Here is a bio I wrote for Ben Rayner's upcoming collection of shots of dogs that he meets while he is walking around London. Ben's photos are always amazing and his work ethic is incredible. He is also one of the nicest, kindest and genuine people I know. Love ya buddy.
Ben Rayner Bio
The first time I met Rayner was at a Vice party where he was taking shots of people looking bored. He was wearing the best DRI T Shirt I have ever seen. I was already a little gone so I told him so. He was already a lot gone and claims to not really remember the conversation. He does remember the party being “pretty real” though.
Soon after that we did our first job together. I had to interview a bunch of shitty indie bands for an advertorial while Ben took all the shots. I imagined it would take all day. Ben told me that we would do all seven in “like an hour or something and then go have a pint”. He was right.
I have never previously and probably never will work with a photographer as immediately and infectiously spontaneous as Rayner. Just hanging out with him makes you step up your game. You do everything twice and fast and twice as well because if you don’t he’ll be off on the next job and you’ll be left holding your dick.
As well as being really good at smoking lots of cigarettes, drinking rum and coke and winning thousands of pounds at roulette every four and half minutes Rayner is never further than a pocket away from his Yashica or Contax. His snapshot style always somehow manages to project the amount of fun he is having on whatever he shoots. This whole book consists of shots of dogs and he even manages to make them look as though they are about to go for a party. “Hello Buddy!”
Now that I’ve sucked your dick for a hundred words can I have that DRI T Shirt?
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Psychopedia Feature: Damian Abraham's Record Collection
Here is an interview I did with Damian Abraham from Fucked Up about records. I really like records so this was fun.
LONGING FOR THE PURITY OF OBSCURITY
Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham likes punk rock records more than you.
Damian Abraham is possibly the most instantly recognizable figure in hardcore punk music today. Whether you have seen Fucked Up play in the flesh or have simply witnessed their vital live performances through still photos or video it is the image of Damian’s well endowed frame, drenched in sweat, blood, saliva, beer and (more than likely) even more blood, that tends to remain as the flickering reminder of Fucked Up seared upon the retinas and subconscious of the musically aware.
Through his role as mouthpiece for Fucked Up’s wholly idiosyncratic and uncompromising synergy of traditional hardcore anger, speed and force with restless socio-political polemic, mythical thematic exploration and progressive song structure, Damian has become the focal point of a band that has always been much more than just a band.
Fucked Up are a movement, a band to believe in that have always threatened to convert listeners from every margin that recognize in their music, ethical outlook and modus operandi something well beyond void carbon copy and generic reproduction. Fucked recently signed to ‘major’ indie Matador in a worldwide deal that makes this threat an ever growing reality.
An important part of the bands self-mythology and one of their most defining characteristics has been a wildly sprawling vinyl output. As far as they stray from the confines of perceived notions of punk ‘normality’ the bands adherence to the 7” record and a boggling mass of variants thereof is perhaps their only concession to hardcore conventionality.
It is no surprise then to discover that the whole band are vinyl obsessive. Damian aka ‘Pink Eyes’ is the groups self confessed crowned record nerd. We caught up with Damian to ask how much round bits of wax that go in circles really mean to him.
Psychopedia: How old were you when you bought your first record?
Damian Abraham: I would have been would have been three or four. It was the Madness "Our House" 7". I fell in love with that song because it was on the radio and TV back then. I can’t remember the exact store I got it in but I guess I would have bought it somewhere with my dad. He was pretty dialed into the new wave stuff back then. He even went and saw the Viletones a few times.
How old were you when you realized that you were a ‘record collector’ as opposed to someone who just bought and listened to records?
I would have been about 17. I was a late bloomer. I didn't get ‘real’ about it until I was 19 though. That was when I started trading and digging. I can remember going to a friends house and he was flipping a bunch of punk singles to focus more on reggae and jazz and I bought a ton of stuff off him and just thought to myself: "Well this is my life now."
Can you remember what the first ‘punk’ record you ever bought was?
I think it would have been a Swingin' Utters ‘Nothing To Rely On’ 7"
What a record! What came first for you: punk obsession or record obsession? The two seem to go hand in hand. There aren’t many punk fans out there that don’t have a hefty 7” collection.
Punk was first. I bought records about a year or two after but it was more for ‘the music’ then. I swiftly became pretty obsessed though and you are definitely right: the two go hand in hand. I think it’s because punk, by its very nature, is outsider music that appeals to marginal personalities. These types of personalities often tend to be hoarders. If it wasn't punk I'm sure I would be collecting Star Wars toys or something else nerdy. I mean, as well as records I collect old ‘zones, tapes, fliers, the odd t-shirt. Basically: anything punk related.
What is your favorite format?
The 7”. Simply because it is the format best suited to punk.
And what is your favorite ‘punk record?
h100 – ‘Dismantle’ 7"
A lot of collectors go straight for their rarest or most valuable as their favorite record but I know that you have rarer stuff than that.
Yeah. I have a DRI test press of the ‘Violent Pacification’ 7" that has the wrong band on the b-side and the Integrity acetate. Or the acetates of the first Teenage Head 7" and LP. All that stuff is pretty hard to get hold of.
What have been your biggest bargain finds?
My wife gave me a copy of The Subhumans ‘Death To The Sickoids’ 7". I’d wanted that forever but I didn't really find that so maybe we can’t count it. I once found a copy of the Action 12" with the sleeve as they were putting it in the window-display of a store and bought it for a quarter. It was a bit of a mythical record to me and to find it like that made my day. I have been lucky enough to have been given some amazing records by friends over the years but I couldn't count those as bargains. I would say the Project X single for a few bucks or the Integrity 10" on pink with the alt sleeve for $10 are my biggest scoops.
On the flipside have you ever had to sell chunks of your collection in hard times?
I have sold stuff but always to buy other stuff. I guess it is more like reinvesting.
Let’s do a few more nerdy questions. Which single record do you own the most variants of?
I want to one day have all the various version of the Confront 7". I'm one away now and I have six already on the h100 7". I'm a huge loser.
No you aren’t. You’re my hero. Which single record that you do not own do you wish that you did?
The Fix ‘Vengeance’ 7" It is such a mythical record but apart from that most of the stuff that I want now is just cool records I didn't know about. Not so much heavy hitters. I long for the purity of obscurity.
How do you maintain some kind of order?
In terms of the punk stuff it’s divided by country and Cleveland gets its own section. It’s alphabetical within country though.
As someone who still digs in crates what are your feelings towards eBay as a forum for record exchange and collecting?
I mean I don't use it anymore but that is only because I enjoyed it too much at one point. I think it has leveled the playing field and forced collectors to step up their game up.
Finally: do you have a favorite ‘non-punk’ record?
‘Phantom Of The Paradise’ Soundtrack.
LONGING FOR THE PURITY OF OBSCURITY
Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham likes punk rock records more than you.
Damian Abraham is possibly the most instantly recognizable figure in hardcore punk music today. Whether you have seen Fucked Up play in the flesh or have simply witnessed their vital live performances through still photos or video it is the image of Damian’s well endowed frame, drenched in sweat, blood, saliva, beer and (more than likely) even more blood, that tends to remain as the flickering reminder of Fucked Up seared upon the retinas and subconscious of the musically aware.
Through his role as mouthpiece for Fucked Up’s wholly idiosyncratic and uncompromising synergy of traditional hardcore anger, speed and force with restless socio-political polemic, mythical thematic exploration and progressive song structure, Damian has become the focal point of a band that has always been much more than just a band.
Fucked Up are a movement, a band to believe in that have always threatened to convert listeners from every margin that recognize in their music, ethical outlook and modus operandi something well beyond void carbon copy and generic reproduction. Fucked recently signed to ‘major’ indie Matador in a worldwide deal that makes this threat an ever growing reality.
An important part of the bands self-mythology and one of their most defining characteristics has been a wildly sprawling vinyl output. As far as they stray from the confines of perceived notions of punk ‘normality’ the bands adherence to the 7” record and a boggling mass of variants thereof is perhaps their only concession to hardcore conventionality.
It is no surprise then to discover that the whole band are vinyl obsessive. Damian aka ‘Pink Eyes’ is the groups self confessed crowned record nerd. We caught up with Damian to ask how much round bits of wax that go in circles really mean to him.
Psychopedia: How old were you when you bought your first record?
Damian Abraham: I would have been would have been three or four. It was the Madness "Our House" 7". I fell in love with that song because it was on the radio and TV back then. I can’t remember the exact store I got it in but I guess I would have bought it somewhere with my dad. He was pretty dialed into the new wave stuff back then. He even went and saw the Viletones a few times.
How old were you when you realized that you were a ‘record collector’ as opposed to someone who just bought and listened to records?
I would have been about 17. I was a late bloomer. I didn't get ‘real’ about it until I was 19 though. That was when I started trading and digging. I can remember going to a friends house and he was flipping a bunch of punk singles to focus more on reggae and jazz and I bought a ton of stuff off him and just thought to myself: "Well this is my life now."
Can you remember what the first ‘punk’ record you ever bought was?
I think it would have been a Swingin' Utters ‘Nothing To Rely On’ 7"
What a record! What came first for you: punk obsession or record obsession? The two seem to go hand in hand. There aren’t many punk fans out there that don’t have a hefty 7” collection.
Punk was first. I bought records about a year or two after but it was more for ‘the music’ then. I swiftly became pretty obsessed though and you are definitely right: the two go hand in hand. I think it’s because punk, by its very nature, is outsider music that appeals to marginal personalities. These types of personalities often tend to be hoarders. If it wasn't punk I'm sure I would be collecting Star Wars toys or something else nerdy. I mean, as well as records I collect old ‘zones, tapes, fliers, the odd t-shirt. Basically: anything punk related.
What is your favorite format?
The 7”. Simply because it is the format best suited to punk.
And what is your favorite ‘punk record?
h100 – ‘Dismantle’ 7"
A lot of collectors go straight for their rarest or most valuable as their favorite record but I know that you have rarer stuff than that.
Yeah. I have a DRI test press of the ‘Violent Pacification’ 7" that has the wrong band on the b-side and the Integrity acetate. Or the acetates of the first Teenage Head 7" and LP. All that stuff is pretty hard to get hold of.
What have been your biggest bargain finds?
My wife gave me a copy of The Subhumans ‘Death To The Sickoids’ 7". I’d wanted that forever but I didn't really find that so maybe we can’t count it. I once found a copy of the Action 12" with the sleeve as they were putting it in the window-display of a store and bought it for a quarter. It was a bit of a mythical record to me and to find it like that made my day. I have been lucky enough to have been given some amazing records by friends over the years but I couldn't count those as bargains. I would say the Project X single for a few bucks or the Integrity 10" on pink with the alt sleeve for $10 are my biggest scoops.
On the flipside have you ever had to sell chunks of your collection in hard times?
I have sold stuff but always to buy other stuff. I guess it is more like reinvesting.
Let’s do a few more nerdy questions. Which single record do you own the most variants of?
I want to one day have all the various version of the Confront 7". I'm one away now and I have six already on the h100 7". I'm a huge loser.
No you aren’t. You’re my hero. Which single record that you do not own do you wish that you did?
The Fix ‘Vengeance’ 7" It is such a mythical record but apart from that most of the stuff that I want now is just cool records I didn't know about. Not so much heavy hitters. I long for the purity of obscurity.
How do you maintain some kind of order?
In terms of the punk stuff it’s divided by country and Cleveland gets its own section. It’s alphabetical within country though.
As someone who still digs in crates what are your feelings towards eBay as a forum for record exchange and collecting?
I mean I don't use it anymore but that is only because I enjoyed it too much at one point. I think it has leveled the playing field and forced collectors to step up their game up.
Finally: do you have a favorite ‘non-punk’ record?
‘Phantom Of The Paradise’ Soundtrack.
September Forkasts
Three 'Forkasts' For Pitchforkmedia.com
The Big Pink Forkast
The Big Pink are Londoners Robbie Furze (ex-Panic DHH, Alec Empire) and Milo Cordell (founder and owner of Merok Records). The long time friends realized that the music they had been tinkering with in Robbie’s basement was yielding something too special not to tell anyone about.
While all song writing and creative control remains in Milo and Robbie’s hands, in order to play live The Big Pink called on friends to help transfer their music from studio to stage. The band’s rapidly growing reputation as a live act in London has been enhanced by on stage collaboration with guests such as Daniel O’Sullivan (Guapo, Sunn O)), Aethenor), Jo Apps (Planet Mu), Jo Robertson (Ben Chasny, Sunburned Hand Of The Man, Martin Creed, Byron Coley) and Al O’Connell (Engineer: Mystery Jets, Paul Epworth).
The Big Pink’s sound is an encompassing swathe of deftly manipulated static and feedback that acts as both catalyst and backdrop to sequenced and live percussive patterns and layered, entwined vocal, guitar and key melodies.
The stately, building feedback, drone and trebly crescendo of ‘Crystal Visions’ are entirely characteristic of The Big Pink. The track nods to such sonic reference points as the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine or Spiritualized’s tender adventures in distortion but the track’s chiming chorus and melodic nuance allow it a fragile beauty of it’s very own.
‘Crystal Visions’ will be available as one side of a 7” limited to 500 copies on independent label House Anxiety Records released at the end of September.
Heartbreak ForkastGraffiti Island Forkast
Graffiti Island are three twentysomethings from East London who were all so bored of what was being played at the shows they were attending they decided they may as well start playing some music they actually liked.
Whether by influence or coincidence it remains unclear but Graffiti Island’s stripped back, pared down, lo fi, redolent of early K Records innocence or Flying Nun fuzz has found itself common currency among like minded London bands such as Pens (http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis), Male Bonding (http://www.myspace.com/malebonding) and Teeth (http://www.myspace.com/teethdance ).
Guitarist Conan Roberts may or may not have played bass guitar in Brighton thrash punk heroes Abandon Ship (http://www.myspace.com/abandonship), drummer Cherise Payne may or may not work for tasteful London based indie record label XL and vocalist Pete Donaldson may or may not look after Rankin’s kids (he definitely does co-run the excellent Voodoo Village blog though which can be found at http://voodoovillage.co.uk/) but they are certainly one of the few truly interesting bands playing in London right now.
Having already supported acts including Les Savy Fav, Apache Beat and Rings during their short existence the band are set to release their debut 7” on London-based vinyl only label House Anxiety Records.
The A Side of that 7”, ‘Headhunters’, is typical of Graffiti Island’s simple, lo fi and rhythm section heavy sound. Sped along by propulsive drums and a nagging, rhythmic guitar line the song features Pete’s deadpan delivery which slips in and out of spoken word on recurring lyrical touchstones including getting lost in the jungle and coveting things like shrunken head earrings. Wait ‘till you hear the one about the Wolf Guy…
http://www.myspace.com/graffitiisland
‘We’re Back’ is the debut single by London based italo-disco duo Heartbreak. While London’s recent italo resurgence has been lead by DJ’s playing out classic sides at nights like Cocadisco (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17834115290&refurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fs.php%3Fn%3D-1%26k%3D200000010%26init%3Ds%253Agroup%26q%3Dcocadisco), Horsemeat Disco (http://www.myspace.com/horsemeatdiscolondon) and Disco Bloodbath (http://www.myspace.com/discobloodbathdisco) the resurgence has lacked an act that can convey the live element so integral to some of italo’s defining moments. You need only look to greats such as Kano (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eML6_RZao-w) to realize that Heartbreak might just be the act that the movement needs to truly move from reverence to contemporary innovation and relevance.
Londoner Ali Renault’s informed synths and programming and expatriate Argentinean Sebastian Muravchik’s sincere vocal delivery and live performance elevate the duo from pastiche or tribute to one of the most exciting things you currently pay money to see live anywhere right now. Recent shows have seen stage invasions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YSn8d4u7cY), general adulation and quite possibly a few tears (unconfirmed).
The Moroder lost in Rimini ‘85 synth stabs of ‘We’re Back’are layered with Renault’s trademark metallic menace which has led some to brand Heartbreak’s sound ‘metalo’. While this might be almost as ridiculous a term as ‘grindie’ it’s not a million miles off. The band does after all list Obituary in their top MySpace friends.
Heartbreak’s first album ‘Lies’ is due on Lex in late September.
http://www.myspace.com/heartbreak1
Graffiti Island Forkast
Graffiti Island are three twentysomethings from East London who were all so bored of what was being played at the shows they were attending they decided they may as well start playing some music they actually liked.
Whether by influence or coincidence it remains unclear but Graffiti Island’s stripped back, pared down, lo fi, redolent of early K Records innocence or Flying Nun fuzz has found itself common currency among like minded London bands such as Pens (http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis), Male Bonding (http://www.myspace.com/malebonding) and Teeth (http://www.myspace.com/teethdance ).
Guitarist Conan Roberts may or may not have played bass guitar in Brighton thrash punk heroes Abandon Ship (http://www.myspace.com/abandonship), drummer Cherise Payne may or may not work for tasteful London based indie record label XL and vocalist Pete Donaldson may or may not look after Rankin’s kids (he definitely does co-run the excellent Voodoo Village blog though which can be found at http://voodoovillage.co.uk/) but they are certainly one of the few truly interesting bands playing in London right now.
Having already supported acts including Les Savy Fav, Apache Beat and Rings during their short existence the band are set to release their debut 7” on London-based vinyl only label House Anxiety Records.
The A Side of that 7”, ‘Headhunters’, is typical of Graffiti Island’s simple, lo fi and rhythm section heavy sound. Sped along by propulsive drums and a nagging, rhythmic guitar line the song features Pete’s deadpan delivery which slips in and out of spoken word on recurring lyrical touchstones including getting lost in the jungle and coveting things like shrunken head earrings. Wait ‘till you hear the one about the Wolf Guy…
http://www.myspace.com/graffitiisland
The Big Pink Forkast
The Big Pink are Londoners Robbie Furze (ex-Panic DHH, Alec Empire) and Milo Cordell (founder and owner of Merok Records). The long time friends realized that the music they had been tinkering with in Robbie’s basement was yielding something too special not to tell anyone about.
While all song writing and creative control remains in Milo and Robbie’s hands, in order to play live The Big Pink called on friends to help transfer their music from studio to stage. The band’s rapidly growing reputation as a live act in London has been enhanced by on stage collaboration with guests such as Daniel O’Sullivan (Guapo, Sunn O)), Aethenor), Jo Apps (Planet Mu), Jo Robertson (Ben Chasny, Sunburned Hand Of The Man, Martin Creed, Byron Coley) and Al O’Connell (Engineer: Mystery Jets, Paul Epworth).
The Big Pink’s sound is an encompassing swathe of deftly manipulated static and feedback that acts as both catalyst and backdrop to sequenced and live percussive patterns and layered, entwined vocal, guitar and key melodies.
The stately, building feedback, drone and trebly crescendo of ‘Crystal Visions’ are entirely characteristic of The Big Pink. The track nods to such sonic reference points as the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine or Spiritualized’s tender adventures in distortion but the track’s chiming chorus and melodic nuance allow it a fragile beauty of it’s very own.
‘Crystal Visions’ will be available as one side of a 7” limited to 500 copies on independent label House Anxiety Records released at the end of September.
Heartbreak ForkastGraffiti Island Forkast
Graffiti Island are three twentysomethings from East London who were all so bored of what was being played at the shows they were attending they decided they may as well start playing some music they actually liked.
Whether by influence or coincidence it remains unclear but Graffiti Island’s stripped back, pared down, lo fi, redolent of early K Records innocence or Flying Nun fuzz has found itself common currency among like minded London bands such as Pens (http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis), Male Bonding (http://www.myspace.com/malebonding) and Teeth (http://www.myspace.com/teethdance ).
Guitarist Conan Roberts may or may not have played bass guitar in Brighton thrash punk heroes Abandon Ship (http://www.myspace.com/abandonship), drummer Cherise Payne may or may not work for tasteful London based indie record label XL and vocalist Pete Donaldson may or may not look after Rankin’s kids (he definitely does co-run the excellent Voodoo Village blog though which can be found at http://voodoovillage.co.uk/) but they are certainly one of the few truly interesting bands playing in London right now.
Having already supported acts including Les Savy Fav, Apache Beat and Rings during their short existence the band are set to release their debut 7” on London-based vinyl only label House Anxiety Records.
The A Side of that 7”, ‘Headhunters’, is typical of Graffiti Island’s simple, lo fi and rhythm section heavy sound. Sped along by propulsive drums and a nagging, rhythmic guitar line the song features Pete’s deadpan delivery which slips in and out of spoken word on recurring lyrical touchstones including getting lost in the jungle and coveting things like shrunken head earrings. Wait ‘till you hear the one about the Wolf Guy…
http://www.myspace.com/graffitiisland
‘We’re Back’ is the debut single by London based italo-disco duo Heartbreak. While London’s recent italo resurgence has been lead by DJ’s playing out classic sides at nights like Cocadisco (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17834115290&refurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fs.php%3Fn%3D-1%26k%3D200000010%26init%3Ds%253Agroup%26q%3Dcocadisco), Horsemeat Disco (http://www.myspace.com/horsemeatdiscolondon) and Disco Bloodbath (http://www.myspace.com/discobloodbathdisco) the resurgence has lacked an act that can convey the live element so integral to some of italo’s defining moments. You need only look to greats such as Kano (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eML6_RZao-w) to realize that Heartbreak might just be the act that the movement needs to truly move from reverence to contemporary innovation and relevance.
Londoner Ali Renault’s informed synths and programming and expatriate Argentinean Sebastian Muravchik’s sincere vocal delivery and live performance elevate the duo from pastiche or tribute to one of the most exciting things you currently pay money to see live anywhere right now. Recent shows have seen stage invasions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YSn8d4u7cY), general adulation and quite possibly a few tears (unconfirmed).
The Moroder lost in Rimini ‘85 synth stabs of ‘We’re Back’are layered with Renault’s trademark metallic menace which has led some to brand Heartbreak’s sound ‘metalo’. While this might be almost as ridiculous a term as ‘grindie’ it’s not a million miles off. The band does after all list Obituary in their top MySpace friends.
Heartbreak’s first album ‘Lies’ is due on Lex in late September.
http://www.myspace.com/heartbreak1
Graffiti Island Forkast
Graffiti Island are three twentysomethings from East London who were all so bored of what was being played at the shows they were attending they decided they may as well start playing some music they actually liked.
Whether by influence or coincidence it remains unclear but Graffiti Island’s stripped back, pared down, lo fi, redolent of early K Records innocence or Flying Nun fuzz has found itself common currency among like minded London bands such as Pens (http://www.myspace.com/penspenspenis), Male Bonding (http://www.myspace.com/malebonding) and Teeth (http://www.myspace.com/teethdance ).
Guitarist Conan Roberts may or may not have played bass guitar in Brighton thrash punk heroes Abandon Ship (http://www.myspace.com/abandonship), drummer Cherise Payne may or may not work for tasteful London based indie record label XL and vocalist Pete Donaldson may or may not look after Rankin’s kids (he definitely does co-run the excellent Voodoo Village blog though which can be found at http://voodoovillage.co.uk/) but they are certainly one of the few truly interesting bands playing in London right now.
Having already supported acts including Les Savy Fav, Apache Beat and Rings during their short existence the band are set to release their debut 7” on London-based vinyl only label House Anxiety Records.
The A Side of that 7”, ‘Headhunters’, is typical of Graffiti Island’s simple, lo fi and rhythm section heavy sound. Sped along by propulsive drums and a nagging, rhythmic guitar line the song features Pete’s deadpan delivery which slips in and out of spoken word on recurring lyrical touchstones including getting lost in the jungle and coveting things like shrunken head earrings. Wait ‘till you hear the one about the Wolf Guy…
http://www.myspace.com/graffitiisland
Michael Runion Bio
I did a bio for this guy a while ago. Here is an updated one.
Michael Runion
www.myspace.com/michaelrunion
"If Seinfeld and Stephen Malkmus double
teamed a demure Mexican woman and she had a baby, it
would be Mike." Z Berg of The Like
"No better man to have by your side on the hotel
floors of Dublin." Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwood
Sparks
Michael Runion grew up in Ventura CA, playing bass for crust and punk bands in thrall to the likes of Polvo and Unwound. After moving to Los Angeles and paying his rent by selling ‘zines and founding lauded silk screen clothing company Deathcamp (whose clothes have been worn by 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith and a whole host of other B list celebrities you have never heard of). As opposed to being a straight company Deathcamp was more a loose collection of artists, creatives, hipsters and hangers on all living out of a squat in East LA that soon became infamous locally.
This sense of collective pursuit of artistic integrity combined with a strong sense of communal living heavily informed the way that Michael would go on to create himself, constantly giving all he could both as an individual and in group situations. Wander around LA and on any given corner on any given day and there will be someone who has sang with, written with, shared a stage or a bar stool with Michael Runion more than willing to recount at least one tale of how he can capture and captivate in seconds.
This local infamy allowed Michael to swiftly became a constant in the bands that surround the Rilo Kiley collective including Jenny Lewis’s solo project and Sub Pop indie four-piece The Elected while continuing to mine a vein of authentic American songwriting with his own band Jamzz.
Michael’s debut solo album, ‘Our Time Will Come’, was recorded in Elliot Smith’s former studio by Grandaddy leader Jim Fairchild over a leisurely period of two months with contributions from Jonathon Rice, Ze Berg of The Like and James Valentine of Maroon 5 as well as old friends Rilo Kiley. As Michael himself has said of the record: “I basically asked all my talented friends to help make my record better, and they accepted,” says Runion. “I couldn’t have lucked into a better social group.”
The record represented a synergy of disparate influences mixed to great effect with characteristic honesty displaying Michael’s own unique voice while remaining informed by the music and musicians that Michael has continued to surround himself with.
The familiar Saddle Creek sound that lends an air of modernist melody and pop sensibility to classic song structure is present but in Runion’s delivery, turn of phrase and day to day observation the echoes of Townes Van Zandt and The Band’s Levon Helm that he brazenly displays as influences on his MySpace page are clear.
Having self released the album in the United States in April 2008 Michael embarked on tours US and European tours with Rilo Kiley and Alessi. He is currently to be found playing live shows with his five piece band, which features members of Whispertown 2000 and Neon Like, as well as preparing to release a 7” featuring the title track from ‘Our Time Will Come’ backed by ‘Daylight’ (a duet with Z Berg) on fledgling label Platforms Records.
Michael will be touring the UK from Sep 25th - Oct 9th where he will also make "Our Time Will Come" available from Oct 6th. His excitement both to be writing new material (he has already started preparing a follow up to “Our Time Will Come” which he believes to be a learning curve of a record) and to be playing these songs live is evoked with typical Runion honesty: “I can’t wait to play these songs for people. You spend years playing other people’s songs, and you get to see the world, but then you need to see if you can do it on your own. So far so good. They haven’t dragged me off any stages yet.”
Michael Runion
www.myspace.com/michaelrunion
"If Seinfeld and Stephen Malkmus double
teamed a demure Mexican woman and she had a baby, it
would be Mike." Z Berg of The Like
"No better man to have by your side on the hotel
floors of Dublin." Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwood
Sparks
Michael Runion grew up in Ventura CA, playing bass for crust and punk bands in thrall to the likes of Polvo and Unwound. After moving to Los Angeles and paying his rent by selling ‘zines and founding lauded silk screen clothing company Deathcamp (whose clothes have been worn by 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith and a whole host of other B list celebrities you have never heard of). As opposed to being a straight company Deathcamp was more a loose collection of artists, creatives, hipsters and hangers on all living out of a squat in East LA that soon became infamous locally.
This sense of collective pursuit of artistic integrity combined with a strong sense of communal living heavily informed the way that Michael would go on to create himself, constantly giving all he could both as an individual and in group situations. Wander around LA and on any given corner on any given day and there will be someone who has sang with, written with, shared a stage or a bar stool with Michael Runion more than willing to recount at least one tale of how he can capture and captivate in seconds.
This local infamy allowed Michael to swiftly became a constant in the bands that surround the Rilo Kiley collective including Jenny Lewis’s solo project and Sub Pop indie four-piece The Elected while continuing to mine a vein of authentic American songwriting with his own band Jamzz.
Michael’s debut solo album, ‘Our Time Will Come’, was recorded in Elliot Smith’s former studio by Grandaddy leader Jim Fairchild over a leisurely period of two months with contributions from Jonathon Rice, Ze Berg of The Like and James Valentine of Maroon 5 as well as old friends Rilo Kiley. As Michael himself has said of the record: “I basically asked all my talented friends to help make my record better, and they accepted,” says Runion. “I couldn’t have lucked into a better social group.”
The record represented a synergy of disparate influences mixed to great effect with characteristic honesty displaying Michael’s own unique voice while remaining informed by the music and musicians that Michael has continued to surround himself with.
The familiar Saddle Creek sound that lends an air of modernist melody and pop sensibility to classic song structure is present but in Runion’s delivery, turn of phrase and day to day observation the echoes of Townes Van Zandt and The Band’s Levon Helm that he brazenly displays as influences on his MySpace page are clear.
Having self released the album in the United States in April 2008 Michael embarked on tours US and European tours with Rilo Kiley and Alessi. He is currently to be found playing live shows with his five piece band, which features members of Whispertown 2000 and Neon Like, as well as preparing to release a 7” featuring the title track from ‘Our Time Will Come’ backed by ‘Daylight’ (a duet with Z Berg) on fledgling label Platforms Records.
Michael will be touring the UK from Sep 25th - Oct 9th where he will also make "Our Time Will Come" available from Oct 6th. His excitement both to be writing new material (he has already started preparing a follow up to “Our Time Will Come” which he believes to be a learning curve of a record) and to be playing these songs live is evoked with typical Runion honesty: “I can’t wait to play these songs for people. You spend years playing other people’s songs, and you get to see the world, but then you need to see if you can do it on your own. So far so good. They haven’t dragged me off any stages yet.”
Gigwise Interview: Micachu
Micachu interview I did for Gigwise.
Micachu
Micachu is perhaps the consummate post post pop phenomenon. Young, intelligent, attuned, intuitive, hyper aware and hyper exposed she has sucked in influences like a hungry void and re-emitted them coughing, spluttering and shiny new. Her songs shudder, stop and start, loaded with wide eyed ideas and idealistic innocence. The concept of a boundary is ignored to the point of total irrelevance, laughed at, tripped over and then sung about. Her youthful exuberance and ad hoc ability to move, manipulate and utiluse technology as willingly as her trusty, battered pawn shop acoustic has spawned unique day glow, junk hop, rubbish pop nuggets of sheer glee that have seen fans as diverse as Bat For Lashes and Saul Williams queueing up to ardently tip their hats and pledge allegiance. None more so than the rennaisance man of beat and string juxtopistion himself: Mathew Herbert who jumped at the chance to record the 21 year olds album in his home studio.
While Micachu now shares billing with friends Marc Pell (drums) and Raisa Khan (keys and electronics) who form her backing band, The Shapes, Micachu’s music remains very much her own singular, skewed vision and equally very much in the lineage offbeat pop musicians from The Silver Apples, to Beefheart to Bjork (another fan). In terms of contemporaries you are probably better off looking towards the wonky sounds of Rustie than the lazy Mike Skinner comparisons that seem to currently be chucked around. Latest single ‘Golden Phone’ (available now, Accidental Records) is as good place as any to enter into Micachu’s weird world of strums, beats and err… hoovers.
How are you today?
Micachu: Good, it’s really nice, nice weather. How are you?
Pretty tired. I feel bad. You look really uncomfortable. How much do you hate interviews on a scale of 1-10?
Micachu: 10? It’s not one of those things where it’s like, “are we lucky we have them?”, they’re pretty um, you just can’t do them right, if you know what I mean.
How long ago did you make the decision to go from just you on your own to playing with a band?
Micachu: Uh, 8 months ago. I was going off being on stage on my own. I mean, if it’s just doing production and stuff then being by yourself is ok but being on stage you just feel like an idiot. I don’t know, being by yourself is rubbish.
How long have you been producing for?
Micachu: Umm, since I was like 14 or 15. It was just a genuine love for the production of music. Listening to Tiger Beat 6 stuff. Drop The Lime and some hip hop and stuff.
And how far away from those early influences are you now?
Micachu: Pretty far.
Marc: I think its good get the difference between the live sound with the band compared to the electronic sound being produced.
Micachu: Yeah, I hate the way bands sound on CD. Well, not hate, I just think that, if they’re playing the same songs in the same arrangements it’s so obvious. I just think for your own piece of mind, being in a band, I mean how sick do you think we get of playing our same songs every night for years? Obviously it’s a great job, but you’ve got to change it up, keep trying to make it different so it remains fresh. We want it to become more like that. Changing live. I think that’s familiarity with playing together as well. You know you’ve got a certain amount of trust on stage
Has playing with the band had an effect on what you have been doing in the studio afterwards?
Micachu: Yeah. I think the aspects of simplicity and things that work when you’re doing things live can translate back pretty fast. There’s things you can do on a record that can be a bit busier and less focused, people have the option to listen to it a little less focused, but live people are just standing there with instruments, you’ve got to pare things down a bit, unless you’re making a real gesture with having real textured kind of meshing. I think the ideas of simplicity are what I’ve considered more in pop songs.
Marc: Simplicity is actually really hard to a do.
Micachu: To do well without just putting out shit and being boring
I have to ask you about the hoover.
Micachu: Well, the hoover thing comes from the original track that I produced with it because it was about listening to records when you hoover up. I was listening to a lot of records with the hoover on which is counter productive obviously, and I thought it’d be nice to start the record off with the sound of a hoover for all the other people that blatantly do that as well. When I bought it to the band I was like: “Why don’t we put a real hoover in?” because I thought it’d be funny. Obviously it’s silly, but you can get loads of tones out of it and you can filter it with the mic. It’s kind of a happy accident really. The other aspect of it is Harry Partch, He played and created his own instruments because western instruments couldn’t create the tonality he was after so he built out of necessity and he is a big influence.
What else has influenced you sonically?
Micachu: There’s so much stuff. Captain Beefheart, Nirvana, good pop and I love dance music.
Can you hear all of that on the album?
Micachu: I hope so. Half of it’s been my production and half of it is with The Shapes. Which is really interesting because it’s half of it’s like cleanly put together and the other half is live. We’ve been making it in Whitstable in Kent which has been nice.
In Mathew Herbert’s studio?
Micachu: Yeah. He’s been great. He gets it.
Lyrically what inspires you?
Micachu: To be honest with you, simple things. I try and avoid doing things about love just because I haven’t really had that much heartbreak; it would just be contrived and a little bit boring. ‘Golden Phone’ we found out had a quite interesting resonance though. It was originally about monsters and then we found out that on the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Fransico, there is a golden phone that people who are going to commit suicide can call up.
Marc: So the whole song’s basically about suicide
Not quite as light hearted as monsters. How did your mixtape come about?
Micachu: Oh, I’d done all these tracks with these rappers and I’d also done all these pop songs and I was never going to release the pop stuff so I just gave it all away on the internet. I’m actually doing another one, It’s going to be a bit shorter this time though.
And how about your night, the isle of S & M?
Micachu: That was a bit like and experiment in music. It’s gone a bit under, but we’re bringing it back this year. Basically it’s getting a balance between a respectful audience because the places are quiet and having an unpretentious atmosphere as well. It’s pretty relaxed, but it’s sort of like you have to be, because it’s quiet and you really have to listen.
Marc: You look at schools in like Newham and they have to sit in concert halls and take stuff in properly, there’s not enough of that now a days, there’ just people everywhere, people don’t just chill out and watch something.
Micachu: Yeah, it’s good when you don’t have those social barriers, people can be lost in their own little world. It would be great if people liked it either way though I guess.
Micachu
Micachu is perhaps the consummate post post pop phenomenon. Young, intelligent, attuned, intuitive, hyper aware and hyper exposed she has sucked in influences like a hungry void and re-emitted them coughing, spluttering and shiny new. Her songs shudder, stop and start, loaded with wide eyed ideas and idealistic innocence. The concept of a boundary is ignored to the point of total irrelevance, laughed at, tripped over and then sung about. Her youthful exuberance and ad hoc ability to move, manipulate and utiluse technology as willingly as her trusty, battered pawn shop acoustic has spawned unique day glow, junk hop, rubbish pop nuggets of sheer glee that have seen fans as diverse as Bat For Lashes and Saul Williams queueing up to ardently tip their hats and pledge allegiance. None more so than the rennaisance man of beat and string juxtopistion himself: Mathew Herbert who jumped at the chance to record the 21 year olds album in his home studio.
While Micachu now shares billing with friends Marc Pell (drums) and Raisa Khan (keys and electronics) who form her backing band, The Shapes, Micachu’s music remains very much her own singular, skewed vision and equally very much in the lineage offbeat pop musicians from The Silver Apples, to Beefheart to Bjork (another fan). In terms of contemporaries you are probably better off looking towards the wonky sounds of Rustie than the lazy Mike Skinner comparisons that seem to currently be chucked around. Latest single ‘Golden Phone’ (available now, Accidental Records) is as good place as any to enter into Micachu’s weird world of strums, beats and err… hoovers.
How are you today?
Micachu: Good, it’s really nice, nice weather. How are you?
Pretty tired. I feel bad. You look really uncomfortable. How much do you hate interviews on a scale of 1-10?
Micachu: 10? It’s not one of those things where it’s like, “are we lucky we have them?”, they’re pretty um, you just can’t do them right, if you know what I mean.
How long ago did you make the decision to go from just you on your own to playing with a band?
Micachu: Uh, 8 months ago. I was going off being on stage on my own. I mean, if it’s just doing production and stuff then being by yourself is ok but being on stage you just feel like an idiot. I don’t know, being by yourself is rubbish.
How long have you been producing for?
Micachu: Umm, since I was like 14 or 15. It was just a genuine love for the production of music. Listening to Tiger Beat 6 stuff. Drop The Lime and some hip hop and stuff.
And how far away from those early influences are you now?
Micachu: Pretty far.
Marc: I think its good get the difference between the live sound with the band compared to the electronic sound being produced.
Micachu: Yeah, I hate the way bands sound on CD. Well, not hate, I just think that, if they’re playing the same songs in the same arrangements it’s so obvious. I just think for your own piece of mind, being in a band, I mean how sick do you think we get of playing our same songs every night for years? Obviously it’s a great job, but you’ve got to change it up, keep trying to make it different so it remains fresh. We want it to become more like that. Changing live. I think that’s familiarity with playing together as well. You know you’ve got a certain amount of trust on stage
Has playing with the band had an effect on what you have been doing in the studio afterwards?
Micachu: Yeah. I think the aspects of simplicity and things that work when you’re doing things live can translate back pretty fast. There’s things you can do on a record that can be a bit busier and less focused, people have the option to listen to it a little less focused, but live people are just standing there with instruments, you’ve got to pare things down a bit, unless you’re making a real gesture with having real textured kind of meshing. I think the ideas of simplicity are what I’ve considered more in pop songs.
Marc: Simplicity is actually really hard to a do.
Micachu: To do well without just putting out shit and being boring
I have to ask you about the hoover.
Micachu: Well, the hoover thing comes from the original track that I produced with it because it was about listening to records when you hoover up. I was listening to a lot of records with the hoover on which is counter productive obviously, and I thought it’d be nice to start the record off with the sound of a hoover for all the other people that blatantly do that as well. When I bought it to the band I was like: “Why don’t we put a real hoover in?” because I thought it’d be funny. Obviously it’s silly, but you can get loads of tones out of it and you can filter it with the mic. It’s kind of a happy accident really. The other aspect of it is Harry Partch, He played and created his own instruments because western instruments couldn’t create the tonality he was after so he built out of necessity and he is a big influence.
What else has influenced you sonically?
Micachu: There’s so much stuff. Captain Beefheart, Nirvana, good pop and I love dance music.
Can you hear all of that on the album?
Micachu: I hope so. Half of it’s been my production and half of it is with The Shapes. Which is really interesting because it’s half of it’s like cleanly put together and the other half is live. We’ve been making it in Whitstable in Kent which has been nice.
In Mathew Herbert’s studio?
Micachu: Yeah. He’s been great. He gets it.
Lyrically what inspires you?
Micachu: To be honest with you, simple things. I try and avoid doing things about love just because I haven’t really had that much heartbreak; it would just be contrived and a little bit boring. ‘Golden Phone’ we found out had a quite interesting resonance though. It was originally about monsters and then we found out that on the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Fransico, there is a golden phone that people who are going to commit suicide can call up.
Marc: So the whole song’s basically about suicide
Not quite as light hearted as monsters. How did your mixtape come about?
Micachu: Oh, I’d done all these tracks with these rappers and I’d also done all these pop songs and I was never going to release the pop stuff so I just gave it all away on the internet. I’m actually doing another one, It’s going to be a bit shorter this time though.
And how about your night, the isle of S & M?
Micachu: That was a bit like and experiment in music. It’s gone a bit under, but we’re bringing it back this year. Basically it’s getting a balance between a respectful audience because the places are quiet and having an unpretentious atmosphere as well. It’s pretty relaxed, but it’s sort of like you have to be, because it’s quiet and you really have to listen.
Marc: You look at schools in like Newham and they have to sit in concert halls and take stuff in properly, there’s not enough of that now a days, there’ just people everywhere, people don’t just chill out and watch something.
Micachu: Yeah, it’s good when you don’t have those social barriers, people can be lost in their own little world. It would be great if people liked it either way though I guess.
Vice v6n9 Record Reviews
Wovenhand
Ten Stones
Sounds Familyre
9 There is a scene in Searching For The Wrong Eyed Jesus where David Eugene Edwards sings ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ on his banjo in the middle of a deserted forest near where he lives. Alone. In a logwood cabin. It’s scarier than that time I watched Profondo Rosso on peyote.
Leadjelly
Indian Jewelry
Free Gold
We Are Free
8 Where did these guys go? Everyone was loosing their poop over them a couple of years back then they go to ground without a whimper. Sounds like they’ve been holed up perfecting the art of blowing pop music through intricate webs of static that sound sweeter than Chiang Mai opium. Guess obscurity’s loss is our gain.
Avant Jams
Adventure
Adventure
Carpark
4 Sheesh. I’ve heard so much Whamy Girl Talking Deacon stuff spew out of Baltimore now that if I hear another diminished bleep arpeggio stolen from some four year old kids Casio keyboard I might just go all Jack Torrance. What gives guys? Did Omar steel all your guitars or something?
Jam City
Selfish Cunt
English Chamber Music
Sparrows Tear
6 Remember this lot? The Rhythm Factory? Nudity and shit slinging outside Buckingham Palace? Is it coming back yet? No? Oh well. Martin is still all pissed off about pretty much everything and sounds a bit like a fox being raped but the tunes are taught blasts of post-punk that make the whole thing surprisingly enjoyable.
Pewter Perret
Trash Talk
Trash Talk
Reflections
4 This tricks you into thinking it’s going to be one of those boring, slow, instrumental albums that stopped being fun after the first two minutes of the first Baroness record. It then decides to switch gear and lurches into sounding like something Deep 6 would have put out ten years ago. All of which is more than a little confusing.
Circle Jams
King Khan & The Shrines
The Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines
Vice Records
9 We felt so bad that a 10 piece band effortlessly squidging together garage, soul and rockabilly while featuring Stevie Wonder’s live percussionist, a saxophonist called Big Fried Rollercoaster and a singer going by King Khan (who looks a little like Santana moonlighting in a Bollywood funk orchestra) that we decided to re-release the cream of their back catalogue in one handy morsel. Thanks us!
Bobby Steals
xOne Wayx/Youth Of Strength
Split LP
Boss Tuneage
9 When Youth Of Strength’s incredible ‘Shouting For A Better Tomorrow’ 7” ‘resurfaced’ last year the clamour for more material could hardly be heard above the smacking of bandana clad heads and fists raised in resolute unity. Here you get at least 30 more tracks with titles like ‘STD (Straight Till Death)’ and ‘KFC (Keep Fucking Clean) as well as whole side from fellow US tongue in cheek guys xOne Wayx. Unite the Boston edge…
Al Barrel
Growing
All The Way
The Social Registry
9 I wonder what would happen if Growing disappeared? Their music has become such a personal constant that it might be like no longer being able to see a colour. Not a really important colour. Something subtle. Like magenta. You probably don’t think you’d miss magenta but I bet if you couldn’t see it any more you’d feel mighty weird.
Petey Monkey
Nissenenmondai
Tori/Neji
Smalltown Supersound
9 If most bands named their tracks things like ‘This Heat’, ‘Sonic Youth’ and ‘Pop Group’ you’d probably not be wrong in moving on swiftly. Luckily Nissenmondai are three hyper cute Japanese girls who are so ferociously good at playing rhythmic, no wave, repeat-y stuff you want to shrink them down and carry them around everywhere you go like a little pocket-size personal house band.
Merzblow
Kylie Minoise
Kylie Minoise Fucking Loves You
Kovorox Sound
5 Is this the best named band of the month or the worse? While I am tempted to go with the latter the jarring power electronics that are burnt onto the disc like screaming torture victims having their fingernails pulled off one by one are pretty hard to argue with.
White Mouse
Sic Alps
U.S. EZ
Siltbreeze
8 How did some tiny Philadelphia independent that used to put out Dead C and Harry Pussy records become like the Chess of lo fi? Sic Alps don’t stray too far from the play sheet but the woozy psychedelia and mini garage operas still sound gloriously swampy enough to keep these ears interested. Until the next one.
Mick The Spanish
Rolo Tomassi
Hysterics
Hassle
8 This one seems like it’s been a long time coming. Then you remember that these guys probably still only have a collective age of about 17. Eva continues to sound like a disturbed, wailing banshee and the keys and guitars still go all over the place in time signatures that probably don’t exist once you hit puberty but you wouldn’t want it any other way.
Screamo George
David Vandervelde
Waiting For The Sunrise
Secretly Canadian
6 Another big beard wheels out his beardy buddies and whispers hushed paens to the breeze, rain, sun, road etc ad infinitum. The sincerity almost drowns you but the sheer warmth in this guys voice should tide you through the winter ahead like a nice sonic hot water bottle. Mmm, cosy.
Vinny Bones
Ten Stones
Sounds Familyre
9 There is a scene in Searching For The Wrong Eyed Jesus where David Eugene Edwards sings ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ on his banjo in the middle of a deserted forest near where he lives. Alone. In a logwood cabin. It’s scarier than that time I watched Profondo Rosso on peyote.
Leadjelly
Indian Jewelry
Free Gold
We Are Free
8 Where did these guys go? Everyone was loosing their poop over them a couple of years back then they go to ground without a whimper. Sounds like they’ve been holed up perfecting the art of blowing pop music through intricate webs of static that sound sweeter than Chiang Mai opium. Guess obscurity’s loss is our gain.
Avant Jams
Adventure
Adventure
Carpark
4 Sheesh. I’ve heard so much Whamy Girl Talking Deacon stuff spew out of Baltimore now that if I hear another diminished bleep arpeggio stolen from some four year old kids Casio keyboard I might just go all Jack Torrance. What gives guys? Did Omar steel all your guitars or something?
Jam City
Selfish Cunt
English Chamber Music
Sparrows Tear
6 Remember this lot? The Rhythm Factory? Nudity and shit slinging outside Buckingham Palace? Is it coming back yet? No? Oh well. Martin is still all pissed off about pretty much everything and sounds a bit like a fox being raped but the tunes are taught blasts of post-punk that make the whole thing surprisingly enjoyable.
Pewter Perret
Trash Talk
Trash Talk
Reflections
4 This tricks you into thinking it’s going to be one of those boring, slow, instrumental albums that stopped being fun after the first two minutes of the first Baroness record. It then decides to switch gear and lurches into sounding like something Deep 6 would have put out ten years ago. All of which is more than a little confusing.
Circle Jams
King Khan & The Shrines
The Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines
Vice Records
9 We felt so bad that a 10 piece band effortlessly squidging together garage, soul and rockabilly while featuring Stevie Wonder’s live percussionist, a saxophonist called Big Fried Rollercoaster and a singer going by King Khan (who looks a little like Santana moonlighting in a Bollywood funk orchestra) that we decided to re-release the cream of their back catalogue in one handy morsel. Thanks us!
Bobby Steals
xOne Wayx/Youth Of Strength
Split LP
Boss Tuneage
9 When Youth Of Strength’s incredible ‘Shouting For A Better Tomorrow’ 7” ‘resurfaced’ last year the clamour for more material could hardly be heard above the smacking of bandana clad heads and fists raised in resolute unity. Here you get at least 30 more tracks with titles like ‘STD (Straight Till Death)’ and ‘KFC (Keep Fucking Clean) as well as whole side from fellow US tongue in cheek guys xOne Wayx. Unite the Boston edge…
Al Barrel
Growing
All The Way
The Social Registry
9 I wonder what would happen if Growing disappeared? Their music has become such a personal constant that it might be like no longer being able to see a colour. Not a really important colour. Something subtle. Like magenta. You probably don’t think you’d miss magenta but I bet if you couldn’t see it any more you’d feel mighty weird.
Petey Monkey
Nissenenmondai
Tori/Neji
Smalltown Supersound
9 If most bands named their tracks things like ‘This Heat’, ‘Sonic Youth’ and ‘Pop Group’ you’d probably not be wrong in moving on swiftly. Luckily Nissenmondai are three hyper cute Japanese girls who are so ferociously good at playing rhythmic, no wave, repeat-y stuff you want to shrink them down and carry them around everywhere you go like a little pocket-size personal house band.
Merzblow
Kylie Minoise
Kylie Minoise Fucking Loves You
Kovorox Sound
5 Is this the best named band of the month or the worse? While I am tempted to go with the latter the jarring power electronics that are burnt onto the disc like screaming torture victims having their fingernails pulled off one by one are pretty hard to argue with.
White Mouse
Sic Alps
U.S. EZ
Siltbreeze
8 How did some tiny Philadelphia independent that used to put out Dead C and Harry Pussy records become like the Chess of lo fi? Sic Alps don’t stray too far from the play sheet but the woozy psychedelia and mini garage operas still sound gloriously swampy enough to keep these ears interested. Until the next one.
Mick The Spanish
Rolo Tomassi
Hysterics
Hassle
8 This one seems like it’s been a long time coming. Then you remember that these guys probably still only have a collective age of about 17. Eva continues to sound like a disturbed, wailing banshee and the keys and guitars still go all over the place in time signatures that probably don’t exist once you hit puberty but you wouldn’t want it any other way.
Screamo George
David Vandervelde
Waiting For The Sunrise
Secretly Canadian
6 Another big beard wheels out his beardy buddies and whispers hushed paens to the breeze, rain, sun, road etc ad infinitum. The sincerity almost drowns you but the sheer warmth in this guys voice should tide you through the winter ahead like a nice sonic hot water bottle. Mmm, cosy.
Vinny Bones
Vice v6n9 Literary Reviews
Don’t Cry Tonight
Dana Lauren Goldstein
ML Project
Hmm, it’s always scary when someone the same age as you is doing stuff so good it makes you want to never sleep again until you’ve resolved some way to start even trying to get within touching distance of that good. We featured Dana’s work in our annual Photo Issue a couple of months back and if you liked those shots you are sure to like this tidy ‘zine. A collection of snapshots that capture and reflect the day to day that Dana surrounds herself with. The shots never seem forced or intrusive; they simply mirror. Blood spattered pavements, beautiful boys, beautiful-er girls and a black and white spread of the best collection of punk patches I’ve ever seen.
mlproject.com
Modern Hate Vibe no. 2
Bryony Beynon used to play in a band called Back Stabbath. I saw them support Whitehouse once and they sounded a bit like Man Is The Bastard sondtracking a brutally bloody period. A girl called Maya used to be in that band too. I haven’t seen her for ages but she once gave me a really nice DIY Infest shirt out of the blue. It was a really nice gift and I treasure it to this day. Modern Hate Vibe is a bit like that: a shot out of the blue you’re really glad you got. Bryony sings in The Sceptres these days (you should really check them out) and she certainly seems no less angry than in the Back Stabbath days. Cut and paste bile and spit on various topical ills as well as an interview with possibly the best hardcore band in the country right now: Mob Rules. You should check them out too.
bryonyismyname@hotmail.com
Chimps no. 10
Chimp is a ‘zine put out by Layla Gibbon. You might know Layla from her pretty ferocious columns in Maximum Rock & Roll. They are one of the things in there that I still really enjoy reading. Anyhoo, Chimp is a far more DIY affair than MRR. In fact it doesn’t even have any staples. It is however a very useful outlet for extended interviews cut and pasted onto grainy black and white live shots and cool fliers. This issue is particularly worth seeking out as it features interviews with Sex Vid (remember them from v6n3?), Sharon Cheslow (y’know from Chalk Circle) and Kendara Gaeta fro Big Brother back from when that was a hoot a page too.
layla.gibbon@gmail.com
Feral Debris no.3
Feral Debris is a thoughtfully put together black and white ‘zine that comes out of the Midlands fairly irregularly. Its irregularity can be forgiven a) because ‘zines aren’t meant to be regular (d’uh) and b) it’s always really really good. Like the Sound Projector without the constant wiff of roll neck sweater and elbow patches. I hadn’t even heard of Simply Saucer until I tucked into this and now I feel like a gigantic ignoramus who badly needs to start playing ‘keep up with stuff’ again. You also get a free CDR featuring a bunch of bands and guys making strange noises (probably on the floor of a pub behind lots of cables, wires and delay pedals in front of about three other people) that you are equally unlikely to have heard of, some Stuart Crutchfield poems and a Lambsbread interview. What more do you want for £3?
myspace.com/feraldebris
Safecrackers no. 6
Wondering around one rainy Sunday afternoon I bumped into my friends Stuart and Matthias ‘Wolfboy’ Connor. We’ve mentioned Wolfboy and his writings in here a bunch and Stuart often helps us out with shoots and stuff. A kinder, more well read pair of people you couldn’t hope to meet. They kind of make you feel bad for spending all day staring at computer screens and want to delete yourself from all social networking sites immediately. They informed me that they had been helping man a stall at a ‘zine fair round the corner so I popped down and picked up Wolfboy’s latest work on the excellent Safecrackers series. Past issues of Safecrackers have featured things like The Wire and Growing but this time around Matt edits a retrospective of shadowy Salford beat maverick The Black Lodge who briefly burned bright after the release of the ‘Horse With No Name’ 12” on ‘Mo Wax. If you know his real name you know lots about techno music. Go on Google it. See. Nothing.
Oogaboogastore.com
Radio Silence (A Selected Visual History Of American Hardcore Music)
Nathan Nedorostek and Anthony Papalardo
Powerhouse
There have been plenty of books about Hardcore but this one might be worth getting for two reasons. One: it mainly lets up on the incessant quotes that usually just consist of Rollins complaining in endless variants on the same whinges he’s had since ‘Get In The Van’ whilst leaving the sleeves, fliers and T Shirts to do the talking. Two: where most of the books on the topic trail off after 1984 like it all ended with ‘revolution summer’ when everyone wimped out and started singing about girls and feelings this one keeps going and powers on straight through to loads of good stuff like Lifesblood, Citizen’s Arrest and Chain Of Strength.
Powerhousebooks.com
Dana Lauren Goldstein
ML Project
Hmm, it’s always scary when someone the same age as you is doing stuff so good it makes you want to never sleep again until you’ve resolved some way to start even trying to get within touching distance of that good. We featured Dana’s work in our annual Photo Issue a couple of months back and if you liked those shots you are sure to like this tidy ‘zine. A collection of snapshots that capture and reflect the day to day that Dana surrounds herself with. The shots never seem forced or intrusive; they simply mirror. Blood spattered pavements, beautiful boys, beautiful-er girls and a black and white spread of the best collection of punk patches I’ve ever seen.
mlproject.com
Modern Hate Vibe no. 2
Bryony Beynon used to play in a band called Back Stabbath. I saw them support Whitehouse once and they sounded a bit like Man Is The Bastard sondtracking a brutally bloody period. A girl called Maya used to be in that band too. I haven’t seen her for ages but she once gave me a really nice DIY Infest shirt out of the blue. It was a really nice gift and I treasure it to this day. Modern Hate Vibe is a bit like that: a shot out of the blue you’re really glad you got. Bryony sings in The Sceptres these days (you should really check them out) and she certainly seems no less angry than in the Back Stabbath days. Cut and paste bile and spit on various topical ills as well as an interview with possibly the best hardcore band in the country right now: Mob Rules. You should check them out too.
bryonyismyname@hotmail.com
Chimps no. 10
Chimp is a ‘zine put out by Layla Gibbon. You might know Layla from her pretty ferocious columns in Maximum Rock & Roll. They are one of the things in there that I still really enjoy reading. Anyhoo, Chimp is a far more DIY affair than MRR. In fact it doesn’t even have any staples. It is however a very useful outlet for extended interviews cut and pasted onto grainy black and white live shots and cool fliers. This issue is particularly worth seeking out as it features interviews with Sex Vid (remember them from v6n3?), Sharon Cheslow (y’know from Chalk Circle) and Kendara Gaeta fro Big Brother back from when that was a hoot a page too.
layla.gibbon@gmail.com
Feral Debris no.3
Feral Debris is a thoughtfully put together black and white ‘zine that comes out of the Midlands fairly irregularly. Its irregularity can be forgiven a) because ‘zines aren’t meant to be regular (d’uh) and b) it’s always really really good. Like the Sound Projector without the constant wiff of roll neck sweater and elbow patches. I hadn’t even heard of Simply Saucer until I tucked into this and now I feel like a gigantic ignoramus who badly needs to start playing ‘keep up with stuff’ again. You also get a free CDR featuring a bunch of bands and guys making strange noises (probably on the floor of a pub behind lots of cables, wires and delay pedals in front of about three other people) that you are equally unlikely to have heard of, some Stuart Crutchfield poems and a Lambsbread interview. What more do you want for £3?
myspace.com/feraldebris
Safecrackers no. 6
Wondering around one rainy Sunday afternoon I bumped into my friends Stuart and Matthias ‘Wolfboy’ Connor. We’ve mentioned Wolfboy and his writings in here a bunch and Stuart often helps us out with shoots and stuff. A kinder, more well read pair of people you couldn’t hope to meet. They kind of make you feel bad for spending all day staring at computer screens and want to delete yourself from all social networking sites immediately. They informed me that they had been helping man a stall at a ‘zine fair round the corner so I popped down and picked up Wolfboy’s latest work on the excellent Safecrackers series. Past issues of Safecrackers have featured things like The Wire and Growing but this time around Matt edits a retrospective of shadowy Salford beat maverick The Black Lodge who briefly burned bright after the release of the ‘Horse With No Name’ 12” on ‘Mo Wax. If you know his real name you know lots about techno music. Go on Google it. See. Nothing.
Oogaboogastore.com
Radio Silence (A Selected Visual History Of American Hardcore Music)
Nathan Nedorostek and Anthony Papalardo
Powerhouse
There have been plenty of books about Hardcore but this one might be worth getting for two reasons. One: it mainly lets up on the incessant quotes that usually just consist of Rollins complaining in endless variants on the same whinges he’s had since ‘Get In The Van’ whilst leaving the sleeves, fliers and T Shirts to do the talking. Two: where most of the books on the topic trail off after 1984 like it all ended with ‘revolution summer’ when everyone wimped out and started singing about girls and feelings this one keeps going and powers on straight through to loads of good stuff like Lifesblood, Citizen’s Arrest and Chain Of Strength.
Powerhousebooks.com
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