RVA Magazine

Transcription

RVA Magazine

CHECK RVAMAG.COM DAILY
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RVA MAGAZINE 12 SPRING 2013
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RVA #12 SPRING 2013
WWW.RVAMAG.COM
FOUNDER R. Anthony Harris, Jeremy Parker
PUBLISHER R. Anthony Harris
VICE PRESIDENT John Reinhold
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PHOTOGRAPHY Charles Anthony Lynch, Andrew Reilly,
Dave Parrish, Jakrit Patchimanon, Todd Raviotta, Joseph
Thalman, Haley Brook Gilbert, Marc Cheatham, Anthony
Hall, John Reinhold, Dante Parker
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SPECIAL THANKS to Bunkie Trinite Trophies for lending us
a trophy for the Belmont Pizza ad, If you need a trophy or
plaque, go by and see those guys!
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PHOTO : JOSIAH MARROQUIN
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RVA MAGAZINE SPRING 2013 CONTENTS
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RVA MAGAZINE ARTICLES ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT RVAMAG.COM/magazine
cover photo by Marcus Hyde
contents page photo by Dante Parker
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THE NERVOUS TICKS
BY aLEX CRIQUI / photos by charles anthony lynch
The Nervous Ticks play Rock and Roll. I’m talking about out and out, bloody knuckles on guitar,
manic depressive, James Dean driving a Mercury off a cliff in a teenage death race Rock and
Roll. Their sound combines the flagrant intensity
of hardcore punk with a maniacal juke-joint-onfire Southern stomp that has become their calling card in the Richmond music scene. Any show
that the Nervous Ticks play is sure to be a sweaty,
beer-swilling, vocal-cord lacerating, and eardrumdestroying affair, fueled by the band’s intense, irrepressible energy. Even on their recordings, their
chaotic, jangling guitar sounds like its being beaten to death over a pounding Ramones-style CroMagnon beat that evokes everything primal and
fundamental about the power and ethos of punk
rock music.
After years of lineup changes revolving around
central member and songwriter Chaz Tick, the
band has evolved from a bedroom tape recording
project into a live show powerhouse driven by the
addition of percussionist/ backing vocalist Liza
Jane and drummer Kyle Flanagan, who have both
brought an added level of intensity to the band’s
unconventional rhythm section comprised of maracas, tambourines, and a minimal drum kit featuring an upturned washtub.
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Following their self released Death to Videodrome tape and several regional tours, the
Nervous Ticks have begun receiving a lot of attention and accolades from listeners locally and
overseas. Shortly after the November release
of their debut 7” “Badlands/Trash Talk” vinyl
single on Italy’s Goodbye Boozy Label, I got in
touch with Nervous Ticks singer and guitarist
Chaz Tick to talk about the band’s Southernfried brand of subversive destruction.
How did the Nervous Ticks start off?
In early 2009, I was in a weird headspace and trying to feel somewhat normal again after getting
cleaned up from some real nasty habits. Mostly
I just sat alone in my room trying to teach myself guitar every day, and ate too much ephedrine
(laughs)--don’t judge. Jared was over one day and
was showing me how to use my four-track when
he offered to play drums on some recordings.
If I were to describe your sound as the ghost of
Howling Wolf on methamphetamine, would you
think that was accurate? How would you describe
your music?
I guess so. I’m not that into Chicago stuff though.
Or meth, really. I usually just describe it as fast
and thrashy garage punk and let people bring to
it what they want.
You all seem to tour the Deep South a lot--what draws
you down to that region?
Well, we have more friends there, for one. I love the
landscape and the people. We don’t relate as well
to Northerners for some reason, and sometimes it
seems that people up North see our music as affected, whereas people from the South don’t think
it’s unconventional to use blues and Americana influences.
Do you consider your music Southern in its nature?
Sure. All of my biggest influences are very Southern
in terms of both subject matter and guitar playing.
Oblivians, Hasil Adkins, the Gun Club...
I’ve noticed that the washtub drum that you all use
for your kit has been getting more and more caved in
every time I see you all perform. Will there ever come
a time where it gets retired, or do you feel like it’s an
integral part of the band’s sound?
Kyle beats that thing to hell. We got a new one recently, though. The washtub [is] definitely a part of
our sound; that’s what I played on when it was just
me and the four track. I found one in the trash and
was going to make a washtub bass, but got lazy, and
I didn’t have a snare, and was also broke. I guess I
don’t think about it anymore. Also I like it because
it’s sharper than a snare.
Do you feel like there has been a rock and roll revival
lately in Richmond?
I sure hope so! For all Richmond prides itself on its
music scene, that’s something we were about five
years behind on. I think a lot of the resurgence just
has to do with all of us getting together and working
towards a common goal, instead of getting jammed
It seems like there has been a really strong response on [shows with] indie or hardcore [bands] and evto the new vinyl record. How have you all reacted to erybody going it alone. And there are some great
the sudden burst of attention you’ve been getting bands that are starting up, like Olde Shame.
from overseas?
It was really weird to think that a bunch of Europe- What are some of the bands you all have been playing
ans were into our stuff! A sense of “I don’t know with, locally and around the country, that have been
you; how do you know our band?” But it was a small influencing you?
pressing, only 240 [copies], so it’s not like I’m let- Locally, probably Warren Hixson and various metal
ting it go to my head, and it’s not like life or being in bands. I’m really into the way vocals are phrased in
a band is somehow easier now. Hopefully it’ll make metal music--[those] are big influences right now.
booking tours easier, but I guess I’ll find that out Around the country--and we haven’t played with all
soon. We’re punks at heart. We crave not fleeting these bands--I’m really into Paint Fumes, GG King,
How did you all get hooked up with Goodbye Boozy
for the “Badlands” 7 inch release?
He emailed us. My guess is he read a review of the
tape somewhere. I was pretty incredulous because
I’ve been following that label for a long time. But he
was really nice and really easy to work with.
“...you definitely owe the audience something
just for showing up. Whether it’s two people
or two hundred shouldn’t matter.”
Tyvek, Haunted George, and Roman Gabriel Todd’s
the Beast Rising Up Out of the Sea. Hearing GG
The Ticks have gone through a number of lineups King’s Esoteric Lore LP made me feel a lot better trysince you started, but with the recent addition of Liza ing to incorporate metal influences in garage punk;
and Kyle it seems like you’ve really hit your stride. hearing that there is a way to make it work, although
How has the new line up changed the way the band they sound a lot different from us.
works?
The new lineup makes things go a lot smoother! On the song “Videodrome” you draw from the film of
Both Kyle and Liza are super-talented, and working the same name for the lyrics. Is it a similar case for
with them is great. Kyle is also the first drummer the song “Badlands”? What draws you toward the
we’ve had who has been solid enough a percussion- subject matter for your songs?
ist to improvise, which is cool. All the old drummers “Videodrome” was actually penned during the
height of the Occupy movement. I couldn’t help but
were more songwriters who dabbled in drums.
feel that a lot of people were using Occupy as an
Working with Liza on vocals is a lot different than opportunity to push their own agendas, under proit was with Boney Loner [former percussionist and tection of a general spirit of progress. It’s the same
vocalist, now of the Sacred Teachers], because I’m thing that happens to James Woods in the movie;
in a relationship with her. If we fight over band stuff, he’s getting pushed by both nefarious sides to do newe still have to go home together. So there’s more farious things, except one is pretty clearly evil, and
of an incentive to compromise and work around one uses its image as good to do evil. “Badlands” is
each other’s abilities, and shit like that. I think the about how sometimes you just get so mad at someend product comes out a lot better, because there’s body that you know in your heart that you want to
more of us in it. And there’s probably a more inter- kill them. But in order to live among human society,
esting dynamic, because we’re in love and have all we have to bury these impulses, even when we are
convinced that in some cases death is the answer.
these weird feelings all the time.
The lyrics are pretty vague and it’s always bothered
attention nor worldly riches.
me. So I guess to answer your question, our songs
are mostly about all different shit, although it’s basically whatever I’m feeling at the time. And most
tend to be autobiographical, about stuff that bothers
me. A lot of times I’m just influenced by stuff I read
or see that sticks with me.
What is the strangest genre you’ve heard your band
called?
The ghost of Howlin’ Wolf on methamphetamines?
We hear a lot of: blues punk, trash punk, fuzz punk,
garage punk, and any combination of those. As long
as “punk” is in there, I’m happy. People compare us
to a lot of weird things, and it’s strange how often
they can pick out music I listen to a lot that I didn’t
think bled into our songs.
You all put on really high energy performances. What
makes a good show in your opinion?
Whether or not a band looks like they’re having
fun. You’re supposed to be entertainers, you know?
I think you definitely owe the audience something
just for showing up. Whether it’s two people or two
hundred shouldn’t matter. One time at Don Pedro
[on tour], we screwed up the booking, so it was just
us and Eurotics playing and no locals. We fully expected to just hang out behind the establishment
the whole time and not even play. But then these
five dudes at the bar that we had never seen before
kept yelling for the Nervous Ticks! That was one of
my favorite shows we’ve ever played. Those guys
went wild, and we played every song we knew and
some we didn’t. We were just so happy that they
were there and so genuinely excited about something so silly as punk rock. Also, when a band can
just be their dorky selves instead of feeling like they
have to act like assholes on stage. I like that. You’re
musicians--we already know you’re dorks. It’s OK.
What are the band’s plans for the next year?
The 7” EP for “Videodrome” and some other songs
from the tape is due out in late February. We’re
gonna go on a two-week tour for that. That’ll finish
the stuff from the tape, and we’ll record some of the
newer stuff with the new lineup soon. There’s talk of
a split 7” with Buck Biloxi and the Fucks, from New
Orleans. I had a real busy last year with school and
couldn’t find the time to be very prolific. I’m hoping to change that next year now that I’ve finally
finished.
thenervousticks.bandcamp.com
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CHRIS VISIONS
by JAMES WAYLAND
Chris Visions is a freelance artist based in Richmond. A VCU grad, he has tremendous style and
his range is incredible. In particular, I am drawn
to his ability to convey action and provide his
illustrations with an abundance of emotion. I
think he’s a phenomenon, and I can’t wait to see
where his talent takes him.
I’ve been working on my first novel, Trailer Park
Trash & Vampires, for years now, and I had
always envisioned releasing it as an illustrated
version. I had tried unsuccessfully to find an artist
who was up to the challenge, but when RVA
Mag’s publisher, Tony Harris, put me in contact
with Chris Visions, I knew he was the man for the
job. He absolutely killed the illustrations for my
book. He did an amazing job of interpreting the
material, and the images he provided represent
a superb addition to the manuscript. Sometimes
when I would stop to examine the artwork he
sent my way, I had to wonder whether or not the
dude was psychic. It was like he was could see
exactly what I was describing, and anyone who
has ever been involved in a collaboration knows
how hard that it is to achieve. It’s not just that
the atmosphere in his work is so rich or that the
characters are so vivid, either. A big part of it is
the simple fact that his wealth of talent allows
him to adapt to the subject matter with ease.
Chris is a guy who specializes in everything.
When Tony asked me if I would like to interview
Chris for RVA, I was more than happy to do
so. Hell, if you ask me a question about Chris
Visions, I’m apt to start gushing, so I was
definitely interested in learning more about this
stellar up-and-coming artist.
Where does your passion for art come from?
I guess the roots of my passion go back to when
I saw my Mom draw for the first time. I was
three or four. It was at my grandmother’s house
at the kitchen table. She took a ballpoint pen and
drew this rose on a napkin. It was at that point
something clicked. I had been fascinated with
Disney cartoons, comic strips, and coloring books
up to that point, but seeing someone in person
draw those lines blew my mind.
Who are some of the artists whose work inspires
you?
Moebius, Eric Canete, Norman Rockwell, Will
Eisner, R.M. Guera, J.C. Leyendecker, Jim Lee,
Michaelangelo, Chris Bachalo, Gustav Klimt, Jean
Michel Basquiat, N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell,
Adam Hughes, Otomo Katsuhiro, Ashley Wood,
Sergio Toppi, George Pratt, The Kickstand Kids,
Sean Gordon Murphy, Paul Pope, Alphonse
Mucha, Jamie Hewlett...
What keeps me really going are my friends,
my “RVA Fam.” We have a sketch night once a
week, where we just take some time to see what
everyone’s working on, inspire and push each
other. We all want to see each other succeed and
are honest with each other’s work, and that keeps
us moving forward. They are my A-Team; I love
‘em.
I find your work to be extremely vibrant—there’s so
much energy in the mix that the images practically
jump off the page. How do you inject such
excitement into an illustration?
That’s in my personality--I’m a performer at heart.
I love movies and the theater, and part of me wants
to go down that road. I see the paper as my stage.
You do a great job of framing your work in a way
that really brings it to life. Tell us a bit about how
you go about deciding how to present your subject.
I’m constantly trying to challenge myself when
it comes to composition. I like thinking about
how it reads as an abstract, as basic shapes,
before fiddling with the details. And I do lots of
thumbnails.
How do you know when a piece is truly finished? Is
it difficult to put a project you’re really engrossed in
aside when that time comes?
The deadline tells me it’s done, whether its the one
given to me or the one I give myself. I find if I linger
on a piece too long, that “jazz” is taken out of it,
and it turns into a corpse.
How long might it take for you to complete a
project?
It all depends on the project. The deadline always
has the last word. It can range from an evening, like
my pin-ups, to a couple weeks, depending on the
size and number of pieces.
Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what
type of tunes are you apt to be rocking out to while
you work?
I like to make playlists for my projects. A few
artists as of late: Flying Lotus, Radiohead, Kendrick
Lamar, Bon Iver, Wu-Tang Clan, Nickelus F,
Outkast, Hans Zimmer, Otis Redding, Star Slinger,
Gil Scott Heron, Frank Ocean, Grimes, Cowboy
Bebop soundtrack, Jeff Buckley, Jack White, Lana
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special thanks to brandon crowe for getting this together. roll tide!
“I like to make playlists for my projects. A few artists as of late:
Flying Lotus, Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Iver, Wu-Tang Clan,
Nickelus F.... When it’s very serious work, I just loop Justin Bieber.”
Del Rey, Active Child, Gorillaz--and usually a lot of
what friends will introduce me to. When it’s very
serious work, I just loop Justin Bieber.
I hope you’re kidding about Bieber. You were at the
New York Comic Con just a few weeks ago. Tell us a
little about your experiences there.
NYCC is always a phenomenal experience. It’s
awesome to see an event for comics getting this
huge on the East Coast. It was my first time with a
table this year, and it has been by far the best time
I’ve had. It was great setting up with friends and
showing work to people who became fans. And
meeting amazing artists like Rafael Albuquerque,
Sam Wolfe Connolly, Matteo Scalera, Becky
Cloonan, and others was a true treat. I can’t wait
until next year!
We’re both big comic fans; right now I’m in love
with the Swamp Thing reboot DC has put together,
and Marvel’s New Avengers. What comics are you
following these days?
Oh man, I’m actually doing some more of my
homework and going back to reading some of
the essentials. Right now I’m filling in the gaps
on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and Moebius. Some of
my favorite titles as of late are DC’s Blackest Night
series, Vertigo’s Scalped, [and] Marvel’s X-Force.
[I’m] looking forward to reading Mignola’s Hellboy
in Hell, via Dark Horse.
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What’s your favorite scary movie?
Spice World, hands down. Evil Dead, The Exorcist, 28
Days Later, The Thing, The Mist, Se7en, and Silence of
the Lambs are all right, too.
Speaking of things that go bump in the night:
whether you’re talking comics or television,
everybody seems to be talking about The Walking
Dead. What do you think of that property?
Robert Kirkman [writer of the Walking Dead comic
series] is great!! I’m reading his Invincible series,
just started Walking Dead, and am struggling to
read more because I’m enjoying the show that
much. Carl gets on my nerves though. Lock that
kid up!
When you decide to do the illustrations for Trailer
Park Trash & Vampires, I really encouraged you
take the material to the limit. That led you to some
really dark places. What was that like?
It definitely was a trip, especially for “The Good
Life” image. I’m used to taking a subtler approach,
using metaphors and holding back on certain
subjects. Given the material here and the fact that
it was a novel, I knew that these few illustrations
had to hit hard initially, especially when an image
competes with movies and other material viewers
have been exposed to. It took a tough hour to take
that direction, but after that it fell into place and I
was able to “play that character.”
What are you working on now?
I’m sending work out to the larger comic houses,
working on some personal comics to put out right
now that I’m pretty excited about, and working
on some comic covers and freelance. The oven’s
always on.
Last one is an easy one. Not only is it a “fill-inthe-blank” question, but it’s also short and sweet.
If someone was going to describe one of your
illustrations in one word, what would you want
them to say about a Chris Visions piece? Note:
this isn’t a test, so I can’t take any points off if you
use more than one word. This illustration by Chris
Visions is ______.
I don’t ever want to fill that gap. I feel others who
view my work can always surprise me [with] what
they get from the images I create. All I want is that
period removed, and to keep people talking and
thinking.
www.chrisvisions.com
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MARCUS HYDE
BY KRISTINA HEADRICK
Looking at Marcus Hyde’s photos, I can’t
help but wonder what led the man who
started out shooting rocks and trees for his
high school darkroom class into the realm of
fashion photography. Despite its association
with fashion, much of his work, in my opinion,
has enough artistic merit to stand alone
as portraiture. A number of his photos are
startlingly erotic but far too too edgy for the likes
of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. The feminine
form in its most statuesque incarnations reigns
supreme.
Marcus is passionate about spending time
behind the lens, and makes a point to shoot
every day. This passion led him from Richmond
to Florida’s Full Sail University for film school.
He then came back to work in Richmond for
a bit before moving Los Angeles, where he’s
resided for the past five months. One thing
I wanted to pick his brain about was the
difference between working and living here
versus on the West Coast. As I learned, it wasn’t
a lack of work that drove him from Richmond,
but a desire to experience life in a fresh location.
Travel, connections, and dedication are crucial
elements to his particular formula for success. I
caught up with Marcus over the phone
You’ve been living in LA for how long?
Almost four months now.
How’s it going?
It’s definitely different, a totally different world.
How does it compare for you work-wise? Have
you been able to get a lot more work there than
in Richmond, or at least decrease the amount you
have to travel for work?
It’s about the same. It’s just basically getting my
name out once I’m actually here. No one really
knows I’m here until they start seeing me work
with someone. It’s definitely a word of mouth
type of thing, but it’s been picking up.
Did you go to art school?
I went to Full Sail in Orlando. I did film and video
there.
Are you still doing film work or just concentrating
on photography?
I’m mainly concentrating on photography, but am
trying to get back into film. You don’t really need
a team to do photography; film is so much more
involved.
So you went to Full Sail, then came back to
Richmond to work for awhile?
Yep. Came back here, picked up the camera, and
basically started shooting.
I see you shoot primarily fashion photography.
What got you into that, specifically?
It kinda just fell into place. Originally I didn’t intend
on shooting photos, it was always just video stuff.
I just started shooting photos of friends. Then I
actually had models contact me thinking that’s
what I did--and it wasn’t. Once I worked with
those models, then agencies started contacting
me, and from there I thought I might as well just
do it.
How do you about the process of setting up work
with the agencies?
I’ll either contact the agency or they’ll contact me
and tell me what guys or girls they want me to do
testing with. If I contact them they usually send
me a package of about 20-30 different models. I’ll
pick the ones I want to work with, and just go from
there.
So how do you choose who you want to shoot? Is
there anything specific that you look for in a model?
Different unique looks. Just [people that] have a
unique, not everyday look.
I feel like a lot of what you see, looking at fashion
magazines, are trends. Think Twiggy popularizing
the waif look, Gisele Bundchen popularizing the
exotic look, etc. Have you noticed any trends in
particular regarding the models you work with?
I really just see the trends in photography. With
modeling and fashion, that stuff’s always changing,
but there are a lot of trends with photography.
Are you into men’s fashion, or fashion in general?
Or is this type of photography simply what you fell
into for your work?
It’s weird, I don’t know. If it’s looks good, I’ll get it. I
like streetwear. There’s a company out here called
Orisue; I like them. As far as high end, I like Louis
Vuitton, Hermes.
Why LA over New York then, for fashion fashion
work? There’s always been that battle between
New York and LA...
Well, I’d been to New York but had never been to
California before. People always talked it up like
it’s the place to be, so I figured I’d see if I liked it.
So you moved out there without ever having visited?
Yeah, I’d never been before; just picked up and
moved.
A lot of people in fashion seem to bow at the
altar of Terry Richardson. Are there any specific
photographers who inspire you?
There’s no one in particular who inspires me, but
seeing different ads, there may just be one thing
that inspires me. I can see 20 different pictures
and pick out one thing from each picture and then
put my own spin on it. It’s just different things, not
one photographer in particular.
So I read on your blog that you used Canon over
Nikon. Is that still what you prefer?
I shoot a Canon 5d Mark 2. I’ve used Nikon before
but Canon just feels more user friendly. They both
produce great images.
So you’ve been doing photography since high
school. You were working with film then; do you
still?
Yeah. I did a two year black and white darkroom
photography class, but that was really it. When I
was doing that I was shooting rocks and trees-just random stuff, not even people.
So do you prefer shooting people? I imagine
it’s cool to get to interact with people and build
relationships.
Yeah, everyone’s different, so I like shooting with
different people, meeting people and traveling and
stuff.
So I guess now you’re concentrating on editorial
work vs just doing photography for photography’s
sake. Do you see yourself getting back into the
latter, or are you trying to focus simply on editorial
work?
I want to try get more into editorial stuff. [With]
editorial stuff, you can be creative and shoot
however you want to shoot it. Basically, I want
to try to shoot something that’s set like a movie
scene, something that tells a story.
On your tumblr and website you have mostly single
shots of models, but they’re all quite different. To
make each one unique, what are the little things
that inspire you? What gets you going/gives you
the chills?
Lighting, shadows. Which is kinda strange. I like
that more than anything, honestly--just the way
photos are lit. Natural [light] or artificial strobes
or whatever.
Do you do a lot of stuff with artificial lighting?
Since I’ve been in LA, it’s probably 98% natural
light. Back home it was more studio, artificial light.
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“You’ve just got to be passionate about it. If you’re not 100% always
about it, anytime of the day, anytime of the night, you’re not going
to go anywhere with it. I live and breathe shooting--that’s all I do.”
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Sunshine, definitely one of the pros to LA. Do you
ever see yourself coming back to Richmond? Do
you think this is a place where an artist’s career can
really grow and become something to make a living
off of, or do you think it’s better to make a move
somewhere with a bigger market, like you’ve done?
I’ll definitely come back to Richmond to visit, but
I want to keep moving and going different places
and seeing what I like.
So your move was more to experience different
things and make different connections, less to do
with not being able to find enough work here?
No, I had plenty of work in Richmond. I’d been
shooting full time, every day.
What advice would you give to yourself 5 years
ago? Say to someone who’s trying to do what you’re
doing coming from a town like Richmond. What’s
been the key to your success?
You’ve just got to be passionate about it. If
you’re not 100% always about it, anytime of the
day, anytime of the night, you’re not going to go
anywhere with it. I live and breathe shooting-that’s all I do.
That’s awesome. I wonder, with some artists who I
know and don’t see working every day, whether it’s
something they’re truly passionate about. Sounds
like it’s your life force.
Yeah, and in order to stay relevant and [have]
people know who you are, you have to constantly
shoot, or constantly do what it is you do. Otherwise
people will ask where you went, figure you fell off,
and wonder what happened.
Yeah, if you don’t there’s inevitably someone out
there trying harder than you. Have you met a lot of
other photographers in LA?
Yeah, I’ve met a bunch. There are a lot of
really really good people out here too, but the
photographers seem cool for the most part. It’s
really competitive but there’s a lot of work too.
So I’m sure it balances out.
Was your experience at Full Sail your first time
living outside of VA? Is that what made you want to
try living and working in different cities?
Yeah. If you don’t have an ultimate goal in mind,
a bigger picture, Richmond will suck you in and
you’ll stay there for a long time. It’s not completely
a bad thing, though. There are a lot of really good
people in Richmond.
Is there anywhere else you really would like to live
and shoot?
I’ve never been outside the US. Would love to go to
Europe somewhere. Never been to Hawaii either.
LA’s cool, besides the people. It’s totally different
from back home. People are way more real on the
East Coast and in VA.
marcushydemedia.com
23
HUMUNGUS
BY addison herron-wheeler / Photo by dante parker
In a time when metal is characterized by apocalyptic doom and crust, avant-garde black metal, and
technically layered death metal, a band like Humungus, who don’t take themselves too seriously
and aren’t afraid if others don’t either, is truly a rare
thing to come across. It’s easy to write them off at
first glance as another throwback-thrash Municipal
Waste clone, but if you glance for even a second longer, you will notice that the typical ascending thrash
riff and simplistic drumming is absent in their music.
Instead, Humungus rely on complex yet thoroughly
catchy 80s metal riffs, and their rhythm section offers far more than a simple backbeat. You will also
notice that they place fans on stage that are perfectly positioned to aid in their headbanging epicness-an addition that is obviously and self-consciously
humorous, but also one that adds a lot to their lively
stage presence. In short, Humungus--or The Humungus, as they are sometimes called now due to
legal complications with a Verbal Abuse
24
new stuff out today,” says bassist Zach O’Carroll. “I
try to incorporate elements other than just heavy
metal, such as blues, classic rock, etc. My musical taste has been branching out from just diehard
metal to all sorts of other stuff, which usually makes
it’s way into the writing process one way or another.”
“We’re all just really big fans of classic heavy metal,
“People absolutely lump us together with Munici- and it’s what we all relate to the most musically,”
pal Waste because we drink beer, we’re from Rich- adds the band’s other guitarist, Ian Dishman. “As far
mond, and it’s metal,” says guitarist Peyton Gregory. as a formula goes, I don’t know if we really have one.
“If people actually listened to the music, they would We just really like super-duper crunchy riffs that
notice a ton of major differences. Municipal Waste make you want to lose all control.”
is more of a crossover, or thrash, band. I would consider Humungus to be more of an 80s metal band.” Humungus was born in early 2011, when Zach met
And while Humungus may be a throwback in some some of the other members at a show. “Ian was
ways, as evidenced by one of their best-known roommates with the girl I was dating at the time, and
songs, “Drinkin’ A Beer,” it seems that their mission I met Robby [Scarce] and Jack [Bauer] at their other
is more to play pure, unadulterated metal than to band, Craptain Jack [and The Shmees]’s, show at
evoke specific feelings of decades past. “I’ve always Plaza Bowl,” says Zach. “At that show, Ian was filling
liked the sound of classic heavy metal over all the in on guitar since our original guitarist was M.I.A.,”
spinoff laying claim to the same name--are not a
band who will fight with you for hours about how to
properly classify their music, or whether they should
be compared with a certain band or associated with
a certain genre. But they are also not a band to blindly follow trends and churn out meaningless music.
says drummer Robby Scarce. “I was surprised that
[Zach] liked it, because I knew Zach was in a death
metal band, Antietam 1862. Zach and Ian started
playing together in what would become Humungus.
They asked me to play drums and I accepted and
suggested that Jack be the singer. Zach found Peyton on the internet somehow or another and Peyton came to try out in my bedroom, which is where
Humungus practice was for a little while.” Eventually Zach left Antietam 1862 to devote more time
to the band, and the rest of the guys became more
invested as well. It only took a little under a year for
them to start recording, playing around Richmond
frequently, and going on small tours. “I think the
main reason we formed Humungus was because we
all hung out and went to metal shows and saw nobody moshing or headbanging,” adds Ian. “We had
to put an end to that immediately.”
When it comes to the songwriting process, Humungus are very democratic, although Zach comes up
with a lot of the initial ideas for songs. “Its a fairly
equal split,” he says.“I write a lot of the riffs and
then jam to them with Robby. Then Peyton and Ian
add dynamics and stuff like that. The songs usually
change a lot as they are jammed on. Jack writes almost all the lyrics, although occasionally someone
else might write a line or two.”
Humungus have been on the road quite frequently
since their formation, and have some ridiculous stories to show for it. “We’ve done several East Coast
tours, from Miami up to Boston, and this past summer we did a two-week tour to Texas and back up
the coast,” says Zach. “This summer, we drove from
South Carolina to Miami with a Liberty Tax trailer
on the back of our van. In Columbia, we witnessed
a guy drink a whole 40oz of piss. He was warned
of the contents, but alcohol turns you into a badass,
right? I think we may have been on Storage Wars:
Austin too. I need to see if I can find the episode.”
They have even more gut-curdling stories than
these, from meeting a meth-crazed wannabe groupie wearing a bathing suit in Fort Worth, to exploring
the cave where the movie Teeth was filmed in Austin, as well as some that are lost completely to the
obscurity of beer-fogged memory, such as their entire stay in New Orleans. But clearly it is all in good
fun. No charges have been filed--at least, not yet.
“We just released a 7” vinyl EP on Forcefield Records,
and we are planning on a full length sometime in the
spring or summer, hopefully,” says Zach. “We are
currently working on finishing up some new songs
for it. We have joked around with the name MegaHevy.” The 7” featured the songs “Shark Castle” and
“Drinkin’ A Beer,” which will both appear on the fulllength album, and they filmed a video for “Drinkin’ A
Beer” in Peyton’s basement, with cameos from lots
of fans. They are thrilled to have hooked up with favorite local metal label Forcefield, who approached
them late last year about releasing a record. “[Forcefield founder] Tim Harwich has really hooked us up
and looked out for us, and it’s awesome to be a part
of the Forcefield family,” says Zach. They are also
planning a tour this summer that will hopefully venture farther north or out to the West Coast.
Overall, although Humungus make it a point to have
a lighthearted attitude about metal and the music
they make, they strongly appreciate the local scene
and all the support they have received since their inception. “I thought everyone would hate us when we
first started,” admits Ian, who was afraid local fans
that lean more towards doom and blackened death
metal would scoff at their antics. Luckily, that wasn’t
the case. Not only were they received well at shows,
they have been given multiple opportunities to tour,
and now have a local record deal. “I just want to take
the time to state how thankful we are for everyone
in Richmond’s support for us ever since we started
in 2011,” he adds. “It really is a privilege to be a part
of this community and play for the all of the awesome people in it (you know who you are) and we
thank you.” Look out for much more beer-drinking,
hair-swinging debauchery in the coming year!
humungus.bandcamp.com
25
26
As I walk into the Church of Abraham-a house in The Fan that serves as a show
and practice space for local punk bands-to interview Sundials, one thing becomes
abundantly clear. Despite their casual
nature during conversation, their work ethic
is anything but. With a seemingly endless
assortment of releases under their belt and
the growing acclaim of punk communities
around the world, Sundials have been
in constant forward motion since their
beginning in the summer of 2009.
Sundials initially came together as an
extension of guitarist Harris Mendell’s solo
project Horn & Tusk. “While I was writing
songs as Horn & Tusk, I was also playing
with Hold Tight,” Mendell explains. “A lot of
the stuff I started writing felt more in line
with being played along with a band. ‘Names
That Matter Most’ was the first inkling
towards this, and it motivated me to start
Sundials.”
The mentality that guides the first songs that
Sundials wrote isn’t too far removed from
Mendell’s approach to his solo work. One
of the group’s strongest attributes is a level
of intimacy that is developed within each
song. They document moments in time that
can find universal appeal beyond singular
musical communities. It’s an attribute that
helped to make the bands that influenced
Sundials (such as Jawbreaker and Alkaline
Trio) so popular, and thus helped bring
attention to the group almost immediately
upon their inception.
It was only logical that Mendell would
approach former Friendly Fire bandmate Carl
Athey about playing bass. “There wasn’t that
SUNDIALS
much time removed from when Friendly Fire
played their last show and Sundials played
their first, but the sound was definitely
something different entirely,” Athey recalls.
The relationship between the two goes
beyond just being in a band together. There
is a similarity in the way the two friends
stand behind their respective ideologies
about the way they conduct themselves as
musicians, and in their personal lives. You
can see this in Athey’s work as a writer, and
in the way the band expresses themselves
when discussing civil liberties that may be
seen as trivial by people who hold different
political values.
When the band first started, Mendell
envisioned a heavier approach than that of
the pop punk bands he had participated in
before. The band never really accomplished
this in their creative output, but the desire
by shannon cleary / photos by jake cunningham
27
for heaviness was a motivating factor in
their decision to ask drummer Cory Chubb
to join the band. “I envisioned Sundials as
this heavier grunge band--bands like Young
Widows come to mind,” Mendell explains.
“Cory was an easy candidate to at least
give it a shot towards seeing if we could
create that sound. I guess we all know how
that turned out,” he jokes. Having spent his
younger years in the DC area, Chubb was
heavily influenced by much of the Dischord
records catalog, which is illustrated
perfectly in his approach to drumming as
well as songwriting. There is a bursting spirit
to his performances behind his kit, yet the
band’s melodicism never wanes when Chubb
contributes to their songwriting process.
Sundials’s first release, The First Six
Songs, is a quick detour from those early
sonic aspirations, but demonstrates early
signs of the band’s promise. Tracks like
“Neighborhood Well” and “Names That
Matter Most” have remained strong set
pieces to this day for Sundials. When
listening, it’s easy to see why. The two songs
indicate the band’s ability to craft catchy
songs that incorporate the influence of 90s
alternative rock. According to Mendell, this
release has remained a fan favorite. “Even
after we put out Never Settle, we would still
get the biggest reactions from people in
regards to our first set of songs.” A great
deal of attention was brought to the release
when it was featured on the site If You Make
It. “I don’t think nearly as many people would
know about us, or we would have been given
as many opportunities as we have been, if it
weren’t for our inclusion on the site as a free
download,” Mendell explains.
The First Six Songs is titled very literally--the
tracks appear in the order that they were
written by the group, and show a respectable
progression for Sundials. This EP set the
standard for the band’s work ethic. “Once
28
the band started, we just kept working on
writing new songs and touring whenever we
could,” Mendell remarks. “It was difficult
for all of us with being in school, but when
we found time, we really set our attention
towards that.” Some of their first tours
helped them to continue prospering as
songwriters as well as performers. “I would
say that we are definitely a lot better as a
live band now, but there is always going to
be this raw feeling surrounding it all.”
There was a point when the group did
consider expanding their line-up. Mendell’s
vision of the group’s dynamic was never
limited to a three-piece. “At one point, we
considered adding a keyboardist, but they
were never able to make time from their
other band,” he explains. “The only time
we had someone stick around for a second
was when we added a second guitarist. Our
friend Tyler Walker from Family Cat played
with us for a bit. I think the hardest part of
adding someone to the band was the idea
that we had been a band for a while and it
made it slightly difficult to throw someone
into the mix so late in the band’s lifespan.”.
At this point, it seems that the dynamic of
Sundials works best with the three original
members.
The
instrumentation
finds
moments of relaxation or budding intensity
while never obscuring the vocal interplay
between Athey and Mendell. If anything,
Sundials might sound too cluttered if there
was another component in the mix.
Surprisingly enough, by the time The First
Six Songs was released, Sundials had already
written the majority of Never Settle. “We
are always continuously writing,” Mendell
reflects. “At first, the majority of the songs
were mine.” This might explain why Never
Settle feels as much a part of the first era
of Sundials as their debut EP. However, as
Mendell goes on to explain, “That soon
changed, as Carl and Cory both began
to contribute, and that only helped us to
continue producing new, unique material.” “I
mean, outside of Sundials, I’m also writing
for my band Close Talker, and even bands that
haven’t even been put together yet,” Chubb
explains. While Never Settle’s songs are of
a piece with their earliest material, it shows
off a wider range of the band’s impressive
talent. “Take You In My Coffee,” “Blame,”
and “Either Way” are stunning examples of
the band’s capability at writing punk gems.
Meanwhile, “San Francisco Courthouse
Steps” and “47 Million” are more closely
reflective of the early days of Horn & Tusk,
with political ideology and bleak realities
incorporated throughout the lyrics.
After recording Never Settle with Dan
Norsworthy of Virginia band Tatlin’s Tower,
it was time for the band to hit the road
once more. The general response to Never
Settle was increasingly positive and led to
opportunities for the group to head overseas.
From their perspective, there were things
regarding the release of Never Settle that they
wish they could change. “I think it’s safe to
say that no one in the band was completely
satisfied with how that release turned out,”
Mendell mentions. “The record was never
actually mixed down, so that’s why it sounds
all over the place,” Athey adds. In the time
it took to finally be released, Sundials had
become a different band.
Never Settle
helped to showcase a band that was capable
and eager to write clever punk anthems.
It also set a distinct contrast between the
way Sundials were presented on recording
and in live performance. “One of the first
things people tend to mention to us when
they hear our recordings after seeing us live
is that we sound heavier live,” Mendell says.
“With that in mind, I think that’s where the
trajectory of the band was headed following
Never Settle.”
The benefit of spending countless nights out
on the road is the ever-expanding network
of bands you make contact with. This proved
advantageous to Sundials when they were
considering what label they wanted to work
with for their second full-length. One label
that came to mind was Asian Man Records.
Sundials sent in a demo and hoped for the
best, but Mendell thinks more factors were
at work. “I’d like to believe that we got
signed to Asian Man for the merits of our
songwriting--and I think that helped,” he
says. “In reality, we had toured with a good
chunk of the bands on the label. When we
were writing to [label owner] Mike Park
about wanting his label to potentially put out
our next full-length, we also reached out to
our friends that were already on the label to
put in a good word for us. I think that, along
with a combination of other factors, helped
to make this happen.” Park’s response to
their demo was promising. He dug what he
had heard and was definitely interested.
After a bit of time passed without further
had Never Settle. “I think we can all agree
that we rushed through our first record,”
Mendell comments. “With this new album,
we all decided to write songs [with] the idea
of writing a record, not just a collection of
songs we were throwing together to release,”
Chubb adds. Not much had changed in the
sense of financial predicaments that can
ensue when you finance your own records.
“I think we still had the same lack of funds,
but working with Asian Man made this seem
like something worth delving into,” Mendell
explains. “Putting more money into it and
just taking advantage of what we had going
on.” The travel also assisted the band, as
they got away from their hometown in order
to focus on what many consider their best
release to date.
contact, though, the band did start to freak
out a little bit. However, a story eventually
got back to the band that the members
found fascinating. “Park was touring with
The Classics of Love and they played at
the Black Cat,” Mendell relates. “[Park]
need[ed] a ride to the airport. Our friend
Nathan Brown, who plays as Oklahoma Car
Crash, was able to offer them one. So his
mom is giving all of them a ride and they
start talking about bands. Our name came
up, and Park immediately was like ‘Oh, you
know Sundials? What’s the deal with those
guys?’ Our friend, being a really sweet guy,
said several kind things about us. After this
incident, Park reached out to us and we
figured out how we could work together to
put out When I Couldn’t Breathe.”
that permeates the mood of this new album.
There is a sense of longing for better times,
either in the past or the future. Mendell
wrote “New York Crunch” about listening
to the stories of a co-worker who dreams of
something more than working at a market.
“710” is about Mendell and Athey’s former
home burning down, and attempting to
recover after seeing everything you own
destroyed right in front of you. “Completely
Broken” examines a life-altering moment
and asks whether colliding with destiny will
change our lives in the way we expect. There
is a sense of maturity that comes through on
When I Couldn’t Breathe that many bands can
only dream of achieving. It is also the band’s
most successful release thus far--according
to Mendell, When I Couldn’t Breathe is about
to sell out of their first run of vinyl, after
which it will be repressed.
For their second album, Sundials headed to
Pennsylvania to record with Mike Bardzik at
Noisy Little Critter Studios. The band had
more time to focus on this release than they’d
When I Couldn’t Breathe is a reflective
record about growing older. The angst of
early Sundials is still present, but there is
a feeling of hesitation and consideration
Indeed, Sundials have reached a level of
success that, when they first got together,
they used to joke about. “When we started
Sundials, we always thought it would be
great to work with Asian Man Records,”
Mendell explains. “Our name comes from
an Alkaline Trio reference, and [now] we
[are] signed to the same label that put
out their early releases. We’re eyeing
working with Matt Allison, who produced
their first couple albums.” However, when
offered a chance to appear on an Asian Man
compilation in which bands cover songs by
other bands on the label, Sundials passed up
the opportunity to cover Alkaline Trio. “That
might have been a little too much,” Mendell
jokes.
In keeping with Sundials’s relentless work
ethic, 2013 shows no end in sight. Outside
of their touring regimen, the band will
finally see the release of a long-awaited
split release with Tatlin’s Tower, as well as
another EP that could see the light of day
by the end of the year. “I don’t see any
reason not to have a release out every year,”
Mendell says. “Especially as a three-piece,
it makes it easier to efficiently write songs
and get them out there.”
As the interview comes to a close, Mendell
jokes with Chubb about an upcoming
Sundials song that they have been hashing
out. “If you can come up with a chorus to
that, just go for it. I still haven’t been able to
figure it out.” This moment perfectly reflects
the trust that all of the members of the band
have in one another. Their friendships and
relationships with the music scene have only
helped them prosper as musicians. A band
like Sundials doesn’t come around all that
often, but when they do, everybody seems
to take notice. It will still be quite a while
before we can fully grasp the legacy that
this group is creating for themselves, but we
get to watch them establish that legacy in
real time, and we are all the better for it.
sundialsva.tumblr.com
29
HEAVY MIDGETS
by shannon clearY / PHOTO BY josiah bittenbender Established venues have a tendency to
overshadow the essence of Richmond music, but
the moments in time in which scenes coalesce
around a small, short-lived venue can be quite
invigorating. The most recent example would be
the number of bands that emerged throughout
the brief existence of Cellar Door. The true heart
of Richmond’s musical tradition exists in the
city’s narrow hallways and makeshift venues.
Some claim that most attendees at shows like
these are more concerned about the social
aspect than the music, but it’s undeniable that
there are bands involved who generate quite
a bit of excitement, taking everyone for an
unanticipated ride. Heavy Midgets are a prime
example of this phenomenon; they’ve done
much over the past year to impress this city with
their unique blend of psychedelic pop euphoria.
other really well,” McCarthy reminisces. “We
both just got to the point where we didn’t see
playing solo shows as being that rewarding.
People tend to respond more to full bands
as opposed to people singing songs on their
acoustics, talking about their feelings,” Graham
says. This inclination towards an expansion in
sound was the first inkling of where the Heavy
Midgets sound was headed.
The duo quickly set out to find musicians that
could complement the tunes that Graham and
McCarthy came up with. They went through
several members in various roles, but it was
the enthusiastic interest from guitarist Ian
McQuary that left the biggest impression with
Graham. “I remember Ian approaching me
about joining Heavy Midgets and I immediately
said yes,” Graham excitedly recalls. “I knew
The band started when John Graham and he was a great guitarist, and when we needed
Charlanne McCarthy saw Ty Segall together someone to come in to play lead in our band, I
in 2011 and were left mesmerized. “After that really couldn’t imagine anyone else.” McQuary
performance, I decided that I wanted to start joining the band while they were in the midst of
a band and make my songs sound like that. recording their cassette-only debut EP helped
I knew John would be a good counterpart to shape their sound. He immediately fit with
that because I think our songs play off of each what they were doing, which allowed him to
30
catch up fairly quickly. “When I joined the band,
they were already recording with Ben Miller of
Tungs,” he explains. “My takes were mainly
overdubs, and the rest of it was recorded live.
I think some people tend to prefer that first EP
over our split with Tungs, [which] might have a
lot to do with how I had to write my parts after
the fact, and the effect that had on the songs.”
The self-titled EP slowly flourished, helping the
band gain a remarkable momentum. Playing as
often as they could, they received widespread
notice as one of the new bands to watch in
Richmond.
When the band first began to play shows, a
controversy arose surrounding their name. The
name was seen as offensive due to the word
“midget”’s use as a slur for those suffering
from dwarfism, and the band were at first
confused by this. “If you look at it literally, I
guess you could jump to that interpretation,”
McCarthy says--but she sees the band’s name
in a different context. “To me, I think about [the
way] we divide things based on size.” A midget,
literally defined as any object significantly
smaller than normal size, is generally seen as
the opposite of something that’s heavy--but
this isn’t necessarily true. “The tiniest stars can
contain this magnitude that is unheard of,” she
explains. “Perhaps that’s what a heavy midget
is--but in all honesty, explaining it would
cheapen it. I’d rather people just think of us
when they hear the name.” “When we started
this band, we really wanted to take this as
seriously as possible,” Graham says. “So to get
that reaction was disheartening. We thought
about changing the name, but we figured it
would be too rash to change this as a result
them move forward. “When we are playing live,
there are times when Jenn will be more on point
than we are,” McCarthy says. “I’ll forget which
part I’m supposed to be doing, and she will be
right there to pick up the pieces.”
Since the start of Heavy Midgets, the band
it off, but we definitely set our sights on making
our side of Sisters sound pretty gnarly.”
The songs featured on Sisters aren’t too far
removed from the approach Heavy Midgets
took on their self-titled debut. “Safe On Your
Mountaintop” showcases the melodious voice
of McCarthy and the slow buildups that the
band often explore in their material. “Oh
Susanna” and “We Are On The Run” are more
straightforward, but both are great examples
of Graham’s penchant for clever lyrics and
strong hooks. If Sisters accomplished one thing
for Heavy Midgets, it was solidifying their
reputation amongst other bands that emerged
in the scene around the same time. “We are all
about our friends in Navi, Wolf//Goat, Tungs,
The Eurotics and so on,” McQuary comments.
“It’s amazing how we can all contribute to this
scene, yet sound like we are all being inspired
from very different places.”
This mutual admiration is demonstrated by the
decision to close out the Tungs/Heavy Midgets
split with each band covering a song by the
other. Heavy Midgets opted to cover Tungs’s
“Footsie,” and their reason for choosing it could
lead to further ventures down this path. “There
was such a soulful feeling behind the words
and vocals in that song, it just made sense
to take that on,” McCarthy reflects. “I think
another thing that’s great about our band is
we get to witness these songs that our friends
are writing, and we’re immediately moved by
them together,” McQuary says. “Recently, The
Nervous Ticks debuted a bunch of new material
at The Nile, and there was this one song that I
was just blown away by.” Graham immediately
mimics the song, to McQuary’s enthusiastic
recognition. “That would be awesome if we
covered that song,” Graham says. “That might
be a crazy idea as long as none of our friends
minded, but we would love it if they interpreted
our songs in their own unique way as well. Just
spread the love around.”
Outside of a hypothetical covers release, Heavy
Midgets have many plans slated for the coming
year and beyond. “We have tried slimming down
on how many shows we have been playing, so
we can hopefully play more shows that can
positively impact the band,” Graham says. They
are also hard at work on a proper full-length,
which will be the first to feature Hall on drums,
and will hopefully articulate the nature of the
band in its current incarnation. There are hopes
of playing a few festivals in the coming months,
and one larger than life idea that they are set
on bringing to fruition. “We had this really crazy
idea about doing a cross-country tour by using
bikes as our sole means of transport,” Graham
says. “It would take a lot of communication and
understanding with bands in other cities for us
has been involved with BadGrrrl Records. The to use their gear, but I think we could pull it off if
relationship has been prosperous for all parties we work towards that. I mean, have you heard of
involved. Label head Ben Miller helps record anyone else trying to pull that off?”
bands and release their records. As if by fate,
there came a moment where both Tungs and Bands like Heavy Midgets are a very positive
Heavy Midgets had a set of songs recorded and indicator of the future of Richmond music. This
ready for release. Previously a cassette label, group of ambitious thinkers defy the stereotype
BadGrrrl had yet to put out a vinyl release, and of a young generation that is lazy and lacking
a split LP between Tungs and Heavy Midgets, drive. Heavy Midgets are one of the most
entitled Sisters, seemed like the best way promising treats that the RVA scene has to offer.
to enter into this format. “The funny thing
about doing a release with Tungs is that we heavymidgets.bandcamp.com
both thought of it as a hilarious competition,”
Graham says. “They are definitely close friends,
if not kindred spirits in our musical world, but
part of us wanted to try and be louder than
Tungs on this release. I don’t know if we pulled
“We both just got to the point where we didn’t
see playing solo shows as being that rewarding. People tend to respond more to full bands
as opposed to people singing songs on their
acoustics, talking about their feelings.”
of the opinions of a few.” For the foreseeable
future, their name will remain Heavy Midgets.
Another difficult factor in the band’s evolution
was finding a stable drummer to join the fold.
After going through a few different drummers,
Jenn Hall joined and demonstrated a particular
sense behind the kit. Her talents stood out,
helping to solidify the band’s sound. “They
put out a listing on Craigslist and I responded
immediately,” Hall relates. “I remember sitting
there and hoping that they would message
me back because I really wanted to be a part
of this band.” “You were the only one that
replied,” McCarthy jokes. Hall’s prowess on
drums is remarkable and the band displays
an appreciation for how much she has helped
31
ELLIOTT YAMIN
by CHAD BROWN
There’s a saying in the music business that you’re only as
good as your last radio hit. Elliott Yamin knows this all too
well. In 2006, he was on top of the world. After placing third
on the sixth season of American Idol, Yamin -- a Richmonder
who had likely never spent more than $30 on a pair of jeans
-- was catapulted into an unfamiliar world of fame, fashion
and fortune. His entire life literally changed overnight, as he
attempted to handle the unexpected transition from run of the
mill Southern gent to bona fide household name.
He made appearances on every talk show television had to
offer, including The Late Show with Jay Leno and Live with
Regis and Kelly. He performed the national anthem at Game 2
of the 2006 NBA Finals. He sold out the Richmond Coliseum
and served as the closing act of the Virginia State Fair. Hell, he
even shook hands with President Bush inside the Oval Office.
“I always equate that period in my life to Good Will Hunting,”
Yamin said when we spoke via phone just after Christmas.
“That scene where Ben Affleck goes to pick up Matt Damon
for work, beeps the horn and says, ‘Every day when I come to
pick you up and blow that horn, I hope and pray that you won’t
come out, because you’re out making it in the world. You’re off
actually using your talents.’”
It’s likely that Yamin connects this part of his life to that
famous scene because while he assumed the role of Damon,
those around him collectively played the part of Ben Affleck.
For years, friends and family gave him grief for failing to take
advantage of a voice that was meant to do bigger things than
communicate at dead-end jobs and remain hidden from the
general public. Corralling together, they constantly heckled
him for wasted potential -- a sentiment likely fueled by a closet
case of shyness -- until finally, fed up with being in-between
jobs and recognizing that he had very few positive things going
on, Yamin, much to the playful displeasure of D.A.R.E officers
everywhere, finally buckled under the peer pressure.
“They got the best of me, and I made up my mind that I was
going to try out for the show. I had nothing to lose,” he added,
fondly.
Armed with an empty bank account and a positive attitude,
Yamin and his girlfriend rounded up every penny they had and
ventured to Boston for the first round of Idol auditions. They
had no idea what to expect aside from what they had been
told: plan for long lines, and be ready for anything.
Following both pieces of advice, Yamin advanced to the next
round, which was set to take place a few months later. What he
didn’t know when he was handed a golden ticket to Hollywood
week, however, was that he would almost never make it there.
“My Mother was sick at the time and I almost didn’t go. It was
tough,” he said. “I had that weighing on my mind and it was
hard to focus on Hollywood and beyond. It certainly rattled me
-- I couldn’t think about anything but my Mom. I was ready to
just stay home and take care of her because she was really ill,
but she begged me to do it.”
Even in poor health, Mothers always know best. Following her
advice, Yamin ventured west to mingle with the strange and
unfamiliar world of Hollywood. “Being on Idol was like being
in a really gifted band camp. I wasn’t used to hanging out
with so many talented people who shared the same goals and
32
dreams that I did,” he said. “When you’re on the
show, you go from this anonymous lifestyle to
everybody knowing who you are. Strangers are
out there supporting you, appreciating what
you’re doing and that was really encouraging.”
Through his long and windy adventure, the
well of support never seemed to run dry. From
the very beginning, Yamin turned the heads of
peers and television viewers alike with his boy
next door persona and Josh Groban-esque vocal
talents; a combination that even Idol judge
Paula Abdul couldn’t resist, poking fun at his
‘two left feet’ before advancing him to the next
round during Hollywood Week auditions.
“It takes an army of people to really help you get
there,” he said. “I had those people in my corner.
Obviously, I couldn’t have done it alone.”
Using those same two left feet, Yamin plowed
through Hollywood week, eventually jumping
into the Idol top ten and the hearts of fans
across the country, who latched onto him for
embodying the very reason fans fell in love
with the show to begin with: they shared a love
for watching the common man chase his goal
in front of the entire world. Without meaning
to do so, Yamin had assumed the role of the
underdog; an everyday guy taking advantage of
a fantastic opportunity on a global stage. “We
were completely relatable,” he said.
That relatability, combined with phenomenal
covers of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” and
Sinatra’s “It Had to Be You,” carried him all
the way to the finals, where he was finally
eliminated in week 10; but not before leaving his
mark on the show by way of an unforgettable
duet with Mary J Blige. While his Idol run was
ending, it was clear that Yamin’s career had only
just begun.
Immediately after his elimination, Yamin
committed to the American Idol tour, which
served as an up-close and personal introduction
to the season’s top 10 for the dedicated fans
across the country who had spent months
fighting busy signals in an effort to call in and
support their favorite contestants. And while
some of his Idol tour counterparts decided to
take some time off from their newfound rigorous
schedules, Yamin did the exact opposite,
following up the three-month tour with a slew
of promotional appearances, ranging from talk
shows to state fairs to singing the national
anthem at charity sporting events.
“You’ve gotta take advantage of those five
minutes. It’s all about striking while the iron is
hot and a lot of people fail to do that once they
leave the show,” he said. “Once I got pushed
out of the Idol womb, I kept my eye on the prize
and just kept saying ‘I want to parlay this into a
career. This is the only reason I auditioned for
the show, so I could have a career.’”
In March of 2007, just ten months after
graduating from the Idol stage, Yamin released
his much anticipated self-titled record. His
name still fresh in the minds of the widespread
Idol audience -- a move that can be accredited
33
34
to the media marathon he had spent the previous
six months enduring -- the record debuted at
number three on the Billboard charts, fueled by
the success of hit single “Wait For You”, which
was a constant guest on top 40 radio stations
across the country. The album sold 90,000
copies in its first week and went on to be certified
gold by the RIAA less than seven months later.
At this point, it became clear that where
hundreds of other Idol graduates had failed, Elliot
Yamin had passed with flying colors. He officially
had a music career.
Riding the wave of success and playing with
the cards he had been dealt, Yamin released
his second album, Fight for Love, two years later
in the spring of 2009. Determined to avoid
the infamous ‘sophomore slump’ and prove to
naysayers that he was more than just a flash
in the pan of reality television, he prefaced the
release with a gigantic media tour. He used the
tour as a platform to inform fans that the album
could be categorized as “more contemporary
R&B” than his debut, and included several more
“radio friendly singles.”
On paper, it looked like Yamin was destined to join
the ranks of the Idol-elite; artists such as Kelly
Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, and Carrie Underwood,
who had successfully separated themselves from
didn’t warrant qualifying it as a ‘sophomore
slump,’ the media attention and overall buzz
that’s necessary for artists to stay on top was
nowhere to be found. In the blink of an eye, Yamin
had found himself a victim of a rapidly changing
industry relying on a mainstream society that
seems to be more concerned with latching onto
new music trends rather than enjoying the ones
they already have.
“You have to stay on top of the tools that are
readily available to you now; social media doesn’t
cost anything,” Yamin adds. “When I was on Idol,
Facebook was more of a college app. Nowadays,
you look at artists that are tweeting backstage
and have hundreds of thousands of followers. I
think being open to whatever the cutting edge
new technology [is] and taking advantage of [it]
helps you gain an audience.”
“These days, I think the artistry gets lost in the
sauce sometimes, so to speak,” Yamin explained.
“Everybody wants to make money off you and
capitalize on your success. It’s a money game,
and especially in the pop world, it’s gotten so
saturated and watered down with people trying
to sound like what’s hot now or sound like
everybody else, as opposed to letting the artist
dictate how they wanna be perceived.”
Yamin, who boasts nearly 50,000 twitter
followers and normally connects with his
audience several times a day, seems to be doing
just that. “Any impression you can make on an
audience in today’s music business is a positive
one,” he notes. “Impressions can be made in
so many ways: word of mouth, forwarding a
link, using Soundcloud, posting on your site,
interacting with fans online; it’s more of an inyour-face approach. And for me, I like that and
I think it’s more beneficial than it is detrimental.”
And in a world where relevance is king but can’t
be pinned down or accurately defined, artists not
dominating the airwaves are forced to determine
how to mold their career into something that
both they and their fans can be proud of. “To
stay relevant, you have to have a good grasp of
what our audience wants from you and what
they expect from you, all the while keeping your
integrity about you,” Yamin says. “It’s a tough line
to walk because you want to stay true to your
music and your audience, but the more time that
“I’ve been focused on evolving as an artist;
learning as much as I can about the business,
about my artistry and staying true to what it is
I’m doing musically,” he continues. “That usually
speaks for itself. It’s the mindset I’ve always had
post-Idol.”
Unfortunately for Yamin, mindsets don’t pay the
bills. In an effort to stay successful and continue
“These days, I think the artistry gets lost in the sauce sometimes, so to
speak, Everybody wants to make money off you and capitalize on your
success. It’s a money game... especially in the pop world...”
the machine in which they came from, refusing
to bite the hand that fed them in the process.
It was this line -- one that has proven to be the
most difficult for nearly every Idol graduate over
the last decade -- that Yamin was determined to
walk with both passion and precision.
“Every year, there’s a new batch of Idol finalists
and the show goes on,” he said. “Life goes on,
with or without you. It’s tougher as the years go
on to keep things going the further removed you
are from the show, if you aren’t Chris, Kelly, or
Carrie.”
Despite being backed by a relatively successful
single and the heaviest promotional tour of his
career, Fight for Love sold just 49,000 copies in
its first week. It was a devastating blow that likely
rivaled a fictional scene in which Ryan Seacrest
accidentally pronounces your last name wrong in
front of the entire world. This scenario, however,
was all too real and couldn’t be easily corrected.
“In hindsight, I think the song ‘No Better’ would
have done a lot better on the radio than ‘Fight
for Love’ did,” he explained. “Everybody loved
that song except for the label, and that seems to
happen all too often in our business. But I try not
to live in the past, as it’s hard to get ahead when
you’re thinking that way.”
Despite keeping a positive attitude about a hard
to swallow situation, the facts remained clear:
while the quality of his second album certainly
elapses, there’s new artists coming out and new
songs being made. At the end of the day, you just
want people to know about you and what you’re
doing.”
But the rules of relevance have certainly changed.
Less than ten years ago, when Facebook was
slowly transforming into a social tool that would
change the world, Yamin was just beginning to
make a name for himself. At that time, the levels
of success a music artist experienced always
correlated with the number of singles their album
produced and how much airplay those singles
received. However, in the digital world we now
live in, where entire albums can be recorded
on an iPhone and artists can connect with fans
and share any aspect of their lives with a simple
click, the definition of success within music is
changing just as rapidly as the industry itself.
This newfound business model is exemplified
by this year’s Grammy Awards; a night that saw
continuous appearances from Frank Ocean and
Alabama Shakes -- two artists who received very
little assistance from mainstream media outlets
on their year-long evolution from club dwellers
to undeniable rockstars.
But they certainly didn’t do it alone. While the
element of “right place, right time” hasn’t gone
anywhere, the avenues available for an artist to
introduce themselves to a mass audience have
grown and expanded significantly in the last
decade.
his music career in light of a radio market that
doesn’t seem to be interested in what he has
to offer recently, he has been forced to find
other creative uses for his talents, such as song
licensing. Recently, he’s licensed various songs to
the likes of Toyota and America’s Funniest Home
Videos, which pay him a predetermined fee for
the rights. “Things like that are getting me paid
and keeping my business afloat,” he said, adding
that he recently started providing songwriting
services for a certain Nashville supergroup; a
large-scale project that will surface in the next
few months.
At the end of the day, Yamin will be the first to
admit that his appearance guarantees are down
and he gets recognized in public less than he did
just a few years ago. But just because his songs
aren’t playing in every Starbucks or Panera across
the country doesn’t mean his undeniable passion
to make music has gone anywhere.
“I wanted to do Idol to establish a career, and
that’s exactly what I’ve done and strive to
continue to do. The relevance stuff is secondary,”
he notes. “I’m still doing what I said I could do,
which is having a career in the music business
and support myself doing what I love. Anything
else that happens above that is just an added
bonus.”
www.officialelliottyamin.com
35
Charles Berger is a tattoo artist who plies his
trade at Heroes and Ghosts in Carytown. We’ve
known Charles for some time, and watched
his talent grow immensely over the past few
years. His work was featured in the Valentine
Richmond History Center’s recent exhibition,
History, Ink: The Tattoo Archive Project.
This project featured the tattoos of current
Richmond VA residents, and documented the
importance of tattoo art in the artistic culture
of RVA as we know it today. We caught up with
Charles to talk about a number of things, from
tattooing in Richmond to Victorian Futurism.
How long have you been tattooing professionally?
About four and a half years, honestly. And any
real progression I have seen has been over the
past two years.
What initially sparked your interest in becoming
a tattoo artist?
I came to Richmond to go to art school. I’ve
always been involved in the visual arts somehow,
mostly through painting, drawing, illustrations; I
got into the graffiti world quite a bit. That helped
me refine my color palettes, dimension, form,
36
stuff of that nature. And as far as tattooing, it
just came naturally in the avenue of the arts. I
have always been intrigued by it, drawn to it. I
had been collecting tattoos for years, and knew I
wanted to make them one day.
It’s interesting--I have found a lot of tattoo artists
come from a background of self-taught art, and
often graffiti.
Yep, there are a lot of tattoo artists that were
graffiti artists. It’s become much more prevalent.
So whose work do you have on you? Throw out
some names.
Greg Aigner, Mike Moses, Brian Finn, Jesse Smith,
Greg French, Scott Sketo, Fred Pinckard, Gunner,
ISH, Professor Falcon, Bok, Scott Parsons, Casey
Middleton, Andy Brodsky, uh.. quite a bit.
It’s definitely something I hear people say in
Richmond.
Yeah, it’s not just a tattoo town but a graffiti town
as well. I mean, here lately it’s really been more
mural-based instead of graffiti-based, but graffiti
will never die.
Yeah, you’ve got a lot, it’s awesome. Well, people
that give tattoos who don’t have tattoos kinda
get...
...looked at funny. Yeah, you don’t have to be
tattooed to apply a good tattoo, of course. [But]
when you have so many tattoo artists around
you, I’m not sure how you can escape it. I can
understand saving spots for people, but at some
point if you’re really that passionate about
tattooing people, I feel like that passion would be
reflected in getting tattooed.
I would like to congratulate you at this time on
being a very very tattooed tattooer... if that’s how
you say it.
[laughs] You know, I have always collected them,
and I will continue to collect them as much as I
can.
So who initially taught you?
I was apprenticed by Casey Middleton, and had
a great amount of influence and help from Scott
Parsons, Greg Aigner, Brian Finn, and the other
guys at Enigma back then. They showed me the
anatomy of machines and how to apply a good
CHARLES BERGER
by JOHN REINHOLD / PHOTo by TODD RAVIOTTA
tattoo. [In] traditional apprenticeships, you’ll
have one teacher and one student. But there
is never a case where you learn from just one
person. You’re surrounded by other artists and
influences, you pick people’s brains all around
you, and find things that apply to your style.
Do you think there is a common thread among
people who get tattoos?
A person that varies from traditional aesthetics,
in a sense. Whether they come from the same
walks of life or not, there is something there
that I guess is a parallel for many. [Recently]
people of a different way of thinking are getting
tattooed. True art collectors are seeing the value
of tattooing and what can be done with it now.
They will continue to collect and they will go to
good artists. That’s why it’s important to stand
out in the crowd of tattooing.
Well, how do you stand out?
[laughs] That’s a good question, man. I feel that
one’s style builds over time. It takes dedication,
motivation, and practice to develop a recognizable
style--something that I work toward every day.
That gets us into the whole traditional vs... What
would you call it? New school?
Well, there’s traditional, illustrative, new school,
realism, etc. I love them all and I respect them
all equally.
What were you initially taught?
I started off doing pretty basic flash off the walls-tracing flash, tattooing existing drawings from
other tattoo artists that know what translates
into a tattoo. And that’s really important, to
have a strong foundation; to understand about
solid lines, bold color, and smooth fades. This
all translates into whatever style you wish
pursue eventually. Someone that uses influence
from whatever style they are intrigued by, and
makes it their own completely--that’s what gets
recognized, and that’s how people build clientele.
What’s your favorite thing about working with
clients? What’s your least favorite thing?
I like clients who know what they want for the
most part, but still let me have some creative
freedom. That’s the best way to do it--collaborate.
Now, I will say that some people come in with
fantastic ideas and I don’t really have to change
much about it. Some people come in with
awesome ideas. But yeah, I like to have a little bit
of creative freedom. And [I like] the ones that tip.
What are the weirdest tattoo requests that you’ve
had?
I was working in DC on barracks row; I was
tattooing a lot of Marines. These guys come in
and one of the Marines had lost a bet. It was a
staying awake for 48 hours bet, or something like
that. So he passes out and goes to sleep so he
has to get one of his friend’s drawings tattooed
on him. And his friend had drawn 2 monkeys
getting it on. I ended up tattooing them right by
his ass crack, on his ass cheek.
My favorite one as of late, a guy came in and said
he wanted his whole right ass cheek tattooed.
He wanted the words “let’s get weird” tattooed
huge on his ass in all sorts of different lettering
styles, all in one. So we did it. We did it on his
whole right ass cheek: “Let’s get weird.” His first
tattoo. It was pretty amazing. And the half sleeve
of Christmas lights is something else…
37
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“Honestly, it has completely saved my life. I’ve made some bad decisions, to
put it lightly, in my life. I’ve gone down some strange avenues and weirder alleys.... It’s really helped me to improve my work ethic, it’s helped
me better myself as an artist, better myself as a person in the way that
I communicate with people, the general public, on an individual personal
basis with people. It’s really helped me improve most of those things. It’s
helped save my life. It’s one of the reasons that I get up every day.”
That’s kind of creative. Creative stuff is cool. But
the “let’s get weird” tattoo, that’s been one of my
favorites so far. That moves us into script. What’s
your history of lettering work?
It’s funny--throughout the years, I’ve talked to
numerous artists about lettering. Artists that do
nothing but [lettering], and [others] who say it
ruins tattoos. The truth of the matter is people are
always going to want lettering. Even if you’re a full
custom artist, people are going to want lettering
incorporated in the tattoo. So it’s important to do
it well. I had an advantage, as far as lettering goes,
being a graffiti artist. I had been practicing for
years. So that translated well into script and other
styles of lettering in tattooing. It came a little bit
easier to me. Now there’s part of me that wishes
I would have spent a lot more time focusing on
figure drawing and actual imagery as opposed to
lettering, but I enjoy doing it. I think it can actually
enhance a tattoo if done correctly.
Tell me a little bit about the Valentine Museum and
your work in there.
It was brought to me by word of mouth. A good
friend of mine had heard about the event. It
intrigued me. You had to send people down to get
photographed and go through a selection process.
I guess they liked one or two of my pieces, and
they ended up using the steampunk wings that I
did as their advertising. It was really an honor; I
had no idea that was going to happen. Honestly, it
was humbling as far as being featured with really
great artists in Richmond. What they were trying
to accomplish with this most recent event was
[showing] where tattooing is now, in Richmond.
It wasn’t focused on the history of tattooing in
Richmond, because that is quite a feat. To get
all the proper information accumulated, that’s
a whole other world. So what they were doing
is focusing on where the artists are now, what
tattooing is now in Richmond, and what avenue it’s
gone down. So it’s really nice to be a part of it. I
love this city and it was nice to be featured in that.
What do you think of tattooing in Richmond?
I love it.
It’s obviously a city that’s mentioned in tattooing,
in the world.
It’s a tattoo town, and I love it. You’ll hear a lot of
people say it’s over-saturated. Sure, there are a lot
of shops in Richmond, and a lot of people have a lot
negative things to say about that, as far as tattoo
artists go. “There are too many street shops,”
“there are too many tattoo artists in this town,”
“it’s really affecting business”... The way I feel
about it is this. Sure, having all this oversaturation
of tattoo shops and artists may hurt business
somewhat, but it’s also bringing the attention of
tattooing to the city, which is helping the city. If
you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing and
you are 100% in trying to improve your craft every
day, you’re going to continue to bring in clientele,
regardless of how many tattoo shops or tattoo
artists are out there.
Do you think what speaks for a tattoo artist is
regular clientele, as opposed to walk-ins?
It can. There’s a lot involved in having and building
clientele. There’s promoting yourself, being
sociable, having good bedside manner, customer
service, all these things. But the most important
thing is doing quality work. That’s it.
Your work is going to always speak for itself.
It has to. That’s going to create word of mouth,
and word of mouth is the most credible way of
promotion. Other people promoting you because
they’ve collected something from you
Where are you now in tattooing? Where are you
with your work and what you do?
I’m still new to the game, man.
Since I’ve known you, I’ve seen you go into your own
realm of sorts. I know no one wants to get stuck in a
catchphrase, so if I were to say steampunk...
Victorian Futurism.
Victorian Futurism, [laughs] I guess you can say
that, but I know it’s something you have been doing
a little bit of.
Yeah, I enjoy doing it. I really love the aesthetic. I
like the culture; it’s based on being a gentleman
or a lady. It’s based on a Victorian attitude and a
Victorian way of life. It’s a beautiful thing. There’s
some class to it. The aesthetic of it is a little more
rough and rugged, but it’s beautiful to me.
It has an element of class, mixed with gears and
Victorian elements, so you can go Art Nouveau
but still keep that traditional style, where you have
heavy lines and stuff.
Sure, you can pull it off however you want, but as
far that whole aesthetic of the Victorian flourishes
and everything, it’s gorgeous to me. It’s got a lot of
nice flow and a good feel to it.
If someone wanted to break into the business and
become a tattoo artist, what do you say to that?
Apprenticeships. That’s the only way to do it;
however long it takes to learn the craft, to where
you can make a good tattoo. There are a lot of
people that are just, literally, ordering kits online,
trying to learn themselves. There’s just no way
that you’re going to succeed at the rate you need
to by doing that. Nor will you have appreciation or
respect for the craft and the industry by doing it
that way.
How has tattooing changed you or affected you
overall?
Honestly, it has completely saved my life. I’ve
made some bad decisions, to put it lightly, in my
life. I’ve gone down some strange avenues and
weirder alleys. Tattooing has brought me back-the combination of tattooing and my family.
It’s a beautiful thing, because without tattooing,
I wouldn’t be able to support my family, and I
couldn’t imagine doing anything else to make a
living, just on a daily basis. It’s really helped me
to improve my work ethic, it’s helped me better
myself as an artist, better myself as a person in the
way that I communicate with people, the general
public, on an individual personal basis with people.
It’s really helped me improve most of those things.
It’s helped save my life. It’s one of the reasons that
I get up every day. [The] second [is] my beautiful
wife Nikki, our daughter Madison, and our soon to
be [born] Aurora. Every day is a gift.
If you were to pick any person in history, tattoo
artist or not, to put a tattoo on you, who would that
person be?
It would probably be a collaboration between
DaVinci, Mucha, and whoever tattooed Otzi the
caveman. Because that shit will last forever.
I know, for a while, you went to California. What
were you doing there?
I tried to leave Richmond--as many do, but always
find themselves back here. I did DC for a couple
of years, then I went to LA. To be honest, when
I went to LA was when I started to see a change
and improvement in my craft. I had the honor
and pleasure of working with some very fantastic
artists out there in a full custom shop, Kayden
Creations. There are a bunch of great guys out
there that really helped me along in improving my
style. I did the LA thing and it wasn’t me. It wasn’t
as gritty and grimy as the East Coast. It was fun,
but my family and home is here. So I came back
and figured I’d give Richmond another shot.
I was lucky to find Heroes and Ghosts, and it’s
really helped me tenfold in tattooing. It has been
by far the best shop I’ve ever worked in, with the
greatest group of guys, and I owe a lot to them for
my career. I wouldn’t be sitting here with you right
now if it wasn’t for my Heroes and Ghosts family-Greg French, Susie and Grady Nash, all of them. I
couldn’t ask for a better place to work. It is hands
down my favorite place I’ve ever been, as far as
tattooing. Just being surrounded by a great group
of artists at the shop and just being able to talk to
them as friends; that in itself has really helped me
to improve. I would say that between my Heroes
and Ghosts family, my immediate family, and
my close friends, they have played a huge role in
where I am now.
www.charlesbergertattoos.com
39
40
STUDIO TWO THREE
by KRISTINA HEADRICK
What do you do when you’re out of art school
and no longer have VCU’s state of the art
equipment at your hands? Ashley Hawkins,
the director of Studio Two Three, is a prime
example of someone who graduated from
art school and took action to solve this very
conundrum. Studio Two Three, a non-profit
printmaking studio located at 1617 W. Main St
in the Fan, is truly an artistic collective for the
city of Richmond. In addition to functioning
as a workspace for artists and as a gallery, I
was surprised to learn about the number of
charitable programs Two Three offers, along
with the opportunity for people to print at an
affordable rate. Studio Two Three is truly a
one of a kind organization.
Ashley is incredibly impressive, as she
runs the Studio, works a part time job, and
currently attends graduate school at VCU,
where she’s working towards her masters
in non-profit management. Her ability to
keep track of Studio Two Three’s myriad
of special programs, gallery events, and
roster of working artists can only be the
product of an authentic belief in printmaking
and Richmond’s artistic community. This
organization runs on soul, and is catalyzed by
Ashley’s artistic approach to problem solving-something she is firmly convinced that art
school fosters. Formed by Ashley and fellow
VCU art grads who recognized a niche that
needed to be filled, Studio Two Three works
to provide a democratic environment for
anyone who wants to make or patronize art
in Richmond.
How long has Studio Two Three been open and
running?
At this location since September 2010, but we
formed in 08 as an organization at Plant Zero in
Manchester. We got this building thanks to Joe
Cypel, dean of VCU School Of Arts.
And you’re the founder?
Yes, executive director, only staff person.
There were four founders in 08. We started as
printmakers getting out of VCU lacking all of
the equipment and resources. The driving force
was to start a communal studio, and there was a
lot of interest. We saw that other organizations
weren’t offering printmaking classes and expos,
so we applied for non profit status.
So tell me more about the programs you offer. I
know you offer a lot of awesome workshops.
Essentially, the lifeblood of what we do is our
artist’s residence program. So artists come in,
they have 24 hour access to the space and all
of the equipment. That starts, for a 6 month
contract, at $90 a month. That works well for
artists who have other jobs and commitments
and are doing 15,000 other things at once, and
it’s a flexible schedule for them. They can come
and print according to what works for them.
It does seem that a lot of people in Richmond
are in that situation--freelancing on a bunch of
different projects, and maybe balancing other
jobs in the mix. Very few creative people are
doing one thing and making a living off of it.
It’s hard--definitely a challenge. I looked and
saw that VCU graduates about 3,000 artists
per semester and about ⅓ of them stay here, but
very few artists cite that as their occupation, so
there are very few people who are working full
time as artists.
I often wonder how many people are out there
trying to make a living off of art, despite the
fact that money is almost always an issue. Given
that artists and arts organizations often struggle
monetarily, why did you decide to make Studio
Two Three a non-profit?
For a few reasons. First off, we do consider our
artist residency program a charity program
because we offer it at a really low rate, lower
than it would cost anywhere else. We’re really
the only place that has 24 hour access and is
printmaker specific. Coming out of school,
you have this great community of support,
you’re talking about artwork, you’re immersed
in that--then you’re out on your own and out
of that world. So we wanted to recreate that
environment for people that are working and
still making art.
Secondarily, for non profit status, we offer
charitable education programs and partner
with other nonprofits in the city. We work with
Art 180, the Visual Arts Center. Church Hill
Academy is one of our major partners. So we
try to offer really low cost or free educational
workshops for them. The same thing goes with
our classes.
Your classes are REALLY affordable!
Yeah, they’re super cheap. We really all came
to it with the perspective of artists. Knowing
that your financial resources are limited, using
your other resources creatively becomes really
important. That’s why we like to keep the
classes cheap, so people can afford to come
in here and learn about these techniques that
we love. It’s easy for arts organization to set
the financial bar too high, so you’re just getting
people dabbling and doing things recreationally
versus getting people who are actually trying to
be real working artists.
Thirdly, with non profit status we do a lot of
grant funding.
Do you write the grants?
I do. I’m actually at VCU getting a masters
in public administration and nonprofit
management. There’s another great resource
called the Nonprofit Learning Point that does
classes on specific things. We have a ten-person
board right now, and a lot of them have arts
backgrounds. Coming from an arts background,
you really learn to be creative in all pursuits,
41
something that people in the business world
don’t always think about. It’s really resource
management and creativity. Also with grant
writing, there’s a lot of reporting and tracking.
Has everyone on the board been with you from
the beginning?
Everyone is a volunteer. So there’s me for the
staff, handling the administrative stuff, paying
the bills, keeping the lights on. One person on
the board has been with us from the beginning.
A lot of people we’ve added over time, but many
have still been with us for years.
So you’re getting a masters, working here... do
you have another job too?
I bartend at Starlite, also. What’s nice about
here is that it’s is such a great community of
people. Coming in to do work doesn’t feel like
“work.”
That’s awesome. Talking with friends who went
to art school, I can only imagine how tough it is
to go from having access to all of these mentors
and materials, then you’re thrown to the wolves.
You get all this training and then what do you do
with it?
And a lot of it relates to access, too. You’re
on somebody’s else’s schedule. Here, [we
have] the 24 hour access, and access to such
expensive equipment. Artists get a key. We’re
always looking for more people, too. We have
an attitude of the more the merrier. We want to
keep building a community and reaching more
people!
I wanted to ask you more about the building and
equipment. Was it all acquired by donation?
We pay rent [and] have a lease. A lot of the
equipment we’ve purchased--stuff like lockers
and ladders came from warehouses that were
shutting down. We’d go help clean them out.
Basically anything we can get at low cost.
So it all has to be really thought out.
Definitely. The expense for the big press is 15 to
20 thousand dollars. It’s crazy, it’s like buying
a car.
Taking that into consideration, would you say
that compared to other mediums, screenprinting
is a more expensive route to go as an artist?
No, not necessarily. Screenprinting is kind of the
cheapest of the processes that we do in here.
Tell me what processes you do here.
We have screen printing; the vacuum exposure
unit for that, which lets people expose their
image to the screen. We have the wash-out
booth. We have etching--we use copper plates
for that. Plate litho. The appeal of printmaking
to a lot of people is that it’s democratic and
accessible. You’re not making one precious
masterwork of art; you can make 500 and the
value doesn’t decrease because it’s in multiple
42
editions. Everything we have is very hands on.
We have a photo litho process too. Plates are
very light sensitive--you can just take a photo
and expose it to your plate. We do relief printing
too, woodcuts and linocuts. [We] have a tiny
letterpress proofing press and some graphic
type too.
Awesome. I like that this is really a collective, a
truly democratic space.
One thing that appeals to people about
printmaking [is] saying its democratic. It is
traditional, and there are digital innovations
and new technological innovations that really
keep it in contemporary discourse as an art
practice. It’s become, I think, more relevant with
digital techniques coming onto the scene. So
many things we interact with on a daily basis
are printed. Our shirts, our thank you bags we
get to-go food in... there’s this really subversive
ability to bring printed artwork into the public
realm in a way that makes people interact with
it and exposes people to the possibility of the
technique, AND is also actually in the world and
not just confined to the gallery or the artists’
realm. Obviously we love the artists’ realm...
But that intimidates a lot of people, too.
It does. A lot of people are put off by it. That’s
the thing--printmaking is a craft and an art.
So there’s something empowering for people
to learn the technical craft side of it, before
even having to conceptualize an art piece. It
gives them an arsenal of tools and techniques
to use to then conceptually drive their work.
So you feel empowered as opposed to sitting
down in front of a canvas without maybe ever
having been taught to paint. That’s scary. I was
a terrible painter and terrified myself every
time I tried to start something. Prints obviously
can go that way too, but it’s comforting and
empowering to have the knowledge to make it
and to have a process. The process can become
part of the content of the work. It is really nice
to bring people in and show them that they can
be artists too.
You all have partnered with some other nonprofits around town; tell me more about that.
One of our major ones is with the Church Hill
Academy. They’re an alternative high school for
at risk youth located at Pater Paul Development
Center. Right now it’s a really small program and
what they do is come here every Friday. This
year we have five students, and they’re working
on relief-printed portraits. They come in and we
show them how to print, they get to see an arts
organization. We offer that program at no cost
to them
We’ve worked with Visual Arts Center on some
collaborative printing projects. Art 180 and
Peter Paul Development Center have classes in
our darkroom. Also through Visarts, we work
on A Space of Her Own, which is a program for
girls from Gilpin Court. They’re paired with an
adult mentor over the course of a school year.
Every week, they sit down and have a meal and
then learn some sort of creative process, so they
come here to screen print.
We’re beginning a program this year with
Binford Middle School, a young printmakers’
program. So we’re taking a lot of the stuff we
already do and combining it with an exhibition
and awards ceremony for students’ work. We’ll
have a young printmaker’s store for them to sell
their printed art, and that money will go back
to fund the program. Then we’re doing a lecture
talk series where working artists come in and
actually get the [students] engaged in talking
about what they were thinking about while
making work, building them up to knowing how
to talk about art in a way that’s not intimidating
to them. Those are our main partnerships, but
we’re starting to work with Maggie Walker
Governor’s School, and possibly the VCU Arts
Communications program.
And these are all things that are opened up to you
because you’re a non-profit?
All of the programs, except from sustained uni
education partnerships, are offered at no cost.
We try to fund all of those through individual
donations and grant funding.
So your silent auction fundraiser this fall helped
raise money for what?
Some programs and also facility improvements.
It helped a lot having the money in the bank
to do that. It’s a big deal. We’re actually doing
another fundraiser April 19th. It’s called the
Cabinet of Curiosities, and it’s a Burlesque Show
and Tattoo Art Raffle. It’ll be at the Studio. It’s
a Friday night from 8-11. It’s going to be $10 in
advance, $15 at the door. I think the Institute of
Burlesque girls have signed on and are going
to do a show for us. We’re working with tattoo
artists in town to get work donated for a raffle.
So that’s going to be really fun.
It’s cool that you’re open to doing things not
specifically related to printmaking. I’m sure that
opens up a lot of doors.
We keep a printed aspect to pretty much
everything we do, but we also like to branch out.
We have the photography workshops, one this
month and probably another in two months.
I wanted to ask you a bit more about the gallery.
I assume you didn’t have one at the previous
location?
We didn’t. I used to run the project space gallery
at Plant Zero but it wasn’t ours specifically.
Moving to this space, we went from a 500
square foot to a 3400 square foot space. It gave
us so much room at first we were wondering
how we’d even fill the space. As you can see,
we’ve ended up having no problem doing that.
The gallery is print specific. We show work of
artists who are partially or primarily working in
print. We don’t take any commission from the
sale of the artwork.
Wow, that is awesome. I assumed, despite the
fact that you’re a non-profit, that you’d have to
take something from the gallery’s sales.
We do ask that the artist donate a print to us,
which we can then use for fundraisers like this
fall’s print auction. It works out being a really
good symbiotic relationship. You spend so much
money, time and effort making work, so we
want them to make as much as possible off the
sale of their work. People expressed interest in
collecting and curating their own art collections-that was something that was an unfulfilled
interest in town. I think our gallery contributes
to that [by] selling prints which are inherently
cheaper--depending on size or medium, they go
for $100 or less. Another thing is that we focus
on showing emerging artists’ work, people who
are just getting started and trying to build their
careers.
A lot of VCU grads?
Yes, and a lot of people who moved to town
because they heard Richmond has a good art
scene and wanted to get into that. In keeping
the work affordable, it benefits the artists
because they can sell more, and it benefits the
community because they can actually afford
to be art patrons. The bar is lower. There’s
something youthful about print in general,
no matter who’s making it and their age. The
ability to interact with and to own prints. There
are obviously prints out there that go for more
than paintings, but I think here it opens it up.
It’s great for artists to be able to sell work and
have shows, get back the investment in time and
energy they put in.
I think such a huge part of this space and what
we’re trying to do is the idea of community
art practice, and that’s something that’s really
growing across the country. It’s such a great
way for people to interact with the broader
community, and share and use the skills that
they have to make Richmond a better city.
That’s sort of a big lofty goal. We all came to it
as artists who were really gung-ho about being
Richmond.
----Be sure to check out Studio Two Three’s monthly
gallery exhibitions and second Saturday workshops.
For more information on using the studio and its
printing presses or community darkroom, contact
[email protected].
43
Bryce Wagoner
by CHAD BROWN
While local director Bryce Wagoner was putting
And
while
his
MeeMaw
took
the
overly
most famous names and telling the story of
the final touches on his debut documentary,
supportive path that grandmothers are supposed
what happened after the camera stopped
After Porn Ends, he obtained the opinion of two
to take when their grandsons inform them that
rolling, the movie offers an inside look at
people any filmmaker exploring the world of
they’re working on a large-scale project, his
an industry that is just as misguided as it is
adult entertainment would want by their side:
grandfather decided to take a road less traveled:
misunderstood. But make no mistake -- this is
his grandparents.
the realistic one. “I told him there was going to
not a film that should be judged according to
be some nudity but nothing gratuitous and he
its cover, which features a scantily clad Mary
“I showed my MeeMaw about ten minutes of
said, ‘Son, you can’t make a lumberjack movie
Carey looking adequately prepared to tackle
the film and told her I had a chance to make
without depicting some trees.’”
the type of wood that doesn’t exactly live in
the forest.
this movie but that it involved pornography,”
Wagoner admitted when we spoke via phone
Mr. MeeMaw had a point. If After Porn Ends were
last month. “After watching the clips she said,
a film about the tree cutting community, a few
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Born
‘Honey, I’m just glad you were the first one to
trees would certainly be depicted in the process.
in Lynchburg, Wagoner spent most of his
come up with the idea.’”
Honing in on a dozen of the porn industry’s
childhood growing up in Richmond, attending
44
St. Mary’s and St. Bridgette’s Catholic Schools.
Sexual Horror which provides a sneak peek
preferences aside to make an insightful film
This led to a desire to be like his childhood hero,
into the frightening world of bondage that you
that appealed to an audience known for
Robert E. Lee, and attend Fork Union Military
never asked for or really wanted to begin with.
watching more hours of others getting it on
Academy with hopes of one day graduating
each weekend than Wagoner viewed all through
from West Point. But unlike his idol, Wagoner’s
Instead, Wagoner took a different route than
college. “This film isn’t about my politics,” he
same-sex school habits finally got the best of
his directorial counterparts. Determined to let
added. “It’s about my profession.”
him. “After three years, I finally decided that I
the actors, rather than the intercourse they
wanted to see girls in school” he said, laughing.
were having, tell the story, he made it a point
It wasn’t long after personally diving into the
“So I transferred to East Carolina University.”
to include less than five minutes of actual sex
subculture that he was so accurately trying to
It was here, after a round of soul searching
footage in the documentary--a statistic that
pinpoint in his film that Wagoner discovered
and a disastrous hurricane named Katrina, that
makes the enthralling story told within After
why the porn stars he interviewed had such
Wagoner finally found the career path he had
Porn Ends that much more compelling.
a hard time leaving their former lives behind.
been searching for all along.
“Watching it eventually became an addiction,”
“That was my intent all along -- we originally
he said, speaking of the hands-on research he
“I always enjoyed dabbling in writing stories;
wanted to show the really bad acting scenes,
completed in order to get himself acquainted
both my half-brother and half-sister were
but they were just too bad,” he said, laughing
with a world he had ignored for the majority
studying theatre at NC State and UNC
at the numerous Razzie-esque performances
of his life. “At one point I had a production
Greensboro, respectively, and I finally realized
he undoubtedly encountered while scouring
assistant dropping off shopping bags full of
I was probably just denying my DNA,” he said.
through thousands of hours of porno clips
DVD’s at my house.”
“So I re-enrolled as an English Literature and
to gather clips for the film’s b-roll. “It was a
Theatre major and started pursuing an acting
real tug of war, which worked out well. My
“At the time, it was just to help get the job
and filmmaking career.”
producers wanted more nudity and I said no-
done, but over the course of making this film,
-we went back and forth on that. I understand
I became a walking Wikipedia for porn,” he
It was this career change -- one that Wagoner
why they wanted more, but it ended up being a
added, laughing. “It’s part of the resume; I was
describes as “hurry up and wait” -- that led him
fantastic happy medium.”
just there to do a job and that’s all it was.”
performing motion capture animations for the
That game of tug of war--one that Wagoner
But while Wagoner may label it as “just a job,”
popular wrestling-themed video game series,
refused to take lying down--is certainly paying
the underlying themes included within his film
Smackdown vs. Raw. “I was fascinated with
off. After Porn Ends stands strong as the number
are anything but. At several points within the
how it worked,” he added. “But again, more
one independent film on iTunes; the number
film, the topic of permanence arose--a subject
sitting around.” In search of a way to kill these
one overall streaming film on Netflix in 2012,
that is just as relevant to Wagoner’s directorial
large blocks of time that involved nothing but
with over 250,000 views; and mainstream
decisions as it is to the subjects who decided
thumb twiddling and shallow conversation, the
attention from the likes of 60 Minutes, CBS’
to open up to him. No matter how fast you run
video game cast and crew decided to pass the
The Insider, and the Huffington Post.
or where you hide, participating in porn will
down a path that included odd jobs such as
time the only way any self-respecting male
be a life chapter that never truly closes. In
would: they sat around and watched really
“I wanted to show some of the nudity but I didn’t
the same vein as his subjects, the undeniable
weird pornography. More specifically, really
want it to become the topic of conversation or
attention that comes along with a film like
weird porn involving vegetables.
the focal point of the film,” he added. I wanted
Wagoner’s also arrives with the notion that as
people to see the film and get my point across
long as he lives, his career will be tied to a film
without having to include a ton of T&A.”
about pornography.
AJ says, ‘Oh my God, how in the world do you
If it seems like Wagoner is a bit out of his
“I’m proud that this will always be with me,”
do anything in your life after that!’
element trying to tell the story of professional
he said with a smile. “It changed my life.” Still
“Some of the guys were sitting across the stage
cracking up,” Wagoner recalls. “And my friend
tits and ass, it’s because he is. It took him less
beaming, he continued, “To get something
“I started wondering what people in porn
time than your average round of bad sex to
made is hard enough, but to get it made well?
do when they’re not in porn anymore,” he
let me in on a little secret. “My relationship
That’s nearly impossible. And to say that this
continued. “That question was a seed with
with porn before this movie was non-existent.
film was made by a Richmond kid from the
water and fertile soil, and it started to grow.”
I didn’t know any porn stars other than Jenna
West End that enjoys Bill’s Barbeque and a cold
Jameson, and that’s only because she was on
sweet tea -- I truly couldn’t be prouder.”
At its heart, After Porn Ends refuses to be just
E!”
another documentary about the adult film
www.afterpornends.com
industry. Wagoner could have taken the easy
Before beginning work on this film, Bryce
way out and allowed the porn to tell his story,
Wagoner had about as much experience
as we’ve seen in previous documentaries such
with porn as your average member of the
as 2008’s The Price of Pleasure, which explores
Pope’s advisory board. As the self-proclaimed
the effects of extreme sexual degradation for
“conservative who made a movie about porn
the purpose of arousal, or 2009’s Graphic
stars,” Wagoner was forced to put his personal
45
Yours, Richmond!
Eclectic
era.
Americana and Al Jaze
Hip hop and NPR Talk.
Home Growns
City Gem
rformance
e
p
io
d
u
st
in
e
v
li
re
o
m
“...
r radio
than all the city’s othe
stations put together.”
“One of the best little
radio stations in America”
Paste Magazine
46
The listener supported, iconoclastic, non-commercial, hyperlocal
Richmond public radio station most likely to play anything.
END OF THE WORLD
reader’s POLL
Remember last fall? There was a lot of hysteria going on at that time over Mayan prophecies that supposedly foretold the end of the world. The fact that you’re here to read this in
2013 proves that there wasn’t any merit to such predictions, but back in December, when
no one knew whether we were going to die or not, we here at RVA Magazine decided to
launch a poll of our readership. We wanted to take stock of the local scene, find out what
up-and-coming artists are generating the most heat, and which local spots have become
our favorite hangouts over the past few years. That way, we figured, if the world did end,
at least we’d know. Thankfully, December 21 came and went, and the days continued on
in much the same way as they had before. Now that we’re sure that RVA will be here for
another year, we’re delighted to be able to reveal the results of our readers’ poll, retrieved
from that heady time when the end of days was still upon us. The thriving local community is what makes this city a great place to live, and on the next few pages, we recognize
the people and places around RVA that we love the most.
Thank you to our contributors Andrew Necci, Kristina Headrick,
Dan Mulrooney and Brian Charlton
47
FAVORITE BEER BAR: MEKONG
Foodie Restaurant: Edo’s Squid
photo by Todd Raviotta
While primarily operating as a Vietnamese restaurant (and a damn good one,
at that), everyone in RVA knows that “Mekong is for beer lovers.” Providing
an extensive collection of craft beers that is unrivaled in Richmond, owner An
Bui’s passion for hops and barley is apparent to all who set foot in the bar area
at Mekong, where the friendly atmosphere makes everyone feel like family.
Its recognition as the best beer bar in America by craftbeer.com only proves
that Richmonders are right to single out Mekong as the place to be for those
who love beer.
Edo’s Squid has a lot to offer within its small corridors. Yes, you will need
a reservation, and an open mind when it comes to personal space, but you
will not be disappointed by the variety of pasta dishes, the quality of which
more than reflects the price. Don’t let the climb to the second floor and
closely placed seating arrangement fool you--Edo’s is as hearty, delicious,
and unique a dining experience as Richmond gets.
2ND PLACE: COMFORT
HONORABLE MENTION: MAMMA ZU’S
2ND PLACE: CAPITAL ALE HOUSE
HONORABLE MENTION: JOE’S INN
Lunch Place (TIE): Kuba Kuba
Lunch Place (TIE): 821 Cafe
photo by Jakrit Patchimanon
Located in the heart of the fan, Kuba Kuba is impossible to miss, with the
large, swanky, blue-hued painting of a man and a dog sprawled out on the side
of the building. Kuba Kuba has great food presentation, outstanding quality, and a very intimate atmosphere. The favorite for lunch is the Tres Leches
Cake, but you shouldn’t leave without ordering the empanadas and fried plantains as well. And while they were honored for their lunchtime delicacies,
Kuba Kuba’s weekend brunches are also not to be missed.
821 Cafe has an ever changing specials menu that seems to hit the right spot
with Richmonders, including the “picnic basket” - a deliciously unique sandwich with grilled brie, fried greens, apples, pears, and honey mustard. Their
everyday menu contains some unusual items as well, from a fried peanut butter, bacon, and banana sandwich to the notorious “Brent Burger”--a pound
of beef between two grilled cheese sandwiches. All of this in the intimate,
European-style dining environment makes 821 a favorite in the Richmond
community.
2ND PLACE: GARNETT’S
HONORABLE MENTION: LAMPLIGHTER
48
Barbecue Place: Buz and Ned’s
Pizza Place: Bottoms Up
Throwing down with and beating the famous Bobby Flay in a BBQ-off, Buz
and Ned’s has dominated the barbecue scene and won the heart of RVA readers with the meaty title. Having cooked BBQ across the country, and shared
secrets with old timers mending the pits, Buz never tasted barbecue as good
as Ned’s. Before he passed away, Ned passed his famous 150-year-old recipe
to Buz, who brought it to Richmond and has been serving it to grateful RVA
diners for two decades. Find Buz & Ned’s on Boulevard--or keep an eye out
for their new location, on Broad St. in the West End.
It’s not surprising Bottoms Up won this category, as it has received many accolades since opening over two decades ago. This gourmet pizza place near
the Eastern end of the historic Canal Walk has wonderful outdoor seating,
with a view of the trains in the historic Shockoe Bottom area. But this isn’t the
only reason to visit--their wide variety of unique signature pizzas and high
quality ingredients keep tables at Bottoms Up in high demand all year round.
The crust is famous for taking over twelve hours to prepare, the sauces are
homemade, and the toppings are fresh and delicious, so regardless of the wait
time, it’s always worth it.
2ND PLACE: ALAMO
HONORABLE MENTION: PHAT BOYZ
2ND PLACE: MARY ANGELA’S
HONORABLE MENTION: BELMONT PIZZA
Late Night Hangout: The Camel
Dance Party Spot: Balliceaux
For many, this will come as no surprise. The Camel has existed right there in
the center of the Richmond universe for many moons; a beacon of great music, art, food (served into the morning hours) and a plethora of great beers.
The Camel exists for the betterment of Richmond, and is one of the only bars
in the city that I will go to without checking the evening’s event beforehand.
Chances are that something pretty cool is going to be happening at “the social oasis.”
2ND PLACE: BALLICEAUX
HONORABLE MENTION: IPANEMA
This category is of dire importance. Sometimes you have just got to dance,
and Balliceaux is the joint, with the perfect touch of swankiness, to let loose
in. You don’t have to wear the jacket and tie every night, but it’s nice to kick
it up a notch and swagger on down to Balliceaux for a good romp with the
beautiful faces of Richmond. Something about the layout of Balliceaux just
naturally cajoles you into dancing; you’re in the back of a nice restaurant, the
lights are low… next thing you know, you’ve just dropped the JB splits in the
middle of the dance floor.
2ND PLACE: STRANGE MATTER
HONORABLE MENTION: OFF THE HOOKAH
49
Local Venue (TIE): The Camel
Local Venue (TIE): Strange Matter
photo byJoe Thalman
Strange Matter, being one of the only bars in Richmond taken seriously as a
great venue, certainly deserves a trophy. Of all the bands in Richmond, the
punk and metal genres make up one of the largest percentages. Strange Matter is a safe haven for the city’s hardest and grittiest music – the music that
has partially defined Richmond for so long. There’s an unmistakable old-fashioned feeling you get when you walk into a Strange Matter show; the arcades,
the cement floor – you can sense the rich history of raw rock in the air.
A tie in this category is almost a necessity, and props to The Camel for racking up a couple wins. The Camel is place where you can go to see literally any
genre of music--you’ll see national touring acts, you’ll see fledgling projects,
and you might even see Bill Murray or Joseph Gordon-Levitt if you’re there
on the right night. Richmonders treat The Camel as a legitimate place to see
great music, not just as a bar, so this win is warranted and well-deserved.
2ND PLACE: BALLICEAUX
HONORABLE MENTION: THE REPUBLIC
NATIONALLY KNOWN RVA BAND: GWAR
Local Record Store: Plan 9
For over three decades now, the people of Richmond have deemed Plan 9 the
place to slake their musical appetites, a fact that continues to hold true today.
Walking into Plan 9 is like walking into a pet store; it’s freaking awesome
and it’s almost impossible to leave empty-handed. Plan 9 gives back to the
community by shelving tons of local music, aiding many local bands. Almost
anytime I go for a long walk, I end up stopping into Plan 9. Convenience pairs
nicely with awesomeness.
2ND PLACE: DEEP GROOVE
HONORABLE MENTION: STEADY SOUNDS
50
With nearly three decades dominating the Richmond music scene, it’s no surprise that our alien overlords of metal, GWAR, continue to capture the hearts
of RVA readers. After throwing the wild and crazy GWAR-B-Que 2012 on the
alcohol-polluted shores of Hadad’s Lake last summer, the band introduced
new guitarist Pustulus Maximus and kicked off the Fate Or Chaos Tour, which
has kept them away from their beloved hometown ever since. However, they
have been working on a new album, and rumor has it that this year’s GWARB-Que may feature the introduction of the group’s very own GWAR-B-Que
sauce, leaving fans with plenty to look forward to.
2ND PLACE: LAMB OF GOD
HONORABLE MENTION: D’ANGELO
Local Metal Band: Cannabis Corpse Local Hardcore/Punk Band:
The Catalyst
These death metal ragers have always had a sense of humor, titling songs
and albums with marijuana-themed parodies of classics from their chosen
genre. However, their music is 100% original and often better than the bands
they parody, so it’s no surprise that the RVA metal community has honored
them in this year’s poll. After a year of lineup instability briefly saw Lamb Of
God’s Randy Blythe fronting the group, Cannabis Corpse have reconstituted
as a three-piece, with bassist Landphil taking on lead vocal duties and GWAR
guitarist Brent Legion rounding out the lineup. Their recent signing to Season
Of Mist Records means we can expect big things from Cannabis Corpse in
the near future.
The Catalyst’s progressive, psychedelic take on metallic hardcore hardly fits
the stereotypical idea of punk rock, but Richmond has always respected musical innovation. Their third album, 2012’s Voyager, drew widespread acclaim
for its elaborate conceptual framework and powerful, memorable riffs, and
their recently released split vinyl EP with French band Aussitot Mort follows
up the album in fine fashion. We also like it loud here in RVA, and The Catalyst deliver a ferocious wall of noise whenever they play. If you haven’t seen
them live yet, make sure you fix that as soon as possible.
2ND PLACE: TUNGS
HONORABLE MENTION: HOLD TIGHT
2ND PLACE: BALACLAVA
HONORABLE MENTION: GRITTER
Local Rock Band: Black Girls
Local Songwriter: Tim Barry
photo by Haley Brooks Gilbert
photo by Duey Nguyen
Black Girls have spent years now ensuring their total dominance over the local rock scene in Richmond, and clearly it’s given them a solid place in the
heart of the community. Dishing out their patented brand of funky, jammy,
soulful rock n’ roll, which they lovingly refer to as “snuff rock,” Black Girls turn
every venue they play into a giant dance party. Everyone has so much fun that
it’s no wonder that, after spending a year playing RVA on a near-weekly basis,
they can still pack the house in places like The Camel and Balliceaux. Lately
the band’s been taking their act on the road, but surely their absence will only
make local music lovers’ hearts beat ever more fondly for RVA’s favorite sons.
Tim Barry has come a long way since his days singing for Avail, the melodic
hardcore band who put RVA on the map in the 90s. In his current solo work,
he’s returned to his roots, playing a distinctly American brand of folk, country,
and blues on his acoustic guitar, and singing with the passion he’s carried
through everything he’s done. His fifth album, 40 Miler, which was released
last year, found Tim in a hopeful, uplifting frame of mind, and working with
quite a few local Richmonders to craft his musical visions. This year, he’ll be
taking those visions on tour all over the US and Europe, representing Richmond VA wherever he goes.
2ND PLACE: MILKSTAINS
HONORABLE MENTION: HEAVY MIDGETS
2ND PLACE: Matthew E. White
HONORABLE MENTION: GULL
51
Local Hip Hop Artist: Black Liquid
This large, fluctuating crew of horn players and percussionists has been impressing crowds from every walk of life around Richmond for years now. With
their mix of upbeat, energetic original compositions and surprising, delightfully
arranged covers, No BS! Brass Band are equally at home performing at a Sunday
afternoon street fair or in a packed, sweltering club on a Saturday night. Despite
founder Reggie Pace’s recent work with Grammy-winning indie group Bon Iver,
No BS! haven’t slowed down one iota, and fans of all ages can look forward to
their latest album, RVA All Day, hitting the streets this spring. Hooray!
He told us in a song: “Liq Don’t Stop”--and anyone paying attention to
what’s been happening in the RVA hip hop scene for the last few years
knows it’s true. With nearly two dozen albums released since 2008, Liq’s
been cranking out powerful, hard-hitting hip hop tracks at an unbelievable
clip. That’s not to mention his two weekly radio shows, his relentless live
schedule--most notably the monthly Face Melt Friday events--and his work
with The New Juice Crew, whose new mixtape, Know The Ledge, sets a new
standard for RVA hip hop. He shows no signs of slowing down, so you can
expect to hear Black Liquid’s name for a long time to come.
photo by Marc Cheatham
Local Jazz/Funk/Jam Band:
No BS! Brass Band
2ND PLACE: SWORDPLAY
HONORABLE MENTION: LUGGAGE
Favorite Local DJ: Long Jawns
Local Artist: Ed Trask
Long Jawns first rose to fame with his deadly sets behind the turntables at Audio Ammo’s legendary Brain Drain parties. These days, party people know that
their best bet on a Saturday night is to hit the dance floor at whatever club Long
Jawns is rocking. However, his recent team-up with Washington DC’s Billy The
Gent as Gent & Jawns has taken Long to a whole new level. Their Diplo collaboration, “Butters Theme,” has been a big hit, and Gent & Jawns will be joining Major Lazer on their spring tour, as well as contributing songs to multiple
high-profile compilations of moombahton and trap music. Look for Long Jawns
to break out bigger than ever in 2013!
Despite the fact that our city is teeming with visual artists, the people have
spoken loudly and clearly in favor of Ed Trask, and with good reason. He is
a prolific artist whose work graces both highbrow and lowbrow locations
throughout Richmond city. His many commissions include paintings for
popular restaurants like Lulu’s and the mural outside Sidewalk Cafe. Trask
‘s contributions to the city extend beyond supplying us with his signature
depictions of Richmond life--last year, he helped organize the RVA Street
Art Festival, and is always vocal about the artist’s role in a community. As
a VCU alumni, Trask may be the unofficial spokesman for visual arts in
Richmond.
photo by Dave Parrish
2ND PLACE: DJ WILLIAMS PROJEKT
HONORABLE MENTION (TIE):
PROVERBIAL & FORMER CHAMPIONS
2ND PLACE: MAMMALS
HONORABLE MENTION: NINT3NDO
52
2ND PLACE: ELIZA CHILDRESS
HONORABLE MENTION: CHRIS MILK
Local Tattoo artist: Amy Black
Art Gallery: Gallery 5
photo by Anthony Hall
We weren’t shocked at all to see that an overwhelming majority of you chose
Amy Black as your favorite tattoo artist. Black, the owner of Trademark Tattoo
in Carytown, has won awards in many other publications, proving that she is
the rightful heir to this title. Her signature style of intricate designs results in
realistic images with a touch of the surreal. In addition to being an amazing
artist with a successful Carytown shop (appointment-only!), Black gives back
to the community through her art via the “Pink Ink Fund.” When Amy was denied her first apprenticeship on the basis of her sex, she decided to empower
women through her work, offering free nipple and areola re-pigmentation to
those who’ve had mastectomies. Girl Power!
Given Richmond’s love of art, live music, and beer, it comes as no surprise that
our readers’ favorite gallery seamlessly merges these three elements that are
vital to our collective existence. The Jackson Ward gallery is committed to
Richmond in every way, providing us with a great venue for art and special
events while preserving the rich history of the city. When the founders of
the gallery chose this location, they saved a National Historic Landmark that
housed Virginia’s oldest firehouse and police station, and their choice also
helped to spawn new businesses in the historic Jackson Ward district. Add to
the equation that Gallery 5 often exhibits art that falls into a price point young
professionals--not just wealthy old-money art collectors--can afford, and it’s
obvious why Gallery 5 is RVA’s favorite art gallery.
2ND PLACE: THEA DUSKIN
HONORABLE MENTION: JESSE SMITH
2ND PLACE: GHOSTPRINT GALLERY
HONORABLE MENTION: QUIRK GALLERY
Local Clothing Store:
Need Supply Co.
Local Thrift Store:
Diversity Thrift
2ND PLACE: BYGONES
HONORABLE MENTION: WEST COAST KIX
When it comes to dressing RVA’s young and hip (that’s you, dear reader),
Need Supply Co. is the chosen (non-vintage) destination. Though the company’s focus has expanded in recent years to their national e-commerce site,
their Carytown store has plenty of local devotees. The store features clothing,
shoes, and accessories from all over the country, along with a small selection
of locally made jewelry. Special events like Need’s “Meet the Maker” series
create an interface between fashion geeks and the brands they covet, something unique among the city’s many retailers. Need stands out for carrying
some high end brands that can’t be found anywhere else within a 100 mile
radius of RVA, like the ever-quirky Opening Ceremony. The store also has the
best selection of menswear in the city (this assumption excludes the tastes
of our preppier brethren).
Every good Richmond resident knows that a trip to Diversity Thrift can be
magical (especially on Tuesdays). Founded to support Richmond’s LGBT
community, Diversity opened in 1999 as a small thrift store that has outgrown two locations and become a Richmond institution. Diversity offers
15,000 square feet of furniture, clothing, jewelry, records, books, and--at the
risk of sounding like a cheesy salesman--so much more, all for incredible bargains. We love that 80% of their profits return to the community, that funds
raised here helped construct The Gay Center of Richmond, and that the one
of a kind furniture finds don’t require assembly (no thanks, Ikea).
2ND PLACE: RUMORS
HONORABLE MENTION: FAN TASTIC THRIFT
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54
INTRODUCING
BEAU
BEHIND THE BAR EVERY MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY & FRIDAY
55
at The Camel
SUNDAY BRUNCH SERVICE BEGINS March 3
ll
Sta
r
s
A
OPEN @ 11AM
1621 W Broad St | Richmond VA | 23220 | www.thecamel.org
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REVIEWS by ANDREW NECCI
Corrosion Of Conformity Destruction
E.D. Sedgwick
The latest incarnation of COC is a return to
their best lineup (the late 80s Animosity
trio), and it synthesises the best aspects of
their many different sounds over the years.
Switching between thick, sludgy riffing and
uptempo crossover thrash, this 5-song EP
should satisfy COC fans of all eras.
These German thrash pioneers are still
shredding in fine fashion in their 30th
year of existence; their 13th album is a
cornucopia of uptempo riffs and raging
vocals. Their drummer sounds kinda
mechanical (I blame an overly sterile
production style), but if you want to
headbang, you really can’t go wrong here.
(Dischord)
Reminiscent of earlier Dischord signings
such as Q And Not U and Black Eyes, E.D.
Sedgwick displays a postpunk/funk hybrid
sound on their latest album, though the
addition of soulful female backing vocals
helps move things in the funk direction.
Catchy and danceable, yet retaining a punk
edge, this LP is enjoyable throughout.
Parquet Courts
Picture Me Broken
Purling Hiss
Most of these songs are under two
minutes long, making this an exercise in
the postpunk-as-minimalism aesthetic of
the Minutemen or early Wire. However,
Parquet Courts mix their undistorted
guitars and precise riffing with more overt
melodies, adding a bit of indie appeal
while avoiding any sign of coffeeshop
wimpiness.
Apparently the Deadsy guy isn’t the only
one of Gregg Allman’s kids with musical
ambitions. His daughter Brooklyn sings for
this band. She’s got a good voice, but PMB
struggle on this EP to decide whether they
want to be keyboard-drenched glam or
chugging metalcore. They might be good
once they figure it out. For now... eh.
Like a time capsule from 1991, this Purling
Hiss album incorporates the distorted
guitars of Dinosaur Jr and Bleach-era
Nirvana with the wistful power-pop
songwriting of Matthew Sweet or Evan
Dando. Heaviness wins the day without
sacrificing catchiness, and everyone wins.
Fans of early 90s alt-rock need this album.
Therion
Torres
These Swedes at least draw influence
from a good source with this album of
French pop covers (including several Serge
Gainsbourg tunes) given the symphonic
metal treatment. But this syrupy,
overwrought style is a plague on modern
metal, and falsetto vocals only work in
metal if you’re King Diamond. Pass.
Spooky gothic pieces for solo guitar and
vocals, recorded in such a way that you
can hear the room they were played in
almost as well as you hear the songs
themselves. Striking minimalist beauty
and darkness, as if Jason Molina, Fiona
Apple, and Mark Kozelek made an album
together. Excellent.
Megalodon EP
(Scion)
Iceage
You’re Nothing
(Matador)
Danish teenage hardcore sensations hit
their 20s in time for a sophomore album
that’s tougher, louder, and features thicker
production than their debut. They retain
their gothic, emotional mood while taking
on a harder edge that puts them closer
to Negative Approach than Joy Division.
They still rule.
Tegan And Sara
Heartthrob
(Warner Bros)
Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara’s seventh
album, is their poppiest yet, but these twin
sisters haven’t lost an ounce of their knack
for memorable choruses and passionate,
emotional melodies. These songs are more
upbeat and danceable than their past
work, but they’re equally brilliant.
58
Spiritual Genocide
(Nuclear Blast)
Light Up Gold
(What’s Your Rupture)
Les Fleurs Du Mal
(End Of the Light)
We Wear White
Mannequins
(Standby)
Torres
(self-released)
Hunter Valentine
Collide And Conquer
(Megaforce)
Hunter Valentine is a pop-metal band
with a female vocalist, dishing out
the same sort of over-the-top glam
toughness that hair metal bands in the
late 80s specialized in, complete with
sugary chorus riffs and super-polished
production. Sounds terrible, I know, and
yet I kind of love it. Poison fans take note.
Water On Mars
(Drag City)
Umberto
Confrontations
(Not Not Fun)
Do synth soundtracks to 70s/80s horror
movies still sound good without the
films they were designed to accompany?
That’s a question Umberto is hoping you’ll
answer in the affirmative. I think it’s a bit
monotonous without a background to
blend into. Still, Goblin/John Carpenter
fans should eat this up.
REVIEWS by DAN ANDERSON
A Boy Named Dick
Aeon Zen
The Banduras
At first listen, A Boy Named Dick appears
to be a loose, off pitch, solo effort that
intentionally attempts to exhibit a notso-serious approach to DIY music. As
this project proceeds, a few gems shine
brightly through the rough, making me feel
more comfortable about recommending
songs like “Sitting Here.”
If you’re totally into progressive metal, and
you think Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell sits
appropriately in the top ten albums of all
time, then you’re probably going to love
Aeon Zen’s Enigma – or hate it. Personally,
I have no interest in a metal band that
over-compresses its instruments and
autotunes its vocals.
This 11-song, garagey rock record is
bright, positive, and uplifting. Recorded
in Richmond, this four-piece includes
harmonica and saxophone, offering a
dynamic take on traditional folk. Clifton
Gibbons’s voice is comforting with its
pleasant familiarity, making River City
easy to listen to again and again.
Graveyard
Jody Highroller
X Dame Grease
Kid Brother Collective
Octavion X + DJShermski
Lights Out is as pleasant of a surprise as
one can expect from a metal record these
days. Don’t expect to find thrash guitar
riffs or super heavy drum tracks here;
Graveyard is more stoner metal than it
is heavy. Lights Out is similar to Black
Sabbath, circa Dio, minus that incredible
vocal range. alley.
It’s difficult for me to admit that this
record has anything relevant to offer
the average listener, but it does. Aside
from Jody Highroller (AKA Riff Raff)’s
nonsensical, stream of consciousness
approach to lyrics, Hologram Panda has an
impressive beat selection that makes this
record’s loose, at times disheveled delivery
palatable.
This 11-song vinyl release originally
dropped in Flint, MI, nearly a decade ago.
Kid Brother nails the mod-rock genre with
ease, so this will likely remind it’s listeners
of bands like Jimmy Eat World and The
Get Up Kids. I thoroughly enjoy “Failure By
Design” and “Too Many Tomorrows.”
Vigilante is the most recent solo effort
from Suburban District standout Octavion
X. With 15 well executed tracks that
include notable cameo appearances from
Conrizzle, Kasanova, and BCMusic1st,
amongst others, Vigilante is a must have
Hip Hop record for anyone who intends to
claim to be plugged into the underground.
A Boy Named Dick
(Self Released)
Lights Out
(Neuclear Blast)
Psychobilly Cadillac
Enter The Enigma
(Nightmare Records)
River City
(Self-Released)
Highway Miles
Hologram Panda (Mad Decent) (Lower Peninsula Records)
…It’s a Household Name
(Self Released)
MT3
(Self Released)
Rome Montana
Sports Bar
I’ve been anticipating this funky, surfinspired rock band’s debut album since I
first encountered them nearly two years
ago. It’s been a long time coming, and …It’s
a Household Name does not disappoint.
“Folk Song” and “Soul Flow” are two of my
favorites. Psychobilly Cadillac reminds me
of the nineties, in a good way.
MT3 is a slick, well put together, ten-track
rap record that’s only pretending to be a
mixtape. The production here is solid. The
lyrics are well balanced and engaging, and
the delivery appears effortless. “I’m Gone,”
“Babylon,” and “Changes” are choice, and
I’m looking forward to Rome’s forthcoming
album.
So many awesome things can be said
about Tyler Perry’s Sports Bar that 50 words
just wouldn’t do it justice, but here goes:
This record is sweet, and it’s easily one
of my favorite garage punk projects, ever!
Six noisy, self-deprecating drinking songs
from Richmond’s own Sports Bar.
Tyler Perry’s Sports Bar
(Self Released)
GLISS
Langsom Dans
(Mountain Lo-fi Recordings)
This is GLISS’s third album, and in my
opinion, their best to date. Moving Victoria
Cecilia to lead vocalist was a great way
to shake some of the unwelcome and
often unfair comparisons. Langsom Dans
is unique and distinguished. I’m into
shoegazing, so this album is right up my
alley..
Vigilante
(Slapdash)
Soilwork
The Living Infinite
(Nuclear Blast)
If melodic death metal is your thing, The
Living Infinite is twenty kick ass songs
that will make you want to smash your
face with a cinder block, drink blood from
a human skull, and punch a random baby.
Personally, I’d rather listen to Black Dahlia
Murder, but I limit myself in this particular
genre.
59
plan 9
PLAN 9
3017 W. Cary St.
Richmond VA 23221
804.353.9996
www.plan9music.com
facebook.com/Plan9music
60
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| RVA Magazine | RVAmag.com
61
chadwick
ashwell
November 15, 1978 - December 20, 2012
Joel
Forshaw
APRIL 23, 1987 - February 9, 2013
nathaniel
daigle
1986 - February 9, 2013
Those who knew Chadwick “Chadrach” Ashwell
knew how much his presence meant to the
development of RVA Hip Hop. As a founding
member of Divine Profitz, Chadrach made a name
for himself in a budding music scene almost
immediately after his relocation to Richmond from
Lynchburg in 2002. Wick was an exceptional,
multi-talented MC/Producer who achieved more
in the past decade than most musicians do in a
lifetime. Recognized for his unique style, his dope
beats, and his well-executed, intellectual lyrical
content, he was respected and envied by those
close enough to covet his acknowledgment and
acceptance. More importantly, Chad was deeply
loved by his friends and family.
On December 20th, 2012, Virginia Hip Hop lost
the influence of an icon, the inspiration of a driving
force, and the further contributions of a legend.
He is survived by his wife Adrianne and his son
Justice. His life and accomplishments can be
celebrated and remembered through his album
Soul Search, the Divine Profitz album The Riot, and
the regionally focused compilation, When Does
a Story Become…Legend. His work can still be
purchased at CDBaby.com and iTunes.
A tribute show at Baja Bean Co. in Chadrach’s honor
is in the planning stages. For more information, or
to make a donation to benefit the family, contact
[email protected].
On February 9th, RVA lost two awesome guys way
too early. We remember Nathaniel Daigle & Joel
Forshaw as friends, artists, jokesters, beer lovers,
dance fiends, teammates, and as brothers to many
in this community. They loved life and lived it to
the fullest; you can see this in all the friends they
had made in RVA and beyond. We will cherish all
the wonderful memories and stories they shared
with us, and as we continue to share these stories
and laughs, we will remember them forever. Peace
my brothers…..and Penis.
Some of Nat amazing art is posted to the right.
Contributions to the memory of Nat may be
made to Art 180 at www.art180.org. Donations in
memory of Joel may be made to Tamera Forshaw,
c/o Joel Forshaw Memorial Scholarship Fund,
Citizens and Farmers Bank, 100 E. Williamsburg
Road, Sandston, VA. 23150.
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RVA Magazine

Transcription

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