Mike Patton: Man Of The Year
Courtesy Photo
FRINGE: The Peeping Tom album is finally being released. What took it so long to see the light of day?
MP: A lot of things delayed it. The main thing is the whole concept of the album. Each track is a collaboration with an artist or artists who live elsewhere. So tapes were sent, schedules had to be lined up and logistics were tricky. I also wasted time talking to various labels about releasing it. Turns out there is very little any label could offer that we could not do ourselves on our label, Ipecac Recordings. I started this record over 6 years ago. At that time I did not know what would become of Ipecac, but alas, here we are, the most powerful label on earth!!!!
FRINGE: What other musicians were/are involved with the project? And will there be a tour?
MP: You ready? Dale Crover, Dan the Automator, Norah Jones, Amon Tobin, Rahzel, Bebel Gilberto, Kool Keith, Kid Koala, Dub Trio, Massive Attack, Jel/Odd & Dose one from Anticon
FRINGE: Congrats on your dual roles in the Steve Balderson film, Firecracker. How did the challenges of acting differ from those in your music career?
MP: It is a lot different! First of all, you do a lot of sitting and waiting. Secondly there is someone telling you exactly what to do and finally you are not yourself. It was a big challenge. But I enjoyed it.
FRINGE: Any plans to continue with an acting career?
MP: If something cool came up. But it certainly is not my day job.
FRINGE: What actors, directors and/or producers would you like to work with?
MP: Oh christ! Too many to list. The usuals, Tarantino, Lynch, Devito, Coppola, etc.
FRINGE: What was it like working with Bjork on the Medulla album and how did the collaboration come about?
MP: Well, oddly enough we were mutually admiring each others work and ran into each other in Europe and said let’s do something together. She mentioned Fantômas opening for her, but it did not work out then she told me about her idea for Medulla. I thought it was a great idea. She is really sharp. Knows what she wants to do. Very creative. I would love to do more with her.
FRINGE: Any future collaborations with John Zorn in the works?
MP: Oh yeah. We are always talking about or working on something.
FRINGE: Will there be another Tomahawk album?
MP: Yes. We are trading ideas. I would hope to have one out in the first half of 2007.
FRINGE: Other than Trevor, are you still on good terms with the rest of the former Mr. Bungle members?
MP: Some of them
FRINGE: Any chance of a reunion?
MP: Not with me involved. What we had was great, but we grew apart. Time to move on.
FRINGE: Who are some of you favorite bands/musicians currently?
MP: Well, you could check out our label at www.ipecac. com for some of my favorites. I also like Sigur Ros, Melt Banana….. damn, there are tons.
FRINGE: Besides vocals, what other instruments do you play?
MP: My computer.
FRINGE: Is Anthony Keidis still an ass?
MP: No idea. You’d have to ask him.
FRINGE: There are a lot of amazing artists on your Ipecac label. Do you personally choose who gets signed to the label?
MP: My partner Greg and I choose them. Yeah, I’m very proud of our roster.
FRINGE: Is there going to be a 2nd Lovage album?
MP: It looks like there will indeed be a second one. This time on Ipecac. 2007, I hope.
FRINGE: Fantomas has one the most unique line-ups of any of your previous projects. Once again excluding Trevor, How did you hook up with Buzz and Dave?
MP: I made a wish list of people I wanted to work with and got em all. I’ve known Buzz for awhile. Been a HUGE Lombardo fan since high school!!
FRINGE: What are your Top 10 “Desert Island Discs”? (Assuming you are stranding with a Cd player and lots of batteries)
MP: No idea. I’m real bad at these list things. I worry about excluding friends. Just give me box sets of Sinatra, Bachrach & Buck Owens.
FRINGE: Do you myspace?
MP: No
FRINGE: What can we expect from Mike Patton in the future?
MP: Lot’s of things. More Peeping Tom, Tomahawk, Fantomas, Lovage and various oddball collaborations as well as film scores and videogame stuff.
Tattoos: Trendy or Taboo?
The days of tattoos being limited to the rippling biceps of military personnel, bikers, and circus performers are long gone.
With intense hues, unique designs, and unquestionable works of art, tattooing has barreled head first into the mainstream. We see our television and movie screens, sports stars, and the 20-somethings entering the career market INKED with all sorts of permanent designs. The art of tattooing dates back thousands of years.
Maori, along with other Polynesian people, believe that a person’s Mana, their spiritual power or life force, is displayed through their tattoo.
Three tattooed mummies circa 300 B.C. were extracted from the permafrost of Altaï in the second half of the 20th century (the Man of Pazyryk, during the ’40s; one female mummy and one male in Ukok plateau, during the ’90s). Their tattooing involved animal designs carried out in a elliptical style. The Man of Pazyryk, a Scythian chieftain, is tattooed with an extensive and very detailed range of animals, monsters and a series of dots that line up along the spinal column and right ankle.
Savages, side-show freaks, and outlaws were the “tattooed men” of former ages. As Britain and America sent their sailors around the world, tattoos became custom for the military men.
In 1769, some of the sailors in James Cook’s crew let the natives of Tahiti decorate their skin as a memory of their experiences in this foreign and strange land. They were the first to bring those so called “tataus,” a former native ritual, as a fashion statement to Europe. In the beginning mostly native tribal symbols were done, the forerunner of today’s tribal tattoos.
Many of the sailors learned the techniques of the natives and used them on fellow sailors.
Bringing those techniques home with them started the rise of tattoo shops throughout the states. The owners of the shops were mostly former sailors who, due to a lack of alternatives, still had to apply the tataus in the traditional native way until 1891, when Samuel O’Reilly introduced the revolutionary electro mechanic tattoo machine.
O’Reilly was the inventor of the modern rotary tattoo gun, which he patented in 1891.
O’Reilly’s machine was based on the rotary technology of Thomas Edison’s autographic printer, the first practical application of an electric motor. Modern tattoo machines use electromagnetic coils. He subsequently built up a business selling the machines. He was a tattoo artist working in New York at the time.
Men like Sailor Jerry Collins, Lyle Tuttle and Don Ed Hardy pioneered the American tattoo movement in the 50s & 60s, focusing mainly on sailor/traditional designs and Japanese/Asiatic art.
Collins was one of the first to use the typical Japanese tattoo style with a dark background, clouds and waves combined with the colored designs of western tattoos.
“I believe, the real breakthrough of tattooing came in the late 60s and early 70s with Sailor Jerry,” Don Ed Hardy said. “He was the Cezanne of modern tattooing”.
The popularity of tattooing during the latter part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century owed much to the circus. When circuses prospered, tattooing prospered.
For over 70 years every major circus employed several completely tattooed people. some were exhibited in sideshows, others performed traditional circus acts such as juggling and sword swallowing.
The once taboo has become a recognized art form over the last century.
Today, tattooing has come full circle. Around the Pacific, native people are reclaiming their heritage by permanently decorating their bodies. But these tattoos are not merely little pictures of roses or hearts, they are living hieroglyphics which tell stories of life, lineage, history and culture. Once abolished by the western missionaries as “the devil’s art,” the legacy has returned. Tattoo conventions are held in almost every major city, awarding artists for their artistic ability.
As a tattooed woman, donning six tattoos, I can say that my ink is saturated with emotion from each time I sat under the needle. Starting at 17, and now at 27, they represent events that have made me who I am, and the tattoos tell the story. I’m just one of 45-million North Americans tattooed, according to VanishingTattoo.com.
Tattoos are inspiring clothing lines carried in hundreds of department stores. Temporary tattoos fill gum ball machines, and even come in some kids lunch foods.
You can’t throw a stone in a night club without hitting at least one girl with a tattoo on her lower back. We flip on the TV and find reality shows a plenty, with two of the most prominent are based on tattoo shops. We can also find the sidelines of the NFL swimming with players displaying arms fully sleeved.
It’s become trendy; along with belly button rings, tongue piercing and Chuck Taylors, but just like most fads, tattooing had it’s ups and downs throughout time.
The year 2007 is definitely an up, from Hart and Huntington becoming a lucrative venture for dirt biker Corey Hart, to Miami Ink’s AMI James donning the A&E channel and designing his own RAZR cellphones, and expensive clothing lines based on legends Sailor Jerry and Ed Hardy’s art.
Welcome To The Garden Of Vegan
First off, we’d like to introduce ourselves. We are a vegan couple residing in Sacramento. Our good friend, Charlie, has been generous in allowing us to share our vegan lifestyle in a monthly column. We hope that this will be enlightening and informative for open-minded and curious individuals.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, a vegan is a person who does not eat animals or any of their by-products: meat, eggs, dairy, gelatin, honey, etc. Vegan’s also have a strong opposition to wearing anything or using any products from animals.
Veganism is based on the belief that all sentient beings should have the right to live as freely as you and I, without suffering brought on by factory farming, fur trade, laboratory testing, or senseless torture.
A positive impact on environmental and health issues are also benefits to the vegan lifestyle.
Our choice to become vegan started in 2004, while attending a Sick Of It all concert in San Luis Obispo. One of the opening bands had a display set up with literature and a television displaying the gruesome acts committed on animals around the world. Since we were both already animal lovers, it touched us immensely, and we knew we no longer wanted to partake in anything that had to do with the painful death of animals.
Contrary to popular belief, living vegan is not as difficult as one might think. Furthermore, it is not the least bit unhealthy to deprive the human body of flesh foods. A lot of people will say, "Well, animals were put here for our consumption." That statement is based on social, political, or religious opinion rather than fact.
We will do our best not to be militant or argumentative in this column. We are using this outlet to inform and educate. We merely want to provide other vegans, and the vegan-curious, with ideas and information related to our diets and way of living.
Becoming vegan is an ongoing learning process. When we first decided to go vegan, we knew we would face new challenges and adapt to new, but necessary, changes. Going grocery shopping became a task and finding places to dine out seemed like a hassle.
We began to search for new recipes and staple foods that give vegans a variety of meals. Dining out became fun and exciting once we discovered new dishes to order, especially the ethnic choices!
It didn’t take us long to adjust after dove right in, and our decision to be vegan has been very much worth it. And, no, we do not only eat salads!
In future columns, we hope to address frequently asked questions, discuss trends, share recipes, spotlight local restaurants, and share any other tidbits we might have to offer.
We welcome any thoughts, suggestions or any information you might wish to share with us. Please send all correspondence to HereComeTheVegans@yahoo.com . In the meantime, please feel free to browse some of our favorite Web sites:
www.vegan.org is a great site you will find more information regarding animal, environment, and health matters.
www.vegweb.com has an AMAZING selection of vegan/vegetarian recipes.
www.goveg.com goes more into detail about veganism/ vegetarianism, it(s benefits, and how the media gets involved.
There are also videos available that show the morbid truth about animals killed for food. These videos are not for the squeamish!
We hope you have enjoyed our first edition of this column!
Until next time, take care, and VEG OUT!
An Upper Playground For The Eye
Hidden just a few blocks from San Francisco’s legendary Haight and Ashbury, you will fi nd a modern gem, FIFTY24SF Art Gallery.
A small gallery with an even smaller entrance offers worlds of artistic possibilities from graffiti art to artistic inspired furniture.
The one room gallery, located at 248 Fillmore St., is owned and operated by Upper Playground, one of the only clothing companies that combine fashion and art.
“Upper Playground(s gallery FIFTY24SF provides a unique space in which to showcase the physical artwork of the artists featured on Upper Playground clothing in a raw, studio environment,” said Lisa Revelli, Upper Playground’s public relations.
FIFTY24SF Art Gallery showcased “Don’t Sleep,” a collection with close ties to childhood cartoons and fantasy by Greg “Crayola” Simkins, in February. “We chose to do a solo show of Greg Simkins work because we are fans of his art and we wanted others to see his talent,” Revelli said.
Simkins’ talent was in the making long before his art degree from Long Beach State University.
“When I was three years old, I’d take out the butcher paper and crayons and I would end up drawing on everything,” he said. “My dad would buy me a set of blocks and I’d draw on them.” Hence his nickname ‘Crayola.’
In high school Simkins discovered the art of doodling and also discovered that doodling on classroom desks is not acceptable. He became more involved around the age of 17, when graffiti turned into an art form. From there he started designing t-shirt, video game and band graphics.
“I had a lot of friends in punk bands at the time and I was in a band so I would design all our graphics and logos,” Simkins said. “It just snowballed from there into new jobs and new art forms.”
Simkins’ “Don’t Sleep” collection at FIFTY24SF portrays clear images from his childhood. His acrylic paintings are inspired by old Disney movies, old cartoons and fairytales of new worlds.
“The different worlds are about escaping and getting away from the crap that goes on every day,” Simkins explained. “It is so much fun to jump into that world… a world of humongous snails that can crush things!”
He wanted his work to portray something no one has ever seen before by letting his imagination run wild. Cartoon images dangle in a world without gravity and logic, but the ability to grow toes out of their mouths and snails out of their ears are somehow created. Sheep, dogs and frogs make routine appearances in this collection but rarely in their natural forms. The one room galley of FIFTY24SF is suddenly transformed into a circus, the “believe it or not” portion.
“I enjoy working with them [FIFTY24SF], three years later and we still have a good relationship,” Simkins said referencing his fi rst exhibit at the gallery. “Everybody there kicks ass.”
“The art work is weird and it scares kids,” Simkins joked.
But at the end of the day his “Don’t Sleep” collection is sold out.
“Rap Is Something You Do. Hip Hop Is Something You Live”
The grey fog of dusk falls in dewy droplets on the gritty sidewalk of First Street in downtown San Francisco. A medium built man with white skin, large blue eyes, and thick curly brown hair, picked out into an Afro, walks down the street towards an alley. He bobs his head back and forth to the sound of scratching records and old school disco beats from his Cut Chemist play list on his black mp3 player.
He turns the corner and frowns as he looks down a dark alleyway of Jessie St. Looking to the left, he catches the scent of chlorine and watches thick brown bubbles swirl down an iron grate. Moving to the sidewalk, he walks past dirt covered windows and beat up black doors until he finds the Mezzanine. Keeping his fingers crossed he approaches a clear ticket booth window and glances in the face of a middle aged woman with long black hair and brown eyes.
“Is the show sold out,” he asks in a quiet voice. “Nope,” she answers shaking her head, “I have a bunch of tickets left.”
Red lights beam into the black interior of the Mezzanine. Scott Knopf walks up to the large black stage where large speakers are blaring jazzy Latin beats. He places a smooth hand directly on the stage and closes his eyes as the music begins to pound into him.
The club begins to fill with young faces of many colors. Knopf looks around to notice he is surrounded by many people who look like him but as he looks to the stage he notices that most of the rappers are black.
Knopf, a 22-year-old cinema major at San Francisco State University, began listening to hip hop as a teenager. He grew up in the area surrounding Monterey, where he could only tune into three radio stations that play country, Mexican and rap.
“For me it’s just weird because you are listening to music made by a group of people for a group of people and I’m not a member of that group at all,” he says with his eyebrows raised, “I mean, I was poor but I was white and we had pigs and chickens and a farm. I should have turned to that country station if we were going with stereotypes.” Fans of the underground say the music itself defies stereotypes because there is a split between mainstream rap and hip hop. Originally hip hop came out in the 70s and was a meld of disco beats and spoken lyrics, according to Knopf. As music progressed hip hop became rap, while gangster rap became popular on the radio, causing a void that most fans and artists will say is between the industry and true hip hop culture.
“In an open-minded area like San Francisco a lot of college students are not gonna want the mainstream anymore,” Knopf said. “Once I heard underground hip hop it took me back to a children’s story. It’s a break away from the main stream, it’s a break away from what the big record companies are shoving down your throat.”
The sound check is almost done as artists begin to crowd the back stage and three men in black shirts and jeans begin to bring out eight sets of turntables and microphones.
Knopf is smashed to the front of the stage as the crowds come closer to the stage and start cheering as the scratching of Cut Chemist fills the air, followed by the loud rhymes of Lyric’s Born and the smooth conversion of rap and singing by Jurassic Five. A tall blond man wearing a red hat and black pullover windbreaker throws his arm around Knopf and cheers as Dilated Peoples comes on stage.
“Oh my god,” he shouts in a thick British accent, “These guys never perform in England! This is the best show ever.”
Knopf shrugs away from him and replies with a short “yeah.” Knopf begins to nod his head as he raises his hand up in the air, moving it up and down to the music.
The sweat from the performers splashes onto his face as they crouch down low and rap into their microphones. Knopf’s Afro bobs as he raps along with the lyrics to “Back Again.”
Evidence, a member of Dilated Peoples, watches as Knopf shouts every one of his rhymes back at him. During the chorus he points at Knopf as he shouts into the mic.
“This cat right here knows my lyrics better than I do,” he says as he angles the mic down toward Knopf’s mouth.
“Like I ain’t smoke weed no more but ain’t smokin’ no less,” Knopf says with a crinkle in his fore head and motioning with his hand.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” Evidence shouts with a grin as the crowd cheers Knopf on.
Source List: Scott Knopf, SFSU Cinema student/lab tech, (415) 574-7762 Aries Nunez, Distortion to static host, (415) 509- 7931 Zoneil Maharaj, Editor In- Chief of Oh Dang! magazine, (209) 471-1544
Why Single Women Hate The Sleepover
If this fool stretches his giant, dead arm into my sleeping zone one more time, I swear to God. I’m going to flash. I’m going to take his arm and twist it over his head and pull it upward so that he starts to cry and scream for mercy!! And now he’s snoring.
But…it’s not really snoring…its….breathing. Or he’s… choking? Should I cover his lips and blow into his nose to clear some space? Should I sit up and make the bed shake like I’m having a crazed nightmare and startle this fool to death?……My alarm is going off in 2 hours. I think I seriously slept for an hour tonight…I should just get up now; start an early day at work, like a zombie. A zero tolerance, dark circles under both eyes, party monster.
MY bed. MY room. MY sleep. And HE is enjoying every minute of it.
Ladies, is getting loud the best thing to do at this point? I should have every right to let loose and cuss even. This is my soft, sanctuary of personal comfort and my guy is in my happy place. Causing a ruckus. What the hell?
I roll over. His arm is now stuck like a twisted branch under my boney back.
“DUDE!” … He Stirs
“DUDE! You are seriously hurting me! Scoot over!!!”
“Sorry, baby,” he says.
My perfect sleepover is when the two of us are so wiped out from a long night of really good sex that we just pass out together in some random position. Then my alarm goes off, and I almost forget that he was there the whole time. He almost looks cute lying there, with his sexy eyes closed.
The problem with this: There are far too many factors that go into perfectly deep, uninterrupted, comatose-like slumber. Sucks for me being a light sleeper and all, since snoring and jabbing are the two worst bedtime blunders I’m occasionally assaulted with. These are considered my personal “sleepover crimes”.
It also sucks bad when a guy gets “too hot” and tends to sweat-out not just your whole body, but also the sheets and pillow. He is NOT kidding when he says, “Babe, open the window….Can you switch off the heater?…Why isn’t your air on?” If you’re a big glutton for snuggling after sex (Why?), you better take his aggressive hints. He is a “Bed Sweater”. What could be more unncomfortable than cold, damp sheets? Mmmm…makes me wanna snuggle all day.
But by far THE worst, most heinous, sleepover felony of all time, is the “Bed Wetter”. Ladies, if you have experienced the after-math of one of these, the end of your relationship is not just near, but slapping you in the face. No crazy-good sex is worth the woes of this disaster. Maybe he didn’t quite wet the bed, but he “sleep-walked” to a corner of your room thinking it was a urinal in the men’s bathroom of his drunken dreams. This is nothing funny. This is driving him back from wherever he came from right that moment type of sleeping accident.
The lesser of all sleepover evils is simply when the sex is short and boring and he passes out instantly in your comfy bed, all mixed up in your zone…just being there.
Single chicks. Why do we have this unspoken connection between sharing our beds after sharing our bodies? There is nothing remotely intimate about trying to get a good night’s sleep for the long day ahead. My sleep is important business, and when you get in between me and my floating ZZZ’s, I’m going to get pretty freaking irrational.
I really want my guy to stay here in bed next to me, maybe even get me excited in the morning; if only he could behave! Can he just sleep soundly in his little private space and barely breathe and stir less recklessly? …..Just way too much to ask I guess.
Domestic Rock Star
wo years ago, I practiced with my band three nights a week, booked the band to play shows almost every weekend, and went out to clubs and parties at least once a week.
After 5 years in a band, 6 years with my drummer husband, we made a decision to not put our “family life” on hold any longer for the sake of the band and try to have a child. It was an easy and difficult decision for both of us.
We knew our lives would completely change. We knew our lives would revolve around our child. We knew our band wouldn’t be able to play shows EVERY weekend. And, we knew our child would bring more meaning to our lives.
As a woman, I knew my role as mother would outweigh my role as a singer. However, I am determined to prove that I can do anything I set my mind to. I can be both Mama and front-woman. I thought to myself, “If mothers can go to college, work full time, and still survive, then I can sing, manage a band, work full time and still be a good mom!”
Now that my son is six months old, I still stick to the original manifesto set when my husband and I were still trying to conceive. The change I didn’t expect, but surely should have, was that so many other parts of our “social” life would be altered.
Sometimes I feel since we have had a child, we’ve caught the plague. Our friends that don’t have children don’t invite us out anymore, they don’t call or come by as often as before.
Our social calendar has changed from being filled with parties, band practice three times a week, shows, movies and checking out a new bar or club, to catching up on our TIVO’d television shows, dinner, tummy time, bath time and band practice once a week. My priorities have changed but my social appetite remains unvaried.
Sure, staying home all weekend with my son and husband is far more fulfilling and meaningful than partying or going to a show. After six months, however, I’ve developed cabin fever and need to just “get out.”
Then there’s the difficulty of finding a baby-sitter. We have a friend who, along with her 16-year-old daughter, will watch our son when we practice or have a show. For the nights we just need to “get out,” however, it’s always really hard.
As a mom, I feel guilty leaving him with someone else while we go to a movie or a show. But as a 27-year-old, I need some fun away from tummy time.
My husband is awesome with wanting to watch our son while I go out and have some fun. However, all of our friends’ schedules seem to be conflicting. My single friends have plans booked weeks ahead of time. My mom friends can’t find baby-sitters. My guy friends don’t want to go out without my husband coming along.
I really don’t want to be the lone, pathetic, starved-for-adultinteraction chick hanging out at a bar or coffee shop. That outfit doesn’t suit me.
Juggling the band, work, social life, and being a mom is hard and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve been told that I’ll cherish these times with my son a lot more in the future. I’m sure I’ll look back and miss them.
I just hope the little guy appreciates good music. As soon as he’s old enough, Mom’s taking him to some shows to catch up on lost time.
Meet The Masterminds Behind Fringe
Charlie Hanks and Emily Farrington, as they divulge their evil plans.
My first memory of writing is hiding in my bedroom in the early mornings, armed with a crayon, scribbling fiction on the walls and the back of my headboard. Mom wasn’t too happy years later when she tried to sell that headboard and discovered my inventive stories.
While attending a performing arts high school in Las Vegas, I grouped my writings into a bundle and made copies at request from my friends. This was the start of my underground magazine (zine) entitled The Spit. Starting with 15 Xeroxed copies handed out to my high school friends, I discovered a forceful passion. Black tinged, burned, and paper cut fingers became my proud badge of honor.
I chose “Charlie” for my pseudonym to obtain anonymity. I used The Spit’s pages to rant on about my love for music and my teen angst.
I adopted a humble fan base with eight issues of The Spit, eventually handing down the torch to one of my better ‘zine writers at graduation time.
In 1998 I moved in with my wonderful Grandma in Vacaville. With a suffering social life, I fell to the keys my computer to fill my time. To help cope with having to acclimate to the new, unfamiliar environment I started a new ‘zine. My new job as a graphic designer at the local newspaper gave me some implication for design and content.
My new and improved, more mature ‘zine received an equally new and larger fan base. After featured reviews in Maximum Rock N Roll, Punk Planet, and other ‘zines throughout the nation, I had to open a post office box for the hordes of letters, cds, and pictures I got.
Within months of my new day job I fell into a friendship with the man who would later become my husband. He read my ‘zine before ever meeting me and fell in love with my writing. We met through a co-worker and attended a concert together. Six months after meeting at a Crystal Method show, we started dating. He supported me 110-percent, and even contributed some writing to my ‘zine.
After two backbreaking years in and out of print shops, thousands of hours spent hunched over copy machines, I decided to switch my focus to forming and singing in a Sacramento based ‘metal’ band called, Bipolar.
A year later, being despondent with not fully plugging in to all my creative outlets, in the middle of booking shows, writing music, recording cds, and working full time, I had the urge to start my ‘zine back up. I was further immersed into the scene and I knew as a musician that bands ALWAYS need another way to promote their music. With help from some friends, equally passionate about music I resurrected my ‘zine for a few more issues.
Six months ago I gave birth to my first child and added New Mom to my gamut of job titles. I reluctantly realized I couldn’t afford the high costs the ‘zine accumulated. So finally, after much internal struggle and the dismay of my fellow writers, I laid my ‘zine to rest.
After grappling with the disappointment of not “publishing” any longer, I got the guts up to talk to some important people at the newspaper. After gaining some interested supporters I got the backing and professional coordination needed to create a whole new monster — A PROFESSIONAL magazine, ran by — ME.
My unsurpassable dream of being a “writer” has manifested itself in the creation of FRINGE. All the blood, sweat and tears I poured into my past endeavors come tumbling into the paper and ink of these pages.
Once this first issue is published…it will be framed and hung on my own personal “Wall of Fame!” displaying my dreams in all their glory!
Now Meet EMILY!!!
I’m the one you’re honking at when the light turns green and a red, Honda Civic is just chillin’ in place, keeping you stuck for 30 seconds. You think, “This stupid broad can’t even go when the light turns green.”
Well I am blond and notoriously riddled with blonde tendencies, so maybe I dropped my lit cigarette accidentally on the passenger seat and it’s burning a hole slowly into my upholstery, while I’m trying frantically to grasp it without burning my fingers.
Maybe I am focused on one of my many multi-tasking-while-driving activities: texting my best friend, hating this iPod song on shuffle and needing to change it right now, taking a gulp of Vitamin-Water before grabbing a piece of gum somewhere in the depths of my Guess purse. And lips can never be slightly dry, so where the hell is that new lip gloss I just bought? And, good God, that guy is smoking hot walking into that gas station!
Maybe I am just distracted by the glorious sunshine as it catches my eyes through the sunroof, finding a spot of freedom in the clouded afternoon sky, and I am pulled to look up. My eyes close, a serene smile spreads all over my face, and I say a quick prayer.
Thank you, Lord, for everything you give me. Thank you for this sun on my face. Thank you for today.
I am 26 years old, living the dream. This means that life is so damn good it’s only necessary to say it this way. Saying it any other way is cumbersome and doesn’t compare to the sheer bliss that is my life, a heavy elixir of the greatest things — hard work at a fun place, outrageous nights with many friends, parents who are going on 27 years of lovely marriage, and a lil’ bro and sis who are my greatest friends; a car that refuses to give me any problems; an apartment adorned with my many girly girl and bachelorette collections. Not to forget my good looks, my free time, my wide open spaces.
I became an athlete at age of eight. When you ask your kid at age eight what she wants to do for exercise and she says, “I wanna swim, Daddy”. And you know she can do it because she just loves the water, you better make sure you understand what sport she’s getting into.
I didn’t want to play basketball, even though the genes I inherited from my 6-foot-4 dad had me lined up as an all-star player. I joined a sport that eventually involved the most intense physical training of my life, with a season that allowed only 14 days off a year in early September, double practices daily, where I couldn’t eat enough to ever feel full, work outs in an open pool in every kind of weather, weight training, and gruesome sets that could have some poor kids spewing their afternoon snack in the gutter of the 25-yard pool.
My life was focused around the time clock, the lane line, the chlorinesaturated towels being thrown back into the dryer, the personal-lifetime- best swim I felt so compelled to work for. I swam competitively for 11 years. I wasn’t a great swimmer because I had fast times, I was a great swimmer because I could handle and manage the unruly intensity of the sport. My swimming career is why I am who I am and where I am today.
In high school I got good grades and loved leadership challenges, especially my stretch as the editor in chief of the school newspaper.
At home, when I wasn’t eating or pushing boys down in the street after practice, I’d reach for my comforting journal and write my soul away.
College was about water polo, juggling the weight of classes, grades, practices, and falling infatuated with hot water polo guys. When Charlie pitched her magazine project to me, it’s easy to see why I had no hesitation at all opening my mouth wide for another huge bite of self-prevalence.
Fringe represents my definitive formula: Work + Fun = Healthy Living.
So here’s to me. It may sound like I really have my crap figured out. I try to be as reckless as possible, but it just doesn’t fit my personality.
Always the one to laugh loud, to wear heels in the rain; Crown Royal if you’re serving whiskey and I don’t do single shots; slumping Mac Dre from two 12’s on 17’s seven years ago — and to this day he consumes more iPod space than anyone else; anti-my space; tickle me with red and pink; love hard and often; dude, I love my boss; fervently loyal; sex appeal takes practice; I will pick on your flaws to make you get over them and you will love me for it; Republican brain with a free-spirit soul and a giant heart attached to many strings; Jesus is my savior; “Dude!” and “hella,” so what I’m Nor-Cal.
When they say, “How you been, Em?” I smile and say, “I’m livin’ the dream.”
Something Vicious For Tomorrow
Episode 1: “Choked up at school. And I blew it at the job. And I’m f-ing up everybody else’s lives with Something Vicious For Tomorrow.”
The events portrayed in this column are true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
And to prevent embarrassment.
Greetings and salutations. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryan, and I’ve been hired by the good folks at The Fringe to write a monthly column on music, culture, and lifestyle, and or a combination of all three.
Now, you may be asking yourself just what qualifies someone like me to write such a column.
My editor asked me the same thing, and here’s what I told her: I’ve worked in the music industry for nearly 15 years. I’ve worked in record stores for over half of my life. I’ve owned an independent record label since 1999. And I was co-owner of a music magazine until my partner bought me out last year. I served as Tour Manager for a nationally known punk band from 1998-1999 (Incidentally, they were the first band to release an album on my label). I was Music Director and a DJ at an award-winning college radio station. I’ve booked and managed bands from all over the world. I was a founding member of pioneering hardcore band In The Shadow of Blood. And one might even say I helped The Killers get signed to Island/Def Jam (although that “one” might be exaggerating a bit, I did book them a few label showcase gigs, and I managed drummer Ronnie Vanucci’s pre-Killers ska band). Plus, I’ve been to rehab for a Cobainsized Heroin addiction, and lived to tell about it.
And if all that isn’t enough to qualify me for this gig, then check this one important fact – I’m a self-proclaimed music snob. I have no problem making fun of bands like Hinder and Nickelback, and artists like Dave Matthews and Gwen Stefani.
I think their music is utter garbage, and I’m insulted that these purveyors of crap sell truckloads of records.
Now that you know a little bit about me, here’s a brief overview of what Something Vicious For Tomorrow will be all about. I plan on using this column to discuss music, and the fashion, trends and rumors associated with it. And when I say “discuss,” I basically mean rant. I’ve very passionate about my love of good music, and even more so about my hatred of bad music. I can’t guarantee you’ll agree with everything I have to say, but hey, this is my column. Occasionally I’ll throw in a CD, DVD, or concert review, or an interview with a band that deserves the exposure.
I invite reader feedback – positive or negative.
Complaints, compliments, and concerns are all welcome via e-mail or snail mail. I’ll do my best to address those which need addressing, however, I won’t waste time responding to “screw you, I like Hinder” e-mails because, come on, no one really likes Hinder, do they?
Eightfourseven: Kings Of The Road
The first thing I notice about the four members of the band Eightfourseven as they climbed out of bass player Anthony Sarti’s truck is all smiles and rough housing with these guys. That means after seven years as a band, three albums under their belts, countless shows and tours they booked themselves, these guys still love each other. Trust me, that’s a major accomplishment. We greet each other with warm handshakes against the backdrop of a very wet, gloomy and softly darkening Saturday evening. The windows of Café Roma in Davis are tented with condensation from hot steam and coffee brewing.
As Sarti and guitarist Sean Bivins order some of Café Roma’s delicious smelling brew. Vocalist/guitarist Lance Jackman and drummer Ben Conger plop down on a comfy-looking couch under Roma’s largest window.
“Dude, I don’t think I can get up!” Ben says laughing.
From the way Lance grins and nods, I can tell the couch doesn’t feel as ugly as it looks.
I’m at one of my favorite cafes, interviewing one of my favorite bands, in one of my favorite places in the world.
Tony and Sean return with their coffees. Lance and Ben pull themselves off the big, ugly-but-comfy couch and we start to talk around the two tables the guy playing PSP behind the counter should have cleaned off hours ago.
FRINGE: The first thing I have to say is that I’m a big fan of Eightforseven’s music. Your marriage of rock and electronica sounds very organic, while still being very powerful.
SEAN: That’s kinda what we were going for. We all grew up listening to bands with a lot of electronica in them. You want to be doing it, but the idea is you don’t want it to be so obvious that people go, “Hey… that was THAT,” while still making it good headphone music.
TONY: Basically, we don’t record anything we can’t pull off live. We try to make it (the programming) more of an instrument so you don’t end up with a dance record. And you don’t want to see a band live and they’re doing a terrible job of it, or you’re not hearing any of it. At the same time, our roots are heavy rock, so we bring that out, too.
FRINGE: The band’s music, lyrics and vocal melodies are great. Is writing something where you all come together around a big chalkboard and write things out? Or, do you build off of one person in the group?
SEAN: Each record we’ve done is a different experience. Our fi rst record “Everlasting” was like, “Here it is. Here’s the songs. Okay… cut. Paste.” As far as the vocals and everything, it was like each of us did our own separate thing and in the end just recorded. It was very much like going down a checklist and checking things off. The second album “Allegiance” was more experimental and the third one “Silent Raid” was a completely different process. It was more of an “everyone” idea.
BEN: It’s kind of a mixture of both. We started off basic. Someone would bring an element to the table, and then we’d feed off each other. We try not to dwell on things to long if it’s not coming together. Lance writes the lyrics himself, Tony will help with the melodies What’s cool is everyone is open to the ideas of everyone else. If Sean has idea for the bass, Tony will try it.
LANCE: With the last CD, we wrote all the music and then the vocals came last. Vocals are such a personal thing that you don’t want to show anyone until they’re done and fi t in the song. With playing guitar, if a note’s out of key, you just tune it. With vocals there’s no way of telling if it works until the songs done. You don’t want to look stupid. Even though I’ve known these guys for years, there is still a bit of insecurity, so you kind of want to do it on your own. With this last CD, I was being kind of neurotic about the vocals in that I wanted to do them on my own but I would run out of ideas and go to the guys and ask them what their ideas were. By the end, we were all working together. It worked really well that way.
FRINGE: Your new song, “Phantom Limb,” is going to be on the sound track of the upcoming movie “Pranksters.” How did you end up contributing a song to a movie?
TONY: I have a friend named Howard Gibson who was the lead actor in “Pranksters.” He told us the story line of the movie and we wrote a song for it using the mood of the story as a template. Howard gave it to the director and he liked it. I’m guessing if the song wasn’t good it wouldn’t be on the sound track, so we got lucky.
FRINGE: You guys are starting a tour of Southern California on Feb. 15 at The Prospector in Long Beach, continuing at least though Apr. 12 at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth. As an indie band, with no label support, one would think an undertaking like a tour, even a small one, would be next to impossible. Is it? Do you ever end up playing the wrong type of club to the wrong type of crowd?
LANCE: We haven’t run into that for a while. For a long time we would play anywhere and everywhere. Now we are more focused and know where we want to go and what we trying to do.
FRINGE: In hindsight, do you wish you did the first shows differently? Or, would you say that you have to do your first few shows anywhere you can, a trial by fire that all bands must go though?
BEN: I think it’s crucial for any band to do that, if only for the fact that you have test the waters everywhere. You’ll never know how people are going to respond until you try it on them. Some places, the response was negative, and some places it was positive. The most important thing is to strengthen the bond of the band by going though both of those things. If you’re having fun with it no matter what, you know you’re going to stick with it. It happens to even the best bands: Horrible shows, shows where no one’s there, it’s just you and the other band. Whatever. You have to go out of town sooner or later, and every band has to go though it.
SEAN: And you’re not going to know if it’s a good show until you’ve done some bad ones, a slew of them.
BEN: Yeah. You can play a bunch of good shows and then play one that you think is horribly bad, until you play one that’s even worse. Then, in hindsight, you realize that the “horribly bad” show wasn’t really all that bad. That’s all part of being in a band. If you pick the wrong town, or the wrong club, you still have to do your best and try to make connections.
At least one person in the crowd is going to like you and tell you about a club you’d fit in better at.
SEAN: The advice we get from every band we know — the ones who’ve made it, didn’t make it, whatever — is you have to go out there and play. You have to look at this as a business if you want to be heard. To sell your CD’s you have to market them, and the only marketing platform you have is playing shows. That’s the only way to get experience, to meet people and make connections, to raise your band visibility. You can’t think of it as playing to the wrong crowds or playing bad shows. You have to think of it as you’re doing what you love and your doing it the best you can. As long as your doing that, doing what you find to be honest and not trying to copy someone else, that’s the best thing you can do.
You can check out Eightfourseven out on the Web at www.eightfourseven.com or www.myspace.com/eightfourseven. You can also find them at eightfourseven. com/itunes for your MP3 player.
