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Cinnamon2019-03-29 07:20:242019-04-30 18:32:24Lyrics as art: “Dysphoria” by Elliott Kage Jones
Lyrics as art: “Fading Away” by JP Kennedy. Pen and green marker on brown paper bag, 2018.
“Fading Away” by JP Kennedy for Manschaft; pen and green marker on brown paper bag, 2018.
Morgan Hug on the town of Apples (Switzerland), the Ethiopian scale, and crazy people shouting
Morgan Hug, stage name Organ Mug, was featured on our # 29 podcast for his beautiful and strange and bewitching song A Somewhere Place. (In that podcast Cinnamon briefly taught herself how to pronounce the word “Lausanne” – don’t worry she has already forgotten). Organ Mug’s new EP Here & There came out in February, whereupon he’s had the chance to do interviews, read articles about himself, and has been touring in support of bands that he admires such as Low and Anna Calvi. He reports that the Here & There EP is all about the frontier between reality and fantasy, and that in these last couple of days, the frontier between the two seems to have completely vanished.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Clothes! I really don’t care honestly cause I always wear the same clothes. No matter the season, it will always be in the the same brown pants (I have 3 of the same pants) and the same blue sweatshirt (I have two). I hate shopping.
My favorite musical instrument or item that I purchased recently is:
My African Kalimba. It sounds amazing, but more importantly because it is in one of the Ethiopian scale used by Ethiopian jazzmen like Mulatu Astatke. I’ve discovered beautiful chords on my piano by starting song with this Kalimba.
The musical instrument or item that I really really want is:
The Organelle by Criteri and Guitari! Because it sounds like Organ Mug!
More seriously because this little cute toy can be so many things at the same time: a sampler, a synth, an effect rack, etc.!
And all of this without any computer!!! Amazing!
The artist who has influenced me most is:
These last years I’d say Bibio. I consider Bibio to be a very talented musician, composer as well as a very gifted producer. He seems to be able to play any kind of instruments with strings and he’s always experimenting new things. Each of his release sound different from the other. He can go from funky to folky, from hip hop to electronic music, from urban to suburban.
I’ve been listening so many times to his last ambiant LP Phantom Brickworks which was released on my birthday. This album brings me inner peace almost every time I listen to it. I love it!
Something I wish I’d known before joining a band:
I’m alone in my project. There’s a reason for that. It took me some time to understand that when it comes to music, I can easily become an awful dictator. I wish I had understood and accepted that a bit earlier. At the same time, I regret absolutely no past collaborations. It’s all the music lovers I’ve met on my way until now who made me sound the way I sound today.
I live in this city:
Apples (Switzerland). I’ve recently moved from the city of Lausanne to the countryside in Apples because I needed to rest. It helps me focusing on my work without going out and getting shit-faced.
Some examples of the Apples vibe include:
– Watching the snow falling into the garden.
– Trying to tame a squinting wild cat called Mamadou
– Watching movies with the landlords who are are the cutest couple and our very good old friends.
– Playing the Harmonium.
– Being in love.
Editor’s note: I checked and there really is a town called Apples in Switzerland. Let’s all move there.
The best place to play music here is:
It will be our garden! We gonna try to do a small festival with some friends in our garden this summer. It may have sth to do with the idea of celebrating life or is it simply megalomania? I don’t know. It has this old romantic touch that makes you want to get naked, sing along and dance with your friends and lovers.
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
Louis Jucker. I simply think he is furiously mad & brilliant at the same time. He is a creative communist who has this ability to generates big emotions from small ideas.
I collect:
Soundscapes. I have a lot of soundscapes like water, wind, steps on the ground, on the snow, on the wood, etc. I use them in my songs, in my live performances and in also my meditations. My obsession at the moment goes to recordings of people who are in the city streets speaking or screaming to themselves, to their imaginary friends or maybe to god.
My favorite thing to watch on tv is:
Reflections of ourselves in it when it’s off.
Why:
Because TV makes you deaf, dumb and blind.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Ginger juice! I’m obsessed with ginger. I can make the best juices out of it. It makes me fitter, happier and more productive!
A winter indulgence that I would never forgo is:
I’m sorry. I don’t know what a winter indulgence is.
Why:
Because English is not my first language.
Editor’s note: Ha! Ha! I absolutely love these band interviews.
If you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
A stalk of ginger!
Just get the man some ginger.
The last music I downloaded was:
The sound of a hobo screaming in the street: « Hellbound I go but i’m coming back! »
Editor’s note: This is really important.
All you metal bands who I’ve been giving grief to recently about bad singers, can you please click on the above link of the crazy person.
And think about how much better your music would sound with that madness on top instead of the Satan Voice. Just sayin.
Carry on, Morgan Hug:
In my heart I wish I was:
Less anxious.
because:
Things would be so much easier.
My favorite websites or apps are:
hlycrp.com
Why
Because I feel intimately connected with John and Cinnamon.
Editor’s note: YEESSSS!!!
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
The Art Brut Museum. It is self-taught creators who produce Art Brut, people on the fringes of society who harbor a spirit of rebellion and tend to be impervious to collective standards and values. They create in total disregard of public acclaim or other people’s opinions. They seek neither recognition by others nor public acclaim: any universe that they create is meant exclusively for themselves. Using generally unprecedented means and materials, they are in no way obligated to any artistic traditions, preferring to avail themselves of highly singular figurative means.
I find this place absolutely fascinating.
Gregory L. Blackstock, The Huts, 2013 © Adn-VdL. Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Favorite seasonal beverage:
Ginga Juice Foreva!
The last meal that truly impressed me was:
Ginger with ginger sauce and a bit of ginger aside
why
I’m monomaniac in everyday life and stereomaniac when it comes to music.
Rome Widenhouse of Thresher has played every guitar at Guitar Center
Rome Widenhouse is the guitarist/singer/songwriter of Asheville band Thresher. Thresher has just released their first EP as a quartet, called Equinox. We featured their song “Velcro”, which was from their EP before that, on our #40 podcast.
My favorite musical instrument or item that I purchased recently is:
A Supro Hampton Guitar. For years I’ve played on whatever equipment I could afford (usually $200 Pawn shop guitars). I found myself frustrated because I was constantly fighting my equipment. Early in 2018 I finally decided I would make an investment in a really good piece of gear. I played almost every guitar on the wall at Guitar center, and this one really sounded the best. I felt an enormous amount of guilt for spending what was essentially a month rent on myself, but I’ve come to really appreciate the investment every time I play it.
It’s a very lot of guitars
The musical instrument or item that I really really want is:
A 60’s Fender Jazzmaster. Kevin Shields, Thurston moor and Adam Franklin are all artists I admire who used the Jazz-master to create these enormous walls of sound. Also they look pretty awesome.
The artist who has influenced me most is:
In 2011 a local group called Elkmont Place. I was at an impressionable age and was staring to write my own songs. Watching them was when I realized that songs can have a narrative arc and can end in places nothing like where they began. This is one of the tenants that i really try to push in my own work. This is a quality by no means unique to this group, but thats when that epiphany reached me.
Something I wish I’d known before joining a band:
You have to love making music for the experience alone.
I live in Asheville, NC. I’m actually an Asheville native.
The general vibe of this city is
Polarizing. There is a huge divide between those who live and work in Asheville and those who come to visit. This applies to music culture and food.
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
Im really excited about Rye.
I collect:
I Make my own mixtapes… on cassette. I’ve been doing this since highschool, and have built up my collection from then. Each tape is for a particular mood. I’ve become pretty obsessive compulsive about this collection, agonizing over track order and the perfect transition. This isn’t an effort to be hip or anything, I play em in the car or while i work. It’s a labor of love just for myself and I come by it genuinely.
When people look back on our culture in a hundred years, they’ll say:
“0100110101001011001101”. We’ll all have uploaded our conciseness to instagram by then probably.
My favorite thing to watch on tv is:
“Whose line is it anyway?” I enjoy low commitment dumb tv. I find the recent trend of serialized ongoing narrative in the Netflix/ HBO era of “Television” (it’s all online for cryin out loud), to be exhausting. When I watch tv i want to think about nothing not be caught up in some kind of impulsive binge. I have my cassettes for that…
Editor’s note: The eponymous band Butthole, featured on our #15 podcast, has a song that’s all about how much they love Wayne Brady. Check it out.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
New Belgium beer. I made a pact with myself not to drink lite beer ever again.
The last music I downloaded was:
The English Beat. I’d never heard it until I found this mixtape of my dads a few weeks ago. It’s a kind of music I feel has been utterly lost to time, and will never truly have a resurgence. Ska gets a bad rap but the English beat is pretty Fantastic and I’m not afraid to say so.
in my heart I wish I was:
An Independent Filmmaker. I will be one sooner than later. I’m kind of a know it all when it comes to film, and it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. It’s been a lifelong passion of mine.
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:
I think Rock music is in a great place right now specifically because it is so outside the music industry. There are no trends to follow, so you can be yourself and people will respond to that without judgement. You have to work your ass off to get your music out there but that just means other musicians you encounter will be as gracious and hard working as you.
The best place to eat breakfast in my city is:
Homegrown. Excellent farm to table food. pretty fast too!
My favorite websites or apps are:
Sound-hound is pretty awesome. It’s a mobile music encyclopedia. great stuff.
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
Lexington Ave downtown. Everyone on Lexington is way cooler than me. You got static age, and hi Voltage record stores, Hay-day guitar shop, downtown book and news, Wasabi, Izzy’s and Mela. And theres the Cherry st. free parking! you don’t even have to mess with parking downtown. Very cool.
Asheville downtown
Favorite seasonal beverage:
Cold hand pressed cider. it’s nostalgic I guess. Something unique to that time of year (autumn)
.
This Electric Reptile Interviews Himself Yet Remains Totally Enigmatic
This Electric Reptile’s song Bombay Sapphire was featured on our #40 podcast, in which we reported everything we know about this artist (nothing). John speculated that he might be a deeply-undercover member of Roxy Music; evidently this or some other nefarious deception is true, because in this interview, This Electric Reptile goes on to reveal approximately nothing about himself:
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Jackets
Why
Girls like it, don’t they ? Crap ?
My favorite musical instrument or item that I purchased recently is:
Old japanese Epiphone Casino
Tough to play. Doesn’t stay in tune.
I love it because:
It’s tough to play and doesn’t stay in tune
The musical instrument or item that I really really want is:
Gibson ES 330
Why
It’s easy to play and stays in tune
The artist who has influenced me most is:
That’s a tough one ! There were so many ! Basically I went back all the way to the country blues from let’s say 1930’s onwards. I made all the way to the now and then and hoovered up everything along the way. I like 70’s Rock, 80’s Disco, 90’s Crunch etc. To make a long story short, any sound I ever heard influenced me in one way or another. I’m a musical hoover
Editor’s note: One thing of value from this response. Americans don’t say ‘hoover’. That isolates the artist’s location to anywhere but the USA.
Something I wish I’d known before joining a band:
No cashflow
I live in this city:
Gotham City. The general vibe is Mayhem. Some examples of that vibe include my neighbor’s apartment.
Pictured here is the Gotham City ride from Six Flags over Texas
The best place to SEE music here is
Rehearsal places. They’re close and intimate
When people look back on our culture in a hundred years, they’ll say:
Colorful, crazy, upside down ,mystic, superficial and dangerous
My favorite thing to watch on tv is:
Don’t have a tv ! Prefer a book. It goes much deeper, where the real beef is…and if you don’t like it you can throw it in the corner always
The last music I downloaded was:
Believe it or not I still buy albums. I like the haptics of it and reading all the information printed on there even if it’s useless.
Editor’s note: According to wikipedia, Haptics is any form of interaction involving touch. It can refer to: Haptic communication, the means by which people and other animals communicate via touching. Haptic perception, the process of recognizing objects through touch. What you see here is the gold record featuring Sounds of Earth that went up in Voyagers I and II. It probably had great haptics.
In my heart I wish I was:
Elvis
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:
That it is starting to evolve and that I probably won’t live long enough to see what it’s goin’ to be like in the future. I mean it’s really hard to tell in a few words !!
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to
I can’t think of anyone cooler than me right now
Favorite seasonal beverage:
Water. Cuz I drink it all the time any season
Give me a super-brief summary of your current musical status, in a bio kind of way:
Desperate
The 1865’s Honeychild Coleman on Brooklyn, baritone guitars, and Bo Diddley
Kentuckian Honeychild Coleman is a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist and visual artist. She fronts blues-punk outfit The 1865 (Mass Appeal Records), spins as DJ Sugarfree BK, & plays bass/sings with Feminist Post Punk trio Bachslider. Collaborators/Guest Projects: Invisiblegirl Records (UK), Matteite Records (ITALY), The Slits, Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Mad Professor, Apollo Heights, Death Comet Crew (w/ Rammellzee), DJ Olive and Badawi (Raz Mesinai). The 1865’s song “The Drifter” was featured on our #39 podcast.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Winter: graphic tee or polo with vest and bandana + jeans; Summer – polo and shorts or kilt. My personal style leans towards preppy-punk. I like the structure,comfort and quality of classic men’s clothing mixed with colorful and custom pieces
photo credit: C.P. Krenkler
My favorite musical instrument or item that I purchased recently is:
I just purchased a guitar that I am planning to have converted into a Baritone – very excited. My original Baritone guitar is a amber wood toned P.R.S. The new/future baritone is a pale aqua blue Epiphone SG – different mood.
A baritone guitar has a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Picture this one in aqua blue.
photo credit: Aaron Wilson Watson
The musical instrument or item that I really really want is:
A Shruti Box. I love the mesmerizing sound
[Editor’s Note: I had to educate myself on what a Shruti box is by watching this enlightening ten minute video. Thumbs up to this dude. And to the shruti box.]
The artist who has influenced me most is:
Bo Diddley. Bo was the original guitar-slinging back beat and surf style innovator, hot rod mechanic, humorous lyricist, and hair dresser (in addition to our mutual love for plaid)
Bo Didley in Prague in 2005. As a child he played trombone and orchestral violin.
Something I wish I’d known before joining a band:
Don’t compromise on your creativity – if the collaboration isn’t fun or makes you miserable, it’s OK to quit and move on.
I live in this city:
South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. So much culture and activity within reach, yet in my neighborhood I can walk around un-bothered (and the somewhat affordable rent)
the general vibe of this city is:
Anything goes – like the East Village was in the ’90s. One local bar near me has trap DJ and drag performances. Around the corner there’s an office set up to help manual laborers with ESL lessons and union applications. The vast variety of local designers, gourmet food, traditional Jewish bakeries and Latin/Caribbean food and music. My local electronics repair shop has been around since the early 70’s and it feels like you are catching up with a relative when you walk in. At the bodega on the corner they still hold your house keys for guests to pick up. In the middle of all this are, of course, there are new high rise condos.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
the best place to play music here is:
Union Pool. Great sound – local walk in crowd and relaxed atmosphere, great room even when super packed
Union Pool, Williamsburg, “A bar where everyone thinks they might get laid,” according to the internet.
And evidently there is really a pool.
The best place to SEE music here is:
Baby’s All Right. Similar vibe to Rough Trade with upper mezzanine yet nice bar in front and restaurant – it feels like an experience moving from room to room
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
Megative. Modern Brooklyn two-tone with a touch of eerie dub electronics – great energy and tunes
I collect:
Fountain Pens. I have one Bakelite pen from the 1940s, a few modern US pens, and a few modern French pens (I pick up pens every time I visit Paris) and I write with them daily
Why not be both classy and interesting, in an Oscar Wilde kind of way? Honeychild Coleman is the first of our interviewees to collect vintage pens.
my favorite thing to watch on tv is:
Documentaries, thrillers and film noir. I’m drawn to reading and watching autobiographical narratives and history; Film noir draws me in on an aesthetic level, between the visual, the jargon and cadence of the dialogue
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Hot sauce (2-3 types), hummus, avocados, hard boiled eggs, dark chocolate
A winter indulgence that I would never forgo is:
Coconut Oil. It’s for every Season
if you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
Movie tickets
The last music I downloaded was:
Maximum Penalty “Life & Times”. I recently met the lead singer Jim when he played drums with us
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:
Wide Open
photo credit: Ed Marshall Photography NYC
The 1865’s album `Don’t Tread on We’ is a musical exploration of what life was like for various characters in the year 1865.
Wide open is as wide open does.
the best place to eat breakfast in my city is:
Vegan: Champs Diner / Non-Vegan: Junior’s. Junior’s only tastes good in Brooklyn (sorry Manhattan) – Champs makes vegetables taste like pork, which appeals to the Southerner in me
Vegan “chicken” and waffles at Champs Diner
my favorite websites or apps are:
Instagram and WhatsApp. Instagram for art/sharing. WhatsApp for keeping in touch with my friends around the world
when people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
Duff’s Heavy Metal Bar. They would never expect me to hang out there
favorite seasonal beverage:
Lavender Lemonade
why
how to answer this without sounding like Eddie Murphy imitating Elvis in 3-2-1…..
Your Idiot Brother is Not Ready for a Baby Yet, Thanks
Maxwell Helper/Your Idiot Brother just released his self-titled debut album last week (January 27th 2019). A song from that album, ‘Hoochie Coochie’ was featured on our #39 podcast on February 5 of the same year, which is certainly evidence of kismet and destiny.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Polkadots. Who doesn’t like polkadots?
[polkadots not pictured.]
The last musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I bought and loved was:
Korg MS-2000 synthesizer. It’s super accessible with most of the controls laid out right in front of you, and it’s a great synth to learn on. Time seems to slip away every time I turn that thing on…
The musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I really really really want is:
An 8-track reel-to-reel recorder. I’ve always wanted to play with tape more, and haven’t really gotten the chance yet…
The artist who has influenced me most is:
David Bowie. He never stuck to any script, and didn’t care what people wanted him to be or thought he should be. He was a shapeshifter in search of truth, perhaps a microcosm for what we all are as a species.
I live in Los Angeles.
I was born and raised here, and Los Angeles has always seemed to call me back (literally). Even when I tried to leave to the pacific northwest, it wasn’t two years before I had one of my best friends, Sean Bloom, convincing me to move back to Los Angeles to start a band (a band that is no longer). Nevertheless, I bring up his name because he was very instrumental (pun intended) in Your Idiot Brother’s self-titled debut album.
The general vibe of Los Angeles is:
Superficial. Genuine conversation and human connection is hard to come by here. There’s definitely some very real and interesting people here, but so many are seemingly disillusioned by social status or insecurity.
Genuine conversation and human connection is hard to come by here.
I collect:
Vinyl. It’s not very extensive, but I try to pick up cool records when I can. I was stoked to come across an original copy of the Fantasia soundtrack not too long ago. It has a really colorful booklet that goes into the history of all of the tracks too.
my favorite thing to watch on tv is:
Rick and Morty. A drunk genius that goes on adventures through absurd parallel dimensions with his idiot grandson? I love it. It’s as funny as it is intellectual too.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Cheese
why
more chz plz..
A winter indulgence that I would never forgo is:
There’s no winter in Los Angeles
If you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
Anything that makes sound, even a terrible one. Except a baby. Please don’t give me a baby… at least not now.
Anything that makes sound, even a terrible one. Except a baby. Please don’t give me a baby… at least not now.
In my heart I wish I was:
Bruce Willis in ‘Unbreakable’. There’s actually no evidence that I’m NOT Bruce Willis’s character in ‘Unbreakable.’ I’ve never broken a bone (knock on wood).
Exhibit A. Exhibit B. No evidence exists that these are not the same person.
The best place to eat breakfast in my city is:
Off of my stovetop. Only I know how I like my eggs and hash browns. Breakfast can get risky out there…
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
Karaoke. I don’t like people that are cooler than me… We’ll see how cool they are once I sign them up for ‘Total Eclipse’ after 5 or 6 drinks.
favorite seasonal beverage:
Beer
why
you can drink it any season
What’s next for you musically?
The recently-released self-titled debut album last week (January 27th) was very much a DIY album. Although written and produced by Maxwell Helper, quite a few of his friends from UFO Therapy Records, a collective started by Sean Bloom (man Be Solo), are to thank in the recording and production of the album as well (album credits are on bandcamp). Your Idiot Brother is always writing and creating and you can definitely look for a second album to come perhaps as soon as next year. In case you’re interested, here’s a link to the collective: https://www.ufotherapyrecords.com/
Steve from Eerie Point on Toledo, Bob Dylan, and how to be like water
Steve Andrew is the lead singer of Eerie Point, whose song Artificial Things was featured on our #38 podcast. Born out of the Rust Belt (Toledo to be precise), Eerie Point embodies a sound that blends the alternative, indie, and blues roots of the band’s five members into something altogether new and exciting. Eerie Point prides itself on its diverse yet deeply refined sound that incorporates multiple styles of music to create a unique sound all its own.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
One of my may University Toledo hats, or WWII Airborne War Paint. Because it’s badass, and I want people to know where the fuck I’m from.
It is hereby established that if you wear the right hat, women in the audience will reach up and grab your crotch.
The last musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I bought and loved was:
My Mahogany 12-string Acoustic-electric Fender Hell Cat. 12’s just sound so big and bright, and it really puts power behind you. I’ve always been a huge fan of folk and blues-style sound and lyrics. Jimmy Page and Lead Belly are two of my all-time favorites, not just because they played 12-string, but because the way they played it. Page is a freak in his smoothness and his slide play and Lead Belly beats the ever-lovin’ shit out of it BAREHANDED. He just raw dogs that steel and it just perpetuates the power of his vocals; that’s what I want from my guitar. I want it to empower me, while complimenting the way I sing. It’s helped me get out of writing ruts, broadened my spectrum as a writer, and it kinds gives Eerie Point another way to stand out.
Lead Belly in 1948
The musical instrument or musical-performance-related item that I really really really want is:
a VoiceTone Pedal. Before 2012, I had always just played with myself, haha, instead of other people. Once I did, I’d become more curious in branching out, rather than just singing clean vocal. I’m excited to really try some different things. Everyone in Eerie Point plays one instrument or more, and while I do play some guitar, mostly in writing, and harmonica, my voice is my instrument. I love some distortion and reverb on a guitar, so why not on vocals? That’s something I really overlooked, and quite honestly was just simply ignorant on the fact of using different mic’s, let alone pedals. Everyone knows the talk box from Frampton, but I would never use something like that. One, because I’m not that great of a guitar player, and two I think it would sound so-loose butt hole; but maybe I’m wrong.
The artist who has influenced me most is:
With out question, Bob Dylan. I was a sophomore. At that time, I had been playing electric guitar for a few years, and my oldest brother got an acoustic. I was really into Jimi Hendrix at the time, and he had read his biography and saw that Dylan was Jimi’s favorite. He called me across the hall to his room and showed me the song “North Country Blues”. That was it. The story. An eerie, haunting voice playing an acoustic guitar. The tale of a begotten, and bereft mother in a closed-down, Minnesota mining town. I didn’t what folk was, I had never played an acoustic guitar, and I had no idea that song writing could be so artistic and thought provoking. At the time, Numetal, post-grunge, and eventually “Strip Club Rock” as I call it had been the huge, and Dylan completely took me out of that, and put me down a road that encouraged me to expand my mind, as well as my musical knowledge. I gave up my shitty electric guitar, bought a harmonica, and made a harp holster out of some hanger wires. I was a folk-freak living in the Midwest; I don’t think it’s all that crazy to imagine me finding something to associate within his art.
By the way, that guitar my brother bought, he ended up giving to me; it’s one the most important things I own. I actually wrote on it and he got pissed. “I’m not a communist, I’m an altruist”, an homage to “This Machine Kills Facists” on Woody Guthrie and Dylan’s guitar. He got over it.
Bob Dylan in 1963
Something I wish I’d known before joining/starting a band:
You’re going to suck. You have to go out there and just suck it up. Suck it allll up and take a big shit on the stage. Your sound equipment is gonna go out, your lights are gonna short out, your sound guy is going to get too hammered and fuck something up. Your gonna forget lyrics and your going to forget equipment and shit is gonna break, right in the middle of a song and your guitar player is gonna do his best and you have to go to a different song so he can restring his guitar. You’re going to get shit thrown at you by drunk people and people are going to yell shit.
You’re going to suck. You have to go out there and just suck it up. Suck it allll up and take a big shit on the stage. Your sound equipment is gonna go out, your lights are gonna short out, your sound guy is going to get too hammered and fuck something up.
But people are also going to keep coming and you’re going to get better and the best part of starting a band is being shitty, and getting better with your buddies. The songs get better, the notes and lyrics; it all gets better. And it’s all worth it, because the best joy in life is failing and not giving up, and coming right back and kickin’ ass.
I live in Toledo, Ohio.
It’s where I was born and raised. Go Rockets!
the general vibe of Toledo is
Rejuvenation. The entire city and downtown areas have been undergoing a complete renovation and gentrification over the last 15 years. There are local breweries, restaurants, bars all over the 419, and we have great sporting events. We also have the one of the top 5 zoos and museums in the country, not to mention the most historic minor league baseball team in American history, the Mud Hens. Toledo has spent a lot of time making it a great place to live, which is far from the Toledo I knew as a young boy. Also, it’s 40 minutes from Detroit, 2 hours from Cleveland and Columbus, and 4 from Cincinnati and Chicago. You couldn’t ask to live in a better city to live in and travel to see or play live music.
the best place to play music here is:
Civic Music Hall or the Ottawa Tavern. The Ottawa Tavern is a very intimate setting with one purpose: to be a place for local and small-time touring acts to come and play, while serving 35 ounce cans of PBR. Rock N’ Roll. Civic is the best place to play because it’s the biggest stage and venue in Toledo, aside from playing the Huntington Center. We packed that place for the Best Of Toledo competition and blew it out of the water. That was the best show we’ve ever had, and solidified us as the best original band in the Glass City. It’s freeing to be able to move around and really put your energy in to your songs, and it’s small enough to where you feed off the personal connection with the audience.
Eerie Point playing at the Civic Music Hall at the Best of Toledo competition
the best place to SEE music here WAS:
Headliners, on Detroit Avenue. Back in the mid-2000’s, we go to Headliners; it was basically a warehouse that they attached a bar too. It was sick. It was wide open and had two huge metal poles in the middle that people would climb up and do back flips off and mosh around. Chevelle released “This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In” in 04 and we went and saw them. Taproot opened for them and some small band at the time went first. I forget their name. Oh, yea 30 Seconds to Mars.
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
In Rhythm, Amelia Airhearts, and Human Juicebox. We love going to these bands’ shows and we’ve played a few with them, too. They all bring their own sound and are all different, but still have some good indie/pop/blues sound. Mostly, they are all pretty cool people.
I collect:
Tickets and wrist bands from all the shows and new venues we play and shows I’ve been to as a fan. I’m a pretty sentimental and I’m a nostalgia junkie. I like keeping pieces of memories, because I honestly don’t have that great a memory; probably from being hit in the head so much.
I’ve also always enjoyed stories my parents and grand-parents told me and pictures they would show me. My grandmother died of Alzheimer’s and the saddest thing was how she was robbed of her memories and her spirit; she was truly full of life. I guess I’m scared to lose my memories. I want to be able to look back on my life with fondness and laugh, and cry, and smile about it and hopefully my children’s children will want to know about our history, as well.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
A shit ton of hot sauce. I grill quite often and there is nothing better than chicken wings. I like to travel different places and always look for some good new sauces. I am not very kind to my stomach. I don’t like “want-to-kill-yourself-” hot stuff, though. That’s Dan. Once, I actually thought I was going into cardiac arrest because I ate one of Dan’s wings. He can take his Da Bomb sauce and go to Hell.
May cause cardiac arrest in rock stars
A winter indulgence that I would never forgo is:
Great Lakes Christmas Ale. It’s brewed right here on good ol’ Lake Erie and when you put that cinnamon sugar rim on there! Byyyeeeee….
if you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
A copy of Ghost Dad on DVD
The last music I downloaded was:
Black Holes (Solid Ground) by The Blue Stones. I caught wind of them trying to book a show in Detroit. They’re kicking off tour at a venue we’re pursuing and playing at Shaky Knees. They’re one of my new favorite bands. Also, Rival Sons and Cage the Elephant are continuously playing at my house. They are the two best bands in the world right now, in my opinion.
in my heart I wish I was:
like water.
because
Bruce Lee once said, “Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
A beauty staple that I’m never without is:
My beard conditioner and a mohawk. I’ve had a mohawk since 2011 and it’s always been my style. Also, if a man wants to be seen, he should always look his best and nothing looks bester than a good beard.
My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:
I honestly don’t know what to make of it. The obvious point is that it has changed rapidly, but the argument is, “Is it better, or worse?”. One could argue that industry has minimized music to mp3 downloads, where artists get fractions of a cent for allowing their music to be downloaded various platforms. Another argument could be that it’s amazing for fans because now any monkey can type in a band on their phone and hear artists all around world, while sitting in their basement. Another is that any new band, or person can be heard at any moment. There is so much out there being shared, though you could also argue it makes it more difficult because there is so much to sift through. I really try not to pay attention to anything that is gonna make me too cynical, or too naive. There is still very much an innocence in me and in this band, and I hope we always try to keep that.
the best place to eat breakfast in my city is:
My cousin’s house.
why
We cook for an army.
favorite seasonal beverage:
Great Lakes Christmas Ale or a White Russian
why
the Dude abides.
