Above The Influence: An Interview With Count From Inu

With the release of their Monster EP, Inu is a band to watch in 2010. The group consists of producer/drummer/vocalist Count, guitarist Tim Hingston, and cellist Zoe Keating. Fishpork got a chance to talk with Count about the band’s upcoming full album release, the lack of influences on the songwriting process, and some potential live shows for 2010.

How did you hook up with the other band members to form Inu?

When you guys write songs, what’s that process like?

I wrote a raving review of your Monster EP a few weeks ago. I called it “one of the best of the year so far.” What can we expect on this new album?

What kind of music are you guys listening to right now?

Did you have a favorite album of 2009?

What can we expect from your live shows?

What’s in store for the band in 2010?

http://www.myspace.com/inuband

All In The Family: An Interview With Zechs Marquise

Named after a popular Japanese anime character, Zechs Marquise are comprised of familiar names. Brothers of The Mars Volta mastermind Omar, Marfred and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez have formed their own prog-rock groove outfit along with childhood friends Matthew Wilkson and Marcos Smith. Following a long and complicated road toward completing their debut album, Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare is finally getting a proper release via Rodriguez-Lopez Productions. The band has also scored an opening slot on a tour with RX Bandits and Dredg. Fishpork got a chance to talk with bassist Marfred about recording the album on their own equipment, the excitement of playing in New York and Philly for the first time, and planning everything around The Mars Volta.

Fishpork: Who in the band also plays with The Mars Volta? Are you finding it tough to plan around both of the bands’ schedules?

Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez: Well, Marcel [Rodriguez-Lopez] plays percussion and secondary keys in The Mars Volta. Yeah, it does become hard because we like to tour a lot more than we can.  And with their touring schedule we have to plan around it, but we do what we can.

FP: How is the release of Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare on Rodriguez-Lopez Productions different from when you guys released it last year?

MR: Not much. It’s mostly just [] differences and stuff. And now we’ll actually have somewhat of a backing with the record, because before last year . . . all of last year we pushed it ourselves. We sold it out of our web site and our MySpace and going out on tour with it and selling it that way. So it’s good to have that kind of backing.

FP: I heard you guys recorded the album on your own last year. How did that process work?

MR: We tried to go in and record at an old rehearsal place. We used to live next door to a gentleman that had a recording studio. Well, he works for one. We went in there to go work with it, and then he had a dispute with the actual owners of the studio. And within that time, we kinda put everything on hold. And in between then . . . I guess it was something like three or four months . . . we learned that the engineer wasn’t going to be working there anymore. And the studio went ahead, and they actually wiped out all the material we had on their drives there. When we went back to get it, it was already all gone. So with all of the gear that we had acquired over the last few years and stuff, we just kinda figured might as well do it ourselves and avoid the hassle of making a schedule or, even for that matter, paying for recording time. This way, what money we would have invested in, actually going to the studio and spending time in there, we could actually put it into our own recording equipment and record whenever we want to, not having to pay for hourly fees or for an engineer or any of that stuff.

FP: When you guys write songs, what’s that process like?

MR: Basically, we’ll just get together for a rehearsal or something, and we’ll just play whatever. And if we like it, we’ll take from there and kind of build upon it. Or sometimes each guy comes in with like a guitar riff, or I’ll come in with a bass line, or Marcel comes in with drums or whatever, and we just kind of add someone else’s idea.

FP: What kind of music are you guys listening to right now?

MR: Really anything, but particularly right now we’ve just been listening to a lot of funk and soul and hip hop, believe it or not. We’re listening to a lot of James Brown, some Delfonics stuff. And like I said just old hip hop . . . a lot of J Dilla. We do listen to a lot of different music, but lately that’s what we’ve been listening to a lot.

FP: What’s your favorite album of 2009 so far?

MR: That Crack the Skye by Mastodon.

FP: I saw that the band was making their way to New York and Philly. Will these shows be your first time playing gigs on the East Coast?

MR: Yeah, actually. We haven’t gone as far as . . . the furthest east that we’ve been, I believe is North Carolina. So it should actually be kinda fun. Everyone is looking forward to the Philly and New York shows in particular. Actually, one of the guys in the band has never even been up to the Northeast part of the country or the Midwest, so it’s going to be a good experience for him.

FP: How did you guys get hooked up with RX Bandits and Dredg?

MR: Apparently, Cathy over at Sargent House had turned RX onto Zechs. I guess played them a couple of tracks or gave them a CD or something, and they turned out to like it a lot. And they had this tour coming up for their new record and asked us to join them.

FP: What can we expect from your live shows?

MR: A lot of high energy, very aggressive music playing (laughs).

FP: What’s in store for the band for the rest of 2009?

Yeah, actually. We started working on our next record late last year and for the most part of this year. We’ve been working in between tours and Mars Volta scheduling. Hopefully, with any luck, we’ll get it out before the end of the year. If not, right at the beginning of next year. Looking forward to that one. It sounds completely different than what we did with Our Delicate (Stranded Nightmare).

www.myspace.com/zechsmarquise
www.rodriguezlopezproductions.com

Chasing the Dreaming California: An Interview With Friday Nights

The Ken Andrews and Matt Mahaffey (Self) influences are obvious on the debut record from Los Angeles-based Friday Nights. With sonic guitar work and infectious pop hooks, Friday Nights put their own spin on the alt/pop formula perfected by their contemporaries. The result is a collaboration between two veteran musicians, Mike Castillo and Shon Kornfeld, about to burst onto the scene with their latest musical incarnation. Fishpork got a chance to talk to Mike about the band’s musical tastes, having Ken Andrews mix their record, and what else can be expected this year.

Fishpork: How did you guys meet up and form Friday Nights?

Mike Castillo: Shon and I met ten years ago at a little hole in the wall called Cafe Tara. I was 17 and played bass in a band called “Burning Owen”. Shon played guitar in an awesome melodic hardcore band called “Helen 55″. I fell in love with his band…I even roadied for ‘em for a while. We kept in touch over the years. We both were doing solo stuff and in ‘05 Shon offered to record my “best song” for free at his home studio, Moai Sounds, which he had just put together. We recorded  demos for the four songs that I had written. Shon also had a bunch of cool songs that he was working on. We both really dug each other’s material so we decided to combine it and form “Friday Nights”.

FP: What was the song writing process like on the album?

MC: The main bulk of the material had already been written before Shon and I started working together. For the most part, Shon’s stuff had didn’t have lyrics or melodies written yet and my stuff needed to be “produced” and arranged. For my songs, I’d basically show Shon how to play the basic song on acoustic and then let him run with it…a few days later he’d send me something back with full guitars, harmonies, bass and a basic drum machine track and I’d be like, “Fuck Yes!”. For Shon’s songs, he’d give me the demos to write lyrics and melodies to. Most of the time they had no vox but if he had an idea where he wanted to go with something, he’d lay down a scat track or a keyboard playing the melody.

FP: What bands did you guys grow up on? Who served as inspiration for Friday Nights?

MC: Everything from pop to obscure indie rock. Hum, Failure, Swervedriver, My Bloody Valentine, Autolux, Self, Fountains of Wayne, The Police. We like the spacey rock a lot but we’re also suckers for a good pop hook. We’re huge fans of Steely Dan. They served as a big influence for how we do business as a band. 2 guys writing everything…any other musicians are hired or invited as needed. Fewer egos to deal with and it’s nice to have options. Sometimes one drummer sounds better on one track and another sounds better on a different track, ya know? My favorite band as a kid was Soundgarden and I’m pretty sure Shon’s was Jane’s Addiction.

FP: In an age when digital distribution is king and CD packaging is usually minimalistic, your new album’s packaging looks great. What made you guys go with that presentation?

MC: We’re still stuck in the 90s, I guess….hahahaha! We found a picture that a guy named John Watson took of the 91 freeway and we really liked it. Shon met a guy named Brad Chancellor who does killer design stuff and it just kinda came together. It was originally going to be a simpler thee panel layout but we couldn’t fit all of the lyrics and credits. The weird thing is we’ve sold about five times as many CDs as we have of the digital version. It’s had us kinda scratching our heads. We released the digital copy first and we kept getting responses from people saying “Cool! I’m waitin’ for the CD, though!”

FP: Getting recognition for a new band can also be a struggle in a saturated market. What are you guys doing to promote yourselves?

MC: Since we’re really just two guys and we have to pay other musicians to play live, we’ve had to go about things a little bit differently. We’re just now about to start to play shows. Originally the band was going to be more of a recording project than anything. We mainly use sites like MySpace, Last.FM and thesixtyone.com to find our audience. We look for people who we think might be feeling the material and just send them a message asking them to take a listen

FP: How do you think MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools play a role in promotion these days?

MC: Well for one, free music hosting! When MySpace first came out, I remember being STOKED that you could put your music up for free! They also help you find your audience, which is important.

FP: One of our all-time favorite artists, Ken Andrews, mixed your debut record. How did you guys meet up with Ken and what was that process like?

MC: We just kind of sent his management the songs and asked if he’d be into it and crossed our fingers. We were pretty thrilled when he said yes. We never actually met up with Ken in person, even though he lives really close. He’s a really busy guy, so we’d just send the songs over with kind of an idea of what we wanted and he nailed it for the most part. Anything that he didn’t nail he’d revise for us.

FP: Were you guys fans of Ken’s former bands (Failure, On, Year of the Rabbit)?

MC: Oh yea, definitely. We’re bigger Failure fans, though.

FP: What can we expect to see in the live incarnation of these songs? When do you guys plan to tour?

MC: We’re playing our first 2 shows in June. We’ve got a great lineup of musicians, right now. We don’t have any solid plans to tour, yet. If there’s enough of a demand, we will. Otherwise, we’re just havin’ fun.

FP: What bands are you guys currently listening to? Favorite album of 2009 so far?

MC: We’re listening to a lot of And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their newest album Century of Self is disgustingly good. We’re also in love with the new The Life and Time record Tragic Boogie.

FP: What can we expect from Friday Nights for the rest of 2009?

MC: MORE MUSIC! We’re already starting the demo process for our next EP Saturday Mournings. All of the material’s done. We’re really stoked on that. After that, we’ll probably go right into the next LP.

http://fridaynightsmusic.com
http://myspace.com/fridaynightsmusic

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White Lies: Everything’s Got To Be Love Or Death

White Lies may be one of the most hyped British bands in recent memory, and their highly anticipated debut, To Lose My Life, has reached #1 on the U.K. charts. The band is just now making their way to the U.S. for a full proper tour, featuring a collection of emotionally-charged songs that are best served live. Other bands have taken notice, and the White Lies have become a target of countless remixes. Most recently, Crystal Castles put their electro-spazz touch on the album’s opening track, “Death.” We recently caught one of their shows in Philly and became instantly enamored with front man Harry McVeigh. Filter Magazine was able to hook us up with an opportunity to speak to Harry (just hours before his Seattle gig) about his band’s penetration into the American market, the passion in his performances, and some of his favorite bands at the moment.

Fishpork: We were at your Philly show and were really blown away. How do you think the fans over here are responding to White Lies?

Harry McVeigh: It’s been very good, actually. It’s actually been a lot better than we expected it to be. A lot of these shows have started to sell out now, especially towards the end of the tour as interest starts to build. We’ve been playing some good shows, and people have been responding to it really well. Much better than expected I think, and we’ve been really pleased with it.

Fishpork: How is your voice feeling since that show?

HM: It’s much better now. Thanks very much for asking. Yeah, I was out for about five, six days, but I had to do all the shows, and I got through it. It was a struggle. It was definitely a struggle.

Fishpork: Do you find the U.S tour to be more of a challenge since most of your success has been in the U.K.?

HM: No, we had the same challenge in the U.K. about six months ago when we first started touring with the band properly. You know, it’s the same in any country. When you’re starting out, it’s gonna be a little bit harder, because no one’s heard your music, and no one’s had the chance to come see you play live yet. And that’s how interest is generated, and that’s how bands start out. It is a challenge, and it’s really good fun for us, and I’m really enjoying being on this tour. It takes us back to the time when we started. And I know it’s only six months ago. That’s the time we started in the U.K., our own headline tour or whatever. It’s really good fun to play these size venues, to play to people who haven’t really heard your music before and to try to win them over. It’s great fun. I’ve really enjoyed. I suppose the only challenging thing about touring in the U.S. is the distance between each show. And that’s obviously the big difference between the U.S. and England. Every night, we’re probably driving for eight/nine hours to get to places. And, in fact, I decided to fly, because I have my girlfriend out here in Seattle. I drove from Minneapolis to Seattle, which is a very, very long drive. Yeah, it’s cool. It’s really fun.

And it never gets boring playing live, ever. We love it, and we learn new things about the songs and, in fact, learn new songs every few months. And it’s great. The live show’s constantly stepping up in quality, and the performance is becoming better and better, I think.

Fishpork: Some of the songs on your album have been out for a while. Do you get tired of playing the same songs every night? How do you keep your live shows fresh?

HM: No, you’d have to be playing the songs for a long, long time for them to get boring. There’s always the excitement and the nerves when you’re playing live, that it might just go wrong at any moment. And you have to always be concentrating really hard and be really focused when you’re on stage to deliver the best performance. And it never gets boring playing live, ever. We love it, and we learn new things about the songs and, in fact, learn new songs every few months. And it’s great. The live show’s constantly stepping up in quality, and the performance is becoming better and better, I think. If anyone’s seen us this time around on the tour . . . the next time we tour the U.S., hopefully, it’ll be even better. So, it never gets boring. It’s always fun to expand on songs and to get the most out of them in every show.

Fishpork: You seem to put so much energy and emotion into your performances. How are you able to keep your sanity from night to night?

HM: You know, it’s exactly that. During the performance we’re obviously very focused, and we want to deliver the power and emotion of the song. And it’s actually hard not to deliver that power and emotion. They’re very emotionally charged songs and lyrics. It sounds like a cheesy thing to say, but it’s quite therapeutic to sing about things like that and to get that emotion off your chest. For the rest of the time, we’re pretty grounded, normal people. We enjoy the same things that everyone else does. And we enjoy them in the same way. For the show, we’re definitely very focused, but we try to leave that emotion in the show and during the show. Otherwise, we would go insane.

Fishpork: What’s been your favorite stop on the U.S. tour?

HM: I’ve enjoyed a lot of places to be honest. I’ve just spent a couple of days here in Seattle, and I really loved the city, first time here. Everywhere is different. New York and Chicago, the big cities, are great to visit. They’re really amazing places to see. And we always have a good time in the big cities. But there’s some wonderful small places we’ve visited as well. Ann Arbor, the show we did just before Chicago, which is obviously a very small university town. It was great fun, and it was a good show and a really beautiful city as well.

You don’t get a sound check or anything. You usually just set up the equipment and walk on stage. And, personally, I love that. It’s great that it’s so spontaneous. And it actually kind of separates the really good performers and musicians from the no so good performers. And, hopefully, we fall into the first bracket.

Fishpork: We’ve noticed a lot of festival stops on your tour. How do you compare the festival experience to more intimate shows?

HM: Of course, we’re playing Coachella in a couple weeks. Amazing, we’re really looking forward to that. The festival experience is totally different, not only for the people playing but also for the people watching it. A festival performance is a very immediate thing. You don’t get a sound check or anything. You usually just set up the equipment and walk on stage. And, personally, I love that. It’s great that it’s so spontaneous. And it actually kind of separates the really good performers and musicians from the no so good performers. And, hopefully, we fall into the first bracket. And we work very hard, as I mentioned before, on our live show. It’s going to be interesting. And we might have a few shows that are not quite so good, and we might have a few amazing shows at festivals. And that’s the genius of it. You never quite know what’s going to happen, and I love that. At the smaller clubs shows you get a long sound check, and you get to make sure everything’s working. And that’s still really good fun and really great. And, also, you get to use your light show and whatever. It’s not quite as immediate and spontaneous as the festival shows.

Fishpork: What is the songwriting process like for you guys?

HM: It’s almost entirely a democracy in the band. Usually it’ll start with . . . maybe Charles will maybe write some lyrics. And me and Charles will probably sit in my house with the keyboard in my living room, and we’ll start to work out the basics of a song, like the the basic chord structures and melody lines. And then we’ll go into the rehearsal studio, and we’ll work with Jack. It’s only usually a couple of days where we’re working on the very basics of a song, me and Charles. For the rest of the time, me, Jack and Charles will be in the rehearsal studio working long hours to get the song into shape, and it’s the same right way until we finish recording it, and then we have to relearn how to play it live. It’s very much a democracy between the whole band.

Fishpork: Who are some of your American music influences?

HM: Most of our musical influence comes from America actually. It’s very strange. We don’t listen to a huge amount of British music. And I don’t know what the reason for that is. We love the Secret Machines’ first record, I think is our favorite record as a band. That would be in all of our top three records of all-time. We love a band called School of Seven Bells, which is obviously the Secret Machines’ guitarist. They’re amazing. They’re actually coming out to play with us in the U.K. actually in May. And also a band from New York called Violence, a very new band that we’ve fallen in love with. They’re amazing. It’s strange, especially in modern music. We certainly listen to a lot more American bands than U.K. bands.

Fishpork: The visual component to White Lies is quite cinematic. Where does that interest in the visual come from? How do you guys come up with the music video concepts?

HM: The main visionary behind those videos is actually the director, Andreas Nilsson. And the reason we started working with him was because he did the treatment for our first music video, which was “Death.” And it was amazing. It fit so well with the band’s ethos, and what the band is about and, also, what the song is about. And so we chose his treatment and made a video with him. It was so good that we decided to make two more videos with him. He’s just a fantastic director and great visionary. We have a lot of trust in him to make really amazing videos. So that’s why we did a trilogy of videos with him. I’m not sure if you guys have seen the most recent one. It’s on our MySpace. It’s for the single that’s coming out in the U.K., “Farewell to the Fairground.” We shot it in Russia, which was amazing.

I absolutely love that remix. I love the way they’ve taken it completely out of context and changed the song but still made it their own a bit in a very unique and original way. I love their remix. I think it’s amazing.

Fishpork: Crystal Castles is one of our favorite bands. How did you like their remix of Death?

HM: I love it. I love Crystal Castles as well. I think they’re album is incredible. And I’m so, so excited about their second record. We were sort of introduced to Crystal Castles when we were touring with them in 2008 on a tour called NME New Noise Tour in the U.K. And they obviously heard us playing Death on pretty much every night of the tour, and they fell in love with the song. And so they decided to do a remix of it. I absolutely love that remix. I love the way they’ve taken it completely out of context and changed the song but still made it their own a bit in a very unique and original way. I love their remix. I think it’s amazing. Since then, they’ve actually started working with the same management as us, and we get along with them very well as people. They’re really lovely people. We often see them on the festival circuit, and often around London, and also we were in Toronto recently, we saw them out there. We get along with Crystal Castles very well. They’re great people.

Fishpork: What other bands are you guys listening to right now?

HM: Let me think. There’s a band called M83 who just did a remix of one of our songs called “Nothing To Give.” Also, I’ve just bought their album, and I’ve fallen in love with it.  I think it’s fantastic. Really great record.

Fishpork: What’s coming up in 2009 for White Lies?

HM: Pretty much touring. We’re touring around the whole world and around the U.K.  and Europe a lot. And we’re playing festivals all over the world for the rest of the summer. And it’s going to be great. We’re really, really excited about it. And we hope to see as many people as possible at all the festivals around the world. It’s going to be great.

White Lies has also been hard at work with music video extraordinaire, Andreas Nilsson, who is best known for his work with the Swedish electronic duo, The Knife. So far, Nilsson has worked with White Lies on a trilogy of music videos that capture the visual aesthetic of To Lose Your Life. Embedded below are his videos for “Death,” To Lose My Life,” and “Farewell To The Fairground.”

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Controlled Chaos: An Interview with Girl Talk

Greg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) has evolved from mash-up novelty to Pitchfork stud, performing over 100 shows a year to sold-out crowds. The 27-year old released Feed the Animals, his fourth album, earlier this year and has just finished up an intense leg of his current international tour. The album appeared on countless end-of-the-year lists, including #11 on The Fishpork 20. We called up Gillis earlier this week to find out what’s next. The former biomedical engineer who takes fair use and copyright to its limits talked about the dark process of creating Feed the Animals, the controlled chaos at his shows, and his yearning to try something different for his next release.

Fishpork: First of all, congrats on making all of those end-of-year lists.

GG: Thank you, man. I appreciate it.

Fishpork: When I talk to people or read about reactions to your music, specifically with Feed the Animals, it seems that they either love it or hate it. Comments on music bogs are usually something like, “I’m glad Girl Talk is finally getting respect on this list,” or “Girl Talk is on the top ten, that’s a joke.” Do you pay attention to music bloggers?

“I try to be able to take a step back, and I would rather be a polarizing figure and kind of push people one way or the other, rather as something that slips by as just another musician.”

GG: I try not to, but occasionally I’ll be sitting in a hotel after a show — I’ll be a few drinks deep — and I’ll just get real dark. I’ll look up negative press of myself. I think, on the whole, it’s better to ignore. I mean, I’m pretty hard on myself in terms of what I want to get out of projects, so reading stuff from bitter assholes spewing off negative stuff is valuable. It’s also probably in my best interest not to pay attention to it. So I try to ignore it, but I sometimes get into it. I try to be able to take a step back, and I would rather be a polarizing figure and kind of push people one way or the other, rather as something that slips by as just another musician.

Fishpork: Any reaction’s good, right?

GG: Right. I think when people are truly and passionately hating it, that to me means I probably did something good there.

Fishpork: Your live shows are becoming legendary. We saw you at Irving Plaza in 2006 with Peeping Tom, and the stage crowd was small. A few weeks ago at the Starlight Ballroom in Philly, there were well over 100 on the stage. How are the venues reacting to your open-stage policy?

GG: We’ve probably gotten a bit more organized with it, and that Philly date was the first show on that tour. I play shows all year round, but that was the first show with that crew. I had some extras there helping me out. I think we fine-tuned it a little bit. Back in the day, based on how this project developed, I wanted to keep it as raw as possible. I like the chaos. I like to be insane to a degree, but I’m not down really with people being hurt at a show. At some of the shows we’ve gotten to decide where. It’s just like when you’re playing for 2000 people you really just can’t have an open stage. It’s just gonna be too much. I’m kinda battling with that for a little while, and I think this tour proved to me that it’s not the worst thing in the world to get security organized to help stop people. Now, when I talk to venues, I explain to them that the majority of the audience is probably familiar with the style of show and are gonna want to get on stage. But we just kinda try to make an effort to limit it to some degree, keep it loose. I don’t ever like it to be an exclusive crew that gets to be up there, any sort of VIP club. I like it to just be people who hang out in the front row, who somehow get up there. So we’ve been a bit more organized after a few issues with too many people on stage, and this and that. So right now, I think it’s in a good place, definitely walking that line where it’s chaotic and where it’s fun. And that’s where I want to be.

Fishpork: There must be a level of trust you have with your audience to get that close to you during a gig. How do you remain focused during all that chaos?

GG: Yeah, that’s been another interesting thing as the audiences get bigger. Back a few years when you’d let people on stage, it was like, “Oh, well he is giving us this trust, and we’re going to give it back to him and help him out.” But as the size of the shows have gotten bigger, audiences have gotten more diverse — younger, older, people who are familiar with this style of show and people who aren’t. But along with that you get people who don’t really understand that level of support that I need. They’re kinda maybe thinking about themselves a bit much when they’re up there — when they’re kind of running into me, knocking things over or something. I mean, I kinda get in my own zone. And usually I find that the circle of people around me, regardless of whether they’ve been to a show or not, (that) over the course of the show understand that I need the support. They’re up there, and it does get a little chaotic. At most of the shows, the inner circle around me kind of becomes like the fence, where they’re hanging out dancing but also doing their best to protect what’s going on because the show can easily be stopped at any point. But during the show — it’s something where the set — it’s all very live, but the actual sample triggering and progress of the set are things I’ve gone over a lot. Those are the things I’ve gone over a lot, things I’ve worked on for hours in my house — so most of the set is kind of memorized. Even if I couldn’t see the screen, I would have an idea of different cues on the screen as far as which sample they are. So I’ve played over 100 shows a year for the past two years — so it’s just something where it’s become accustomed. I’m use to — all I need is my right hand. If I’m able to get a glimpse of the screen I can keep everything together.

Fishpork: What was the creative process like during the creation of Feed the Animals and how has it changed since your earlier albums?

GG: I think it’s pretty similar to my last few. The first one was really raw. Secret Diary back in 2002 was something where it was just me experimenting in my free time. I was going to college at the time. Something like — where I never sat down for a ten hour day to work on music. Whereas (with) the new one, I’m always coming up with new ideas to incorporate into the live show. This one came out two years after the one prior to it, and the editing took me about 3-6 months. It was like a year and a half of playing live shows. By the time I actually sat down to edit the album and put it together, most of the core ideas were already thought out. I kind of knew where it was going — knew where a lot of things were going to be. And then it’s just a matter of fine-tuning it. I would have to say that this album — I’m really happy with it and happy to be done. And to me it’s my favorite album I’ve done. But assembling it was kind of a dark process for me. I really locked myself away, and it was the first album where there was actual pressure.

A lot of people didn’t realize that I had been doing that for six years, and it’s just something that’s part of my life. And people thought is was a project that would die off. So on the new one, I really wanted to prove that this is my life — this is what I do.

It’s my fourth album, but I knew people were going to treat it like a sophomore effort — because people weren’t as familiar with my earlier stuff. So going into this I felt like I just had something to prove almost — just in terms of when I knew when Night Ripper came out, a lot of people just kinda dismissed that as a novelty and this one time thing — and the shows with me and a laptop. A lot of people didn’t realize that I had been doing that for six years, and it’s just something that’s part of my life. And people thought is was a project that would die off. So on the new one, I really wanted to prove that this is my life — this is what I do. And I wanted to make an album that’s better than that. So, in sitting down to do it, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and basically stopped associating with anyone I know — just locked myself away. And my girlfriend got really annoyed, because it’s all I talk about — forced her to listen to all the time. So yeah, I was definitely a weird era. I remember staying up ’til 8 or 9AM everyday, then sleeping til the afternoon and just seeing very little daylight and literally just sitting in my bedroom/studio and just staring at that screen for hours and hours and hours.

Fishpork: It was definitely worth it, man. While your songs include a sprinkling of indie rock giants like Of Montreal and Yo La Tengo, rap and pop songs make up most of the album. Why do you think you are so well received in the indie rock scene?

GG: Um, I don’t know. Where it started was as more an electronic music thing. I was influenced by guys like Kid 606, Negativland, John Oswald, all those types. Those are my contemporaries, and that’s who I looked up to in the early days. I’ve played with a lot of rock bands, rap groups — whatever — but the scene that I was most attached to was the American underground electronic scene. I definitely think that Pitchfork (the web site) — when they review anything — all of a sudden, if they give anything a positive review, it gives them a new fanbase. If they give Lil’ Wayne a positive review, then, all of a sudden, there’s going to be a whole new crew of people who like Lil’ Wayne. I think that’s just kind of the nature of that thing. For me, I follow all sorts of music, and I sample what I listen to — so I’m mainly a fan of kind of Top 40 pop these days. But ultimately with the music, when Jay-Z samples the song from Annie, it’s like that song is huge in clubs and rap fans. It doesn’t mean that those people who like that song should necessarily like the soundtrack from Annie. If you’re truly making something transformative out of samples, then ideally it would exist in its own world. There is a lot of rap and pop elements to what I do — it’s the foundation. But I try to make it transformative, and I wanna make something new out of it. Even though it contains all of these elements of radio music, at the end of the day, I hope it’s not just a mix tape of pop songs. I hope that as a collage, it becomes something else. When people from the indie rock world kind of embrace it, for me, it’s a great thing. I feel that I have transcended the source material.

If you’re truly making something transformative out of samples, then ideally it would exist in its own world. There is a lot of rap and pop elements to what I do — it’s the foundation. But I try to make it transformative, and I wanna make something new out of it.

Fishpork: You’re frequently mentioned in discussions concerning the current state of the music industry. While more established bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have released their albums in groundbreaking fashion, do you feel an artist has to be established to release music in creative ways and be successful?

GG: I don’t think so. It depends what you want out of it. When I was starting out, I would make a song and put it on Napster immediately and try to get on a message board and push it on people. And I think a lot of people do that. There’s a whole community of people pushing their own material on message boards — just giving their stuff away for free. So I think the pay-what-you-want model — if you want to make money off of that — it would obviously be helpful if you’re an established artist. But I also think that’s a great way just to get it out there. If your band is starting out, then the ultimate goal should be just to expose yourself to as wide of an audience as possible. And in doing that, if you do the pay-what-you-want thing, and if no one’s ever heard of you before, most people are going to take it for free. But that’s just the nature of music. I don’t think it should be viewed as a negative thing. That’s how bands get big in the Internet age. People get into it, and all of a sudden, people are gonna start going to your shows and buying your t-shirts, and that can ramp up into something where you can sell some records some day. Again, I think that all depends on what you want out of it. The pay-what-you-want model is a very specific version of people offering up their music just straight up for free, which is what I would guess at this point is almost the most popular way for musicians to do it in the underground world. So many people just put their stuff out there. You put up a YouTube video or do this or that. That’s what it’s about now. It’s just about exposing yourself.

Fishpork: What’s up with the “Scentless Apprentice” Nirvana cover? Is that ever going to be recorded?

GG: I have a recording of it. I maybe wanna do it. One of my best friends who does music I’m a big fan of is in a project called Hearts of Darknesses, a guy named Frank Musarra, who I do remixes with under the name Trey Told ‘Em. And his Hearts of Darknesses project I toured with recently. They did play that Philadelphia show. He’s a guy I played with a long time. He did a cover of Nirvana’s “Beeswax” sometimes, and we were talking about doing a split 7″, which I would like to do. I love the Nirvana cover. I haven’t broken it out in a long time. I feel like it needs to be documented. So I would love to do just a limited edition 7″ of that or something, just because it’s been such a big part of the live show — at least in the past. I’d love to get that out there in some form.

Fishpork: That’d be awesome, because at the Peeping Tom show in 2006, the set kind of blew me away, and, all of a sudden, it ended with that song it just brought everything to a higher level. It was really intense.

GG: Yeah, I really loved performing that, because the whole show I wanna go nuts, but at bigger venues it’s dependent on how the show’s going down. It’s like I kinda get stuck, and I literally have to be clicking a mouse non-stop. So that Nirvana cover was always a great way of — musically it was good — and performance-wise, this was my five minutes to really get in the crowd and get nuts. So I used to love doing that. The shows these days have evolved into a bit more of a party and less controversial in a way that I feel that Nirvana could be a potential bummer — like after the ending of where the sets are now — maybe not. So I haven’t done it in a while, but it’s something I really — I mean I love Nirvana, and I enjoy doing that cover. So I’d like to document it.

Fishpork: Give us one sample you have stuck in your head that you are dying to use in the future.

GG: A Capella wise, my favorite song right now it Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” So I’ve been working with that a lot. And instrumentally, I’m trying to think about something I’ve been using. I’ve been actually trying to use Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused,” but it’s not a 4/4 time signature. It’s like a 3/4 time signature, which makes it a little complicated when you’re using a lot of rap based on 4/4 things. That’s something I’ve been working with a good bit. What else? Grateful Dead, I keep jamming that at the live set, so I’m sure it’s going to pop up on something.

Fishpork: Are you always writing, Greg? It seems like the songs get mixed up here and there and your changing stuff, but are you continuously listening to the radio, just listening to things that are in your head?

GG: Yeah, I mean it’s everyday. It’s like — the day I finished Feed the Animals, my live sets probably heavily based around that. And as soon as the next day goes by and the next week, it’s like I start sampling new things. And all of a sudden, new remixes come out, ya know, new interpretations of previous material. So I feel like the album documents a specific era of the live show, but it continually — it keeps going. There’s even elements in Night Ripper that I’ve continually remixed and liked the new version better than what’s on the album. There’s never really a finalized, correct version. The show’s just a big collage. Smaller elements are always changing. Yeah, so everyday of my life I’ll sample something. On a good day, I’ll sit down for like 10 hours and fiddle around, and that will influence the next week’s worth of shows.

Fishpork: What can we expect from Girl Talk in 2009?

GG: I don’t know. I mean, right now I’m still playing shows. The Philadelphia show kicked off the most exhausting tour I’ve ever done — just really long with shows every day. And during that time period I didn’t get chance to work on too much. So now I’m kind of getting back into weekend shows and heading over to Australia and Europe over the first couple months of 2009. Yeah, just working on small things. I would like to mix it up a little bit. I have some friends I want to collaborate with. I’m proud of the last two albums, but I feel like I don’t want to repeat that album necessarily — maybe, depending on what comes up. I would be interesting in working on individual songs with repetition in the structure and maybe doing an EP or something. I have a friend out in Pittsburgh who records under the name Skymall — who uses samples. In a way, it’s a lot different than me, but I played with him a bunch. And he played the last Pittsburgh show with me. I’m a huge fan. We’ve worked on stuff together, but I even wanna maybe do a split EP with him to kind of get his name out there. I think people would really take to it.

I’m proud of the last two albums, but I feel like I don’t want to repeat that album necessarily — maybe, depending on what comes up. I would be interesting in working on individual songs with repetition in the structure and maybe doing an EP or something.

Fishpork: Please tell us you will be at the ATP Festival that the Flaming Lips are curating in the Catskills in September. Any chance you’ll be there?

GG: I haven’t heard anything. I know Wayne Coyne is a fan to some degree. He nominated Night Ripper for Shortlist Music Prize, some contest he nominated it for. I got a chance to play back-to-back with the Flaming Lips at a festival outside of Chicago. I went on before him, and it was more of a jam band sort of crowd. I don’t think a lot of people knew me, and it just finished pouring down raining. It was freezing out, and I took the stage. And people were kind of loosening up a bit. When the Flaming Lips play, they have a big truck that pulls in for all their props. And it’s just like a big open truck just sitting there by the side of the stage. And you can go and grab whatever you want, and people are coming on stage. Wayne Coyne came out during my set. And came out and started bringing out props that were going to be used during the Flaming Lips show and sorta gave my show an extra boost. People came out in costumes, and he has these giant hands. It was cool, man. He didn’t need to do that at all. It wasn’t like I requested it or wasn’t like the show was completely failing or anything like that. But he just stepped up and took it over the edge when he hit the stage. A lot of people who were standing there were waiting for the Flaming Lips. And, of course, they lost their minds. It was really cool, and I gotta chance to talk to him after the set. And he’s a really nice dude. So, I haven’t heard anything about the All Tomorrow’s Parties, but, yeah, I definitely think it’s a potential thing.

Fishpork: Did you get a chance to talk to Mike Patton?

GG: I did, because we actually shared a dressing room. I can’t remember how that worked, but it was like me, Diplo and Patton all in the same room for a minute. He was cool, ya know. I just rapped with him for a few seconds, and he was there pretty early, so we had a chance to chat. And he’s always like — seems like a  really down-to-earth guy. Actually, when Feed the Animals came out, the Wall Street Journal entertainment section, which I didn’t even realize existed, did a story where they reached out to a bunch of artists I sampled, almost trying to be an expose sort of thing — like “are you gonna sue this guy or what?” And they went up to Patton, and they were like, “how do you feel about this?” And he said, “it’s a honor to collaborate with Busta Rhymes.” Everyone else they interviewed was like, “yeah, blah blah blah.” Patton was the one guy who was like, “ya know, it’s really cool.” So, yeah, that got me pumped.

http://www.myspace.com/girltalk
http://www.illegalart.net

Jacob Turnbloom: Embracing Failure

First Wave Hello was a San Diego, CA based band that I first saw during their 2007 tour with former Failure frontman Ken Andrews. Not only did the band open up but also backed Andrews during his headlining set. I immediately picked up their debut LP, The Lord & Its Penguin, and was instantly blown away by the sonic energy and songwriting ability of the band.  Jacob Turnbloom was the force behind that songwriting. Fishpork had a chance to ask him a few questions about his approach to songwriting, how First Wave Hello hooked up with Ken Andrews, as well as what is up next for one of the most talented songwriters around today.

Can you tell me how you formed First Wave Hello?

I was fiddling with audio engineering in late 2003 early 2004. I basically had to record a bunch of demo’s for my classes. So songs like “Portable People” and “Our Best Policy” I had recorded as demos for school. It took some time to find an initial line up. The recordings I had made ended up in local record stores, and in the hands of friends here in San Diego. Our first drummer Dave heard those early recordings and wanted to start a band that was actually serious. Sarah was very encouraging with my song writing at the time and I asked her if she wanted to play synthesizers along side my good friend Eric. We recorded our first EP as a four-piece band. Coner eventually heard our record while he was on tour with Counterfit and joined the band as second guitar as soon as he returned home. After a year, Sarah left the band and was replaced with a good friend of ours, Dan Reed. That was the line up that recorded on our first full-length record. The band kept changing over the years, with our good friend Ryan Flach replacing Dave on the drums when we would go on tour. And eventually our long time friend/producer/engineer Christian Cummings would replace Ryan on the Ken Andrews tour. It was always changing.

“I think failing is a huge influence on me, if everyone embraced failing and embraced the flaws that we all possess, then we’d live in a more honest society. You can’t learn anything if you’re right all the time. How would you progress?”

What were your early musical influences?

Sonic Youth was always a band that I could listen to and hear new things every time. That band changed the way people looked at guitar solo’s and song structure in mainstream alternative music, whether they intended on that or not. That band inspired me from an early age to play what feels right, not what’s gonna work for everyone.

What are your influences outside of music?

It’s hard to say. It’s such a huge part of my life, that it’s really all that ever goes through my mind. But, I think failing is a huge influence on me, if everyone embraced failing and embraced the flaws that we all possess, then we’d live in a more honest society. You can’t learn anything if you’re right all the time. How would you progress?

What was the song-writing process with FWH?

In the beginning, it was a challenge to get everyone to write together. So, I would usually bring in song ideas, like the basic structure and key melodies, usually chorus melodies, and the band would fill in the blanks. It wasn’t until we started writing The Lord and Its Penguin where people stopped holding back so much and started coming up with cool ideas and themes. Like the long ending to “Submarine Decibels” was an idea Coner came up with, and in the studio I thought it was such a good idea I had our drummer add on another measure even though it felt too long. When everything feels right in a song that’s usually when I start to feel like it’s wrong. I liked when the other guys in the band would bring in an idea that I hated, because that usually meant it was going to fit in the song somehow and work well.

When I listen to your work with First Wave Hello, sincerity seems to be a theme. How would you describe your work?

Everyone in FWH came from other bands. And after so long of playing shows in San Diego and touring, you get to a point where you realize you’re never going to be happy doing this if your trying to be the next “big thing” or trying to “make a living”. We’ve all been through the ringer with sleazy managers and slimy handshakes. Dealing with those kind of distorted views of how music works from record industry professionals, who incidentally are almost all out of a job anyway, kind of puts everything into perspective. There is a strong network of DIY bands in San Diego and will be forever, so I think that kind of attitude and honesty slips into the music a little.

How did you initially hook up with Ken Andrews?

We were looking for someone to mix the record that understood what we were trying to accomplish with it. I love the way that guy mixes drums and heavy guitars, but I was really interested in the way he mixed synthesizers. The first ON record is really colorful. The old analog synth sound that reminded me of Gary Numan or Dick Hyman. I wanted all of the synthesizer work to be prominent but also tasteful. There’s a fine line and, believe me, we pulled back a lot on that first record. We took a shot in the dark and just asked him if he would want to work with us. He sent us a quote which was waaaaaay out of our price range. We then politely declined and started looking elsewhere. A few days later, Ken called us saying that he would be willing to mix the record with what we had, which was not a lot. We stayed in contact with him after the record was finished. And by the time his solo record was coming to fruition, he was looking for a band to tour with.

“Kurt Cobain once said, ‘the dinosaurs in the industry will die.’ I believe we’re almost there, but it really doesn’t matter. The young industry yuppies are far more despicable.”

Your records with FWH have such a fine clarity for the multifaceted layers of your music. How long did it take to record The Lord and Its Penguin and what can you tell me about the recording process for this record?

The whole recording process took about two months. We recorded a lot of synth on that record, most of which you can’t even tell is there. Synth bass is such a pain in the ass to mix in contrast with the other instruments. We recorded half of the record with our friend Bill Nephew at his home studio in an isolated area of San Diego and the other half at Capricorn Studios with Christian Cummings in a busy downtown area of San Diego. We first tracked the drums at Capricorn and headed up to Bill’s studio to finish up the rest of the instruments. After we finished tracking with Bill, Capricorn was booked by the time we needed to record vocals, so we created a vocal booth in Eric’s apartment bathroom. It actually worked out pretty well, with the natural slap back from the linoleum tile. I wish i had pictures. We had to silence the wall because of the over abundant echo so half of the bathroom was covered in pillows, blankets, shirts, socks, papers towels . . . whatever we had.

Can you tell me about the decision to release the record on your own?

We set up a tour with our friends Hot Like a Robot, and we didn’t want to tour solely on the EP that we put out in 2004. So we decided to press the full length in hopes an indie would pick it up later.

What are you currently listening to?

Isao Tomita’s Firebird, The Residents’ Commercial Album, and Neurosis’ Pain of Mind are in rotation at the moment. The new Mogwai is pretty incredible as well.

What are your thoughts on the musical industry today?

Kurt Cobain once said, “the dinosaurs in the industry will die.” I believe we’re almost there, but it really doesn’t matter. The young industry yuppies are far more despicable. Every label will screw you. It’s just who is gonna be more upfront about screwing you. It’s a business no matter what major or indie is telling you it’s not. There are rad labels out there like Dischord, Desoto, Suicide Squeeze,Three One G, who all have integrity, but so many labels today disguise themselves as being just as honest and dedicated to their bands as those kind of labels, when in fact they are being run by people who have no idea what they are doing. And sometimes sharks that were weeded out my mainstream labels pop up as the president of new indie labels. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in being involved with major corporate monster labels, if that’s what you’re going for. Being an independent artist isn’t what it was 20 years ago or even 10. everything is totally different now, with new mediums and basically just a new and different overall agenda for mainstream pop culture and sub cultures. Everything is pretty gray. The black and white fine lines of “bad major label, saint indie label” have been forever blurred with today’s instant gratification, mind-numbing Internet generation. There seems to be less concern with where the music is coming from, just as long as it’s “right now!” and it fits nicely and neatly in your pocket. The term “sell out” is a joke, because no one knows what the hell it means anymore.

What brought an end to FWH?

I think everyone just wanted to do other things, play with other people, and focus on different types of music.

What accomplishment with FWH are you most proud of?

Touring with my best friends was an accomplishment.

What can you tell me about Jacob & the Forces?

It’s an ongoing solo thing. Maybe one day I will release something under it. A lot of the songs I wrote for it are going towards my new band though.

Is this going to be a complete solo effort? Do you plan to release a record or play any shows?

No, I’m actually not to into strictly doing solo stuff. I like playing in bands. I’ve recently started a band called “The Heavens” with some friends/ex members of Hot Like a Robot, Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects, and Manuok. We are definitely going to release a record and tour very soon, so that’s exciting.

How would you define the word “success”?

Putting in good solid honest hard work into whatever you’re doing and being proud of it despite the outcome.

What are you currently reading?

Family Outing by Troy Johnson

Any thought provoking reflections looking at your career so far?

When I first started that band, I had zero confidence in my song writing abilities, simply for the fact that, in previous bands i had been in, my songs were always shot down. But the people I was lucky enough to play with in First Wave Hello made me feel like I could write a symphony. I know that sounds lame, but I guess that’s why I would never want to do a “solo” thing. It seems arrogant and egotystical. I do need others to help write and create. That’s what excites me about playing music . . . is taking the best ideas from everyone and trying to make something powerful. And I think we did that in FWH.

http://www.myspace.com/firstwavehello
http://www.myspace.com/jacobturnbloom

Krysta Youngs: Beantown’s Pop Superhero

Her EPK describes her as “colorful, creative and compulsively complicated.” As a featured artist for ESPN’s Inside the Big East, a finalist on Community Auditions Star of the Day in Boston, and an opening act for One Tree Hill’s Kate Voegel, Krysta Youngs fits that description to a tee. The Detroit native, who now calls Boston her home, draws comparisons to Pink, Madonna and Avril Lavigne. Her debut album, Stories, is a straight-forward pop record with an edge. This pink-addicted, Top 40-loving pop superhero with a penchant for storytelling is on the verge of exploding onto the Boston music scene and beyond. Fishpork recently caught up with Krysta to talk about the current pop scene, filesharing, and her obsession with pink.

What were you doing five years ago?

I was a student at Berklee College of Music where I studied voice and music business.

Why do you call yourself a pop superhero?

Because I’m saving the world one song at a time.  I pay a lot of attention to my lyrics, it’s kind of my thing.  I want the songs that I write to tell a story, to make sense (at least to me).  There’s a lot of crappy pop music these days that’s being created purely for entertainment purposes…musical meaning has been lost somewhere over the years.

What’s your take on today’s pop music scene?

Just like anything you take the good with the bad. I think that songwriters are being more innovative with song structure.  Where before you had 2 lines of a pre-chorus, now they are extending it to be almost as long as the chorus.  Too me, that can be confusing in a great way.

Filesharing is a big issue in the music industry these days. Some established artists like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails are redefining the way music is distributed to fans. What’s your take on “stealing” music and how can future stars like yourself survive in this uncertain music marketplace?

Today the focus has been taken away from the music and has been put more on the artist’s image.  Now artists are profiting more on merch, touring and outside endeavors. I’ve always been pretty generous with my music.  The fact is that people are going to steal it, so instead of looking at it as a negative, I think of how I can use it in exchange for self-promotion. I’ve been giving away a lot of samplers at shows in hopes that once people see me live they will fall in love with me as an artist, gain a level of respect, and buy my compete CD.

What’s your songwriting process like? What inspires/motivates you?

My last album was a lot of me sitting in front of my keyboard and fooling around with chords. Fights motivate me a lot. If someone makes me angry or sad I find relief through the keys and my voice.  This time around, with new songs, I’ve found that I’ve done a complete 180, and I’m writing melody and lyrics first.  I like challenging myself.

You’re currently residing in Boston. How has Beantown affected your songwriting?

Boston’s tough.  I grew up in Michigan surrounded by a small town mentality.  Sometimes I feel like Boston makes me lose my barrings.  I go home every so often to reassess my life and breathe.  On the other hand, Boston has given me so many opportunities and experiences. I know I’ve grown as a person and, in turn, have definitely grown as a songwriter.

Have you recovered from the Red Sox losing to the Rays?

Shame on me, but I don’t follow the Red Sox. Now if Boston had a Pink Sox it would be a totally different story.

How was playing with Kate Voegel?

I opened for Kate when she came to Boston, and it was great.  It was an all ages crowd, and it was refreshing to see the excitement in their eyes. It reminded me of when I was a kid listening to Cyndi, Tiffany, New Kids on the Block and Madonna…nothing compares to your first exposure of pop music. I had a blast!

Don’t think. Give me your favorite concert ever. Go.

Live! Period!

I heard you have a fetish for the color pink. Please explain.

Pink makes everything better. My favorite color has always been pink.  I veered away from it for a while, but there’s nothing that quite compares…it’s girly it’s stylish it’s fabulous!

Are you a fan of Indie Rock? If so, what bands are you currently into?

I like polished indie rock. Right now I’m into The Lights Out, Mission Hill and The Joe Poppen Band (featuring Black Betty).

What’s next for Krysta Youngs?

After recording my first album, Stories, I feel like albums in general are becoming obsolete. My plan is to record and release a single a month for the next 12 months starting in January. I just finished the first single, FACTORY MADE. I’m also collaborating with a good friend of mine and talented musician, George Vala, on a remix to this song, as well as many others. He writes and produces house music, so watch out…you may hear Krysta Youngs in the club soon!!!

Krysta Young’s debut album can be downloaded for free here. Please support this artist by buying a CD.

http://myspace.com/krystayoungs

The Evolution of Zaba Grace

Zaba Grace’s debut record “My Own Skin” is inspired by memories of an unthinkable childhood. In an effort to reclaim her life, Zaba left Ohio and started over in Virginia. With an overwhelming passion for music, she decided to finally do something about it. After years of voice lessons, opportunities to make music were presented in her adopted hometown. She began working with producer Chris Kress (Dave Matthews Band, My Morning Jacket, Ben Kweller) on songs that would provide the emotional therapy she yearned for. The resulting songs are pulled directly from her personal journals, revealing a dark and painful past. However, the overall message is uplifting and should inspire other women who have walked in her shoes. The music process has allowed Zaba to slowly overcome those demons and work toward a better tomorrow.

Now drained by the process of writing and recording that album, Zaba Grace has relocated again. This time she finds herself in South Carolina. The recently married artist took a few minutes out of her day to speak with Fishpork on what she’e been up to these days.

When did you know you wanted to be a musician?

I always loved music and singing and writing.  My dad sang really well, and I always wanted to be like him.  He never really encouraged me to do it; neither one of my parents actually did.  It is such a crap shoot to be successful, and the chances are slim, especially nowadays, to be able to survive simply by playing music that you love, that’s yours.

How did you get started in music?

I sang when I was four or five at our church talent contests.  We went to a small church, and I won first place for a few years when I was small.  I probably was more cute than good; you’d have to ask someone who remembers, ‘cause I don’t.  When I was 12, I started voice lessons and never got anywhere with it then, because of an abusive home situation.  When I was in college and got away from home, slowly I got the nerve and drive to finally pursue things on my own.

Where does the stage name Zaba Grace come from?

I always loved the name Gabriella Grace.  That is the name I was gonna use if I ever had a daughter.  I didn’t think it sounded cool enough to be a stage name, but I came up with Zaba when I was thinking about putting up a personal add on Yahoo (don’t tell my husband I was ever that lame).

You took lessons to perfect your voice before recording. What was that process like?

The process of voice lessons is hell on earth. I did a lot of work myself. I took some professional lessons, and then my producer found a CD available online that I used called Singing With the Stars that I used everyday to warm-up and warm-down. My producer also had me purchase a keyboard to practice scales and work on each note of every song without music just notes and singing into a microphone so I could hear myself if I was matching notes. I practiced for an hour or two pretty much everyday for a solid two years before I was good enough to cut my record, and this doesn’t include the years when I practiced, just not in an organized, focused way. This wasn’t easy. Many of these days I would work my job 10 or 12 hours and then come home and do this after I was done. A lot of people do not realize how hard it is to be a good singer. It is probably the most intimate art form out there. I got a really bad cold that turned into an ear infection that turned into strep throat. I couldn’t sing for a month. I want people to have more respect for singers, because most people who call themselves singers can’t even hang, and you don’t realize that until you have proper guidance and work your ass off for the final product.

The themes on your album seem to deal with religion, male/female relationships and overcoming struggles to prevail in the end. Am I accurate? What inspires the themes in your music?

You are accurate.  I had a very bad childhood.  My brother molested me from the time I was 14 until I was 17 years old.  This totally fucked me up.  I spent my childhood being silent and pleasing to fade into the background.  My parents claimed they didn’t know, and if they had I don’t think they would have stopped it.  I have found that incest runs on both sides of my family, so it was normal behavior to them.  I was really angry at God for a long time.  The youth pastor of my church I grew up in, who was the first person I told about the abuse, told me I was to blame and I needed to ask my stronger, older brother and God for forgiveness.  I pretty much got the same story from the head pastor there (more of forgive and move on).  My parents didn’t make my brother leave our house once I told them.  I was told to leave my childhood home and never come back at the age of 22, when I was just starting graduate school.  It was awful.  I wanted to die; I was in so much pain.  Thank God for my friends I had at college and the church group I had and the free counseling on my college campus.  If it wasn’t for all of these things and people, I probably would’ve offed myself seven years ago.  I spent six years of my life talking off and on with different therapists and friends and writing songs and poems about what happened and the way I felt.  The music helped save me, too.  My writing was so easy because for a while, it was all I had . . . My lyrics come mainly from personal experience or imagining what someone else’s experience has been like or dreaming about what I want something to be like.

The music on the album can probably be classified as pop. However, the lyrics are very dark and even controversial. Was this a planned “stylistic paradox”?

My producer had more to do with that than me.  I would always be a pop artist, but some of the songs could have been darker. The idea was to make things sound more mainstream, and I guess my attitude has always been “fuck all these people who want me to be all happy and nice all the time”.  No one is like that, especially not when their whole life is falling apart.  Plus, I think it had to do with being a young woman.  The world pretty much tells us to eat shit with a smile.  That doesn’t work for me.  I think my producer wanted that to come through on the album as well and so did I.

How much input did you have on the writing of the music?

Most of the lyrics, probably about 90% are mine.  What changed was in context with what I had already written (it either wasn’t rhyming or fitting in proper song structure.)  The music was written entirely by my hired co-writers.

Do you enjoy playing your songs live?

I had a handful of shows I played around Charlottesville, VA.  Performing is the coolest.  It has given me a lot of pleasure the few times I have done it.  If all I had to do was show up and sing, it would be great.  Booking isn’t easy at all.  Everything is really hard, but the performing is definitely gravy.

Who did you play with on the tour?

The most notable people are Sun Domingo and Jupiter One

You posted a message on MySpace stating you needed a break from music. Were you mentally or physically drained? What’s your state of mind now when it comes to your music career?

I would say I was more mentally drained, but probably physically drained.  I put myself through a Doctor of Pharmacy program to become a pharmacist by age 24.  During this time I started therapy, went to court against my brother, worked part-time, went to school year-round full-time, plus started playing open mic nights and writing music.  I graduated in 2003 and moved to Charlottesville, VA from Toledo, OH and immediately started working full-time as a pharmacist, worked on and finished my first album, which was entirely financed by me and I was in therapy every week dealing with my issues.  Basically, for 6 years of my life I was working 3 full-time jobs (yes, therapy is a full-time job if you try to deal with your issues and move on with life.)  At this point in my life, I’m not really thinking about my music career, I am thinking about starting a family.  I just got married in May and my husband and I are looking forward to having a child.

Are you currently writing anything new?

Every now and then I write some lyrics.  I am not actively working on anything except living my life and loving it and just being a normal person for a while.

What are the future plans for Zaba Grace?

My future plans are starting a family and living my life to the fullest.  I think my best years are ahead of me.  I am so glad that I took the time and energy to go to therapy and that I had the resources to educate myself and do things in life that most people only dream of.  I plan on enjoying the rest of my life.  Beyond that, I don’t know at this time.

www.myspace.com/zabagrace

Unanswered: Local Hardcore Legends

Matt and Brian, ex-Unanswered brain trust, took a moment with Fishpork to reminisce about a local hardcore scene from the 90s that they tore in half.

You guys are local legends when it comes to the hardcore scene in South Jersey in the 90s. What was that time like for you?

The early 90’s to me seem very different than how hardcore music is perceived today. Especially in small towns like Lacey. At that time there was a transition going on between traditional hardcore bands of the 80’s like Gorilla Biscuits, and Murphy’s Law, to the heavier screamo bands like Rorschach, Converge, and pretty much anything out of New Brunswick or Syracuse. There were (and pretty much still are) two types of scenes going on. There was the New York club scene, and then there were the rest of us that put on and played basement and VFW hall shows. Unanswered pretty much fell into the second category. We played wherever we could, whenever we could. It was an exciting time, although we didn’t really realize it until much later. We thought nothing of loading up our 20 year old van that barely ran, and driving to places like North Carolina, or Massachusetts, to play a show in some hall or basement

Matt, how did you get started in music? When did you meet Brian?

I’ve been playing some sort of instrument since I was little whether it was drums in school band or whatever else. I started playing bass in early 1993. I had known Brian, and the other members of the band for a few years skateboarding around town which at that time also wasn’t the most popular thing to do in town. That kind of bonded us all together. Out of our circle no one knew what the hell we were talking about with music or skateboarding and that includes girls!

How was the band formed?

Brian, Seth, Chuck, and I started trying to jam in Fall 1993 in Brian’s garage in Lanoka Harbor with our friend Sean on vocals. Sean is pretty much credited with starting what would become Unanswered although he left after a year. The band went through many incarnations and finally settled on the name Unanswered in the summer of 1994 with Brian-vocals, Chuck-guitar, Seth-drums, and me on bass

Where does the name Unanswered come from?

There were a few theories we tried to justify for this, but our favorite was that while trying to get shows, a lot of our calls went “unanswered”

What inspired your lyrics on these songs?

Most of the lyrics dealt with insecurity, frustration, failed relationships, working shit jobs, and just observing everyday jerk off’s in the world that would somehow inspire us. Our favorites at the time were the born-again Christians that we would encounter around town or on the boardwalk who would hand us the little born-again comic book pamphlets. We used these to make t-shirts, stickers, everything!

How did Brian manage to get that scream out?

I’m jealous. Well, to be honest I have no idea how that came out of such a quiet guy. He inspired me later to do the same thing so I guess I can thank him for that.

What advice would you give to these young kids trying to develop vocally?

All I can say is if you have the fire in you than let it out. There are far worse ways you could channel your energy into than starting a loud screaming band. It kept us from going insane. Don’t worry if you can’t play that well at first. Its not about that. Practice will get you there eventually. Its about releasing your inner self to the world and saying “hey I have something to say, and I don’t care if you want to hear it or not”!

You guys were also involved in the skating scene. What’s the relationship between skating and hardcore music?

This has gone on since the 70’s or probably even before. The same artistic entity that inspires music and art, seems to inspire surfers and skaters as well. The need or inspiration to express oneself seems to be shared by the two mediums on some level. Punk and hardcore was always in the skate videos and magazines that we saw watched and read. For me personally, I loved skating to punk and hardcore music, as It got my adrenaline pumping.

What hardcore acts inspired you to make music?

We liked a lot of stuff: new and old. Between us there was Black Flag, Drop Dead, Burn, Born Against, Black Sabbath, Rorschach, Human Remains, Today is the Day, Ressurection, Lifetime, and Converge. There’s probably more I’m not thinking of. I’d say in the beginning though Rorschach was our biggest influence. We used to watch the Decline of Western Civilization all the time too so we could rock like the Germs or Black Flag!

How much music did you guys record back in the day?

We were in the studio I think 4 or 5 times. We recorded a cassette demo at first, and then two 7” records, two split 7” records and a comp between 1994 and 1998.

Did you record with any notable bands?

One of our splits was with a band called Charles Bronson who were and, from what I hear, are still very popular today.

What was touring like?

Our little mini tours were usually a mess, but we had some fun times on the road up and down the East Coast. We met and played with some good bands and people like 97A, Hogans Heroes, Entropy, Human Remains, Times Up, Major Burns, Kurbjaw, Huasipungo, Mouthpiece, MonsterX, Devoid of Faith, You and I, and a lot of others that I’m probably forgetting

I heard you guys were straight edge. Is that true? Were there really no drugs or alcohol involved while recording or playing live?

Well, here’s the deal. Three out of four members of the band were straight-edge at that time. Later when we were down to 3 members, we all were until the end of the band. We weren’t really a “straight-edge” band. We didn’t really have the look and the feel of other straight edge bands of the time. If you ask me now, I don’t really know why we were. It was probably because most of the bands and skaters we looked up to were at that time. I can say it was a positive thing though as it did keep us out of a lot of trouble for a long time (for the most part anyway). I personally think “straight edge” itself is a good thing, but just like everything else, too many idiots in the scene caused us to not even want to be associated with the term or later on even the scene for that matter.

I noticed that you guys finally got a MySpace page up. Does this mean there’s a reunion planned?

Well, I dunno. Three of the four original members (Brian, Chuck, and myself) are back living in Lacey. The fourth member (Seth) is living somewhere in North Jersey and we kind of lost contact with him. I put the MySpace page up as a way to remind the other guys and friends of ours from that time period how much fun we had then.

www.myspace.com/unansweredhopedelusion