#Allen Edwards

[ohc-and-the-music-tapes-archive]

Interview with Julian Koster about Chocolate USA in Flagpole, July 14, 1993 [source]

transcript:

CHEWING THE CHOCOLATE CUD

Chocolate USA is more than a band; it's a concept, and, according to Julian Koster, vocalist/writer/musician, it's an attempt to bridge the gap between fan and band. “Chocolate is more a ‘thing’ than a band. It's an idea,” he said while spooning out the sour cream from his chicken burrito while we sat at Compadres. “When I was a kid the bands I listened to opened me up; they were like my best friends.” He went on to describe the intensity of emotion and intimacy one feels when connecting with the music. So many bands build walls around them and what Chocolate would like to do is “make something without a backdrop. The idea is... the world has to be limitless.”

We originally drove off towards town in Chocolate’s newly acquired red van with white paint sloshed in swirls along the sides. The van is the band’s current prized possession once belonging to Bar/None, Chocolate’s record label. Performers such as They Might Be Giants, Freedy Johnston, and others have graced its exteriors and left their marks in the guise of bumper stickers and stage passes plastered on the metal sides and dashboard. A Soul Asylum all access pass looms from under the radio while bumper stickers proudly proclaiming “My other car is a penis" and “Bush Wishing Well — please give a shit about greedy Republicans” cover the sides of the well-worn vehicle. There's a Freedy Johnston backstage pass, and a few others with handwritten band names, now smudged through time.

There's also the cow... and our reason for driving downtown in the first place — to find paint that will cover the Wooden Cow Guest House insignia in the middle of Julian's four foot high wooden cow. “I'm into a cow phase at the moment,” he said while we walked towards the art shop carrying the cow. “It’s the imagery of cows on the side of the road — no matter where you tour, there are cows on the side of the road. I used to pass this cow pasture all the time when I was in high school so it brings back certain memories to me,” he said. I asked him if he had written any ‘cow’ songs. He began singing one, to no surprise.

Their debut album, All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today, was released by Bar/None records just a couple of months ago, yet the material for the album was written and recorded several years ago while Julian was at the high point of his adolescent angst. “Bar/None took it as is. Most people block adolescence out of their heads, I released mine nationally!” It turned out that Bar/None was Julian's favorite record label at the time. “I was a huge fan of They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, Ordinaires — they were my three favorite bands. [Bar/None] responded right away to the LP. They are the neatest, funniest people I've ever met working with indie rock. [With All Jets] we preserved the time and what was there. We're definitely a Bar/None band — we fit in that mindset.”

The band currently has 25 songs to weed through for their second release planned for January, some of which are partially recorded. In the meantime the band is planning to release a vinyl only EP in the fall. But for the past two years Chocolate has been running their Chocolaty Good Smash Hit of the Month Club. What you get when you join is a personalized mini album with covers made by the band “Nothing in the club will ever be anywhere else.” Julian is also working on radio play ideas, characters involved with the band — both real and imagined — and has worked with real life characters such as Eugene Chadbourne and Daniel Johnson on projects. The current Chocolate lineup is Keith Block on drums, Allen Edwards on guitar, Paul Wells on bass and mandolin, Liza Wakeman on violin, and Julian on guitars, mandolin, concertina, and turntables. “I'm inspired by George Clinton and the Parliament and Funkadelics. They were very much a family. Our ultimate goal is to bring the band’s garage and the kid's bedroom closer together.” Julian asked for the time while smashing a bite of burrito into his mouth. Evidently he had two other phone interviews to take care of and he was already late for one of them. We rushed out of the restaurant, not forgetting the cow, and descended back into the heat and the red van “Did I tell you what I'm going to do with the cow?” he asked. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. “We're going to put it on stage with us — do something with it — I'm not sure what....” We got back into the van and drove off, securing the cow in the back seat.

I had to ask: How did this cow fetish come about? “During the time we were recording All the Jets, the cow stuff was coming into effect,” he said. “I fell in love for the first time at age 16.” Evidently seeing cows brings back the memory of the cow pasture Julian used to walk by during his high school days, when the love bug first struck... “It was a case of unrequited love. It blew my mind — about love and what we were going through at the time. It was during adolescence and about adolescence. There was no perspective. I was in the middle of the ocean and I was swimming without a life jacket. That was adolescence — that was love.” Hillary Meister

Chocolate U.S.A. are playing at the 40 Watt for their Athens album release party on Wednesday, July 14. They play rarely in these parts and are about to embark on a national tour. Catch them now before they travel down the winding pastured road...

[petrichor-and-moondust]

...and some more

(requests are open!)

[dailydccomics]

villains always always always underestimate Barry's love for Iris and vice versa, do you see how quick she is to defend him??? The Flash #9

[vagrantclown]

[IMAGE ID: a meme of a man standing in front of a car. The caption reads “shout out to characters with cool replacement arms, gotta be one of my favorite genders.” Pasted on the meme are pictures of Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, Link from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Vash from Trigun, and Allen Walker from D. gray Man. END ID]

[dc-polls-not-the-og]

Why Raven and Zatanna: they both are powerful magic users, also I like how Raven is a crow and Zatanna a white pidgeon

Why Impulse and Booster: they both are from the future (not same time period), it would be funny to see them talking about futuristic stuff

Why Beast Boy and Animal Man: they both have relation with the Red and are activists for animal rights

Why Mad Hatter and Red Alice: they are Alice in Wonderland themed, and for what I know they've never interacted

Why Music Maister and Riddler: theater kids and drama queens

[walzerjahrhundert]

portrait photograph of Edward Heron-Allen, English polymath, writer, scientist and Persian scholar

circa late 1886

[mushi-shield]

[ja50nt0ddwa5h3r3]

What are your top 5 Adrien ships in Adribat Maribat?

~ Ask a Stilly Question

Alley Cat, obviously. Duh. No bias, they're just the best. (Jaydrien)

Then it's Timdrien, love the idea

Roydrien scratches an itch

Adrien/Bart (that's your fault)

And then, finally, Adrien/Riddler (also your fault)

[80smovies]

[clownspies]

ouiverse sketches part one!!!!

[mae-kent]

ok guys vote on my next set of bracelets to premake

[puppetmaster13u]

If you want multiple/poly then that's part of the other choice lol

[batcavescolony]

RedRobin: *invited his friends to Gotham for some help on a case*

Riddler: Red Robin you've brought so- WAIT NO

RedRobin: what?

Riddler: I'M NOT DEALING WITH THAT ONE! TELL ME WHEN HES GONE!

Impulse: you don't want to play?

Riddler: NO, NOT WITH YOU! YOU DON'T PLAY FAIR! *leaves*

[isame-allen]

I’m improving guys

Guys I’m improving

[blackinperiodfilms]

Outlaw Posse | Official Trailer

1908. CHIEF (Mario Van Peebles) returns from years of hiding in Mexico to claim stolen gold hidden in the hills of Montana. In his quest, he reunites an ensemble of fresh & familiar faces - together they fight off ANGEL, whose rationale to the gold leaves a trail of deception and dead bodies.

Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Mandela Van Peebles, Whoopi Goldberg, D.C Young Fly, Amber Reign Smith, John Carroll Lynch, Neil McDonough, Jake Manley, Allen Payne, Cam Gigandet, M. Emmet Walsh, with Edward James Olmos, and Cedric the Entertainer.

In THEATERS March 1st

[theoscarsproject]

Robocop (1987). In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

This is a) so much better than I was expecting, and also b) so much better than it has any right to be? Sure, it's partly copaganda, but it's also a pretty scathing indictment of corruption in the police force and how capitalistic interests inherently treat people as disposable. Plus! It's a fun sci-fi movie! Plus the VFX are pretty darn sick. 7/10.