APRIL BOWLBY

I n t e r v i e w

by Danielle Maree Langley

April Bowlby is an intelligent actress that proves herself to be funny, beautiful, and compassionate, and also shows a strong determination to keep her feet on the ground. April showcased such enjoyable and memorable levels of acting in the shows Two & a Half Men as Alan Harper a.k.a. Jon Cryer’s no-rules girlfriend/ex-wife Kandi, and now in Lifetime’s proclaimed series Drop Dead Diva co-starring as Stacy Barrett, the roommate, model and good-hearted friend. Recently she was kindly able to interview while in Atlanta on the set of Drop Dead Diva. Immediately in talking with her, it felt like a conversation with an old friend that you have known for years. Not only is April Bowlby positive in the way she speaks of her past and current experiences, but also she is more than optimistic for what lies ahead.

Q: I understand that you went to school for Marine biology, studied French, and had a great passion for ballet. May you tell me more about that?

APRIL: I moved to Newbury Park, California and went to Moorpark College for a few semesters. I kind of never really had a set path; I’ve always only done things that interested me. What interested me were French, Marine Biology, and Ballet. I’ve always wanted to be a ballerina so that’s why I studied that as well. From when I was very little, I trained to be a ballerina, and when I was 17 I broke my foot – and then I started modeling. So one door closed and another opened so I felt I had to take that! You don’t want to ignore those doors. I studied Marine Biology for a little while which was amazing and interesting. I don’t know if I ever wanted to teach it or do anything with it, I just really loved the idea of it, studying and learning about this whole other world that we know so little about. We can only go so deep into the ocean and we have no idea what is underneath.  It’s crazy!  We would take field trips to the ocean, and we would walk on the shore to identify all the little sea creatures and animals on the beach. It was beautiful! I have been scuba diving, but I didn’t like it. It was very frightening to me, and my brain just couldn’t relax. There are so many things that can go wrong. So I’ve tried it, and I know I don’t like it.

Q: What special mentors helped change your career interest?

APRIL: Goodness gracious, I’ve been so lucky with all the people that have come into my life. I had my ballet teacher, Dorothy who was quite a mentor and a really strong woman. Also I had my beautiful teachers in school. When I moved to Los Angeles, I had my first LA boyfriend, Randall Slavin and he is a photographer, use to be an actor, so he was very supportive of me acting and he kind of opened the world to me. He told me the best acting coaches in LA, and he also introduced me to his old agent who signed me which was so amazing as I was so lucky to have that.

Q: You’re currently working the third season of Lifetime’s hit series Drop Dead Diva, has this role depicted any part of your real life personality and how does it differ? Are there any additional qualities that you would like to incorporate into this role?

APRIL: We shoot 13 episodes, which we began at the end of February, and we’re already starting to film our 9^th episode, expecting to wrap up by July 13th. All of the people I work with are beautiful, and kind. We’ve been working with each other for three years now, and truly have become like a family. It’s really nice to go to our set; it doesn’t even feel like work. I think there are a few aspects of my character, Stacy that reflect my personality as I think we are both very positive people, we always look on the bright side, and want to find the good in things. It’s an easy role to play as it is just naturally in me.  What is great is I have been playing this character for three years, and you don’t really have to work as hard at it. You just kind of pick up your script and know what you are going to do.  I think my character is a bit gullible, and gets a little bit overly excited. I’m a little bit more grounded than that. She’s a good girl, she really tries but sometimes both of her feet are not on the ground. I feel like my feet are kind of on the ground! I know that Stacy isn’t really savvy, and comes across things by accident. She’s not aware of the things that she is solving which is an adorable part of her, but I would love for her to be more clever and aware. Other than that though, she is perfect.

Q: What were some of your favorite moments about working on the hit show Two and a Half Men?

APRIL: It was such an incredible show to be apart of; everyone is so talented on that show that it is insane. Some of my favorite moments included the process of that show. I just loved how Monday through Thursday you come in and rehearse, and it was almost like a play. You go from beginning to end, and you get to play with all of these ideas. Sometimes I couldn’t make a joke work, and I would ask Charlie Sheen or Jon Cryer. They were always so helpful, would recommend different ways to say it like this, and would it help if I did this.  It was just a cohesive thing, and the whole experience of it was such a pleasure. Then on Fridays when we would perform it all in front of a live studio audience, it was the most insane chaos you could ever have because people would react immediately and it was magical. It was always such a moment of success when people would laugh! My character Kandi was such a fun character to play, as she was so out there as you could do anything with her, and she had no rules!

Q: Out of all the characters you’ve portrayed so far in your career, which one has been your most challenging, and why?

APRIL: The most challenging has been this movie that I did, Prada to Nada. My character was the evil sister-in-law, and I played the bitch. I think it was challenging because I had never done that type of role before. It wasn’t like I really knew how to do it.  It was my first time, and I loved it because you could do anything under the guides of being a bitch if you do it a certain way. I got to learn a lot from that role, and I would definitely do it again.

Q: You have always been creative, what are your greatest inspirations?

APRIL: Acting class was a huge inspiration because you get to see what works, and what doesn’t so that was a big learning thing for me.  One of the great things about being an actor is that you get to go to movies, and call it work. I recently rented a bunch of Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslett, and Cate Blanchett movies.  I love being able to sit there to watch them, take them all apart, and then wonder why these movies are all working so well. They are all so incredible! You can watch them, and then there is this moment when your brain stops studying, and you just melt right into their worlds. That’s when you know it is good acting; their work is so seamless. Some of my favorite movies are Brides to Madison County, Frances with Jessica Lange, Disney movies like the Emperor’s New Groove, French movies like Amelie, and oh, Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons. Also I love music, but I’m never the one who introduces people to new bands. I love my Radiohead; they create such magical live shows and are on another level of creativity. They are genius. My favorite album of Radiohead’s is In Rainbows, it’s really, really beautiful. Some people don’t get it, and that’s all right, but us Radiohead fans need to stick together!

Q: If you could sit down with one celebrity, living or dead, who would they be and what would you like to ask them?

APRIL: I would love to meet with Carol Burnett as she seems like such an intelligent, strong, smart, and funny woman. I wonder how she figured it all out, and I would just like her to talk to me. I would love to know about her life; what drives her, what her fears were, and how she overcame those. I want to know if her wall of creativity was always innately in her, and all those secret questions. I think she would be amazing to work with, and I would also like to watch and observe her to see how she is, and see how she does it.

Q: What would your number one suggestion be for someone who would like to pursue an acting career?

APRIL: I would say that if you love it, do it and go for it! No one is going to work as hard for your career as you will. No matter if you have the best agents, and managers they can only go so far because they are representing so many other people. It’s up to you to find a way in, to do what you love, and make it happen. Just do it! If you love it, go for it 100% and then you will know if you are really into it or not. Sometimes it’s a lot of hard work, and sometimes there is a really big payoff.

Q: May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

APRIL: I’m constantly telling myself to breathe because when I’m stressed, when I’m thinking, or trying to figure something out, I tend to hold my breath which is not a good thing as you can pass out, get lightheaded, and nervous. So my words to live by are just breathe.

Q: What is your FAULT?

APRIL: I really like big steak French fries, and when I mean I really like, I mean everyday I will find a way to eat them. I will order a salad, and French fries. I will order a sandwich, and French fries. I can’t stop eating them and they are not good for you. I went to the doctor, and he was like yeah, you can eat fried food once or twice a year, but I eat them everyday! I don’t know how long I’ll be able to get away with it as it’s really getting out of control.

See the published interview in Fault Magazine’s Summer 2011 Issue:

http://issuu.com/faultmagazine​/docs/fault2011

Listen:

Radiohead – Nude (Holy Fuck Remix)

Recently Brooklyn, NY’s Cinema Cinema (Ev Gold and Paul Claro) kindly contributed to MIA. Please enjoy the following Q&A below.

Listen :: DryDive (Exile Baby)

1. Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Ev Gold: Frank Zappa.  How lucky am I, that my 1st musical memory is Frank Zappa?  It really speaks volumes about the complexity of his music and how said complexity leads to almost instant appeal to the untrained, virgin ears of a 3 year old.  The perfection found within a symphony. Also, years later, I can see how deeply it affected me, that shit drenched my core.  My father is an artist and musician and always had impeccable taste.  He taught me how to play guitar at 14 and he taught me about Zappa at 3.  I have to say, when it comes to my early musical life, I really think specifically of those 2 men.  I was running around the house and bouncing to the “Apostrophe/Over-Nite Sensation” record in my youngest memories and getting my mind blown… and I still stay away from that yellow snow.

Paul Claro: I remember playing along with songs my dad would write when I was young, before I could even really play drums.  I remember feeling encouraged by the fact that even though I couldn’t really play, I could still create something stable enough to follow along with my father.  It made me believe that I really could be a musician.  Looking back on it, this was my first lesson in creation, that creation was not purely an individual experience… that even noise can be considered artistic.

2. May you share about your academic background concerning music? Did you study formally? Any special mentors?

Ev Gold: I kind of referenced this a second ago, my Pop – he taught me how to play.  I asked for a guitar when I was 12, then I reconnected with my father the next year and he was a shit-hot guitar player.  I always hoped I could be that good.  It took a while, but I got there.

I never took a formal lesson or anything like that.  My father taught me and I picked the rest up by ear, through the experience of being in and around bands since I was a kid.  When I was in my 1st band in the 90′s – I was just a singer and didn’t have the confidence in my playing to take it outside my room, wherein I would sit with candles lit and notebooks out and write obsessively.  I would like, challenge myself to write an album’s worth of material sometimes over a 1 or 2 night stretch.  I would sit down and chart out song titles, themes and try to explore them, usually winding up with about 2 really great songs out of 10 or 11.  Then I started to use those little sessions as blueprint and groundwork. I would fuse the best pieces of the songs together and make mini-epic’s. I was basically writing “American Idiot”-style mini-opera’s when i was 16 and 17 – as practice. Wow, i am glad I don’t do that anymore!! (Laughs) Some of those bits have even stood the test of time straight through to today, popping their heads out in new cinema riffs and sections. we have a new song called “1st Writings on Levitation”, that could very well wind up on the next cinema record – if not the one after that – and that one came about from that era.

Paul Claro: I had some lessons as a child but soon found myself learning by ear. When I first started playing around age 9 or 10 I found it hard to focus on the science and structure of music and wanted to create my own ideas. Once I realized creation was boundless, that’s when my musicianship was taken to the next level. Keith Moon is the only mentor any drummer really needs.

3. If you had to explain your music to a stranger, how would you do so?

Ev Gold: Fugazi and the Flaming Lips are hanging out in a dark basement that used to be the MC5′s practice room and Muhammed Ali is training in the corner while listening to Rage Against the Machine and then Black Flag walks in and challenges everyone to a fistfight, mayhem ensues and a new sonic landscape is uncovered.  After a lot of cuts, bruises and stitches – the whole lot of them recover in a big white room where Quadrophenia and OK Computer are mashed up by Danger Mouse and pumped through My Bloody Valentine’s amp stack – thats where Cinema, Cinema is born.

4. What are your favorite instruments to work with and what aspects do you like most about using them?

Paul Claro: Other than drums, I’m partial to wind instruments. I play a few and love their earthy quality. Also things that are percussive and tribal. Anything real, raw and unprocessed.

Ev Gold: My effects pedals are the extension of my instrument (guitar) that I take my most pride in and have my most fun with.  I do believe that my guitar skills are very tasty and by themselves, they can stand up – but in a 2 piece i feel the need to really use the pedals as a whole other instrument.  I play guitar as much with my feet as I do with my hands and ears. To string together different combinations of pedals and create new textures and sounds that no one else, or at least none of my current contemporaries are achieving, that’s what I strive for.

I am proud of the fact and I can say easily with clear conscience, that no one on earth can properly transcribe the guitar notations needed to duplicate my playing on Exile Baby. Only I can do that because I use combinations that aren’t duplicating or replicating my favorite sounds – I am working with all my might to invent new sounds.

5. What are your inspirations?

Paul Claro: Bands that take chances: Black Flag, The Who, Radiohead, TV on the Radio, The Flaming Lips.

6. When you’re working are you fully involved in what you’re doing or is your mind already planning ahead?

Ev Gold: It’s funny – what Paul and I do is so much in the moment – it lives so much in that origin of jazz, just breathing and moving of its own accord – yet, he and I are so focused and know each other so well – that its almost like a mental game of chess – because as we are enveloped in moment and putting our faces directly into the waves ahead – we always have a grip on the other ones shoulder with an eye on the direction of the currents.

In different bands and in different formats that Cinema, Cinema has existed in the past – i could never have said that we are like organized confusion – but that’s what Paul and i achieve – its in the realm where fate exists – undefinable. –we aren’t as much fully involved as we actually become the music and we let it tell us where to go – luckily it speaks the same language at the same time in to both of our ears and
guides us.

7. On average, how long does it take for you to create a song?

Ev Gold: Its a quick process.  I mean, everytime I pick up the guitar I generally start with an exercise, that’s basically a jazz thing where I just put the guitar on my lap or strap it on my back.  Then I immediately channel the energy around me in the room and start to play whatever comes to my mind and allow it to pump down through my fingertips to the neck, wherever it is supposed to go.  I don’t pick up the guitar and start to finger out someone else’s lick.  I just figured out or start strumming the same old chord pattern from one of my pre-existing songs – I just squeeze out new ideas with a lot of regularity.  Its like an ever-evolving state of songwriting.  I find myself coming across upwards of 2 or 3 really good riffs or chord progressions a week of ideas I would like to hear on a record by a band that I like – therefore, that band in my head gets to become my band.

Unfortunately, I do not presently have a good home recording/demoing capability at Cinema HQ (which is my apartment/crash space – that’s 100% dedicated to all things Cinema.  Put it this way, there are enough amps to power a solid backline for a Melvins tour but there isnt a bed – so i can’t just call it “my apartment” in good and regular conscience – its just Cinema HQ). I don’t have my old little crappy tape recorded even – that was lost in a flood – so I am constantly grabbing hold of these little ideas and the ones that resonate the most are the ones that my brain will decide to brand into the important category and hopefully Paul is either on his way over to pick me up for practice or a gig or we are about to meet up about the band and I can show him the idea while its fresh – because if it passes his test – a test i trust – an instinctual one – a “shit, that makes my booty move” or “damn, that makes me wanna break a window” kinda test – if it passes – then most likely Cinema is about to have a new song – as soon as the two of us can be behind our instruments together – the music always comes first and rather quickly. Generally then I usually come up with a name for the piece of music – just what it sounds and looks like in my mind – and that is where the lyrics have their first glimpse of life.

8. On the website Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your life and creativity are concerned?

Ev Gold: This is a fun question and I can easily go on for the rest of the time we have naming records.  So I am going to try to keep this to my 5 or 6 most important records based on the profound effect they had on my playing and approach because different records are important for different reasons.  Like Liquid Swords by GZA is one of my favorite records of all time – but I don’t know that it is one that has necessarily shaped my playing in a different way. Whereas when I first heard Damaged by Black Flag, I almost fell over because of the guitar sound and choices made by Greg Ginn on that record.  You see – so there is a big difference in my mind with “favorite albums” and then ones that are “integral to my playing albums”… so I will choose a few of the ladder. Ok Computer by Radiohead, Black Love by Afghan Whigs, Damaged by Black Flag, White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground, and In On The Kill Taker by Fugazi.

Paul Claro: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen and the E street band was my introduction to music outside of what was being played on pop radio in the mid 90′s and it really began my fascination with music. Grace by Jeff Buckley, this record changed my outlook on music. After hearing Buckley’s beautiful voice I quickly grew out of my pop rock phase and never listened to the radio again. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, this record opened my mind to a whole world of underground, avant & open indie music and I’ve never looked back…just amazing music with no boundaries, ah Jeff Mangum is the man! Finally, OK Computer by Radiohead was the first time I realized that it was OK to use computers in music. Before hearing this record I was strictly against bands who used electronics in their music. But Radiohead’s brilliant mastery of the art showed my the endless possibilities computers can attribute to music.

09. If you could have a drink with one musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Paul Claro: Daniel Johnston. What is the song “Walking the Cow” actually about?

Ev Gold: Shannon Hoon. I miss him a lot. I don’t know – I feel a special kinship with him. I feel like he’s an older brother that I don’t have or wish I could have had. He just seemed fearless about everything and that inspires me. I have such a respect for him and his work and especially because I think it is mostly misunderstood and not represented correctly. Everyone thinks that Blind Melon was a “jam band” or “light rock” because of No Rain – meanwhile – those dudes where one of the most talented powerhouse bands of the 90s. They sounded like no one else and the growth that was exhibited between blind melon and soup, they’re first two records are just exponential.

10. What do you hope people take from seeing you perform live?

Paul Claro: I want them to see that a band can be more than a trained performing machine. That it can be a living and breathing entity that can grow and expand in front of your eyes.

Ev Gold: I hope that get the feeling like they were a part of it – like at a sporting event – when your team wins – you win – you feel it on the deep personal level, its a part of you. I know what we do can be a bit challenging and almost “too” intense or scary in an old school way that we are proud of. I mean, a typical cinema show isnt a love-in from the 6o’s, its usually like a bare knuckle brawl where your hero is taking a beating but giving one back even harder. I want for our live experience to be one that shakes our crowd to its core. Whether you are standing along the sides of the walls observing, in the pit freaking, or standing as close as possible to hear it all or as far away as possible to protect your ears.  We are loud.  I want people to feel like for a moment, like they were able to attach to those two guys up there and be in it.

11. What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Ev Gold: That’s a tough one. I want it to be typical, like – when we pulled into Kentucky for the 1st time, this past January of 2009 – to play SouthGate House – our name was up on the marquee outside.  You know, miles away from home on tour in a tiny mazda in the freezing cold of January, that kinda shit goes a long way. We had another moment like that back in September, in our hometown as we headlined the Blender Theater at the Gramercy.  Our name was at the top of the big marquee outside, a marquee I had walked by numerous times in the past but really, its the heart of experiences that we are in it for.

Like the night that we got stuck in a horror show of rain and traffic heading to Boston.  A 3 and 1/2 hour drive became 6 and 1/2 hours – while Paul and I tried to stay as sane as we could in the car, I booked us 2 huge shows (opening for the Giraffes) on the phone.  Whilst hardcore traveling, that nite we had to sleep in the car with all the gear…and we needed a great and lucrative night the following night of the tour, if we were to survive, literally – and we got one in Northampton, MA at The Elevens. It was a real magical night, that was memorable by far more than your typical marquee moment.

Paul Claro: We drove up to a motel in the middle of a cold November night in Maine. It was our first attempt at touring, and we decided to go north. We got in the room and there was no heat. It was so cold that steam was literally coming off our bodies. Yet, this was one my fondest memories of being in this band. Earlier that night, we played a gig in a strange town in front of a strange crowd and we had one of the most successful shows of our young career there. It was this sense of victory that pushed us to work harder for the next year playing more and more out of state gigs all along the east coast and really learning how to tour, by jumping in and getting our hands dirty and taking chances.

12. What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Ev Gold: Rent “Spinal Tap”.  Read “Get In The Van”.  Expect nothing.  Risk everything.

13. What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Ev Gold: Been waiting for that question! We are very very excited to have released a live EP last week, called the 57 EP.  We are releasing it ourselves on our own via the Lumiere Label. We are doing it all, controlling it all and we are very proud of the whole deal.  Its culled from our 57th show of the year, that we did back in July at Southpaw in Brooklyn.  By having released it on 11/24/09 – we made it by 1 day of releasing 2 records in 1 year! EXILE BABY was released on 11/25/08.

2 records in 1 year and over 100 shows, need we say more. Ok, we will.  Its funny, what happened was  the soundguy at Southpaw always asks during soundcheck if you would like your set recorded for a few bucks.  On that particular night, we said, “thanks, but no thanks -we are broke” and turned him down, being in the middle of a short 3 show tour, we really didn’t see the point in spending.  You want to make money on the road, its not a vacation, you don’t pick up souvenirs – its business.  We did the show and afterwards, a buddy of mine – who was seeing Cinema, Cinema for the 1st time live came up to me and exclaimed how much he loved us and what we do.  He had asked the sound guy if he was recording and he was, so he bought the disc from him. I was flattered and didn’t think much of hearing it – since we had just played and the thought of releasing a live record hadn’t even crossed our minds at all at that point. Then a few shows later – my buddy (Sammy is his name, he deserves to be named here as it was he who by fate, made this live ep a possibility) came out to another gig and gave me a copy of the Southpaw recording and it just jumped up outta the speakers and really sounded like a good representation of what we were doing at that point of the year. We had kicked around the idea with our publicist about putting out a new single to garner some press attention and we thought, lets put on a live b-side or 2 – so we went back to that recording from 7/16 and in combing over it numerous times – the idea grew out of a new single with an extra live cut to a live EP culled from the whole soundboard recording.

We include live takes on 3 of the songs off of Exile Baby (“DryDive”, “I Don’t Wanna Be Yr Boyfriend”, and “The Natural/RX”) and 2 new songs (“The Cycles & Territories of Winters Past” and “Phonecall”).

Paul Claro: With the surplus of new material we have and with our plan being to make a new record in the early half of 2010 – we thought this would make the most sense, to really put out a proper portrait of what the songs off Exile Baby have grown into and to include 2 new songs, being that we have so many new songs – we don’t know what we will include on the next record and what we won’t – so at least these 2 new ones will see the light of day on this EP.

14. May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Paul Claro: “Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.” Henry Rollins

15. Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

Ev Gold: Songs that shaped me at 13 years old, (circa 1991).
1-”Like A Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan
2-”Its So Easy” – Guns N Roses
3-”Breed” – Nirvana
4-”Break On Through” – The Doors
5-”Anarchy in the UK” – The Sex Pistols
6-”Jumping Jack Flash” – The Rolling Stones
7-”Alive” – Pearl Jam

Paul Claro: Songs I Like to play on Guitar.
1-Jeff Buckley-”Last Goodbye”
2-Daniel Johnston-”Walking the Cow”
3-Dave Matthews Band-#41
4-Pearl Jam-”Elderly Woman”
5-The Smiths-”There is a Light that Never goes Out”
6-Neutral Milk Hotel-”Holland, 1945″
7-Bob Dylan-”Times They are a-Changin”

“Arabella Proffer-Vendetta is a painter, designer, and co-founder of the indie label Elephant Stone Records. Her loose narrative themes revolve around a fascination with punk rock, aristocrats, Renaissance fashions, aging socialites, pre-code cinema, gothic divas and rock ‘n’ roll groupies. She attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA before receiving her BFA from California Institute of the Arts, and has participated in solo and group exhibitions throughout North America and Europe. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she has taken up residence in many cities including Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, and Boston. She currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband and an evil white cat named Milkshake.”

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating art.

Arabella Proffer: My parents had a pretty extensive Russian art collection — some really weird and tripped out stuff – so I always marveled at those, but supposedly I was two years old when I made a drawing of an eye with a landscape in the iris. I don’t remember that, but I was always drawing while watching cartoons while in pre-school.

May you share about your academic background concerning art? Did you study art formally? What were your art studies like in general– any influential instructors?

Arabella Proffer: I went to Art Center College of Design for 4 seconds, but got a better scholarship at California Institute of the Arts, so I went there to get my BFA. The clothing optional pool in the dorms sold me. I was in the art department, but I was mostly studying film and traditional animation. I didn’t start using oil paint until the last 3 weeks of school, so that part I would say is more self-taught. CalArts was more about theory than practice; at the time painting was “dead” and it was all about video and installation art. Luckily we had people like Jim Shaw, John Mandel, and Derek Boshier who still taught traditional art. In general I think I went too young, and my style was very out of place for what was being done at the time. I don’t think too hard about concept or meaning and that drove all my instructors crazy.

If you had to explain your work to a stranger, how would you do so?

Arabella Proffer: Depends on how what kind of blank look people give me. In general I say I’m a Mannerist; if that doesn’t get a reaction then I say Neo-Realist; if that doesn’t work, I say Pop Surrealist. At times I will also say I do portraits of make believe goth & punk Elizabethan nobility with short biographies – although that isn’t all I do, it is a large chunk of it.

What are your favorite colors to work with and what aspects do you like most about using those shades?

Arabella Proffer: I go through phases; I went through a pink phase, and a red one, now I’m staying with blues and purples. They say blue sells more paintings but I’m finding it doesn’t really seem to matter. I don’t really think about why I like something, it has to do more if it looks “right” or not, and I have odd ways of judging that. The only thing I hate working with is any obnoxious yellow color; reminds me of Hummers or those awful yellow Mustangs I see around today.

What are your inspirations?

Arabella Proffer: Elizabethan and punk fashion, old Hollywood and over-the-top home décor, biographies of people in fashion, society, or film. Old Masters always do it for me, and so does Art Deco, and the old Russian architecture I used to crane my neck looking at in my travels there — cupolas area awesome.

When you’re working are you fully involved in what you’re doing or is your mind already planning ahead?

Arabella Proffer: I plan ahead a lot just because I get bored easily. I’m shocked I finish anything at all, but maybe this is why I work so fast, I’m already excited about the next new thing. Some people get freaked out when they have a blank canvas or panel staring at them, and I’m just the opposite, I can’t wait to attack those bad boys!

On average, how long does it take you to finish one of your pieces?

Arabella Proffer: For the small 5×7” ones about 12 hours or more; the larger works I’m not sure as I haven’t been clocking it, but they need time to dry between layers, so I’d say 2 to 3 weeks. Lately I’ve been working larger, and that is taking some patience – I’m not a patient person by any means.

On the website Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your art and life are concerned?

Arabella Proffer: “Priest = Aura” by The Church has been on heavy rotation since I was about 14 years old whenever I work. I finally got to see them live recently and they played nothing from that album, so I was sad about that. I used to do mixed tapes of everything from Ella Fitzgerald to Subhumans, but the past few years it has been any album by Loop, Billy Nicholls “Would You Believe”, and a glam rock compilation called “Velvet Tin Mine” which is good for when you need to stay awake.

Do you prefer long periods of time alone, or are you energized by interaction?

Arabella Proffer: My best friend is my studio-mate, so we gab a lot, but yes sometimes if I’m concentrating on a particular spot in a painting I can’t even have music on. I am not a hermit by any means; I like to go out with my friends and do things other than being chained to a piece I’m working on. I get bored when I’m by myself too long. I’ve learned you can be social and be disciplined.

If you could have a drink with one visual artist, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Arabella Proffer: John Currin, so I could have him show me how the HELL he does it. Albrecht Durer would be awesome too, I don’t know what I’d ask him but I’m sure we’d figure something out.

What do you hope people take from seeing your art?

Arabella Proffer: I’ve actually never really been sure. Each piece is such a strong personality that I admire people who collect them and hang them in their home, because it isn’t anything close to wallpaper or something bland to match a couch. I guess all I can say is that I always have loved portraiture — and never been quite sure why; just that it is what I like the most for some reason and have always been drawn to it. When I was young, I always marveled at the old homes and museums that had portraits of family ancestors and such, I thought it was the proper thing to do, and so much more interesting than a photo album. I started my series I think in part because I wanted my own little gallery of ancestors as part of my home décor ever since I was a child. So I guess in a way, I hope people to think of them as their own little family members.

What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Arabella Proffer: Meeting people who collect my work at the receptions in general, and one collector who made up their own biography to one of my

pieces; when people can make up their own stories in the same style as I do for most of my portraits — that is pretty fun. The commissions that fall into place have also been great. I’m always so nervous because they are real people, but when they let me do my thing and are happy with the results, that has been the best.

What part of your process is the most challenging and do you dislike the most?

The skin, oh the skin! I hate it so much. And every time I go to fix something I make it worse. Obviously it turns out somehow in the end, but it is so rare I get it right on the first try. I’m also terrible at hands, if I do them right, it must be a damn miracle.

Do you have a favorite way to relax when back home?

Arabella Proffer: Wine and Netflix! Books are good too; anything about idiot socialites, crazy actresses or businesswomen who were utter maniacs.

What turns you on?

Arabella Proffer: Bacon, good beer, fancy stationary, 600 thread-count sheets, guns, elaborate chandeliers, muscle cars, novocaine shots, when guys beat the hell out of each other on UFC, my husband buck nekked.

What turns you off?

Arabella Proffer: Football, men in shorts – or golf shirts for that matter, Miller Lite, Snuggies, restaurants with “flair”, people with no backbone, and people who don’t know anything about history or are oblivious to the world around them in general.

What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Arabella Proffer: If you want something done right, do it yourself.

What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Arabella Proffer: I’m currently up at Art Whino Gallery w/ Brandi Read for the month in the DC area. I just got back from the reception and the show looks kick-ass. I have a solo show at Box Heart Gallery in Pittsburgh called “Splendor & Safety Pins” on Sept. 19th. I’ll be part of a the “Quarter Grand” show at T&P Fine Art in Philly in November, and then I’m part of a 4 city tour with Thievery Corporation and Art Whino Gallery which will be making a stop at Art Basel Miami and I’m hoping I can attend that.

May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Arabella Proffer: “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it” by Ellen Goodman.  I like this quote because it reminds me constantly what I never want to become!

Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

Arabella Proffer: Stuff You’re Likely To Hear In My Studio…

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ATJ presents SUCKERS, Sunday, August 30, 2009, at After the Jump Fest ‘09. This year’s 3rd annual festival is a three day extravaganza of independent music, and will take place at Brooklyn NY’s Littlefield Performance & Art Space.  Individual and weekend passes are available to purchase online here.

Listen :: Suckers – It Gets Your Body Movin’

In preparation for After the Jump Fest 2009, Music Is Art asked bassist Pan of Suckers to answer our ATJF Interview questions, and below are his special replies.

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Pan: As a kid, my brother and I would create our own “mash-ups” on tapes… we would takeout of bits and pieces of some of our favorite songs and link them all together.. I distinctly remember using Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” with the end of Metallica’s “One”

May you share about your academic background concerning music? Did you study formally? Any special mentors?

Pan: I took bass lessons for a minute, but the dude just taught me how to play “Under The Bridge” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.  Other than that, I basically taught myself.  Quinn and Austin (who are cousins) learned a lot of guitar from another older cousin and Brian is pretty well trained in drum theory.

If you had to explain your music to a stranger, how would you do so?

Pan: I do it all the time.  “Experimental Pop Music” seems to be the easiest thing to say.

What are your favorite instruments to work with and what aspects do you like most about using them?

Pan: Well, this is always changing, but lately working with samplers has been my favorite. You can make really interesting and original sounds with electronics.

What are your inspirations?

Pan: Honestly for me it’s everything, where I live, my friends, current music, old music, art, film. I try to apply all of that to creating sounds and making music.

On average, how long does it take for you to create a song?

Pan: It seems that our best songs usually resolve themselves in 1 or 2 practices.  The longer we work on a song, the less natural they tend to sound.

On the website Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your life and creativity are concerned?

Pan: This list goes on for miles.  David Bowie’s Low, The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Aphex Twin’s The Richard D. James Album, Talking Heads’ Speaking In Tongues, Tom Waits’ Bone Machine, R. Kelly’s Double Up, and Hall & Oates’ Essential Collection.

If you could have a drink with one musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Pan: Tom Waits.  I would ask him to produce our next album.

What do you hope people take from seeing you perform live?

Pan: Last time we played in Chicago, there was this kid who said we completely blew his mind.  He wouldn’t stop talking about what an amazing experience he had and how we melted his brain.  He later told us he was on mushrooms, but that’s basically the reaction I would like to get from everyone.

What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Pan: I don’t know, this past SXSW was pretty awesome.

What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Pan: Just Do It!

What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Pan: Writing/recording our first full length is probably the most exciting. Also, we’re having someone do a special remix for us.

May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Pan: “Sometimes, playas get lonely too.” – R. Kelly

Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

Pan: The theme is just my favorite songs that I’ve been listening to constantly for the past month.

ATJ presents FREE ENERGY, Saturday, August 29, 2009, at After the Jump Fest ‘09. This year’s 3rd annual festival is a three day extravaganza of independent music, and will take place at Brooklyn NY’s Littlefield Performance & Art Space.  Individual and weekend passes are available to purchase online here.

Listen :: Free Energy – Dream City

In preparation for After the Jump Fest 2009, Music Is Art asked frontman Paul Sprangers of Free Energy to answer our ATJF Interview questions, and below are his special replies.

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Paul: Hearing melodies in my head then playing them on the family piano.  They were probably inspired by cartoon theme songs and Bon Jovi.

Paul: Scott showed me how to play in drop d and I never looked back.  I did a lot of 4 track experimenting on my own and learned through trial and error.  I think I’m pretty against any kind of rigid academic schooling of any kind, but particularly in matters of intuition and inspiration, which seem to be hampered by strict training. I personally learn best through experience, not being taught.

Paul: Imagine Bob Seger making love to Christine Mcvie while Mick and Keith (tattoo you-era) watch. Then imagine this all taking place within a crystal amulet hanging from Phil Lynott’s neck as he drifts through the galaxy searching for Marc Bolan so they can play pinball.

Paul: I enjoy the look and feel of a solid Steinberger bass. They’re perfect for “slapping it out,” and headstocks are overrated.

Paul: I’m inspired by this crazy, spinning globe and all the jokers living on it!  I’m inspired by my bedroom, the girlfriend I share my life with,  collaborating with Scott, the amazingly talented dudes that play in our band, my sweet cat, lucid dreams, Philly, trying to understand myself, the prospect of becoming a mature human being and a positive force in this world.

Paul: I err on seeing and hearing what does not already exist.  I think the key to success is being present and fully involved in whatever you’re making or doing, always.  I’m bad at that but I’m good at acting on ideas and inspiration when they strike.

Paul: Sometimes an instant, sometimes many years.  We seem to have a mix of some very old and thoroughly fermented songs, while others are written and recorded quickly so they retain that energy of being “new.”

Paul: I credit Alien Lanes, Last Splash, Telephono, Helioself, Crooked Rain, Nevermind, INXS Kick, Slippery When Wet, Appetite For Destruction, He’s the DJ I’m the Rapper, Hanging Tough, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, Raw Hamburger, Spiderland, Surfer Rosa, Daft Punk Discovery, Midnight Vultures, Tusk, This Beat is Technotronic, 3 Feet High and Rising, Apocalypse 91 the Enemy Strikes Black, and on and on and on.

Paul: Maybe Springsteen?  I would want to ask him how he was able to “get it,” at such an early age. I’d also ask Bruce “what did you go through that gave you such incredible strength to believe in yourself and your words? how do you not get discouraged by the world and all the sleepwalking people who create so much pain?”

Paul: Is this a set up?  Obviously as much merch as they can stuff in a fucking bag. But I also hope they leave as psyched as I am.  Ultimately, we create music to heal and inspire ourselves, but we believe it attracts and inspires other people that are on the same wavelength as us.  Especially people who are trying to learn and grow and understand themselves.

Paul: Every experience good and bad is so enjoyable and enlightening, it’s hard to pick one.  Recording with James was like being at a ridiculously fun studio summer camp. Moving to Philly and meeting tons of people has been incredible. Practicing with the band has been really tough and really rewarding.  Having really talented and experienced people work with us and guide the band.  People at every level who get our music and feel as strongly about it as we do — that blows my mind.

Paul: Look at yourself as honestly as you know how.  Spoiler alert: miracles will happen.

Paul: More web shows featuring our drummer Nick Shuminsky. A Bass Instructional Video with Evan. Making healthy meals. Getting album art done. We’re working on a hush hush comedy/reality series with James Murphy and Whoopi Goldberg.  It’s kind of like Mad TV meets Emeril.  There’s a lot in the works right now stay tuned — we”ll be tweeting all about it.

Paul: A wise man once told me this:  “No rules.”

Paul: Full disclosure, these songs were on a mind-blowing mixtape made by our friend Neil.

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ATJ presents DRINK UP BUTTERCUP, Saturday, August 29, 2009, at After the Jump Fest ‘09. This year’s 3rd annual festival is a three day extravaganza of independent music, and will take place at Brooklyn NY’s Littlefield Performance & Art Space.  Individual and weekend passes are available to purchase online here.

Listen :: Drink Up Buttercup – Young Ladies

In preparation for After the Jump Fest 2009, Music Is Art asked vocalist/guitarist Jim Harvey of Drink Up Buttercup to answer our ATJF Interview questions, and below are his special replies.

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Jim: I’d probably say my first memory involving music is dancing and singing Michael Jackson songs on the highest surface I could get up onto as a 5 year old at the mall. I’m not even just saying that cause it’s so cool to like Michael Jackson again now that he’s passed away.

May you share about your academic background concerning music? Did you study formally? Any special mentors?

Jim: I studied voice formally, but like everyone else in the band learned my instrument (guitar) on my own. I went to school for classical singing but ended up playing my guitar and writing more than focusing on interpreting arias and studying theory. I kind of taught myself some kinda backwards theory after school though.

If you had to explain your music to a stranger, how would you do so?

Jim: I’d probably keep it simple and say aggressively played poppy songs with lots of harmonies and deceptively perverted lyrics.

What are your favorite instruments to work with and what aspects do you like most about using them?

Jim: For me personally I like messing around with vocals. The human voice is for sure the craziest instrument. I love layering and adding effects too. The possibilities are endless.

What are your inspirations?

Jim: Harshness. Dark perspectives disguised by bright colors. Deals on people’s used stuff. Old school video games.

When you’re working are you fully involved in what you’re doing or is your mind already planning ahead?

Jim: I’d say the idea of how somethings should sound as a whole is usually  what comes first. In your head. Then you try to figure out how to play it on an instrument and fine tune it till it sounds like your originally internal concept.

On average, how long does it take for you to create a song?

Jim: Just a few minutes for the original idea of it sounds, then endless tinkering to perfect it. It’s always fun to change things up live to. You gotta mix it up on the fly to keep things interesting if you are showcasing a certain group of songs to keep it interesting for yourself. Maybe even just a new way of presenting that doesn’t change the sound tends to keep things interesting. If that makes sense.

On the website Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your life and creativity are concerned?

Jim: I’d say that classical music and whatever people really seem to be digging currently are what affects me as a musician. The classical music shows how it was done first and best, in my opinion. The current stuff, take a band like Dirty Projectors, who I’ve actually been digging for years before they really started to get hyped up, still shows you that there are new and exciting places to go. Also, just good pop songs. Even if a band has a similar sound to other bands out there or other bands from the past, if a song is a good song it’s a good song. Everyone loves a good song.

If you could have a drink with one musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Jim: I’d probably want to have a drink with Bob Dylan. He has so many freaking words! I have a pretty easy time coming up with music, but words tend to give me a little more trouble. I’d just love to ask him some pointers on how, besides being the most naturally gifted lyricist ever, he comes up with all those words.

What do you hope people take from seeing you perform live?

Jim: We’ve always had the goal as a band to put on a live SHOW. We really want to entertain people and give them their money’s worth. We take pride in it. So I’d say, I guess all we really want is for people to have an experience and not feel ripped off.

What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Jim: Probably the whole process of getting our full length album done. So many ups and downs. So many decisions. So much love and hate. So much arguing. Fun! But as things are finally getting all tied up, it was all totally worth it.

What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Jim: Record your first album before you start really getting out there and playing shows. It makes everything easier. I don’t know from personal experience, but watching other bands who took this route it just seems mind-blowingly easier.

What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Jim: We have a new single and video coming out in October that we are really excited about. Also, now that the full length is basically finished we are gonna really start hitting the road and playing outside of the North East.

May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Jim: “You drink that drink! Alcohol has been a social lubricant for thousands of years. What do you think, you’re going to sit here tonight and reinvent the wheel?” – Scott Campbell, as Roger Dodger in the movie Roger Dodger.

Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

Jim: Gonna break the rules a little here. This is a two song mix I put on at parties to annoy people. I just put the mix on repeat, so I mean, you literally might hear these two songs at least a dozen times each. As much as music snobs might make fun of me for this mix. Whatever, I love it.

1.  R. Kelly – Remix to Ignition
2.  Shwayze – Buzzin’

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ATJ presents DINOSAUR FEATHERS, Friday, August 28, 2009, at After the Jump Fest ’09. This year’s 3rd annual festival is a three day extravaganza of independent music, and will take place at Brooklyn NY’s Littlefield Performance & Art Space.  Individual and weekend passes are available to purchase online here.

Listen :: Dinosaur Feathers – History Lessons

In preparation for After the Jump Fest 2009, Music Is Art asked vocalist/guitarist Greg Sullo of Dinosaur Feathers to answer our ATJF Interview questions, and below are his special replies.

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Greg: My dad would always play old records (the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks), and my sister and I would dance around the living room like maniacs. It was awesome. I was like 3 or 4. My favorite album was the Beatles’ Second Album. I also had an Everly Brothers cassette and a Silver Beatles (Hamburg-era) cassette that I would listen to all the time. Under these influences I would make up songs, strumming my plastic Fraggle Rock guitar with 50′s rock inspired lyrics such as, “Don’t take my love away from me – don’t take my girl-uh-url,” – that one’s on video tape.

May you share about your academic background concerning music?

Greg: I started taking violin lessons when I was four, and I continued taking lessons until I was 18. Derek has taken a ton of music theory classes – he knows his stuff much better than I do.

If you had to explain your music to a stranger, how would you do so?

Greg: I would start with the obligatory, “Wow – that’s a really hard question to answer,” and look really pensive. Then I would probably say tropical indie pop. Or just pop.

What are your favorite instruments to work with and what aspects do you like most about using them?

Greg: I should probably say guitar because that’s what I “play”, but like most guitarists I would much rather be a drummer. It’s really fun to beat the heck out of drums. Also – I love playing with the drum machine we have: manipulating the sounds and coming up with new ways to think about things.

What are your inspirations?

Greg: Ha! A girl. But also the Ruby Suns and Tropicalia music and a million other things. Also – my bandmates. I spend a lot of time working out these songs with my guitar and the drum machine, then I bring the songs to them, and they breathe new life into them and come up with things I never would have thought of – that’s pretty inspiring.

On average, how long does it take for you to create a song?

Greg: I really have no idea. It may depend on how lazy or inspired I am at any given moment.

On the website Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your life and creativity are concerned?

Greg: This is a dangerous question, as I could go on forever. As I said earlier, definitely the Beatles’ Second Album. Other big ones include Arthur by the Kinks, the Stranger by Billy Joel, ’77 by the Talking Heads, Paul Simon’s self-titled album. As far as Dinosaur Feathers are concerned, Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective and Sea Lion by the Ruby Suns spurred a ton of creativity.

If you could have a drink with one musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Greg: It seems impossible to single out any one musician from the last 60 years, so I’m going to do something really pretentious and say Antonio Vivaldi. I’d ask him about his writing process and after playing him some contemporary music, ask him what he thought. I would set up fictional hangouts for my bandmates as such: Derek with Nina Persson and Tom with Harry Nilsson.

What do you hope people take from seeing you perform live?

Greg: Sweat. From dancing and singing along.

What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Greg: We had a really great practice the other day and came up with some really cool ideas for some new songs. That’s my favorite part – when you’re just discovering how wonderful a song is. Also, just meeting lots of cool musicians and playing new and interesting venues around the city. It’s cool to feel like you belong to something, but there’s no one particular experience that stands above the others.

What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Greg: Make music you like. And make friends with people whose music you like. Then just have fun and share your stuff with people and then the worst thing that happens is you end up playing music with people you like.

What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Greg: We released an EP on August 18th. It’s available at www.dinosaurfeathers.com as a free download. And even more exciting – we’re working on recording a full-length album right now, which hopefully we’ll release in the winter.

May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Greg: When my sisters and I were little, our dad would say, “Follow your bliss.” I think that’s pretty good.

Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

Greg: I decided to consult my bandmates for this one. The theme we chose was cooperation, as inspired by a video for the Muppet’s Cooperation:

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ATJ presents THE OCTAGON, Sunday, August 30, 2009, at After the Jump Fest 2009. This year’s 3rd annual festival is a three day extravaganza of independent music, and will take place at Brooklyn NY’s Littlefield Performance & Art Space.  Individual and weekend passes are available to purchase online here.

Listen :: The Octagon – Weekends

In preparation for After the Jump Fest 2009, Music Is Art asked The Octagon’s drummer/vocalist Will Glass to answer our ATJF Interview questions, and below are his special replies.

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Will: 1985, going to Eastland Mall and buying the cassette single of “Touch of Grey” by the Grateful Dead. On the playing side: Christmas 1988, letting loose on a new sears drum set. It would be a solid two years before I realized drums kept time, so until then, I was basically a free jazz drummer.

May you share about your academic background concerning music? Did you study formally? Any special mentors?

Will: I took lessons 1994-2002 and studied music theory 1998-1999 but found bandmates and musician friends to be the more informative teachers. Zack and the Bunny from our band have both had stints in lessons but would probably cite more distant, inspirational musical mentors like R. Pollard or Jerry Garcia.

If you had to explain your music to a stranger, how would you do so?

Will: “Stranger, our music comes from within. It is for our enjoyment and yours, and for all. We have life experiences transmitted sound. Come, stranger, and listen.”

What are your favorite instruments to work with and what aspects do you like most about using them?

Will: The Octagon is a Rock and Roll band favoring the traditional instrumentation of electric guitar, electric bass and trap kit, which we like because they’re our means of expressing ourselves. Our upcoming full length has a few horn cameos, used in a soloist fashion to bring another creative voice to the mix.

What are your inspirations?

Will: Music, friends and life experiences. Also literature and film. For example, Zack’s new composition “Clew Haywood” is named after a ball-player character of that name in the film “Major League”.

On average, how long does it take for you to create a song?

Will: I’m the drummer, and only recently started writing songs. I’ve written eight songs so far, in 2 or 3 years. Most of mine have been a melodic kernel that’s been in my head for years, which it takes a couple weeks to get out into a full song. But a couple just kind of shat themselves out, once I had my bandmates help me figure out chords and stuff. Zack will come up with a song all at once then fine-tune it over a week or two, but sometimes they emerge from his head fully formed.

What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Will: Do it yo!

On the website Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your life and creativity are concerned?

Will: Sticking to albums relevant to The Octagon as a whole…. Guided by Voices, esp. Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, records that inspire us to write a lot of songs and get them recorded and then keep doing that. Dinosaur Jr’s Green Mind, the product of one tuneful man. The Minutemen catalog, esp. Double Nickels, for, among other things, its ongoing narrative of a true friendship. The Feelies’ Crazy Rhythms – gotta stay fast and true. Exile on Main St.

If you could have a drink with one musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Will: Sun Ra. Question: “So, what’s your favorite Miles Davis album?”

What do you hope people take from seeing you perform live?

Will: “Hey, that band was great. I like their songs, and they have a winning stage presence.”

What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Will: Making our forthcoming third record, Warm Love and Cool Dreams Forever, which we did ourselves on four track cassette.

What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Will: We’re entering the era of non-physically manifested music by releasing a download-only EP for free. It’s called Arm Brain Heart and Liver and it comes out on September 1st on Serious Business. We have a release show Sept 3rd at Bruar Falls with Kleenex Girl Wonder. The EP is a kind of precursor for the 16-song vinyl full length that comes out in early 2010, Warm Love and Cool Dreams Forever.

May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Will: “Uh!” -James Brown

Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

ATJ presents DAS RACIST, Saturday, August 29, 2009, at After the Jump Fest 2009. This year’s 3rd annual festival is a three day extravaganza of independent music, and will take place at Brooklyn NY’s Littlefield Performance & Art Space.

The silly art rap, freak folk styling of Das Racist will be throwing a late night party along with artists such as Free Energy, Drink Up Buttercup, Talk Normal, Shark?, and Captain Ahab and the Sea Crackens.  Individual and weekend passes are available to purchase online here.

Listen :: The Combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell

In preparation for After the Jump Fest 2009, Music Is Art asked the lovely duo of Das Racist to answer our ATJF Interview questions, and below are their special replies.

Please share your earliest memory involving or creating music.

Victor: I was a concert pianist at the age of 8, mostly Chopin mazurkas and a couple Beethoven symphonies. I studied piano at Oberlin Conservatory. Professor Tom Lopez was a huge influence. And Sun Ra has always been a spiritual godfather.

Himanshu: I’ve been a master of the Tabla since I first started studying under the esteemed Zakir Hussain at the age of five. He taught me everything I know about rap also.

If you had to explain your sound to a stranger, how would you do so?

Victor: Using only hand gestures.

Himanshu: Interpretive dance.  A piece I put together called HARDBODY.

What are your favorite instruments to work with and what do you like most about using them?

Victor: I’ll always love the piano, but I also like the trumpet. It’s very intuitive.

Himanshu: My favorite instrument is the tabla, though like Victor I’m a huge fan of the trumpet.  Melodicas are also splendid.

What are your inspirations?

Victor: Flowers, birds, trees, everything in nature, mythical gods, real ones, the cosmos…

Himanshu: The Wayans family.

On average, how long does it take for you to create a song?

Victor: Every song I’ve made this year has been twenty-five years in the making.

Himanshu: Every song I’ve made this year has taken about twenty-five minutes to make.

With Music Is Art, our mission is to show how music and art are simply connected. Which albums do you credit as having the biggest influences as far as your life is concerned?

Victor: Sun Ra’s Nuclear War, Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz, Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, Flipper’s Generic Flipper, The Germs’s (GI), and KMD’s Mr. Hood.

Himanshu: Beastie Boys’ Pauls Boutique, Biggie’s Ready to Die, KMD’s Black Bastards, Wu-Tang Clan’s 36 Chambers, Nas’ Illmatic (duhh), Television’s Marquee Moon, The Stone Roses’s The Stone Roses, and Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

If you could have a drink with one musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you like to ask them?

Victor: Beethoven. I wouldn’t ask him anything, I’d just touch his hand.

Himanshu: Biggie, and I would say, hey Biggie, “Who Shot Ya?”

What do you hope people take from seeing you perform live?

Victor: Anything.

Himanshu: Everything.

What has been your favorite experience thus far in your career?

Victor: Falling asleep in a field full of flowers on a sunny day with Stephanie Smith.

Himanshu: This interview.

What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?

Victor: Don’t do what I do, do what you do.

Himanshu: Don’t watch me, watch TV.

What exciting projects do you have coming up?

Victor: We’re starting a new super-group. We really can’t say much else.

Himanshu: Vic, you’ve already said too much.

May you have a particular inspired quote, statement or favorite words to live by?

Victor: “Ay!” –OJ Da Juiceman.

Himanshu: “Ay!” – Juelz Santana. Actually, no, scratch that – I’m going to go with “Ayyyyyyyy” – Young Jeezy

Please share a mix tape within a theme of your choice.

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