"Where I was born and where I grew up, being an artist was like being totally insane." - An interview with Irmie Vesselsky

I usually don't like Austrian music. Because, let's face it: 99% SUCKS. OK, 99% of all music sucks, that's true, but there's something about Austria that makes the suckyness even suckier. I am not going to drop names - just turn on that Austrian "alternative" radio station and be prepared to empty your stomach. There are a few exceptions to the rule, of course. One of these exceptions is Irmie Vesselsky. A lady, her voice, her piano, and that's that. She is a master of a long forgotten craft called SONGWRITING. Her album Parentheses of Antitheses is a hidden treasure, and here's a few things she has to say...

What made you start playing music in the first place?

Music itself - and everybody who told me to never ever do it. Music was always there. But in fact, I really tried to ignore it... my parents and my surroundings, "friends" told me to do so. They all gave me the feeling that there was something wrong with me, spending all my pocket money on CDs or instruments and rather "talking to my piano" than to men. Where I was born and where I grew up, being an artist was like being totally insane. So I was a good daughter and functioned, and tried to be what they wanted me to be, and music was my way to escape. Finally a breakdown/burnout back in 2008 made me follow my inner voice, and made me go back to where I was and what I had. I remembered myself as a kid sitting at the piano for hours on end, trying to escape this world, and create my own. It was wonderful. When you're a total mess and have nothig left, anyone or anything to trust or to rely on, and nothing is left but a piano in the corner of your room - what else could you do but talk to her? She was always so almighty, so tempting.... so I couldn't do anything but follow her and let it all out.

What made you realize "I can be an artist, and I can perform live and it's good"?

Have I really realized that? Am I...? This reminds me of what Katherine Hepburn once said: "I think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are really there because they're good or there because they're lucky." I mean, when I started writing songs, I never intended to play them live, to perform them or have them recorded. No one but my cat was allowed to listen. (And she always preferred Bach to my own songs.) When I first played "Unheard" - my first song ever - to her, she ran out of the room, shrieking...

It's quite a long way from writing your own songs to performing them in front of an audience... how did this happen? Who encouraged you? What was your first time like?

It was a long process, and it all happened by sheer chance. Who encouraged me? Well, there was a small bar in the countryside where I used to live. The bartender once came up to me saying "You are going to be a star. I can see it in your eyes.... play for me!" I thought this man was totally crazy and avoided his bar for some time. He then showed up at my place wanting me to sing for him and persuaded me to do a showcase in his bar. It took me quite some time until I agreed. Then, my first time... I really can't remember. I mean, I remember being sick, being nervous days before the performance already. I was very insecure and shy, couldn't stand those people staring at me, and couldn't understand why they were here to hear me play at all. But when I started to play, I forgot everything around me. I was in my own universe, there was just the piano and me dancing together. The applause was like an alarm clock waking you from a sweet dream. That's all I remember. I didn't really know what I was doing back then. I think, I was a mess, but quite a good one, ha!

So, after that “good mess”, it seems like you are playing constantly now, at every chance that pops up. Does it ever get boring? Are you still nervous before a show?

First of all, I do not play everything - it has to feel right for me and for the promoter as well. Playing concerts never gets boring: there's always a different venue, a different audience. Also, the way I play shows might differ. So it's still exciting for me. Things that in fact do get boring are the time between soundcheck and stage time, and moving all the equipment, especially if there's no piano. That's a thing I wish I wouldn't have to do anymore. And yes, I still get nervous! But you know what? Sometimes if I don't, I really get squirrelly, because I think there's something wrong with me. And honestly, I never ever want to "get used" to stage fright or gigging at all.

For some reason I just can't get past the idea of taking your lyrics as something deeply personal. It might be fiction, it might be just words to a song, but... you know. Dare to elaborate?

I wish I could write about something I haven't felt, I haven't experienced in my life, but I really can’t. Sometimes I do start with a fictional thought, but end up somewhere I've been before, sometimes I start with an experience and end up somewhere else my mind is dragging me to. So maybe it's a bit of both, fiction and reality. I could tell you a thousand of stories to each song, and they would all be true somehow - but isn't it ultimately more interesting which stories the listeners themselves create in their heads? It would be less fun if I told them what they should see or hear in this or that song, wouldn't it? Feel it!

www.irmievesselsky.com

"I had covered most of the house with paint and ink" - An interview with Adrian Landon Brooks

I discovered Adrian Landon Brooks' art by sheer accident. Must have been on Myspace or something, which is ("this is sooo 2007!") pretty an old school thing by now. Myspace has become a zombie of bits and bytes in the meantime, Adrian's profile does not exist anymore, but somehow I have always been following his art... because this is the nature of art: it touches you, whether you see it in a gallery, on the streets, in a book, or even on the fucking internet.

What made you realize "wow, I can be an artist and be taken seriously"?
I started off painting graffiti all through out my teenage years, and got a job installing work at a gallery in Houston,TX. The owner of the gallery encouraged me to broaden my horizons, and that led to me exploring ink drawings. As the drawings progressed, I had a few key people in my life at the time that kept encouraging me to push my limits. When I had a body of rough work, I was offered a spot in a group show at a local warehouse gallery named "one ten". The experience of watching people interact with my work really opened my eyes and gave me some confidence that I had otherwise been lacking.

"Silver Jew" - water color on wood panel, 11" x 6 1/2 "

Who were these "key people"and what did they do?
When I was 19 or so, I was living in a dilapidated rental house with two of my close friends in Houston. We had a dining room and a huge garage that nobody was using, so I kinda took over both with all my scrawling ink drawings, and the beginning of some actual paintings. My roommates would give me constant feedback and comment on the mess I was creating daily. By the end of the lease, I had covered most of the house with paint and ink. That year shaped my work a lot. I also began a romantic relationship that same year and subsequently made portraits of her for the next few years. I owe those times and people a lot.

"The experience of watching people interact with my work really opened my eyes" - give an example!
I specifically remember selling a small drawing for 20 bucks at the first group show I was a part of, and being blown away with how happy this guy was to take it home. It really meant a lot to know my work could have such a positive effect on someone, even though it was pretty dark material at the time.

Speaking of happiness, what keeps you sane?
I would say my mother and art binges. I usually make a group of work all at once over the course of a few weeks. I seem to enjoy the purging process a lot more than making little things every day. When you work on a piece for 12 hours straight, you definitely experience a type of euphoria I haven't been able to find from any drug.


What inspires you to create art on a daily basis?
Pretty much anything you can think of really. I get inspired by music pretty often, or just a specific line from a song that hits me hard one day. Some of the one liners in my work are borrowed from some of my favorite songs. I think if a piece of music is capable of moving me, I should pay homage to it with my own creation.

Music... you have a Jawbreaker tattoo. What else rocks your world?
Haha, I got that tattoo when I was 17. I can safely say that Jawbreaker shaped a good part of my youth. 24 Hour Revenge Therapy will never get old. I have been listening to Timber Timbre and Phosphorescent a lot lately. I usually gravitate towards sad bastard music.

How, well... "fitting" - your art is not particularly lighthearted or happy per se... where does that come from?
I think I find the most inspiration or motivation from the darker side of things. It's not that I am an unhappy person, but I think sorrowful content is a little more interesting. I try to break up the melodrama with words - it's a way of bringing my issues to light, and realizing that I don't have it so bad. I think it's good to be able to poke fun at yourself.


More art can be found here: www.adrianlandonbrooks.com ... support!

"It's not just us three, anyone that has this kind of feeling or yearning of an unfulfilled life, can be basically be Client."

This is an old interview. I did this in 2007, and it was originally intended to be in GLW/DRK #5. Client play - for lack of a better term - "electro pop". Electro pop that could be the soundtrack to one thousand sexual fantasies.


When the band was starting, they were a two piece. And I guess they found it easy: you could get one hotel room, two flights. A band like that is very cheap to do. But then again, you're doing small stages, and you're having a limited sound. By the third album, the sounds matured, and the stage shows developed, the influences had gotten bigger. Two people can't run it anymore, because there isn't a manger, there isn't anyone telling us what to do. And it was good for me to come in at the time, because I have a similar love for the music and the art and the lifestyle that goes with what the band is about. I guess I just brought in some ideas and helped develop the stage sound with more bass, rhythm section, haircuts, lights. You know, all the things that really matter [laughter]. It's just an added kind of dimension. If I got a new boyfriend, I'd always watch all their films, and listen to their music. It's the same kind of thing. Just bringing in some kind of new thing, it just keeps it fresh.

I completely agree, because from what I saw tonight, your kind of bass playing is not just like a rhythm instrument. You're playing your bass pretty much like one would play guitar.
Yeah, I was a guitar player, but I was really lazy. I didn't like to play lead. I just liked rhythms and stuff, so what I would is do harmonies and rhythm. Because all the bass lines are already there on the keyboard, and you can't really add anything to this, so I'd just pick out bits of the lower bass or add a different dimension. Give it more drive. Just take that song, "Where's the rock and roll gone", there is no bass. It's just the keyboard line, so I would go all out and do metal riffs, which is really fun.But other songs like "Pornography", they've got bass. It's still kind of keyboard riff, but I play it exactly the same, because it works. If you go through all the songs, you can pull out different elements before its being programmed up by Kate. She wrote most of the melodies before I joined. And they had done two albums already. I had to work with what was there. Its kind of like sitting in and then making the live sound.

So you are Client C then?
No, Client C is in Hamburg. Her name is Corinna. She isn't with us today, but she was for a few days. She helps with t-shirt designs, the album artwork, graphics, layouts, web design. Or, if you have an idea and you're sitting let's say somewhere in the middle of the world, and you don't have your computer and no internet access, you'll still just know there is another person who can do it. She is the glue that keeps everything together. She is the backbone. She updates Myspace, I run the Client Club Nights, and do the emailing for that. Kate does all the booking and coordination, and talking to distributors and record people. So during the day, she always gets phone calls Germany, Italy, Greece, Scandinavia. And then when she is in bed, she gets phone calls from people from USA, Mexico, South America, China. So she doesn't sleep. I'm Client E. My name is Emily. It just seemed natural. Client F for Andy Fletcher. Client X for Scott, who was the guitarist before we had Günther. Günther is from Vienna actually.

Really? I didn't know that. How did you hook up with anyway?
We were on Mute, and so were Fad Gadget. They'd got together again to go on tour with Depeche Mode. Not a lot of people know this, but Depeche Mode were actually influenced by Fad Gadget back in the day, but Depeche Mode took the more commercial route, and Frank Tovey kept his avantgardde performace art route and never made it to stadiums - pretty much what happens to people that stick to their independent principles. So when he died, his family got a DVD together with a lot of music videos, interview footage, live sets. Günther was playing guitar with him on the last ever tour that he did, supporting Depeche Mode. We met him at the showing of the film, and we were kinda taken by him, and that he supported and continued the Mute tradition of the experimental electronic dark wave kinda thing. It was good to keep it in the family, and he appreciated the music that we do. We appreciate his style of playing, because he knows what we are about, so it's perfect.
Speaking about record labels, how come you have these t-shirts with "Go DIY, lose EMI"? What happened?
What happened is that the music industry, from what I gather, is in a huge state of...

Being a whore?
Well, no... no one seems to be buying records anymore. The tradition of buying records is endangered, because nobody knows how to sell music anymore. A couple of years ago, when a band had an album out and people liked the band, they would buy it. But with the new media formats of the internet, like filesharing and download platforms, people are not buying hard physical copies, which is a shame I think. The concept would be so simple... people understood going to a record store: CD? Vinyl? Catch! So when things completely change for the consumers, we as artists and producers have to change the way we think about distributing music, even making music. People haven't got a clue anymore what to do, because theyre not in control anymore. Bands can take control by letting people listen to their music, or in some cases download it for free. This is the way to get noticed: let people know what your music sounds like.

It's pretty much the same thing as going to a record store ten or fifteen years ago and listening to a stack of brandnew records.
Yes, only now you don't have to leave the house. But MP3s are so compressed that the quality isn't all that good, compared to say CDs or vinyl. So I guess it's kind of gone backwards in a way. The whole issue of artwork, packaging, the beauty of vinyl, it's being lost. With our "Zerox Machine" fortyfive... it's white vinyl, we made sure that all the packaging had the whole handmade look, we paid special attention to what we did, and kept it really simple. All the record companies are losing their income, because they are not moving with the times. They are marketing everything as something you have to have, so they are losing lots and lots and lots of money on all these different hyped people and bands - but the interest isn't there. People are not buying into their marketing anymore. They are not paying attention to record comapnies that spend millions of pounds on marketing telling people to listen to this, so [the record companies] are not getting it back in the sales, and the artists get completely dropped. Record companies invest too much money in the first album, so artists dont have development time, they can't build a fanbase, and they don't have any longevity. EMI bought Mute, and they kept Depeche Mode because they make them money. Being on Mute means that you are technically on EMI,. and all they are is a major. I have heard "fuck the majors" from so many people, and for good reason actually: because majors are not interested in their artists, they are interested in making money. They are not into music, they just look at figures. And sure, it's the music BUSINESS, but it's also creative enterprise, and you can't just look at the business side in a non creative way. You've got to think of profit to be able to support yourself. No matter how romantic it may sound, a lot people when they are younger are like, "I want to be an artists, I want to be a singer, a musician." You can suffer for your art, or you try to take control yourself. We are just three girls, and they don't get the music. We don't run around in tight short skirts.

But you do.
It's not in a way the majors can understand.

For whatever reason, I have the impression that you try to stay under the public radar.
Well, I would say it's longevity as well. Music comes with a very short shelf life. The turnover is just ridiculous, especially with the British press - it's all fashion to them. Everybody can be the next big. You can blow up, and then next week you wouldn't even be able to get a gig or play shows. People have their opinion on you: "Oh, Client? Aren't they such and such and such?" I think it's more clever to let people find out about you through word of mouth. DIY! We're not, "Like us, we play catchy pop songs and we dress sharp." The music that I was drawn to, it felt like you were part of something, or as you said under the radar. I loved the Manic Street Preachers, I loved Placebo. I think the word now is "emo", but back then it was mod gothic electronic stuff.

Is there any certain band that you can recall that made you pick up an instrument?
Don't laugh, but it might have been Green Day. There are worse artists, though. I loved Pearl Jam, that track "Sometimes" is so beautiful. It makes me cry still. Jeff Buckley... uhm, things escape me. Pink Floyd was a huge influence... I was big hippie, you know. [laughter] I just like really emotional soulful music, but from any genre. You can find it in jazz, you can find it rock'n'roll, blues, soul, even hip hop. I don't listen to a lot of hip hop, but it's playing in the studio I work in. Some of the lyrics are absolutely phenomenally genius, and so is the production! I literally dissect it in the studio, because some of the beats and the rhythms are ridiculously good. Electronic music was born out of r'n'b in way, like the beats and the grooves were taken by Afrika Bambataa who added more beats and grooves. I found electronic music in london to a lot more of a black influence, like M.I.A. or this small local band Shy Child - they have this rhythm and it's really filthy, and can they play an indie club, rock club, r'n'b club. I am always really excited about hearing new things that grow naturally. But electro, you can press a button a synthesizer and you are god.

Speaking of which, Client as a band or collective have evolved from an anonymous unit to like real people...
It started anonymous, so that people would just listen to the music. It was putting the music first; the style of anonymity. You have the style and the substance going hand in hand. Even though you weren't flaunting it, you still had an image.

When you joined Client, did you ever find it hard to live up to image?
Well, we are Client. See, I would like to put it like this: when you are working and when you are behind your computer, you can have all these sexual fantasies, or think of something else, or just think about what you'd rather be doing. So you have all these thoughts in your head, and when you're going home, you change into another outfit, and you become this whole different person. We, as Client, are faceless. We wear uniforms. We could be anyone. We wear office skirts, a shirt, and tie. This is an office outfit, because it's like going to an office, going to work. It's not just us three, anyone that has this kind of feeling or yearning of an unfulfilled life, can be basically be Client. Personally, I never wanted to be just another kid in school. All the other school had certain ideals and their whole lives plotted out in front of them, and I just felt I didn't belong there at all. To me, that's why the album is called Heartland, because it's all about this certain longing to be accepted in life. Everybody has that, whether or not they admit it.

Is that a Sisters of Mercy reference, by the way?
Yes! I think the whole album was very much influenced by the Sisters of Mercy. It's the kind of emotion that I felt myself as a teenage girl sitting in my bedroom. It sounds kind of stupid now, because I have met so many teenage girls who have said the very same thing about Client to me. Especially Sarah has gone through a lot between the second and third album, and she's used to pour out a lot of angst - so to all of us, it's quite a release to go on stage and just yell out, and this is what makes our music so emotional in my eyes.

o, sitting here with you as the "new member" of the band, there is no spokesperson for Client, right?
Sometimes Kate doesn't like talking, because if she talks to much, her throat hurts. After she has been singing, she can't talk anyway. [laughter]

Client still rock my pants wet. They run their own record label, Loser Friendly Records. www.client-online.eu is their internet home.

"It's not just about chords and beats." - An interview with Obstacles

"Obstacles grew out of the D.I.Y. culture and finds its inspiration and energy in the principles of integrity and immediacy derived from this movement. The band is driven by an urge to create relevant music, to transcend the triviality of our times uniform culture and to protest its monolithic aesthetics. Obstacles is the creative partnership between friends."

There. They said it themselves. I just can't think of any better introduction for this great band. They are "math rock" (for lack of a better term), they are "post rock", they are an instrumental band (one that does not bore me, yay!), and they kick ass. They have released an album called Decomposition of Movement, a 7", and a split with Auxes. I love them.

This is an interview that was never finished. But the points that were made were just too valid to disappear on a hard drive forever.

(This is my friend Emil. He is not in the band anymore.)

Obstacles? Why? And which ones? Which decomposition of what movement?

Thomas: The title Decompostion Of Movement has two sides to it; a concrete and an abstract one. First of all it's the name of a brain lesion, which means that your gestures are broken up into individual segments instead of being executed smoothly. Second, it refers to the idea that music is not about linear movement, but movement in a mass of directions. To say it briefly, it's songwriting - anti songwriting. Mathrock, as I see it, is a matter of decomposition in general, a break down of the framework of "classical songwriting". Leaving more room for playing around and turning things upside down, therefore making it more interesting, more creative and less predictable. We're not really interested in trying to write or reinvent the perfect rock song. To me, that seems so unambitious and boring. I'm not saying that what we do is super original and never-been-done-before like, but more that what we're doing is simply putting together small pieces of noise and music in formations that seem challenging, new and exciting to us. It's a collage: everything's already been done, now it just needs to be messed up!

Niels-Peder: Obstacles, as in the things we encounter in the process of writing songs, but also in a more general term. The things that are all around us, other people, trains, buses, our computers, all the obstacles that meet us everywhere we go. For me the thing is that we tend to see these obstacles as things to be passed, getting over things, getting well, the way we tend to ignore the obstacles at hand. I think we need to be more aware of all these obstacles, investigate them and then decide what is going on with them. There I think, we can truly find out what we hate and what we love. Obstacles are there to be studied, to be seen as the things that - in a strange way - make up our very life.

Obstacles does not have a vocalist. Was that a conscious decision? What are the pros/cons about this? Do you sometimes find yourself having a hard time getting your message across only with instruments?

Thomas: Can't really say it was a conscious decision. In the beginning we tried several vocalists out, but it never really worked out. It was fun and all, but we never got that 'yes' feeling. So after while we trashed the idea. I guess we wanted to do something new and different from what we had done before, and the vocalists we tried out didn't really contribute to that.

One of the things I love about being an instrumental band is the way it leaves space for the instruments (or maybe it's just an ego thing!). When we write music, we often go, "Oh, this part sort of needs a lead figure", because there are no vocals. And then it's always really interesting to try and figure out what exactly it is that's needed, what instrument, and how to play it. So in some ways I think the creative process is a bit more challenging when writing instrumental music. For us "the message thing" is just as much a matter of how we choose to be a band and be in a band as it is about writing, let's say, political songs. We play music that's relevant and means something to us. Music that moves us, be it protest songs or love songs.


To tie right into that, what sets obstacles apart from your run of the mill "postrock"-band in my book is that you are very DIY and very political - by choice, and not by necessity. Want to eloborate?

Thomas: The way I see it, there's a huge difference between being an indie band that is really independent right until a major label shows a bit of interest, and a band who wants to run it themselves, because they believe in doing it that way. Of course a band is a business in some ways, or at least it becomes one when you release a record or go on tour. But for us it's important to bear in mind that, when we got involved in music - touring and releasing records. We were only able to do so because people were ready to help us get started, you know, booking tours, doing shows, releasing our music and so on. And it's still like that. We did a tour in Russia some months ago, a really great tour. And again, we could only do that because people over there worked their asses off to bring us there, without getting anything but the experience in return. To me, that's really something. It's not just about chords and beats, but about deliberately choosing alternative ways of organization. A subversive approach to the whole promotion thing is, as I see it, the core element in being a "political" band.

Niels-Peder: Being political is in essence, as I see it, not about saying the right things or having a radical attitude. To me, the political side to the project is, as Thomas puts it, about deliberately choosing another way. The meeting between people and the exchange of ideas and experiences this brings.

Obstacles will play at the Rhiz in Vienna on August 16, together with Alarma Man.

www.obstacles.dk

"Are we not NYHC anymore? I'd say we still are, and I think we always will be." - An interview with Mike Bullshit

GO! just has to be the textbook definition of a hardcore band name. Unbroken, Poison Idea, Urban Waste, or Sick Of It All ain't too bad either when it comes to band names, but GO! always have had a very special place in my punk rock heart: fucking shit up, but always remaining a firecracker of positivity, sarcasm, and smartness. They recently got back together, released two new 7"s, and eventually Mike Bullshit and me ended up exchanging a few e-mails...

GO! has only been a band for 3 years originally, then you broke up, got back together 15 years later, and broke up again. What happened in the meantime? And does this mean you will play reunion shows in 2023 again?
Oh, it's been even weirder than that. We were actually only together like a year and a half, then did the US tour in 1990, came back, recorded Why Suffer?, played our second "last show" (the first was in January 1990), and then I went to go hitchhike around the country, settling in Texas, while Aaron went to university. We then did the Euro tour in 1991, came back and recorded There Is No Man, and then I think broke up again.Then we did some shows in mid 1992, then again in mid 1994. We were then totally out of touch until late 2005, when I contacted Aaron and we decided to make music again. We did some shows in mid 2006 and recorded Re-active, and the some shows in California in 2007 and recorded What We Build Together. And then we broke up again in January 2008, but... you never know. To be more specific, in 2006 and 2007 we were together for a total of 9 days, played 8 shows and recorded 2 EPs.

Despite being from NY and playing hardcore, GO! never seemed to be down with the NYHC scene... no, scratch this. I would say GO! was more punk than the bands that played CBGBs matinees, right? In retrospect, I guess it was more ABC-No-Rio and Born Against than let's say Agnostic Front, would that be a good analogy?
Well, we never were a tough guy band, but lots of bands weren't - y'know, Bad Trip, Life's Blood, SFA (which I was in earlier), Underdog, Gorilla Biscuits, Krakdown - good bands, not macho assholes. And then yeah, Born Against and Citizens Arrest and Rorschach came along and we were happily in that ABC thing. But I always thought of us as 100% hardcore. Punk and hardcore were very seperate things in NYC back then. Lots of "drunk punks" and "squatter punks", and we weren't quite in that scene. But we never played CBGBs either, and the Anthrax in CT never wanted us for some reason. But we played with Krakdown, SOIA, Uppercut, and Burn, [and] our first show was with Absolution and some others, an animal rights benefit at the Pyramid - thankfully the only show where I played bass and sang. Absolution were astounding to watch. But then again, I went to just about every hardcore matinee at CBGB's in 1985 and 1986, give or take, and on and off through 1989. I loved CB's! And I saw Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Murphy's Law and such, easily 8-10 times each. They were awesome shows. But I was [just] this little 16 year old geek doing my fanzine, Bullshit Monthly.
From an outsider's perspective, I always thought that not only the New York hardcore and punk scenes were quite separated, but also the CB/ABC scenes. GO! always had a very strong anti-violence stance, anti-racist, pro-gay, all things that were not, well... "popular" among the likes of Cro-Mags or Warzone. Was it widely known that you are gay? How and when did you come out?
I actually came out very publicly: on the inside cover of Bullshit Monthly #21 it said, "Proud to be gay-owned and operated." So, it was out there really quickly, maybe towards the end of '89. I remem-ber at the first GO! show mentioned above dedicating [the song] 'Section 28' to "my gay friends." Ouch. But that's where I was at that point in time. I guess maybe at this point it was both CB's and ABC happening, plus the Reconstruction Records store. Maybe the big SxE shows at the Pyramid weren't really going on anymore. I had actually missed that whole part of the scene, although I loved Straight Ahead and some others. There's a Straight Ahead video from 1988 on YouTube and you can see me - I come in maybe half-way. I've got my beard, which is unfortunate. Anyway, by 1989, I had been in the scene on and off for like 5 years and everyone knew me through the fanzine, so it really wasn't much of a problem. If people didn't talk to me or whatever, it didn't really bother me. And no one ever kicked my ass or anything. In that way I was probably the best person to come out, since I wasn't as much at risk. GO! never played at CB's, and I wasn't out when I played there with SFA - but at some point after I had been gone from SFA and came back, there was a show scheduled with the Bad Brains and I think we all decided better that I didn't do it and leave the band, which really was for the best. We probably didn't play too many shows with absolute bonehead bands. And I certainly wasn't out in 1985-86 in the pit at Cro-Mags and AF shows. I was just this skinny dweeb.

How and why and did GO! break up? I only know you released an (ego.) 7" afterwards, but I always had the impression it was pretty much under the radar, and all of a sudden you seemed to have disappeared from "the scene", only to turn up again in some hippie community, with Bullshit Monthly one sheeters full of Abba and La Bouche reviews...
GO! broke up so many times some people can boast at having been at 3 or 4 GO! "last shows." But we pretty much broke up as a steady band (for the fourth time, I think) in late 1991, after the European tour and recording There is No Man. Why? We had always planned to. The thought was to play great music before we moved on with our lives, yet split before we started making lousy music, like so many other bands had done. Then I did (ego.) and we did some shows in the summer of 1994, released the Existence compilation in 1995 (which Aaron compiled with Don Fury, and Frank from Epistrophy in Germany put out), but then we were totally out of communication until 2005. At that point I found Aaron's phone number and just gave him a call. We got together for a weekend with our spouses and at some point I suggested writing and performing again. And there we were. Believe it or not, I had no idea that every other band was reuniting as well. That was a complete surprise. (ego.) was kind of a side project that released two 7" EPs, but also played maybe 7 or 8 shows in the NYC and surrounding area, and even did a limited US tour in 1994 with Sticks & Stones. Our car broke down in California somewhere so we stopped. At some point [the] Stick & Stones van caught on fire, so maybe it’s better that we split off from them. And yeah, I lived at East Wind Community in Missouri for almost 3 years. It was great. I loved it, and part of me definitely misses it. I learned so much about people, about life, about business, and computers, also having the opportunity to work in the ranch or on the farm for like an hour a week (or however much I wanted) was very special. How often do you get that chance? I met some very special people (and some real assholes), learned a whole lot about nature and the natural pace of life, and grew up. I went from being a complete vegetarian to eating meat every so often. But only really stupid animals, like cows, sheep, chickens. Never anything intelligent, like pigs. Fuck, what an incredible time in my life. Now with work, the mortgage, my husband, our two dogs and such, I of course couldn't go back to that. But maybe for a visit at some point. And yeah, I did CB for a number of years: Current Bullshit, starting when I lived in Germany and continuing into Missouri and later when I moved to California. It was based more on personal observations of the world around me, less so on music. It made me open my eyes, look around, pay attention to things. What a great mental exercise. And it kept me in touch with many people.


How old are you now? I am asking this because I am 35 myself, and whether or not we like to admit it, hardcore is a youth movement. So how does it feel to be a part of this in 2008? What do your friends, family, peers think about it? Also, since you mentioned your husband, here's something I've been thinking about... when I interviewed Martin Sorrendeguy of Los Crudos and Limp Wrist, he said that the "gay part" of him always felt more attracted to disco and hip hop, and that he found himself struggling to balance the hardcore vs the non-hardcore side of him. I don't think that this has to do anything with sexual pre-ferences, because I share similar experiences...
When all is said and done, what it comes down to for me is music and energy and community - and for that age doesn't matter. There were always at least some people of all ages at shows in the 80's and early 90's, and they were as much a part of the scene as anyone else. I am turning 40 this year, but I still live my life in a way I feel is positive, still love hardcore music, still want to play it and record more. I don't really go to shows much, but that's often a time factor and the fact that I don't know that many people. And there are so many people I'm in communication with now who I knew back in 1990. Labels, distros, fans, zine editors, promoters. They're still around, I'm still around, and then there's always a new crop of kids coming into the scene. It's a good mix. I definitely felt it at ABC-No-Rio when we played there in 2006.

The hardcore and gay thing I can totally relate to. It is the straddling of two very different worlds... I guess another analogy for me is being gay and Jewish. I turned away from Judaism at a very young age because I couldn't reconcile the two (well, and yeah, being an athiest didn't help matters). But when I moved to the Bay Area, I found a synagogue which was about 90% gay and realized I didn't need to choose. Life isn't black or white, one way or the other. People are fluid. Things don't always have to be the same. They can be different. Now a lot of times I'll just say to non-hardcore friends "I'm in a band", and every so often I'll give them the URL to our website or MySpace page and they'll check it out. But I preface it with something like "I know it's probably music you won't like, and that's ok." There's no right or wrong. My parents have every record and every interview and every issue of Bullshit Monthly. They're very supportive. They probably feel better that we're not rehearsing in the basement anymore. They'd be on the second floor and the mirrors would be shaking. Sigh, "back in the day." But again, it's not your age - it's your life, the decisions you make every day.

What are the lyrics for "That rare 7" EP" that were not printed?
It's just a list of names of bands who have produced rare records: Poison Idea, SSD, Germs, Straight Ahead, Youth of Today, and so on. Loved doing that song! It was a lot of fun. So much of that record I would've done a little differently: this a little faster, and that a little slower, and this with background vocals, and that with louder vocals and on and on. Doing Reactive after so many years apart, it has it's strong points and its weak points.

Did anyone notice that the logo still says NYHC, but that the contact address is in San Jose?
Yeah, I do get the occasional question about that. Originally, this all came up because there was another band named GO! who wanted to use the name, but we were first. I said ok, like a complete idiot, since this was a couple of years before we even conceived of getting back together. And I said if we did ever release or rerelease anything we would called ourselves GO! NYHC... And then when we got back together it made sense anyway, even though I think that other band isn't around anymore. Because really, half of us still live in NY, and even so, we're the same band. We're playing the same songs. We have the same attitude, and the same connection to all our friends there. Are we not NYHC anymore? I'd say we still are, and I think we always will be.

100% backed. GO! = NYHC, period. Their two latest records What We Build Together and Reactive (plus other random stuff) are still available from www.designbymike.com/go. The latest news is that GO! will be playing yet another reunion show on October 10th at ABC-No-Rio in NYC with Huasipungo and some other bands.

"Two turntables and a microphone is bringing it back to the fundamentals of what inspired us both" - An interview with X:144 & SPS

X:144 and SPS are one MC and one DJ, walking in the footsteps of greats such as Guru and DJ Premier, Eric B and Rakim, KRS One and Scott LaRock, or even not-so-greats like Dendemann and Rabauke. Despite being long time veterans in their hometown Hip Hop scene of Orlando, Flordia, they are still under the public radar. Best kept secret? Next big thing? Oh yeah. Expect very, very big things. Which music / scenes did you grow up with? What made you decide to play music yourselves?
X:144: Well, my family came here directly from Egypt, Africa, so I'm first generation "American". Hip Hop has always been a fascination with my family, and has been my passion since I could remember - being that we were Africans straight "off the boat". Being born in New York, my first influences were a lot of music from my home country, where the bands backing up the singers were orchestras, like Abdel Halim Hafez (known to this generation by Timbaland's contribution in his sampling for "Big Pimpin'"), or Oum Kalthoum. Hip Hop took place in my life through b-boying, and of course the music: Run DMC, LL Cool J, X-Clan, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, The Native Tongue Family, etc. Then grafitti art became something I pursued, and after this I wanted to be a deejay. Then low and behold, I heard DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, and for some reason something inside me clicked. I looked at my mother and said, "This is what I want to do when I get older", and I did.

SPS: I grew up around all kinds of music while growing up. I am a military brat, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and lived all over the place, so it was inevitable to cross all types of music. My biggest influences in music come from all genres. Most of my listening years happened when I lived in Berlin, Germany. I was surrounded by alot of electronic music, Hip Hop, techno, and classical music, so it all was welcoming to me. Hip Hop was more my speed, because it was so raw and to the point. After going to a Hip Hop concert in Germany and witnessing a deejay do a 15 minute scratch solo, I was sold and knew that's what I wanted to do.

How and when did you meet and start making music together?
X:144: I have been a part of the Orlando Hip Hop scene for about 15 years now. I've watched the scene grow, and its community change from one extreme to the next. People swearing that they wouldn't sell out I've seen sell out. This created a small tight knit community of "true school" Hip Hop practitioners. I myself was in a group named after my production company, TDP, which stands for Transparent Dark Productions. My rhyme partner at that time was telling me that we needed recruite SPS as our deejay - only to find out he had already started something with a crew called Andromeda. Years later, after all groups and crews disbanded, Nonsense Records was building up their roster, SPS and I included. We were both solo at the time, until conversations arose between myself and Kelly Shockley (CEO of Nonsense) of wanting to up my game. I then heard SPS' track on the Nonsense compilation, Community Service Vol. #1, and got extremely excited. I knew that this is what I wanted in a DJ. Kelly then suggested that we hook up. Unknowingly, he had already mentioned this to SPS - and bloaw! - X:144 and SPS were born.

What do your (almost sci-fi like) names stand for?
SPS: Mine's easy...

X:144: SPS is rather simple and to the point: "Second Place Sucks" - named appropriately for his turntablist battles. X:144, well in short: everything is based on numbers and mathematics. The English alphabet is coded in multiples of six, A=6, B=12, C=18, etc... X=144 - 'X' represents the Xth Generation, '144' is the 144,000 recognized by the Ancient Egyptians, Mayans, and "Christians" as sacred number - hence implying that we, the Xth Generation, are the 144,000th here to create a beneficial change in this world. We just so happen to do it through Hip Hop.

Why did you decide to go for the classic one emcee / one deejay formula instead of having your huge ass "crew", like everyone and their neighbors seem to do these days?
X:144: Well, I believe the formula of a larger crew was tried by the both of us and by many around us. Two turntables and a microphone is bringing it back to the fundamentals of what inspired us both to be what we are today. It pays respect to the pioneers of Hip Hop music, and maintains the integrity of what we believe is lost. Our intentions is to bring forth an elevated status of the relationship between the deejay and the emcee, so that Hip Hop does and feels a progress and re-evolution in itself. What we do now can only pave the way for the future.

SPS: In addition to that, deejays, in Hip Hop music today, are often slept on when it comes to performances. Keeping the liveliness on the turntables with live cutting and scratching is the core essence of this music. Much of this is lost now, and needs to be preserved. Less can be more, and effective when it comes to the formula we have. The typical entourage of dudes on stage can sometimes lose or bore a crowd.

Tying in to what you just said about the relationship between the emcee and the deejay, I remember a quote from an interview where you said that this was not being utilized to the fullest - and I agree. Still, with the continuous advancement of technical possibilities, I find it hard to say whether or not the one emcee / one deejay - thing is, can, or even should be what "true" or "real" Hip Hop is all about. Any comments?
X:144: There is no absolution to anything that grows. The emcee and deejay relationship was the core of Hip Hop music. What we're doing is paying respect to our ancestors and pioneers, while maintaining our 'Bushido' or what have you. Hip Hop has been mis-translated so much so that the culture is in a deficit, a "negative debt". So in order to balance our 'history books' or bring us back to a "positive balance", we have to give "credit" due to what once was. It's simple accounting in a sense... Ultimately we're continuing where I believe the fundamental values left off. So if an absolution is implied of what "true" or "real" Hip Hop is, it's not because of our formula, it's because of who we know ourselves to be.

SPS: This music was practically started in the DJ's hands... everything about Hip Hop stems from that. Change is not bad, but knowing the past is important. Knowing about breaks and digging for those loops and drums is another standard slept on in Hip Hop. Props to the DJ, it's long overdue. Respect the architect.

Let's talk about the "business" side of things for a bit. For most artists, music is something they love to do, but on the other hand, many of them are kind of hesitant to "sacrifice" everything else for their vision. That said, how "serious" are you about what you do? How real is the possibility for you to do nothing but create music, without having to work day jobs, etc?
X:144: Well, we both work for ourselves now. SPS is still doing his DJ gigs, and I am still maintaining my studio work, but it's a diligent process. We just came off a 40 city U.S. tour called the "Quit Your Dead End Job Tour"... haha! I know we are living examples of our dreams. It isn't impossible to do what you love. All that's required is belief in yourself and your plan. Belief in the people who you would bring that very talent or idea to. If you don't have belief in people to believe in you, then your work is sabotaged before it's conception. I think that's pretty damn serious if you ask me, and you did. [laughter]

SPS: There's no turning back! We love what we do. This is who we are, and for so long, this is what we've strived and worked for.

You have released stuff on Nonsense Records for quite some time now, and it seems to me as if both the label and you have grown together, and very organically so. How do you feel about being on an independent label, as opposed to some major contract? Also, if someone came knocking with a "better" aka more lucrative deal, what would it take to convince you to leave Nonsense? Solillaquists Of Sound are now on Epitaph, hence the question.
X:144: I'd run with the money! [laughter] Seriously though, what we and Nonsense Records are trying to create is a movement. Now I know that sounds cliché, because all labels start this way, and most fall short of their goal to "sell out" for lack of a better term, but it's true. It's common sense, think about it: if we went with a bigger label with a more lucrative advance - not deal, but advance - where would that leave us? In greater debt, making a smaller percentage, lack of control, lack of ownership of our music. With a label such as Nonsense, we both started at the same level, share the same ideals, and like you said have grown together. So as we grow, the label grows. Solillaquists were in a position where moving on to Epitaph was appropriate for their plan, and their longevity. As for us, we are eye to eye in size and growth with our label, so the bigger we get, the bigger they get. All in all, the plan is to create an in-house working icon that can revolutionize how this industry works and how community is defined.

M.E., the debut album from X:144 & SPS, is available from Nonsense Records. SPS only recently was the 2008 USA DMC Supremacy champion, and X:144 has a new website here.

Interview by Thomas Reitmayer • Photography by Mike Begonia