tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4895126322060481462024-03-05T02:37:40.115-08:00Tangents MagazineArchives new and old from Tangents Magazine, the Charlotte, NC-based zine from 1995 to 1998, with occasional returns and relapses.Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-83701664535215464692017-04-06T07:33:00.001-07:002017-04-06T07:34:18.490-07:00April 2017 Issue, Free Download <span style="font-family: "helvetica";">It’s a really crazy time. The fake news sounds more like real news, and the real news is too unbelievable. Our April issue reflects all of this, and more. Harkening back to an April Fool’s issue that we did in 1998, the news in this issue sounds closer to the truth than what the truth has turned into. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, our new issue won’t be on the newsstands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">But fear not! Much like the NCAA coming in to (sorta) save the way, you can download our new issue as a pdf. Print, share, and spread the word. Plus, there’s loads of interviews with local bands, and what is (really) going on. We’ll be back soon with news on upcoming stories and interviews. Keep circulating the PDFs, and see you soon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">-Tangents Magazine</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><br /></span>Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-54700280978420630182016-12-21T10:19:00.002-08:002016-12-21T10:19:58.333-08:00December 2016 Issue Out NowHello All-<br />
<br />
The new issue of Tangents Magazine is now on the newsstands. Go to tangentsmag.com, or danielcoston.blogspot.com for more of the new issue.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas to you all, and thank you for an amazing year. We've got some great things in the works for 2017. Stay tuned, and see you soon,<br />
-Daniel<br />
December 21, 2016Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-20007135913647691352016-11-27T20:08:00.002-08:002016-11-27T20:08:54.923-08:00December 2016 Issue Coming Soon!Hello all-<br />
<br />
The December 2016 issue of Tangents is almost ready! Stay tuned for more news, or stop in to-<br />
<br />
tangentsmag.com<br />
<br />
See you soon,<br />
-Daniel<br />
November 26, 2016Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-52709927491954597402016-10-05T13:57:00.002-07:002016-10-05T13:57:26.613-07:00The October 2016 Issue Of Tangents Is Now Available!Tangentsmag.com, or on newsstands throughout Charlotte.<br />
-Daniel<br />
October 5, 2016Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-78866138615972230062016-08-24T06:44:00.001-07:002016-08-24T06:44:54.567-07:00August Issue Is Out/New Website!Hello All-<br />
<br />
The August issue of Tangents Magazine is now available! New stories, new interviews, new weirdness. We also have a new website to see all of this! Set your coordinates to-<br />
<br />
www.tangentsmag.com<br />
<br />
for all the new comings and goings. This blog will also stay active as a place for items from Tangents' history. Many thanks, and safe travels,<br />
-Daniel<br />
August 24, 2016<br />
<br />
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<br />Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-63763103430029931022016-05-03T07:52:00.000-07:002016-05-03T07:52:03.649-07:00Announcing The Official Return Of Tangents Magazine<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">We’re proud to announce the return of <i>Tangents</i> Magazine, the lauded freeform magazine that excited and rattled the city of Charlotte during the 1990s, to the newsstands in May. <i>Tangents</i> was a popular ‘zine that originally ran from 1995 to 1998, pushing the bounds of covering arts, music and culture in Charlotte. <i>Tangents</i> was freewheeling, opinionated and proud of its rough edges. Each issue had its own character and surprises. <i>Tangents</i> won national awards for its work, despite being put together each month by a small group of writers, photographers and artists.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">After returning last year for what was intended at the time to be a one-off surprise 20th anniversary issue, the overwhelming response convinced the original staff to return<i>Tangents</i> to full-time status. <i>Tangents</i> was and will again be a free magazine, available at various locations all over Charlotte. You’ll recognize some of the names involved with this new edition of the magazine, as well as new voices and new ideas. And, well, new weirdness. <i>Tangents</i> is currently planning to be released bi-monthly in 2016, with plans for more issues in 2017.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;"><i>Tangents</i> will celebrate its return with a free party at the Evening Muse on </span><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" tabindex="0">May 14th</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;"> from </span><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" tabindex="0">2pm to 5pm</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">. The official release date for the new issue is </span><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" tabindex="0">May 15th</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">, and this party will also serve as the first place that people can pick up copies of the new issue. The fantastic singer and songwriter Mike Strauss will also perform at the party. The Evening Muse is at the corner of 36th and North Davidson, in the heart of the NoDa area. The Evening Muse is one of the best live music venues in the Southeast, and just celebrated their 15th anniversary.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">For more information, contact Carl Fulmer at </span><a href="mailto:tangentsmagazine@gmail.com" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">tangentsmagazine@gmail.com</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12.8px;">.</span>Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-25420382113700203952016-03-14T21:37:00.001-07:002016-04-23T14:09:43.922-07:00The New Issue Is Almost Done/Interested In Advertising?Hello All-<br />
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The next issue of Tangents Magazine, and our first regular issue since 1998, is almost ready for you. It will be on the newsstands on May 1st.<br />
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Are you interested in writing for the magazine? Distributing copies? But most importantly, are you interested in buying an ad in the new issue? Contact Carl Fulmer at tangentsmagazine@gmail.com, or tangentsmag95@gmail.com. We're here to help... take your money.<br />
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The time has come. Let's Rock.<br />
-Daniel<br />
March 15, 2016Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-24709239551874237702016-03-14T21:30:00.001-07:002016-03-14T21:30:26.207-07:00Steve Munsell/Contagious Graphics Article, August 1996 Issue<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 6px; position: static; z-index: auto;">
Designing Men</div>
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by Cindy Sites<br />August, 1996 volume 1, number 12</div>
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Steve Munsell started working with graphics about eight years ago. “I wanted to do a punk rock fanzine,” he says. Hoping he could learn to keep expenses down, Munsell took a graphics class. He did the ’zine, and as he puts it, “now here I am.” Indeed he is — you can’t drive two blocks without seeing his work decorating cars, telephone poles or store windows. The Üblisch stickers have to be the most successful sticker campaign by any local band.</div>
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Munsell claims to have “no talent” for drawing, though he admits, “I have a good eye for assembling clip art.” His work spans from unusual typefaces (on the Üblisch and assfactor 4 stickers) to what he calls “’50s pop art posters.” These larger, multicolor poster versions of some of his flyers are simply gorgeous.</div>
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Munsell likes to use cartoon figures with thought balloons, and other weird images (devils, motorcycles, 18-wheelers). A poster he did for a Buzzov-en show features a neon-colored astronaut blowing his brains out with a raygun. Seeing examples of his work here in black-and-white can’t do justice to the originals.</div>
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Despite his distinctive style, Munsell says the most important quality of a design is “legibility. I think [graphic art] should be for the common people, not the artistic crowd.”</div>
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Speaking of ornate designs, why have flyers in Charlotte gotten so much fancier in the last few years? “It’s all due to the age of the home computer,” Munsell believes. “I think it helps to be more eye-pleasing, but when someone does something simpler, people don’t notice the difference.” A delicate balance must be struck between artistry and practicality.</div>
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Aside from designing and printing, Munsell also does some distribution. He’s got a scheme for handing out flyers: “I always go, ‘Ah, would you like a free sheet of paper advertising my band?’” Anyone who’s ever handed out flyers knows that a lot of people are reluctant to accept them. Munsell comments on “the funny stuff people say … I think mostly people just say, ‘I’ve already got one.’” Once, a guy who Munsell had given a flyer gave the flyer back to him later that night, using the same “free sheet of paper” line.</div>
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Of all his different types of work — t-shirts, stickers, flyers, posters and newspaper ads — he usually enjoys doing t-shirts the most, “because you have more room to work with, you can have a bigger image. Flyers too, because they can be really funny” (i.e. the aforementioned cartoon characters, devils and suicidal astronauts).</div>
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T-shirts must be fun, because Munsell wants to start doing his own line of them in the future.</div>
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Nosey as the question is, one has to wonder if freelance graphic design is something a person could make a living at in Charlotte. “The whole printing business is feast or famine … you can make a living at it, but sometimes it’s hard. There are short spells and tall spells,” Munsell admits. He recently got a steady-paying job doing the same things he does on his own.</div>
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Devin Thompson got his start in graphic design about three years ago, when he and some friends started throwing parties in an 8th Street warehouse. “When we started throwing parties there [I did flyers], and I had help from other people who lived there,” he says. “Victor at Kinko’s taught me a lot on the computer.”</div>
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About that computer — Thompson has a preference. “Macintosh is much better for graphics, when you get a fast one.” His most useful tool is a SyQuest portable hard drive, “which makes things super easy,” he says. He loads his software into the SyQuest. “I like manipulating artwork,” he says, so computers are important to his work. He admits, “I’m not a very good artist with a pen, but with a computer it’s different.”</div>
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His work has expanded from party flyers, to flyers for club shows, ads for clubs, membership cards and tickets. He gets ideas for his work from “feedback from people. Jody [Baha owner] has helped me a lot,” Thompson says.</div>
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Thompson, like Munsell, considers readability the most important factor in flyer design. “It’s pretty much worthless to put up a flyer that nobody can read,” he asserts. “Sometimes the most simple flyers are the best ones … Electro-luxe’s flyers have simple letters. Simple things are eye-catching,” Thompson says.</div>
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That said, he does believe the art on a flyer is important, which is obvious from looking at his ominous work. “It definitely helps to have an eye-catching, two-color flyer,” he says. As for paper stock, Thompson has found that “thin paper is a real turn-off.” A good quality flyer, he believes, can be folded up, stuck in a pocket and survive a couple of runs through the washer and dryer.</div>
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Thompson does most of his own flyer distribution. “There are some people who don’t want to be bothered. I just walk up and say, ‘Here, put this in your pocket,’” he says.</div>
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As for his other work, his ads for the Baha and Pterodactyl clubs can be found in local entertainment papers. You might run across one of Thompson’s Septic Tank stickers or t-shirts.</div>
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When asked about his favorite kind of graphics to work on, Thompson jokingly replies, “I guess driver’s licenses, social security cards and birth certificates are my favorite. It’s amazing how well a 600 dpi color printer prints.” (It's a joke.)</div>
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Thompson’s future may include tape and CD covers. As for other plans? “I’m pretty much open to anything. I don’t have anything particular in mind. I’d like to get more practice with four-color separation. I’d like to do some rave flyers … I’ll do anything, unless it’s a Christian organization.” His ominous style isn’t exactly holy.</div>
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Jeff Clayton says he started drawing “as soon as I could pick up a pen or pencil and know kinda what to do with it.” Unlike Munsell and Thompson, Clayton draws his work by hand. “I’ve never used a computer. I don’t know how to use a computer. I don’t know when I’ll learn, either,” he laughs.</div>
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Though Clayton does a lot of Antiseen’s art, he does hire other artists. “I hired an artist named Krites, who did some work on our CD that’s not out yet. Nick Boogas, who also gets hired by Charles Manson and Anton LaVey; a guy named Chas Bally — these guys, their art I admire a whole lot, even if people say it looks like what I do. I guess that’s why I like ‘em, ‘cause we’re kinda doing the same thing, even though I think these guys are a lot better. I think I’ve got a lot to learn from these guys,” Clayton says.</div>
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As for the famous Antiseen logo: “A friend of mine typeset that for me a long time ago, and we’ve used it ever since. I like it because it’s bold, easy to read, unlike a lot of these death metal groups, that you’ve got to hold it back, turn it upside down,” chuckles Clayton.</div>
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Clayton’s done art for G.G. Allin, Cotton Noose, Rancid Vat, Jesus Crust, Alcoholics Unanimous, Knifedance, Seducer — “a lot more, over the years,” Clayton says. Obviously, he thinks band art is important. “It says a lot. There are groups who put abstract paintings on them, and I guess a certain crowd understands and appreciates that, but I would never pick it up … but somebody’s head exploding or something, I would look at. That’s just me. I’m also a fan of having the band on the cover. That doesn’t happen a lot anymore. In the ’60s and ’70s, the group was always on the front. That’s why we’re always on the front,” says Clayton.</div>
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In addition to record covers, Clayton has designed t-shirts, CD covers and posters. “I really don’t have the time to do it full time, or I would. I really enjoy it. The groups I work for, everything they ask for is right up my alley,” he enthuses. “A local group called the Reviled asked for a boar, a goat and a hyena holding guns and stuff, and I said, ‘I can do that. That sounds like something I’d like to do.’ ...[other bands] have just said, ‘Go, whatever you want to do.’ But I have to tell ‘em I don’t do realistic, portrait, airbrush-looking stuff. I tried that when I was still discovering what I’m best suited for. Regular black-and-white, pen-and-ink style is what I’ve done for years,” he says.</div>
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Clayton's influences aren't hard to spot. “I was real influenced by the old cartoons, ’20s, ’30s and ’40s. Merry Melodies, Harmon and Isling; as a matter of fact the Repo Man [in Repo ads] is a direct rip-off — the eyes, mouth, white gloves. I love that stuff. I appreciate the new stuff, but it kinda gets out of my realm of understanding. I’ve also designed a lot of tattoos for people, I design a lot of my own.” He shows his newest tattoo, a black-ink cartoon worm with spilling guts and bug-eyes. Clayton adds that underground comic artist R. Crumb is a huge influence on his work.</div>
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“I like doing covers for albums that have a general theme and they want something that’ll connect with the title," Clayton continues. "Especially when I sit with whoever it is and we bounce off ideas, kinda out-sicken each other … I like sick characters, physically sick-looking … not over-the-top gore. I’ve done a lot of that, people ask for it. I think the one picture I’ve drawn that’s been used the most was the first thing I did for G.G. Allin. He had a microphone stuck up his butt and he was getting ready to eat into a giant pile of shit. That one’s been used a lot, it’s still being used to this day … after he died it really got into circulation. I gave him the original, but I have the right to reproduce it if I want to. I’ve seen a lot of kids with it on the back of their jackets,” Clayton says.</div>
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For ideas, Clayton says, “I watch a lot of horror movies, a lot of wrestling, the exact same sources we get our songs from: cartoons, horror movies, wrestling, Nick at Nite. I watch that continuously. The TV never gets cut off in our house.”</div>
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It seems that not many women seem to do graphic design, at least in Charlotte. Clayton remembers that “back at the start of the American hardcore movement, there was a woman named Shawn Carrey, she was great. She was a real influence on a lot of the stuff I’ve done. She did a lot of band logos and record covers that are deemed classics, like the Circle Jerks’ little skanker guy.”</div>
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Reactions to Clayton’s work vary. “It’s definitely geared to a certain audience. It’s hand-in-hand with what I do musically; it’s definitely aimed at that crowd. I just don’t do anything slick and high-tech enough to appeal to a mass audience. It’s real underground.” Like Antiseen, though, it’s safe to say that Clayton’s art is legendary.</div>
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The next time you’re out at a club, take the flyer that’s offered to you. Look at it closely. The same goes for those ads, stickers and t-shirts. It’s among the best art in Charlotte, and you don’t have to be an art snob to appreciate it.</div>
Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-16010152846435081362016-03-14T21:29:00.000-07:002016-03-14T21:29:09.357-07:00Banned In Charlotte Article, September 1996 issue<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; position: static; z-index: auto;">
Tangents: Banned In Charlotte and Loving It</div>
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Daniel Coston<br />September 1996<br />volume 2, number 1</div>
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Over the past year, many of you have followed what’s become known as our “banned counter,” or how many locations Tangents has been thrown out of.<br />
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We originally had no intention of keeping track of such things, but after a few restaurants and coffeehouses tossed Tangents away, claiming we were “obscene,” it became a private joke within our staff as to how many places we’d currently been banned from. When we first printed the number of banned locations on the cover of our fourth issue, our reader response was immediate. Unfortunately, so was our distributors’.<br />
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The human race is a funny bunch, boys and girls. Too many people are concerned about doing what’s perceived as right, i.e. what “everyone else” is doing. When some people see that Tangents has been banned by some places, they immediately think there must be something horrible about us, yet do not dare reading us for themselves and (Eureka!) forming their own opinion.<br />
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Within a few months, the number of banned locations ballooned from five to 14, and was threatening to spiral even further out of control. Realizing that some people weren’t getting the joke, we put the “banned counter” on page 2 along with our listing of those numerous brave souls that still carry us. Since then, we haven’t been banned from any further locations.<br />
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Actually, I wouldn’t mind being thrown out of those locations so much if they had the guts to tell us their decision to our faces. Each one would meekly mumble something like, “Don’t put your papers here,” and then run off to another part of the store, or an underling would be sent to tell us, “The boss said …”<br />
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We once received a fax from a Major Music Retail Store (that still carries us in two of their other locations in town). When I went to talk to the manager who sent us the fax (and turned out to be a former high school classmate of mine), she immediately launched into a lengthy (and stupid) five-minute tirade about how offensive our magazine is. There’s nothing more satisfying than having a dipstick, whose self-esteem is as plastic as their name tag, chastising me about the bad decisions I’ve made in my life.<br />
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One of the reasons we’ve survived is another human trait: acceptance. You’ve sought us out and told us how much you like this magazine, and for that, we’re eternally grateful. Even those who still don’t know what to make of us have realized we’re here to stay and have accepted us as part of this city’s plethora of information sources.<br />
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If you find a location that refuses to carry Tangents, ask for it and make sure the owners follow through. Maybe then they’ll do what’s “right.”</div>
Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-5583741042902576962016-03-14T21:27:00.001-07:002016-03-14T21:27:30.948-07:00Editor's Letter, First Issue, September 1995<div style="font-family: Helvetica; margin-bottom: 6px;">
First letter from the editor</div>
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Tangents is not a new magazine for men who want to get a tan. We are a rough collection of writers, graphic artists, photographers and music lovers who want to develop a 'zine that will serve both us and the reading public of the Charlotte area. We will cover local and regional theater, music, comedy, writing and art.</div>
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There are many regional artists, writers and poets who are looking for a place to display their work. We will attract these creativ<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">e individuals by giving them a free hand with their creations.For you the reader, this will mean a unique publication with many different flavors and influences.</span></div>
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The music scene in the Charlotte area is an odd mixture of metal, grunge, goth, techno, rock-a-billy, blue grass, country and many hybrids. We feel that any musician or band that has the gumption to get up on stage and take a stab at pleasing an audience deserves our attention. Our music writers will help you decide whether or not it will be worth your time to buy their CD/tape or pay to go see them. We will include local and national music reviews that our writers feel you will enjoy reading.</div>
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While there are many sources for restaurant reviews, we will give you reviews of places to hang out and have a beer or cup of coffee. Over the last couple of years, Charlotte has been getting quite a few places that are perfect for this. These places include coffee shops, dessert shops, bookstores and pubs. We will tell you about the atmosphere and the attitude of the people.</div>
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Unless you have been under a rock for the last decade, you know Charlotte has been an explosive market for sports. The problem has been that if you were not interested in football, basketball or golf, then you were out of luck. Our sports section will cover other sports such as mountain biking, hacky sack, Frisbee golf, minor league football or any previously ignored sports activity. then again if Kerry Collins walks in and wants to confess to a love for croquet, who are we to deny him some story space.</div>
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Feature and news articles are strange creatures. What is interesting to one person will be a tranquilizer to thousands of others. We want to do biting new stories or features that will be useful to the reader. We do not promise not to go over previously covered ground. If we do, we promise to take a different point of view. We welcome suggestions from you the reader for this section.</div>
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As Tangents matures, we will change. As we change, we will strive to bring you a 'zine worth spending your time with. We want your suggestions, criticism and thoughts. In return we only ask one thing ... Share it with a friend, and for God's sake, DON'T PITCH THIS RAG!</div>
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Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-66167021877763251712016-02-04T10:05:00.002-08:002016-02-04T10:05:19.142-08:00It Looks Sad Interview<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
It Looks Sad: At First Glance</div>
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by Daniel Coston</div>
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With only a handful of songs released over the past four songs, It Looks Sad has received a large amount of national press and accolades. Formed in Charlotte in 2012, the quartet (<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Jimmy Turner, Josh Wilson, Aimee Jenschke and Alex Ruiz) have already toured much of the country, and received glowing reviews from national reviews. All this for a band that has released one four-song EP in 2014, and a few singles on the Carolinas-based record label, Tiny Engines. The sound of It Looks Sad recalls a time in the early 1990s when Indie Rock was young, and the possibilities seemed endless. Wtih the band still at work on their first full-length, Alex Ruiz checked in with Tangents for a quick chat. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Tangents: How did It Looks Sad come together?</span></div>
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Alex Ruiz: Just a bunch of friends and friends of friends who got together and decided to make a band.</div>
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Tangents: How would you describe the sound of this band?</div>
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Ruiz: We sound like that feel when you're half asleep and someone's talking to you, but you're too sad to care.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: How has the band’s sound changed from the beginning, to now?</span></div>
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Ruiz: The new album we're working still has sounds like the eps we put out. maybe a little different.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: Where did the band’s name come from?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;"> </span></div>
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Ruiz: It's a secret.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: You all play out of town a fair amount. Was that also a decision that you made early on?</span></div>
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Ruiz: I think every band wants to play out of town shows when they start out.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: What are the pros and cons of touring?</span></div>
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Ruiz: Touring is awesome. I personally like sleeping on people's floors. The only thing I hate is needing to pee all the time while driving and not being able to stop every couple of miles.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: Which recording do you think captures your sound the best, to date? Has that recording been made yet?</span></div>
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Ruiz: “Creature" was an old song that we didn't put on the first EP, but we all loved it and wanted to release it, and “Nagoya" was the first song we wrote together after the first EP came out.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: Where do you draw inspirations for your songs?</span></div>
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Ruiz: Just the way we're feeling at the moment.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: How would you describe your audience?</span></div>
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Ruiz: The best. We appreciate everyone who comes to see us. Everyone's been really nice.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: Your music isn’t easy to define. Do labels, or genre questions, get in the way of people discovering, or even enjoying music?</span></div>
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Ruiz: I'm sure it does. Not something I've really ever thought about though. People who like good music will find good music.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; white-space: normal;">Tangents: Finish this sentence. When it comes down to it, It Looks Sad is….</span></div>
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Ruiz: <span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #373e4d; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trying to finish a record.</span></div>
Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-60541462081468617592016-01-12T18:57:00.000-08:002016-01-12T18:57:08.833-08:00Show Talk This FridayHi Everyone-<br />
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This is Daniel, one of the original staffers of Tangents Magazine. I'm doing a show talk this Friday at the Charlotte Museum Of History. This talk will cover some of the Tangents era photos, and how the influence of the magazine has stayed with me for twenty years. Come by and say hello.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">This Friday! January 15th! </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=113438975766" href="https://www.facebook.com/charlottemuseumofhistory/" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">Charlotte Museum of History</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">! I'll be giving about my photography career (so far), and the photos that make sure my current exhibit at the Museum, with a few surprises. Free admission, and food and drink will be available. </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=503986403" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503986403" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">Reeve Coobs</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> plays at 6pm, and the trouble (as </span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=333108606720140" href="https://www.facebook.com/MarkTwainAuthor/" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;">Mark Twain</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> once said) will begin around 7pm. Hope to see you there.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-6706980625917329402016-01-01T19:47:00.000-08:002016-01-01T19:52:20.554-08:00Jimmy Brown, Bassh/Matrimony Interview<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Jimmy Brown: Bassh & Pop</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">by Daniel Coston</span><br />
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Jimmy Brown has seen his share of changes. A native of Ireland, Brown had traveled the world before moving to Charlotte, NC, and forming the popular band Matrimony with his wife Ashlee Hardee. Brown’s latest change involves a new band, a new sound and location. Last year, Brown and brother-in-law (and Matrimony bandmate) C.J. Hardee made their way to Nashville, TN for a new project with Band Of Horses bassist Bill Reynolds. The resulting sound, now under the moniker of Bassh, is miles away from the sound of Matrimony, and allows Brown to further delve into the role of frontman. Now living in Nashville, Brown and Bassh will debut in Charlotte on January 23rd with a show at the Neighborhood Theatre. Brown checked in via email to talk about his new band, and his future plans.<br />
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Daniel Coston: How did Bassh come together?<br />
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Jimmy Brown: C.J. [Hardee] and I had been writing tunes together more and more and they weren't sounding like "Matrimony" tunes so we decided to make a record.<br />
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Coston: What was it about the sound that the three of you (with Bill Reynolds) made that excited you?<br />
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Brown: The timing felt right for all three of us and the energy was there. We worked long days and nights and really put our guts into this one. When we listened back, the work sounded surprisingly good. I remember looking around the room asking the others if I played that part or if they did. It was swirly few weeks but a healthy dose of chaos seems to lend itself well to these types of things.<br />
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Coston: How would you describe the music of Bassh?<br />
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Brown: Druggy emmo indie rock pop type stuff.<br />
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Coston: How do you think that the lyrics that you’re writing for Bassh is different than what you wrote for Matrimony, or any of your other creations?<br />
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Brown: I'm in a new place in life, new city, new friends, new outlooks, etc.. It's only natural to write from that existence.<br />
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Coston: How are Bassh’s new songs translating to a live setting?<br />
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Brown: We shall see Jan 23 & 24, as those are our first shows. Five piece band, but you may not see all of us due to the amount of smoke on the stage.<br />
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Coston: How is being a frontman for Bassh different than any other band that you’ve been involved with?<br />
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Brown: I love the challenge of morphing into a new thing. I think we should be always evolving and pushing ourselves beyond what we've done so this is unchartered territory for me, and I fucking love feeling scared and excited at the same time!<br />
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Coston: What are Bassh’s touring plans?<br />
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Brown: US nationwide tour dates TBA soon!<br />
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Coston: How are things in Nashville? You moved out there in the past several months.<br />
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Brown: Been here a year now and I honestly can't imagine living anywhere else. Cool spot.<br />
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Coston: What plans are there for Matrimony in the future? We got a show May 28 at The Fillmore in Charlotte to help raise money for the homeless folks of Charlotte. Aside from that we've no "plans" but Ashlee and I have written a few songs together recently, and we've been toying with the idea of cutting them, but honestly Bassh and her solo project are our focus for now.<br />
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Coston: Finish this sentence. The future of Bassh is….<br />
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Brown: Release music, tour the world putting on crazy shows, write, record.</div>
Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-68992226897712326502015-12-31T10:25:00.000-08:002015-12-31T10:25:07.993-08:00Four Short Poems, March 2010<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Four short poems, March 18, 2010</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">1. Running down</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">a jealous moment</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Locked in the</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">arms of shifting</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">evolution,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">torn between</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">how I feel</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">and what I want.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">2. The lights fizzle</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">in the haze of the evening,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">peering out</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">over the distance</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">between there and here.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Motion hints at other</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">life,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">letting us know</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">where something else resides,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">and where I stand.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">3. Once</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I passed a friend's house</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">in the night, each of us</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">knowing nothing</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">of the other.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">If I had never met them,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">what would I have</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">thought of their place,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">their possessions,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">coupled with my assumptions,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Would I have moved on,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">taking it as another</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">distant light in the darkness?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">4. I hear</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">your voice again,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">and I am there,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">the thoughts of that time</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">thrown back in my head.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I am reminiscent,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">wistful,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">unsure of the footing,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">and how to proceed</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">from here.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">-Daniel Coston</span><br />
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Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-39785465755846571362015-12-31T10:23:00.003-08:002015-12-31T10:23:51.868-08:00Ranger Doug/Riders In The Sky Interview, 2010 Online Redux<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Riders In The Sky: Always In The Saddle</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Introduction, interview and photos by Daniel Coston</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">For nearly 35 years, Riders In The Sky have carried on the traditions of original country and western music, while marking out their own place on the musical map. With 700 Grand Ole Opry appearances, movie soundtracks and over 6,000 shows performed by the time you read this, Riders In The Sky are to today’s western music what Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters were to first generation Americana music. Night after night, from albums to CDs, this Nashville quartet has been the living, touring embodiment of western music, and the ones that have helped to keep this music in the here and now.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Made up of guitarist Ranger Doug, fiddler Woody Paul, bassist Too Slim, and accordionist Joey The Cowpolka King (who also produces the band’s records), Riders In The Sky are also to many kids through their work on the Toy Story soundtracks, and two Grammy winning children’s CDs. However, any band that proudly endorses the slogan, “Always drink upstream from the herd,” shows that there’s a little something there for kids of all ages.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Along with their annual shows at Tweetsie Railroad, the band recently made a stop at the Old Time Threshers Reunion in Denton, NC, which is where I talked to Ranger Doug.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: When did you first start traveling to North Carolina?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: We first started playing in North Carolina some thirty years ago. We’ve always enjoyed playing here. It honestly ranks as one of the best states for us to play in. The folks in this state have always had a fascination with cowboy music, which has benefited us.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: Do you think that the fascination is due to the fact that the cowboy landscape is something different to the people in this state? That it seems a bit exotic to us?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: Yes, to a degree. But folks in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, even, haven’t responded to western music the way that this state has. The state of North Carolina has always has the most fascination with western music. I really don’t know why.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: How do you guys come up with material? Do you find songs together, or separately?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: That’s a three-pronged answer. One, we write our own songs. All three of us write. Second, we introduce classic cowboy songs into the set. Woody just picked a song for us to play that we’d known forever, we just had never learned it. The third is when we have a project. We’ve been writing for a new project, which is an inspirational album, which we’re going to start recording next week. People have been asking us to record an inspirational album for some time, and we’ve been putting it together.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: Is it easier to write for a project, as opposed to on your own?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: Yes, it is. It was easy to write for the Disney album we just did. The characters were already laid out for us, and we had a really good time.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: You’ve been doing your own show on cowboy music for XM. How has that been to do?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: Great. We were just in the XM offices yesterday, and the guy that runs a couple of their channels told us that Willie Nelson had just been in there, and he wants our show to be on 24 hours a day! There just aren’t enough shows to do that.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: How do you put those shows together?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: We usually record three of four of those shows at one time, at [producer] Joey’s studio. It takes at least an hour to record the introductions, and edit them. The recordings depend on when we can fit them into our schedule. We discuss tunes what tunes we’d like to play, and then we make a CD of those songs, so that I can have them on my computer. It sometimes takes us a few different takes to get the introductions, as we sometimes mess up a word, or something else. We leave a lot of the goofs in the show, if it wasn’t too bad.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: Which sometimes give the show some of its character. You know that you’re really listening to you guys talking about the music.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: That’s true, and we want that in the show.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: Has the way that people discover you guys changed with technology? Are more people discovering you via the internet, or records, radio or TV?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: It has always been a word of mouth thing. Radio helps, when we can get it. The Disny movies have helped,TV appearances do help. Basically, its still people seeing us, and telling their friends, “You’ve got to see this.”</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: Where are you recording your new album?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: In Nashville, where we live. We were going to record in Nashville this paast May, but we got flooded out. We weren’t home at the time, our wives had to deal with that. I made a reference to that during our afternoon show, and nobody in the crowd got it. A lot of jokes are like that!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents: Have you gotten to explore some of the more famous music spots throughout the Southeast?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: Not much. People mostly assume that we got to do a lot of sightseeing. We see the highway, we see the hotel room, we see the venue, and move on to the next place. It’s not always a glamorous life. We did recently get to visit this radio station in Virginia that Flatt & Scruggs played at for a couple of years, and met with the crew. But mostly, it’s getting to the next show.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tangents:Tonight’s show is show number 5,964 for Riders In The Sky. How in the world do you keep up with that?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Doug: When you start it with show number one, you just count up from there! It’s been 35 years, coming up on 6,000 appearances and counting, its more and more amazing as it goes along, and we’re very thankful for that.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">My thanks to Greta Lint and the Old Time Threshes Reunion for helping to set up this interview.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-69347563942751510072015-12-31T10:22:00.002-08:002015-12-31T10:22:26.738-08:00Bruce Hazel Interview, 2010 Online Redux<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
Bruce Hazel: Classic Sounds For The New League</div>
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introduction, interview and photos by Daniel Coston</div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">For over a decade now, Bruce Hazel has put his stamp on rock n' roll throughout the Carolinas. Be it with the Noise, Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers, Temperance League, or under his own name, Hazel has merged his love of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and other classic sounds to form his own version of what Rock can be. His current project, Temperance League, joins him with longtime local starwarts Shawn Lynch, Mark Lynch, Chad Wilson and D.K. to create an inviting merge of garage rock and classic-sounding guitars riffs. Temperance League are now touring throughout the East Coast of the U.S., in search of the wider audience that they deserve.</span><br />
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Hazel is also well known in Charlotte for heading up the Fool's Brigade, an annual event that covers a famous musician or band for charity. This event has become that many look forward to, and has packed whichever venue its held in every year. Hazel is also a fun frontman and an all-around good guy, a frontman you can root for when he's onstage.</div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: How did the Some Volunteers evolve into Temperance League?</span><div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: <span style="color: #091322; font-family: Arial;">The Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers moniker was something I could put on anything I was doing at the time<span style="color: black;">. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #091322;">This is something different<span style="color: black;">. </span>This is a band.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />Tangents: How do you feel about this lineup now?<span style="color: #091322; font-family: Arial;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="color: #091322; font-family: Arial;">Hazel: I remember Mark and Shawn talking about the early days of Lou Ford. How they were a gang. I wanted to be part of a gang.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: You've been writing and playing a lot of new songs, and you have been recording with this new lineup, as well as the Volunteers. What's your plan for the next record?<br /><br />Hazel: There are a ton of songs. We have enough completed material for a Volunteers record. We should have probably put it out by now. But at least I have it. Currently we are trying to make something that represents Temperance League. I want to capture the raw energy with minimal overdubs. The Volunteers record is layered. I want the Temperance League record to be stripped. I want all the records I make to be something I'm excited to listen to. I would like to make something that represents us and our live show.</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />Tangents: Talk about your role as a frontman. What do you have to do to get people into what you and the band are doing?</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: It is the simplest thing that took me the longest time to realize... to just be honest and be myself.<br /><br />Tangents: What has been your favorite Temperance League gigs so far?</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: It's always nice to be home at Snug Harbor.<br /><br />Tangents:. The League has been playing more out of town. Do you hope to continue that for a while?<br /></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: As much as possible.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: What changes have you seen to the Charlotte scene over the past several years?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: More beards.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: Between The Journey And the Destination (released in 2004) is still one of my favorite records to come out of Charlotte in the past ten years. What do you think about when you hear that record?<br /><br />Hazel: I'm very proud of that record. We had a blast making it. Justin [Faircloth, of the Houstons] was the most comfortable producer to work with. I just invited all my favorite players to stop by Cougar Camp [Studios]. We had DK, Chad [Wilson], Benji [Hughes], [John] Morris, [Chris] Lonon, Rodney [Lanier], Joey Stephens, Michael [Anderson] and [Brent] Bagwell. We had everybody. Somebody was always hanging out or stopping by. Mark [Lynch] came by to offer his sage advice. But I don't think we ever got Matt [Faircloth] or Mark on tape. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">It was easy. Very casual. We'd have lunch and some drinks and just play. Shawn was living at [Cougar Camp] at the time, so when he'd get home from work I'd say, "Get in there and play this guitar part," or, "We need you to play drums on this." I think the record reflects how much fun we were having. When I listen to that record I picture us hanging out in the kitchen listening to someone tracking in the next room. They'd come out and say, "How'd I do?" I'd yell to Justin in the control room "How was that?" He'd say, "Perfect." I'd say, "Sounds like you're done." But you were there, you know?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: How did the annual Fools Brigade shows start?<br /><br />Hazel: Just thought it was time to get involved in my community. It was during the time the Pillowtex factory closed down outside Charlotte in 2004. I organized a fund raiser for those families affected. It happened quick. I made some calls and everyone responded. We raised a little money and had a good time. Later that year I got involved with Rock The Vote, and put together a show to get people registered. Again the neighborhood responded. There is a mission statement on the Fool's Brigade site that Phil came up with so we could sound more official. But really The Fools Brigade Annual Benefit is as much for us as it it is for the charity. It's fulfilling and satisfying that feeling of knowing you belong to a community.</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: Do you have any favorite years of the Fools Brigade shows?<br /></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: Luckily each show we've done has been a success. All have had memorial moments but something really special happened in the room the night we did Bowie. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: I can't stop listening to Reigning Sound. I'm going thru a huge Greg Cartwright phase right now. </span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />Tangents: Okay, here's the scenario.... Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits are gonna settle things once and for all, but they're gonna dance it out, like the gangs in West Side Story. Who wins, and why?</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: I never saw West Side Story.<br /><br />Tangents: Was there any person or show you saw, or met when you growing up that made you want to be a musician?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: Some I've know personally and some I've just admired as a fan but I continually seem to discover them just when I'm ready to throw in the towel. </span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />Tangents: Any questions for the interviewer?</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Hazel: Of all you've interviewed who was the toughest to get a straight answer out of?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">Tangents: There's been a couple... and I'll tell you about them the next time I see you.</span></div>
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Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-35879800286817327312015-12-31T10:21:00.002-08:002015-12-31T10:21:40.643-08:00Houston Brothers Interview, 2010 Online Redux<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">The Houstons: Back To The Future</span><br />
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The Tangents interview by Daniel Coston</div>
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For nearly ten years, brothers Matt and Justin Faircloth have pulled off a musical tightrope act like no other. Simultaneously playing multiple instruments while singing two-part harmony, the brothers perform with a dexterity that often leaves first-time witnesses in awe. The Houstons, as they now go by now (after being shortened from Houston Brothers), have recently returned to their original-two piece lineup, and released a new EP, The Archer, an excellent showcase for their ambient, literate sense of pop music.</div>
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Justin Faircloth is also a longtime veteran of the Charlotte and North Carolina music scene, with a resume that includes Jennyanykind, Flyweb, Goldenrods, Les Dirt Clods, and several others. But its the music that he continues to make with his brother that both friends and fans clamor for. </div>
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<br /><b><br />Tangents: After playing with other bands, what led you to form the Houstons with your brother?</b><br /><br />Justin Faircloth: Matt and I had been bouncing this idea of a two person band for a long time, back to probably '97 when we were living in Wilmington. We didn't know how we wanted to make it happen and started out experimenting with a drummer and some keyboard bass, then I learned to play bass, then drums and guitar, acoustic guitars, you name it. Then I moved to Asheville and I was playing in a sort of country-punk band called The Rich and Famous and started to work on this keyboard and drumming thing, only it was with a snare, a small tom for kick drum and a Casio. <div>
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Matt and I booked our first show at Vincent's Ear and coming right up to it we didn't have a name, so our buddy Jeremy Boger named us the Houston Brothers. We played acoustic guitars and did some beat looping, etc. Maybe a little Rhodes. After I moved to Charlotte, and Matt moved to Asheville (!), we started in with the Goldenrods, which was a larger 6-person outfit and became this traveling entourage of everything rock and roll. Matt and I decided that we could make the Houston Brothers happen as a 2 piece and travel really light, and go for this really minimal sound that still had all the essentials to fill a room with tons of vibe and character. We bought some old Crumar bass synth pedals--the ones we still use today--and we were off.<br /><br /><b>Tangents: You play keyboards with your right hand, while drumming with your left band, all while singing. 1. How did you come up with that? and 2. How do you DO that?</b><br /><br />Faircloth: Well, I touched on this above, but we were just trying out different ways of being able to create a full band sound without the extra members. Our fans and press have always made a pretty big deal out of the piano-drum-sing thing, but it's not much different than a good piano player that has a developed left hand for walking bass and comping chords. It all becomes one thing, not several, at least in the way that I hear it. I have to say that what Matt does, walking bass with his feet and playing guitar and singing has got to be just as difficult.<br /><br /><b>Tangents: Contrast the music of this new EP with the first two Houston Bros. CDs (pre-Still).</b><br /><br />Faircloth: The first record, <i>I Take Care of You</i>, was very different. It's out of print now, and is soundtrack music with a dark bent and perhaps a preview to our eventual Houstons vibe. <i>The Houston Brothers</i>, or the blue record as we call it, is probably the most similar to our new release <i>The Archer</i>. Matt and I play nearly everything, with a few guests here and there. We use the instrumentation that we use live with only a few extra parts, usually supporting guitar textures, synth bits or percussion. Thematically, though, we're talking about two records that are about 8 years apart and the songs really illustrate that span of time in ways I couldn't hope to describe. Matt wrote two songs on the blue record, and that is something we intend to bring back on our next release.</div>
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Tangents: How did The Archer come together? And describe the music on this EP.</div>
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Faircloth: Matt and I had a collection of songs that we wanted to release as a more stripped down production, relative to Still. Our friend Mark Lynch got involved with pre-production and insisted that we track the songs as we play live, the keys/drums and bass pedals included. Two of the songs were years old and the other four were new tracks. I'm not going to tell which ones are which! But they all fit cohesively and were a good representation of where we are with the Houston Brothers, ten years from when we started.<br /><br />The songs are a bit more outwardly aggressive in some ways than ever, but I'd like to think also more refined in scope and in theme. We have always wanted to relate our lives through the music and I think these do just that. For now. It's more appropriate for me in my life now to rely on love rather than be angry with it, for example. We are celebrating life and at the same time targeting some aspects that we find provocative. That's the art, I suppose.<br /><br /><b>Tangents: After starting as a duo, you spent a few years working with other musicians in the band, culminating with a six-piece lineup for the 2006 CD Still? How did the music change during that time?</b><br /><br />Faircloth: The songwriting changed a bit before we put he band together. . . I was in a more introspective place and trying to put some pieces of my life together. The songs on <i>Still </i>basically chronicle those times, or as much as I would want to put out there. Matt and I also felt that we needed to try some different sounds and new directions so we put together a band packed with badass musicians. We made the record with very little rehearsal and some highly charged-up creative days, mostly at my house in Charlotte. The recorded music became quite a bit more arranged and dense--interestingly, on a collection of very personal songs. Our live shows were fun, I got to really focus on singing and improved at that quite a bit, and we had great rhythm sections and textures. We were both able to open up quite a bit relative to having to do so much at once. I think this was a time of really learning about who we are and what we really want to do.<br /><br /><b>Tangents: What brought you and Matt back to the two-piece lineup?<br /></b>Faircloth: We felt that we had lost some of our uniqueness. To be honest, a bunch of our friends and fans demanded it. And it's really hard to even hold a band together when you're not 20 and everyone has tons going on in their lives. It's so easy for Matt and I to travel together, find the vibe we want, learn songs really fast. . .whatever. It's what we do naturally at this point. As much as we want to break free of the constraints sometimes, they can become what sets our creativity free. My wife would call it Tantric.<br /><b><br />Tangents: What's next for the Houstons?<br /></b>Faircloth: We're taking most of the summer to quiet down and write, record, experiment, play new instruments. I think that whatever we accomplish at the end of the day, I want it to constantly grow and change around our minds and what we find interesting, provocative, outrageous, compelling. I don't want to ever make the same record twice and I don't want to regurgitate issues or themes. I'm learning how to write an unbridled love song and a song for nothing but dancing.<br /><b><br />Tangents: How has your fanbase changed over the years?<br /></b>Faircloth: They've grown up with us. Which is awesome. I mean, we attract fans of all ages and I am still surprised by some folks that love us, who I thought would hate us. <br /><b><br />Tangents: How has the Charlotte music scene changed?</b><br /><br />Faircloth: It's larger and more diverse. More than ever when traveling I hear other artists, musicians and otherwise, asking me about what is going on in Charlotte. I think our Southern town is almost a city. But what I really love about Charlotte musically is the people--there's very little hate and a whole lot of love. We support each other no matter what the opportunity or style of music. Our label, Chicago-based Chocolate Lab, just signed another Charlotte artist (our friend Jon Lindsay), so we are seeing more and more interest. And the successes of folks like The Avett Brothers and Benji Hughes are pretty awesome.<br /><br /><b>Tangents: So what happens if and when your kids form their own band?</b><br /><br />Faircloth: We're already on it! Their first experience will be our family band. They are both incredibly musically talented already and writing original music. So it's on. Whatever they do later. . . what can I say? Dad's seen it all. Well, most of it.</div>
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Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-21003432867783450002015-12-31T10:20:00.001-08:002015-12-31T10:20:50.253-08:00Terry Manning Interview, 2010 Online Redux<div style="font-family: Helvetica; margin: 0px;">
Terry Manning: On the way to Big Star</div>
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introduction and interview by Daniel Coston</div>
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While countless people now state themselves as Big Star fans, there were only a handfull of those that can say they were there from the beginning. Terry Manning is one of those people. Along with an amazing producing and engineering career (which we’ll cover in a forhtcoming article), Terry was part of the late 1960s Memphis scene that created their own sound at Ardent Studios. This included Manning, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, and Andy Hummel, and a couple of others. When Alex Chilton joined Bell, Stephens and Hummel in 1971 to form Big Star, Manning was there to see it all happen, and how their first two albums came together. </div>
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While this interview with Manning was done before Chilton’s recent passing, what still comes through is the love and respect that Manning and others still have in the music, and for the music they were a part of.</div>
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Tangents: Chris Bell played with you on a couple of singles for different bands, and on your Home Sweet Home album. How did that come about, and describe playing with Chris at this time. </div>
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<b>Manning: In addition to my band Lawson and Four More that I played and recorded with, I also played music often with some guys in my neighborhood. And in fact, my good friend Steve Rhea lived right across the street from me. Steve played drums, and we would play along with albums, write songs, record on little home tape recorders. I went to Central High School at the time, but Steve went out East to MUS ,a private boy's school. One of his classmates there was Chris Bell, and before long we had all hooked up to practice and play together. </b></div>
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<b>It's pretty well known now that Chris had what we called the "Back House" on the property that his parents had built a large new home on. Steve and me and Chris and a few other guys would hang out there and practice. We could play as loud as we wanted to without disturbing anyone, and also had a darkroom that we could use for our photography any time of the day or night.</b></div>
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<b>Chris was VERY interested in the fact that my "real band" had been recording at Ardent and other studios, and he of course knew that I was working at Ardent and Stax, engineering recordings by professional artists. He would always ask me to take him over there, show him the equipment, etc..</b></div>
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<b>I was constantly recording my own things in Ardent, and occasionally in Stax, when other things weren't already happening in there, and Chris was very interested in this. He would bring me songs he was writing for input on how he was doing. So when I wanted some guitar playing on these recordings that would be better than what I felt that I could do myself, it was natural to have Chris come in to play. He was thrilled, and very excited to be in "the real big time studio." </b></div>
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<b>I first got him to do first very short harmony guitar in a Beatles' song I was working on (One After 909), but then the "big thing" which became his first professional appearance on a released record was getting him to play on a few of the tracks on an album that I got to record for, and license to, Stax Records with me as artist. This became the Home Sweet Home release.</b></div>
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Tangents: Describe working with Alex Chilton on his solo album (later released as 1970) Did Chris and Alex ever run into each other at that time? </div>
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<b>Manning: Alex and I had become friends when I was an engineer (and sometimes player) on The Box Tops' recordings. Alex had become disillusioned over time with Producer Dan Penn and Executive Producer Chips Moman, feeling that they were mostly just telling him what to do, rather than ever giving him much of a chance to be creative himself. I recall on a couple of the vocal overdub sessions that Alex was constantly making faces behind Dan's back, and he started talking to me about wanting to do his own thing, rather than just be The Box Top Guy for his whole life. Remember, he was barely past 15 when the band had broken with "The Letter." I commiserated with Alex, listened to his songs, and agreed that he should be trying some new things. So we finally decided to just do it, and started recording the album that later became "1970" (I had actually named it the much better "1969," but it got changed when some people were worried about the timing of these recordings, relative to the official exit from The Box Tops). </b></div>
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<b>We recorded pretty much on our own, under a veil of secrecy to the outside world (as if anyone would have cared). The whole thing was done with very few outside people. The fabulous Richard Rosebrough played drums, and Alex and I did most of the rest. He played guitars and did lead vocals, I did bass and keys and harmony vocals, and then we got in Paul Cannon to do a solo or two, and a great steel player from Nashville, Jeff Newman, to do a couple of crazy rock and roll steel guitar leads. </b></div>
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<b>We had talked to Brian and Carl Wilson, and had a plan to release this on their Brother Records label, but then we changed plans, and took it to Jerry Wexler at Atlantic in New York. Jerry loved it, but was afraid to release an album first, wanting to start out with "Free Again" as a single to test the waters. This angered me and Alex, as we were looking to be album artists, not single artists, and he thought he saw "Box Tops Syndrome" starting up again with the record labels. So we just didn't completely finish the album (there would have been a few other overdubs like horns and maybe a bit of strings, and a couple of more guitars), ad put it away in a box. Never even made real mixes at the time. </b></div>
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<b>And pretty soon, we would be moving ahead to Big Star anyway, so there was no need to pursue this album further. I don't strictly recall Chris being around for these recordings, I think maybe he was away at his first year of University in Knoxville maybe, or maybe he did come by a bit. Not sure exactly, but I don't remember him being at all involved in this.</b></div>
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Tangents: What was your impression of the Big Star formation? And describe the recording sessions for Number 1 record. Did you do some engineering on the overdubs, as I’ve heard elsewhere? </div>
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Manning: <b>Big Star, as has been written elsewhere, was an extension of a couple of other groups that Chris and I, as well as Jody and Tm Eubanks, and a couple of other guys, had been messing with, mixed with Alex after the 1969/1970 sessions doing his own thing...really just the Ardent Crew of the time. The very earliest recordings that became part of Bg Star were several of us just continuing on with the same things we were doing already. So the "first impression" of BS to any of us was more of the same, moving ahead. </b></div>
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<b>On #1 Record, Chris became the main motivator after a bit. I was working on several things (had a Day Job at Ardent and Stax), and by this time Chris had learned a good bit of engineering and production technique from John Fry and me, and his own studio experiences. I engineered some of the tracking and overdubs, Chris did a good bit, and of course John was doing some (later on the mix, John was in complete control, with Chris' wishes at hand). I had played keys and bass on 2-3 tracks previously, and then Andy re-overdubbed the bass parts ion those, but we kept the keyboards. The #1 sessions went on over a long period, none of it was "just played.” It was carefully crafted, with many overdubs. Chris was a perfectionist, and would do and re-do things until he felt it was right.</b></div>
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Tangents: You sang backup on several songs on number one record. How did that come about? </div>
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<b>Manning: That was just from our previous studio relationships. When Chris wanted a certain vocal sound (and later Alex), we just all sang together. The backing harmony vocals were pretty intricate, and very much a necessary part of the sound, so more voices were a good thing. I don't recall Jody singing much in the early days, nor Andy as well, I suppose, so it just seemed the best thing to do to have the three of us do most of it.</b></div>
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Tangents: You also played the Moog on “Give Me Another Chance,” and “Feel,” I’ve heard, is from an Icewater track, which you played on. </div>
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<b>Manning: Yes, I had gone to Robert Moog in Trumansburg, New York, and had bought a Moog IIIC synthesiser (in fact, with George Harrison's former keyboard, the one he actually used on some Beatles recordings). I had played this on a bunch of recordings, including Leon Russell's "Stranger In A Strange Land," and Chris had been fascinated by the Moog. In fact, we had done a recording together of his composition "I Created A Monster" for a school class he took in music. So he asked me to put "stringy" sounds into "Give me Another Chance" with the Moog. The only thing I think slightly negative about it all now is that the Moog is awfully loud in the mix. But in the day, it seemed important!</b></div>
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<b>Yes, "Feel" was tracked first by Chris and me and Tom and Jody as the band Icewater...the same band track with most of the instruments (bass replaced by Andy), and with a new lead vocal was included on #1 as Big Star.</b></div>
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Tangents: I saw you sing “When My Baby’s Beside Me” at SXSW with Big Star. How was that experience? </div>
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<b>Manning: That was a lot of fun. Alex and I sang that together on the original recording, but hadn't sung it together since until that show! On the "Radio City" sessions, Alex had asked me to sing "second lead" on "When My Baby's Beside Me" because he said I sounded a lot like Carl Wilson, and that's the tone he wanted. He sang the first verse alone, and then we come in together on dual lead in the first chorus. After that, we are both in there in varying degrees, but always in the chorus equally.</b></div>
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<b>To repeat this 30 years later at SXSW was a real treat, and it's always good to play or sing with Jody, who just really pounds the beat live!</b></div>
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Tangents: At SXSW in 2004, you told the story about how you switched the master tapes to Number 1 record, so that Chris wouldn’t destroy them. Why did he want to do that? Do you stil have the tapes? </div>
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<b>Manning: Chris had decided, being the perfectionist that he was, that #1 wasn't good enough. He had "performance anxiety," in my current opinion. Plus he had probably gotten mad at John, or at me, or at both, over some perceived wrong (something that happened from time to time). He actually did do away with the multitrack masters (eight tracks). They do not exist today. I got word that he was coming up to Ardent to destroy the stereo mix masters, so I beat him there, and changed them to a different box. When he destroyed "the tapes" they were really something else that didn't matter. It turned out that there were probably a couple of "copies" anyway. An original, and a safety, so the album might well have been OK anyway. But I do still have that original stereo tape. I recently transferred it to high quality DSD 5.6 digital tape.</b></div>
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Tangents: What was your involvement, albeit limited, with the band during the Radio City, Third period? I’ve heard that you sang back-up on “September Gurls.” </div>
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<b>Manning: Not as much involvement as on #1 of course, but a bit. Sort of like Chris himself, who ostensibly had left the group, but was "included" without any credit in a place or two. I sang co-lead on “When My Baby's Beside Me" as mentioned previously, and yes, did also sing some of the harmony on "September Gurls." Alex wanted to keep some of the "sound" of the first album on that one. There was a piano part or two I recall that I played, but I would have to listen back directly to remember what that was.</b></div>
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Tangents: What comes to mind when you think of Big Star, and those records? </div>
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<b>Manning: For many years (over 25) I did not listen to those records at all, ever. The very first emotion I always have is sadness. Sadness primarily about how it ended for Chris, but also that the world did not "get it" for so long.</b></div>
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<b>There was a lot of emotion involved in the day, a lot of conflict. Conflict amongst band members, between Chris and me at times, Chris and Alex, Chris and John, Alex and John, as well as all the good times.</b></div>
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<b>But I can also now listen with joy, joy because of the quality of the songs, performances, recordings, and spirit, and that the world did finally "get it." And that everyone did really appreciate and love each other.</b></div>
Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-50995591106810246952015-12-31T10:19:00.000-08:002015-12-31T10:19:31.446-08:00Stephen Perry/Cherry Poppin Daddies Interview, May 1998 issue<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">by Daniel Coston and Carl Fulmer.</span><br />
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<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">After years of being relegated to the memories of our parents and grandparents, the "swing" music of the 1930s and '40s has recently begun to catch fire again with a whole new generation. Among the leaders of that rebirth have been the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, whose song "Zoot Suit Riot" has been all over the radio airwaves in the past three months.<br />Despite their ode to the suits worn by the likes of Cab Calloway, the eight-member group is anything but a retro band. Formed in Eugene, Oregon in 1989, the eight-member band has spent years building a loyal following with a head-spinning mix of swing, ska, soul rock, topped off by their enigmatic lead singer and songwriter, Stephen Perry.<br /></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">After years of constant touring and releasing their own self-produced records, the band worked out a record deal last fall with the Los Angeles-based label Mojo Records. Against the band's initial wishes, Mojo released "Zoot Suit Riot" to modern rock stations, which spawned a flood of sales for their CD, "The Swingin' Hits Of...," and garnered the band heavy airplay on MTV.<br />If the band's summer plans are any indication of the future, the Daddies won't be going away anytime soon. Along with recording their next record, the band has recorded "Fly Me To The Moon" for an upcoming Frank Sinatra tribute album, as well as the Harry Belafonte classic "Jump In Line" for the upcoming Zucker brothers comedy, </span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><i>Baseketball</i></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">. The band will also be a part of both the Warped and HORDE tours, and recently turned down an offer to do "The Love Boat" theme song for the resurrected TV show.<br /></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">Sitting down with us before the Daddies' red-hot show at Tremont last March [1998], Perry talked about the band's recent success, planning for the next record, and a little bit of history on the song "Zoot Suit Riot."</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Tangents:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> How did your deal with Mojo Records happen?</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>Perry:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> We met the head of the label last fall while we were on tour, and we said, "Look, we've been doing this for years. We don't need tour support. We always make our own records on a budget. The problem is that we can't get our records in certain stores." We'd call ahead and say, "Hey, we're coming to your town. Can we put in the store some of our records?" And they'd say, "Sorry, we've never heard of you." So we had pretty much done as much as we could do on that level. We were hitting a glass ceiling, and we were getting tired, and it was frustrating to not get our CDs in stores. So we told the guy that, and he said, "I want to sign a deal with you, but I don't have much cash." We said, Hey, we don't need cash. We've got a record done. [The Swingin' Hits Of..., 1997.] We'll give you the damn record. It's no loss to you, just get us into stores. And we'll tour like crazy for it, like we always do." So we put it out on a national level, and it started to sell. Our whole idea was, "Let's keep it small-time. We don't want to go to radio. Maybe college radio, so that people would know that we were coming to their town." Since the record was doing so well, [Mojo] decided at some point to take it to modern rock radio. And we were like, "I don't know. I think it's a waste of money." We tried to talk them out of it. So we compromised. We said, "Put it out on some stations, just to put a toe in the water." And every one of the stations where they tried it immediately added it.</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>T:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> You once told us that you were hated in your hometown for your name.</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>P:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> Yeah. At the time that we started was right at the apogee of that political correctness. It was part of curriculum at colleges, at that point. The idea was that language controls thought. If you said something like "Cherry Poppin' Daddies," you were actually contributing to all sorts of goddamn things.</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>T:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> What do you think is going to happen with this resurgence in swing?</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>P:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> I think that there will be a tiny swing blip on the screen. But it's good that it's opened up music a lot. The problem with swing music, I think, is that there's only a few bands doing it, and there's a lot of nostalgia shit involved. You have to do something new with it. We inoculate ourselves against the Swingwasi kind of people, and we'll play a ska song, and what not. The third-wave ska fans have followed us throughout our careers. They've not worried about whether we were a ska band or a swing bad. But when the swing scene started happening, they were way more elitist. It is 1998. To do something totally retro really isn't that interesting. We're essentially a pop-rock band with swing influences. And ska influences, and soul influences, and stuff like that.</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>T:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> What's your next record going to be like?</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>P:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> It's going to be swing, but there's a lot of weird songs. We just recorded 15 songs, and we're going to do two more recording sessions, so we'll have about 45 songs, total. It's [hard to] pare it down to 12, but the question is what songs do I like the most. A lot of the stuff I've written is weird pop. We're trying to branch it out some, so we don't have to make "Zoot Suit Riot II." We've already done that.</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>T:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> What's the writing process like for you and the band?</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>P:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> It's just totally random. I just write whatever's in my head, and I try not to make myself go, "Oh, that's not a Daddies song." That's the big danger. The big trick is to not make yourself a marketing tool.</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>T:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> After nine years of doing this, is it strange to be considered by some as a "new" band?</span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><b>P:</b></span><span lang="0" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> Yeah. The trip behind the record was so different to begin with, because the expectations were so low. Now I'm told that it's gonna go gold, easy. We made that record at our home studio. In fact, on "Zoot Suit Riot," after I did the vocals, I said to the engineer, "Okay, I think I'm ready to sing it now." And [the engineer] said, "Hey, Steve, you should come here and listen to it. It didn't sound bad." So I went in, and he said, "I think that you should keep that in there," cause we know that it was the first take. We were recording it for our fans, and our label, so we left it in. And now, it's being played on Top 40 stations. [laughs]</span>Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-80443202365603664232015-12-31T10:17:00.003-08:002015-12-31T10:17:29.378-08:00Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol Interview, 2010 Redux<div style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;">
Ashley Hutchings & Ken Nicol</div>
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Interview and introduction by Daniel Coston</div>
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Look at any folk record from the past forty years, and the names Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol will pop up in some prominent places. Hutchings was the founding bassist in Fairport Convention, leaving after fabled 1969 album Liege & Lief to form another legendary folk/rock act, Steeleye Span. He is still very active today, with the Albion Band, his series of Morris music albums, and the Rainbow Chasers.</div>
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Ken Nicol has been Hutchings’ longtime partner in the Albion Band, and has been the guitarist in Steeleye Span since 2002. Now the two have released their first album as a duo, entitled Copper, Russet and Gold. The album, available through Park Records (<a href="http://www.parkrecords.com/">www.parkrecords.com</a>), is a fun and eclectic collection of songs that are not bound by any one genre. </div>
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Coston: How did this record come about?</div>
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Hutchings: The record came about through Ken contacting me and suggesting we write and record an album of newly written songs. He said (quite correctly) that we write good songs together, and had composed many fine ones for The Albion Band, and wasn't it time we composed together again?</div>
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Coston: What surprised me is the diversity of the music on the CD. Some rock, folk and jazz mixed in. Was that something that evolved during the writing process?</div>
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Nicol: Both Ashley and I are very eclectic in the way we view music. Largely it’s a case of, the way you think, is consequently the way you write. If there was a process that could be described as evolvement, it would be less of one that just sort of happened by itself, and more a case of wanting to give the album a breadth of expression and colour that could be achieved effectively by using a whole mixture of musical genres. </div>
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Coston: Both of you keep busy schedules. Was it hard to find time to write and record this album?</div>
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Nicol: Yes, I mentioned earlier that it slowed down the recording process quite considerably. I should add also that, for me at least, it’s not just a case of grabbing any available time you can get you hands on. With anything I become involved with, there is always a period of time within which I have to ‘think my way’ into it. I have to capture a feel for that task. This isn’t an issue so much if it’s, say, recording or mixing, but when it comes to writing, it takes me a while to get my head into that zone. It can actually be quite difficult when you have a number of things on the go at the same time. </div>
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Hutchings: The album took some time to record, probably two years, during which we would do a bit, have a few months off, do a bit, record some more after a long break, etc..</div>
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Coston: Do you find that the writing process is different in working with each other, as opposed to writing on your own, or with others?</div>
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Nicol: It’s quite different. If I write alone, often melodies and chord progressions initiate the subject matter of a song. Ninety-something percent of the time, when writing with Ashley, he’ll send me his lyrics, and I then set them to music. </div>
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Of course, there’s little difference between the two when it comes to reaching deep within for that spark, that essence of something that gives one the sense of having found something inspirational, or at least something that inspires oneself. But one of the reasons I believe our partnership works well is because our songwriting roles are clearly defined. Ashley writes the the words, and I write the tunes. </div>
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Hutchings: The writing process is inevitably different when we work together. Put simply, I write the words and send them to Ken who sets them to music, just like Rodgers and Hammerstein!</div>
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Coston: Ken, Steeleye just finished a lengthy 40th anniversary tour, and a new album. What's next for the band?</div>
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Nicol: I’m not 100% certain just at this moment, but my guess is that there’ll probably be a couple of tours in 2011. </div>
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Coston: While it's been many years since Ashley was in Steeleye, did he have any advice for you when you joined the band?</div>
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Nicol: Keep your head down. And always carry an extra pair of boxers. </div>
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Coston: Ashley, you've been a key part of four legendary groups. Fairport, Steeleye, Albion and Morris On. What would you say has been the keys to your success?</div>
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Hutchings: I've absolutely no idea about the key to success. I just do what I want to do and hope for the best!</div>
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Coston: How would you describe your bass playing? Does it change, depending on the project?</div>
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Hutchings: My bass playing is pretty conventional nowadays. It was more adventerous back in the Fairport and Steeleye days. I think of myself as a writer, producer, band leader first, and bass playing comes well down the list.</div>
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Coston: When I interviewed Dave Mattacks last year, he told me that playing on the first Morris On record [Morris On, 1972] changed the way he thought about what he could do on drums. What have you gotten out of the Morris On series?</div>
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Hutchings: Constructing the Morris On series of albums, and there have been six, has been fun and therefore a relaxing change with all the strongly emotional songs I've recorded.</div>
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Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-51341792063860563782015-12-21T14:32:00.001-08:002015-12-21T14:32:22.158-08:00Merry Christmas, And Happy New YearHello All-<br />
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On behalf of everyone here at Tangents Magazine, Merry Christmas, and stay tuned for news for new adventures and new issues in 2016. Best wishes and safe travels,<br />
-Daniel<br />
December 21, 2015<br />
<br />Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-91933146426606013252015-12-02T13:23:00.001-08:002015-12-02T13:23:32.393-08:00Announcing The Return Of Tangents Magazine In 2016<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">When we put together the surprise 20th anniversary issue of Tangents Magazine, I intended it to be one last word on what that magazine was capable of. One more chance to have fun, shake some things up, and say, “We did this, and we’re proud of it.” To my surprise, many of you welcomed us back with open arms. You wrote us to ask when the next issue would be. You asked if you could buy ads in the next issue. When Tangents originally folded in the doldrums of 1998, I thought that someone would surely figure out the formula that the magazine had concocted, and create something to fill that void. Nearly 20 years on, it turns out that it was us all along that would pick up where we had left off. And so it goes…</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">With that in mind, I’m happy to announce that Tangents Magazine will return in 2016. We’re still working out how many issues we’ll do, but we are looking to return to the newsstands in the spring of 2016. Yes, I said newsstands. We’ll be posting new and archival issues at </span><a href="http://tangentsmag.com/" style="font-family: Helvetica;">tangentsmag.com</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">, but we will once again be print-based, in glorious high-end ‘zine quality. Just the way that you, and we like it.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">All of that being said, this new era of Tangents needs you, in many ways. While many of us that oversaw Tangents back then wil be back onboard, the magazine has to be more than nostalgia to be relevant. Tangents was, and is a loose collective of people that wanted to create something different. Something that speaks to the collective experience of our lives, what we’re interested, and what makes us want to speak up. Be it now, or in the days to come.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, if you would like to write, or contribute to Tangents, welcome. Email us at </span><a href="mailto:tangentsmag95@gmail.com" style="font-family: Helvetica;">tangentsmag95@gmail.com</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">, and feel free to send us articles, essays, poetry, ideas, or just general thoughts and outbursts. If you contributed to Tangents the first time around, welcome back. Email us, and let the conversation begin again. And if you would like to buy an ad in Tangents, email us. Because creativity and commerce can co-exist, if we allow it to do so.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thanks for your time, and please check back soon for updates. The future is un-written, so let the story begin, all over again. </span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">See you on the journey.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">-Daniel</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">December 2, 2015</span>Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-13949805544129418012015-11-24T21:08:00.002-08:002015-11-24T21:08:36.152-08:00Happy Holidays/Stay TunedHello All-<br />
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Happy holidays. Tune back in next week for an announcement about a big upcoming event.<br />
-Daniel<br />
November 25, 2015Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-5783357561341849872015-10-12T21:27:00.002-07:002015-10-12T21:27:54.861-07:00Jimbo Wallace, Reverend Horton Heat Interview, Summer 1998<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">In these times of soul-searching and yearning for enlightenment, some find healing in the form of therapy, while others have discovered strength through religion. However, there any many others that have found religion through Heat, as in the Reverend Horton Heat, a Texas-born and bred trio that has become a savior to many a listener.<br /><br />For nearly ten years, the Heat, made up of guitarist and lead singer Jim "Reverend" Horton Heat, bassist Jimbo Wallace and drummer Scott Churilla, have burnt up and torn down people's expectations. Their mixture of rockabilly roots, punk attitude and a wild live show has brought many a fan to their knees, and their legion of converts is continuing to grow.<br /><br />Along with continuing to play over 200 shows a year, the band made a high-profile guest appearance this past spring on "The Drew Carey Show." The band also recently released their fifth album, Space Heater, on Interscope Records.<br /><br />With the band's hectic tour schedule, it was no surprise to find that Jimbo Wallace was calling in from the road. In this case, Mizoula, Montana. "We're at the local university here," said Wallace. "One of those places where they send up the 90-pound entertainment director to help you load equipment."<br /><br />Coston: Tell me about the new record.<br /><br />J: It's a little bit of a departure for us. This time, I think that we leaned towards our punk influence a little more. A little more aggressive guitar, more guitar chords, instead of the lightning country picking. It's cool for us. We never play it safe. We always try to do different stuff, and pretty unpredictable.<br /><br />We had Ed Stasium produce it. He did a lot of Ramones records. We've been known for our crazy producers, from Al Jourgensen to Gibby Haynes. [laughs]<br /><br />Coston: Who's been your favorite producer to work with?<br /><br />J: I would have to say Ed Stasium. He was the most level-headed. Gibby Haynes was a lot of fun to work with, and Al Jourgensen was a nightmare. [laughs] But we somehow got that done. Every story you've ever heard about him is probably true. [laughs] But some people think that's our best record. [Liquor In The Front, 1994] Something went right.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Coston: Was the change on this record a conscious decision?<br /><br />J: No. I think that we get bored sometimes. [laughs] We had a limited time frame for this record, so we just locked ourselves in a studio and tried to write a song a day. We came up with about thirty of them, and used what we thought was worthy, and threw away the rest.<br /><br />It was kind of a challenge with this record, because we did have a limited time period. Of course, working with Ed Stasium, he's a slavedriver. I hope that he reads this. [laughs] If we messed up, or if he didn't like a part, he made us do it over. [laughs]</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Coston: You guys recently appeared on the Drew Carey show.<br /><br />J: Yeah. We first did on his HBO "Mr. Vegas" special, and that was pretty cool. We got to meet Wayne Newton, who was also a guest on the show. We were backstage, and Wayne was waiting to come [onstage]. I had on a silver tux jacket, and I walked up to him, and said, "Wayne, look. I'm sorry that I outdressed you tonight. You're going to have to do something about that," 'cause he just had a black [tuxedo jacket]. And he said, "Yeah, I'm been wanting to talk to you about that, Jimbo." [laughs]<br /><br />But he was the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. "Take all of the pictures that you want," and he was just real down to earth. Since that thing turned out successful, Drew asked us to be on his sitcom.<br /><br />I guess the whole scenario was that the bar where they hang out was having a Battle Of The Bands, and they had an actor that they added to our band as a fourth member. We were called the Underprivledged. It ended up that we won the contest, but they stole the trophy at the end of the show.<br /><br />As the credits were rolling, he announced, "Rev. Horton Heat," and let us play a song as they took the credits out.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Coston: There's a lot of different influences in your music. Where do some of those influences come from?<br /><br />J: I don't know. Growing up in Texas, of course, there's a lot of great guitar players, and I'm sure that it inspired the Rev., or Jim, in his early years. Growing up, I was into all different types of music, like heavy metal. And then punk hit, that was all I would listen to. And then the Stray Cats came out, and that's what inspired me to play the upright bass.<br /><br />It all kind of melts together. It's nothing we really planned. Each one has a different kind of music we like, and once we get together, you can hear traces of it in most of our songs.<br /><br />Also, there's a little truth in every song. I don't know if everybody knows that, but a lot of our songs are true stories. I know the "400 Bucks" girl. It's a long story. The Rev loaned this ex-girlfriend of his some money while we were on the road to buy this car, and we get back home, and she breaks up with him, with the car and the 400 bucks. So he wrote a song about it. [laughs]</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Coston: I loved the last song on It's Martini Time (1996), "That's Showbiz."<br /><br />J: We're doing that as an encore. Guess there's a lot of truth in that song, too. There's a line in that about "rats the size of loaves of bread." That comes from a club in Washington, DC called the 9:30 Club, which is now big and beautiful since they moved locations.<br /><br />They used to be in this little basement behind the Ford Theater, where Lincoln got shot, and the alley back there was just full of rats, and they'd come and steal the pizza out of your dressing room while you were on stage.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Coston: At one point in your show, you turn the bass on its side and play it while the Rev stands on top of it. Where did that all start?<br /><br />J: Back in the fifties, the bass players used to be pretty crazy with their upright bass. They'd stand on it and play. We've been fans of Bill Haley and the Comets, and they did tricks like that, so we kind of reintroduced it back in.<br /><br />Although, [The Rev's] put his foot through my bass a couple of times. Of course, he never offers to pay for it. I'm always paying for it, so I might stand on his guitar next show. [laughs] No, he fixed my bass.<br /><br />I've been in the band ten years now, and I guess that it's taken ten years to be an overnight success. Good things are starting to happen for us, finally. For a band that's never had a hit on the radio, we've got a pretty big following as compared to bands that do have hits.<br /><br />Our following is pretty big, and we're real excited about that, 'cause we put many years of hard work into that, and it's paying off. A lot of our loyal fans are still with us today. We still see their faces at the show, and that's cool.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Coston: How important is it for you guys to have that loyal fan base? Those people who have been with you five, ten years?<br /><br />J: That's number one. Record companies come and go, but they'll still be there, and that's the main reason we do this. Interscope's been pretty good to us so far, but I trust all record companies about as far as I can throw them. [laughs].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">This interview was originally slated for Issue 31 of Tangents Magazine, a near-mythical issue that did not see the light of publication in 1998. Seventeen years later, it's finally a part of the Tangents archives. Yay!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">-Daniel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: x-small;">October 12, 2015</span><br />
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Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489512632206048146.post-80798623487406802982015-10-12T21:19:00.001-07:002015-10-12T21:21:03.178-07:00Douglas Adams Interview, October 1996 Issue, With 2010 NotesThere is no way to describe Douglas Adams' sci-fi comedy opus The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and accurately capture why it has become one of the most popular books of the past 20 years. With characters such as Guide researcher Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin The Paranoid Android, it 's one of those books that you just have to read to understand its popularity.<br />
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It's also very hard to describe the career of its author, who has now sold over 15 million books worldwide. Born in Cambridge, England, Adams did everything from odd jobs to write with Graham Chapman of Monty Python fame before he found his voice in Hitchhhiker's.</div>
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Originally done as a radio series for British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio in 1978. He has since adapted Hitchhiker's into five books, a popular 1981 TV mini-series and every other form of media imaginable. With a second popular book series, Dirk Gently, now under his belt, Adams has now positioned himself at the forefront of the Computer Age, with several upcoming CD-ROMs now in the planning stages.</div>
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During his stay in Charlotte last month for the Novello festival, I sat down with Adams to talk about Hitchhiker's, his experiences with Monty Python and "Doctor Who," and the numerous Hitchhiker followers that fill the Internet.</div>
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<strong>Tangents:</strong> What were some of your early influences as a writer?<br />
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<strong>Adams:</strong> I'd have to say that Monty Python influenced me a great deal from a comedy standpoint, because I consider myself a comedy writer. Doctor Who also was a big influence from the standpoint of science-fiction. I don't know if you can imagine it now, but the impact that Doctor Who when it was first broadcast was amazing. It was so huge that the following week, they had to run the first episode again, and stagger the rest of the series back a week.<br />
I guess on a prosaic level, I was influenced by the classics. Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, P. B. Woodhouse. They were the ones that you always looked up to as a writer, and always convinced yourself that your never be as good as theirs. There were a few science-fiction comic books in England when I was growing up. They were the rather sort of upper crust comic books that were there, I think, to instill good Empire values into young boys. But I think that the great one was called Dan Dare, Pilot Of The Future.<br />
I must profess that I have a bit of a problem with a lot of today's science-fiction. I just find that it's very hard to read. In what many people think of as the "Golden Age" of science-fiction that produced [Arthur C. ] Clarke, [Isaac] Asimov and those guys, they were all working for voracious editors. You always read them complaining about how much their editors beat them up, but it produced very clear, clean, lean storytelling.<br />
If you read science fiction nowadays, everybody's been to creative writing classes, and you get page after page, after page of "creative storytelling" without it ever actually going anywhere.<br />
There was one great, great writer who is now, alas, largely overlooked. His name is Robert Sheckley. He was a very funny science-fiction writer, which was unusual. In fact, I'm going up in a few days' time to meet him, because we're probably going to collaborate on a little thing.<br />
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[At this point in the interview, Adams and I noticed that my new tape recorder was starting and stopping due to the machine being switched to voice-activated, a problem that Adams actually spotted. And yes, the irony of technology going awry in the middle of a Douglas Adams interview was not lost on me.]<br />
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<strong>Adams:</strong> I was a junior producer for BBC radio, and I was doing a radio show for Christmas...that was based on the story of Cinderella, and it was called "Black Cinderella II Goes East." We had a bunch of luminaries taking part in it, including John Cleese. John was, predictably, the only one couldn't turn up for recording. So I worked this out with the writers that it was written in such a way that John, who was the Fairy Godperson, was such and successful Godperson that she could never turn up to see Cinderella, but she would leave all her spells on her answering machine.<br />
So I had to go off and record all of his bits, and it was terribly difficult finding a moment in his busy schedule when he could do this, and he finally could see me at 8 o;clock for an half-an-hour to do this. So I turned up with my tape recorder, tested everything to make sure it was all right. I did a quick test record and everything was fine, and I said, "Okay, let's go ahead."<br />
And at that moment, John just happened to say, "Do you think it's a bit warm in here?" And I said, "Yes, it is a little bit. I'll fix that," and didn't think anything more about it. And it turned out that when I turned on this air conditioning fan, it set up a hum over the whole tape.<br />
So I had to call [Cleese] the next day and say, 'I'm terribly sorry. I know we took weeks of work trying to find the time, but can we do it again, please?" And he was a little bit shirty, but eventually he agreed to do it, but unfortunately the second recording wasn't such a good performance, because he was a little cross about it. So I understand your frustration.<br />
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<strong>T: </strong>You came from a largely medical family.<br />
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<strong>A</strong>: That's right, yes. My mother was a nurse, and my father's father was an ear, nose and throat surgeon. My stepfather, because my parents divorced, was a doctor, and my sister from time to time is a nurse.<br />
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<strong>T</strong>: Did you expect to be a doctor when you grew up?<br />
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<strong>A: </strong>Well, I don't know about expected. It certainly crossed my mind from time to time, and there were certainly times when I thought, "Oh God, that's what I should have done." But it was never really an option, or if it was an option that I had taken, then it would have involved taking a U-turn in life, and suddenly giving up another eight years.<br />
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<strong>T</strong>: You said once that you became a writer because you couldn't think of anything else better to do.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Yes, that's true to a certain extent. That's funny, looking back now I would have a whole bunch of ideas about different things I'd like to do, but they weren't clear to me then. If I'd known back in 19747 which is when I left University, what I know now, among the things I would've thought of doing was being an evolutionary biologist. I guess a better time to decide this would've been before I went to University. But also a computer scientist, I would've loved to have been a rock musician...<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> Yes, you actually play some musical instruments.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Well, I actually play only two musical instruments, really. One is the guitar, and the other is the computer-driven synth. I'm a fairly poor keyboard player, but I can write music pretty well, so I basically write to a sequencer.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> One of your first jobs was writing with Graham Chapman during the last season of Monty Python.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Well, it was something that seemed to me at the time as a young kid just out of University like this was having the clouds opening. "Wow! I'm working with all the Pythons." It wasn't quite as straightforward as that. Graham, and I think is a matter of record, so I'm not doing him any disservice, was a very, very heavy drinker at the time. He wasn't working with John Cleese anymore, and he was working with a lot of different people, but an awful lot of work really wasn't being done. So it a period of mixed output, and after eighteen months of that, I really felt that I was better off taking the plunge myself.<br />
<br />
<strong>T</strong>: What were your impressions of the Pythons when you worked with them in that period?<br />
<br />
<strong>A: </strong>Well, I do want to emphasize that it wasn't really working with them. My actual input to the Python era was about two lines. But, to a greater or lesser extent, they're all friends of mine. I know Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, John [Cleese] I know to a small degree, Mike [Palin] to a small degree, Eric [Idle] to a small degree. But the two Terrys are great.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> In between that and getting the radio deal for Hitchhiker's, you worked as a bodyguard.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Yes, for an Arab Royal Family, the Altoni of Gutar. That was strange. It wasn't what I was expecting to be doing at that point, but like anything that happens to you in life, it turns out useful in some way or another. I think some of the weirder ideas that carried me through the next couple years after that came from long nights sitting opposite the elevator shaft at the Hilton Hotel, while I was trying to keep my sanity.<br />
<br />
<strong>T: </strong>The ideas for Hitchhiker's came from several different inspirations, didn't they?<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Yes. The actual title, as I've told many people, came to me while I was lying in a field, in a capside, actually, in Innsbrook at night, and looking up at the stars. There was a book around called The Hitchhiker 's Guide To Europe, which I had a copy of, and it occurred to me that somebody should write a Hitchhiker 's Guide To The Galaxy. I then promptly forgot about the idea until six years later.<br />
I was intrigued by the idea of doing science-fiction as a form of comedy, and it was only while I was at work on the story that became Hitchhiker that I suddenly remembered this title, and that idea that folded into it.<br />
One thing that I always want to tell people is that people always described Hitchhiker rather carelessly or loosely as being a spoof on science-fiction, and it isn't at all. Basically, a spoof or parody might give you enough material for a couple of pages, but that's about it. So it was very much using science-fiction to enable one to parody everything else, but there's no, or certainly hardly any attempt to actually parody science-fiction.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> You also once said that a lot of the characters in Hitchhiker's were originally based on friends or people you knew, but then you expanded on those characters.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Well, I think you'll find that's common for most writers. Very often you have an idea for a character from just some little aspect of someone you know. something they do or say, or some thing about them, and then it grows into something else. It's often quite a surprise when you look back and think, "Oh, this character came from that person. It's not much like them now."<br />
<br />
<strong>T</strong>: Marvin, for instance, came from a friend of yours.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> Yeah, who's a comedy writer called Andrew Marshall. Hence the name in fact, because in the original draft of the script, he was actually called Marshall, because I did want Andrew to be absolutely clear that I meant him.<br />
It was the producer who said to me, 'I'm worried about you naming him Marshall, because it has other connotations which you don't intend, but maybe the audience will pick up and then be confused by it." So I thought, "Oh, yeah. Mar, Mar-vin, then." It practically became Marvin on the way to the recording studio.<br />
<br />
<strong>T</strong>: While you were writing the Hitchhiker's radio series, you were hired to become a writer and script editor for Doctor Who.<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> The sequence of events was that while I was waiting for the BBC to make up its mind about doing Hitchhiker, which took a long time, I needed some income from somewhere, so I thought, "Well, I've got this one script I've written that I've written for Hitchhiker. What else could I generate with this?" And the obvious place to send it was Doctor Who.<br />
So they said, "Okay. Come in and see us." So we talking about storylines, and the inevitable happened, which is that [Doctor Who] took a long time to sort out, and the commission for the rest of the Hitchhiker 's series and the commission to write four episodes of Doctor Who came in the same week.<br />
So it was pretty hectic. I really had hardly a day off for four years after that, until I finally decided, "That's it," made the escape from London, and holed up in a hotel in New York for a month, and tried to figure out what to do next.<br />
<br />
<strong>T</strong>: What's your feelings now about your work with Doctor Who?<br />
<br />
A: Well, Doctor Who's great in all sorts of ways. I remain tremendously fond of the actual idea. I think the idea is brilliant, and it obviously got very well-worn and tired over the years. I think the problem with it was simply that we were doing 26 episodes a year on a very, very small amount of resources, and there comes a point where you're having to compromise on so many things, and rush so many things just to get to the next problem that you're no longer getting any satisfaction out of it. It's merely a collection of missed opportunities.<br />
Now, obviously anything you're working on there are compromises, missed opportunities, things that go wrong and things that you can't quite do. But the question is at the end of the day, have you done a good job? And I feel on Doctor Who, there was just too much. Too much expected from too little in the way of resources, so at the end of the day, you feel, "Well, we didn't even do a good job, I'm afraid." So it was a little disappointing.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> The character of Ford Prefect in Hitchhiker's was originally conceived as a sort of anti-Doctor Who, wasn't he?<br />
<br />
<strong>A</strong>: In a kind of a way, yeah. One of the keynotes of Ford was that given the choice between saving the world and going to a good party, he'd go the party. Or even a bad party. [laughs]<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> Whereas Doctor Who would just save the world.<br />
<br />
<strong>A</strong>: Yeah, he was that kind of boring guy about saving the world over and over again. That's why I thought with Hitchhiker, "Let's just get the world out of the way from the word go." Boy, that was a decision I came to regret. [groans] Good God.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> Why is that?<br />
<br />
<strong>A: </strong>It was such a problem thereafter. It's one of those you do, like a gesture. Michael Nesmith, who was one of the Monkees, told me how there came a point when he wanted to leave the Monkees, and everybody was very down on him for that, 'cause as far as they were concerned, they were doing well, everything was going great, everyone was earning money. Why kill it now?<br />
So somebody said to him, "Look, it's all very well for you. You've very comfortably made this amount of money. Now you just walk away from it. Is that right?" And Michael said, "No, it isn't about the money," and they said, "Oh, yeah." So he said, "All right, how much have I made from the Monkees? I'll give it all away." So he did that, and he said he woke up the following morning, and he thought, 'I've got no money now." [laughs]<br />
That's the problem with it. You make this grand gesture at the beginning, and you give up the earth, and you think, "Damn. Now where's the thing going to be set?" You haven't got any good reference point thereafter, so I've made these sort of futiling attempts to bring it back from time to time, but it never quite works.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> What's you feelings about the various Hitchhiker incarnations?<br />
<br />
<strong>A</strong>: The top ones in my mind are the radio series and the books. The TV series was kind of a mixed blessing. I was very fond of the towel. I thought that was a good read. There was a couple of comic books over the last couple years that, well, I don't know, I'm not a great expert on comic books. It's not a media I'm really sufficient to converse with and to have an opinion, but I guess I'm old fashioned to think that it works better as a book.<br />
<br />
<strong>T: </strong>There was also the record albums, there was a sort of musical that was done...<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> A couple of stage productions, yeah. It's kind of difficult to perform on stage. One of the reasons why it keeps on being about to be a film, then never quite becoming a film is that the whole thing is essentially picaresque, which means it's just one damn thing after another. It's the momentum with which it rolls forward, rather than sends it going anywhere in particular, and that's very, very hard to translate into a movie. A movie has to be 100 [minutes], maybe 110 at the most, but it's beginning, middle and end. I've been able to come up with a couple of scripts that observed those constraints, but somehow, it now fails to be Hitchhiker. It's become more like Star Wars or whatever. No disrespect to Star Wars, but Hitchhiker ain't that.<br />
<br />
<strong>T: </strong>Do you think the Hitchhiker's story can be taken any further?<br />
<br />
<strong>A:</strong> I'd like to, actually. A lot of people have not particularly liked Mostly Harmless [1993], including myself. The problem with it, and most people never notice this when they're reading books, was the year in which I wrote that book was just full of terrible problems at home. Professional problems, family problems, a sad death in the family. I don't want to talk about it all, because it's personal stuff, but it was a really, really bloody year, and against the background of that, I had to write a funny book.<br />
It was tough, so there's a little bit of me that, I know I'll keep on saying that I'll never do another [Hitchhiker book], and then I do it, but I might well another one at some point because I'd like to leave it all on a slightly more upbeat ending than Mostly Harmless was. Take the thing back up again, because it seems sad to leave it at that downbeat flavor.<br />
<br />
<strong>T</strong>: Do you ever tire of people asking you what you were working on next?<br />
<br />
<strong>A</strong>: I got very crazed by it, actually. I'm afraid that I went through to almost a sort of parodic degree a real mid-life crisis, hitting forty, thinking, "What am I doing? I'm going round and round in circles, doing the same things over and over again."<br />
When I started out, I did something in radio, then I did television, I did this, I did that. Then I did a book, and then suddenly, the book was such a hit meant that the next thing I did was another book, and the next thing after that was another book. And that wasn't the kind of life that I really wanted, but there was a huge pressure on me to keep on doing that, and for years I found myself sitting in a room alone not really enjoying myself at all.<br />
So a little while ago, I started thinking, 'I've got to do something different," and it's a hard call to make. Because you're a well-known author, everyone's expecting another book from you next year, and you think, "Well, I also have a life I have to try and sort out." Essentially, what I wanted to do was to find a way of working which could enable me to go back to doing what I did to begin with, which was moving from one medium to another, and working with people and actually having fun.<br />
So I've set up with a bunch of very complimentary and bright bunch of people, and we've formed a company called the Digital Village. It's turning out to be enormous fun. My first project is a CD-ROM, which I'm working on at the moment, and television, and film, we hope at last. But the center of it all is going to be a huge Web presence. Everything will sort of flow into that.<br />
I'm just having the best possible time. Suddenly, all the creative juices are flowing again, and I'm working very hard on the CD-ROM, Starship Titanic. Now that looks like it'll go on into different media, but I don't want to do what I did with Hitchhiker, which was "Okay, now I've done the radio series. Now I'll do the book of it, and now I'm gonna write the television series," and this and that, and virtually become my own word processor. So what I'm intending to do with each of the projects that I start with the Digital Village is that I will do the first alliteration of it, and then hand it over to other people to take it to the other fields. So this Starship Titanic starts as a CD-ROM, but as far as the novel is concerned, even though a lot of people will think that I should do it because that's basically what I do, in fact I'm handing over the novel to Robert Sheckley to write, because I want to go on to these other projects.<br />
One's called Secret Empire, which will be a television project. I want to go on to another project, which will be a film. I can't tell you what the title of that yet, simply because I can never get the right title for it. But in each case, I want to hand on to whatever else may come of it to other people to do, because I want more variety.<br />
<br />
<strong>T:</strong> What's your feelings about the different Internet groups that follow you?<br />
<br />
<strong>A</strong>: It's kind of weird, actually. Andy Warhol said that in the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. Now he would say that in the future, everybody will have their own alt.fan group. There was a point where I used to go into the different newsgroups from time to time, but I found that it was an uphill battle because you get a lot of flak from people saying, "Oh, it can't possibly be you, so butt off out of here."<br />
But the other thing is the effect of Chinese Whispers, because of the way in which notes would fall off the bottom of it. Someone would ask a question, and I would go on and answer it, and I might right a full piece. And over the next two or three days, your piece would disappear, and a lot of people would miss it and ask "What did he say?" And then you'd watch as more and more people garbled versions of what you'd said would proliferate around, and got to be a full-time job just trying to keep it under control.<br />
So I thought, "I'll duck back out of this now," and wait until I can do my own web site, where I can keep control of things. The other thing I have to say, and this is an important issue because the Digital Village is about to start producing some major Hitchhiker's Guide sites, and this is the tricky thing on the web, because some people who are doing fannish stuff, which is great, terrific.<br />
And then when you see where a major Web designing group is calling itself "the hitchhiker's guide to" this, that or the other thing. No, sorry, that's my property. Back off. I'm having to start being a little bit tough about that, which I don't like. But you feel that people are saying, "Hey, he's a good, cool guy. Let's go and burgle him." [laughs]<br />
Unfortunately, my lawyers have said, 'If you're going to preserve your right against major infringements of copyright, you've got to protect from all infringements of copyright." So I'm having to go out of the way and say, "Oi guys, stop doing that, 'cause it looks like you're starting to look like you're doing a professional thing here."<br />
<br />
<strong>T</strong>: Would you ever do another nude scene like you did in the TV version of Hitchhiker?<br />
<br />
<strong>A: </strong>[laughing] No! Absolutely not! They got me very drunk to do that.<br />
<br />
------<br />
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This is still one of the better interviews I’ve ever done, and almost completely in spite of myself. I was frightfully young, on the late side of 23, but still in the first few months of knowing how to interact with other people. I had only been doing interviews in April of that year, and while the questions I asked aren’t bad, I can hear the overeager edge of my voice, trying to be funny and “cool” around a guy whose work I had just recently gotten into. On top of which, I had bought a new tape recorder for this interview, which unbeknownest to me was set on Voice Activated. So, I start the interview, and the tape recorder is cutting on and off. It rolled intermittently for the first few minutes while Douglas told me a great story about a similar problem he’d had while recording John Cleese for a BBC pantomime. Eventually, we both picked up the tape recorder, and Douglas figured out what the problem was. Not only did the machinery go heywire during a Douglas Adams interview, but Douglas then fixed it. Even back then, it seemed absolutely brilliant. After the interview was done, mind you....</div>
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What it did establish in my favor was that I literally had no airs about myself. I was the innocent fan with some half-decent questions, and Douglas really went out of his way to give some very in-depth answers. I kept running into him the rest of the day, as I had to stay at the library until Douglas’ speaking engagement and signing. In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t bugged him as much (at least I feared I did), but it was such a cool day, it was hard to let it go. I also hate that I never got the chance to talk to him again, and tell him how much it had all meant to me.</div>
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And how that we get this interview? Tangents was the only one that wanted to interview Douglas in person, while he was in town. All of the papers only wanted pre-show interviews before that week (all of which Douglas was doing at the time via email, or internet chats, which was still in its dodgy infancy), and I wanted to meet him. A few weeks before the interview, the Main Library had temporarily banned our magazine from the building, as someone got scared by our “content.” And then, there I was, representing the media through the Main Library of Charlotte, and we were back in the library. Even then, it struck me as bizarre, and hilarious. </div>
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This gig also became notable for other reasons. It was one of the first events I ever photographed, as our photographer at the time didn’t show up. I took photos from my seat, sitting next to the girl that had dumped me the week before, as we’d had already gotten the tickets weeks ahead of the show. I then took photos at the signing, which were the best pics of him I got that night. I would soon discover the combination of music and photography at Farm Aid the following week, and I was off on another adventure. </div>
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-Daniel Coston, February 2010 </div>
Daniel Costonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320022302703754090noreply@blogger.com0