is what we’re best known
for, primarily because it’s the only one we
distribute. We tend to brew it 2-3 times per
month, so we usually have it on draft. We
don’t right now because we sold out of it last
weekend.
Jeremy: It’s really a foundation for the way I
like to make beer. It’s really basic and simple,
but it’s really process driven. A 100% pale
ale malt, some sugar, and expressive yeast
strain, usually of English origin--which we’re
constantly fooling around with.
Adam: Every week I’m like, “Which yeast did
you use this time?” And I have no idea.
Jeremy: We’re really hop and yeast driven in www.triplecrossingbeer.com
here. Other popular beers [include] Nectar
Knife, one of our double IPAs. We’ve done
3 different double IPAs lately, but that’s
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PLAYLIST
TRACKS WORTH LISTENING TO
Titus Andronicus,
“No Future Part IV: No Future Triumphant”
The Most Lamentable Tragedy, Merge
The 21st century rock musical has taken several different twists
and turns. Titus Andronicus’s latest addition to the form is their
most ambitious effort to date, and that says a lot of a band already
esteemed for their glowing ambition. This track opens the album
by blending the sounds of past efforts, setting the stage for the selfloathing that awaits, and offering another installment of the band’s
ongoing No Future saga. --Shannon Cleary
Bully, “I Remember”
Feels Like, Startime/Columbia
This 110-second blast of rage kicks off Tennessee punk band
Bully’s debut album with a roar, and tattoos itself on your brain
pan by way of loud guitars and screamed lyrics from frontwoman
Alicia Bognanno. Recorded by legendary producer Steve Albini,
this raw tale of a jilted lover is over way too quickly to fully satisfy
on first listen, but there’s an easy remedy for that--play it again.
And again, and again, and again. --Tim Wellington
Tender Defender, “Hello Dirt”
as-yet-untitled mini-LP, Dead Broke
Rising from the ashes of Latterman, this New York punk band’s
debut single is exactly what punk music should be in 2015: a bold,
political statement masquerading as a gritty pop song. The song
starts off unassuming with a standard punk intro, albeit with added
vigor, and then bashes you over the head with abrasive lyrics just
as you get comfortable. It doesn’t stop there, as the political nature
slowly unravels and the band begins to subtly sneak in discordant
screams that accentuate the jarring point effortlessly.
--Doug Nunnally
Dope Body, “Old Grey”
Kunk, Drag City
For a band like Baltimore’s Dope Body, sounds that are accidents for more
traditional rock bands are the integral nuts and bolts of a song. “Old Grey”
features consistent feedback that almost acts as percussion, crushingly
distorted bass, and some sort of over-modulated guitar or keyboard creating
a cartoonish wobbling sound. Until the drums and vocals come in, the song
comes across as a strange collage of unrelated elements--so much so that
when things coalesce, it’s almost shocking that it works. Even without lyrics
like “I’m living in a trashcan,” the song would sound filthy and deranged,
and I wouldn’t have it any other way. --Cody Endres
Gnarwhal, “Babes R Babes”
Shinerboy, Flannel Gurl/Exploding In Sound
Nashville’s Gnarwhal would sound incredibly impressive even
if all that noise wasn’t being churned out by only two members.
Fans of Hella, Crom-Tech, and Lightning Bolt are going to want to pay
attention to what this maniacal duo have to offer on their latest
album. “Babes R Babes” is the highly memorable centerpiece, in
which a succession of intense, headbang-inspiring riffs building to a
mid-song crescendo full of wild screaming and some truly dazzling
drum-kit acrobatics. --Drew Necci
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STUDIO NEWS
Those Manic Seas have endured
quite the odyssey in bringing their
first full-length to fruition, but with
the first single, “Outlier,” hitting
the internet recently, and a release
date set for the start of 2016, it
looks like the wait is almost over. It
took longer due to disagreements
with the North Carolina label
who originally planned to release
the album--conflicts over sound
ultimately resulted in the band
buying their masters back from
their label and deciding to release
the album themselves. Recording
for the album has been primarily
done at the band’s home studio,
with some assistance from John
Morand at Sound Of Music, and
after an improbable exchange of
private messages on Instagram
yielded positive results, Darren
King of New Orleans band
Mutemath will be coming in to
mix half of the album. Look for the
finished product to hit the RVA
streets soon after the new year.
The band known as Clair Morgan,
which is fronted by the man known
as Clair Morgan, have also been
hard at work for quite a while on
their next album, the long-awaited
followup to lovely debut No Notes.
After a successful Kickstarter
campaign funded the band’s
multiple sessions at legendary
DC studio Inner Ear, they spent a
significant part of the year laying
down overdubs and taking care of
the mixing. The finished product
caught the ear of RVA’s own
Egghunt Records, who’ve signed
Clair Morgan (the band and the
person) for the release of New Lions
And The Not Goodnight. Egghunt’s
jubilance about the signing shines
through in their official statement:
“When we heard the tracks to the
new album it became abundantly
clear that Clair Morgan’s next
full length will most certainly be
a contender for top Richmond,
Virginia album of 2016!”
Meanwhile, out in a shady
suburban
neighborhood
west
of the city, Jellowstone studios
carries on quietly with its insanely
productive studio. The latest
release is from The Charles
Owens Trio, a jazz combo led by
saxophonist Charles Owens and
featuring bassist Andrew Randazzo
and drummer Devonne Harris (aka
DJ Harrison) of Butcher Brown.
Owens calls the new record, the
result of a day-long session in the
front room at Jellowstone studios
last February, “beautiful, swinging,
and raw.” The album, A Day With
Us, will be out on Jellowstone
Records on November 14, with
physical release handled by their
partners at Ropeadope. Mark your
calendars for the official album
release show, happening Tuesday,
Nov. 10 at Capital Ale House!
RVA
RVAMAGAZINE
MAGAZINE2222| FALL
| FALL2015
2015
T A P R O O M
H O U R S
W E D - F R I : 4 - 9 P M S AT : 2 - 9 P M S U N : 1 2 - 6 P M
L I V E
E V E R Y
2 4 0 8
M U S I C
F RIDAY ,
O W N B Y
PH OTO
O F
• C R A F T
S AT U R DAY
L A N E
M A N Z A R A
&
B E E R
SU N DAY
R I C H M O N D ,
C O U RT ESY
O F
J O E Y
W H A RTO N
V A
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ANT the
SYMBOL
Interview by Drew Necci
Photos by BCMusic1st
When we first featured Ant The Symbol in
RVA Magazine nearly five years ago, he was
still known as Just Plain Ant. As one of the
founders of the Just Plain Sounds hip hop
collective, he was a young producer on the
rise with a posse of talented collaborators
backing him up. A lot of things have
happened to Anthony Gillison since those
days; some good, some bad, all inspiring
to his highly productive muse. These days,
Just Plain Sounds is defunct and Ant The
Symbol is going it alone, but the spring
2015 release of The King Of Nothing, his
first full-length since the end of JPS, gave
him a new lease on life. Since then, he’s
stayed busy--remastering and reissuing
older work, cranking out EPs and beat tapes,
putting together beats for his next album,
and delving into new projects featuring live
instrumentation, multimedia production,
and… maybe even film? One thing’s for
sure--Ant The Symbol has a lot going on.
We sat down with him a few weeks ago to
get the details.
When you started producing, who were your
inspirations?
Usually everybody has this long list of
inspirations but I had exactly three that got
me to start producing. They were J-Dilla,
9th Wonder, and RJD2. J-Dilla’s just like,
how soulful his stuff was. 9th Wonder
came from listening to Little Brother’s The
Listening, which is an incredible album.
Hearing how his production was also very
soulful, but he ended up putting together
this very funny story, with very good
lyrics. Not to say J-Dilla wasn’t an amazing
producer--he was! He’s one of the best.
But something about The Listening just hit
me a certain way, where I was like “This is
what a producer should be doing!” RJD2,
it was his versatility. Everybody else’s first
album they heard by him was Deadringer-mine was Since We Last Spoke. He did all
this amazing rock-influenced stuff [on that
album]. It still had soul influence in there,
but the versatility of it was amazing.
You became Ant The Symbol after JPS split I’m thinking about music that I’m gonna
up. What was the inspiration behind the make. Music is my paradise. If something’s
bothering me, if somebody’s nagging me,
name Ant The Symbol?
if there’s something in my life that’s really
I was just listening to Prince one day, trying fucking with my head, I can remove myself
to figure out what my next move would be. from that situation via music. So I can’t
I was [thinking], “Prince up and left Warner really help but be productive.
Bros because they weren’t doing him right.
He was like, ‘I’m not even gonna be a name, Right, so getting back to you thinking Just
I’m gonna be a symbol.’ But I can’t draw, Plain Ant Is Gone would be your last album...
so I can’t be a symbol.” If somebody asked I can’t see you walking away from it.
me what my name was and I drew them a
picture, they’d go, “So your name is stupid I can’t see me walking away from it either.
Everybody has those moments where they
little scribble-line.” [laughs]
feel apprehensive about what they do. I’m
But you do have that ant logo you’ve been no different. I see different people around
me that are getting all this praise, and
using.
sometimes I feel like I’m in the same place
Yeah, I was lucky. Mike Gregoire, the I was 8 years ago. It can get frustrating.
founder of BlocSonic, the label I release But at the end of the day, there’s no way in
music through sometimes, was like, “I hell you’re going to be able to pull yourself
actually have a logo for you.” He sent it to away from something if you’re passionate
me, and I was blown away by it. Every album about it. I’m definitely passionate about
that I’ve released so far, I don’t even put my it! I remember when I first heard “Bonita
name on it. My name’s not on any of the Applebum” by A Tribe Called Quest when
covers, it’s just the logo. So at the end of the I was four years old, and feeling a certain
day, it kind of did end up like [Prince]--that way about it. I’m not trying to do this for a
career. I’m not gonna do what’s popular at
symbol is everywhere.
the time, because everybody else is into it.
What happened with the end of JPS, anyway? I’ll dabble in it, because I think trends are
interesting. I was in advertising in college,
I felt like everything with JPS was becoming so of course, seeing how to sell something
really dissonant, and everybody was to somebody is another part of me. But I’m
starting to clash with each other--too not gonna remove myself from what I know.
many disagreements, people were starting I’m gonna do it my way. I’m gonna go ahead
to leave, and it was starting to cramp my and say it--most other rappers out here are
creativity. So I did a whole bunch at one doing it because it’ll get them money. It’ll
time. I released what was supposed to be get them attention. It’ll get them respect.
my album The Talented Mr. Thunderknuckles. I don’t care about money--I have a 9 to 5
A lot of that did not [get finished], but I did for that. I don’t care about attention--I’m
have 8 tracks. I got really frustrated one really introverted. And respect is something
day, and dropped it as Just Plain Ant Is Gone. you shouldn’t have to try for. If you’re a
I didn’t even announce it, I just put it up on respectable person, you’ll get respect. So
the internet. I was almost positive that was having to try to get those three things is no
gonna be my very last album, because things concern of mine.
had just not panned out. And this wasn’t the
first time things hadn’t panned out. At the Tell me about the first three EPs you released
end of the day, I just needed that change. I as Ant The Symbol: I’m Not Them, Act
needed to find that person I became as Ant Natural, and Go It Alone.
The Symbol. That independence has given
That was a really dark point in my life. That
everything a whole different feel.
was right when JPS split up and I had just
I feel like you’re a really productive guy. If become Ant The Symbol. A whole bunch of
you go home and you don’t have anything to crazy stuff was happening in my personal
life at the time, which just made me shut
do, you’re thinking about making beats.
everybody out. I call that trilogy the Isolation
Even when I have things to do, I’m thinking Trilogy, because that’s what I did--I isolated
about making beats. [laughs] Like at my myself. I didn’t really come out of that
desk at work, I’m listening to bullshit these isolation until the beginning of this year. But
customers tell me. When they’re yelling at that point I was able to perfectly express
at me about medications they can’t get, how that isolation and, yes, depression felt.
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I’m Not Them was me removing the facade
that everything was all good, struggling
with how dark what was underneath
that facade was, and being liberated by
removing that facade. Act Natural was very
electronic and kind of techno, and that’s for
a very good reason. I’ve never been a club
person, I’ve never liked crowds, I’ve never
liked a whole bunch of people dancing and
running into me and stuff. But I tried it that
summer, just to perhaps dig myself out of
a funk. Maybe something different was
necessary. But it ended up making me feel
even more suffocated, even more tense. It
ended up resulting in me going even deeper
into isolation. And then Go It Alone was
just like... I need space. Let me be, and I’ll
be back a better person. I think that Go It
Alone was the perfect segue into The King
Of Nothing. Go It Alone was isolation to find
understanding. The King Of Nothing was the
manifestation of that understanding.
What was your motivation to do that album?
When I came out of that period of deep
depression, I felt better--I felt like the king
of something. But what was I the king of?
I’m not the king of anything, I just feel
renewed, and like nobody could bring me
down from where I’ve gotten.
26
I feel like this is a dark interview, by the
way. [laughs] Because my life is not, “We’re
gonna get bottles of Hennessy and pour
it over bitches and shit”--taking pictures
on Instagram at a bar with two bottles of
Patron. I don’t even drink Patron, man. I just
go and sit in the house, watch a movie and
drink a beer or something.
You’ve also done a bunch of reissues lately.
Yeah. I just finished the beats for it this
week. The album should be out midwinter.
Some people I’ve never worked with before,
some of the usual suspects.
Absolutely. I feel like at one time I was
releasing too much. I’m trying to be more
careful with that nowadays, because I want
people to be able to grasp and absorb
Yeah, I did a reissue of [albumtitle] and put
it up on Spotify. I’m really glad that I’ve
kept working with Ableton, because I finally
got everything to sound the way I want it
to. That’s why I’m doing these reissues.
I’m sitting here listening to these things,
thinking, “Wow, I really did not have mixing
King Of Nothing is the first real album under down the way that I want to.” And now that
the name Ant The Symbol. [It’s] me in I do, and I hear the way they sound with
this new transformed version of myself. I my knowledge now, I want people to hear
was able to be like, “This is the sound I’m this exactly the way I wanted it to be heard,
going for, and I’m not willing to bargain it with the prowess that I’ve gained. I’ve got
for anything. I know people that’ll be down three or four more that I’ve done that I
with it, I’m going to get them to help me haven’t released yet, but I’m thinking about
bring this sound together.” And it did come releasing. They’re all instrumental projects,
together exactly the way I wanted it to. but I definitely want to get these things reI didn’t have to water anything down. The released with the proper sonic appreciation
King Of Nothing is the start to optimism. they deserve.
It’s the start of turning the understanding
into being grateful for the darkness. That’s On a mental and emotional level, do you feel
where the next album, Clockwise, comes in. like the coming out of the darkness that King
Of Nothing represented might be a renewal
Is that something you’re putting together of your career that has inspired you to go
back to this old stuff and try and rework it?
now?
everything. Every little release that I do has
a purpose, and I want anybody that’s a fan
of my music to see that purpose, to feel that
emotion I’m putting out there. I feel like I
have a lot more clear thoughts that I want to
put out there, and people would definitely
be able to relate, especially if they listen
to the albums in sequence. I know I’m not
the only one that’s going through the things
that I’ve gone through.
it. Reggie Pace and I talked about making
something happen, [and] soon he and I
are gonna talk about making this thing
come together. Get a bunch of singers, get
a bunch of different instruments--there
are so many people around here who play
different instruments, [and] I definitely
want my favorite instrumentalists in the city
on it. This is the album that I want to define
me. I have no idea when this one’s gonna
come out, but it’s something I want to do
diligently. I want people to go, “Wow, he’s
way more than we thought he was before”
when they listen to it.
them. So that’s gonna be a main thing until I
get this multi-genre project going.
Beyond that, there’ve been hints that
you’re looking at branching out into live
instrumentation. What’s going on with that?
Also, with this being a multimedia thing,
I want to get a camera, start doing short
films. Film is something I’ve always been
really interested in. I want to start that by
the time I turn 30. That’ll give me time to
save up some money, get it going. There’s
not a single album I’ve made that I haven’t
come up with an image in my head for the
entire thing. I wanted to do a short film
for I’m Not Them. It never came to fruition,
because you have all these ideas that you’re
just not ready for. That’s the struggle of
[I’m also] starting... not necessarily a label, being a young artist. I was so hungry. I’ve
but a production/distribution/multimedia heard people say that hunger can be a gift
company called Five Leaf Media. The and a curse; you end up starting all these
premiere release off of that label will be ideas and not going through with them.
Graphic Antics, a collaboration between Now I’m just trying to go back and do those
Graphic Melee and myself. He’ll be rhyming things.
on the whole thing, I’ll produce the whole
thing. It’s insane. It’s not relaxed, it’s not antthesymbol.bandcamp.com
I’ve been working on different demos, just
composing them myself. You never know
how creative you are until you set the mind
to do something completely out of your
comfort zone. I have 15 demos right now,
[and] all 15 of them sound different. It’s
amazing! I just need the time to work on
contemplative--I didn’t make the beats
wanting to be some kind of conscious
deep-minded thing, I just wanted to make
something completely out there for him to
just spazz on lyrically. It’s really fast paced,
it’s really loud, and it’s amazing. I’m also
working with several different artists on the
beginning stages of albums I’ll produce for
So what is coming up next?
I have Clockwise coming out in the winter
from Blocsonic. It’s the calm after the storm.
It’s really laid back. You wouldn’t ride down
the street with the windows down letting
the bass pump. It’s relaxing to listen to. It’s
definitely a winter album.
27
28
RVARVA
MAGAZINE
MAGAZINE
21 | 22Summer
| FALL 2015
29
Hot
DOLPHIN
By Shannon Cleary
Photos by Jake Cunningham
It’s an obnoxiously hot night in the city of
Richmond, but the weather doesn’t prevent
the city’s inhabitants from coming together
to celebrate the local music scene. An
eclectic bill at Strange Matter has drawn
a large, boisterous crowd that spills out
the door. Brief Lives have just wrapped
up; smoke breaks in front of the venue are
accompanied by excited conversations,
reflecting the growing anticipation for
the next band to take the stage. The
heralded group, Hot Dolphin, have created
a reputation for themselves through
exuberant and intense performances unlike
anything else in Richmond today. When
Hot Dolphin truly slays it, it’s practically a
religious experience.
Hot Dolphin played their first show in 2012.
The audience was eager to see their debut
performance and the band didn’t disappoint.
Their set featured a nice balance of new
material and staples from the yesteryears
of The Color Kittens. Hot Dolphin began
performing regularly around town over the
next few months. “When we started the
band, we were discovering that it was a bit
difficult to get shows around town. This led
to us agreeing to play the majority of shows
that were offered to us,” Hancock says.
“Playing out that much helped us figure
out our sound pretty quickly,” Falen adds.
“For me, that’s always the fun part of being
in a band that is starting practically from
scratch. The trial and error of figuring out
in a live room.”
As Hot Dolphin became a more seasoned
band, Falen and Hancock were becoming
one of the strongest rhythm sections in
town. Their choice in varying rhythms and
clever fills would certainly challenge the
local music community. Barrow’s penchant
for noisy garage rock and howling into the
pick-ups of his guitar during particular songs
Hot Dolphin started as most bands do in helped contribute to the band’s frantic live
this city. After the breakup of their previous performances--as did the lack of breaks
band, The Color Kittens, guitarist Robert between songs, never giving audiences a
Barrow and bassist Alison Hancock were chance to catch their breath.
performing as the duo Tyrannosaurus
Awesome. Despite the fun nature of the And then there’s Lindsey Spurrier. Anytime
guitar/drum duo, they felt a lingering Hot Dolphin comes up in conversation,
desire to do something louder, and began Spurrier’s performances are mentioned
discussing options for how to make that quickly. Her onstage antics, which often
happen. “Robert and I were leaning towards involved venturing into the audience midwanting to get a bigger sound, and it was just performance to ramp up the energy, set the
something that the two of us [by ourselves] bar high. As frontwoman, Spurrier becomes
wouldn’t be able to pull off,” Hancock says. the possessed ringleader that completes
The two were quick to find Texas transplant the Hot Dolphin equation, ensuring fun
Tim Falen, who’d moved here with desert- is had by all and guaranteeing a rapidly
psych band The Diamond Center, for whom growing base of fans who eagerly attend as
he played a standup drum kit. “Robert and many Hot Dolphin shows as they can.
Alison wondered if I’d be down for starting
a band,” Falen says. “My only requirement The band set out to record debut EP
was that I could play drums sitting down.”
Hotter Dolphiner in early 2013. Outside
of his musical commitments, Falen has
The trio began rehearsing songs Barrow and seasoned recording chops, which led to him
Hancock had originally worked on as a duo. engineering recordings of bands all across
At this point, they were still not certain as town and made it easy for him to record
to what direction the band was going to this first official set of songs by the band.
take. This is where singer Lindsey Spurrier The release, featuring fan favorites like “In
came in. “Tim and I had just moved in Between” and “Lady Werewolf,” showcases
together and he would mention how he was the band’s garage rock sensibilities, and
off to play music with Robert and Alison,” its lo-fi quality suits the group. Hotter
she relates. “My initial reaction was, ‘Tim is Dolphiner was released on cassette by Bad
going off to play music with two of my best Grrrl Records, a label featuring an eclectic
friends--I just want to be there.’ Eventually, number of Richmond acts such as Fat Spirit,
I was invited to come hang out, and it slowly Tungs, White Laces, and The Milkstains,
became an opportunity to be in a band with among others. The label was founded by
some of my favorite people.”
30
31
Tungs’ Ben Miller, who would later be joined
on staff by Falen, who helped engineer
the recordings and assist in cassette
manufacturing.
Soon after releasing Hotter Dolphiner, the
band was approached by North Carolina
label Negative Fun Records about releasing
a single on the label. “I was playing with
Hoax Hunters at the time, and [that band]
was in talks with Negative Fun about
releasing a full-length with them,” Falen
says. “[Negative Fun owner] Chris Defusco
started checking out a few other bands in
town, and was pretty excited about working
with us.” The single, which was eventually
released as part of Negative Fun’s 2014
Singles Club series (also featuring an EP
by RVA’s own Positive No), would feature
two new songs, “Bodysnatcher” and “Paint
Dry,” and an old Color Kittens tune entitled
“Cat Sweaters.” “We have moved away from
playing a lot of the Color Kittens songs that
[originally] stuck around in our set, but ‘Cat
Sweaters’ has always been a blast to play,”
Hancock says. The band’s assocation with
Negative Fun not only resulted in an EP and
increased regional attenion, but even led to
them making an appearance at last year’s
Hopscotch Festival as part of a daytime
label showcase.
Things were looking bright for the group
until Barrow announced to the group that he
was planning on departing. This put a lot of
things on hold. “When Robert told us that
he was planning on leaving Hot Dolphin, we
were supportive of the decision and started
to think of what the continuation of the band
would be,” Spurrier adds. It wouldn’t be easy
to replace Barrow. His unbridled energy on
stage and creative approach to songwriting
certainly helped in shaping the Hot Dolphin
sound. Thankfully, a short search led the
band to a fairly obvious choice replacement,
drawn from their close-knit network within
the Richmond music scene.
Ben Miller was obviously a fan of the group
from the get go--after all, he’d released their
first EP. “I remember seeing early shows of
the band and really liking it. It seemed like
they quickly came into their own,” Miller
says. “It came up that they were going to
need a guitarist, and I was immediately
interested.” Miller’s first show with the band
happened early in 2015 and the dynamic
of the group changed in a fascinating way.
“Robert and Ben have two really different
approaches to playing guitar, and they both
fit with the Hot Dolphin sound,” explains
32
Falen. “With Ben, we found that he engaged
us to really start writing a bunch of new
material. That was exciting to all of us.”
Their latest material definitely represents
a new approach for the band. “Whenever
you are writing together and you have
four unique perspectives [on] what music
appeals to them, there is always going to
be a crazy mix of ideas at play,” Hancock
says. “It’s inevitably going to make some
songs a bit stranger than others, but I don’t
think Hot Dolphin has ever really been an
easy band to pinpoint,” Falen adds. “You
are looking at four people that come from
a bunch of different scenes, whether that’s
pop-punk or metal or hardcore, and finding
the balance between all of those genres.”
As the band grows used to their new lineup,
Spurrier sees a shift in the band. “We played
a show with Screaming Females a few
months back, and Marissa [Paternoster]
even mentioned that a lot of our songs
seemed to come from a darker place.” “In
the past, [we had] songs that Robert or I
would bring in, and they would be pretty
figured out up to that point,” Hancock says.
“With these new songs, we are figuring
them out from scratch.”
In spite of all the upheaval, though, Hot
Dolphin remains a band driven by strength
and confidence. “I think the last year for
the band has been a challenge and a lot of
our new songs reflect that,” Spurrier says.
“It got to a point where for me personally,
I wasn’t as concerned about how people
would react to the songs. I wanted to make
sure we were still having fun as a band and
that the songs we were working on were the
songs that we wanted to be writing.” “That’s
always been the weird nature of the band,”
Falen adds. “It feels like we could be running
full speed ahead and possibly on the brink of
self-imploding. Part of that energy is what
drives the band to still be a band though.”
“We’re also getting older and just trying to
figure out what our expectations as a band
are,” Hancock chimes in. “Do we want to be
touring? When we get around to making a
full-length, what are our goals for that? It’s
what you can expect when you have been a
band for a while.”
Despite looking ahead with uncertain eyes,
Hot Dolphin have always thrived in these
sorts of circumstances. “Even if we are all
coming from different places, we are all still
drawn to this project, and that enthusiasm
is what keeps us afloat,” Hancock says. “The
songs that we have done in this band are
easily some of my favorite that I have been
a part of,” Falen adds. “I have no clue what
the future holds for this band, outside of us
working on this new material and seeing
where it leads for us next,” Spurrier says. “If
it were to all end tomorrow, I think we would
all say that we are grateful that people took
a second to be a part of this thing.”
Throughout their existence, Hot Dolphin
has remained a band best explained through
their live performances. Every Hot Dolphin
fan has their own unique experience of
being blown away while watching them
play. Their overwhelming performances
have made them one of the most beloved
bands to appear on the local scene over
the past couple of years. They are a band
to dance to. They are a band to drink to.
They are a band many strive to equal. But in
the end, there’s only one Hot Dolphin, and
Richmond’s music scene is better for having
them in it.
www.facebook.com/hotdolphinband
33
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FOOD TRUCK
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804 617 9532
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34
BROWNS ISLAND
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35
Ben White, Benjah Photography
RICHMOND
MURAL
PROJECT
2015
Interviews by R. Anthony Harris | Intro by Drew Necci
This summer saw the return of the
Richmond Mural Project for its fourth
annual installment of amazing new public
art pieces around the city. The new murals
created by the project this summer brings
the total amount of walls painted by worldrenowned artists under the auspices of
the RMP to somewhere around 75. This
year’s contributors included creators from
all over the world, including Singapore’s
Clog Two and Inkten, Berlin’s James
Bullough, New York’s Jerkface, and for the
first time, an artist hailing from within the
Richmond city limits: Nils Westergard. We
had the opportunity to speak to many of
the muralists during their RVA visits, and
without further ado, we here present some
memorable excerpts from several of those
chats, as well as full interviews with D*Face
and Nils Westergard.
Thank you to Shane Pomajambo of the Art Whino
family, this project wouldn’t be possible without
you. Thank you VCU, VMFA, Altria, Sabai and
Richmond City for its support. Thank you to
the artists - MOYA, Jerkface, Nils, Inkten, Clog
Two, Caraotes, Taylor White, Onur Dinc, James
Bullough, Evoca1, D*Face and Steve of Rebel
Alliance. Thank you to our volunteers this year
and everyone who came out to support the project
- thank you so much! So proud to be a part of
making this happen. - Tony
36
Caratoes
Hong Kong
1814 E Main Street
Clog Two & Inkten
Singapore
2007 W Broad St
2922 Park Ave
600 N Sheppard Street
2400 W Main Street
D*Face
England
180 N 7th Street
Evoca1
Dominican Republic
727 W Clay Street
James Bullogh
Germany
620 N Lombardy
Jerkface
New York, NY
801 West Clay St.
807 West Clay
1613 W Main St
301 S Pine Street
Nils Westergard
RIchmond, VA
1533 Floyd Ave
312 Goshen St
Onur DINC
Switzerland
1601 W Main Street
Taylor White
North Carolina
19 South Belmont Ave
100 S Addison St
Full listing at rvamurals.com
Photos from #RMP2015
#RichmondMuralProject
@ArtWhino + @RVAmag
clog two
singapore
You and InkTen are in a relationship. Did that
start before you got into murals? Did you get
into it together? How did that work?
“... It was always
conflicting. But I
learned how to give
and take. She’s more
graphic futurism
with abstract
works, and I’m more
dramatic with my
paintings. ...”
Both of us started off eleven years ago. I met
Ink at a graffiti competition. I was a judge and
she was a competitor. She didn’t win, but we
both stayed in contact with each other. Five
years ago we got together and got engaged,
and we have been doing murals together as
a collaborative work [ever since], but our
collaboration gives [the appearance of] the I’m asking you more about your relationship
right now because you’re the only painters I
work of a single artist.
know who are partnered up with somebody like
Oh wow, so she was very supportive when you that. Do you ever conflict at all with ideas? Do
you go back and forth with what was easy and
transitioned to doing murals.
what wasn’t?
Yeah, she’s the one who encouraged me to
stop working and “do what you love,” putting At first it wasn’t. There was a lot of back
200% into my work instead of 60% into my and forth with this idea and that idea. It was
always conflicting. But I learned how to give
work.
and take. She’s more graphic futurism with
Was she doing murals before you were doing abstract works, and I’m more dramatic with
my paintings. From there we tried to evolve. It
murals?
was a difficult process to find our vision and
Yes, she has been doing murals for the past the ideas beyond that, but we were not scared
eleven years. She stopped for a while to go of trying new stuff.
to school and now she is a graphic designer.
We met again about five years ago and started @clog_two @inkten
doing murals together.
37
James Bullough
berlin, germany
Let’s talk about the style you’ve developed.
A lot of people can do realism; when did you
start thinking about breaking up the image
and sliding it around?
I think every artist--and I’ve talked to a
lot--[finds themselves on] a journey to try
and find your style. It’s like being a writer.
Everyone can write stuff, but you want have
a signature style. Everyone wants to have
their own voice, but you also don’t want
to try and come up with some gimmick
that’ll make you different. You just have to
work and work, and maybe you’ll stumble
on something, [or] you’ll naturally develop
something that people will recognize
in your work. For me I was working for a
couple years with another artist in Berlin.
We would do portraiture, but I would do
one part and he would do the other part. I
had unmasked a few of these drawings that
were super realistic portraits with little bits
missing--because those pieces, he would
fill in later. But then I started to really dig
the way they looked, these portraits with
missing parts, so I started exploring that
in my own work and doing a whole series
of girls with little pieces missing. I still dig
that, and I still do that every once in a while.
38
“...I started to
really dig the way
they looked, these
portraits with
missing parts, so I
started exploring
that in my own work
and doing a whole
series of girls with
little pieces missing.
I still dig that, and
I still do that every
once in a while. But
then I got the idea-instead of removing
parts, what if I just
moved them? So I
began sliding and
shifting parts of the
portrait...”
But then I got the idea--instead of
removing parts, what if I just moved them?
So I began sliding and shifting parts of
the portrait. It was one of those lightbulb
moments; I did it s couple times and I
was like, “Yo, this is dope.” So I started
playing with it. It seems like it would be
easy to just take it like a puzzle and move
some pieces around, but it’s a lot more
difficult than that, because you can move
a portrait around ten different ways and
nine of them could look terrible. Then you
hit one, and you’re like, “Ooh, that’s nice.”
The wall I did here in Richmond is by far
the most complex [of] anything I’ve ever
done in studio or for the public. Because
of the size and scale and the location of
the wall, I wanted to go crazy. I dissected
and distorted this image so much that
it was a real challenge, even looking at
my photo reference, trying to figure out
where I painting in the image. But when
you step back and cross the street and
look at it, it all makes sense. Which is
what I was going for.
@james_bullough
“... The youngest boys served as drummers
& served very important roles during the
Civil War. In the noise and confusion of
battle, it was often impossible to hear the
officers’ orders, so each order was given
a series of drumbeats to represent it. Both
soldiers and drummers had to learn which
drumroll meant “meet here” ,“attack now”,
“retreat” and all the other commands of
battlefield and camp...”
taylor white
north carolina
In your work, there’s a lot of tension. Some
physical body parts, but it seems more like a
mental struggle put on a wall.
Yeah, I think that does make sense. I like the
idea of playing with movement, finding that
tension point, and then stretching those
as much as possible. It’s a play with the
personal struggle and the spiritual struggle,
the finding of the self. The struggle against
the narratives that we tell ourselves. It can
just be a matter of “When I said that thing
to that guy, this is what he was thinking.”
And you build up this whole idea about
what just happened, when from that other
person’s perspective, it’s completely not
accurate. Then you go through your whole
life being like, “I’m not the type of person
who would do a mural like that. It would be
so cool to do that but that’s not who I am.”
Well, who says? The author of the story you
just told yourself. I think it’s a large part,
the torturous part, of the human condition,
where [we] get defined by the narratives
[we create for ourselves]. I like to play with
that. I think the ropes thing that I’ve been
doing lately [is] honestly just [that] I like
the way the movement flows through them,
but they can [also] be a metaphor for self
conflict.
EVOCA1
dominican republic
In his own words: Soooo this was the most difficult and the most interesting mural I have done
to date for the #richmondmuralproject Thank you @evoca1 for the memories. Thank you Laura
and Randy as well. “Glory” | Civil War Union drummer boy. Painted in Richmond, VA located at
727 W. Clay Street Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during
the majority of the Civil War. The Civil War is sometimes called “The Boys’ War,” because so
many soldiers who fought were still in their teens. The rule in the Union Army was that soldiers
had to be 18 to join, but many younger boys answered “I’m over 18, sir,” when the recruiter
asked. The youngest boys served as drummers & served very important roles during the Civil
I see that. I imagine you looking through your War. In the noise and confusion of battle, it was often impossible to hear the officers’ orders, so
stuff like keeping a journal. Like a trail of each order was given a series of drumbeats to represent it. Both soldiers and drummers had to
thoughts you left all over the world.
learn which drumroll meant “meet here” ,“attack now”, “retreat” and all the other commands of
battlefield and camp. When the drummer boys weren’t needed for sounding calls, they walked
Yeah, it’s great. I try to break those stories around the battlefield looking for the wounded and brought them to medical care. In 1865
open. Nothing is true. You can’t say, “This is the city finally fell to Union forces. Confederate troops were ordered to evacuate, destroying
the work that I do, and this is who I am.” “I
bridges and burning supplies they could not carry, with large portions of the city destroyed by
can’t, I won’t, I shouldn’t…” All of that stuff
fires set during the evacuation. The retreat of the Confederate soldiers marked the beginning of
that rattles through your head sometimes
the end of slavery. Lincoln’s ‘Emancipation Proclamation” became effective in ALL states. The
when you’re afraid.
proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and
henceforward shall be free.”
@taylurk
@evoca1
39
James Bullough
berlin, germany
Let’s talk about the style you’ve developed.
A lot of people can do realism; when did you
start thinking about breaking up the image
and sliding it around?
I think every artist--and I’ve talked to a
lot--[finds themselves on] a journey to try
and find your style. It’s like being a writer.
Everyone can write stuff, but you want have
a signature style. Everyone wants to have
their own voice, but you also don’t want
to try and come up with some gimmick
that’ll make you different. You just have to
work and work, and maybe you’ll stumble
on something, [or] you’ll naturally develop
something that people will recognize in
your work. For me I was working for a
couple years with another artist in Berlin.
We would do portraiture, but I would do
one part and he would do the other part. I
had unmasked a few of these drawings that
40
D*FACE
Interview by R. Anthony Harris | Story by Becky Ingram
“My older daughter said, ‘Daddy, if you’re
famous, why do people not stop and take
photos of you in the street? If you’re famous,
why is it if you come to a restaurant, there are
no people with cameras, like a true paparazzi
star?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not really famous. But
then when you get into the art world, I’m fairly
well-known in the street-art world. That’s why
there’s people who want to get things signed…
and that’s why nobody really knows who I am
when I walk around the streets. It’s perfect.’”
London graffiti artist D*Face (a twist on the
word “deface”) is said to be the modernday, angst-filled Roy Lichtenstein with a
more perverse artistic style. He crosses
boundaries with his work to challenge
American commodification, political tactics,
and relationship tension. His artistic style
is viewed as both aesthetically pleasing and
humorous, but has a message that requires
one to think in an analytical way about society
and what it truly has to offer. We’re lucky to
have had him in the city for the Richmond
Mural Project.
stickers, whatever. The mural movement is
not connected to that. Historically, murals
were painted before graffiti and street art, so
you can just say it’s a resurgence of something
that has already existed.”
“I don’t really think the muralists shouldn’t
have done street art--I don’t think there should
be any rules to most things,” he continued.
“They come in from different angles and
they’ve got a different game as well. People
are coming in from a fine art background, or
a portfolio illustrative background, but that’s
cool. They’re bringing something up. It’s not
what I do, but they’re making something
interesting in the street that I’d like to see. So
I think there is a place for the murals, in that
respect. It’s art. There is no particular right or
wrong.”
D*Face gained recognition soon after the public
began to recognize the work of infamous street
artist Banksy, at a moment in which street art
was seen as a fashionable new movement of
untraditional art. After D*Face’s first solo
gallery show in 2006, his recognition took him
While he was in town, D*Face told us about by surprise. “Banksy was kickin’ up a storm
his street-art journey and his views on the then,” said D*Face. “For me, 2006 was still the
progressive mural movement. “A lot of people early days--[not] so much in the enthusiasm
who do murals have no connection to street or the interest, but it was definitely the early
art and have never done anything illegal at days in people buying. People would come to
all,” said D*Face. “Street art, to me, has its the shows and dig the work, but they wouldn’t
roots in painting illegally. Painting, posting buy the canvases. They were still viewing it as
41
something that was a fad; something that was in the spray paint store, and they’re like, ‘Do
interesting, something that was like graffiti, you want to do a show here?’”
but they didn’t see it as having a real art value.
So when I did my show in 2006, I took a risk.” This early experience with showing his work
in a gallery left D*Face with some less than
“I remember literally having hung all the show positive feelings about art galleries in general.
and being exhausted and being like, ‘Well, I’m “It was a group show. This was the first time
going to go get something to eat and get a that I’ve been in a show, and I didn’t really like
beer’ and I walked up the road,” he continued. what I was doing,” he explained. “I didn’t like
“As I came back with my food, there were a the work that I was getting into; it was very
bunch of people waiting outside. I was like, directly related to the work I was doing in the
‘What are they queuing up for? That’s fucking street. There wasn’t anything clever about
weird.’ There are a couple stores there, so I it--it was characters on canvases, and it just
was wondering if there was a training release felt wrong. For me, at that time, I didn’t see
or something at a store. I said to someone, my work as art in a gallery environment. I felt
‘What are you queuing up for?’ And he said, like when you put it in a gallery environment it
‘Oh, it’s the D*Face Show.’ He obviously didn’t changes the context of it, and as such, it was
know who I was at that point because I was unsuccessful.”
very secretive about my anonymity. But I was
like, ‘Alright!’ and I walked off. I was like, ‘This He went on to explain why he didn’t feel that
his “traditional graffiti mentality” worked
is fucking nuts.’”
in a gallery context. “The reason why I’ve
It’s no doubt that D*Face’s art has recognizable always tried to keep myself separate from
elements of eerie pop art, but there is more the galleries is because I feel like a gallery
to his dysfunctional characters than meets should exist on its own merits, be able to
the eye. “It’s about romance,” he said. “You perform and do its own thing, without having
can look at the paintings and think they’re a its attachment always seem upon myself,” he
physical representation of death, or you can continued. “I didn’t want people to be like, ‘Oh,
look at them and think they’re a massive, it’s D*Face’s gallery,’ ‘It’s a street art gallery,’
horrible representation of someone not being because I didn’t want it to just show street art.
around. That person may be physically gone, I wanted to be able to show every genre of art
but they also might be around but not part that we felt was applicable to what we’re into
of your life. So as in, ‘you’re dead to me,’ but in the gallery.”
you’re not actually physically dead, you’re just
not part of my life. You can read them that way In the last decade, the prevalence of social
as well, but they are predominantly about love, media has made D*Face’s murals more
romance, bad relationships, exciting moments conspicuous than ever before. “People
in relationships, and basically the human don’t know where it is, for the most part,”
nature of struggling to figure out what you’re said D*Face. “So really, the picture is more
trying to do when someone else isn’t there. It’s important than the physicality of the location.
a thing that everyone can relate to--even a kid For me, it was always about location, because
you wanted people to see it. So when people
relates to romance.”
were putting stuff up on the street illegally, you
His entrance into the world of street art didn’t would pick the spot that had high visibility. I
necessarily stem from such lofty artistic still have that mentality. I want more people to
ambitions, though. “For me, street art was just see it. I don’t want to paint in the back street, I
a way of putting stuff out in the street, and a want to paint in the high street. The bigger the
release from boredom,” said D*Face. “That’s wall, the better. The bigger the poster I put up,
the running reason why I did it. If someone the better.”
would have said to me, ‘Don’t do that, you
can’t paint a building,’ I would have gone D*Face’s largest mural to date, painted on the
and painted the building, but those options facade of the Garcia Lorca Secondary School
weren’t there. So I found my own ways and for the Maus Malaga Urban Art Event in
means to get my work out into the public. I Malaga, Spain, has shown him what extreme
would never want to come into it differently heights and extreme art can conquer when
because I enjoy those early years probably the combined. “After that wall, I said I was never
most of any of my years--because they were going to paint a wall bigger than this ever
completely innocent. There was no beginning again. It’s massive,” said D*Face. “I don’t
love heights. I’m not particularly comfortable
and no end.”
being up high, and when you’re up that high,
Earlier in his career, D*Face hung around a you feel particularly vulnerable. It was also in
spray paint shop in Barcelona, using the shop’s Spain, where things are done a Spanish way,
outside walls as a canvas. It was through this which isn’t necessarily the safest of ways. But
work that he attracted notice initially. “I’ve it was a certain nervousness in the beginning
gone to Barcelona a lot, painting and putting of that mural, starting on that mural. You have
posters up,” he said. “It had a big street-art to get your sea legs very quickly.”
scene really early on. I’ve had a gallery come
42
“The thing is, you do get used to it,” continued
D*Face. “Once you’ve got a technique and
you’re going to paint, you walk in and you’re
like ‘Let’s get it done.’ We got that done in four
days. It was pretty crazy considering how big it
is. In terms of doing another wall that’s bigger
than that, it would have to be the right wall.
I’ve been offered a wall in Brazil that’s taller
than that. I always talk about height, because
I’ve painted a bigger wall in terms of what
would be square footage, but height is what
counts for me. It’s a test of your manhood.
It shows how big your balls are when you’re
going up that high.”
Although he’s been offered a massive wall
in Brazil for a collaboration piece with
another artist of his choice, D*Face feels it
isn’t something he needs to do in order to
feel accomplished. “I don’t know if I want to
challenge myself to paint that,” he said. “I
don’t know if it’s about painting bigger murals;
I’m not sure that’s the answer, or where I want
to go with my work anyway. The thing I really
enjoy is small extensions. When we went to
Vegas last year, I got a bunch of little stencils
and put them around. I had more fun doing that
than I did painting the mural. They were little
hidden treasures, and to me, that’s the origins
of what I was doing. The origin of street art
was those little surprises, those little things to
make someone’s day. And I’m not saying that
a big mural doesn’t do that, but I’m just saying
that doing 20 little stencils around the city,
for me, was an exciting and interesting way of
getting my work back into more of the public
domain. It may be that less people see them,
but maybe [they] matter more to the people
that see them.”
D*Face is always looking down new avenues
to channel his creativity and keep things
interesting. Aside from traveling around
the world to paint murals and creating new
pieces for his standalone clothing line, Rebel’s
Alliance, he’s been curious to see how his
work would translate into film. “I would want
you to watch the film and be like, ‘That’s not
what I expected, but it’s totally a D*Face film,’”
he said. “I would want it to have no connection
to street art, nothing to do with murals. I’m
not interested in that at all. I want it to be a
film, with a scriptwriter and a narrative that
connects my paintings. I want that connection
to be there, I want people to understand the
synergy behind where I come from, but I’d like
someone to watch it who has no idea of what
I’ve done ever, has no idea of the paintings,
but can still enjoy it and vibe off it. What it’s
going to look like, and how I’m going to do it, is
a totally different story.” Stay tuned.
@dface_official
NILS
WESTERGARD
Interview by R. Anthony Harris
Nils Westergard is proud to be the first
homegrown Richmond Mural Project artist.
A VCU graduate, Westergard got his degree
in film, but soon gained fame as a muralist,
traveling extensively in Europe and leaving
behind unique, colorful murals everywhere
from England and France to the Netherlands
and the Czech Republic. Here in the US, he’s
participated in the Painted Desert Project and
painted several notable murals around his home
city of RVA, even before getting involved in the
RMP. And of course, we can’t forget that he
directed Nickelus F’s unforgettable video for
“GotDamnMurdah.” While his Belgian lineage
and plentiful work in Europe has led many to
mistakenly assume that he’s from overseas,
he’s proud to represent Richmond VA wherever
he goes. We caught up with Nils during the
Richmond Mural Project and discussed hip hop,
street art vs. muralism, and the internet’s role
in modern street art culture, among many other
things.
How’d you get involved in the mural project?
I’ve known Shane since I was 16. Shane sold
the first painting I ever sold. I contacted
him originally, but for the first two years I
was overseas. The first year [of the mural
project], Roa was painting behind my house
and I’d followed him forever. I was hanging out
with all those guys for the week, and thought
I could do this. I started painting [murals]
after that, went to Australia and Europe. This
year, [Shane] wanted me to participate, so I
planned my Euro-trip to end early so I could
come back for this.
You’ve seen the project develop; how do you
feel about the murals?
I do most of my work overseas, and when
I travel, people ask where I’m from. I say
Richmond, and they say, “The girl in the jar!”
People know it for that within the scene,
and the fact that people can say they know
Richmond from the paintings they’ve seen
online is crazy. It’s a big deal for Richmond;
these murals stick out and they’re all over the
place. People who live here are only starting
to recognize it, but internationally within the
scene it’s getting really known for that.
Instagram plays a big role in that.
Sure, Instagram, facebook, blogosphere, the
internet… The fact of the matter is that 90
% of the people who care about the work are
looking at it online as opposed to in person.
I had a conversation with a guy once, and
he was taking a picture of a piece as he was
working on it. He said, “The vast majority of
people who are looking at this are going to be
looking at it online, so I want to see what it
looks like on my phone.”
It seems like you deal a lot with injustice and
isolation. It’s almost as if you emasculate the
people depicted, take the power away from
them. Why deal with these subjects?
When I started, I was doing a lot of stencils,
and I was really focused on police and
military stuff, authority figures. I got in
trouble when I was younger for some graffiti
shit. They wanted to put me in jail until I was
21, and I was like 14. I couldn’t believe this
was the reality, that they would consider
putting a 14 year old in jail for seven years.
That was insane, super scary for a 14 year
old. So I was incredibly afraid of police, but
also angry about it, and I’d been painting
that [imagery] for years. When I hit the first
Euro [mural] trip I was tired of being angry,
but also, it’s harder to get people to let you
paint cops beating some woman up on their
wall. People aren’t really down with that,
with a few exceptions. So I needed a different
wealth of images and I had tons of pictures of
my friends. My friends are really important to
my life, so this was perfect. I could just show
up, look at all my pictures, see what I can use,
and go at it.
I came back [from Europe], and that stuff was
starting to feel a bit saccharine. It had served
its purpose. I felt like I knew what I was doing
and wanted to approach something else.
And now it’s kind of confusing. Every two
weeks I feel like painting different images,
but it’s all coming from the same place. I’m
trying to invoke a mood of some sort. For a
while I was heavily focused on women. I was
afraid of police, and then I became afraid of
women. I had gone through some rough shit
in different relationships; it was a sentiment
I heard a lot from dudes my age. Now I
have a girlfriend who’s excellent. I started
off painting her; didn’t know her at all, she
was just a model. She just represented this
female other, someone I would usually have
these thoughts and feelings about, and now
I’m dating her and it’s totally different. And
so that focus is shifting.
The work is definitely dark, and I don’t think
I’m a dark dude. If anything, I think I’m a very
happy dude, but maybe that’s because I can
let all the darkness out with these images. I’m
trying to make you feel something, looking
at it. If I could put it into words, I probably
would’ve been a writer. But you can get these
subtle emotions out of an image that you
can’t get out of anything else.
43
What happens if there’s no angst?
There’s always gonna be some sort of
emotion to convey. If that becomes super
positive and super uplifting, then that’s
what I do. Recently it’s been a lot of positive
imagery--quite literally, people looking up
and looking beyond. It’s also getting a bit
surreal; Dan With Two Heads, Kyle With Two
Faces, stuff like that. My grandfather painted.
He was a big optical illusion guy in the 60s in
Belgium--not that I’m playing off of that, but
looking at the work of his contemporaries.
What can you do with an image? If you want
to just paint reality, then do that, but how can
you distort that and still make it look real?
How does that make you feel? Stuff like that.
I’m exploring, I don’t have a set thing that I’m
doing right now.
spite of VCU. You had to reserve a studio, and
what I ended up doing was getting the janitor
to let me in past midnight. You can’t smoke in
buildings, but we had him smoking. It wasn’t
really weed, but we had him smoking blunts
inside a VCU building. No way that could’ve
gone on. Later, the department saw it and
said, “I love it, it’s great.” But they were just
ignoring that I’d broken all the rules to do it.
It was fun, [but] I wouldn’t make the same
video today.
I’ve been trying to do a painting of Nick,
for the project, but I’ve been getting a lot
of flack for it. Feedback is rough; people
[are] sensitive still. People said it was too
thuggish; I can kind of vibe that so I made it
super positive, and they were still saying he
looks kind of thuggish. This is a really positive
image! I literally removed his neck tattoos,
You graduated from VCU--how did your it’s just a happy smiling black guy looking up,
schooling help you?
and people were like, “He looks like a thug.”
But I’m still trying to make it.
I started with the intention of doing painting
and printmaking, [the] combined field. VCU Are you and Nick making another video soon?
is super restrictive with freshman about
graffiti--don’t let you use spray paint, period. He reached out to me two weeks ago about
Just fine art painting classes. After a couple that. I haven’t done film since my thesis,
months, I realized, “This is really gonna suck, and that was such a bitch that I was done. I
and make me hate painting.” So I went into focused on painting, but now I kind of want
film, because I had an interest, and had never to again. I really want to do animation, but
picked up a camera before. In retrospect, I it’s not something you can really dabble in,
think that helped a lot..One, because I could because a month of animation work is like ten
get really burned out on painting, and I could seconds of your film. And film is expensive; I
focus on film for the school year. And I’d get don’t have the equipment I used to get when I
burnt out from the school year, and focus on was in school. I’ve got a pretty crappy camera
painting for the summer. That kept me fresh. and I don’t have Premiere [editing software].
A lot of other people get super jaded by the I’d have to buy it or pirate it or something.
time they get out of school. And two, film It’s a whole other world to think about, and I
helped me understand the image a lot more. want to, but it’s when I have the time or when
You can look at a painting and nothing about I can afford it. I live off painting full time now,
a painting can happen by accident, because and I barely make rent doing it. If I can get
the person painting it had to paint it. But stuff film work that will pay that’s great. I love Nick
gets stylized, people get really abstract with but I don’t think he can pay me enough that’s
it; with film there’s only so much you can do. it’s worth my time. So I have to find the time
myself to do it.
When you watch a movie, nothing is an
accident. It helps you understand when D*Face brought up a point, that there’s a
you’re setting a scene; why did this director difference between street art and muralists.
put this person here? Why does it look like
this? I think a lot of the inspiration for stuff I came out of graffiti, personally. I really
I do comes from films. I think more than like the Robin Hood aspect of the street art
anything films influence what I do. I have graffiti thing. And I don’t just do murals. I still
folders of screen caps I take when I watch really enjoy doing wheat pastes, I still really
stuff; it helps me understand how the image like tagging--there’s no question about that.
plays into stuff. Now I interpret paintings and Here they’ll cut your balls off for it; elsewhere,
all sorts of other art as if it were a movie. I there’s nothing better. I can’t say I represent
think that helped a lot.
[that] aspect of murals, [but] I know a lot of
people who just do murals or studio work.
You did a really good video for Nickelus F People I look up to; Gaia, or Roa. That dude
[is] a muralist; he never fucked with anything
(“GotDamnMurdah”).
else. He does studio work because he has to
live--and I get that, that’s muralism. People
That was the first thing I did in film school.
want to connect it and say it’s graffiti because
they use spray paint, but at a certain point,
How was that process?
it’s just not. And it’s gotten to that point. You
I feel like everything I did at VCU, I did in can’t call that this anymore.
44
Do you have any end game to it all? Or are you
just doing it and seeing where it goes?
I’d like to continue living off of it, that’s really
nice. I can do that now, because Richmond is a
cheap place. It’s still a month to month thing,
but that’s kind of exciting. Down the road? I
don’t know, ideally I’d like to paint. I have a
map of the world, and I have razorblades over
everywhere I’ve painted, and I want that to be
able to hold itself up with the razorblades. I’d
like to paint all over the place. I’d love to be
able to say I’ve painted on every continent.
But for right now, the sun never sets on my
murals. I’ve got shit in Australia, Europe, the
States. And that’s crazy. I think about it a
couple of times a month, like what time is it
right now… it’s 3 AM in Australia? Some dude
is probably pissing on a picture of one of my
friends. Drunk, wondering, “Who is this guy?”
That’s amusing to me.
But as far as an endgame? No, I don’t know
where I want to end up. I love Amsterdam.
My mom’s side of the family is from Belgium;
I have a EU passport. I’d love to be able to
move there and support myself there, but I
love Richmond. I want to continue supporting
myself with this and pushing myself
What’s next for you?
Looking into talking to a lady in San Antonio,
looking to create some stuff in Texas. I’ve
got stuff in Wisconsin, but basically nothing
in the middle of the US. I’m trying to expand
more in the US. I’ve painted all over Europe
and have very little Stateside. Since I’m here
for the summer for the first time in like three
years, I’m trying to get a lot of work up in
Richmond. So, trying to find people to let me
paint their garage, get a lot of small pieces
up in every neighborhood. I wanna be king of
Richmond, basically. I want to have a lot of
stuff in Richmond.
It’s difficult here; I faced more problems
getting work up in the past month here than
I faced in the past two years working around
other places. I guess because people are
more entitled if they own a wall, or they’re
more conservative in what they want. But
it’s worth the fight. I want to put on for
Richmond. Saying I’m from Richmond and
then all my work is in Amsterdam is a very
different thing. People keep referring to me
as this Dutch guy. They think of me as an
Amsterdam-based artist. People will call me
and invite me to paint and say, “I’ll get you
a flight from Amsterdam,” and I’m like “I live
in America, I’m from Virginia.” I want people
to understand I’m from here, because I like
this place. This is very important to who I’ve
become. I wouldn’t have done this if I wasn’t
here.
@nilrva
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㈀㤀　㔀倀䄀吀吀䔀刀匀伀一䄀嘀䔀⸀ 㠀　㐀ⴀ㌀㔀㐀ⴀ㤀㤀㤀㤀 46
47
“...Sleep on people’s couches
and go out every day. Ride
trains and film videos.
Hopefully just keep traveling,
keep skating, keep churning
out boards and keep churning
out videos...”
TRENT
HAZELWOOD
Interview by R. Anthony Harris | Photos by Dennis Williford
48
For almost a decade, local pro Trent
Hazelwood has been grinding the city streets
After a year of trying to catch up with him -we finally got a chance to ask him, what’s up?
How did you get involved with skating?
Well, I’ve been skateboarding ever since
I was probably ten years old, and got
seriously into it at like 13-14. I never really
like expected to do anything with it, but
then when I started driving, I started
filming videos, taking photos, and stuff like
that, getting my first bit of exposure. It’s
just been going from there.
Did you grow up watching all the early 80s
Bones Brigade videos? Was that what got
you into it, or did you start skating and then
get into all that later?
I definitely found out about it later, but
one of the first people i ever filmed with,
my friend Cameron, had every early VHS
skate video, like Search For Animal Chin
and [the] H Street [videos]. That’s what
we were always into. I’ll even still go back
and watch H Street’s Hokus Pokus and see
what kind of music they were listening to
then, or see what kind of shit they were
doing.
So you’ve been in Richmond your whole life?
Born and raised. I was born in the west end,
and grew up around Mechanicsville. I’ve
done a lot of traveling but I always come
back here.
What would you say the skate scene here in
Richmond is like?
It’s definitely changed a lot over the years.
When i was growing up there was always
something going on, like a contest or a new
video, and it seemed like everyone was
connected and knew everybody. Now it
seems there’s new kids coming into town,
whether it be for VCU or just for the art or
music scene, so now it’s a little bit cliquey,
but it’s still running strong. Everyone’s got
their own thing going and it’s cool.
Do you think it’s hard to get noticed here in
Richmond? You’re not in one of the bigger
cities but I know there’s a good skate scene
here.
We’re not far from VA Beach and between
here and there, there’s a pretty solid
amount of people who are skating. A lot
of companies know the area, and Gilbert
Crockett put it on the map. People definitely
know Richmond has a little skate scene
going on underneath. But I would say it’s
harder to get noticed. When I first started
getting hooked up, I was on a company
called 1031, and it was the first time I flew
on a plane--I flew to Chicago when I was
19. I rode for 1031 for five years; [it was]
started by this guy Kristian Svitak, who was
a pro skater for this company called Black
Label that was huge in the 90’s. Now he’s
just kind of getting older, and he wanted to
do something different, so he put it on the
back burner for now. But as soon as 1031
was over, the next day I was on Shipyard.
I hit up Hank [Fauerbach], and [told him]
1031’s on hiatus, and if he wanted to do
anything, I was down. He was like, “I’m
down. I already have a graphic in mind.” So
it was a quick turnover.
What did your parents think when you just
quit your job and left to go skateboarding?
Yeah. It sucks nowadays; your reputation
is based on what you have out on the
internet. Even if you’re not in magazines or
anything like that, that’s what people look
at: instagram and websites. They just want
to see the newest video clip or the newest
project that people are working on. I used to
post things, and say like, “shameless selfpromotion” or whatever, but this is what
people are doing. You have to post photos
of your boards, or new videos. You have to
keep your name relevant. I met [Hank] in
real life countless times before that, and he
would always be like, “Nah man, don’t ever
be like ‘shameless’ about it. I wish people
that rode for me would post more shit!
I’ve gotta sell these boards, and people
need to know what’s out there.” He started
his company out of Richmond and he has
some of the best graphics out today. And
he’s already picked up this one dude, Ben
Hatchell, who’s this contest killer. He just
won this huge Vans contest two days ago.
Yeah. It started to take a turn into me
thinking how will I…
My mom was kind of bummed out on it, but
my dad’s always thought it was cool that I
just do whatever I want to do. My mom’s
come around now. I mean, school and work
will always be there. You can always have
a job, you can always take classes, but
you’ve got a window of how long your body
can handle skateboarding, so you’ve gotta
do what you can while you can.
I’m sure you always understood it as
something of a business, but what was it
like going pro? You’ve always done it for
So how did he find you, do you think? The fun, but now it’s become a little bit of your
videos you were putting out?
job.
Pay rent!
Yeah. I started thinking of it like that--how
will I make money off of skateboarding? I
was involved with CCS mail order catalog,
and involved with some weird people for
the sake of getting money out of it. But
then as time went on, I stopped caring
about making money and started doing
whatever I want to do--staying stoked
on coming out with a new video. I’ve got
another new video my homie’s making,
I’m more stoked on that than a lot of the
videos I’ve put out for the sake of content.
I’m all about staying true to what I think
is cool. Right now I think Shipyard has the
sickest graphics out, and I’m planning on
being with them until further notice.
I’m sure you’ve gotta consider your own
integrity. Not pimp yourself out too much,
but just enough to get it out.
When you were skating as a kid, did you
have any ideas that you wanted to go pro?
When did it start clicking for you that Yeah. I went out to California for like a
people were paying attention, and maybe month, just couch surfed for a while. I
thought about staying out there and being
you could do something with it?
broke, trying to sell out to whoever I can
When I was a kid I’d dream about things and get picked up by somebody. But at
like that. It was some kind of daydream the end of the day I’d rather just be back
scenario, but when I got older me and my in Richmond; work part-time and skate the
buddy DJ Williford came out with this video rest of the time. Just put out videos and do
called Toxic Turdz, and it was the best video my thing.
part I’d ever made at that point. I sent it
to Kristian Svitak, and I knew about his So that’s your normal day-to-day now? Just
company, but he called me on the phone find a good place to skate and do tricks?
the next day and was like, “I’m stoked on Have fun and get a little crazy? I’ve hung
your video. I want to start sending you out with you before...
stuff.” Then one day he called me and was
like, “We’re going on this cross country Yeah. [laughs] I’m 23, and I just want to
trip--you should really be on it. I know you have a good time. Keep filming videos,
have a job and shit, but you should really keep stringing along whatever it is, this
come.” I called up Best Buy that day and little skateboarding career thing that I
quit my job. I withdrew from all my classes have, for as long as I can.
and left, was just in a van for a month or so.
49
What does it mean to be pro in the scene?
Back in the 80’s it used to be as simple as
signing up for a pro contest and checking
pro on the little sign up sheet. Then it
got turned into, you have to get on this
pro founded company, and they need to
deem you worthy, kind of thing. That’s
essentially what I ended up doing. I was on
1031 for like five years; I was on there just
as a kid getting flowed free stuff. I ended
up coming out with three different board
models. Since then, I got a new board out
on a new company. If anybody is down to
get behind me and they want to put my
name on something, I’m not going to say
no.
Speaking about Richmond specifically, what jokes about Mad Dog and Cisco and cheap
do you think needs to happen here for the wine. Just ridiculous shit; bum wine. It’s
scene to grow bigger?
a joke, but at the same time the gnarliest
stuff is going to be in the video. We got
It is growing and there are good things this kid Ryan Mickelson, who moved here
happening. We got 28th St turned into from Florida [and] nobody knows; [he]
an actual skate park, and there’s the is murdering all the spots. We have guys
[Richmond Area Skateboard Alliance] from Woodbridge: Ian Mondragon. This
project to renovate the Texas Beach other kid from southside, Colby Hayes;
skatepark. so all those things are good, Eric Valladares, all these random kids. DJ is
and as long as VCU continues to buy up fueling the fire under them, just like “This is
the whole city, we’ll have more students your time to shine, man! You gotta put out
coming. I don’t know. It would be really a good part.” It’s going to be a good video.
cool if we didn’t live in such a judgemental I’m standing by too--I’ve put a handful of
world where a lot of people weren’t cast video parts together in my time, and I’m
out of what’s cool and what’s not.
there too, to light a fire under them.
My buddy DJ Williford [and I] are putting You’re 23 and you’re almost an elder in this
out a new video called Bum Wine--all the game.
hijinks and the B-roll and stuff is all just
50
Mainly for the area. Just because when I
was a teenager, I was out skating every
contest. Like, Dominion [would] host a
contest at the YMCA park, which isn’t even
there anymore, in southside in Manchester.
There’d be contests in Pole Green skate
park near Mechanicsville, and that’s hardly
there anymore. Half of it’s gone, they tore
it out. We’re in a transitional time, but
people are always going to continue to
skate and put out videos, whether or not
there’s contests or good parks around. In
ten years the skate scene will have changed
into something we can’t even imagine.
People are going to be like, “Dude, in 2015
things were way different than now.”
Since I quit school, I went back to school.
I’ll probably graduate in the next year or
so. Probably when I’m done I’ll go back
to traveling and going all over the place.
The majority of the good stuff we film is
when we go out to New York and stay there
for a week. Sleep on people’s couches
and go out every day. Ride trains and film
videos. Hopefully just keep traveling, keep
skating, keep churning out boards and keep
churning out videos.
Do you think you’ll ever get on the business
side of skateboarding?
Someone’s gotta do it here in Richmond and
do it right, you know?
For right now I’m completely backing
Shipyard. Hank’s got a really good operation
going on--he’s already done big collabs
with other pros like Darren Navarrette and
Jeff Grosso, who was a huge pro in the 80s.
Just the fact that he’s got awesome artists
like Mickael Broth and Barf doing good
ass graphics for him, this shit can only get
bigger and bigger.
I feel like you’re pretty stoked on being here
right now.
Maybe one day. DJ jokes every day about
starting a company or doing something, Yeah, no complaints, man. Carefree.
What are you working on for the rest of the and I’m sure that somewhere along the line
I’ll get involved with it. But only time will www.facebook.com/trent.hazelwood
year? Do you have any plans?
tell.
51
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53
JACK
LAWRENCE
Interview by Angie Huckstep | Photos by Patrick Biedrycki
Jack Lawrence has been a painter, portraitist, wizard,
and guru of taste and spark here in Richmond since the
early 90’s. Jack and I sat down a few weeks after And
Suddenly Everything Was New Again, his joint gallery
show with sculpture artist and studio-mate Julie Elkins,
opened in May at the Eric Schindler Gallery. His large
and small format oil paintings dotted the gallery with
intimate narratives within surreal environments.
During our conversation, Jack unabashedly discussed
the three distinct periods of his career: 1997-2002,
characterized by fine art, historic references, and
what he calls “framework preciousness”; 2002-2010,
an obsessive period of commissioned portraits and
drawings; and 2010 to the present, which was marked by
changes in style, process, and iconography. However, it
would be a shame to restrict his oeuvre to a timeline; our
conversation represents a wider-ranging meditation on
Jack’s personal relationship with the painting medium.
We started by discussing the conception of the Schindler
show.
Jack: I had a show back in 2002 at Orange Door
Gallery, and most of the work I was doing had gloss
references to different eras of painting. It involved a
lot of research, set building and casting “actors,” and
I was doing it all on a shoestring budget.
I work from photographs that I wind up spending an
inordinate amount of time setting up, building these
huge sets. I built a barn set and deck replica out in
the backyard of my friend’s house. There were nine
models on one of the paintings. I did this one shoot
that had to be done right in the middle of winter, so
I had to find a kerosene heat cannon since most of
the models were half naked. It was absolute chaos.
It was great, but you get to the end of it and you get
postpartum depression. It takes forever for me to
paint anything. I had to do all this in a year, and got
really burned out.
Then I got caught in a trap of doing portraits. It took
eight years of me doing those until I finally realized
that, unless I’m making paintings that really mean
something to me, it’s like extracting teeth. I had
obsessive-compulsived my technique into some sort
of impossible-to-manage machine. A painting that
would normally take me months now took years.
The large-scale portraits were killers, because I have
a bad habit of putting really complicated atmospheric
elements in them without thinking about how long it
will take to paint. There was one full-length portrait
of a dude standing in front of a backdrop of crinkled
tinfoil. Another giant portrait I had [showed] three
kids playing in a swamp in the woods. It’s one thing to
paint a forest from the outside in--painting it from the
inside out is lunacy. When I tried making drawings, I
54
had the same obsessiveness. At the end of the
day I lost money on anything I did.
Jack’s large paintings evoke film stills, or screen
shots from a Google Glass lens. Such trademark
attention to detail bolsters the realism and
authenticity of these works, but also recreates the
time issues he experienced with his earlier style.
Could you give us an example of how you
procure or happen across your subject matter?
One time I was driving to NY. I go into one of
the bathrooms on the NJ turnpike, and there’s
this tall, attractive black dude. I notice him
right away standing at a bank of urinals, and
I know something’s up. He’s looking back over
at me, and there’s only a couple other people
in there. I say to myself, “Jack, don’t even look
this guy’s way, just do your business and get
out of here.” I’m five urinals down from him
doing my thing, and of course when I glance
over he’s looking right at me, not even pissing,
dick in his hand. And it’s then that you wish
you had a camera in your eyeballs. It was such
an obvious moment where I could tell he was a
total hustler, you know? I can’t get messed up
with this [laughs]. He was definitely looking at
me and showing off.
I knew instantly that I had to paint this. I spent
months driving around looking for the perfect
bank of urinals to make the reference photo. I
needed lots of glossy white tile everywhere and
at least a bank of five well-lit and maintained
urinals. I drove around to all these rest stops
along I-95 and I couldn’t find anything to
use. So finally, I’m in a work truck driving
up to Edison, NJ. It was one particular rest
stop--I think the same one. I had to go in and
somehow have a camera, somehow get it just
in the right position, photograph the urinals...
I had to wait for the perfect moment in the 10
minute time frame we were stopped. This one
time, it was absolutely perfect, and it only took
me a second to do, but of course I never made
this painting. That in itself was such a pain in
the ass. That is a case in point for why this shit
takes forever.
Given all of these limitations, Jack was driven to
quit painting out of exhaustion. Needing a break
(and a steady income), he took a commercial
truck-driving job. Little did he know, this
transitional period would come to influence his
style and the fundamental concepts he explored
with the work presented at Schindler Gallery.
Can you elaborate on this diversion from
painting?
It was great! Driving a truck, delivering
furniture with a bunch of knuckleheads…
[laughs] The dudes were awesome--a totally
different set of people than I normally hang
out with, but we all grew really close. Talking
shit, and the shenanigans you get into out
55
Pipe Bomb
“...considering chaos in terms of
process—when I’m shooting a scene,
neither one of these people have met
each other. It’s so thrilling to get total
strangers in on the high-pressure lunacy
of getting this thing knocked out,
have them be in this totally fake, set up
environment, having to get naked and
deal with each other. There’s so much
magic just in that one moment...”
of boredom. It was a chance to get out of
whatever rut I was in. After a couple years of
that, though, it was time to paint again. I have
this pile of images saved up from the last 20
years--all the stuff I love to look at. They wind
up popping up throughout my work. It was so
much easier for me to grab one of those images
to take with me on the road, where I could bring
a little painting set-up, sit in a hotel room, and
not give a damn. These small works freed me
up to be a lot more loose; deciding what in the
painting was important--what needed detail
and what didn’t.
56
Would you say that driving saved your painting
career?
Yeah, totally! Because I had to re-learn how to
paint, and in doing that, just to be able to dash
something off where I didn’t have to worry
about it paying the rent. One of the great things
about using these clippings for the paintings is
I don’t have to go out and find people, or deal
with meeting new people. I always wanted my
paintings to move more towards some sort of
visual place that I wasn’t getting to, and all of
these images that I collected were more or less
an exploded diagram of the inside of my brain.
So in a way it was re-teaching me how to see
or put together a scene.
Did any of the stories that you heard from
your driving friends influence situations that
you thought about as subject matter for you
paintings?
Oh yeah. One of the series I was working on
to try and get into this last show was called
Faded. It was going to be small, intimate little
paintings of people getting lit and watching TV
in the dark. You get back to the hotel at the end
of the night, and all you want to do is crack a
6-pack open. Everyone is exhausted, watching
anything but the news, because it was terrible.
In 2010 there were no jobs, the economy was
tanking, so much sadness [laughs]. And that’s
when you get the stories. After you are about
Are You Experienced?
way to becoming a man. Somehow I always
question that, since a lot of the times the
paintings would end up involving some sort of
moral dilemma, or potential physical harm. I
don’t think I really knew how to paint women
And Suddenly Everything was New Again into that. Like a [male] writer trying to write
included three of the large, filmic scenes, and four for a female character. Recently it’s just sort
small-format clipping paintings. This collection of filtered in. I feel like I have some sort of
adds a number of new elements to Jack’s oeuvre. believable voice.
Besides relaxing his style and departing from
classical informants, he also began to include I also got rid of my old lighting, brought in
more ambient and natural lighting. A lot of that
female players in his narratives.
came from hotel rooms, watching these dudes
Jack: For the longest time I had this question of looking at their cellphones.
what masculinity was, going back to decisions-the decisions that young men make on their
five beers deep, the dude you’re sitting next to
is going to tell some heart-wrenching story. It
was going to be a reflection of what was going
on at the time, at least between us.
In his work, Jack puts a contemporary spin on
classical devices--the labor involved, his pictorial
realism and dramatic compositions--cueing
viewers to absorb the image and its message.
Classical art portrays its characters through
hyperreality to validate ideology—visual truth
performing a telling of absolutes. Jack shifts
this focus from guiding a common moral agenda
to showing how idiosyncratic life events shape
personal perspective. He catches his players in the
heat of life-changing moments, hinting at their
impending impact. Jack sees decision-making as
the perpetuator of life’s progress.
Jack: The moment a decision is made, or the
moment an urge is encountered and can’t be
57
resisted--it’s probably the most important
thing that pops up in the work. By the time
the decision is made, it’s just an endgame that
plays out. When you get to the actual violence
and sex, it’s boring.
Even the most benign situations—like the
spit painting, Are You Experienced. It’s such a
teenage way of one-upmanship. I don’t think
anyone gets over that sort of competitiveness.
When you’re young, you never predict what
is going to hard-wire you for life. Your brains
aren’t formed yet, and something, especially
sexually, that happens when you’re young
sticks with you. In the painting I can’t tell
whether [the subjects] are brother and sister,
or just friends. I specifically wanted the girl
to have the power in that painting, because
it totally opens windows. But just imagine-the rest of your life, you have a kink on being
pinned! I can’t tell you how many people came
up to me during the show and said, “Oh yeah,
I’ve lived this.” I mean, a lot of people. And
that’s what I’m looking for: something that
seems so incidental, but becomes ingrained in
the rest of your life.
In the pipe bomb painting, they’re probably not
old enough yet to really grasp the consequences
of what they’re doing. In that one moment, I
painted her completely falling in love with this
guy—it completes this sort of fantasy. That’s
a dangerous moment because they are two
young, attractive kids with the world on a
string who are engaging in something that’s
really not a good idea. The emotional power
behind finding love in that moment is probably
going to create an even bigger problem for
them later on, when you know something like
that has to escalate.
Decision-making themes grace all of Jack’s
paintings, but his later work moves subtly
toward a play on the hyperreality he establishes
in earlier works. Instead of just celebrating
situational reality, the Schindler paintings tap
into the surreality imbued in these same types of
moments. The large compositions enable viewers
to take a three-fold approach to the work: the
reaction to the scene as an outsider, the response
to the scene as a bystander within the setting,
and self-identification with the players in the
moment. Jack gently draws his viewers out of
their own reality by supplying them with multiple
viewpoints to decode.
His clipping series takes his approach outside a
moment in linear time, dividing the new work
from his older large-scale pieces. These paintings
showcase visual information that’s often repressed
in the larger paintings, behaving like magnifying
glasses held to the minutiae of past works and
emphasizing the way Jack holds unseen elements
in equal esteem to his players. Isolated on their
own canvases, the taped clippings present
environment as its own entity, emphasizing its
role as a catalyst affecting our decisions.
58
How did you select the images that went
together for each composition? How does this
series round out the themes carried in the large
series?
I wind up collaging these images every now and
again because there is a total, beautiful spark
of life found in simple juxtaposition. There’s
never a set of images that I put together with
a preconceived notion of what I’m going to
get. But I like that the marriage that rises from
it is so pure, if you get the right images that
magically relate to each other. They weren’t
supposed to be trompe l’oeil, really, but I like
the tape marks. They’re there as sort of a
Mondrian compositional element; also, it’s a
cheap and quick way to show the images are
appropriated. I pulled them from magazines
and whatnot. It is not a story. It doesn’t involve
the complication of actors. It’s nothing but
intuition. I just kind of turn my brain off and
move stuff around until [I] feel the pulse of it
starting to beat. That’s when it gets exciting.
How would you say chaos presents itself in your
work?
I like the magic of purity. Like if something is
just purely evil or sexual, or a pure sweetness
or darkness. Usually a lot of purity comes out
of chaos. But considering chaos in terms of
process—when I’m shooting a scene, neither
one of these people have met each other. It’s
so thrilling to get total strangers in on the highpressure lunacy of getting this thing knocked
out, have them be in this totally fake, set up
environment, having to get naked and deal
with each other. There’s so much magic just
in that one moment. That’s what makes it so
exciting. By the time you make the painting, it’s
more of a record of the moment.
So, what are you going to do next?
I was planning on getting a camera and
making these documentaries about decision
making and art called “Adventures in Art.”
It’s fascinating because you get down to the
tiniest, micro-metered decisions--and there
is comedy in that. Each episode is about the
death of an idea, because I have on paper what
I think are these really ingenious sculpturerelated ideas, and I think, “Oh, that’s going to
be great.” Then the more I start thinking about
details, the more the idea just has to be put
down like a half run-over dog. It devolves into
this vortex of unexpected quicksand. If I’m
going through all the hassle to create sets and
props, sculpt some kind of visual narrative
to tell a story, and know that [I’m not] going
to make any money, then I may as well make
movies.
facebook.com/jack.lawrence
59
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60
Getting someone drunk or high so they can’t give clear consent is
SEXUAL ASSAULT .
When you see a
rEd fLAg
in your friend’s relationship, say something.
TheredflagCampaign.org
© Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance.
61
RECORD Reviews
Author & Punisher
Melk En Honing
(Housecore)
Tristan Shone’s one-man project is a genuinely
compelling mix of industrial music and doom
metal that doesn’t incorporate traditional rock
instrumentation. Rather, Shone makes his own
vocal-altering masks, and other “drone machines.”
While some tracks include new vocal nuances, the
dub-influenced songs and balladic moments of
previous albums are missing, resulting in a release
that drags. (CE)
The Diamond Center
Crystals From
The Brass Empire
(Funny Not Funny/
Egghunt/Steady Sounds)
I’m sure I’m not the only Diamond Center fan
overjoyed to have this LP--finally, a full-length
document of what we’ve been hearing live from
this band for years. Their hazy, lysergic psych sound
captures that late-60s stoned California desert
sound better than anything this side of early Mazzy
Star. Put it on and bliss out. (AN)
Natasha Leggero
Live at Bimbo’s
(Comedy Central)
After years spent crafting her outstanding brand of
comedy, Live at Bimbo’s is Natasha Leggero at her
fiercest. Offering clever critiques of youth culture,
the digital age, Tinder and Martin Lawrence,
Leggero proves why she has dominated the world
of comedy in 2015. This is a must listen for longtime fans and those who may be joining the party
late. (SC)
62
Clever Girl
Czarface
The Devil Wears Prada
(Brick)
Wu-Tang alumni Inspectah Deck plus Army of
the Pharaohs subgroup Esoteric & 7L comprise the
lineup for this lyrically dense, supervillain-flavored
hip-hop romp. Deck and Eso’s tag-teaming flows
keep things fun and funny, with 7L laying down
some fairly traditional hip-hop beats, replete with
old movie and cartoon samples. Fittingly, MF
DOOM makes an appearance. (CE)
TWDP continues to excel in the concentrated EP
format, as they return to the formula that made
their 2010 Zombie EP so celebrated amongst
their fans. Here, they explore the ambitious subject
matter with a much more spacious take on the genre
that features just as many bold tonal developments
as it does true headbanging moments. (DN)
HeCTA
L’Orange & Kool Keith
Nineteen years between full-lengths is a long time.
Failure’s sound is rooted in 90’s alt rock, and
this album’s ambient segues call back to 1996’s
Fantastic Planet, providing a bit of an easter
egg for old fans. Heart sounds sharp, but not overproduced. It also has accessible hooks, but a running
time that makes it more for dedicated fans. (CE)
Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner is back with this new,
exciting group that seamlessly continues the soul
of Lambchop while exploring a new sonic plane.
While the music screams house from the get-go,
there’s ton of other melodic ideas to discover as
you sign yourself to Wagner’s curated musical diet,
however errant it may be. (DN)
Kool Keith’s fascination with old-school sci-fi,
along with his bizarre word choice, unique sense of
humor and distinct flow have established him as one
of hip-hop’s biggest weirdos over the years. While
not as exuberant as his earlier material, Time?
finds Keith continuing his interstellar journey, with
L’Orange providing, dreamy, kooky, boom bapflavored accompaniment. (CE)
Lobo Marino
Manatree
Mutoid Man
After a series of travel recordings, Lobo Marino
returns with a proper full-length. We Hear The
Ocean is a guideline for embracing the world and
its sounds and making them into a smorgasbord of
impressive compositions. They continue to amaze
with each release; We Hear The Ocean is no
different, with tracks like “Hari Om” and “Though
The Others Pass You.” (SC)
After years of playing everywhere in town,
Richmond’s favorite math-meets-indie band finally
releases their debut record, and it doesn’t disappoint
by any means. Song after song perfectly showcases
the band’s innate talent for finding and creating
melodies across any genre and demonstrates their
stunning musical maturity for a band still fresh out
of high school. (DN)
Shelf Life
(clevergirlrva.bandcamp.com)
Some aggressive, emotionally-driven pop-punk
here from a band that features multiple members
of This Is Your Life, and picks up where that band
and fellow sadly departed RVA pop-punkers Hold
Tight left off. Heartfelt lyrics and catchy choruses
sit overtop of chunky, powerful riffs and speedy
drumming. Sure to inspire. (AN)
Failure
The Heart is a Monster
(INresidence)
We Hear The Ocean
(Bad Friend)
Every Hero Needs a Villain
The Diet
(Merge)
Manatree
(Egghunt)
Space EP
(Rise)
Time? Astonishing!
(Mello Music Group)
Bleeder
(Sargent House)
Bleeder is the sound of three supremely skilled
friends having an absolute blast: frenetic, yet exact
musicianship is exhibited all over the album. The
band mixes thunderous punk/metal with near-prog
shredding in a way that doesn’t feel overly indulgent
or jarring. A mix of harsh vocals, Steve Brodsky’s
signature Cave In croon, and heavy metal falsetto
keep things fresh and exciting. (CE)
Shannon Cleary (SC), Cody Endres (CE), Andrew Necci (AN), Doug Nunnally (DN)
PWR BTTM
Jeremy D. Simmons
Some amazing melodic punk/alt-rock from a duo
with impressive songwriting chops. Tunes like
“Dairy Queen” and the title track make a strong
impression with simultaneous resemblances to
Weezer, Green Day, and the arch math-pop-isms of
No Knife. A delightful album--unabashedly queer
lyrics (like a less pornographic Pansy Division) only
sweeten the pot. (AN)
Jeremy D. Simmons is one of the strongest
musicians in town. On his debut solo album, he
evokes a sonic piecemeal of sorts and the results are
stellar. Pie In The Sky is the result of years crafting
a musical identity beyond reimagining of influence.
Simmons stands out as a unique voice in a city with
a wealth of them. (SC)
A double album is an ambitious undertaking for
any artist, especially for his or her label debut.
That Staples has managed to complete such a
project with minimal bloat is pretty amazing. ’06
charts a course to the rapper’s early teens, with
Vinnie Stapes exhibiting plenty of personality, and
a relaxed, yet agile flow to accompany the dark,
imaginative production. (CE)
This mini release, their first outside of a collection of
demos, is the best representation of RVA’s Stay In. In
just two songs, Stay In reveal their penchant for emo
jams from the past and show exactly how they could
quickly win the hearts of fans of the genre. “Being
Nice” is catchy, infectious pop gold. (SC)
Telekinesis
Titfield Thunderbolt
Titus Andronicus
The Aussie pysch rockers’ third record is a stunning
musical statement which delivers on its lofty
ambitions and places the band in music’s true
upper echelon. The album starts off strong with
perhaps the best opening tracks in recent memory
and continues as the overall sound continually
modulates and evolves, rending you aurally stunned
for 50 minutes. (DN)
As Michael Benjamin Lerner struggled to find
inspiration for his fourth album, he looked to the
past in the form of vintage synthesizers to help him
expand and further his now-formulaic approach to
songwriting. The result is a record full of familiar yet
fresh musical ideas and sharp, evocative lyrics worth
anyone’s time. (DN)
This double 7-inch EP is a bizarre and entertaining
dispatch from the RVA underground circa 1970.
Collecting the catchy “Born On The Wrong Planet”
single and a few free-jazz/noise jams--all recorded
live at RVA venues--it documents the endearing
weirdness of this Beefheart/Zappa-damaged sextet,
and contains a fascinating liner-note history lesson.
(AN)
Toxic Moxie
Wavves x
Cloud Nothings
Ugly Cherries
(Father/Daughter)
Tame Impala
Currents
(Interscope)
Episode VI
(toxicmoxie.bandcamp.com)
After two invigorating EPs, it comes as no surprise
that the concluding chapter of Toxic Moxie’s sonic
trilogy would be just as fantastic. With songs like
“A Simulation” and “86 Reality,” it’s remarkable to
see how quickly this band has developed a unique
spin on crusty glam rock. This release is a strong
contender for best Richmond music of 2015. (SC)
Pie In The Sky
(Low Blow)
Ad Infinitum
(Merge)
No Life For Me
(Ghost Ramp)
This collaboration had been talked about for
months, but its release was still a great surprise for
an already stacked year. It’s hard to compare it to
either band’s normal output, but it clearly excels at
expertly combining the chaos of Nathan Williams
with the melodic ear of Dylan Baldi into a package
tailor-made for any garage fan. (DN)
Vince Staples
Summertime ’06
(ARTium/Def Jam)
Titfield Thunderbolt
(Steady Sounds)
Stay In
Come Home Sidney,
Kids Miss You
(stayin.bandcamp.com)
The Most
Lamentable Tragedy
(Merge)
Titus Andronicus have a reputation for melodrama,
and this 29-song, 93-minute, five-act rock opera,
complete with intermission, will do nothing to
change that. Musically, it’s Clash/Against Mestyle classic melodic punk, only with strong
Springsteen influences, resulting in several lengthy,
highly orchestrated epics. A tasty treat for fans and
newcomers alike. (AN)
Windhand
Chelsea Wolfe
Windhand’s third album continues down the
heavy, spooky path they’ve carved previously. No
half-hour epics on this one, but the relatively more
concise doom metal tunes here still feature crushing
grooves, leavened by the dark, ethereal beauty of
Dorthia Cottrell’s vocals. Overall it’s excellent--did
you expect any less? (AN)
Fittingly titled, this is Wolfe’s darkest, heaviest
release yet. This album more fully explores the kind
of music hinted at in her previous albums: dense
drone atmospherics accompanied by borderline
metal guitars and impactful drumming (electronic
and acoustic) provide the backdrop to the radiant,
yet forlorn singing Wolfe has become known for.
Dreary folk tunes are interspersed throughout the
harrowing descent. (CE)
Grief’s Infernal Flower
(Relapse)
Abyss
(Sargent House)
63
LARRY GLOVER
I used to call him Gary Lover and I’d have built him a pyramid. He’d been my best
friend since November even though we’d been pals for the better part of a decade.
You can learn a lot about a person over the course of 8 years. I watched this grown
man stop an oscillating fan with his tongue. Heard him do his Rob Halford banshee
call many a night which usually led to us being asked to leave Sticky Rice. An air raid
siren letting us know it was time to go. Sometimes we’d sit in his car and listen to Jeff
Buckley over and over. Silent. Then we’d sing Hallelujah together. Laugh at how stupid
we looked. Lots of laughs. That’s when you know you had a good friend. Lots of us felt
that way about him. Could see that smile from an airplane. It was Grand Canyon big.
Everest big. The telltale sign of a good time about to hit us like a Tsunami. In 8 years
as friends we’d always wanted to play music together but it just didn’t happen until
his last winter, and Larry was an exceptional drummer and composer. Loved being in
the pocket. Notched his belt by playing with Inertia, Orange Eye, PW Long, Sylvain
Sylvain of the New York Dolls, the Lucky Stiffs, and lastly Dragonlady. Hell of a skater
too. Anyone would be impressed watching a 45 year old man do a tail grab in a Panera
uniform and work boots on his lunch break. Then he was gone. Taken from us.
And when things like this happen, we all age from it. It slows all of us down. We walk
with limps now. Can’t see as clearly. Lean against the wall when we piss. And it’ll be
like this forever. The sun shines the same. Dogs shit the same.
Atmosphere still rotates with the earth the same. But it’s all different. At least it is for
me. His family. His friends. And God’s drunk somewhere with the phone off the hook,
saying goodbye to the world as he figures, one by one, how to do us all in.
- Ryan Kent
64
Pookie
Freeze
It is with sadness and honor that Greg Smith’s friends and
family bid him farewell. Also known as Pookie Freeze, he
was a people person and treated his friends with sincerity,
love, kindness, and generosity. These qualities led his
friends to feel like he was their closest brother.
Greg also had a fierce creative streak that brightened
and unified his community. Whether he was assisting his
husband and love of his life, Scott, in the illusion of Zoe
Vuitton with a new performance piece, or if he was hosting
kandi making parties to create and trade colorful jewelry
with a new generation of club kids, he was always an active
participant in celebrating unity.
Being a man of solidarity, he advocated his values. Pookie
declared the rave culture credo, PLUR and Kabbalistic
teachings as his political views on his online profile, “Peace,
Love, Unity, and Respect. Love your neighbor as yourself,
all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn!” The same
sentiments are reflected in his favorite quote, a message he
deeply wished to share:
We Are All One: Every human being has within him- or
herself a spark of the Creator that binds each and every
person into one totality. This understanding informs us
of the spiritual precept that every human being must be
treated with dignity at all times, under any circumstances.
Rest well, Pookie; thank you for representing Peace, Love,
Unity and Respect. The light you gave your friends and
family still shines within us. You will be missed.
I10will
years
never
of RVA
forget
Magazine
vegas 2005-2015
Mike. - tony
MIcheal ramey
Michael, goddam dude. I’ve tried to start writing this thing
over and over, but all I really want to do is talk to you one
more time. Ten more times. A thousand more times.
I want to sit around the campfire talking about music and
tattoos and how stoked we are on so many things. I want
you to explain how all pop music is the same and how a
tattoo is forever, but it doesn’t fucking matter anyway.
I want to go back to that time we got lunch and talked about
suicide and you were able to make me see that it might
just be selfish to expect someone to live with unending
pain and self doubt. You were able to make that pain, that
daily, crippling pain into something I could understand. You
were able to convince me that when the time came to make
that decision, you were doing it consciously.. with years of
consideration and thought.
Well, honestly all I want to do is go back and tell you to
shut the fuck up. I want to tell you how wrong you are and
remind you how many people love you.. how many people
will be utterly devastated by your decision. But that’s not
possible.
You made a choice and now we all live with it. I tell myself
I’m fine with it. You did what you had to do, and found some
relief from the sleepless nights and creeping discomfort.
And deep down I do believe that. There’s nothing all of
us ever wanted more for you than to feel comfortable and
loved.
But it doesn’t really make it any easier. I still want you to
be here.. Busting out laughing when Greg says some dumb
shit for the 10 millionth time. Listening to shitty emo with
Brently. Talking serious with Brionna (because she’s good
at that). Looking truly happy when Beth called to say she
was getting off work and coming over. Calling me up on
your day off and convincing me that we should go drink
beers down at the river.
It never clicked until you were gone that you were the first
friend I made after going to jail. I was pretty fucked at the
time.. probably more so than I even realized. But you were
something else.. something completely disconnected from
the shit storm that my life had been thrown into. You were
just a dude who knew about basement shows and bikes
and innocence and.. well, Sparks (lots of Sparks). You were
a dude I wanted to hang out with just to have a good time.
You were my gateway into who I would become. You were
far more than I ever told you.. and so much more than you
believed yourself to be.
I want to end this in some happy way.. Mainly because I
feel like that’s how these things are supposed to go. Like I
should joke you about unapologetically loving the fucking
Gin Blossoms or painting your toenails. But honestly I’m
fucking bummed. I’m bummed that you’re not going to
call me anymore on your days off. Or that Chance can’t
fall asleep on you ever again. Or that you’re not going the
be around to give out the greatest fucking hugs and, “I love
you”’s ever. That’s a lot less love in this world and that just
sucks.
The only time I’ve felt like things were right since you’ve
been gone was when Beth said she could feel you at
Staycation Island. She said it was the first time she could
feel you since you left. And she’s right. You’re always
going to be there. And everywhere else you felt at home.
You’re always going to live in your friends’ hearts and on
the skin of thousands of people who are lucky enough to
wear your work. You’ll always be with us. And in my heart,
you’ll always be giving me the best hug I’ve ever been lucky
enough to get.
I love you,
Mickael Broth
65
66
VISUAL ARTS CENTER OF RICHMOND’S
CRAFT + DESIGN SHOW
60 CRAFT ARTISTS + 2 DAYS OF SHOPPING + BEER + WINE
November 21 + 22, 2015
Science Museum of Virginia • visarts.org
67
68

10 years of rVa Magazine 2005-2015

Transcription

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