Paint a Picture – Chris Thiessen

I started skating when I was 18 in my senior year of high school. I understand that’s pretty late for many people, but there was something about the rawness of street skating that attracted me to it. Not many people understand how expressive and artistic skateboarding can be, you’re using the concrete to articulate your feelings through pure speed and motion. The best skaters are the ones who’s lines are not consistently planned, but rather improvised and flow with the natural dynamics of the city and its many street obstacles.

I have always felt that Chris Thiessen‘s skate videos epitomized that same ebb or flow. He’s a very talented filmer and I recently had the opportunity to speak with him about skateboarding and how it relates to art.

Your latest skate video Hellawood has a lot of lo-fi camera angles and production work. It’s very artsy and the editing style that you utilize is not what’s commonly seen in skate videos. How are you influenced by art in terms of your filming and editing process?

I think I utilize influences from videographers and videos that I like and enjoy. A lot of my favorite videos are from the nineties. I like the feel videos from the nineties have, they weren’t super produced, but they have a rawness to them. For instance, Dan Wolfe’s Eastern Exposure, it’s a video with a lot of pushing and raw street skating. Toy Machine and Alien Workshop videos during that time were amazing too. Toy and Alien are companies that have always had a strong artistic feel and it shows in their videos from that time and in their videos now. So, a lot of the influence on Hella’wood and the way I produced it was inspired by videos and companies I love from the nineties.

What forms of art impact how you conceptualize and plan your projects?

Video and music

Do you deliberately choose certain subjects (ie your favorite skaters) for your videos?

No, it’s more whoever I’m usually hanging out with. The last two videos that I’ve done have featured my friends. It’s just having fun with friends and working on a project together.

Have you worked on different concepts, scenarios and even storylines that you would like to capture on film?

Well…not so much scenarios or story lines, because when you go skating it is usually just barging a spot and getting what you can with whoever is skating. Which is a good thing because its rad to see how stuff turns out afterwards. Plus you can come across stuff while you’re out and about that is visually interesting, like in the city. But, having a concept is good because it motivates you. Like, it you have an idea of how you want to do something it gets you hyped to work towards it. With Hella’wood, it was not a huge project that we worked on for a year or anything like that. It was me realizing that I had a sufficient amount of footage sitting there not going towards any projects so I thought it would be cool to put it towards a short film. Instead of making it into a predictable skate edit, I thought it would be fun and unique to mess all the footage up and tweak the video out. I think I worked on it for two weeks and that was it since I already had used almost all the footage going into it. I wanted to do something different and have fun with it. There were no guidelines on making Hella’wood look perfect, just messing it up with music that I like and having a good time working on it.

Skateboarding and art seem to naturally mesh because it’s usually the most flashy or unique and visually appealing graphics that make kids want to purchase certain decks. Have you seen any kind of merging or cross sections between the skate and art scenes in Atlanta?

Yeah, I know that the art and skate scenes usually intertwine with each other as far as people being friends and everything, but I am honestly not that familiar with the art scene in Atlanta (laughs). So I cant really answer that question.

Which artists and musicians influence you the most (or do you even look to these realms for inspiration)?

I’m listening to a lot of Japanther and old Rolling Stones stuff right now. Artists that influence me are videographers and artists in the skate world mainly… Jon Holland, Chris Ray, Kevin Barnett, Greg Hunt, Bill Strobeck, Josh Stewart, Ty Evans, Jason Hernadez, Ed Templeton, and so on.

Do you ever go to a skate spot and then drop by a super trendy art gallery afterwards to enjoy food, wine, and art ala the Gonz and Chris Pastras?

Nah, haven’t really done that before. Although when I was in high school, my friends and I were in Tampa for the Tampa Pro contest and after skating the city, we went to a party/art show and there were original paintings by Ed Templeton there. Ed and Toy Machine are a huge influence to me, so that was rad to see as a youngin’.

What projects do you currently have in the works?

Just little things with my friends right now. I want to do a fall time edit with my friends in Atlanta.

Any last words?

Have fun

Click here to watch Hella’wood

Click here for the trailer to Meanwhile (another Thiessen flick)

(*The skaters featured are Candler Woods, Kris Markovich, Ryan Fitch and Rhett Freeman. All photos were taken by Christy Chaffin and Aaron Smith).

Worth Checking Out – The Dirty Dishes

I never thought I would enjoy dirty dishes until now.  One of my good friends and fellow Hijacking Music comrades told me about a band called The Dirty Dishes. They are an indie post punk band from Boston and so far I’m really enjoying their material. They reminds me a more poppy and electronic influenced version of Faraquet. If you’re a fan of Q and Not U, Faraquet, the Medications or anything with Devin O’Campo’s name on it, you just might like this.

Dirty Dishes new record is entitled In the Clouds and you can stream it here.

*And for those of you wondering, yes, the guy on the cover really did jump that high.

November show calendar

Wednesday, Nov. 4

Kingnaldo, Rova Zatella, Merkava @ the Masquerade

King Khan & the BBQ Show, Those Darlins, GG King @ the Star Bar

HEALTH, Chrissakes, Abandon the Earth Mission @ the 40 Watt

Thursday, Nov. 5

Adult Swim Presents Metalocalpyse: Mastodon, High on Fire, Converge @ the Tabernacle

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Nomo @ Variety Playhouse

Friday, Nov. 6

Growing, Fuck Buttons, Facehugger @ 529 Atl

Thursday, Nov. 12

Odist, Gunslinger, Miles From Pangaea @ the Clermont Lounge

Irreversible, Subrig Destroyer, Let Night Roar @ 529 ($3 show)

The Interns, The Working Title, O’Brother @ the Caledonia Lounge

Friday, Nov. 13

Leo Kottke @ Variety Playhouse

Quiet Hooves, Reptar @ the WonderRoot

Pigs on the Wing @ New Earth Music Hall

Tuesday, Nov. 17

Dan Auerbach (of the Black Keys) @ Variety Playhouse

Wednesday, Nov. 18

White Denim, Brazos @ the Earl

Saturday, Nov. 21

J. Tillman (of the Fleet Foxes), Pearly Gate Music @ the Earl

Stokeswood @ Lennys

Pride Parade, Savagist @ Caledonia Lounge

Saturday, Nov. 28

Untied States, Can Can @ the Highland Inn Ballroom

Did You Hear About? – The Jungol & Odist

Did You Hear About? – It’s Elephants

Worth Checking Out – Phaseone

Phaseone is a super talented electro/techno artist coming out of St. Louis. He’s notorious for remixing indie artists and making the remixes sound ten times better than the original (Check out his Animal Collective Daily Routine remix). He’s got a new mixtape out and it’s called White Collar Crime. Download it here.

Artist Profile – Baroness

Baroness has been grinding on the stoner rock scene for close to seven years now. I first heard about them around 2004 and since then they have gone on several regional and national tours, signed to Relapse Records and are currently in the process of releasing a new record The Blue Record. I had the opportunity to speak with the band’s shaman and spiritual guru John Balzary. Here is the conversation that ensued.

When most people think of Savannah, the city conjures up images of the tremendous annual St. Patrick’s Day festival, historic homes and cemetaries, Tybee Island…pretty much everything written about in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. However, a thriving stoner rock/metal scene is not what comes to mind. Can you please describe the current music scene in Savannah?

There’s really not much of an established scene. There aren’t many musicians, but the people here really put a lot of effort into it and care about what they do. It’s more quality over quantity. There are just not that many people here. For instance, we’ll have our cd release party and the same 150 people show up over and over and over…and it’s been like that in Savannah for six or seven years.

Who are some of your favorite bands coming out of Savannah? What about the Atlanta area?

The scene we’re a part of is really small. Obviously bands like Kylesa and Black Tusk, I suppose I’m more familiar with the bands that don’t exist anymore. In Atlanta it’s about the same. Maybe Mastodon…it seems like a lot of younger bands come and go, but it’s still a tight-knit community in our scene.

Baroness just released a new album called The Blue Record. From a mainstream perspective, you’re still classified as a rookie/novelty act, what do you think when you see bands like Mastodon selling only 40,000 copies in their first week? How does that affect you and your label’s strategy in terms of marketing the record to fans and getting people to purchase the record instead of downloading it?

Honestly my thing is not about people purchasing records. My end point is not about selling records. It’s really more about the art as opposed to the “commercial packaging.” We enjoy throwing ideas around in the band to keep ourselves interested. However, I think it’s great when bands like Mastodon, who have the same roots as us, are doing well and get out there. There’s a community of bands and fans who enjoy this music and it’s good when the entire scene is elevated.

Aside from the departure of two guitarists (Brian Blickle and Tim Loose) Baroness has existed as a cohesive unit for six years, what has the journey been like? Would you change anything?

I would not change a single thing that has happened. We’re a process-oriented band, the reason we create the music we create is because it tests our mental and physical boundaries and stamina. That struggle and inertia is what we strive for. An easy week is something counterproductive to us. I love being put on the road and exposed, everything is raw. That’s what the real world and art is like, that’s what we’re about. We have potentially done things slowly and we try to maintain a certain amount of humility and gratitude. Ultimately, we are after the unattainable goals or goals that modify themselves after being reached.

Describe the songwriting and recording process behind The Blue Record ?

It was similar to most of our writing processes. I’ll start with some broad ideas or concepts and apply these thoughts towards what I’ve done in the past. What I’ve done in the past, but in a progressive manner so that we’re growing. We assemble more parts and pieces. Pete (guitarist) and I are very critical from a personal standpoint, not really for pop sensibilities. During the writing process, especially in our earlier days, every riff had to say something to us, be personal and strike a chord within us. We work on these riffs until things start to become visible and once things become clear, we add bass and drums. Sequencing was very important so things could be properly structured and laid out. Once that happened, we practiced the shit out it in the practice room and laid down the record in the studio.

Baroness worked with John Congleton on this new record. He produced and engineered it. Congleton has worked with some big artists in the past (Explosions in the Sky, Black Mountain, the Roots, Erykah Badu, Marilyn Manson, the list goes on), how did having him in the studio affect the writing process?

I think we had this notion that he would be this hot shot dude with slick hair, but he’s not. He is very humble, honest and irreverent. It was like having someone else in the band, it didn’t feel like we were in a recording studio. His m.o is not some heavy handed, I’m at the helm relationship. His strength is his engineering know how and disarming personality. He trusted us, took our songs, ideas directions and put it through his filter. He allowed what we wanted to transpire. Looking back, he was such a pivotal point and familiarized us with things we did not know. It would not have been possible in the same way. He’s a fantastic producer and incredible guy. He was instrumental in the making of our record.

Well I’m sure you will garner John an even bigger clientele base after people read your kind words.

(Laughs) Yeah, hopefully.

Your last album was called the Red Album and this one is the Blue Record. Are you trying to utilize colors in some sort of concept or theme?

That’s exactly what we’ve done. The thing is the material inside is so dense. Musically, artistically dense, there’s a lot of emotional response. It would be difficult to give our albums poetic titles that didn’t come off as pretentious or heavy handed. We want to leave it up to the audience and be open to interpretation.

John, you designed the artwork for the Blue and Red records, in addition, you do all the band’s artwork. What’s your artistic background like?

It’s the same as my musical background. I love making artwork when I’m not making music. I went to art school, didn’t graduate, but I’ve applied the training I received. It has always been in my past, you can look at my baby pictures and see me doing some kind of art. My parents were encouraging and allowed me to take chances…which I’m sure was risky for them. In a sense it’s not a super profitable career, but it’s a great job and I love it.

Baroness is signed to Relapse Records. Relapse has helped to catapult the careers of several artists, namely Mastodon and Neurosis. Do you view your current indie label as a stepping stone to a major or are you content where you’re at? Could you picture yourself going independent after fulfilling your label obligations?

Relapse is so incredibly nice and good to us. They have provided for us when we need them to. I am personally friends with so many people at the label. They have been hands off when it comes to our creativity and artistry. I have no reason to complain about anything and enjoy working with people I respect and give them their due respect.

What new artists have been influencing you lately?

I don’t think there’s a definitive answer to that.  I don’t think I can answer that the way you would like me to. When we toured on the Red album, we toured with some incredible bands and it was like going to school. We use what we learn on the road and from other bands. We’re constantly trying to address our weaknesses in order to push forward.

Baroness will be performing with Kylesa at the Jinx in Savannah on Oct. 17.

To stream their new record, click here

Tour dates and other info is here

Read All About Him – Drew Smith

For some odd reason I have been doing a lot of interviews lately. I hear about these really cool artists and feel this strong urge to not just mechanically ramble on about their works, but genuinely put the artists’ personal views and insight into perspective. But I digress…

Having played in the Athens music scene for years, I’ve known about Drew for quite some time now. We ran in similar circles and I was vaguely familiar with his material, but not quite fanatic. However, when I first heard his solo electronic/ambient project Chartreuse, I was floored at how talented he is and how he tastefully weaved together very relaxing and droning melodies so as to almost emulate the peaceful and serene calm of REM sleep.

Drew is also an active member in a heavy post grunge band called Chrissakes. I was really interested as to how he balances both groups and figure out exactly what makes him tick.

Initially I wanted to interview you about electronic music and focus on how changes within the electronic scene have impacted your work as Chartreuse. However, you said you don’t listen to much electronic music. What have you been listening to lately?

Lots of stuff, especially Neurosis, Acid Mothers Temple, older top forty country hits, Sven Libaek, Nick Drake.  The new Black Cobra album is awesome.

Considering you’re involved in two completely different music projects (ambient/instrumental with Chartreuse and post grunge/heavy alternative with Chrissakes), do you feel a conscious desire to split up your songwriting duties and approach for both projects?

Very much so.  I have ideas for Chartreuse that just don’t work in Chrissakes and vice versa.  I usually don’t allow for much bleed over and I purposely separate both projects because I don’t feel like playing one type of music all the time.  The structure in Chartreuse is very loose whereas Chrissakes is way more structured and consistent.  Since I’m the sole member of Chartreuse, I pretty much have to do everything by myself – getting shows, setting up gear, recording, etc.  Chrissakes allows me to accomplish things I just couldn’t do alone.  Both projects are a blast and they have their positives and negatives.

How long have you been involved in Athens’ music scene? Do you have any particularly fond memories about it?

I’ve been playing music here since 2003 when I came to attend school at UGA.  The first two years of college were awesome and I made a ton of musically-inclined friends then.  My favorite memories involve the house shows at a place called the Chi House.  I was there all the time.  Tight Pockets (now 13 Roses tattoo shop) and the Caledonia Lounge were my other favorite venues.  As much as I still like the Caledonia Lounge, it’s the only one of those venues that’s still kicking.  I wish house shows would make a comeback.

What do you personally feel is unique about the Athenian music scene and culture as compared to other scenes?

I can’t really put my finger on what I think makes Athens different.  I haven’t been an active member of other music scenes so I can’t make a good comparison.  I like that there are so many places to play.  I like the opportunities here.  Sometimes there isn’t a lot of breathing room and the musical culture gets a little incestuous, which makes for a lot of predictability and similar-sounding bands.  But for every bad act around here there seems to be a good one.  I think that ratio is pretty nice.

Do you feel that Athens as a town is artistically and geographically isolated?

Yes and no.  In terms of Georgia, the only other place that seems to have a decent music scene at all is Atlanta.  Savannah and other towns have some good bands but they seem to somehow lack a strong musical culture.  Athens seems to be its own weird oasis to me.  I know some people who moved here specifically for the music scene, plus there are people who come and go from Athens all the time, so I don’t think Athens is very artistically isolated. Geographically, more so.

Any last words?

I just finished doing a split cassette tape with my friend Jess (myspace.com/imarriedanastronaut).  There are only 37 copies in existence, so go to myspace.com/chartreusesounds and message me if you want to buy one.  I don’t have any upcoming shows for a while due to other commitments, but I’m trying to play again in December.  I’m also playing drums in a new psych rock band called YaalH’ush.  Our second show ever is Oct. 19th at Go Bar, so come out.  Thanks!

Chrissakes will be performing at Ben Bikes in Athens on Oct. 25. For more about both Chrissakes and Chartreuse, check out:

www.myspace.com/chartreusesounds

www.myspace.com/chrissakesband

Paint A Picture – The Jungol

Paint A Picture is my humble attempt to bridge the eccentric and artistic realms of music, art, and film. Essentially it is a series that asks musicians, painters, graphic designers, local film directors, and other artistic individuals what external factors influence their art. It’s rooted in the concept that we, as musicians and artists, are not just driven by what we see in our own internal communities. Everything in the creative world influences us; whether it’s filming a backdrop so that it resembles a famous painting, or carelessly throwing vivid colors onto a canvas in an improvisational manner so as to improvise with paint like a jazz musician does with notes, we’re all intrinsically tied together in a strangely holistic and artistic community.

The first guest on Paint A Picture is my friend Graham Yoder. Graham is a part of an art rock group called the Jungol that’s been around for years. He and his brother and bandmate Josh always have very positive things to say about the local music scene and come from a very artistic family. I told Graham to pick a picture that he felt represented Jungol’s music and what they represent.

Which picture and song did you choose?

I chose “Places” from our last album and some Ansel Adams photographs. I actually picked a couple photographs.

How did you end up choosing that picture?

When I was thinking about what kind of picture describes the album or embodies the same vibe, I immediately thought about Ansel Adams photography. I have one of his pictures hanging in the house. His stuff is mostly black and white landscapes. There is some real intense emotion in is photographs, kind of moody too. And I think the album has a similar vibe…we were going for a warm, more natural sound opposed to our last record which is a lot busier and more in your face rocking. We even wanted the electronic stuff to have a more organic feel. I also did a lot of recording outside. There is a little mic in my sampler and I would take it outside and record rustling leaves and people talking, running water etc… all kinds of random sounds. Then I mixed some of those sounds in the record.

What was the songwriting process behind the ep “Places” like?

Every song is written a little differently. I usually write by making short loops and just filling up my hard drive with all kinds of little ideas, Josh writes mostly on his acoustic, and then we combine our ideas and experiment with different ways of playing the same thing until we find the best way to do it. “Places” started with a synth loop and a short guitar loop that I put over some electronic drums. It was originally a quirky electronic tune. Then Josh wrote some melodies and a chorus. Then we took those ideas to Jason (the drummer), and Zack (former rhythm guitarist, keys player and sax) and they wrote their parts. The song pretty much finished itself from there. I feel like my favorite tunes of ours always feel like they write themselves. There’s a good balance between forcing ideas and then getting out of the way of the song and letting the ideas show themselves.

How long did it take to write and record “Places”?

“Places” was actually written quickly compared to most of our tunes. I think we were in the middle of recording the album and we were not even originally planning to put “Places” on it, but we finished writing it half way through the recording, and immediately knew that we had to put it on the album. We were all super excited about the song and we even named the ep after it.

Does art or even film/theatre influence your songwriting and how you approach your music?

Yeah, art and film are definitely big influences. Josh and I’s dad is an artist. So art has always been an important thing in our household. Josh and I both paint too. I haven’t done too much lately though. We definitely feel like art goes hand in hand with our music. We have a good friend named David Hale who is an amazing artist out of Athens. His stuff has always been inspiring. He has also done our last two album covers, definitely check him out. Film is also a big influence. Woody Allen and David Lynch are two big film inspirations. We are always talking about the similarities in making a record and making a movie and it is an interesting process to me. I would love to make a short film someday. I think Josh has some screenplay he has been working on. On “Places,” we were going for a continuous flow with all the songs segueing into each other. We really wanted it to tell a good story. There wasn’t any major overall theme, but we just wanted to take time picking the right songs and making sure it was a cohesive piece instead of a bunch of random songs that could be on any album. I think the influence of film has definitely inspired that aspect of making the record.

Any last words?

X

Jungol will be performing a free show at the North River Tavern on Halloween. To hear some of “Places,” check www.myspace.com/jungolband

Artist Profile – Maserati

What is post rock? What is math rock? Your typical, run of the mill, stuffy rock critic would define the genres as rock that is heavily guitar oriented. Music that relies on irregular time signatures, dissonant chords and feedback, as well as unusual harmonic and rhythmic structures to achieve its sonic goals. I define post rock as progressive rock music that pushes not just rock music, but all music beyond its boundaries and parameters. No matter how you cut it, Maserati is progressive and yes, they are rock.

The band formed around 2000 in Athens, GA and have been creating catchy, well-structured instrumental rock tunes since. Fast forward to the present and some of the individual band members have relocated to different cities. Nonetheless, they still allot some rare and precious time to bond together and create some of the most creative and explosive instrumental rock records. Fans of Explosions in the Sky, you will like this. Their new record is entitled Passages and so far I have thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve heard. I initially intended on reviewing the record, but decided against it. Shot From Guns readers, just understand that Passages is definitely something worth checking into.

Maserati is currently touring, to hear some of Passages and find tour dates, go to:

www.ihaveadagger.net

www.myspace.com/maseratirocks