My story "Red Moon"

Hello, I'm happy to say Blood Lotus Literary Blog has published my story "Red Moon"! I like Blood Lotus very much and am honored that they chose my work.

Here is a link:

Blood Lotus

AUTUMN NEWS

Hey buddies;;;;;;;

I'm taking leave of this blog until 2015 because I need to focus on writing and music projects. I'm sure there will be some random posts.

Hit me up if you want in the meantime: amandarosehowland3@gmail.com or on Facebook

Remember: if you want to order a copy of the latest Adanna Literary Journal to check out my short story "Hunger Town", send me an email and I can get you the author's discount.

I have another story coming out soon, so look for updates!

Also, I will be collaborating again with my buddy Pauline Lombardo on September 29th at Now That's Class! Other acts include Law$uits and Magnetic West. 

Here is a link to the Facebook page:

SHOW

INTERVIEW WITH SKIN GRAFT, AKA WYATT HOWLAND

Wyatt Howland is from Northeast Ohio and has been working on making noise for the past twenty years. You can find his work here:

SKIN GRAFT

SKSK NOISE AND DRONE CLEVELAND OHIO

ARH: What are you working on now?

WBH: There are a few things that I am working on that I am very happy with. Fascist Insect and Skin Graft 'Workplace Violence' has a really classic badass appeal to it in my opinion, it always rules working with you and Mitch.  In the past year or so I have worked a lot with Andrew Kirschner on our duo Blackfire, and among other things we have in production a split with K2 [this is now available!], and a cassette titled 'Out of Fear'.  I just finished up a full-length solo recording titled 'Twins Decease' that is very sour and angry.  David Russell and I are about to release the first volume in a compilation series titled 'Ohio', the first volume is incredible.  Cory Rowell, aka Demonologists, and I are working on a full-length collaboration that has so far been both disgusting and menacing.  A split / collaboration with Scant is in its final stages, which is very desolate.  As you know, DPI has returned as an electronic trio and it has been very satisfying working on new material, which has been very dark and grimy.  Otherwise, there is future work planned that I am looking forward to when the time is right, with others that you know.

[note: Wyatt is my brother and long-time collaborator in Dead Peasant Insurance (DPI) as well as other projects.]

ARH: Wow - great stuff. We love working with you, too! You are involved in so many collaborations now, do you ever find it challenging to find time and energy for your solo stuff, or are you not that worried about it? Collaborations can open one's ear to new ideas, for sure.

 WBH: I am always running out of time and energy but always in the state of mind to plot and sketch out ideas mentally.  By the time I am able to record, I have a general map of where to go.

ARH: When and how did you get into performing? Feel free to discuss any influences and early experiences. 

WBH: I was 11 or 12 when I started going to see your bands play shows.  This was really exciting to me, teenagers putting on these hardcore shows with little to no adult supervision.  The DIY aspect of hardcore was very inspiring.  Growing up watching our father play in bands, the idea of playing in a band meant having a more professional attitude, trying to sound as good as possible and exercising talent and hard work.  Your bands sounded like shit and everyone had a bad attitude and hated each other.  I loved that. 

ARH: Ah yes, thank you--you are describing a quality and values that I'm proud to have maintained with integrity over the last twenty years.

 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?

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

WBH: I've definitely noticed a severe mutation in the music culture.  Things are much bigger in all ways than they were when we started, like a swelling cyst.  There are definitely parallels to what I've read about the original industrial music culture of the 1970s and the current underground electronic culture.

For me, the most important quality to music and live performance is conviction.  There are certain sounds and styles that I am attracted to: dark inhuman tones, unmusical textures.  The last performances I was startled by were Gerritt Wittmer and Shrive, and I couldn't tell you why honestly...  Generally speaking I am more excited by sets with no visual stimulus and don't like to watch people work.  I can appreciate all aspects of music when done well, but for me to take it seriously, rhythm and melody generally can fuck off.

ARH: Does language factor in your creative process?

WBH: It has more in the past.  I used to come up with a title and work around what I could do thematically with it.  Lately titles are more of an afterthought and hassle for me, because I have been moving in a more abstract and inhuman direction and am less language oriented than I used to be.  But techniques are always changing.

ARH: Do you feel performing is a mystical act and/or ritual? How would you describe the performing process in terms of mental, physical and emotional transformation?

WBH: Performance is generally confined to 'binge and purge' for me.  For example, I'll take in a bunch of other people's horseshit all day at work and then vomit it out through the p.a. system.  I generally play better if I'm in a rotten mood.  I don't have any rituals at the moment.  Sometimes I reflect on bad memories until I reach a high level of anxiety, but sometimes that’s not necessary. 

ARH: 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?

WBH: The future of experimental music is looking pretty bad-ass.  Even if everyone involved decided to quit tomorrow, there are still way more albums then anyone could ever listen to in a lifetime, so fuck it.  And if that's not enough, make some more.  As for the relationship between local and global, at the moment there is one major setback, and that is the decline of the postal system, which is hurting the cassette culture that most of us have a fetish for.  Physical media and folk art are being pushed away, which to a degree is something that we'll have to adapt to.  On the other hand, the internet has opened the door wide open for people to travel and book tours easily as well as easily communicate with like minded people so the connections are getting tighter. 

Wyatt Howland: Skin Graft / SKSK / DPI / COPS / GLORIA / Blackfire / Jerk / Flagellants / The Family Chapter / The Nevari Butchers / Public Execution / DLX OTHRR / Apartment 213 / D.B. / Jesus Kills/Imbibers/Antichrist/Deadclub/ Stark Tech / Witchgraft / Plague Skin/Skin Plague / Cardiac Arrest / ruin / Killed in Prison / Tanked / Relentless Corpse / Black Baat / WH & Bryan Detrow / the Red Threat / 4DR / F.E. / XRAYOK / F.C.C. / Vulcan Death Trip / Shadows /  Emeralds&SG / Thee Scarcity of Tanks Undercuts Trasher Cloud / Iron Oxide / Frozen Inertia / Rasta Goat / E.E&SG/ the Hollow Trees / Skin/trade / Kyle Tremblay & WH / the Emblem of All American Rot / The Land of Buried Treasure / Rusted Tub / H.C.E. / SG&AC etc.

SHOW TONIGHT! AND PUBLICATION SOON~~

Hello Friends,

Fascist Insect will be playing with our new line-up as a three piece TONIGHT! (Friday, September 5) at Guide to Kulchur.

CHECK OUT THE FACEBOOK EVENT HERE

This marks a return to thrash/grindcore roots and return of drummer Pumpkin Mask! We will be opening up for Wild Gone Girls. Jason Rodriguez and others will be playing as well.

I'm honored to announce my story "Hunger Town" will be appearing in the upcoming issue of Adanna Literary Journal!

You can check them out here:

ADANNA LITERARY JOURNAL

Please email me for information about buying an issue at my author's 25% off discount: amandarosehowland3@gmail.com

Love,

Amanda

INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD RODRIGUEZ

Richard Rodriguez plays bass, guitar, drums and vocals. He is in Real Regular and has played in Lucha Eterna, Obnox, What A Waste, BxVx, Fascist Insect, Ghostbread, Paint Chips, Tuck Peenersen and his Weinermen, Burger Boys, and more. His label is Saucepan Records:

https://www.facebook.com/saucepanrecords?ref_type=bookmark

saucepanrecords.bandcamp.com

ARH: Hello, Richard! So, what are you working on this summer? Are there any upcoming shows you're excited about? I heard you're cooking at Class and you have a new label--what's going on with that stuff?

RR: This summer I'm doing more recording and releasing than actually playing out. It's not necessarily ideal, but that's just kinda how it's turning out. Today I actually got test presses for the Lucha Eterna 7" that I'm putting out on my label Saucepan Records. Coincidentally I also got the final copies of the Real Regular 12" today as well. I'm really excited about both releases and the response they have both been getting from everyone. I have a few other releases in the works as well. The Fat Vegan tape "Music To Eat Tofu To" is done and will be available soon. I also have a Bad Noids 7" and Mr. California 7" in the works as well so I'm keeping myself pretty busy. There's always a show I wanna see, but a few that have me really excited are Infest and the West Side Punk Connect Fest with Los Crudos. Both great shows showcasing the best in punk and hardcore. I'm losing my mind, I can't wait.

So, yeah, I also make food every Wednesday night at Now That's Class. I make pupusas, which are a traditional Salvadoran dish that's essentially a stuffed tortilla with beans, cheese, and minced pork. I change it up and add different meat options every week. It’s going great! People are coming out of the woodwork, sometimes just to eat my food and that means a lot because I honestly didn't know how well this would go when I first started back in January. Started out a little rough, but I know its gotten a lot better and I'll be adding other options (tamales, vegan options, etc.) real soon.

ARH: Wow, we'll have to come out and get some of your food! I love Now That's Class--there is no place like it. Are those two shows at Class? That's cool you're doing so much recording. Do you have a site or something where people can buy that stuff? 

I've also been recording more the last year after years of focusing on performing. I feel like recording and performing are totally different art forms. For me, they come from such different points of inspiration and require different compositional approaches. What do you think? I imagine for some genres recording and performing may be closer. As someone who's worked in different genres, do you find that to be true?

RR: Both shows are in fact at Now That's Class. I'm involved a lot more with that place these days its pretty cool. I’m still trying to set up the online store/mail order stuff. It’s a bit of a pain haha but it needs to be done a.s.a.p. because by mid August I will have a decent amount of releases ready to go.

I completely agree with recording and performing being two very different outputs. On the one hand you have a medium that can be done over and over again with many different layers to sound the way you want it to sound at home on someone's stereo. It can take hours to days on end. On the other hand is the performance that doesn't necessarily have to be anything like the record at all. When I was in Obnox we stripped down the blown out multi-drum layered psych rock recordings to fit a two-piece outfit when we played live. Then there are punk and hardcore bands/songs/records that try to stick as close to the recordings as possible. I think different genres have more wiggle room to experiment with that others have or choose to use. That said, I personally enjoy doing both and am always willing to experiment with a live setting and have no problem with steering away from what's expected.

ARH: When and how did you get into performing? Since you’ve started performing, have you noticed repeating cycles in terms of style and energy? How would you describe the current zeitgeist?

RR: First began performing about five or six years ago with What A Waste and Fascist Insect. Regardless of what anyone else may have thought of those bands at the time, I had a blast playing live almost every time. My only influences at the time were bands like Black Flag or The Ramones. Now, mind you, obviously nothing I was playing sounded ANYTHING like either of those two bands, but my point is that I wanted to play as simple and as aggressive as I could at the same time. That's still somewhat the formula for any band I still do to this day. It's totally a repeating cycle no matter what instrument I'm playing. Three chords on the guitar and no drum rolls/fills ever. Just meat and potatoes, it's what I enjoy and what I feel most comfortable playing. Not that I haven't ventured out of my comfort zone, but I just always come back. It just feels right.

ARH: I hear you. Anything else coming up you are excited about?

RR: Well since starting this interview the Real Regular LP has been released and people seem to be liking it a lot so that's pretty exciting haha. The new Lucha Eterna 7" will officially be out in two weeks and I have a couple of new projects that are about ready to perform in a seedy basement near you! I have since taken on new releases for Saucepan Records so I think 2015 is looking pretty bright for the label, I can't wait!

INTERVIEW WITH BOB BRINKMAN OF BRIDESMAID AND DROSE

Bob Brinkman, formerly of Sin Nombre, plays bass in the heavy minimalist metal band Bridesmaid with drummer Cory Barnt and bassist Scott Hyatt, and now new drummer Ricky Thompson. Thompson is also Brinkman’s bandmate in Drose, along with Dustin Rose and John Mengerink. Bridesmaid spend most of their time helping out other touring bands, playing shows around the East Coast and Midwest and trying to write new riffs. There’s really nothing else motivating the music other than a love of riffs and amplifiers.

Bridesmaid will be playing at Now That’s Class Friday, August 29^th with Moutheater, Wasted Jaw and Tithe:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1449732358632028/

Drose will be playing at Now That’s Class Saturday, September 27^th with Murderedman and Hiram Maxim:

https://www.facebook.com/events/527228524044381/

(Bridesmaid and Drose links can be found within the text of the interview.)

ARH: Hi Bob! What’s it like playing with two drummers? How are the logistics?

BB: Two drummers is going well.  We still aren't sure if we are going to keep it at two or go back to one.  Stage space is a concern, especially with our bass rigs. The other issue is that the songs are all written with one drummer so we aren't really exploiting it to its fullest. Figuring out how to make sure it's interesting will be the big challenge.  Either way it will definitely be heavier. And we wouldn't go back to one until Cory moves. It will be two for sure until he leaves Ohio. 

ARH: I didn't realize Cory is moving--that's too bad. I hope I get to see you guys while you have two drummers. I admire Bridesmaid for its intense balance of minimalism and volume. You guys have stripped metal down to its very essence, and the primal rhythms interplay in a way that is so compelling; it's one of the few bands I could put on for just about any guest and know they'll dig it. What kinds of bands were you guys in before you formed Bridesmaid and what are your biggest influences?

BB Thank you very much, that is one of the nicest things anyone has said about us. 

Cory and I were in our first band together, Suburban Mayhem, along with Jake from Sun Splitter.  It sounded like everyone's high school punk band, I suppose.  I met Scott when he was in a death metal band called Locusta, I was playing in a more straightforward Stoner Metal band called Sin Nombre.  Initially I wanted to start something that was in line with bands like Hyatari or 5ive (the Boston band, not the boy band) and I knew Scott was into some noise stuff and shared my love of amplifiers. The song "Francis with Wolves" off the last album most closely follows my original vision of the band.

As we wrote and evolved, it turned in to a more riff oriented type of music, which I also like.  We listen to a wide variety of music with only a few overlaps and seem to all approach writing differently. Cory's influence and sensibility for stringing parts together will be missed for sure, but I know Ricky the new drummer is also an accomplished songwriter as well.  Some of the biggest influences were people like Mitch and Aaron Vilk asking us to play out of town shows early on, it inspired me to see how far we can push the band when it came to touring, making new friends in different cities and getting our music heard by people that may enjoy it.

ARH: That's cool that Mitch and Aaron drew you guys out, I didn't realize that. I agree that listening to a wide variety of music opens everything up, especially now that music is often fragmented into all these little niches. I do see both more separation and more crossover, if that makes sense. But I know when I'm working on stuff, it helps to listen to a little Faangface, a little Nina Simone, some Black Flag, just to hear what weird little phrases, sounds and rhythms peek through. Likewise, it's inspiring to work with people who are listening to different stuff. Mitch and I have been working together the last six months, and we are each usually listening to different things, sometimes within earshot of each other! Can you tell me about some of your upcoming shows that you're excited about? You're coming to Cleveland soon, right?

BB: Yeah, we are doing five shows in August with two drummers, which will be a lot of fun for us.  We've never played Milwaukee before and that will be one of the shows. There's a fun show coming up in September, too, but the lineup hasn't been announced yet so I can't spill the beans on that just now. 

Full list of shows with two drummers is here:

http://bridesmaidohio.blogspot.com/

ARH: Cool--looks like you've got some great shows coming up! Can you tell me a little about the Columbus music scene? I haven't spent much time down there in a long time.

BB Columbus is pretty good for shows, most of the music I deal with centers around Carabar or Ace of Cups.  Both bars treat the bands really well and do a lot of great shows.  There's still a reasonably active house scene, but I am not as involved in that. A lot of the stuff that would have happened at the punk houses has shifted over to Cafe Bourbon Street/The Summit.  They are two venues hooked onto each other, the Summit being the bigger one. Kevin that runs things around there seems to really care about putting on shows as well. 

The local bands are all really good about supporting touring acts, things like giving all the money to them, that sort of thing.  Lately I have been digging on Messrs, Northern Widows, and Earthburner.  I haven't seen Southern State live yet, but they practice in the same warehouse and have sounded really good from what I have heard, so I need to check them out too.  Lo Pan always puts on a great show as well, and their hard work has been paying off over the past couple of years.

ARH: Wow thanks for the information--that's a lot of cool stuff to check out. Oh hey, can you tell me about Drose? I hear that project is pretty sweet.

BB: Drose should be playing in Cleveland in September, and I agree that it's pretty sweet! So much so that I asked to join the band.  Originally it was a three piece, but the guitar player quit.  I told them if they got desperate enough to replace him with a bass player to count me in. 

They ended up pulling Ricky Thomson, the new drummer for Bridesmaid, in for guitar and me on bass upping it to a four piece.  The drummer just moved to Cleveland while his girlfriend finishes up grad school, so we won't be doing a ton of stuff.  Dustin writes it all and is currently finishing up another album, we'll see what happens with it.  The second song on this 7-inch is really what made me fall in love with the band and want to join.

http://droseohio.bandcamp.com/album/a-voice-7

ARH: Yeah, man that shit is good and heavy. Drose has been pretty active with Murdered Man, right? I get excited about bands that are both energetically passionate and making interesting choices in composition because for years my band (DPI) would play with solo noise performers because most band scenes were too codified. So, I love to see Bridesmaid, Murdered Man and Drose joining earlier heavy and interesting bands such as Jerk, Clan of the Cave Bear, Fascist Insect and Hair Police. Can you speak at all to the experience of creative choices made as a band, as opposed to an artist working alone?             

BB: I think being in a band is a real good way to keep your ego in check, I can throw out every idea I have and I receive instant feed back from the other members as to if it is a good one or a bad one. Whereas, if I was going it alone I wouldn't get it.  Plus most of the fun, for me, in being in a band are those random giggle fits with your friends at some rest stop in the middle of nowhere and meeting other people that care about making music and having fun then looking at their pet photos on Facebook, shout out to Nick Wolf from the Proselyte and his dog Baxter in Boston.

ARH: Yes man! That's right! When you're working with the right people, the egos are stripped and great things can be forged. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Bob!