#he directed a bunch of After Hours eps and did other cool stuff!

[secondbeatsongs]

?? Michael Swaim is making a movie about growing up as the kid of a gay furry?? a film loosely based on his own childhood?

Cracked After Hours Michael Swaim? Does Not Compute Michael Swaim is the one making this?

...that's awesome!

I'm really happy for him! this seems like a cool movie, and I hope he gets the funding he needs for it, because I want to watch it!

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 27: Joey Punches Valon to Death and Seto Kaiba buys a Car.

My favorite character is back!

THE STORYBOARDER.

Like clockwork, the best storyboarder of all of Yugioh saw in the episode notes “This is the one where we shall Destroy Joey Wheeler” and he was like “Yes! this is extremely my thing!” and he’s back at it again, destroying Joey Wheeler with such finesse.

Like it’s so hard to explain in caps because you can’t see stuff move, but this animator is so good at the Yugioh vibe--he makes these character designs WORK for him (or her? No idea the identity of the mysterious storyboarder (or team of storyboarders--maybe this was one little group they freelance out to that worked really well together? I dunno) ) they really capture what Yugioh IS in a really unique way and still remain fairly economical in the animation sense. They do not hold back on any pose, and go completely ham into this ridiculous concept of a card game where you put on a special suit and punch eachother in the face.

Mind you, it’s still a card game and I skipped all that, but man...this is such a good storyboarder and I know that next episode they’ll be gone but for now I’m just gonna bask in it.

First off, Rebecca manages to figure out Seto’s 6-letter password in order to access billions of people’s personal data off of a satellite (we don’t get to find out what the password was) and although the storyboarder is great--they did make one fatal mistake.

The bane of every Californian who leaves California. LA is like a completely different country to San Fransisco but everyone only knows of two Californian cities and assumes we’re right next door to each other.

And it’s like...no, man. I don’t have Disneyland. Do I sound like a cheerful person that lives next to Disneyland? Do I say “bruh” and smile with the force of 1000 suns as we surf the coast on the backs of Lisa Frank dolphins? No dude, I have a strong Bay Area accent that makes me sound like a dry sarcastic asshole and I wear sweatshirts to the freakin beach because it’s very cold and filled with great white sharks.

(Sorry I just had to delete like 10 k words where I compared the entire cast to US cities by saying cryptic stuff like Joey Wheeler : Seto Kaiba is like LA : San Fransisco and like it was the biggest random tangent that only makes sense to me. Quarantine brain, y’all, I got SERIOUS quarantine brain. Anyone else? Anyone else just find themselves wasting like 2 hours thinking of which cities match the personalities of different characters on a show that came out so long ago? Man I need distractions right now.)

But back to what’s happening on the show, Yami is coming to terms with Joey’s struggle about as well as Yami does.

Which is mostly Yami saying “I’m pretty sure I killed Joey in that card game with Bakura in S1 and Tea had to bring him back from the graveyard so like wtv.”

(read more under the cut)

This was like 2003??? I think I keep forgetting when this season came out but we had printers at this point. We had google maps and a printer.

I don’t think I’ve touched a map like that since the 5th grade, where we had this competition to make a hypothetical road trip across America. It was Awful, and if you won the competition to get from SF to New York with the shortest distance, you would win something like pizza and a cool engraved name plate. We did not win pizza, because I could not even unfold this asshole map.

And now we have Google so like thanks, Mrs. Lambert, it was cool, but I’ll never use that information again. I hope. It was such a vivid frustrating memory that these maps still fill me with anxiety to this day, hearkening back to my 5th grade self just desperately trying to use string to measure how many miles the freeways across the midwest contain. (spoiler: a lot)

How OLD is this kid? Rebecca’s like secretly a 68 year old. She’s secretly Mrs. Lambert.

At this point we had a swell in the music as each friend of Joey joined in to announce their willingness to risk danger and save him.

Were they...not going to join him the whole time? It just seemed like a weird thing to bring up sooo after the fact.

Yami then turned to Duke and was like “but not you. You stay here” and he was like “Oh, thank gods.”

Rebecca stayed behind because the animators don’t want to draw her. Honestly, she’s incredibly helpful and they were mad stupid to leave the only smart one in the car. But youknow...this team loves being mad stupid. It makes the show more entertaining.

As they left we had a weird aside where Arthur Hawkins reflected “Rebecca is having just a REAL hard time trusting Yami” and it’s like--Arthur Hawkins! You’ve been dumping on Yami for like an entire season, that’s why. Like don’t pretend you’re all on team Pharaoh now. Why ever stop dunking?

But youknow, character development, Rebecca is going to learn the trust the ghost that possessed her crush/best friend that she’s had for 2+ years on a kid who’s been living in Japan this whole time who literally forgot who she was 2 weeks ago. You trust that ghost, Rebecca.

Or not. I mean you really don’t have to. You don’t owe Yami anything, dude. You don’t need to blindly trust idiot men, Rebecca. You just do you. Trust that instinct of “is this guy not trustworthy?” because yep. Chances are if you’re having that thought, that he’s totally not.

Storyboarder!

Storyboarder what ARE you???

STORYBOARDER!

after this followed a scene that I’ve seen gif-ed just so, so often that I assumed it was in a Yugioh Spin-off. I don’t know why I thought it wasn’t in this OG series, but I didn’t expect it to be here, in the Dartz season. But, it does make sense that this scene was under the best Storyboarder‘s direction because *chef’s kisses * it’s perfect. Every frame is a joy. The amount of sinister expressions on Mokuba, the level of sass coming off of Kaiba. It’s such a freakin shame that this man’s best work so far only lasts like a few seconds.

PS my bro looked it up and this car salesman has a wikipedia page.

He also looked up if anyone has shipped this car salesman and it’s our lucky day because this ship does not exist with any human ever in the world. Thank you, humanity. But, they DID make a wikipedia page so maybe we’re just putting off the inevitable?

I’m not even gonna cap it because I KNOW this is a gif you can easily download from everywhere but mm--this is a SOLID piece of animation. This animator is just flexing so hard, man. Yugioh did not deserve this much care and attention to detail.

Shippers rejoice, Seto Kaiba did briefly consider helping out Joey (before he absolutely drove away in the opposite direction)

(They’re clearly in the financial district already, PS. They are driving 5 ft to Dartz’ house.)

At some point Joey nabbed Valon’s card and so now he also gets to wear a bunch of stupid armor outfits.

This one is weird! It’s very Kamen rider-ish...but it’s a color scheme that feels very valentines day. It looks hard to wear. Good thing it’s animated.

I may need to capture this walk sequence though...if I still have the energy...the picture does not display his very energetic arms-in-the-air walk cycle I haven’t seen since that one Season zero episode. I dunno if it’s a reference to that, but I can’t think of any other reason why Tristan is walking like that.

This is when Mai finally shows up.

Valon lost his helmet during this fight, which lead to this:

What a good note to end on.

Anyways, I have no idea what my update schedule will look like or be, so if you’re new here and you want to start reading these from the beginning, I have a link for that:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[perfecttimeseleven]

PERFECT TIMES ELEVEN EP. 5 TRANSCRIPT

ACT ONE

SCENE NINE

REMINGTON

I can’t believe Jay eats pizza with a fork. I man, I can’t believe we seriously just ate the HP-delivered pizza, either — but there’s just a lot to process here.

(DAISY takes another bite of her slice.)

DAISY

Free pizza’s free pizza, my dude.

REMINGTON

Cheers to that.

(REMINGTON raises her glass of lemonade and clinks it against DAISY’s glass of juice. JAY, feeling a little apologetic, hesitantly raises her glass of milk towards DAISY’s glass, but DAISY puts her glass down, making a face at JAY.)

DAISY

Milk-drinkers need to be oppressed.

JAY

(sipping from her glass of milk, before putting it down)

Our bones are stronger than yours.

DAISY

Hey, uhh, guess what? You’re a cuck.

REMINGTON

(changing the subject)

Um, so you all didn’t find anything outside?

DR. MORELLO

The man you claim to have seen —

REMINGTON

The man I most definitely saw.

DR. MORELLO

— seems to have vanished without a trace.

(pauses)

But now that we’re aware this hypothetical man —

REMINGTON

This very real man —

DR. MORELLO

— knows of our — your whereabouts, we must remain incredibly vigilant.

REMINGTON

Well, is there anything you can tell me about the, ah, bad people? You see, I can’t help but worry a little about...well, anyone going after my life.

DR. MORELLO

All you need to know about the threat is how to keep yourself safe.

DAISY

The classic “keep your doors and windows locked, stay off your phone, don’t talk to strangers who say they’ve stabbed pizza guys” kinda deal.

REMINGTON

Okay, but —

DR. MORELLO

Now, Remington, I’ve been talking with Jay.

REMINGTON

Uh —

DR. MORELLO

She’s already agreed to this, but...essentially, I think it would be beneficial, tomorrow morning, to try to recreate the possession incident from today. Under close guidance, of course. It’s in all ways extraordinary, and I think this soulmate bond holds a lot of mystery and possibility. Tomorrow’s a big day. Accordingly, I want you both to get some sleep as soon as possible. Meaning, now.

REMINGTON

What —

DAISY

Wait, c’mon! I still need to show Remy embarrassing videos of Jay on my phone!

JAY

(splutters, almost choking on her pizza)

The what?

DR. MORELLO

Daisy, go show Remington to her room.

DAISY

Ugh, fine.

(DAISY and REMINGTON get up and exit.)

DR. MORELLO

Take the plates, Daisy.

(DAISY enters.)

DAISY

Ugh, fine.

(DAISY picks up her plate and REMINGTON’s plate, before exiting.)

DR. MORELLO

Jay...

JAY

You’ve gotta be kidding.

(pauses)

Me, too?

DR. MORELLO

Yes.

(With a dramatic rolling of her eyes, JAY grudgingly picks up her plate and exits. DR. MORELLO picks up the now-empty pizza box and his own plate, before exiting the other way.)

ACT ONE

SCENE TEN

REMINGTON

Okay, why the fuck are there so many Jay Mazziottas on Instagram?

(scrolls a bit more)

I give up.

(tosses the phone onto the carpet)

Goodnight!

(then, to herself)

Goodnight!

(REMINGTON puts her phone on the table and turns off the lamp, before crawling into her blankets and falling asleep. Cricket chirps, birdsong, and noises of traffic fill the air. REMINGTON bolts upright in her bed.)

REMINGTON

(looking around)

The fuck kinda dream is this?

HP

Hello, Remington Long!

(REMINGTON turns around, seeing HP)

REMINGTON

(initially shocked)

Ack!

(hopping off the bed)

Hey, sexy printer man! I’m in my jammies!

HP

I see! I am not a fan of the Jeff man on your shirt. Dinosaur man.

REMINGTON

You don’t like Jeff Goldblum? The fuck is wrong with this dream?

(looking around)

Whatever. Uh, I don’t know why we’re in Central Park but let’s not question my subconscious. There’s a bed here and we both know where this dream is going to go so come down here and let’s just get to it.

HP

What?

REMINGTON

(to self)

Shit, are my lucid dream powers not working? Do I need to eat more almonds?

HP

Silly Remington, I am not a figment of your imagination!

REMINGTON

You see, that’s exactly what a figment of my imagination would say.

HP

I’m here to finish our little chit-chat from earlier. Chit-chat fun times. Okay?

REMINGTON

Uh, I’m not supposed to talk to you, figment of imagination or otherwise, all righty? “Perfectionist” is a slur or something, and you’ve stabbed a pizza man, and…yeah. So if this dream isn’t going in the, uh, desirable direction, I’m not too interested. I’m gonna wake up now.

HP

You can’t.

REMINGTON

Watch me!

HP

Silly Remington, I am really here. Don’t you understand that?

(REMINGTON pauses.)

REMINGTON

Well, shit.

(pauses)

Did you make us appear in Central Park too?

HP

No, no, silly, that’s your imagination. As is that scantily clad person in your dream who has been trying to get our attention —

REMINGTON

Is that Jay?

DREAM JAY

(waving)

Yoo-hoo, hot stuff!

REMINGTON

No, no, don’t go —

HP

I’m just crashing your regularly scheduled dream; that’s a thing I can do. And a thing you can too.

REMINGTON

First, huge invasion of my privacy. Wait, what? I can — ?

HP

You can do all sorts of fun shit if you put your mind to it, baby! That’s why Dr. Morello’s scared of you. He wants to lock you up in his cottage forever like his other pets so you never learn shit.

REMINGTON

Okay, but what’s “shit?” And, uh, make this quick.

(furtively looks offstage for DREAM JAY)

I have dream business to attend to.

HP

Anything you put your mind to. You’re an Eleven, Remington. We’re “high numbers”.

(gestures dramatically)

With the imprints of more lifetimes, more history, more knowledge, and more potential.

(There’s a pause. HP freezes in his dramatic gesture, waiting for a response.)

REMINGTON

You’re gonna have to dumb this down a lot more for me, buddy.

HP

Ahh, let’s say every Perfectionist has a little tear in the wall in the back of their mind, okay? And what’s behind that is shiny cool stuff. Well, for high numbers, the tears are wider and more fragile. To get to the shiny cool stuff, you just have to break the wall entirely!

REMINGTON

Uhh, okay. And how do you do that?

HP

You stay away from the kind of old artifacts that keep your voices out.

REMINGTON

You mean, you’ve got no accessory on? You’re just living 24/7 with your voices? Damn. No wonder you’re a little out of it.

HP

Yes! They’re here now, actually. They’re just staying quiet until I need some fancy backing vocals.

REMINGTON

Some what?

HP

Is that bracelet the accessory you use?

REMINGTON

Uh, yeah.

(HP grabs REMINGTON’s wrist, lifting it up and gazing at it. He hisses at the bracelet.)

REMINGTON

You good?

(HP lets go of REMINGTON, suddenly backing up. 9. Welcome to Your Mind.)

HP

THAT THING KILLS THE VOICES, AND ALONG WITH THEM, EVERYTHING ELSE!

IT TRAINS YOUR BRAIN TO MORPH INTO A BUNCH OF JAIL CELLS.

BUT, OF COURSE, THAT BRACELET ISN’T SOMETHING YOU’VE QUESTIONED! OOOH,

BUT IT’S DOING WHAT HIPPIE MOTHERS THINK ANTIDEPRESSANTS DO!

YOU’RE NO ORDINARY HUMAN! YOU’RE A PERFECTIONIST!

SO FORGET ALL THE BULLSHIT YOU’VE BEEN FED BY YOUR LITTLE THERAPIST!

IF YOU OPEN UP TO YOUR SOUL AND DITCH THAT NASTY AND TRAGIC

BRACELET, YOU’LL FIND YOU’VE GOT A TYPE OF ALMOST…MAGIC!

Just like what you thought HP stood for.

(in a terrible fake British accent, with hand motions)

“Harry Potter.”

(suddenly loud)

Yer a wizard, bitch! Ha!

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND, REMINGTON LONG!

JUST GIVE A SHOUT! KNOCK ON THE DOOR! RING THE LITTLE BELL — “DING DONG!”

CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE WHAT LIES INSIDE!

CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE WHAT LIES THEY HIDE!

OH, WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME TO YOUR MIND.

CENTURIES OF LIFETIMES IN THERE! ON THAT, WE CAN AGREE,

BUT MILLENNIUMS OF KNOWLEDGE IS WHAT YOU DON’T YET SEE!

WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO LEARN TO SET FIRES WITH JUST ONE THOUGHT

(motioning behind him as a tree bursts into flame)

OR TO HOP FROM DREAM TO DREAM? Like now! I’m in your head! Ha!

HP/HP’S VOICES

AREN’T YOU PISSED

HP

THAT NO ONE TELLS YOU ANYTHING AT ALL?

IT’S BECAUSE, WITH A SNAP OF YOUR FINGERS, THEY’LL ALL FALL

AT YOUR KNEES! AND THEY’LL BEG, “OH, PLEASE, LET ME GO!”

YOU’LL LEARN IT’S FUN AS SHIT WHEN YOU CAN JUST TELL ‘EM “NO.”

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND, REMINGTON LONG!

SURE, THE VOICES HURT AT FIRST, BUT “WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU”…MAKES YOU STRONG!

CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO MEET ALL OF YOU!

‘CAUSE WHEN YOU’RE LIKE US, IT’S THE THING TO DO!

OH, WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME TO YOUR MIND!

(The ground below HP’s feet starts rising up into the air until he’s a few feet above the ground.)

HP’S VOICES

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND!

HP

STUPID HUMANS CONTROL NOTHING IN THEIR LIVES,

THOUGH THEY MIGHT TRY TO BY BUYING SOME GUNS OR SOME KNIVES.

YOU’VE SPENT YOUR WHOLE LIFE FEELING LIKE A PAWN.

I’VE BEEN THERE TOO, BUT NOW, THIS FEELING IS GONE!

WE’RE MORE THAN HUMAN, SO WHY NOT EMBRACE OUR POWER?

INFLICT THE PAIN YOU FEEL! MAKE THIS YOUR FINEST HOUR!

WHEN YOU’RE IN CONTROL, THERE’S NO VIRTUE OR SIN!

GOD ISN’T REAL, BUT IF HE WAS, WE COULD FIGHT HIM. AND WIN!

(A tree near HP explodes. There’s a chittering noise and a squirrel comes sailing out of the debris. HP catches it with one hand.)

HP

OH, LOOK AT THIS! A SQUIRREL! I CAN MAKE IT EXPLODE!

(throws the squirrel upwards and it explodes in mid-air)

BABY, YOU’VE GOT NO CLUE ALL THE POWER THAT’S STOWED

IN YOUR MIND! YOU WILL FIND WONDER!

(making a bolt of lightning appear behind him, accompanied by a crash of thunder)

LIGHTNING! THUNDER!

TAKE CONTROL AND TAKE A STROLL DOWN YOUR TRUE DESTINED ROAD!

I FIND MOST PROBLEMS TEND TO DISAPPEAR

WHEN I SET THEM ON FIRE!

(making his hands light up with flames)

SO TRY THAT, MY DEAR!

THE PEOPLE AND THE ANIMALS INSIDE YOUR HEAD

CAN AND WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING THE WEAKLINGS DREAD!

(jumps down to the ground)

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND, REMINGTON LONG!

WHEN YOU CAN’T TELL GOOD FROM BAD, THAN CAN YOU REALLY DO ANY WRONG?

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND!

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND!

WELCOME TO YOUR MIND, REMINGTON LONG!

HP

Interested? Meet me here.

(HP gives REMINGTON a small piece of paper.)

Until then…try it out!

(HP reaches both hands towards REMINGTON’s wrist.)

REMINGTON

Wait —

(It’s too late. HP’s removed her bracelet and is now holding it in one hand.)

ACT ONE

SCENE ELEVEN

REMINGTON’S VOICES

HARVEST, OCEAN, CREATE, CHANGE, FIGHT, ART, FAMILY, FREEDOM, JOYCE, TRADITION, BIRDS.

(HP runs off, dropping REMINGTON’s bracelet discreetly onto her bed. He exits.)

REMINGTON

(thinking HP took her bracelet)

Shit! Shit! Bitch, you took my bracelet!

REMINGTON’S VOICES

HARVEST, OCEAN, CREATE, CHANGE, FIGHT, ART, FAMILY, FREEDOM, JOYCE, TRADITION, BIRDS.

HARVEST, OCEAN, CREATE, CHANGE, FIGHT, ART, FAMILY, FREEDOM, JOYCE…JOYCE…JOYCE…

REMINGTON

No. No. Not Clara! No!

(Around REMINGTON and his bed, the set starts changing again.)

REMINGTON’S VOICES

JOYCE…JOYCE…JOYCE…JOYCE…JOYCE…

(REMINGTON’s surroundings have faded into the all-too-familiar living room. It’s dimly lit in warm yellow light. DR. MORELLO’s sitting on the couch, alone and typing on a computer he’s rested on his lap.)

REMINGTON

Hey! Dr. Morello!

(DR. MORELLO doesn’t react.)

REMINGTON

Dr. Morello? Can you hear me? Guess not. Huh.

(REMINGTON moves away from DR. MORELLO, inspecting the room. JAY enters.)

REMINGTON

Oh, yeah. Jaaaay! About time!

(REMINGTON approaches her, but JAY doesn’t acknowledge her presence. In fact, she walks right past her.)

REMINGTON

Jay! No! Pay attention to me!

DR. MORELLO

(closing his laptop)

Jay. Couldn’t sleep?

JAY

Nope.

REMINGTON

Uh, hello?

(JAY sits on the couch.)

JAY

This…soulmate thing.

REMINGTON

Oh, shit, they’re gonna talk about me.

JAY

I…don’t know how…

DR. MORELLO

(chuckling)

The girl physically repulses you? That’s understandable.

REMINGTON

Hey! Asshole!

(JAY pauses, standing up. She walks towards the TV.)

JAY

As much as I wish that were it...

(picking up the cover of the Just Dance 3 disc and looking at it)

it’s…leaning towards the opposite, actually.

REMINGTON

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s a good dream!

JAY

(turning back to face DR. MORELLO)

D’you think this…this all...

(JAY lifts up the disc cover silently. DR. MORELLO exhales.)

DR. MORELLO

(solemnly)

Will be another Mark situation? Jay, what happened back then was not…and never will be…your fault. The only one blaming you for that day is you.

JAY

Who’s blaming myself? I…I don’t blame myself. I blame him.

(tightening her grip on the disc cover, fingers digging into the plastic)

Fucking hate his guts!

REMINGTON

(whispered, to self)

Not the Just Dance 3 disc cover!

(There’s a loud crack of plastic. JAY’s broken the disc cover in her fist. DR. MORELLO sighs and gets up. Slowly, he takes the broken disc cover away from her and sets it down gently next to the TV. Meanwhile, REMINGTON’s making her way around her bed to edge in closer to the conversation.)

DR. MORELLO

Calm down, Jay. Go to bed.

JAY

I’m…it just all feels too familiar. Me. Her. An Eleven.

REMINGTON

(noticing her bracelet on the bed)

Oh my god, is that my bracelet? Thank God.

JAY

I don’t know if I —

[onestowatch]

Multi-Talented Japanese Wallpaper Talks Past Successes, New Sound, & Upcoming Album [Q&A]

Photo Credit: Giulia Giannini McGauran

Melbourne-based artist Japanese Wallpaper has had a rather unorthodox first few years of his career. Having burst onto the electronic-music scene by winning a 2014 high school producer competition hosted by national Australian radio station Triple J, it seemed the only direction to go was up for the then 17-year old Gab Strum. After racking up a solid 20+ million plays on his 2016 self-titled debut project, and subsequently finding fans in Charli XCX, Flume, Gotye, Lily Allen, Chet Faker and Bombay Bicycle Club, the past few years have seen a relatively infrequent trickle of releases for Strum.

Yet reclusive as he may have been, Strum’s hard work and silent planning has started to come to fruition. Along with some considerable changes to his production style, workflow and overall sound in light of a near two-year break, we now have the pleasure of bearing witness to Japanese Wallpaper’s triumphant and unconventional return.

The late 2018 “Fooling Around” was Japanese Wallpaper’s first single since 2016 and two separate tours with Shallou and Lily Allen. We sat down with Strum to discuss his changing musical style, discovering his voice and the heaps of new music he has in the works.

OTW: It’s been a while since your first big track “Breathe In.” Obviously that song was of great importance for you and your career - I’m curious though, what are your thoughts on it now? Has the emotional significance changed?

JW: It’s interesting... Songs kind of lose their emotional significance every time I play them live. They become associated with work and touring, but also gain a different sentimental value. That song was me when I was 16 - it opened a lot of doors for me.

OTW: That release does seem to mark a time of change and growth for you. How did you deal with that sort of transition from being a high school musician to touring indie-electronic artist?

JW: I think the more music I’m exposed to, the older I get and the more confident I get in what I’m doing... I feel like the music changes as a result. My goalposts have shifted basically. I guess doors are still opening to me that haven’t been in the past and I’m meeting more people and playing more shows and all of that. I feel like on this new record there’s a sense of boldness and confidence that there might not have been in the past.

OTW: After your self-titled EP you dropped a few remixes, your deluxe album, and then your single “Cocoon,” but then 2017 is a bit of a sparse release year for you aside from “In Motion” with Allday. Was this a big writing year for you?

JW: Yeah, 2017 was the first year that I had a big chunk of time to get stuck in writing and producing. 2016 was my first year out of high school and I was traveling a bunch. “Cocoon” came out and we did a lot of festivals but at the end of 2016, I was like, “Cool time to make a record.” 2017 was just a year of every day opening up Ableton and spending like eight hours experimenting and messing around with stuff. After touring, I had a bit of money so I bought some equipment and set up a little studio space and that was the biggest learning experience - just having a year to write and mess around which turned into finishing an album and narrowing down ideas into what would make up the record.

OTW: Was that collab with Allday incepted around that time?

JW: The Allday track came about early 2016 actually. The first iteration at least came about early in 2016. We’d never met before, he just got in touch with me on Twitter and came around to my studio. We talked about Jamie xx, ate a really good falafel, made the beat, and started messing around with ideas for the chorus and that was it - I left him with the beat. Then a year later he hits me up and says, “Hey here’s the song. It’s the lead single on my record; it’s coming out in a few months. Hope you like it.” And it was wild! Like, it was something that going into it, I had no expectations and it was a good lesson in just saying yes to things and being open to meeting people.

OTW: Now fast-forward to 2018 and you’re working with swim good now and remixing Charli XCX! Both awesome releases, but the Charli remix definitely seemed like a bit of a departure from your normal collaborations. How did that one come about?

JW: That remix came about definitely around the time of my first EP. I think something happened with her and the label? They decided that the song wasn’t going to be a single and that there wouldn’t be any remixes coming out... But I had already done it (laughs). So then two years later, I was in New York in June, and I randomly met the head of her label and he said, “Man, (those remixes) were one of our favorite things we’ve worked on. We’re doing this compilation; could we put yours out on that?” It was weird because like, then I was going into the start of an album cycle I guess with music that feels so different to that remix. I was a bit like, “How is this going to fit in with my stuff now?” But it’s cool, and I’m really proud of it. Charli is one of my favorite artists so I’m just stoked at the fact that it exists.

OTW: Amazing, such an incredibly opportunity to reach larger audience. I guess now going back to “Cocoon,” that transition from your self-titled EP to you introducing your own vocals into a more indie-electronic sound makes sense. Your music seems to be much more emotionally intentional at this point. What inspired that sort of evolution?

JW: In hindsight, a lot of the shifts that have happened in my writing and producing have been brought about just by touring and playing live. Singing was something I never thought was for me - I’ve always been self conscious about it. I got to a point in my live shows where I realized playing vocals over the backing tracks was really boring for the audience. But it’s also monetarily restrictive to bring all these guest vocalists from the record on tour so I had to figure something out which was when I started singing in the live show. That was a year of basically just building my confidence to where it felt like it was something I could do. At that point I had written “Cocoon” and I had made a big list of people who I thought I wanted to sing it, but I played it for a friend and they actually really liked my vocals on the demo and just persuaded me to keep it. That was kind of it, I was like, “Alright, I’m doing it!”

OTW: It seems a bit like you’re going in the opposite direction of a lot of electronic artists nowadays. By that I mean that there are a lot of prevalent solo artists that played in indie bands for the first part of their career and branched out to electronic music, but you’re doing it in reverse?

JW: Yeah, it’s interesting! I feel like indie-alternative is something I’ve always been drawn to and always wanted to do. I mean there's times when I feel like the solely electronic route would be a lot more convenient, but I’m really fascinated with this other sound at the moment and I guess I’m just trying to follow it.

OTW: It’s apparent you’ve got a passion project on your hands. Which I guess leads us to the big question, what’s next for you? What can listeners expect in 2019?

JW: Album’s gonna come out sometime in the first half of this year, hopefully we’ll be able to come back to America and play some more shows. Just finished a tour with Lily Allen and then I’m already halfway through another record so hopefully lots more music, lots more touring and yeah. We’ll see!

[callmeblake]

minutenmusik: Hi Frank. Thank you for taking your time!

Frank: It is a pleasure.

minutenmusik: You are on tour with Dave Hause & The Mermaid, The Homeless Gospel Choir and The Paceshifters at the moment. How is that tour so far?

Frank: Amazing! It is the first tour I have ever done with Paceshifters. They are a fantastic band. They have not been doing it for a really long time. I became familiar with them, because we are label mates. So that is very cool. Just to see them is awesome.

Derek [Zanetti, The Homeless Gospel Choir] and I been friends for a very long time. We toured together a bunch. It is always nice to have close friends around. With Dave Hause & The Mermaid we did a tour in the states with them supporting us. It was so much fun. So we wanted to do it again. We decided to bring this over to the UK, then Europe and then go back to the UK tomorrow.

minutenmusik: Sounds great! In the last year you unfortunately hat a terrible accident. We really hope you do well and recovered.

Frank: That is right. Thanks man. Yeah, it is weird. It is an uphill battle.

minutenmusik: I can imagine that. But after the accident, is playing live now different for you mentally?

Frank: Definitely. Everything changes, when you had an experience like that. It is not just playing. Your entire life changes. Sometimes it is for the better, sometimes it is just different. But the live shows are definitely a lot different. There is things I cannot do anymore. When your body goes through that much trauma, it affects everything. Sometimes the things you took for granted now really hurt. They do not feel right anymore.

I feel like exponentially this gets worse the more you tour. When you are on tour you try to take care for yourself as much as you can. At home you have a routine and can go see physical therapists and get the help you need. When you hurt yourself on tour, you just can get in your bunk and have to try it again the next day. You just keep putting a bandage on a bigger problem. That shit catches up to you.

minutenmusik: So is there anything the happening changed in your mindset?

Frank: Absolutely. I asked myself – when we survived this, this experience people did not think we  should have survived – why? Why are we still here? Is there a bigger purpose? Is there a specific thing we are supposed to be doing? We go through that a lot.

Another part of you is thinks about, what if we did not survive? (laughs) Is this all an alternate reality or dreamscape? That shit drives you nuts, because alternately what are you gonna do? You have to live your life for yourself and if this is real or not, you are here – wherever you are. You have to not let it consume every second. People say, that every moment is precious, but sometimes you just wanna make yourself a sandwich and watch TV. If you feel like you are wasting time then, you gonna drive yourself absolutely insane. So you have to push a lot of it out of your head, but yeah – everything is different. I do not take a lot things for granted anymore. And some shit I take really for granted. (laughs) I do not give a shit about certain things anymore.

minutenmusik: I think it is the same with being ill. When you are not you really take everything you do for granted, but when you get ill and cannot do these things anymore, you begin to realize how great it is do really do that stuff and being able to do it.

Frank: Yeah, exactly. This true, man. All this time you spend, pleasing other people and arbitrary dumb shit you are worried about – fuck that! No, I have no time for bad vibes. No time for bad times.

minutenmusik: Lets change the topic to something more positive! Before releasing your last album „Parachutes“ you changed the name of your band from “frnkiero andthe cellabration“ to “Frank Iero And The Patience“. Where did that name change origin from?

Frank: The idea behind that is, that every time you make a record you reinvent yourself and change the way you approach it. I like the idea of going to the studio and coming out as a different person, a different band. And the sound changes and evolves. Sometimes it is holding you back, calling it the same. I am not doing that. There is no rules here. Every time if I am gonna go there and burn down the past and thinking about future, I am going to call it something different.

“Patience” was something I felt like I needed at that moment. The first time around I felt like I needed the celebration and party vibes to kinda distract from my inability to control me. I felt like I needed to be on at all times. This time I did not give a shit about that. I just wanted to take my time and appreciate the now. I have three kids, so I can use a lot of patience. (laughs)

minutenmusik: As you mentioned before the sound of your second record “Parachutes“ is quite different to your first record “Stomachaches“. Do you already have plans where to move with your next record? Will there maybe be another change of sound and another name change?

Frank: Yes and yes! What exactly that is, I do not know. It is weird. I have this idea in my head, whether that will transcribe into real life I do not know until I really get down into it. There is a very well chance, that it might not work. (laughs) But that is the fun! I decided though, that after this year I am gonna take some time. I do not know how long that is going to be, but it just gonna be time for myself. I am sure I am gonna be creating at home, because I am a miserable fucker if I’m not. I am gonna be working on it and make sure something comes.

minutenmusik: Ok! A few weeks ago you released an EP called “Keep The Coffins Coming“ with three new songs. Did this songs came up when you made “Parachutes“ or are these fresh ones?

Frank: It was in between touring “Stomachaches” and recording “Parachutes”. There was this spirit in trying to figuring out what the next thing is gonna be. I made a bucket list with my manager Paul [Clegg]. The one thing I said I really wanted to do, was I wanted to receive our beating. I have been writing songs and I was not exactly sure, what it meant or where it was going, but I knew, that this batch of songs would be fantastic for Steve [Albini, Producer of the EP] to work on. So we called him up and he had time and wanted us to come in. I rented a U-Haul [Company] trailer and I drove to Chicago, like, 90 Miles an hour. (laughs)

We were out there for a weekend and recorded within three days. Yeah and that is the session. So basically that session is, what got me from point A being “Stomachaches” to point B being “Parachutes”. It was a dream come true session, but I also thought it would be really cool to release, because it shows the bridge between the two projects.

minutenmusik: Sounds like a great weekend. You obviously played in many different countries over the last few years. How do your crowds in these countries differ from your point of view?

Frank: It is funny, because in America our states are close together, but as far as countries go, we are really spread out. Here you guys are very very close. So when you go a minimum amount of miles or a couple of hours in one direction and people are drastically different. I love that about Europe!

But it takes some time to get used to, when you play, because there are certain countries, where people are really into the songs and when the song is done they are fucking dead silent. That is really weird. Some people are really boisterous, which is different. I think navigating that is a learning curve. As a young band you are unsure wether people like your set or not. The older I get, the more I live inside my own head and do not determine a good show by how a crowd acts or participates, because it is different everywhere – especially over here. So to me a good show is, if what happens on stage goes the way I want it to go. (laughs)

But yeah, it is funny man. I feel like in the UK and in Germany the crowds for example are drastically different. The kids in the UK go fucking apeshit. German kids are a little bit more reserved – at least at the shows I played and that I have seen. I remember last time we been over we have seen Youth Of Today and it was pretty reserved even for Trash Talk. It was crazy. You guys are like “We just wanna have a good time. You do your thing, we do our thing.“ and that is cool man. If that is what you wanna do, when you go to a show, no one should make you feel like you should fucking do anything else.

minutenmusik: It also depends on which city you go to. Each city over here has its own crowds at shows.

Frank: You are absolutely right. Each one has their value and their matter and their fun. You just have to find it. That is our job – to adept to the different cities, because we are the ones, that are traveling through.

minutenmusik: You take a stand for the LGBT-Community and live a vegetarian lifestyle…

Frank: Yeah, I feel like, if you can live your life in a way, that is positive and does not harm anybody, that is a wonderful existence. I try to do that, but I feel like labels and stuff like that are hard, because I do not really wanna be put in any kind of box on anything. But yeah, I try my best.

minutenmusik: It is a good thing! But lets come to the question. Do you believe, that you as a musician can influence peoples minds?

Frank: I think anyone, who reaches many people, has an ability to influence people. Do I think, that they all should? No. It is rough, because with great power comes great responsibility. If you are gonna get up there and you gonna speak to a lot of people, you should have something positive to come of it. I get, that some people just wanna be in a fucking band and just write songs. At some point you realize, that there are ears that are listening. If you can use your time wisely in a positive way, that benefits everybody.

minutenmusik: You are a role model for many people. Do you sometimes feel pressure being that role model?

Frank: I feel pressure being a role model for my children. With everything else, the only thing I can do, is live my life the way I think I should – in a way that I think they would be proud of me. But we are all human beings. We need the ability to fuck up a bit. That is part of life. I think we live in a age, where people are very quick to being offended and hateful of things. It is a very volatile time – and I get that – but I think, that we need to cut each other a little bit of slack. I think the most important thing is to treat people the way you would want to be treated.

minutenmusik: I wish you got luck with the show and that is it. Thank you.

Frank: Thank you!

[markmichaud4-blog]

Momoyo - South Shore R&M Exclusive Interview with Johnnie & Devin

They both look relaxed and happy as they both sit in overstuffed chairs in the lounge of the local recording studio in West Babylon. It’s the last day of September, and Johnnie, along with his band Momoyo are in the recording studio working on new material for their sophomore record “As a Ghost”. While the rest of Johnnie and Devin’s bandmates are out in town, they just wanna kick back and chat.

Released in November of 2018, Like a Flower, Momoyo’s debut album sold over 700 records since its release. The band had just got off tour last month, playing shows and promoting their new EP “The Heroin Sessions” which came out this past July. Their new record, “As a Ghost”, is set to be released sometime in November. 

HOW DID YOU HOOK UP WITH THE OTHER GUYS IN THE BAND?

Johnnie: Well, it started out in spring of last year. My old band had just dissolved and I was starting to become musically, I don’t know- I just knew I needed to make music. I called my friend Terry up and he was like, hey, I got these three guys in Wading River looking for a singer and you might be the right fit for them. I got their demo in the mail the next day on like a fuckin’- cassette tape, and after it took me an entire day to figure out how to record over it I ad-libbed the lyrics and had it ready by midnight. Sent it back to them and I was the vocalist of the band before the sun had time to set again. 

WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF YOUR FIRST TWO PROJECTS, ERIRI AND BLUE LIKE?

Johnnie: Eriri was the original demo tape I just talked about. It was also the original name of the band, so when we put it up on bandcamp we decided the name was more suitable than just “Demo Tape”. “Blue” was our first real, like, album I guess, although it wasn’t recorded in the traditional way. It was just live rehearsals of songs I wrote we mixed and mastered with the DAT’s.

Devin: We were originally gonna have more songs on “Blue” because we compiled the songs from two 4-track cassette recordings, but two of the songs corrupted completely and we couldn’t use them, so it just became a six track EP.

WHAT WERE THE TWO SONGS THAT COULDN’T BE RELEASED?

Devin: Ironically enough, they were both covers. One was “Still Remains” by Stone Temple Pilots and the other was “Bankrupt on Selling” from Modest Mouse.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR SELF TITLED EP? 

Johnnie: Same thing as Blue. Just live rehearsals of three B-side songs that we knew weren’t gonna make it on the album. They were recorded during our pre-production sessions, actually.

WHAT WAS RELEASING LIKE A FLOWER LIKE? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU GUYS TO PUT THAT RECORD TOGETHER?

Johnnie: We started working on songs for Like a Flower in May of last year, so really only six months. Releasing my first ever professional record was pretty crazy. We had songs actually played on the radio the night it was released.

Devin: Yeah, some local radio station found our stuff under the “just released” section on bandcamp and played “Maybe” on it. I remember everyone in the band freaking the fuck out once we found out, meanwhile Johnnie was on his phone the whole time. We all looked at him like, “isn’t this awesome, dude?” and even though he seemed super down he was actually texting his girlfriend in all caps about it. [Laughs]

CAN I ASK WHAT SOME OF THE SONGS ON LIKE A FLOWER ARE ABOUT?

Johnnie: Well, some of the most notable ones with stories would be “To Lose Control”, “Where I Belong”, and “Like a Flower”. “To Lose Control” was written about my friend Sean who passed away in a car accident a few years ago. “Where I Belong” is about my own acceptance of death at one point and the visualizations of not being able to, I don’t know- come back to life I guess. It’s kind of like, what my thoughts are before and after I die. “Like a Flower” is about my struggles with my past relationship which turned out to be extremely traumatizing.

SO I TAKE IT THAT ALL OF YOUR SONGS ARE SINCERE AND AREN’T JUST STORIES? 

Johnnie: Yes, I don’t like the idea of making up a character and writing as them for the sake of writing a song. I like to write about my own experiences; experiences and feelings I’ve had that have an impact on me still to this day. I’m a very, uh, emotional and affectionate person. It’s easy for me to hurt, and I still carry it within these songs. 

IS THERE ANYTHING ON THE ALBUM YOU WISH YOU COULD REDO?

Devin: We both regret changing some last minute things due to overthinking, like the riff on “Wake” and just some stuff in mixing we could’ve done better.

Johnnie: The riff in Wake is definitely one. There’s also some songs I wish we would’ve swapped out for other ones, but, what’s done is done, you know?

WHAT WAS TOURING THIS PAST SUMMER LIKE?

Devin: It was awesome, to be honest. Playing my first outdoor shows with hundreds of people in the crowd is something I won’t ever forget. 

Johnnie: Yeah, I loved it, even though they drove me fuckin’ insane the whole time. But I loved playing shows with people like Jimmy from Vasoline Trip and Aaron from Decrep(itude). I think my favorite part of the whole tour was covering Dead & Bloated with VT and being able to sing that intro through a damn megaphone. 

YOUR LATEST RELEASE, THE HEROIN SESSIONS WAS VERY DARK AND VISCERAL IN NATURE. WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND IT?

Johnnie: Well, I’ve been going through a lot of fucked up shit lately. Fucked up enough I’ve gotten myself in bouts of drug abuse and whatnot, totally not cool by the way. I wrote those three songs at probably the highest and lowest points of my life, which I had hit in maybe days of each other. I told the boys, I was like “I need to get these songs recorded.” We rehearsed them, but it sounded too light and clean for what they actually meant. So, I unleashed my inner Varg Vikernes and dug up old equipment like a broken wired Beta58a and soundboard, along with a bunch of old interfaces so everything just sounded fucked up and heavy. I got myself high and recorded those songs on whatever shit I had at the time just so I could get the same intensity.

Devin: Not the whole story, by the way. He also got naked and carved his wrists up with pieces of a glass bottle he broke in the booth before recording them. He made a fuckin’ mess, it was brutal.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO INCIDENT?

Johnnie: [Laughs], yeah we can talk about that. We flew out to help support our friends in Maliciously Unstable. I was in a really bad state of mind to begin with, and Sacramento is a place I was dreading of going to for reasons I can’t say. After the show, someone in our circle who’s like a fuckin’ fiend came up to me and was like, “Hey, you wanna do speedball?” and I said “fuck yeah”. I was in the hospital being treated for a cocaine, heroin and morphine overdose about six hours later. Bad stuff, man.

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT PLANS FOR THE BAND NOW?

Devin: Really to just get this fucking album out on time. I will say though, we are ahead of schedule and doing a great job so far.

Johnnie: We’re gonna get this album done, play the promo show somewhere hopefully nearby, mix and master it and hopefully have it done in time for the release next month. After that, oh, who fuckin’ knows?

WHO WERE SOME OF YOUR INFLUENCES GROWING UP?

Devin: For me, personally, Joey Jordison is my biggest idol. He always has been since I was little.

Johnnie: This is kind of a sad list, but Chester Bennington, Scott Weiland, Mitch Lucker, Chris Cornell, Fenriz and Corey Taylor would have to be my main ones. I grew up idolizing all of them; they’re all someone I wish I could be when I’m older. Chester will always be my number 1 though. Always has been.

HOW DO THE COMPARISONS TO HIM MAKE YOU FEEL?

Johnnie: I honestly don’t know. It’s probably the best compliment I could get, but at the same time, it makes it seem like I go out of my way to sound like him.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT ON YOUR NEXT RECORD COMING UP?

Johnnie: If Like a Flower made you sad, this next album will fuck you up, man. I didn’t hold back at all. Some of the songs on this record could’ve killed me if they wanted to.

ANY CHANCE I COULD HEAR ANYTHING BEFORE IT’S RELEASED?

Devin: Well, the three songs on the Heroin Sessions are gonna be on this next record, and our studio deadline is the 11th of November. I’m sure we’ll get you something early.

------

I wanna thank both Devin and Johnnie for taking their time out of their day to talk with me about their music. I can’t wait to hear their new album and what it beholds, and I wish them the best! Let me know who you want to interview next by e-mailing me or sending me a direct message.

[daniedoodles]

Danie’s Dilemmas Ep. 27: Hiatus Over

This is probably the third time that I am re-writing this episode, because the two previous times, finishing my thoughts felt close to impossible. Don’t ask me why, because I won’t know what to actually tell you. The wifi is down right now so I’m drafting this on notes first before I actually end up publishing it. Anyways, there have been a couple of things that I wanted to talk about. Boys being one of them (‘cause when does that not get talked about), and life in general, which are both pretty much on brand with everything else that I have written about in this series. I haven’t been feeling all that inspired to write as much lately because of how quickly the first month of summer has gone by, without me actually feeling like it ever was summer to begin with. It’s weird… it’s as if a lot is happening, but nothing too, all at the same time. I suppose it’s because this is the first summer break where I’m actually employed and can’t always say yes to hanging out with friends or staying home all the time. I’m gonna just write in accordance to whatever comes to mind, since it’s been a minute from the last time I wrote and formed proper, cohesive thoughts (and apparently I’m less to-the-point today too so u might be reading fruitlessly for a bit, be warned).

I almost have no idea where to begin talking about this whole “guy stuff” anymore because it always seems like there’s so much more to say about them in the summer. If you can recall every vent I had about one specific individual from last summer, I both question and congratulate you for coming this far. THIS summer and the experiences I’ve had with guys so far haven’t been all that bad, seeing that firstly, I’ve been spending a lot of time with some of my guy best friends, whether that be through FaceTime or actually hanging out in person, there has never been a dull moment. It’s worth the sleep deprivation. Actually, you know what, fuck this. I still have nothing to say about this one guy, mainly because we haven’t really talked much despite the countless snaps and I promised myself that I wouldn’t start feeling anything towards them unless the signs were pretty definite on which end of the spectrum it was pointing to (friends <————> relationship), which to be quite frank, I’m not even all that sure still if I want that. A relationship, I mean. Some part of me keeps trying to convince the other that all I really want is a summer fling, while the other part argues that all I actually wanted was a guy best friend, basically. They’d be able to tell me all about their girl problems openly, there’s far less drama, and it’s just a funnier experience overall. For awhile, I actually felt hella confused about how I felt towards certain people. Eventually though, I realized that I should at some point break the vicious cycle because it always turned out for the worse and needless to say, it made things awkward for a time. I’ve shot my shot in that type of situation last year and it didn’t necessarily go as planned so to prevent history from repeating itself, I’m taking a lot more precautions. I have no time nor patience to pick up the broken pieces of my heart after wearing it on my sleeve again, so instead I’ve resorted to keeping it hidden, not letting too much out at once, reserving it for the people in my life who actually deserve my undivided love and affection. Does this mean that the point I arrived at after this whole ass paragraph is that hot girls summer is still on?? possibly. But who knows. After spending this much time with a handful of specific people, I’ve become more accustomed to going with the flow and taking risks. Perhaps now’s the time to start making them, considering I practically missed out on all this dumb teenager stuff up until last summer. And still, there is so much to experience.

Like I said in the beginning, I feel as if so much has happened, but at the same time, nothing at all. Since the beginning of summer, I’ve spent a handful of my time with friends, some more than others but it’s time spent well all the same. If not, I’m at work for four hours, 3 days a week. It’s pretty light work compared to some of the hours my friends get with their jobs, but I’d consider it good still ‘cause I’m not as exhausted and the hours are fairly flexible. As I did before the beginning of last summer, I’ve put together another bucket list of the things I want to do or achieve this summer. Naturally, a lot of them I want to do with my friends, some of which require the mastery of a whole new art: sneaking out. I can’t disclose much about how difficult it is to sneak out of my house but put shortly, it is comparable to the level of security in Area 51, however the atmosphere inside feels a lot like what I imagined Alcatraz was like. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit,  but you get the point. It’s difficult. All my friends know it’s difficult.And it makes me feel a lot like the Spongebob meme where Squidward’s looking out of his window, watching Spongebob and Patrick have fun blowing bubbles. Who would’ve thought that my own household would serve as such a MASSIVE cockblock, damn.

Now that it’s summer again, Snapchat’s been a doll with reminding me that everything from last summer is slowly but surely reaching its one year anniversary. The one that stood out the most was the meteor shower, and I bet you that if you don’t even know me all that well, you’d know that this meteor shower hit different. Even to this day, it’s annoying to talk about the memory because it reminds me of what once was but no longer is, yet I still can’t help it. I know that sounds fucking cheesy, but surely some of you know about the feeling I’m trying to get at here. As much as I hate to admit it, I would still consider it one of the best summer nights I have ever spent. Now it is merely a matter of watching the meteor shower again, only this time with people that won’t leave my life so readily and soon. I suppose you can take that last statement metaphorically as well, for any of the other endeavours you’ve got for the summer. Just make sure that you’re doing it with the people that are worth your while and who see you in the same way as you see them. Don’t fucking halfass it.

I’ve been creating all kinds of scenarios in my head of what I want this summer to look like. In a low-key kind of way, I would say that I’ve been on track with a majority of it. One of the most vivid, re-occurring scenarios go like this: long drive to a small town just on the outskirts of the city. The music blasts from the speakers and the windows are rolled all the way down to let the breeze fling your whole head of hair wildly. You reach the town at the point of the afternoon where the sun’s not quite right above you, but gives you that pre-golden hour lighting. You and your friends grab ice cream and take it with you along your stroll around the town, anything but shy about taking endless photos. Then finally, you sit on a bench facing a vast landscape in the direction of the sunset. The clouds come in slightly for the sun to reflect its pink and orange hues off of, in contrast with the rest of the clear blue sky. It cools as the night falls. You drive to another part of town for a quick McDonald’s run, which you take to-go, to find a spot some place else to watch the stars, devoid of any kind of light pollution and the buzz of people. You’re on top of the car, if not inside it with the seats reclined as far back as they go, and the sunroof wide open to a clear view of the twinkling sky above. Deep talk ensues naturally, and in the silent moment in between, you feel nothing but absolute peace. Shit, I forgot about the part where we ordered McDonald’s enough to feed a whole village and ate it all in no more than ten minutes (knowing how my friends and I are… it’s the truth). Anyway, the instruments come out, whether than be guitar, ukulele, or both, and you sing all kinds of songs. Hell, you could even make one just right then and there. Finally, you had home just before dawn when the roads are empty and seemingly endless. For the rest of the time before you and your friends decide to sleep, you reflect on the day’s events. Ignore the fact that I said “you” when really I should’ve been saying “I” since it was a scenario that I had in my head but I guess you can benefit from it cause it allows you to put yourself in my shoes while imagining this.

Fuck dude. There’s still so much to do. And I want to so badly do them all. This whole simulation is going by too fast, and it still blows my mind how practically everyone feels the same way about all these specific aspects of the simulation. Everyone’s living the same life.

I’ve been having so many fucked up dreams too lately. It just reminded me of them because yesterday, one of my friends said that he had a dream that he was sleeping in his dream but when he woke up he thought he woke up in real life, when in actuality, he was still dreaming. Just today, I was taking a nap on the couch and apparently, in the dream, a smiler thing happened where I thought I woke up in real life. Except the biggest indicator that I wasn’t awake in real life yet was that somehow, there was some sort of voice, sounding like it was coming from an intercom, and it said “welcome to universe *insert bunch of numbers here cause I can’t remember exactly what the numbers were*”. The another time, it was a far simpler dream, where someone and myself were just on a couch, and I had my head on their lap, while watching something that was playing on the tv. All I remember from that dream was that I felt an overwhelming sense of calm. I used to be able to remember my dreams thoroughly, but for some reason, ever since I hit my head on my racquet in badminton (don’t ask how I managed that - I don’t wanna talk about it - it was an all time low), I’ve only remembered snippets. It’s unfortunate… I feel like a majority of the one’s that I’ve been having for the last few days seem to hold some kind of meaning. Would’ve been a lot easier if I’d recall it all past 2 minutes after waking up.

Okay, I think this is more than you bargained for. I still have so much more to say but that’s for another episode. Keep up, will ya

For now xx

[rockrevoltmagazine]

Elbow Room Releases New Single: Sinking

Elbow room is a local Cleveland-based band that has been making some waves in the scene. They just released a new single to promote an EP coming out in the near future. I had the chance to sit down with Spencer and Ben, the writers, guitarists, and singers for the band, to discuss the latest single release; Sinking.

  Jumping right in! Tell me about the new single being released. What’s it called first of all?

  Ben: The song is called ‘Sinking.’ I care about it so much. Actually I was telling my drummer last night, we were on our way back from Columbus and we were talking about lyrics and the meaning of the songs. Obviously they know some, but I know the grand scope of all of it. I write most of the lyrics for the band at this point. It’s kind of the concept for the entire EP that we’re going for. The EP is going to be called ‘Constant Mistake.’ It has to do with continually falling over and over again. Specifically with relationships that you’re not supposed to be in, but whether it’s because you’re persistent or trying to make things work, kind of like those things where something somewhere is trying to tell you “this isn’t right.” And all these things in life and all of these events happen that shape negative consequences. You know, people start becoming distant from you, you start losing relationships you once had with other people, just bad stuff. ‘Sinking’ specifically is about falling, not to be cheesy, but falling deeper and deeper. Nothingness. Everyone is abandoning you except for the one person that you’re trying to remain loyal to but almost to a fault. That’s basically what the song encompasses. It’s going to be the lead track off of the EP. I think it does a very good job of summarizing the entire structure of the EP. That’s basically that. And every other song on the EP basically follows the same route.

  Spencer: Yeah it’s like a thematic progression. It’s nothing too obvious but you’ll hear a lyric slipped in somewhere that you think probably could have belonged in a song earlier on the record. I know it’s just an EP and EP’s are always written so just sort of showcase what you have as a band, but we wanted to write it like it was a record. It means something from start to finish. We wanted all of the songs to connect to each other. Listening to the EP is cool, but listening in order from Track One through Five is something better. It’s cool; for me ‘Sinking’ is a song that lyrically was led by Ben. I remember one day we had a practice and I left early to go to work; by the end of the day Ben just had a couple ideas and him and our drummer Scott just ran with it. We then had the framework for what the lyrics are now in the song. I listened to it, I’ve been into poetry and writing people’s lyrics so I’m really interested in all of that, for 10 years at least. I heard it and it just paints such a good picture. You know what I mean? I didn’t see any need to change any of it. There were a couple times that Ben and myself sat down and I rearranged a couple of his lines, you flip some words, use synonyms here and there, maybe rewrite one or two lines, but for the most part he wrote everything.

In writing these songs, I’ve noticed as an artist and as someone that’s struggling with this, but when you write things, you’ll never know if it’s good or not until you put it out. When it comes to Ben though I know it’s good. I can hear it and I’m like “that’s amazing.” I’d love to hear it even if I wasn’t in the band. We were just all on the same thought process with this song. That’s what’s cool about it; from start to finish it paints a picture, as I said before. I don’t think it’s a bunch of random writing strung together, it’s a related, encompassing piece.

  That’s amazing, well damn you guys are answering any question that I was going to ask haha. You talked about what the EP is about, but what was the inspiration behind the concept? It’s fairly heavy, not necessarily the song, but the subject matter. How did you decide on that direction?

  Spencer: It’s just honest. I think on our first EP, we’re still really proud of where that got us, but I think there’s something about being in a band that’s never released music before that we felt there was a certain level of writing that we couldn’t really get to, you mainly just want people to check out the music. On this one we just got rid of that feeling and wrote songs that we’d listen to in the car. I wanted to write stuff from the bottom of my heart I actually liked. I didn’t want the reaction to be when you write like ‘oh people are going to love this.’ No, I wanted to be like ‘I love this part.’ As far as the subject and lyrics, I know all of us in the band, growing up music helped us out a lot. We just wanted to write something honest, that can help other people, instead of just….

  Ben: Instead of just putting something catchy out there.

  Spencer: Yeah exactly, we wanted it to mean something. We wanted it to mean a lot to all of us, and it does.

  The new track is out now, do you have an estimated release date for the entire EP?

  Spencer: I can’t give you a specific date, but I’d give a rough estimate of the end of this month, actually.

  Ben: Yeah I’d say that’s a safe guess.

  Spencer: I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if we had to push that to an early October release. It’s creeping up, definitely.

  Ben: We’ve already done enough with the single haha. No honestly, we planned on having it out months ago, but had to push it back.

  You mentioned to me at a show a while back that you sent it to someone to get mixed. Who did you collaborate with on the song?

  Spencer: Yeah! That is actually done with; we had an interesting situation with that. It is what it is, things happen. The people we were working with, which we were really excited about, was a band we grew up listening to. It was super cool, and they did an amazing job for what they gave back to us, BUT we wanted the record out now… Like actually before now. It was supposed to be out in August. The single that’s out was supposed to be out in June… by the start of August we didn’t even have the finished single back. They overbooked a little. It’s cool though, it is what it is. I don’t have any hard feelings, I won’t go around telling people that they suck or anything like that. Maybe they just got into a tough situation, they were really busy. I won’t mention any names, but unfortunately we sent out a couple emails when we decided that we can’t work with them anymore. From that, though, a guy named Seth Henderson picked us up in about an hour after that. We sent him a long email about how stressed out we were, we had to drop out producer, is there any way they could help us out? Within an hour his wife, who runs the day to day operations, emailed us back and said “yep, we’d love to help you out.” Just like that they picked us up, so Seth Henderson did some of the Knuckle Puck records, as well as others. He’s very well respected. So yeah that’s who we went with.

  Awesome! Thanks so much guys!

  The new track called Sinking by Elbow Room can be found below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v253Dp7RdGQ

  Interview by Dan Cornelius, RockRevolt Writer

Connect with Elbow Room (click icons):

Elbow Room Releases New Single: Sinking was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

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Meet Saturn, Alexander - the New Jersey rapper set for stardom

With a name like Saturn, surely fame was always in the stars. This emerging talent recently caught our attention with her video game inspired beats and unique delivery and lyrics. Holding her own amongst the current surge in female rappers, we caught up with Saturn, Alexander to talk musical memories, New Jersey and anime!

Hi Saturn! How are you? I’ve heard that growing up you were exposed solely to gospel music and the sounds you heard going to church. Can you tell us a bit about your earliest musical memories?

Saturn, Alexander: My earliest musical memories would be my dad playing the drums in church! I pretty much grew up in praise and worship, and I was always in the choir and all that. And I always thought my dad was the coolest ever for being able to play the drums, and so I dabbled a little and actually when my parents had their own church for a period of time, I was playing the drums myself.

When did you start listening to other music and was there an artist, record or style that grabbed your attention the most?

So when I was 18 I wanna say I started to venture outside of gospel. It started with Michael Jackson because at the time I was still in my parents’ house, but I remember the most captivating thing was when my boyfriend would come over we would legit just chill outside in his car and talk for hours, and he always had the most fire CDs that he made playing the whole time. From that, some of my favorite artists became Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy, N.E.R.D., Tyler the Creator, and so on. Their sounds were just so subversive, I felt like I was swimming in the emotions they felt while they were creating what I was hearing.

That makes total sense, as I can hear a lot of different genres in your music, from soul and hip hop to future beats and even a baile funk beat in ‘Hack’. What are you listening to and what have been your biggest musical influences?

Haha thank you! From the time I was little, people would always describe me as ‘eclectic’, I feel like it just translated to my music. As for what I listen to, it’s mostly old stuff. Old gospel, old Tribe Called Quest, and the artists I mentioned before. I even have some music from some of the Pokémon games in my library haha. But I would say my biggest influence isn’t an artist, but art itself. Everything around me I feel like I soak in, and then give to the world back something that’s mixed with a little bit of me. I love the sound of live instruments, and I also love the in-game music in video games, and here recently I’ve been put on to some Brazilian funk and jazz (S/O Yoastrum) so that mixed with some hip-hop and gospel I think equates to my sound.

There seems to be a lot of momentum coming out of New Jersey currently with Topaz Jones, Angelo Mota, Mir Fontane and yourself. What is the music scene like there at the moment?

Yes, and shout out to them! The music scene in Jersey is definitely unique. You have everything from sophisticated trap to melodic sounds, and then me who’s just a weird mix of like everything haha. I think this is because with Jersey, we’re in but not of. We’re by major cities like Philly and NYC, but I feel like our sound is definitely different from theirs, which is super cool, but normally looked over. I feel like it’s getting the jumpstart it needs now though. Especially south Jersey. Because even when you do hear about a Jersey artist popping off, they’re rarely from these parts, and they’re normally closer to NY. So shoutout to Mir for that. But now that the eye is on us, we’re definitely sure to deliver!

I wanted to talk about your first project Truth Is, I’m Always Annoyed. Firstly the title is brilliant! And aside from the amazing songs, there’s a recipe for eggless mocha chocolate chip pancakes and a beginner’s guide to anime. I guess it’s an extension of creativity – are these things you’re interested in outside of music?

Haha thank you! Truth Is, I’m Always Annoyed is my baby. I feel like it really was a mirror into how I was feeling at the time, and I wanted to make it universal enough for others to resonate with as well. As for the recipe and the anime, yes! I believe everything is art. Food included. I actually cook a whole bunch and take it super seriously. (I bake too) if you look at any of my socials, it’s all on there. I want to actually keep finding ways to integrate my cooking with my raps. As well as anime! I love anime and I feel like it bleeds through in my sound. There’s nothing like it. The plots, the character development, it’s some different type of stuff that I feel like everybody should look into!

You described the aforementioned project as being an ‘introspective view to both sides of the topic of the everyday micro-aggressions that plague us all too often.’ Will there be a similar direction on your forthcoming EP Spectrum or will you focus on something different?

So Spectrum is going to be more universal. When it comes to song structure, I don’t really write linearly. Like I don’t really do “hook verse hook” or whatever it may be. I kinda tell a story but always from all angles. I bounce around a lot. So with Spectrum, I kinda wanted to take that concept, and stretch it into a project. Not that there won’t be “hook, verse, hook” on any of the songs, but Spectrum’s purpose will be to shed light on the fact that there is no black and white. Everything is a gray area and we’re all dancing in the in between.

Your track ‘A E I O U + Y’ features fellow female rapper Pinkcaravan!, how did that collaboration come about? Is there anyone else you’d love to work with?

Honestly, I don’t even remember! Me and Jas had followed each other for a little while, and when I was putting together the project we were in contact a lot just like chopping it up about regular stuff. And like one day we were really going through some shit at the same time, and had vented to each other about it. Later on, I found the ‘A E I O U + Y’ instrumental, and I thought it would be perfect for us to vent on. Especially since we already have that connection and I think it turned out pretty well! I would love to work with Tommy Genesis, Kehlani, and Lexxy!

You recently toured with Rico Nasty. What can people who didn’t get a chance to see you expect from your live shows?

Yeah, the Sugar Trap tour was mad cool! If you’ve never been to a show I’m a part of, expect a lot of crowd participation! I love to hear the audience’s thoughts and get them involved in the show. I think it creates a better environment to digest the music.

After your recent success you must be excited for 2018. What are your plans for the year?

Honestly, I’m just taking life as it comes! I’m super happy that people are reviving my music well and resonating with it. It means so much. I’m going to make Spectrum as perfect as I can and release that for everyone, whilst dropping some features, shows, and things in between!

We can’t wait to hear the album and see you live! Finally, Saturn, Alexander: what’s your favourite album of all time?

My favorite album of all time would have to be Channel Orange by Frank Ocean! It was perfection from start to finish, so much so that I can hear a track on it and instantly be transported to the time in my life when I heard it.

Thanks for your time!

Thank you so much for your questions they were so amazing!

Interview by Roxy Shah

[onestowatch]

Peach Tree Rascals’ “Mariposa” Is as Colorful & Wholesome as the Band [Q&A]

With Mexican, Filipino, and Palestinian roots that run deep, Peach Tree Rascals is one of the most hardworking music collectives we’ve had the honor of introducing you to. The masterminds behind Peach Tree Rascals (Dominic Pizano, Issac Pech, Tarrek Abdel-Khaliq, Joseph Barros, and Jorge Olazaba) produce cheerful tunes that have eclectic elements of alt-jazz, funk, hip hop, and R&B that are all too good to pass up. Now, Peach Tree Rascals is proud to present their wholesome new single that’s taking them to new heights: “Mariposa.”

A direct translation of “butterfly” in Spanish, “Mariposa” is inspired by Barros’ love of guitar playing that led to the song’s basic framework being nearly completed in one day. Paying homage to the concept of metamorphosis, “Mariposa” is about letting your true colors shine by stripping yourself of your insecurities and exposing your flaws at their core.

Directed and created by Olazaba, the accompanying music video for “Mariposa” presents a captivating explosion of colors and hues that paint the prettiest picture. The eye-catching visual was shot in Yosemite, which is home to Mariposa Grove, the place that inspired the song title. Whether they be during dusk or dawn, the composite shots are so aesthetically pleasing that you’ll want to rewatch the music video at least five more times.

On “Mariposa,” Peach Tree Rascals explained,

“Mariposa' literally means butterfly, and represents improving and growing as a human. Butterflies grow into themselves and their beauty, regardless of any flaws that come up along the way. Yosemite plays a big role in our creative muse. We often do trips up there to write and think of video concepts. The name originally came from Mariposa Grove in Yosemite. Seemed like a no brainer to name the song after one of our favorite places on the planet.”

Join Peach Tree Rascals’ world of color with the “Mariposa” video below:

To celebrate their new music, we recently chatted with Issac, Tarrek, and Joseph of Peach Tree Rascals about the Backstreet Boys, bandages, and of course, “Mariposa.”

OTW: How’s your day going?

Issac: Good! These guys just woke up. I’ve been awake for several hours. It was like 9:40 a.m. and we were trying to get Joseph awake and now we’re here.

OTW: Okay, cool. First off, I need to ask… How did you come up with the name “Peach Tree Rascals?”

Issac: We were working on music for about a year without releasing anything. Just hundreds and hundreds of songs. Once we came up with about five to seven songs that we thought were presentable and able to be released, we chose our first release. After that, we had to come up with a name. It was basically spitballing ideas. Jorge, who’s our visuals man, threw out the name “Peach Tree Village.” “Peach Tree” sounded nice, but “Village” sounded terrible. So I came in with the “Rascals idea” and we morphed the two into “Peach Tree Rascals.” It was super last minute, like two weeks before the song came out.

Tarrek: The name just came to us. We needed a name and we were spitting names left and right. When we came up with “Peach Tree Rascals,” and everyone just looked at each other and were like, “That’s the one.”

OTW: I really dig that. For those who aren’t familiar, can you describe your music in only five words?

Issac: Indescribable, soulful, charismatic, honest, and… Give me about five seconds to think of one more. Pure.

Tarrek: We want to be the next Backstreet Boys. We hate the Backstreet Boys.

Issac & Joseph: No, we don’t.

OTW: Or do you? The world may never know… 

Everyone: Hahaha.

OTW: So of the nine singles you’ve released so far, which is your favorite and why?

Issac: I think our best one, as of right now, is “Someday.” But my favorite is “Cranberry” because it has the lowest amount of views of any single. I think it deserves more and I love that song.

OTW: Hopefully when people read this, they’ll go listen to it.

Tarrek: My favorite is “Rush” because the feeling you get from “Rush” isn’t anything close to the songs you hear from us. And it has very few views too.

OTW: I love how we’re all cheering for the under dogs here.

Tarrek: Yeah, the under dogs are the ones we’re rooting for.

OTW: What is the message behind “Mariposa?”

Joseph: The story behind the song is about a girl that’s with a guy who treats her like shit. I guess he caught feelings for her. It directed me to let her know that I’m always there for her.

Issac: For my part of the song, it’s more so having a companion whose love was once stronger than it currently is. Even though you know that the fire is kind of gone, you’re still wishing in the back of your mind that the phone call comes through.

Tarrek: For my part of the song, it’s being scared of feeling something. Feeling weird emotions for someone. Just being numb to that feeling for a while. When it happens, you don’t really know what to do.

OTW: I actually already watched the music video and something that I noticed is that it’s super colorful. There’s so many shades, tones, and colors--is there any meaning behind this aesthetic?

Isaac: Jorge would be the most equipped to answer this question, but since he’s not here I’ll just answer for him. When there’s a bunch of colors in the video, there’s a bunch of contrast between the colors. For example, the second verse is more colorful with the field and butterfly wings. And then it breaks into Joseph’s third verse, where it comes into nighttime with stars. It becomes darker in a way, but not necessarily dark. The colors shift the mood. Jorge uses a lot of color as a tool to set the mood of whatever’s going on in the song at the moment. He’s a genius.

OTW: Why’s Joseph wearing a bandage in the video?

Everyone: Ooooh....

OTW: Give me the details on that!

Joseph: The story isn’t really that crazy. One day, Tarrek, Jorge, and I were hanging out and there was a scooter laying around. And there was a staircase and I was like, “Should I do it? Should I jump with the scooter?” And Tarrek was like, “Don’t do it. You’re going to fall and hit your face.” And I was like, “No, I’m not.” So when I did it, I kind of landed it and then I lost my footing. So the scooter flipped around and hit my face.

OTW: Oh my god.

Joseph: We have a whole photoshoot and a video of it too. Jorge took it on his phone.

OTW: Do you guys have any plans to release an EP/album soon?

Tarrek: That information is confidential.

OTW: That means yes.

Tarrek: It actually means probably not. We’re going with the wind. We want our first project to be amazing so we’re not going to rush it. We have a lot of stuff that we want to release on their own before we release a whole project. We just want to make as much music as possible.

OTW: Sounds good. Is it true you guys haven’t played a live show yet?

Everyone: True. Fact.

OTW: If you were to sell out a show at any venue in the world, where would you want to play?

Joseph: Probably The Gorge. It’s in Washington.

OTW: Any specific reason?

Joseph: The background is a river and it’s a beautiful place. Or Red Rocks.

OTW: A lot of people say Red Rocks. That’s dope.

Issac: One of mine would be the Shoreline Amphitheatre. It’s like, 15 minutes away from where we live. So it’d be some hometown shit.

Tarrek: I really want to play in Jordan, in the Middle East. There’s a venue with old Roman ruins that’s made into a stadium.

OTW: Who’s performed there?

Tarrek: A lot of Arab artists perform over there. It’s more Arab artists so I thought it’d be super cool to be that successful to play there.

OTW: One day.

Tarrek: One day.

OTW: Who are your Ones To Watch?

Issac: I love Rico Nasty. I love Tierra Whack. I think Anderson .Paak is one of the greatest to ever do it. Of course, Frank Ocean and Kanye West. All of those that are automatic. That’s about it for me.

Joseph: As of right now, I’ve been a really big fan of Clairo. I love her.

Tarrek: I don’t really know. I really fuck with Peach Tree Rascals. Those guys are pretty cool.

OTW: Yes, love it! Shameless self promo.

Tarrek: Yeah, they’re amazing.

OTW: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Issac: We love them a lot and we promise to make them proud.