I've Got a Secret and I Can't Explain
The Secret History
Interview by Kenyon Hopkin

Long delayed, especially since I first met The Secret History's frontman, Michael Grace, Jr, in the mid-90s, here finally is the interview with the native Long Islander, former My Favorite vocalist and romantic writer. After ten years of indie pop with My Favorite--highlights of which included rabid fans in Sweden and opening for Belle & Sebastian--Grace and most of the other members re-grouped with a slightly altered sound, while adding a few more people. This includes vocalist Lisa Ronson, daughter of 1970s glam rocket Mick Ronson. Other members are guitarist Darren Amadio, keyboardist Kurt Brondo, drummer Todd Karasik, bassist Gil Abad and singer Jaime Kozyra. In this latest incarnation, currently backed by indie label Le Grand Magistery, the band shifts its analysis of the 1980s to the entire century (scroll down for their latest video). Now, Grace reveals his views on My Favorite's end, life in Europe, life in New York City, and what is killing music.
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Advance Copy: Aside from the line-up change, what are the differences between the Secret History and My Favorite?
Grace: Well when we started My Favorite in the 90s as teenagers, we were mourning the loss of a 1980s we really never experienced, something we gleaned from records and fanzines. So that whole group was really like an incantation trying to astral project our reality somewhere else. A failure on a metaphysical level, but an interesting group for trying I think. The Secret History is more about trying to untangle the 20th century into something that makes sense in our current slum of an age. So it's like a drifting AM radio signal lost in space. Sometimes a bit of the Shirelles tunes in, sometimes the New York Dolls, or Felt. It's forever now. We are the "constant."

AC: Why did My Favorite end?
Grace: Well it's amazing we made it a decade as a small, cult indie band with a name which sounds like a bad Situationist joke. I mean peoples' recent nostalgia for the first wave of American indie pop is somewhat charming, but it was a wilderness then. In the end, you know, a lot of the texture of that group came from the specific dynamic which singer Andrea Vaughn and I had creatively, so when that dynamic changed, it was time to put that book on the shelf, so to speak.

AC: So I know your influences are as much from writers, philosophers, literature, etc. What would some of those recent ones be that inspire your songwriting and style?
Grace: There is really no way to answer that without most people reading this beginning to projectile vomit. l like art and books and records. I'm interested in how the art we make helps us sort out the time in which we live. It wasn't so much a stigma in decades past, to feel this way, in fact it was encouraged. But I mean we are in a period of forced aesthetic re-education, so now it just seems quaint to care about art. I was re-reading "Day of The Locust," and Brett Easton Ellis's sequel to "Less Than Zero" when we were touring out on the West coast.

AC: Is there any literature you ever read and you were like, "this is just crap"?
Grace: Oh sure, but I mean I at least respect someone for going the distance and writing a book. I've been trying to do it recently and it's not easy. Shitty novelists still make above average dinner guests. I'm usually more demoralized by music. It's just too easy to make shitty music, and too many people are doing it and you are at risk of being sent to an internment camp if you dare to say so. So as a result, we all have to just keep lowering our standards and drinking more and more to make certain bands seem passable. We make concessions and tell ourselves some pastiche of a pop group is just fantastic and then herd ourselves into the [New York City venue] Bowery Ballroom. The names just blur together, but the disappointment lingers. In the past music journalists were critics, who were able to put art into context, and usually had strong ideas about where they wanted music to go and respected strong artists for making their jobs easier. Now, a lot of music journalists are bloggers who see themselves as "tastemakers" and that is an offensive perspective. If you want to influence what sneakers someone buys, that's fine. But music should be sacred. It shouldn't be just seasons of disposal separates. Hipsterism is killing music.




AC: Lisa Ronson's dad was buddies with Dylan, Bowie, Lou Reed, Morrissey. How exciting was that? Or is it like no big deal. I mean you must have been psyched.
Grace: I mean it could have went either way. She could have been some spoiled rock royalty dilettante with no real passion. I've seen enough of them on reality television. But instead she was this really gritty individual with a lot churning about inside, wanting to come out. Her dad was a genius, but he didn't make a fortune in the music business, so Lisa grew up in small seaside town on Long Island. Ironically, the same as most of us did. I mean it has been really great to meet Ian Hunter and Mick Rock, but mainly Lisa has been great because she is a talented singer, and a really cool girl. However if Morrissey wanted to come round for a show that would be splendid.

AC: You've been to Europe a few times. What are your favorite countries and spots and locations? What in Europe do you HATE?
Grace: As a band, My Favorite only played in Sweden, Norway and London. As a person, I've also been to Italy and France. Not to sound too much like a clove smoking beatnik, but there isn't much about Europe I don't like. The passion and intelligence of the Swedish pop fan will never cease to inspire me. Paris is just an amazingly atmospheric place to kick around. Italy is a mystical and emotional place for me. London is well London. Home of the brash, outrageous and free. And thus concludes my Lonely Planet Guide blurb. As far as things I hate, well Europeans don't understand politics quite as well as they think they do, and considering how protective they are of their "nationality" in regard to immigrants, I sometimes find their critiques of the U.S. a little vexing. Having said that, I find the reality of the U.S. profoundly more vexing. So its relative.

AC: You had a band prior to the internet thingy, and now less kids read actual books and magazines and look down while walking, texting someone that's two minutes away. And they don’t spell too good. What's your tragic romantic view of the deteriorating social skills of people resulting from overload of cell phones/internet/ipods/droids/xbox?
Grace: Oh I know I should say the kids and the world etc are going to hell in a breadbasket. And clearly they are. But I find the way the world decays and devolves fascinating. Not to say we shouldn't resist, we should. I'd love if people still wrote me letters full of drawings and such, but they don't. They comment on facebook. So life goes on. I think the most important thing is what people think and feel and do with their lives. The medium of their communication is less important. Having said that though, I think the latter is affecting the prior.

AC: What do you think about the collapse of print news media?
Grace: I think it is very sad if it comes to fruition. I read three newspapers a day, from a trashy tabloid to as much of the New York Times as I can get through. I love glossy magazines. I love fanzines and self publishing. I like paper. I don't like turning pages by breezing my finger across the screen of an iPad and then giving the universe a smug grin.

AC: How's life in Brooklyn? Do you miss Long Island at all? What do you hate about Brooklyn and Manhattan?
Grace: Ironically I'm living in Long Island City, Queens, though most of my band mates are in Brooklyn. I do miss Long Island a lot actually, though I always have to make sure I'm not missing a certain memory of place and time more than the place itself. I think lonesome, desperate, beautiful places are better for artists than cities like New York or L.A. or London. I came to understand alienation and isolation on Long Island in a way that will always manifest itself in my work. I miss the small secret beaches and WUSB, the record stores that don't exist anymore. Driving and driving with nowhere to go. I love New York City, but I'm essentially always just A Kid From Long Island Who Read The NME. Deep inside I think that is still how I see myself. A hopeless Mod going to Stony Brook. If I hate anything about Brooklyn/New York it's just how self-conscious and insecure people are. They flock like sheep around colorful piles of crap and it's slightly disheartening. People are not as audacious and outrageous anymore in NYC as generations past, and if they're going to think they are cooler than everyone, they need to at least be entertaining. Instead, most people are deeply tiresome.

Thisisthesecrethistory.tumblr.com

Boom Boom Boom let's go back to my Woom.

Following tours with Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu, this avant-garde duo continues to re-invent itself. Interview by Kenyon Hopkin

The curiously named Woom is experimental yet warm and melodic. Partly inspired by cutting edge artists such as Judith Malina, Jerome Rothenberg, Lygia Clark and Brigitte Fontaine, the duo of Sara Magenheimer and Eben Portnoy--both visual artists--originate from Philadelphia and Massachusetts, respectively. While with their previous outfit Fertile Crescent, Sara and Eben toured extensively with Deerhoof. The now West coast-based Woom is promoting Muu’s Way (Ba Da Bing records), which brought them to Europe for dates with indie art rock band Xiu Xiu (Kill Rock Stars records). The fact alone that Woom knows Evil Dead takes place in a cabin in the woods makes it worth talking to them.

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Advance Copy: How did Woom develop, musically?

Sara: We started playing together six years or so ago and our style and interests have been evolving collaboratively since then.
Eben: It was a process of accrual, a ball rolling down a hill, picking up pieces, sticks, and pebbles, smashing into stuff.

AC: You worked on Muu's Way in the woods. Were you in a cabin and were you scared?
Sara: We were in the woods, yes, and it was the winter, so the ground was covered in ice. At night there were sounds that we couldn't identify, which was sometimes scary, but also exciting.
Eben: We were recording in a barn used to store a tractor, beekeeping equipment, and potatoes. It was a little bit scary, less like Evil Dead scary and more like The Shining scary.

AC: You had a couple big shows with Beirut in New York. How did that go?
Sara: They both went really well. The sound guys at the Music Hall of Williamsburg really worked with us to make sure the sound was totally what we wanted for the second night. It's rare to have sound people really invested in the opening band. Beirut's audience was really receptive, which was great and not totally expected since our music is pretty different.
Eben: We love Beirut's music so it was great to have the chance to play with them, and like Sara says, the audience was pumped.

AC: What was your experience like touring in Europe? Highlights? lowlights?
Sara: Touring Europe was incredible. I have family in Rome who I hadn't seen in nine years. Being able to attend my cousin's six year old's birthday party was pretty special. She made him a cake in the shape of a stegasaurus. The shows were all pretty amazing too. We did a week with Xiu Xiu that was totally inspiring and bar-raising. We toured Italy, Germany, Utrecht, London, France, and Portugal. Lowlights were mostly just ugly traveling issues. We were lucky that all the musical aspects went amazingly well.
Eben: Highlights were getting asked to play a second time at the Musica Nella Valle festival in northern Italy and playing with all the amazing bands there and opening for Xiu Xiu. Lowlights were typical tour stuff: stuck walking the streets of Bologna with all our stuff and no way to get to Frankfurt, lack of sleep, wine spilled on guitar pedals.

AC: What are some unusual instruments or effects equipment you have used?

Sara: I play a yoga ball inflation tube live.
Eben: The "drum" recorded on "Back In" was a huge plastic tub.

AC: Your song "the Hunt" sounds like it's about some guy killing animals. What's it about?
Sara: The lyrics of that song are sort of metaphorical stand-ins for other content, more emotional than literal.
Eben: The Owl and the Hunter are like these primal archetypes of two possible approaches to life in the world, and they both are moving in violence. One is integrated into "the cycle" and the other is coming from a distance, and the song is about this distance.

AC: How does being in a band with your partner work to an advantage or disadvantage?
Sara: We're partners. We're collaborators. We're in it together, creatively. That relationship is intense and has benefits and drawbacks. We just completed a two month tour so right now we're psyched that we can actually pull off our sonic ideas with just two people.
Eben: A lot of people seem to think we're married. After being in bands together for six years I guess we do start to look alike, always accidentally wearing the same colors on the same day and so forth. We have a healthy antagonism going that keeps things interesting, but we also have a real tangible joy in making music together.

Beers, steers and tears.

Museum Mouth stays hip in the south.

Photo by Sarah Ellen Churchill

interview by Kenyon Hopkin

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Museum Mouth--who pulls its name from a song by Cap’n Jazz--is from a small town just outside of Wilmington, North Carolina. There's not a hell of a lot to do in that quiet town, yet the band is still rocking and rolling. The young trio are going to some big cities to support the self-released Tears in My Beer, which showcases the band's lo-fi indie-garage punk pop. All three members--Savannah Levin (vocals/bass), Graham High (guitar) and Karl Kuehn (vocals/drums)--were able to express themselves.

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Advance Copy: What is life like in Southport? You're right on the coast there, so it must be beautiful. Is there any kind of music scene there? i guess you need to go to Wilmington for that?
Karl: It is really pretty, but it’s super boring. And in terms of a music scene, there’s nothing. There’s one other band from Southport, but they hate us. And Wilmington’s music scene is questionable.
Savannah: It's way too easy to sleep all day in Southport. Yea, it really is completely gorgeous, but hey, looks aren’t everything. And if by “music scene” in Southport you mean retired old people, we have a lot.
Graham: Southport is really pretty if there’s no one around, but as soon as people are around its pretty obnoxious.

AC: Are you excited to be making your way up to New York? Have you played or been there before?
Graham: Honestly I think there’s nothing special about New York. I’ve been in big cities, is there anything inspirational about them? Fuck no.
Karl: I'm excited. I’ve been to New York before but not with this band, and not to play a show, so I’m really excited to be playing there.
Savannah: My sisters lived in NYC for a while now so I’ve been quite a bit and I think it gets better every time you go so I’m pretty pumped on going and the band that were playing with there, Sleepies, is fucking awesome.

AC: Do you think you'll stay in NC or do you have plans to move to Portland, Oregon or Brooklyn or Austin?
Graham: I'm planning on moving to Baltimore because I hear they have a high crime rate.
Savannah: We’re sorta playing it by ear. We probably won’t stay in NC but nothing else is for sure.
Karl: I’m more concerned with when our next show is gonna be or how we're gonna put out our next record right now. Not really thinking about the distant future too much.

AC: Any ideas on how to stop the spewing oil in the gulf?
Karl: The world is filling with oil! I need to get a pug NOW!
Graham: It’s too late to stop it now. Everything’s fucked as it is.
Savannah: My mom cries every time she sees coverage on it saying “the dolphins, the dolphins” over and over again.

AC: Your indie rock sound recalls the spirit of early indie pop bands like Beat Happening, the Vaselines and Go Sailor and some of the stuff from the influential C86 U.K. comp. Do you sometimes wish you were part of that era in the mid to late 80s? Or are you happy with 2010?
Graham: I’m fine with 2010 because the 1980s are pretty inconceivable to me.
Karl: I’m happy with 2010. Granted I wasn’t around in the 80s, but so far 2010 hasn’t been as awesome as 2009.
Savannah: I would much rather live in the mid to late 80s. Wasn't that when The Goonies was made?

AC: Your song "Outside" says "I'm sorry Salinger". Is that an apology to author JD Salinger?
Savannah: It's sort of an apology. When I wrote those lyrics it was more about apologizing to the things that used to mean a lot to me in a time when I felt really out of touch. It is directed at that author because he’s one of my favorites.

AC: How was radfest? looks like fun times.
Graham: I drank. So much. Duck Rabbit. It was wonderful.
Savannah. Gross. Duck Rabbit is a terrible beer made in Farmville, NC. Fuck that stuff. But on more serious things, Rad Fest was mind-blowingly awesome. My heart will break if there’s not a Rad Fest 2.
Karl: It was a blast. I loved all the bands we saw and all the bands we played with and I loved all the Chason. It was cool to play so close to home under such awesome circumstances. And so many friends everywhere, so good.

An eight-nation army couldn't hold them back.
Pack a.d. is cooler than the White Stripes.

photo by Justine Warrington

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interview by Kenyon Hopkin

Vancouver duo Pack a.d. is the most bad-ass blues-rock-punk chick duo you will hear this side of the Canadian border. But it would be wise not to compare guitarist/vocalist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller to the White Stripes or Black Keys just cause they are two people playing bluesy rock. They definitely have more edge and grit. There's also some shades of L7 in the Pack's 2010 release, We Kill Computers (Mint records). Songs like "Deer" and "Crazy" are focused, raw power. Beat-keeper Miller speaks her mind on Vancouver, mix tapes and smashing computer monitors.

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Advance Copy: How's western Canada doing? Is there anything awful going on there right now that you think we need to know about? Or is it only the USA that's effin up? Canada seems like a better place to live, given the difference in health care.
Maya: Alberta does still like their rodeos and gambling. B.C. likes their lattes and loafing. Saskatchewan likes their Tim Horton's and Roughriders. Manitoba still likes their beer and uneven roads. We all still kinda win when it comes to things like Health Care it's true. But the U.S has hotel coupons at rest areas so that's a plus, although it doesn't really beat the health care I guess.

AC: How has the security at the U.S/Canada border been these days? Is it easy to walk/drive across?
Maya: You could try walking across but I wouldn't recommend it. I'd film you doing it though and youtube it. Sometimes, they smile at the border and they've never heard of our band.

AC: You're pretty close to Seattle. Do you go there often to hang out? Is there any sort of music scene in Vancouver?
Maya: If I had time to hang out, I might choose Seattle because Seattle is like hanging out in Vancouver pretty much. Especially with the rain and the coffee. There's a huge music scene in Vancouver. All types going on and it's just the right size city in the sense that everyone knows everyone, and they usually have beards.

AC: I read you are influenced by the Martian Chronicles? Only the book or have you seen the movie too, starring Rock Hudson? How does it influence you?
Maya: I've only read the book, had no idea there was a movie. Damn, I have to get in on that. I read the line [from the book] "I am the last Martian, I am going to kill you," and it changed me. I think it has influenced how I brush my teeth. It just seems more intense now.

AC: You had a cassette mix tape contest. Aside from that need for a tape on tour, are you, in general, down with cassettes as a way to hear music? Cassettes rule!
Maya: I agree that cassettes rule. A lot of people don't agree but I don't like those people. I also don't like people that spit on the street when they're talking. And also, small yappy dogs.

AC: You have a video where you are smashing a computer and monitor. Although the computer looks about 10 years old, does this represent your dislike for social networking sites? If you had a new computer that you could destroy any way you want, how would you do it?
Maya: Unfortunately, no one was willing to give us a new computer to kill. And yes, the title and the smashing is all about despising social networking. I'm talking the kind where people have a billion friends and actually consider them friends instead of basically friend hording acquaintances. If I could kill a new computer, I would definitely throw it out a window, SCTV style, or put it through some kind of random machinery and crush it like at the end of theTerminator.

AC: You probably get compared to the White Stripes and Black Keys too much, just cause they are also a blues-rock-garage guitar and drums duo. Are you tired of that comparison?
Maya: Words cannot describe how tired we both are of that. It's just sooo lazy.

AC: What were the locations that you filmed the video for "Deer"? Where is that couch now?
Maya: We filmed that all around Vancouver--Stanley Park, Leeside skate park, Playland [and others]. That couch was re-donated to the Value Village we bought it from for $30. That couch, by the way, smelled super bad. Not super bad in a good way either. Our van continued to smell like that couch for a week after. Now, it's all back to smelling like a taxi cab which is much better.

Caddy WHAT?

Caddywhompus embraces its offbeat name and the crooked corners of its noisy lo-fi math rock.

interview by Kenyon Hopkin

The second album from New Orleans duo Caddywhompus just blopped (yes, blopped) from Community records. Chris Rehm (guitar/vocals) and Sean Hart (drums) are now on the road supporting Remainder, which the two Texas natives completely self-produced and engineered. Rehm and Hart have been playing music together for years, eventually founding Caddywhompus in late 2008. Since then they've been on bills with the Antlers, Japanther, Cursive, A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Math the Band. Following a bunch of gigs at the last South by Southwest music festival, the guys hit the road to play all kinds of unconventional venues. Chris Rehm brings us up to date on what he's seen in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and some "rad-ass" things Caddywhompus has been up to.
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Advance Copy: it's funny how in your info at the Community records page you've got "according to dictionary.com Caddywhompus is "no dictionary results found." At urbandictionary the definition is "crooked, uneven, broken, ass-backwards and sideways." Does any of that ring true for you as a meaning behind the name?
Chris: To a certain extent, yeah. The way we approach songwriting and structure is pretty random and varying, some may consider it sideways or off, but I think that's better than being predictable and played out.

AC: during hurricane Katrina you were still in Houston. How long after that did you move to New Orleans? Did it feel surreal or strange to re-locate there, post-hurricane? Do you think there is still re-building that needs to be done in the city or surrounding areas?
Chris: Sean moved there in 2007 and I moved there in 2008, I remember going on drives all over the city with new friends that I met there and there were still many places that hadn't recovered. Many businesses and homes had or still have dumpsters outside. The city will always be recovering.

AC: why do you hold the guitar so high up? Looks a little uncomfortable. Does it make it easier to tap on the fretboard?
Chris: I wear it like that because that's about where the guitar is located when I sit down and play it. Low hanging guitars hurt my left wrist really bad, and also, shazam!, it's easier to tap when it's up high.

AC: you've played with Cursive. Was that your most exciting show? If not what was?
Chris: I wouldn't say that was our most exciting show, but it was a lot of fun getting to play with a band that we've admired for years. Most exciting show was probably a rad-ass house party we played in a basement in New Orleans last year. Nails were sticking out of the ceiling and people were dancing crazy, all drunk-like. Two seemingly straight dudes started making out hard and falling all over the place while we were playing.

AC: being a duo, you have the advantage of perhaps playing smaller spaces. What was the most unusual spot you've played?
Chris: last night we played in the upstairs of an abandoned bank. The lights didn't work downstairs. It was pretty wacky.

AC: what were the highlights for you at the last South by Southwest? How many shows did you play?
Chris: Definitely a highlight was hosting our show at the 21st Street Co-Op. Most of the bands we booked for the show were our favorite bands from New Orleans and Houston. We ended up playing at like four in the morning and it was still popping. We played five shows and did a radio interview on KVRX.

AC: you have a great DIY ethic. Do you ever want to be able to make a living as Caddywhompus?
Chris: it would be nice to make a living as Caddywhompus. Really, our financial dream is to be able to make enough money off of our music to be able to continue making it. But that's just a financial dream.

www.myspace.com/caddywhompusband

Beats Happening

Tender Forever

interview by Kenyon Hopkin

Armed with ukulele, guitar, digital pop beats and love, the sweet-natured Melanie Valera is one-girl band Tender Forever. Originally from France, the adventurous Valera has since settled in the Northwest corner of the U.S, where she continues to be inspired by her surroundings as well as be the inspiration to others. Today she shares insight into life in the DIY-rich Portland Oregon, the benefits of veteran indie label K records, touring with K records founder Calvin Johnson and the making of her third record, No Snare.

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Advance Copy: How's life been lately in Portland? Is it worth it for someone from New York to experience the underground culture there? What are the pros and cons of living there?

Melanie: Portland is totally treating me and the work that I have to do just right. The city is full of supportive, other radical females involved in millions of other projects. It's really inspiring and pushes me to do more than just what I think I can do. Portland is kind, creative, beautiful and will give you a lot of rain but not a job. You know, it's a pretty dark and damp place but a lot of amazing things come out of this harshness. You wouldn't believe it! You re-learn your possibilities of adaptation to life and how to work with and around the things that make it difficult. So you reinvent your way, your art, your connections and your relationship to others and ultimately yourself. The culture is made by radical kids for other kids. I think it's easy to find your community in Portland cause it's so linked to the music that you like and what people do is visible everywhere. It was easy for me, and I'm French, so imagine how easy it would be for someone that's used to the culture-- a piece of cake!

AC: What prompted your move from France to the West coast of the USA?

Melanie: Adventure, Love, Music!

AC: Do you go back to France often?

Melanie: Not that often. It is mostly when I tour Europe that I make sure I can see family and friends but it's definitely not a place where I can live. It's too old fashioned, racist and gendered for me but i do love my family and my friends. They are so special and make it a better place.

AC: How did you wind up meeting Calvin Johnson and signing on with K records?

Melanie: I met Calvin at the end of an attic show in Olympia, Washington. It was called the world's smallest venue. Only 10 of us could fit. He came and I guess he liked the performance and asked for a cd. We both had planned on going to the same show the next day so i promised i would bring him one. He somehow managed to get it before that and told me "Hey, I really like your songs! You want to record them?" I didn't have the full knowledge of what that meant but I think that i was just up for adventure and he seemed really cool so I said yes. He helped me change my plane ticket to extend my stay and the next day I was in the studio with him and Khaela Maricich [of the Blow]. I didn't know that this would be the most amazing and life changing experience of my life (and so far still is). K records is a very very special label and Calvin is a very very special person. K doesn't make you sign any contract and I think that's why people like me stay. You're free and let me tell you, there is nothing like freedom. After we recorded the album, Calvin took me in his office and pointed at the US map and said "let's go on tour now!" And i said yes again. We played over 56 shows in a row together. We shared the bill every night and sometimes, we would play two shows a day. Today I have played almost a thousand shows, traveled to so many countries and met amazing people. I had never thought that this would happen. But everything is possible, at all time. My life is changed, forever.

AC: What was it like touring with Calvin, are you guys buddies?

Melanie: Calvin and I are friends. I have the deepest love for him and I'm pretty sure he does too for me. Touring with him was like reading the best road trip novel ever. He knew where to go for dinner, for a fun time, for great thrift stores or just a cookie. He loves cookies. I learned so much in such a short amount of time. Touring is just so amazing cause you get to do what you want. It is a certain type of freedom that I don't get elsewhere. I taught him the French alphabet, he taught me names of hills and states. He showed me that you can play whatever, whenever and for as long as you want. He taught me that the reason why we do this is simple. He let me drive at night, he trusted me. Mostly he taught me so many many many words and I taught him some more. It was the first time he was going back on tour after that accident he had few years ago. It was freeing for him too I bet, with all the fear that came with it. But we just had a fine time, the finest indeed. While we were on tour, I had learned from my room mates that a new person had finally moved into the room for rent. So did her guns. I was so terrorized, but since none of my room mates made it a big deal, I thought that my fear probably came from some cultural differences. But to clear it up, I asked Calvin "is it normal to live with people who have guns?" He told me that I should not be living there. He said "you're moving in my home when we get back from tour." So my girlfriend and I moved into Calvin's for a year or so. This was the nicest thing someone has ever done for me. I live in Portland now, so I don't see him as often which is bogus but he gave me a ride to Olympia the other day and we surely laughed a lot.

AC: I saw you about five years ago here in Long Island, New York, when you were touring with Calvin. You played at someone's house and you got very interactive with us a couple times. In fact, you touched my leg. Is it safe to say that you enjoy smaller more intimate shows than a club with a four-foot high stage?

Melanie: I remember that show. What a weird place that was! It was Calvin's birthday too! I love small shows, I like big shows, big stages. I just don't like alcohol and venues that just have a bar in them. I think it sucks. I come up with the funniest little things on a high stage and I can do the same in a living room. I love performing. I can do it anywhere cause that's what i like doing. But I think [clubs with alcohol] are horrible. I now refuse to play such shows. But you have a lot of fun anywhere, just not with alcohol.

AC: Do you love being on stage alone? Have you ever thought about adding anyone to the Tender Forever line-up?

Melanie: Tender Forever started alone and will stay alone. It's such a personal project and it's been good for me and to me. Why should I get a backing band? But I love playing music with people and I'm indeed starting a new project. It's so much nicer to have people start something all at once, at the same time and be all emotionally involved in it. I don't feel alone on stage, I feel alone on the road, but it's taught me a lot of things as well.

AC: What instrumentation are you using now for live playing?

Melanie: I use so many things that it's ridiculous to name them. But let's say I use Ableton Live, some other software to use the Wii as drums, a sampler, iPod for video projections so that it's independent, guitars, ukulele and other things. It's a small set up made out of a million tiny things.

AC: The songs from No Snare are less bouncy and more serious and symphonic than the previous records. What did you do differently when approaching the writing of this latest album?

Melanie: Well I had already recorded the album back in February 2009 at the Dub Narcotic Studio and ended up losing everything even before I got a chance to back it all up in tour with Mirah [also on K records]. I still wanted to put it out, but didn't feel like redoing the same songs and definitely didn't feel like touching a computer in the process. That's how I ended up asking Christopher Doulgeris. He was super excited about it. We had 15 days to do it all. So I sat down every day in the studio and wrote a new song and we'd record it as we go. It was really fun and easy for me cause that's how I work in life, in general. I think that maybe living in the damp Pacific Northwest and wanting to make deeper sounding songs took No Snare where it is at now. It's a dark but straight forward series of songs. That's what and who I am.

AC: "If I'm Wierd I want to Share" [from Tender Forever's first album] is a song to which a lot of people could relate. Has that or any of your music served as an inspiration to anyone?

Melanie: The most gratifying thing indeed is when it does inspire people. Whatever they do with it, I think it's always amazing cause it seems that they feel free and confident enough to do it. It's a formidable experience to see people and read people's letter telling you that you changed their life. That's the kind of inspiration that I think is valuable. I am just glad and grateful for all the love I get to give and receive.

AC: Many people don't like to label their sexuality, be it straight, gay or bi. Do you identify yourself as anything in particular? Do boys often get crushes on you?

Melanie: This is how it works: Boys want to marry me and girls want to have sex with me. I don't know if I exude any kind of sexuality, but I do identify as a woman and a lesbian. But I believe in keeping my options opened, always. I just don't believe in one way or the other, especially looking back onto my life and how it changed drastically right around my 27th birthday. I get crushes on beautiful souls and I'm in love with everybody. Isn't it what other people do as well?

AC: Are there any specific gender/sexual orientation issues that you think the culture in the US needs to deal with better?

Melanie: The whole world needs to deal with sexuality and gender issues differently. I actually find the US to be quite organized and progressivist if it wasn't for the powerful Christian, vicious organizations polluting the system and getting in the way. France isn't better. Spain and Netherlands are the example to follow to me. Seriously. But there are no rules beside to love and embrace differences. It blows my mind to think about how some people live in the fear of the difference. It's sort of stupid cause we're all different, really. When you start thinking about how everyone is different from everybody, then you are able to understand how you can love them all and therefore yourself. But we, as a materialistic society, care only for ourselves, our belongings and our close and immediate family. We need to change that, cause when shit will go down, we'll all need each other. We just gotta love each other. Easy, right?

In a world of film trailers, one man stands alone.

David Asma (aka Spunkshine) makes movies more alluring.

interview by Kenyon Hopkin

If you've seen any trailers for new big studio horror films in the past few years, then there's no doubt you've heard at least a few seconds of audio by David Asma. Under the stage name Spunkshine, the Wisconsin-based artist--whose day job is a Public Defender Investigator--has contributed his brooding sound bytes (or "cues") to notable box office hits such as the Mist, Quarantine, the Box, and Drag Me to Hell. In early 2010, Asma's latest composition can be heard in the trailer for the remake of the Crazies. Truth be told, Asma is a very smart guy and well-versed in imperative sociological issues. -Kenyon Hopkin

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Advance Copy: the Crazies trailer is out there now. Are you psyched to experience the movie?

David Asma: The trailer sure makes the film “seem” worth seeing. Not having seen the original Romero film on which it’s based, I’m not sure what to expect, beyond, of course, the unsettling scenes presented in the trailer. I’m a sucker for smartly-made zombie films so, yeah, I’m looking forward to it. But then again, the so-called “crazy” characters in the film aren’t technically zombies (or are they? Damn these trailers for peaking my interest in vague story lines).

AC: Without giving away secrets, when/where/how did you start doing film trailers scores? How did you get so lucky to score some of the best horror of the past few years? Is the sound in these Hollywood trailers entirely by you? Or is it more like bits and pieces.

Asma: I started “assembling” sound design and electronic music in 2003. It was a hobby and I was composing stuff primarily as a means to dabble in technology. I became literally addicted to music production thanks to Garageband (Apple). Having since progressed to more complex technology and software, I was accumulating a significant library of sounds. Luckily, my brother is a partner at an editing-house in L.A and he used one of my speedy, dramatic cues for the Sahara Superbowl ad. Since then I occasionally get a request for a custom-made cue, but the recent trend is primarily sound design instead of “music” per se. Atmospheres, bizarre aural environments, and “stingers” seem to be in style these days. Although my cues have been used in a variety of genres, a lot of the weird-sounding stuff works well in horror films and the “horror” category appears to be really hot right now. Trailers are amazing productions in and of themselves. Scenes are chopped-up, arranged, and rearranged to make the film appealing. The same is true for the sounds, which are so layered it can be difficult to distinguish singular tracks or cues. But that’s the point of a great trailer, to suck you in emotionally without distracting you with singular auditory elements.

AC: Trailers always make the film seem better than it is. It's music like yours that helps. Are you often disappointed when films you see are duds after a promising trailer? Did you ever work on one where that happened? Surely there were other trailers you've done that you keep off your resume.

Asma: Trailers are amazing marketing tools! If done well, opening day numbers will reflect it’s success. Music and sound design certainly contributes. My stuff for The Mist used these unnerving alarm throbs that really worked to create a feel (especially when married to the visuals which, of course, requires the skill of a kick-ass editor. Hats off to those folks!) But then there are those trailers where our suspension of disbelief is utterly distracted by the musical element. Take Kingdom of Heaven (thankfully I was not involved in that). The visuals were utterly incongruent with the cheesy rock-opera score in the background (I can’t help but laugh at that one). As for duds, it’s always disappointing to land a cue in a campaign and instead of seeing it in front of a feature at the theater, you learn that it’s gone straight to DVD. Daltry Calhoun was one those films. Never saw it and I’m not sure if it was actually released.

AC: what projects are on the horizon?

Asma: Hard to say. I never know what’s needed until I get a call requesting a custom-built cue. It depends on what the editor needs. It should be noted, however, that submitting a cue never guarantees its use. Other cues may work better or the campaign may be won by a competing trailer house. As for other projects, I’m working on sound design elements and a score for the forthcoming indie film, Phoebe. I’m told it should hit the film festival circuit in the near future.

AC: so your other employment is as a Public Defender Investigator. What does that entail?

Asma: In the real world, I work full-time at a Public Defender office. The office represents indigent folks accused of crimes. As a defense investigator, my job is to gather information about the alleged incident and the accused so as to assist the attorneys who are working on the case. The office handles cases ranging from misdemeanors to felony and death penalty cases. Some heavy stuff goes on at work and music production becomes a pleasant diversion.

AC: And you're also an Adjunct Sociology Instructor, with interest in crimimal justice. Is there anything you care to vent about that is corrupt and inept in the system?

Asma: There is always a risk of offending someone when venting about crime. But since you asked, here goes: The Death Penalty is broken. There is no credible evidence that it is any more effective as a deterrent to murder than incarceration. Plus, it’s far more costly than life imprisonment. We are the only Western nation to employ it (others have abandoned it). It’s carried out in a racially discriminatory manner. Essentially, it is a sanction that can be defended only on the grounds of retribution, which of course is fueled by misplaced public fears, which are, in turn, exploited by policy makers.

AC: Can you very briefly explain your involvement in each of these: dramaturgical analysis, media representations of identities, deviance/stigma.

Asma: At least from the sociological perspective, Dramaturgy is an approach to social analysis in which “theater” is used as an analogy to everyday life. Social action is viewed as a “performance” in which actors both play parts and stage-manage their actions, seeking to control the impressions they convey to others. Simply put, we act out our roles; we’re usually “on” in the presence of others. Dramaturgical analysis is the study of how meaning emerges through interaction, including expressive staging; how do we present ourselves to other? Is it convincing given the situation? Do we say the wrong thing while trying to impress the other? My diatribe above regarding US policy on Death Penalty may very well have damaged the Spunkshine image for some readers while concretizing a positive image for others. Media are powerful means of presenting information (think Trailers, this blog, news, concert performances). Keep in mind, however, media are heavily manipulated and arguably artificial; are we presented favorably or negatively? Impression management is precarious; if the performance fails, a spoiled identity may be applied, which starts us moving in the direction of what some consider deviance.

AC: judging by your music and the films you score, you're obviously into darker content. What are some of your favorite all time horror/dark films?

Asma: I’m not necessarily into dark content. Some of my stuff simply gets attached to dark trailers. My music albums range from “weird grooving” to IDM and ambient chill. As for films, I suppose I’m more inclined to lean toward the subtly bizarre rather than horror. Off the top of my head: the Qatsi trilogy (Koyaanisqatsi et. al.), Moon, Sunshine, Let the Right One In, Solaris (both of them), Baraka, The Stalker, anything by the Coen brothers, Terrence Malick, Kubrick, Jean-Perre Jeunet, all Simpsons, all Futurama. Good Lord, I am such a nerd!

they trip us up
a place to bury strangers
interview by kenyon hopkin


The Brooklyn-based A Place to Bury Strangers has been jack-hammering a post-punk wall of noise-pop, while accomplishing the dream of opening for some of its biggest influences and bigger named peers- Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Brian Jonestown Massacre. Their new album Exploding Head just hit the public and it's another mesmerizing assault. Leader Oliver Ackermann (guitar/vocals) began the killer rock n' roll in the mid-90s, with the formation of a previous, similar incarnation called Skywave, which released the distortion drenched Synthstatic in 2003. The other two members of Skywave continued with dream-noise-pop as Ceremony down in Virginia. In APTBS, Ackermann is joined by Jono MOFO (bass) and Jay Space (drums). They've been written up in the Washington Post and New York Times. And now, Oliver faces Advance Copy for his most ultimate, complex and challenging interview to date.
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Advance Copy: You opened some dates for Nine Inch Nails. NINE INCH EFFING NAILS. HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!? When that got confirmed, WERE YOU FLIPPING OUT OR WHAT? how did it all go?
Oliver: They asked us if we wanted to play the shows because they liked the band. It was really rad, I definitely used to blast the Pretty Hate Machine cassette in my Chevy Caprice in the sticks in VA all the time.

AC: Is the new record, Exploding Head, as crazy and effed up as you planned it to be?
Oliver: No it isn't, but I don't think that is a bad thing. I was planning on making it really really fucked up and then we kind of took it in a different direction as it was being recorded. That is the way I think any recording has always gone. A lot of the writing is done while you are recording it and I think that is crucial and lets the composition work with the sounds that are laid down on tape.


AC: Although we both have to admit the songs of the JAMC are timeless classics, dynamically and noise-wise, APTBS blew away JAMC at Webster Hall (New York). There was another band that played in between but they were forgettable. Respond to these statements please.
Oliver: I think the Jesus and Mary Chain may not care as much now. Also what they are doing isn't as unheard of now as it was back in the day so there must be less excitement for them to get into it. I don't remember blowing them away but you can say what you want.


everything's alrite when you're opening for jesus and mary chain. photo by kenyon.
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AC: It's real difficult to hear the lyrics in your songs, especially live. i have no problem with this, but do you ever get criticized for that? Or do most people "get it"?
Oliver: I think some people like it and some people don't. I've definitely heard people complain about this. That is fine though because I am mostly just making music for myself, if other people enjoy it and it can help people out than that is all a bonus.

AC: Your previous band Skywave is essentially the same sound as the current band. Why the name change? Cause of different members? Strangers though is indeed more of a sonic assault.
Oliver: Skywave was a band with different members and in that band we were all writing different songs that would all make it on the albums. APTBS is pretty much just my writing style from that. The other guys from Skywave have formed the band Ceremony. I think all of these projects and songs sound different but I would bet that I have a different opinion of what this music sounds like than what other people would.


AC: Have you ever gotten any really shitty negative reviews? Can you tell me about one?
Oliver: Sure, I think people sometimes say that our music is really derivative of other stuff and it always cracks me up because if you were to look at the reviews of what these people thought were original it is always such a photocopy of something previous. I always want to hear something new and different and that is definitely a goal of mine when I record.

AC: Creating your own guitar effects pedals has got to be the most killer and potentially lucrative thing you've ever done. i think i want to buy one. But aren't you afraid of other bands being able to replicate your sound? Who exactly makes the pedals, you? i read that U2 used a pedal, is that true?!
Oliver: I love to build effect pedals and all of the money that is made from the business is spent to design more pedals, release friends' records, pay for rent and food. I don't like money and try to put as much back into the art and community of things going on around me. I'm not afraid of other bands being able to replicate our sounds, it is an honor to hear that people are using the pedals to realize the sounds that they want to create. I think a lot of the originality comes with how you use effects and songwriting. I make the pedals as well as a few other people who have really helped out as the company has expanded. I think U2 uses a bunch of the pedals, they bought them all and then reordered a few duplicates of some of the pedals I think for their tour.

AC: Up until signing to Mute [records], you definitely made some progress as far as getting better known, without the help of a decent-sized indie label. How did you do it? Without giving secrets away of course.
Oliver: I think you just have to do what you like to do. I like playing shows, writing songs, and recording music and I think all of this is important if you want to be in a band that people will hear about. Just do what you love and if people like it or they don't at least you will be doing what you think is cool. I think that is the secret to success with your own personal sanity.

the things i miss.
Secret Shine
interview by Kenyon Hopkin
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Secret Shine (current line-up of Jamie Gingell, Scott Purnell, Dean Purnell and Kathryn Smith) saw its inception at the height of the dreampop/shoegaze era in the UK, when bands like Slowdive and Ride were the latest thing and My Bloody Valentine was about to release Loveless. The Shine released an album on trailblazing indie label Sarah records before going on an extended hiatus. In 2008 they finally released All of the Stars through Clairecords.
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Advance Copy: How is life in the UK?
Jamie: Grey and wet, very expensive and celebrity obsessed.

AC: So you originally formed in 1990, when all the dreampop/shoegaze bands were blossoming. Was it an exciting time? Or did it just seem that way to everyone else?
JG: It was exciting in the sense that we liked the music that was being made at the time, although on the whole, things are never as exciting as we like to remember them.

AC: Are you impressed with yourselves that you're again existing as a band, given the break-up of so many other similar bands? Why did you originally break-up? What took so long? Why now the reformation?
JG: We never broke up. We're too lazy to do anything that organized. We creatively ground to halt and stayed that way in stasis for a decade. We all still saw each other regularly and started the idea of writing again a few years into the hiatus, but that conversation lasted about six years. We like to take our time.

AC: It's been over a decade since the last album. Given the climate in the music industry and trends between then and now, how have things been different for you as a band?
JC: We were never that aware of what the differences were really, because Matt and Claire at Sarah kind of took all that away and dealt with it for us. We didn’t have the kind of self-financed funding back then that we do now though, so we mostly gigged in the UK. I guess the internet in the intervening years has enabled much better social networking in the music scene and meant we get to play the States and mainland Europe a lot more than we used to. Bands don’t make as much money as they used to from record sales because everyone seems to want something for nothing on the internet these days, but the kind of fans who have the integrity to buy what you create and come to your gigs make up the difference.

old school Secret Shine

AC: You're already working on the next record, even though you had some recent hold-ups. What is providing the acceleration?
JC: I wouldn’t say were accelerating. We're planning another album, but in reality, we started writing for it about a year ago and I don’t think it will be ready until next year. Unlike our second album, we don’t have a tour-based commitment for this release, so it will be ready when it’s ready.

AC: i know you posted about it, but since it was such an unbelievable gig, what was it like for you seeing my bloody valentine for their recent reunion?
JC: It was loud beyond imagining, in your face, and uncompromising. Some songs were played to perfection and others were barely intelligible. If we wanted perfection, we’d all stay at home and listen to the CD I guess. There’s nobody else like them, mainly because no one else could pull it off.

www.myspace.com/secretshine

We All Scream for Ponytail !!
interview by Kenyon Hopkin

photos- Frank Hamilton

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Freak-out noise band Ponytail has found its place among the likes of fellow art-noise band Deerhoof. If Deerhoof doesn't ring a bell, think a Japanese Sonic Youth throwing a childish fit. The band's videos are of people dancing as if on an acid trip, which seems to accomodate thei music. Its members, who met at the Maryland Institute College of Art, are Molly Siegel (yelping), Ken Seeno (guitar), Dustin Wong (guitar) and Jeremy Hyman (drums). Their 2008 album release, Ice Cream Spiritual, is out on We are Free records and was produced by underground rock phenom J Robbins.

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You're playing Halloween in Brooklyn, is it gonna be mayhem? A party?
Dustin: Hope so! I want to pull off becoming Robin Hood but I can't promise anything really. I might be a shitty ghost for all i know. It's going to be a colorful evening for sure.

Whats the wildest show you ever had?
Dustin: Market Hotel hands down, the hottest hottest night I have ever played. I have never sweat so much in my life.

From where does Ponytail get its inspiration?
Molly: Fleetwood Mac, Dragon Ball, our Moms
Dustin: I think mainly positivity

Are there ever lyrics in the vocals or is it just random hollering?
Molly: There are some lyrics. A few of them are scrawled along the inside of the CD
Dustin: no way dude, molly knows exactly what she is doing

What do you think about the comparisons of Ponytail to Yoko Ono?
Molly: I am honored by the Yoko comparisons. She's for real.
Dustin: Its awesome! Yoko Ono is great.

Is Ice Cream Spiritual a different take or wordplay on Ice Cream Social?
Molly: Yeah you know, but spiritual, get it?
Dustin: It is, but you can also read it as I Scream Spritual too.

I am sure that your music is not for everyone. What is the worst thing any critic or anyone ever said about Ponytail's sound?
Molly: Someone said I was a bitch on their blog once, just for singing.
Dustin: Someone called Molly a whore once on a blog. That was totally inappropriate.

Do you guys have day jobs? What are those jobs?
Molly: I work at a Children's Museum in Baltimore called Port Discovery.
Dustin: I work for my mom. She makes Blythe dolls. I make jingles and promotional animations for her.

What's the first significant thing you're going to do when you get home after your tour this year?
Molly: Well depending on what you mean by significant... I am going to sleep for sure.
Dustin: I think i might try to get into that TV series Heroes.

http://www.myspace.com/jreamteam