1 MUSIC SOULPOWER MONSTER

RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
1
HERMES
2
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
3
HERMES
4
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
5
HERMES
6
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
Are you looking for a new place to blow off steam? Colonial Shooting Academy is the perfect place to experience a
little recoil therapy. It’s incredible how relaxing an hour or two on our ranges can be. In fact, Wednesday night is Date
Night at Colonial Shooting Academy. From 5:00—9:00pm, couples can enjoy 2 for 1 range rentals on any of our air
conditioned shooting lanes. Once you’ve experienced it, you’ll agree—recoil therapy is a great way to blow off steam!
Interested in classes? Colonial Shooting Academy offers a variety of
classes for all skill levels, from beginner to experienced shooter.
HERMES
8
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
9
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
INKWELL MEDIA / RVA MAGAZINE / WWW.RVAMAG.COM
ORIGINAL RVA FOUNDERS
R. ANTHONY HARRIS & JEREMY PARKER
PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
R. ANTHONY HARRIS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ANDREW NECCI
ADVERTISING
JOHN REINHOLD & DAN ANDERSON
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & EDITORIAL DESIGN
BRYAN WOODLAND
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
APRIL KELLY
RVAMAG.COM
R. ANTHONY HARRIS, ANDREW NECCI,
APRIL KELLY, BRYAN WOODLAND
RVA TV
JONATHAN MARTIN
WRITERS
DAN ANDERSON, CHAD BROWN,
SHANNON CLEARY, MARC CHEATHAM,
JOSEPH GENEST, R ANTHONY HARRIS,
ANDREW NECCI
PHOTOGRAPHY
GLENN COCOA, CHRIS CONWAY
GRANT FANNING, CARLOS FUNN
RYAN HACKETT, TODD RAVIOTTA
GRAPHICS
JAROD PRUHS
CREDITS MUNICIPAL WASTE BY RYAN HACKETT
10
CONTACT
P: 804.349.5890
E: [email protected]
ADVERTISING LOCAL & NATIONAL
P: 276.732.3410
E: [email protected]
DISTRIBUTION
P: 804.349.5890
E: [email protected]
SUBMISSIONS
RVA WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS BUT CANNOT BE
HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR UNSOLICITED MATERIAL.
SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO [email protected].
ALL SUBMISSIONS PROPERTY OF INKWELL
DESIGN LLC. THE ENTIRE CONTENT IS A COPYRIGHT OF INKWELL DESIGN LLC AND CANNOT BE
REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT
WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF THE PUBLISHER.
ONLINE
RVA CAN BE VIEWED IN ITS ENTIRETY ANYTIME
AT RVAMAG.COM, FACEBOOK/RVAMAGAZINE,
TWITTER/@RVAMAG. MYSPACE.COM/RVA
SUBSCRIPTION
LOG ONTO RVAMAG.COM FOR INFORMATION
HEADS UP!
THE ADVERTISING AND ARTICLES APPEARING WITHIN THIS PUBLICATION REFLECT THE
OPINION AND ATTITUDES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE
AUTHORS AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF
THE PUBLISHER OR EDITORS. REPRODUCTION IN
WHOLE OR PART WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. RVA MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY. IMAGES ARE SUBJECT TO BEING ALTERED
FROM THEIR ORIGINAL FORMAT. ALL MATERIAL
WITHIN THIS MAGAZINE IS PROTECTED.
RVA IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF
INKWELL DESIGN L.L.C.
RVA
RVA MAGAZINE
MAGAZINE #9
#9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
11
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA #9
SUMMER 2012
ARTICLES AVAILABLE AT RVAMAG.COM
26
40
14
SOUL POWER
28
JEFF SOTO
16
SUBURBAN DISTRICT
34
THE MILK STAINS
46
NICK KUSZYK
20
MUNICIPAL WASTE
38
MICHAEL MILLIONS
50
A LIFE ONCE LOST
24
THE DIAMOND CENTER
42
DOWN BEAT SWITCH
56
RECORD REVIEWS
12
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
13
DJ PARI AND MR FELTY
SOULPOWER
BY THOMAS WIGGLESWORTH
PHOTO BY CARLOS FUNN
14
RVA MAGAZINE #9
EVENT FLYERS
F
RVAMAG.COM
or years, Soulpower has been the most popular
rare soul and funk dance party in town and it
is one of only two parties of its kind in Virginia.
Every third Saturday of the month at Balliceaux,
hosts Mr. Felty and DJ Pari spin original vinyl
45s – bringing back the sound and feeling of the
1960s and 1970s.
Soulpower was launched as a welcome party
for DJ Pari at Ipanema in May of 2007. German
native Pari, who had toured and DJed worldwide
with funk and soul legends like James Brown,
The Impressions, Marva Whitney, Bobby Byrd,
Mandrill, Gwen McCrae, and many others, had
decided to make his new home in the Richmond
area because his wife had family here. Several
months prior to his move, Pari had connected
with local vinyl digger and DJ Troy Hurt on a web
forum for rare Soul and Funk records. Within days
of his arrival in Virginia, Troy hosted a welcome
gig at Ipanema on Grace Street. Deciding that
Richmond needed a regular soul party, Soulpower
became Troy and Pari’s monthly gig – and soon
gained momentum as Richmond’s premier party
for lovers of 1960s and 1970s soul and funk
music.
In April 2008, Soulpower moved to Cous
Cous, where the party had a great run
throughout the summer, often with lines
forming outside during peak times. But in the
fall of that year, the party’s run at Cous Cous
ended when Troy and Pari decided to go their
separate ways. “We just had different ideas
about what we wanted to do,” Pari says. Troy
stayed at Cous Cous and revived his dance
night, Mercy, while Pari joined Andrew Felty,
aka Mr. Felty, as a co-host on the weekly soul
radio show Midnight Soulstice, on Richmond
Independent Radio 97.3 FM.
Felty had been a regular at the Soulpower parties
since day one. “I was a fan of the Soulpower night
and enjoyed the enthusiastic crowd of people that
would hang out and dance,” he says. “It was a real
good time.” On radio, Pari and Andrew revamped
the format of their show, which now has listeners
from all over the world and has been downloaded
50,000 times. Pari asked Andrew to join him in
bringing the Soulpower party back to the place
where it all started – at Ipanema. “I was happily
surprised to join up with Pari for that,” Andrew
says. “After I learned more about his résumé of
Soulpower-related events around the world, I
knew it would be something fun to be a part of.
And, it justified my addiction for buying more and
more funk and soul 45s,” he says.
But after a strong re-launch party, crowds began
to stay away from Soul nights at Ipanema. In the
summer of that year, Pari and Andrew called it
a wrap. They took a break from promoting local
parties until February 2010, when Soulpower
found a new home at Balliceaux. “It was the
perfect choice for us, and we hit the ground
running,” Pari says. “It took us no more than three
or four months to build a crowd, and we haven’t
had a slow night since.” At Balliceaux, Soulpower
has found the perfect venue. “It’s not too small,
not too big, and it has the right ambience,” Pari
says. “The guys from Balliceaux are all great
to work with. They have done a lot to promote
independent music and art culture in Richmond.”
Soulpower have also hosted a few live shows at
their new home, bringing Kings Go Forth, Joe
Quarterman & The Funk Ark, and Eli Paperboy
Reed & True Loves to Richmond for the first time.
As a DJ team, they opened for Sharon Jones and
the Dap-Kings at the National, on Brown’s Island,
and hosted the official aftershow parties.
In the five years it has been happening in
Richmond, Soulpower has also featured many
guest DJs from out of town, including Phast
Phreddie (NYC), DJ Orb (San Francisco),
Soulmarcosa (L.A.), DJ Nitekrawler (D.C.), Andy
Noble and Dave Monroe (Milwaukee), and
Miss Shing-A-Ling (Buffalo, NY). Many local
vinyl heads like Mike Murphy, Chew La Rock,
Mordecai, and Jason Hamlin have also spun at
Soulpower.
Today, Andrew and Pari don’t want to mess with
their successful approach to hosting a great soul
party. “We’ve done it the same way all this time,”
Pari says. “We spin rare soul and funk records
from the 1960s and 1970s, on vinyl only, and we
play some rare Soul footage and Blaxploitation
movies on our video beamer to create the right
atmosphere. We’re just keeping it real,” he says.
“Soulpower parties are about the love of the
classic era of soul music that still gets people to
shake and vibrate,” Andrew says. “It’s a classy
night of loud funky soul music that refreshes the
[memory] of a time long past in music history. I
think the records we play can’t be duplicated by
any current band.”
And Andrew and Pari hope that none of
this will change anytime soon. “As long as
Balliceaux is happy with us, and as long as
there are people coming to listen and dance to
vintage soul records, we’ll be here,” Pari says.
“When we see happy faces, big smiles, and
sweaty bodies on the dance floor, and nobody
even bothers to come up with a song request,
then we know that we’re on the right track. I
think that’s some pretty strong evidence that
Richmond’s got soul.”
Facebook.com/SoulpowerRVA
“ SOULPOWER PARTIES ARE ABOUT THE LOVE OF THE
CLASSIC ERA OF SOUL MUSIC THAT STILL GETS PEOPLE
TO SHAKE AND VIBRATE.”
MUSIC SOULPOWER
15
HERMES
16
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
MONSTER
FAIR
INTERVIEW and PHOTOS
by MARC CHEATHAM
RVAMAG.COM
S
o far, 2012 has been transformational for
Tim Porter, Fair, and Octavion Xcellence, the
trio better known as Suburban District. From
releasing a slew of new tracks and stunning videos
to absolutely killing live shows all over the DMV
area, performing at the famous SXSW Music
Festival in Austin, and releasing their latest studio
album, Beer for Breakfast, you might think there is
not much left for Suburban District to accomplish
this year. But you’d be wrong--they’re just getting
started with what they have planned for the RVA
hip hop scene. Suburban District just wants to do
more. More records, more videos, more shows-even more solo projects. And they want to do it
with their hometown of RVA on their back. Always
representing the two up, two down, The District
is managing to do what most Richmond hip hop
artists find the most difficult: breaking through
that initial wall of doubt that keeps a lot of RVA
artists strictly in the local category. They are moving into a new realm that has led national music
blogs and outlets such as Vibe Magazine and The
Source to write about their uptempo party sound
and energetic live performances. They have opened
for major label artists like Big Sean and Flo Rida,
and now it’s their turn to be the main attraction. If
early reaction to Beer for Breakfast is any indication, they are well on their way to their best year
to date.
Since Suburban District are always busy making
moves, the majority of this interview was done
over email. Here’s a lesson to all hip hop artists
serious about their business--get a good management team. Smooth Dirty Productions, run by my
man Allen “BHOTT” Watts, was instrumental in
making this interview happen. Smooth Dirty and
Suburban District: Don’t mind them, they are just
the future.
The new album, Beer for Breakfast, dropped in
early June. What can listeners expect from the
new project?
Octavion: June 12th! Available now. Listeners can
expect that energy we’ve been bringing to the
table since 2009. Our true fans that have been
riding with us since then will definitely notice and
appreciate the progress we’ve made as artists,
and new fans should prepare themselves for
something major.
The District is having an amazing 2012. Tell me
about that experience of performing at SXSW
in Austin. What did Suburban District gain
from playing the festival this year?
Porter: Austin was an amazing experience for me.
It was actually my first time visiting Texas so it’s
always great to go somewhere you’ve never been
before. Dope music and musicians everywhere
you turn, signed and unsigned, famous and unknown. The crowd was extremely receptive to our
performance. I was very happy with that. I think
we gained a win for the city and state, honestly.
It’s no secret that our area has been overlooked
for quite some time, but Austin definitely knew
VA was in the house that night, so that’s a win.
No matter how big or small the win was, it’s still
a win.
“Bleachers” is the first single released from
Beer for Breakfast. How did the group decide on
it as the first release?
Fair: To me, it just felt right. It’s a great record-great beat, great vibe, great lyrics--so why not?
We try not to overthink our decisions and just do
what feels right. We have confidence in all of our
records, so we think that whatever we put out is
going to be received well, and we can make some
noise with it.
What other artists and producers did you work
with on the new album?
Fair: Conrizzle, Masta, Volume, Tazzy B, Patch
Carr, Scolla, Nickelus F, D’Vine.
How did Suburban District meet and start
rhyming together as a group?
Porter: I met Fair back in 2007 and he introduced
me to Octavion. We were solo artists long before
this, but it just made sense at the time to form a
group because of our chemistry. Not only do we
work well with each other in the studio, we are
great friends outside of it.
There has been a lot of momentum surrounding
your group--how do you explain the growth of
Suburban District as artists?
Octavion: Well, just on a life tip in general, if you
aren’t getting wiser and growing annually, you’re
doing something wrong and your life is a stagnant
mess. So our natural maturation as humans
definitely translates into the music and how we
conduct ourselves business-wise. I think we have
quite the productive résumé when it comes to our
accomplishments, and I think that we all just have
the drive to become more. We try to keep moving
because a lot of people have serious faith in us,
and we owe it to them to continue to deliver.
How has forming in Richmond influenced your
group? What are your thoughts on the current
state of Richmond Hip Hop?
Porter: I think it taught us that you really have
to take your craft seriously, or they won’t take
you seriously. Richmond is a tough city to make
a name for yourself, especially if you’re not conforming to what’s popular and what’s loved here.
If you’re void of a strong work ethic, then quit. You
have no chance here. As far as Richmond hip-hop
- it’s great. There is a lot of unique talent here in
RVA. Everyone’s working. We as a city just need
to get our foot in the door and then it’s over.
What can RVA expect from Suburban District
for the rest of 2012?
Octavion: More songs, more videos, more projects (group and solo), more shows...the usual.
You guys seem to do a lot of work with North
Carolina Artist/Producer Conrizzle. What role
does he play in the sound of Suburban District?
“ WELL, JUST ON A LIFE TIP IN GENERAL, IF YOU AREN’T
GETTING WISER AND GROWING ANNUALLY, YOU’RE DOING
SOMETHING WRONG AND YOUR LIFE IS A STAGNANT MESS.”
MUSIC SUBURBAN DISTRICT
17
OCTAVION
Fair: I view Conrizzle as the honorary fourth
member [laughs]. He produced [our] original hit,
“When Girls Kiss Girls.” If the average person only
knows one thing about Suburban District, then 9
times out of 10 it’s that we did that song. “When
Girls Kiss Girls” is still a fan favorite after all this
time; that’s why we finally gave the people what
they wanted and shot a video for it.
Octavion, people that know you know that
you are a strong personality, but the energy in
the District has always seemed positive and
focused. How do you explain the chemistry of
the group?
Octavion: I Just feel like we have been at it with
this music stuff for so long we just know what’s
proper. We know what decisions to make that will
benefit us all the most. We have learned to think
as a unit and not as solo acts. The chemistry was
bound to happen because we are 3 motivated
individuals with success on our brains. We trust
each other when it comes to decisions for the
group; I actually think that’s where most of the
chemistry comes from. You must be able to trust
the people you do business with as well as those
people you share your passion with.
Octavion, you spend a lot of time outside of
VA, mostly for your education in California.
While you’re away at school are you still
working on music for the District?
18
SUBURBAN DISTRICT
Octavion: Yeah. I actually am glad you mentioned
that. I go to medical school out here in California.
It’s super hard and time-consuming. For some
reason I am able to gather the strength and continue to be so involved in my RVA activities. So
the answer is yes sir. I continue to record for District records, Smooth Dirty records, solo records,
feature records, Yellow Cake records [laughs]. I
just never have time to rest anyway, so I make
most of those daily hours very productive.
Fair, a lot of Suburban District songs are
about parties and having a good time, but you
released a very serious single called “Troy
Davis” earlier this year. Tell me about that
single and why you felt the need to release
such a serious song.
Fair: Mainly, I wanted to educate the uninformed
and shed some light on the situation. When I first
got word of this case, I was shocked that I hadn’t
heard about it sooner. I also wondered how many
others knew nothing about it. [Troy Davis was a
possibly innocent man convicted of murdering
a police officer. He was executed by the state of
Georgia in September 2011-ed.] So that’s how the
song came about. I doubt that record will go on a
project; I just felt like it needed to be released.
Fair, your solo effort is also in the works.
What experiences came into play while
working on this new album of yours? What
sound would you say (if any) is similar to the
sound of the project?
Fair: Considering that this is my debut project,
I spent a lot of time perfecting it. I’ve actually
had the records finished for a while now. I’ve just
been holding onto them until I felt that the time
was right. As of now, the album is in Conrizzle’s
hands. After he makes some final touches, it’s go
time. As far as the sound, that’s for the people to
decide. All I can say is that it’s not like the usual
bullshit you hear on the radio. Lost Angel, coming
sooner than later!
Porter, I have often seen you out supporting
the RVA hip hop scene. Is it important to you
that hip-hop artists from Richmond work
together?
Porter: It’s not just important, it’s necessary. You
hear a lot of artists complaining about the lack
of support from the public here, but sometimes
those particular artists are the most selfish,
egotistical people you’ll ever meet. That’s why I
make sure I show my face at every show I can,
and I’m open to work with anyone from the city.
Because if we don’t support each other, then how
the hell can we expect the general population to
support us?
Porter, we hear that you have a new solo effort
you have put together with Northern Virginia
producer Fastaro. How did that come into play,
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
“ YOU HEAR A LOT OF ARTISTS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE LACK OF SUPPORT
FROM THE PUBLIC HERE, BUT SOMETIMES THOSE PARTICULAR ARTISTS
ARE THE MOST SELFISH, EGOTISTICAL PEOPLE YOU’LL EVER MEET.”
and when can we expect that to be released?
Porter: I met Fastaro a year or so ago through one
of our video directors. He’s a great guy, a great
producer, and most importantly he’s hungry. He
sends us beats faster than we can write to them
[laughs]. His production really suits me as a solo
artist, and you’ll hear that, so it just made sense
to me to do a project produced by him. I was
inspired by Octavion’s No Cool Points for Dying.
As you all know, that was a collaboration with
Just Plain Sounds. The Porter x Fastaro project is
called Least Heralded, and you can expect it sometime this summer. [We] already have a video shot
for a song titled “7-Eleven,” featuring Octavion, so
look out for that.
Porter, what are your personal plans after you
release Least Heralded?
Porter: I’ve already started working on my next
effort, titled Pain and Patron, which will be my
fourth project. It’s going to be my deepest project
to date, and I’m hoping to get that out by the end
of this year. I would also love to do a collaboration EP with another artist in this area. Who really
knows what’s in store though? I just want all of
us to keep working and putting out material and
staying relevant, whether group or solo. You can
never work hard enough, and to me there’s no
such thing as oversaturation unless everybody,
and I literally mean everybody, in the world knows
who you are.
Octavion, you’ve released a lot of solo
material since you became active in 2007.
Most recently in 2012 you have released The
Creation of Yellow Cake 2 with Ryan Flow & DJ
Rhetorik, as well as No Cool Points For Dying
with Just Plain Ant & DJ Shermski. What
other solo projects do you have slated for
this year?
Octavion: I’m working on an EP right now
called Panties & Xannies, but I can’t actually
tell you if it will be released this year. Honestly
I want it to [be], but I just don’t know if I like
what I’m hearing 100% yet. I have been away
from my RVA roots for a while now due to the
whole school thing, so the most important
thing for me is to get my formula back. I need
to get back in the studio with 8th Cranial and
BHOTT, get back to getting the proper guidance for my records. Once I do that I think I will
be able to put a date on it. I also have plans on
MUSIC SUBURBANDISTRICT.COM / SMOOTHDIRTYPRODUCTIONS.COM
getting to work with The Heavy Hitter DJ Lonnie B on some new material soon, so you never
know what may happen the rest of this year.
Octavion, you are also known in the city for
booking shows with Cain McCoy under the
name Slapdash LLC. Do you think your role
in Slapdash has a positive or negative affect
on how the city receives your music as a
solo artist, as well as a member of Suburban
District?
Octavion: I think that my role in Slapdash
makes people understand my business mind.
Cain McCoy, Holly, Sneed, Bella and I have
worked very consistently over the last couple
of years. We have been booking shows every
single month since 2009 and have not missed
a month. That at least shows people the drive
behind the things I want to achieve. I hope that
the things I accomplish with Slapdash inspire
people to want to do more than what they think
they can. Of course with everything nowadays
in life, it is rather hard to not to acquire negativity. It comes with the territory, with wanting to
be more.
19
Photo By Ryan Hackett
MUNICIPAL WASTE
20
RVA MAGAZINE #9
BY ANDREW NECCI
T
RVAMAG.COM
hey’re back! Municipal Waste, the raging kings
of RVA party thrash for over a decade now, have
returned this year with a new album, a new
label, and a new lease on life. The Fatal Feast, their
first album for Nuclear Blast Records and fifth overall, sees the group taking the party outside of our
planet’s atmosphere for a concept known as “Waste
In Space.” From the space-gore festivities of the title
track’s excellent video to the spooky synth interludes
contributed to the album by Zombi’s Steve Moore
(the album also features guest appearances by
Nuclear Assault’s John Connelly and RVA’s own Tim
Barry--more on that below), the concept adds a new
layer of atmosphere to the traditional Waste sound.
And with a new label whose excitement to be working with the Waste shows in their support for the
new album, singer Tony Foresta and the rest of the
band (Ryan Waste on guitar, Phil “Landphil” Hall on
bass, and Dave Witte on drums) couldn’t be more
stoked. I caught up with Tony just before the band
left for a national tour with 3 Inches Of Blood, on
the day that they played a quasi-surprise hometown
show at the small Shockoe Bottom bar Wonderland.
He gave me the lowdown on going to space, making records with car companies, and scouting out
billboards by the side of I-95.
I see you guys are on Nuclear Blast now. I was
wondering what led to the change in labels.
We were on Earache for almost seven years. It’s
crazy how time flies. We had a three-record deal
with them, and we were done with that after our
last record. I wouldn’t say it was getting stale, but
we wanted to do something different, and it felt like
there wasn’t much more room to grow on that label.
There’s no bad blood or anything. A lot of bands
leave labels because they’re pissed, but we just finished our record deal and we wanted to branch out.
The main thing was to work with a label that has
more roots in the US. Nuclear Blast is a German record label, but they have a huge office in the States,
and we’ve been friends with a few people that work
there for almost the entire history of the band. So it
was a good choice for us to move.
I’ve noticed that you guys have done a lot of
elaborate promotional stuff with the new record-the promo videos, the crazy hamburger-eating
contest, and all that stuff.
And see, that was one of the good things with moving to Nuclear Blast. They let us do shit like that. I
wouldn’t say Earache were tight with money, but
whenever we threw them a stupid idea, they were
like, “Ehhh... We don’t really want to do that.” We
were gonna get a billboard for this record on 95.
Nuclear Blast was into it. [laughs]
So that didn’t end up happening?
No, it didn’t. We found this really awesome one,
but it was super-expensive, and then we had to
leave for the GWAR tour. It just didn’t work out
for us time-wise. It’s not like the label’s gonna
send someone to find a billboard for us, so we
were scrambling. I was driving down 95 marking
locations for billboards [laughs]. I was like, “This
is stupid, I’m going home.”
It is interesting that the change in labels is what
led to the extra promo material for the new
record. I noticed that you were doing more than
you had in the past. Have you seen any tangible
results from that? Does it seem like this record is
blowing up bigger than the last couple?
It’s the first record that we’ve ever done that’s
been on the Billboard charts, which is pretty
cool. With Earache being based out of the UK,
they focus most of their promotion in the UK. It
trickles down to Europe, and then eventually to
the US. The stuff they really care about pushing
is mostly in the UK. We do really good over there,
but we wanted the [new] record to do good in
the States. With Nuclear Blast, it’s almost the
opposite, which works for us. The new record
did just as well there as it did over here, so all of
that work we’ve done in Europe over the past ten
years still paid off. We didn’t have to push this
record that hard over there. The result, especially
in the States, has been that it’s done the best of
anything we’ve ever done.
It seems like you guys have a lot of really cool,
elaborate merchandise, and I was wondering
how you get the ideas to do the limited edition
pop-up cover for Fatal Feast, and the glow-inthe-dark vinyl for the Toxic Waste split with
Toxic Holocaust, and all that.
There’s always been a joke around the band about
wanting to do a pop-up. Even back in the day, we
were talking about how the first Waste CD was
gonna be a Choose Your Own Adventure album
[laughs]. You went through and chose which path
you would take, and the Waste would tell you the
story. And no matter what way you did it, you
died, but the [only difference] was how long you
[survived]. [laughs] We’re a little bit more fun
about shit, so we’re able to get away with more
creative, funnier things that most bands that take
themselves super-seriously can’t do. Earache was
cool, but they just didn’t ever want to let us get
weird like that. By the third album, we were over
it. We were just like, “Here are your 14 Waste
songs for the album, and we’re out of here.” They
didn’t get any extra songs. They didn’t get shit.
“THE NEW RECORD DID JUST AS WELL THERE AS IT DID
OVER HERE, SO ALL OF THAT WORK WE’VE DONE IN
EUROPE OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS STILL PAID OFF.”
MUSIC MUNICIPAL WASTE
21
“ YOU CAN’T JUST PUT YOUR FIRST RECORD
OUT AS A SPACE RECORD. IT’S WAY
COOLER IF YOU WAIT A LITTLE WHILE, IF
YOU EVENTUALLY GO TO SPACE.”
Nuclear Blast gave out Municipal Waste frisbees
with a certain amount of LPs. Who the fuck does
that? [laughs]
record out as a space record. It’s way cooler if you
wait a little while, if you eventually go to space.
[laughs]
That’s really great! I saw where there was a
beer koozie with the Toxic Holocaust split.
That was Scotty [Heath]. Scotty’s one of our best
friends. He’s in Voetsek and Deadfall, and he does
Tankcrimes [label that released Toxic Waste]. He
started that label when he was in Voetsek with
Athena, who did Six Weeks Records. They did the
first Waste LP and the Crucial Unit split. We’ve always been trying to get Scotty to put out a Waste
record. Part of the deal once we moved to Nuclear
Blast was that we’ve gotta be able to do shit on
other labels. And Scotty was the first one.
How’d you get Steve Moore from Zombi to do
the synth stuff?
Him and Witte were friends. We’d always listen to
Zombi on long-ass car rides, especially overnight
ones. They’re into all of those old Italian movie
soundtracks. I love the way that band sounds, and
the way they do their stuff. For this album, we
wanted to come up with an intro, and have a part
in the middle that sounds like an old Italian horror
movie. Dave was like, “Yeah, I’ll just call up Steve.”
[laughs] So it was super-easy to do. Same with
the Nuclear Assault thing. We tour so much that
we just meet all these people from playing festivals or touring with them. So I called up John from
Nuclear Assault and was like, “Hey, you wanna
sing on our record?” [laughs] I was nervous calling him, but it ended up working out great.
You rerecorded a couple of really early songs for
that limited 7 inch that came out through Scion.
We rerecorded “Garbage Stomp” and “Poser
Disposer” off the Crucial Unit split. What happened was that when it came out it sounded so
awful, we told Six Weeks, “We don’t want it to get
repressed.” So there were only 1000 of that split,
and we’ve always wanted to rerecord it. Over the
years we rerecord a song from it every once in a
while. One song went on Hazardous Mutation, and
then we did two for the Scion split, and another
one that hasn’t been put out yet.
So you guys seem to have an ongoing
relationship with Scion. What’s it like working
with a car company to make metal records?
We don’t really work with a car company--it’s
basically a promotion company that works for
Scion to push whatever the fuck agenda they
have. It’s cool with us. A lot of people are against
it, but I like the fact that there’s anyone out there
supporting music. They paid for two of our videos,
when Earache wouldn’t. I don’t think we’re trying
to shove cars down anybody’s throats, but... I’m
into it. [laughs]
Tell me about the theme of the new album, the
whole “Waste In Space” thing.
That was a thing that me and Ryan have been
joking about since really early Waste. I think
[former Waste drummer] Brandon Ferrell came
up with “Waste In Space” a really long time ago.
And I would joke about it, like, “Yeah, I can’t wait.
We’re taking this shit to space!” Finally we were
like, “Fuck it, we’ll do a space record.” All those old
thrash bands like Tankard and Assassin, by their
third or fourth record, they do a space record.
GWAR just did a space record a few years ago
too. There are tons of bands that have done it.
So it’s like a rite of passage.
Yeah. Your band’s just gotta write a space record,
if you do it for a while. You can’t just put your first
22
And you got Tim Barry to sing on a song, too.
Was it hard to get him to do something metal
instead of the country stuff he’s been doing?
It was kind of hard for him. He kept joking, “Man,
I haven’t screamed like this in a really long time.”
[laughs] It wasn’t alien to him at all. He used to
listen to metal. He likes all that shit. I was stoked.
I’ve been wanting to do something with him
forever. I grew up going to Avail shows. One of
the first hardcore shows I went to was Avail at the
Flood Zone.
“Standards And Practices,” the song he’s on,
has more of a political thing going on in the
lyrics than your usual Waste lyrical content.
Did that come about because you were working
with Tim and he’s a more political guy, or was it
just a coincidence?
It was kind of a coincidence. When the lyrics were
written, it was before the 99%/Occupy movement was even [in the news]. But when we were
gonna get Tim [involved], there were two songs
that we had ideas for him to sing on, and that
song just fit. Obviously with the lyrics, but also
vocal-wise, performance-wise. So it was kind of a
no-brainer to put him on that song.
a lot of people that it actually fucks them up even
more when they’re forced to do something. I have
problems like that too. If anyone pushes me into
doing something, it’s gonna make me do the exact
opposite. And that song’s about figuring out your
own way to kick your vices. But it isn’t a dig on
people who get forced into rehab. It’s basically
just about one person dealing with it. It’s kind of a
funny take on it, too.
I also wanted to ask you about “12 Step
Program,” because you guys are notorious
partiers, and you wrote a song named after
getting sober. What is that song about?
It’s a weird point of view of rehab. I’ve seen a lot
of my friends get forced into rehab, and I’ve seen
other friends of mine kick drugs and alcohol on
their own terms. I think it’s weird to force people
into certain programs, but sometimes it helps.
The song’s just one person’s take on it. I’ve seen
I would expect no less from you guys. I know
you’ve been touring regularly for over a decade
now--do you still party hard on tour, or is that
something you’re starting to slow down on?
Our joke now is that we party harder when we’re
home. [laughs] We still drink every night, and
get crazy, but it seems like when we come home,
we’re so excited to see our friends and stuff, it’s
like, “AAAAAHHHH!!!” When you’re on the road,
you’ve at least got a van call or a bus call. It’s more
RVA MAGAZINE #9
Photo By Grant Fanning
RVAMAG.COM
PERFORMING AT WONDERLAND
work than when you’re at home hanging around.
When you’re home, you’re just running around
going to your friends’ houses and doing stupid shit
all the time. So yeah, we party harder when we’re
at home. We still rage, so I’m not trying to say we
don’t. It happens. [laughs]
Wonderland, and that’s crazy, especially when
you’re playing super-aggressive fast songs. That
shit wears you out. So you’ve gotta keep it together on the road, or you’re gonna crash and burn,
you know? Or worse, fuck over your bandmates
and audience and people that like your band.
Well, it seems like you guys have gotten to the
point now where playing music really is your job,
so you have to keep it more together on tour.
Yeah, there’s more pressure now. You can’t really
fuck up, get super-trashed, and expect to wake up
drunk and play a show the next day. If you fuck up,
it’s on you. There’s also three people in your band
that are counting on you, and there’s all these
people there to see your band, so you don’t want
to let them down either. All of us have had shitty
nights onstage, and it sucks. [laughs] We play
way longer now, too, so the sets are way more
brutal. We’ll probably play for an hour tonight at
You guys are doing that Wonderland show
tonight. What led you to do it in such a small club,
rather than going to a bigger place in town?
Last week, the power was out in our practice
space, so we were sitting around talking. When
we’re back in town it’s kind of hard to get us all
in the same room when we’re not practicing, just
because everybody’s got their own lives going on,
and we spend so much time together anyways.
But we’re all just shooting the shit, and we were
like, “Man, you know what sucks? Besides the
GWAR show, we haven’t done a Richmond show
in a while.” So we’re all like, “Why don’t we try and
MUSIC FACETHEWASTE.COM
get a surprise gig next week, the day before we
leave? Let’s just do a real quick last-minute show,
somewhere really small where we don’t have to
make flyers. We’ll invite our buddies and just have
a ridiculous show.” We thought of Wonderland
because Chad has always been super supportive
and cool about our band, and we’ve never been
able to play there because it’d be too crazy. We
figured it’d be all right because it was super-short
notice. Then we put it on the internet and a million
people said they were going, so it was probably a
bad idea to do that. [laughs]
Yeah, I imagine it’s gonna be crazy as hell.
I hope so. I hope it’s fun. We know what we’re
in for, so we’re just gonna tone it down a bit and
blast through all our songs. Nothing too crazy.
We’ll see how it goes.
23
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
The
DIAMOND
CENTER
BY CHAD BROWN
24
RVA MAGAZINE #9
PERFORMING AT SXSW
S
eattle has grunge; the likes of Nirvana and
Soundgarden define it to its rainy core. Omaha
has Conor Oberst. Washington DC has Fugazi.
Hell, even Oklahoma City has The Flaming Lips.
For Richmond, when it comes to being defined by
the bands it has birthed, it gets paired with metal
and hardcore. Over the years, bands such as
Strike Anywhere, Lamb of God, and GWAR have
toured the world and taken their 804 attitude
with them, helping us become synonymous
with a scene that lives for the breakdown. This
musical identification has allowed dozens of
bands classified in similar genres to easily gain a
following and pair up to play shows. It has also
produced the opposite effect at times--bands
outside these tight-knit scenes find it difficult to
fit in without compromising the music they are
playing in the process.
RVAMAG.COM
Unless of course, the band happens to be The
Diamond Center.
Despite having only called Richmond home
since 2010, The Diamond Center have had no
problem finding their musical niche and booking
shows almost immediately. While such an easy
transition could be credited to a variety of factors,
guitarist Kyle Harris likes to think it’s just the good
nature of Richmond folks that helped them with
the quick adjustment.
“We had a really quick warmth that settled in,”
Kyle tells me when we meet at a bar in April. “I
just don’t know what to attribute that to besides
the good people here.”
On his own, Harris is quite the figure. Towering
over most, with a bear-like body and a beard
that seems to go on for days, his appearance is
unevenly matched by a down to earth personality
and a soft spoken attitude. If you saw him walking
down Monument Avenue, you might picture him
as a painter. Or a bouncer. Or an IT professional.
Anything but a rock star.
And while he may remind you of Joaquin Phoenix
as you pass him on the street in the daylight,
attend a Diamond Center show and the rap
career jokes you initially wanted to throw out will
suddenly disappear. On stage, Harris brings an
MUSIC THE DIAMOND CENTER
DC SNOW
PHOTOS BY CARMEN JAMES
undeniable presence, swaying back and forth as
his fingers dance across the strings with poise
and persistence. But while you may feel an air of
elegance one night, you’ll get something totally
different the next.
“If you go see Neil Young two nights in a row, it
will be two totally different shows,” Harris says as
he sips on his whiskey. “His shows are based off
emotions, because he is a human like you and me.
And I love that. Our band is the same way. You
may get noisy and loud, you may get pleasant and
calm.”
Perhaps it is this unpredictable nature that has
helped The Diamond Center recruit such a large
and dedicated fan base in its few short years as
a band. Because it certainly hasn’t had much to
do with the “practice makes perfect” motto.
“HIS SHOWS ARE BASED
OFF EMOTIONS, BECAUSE
HE IS A HUMAN LIKE YOU
AND ME. AND I LOVE THAT.
OUR BAND IS THE SAME
WAY. YOU MAY GET NOISY
AND LOUD, YOU MAY GET
PLEASANT AND CALM.”
“We practice as little as we [can] to do what
we have to do,” Harris adds, laughing. “I don’t
want [our show] to be so rehearsed. I think
that’s where a lot of bands miss the boat about
rock music - it’s all about risk.”
If risk is the name of the game, the band has been
doing something right from the very beginning,
when Harris met eventual lead singer Brandi
Price while she was at school in Athens, Georgia.
The two played in other projects together, all of
which eventually fizzled, leaving Price and Harris
to record songs together. It is these songs, first
recorded in February of 2007, that would become
the first tunes from the band known as The
Diamond Center.
By March of ‘07, the duo had recorded their first
full length and travelled for several small tours.
They had friends fill in on other instruments for
recording and touring purposes, so that the band
could achieve the sound they were looking for.
“It’s pretty much been an ever-changing lineup,”
Harris noted.
With a full length recorded and positive responses
developing, the duo went back to their roots by
moving to Lubbock, Texas, where Price had grown
up. Unlike Athens, Lubbock is large physically
but tiny as far as culture is concerned. It was the
sense of “nothing else to do” that allowed Harris
25
and Price to slowly craft their signature creepy
sound. “The land in Texas is mostly made up of
plains and a lot of flat land,” Harris says. “I like
to think that’s where our sound came from; this
consistent, open, airy sort of sound.”
It was about this time that Tim Falen, the band’s
eventual permanent drummer, entered the picture. Working sound at a club where the band was
frequently booked, Falen was a natural fit behind
Harris and Price. His effortless yet spontaneous
drumming style meshed perfectly with the sound
that had been so heavily influenced by the lone
star landscape. And as history would later show,
he even possessed the “risk” factor that Harris
believes is the key to true rock and roll.
A few short months after the trio began writing
songs together in Lubbock, Price was accepted
into the VCU Graduate School for Design and
Visual Communications. Suddenly, the band was
faced with the impossible decision, described in
the words of The Clash as “Should I stay or should
I go?”
They went. And they conquered. Eventually joined
by Kyle and Tim in Richmond, Brandi started the
process of settling into grad school while creating
26
a niche for her band, which was starting over in a
completely unfamiliar city.
“To be honest, I didn’t know much about it,” Harris
says, referring to his new East Coast stomping
grounds. “I mean, you learn about the Civil War
in school, and I knew about Lamb of God and
Municipal Waste, but that’s about it. I didn’t have
a lot of ideas about [Richmond] besides knowing
that it had a high murder rate.”
Apparently famous in the Midwest for its heightened crime rates, this city has not only welcomed
the band with open arms, but helped their sound
evolve as well. Songs previously sculpted by the
tumbleweeds of Texas became bigger and gained
some serious depth thanks to a certain River City.
This evolution may very well be natural progression. It could just be that the band members have
gotten more mature; that their music tastes have
evolved, and their collaborative skills improved.
But Harris suggests that it may be something
more than that.
“I attribute it to the layers of ghosts - that is, how
many people have lived and died here over the
years.” he says. “There’s so much here; it’s so
thick, and I think our music has grown to reflect
“ THERE’S SO MUCH HERE; IT’S
SO THICK, AND I THINK OUR
MUSIC HAS GROWN TO REFLECT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
that. Our sound has gone from one guitar, maybe
two, to this thick, thick, sound. It’s gone from being flat to [being] stacked.”
Tim chimes in: “When we were out in Texas and it
was flat, the desolation kind of wore on your soul.
I think you could hear that in the music. Here in
Richmond, I think our sound is a lot bigger.”
With big sound comes big responsibility. That
responsibility, according to the band, is maintaining their musical integrity - no matter what. No
matter which festival promoter calls, or how big
of a following they amass, the band is dedicated
to remaining true to themselves. “I don’t want
to be a huge rock star,” Falen declares. “If I have
to work as a dishwasher for the rest of my life so
that I can make music that I love, I would do it in
a heartbeat.”
THAT. OUR SOUND HAS GONE
FROM ONE GUITAR, MAYBE TWO,
TO THIS THICK, THICK, SOUND.”
MUSIC DIAMONDCENTERMUSIC.COM
Statements like this give local music fans hope
that bands who wish to remain true to themselves
are not a forgotten breed. In fact, they are rather
close to home. “The fantasy days of drugs, sex,
and rock ‘n roll are over - so you have to sit down
and figure out what you really want to do with
your music and why you’re doing it,” Harris adds.
In an Internet-driven generation that has allowed
the line between indie and mainstream rock to
become blurred, some of the art of rock ‘n roll has
gotten lost. Instead, importance is often placed
on what late night show a band is playing or how
heavily they will hit the festival circuit. This allows
the rock star to shine--but at the expense of the
art he or she is creating. The musician prospers
while the music suffers.
But the Diamond Center want nothing more than
to create and share music. Unlike others around
them, they are not the least bit concerned with
the “psychedelic” label they are often identified
with, or whether other music scenes within their
city accept them. Since they arrived here two
years ago, The Diamond Center has attempted
to break the mold - concerned with few things
outside of making good music and allowing it to
evolve.
“We’re just a rock band,” says Harris. “We go out,
we play a show and we play rock music. That’s
about it. There’s nothing more to it.”
27
HERMES
28
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
MONSTER
JEFF
SOTO
O
RVAMAG.COM
BY R. ANTHONY HARRIS
f all the art world heavy hitters that came
through RVA over the last few months, Jeff Soto
just might be the heaviest. Initially inspired as
a high-school student in the late 80s by pictures of
New York subway art, Soto spent the 90s making a
name for himself, both in his native California and
around the world, with his graffiti and street murals.
Ceasing to work with aerosol paint at the end of that
decade, he moved into the world of illustration and
fine art; mixing commercial work for Sony Music,
Rockstar Games, and Disney, among many others,
with gallery showings New York, LA, London, and
Paris. Recently, though, at the height of his fame in
the mainstream art world, he made his return to the
world of spray paint murals after ten years away
from the scene. It was this work that brought him
to Richmond; participating in the RVA Street Art
Festival, he contributed a large-format mural to the
outdoor gallery that the Canal Walk has now become. We caught up with him while he was in town
for that event, and he gave us his thoughts on the
changes that have occurred in the street art scene
over the past decade, and where he hopes to take his
work in the future.
How did you get involved with this project?
Is this microphone going to catch us?
Yeah, it’ll catch you.
Are you going to transcribe this later?
Yes.
OK, so you can edit out the parts where I sound
like an a-hole?
[Laughs] Of course, yeah.
How did I get involved with this? Uh…
Do you know Ed from way back?
You know, I didn’t really know Ed. I knew of his
work, and I guess I’ve seen it just from being involved in mural painting. I kind of looked into that
from time to time. But I’d never met him. He asked
me to be a part of this, and it sounded pretty cool.
I looked into the artists that he wanted to have
involved in the show, and I was like, “Wow, this is
a pretty cool, eccentric group. I would love to be a
part of it.”
There are some street writers, some actual pure
muralists, it’s a combination of all kinds of stuff.
It’s a good combination, and I think somehow it
all goes together rather well. Maybe it’s because
it’s all on the same walls. The styles couldn’t be
more different. It’s like a really good gallery show
or something, you know?
Do you consider yourself a muralist first?
No. I consider myself just an all-around artist/image maker. I have roots in graffiti [but] I’ve never
considered myself a street artist. It’s been like 12
years or so since I’ve done the more traditional
hip-hop graffiti. A few years ago I got this desire
to paint big again. It was like going back to the
graffiti roots. Some of the things I hated about
graffiti in the day were the politics--what’s legit
and what’s not legit. It was very anal, like, “Oh,
you can’t use brushes, you have to just use cans.”
Too many rules and regulations. There were also
limitations, like we didn’t have access to all the
different kinds of paint. We were still using Krylon,
and I think there was a paint called Molotov. I
don’t even know if they are still around.
Was that something new, like Montana and
Ironlak and all those?
Yeah, [those] came out around when I was leav-
ing the graffiti world. I thought [I was leaving] for
good. At some point I realized that I really love
painting big. I wanted to get back into this, but I
wanted to do it on my own terms. I don’t want
to be attached to a crew; I don’t want any of that
graffiti bullshit. I just want to paint what I want to
paint.
No dance-offs? No beatbox battles?
That stuff’s cool but it’s not really me.
OK. I took you more for a dancer.
Oh really?
Yeah, just from the outside looking in.
No, I don’t have any moves at all [laughter]. I’m
a music lover, but not a dancer, that’s for sure. I
might rock out when I’m driving my car, you know,
when no one can see me. I guess people would
see me if I’m driving my car. “Look at that guy
dancing! Let’s record it.”
[Laughs] “That’s Jeff Soto! Put him on Youtube!”
But anyway, so you find yourself wanting to go
big again...
I wanted to start painting big again. I wanted to
start painting murals. There’s something really
special about painting outside, as opposed to
being in a studio. So I found myself in London in
2009, and I was hanging out with D*Face and
Word To Mother, and they were like, “Hey are you
going to paint any walls while you’re here?” I was
like, “Maybe... Yeah, I’ll paint a wall.” My whole
thing was [that] I didn’t want it to be graffiti, so
I [didn’t] use spray paint at all. I painted three
things, and it was all done with paint rollers and
brushes. It was cool, but I realized I could have
done that in half the time, or maybe even less. It’s
messy mixing paint and all that, so I decided at
“I CONSIDER MYSELF JUST AN ALL-AROUND ARTIST/
IMAGE MAKER. I HAVE ROOTS IN GRAFFITI [BUT] I’VE
NEVER CONSIDERED MYSELF A STREET ARTIST.”
ART JEFF SOTO
29
JENNIFER DECAY
some point to embrace spray paint again. With
all the colors they have, and it’s kind of made to
paint with. When I started, we had Krylon, which
is made to paint your mailbox, or paint your bike
or something. They have all these cool artist
colors now that are made to paint with. The tips
are pressure sensitive. It’s so easy now. We would
have killed for something like that back when I
started doing it.
You sound like a godfather of street art now.
No... I mean, there are people that have been doing it a lot longer than me. I started tinkering with
it in ‘89, and then probably in ‘90 or ‘91, I really
started going full force and doing a lot of graffiti.
So it’s been a while. I’ve seen a lot of changes,
good and bad, but I try not to judge. It seems
really easy for kids nowadays to get the paint
30
they want. It’s kind of a legit thing, where they are
telling their parents about it and their parents are
really supportive. Actually, my parents were kind
of supportive too.
Kind of kept you out of trouble?
No, they thought I was just painting abandoned
cement structures out in fields. I was also tagging
and destroying property, you know? So I didn’t
tell them about that part. They just thought I was
making art.
It seems like a lot of the graffiti artists got legit,
got into galleries, and then found that they were
bored with galleries. There’s a whole movement
of people going back out into the streets and
doing these large pieces. Have you seen that?
Has it always been this consistent, or is this kind
of a wave that’s happening right now?
I think in a way it’s a wave. I think street art, for
the last five or six years, has been kind of trendy.
It’s becoming accepted. The graffiti, the tagging
people, are always going to have a problem with
that, but [with murals], I think people are starting
to go, “Oh wow, this is art. This is interesting. It’s
beautifying the city.” Usually these paintings have
some kind of meaning to them. It’s not just fluff
that we are putting out.
It’s not wallpaper, it’s narrative.
Well, it’s not like a decorative mural, it’s-Not like a straight pattern...
Well, even straight pattern could be really
interesting. Barry McGee does things in straight
patterns. But I think the work that all of these
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
JEFF DECAY
artists are doing has a lot more concept in it. It’s
actually fine art that’s put up on a wall in public.
And we have something to say with the pieces
we are making. I think that was the problem with
traditional graffiti. It was like, “Here you go--this
is me.” You know? “This is my tag name. Check
it out.” It was all about getting fame among your
peers. People say, “I do graffiti because I want
the public to see...” Nah. It’s all for other graffiti
artists. At least that’s how I see it. I think this is
different. We’re painting things that people can
relate to. Maybe it’s a little more populist. It’s colorful, it’s bold, it’s interesting, and everyone seems
to like it. Which--maybe we need to change it up
if everyone likes it. Maybe we need to become a
little more offensive, you know? Push the boundaries a little bit.
ART JEFFSOTO.COM
“ I THINK STREET ART, FOR THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS,
HAS BEEN KIND OF TRENDY. IT’S BECOMING ACCEPTED.
THE GRAFFITI, THE TAGGING PEOPLE, ARE ALWAYS
GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT, BUT [WITH
MURALS], I THINK PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO GO, “OH
WOW, THIS IS ART.”
31
HERMES
Well, I’m sure a lot of kids and families love
your work.
My work appeals to kids a lot. I don’t know why.
It’s the fantasy elements of it, you know? The
Neverending Story, those types of things that
you imagine are possible, that kind of live in
your work.
I’m a big fan of science fiction and fantasy. I
always have been. Like most adults my age, I was
really into Star Wars. All of those cartoons; early
anime that we might see on cable TV back in the
day.
The artwork from Star Wars got me pulled in, too.
It was like a great world. And then like reading
fantasy as a kid, reading The Hobbit and The Lord
of the Rings and all that, has just been a big part of
what I like.
Along that line, do you ever see yourself getting
into taking your characters and your narratives
and making a story out of them, making a movie
out of them?
Yeah, for sure. For sure. I’ve been telling my
daughters a story about three magic unicorns that
go on a quest. And every night I tell them a little
more of the story. I’m making it up, and I’m like,
“Wow, this is really interesting.” It’s totally like
I’m copying all of the fantasy stories that I’ve ever
read, but you know... I think about that. I’ve actually started developing a couple different projects
that I’m going to try and pitch eventually. But we’ll
see. I definitely think that might be the next step,
like doing a movie or doing a cartoon.
I mean, where else do you go? You can go
bigger, you can go into other media. You’ve
done so much work, and I would think that you
are constantly trying to figure out what you
32
MELTED SELF PORTRAIT
should be working on next. And maybe you are
stumbling into that stuff, you know?
I stumble into a lot of it. It’s hard to plan things
out sometimes. There are so many things I want
to do. I want to continue with real painting. I
love doing gallery shows. That’s always going to
be a part of my life. I’m starting to get into the
storytelling aspect of my paintings, having some
kind of a narrative going on in my work. That’s,
like you said, really making me think I could make
a story. Or maybe it’s a comic book, maybe it’s
a cartoon, maybe it’s a movie, I don’t know. But
it has definitely got me thinking about things. I
think that’s pretty important to me, to not limit
myself. I feel like, as an artist, I want to be able to
do whatever I want. If I want to jump from fine
art to more production work, I usually don’t see a
problem with that. If I want to go from working on
a cartoon to working on a mural to writing a story,
it’s all the same. I try to keep it open, and try not
to limit myself too much.
I was reading that you were just in Paris, and there’s
a lot of street art there. This is kind of a historical
event for Richmond, in that street art has never
been here before. Do you have any thoughts on
that? Just coming into a new spot and just making
this big mark, and having all these people that have
never seen this kind of work?
I think it’s great. I think there should be more
events that are like this, because I think it really
engages the kids. They are seeing this, their
impressionable young minds are becoming
inspired, seeing something different and thinking
different. It’s a really cool event. I’ve never been
to Richmond before this, so I don’t really know
the history of the art out here, but it seems like a
really cool place so far.
“ I’VE ACTUALLY STARTED
DEVELOPING A COUPLE
DIFFERENT PROJECTS
THAT I’M GOING TO TRY
AND PITCH EVENTUALLY.
BUT WE’LL SEE. I DEFINITELY THINK THAT MIGHT
BE THE NEXT STEP, LIKE
DOING A MOVIE OR DOING
A CARTOON.”
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
33
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
THE MILKSTAINS
BY SHANNON CLEARY / PHOTOS BY TODD RAVIOTTA
I
t doesn’t take long to understand why The Milkstains are quickly becoming one of Richmond’s
most adored bands. Their irresistible charm
onstage is unmatched, and their live shows are
full of unbridled chaos. John Sizemore’s throttling
guitar parts state a strong case for his prowess
with grandiose sonic expertise. The dynamic duo
of Gabe Lopez and Raphael Katchinoff are even
more convincing; they’re equally capable of relaying their rhythm section support in favor of Sizemore’s spots to shine, or helping a song venture
in unexpected and truly exciting directions. Their
songs can shatter the vertebrae of the scene that
doesn’t even know where to place them. That’s
what sets The Milkstains apart.
As Katchinoff and Sizemore recall, the story of
The Milkstains began in 2004. “We were both in
high school at the time, trying to find an excuse to
play music together,” Katchinoff recalls. Although
the two had differing musical interests, they were
able to find a common ground in their budding
desire to play music. “I know I was more into reg-
34
gae than John,” Katchinoff says now. “But I think
we found a similar place in spaghetti westerns,
surf rock and Hank Williams.” The Milkstains
began as a duo, and it was an exercise in figuring
out their respective instruments, which they did
initially by treading through inspired covers.
Whether they were interpreting The Cramps,
Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., or a fuzzed out version
of Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” one
thing was certain--their influences were taking
them all over the place. “Whenever I think about
doing a cover, it’s [out] of love, and a desire to see
what will happen,” says Sizemore. “A lot of that
comes from how I approach music in general. I
read Our Band Could Be Your Life, and everything
I do is based off of that. I was fascinated by the
idea that someone could play a CCR song at a
hardcore showcase and it just came across as
natural. To me, that’s such an awesome way of
going about anything.” On the other hand, covers have clearly helped in the formation of The
Milkstains’ distinctive sound. If they hadn’t given
any of these bands’ songs a shot, they might not
have come across the groundwork for many of the
songs that they were preparing to write.
Through these exercises in trial and error, the two
were able to develop a stronger musical kinship
and unspoken bond. “After years of playing together, it’s not a surprise, but John and I can really
just develop a song at ease,” says Katchinoff. “He
can suggest a drum part and even [coming from]
someone who isn’t a drummer, I can immediately
tell what he’s going for and we can jump from
there.” This unspoken communication is a telling
fact about The Milkstains. The force behind their
tunes makes this bond not only necessary, but incredibly important. When searching for the third
component of The Milkstains, they knew they had
to find the perfect individual to fit into the mix.
The search for a bassist wasn’t the easiest, involving as it did a revolving door of candidates. Along
the way, KJ Johnson of Moste Potente Potions
had one of the longer relationships with the band.
Over the course of the year and a half he played
RVA MAGAZINE #9
BOOZING IN THE JAMES
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
with the group, they embarked on their first tour,
even making a few festival appearances. The connection with his other band that Johnson provided
also helped the group find their way into a welcoming scene emerging in Richmond circa 2009.
With bands like Hot Lava and The Color Kittens
playing out regularly and making their presence
felt, the Milkstains were able to find several kindred spirits in this budding community.
Their biggest fan and greatest source of encouragement in Richmond was the one and only Jamie
Lay. “I didn’t really know any of those cats until I
started going out to see The Color Kittens. From
there, Jamie was like, ‘Hey, let’s start Baby Help
Me Forget,’” Katchinoff recalls of his first meeting with Lay. While Baby Help Me Forget may
have begun as Lay’s attempt at getting to front a
band backed by The Milkstains, it led to the band
meeting BHMF bassist Gabe Lopez. Johnson
was taking on more responsibilities that took
precedence outside of the group, leading to his
departure. When he left, Katchinoff and Sizemore
MUSIC THE MILKSTAINS
asked Lopez if he’d be into joining the band. “I was
totally down,” Lopez recalls. “KJ had just had a
kid and I was really into what they were doing. It
seemed like a perfect fit to me.”
With Lay’s encouraging support, Sizemore found
the means to unveil new ideas for the group, and
continue to push beyond the expectations that
his “surf rock” outfit had accomplished thus far.
“I think Jamie might be our biggest fan, and it has
been a crazy experience to have someone who
is that ecstatic about what I am doing,” Sizemore
says. “It gives me a bit of an ego boost, but it
also has helped me move the band in directions
I may have not felt comfortable to do otherwise.”
Lay has since joined the band onstage to sing
renditions of Black Flag and BHMF tunes, as well
as accompanying them as a second guitarist on
original Milkstains tunes. It’s always a welcome
experience to see the group joined by one of their
biggest advocates, and it serves as a reminder of
how a little push from our friends can set us in the
right direction after all.
“ HE CAN SUGGEST A DRUM
PART AND EVEN [COMING
FROM] SOMEONE WHO
ISN’T A DRUMMER, I CAN
IMMEDIATELY TELL WHAT
HE’S GOING FOR AND WE
CAN JUMP FROM THERE.”
35
HERMES
And as if by fate, it was the Moste Potente Potions reunion show last August at which I began
to notice the band’s excellent developments.
Sizemore exuded a newfound confidence in
every musical swoop that was undeniable and
endearing. He stepped up to the microphone as
if there was no other place he could ever imagine
being. Whether it was the confidence bestowed
upon him by his musical peers, or just a moment of clarity that helped define where The
Milkstains were heading, their set at this show
helped solidify their reputation as a live band first
and foremost. As far as the rest of the band was
concerned, they weren’t waiting in the wings for
Sizemore; they were running full steam ahead with
him into the night to see what would happen next.
The Milkstains released their first EP, Hot Sauce
Cemetery, on local label Bad Grrrl Records a
couple of months after that performance. This release was only the start of their relationship with
the label, which has also released music by fellow
Richmond acts Tungs, Heavy Midgets, and White
Laces.. “I had never been on a label [before], and
at this point, I can’t really see a reason to work
with anyone else as far as The Milkstains are
concerned,” Katchinoff remarks.
Hot Sauce Cemetery is a lo-fi collection that helps
showcase the band’s ability to bend genres and
enrich their songs with varied approaches. Size-
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
more notes that each song offers a wide range of
choices for the band, including that of whether or
not to add vocals. “There are times where I become entrenched with the idea of how notes and
chords can feel and sound. From there, it doesn’t
really become a mission of avoiding vocals, it’s
just that the song is perfectly fine as it is.” This is
obvious when you place “Stains Theme” and “The
Boot” next to “Next Monet.” While “Theme” and
“The Boot” are telling arguments for the group’s
ability to orchestrate numbers that channel their
more obscure influences, “Next Monet” is an
entirely different beast. It allows the early punk
influences of The Milkstains to take center stage
and offer a distinct perspective into how the band
functions under the opposing but equal influences
of surf and punk.
An element of their blossoming success has been
the opportunity to open for many of the world’s
finest bands. Lopez immediately points to their
opening slot for Guitar Wolf as one of his favorite
moments of being in The Milkstains. “That was
just so unreal. Don’t get me wrong, there are so
many shows that I am so appreciative and stoked
to be a part of, but if you had told me we were
going to get to open for Guitar Wolf, I don’t think
I would have believed you.” At the same time,
Katchinoff appreciates any and all opportunities
to play music. “I love playing festivals as much as
I love playing house shows,” he says. “The vibe at
festivals can be so killer, and it is always a great
time, in my opinion. With house shows, there is
nothing better than being up close and personal
with a crowd, and seeing how our songs can make
them erupt and go wild. It’s moments like that
when I realize how much of a thrill it is to be in
The Milkstains.”
The group has made a strong effort to get on the
road as much as possible. It can be a challenge
when Katchinoff is involved with two other prominent Richmond acts (People’s Blues of Richmond
and The Southern Belles), but they have had
relatively good luck in spreading the word about
The Milkstains. When discussing Fire Bison,
one of their recent touring partners, it becomes
evident how such relationships make the experiences on the road that much more rewarding. “I
think touring with Fire Bison made sense because
we are all family,” Lopez explains. “I have known
[Fire Bison guitarist] Adrienne [Shurte] for close
to ten years and [bassist] Laurie [Lay] for about
the same amount of time. I wouldn’t really want
to share time on the road with anyone else.” In an
interesting turn of events, Sizemore even found
himself accompanying Fire Bison on guitar in a
way that added another distinct level to their
already impressive sound. “I really dig what they
are doing as a band, and when they invited me to
“ WHAT TRULY MAKES THEIR MUSIC MEMORABLE IS THEIR PRECISE EXECUTION,
THEIR CONSISTENT ABILITY TO FLAWLESSLY PUT ACROSS THE THOUGHTS AND
EMOTIONS THAT DRIVE THEIR MUSICAL EXPRESSION.”
36
RVA MAGAZINE #9
SACRED RITUAL
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
play with them, it was a great honor. I dug how
I was almost able to give their tune a Nick Cave
and The Bad Seeds vibe, but more importantly,
I was just excited to get to play music with my
friends.” Other ventures have included a trip back
and forth to Austin, Texas’ South By Southwest
conference with several stops along the way. “I
love being on tour and I think that’s the way it is
with any band,” Lopez says. “Of course, you get
back and you feel sleep deprived. Once you get
your wind back, though, you just want to run out
there again. It’s one of my favorite things that we
as a band have been able to find more time to do
in the past year.”
Outside of touring, the band hopes to make another trip to the studio to record a proper followup to Hot Sauce Cemetery. Many of the new songs
that have begun to take shape are making appearances during live shows and radio performances.
These songs seem to be taking The Milkstains
farther away from the “surf rock” sound. “I never
really got the moniker we were given by being
a surf rock band, but I didn’t really immediately
want to reject it either,” Sizemore says. “It goes
back to that philosophy of just [doing] what I
want to do musically--that’s where these new
songs are headed. Now that the three of us have
been playing together for a good amount of time,
I think all of our voices are finding room to be
heard in everything we write.” There is no date
MUSIC FACEBOOK.COM/THEMILKSTAINS
set, but with songs coming quickly to the band,
it should be no time at all before they settle into
a recording space to create a new entry to The
Milkstains’ discography.
When Katchinoff considers The Milkstains as a
whole, he can’t help but feel as if there is something more at play. “I’m not sure it’s something
you can put down with pen and paper. When the
three of us come together to play music, something truly unique happens that is all our own. I
would say it’s even more prevalent with Gabe in
the band. If anything though, I can say this with
complete certainty: I wouldn’t be the person I am
today if it weren’t for The Milkstains.” Sizemore
sees things in a similar vein. “I think there is
definitely an ebb and flow to [the way] everything connects artistically for me. I have always
been fascinated by film and cinema. It’s what I
went to school for, and a lot of what I write in The
Milkstains is an attempt to evoke the thoughts
and emotions I [normally] relate towards film. It’s
probably why, when we started, the idea of spaghetti westerns and sprawling desert landscapes
were fascinating to me. I don’t know if I could
explain why that drew itself to my attention, but
I don’t think I need an explanation. It’s the way
that it can resonate into something that allows
me to express myself through other forms of art
that seems more important to me.” It could be
said that the early days of The Milkstains were
predicated on the films of Sergio Leone, while the
present incarnation of the group is finding its cinematic inklings in thoughts of Jim Jarmusch. This
seems particularly true when you take into account the influence of Nick Cave and Tom Waits
on the direction their sound is currently taking.
One thing that sets the band apart is how far their
growing appeal stretches. Having shared the stage
with local groups ranging from noise duo MUTWAWA to psychedelic indie rockers The Diamond
Center to rockabilly revivalists Chrome Daddy Disco,
they are able to turn heads of many different audiences. It may just be a testament to how impressive
their live sets have gotten, but it also lends support
to the argument that the Milkstains have achieved a
timeless quality that both evokes the sounds of the
past and lends itself to present sensibilities. Their
songs are built from the blues in its rawest form, but
their representation of this fundamental building
block of modern music carries an unusual amount of
weight. Where many bands simply set out to show
a crowd a great time, The Milkstains set out to give
people a brilliant, memorable experience, regardless
of the environment in which they’re performing. But
what truly makes their music memorable is their
precise execution, their consistent ability to flawlessly put across the thoughts and emotions that
drive their musical expression.
37
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
MICHAE L
T
here’s a certain pride to calling a place home.
It’s more than just the people you’ve met, or
knowing the best spot to get fried oysters, or
even those unique stories that come with a typical Friday night. Home caries a certain unspoken
love. It’s the place where we’ve seen the good
and the bad. The places we hang out and the
people we spend time with become an integral
part not just of our schedule, but our happiness.
It gives an energy to the stories we share, with
every chapter depicting a part of who we’ve been
and who we’ll become.
Michael Millions is a person that reminds us why we call
Richmond our home. Born and raised in the capital city,
Michael’s stories depict the reasons his hometown is a
special place. He can recall a time when the Broad Street
that hosted a riot over a basketball game just a year ago
was once ridden with abandoned warehouses and crack
addicts. Michael can remember the first time he tried to
roll a joint out of phonebook paper, after a neighbor on
Southside gave him a Golden Grahams box full of the
potent. It’s not just the content of his stories that make
them special; Michael has a rare eye for intricate detail,
allowing him to create perfect descriptions.
As a lyricist, Michael lays down his words with precision, staying authentic to the music at hand. In
his years spent at the now-defunct Donland Studio
off of Grace Street, he sometimes took hours just to
perfect one line. After years of trials and tribulations
with labels, Michael has recently decided to take the
independent route and let his creativity roam freely.
His most recent release, Michael, features the perfect
combination of soulful beats and passionate lyrics, relaying the feeling that you’re in the presence of a polished artist. Michael Millions is ready to explain to the
world why he calls Richmond home.
BY JOSEPH GENEST / PHOTOS BY CHRIS CONWAY
38
RVA MAGAZINE #9
MONSTER
Tell me a little bit about how music became
your main career.
I went to Norfolk State. I lived that student life for
a while... I was a Mass Comm major: Journalism
and Broadcast. I was into photography, video, and
broadcast radio. I didn’t want to pursue the radio
portion, but I liked the film. I was always doing
music. During that time, I was also in one of the
biggest studios out here. Right beside Strange
Matter, there’s that parking lot, then the next
building, The Brownstone. We had owned the top
two floors. We were there for four or five years.
RVAMAG.COM
What happened with that?
It’s a story I could probably write better in a
book. Management, fuckery, you know what I
mean? So, we fizzled that label. That’s when I
went independent. At the time, it was one of the
biggest independent labels in Richmond. Once
we dissolved that situation, all the artists went
indie, probably around the end of ‘09. But that’s
when I released my first tape, Ashes and Samples. I
dropped that [on] 4/20/2010.
What were some of your projects that came
out of that studio?
Actually, none of the material that I worked on
in that studio was released. I learned a lot from
that though, and I still remain semi-relevant in
that community. But like I said, once I went indie,
that’s when things really took off. I don’t have to
wait for them to tell me they’re not releasing my
shit. Now, if I’m done with a project, I’m putting it
out and letting Richmond have it.
How did you feel about working with The
SHHO on the release of Michael?
To have The SHHO back you, for an artist here
[in Richmond], is a rite of passage. That’s how
influential they’ve become. They needed the
project done in two weeks in order to really
push it. So the first week I bullshited, [then the]
second week, I went out in the studio and did it
all. We put it together, put the package together,
and handed it over. The cover is The Tortoise and
MUSIC MICHAEL MILLIONS
The Snake (The Black Tortoise, aka Xuan Wu).
It’s a Chinese symbol. It represents longevity.
Their creative director actually picked it. [He] felt
that when he was listening to the music, it was
what fit. It was dope, because we had worked on
several different covers. We were like, “Damn,
this isn’t it, this isn’t it.” Finally, we were like, “This
is the mind fuck right here.” It’s like, coke on the
table, and the imprint of the tortoise and the
snake. It just had multiple meanings.
“ TO HAVE THE SHHO
BACK YOU, FOR
AN ARTIST HERE
[IN RICHMOND],
IS A RITE OF
PASSAGE. THAT’S
HOW INFLUENTIAL
THEY’VE BECOME.”
How would you describe the musical aspect of
the project?
It’s cold weather, vicious music. It’s Hip-Hop, it’s
everything. But then, you have to step back and
realize this is a kid from Richmond. An artist from
Virginia shouldn’t rap like this.
Why do you say that with artists like Clipse,
Timbaland, etc. being from here?
Well, it’s just the industry’s perception of Virginia
being a Southern state and they think that should
reflect our music. They don’t understand that we
really fall more under the scope of East Coast.
I think the thing that separates Virginia from
other states is our lack of a central city the
state is based around. But I guess you could
say Richmond is attempting to become that.
I think it was the central city at one point. But
musically, it could be. Like you said, there are
a lot of dope artists here, a lot of dope artists
emerging here, but were almost in the middle of
nowhere. We don’t have a really big scene. We
don’t have a beat, we just have the government
and Civil War shit. So, there’s no real reason for
the outside people [to] come in, but when they
do through school and things like that, they never
leave. It’s diverse, and it’s changing a lot. In 2000,
you would have never hung out on Broad Street.
When I was younger, as a kid, that’s where we
used to see all the older hustlers. The shit we
used to write raps about then [took] place there.
A lot of the people that live there now don’t even
realize it used to be like that. It used to be crazy.
39
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
People used to die on the regular and now it’s
really chill.
Do you like the change the city/VCU has imposed?
Oh yeah. There was a point when I graduated
High School that I didn’t know if I would ever
come back to Richmond. I didn’t think I was going
to be able to live here, but it changed, and I love
the fact that VCU has taken over.
Really? A lot of Richmond natives don’t really
like VCU’s presence.
They want it the way it used to be. There’s a lot
of history here, they want to preserve the old. But
like, fuck that past. You know, where black people
and white people couldn’t sit down together,
they want to preserve that old-ass history. That’s
not historic. My daughter is in school, and I’m
like, “What’s the point in even teaching kids that
now?” We should teach them something else. It’s
not important anymore. I understand why they do
“MAKE A HIT, I CAN
WRITE THOSE. BUT MY
MUSIC, IT HAS TO LIVE
it, but if you get rid of it and remove it, you don’t
have to talk about it. And if you don’t talk about
something, it can die. We don’t need to remember
that history; it’s what keeps from building the city
up. That’s why I like VCU--they want to rebuild
that history. They want us to remember things like
going to the Final Four.
You were coming up in an era when Richmond
hip-hop was all Southern Crunk music. Talk to
me a little about that.
Back then, you had artists like me, Nickelus F,
Radio Blitz, Illascorcese--a lot of different artists
that all had that East Coast sound. But what was
getting the most attention was that down South
type of music. It was taking over, at one point.
I’m a fan of music in general. I’m a fan of down
South music, but authentic down South music.
UGK, Outkast--even Master P, when he first came
out, and how authentic his music was. But that
Southern crazy shit, just party, negative overtones.
Hip-hop has always had a negative edge to it, but
with some of that down South music, it had noth-
40
RVA MAGAZINE #9
MONSTER
ing positive. I didn’t like it. But I held on tight, and
thankfully it turned back around.
Music like that doesn’t stay prominent for very long.
Yeah, because there’s only so much of that you
can make. Like, there’s only so much boy band
music you can make--Backstreet Boys, N’SYNC,
98 Degrees. It’s trendy, it works, but it doesn’t
last. You would never listen to a 98 Degrees
album anymore.
There are certain artists that can come out
with hits, but when it comes down to it, a lot of
it has to do with authenticity.
And that’s why I rhyme. It’s keeping the integrity
in music, making sure music can stand up over
time. Make a hit? I can write those. But my music,
it has to live up to a certain level and have a lot of
integrity behind it.
RVAMAG.COM
Describe the impact you want to make with
UP TO A CERTAIN LEVEL
AND HAVE A LOT OF
INTEGRITY BEHIND IT.”
your music.
All I’m trying to do is tell my story, the experiences I’ve had. If I had to describe my music, I
think I have a real polished style. Smooth lyrics,
proper placements of words. The way I choose
what I say and how I say it. I’m like a mix between
Nas and D’Angelo; maybe not the music aspect,
but the mindset of creating without fear. It’s kind
of like Steve Jobs with the iPod. He didn’t ask 100
people if they liked it. He was like, “I need this
product to look and work like this. I don’t a need
focus group.” That’s the same approach I try to
take. I may write a record, record it, let some of
my friends hear it in the studio. Ultimately, if I like
it, I’ll release it, because I’m not afraid to create.
And I’m influenced by so much, like Erykah Badu,
John Lennon, Marvin Gaye... very soulful music
that teaches you how to be soulful. It’s music you
don’t just hear, you listen to. Listen to what an
artist is doing with their voice to deliver emotion.
What are the instruments saying to you? That’s
where I’m at; just taking an emotional approach in
seeing what the music is saying.
MUSIC MICHAELMILLIONS.COM
41
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
DOWNBEAT SWITCH
BY DAN ANDERSON PHOTOS TYLER M. CONTA
42
RVA MAGAZINE #9
STUDIO SESH
MONSTER
RVAMAG.COM
D
ownbeat Switch has quite a history. Known to
their fans as DbS, this Richmond-based rock
group was initially conceived 80 miles outside
the city limits in the tiny rural town of Mathews,
VA back in 2002. Within the year, Meredith
Brooks (Guitar/Vocals) and Wayne Todd (Bass)
relocated to RVA for college, adding a drummer
and a lead vocalist in Mike Register and Bryan
Clark, respectively. They released their initial
demo, entitled Funk Shui, three years later, following it shortly afterwards with Seconds. Their third
release, Run From The Sun, dropped in ’09.
A lot has changed since those early days. They’ve
seen the likes of three different keyboard players:
Doug DeForge, Tommy Vinson, and finally, current keyboardist Sean Reese. Michael Register
has been replaced by Rob Reardon on drums. And
most significantly, as fate would have it, Bryan
Clark left DBS in 2009, just as another local band,
Silk Attraction, was breaking up. Silk Attraction
vocalist Jenna Be, who had previously done some
guest vocal spots on Run From The Sun, stepped in
to take Bryan’s place. Meredith says of Jenna, “I
listened to a rough copy of a Silk Attraction song.
When I heard Jenna’s voice, I instantly fell in love
with it.“
The rest of the band members interrupted, jeering
Meredith in a friendly manner. Even I joined in a
bit. In hindsight, though, I find it interesting that, in
playfully mocking Meredith during this interview,
we all had the same testosterone-fueled defensive
reaction. Maybe it was to hide the fact that we
were all equally enchanted by her voice. Jenna has
an amazing set of pipes. Belting her vocals like a
gorgeous banshee, stomping her feet, spinning
and shaking on stage, she is a siren. But the best
part about her role in Downbeat Switch isn’t her
looks or vocal talent, but her way with words.
Jenna wears the title of frontwoman well, and
if anything, Silk Attraction breaking up was one
of the many good things that have happened to
DbS over the years. Jenna went on to rerecord
lead vocal tracks on Run From The Sun, and they
rereleased it under the new title of Red Door
Sessions, commemorating the door of the shed
in which they tracked the album. Downbeat
Switch has made this eight-song EP available
for free for those who attend their shows. It’s
also available for download on iTunes.
The past decade has seen a lot of changes for
Downbeat Switch, but a few things have stayed
the same. Unfortunately, most are negative.
Throughout their existence as a band, they’ve had
an uphill struggle for respect within the RVA music scene. This city’s opinion is changing, though,
as many people who have happened upon recent
DbS live performances have become enthusiastic
converts. The obvious resemblance of some of
their songs to the music of 311 has been a stumbling block for some, but it’s not necessarily a bad
thing. Bringing up the 311 comparisons, I found
that not only were the band aware of the influence,
some members were flattered by the comparison.
The influence is most clear on Red Door Sessions.
This EP has a polished sound and delivers a positive, upbeat message, but the reggae-like rhythms
and Meredith’s backing vocals are what cause me
to associate its sound with Nick Hexum and co.
Since Jenna has been contributing to the songwriting, though, their catalogue has begun to reflect
influences that span a broader musical spectrum.
Which makes sense--Jenna’s previous band, Silk
Attraction, had a much harder sound. She and
Sean have recently been working together to create songs, and at one point during the interview,
Jenna emphasizes how effortless she finds lyrical
composition when she’s able to work with a keyboard player. Where the new songs are concerned,
a personal favorite of mine is “Cast Away.” It feels
like a poem directed at the listener, but the upbeat
rhythm prevents it from being confused with a ballad. Jenna’s influence is a great improvement on
an already excellent, but previously more genrespecific collaboration.
When Red Door Sessions was rereleased, Tommy
Vinson and Michael Register were still members
of DbS, but both left abruptly after a show at The
Canal Club in the fall of 2010. For a brief moment,
both Wayne and Meredith considered giving up
on DbS forever. I ran into Meredith shortly after
that fateful performance, and when I asked him if
he had any upcoming shows, his melancholy response showed his uncertainty about the future of
the band.
Fortunately, not long after that meeting, DbS
found Rob Reardon. When he first joined the band,
Reardon was somewhat intimidated. He explains:
“I spent four months learning the drum [parts]
to all the songs, but it took me a year to feel fully
comfortable playing them.” What Rob may lack in
confidence, he makes up for in talent. He’s a perfectionist, poring over every snare hit and cymbal
“JENNA WEARS THE TITLE OF FRONTWOMAN WELL, AND IF ANYTHING,
SILK ATTRACTION BREAKING UP WAS ONE OF THE MANY GOOD
THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO DBS OVER THE YEARS.”
MUSIC DOWNBEAT SWITCH
43
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
“ IF MEREDITH IS THE BRAINS OF DOWNBEAT SWITCH,
WAYNE IS THE HEART. DARK AND MYSTERIOUS, USUALLY
FOUND WEARING A HAT AND/OR SHADES, HE IS AS COOL,
LOW, AND CONFIDENT AS HIS BASS TECHNIQUE.”
crash--almost to a fault, as with his habit of
pointing out the imperfections in his performance to his friends when he gets off stage.
However, his flaws are too subtle for me to
ever notice. Keyboardist Sean Reese, who was
brought into the fold when Rob met him at an
RVA Studios jam session, was more confident
about his adjustment to DbS membership. “It
took me awhile to learn the songs too, but I felt
comfortable right after the first show,” Sean explained, smacking his fist into his other palm for
emphasis.
I’ve been impatiently anticipating Downbeat
Switch’s next album since Rob and Sean joined
the band. When I heard that Rob, who I’ve
44
known for over a decade, had joined Downbeat
Switch, I praised the addition. Not because he
brings more of the same influences to the table (when I met him, his car was adorned with
more than one 311 sticker), but because I knew
his love for their original tracks would translate
well onstage. Sean is a different story. He’s been
an occasional drinking partner of mine, and bar
chatter made me aware that he was initally coming from a very different place, musically, than
the rest of DbS. Strong bonds take time to build,
and he has since come to feel at home with his
bandmates, but his uniqueness will continue to
enhance DbS as long as they can transcend their
differences for a collective direction.
In the end, though, the best thing that ever happened to DbS was Wayne and Meredith. They were
there when it began, and I imagine they’ll both be
there when it ends. They’ve stayed with it through
multiple lineup changes that have left them the
band’s only original members. Asked about the
changes made in the lineup over the years, Meredith explains, “I’d invested so much energy and effort into this band, and it didn’t seem like [some of
the] others were putting in any work.” However, he
immediately amended his statement with praise
for everyone who’d ever been in the band.
Meredith has always been the brains of the operation. He asserts himself the way a patriarch
should, both stern and affirmative. Though he’s
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
not as accessible as the others, you can tell he holds
it together, much like a father would a family. If intelligence is a burden, and vision is a curse, than Meredith must be very troubled by his thoughts. Like a
skilled chess player, the mental gears are constantly
spinning, anticipating every possible scenario before
it has the chance to happen.
ous that, with age and experience, he’s become
wiser and more pleasant to work with. Beneath
all his nervous energy, there is a stubborn and
honorable soul. And finally, he’s not only a great
leader but an excellent guitar player to boot,
and the only person I’ve ever actually seen play
a talk box live.
And yet I can’t imagine that the group would
function well for very long if he was unwilling
to lend an ear to voices other than his own. His
words lend credence to this idea--he explains
that, while he once felt the need to control every aspect of the musical process, it’s been a
relief relinquishing power to others who are as
enthusiastic about the band as he is. It’s obvi-
If Meredith is the brains of Downbeat Switch,
Wayne is the heart. Dark and mysterious, usually found wearing a hat and/or shades, he is as
cool, low, and confident as his bass technique.
Just like his instrument, his personality can easily be lost behind the those of the band’s other
members, but without him, they’d never have
gotten as far as they have.
MUSIC DOWNBEATSWITCH.COM
If you asked me right now what Richmond artists I thought had the best chance of making it in
the music business on a global scale, Downbeat
Switch would be my first answer. They’re talented,
sexy, and they write excellent songs, but so do a
lot of other local acts. What sets them apart is the
fact that they are truly unified under the very same
vision, working diligently with one another to make
music into a paying profession. Their leadership,
personality, and overall presentation make them
destined for a larger stage in the years to come.
45
NICK KUSZYK
BY R. ANTHONY HARRIS
46
VA
-born, New York-based artist R. Nicholas
Kuszyk is best known for his robots. He’s
shown his colorful, eye-catching work in
galleries all over the world, and even put his robots
into book form with a children’s book, R Robot
Saves Lunch, released by Penguin in 2010. Nick’s
done a lot of work in different sizes and formats,
but he painted plenty of large-scale murals in his
early days, and in recent times he’s been getting back into murals and street art. So when Ed
Trask was calling up artists he knew to enlist their
participation in the recent RVA Street Art Festival,
RVA MAGAZINE #9
SYMBOLIC ORCHESTRATION
You’ve been working with Ed for, what, 10 years?
Me?
Yeah. You guys have been working together for
a long time.
Have we been? I mean, I’ve known Ed for at least
that long. That’s pretty much it. This was rad--it
didn’t seem so formal because of Ed. That was
the best part. Even though it was a relatively
substantial commercially funded corporate thing,
Chamber of Commerce and all that shit, it didn’t
feel that way.
How long have you been doing murals?
How long have I been doing this? Have you been
around? I don’t know.
I think the first thing I saw of yours was
probably four or five years ago when you first
moved to New York and you did the giant wall.
You didn’t see the Hole in the Wall that I did in
2002? Remember that? When it was Holy Chow.
You did the walls on that?
That was 2002. I had a big goofy pink wall here.
I was doing graffiti in the 90s. In the early 90s I
started in DC area in graffiti, in that scene in ‘92
and ‘93 when I was Little Toy and then I did a
whole bunch of graffiti up until around 2000. ‘99,
‘98 is when I started doing real art. I got all fucked
the country right now that the institution is kind of
caught up with all the Deitch hype, you know? Like
the Blu shit and the Os Gemeos stuff--the guys
that really went big. I’m going to claim that Blu
was the dude that made everybody especially for
me stop fucking around, stop being a pussy. Like,
for me, when I saw a couple of the Blu pieces... I
mean, we had done big things before, but all of
that dude’s shit was HUGE. I was like, “Duh.”
It’s a way of getting back to your roots.
Or not even, it’s just the magnitude of possibilities.
Doing it real proper with the scale, specifically.
People had done big things in the past here and
there, but every single thing they were doing was
legitimately large-scale. That inspired me, for sure.
Got you excited to do it?
Yeah. And it was cool, so obviously. I don’t like
talking about momentum. Like, “Oh, we’ve got all
this momentum, because this thing is big and the
next thing is big,” because you never know. But for
me, it was a turning point. I hate saying stuff like
“Oh yeah, Americans,” but I think a lot of other
people kind of push shit. Like, “Let’s do this on a
competitive level.” Because that’s how it is, graffiti
guys especially. Those graffiti guys work big.
It was interesting hanging out with Pixel
Pancho, from Italy, and ROA. They were saying
RVAMAG.COM
“ THERE IS A WEIRD ECHO THAT’S HAPPENING ALL
AROUND THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW THAT THE
INSTITUTION IS KIND OF CAUGHT UP WITH ALL
THE DEITCH HYPE, YOU KNOW?”
Nick was an obvious choice. We caught up with
him while he was in town for that event, and had
this entertaining and enlightening conversation
with him. Read on to learn Nick’s opinions on the
merits of doing really big pieces, European street
artists coming to the United States, and a whole
lot more.
How did you get involved with the RVA Street
Art project?
Ed Trask emailed me or called me or something, I
don’t know.
ART NICK KUSZYK
up on drugs and went to rehab and then came
out, moved to Charlottesville and started making
cheap art around ‘97 like the end of ‘97 early ‘98.
That dude Steve Keane--you know who Steve
Keane is right?
that a lot of the walls in Europe had been just
eaten up. Just that the street art scene and the
mural scene is really huge. So a lot of those
guys were really...
...touring over here?
I’ve heard the name. I’ve never met him.
He’s the OG cheap art dude. I kind of copied his
model and started making affordable art. You
know about those old art parties we used to do-throwin’ house shows and stuff, like in 2001.
Yeah.
There are so many small cities in America that
need them.
Are you talking about Egg Space? Like down on
the river?
I did a show at Egg Space in 2003. We did a real
big show at Art Space in 2000 and 2001. It was
huge, like fuckin’ 1500 people came to it. For
Richmond at that point, it was a big record breaking thing, you know? We got in all the magazines,
and we were all like 23 or 25. The oldest person
was like 30, which I think was Ed at 32. I think he
was affiliated with that. The big deal for us was
the art show parties. I did one in Charlottesville
and a couple in Brooklyn in 1999-2000. Then we
started doing it here and it took off. But that was
just local energy, and then we split off and did our
own thing for a long time.
Yeah. I was just talking to Dalek about this
transition, this explosion of giant pieces on
walls. A lot of the graffiti guys got legit, did
gallery work, got bored of gallery work, and are
now just going back to street, you know?
There is a weird echo that’s happening all around
Like virgin territory?
Exactly. So you got to chill with these Europeans. Not talking shit but it’s like, “Yo, stop flying
these fuckers in.” Get the good talent that’s been
slept on around in the States. There are so many
motherfuckers that are absolutely capable of
doing these huge amazing things that haven’t
had the opportunity. But it’s also good to have the
superstars. ROA was talking shit about being a
superstar, but inadvertently, with his nature, he is
a fuckin’ superstar in this scene. He just one-ups
his shit, it’s awesome. I love it.
He went to London after [the G40], and
Aryz was here--he flew out to Madagascar.
Goddamn.
That’s cool. I’m going to Australia next week.
Oh my god.
Yeah, and then probably going to Bangkok after
that for a little while.
Are you just doing murals?
I’m curating a show [in Australia], a group
show. Ed is in it, Jim Callahan is in it. A bunch of
47
UBER MEGASCAPE
Richmond people and international people [are] in
it. James [Dalek] is in it too actually. Rich is in it too.
Suzy is in it.
You guys have been building on that crew for a
long time?
We’re not really in a crew. This isn’t a crew. It’s social,
like a gangbang, you know?
What do you think a project like this could do for
Richmond, since it’s completely new? Or does it
do anything?
I don’t know. That’s exactly what I was talking about-the hype of momentum, and people thinking, like,
“Oh, it’s going to be…” Inherently, with things like
this, it only happens if the developers are interested.
The city is only doing it because they are realizing
that this kind of attention is good for property value.
And that’s a harsh reality if you are not a commercial
person. Someone like ROA or Blu specifically is really
anti-commercial, anti-capitalism, anti-corporate
exploitation of all this stuff.
But inevitably it happens. Whenever he puts an
image on that building it becomes a product.
Yup. Like when I was in Oakland, I’d deal with that.
I’m in the hood, and I’m some white dude from
Virginia. That’s some racist shit, but the reality is
nobody knows me there. I did a big wall in a pretty
grimy neighborhood. You’ve got to sort of... not
tiptoe, but I don’t want to be the dude who’s stamping my territory and putting my sticker on your shit. I
think it matters and there’s a reality to the relationship with the community. Which is the point of saying chill with flying all of these European guys in. Not
that I’m shitting on those dudes. But, you understand, there is always local politics, and I think that
should be respected. So I ended up stepping back
from just doing these big robot murals. I did a wall
for this woman that had a building I perched in [in
Oakland], and she turned out to be like the grandma, literally the den mother for the Black Panthers.
She’s 85 and she is a well documented, respected
community leader activist. I talked to the liaison and
he was like, “She would prefer if you did something
like this.” At first I was like, “Well, I’m like an artist
and I do my own thing.” Then I was like, “Wait, no
no no. I’m a human being, I’m in your world, what do
you want me to paint? I’ll paint it.” Which is beyond
the ego of my fuckin’ characters and all that shit. I
did a thing for them. I painted a guy.
Did you do a guy or a robot?
No, I actually painted one of the guys in the Olympics, in Mexico City, you know, [with] the black
glove. [African-American Olympic athletes Tommie
Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in the Black
Power salute after receiving medals at the 1968
“THE CITY IS ONLY DOING IT BECAUSE THEY ARE REALIZING THAT THIS KIND OF
ATTENTION IS GOOD FOR PROPERTY VALUE. AND THAT’S A HARSH REALITY
IF YOU ARE NOT A COMMERCIAL PERSON.”
48
RVA MAGAZINE #9
UNKNOWN, PERCIPITATION PILE RITUAL, JUXTAPOSITIONAL PROCESS SCAPE,TWO GLOBAL ACTION POSSIBILITIES
Summer Olympics.-ed.] Because those were like her
kids--not really, but she looked after those dudes.
Evidently she bought them the black gloves that
they wore, but they only had one pair. So one dude’s
wearing the left glove and one dude’s wearing the
right. In some endearing way, they just fucking did it.
There’s some families there, it’s not the worst place
on earth, but it’s a grimy zone.
up to me, fucking big ass thug dudes, and were like,
“Thank you.” That was all positive, on some memorial thing, but then the dude who owned the building
in between the coffee shop and the fence got super
pissed off about three weeks later that some white
dudes came and did a baby’s name. The mural was
a memorial. I didn’t know how else to do it, you
know? And so the dudes got real pissed off that all
these white kids, these artist people, were painting
the dead neighborhood babies. All this dead shit,
because there was another memorial in the corner
for someone else who got murdered.
That sounds real deal.
I got robbed at gun point. Real harsh--I had a gun
to my head. It was bad, but there was this weird
dynamic. You’re being positive, but you never know.
RVAMAG.COM
That’s interesting. Scribe did a thing in Abney
Park over in Jackson Ward, and the neighbors
came out and formed a line just thanking him
for doing something positive in such a fucked
up neighborhood.
For sure. [Nick starts to tell the story of a murder that
occurred while he was in Oakland. -ed.] It was right
around the corner. I could hear the bullets, it was so
close. The next morning I got up and walked down
there--police tape... hectic. There was a rap video
being made, like some thug rap shit, and these dudes
rolled up on the shoot. Three dudes got out [of a car]
and started spraying with M16s, AK-47s. It was loud.
They shot eight people, and no one died except for a
one-year-old baby. His name was Hiram, and I knew
him because he would go to the coffee shop right
around the corner from my house. I was supposed to
paint a fence right there. I saw the photograph in the
newspaper, and the little dude was at the coffee shop
on the regular with his mom. I never met the father.
The dad got shot through his hand. [The bullet went]
through the father’s hand into the baby’s head. Here
I am about to do my robots and shit, but it’s like, I’m
painting on a fuckin’ murder scene. That was the
only time I had to incorporate the times. It was like,
“I’ve got to do it.” So I just did a big Hiram piece. And
I put this little baby up--I didn’t know him but I said
hi to him. The family was crying and shit. I saw them
the next day and they were crying, and [they] came
ART RROBOTS.COM
49
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
A LIFE ONCE LOST
P
BY ANDREW NECCI / PHOTOS BY GLENN COCOA
hiladelphia metalcore veterans A Life Once Lost
have been making heavy, powerful music for over
ten years now. They released five albums in the
previous decade, each representing a stylistic growth
and maturation. Since Iron Gag was released in 2007,
though, A Life Once Lost have largely been absent from
the metal scene. Founding members Bob Meadows
(vocals) and Doug Sabolick (lead guitar) have been
working steadily on a followup for years, amid lineup
turmoil that saw every other member of the band
replaced, and struggles with songwriting and studios that
led to most of an album being scrapped. But earlier this
year, they journeyed to Richmond to work with renowned
local producer Andreas Magnusson, who owns Planet
Red Studios and has worked with such bands as Black
Dahlia Murder and Down To Nothing. This turned out
to be a winning combination, and A Life Once Lost were
finally able to complete their new album. Towards the
end of the process, I headed over to Planet Red and
spoke with Bob and Doug about their long absence and
the new music they’ve created. We were joined for part
of the conversation by Andreas, who gave his insights
into the recording process. The interview featured some
surprising revelations, many of which increased my
anticipation for their new material. But before we could
talk about where A Life Once Lost are headed, we had to
talk about where they’d been.
This is your first record in five years. What
made it take so long?
Bob: We needed the space. We had spent a long
time on the road. During the downtime we explored
other things. I had two side projects, Doug had his
band, and we just felt things out. But having that
separation with each other has driven us to take this
record a little more seriously. We definitely expanded
our musical horizons within the last five years, and
you’ll hear it on the record. So I think [the downtime]
is beneficial. At the same time, we’ve been gone for
such a long time that it’s gonna be a lot of fun trying
to say hello again.
I noticed that the other three members had also
all changed in the last year or two.
Doug: In order to take a step forward, we needed to
kind of break off. When you’re in a band with guys
for as long as we had been, which was about ten
years, everyone is gonna move on and do their own
thing. We also were kinda burned out. We were
just going for it for a long time, and then life catches
up and you need to take care of other things for a
while. So it wasn’t originally our plan to [take five
years off]. We were writing another record, and we
couldn’t all get on the same page in the room.
I had heard there was gonna be a record a year ago.
Bob: Yeah, we pretty much scrapped a record. I think
we threw out six songs. We really just reevaluated
everything.
Doug: At some point, I needed to go to sleep at
night and be happy with who I was and how I was
being portrayed. We had differences with some of
the guys about what we like about music in general.
And Bob and I started collaborating more and more,
and feeding off of each other. It hadn’t been like that
in years.
Were you guys unhappy with the music you
had scrapped?
Bob: I definitely had a hard time relating with a few
of the songs. Writing the lyrics wasn’t the problem,
it was being able to groove with the song. I just
couldn’t groove with it.
Doug: People consider us a groovy band, and when
I would listen to some of our stuff, I couldn’t even
find a groove in it anymore. When I think of groove,
it makes me want to turn into an animal. It wasn’t
doing that anymore, for me. Maybe it was still doing
that for some of the other guys.
So what’s the new stuff like?
Bob: It’s definitely another step elsewhere. I feel like
on every one of our records we’ve tried to progress.
Doug: People try to lump us into a scene, and we
think, “When we did that record, there was no scene
for that. We were doing our own thing.”
Bob: But the new stuff though...
Doug: It’s a mixture.
Bob: You’re gonna hear the influence from A Great
Artist, from Hunter and Iron Gag, and then you’re
gonna hear some other influences. From bands that
within the last five years I was able to get into, that
[Doug] was able to get into, not to mention Doug
writing and touring with Snake Sustaine. The playing
level has definitely stepped up, so you’re gonna hear
that in the record.
Do you feel like taking a break opened you up to
more music you hadn’t heard?
Doug: It opened me up, for sure. When we were
doing those tours, all I listened to was heavy bands.
Bob: You’re touring with heavy bands--even in the
van, it’s heavy bands. But being away from it for
such a long time, the musical spectrum that I listen
to is limitless now. I’ll give everything a chance.
Doug: There’s not one second on this album
where the guitars are not brutal. The sounds are
different, but that guitar riffing is always there. It’s
almost more animalistic and primal now. Some
people might say accessible, maybe. But to me,
it’s just as good.
Since you kind of referenced it, I want to ask
you about the new trendy subgenre of djent.
I guess the genre name is a Meshuggah
reference. I don’t even completely understand
it, but I did notice that you guys are mentioned
on the wikipedia page for the genre. How do
you guys feel about the whole djent thing?
Bob: It’s always been hard to classify us. Even before
djent, when it was metalcore, we never liked to be
called metalcore.
Doug: With every trend, they call us something else.
Bob: Yeah, we’re a groove metal band on
wikipedia too.
Doug: We came from heavy music when we were
younger, so obviously it’s gonna be heavy. But we
don’t really cater to anything.
“ YOU DIG DEEPER AND FIGURE OUT MORE WHAT INFLUENCED
WHO INFLUENCED YOU, AND YOU GET CLOSER TO WHATEVER
THE TRUE FEELING IS.”
50
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC A LIFE ONCE LOST
51
PERFORMING AT KINGDOM
HERMES
Yeah, when I first saw you guys, that was on a
hardcore show.
Bob: I definitely came from a hardcore background,
so I had that kind of mindset when I first started
performing live. Doug listened to a lot of Pantera and
Sabbath, so as he got older, you could hear more of
that influence coming out.
Doug: You dig deeper and figure out more what
influenced who influenced you, and you get closer to
whatever the true feeling is.
So how’d you guys end up recording with
Andreas? What led you to choose this studio?
Doug: I think our manager brought it up. She had
brought up a few different people, and we were
unsure of what we were gonna do. Originally we
were gonna try and record it ourselves, which just
wasn’t happening. But when she brought him up, I
was like, “Oh, I remember Andreas.”
Bob: We toured with his band [Scarlet]. He’s
recorded a lot of our friends’ bands, like Black
Dahlia Murder.
52
Doug: So we came down and did a demo, and once
we heard the demo, we were into it. So that’s why
we’re here.
Awesome. Andreas, how’s this experience been
on your end?
Andreas: It’s cool. It’s really relaxed, not having a full
band here. When you get five guys in the room the
whole time, it just gets really frustrating.
Bob: In terms of the babysitting?
Andreas: Yeah, you waste a lot of time. When you
get too many guys in that all have their own ideas,
you end up with...
Doug: Ideas clashing and all that?
Andreas: Yeah. I think stuff has more of a sound
the less people that are involved. You get more
of someone’s unique style, rather than when
everything gets so blended up. But production
wise, there’s a lot of space in the songs to do a lot
of cool stuff.
Doug: Stuff that we never would have done before.
Are you experimenting in the studio? Doing
things that you hadn’t been doing live with
these songs?
Doug: Well, we haven’t played a lot of them live at
all, really.
Bob: We’ve played four songs live. But we’re mixing
in the new components to the live show that no
one’s heard yet. Just having it on some of the tracks
just brings a different element to what we do.
Doug: There’s Hammond organ all over the album.
[laughs] You’re not serious.
Doug: Oh, I’m serious.
Andreas: But a real organ, going through a real
Leslie [rotating organ speaker].
For real? I don’t know if I’m being pranked right now.
Bob: [laughs] No, you’re not being pranked. See,
that might scare you. You might not know what
to expect.
That actually interests me. I’m curious about that.
Bob: Hammond organ is such a dark instrument.
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
We’re tuning down a little lower on this record
as well, so it’s opened up a wider spectrum of
riffs that we can do. It’s eerier. There are different
soundscapes within it that a lot of [other] bands
don’t have, that really haven’t been abused yet.
Doug: Abused. [laughs]
It hasn’t been done to death.
Bob: Exactly.
So are you going to be bringing in somebody to
play it live? If you took a real Hammond organ
on tour, that’d be complex.
Bob: It’s big, but I think it’s still do-able.
Doug: It depends on the tour. It’s like 500 lbs.
Andreas: It’s got Yellow Pages holding the amp up.
It’s not necessarily tour-ready.
Doug: It’s not roadworthy at all. When I drove it
down here, I was so afraid when we first plugged it
up. Like, “Oh my god, I hope it works.”
So what is your current lineup? Are you guys a
MUSIC A LIFE ONCE LOST
“ THE RECORD YOU’RE GONNA GET WHEN BOB
AND I ARE DOING IT IS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT
CRAZIER THAN THE RECORD [BY] GUYS WHO
ARE JUST ON THEIR FIRST ALBUM, AND [ARE]
SCARED TO DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT.”
53
HERMES
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
“ I REALLY WANTED TO
INCORPORATE A LOT OF
LATE 60S/EARLY 70S
PSYCH AND KRAUTROCK
INFLUENCE WITHIN THE
SOLOS; A LOT OF THAT
IMPROV STUFF THAT
WAS BLOWING MINDS AT
THE TIME.”
54
RVA MAGAZINE #9
MONSTER
five-piece again?
Doug: After the album is done, we’re gonna go
back to practicing as a five-piece for the first
time in about two years.
Are you doing all the guitar tracks on the album?
Bob: This album’s completely just the two of us.
Doug: Well, we have a drummer that we brought
in. But it’s cool because it’s more of a straight
collaboration. Bob and I are definitely different than
your average metalheads. So the record you’re gonna
get when Bob and I are doing it is gonna be a little
bit crazier than the record [by] guys who are just
on their first album, and [are] scared to do anything
different.
You guys have signed to Seasons Of Mist. How’s
working with them been? How do they compare
to your previous label, Ferret?
Bob: All I know is that they’ve put out a lot of
awesome records. The staff there is incredible,
especially in the US. Their track record gets me very
excited to be able to work with them with my music.
Just seeing what they’ve done in the past, I’m fucking
freaked out. It’s gonna be awesome. Seasons Of Mist
was one of our top choices for labels when we were
sending things out. And they were very interested
right from the get-go.
RVAMAG.COM
So what’s the timeline look like for the album,
leading up to the release?
Bob: We don’t really have a set date for the album
until we deliver the album. But we’re hoping for the
fall, October or November of this year.
Doug: It’s gonna come out on vinyl, so it’s basically
artwork we’re waiting on after we’re done with it.
MUSIC ALOLMETAL.COM
Bob: We’ve worked with Paul Romano in the past,
but this time the stars just didn’t align, and we went
out and looked for somebody else. We found Brian
Baker, who is from Baltimore. He did the painting
[we’re using] over a span of something like eight
years. This painting is incredible. It’s massive. Doug
went down to take pictures of it and he was blown
away by it.
Doug: I was looking for artwork and I saw
something I actually liked. I don’t really like album
artwork that much anymore. I always find old things
that I like, but now...
Bob: It has a [Miles Davis’] Bitches Brew vibe to it,
but there’s a weird spiritual element about it. Mike
Wahlberg, [who] does a lot of t-shirt designs for us,
is gonna put [the packaging] together. He’s gonna
do a weird psychedelic collage.
The way you’re describing the album sleeve,
combined with the fact that you’re bringing in
the Hammond organ, makes me think that the
album might have a retro 70s feel.
Bob: It’s fucking heavy. But a lot of the leads do have
a bit of that psychedelic tinge to it.
Doug: That’s something that people are gonna
notice. The leads are different now.
Bob: I really wanted to incorporate a lot of late
60s/early 70s psych and Krautrock influence
within the solos; a lot of that improv stuff that was
blowing minds at the time, mixed with some darker
drone, ambient kind of stuff. The record has the A
Life Once Lost signature sound, but there’s just a
different interpretation to it.
Andreas: It’s got the Hammond, and all the leads
that are going through an old combo amp, but then
it’s still really heavy. The tuning has been dropped,
the rhythm tone is really thick and heavy, and the
drums are hard-hitting. So it’s kind of got both
extremes--it’s really hard-hitting, but it has a lot of
that psychedelic sound on top of it.
That really sounds awesome. I can’t wait to
hear it now.
Doug: People will either like it or they won’t, but it’s
a unique record made from me and [Bob], and that’s
the bottom line.
Bob: There’s no status quo that we’re trying to hit.
Whatever happens with it happens with it. At the
end of the day, I’m gonna be proud of it. That’s really
all that matters, is that we’re happy.
After we finished the interview, Bob and Doug let me
hear one of the new songs, and it was every bit as
cool as their description made it sound. They’re now
tuning to B, three steps below standard, and with the
Hammond organ mixed in, the vibe is definitely darker
and swampier than before. The complex time signatures
and heavy, aggressive riffing on which they’ve made
their name are still very much present, but they’ve
incorporated a psychedelic stoner groove that puts a
fresh new twist on their earlier sound. The new album
should please all but the most narrow-minded A Life
Once Lost fans, while bringing many new converts into
the fold. I for one am totally on board. I’ll be looking for it
this fall, and you should too.
Doug: It’s like Santana meets Meshuggah or some shit.
55
RECORD REVIEWS By Dan Anderson (DA) & Andrew Necci (AN)
ANTLERS
2607 Space Godz
(antlers.bandcamp.com)
Since starting four years ago as an
instrumental indie/math-rock act,
this quartet has undergone a significant shift in mindset. 2607 Space
Godz is far more psychedelic than
their earlier work, resulting in a blissful, stoned-out alternate universe
version of their original sound. Very
different, but just as awesome. (AN)
THE CORY SMOOT EXPERIMENT
When Worlds Collide
(Metal Blade)
Originally intended as a project
featuring local metal vocalists like
Dave Brockie and Randy Blythe,
When Worlds Collide ended up being
a true solo project. Cory laid down
all vocal and instrumental tracks on
this album, which shows just how
talented he truly was. All proceeds
from this record benefit the Smoot
Family Fund. (DA)
EMILY WELLS
Mama
(Partisan)
There’s something uniquely dynamic
and intriguing about Mama. These
ten tracks were seven years in the
making and are as meticulous and
complex as a woman is, generally. If
you’ve ever been accused of being a
hipster, you’ll love this one. If you’re
a guy, give it to a hipster chick and
score cool points. (DA)
GLASS CLOUD
The Royal Thousand
(Equal Vision)
This VA Beach-based band writes
complex, heavy music, but with a
fundamental grounding in melody
and emotion. The clean vocals
and emotionally-driven choruses
give this album much of its power,
adding depth to the plethora of
technical metal riffs on display. A
solid release that works on multiple
levels. (AN)
CATA9TALES
A Chameleon’s Dream
(Cata9tales.com)
A Chameleon’s Dream is interesting,
to say the least. This South Boston
duo manages to meld many different musical influences together to
create an excited sound that backs
unique hip hop lyrical themes. Much
different from what you’re used to,
but if you’re searching for something
new, you may enjoy this record.
(DA)
THE CRIBS
In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull
(Wichita)
The Cribs--a ridiculously underrated
trio of English brothers--combine
melodic punk, power-pop, indie,
alt-rock, and grunge into a winning
combination of guitar-driven uptempo rock n’ roll. Their latest LP is
a lot like their last few--fun, catchy,
but with surprising depth. Don’t
sleep on this band. (AN)
ETERNAL SUMMERS
Correct Behavior
(Kanine)
This Roanoke trio has been making waves on the indie scene with
their female-fronted alt-rock, which
focuses on loud guitars and excellent melodic choruses. Other than
a one-song detour to Joy Divisionland, this is an uplifting slab of pure
pop magic. You’ll have songs from
this album stuck in your head all
summer. (AN)
GRAPHIC MELEE
Unlimited
(graphicmelee.bandcamp.com)
CONRIZZLE
CranGrape & More Whitegirls
(iknowrizzle.com)
I was sure of what to expect from
this ten-track mixtape--and I was
right, kind of. It’s exactly the same
overworked, exhausted concepts
that are constantly revisited over
and over in hip hop. But something
about this album is immensely refreshing. The combination of beats,
cameos and Rizzle’s delivery make
the old seem new. (DA)
DEAD DOG
Dead Dog
(This Will Be Our Summer)
This self-titled debut album is a
rerelease that includes three bonus
songs. Filled with garage quality, lofi, traditional punk rock recordings,
this record is quite fun initially, but
appears to lose its focus and drive
by the time it reaches the bonus
tracks. However, it retains it’s naive
innocence throughout. (DA)
THE FLAMING LIPS
...and Heady Fwends
(Warner Bros)
This double LP compiles various
collaborations between the Lips and
other musicians--some unsurprising
(Neon Indian, Yoko Ono), some totally random (Ke$ha, Coldplay). The
album changes significantly from
song to song, but all of it works,
and all but the most straight-laced
of Flaming Lips fans will enjoy it
thoroughly. (AN)
HOT WATER MUSIC
Exister
(Rise)
HWM returns with their eighth
album, and first in eight years. They
still sound like themselves, though
evolution has occurred--there’s less
melodramatic emoting and more
punkish uptempo riffing than on previous albums. But if you’ve always
liked Hot Water Music, Exister won’t
change that. (AN)
56
From beneath the productionrelated moniker of Graphic Melee,
DJ Phil layers it on thick with his
second record. Fourteen tracks of
asymmetric ambiance, Unlimited is
the world as seen through the eyes
of a full time bike shop mechanic.
Phil’s an introvert with a sick sound
fixation, and Unlimited is pleasantly
obnoxious. (DA)
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
JACK WHITE
Blunderbuss
(Third Man Records)
With such a long resume, it’s hard
to believe that Blunderbuss is only
Jack White’s first solo album. Jack’s
been using Nashville as his musical
toolbox. This record asserts itself
like the beating he put on Jason
Stollsteimer, more than anything
he’s worked on before. Blunderbuss
gets my vote for album of the year,
so far. (DA)
LOREM IPSUM
EeeeeePeeeee
(loremipsummusic.bandcamp.com)
This relatively new group, made
up of RVA music scene veterans,
continues to impress with their
second extended play release. The
post-hardcore vibe continues to
dominate, though there’s a good bit
of alt-rock influence incorporated as
well. People who miss bands like Fugazi and Bluetip will love this. (AN)
REDD KROSS
Researching The Blues
(Merge)
This long-running punk-rock/powerpop outfit has picked up where they
left off before their 15-year hiatus
with this excellent collection. The
McDonald brothers still know how
to deliver irresistible pop hooks with
toughness and panache. All the
hardcore kids who grew up to love
Cheap Trick and Big Star need this
album. (AN)
SPIDER ROCKETS
Bitten
(P-Dog)
Nothing extraordinary about these
eleven songs, but there’s something
intriguingly Joan Jett-esque about
front woman Helena Cos’s contribution to Spider Rockets. Remove her
from the equation and this album
falls totally flat. The instrumentation
is stiff and predictable. (DA)
LAETITIA SADIER
Silencio
(Drag City)
Lost Sounds
The Lost Lost
(Goner)
ROMA
Ursa Minor
(soundcloud.com/romabandrva)
TWIN STEPS
Serial Parade
(Cola Bruin)
The second solo effort from Stereolab’s lead singer will surely appeal to
fans of her band. There’s more of a
retro French pop sound mixed into
the psychedelic/electronic feel of
the music here than in Stereolab, but
on the whole Silencio is very much
of a piece with the best Stereolab
work. (AN)
Lost Sounds was the late, great Jay
Reatard’s synth punk band, a dark,
gloomy quartet that mingled garage
rock with postpunk. Breaking up at
their creative peak, they left behind
a wealth of top-quality unreleased
material, and The Lost Lost collects
those recordings into an excellent
posthumous compilation. (AN)
This is one of the best records I’ve
heard all year. Pirate circus music.
Matt and Charlie’s vocals mix together into a trance-y potion. These
fourteen tracks are tight and playfully arrogant. You can tell Dan-o
enjoyed working extensively on this
one. Downside – “Sister Angeline.”
Upside – Everything else. (DA)
This four-song lo-fi modern postpunk record has a Joy Division vs.
Ween vs. a giant fire breathing
lizard-bird driving an old Cadillac
into the mouth of a volcano while
Dick Dale plays on the radio feel to
it. This record is far too short. I look
forward to hearing more from this
Oakland, CA-based concoction.
(DA)
LITA FORD
Living Like A Runaway
(Steamhammer)
I used to have a Lita Ford poster on
my bedroom wall. She looked great,
but I can’t recall much of her music,
and this record is as unmemorable
as ever. Living Like A Runaway’s
about ten songs too long, and would
be considered hokey even by mid80s hair metal standards. Her use of
autotune is uncomfortably obvious.
(DA)
MESHUGGAH
Koloss
(Nuclear Blast)
Complex, technically-inclined
midtempo metal from these Swedish metal innovators. Often too
complicated to have an organic
groove, these songs nonetheless
derive intensity from heavy, pounding repetition. Hypnotic rather than
monotonous, Koloss is a solid demonstration of the reasons Meshuggah are so highly regarded. (AN)
RUSSELL LACY
Charlestown
(russellacy.bandcamp.com)
Recorded and mixed at Buffle Bear
Studios in the town surrounding
The Berklee College Of Music,
Charlestown is eleven songs in
length. Russell Lacy brings us a well
written and passionate solo effort,
exhibiting exceptional vocal control.
Fans of GreaseTrigger will find in
Charlestown something different, but
profound. (DA)
WHITECHAPEL
Whitechapel
(Metal Blade)
The fourth LP from this deathcore
ensemble certainly does not lack in
the heaviness department. Chunky
midtempo riffs produced with the
goal of maximum head-smashing
power. At times reminiscent of a
beefed-up Slipknot (which is not a
bad thing), this album gets monotonous after a while (which is a bad
thing). (AN)
MUSIC RECORD REVIEWS
57
HERMES
58
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
MONSTER
Launch your message...
by any means possible.
Make. It. Happen.
Flow Communications Group helps clients find
innovative ways to reach their goals. We are a
consortium of committed creatives who listen to what
you need and discern what your key audiences want.
Deploying our deep expertise in communications strategy
and inspired storytelling, we deliver satisfying solutions
that flow from the wellspring of an authentic source…You!
Communications Group
Richmond • Austin • Atlanta
RVAMAG.COM
www.FlowCommunicationsGroup.com
MUSIC SOULPOWER
59
rmf official website launch
rvamusicfest.COM
RVAMAG.COM
COMING SOON!
HERMES
62
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9
RVAMAG.COM
MONSTER
MUSIC SOULPOWER
63
HERMES
64
BLOOMING SELF PORTRAIT
RVA MAGAZINE #9