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RVA MAGAZINE 11 WINTER 2012
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RVA #11 WINTER 2012
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PHOTO : JOSIAH MARROQUIN
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LAMB
OF
GOD
UPDATE
BY ANDREW NECCI Photo by Travis shin
Resolution was greeted upon its release earlier
this year to the band’s longevity. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, sold more
in its first week than any previous Lamb Of God
album, and receiving nearly universal critical acclaim. All of this was quite a pleasant surprise
for Adler. “To have that kind of continued success
is pretty unprecedented for a metal band that I’m
familiar with, other than obviously Metallica. So
I think we’re beginning to get into some pretty
good company as far as that goes.”
The fact that there’s been no backlash to speak of
is another pleasant surprise. “When you get to a
certain point in your career, especially when you
continue to do well, as we have, everybody wants
to beat you up,” he said. “You become the target.
Instead of the underdog that everybody loves,
you’re kind of the bad guy that everybody wants
to see fail.” The fact that Lamb Of God hasn’t
been forced into this role is something Adler attributes to the deliberate pace with which they
built their career. “We didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s been a pretty slow burn. There wasn’t
any one particular standout moment that made
the band what it is today.”
When we last spoke with Chris Adler, drummer
of Lamb Of God, things were going very well
with the band. They were about to release their
seventh album, Resolution, and had big plans for
a year filled with touring and performances all
over the world. Since then, a lot has happened
to the band, with the lion’s share of attention
and discussion focusing on the arrest of vocalist
Randy Blythe in Prague, Czech Republic on June
28. Charged with manslaughter in connection
with the death of a fan following a Lamb Of God
concert in Prague on May 24, 2010, Blythe and
the band have categorically denied the validity
of the charges from the moment they were made
public. Nonetheless, Blythe was forced to remain
behind bars in Prague for over a month before he
was released on bail, and he still must return to
the Czech Republic in January 2013 to formally
stand trial.
When we recently got back in touch with Chris
Adler to talk about the tour Lamb Of God is currently on, and what the band has coming up in
the near future, we assumed he was probably
sick to death of talking about Randy’s ongoing legal situation. However, he brought up the subject
before we did, and had a better attitude about
the situation than we ever could have expected.
“We’re coming to this with a renewed sense of
how lucky we are, and how fortunate we are to
be doing what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s beautiful to be back onstage again.”
tallic hardcore stalwarts Hatebreed and titans
of Swedish metal In Flames, as well as up-andcoming groups like England’s Sylosis and American supergroup Hellyeah (which features former
members of Pantera, Damageplan, and Mudvayne, among others).
Discussion of the American tour quickly led us to
the subject of returning to Europe. “We want to
get back to Europe,” Adler assured me. “I don’t
know that Randy’s gonna be first in line to go
back to Prague, but we definitely want to.” He
also expressed regret at the consequences of
having to cut their previous European tour short.
“It’s a real trickle-down effect when something
like that happens. It’s not just the promoters and
the band losing a little bit of money. The people
on the buses, the crew and their families--everybody really starts to suffer. Then we had to
cancel our summer tour. So those bands, those
crews, those production elements that were
lined up and rented, all suffered.”
Unfortunately, the continued effect of the band’s
legal troubles make returning to Europe impossible for the time being. “Right now, we’re literally not allowed to leave [the United States],”
Adler explained. “Randy has a trial set for January in Prague. He’s intending to return to face
the charges. He’s facing everything head-on
and with a clear mind, and obviously we’re very
proud of him. [But] until that process comes to
some sort of end, we can’t leave. As soon as it
Once Blythe was released and allowed to return is decided, our thoughts are that Randy will be a
home, the band got right to work booking a full free man, we’ll be able to travel again, and we’ll
US tour. In the interest of making the show as be right back at it.”
awesome as possible, they put a lot of thought
into exactly who they wanted to bring along on Fan support in general has been a big part of
tour with them, and it shows. “I don’t want to Lamb Of God’s last year as a band--a big comfort
have a show of three or four bands that sound to the members during the troubled times they
exactly like us,” Adler explained. “We’re try- went through this summer. “We’ve been very
ing to spread the love a little bit, and put on a surprised by the amount of support that we’ve
good show for everybody.” To that end, the tour gotten, and I think it has to do with us having a
features several opening acts hand-picked by very grassroots fanbase,” Adler said. He also atLamb Of God--including such legends as me- tributes the excellent reception with which
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With some time to gain perspective on the album, he’s very happy with the music on Resolution as well. “I feel like the music is as good and
as relevant as anything that we have done before. We were able to objectively look back at the
catalog and understand where we did something
right and where we did something wrong. On
this record, we tried to pool all the things we did
right, and to improve upon them. I think it offers
a lot of different sides of the band, and I’m very
proud of it.”
Lamb Of God’s current US tour is in full swing,
and Adler and the rest of the band consider the
Richmond date on the tour to be very important.
“It was really important to us to ask the booking agent and the promoters to do a hometown
show,” he said. “There’s been so much support
for us here--whether it be the fans, the local media, people that really helped out while Randy
was locked up, the generosity of the fans that put
on benefit shows and did auctions--and I think
it’s time that we come home and try to put on
a special show for everybody that was there to
support us.”
Rather than the tour beginning here at home,
Lamb Of God actually started this tour in the
Southwestern United States, with the RVA date
not occurring until nearly a month into the tour.
“So we’ve got about a month to fine-tune everything and make sure that nobody gets set on fire
before we get to Richmond,” Adler explained.
“We’re gonna pull out all the stops. We’re putting more into this particular run of shows,
production-wise, than we’ve ever done before.
We want people walking out impressed with the
show. It should be a fun night for everybody.”
And after everything the band has been through
over the past year, playing music and having fun
has become more important than ever. “Honestly, we didn’t know if we were going to be able to
work at all this year, or even past this year,” he
admitted. “We’re very fortunate that things have
worked out. We do a certain thing fairly well, and
we’re gonna keep going as long as we’re having a
good time doing it.” lamb-of-god.com
13
James
Justin
BY S. PRESTON DUNCAN
towards the bandwagon crowd with fanciful notions
of popularity and no soul to enforce them. That being said, the album is, to me, slightly overproduced.
It’s a notably clean recording, and I just want to hear
a little more creak in the floorboards. These are
songs that should be recorded in makeshift studios
along riverbanks.
It’s a small complaint, and doesn’t really diminish
my appreciation of the release at all. In some ways,
it actually allows their sound to capture an essence
of Wilco, one of Burkes’ biggest influences, and one
arguably more prominent than that of Avett Brothers, who seem to be perpetually associated with
JJ&Co in the media.
I don’t know why [journalists] always [compare us to]
The Avett Brothers, other than instrumentation. The
Avett Brothers made banjos and roots songwriting popular again. It’s always been popular and cool to a lot of
people, but they’ve broken barriers as far as genres go.
But Jeff Tweedy[of Wilco] and Neil Young are my biggest influences.
There is a particular and unnamed sensation that
accompanies the realization that a band you’ve enjoyed for a while hadn’t really discovered themselves
yet, all those times you saw them before. It’s a sharp
breath pushing their past performances into the periphery of memory, to be regarded as a soft search
of the great sonic something, a feeling out of unlit
possibilities, a melodic hand sliding down the tight
coiled strings of identity. What was once certitude
of virtuosity, in hindsight, is suddenly revealed to be
another delusion of expectation. You’d feel duped if
it didn’t feel so damn good.
For fans of James Justin & Co, Places is that moment.
For the uninitiated, it is an opportunity to alleviate
your thirsty, neglected ears. With their lineup pared
down to three musicians, the new album features
a radiant harmony between the songwriting and
vocals of James Justin Burke, the banjo pickin’ and
vocals of Bailey Horsley, and Tom Propst’s upright
bass and vocals.
It’s an album of unexpected musical twists, shifts
that rush up on you like a wave you didn’t see coming, right out past where your feet touch the bottom.
The songwriting is genuine, in that the messages
feel timeless and poignant, without any indication
that they were forced to be so. These are songs that
flirt with the slow burn of Southern gothic desolation, and then plunge into the type of giddy innocence endemic among pop love songs--but you
know, lovably. It never dips into the shallows of easy
clichés, nor strains at the worn leather of worldweary Americana seniority.
Their music, much like the musicians themselves,
is at a crossroads in life, a place of evolution. They
have the strength to be effectively honest about
their middle-ground wisdom, which, paradoxically,
endows their music with a sense of wisdom beyond
their years. They split the hills between traditional
country and indie Americana like a motorcycle
speeding through the landscapes they invoke. It’s a
masterfully made wine that you know, regardless of
how great it is now, will age very, very well. You can
tell these guys have found their rhythm.
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Unlike Wilco, who seem destined to reside in the
most enormously populated epicenters of underground music, sidestepping slightly the boggy canals of radio fame while retaining a huge following
of unassailable devotion, JJ&Co may be able to use
Places to get their foot in the door of Nashville radio. Not that it’s clear that’s what they’re going for.
But with country music and culture enjoying bizarre
amounts of mainstream popularity, and indie Americana acts dragging their uprights into the blinding
spotlight of perennial fame, it’s a good time to pick a
banjo. Especially if your appeal traverses that blurry
line between hipster Americana and stadium country without falling into the regrettable realms of either genre.
We encourage people to come talk to us. Some of them
will say “you remind me of the Zac Brown Band” and
some will say “you remind me of Del McCoury” or
Dwight Yoakam. You have your indie kids, and your pop
James Justin Burke: It’s all songwriting. The songs, all country crowd, and the alternative scene, all together in
of them come from different inspirations, but you can a melting pot at our shows, and it’s so great to see them
hear that it’s JJ&Co in all of them. With just banjo and collaborate this energy. We try to return it to them.
upright bass, it’s much more dynamic, more punctual.
Style wise, we were heavier, a little more rock n’ roll In other words, they’re a Richmond band, in the best
sense. Their musical sensibilities echo the audiowhen we started, but now it’s a trimmed beauty.
cultural landscape of a town where subcultures
The focus has changed, and that goes back to me down- comfortable invoking Del McCoury, Wilco, Mumsizing the instrumentation. When you have drums and ford and Sons, or Zac Brown commingle on comkeys and a lot of electricity on stage, it’s easy to jam and mon ground. And I get it. Not just because I think
get lost in that heavy sonic thing. But when you break Zac Brown is fucking great--but kind of.
it down, you’ve gotta be dynamic to engage the crowd.
You’ve gotta write songs like you’ve never written be- It’s hard to put your finger on what makes country
fore. And I put that pressure on myself. A lot of people radio, well, country, when they play everything from
don’t work well under pressure. I like to put that pres- traditional country to Southern rock to straightforsure on my shoulders, and try to write the best I can, ward pop with an accent. By the same token, it’s
and perform the best I can. It’s a service to our fans. We not easy to single out exactly what it is that gives
want them to buy Places and be taken to another place. a particular act the street cred required for underAnd it was a very easy album to write when that pres- ground fame. But as an admitted patron of country
radio, Jackass Flats shows, barnyard pickin’ sessure was on.
sions, and Tim Barry sets, I get the impression that
The album as a whole is transfixing, and I love it, but JJ&Co has what it takes to make it on both sides
I’m not sure there’s really one song that grabs me of the fence. And while I don’t hear Zac Brown in
more than the others. And I don’t know if that’s a there, at all, there is the common sentiment of a
good or bad thing. But there’s something to be said songwriting style shaped by landscapes, front porch
about finding palpable authenticity in Americana philosophies, and the fires burning in the backyard
music right now. It’s become strangely hip, which of inspiration.
has endowed the genre with a certain magnetism
jamesjustinandco.com
15
Unholy
Thoughts
BY addison herron-wheelerphotos by charles anthony lynch
In Richmond, hardcore, punk, metal, and crossover
bands pop up all the time--incestuously sharing
members, recruiting friends, feeding off of past
bands and lineups for inspiration, then warping it to
make something new and different and fresh. What
makes Richmond’s own Unholy Thoughts stand out,
despite the fact that they are doing all the aforementioned things, is that they have staying power and
truly fresh ideas.
They have kept this particular project on the back
burner until recently, but the band that is now Unholy Thoughts has been technically in the making
for the last five years. Although it is common when
surfing the web to turn up reviews calling them
crust, and they do undoubtedly play a hard-hitting,
groovy brand of hardcore punk that could be labeled
as such, they are far from the type of crust band that
wears identical bullet belts and black-and-white tshirts and plays nothing but recycled Discharge riffs.
Their music can be compared to the loose, rock n’
roll-infused stylings of Annihilation Time and Poison
Idea, but with a tinge of Eyehategod-esque sludgieness and a hint of classic 77-style punk that is missing from much modern hardcore. In short, despite
their emergence in a scene that produces many
clones, they are actually a unique and original band.
Recently I caught up with Kenny Ball, bassist and former singer of Government Warning and Southside
Stranglers, and guitarist Kevin Guild, formerly of the
Southside Stranglers, to talk about their progression
as a band, the changes they have undergone since
the band’s inception, and the international good reception of the new record. The band has been together in some form or another as far back as the
heyday of Government Warning’s local and international success. “When we first started trying to do
the band, if my memory serves me, we planned to
call it Malignant Youth,” says Kenny of the band’s
formation. “It was decided a little later on that name
was too reminiscent of Malignus Youth from Arizona. It was Mike Toombs and I. That was around the
time Mikey and I were doing Government Warning
and about to disband End it Quick. We just wanted
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to play something heavier that derived its strength
from more of a crushing mid-tempo pace rather
than the blazing fast speeds we were used to. We
were listening to a lot of Violent Minds and developing a taste for the old, heavy UK sound. It dawned
on me much later that I was heavily influenced by
Dayglo Abortions as well. I just wanted something
much darker and Mike was with that, too.”
Shortly after the release of their second demo, Eric
was replaced by Danny Hash on drums, and Alan
Lawson joined as a second guitarist, giving Unholy
Thoughts the lineup they have today. Government
Warning and the Southside Stranglers both disbanded, and they suddenly found themselves with
much more time to focus on Unholy Thoughts. They
decided to hunker down and release a full-length album, entitled The Attic. They also continued to play
shows and build up more of a following locally and
internationally. Soon they were picked up by Even
Worse Records in the Netherlands. “We already
had a big European following,” says Kevin, “and Even
Worse contacted us and wanted to put out a pressing of 500 vinyl records in Europe.” “We got that
hookup from our friends at Vinyl Conflict, but they
went under shortly after,” adds Kenny. “Then Tim
from [local label] Forcefield Records approached
us and we signed with them, too.” Now that Unholy
Thoughts are a part of the Forcefield family, they
have been playing even more shows, such as the
Forcefield Records showcase at Strange Matter on
October 12th.
He and Mike decided to join up with Kevin and
another friend, Paul Ballard, to form proto-Unholy
Thoughts. At the time, Mike was doing vocals and
the rest of the lineup was fluctuating and sketchy.
“That first show at Nara was a mess,” Kenny admits.
“In my own opinion, we sucked. I think we were just
smoking way too much pot at practice. After that
show we took a pretty significant hiatus because
Paul disappeared and things weren’t really moving
forward in the way we wanted them to. Mike, Kev,
and I started Southside Stranglers in the meantime.
After that we lured Ricky [Olson, their current vocalist] away from DC (after living there for all of ten
hours or so) and added Eric Hancock on the drums.
We started to make some progress and ended up
So what’s next for Unholy Thoughts? While they
playing our next show in August of 2010.”
adapt a nonchalant attitude and claim that everyAfter this, they began to play some more local thing is up in the air, it seems that they have more
shows and produced their first semi-official record- plans in the works than many bands. “We are gonna
ing, although it was done by a friend on lo-fidelity go do some weekends in November up and down
equipment and not regarded as a serious effort by the East Coast due to a short leash provided by
anyone in the band. “The first demo was a six-song, the long arm of the law,” says Kenny. “We’re workfour-track demo in our old storage unit space, re- ing out some new songs ever-so-slowly, and we’re
corded in 2008 I believe, which became two songs gonna hopefully make another 12 inch when we
due to time and effort shortage,” says Kenny. “It was have enough shit. Ideally next summer when we
a big pile of shit that was barely heard by anyone. don’t have piss tests and all the fun shit, we’ll set
I don’t think anyone even has a copy of that any- out for some actual road time. I wouldn’t mind trymore. The only song I remember having done was ing to check out some other countries too, maybe
called ‘Methadonia,’ which later became the song sneak on up to Canada for a little bit, who knows.
“Tradition” that is on the LP. After we started on At this point, anything and everything sounds too
the second lineup with Eric Hancock on drums, we ambitious.”
recorded the 2010 demo, which we called Sleep. I
remember distinctly that the first three songs Mike unholythoughts.bandcamp.com
and I worked out were what are now called ‘In Living
Color,’ ‘Black and Red,’ and ‘Whiskey, Weed, Girls
and Speed.’”
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Eternal
Summers
by shannon cleary
PHOTO : Joe Unander
While it is not actually the vanished island
community of early United States history,
Roanoke, Virginia has long been a sort of
cultural lost colony. It’s no wonder that, in recent
years, the city has taken on a majestic quality.
The bands that make up the Roanoke-based
musical confederation known as The Magic Twig
Community--including The Sad Cobras, The
Young Sinclairs, The Missionaries and Eternal
Summers--are a testament to this fact. With
this year’s release of their second album, Correct
Behavior, Eternal Summers have grown beyond
the boundaries of their close-knit hometown
scene, while still finding a way to stay true to
their origins.
The easy birth of Eternal Summers was due in large
part to the enthusiasm of guitarist Nicole Yun and
drummer Daniel Cundiff, who quickly discovered
a lo-fi aesthetic that set them apart from their
peers. “We decided early on that it made more
sense to really focus on the impact we could pull
off in our songs,”Yun explains. “We could have
just played loudly, and that would have probably
been cool. Yet it seemed more fascinating to take
the quiet parts and make them quieter. That way,
we could really make louder moments resonate
through a particular song, and leave a lasting
impression.” This technique is prevalent on their
first full-length Silver, released in 2010 on Kanine
Records. “Running High” and “Pogo” are strong
examples. “Running High” relies heavily on giving
the space between notes and chords as strong of
a focus as Yun’s vocals. “Pogo,” on the other hand,
is a bit more straightforward in its upbeat tempo,
while still reflecting their initial intentions.
18
One particular instrument deserves a big part of
the credit for the way the early Eternal Summers
sound developed. The Parker Nitefly guitar is
known for its ability to bring both strong low and
clear high tones. Yun’s use of this particular guitar
allowed Eternal Summers to achieve the lowend that would typically be supplied by a bass
and perform as a bassless duo without leaving
any sonic elements missing from their songs.
However, the unfortunate theft of Yun’s Parker
Nitefly while the group was on tour changed
everything, and helped shape how their sound
would develop in the future.
Yun replaced the Parker Nitefly with a Fender
Telecaster, but it wasn’t the same. There was
definitely something missing. This is what led
bassist Jonathan Woods to come into the fold.
“We were never married to the idea of being
a two-piece, and I had already played in a few
bands with Jonathan,” Cundiff says. “He seemed
like an ideal fit.” Yun’s transition to playing a
Fender Telecaster helped her to make her guitar
hero dreams come true. “With Jonathan there, it’s
a whole new idea as far as how I can approach
a song,” she explains. “It lets me focus on riffs
and solos in a way that I would have never really
considered before. As a result, I feel like I have
gotten better as a guitarist, and we as a band are
better for it as well.”
The inclusion of Woods also helped the band to
have a different perspective in regards to their
older songs. “It was never an issue of songs not
being fun to play live,” Cundiff explains. “Nicole
and I wouldn’t have done this band if that
were ever an issue. Having Jonathan in the mix
definitely helps us work on the older songs a bit
differently. Whether that means making them
faster or building intensity in new ways, there will
probably always be songs from the earlier records
that we will play or bring back.”
After a few tours with Brooklyn indie-folk heroes
Woods, Eternal Summers were ready to return
to familiar Roanoke studio Mystic Fortress in
order to record Correct Behavior with engineer Joe
Lunsford. “Working with Joe and Mystic Fortress
feels like home to us,” Yun mentions. “For Correct
Behavior, it felt natural for us to potentially take
more chances. We are a three-piece now, and
these songs weren’t too far removed from what
Daniel and I were writing before. They were
definitely different enough that maybe there was
something that we had to acknowledge there.”
While the band still decided to record to analog
tape, the biggest change was the mastering
process. The tapes for Correct Behavior were
sent to Sune Rose Wagner of The Ravonettes
and producer Alonzo Vargas for mastering. The
band felt nervous at first, but when they heard
the results, everything was to their immense
satisfaction. “I was in Korea when I had a chance
to hear the final touches and I couldn’t believe it,”
Yun recalls. “It sounded bigger and grander than
I could have ever imagined. It definitely made the
record.”
When listening to Correct Behavior, it’s easy to
spot how important a record this is for Eternal
Summers. This is a band figuring out a proper
balance between two different eras of their
PHOTO : andrew st. clair
PHOTO : brian hamelman
PHOTO : samuel lunsford
existence. “Wonder” and “You Kill” add more
momentum to the up-tempo numbers from
Silver, as well as showcasing Yun’s harmonious
vocals reaching epic heights. “Millions” displays
Yun’s growth as a guitarist with a stronger
understanding of her craft through the inclusion
of varied effects. One song in particular that sticks
out is “Good As You,” a slow jam that escalates
when it hits each chorus, and feels like the perfect
middle ground for the band. “With that song, I
can see how someone might say that it reminds
them the most of our older material,” Yun says. “It
definitely works in the slower build and focuses on
some of the isolated energy that we tried to pull
off on Silver. It’s also one of the first songs that we
had written for Correct Behavior.” It’s an absolutely
remarkable standout from a quality release that is
filled to the brim with beautiful, lush surroundings
and clever throwbacks to sounds from the eighties
and nineties.
Since its release, Eternal Summers have been
on tour nonstop, hitting destinations around the
country and garnering rave reviews for Correct
Behavior, even having “Millions” remixed by
Toronto artist Teen. One might wonder if all of the
touring that Eternal Summers does is a means of
escaping Roanoke, but Cundiff is quick to defend
the city, and clarify their continued desire to call
Roanoke home. “Some might see what we are
doing as a way of getting away from here. I don’t
see it that way. The laid back feel and the lack of
competition amongst all of the bands is always
going to be comforting. Everyone just plays to play
and it’s easy to find people that are creative with
desires of starting bands. It was that way when
a lot of the early Magic Twig stuff was getting
underway, and remains the same now. If anything,
it’s a nice breather to come home to Roanoke after
spending a good amount of time away from here.”
Eternal Summers are only a small part of the
Roanoke music community, but their efforts as a
band are bringing attention to the entire city. The
possibility of opening for a Jenny Lewis solo tour
is just one hint of what is still on the horizon for
the band, as they continue to enjoy an excellent
rapport and develop a stimulating creative output
that rivals the biggest names in the music world.
eternalsummers.bandcamp.com
19
“if you’re going to ask me to pay
and come see your show, it needs
to be because you think you’re
doing something great,” he says.
“For the last 6 years, we’ve just
toured our hearts out teaching
people how to love and experience
rock and roll.”
20
As the lights dim and the house music slowly
becomes awkward silence, the opening band
appears from behind the curtain. As usual, you’ve
never heard of them; and by the looks of things, you
probably don’t want to. There are four of them; a
bass player and guitarist who could be picked out a
lineup of generic local band members, a drummer
who has an eerie resemblance to Ryan Gosling, and
a lead singer who looks like he just left the set of
Sons of Anarchy, complete with unkempt hair that
hasn’t seen shampoo in days and a jean jacket that
perfectly walks the line between horribly cliche
and incredibly badass. They take their respective
positions, with the singer sitting down to a piano
that has obviously been to hell and back, perhaps
as recently as yesterday. You roll your eyes.
The band in question is the only thing that stands
between you and the band you actually paid to
see. While they may look like a bunch of mangled
misfits, they prefer to be called J. Roddy Walston
and the Business. And the show they’re about to
put on will make you completely forget about the
party you originally came for.
While the aforementioned scenario is completely
The rock and roll of which Walston speaks is
authentic -- a piano driven soul and gospel
concoction that will make you dance around the
living room in your underwear while taking shots
of Jameson for breakfast. If Steven Tyler sang for
the Ramones and Lionel Richie kept pace with
infectious piano licks that made you close your
eyes and grit your teeth, you’d have your average
J Roddy Walston and the Business song. And in
a fabricated music age dominated by bleep and
bloop, they may just be some of the purest tunes
modern rock and roll still has to offer.
That somebody was Heather Hawkins, a member
of the Vagrant community. She passed the catchy
tunes onto Kevin Augunas, who at the time was
wrapping up production on the latest offering from
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Augunas
took an immediate liking to The Business,
eventually producing their 2010 self-titled record.
Building on the potential displayed on Hail Mega
Boys, it was polished, complete with layered
musical elements and heavier themes. It was a
record that screamed, “If we’re going to party, it is
going to be a really fucking intelligent party.”
“When we started playing festivals, I really noticed
it,” Walston recalls, discussing the impressive
festival circuit the band has conquered over the
last year and a half--which includes everything
from Austin City Limits to Lollapalooza. “With the
exception of a few headliners, there isn’t really a
rock and roll circuit anymore.”
But just because you throw an intelligent party
doesn’t mean anybody is actually going to show
up. After years of paying their dues, getting noticed
by a prominent indie label, and creating the record
that should have made them a household name, J
Roddy Walston and the Business had nothing to
show for it. And the band had finally reached the
end of their rope.
As for his own band, Walston has whittled a
description down to caveman terms. “There’s a
primal element to our band, like monkeys beating
on drums with a bunch of sticks,” he says, laughing.
But while the last 18 months have been good to J
“We took on 2011 with the mentality that we may
never make another record, because things just
aren’t working out in our favor. So let’s go out our
way,” Roddy says. “So we decided to just throw a
bunch of party shows.”
J. RODDY WALSTON
BY CHAD BROWN
PHOTOS BY andrew reilly
fictional, it’s one that Jonathan Walston -- the
biker gang lookalike occupying the piano -- has
experienced far too many times. “We’ve had to
create our own audience in every city,” Walston
tells me when we meet for tacos and tequila. “It’s
been difficult. Town to town, we’ve had to teach
each city how to be our crowd; five, ten, one
hundred people at a time.”
It may sound like a sob story, but it’s accurate if
nothing else; as he sips on his tequila, the crustyyet-fashionable lead singer fondly recalls playing
to a handful of fans who were way more interested
in what beer was on tap than the band about to
take the stage. And in an internet age that has
produced hipsters known for standing at shows
with their arms folded, wearing a blank stare
that demands to be entertained but refuses to
help their own cause, J. Roddy Walston is doing
their best to turn up the volume and dust off the
dancing shoes.
“I believe in the mentality that if you’re going to
ask me to pay and come see your show, it needs
to be because you think you’re doing something
great,” he says. “For the last 6 years, we’ve just
toured our hearts out teaching people how to love
and experience rock and roll.”
Roddy Walston and his Business, the monkeys and
their drum almost didn’t make it out of 2011 alive.
For years, the band sent hopeful Myspace messages
to promoters in an effort to book basement shows,
and begged friends of friends to let them sleep on
their floor. They toured relentlessly, keeping their
road crew light in order to keep costs low. “We’ve
seen so many bands make a little bit of money and
next thing you know, they’re touring with their
rap entourage,” Roddy says. “It’s just not a good
situation.”
In 2007, the band released their first full length,
Hail Mega Boys, which Roddy describes as a
collection of songs he worked on solo and finally
decided to put a band behind. “With that record,
we just wanted to make a party record,” he says.
“It was fast and furious and we thought, ‘Ok, this
is fun.’”
The party continued on the road until 2009, when
somebody finally took notice of the catchy tunes
that were backed up by a live show that took on a
life of its own. After a slew of shows with Murder
by Death and the Hold Steady, both of which
are signed to Vagrant Records, somebody finally
started to pay attention.
By “party shows,” the piano man is referring to
a move that, in hindsight, may have saved the
band he had worked so hard to create, establish,
and keep. “Tours were crappy, people just weren’t
paying attention, and we were worn out,” he
recalls. “We made a great record, we put on great
shows, and still nobody cared. It was frustrating.”
So in the spring of 2011, after a full year of grueling
tour in support of their Vagrant debut, the band
decided to put their best foot forward, playing
weekly residency shows for a month straight in
Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. “The
press wasn’t writing about us; so that didn’t work,”
he said. “What worked was somebody seeing us
and wanting to bring their friends next time we
were in town. So we decided to pick a few key
cities and set up camp once a week to see what
happened.”
The result was a word of mouth relay race that
normally begins with a rave review from Pitchfork
or Brooklyn Vegan. Only this time, the word of
mouth was taking place because a band was
doing exactly what they get paid to do--go out
and impress whatever lucky music fans decided to
wander into their show. “We dedicated ourselves
to those cities for a month at a time, determined to
21
special thanks to brandon crowe for getting this together. roll tide!
22
show those people how to enjoy the party we wanted
to throw,” Roddy recalls. “We put our hands on the
steering wheel and decided to take it to the limit.
After that, the pieces started falling into place.”
The pieces came in the form of high-profile tours
and opening band slots, which included the likes
of Shooter Jennings, Deer Tick, and the Drive-By
Truckers. The icing on top of a delicious change of
pace, however, was a last minute phone call in the fall
of 2011 asking if the band had plans for Halloween.
“We had just finished a stint on the West Coast when
we got a call asking if we wanted to open for Weezer,”
Roddy, who considers Pinkerton to be one of the best
party records of all time, remembers. “We drove 18
hours straight to open that show. It was awesome.”
But while the band was graduating from house shows
to House of Blues, another important adjustment
was brewing behind the scenes. After spending most
of their professional career in Baltimore, two of the
four band members made the move to Richmond
in an effort to settle down and have a place to call
home when they weren’t on tour. “When we moved
to Baltimore, we didn’t have anything established
anywhere else, so Baltimore became where we were
from,” Roddy explained. “Moving to Richmond, I went
out of my way to meet the people and the musicians
here in an effort to understand how Richmond works.”
Walston, who is no stranger to the River City,
remembers passing through in the early 2000’s, only
to experience a city that had deep roots in a violent
hardcore scene and wasn’t afraid to make that fact
painfully obvious. “I used to pass through, and my
friends would play in town and get beat up for no
reason,” he said. “We passed through on tour, but if a
Richmond show got canceled, it wasn’t the end of the
world. It’s hard to convince your band to keep playing
a city that continually gave them black eyes after the
show.”
Now that he’s lived here for a few years and befriended
local musicians such as The Trillions and Matthew E.
White, Walston has no problem admitting that the
aforementioned shiners have been exchanged for
fresh scallops. “I think Richmond has the potential to
be an unbelievably amazing place -- the restaurants
that have popped up even since I’ve been here are
just incredible. There’s no denying the fact that
Richmond has heavily evolved over the last decade.
That’s pretty obvious.”
But above all, Roddy seems genuinely excited to
befriend the community that made Strike Anywhere
and GWAR common names. “This place has that
Avail mentality,” he says. “Once they love you, they
will always love you. And I’m really excited to be a
part of a community like that.” The community in
question is one that is known for being rowdy, wild,
and consuming more Jameson than any other city
its size should ever try to tackle. And while I didn’t
double check with him to make sure, I’m pretty sure
that’s exactly what The Business is looking for.
jroddywalstonandthebusiness.com
23
Few, if any, Richmond musicians have a legacy
like that of Fun Size frontman James Menefee. As
a promising young lad in a budding scene, his early ventures into music found immediate acclaim.
Where the 90s-era Richmond music scene was
concerned, Fun Size weren’t just any band. For
many in the city, Fun Size was one of the greatest things to ever happen to Richmond music. It
took the four members to places no one could
have even imagined. And just when you thought
they were about to venture even further, it was
over. Now, more than twelve years later, Fun Size
are together once more, and with better heads on
their shoulders, they might be able to give it the
shot that they earned long ago.
24
fun
An introduction to punk rock can happen in several ways. Some have an older sibling who acts as a
resource, while others learn about it from friends.
The latter was the case for Menefee, and his gateway was none other than Fun Size drummer Allen
Skillman. “I have known Allen since I was four,”
Menefee explains. “He grew up across the street
from me and had moved around a bit before finally returning back to the area. When he did, he
had all of these records from bands like Screeching Weasel, Face to Face, Descendents, All, that
kind of stuff. It was this So-Cal punk that I was
immediately drawn to.” This was the fuel needed
for Fun Size to take shape, which happened when
most of the members were just twelve years old.
For the most part, they were just trying to figure
out how to play their instruments. “By the time
we put out our first record, I was fifteen,” Menefee reminisces. “It felt like there weren’t any poppunk bands in Richmond at the time. It helped us
to try to discover how we could create our own
scene, and the time period seemed instrumental
to this. We were all a little more open, less jaded.”
After developing a fanbase in Richmond, Fun Size
wanted to go on tour. With no real help or assistance, Menefee had to reach out for advice from
someone. There was one obvious candidate that
size
INTERVIEW BY Shannon Cleary
PHOTOS BY Sarah Walor
outing. However, the mistakes and disasters
were learning exercises for everyone involved,
and if not for these experiences, what came next
may have never occurred. They were offered the
chance to tour with Discount that fall, and the
low-level buzz surrounding the band helped put
touring into perspective. “After that winter, we
decided to tour on the weekends and spend the
summers on full-fledged tours,” says Menefee.
This also led to their relationship with Vinnie
Fiorello of Fueled By Ramen. “I had sent Vinnie
The first tour took place the day after Menefee a couple demos. This is right when Fueled By Ragraduated from high school in the summer of men started. He wanted to put out a seven-inch.
1996. Fun Size didn’t fare too well on their first We were determined to tour on this release, and
it set the tide for everything thereafter.”
would prove to be integral. “We had decided we
all wanted to go on tour, and the only person I
knew that could guide me on this was Tim Barry,”
Menefee recalls. “So I knocked on his door, and
he showed me maps. He illustrated how to set
up an itinerary, how I could set up connections in
each town, make phone calls and see if my band
could play. It was as if he were like, ‘Go forth, my
child, and spread your pop-punk love with the
universe.’”
The release of this seven-inch and the subsequent tour in the summer of 1997 would lead to
great things for Fun Size. After their first month
long tour led them to Gainesville, members of
Less Than Jake caught their performance, which
encouraged Fiorello to approach the band about
recording a full-length. “They were more or less
like if you want to do a full-length, we’ll put it out,”
Menefee says. “And I got really excited because
we had all of these songs we had written over the
course of three years, and we could finally have it
all documented. Nothing would go unaccounted
for and we could record everything.”
25
After Fueled By Ramen released this LP, entitled
Glad To See You’re Not Dead, Fun Size started picking up steam. “Everything started to come a bit
easier and people were taking notice,” Menefee
says. “I was in college at the time and we were
receiving mail from all around the country. In-between classes, I would try to respond to as much
of the mail as possible. I would go to pay phones
and book tours. It was a pretty monumental time
for us.” Unfortunately, this kind of hyperactivity
can become detrimental to a band’s mental state.
Fun Size had done so much since their preteen
origins. Now, at nineteen, as they were becoming
adults with new responsibilities in their personal
lives, they were signed to Fueled by Ramen and
touring rampantly. “The record dropped in May of
1998 and we spent a summer on the road,” Menefee explains. “When we got home, we were really
exhausted and burned out. What we needed was
someone that may have been older, wiser, and
in the industry to tell us that this was just kind
of what happens. You need to straighten up and
get through this hump. Every band goes through
this, [but] we didn’t see it that way. We weren’t
getting any new songs written and priorities were
becoming skewed. Finding time to be a band was
becoming more difficult. And it was annoying, because we were actually doing the best we were
ever doing, and I couldn’t see that then.”
One particular incident involving a missed touring
opportunity ended the band for Menefee. Fiorello
made a last minute call to the band about jumping on a few dates of a tour featuring Snuff, Less
Than Jake, and Discount. “Vinnie wanted us to
meet them in Atlanta to join this tour,” Menefee
relates. “I called everyone in the band. Everyone
couldn’t do it because of work or other reasons,
and the call I made back to Vinnie was the final
push in ending the band. He couldn’t believe that
we weren’t able to jump on board. I realized then
that I needed to be in a band that could just be
on the road. That was enough for me to try and
figure out where Fun Size was going.”
so bad that I was willing to sacrifice everything.
Then we got signed by MCA in 2002 and it was
all happening. I might have not seen it the right
way, but I thought Fun Size didn’t work because
we didn’t work hard enough for it. So when we
signed to MCA, I was convinced we had made it,
and it definitely built us up.”
Unforutnately, though, the label folded soon after signing River City High. They did their best
to carry on, but were never really able to recover
from the letdown. A brief opportunity that arose
from an appearance in an MTV contest seemed
a possible savior for River City High, but at this
point they were not the same band that people
had become introduced to through their early
Even as Fun Size played their last shows over the releases on Doghouse Records. “There was this
next few months, Menefee was noticing new fac- three year lapse where no one really got to see
es in the crowd. It made him realize that although the evolution of the band from pop-punk to this
the breakup was going to have to happen, this bar rock sound,” Menefee explains. “The inspimay have not been the right time to do it. “Our ration behind it was a push from the label that
last show was huge and it really bummed me out,” led us to believe that pop-punk was dead. We
he says. “I did realize that this had to be done, be- wanted to keep moving forward, and our music
cause not everyone’s head was in the same place. started to change as a result.” This gap in time
That’s what I mean when [I say] I wish someone confused most people, making it difficult for River
had stepped in, because it could have saved the City High to regain the momentum that they had
band to have that outside perspective and push to started with, and eventually led to the demise of
persevere, in spite of the rough patches.” Instead, the band.
before the members had even reached their twenOnce River City High was done, Menefee needed
ties, this was the end of Fun Size.
to take some time to himself. The dynamics of the
Menefee spent the next seven years with the music scene were changing locally and nationgroup River City High. For better or worse, the ally. “I came home to Richmond and that’s when
experience left him with several lessons regard- screamo started to take over,” he explains. “There
ing the music industry that he would have never were these kids with flat-ironed hair screaming
learned otherwise. While Fun Size’s early devel- for five minutes and it made no sense to me. It
opment proceeded at a snail’s pace, River City was also troubling to spend seven years on the
High was the complete opposite. When they road with River City High and feel like everything
formed, Menefee wanted to hit the ground run- [in Richmond] was foreign territory. From 1995
ning. In some respects, it worked out in his favor. to 1999, I was at every show. I practically lived
“River City High’s whole story can be pegged to- at Twisters and Metro. At this point, I felt like a
wards my desire to tour constantly,” he says. “We stranger to this town and its music. I didn’t underhit the road hard for three years. Everyone around stand the new bands and they didn’t know who I
me wondered what I was doing. I wanted a deal was. I felt like a dinosaur, and that felt terrible. It
might sound whiny but it was the way I felt at the
26
time. I was ready to move on, to maybe start doing something new.”
This change in his thought process helped inspire
his songwriting in his next group, Long Arms.
He needed a dynamic change musically and this
was the perfect outlet. “I never stopped writing
songs, but I did approach songwriting somewhat
differently,” he explains. Long Arms is certainly a
softer approach for Menefee. He had previously
existed in the world of pop-punk and straight-up
rock, but this project allowed him to harness a bit
more folk into the proceedings, and see if there
was a place where the two could meet. “Some
people might construe Long Arms as being like
‘old man rock,’ but to me it’s just another idea and
a way to express that,” he says. “If it’s honest and
it comes from a solid grounding, you can’t really
deny that.” Prior to our interview, the band had
recently played a successful gig at The National,
and this brought up the topic of Long Arms’ continuing existence. “With this two-pile thought
process, these days it seems like I will write a
song and it either fits for Long Arms or it fits for
Fun Size. As long as that remains to be the case, I
don’t see why either band can’t co-exist with the
other one.”
The idea of getting Fun Size back together
emerged from a gathering in support of a friend
in need. Dan Duggins suffered a massive stroke in
April of 2010. Without health insurance, he was
accumulating bills in massive amounts. People
began to set up benefits to help Duggins pay his
bills, and one particular benefit promoter sent
out a request to Menefee to see if Fun Size would
consider reuniting. The band agreed to do it.
“Getting ready for that show really put us all into
the mindset of giving this another try,” Menefee
says. “Enough time had passed, and I think we
all felt like we could learn from mistakes of our
youth.” The show was a great success, and provided the perfect means for Fun Size to envision
a second life.
As the band was figuring out what their next
move should be, a few differences arose. Original
guitarist Orice Collins was initially on board, until
a minor dispute arose regarding the direction this
new Fun Size era would take. “I love Orice to death
and we wanted him to be on board for this next
stage of the band,” Menefee explains. “The only
issue was that I felt like we were better off keeping the sound of Fun Size a more succinct idea,
as opposed to engaging more variety and having
a new record sound a bit off the wall. It’s not that
I wanted to pigeonhole the new album and have
it feel limited. I figured we are reintroducing ourselves to a new generation and we might be better off trying to create a solid foundation of what
our sound is.”
The new record fits in perfectly with Fun Size’s
late nineties output, but feels more realized. The
melodies are stronger and the instrumentation is
tighter. This is the perfect spot for a group like
Fun Size to pick up where they left off. Songs
like “Her So Called Life” and “Difference” provide obvious examples of how far Menefee has
come as a songwriter. The years spent away
made the heart grow fonder, and the album is
an honest testament to his unapologetic love for
the pop-punk genre. One big difference between
this release and their past work is guitarist Brian Owen’s presence as the lead singer on three
tracks. There’s a vital contrast between Owen
and Menefee’s approaches to songwriting; each
of their takes is complimented by the presence of
the other. Perhaps in the past, the band was perAfter Collins’ departure, the band was without a ceived as Menefee’s, but when Owen brought in
lead guitarist. Pedro Aida, a local producer who’d a few songs for preliminary practices, it wasn’t an
recorded Long Arms’ 2010 debut LP and con- issue at all. “Brian is one of my best friends and
tributed some guitar playing as well, came up as to have him sing lead on a few songs is obvious to
potential candidate. Menefee threw out an offer me,” Menefee says. “It seems to me that it makes
to Aida to sit for a few practices with Fun Size, Fun Size seem more well-rounded.”
but Aida had something else in mind. “I initially
went to Pedro and asked if he wanted to maybe The first single from the album is “End of The
sit in for a few shows. His instant response was Road,” and it is an amalgam of two distinct eras
that if you let me come to practice and play with of Fun Size. There are hooks aplenty as well as
you guys, I’m going to want to be a part of this. a slight heaviness that is unfamiliar but doesn’t
I knew how good Pedro was and it seemed like feel out of place. The video, directed by Dave
a no-brainer to have him be a part of Fun Size.” O’Dell, refers sentimentally to the group’s early
With the band’s lineup complete, it was now time years. The band performs in a room with flyers
to get to work on recording their new full length for shows that Fun Size played in the 90s pasted
Since Last We Spoke.
onto every surface. The video is a reminder that
you can always come back home--and sometimes
home is the band that reminds you why you fell in
love with music in the first place.
With a new record in the can, Fun Size’s future is
wide open. It’s all just a matter of what cards they
decide to play next. Menefee is optimistic as to
where Fun Size is headed. “We aren’t the same
kids that were barely twenty so many years ago.
We all chose to pick this back up again because
it seemed unfinished. There was something more
that we could accomplish, and there were songs
we felt like writing. I will always believe that if you
let something emerge from an honest, genuine
place, people will take notice. We wouldn’t try to
start this up again if we weren’t all convinced that
this is the place that we were all coming from.
We’re all on the same page and we can’t wait to
bring Fun Size back to life.”
With a past as storied as Menefee’s, it’s impressive that he has continued to pursue this dream.
In light of how close he came to success, only to
be turned away, one can’t help but hope that Fun
Size will break through and finally achieve widespread fame for their deliberate, dynamic take on
the pop-punk genre. Their legacy is a homegrown
inspiration to anyone that never wants to settle
for less than the best.
27
2012 has been an eventful year for Richmond’s
own Matthew E. White. With an opening
slot on the Mountain Goats’ nationwide
tour, a budding record label, and the release
of his critically acclaimed first solo album,
White’s career is poised for the advances most
musicians dream of. Released August 16th,
White’s album Big Inner concludes years of
musical and personal maturation for the multiinstrumental singer, songwriter, and producer.
The most accurate description of Big Inner
is that of a musical atonement; it leaves you
feeling both deeply moved and refreshed. Take,
for example, the song “Gone Away.” In his soft,
mellow way, White sings the lines, “He will
break your kingdom down, He will tear your
kingdom down.” At its zenith, the song develops
into pure gospel. A full choir surfaces to pick
up the intensity of lyrics that could be taken
religiously or symbolically. There’s a sense of
a modern day expiation of sins. White’s lyrics,
in true gospel fashion, effuse the hope of
redemption, and in my case, provide a light the
end of the tunnel for someone with too many
hang-ups. Powerful horn arrangements and a
choir swathe White’s breathy vocals with soul.
Upon first listen, it was hard to reconcile the
sage, prophetic image formed in my head by
the music with the fact that a 29 year old had
composed and performed it.
MATTHEW E. WHITE
INTERVIEW BY Kristina Headrick
PHOTOS BY Shawn Brackbill and Sara Padgett
28
White’s most recent success makes it easy to
overlook how many years it took for him to
reach the point where a record like Big Inner
could come together. To White, this solo project
is the beginning of something much bigger:
Spacebomb Records. A collective headed by
White and three other Richmond musicians-Pinson Chanselle, Cameron Ralston, and Trey
Pollard--Spacebomb plans to serve as much
more than a record label. As White explains
below, Spacebomb has a vision, and Big Inner
is merely its first realization. White’s sincerity
comes across in conversation just as it does
on the album, as he manages to own the
rare disposition in which talent and ambition
converge with humility. I couldn’t help but feel
inspired by my chat with White, as he related
a lot of lessons about his previous musical
projects and the trials he faced. Read on to find
out about the future of Spacebomb Records,
how one orchestrates a 32 piece musical
performance, and why Big Inner couldn’t have
been made anywhere but in Richmond.
You’re originally from Virginia Beach, but have
lived in Richmond since college. How has living
here shaped your career and more specifically,
your sound?
I really think, especially with this record, it
couldn’t have been made anywhere else. This
record is basically acoustic, but may not come
“The soulful influence, stylistically, is just gospel music. That genre has
meant a lot to me as a musical genre. It really influenced American music
more than people realize. There’s so much that comes straight from gospel
tradition that’s gotten reused in soul music. I have spent a serious amount of
time listening to gospel.”
across that way. The only thing electric is the
bass. When dealing with 30 or 40 musicians,
as I was for the making of Big Inner, it really
matters who they are. Thousands of people can
do the same thing on the synthesizer, but when
you have vocalists, strings and horn players, the
actual sound is very dependent on who is playing.
These people are Richmond people. It’s not like
I’m hiring out of towners, going to Nashville, etc.
Everyone on the record is from Richmond. The
sounds you’re hearing are the are the sounds
of Richmond playing music. I’ve been forming
relationships over past years through Patchwork
Collective and Fight the Big Bull to get people to
believe in and trust in a project like this. To get
that many people in the studio, the relationships
are what really make it work. Big Inner is so
Richmond-centered. We did everything here.
What has your life been like since the release of
Big Inner? I heard your song on NPR’s World Cafe
Live the other day and definitely felt a twinge
of pride hearing a local artist. What was it like
getting that sort of national press for the first
time?
It’s been cool. It’s always good to feel like your
work is being well received. Most things that
have come out have been positive. The scope
of things now is bigger with NPR, Pitchfork, and
the New York Times. I have been teaching music
lessons to families in the West End--that’s what
I still do. It’s kind of surreal to go to these houses
and be able to say, “Hey your music teacher is in
Rolling Stone.” Other than that, not that much has
changed yet. I’m still doing what I do and trying
to make it work, I just have a lot more going on.
That said, if you get in the habit of deriving your
self worth as a musician from reviews, it’s not
good for your creative musical future. You don’t
want to wake up and read a bad review and have
that mess with your day. The success of the
record is based on the fact that I was making this
in a bubble to some extent. I want to keep my
habits as far as making music and writing goes.
It’s important to not deal with the press much in
any other way than to enjoy it. I don’t want it to
infiltrate my process.
At Hopscotch Festival, you played with a 32 piece
band under the name “One Incantation Under
God.” The influence of gospel pops through a
lot on the album, both in subtle ways and as in
“Brazos,” where you and an accompanying choir
sing “Jesus Christ is our lord, Jesus Christ, he is
your friend.” What was the influence for that type
of call and response gospel style?
The soulful influence, stylistically, is just gospel
music. That genre has meant a lot to me as a
musical genre. It really influenced American
music more than people realize. There’s so much
that comes straight from gospel tradition that’s
gotten reused in soul music. I have spent a serious
amount of time listening to gospel. There’s also
where gospel went: into soul and then 60s and
70s R & B. So if i’m using those influences, a lot
of that goes back to gospel tradition.
As far as the “One Incantation Under God”
reference, it was just phrase I came up with
that I thought was clever. No particular loaded
meaning, no story. I just had to figure out some
names of things. When I recorded the record I
didn’t have any, and suddenly had to figure out
all these names! It was going to be this big thing,
for months just brainstorming names. I had all
these phrases and ideas. The Festival wanted
to name the performance because it was a onetime affair, it was a special performance. All 32
of us are from from Richmond except Phil Cook
of Megafaun.
Let’s talk more about Hopscotch, a festival I’ve
seen described as SXSW before it got huge. You
got to play alongside some big names. Did you
walk away from it with a different perspective for
your own band?
No. I barely saw anything at Hopscotch. I saw
a show on Thursday, went to a day party on
Friday, but had to go to bed early for a video
shoot Saturday. So yeah, I saw very little music
29
at the festival [laughs]. I’m friends with Grayson
[Currin], who curates the festival. I think the
way he approaches the curatorial aspect of the
festival is special. It’s really well thought out, a
pretty heavy musical statement from a curator.
He takes the festival and makes an artistic
statement out of it. What he’s asking people
to be in and do--I think that’s really special. No
other festival has asked me to do what I did-that 30 person thing was the curator’s idea. He
said, “We’ll give you a platform and the money
to make this happen.” He could have easily said
“Your touring band is six people, want to play
at a place like Strange Matter for 200 bucks?”
Yet he takes risks with his curation, artistic and
financial. The show went great, but had a lot
risk attached to it. It could have gone horribly.
He could have gotten an email two days before
saying the band wasn’t together, people got
wedding gigs and had to bail, and just--sorry.
But Grayson is very courageous and imaginative.
That’s the type of thing I like to be a part of.
arrangements and was musical director. It was a
really wonderful experience. That’s where Reggie
met Justin, and why he’s in Bon Iver. That was
the beginning of a lot of stuff.
You’ve played alongside Megafaun quite a bit.
One of the members, Phil Cook, played keys on Big
Inner. Tell me more about your relationship with
them.
I met Megafun playing at a record store 2006.
We played first and then they played, and it was
like watching my long lost family perform. [I
thought,] “Who are these people? Their musical
values are exactly the same as mine.” We started
talking and their reference points were so similar.
I have weird ones to begin with, and so does Phil,
especially. But we’re really all on the same page.
We hit it off, played shows together here and
there. We would always talk about trying to get
a chance to work together and then the Sounds
of the South thing came up. Phil and I spent a
lot of time working note by note together. There
was a really steady path to us meeting them
Tell me more about the Sounds of the South. and finding a way to work together, and then me
bringing him on my project. Joe, the drummer of
When was that?
In 2010 Megafaun was asked to/came up with Megafaun, recorded for Spacebomb. His project
the idea to reinterpret [ethnomusicologist] Alan is yet to be released. Phil will in the future record
Lomax’s Sounds of the South. Megafaun asked a a solo record for us. We’re coming from such a
bunch of people, including Justin Vernon and similar place, it’s easy and special to work with
Sharon Van Etten to do it. I wrote most of the them.
30
Tell me more about how Spacebomb is coming
together. I noticed you’re working with Natalie
Prass, a musician from Nashville. Do you see
a perhaps distinctly Southeastern group of
musicians coming together with Spacebomb, and
also through events like Hopscotch?
The Spacebomb community isn’t limited by
EastCoast or the South, though I do feel the core
members of Spacebomb’s reference points are
very similar, and we’ve grown as musicians in
similar paths. There are strong ties to American
music, but not so much Southern. I think the
bigger thing is I have very little European music
influences. From punk or indie or jazz, European
music has been a big influence on a lot of people,
but for whatever reason it hasn’t been to me.
It’s not on purpose, it’s just where we are coming
from. Even with jazz, I’m primarily more influenced
by American jazz musicians. The songwriters I
like are American writers. I like Atlantic records,
Motown, and 70s LA stuff. There’s been very
little David Bowie, U2, Morrissey, any sort of
European punk rock to influence me. That’s a
whole side of the independent music world I’ve
had very little exposure to. The one thing about
Big Inner that’s interesting is that there’s zero
punk rock influence. I’m not trying to avoid that,
it’s just something that hasn’t been [present]
for me. Older people really like this record--my
parents and my parents’ friends. People in their
50s like it. It’s not loud [music].
“Everyone on the record is from Richmond. The sounds you’re hearing are the
are the sounds of Richmond playing music. I’ve been forming relationships over
past years through Patchwork Collective and Fight the Big Bull to get people
to believe in and trust in a project like this. To get that many people in the
studio, the relationships are what really make it work. Big Inner is so Richmondcentered. We did everything here.”
make it not sound terrible. Not only from an
arranging standpoint, but also administrative.
I’m thinking, “We have a week in the studio.
How do we make it work?” There’s a lot of
ripening that has to happen in a community, and
in myself, when you’re trying to do it all under
your umbrella. Administratively and musically,
all those skills have to come together to make a
record under your roof and it’s not a cluster fuck/
pain in the ass. It is an age thing, it takes TIME
to learn how to write horn arrangements. It’s a
Tropicalia was very regional, in the sense it was craft. There a lot of artisan work coming into
South Brazilian. At the same time it was pulling this record. Everyone is using their skill set in a
in so many different genres so effectively. I little bit of a developed way and then I’m trying
think we do that work. We are Virginians, we’re to use all of those skill sets in a way that creates
Southern Americans--that’s who we are. It’s not a unified voice.
any sort of focal point, we’re bringing in other
influences, but we are Virginians. All four of us I’d previously been in a band called The Great
Spacebomb musicians were born and raised in White Jenkins, and always thought we could
Virginia. I don’t even know what that is--I can’t make an amazing studio album. We never did. In
get far enough away from myself. But it is that, my head, I was kind of imagining what my record
ended up being. [The Great White Jenkins]
just like those Brazilian guys are Brazilian.
didn’t have ideas lacking, but [couldn’t] get it
You’re 29 and have heaps of musical experience together enough [to] get from point A to point B,
but you just decided to release a solo record. Why? from the biggest details to smallest details. My
To make a record like that, there are a lot of skill horn arranging maybe was good enough at the
sets and relationships that have to build to a time, [but] there’s a difference in having an idea
certain level. I’ve gotta get to the place where I and being able to get that idea out and imprint it
feel like I can write songs that are honest. Also on the world.
gotta get to a place where I can administratively
grasp how to get 40 people in the studio and
There is a Spacebomb family. There are people
who work better in the family than in others. To
have Spacebomb mess with your record, you
have to have no band and be willing for us to be
heavy handed. We bring a lot to the table. With
Natalie, it’s worked wonderfully. It’s all about
finding the right people, wherever they’re from.
It’s not a geographic thing but the core people
are bringing a sense of a lot of American music
to the table.
That’s what Big Inner is. You have to come up with
ideas, but magnify relationships with all these
people onto the record. To actually get all those
people into the recording studio enough times to
make a record and have everyone be happy and
have it work out is tough. That takes all the skills
sets I learned through Patchwork Collective and
Fight the Big Bull. So I do think it’s an age thing.
I couldn’t have made this record when I was
25. I couldn’t have made this particular record
that came about from years of work and making
relationships.
What are your next few months looking like? Any
tours planned?
I’m going on tour opening for Mountain Goats
this fall. A lot of my fall is going to be spent trying
to make that work. It’s my first time touring on
this level and there are some tricky things to it.
Things are growing at a rapid rate. I’m switching
from being a person making a living teaching
and doing music on the side, [and] now [it’s]
reversing. [There’s a] weird inbetween [feeling],
like “Where’s my income coming from?” It’s kind
of surreal.
matthewewhite.com
matthewewhite.tumblr.com
31
ANGELA BACSKOCKY
by Kristina Headrick
photos by Sarah Walor
“Nest”, the first line of clothing from Angela Bacskocky’s eponymous fashion design company, is a
bit hard to define. Launched last spring, this local
start-up is a brave statement. It is also a collaborative effort between Bacskocky and the models
who served as her muses, and at heart, it is the
unlikely meeting of sticks and stones with a collection of impeccably tailored womenswear. No
stranger to making art, Bacskocky spent her late
teens and early 20s in an experimental psychedelic rock band. She moved on to a real corporate
job which drove her crazy, effectively funneling her
straight into art school. Taking classes at VCU and
Central St. Martin’s in London, she studied almost
every medium of the visual arts. These diverse experiences ultimately provided the backdrop for a
collective concept like “Nest” to be born.
Using all natural fabrics, Bacskocky and a team of
local artists created the first line in what will be
an ongoing narrative. This narrative, she hopes,
will provide an intimate exposure of the emotional
32
subtleties that fall between the cracks when most
of us try to describe human existence. “Nest” focuses on isolation and hibernation, and aims to
confidently expose our vulnerabilities. The most
instinctual and intimate urges are often the hardest for people to put into words. Like her hero,
French avant-garde artist Sophie Calle, Bacskocky
finds a way to translate those urges into a visual
format the rest of us can (attempt to) digest.
Historically, many conceptual high fashion lines,
such as Alexander McQueen’s, have been called
art. Bacskocky spent time working at McQueen’s
world-renowned fashion house, an experience
that strongly influenced her creative process and
the making of her own line. The clothing she creates is inseparable from the underlying themes of
her concept, and it seems impossible to deem the
multimedia performance with which Bacskocky
debuted “Nest” last spring, in which her models
built a humanly proportioned nest at Candela Gallery, as unworthy of being called art. I wanted to
find out more about Bacskocky’s self-proclaimed
aim to “merge the lines between fashion and art.”
How would she define and separate the two? She
and I spent a lot of time talking about this subject,
as well as the experiences that shaped her, and
what it’s like to design clothes in Richmond.
Who are your favorite fashion designers?
At the end of the day I’m really classic and tailored
and minimal, and those are who I respect: classic
French designers who use the colors I like and the
really minimal tailored lines that I like. Alexander
McQueen was obviously my favorite but he’s the
rock star. It’s not the same. Chloe, Celine, and Burberry are what I like for wearability, then McQueen
and Victor and Rolfe for the art of it. I’d rather be
compared to Sophie Calle or other conceptual artists than to designers, that gets me more excited.
My real hero is Sophie Calle, who intimately exposes herself through her work. But Chloe, etc, those
are clothes I would like to wear.
So you would rather be compared to conceptual artists than to fashion designers? Do you consider what
you did with “Nest” to be performance art?
The performance was one aspect of it, but I would
consider it a group piece, as opposed to just a fashion line. With the things I wanted to do with it, the
clothing ends up being a costume, a byproduct-which I think is a really exciting marketable byproduct. I’m not above that at all! Going through
art school, that was something I always struggled
with. I took fine arts classes and design classes.
There is such a battle between those two worlds. In
critiques, other students might say, “This looks like
something you could buy at the store,” and I would
say, “What’s wrong with that? That sounds good!
I’m going to make money.”
That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good
thought-out concept. It gets me excited and keeps
me going. But I love functional design and art. I love
furniture and dishes, and the things we use in our
home every day, and knowing that [it] comes from
a greater concept.
Whether items traditionally crafted by women,
quilts, for example, are considered art is an age-old
debate. A lot of these items are what you termed
functional design. Do you consider them art?
People would argue that it’s craft, and that’s the
struggle. There are those stupid rules about art.
For example, someone can be a great sculptor, but
if they’re sculpting portraits or very specific things,
it’s considered craft. He’s still making something!
There’s still a concept behind it. If the purpose is
utilitarian, how can it be cool too? It’s considered
craft. I realized more recently I want to be a skilled
craftsman. I get excited when I read articles about
people who are the best in their field. Why be mediocre? I like the idea of being really skilled at this
one specific thing, even if it’s not “fine art.”
So what did you study in college?
I studied art at VCU. I had all these extra spaces
to take fine arts classes so I took a lot of photography and film. That’s really important in all the stuff
I do, for the lookbooks. I did study abroad, [once]
in Glasgow where we studied architecture, and
[once] in London where I took more photography
classes, weird textile stuff. The whole time I tried to
broaden as much as I could. I would always say I
was a designer because I’m proud of it, and I have
to remember that.
I read that “Nest” is “an attempt to merge lines
between fashion and art.” How and why would you
distinguish between the two? Is it based partially on
what you’ve said about your peers in art school?
Definitely. That’s been my trick the whole time. I
wanted to get friends involved who make “legitimate” art. There is no separation. I’m making it so
everyone walks away kind of confused as to what
they saw. That’s great. I think when we did the
“Nest” show at Candela Gallery, we totally accomplished that. It was confusing and odd. We gave
no expectation as to what was going to happen.
Everyone said they didn’t expect what they saw,
which was really good. I feel it was full on performance installation. To me, it looked like a fashion
show, but to people who aren’t fashion savvy, it
was cool, and that’s what’s important.
I think it’s funny you had to explain to your art school
friends that fashion and design are art. In the world
we live in, you can say almost anything is art.
Right. And some designers just draw the pretty
clothes they like. The projects I’m working on fall
into a story. Nothing I make gets made just because I like it. That’s how you know it’s different-it’s not just me wanting to make a pretty sweater.
What happened needed to happen to be part of
the dialogue, the story. It all flows, once you know
it really well. You can’t bullshit it. I think that’s also
why I was able to get such a positive response, because I believed in it so much.
33
Are you selling your clothes anywhere outside of
Richmond?
No. I’d like to. I went to New York, had lots of meetings and tried to get picked up by showrooms there.
Oddly, I was met with such a business perspective.
They said my stuff wasn’t made for mass production, a bit too individual and handmade. I’ve boxed
myself in by making it too conceptual. They said I
could come back when I’m going to be more like
them. That was a real shock. I thought I was playing by the big boy rules, but all I’ve done is make a
niche for myself and I’m not really sure where it fits.
I’m lucky that Need is really into it. I’m going to have
to be a boutique person for a while, find someone
who’s into it that doesn’t have to answer to a corporate buyer. I’m lucky that my stuff is somewhat
on trend.
What role, if any, do trends play for you?
It’s always funny when you think you’re coming up
with something original and you realize everyone
else is doing it too. At least then you know you’re
on the right path. The colors I chose, the neutral palettes and oxblood, are what’s in right now anyways.
We’ll see if I end up doing same thing for spring and
next fall, but it usually just happens that way. Trends
are based on popular culture, so it makes sense that
many designers’ clothes end up having those trends
in common, as they’re all responding to the same
general cultural trends.
34
I’m getting more and more comfortable in Richmond. I never thought I’d be here this long. There’s
something nice and cozy and homey about it. I do
want to branch out to other markets, but I see no
reason to leave my studio space right now. Plus
there are so many artists here who want to help me
Why Richmond?
I am here. I have a house here. I bought [it] when I
moved here in 2005 to go to school. I thought when
I bought the house that I’d be able to sell it and start
a business. Then the housing market changed drastically in about 2009. I had a terrible breakup, got
really depressed. I worked at Anthropologie doing
the visual stuff for about a year, got complacent, and
that’s where I went crazy. That’s when i came up with
the whole “Nest” idea. Now I’ve sort of established
At first I was in the textile and print design department. We were on the top floor in this big warehouse space. They spared no expense. You could
take about two weeks and work on something and
if it didn’t work out, oh well! I’m not sure there’s
One of the notable things about your background is anywhere in New York, or maybe anywhere else at
that you spent time interning at McQueen, one of the all, that’s creative like the atmosphere of McQueen.
That’s probably why I’m doing what I’m doing now.
biggest names in fashion. Tell me more about that.
It was awesome! I went to London and wanted to I got really lucky and wasn’t working in the most
go to Central St. Martins because that’s where Mc- commercial fashion house. Those are all just tryQueen went. So I went to McQueen just obsessed ing to make money. McQueen wasn’t even trying to
with him. I applied right away and didn’t get [the make money [laughs]. He was trying to do what he
job] because I was in school and they wanted me wanted. There was no pressure, no rush.
to be working full time. Eventually I dropped out
of Central St. Martins, mostly because I ran out of So how many people worked on Nest?
money and I just hated it at the time. The second I Six or seven, and for “Ghost,” the next collection,
dropped out they hired me right away. It was gru- it’s a different six or seven. At McQueen we had
eling--13 hour days, 7 days a week. I learned later all this artistic freedom, but he essentially had the
[that] you could just say no and not come in, but veto power and came up with the larger concept.
That’s what I try to do as well. I send out frantic,
none of the other kids did.
long emails with a lot of links and images and say,
out. People contact me all the time wanting to be
involved. Also there are all of these beautiful people,
so I never have a hard time finding models. And
there are tons of awesome photographers.
myself, and I do like it. I have this great warehouse
space in Scott’s Addition that i can be creative in. It’s
massive, and I wouldn’t be able to have [it] in New
York. I’m living cheaply while I’m doing my startup.
Also I can get a nice little following here.
“This is my concept, what do you think? You come
up with something and tell me what you want to do
with this.” I give them freedom. I like more collaboration. Usually at crunch time I give them more tasks,
but I want them to come up with their own thoughts.
I want more people on the random creative side, and
I definitely am working with painters and sculptors,
people who don’t think design-wise, to see what
they come up with for the concept. I just help hone
in the story.
Your website says, “The female form is followed
closely, being hugged and protected by her garments,
with gentle folds of fabric allowing generous space
for her to hide away.” So the inspiration for “Nest”
seems very feminine and very primal. Tell me more
about that.
I never think of it that way but I’m glad that you
do. It is feminine. Even the way I typically use the
word nest makes it feminine. I’ll often say women
are always building their own nests, as opposed to
For “Nest” you only made womenswear. Do you plan
to only make clothes for women?
No. When I was in London for that year, I worked for
a tailor and studied menswear. It’s more challenging
than to me than women’s. After that I came back
And yeah, it’s super primal. Isolation. I can’t stress here worn out and wanted to make dresses. You
that word enough. It’s genderless in that I think ev- don’t realize how much you want to until you’ve only
erybody has the tendency to feel good about what’s done menswear for awhile. It’s easier for me to focus
going on when they keep to themselves, maybe to on concept and just do pretty clothes for girls. I rean unhealthy level. It’s easier than getting hurt. I ally want to get back to menswear. I know so many
would say that sometimes I hide because I feel like guys that would be all about it. It’s always gotten me
the predator. I feel like I’m actually being hurtful if excited to dress men. I like looking at men’s clothes.
I’m out there talking to people, so it’s better if I’m So, for next fall the idea is to do a unisex line. It will
be more about ambiguous dressing.
just hiding.
men. Next fall gender issues are going to be hugely
explored, so femininity is something I’m thinking
about a lot lately. I often think there’s a crossover
with gender stuff.
Do you think Richmond has a burgeoning fashion scene?
I don’t think it necessarily does currently. There is one
on the rise. I’m really excited about other friends of
mine who are doing and making things here. I think
it’s great that Britt Sebastian is doing production here,
that Ledbury is doing production here. There’s definitely a lot of jewelry and smaller accessories designers here. So there’s no reason it can’t be an emerging
scene, but we definitely need to all come together.
Same thing I always say with music--no one band has
a movement on their own. In the art world you can’t
have a movement without a couple of people doing it.
If we don’t band together, it’s not going to happen, and
I’m all about collaboration. So I’m going to keep on
that and see if we can make Richmond cool. Otherwise
we’ll just be individuals in this pond.
So what’s next?
Next season will be called “Ghost.” It will be more
vulnerable. I want to concentrate on sentiment and
obsession in human relationships. This line will be
soft and feminine and frail. My collections are an
ongoing revolving story, a continuous cycle of emotions that fluctuate from passive to aggressive with
the seasons. The details will change, but the same
characters are battling the same demons again and
again.
angelabacskocky.com
Look for pieces from Bacskocky’s collection at Need
Supply Co., and at the Bizarre Market at Chop Suey
around Christmas time. She also does special orders and
sells limited accessories on Etsy.
35
JOSIAH MARROQUIN
Apparently Virginia Beach has some things
going for it. The whole scene is either
obscenely weird or weirdly obscene, and
while the boys and girls from the Tidewater
are drinking a tripped out Kool-Aid, a
talented triangle is capturing it all. Along
with Richard Perkins (whom we profiled in
Issue #5) and John Sebastian Vitale (who
appeared in Issue #7), Josiah Marroquin is
the third point in that triangle. Collectively,
Perkins, Vitale, and Marroquin form an
intensely creative team that is spreading a
message of abstract abandon through their
films, photos, words, and art. I caught up
with Josiah..
Where are you from?
I’m originally from the small town of Goshen,
Indiana, [which has] a population of about
50,000. I’ve also lived in Iowa, Puerto Rico,
and finally in 2000, I moved with my parents
to Virginia Beach.
How did you get into photography?
My freshman year of college I went back to
Indiana and lived in a house with 7 other guys,
mostly artists. Having that creative community
kind of pushed me to cultivate my creativity.
The next year I came back to Virginia and
started shooting on a shitty 2MP camera I got
for Christmas.
36
BY R. ANTHONY HARRIS
MAIN PHOTO BY RICHARD PERKINS
Where do your design sensibilities come from?
I’m a self-taught designer. I started on CS3
making film posters, DVD artwork, and web
graphics for filmmakers while I attended
school at Regent University as a cinema
television major. I guess my influences for
design come from my love of the 40s-60s,
and the advertising of the time. I also have
an obsession with science, space, and
technology, so naturally I began mixing the
past and the future.
I really like the music videos you are doing. How is
that going?
My real passion is filmmaking. It’s actually
going really well as of this year. I began
working with Abraham Vilchez-Moran, who
is a Director/Editor and co-founder of Illusive
Media, along with Shomi Patwary who is now
working for KarmaLoop TV in Manhattan.
The majority of my new work is music videos.
A couple of weeks ago I went up to NYC to
shoot five live sessions during the CMJ Music
Festival, and [to] shoot a music video for
Sydney Wayser. The live sessions were shot at
Degraw Sound in Brooklyn and included The
Jezebels, The Luyas, Teen Daze, Daughter, and
Indians. These sessions will be out soon on a
music blog out of Brooklyn called The Wild
Honey Pie. Next month, Abe and I are planning
on collaborating with that blog again to shoot
another live session with the band Stars.
Your collaborators Richard Perkins and John
Sebastian Vitale have gotten some shine of late for
all the stuff they are developing. How is it working
with those guys? Working on all this stuff has to lead
to some funny situations...
Working with Richard and John has definitely
been interesting. We all have vastly different
aesthetics, which is why I think the work we
did together has such a unique look. One of the
reasons I love the filmmaking is that it is the
most collaborative medium. Richard has a way
of expressing youth and capturing the chaos
of life. John is a very methodical yet abstract
artist. He was mainly the brains behind the
concept for Magick Margaritasville.
What was the experience of making Magick
Margaritasville like? Do you plan to do any more
collaboration with Perkins and Vitale in the near
future?
Originally Perkins asked me if I wanted to help
shoot this project where half would be shot in HD
and the other half on VHS. I met Vitale shortly
after that. First day of shooting, I walked into
Perkins’ apartment and the floor was covered
in sleeping bodies (models), beer cans, and
goth wardrobe. We all piled into Vitale’s station
wagon and drove out to the suburbs of Suffolk.
The other locations included a parking lot next
to P-town thrift, a Suffolk neighborhood park,
and a kids’ baseball diamond. We had some
scheduling issues with the cast so day two of
37
shooting ended up happening four or five months later with two new
cast members. Perkins, Vitale, and I plan to do another project together
in the near future.
What projects do you have coming up?
I’m currently working with Charles Rasputin along with Perkins on an
art zine in Hampton roads called Haunted In The Daylight. The first
edition was released last month at the Fantastic Planet Halloween event.
The zine consists of literature, photography, and art from local artists.
Next month I’m going back up to Brooklyn to shoot a live session of
the band Stars, for The Wild Honey Pie music blog. We are also in the
pre-production phase for more live sessions during South by Southwest
(SXSW) in Austin Texas. Also, I’m collaborating with Kayce McGehee
(music artist) on artwork for her new album that’s coming out soon.
Abe and I are working on a sci-fi short film for 2013. I plan to move to
San Francisco sometime in 2013 to work with a few friends and focus
more on the filmmaking medium.
josiahmarroquin.com
38
39
40
NAPALM
DEATH
interview by Graham Scala
photos COURTESY OF CenturyMedia
Some facets of Napalm Death’s existence
could seem ironic – they’ve encouraged peace,
understanding, and fellowship amongst mankind
using some of the most confrontational, visceral
music recorded. Some elements seem paradoxical
- they’ve established a singular aesthetic by never
making two albums that sound exactly alike.
Some are exercises in various forms of extremity –
they hold the Guiness Book Of World Records title
for shortest song ever recorded (the 1.316 second
“You Suffer”) and have existed for over thirty years
with a lineup that, by the second side of their first
album, featured no original members. Regardless,
they have produced a body of work possessing a
remarkable consistency, never sacrificing either
their artistic or ideological integrity. The band
released Utilitarian, their 15th full-length, earlier
this year and are about to embark on a tour with
Municipal Waste and Exhumed. I managed to get
a few questions in with their frontman, Barney
Greenway.
Utilitarianstrikes me as one of the most succinct,
direct titles Napalm has employed in some time. How
does utilitarianism factor into your creative process?
I didn’t want to make it into some kind of analysis of
philosophical theory. That would be pretty tedious.
I did want to use word association because, if you
look at the Napalm album titles, we’ve always used
wordplay. The utilitarian thing was more about
examining the whole process of living in a natural
way, and to ask the question of whether it’s worth it
to live with ethical considerations. Because you do
ask yourself that at points. That’s the heart of it.
Was there any concern that espousing such an idea
could be taken the wrong way? I’m not the most wellversed in philosophy, but seems like utilitarianism,
in its original form, holding the happiness of the
majority as its primary end, could be utilized to justify
much of the oppression and exploitation that Napalm
Death has always decried.
Absolutely. That’s one of the things I found quite
fascinating about it, that it’s endorsed by people
across the spectrum. It’s used by animal rights
advocates and humanitarians, but also those with
no problem stepping over people to get where
they need to go. Obviously the only thing I can do
is explain what the significance of it was. I certainly
don’t have any truck with the sort of people in the
latter category. You have to be aware that nothing,
especially in the band situation, is ever immune to
criticism. Life isn’t perfect, bands aren’t perfect, so
it is as it is.
The socially conscious elements that Napalm has
always embraced seem like something of a rarity
within heavy music at this point and, when they
are present, often seem somewhat dispirited and
apocalyptic. Despite an endless supply of oppression
and degradation, how do you avoid presenting a
defeatist attitude when writing?
I’m just trying to present reality. It all depends where
you come from, but I’m coming from a humane
perspective. I consider myself to be a very baselevel humanitarian. To me that means human rights
and dignity, but also rights for other sentient beings.
So whenever we speak about stuff there’s always
going to be an unsavory element to it, because that’s
the way the world is. Unfortunately, not everybody
thinks or acts in humane terms. But hopefully there’s
the positive aspect too, in that you can stand up as a
human being who’s trying to live in a humane way. I
always try to be positive, but I do recognize that life
has its positives and negatives and you can’t brush
either off. You can’t escape negativity; it is as it is,
can, and should be.
Utilitarian was promoted with the “Occupy Napalm”
campaign. What about the Occupy movement
resonated with the band to the extent that this would
be employed?
I may not have been everywhere they were staged,
but I consider myself to stand in solidarity. Let’s
not forget that they weren’t the only people who
promote that sort of thing. For many years there
have been lots of movements who were perhaps a
bit more fringe because they were fragmented, so
they didn’t have that kind of numbers or coverage.
We haven’t been afforded them, but we have as
human beings the same rights as any others. And
if that involves challenging the higher echelons of
power, we should be able to do that.
Of course, people like hanging on to their power,
so they smear people involved with things like the
Occupy Movement, who are within their rights
to challenge authority and point out what’s not
acceptable. And the organs of the state are being
used against them. You have the right to resist that
as a human being. People always quote laws, but
let’s not forget that laws are a man-made entity and
they suit some people more than others, so some
41
balance is needed. And hopefully people like the
Occupy Movement will continue to challenge the
upper echelons of power. Because we all know what
can happen when power gets out of control.
There have been other artists that received some
negative attention for trying to utilize Occupy
imagery for their own promotions. Was there any
backlash when you employed it?
If people feel negatively, that’s fine. I know what
my intentions were and what the band’s intentions
were. I would say that Napalm has always been a
band that’s active – coming back to this word again –
ethically. That’s not to say we have more rights than
other people, but if we were going to take flack then
so be it. But it was done more to show solidarity than
anything.
From the start, Napalm claimed some fairly diverse
influences – old hardcore and metal but also Swans,
Joy Division, etc. In recent years, however, it seems
like the mark that these artists have made is
considerably more noticeable in your music than
on the early albums, especially in the variety of
textures and songwriting approaches employed. Has
there been a more conscious attempt to bring these
influences to the forefront or has that been a part of a
more organic evolution?
It certainly hasn’t been forced, but it did get to the
point where we felt that we could do so much with
some of those influences. We didn’t want them to
sit on the sidelines so much. Consider something
like From Enslavement To Obliteration, where the
opening track was Swans style but the rest of the
album was two hundred miles per hour. Swans
have been a big influence on Mick and Shane but
it’s not immediately obvious there. We felt that the
styles we were using were too good to be fringe.
That doesn’t mean we’re going to alter our attack
as a band to suit those influences. It’s all about
wrapping everything together so that it works, but
you can still hear the traditional Napalm sound.
So now that we’ve incorporated it into our normal
attack, you’ll hear something that’s influenced by
Swans, something that would’ve been slow, painful,
and depressing, but the way we’ve done it is to play
it at two hundred miles an hour. We were unsure,
because we thought it might sound a bit shitty, but
it worked.
Has it been difficult as a vocalist to tackle some of
these different approaches you’re taking?
Surprisingly not. Honestly, I always thought I was a
bit of a one-trick pony. I can do really gruff or really
shrieky, but I’ve surprised myself. I hope it doesn’t
sound arrogant, but when I put my mind to it I feel
like there’s nothing I can’t do, that I can make it
happen.
You’ve done a variety of appearances on albums by
younger bands lately – SSS, Extortion, and Withered
come to mind. What do you look for in bands with
whom you collaborate?
My first checkpoint for a band I don’t really know
about are the lyrics. I couldn’t bring myself to
endorse something that was sexist or racist or
anything like that. It’s not in my makeup. I wouldn’t
associate myself with that outside of music, so I’m
certainly not going to do it with a band. After that, I
don’t know. I’ve been lucky that the bands who’ve
contacted me are really great. Extortion really nail
the 80s fast hardcore sound but still have some
freshness. I thought Withered had an interesting
take on the whole gloomy, downbeat style. The
latest thing I’ve been on is by Liquorbox, which is
basically a bluegrass/country sort of thing. That was
really different for me. Me and country music have
42
mine and was saying he could get us a gig in North
Korea. It would’ve had to be in a border town in
case we needed to escape. Because obviously the
authorities couldn’t know about it, and we might
need to get away quickly. And he was serious. I don’t
know about doing it, but it would be quite a coup.
Your upcoming tour features both Exhumed and
Municipal Waste, each of whom stands in fairly stark
contrast to what you do--the former being gorier and
the latter considerably lighter-hearted. Is there any
sort of balance you like to strike with the bands with
whom you tour?
The good thing about being in Napalm is that we
get asked to do a wide variety of stuff. One thing
we’d like to do is make a Napalm/Converge tour
happen [the two bands recently released a split EP]-that would be wonderful. And then we get asked
to do death metal tours, so we get the whole of the
spectrum. And there’s no question that you get
different people out at different kinds of gigs, and
it’s nice to not preach to the converted all the time.
But even on a death metal tour, that’s not going to
stop me from saying what I think needs to be said,
never been obvious bedfellows but I thought it was endorsing a lifestyle I feel I need to endorse. So
great. More than anything, I get a kick out of seeing whoever hears it, it won’t change our approach.
people happy and being able to help them out. If it
helps them along and they’re nice people, I’m more Has that variety ever been a problem, perhaps
in terms of sharing the stage with people whose
than happy to contribute.
worldviews are antithetical to your own, or crowds
You did a brief spot in an episode of [British television that haven’t been receptive?
drama] Skins, which seems like something of an I’ve never cared, to be honest. One thing I learned
unlikely place for your music. How did that come from the UK hardcore scene before it went down
the shitter is that people used to get very suspicious
about?
It was something we had to think about for a while. of so-called outsiders coming in to populate their
We’ve done a lot of TV because Napalm’s kind of a scene. But if you’re going to talk about wide-ranging
go-to band if somebody needs a lot of noise. But at ethical issues, what’s the point in just telling it to the
first we didn’t know if it would be a sort of parody or people who’ve heard you a hundred times before?
full of stereotypes and cliches. In the original script, That’s no disrespect to them, they’ve always been
they were trying to present the band as like a Guns there as a support base. You have to be prepared for
N’ Roses rock and roll excess type thing. The guy a little challenge, and we need to go out and endorse
was a Napalm fan actually, but I had to tell him that what we consider to be important, regardless of
if we were going to present our music we wanted to where.
do it with a more DIY attitude to show that bands
can have a bit of humility. And he rewrote the script On several legs of the tour you’re also going to have
to work with that. Originally I even had an acting Attitude Adjustment and Dayglo Abortions opening,
part but they took it out, probably because I couldn’t each a band Napalm has claimed as an influence and
act my way out of a paper bag. [laughs] It was a covered. Do you feel like you have some responsibility
worthwhile experience though. Skins definitely does to your predecessors to help expose them to people
the disaffected youth thing in quite a respectful way. who might not have otherwise given them a chance?
I don’t know if it’s a responsibility exactly. But that
Over the course of Napalm’s existence, you’ve played period in the 80s when most of those bands were
shows in some fairly out of the way places, whether most active remains an incredible time in terms of
that was South Africa as apartheid was ending, Russia the music’s vibrancy. Those underground demos,
as the USSR was falling apart, or more recently your bedroom demos in a lot of cases, the independent
shows in Nepal, Siberia, and Morocco. What does it releases were absolutely indispensable. I can’t
mean to you to be able to reach audiences that most speak more highly of them. They mean so much to
me and to the other guys. But it’s not a responsibility
bands aren’t able to?
It’s a privilege and an honor that people consider really--I’m just extremely happy to see those bands,
us to have sufficient appeal to invite us to their if only for a few gigs.
countries. We’ll always do the European and U.S
touring circuits, those are the main places that Are there any such bands you haven’t had a chance to
people go. But it’s easy, even though I still love what I share a stage with that you’d like to?
do, to become somewhat jaded doing that. So going I did hear a rumor, though I think it was one started
elsewhere keeps you on your toes, especially when just to get me going, that Los Crudos were going to
the resources they have are different from what get together to play a couple of the shows. My head
we’re used to. It gives you an appreciation and helps would’ve popped. [laughs] If you want to talk about
with not taking things for granted, not assuming that primal, gut feeling that music can have, that’s one
of your bands right there. But aside from that, the
things will be laid out on a plate for you.
obvious ones. Siege from Boston. Minor Threat back
Is there anywhere you haven’t been yet that you in the day. If Negative Approach could get on the
shows – they were pivotal, no question.
especially want to?
There’s lots of places. I’d like to play Pakistan or
India. We’ve played all over Russia, but it would be
great to play a place like Kazakhstan. Actually, this is
a true story, though I can’t say it would’ve happened
necessarily. Some guy got in touch with a friend of
Until recently, Napalm had only done a few split
records, but with the recent Converge split and the
upcoming Melvins split it seems like the frequency is
increasing. What motivated the uptick, and how do
you determine who would make a good complement
to what you do?
It’s pretty simple really. We sat down and realized we
were only doing album-tour-album-tour, and doing
that is great, but we needed to do some other fun
stuff. The Converge split came together quickly but
I must hold my hands up and say that I’m dragging
my heels a bit with the Melvins tracks. We’ve got
one finished and I’ve got another one to do. So that
one’s a little delayed and I’ll take full blame for that,
so people can shoot me if they expected it any time
soon. [laughs] But it will happen, and hats off to
Shane for really hammering these things home.
Any final thoughts for the readers?
I’d just like to thank everybody for the support. It’s
amazing to me that we’re still able to come to the
States despite the periods where the sort of thing
that we do had some question marks around it.
But we’ve always been pleasantly surprised and
the appreciation of what we do is humbling. We’ll
always try to make our shows something that
people will remember.
napalmdeath.org
43
Eliza
Mary
Childress
Silcox
by ANDREW NECCI
Sara
GossetT
Eliza Childress, Mary Silcox, and Sara Gossett
are three young artists who’ve been engaged in a
variety of creative works around RVA for several
years now. In recent months, they have been joining forces on a regular basis to put on collaborative all-vinyl DJ nights at Balliceaux and other local venues. Knowing that the three of them are all
hard at work on a variety of artistic and musical
endeavors, both together and separately, I figured
getting them to sit down with me for a group interview would be a fascinating experience. I was
definitely correct in that assumption, but the most
important thing I learned from our conversation
was that Eliza, Mary, and Sara see themselves not
just as peers and collaborators but as supportive
friends who want to help each other, and the community of young artists in Richmond as a whole,
grow and succeed. What follows is but a short
sample of our 90-minute conversation, which
ranged from the connections between art and music to the artistic significance of dreams.
space in my mind, and let, almost like--I’m throwing this out there--God, in a sense, take over, then
I’m good. For the most part I want something that’s
gonna ease my mind. I actually listen to a lot of classical music when painting. It depends on my mood,
but for long term painting, like if I’m in my studio
for 8 hours a day, I’m gonna be listening to jazz or
something like Bach, something that gets me into a
meditative zone.
Sara Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of
soundtracks. A lot of the films I haven’t even seen,
but cinematic music allows you to get into this...
Eliza You create your own world.
Sara Yes, exactly. They are trying to tell the story
through music, and it allows you to get into this fantastical world, in whatever [art] you’re doing. Most
of what I do is really abstract stuff. It’s not really trying to tell a story, necessarily. But [music] still allows you to get into this mood, and that can be really
important.
You guys have been doing a DJ night together for a
few months--how did that start?
Mary Rei [Alvarez of Bio Ritmo, aka DJ Rattan] and
I would play records together. I never thought about
DJing until one day he was like, “Hey, you know, you
should do this!” So we did a few nights together and
that was great, I enjoyed that, but there’s something
special about spinning with ladies. We have a different aesthetic when it comes to putting everything
together. And so, [Rei] was like, “You, Sara, and
Eliza.” He said, “I think that y’all would make a really
good team.” He called it, from the very beginning.
Sara I had been DJing for a while, but there was
some time where I was like, “I’m tired of this.” You
have some bad nights, and you’re just like, “This is
not worth it. It’s barely paying to fund my vinyl habit
as it is.” I got really jaded. [But] it’s really been a
nice, fun time DJing with them.
Eliza I thought it was just gonna be a one-off, with
you guys, and then you were like, “Do you wanna
come back next month?” I think I got... oh, I shouldn’t
44
44
say this in the interview. [laughs] I think I got fairly
intoxicated that evening, and I was like, “They aren’t
gonna want me back!” [all laugh]
Sara But we had so much fun!
Eliza I had a blast. But I was so nervous, because
y’all were like, “We’ll each play a record, and we’ll
play records back to back all night.” And I had never
done that before, so I was really nervous. But I think
we bring a lot of the same sounding stuff, so it works
together.
Mary We all balance each other out really well, you
know?
How do you feel DJing relates to art? What’s the connection between art and music?
Sara I think a lot of people that are musicians are
also artists, or vice versa. There are a lot of connections between those two things, and I know some of
us play instruments, but playing records is another
way to tap into that musicality. And you know, paint
certain colors with sound.
Eliza I personally can’t play any instruments. And I
want to one day, but I’m just not gifted in that sense.
Music has always been my biggest inspiration. I remember when I was four years old, all I wanted to
do was listen to music. It was my life. Ever since then
it’s been a struggle for me, because I want to be able
to create sounds, but the only way that I can right
now is to find music that just blows my mind.
How do you think the music you listen to influences
the paintings you do and the art you create?
Eliza I have to listen to something with a beat, because when I’m painting, the beat takes over my
body, and all of my brushstrokes follow the beat of
the song. It doesn’t matter what the beat is, so long
as there’s like a heavy bassline, or a sick drumbeat,
that’s what all of my linework follows. That’s how I
stay in the zone. If I’m listening to nothing, I will not
be able to concentrate. I don’t know if it’s the same
way for you guys.
Mary Yeah, pretty similar. As long as I’m listening
to something that allows me to get into that quiet
Mary, you mentioned being in your studio for 8 hours.
Is that a regular thing for you? How long does the creative process take for you to achieve something that
you’re finished with?
Mary That’s definitely, on a good week, a regular
thing. I’ll wait tables three days a week, but other
than that, I go to work at the studio every day. And
it just depends. On a good day, maybe I’ll have built
up my canvas for hours, and then once I get into that
trancelike state, if it’s even possible... It’s similar to
when you’re meditating. People will sit and sit and
sit trying to quiet their mind, and it won’t ever happen. Then there’s one day where you just have 30
seconds where you are in complete and utter bliss.
In the same way, when painting, it’ll be so shitty, you
know? I’ll just be pissed off. “Why can’t I even paint
this fucking nose? I’ve tried for the past three hours
and I can’t paint a nose.” But then something will
happen, and that trance state, or that godlike quality that I keep bringing up, or that blissful state will
enter in, and something will come out. And it may
have taken ten minutes, and it will be a masterpiece.
| RVA Magazine | RVAmag.com
by Eliza Childress
45
by MARY WILCOX
That makes me curious about another thing that I
was wondering. Eliza, I know you’re freelance, and
Mary, you were saying you work as a waitress three
days a week and paint the rest of the time. Sara, I’m
not sure what you’re doing now.
Sara I work in an office. Monday through Friday.
Mary We’re trying to convince her to quit her office
job. [laughs]
I’m really curious about the financial implications of
making art--how sustainable you’ve found it.
Sara I can’t really speak to that too much, obviously, because I work, but I can say that I think this
is probably as good of a place as most places in the
country to try to live your dream. Because the cost
of living here, while it has risen in the past several
years, compared to other cities in the country, is still
relatively low. If you want to go for something, you
might as well [in Richmond].
Mary My boyfriend just recently quit all his other
jobs in kitchens and whatnot and is solely doing artwork. And he always says to me, “If you love it, it will
survive.” I think that’s true. I’m not impractical, and
that’s why I still have a waitressing job, but I also
think that you have the power to create your own
destiny. If you want to be an artist and that’s what
your passion is, and what you want to share with
the world, then you have to do it! And you can make
it happen. It might be hard. You might have to go to
other cities to try to find clients or have shows, and
you might have to write a lot of emails, or do things
you don’t want to do, but that’s tough! That’s what
it takes.
Eliza It beats having a real job.
So what’s been your experience with getting shows
and clients?
Eliza I’ve emailed galleries, but that was before I’d
gotten any press. I don’t know if it would be different now. Honestly, all of the publicity that I’ve had
in the past year and a half hasn’t done that much
for me. All of my clients are still from out of town.
I’ve had to make a shitload of sacrifices working as
a freelancer. I don’t go out to eat, I don’t really do
anything. But the only art shows I seem to be able
to get in this town are in unconventional spaces-which I really like, because as much fun as it would
be to have a stale white wall to work with, and put
paint all over, I like to be in a place that feels like my
own home. But it’s kind of frustrating also, because
the galleries, that’s what brings you good money to
live off of.
Mary I think house shows are the way to go. I started selling art in high school. My mom’s an interior
designer. I just took down all of the art in my mom’s
house, in the living room and dining room, then replaced it with all of my art and invited all her clients
over. I really like that you can see something hung
up in your house with a plant next to it, or a light, or
trinkets, or however you’re gonna place it, instead of
just on a bare wall.
Sara I think it’s more difficult when you’re younger,
because people don’t have the disposable income
to spend on a piece of art, really. I completely understand, because I cannot really afford to buy someone’s original art, either. I just think that for the most
part, our peers who would really appreciate our art
can’t afford it. And that makes it harder.
Mary I think it’s important to tap into different
markets. I had one art show in Richmond at some
wealthy lady’s house, and she invited all of her
friends--I didn’t know anyone there. And it was
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46
great--people were really into it. I think that maybe alongside each other, discussed their ideas for inwe just need to work together a little bit more.
dividual projects, and built their own gallery space.
I want to get something like that going, because I
Do you feel like the art scene in Richmond is geared feel like if we all came together then we would be
towards older people?
able to use each other’s resources, and tap into avEliza If you want to make money, then yes, you have enues that we have never explored before. It would
to tap into the older crowd. But with us, it’s probably be really cool, to have 15 people and have a massive
harder because we make a younger style of art.
group show.
Mary I’ve had a hard time tapping into the younger
crowd with artwork. Just this year, I’ve finally started Eliza, you had pieces in the PLF’s Visions art show at
to share my artwork with friends, whereas before, Gallery 5 in October. That’s all young artists.
I only sold to older people. I’ve actually been more Eliza It is. Gallery 5 is an exceptional venue. It’s
intimidated to share my artwork with people around fantastic. They have great events and great shows
here.
there. They’ll host anything, it doesn’t matter if they
Sara There are so many talented people here in think the art is going to sell and bring them a lot of
Richmond. And yes, what everyone is doing is spe- revenue. They’re very supportive.
cial and unique, but it’s only a slight exaggeration to
say everybody’s talented in some way. So it is hard So but for real, how’s selling art going?
because we live in a place which has a really good Eliza In my year and a half of freelancing I’ve had
art school, and there’s tons of people doing really one hard month, and that was in November of last
cool things.
year. But past that, things have done really well. I’ve
Eliza I’d like to form a monthly art meeting, but it gone on four vacations this year, which is perhaps
just hasn’t come together yet. I went to that Klimt irresponsible, but I was still working on art when I
exhibit in Venice, and [Klimt and other Austrian was out of town.
artists circa 1900] had the Vienna Secession. We
obviously couldn’t call it a secession here in Rich- Are you finding ways to expand your reach?
mond, but it was just a group of artists from differ- Eliza Oh my god, yeah. I met so many people in Itent backgrounds who got together. It didn’t matter aly. I met a [guy who] calls himself a “video jockey,”
if you were an interior designer or an architect, or a VJ.When I go back in the spring, he’s going to do
a painter, a jeweler, anything. All of them worked visual projections and I’m gonna bring records over
by SARA GOSSETT
and DJ. We’re gonna set up an art show, so I’m
gonna have an art show based around my experiences in Italy. It’ll be all-encompassing, which is
what I like events to be.
Sara When Greg [Darden] and I used to do our
light shows [Cosmic Hum], that was our original
plan. We would do light shows and play music as
well. We would take turns doing the oil and water
projection and then DJing, which as you can imagine, you have to be very careful about. Your hands
are covered in oil and food coloring-Eliza And then you go to pick up a record, my god.
Sara Yeah. But that was a big objective for us,
combining visual and aural. It just became exhausting. [laughs] But it was really fun while we
did it, and we might do it again.
Mary Back to what you were saying, selling
artwork is do-able these days, for sure. I did a
painting-a-day project in Mexico. I was going for
a yoga retreat, and didn’t have a lot of money. So
I sold 5”x7” flat paintings, almost like the size of
a postcard, ahead of time. The deal was you gave
me $20, and you got a painting in the mail. You
didn’t get to choose what it was, it was a surprise.
And I sold way more than I even wanted to do. I
ended up having to do multiple paintings a day.
But I think that’s a good project. The first week I
was like, “Damn, why did I do this? I’m tired and
now I have to go paint.”
Eliza But those are pieces that people are gonna
cherish forever. It’s something that’s so real.
And you did it for $20, which is in reach for a lot of
people. A lot of paintings are multiple hundreds or
thousands of dollars.
Mary I’ve been doing really small stuff now. I think
that’s a really good way to sell art to our friends
and our peers, because it’s so non-committal to
buy something for $20. Most people can afford
$20. And for something small, you don’t have to
think about “Where am I going to put this?”
Eliza Can I ask a question?
Absolutely.
Eliza Do dreams affect your illustrations at all?
Because it’s something that’s occurring in your
mind, and it’s obviously very relevant to what goes
on in your day to day life. Does that inspire you?
Mary Do my dreams inspire me?
Eliza Yeah, do they inspire you enough to where
when you’re sitting down at a painting, not even
thinking about it, do you ever think, “Oh my god,
that happened to me in a dream.” Or something,
and it just comes out naturally? How does that relate to your day to day life?
Mary I think that every single painting that I do
could be tied back into a dream or a dreamlike
state.
Sara Yeah, totally. I’m a shy person, so you just
retreat into your daydreams. And that is just
as important. That’s the fantastical element of
things. For me, when I listen to music, that happens a lot. You see certain images and colors and
it takes you to a fantastical place in your mind, and
you translate that into what comes out of your
hands, whether it’s writing or painting or drawing
or music.
Mary And it all can be tied back to the same
thing, at least for me. When I was speaking about
a bliss-like state, that’s like getting into the unconscious. Letting that seep through. Those are your
dreams.
47
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48
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49
REVIEWS by ANDREW NECCI
Animal Magazine
Bat For Lashes
The Haunted Man
(Parlophone/Capitol)
All We Love We Leave Behind Lights Out
(Epitaph)
(Nuclear Blast)
Converge
Graveyard
This RVA-based group gives us an
underproduced slab of raw, wild hardcore
punk with hints of metal and garage rock.
Animal Magazine’s passionate fury is not
for the weak--if you’re looking for polished
production, this isn’t for you--but you’re
missing out on a good time if you pass up
the chance to hear this record.
The third album by UK singer/songwriter
Natasha Khan, aka Bat For Lashes,
blindsided me with its brilliance. Its dark,
gothic synth-pop displays the hypnotic
intensity of Kate Bush and the soulbaring emotional depths of Fiona Apple,
yet is entirely unique in today’s musical
landscape. Don’t overlook it.
Converge’s eighth LP finds them better and
more consistent than ever, further refining
the sound they’ve been developing since
drummer Ben Koller joined for 2001’s Jane
Doe--a noisy, chaotic mixture of metal and
hardcore that combines to form a massive
steamroller of brutality. This rules.
Graveyard serve up an expert imitation of
early 70s proto-metal on this album--think
Blue Oyster Cult or Pentagram--and it’s a
total blast. Some people are going to tell
you to ignore it because its influences are
so easily traceable, but fuck those people.
Originality is overrated. Fun is what
matters.
HIM
Kylesa
Miguel
I’ve never gotten the hype around this
long-running Finnish band, and this
20-track singles comp doesn’t really
change that. Overproduced, glammed-up
goth rock (or gothed-up glam rock?) that’s
not catchy enough to work as pop, and
only counts as metal if your idea of metal
is Hysteria-era Def Leppard. Yawn.
Kylesa’s new LP is actually a remarkably
cohesive compilation of B-sides and
previously unreleased material. However,
the album’s main strength is also its
crucial flaw--Kylesa’s monolithic heaviness
too often crosses over into outright
monotony. Nothing this loud should be
this boring, and yet here we are.
Sparse production, creative songwriting,
and the combination of soulful singing
and talented guitar playing make Miguel
something of a 21st century Prince, though
his dirty sex songs sound just as reverent
as his love ballads. Kaleidoscope Dream is
a miracle cure for R&B radio boredom.
Dusted: A Collection
(animalmagazine.bandcamp.com)
Herro Sugar
Smoking General Kills
Sturgeon (herrosugar.com)
Local teens make good with this 8-song
EP, on which they mingle scintillating
guitar melodies and catchy pop choruses
with a driving rhythm section that keeps
things sounding powerful without heavy
distortion. If you dig Weezer, Death Cab
For Cutie, and early REM, you need to
check these guys out.
Pig Destroyer
XX: Two Decades Of Love
Metal (Sony)
From The Vaults Vol. 1
(Season Of Mist)
Book Burner
(Relapse)
Harmonicraft
(Volcom)
Torche
Ty Segall
The first album in five years from this
NoVa grind outfit alternates between
blistering speed and thick, wellconstructed thrash riffs, and should please
both headbangers and circle-pit types.
New drummer Adam Jarvis is a whirlwind
genius, and J.R. Hayes’ lyrics are as
literarily disturbing as ever.
Their stoner-metal past is still audible
in this Florida quartet’s pounding drums
and crunching guitars, but Harmonicraft
is their third straight release that owes a
much stronger songwriting debt to pop
than metal. Anyone who digs both Cheap
Trick and Black Sabbath will find a lot to
like here.
San Francisco’s prolific garage-rock
wunderkind has done it again with Twins,
his third album of 2012. Fans of loud, wild
rock n’ roll will get a huge kick out of this
LP, with its fired-up tempos and raging
guitar overdrive. It’s the musical equivalent
of a speeding muscle car--crank it up and
let it run right over you.
50
Twins
(Drag City)
Kaleidoscope Dream
(RCA)
Wild Nothing
Nocturne
(Captured Tracks)
Blacksburg’s favorite sons completely
ignore the sophomore slump with this
excellent followup to their 2010 debut.
These ethereal pop tunes achieve the
perfect balance of treated guitar melodies
and dreamy synth washes, over which
Jack Tatum drapes his gorgeously sung
choruses. No wonder Brooklyn loves these
guys.
REVIEWS by DAN ANDERSON
The Beetnix
The Pyramid Effect
(soundcloud.com/beetnix)
This C-ville duo has been dominating VA
stages for over a decade, and The Pyramid
Effect is another reminder about why you
shouldn’t sleep on The Beetnix. This LP has
rare wisdom, dope beats, and profound
points, but it’s standout tracks like “As I
Am…” that remind me why Waterloo is
still one of my favorite rhyme-spitters.
Jo Casino
Black Liquid
The Black Experience
(blackliq.com)
Black Liquid kicks game into fifth gear,
bringing a more polished sound and
aggressive beat selection than previous
installments. The content delivery is
exactly what one can expect. That being
said, evolution is obvious and this MC
continues to improve. Creative people
tend to move around a lot; it’s interesting
to watch Black Liquid moving up.
Carolyn Mark
The Queen of Vancouver
Island (Mint)
Dank D
Planet Diesel
(dankd.bandcamp.com)
Forward female vocals and countryesque This record is all over the place. Dank D
twang might overshadow the lack of
has his hand in all but two of the credits,
production value for some. If Thelma and
and somehow the production value on
Louise listened to a little Carolyn Mark,
they may have reconsidered the reckless this joint is surprisingly engaging. I wish
abandon that lead to their death. However, I knew who produced tracks like “H20,”
the massive amount of estrogen currently “Vapor Trails,” and the title track, but the
coursing through my veins makes me want bandcamp page is unspecific. Dank D is
to drive a Thunderbird over a cliff.
crazy--I like it.
John Deluca
Kreator
Machine Gun Mustache
I received this on a CD with nothing
written on it. For all I know, John played
every instrument on this project. He’s been
rumored to drive around in a green car full
of instruments. All the Precious Things You
Love creates an experimentally hypnotic
experience. Well rounded, with so much
to offer.
The press release threatened to rip
my face off with this record. It’s done
no such thing. Nonetheless, Phantom
Antichrist is still a cool album. With
ten tracks, packed full of thrash metal
awesomeness, pandemonious guitar solos,
and comprehensibly dark lyrics, Phantom
Antichrist is arguably one of Kreator’s best
projects of their 30-year career.
This is by far the most interesting album
I’ve heard all year. Machine Gun Mustache
blends elements of 1950’s Americana with
garage rock and Celtic Folk in a manic
fashion that engages the listener from
start to finish. The average song length is
2 min, keeping the less appealing tracks
short enough to make the whole project
interesting.
Southern Belles
So Illa
Stomp Status
Sharp As A Knife is one of the best albums
to come out of Richmond. That might
be arguable, but you can’t deny that The
Southern Belles have created something
special with their very Kickstarter-funded
first record. Upbeat country-blues jams
with excellent production from Sound Of
Music’s John Morand and Bryan Walthall.
So !lla is determined to make good music,
and this release is his best to date. It’s
good to see that his recording quality and
compositions have considerably improved
over a short period of time. Will does his
thing over the lion’s share of 18 tracks.
Formed less than two years ago, after a
jam session gone right, these four GMU
music students have released their second
album. Blending Jazz, Funk, Blues, and
Rock, in a synchronized and enchanting
fashion one will come to expect from
Stomp Status, 5440 represents the next
step in their musical evolution.
SpaceBound
(jocasino.bandcamp.com)
SpaceBound is a reflection of Jo Ca$ino’s
youth. It’s fun, naive, and predictable.
However, his delivery is charismatic and
believable. SpaceBound lacks depth and
experience on occasion, but the confident
follow-through makes those staggered
moments almost unnoticeable. It’s like
Kendrick Lamar gave Mac Miller a wedgie,
stole his lunch money, and stuffed him in
a trashcan.
Sharp as a Knife
(thesouthernbelles.bandcamp.com)
All The Precious Things You Phantom Antichrist
Love (thejadeid.bandcamp.com)
(Nuclear Blast)
#ForTheFuckOfit
(hlgnlife.bandcamp.com)
5440
(self-released)
World’s Gon’ End
(Not Cherries Records)
Tearjerker
Hiding
(tearjerker.bandcamp.com)
This Toronto based band is always
adequately adept instrumentally. Less
is more this time around, as Tearjerker
reaches for perfection with just four
songs. Hiding is like finding money in the
laundry; your future self will thank you for
uncovering this discovery.
51
52
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53
Alex “MR MASON JONES” Blanchard
September 9, 1983-October 29, 2012
Darrell “Kleph Dollaz” Durant
April 27, 1972-August 28, 2012
Many things define life. For some it’s all about accomplishments, respect, tangible things, money, the inevitable “what if”s. But for others, it’s about
something more, something bigger. This year we lost two of RVA’s tallest pillars of creativity: Kleph Dollaz and Mr. Mason Jones. One could distinguish these
men by their accomplishments. After all, Kleph was known by most for his incredible production. His resume features legendary names such as Talib Kweli,
Sean Price, M.O.P., and almost every “known” lyricist right here in Richmond, from Noah-O to Joey Gallo. Not to mention his incredible trio of songstresses
The Kleph Notes, his success in the 90’s as one half of the Hip-Hop duo Ill Biskits, and work with the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond. To visit his lab,
The Klubhouse, was a honor and rite of passage for any MC--period. Mr. Mason Jones, an amazing artist whose work stood out wherever it appeared, from
the canvas that is Richmond to the entire side of a building in DC, gripped spray paint cans with the finesse of Bob Ross painting trees. He also diversified
our musical tastes as a DJ, spinning dubstep and hip hop, and is responsible for bringing many people together. He was and is the definition of an artist-both of these men are--but these words and accomplishments do not even come close to encapsulating who they were, what they stood for, and what, in my
opinion, they should be remembered for: The Love. That was their true gift--the ability to accept and empower, their willingness to share. It’s ironic that now
we must share the pain of losing them, but with that loss comes the opportunity and responsibility to share the power of their inspiration, and to share the
power of their challenge to live up to the gold standard they set. To--as Kleph always said and Mason always did-- “Keep It Real.” -by Black Liquid
Rest In Power.
Donations can still be made to the Darrel K Durant Foundation, which benefits The Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond.
There is an event in the name of Mr. Mason Jones 12/28 at The Camel, feat. his art, DJ J-Nice, and more.
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