Very early interview with the Mondays. Oh how the time has simply *flown* by. Don’t believe me? Well compare and contrast the above with this recent gem.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Lee Min Jung at Lotte World
Fan pics/cams of Lee Min Jung at Lotte World on 2010.03.12, it’s for the recording of KBS Entertainment Weekly Guerilla Date. There is a chance this is going to be aired in today’s episode.
credits http://www.cyworld.com/how53/3245439
From The E-Z Widers To Kumquats - 20 Minutes With Taylor Hicks, Part 1
If there’s one thing there’s been no shortage of in the Taylor Hicks fandom over the past fifteen months, it would be press coverage. As long as the national touring company of Grease is arriving in some burg large or small, we’re pretty much guaranteed one full day of radio, TV and print promoting the production. And its spokesman has inevitably been Mr. Hicks himself, who has likely lost count of the number of interviews he’s done since Grease hit the road.
While all this promotion has no doubt been pivotal in making Grease a financial success, it’s also served to introduce (or reintroduce) Taylor to an American public that, in far too many cases, treats its artistic and musical population in a way I’ve come to refer to as the Bic method. Buy it, use it up (or just until you get your fill), and then toss it away when the next best thing comes along.
So while it’s heartening to see so many folks discovering what we already know about Taylor: nice guy, down-to-earth, charming, talented, there are only so many times we can listen to him being asked the same questions and giving the same answers before we reach the saturation point. There’s not a whole hell of a lot of diversity going on during these press junkets.
So when Taylor was generous enough to offer me an interview after his gig at the High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI in December, I jumped at the chance. I immediately knew my list of questions would contain zero references to either Grease or American Idol. Been there, done that, most definitely have the t-shirt. Instead, I pulled up a list of queries I’d been compiling since the Spring of 2006, when I first fell hard for the voice and the talent of that quirky, gray-haired guy who’d shown up on my TV.
Taylor’s schedule being what it is, it wasn’t until earlier this month that we finally pinned down a date for the interview. This past Thursday, the 11th of March, after trying twice to connect on the phone and running into reception problems, the third time proved the charm and our interview (Taylor in Pittsburgh and me in the northern suburbs of Chicago) began with the ubiquitous words, “Can you hear me now?”
I started by asking him about something he’d once mentioned as a topic no interviewer had ever brought up, and that was the music he’d made between the ages of 23 and 28.
W: I’d like to talk about the E-Z Widers. Is that a band you put together?
T: Yeah it was, actually. The EZ Widers … It’s interesting, you know, I’ve had names for bands backing me ever since after Passing Thru. That was a band … Jon Cook was in the band. [To Clay, laughing: Did you play in the band?]
Clay: Sometimes, but yeah, I played in the band.
T: Clay played in the band sometimes. I mean, you know, all of the bands that I had when I was growing up were kinda like revolving doors for musicians.
W: Yeah, I was gonna ask you that. I wondered if it was a static band or if you just brought people in as you needed them and it was always changing.
T: Well, you know, it’s like I had 3 bass players, 3 guitar players, one of ‘em was married, the other one was pregnant, one of them was … [laughter all around] … I mean … [more laughter] … I mean it was – big word here – a smorgasbord of musicians that came in and out. But you had to keep a plethora of musicians knowing your stuff because a grungy side musician at 25 is gonna probably get drunk and not show up. I figured if I keep 3 bass players, 3 guitar players, 3 drummers and 3 keyboard players, one out of 3 ain’t bad.
W: Yeah, you’re always covered that way.
I then touched on his original songs on In Your Time and Under the Radar and asked him which was his favorite.
T: I think I was in a good place … I think I was in a really neat place when I wrote the album In Your Time, and all those songs, I think, it was like a part in time where there were no straps, no stipulations. It was basically free artistic expression. I had time, you know? I was passionate, and still am, about song writing, but it was kind of like … it was like a new toy at Christmas when you were a kid. You have to be real excited about those kinds of things, whether it’s songwriting or whether it’s doing new stuff. The newness of that songwriting could really be heard in that album.
I asked him if it was harder to capture the muse now than it was before, when a lack of steady gigs had him in one place for longer periods of time.
T: Yeah, you know it’s interesting how it does hamper it. Here’s the way that I like to work: when I’m on tour, I’m on tour. I’m touring whatever I wrote or whatever I was into, and whatever I had the time to put mental effort into when I wasn’t touring. So I think that’s the way I like to operate. I can’t sit in the Holiday Inn in Topeka, KS and write music and then go to do Grease. I want to sit inside a songwriter’s house or my own house and be comfortable and be really focused in that song instead of being …
W: Well, yeah. You have to be in a place where you can really let yourself sink into it; where you can fall down the rabbit hole and not worry about it.
T: Yeah, you know because usually about the time that you start writing, turn-down service happens.
W: Right. And sometimes once you break that concentration, it’s gone. There’s no way to get it back.
T: Usually the turn-down service people have chocolate too, and once you eat that shit, you’re screwed.
We both get a good laugh out of that one. God knows, my concentration has been shattered by chocolate more times than I can count. Once we get past the laughter, I ask him to name some of his biggest musical influences during the IYT and UTR period; the musicians he was really digging then.
T: I would say Van Morrison, Bob Seger … You know, just all those singer songwriter guys. Under the Radar was … I wanted to create the Al Stewart sound, which was kind of impossible because Al had probably a 4 million dollar budget, I had a 4 thousand dollar budget.
W: Well, you did a very good job with the money you had.
T: Well, you know, I think that helped me realize that it’s not about how much money you spend, it’s about what you really have the dream for before you go into the recording situation.
Our conversation then moved on to Taylor’s creative process: how a song progresses from the initial idea to the studio; how he knows when he’s nailed it, and how he keeps the muse happy and well-fed. We also cover how he’s navigating the music business now that he’s his own boss. I’ll have part two of the interview up before the end of the weekend. Stay tuned …
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Kristen and Dakota HitFix Interview
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are having a blast. The duo play iconic rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie respectively in the new rock ‘n’ roll biopic “The Runaways” and are currently in the middle of a cross-country publicity tour. Normally, most actors would be sick and tired of constantly talking about one movie — and Stewart should know after all the hours she’s discussed the “Twilight” franchise — but you’d never know both actresses have been pushing this film since its debut at Sundance in January.
Laughing through a sit down with some assembled members of the press on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the actors discussed everything from the pressure of playing the founding members of The Runaways to their own eclectic musical tastes. More intriguing, however, was how the young stars handled questions about the on screen kiss and implied sex scene between Currie and Jett as they toured the country as teenage rockers.
Stewart notes, “It was in the script as a really fleeting thing. It was sort of also written very abstractly and vaguely. ‘Did they? Yeah, they did.’ Y’know what I mean? So, yeah and I feel it’s that way for them too. The fact it’s been called a ‘love scene’ or the fact ‘So, tell us about your romantic involvement?’ is like ‘What?’”
“I mean, I think it’s just something that happened,” Fanning adds. “I don’t even know if they have talked about it since. Y’know what I mean? It was just a thing and in the script it was just another thing. It’s not that big of a deal.”
One reporter surprisingly threw the gauntlet at Fanning asking her if she was concerned about criticism about playing a character who drinks, does drugs and has sex when she’s only 15-year-old. The actress was unequivocally ready for it.
“There is always going to be someone who doesn’t like what you are doing and doesn’t like, y’know, your movies and thinks you shouldn’t be doing [this or that] and you can never make everybody happy,” Fanning says confidently. “In this movie, I was 15 playing another 15-year-old. She went through all this when she was 15 and why am I too good that I can’t portray that when there are people everywhere younger than that going through much worse”
“We’re snorting vitamin B. C’mon,” Stewart says as laughter fills the room.
Was it good?
Stewart smiles and says, “Yeah, it was good.”
Read the rest at the: Here!
Chad Omega: The Man, The Legend, The Interview
Meeting Chad Omega is what one would call a surreal experience. It’s like encountering a unicorn or a mermaid; you have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming. Luckily I was not dreaming on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 when I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Omega. The interview took place mid-afternoon at my apartment. Upon his arrival I immediately offered Chad beverages, all of which he surprisingly, politely refused. “You don’t even want water?” I asked. He shook his head and explained to me that he doesn’t drink water. “I haven’t had water in three days.” Impressive. I get frustrated when people don’t accept food or drink offers, so I pressed on. “Lunch?” Again, he declined. Finally, I took a box of Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookies out of my refrigerator. “Girl Scout cookies?” I asked. The way Chad Omega’s face lit up would have put the Vegas Strip to shame. Girl Scout cookies, ladies, are the key to Chad Omega’s heart.
LDH: You recently finished a four year stint in the Marine Corps, because you wanted to “Fuck shit up”. What’s next for Chad Omega?
CO: That’s a good question. Probably a lot of blackout nights, and I don’t really know what to tell you from here. I’m about to make a move to Huston, and uh, fuck shit up there.
LDH: Very nice. Now you’ve been know to also use the phrase, “Do the damn thing”, in your own words, could you tell us how one “Does the damn thing”?
CO: Well, for someone to “Do the damn thing”, you just have to be awesome, pretty much, at everything you do. Me doing the damn thing is doing whatever I want, whenever I want.
LDH: Now Chad, not many people are aware of this, but Chad Omega is not your real name. Can you tell us how Chad Omega was born?
CO: Chad Omega was born in Las Vegas actually. We were out one night and lot of cougars kept coming up to us and asking us our names and if we wanted to go back to their hotel rooms with them. So to get myself away from the situation, I had to keep giving them fake names whenever they’d ask and I came up with Chad Omega. It just kind of stuck for the rest of the night, you know … all the drinking and strip clubs … I was Chad Omega. And that’s how he was born.
LDH: You’d had a lot of wild adventures in Las Vegas. What’s your fondest memory of Sin City?
CO: Well, I drank for about 13 hours straight, and then I woke up in a bus stop. I can’t really tell you how I got there, but I still had my wallet and everything. I’d say that was probably the best time I had in Vegas.
LDH: It’s a well known fact that you have a fascination with Little People. How did Little People find a place in your heart?
CO: I don’t know. Every time I see a midget…I call them midgets, I’m not politically correct… I just wanna hang out with them.I even Googled it, you can rent midgets on the internet to come hang out with you. You know what? One of these weekends, I’m gonna do it!
LDH: Rumor has it, you recently had the “Perfect Week”. Can you tell us a little more about that?
CO: Go to community college if you want to have the perfect week. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel, especially in California.
LDH: Some people may not know what the “Perfect Week” is. Can you explain what having the “Perfect Week” entails?
CO: The “Perfect Week” for me was a couple of movies, maybe a dinner or two, but seven different girls, seven days of the week. And it was a great week.
LDH: The Perfect Week!
CO: Yes, the Perfect Week.
LDH: I can’t help but ask, have you ever been slapped?
CO: Yes… So there I was in a bar, and I went to go to the bathroom. On the way, a girl slapped me on the ass, but I was ignored her and went about my business. I went back to the bar and she came up to me and asked what I was doing afterwards. I had to tell her the truth, I said, “Sweetie, I’m not that drunk and you’re not pretty enough yet”. That is the first time I’ve ever been slapped by a woman in public.
LDH: You’ve had some run-ins with some pretty crazy chicks. In fact, I heard a girl confiscated your cell phone at one point. What was that like?
CO: That was probably one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I recently had a one night stand, and then in my rush to get out in the morning, like usual, I forgot my phone. Luckily she went to the community college, where I saw here three days later, and asked for my phone back. Well, I went through my phone and she had actually called and texted people in my contacts list, asking what kind of person I was…That’s not a way to get to Chad Omega, calling people on his phone … random girl.
LDH: Would the circumstances have been different if she were a midget?
CO: Possibly. I’d say if a midget took my phone for three days and called people, it’d be worth it, and I’d actually call her again.
LDH: So besides incidents with crazy girls, have you had any involving open containers?
CO: [Laughs] One of the best open container experiences I’ve ever had was Halloween 2006. I was at my buddies place and we were all getting dressed up for Halloween. I happened to be a coach so that’s tight shorts and a whistle, which is just about all you need for a coaches outfit. Everyone was getting in the car to go to the party, and before we left, I got the bright idea for my friend and I, my “Assistant Coach”, if you will, to stuff our junk with some socks. So while we’re stuffing our shorts, I look outside and go, “Wow that cop outfit is really realistic!” Come to find out, three of my friend got Minor in Possession and Open Container tickets while I was busy stuffing my junk
LDH: So it sounds like stuffing your junk saved your life …
CO: Very true. That was a great night actually… Ladies love the stuffed junk, and I did not have to pay for a ticket.
LDH: So we could say that Chad Omega is an advocate for stuffed junk?
CO: Definitely. Stuff your junk!
LDH: Now speaking of police, have you ever been arrested, or come close to being arrested?
CO: A couple times. The one time I was arrested, I stole two shopping carts full of beer. Well, me and three other people stole two shopping carts full of beer from a grocery store. We went out the side door, and would have gotten away with it, but … it was a sad day in Chad Omega’s life. We actually got citizen arrested.
LDH: I hear that you “tear shit up” on the regular in Carlsbad, CA. What’s up with that?
CO: It’s just something about Carlsbad that brings the best out of me. I don’t really know how to explain it, but me and Carlsbad get along really well. I’m pretty sure I’m a wanted man down there, by the police, or by a couple groups of random people. One time I went to Carlsbad, I had a good night …you know having a good night means I’m probably going to black out…but I woke up the next morning with blood all over my shirt. So I went and washed me hands, and got the blood all off me and found out that I didn’t have an cuts. So you know, I try to stay away, but Carlsbad is my place.
LDH: I hear you’ve had a recent incident in Carlsbad as well?
CO: I was bored, and there wasn’t really much to do, so I went to Carlsbad by myself … I sound like a loser, but you don’t know Chad Omega … So I was down in Carlsbad having a few drinks, and then I made the mistake of going into Boar’s Crossing. I had a few drinks there, and when they started closing down I stepped outside where there was a group of military people. One of the guys just kept running his mouth, and well I let him know that I’m the wrong guy to mess with. He said a few more words, you know, trying to show off for his friend. Of course I had to show off for myself so I hit him a couple times, and he hit the ground. At that point I figured I was a wanted man in Carlsbad and took off. I just kinda ran through some streets, houses, you know, the usual.
LDH: Being a wanted man, it’s good to be prepared. I heard that you’ve already written your Will, how does it read?
CO: My will says last man standing gets my stuff. No rules.
LDH: So is this a free for all for just friends and family or …
CO: Everybody’s invited. If you want some free stuff, you better be the last man standing. And I’m gonna have cool stuff, you better believe it.
LDH: Does this include the cell phone thief? Is she invited?
CO: You know, if she shows up, she might be able to get my cell phone, that’s all she can have.
LDH: Speaking of dying, Chad, how would you like your obituary to read?
CO: Oh man …that’s a tough question. Could I take out a full page ad?
LDH: Absolutely!
CO: Oh definitely! Well in my obituary I would definitely like to put out the address for everyone who wants to show up and get free stuff. Maybe a couple advertisements for strip clubs, definitely where you can get some midgets…so my obituary will be one big advertisement for all the things I love. It’ll also include how awesome I am.
LDH: Chad before we wrap this up, I have one final question for you. I know your not the relationship type, but you have enlightened the lives of a vast array of women. Is there any message you would like to give to the women who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Chad Omega yet?
CO: Ladies, if you wanna meet Chad Omega, here it goes: 713-459-7868. Just give me a call.
And there you have it! All you’ve ever wanted to know about Chad Omega, including his cell phone number.
Send Chad Omega love letters at http://www.facebook.com/nicholas.ellis1
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Looking Behind the Africa Trial Sites Network
Map of climate similarity to the Maroua, Cameron trial site, based on the Homologue™ model. The areas in red are the most similar in terms of rainfall, temperature and seasonal weather pattern.
While Asia and Latin America have benefitted from the Green Revolution, agricultural yields in Africa have increased little over the last half century. This gap is due, in part, to the current state of African research systems. Improved systems will lead to increased yields, a solution that African governments and donors already recognize. Towards this end, several agricultural research scientists associated with the CGIAR’s Consortium for Spatial Information (CSI) established the Africa Trial Sites (AfricaTS) project, a far-reaching initiative that supports the development of international networks of researchers willing to share the results of their cultivar trial experiments.
In a recent interview, the ICT-KM Program caught up with three researchers behind this AGCommons Quick-Win project: Glenn Hyman (CIAT), Kai Sonder (CIMMYT – previously with IITA) and Sibiry Traore (ICRISAT).
What were the main goals of AfricaTS and what were the outputs?
Glenn Hyman: AfricaTS set out to develop a network of trial sites in Africa that could participate in crop improvement programs. The project aims to manage information related to trial sites in a standardized way, and also hopes to have research organizations pooling information on trial sites and making it available to the crop improvement community in a way that would promote a more efficient evaluation of improved varieties. Project participants identified trial sites in Africa and basic information about these sites. Tools to make this information more accessible to the crop improvement community were developed and a website was established to share information developed in the project. The website includes results of some spatial analyses, tools for analyzing data, and links to existing resources for the crop improvement community.
Can other organizations outside the CGIAR access information on the website?
Glenn Hyman: Absolutely! It’s about international public goods, something we need to develop more. It often happens in the CGIAR that we get paid to do research that ends up sitting on our own hard drives or on our own bookshelves. This project is about getting results out there for the public to use.
Why did the four Centers, CIAT, CIMMYT, IITA and ICRISAT, get involved in this project?
Glenn Hyman: Mostly because they are the main Centers working on crop improvement in Africa. It was partly opportunistic as well, because a couple of us sat around talking about the idea, then we sent out a note to everyone else. And these four were the ones that shared the strongest interest. One possibility for a second phase of the project could involve other Centers taking it over and starting to put their own sites in. For example, the best candidate to join efforts now is probably the Africa Rice Center (WARDA), because they are doing so much work in West Africa. But there are other Centers, such as CIP, which does a lot of trial work in Africa on sweet potatoes.
Why did you personally come on board?
Kai Sonder: I simply thought it was a great idea. The compilation of the African trial sites with lots of interactive information is a very valuable thing to have available for the whole agricultural research, development and extension community interested in Africa. It allows us to put research results, and not just research results on plant improvement, in a wider geographical context for up-scaling, improved applicability of results, etc. For example, a person from a NARS or NGO in any country in Sub-Saharan Africa can use one or several of the tools on the AfricaTS site and find out about existing research that was done in a place that is similar to their intended area of work. They can then contact a breeder or other person involved to get seeds or planting materials or implement results. The site will hopefully help connect researchers with similar interests working in similar areas and allow them to exchange results, data, seeds, etc. If properly used, the site will reduce redundancies of testing varieties and breeds and the time it takes to get new improved varieties to farmers in larger areas. Political and economic communities like ECOWAS are thinking of streamlining their seed improvement and delivery systems and sharing information on evaluation sites. Having access to a common platform will contribute to that goal.
Are you still actively involved with the project?
Glenn Hyman: We would like to get new support for it in the future. The Centers involved plan to present the project at the next CSI meeting, which will take place in Kenya, in June 2010. Between now and then, we will be doing a lot of networking and some tweaking of the website. We’ve also had some interest from colleagues who want us to write proposals related to this. The CGIAR is starting a huge climate change initiative, and a big part of that involves trying to make sure that we have seeds that are adapted to future climates. We plan to write a proposal that will involve cultivar trials for future conditions at different sites today. That’s where we think this network is going to be really useful for future research.
What about the sustainability of Africa Trial Sites work?
Glenn Hyman: A large number of our trial sites are from projects of the Generation Challenge Program. Some others are part of the Tropical Legumes Project, and yet others from the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project. These are all ongoing projects that have work out in the field, and which need the type of data and information that are part of this network. We also expect the network to be useful for future projects and multi-location trials.
Are you involved in networking and social media aspects in the run up to the CSI meeting? What do you hope to see as an outcome of the meeting?
Kai Sonder: I will certainly try to contribute to spreading the word on the meeting and getting local colleagues involved. Unfortunately, I’m now based in Mexico and the geographical and time distance doesn’t make it easy to arrange for things.
The meeting’s main purpose is to meet friends and colleagues within the CGIAR GIS community. So it’s a bit like an annual class reunion and it strengthens our personal relations. The big strength of the CSI is that it’s a very informal network that works very well because of our common interests and the social ties. It’s a very level community and we share a lot on data, software and information. I always learn about new data and techniques and a lot of joint projects have come out of the contacts made. It would also be nice to get a larger project going that would include the whole CSI group, such as the Agricultural Atlas for Africa.
People of related disciplines from the UN, NGOs and other institutions often participate, depending on the location and interest , so it’s always a good opportunity to network and get a new range of partners and clients. Last year, this was already quite fruitful in combination with the WhereCamp Nairobi, as I met a lot of people from different sectors and learned a lot of new things on technologies and applications beyond our normal agricultural development scope. This year, as the CSI meeting is imbedded in the Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week (AAGW), I look forward to even more exciting new encounters, partnerships and impulses for my work.
Did you face any challenges with AfricaTS that you didn’t anticipate at the outset?
Glenn Hyman: We expected a lot of historical data on trials to be in a lot better shape than it was. This was partly due to communication in the past. Some of the trial projects were started 25 or 30 years ago. Today, the Internet has made a big difference. Instead of sending trial results out by regular mail, people can get them out by email and through websites like ours. This reduces errors and the time it takes to send things. One thing that is really exciting about AfricaTS is the recent changes expected in Africa related to Internet connection and cell phones. Internet connections will be improved by new undersea cables, probably within a year. This will make a lot more people in Africa connected, and we will soon be able get the Africa crop improvement, research and development community linked to this project.
Sibiry Traore: Historically, low adoption rates of research germplasm have resulted (inter alia) from inadequate knowledge and sampling of target environments. This was also due to important communication gaps between disciplines, e.g. between breeding and ecology (including human ecology). However, AfricaTS offers a unique opportunity to deploy genes across multiple environments more efficiently by breaking through these knowledge and communication gaps.
Would you have done anything differently?
Kai Sonder: The time frame was tight for a small project and the web design part took too long. So in hindsight, these things should have been set up more at the beginning or parallel to the compilation of sites to have the web platform ready as early as possible. This would also have allowed us to share it with parts of the intended client community early on to get feedback and the word out sooner. If this gets expanded to other crops and geographical areas it will be easier.
What I found very useful was using a single site for sharing project documents online for editing and other work. This prevented endless emails with updates and revised versions and the related problems. For me, this was the first project fully managed by Skype and a Google site. So that was quite an exciting experience using new technologies with three partners in four countries and several continents.
Looking ahead what do you hope to see happening?
Sibiry Traore: AfricaTS should be viewed as a springboard for a much larger concept. Beyond the “ivory tower”, ON-STATION trial networks where growing environments are well controlled, it will set the stage for 21st century multi-local on-farm trials where growing environments are less well controlled, but where farmer implication is far more direct. In that sense, AfricaTS lays the ground for truly multi-local PARTICIPATORY trial networks of the future – which will also be more flexible and affordable.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Finn Riggins:
Last Wednesday, psov posted a review of Vs. Wilderness–the delightful new LP from Idaho’s very own Finn Riggins (featuring keyboardist/vocalist Eric Gilbert, drummer Cameron Bouiss, and guitarist/vocalist Lisa Simpson). They are currently promoting the record on an extensive tour of the States (including a stop in Austin for the SXSW Festival). Amid their journey down the Californian coast to play a show at the Soda Bar in San Diego tonight, Eric took a moment to answer a few questions for us regarding the new album, the music scene in Boise, and life on the road.
Vs. Wilderness is such an invigorating and gratifying listen. Unfortunately, I had to stumble upon it rather than it being delivered to my doorstep. How can we get the word out on the streets about Finn Riggins?
Thanks! Certainly can use all the help we can get. I’d say this is a good start. Appreciate you taking the time. Glad you stumbled upon us. I see [ZapTown is] in Indianapolis. We’re playing at Vollrath Tavern on May 5th toward the end of this tour. Hopefully, by then Indy will know we’re coming.
It’s evident in the sound of the album that the band was having a blast during the recording sessions. Describe the process of translating the written material to studio tracks?
It’s true, we had a blast. We really enjoy the music we play and I’m glad it shows. Most of this record was written and refined during a very busy touring schedule in 2008 and in the spring of 2009, and really is a pretty honest snapshot of our live sound and where the band was at that time. We tracked Vs Wilderness, mostly, live over a three day stretch in between shows last May at the Visual Arts Collective in Garden City, ID. It’s a big open room and we were able to get good isolation for the drums and really play these songs like we were used to ripping them at shows. We honed some of the arrangements down for the recordings, but made most of those adjustments on the fly. We did do a decent amount of layering some parts over the top in the mixing process at AudioLab to help capture the energy of our live show. We had our hands in all aspects of the recording process, and although it was a whirlwind three weeks, we most definitely had a blast recording this album.
There is a lovely stop-animation video that was shot for the infectious track, “Wake (Keep This Town Alive)”. What does this song mean to you?
This song was the first song we wrote upon moving to Boise in January [of] 2009 and [it] was during the bottom of this current recession. There were all these questions hovering about how much harder things were gonna get. This song, to me, is about doing what you love regardless of how poor you may be in the midst of it all. It’s about being rewarded with the joys of community and the common causes that bind us together through hard times. It’s about valuing the little things in life. It’s about local underground music and art and the spiritual backbone it provides to small and big towns all over. It’s about dancing with your friends.
Built To Spill is the only other band that I can think of from Idaho. What was it like growing up and playing music in what is, historically, such a musically-devoid scene?
Idaho has never really felt musically-devoid to me. We all met going to school in Moscow, ID, up in the panhandle (northern Idaho), and it was and still is a very vibrant college town with free-form college radio and all kinds of touring and local musicians playing in town several days a week. Granted, a lot of our friends from the scene, when we were there, have moved to Portland, OR and elsewhere to further pursue music careers. But, there definitely wasn’t a lack of creative music being made around us. Idaho does lack much representation in the music industry though, and that can be problematic trying to work in to the national scene. A lot of musicians tend to move to bigger markets because of it, but we’ve been able to cover some ground in the industry thanks to our relentless touring schedule and playing those larger markets on a regular basis. We’re also thankful to have stumbled upon an amazing relationship with Tender Loving Empire–our Portland, OR based label–as they’ve helped us be fairly well-tied into the vibrant Portland scene and we often get mistaken for a Portland band. Rightfully so, though, as we definitely feel like we’re part of that scene as well, despite not storing our household goods there.
With so many performances under your belt, you’ve played with a plethora of up-and-coming bands. Tell us about some of those bands and the experiences you’ve had while sharing the stage with them.
Wow. Where to start? Definitely one of the biggest rewards with playing so many shows all over the country the last several years has been playing with and seeing so many other great bands in different scenes and following them as they develop as well. We get asked about our influences all the time, and although there might not be any direct aural similarities, we all certainly feel that we’re mostly influenced by our peers at this point in our history–on many levels. We love touring with other bands when we get that chance, seeing them night after night and comparing notes along the way. More the merrier tends to hold true in most cases. Some of our favorites: Tartufi, Low Red Land, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Orem The Sink, The Globes, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Woven, Hosannas, Sister Suvi, Tune-Yards, Nat Baldwin, We Vs The Shark, Man/Miracle, The Dont’s, World’s Greatest Ghosts, Le Fleur, Built To Spill, Mike Watt & The Missingmen, Disco Doom, Wildlife Refugees, Ponchos, Appomattox, Yeah Great Fine, Talkdemonic, And And And, The Mutineers, Hello Shark, Love That Dress, Council of Lions, Rooftops, Test Audiences, Asher In The Rye, America Owns The Moon, and many many many more.
You have this small cabin up in the mountains. I’m sure it’s beautiful up there—a pleasant escape from the weariness on the road. What does the band do when they’re not playing or recording music? Any avid hobbies or pasttimes?
We’ve technically moved out of the small cabin in the mountains and down in to the “big city” of Boise. It was nice coming home to the solitude of the small mountain town, but it’s been nice coming home to a more vibrant music and art scene now. I like to play basketball when I get the chance. When we were up in the mountains, I enjoyed hiking and fishing when I got some free time. Cam’s an avid skier and definitely does that as much as he can. On the road, we travel with a bocce ball set and try [to] play whenever possible. Frisbee too. Lisa’s the crafty one of the bunch and does a lot of sewing.
Finn Riggins seems like fun-loving people. I’m sure you get around to making conversation with some of the fans that attend the performances. What was the most supportive thing someone said to you after a show? Any good tour stories?
Definitely get a lot of time to hang with friends and [make] new friends at shows–certainly one of the joys of this endeavor. Really fun to meet like-minded folks all over this country and hear their take on their community and music, and always interesting to watch and hear how they react to what we’re doing. People say a lot of kind things to us… most supportive thing though? A lot of them are too embarrassing to say. Someone that saw us recently emailed us afterward and said that we’d renewed his faith in modern music and that he was going to start DJing at his community radio station again because of it. Little nuggets like that never fail to inspire us forward. Lots of good tour stories, unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to share the juicy ones. We played in a yurt once. Coziest dance party ever. It was amazing. We’re playing a party on a boat next Tuesday in Austin, we’re really excited about that one.
Indie rock concert-goers will always have their stereotypes and presumptions. What was the most indeliberately insulting thing said to you after a show?
“Idaho’s that state right above Kentucky, right?” Nah, not easily insulted in general. Even if someone makes an association with a band that I don’t like that much, I’m usually excited they found a way to connect to our music. And, I just think it’s hilarious that so many people don’t know that Idaho is in the [northwest]; that it has lots of mountains, and that it’s a beautiful place to live.
You’re currently on a massive U.S. tour this spring; almost seventy dates, if I counted correctly. What are your plans after things finish up in late-May? Might you be ready to head to the studio to lay down some new material?
The plan is to spend the summer and fall writing and working on a new album, while remaining open to regional opportunities and any support tours that might be offered to us. We’re really excited to get to work on new material–lots of ideas being thrown around. We’ll have a new practice space in Boise when we get back and all kinds of inspiration built up over the course of this three month tour. There’s been talk of trying to whip up something new while on this tour with the acoustic instruments we brought with us… maybe have it ready to play by our May 5th Indianapolis show? We’ll see…
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Check out Finn Riggins on MySpace
www.finnriggins.com
www.tenderlovingempire.com
www.riotactmedia.com
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