rva voume 4 issue 11 | blurred vision

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Adam JureskoBrandon Peck

Daniel Koenil lustrations

Danny NorthDavid Kenedy

David WaldmanPJ Sykes

Tony Lynchphotography

Bryan UngerChris Bopst

Curtis GrimsteadEriq NelsonJeff Grant

John HeadleeLandis Wine

Lauren Vincell iL ightning’s Girl

Mike RutzParker

Preston DuncanTalia Mi l ler

writings

10 ELKA AMORIM14 TYLER THOMAS15 LORE18 THE HOT SEATS24 FUCKED UP28 BRAINWORMS32 PULP TONES: FORMAT ERROR34 MUSIC REVIEWS ARE BACK!38 IDENTITY RICHMOND PART ONE42 SO THIS IS HOW HISTORY FEELS46 FART BUBBLE EATERS48 THIS IS HOW WE DO IT72 FASHION : IDLE KIDS

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BLURRED VISIONVOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 1

COVER BY DAVID KENEDY

R. Anthony HarrispublisherParker editor-in-chiefScott Whitenermanaging editorCasey Longyearfashion editorLandis Winemusic editorBrandon Pecksenior designer John ReinholdadvertisingAshley YorkLucy Wil l iamsadvertising teamIan Grahamnew mediaAdam SleddombudsmanNei l LopezIntern

HEADS UP! The advertising and articles appearing within this publication reflect the opinion and attitudes of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. Reproduction in whole or part without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. RVA Magazine is published monthly. Images are subject to being altered from their original format. All material within this magazine is protected.

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F I N D U S O N FAC E B O O K , T W I T T E R , M YS PAC E & RVA M AG.CO M

P H OTO BY DAV I D K E N E DY

Elka amor im Pl ay ing DrEss UPA s f a r b a c k a s 5 y e a r s o l d , I w a s n o t o n l y c e r -t a i n I w a s a n a r t i s t , b u t I k n e w t h a t a r t w o u l d b e a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f m y l i f e . F o r t h e f i r s t s e v e n y e a r s o f m y l i f e , I r e m e m b e r a l m o s t n o t h i n g o f m y c h i l d h o o d . T h e o n l y b r i g h t a n d d e t a i l e d m e m o r y I h a v e i s o f m y a r t c l a s s . M y m o t h e r t o o k m e t o a n a f t e r s c h o o l a r t p r o g r a m , w h i c h I a d o r e d , a n d o n c e I s t e p p e d i n t o t h a t r o o m I w a s i n h e a v e n . I c a n s t i l l r e m e m b e r e v e r y s i n g l e d e t a i l f r o m t h a t m a g i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t , a l l t h e p r o j e c t s , t h e c o l o r a n d t h e t e a c h e r I l o v e d . F r o m t h a t p o i n t o n I w a s a l w a y s m a k i n g a r t , i n a n d o u t o f s c h o o l , a n d I h a v e n e v e r h a d a d o u b t a b o u t w a n t i n g t o c h o o s e a r t a s a c a r e e r. W h e n I w a s n ’ t “ o f f i c i a l l y ” m a k i n g a r t , I w a s d a y d r e a m i n g f a b u l o u s l y i n t r i c a t e s t o r i e s , p l a y i n g d r e s s u p , m a k i n g u p t r a g i c l o v e t a l e s a n d r e - n a r r a t i n g m y l i f e , a s i f i t w e r e a m o v i e . C o m i n g f r o m a f a m i l y o f w o m e n w h o a r e g r e a t s t o r y t e l l e r s c e r t a i n l y h e l p e d i n m y a b i l i t y t o c r e a t e m y o w n i m a g i n a r y u n i v e r s e . A s a c h i l d I w o u l d s p e n d l o n g h o u r s l i s t e n i n g t o t a p e d f a i r y t a l e s ( o n v i n y l r e c o r d s ) , a s I i m a g i n e d

t h e s c e n e s a n d t h e c h a r a c t e r s w i t h g r e a t i n t r i c a c y. I g r e w u p s u r -r o u n d e d b y b o o k s , l i t t l e s u p e r v i s i o n a n d a l o t o f f r e e d o m f o r c r e -a t i v e e x p l o r a t i o n s . T h r o u g h o u t j u n i o r h i g h , a n d h i g h s c h o o l , I w a s a l w a y s i n v o l v e d i n a s m a n y c r e a t i v e o u t l e t s a s p o s s i b l e , f r o m f i n e a r t s c l a s s e s , t o d r a m a a n d d a n c e . C o l l e g e , h o w e v e r, w a s w h e n I t r u l y b e g a n a n i n t e n s e p e r i o d o f e x p l o r a t i o n a n d p r o d u c t i o n . H a v -i n g f e l t l i k e a n o u t s i d e r m o s t o f m y l i f e , f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e , I f e l t l i k e a f i s h i n w a t e r. W h e n I w a s n ’ t d o i n g w o r k f o r s c h o o l , I w a s s t i l l p l a y i n g d r e s s u p w i t h m y f r i e n d s a n d p e r f o r m i n g i n p u b l i c . I h a d s p e n t m a n y y e a r s l e a r n i n g M i d d l e E a s t e r n d a n c e , a n d w o u l d o f t e n i n c o r p o r a t e b e l l y d a n c i n g i n t o m y p e r f o r m a n c e s .

A f t e r c o l l e g e , I d e c i d e d t o g o t o N Y t o d o m y g r a d u a t e s t u d i e s , s i n c e I h a d r e c e i v e d a f u l l s c h o l a r s h i p f r o m t h e B r a z i l i a n g o v e r n -m e n t t o s t u d y a n y w h e r e i n t h e w o r l d . I c h o s e N YC , b e c a u s e I f e l l i n l o v e w i t h t h e e c l e c t i c a n d v i b r a n t c h a o s o f i t s s t r e e t s . I f e l t a t h o m e t h e r e . B e i n g c o m p l e t e l y a n o n y m o u s i n a b i g c i t y p r o m p t e d m e t o c r e a t e a m o r e p e r s o n a l a n d i n t i m a t e w o r k .

I ’ v e a l w a y s e n j o y e d u s i n g v a r i o u s m a t e r i a l s o n p a p e r. F r o m w a t e r -c o l o r t o e t c h i n g , I t e n d t o u t i l i z e a w i d e r a n g e o f w a t e r - s o l u b l e m e d i u m s t o t e l l m y s t o r y. I n t h e l a s t t w o y e a r s , p h o t o g r a p h y h a s b e c o m e a n e s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t i n m y w o r k a s I d e l v e d e e p e r i n t o s e l f - p o r t r a i t u r e . I ’ m o f t e n a t t r a c t e d t o m a t e r i a l s t h a t f e e l m o r e i n t i m a t e i n n a t u r e . T h e s m a l l f o r m a t a n d i n c l u s i o n o f t e x t i n m y w o r k e v o k e s a s t r o n g i d e a o f n a r r a t i v e , i n t r i c a t e l y w o v e n i n b e -t w e e n t h e i m a g e s . T h e y a r e a l m o s t l i k e a n i l l u s t r a t e d d i a r y. E a c h p i e c e i s a f r a g m e n t o f a l a r g e r s t o r y, l i k e a n i s o l a t e d p a g e f r o m a b o o k .

I ’ v e a l w a y s f o u n d s o m e t h i n g t a n t a l i z i n g a b o u t s t u m -b l i n g u p o n a p i e c e o f a s t o r y, a s e c r e t , a l e t t e r o r a c o n v e r s a t i o n y o u ’ r e n o t m e a n t t o b e o v e r h e a r i n g . W h e n y o u f i n d a f r a g m e n t o f a s t o r y, y o u a r e l e f t w i t h t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f c r e a t i n g t h e m i s s i n g p a g e s . N a r r a t i v e i s a n i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t i n m y w o r k , b u t w i t h e a c h i n c o m p l e t e s t o r y, c o m e s t h e m y s t e r y o f n o t h a v i n g a b e g i n n i n g o r a n e n d i n g . T h e m a n y l a y -e r s h i d e d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s o f i n f o r m a t i o n , a n d i t ’ s u p t o t h e s p e c t a t o r t o b e c u r i o u s e n o u g h t o f u r t h e r e x p l o r e e a c h p i e c e .

T h e s m a l l s c a l e o f m y w o r k f u r t h e r e n h a n c e s t h e i d e a o f i n t i m a c y. A t t i m e s t h e y r e s e m b l e p a g e s f r o m a d i a r y, l e t t e r s , p h o t o a l b u m s , s c r a p b o o k s o r n o t e -b o o k a n n o t a t i o n s . I a m f a i r l y o b s e s s e d w i t h d e t a i l a n d h a v e t h e t e n d e n c y t o f i l l a l l s p a c e s , s o w o r k -i n g s m a l l m i g h t h a v e b e c o m e a s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i o n m e c h a n i s m . A n d h a v i n g l i v e d i n N YC f o r a l m o s t 1 0 y e a r s , q u i c k l y m a d e m e c o n f o r m t o h a v i n g t o l i v e i n v e r y s m a l l s p a c e s . U s u a l l y, a l l I n e e d i n o r d e r t o d o m y w o r k i s a l a r g e t a b l e i n a c o r n e r, a n d I ’ m h a p p y. I a l s o l i k e t h e i d e a o f b e i n g a b l e t o c l o s e l y h o l d t h e w o r k , w h i l e f e e l i n g t h e v a r i o u s t e x t u r e s o f t h e p a -p e r a n d b e i n g a b l e t o c a r r y i t e v e r y w h e r e . A g a i n , i t e v o k e s a m o r e i n t i m a t e f e e l i n g t h a t y o u ’ r e c a r r y i n g a r o u n d a n o l d l e t t e r y o u h a p p e n e d t o f i n d i n y o u r g r a n d m o t h e r ’ s a t t i c .

T y l e r T h o m a s : U n b o r n P h oBy Par ke r

In the not too distant past Tyler Thomas and I decided to take a walk through the haunted woods of Belle Isle (it was once a Civil War prison camp for Union soldiers…definitely haunted). Our destination unknown, Tyler had a backpack full of an as-sor tment of cheap beer, and I a small container in my pocket of Salvia divinorum (a now illegal substance in Virginia that has a long and continuing tradition of use as an entheogen by indigenous Mazatec shamans). We found a spot in a clearing deep in the trees and made a small fire due to the fact that dusk was quickly ar riving. Tyler passed me a PBR and popped open one for himself. After a couple sips from the nectar of the gutter gods, I packed the small tool we would use to smoke the Salvia. Tyler put the pipe to his lips, lit the end and began to deeply inhale the Diviner’s Sage. Leaning back with a huge grin on his face, he handed it over and we talked of such things as Transformers: The Movie (the original animated one…you know the one that had fa-mous voice talents such as Leonard Nimoy, Orson Welles and…cough…Don Johnson), quantum physics and the dangers of huffing glue. As the swir ling and vibrating colors in the air swept us into another dimension we also discussed his new ar twork. You see, Tyler’s known for doing warped figurative illustrations that could (and should) appear in quirkier children’s books. Recently he’s been experimenting using watercolors on big sheets of paper with car toonish birdlike creatures. “Why birds,” I asked. He looked into the night sky, “I watched this documentary about birds, Winged Migration, and got into doing these crumby drawings of birds in my sketchbook. Then I pulled out some old watercolors and star ted doing the birds on big sheets of paper.” At that point we heard rustling in the tops of the trees as if the birds had heard him and came for a visit. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he said, jumping up and stomping out the fire. We quickly gathered our things and ran back to Oregon Hill wondering if the birds were watching us and laughing.

" U n b o r n P h O "New work by Tyler Thomas, Rob Lee, Bonnie Staley. Opening Reception - Friday, Feb. 13th from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. On display until March 13th at Chop Suey Tuey (2913 W. Cary St.).

Sweet Tease Burlesque Presents …

lore Swee t Tease Bur l esque r e tu r ns to the s tage w i th a vengeance c r ea t i ng the i r f i r s t f u l l - l eng th e ven t , l ov ing ly ca l l ed “Lor e” . T h i s pe r fo r mance i s compr i sed o f 17 bur l esque wor ks woven i n to one f an tas t i ca l t a l e , c r a f t ed w i th h in t s o f moder n dance , pe r fo r mance a r t , m im ing, puppe t r y and c i r cus spec tac le . “Lor e” w i l l t ake the aud ience th r ough a wor ld tha t b lu r s r ea l i t y and my tho logy, wh i l e a t t imes l i t e r a l l y t r ave l i ng v i e wer s th r oughou t the ga l l e r y w i th su r p r i se en t r ances , ex i t s and unexpec ted per fo r mances. Jo in Lady Scona , the Muse , E r os G r a f f i t i , Le Loup and Sp i ked Punch as they b r ing you i n to the i r r ea lm o f mag i c , mys te r y, sensua l i t y and sass iness. Fo r th i s show, spec ia l gues t pe r fo r mer s w i l l ass i s t i n th i s t a l e t ak ing on the pe r sonas o f su l t r y S i r ens and the m isch ie vous man/goa t god , Pan .

Swee t Tease Bur lesque i s a l oca l l y g r own cooper a t i ve o f l i ke -m inded per fo r mer s i n te r es ted i n mak ing per fo r mance a r t access ib le and fun wh i l e exp lo r i ng the boundar ies o f sensua l i t y. T he f i ve un i ve r s i t y t r a ined com-pany member s , who p r e fe r to be t i t l ed d i r ec to r s , c hor eogr apher s , and/o r v i s ionar i es , a l l sha r e equa l pa r t i n the company ’ s vo i ce and the show ’s fo r mat ion . T he i r a t ten t ion to movement , c hor eogr aphy, w i t , sound , p r o -duc t ion , se t des ign , cos tume c r ea t ion and c har ac te r de ve lopment have smashed toge ther to c r ea te the exper i ence o f “Lor e” . Runn ing sound fo r the show and sp inn ing r ecords fo r the dance par t y i s mus i c mas te r, S i r Re inho ld , and h i s accomp l i ce , Mr. Jenn ings.

T her e w i l l be two show ings o f “Lor e” , Feb. 20 th and 21s t . Door s open a t 7 :30 p.m . w i th the show beg inn ing a t 8 p.m . A dance par t y f u l l o f g i f t s and gues t ap -pear ances w i l l fo l l ow the show. Immed ia te ly fo l l ow ing the Sa tu r day n igh t pe r fo r -mance w i l l be an a f te r pa r t y w i th mus i c and danc ing and a f e w sur p r i ses fo r the c r ow d . T i c ke t p r i ces a r e $10 and the show i s 18 and up.

Ga l l e r y5 i s l oca ted a t 200 W. Mar sha l l S t r ee t , R i c hmond , VA 23220 . V i s i t t hem on l i ne a t www.ga l l e r y5ar t s .o r g o r ca l l (804) 644-0005 .

For more info on Sweet Tease Bur lesque visit www.myspace.com/sweetteasebur lesque

SEATSHOTTHE

INTRODUCING

WELL...KINDA...By Laur en V ince l l iImageS by Br andon Pec k

The Hot Seats, for mer ly Spec ia l Ed and the Shor t -bus, ar e back in R ichmond a f ter a shor t tour in the Un i ted K ingdom. The award w inn ing Hot Seats put together a un ique blend o f fo lk , gypsy and o ld- t imey countr y mus ic . The Hot Seats or “R ich-mond’s Be loved Absurd is t S t r ingband” is w ide ly known as one o f the c i t y ’s most tongue- in-cheek , and jus t p la in cheeky mus ica l ac ts.

I spoke w i th Josh Bear man (mando l in , c lawham-mer ban jo, tenor ban jo, bass, voca ls and boss i -ness) v ia emai l for the i r f i r s t post - tour in ter v iew. We d iscussed the i r new name, the i r newest a lbum, Ret r eat to Camp Candy Temptat ion Is land, the i r r ecent UK tour and success and the poss ib le root cana ls in the i r near fu tur e . Be sure to catch the Hot Seats l i ve on March 21, a t P laza Bowl and lear n more a t h t tp : / /www. thehotseats.net . -LV

Lauren Vincelli : So I guess we shou ld s tar t w i th the name change. You guys have changed your name f rom Spec ia l Ed and the Shor tbus to Hot Seats. How and why d id th is change come about?

Josh Bearman : We were a lways aware that the name was less than sens i t i ve , but found over the las t 18 months that the mus ic had grown in ways that made i t pa la table to aud iences and, more impor tant ly, to fes t i v a ls , agents and venues that wou ld otherw ise have booked us i f not for the i r d is l i ke o f the name; or the fear that book ing a band w i th such a name wou ld r esu l t in nega-

t i ve feedback for them. A f ter hear ing, ‘ the mus ic i s gr eat , but we’ l l NEVER book you, ’ enough, i t beg ins to s t ing, espec ia l ly as the band prov ides a so l id por-t ion o f our l i ve l ihoods.

LV : Ar e you wor r ied that a name change w i l l confuse f ans? Are you manag ing to keep the Spec ia l Ed men-ta l i t y and r eputat ion?

JB : I t ’ s de f in i te ly a concer n , but we’ r e gener at ing more pr ess, have a book ing agent , a new a lbum and ar e push ing our se lves out in to many unchar ted ar-eas, so there ’s a lo t o f new mar kets that don’ t know the d i f fe r ence . Ac tua l ly, the name change has r e-su l ted in some good wr i te-ups for us in new towns. A lso, so much o f our adver t i s ing is In ter net based, e i ther f rom our emai l l i s t or the v ar ious web connec-tor s, and we r e ta ined those fo lks and kept them we l l in for med.

LV : What e lse w i l l change about the band now that you ar e known as Hot Seats?

JB : Noth ing.

LV : How have you changed s ince p lay ing week ly a t Car y S t . Ca fe?

JB : We s topped p lay ing our week ly g ig a t the Car y S t . Ca fe in 2005, I th ink , and ac tua l ly haven’ t p layed there in qu i te a wh i le , maybe near ly 2 year s. No par t i cu lar r eason except over f ami l ia r i t y, perhaps.

We got br anded, as do many bands, as a h ippy band because o f our long assoc ia t ion w i th that spot . I t ’ s a mischar acter iza t ion , g i ven the w ide var ie ty o f mus ic they have there , but ther e i t i s . (Car y S t r eet Ca fé) was our jumping o f f po in t and essent ia l in the band’s for ma-t ion . A week ly g ig l i ke that prov ides such a fer t i le ground for exper imentat ion and a lso a r ea l urgency to keep new mater ia l coming so as to not be s ta le .

LV : Te l l me about your most r ecent r e lease .

JB : Ret r eat to Camp Candy Temptat ion Is land pr et ty much fo l lows for m w i th our las t two r e-leases, Ground Beef Pat ro l and Rats in the K i tchen. I t ’ s a good mix tur e o f or ig ina l songs, t r ad i t iona l b luegr ass, r agt ime, Easter n Euro-pean and misce l lany. I t was r ecorded a l l l i ve (w i th the except ion o f the phone ca l l dur ing “S leepover Par ty,” a t M in imum Wage in Oregon H i l l . We’ r e qu i te p leased w i th i t .

LV : How d id you a l l come together as a band to beg in w i th?

JB : A mix tur e o f f r iends who met a t VCU and other s who ended up in the group through a convo lu ted ser ies o f connect ions. We began jus t p ic k ing in apar tments and porches, and ended up w i th a week ly g ig, f i r s t a t R ich ie ’s (now Emi l io ’s) , and la ter a t (Car y S t r eet Ca fé) .

We f ind i t keeps aud iences on edge and pay ing a t tent ion .

LV : I t seems as though humor and tongue- in-cheek s ty le ar e becoming more popu lar in the mus ic indust r y, espec ia l ly among countr y and fo lk mus ic . Why do you th ink that i s?

JB : As I sa id be for e , I don’ t th ink i t ’ s new. Hank Wi l l i ams had h is Luke the Dr i f ter a l ter ego where he sa id some r id icu lous th ings, as d id Roy Acuf f. Even ear l ie r bands l i ke the Sk i l l e t L ikker s, Unc le Dave Macon, and Seven Foot D i l ly and h is D i l l P ic k-les wou ld s ing to ta l ly foo l i sh songs, and they ’d a lso s t i c k some to ta l ly s tup id sk i ts in the midd le o f a lbums.

LV : You have been tour ing a lo t la te ly. You’ ve jus t done a tour in Scot land and Eng land, what was that l i ke?

JB : Yeah, we jus t , as o f two hour s ago, r e tur ned f rom a 12-day tour in the UK, a l l based around thr ee dates a t the Ce l t i c Connect ions Fest i v a l in G lasgow, wh ich is a gr eat oper at ion , w i th many s ty les o f mus ic r epresented. We got to open for A l lan Toussa in t and p layed a bunch o f dates a lone and w i th our pa ls The Wi lder s f rom K ansas C i ty, Mo. Both o f our UK tour s have r ea l ly spo i led us. Peop le who ar e in to Amer ican h i l lb i l ly mus ic over ther e ar e REALLY INTO IT and show up in droves. We p layed a number o f so ld out theater shows in

LV : When d id you s tar t to fee l dr awn to the absurd-is t fo lk scene and countr y mus ic?

JB : We pr et ty much s tar ted out that way and then r ea l ized that ther e were other bands l i ke the Bad L i ver s, the Ho ly Moda l Rounder s, the Fugs, e tc . , both o ld and new, who were in our par t i cu lar genre . Wh i le i t i s somet imes absurd , we do spend a good amount o f e f for t in s imu l taneous ly push ing the t r ad mus ic forward wh i le a lso mak ing i t c lear that we know what the o ld sounds ar e and pay ing t r ibute to them. There ’s noth ing new about humor and soc ia l sa t i r e in s t r ing band mus ic ; i t ’ s pr e t ty much had that e lement for the ent i r e ty o f i t s r ecorded and pr e-r ecorded ex is tence . Peop le have a lways loved double entendres, bawdy humor and nonsense, and we jus t ar e tapp ing in to that pr ed i lec t ion w i th new mater ia l .

LV : Your mus ic i s f i l l ed w i th wh imsy and humor but a lso in ter est ing ins t r uments and mus ica l sk i l l . How d id th is a l l come together to for m th is s ty le for you?

JB : We l l , we ’ r e a l l mus ic ians who pay a t tent ion to many d i f fe r ent for ms, and a lso who spend too much t ime ta lk ing about techn ique and ar r angement . We’ r e a lso eas i ly bored, so we jump f rom s ty le to s ty le w i th a lo t o f r ap id i ty. In the cour se o f a show, or a lbum, we’ l l jump f rom loose and fas t , c lunky o ld-t imey mus ic to a ver y t ight and dynamica l ly r ang ing r end i t ion o f a k lezmer tune or spooky r agt ime song.

I t was a l l for fun a t the beg inn ing, but we found our s ty les and sens ib i l i t ies ge l led ver y we l l , and. . . b lah , b lah , b lah . . . her e we ar e .

LV : How o ld were you when you s tar ted p lay ing mus ic?

JB : For the most par t , we ’ ve a l l been p lay ing mus ic in one capac i ty or another s ince we were about 10 or so, but I was the on ly one who p layed t r ad i t iona l mus ic . My dad is a square dance ca l le r (dance leader) . Our f idd ler, Aaron Lewis, for ex-ample , p layed c lass ica l v io l in f rom a ver y ear ly age. Ed Brogan, who p lays gu i tar in the band, p layed a good dea l o f sax when he was younger, and a l l o f us p layed a w ide var ie ty o f louder, more abr as i ve , rock and such in our days.

LV : What s ide pro jec ts ar e you and your band mates cur r ent ly invo lved in?

JB : Jake Se l le r s a lso p lays dr ums in Iggy P lop and the Spooges. Aaron Lewis and I both s i t in w i th Jackass Fla ts on occas ion , and Aaron a lso has p layed w i th Mamie , The S lack Fami ly and a ton o f o ther peop le . He r ecent ly r e located to NYC and has p layed w i th S tephan R imbaud, a r ea l ly amaz ing hot gypsy jazz gu i tar is t . We have a v ar i -e ty o f sma l l ensemble l ineups for square dances and smal ler events that invo lve pr et ty much ever y member o f the band.

towns where we’d never be for e p layed. The Br i t -i sh and Scot t i sh crowds ar e , for the most par t , a l i t t le more subdued than those in the U.S. , less hoot ing and s tomping, but ver y apprec ia t i ve . The ac t o f go ing out to see shows, ac tua l ly SEE shows, not to dr ink and soc ia l i ze over top o f a band, i s s t i l l ver y much a par t o f the cu l tur e over ther e .

LV : What sor ts o f shenan igans d id you get in to in Scot land?

JB : We l l , a lo t o f s tay ing up too la te and booz-ing, to be sure . The [Ce l t i c Connect ions] fes t i v a l has an a f ter hour s c lub where the mus ic ians do impromptu la te n ight sets, so we got a chance to pa l around and p ic k w i th some other groups f rom var ious loca les. Scotch… lots o f scotch . One o f our most r id icu lous g igs was for a c lass o f 13-year-o lds a t a schoo l near G lasgow. I ’m not sur e i f they r ea l ly knew how to process us.

LV : How do the European aud iences and venues d i f fe r f r om those in the s ta tes?

JB : T he venues ar e much the same – a combina-t ion o f ha l l s , theater s, c lubs and bar s. As for the aud ience , see above.

LV : What ar e some o f your non-mus ica l in f lu -ences?

JB : We’ r e a l l pr e t ty in to soc ia l sa t i r e , wh ich f ac tor s in to our mus ic . Bes ides that . . . I don’ t know, maybe sunspots and ketchup?

LV : When can we expect a new a lbum f rom the Hot Seats? How w i l l i t d i f fe r f r om Spec ia l Ed and the Shor tbus? How w i l l i t be s im i la r?

JB : We have a lo t o f p lans to enact , inc lud ing an a lbum by The Zombie St r ingband, our t r ue ident i t y, as we l l as new mus ic f rom the band i tse l f. We have a gr eat back log o f new mater ia l to wor k out , but for the las t 9 months we’ ve r ea l ly jus t been tour ing so much that we haven’ t addressed ver y much o f i t . We ar e pr et ty ded icated to the goa l o f a t least one r e lease per year. The mus ic on i t w i l l fo l low in l ine w i th the progress ion we’ ve made over the las t 7 year s. I t ’ s hard to know exact ly what i t w i l l be .

LV : What ar e your fu tur e p lans for the Hot Seats?

JB : Incr eased tour ing and exposure , hopefu l ly. As I sa id , we jus t s igned w i th Char isma Ar t i s t Agency, home o f o ther ind ie-s t r ingband groups o f s im i la r sens ib i l i t ies, l i ke the Two Man Gent leman Band, the Wiyos, and the Mad Tea Par ty. We’ r e a lso headed back across the At lant i c for a 5-week s t in t nex t f a l l , and, I th ink we a l l have dent is t appo intments a t one t ime or another in the next year.

To check out more on the Hot Seats go to thehotseats.net or myspace.com/thehotseatsr va .

Land i s W i ne | G r oup pho to : Dav i d Wa l dman | L i v e pho to : Danny No r t h

Fuc ked Up a r e a r o c k band f r om To r on to w ho have spen t t he pas t s e ve r a l yea r s t r ans i t i on i ng f r om t he i r ha r d co r e r oo t s i n t o one o f t he

mos t f a s c i na t i ng and e p i c bands a r ound . T he Chem i s t r y o f Common L i f e (Ma tado r ) i s a t r ans cenden t r e co r d f u l l o f s wee p i ng gu i t a r s , g r and i o se

l y r i c a l t hemes a bou t r e l i g i on , f l u t e s , l u sh ha r mon i e s and t he im -pos i ng g r ow l o f f r on t man Dam ien Ab r aham (a . k . a . P i n k E yes

and Fa t he r Ab r aham) a t t he fo r e , k ee p i ng a so l i d f oo t i n t he ha r d co r e vo ca l l e g ac y o f s u c h a c t s a s Po i son

I dea and Ne g a t i v e A pp r oac h . I s poke w i t h Dam ien (w ho I s hou l d no t e i s an i n c r ed i b l y n i c e guy ) be -fo r e t he i r r e cen t show a t T he Ou tbac k Lodge i n Cha r l o t t e s v i l l e .

Landis Wine : So, I w as r ead i ng on you r b l o g t oday t ha t you had a t on o f pos i t i v e t h i ngs t o s ay a bou t t he t ou r, and I w as cu r i ous how t h i ngs have c hanged on t h i s one a s opposed t o t he l a s t coup l e .

damien abraham : I t h i n k t ha t t h i ngs a r e s t i l l t h e same w i t h t he l a s t t ou r and t h i s t ou r.

T he p r ob l ems t ha t a r e t he r e w i t h Fuc ked Up w i l l a lw ays be t he r e . I t ’ s k i nd o f l i k e a g r oup o f peop l e

t ha t shou l dn’ t be p l ay i ng i n a band t o ge the r and t ha t a r e now k i nd o f f o r ced t o l i v e w i t h ea c h o t he r f o r t he

r e s t o f t he i r l i v e s . So i t ’ s k i nd o f a lw ays on t he b r i n k o f c omp l e t e l y f a l l i ng a pa r t . L a s t t ime we we r e i n DC ,

t ha t ’ s w hen i t a c t ua l l y d i d f a l l c omp l e t e l y a pa r t . I t ’ s on l y

w hen you ’ r e p l ay i ng l i v e w hen you have t hese r ea l l y sobe r momen t s and you can see you r se l f f r om ou t s i de o f you r body and you ’ r e l i k e , I ’m r ea l l y do i ng t h i s , I ’m r ea l l y 30 yea r s o l d w i t h my sh i r t o f f and my pan t s a r ound my ank l e s and b l eed i ng f r om t he fo r ehead and t h i s l ooks comp l e t e l y r i d i c u l ous . And w hen you have t hose se l f - r e f l e x i v e momen t s , t hose a r e t he momen t s w hen i t c omes t he c l o ses t i t w i l l c ome t o comp l e t e l y f a l l i ng a pa r t . On ou r l a s t Eu r opean t ou r i n Ba r ce l ona a s im i l a r i n c i den t ha ppened , w he r e i t ’ s j u s t l i k e , w ha t am I do i ng? And a c t ua l l y on t h i s t ou r, t oo, M i ke , i n Ph i l ade l ph i a , smashed h i s gu i t a r be fo r e we e ven s t a r t ed p l ay i ng . I k i nda w i sh he ’ d w a i t ed un t i l we s t a r t ed p l ay i ng , be cause t ha t wou l d have been a l o t mo r e spec t a cu l a r ; bu t I w as downs t a i r s and I w a l k ups t a i r s t o w he r e e ve r yone i s , and e ve r yone has t h i s we i r d l ook on t he i r f a ce , and I w a l k ons t a ge and M i ke ’ s no t t he r e and t hey ’ r e l i k e… he j u s t smashed h i s gu i t a r and w a l k ed o f f. No th i ng ’ s r ea l l y c hanged . We ’ ve had a l o t mo r e f un on t h i s t ou r. I k now pe r sona l l y f o r me i t ’ s l i k e “ en j oy i t . ” T h i s i s one o f t hose t h i ngs t ha t ’ s ne ve r go i ng t o ha ppen a g a i n . T he mo r e I r ea l i z e t ha t , I r ea l i z e t ha t some t imes I am a huge ba by a bou t t h i ngs . And j u s t be cause I d i dn’ t ha ve a good t ime i n DC i s no r eason t o shu t down t h i s r i d e ea r l y. T ha t be i ng sa i d , t he r i de cou l d s t op a t any momen t .

LW : Have you seen you r aud i ence c hange i n t he pas t mon ths s i n ce t he ne w r e co r d has come ou t?

da : I t w asn’ t l i k e we se t ou t t o t r y and make a c r o s sove r r e co r d . We j u s t made t he r e co r d t ha t we made , and I t h i n k i t c ame ou t t ha t w ay because some peop l e i n t h i s band a r e l i k e s t i l l s upe r i n t o

The ChemisTry of Common Life an inTervieW WiTh damien abraham of fuCked up

ha r dco r e – and t ha t ’ s a l l t hey l i s t en t o, o r mos t l y w ha t t hey l i s t en t o – l i k e myse l f and Jonah . O r t he r e ’ s peop l e l i k e M i ke on gu i t a r o r Jo sh on gu i t a r o r Sandy w ho don’ t l i s t en t o punk r o c k r ea l l y t ha t muc h anymor e . T hey s t i l l l i k e t he bands t hey l i k ed , bu t i t ’ s no t l i k e t hey ’ r e go i ng ou t and a c t i v e l y s ea r c h i ng ou t ne w bands . T hey ’ r e i n t o l i k e t e c hno and shoe g aze… so I t h i n k t ha t ’ s w hy t he r e co r d came ou t t he w ay i t d i d . Bu t yeah , w hen i t wo r k s and you ge t a m i x ed aud i ence , t ha t ’ s awesome . When i t doesn’ t wo r k and you k i nda ge t you r f r i e nds be i ng l i k e , ‘ I h a t e you r ne w r e co r d ’ o r ‘ I ’m no t gonna come see you ’ and you know, t ha t ’ s w hen you ’ r e k i nd o f l i k e , wow, i s i t r ea l l y t ha t po l a r i z i ng t ha t a f r i e ndsh i p i s wo r t h be i ng sa c r i f i c ed? I t s ounds l i k e I ’m be i ng me l od r a -ma t i c , bu t t he r e a r e peop l e t ha t a r e mo r e t han a cqua i n t ances t ha t ha ve now j u s t comp l e t e l y w r i t t en me o f f a s a pe r son because o f ou r r e co r ds . T ha t i s t he we i r des t pa r t a bou t be i ng i n t h i s band , and t ha t i s some th i ng I w i l l n e ve r ge t u sed t o, be cause maybe I d i d t ha t w hen I w as younge r ; bu t I don’ t t h i n k I d i d . T he f a c t t ha t peop l e c an be t ha t pass i ona t e l y ange r ed by some th i ng you ’ r e do i ng ; I guess on one l e ve l i t c an be comp l e t e l y f l a t t e r i ng , bu t on ano the r l e ve l i t ’ s l i k e… I ’m l o s i ng f r i e nds .

LW : I k now some ha r dco r e k i d s w ho f e l t l i k e i t w as o kay t o expand ou tw a r ds mus i c a l l y be cause o f you r ne w r e co r d .

da : I t h i n k e ve r yone needs someone t o be l i k e , ‘ I t ’ s o kay i f you do t h i s and i f you l i k e t h i s s t u f f. ’ I t h i n k r i gh t now fo r punk and ha r dco r e , i t ’ s one o f t hose momen t s w he r e t he Ca t ho l i c t a s t e s a r e com ing ou t and you have a l o t o f bands t ha t ha ve come f r om punk and ha r dco r e – w ho a r e s t i l l p unk and ha r dco r e – i n t e g r a t i ng a l o t o f o t he r i n f l u ences i n i t . And t ha t ’ s bands l i k e Sex V i d , M i nd E r a se r, No Age , V i v i an G i r l s , Co l d Wo r l d . A l l t he se bands t ha t a r e ha r d co r e k i d s bu t a r e t r y i ng t o add we i r de r i n f l u ences t o i t , a nd i t ’ s one o f t hose r ea l l y ex c i t i ng t imes , ‘ c ause punk can be i n c r ed i b l y conse r v a t i v e – a s any k i nd o f mus i c c an be – and t he r e ’ s some th i ng r ea l l y endea r i ng a bou t t ha t , bu t a t t he same t ime i t c an be r ea l l y s t i f l i n g . So i t ’ s r ea l l y ex c i t i ng w hen you see a bunc h o f bands t r y i ng we i r de r t h i ngs .

LW : Do you guys own you r own d i s co g r a phy? ( Fuc ked Up have r e l eased

r ough l y 50 r e co r ds s i n ce 2002 and show no s i gns o f s l ow i ng down . ) A r e t he r e any r e co r ds o r l a be l s t ha t you w an t ed t o emu l a t e w i t h Fuc ked Up?

da : A s f a r a s t he d i s co g r a phy goes , i t i s c omp l e t e l y i n sane . T he r e ’ s no o t he r w ay t o pu t i t . I t h i n k t he mos t comp l e t e co l l e c t i on o f Fuc ked Up r e co r ds i s owned by M i ke , w ho ’ s a c t ua l l y a r e cove r ed r e co r d co l l e c t o r. I t h i n k I wou l d have had t he mos t comp l e t e co l l e c t i on o f Fuc ked Up, bu t I ’ v e a c t ua l l y made a po i n t o f g i v i ng t hem t o a f r i e nd o f m i ne w ho i n t u r n g i v e s me r a r e r e co r ds t ha t I w an t . So I ’m f eed i ng my ha b i t w i t h Fuc ked Up r i gh t now. T he r e ’ s some t h i ngs t ha t o t he r peop l e have pu t ou t , t hose a r e t he ha r des t t h i ngs t o ge t . T he r e ’ s l i k e s e ven t een cop i e s o f an a ce t a t e , w h i c h has “S i n ce You ’ ve Been Gone” on one s i de and a demo on t he o t he r s i de t ha t someone pu t ou t a s a boo t l e g . T he r e ’ s a t e c hno r e co r d t ha t someone pu t Fuc ked Up l a be l s on w h i c h goes fo r s t up i d money on eBay. S t u f f t ha t I ’ v e had one copy o f, and because I ’ v e g i v en i t t o my f r i e nd I don’ t ha ve i t anymor e . I f I we r e t o t r y t o r ea cqu i r e i t , i t wou l d cos t a l o t o f money, and I ’ d be be t t e r s e r ved , you know, spend i ng i t on any t h i ng bu t Fuc ked Up r e co r ds . When we f i r s t s t a r t ed Fuc ked Up we w an t ed an aes t he t i c r i gh t ou t o f t he g a t e , be cause a l o t o f t he r e co r ds t ha t we r e com ing ou t j u s t f e l t k i nd o f c r a pp i l y gene r i c . So we kne w we d i dn’ t w an t t o be l i k e t hem . I t h i n k i t t ook u s a l ong t ime t o f i nd t ha t aes t he t i c . Ou r f i r s t r e co r d i s p r e t t y c r a pp i l y gene r i c , bu t once we d i d f i nd i t we haven’ t r ea l l y de v i a t ed f r om i t . And I t h i n k t ha t t he bes t w ay t o be i s t o ha ve a v i s i on f r om day one and kee p wo r k i ng t ow a r ds i t . And one day w hen you l ook bac k on i t , i t s eems ve r y p l anned ou t , e ven t hough i t w as j u s t k i nd o f ha phaza r d .

LW : You guys seem t o be a band t ha t ’ s v e r y muc h a bou t mov i ng fo rw a r d . Wha t so r t o f d i r e c t i on do you see you r se l v e s i n and how do you move fo rw a r d a s a band .

da : I t h i n k fo r u s r i gh t now, we ’ r e a lw ays go i ng t o be l im i t ed by my vo i c e . I t ’ s k i nd o f l i k e t he a l ba t r o s s , you know, i t ’ s go i ng t o kee p us ha r d co r e , punk , w ha t ha ve you , bu t i t ’ s a l so go i ng t o kee p u s f r om e ve r be i ng l i k e , Vamp i r e Weekend , so i t ’ s a b l e s s i ng and a cu r se t ha t w ay. T ha t be i ng sa i d ,

on t he nex t r e co r d we ’ r e t r y i ng t o do a r o c k ope r a , and so we ’ l l s ee how t ha t comes ou t . Bu t you ’ ve go t t a t r y t o p l ay w i t h e f f e c t s and t r y ne w t h i ngs . We ’ r e a lw ays go i ng t o expe r i -men t . Some t imes i t w i l l b e a comp l e t e f a i l u r e , and some t imes t hey ’ l l b e suc cesses ; bu t you know, you ’ l l n e ve r know un t i l you t r y… and f a i l .

LW : C an you g i v e aw ay t he name o f t he r o c k ope r a ye t ?

da : I ’m r ea l l y hop i ng i t doesn’ t c ome t o f r u i t i on ; I hope we s c r a p i t and do a ne w r e co r d . I t ’ s c a l l ed Dav i d Comes t o L i f e . We haven’ t r ea l l y e ven s t a r t ed w r i t i ng i t . We ’ ve s t a r t ed w r i t -i ng s ke l e t ons o f songs . I t h i n k i t ’ s a f a i r l y s a f e be t t ha t i t w i l l h a ve t o do w i t h t hemes t ha t a r e cons t an t i n Fuc ked Up, l i k e r e l i g i on , r e t u r n t o na t u r e , t h i ngs l i k e t ha t . I ha ve a f ee l i ng t h i s i s go i ng t o be ou r adm i r a b l e f a i l u r e o f a r e co r d . We ’ ve k i nd o f l u c ked ou t and mana ged t o pu t ou t a r e co r d w he r e peop l e a r e l i k e ‘ T ha t ’ s awesome , t ha t ’ s g r ea t ! ’ no ma t t e r how f a r o f f t he dee p end we go. I t h i n k w i t h t h i s r o c k ope r a we m igh t go t ha t l i t t l e s t e p t oo f a r. Be fo r e I go t i n t o punk and ha r dco r e t he r e co r ds I l o ved we r e T he Who ’ s Tommy , P i n k F l oyd ’ s T he Wa l l ; I l i k ed t hose r ea l l y g audy r o c k ope r a r e co r ds . I w an t t o t r y and make a r o c k ope r a . I ’m a l so r ea l l y s ca r ed w i t h how bad i t ’ s go i ng t o be . Hope f u l l y we ’ l l h a ve enough gues t s t ha t i t won’ t j u s t sound l i k e a mons t e r g r ow l -i ng t h r ough t he w ho l e t h i ng .

any reser vations about before. Other than that, we’re gon-

na keep doin’ what we do, the same way we’ve been doing

it. Whatever that is.

B r e n d a n T r a c h e ( g u i ta r ): Yeah, we’ve had to up our

guarantee to eight bagels instead of just five. Other than

that, I doubt Joe’s new family has a greater ef fect on the

band than my being in school, other folks working full t ime,

or all of us living our l ives in general. Getting the whole

crew in the same room to practice, perform or record has

always been a challenge. We spent a good year with one

member living in New York.

J G: Which brings up another big change in the band – re-

cently replacing Tim with Josh Small. Since Josh doesn’t

have experience playing punk or hardcore and Brendan’s

guitar playing can often take the music in a non-linear, non-

standard direction, can you talk about his transition into

the band and maybe why you thought he’d be a good fit?

BT: We’ve changed considerably as a band over the last

year or so since Josh star ted playing with us. I actually

think his unique background, and lack of experience play-

ing hardcore/punk gives him an edge when it comes to writ-

ing original par ts. On the new record, he’s pretty much the

lead guitar player. We’ve known each other for years, and

I always wanted to play with him. I’m looking forward to

doing more.

Brainworms’ bassist, Jay Moritz’s, sole contribution

to this inter view was to let me know that one of his

basslines came to him in a dream. I’m not sure if he’s

joking, because cer tain decisions that I’ ve witnessed this

band make would lead me to believe that’s exactly the

source of their inspiration. Five men without a c lear vi-

sion of what their band should sound like, with a rookie

singer. When they had to replace their guitarist, Tim

Mor ris, after he moved to New York, they recruited Josh

Small, whose own solo music dif fer s in that it won’t make

your parents cover their ears. Keeping things interest-

ing seems to come second nature to this band. Who am I

to question its source?

J G: Fir st of all, congrats to Joe, on the bir th of your

daughter. I’m wondering how this has af fected the

band.

J o e H u n t ( d r u m s ): Thank you! I think having a kid has

af fected the band by making us more ef ficient in what

we do. Our tours have to be a litt le shor ter, as I can’t

really af ford to take off as much time as I used to. This

requires us to be a litt le more selective with the shows

we play. It also makes giving touring bands all the door

[money] a litt le harder, which is something I never had

J G: Did he have any problems standing up and play-

ing at the same time?

BT: He did need to bor row my strap.

J o s h S m a l l ( g u i ta r ): It’s crazy hard to stand up and

play. It’s also really dif f icult to make my broken amp

sound good, and I sti l l suck at upstroking. But, it has

been very easy to play with this group of fellas. They

are forgiving in their attitudes and play so well together that the overall

sound is forgiving of my many mistakes. It has been such a great experi-

ence getting to help write and play these songs. Not to sound too naïve,

but melodic hardcore was a real revelation for me. The fir st time I saw

the Brainworms I thought I was going to see Greg’s joke band. As it turns

out, they were making jokes, and playing a style that was at once very new

and immediately resonant with me. I do in fact bor row Brendan’s strap

and beg Jay for picks.

J G: How did the recording process for this full-length compare to your

other recordings?

BT: This was our fir st time recording analog. Loved it. Not quite all of

the music was recorded live. There were guitars overdubbed in cer tain

places. I am very pleased with the end result. Steve Roche is great,

and he works really fast. The worst thing was the gas bil l. We made

several trips up to Philadelphia, sometimes in multiple cars. This was

when gas was up over three bucks a gallon.

G r e g B u t l e r ( v o ca ls ): I think our process has evolved. I think

this is the best recording we’ve done. I don’t know if the analog

helped or not, but it’s cooler. I’m glad we recorded the album live.

Well, everything except the vocals, which may attest to my talents

as a singer. We play the songs on the record at the same speed we

play them when we play shows or practice. Bands always seem to

lose speed when they track the instruments. The speed is an

impor tant element to our band. I have gone from taking five

days to record eight songs – yes, just the vocals – to a couple

hours. Boom. Outta here.

J G: I admire the introspective nature of your lyrics though.

How do you feel about putting yourself out there? Putting

your emotions on display, so to speak. Any times when you

feel l ike you’ve been too personal?

G B: Thank you. I hate it. Nobody needs to hear what I think

about stuf f. Unfor tunately, these are the things I think about,

and I haven’t f igured out how to write a song about anything

else yet. Sometimes I’ l l make myself cringe while I’m writing

lyrics, and then I’ l l just keep the line, then look back on it

later and think it was a bad idea. I attribute it all to a lack

of creativity. All the time too personal. I’m sor t of joking and

sor t of not. My lyrics help me feel personally connected to the

music. I guess there are people who connect with them too.

J G: What about connecting with other bands? Fewer people

our age continue playing heavy or aggressive music, and

when they do they seem to take it less seriously. Josh just

said that before your fir st show he assumed you were in a joke

band. Have you been able to find a niche when you go out on

the road as far as meeting other bands that you feel are on

your same page?

BT: I feel we are playing music that really represents who we

are. While it is loud, fast and heavy at times, there is always

room to change and grow. I hope the hardcore kids think we

are an emo band, while the rest of the wor ld might see us as

heavy and aggressive. Age is just a number. We’ve met tons

of bands on tour. Tons. You can always run into a group of

40-year-old bozos, or you can play with a high school band

that has their hear ts in the right place. We do often end

up being the oldest guys at the show, especially in smaller

towns, but I think that’s okay. We’ve always felt at home in

the rumpus room.

G B: We have a niche as far as our friends bands go: Apeshit!,

Rager, Ultra Dolphins, Catalyst, Pink Razors, Capsule, Dy-

namite Ar rows, Tubers, Snack Truck, Dead Friends, Chronic

Youth, L’antietam. All bands we’ve played shows, toured,

put out records with. Our peers and people we have fun

with. Add Antlers to that l ist after our European tour.

J G: Any expectations for your European tour? Why the deci-

sion to keep it a shor ter, two-week tour?

J H: Its kinda my fault, can’t take that much time off.

BT: Shor t but sweet. No real expectations other than mak-

ing it home in one piece. I hope we encounter some new

friends in that par t of the wor ld. Our biggest challenge has

been finding a van with a revolving door.

J G: With this amount of recorded work and touring under

their belts, other bands may have tried to shop themselves

out to larger labels. Can you talk about your decision to

stick with Rorschach, a local and stil l ver y new label, for

this release?

BT: Is that how it works? I thought Touch and Go was sup-

posed to call us. In truth, while we’ve traveled our share,

we’re far from being a touring machine. Some bigger bands

are on the road like 6 months of each year, and often that

is the expectation from their labels. I doubt we could l ive

up to that. Cur tis has worked really hard to get our music

out to the people who want to hear it. At the time he released the fir st LP, it

looked like we wouldn’t be playing many shows at all. His priority is music, and

not profit. Most bigger labels cannot c laim that honestly.

G B: No shopping ourselves out. Sounds weird. I don’t l ike it. Cur tis is dedicated

to what he’s doing, and we’re just doing what we’re doing so I think it’s a pretty

good par tnership.

J H: We like Cur tis and he lets us do what we wanna do. That’s pretty chil l.

J G: The album’s tit le, Brainworms 2: Swear To Me, suggests a series in the works.

After a third album is there any chance of a prequel? Or do you plan to stay in

sequence, more like the Rocky movies?

BT: Two things: number one, don’t get me star ted on the Rocky movies, I could go

on all day… and B, it’s Brainworms II, not Brainworms 2, with roman numerals. We’re

going for more of a Super Bowl feel than a Hollywood feel. Should be out by mid-

February. We’re sti l l writing songs, so a third album is always a possibil ity. There have

never been studio versions of some of our oldest tunes, so I suppose a prequel could

happen eventually, too.

J G: When star ting the band, did you have any idea what you wanted it to sound like?

J H: I had no clue what we were going to sound like. Sti l l don’t. We have a clean slate

every time we write a new song. No shoes to fi l l or shadows cast to keep us from mov-

ing forward. I think every band from this moment forward should throw out

any notions of what they think they should sound like. The whole wor ld

of music would be better of f. Planning too much can kil l the energy of

the music.

Brainworms perform with Furnace and Black Powder at Nara Sushi on February

20th. For all things Brainworms go to www.myspace.com/brainwormsr va. Keep an

eye out for Brainworms II: Swear to Me out soon on Rorschach Records.

T he f i r s t CD tha t I e ve r pur chased was Pear l J am’s V i t a logy . I d i s t i nc t l y r emember my exc i t ab le 4 th g r ade se l f p i c k ing up the $15 .99 d i sc o f f o f t he she l f a t Wa l -Mar t and s tepp ing i n to the wor ld o f t he Compac t D i sc . I t ’ s wor th no t i ng tha t V i t a logy was , a t t he t ime , the f as tes t se l l i ng r ecord i n the h i s to r y o f r ecorded mus i c and e ven tua l l y wen t on to se l l f i ve m i l l i on un i t s . Su r e , t he r e wer e p len t y o f peop le comp la in ing abou t how in f l a ted the p r i ce o f CDs wer e , bu t the mus i c was d ig i t a l and the d i sc was so sh iny ! $18 .99 fo r mus i c cou ld have been a ba r ga in fo r a l l I kne w ; I mean , they wer e a f r ac t i on o f t he cos t o f Lase rd i scs .

Once CD-Rs appear ed on the scene , and mor e and mor e home compute r s came equ ipped w i th CD bur ner s , i t became e v iden t tha t these sh iny c i r c l es ensconced in the i r p l as t i c t r ays wer e a l o t c heaper to make than I f i r s t imag ined . T hen , when Naps te r appear ed , a l l be ts wer e o f f. I d i s t i nc t l y r emember (and th i s was a ve r y pa the t i c pe r sona l m i l es tone) s i t t i ng i n my bedroom dur ing my sophomor e year o f h igh schoo l down load ing an adv ance copy o f Modes t Mouse ’s T he Moon and An ta r c t i ca on my 56K modem and bur n ing i t on to CD. T h i s was my f i r s t t r ue i ns tance o f d ig i t a l p i r ac y, and i t f e l t g r ea t . Fr om then on , th r ough r esear ch ing fo r mats , I , as we l l as many o the r s (and now an ove rwhe lm-ing ma jo r i t y o f mus i c pur chaser s ) began to l ook a t CDs as c heap da ta ca r r i e r s . T her e wer e p i l es o f CD-Rs i n a lmos t e ve r y ca r i n my h igh schoo l pa r k ing lo t , s c r a t c hed to he l l and eas i l y r ep len -

i shed by the c heap s tac ks o f d i s cs s i t t i ng nex t to my compute r. T he ups ide o f t h i s i s tha t a lbums cou ld be eas i l y d i ssem ina ted and d iges ted w i th in my g r oup o f f r i ends , wh i c h he lped to d i ve r s i f y a l l o f ou r mus i c co l l e c t i ons. T he downs ide was (a t l eas t fo r the r ecord compan ies) tha t the CD fo r mat now seemed need less ly expens i ve and i nc r eas ing ly anachron i s t i c .

Even an env i r onment as t i ny as my r u r a l h igh schoo l now se r ves as an obv ious m ic r ocosm fo r wher e the r es t o f t he coun t r y has ended up. T he CD i s a fo r mat tha t i s qu i c k ly be ing lower ed i n to i t s g r ave and v i e wed as wha t i t a lways was , a c heap med ia s to r age dev i ce encased in p las t i c , wh i c h has now metamor phosed in to a m idd leman on the way to an iPod o r o the r por tab le mus i c /med ia s to r age dev i ce .

One o f my Ne w Year ’ s r eso lu t i ons fo r th i s yea r was to never buy ano ther a lbum on CD, and j udg ing by the sa les t r ends th i s pas t yea r (no tw i ths tand ing the obv ious e f f ec t s the r ecess ion has had) th i s seems to be the i n ten t o f mos t o the r mus i c buyer s . I t ’ s been fo r ecas ted tha t 2009 w i l l be the year tha t d ig i t a l sa les f i na l l y ec l i pse the sa les f r om a l l phys i ca l fo r mats . T he i n te r es t i ng ne ws her e i s tha t v i ny l has once aga in seen a sp i ke i n sa les . 2008 saw a 96% inc r ease i n sa les o f v i ny l r eco rds , g i v -i ng v iny l p l an ts the i r second s t r a igh t yea r o f be ing bac ked up i n a way they haven’ t been i n we l l ove r a decade . B ig box r e ta i l e r s a r e no t on ly s toc k ing

v iny l , bu t a l so a se lec t i on o f r ecord p laye r s as ide f r om the i r token Sony tu r n tab le c r ammed in the co r ner. T he i nc r ease i s nowher e near enough to coun te r ac t the d r op i n CD sa les , bu t the p r ac t i ce o f i nc lud ing f r ee down load t i c ke ts i n ne w LP r e -l eases has encour aged a l o t o f peop le to s ta r t pu t t i ng money i n to a qua l i t y phys i ca l p r oduc t tha t a l so ca te r s to the i r d ig i t a l mus i c co l l e c t i on . I t ’ s wor th no t i ng tha t th i s k i nd o f phys i ca l f e t i sh i sm he lped to d r i ve sa les o f l im i ted ed i t i on pac kages by g r oups l i ke Rad iohead and N ine Inch Na i l s , bo th o f whom c r ea ted co l l ec to r ’ s ve r s ions o f t he i r ne w a lbums wh i c h so ld ou t o f t he i r r espec t i ve p r ess -ings. Peop le a r e s t i l l w i l l i ng to pay fo r a phys i ca l p r oduc t , bu t they wan t to f ee l l i ke they ’ r e ge t t i ng the i r money ’ s wor th , no t someth ing tha t ’ s go ing to c r ac k and snap in ha l f when an unsuspec t i ng passenger s i t s i n the i r ca r. However, i t ’ s f a r too l a te fo r a l o t o f t he l a r ge r l abe l s to r ecover i n th i s env i r onment . T hey spen t so much t ime and money dodg ing the fo r mat c hange and f i gh t i ng the pa r ad igm sh i f t t ha t they ’ r e l e f t w i th a gener a t ion o f k ids who don’ t b l i nk tw i ce when down load ing an a lbum f r om a s i t e l i ke B i t To r r en t o r Wa f f l es , because they wer e r a i sed i n an env i r onment wher e p i r ac y and the immed iac y tha t i t engender s a r e the nor m. By the end o f 2009 , i t ’ s ve r y l i ke ly tha t v i ny l w i l l be l eaps and bounds c lose r to be ing the on ly v i ab le and expand ing fo r mat . Even I have a ha rd t ime wr app ing my head a r ound tha t , bu t I ’ l l ce r ta in ly be sp r uc ing up my tu r n tab le .

A n i m a l Co llecti v e M er r i w eath er Po st Pav i li o n DOMINO RECORDS

Animal Collective has released a full-length album almost every year since 2000, and they have lost none of their tenacity or experimentation in the process. This album is a limo taking you through modern music. It shifts smoothly between the bright pop of “My Gir ls” into the off kilter and entrancing rhythms of “Also Frightened”, past the stomping and cheering “Summer time Clothes” and into the dark reverb-laden mysteries of “Daily Routine” for a drink. They ride the edges of experimental music like a breaking wave, sometimes dipping the front of the track over the edge but bringing you back to the groove without you ever noticing. If you haven’t listened to Animal Collective before, know that they write intentional and complex music that demands your undivided attention and that you will be immensely rewarded for your effor t. If you have listened to them before, go out and get your eighth amazing Animal Collective LP. - Eriq Nelson

M O SS S u b Tem plu m CANDLELIGHT/RISE ABOVE A metal band that’s into the occult, horror movies, death im-agery and pot smoke? You don’t say? Now there is something new. It’s a shame when a band promotes their music (Myspace + press release) with such eye-rolling stereotypes, because it could make any half-conscious fan of doom music write Moss off to be just another dirge-y exploration of lethargic bottom-heavy notes, dotted by sporadic symbol crashes and throaty screams of anguish. What sets this UK three-piece apar t from other doom bands is their ability to haunt slow-moving, absolutely crushing riffs with a skeletal melody buried within endlessly extended low frequency dirges. Dissonant, brutal and hypnotizing, the drone landscape has a new Sunn O))). - Lightning’s Gir l

Pi n k Razo rs Leav e A li v eHOUSEPLANT RECORDS

Pink Razors’ latest offering is an LP that is just as good if not better than their previous releases. The songs on this record are less anthemic than the ones on Waiting to Wash Up and have a more mature structure reminiscent of such bands as Superchunk, but they still have not lost their edge. The record also debuts the new lineup of the band, with Erin Tobey tak-ing over Mike Morris's guitar and vocal duties, which perfectly compliments the sound of the band. This record marks a new era for Pink Razors that is enjoyable both to new listeners and people who have been stoked on this band since its beginnings. - Cur tis Grimstead

A n d n o w b e at i n g t h e e a r d r u m s . . .

Ph o s ph o r es c ent To W i lli eDEAD OCEANS

To Willie is a tribute album from one very talented singer/songwriter (Matthew Houck) to an-other. These are the faded memories of honky-tonk bars sung from the bottom of a lonely well, a near perfect selection of Willie Nelson tunes representing a broad spectrum of his career dancing on the fingers of a deft arranger and his haunting production. Standing out among these gems is “Can I Sleep In Your Arms”, which is treated with all of the warmness and intimacy Phosphorescent can offer. It is as delicate as a snowflake on your finger tip and as strong as the wind outside the windows. Willie did much the same for his hero Lefty Frizell in 1977 with To Lefty, From Willie, and it is fitting that the man receive his tribute in turn. This is country music as it is meant to be – fresh, funny, hear tbreaking and played with an undying love of the ar t. - Eriq Nelson

M. Wa r d H o ld Ti m eMERGE RECORDS

Hold Time is music from an alternate history where Chet Atkins star ted taking psychedelics with Tom Waits on a farm in the middle of the deser t and cutting records. These are the radio broadcasts from a parallel universe where AM radio is king and vacuum tubes are driving the information revolution. It is hand crafted, natural and deeply poetic music. "One Hundred Million Years" is Ward in classic form, riding the steam train of Ameri-cana between the easy flow of the West Coast and the stomp of the Mississippi shores. This is one more in a series of fantastic albums from M. Ward and includes an appearance from Lucinda Williams on "Oh Lonesome Me", a Don Gibson cover that showcases his ability to update a classic tune without missing the soul of a song. The album ends with an aching and hear tbroken instrumental composition of starlight and lonely high-way signs stretching out into the horizon, begging you to just star t it all over again. - Eriq Nelson

Fev er Ray S/TRABID RECORDS

Fever Ray is a solo project from the female half of The Knife, the Swedish siblings respon-sible for 2006's groundbreaking Silent Shout, and after three years of jonesing for more experimental electronica from the Dreijer family, this slower, vocal-centric alternative is an ideal fix. Independently, Karin Dreijer Andersson delivers a fluid masterpiece of boundless reverberations, ambient drones and harmonic vocals.

"If I Had A Hear t" sets the tone for the album, leading a midnight pilgrimage through un-familiar, snow-covered forests; it is dark, chilling, and brooding; it is the essence of winter. This icy electronic sound is assisted by Dreijer Andersson's captivating vocal style. Without The Knife's techno influence drowning her out, Fever Ray's self-titled album showcases her Bjork-ish voice in a more accessible form. - Bryan Unger

GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A HERO?TAKE THE FOLLOWING QUIZ TO FIND OUT.1. DO YOU LIKE DINING OUT? YES NO

DURING WORLD WATER WEEK, MARCH 22-28, RICHMONDERS LIKE YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD JUST BY DINING OUT. HEAD TO A PARTICIPATING LOCAL RESTAURANT AND DONATE $1 OR MORE FOR THE TAP WATER YOU NORMALLY ENJOY FOR FREE. FOR EVERY DOLLAR RAISED, A CHILD IN NEED WILL GET THE CLEAN WATER THEY DESERVE. THE MORE PEOPLE WHO DINE OUT, THE MORE LIVES WE CAN SAVE.

RICHMONDTO THE RESCUE!

for more information, visit tapproject.org

DURING WORLD WATER WEEK, MARCH 22-28, RICHMONDERS LIKE YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD JUST BY DINING OUT. HEAD TO A PARTICIPATING LOCAL RESTAURANT AND DONATE $1 OR MORE FOR THE TAP WATER YOU NORMALLY ENJOY FOR FREE. FOR EVERY DOLLAR RAISED, A CHILD IN NEED WILL GET THE CLEAN WATER THEY DESERVE. THE MORE PEOPLE WHO DINE OUT, THE MORE LIVES WE CAN SAVE.

RICHMONDTO THE RESCUE!

for more information, visit tapproject.org

Images by Adam Ju r esko

I f ind i t f i t t ing that inaugurat ions take p lace dur ing the dead of w inter. I t ’s even more f i t -t ing that Obama stro l led into Washington in a t r a in - not a p lane or a car. What bet ter symbol to s igna l the change of seasons and the c i r cu lar i ty o f l i fe than a change in power and a r etur n to our past? Unfor tunate ly, po-l i t i ca l w inter s can last much longer than ter-r estr ia l ones. Most o f us may be too young to have exper ienced the Great Depress ion, but no one should forget i ts lesson. Let us r a ise a ho l iday g lass (or a ha l f -empty can of PBR) in toast to the hope that the coming spr ing lasts more than mere hour s. And whi le your dr ink is he ld h igh, le t us r e f lect upon the pre-v ious year.

For ever yone who wi tnessed R ichmond’s g lo-r ious potent ia l dur ing the 2008 New Year s Ce lebr at ion in Car ytown, forget not the hard lessons as the stampedes of po l ice hor ses drove into us that n ight : R ichmond isn’ t r eady to fu l f i l l i ts potent ia l yet . Th is year be-gan on a qu ieter note. We increased secur i ty, we lost the RVA Magaz ine crew as p lanner s and hosts, and we saw the underwhelming resu l ts that ensued. Let us hope that the

Shockoe to the Fan to Church Hi l l and Oregon Hi l l to the h ighway-scar red Jackson Ward, is fu l l o f poss ib i l i t ies, but that potent ia l r emains large ly untapped.

There ex is ts no reason for the c i ty to lag so far behind the r est o f the countr y in ever y major categor y. R ich-mond, one of the o ldest c i t ies in the ent i r e countr y, is on ly the 100th most populated c i ty in the countr y. R ichmond, the home of the str eetcar is now submerged in a sea of par ked car s and s i l ly s tatus symbols. People are e i ther be ing forced out o f the c i ty or are r e locat ing by cho ice. Never the less, the sur rounding count ies o f Henr ico, Chester f ie ld and Hanover compr ise near ly a tenth of Vi r g in ia ’s ent i r e populat ion (approx imate ly 700,000 out o f 7 mi l l ion) , whi le R ichmond s i ts at an anemic 250,000 ( i f one is generous enough to inc lude the evanescent co l lege populat ion) .

Now, R ichmond – and Vi rg in ia as a whole – stands po ised for a s imi lar ons laught o f for tune seeker s. In the midst o f a growing economic cr is is, Vi r g in ia is actua l ly in a s tate o f r e lat i ve prosper-i ty. Yes, the banks that tower ominous ly over Downtown have taken a tumble ( the BB&T bui ld ing should a lso fa l l under the “cr umble” categor y) , but then aga in , whenever there are economic tens ions, there are lawyer s chomping at the b i t ( there’s one lawyer for ever y 20 R ichmonder s) . Let us not forget R ich-mond’s burgeoning medica l industr y, wh ich grew out o f the scar s o f the C i v i l War, and f ina l ly, le t us not forget that

c i ty lear ns i ts own lessons sooner r ather than la ter. Ar t is ts, mus ic ians and promoter s are essent ia l e lements in des ign ing a memorable cu l ture event , and whi le secur i ty is n ice and cor porate sponsor s pad the wal le t , they can do more har m than good. Moreover, any major ce lebr at ion or cu l tur a l event is severe ly l im i ted in s ize and scope in R ichmond, and th is w i l l cont inue unt i l R ichmond red iscover s i ts mass t r anspor tat ion roots.

Never the less, R ichmond is mak ing progress. The cont inu ing success of R ichmond’s ar t is t ic communi ty has of fset the lack o f any other ma-jor soc ia l and cu l tur a l a t t r act ions. Not even a AAA basebal l team in one of the ear l iest hubs for basebal l can sur v i ve here, and NASCAR is emblemat ic o f the issue at hand. Sur pr is-ing ly, GRTC was r ated the #1 tr ans i t system in Nor th Amer ica last year. Such a d is t inct ion is laughable at best , and i f you’ ve ever r idden the buses, perhaps you may jo in me in a good gut- juggler.

Perhaps you’ r e wonder ing the depth of R ich-mond’s potent ia l . For an answer, we need only to consul t the h is tor y lessons we seem to be r epeat ing. Any fan of Ste inbeck could te l l you how the Great Depress ion led to the g lor ious r is ing of Ca l i for n ia f rom the Pac i f i c mists o f obscur i ty. Oppor tun i ty seemed abundant , and hope was found in the go lden h i l l s o f Ca l i for-n ia once more – much l ike the go ld r ush of the prev ious centur y. A l l o f R ichmond, f rom

when the go ing gets tough, the tough smoke the whole pack of Mar lboros. I t ’s a p i ty the good ‘o le boys at C i r cu i t C i ty weren’ t smar t enough to keep the i r heads above the water.

C i r cu i t C i ty and the mistakes that consumed i t as ide, R ichmond is one of the best p laces to do bus iness, because of i ts cont inued h is tor y o f suppor t ing loca l endeavor s. When C i r cu i t abandoned i ts people , R ichmond most ly ceased sup-

por t ing i t . R ichmond, however, w i l l probably move on re lat i ve ly unscathed, and who knows, perhaps the fa i l ing façade of the suburban n ightmare w i l l

br ing r es idents and wor ker s back into the c i ty (a long wi th perhaps a r enewed sense of urban respons ib i l i ty and management) . R ichmond’s s ize , potent ia l , wea l th , industr y and blend of cu l tures are pr ime op-por tun i t ies for a c i ty r eady to invest in i ts future.

Is R ichmond ready to invest in i ts future, or w i l l i t cont inue to shy f rom the g loba l l imel ight? More to the po int , w i l l R ichmond have the sp i r i t and the smar ts to succeed in l ight o f C i r cu i t C i ty ’s fa i lure? Unfor tu -nate ly for C i r cu i t , h inds ight on ly benef i ts the h is tor ian, or those wi l l -ing to lear n f rom the past . Wi l l R ichmonder s lear n f rom the past , or have we lost that ab i l i ty a long wi th our schools? Only t ime wi l l te l l .

We’ r e t r y ing our best to pa int a v ibr ant p ic ture (shameless p lug for Ident i ty : R ichmond) of R ichmond, but behind the scenes, a

ver y ser ious problem is emerg ing. Sure, the gas pr ices have dropped, but don’ t for a minute th ink that th is is

a per manent s tate o f a f fa i r s. The bot tom l ine is that o i l i s a f in i te and ver y l imi ted r esource.

E lectr ic car s are a step in the r ight d i r ect ion, but they’ r e iso lated e lements o f t r anspor tat ion.

The key to bu i ld ing an e f fect i ve system is e f f i c ient use of r esources, and iso lated re-sources are waste fu l . I f we r es-ur rected a 21st centur y ver s ion of the t ro l ley system, imagine how

that would r evo lut ion ize the c i ty as not on ly a po l i t i ca l and cu l tur a l center, but a lso as a g loba l metropol i tan center. And i f h is tor y r epeats i tse l f, R ich -mond is go ing to need a robust in f r astr ucture to handle the in f lux o f people seek ing oppor tun i ty.

Wi th the Ident i ty : R ichmond pro ject , we’ ve seen f i r s thand a d i r ect impact o f our o i l add ic t ion on loca l communi t ies and events. Smal ler groups l ike the GLBT communi ty, the goth scene and the ar t scene have exper ienced issues at t r act ing des i r able leve ls o f at tendees (many of whom converge on R ichmond f rom DC , Char lot tesv i l le , Nor fo lk/Va Beach, and Nor th Caro l ina) . When gas peaked in the summer, the impact was stagger ing. On the f l ips ide, communi t ies that aren’ t as o i l -dependent , l i ke the punk/b ike scene are as st rong as ever (Best Fr iend’s Day and S laughter ama keep growing larger and more fun w i th each pass ing year) . I f we don’ t do our best to improve our mass t r ans i t systems, we may lose many of the subcul tures that make th is c i ty so co lor fu l and great .

We need to change our addic t ion to o i l , wh i le r ecogniz ing that the economic s i tuat ion is go ing to cause a w idened gap between the haves and the have-nots. Th is means seek ing out a l ter nat i ve for ms of energy and a l ter na-t i ve means of t r ave l . To do th is w i l l r e-qu ir e c i v ic par t ic ipat ion on a l l leve ls o f gover nment . The mass ive gr assroots e f for ts that car r ied a black man into the whi test house on the p lanet need to be appl ied at the state and loca l leve ls. I f you want to see rea l change, we need to make a r ea l e f for t in the areas c losest to home. Imagine how d i f ferent R ichmond could be i f just ha l f o f the co l lege populat ion (10% of R ichmond’s tota l populat ion) got invo lved at the loca l leve l , instead of just wear ing Obama st icker s and but tons.

Don’ t get me wrong, Obama is a def in i te improvement over h is predecessor, but i f we r ea l ly want change, we’ r e go ing to have to make i t our se lves. Change is poss ible , but Obama is on ly one man lead ing a countr y o f 300 mi l l ion d i v ided, f r ightened and of ten c lue less souls. I f we’ r e go ing to make rea l change and rea l progress, we’ r e go ing to need to grow up f rom a nat ion of consumer-numbed fo l lower s into a nat ion of leader s, innovator s and creator s. In th is t ime of uncer ta inty, we need Obama-esque leader s in ever y c i ty, in ever y facet o f our soc iety. We need innovator s and geniuses of the Tes la/E inste in/Edison var ie ty, and we need to suppor t the i r pro jects in order to br ing innovat ion and revo lut ion to the nuts and bo l ts o f our soc ia l machine. Last ly, we need to suppor t and deve lop the cu l ture creator s in our soc iety (our mus ic ians, our ar t is ts, our promoter s and our organizer s) in order to promote and susta in our c i t ies as g loba l des-t inat ions.

Here in R ichmond we face our own set o f problems – problems that are f i x -able – but i t ’s go ing to r equir e a communi ty e f for t to f i x them. A ha l f -centur y o f suburban spr awl and unplanned deve lopment has str etched the m e t -ropol i tan area into a mass ive footpr int w i th l i t t le substance. For a metropol i tan area so large, RVA wastes a large amount o f i ts poten-t ia l (much l ike a cur rent automobi le , wh ich wastes about 80% of the energy i t uses) . I f we could f ind a way to integr ate the area together in a susta inable and future-minded manner, R ichmond just might l i ve up to i ts potent ia l in the g loba l communi ty. In the next par t , I w i l l o f fer up a v is ion of a poss ible future for R ichmond, and how we can make i t happen. Much l ike Obama rode into Washington by r a i l , R ichmond can r ide into a prosperous future i f i t r etur ns to the r a i l . Fa i l ing to do so may prove catastrophic…

Check out Change, Par t 2 in the next issue of RVA Mag. But for now to lear n more about Ident i ty : R ichmond go to myspace.com/ iden-t i ty_r ichmond. A lso, check out the Ident i ty : R ichmond ep isodes of “The Process” on RVAtv.net .

So This is What History Feels Liked . I . Hopk ins

46 years ago, soul legend Sam Cooke wrote a prophetic request called “A Change is Gonna Come”. This one song inspired a movement and now seemingly is answered by a nation. With the election of Barack Obama, a clear strong and deliberate beacon of l ight is now blazing across the blood soaked, tattered pages of American his-tory and the wor ld. We now have a new president. Barack Hussein Obama is now the 44th President Of The United States. A message has been delivered. We are on the precipice of a new era. The air is rife with possibil ity and potential. My happi-ness right now is only exceeded by my curiosity of what wil l be. When the gleaming instruments have played their last notes, and the ball gowns are all sealed safely in storage, what wil l be?

In its simplest form our new reality is cause for great celebration. In detail it is more a ref lection of who and where we are as a nation. Now that we have identif ied the joyous par t, we should be about the work of determining where we should for tify the ranks. In my humble opinion, it is not Barack Obama that we should wor ry about. He wil l be af forded the same oppor tunities as the presidents of the past to prove himself through his legacy. The enemy, however, could be us (or segments of the royal us). I am merely an actor, but an actor nonetheless. No matter where I am I can spot theatre, and the only place it belongs is on the agreed upon stage. So in the PTA meetings, in governmental proceedings, in the pulpits – and yes, even in the bedroom – I know the dif ference between reality and performance when I see it; and as of late, in the glow of history, I’ ve seen a lot of histrionics. I’m not talking about your garden variety hateful racists here – that’s to be expected – I’m speaking more directly to the romantics, the nostalgic and those damned haters. These well meaning well wishers could ultimately prove to be the undoing of a pivotal point in American history.

Let’s star t with collective conditioning and the romantic. For years Hollywood has been fascinated with, and by proxy, conditioned us with the notion of a black presi-dent. This tell ing anomaly is often set in some utopian future or alternate timeline, fer ti le with our collective intention of what an America could be. This thought, of some writer, often lacks the appreciation of what America is. We hold our gaze so busily over the horizon that we don’t take stock in the now for the next. A black president represents progress often analogous with our hopes, dreams, change… sound familiar? __This manufactured Hollywood creation comes in two f lavors of the same brand of poop: the gallant, stoic sage, or a Langston Hughesian “simple”. Both of these character types are “magical negros” in essence. What’s that? You have never heard of a “magical negro”? Well allow your good, old Uncle Remus the oppor tunity to explain. A white protagonist is whole, save for some internal, spiritual, philosophical tragic f law. In, from seemingly nowhere, walks the “magical negro”. Through the course of several shor t but poignant interactions, the protagonist is transformed. The “magical negro” stays the same, and just as soon as he ar rived he is gone. The “magical negro” has seemingly supernatural powers, but they only work for the protagonist; he in no way can af fect his own life or condition. You’ve see this in many movies: Michael Clarke Duncan’s character in Green Mile, Wil l Smith’s character in Bagger Vance, Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix, and the list goes on. Combine this with our previous and cur rent fascination with black presidents on fi lm and television, and you can see some of the conditioning that has taken place. Den-nis Haysber t in 24, Morgan Freeman in Deep Impact, Tommy “Tiny” Lister in Fifth Element, Chris Rock in Head of State and soon Danny Glover in 2012, all typify our collective interest, expectation and romantic notions of a black president. All jokes aside, this is dangerous. Don’t romanticize America. Let’s all agree not to turn Ba-rack Obama into our own true to life “magical negro”.

Similar ly, there are those among us of all stripes who wax on about the “Civil Rights” era in solemn and reverent tones. Though there is no doubt that the gravity of this point in our nation’s history requires all solemnity. Blood was shed and sacrif ices made that I may write even this. Nonetheless, there are those among us, perhaps

unknowingly born too late, who revel in anything that could even remotely be link to that point in time. These people, if given the oppor tunity, would stage weekend reenactments of various isolated turning points during our history: sit-ins, marches, boycotts (not that there is anything wrong with reenactments). There are ties found in sound bites and symbolism. The initial message is soon shrouded by familiar inf lection or the tinkling of a past melody. Deifying the speaker and dwarfing the intent. Brothers and sisters, now. Now. Now, in this precious hour, as we stand on the summit of the “mountain top”, as the children dance about firmly content with their individual characters, let us not forget that history is a ref lective act. Let’s stay vigilant in the now and celebrate then. Let us make history not regaling in the context, while forfeiting the content. One cannot be nostalgic for now. Okay, I think you get the message. I’ l l step out of the pulpit now.

Since we are on the topic of race, don’t think for a second that I have forgotten the loud few encased in the time capsule of ignorance. The haters, black and white alike. The slack jawed and the educated, with their pie char ts and bell cur ves, all singing from the same racist hymnbook. The eugenics freaks. Their voices, too, wil l be added to clamors of the fray. This, l ike much of the last eight years is a religious argument. Yes, I said religious argument, and it should be dealt with in that fashion. Way back in 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued a Papal bull named, Dum Diversas. This, in shor t, stated that all non-Christian people would be relegated to a l ifetime of slavery:

“We grant you [Kings of Spain and Por tugal] by these present documents, with our Apostolic Authority, full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers and enemies of Christ wherever they may be, as well as their kingdoms, duchies, counties, principalit ies, and other proper ty [...] and to reduce their persons into per-petual slavery.”

Now God, the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent has authorized this dark com-merce and professed this condition. And all you well meaning people are not fully Christian if you are not in l ine with his edicts. God can’t be wrong; at the very least those that profess to speak for him. The Church is always right. Right? Well, in 1686 there was another decree, Holy Office, to l imit, not do away with, Dum Diversas and other unfor tunate Papal bull. “Oops, my bad” says the highest spiritual voice in the land, to this day. This brought to you by the same people who can’t place the dinosaurs in our timeline and couldn’t quite comprehend the galaxy not revolving around us. The fine makers of such things as witchcraft and ter rorism. So now we understand how some can feel so comfor table in their superiority shoes. Apparent that superiority is a God given right, with a fall ible fine print disclaimer. But what does that do to the mindset of a people raised and reared in this dark and lucrative tradition? I honestly couldn’t give a fuck, but I know we need to separate our church and state and you are going to shut the hell up when my president is speaking. This tactic is not only l imited to the European among us. The same goes for the dark, extra black in our community, who feel blackness can be poured into a bucket and measured. With statements like, “he isn’t black enough” or “he isn’t all black, you know”. Well who among you is? Starch your dashikis on your own time. We are at war on two fronts and in the throes of a global f inancial crisis, and you are in a complex-ion competition. Fall back.

There truly should be room under ol’ glor y’s banner for people of all stripes, tribes and even leaders. We have proven to the wor ld time and time again the mettle of America. We expor t plutonium grade freedom and democracy with a fully remastered soundtrack, high definition movie, seemingly infinite sequel franchising, prequel pos-sibil it ies and a guaranteed Happy Meal tie-in. It’s infectious. We snif f le and the wor ld catches a cold. We are the precious and the pitiful, and our compor tment impacts the wor ld exponentially. Let’s exercise solidarity in suppor t of this, our newly chosen path. Let’s be responsible to recognize, nur ture and embolden history. And in this way we can answer Mr. Cooke’s request with a change HAS come.

c h r i s b o p s t

N o t h i n g b e a t s g r o w i n g u p n e x t d o o r t o a n e i g h b o r w i t h a p o o l . Yo u g e t a l l t h e b e n e f i t s o f h a v i n g a p o o l w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o d e a l w i t h t h e m a i n t e n a n c e a n d u p k e e p t h a t m a k e s h a v i n g o n e a p r i c y, t i m e -c o n s u m i n g p a i n i n t h e a s s . T h i s w a s m y g o o d f o r -t u n e g r o w i n g u p a n d I h a v e f o n d m e m o r i e s o f s p e n d i n g l a z y s u m m e r d a y s l o u n g i n g i n t h e p o o l a s a r e l i e f f r o m t h e u n r e l e n t i n g s u m m e r s u n .

W h a t m a d e t h e d e a l e v e n s w e e t e r w a s t h a t m y n e i g h b o r a l s o h a p p e n e d t o b e m y b e s t f r i e n d g r o w i n g u p. We w e r e t h e s a m e a g e , w e n t t o t h e s a m e s c h o o l a n d c a m e o f a g e t o g e t h e r. E v e n o u r o l d e r b r o t h e r s w e r e f r i e n d s . B e c a u s e o f t h i s , o u r t w o f a m i l i e s d i d e v e r y t h i n g t o g e t h e r.

O n e d a y m y b r o t h e r a n d I w e r e h a n g i n g o u t i n t h e p o o l w i t h o u r n e x t d o o r n e i g h b o r s w h e n t h e o l d e s t b r o t h e r d a r e d h i s s i b l i n g t o e a t o n e o f h i s f a r t s . H i s s u g g e s t i o n w a s t o s w i m t o t h e b o t t o m o f t h e p o o l , f a r t a n d h a v e h i s y o u n g e r b r o t h e r h o v e r a b o v e h i m a n d e a t o n e o f t h e r a n c i d b u b -b l e s . A m a z i n g l y, m y f r i e n d a g r e e d t o t h e u n s a -v o r y p r o p o s a l . To t h i s d a y, I a m s t i l l m y s t i f i e d a s t o w h y h e w o u l d s u b m i t t o s u c h a r e q u e s t a n d c a n o n l y t h i n k t h a t h e p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e a c t b e -c a u s e h e f e a r e d h i s o l d e r b r o t h e r ’ s r e t r i b u t i o n i f h e d i d n ’ t c o m p l y w i t h h i s c o m m a n d . N o n e o f u s m a d e a n y a t t e m p t t o t a l k h i m o u t o f i t t h o u g h . We w a n t e d t o s e e w h a t w o u l d h a p p e n .

A f t e r t h e d e a l w a s s e t , t h e o l d e r b r o t h e r d o v e i n t o t h e p o o l a n d w e n t t o t h e b o t t o m a s h i s b r o t h e r p o s i t i o n e d h i m s e l f a b o v e h i m t o r e -c e i v e t h e u n d e r w a t e r f e c a l a i r c o m m u n i o n . M y b r o t h e r a n d I w e r e a l r e a d y i n h y s t e r i c s o v e r t h e m e r e s u g g e s t i o n o f a n y o n e e a t i n g a f a r t , a n d w e w a i t e d w i t h g i d d y a n t i c i p a t i o n f o r t h e m t o c o n s u m m a t e t h e a c t . I t s e e m e d t o t a k e a n e t e r n i t y, b u t f i n a l l y, w e s a w t h e b u b b l e s r i s e a n d i n t o t h e w a i t i n g m o u t h . I t d i d n ’ t t a k e t o o l o n g b e f o r e h i s r e a c t i o n c o n f i r m e d w h a t w e a l l b e l i e v e d w o u l d b e t h e e n d r e s u l t o f e a t i n g a f a r t ; h e v o m i t e d . I ’ l l n e v e r f o r g e t t h e v i o l e n t e x p l o s i o n o f b e l l y j u i c e s t h a t e r u p t e d f r o m h i s m o u t h t h e s e c o n d t h e f a r t b u b b l e e x p l o d e d i n h i s m o u t h b e f o r e l a z i l y m i x i n g w i t h t h e n o w f o w l e d p o o l w a t e r i n w h i c h w e w e r e s w i m m i n g . I t w a s s t r a n g e l y b e a u t i f u l . N e e d l e s s t o s a y, b u t I n e a r l y d r o w n e d a s I w a s o v e r c o m e w i t h s u c h l a u g h t e r t h a t I a l m o s t l o s t t h e a b i l i t y t o s w i m . I c o u l d n ’ t e v e n p u l l m y s e l f o u t o f t h e p o o l I w a s l a u g h i n g s o h a r d , a n d e v e n n o w, a l l t h e s e y e a r s l a t e r, t h e m e m o r y o f t h i s e v e n t s t i l l h a s t h e p o w e r t o r e n d e r m e u s e l e s s .

I b r i n g u p t h i s c h e r i s h e d c h i l d h o o d m e m o r y a s a f i t t i n g m e t a p h o r f o r t h e B u s h y e a r s . O v e r t h e l a s t e i g h t y e a r s , p e o p l e h a v e t i m e a n d t i m e a g a i n w i l l i n g l y a c c e p t e d w h a t a n y s a n e p e r s o n w o u l d k n o w t o b e a n i n s a l u b r i o u s

e x p e r i e n c e a n d a s k e d f o r s e c o n d s . E v e n n o w a s t h e f u l l e x t e n t o f B u s h ’ s t r e a s o n -o u s t e n u r e i n o f f i c e i s b l i n d i n g l y a p p a r -e n t , t h e r e a r e s t i l l p e o p l e t h a t a g a i n s t a l l r e a s o n a n d f a c t b e l i e v e h e w a s g o o d f o r t h e c o u n t r y. I n c r e d i b l y, t h e y c o n t i n u e t o e a t h i s f a r t b u b b l e s . L i k e m y f r i e n d , I c a n o n l y a s s u m e t h a t t h e y c o n t i n u e t o g o b b l e t h e m u p b e c a u s e t h e y f e a r s o m e s o r t o f r e t r i b u t i o n ; t h a t a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h a t B u s h i s u n q u e s t i o n a b l y t h e s i n g l e w o r s t p r e s i -d e n t i n o u r h i s t o r y a n d w o r t h y o f c r i m i n a l p r o s e c u t i o n i s s o m e h o w u n p a t r i o t i c o r b a d f o r t h e c o u n t r y. M a y b e t h e y a r e t o o p r o u d t o a d m i t t h a t t h e y w e r e d e c e i v e d , o r t h a t t h e i r u n q u e s t i o n e d l o y a l t y a l l o w e d a m a n a n d h i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o m a k e a m o c k e r y o f e v e r y t h i n g g o o d , d e c e n t a n d j u s t t h a t t h i s c o u n t r y s t a n d s f o r, I d o n ’ t k n o w. E i t h e r w a y, I c a n ’ t h e l p l a u g h i n g .

T h e o n l y g o o d t h i n g t o c o m e f r o m t h e s e e i g h t t r a g i c y e a r s o f f a r t b u b b l e e a t i n g i s t h a t i t e n a b l e d B a r r a c k O b a m a t o b e p r e s i -d e n t . F i n a l l y, t h e c l e a n u p c a n b e g i n .

i m a g e by D a n K o e n

We shou l d s t a r t by s ay i ng t ha t we don’ t h a ve a s a f e w ay t o t a l k a bou t i n t imac y. A t l e a s t w i t hou t be i ng de f ens i v e and emba r r a s sed a bou t i t , a nd w i t hou t g i r l s s ay i ng , you a r e t oo wo r r i e d a bou t f e e l i n g s and guy s s ay i ng t ha t you ’ r e ba s i c a l l y a wus s f o r t a l k i ng a bou t you r f e e l i n g s .

I t ’ s i n t e r e s t i ng how muc h we s t r ug g l e a s a so -c i e t y t o de t a c h s ex f r om f e e l i n g s and emo t i on . I t may no t e v en be pos s i b l e t o ha ve s ex w i t hou t i n t imac y and f e e l i n g s . I n t e r ms o f emo t i on , i f i t i s a mec han i c a l a c t , t h en i t a lmos t de g r ades t he a c t . I f you ’ r e j u s t do i ng i t t o ha ve an o r g asm , w hy no t j u s t mas t u r ba t e? Why i s i t s o impo r t an t t o ha ve someone e l s e i n t h e equa t i o n , i f e s sen -t i a l l y a l l i t i s… i s a body coun t o f how many peop l e you ’ v e had an o r g asm w i t h?

I n some sense t ha t i s w ha t s ex ha s been r e l -e g a t ed t o ; t h e r e i s no i n t imac y o r emo t i on t ha t i s s upposed t o be connec t ed t o i t . S ex i t s e l f

doesn’ t c onno t e any o t he r mean i ng – i t ’ s j u s t a n an ima l i s t i c a c t . I t ’ s a n a c t t h a t a l l f o r ms o f l i f e p a r t i c i p a t e i n . One t h i ng a bou t

s ex , w h i c h i s r e a l l y f u nny, i s t h a t i t ’ s s o awesome t ha t i t ’ s t h e one t h i ng t ha t we

ha ven’ t mana ged t o e vo l u t i o n i z e t o a l e v e l s o d i f f e r en t f r om t ha t o f a n ima l s . We c an

s an i t i z e and c l e an up e ve r y t h i ng e l s e , l i k e we t r y t o w i t h e ve r y t h i ng i n ou r c u l t u r e , bu t you c an’ t c l e an up s ex . I t ’ s t h e one t h i ng we do t ha t

T he idea fo r th i s co lumn o r ig ina ted i n our mutua l T heor i z i ng Gender V io lence c l ass . S ince then , we have had se ve r a l i n -dep th conver sa t ions r egard ing sex and gender i n a soc ia l con tex t and how sex p lays ou t i n our l ove ly c i t y. Wha t we qu i c k ly r ea l i zed i s tha t th i s top i c i s r a r e ly, i f e ve r, d i s cussed i n an open and hones t con tex t . T ha t ’ s wha t we s t r i ve to be w i th th i s co lumn : comp le te ly open , hones t and as ob jec t i ve as poss ib le i n our soc io log i ca l exp lo r a t ion o f sexua l i t y. I f you wou ld l i ke to r espond o r o f f e r add i -t i ona l i ns igh t to a co lumn , p lease ema i l us a t the las t taboo@r v amag.com.

ThiS iS how we Do iTMike Ru tz and Ta l i a M i l l e r

i s s o ba se , s o an ima l i s t i c a nd so emba r r a s s i ng i n t ho se w ay s and i n t ho se t endenc i e s , a nd you ha ve t o s ha r e i t w i t h s omeone e l s e . I t c an’ t b e p r i v a t e .

A l s o i n t e r ms o f i t b e i ng a d i r t y t h i ng , i t ’ s s t i l l t a boo by so c i e t y ’ s s t anda r d s . I t ’ s t h e v e r y l a s t t a boo i n human cu l t u r e . T he on l y t h i ng we ha ven’ t o v e r come i s how t o r e p r oduce w i t hou t t h i s an ima l i s t i c a c t . And e ven how t o c on t r o l ou r s ex d r i v e s… i t makes so muc h s ense w hen you t h i n k a bou t i t t h a t w ay. T ha t ’ s w hy so muc h o f s ex dea l s i n emba r r a s smen t . T he r e ’ s de f i n i t e l y a n e l emen t o f emba r r a s smen t a f t e r s ex , no t t h a t you a r e emba r r a s sed t ha t you had s ex w i t h t h e pe r son , bu t t h a t t h ey s aw you a t s u c h a ba se l e v e l . Be cause i t i s t h a t i n s t i n c t ua l a c t t h a t you ha ve t o open you r se l f up t o. No ma t t e r how muc h con f i d ence you ha ve , o r how many t imes you ’ v e had s ex o r how pa r t ne r s you ’ v e had , you s t i l l h a ve t o open you r se l f up t o s how i ng t ha t ba s i c i n s t i n c t .

And we ex i s t i n t h i s wo r l d t h a t i s i n c r ed i b l y f u l l o f f r on t s , o f p eop l e pu t t i n g on f a c e s t o t h e wo r l d t h a t don’ t t r u l y r e f l e c t w ho t hey a r e . L i k e so many peop l e w ho go ou t and d r i n k be cause t hey a r e awkw a r d and t h i s i s one o f t h e f e w t h i ng s t ha t c an he l p t hem qu i c k l y ge t beyond t he em-ba r r a s smen t o f i t a l l a nd a l l ow t hem t o ha ve s ex , w h i c h i s e s sen t i a l l y c r ea t i ng i n t imac y w i t h

any t h i ng a bou t t h i s a c t . I t ’ s a lmos t l i k e I we l c ome t ha t , b e cause i t ’ s l i k e now women know how we f e e l . You c an t r y t o ha ve s ex w i t hou t f e e l i n g and emo -t i o n and a t t a c hmen t , b e cause we ’ v e been t r y i ng t o do i t f o r ou r w ho l e l i v e s – and no t s u c ce s s f u l l y f o r mos t . We ha ven’ t b een su c ce s s f u l a s muc h a s we l i k e t o t h i n k we ha ve been , be cause now you ha ve t he se ang r y young men s i ng i ng ang r y songs , a nd a l o t o f t imes i t ’ s no t a bou t t h e gove r nmen t , i t ’ s a bou t how t he i r l i f e s u c k s be cause t hey c an’ t c ope w i t h t h e i r emo t i on s . And i n a w ay I we l c ome t ha t g i r l s now ha ve t o t r y t o c ope w i t h s upp r e s s i ng t he i r emo t i on s . Bu t we need t o e l e v a t e s ex t o w he r e i t n eeds t o be i n s t ead o f s upp r e s s i ng i t .

Ta l i a : I t h i n k t ha t i s a l o t o f w ha t women p i c k up f r om be i ng i n ou r s o c i e t y. Some t imes i t s eems l i k e f em i n i sm has s u c ceeded i n g i v i ng ou t t h e w r ong messa ge , w h i c h i s t o be equa l you mus t be a man .

And w hy do we gende r s ex? Why i s s ex “ ha v i ng s ex l i k e a man” o r “ ha v i ng s ex l i k e a g i r l ” ? Maybe we gende r s ex be cause men w an t t o ho l d on t o t he owne r sh i p o f h a v i ng s ex w i t h w home ve r t h ey w an t w i t hou t f e e l i n g emo t i on s , a nd w hen women s t a r t t o do i t , i t ’ s l i k e , “ no, you ’ r e ha v i ng s ex l i k e we a r e , t h a t ’ s no t r i g h t ! ” Wha t we a r e push i ng t ow a r d i s a f u r t he r i ng o f t h e v i r g i n /w ho r e d i c ho t omy t ha t we t a l k ed a bou t e a r l i e r. Be cause guy s w i l l s ay t h i ng s l i k e , “ I wou l d f u c k t ha t g i r l , bu t I ’ d ne ve r b r i ng he r home t o my pa r en t s . ”

a no t he r pe r son , w he t he r you w an t t o adm i t i t o r no t .

I t ’ s f u c ked up and s ca r y how d i r t y we t h i n k t ha t s ex and ou r own bod i e s a r e , a nd how t h i s l e ads t o u s no t be i ng a b l e t o t a l k a bou t t h em how we wou l d l i k e t o , o r be hones t a bou t t h e se t h i ng s w hen we a c t ua l l y do t a l k a bou t t h em . We don’ t t a l k a bou t s ex , b e cause by t a l k i ng a bou t i t , maybe we be come mo r e a t t a c hed t o t he a c t t h an we w an t t o be o r mo r e t han we a r e s up -posed t o be . I n t e r ms o f women t r y i ng t o k ee p up, a s you g r ow up and a r e so c i a l i z ed f r om a young g i r l , you a r e e i t h e r t h e w ho r e o r t h e v i r g i n . When you do ha ve s ex t hen you ha ve t o c a r e a bou t t h e pe r son , b e cause i f you don’ t , t h en you f e e l l i k e you a r e a w ho r e . Be cause i f you a r e ha v i ng s ex , t h en you be t t e r be f e e l i n g some th i ng f o r t h a t p e r son o r i n s o c i e t y ’ s eye s you a r e go i ng t o be a w ho r e… i t ’ s a lmos t l i k e you ha ve t o ha ve f e e l i n g s . Fo r gu y s t o u se t ha t a g a i n s t g i r l s , w ha t do t hey expe c t ? Do you expe c t t h e g i r l t o no t c a r e? I f you l oo k a t s o -c i e t y ’ s po i n t o f v i e w, t h a t s hou l d be expe c t ed .

M i k e : Bu t now you ha ve mo r e women w ho a r e ha v i ng s ex w i t hou t a t t a c hmen t s o r t r y i ng t o , a nd I don’ t k now w ha t t h a t ne ce s sa r i l y means f o r a f ema l e , bu t t o me i t ’ s a lmos t l i k e you a r e f i g h t i ng some th i ng t ha t gu y s ha ve been f i g h t i ng t he i r w ho l e l i v e s , w h i c h i s no t t o f e e l

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