Interview with Andy Starr of Andrew Starr and the Hobo Scene

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Photo credit

Andrew Starr and the Hobo Scene dropped an album titled dead lighters go to heaven this year, and it is sure to take you on a journey through all of the emotions you’ve been trying to suppress but need to feel. The entire album feels like one long daydream: disjointed and noisey like a bustling city street, but gentle and harmonious like the feeling of being wrapped in your lovers arms. Andy Starr displays that they are a multi-talented artist playing most of the instruments featured on the album, and also doing most of the vocals. This album also briefly features Ben Abid, Pansy and Uncle Elder. If you’re down to listen to something a little less smooth on the ears, but a lot more deep in the heart: cop this album on Bandcamp.

https://andrewstarrandthehoboscene.bandcamp.com/album/dead-lighters-go-to-heaven

Mackenzie: What would you consider to be the most influential album of 2016?

Andy Starr: David Bowie’s Black Star was amazing. It's so cryptic to me because they knew they were dying and acknowledged it multiple times and then died 3 days after releasing it. I hope I release my best album 3 days before my death. Deakins Sleep Cycle was also up there in my top 3. I'd say Tim Hecker's Love Streams influenced me most on this album in particular though. I tried to incorporate a lot of ambient airiness and they do that so well.

M: When creating dead lighters go to heaven what song was the toughest to create and why?

A.S.: Most of the songs came pretty naturally. I recorded them all pretty much after 1am so I was a lot less inhibited. The hardest thing was choosing what song to cut out. It was going to be 26 tracks originally and I cut it to 17. pumpkn man was pretty hard because I recorded when I was heavily inebriated and I did such a terrible job that it was hard to recover some of the recordings from my 8 track, so I have like 3 versions of that song.

M: If people only took away one message from this album, what would you want it to be?

A.S.: It takes a while to come to terms with who you are. A lot of the songs on this album are about identity and personal events I went through to figure out who I am and what exactly I'm doing here. I think people could find lots of different messages from this though. It spans a wide variety of topics.

M: Tell me a secret.

A.S.: I do a lot of maintenance work at my job and I've changed out one family photo in everyone's cubicle with a stock photo of a family and I think I'm going to continue until someone calls me out. My job is mind-numbingly boring and little shit like that helps me make it one more day I guess.

Interview with Vinyl Williams

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Photo taken by Mark Andrus 

The Moon, dimly lit and full of smoke, invited Vinyl Williams to land on its stage for Checkered Rabbit night one. With a geometric pattern taking center stage and the checkered rabbit itself (artist Natalie “G’Nat” Wetzel) roaming throughout the set, guests were taken out of this world. Vinyl Williams filled the space with psychedelic wonder and transcended every viewer to a near dream state. Front man Lionel Williams took a couple breaks through out the performance to read scrolls hand delivered by the checkered rabbit. Full of wonder and ecstasy after this enchanting performance I had the opportunity to ask Williams some questions about the band and their experience on The Moon.

Mackenzie: Tell me how the band got together.

Lionel Williams:  Vinyl Williams came together in a synchronistic turn of events, where I had met James (drummer) in the dorms at CalArts – we had talked about jamming together every time we ran into each other.  Billy (bassist) had contacted me expressing interest in playing music because he had discovered some of my early recordings.  Ian (guitarist) introduced himself to me at my first CalArts exhibition stating he had been a fan of my music since he was a young kid.  He invited me over to jam, and after a one-on-one jam I realized he knew every song I had ever written on every instrument.  I was blown away… so within a week I brought James & Billy over to his studio to see what kind of resonance we’d have with each other, and it was an extremely good mixture.  And from there we were bound together.

M: Who inspires you guys the most?

L.W.: Collectively we strongly connect with harmonious sound masterminds such as Jorge Elbrecht (Violens), Turk Dietrich (Belong), Iasos, Tim Hecker, Sound Of Ceres / Candy Claws, Lonnie Liston Smith, Basil Kirchin, Tangerine Dream, and many many more.  We also love the polarization of harmony, the mystery world of music illuminated by Coil, Scott Walker, Sunn O))), Boris etc.

M: Tell me a bit about your stay on The Moon.

L.W.: The Moon is one of the most epiphanic examples of artists supporting artists in the USA.  The Moon was so hospitable that we immediately began plans to renovate our DIY space in Los Angeles to house touring artists and provide temporary hostiles for artists in residency.

M: What inspired the narrative with the scrolls and the checkered rabbit during your show on the moon?

L.W.: The concept of the show impressed upon the shared forms of unconscious elucidation that comes from diving inward towards the event horizon, inside every smallest point in space.  The words written on scrolls were automatically written. It was a collection of mutually experienced qualities of other worlds outside of the material, that the history of humanity have shared since the first document of anomalous entities and structures of space-time itself, discovered in the most ancient city of IR, as well as ancient Mesopotamia, and of course Egypt.  It’s merely a modern impression of the unimpressionable – a reaching toward the carrot.  But, down the rabbit hole, one may actually reach the carrot, and eat it, to potentially open up the window of the unconscious realms of experience & to utilize that information for the benefit of mankind.

M: What are your guys' biggest fears?

L.W.: Our biggest fears are MY biggest fears.  I’m the only one in the band that has serious fears. Bugs, and heights. In that order.

Interview with Adis Kaltak of Ape Not Kill Ape

By Mackenzie Tucker

Photo taken by Jaimie Skriba

In a dimly lit, cool basement called The Workshop, Adis Kaltak and the rest of Ape Not Kill Ape exposed their souls to local underground music lovers. Their gritty, aggressive rock melting seamlessly with haunting psychedelic poetry encouraged the audience let go and allow the music to take over. Bodies ebbed and flowed against each other with each song; the audience harmoniously melded with ANKA’s raw artistic expression. ANKA is definitely a group to keep on your radar. They held the attention of the entire venue tightly in the palm of their hands and they were met with little resistance. After being hypnotized by ANKA’s performance I needed to get deeper into front man Adis Kaltaks’s mind.

Mackenzie: How did Ape Not Kill Ape get together?

Adis: ANKA started in 2014 as an idea that I had after surveying the GR music scene, it was missing something pervasive & forceful; I was truly sick of the trends that I was noticing. One day I saw Black Monuments, which inspired me to go to GRCC & expand my musical knowledge and more importantly find people that I could work with. Midhat Begovic was the first to join me on drums, followed by Raziel Castaneda on guitar. We spent that summer writing & planning as much as we could. Shortly after that I ran into Brett Dame (Guitar) at Founders and asked him on a whim to join the band. Raziel left the band after that due to him living in Whitehall. We had people join us on rhythm guitar here and there up until New Years 2015 where we played a show in Lansing that Cam Frank (Guitar, Bass) was attending. The next day we put up a status looking for a rhythm guitarist and they jumped right onto it. We continued with that lineup up until September of 2015 when I met Allen McAllister (Drums) working at G.B Russo & Son. Midhat was still in the band at the time, but it wasn't working out the way we planned. Allen took his spot and we've been a warm pie ever since.

M: At your show at the Workshop one of your band members grabbed a toy Bart Simpson and played his guitar with it, are quirky things like this common at your live shows?

A: Oh, I didn't even notice that he did that. We're full of quirky surprises though

M: Are you guys planning on releasing anything soon?

A: Yeah, we're recording at Goon Lagoon later this month. There's a mixtape of ours out on Tape Hiss Music but I don't really consider that an album. So keep yr eyes peeled...

M: If you could change one thing about the Grand Rapids music scene what would it be?

A: The extermination of "topical terrorists".

People who put on the mask of an artist or whatever they see trending & dare to be viewed as an honest human. I wish people would recognize this and choose to ignore it. But that's the whole fun in this game right? The real from the plastic.

M: What is your biggest fear?

A: Fear itself, it's what petrifies the slugs.

Interview with Wuzee

Photo by Dougie Funz Filmz

Interview By Mackenzie Tucker

Wuzee is an energy-filled yet smooth hip-hop artist based in West Michigan. He recently dropped a groovy single with Gordo X and DJ M-Select titled Vowel Movements, and a collaborative album with the Almighty Foot Clan titled Leftovers 2. Needless to say, Wuzee is on top of his game. Generally sticking with conscious, creative lyrics, it’s always a surprise when Wuzee busts out a dirty rap on stage. But don’t get me wrong; it’s never a disappointment. Some may say he is a jack-of-all-trades in the rap game. If you listen to Wuzee and the Foot Clan’s tunes you’re likely to find some joints to turn up to (When You’re Dead from Never Die Alone), a lil something to serenade your girl (You Don’t Got To Die Alone from Never Die Alone), and tracks to really make you think (Living in AmeriKKKa by RhymeSight from Leftovers 2). Grand Rapids folks have had the privilege of seeing Wuzee perform several times recently: namely at Lamp Light Music Festival and with the Foot Clan for Mulligan’s Thanksgiving on the Bricks. After seeing Wuzee epically end his set at Lamp Light dancing to I’m Your Puppet by James and Bobby Purify with a growler full of Harmony Brewing’s best, I had to get a little deeper in this dude’s head.

Mackenzie: What first got you into music?

Wuzee: What first got me into music was my big cousin Mario; he bet me $50 I couldn't spit a rap. I was like 9 he didn't give me the $50 but he said my rap was pretty cool so like I think the next year I rapped in the 5th grade talent show. I didn't get into recording and shit until 15.

M: Tell me about the Almighty Foot Clan.

W: The Almighty Foot clan is a music collective out of Michigan originally formed in Kzoo. There's like 30 members and we just are trying to keep the dream alive. All walks of life.

M: You guys recently released "Leftovers 2" what inspired that collaboration?

W: Left overs 2 is pretty much what it sounds like a: bunch of random left over tracks we had.

M: Tell me about a challenge you face when collaborating with other artists. How do you overcome it?

W: I don't really collaborate with a lot of artists I like to keep my shit my shit but if do it's never complicated. As soon as music becomes stressful or complicated I usually put it down and don't fuck with it so challenges don't usually happen

M: What is your biggest fear?

W: My biggest fear is living a normal life.

Be sure to catch Wuzee and the Almighty Foot Clan at the Death House December 3rd.

Interview with Mr. Gnome

Photo taken by Mark Andrus markandrusphotography.com

By Mackenzie Tucker

Mr. Gnome is a surreal rock duo out of Cleveland, OH that began in 2005. The miraculous pair consists of guitar player/vocalist, Nicole Barille and drummer/pianist Sam Meister. Their music is full of energy and it evokes a sense of curiosity within its listeners. On top of the hypnotic music they create, Mr. Gnome has also created several jaw-dropping music videos. The mystifying characters and environments they depict in their videos add complexity and wonder to their already encapsulating music. I was lucky enough to sit down and ask them a few questions after their show at The Pyramid Scheme in September and again just last week after their residency at the local collaborative space run by Natalie Wetzel, The Moon.

Mackenzie: What feelings do you attempt to evoke within your audience while performing?

Nicole: Well there’s this energy distribution that’s going on when you play a show, so I enjoy when people go crazy. That’s my favorite. When people sit there with their arms crossed I feel like we’re not doing our job. Our music is kind of all over the place; I think it touches on everything. So hopefully people are getting that vibe.

M: What inspires these characters you associate with your music?

Sam: I think that just our general fear of the world probably inspires most of our characters. Our basic storytelling is just good versus evil you know… All the scary bad things in the world, we want to create a good little character to beat all the big bad ones. That’s basically it.

M: You mentioned earlier on WYCE that you were inspired by Neil Gaiman’s novel titled The Ocean at the End of the Lane, can you go a bit more in depth as to what specifically inspired you about that book?

N: Well it was written from the perspective of a little kid, and its… well we love surrealism. If you’ve ever watched anything we do, we’re all about it. I read that book at the end of the last record we did and I was trying to figure out a name for it and there’s a line at the end that says “the heart of a dark star” and I just thought it was perfect. But that book is creepy, it’s weird, it’s told from a kid’s perspective, which whenever I read books like that there’s always this sense of innocence over the whole thing, which is cool. I think it’s really neat to make you think about when you were a kid and what used to freak you out. But it’s a bigger, taller tale than that. I highly recommend it.

M: Where would you say the ideal environment to enjoy your music would be?

N: Like an opium den?

Sam: I mean, I guess it would be different for everyone but when I listen to music I just like to be comfy and probably in my bedroom or on the couch or something.

M: So a more personal location?

S: Yeah personal, with someone you love.

N: I mean, our favorite albums are the ones where you put it on and you listen to the whole thing and it’s an experience. I think every time we try to make an album we want people to listen to it that way, whether it’s by themselves or with friends. But listen to the whole thing and kind of get lost in it.

M: What’s your biggest fear?

N: Probably what you do everyday!

S: Yeah I probably face it a lot. I think just being up there and doing that (performing) is pretty scary.

M: How did you start working with transdisciplinary artist Natalie Wetzel?

S & N: We met Natalie back in 2012 in Cleveland at our show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Shortly after, we did an interview with her regarding our art and music and also got to find out more about her life and career.  She sent over some images of her artwork & we absolutely loved it!  We've been friends ever since.

M: Tell us about your most recent stay on The Moon, Natalie Wetzel and Mark Andrus's collaborative workspace.

S & N: We had a wonderful time at the Moon last week!  It's a super cool space with an entire room dedicated to shooting live performances, photos, music videos, displaying art installations, etc.  We really loved the creative freedom within their workspace.  

At the end of the week, we performed a private concert in front of a backdrop of Edison light bulbs while Natalie performed in one of her pieces, a giant rabbit costume.  We also did a photoshoot with Mark Andrus the following day.  It was a great experience and we loved the opportunity to collaborate with such wonderful artists!

Interview with Rebel Kuzco

Photo taken by Andy Miller

Rebel Kuzco is a hip-hop artist full of energy and good vibes. I had the opportunity to see him perform at Lamp Light music festival this past weekend. He took the stage after generously passing around a bottle of Bacardi in the makeshift green room, and encouraging people to join in on stage during the show because he “likes his shows to be fun”.  While performing he maintained an engaged and excited crowed within the nostalgic living room venue. Rebel Kuzco’s rhymes had everyone bobbing their heads and smiling smoothly. After seeing his great performance, I had to ask Rebel Kuzco a few questions.

Tell me what made you start making music.

I just kinda always knew I would. I used to sneak in my sister room when I was a kid and play her DMX and SWV cassettes she kept in a shoe box. Ever since then I wanted to be like them. I started writing music pretty young.

How was your experience at Lamp Light?

Lamplight is always a good time! I love the energy the people give no matter who's performing or what genre. It's a festival for people who love exploring sounds.

What do you hope your audience gets from your music?

I try to soundtrack moments when I write records, but as a fan, Im always trying to put on the perfect song for the moment I'm in. I want my music to be the soundtrack for other people lives. Cleaning up the house, or heading to the bar, I want to be apart of the their experiences.

Are you working on anything new?

Yeah! I'm working on my debut solo project releasing next spring. The working title is Basic Kinda Day. I don’t know, that might end up being what the album is called haha.

What's your biggest fear?

I don't have any fears anymore. I used to be afraid of disappointing people, or not living up to the potential I know I have. I just take life as it comes now. I appreciate the change and uncertainty. It's a new experience I could look forward too.

Interview with Nappy Roots

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Photo taken by Diwang Valdez

Everyone knows the song “Good Day” featuring Nappy Roots, it has a positive and uplifting vibe with relatable lyrics. But Nappy Roots has a ton of their own tracks worth bumpin’ to; such as two of their biggest hits, “Awnaw” and “Po’Folks”. As a southern rap group that’s been around since 1995, who left Atlantic Records to make music independently, Nappy Roots doesn’t seem to be leaving the game anytime soon. About a year ago they released an album called 40 Akers made by two group members Fish Scales and Skinny Black. Just recently I had the opportunity to see them live and they put on quite the show. By the last few songs Fish Scales was passing a bottle around the crowd and everyone was grooving to their southern hip hop ditties. After the show I caught up with the Nappy Roots cats and I had the opportunity to ask Fish Scales some questions.

What track is the most meaningful to you?

A song called "On My Way to Georgia". We recorded it when I had finally moved back to Atlanta. It symbolize a certain time in Nappy Roots history which was right after the success of our first album.

Tell me about your newest project.

We just finished our new album called "Another 40 Akerz". It's probably my favorite so far. We chose to use a lot of features on this one.

What do you hope people get out of your music?

We want to to be known for consistently making good music and never giving up on our dreams.

What’s your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is the day that I can no longer tour and do music.

Short but meaningful, special thank you to Fish Scales for sharing this insight with us.

Stay up to date with what Nappy Roots is up to here: www.nappyroots.com

Interview with Matt Duckworth

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Photo taken by George Salsbury

Matt Duckworth is a performer from Oklahoma, most prominently known as the drummer from the psychedelic rock band, the Flaming Lips. Duckworth is also a member of Stardeath and White Dwarfs, a self-identified freak rock band from Oklahoma City. On top of being a part of those two groups, Duckworth is also a part of a DJ duo known as The Brothers Griiin.The Brothers Griiin puts on creative performances with unbeatable energy filling any venue they visit. When asked about Brothers Griiin‘s shows, Dayzie Smith (a frequent audience member) shared, “…Nick and Matt play the songs you love & the songs you forgot you loved & you can tell they're genuinely having a good time dancing around on stage because they're feeding off the crowd jumping around and having a fun ass time.” After seeing the hype surrounding Brothers Griiin and feeling continuously curious regarding his participation in the Flaming Lips, I needed to ask Duckworth a few questions.

Tell me about The Brothers Griiin?

The Brothers Griiin are a musical performance, production duo, and DJ crew, consisting of myself and Nicholas Ley. In the beginning, the idea was that we would split a gig drumming with the Flaming Lips, in order to avoid conflicts with other projects we were involved with, but it soon became evident, that together, we could really take things to another level, and we’ve been working as a duo ever since. We hope to keep expanding our scope, with the idea that you could hire Brothers Griiin to record, produce, and perform your entire album, live show, or party.

What inspires the costumes you commonly wear?

Wayne and The Lips inspire a lot of what we do, but especially when it comes to things like costuming, and we love it. I think the biggest thing is that it helps you to not take yourself to seriously, it’s all about having a good time. It ties Nick and I together, and its always fun taking pictures with people in our green hair. Its also nice to not have to worry about what you are wearing on stage, because once you are wearing a ridiculous green wig, no one really notices anything else.

Tell me your favorite thing about collaborating with the other members of The Flaming Lips?

Well… I think its pretty simple. I’ve been around the band for a long time, and I used to see how hard they worked all the time, and think, man… that just doesn’t seem like much fun. But now that I’m more involved, I think that is my favorite part. Its so cool to be surrounded by a group of people who are all completely invested in what we are doing, and who all want it to be the very best it can be, including our wicked crew, I think its rare to find a group of so many people all pulling on the same rope, and loving each other like a family. We work hard, and party harder for sure!

What is your biggest fear?

Snakes.

Interview with Phill Dage

By Mackenzie Tucker

Photo taken by Linde Vanthournout.

At an after party at Tangent Gallery for Dally in the Alley in Detroit, I had the pleasure of viewing a performance by The Vonneguts. The Vonneguts are a rock band with a particularly intriguing member called Phill Dage. Phill is a jack of many trades who creates art full of good intentions. Initially his performance at Tangent Gallery pulled me in, but after picking his brain a bit more I found many remarkable aspects regarding his artistry and its purpose. From fantastic events in Detroit, to his personal thoughts, I loved speaking with Phill Dage.

Tell me the purpose of the Guatemala Solidarity Project.

Guatemala Solidarity Project (GSP) is a network of Guatemalan activists and U.S.-based allies. GSP works with indigenous communities in rural Guatemala who are struggling to obtain legal title to their ancestral lands. GSP has the unique role of working alongside Guatemalan advocates for a more just and accountable government. Also, GSP recognizes the role the U.S. government played in spurring the eternal conflict in Guatemala known as la violencia. During this conflict more than 200,000 indigenous Mayan people were killed and genocide was declared to have been committed by the Guatemala Government by the Guatemala Truth Commission Report. We understand the struggle is not over today. Thousands of innocent Guatemalans still face physical threat for speaking out against a clearly unjust government. The purpose of GSP is to shed light on our government's (U.S.) integral role in the blatant injustice plaguing Guatemala.

What went down at this event you had in Detroit this past Saturday?

The event last Saturday was all about showing solidarity with one of our partner communities, the Xinxa people of Xalapan in Jalapa, Guatemala. I, along three others, visited the community of Santa Maria Xalapan for one month in May of 2016.  Here is a link to the full delegation report: http://www.guatemalasolidarityproject.org/quarterly-report-june-2016/. So, the benefit fair was all about raising money to purchase materials to construct water deposits for various communities we visited on our delegation Xalapan. The benefit was a smashing success: there was music, poetry, food, and lively discussion. We hope to have the Third Annual Guatemala Solidarity Benefit Fair sometime next September.

How can people support this organization that didn’t make it to the event?

Here is a way to donate to GSP:  http://www.guatemalasolidarityproject.org/donate/

Please visit our website for news and a more in-depth description of our organization.

Now on September 24th you’re participating in another benefit, tell me about that.

On September 24th, I am participating in another event called Sink or Swim Detroit. This event is all about building solidarity between the urban/suburban communities in the Detroit area and also shedding light on the terrible water crisis plaguing Detroit. Here is a link to the facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1224538360890260/. This is a day of action, so please come out early and participate in the march and listen to the speakers. We hope to see ya!

Anything else cool going on in Detroit that everyone should know about?

There is a bunch of stuff in Detroit that should know about, but right now you should check out this new band: Virginia Violet and the Rays. They are doing something new within the Detroit music scene, check out their new single: https://soundcloud.com/virginiavioletandtherays/terminal

* Phill is also playing at Sink or Swim in Detroit on Saturday Sept. 24th at the acoustic stage at 3 o’clock. *

Tell me about the things you do as an artist.

Okay, as an artist I create stories which reflect essential aspects of the human experience, such as the feeling of saying goodbye or describing the moment right before sleep or just trying to make sense of my place in this ever-moving world.

Describe the motivation behind the energized performance style you have when performing with The Vonneguts.

With The Vonneguts I have also loved to play, and play loudly. We have been together since high school and have played all over the U.S: New York, New Orleans, L.A., Nashville, Seattle. But we love Detroit the most. We started playing basement shows and have always tried to maintain that same energy, where ever we play.

What is a common message you attempt to send through your music?

One common message I try to send through music is peace. Or rather, the movements toward peace. Music is always in the moment and moments lived peacefully radiate harmony, which reverberate around the world, so music can literally create peace.

What inspires you to share your music?

I am inspired to create and share music because I believe in its power. Music can make people dance, sing, cry, laugh, inspired, do anything! Music also plays an integral role in movements for social change. I think about classic folk music from people like Joan Baez or Bob Dylan and I think about its ability to inspire people into action. Music can move people to speak out against injustice and fight the system of oppression.

What is your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is failure. I fear not being able to achieve my full potential. I am not a perfectionist, however, I am afraid of losing the path toward truth. I always try to keep following it.  

Find Phill’s folk music here: https://folksinginphill.bandcamp.com/releases

Listen to The Vonneguts here: http://thevonnegutsdetroit.bandcamp.com/

Interview with hi-ker

Artwork by Bex Ilsley

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

hi-ker’s new single Ice Storm from their upcoming album Weird Plastic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SGB6OqFenw

I have had the pleasure of seeing hi-ker live three times now. Each time it has been in a rather intimate, ethereal setting. I have gotten to know the members of the band, Chris Ryan, Spencer Gordon and Kohl Sprader, rather well; they are remarkably sweet and inspiring. It brings me so much joy to see these great friends get up on stage and create such beautiful noises. With an eccentric Indie sound these three take you to your happy place through their synth-y creations. All band members display a remarkable sense of self control and stamina while on stage, exhibiting their souls for all to see. It is truly my honor to get in their heads a bit regarding their upcoming release Weird Plastic.

Tell me about your upcoming release.

Kohl Sprader: The name of the album is “Weird Plastic” and it is our first full-length with nine tracks.

Chris Ryan: It was mostly recorded at my parents’ house. We mixed and mastered it there as well.

Spencer Gordon: This will actually be the first music we've put out since announcing ourselves as a project with the EP.

How long have you guys been working on this album?

C: Some of the songs on this album were being developed even before our EP (which we released about 2 years ago). We started recording this album in the late summer of 2015; however, the bulk of the recording was done in late October, early November. We finished the album at the beginning of this year, before February.

K: Finding artwork to fit the sound of the album has been a bit more prolonged of a process, though. We’ve gone through at least 3-4 album artwork concepts before arriving on the current artwork which was created by Bex Ilsley from the U.K.

S: Yes, it's all been quite a process. I think even more so than any of us thought it would be starting out.

What song was the biggest challenge for you to complete?

K: Tiny Thoughts was fairly challenging because it’s one of the oldest songs on the album, stemming all the way back to a previous band that we were in during high school. We reworked and restructured the whole song, the feel of it has changed pretty dramatically from its beginnings.

C: At the same time it was fun to reimagine it into its current state; we weren’t entirely sure where it was heading which definitely made it tricky at times, but also exciting.

S: Yeah these two fellas did a stellar job reworking that one. I remember they were initially nervous to show me where they had taken it because it had become so much different than when we first started playing it years ago.

Tell me about an interesting meaning behind one of the songs.

K: The single “Ice Storm” is primarily about people’s unique interpretations of stressful events/ situations in their lives. The verses cycle through different perspectives on the main problem (a big ice storm) ranging from taking the storm .head on, ignoring it altogether, and panicking in the middle of it. These perspectives can be extrapolated further into a bigger view of how people cope with stressful events in general, beyond the obvious ice storm example used in the song.

What are your biggest fears?

C: I really hate driving in the winter

K: For me it is spiders and the Wizard of Oz.

S: I'd say facing the end of my life feeling disappointed in myself. Sorry to be a downer gang.

Interview with Säge, The 64th Wonder

Photo taken by Paul Elliot

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Säge, The 64th Wonder is a hip hop artist and producer out of Chicago. He is also the creator of the artist collective Slumpgang777. Säge mixes aggressive, complex rap lyrics with hints of philosophical, melodious singing. While listening to his music you're sure to find your head bobbing and your toes tapping. Säge is constantly putting out new, diverse tracks. A talented, well rounded artist; you don't want to sleep on Säge, The 64th Wonder.

Tell me why you call yourself Säge, The 64th Wonder?

Säge, The 64th Wonder for a number reasons but mainly because my homie Sage Nebulous gave it to me. Sage Nebulous is also a Chicago Producer from Chicago. Him giving me the name Sage prompted me to expand on it later and add "The 64th Wonder" (which was derived from my previous name "Shintendo64").

What is the biggest message you’re attempting to send to your audience?

Really I just want my audience to know that the members of Slumpgang777, it's affiliates and I are the New Wav of timeless music. We're different indeed and I feel give a new refreshing feel to the culture today. Through touring and stuff hopefully that's what my demographic will take from me.

Tell me about Slumpgang777.

Slumpgang777 is a collective I started a while ago. Nothing really too crazy. Me and my brothers (some I've known for over 15 years) have always hung out and just indulged in art like activities. In short we're a multi genre art collective lol. More music from the collective itself will be released in 2017.

What track are you the most proud of?

The track I'm truly proud of is "Dragon Of The Somersault Cloud" Haha and it's mainly because I produced it really. It's an original song and no samples were used so its always a lit time performing it live.

What is your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is loss.

Stubborn Strays Interview

Photo taken by Nathan Purchase of Psychedelic Eyes Photography

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Haleigh Potter, Alex Yeomans, Blake Bouwman and Chris Coble make up the Stubborn Strays, a campfire punk band out of Grand Rapids, MI. I recently met with them to talk about the record label they have started called No More! Records. I have coerced them into jamming for me twice now and both times I have felt as though I have entered a realm of comfort and unity. They are incredibly in sync with each other, and they seem to be having a whole lot of fun. It became very clear to me that I must inquire further into the methods of their succinct, self identified “musical mystery meat conglomerate”.

How did stubborn strays get together?

It's actually pretty rad and coincidental how everyone got together. Alex and Chris have been really close friends since 2nd grade and grew up in Comstock Park MI. Al and Blake met in California when they went out there for College, Blake grew up a few towns over from Chris and Alex in Wayland MI but the connection to the group was made about as physically far west as you can go in this country. We were playing as a three-piece when we made our first album and relatively recently gained our fourth Member, Haleigh; our rolling thunder and band mom, who hopped on for our newest EP and is here to stay. Now we all live together in the No More! Records house like one big happy nuclear family. So, essentially, long story short: We dem boiz (and girl).

Who inspires you guys the most?

One of the coolest things about the Strays is that we're pretty much a group of 4 different people with different influences and styles that work oddly well together. We've been branded with the moniker of "campfire-punk" which kind of best explains the music. We generally shuffle from melodic folkier stuff to punky tunes and back and around and forth and whatnot. Keeping ya guessing, ya dig? One of the things that makes this project so unique is that we all end up being influenced by others in the band more so than outer influences. P.S: Haleighs definitely influenced by Creed but you didn't hear it from me.

Tell me a bit about your process when writing a new tune.

We all have a part in writing and contributing to the process, general rule of thumb is if you write the song you sing it but we all live together in the No More! Records house so chances are there is some sort of 24/7 collaboration happening. We all play music together and all show each other new ideas where we'll harmonize and spit thoughts back and forth. We are the physical personification of a musical mystery meat conglomerate but instead of unidentifiable bits of animals, it's a melding of different musical strokes. That's something that we're really stoked about with our newest EP, Drinking Beer and Getting Angry. It's a 3 song EP that has 3 totally different styles on it but they all play off of each other. We're working on our next EP which will be out soon and shortly thereafter will be starting to lay down our second full length. We're all super jazzed about being in such close quarters and trying our best to wake up every day with a new artistic goal and not procrastinate and wake up at 1pm every day.

What's your biggest fear?

Besides the obvious top 3: The inevitable collapse of society, commitment, and bears, that's a tough question. We're in a rapidly growing community where there is a multitude of other artist to collab and work with. We just jumped into No More! Records which gives us the opportunity to connect and grow and gain traction. The only thing that plays into this as far as fear goes is the underlying worry that more people won't get into it. But that's minuscule, dismal. If we have 5 new people dig on our art or 500, we love what we do, we love the music that we make, and we love the business that we're forging. I mean, obviously who wouldn't prefer the 500 but you get what I mean. We're really looking forward to making new stuff and working with other artists through No More! Keep an eye out for us cause we are and always will be the most dangerous folk band in the world.

Find their work and more info about No More! Records here:

Bandcamp: https://stubbornstrays.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/stubbornstrays

nomorerecordsgr.com

Interview with Damn The Witch Siren

Photo taken By Kate Sweeney

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Z Wolf and Bobbi Kitten are eclectic musicians from Ohio. I had the opportunity of seeing Damn the Witch Siren on The Moon in Grand Rapids last year. Their performance blew me away with an intensely colored set, costumes and transdisciplinary artist Natalie Wetzel performing along side them as a Cosmic Unicorn. As a self-identified witch rock duo, Damn the Witch Siren infuses witchcraft into electric-pop dance music. It is impossible not to become entranced by their upbeat tracks. If you’re seeing them live, you’re definitely in for an electric out of body experience. I got the chance to ask them a few questions and delve deeper into what inspires them.

What is the biggest message you attempt to send the listeners through your music?

We definitely write a lot about feminism, patriarchy, spirituality, and love. There's a lot of symbolism and intention with our music but we never try to pinpoint any of it or make it very obvious. A lot of our writing is tongue in cheek and is left up to the listener to interpret. But I believe our universal message is love and freedom to love yourself without restraint.

What inspired Damn the Witch Siren's style?

We have both been inspired by mythology our entire lives and I have been a witch since I was in the fourth grade. Z has always said his spirit animal is a wolf. So when we met each other we would stay up for hours and hours just chatting away about these mystical things that inspire us and live within us everyday and it just became the roots of this project. We also both have synesthesia so color is a huge influence and we like to use a wide pallete. A lot of people perceive witches as wearing black and writing music that is dark and somewhat ominous but I think that's a very stale and commercial way of looking at witchcraft. Witchcraft is spiritual. My spirit sings colors and sequins and likes to write dance music.

Are you guys working on any new projects?

Yes! We are working on two big separate projects right now but we can't discuss any of it. We are also working on our live set which is gonna be totally bonkers when we get done with it.

What's your biggest fear?

Not swimming all the way to the bottom.

BAMFOMANIA, Razz Na$-T, Shamar Alef, Moes The Poet, Dr. Prophet,  and SEVENth at the  August 5, 2016 at the Pyramid Scheme

Photos by Ali Smith

More photos Here

Interview with Javier

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Javier Manik is an artist currently residing in Malmö, Sweden playing reggae music on the streets and at events. I had the privilege of meeting him when I was in Sweden and I was immediately drawn in by his welcoming presence and his beautiful dreadlocks. Once I found out that he was a musician I became even more intrigued. Javier’s music takes you to your happy place and relieves you of your worries. His soothing voice working harmoniously with a classic reggae guitar melody allows you to be satisfied with the here and now. I am truly honored to have had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his life and philosophy.

What brought you to Sweden from Paraguay?

I born in Paraguay and my mother move to Buenos Aires when I was 1 year. So I grow up there, I really don't know what is the reason why I move so much but can say that music like to travel so I go with her. After many years travel around sudamerika (South America) Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brasil get the opportunity to travel to Europe . 9 years ago first time in Scandinavia don't know how to speak English or Swedish came here like Tarzan from the jungle, so start my life all over again, so it's many reason why I came here, music, new life, new language, more friends to meet was really interesting so I move.

What do you like about playing on the streets?

When I was 20 I been really famous in Argentina make in some Cumbia pop music , tv show travel many many concerts around Argentina was amazing experience for me but at the same time I get disappointed about the music industry and how the big companies make stupid music with out to be constructive in any way just money for the big companies so I leave all the plastic famous things and I take my bag my guitar and I go to travel my self start to play in the street because its honest to my music, it's real love, can look in the eyes of people and really feel the blessing was not big contracts in the street but was and is big love ACCION (ACTION).

What languages have you performed in?

I learn to speak Spanish, Portuguese, English, Swedish.

Who are your biggest inspirations?

Bob Marley and Manu Chao.

What is your biggest fear?

Have no fear no more I live here and now present time anything can happen and life and to be a life it's amazing beautiful with all the good and bad in it.

Interview with Faeriey

Photo taken by Alaric Macdonald

Interview by Mackenzie Tucker

Faeriey is an ambient siren that will cradle you through the sorrow of the night. The artist known as Faeriey is a vocalist whom resides in London, she also has been working on a side project under the name “emotional 001”. With a hauntingly beautiful voice and a light serene instrumental, Faeriey will transcend you into an ethereal heaven. In order to learn a bit more about this angel-in-the-flesh, I got ahold of Faeriey herself and asked her a few questions.

What finally caused you to record your music and share it?

I started making music about two and a half years ago. I started releasing it online around two years ago. Playing around with my keyboard and singing emotional melodies was always something I did, ever since I was a kid, but I never thought about sharing it. My friend Ava was making music and putting it online and that sort of caused a transition in the way I perceived the music I was making. I realized I could share it, I only made music for myself, but realizing someone else out there might somehow relate to it caused a transition in the way I thought about it all. Suddenly I was aware of all these DAWs, these new ways of making music that didn't just involve a keyboard and my 2am emotions. This realization matured the music I make, made it more three-dimensional as it had more of a purpose. People only started paying more attention to my music maybe around a year and half ago, or a year ago. Making music for myself is something I hold very close to me, I only started making music as a lease for my emotions, it was never with the awareness of others, it was all about helping myself. Letting myself feel heard. I never want this awareness of others to corrupt the music I make or somehow encourage me to make music for others. It always has to remain close to me, otherwise what's the point?

Is it challenging to collaborate with different producers to get the mood you desire?

It's all very instinctive to me. I only work with someone I really want to work with. Unless I am in love with what I am sent, and want to record immediately, I don't usually work with someone. Or I find a track I love and ask the producer if I can use it, then I already know what mood I want. There's never really a conscious decision of the "mood" I desire, it's more an internal thing. If I have to think about what to add to a track to much, it's usually not for me. The people I work with completely understand me though, so in that sense the collaboration is always silky smooth.

Tell me what inspired your side project emotional 001.

One day it was maybe 3am or something and I had been listening to some Arca and Inga Copeland and I realized I needed to make something more experimental. I needed to make something felt but more textured than Faeriey. Faeriey is definitely felt, but there's something very specific about it. Somehow I needed more artistic liberty and less pressure to have the tracks be big successes or whatever, so I decided to create emotional 001.

In track 01 – emotional 001 what is the sample you used from and what made you choose it? The sample is from one of my favourite films, "Before Sunrise", I used it because when I heard it I fell in love with it. In this conversation is takes away from this typical idea of man being God, it puts emphasis on the space between two human beings being this "God", being sacred. This goes against the typical attitude of man being superior to everything surrounding man, which I love very much. It also emphasizes the importance of an attempt: "The answer must be in the attempt." All too often people undermine attempts. Attempts are important, attempts are where action is sometimes born. Attempts are sacred too. That is why I chose it, because it resonated with me so delicately.

What’s your biggest fear?

Half-living my life. I mean I don't love spiders or death but half-living my life feels like both spiders and death at the same time. I couldn't bear the thought that I had passively sat through my life, and let it all slip by me. People don't really realize how special life is, how lucky we are to be here. Or they realize for a little and forget. I try not to forget as much as I can. Not in a super tiring hyper-aware way or anything, I just try to appreciate little things like sunsets and cats and a stranger smiling at you on the tube. In that way it can never be tiring. I don't want to be an old lady and hope I lived more. This is why I try my best to seize everyday. I'm not saying I'm always successful but the intention alone remains important to me.

Interview with Jake Ingalls

By Mackenzie Tucker

Photo taken by Mark Andrus 

Jake Ingalls is a musician from Tennessee that works within two psychedelic masterpieces: The Flaming Lips and Spaceface. Both of these bands are known for their amazing stage sets, light shows, props, and various interactive components for the audience to enjoy. Attending either of the group’s shows is likely to be an experience you will never forget. Most people find themselves searching to see them a second, third, even thirtieth time. Jake likely has the coolest shirts you’ve ever seen and perhaps more importantly than that, his skills on the guitar will take you on an auditory interstellar journey. Where evident talent and true bliss meet, Spaceface emerged for the second time on The Moon in Grand Rapids, Michigan in July. After seeing them for the second time I had to speak with Jake to hear more about his musical endeavors with Spaceface, and find out how he got in with the Lips.

What brought Spaceface together? Most of us have known eachother for quite some time. I've known Matt Strong (bass player and a principal song writer) since the second grade. Eric Martin ( vox and guitar ) and I played ice hockey together around 4th grade to 8th grade era and reconnected freshman year in college. Matt and I actually lost a battle of the bands competition to a screamo band Eric played guitar in Sophomore year in high school hahah. We were mostly just playing around town as a 4 piece until Stardeath and White Dwarfs took us on the road with them to support this King Crimson cover record we were on with them. Eventually, Caveman came along to play drums in the most precise manner possible which came about pretty naturally through friends, same story with Big Red and Petey. Kinda just like rolling along collecting people as we went.

What inspired the interactive parachute used in your shows? I got to tour with Dan Deacon for a bit and watching the way he interacted with the crowds every night was incredibly inspiring. If you haven't seen him perform, it's a spiritual phenomena. It got me thinkin' that I wanted to give people that sense of joy he did, like when the crowd becomes an integral part of the show, it just feels amazing. Now, I'm not as smart as Mr.Deacon nor do I have the crowd control expertise. However, I like to think I know how to have a good time, and god dammit, I love those parachute things and I think most people do too. So, deciding to take full advantage of the club size venues we're playing, I thought "what would be more stupid and fun than getting one of those things out and running some gym class exercises with some drunk folks?" I think it works about 85% of the time.

Are you guys working on any new projects? I'm trying to put out two releases by the end of the year. We recorded 13 songs in December with our friend Calvin Lauber, but I've only had enough money and time to mix about 9 of them with another amazing engineer friend named Jarod Evans. So, I'm gonna try to mix the remaining 4 myself and put them out either just before or just after the other 9. Otherwise, Big Red and I gotta start thinking about booking a West Coast run here pretty soon

How did you start working with The Flaming Lips? I had seen them about 5 or 6 times around them and was just fascinated and had to know how it all worked, so I showed up really early to a show in Columbus, MO and saw a bunch of dudes in orange lookin' frustrated. At this particular event, they inexplicably had no stage hands. . I think the show was too big for the venue so they used all their local work money and time building a stage outside. Anyway, it rained right after and the stage manager asked me to stay and help, which I was WAY more than hyped to do. It really was just right place, right time - another Jake they had on crew was quitting and they decided to split his job in two: I got the "catch all" position which had me doing everything from setting up lights to blowing up balloons and Zac Cox became what they called "The Animal Wrangler" which meant he had to go get people to dance in costume on the sides of the stage and make sure they don't do anything too stupid while having the most fun possible.

What’s your biggest fear? That Donald Trump isn't simply Andy Kaufman in some transformative skin suit.