oh my muse, amuse me
a finite jestural gesture
tangled and elusive are the questions
but so austere the answers
my asceticism, i cannot help
my heart remains callous, and adamant
no clement has come for me
to forgive my broken covenants
with a newly colored mindfulness
apologies and poor confessions
for suffering the abidance of
the law of unintended consequences
electric red and yellow
walking away it's fading to blue
sharp chills, a goodbye-hello
walking away deepens the hue
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MIDNIGHT MEMORIES
The moon waxes and wanes. You lay your head on my shoulder and breathe slowly, deeply. Thoughts pour through my body. Rivers. Roads. Pop lyrics creep in one ear, out the other. This one and only edition of "Midnight Memories" will hopefully capture some of the best parts of this half-journey around the sun that I have been lucky enough to spend with you. And give you a glimpse into the thoughts/hopes/fears that linger into consiousness as I lay next to you, as you drift in and out of beautiful sleep.
It is meant to be serious, funny, erotic, ridiculous and full of occasions that only you will understand.
Dallas Clay -14 Febrero 2013
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We would come back to this apartment later that evening after a long night out on the town in Hell's kitchen and sneak onto the roof of the building. A stunning view of midtown lay more than a hundred blocks in the distance. Miraculously, an abundance of stars were visible in the clear blue sky. After a few minutes, I lay on my back and let all the air out of my lungs. Horacio's back was facing me and he glanced around and saw me laying there. He quickly joined and we cuddled up on the roof to warm from the chill in the late-September air. I felt so at peace laying next to him and felt as though my guard was down and hoped that he could sense the closeness that I felt at that moment. As we gazed at the stars, Horacio exclaimed, "did you see that!?" A fleeting glimpse of a shooting star quickly passed over the sky in an instant. "I did. I can't remember the last time I saw a shooting star." These moments are what makes life worth living for me. As many fears and doubts as I have building a new relationship, these moments are essential to my existence. Even if things do not work out, I'll always have this. And that makes it worth it.
Lassothemoon Gift Baskets Moves to a New Location
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So far 2014 is off to a great start
for us here at Lassothemoon Gift Baskets. We are proud to announce that we have
moved to a new location. For the past
month we have been furiously moving into our new location at 6000 Bass Lake
Road Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is a
huge step for us to have our own space because it’s something that we've
dreamed about for a long time. We hope
this will open up more opportunities for us as we can now better serve our
clients.
While we are extremely excited, we still have a lot of work to do to get our new location ready. We were so grateful to have found this space as it is in a great location. The landlord here spruced up the room for us by repainting, taking out a wall and even adding in new carpet. When we arrived it looked brand new! By the time this is all said and done we will have a break room, a space to have our lovely gift baskets displayed, and a work area for designing and putting together the gift baskets.
Empty Space Before Moving In
The first thing we had to do was move a lot of equipment and supplies from the old location to the new one. Lucky for us the day we moved it was about 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside which is balmy considering the horrendously cold winter we've been having here in Minnesota.
We got a lot of stuff moved that day but as you can see in the photo we had a room full of boxes. The moving part would be easy compared to organizing and setting up. We had come prepared though. Before making the move we measured the space and came up with the exact layout of our new store down to every last inch. First we started installing shelving. The space is not very big so we knew we had to optimize the area by using the walls.
Just a room full of boxes!
Things are starting to be more organized!
From there we've just been adding more shelving along with seating, a measuring table and organizing all of our supplies that we use to make the gift baskets. It’s a lot of work but we’re having a blast. We know that this new space is great for us and will allow us to interact with customers more and keep a larger inventory. Feel free to stop in anytime, we’ll be here!We'll also be uploading a YouTube video of the move in process. Look for that within the next month!
Check out this panoramic photo of the work we've done so far!
Our new door sign!
New Year, New Space!
Lassothemoon Gift Baskets Has a New Location!
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Add some text, Yo! Click this text box to change the text, style, color and fonts.
Lo mejor de la temporada
evista Roubaix
Número 1/Enero 2014
Revista Roubaix
Add some text, Yo! Click this text box to change the text, style, color and fonts.
Una forma diferente de vivir el ciclismo
C.A.N.S. INTERVIEW
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How did CANS come into being?
The name CANS - Central Asian Nervous Systems came to me after having a history class just before a biology class in high school. We were learning about Central Asia in history and then about the nervous system in biology. I had been smoking a lot of marijuana and taking LSD the prior weekend. In front of me on my school desk was a book about William S Burroughs and his "cut up's ". I often read Beat Generation books and Dostoevsky in my classrooms instead of the required readings. During lunch break "Central Asian Nervous Systems" came into my mind. I saved that in my internal hard drive to be used in the future. 20 years later I needed a name for the music I produce. CANS seemed right for the times due to all the conflict and damage being done in Central Asia. Musically speaking CANS is just the latest name given to my 25 years worth of home recordings.
I was a 4 - track cassette tape kid , and an improviser. I use anything and everything I can get my hands on to record. Most of my work is done without much thought and usually in one or two takes. CANS is a moniker , something to mark the music by. A stamp. Before that it was Testicular Manslaughter , that one came to me while in Drivers Education Class !
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Headphones! Headphones are my private sanctuary. Headphones are my personal space and that space is just the way that I like it. It may be selfish and slightly narcissistic , yet I prefer to be alone and to work alone. After being a part of so many bands that have broken up it just has to be this way. You can always depend on yourself right ?
Analogue electronics and home recording are allot more reliable than a group of boys who have to work and go to school. I would like to get a drum kit , bass , guitars and amps
and make some records that way in the future. That is how I started out. It is just difficult to keep that gear together after moving around a lot and always being on a limited budget.
I usually don't listen to much new music because I tend to use that time to create music instead , which may or may not be good , I don't know.Bands that have changed my life and defined my sound are Richard H Kirk , The Fall , Jah Wobble , CRASS , Velvet Underground , Ceephax Acid Crew , rare and out of print Hip - Hop and Jazz , Mac Dre and the Hyphy sound from Oakland and I still listen to a lot of 70s Dub Reggae and Prog Rock rarities.
Orlando's DANA YOUNG is the mastermind behind the psyched out industrial electronica of C.A.N.S. Black Forest asked Dana about his past projects,inspirations and his plans for the future....
©BLACK FOREST 2014
C.A.N.S.
Tell us about your side projects,projects you were in prior to CANS and any other stuff you have been involved with...
My first band was The Niguel Hills Jr High School Band. I played and studied snare drum there by the beach in Orange County California. My second band was probably the most successful as far as distribution and plays. It was when I was 12 and played in a group called The Electric Shoes on the television series The Wonder Years. I played bass and was taught to play by Billy Swan of The Kris Kristofferson band . The other members were Allen from Punky Brewster on drums , Joshua the little kid from Rivers Edge on guitar and vocals , Fred Savage on guitar and me as Niel Rhodes on bass guitar. After that I got into a serious highschool band called The Kate Moss Express with Nicholas Dvorkin on bass who has spent the last 20 years buying records for Rasputin Records on Telegraph Ave in Berkley , California and a genius guitarist named Mark Fazio who has flown well under the radar ever since. Mark is wealthy and does not like any social interactions. He has never used Myspace or Facebook and has never wanted to. Yet he is the most talented guitarist that I have ever heard play. After that I played in a group called Silence Fiction with Heather Porcarro (her dad wrote a lot of Michael Jacksons Thriller LP and played the synths , also the founding member of TOTO) , actor Ethan Embry / Randall , Shan Sanford , and Nicholas Dvorkin. That was short lived yet good. Then in 2004 I moved in with John Maus and was asked to join Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and toured extensively with Animal Collective on the 2005 US tour. Soon after that I made Testicular Manslaughter and toured by myself through Europe by way of support from an Irish Record store in Cork called PLUGD.
Now I continue to work with Nicholas Dvorkin of Oakland , CA aka The High Evolutionary , Paul Von Aphid from Russia , Alex Colonelxs and Kaiser Schnitt Amboss Laszlo in Italy,Kevin Rutmanis ( COWS and Melvins and Tomahawk ) in his band Hepa / Titus ( Amphetamine Reptile Records ) and a few other people by way of singing or making beats.
I recently started a new set of songs as The Plagiarist that I have a vision for and have yet to take the time to realize it. It will be in concept a completely visual and aural sample based deal without copyright concerns. The goal with that is to truly plagiarise everything I want and put it out for free.
Whats the music scene like in Orlando?
I really don't know. I moved here from Los Angeles about 4 years ago and have not yet fell into any scene. 5AM Records is cool and they are here and make allot of Boom Bap Hip Hop. Matt Kamm is great and the dudes from Yip Yip as well. Dan Reeves puts on some cool shows that I get to play.
The Full Sail kids can be found at Stardust Video and Coffee and are all pretty cool. I find it easier to book shows in France for myself than here in Orlando.
Just saying. Los Angeles is my home town and i could book shows every week there. Orlando is a tough cookie to crack and I don't care to do the groundwork needed to network shows here. Frankly I recommend that any band on tour skip Orlando , you will not enjoy playing music here , sincerely...
Do you gig regularly? Have you got any Shows, Tours for the future coming up you want to tell people about?
I gig a few times a year here in Orlando at small shows usually Noise Artist shows. Noise seems to be the best scene here in Orlando. I have a tour in the works starting in Spain and ending in Ireland by way of a lable I hooked up with called SPVPV - Sociedad para la Promoción de la Virtud y la Prevención del Vicio that is based in southern Spain. I have played all over the US and Europe in the past. It seems to come in waves , like some years allot and some years nothing. 2014 is looking pretty well though.
Do you have any interests outside music, art, film etc. ?
I am an avid fisherman , I recently started fly fishing which I find to be amazing. Here in Florida the best things to do are to explore the great outdoors and fishing here is world renown. I love to surf and skateboard and help friends out with whatever they have going on.
I have two kids that are a constant source of joy and a never ending list of things to do with them. We have season tickets to Disney World and go there a few times a month. I paint , edit video , have a degree in 3-D animation and grew up in Hollywood as a child actor. I was in the movies , TV , commercials and films. I still read the occasional script and would love to act again if something great presents itself.
Any other artists/labels you would like to recommend to our readers?
Aural Sects Label , Clan Destine Label , All the artists that have contributed to the CANS Label / Collective Soundcloud are hand picked and well worth a spin. Part Time Punks Club and DJ David Orlando aka Boss Harmony (Punky Reggae) in LA can be heard worldwide on KXLU 88.9 Los Andgeles on the web.
Cirque Du Minimalist is a label that I love , it's a German Minimal Techno crew that makes the kind of music I love to work by. Allot of great music from South Africa Len Cockraft and Garreth Dawson have a band called Tannhauser Gate that I love and Witchboy is rad. AUZ has a great thing happening as well. PBS Melbourne AUZ plays allot of great new music and can be heard online as well. DJ Ryan Knowles has a show on Tuesdays 6-7pm on 87.6 KISS FM in Melbourne , AUZ as well called Neo Faux Show. And DJ Mike Texbeak is always on top of the new underground electronic music. I rely on those DJ's for finding new music and the LA dudes for the rare and out of print stuff. I DJ'd vinyl for 10 years in LA and gave it up after moving here to Florida. I had to sell my records because they would not fit on the plane !!!
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?
I am currently designing my live show for the upcoming EU tour for SPVPV - Sociedad para la Promoción de la Virtud y la Prevención del Vicio. As a one man band one must rely on backing tracks to supply the main source of songs. I am getting instrumental vinyl records made for DJ's to play while I do the singing and melody lines on synth , guitar , and bass at the shows. So , getting the vibe and costume and presentation ready and rehearsed by April 2014 is top on my list right now. When we get these opportunities to travel and play it is very important to come correct with a proper show.
I am also working on a Mini DVDr to be released through Aural Sects quite soon. It will contain 2 gigs of music recorded over the past 2 years. A lot of the songs that did not make it onto releases and such. I think it will sell for around 10 - 15 bucks and have well over 100 tracks on it. A few videos as well.
The future ? ..... , expect more CANS and The Plagiarist and live shows I suppose. I am always looking for new gear and such that often reshapes my sound. I really only use hardware synths so , hopefully I can score a few more this year...
RUBBER CITY NOISE INTERVIEW
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Curt Brown
(Black Unicorn, Cane Swords, Mousecop, Wyld Stallyns, Baingan Bharta, Black Van,The Black Eyed Keys)
First Release & Info:
CB: Rubber City Noise was founded in 2010 by Karl Vorndran and myself as an arts space and record label in Akron, Ohio. The first release was the cassette Cane Swords Big Warmup in the Mouth of Eternity (http://rubbercitynoise.bandcamp.com/album/big-warmup-in-the-mouth-of-eternity), released in February of 2011. The RCN collective quickly grew around that time to include fellow Akron artists Ram Youssefi, J. Bryan Parks, and Joshua Novak. Currently we throw shows downtown Akron at our space, the RCNCAVE (& abroad) and release music on a variety of formats (cassette, vinyl, CD, digital).
Projects:
CB: All five of us are involved in a crazy amount of projects in a range of mediums (there's at least 15 different projects just between the RCN dewds). We are also all constantly collaborating w/ each other and other artists & musicians in Northeast Ohio and elsewhere.
Inspiration:
CB: Our collective energy can be a huge inspiration in itself, and being involved in something like this with four of my best friends really keeps the forward momentum. Also inspiring is the diverse and eclectic range of music and art that we are exposed to through running an arts space. Not to mention the incredibly supportive and talented Northeast Ohio arts community.
RCNCAVE
CB: The Rubber City Noise Center fr Audio/Visual Exploration (RCNCAVE or Cave) is our headquarters in downtown Akron. We host monthly events there and have been fortunate to take part is some really great shows. We also use the space as a studio, practice spot, etc. Everything is real eclectic around here and this helps us avoid things like genre pigeonholing and the like. We are a DIY space that wouldn't exist without our core group and the dedicated community in Akron and NEO.
First Release & Info:
CB: Rubber City Noise was founded in 2010 by Karl Vorndran and myself as an arts space and record label in Akron, Ohio. The first release was the cassette Cane Swords Big Warmup in the Mouth of Eternity (http://rubbercitynoise.bandcamp.com/album/big-warmup-in-the-mouth-of-eternity), released in February of 2011. The RCN collective quickly grew around that time to include fellow Akron artists Ram Youssefi, J. Bryan Parks, and Joshua Novak. Currently we throw shows downtown Akron at our space, the RCNCAVE (& abroad) and release music on a variety of formats (cassette, vinyl, CD, digital).
Projects:
CB: All five of us are involved in a crazy amount of projects in a range of mediums (there's at least 15 different projects just between the RCN dewds). We are also all constantly collaborating w/ each other and other artists & musicians in Northeast Ohio and elsewhere.
Inspiration:
CB: Our collective energy can be a huge inspiration in itself, and being involved in something like this with four of my best friends really keeps the forward momentum. Also inspiring is the diverse and eclectic range of music and art that we are exposed to through running an arts space. Not to mention the incredibly supportive and talented Northeast Ohio arts community.
RCNCAVE
CB: The Rubber City Noise Center fr Audio/Visual Exploration (RCNCAVE or Cave) is our headquarters in downtown Akron. We host monthly events there and have been fortunate to take part is some really great shows. We also use the space as a studio, practice spot, etc. Everything is real eclectic around here and this helps us avoid things like genre pigeonholing and the like. We are a DIY space that wouldn't exist without our core group and the dedicated community in Akron and NEO.
Karl Vorndran
(Cane Swords, XXX Super Arcade, Doomchrist, Together at Last, The Black Eyed Keys)
What inspires you musically and aesthetically?
KV: All types of sounds peak my interest from time to time. More specifically, rhythmic oscillations such the buzz of refrigerators, rotating fans, and rattles from old machinery resonate with me personally. My personal aesthetic stems from my performance art related to the struggle/balance between structure in chaos in both nature and contemporary life. My fascination is rooted in how technology is increasingly automating everyday life while my instincts want to resist order and repetition.
What do you look for in an artist to be on the label?
KV: First, we look at local talent and try to get their music out there. Next, we like to release stuff from projects/artists/bands who have played shows with us or performed at our performance space the CAVE.
Were you involved before RCN in any other projects/ventures?
KV: I was involved in punk bands in high school, did performance art in collage, and got into synthesizers and experimental music when I lived in San Francisco, and started RCN when I moved back to Ohio.
What inspires you musically and aesthetically?
KV: All types of sounds peak my interest from time to time. More specifically, rhythmic oscillations such the buzz of refrigerators, rotating fans, and rattles from old machinery resonate with me personally. My personal aesthetic stems from my performance art related to the struggle/balance between structure in chaos in both nature and contemporary life. My fascination is rooted in how technology is increasingly automating everyday life while my instincts want to resist order and repetition.
What do you look for in an artist to be on the label?
KV: First, we look at local talent and try to get their music out there. Next, we like to release stuff from projects/artists/bands who have played shows with us or performed at our performance space the CAVE.
Were you involved before RCN in any other projects/ventures?
KV: I was involved in punk bands in high school, did performance art in collage, and got into synthesizers and experimental music when I lived in San Francisco, and started RCN when I moved back to Ohio.
Tell us about the RCN Center and about the shows you organise there...
KV: We are starting the 4th year of the CAVE which is one block west of downtown Akron. We have the second floor of a giant falling apart warehouse with a quadraphonic PA system where we host all types of weird art, music, and performance.
What's the music scene like in Akron ?
KV: It's pretty weird and all over the place. There is a good around of other modular synth users making strange music. There are also a few good rock bands that make you forget about the bullshit usually associated with local rock. We are also very close with the Cleveland experimental music community as well.
Do you have any tales to tale about the RCN center, weird ,funny or otherwise?
KV: I was apart of an experimental Xmas play where I was naked, covered in fake blood, and serving cookies to the audience.
What acts/labels can you recommend?Anyone you think deserves wider recognition...
KV: Acts: Perispirit, Superstorms, Trouble Books, Skin Graft, 9 Volt Haunted House, Collapsed Arc, KBD and Travelogue.
Labels: Experimedia ran by our friend Jeremy Bible is the best distro/ label around. I can't say enough good about what he releases and does. Makenoise Records has the Shared System 7" series of modular synth recordings that is fantastic.
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?
KV: I am currently working full time at Earthquaker Devices building effects pedals. In February I will be recording "Cathartic Automation," the follow up to my debut solo album "Thawing"
—
J. Bryan Parks (HolyKindOf, Zurvan, Black Van, Thieves, Together at Last, Van Faang Family Trio, The Black Eyed Keys)
What was the first release on RCN?
JBP: Cane Swords- big warm up in the mouth of eternity (cassette)
How did you get involved with RCN? What projects do you have?
JBP: I originally got involved in RCN via Zurvan, a Zoroastrian themed drone project i have with (now) fellow CAVE member- Ram Yousseffi. we had been doing this project for somewhere around 7 years by now, roughly? it started a little noisier, & doomed, sludgier, etc.. & kind of evolved naturally into a DEEP meditative experience. i really like where its gone, & that we waited in playing out live until after all the dust settled, & we found our niche. It wasn't really foresight, so much as we didn't think anyone else was into this kind of stuff, & luckily- i had known Karl, from many years before & heard he had started this thing called the Center For Audio & Visual Experimentation & my eyes & ears perked up & i immediately immersed myself. We played the 2nd show ever, & we haven't left since.
I also have a solo project called HolyKindOf. (soundcloud.com/Holykindof) which i've been trying to finish up a record for for almost 10 years, scrapped about 7 so far, under different names & in different subgenera & finally landed on this, which i *think* is done. maybe. i've sent it out to a few labels, so it will eventually be "done" when its released i guess.. I've been Incredibly lucky… like beyond words, with playing shows with this one, thanks to Jeremy Bible & Experimedia. (where i work, part time) & have been able to open for Duane Pitre, Eleh, pitreleh, jozef van wissem, bestial mouth, & others… that has been an immensely rewarding & encouraging set of experiences.
I also have some one-off projects with other members of the CAVE- karl & i have played 2 or 3 times as Together At Last (guitar & modular synth), Josh & I as Thieves (even opened for mark Hossler, m.c. Schmidt, wobbly, Dimuzio, INCREDIBLE) its a stolen sample/concrete/mashed up weirdness thing? lot of manipulated tape loops, a lot of stolen vocals, etc…
And then of course, we have The Black Eyed Keys, our semi psych/stoner/kraut rock type supergroup, with all the members of the CAVE, which is a personal favorite of mine (i play bass) It's a lot of fun, & one of the few times we all get together & jam, usually no practice, just book a show & go for it. Good energy, lots of fun.
What inspires you musically and aesthetically? What do you look for in an artist to be on the label?
JBP: total cliche, but- Inspiration can come from anywhere. film, art, everyday sounds, anything. i like using field recordings a lot, & i love bizarre films & very soundtrack oriented music, so it could literally just be insects outside while im watching a movie that might spark something. a lot of the time its mostly just mood. i can never force creativity, it has to be a heightened sense i have or something that MAKES me feel a certain emotion, & that will be my reaction. I also like the idea of mixed media, so i've been leaning a little heavier into creating avant/experimental film, & trying to pick back up the paintbrush & finish this series.
In terms of what i look for in an artist for the label- nothing in particular, im pretty open to anything, i mean, we've done folkier stuff, metal, noise, modular, drone, all sorts of stuff… it just has to be good. Make me feel something. make me jealous i didn't record it first. something that when i put on headphones, its deep & rich in texture. i like hearing new things every time i listen. i like hidden gems i may have missed the first time.
Were you involved before RCN in any other projects/ventures?
JBP: not in any other labels or spaces, per se, i had (have) a big house in akron called the Ghost Mansion, that always had a good rotation of musicians either coming over & playing or living there, so there were a good amount of 'bands' or projects i was in beforehand.
Tell us about the RCN Center and about the shows you organise there...
JBP: its a nice big warehouse type space. It gets really cold in the winter, but i think we (the greater Northeast Ohio community) have cultivated a really amazing energy there, that we can have a packed house in the middle of a blizzard. its an open space, both physically & creatively, & we've been able to host any & every type of subgenera & major genre of experimental & even some more- dare i say- 'mainstream' music.
What's the music scene like in Akron ?
JBP: its got a decent crowd, i think. Good rock music. healthy punk, metal, & otherwise 'rock' crowds, even a prewar blues/folk type subculture, in places. i personally don't see a whole lot of the EDM scene, but i know its there, more in the outskirts of akron, than downtown or west akron, where we are. we have a reasonable response & support from akron, certainly some die hards, but i would think most of our support actually comes from cleveland (being a much larger city, & all…)
But I would overall say we have mostly heavier rock bands. & theres no shortage of bands who think they're the Black Keys (black keys are from akron) But, to be fair- i may not give the best representation, i'm a bit of a hermit.
Do you have any tales to tale about the RCN center, weird ,funny or otherwise?
JBP: Loose Lips Sink Ships.. none off the top of my head that don't immediately incriminate myself. We have a lot of fun. Its a good crew, & the rest of The Boys have a great sense of humor.
KV: We are starting the 4th year of the CAVE which is one block west of downtown Akron. We have the second floor of a giant falling apart warehouse with a quadraphonic PA system where we host all types of weird art, music, and performance.
What's the music scene like in Akron ?
KV: It's pretty weird and all over the place. There is a good around of other modular synth users making strange music. There are also a few good rock bands that make you forget about the bullshit usually associated with local rock. We are also very close with the Cleveland experimental music community as well.
Do you have any tales to tale about the RCN center, weird ,funny or otherwise?
KV: I was apart of an experimental Xmas play where I was naked, covered in fake blood, and serving cookies to the audience.
What acts/labels can you recommend?Anyone you think deserves wider recognition...
KV: Acts: Perispirit, Superstorms, Trouble Books, Skin Graft, 9 Volt Haunted House, Collapsed Arc, KBD and Travelogue.
Labels: Experimedia ran by our friend Jeremy Bible is the best distro/ label around. I can't say enough good about what he releases and does. Makenoise Records has the Shared System 7" series of modular synth recordings that is fantastic.
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?
KV: I am currently working full time at Earthquaker Devices building effects pedals. In February I will be recording "Cathartic Automation," the follow up to my debut solo album "Thawing"
—
J. Bryan Parks (HolyKindOf, Zurvan, Black Van, Thieves, Together at Last, Van Faang Family Trio, The Black Eyed Keys)
What was the first release on RCN?
JBP: Cane Swords- big warm up in the mouth of eternity (cassette)
How did you get involved with RCN? What projects do you have?
JBP: I originally got involved in RCN via Zurvan, a Zoroastrian themed drone project i have with (now) fellow CAVE member- Ram Yousseffi. we had been doing this project for somewhere around 7 years by now, roughly? it started a little noisier, & doomed, sludgier, etc.. & kind of evolved naturally into a DEEP meditative experience. i really like where its gone, & that we waited in playing out live until after all the dust settled, & we found our niche. It wasn't really foresight, so much as we didn't think anyone else was into this kind of stuff, & luckily- i had known Karl, from many years before & heard he had started this thing called the Center For Audio & Visual Experimentation & my eyes & ears perked up & i immediately immersed myself. We played the 2nd show ever, & we haven't left since.
I also have a solo project called HolyKindOf. (soundcloud.com/Holykindof) which i've been trying to finish up a record for for almost 10 years, scrapped about 7 so far, under different names & in different subgenera & finally landed on this, which i *think* is done. maybe. i've sent it out to a few labels, so it will eventually be "done" when its released i guess.. I've been Incredibly lucky… like beyond words, with playing shows with this one, thanks to Jeremy Bible & Experimedia. (where i work, part time) & have been able to open for Duane Pitre, Eleh, pitreleh, jozef van wissem, bestial mouth, & others… that has been an immensely rewarding & encouraging set of experiences.
I also have some one-off projects with other members of the CAVE- karl & i have played 2 or 3 times as Together At Last (guitar & modular synth), Josh & I as Thieves (even opened for mark Hossler, m.c. Schmidt, wobbly, Dimuzio, INCREDIBLE) its a stolen sample/concrete/mashed up weirdness thing? lot of manipulated tape loops, a lot of stolen vocals, etc…
And then of course, we have The Black Eyed Keys, our semi psych/stoner/kraut rock type supergroup, with all the members of the CAVE, which is a personal favorite of mine (i play bass) It's a lot of fun, & one of the few times we all get together & jam, usually no practice, just book a show & go for it. Good energy, lots of fun.
What inspires you musically and aesthetically? What do you look for in an artist to be on the label?
JBP: total cliche, but- Inspiration can come from anywhere. film, art, everyday sounds, anything. i like using field recordings a lot, & i love bizarre films & very soundtrack oriented music, so it could literally just be insects outside while im watching a movie that might spark something. a lot of the time its mostly just mood. i can never force creativity, it has to be a heightened sense i have or something that MAKES me feel a certain emotion, & that will be my reaction. I also like the idea of mixed media, so i've been leaning a little heavier into creating avant/experimental film, & trying to pick back up the paintbrush & finish this series.
In terms of what i look for in an artist for the label- nothing in particular, im pretty open to anything, i mean, we've done folkier stuff, metal, noise, modular, drone, all sorts of stuff… it just has to be good. Make me feel something. make me jealous i didn't record it first. something that when i put on headphones, its deep & rich in texture. i like hearing new things every time i listen. i like hidden gems i may have missed the first time.
Were you involved before RCN in any other projects/ventures?
JBP: not in any other labels or spaces, per se, i had (have) a big house in akron called the Ghost Mansion, that always had a good rotation of musicians either coming over & playing or living there, so there were a good amount of 'bands' or projects i was in beforehand.
Tell us about the RCN Center and about the shows you organise there...
JBP: its a nice big warehouse type space. It gets really cold in the winter, but i think we (the greater Northeast Ohio community) have cultivated a really amazing energy there, that we can have a packed house in the middle of a blizzard. its an open space, both physically & creatively, & we've been able to host any & every type of subgenera & major genre of experimental & even some more- dare i say- 'mainstream' music.
What's the music scene like in Akron ?
JBP: its got a decent crowd, i think. Good rock music. healthy punk, metal, & otherwise 'rock' crowds, even a prewar blues/folk type subculture, in places. i personally don't see a whole lot of the EDM scene, but i know its there, more in the outskirts of akron, than downtown or west akron, where we are. we have a reasonable response & support from akron, certainly some die hards, but i would think most of our support actually comes from cleveland (being a much larger city, & all…)
But I would overall say we have mostly heavier rock bands. & theres no shortage of bands who think they're the Black Keys (black keys are from akron) But, to be fair- i may not give the best representation, i'm a bit of a hermit.
Do you have any tales to tale about the RCN center, weird ,funny or otherwise?
JBP: Loose Lips Sink Ships.. none off the top of my head that don't immediately incriminate myself. We have a lot of fun. Its a good crew, & the rest of The Boys have a great sense of humor.
What acts/labels can you recommend?Anyone you think deserves wider recognition...
JBP: My Immediate thought of who didn't get enough recognition- Josh's Faangface tape. I thought that record was amazing & should have sold out immediately. Mistake By The Lake & Hanson Records are 2 local favorite labels, they've been killing it lately. as for my all time favorite- Anything from Miasmah Records or Sonic Pieces, i will buy blindly, but they aren't really struggling i don't think- that stuff sells out pretty quick. Also, (& it may seem biased)- Experimedia. I'm constantly impressed. Pretty much anything he gets his hands on…its gunna be a good idea.
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?
JBP: Currently doing some final tweaking on my debut for HolyKindOf & shopping around for labels. & working on a follow up release for the spring of next year, for a label in france (i'm not sure if i can mention until the ink dries, but it may actually come out before the *first* album is out.)
As for the future, just keep on keeping on with the CAVE & RCN, try to keep growing. I'm kind of slowly working on putting together more abstract film stuff, so maybe we'll see that come to fruition eventually.
--
Ram Youssefi(Dolph Lundgren, Zurvan, Sludgethrone, Doomchrist, Van Faang Family Trio, The Black Eyed Keys)
JBP: My Immediate thought of who didn't get enough recognition- Josh's Faangface tape. I thought that record was amazing & should have sold out immediately. Mistake By The Lake & Hanson Records are 2 local favorite labels, they've been killing it lately. as for my all time favorite- Anything from Miasmah Records or Sonic Pieces, i will buy blindly, but they aren't really struggling i don't think- that stuff sells out pretty quick. Also, (& it may seem biased)- Experimedia. I'm constantly impressed. Pretty much anything he gets his hands on…its gunna be a good idea.
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?
JBP: Currently doing some final tweaking on my debut for HolyKindOf & shopping around for labels. & working on a follow up release for the spring of next year, for a label in france (i'm not sure if i can mention until the ink dries, but it may actually come out before the *first* album is out.)
As for the future, just keep on keeping on with the CAVE & RCN, try to keep growing. I'm kind of slowly working on putting together more abstract film stuff, so maybe we'll see that come to fruition eventually.
--
Ram Youssefi(Dolph Lundgren, Zurvan, Sludgethrone, Doomchrist, Van Faang Family Trio, The Black Eyed Keys)
Black Forest discovered the sounds of BLACK UNICORN two years ago ,which in turn led them to discover the inspired world of Akron Ohio's RUBBER CITY NOISE ..Black Forest Spoke to label Founders CURT BROWN and KARL VORNDRAN and label artists J.BRYAN PARKS and RAM YOUSSEFI about the label, inspiration and the RCN CAVE ,a creative space run by RCN Themselves...
©BLACK FOREST 2014
TO OBTAIN RCN RELEASES: http://rubbercitynoise.bandcamp.com/
First RCN release:
RY: The first RCN release was Big Warmup In The Mouth Of Eternity, a cassette by Cane Swords, who is made up of RCN co-founders Karl Vorndran and Curt Brown. Its been long since sold out,and rightly so. Killer debut and the perfect way to introduce the label to the rest of the world. It came in tandem with the first RCN Infinity series release Shit Gold, also by Cane Swords. An awesome companion piece, the limited edition cassette came in a gold spray-painted case. The limited limited editions came housed in their own cassette players (boomboxes,walkmen, etc.).
Are yourselves involved musically:
RY: Yes, all 5 members are involved in the label and appear on it. The first fistful of releases were still handled by Curt and Karl. We didn't all jump in immediately. We all started pitching in around the Andrew Weathers/Ancient Ocean split batch, which also included the Mike Shiflet/Joe Panzner split and Karl Vorndran's solo debut Thawing. So far the label has put out everybody's solo venture except HolyKindoOf (James Bryan Parks solo project), which will be coming out soon. Every member has their own solo project and duos and trios between them. So in total there's at least a dozen projects between the five of us. There's the five piece synth-psyche freakout called The Black Eyed Keys. Cane swords who is comprised of Curt Brown and Karl Vorndran. Zurvan is the deeeeeeep meditative drone configuration of James Bryan Parks and Ram Youssefi. XXX Super Arcade is Josh Novak and Karl's drum, bass, and synth crazed rock beast. Faangface is Josh Novak's solo weirdness project. Curt Brown does Black Unicorn, and Bryan's solo project is HolyKindOf. Curt and Josh perform as Mousecop, Karl and Ram play dooooooom under the Doomchrist moniker, and Ram's solo doom-noise aural assault is known as Dolph Lundgren. There's also The Van Faang Family Trio (Faangface and Zurvan), Together At Last (HolyKindOf and Karl Vorndran), Thieves (James Bryan Parks and Josh Novak), Black Van (Black Unicorn and Zurvan), and more in the works!
Inspiration musically/aesthetically, what do you look for in an artist:
RY: What personally inspires me musically and aesthetically varies from project to project. Zurvan has a very specific goal in mind when performing and recording. The intention with our music is to create an organic, living, breathing sonic experience that physically affects the listener. The idea of a sound or frequency range that actually creates a change or alters the listener and that sound can manipulate matter inspires me. The branch of physics studying cymatics fucking fascinates me. It's about being able to create visual representations of soundwaves or other vibrations through matter. In the same respect, one can also essentially control matter through sound and vibrations. These patterns start to emerge according to frequency modulation, the higher the frequency - the more intricate the pattern. And there's different patterns corresponding with varying waveforms and substances used. So the inspiration for Zurvan is to sonically transport and manipulate the listener's mind and body to another dimension or state of being. Meditation is always strongly encouraged. We know we have a good show when even we leave our bodies.
The artists we decide to put out really depends on what we got going on at the moment. It could be some cool guy we've heard of or some dude who sends us a demo. If it's good, we'll put it out. We do have to be a little picky though, we all have to be proud of putting our name on it at the end of the day.
Other projects before RCN:
RY: Before I was involved with RCN, I played in a few bands. Nothing big, played a couple shows, but nothing that really took off. I've been jamming with Bryan for years before we started Zurvan.
RCN and shows you organize:
RY: The first RCN release was Big Warmup In The Mouth Of Eternity, a cassette by Cane Swords, who is made up of RCN co-founders Karl Vorndran and Curt Brown. Its been long since sold out,and rightly so. Killer debut and the perfect way to introduce the label to the rest of the world. It came in tandem with the first RCN Infinity series release Shit Gold, also by Cane Swords. An awesome companion piece, the limited edition cassette came in a gold spray-painted case. The limited limited editions came housed in their own cassette players (boomboxes,walkmen, etc.).
Are yourselves involved musically:
RY: Yes, all 5 members are involved in the label and appear on it. The first fistful of releases were still handled by Curt and Karl. We didn't all jump in immediately. We all started pitching in around the Andrew Weathers/Ancient Ocean split batch, which also included the Mike Shiflet/Joe Panzner split and Karl Vorndran's solo debut Thawing. So far the label has put out everybody's solo venture except HolyKindoOf (James Bryan Parks solo project), which will be coming out soon. Every member has their own solo project and duos and trios between them. So in total there's at least a dozen projects between the five of us. There's the five piece synth-psyche freakout called The Black Eyed Keys. Cane swords who is comprised of Curt Brown and Karl Vorndran. Zurvan is the deeeeeeep meditative drone configuration of James Bryan Parks and Ram Youssefi. XXX Super Arcade is Josh Novak and Karl's drum, bass, and synth crazed rock beast. Faangface is Josh Novak's solo weirdness project. Curt Brown does Black Unicorn, and Bryan's solo project is HolyKindOf. Curt and Josh perform as Mousecop, Karl and Ram play dooooooom under the Doomchrist moniker, and Ram's solo doom-noise aural assault is known as Dolph Lundgren. There's also The Van Faang Family Trio (Faangface and Zurvan), Together At Last (HolyKindOf and Karl Vorndran), Thieves (James Bryan Parks and Josh Novak), Black Van (Black Unicorn and Zurvan), and more in the works!
Inspiration musically/aesthetically, what do you look for in an artist:
RY: What personally inspires me musically and aesthetically varies from project to project. Zurvan has a very specific goal in mind when performing and recording. The intention with our music is to create an organic, living, breathing sonic experience that physically affects the listener. The idea of a sound or frequency range that actually creates a change or alters the listener and that sound can manipulate matter inspires me. The branch of physics studying cymatics fucking fascinates me. It's about being able to create visual representations of soundwaves or other vibrations through matter. In the same respect, one can also essentially control matter through sound and vibrations. These patterns start to emerge according to frequency modulation, the higher the frequency - the more intricate the pattern. And there's different patterns corresponding with varying waveforms and substances used. So the inspiration for Zurvan is to sonically transport and manipulate the listener's mind and body to another dimension or state of being. Meditation is always strongly encouraged. We know we have a good show when even we leave our bodies.
The artists we decide to put out really depends on what we got going on at the moment. It could be some cool guy we've heard of or some dude who sends us a demo. If it's good, we'll put it out. We do have to be a little picky though, we all have to be proud of putting our name on it at the end of the day.
Other projects before RCN:
RY: Before I was involved with RCN, I played in a few bands. Nothing big, played a couple shows, but nothing that really took off. I've been jamming with Bryan for years before we started Zurvan.
RCN and shows you organize:
RY: The Rubber City Noise Center For Audio/Visual Experimentation (or the RCNCAVE) started back in 2011 as a practice space and workshop for Karl. He was working on handmade electronics back in the day. Curt really took to the label thing. They operated the first incarnation of the CAVE, holding a once a month open house. It was a cool spot for music and art. They soon outgrew that location and it was time to search for a new place to call the CAVE. The space we occupy now is an old school/storage building, and we hold shows at least once a month and have a small gallery space. We've had artists from all over, even had some world renowned people come through. We try to do something special every show, make it a little different for the audience all the time.
Music scene in Akron
RY: The music scene in Akron is pretty cool. There's a lot more going on than you think. Punk, metal, rock bands as well as electronic, experimental, and all sorts of music is coming out of Akron.
Tales to tell of the CAVE
RY: Summer of last year we were doing curated shows by each of the RCN members. My show's theme was rituals. So I got the privilege of booking my favorite acts from around town and watching them perform. Each act was to have an emphasis on a ritual, whether magick or otherwise. To this day, it was still one of my favorite shows we've ever had. It opened with Murderous Vision and Cunting Daughters playing together as The Utter Darkness After A Dying Flame, then moved into an absolutely stunning performance from our good friends Dark Matter White Fire. The next set was from my very good friend Black Mayonnaise. There was something very peculiar about that performance. One half of Cunting Daughters was taking pictures during the Black Mayonnaise set, and a big aesthetic feature of his live performances are the fog machine spewing out copious amounts of this smoke. It almost seems industrial grade with the dense smoke screen it creates. Anyway, she was taking pictures of the fog filling the room and the crowd. In a series of pictures, a shadowy human like figure appeared and disappeared in the smoke. She took a bunch of pictures after to try to capture it again, but it was gone. I have the pictures, pretty interesting.
Acts/Labels to recommend. Anyone deserves wider recognition:
RY: I'm really into heavier stuff along with the noisier side of things. The acts I could recommend are kind of all over the place. I fucking love Acid Mothers Temple, Earth, Sunn O))), THOU, Sleep. Some stuff I can't stop listening to lately would have to be Monarch, Indian, The Secret, Primitive Man, Grouper, I could go on and on. I listen to a ton of black metal and off the wall jazz too, like Throne Of Katarsis, Xasthur, Leviathan, Horna, Watain, Ornette Coleman, Late Coltrane, Crazier Miles Davis, Sun Ra, and some Eric Dolphy. Some of my favorite labels would have to be Profound Lore, I buy virtually everything from Southern Lord, Experimedia, run by our buddy Jeremy Bible, is an exceptional label, and I really like the stuff Ideologic Organ is putting out.
Current work and future plans:
RY: As of right now musically, I'm working on a new Zurvan release. I'm very meticulous about the caliber of material we release, so it takes me a little longer than usual to settle on something to put out. I just finished the Dolph Lundgren debut, it's called Pain Bliss End. And it hurts to listen to, absolutely perfect. With the label, there's some releases on the horizon, but no real time frame on dates. As far as the CAVE goes, we're going to keep it going. Might need to do a little light reorganizing, but it will continue on.
BELOW: Selection of performances from the RCN
cave...
RUBBER CITY NOISE
TUNNELS OF ĀH INTERVIEW
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TUNNELS OF ĀH
When did TUNNELS OF ĀH come into being?
I'd been playing around with sounds and a direction for a while and it finally took shape at the back end of 2012.
Where do you draw your inspiration from? Lost Corridors seems to be full of esoteric reference...
I think literature is the main inspiration whether that be ancient Buddhist sutras, magickal writings and over the past few years Gnostic writings such as the Nag Hamaddi library, Pistis Sophia and the Gospel of Judas. The depth of imagery in their language is a jolt to the senses at times. I'm particularly drawn to the anarchic influence of these writings and the unsettling presence on fundamental Christianity they had on their discovery. The Gospel of Judas is a fantastic read, Judas not as betrayer but as holder of the 'secret knowledge'. I've got a new track called 'Saint Peter Ha-Satana' which references this.
People have said the TUNNELS OF ĀH reminds them of soundtrack music though I have never approached it in this way but I do see it graphically when I write the songs. If I had to do a film soundtrack it would have to be a Powell and Pressburger reworking of 'A Canterbury Tale'. The Glueman is my favourite film character ever, along with Mick Travis.
Is your music influenced at all by your surroundings? Does psychogeography play a part in Tunnels of Ah?
Of course. I'm a true believer that magick is everywhere in everything and an imaginative engagement with your surroundings is a potent magickal faculty. I can look at cooling towers as I can look at Stonehenge. Both hold as much mystique to me, just as the subterranean environment of our cities does, hence one of the explanations of the title 'Lost Corridors'. However that is just one explanation for the title. I'm also referring to psychic corridors. The word corridor could easily be channel, portal, current etc. The name TUNNELS OF ĀH is a pun on 'The Tunnels of Set' from Kenneth Grant's brilliant 'Nightside of Eden' book. In the book he charts the shadow side of the Tree of Life. I believe we haven't even begun to research the potential of the mind. This was something that lead me to study and practice Buddhism full time during the 90's, post Head of David. Meditation is the best way to explore the tunnels, I went on some pretty startling 'psychedelic' rambles via meditation, not that that is the aim of meditation. Gods and demons, heavens and hells are real.
Tunnels is a predominantly electronic based project and a diff genre altogether to HOD , was this something you always wanted to do?
The electronics came before HOD. Eric (HOD guitarist) and myself were an industrial/experimental duo in the early 80's called Comicide. We were part of that small but industrious Birmingham scene along with Con-Dom, Family Patrol Group and Final etc. Playing with Con-Dom at 'Confessions of Faith' in November was great, it really evoked those glorious Cold War days of the 80's.
Have you had any other projects post Head of David?
I never stopped playing/experimenting but none have been released though I did play one solo gig a couple of years ago in Birmingham with my acoustic material. I recorded an album for Blast First Petite which never surfaced. This was on the strength of the track I recorded, 'Goodbye Darling', for the Alan Vega 70th Birthday series of 10" cd's on Blast First Petite along with Sun O))), Pan Sonic and Alan Vega.
What has the response been so far to the TUNNELS OF ĀH material and how have you found playing the material live?
The response has been very favourable, encouraging. I've played with TUNNELS OF ĀH live twice and both times I've thoroughly enjoyed it and it's something I look forward to doing more of. It's something that's still very new to me and want to develop further. I think the material works well in a live setting and seems to have the knack of unnerving quite a few people in the process. When I play live I'm still seeing those apocalyptic scenes in my head.
As a veteran of West Midlands underground music, are there any memorable tales you can tell us from the Birmingham Alternative music scene in the 1980's?Also What was it like working with Steve Albini in head of david?
My best memories are the aforementioned industrial times with Con-Dom playing Dudley Eve Hill Afro-Carribean Centre and the Communist Star Club in B'ham and the crypt of Eve Hill Church. All these were arranged by Mike Dando, he was very enterprising and persuasive. These gigs really felt important, as if we were some kind of terror cell unleashing ourselves on the world. Then of course there was the Mermaid. That's where HOD signed to Blast First in one of the back rooms. But as HoD we didn't play B'ham too often, in fact we didn't play anywhere too often. As for Steve Albini, he was easily one of the better people I met during that time. I've got quite a few stories about him. The best being, I suppose,was when I suffered very bad heat stroke in Chicago one summer where I'd collapsed in downtown Chicago and woke up in Alibini's bed. I eventually woke up alone in the house not knowing where I was. I opened the bedroom door to be faced with a whiteboard with a quote written on it by Albini, which was some literary reference I can't remember, but to paraphrase it read " you English pussy". There are more but that's the one that sticks in my mind, that's typical Albini. He then went on to diagnose my heat stroke as serious heart disease. Albini has this extreme reputation but in my experience those with the more extreme reputations such as Foetus, Swans, Gibby Haynes, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra are the most comfortable and easy going people, they have nothing to prove. I do still bear the scars of first meeting Lydia Lunch though in a dressing room at ULU where she trapped me and shouted in my face, 'So, you wanna fuck me up the ass, uh'.
Moving back to the present ,are there any artists you currently admire?
I hear a lot of stuff but I rarely like anything till it's been around for about 30 years.
What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the future?
I'm always working on new material and am currently putting together a second album for Cold Spring. I work quickly but am trying to take my time, I want a good selection of material to choose from when it comes to release.
©BLACK FOREST 2014
Ex-Head of David frontman Stephen Burroughs spoke to us about his new project TUNNELS OF AH and the occult aspects underpinning the fantastic Lost Corridors Album released on COLD SPRING last year...
LOST CORRIDORS is available to buy direct from
Cold Spring here:
GIOVANNI LOMBARDO RADICE INTERVIEW
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GIOVANNI LOMBARDO RADICE
In the setting of cult venue Muthers Studios in Birmingham,Andy Black Forest and Rupert Bell
spoke via skype to the Italian B-movie legend Giovanni Lombardo Radice, aka John Morghen..
A reoccurring face in some of the most notorious movies in the video censorship panic of the 80's, Giovanni has the unlikely and unfortunate aspect of actually not being a fan of horror movies himself!
Black Forest asked him about some of his infamous movies,his newer work and for any anecdotes from the movie business - we were not disappointed! (There is also a link to audio highlights from the interview at the bottom of the article)
With John Saxon in Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
Scene from 'House on the edge of the park' (1980)
©BLACK FOREST 2014
RB: You were involved in theatre productions before acting in movies, how did you get involved with film?
GLR: Well as a matter of fact I wanted to be a dancer, and I studied ballet for many many years, my back got injured when I was very young . I was in Amsterdam studying at the time and at that point I switched to a physiotherapy school that was connected to the ballet school,I took a degree in physiotherapy .
When I got back to Italy I decided to switch to theatre - I had done some theatre work at school with a French theatre company in Rome connected with the French embassy. I was raised trilingual with English,French and Italian ,so I started doing this amateur company where I concentrated on dancing and studying ballet . I decided to try for a stage career and since then I've been on stage all my life... I directed my first play which was Shakespeare's 'A midsummer nights dream' when I was very young ,I had my own theatre company and did many things on stage.
Theatre however was getting me into deep poverty , debts and so forth. I did not receive a penny from my family as the rich ones were my grandparents on my Mom's side, aristocratic snobs ,and they hated the idea of having me doing stage work so they never gave me a penny .It was just me by myself since I was 17 .At that point in 79' I very casually met this woman , Anna Marie Spazanio , and this point she was Ruggero Deodatos mother in law.So we casually met, I was measuring a stage for a production and she was there and she asked me the Hollywod question:
"Have you ever been in a movie?
I said No..
She said "Would you like to?"
I said: "Lady if there's some money involved I will walk on my hands with a red nose on!" (Laughs)
She asked if I spoke English, I said yes and
in a couple of weeks she introduced to me Deodato who was casting for 'House on the edge of the park' ,so I got my first role ,getting in the business from the main door, and I stole the character from Michele Soavi he had been cast the original part as Ricky ...
RB: Would you ever go back to theatre?
GLR: I never stopped , in February I start rehearsing for Macbeth ,as the director.
RB: Why did you adopt the stage name John Morghen?
GLR: I was asked to- I don't remember the point ,either Fulci or the Magheriti movie , those movies were made for the horror market, which was mainly in the US, so they wanted everyone to pretend to be American, everybody was having a stage name, the crew,cameraman etc. So I was asked to assume an american identity and I hated the idea of having a completely unknown name . I had two grandmothers- one with the surname Morghen and one with the surname Hyacinth.I have been called Johnny all my life by my family so it was familiar to me, and Morghen was more 'stagey' than Hyacinth.
My grandmother was a countess and her brother was the head of the family,very proud of his ancestors. when he found I was using the 'sacred' family name doing horror movies ,he made my ass black and blue! (laughter)
RB: HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK - an exploitation movie,not everybody's way to break in to the world of acting,what was that like and what was it like to work with Ruggero Deodato in your first role ?
GLR: It was a very 'stagey' movie considering it was my first, if you think about it it was just in one room 80% of the movie, so it truly had a stage feel which helped me a lot, Ruggero was in a hurry - the movie was shot in 3 weeks, so he was running,running running and of course shouting ,shouting shouting...But I will say his way of being coarse was a nice one if you like ,as he was insulting everybody and then adding a joke and giving names to everybody.He's a very nice man and I had a great relationship with him and also David Hess helped me a lot.
RB: What was it liked to work with David?
GLR: It was fantastic... We loved each other, he was very supportive, always supporting, rehearsing and helping.He was just great we also had a great time offset too. David was a few years our senior, the others were a bunch of young people in their 20's,so we had a lot of fun. We were always dancing and dining and ...other stuff! He had his family with him his young wife ,so he was a bit more sedated than normal .He was addicted to food, considering I was and still am a pretty good cook, I cooked tons of pasta and other food for David..
He was generally sharing the first part of the evening eating with us then it was out with his family for the second half ,we would go out dancing,so it was a wonderful experience all in all..
RB: What about the proposed Sequel? Is that still in the pipeline?
GLR: That's a very long story, RD and myself were asked about a sequel and offered a story which made head nor tail which we didn't like, so we asked if we ourselves could write our own treatment ,and from that treatment ,which was very detailed, came a screenplay - that was 2 years ago. The problem is it's not that easy to find funding and production , now we are rewriting the story according to some requests ,I don't know what's going to happen - it's an interesting story with lots of horror and gore what the fans want, but also with a lot of insight into the characters... The fact is HOTEOTP is the only movie I did where I survived, so its the only movie I made that can have a sequel!
The beginning is Ricky getting out the jail,where he was kept a long time overdue as he became the sex toy of a sadistic warden,who managed to keep him in jail for 30 years instead of 10 ,so he gets out of jail finally and and he meets a young character similar to David Hess in the way he is mixed up, confusing the past with the present etc. -it's an interesting story - so lets hope for the best!
RB: Onto Cannibal apocalypse - you've stated elsewhere that this was one of your favourite movies to work on? What was it that made that movie so special?
GLR: Wait..wait a second! Firstly i must say it was my favourite HORROR movie role, not my favourite movie!(laughter)as you might know am not a fan of the genre and I never go to the theatre to see a horror movie and in some cases I have not seen the entire movies I have starred in myself..
Firstly it was a great character to play (Giovanni plays the role of Charles Bukowski, a Vietnam veteran) . Immense acting potential in it ,very well written,many shades and sides to it . Second I fell in love with Antonio Maghareti,he was the Lord Mountbatten of horror movies (laughs) . He was a gentlemen, he was nice and had a sense of humour and was not considering himself a maestro .He said things like 'I make movies like a butcher, I sell them by the kilo'.. I had a great time with him, I always considered him as a second father, we worked together again in TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE ,and we kept in touch talking on the phone , I spoke to him a couple of months before he passed away...
Thirdly it was the story - at the time I read the script and said it was preposterous, crazy: 'I bite you and you get infected like measles' this is stupid! but afterwards when I watched the movie, I changed my mind as there was something prophetic about it, The AIDS epidemic started not long after that movie, and not only that but the idea the disease starts with the Vietnam war, its violence and war that causes the disease, it wasn't as stupid as it first seemed..
RB: It's more of a social commentary in a way..
GLR: Yes yes....Also I must say that John Saxon is awfully good in it, so its a good movie,considering the genre and the fighting, gore and whatever!
RB: TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE, what was that like to work on?
GLR: Oh...God.....
ABF: We won't ask you about CANNIBAL FEROX , but you get TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE!
GLR: TIIOS was one of the hugest mistakes in Italian history..
RB: (Laughs)
GLR: It was the last production internally worked out by RAI which is the state tv, which is typical Italy, no other civil country would have that,Italy is not a civilised country - you know that, so they used to produce things themselves...
So RAI, which is state tv with 3 channels, they used to produce things themselves, you had to cope with the unions, strikes etc, you had a crew made of people who were working on a salary for RAI so they weren't motivated to move their ass for nothing! And the scenery and the sets were ridiculous - sci-fi has to be made to a certain standard and level. It went on for more than 6 months and got delayed.. One day the clapper wasn't there, and there was a line of us waiting to shoot - Anthony Quinn, Philippe Leroy, David Warbeck and myself ,and we were checking into the aircraft, I wasn't first in the line, after two hours I asked if I could do the clapper myself and I was eaten alive by the unions! Who were saying 'you want to steal the work of a worker!' etc (Laughter)that was the general climate there.
Regarding Anthony Quinn, He was the greatest pain in the ass I've ever met in my life! He was vile and fascist,cruel,no respect for others...He was walking on the soundman who was there with him with the microphone, literally walking and standing on him..His dresser was crying every day, he was mistreating her, he was rewriting the old script, he was turning up in the morning,not saying good morning to you and throwing 20 pages at you and saying 'TODAY'S SCRIPT!'
He was also casting shadows on my face during production, I am a stageman, I know when the light is on me ,as he was the star you could not complain openly ! Poor Margheriti was suffering as well, he couldn't say anything either and he said is there something wrong ,and I said 'Er..i don;t really feel the light on my face'. He was horrible, a horrible old fascist!
RB: What was it like working with Michele Soavi?
GLR: Tomorrow morning I will be on set with Soavi, he is shooting a police drama for tv, as he has moved away from horror now...
Michele was entirely different, firstly we were best buddies, we met on the set of GATES OF HELL, we got on extremely well - at that age you have great and moving friendships .We were writing projects making stuff, so when he got to direct his first movie,it was like working with my brother - entirely different compared to other directors, he's different as his love for horror is real - all others were pros but they had directed all sorts of genres whatever the market was asking for, people think Fulci was a horror fan -he was not - he was just doing what the market wanted him to do. Soavi has a deeply authentic love for horror, he gave me a huge book of the complete works of Lovecraft which I still have now. Michele is also a painter ,very visionary, so the movies came from his paintings, it was much more involving to work with a director who had a authentic passion. The first one STAGE FRIGHT was an adventure, we had little money but we were very motivated. On his request I rewrote the dialogue, putting in some stage bitching ,that I knew very well from experience! It was a very good movie, so was THE CHURCH, a much bigger production,more money , shooting in Budapest. Michele has an ability to motivate people as he is motivated himself..Each time he talks to you about a character or plot he's so enthusiastic it rubs off on you..
RB: What are your favourite non horror roles you have played?
GLR: My favourite one is in the Italian TV adaptation of the bible , I was playing King Herod,and as a character he was terribly cruel,but also terribly funny so I had a good time with that role. Also some European period fiction that Fabrizio Costa directed ,we made a version of Tristan and Isolde, I was also playing a villain there.. He's an incredibly talented director and its rare to find an Italian director that cares about actors.
RB: Moving onto some more recent movies, DAY OF VIOLENCE, HOUSE OF FLESH MANNEQUINS - What were they like to work on compared to your older movies and were you happy with the results?
GLR: I am extremely happy - since I got on the internet, which was a shock as before the internet I thought the horror movie was a private club of worshippers of Stalin's moustache or something (laughs) , compromised perhaps of two or three thousand people in the world,a very niche thing. A couple of times there were American tourists who would see my name on a theatre poster passing and want to have their photograph taken with me biting their neck, but I thought it was just a few loonies. So when I got on the net in about 1999 I was shocked - as soon as my presence was known and I had a way to be contacted, it was like a tsunami, a huge wave of things falling on me, a new world opening to me. I was like Christopher Columbus discovering America, and thinking oh shit ,as they were asking me about movies I made 20 years ago! Step by step I adjusted to this.I started going to conventions etc. and young directors started to get in touch with me through the internet and Darren Ward was one of them.When I'm asked to star in a movie , my first answer is 'can I read the script' - as simple as that -even if its a 15 year old boy living in say..Birmingham say ..He might be a genius ,you never know.. So anyway I read the the script and I actually cried as the story was full of violence but with say,a moving river underneath.
The problem was he could not get a big role as he was shooting on a very low budget ,more indie than indie lets say! So he couldn't fly me back and forth .So we settled in the role of a drug dealer, and I had a great time playing the role, we became friends,and we are now working a new project BEYOND FURY . The same thing happened with this Italian director Domiziano Christopharo - 'HOUSE OF FLESH MANNEQUINS' we shot in LA ,it was a good role too and then I made another one in the US ,'THE INFLICTED' (Dir Matthan Harris) another indie production. I have to say that these guys pay much more than you get in Italy for tv work, they are young people very motivated full of energy who offered me good roles, they fly me over business class,nothing I can complain about. At my age one needs to work with older people, when you get older you become a vampire (laughs),so I give them my experience, they give me good roles , emotions, freshness, so I love working with young directors, last one I made in Ireland,' THREE SISTERS', Daire Mcnab a Dublin director ,interesting as there was no script , just a story and I had to improvise..
RB: You are a cult star in the US and UK, what was the reaction in your Native Italy to you being in these movies?
GLR: There is no connection.People involved with theatre and movies in Italy ignore horror. People think I am very bizarre, so they consider my movies one of my many strange assets.If you look at my website, that's why I have it as two people - that's how it is for me, for certain people I am a stage person, a translator of Shakespeare,a scholar, screenwriter, the heir of an important family, to to others I'm just the guy who got his head drilled by Fulci! (Laughs)
RB: Who would you say the was the best director you worked with?
GLR: Soavi, for all the reason I already outlined, he is a visionary and has movies in his blood.But I get along with fantastically with Deodato, Bava as a person, I only did a cameo role for him, we meet and talk occasionally. Recently I worked with Sergio Stivaletti, one of the best fx artists in the world,who has switched to directing.I made a short with him,(l'invito (2013)) Which was fantastic. Generally I get along well all directors, Fabrizio de Angelis and Lenzi were the only two who pissed me off! I am a stage director myself, but I never impose my opinions unless I'm asked to, otherwise I do what I'm told and never complain, and basically be a good boy (laughs).
RB: Are there any stories you can tell us from being on set, anything that stands out, any particular moments?
GLR: You mean offset?...I have so many anecdotes!
ABF: What was one of the strangest things you ever seen on the set of a movie?
Strangest? Well I can tell you about the funniest -In Cannibal Apocalypse , We were in Atlanta Georgia , in that scene where we stopped at the gas station if you remember - not to get gas ,but to kill the owner! And I was butchering him then, we kept escaping offset, we resumed shooting and just one second before action was called for ,the propman gives me a plastic bag with blood dripping from it and I said what's that?And he said 'bits of the guy to take with you' ,it was a long shot so you don't see me laughing but I laughed til I was in tears as I was carrying this nice grocery bag with the entrails of the garage owner, that was really funny!
The other one I've told many a time - I was shooting 'Gates of Hell' there was this zombie scene there, there was Antonella Interlenghi and myself, the makeup took 6 hours and the last touch was to out marmalade on you for the decomposing fx, we couldn't drink or eat as your mouth was closed due to make up, so made up as zombies and not wanting to Atlanta Georgia dressed as zombies so Antonella and myself just got into a van we were waiting and waiting and waiting, after a couple of hours Antonella ,who was very much into the stuff, she said 'why don't we smoke a joint' I said 'yes,lets..', She had some marijuana , I don't know who she got it from ,but maybe from father Thomas himself, as it was the strongest stuff I had ever smoked, we freaked out completely, man I mean completely! We were staring at each other in zombie make up going Aghhhh! This lasted for an hour or so , and then we calmed down. I said 'look Antonella, they can't keep us waiting like this' - at that point 4 or 5 hours had passed: ' They can't keep us waiting like this for hours and hours,I'm going to make a scene!' so I opened the van and there was this 6 years old child with his mother going 'Mummy! Mummy the creature'! But he was happy and not scared and I was asked to take pics with the child in make up! I have many stories like this - I have wrote my auto biography so I hope in a few months you'll be able to read more stories...
RB: As you mentioned BEYOND FURY is currently in production...
GLR: No ,it's not in production, its in funding..
RB: Can you tell us anything about the movie?
GLR: On the web there is a funny promo I did for it,me acting as a cocaine fuelled gangster Ivan Lenzivitch ,so you can guess who's that's based on... It's a good script, I love my character I am going to play, as I love villains who are witty and funny..My ideal role I hope to play next year is Richard III...
ABF: Ok, last question, what are your plans for the future?
GLR: I am about to stage Macbeth as I already mentioned ,I have a few writing projects,inc HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK 2 and we have some more projects with Dedodato - I work well with him in the writing process,he is the crazy one and I am the logical one...And I shouldn't tell you this but I will, I have a project with Michele Soavi - he really would like to go back to making horror movies.Future projects all involve my writing , I wrote for 25 years for Italian tv -that's a great part of my economic career! Then Mr Berlusconi decided i was too leftist in 2001 ,In 2001 elections I was strongly involved against Berlusconi considering he owns the entire tv system in Italy. He decided to get rid of me, and I haven't worked for tv since then. So I have a skill in writing movies...
ABF: Thank you Giovanni for taking the time to speak to us!...
AKA
JOHN MORGHEN
FILMOGRAPHY (AS JOHN MORGHEN)
1979 HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK Director RUGGERO DEODATO
1980 CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (GATES OF HELL) Director LUCIO FULCI
1980 CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE Director ANTONIO MARGHERITI
1981 CANNIBAL FEROX Director UMBERTO LENZI
1982 MURDER IN THE ETRUSCAN CEMETERY Director SERGIO MARTINO
1984 DEADLY IMPACT (MAD DOG) Director FABRIZIO DE ANGELIS
1985 SPACE ISLAND Director ANTONIO MARGHERITI
THE "SOAVIS"
STAGEFRIGHT (1986)
THE CHURCH (1989)
THE SECT (1991)
1988 PHANTOM OF DEATH (OFF BALANCE) Director RUGGERO DEODATO
1992 BODY PUZZLE Director LAMBERTO BAVA
2006 THE OMEN Director JOHN MOORE
http://www.giovannilombardoradice.com/
Japanese VHS of CANNIBAL APOCALPYSE (1980)
THE CHURCH (1989)
TREASURE ISLAND IN OUTER SPACE (1987)
Audio Highlights from the interview:https://soundcloud.com/radio-black-forest/giovanni-lombardo-radice
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WHAT INSPIRES
YOU?
WHAT DO YOU
SEE ON
YOUR WAY?
BUZZ
HOT TRENDS
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
"OPEN EYE, OPEN HEART"
ISSUE NO.1 LOCAL EYES
LOVE LIVING LOCAL
LIFE
OUR
YOUTH
&
SPORTS
SABRINA GILLIAM
DISCOVER
E*MIT
CREATED BY KRISTY BELL
"THE BYPASS DELI"
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those who live in hollow trees,
have arms that are made of branches of leaves.
and they sing their songs of the forest, and love;
it is the quintessence of sound from the heavens above.
though they will travel around, i will hear their song,
through the wind and the rivers, i'll be singing along.
i'll travel the world, but stay in the same place.
meet millions alike, and long for one face.
a friend, or a lover, or that place in between,
i'll stick with you if you stick with me.
you said "i know no longer what i can believe",
so i'll sew you my heart and pin it to your sleeve.
this life is made out of the pauses and gaps,
and you'll skip them right over if you're running too fastso live by the sun, and sleep by the moon,
have arms that are made of branches of leaves.
and they sing their songs of the forest, and love;
it is the quintessence of sound from the heavens above.
though they will travel around, i will hear their song,
through the wind and the rivers, i'll be singing along.
i'll travel the world, but stay in the same place.
meet millions alike, and long for one face.
a friend, or a lover, or that place in between,
i'll stick with you if you stick with me.
you said "i know no longer what i can believe",
so i'll sew you my heart and pin it to your sleeve.
this life is made out of the pauses and gaps,
and you'll skip them right over if you're running too fast
and dream of the loves that ended too soon..
there are no mistakes or such things as "awkward silence",
just lessons to be learned, and friends who know when to be quiet.
just lessons to be learned, and friends who know when to be quiet.
when you reach out your hand,
and you feel that spark...
the one that burns up so bright,
it flashes out all the dark...
i don't know why you run...
when i find a love, i hold it like a prize,
even when i know it's the kind, that will be over at sunrise...
and while you feel for my thighs,
i'll look into your eyes,
and reach up for the skies,
cause' i'm no good at goodbyes...
so i hope that i finally have your attention,
and one day you'll take what you now feel as tension,
and turn it into a whole new invention,
thats something beyond your comprehension.
its like you are in a whole new dimension,
you cant even explain cause its too much to mention...
it just goes, and goes, and goes....
and you feel that spark...
the one that burns up so bright,
it flashes out all the dark...
i don't know why you run...
when i find a love, i hold it like a prize,
even when i know it's the kind, that will be over at sunrise...
and while you feel for my thighs,
i'll look into your eyes,
and reach up for the skies,
cause' i'm no good at goodbyes...
so i hope that i finally have your attention,
and one day you'll take what you now feel as tension,
and turn it into a whole new invention,
thats something beyond your comprehension.
its like you are in a whole new dimension,
you cant even explain cause its too much to mention...
it just goes, and goes, and goes....
Hollow Trees
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Oh, my muse
Poetry Book Pg 1
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Artlife
as a human, you are a work of art
and you are an artist
and the man next to you is an artist
and this is a collective culminating project
of infinite proportions in which
each artist sculpts and paints
each other artist
while being sculpted and painted
by them
and as things begin to unfold
so beautifully
in a way that is both new and so familiar
when everything clicks
and symbols reoccur again and again
each coincidence making tally’s
in your journal
until they are not coincidences anymore
you have to wonder
is this their dream or mine?
which one of you is creating this reality?
all
and you are an artist
and the man next to you is an artist
and this is a collective culminating project
of infinite proportions in which
each artist sculpts and paints
each other artist
while being sculpted and painted
by them
and as things begin to unfold
so beautifully
in a way that is both new and so familiar
when everything clicks
and symbols reoccur again and again
each coincidence making tally’s
in your journal
until they are not coincidences anymore
you have to wonder
is this their dream or mine?
which one of you is creating this reality?
all
Poetry Book Cover
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A Dark Hour Passing In a Strange Place
By: Jelly
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El
agrimensor Juan Bautista Carrión en 1869 trazó el primer plano por
encargo del propio Martínez Fortún, quien decidió el ancho y trazado de
las calles, lo que aún se conserva.
Se comienza a ampliar el poblado con la construcción de nuevas casas, tiendas, fuertes, iglesias, plazas, etc. Debido al auge tomado por este poblado se acuerda constituir su Ayuntamiento el 1ro de Enero de 1879, quedando así fundado el Municipio de Placetas.
Por Real Decreto el 19 de Noviembre de 1881 obtuvo el título de "Villa", y el 24 de Abril de 1925 fue declarada Placetas con el título de "Ciudad".
Se comienza a ampliar el poblado con la construcción de nuevas casas, tiendas, fuertes, iglesias, plazas, etc. Debido al auge tomado por este poblado se acuerda constituir su Ayuntamiento el 1ro de Enero de 1879, quedando así fundado el Municipio de Placetas.
Por Real Decreto el 19 de Noviembre de 1881 obtuvo el título de "Villa", y el 24 de Abril de 1925 fue declarada Placetas con el título de "Ciudad".
PLACETAS LA VILLA DE LOS LAURELES
Cash, Cans & Cocaine
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CASH, CANS & COCAINE
Perfect World, George Sanchez-Calderon, Typoe, Michael Vasquez, Andrew Nigon, Temi Okpaku, Hoxxoh, Jessy Nite, Asif Farooq, Lu Gold
The Phoenix Literary Magazine
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The sixth through eighth grade students of Bateman have replaced in focus with an all new, all student-led, electronic literary magazine! Allow us to introduce.........
The Phoenix!
Check here each month for our latest issues. Submit artwork, news, and creative writing to the editor from your grade level.
Logo by Gildardo G.
Grade Level Editors
6th Grade- sirine N.
7th grade-Diana p.
8th grade- zoely r.
Check here for contests in every issue. This Month's Prize: win a $5 starbucks gift Card! This Month's Contest is: Be the first to find the name Barney Stinson in this issue. Email ms. Tripp with the name of the writing piece and the author's name!
Chess Club Tournament
November 16, 2 013 at
At Lane Tech High School
By: Ernest R.
The chess club tournament on November 16, 2013 was an average tournament. It didn't go perfect but it was average. It was average or okay because in the past YCFC tournaments, the +Bateman chess club had better success. Sometimes all the teams got a trophy or many Bateman individuals took top 10 trophies in all categories but this time only a few individuals earned trophies and wonderful performances.The tournament organization was the YCFC or the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago. The event took place at Lane Tech High School. There were three total categories, they were K-4, 5-8, and the advanced section. There were 346 players across the city of Chicago. There were only 29 players from Bateman which would give a total 8% of the players who were in the tournament. Even
it seems to be such a small percent it was actually a lot. Only Goudy and Decatur had more players than Bateman.
The Bateman players who got 3.5 or better in the K-4 section were Layla R. with 4 points, Jana Z. with 4, Lillian R. with 4, and Jeremy E.with 3.5 points. From the 5-8 section the players who got 4 points were Umair A., Michael R., and Leonard R. In the advanced section, Miguel C. led with 2.5 points, Ernest R. with 2 points, and Carrey N. and Jimmy N. with 2 points each.
The K-4 section got a third place trophy out of 29 schools. The 5-8 novice section got fourth place out of 34 schools. Finally the advanced section got in 9th place out of 17 schools.
It wasn’t an awesome tournament day but it was a good shot for the first tournament for this year. The next chess tournament will be in December. Good luck to all Bateman chess players and keep working hard for those next tournaments!
6th Grade
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6th Grade Page
Alanis A.'s Response to La Llorona:The Weeping Woman
Broken
Don't let me drown in my lonely sorrows
Never wanting to look back
Never wanting to fall into the hole that I couldn't get out of
He was my prescription
I needed him daily
Why would he do this?
Leave me like a stray
I never hurt him
Stabbed me for what it seemed like, eternity
Never will I look back on him and think of him as my love
How could I give in like that?
Let him see through me
Then break through me
By Sirine N.
By Davyana C.
By Skye P.
March 12, 1951
Life in war. It is horrible. You don’t know when you will die. All around you people are dying. You can hear their screams even at night from men suffering from blood loss, destroyed torsos, being shot at, and much more devastating injuries. This place is a living hell. Rats are everywhere, lice sucking at your blood while you rest for the day, dead bodies everywhere. Guns are flaring, bombs exploding, shards being sprayed everywhere, mortars falling everywhere not caring who it hits. Everyday many of us are slaughtered. All I dream of is to be back with my family, my wife, my sons, and my dog, Barky. But probably I won’t go back on my two feet but in a bodybag. Many of my comrades have died on this war. My life before this was at a farm, playing around not caring about anything, having a good life. Well then its time to go. Hope I live to see tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Ernest R.
By Jennifer G.
The Fence
The separation between
us was deadly
Every day that separation
would get worse.
Days, months, years
they were hard
I wanted to die.
Even if I died I wanted to die
beside you.
That one person I adore
is too far t
hat I can’t reach.
Why must we have this?
Why can’t she be with me?
She’s my family.
Let her be in
peace on that other
side of the fence.
I hope this end at once
because your my
sister no matter what.
By Jenny F.
Esperanza's View
I’m Esperanza- sad and blue,
Watching all the girls sing and twirl
I walk sad in tears,
With the fear of being caught
I crossed the border,
The big divide,
It’s huge in my eyes
They count hopscotch squares
I count cracks,
But nobody knows who I am
I’m the black little dot,
Hard to find,
Lost in a field trip
Teacher says that’s fine
In a world of black.
By: Julian S.
Aliens
They come through and under
Lurking throughout the country
Searching for their life
Never knowing what will happen
Always preparing for the worst
Praying day and night
Coyotes could eat them alive,
steal all their money,
leave them broke
Coming from all around
Under the wire they come
in pairs, packs, and groups
Avoiding la migra, once you see green
it breaks your heart into minuscule bits
Weeping with every step
Unknown to the world
Unknown to your boss
Unknown to everyone
Only hoping for the best
By: Sirine N.
Outcast
Alone
At Risk
No home
Deciding whether to trust someone
Abandoned
Fighting
Thinking about your family
Need
Want
Trusting a Coyote?
Losing
Frightened at the thought of going home
All alone
No money
-Skye P.
Picture by: Jennifer G.
Drawings by Stefania S.
Sin Papeles
Suffering the torture
Immigrants migrating
No freedom of your own
Papers and papers of nothing
A powerful heart to reach your goal
Planning a perfect life
Ever lasting tears of sadness
Leaving your families
Enough seeing my children cry
Stay with what you believe in
By Angelica G.
By Yazmin M.
By Skye P.
By Alexis G.
By Anonymous
In Response to The Circuit
All I am to them is a number
To them I’m not a sweet, lovable, amazing human
I’m just a code, a serial number that won’t be seen as me
Just an illegal alien
I didn’t want to fall into this situation
I could’ve starved to death if I hadn’t broken the law
I could’ve been killed in my own country
Even if I die, I don’t want to die and be seen as a number
But that’s what I am to them, a number
I don’t want to be noticed, no one does
Trouble always seems to find me but I face it no matter what happens
Sometimes I want to give up
It seems like the best answer
But something makes me think twice and I don’t
I get stronger every time I lose a fight
I learn from those mistakes I’ve made
By anonymous
Who are we?
That is a question we never answer.
We spend our whole life searching for the answer.
Some like to blend in and follow a leader,
some like to lead and set trends,
others stick out and be themselves,
as Stargirl has.
She has wowed us,
being herself is the most dangerous and stunning of all her tricks.
So now she sets the trend.
We are followers,
she is now a leader,
no longer unique.
We all act as she does,
her actions and her things are no longer what makes her different,
we all act the same and own the same items.
Why do we follow?
We all have our reasons.
No one has a definition,
just a quality that sticks out.
Are you funny or serious?
Do want to create buildings or bring them down?
Are you open to ideas or plain sighted?
Do you want lead a country or rise against one?
These are merely a few of the questions we must ask to find ourselves.
Stargirl hasn’t,
but she started the search before us.
We,
even Stargirl,
have yet to be ourselves,
finding paths and roads to ourselves.
We all are still conformists,
I think soon,
we’ll spread our small and delicate wings,
and see that the those wings,
we thought were ugly and horrible,
are really bewitching and wonderful.
All we need to do is spread them.By Zoe G.
When the World Is Against Me
When the whole world is against me what do I do? Do I run away, turn around, ignore, cry, throw myself on my bed and muffle my cries? Do I listen to music, do I just hide behind my parents, what do I do? All I do is walk outside, listen to nature, and music and learn to be grateful. Because I know nothing will last forever so I have to take every chance I got to appreciate what I have. Friends, enemies, people who defend you, people who hate you, they will all fade away.
By Ernest R.
By Jennifer G.
RRR Records - Ron Lessard Interview
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RRR RECORDS
The RRR Record label and store has played a seminal part in the history of noise and extreme music - as well as being the first american label to release Japanese noise artists such as Merzbow, Masonna and Hanatrash, for nearly 30 years Owner and founder Ron Lessard has supported established and new artists alike , the label has hundreds of unique releases in its back catalogue. A driving force in underground music,what follows is a short interview Black Forest conducted with Ron....
When did you establish RRR and the RRR store?
I opened on Jan 3, 1984
the original address.....
RRRecords
151 Paige Street
Lowell MA 01852
What was the first ever release on RRRecords?
The very first release was a cassette compilation of musicians and artists from the city of Lowell called Lowell Dreams - its seemed like the obvious thing to do when you open up a record store.
What was your first exposure to noise music and how did you discover Japanese artists such as Merzbow, Violent onsen geisha and Hanatrash?
I'm not sure what my 1st exposure to noise music was, it was just the natural evolution of my tastes and interests- I was listening to all sorts of whacked-out shit, I was on a quest to find the most extreme music out there
I first heard Merzbow when I bought some of his cassettes from a small label and distribution called Aeon, they were from Colorado - I 1st heard Violent Onsen Geisha when Juntaro Yamanouchi mailed me the masters for the Anal Onanie LP (it was also the 1st time I heard Masonna) - and I'm not sure the 1st time I heard Hanatarash but that 2nd LP of theirs floored me...
Tell us about the '2 o'clock matinee series' - what acts played at these events and what were your favourite performances?
I used to have in-store performances in my shop every Saturday afternoon at 2:00 - I did that for years, many an artist have played the shop, just about everyone involved with the New England noise and underground scene as well as tons of travelling artists - picking favorites would be futile but as I'm sitting here I'm reminded of the show Brett from Nauscopy Records did - he played the drums but forgot to bring his drumsticks so he played his set using his shoes - he then lit some foul chemical incense concoction that stunk up the place..
You record under a multitude of aliases, Emil Beaulieau and Needles being what people might be most familiar with, tell us about the other projects you are involved with or have been involved with....
Emil Beaulieau is my solo project and the one I have devoted most of my time to - Due Process can be considered the official RRR house band - usually when I work with someone, its Due Process - I've also released material under the names Needles, Mornois, Communist Ukeleles, Johnny Cage & The Stockhausen Five, amongst others - these were mostly just 1-off projects with various friends.
As someone who established themselves pre-internet , what are you views on how the internet has changed the way most people consume music?
The consuming aspect all that important, its being able to access and hear what you want to hear that's important - the internet is excellent for listening to noise and music, I'm not too concerned with the way people have changed their buying and spending habits...
for more information
RRR'S 100O release compromised solely of Lock Grooves
RRR's recycled music cassette releases consist of a release being taped over a pre-existing rock or pop release , the artist only identified by handwriting or adhesive tape on the spine
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