JOSHUA NOVAK FAANGFACE CAVE MAN

I first met Josh a few years back when my band played shows with his and Brian Harvey's incredibly, blindingly loud and heavy band Griefhound. Since then, he and his small and enthusiastic gang have built up Akron's Rubber City Noise Cave (rubbercitynoise.com), maybe the best venue I've been to in twenty-one years of going to shows (although Now That's Class, the now closed Embassy and Detroit's M.U.G. are up there, too). The RCN Cave is also a label (rubbercitynoise.bandcamp.com), and sometimes even becomes The Wandering Cave, showing up at events such as the Cleveland Ingenuity Festival (the Cave was the best thing about the fest in 2012). Josh has many projects, including Mousecop with Curt Brown and Josh's solo project Faangface. I love Faangface because Josh uses the vehicle to emotionally and visually push himself through the audience in visceral, sometimes bloody ways. He sent me the latest Faangface release, Oboe, and I loved it. It's all over the place, using whatever sounds, undulating in volume and intensity.

ARH: What are you working on now?   

JN: Just finished a solo album, and wrapping up another solo album. I have a tendency to do a lot at once then nothing solo for a while.  Mousecop has been recording like we do, we've been getting together with others for sessions, which brings out a lot of interesting sides to us. David Russell and I just did some recording, which was fantastic, but for the most part, Mousecop'n.

I mean, Faangface will ALWAYS be there. I have been fairly excited about these newsiest of recordings, but mousecop is forcing me to try new approaches. But at the same time allowing me to be pretty free to do whatever.

ARH: Faangface is one of my favorite projects right now – what’s going on with that? 

JN: That's sweet of you to say! haven't played out in a while, really. for a minute it there it was all focus on live sets, theatrics, and performance in general. As of now I'm just focusing on the music end of it, so no plastic bags or razors for a minute, *giggles**squirts milk out nose**wasn't drinking milk*. I'm shifting direction right now, total 180 from last album in a way. But I'm always indecisive, and will probably switch gears again.

ARH: When and how did you get into performing?   

JN: Faangface started out as a kinda spoken-word-acoustic-avant-performance thing to begin with. HOW I did that exactly is what has changed. I think some of my most awkward shows have been where i didn't do something performance-focused. As for performing music in general, I played punk shows in high school and so on, then meet up with Brian Harvey and played in Snuff Film for a while, which later became Griefhound. 

ARH: Since you’ve started performing, have you noticed repeating cycles in terms of style and energy of experimental music? How would you describe the current zeitgeist?  

JN: Hmmmmm. Hard to say? I'm still a young blood. 26 as of rights nows. Plus "experimental" is wide term, different groups use. HNW and power electronics, performance art and avant-garde circles, free form rock to skronk jazz, to any dude who bought a flanger pedal to use in his/her bands one 7-minute song with some "crazy huge psychedelic breakdown like whoah dude jupiter is in the song lyrics like woah".  I'm seeing more bands from all necks of the woods playing shows together, which is wonderful. I'd like to see things become at least a little less exclusive. But what do I know? I AM excited to see what I haven't seen yet, that's for certain! 

ARH: What qualities excite you in performances of others? What takes you by surprise and keeps your interest in experimental music? 

  

JN: When someone is genuine. Doing their art for art's sake. Because they feel that's what they have to do. Anyone who isn't afraid to try something new, there's a lot of copycats out there, not just in this scene, but art in general. In any type of music. But even if I've seen something on that line, or pretty much the same thing as someone else before, if they are genuine about it and it comes from them from within, then you can tell. It's expressive at that point, powerful, emotional. I also like to see little inventions. Home-made instruments and the like. I'd also like to see someone dress up like a tiger and shoot fire from their butt. 

ARH: How does language factor in your creative process? Does your inspiration often begin with words or sounds – how do these interact? 

JN: Yes, to all of the above!!!! Spoken word was a primary factor in me beginning. Even if there isn't a word in a piece, sometimes, or a lot of the times, a phrase or line will inspire it. A lot of the times I'll think of a sound or movement and start there, words and sounds have really become one in the same in the process.

ARH: Do your senses cross – is music visual for you at all? 

JN: Yes and yes. Live settings I'd like to think the sounds I'm creating and I are one. Like I said earlier, some of my most awkward shows (not awkward in the way I'd like) were the ones that I wasn't really performing. Just playing. All my senses cross for sure, i tend to be physical with everything around me and feed off of everyone. i've also licked lots of stuff and sniffed some people live.

ARH: Do you feel performing is a mystical act and/or ritual? If so, how does that work – how do you use ritual awareness in your work? If not, how would you describe the performing process in terms of mental, physical and emotional transformation? 

JN: Wow, that's a loaded question! I think anything that pulls you out of yourself in such a way is. It's emotional on a different level. I cried live once, wasn't sad, just cried. I have always used the sense of ritual in my music and have written entire sets around it, but i think as a ritualistic happening, the mental and physical and emotional transformation are one in the same. That's what a mystical happening is. A transformation. I'm just sure I see the terms the same as everyone else. I'm evoking something, whether it's a presence of unknown, or some anxiety in an uncomfortable person who wants to immediately leave with the people who dragged him/her there as soon as I start.

ARH: I like your description of ritual experience: 'anything that pulls you out of yourself.' What do you think the future holds for you as an individual artist and experimental music generally? What is the relationship between local and global experimental music now? 

JN: I hope to get myself out there more. Which is all on me. I hope people just keep on experimenting, as simple as that. Not just see something and do the same. There needs to be experimenting in experimental music!!! not the idea of, "this is how you make/or not make experimental music". As for locally/globally, I hope it starts leaking into each other. I can see it happening already, and it's nice. Quite. It's becoming more 'accessible' if i dare say? (look at the festivals Wolf Eyes and Merzbow have played in the past few years). The radio and Mtv are pretty much obsolete because of the interwebs, so people are wanting something new. Which is the greatest thing ever……to an extent. It means a lot of artists will finally get the recognition they deserve, and be able to do more with more people and get there stuff out there to a lot of appreciative people. But, there will be a flood of it, more and more of "experimental musicians". Prepare your anuses for Garage band presets. All in all, it's a good thing. Plus since the term 'experimental' is such a broad one, who knows? How WILL people look at the term in the future? Clark and The New Blockaders collab? Sir Richard Bishop/Venetian Snares split? Who knows? 

ARH: What’s going on with the Cave in 2014? 

JN: Only the CAVE, the building itself, knows. It governs all that we do day to day. it is in fact, it's own living entity. And it's hungry….for blood. some new releases and awesome shows more than likely! XXX Super Arcade album in works? Finally after two+ years. word up. More Mousecop'n to boot.