Meet the Goggles — Creative duo Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons are the masterminds behind Welcome to Pine Point, an interactive “liquid book”about a town that has vanished.  Th memories of those who once resided are all that is left in words, pictures, and sound. The Goggles may spar many in depth conversations on where the liquid book falls into th lives of book lovers. However, make no mistake, the precious books we love to hold in our hands, flip the pages, and let our imaginations fly are not being replaced.  ”Pine Point” is a true testament to the endless possibilities of the place where creativity and technology meet.

Welcome to Pine Point pushes the boundaries of traditional storytelling.  How did this project come to be and did you have any clear concept of who your audience might be?

It started when Michael was looking up a town that he once visited as kid – the first place he ever went alone. He found Richard Cloutier’s Pine Point Revisited site. It had tremendous appeal for us both – and we originally thought we’d add it to a book project we had been working on, about the death of photo albums as a way to house memory.

It sat on one of our burners for a while, until we brought it to the National Film Board. Over the next year and a bit, they worked with us to realize the project as an interactive documentary.

As for audience – we don’t think we had anyone specific in mind. We usually create things, imagining ourselves as the ultimate audience.

Where did the name “The Goggles” come from?

We see the name as a bit of a blank canvas – since we produce a fairly eclectic mix of media, having a name that speaks more to perspective than it does to specifics has worked well for us.

In this story, the town vanishes, leaving only the memories of those that once called it home.  Did any real events in either of your lives inspire the story?

We think we answer this above re: the genesis of the story in Michael’s memory. As we produced the piece, we explored notions of memory, and the role they played in our own sense of home town and place.

When I first saw the website, I thought the amount of commotion, background images, haunting music, and picture flip books would be distracting from the text.  As I started to read page to page, I felt the motion was quite appropriate from line to line. I didn’t think the language to be invasive but rather complimentary in both speed and general visual stimulation. Were you very careful about the timing of the images/and or music when considering the story?

One of the most difficult things about constructing this piece was figuring out how information should be delivered – how much interactivity, sound, layered content could appear on each page. There are technical considerations – which led us to come up with the chaptered way the story is delivered. We toyed with the idea of having the text narrated, but we felt that text was a more intimate, self-controlled process – it doesn’t imply any pace, other than that you set on your own. Many people have said to us after going through it all that they actually thought it WAS narrated, which is probably a nod to our excellent sound designer, whose work helped shape each of the conceptual ‘rooms’ we were imagining people could go through.

A lot of people would say what do you call it or what is it?  What would you say to them?

We have called it a number of things – an interactive documentary is maybe the most pragmatic of these, but some people have also termed it a ‘liquid book’, which we feel speaks more accurately about its intention and the process behind the scenes. Our background is in print – magazines and books – so we feel our sensibilities are steeped in that world.

Also, what would you say to those who may think, like the kindle/iPad has been stated, you are taking away the imagination and beauty of the original tangible novel?

We suppose there is something to that – in our mind, it’s more of a nod to books – in that most of the story is told through words, the interactivity is minimal, book-like. Having text on the screen allows for an internal narrative voice, which we thought would be more intimate, and more elastic. The visuals are there, but they are complimentary, not illustrative, for the most part. There is a separation between what the words are saying and what the pictures are showing, a space that can be filled with imagination, in much the same way books engage our creative powers, make us part of the process of creation.

Once you had the concept, what were your first steps in making sure it was completed and completed the way you wanted it to be?

Since we were involved in all of the creative steps along the way — writing, shooting, design, editing, as well as the interactive components, much of the hard work was finding out what was and wasn’t possible, then finding creative ways around technical roadblocks. A number of our original ideas had to be scrapped because they simply weren’t possible. There is also a big leap from conception, planning of interactive pieces to the actual programming of the website, so you are working somewhat in the dark, imagining how things will work, how much is too much, what might be disorienting, etc.

How do you see this project growing and changing?

This project will stay as it is, growing perhaps in recognition and appreciation in different audiences. We have been really pleased by how broad and diverse this population has been – we’ve had people from India and Brazil, France and Japan writing and tweeting about it – it’s really quite humbling.

What it has done for us is given us an appreciation for what is an emerging form – a hybrid ‘new media’ that has a range of truly exciting storytelling possibilities.

And inside into your future projects and creative endeavors?

With every new project, we like to reinvent ourselves somewhat. We like to keep our fingers in a number of creative pies, too. So, we’re creating a pod fashion line for a company called Lifetime Collective, developing a TV comedy series The Cause and working on a digital project for tablet devices, dealing with the potential death of print.

Hope we’ve answered your questions – let us know if you need any
further clarification.

Amidst the artist’s very busy schedule, Mick Harvey electronically sat in for a few questions by Ellen Donbeck regarding the release of his first fully penned album, Sketches From The Book Of The Dead. We purposely skipped over the Bad Seeds stuff to focus on Harvey’s very personal work.

You have collaborated with a number of musicians over the years. This album is obviously very personal. While working on this album, did you have any worries about standing alone or revealing too much of yourself?

Not specifically. I feel I have worked gradually through my solo projects to this position of apparent personal exposure so it has been a comfortable transition. Certainly there were a few songs where the very personal nature of the material gave me pause and made me consider whether or not I was revealing too much. But in the end it was necessary to go with what I had written. After all, the nature of the theme itself requires some level of personal exposure so I had probably reconciled myself to that from the outset to some degree.

Being a tribute album to those who have passed, there has been much speculation about whom these songs are actually about. Did you write each of them with the intention of the audience knowing exactly who they were and is that important to you?

There has not been much speculation about the identities of the song’s subjects, no.

For the most part I was aware that the general public would not know who they were about and that is a better and more comfortable position to me. It’s actually also important, in my opinion, to allow the songs to have their own space and not be analyzed as factual information or to be dissected as being completed representations of the people concerned. A large part of the idea behind the album is that it’s about fragments of memory and misremembered events. These are actually what we carry on with us and the songs needed to be able to hold that condition within them. If too many people learned who some of the songs were about they could start challenging statements or notions about what they are saying about this person or that, or arguing that I’d got facts wrong and that would have undermined a large part of my intention with the project. It’s partly about the facts being wrong, they need to be wrong on some level or it’s a corrected version, at least of my memory.

However, it has been well established that the first song is about Rowland and I was fully aware that would be quite obvious. The song was written with an awareness that that would happen.

Many of the songs are about members of my family, sometimes distant relatives, but quite recognizable to my immediate family. So I had to deal with the notion that they would know about whom I had written the songs. From that perspective I can quite rightly claim that there was no overt attempt to hide anyone’s identity. They are almost all easily recognizable if one knew them personally. But it remains irrelevant for the general public or fans to be able to follow or investigate the real people. That would, in fact, be undesirable.

Much like a play or a movie, the music feels like a gentle companion to the strong dialogue. In fact, their is a cinematic quality to the album. What was your motivation on making this particular project lyrically focused?

Clearly the songs are about real people and memories or snatches of real events. To that end the words are playing the fundamental role. The concept and initiation of the album lay in the lyrics and not in some musical stylization or attempt to make a specific musical atmosphere. Each song necessarily required an individual and minimalist approach from the musical backing.

I felt “Two Paintings” was a pretty accurate metaphor for the project as whole. You come to place from the past and gather others belongings to be taken to the present. Do you feel it is your obligation to those you loved in your life to deliver their words and memories to the audience? To say what they no longer can?

It’s certainly no obligation or duty. These songs are as impermanent, in reality, as just about everything else. That’s all relative. It’s really about communicating I suppose, as it is with all art. If there were an obligation or the need to determine a purpose in art I suppose one could argue it would be to communicate and express things people can relate to. However, as an artist I think first and foremost one must simply put forward one’s own ideas without consideration of how they can be interpreted or understood. If one is trying to angle things towards being comprehensible to others or having a definable effect then there is an inherent risk of sullying any purity in the idea. If the finished product speaks to people or contains common ground or some kind of universal insights which other people can associate with or be affected or inspired by then, that is simply a fabulous and fortunate by-product. I’m not against things being likable or intelligible, I just don’t think it should be the objective. Firstly I must explain and perfect the idea in communication with myself. Of course, as I’m human and have common experience with lots of other humans it is likely to have areas which other people will understand or associate with. But again, this should not be the aim of the exercise.

The second you listen to the album, the atmosphere changes. You truly created an album that is confidently consistent, perhaps due to the fact that you had true creative control. What kind of atmosphere did you create for yourself while composing these songs?

Whilst writing the songs themselves I had no overall atmosphere in mind. I just approached each song, or rather the subject matter of each song, on it’s individual needs. When I came to compile the album I found that I wanted that consistency of atmosphere you are perhaps referring to. There is always the temptation to make an album listenable as a collection and make nice musical variations but my gut instinct was that this would be a betrayal of my initial intentions. Especially at the end stage, the final selection stage, I had to be strong and believe in the material. I’ve always been aware that much of the material is not an easy listen and I had to be true to that and believe in following through with that because it’s where the songs could actually support each other fully. A couple of the songs I left off the album were ones which could have been nice musical variations sprinkled through the album and it was suggested by a few people that ‘Famous Last Words’ could be good closer to the front or in the middle for variation’s sake. However, I decided that would be a mistake; that it would break up the atmosphere, which is deliberately somewhat downbeat. I felt that’s what the collection needed. And let’s face it, there’s no point pretending it’s an overly upbeat subject matter.

Do you have a particular track that was difficult to write in particular? And/or a track that is particularly close to your heart?

The only song which took a while and went through a couple of different incarnations was “Two Paintings.” I’m not sure why. It began as a somewhat prosaic account of shifting someone’s possessions with long interjections listing all the things that were thrown in the car, but that seemed boring even to me. It remained a deliberately prosaic account of what happened, it being a fairly mundane activity after all, but found a shape which, as you pointed out, is a kind of thumbnail picture of what’s happening in different ways throughout the album – observing what we have been left with from people who are no longer with us, those things which we still have of them in the present

Close to my heart would be “The Ballad of Jay Givens.” More than any other it’s probably the song that sparked the songwriting into action and gave me the confidence to carry the project through.

How do you think this album will translate in a live sense? How Important is it to you to perform these songs live?

Well, I’ve started playing live shows. As I suspected, some of the songs work really well in that environment. Had they not or had I not been interested to do that it would also have been fine.

Quite a few people suggested or suspected that I should play the whole album as if it were some kind of homogeneous piece, but I never saw it that way. In fact I could see the continuity with much of the material on my previous two albums and when I came to compile a live song list it was remarkably easy to choose the older songs from my repertoire which fitted with the songs from this album. Makes for a much more varied and interesting live performance too.

Mick Harvey‘s, Sketches From The Book Of The Dead is available now from Mute Records.

By Ellen Donbeck

The Intro

While many dream of saving the whales and other endangered species around the globe, Captain Paul Watson and his crew of crazy volunteers are doing just that…be any means necessary.  Filmmaker Peter Brown, and loyal crewmember, documents thirty years of expeditions all over the world.  These missions, lead by Captain Watson aboard the ‘Sea Shepard’ include stopping the gruesome baseball bashing tactics of seal hunters, animal crushing icebreakers, illegal drift nets, and native whale hunting rituals.

Now…when I say stopping I don’t mean greeting you with a clipboard as a commission-seeking employee of an animal rights organization. I mean ramming their ship into the bad guys boat, literally ramming.  Though some may see Captain Watson’s point of attack as ironically violent in his quest to save wildlife, nobody has ever been injured.  This guy is smart.  Not only can Watson find a ship like a needle in a haystack, while ramming these boats he strategically takes out the fishing equipment and heart of the ship like a pro.  Brown often refers that “angels” that surround Watson, saving them from disaster, legal trouble, and failing these missions, protect him.  But truly, it’s more than that, Watson was born to do this, and he’s damn good at it.

The film gives an intimate portrayal of what it’s like to be a crewmember aboard The Sea Shepard, puking and all.  The tough conditions of life at sea are smelly, stinky, and rough.  Still, members are dedicated and spend time joking and cutting up more than you would think.  One of the scenes even includes a crewmember jerking off his banana during a pep talk, much to disliking of the speaker.   Don’t be fooled by their twisted sense of humor, the crew are not there for a free vacation (if you would call it that).  When it comes to saving the wildlife, they’re serious; often putting their own lives on the line.

In watching Brown’s documentation of Captain Paul Watson and his faithful crew you can’t help but be inspired.  How many times have you been standing with friends, talking about shit you wish you could change?  Watson and Brown are doing it.  Those that can’t grasp the importance or value of their work may never in their lifetime.  However their children’s children will when these incredible creatures are still around, thanks to the Captain.

The Interview

1. From the very beginning of the film and throughout….there is a constant underlining of humor.  Though elements of humor are quite the opposite of the films serious nature, meaning the creatures aka victims, is their a motive behind including humor in this film? Is it much like the media attraction which adds to the missions fire??? or is it simply part of the human spirit during a mission as intense as these quest?

The humor in the film comes from me, and my way of dealing with trying to help save our wilderness. I have lived two lives over the years. One as the eco-activist you see in Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist, and the other is that of a father of two children, a mortgage holder, and blue collar TV director (www.peterjaybrown.com). I have always found that humor breaks the ice in just about any situation, and I use it every day.  We all take ourselves and our little problems too seriously, and I feel humor is a way of reaching out and connecting with the other side. I laugh at myself all the time. Perhaps the “sealers” will see how silly they look, have a good laugh, and give up sealing… who knows, stranger things have happened.  Humor is part of us all.

2. We traveled with you all over the globe, is there a mission in the film not included that was difficult to exclude from the film?  Can you tell us about any of them?

Well, there were lots of missions over the years, some more interesting than others. For the film, I used campaigns and issues I was intimately involved in, and also did my best to show a world-wide scope. We are one earth and I was trying to make my film about things I was passionate about. Sea Shepherd is a small group and we had to choose our targets carefully. Captain Paul Watson has always tried to represent the animals, to give them a voice and a fighting chance at survival, and I have done what I can to help over the years. As you’ll see from my film, I did more than most. I was lucky to have friends like Bob Hunter and Paul Watson. As I helped them over the years, they helped to make me who I am today.

I think the movie made my points, so I do not regret leaving anything out.

3.  You make several comments about the admiration of the females on the boat and the “crazy vegans”, why do you think these “types” of individuals are attracted to this work in particular….what makes their staying power along these missions stronger than the men or “cheese eaters”?

Females are attracted originally by their love for animals. They stay because they are treated with the respect they deserve. Lots of people want to save whales, but you look around, and only a handful of them are actually doing it. A lot of them are women! Women have passion for marine mammals, and Sea Shepherd allows them to express it.

The vegans are ultra passionate and disciplined. Their life style is a bit harsh to begin with, so shipboard life was easy. They are tough, determined, and won’t eat you in a lifeboat. What better shipmates can you have?  There was a time – years, when Sea Shepherd was the only game in town where you could really do something about crimes against nature; if you wanted to do something to stop whaling, sealing, drift-net fishing, Sea Shepherd was your vessel in more ways than one.

I think I make an honest assessment of women in my film.

As far as vegans go, I love them but you have to laugh at them sometimes… lighten up, I got my honey from “free bees”.

4.  In the start of the film- Captain Paul Watson makes a comment about being insulted on the comment that he was part of ‘Greenpeace.’ The late Bob Hunter- whom the filmed made tribute to in it’s credits was once president of Greenpeace. Hunter was included in missions and Watson’s quest.  Any comments of Watsons frustrations with being linked to the organization?

Paul Watson’s fight with Greenpeace goes back years and much has been written about it. Bob Hunter and Paul were friends as long as I knew them, and they remained friends with a true admiration for each other.

My feeling on all political disputes is that money is at the root of the problem. As I have always been a volunteer, I never got involved on the monetary or corporate side of things because the folks I met on the front lines were usually all good people. But organizations run with money, and both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd go after the same dollar. When this happens in politics, all hell breaks loose.

Both Paul and Greenpeace have different philosophies about how to save the planet. Watson thinks Greenpeace raises huge amounts of money and do nothing. Greenpeace thinks Watson is a “loose cannon” who is violent and therefore counter-productive to raising money. Watson is frustrated, as he will forever be remembered as “the guy from Greenpeace”. I am sure he feels GP has enough publicity.

I favor Watson and know that Bob Hunter and Al Johnson and others do too. I am for us agreeing to disagree and getting on with solving our problems as best we can.

I might point out that the Japanese just announced they were giving up whaling in Antarctica, not because of Greenpeace, but they stated that it was because of Sea Shepherd (as most recently seen on Whale Wars)! Let’s see who takes credit.

I was there two seasons of Whale Wars as first mate, and I am sure eco-groups who I have never heard of will be taking credit and asking for money so “it never happens again”.

5. Media has played a huge part in spreading the work in these missions and seems to be the fuel that allows them to continue.  In the past thirty years- media has changed drastically.  How has blogging, social networking, etc changed the way you do missions, or has it?

I am sure all the “new media” changes everything in how campaigns are run, etc. I am learning a bit about it with this film. For my part, it does not change much. I am either actively interfering with something “on the ground”, or I am “documenting” actions for release. Either way I do my job the same way. I first practically take what action is planned, and second I observe such actions with my camera. I am the same story-teller provocateur I was thirty years ago… today it is just easier to get the word out and to organize people to do something about it.

6. Do you guys and women ever take a day off? Would you consider any aspect of your life normal?

Once on board the ship you are pretty much “on” 24/7. Most professional crews are on a month, off a month, but SSCS crews pretty much live on board for extended periods of time. Between campaigns the ship still needs daily up-keep so there is always someone there. I do not speak for Sea Shepherd today, but I am sure Paul spends every waking moment raising money to keep all his ships afloat. It is a huge job and GOD BLESS PAUL… although I am a pagan!!!!

Paul’s life is tough. As a long time volunteer (30 years and 20+ campaigns) I just need to arrange my time off to go on campaigns. I do sometimes give months or years “to planetary duty”, and it is always worth it.

7. In Peter Brown’s personal experience, what the fuck is it like to be on a ship KNOWING you are about to RAM into another?

Ramming the ship of a “bad guy” is worth the weeks at sea it takes to find them. People always ask if I am not afraid. The quick answer is no I am not afraid… I sometimes get very intense… but fear is not an emotion that hinders anything I do. The parts like ramming a ship are not the dangerous parts… at those times, everyone is awake and on high alert. The dangerous parts are when some kid falls asleep on watch and BANG! But I must admit we get dedicated kids, and grumpy old f*ckers like me, who to date, have an amazing safety record. Luck? Angles? Who knows for sure.

I used to tell my kids that not to worry about daddy because “god is a dolphin!” The minute I step on board a ship, I am focused on the mission and getting everyone home safely, and that’s it.

I trust and respect Paul Watson completely, or I wouldn’t be there in the first place.

8. The Film’s title- CONFESSIONS of an ECO-TERRORIST plays into an impression the film really defies, why did you choose the title?

I chose the title because it works. The real terrorists are out there killing the seals, the whales, the oceans… I am a conservationist, the ultimate conservative in fact, but who would go to a film named: CONFESSIONS OF AN ECO-CONSERVATIVE?

Terrorist is a term used against environmental activists for years. I always say that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” so I am very careful with titles. I do what I believe is right when I feel I can make a difference. I have been lucky enough to have found myself in many world changing situations over the years, and I am proud to be associated with Paul, Bob and others that term has been used against.

Winners in this world write history, so I figure, we “vegan-pussy (a term South Park endeared us with) /eco-terrorists” will be will treated like heroes in the future. Eco-activists may be a pain in the ass today, but they make great ancestors! For humans to have a future, Paul Watson and others like him must win or there will be no future.

So don’t be afraid of titles or getting your feet wet… get off your asses and get out there and make a difference. It is in us all!

Style is often described as an extension of ourselves, a physical representation of what makes us comfortable, feel good, or what we have learned and loved along the way. Some people are just born with style. If designer Blake Hyland told me he came out of the womb with rightly disheveled rock and roll hair and big leather combat boots…I wouldn’t doubt it.

Originally from Australia, Hyland moved to Vancouver Canada in 2005 to pursue his love of all things antiquated. Working as a buyer for one of the cities most popular vintage hot spots, Hyland found beauty in things lost and forgotten. His admiration for the worn and the ruff was the foundation for creating his unisex clothing line. “I’ve seen so much that goes to waste everyday, even items that are still so beautiful and worn to perfection.”

Hyland, still working as a buyer for the store, sees his experience in the vintage clothing industry not as a stepping-stone, but as an extension of his appreciation for the culture of it. He also views his collection as an extension of himself inside of that world. Inspired by wreckage, unfinished structure, and the homeless; Hyland seems to have an interminable flow of visions that create these forms that can closely be categorized as clothing, but more truthfully wearable art. “I would often get frustrated that my vision and creativity were going to waste…so I went to school for fashion design which helped my technical skills. I found it very satisfying and that it allowed me to show that side of me I knew I had, that’s what makes me want to continue on pushing my mind and ideas into producing my clothing.”

The decision for the line to be unisex came neither logically or intentional. Hyland’s forethought and own sense of personal style created the product. “It has to have a realness and a rawness to it. I always loved androgyny and sexiness that seemed to come so natural. It was often frustrating for me to be able to achieve that look in men’s clothes so that’s why I create unisex clothing; it eliminates the divide. I enjoy finding the balance between mixing “man meets women” and that it’s ok to express that no matter what your gender.”

The fashion world has seen fads come and go, and it’s seldom when you see designers truly break ground on something never before explored. Hyland’s line has taken articles from our past…maybe even our grandparent’s parent’s past and reminded us how beautiful imperfections can be, the things we’ve learned, loved, and lived along the way.

THE RIDGES, the Athens Ohio Asylum for the Insane, once housed over 500 disreputable and unlawful patients. You could almost overlook the sinister history of this place if you simply drove past it, now polished office buildings of Ohio University. However, locals and ghost hunters alike know better. For centuries, the Ridges Asylum housed war veterans suffering from post traumatic stress, alcoholics, homeless, mental disorders, murderers, and rapist including notorious serial rapist Bill Mulligan. Patients were subject to punishments, both merciless and barbaric, such as lobotomies.

Now, lucid and transparent shadows have been witnessed. Shadows lurking, screams, voices speaking in tongues, and wild laughter are only some of the sounds and sightings heard by those that dare to enter these buildings.

Perhaps the least forgotten is that of patient Margaret Schilling, who disappeared in 1978 from her ward only to be found on the top floor of another, naked, clothes neatly folded beside her. A maintenance man discovered her body. The door was locked from the inside. The official cause of death was said to be heart failure, though her legend bares many questions to the events the lead to her place of passing. Her memory, however, will never go into question. Schilling’s body left a stain on the floor, which can still be seen today, and described as impossible to remove.

When you hear band Pet Ghost Project‘s newest album, Winter Variations, you will understand the buzz on Brooklyn’s newest musical treasure.  The band, originally a west coast creation, has a sound so rich in layers upon layers of sound that you can’t help but be quite taken with it. Justin Stivers (original member and creator of PGP) creates these musical compositions with an intense amount of thought. What a concept right?  An artist who creates his art with the utmost determination, consideration, and imagination.  Whiskey Dregs had the opportunity to hear more about the band with the melodic architect himself…

Ellen Donbeck: What’s the history behind Pet Ghost Project? Was the band originally a solo project?

Justin Stivers: Well, it started as a recording project right after high school.  I began experimenting with sounds, song structure, musical ideas, and things of that nature. I was always in other bands, so Pet Ghost was really something on the side at first. Over time, it slowly morphed into something I wanted to invest more and more time into, running with different ideas and concepts seemed endless.

EB: When did the other members become involved?

JS: Justin Gonzales and Jacob More joined the fray about 3 albums in, over 2 years ago.  Chris Patin moved from Austin, Texas earlier this year and has been with us for about 6 months or so.  Things have changed quite a bit over the last couple of years and definitely for the best.  In the studio and on stage, these guys are tops.  They push the songs in so many different directions, and our live show is a totally different beast. I got really lucky meeting these fellows…but that’s why I moved to Brooklyn, to meet folk like this.

EB: Your sound, undoubtedly developed with each move — from Seattle to Portland to now Brooklyn, does your music feel experimental in its composition or do you feel like Pet Ghost Project calls home to a particular sound?

JS: Yeah, Pet Ghost Project certainly changes things up on the listener an awful lot. But that’s something I really want in my “ideal band”, not to feel tied to anything. As I’ve moved to different cities, I’ve absorbed new influences and new sounds. I’m in a constant state of change (as we all are), and I guess the music reflects that side of me.  Again, it’s just really nice to not be pinned down to a particular sound or style.  It gives us more to work with and a lot more places to go musically. Sometimes not having a particular direction in mind is a good thing; it opens up many possibilities.

As a producer and recording engineer, I’m finding my sound a lot more, getting the science and math of the whole thing down pretty good. That’s always the struggle, capturing the sounds how you want them, though we’re also getting better on that front too.  I wear many different masks in this band, as you can tell; I guess we all do.

EB: In your Bio you call Brooklyn the ‘promise land’, how was living in Brooklyn influenced your sound?

Brooklyn has been pretty kind to me. Lots of opportunity here, something I was not really accustomed to.  Over the last couple of years, to be surrounded by the sheer amount of stimuli swirling around, it’s hard not to be inspired. Pretty awesome.

EB: The album is hard yet sentimental and very beautiful, you shift from such a diverse group of sounds over and over within a track, where does that inspiration come from?

JS: Hard to say exactly where.  We are influenced by so many things, whether it’s all the madness shakin’ down in our lives, or just the bands and music we love. Combination of the two, I suppose.
EB: Your vocals are really good and used sparingly, do you feel too many vocals takes away from the music which is already so full and rich in its composition?

Thanks.  This particular album was done in one session. We had to execute around 40 minutes of music as best we could, and having the least amount of vocals made sense to us. This started as a “live in the studio” session for BreakThru Radio and accidentally turned into an album.  I took the tracks home, messed with them, and it morphed into what you hear before you.

EB: What’s your favorite track on the new album?

JS: I’m pretty happy with how “drunk and smiling at heaven” turned out. We took a 2 minute song I recorded way back and turned it into a 7 minute extravaganza.

EB: What has been your experience playing the album live?

JS: The tracks on winter variations are pretty much entirely live.  The songs grew from the rehearsal room to the stage, and they happened to find a home on this album.  It’s been fun seeing these songs progress and morph into something completely different, and I’m glad we captured some of that energy on these recordings.  Believe it or not, this is more or less how we sound live.

EB: What’s next for the band?

JS: We have a lot on our plate, including our big record release show at Cameo Gallery Sept. 10th, with our good friends Quiet Loudly, MiniBoone, and Gunfight!  We’re really looking forward to that. Shortly thereafter will be our little east coast tour (dates to be announced on our site very soon) occurring mid-September. We also have another tour plotted for mid-October.  It looks like we will be pretty busy this fall. And we’d have it no other way.

Andrzej Szczygiel

Andrzej Szczygiel is a D.C. based artist who sketches, paints, and draws a multitude of both intoxicating and frightening imagery using various tools and instruments. Originally from Poland, his parents were skilled painters and sketch artists. Sadly under communism, the life of an artist was not a path they could choose.  With unending support, they instead encouraged their son to embrace his talents and possibilities.

As an individual, Andrzej is as captivating as his work.  He’s loud and passionate, charming and thoughtful.  His energy is infectious and when speaking with him, I realized by the end of the conversation I was screaming too, with a giant grin on my face, much like him.  His work takes you for the same ride.

I told the artist his sketches looked like a beautiful gorgeous dream and a horrid nightmare were sitting down for a romantic candlelit dinner.  He had this to say, “Ha ha, It’s pretty accurate. The funny part is that the nightmare element is not “nightmarish” for me. I’ve heard opinions that my drawings are scary or that they suggest some kind of dark thoughts but I do not find those feelings in me when I draw. At least that is what I think.

“I was always interested in paintings from late medieval ages and early Renaissance (Bosch, the Brueghels, Grunewald), when everything was a little bit gloomy and dark in other people’s eyes but I actually find those paintings…very uplifting. The only thing that I can say is that I do not “force” my works to have any definite mood. All I care about is trying to get close to whatever image I have in my thoughts.”

click for a better look

click for a better look

Much like his emotional impulsiveness, Andrzje works intermittently with whatever instrument seems to be available to him in the moment. “Some ideas stay in me long enough to be painted, some need to be sketched on a piece of paper or on the computer.”  A good amount of Andrzej’s work is done on the computer using an analog, a tablet with a pen that moves as though one is drawing on a piece of paper. He finds his work that is composed on the computer to be some of the best because it’s in its most immediate emotional form. However, he prefers pencils, charcoal, ink, acrylics, and watercolor.

The subject matter is subjective.  Andrzej’s work revolves around his environment indubitably, but he says his prime focus is his own interactions and how these interactions are interpreted. “They create images that pop out in front of me.”  Having been engrossed in two entirely different cultures during his life, Andrzej finds the imagery gives his life explanation.  “It calms me down, allows me to think about things that affect me in everyday life and organizes my thoughts.” The artist continues, “I don’t really know how to describe my work, that’s probably why I draw. It’s more or less direct transition of something that shows in my head and needs to go out.  The closest thing I can relate it to is having a dream that you do not forget in the morning, plus the dream forces you to put it on paper or screen in some way.”

Photograph by Kathryn Anders

By Ellen Donbeck

You have heard me tell this story
Many times before you sleep
This time listen carefully
And I will tell you once again
But this time understand that what I’m telling you
Every single word is true.

- The Protomen “Unrest in the House of Light”

The Protomen are best explained as a rock band inspired by the famous video game series Mega Man. Though their cult following and loyal fan base statewide may correlate the two entities as one in the same, I beg to differ. These talented musicians who dress in full costume (and use code names on and off stage) have developed their fan base on their performances alone.

I first saw Protomen in the creators home turf of Nashville, TN in 2006. Seeing them this time in New York City’s Santos Part House, the crowd packed, singing along with everyday single word, I wasn’t surprised. This band is badass.

Photograph by Kathryn Anders

There is really nobody else like them.  Going to their show is not only musically unique in it’s delivery but a truly theatrical experience. In traditional rock- opera style, Protomen grabs the microphone with his right hand, left arm pointed high towards the crowd in avenges and truth.  He tells you a story, a story of struggle and survival, which is to be heard by you, his protege. Band members sing along and play their instruments in such a way that you can only turn to your neighbor and say something along the lines of “damn…” or “holy shit.” These guys…and lovely ladies, can rock.  The Protomen experience is backed by a group of ridiculously talented vocalist and instrumentalist.  The lyrics are strong, the music hard and catchy, and the performance passionate and wildly entertaining. When you leave their show you think…that was kind of a play, or a rally, or a some kind of cult movement, or I’m not really sure what that was, but you can be sure to see a fucking amazing rock show.

 Band members agree that the Protomen experience is tailored to the venue and the fans. Bigger cities sell tickets and feed the energy that is the band. It is their live performances that win over their fans but the records that truly resonated with their cult following, a true community of fans.

Hans Bellmer has nothing to do with his post. We just like his pretty structures.

Some of us are providential enough to have a person, place, maybe even a thing that pushes us to be something extraordinary. When I was at University, I arrived at my first class of the semester, script writing, expecting to receive a rigorous syllabus of my expectations of the coming months. Instead, my professor — Dr. Hutchins — said there would be no syllabus for the semester and we all could spend the semester writing “whatever we want.” Easy A, I thought, this professor was lazy. However, the effect was bizarre, I found myself taking hours of work from my other courses to devote time to writing whatever I wanted. I realized how hungry for this freedom of unlimited self-expression I really was.

I learned more about myself as a writer and as a person in those 3 months with Dr. Hutchins. Over the years, my professional writing career has been something less…freeing. Deadlines, schedules, and expectations have transpired to something frankly…that pays, especially working in the theatre.

My first artist profile — Jeremy Earhart, the plexi-glass installation artist, was a proud moment for me. I realized I was somewhere beautiful, a place where I can encourage, promote, and learn about artist who color outside the lines and write about them! Since my interview with Jeremy, I have had the opportunity to meet with artist, bands, and performers who are truly unique and inspiring in their quest for creating something that mirrors the creative individual they are.

When I met the amazing Carlos Detres somewhere between a beer and a cigarette, I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity I once upon a time received. Through the dregs, I again have been able to release my voice and throw the rules out the window.

All hail the Whiskey Dregs, happy birthday you sexy bitch.