AS I L AY DYING o ZURI WATERS o HOWE o TEAM SLEEP o AL AN SANDERSON o MARINA V Social D istortion DON’T TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED SEPTEMBER 2005 FREE SEPTEMBER 2005 C O N T E N T S 03 EDITOR’S NOTE “TEEN AG E M U TA N T N I N J A B I T C H . ” 05 R U M O R S > S TA F F P I C K S AUST I N C I T Y L I M I T S ART H A S N O B O R D E R S HELD T O G E T H E R B Y A T H R E A D 06 TEAM SLEEP SHOW R E V I E W: L I V E @ S O M A 08 SOCIAL DISTORTION DON ’ T TA K E T H E M F O R G R A N T E D 12 AL AN SANDERSON SPOT L I G H T: B R I N G S L A - Q U A L I T Y RECO R D I N G T O S A N D I E G O 16 20 HOWE CD REVIEWS WHIS K E Y TA N G O : C A N DY K A N E LMNO : S O M E G I R L S THE A D O L E S C E N T S : T H E LO C U S T COVER PHOTO: SOCIAL D’S MIKE NESS : BECKY SAPP 24 ANYA M A R I N A’ S R E C O M M E N D E D FROM F M 9 4 / 9 “Rising Sun” Zuri Waters. 26 Z U R I W AT E R S CULTU R E : A R T W O R K K A M I K A Z E 30 AS I L AY DYING BACK S TAG E : N O T H E R E T O PREAC H A S E R M O N 34 MARINA V BACK S TAG E : P R OV E S F O L LO W I N G YOUR D R E A M S I S “ S I M P L E M AG I C ” 36 T H E L O C A L P Y L E BY TIM PYLES M U S I CM AT T E R S 01 editor’s note M Ua S gI C M Az T iT En R Se m a editor creative director/photography copy editor/staff writer editorial writers contributing writers contributing photographers advertising o JEN HILBERT editor THE FIRST TIME I SAW SOCIAL DISTORTION PERFORM was in 1990. I was sixteen and, not unlike your typical sixteen year old, I was somewhat difficult to impress. Okay, more than difficult, I was a pain in the ass. (Remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? My then oh-so-sweet boyfriend actually bought me a button that read “Teenage Mutant Ninja Bitch.” Real funny, huh?) JEN HILBERT KIMBERLY LOSTROSCIO MARY SMEDES PIKE ANYA MARINA TIM PYLES I was your average angry teen growing up in a suburban steel town north of Philadelphia. I liked music that was loud and contentious but meaningful too. There were plenty of loud and angry bands to be found at the time (Sick of It All, Agnostic Front, M.O.D., D.R.I., C.O.C., and probably a dozen others whose names were reduced to acronyms), but their lyrics weren’t quite what I yearned for. I didn’t realize it then, but more than just embittered mantras, I was searching for timeless poetry put to music. I wanted songs that dealt with the frustrations and life experience of the middle class. I wanted lyrics that championed the underdog. And more than anything else, I wanted to know that I wasn’t alone in my thoughts and feelings. KEVIN FARR CULLEN HENDRIX BART MENDOZA VERONICA MUNGUIA LINDSAY O’CONNOR KIM SCHWENK CHRISTINE MARIE ANDREW MO BECKY SAPP TREVAN WONG SEAN YOUNG RACHEL WOLFE [email protected] office: 619.749.7669 cell: 619.251.3346 webmaster KEITH DRIVER distribution BEAU’S DISTRIBUTION SERVICE publisher GREG PASSMORE SDMUSICMATTERS.COM Please send all submission queries, CD’s, and any other questions for review/publication. ATTN: JEN HILBERT 4901 Morena Blvd. Suite 211 San Diego, CA 92117 phone: 858.490.1620 fax: 858.490.1622 email: [email protected] 02 M U S I C M AT T E R S MIKE NESS PHOTO: ANDREW MO MUSICMATTERS Magazine, issue September 2005. Copyright © 2005 by SDMUSICMATTERS.COM. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. Letters to SDMUSICMATTERS.COM are assumed intended for publication in whole or part without permission from the writer. MUSICMATTERS Magazine does not necessarily endorse the lifestyles depicted in these pages. This magazine is intended for mature audiences, and both the magazine publisher and staff encourage you to live a responsible, healthy and balanced lifestyle while supporting your local community and abiding by its laws. Please don’t become one of the many tragic statistics of musicians overdosing, harming others or generally behaving like an idiot. That night in 1990 I found what I was searching for in the music of Social D. Their sound and energy matched the positive release I needed for my aggressions, and their smart yet straightforward lyrics captured the essence of what it meant to be the Everyman(woman). Mike Ness was the underdog champion that I had long been looking for. Based on Social Distortion’s ever-increasing fanbase, I think it’s safe to say that thousands of others were in need of that champion too. For 27 years their songs have offered a musical shoulder to lean on and the inspiration that’s often required to overcome adversity. Their latest album, Sex, Love and Rock and Roll, is no exception. Older and wiser but still timeless, Social Distortion may very well understand the story of our lives better now than ever before. o Jen M U S I CM AT T E R S 03 o SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REACHES AUSTIN CITY LIMITS rumor STAFF PICKS by Jen Hilbert Socal’s own Jason Mraz, Tristan Prettyman, The Ditty Bops, and Slightly Stoopid are scheduled to perform at this year’s Austin City Limits Festival, September 23 - 25, 2005. The three-day music celebration takes place at Zilker Park in - you guessed it - Austin, Texas! The festival’s headliners include Coldplay, Oasis, Wilco, and more. The Austin City Limits Festival is an offshoot of the Austin City Limits (ACL) television program, which has aired on PBS since 1976. The show’s pilot was filmed in 1974 and featured native Texan Willie Nelson. Since then, everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash to Jimmy Buffett and Austin’s own Stevie Ray Vaughn have appeared on the show. Tickets to this year’s ACL Festival are selling fast! Go get yours before they’re gone. For information on the complete lineup, ticket prices, and other festival details go to www.austincitylimits.com. ART HAS NO BORDERS TRISTAN PRETTYMAN : MICHAEL HALSBAND OPPOSITE: PATRICK OF TAMORA PHOTO: KIM LOSTROSCIO by Mary Smedes Pike 04 M U S I C M AT T E R S inSite_05 is upon us. inSite_05 is a contemporary art project with the goal of bridging San Diego and Tijuana culture and community by facilitating bi-national collaborative arts partnerships among nonprofit and public institutions in the San Diego-Tijuana region. Artists began a two-year residency in the fall of 2003 that will continue through the end of 2005 in which they have worked to promote artistic investigation and activation of urban space. The project culminates in the realization of new projects in the public spaces throughout San Diego and Tijuana. From August 26 through November 13, 2005, inSite_05 will bring international attention to the region with an intense, three-month schedule of project openings, museum exhibitions, performance events, and outreach programs. For more info on inSite_05 and a complete list of projects go to www.insite05.org. SOCAL FASHION HELD TOGETHER BY THREAD by Mary Smedes Pike Don’t miss the next THREAD fashion and lifestyle show on Saturday, September 10, set for its biggest event yet! The trade show, held in The Old Wonderbread Bakery in downtown San Diego, brings together independent Southern California fashion and lifestyle designers and artists to showcase their latest creations in a warehouse-style trade-show environment. This event is a must for those in constant search of that next unique piece of fashion or art. The event will feature over 80 exhibitors, hourly fashion shows, a charity auction, DJ’s, and a martini bar and cafe. www.threadshow.com The 88 Over and Over EMK/Mootron Records Release - September 20, 2005 www.the88.net Los Angeles-based quintet The 88 could be the catalyst for the next British Invasion - if they were British that is. Their latest album, Over and Over, pays homage to Mondrian-inspired Mod fashions, The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Who. In fact, the opening track, “Hide Another Mistake,” sounds reminiscent of The Who’s hit single “I Can’t Explain.” Recorded and produced by Ethan Allen (Better Than Ezra, Gram Rabbit), Over and Over offers twelve blisteringly catchy pop tunes for the inner mop top in all of us. Silversun Pickups Pikul Dangerbird Records Released - July 2005 www.silversunpickups.com Hailing from the east Los Angeles indie scene that bred bands like Earlimart and Irving, Silversun Pickups have released their six-song debut EP called Pikul (pie-kull). The vocals mutate between the breathy, sultry edge of Billy Corgan and the instability of Conor Oberst, but when incensed sound more like Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock. A trait that otherwise might be put to use in too emotive and whiny an act here is utilized in a more subtle manner to create a sound a bit unexpected. Guitars are a bit twangy and fuzzy and in no rush, giving them that “indie” sound, like they’re being played in a spanking clean garage. The melodies are the kind that stab you in the heart and twist the knife, but in a good way. Jane Lui Teargirl Self-produced Released - May 2005 www.teargirl.com Starline Theorie’s signature songstress, Jane Lui, is giving girly coffeeshop pop singers a run for their money with Teargirl. Teargirl is introspective, elegant, and most importantly a showcase for Lui’s tremendous vocal talents. Independently produced and released by Jane Lui, Teargirl can be bought at her website, www.janeshands.com, and local record stores near you. Emery Byrd Self-Titled EP Pineapple Recording Group Released - September 2004 www.myspace.com/emerybyrd On this debut EP produced by Louis XIV’s Jason Hill on his own Pineapple Recording Group label, catchy hooks and melodies abound, the band mixes a Kinks-like campiness with the sound of Donovangone-electric, all within the confines of a three-minute pop song. The EP sounds at once spontaneous and careful. It’s the sound of a young band with much promise that has yet to reveal their full musical hand. M U S I CM AT T E R S 05 show review o Team Sleep front man Chino Moreno. TEAM SLEEP STRIKE HIM CENTURION SOMA 05.08.05 by Kevin Farr 06 M U S I C M AT T E R S PHOTO: SEAN YOUNG HOUSE OF BLUES BOOKING AGENTS BROUGHT TEAM SLEEP AND Strike Him Centurion to our sunny SoCal community. SOMA’ s climate was intimate and reserved. The mainstage floor was partitioned by a large black tarp, forcing fans closer to the stage. With 500 plus people loosely shifting about, one could find a nice area to congregate without breathing on the necks of fellow music-goers. While absorbing the evening’s atmospheric vibes, inquisitive fans stared in catatonic disbelief. Each band orchestrated maddening riffs, synthesized and processed for listening pleasure. Sacramento’s Strike Him Centurion opened the evening with a multimedia package. A large white backdrop was installed behind the drummer’s kit, and a projector was situated stage right. Strike Him Centurion may not be the first to utilize multimedia entertainment as a strategic form of communication, but it was still quite intoxicating. As the band played shrieking minor chords processed with ear piercing reverb, amoebas danced, protoplasm swirled, and blood cells flowed through veins on the screen. It was a disturbing montage of erratic movie clips. As eerily haunting instrumental tracks progressed, ex-president Bush Sr.’s head exploded. Then the music smoothly shifted and you were watching fucked-up clips of the Japanimation classic, Ikara. What Strike Him Centurion lacked in vocals (they literally had none whatsoever), they compensated for in musicianship, originality, and entertainment. Motionless except for moving hands or an occasional tap on a pedal, they flawlessly maneuvered, striking chords and beating drums. The fans seemed perplexed and bewildered as the set progressed. Anxious to hear something from the mouths of these strange obscure beings, attention spans seemed to long for what they’d paid for... Team Sleep. Team Sleep is a unique collaboration between known and unknown musicians. Fronted by Chino Moreno (Deftones’ frontman) and Hella drummer Zach Hill, they solidified a group of talented musicians. Their sound was both ethereal and beautifully noxious. It was methodically chaotic. By utilizing synthesizers, programmed drum loops, live drums, and heavily distorted guitars, a unique amalgamation took place. The sound was fortified by turntabilist DJ Crook, whose presence was subtle but pivotal. With intense drum lines beaten with brute strength and rapid repetition, Zach Hill’s skills defined talent. Hill’s rhythm and strength coupled with Moreno and Wilkenson’s riffs delivered a powerful sound. Musically, never compromising range, they are the paragons of progressive rock. Though, after four or five songs, Moreno’s vocals became distracting and repetitive. On the brink of annoying and overbearing, he delivered in a monotone format. His lyrics are long, unintelligible, and lack inflection or intonation. However, contrary to his vocals, Moreno’s guitar playing was exceptional and entertaining. He often dropped to his knees during solos, contorting his face soulfully and indulging in the music. But his presence in the band was not the defining factor for Team Sleep’s sound. The band, as a whole entity, created a uniform, clairvoyant sound, pushing the limits of musical integrity. Team Sleep and Strike Him Centurion created abstract music in a digestible format. A less then reactionary crowd swallowed the sound and gave little back. Bridging the gap between fan and performer is an arduous but crucial task for live shows. Strike Him Centurion’s multimedia approach created a dialectical relationship between fan and performance, but neither band stimulated an overly enthusiastic reciprocation of emotion from the fans. Perhaps some things are better left for the individual to explore in solitude instead of large venues. o M U S I CM AT T E R S 07 SOCIAL DISTORTION DON’T TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED “They’re telling me, but I’m telling them. I’ll do it my way and I’ll always win. When the sun goes down I’m ready to play. It doesn’t matter what anybody says!” - Social Distortion’s “Telling Them” off 1983’s Mommy’s Little Monster by Jen Hilbert photos: Christine Marie THE SUN’S ALREADY GONE DOWN AT San Diego’s Street Scene as Social Distortion’s founder and frontman, Mike Ness, prepares for the night’s performance. Sitting in a small RV trailer backstage, Ness is carefully putting on his trademark eyeliner - a ritual that dates back to the band’s early days in the late 70’s. As Ness readies himself guitarist Jonny “2 Bags” Wickersham and drummer Charlie Quintana stand in front of the trailer chatting with Ness’ wife, Christine Marie, and other Social D family and friends. As they talk Ness’ youngest son emerges from the RV with a chihuahua in his arms and joins the group huddled outside. A lot has changed since the days of Mommy’s Little Monster - Ness beat drug addiction, got married, had kids, and lost a dear friend, but, amazingly, Social Distortion has survived through it all. It may be 2005, but Mike Ness is still doing it his way - even his eyeliner. It doesn’t matter what anybody says. A little over five years ago, in February of 2000, Social’s Distortion’s future was uncertain. 08 M U S I C M AT T E R S Dennis Danell, Ness’ childhood friend as well as Social Distortion’s guitarist and cofounder, passed away unexpectedly from an apparent cerebral aneurysm. It was a tough blow to the entire punk rock community but especially to Ness. “I am saddened beyond any possible form of expression,” Ness said in a statement on the band’s website. “Dennis and I have been friends since boyhood, starting Social Distortion while we were in high school.” It is unfathomable to me how difficult Danell’s passing must have been for Ness and the other members of Social D. A few days ago I popped a new DVD copy of the 1982 punk rock documentary Another State Of Mind into my computer. I had watched the movie years ago, but revisiting the film’s content now made for an entirely different experience. Viewing it when you know what happens in the years after the credits roll is bittersweet. The movie follows a very young Social Distortion and their tourmates, Youth Brigade, as they cross the country in a bright M U S I CM AT T E R S 09 social distortion o o social distortion “I’m your worn-in leather jacket/ I’m the volume in your fucked-up teenage band/ A bag of smokes and a six pack/ I’m the dreams you had walking down the railroad tracks/ You and Me.” - Social Distortion’s “Don’t Take Me For Granted” off 2005’s Sex, Love and Rock and Roll yellow, broken-down school bus. The film is full of great moments. (My personal favorites include Ness’ description of his average day watching Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and General Hospital, and a wiseguy Danell trying to convince us he’s 38.) Seeing Ness and Danell, two twenty-something punks coping with the grownup realities of a national tour, is heartening. Their naiveté, vulnerability, blind optimism, and sense of humor make them an instantly lovable duo. I’m sure that tour was no walk in the park. Traveling in constant close quarters with approximately a dozen other guys while you’ve got little more than $10 to your name is a life-changing event - one that Ness and Danell experienced together. And even with all of the difficulties of that journey, the two remained close friends and bandmates for the next 18 years. On Social Distortion’s latest album, Sex, Love and Rock and Roll (their first release since Danell’s death), Ness dedicates the song “Don’t Take Me For Granted” to his boyhood friend. The song begins, “I’m your worn-in leather jacket/ I’m the volume in your fucked-up teenage band/ A bag of smokes and a six pack/ I’m the dreams you had walking down the railroad tracks/ You and Me.” Danell may be gone, but Ness will never forget him. To the contrary, Ness has wrangled the difficult emotions of losing his close friend and bandmate and directed them into what is, quite possibly, the best album Social Distortion has ever produced. Sex, Love and Rock and Roll traverses a river of human emotion. The songs flow over life’s rocky landscape but leave you feeling optimistic about the voyage. In “Live Before You Die” Ness sings, “So close your eyes and embrace your memories/ Leave your troubles and your worries far behind/ Stop contemplating and start celebrating/ Yeah you gotta live before you die.” Ness is 10 M U S I C M AT T E R S a master at conveying life’s simple truths with purity, beauty, and honesty. He is, like Johnny Cash or Joe Strummer, destined to be a rock and roll legend. Joining Ness on the recording of Sex, Love and Rock and Roll are guitarist Jonny Wickersham, drummer Charlie Quintana, and longtime Social D bassist John Maurer. It’s a supreme lineup. Quintana, a fellow rocker from the 70’s punk scene, joined the band in 2000 after Chuck Biscuits’ departure. He and Ness had previously worked together on Ness’ solo efforts, Cheating At Solitaire and Under The Influences. Quintana’s resume includes stints with Soul Asylum, Joan Osborne, and Bob Dylan. Yes - THE Bob Dylan. Wickersham, Danell’s guitar tech, was tapped by Ness to take over on guitar after Danell’s passing. The former ex-Cadillac Tramps/US Bombs member was close to the band for years. Having grown up in the OC punk scene, Wickersham played, worked, and partied with Ness and Danell regularly. Wickersham’s blues guitar influences (Lee Hooker, Lightning Hopkins, and Bill Broonzy) can be felt throughout the album and play a crucial role in its success. In a conversation just days before Street Scene I asked Wickersham what it was like to work with Ness on Sex, Love and Rock and Roll. He answered, “Making that record was a great experience. Mike’s got a real clear focus of what he wants to do with the sound of Social D and he likes to obviously experiment and try new ideas, but at the same time he’s pretty adamant about maintaining the integrity of the sound that’s made the band good - growing and changing but not making an extreme makeover.” Ness’ decision to maintain the integrity of the Social D sound is a smart one. Just like the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The formula works. Every Social D song has a distinct sound, but each one is unique and timeless enough to stand out on its own. Think about it, the very same Social Distortion songs Ness sang at age 20 continue to assail the airwaves with as much force now as they did then. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t hear at least one Social Distortion song on the radio - in particular songs like “Prison Bound,” “Mommy’s Little Monster,” and their tour de force, “Story of My Life.” Though the songs were written decades ago, they avoid sounding dated. I’m certain it’s easy for some to dismiss Social Distortion as just another OC punk band that won’t die. And sure their arrival onto the music scene wasn’t as earthshattering as The Beatles’ or Elvis’. But Social Distortion’s ability to continually produce good music that people can relate to astounds me. After 27 years, the new music is getting better, and the old music is timeless. How many bands actually manage to pull that off and continue to increase their fanbase every single year as Social Distortion has? U2 (assuming you’re willing to forgive that whole Pop era)? The Rolling Stones? Yes, I know, many people wouldn’t dare utter those bands’ names in the same sentence as Social Distortion for fear that an association with Social D would somehow dilute their greatness, but I’m gonna do it. I’m going to dare. I’m going to make these comparisons because while Social Distortion might not be as renowned as The Rolling Stones or as revered as U2, and they may not sell as many records or have as many wives (with The Stones it’s hard to keep track), I think they are destined to become a permanent, legendary fixture in American music and in rock and roll history. Social D deserves to be commended for overcoming adversity and turning it into inspirational music and therapy for us all. Do me a favor. Don’t take them for granted. o M U S I CM AT T E R S 11 o spotlight GO ASK ALAN: ALAN SANDERSON BRINGS LA-QUALITY RECORDING TO SAN DIEGO by Mary Smedes Pike photo: Kim Lostroscio ALAN SANDERSON IS A MAN WITH STORIES TO TELL. At the remote, hidden residence of Strate Sound Studios, tucked away in a business park off the I-15 in Rancho Bernardo with no sign on the door, Alan welcomes us in from the heat. The cabinlike bungalow has two floors - the top holds the console and sound board, monitors, editing equipment, etc. The bottom floor has one large room with soundproofed walls, light wood flooring, and a persian rug with a chair and mike stand, and a smaller room that can be closed off as an isolation booth. It’s a unique setup: the band records below while the engineer peers down from a glass window in the upper corner of the room. “A lot of the older studios in England, like Trident Studios and even Abbey Road Studios, are modeled like that because it gives the artist the feeling that they’re not in the studio, that they’re actually in their... garage. There’s not an engineer sittin’ there lookin’ over a big, hunkin’ console.” Alan has a smooth, Beatles-esque English accent that fades in and out without warning as he speaks. At times it’s hard to tell if he’s from Liverpool or Leucadia. Having moved to the US from the UK in the 80’s, he’s had plenty of time to adapt. But before landing permanently in San Diego three years ago, he made sacrifice to the recording industry gods in LA. We’ve all heard rumors of record industry fairytales, the kind in which some 20-yearold kid lands a bottom-level job cleaning toilets at one of Hollywood’s most prestigious recording studios, and then, two years later, he’s engineering a session for the Rolling Stones. Well, Alan was one of those kids. Years ago, when he was actually cleaning toilets at Ocean Way Studios, possibly the best studios in LA at the time, he took it in stride, fully aware that such an opportunity should be coveted by any 20-year-old. To even be able to set foot in such a building warrants fierce competition amongst the plethora of music-industry-hungry youths that flock to Los Angeles to make it big in one of the most exclusive and illustrious businesses in the world. If there was ever a business in which you truly have to work your way to the top, it’s the recording industry. Competition is cutthroat for even the lowliest of jobs, since they come with the unspoken premium of providing that opportunity to get a foot in the door. “Yeah, I’ve paid my dues, absolutely. When I was up in LA I started out at the bottom just trying to get a studio gig as an intern. I sent out like 400 resumes to every studio in town, and I got a call back from the two biggest studios in the city, The Record Plant and Ocean Way. So I went down to The Record Plant and it was this really amazing place, it was big studios, and Guns N’ Roses were in there. I’m just this twenty-yearold kid, I was totally stoked! I went in and this lady took me upstairs and she was kind of firm with me, ‘Hey, this is The Record Plant. You’re gonna start out by parking cars, you’re gonna feel lucky to work here.’ And I was kind of digging it; I was ready to do anything. And then I went over to Ocean Way, which was a bit more deluxe - you walk in and there’s gold records, platinum records everywhere. They interviewed me and they gave me the gig. I can tell ya, Ocean Way gave me the gig because I kept callin’ ‘em back. And they got me down there the first day and I was cleaning toilets, you 12 M U S I C M AT T E R S know. I was cleaning up people’s messes and getting sandwiches for people for a couple of years. Finally, the Counting Crows came in and they threw me into the session because I was the next guy on the totem pole, I’d been there for two years, and I pulled it off. And then they gave me an engineering job. It was kind of... ‘if you don’t pull off this gig, you’re done,’ after two years of getting sandwiches and cleaning toilets. And I really didn’t know what I was doing.” It was sink or swim for Alan, and he tread water. But he learned quickly not to assume his place in the studio ranks when he inquired as to what his next engineering project would be. “Well I need you to go out to the studio in the Valley and clean up the leaves in the back,” the studio manager replied. Alan quickly realized that one gig with Counting Crows does not an engineer make. After he paid a homeless guy $10 to sweep up the leaves, he stormed back to the studio ready to quit. But a fellow intern stopped him short, “Just give it a little bit more time, you’re almost there.” He was right. Alan’s next call was for an assistant engineer for Fleetwood Mac. “It’s gonna be like a year to two years, this gig,” the producer informed him. “You’ll be my right-hand guy.” “So the next thing you know I’m in the studio with Fleetwood Mac hanging out,” Alan fondly recalls. “Christine McVie was doin’ keyboard overdubs, and Mick Fleetwood’s kinda hangin’ out, being a goofball, telling stories, and I’m just this kid running the tape sheet, keepin’ my mouth shut.” And the rest is history. “Two years later, I’d learned so much about making records. Then I just started gettin’ all these great gigs. I did this Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon for six months. It was an incredible experience. It started March 1,1997 and went until August. I got out of the studio in August at like six o’clock in the morning and was like, ‘What the fuck just happened?’ The whole summer of ‘97 didn’t even exist. I started out as the tape op on the session, and the main engineer ended up quitting after a month... and Keith brought in one of his buddies to engineer, some yes-man that he hooked up with. He didn’t know the first thing about engineering, so I ended up doing a lot of stuff. Jagger would come in at like one o’clock in the afternoon and then work ‘til like six in the evening and leave, and then Keith and Ronnie M U S I CM AT T E R S 13 spotlight o “...People think you’ve gotta go to LA if you wanna make something happen professionally. I’m trying to change that.” and everybody else in LA would come down to the session, and it would be a big party until like four or five in the morning. And I was just this guy trying to record all this stuff and make it happen. Just to give you an idea, most albums are like 30 or 40 reels of tape, this album was like 800something reels. I was the guy [who had to go through and listen to them all], I would keep track of every single reel. Six months of that. It was difficult; all kinds of characters would come down all the time, you know, they’d have celebrities hanging out. One day B.B. King came down to the studio and he was recording with the Stones in the live room and I was like frantic... I turned around and screamed at these two guys standing in front of the tape, ‘Get out of the way!’ I turned around and did a doubletake and it’s Dan Aykroyd and John Landis... In retrospect it was a great experience, but during the whole thing I thought I was gonna die.” All that said, Alan came away from his experiences in LA with mixed emotions. “I was treated pretty badly in LA. It’s very competitive. I found myself feeling a lot of the time like I was in a shark tank with other engineers and producers - whoever had the most clout got the prize.” After a few years of this LA had simply lost its charm. “It just kind of added up over time. You know, dealing with those kind of celebrities and having that much pressure, it just gets old.” So about three years ago Alan decided to take a break and leave LA for the more laid-back atmosphere of San Diego. He would have no problem riding on the beefed-up resume he’d amassed over the past 15 years, which included, in addition to those already mentioned, acts like Janet Jackson, Weezer, and Elton John. In fact, it has been his experiences in LA that have made Alan a unique and powerful contender in the San Diego recording industry from the moment he moved down here. “Down here I can make records I wanna make. If I can bring a little bit of all those sessions I experienced in LA to this place in San Diego, then great.” When he happened upon avid collector and engineer Brian Strate’s studio, which at the time Brian was renting out cheap to high school kids on the weekends as a sort of hobby rather than a business, Alan immediately recognized its potential, and when Brian invited him to take residency there and basically run the place, Alan was quick to make the necessary improvements. Carpets were torn out, wood floors were laid, gear was changed out, and it was calibrated to more of an “LA sound.” “The studios in LA, you walk in those places and there’s such a vibe, you know, and an energy, like, wow! People think you’ve gotta go to LA if you wanna make something happen professionally. I’m trying to change that.” As we climb the stairs to the upper floor of the studio, where the sound board and editing equipment is housed, framed gold records of Elton John’s Songs from the West Coast, the Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon, and Weezer’s Green Album stand out against the off-white wall at the top of the stairwell. Against the right wall, the hefty console is crowned by a flat-screen television-turned-monitor whose display is that of a dozen or so jagged, rainbow-colored audio tracks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Alan is a Protools guy. “Protools has changed the recording industry. Gone are the days of analog recording, in my opinion. It’s so much easier to make an album now with digital technology. I mean, back in the day you’d have to go and buy reel tape, and that was $250 for one reel, which was 16.5 minutes. By the time you were done with your album you’d gone through 30, 40 reels of tape, and that’s pretty expensive. Most of the people I’m working with down here don’t 14 M U S I C M AT T E R S have that kind of budget unless [they’ve] got a major label deal. Having hard disk to record to is free, you don’t have to spend any more money on recording mediums. And you can be so much more creative with digital recording. You can do things that you couldn’t even do with tape. When I first started out in LA I was cutting tape with razor blades, having to stick things together... it’s so difficult! Sure, they did that for years making albums, and there’s an artform to it, but being able to use Protools, or whatever it is that you’re using to make records with digital technology, is so creative. You can adjust people’s pitch, you can adjust people’s time, you can adjust people’s feel. Gone are the days of doing 20 takes until you get it right. You give me one take, and I’ll make it right.” While Alan will admit that tape recordings do have a certain distinguishable quality, “Protools, in my opinion, sounds just like tape.” Protools, and programs like Garage Band and Digital Performer, are revolutionizing the recording industry because, as Alan reiterates, “It’s so much easier to make an album now.” These new tools of the trade are allowing for makeshift recording studios to sprout up in bedrooms and basements everywhere and are subsequently providing the opportunity for bands to record albums for little or no money. What’s great for smaller, up-and-coming bands isn’t necessarily ideal for the recording industry in general though. Protools is putting a lot of studios out of business. But what does keep clients coming back to the professionals is that hardearned experience that some of the bigger-name producers can claim to possess. “Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can go out and buy a computer, stick a 57 up and record an album. But it’s the experience that’s what’s gonna make it work, and the production too. If someone’s sitting there doing a hundred takes of vocals, they need someone to produce them and guide them and tell them, ‘Hey, it sounds good.’” Essentially, the producer can be the voice of reason among all the creative suggestion. Although, as that voice of reason, Alan admits that when it comes down to it, “90% of it is psychology and 10% of it is gettin’ mikes up and makin’ a sound.” Maybe Alan should add “psychologist” to his resumé. As for all those LA stories Alan keeps on the tip of his tongue, the ones about Rivers Cuomo’s anal perfectionism (“He would keep us in the control room, and the guitars had to stay in tune, so he had to keep the temperature really hot so that the tune wouldn’t slip.”) or Cher’s request for softer toilet paper in the studio bathroom, I’ll need to come back another day with another couple hours worth of tape to recount them. Alan assures me that I shouldn’t hesitate to ask about anyone he’s worked with; he’s eager to share his experiences with whomever has the patience to listen. And with that, my tape runs out. But before I go, I must sample a bit of Alan’s work. He has just put the finishing touches on Tristeza’s new album A Colores, due out next month on Better Looking Records. He presses a few buttons, and suddenly a beautiful sound comes pouring forth from the expensive speakers. I sit quietly in awe of this glimpse of perfection. Rarely does one get the chance to listen to music in as true a form as it exists coming from the soundboard in the studio in which it was mixed. Alan leans back in his chair and breathes in the satisfaction of his completed work. It’s the first time he’s been silent all afternoon. o M U S I CM AT T E R S 15 o fashion howe: Orange County is known for its surf culture, and the style there generally reflects that culture. But from the land of Volcom and Quicksilver emerges a new line of fashion-forward men’s clothing called Howe, named after designer Jade Howe. An alumnus of Quicksilver and the former owner of Hawaiian Island Creations, Jade Howe has taken his design style to a new level. With Howe he blends European fashion trends and premium quality fabrics with a punk dandy aesthetic to create a line that integrates the SoCal surf/rock/active lifestyles. Howe calls it “cowboy punk meets English country gentleman.” howe The line includes tailored blazers, premium denim jeans, and sophisticated woven shirts and sweaters. When Operatic frontman Jesse Fritsch, who does a satellite radio show with Tony Hawk, saw Tony wearing some of the designs, he asked him where he got them. It turns out Howe is part of Tony’s own company, Birdhouse Skateboards. a new line by jade howe. These days, “Skaters want to look like musicians,” Jesse quips. Howe is blurring those distinctions. The beauty of Howe is that its pieces can be worn in a variety of scenes without being targeted as specifically surf, skate, or designer clothes. Howe’s intent is to “upgrade the way men dress.” Surfers, skaters, and even musicians are often associated with having a sloppy look, and Howe is trying to break away from that by encouraging fashion-conscious men to look good and still feel comfortable in what they’re wearing. “As a surf industry designer, I was responsible for creating the baggy, relaxed clothes that gave the average guy a sloppy look. Now, I want to help them progress their look to something more stylish and elegant but still relaxed and versatile without ever losing that alternative vibe.” - Jade Howe For more info on Howe check out www. howedenim.com. Photography: Kim Lostroscio Models: Jesse & Josh of Operatic Spread: Andrew & Ted of Operatic 16 M U S I C M AT T E R S PHOTO: GREG PASSMORE All fashions are modeled by members of the San Diego rock group Operatic. To learn more about this up-and-coming band visit www.operaticmusic.com. M U S I CM AT T E R S 17 18 M U S I C M AT T E R S S D M U S I CM AT T E R S . C O M 19 cd review o cd reviews o WHISKEY TANGO SELF-TITLED SELF-PRODUCED Rated: ooo WHILE SAN DIEGO MAY NOT BE KNOWN AS A HOTBED OF Americana, the city has turned out its fair share of contenders, with Whiskey Tango the latest to lament the town’s lack of honky tonk bars. I’ve got to admit that when I first heard of Whiskey Tango I was expecting weak hard rock. You can blame eighties hair rockers Bang Tango for ruining the usage of “Tango” in any band name. Indeed, a web search turned up a classic rock band of the same name - as well as a fiddle and guitar duo and a punk group. I’ll bet that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But even among all those Whiskey Tango’s, the homegrown version stands out. Listening to the group’s new seven-song EP, you’ll be hit by the range of influences. The band is clearly steeped in Americana, but there is a lot of ground covered stylistically. The country twang is most pronounced on cuts like the opening pedal steel-laced “Since You Said Goodbye,” as well as “El Centro County Line,” a song so authentic you can smell the truck stop diesel. Meanwhile, the disc’s obvious single, melancholy jangle rocker “Society of Fear,” manages to touch on Tommy Roe and Johnny Cash, with melody to spare. The band also shows a deft lyrical hand with a clear propensity for the harder side of life. Topped with lyrics throughout about getting busted or getting medicated, the quartet’s propensity for hard-edged living is worn on their collective sleeves and heard in songs with titles like that of power-pop inflected “I’ve Got A Problem.” Full of lyrics custom-made for barroom sing-alongs, the disc is highlighted by excellent musicianship, particularly the lead guitar work and harmonies. It’s true that seven songs is barely enough of a listen to get a complete picture of a band’s capabilities. However, on the strength of the tracks here, a full album will definitely be something to look forward to. www.whiskeytangomusic.com o BART MENDOZA CANDYE KANE WHITE TRASH GIRL RUF RECORDS Rated: ooo AN ICONIC FIXTURE OF THE SAN DIEGO MUSIC SCENE AND a concert favorite worldwide, singer Candye Kane’s mix of early rock, country, blues, and ballads has been a staple of the Southern California circuit for so long that sometimes it’s easy to take her talent for granted. It’s true that after seven albums you pretty much know what you’re getting musically with Kane, but it’s easy to lose sight of how good her work can be. With White Trash Girl you do get the risqué material that the former adult film star has made a signature. There is a preoccupation with sex, and songs with titles like “Masturbation Blues” are always going to get a chuckle. However, where the album really excels is in the more straightforward material. 20 M U S I C M AT T E R S Although the production isn’t quite as extravagant as during her short-lived major label stint of the mid-nineties, this is more than made up for by some of her strongest songwriting to date. Stylistically Kane delivers a diverse collection, ranging from torch ballad “I Could Fall For You,” to gritty shouter “Queen of the Wrecking Ball,” complete with a Peter Gunn patterned riff. The album’s two standout cuts are country pop tune “What Happened to the Girl” with its inspired Motown/Supremes-styled bridge as well as an impossibly catchy chorus, and “Work What You Got,” a stormin’ piano-based rocker that deserves to become a garage band staple - at least among those that include a female singer. The album does feature a batch of cover tunes, including Lieber and Stoller’s “I Wanna Do More” and a jazzy Hammond topped take on the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Daydream.” While they are all welcome additions to Kane’s discography, the new originals overshadow them. Topped by superb musicianship, White Trash Girl will be mandatory listening for longtime fans. Perhaps more importantly, with its balance of music styles and arrangements it’s an excellent introduction to her sound. Just bring an I.D. www.candyekane.com o BART MENDOZA LMNO P’S & Q’S UP ABOVE RECORDS Rated: oooo FROM 2MEX TO J5, AND ON TO THE VISIONARIES, Up Above Records signs premier left coast artists. They employ some of the heaviest hitters in Cali’s “under” and “above” ground, and LMNO, a.k.a. Leave My Name Out, is no exception to this policy. P’s & Q’s hosts production from Key Kool, LD, Polyhedron, and DJ Khalil to name a few. LMNO’s choices for production exemplify his diversity. LD beats are for the backpackers out there with a sack to burn while Polyhedron provides hits which transcend the underground to the mainstream without compromising musical integrity. For those educated in the ways of the old and new skool, you’ll hear everything from tracks that are reminiscent of Eazy E to Ant’s “Champion” track for Brother Ali’s Shadows On the Sun. LMNO’s latest release is an exquisite composition that delves into a plethora of issues from the sociopolitical to the spiritual. Lyrically he spits with an unusual staccato delivery, but his flow speaks to you on an intimate level. It’s as if you’re burnin’ an “L” with him, discussing the beautiful reality of life. His depth of insight into the grime of the streets and the ethereal provides the listener with a multidimensional experience. Exploring both his external environment and internal complications allows you to observe the artist on a stratified level. The efficacy of his verbiage is unquestionable, though some may find contradictions with his philosophies. These self-proclaimed moral agents have missed the point. Those who believe that their third eye knows all are blind. LMNO attempts to combat the suffocating materialism consuming the world with metaphysical conceptions on existence. P’s & Q’s propagates positive, progressive hip hop by fusing all elements of life into a remarkably well-constructed album. www.upabove.com/lmno.php o KEVIN FARR M U S I CM AT T E R S 21 cd reviews o SOME GIRLS THE DNA WILL HAVE ITS SAY EP THREE ONE G Rated: ooo HAVING JUST FINISHED RECORDING THEIR DEBUT FOR megaindie Epitaph, Some Girls appears destined to be hardcore’s next big thing. There’s no arguing with the band’s diverse and accomplished pedigree: Justin Pearson plays bass in The Locust, drummer Sal Gallegos is in Secret Fun Club and Rail Em to Death, singer Wes Eisold fronted seminal hardcore outfit American Nightmare, and guitarists Rob Moran and Chuck Rowell play or played in Unbroken and The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. For better or worse, the results of this supergroup-ing sound about like what you would expect: shrieking, metallic hardcore that’s more terrifying than tough. There’s not much point to discussing this EP’s different songs: they blaze by in a minute or so each; the listener barely has time to comprehend what’s happened before being brained by another blastbeat-driven rant beefed up by pseudo-metal riffs. Even the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O, of instantly recognizable voice, is pushed into a scream that saps her voice of its familiarity and texture. With the possible exception of American Nightmare (of which I have no opinion - consider my scene points docked), all the members’ main gigs surpass this EP in some way. Not as rhythmic as Secret Fun Club, not as sassy or confrontational as The Plot, not as burly as Unbroken, and nowhere near as bizarre or perplexing as The Locust, what’s left is a distillation of the more basic elements of San Diego hardcore. Is it dissonant and visceral? You bet. Is it heavy and bruising? Hell yes. Is it terribly original? Not quite. That the members of Some Girls concocted the blueprint for this stuff makes it all the more disappointing that they didn’t feel the need to stretch its friendly confines. www.somegirlshaveallthefuck.com o CULLEN HENDRIX THE ADOLESCENTS O.C. CONFIDENTIAL FINGER RECORDS Rated: ooo WITH A SNAP AND POP THE BLUE ALBUM BRUISED THE FACE of Orange County punk rock in 1981, as its initiators The Adolescents plowed the course for expatriate youngsters all over Southern California. The Adolescents’ early lineup juggled between several members, whittling down to the “classic” five-piece of Tony “Reflex” Cadena, Steve Soto, Frank Agnew, Casey Royer, and Rikk Agnew to record the self-titled album on Frontier Records. Twenty-five years later, the blue and red boys are back, not only celebrating their formative career with a national tour but with an album of new tunes. Opinions surely have changed from the unanimous agreement of admitting to not being political, given that the new O.C. Confidential gets the last twenty years up to speed with the current worldly commentary. In keeping true to form, even though the rest of the band have doubled 22 M U S I C M AT T E R S in age, Frank Agnew’s son plays alongside his senior representing the new generations of punk. A gruff-voiced Tony Cadena, still tenacious with his satirical societal critique on several tracks, reminds us that even after all the years we are still chipping away at some evil empire. Gone from the album is the boyish banter of “Wrecking Crew,” replaced with a gentle maturity one would expect from musicians progressing with the times. The Adolescents deserve a better round of applause for developing new, clever, and catchy material rather than regurgitating the tome of punk anthems. Barebones, The Adolescents follow a realistic pace with O.C. Confidential, making punk accessible again without all the frills and expected fashion. While the album wouldn’t necessarily cause a raging stampede, it’s not for the summer camp sing-a-long either. The band has landed somewhere between unabashed teenage faultfinding and seasoned sensitivity. A harsh critic might say a grizzled family guy isn’t punk, but who’s judging? www.theadolescents.net o KIM SCHWENK THE LOCUST SAFETY SECOND, BODY LAST IPECAC RECORDS Rated: ooooo THE LOCUST RECENTLY RELEASED AN EP ENTITLED Safety Second, Body Last (produced by Alex Newport) on Ipecac Records, which is also home to Tomahawk, Mondo Generator, Melvins, and Fantomas. The EP, which was released on CD and vinyl, is one track in four movements, like classical music. Since the vinyl is two-sided and the movement is broken into two tracks on the record, the CD shows up as two tracks when you put it in. It’s one song, people, and the band most recently opened their set at Street Scene with the ten-minute, 11second epic. The Locust - Gabe Serbian, Bobby Bray, Justin Pearson, and Joseph Karam - continue to push the boundaries of music even after playing for ten years, since the band formed in 1995. If you’ve never heard the band’s music, this is not typical of their songs, since most are under a minute. From spastic primordial soundscapes to slow dirge-like oscillations to electronic sonics, this record is a testament to the band’s power. One minute it’s a fast and furious herky jerky, the next a slowmoving mechanized reverberation that lulls you into comfort only to slap you in the face again! The lyrics, which you may say are indiscernible, are actually listed on the liner notes, so yes, there are lyrics even if you can’t make them out. Locusts can hear them for sure. Since their song titles alone are such fun to read, I thought I’d share the EP breakdown: “Armless and Overactive” - “Who’s Handling the Population Paste, Invented Organs” - “New Tongue Sweepstakes/Consenting Abscess, One Decent Leg” - “Movement Across the Membrane/Oscillating Eyes, Immune System Overtime” - “Hairy Mouth.” That’s one song in four movements and it’s glorious. I’d like to call it science fiction punk rock for aliens, but people can dig it too. Don’t be scared by what you may have heard, this is the future of punk. The band is working on the follow-up to their ANTI release, Plague Soundscapes, with Alex Newport, and they still continue to have a strict policy about playing all-age venues only. www.thelocust.com o TIM PYLES M U S I CM AT T E R S 23 recommended o a’s n i r a M Anya d e d n e m m o c Re from FM 94/9 The Local 94/9 Member of the Day is a wee little feature that spotlights a San Diego band or artist every weeknight at 9pm on FM 94/9. Here are some of my favorite Local 94/9 Members of the Day from the last month or so. They range from new to defunct, familiar to fresh. Either way, you can’t find a more diverse and prolific music scene than the one in our own backyard. (The Local 94/9 airs Sunday nights at 8PM on FM 94/9). HOT SNAKES - “THINK ABOUT CARBS” FONO - “SUNLIGHT SILENCE” COMFORTABLE FOR YOU - “HAPPY FUN BALL” NAOMI - “GET THE BETTER OF” YEARS AROUND THE SUN - “ALIGN” JASON MRAZ - “WORDPLAY” TRANSFER - “WALTZ” TRISTAN PRETTYMAN - “LOVE, LOVE, LOVE” BEEHIVE & THE BARRACUDAS - “STUCK ON THE BUS” & “ACTION” ROOKIE CARD - “YOUR LIFE IS A JOKE” THE FRANTIC - “THE CARS WE DRIVE” FIRST WAVE HELLO - “SUITABLE” SATISFACTION - “IMMORTAL SON OF MORNING” THE DISPLACED - “TOURNIQUET” DAVID LALLY - Track 1 (Oftenone) YOVEE - “INNOCENT WILL PAY” (Too Far Gone) DIEGO ROOTS - “GOOD TIMES” DEHRA DUN - “SAVINGS AND LOAN” _ *Note to local bands: send your best, most radio-friendly tracks (CD only) to: Anya Marina c/o The Local 94/9 1615 Murray Canyon Rd., Ste. 710 San Diego, CA 92108 24 M U S I C M AT T E R S M U S I CM AT T E R S 25 o culture ZURI WATERS: ARTWORK KAMIKAZE by Mary Smedes Pike photo: Kim Lostroscio “Soldier Of Fortune” Zuri Waters 26 M U S I C M AT T E R S ZURI WATERS IS A 20-YEAR-OLD TRAPPED IN THE BODY of someone at least five years older. It therefore comes as no surprise that he recently got kicked out of Tower Bar for being underage. Actually, by the time you’re reading this he’s likely already legal, his 21st birthday is in September, and he’s planning to go back to Tower Bar and show the bouncer his real I.D. But being one of the youngest in his group of artist peers does not seem to phase Zuri. He’s quick to mention those few even younger artists he knows in the scene. Despite his age, Zuri’s art is wise beyond its years. His compositions are strong and confident, the work of a mature, if rather young, artist. Zuri is short for Zuriel, an Old Testament name meaning “rock of God.” Born in Philadelphia, he grew up in Portland and moved to San Diego at age 16 and attended Helix high school for a year before focusing on art full-time. Zuri’s art is another aesthetic that belies his true age. Believe it or not, Zuri has only been painting for a year. Currently attending SDSU, he has completed two semesters of painting classes. Having had no real training before that, other than the occasional drawing workshop when he was young, Zuri dove headfirst into art full-time two or three years ago. But he started out using solely pen and ink, creating works devoid of all color. “And that was like this big statement, like, I’m not gonna use color, I’m not gonna use shading, I’m just gonna do everything with line.” But Zuri finally broke down when he discovered Prismacolor markers. “I started to use Prismacolor markers, there’s like thousands of colors. As soon as I started working with color then all the limitations of not using paint, they became really evident. So then I just loved color, whereas before I was sort of afraid of it, tentative... And I just started painting like manically as soon as I started painting. It’s weird, it’s strangely addicting.” Zuri basically learned to paint through trial and error, lots of error. “With oil paintings especially it allows so many fuck ups, so many mistakes. You make a mistake and you just wait for it to dry for a couple of days and just go back over it. It’s just a medium that really supports learning.” Now he uses an overwhelming amount of color; he’s gone from one extreme to the other. One of his most colorful works, entitled “Home,” is a rather peculiar work; at first glance it looks like a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream carton (see page 28). It’s from his new series he calls Divine Wind, which is “the English translation of kamikaze, or ‘breath of god.’ I thought it was really ironic.” The figure in “Home” is from a snapshot Zuri took of a transient guy who hangs out around the college area. “He’s really wearing that outfit in the picture I have. And it’s what inspired the whole piece.” There’s a chance you may have seen Zuri around town and not even realized it. He goes on frequent stealth missions with his digital camera to capture images of unsuspecting figures or objects that catch his eye and his imagination and later become the subjects of his paintings. “I have a pretty nice digital camera, and I drive around in my car, around San Diego, sort of incognito, take pictures of people, all these people I don’t know. I’ll go on missions for a couple days and just take hundreds of photos... It’s pretty fun though, to act like a private detective. I sort of stalk people... but only long enough to make them wonder what the hell’s going on.” Then he disappears back out of sight. There have been occasions when he has come across his subjects again, after he’s painted them. I wonder if maybe that’s why the figures in his works often lack heads. “I’m sort of trying to say that the subjects are objects, it’s like objectifying the subjects so that they’ll fit in with the other imagery.” The focus of “Home” is the Pepsi balloons floating throughout the painting, and the figure, that transient from the college area, is but another floating object above the landscape. “So it’s not like a portrait, it’s like he’s sort of floating with Pepsi balloons, he’s just one of ‘em.” So what is the imagery meant to convey? “It’s sort of this amalgamation of popular culture. You know, it’s not like someone who’s really concerned with pop culture, it’s someone who’s sort of in the world of pop culture.” Are Zuri’s paintings trying to reveal some hidden message, or are they just creative collages of images? “It’s both. There’s either lots of messages and lots of subliminal messaging going on, or it’s just whatever, it’s just M U S I CM AT T E R S 27 culture o an abstract surreal piece. It’s pretty much whatever you want it to be. I mean, I don’t want to pin it down. I have an idea, which is what sort of drives it. But then, it’s such a strange juxtaposition of imagery that I can’t really control what you’re gonna associate with Ben & Jerry’s or [Pepsi], or which one you’re gonna even pick up on first.” Zuri’s piece entitled “Soldier of Fortune” (page 27) incorporates one of his favorite images he snapped of a street sweeper downtown. It is one of his most striking works from the new series. “The Soldier of Fortune is about a lot of different things, but it could easily be about people coming back from a war and the kinds of jobs that they get and the situation that they’re forced into. It’s also a lot about class systems and how the workers in American society are perceived, how they’re seen by people driving by. The guy’s sweeping up outside, and all he has for a head is just these sort of artificial hands, which could either speak for his inhumanness or just consumerism - him working for this job that enables him to buy things and contribute to the society. And then that’s juxtaposed with the imagery of the idyllic colors and the big Pepsi ball and the rainbow and this, like, happy American sensibility. Then the black shape, which is either his opponent or his lover or in some way related to it, is also piercing him and stabbing him.” Zuri’s no stranger to other forms of artistic expression. He also plays the saxophone. He’s played around town here and there with various folks, including Lady Dottie and the Diamonds at Tower Bar, before he got kicked out that is, and Scarlet Symphony, among others. But music and art play two different roles for Zuri. Performing music, for him, is “like the alter-ego. I don’t practice music the way I practice art, which is like incessantly, manically. It’s more personal; if I don’t do it I get real disinterested with life. So it’s just like, I guess, a release.” Music is a release, whereas art presents more of a goal of perfectionism. It takes Zuri about a month to do a painting. So far he’s showcased three series of paintings, each consisting of three to four works. The new series is three paintings dealing with the subject of coming to terms with an American existence. “Three is a good number. It begs a question and then it answers it.” But Zuri ultimately leaves it up to you to answer those questions that his artworks solicit. “I enjoy infusing my work 28 M U S I C M AT T E R S “Home” Zuri Waters. with ideology that may feel confusing at first but will hopefully prompt different reactions and assumptions depending on who is seeing the art. In other words, I want my art to be an interactive experience.” You can interact with Zuri’s art at either www.zurizuri30art. com or www.myspace.com/zurizuri. o M U S I CM AT T E R S 29 backstage o AS I LAY DYING NOT HERE TO PREACH A SERMON by Lindsay O’Connor photo: Andrew Mo “I’M NOT HERE TO PREACH A SERMON,” like As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis once said to me, but here’s a cheap blow to the metal-fashion-core trend kids with the tiresomely tight jeans and pyramid belt buckles worn on their hip little hips: there is simply nothing more un-rebellious than a fashion trend. In as much as cat-eye, black liquid liner and the desperately “lonely” but loathsome glare of myspace.com blog photos have become the personification of breakdown ninja moshers everywhere, assuredly the time will come when the “hot topic” will no longer be a store but rather an amusing retrospect on a fashion trend that came to spawn the metalcore genre - or was it the genre that spawned the fashion? Now, before you get your Under-roos in a bunch, one has to admit that at face value, wearing pre-torn, mass manufactured Iron Maiden “tops” is a little on the non-badass side. But so as not to inflame the injury of this insult - not all metalcore fans are hapless. Admittedly, there are an alarming number of metalcore fans who wear band names like a brand-name; there are those whose first Slayer album is God Hates Us All; there are those who wear Dimebag Darrel tribute tshirts but have never bought a Pantera record. And there are bands who have taken the nihilism from metal only to negate it, plastic wrap it, add in a little melody and melancholy, then serve up this prepackaged dish on pre-bought commercial slots during the new and unimproved Head Banger’s Ball - and expect real metal fans to buy into it. And the truth? We don’t buy it. While So-Cal’s contributions to real metal are well documented, Southern California has also bred an unfortunate offspring of bands that proliferate through shamelessly underhanded marketing schemes. Bigtime record execs have historically coveted bigtime moneymaker genres such as pop, pop punk, and dare I say now it has become popmetal? Metalcore’s often digestible aggression is the new glossy groove, quietly becoming the new nu-metal found in the record aisles at Target and Wal-mart. But I’ll stop there, because pegging all of these bands into one little hole is witless. There are some square pegs in the “metalcore” genre that define themselves by their impetuous drive to inundate their sound with talent, explore the connotations of “commercial success” based on their own terms, and convey their musical vision through an honest channel. San Diego based As I lay Dying has whittled themselves into one such “square peg,” refusing the push to be a band that easily slides into one of the many assigned metalcore cliché coffins. Instead, As I Lay Dying have, in a short time, risen to an astonishing level of success and popularity all based on the individuality of their merit. “I really hate the term metalcore. I don’t even think we’re a metalcore band anymore,” protests As I Lay Dying throat-man Tim Lambesis. For as calm and cordial as Lambesis has been during the initial shoot-the-shit session before the start of the interview/interrogation, when the term “metalcore” emerges from inquiry a noticeable shift 30 M U S I C M AT T E R S As I Lay Dying throat-man Tim Lambesis. in ambiance befalls his face, and a rather slight but distinct look of annoyance emerges. “From where we are now as a band to where we began, I don’t even think people could call us that.” The posed question was, “How do you feel about being associated with the metalcore genre as it becomes increasingly popular?” But in hindsight it was, in all sincerity, a rather insulting question. While some might deem As I Lay Dying the epitome of a “metalcore” band, the associations with the genre and all of the rather quixotic aspects therein are thankfully pretty unfounded. As I Lay Dying formed in early 2001 after Lambesis, who at the time was a guitarist, left Society’s Finest. The band began as a trio of exploratory musicians with a knack for emerging in the right place at the right time for bands who put the metal with the core. “When we first started playing in As I Lay Dying, our influences were pretty common: old school hardcore, punk, old school metal. It was at that time that most bands started playing music that took all of these genres and put them together. We’ve been lucky we’ve been able to be noticed.” After four short weeks of intense writing, rehearsing, and budding synchronicity with the metal world, the then three-member As I Lay Dying entered the studio. The resulting work was an emotionally explosive tirade of creatively channeled aggression - the very core of As I Lay Dying’s sound. In turn, the foundation was laid for an aural assault on every kid everywhere that needed something a little newer, a little fresher, and a little more substantial than the nu-metal that began to M U S I CM AT T E R S 31 backstage o fizzle out of everyone’s immediate perception. In truth, As I Lay Dying began to usher in the onslaught of a sound the band had cultivated at the start of the metalcore phenomenon but soon evolved from, only to emerge as something a little greater, a little more intense, and a little more pioneering than the bands within the “metalcore” genre today could even hint at. There were a lot of kids waiting outside SOMA to see As I Lay Dying on this particular evening. There is little doubt that the tireless touring that As I Lay Dying embarked on early in their career was a sure-shot for nationwide success. At home, the metal scene begot a breath of air, and heavy music swiftly amplified its presence amongst the sunny SoCal reggae rock and Blink-182 knockoffs that continually swarmed within the scene. On this night the new metal fans and some old school grown-ups stood in line in solidarity to indulge in the audio and visual spectacle of a band whose diligence and devotion to their music - rather than a “scene” - is the defining element of what separates As I Lay Dying from the herd. “It’s really important to us that we just make sure our fans are into what we do, but we will always make the kind of music we want to make,” Lambesis says without a hint of irony. It may not be probable, but it’s not impossible that a band that helped usher in a monsoon of metalcore clones would inevitably abandon the very genre of music that helped propel them to a breathtaking height of success in such a short timeframe. But in truth, true musicians and visionaries constantly strive to evolve, change, and grow, which means to invariably outgrow and shed their metalcore skin, leaving it for the typical many to join the ranks of the talented few. “When we first started our music was a lot darker. There was a lot less melody back then. But as we moved away from listening to what everyone else was listening to, we started to listen to a lot of the classics and realized we were missing a lot of diversity, and we were really attracted to the melodies within old school stuff. Some of the bands we grew up listening to we stopped listening to because in some ways we thought they became too mainstream. Iron Maiden, Metallica, bands like that. But as we got more into our music and became more comfortable with what we were doing, we didn’t care anymore and just did what we wanted. I think that’s sometimes lacking with other bands.” Dare I ask - are you afraid of “selling out?” “Anybody who knows us knows that we play music that we want to hear and that we’re passionate about. We’ll never change to be successful. If more success comes, that’s great. It’s not like we started out to be a big band. I don’t ever think we’ll be a radio band - but I do hope that we can keep progressing and changing to keep people interested.” “I’ve seen a lot of bands that I respected five years ago that I don’t respect anymore and are pretty much now at the end of their career. They may have sold a gold record and have done really well, and then two years later everybody forgot about them. I know that we won’t last forever. We live in a society with a short attention span.” But for however lengthy or abrupt As I Lay Dying’s reign as the czars of metalcore may be, the band has laid for themselves a foundation for a respectable evolution into an increasingly mature musical outfit of true music fans; not just metal, not just hardcore. “We’re all diverse individuals, and that comes across in our music,” Lambesis earnestly says. “Honestly, we’re not trying to be anything, we just do what we love.” And frankly, in a business full of fakes, phonies, and fashion-core, that’s all that matters. o 32 M U S I C M AT T E R S M U S I CM AT T E R S 33 backstage o Russian born singer/songwriter Marina V. With the new album coming out, tell me a little about how each album prior to Simple Magic has lead you to the creation of this album. MV: I technically have 3 other albums (1999’s Let Me Dream, 2001’s Lift, and 2003’s Something of My Own). The first two I don’t mention very often because I don’t think I should have released those albums – I simply wasn’t ready as a singer. But I guess it was a learning experience because, since then, I became a better singer and songwriter. I am very proud of my new album and I think it’s mine and Nick’s best work yet. Nick Baker has been my songwriting partner since 1998; we write, record, and tour together. What one song on the album are you most proud of? Rather, what song do you think will reach out and touch someone? It’s a hard question to answer. I hope each listener will find something special in all of the songs and connect with those songs on some level. Are all of the songs on the album written directly from personal experience? Every song on the album was written from personal experience. It’s usually hard for me to write about something that I did not feel or go through myself. Although recently I wrote a song for a movie - based on a script. It was my first time writing a song not based on a personal experience. It was really fun to write. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out really cool I think. When songwriting, how do you determine what moment in your life is worth sharing more than others? I really don’t. Songwriting just happens. I often can’t rationalize it or explain exactly how it happened. When I feel strong emotions melodies often just happen in my head. What type of fan base do you hope to attract with your music? People who are emotional and smart at the same time. My music and lyrics that Nick and I write are not bubblegum. And I think that people who live fully, think deeply, and feel strong emotions will be attracted to my music. Or at least that has been my experience with my fans so far. MARINA V PROVES FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS IS “SIMPLE MAGIC” by Veronica Munguia 34 M U S I C M AT T E R S How do you incorporate these influences into your own music? I don’t do it consciously, it just happens naturally. People often tell me they hear classical undertones in my songs, and some people hear The Beatles influence. To hear some of Marina V’s music, purchase her albums, or to view upcoming tour dates, visit her website www.MarinaV.com. o PHOTO: TREVAN WONG HER ROAD TO SUCCESS HAS BEEN EVERYTHING BUT A Cinderella story. In fact, Marina V has made every effort to allow herself the opportunity to make her music heard. Her journey from a childhood in Soviet Russia, to her opportune scholarship to study in the States, and her struggles to remain here have lead her to the creation of her newest album, Simple Magic. With her music gaining airplay on MTV’s The Real World and radio stations such as XM Satellite Radio, Marina V proves herself to be solely responsible for the creation of her own magic. Who are your influences in music? I grew up listening to Russian classical music, like Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. I also grew up singing Russian folk songs. The Beatles were a huge influence, and most recently Jewel. Actually, hearing Jewel on the radio really inspired me to pursue my music career seriously. M U S I CM AT T E R S 35 the local pyle o IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND WE’VE GOT A new venue opening up or another hip bar. What’s a scenester to do? You just have to pick your scene, I guess. I remember when the only cool bar in town was the Pink Panther on Morena Boulevard and it was filled with punks, rockers, mods, rude boys, goths, rockabillies, you name it, and we all got along. When I was younger, downtown was a dirty, dingy place! Now it’s become a tourist mecca, and the days of hookers and sailors trolling the streets is long gone. I guess that’s a good thing, but I really can’t stand you if you wear a shiny shirt and go “clubbing” downtown. But that’s just me! On with the news... Jimmy LaValle, also known as The Album Leaf, has just re-released an EP that originally came out in Spain. The Seal Beach EP, released on Better Looking Records, has an additional five tracks added, so it’s really a ten-song full-length. The additional tracks are “live,” culled from the band’s tour with Sigur Rós, who backs them on several of the “live” tracks. www.thealbumleaf.com Finest City Broadcasting is picking up the programming and sales rights to Tijuana-based 91X, Magic 92.5, and Z90 from Clear Channel. The new company has named Radio & Records Alternative Editor Kevin Stapleford VP/Programming, overseeing both 91X and Magic 92.5. Stapleford programmed 91X in the mid-1990’s and was also at KROQ in Los Angeles for several years. Additionally, former The Beat 98.5 San Antonio Program Director (PD) Rick Thomas will serve as Z90’s PD. Current 91X PD Jim Richards will remain with Clear Channel and continue as Regional VP/Programming, while former Clear Channel/ San Diego VP/Market Manager Mike Glickenhaus will act as Finest City Broadcasting’s President/CEO. Glickenhaus was a part of the original 91X team in 1983. The studios will remain at the Clear Channel complex, which has now been divided into two facilities. Did anybody notice or care that Mr. Rob Crow (Pinback, Thingy, Optigonally Yours) is featured on the new self-titled Team Sleep record? Yes, it’s true - Rob is down with Chino Moreno of the Deftones, because he is Team Sleep. Art Fag, the club with DJ Mario Orduno, includes Punk*Rap*Noise Tuesday nights at Kadan (30th and Adams, San Diego). Free 10pm2am. The label Art Fag, also run by Mario Orduno, is releasing its first record, a 12”/CD by Kill Me Tomorrow and Dance Disaster Movement collaborating on two exclusive tracks where all 5 members of both bands play as one. There’s also a remix by Gold Chains. The CD has an animated video by E*Rock of Audio Dregs. Release date: Aug./Sept. Upcoming releases are a 12”/CD by The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower and a 12”/CD by VMW - once know as Virgin Mega Whore, but they got sued. I wonder why? Buck O Nine is currently writing and recording a batch of new songs. The project is called Greenfield Sessions, and the band will be posting mp3’s of the songs on their site as they are completed. Greenfield rehearsal 36 M U S I C M AT T E R S studios is where the band wrote some of Songs in the Key of Bree, all of Barfly, and some of 28 Teeth. They also shot the video for “Water in my Head” at Greenfield. www.buck-o-nine.com Look for the new sensation hitting town - yes, roller derby is back, and we have the San Diego Derby Dolls right here in our own backyard. Look for them on MySpace, and if you’re tough enough - join. This ain’t your daddy’s roller derby. Sunday, November 5, 2005, San Diego-based indie-activist record company Say It Records, in conjunction with Champ Records, presents the 2nd Annual San Diego Indie Music Fest (SDIMF), featuring over 30 extraordinary independent artists. Also present will be indie artisans, henna tattooists, Tarot, interactive art, tile painting, voter registration, hair sculpture & jewelry making, massage, delicious and affordable food and drink - family friendly and all ages welcome. The event will take place at the historic Abbey on Fifth Ave. in San Diego, CA. and will feature a 12 hour-long musical feast on four stages, with Veruca Salt (“Seether”) as the featured headliner, Hornswaggled, Al Howard & The K23 Orchestra, The Weepies, The Bellrays, The Laurie Morvan Band, Danielle LoPresti & The Masses, Alicia Champion, and many more. There you go, and I hope you enjoyed my little column. Feel free to send me your news, tunes, and t-shirts! Hit me up at tim@sdmusicmatters. com or visit www.myspace.com/thelocalpyle. Don’t forget our once-amonth free local shows at the Casbah! o TIM PYLES POSTER: KIM LOSTROSCIO Tracy Johnson just released a new six-track EP, Oceans Under Jupiter. Check it out at www.tracyjohnsonmusic.com, where the CD is available for $7 including shipping. Check out casbahmusic.com for The Local Pyle & MusicMatters monthly shows. M U S I CM AT T E R S 37
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