EXCLUSIVE: AFRO PUNK – The Movement, Pt. 1: FISHBONE’S Norwood Fisher
May 27th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive! by admin
(Photo - Sarah Hamilton)
Ska has always taken a back seat on the charts in the past 2 decades, this by no means is a sign of its tombstone being engraved. In this installment of our Afro Punk feature, we speak with one of the more modern kings of ska-core: Fishbone.
With a rich history that saw the band release a bevy of studio albums and a current live DVD/CD combo, this California based troupe of “ska-lacious” originators are bigger, bolder and have funk-freaks worldwide 2-stepping all over the dance floor…and in the mosh pit.
Bassist Norwood Fisher caught up with ABORT Magazine’s E.S. Day for their 2nd encounter to get some updates and his views on the Afro Punk movement, the band’s love of Vancouver and more.
E.S. Day : Scott Day here for ABORT Magazine, We are here on the phone with legendary bass player, songwriter, Mr. John Norwood Fisher of Fishbone. How are you sir?
John Norwood Fisher: I’m having a great day today.
ABORT: Is it a good day in L.A.?
JNF: Yeah man, its a good day in L.A..
ABORT: Sunny?
JNF: Weather’s nice.
ABORT: Good, good. Everything’s lovely? (laughs) It would be lovelier if I get on with the fucking questions and get this interview over right?
JNF: (laughs)
ABORT: Ok, sure enough. Now this tour, you did recently with he English Beat sees obviously both ska influence bands. English Beat more of ah…defiantly a ska band in that light of…they stray from the heavy stuff like Fishbone. How did that tour come together and what this is all about?
JNF: (Laughs) I’m with you though. We did a festival with The English Beat, ‘Reggae On The Rocks’ in Denver Colorado. Actually David and I sat down in an airport on the way to the show and we started having a really good conversation and we actually, I think we sat next to each other on the way to the festival on the plane. It was in those conversations; Dave actually brought it to my light. He was like, “hey maybe we should do a package tour” and I’m like ‘you ain’t got to say that twice’. Ya know, when it comes down to it, The English Beat was one of the very first ska bands that I ever heard. It was The English Beat and The Selector.
ABORT: The Selector, I was gonna say The Selector and The Specials all that. Yes, for sure.
JNF: Yeah, yeah, I mean I heard The Specials not too long after that, but it was really the first ska that I knew and recognized. It was The English Beat and The Selector dude. You know, I’m a, bottom line and I’m like “Fuck yeah dude let’s ride.”
ABORT: Yeah for sure. Yes defiantly. So that was a no-brainer there.
JNF: Yeah buddy.
ABORT: The tour started in Texas, so you were in barbecue country. I wish I had been but I’m not allowed in the States, ironically. So next time have some ribs for me if you’re a meat eater.
JNF: I do not eat meat man.
ABORT: Shit, shit. Alright well fuck it then. (Laughs) Well have some sauce for me, or something, have a veggie. Veggie sandwich with some real Texas barbecue sauce.
JNF: I never cared for barbecue sauce, I’ll tell you about it. (Laughs)
ABORT: Ok, alright. Is there going to be any Canadian dates coming up for Fishbone? Namely, Vancouver. Since this interview Fishbone have announced their headlining appearnce at the Skafest in Victoria
JNF: I’m not very sure of that. I think we’re gonna end it there, but my first conversation, like I’m probably, I’m gonna let a few shows go by man. Like Dave dude. You know, Canada. The United States but you know. Maybe pick it up later in a year, maybe when the weather’s better. I dunno.
ABORT: See what happens, ok. Our weather’s not bad right now; I mean we still had no snow this winter so it’s pretty good.
JNF: Really?
ABORT: Nothing. Nothing at all. Not even a speck. Not even a light dusting of snow. Nothing so, yeah which is weird for the winter Olympics that came here. Ironically, I dunno. Where they gonna get the fucking snow, but anyway. Most of its up in the mountains anyway but…. Uh, the reason I was asking is because, when I interviewed you a couple of years ago actually. You and Angelo, upstairs at the Plaza Club. You had just released ‘Still Stuck In Your Throat’ and we had a quick chat there. Angelo was selling his comic book or his book or something. We had a chat up there, he was giving me the stink eye, cause I asked some questions he didn’t like and he scared the bejesus out of me. So… (laughs)
JNF: (Laughs)
ABORT: We haven’t spoken since. The reason, I was also thinking about Vancouver is one of my questions. Maybe explain to some of our readers, your connection with Vancouver and some of its musicians? Your name is well known around town and I think a lot of people are not aware of that. At least in the States. You know, you’ve worked with Mr. Plow I believe and some other artists. What is it about Vancouver that keeps bringing you back?
JNF: Well ya know, it used to be the beer.
ABORT: Yeah of course, and the weed.
JNF: Ya know, I don’t drink anymore and I don’t smoke anymore. (laughs) You know what, it’s a beautiful town. The women are beautiful. It’s a fun place to party. I might not smoke or drink, but I still like to get out. Enjoy some nightlife.
ABORT: Live music, lots of live music here, yeah.
JNF: Yeah. It’s a place; we’ve been coming to Vancouver for like a good portion of these 25 years.
ABORT: That’s the thing; you have such a strong fan base here and a devout following. That’s why I was curious if there going to be any Vancouver dates. By the way, speaking of ‘Still Stuck In Your Throat’, since then you guys did the CD/DVD combo Live in Bordeaux. What’s next for you as far as a studio album? Two-part question. Drop a dime on the Fishbone documentary ‘Everyday Sunshine’, tentatively titled?
JNF: Right, right. Well look, we have ‘Live in Bordeaux’. That was really awesome and exciting adventure. Ya know, we threw an awesome tour of Atlanta to the filming of that show. It captured the excitement the Bordeaux audience, fan relationship we have the French there. It was pretty awesome. Then we have the documentary ‘Everyday Sunshine’ which actually Monday we’ll start the score and try to get it wrapped up and ready for south by Southwest. I don’t know the whole procedure to the release thing, but it’ll be out sure it’ll be available very shortly for people to see.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 16 OF ABORT Magazine (Due sometime in the next 5 years)
By E.S. Day
Transcribed by Jonathan Parsons
CHECK BACK FOR MORE AFROPUNK Interviews featuring AfroPunk Founder and documentary filmmaker James Spooner and we speak with Brooklyn’s newest hardcore act Game Rebellion. All of this and more, as we lead up to this year’s Afropunk Festival feat. Bad Brians and more!
WANT MORE EXCLUSIVES? CLICK HERE
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
AbortCast #119: Snoop Dogg – The ABORT Interview Part 2 (Issue 16 Preview)
March 31st, 2010 Filed under: AbortCast: Interview Podcasts, ENKORE: The Best of AbortCast, Exclusive! by admin
(Photos – Scott Alexander)
With his latest DVD/CD combo More Malice in stores now The Reigning “King of The West Coast” Snoop Dogg is back with a bigger bark and an even more deadly bite.
His current role heading up the revamped Priority label sees him bringing back the old school rap flavour that Hip-Hop so desperately needs right now. ABORT Magazine’s E.S. Day got blazed and confused with Snoop at his hotel recently in Vancouver, to discuss his new album, the possibility of him (finally) starting a metal band and his upcoming “joint” venture film with B-Real from Cypress Hill.
So sit back, press play and take a hit.
Hosted & Produced by E.S. Day
“I Wanna Rock” Written and Performed by Snoop Dogg (Courtesy of Priority/EMI Canada)
SnoopDogg.com
Find more photos like this on ABORT Magazine | ABORT TV’s Official Online Street Team/Forum
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Recorders Exclusively.
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
AbortCast #118: Serj Tankian – The ABORT Interview (Issue 16 Preview)
March 14th, 2010 Filed under: AbortCast: Interview Podcasts, Exclusive! by admin
(Photo – Erik Weiss)
Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and outspoken activist Serj Tankian known for his vocal ferocity as frontman for System of a Down, has had a successful and unique solo career. As the intrigue intensifies, so does his thought-provoking musical expansion. Next up – the release of his recent collaboration with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, which was filmed for the Elect the Dead Symphony CD/DVD (in stores now) and a recently announced string of US and European dates which are about to launch.
On assignment for ABORT Magazine, Ninjaspy vocalist/guitarist Joel “ninjoelspy” Parent went one on one with Serj for this candid interview to discuss the new album, animal rights and a black metal choir?. Click play to find out.
Hosted and Written by ninjoelspy
Produced by E.S. Day
“The Unthinking Majority” Written and performed by Serj Tankian (Courtesy of Serjical Strike/Reprise)
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 16 OF ABORT – Spring, 2010
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Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
MADE IN CANADA: CANCER BATS – The ABORT Interview (Issue 16 Preview)
March 10th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive!, Made In Canada by admin
(Click to enlarge | Photo – Sarah Hamilton)
Toronto-based hardcore outfit Cancer Bats are back this month with their new album Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones, new video, new tours and continue to break down the genre barriers that separate heavy music as a whole. Hardcore, punk and metal are all combined to give this band a nasty yet uplifting and vibrant take on a scene that has been dominated by radio-friendly, label-crafted fluff acts who look better than they sound. Not these guys, ugly as fuck and an even meaner stage presence, these gents possess the chops and songwriting skills to make Canada proud to be diagnosed with this terminal Rock & Roll disease.
ABORT Magazine’s Karla “Khaos” McLeod went one on one with vocalist Liam Cormier in a needle-littered alley on Vancouver’s notorious Downtown Eastside, for a quick update on the band’s current tour, their new album and why they chose to cover a classic Beastie Boys track.
Karla “Khaos” McLeod: You just finished playing on a US tour with Anti-Flag and Aiden. Now you are beginning your tour across Canada with Billy Talent, Alexisonfire and Against Me and after that you begin a tour in the UK. Do you find that the UK audience is more receptive compared to a more laid back Canadian audience?
Liam Cormier: Uh…I find I would actually say that the UK and Canada are very similar in terms of a gnarly, crazy crowd. Um, if anything, the United States is a little bit more subdued, in some areas because they see so many shows.
ABORT: Exactly.
Liam: You know, when you go to a small town like in Canada, it’s like, kids are going off, but we don’t have too many of those cities like Toronto, Montreal, maybe Vancouver, where they get a lot of shows and they get off you know. They almost get too many shows that they’re not excited anymore. Where as the US still has that to, you go to Montana and the kids are stoked, you know? you go to small town Ohio and kids are stoked, but so I guess that’s universal.
ABORT: You recorded the album Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones at Vespa Studios and worked alongside producers Eric Ratz and Kenny Luong (Billy Talent). How much of a role did you and the band play in the production of this album considering Billy Talent’s sound is little more pop-radio friendly?
Liam: Well I mean that’s the thing. It all depends on what band it is that they’re working on, like they’ve done you know, Three Days Grace and stuff like that. They’re all over the place, but I think they’re all old school metal fans. They come from listening to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and stuff like that, so for them, they’re just as stoked to be working on something heavy like us. But, I think it’s cool to have tons of different vibes like that in the mix, they appreciate what makes – you know, like a rad record, like you know Billy Talent and what tricks they use on that and that kind of production and it’s not just making a straight-forward hardcore record or a metal record or you know what I mean? So it’s not like, I find a lot times you just want to make something that’s close to your peers where we these two guys that aren’t even involved in hardcore or aren’t even involved in any of that stuff where they’re thinking completely outside of the box.
ABORT: They’re just trying to make a good album.
Liam: Yeah, exactly. They just wanna make it sound amazing. That’s all they care about, so, it’s definitely awesome working with those dudes.
ABORT: I really enjoy the production quality of the album. The album comes off sounding not too overproduced and raw. Overall it has a very live feeling to it. Can you tell me a bit about the recording process you went through and was it a “less is more” attitude?
Liam: Um, yeah, I mean definitely the live aspect was what we wanted to go for with this album for sure.
ABORT: You got it!
Liam: Yeah, thank you. Uh, it took a lot of work. It was basically like our reaction to you know, a lot of over produced things or realizing how like, easy it is to make up for mistakes in the studio, but for us we pride ourselves on being a live band and how much we tour. We want this record to represent exactly what people are going to come see, so for us when we’re writing the songs we were just rehearsing and practicing and jamming and you know what I mean?, just playing it over and over and over and over again, so we could do these full passes and we could play you know, essentially like a live band. With a recording, it doesn’t work exactly like that. You still need to have almost like; cleaner channels for guitar so you can get that crunch, but it’s like while Mike was playing drums, we were all playing along with him. I was doing vocal takes while Mike was like doing his drum tracks, so he had the live feeling while he’s doing his drums to keep that energy there.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 16 OF ABORT MAGAZINE – SPRING, 2010
For tour dates and more visit:
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Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
ABORT Magazine – ISSUE 15: Now Online (Free Download!)
March 5th, 2010 Filed under: Exclusive!, Issues by admin
ABORT MAGAZINE – ISSUE 15, FEATURING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH:
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, BLACK SHEEP, HATEBREED, SOULS OF MISCHIEF, Legendary photographer NEIL ZLOZOWER, BWSS’s ANGELA MARIE MACDOUGALL, our exclusive Shooting Gallery of Olympic protest mayhem, our special spotlight on the infamous NINJA X GIRLS, plus all our regular features.
BEHIND THE BOARDS: MIKE FRASER (AC/DC, Aerosmith)
PLUS: Tales From the Eastside, DENIED!, Shooting Gallery, ABORTIST: Rank & File, our Headphonica chart and of course lots of (honest) reviews!
Free To Download and Share As Always
READ OUR BACK ISSUES HERE
abortmag.com/index.php/category/issues
We’ll Lead…You Follow.
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
AbortCast #117: Phil Anselmo – The ABORT Interview
March 5th, 2010 Filed under: AbortCast: Interview Podcasts, Exclusive! by admin
(Photo – Jamie Sands)
After his notorious stints with Pantera, Superjoint Ritual and currently as vocalist for the band Down, Philip H. Anselmo has now taken it to “A New Level” with his own record label HOUSECORE RECORDS. Boasting some of the most “Extreme” music for 2010, Phil gave ABORT Magazine’s E.S. Day the lowdown on the latest chapter in his now lengthy career.
Hosted by E.S. Day
Produced by E.S. Day and Grimm Culhane
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Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: Rock Steady Crew’s DJ JS-1 MEGAMIX: FREE DOWNLOAD
March 3rd, 2010 Filed under: Exclusive! by admin
This megamix contains thousands of beats, samples, phrases, etc.. There has never been a mix quite like this. This is many of the segments i used for my Juggle Roulette breaks record. The first 5 minutes is my track, “transmittin’” from the new Return of the DJ album. A serious amount of work went into making this, you should check this out for sure! – DJ JS-1
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: BEHIND THE BOARDS – Mike Fraser (Issue 15 Preview)
February 21st, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive!, Made In Canada by admin
(Photo – Scott Alexander)
Mixmaster Mike. No, not the Beastie Boys DJ, but another type of audio technician, the kind that helps turn songs into hits. Known for his extensive work with rock icons AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica and a slew of others, Mixer, Producer and Engineer Mike Fraser has set the standard for making the “Classic Rock & Roll Album”. We sat down with Mike at the one and only Warehouse Studios in Downtown Vancouver to discuss his latest work, including the Iron Man 2 Soundtrack, his thoughts on the future of Aerosmith and some of AC/DC’s studio habits. Below is an excerpt from the upcoming feature.
ABORT: E.S. Day here for ABORT Magazine, it’s another episode of Behind The Boards, this time we are here with legendary producer, engineer, mixer, and jack of all studio trades, Mr. Mike Fraser. How are you today?
MIKE FRASER: I am doing great, thank you for asking.
ABORT: Perfect. We are going to get right into it, your current projects, and what’s your involvement with the upcoming ‘Iron Man 2’ soundtrack what is on tap for Mike Fraser in 2010?
MF: We will be doing some new AC/DC stuff. They recently did a big show down in South America, Buenos Aires to a giant crowd and it was amazing.
ABORT: South America loves AC/DC, major crowds every time!
MF: The amazing thing, and what was really cool, is that they are so into the music, that they actually sing along to the guitar chords! (Both laugh) Not just the chorus like we do up here in North America. It is just an amazing experience, 80,000+ people shouting out their lyrics. So there will be a live DVD coming up at some point.
ABORT: Awesome. Will you be producing or mixing that one?
MF: I recorded and mixed it.
ABORT: What was your involvement with the upcoming ‘Iron Man 2’ soundtrack, which has yet to be released.
MF: Iron Man 2 is almost like an AC/DC greatest hits package, which they never do. So it kind of cool, something new for them, bunch of the old, spanning right back from 1974, the beginning, all the way up to 1999 or something.
ABORT: Is there going to be any unreleased tracks, some new, or some bonus material? Or maybe some Mike Fraser remixes of a classic track?
MF: I remixed some of it, sure, since we had to separate some vocals off the original mixes so they can weave it in and out of the movie. I haven’t seen what they did with it yet, but its all just old material, there’s no bonus.
ABORT: The initial thing I saw, was “Shoot To Thrill”, has that song been changed around sound wise?
MF: No, that’s the original. I did mix one of the songs, “Highway to Hell” I believe, off the Buenos Aires show, so a live mix for the promo stuff at least, I’m not sure if its actually in the movie or not.
ABORT: We’re going to move from the big-boys to the little ones for a moment. A two part question. Any current up-and-coming unsigned acts you are working on/with? And, can indie bands, hire the illustrious Mike Fraser, or is this a closed door industry still, where, you know, its only the big guns that get taken on?
MF: It’s not closed door, I’ve got my website going, mikefrasermix.com, and its an open door. Anyone who can reach me, and contact me, I am open to all, and everything.
ABORT: Are you looking at bands that might have a smaller budget? Band members living with Mom, or working at Burger King, a few guys who have honed their craft, can they approach you with a small budget?
MF: For sure, I try to make it work. One of the stumbling blocks is I do a lot of work here at the Warehouse, and I don’t get deals, so there is that hard cost, but my personal rate goes up and down, you know, for these small and upcoming bands, I’ll work on a good rate for them without killing them, but I pepper them in between the bigger gigs, I have to make a living to, so when it quiets down, I can fit some of these smaller projects in. It all comes down to how busy I have been, but for sure I get them in there.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW WITH MIKE FRASER IN ISSUE 15
By E.S. Day
Special Thanks to Scott Alexander
WANT MORE EXCLUSIVES? CLICK HERE
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: 21 & Under With…Angela Marie MacDougall of BWSS
February 14th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive!, Made In Canada, Tales From The Eastside™ by admin
(Photo - Scott Alexander | ObsidianFoxPhotography.com)
The annual Downtown Eastside Memorial Women’s March commemorates the many women lost to the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In a neighborhood marred by rampant drug use and dangerous sex trade, but also held together by a strong sense of community and identity, the March has allowed the families and friends of the lost to grieve, mourn, and get the message out to the larger masses that all is not well here in “the best place on earth”, and that these women are neither faceless nor forgotten. ABORT Magazine’s Dave”Corvid”McCallum sat with planning committee member Angela Marie MacDougall to speak on the march, the conditions, and the solutions to the problems of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
David McCallum: I’m here with Angela MacDougall of Battered Women Support Services talking about the Women’s Memorial March. Can you introduce yourself and talk about your role in BWSS?
Angela: My name is Angela Marie MacDougall and I’m in the role of Executive Director at Battered Women Support Services and sit on the planning committee for the 19th Annual Feb.14th Memorial March. The memorial march planning committee consists of women from the Downtown Eastside as well as women from other community organizations and individuals and we don’t represent any particular organization on that planning committee. Rather, we do the work of organizing the march for the community.
D: Can you talk about the march itself and how long it’s been around and what it represents etc.?
A: This is the 19th year. In 1991 a woman was found murdered and dismembered in the Downtown Eastside and her family at that time conducted a ceremony at each location where her body parts were found. And the ceremony- I wasn’t at the ceremony- but it was to honor and memorialize and it was to grieve her loss. At the request of the family we no longer say her name but the Women’s Memorial March started on that day. And what I understand is that Feb.14th was chosen as the day because as Valentine’s Day, it was a day of love, and it’s a day of particular significance for women in that it’s a way to show love to women primarily. So that’s my understanding. So for the last 19 years the march has been held and I have been on the planning committee since 1995. Each year we come together between 10 and 30 women to plan the march.
D: In the 19 years since the march started, a lot has gone on in the Downtown Eastside and this issue isn’t something- it’s really difficult to talk about honestly- but this issue hasn’t gone away. The Pickton trial, that’s wrapped up now but that’s just last year. Since the march has began, how has it grown to deal with this issue as an ongoing problem in the community where women are disappearing all the time in the Downtown Eastside? It seems the majority of missing women are of First Nations. So can you talk about what is going on and how it affects the march, the Pickton trial etc.?
A: Good question. The march after the original ceremony continued as a way to honor and to memorialize women. There was critical component early on and that was that part of the march- the procession- takes us to the Police Station at 222 Main Street. And at that time in early 90’s the police were not investigating disappearances and murders at all. So each year we would go to 222 Main Street and people would speak there and would essentially ask the police to do their job and to recognize that women were being murdered and were going missing.
Now fast-forward, what we have now is a situation where in general, some missing women are being investigated, in general there have been some investigations of murders. And we’ve had as you noted, a very high-profile arrest and conviction. And that arrest and conviction was important. We’ve had other issues as well, but they were important because they were acknowledged and it was some measure of justice for the murders and disappearances. In lots of ways it took away attention and resources and it continues to take away resources. It took away attention from women who had been found murdered prior and now post.
So why we see that women go missing, why are women getting murdered, why is there a disproportionate number of indigenous women represented among the missing and murdered? I think we can look very much at the making of this Nation for us to understand that violence against indigenous women was at the heart of the making of this Nation. And the dismantling of indigenous cultures and the dismantling of indigenous ways through that process was also a relegation of indigenous women from leadership and from where indigenous women had public roles and were a central part of the communities. Prior to colonization the very process and ideology and practice of colonization dismantled that and relegated indigenous women to the very bottom of our social structure where the process of colonization relegated women less than men in general.
So that affects everything. The police were established in a lot of ways to move indigenous peoples off their land, so the lack of investigations that we saw of indigenous women being murdered and disappearing very much goes back to the making of the nation and with law enforcement here in Canada. The factors of urbanization of people and subsequent poverty and residential schools and the effects of residential schools – all that speaks to why we see indigenous women represented. Violence against women is one of most pressing issues of our time. Right now the statistics that we see through our work at BWSS that we’ve assessed, and this is confirmed by the Provincial Government, that 1 in 3 women experiences abuse as affected by violence. And women represent 52 percent of our population and so a third of us are dealing with violence. And that grinds down in a big way and becomes very… concentrated when we’re talking about women in the Downtown Eastside where women are incredibly vulnerable to violence and that violence is rampant. And murders and disappearances are then the consequences.
D: So it takes place Feb.14 and the Olympics start on Feb.12. Concurrent with the Olympics people have organized and postered for a large anti-Olympic convergence which has gone beyond that to an anti-Colonial anti-Capitalist convergence with the focus on indigenous sovereignty with the slogan ‘No Olympics on stolen Native land.’ With 95 percent of BC being ceded land being on sovereign Native territory, do you feel like with the march taking place at the beginning of the Olympics this year and concurrent with this anti-Colonialist rally, does this give you a chance to express this sentiment to a larger audience that is coming here unaware that this is going on? The memorial normally draws so many people usually and yet you have the chance to make your statement to the larger population.
A: You know, this is very difficult and complex because V.A.N.O.C. started very early on and spoke with the elected leaders of the Four Host Nations- Squamish, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Mount Currie, and from V.A.N.O.C.’s perspective it was the very first time that they had ever involved indigenous populations in organizing, agreeing or operating the Olympics on indigenous territory. So that has been controversial because the elected officials and to some extent the hereditary chiefs and officials within the four host nations are in support of the Olympics, and who am I as the descendant of settlers to disagree with them when you know, I’m here- quite frankly- as a visitor, and the Indian Act has given them authority and the Indian Act is the Law of the day. And the Indian Act- you know, I didn’t create it and neither did they and we’re dealing with the legacy of it. So that’s one layer is that I can’t disagree with them and their decision to do that. And the second part is that there are a number of urban- and there’s a lot of dissent within those four host nations of the indigenous populations who don’t agree and are very concerned about the legacy. They don’t agree with their leadership and there’s a large concern about what the legacy of that decision is going to be over the long haul and where those resources are going to and how it will shake down, not only to the people of those Four Nations but also to all the urban indigenous people that are in Vancouver that are without representation, without obvious representation.
So the anti-Olympic organizing, the anti-Colonial organizing – yes, it is going to happen and for me- and I recognize clearly and speak all the time about the fact that you can’t talk about violence against women in this nation now known as Canada without talking about Colonialism.
We’ve been very much focused on the committee in supporting all the sides of this and wanting to support obviously anybody that is against the Olympics. But we’ve been focused very much on the march being about mobilizing women and a place for women to honor women’s lives and grieve for missing and murdered women.
We’ve spoken with the anti-Olympic organizers, and certainly asked them to join us and to respect the intention of the march and we’ve received assurances from them that they would do that.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 15 OF ABORT MAGAZINE- COMING SOON
Educate yourself at BWSS.org
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: Little Brother’s Phonte and Big Pooh speak out on releasing their last album ever
February 9th, 2010 Filed under: Exclusive!, News/Calendar/Industry by admin
(Photo – Sarah Hamilton)
The North Carolina/ Virginia duo of Phone and Big Pooh have been through many ups and downs as Little Brother, in the process releasing some of most soulful, solid Hip Hop of the early 2000’s. ABORT Magazine’s Dave “Corvid” McCallum had the rare opportunity to speak with them about the forthcoming release of “Leftback”, the final chapter in the Little Brother saga, and the positive shifts occurring in the music industry over the last ten years.
ABORT: You guys took the name “Little Brother” as a response to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, in the sense of being the little brother to them. Do you feel like now there are other little brothers that have grown up in your shadow?
Phonte: Definitely! Some of them cats coming up that are like, kinda from the same tree, like Wale, Drake, Pac Bizz, artists like that. You know, all those guys are making some real dope music right now and continuing on the tradition that was passed to us, and now it’s passed to them and we gonna see where they take it.
ABORT: The trajectory of Little Brother in many ways has shown the conflict between integrity and commercial success, for example in you parting with Atlantic a few years back. Do you still feel like this is a conflict in your career?
Phonte: No, not really. More and more it’s just that the audience is getting more fragmented and there is no such thing anymore as just kind of a world domination thing, you know? I mean, you have these superstars that can sell, I mean get to a major and sell hundreds of thousands or millions of records, but now you have major label artists that are neck in neck, or in some cases selling less than the indies. So, you know, now it’s just about catering to your audience, more than ever, and I kinda think that Little Brother has always been on that. If anything I would say that cats are now just catching up to shit that we been saying since day one, you know. Cats are just really realizing now that the quote, unquote “brass ring”, like being known by everyone and pretty much that “world domination” paradigm is really pretty much over. So really it’s just about making the music you want to make and getting it directly to the people, and that’s kinda been our M.O. all along!
ABORT: The “Leftback” release will include a DVD with videos and live footage, what inspired you to add these extras?
Big Pooh: Yeah, we just want to leave the fans with that visual impression, as well as the audio impression. Every album that we put out, the lack of visuals wasn’t necessarily always the fault of us as artists. With this go-around we actually got control over that part, so we just wanted to make sure we put out some visuals to go along with the project and just, you know, give the people that little bit extra. I mean, the extra in these days and times is actually the normal to just give them that, but for us, for Little Brother it’s extra.
ABORT: Can we expect a supporting tour?
Phonte: Not a big one, like we gonna do a few dates, but we was really big on not wanting do do no fucking big pageant and shit like “this is the last Little Brother tour” namsayin? It’s like dude, you know, it ain’t that fucking major. So pretty much for us, we’ll do some dates for our fans, and then we’ll just move on.
ABORT: Upcoming projects?
Big Pooh: I’m in the process of putting out my album “Dirty Pretty Things”, which hopefully will be out this fall, just going through that process now of completing tracks and getting it mixed and mastered. I’m also doing a “Pooh on Sports” site and podcast that just started two months ago, so those are my two main focuses outsid of LB right now.
Phonte: My main focus is just to finish the stuff me and Nic(olay) are doing for the “Foreign Exchange” label, I’m producing and writing songs for Yazera, her record will be out in May, and then also my man Zoe, his record’ll be out in the summer, and then me and Nic are working on a new Foreign Exchange record for the fall. So, I got just like a little factory going on over here and I’m just staying on it yo!
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Rock & Roll Refraction: A Conversation with NEIL ZLOZOWER (ISSUE 15 Preview)
February 7th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive! by admin
(Photo – Neil Zlozower)
Rock & Roll’s most famous photographer Neil Zlozower celebrates the release of his fourth book “Six String Heroes” and once again captures the true essence of Rock & Roll from behind the lens. He took the time to speak with ABORT Magazine’s Photo Editor Scott Alexander to discuss his latest book, how it came together, working with digital vs. film and the possibility of a book dedicated to drummers only. Sweet!
Scott Alexander: We’re with the one and only, legendary rock photographer, Neil Zlozower, fresh off the release of his fourth book, ‘Six String Heroes”. How are you Neil?
Neil Zlozower: Good you’re going to have to talk a little louder, I’m a little deaf! I am the loudest voice in Rock and Roll, you wont have a problem hearing me, I guarantee it. (laughs)
ABORT: (Laughs) Perfect, then we will get right into it, after your first three books, what made you decide to dedicate the pages of your fourth to the guitar? Was there a moment you were looking through your archives of negatives, and just knew ‘Six String heroes’ was next?
NZ: I was sitting here one day with my buddy Steve Vai, and I was showing him of my photos for the “Fuck You” book, and he looked at me, and asks, “why don’t you do a guitar book?” At first I was against it, I don’t want to do you know: Here is Pete Townsend, Steve Vai, here is Zakk Wylde…” Steve goes, Neil, why don’t you pick out 10 or so guitarists that you worked closely with over the years, Eddie Van Halen, me, Satriani and you could focus the book on those guys, and still have a lot of stuff. I liked that idea; I told Steve I would do the book under one condition. I would do the book if he wrote the forward, and he agreed.
We ran the idea past my publisher, Chronicle Books, and they liked the idea. Then, it sort of changed to what I didn’t want in the beginning, to what I didn’t want. We didn’t go into the ten guitarists; it went into a bit of everything. If you like Bonnie Raitt, and you don’t like Slash or Zakk Wylde, you’re not going to buy the book. We tried to put a little of everybody, from Johnny Watson, to B.B. King, and people like that. There are a few people that aren’t in the book that I would have loved to have in there, but didn’t have room for. There are a ton of great players out there, and I have photos of a lot, but there are only so many pages to the book. There were certain people I wanted in the book that got vetoed out by the two other people who had a say in who went in there. There are a few people I personally don’t want in the book, but with a three-person decision, you have to give and take a little.
(I want to know who the “few people” are – Ed)
ABORT: With all these other people you wanted in there, but weren’t able to, it almost leaves you open for a second volume of Six String Heroes?
NZ: I don’t know how I am going to top this one. (laughs) I just had my friend Erik Turner from Warrant call and thank me for putting him in the book. He had been a fan of my photos from back in the Creem and Circus, seeing my name under the photos of his heroes.
ABORT: Are we going to see any new books focusing on other parts of ‘The Band’ Singers, Bassists, Drummers?
NZ: You know, I was thinking about a drummer book, but I don’t know. Thank god, I don’t know how many drummers can actually read, I think they are capable of looking at pictures, but drummers are my favorite people in the world to pick on, but I have another book in progress now, It wont be out for another year or so, and I’m not going to spoil the cake and tell you what it is right now, but I like doing these books. I have been shooting for 41 years, a lot of the work is already done, now its just a matter of me and my art director putting together this new book featuring one guitarist who basically set the standards for all the guitarists this day and age, but he is going to be on board with us to. I’m sure you can guess who it is.
ABORT: I can think of a few people who it might be. Do you view rock photography as an ‘old boys club’ or do you welcome the new generations of photographers who find themselves in front of their favorite bands in “The pit”?
NZ: There are people like me, dinosaurs like me, they’re a thing of the past. Most of the people now, its’ all digital, I know people these days who don’t even know how to use a light meter! I’m not necessarily talking about live photography, but they will go into the studio, take a shot at 1/125 at F11, and they will take a shot, they’ll go wow, this is way too bright and step it down to F16 or F22. They don’t even know how to use a meter to get it right the first time. I grew up in the day, when it’s all film, manual focus, manual everything, and you had to think to get a great photo. Back then when you made a great photo, you SHOT a great photo. Now, there are no more shooting great photos, what you do now is “create an image”, its amazing how many photos where they take heads from different frames, go in and remove bags, and whatever they got to do. I mean, I’m not a fix it in the mix type of guy. I always try and start out with the very best possible photo that I can, and take it from there. Whereas, people these days, people just fix shiny faces, triple chins, and stuff like that in Photoshop. That isn’t the way I like to work when I get hired for jobs, you know?
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 15 OF ABORT – OUT SOON!
WANT MORE EXCLUSIVES? CLICK HERE
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
AbortCast #116: BLACK SHEEP – The ABORT Interview
February 6th, 2010 Filed under: AbortCast: Interview Podcasts, Exclusive! by admin
(ABORT EXCLUSIVE) – Golden Era Gods Black Sheep have been hailed as one of the first “crossover” rap acts to break into the mainstream,, but don’t be fooled – MC Dres is back and keeps it more hardcore than ever with ABORT’s Nigel Mojica, as he discusses the group’s future, being the first rap artist to perform on The Tonight Show and trying to park your car as a black man in NYC in 2010.
Written and Hosted by Nigel “The Nige” Mojica
Produced by E.S. Day
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 15 OF ABORT
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AbortCast uses Recorders Exclusively.
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
MADE IN CANADA: MODULOK – The ABORT Interview (ISSUE 15 Preview)
January 18th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive!, Made In Canada by admin
Like the great Russian realists that he studies, Modulok’s lyrics portray a bleak world caught in the middle of a desperate transition of which it is barely aware. At times it may seem like the kind of dystopian future hell rendered by Philip K. Dick, yet on close inspection it is merely the reflection of a cracked, grease-stained mirror held up first to the relentless grind of the T-Dot, then cast forth upon the Old Country cities of Eastern Europe and the density of Babylon’s coal stained heart in the one and only London, UK. In classic style he has cast himself in the role of the angst ridden everyman, eager for drink, women, and combat in a world of warriors, idiots and beautifully dangerous females.
As one third legendary underground apocalypse rap unit Red Ants, Modulok’s morbid flows compliment producer Vincent Price’s cinema noir compositions like Goya paintings, in a husky baritone evoking grim cityscapes and epic wars of conquest within the human soul. Though MC Predaking has been AWOL for years due to incarceration, his presence exists in the unremitting paranoia emanating from their debut “Phobos Deimos” originally written with Preddy in the mix. Further complications have arisen due to the ongoing conflict of personality between Modulok and Price, and the future of the group is uncertain. Whatever may come, their existing catalog merits repeated spins by any Hip Hop head weaned on the Wu and hungry for the lyrics of a tormented genius.
On a crisp November evening in the T-Dot, big Mo laid out the true time-line of the Red Ants over a half dozen pints of Guinness (with a shot of whiskey in ‘em…) at the Regal Beagle to ABORT Magazine’s Dave”Corvid”McCallum. While his on-wax persona seems somber and thuggishly pensive, in person he is calm, clearheaded, soft-spoken and articulate – more literary bookworm than drunken brawler.
Modulok: Red Ants came about basically…I first started rapping in High School in this group called Symbiots, which was me, Predaking and Astral Black. That fell apart, and I went through a few years where I started to kinda question whether I really wanted to be an MC or what it really takes to be an MC, and I was more into graffiti, and I was always a bit introverted and had a hard time with performance. So I was bouncing around a lot, I was kind of a hobo. Then, totally randomly I got an offer to do a bunch of shows in the Czech Republic, so I did it, even though I didn’t know how these cats had heard of me! I had an awesome time, did a massive show in Prague at a squatted abandoned warehouse with three floors…I came back from Europe totally inspired, like I wanted to get serious about music. Predaking was in prison this whole period in Sudbury Penitentiary. The idea for Red Ants came to me in a train station in the Netherlands, in a diner, and the name just came to me while I was writing. I always wrote Predaking in prison, and I told him that when he got out, we should get an apartment together in Toronto and just work on the project. We’d say like “I wanna start a crew that’s like Heltah Skeltah meets Aceyalone meets…or like Non-Phixion but not when they’re cheesy!”, like we’d have these hilarious conversations about how we’d want it to sound. So, I met him the day he got out of prison, I was there waiting for him just like the movies. You know, he’d been there fifteen months and then one day they open the door and he just fucking walks out, with nothing but a bus ticket! It was pouring rain…I said hey man, you wanna get some food, but he was fucked up, he couldn’t even sit in a restaurant. So, we just got on the bus and I told him the project is called Red Ants.
It was freaky how it all worked out, we got the apartment…and we thought we weren’t just gonna have one producer, we thought we’d ger beats from different people we knew. We know Vincent Price through Noah 23 in Guelph, Plague Language kids, and when we started hitting him up for beats, he said “yo, I don’t wanto to just be a part of Red Ants, I want to be your producer and you only rap on my beats”, and we were like “cool”. So that’s how Red Ants was born, me Predaking and Vincent Price.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 15 OF ABORT (Ready when it’s ready)
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: SUICIDAL TENDENCIES – The ABORT Interview (Issue 15 Preview)
January 16th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive! by admin
ABOVE: Suicidal Tendencies in 2010
Suffering from member and label changes, physical damage and constant touring, the current line-up of Venice, California’s legendary Skate/Thrash/Hardcore Kings Suicidal Tendencies are back and heavier than ever. With 2 new albums on the horizon and a slew of tour dates, vocalist Mike Muir spoke with ABORT Magazine’s E.S. Day to give him the lowdown on their new Live DVD and all things Suicidal (and Infectious Grooves) for 2010.
E.S. Day: We are here with legendary vocalist, and singer-songwriter Mike Muir, how are you sir?
MIKE MUIR: Doing really good. Long story short, I’m just sitting at home in Venice, California
ABORT: The first ever DVD “Live at The Olympic Auditorium” is in stores January 26th on Suicidal Records I had a peek at it this morning…fucking brilliant!, truly captures the essence of Suicidal in their purest form, not grainy, choppy, great camera work and well worth the wait. So my first question Mike, what the fuck took so long?
MM: Well, as I said everything is a little bit of a long story, but basically, the Olympic Auditorium, going back in history, was originally built for the Olympics and was the biggest venue in LA at the time, then over the years it has gone into disrepair, to the point that in the early 1980’s, they actually let bands do big punk rock shows, which wasn’t very common. It was a great big building, basically a fortress that could put up with anything. They did a lot of boxing, roller derby, that sort of stuff. Then we got a call, saying ‘They’re selling the Olympic Auditorium, there hasn’t been any shows there for a while, we want you do headline one last show’ which is all good and would have been a no-brainer, but I just had back surgery…
ABORT: Oh fuck!
MM: … We got another call about headlining a festival in Columbia, so we did the festival, headlined to 95,000 people, the week after that, the Olympic show. Two days before, I wake up, and I cant walk. Because of all the stuff going on, we decided to go ahead and do the show, and afterward, I had to have another back surgery.
ABORT: Well you could have fooled me! After watching a raucous version of “Institutionalized”, you’re jumping around like a motherfucker! That must have hurt, because you were going hard!
MM: We had decided to film it, because I noticed that there was a lot of people doing documentaries, writing books, and since I had people asking me about certain things, I would ask them “Where the fuck did you hear that? That is not true” Turns out they read it in some book. It goes back to what I learned a long time ago. Just because something is in a book, doesn’t mean its true. I went through that with the Dog Town, my brother was one of the original Z-Boys, and that whole thing (Lords of Dogtown) caused a lot of controversy because it was one person’s version of what was happening.
(cont.) That’s part of the reason we wanted to film it. Not to go back to 1984, but to basically show a little bit about where suicidal came from, to capture it, and show why we’re still a band
ABORT: You guys are as fresh, and as vibrant as you were back then, and it’s fucking wicked.
MM: Funny story, we were in France, and they had me go to this doctor, who was the national rugby physician, and I walked in, and the guy is not the typical person you would think who knows Suicidal Tendencies, but he looks at me and says, You’re Mike from Suicidal Tendencies! You may not know it from looking at me, but I am a Suicidal fan.
ABORT: No fucking way!
MM: He looked at me right away, and knew I needed surgery, but I had another week of shows. As a doctor, he told me I should jump on a plane, and just head home
ABORT: Drummer Eric Moore is absent from the drum throne, what happened there?
MM: The footage was actually from 2005, so pre-Eric. Back when Suicidal was touring in California, Eric came to the show, he was friends with Steve, asked me what we were doing with Infectious, and if we ever did anything, he wanted to try out. We gave him the call, got him in the band. It was one of those things that was just too obvious. When we went to Europe, I had people coming up to me saying ‘You’re bringing Eric to Suicidal, aren’t you?’ We just did a show at Long Beach arena, we had the drummers from the other bands filming him, going ‘Dude, that guy is insane!’ and I think that is what Suicidal should be.
ABORT: New Suicidal album when and who’s producing?
MM: We haven’t done a record in 10 years, but we have done a lot in that time. We have people coming up to us saying ‘You know, you guys are doing shows, why don’t you put a record out and tour off that?’ That’s not what Suicidal is about. Its not doing it just because you don’t think you will get another chance, I want to get out there and prove we are better than we ever were. So going out there the last two years, we have kind of re-baptized the converted, reminding people why they love Suicidal, get them on the phone after the show calling up their friends. If you don’t have that excitement, there is something wrong. We’re getting that excitement out there, where people are really excited about a new record. We’re kind of putting out the old stuff, clearing the deck, like with the DVD, we’ve got a live CD straight from the board from 1995 when Infectious grew, Robert Trujillo on bass and stuff, something straight off the board that you can say, wow, that was 15 years ago.
With Suicidal, we have two CDs coming out, the one, I call it the Mike Clark record, and I call it that because we got Mike (ST rhythm guitarist) into Suicidal after working with him and the band No Mercy he came in on “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow” after 1987’s “Join the Army”. Half of ‘How will I laugh’ was actually songs for No Mercy. That was another no brainer, like with Eric, why weren’t we using this for Suicidal?
We re-recorded some of the No Mercy and Join the Army songs with Mike Clark, who isn’t on the originally recordings. With him, we take it to a further level, that’s why I call it the Mike Clark record.
And of course, there is the new Suicidal Record coming out at the end of the year, which everyone is always asking, does it sound old, does it sound new, and for me, I think the whole thing with doing a record, is ultimately having people know it’s Suicidal. Suicidal in a sense that its different than what other people are doing. Some people wont like it because of that, but ultimately, I think 15 years from now people will still be listening to it, and saying wow, that was a really fucking crazy record.
“Live At The Olympic Auditorium ” is in stores January 26th, 2010
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 15 OF ABORT – OUT WHEN IT’S READY
By E.S. Day
Transcript – Scott Alexander
myspace.com/infectiousgroovesofficial
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Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: 21 & Under With…SOULS OF MISCHIEF
January 12th, 2010 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive! by admin
(Photo – Chris Webber)
ABORT Magazine’s Dave “Corvid” McCallum recently spoke with Opio, one quarter of the legendary Souls of Mischief, about their new album “Montezuma’s Revenge”, working with Prince Paul and living in sunny Oakland California. A road tested veteran of countless tours, Opio opened up about inspiration, life on the road, and that sweet Cali herb. Well into a two decade career in Hip Hop, Opio’s “Vulture’s Wisdom” is just one of the weapons in the Souls’ arsenal, so check it, ’cause like Opio himself says – “for anyone who loves that real Hip Hop, this is the uncut raw!”. True indeed.
ABORT: So, to begin with, where exactly did the title “Montezuma’s Revenge” originate?
Opio: Well, we actually all got together and rented this house for the project about an hour from Oakland, and it was on Montezuma Street. We all lived in it together for the duration of the project, and “Montezuma” first became the name of the house, and then of the whole album. I guess it kind of became a metaphor for how, you know, Hieroglyphics take many forms, not just Egyptian, and it’s like a metaphor in a way for how we are connected with people all over the world!
ABORT: Cool, cool. So the greater part of the production on the album was done by the legendary Prince Paul, how was it working with him?
Opio: Of course it was amazing! Yeah, Paul produced the lion’s share of the album and hand selected the rest of the beats, some of which were produced by Domino as well. I mean, we are all producers in our own right too, so there was lots of creative input, you know what I mean? But it was really like a once in a lifetime opportunity, creating a vibe as a group and working with a living legend. As far as the actual process, all four of us are people who have so much going on in life all the time that we didn’t want any distractions while making the album. Also, we had never really worked with an outside producer before, and we’re always trying to push the envelope, so working with Prince Paul at the wheel was a real treat.
ABORT: As far as the lyrical content of the album, several tracks deal with the realities of life on tour and the effect that this lifestyle has on your personal relationships. Do you feel like you’ve matured as artists?
Opio: You know man, since “’93 ’till” to 2010, we’ve spent more time on the road than not, I mean, I started touring when I was seventeen! But you know, we’ve spent so much time on the road that it’s not like we live some crazy Rockstar lifestyle, we know how to keep a balance! (lol) The main reason we’ve been around for so long, I think, is that when people see us live, we transfer that vibe of our lifestyle to the audience. So, yeah, we’ve grown up as people, but the main thing is just to keep that vibe going and always give it back to the people. You know, a lot of people are complaining that the groups these days aren’t as good as groups back in the day, like a lot of groups try to bring that energy, but we are that energy in the flesh!
ABORT: You’re from Oakland, a city known to have spawned several major social/cultural movements, from the Black Panther Party in the sixties, to the Funk of the Seventies, to the growth of Medical Cannabis Clubs; what is it about your hometown that makes for such a creative, revolutionary environment?
Opio: Well, it’s just a lot of movements have started here, from the Black Panthers and the Hippies on, there’s a lot of diversity of thought. For some reason, there’s just a lot of forward thinking people here, and it sort of calls people to have to be confronted with different ideologies. Maybe it’s the sunshine or the herb, but there’s just a lot of intelligent people out here!
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
ABORT Magazine – ISSUE 14: Flash Version Now Online
January 3rd, 2010 Filed under: Exclusive!, Issues by admin
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
NEW BLOOD: The Resurrection of Horrorcore PT. 2 – The Artists Speak
January 3rd, 2010 Filed under: Commentary/Editorial, Exclusive! by adminNEW BLOOD: The Resurrection of Horrorcore PT. 2: The Artists Speak!
In this second installment we speak with 3 up and coming artists who seem to stand out from (some) of the cliches and speak their thoughts and views on one of the most hated genres of music today. Australia’s KidCrusher, San Francisco’s Kung Fu Vampire and Canada’s own So Sick Social Club.
ABOVE: Australia’s KidCrusher
1. In your mind who would you say defined the Horrorcore genre?
Kidcrusher:That’s a really tough question to narrow down to one person,
I would have to say Esham was one of the true originals.
Kung Fu Vampire:I am new to the horrorcore scene, I am from the Bay Area and was never exposed to the scene as a whole nor influenced by the scene, I know out of all the artists that i hear about now Esham and Gravediggaz were the only ones I heard about back then also Bushwick Bill and I guess Gangsta N.I.P.
So Sick Social Club That’s a tough question, depends how far you want to go back. We could say acts like Alice Cooper, Kiss and Black Sabbath started it. Bands that are shocking both lyrically and visually. When these guys came out, they scared the shit out of the public. People can’t handle hatred, violence and gore, but in reality it is a part of life. It is a big part of our lives. Esham and ICP built the foundation and brought hip hop into it back in the late 80′s. Since then there have been some major players bringing horrorcore to the scene. Artists like Necro, Twiztid, Slipknot and Eminem have all brought new flavour to the table
2. Why is there not more metal influenced/sampled tracks in Horrorcore a la Gravediggaz, Judgment Night soundtrack or lets say Necro’s Death Rap album? and would you be open to that?
Kidcrusher: It would be cool to hear other people doing it, but it’s not their style I guess. I have really tried to amp up the horrorcore genre with a death metal band behind me, As my first ambition was to be the lead vocalist for a metal band, but the dedication between band members down here was holding me back. Besides, I’ve always loved to rap and make an epic character. So I am always throwing crazy styles into the blender.
Kung Fu Vampire: Personally I grew up listening to metal, funk, classic hip hop, jazz, industrial, etc.. i don’t implement metal in Kung fu Vampire because in the early to mid 90′s i didn’t want people to get my gothic hip hop style mixed up with rap/rock. So i steered really clear from guitars and “white boy” “fight music” style of rap. I am a bay rapper/musician that is influenced by B rate 80′s movies and my personal bout with demons. In all, I am open to Kung Fu Vampire remixes with metal influence but not into it for my music.
So Sick Social Club: Both amazing records!! Gravediggaz were brilliant too. Ice T also never gets the credit he deserves for both horrorcore lyrics and bringing metal to the hip-hop scene. Even before Bodycount, he always has a couple of slamming rock influenced tracks on every record. I hear he used to catch shit from the hip-hop community for those tracks, which is bullshit. Music is music, and its either good or not fucking good. Some people are either purists, which we respect or they are just closed minded. We are totally open to using metal samples! We already have tracks that have samples from Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Iron Maiden!! Also, Voodrew comes from a metal background. So he brings that element to the group with his guitar playing.
3. Artist(s) you would like to work/tour with.
Kidcrusher: I’ve always wanted to work on the road with Psychopathic Records, As I’ve looked up to them for years, but I am really up for anything with anybody in my class, but I wont be able to tour in the United States until 2012 due to an old criminal record of mine, Which is really holding me back.
ABOVE: San Francisco’s Kung Fu Vampire
Kung Fu Vampire: I’m currently on tour with Mars and Project Born that is amazing, the next tour that i have been asked to be on is opening for Tech N9ne and that is some next level shit cuz his fans buy my music and can understand what I am saying. I would like to tour with Outkast or Gnarls Barkley or even King Gordy, those artists are more similar to myself and I respect and love what they do.
So Sick Social Club: Good question! We have been fortunate enough to be embraced by both the metal and hip hop community, so we are pretty versatile. We think we would work well with GWAR, La Coka Nostra, Twiztid, ICP, Manson, Eminem, Riviera Regime, NIN, Mushroom head, and any other motherfuckers who have banging mosh pits! We have played with Necro in the past, but a whole tour would be insane!!
4. With the exception of some Midwestern states what is holding back a full-on horrorcore tour or festival? could it be the genre is dying,or has yet to find its mainstream success
Kidcrusher: There are tours and festivals always going down, you just cant see them, because it’s underground and promoted in the underground. All this type of music is covered up by the mainstream like censored and restricted, sort of pushed down here, but we belong down here, thing is we love it down here [Australia], that’s why they call me a Tunnel Runner.
Kung Fu Vampire: I think that it is on the rise, in fact this horrorcore tour called Murder After Midnight is considered one of the biggest Underground Horrorcore tours in history. We need more, we need promoters and fans to come together and support it to the fullest.
ABOVE : Toronto’s So Sick Social Club
So Sick Social Club: Not a chance. Horrorcore is coming hard!! Thanks to mainstream acts like Hollywood Undead and Eminem putting out their latest albums, the genre is gaining a ton of new fans all over the world. There are all ready tons of underground tours but the biggest horrorcore festival ever is the Gathering of the Juggalos! They rock out for 4 days of horrorcore and have over 10K in attendance. The public has already started to embrace to movement. Its starting to scare some of these whack auto-tuned, corporate generated groups. Fuck them and the dick they rode in on.
5. Some say Horrorcore is Rap with metal, some say Metal with Rap what’s your opinion and why?
Kidcrusher: I would say there are two different genres right there, Horrorcore is Horror Rap/Hip Hop/Wicked Shit with Guitars. Rap-Metal is like Slipknot, full metal band with Rap type verses and Metal Hooks, in my mind anyway that’s how I see it.
Kung Fu Vampire: I think of Horrorcore as Hip Hop for non hip hop heads. I call what Kung Fu Vampire does “Gothic Hip Hop” I consider tech, King Gordy, Mastamind and a few others that as well. I actually implement Orchestral and symphonic things into my music as apposed to metal. When people here a type of music and it doesn’t fit the “norm” they instantly call it “what it looks like” not what it sounds like….to me I don hear the metal in horrorcore….I hear Hardcore Rap and Horror.
So Sick Social Club: To us, Horrorcore isn’t specifically a genre. Its a mood, its imagery, its a release. I know it sounds cliché, but without this music we would probably be dead or in jail. We embrace all styles of music. We love rap. We love Metal. To me, Johnny Cash definitely had some horror shit going on, and he’s neither metal or hiphop. Its about embracing the darker side of our existence. Its about releasing the demons inside us. Without this release, there would be a trail of bodies. Trust me.
READ PART ONE OF ‘NEW BLOOD’ HERE (it’s not very nice)
By Dave “Corvid” McCallum and E.S. Day
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: Vancouver’s FALLEN DECADE Debut New Video for “The Smoke”
December 8th, 2009 Filed under: Exclusive!, Made In Canada, News/Calendar/Industry by adminThe Smoke from Spool on Vimeo.
Vancouver’s Fallen Decade have released a video for the track “The Smoke”, the first single from their debut album Under No God
The band featuring vocalist Greg Cavanagh (Cradle To Grave) were recently interviewed on The FOX 99.3 FM with Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory and are currently shopping the CD, which is available now, through the band.
Copyright © 2004-2009 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
EXCLUSIVE: The Company Band’s Neil “Clutch” Fallon (Issue 14 Preview)
December 7th, 2009 Filed under: 21 & Under With..., Exclusive! by admin
(Photo by Jamie Sands)
Dave Bone’s Recipe for an Anti-Supergroup
- I Cup, finely chopped Clutch
- 1 Clove, minced Fu Manchu
- 1 Thinly sliced Fireball Ministry
- 1 Pound of raw CKY
Mix in blender until thick and heavy, pour into bowl
Submerge face into bowl, drown and enjoy!
Serves 6 Billion
E.S. Day: we are on the phone with Neil Fallon from The Company band also from the band Clutch but today we are focusing on The Company Band. Which I guess Neil we could say is a rock supergroup, or are you already fed up with that tag?
Neil Fallon: Well we are no Chickenfoot.
ABORT: Holy fuck, now you just fucking ruined my first bit, I had a whole thing on Chickenfoot, so thanks Neil (laughs). So rock supergroup. Let’s just say this; to me I am in my forties, growing up – a rock supergroup to me would be like you just mentioned, Chickenfoot, where you bring in all these guys but The Company Band seems to be more of a conglomerate of good buddies from some, really well followed and respected bands who got together to jam and then made an album out of it. Is that more or less what it is? You’re not marketing this as a supergroup?
Neil: No, supergroup is just such a terrible moniker. I wouldn’t want to be in a super group to be quite honest. this started I think Jesse [Margera, drummer CKY] wanted me to sing on some and then we kind of, everybody just hit it off so we said lets make more music simply because it’s fun.
ABORT: Now for our readers who don’t know, lets run down the rest of the band members and respectably the bands there in. Jesse you just mentioned is from CKY.
Neil: Correct and we have Jim Rona from Fireball Ministry and we have Brad Davis from Fu Manchu.
ABORT: Fu Manchu, we just gave their new album a great review as well. Now by the way we are missing Dave Bone, my bad.
Neil: Dave Bone, in all fairness, he is kind of the man behind the curtain for this band. He writes a lions share of the music and spear heads everything for us and i think sometimes he doesn’t get the credits he deserves because simply he doesn’t have another band to kind of put him in that positions but he is the man behind the wheel a lot of ways
ABORT: that just fucked up my next question is Dave the odd man out. cuz when you say Dave Bone a question mark comes to mind i mean for most people who aren’t in the now?
Neil: He is sort of like the Karl Rove of the band. He has the power he’s just not in the limelight.
ABORT: Fair enough. So Dave Bone is the backbone (no pun) behind The Company Band. Is he the one who got the band started so to speak, or initiated the idea of putting together an album and doing some touring?
Neil: Well if I remember correctly and I probably don’t, Jesse contacted Jim and then Jim had known Dave and I hadn’t known Dave and once he stepped into the picture things just kind of fell into the scenario and there was no blueprint to begin with, it just ended up that way.
ABORT: Restricted Release, what label is that? and who’s doing distribution?
Neil: Candlelight is putting it out and we put venture capital on the back sort of as a goof. Venture capital is not really a record label.
ABORT: So that’s it, so we are looking at worldwide release or North American with a different distributor from Europe.
Neil: You know I don’t have the answer for that.
ABORT: No problem and we don’t need one I just thought I would ask. Is it safe to say that band each member has been listening to each members music previous to this?
Neil: Sure
ABORT: Yeah for sure, you guys are all fans or each other, true, and of course I cannot get off the phone without asking a Clutch question. What’s next for Clutch? and what are the plans for recording, touring, etc.. if you can drop a quick dime?
Neil: Sure, the band takes off for Europe for four weeks, come back then do a US tour quick week long, around new years, then uh Australia in February then we are looking to start writing the new record
ABORT: Tentative title?
Neil: oh we have to write some songs first.
READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 14 OF ABORT
WANT MORE EXCLUSIVES? CLICK HERE
Copyright © 2004-2009 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
Kontests – DECEMBER 2009: ‘DAYBREAKERS’ FILM PASSES! | Vancouver/Edmonton/Calgary
December 2nd, 2009 Filed under: Exclusive! by admin‘DAYBREAKERS’ ADVANCE SCREENING PASSES:
VANCOUVER/EDMONTON/CALGARY
ABORT Magazine and Maple Pictures present special advance screenings of the upcoming film DAYBREAKERS.
If you live in Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton (or plan to be visiting one of these cities) on January 7th, you could WIN a double pass.
Two-time Academy Award® nominee, Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a researcher in the year 2017, in which an unknown plague has transformed the world’s population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human, or find a blood substitute before time runs out. However, a covert group of vampires makes a remarkable discovery, one which has the power to save the human race.
DAYBREAKERS also stars Michael Dorman, Willem Dafoe, Isabel Lucas, and Sam Neill.
Advance Screening: Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 9:30pm
Email kontests [at] abortmag.com to feed.
Put “I WANT BLOOD” in the subject line and you could WIN!
In order to qualify for the draw, you must include the city in which you wish to see the film.
All winners will be selected by random draw and notified by email.
Contest closes Monday, January 4th, 2010, 5pm PST
IN THEATRES JANUARY 8
Courtesy of ABORT Magazine and Maple Pictures.
