Boston band Girlfriends - Prompts

I asked two of the three members of Boston-based Girlfriends to answer some prompts, which they kindly did and are here for your reading pleasure. If you haven't had a chance to listen to them, I'd highly recommend it. Sort of reminds me why I got into punk rock in the first place. Their MySpace is here.

Benny:

"Music is....a series of noises played in succession to elicit a response from the player/listener. Some genres include pop (short for 'popular'), rock, blues, jazz, classical, etc. Then there are the subgenres. This could take days. We should stop right here. That's basically all you need to know. God invented Google so you could learn the rest just make sure you search for 'harsh industrial noise' and 'rocksteady' at some point. The part about a mutant warthog with a purple mohawk is incidental, but interesting.

If you can't make it to our show, that is unfortunate, it's like....Sweatpants in church. So depressing, you know? Like 'I just couldn't make the effort to pick a real outfit or buckle a belt' or whatever. You probably slept in those. If you're going to pull this off at all you'd better have a matching sweatshirt on. Or no shirt. And what if you get a boner? God will totally see it. Actually wearing sweatpants to church is kind of awesome.

Outside of music I....make it a point to do little else. But I eat four times a day or so, sleep an average of 6 hours for every 24, and picked up flossing recently. Flouride mouthwash and vitamin D softgels, too. So I'm pretty okay right now. Habits are a good thing to have, I think. I started smoking as a New Year's Resolution, but I quit soon after. I was disappointed in myself until I started getting all the high-fives."

Andy:

"Music is.... my favorite thing in the world although sometimes I need to take a break from it and give my ears some rest. Because of ear infections, I had tubes put into my ears several times as a child. That, combined with years of smashing cymbals with no earplugs is a quick route to tinnitus. But I am going to try to be better about all of this starting RIGHT NOW. It's difficult because the combined
experience of feeling yourself hit the drums while getting low thud and high crash blasted to your ears is so comforting. But I want to be able to hear my girlfranz for a long time so I am going to need to keep those earplugs in and start to use my imagination a little bit, to imagine what it feels like without the earplugs in. It's a hard thing, music is filled with so much imagination, it's quite incredible.

If you can't make it to our show, that is unfortunate, it's like...there are so many bands in Boston, and I understand that you may have gone out to see another band. It does seem like people are going out to see music much more these days, it's good for everyone to hang out and to constantly surround themselves with each other in the presence of music, even if every band isn't you favorite. Supporting bands
makes the bands better, it makes them feel as if they are not alone in playing music and being human. Most of our shows seem to be on Fridays and Saturdays these days,
which is convenient for most people. I am glad that I can always make it to our shows because our shows cheer me up, they give me something to look forward to. I think it is important to find something special, and for me that is music, and I love supporting others, and I love it that people support me too.

Outside of music I.... love to drive my stick shift car. I went to buy my car with my friend Paul a few months ago and when we showed up at the dealership, it hadn't opened for the day (it was relatively early on a Sunday). He knew that I couldn't drive stick shift, I had a friend take me for a few drives years ago, but never really learned. So we went for a lesson. Within an hour, I was in Harvard Sq,
jolting, freaking out. We came back to the dealership, they asked if I wanted automatic or manual, and Paul convinced me to go with the manual. So there you have it, like that. It's been a few months now, and I have days where I hate the thing and think I suck at it, but then there are other days where I just love the thing so much and I downshift into 3rd and I feel like I have done something special. The decision to get a stick shift represents something for me: it is me making a decision and dealing with the ups and downs, but ultimately realizing that it would be fine either way."

Interview with Artist Jerry Bellmore

Gerald Bellmore grew up in Dudley, MA. His whole life he’s been two things; an artist and a rider. After attending Montserrat College of Art he graduated with a BFA in Illustration. He then found a head printing job for a silk screen business (where he still works) and spends “mass amounts of time in his studio painting my unique characters for upcoming shows and pre-ordered jobs from clients.”

AF: How did you go from being an artist on canvas to an artist on snowboards? How do the two differ?

GB: Being a artist with a canvas is the same as a boarder with his board or skier with skies. It’s like he's painting his masterpiece with his board for whoever is watching to enjoy.

AF: Do you ski/board?

GB: I skied for eight years when I was real young, then switched to boarding and never stopped. I ride a Forum 159 custom with a tone of wear and tear. Ride hard and dirty. I would go out with my friends when we couldn't afford a mountain pass and would just go around Worcester and find sick rail or kicker spots and crush it.

AF: Tell me about what you believe makes art 'great'.

GB: It’s how you, the artist, or the viewer make the art how it’s supposed to be. There is personal great art of an artist, contemporary greatness and perpetual greatness. It’s all the same in all types of art forms. It is how you, the viewer take it all in though. Sometimes an artist is fortunate enough to have a work be great in his or her own eyes or ears, in those around him and in the eyes and ears of future art lovers.

AF: Who are your favorite athletes? Why?

GB: Danny Kass cause he doesn't give a F. Gotta love that motto. It’s him doing what he loves and nobody is going to stop him. There is so much bullshit out in the world and he seems like nothing ever gets to him. Shaun White is always evolving his game and pushing new limits which I love it see ‘cause it reminds me of how an artist should always be breaking out of his own limits. Always enjoyed watching skaters like PJ Ladd rip up Boston and can't forget my G, Nate Keegan.

AF: You can hang out with any three people, living or dead, for dinner, who do you invite and why?

GB: Wow, any three people? That’s a tough one. There are so many people I would love to meet. I would have to invite Richard Pryor for the laughs. Michelangelo for the knowledge and Megan Fox for her beauty. Gotta have a hunny at the table for dinner.

Crossing Over (The Crux tell the story of "Goodbye, Madgie, Goodbye")

I asked Joshua of The Crux to write the story behind one of their songs instead of just doing a standard, boring ol' interview. Here is that story, as told by Joshua;

My friend, Kate, is a hell of a lady.

She is well into her 60's. She writes poetry and fiery opinion, hikes the coastal mountains of California, and does astrology for her friends and neighbors. She worked for 13 years, organizing the county to get badly needed train service. An actress and world traveler, this lady has seen the best and the worst in life, and she is still searching for new experiences every day.

There is a term in Old English for what Kate's got. They call it "douth," the counterweight of "youth" that is experienced by a lucky few during the later years of life. These people are like magic stones or jewels. The trials of time fail to scuff them up or deaden them, only to polish them and make them shine greater over the years.

There is a lot of Kate in the song "Goodbye, Madgie, Goodbye," the final track on our first album, "Now, Ferment." It tells the story of a douthful lady during the last night of her life. Everybody sings her praises and has a good laugh together, without a care for the morning. Listen to it on here: The Crux Facebook.

In this recording, I sing the song with my friend and co-songwriter, Tim. Our voices cross in and out, each one coming into focus and then falling into the background. It is a nice effect, and it wasn't planned before or after recording. I notice little things like that throughout the album, like a ghost was messing with the equipment. Maybe it's just me, because I was so into the process, but I feel it whenever I listen to the album, specifically this track.

"Goodbye, Madgie, Goodbye" is the kind of song you would sing late at night in a pub that is walking distance from everyone's house. It is about celebrating, sharing a morbid sense of humor with friends, being young, falling in love with strangers, and looking death square in the eye. It is about where youth and old age meet without animosity. Where the beginning lifts a glass to the end and says, "cheers, buddy, you've done good."

The song also takes mutated bits of old Irish songs, from "Wild Rover," to "The Parting Glass." Bits of these songs stick together with episodes from real life and half-remembered dreams. And, like a dream, "Madgie" has some nonsense mixed in as well.

Even though the character of Madgie is getting ready to die in the song, Kate is still kicking like a mule, living in her house on stilts beside the raging Russian River. She has successfully secured a train for our neighborhood and will soon be riding it, sharing stories with whoever is lucky enough to sit beside her. I don't see her passing on any time soon, to be honest, but "Goodbye Madgie, Goodbye" could be sung many years from now, for any number of people. Many songs are like that, they cut through time and they have many different faces.

I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you grow douthful and don't let misfortune turn you sour. As the song says, "goodnight, and joy be with us when we pass."

The Crux – Now, Ferment Album Review

Punk rock can be pretty passé these days so it’s nice to hear that someone is trying something new, like mixing punk rock sensibilities (and lyrics) with banjos, harmonicas, violins, and classical (not classic) guitar riffs. What happens when you mix these things together? Well, for most of this album you end up with something pretty pleasant to the ears and quite entertaining.

“Louis XIV Loved His Legs” would get even the most pretentious Ivy League French student smiling, and the drunken “Every Crooked Finger” would make Shane MacGowan dizzy with envy. Although novel, they aren’t novelty. “Clown and Bard” shows off their musical prowess, and “Walls For The Poor” shows their penchants for politics.

It’s the Eastern European tinged “The House Of The Clinging And The House Of The Gentle” and even more so “Don’t Need No Man” which are the highlights of the album. The Crux sounds most at home when they are bringing down the house or bringing out the tears. And they sound like they are having an awful lot of fun no matter what they are doing. It’s no wonder that they were voted top ten live bands in their local North Bay, California rag.

Although they might wind up on tour with Tom Waits, they would appeal to anyone from Rusted Root fans to the dirtiest Crass fan. Not an album for everyone, and very clearly they are comfortable with not trying to be as well, since there is no pre-set audience for music this unique.