Milk Carton Issue One

Angels and Airwaves Music Video shoot – Lacy Studios – Sunday, January 20^th

They might not be your favorite band. Maybe you’ve never heard of them. Maybe you liked Blink 182 better. Nonetheless, the experience of a music video is fairly fascinating: the time that goes into it, the thought-processes behind it, the many retakes, and the different personalities that are present.

The song was “Secret Crowds”, an anthem for those who may feel cast out from the general population or what we consider to be the social norm. The lyrics empower the listener and motivate them to take initiative. In Tom Delonge’s own words from the day of the shoot, “the fact that I’m doing this proves that anyone can get kicked out of high school and drop out of college and take over the world…I get paid to be a bum.” Perhaps the liquid in the red cup that he was carrying around the set had some affect on the words he was uttering, but there’s a bit of truth in them. One can do whatever they set their mind to…there just needs to be passion and dedication and a positive attitude.

The shoot on Sunday, only one day of a several day shoot, consisted of three scenes: the alleyway, the performance scene, and the end liberation. In the alleyway scene, the extras in the video follow Tom through the alley (or the one created at Lacy Studios) and band together to create a gang of roughed-up youth (the make up artist helped create this effect with dirt smudges on faces and hands). Then the rain started pouring, but only provided a slight delay because the band and directors figured the precipitation could add to the intensity of the performance shot. They were right. The images of drummer Atom Willard crashing his symbols with rain spraying in every direction is inspiration in itself.

The last scene that was shot for the day was simply a montage of the youth cheering and rejoicing at the idea of being free. When all is edited and cut, the video should be quite epic or as Tom said with red cup in hand, “this is the best music video ever made.”

___________________________________________________________________

Billy Boy on Poison – Unknown Theatre – Friday January 18^th

What happened to the music scene? Where have the crowds been going? Apparently to the Billy Boy on Poison shows – which hit the capacity of 350 at the Unknown Theatre in a matter of an hour on Friday, January 18^th. Not bad for a new band…not bad at all.

When watching the band, one can’t take their eyes off of lead singer Davis. He performs barefoot and really personifies his lyrics. He appears to be something of a young Iggy Pop – rude and in your face but with a respect for the music he is creating. The crowd is equally as fascinating and is allowed to interact with the band. They are welcomed on stage and often handed the mic to complete Davis’ phrases and thoughts.

It’s a show that I hope will be repeated and whose audience will grow. The EP drops on February 19^th and will be available at Hot Topic and iTunes. Get it – it’s a necessity.

_________________________________________________________________

Gallows – Troubadour – Wednesday, January 23^rd

Embodying the performing spirit of the Sex Pistols back in the day and proving Epitaph wise for signing the band, Gallows provides every attendee with an adrenaline-filled experience. (I ignored the guy next to me, who after fifteen seconds of the set excused himself from the show due to poor music tastes.)

At this particular show, Frank Carter, injured himself after various stage antics and the show was continued with less vigor than normal. But that can certainly be excused. Every day on warped tour this summer, the singer gave nothing but one hundred and fifty percent…even getting into the crowd in Indiana and moshing without the presence of his “trousers”.

___________________________________________________________________

it's gettin' to be a cold cold night...

A lot of bands attempt to be political, but only sound as if they are reading off of a card with unwavering bullets of facts. There is something to be said for a band that can not only get the crowd excited and immersed in the music, but who can possess the fans with a sense of social awareness. State Radio manages just this. After being harangued by the security at the Troubadour in Los Angeles – apparently bondage belts don’t pass security – I found a place in State Radio’s van, or home-on-the-road, to set my belt and recorder while I watched their set.

Chad engaged me in conversation while dodging the cold within a blanket, quickly diverted from the topic of an interview, and got my life story while revealing glimpses of his own happenings. Chad, a previous member of the band Dispatch, left the outfit after political differences. Politics are a priority for the singer and his band must reflect that – use the stage as a platform to inform not just to line your pockets with money. Mike joined the interview later on in the discussion and provided sporadic commentary. “Hi. I’m Mike. I play drums. And I’m from Boston, too.” My recorder in my lap – before I knew it, half an hour had passed and it was time for them to begin their load-in.

When State Radio began, there was no booking agency, label, or corporate offices. The band simply “booked everything and hit the road…It’s so much work that you don’t concentrate on the music, it’s just about getting gigs.” When in a band much of the concentration needs be focused on the music and the business aspect becomes obsolete, especially when you hope to make a political impact with your music – as State Radio does. Dispatch disbanded due to “political discrepancies” and Chad now feels that he “can do more within this band” due to the fact that all members are on more or less the same wavelength when it comes to current events and what needs to change within are constantly conflicted society. Issues like that make one focus less on the music scene and the constant battle between indie or major labels.

“[Chad] thinks that the major labels are dinosaurs. They [major labels] have been to slow to react to the changes.” He analyzes as he further wraps the blanket around his feet. “We don’t have a record label or anything – we do have good management. We’re lucky in that way.” And maybe that’s the way to go – to not rely on a label to put your music out. Instead self-releasing your albums and taking the responsibility for the exposure of your band, for the marketing. Major labels get too much of a voice in an artist’s career – but without one there is more freedom and a better creative representation of the music. Just something to ponder.

Judgments of the CDs and modern-day bands admired by State Radio cannot be made easily. After conversing about the deterioration of the music scene and the fact that most teenagers have sold their souls and any musical integrity for an inexpensive flat iron, band names started to surface. “The two or three bands that we were into on Warped made it worth it.” Mike dug Helmet and Chad was into From First to Last – pre-Sonny Moore’s resignation. Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and Scary Kids Scaring Kids somehow work their way into the conversation as well.

State Radio is the kind of band that makes you rethink the reasons you listen to music. State Radio is the band that makes you want to look at the album art and ponder the work behind the production of their CD. State Radio is a band with a message. Listen carefully.

A couple of words, just letters that are human in denomination...

While most bands form due to illusions and hopes of grandeur, Kaddisfly was created out of a hobby and developed into “this thing [they] wanted to take seriously.” Swarms of girls transfixed by guys in bands, fame intertwined with financial success, and household recognition were not factors in the decision to form Kaddisfly. Influenced by the music of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Silverchair, Tears for Fears, Glassjaw and many other prominent music scene figures, the band also draws from the inspiration found in “film and painting and life in general…you can draw inspiration from anything.” Most bands write songs that are based upon breaking up with girlfriends, but Kaddisfly is not like that. Kaddisfly has substance.

The current music scene is “thriving.” The scene is overwhelmed with bands: whether talented or not, they still exist. “It creates a lot of, [Aaron Tollefson- guitarist] hates to use the word competition because music and art are not about competition, but when you’re trying to make music for a living it’s kind of tough to separate the bands with good intentions from the others.” If you can pick up a guitar and use the internet, you can create a Myspace account and call yourself a band. Whether this is detrimental to the scene or helpful is debatable. It makes it more difficult to weed out those with talent and integrity, but makes it easier for smaller bands to get the recognition that they might deserve. “Ten years ago there were really good bands and now there’s just a lot of then.” To separate themselves from that over saturation, Kaddisfly tries “to be creative and take it to the next step.” They’re not going to sell a million records at any point in the near future because they are “taking risks.” Their own recognition and acceptance of this fact is what sets them apart. As a band, they see why large-scale success has not yet been achieved: they keep doing what they want to do and write songs they want to hear rather than songs they “think other people want to hear.”

Writing the songs that comprise a Kaddisfly album is very “collective.” Everyone puts in their “own two cents” and the bands creates songs from those riffs, rhythms, or song lyrics. No matter who starts a song, the product is that of Kaddisfly – not an individual member. It goes in its own direction and becomes something of which the band is proud. Throughout the six years the band has been in existence, the process or the goal has not changed. They keep “pushing consistently.” Sacrifices have been made and they see no reason to hold “normal jobs.” If another six to ten years is needed – Kaddisfly is going to keep on pushing. “It’d be nice to make a comfortable living.” And in the music industry, being financially comfortable is a difficult thing to do unless working for a large corporate-driven record label.

A band’s feelings on major labels versus the largely-hyped indie labels vary from genre to genre. “It’s not about selling out – it’s about what kind of music you play.” Some bands just happen to have that distinct indie sound and would not go over well if signed to a major label. It’s not about sounding mainstream, which can be a hard sound to describe, “it’s weird.” Aaron uses Incubus as an example – although they do not sound mainstream, due to their fan base and prominent place in the industry, they would simply not benefit from being added to the roster of an indie label. A lot of bands just have that indie sound and wouldn’t go over well on a major.

Touring is an aspect of being a professional musician to which one must become accustomed. Aaron enjoys the inevitable prospect of being “in a different city every night.” A routine and expected answer but when couple with the completion of his answer, allows him to stand out among the other bands. As an outlet, “playing music every night is a given.” As well as “meeting people…getting to meet tons of cool musicians and it’s amazing meeting the kids who come to shows.” I mean before being in a band – Aaron was waiting tables. Being on the road is by far preferable to living on the tips of customers. But traveling and lack of sleep can take its toll on an individual as well. “When you’re driving doing eight hour drives every single day. It’s rough on you and it gets tiring.” But within Kaddisfly – there are too many positives to emphasize the negative.

Dirt Nasty - The Roxy - June 2007

Feel like having a little dirt rubbed in your face? In the world of music, all genres can be over-played and taken too seriously, but every once in a while an artist comes along and revives the scene making it worthwhile once again. Dirt Nasty has rolled up his sleeves and successfully rejuvenated the hip-hop scene. The name comes from a simple phone conversation in which Dirt was asked how he was and his witty response being: “I’m just chillin’ dirt nasty.” Humble beginnings for what has now become the hip-hop trio: Dyslexic Speedreaders - composed of Mickey Avalon and Andre Legacy with other crew members on the peripheral.

As I talked to Dirt Nasty our scenery changed from liquor store on Sunset Blvd, the nearby sidewalk, the parking lot behind the Roxy, to sound check at the Roxy. Originally from the Bay area of California, Dirt Nasty’s roots and career stem from the world of acting. Influenced by “hard music” such as “Ozzy Osbourne, Too Short, Metallica, and NWA,” his influences are mainly from when “music wasn’t watered down. It was just fresh and hip-hop was new.” Hip-hop has always been a part of his life: a passion that started when free styling to beats that he created himself. “My friend had a karaoke machine and I would always just rap. But no one knew because I was just doing acting.” Not that the two professions don’t cross paths; in “Scary Movie 3” Dirt Nasty, also known as Simon Rex, plays the role of a rapper. The distinction for audiences is sometimes hard to grasp but once people let go of that “they laugh because [he’s] just taking a piss…rappers take themselves so seriously anymore.”

The stereotypical attitudes of rappers is what kept Dirt Nasty from further developing his own hip-hop career until his friend, Ben, introduced him to Mickey Avalon and Andre Legacy. At first Dirt Nasty “didn’t want to meet anymore rapper…[he] was tired of ghetto rappers who sought beats for free.” But he finally relented and let Ben bring the two guys over; they ended up “becoming best friends.” Andre and Dirt Nasty created beats in their bedrooms while Mickey was in a halfway house. “He used to get mad at [me] for handing [demos] out, but [I] always knew it would be a good thing.” Dirt’s foresight was accurate because the demos eventually fell into the hands of their current manager who at one time managed System of a Down in accordance with Velvet Hammer.

It has all paid off. The Dyslexic Speedreaders, a name created by the same friend, Ben, who introduced the trio, are opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on an upcoming European tour. “That’s going to be the sickest shit ever…touring with the Chili Peppers in Europe – it really doesn’t get any better than that.” The approaching headlining nationwide tour is an event worth taking in as well; at “those shows the kids are really there for” the Dyslexic Speedreaders, whereas at other shows they get boo-ed on occasion, but “that’s just paying your dues.” But kids are starting to embrace the music and the new direction that it is providing for hip-hop. When one has no modern-day music heroes “aside from Britney Spears,” what can be lost by listening to the Dyslexic Speedreaders? The least one will gain from the experience is a chuckle. “[I]” think that people really like [us] by default…feel like it’s [our] job to bring back the raw shit to music. [We’re] trying to bring back the fuck you, suck my dick shit, that’s been gone for a while.” With the entertainment industry in a cyclic downward spiral, the Dyslexic Speedreaders are greatly needed.

Dirt Nasty makes a lot of the beats for the group as well as working with other producers such as Cisco Adler from Whitestarr. It started out as just Dirt in the beginning of the Dyslexis Speedreaders, but as they “got bigger and Mickey got bigger…bigger producers got involved. It’s good to have many sounds, not just one dimensional.” The writing process for a Dirt Nasty song is a fascinating and lighthearted one. An idea is created that makes one laugh. Take “Amanda” for instance, a song about transvestites because “she’s a man-duh.” Dirt wants to make his songs “a three minute movie.” An obvious connection to his film past and an ingenious way to think about music: a fresh outlook for a fresh twist to the scene. “All rappers talk about how big their dick is so [I’m] gonna talk about a baby dick…go against the grain and if it makes [me] laugh, [I] will write a song for.”

The full length album will soon be out. Another current project of Dirt Nasty’s is The Remede with “fake British accents and new wave beats like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode.” Fresh ideas are what propel his creativity. And Dirt Nasty has just finished an independent film called “Hotel California” that “might go to theatres or straight to video.” Either way the face of Dirt Nasty - or Simon Rex – however you know him, will soon be in a town near you.

starting up

This will soon be an online music magazine with a coordinating myspace and an occasional in print issue. So stay tuned and keep checking in for updates.