Author Archives: welcometoflavorcountry

June 4, 2012

Who are you? The Cassettes

I first heard of The Cassettes because I am a fan of Shelby’s other band, Frodus. But who ARE they? I emailed Shelby and here are his answers.

Who are you? What position do you fill in your band?

Shelby Cinca — guitarist/vocalist/occasional sound engineer

Tell me a story from your childhood, please.

I once had a pet gerbil named Fuzzy. When he passed away I was very sad and I insisted he was properly buried and set up a ritual which consisted of putting him in a cinderblock in a short walled section of our patio which had a loose slab on the top so one can access the holes of the cinderblock. I placed the gerbil down in the block and an Indiana Jones plastic mummy toy next to him. After my dad sealed the block with concrete I scrawled “hieroglyphics” on top of the slab.

When an older family member asks what kind of music you play, what do you tell her/him?

Rock N’ Roll.

I’m sure you have been asked a number of times about how the band got together. So, could you please make up a story about how you all got together? No, really. Just make something up. Knock yourself out.

The real story is pretty interesting actually. The current lineup came to life in 2002— upon completing our 1st album I went to Paris and was visiting friends and while being there I sensed in the force that something was up with the band and emailed my buddy Saadat Awan saying that we should jam one of these days as I remembered him mentioning a year before he’d be interested in playing music with me. When I returned home the band met up and stated that they were going to quit and focus on their other band Dead Meadow. We played our record release show being the first and last with the original lineup and then three weeks later I played CMJ with Saadat Awan on drums as a two piece opening for Dead Meadow with a bunch of new material and some old!

What was the first album you bought that ignited your love for music?

John Williams’ Return Of The Jedi soundtrack. I loved the band in Jabba’s palace, Max Rebo & The Rebo Band with their hit “Lapti Nek” which was edited out in the newer versions of the movie.

It seems we all have that person who got us into non-mainstream music (punk/hardcore/indie/metal/emo)? Who was that person for you?

Probably my older brother as he was always listening to punk and “alternative” music throughout the 80s and the 90s.

There is nothing new under the sun, so, let’s be honest: musically you’re ripping somebody off. Who is it?

Huun Huur Tu.

Why should I listen to your music?

I think we bring something interesting to the rock music genre with some more world music influences and sounds. Some songs our drummer sings in Urdu and we like to incorporate different sounds/instrumentations to a traditional rock n’ roll structure.

Where can someone go on the internet to listen to your songs?

http://thecassettes.bandcamp.com

Leave a comment | tags: music, shelby cinca, frodus, the cassettes, dead meadow, john williams, return of the jedi, huun huur tu | posted in Interviews, Who are you?

May 29, 2012

An interview with Amy Adoyzie

By welcometoflavorcountry

Amy Adoyzie is a fine lady who I know of through the magic of Razorcake. We finally met this past summer in Portland, Oregon, after knowing one another for many years, and she is just as awesome in person as I figured she’d be.

Illustration by Amanda Kirk

When you went to teach English in China, did it help you understand your parents any better by living in that culture?

It helped me to understand what I knew about them, but not necessarily who they are. If that makes sense.

Sort of, but can you expound upon that?

The thing is that my parents didn’t grow up in China. My parents were both born in Vietnam. But we’re ethnically Chinese. I think the mainland Chinese that live there now weren’t raised much different than my parents because of the Cultural Revolution. People my parents age would have lived through that. They’ve had a really different upbringing in that way. My parents had to go through a war in Vietnam. So in that way it’s different.

It didn’t directly tell me more about who they were but more in an indirect way. The way I can explain it is like this: Before I went to China my parents didn’t want me to go. I think there were a lot of reasons, but I think one of the main reasons was that they wondered why I would want to volunteer in a developing country. I know that China is becoming a huge economic powerhouse, but there are many parts of China that are very underdeveloped and people would consider them a developing country. There’s this notion that my parents came here so I could have a stable job and earn a stable income and not to go back to the native country and live and work there. So that’s something that showed me who they are.

When I was getting ready to leave they were really worried about me and how I would survive there. They were concerned I would get hurt or harmed somehow by thieves or bad food or whatever. My mom told me that she saw some story on the news about how they re-use broth. When you’re done with your soup they’ll pour it back in the pot and heat it up again. Things like that. They were worried I would get ripped off. So it wasn’t so much cultural things there that showed me who they are as it was how they felt about me being there that showed me who they are.

They were being paranoid and over-protective of me and actually very negative about me doing this. They also don’t have this idea of volunteer service. I think that’s because of where they came from and how they got here which is more of a dog-eat-dog culture.

Were they South Vietnamese?

Yeah. They both lived about three hours from Ho Chi Minh City.

So they came after the war was over?

Yeah. In ’79.

Did they come directly to Los Angeles or did they move around a little before settling there?

I don’t know if you want to hear about how they got here.

Sure. Whatever you want to talk about.

My mom and dad didn’t know each other in Vietnam. Things there were pretty dire, though. My mom told me about how they had to eat roadkill once – a dog that got hit by a car. Things like that.

I guess a boat pulled up to shore – I don’t know if this is true, but it’s the story they told me – and they literally had a split second to decide if they wanted to get in the boat. They knew it was a refugee boat and there was only so much room. That boat would take them to Thailand and then they would get processed through Hong Kong and then they would get sent to America, or wherever.

So, my mom, who is the oldest of six children, and her brother, who is the second oldest, got in the boat. And my dad got in the boat too. That’s how my parents met. My mom had another boyfriend at the time, but she got on the boat. The way I heard the story is that she didn’t even have time to say goodbye to her parents.

My mom has terrible motion sickness and so my dad helped my mom with her sea sickness. And when they got to port where they process you, my mom had the choice to go to Australia where she had an uncle or go to the States with my dad. And she chose to go to the States. So, my parents weren’t in love when they came here. I think my mom and dad got together for survival’s sake. They weren’t in love in our Western, romantic sense. I think they were in love in another way.

So they went to LA because my dad had a brother there and that’s where I was born in Chinatown in Los Angeles.

How did you get into music and writing, since I’m guessing it wasn’t instilled in you in your home life?

I think I just wanted to escape. I think I found that through the Arts. Either watching TV or things I learned at school. I just wanted to be someone else. I always felt like I didn’t fit in with my family, and I didn’t fit in with my community. I created these worlds. I started writing when I was in third or fourth grade. I would write these stories about this curly, permed, blonde-haired girl. I’d draw her and her name was Angela because that seemed like a white person’s name. She was popular and a cheerleader and her friends were always jealous of her. Her boyfriend was a football player. I drew these stories out and then I never showed them to anyone. I made book covers for them out of construction paper and put them together like they were books.

Nobody recognized I wrote until I was in sixth grade. My parents had bought an electronic typewriter and I decided to type out my class’s yearbook. I had no idea what a yearbook was and I viewed it abstractly from watching TV. So I wrote out all these weird stories about my classmates. Just totally random, made-up shit. The sports section had all these stories about how our teams played others schools, but I didn’t know anything about sports. All I knew was about basketball because my uncle liked to watch the Lakers play and so I’d be writing about baseball and the final scores would be 89 to 92 because I didn’t know any better.

I would write totally random, fake stories about my classmates and it was just for me. But one time in sixth grade I had re-written the Christmas Carol with my classmates in it. And I showed it to my teacher and she loved it so much she had me go into another classroom and read it for them. And around that time I showed them the yearbook I had written and everybody thought it was super funny and interesting. And then I thought, “Oh, this is my thing now. I like to write silly stories about people I know.”

I also think that in Junior High School I got totally into reading terrible young adult horror fiction. Did you ever read Christopher Pike?

I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know if I’ve ever read anything by him.

I’d read his stuff and then before middle school I’d read Garfield and the Peanuts cartoons.

Oh god…

And I loved Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series because I identified a lot with Ramona.

Really?

Yeah, because she’s mischievous and stubborn and a know-it-all and a brat. And even if I didn’t show it all the time, I felt that way. And all the time I was reading my mom would see me reading and be upset with me. For my parents, they didn’t understand reading for pleasure. In their minds, you read to get knowledge so you can do your homework and get good grades.

Hmm. That’s interesting. So, we had talked before we started recording about making some changes in our respective lives. Do you have any you want to mention?

I really want to travel again. It’s been years. And I’m referring to serious travelling. I just want to pack my backpack and get on an airplane and go somewhere. But that’s also unsatisfying because it’s like traveling in vain. I have to be doing something, too. I have to have a purpose when I travel. So I’ve had to think and re-evaluate the things that make me feel good and purposeful when I’m traveling. I think one thing is helping to share stories of people whose stories don’t get shared. But I have to find those stories. I don’t know what those stories are. But that’s also sticky because I also feel like a very privileged American. It’s like, “Let me tell your story for you!” I recognize that there are citizen journalists in every country. They can tell their own fuckin’ stories. Who the fuck am I to tell their stories? I know I’ve told stories that haven’t been told before. I know they exist. I just don’t know where they are and if they are better equipped to tell them than I am.

I think I just think too much. I think about things to the point where I wonder if I should even do them. Some people miss that part of their brain where they don’t think enough and then they do some crazy shit. I want that to be removed from my brain so that I can act that way sometimes.

You don’t do any crazy shit anymore?

I do some crazy stuff now and then. I’ve been thinking of doing some more photojournalist things, but I don’t know what stories I want to tell. I’m just stuck.

Does this mean you’ve put away the idea of grad school for good or just for a while?

Probably for good because I don’t want to be in debt any more than I already am. A lot of people around me think that I don’t need it. I think a lot of people in my life – it’s not that they think it’s a waste of money, but that I don’t need to pay to learn these things.

I think if I were to go to grad school for writing, a lot of people would say, “Why would you do that? You can write.” In a way, I get that. I’m so stuck right now that I can’t imagine going to school for writing.

So, since I know your writing through Razorcake, I’m curious how long you’ve been doing the column for them.

Since 2005. It was crazy when I got that call. As a person who writes and a person who does zines, that was a big fucking deal to get a column in a punk zine like that.

Totally.

I wrote a column about how I ended up with the column and I was so much ballsier then. When I first met Todd, I told him I wanted to design a cover for the magazine. And Todd didn’t know what I could do so he asked me to do a layout first and he liked that so then I got to do some covers. And then I wrote one web column and Todd liked it and decided to put me on the roster.

Has anyone famous (at least in punk rock circles) ever reached out to you based on something that you have written in a column?

The thing about writing is that it is done in solitude. You write it, put it up, people read it, and the vast majority does not get in touch with a response. The columns I tend to get the most feedback on are the ones that are totally posi-core. People like that. People need someone to tell them that someone is experiencing a good thing in life and thus it creates hope for them. In the past two or three years since I got back from Bangladesh I think my columns have been complete downers and I recognize that, but that’s where I’m at right now. I’ve literally gotten zero feedback. I think you’ve written me a couple times but outside of you, nothing.

The one exception is this column I wrote that was probably my least well-received column. It was correlating something that Lauren Measure had written about sexism and punk rock. She pointed out how when men take their shirts off at shows it creates a sexist environment. So I wrote a column about how that small butterfly of an act does not necessarily create rape but that it contributes to a culture where it’s more susceptible to happen because it’s a patriarchal, male-centered culture where men are always allowed to assert their male-ness and female identified people are just supposed to be there to take it in.

So, I wrote that column and Todd and I got into a tangle about it because my first draft wasn’t that great. It was poorly written and not very tight. And he said, “If you’re gonna do this, you better have your shit together.” So I had to re-write it two or three times.

In my column I say that as a man, when you’re at a show, it might seem like a really innocuous act, and I can understand why you would feel that way, because that’s how we were raised. But there are people in that room who find that gesture very threatening. I’m not saying people who do that are rapists; I’m saying, “Think about what you’re doing.” Think about all the privileges you have as a male and in the punk rock scene, as a straight, white male. Your privileges are boundless sometimes.

In that same column, I wrote about how this young girl in Bangladesh was raped by her cousin and then she was lashed to death for adultery. I talk about another story of how this young girl in Texas was systemically gang-raped. I’m sure a lot of men don’t feel comfortable reading a story that talks about men taking their shirts off at basement shows and also these horrific acts of rape and death. But for me, at that moment in time when I read those stories and read Lauren’s story, I think culturally they work together. Maybe they’re thousands of miles apart, but culturally, I think there’s something there.

About male dominance.

And our culture and how men assert themselves. In a culture where half the people are not them.

I got a lot of shit from a lot of people about that, for sure.

But to get back to your question – sorry, I veered off track – there’s a columnist for MaximumRocknRoll named Mykel Board and he wrote me. He said he liked my perspective in my columns because I’m a woman but not too girly. But this column was ridiculous and he was calling me out on it. And he asked me if I wanted to respond to him because he was going to write about what I wrote in his column for MaximumRocknRoll. I was like, “Are you creating some kind of zine flame war?” I didn’t even respond. Well, maybe I’m responding now that I’m telling you about it. I don’t really care what some guy writes about what I said. It doesn’t affect me in my daily life.

What was his problem with the column?

He was also focused on the taking your shirt off thing. My point was that you should respect those around you and not take your shirt off and he said that if you’re a woman you should join in and take your shirt off. It was completely off the point of what I was talking about. I was saying that our culture is very unsafe in many respects and punk shows are theoretically supposed to be safe places and I would say the majority of women would not feel safe taking off their shirts anywhere – even at a punk show. So to say that you should liberate yourself and not adhere to these norms and join in on it – well, it’s not that easy. It’s not that simple. It was intense because he attached the column he was going to run and I just didn’t respond.

Wow. I don’t understand the taking off your shirt thing. I think maybe I would have when I was a teenager but I don’t feel comfortable enough with myself to take off my shirt. I don’t want people to look at my tattoos or my farmer’s tan. I don’t understand why dudes are so full of themselves that they would take off their shirts. You wouldn’t take off your shirt other places, so why do it at a punk show?

Personally it doesn’t bother me. But if I was a survivor of sexual assault and a bunch of men simultaneously take off their shirts and start dancing violently, it could be triggering. And I think that’s what Lauren was talking about. People who were upset about what she or I had written didn’t understand why it was that big of a deal and why we were being so sensitive. Well, it’s not for you to say how somebody else should feel. These things happen to people. Be respectful.

Well, I hope you continue to get more positive comments from your columns. If you do get negative ones, I hope they will be edifying to you in some way.

You know, for someone as sensitive as I am, they don’t bother me that much.

Do you think you would have been more sensitive to them in the past?

No, I don’t think so. I may be bothered by it for a day or two and then I let it go. Everyone has their own opinions. It’s not true of everything in my life as far as negative criticism. But as far as my column, whatever. It’s just a column in a punk zine. I’m not going to get too upset about it.

Leave a comment | tags: amy adoyzie, china, lauren measure, maximumrocknroll, punk rock, Razorcake, sexism, writing | posted in Friends & Acquaintances, Interviews

May 21, 2012

Exposed

By welcometoflavorcountry

I climbed Mt. Mansfield in Vermont last fall. It’s the tallest of all the peaks in the Green Mountain state. The temperature at the bottom was mild – in the fifties, but not any colder than what one would expect for Vermont in early October. It was a stereotypically beautiful autumn day in New England, colored leaves and all. I was comfortable as my body got moving and blood started flowing beneath long-sleeves and an undershirt with a hoodie and stocking cap. I wore my jeans and hiking shoes and fought my way past groups of college friends and Quebecois that had emerged south of the border to treat Mansfield as though it was much greater of a challenge than it really was. Poles and Camelbaks. Extensive amounts of Mountain Hardware, North Face and Columbia gear. Commands relayed in French and me repeatedly saying, “excusez moi” or “pardonnez-moi” and sure that I was mispronouncing even those simple phrases.

Above the tree line are cairns to help the hikers find their way to the top. At times I was forced to scramble up rocks over six feet tall. Exposure was greater here and by now the height was over 3000 feet. The wind started to whip hard against my face as my body alternated between sweat and chill. Fingers started to go numb and layers were taken off and placed back on to combat the temperature fluctuations between my body and the outside air.

Eventually, though, when I found myself high enough, there couldn’t be enough layers and I wondered why I hadn’t brought gloves. I was famished but had no food. I carried with me some water but I was going through it all too rapidly. I began to get just a sense of what it might be like to climb Mt. Everest or some other great peak. And what it might be like to feel so bare that I would die up there. But preferably alone and not with so many Quebecois weekend tourists.

At the 4000-foot level there was a slight leveling out of the mountain and to my left I could see, up in the cold mist, a path that lead to the peak. There were people milling about, coming up, going down and moving around on the various trails. French and English were spoken and suddenly the serious Quebecois with their poles and wintry gear didn’t seem to be so foolish as the temperature had dropped to the low thirties. I couldn’t feel my fingertips.

I have always had a drive that spurred me to do things beyond where most people stop. That drive has never led me to the insane or suicidal but I’d like to think it has aided me in doing some greater things than I might have otherwise performed. And yet, when I reached that plateau, I knew I was in over my head. I hadn’t dressed appropriately and the slight, non-insulated, cotton pockets of a hooded sweatshirt weren’t doing anything to help fight the sting that the frigid wind whipped against my hands and ten fingers.

At this point I had no doubts about receding down the side of the mountain the way I came. The wind attacked me and I was left exposed above the tree line. It’s often said that the trek down a mountain can be just as hard as the way up because the body is worn and the mind isn’t as sharp. It fools itself into believing that the real work is done. I felt exhaustion and a sense of hurry the likes of which I hadn’t experienced in quite some time. But finally I made it down the mountain; my muscles screaming, my body drained but slightly warmed.

Being with you exposes and exhausts me more than any of that.

Leave a comment | tags: hiking, relationships, vermont | posted in Non-fiction

May 14, 2012

Coyotes

By welcometoflavorcountry

I asked you if you had had a previous entanglement with Jesus and you said yes, but it was many years ago. Some 31 years, in fact. Where was it? I asked. You said it was outside of town, out in the desert, away from folks in their fancy homes and Cadillacs and BMWs. It wasn’t too far from where we were standing now.

What was it like? Did you feel his hand coming down upon you? I quivered, hoping that he had felt the same passion I had once hoped for.

No, he said, with a bleak look upon his face. It was subtle and quiet. Just a whisper. I thought it would last forever but it went as quiet and easy as it came.

And then what? I asked. What happened next?

I ran. He said. I ran for the next 31 years.

But why 31? Why not 29 or 18 or 33? Why 31? What was so special about that number?

I don’t know, Nick. It just happened that way. God’s gonna do what God’s gonna do and who am I to try and change Him? I just do my best now to live the life that I know He would want me to live.

But what is that life? How do you live it? I was growing more desperate in my search for the truth. Any insights would be greatly appreciated, I said. I had quit going to church some years before but still felt God pulling the strings to my heart. I didn’t even know they existed: my heartstrings AND my heart. They had all been so darkened up until now. Ruined, I even thought.

I glanced out on the horizon. I saw, in the field, a coyote with something hanging from its mouth. At first I thought it was a dead rabbit but then knew it was something else, as the package yet had life in it. It was a pup. One of the coyote’s children, I imagined, and the mother was taking the child back to the den for safekeeping. Often times they’ll run away and it’s the mother’s job to keep an eye on her brood.

With this child, my legacy shall be secure, I imagined the mother coyote said to herself.

I said, I wonder what she is thinking. Does she understand her legacy? I said this last sentence out loud to my friend, the farmer. He looked me in the eye and sighed.

Ain’t a lot of good for these coyotes to be out here. They’re just going to get shot one of these days.

By who? I asked. I feared for the mother’s safety. I wanted to be a mother one day. Or a father. Couldn’t I be both?

By me, the farmer said. Or by some other guy who sees the coyote tresspassin’. They’ll eat up your smaller livestock if they get the chance. Pigs, chickens – might even take down your dog. Or heck, the dog may go and join them! He said with a chuckle. Ain’t too many dogs out there that can avoid their true nature.

What about God, though? I asked.

What about him? the farmer replied.

Where does he fit into your life now? I said with a genuine sense of curiosity.

He fits quite nicely, if I do say so myself. Although the final judge of that will have to be God Himself, I suppose. He looked at me with a plain but bright look. Things were just what they were in his world.

I suppose that’s true, I said.

Nick you have to understand, he said, focused. He looked me right in the eye. God’s gonna do what God’s gonna do. You can’t change that. He is who He’s always been and that ain’t ever going to change. No matter how much we may want it to, it just ain’t gonna happen.

You think so? I asked

I know so, he replied. I seen it in my life. As much as this world goes from bad to worse, it seems as though God is the same He’s ever been. Yesterday, today and forever. For-ever. He said this last word in two distinct syllables, wanting to emphasize the elongated time period that forever really was.

Well, for your sake I hope you’re right. I told him. If that’s what helps then that’s what is best for you, I suppose.

Oh, I KNOW it is best for me. It might be good for you, too, Nick. You never know. But I suspect it is.

Perhaps I said, stroking my chin and then wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my right hand. It was hot down here in Texas this summer. Even more than normal.

Kind of gives you an idea of what hell may be like on days like today, huh? He said, laughing his deep, full laugh. From the stomach. It was a jovial comment, not with any threatening notion intended.

So, you believe in hell? I asked. I suddenly felt combative. I didn’t want this conversation to become a fundamentalist rant on his part, but I felt compelled to see where he really stood.

Aww, Nick. I dunno. I believe in God. That’s all I really know. And that’s good enough for me. I ran from Him for too long. It feels good to be back in His fold – to know that I’m loved and accepted as His. That’s what’s most important to me. I figure all the other stuff will sort itself out. Ain’t up to me to decide who goes where after we’re put in the ground. I’ll leave that to God.

Yeah, I said, impressed at his humbleness. That’s probably best.

Nick, he said, placing his hand on my shoulder, you worry too much. Just live your life and take some time to listen to what God has to say to you. And enjoy what you have – your family and friends, your work, and your play – while you have it.

The dusk was starting to settle in. Hues of pink and purple beyond the ridge of the mountains. The moon – almost full – stood in the sky. And in the distance the howl of the coyotes.

Leave a comment | tags: christianity, coyotes, god, texas | posted in Fiction

May 11, 2012

New Razorcake Podcast!

By welcometoflavorcountry

The theme for this podcast is songs with American state names in the title. Enjoy!

Leave a comment | tags: music, podcast, punk, Razorcake | posted in Uncategorized

May 7, 2012

An interview with Tim Showalter of Strand of Oaks

By welcometoflavorcountry

Tim Showalter is one of the few people I know who can fit in both the “friends and acquaintances” category and “musicians” category on this blog. We grew up in the same neighborhood together and I interviewed him a number of years ago before he became a full-time musician under the moniker Strand of Oaks. But for this interview we both agreed to focus more on the non-music stuff and see where it took us.

Do you ever miss teaching?

I miss the routine of it. There was a lot of gratification in seeing results in kids doing well. As a whole I don’t miss it that much. I think I was pretty good at it but not great at it. I don’t know if I’d go back to it. I’d like to work with kids but not in the form of a classroom teacher. Maybe something different. I always had a lot of big ideas with the kids but it was hard with the details. I think teachers are really good with detailed plans and day-to-day stuff and I like the larger arcs of where to take things.

I liked my specific job. I liked the school I was at. I think why I enjoyed teaching so much was because my school was so cool. It was a loose setting. I only had eight students every year and so I had a lot more freedom than a public school teacher.

What kind of school was it?

It was a preschool through eighth grade Orthodox Jewish School in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

What do you think you’d like to do with kids, then?

I’ve always been fascinated with working at a summer camp. Or working with curriculum. I really have no idea. I always knew I was good at it, but I got into music so I kind of lost trying to define what I should do with it. I stopped thinking about it as much. If I would have stayed at it a little longer I probably would’ve discovered it. Maybe writing kids’ books. Something along those lines.

Your undergraduate degree was in what?

Psychology and elementary education.

How has the psychology undergrad affected your daily life? How do you use it?

I don’t think I use it at all. It was a requirement for the school I went to. They required you to do both. You couldn’t just get a degree in elementary education. Psychology just fell in line. I just started taking a lot of classes. It was really interesting but I don’t think I could do it. It was too much science when you got down to it. I took a class on pharmacology or something and I had no idea what was going on from beginning to end.

You went to Wilkes University, right?

Yeah. I actually picked it because it was close to my apartment in Wilkes-Barre. It wasn’t some dream I had when I was fourteen. It was more about the proximity to where I lived. It was a great school but it didn’t have a lot of identity. It seemed like a school where a lot of people were business majors. It seemed like just a normal school.

Just a second ago you mentioned a dream you had when you were fourteen – what was a dream you had when you were fourteen?

When I was fourteen it was just Indiana University. That’s where everybody went. I knew for one thing that I never wanted to go to Goshen College (Goshen is where Tim and I grew up). From my earliest memories that was something I knew I didn’t want to do. College was such a utilitarian thing for me. I just wanted to get out of school and get a job. I probably wasn’t the best student. As opposed to somebody like you who just loves going to school, I was just ready to not be in school anymore.

But did you have any other dreams when you were fourteen? Not even things related to school, but what did you think you wanted to do then?

I don’t know. Probably be in Joy Electric. Be the touring keyboardist in Joy Electric. [laughs]

That actually leads into something I was wanting to talk about with you. (Note: Joy Electric was a Christian band.) What specifically happened with you to go from growing up and affiliating yourself with a lot of Christians – I guess I’ll say that because I’m hesitant to speak for you in regards to your religious beliefs – to not practicing that anymore?

I think I was a very emotional teenager. I was either lonely or sad and it was a pretty immediate gratification to be part of a community. I think back – and not to discredit people who think that way – and traveling around I think that I could’ve been part of the local hardcore community or the local skateboard kids in California. Something along those lines. What happened is that at that age the friends I had went to church and instead of drinking beer and skateboarding it was youth group. Even shows; there was no non-religious oriented things that happened in Goshen. They all had something to do with a church. I think it all had to do with where you grow up.

I got into it pretty genuinely and I also don’t know why. If you can get into it that much and easily get out of it, I don’t know how important it was to begin with. It was more like wearing a certain kind of clothing for me.

I’m not an atheist. I just don’t know. I don’t put a lot of thought into it anymore. I think a lot of people put so much thought into why they’re not thinking a certain way anymore that it seems just as strange as someone who wants to believe in something so badly.

There’s still times going on hikes and thinking of Lord of the Rings that I get those feelings.

Did you just say Lord of the Rings?

Yeah. Going out on hikes and thinking of Gandalf. I think that’s spiritual. I got really into Battlestar Galactica and I think I was about into that as much as I was into youth group.

And again, I have this tendency to make humorous situations out of serious things but I genuinely think those ways. It’s not just me trying to make a joke. It’s not me trying to avoid real emotions through humor. That’s how I genuinely think about it.

But was there some point where you thought, “I don’t feel like I identify with Christianity anymore?”

I think it was just moving away from it. When you live in places like Goshen or other parts of the country it’s what you do because it’s what your friends do. Just like a lot of friends may drink and so you drink. It’s not peer pressure; it just feels like location. It seems kind of natural.

I think if it would have been a deep desire and need I would have stuck with it. I don’t know if I ever understood it or culturally understood it. When I was at the Jewish school I related to Jewish practices. It was around me every day. I loved being around it. Maybe it’s community that I loved being around.

Well, I know for me it was moving away. It’s complicated though.

Yeah. I think it’s complicated for people who even believe in it [Christianity]. Another thing for me is that I have friends and family who really like it and I want to respect them for doing that. I feel people respect me for pursuing something weird like playing music for a living and I should just as much respect them for wanting to have stuff like that as part of their lives. I don’t understand it but I can see why they want to believe in that.

Have you run into anyone from high school that thought you were a certain way spiritually and you’re not that way anymore and has there been conflict over that?

I don’t think so. Most of the people I hung out with who were in those scenes and churches were all really cool people. I don’t see many people from that time but they were all pretty genuinely nice folks. The only time it gets weird is with the people that weren’t. Then, over the ten or twelve years it’s been since I’ve seen then they’ve got a lot more serious about church and that’s almost harder for me to relate to. It’s like, “Whoa! I guess you’re really into this now. That’s different.”

J [a mutual friend of Tim and I] and I were talking about this once and I was noticing this same thing and I said to him, “What’s up with all those people we went to high school with that were fuck-ups?” And he said, “Oh, they’re still fuck-ups, but they’re fuck-ups for Jesus now.”

Yeah, it feels like that. It’s like all the hippies who dropped acid started all those rock and roll churches. They wanted to keep that experience going but they had kids and were losing their hair and getting older. And let’s just try and find that same release and community.

Now, am I imagining this, or at some point did you want to be a youth pastor?

I think I probably did. It seemed like something similar to being a teacher. But I don’t think it was some inner calling as much as it was circumstance and what my proximity to people was and what you know. I wanted to do a lot of things. Ask my parents. My mind was changing constantly.

Do you worry about people who might hear this and think you sound flaky or insincere?

I think I’m kind of full of shit. I honestly think I am. Ninety-nine percent of the things I say are bullshit. I probably disappoint a lot of people and I look up to the people who don’t change their opinions but for some reason I always am changing and moving around. I’m always thinking about different stuff whether its music or books or other stuff I enjoy. I might be flaky. I might be flaky with friendships. I think I get really excited about things and then that excitement changes to other stuff and for my personal perspective it seems normal. “I’m just shifting into something else I’m really into.” There’s the people who never shift and are into some things their whole lives and I think some of that has to do with me probably being really good at being mediocre at a lot of things and not mastering anything. I think those people who can really focus on one thing can become great at it. It’s just not a quality I have.

I don’t know. Don’t you think you’d say that about music?

Maybe that is the thing I’ve found that I pursued to no end. Even in the past year I’ve realized I’m really good at this. This is the one thing that I’ve realized I got the equivalent of my doctorate in. Performing and making records and writing songs. It’s grown. It grew from a hobby and not being very good at it and especially in the last year or so it’s solidified as something I do well.

Two words for you, Tim: Birthday Boy. (This was one of Tim’s first recording projects.)

Yeah. I’m really glad I wasn’t good at recording because I had no idea how to make music. I don’t think I knew how to make music until about six months ago. It’s exciting now. Songwriting has changed for me. It used to be this thing that kind of happened. “I have no idea how I wrote that song.” To where now I know how I want to write a song and put it together. It’s exciting to me, creatively. It opens a lot more doors because it’s not so random anymore.

I’d like to go back to this flakiness thing. How does your wife handle that?

That’s another area of my life where it’s pretty stable. The focus on being married is consistent. She knew what she was getting into when she married me. It finally has settled since I’ve known her, especially. As I get older. There was a time in my from fifteen to twenty-two where I was changing every second, which I think is important for people to do that.

Socially I have really good friends that I keep as good friends and then I have this constant shift in social circles. Sometimes I just don’t hang out with anybody and sometimes I hang out with a lot of people.

Do you worry that the music business exasperates that?

It does. Sometimes when I’m done with a tour I don’t want to talk to anybody at all. I love connecting with people and talking with people but it does require you to say a lot of the same things over and over again. It’s not the fault of the people who are asking the questions and it’s not my fault for answering them, it’s just the nature of it. It comes to such an automated place that it’s just as automated as playing a song every night.

I definitely think that touring for an entire year changes you. You’re talking to so many different people and meeting so many different people where you get to the point where it’s like, “Man, I don’t know if I could meet a new person.” My wife wanted me to go out to dinner this weekend with some other people and I said, “I just don’t want to meet anyone new just now.” I’m kind of flushed right now with people.

Does it bother you to hear yourself say you’re full of shit?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s kind of healing. Hopefully it will help me change. It can also be seen as an excuse and it might be seen as me making an excuse to cover flaws I might have. I don’t try and make it that way. Maybe I’m not full of shit because I do mean what I say, I just change meanings a lot. When I am saying it I am very sincere but a year from now I might change again and it might be something different I really care about.

Somewhat related to that – what’s one of the biggest regrets you have in your life?

*sigh* Regrets. Going back to the flakiness thing – the thing that’s the least flaky in my life is my family. Moving around so much and pursuing music, the people who are the most stable and make me feel the most comfortable somehow get neglected the most. That’s a regret. Not being at nephews’ birthdays or having phone calls with my parents when they’re at their nice family functions and I’m not there again. I’m in San Diego playing a show or something. That’s definitely a regret.

How often do you get back to Goshen each year?

Not enough. Maybe one or two times. I need to do it more. The more I go back it’s great. But going to Goshen now doesn’t mean going to Indiana, it means going to see my parents. I don’t think Indiana holds much to it; it’s just good to be back with my family.

Are you still much of a drinker?

I’ve actually kind of cut that out recently. I’ve replaced it with seltzer for the time being. It got to the point where I was drinking a beer and whiskey and I just said, “I don’t need to do this so much anymore.” It wasn’t benefitting me whatsoever. It was just like everything else in my life; it was just a phase that I’ll probably go into again. For this day, this time you’re talking to me, I’m not into it much right now.

I didn’t know if you had been like, “The beer gut has gotten big enough!”

Yeah, I don’t really have the greatest skinny jeans body. Maybe I do need to work on it. I’m starting to look more like a bouncer than I am the guy who plays the songs. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing.

Whose hair is longer: yours or your wife’s?

Oh, my hair. It just keeps growing. The last haircut I got was in 2006. I cut it once for Locks of Love about three years ago. It just comes back. It’s always there. There’s so much of it. I was joking that in the summertime in that place underneath my beard around my neck if I put a thermometer down there it’d be about 350 degrees. It’s so warm. It’s like the same kind of climate as Laos in the summertime.

Leave a comment | tags: christianity, goshen indiana, joy electric, strand of oaks, tim showalter, wilkes-barre | posted in Bands & Musicians, Friends & Acquaintances, Interviews

April 30, 2012

An interview with Jason Barnes

By welcometoflavorcountry

My friend Roy is back again with another contribution for the blog. Thanks Roy!

I met Jason Barnes for the first time nearly ten years ago. I was working for a record label in Seattle and went to see his band, Haste the Day, at a small church outside the city. After about a year of negotiations (I think this was the longest time I would work on signing a band), his band signed to the label, the same label that would lay me off about a month later. Ahhh the music business! Over the next six or so years Haste the Day would become a significant band playing Warped Tour numerous times as well as concerts all over the world.

In 2008, before the band began writing their fourth full-length record, “Dreamer,” Jason was asked to leave Haste the Day because he considered himself an atheist. Although I hadn’t been involved with the band for several years, I always tried to see them when our paths crossed. Jason’s sudden exit from the band was painful to hear because I knew how close the guys were to one another.

Some time passed before I was able to reconnect with Jason again. Recently we sat down and talked about what life has been like since he was asked to leave the band, how his philosophical and theological perspective have evolved and check in on his new band, Beyond Oceans.

Where do you live?

Indianapolis, Indiana.

What do you do to pay the bills?

I am a bartender at a martini/sushi bar.

How did you get into bartending? Did you have a genuine interest in it or did you just need a job and acquired the skills along the way?

Well, the staff was the first to come to my rescue when I was in need of a job once my tenure with Haste the Day came to an end. I started as a bouncer and then got moved up eventually to head bartender. Plus I enjoy a drink myself so it was a pretty natural fit.

Nice! Before we get into your history with Haste the Day, let’s talk about your new band. Do you guys have a name yet? Who’s in it?

We are called Beyond Oceans. It is Brennan Chaulk (formerly of Haste the Day), Dave Powell (Emery) and myself. We are finishing an EP that I will have a link to in the near future. Brennan broke his ankle recently, which has delayed the process slightly. We are all very excited about the music we are creating though.

How would you describe the new songs?

I like to think of it as just good rock music. It isn’t heavy; there aren’t any breakdowns or screaming. Just good melodies, guitar riffs, and solos. If I had to compare it to anything I suppose I would go with Foo Fighters or Muse, something along those lines but definitely epic!

Most people that know you as a musician are familiar with your time in Haste the Day. What is the biggest difference in writing the music you’re doing now vs. the music in Haste the Day? Is one more satisfying for you than the other?

I loved being in Haste the Day but this new project is really what I have wanted to do all along. The heavy stuff is fun to play live, and we had amazing fans. I think most of them will really enjoy the stuff we are playing now. I am writing all of the music for this project and Brennan is taking care of the vocals, so it’s not much different from our time together in Haste the Day. This project resonates with me more; it’s something that I would listen to even if I weren’t in the band.

I remember talking to you a few years back and you were into big guitar rock bands even then. What was some of the music that inspired you to begin playing guitar?

Well I have been playing guitar for 20 years now, and I still listen to most of the same stuff as I did when I was a kid – stuff like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Green Day, AC/DC, etc.

20 years? Crazy! So, let’s get into some of the Haste the Day story. How did you first get connected with the guys in the band?

I met them when I was in my first band with Dave in the late 90′s. We played shows with Devin and Brennan at a Christian coffee shop called the Catacombs. I met Jimmy later; I used to work with his ex-fiancé.

Correct me if I am wrong but you were one of the original members, right?

The original members were Brennan, Mike and Devin. I joined about 5 months later and brought Jimmy with me. So essentially yes, the first full line up that originated in 2001.

It seemed from the very beginning that Haste the Day was a band that actively evangelized and often stated that, if not their sole mission, it certainly was a big part of it. Can you tell me about how you first became a Christian and how it shaped your worldview prior to the band?

Yes, Haste the Day was always a ministry-oriented band. Christianity was something I kind of inherited from my family and was raised to believe. It was a driving force for me as a teenager, up until I started thinking a bit more objectively about it.

And what began that journey to begin thinking more objectively about Christianity? Did that present a crisis for you?

Well, for me it was just bound to happen. I am the kind of person who needs good reason and evidence to believe something, and it became increasingly difficult to square my Christian worldview with reality. The amount of mental gymnastics I had to put myself through to keep rationalizing my religious faith started to get really old. There seemed to be a mental mechanism that I was employing that felt dishonest and didn’t allow me to really address challenges and questions about faith. Once I decided to be completely honest about what I believed to be true and where the evidence pointed, religion naturally dissolved for me.

What branch of Christianity did you come from? Would you describe it as conservative or maybe fundamentalist?

I belonged to a non-denominational Christian church. The people there were nice for the most part but my leaving Christianity had nothing to do with being wronged by a church member or anything like that. They all did seem to have a very fundamentalist interpretation of scripture which I knew in my core was a bit childish. Like young-earth creationism and whatnot.

Haste the Day

As I’ve gotten to know more people who have left Christianity and started calling themselves atheist or agnostic, they seem to go through a process similar to what gay and lesbian folk who are coming out experience. When you finally realized you were no longer a believer, did you begin to talk about it right away or was it something you kept hidden?

I certainly kept it hidden from my band members because I was afraid of how they would react. But, as time went on and it felt much more natural to me and not such a big deal, I started opening up more.

How did your family, friends and band members respond to that? Haste the Day toured constantly and everyone seemed very close so I would imagine conversation about it would happen naturally.

Well, conversations about it were had one on one but it wasn’t until we met to start writing “Dreamer”, our 4th full length album, that it became a full band conversation. Well, not so much a conversation as it was I being told I was no longer welcome to be a member of the band. It was really difficult for me to handle at the time; I would compare it to being disowned by your family. But I have mended relationships with all of them, and it’s water under the bridge. And in a way, I was glad that I was honest about who I was and wasn’t part of something anymore whose message I no longer believed to be true.

I would imagine that had to be intense. I remember the day when the press began to report the reason for your departure, one of the bands I worked with at the last label I worked for were staying at my place and they were dumbfounded, they couldn’t understand it. Haste the Day was not only something you helped create but it was your livelihood as well. What did you do after that? Did you have a network at home that was supportive? I imagine this was a surprise to a lot of folks.

Yeah, it was a surprise to most people, including me. I didn’t see it coming; maybe I was in denial. Luckily, I did have a group of friends who were there for me. They were there for me when I was a Christian, and when I wasn’t. That is unconditional love.

How has your family dealt with your departure from Christianity?

That was actually the most unpleasant conversation – nobody wants to make their mother cry. The bizarre part of it is, I didn’t do anything wrong, you know? I was just being honest. I would imagine gay people deal with a similar coming out process.

One of the challenges folks who leave religion encounter is the existential crisis of meaning. When you think the creator of the world is directing and talking to you, meaning comes about kind of naturally. It sounds like you were already skeptical of religious claims early on. How did you deal with the question of meaning? What directs and gives your life meaning now?

Well I try to deal with the question of “meaning” as honestly as I can. I think we can give our lives meaning by loving and being loved. As far as people who think that we can’t have morality without religion, which is really something that doesn’t even resonate with me because we know it isn’t true. The universe is almost 14 billion years old, the planet is 4.5 billion years old, and primates (which we are) have been around for millions of years, all the while showing empathy, creating moral guidelines, and practicing everything that we would call ethics. Christianity has only been around for 2,000 years so thinking that it has a monopoly on morality is almost laughable.

The Bible is a really challenging book to use if you want to establish a moral code. If God is the author of it, like some Christians believe, God seems to endorse a lot of terrible stuff.

Well, of course, and the fact that we are able to discern that proves that our moral intuitions come from outside of scripture and not from it.

You have reconciled with the guys in Haste the Day now. What did that reconciliation look like?

It took me a while to be able to really feel comfortable around them again. They are all still Christian but, as most people do, they have re-evaluated how that actually works out in their lives and how they interact with other people who don’t share the same views. Brennan and I are in this new band together and are closer than ever. One night Brennan, Mike (bass player of Haste the Day) and I all had a little too much Jack Daniel’s and we really let all that emotional baggage go. It was pretty therapeutic.

One of the most powerful things someone can do to learn and broaden their worldview is travel – even just around their own country. Did you find that getting out of your hometown and interacting with different people and different cultures on tour had an impact on validating your skepticism? Did you have friends and confidants along the way you were able to talk to about this process or was it internal?

It was mainly an internal, introspective realization. Studying history and science played a big role too. And yes, traveling and exposing yourself to other cultures that are completely different from your own helps in shaping your worldview and puts things in perspective. There have been several people from Christian bands, and people in ministry positions at churches, that have contacted and confided in me about their own lack of faith because my experience was kind of a public example.

During my time at Tooth and Nail / Solid State several band members talked to me about either being gay or agnostic/atheist. It’s a hard predicament to be in when your livelihood is wrapped up in endorsing a set of beliefs you no longer hold or might be hostile to you. Were there any resources that were helpful for you along the way? Anything you would recommend to people just beginning to open themselves up to skepticism about their faith?

Well, part of the whole thing is just learning how to think, not what to think. If there is any topic that is troubling you, seek out an author that is properly trained in their field and see what they have to say. I am a bit weary of recommending books on atheism because I don’t want to sound like an evangelical pushing the Purpose Driven Life (laughing). I do think Sam Harris has a very good talent though for eloquently pointing out the difference between good and bad rationale. Just get yourself out of your comfort zone, and base your beliefs on facts and evidence. The truth is nothing to be afraid of.

2 comments | tags: Haste the Day, Jason Barnes, On the Shoulders of Giants, roy culver, Solid State Records, tooth and nail records | posted in Bands & Musicians, Interviews

April 23, 2012

Who are you? Underground Railroad to Candyland

By welcometoflavorcountry

I’m getting older. Like a lot of die-hard music fans, I used to feel as though I was on top of all the latest bands. I knew who was on what label and who had toured with whom. I could tell you the good record stores and venues in major cities. I still keep tabs on some bands I like and read some music websites. Nowadays, though, I find myself more on the periphery of the scene. I hear about some acts, or friends will mention someone but I don’t know much about them. Thus, I decided to start a new feature where I email bands that I’ve heard of but don’t know anything about and ask them some questions. I hope you enjoy it.

Underground Railroad to Candyland (URTC) is from Southern California. I first heard about them through Razorcake, the bi-monthly zine for whom I write and podcast.

Who are you? What position do you fill in your band?

Todd Congelliere. I’m a guitar player and singer.

Tell me a story from your childhood, please.

When I was about ten, during a sleepover, me and a friend (let’s name him “Bobby” for this) liked Star Wars action figures so much that we decided to play with them one day with our clothes off. I dunno if it would’ve been good or bad to lock his bedroom door but we didn’t end up locking it and his mom walked in to tell us dinner was ready. I’m 99.99% sure that it looked pretty sketchy in her eyes but she didn’t react with words. During dinner Bobby’s dad kept sipping on milk giving us the evil eye. The milk sipping evil eye. Nothing worse.

When an older family member asks what kind of music you play, what do you tell her/him?

“We sound like The Beatles…but really shitty.”

One crisp February morning in 2006 I found myself walking down Pacific Ave. in San Pedro, California, looking for a carton of half and half for my coffee. I hate to be a bitch of convenience but shit man, WHY DON’T THESE FUCKIN’ CORNER STORES SELL HALF AND HALF?!?!?!? They stock that flavored Irish cream, white chocolate buttshit but they won’t stock, normally, the good ol’ half and half. It’s milk and cream fuckholes! What makes matters worse is that they occasionally stock it. That’s bad because I walk there with my fingers crossed only to never feel like the golden ticket will fall outta my chocolate bar. By the way, I woulda ate that chocolate bar, Charlie! Why did you let it fall to the ground like it was just in the way to your shitty golden ticket? Piece of shit, Charlie, you are. Digress I will. I eventually had to walk back to my house, hop in a car and drive for half and half. Later that night we started URTC.

What was the first album you bought that ignited your love for music?

Adam and the Ants – Kings of The Wild Frontier

It seems we all have that person who got us into non-mainstream music (punk/hardcore/indie/metal/emo)? Who was that person for you?

It was a group of skaters from the South Bay area. The dude that really pointed out to me how fuckin badass Greg Ginn was at guitar was Jim Shank. I remember we had to sneak into my sister’s room because she had THE cassette deck and I was jumping all over her bed, sweaty from skateboarding. It was a cool memory.

There is nothing new under the sun, so, let’s be honest: musically you’re ripping somebody off. Who is it?

Everyone from A to Z. Most obviously ZZ Top.

Why should I listen to your music?

You shouldn’t. I don’t want your parents to sue me.

Where can someone go on the internet to listen to your songs?

Recess Records

4 comments | tags: music, recess records, todd congelliere, underground railroad to candyland | posted in Bands & Musicians, Interviews, Who are you?

April 16, 2012

An interview with Meghan O’Neil of Punch

By welcometoflavorcountry

Meghan O’Neil is the vocalist for the band Punch.

Do you write most of the lyrics for Punch?

There’s one song not written by me but otherwise the other forty-plus are.

When I was reading your lyrics, one thing I kept noticing is this sense of empowerment – taking charge of your life. Would you say that’s a theme with your lyrics?

Yeah, totally. Writing was something that used to be really hard for me. I had tried out to be in the band when my friend Keeth was starting it and I wanted to try out because I thought it would be fun. And then I thought, “Crap – not only do I know I have extreme stage fright, but I’m not a writer. I can’t write lyrics.” It has definitely come a long way in the past five and a half years. I think the biggest part of it becoming easier is me feeling free to become more personal. And not be cheesy but be myself; wail out there and write those empowering lyrics. And not worrying about people judging it. When we first started I worried about what people would think and now I don’t care anymore. Now when I read criticism I just laugh. Recently I read somewhere, “I just can’t get into that band; their lyrics are too posi.” And I actually thought that was awesome.

A lot of times I write when I’m going through hard stuff. For Push Pull I was going through some shit and I had written some lyrics that weren’t posi and thank god there was a part that I had wanted Keeth to sing back-up vocals for and he asked, “What are the words?” and I showed him and he said, “I’m not singing that. There’s no way. I don’t like that song. You’re going to look back on that and you might regret writing that when you don’t feel like that anymore.” I went home, I tore it up and wrote some new stuff and went back the next day and recorded it and he was totally right. I look back on that situation, see the positive lyrics and I feel way better. You don’t want to look back on something and say, “Remember when I was all mad and bitter?” No, life gets real and you get through it. So, I really appreciate that part of Keeth.

So you’re a glass half-full person, then?

Yeah, I try to be. I feel like for my bandmate Keeth the glass is maybe all the way full, so he’s a good influence on me.

The thing about all of that, which is interesting to me, is that when I listen to Punch I feel like putting my fist through the wall because it’s so intense and fast. I feel like it’s really angry, but the lyrics aren’t reflecting that. How do you deal with the fact that generally punk and hardcore are angry types of music but you’re making the lyrics positive?

I think that instead of saying intense or angry, I would say emotional and charged. I have songs – I can think of two off the top of my head – that leave me borderline in tears because they’re really powerfully emotional.

Which songs?

“Let Me Forget” and “If Not Me” are the two I can think of. It’s really cathartic for me. Our last show was in February. And I had really been looking forward to it because I need that catharsis. I need that outlet of screaming for twenty minutes with a bunch of other people in the room who want to let that out. Even though I try to have a positive message, it’s still emotionally charged and I think people are attracted to punk or other intense music because it allows for an outlet for that stuff we all feel. And in daily life we have to tone that down a little bit.

Have you found other outlets besides music that help you get rid of some of the anger?

Listening to music is a huge thing. It’s super therapeutic. I was going to three to four shows a week – last week I went to five shows. Obviously it’s not like that all the time. But going to shows is a big outlet. I like to ride my bike, too, and hang out with my friends.

When you say you’re going to the shows, do you mean you get a release from being in the pit?

Well, I’m not moshing or anything. I have a restless mind and I’m always thinking about stuff and when I’m at a show that’s the only time I’m not thinking about anything and I can be present in the moment. I’m not a huge mosher at shows besides my own because I seem to be prone to injury. At our show in February I got a fucking concussion because during “If Not Me” I was so overdue, and I had a lot of angst and shit built up and I apparently collided with my bassist – his guitar. A couple years ago I broke my foot on tour and I’ve chipped my teeth. I’m accident prone as it is.

I’ll definitely sing along at shows. I went to the Ceremony record release show recently at Gilman and I was like, “Hold me back. Don’t let me get in there.”

Growing up, were you an aggressive kid?

Not really. I’m not hyperactive, just restless. I’m not a wild child or anything, but I like to have fun.

What are you doing for a day job right now?

I’m a nanny, but about two years ago I completed nursing school, so I’m a RN and I also have a degree in nutrition. But breaking my foot set that back a lot. I had a long recovery because I had surgery. Ever since the experience with my foot, tour has always been right around the corner so it’s never been a good time to get a stable nurse job and the nanny job I have gives me the whole summer off and whatever other time I need. They know about the band so they’re supportive. So for the time I’m doing that kind of stuff as I continue to balance my two lives. We haven’t been touring as much right now because two of the guys in our band – their other band (Loma Prieta) has been really active. Knowing that, I went back to school in the fall and I’m working on my bachelor’s in nursing. I’m still very much nursing-oriented but the band has always been my priority. I’m very happy and lucky to be able to do it.

How far along are you in your program?

Halfway. It’s four quarters. So yeah – another degree. It’s a lot of school.

Me too. I can understand that.

Okay. Yeah, Keeth went to Berkeley and our drummer recently finished law school and is studying for the bar. It works that it’s not just one of us. Right now it’s only me but I know Val’s going to be starting soon. It works. We all sort of get it.

So you all have lives outside of Punch?

Yeah, absolutely. Our other guitarist, Dan, moved to Germany a year ago and has his own screenprinting business there, so he very much has his own life. And Val and Brian have Loma Prieta right now and that’s definitely a big part of their life.

It’s always interesting for me to hear what people do outside of bands because, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably not going to be doing Punch when you’re 65.

Oh yeah. When I first got back with my broken foot and I was newly a nurse, I got depressed about not doing it but now I’ve come to terms with it. I’m going to be a nurse for decades. So I’m going to do this for as long as I can and at least I have that other thing waiting for me.

Who was the person who got you into hardcore or punk rock?

My younger brother, Aaron, who’s in some Seattle area bands, On and Devotion. We’re two years apart and we grew up going to shows together. We’d get dropped off together at Gilman when we were little.

How little?

Not super little. Our parents were somewhat strict, but I think I was 15 and he was 13. When we were much younger, we split that Columbia House mail-order deal. The 15 CDs for 1 penny thing.

The summer Val wasn’t able to go on our European tour because of school, my brother was our fill-in drummer. He’s a very powerful drummer and it was just a dream come true. He’s my favorite person in the world and I got to go to Europe with him for a month. It was unbelievable.

Was there some moment when he played something for you for the first time and you were just like, “What is this?”

You know, I just got asked this last night, but I really can’t remember. I do remember the first show that my parents dropped us off at in the city was Less Than Jake.

My brother used to make mix tapes and when he was dubbing them he would edit the swear words out himself. He would turn the volume down and back up real fast, because like I said, our parents were a little strict. I remember my brother making this mix tapes with Gorilla Biscuits on it and editing them so that my mom would play it in our mini van.

Wow. Did she?

Yeah. Totally. My parents were so down. They’ve been to Gilman a ton of times. They’ve been real supportive. It took my dad a while to come around. But he’s a musician too. He’s got a folk band and I was able to sing some back-up vocals – I can actually sing – on his new record. My brother plays drums on it. It’s all very cute.

So it’s like a family band. You can all go on tour together.

Yeah, my dad would love that. He plays like farmer’s markets and stuff like that. He plays the mandolin.

Maybe he could play in Punch sometime. He could do a guest mandolin spot.

I don’t know about that. But Keeth, my bandmate, played accordion on my dad’s first record.

And your mom is cool with Punch, too?

Yeah. She’s very supportive.

So what were they so strict about?

Just movies and TV and curfew. I didn’t see “Goonies” until I was 18. We didn’t watch movies or TV. But music was a different thing. My parents both met when they worked at a record store. Music is a big part of their lives. So, no movies, no TV, but we’ll take you guys to see the Rolling Stones. That was our first concert when we were pretty young. Pearl Jam opened. Actually, Keeth, my bandmate, that was his first show too. We grew up in the same area but didn’t meet until we were twenty.

What’s on the horizon for Punch? Some touring?

Yeah, definitely. It’s a work in progress right now. We can’t do a lot of planning while two of the members are on tour, but yeah, we want to get out there.

“Do It Yourself” from Punch’s Nothing Lasts EP

5 comments | tags: hardcore, loma prieta, meghan o'neil, music, punch, punk rock, san francisco | posted in Bands & Musicians, Interviews

April 9, 2012

An interview with Liz Prince

By welcometoflavorcountry

Liz Prince draws comics and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. Recently, she and I sat down at a coffee shop in nearby Cambridge. She had coffee, I had tea, and we had a conversation.

How do you describe to people what you do?

I’ve always just said I draw comics and I’ve never gotten an adverse reaction. Some people think I mean newspaper strips, but it’s more books. I actually have a funny story: When my first one came out – I don’t describe it as a graphic novel, but my mom does and she was talking to one of her friends and said, “Liz has a graphic novel coming out!” and her friend said, “Oh, you’re okay with that?” And she said “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” And her friend said, “Well, graphic novel…like porn, right?” And my mom said, “No, like comics.” But I mean, there were boobs in it.

But they were cartoon boobs, so no one was aroused.

Well, I don’t want to stroke my own ego, but I think a couple of people got pretty aroused by it. [laughs] There’s this college professor that does this graphic novel “Reading Rainbow” class where the students are assigned to read graphic novels of their choosing and write a review. They’ve been posting them all on Tumblr and someone reviewed that book. I don’t know how old the person who reviewed it was, but one of their statements was “I saw boobs in this book and I wasn’t expecting to and it made it more interesting all the way through.” That’s probably the best thing anyone has ever said about my comics ever. I’m going to have to use that as a tag line on the back of my next book. I’ll also probably have to make sure there are some boobs in there for good measure.

[The band Minus the Bear starts to play on the coffee shop’s stereo.] I think this is Minus the Bear. Weird.

A guy from Santa Fe is in that band.

Are you from Santa Fe?

Yeah.

Were you born and raised there?

I was born here in Cambridge and my family moved to Santa Fe when I was six and then I moved back here to go to Museum (of Fine Arts) school.

How was Santa Fe?

I really hated it when I was really young because we lived 30 minutes outside of town and there was nothing to do. So my brother and I pushed each other into cactuses a lot. It was really great. But in high school I got involved with this teen art center that did a lot of DIY shows where kids were booking the shows. By the time I left I felt like, “I don’t want to leave! This place is awesome!” I had a really awesome community. But I don’t think I’d move back there until I was not ready to have a life.

Did you go to MFA school straight after high school?

No. I graduated in ’99 and then hung out in Santa Fe for another two years and worked. So I was a little older than everyone when I started college.

At MFA school it probably doesn’t matter much.

Well, it kind of did because I lived in the dorms my first semester and that really sucked. Being old enough to buy beer and everyone else isn’t. And you also hate everyone.

Why did you hate everyone? Because they were young and immature?

Or cause I’m old and stuck up. I really didn’t get along with my roommate at all. She had this 30-year-old gross boyfriend who would come visit her and say all kinds of racist shit to me. She was Hispanic and he said, “Did you think she wasn’t going to be able to speak English?” And I’m like, “I’m from fucking Santa Fe, dude!” He was the worst and she was the worst and so I moved out of the dorm after the first semester.

So you’ve lived in Boston ever since then?

Yeah.

So what keeps you around here?

I have a really, really good living situation where I don’t pay a lot of money to live in a nice apartment. So that’s what keeps me here. I’ve never been the type of person who has wanderlust. I like traveling but I don’t have the travel bug. I’ve only left the country once and I never went to Mexico and I’ve never been to Canada.

So where’d you go then?

I went to France for a comic book convention.

When was that?

In 2007. I have a publisher in France and he set the whole thing up.

How was it?

It was cool because I went to Paris with two friends of mine and we rented a little apartment and the comic festival was about three hours south of Paris. So they stayed there while I went to the comic fest.

My publisher told me about the hotel we were going to be staying at and said that there were four beds and that my friends could come if they wanted to. So I was thinking it was going to be some swanky-ass place – and I guess this was normal for a roadside motel in France, but it had four bunk beds that were tiny. And the bathrooms were self-cleaning. So everything was open and plastic and in the middle of the night it just sprays itself. There were a couple other American comic creators with us. One of the guys got up to pee in the middle of the night and didn’t bother to turn on the light in the bathroom and the thing started. I guess if you turn the light on it won’t start because it assumes it’s being used. So he got sprayed with some horrible bathroom cleaner in the middle of the night. But it was depressing and desolate in that hotel. The people in the room next to us were chain-smoking and watching TV all night. I don’t even know if what was between our rooms was a wall. It was not what I was expecting. I had this totally romantic view of France and that just shot it in the foot.

Also, being vegetarian over there is kind of a bummer.

So do you have fans in France? Were you surprised at the turnout?

There were definitely a lot of people that were interested. It’s really hard to not be able to communicate with the people who are talking to you about your work. My publisher was acting as a translator the entire time. I got asked some really bizarre questions about my personal life. I thought my publisher was fucking with me and then he had to repeat it to me in English.

What kind of questions were they?

Well, my first book is about my relationship with my then boyfriend so it’s all a bunch of stories like that, so people were asking in-depth questions about that. And some woman said, “I read somewhere that the only reason you dated this guy was so you could write a comic about it.” She was basically saying, “You’ve been accused of this. How do you plead?” So yeah…that’s France. And that’s the only place I’ve ever been. Except for right here!

Cambridge? So the earlier story about growing up in Santa Fe was all a lie?

Yes. I just wanted to make myself sound exotic.

[I mention an upcoming trip to Taos, New Mexico.]

Yeah, I never spent much time in Taos. I went to Girl Scout camp close to there.

You were a Girl Scout?

I was a Girl Scout. And the funny thing: I lied to get all my badges.

Oh, do tell.

They give you this book – the Girl Scout guidebook. It has all the badges and shows you what they look like and so I chose the ones that I liked the way they looked the most. You have to complete a certain amount of tasks to get them and so I would say, “Yeah, I totally saw twenty wild birds and catalogued them!” I remember the one that I really, really wanted was the wildlife one that had a raccoon on it. Because…

I love raccoons!

Actually, I used to be really afraid of raccoons when I was a kid and lived here because they’re kind of scary and there was this tree across the street from our house that had a family of them living in it. I’d stand in the door at night and watch them going in and out of the tree. If we ever left the house at night my parents would have to carry me to the car because I was afraid a raccoon would get me or a slug would get me. Those were the two big fears when I was living on the mean streets of Medford.

So are your parents separated?

Well, my dad actually died in December, but they had been separated for…forever? I dunno. Funny thing about raccoons, actually – the world’s biggest raccoon tried to break into my apartment on the day my dad died. It was so big. It was the size of a horse.

It kind of ruins the story to tell you that it was a raccoon. But I live on the third floor and in my living room there’s a door that goes to the fire escape. It was probably midnight and I was getting ready to go to bed and one of my cats was in my bedroom and all of the sudden she ran into the living room and was staring at the fire escape door and I thought, “There’s someone or something on the fire escape.” I could hear them up against the door and they were trying to move the doorknob. I didn’t know what to do. There was a window and I was looking out it but couldn’t see anything. I knew that my friend was across the street at this big holiday party and if she just looked out the window she could see if something was on the fire escape. I called her and she was so drunk. I told her what was up and asked her if she could look out the window and tell me what she saw. Before she hung up the phone I could hear her say, “Let’s go guys! Liz needs our help!” I see her run out the front door across the street and she’s running and I hear her in the alley. And she starts running up the fire escape.

I was freaking out because I don’t know what’s out there. There could be some dude with an ax. I mean, I read a lot of Tales from the Crypt. And she’s running and screaming and all the sudden she yells, “OH MY GOD! NO!” And then the loudest thing ever is on the roof. I can hear she’s outside so I open the door and ask her what it was and she says, “There was an ape man!” I asked her, “Was it a person?” and she said, “I don’t know. It might be. I’m scared!” I didn’t know what to do so my friend told me to go across the street to where the party was so I went over there and we’re looking out the window and I couldn’t see what was on the roof. At some point my friend goes back to the window and says, “Oh my god!” and there’s this giant raccoon walking down the fire escape.

But this was the same day that your dad died?

Yeah.

Did you draw any kind of correlation between these two events?

So this is going to make me sound weird but I believe in ghosts. Why not? I don’t think you have to be religious to believe in ghosts. I think believing in ghosts is fun. It’s more fun than believing in no ghosts.

So you’re looking for the maximum amount of fun when it comes to your theology and spirituality?

Yeah! I like Buffy the Vampire Slayer so why not? So like I said earlier, I used to be really afraid of raccoons growing up and used to have my dad carry me to and from the car. Before he died I didn’t get to say goodbye to him but his girlfriend held the phone up to his ear so we could say whatever we wanted. So I basically told him, “If there’s anything else out there, let me know!”

So he was trying to break into your apartment!

Well, I told my younger brother that story and he said, “So you think dad’s a raccoon now?” And I was like, “No, asshole – I think he’s a dick who sent a raccoon to my house in the middle of the night. I think he controls them. I don’t think he is one.” [laughs]

[laughs] Please tell me you’ve worked this into a comic somehow.

It’s on the docket.

Was there anyone who inspired or encouraged you to start drawing?

I don’t remember any sort of catalyst moment. I always drew. I have all kinds of stuff from when I was little, like a drawing of me holding hands with Luke Skywalker from when I was five, which is funny because I don’t even like Star Wars now.

Really? I’m surprised you’d want to go on record saying that. I’ll erase that from the interview.

No! You keep that in. That is a thing I want known! [laughs] But I distinctly recall believing that cartoon characters were real for the longest time. That’s what I wanted to be when I grew up: a cartoon character. Then someone told me they weren’t real and I was like, “Fuck my life! Now I have to re-evaluate everything!” I’m sure that it was more like, “Nuts!” and then I probably cried. I don’t remember. And then I thought I’d be an animator and I used to make a ton of flipbooks. But it took way too long to animate something. I’m not very good at it. There’d be a walk cycle and at the end my character would be really small. “It’s forced perspective! I’m walking into the distance! But still from the side.” When I realized animation was a lot of work, then I thought I’d go to comics. It’s like animation and cartoons but slowed down. You get to tell a story with words and images.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a longer story. It’s the third issue of I Swallowed the Key To My Heart. It’s about breaking up with my first post-high school boyfriend, which I’m releasing as issues.

And my friends and I are working on this project called “Four Squares” where we each draw a short autobio comic every day for an entire month, and then we compile them together. The first issue was called Four Squares, the second was called More Squares, and the third, which I hope will be out in time for Boston Comic Con (I don’t know what everyone else’s status is on finishing) will be called GORE SQUARES because it took place in October and we think we’re really fucking clever.

Leave a comment | tags: boston, comics, drawing, four squares, france, girl scouts, liz prince, museum of fine arts school, santa fe | posted in Friends & Acquaintances, Interviews

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