FLESH & BONE In pursuit of art and music VOL. 10
F&B
Submissions: If you are intertested in being featured in F&B contact: fleshbonemagazine@gmail.com All images copyright the respective contributor.
FOUNDER: Brandynn L. Pope COPY EDITOR: Donald Kimber DESIGN & LAYOUT: Brandynn L. Pope COVER DESIGN: Morgan Fraser PHOTOGRAPHERS: Sara Almlah Angela Butler Courtney Cook Christina Kelley Clare Kim
THE TEAM Rickie Miller Brandynn L. Pope Brittney Tambeau WRITERS: Sara Almlah Angela Butler Ashley Houston Donald Kimber Brandynn L. Pope Cale Zebedee
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CONTENT
March, 2015 | VOL. 10
ALBUM REVIEWS ALCOA
ALBUM: Parlour Tricks RELEASE: 02/24/15
Alcoa’s singer and guitarist Derek Archambault is most known for his work as vocalist for the Boston, MA hardcore punk group Defeater. In 2014, Defeater had to pull out of their North American Tour with The Wonder Years due to his need to undergo hip replacement surgery after a debilitating injury. To try and cover the expenses of the surgery, Archambault turned
STAND OUT: 13 Years Of Bad Luck
AUTHOR: Cale Zebedee
to crowd funding to help him with the financial burdens he was faced with. He received an amazing response and he earned enough to cover the surgery in full. Alcoa’s sound is drastically different from what Archambault writes with his other group Defeater. The sound is reminiscent of ‘90s alternative rock groups, flirts with the twang of alternative country, and is also
a family affair. Archambault’s sister Alyssa joins him on vocal duty, their sophomore album, “Parlour Tricks,” was engineered by fellow bandmate Mike Moschetto, and lyrically shows where Archambault’s mind has been the past two years since their previous release: 2013’s Bone and Marrow.
FIFTH HARMONY ALBUM: Reflection RELEASE: 01/30/15
Fifth Harmony has finally released their long overdue debut album, Reflection. Thirteen tracks and a bonus song, including their chart-topping singles “BO$$” and “Sledgehammer”. This album preaches something Fifth Harmony stands for, and that’s girl power. I could definitely compare them to Destiny’s Child. The tracks on the record are absolutely innovating. It’s something the music field
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STAND OUT: Sledgehammer AUTHOR: Sara Almlah
has been needing - a change in regular pop. My favorite song is “Going Nowhere” which is pretty m stating that if its not their way, it’s the highway. Every song continues to show the feminist side of the members; it represents the group perfectly. “Worth It” also expressed the feminist part of it with a hint of confidence. Over all, I love the sass, attitude, and self-love that is shown in this album. Fifth Harmony
8.5
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never fails to disappoint when it comes to their music. It’s fun, it’s new, it’s what people need to have im their iTunes library.
MOLLY DRAG ALBUM: Deeply Flawed RELEASE: 01/10/15
As a first time listener to Molly Drag’s music, I am impressed. The way all the tracks are structured together is truly beautifully. You can really feel that the passion which was put into this album has been honed to perfection by producer Michael Hansford. The album consists of 20 tracks, each with its own deeper meaning to find. My two favourite tracks on the album have
STAND OUT: N/A
AUTHOR: Sara Almlah
to be “Bleeding Out,” and “Deeply Flawed.” I believe that an important factor in music, as an artist, is to be able to find a connection between real life and each song you write; having listeners be able to feel like, “Hey, I feel that way too,” is incredibly important. With this album, I definitely feel that way. Another song I really enjoyed is, “The Ghost at Woodland Park,”
which tells a story just through the instruments: my favourite kind of tracks. I have faith in Molly Drag being able to become more known in the industry, and this album is a testament why.
SPARROWS OVER SPAIN ALBUM: Origins RELEASE: 03/13/15
Sparrows Over Spain’s debut release, “Origins,” recorded by Eric Andrews and Evius Studios, has the group pound through five songs influenced by genre’s including indie rock and pop punk. Despite being a newer band, the members consist of veteran members to the Calgary music community, including members from groups such as Rockets and Dinosaurs, Deluge!, and The Freshman Year.
STAND OUT: Brooklyn Nights
AUTHOR: Cale Zebadee
While preforming live, the group provides four-part harmonies and high energy, which is captured quite well on their recordings. The lead single from the album, “Brooklyn Nights,” is the stand out track on the album. The group mixes hard hitting drums with a super catchy guitar licks, thick bass lines, and catchy vocal harmonies. The group has songs with both serious, and light-
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hearted lyrical content, and also shares their love for comic books with the track, “Affleck Will Never Be My Batman.”
Taking Back Sunday Courtney Cook
PVRIS
Rickie Miller
REVIEWS
The founding members of PVRIS took a step in the right direction when they emerged out of nowhere in 2012. Then on November 10th, 2014 it was announced that PVRIS, along with Mallory Knox, would be supporting Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens on the second leg of their World Tour. This is quite a huge accomplishment for such a young, relatively unknown band that most didn’t even know what to think of yet. Nevertheless, those that hear PVRIS will be sure to make a mental note of them. I had no prior connection to PVRIS until the night I found out I was going to see their show, but everyone I know who likes PVRIS, likes them in volumes. I knew some who were buying tickets to The World Tour just to see them perform their songs, songs which I now found stuck in my head even after only the first day of listening to them. Leading up to their performance, members of PVRIS were casually walking in the crowd, around, and beside the stage. Surprisingly, few concertgoers took notice. The members of PVRIS were willing to listen and were extremely down to earth, kind, and pleasant. All could sense the amount of gratitude that PVRIS held for their fans. Coming on stage, Lynn, (Lyndsey Gunnulfsen, lead vocals,) danced with excitement as fans cheered for her and the other members. As the band opened with “Smoke,” fans helped Lynn by screaming every single word. The energy in the crowd was electric and contagious, but most of all, friendly: it was a “everyone loves everyone” kind of setting. Alex Babinski, (lead guitar,) danced with rhythm, catching just as much attention as Lynn. When the band played their next song, “Holy,” the crowd got amped up, and with Lynn holding her microphone out to the crowd, virtually
all were singing: “You can’t control where your body let’s you go. You’re all alone, You poor unfortunate soul.” Everyone in the room was blown away by the strong voice coming from Lynn, a petite 20-year old. Even battling a cold, Lynn had everyone in the room captivated. Up next was one of their more popular hits, “Fire,” which started with strong, heavy lyrics, and was helped by Lynn’s fury, passion, and command of the stage. Every fan was up in the air, screaming, “Burning up, oh burning up.” Not one mistake was made during the entire song, even with Lynn not having her voice. I was shocked the floor didn’t collapse from the The next two songs were “White Noise,” and the hit, “St. Patrick.” Although this song was apparently their last of the night, no one wanted it to end. If the fans had their way, PVRIS’s set would have lasted for hours, and I’d bet that no one attending had a voice the next day. In their strong encore, PVRIS played “My House,” which is the second single from White Noise. Despite this, the crowd demanded “one more song” over and over. To be honest, fifteen more songs could not have fed the audience enough. The night was flawless, and I think everyone there had an amazing time. I fell in love with PVRIS fifteen seconds in, and in my whole life, I’ve never been so shocked by such a little-known band. The artists barely made it to their merch table before being swarmed by fans. The lines moved quickly, but they took the time to speak to everyone who waited. Lyndsey, Alex, Gabe, and Brian all made sure to make everyone feel acknowledged. Many hugs, signatures, and pictures later, PVRIS made their way to Pittsburgh and continued on with The World Tour.
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Miss May I
Brandynn L. Pope
14 | Flesh & Bone
Nothing creates quite the harmonic effect of a tour’s line-up complimenting one another. Touring veterans, August Burns Red, took artists Erra, Fit For A King, Northlane, and Miss May I on their Frozen Flame Tour, traveling through the United States and Canada, hitting locatiosn that these bands do not frequent. Once having entered the Calgary venue, it became apparent just how diverse the draw, and diversity of people within the musical community, was. There were parents who brought their young children with them, and adolescents who brought their parents with them. Regardless of age, everyone’s eyes were glued to the performers on the stage. The sold-out show was evident from how packed people pressed themselves to the barricades for each band that came on. Energetic circle pits continued through Fit For A King, and fans banged on the barricade excitedly through Northlane. There was particular excitement to see this band play with their new front man Marcus Bridge taking the stage.
Each band portrayed an energy that was mirrored by the crowd with intense sways and jumping. All through Miss May I, rows of fans extended their hands towards the stage as vocalist, Levi Benton, threw up gestural arms. The main attraction stirred the greatest excitement out of the crowd. Security guards were consistently up on the barricades, helping crowd surfers down and back into the crowd. There were rare moments that someone wasn’t being carried by the crowd, or that the barricades were pushed on with great pressure. August Burns Red held up their end by jumping up on risers, looking out at the venue full of people. Jake Luhrs threw his microphone around, taking in his very own music and allowing it to energize himself. With a line up as solid as this, there was no doubt that the show would hold such a consistent, excited energy. The Frozen Flame tour will be one that the attendants will be talking about for weeks.
August Burns Red Brandynn L. Pope
Misanthropy HOMETOWN: Durham BASED IN: North East GENRE: Metal ______
FACEBOOK: /ukmisanthropy INSTAGRAM: /misanthropyband TWITTER: /ukmisanthropy
INTERVIEW
“ Be very sure of
someone before you get them in the band.”
FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH YOUR MUSIC, HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE IT? I hate going into sub-genres. To me its just all metal, but if i had to describe it, I guess I would say we are a mix of fast riffs and big breakdowns with a big helping of uplifting melodies.
HOW DID ALL OF YOU COME TOGETHER TO FORM MISANTHROPY? We have all been playing music in bands around the local scene for a long time. Ben and myself have known each other for like 20 years and been writing together since we were about 15. Scott always seamed to be playing the same shows as us, so when our old bands ended, we decided to get him in a new project. After a few months of writing the album we needed a drummer so we ordered our’s from Poland and they sent Szymon.
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR GREATEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES? Dimebag Darrel and Tim Lambesis. Growing up, Dimebag was a role model to me and a major influence. I used to learn a lot of his solos on guitar and have always been inspired by his work. As I Lay Dying have also played a big part in the music I write. Even if Tim Lambesis has now lost his mind I still love all his projects. In contrast, I
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am a huge fan of film score, so people like Hans Zimmer, John Williams and Steve Jablonsky have had a noticeable impact on my music style.
HOW DO YOU LIKE TO APPROACH WRITING NEW MUSIC? Mostly I lay down the riffs, orchestral parts, and rough drums, then we all go through the songs together till we are happy. However, for our next release it’s going to be different. Apart from that we just try to focus on creating a mood or feeling with each song: something a little different from just the standard HEAVY track.
IS THERE ANY SONG IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF OR THAT RESINATES WITH YOU OVER OTHERS? At the minute, the one that resinates with me the most out of all our songs isn’t even on this album, but will be on our next, next release. Choosing from our first release, I would have to say “Parasite”, just for the ending, and our first single “Soul Season”.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO TOUR MOST? WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO BE ON THAT TOUR WITH YOU? We can’t wait to get back on the road in 2015, and our first port-of-call is the UK. This is where we are from and this is
where we want our strongest fan base. After that we can’t wait to get out to the EU and maybe even the US. As for bands, I really don’t know, but if the sky is the limit I am just going to say Architects.
KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW, IS THERE ANY ADVICE YOU WOULD WANT TO HAVE GIVEN TO YOU WHEN YOU STARTED THIS BAND? Be very sure of someone before you get them in the band. We have had a fair number of line-up changes before we were happy, but now we have a very solid group of hard working, talented people, and that’s how we like it.
WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THE BAND IN THE YEAR 2015? Get this album out on 13.01.15 then just keep playing shows and bringing out another record. We are really excited for 2015 and can’t wait to get it started
_____ FACEBOOK: /FramingHanley WEBSITE: framinghanley.com 20 | Flesh & Bone
Framing Hanely HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME FRAMING HANLEY? A very close friend of ours, Ashley Hanley, was in some ways like the 6th member of our band and crew. She was always there, at every rehearsal, and was someone very close to us. She passed away in a car accident in 2007 right before we signed our first record deal. The “Framing” part comes from when you put a picture in a picture frame to preserve the memory, and that was the least we could do for someone who meant so much to our band.
WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE YOU REALIZED YOU WANTED TO PURSUE A CAREER AS A MUSICIAN? I think there definitely was an allure when I was a kid. My father was a country musician so I grew up around music. We’re from Nashville Tennessee, so there you’re not escaping music, especially if it’s a part of the lineage of your family. Initially, I think if anything, I was turned off of music because my father was very much a deadbeat dad for a large portion of my childhood. I didn’t want to end up like that. It started with poetry, probably, and then turned more into songwriting with a melody. Over time I picked up guitar and started learning a little bit, and I’m still learning now. Even if this wasn’t my job, it’s something I would still be doing just because it’s what I have a passion for and it’s a part of me, really. I can’t escape it even if I wanted to. It’s where I can vent, it’s where I can release a lot of frustration, and emotion in general. It’s always been a form of therapy. But, I would say it started because I was around it when my father was around. I had my first band in high school, and to be 100% honest I loved the attention. I loved knowing that the spotlight was always on us for that 5 minute performance in our talent show, and that feeling never went away.
WAS IT HARD TO FIND PEOPLE WHO WERE AS COMMITTED AS YOU WERE ABOUT FORMING A BAND? Yeah, it was very, very hard to do. I was probably in three or four bands since I turned 18 years old. With my previous band, we all swore that would be the band that quoteon-quote “made it”, whatever that even meant or means now. Some of the guys just didn’t have thick enough skin to really deal with the hard work that this industry does
require for people to really stick around or make a name for themselves. I kind of sworn off music when that didn’t go well. I was attending community college back in my home town of Gallatin, Tennessee, right outside of Nashville. I was looking for a job on the bulletin board on campus and found a band that was looking for a singer, which I joke about because it was the exact opposite of job, because with a job you make money. But instead, I tried out for this band and I met Chris who was drumming. That’s the only guy who’s still here now because It’s really hard to find the guys. I am very, very confident that we have solidified our lineup now because we’re all five dudes that understand the hard work it takes to become a mainstay, if you will.
FRAMING HANLEY TOOK A 4 YEAR BREAK BEFORE RELEASING YOUR LATEST ALBUM, “THE SUM OF WHO WE ARE”. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE THAT YOUR FANS REMAINED SO DEDICATED TO THE BAND DESPITE THE HIATUS? That was definitely what kept this train moving. In the making of this album there was definitely a time period where we wondered if we had played our last show. It was 4 years of working real jobs again, and supporting families. We owed our fans an album because they funded it through Kickstarter. We knew the album would be released, but we didn’t know to what magnitude we were going to be able to keep Framing Hanley functioning. To see the outcome of support from the point of the initial Kickstarter backing, all the way to the three years of promising them this album was coming, they never fell through. They never second guessed or wondered if it was going to come. Finally after all that time we put out the album, and found a wonderful partnership in Imagine Records that could help us continue this moving in a broader capacity than I think what we would have been able to do even on our own. We wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for those people funding the album in the first place, but too, if it wasn’t for those people still really giving a damn about Framing Hanley.
KICKSTARTER WAS AWESOME FOR YOUR FANS AS WELL, BECAUSE IT LET THEM EACH GET TO BE A PART IN BUILDING THE ALBUM. From the ground up. Hell, there’s a song on the album that
is titled because of a fan’s pledge on Kickstarter. “Forever Till The End”, specifically. If we were going to have our fans help fund an album, we wanted to make sure that we were giving them perks or rewards that even as a fan of music myself, would make me get off my couch and be involved with. It also added an extra light with this album. We wanted to make sure we were delivering something to our fans that was without a question our best album to date, because they deserved that. Time wasn’t an issue. We had an six months after the fact that we could have released but we just didn’t think it was there. So we kept plugging away at it until we felt like this was the album we wanted to release to these people. “The Sum Of Who We Are”, the title of the album, referred to the fact that it was all inclusive. It was us, plus our fans. It was all of us. It was the sum of all of our efforts, and here we are now.
“But these guys are my
SO THE ALBUM WAS PRETTY MUCH CREATED BY THE FRAMING HANLEY “FAMILY.”
brothers. They are why I am able to continue this. They have the same belief & the same passion that I have”
That’s our “FHamily”...with a silent “H”.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SONG TO PERFORM LIVE? It really differs, depending on the crowd, depending on where we’re at...I would really say the one constant where I feel I belong is “Hear Me Now”, from that being the single the catapulted and started this. It was the catalyst for our career.
DOES BEING RESTRICTED TO SUCH A SMALL AREA ON THE TOUR BUS TOGETHER FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME BRING YOU ALL CLOSER AS A BAND? DO YOU FIGHT? WHAT IS THAT LIKE? It’s a lot of love/hate. You have to be pissed at one another every now and then. This is the longest tour that we’ve done consistently being away from home, and in the same vehicle together. But these guys are my brothers. They are why I am able to continue this. They have the same belief and the same passion that I have, and I could never get too angry at them.
HAVE YOU GUYS EVER PULLED ANY MENTIONABLE PRANKS WHILE ON TOUR? Always. The last night of a tour in this industry has an unspoken rule that it’s prank night. We’ve put hot sauce on a singer’s microphone before. I think we’ve done that to Rick from Adelita’s Way. We’ll take the drum set apart one piece at a time while a band’s playing the last song of their set, until he’s just sitting there with a hi-hat and a snare. We haven’t put any thought into a tour prank yet for this one, but we should with 6 weeks left. We could have the most epic prank of all time if we start thinking about it now! 22 | Flesh & Bone Magazine
WERE THERE ANY BANDS THAT YOU’VE TOURED WITH IN THE PAST THAT REALLY STUCK WITH YOU? One thing with our band is we walk a fine line where we can venture into different genres of rock n’ roll, when maybe not every other band is afforded that opportunity. We’ve toured with the likes of Good Charlotte, and then bands like Hinder, Theory of a Deadman or Red Jumpsuit Apparatus... Some of our most fun tours were with The Veer Union back when they had just started. Those guys came out on the road with us for a long time and we became best friends with them... And Good Charlotte, those guys are the biggest sweethearts, and the last of a dying breed. They were dudes I saw when I was in high school on TRL every day. They didn’t have to even talk to us backstage, but the very first show that was in Vienna, Austria I think, Benji and Joel came to our dressing room and were like, “Hey, we hope you guys like to have fun because we like to have fun!” I still talk to them to this day, texts here and there. We wish those guys the best. They’ve stuck around in this industry for a reason. Benji and Joel are very talented and I love what they’re doing with The Madden Brothers. It’s completely different from Good Charlotte, which is awesome.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON? Tom and Jerry. Bobby’s World was probably another one, because I have such a big head, and I especially did when I was a kid. People growing up would call me “Bobby”. It’s cool because my son loves that cartoon, too. It’s really awesome to see him watching cartoons that his dad watched.
IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS IN THE WWE, WHO WOULD YOUR PARTNER BE? That’s easy, Chris Jericho. We would be the bad guys and we would rule the tag team division.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DISNEY CHANNEL THROWBACK? Even Stevens!
IF YOU WERE A DOUGHNUT, WHICH DOUGHNUT WOULD YOU BE? I would definitely be one that you would find at Voodoo Doughnut because those are the most interesting, out of this world doughnuts.
WHAT IS ONE RANDOM FACT THAT YOUR FANS DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU? The only thing I would give performing live music up for as a job would be writing for the WWE. I’d like to be the guy behind writing the story lines.
IF A FAN WALKED UP TO YOU AND ASKED FOR SOME WORDS OF WISDOM, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM?
I’m going to go all John Cena on them and say, “Never give up.” Especially in the music industry. I think a lot of musicians who are probably far more talented than us get asked, “How did you guys get signed?”, and that’s not the answer. It’s not about getting your first record deal. It’s about if this is what you love to do, or anything for that matter... If you love doing it, don’t let anybody ever tell you no, or that you can’t.
THIS OR THAT: Pringles or chips? Chips. Sun or moon? Moon. Chinese food or Mexican food? Mexican. Noise or silence? Both. Orange or purple? Orange. Mr. Miyagi or Mr. Feeny? Mr. Feeny. Left or right? Right. Green Day or Blink 182? Green Day. Bert or Ernie? Bert McCracken from The Used. Baked potatoes or mashed potatoes? Mashed. Tattoos or piercings? Tattoos. Teacher or student? Teacher. Ren or Stimpy? Ren.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUT OUT THERE FOR YOUR FANS READING?
Make sure you have our album, “The Sum Of Who We Are”, and get ready for us to kick your ass on the new album hopefully this time next year.
_____ FACEBOOK: /flyleafmusic WEBSITE: flyleafmusic.com
Flyleaf
Interview w/ Sameer Bhattacharya
HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT PLAYING GUITAR AND BEING IN A BAND WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? I actually wanted to play the drums, so I started out with drums in a junior high concert band as a percussionist. Hearing music that spoke to you, I was really fascinated by the way that certain lyrics and certain chord progressions provoked certain emotions. I grew up listening to people like The Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezra, and all these post-grunge alternative bands, especially Counting Crows, and they would write these lyrics... and that was the music of my junior high years. I would say, “Wow, he can sing these words with these melodies, and because he used that melody with those words, I felt this way.” That was something really magical and I always knew would be a huge part of my life. I didn’t know that I was going to be able to do it for a living. I was playing drums, and I wanted to get a drum set, but it was too big and too expensive, so I got a guitar. I was awful at it, I actually wanted to take it back. I couldn’t though because I had bought it on sale, and there were no refunds so I was stuck with it.
WHAT KEPT YOU PLAYING AND GROWING AS A MUSICIAN DESPITE ANY FRUSTRATIONS? My buddy Peter was really good at guitar and I figured that if he could do it, I could do it, too. I would be trying to play with him, but my brain was trying to tell my fingers what to do and they just weren’t listening. It was the most frustrating thing. I told him, “I can’t do this, I’m giving up.” He said, “Dude, you can’t give up.” He showed me how to play all these chords, and I remember him teaching me about Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. It was music that I never really listened to before, but they’re all guitar songs. When you write a really good melody on a guitar, that gets stuck in your head and becomes the staple of a song. I didn’t really appreciate that until Flyleaf. I didn’t appreciate the riff and the hook-y guitar lines. Before then it was really just chords and I was more focused on the structure of the actual song, and the lyrics. I was more focused on the bigger bones of a song rather than guitar and the melodies that were going on with the lyrics. I still write that way, but now in the back of my mind I think about the guitar. I consider myself more of a songwriter than a guitarist.
WHAT IS THE WRITING PROCESS LIKE FOR FLYLEAF? We all contribute to the song as a group, which makes it a Flyleaf song. Pat, Kristen and I are the heavy lyricists of the band, but everyone will contribute. Jared is the riff guy, way more than I am. The two riffs I came up with that were worth anything were “I’m So Sick” and “Fully Alive”. All the other cool stuff is all Jared. James is so bombastic on the drums, so solid. It’s so simple in what he does but it’s so powerful.
“ The story behind music is so important. It has to speak to you on this deep level to where you’ll apply it to all different aspects of your life.” DO YOU SIT IN A ROOM TOGETHER WHEN YOU WANT TO WRITE SEPARATELY, AND THEN SHOW EACH OTHER LATER? We do all of those things. We write a lot individually and then we’ll come together. Kristen might be like, “Hey guys I have this song,” and we’ll go from there. We try to stay true to that person’s vision, but sometimes we’ll rip it apart. I think the best Flyleaf songs are the ones that we rip apart and put back together in our own way. People may disagree with me, but we don’t harp on ideas that aren’t working. If I really love a chorus and everyone isn’t feeling it, we’ll just go to the next thing and work on something else. When you try to force an idea, it’s going to come across that way, forced and unnatural. If you just let things happen that feel good immediately, that’s how that is going to come across, too.
WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SONG TO PERFORM LIVE? I love songs that are just really passionate. Even if it’s so simple where it’s kind of even boring to play. If the moment is right, even just hitting one note and holding it out for 16 bars. If that creates a special moment, that’s everything for me. Right now one of my favorite songs to play is a cover of “Oceans” by Hillsong United we threw into the set. It’s so powerful. Other than that, I really dig “Platonic” because of all the different instrumentation. It’s a different direction than Flyleaf has gone before. It’s still Flyleaf, but we’ve definitely stepped out of our comfort zones and incorporated instruments for a different approach to songwriting. “Head Under Water” is my other favorite song in our set right now. The message behind it is just inspiring. YOUR SONGS ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO “HIT” THE AUDIENCE AND CARRY SO MUCH MEANING. IS IT REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU THAT YOUR SONGS TELL A STORY? The story behind music is so important. It has to speak to you on this deep level to where you’ll apply it to all different aspects of your life. We really want to write songs that are going to inspire people to want to be better people, and really examine their lives, and examine their hearts. We need to acknowledge that we’re social animals. We need each other, to love each other, and to forgive each other.
WHAT IS ONE OF THE LAST CONCERTS YOU WENT TO AND REALLY ENJOYED? An acoustic show with Justin Furstenfeld from Blue October, and Ryan White. It was amazing. WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU PREFER TO PERFORM WITH A FULL BAND, OR ACOUSTIC? They’re so different that I can’t say one is better than the other. They’re both so good in their own way. The acoustic session is so intimate, and to experience you experiencing the song with us here where there’s no instruments plugged in or microphones, and Kristen is singing to the room, that’s really special. But then on stage, it’s like a fireworks show.
WHAT WAS A CHILDHOOD TOY THAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED BUT NEVER GOT? The Batman Mobile! WHAT ARE CURRENTLY SOME MUST-HAVE SNACKS FOR YOU ON THE SNOCORE TOUR? I’m actually not a snacker! I feel like it’s a tease. If I’m hungry I just go for it and eat. DO YOU HAVE ANY TALENTS? I have great balance. I used to skate a lot, but not so much anymore. Last spring I took a nasty spill on the half-pipe and I haven;t really touched a skateboard since. I can also read for probably 12 hours straight. I can practically slow down my metabolism so I don’t consume too much energy and read for hours on end. IF A FAN WALKED UP YO UOI AND ASKED FOR SOME WORDS OF WISDOM, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM? I would say be careful with your words because they weigh heavier than you realize.
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Bella Kotak
I’ve always created. From a young age, I was fascinated with capturing moments of my family and friends and later creating moments through art, filling huge canvases with rich colours and shapes. It was this drive to express and evolve that allowed me to pick up my mum’s camera one day and start a 365 project: a self portrait a day for a whole year.
YOU HAVE STATED THAT THE 365 SELF PORTRAITURE PROJECT YOU TOOK PART IN CHANGED YOUR LIFE. IN WHAT ASPECTS DID IT DO SO? Well, I was inspired largely by a Flickr community that I’d stumbled upon online one day. Young people my age were creating surreal imagery and igniting the imagination. After that, I began to grow. Day 1 was a mess. I look back on that photo and laugh horrified… but by day 100, I was better and by day 200, I was feeling so proud of myself. I had the control and a growing knowledge to produce the pictures that I wanted to create. It’s seven years later and that urge to evolve and improve is stronger than ever. It’s this passion for creating that has made photography more than just a hobby for me. It’s opened so many doors and allowed me to meet inspiring people.
A LOT OF YOUR WORK HAS ENABLED YOU TO TRAVEL. WHHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PLACE THAT YOU HAVE TRAVELED SO FAR? WHY? There are far too many places for me to narrow it down to one! I think my favourite places so far are Morocco, Kenya, Bali and Vietnam. I love nature, culture and wildlife. Exploring these countries left me with a sense of wonder and reflection at how truly precious and beautiful diversity is.
IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR MODEL THAT YOU HAVE ENJOYED WORKING WITH THE MOST? I’m working with her at the moment! Her name is Lulu Lockhart. She’s based in Oxford and is such a fun and professional person to work with. She’s passionate about photos too and so we find ourselves working together often lately.
“Inspiration is all around us, it’s just a case of keeping an open mind and allowing the opportunity for a spark to light.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE POST-PROCESSING PART OF YOUR WORK? WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO SHOW OFF IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS? Photoshop allows me to explore and highlight the magic I felt on location. I use it to compose my images, play with colours and add or remove elements of the photograph.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WISH YOU WERE BETTER AT, OR WANT TO EXPLORE? Nature photography is something I would really like to experiment with, that and learning how to capture the stars is on my list!
WHAT IS ONE ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TO YOU? The best thing I have done so far in my photography life is to organise a month long creative retreat in Bali! We called it Dream Retreat and you can get a glimpse of it on our instagram hashtag - #dreamretreatbali. I attended a retreat there last year. It was so healing and inspiring that when a group of us wanted to go back again, I made it a little challenge to myself to see if I could pull it off. I’ve just come back and it was by far the best thing I’ve ever done! I learnt so many lessons, made life long friends, created more pictures than I can count, connected with inspiring people
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in the industry, and started new projects that will play out this year.
IS THERE ANYTHING OR ANYONE THAT PARTICULARLY INSPIRES YOU AS WELL AS YOUR IMAGERY? I get a lot of my inspiration from nature, travel, books I read, quotes I see, Pinterest and fairytales. Inspiration is all around us, it’s just a case of keeping an open mind and allowing the opportunity for a spark to light. I’m always sketching ideas and creating mood boards of colours so that helps me get excited about pictures too :) WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHIS IS INTERESTED IN GETTING INTO PHOTOGRAPHY? Shoot often, set yourself targets that you will meet and listen to your heart. Be brave and reach out to magazines, designers and other artists to collaborate. And lastly, sometimes it takes a while to find your style, that just comes from creating often. It took me years to realise how I consciously liked my photos to look, it’s all just a case of trial and error. Stay strong in your vision, take chances, start projects and have fun with it!!
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Mioki WHERE DOES THE NAME MOKI, OR MIOKI, COME FROM? AND WHY ARE THEY BOTH USED? my nickname from highschool is moki when i made the website i wanted it to be it self (the concept was different in the beginning) therefore i took a name that is not associated with something
that wasn’t a good experience because there is a lot to learn i can work better if i have a deadline therefore it is good sometimes to have shows to finish things and also to think in periods otherwise i loose my self in perfectionism i can recommend to work with friends and to work with small uncommerical spaces that allow yourself to try out new things if you start with gallery business right away you might loose your fun and free spirit
HOW DID YOU GET INTO MAKING YOUR ART, AND WHAT POINT DID YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF AN ARTIST? DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A PAINTER? AN ARTIST? OR SOMETHING THING ELSE?
I’VE READ YOU RUN AN ARTS SPACE TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS, HOW DID HINTERCONTI COME TO BE?
i decided in kindergarden that i wanted to study painting and i’m studying it with love yes i’m a painter
the space is still existing it’s one of the last trashy self-organized uncommmercial spaces in a gentrified street. i hope it makes 50 more years because i really liked to be involved!
YOU’VE HAD QUITE A LOT OF SHOWS, HOW HOW DID YOU START OUT? HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR FIRST EXHIBITION SPACES? my first show was a groups show after my first year in arts school
friends of friends asked who wanted to help with the project and i started with two other friends to organize exhibitions and invite artists.
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IS YOUR WORK PURELY INTUITIVE, OR DO YOU DO SOME KIND OF RESEARCH BEFOREHAND?
WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION? it can be everything a woman demonstrating in a tree a bad resolution jpg or a memory
yes it’s a mixture of both i started working on themes that are more or less defined WHO WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR WORK TO BE i collect ideas and pictures and with time i know better in COMPARED TO? COULD YOU NAME SOME which direction i want to continue PEOPLE WHO COUL BE OF INTEREST FOR
WHAT COMES FIRST TO YOU, THE IMAGES, OR THE STORIES BEHIND THEM, AND WHY? i have a main idea, collect ideas, start painting and see what is missing
DO YOU USE MODELS? OR PICTURES? OR DO YOU DRAW AND PAINT FROM MEMORY? yes i use models (real persons that i take pictures of) yes a lot of pictures from everywhere drawing and painting from memory i only use when i’m drawing (for example a comic story)
YOU USE VARIOUS TECHNIQUES TO CREATE ART, AS YOU ARE NOT ONLY AN ILLUSTRATOR, BUT A PHOTOGRAPHER, ANIMATOR, ETC. WHICH METHOD DO YOU FIND MOST FULFILLING? ARE SOME TECHNIQUES BETTER SUITED TO PASS A CERTAIN MESSAGE TO OTHERS? i get bored if i would only use one medium i need some variety to work so continuously as i do
STARTING ARTISTS?
it think walking through the world with open eyes is more important than see what other artists are doing
I’VE READ IN ONE OF YOUR BOOKS YOU’RE INSPIRED BY ASIAN CULTURE. WHAT INSPIRES YOU ABOUT THE ASIAN HERITAGE? yes i’ve been growing up with a european culture background what i like about some ideas that i got to know as asian philosophy is a way to see all things more connected i think the christian way of dividing the world in good and bad causes a lot of problems in so many stories movies ect. “the good” and “the bad” are represented we can learn a lot from a weltanschauung that is more diverse for example in the movie “spirited away” the characters are not simply good or bad in some actions they act selfish in others altruistic but this is just one example of how we can learn from a holistic weltanschauung
YOUR PHOTOS AND DRAWINGS ALSO HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH NATURE, WOOD AND STRUCTUREs, COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS SUCH A BIG ASPECT OF YOUR WORK? SPECIFICALLY, WHY ARE TREES AND WOOD SO IMPORTANT TO YOUR WORK? i think to be connected with nature to be aware of our responsibility is important for me following the news about the climate change about how we exploit and destroy our environment how people and animals suffer from a politic that is not acting makes me angry i try to change my own behaviour to live more sustainable i’m vegetarian since 18 years i try to buy fair trade and biological produced products i stopped buying new cloth and recycle as good as i can if i need a product a try to buy it second hand or i buy quality products that last 100years and that are repairable i wish the awareness of our responsibility and the knowledge how our actions are connected is growing and i hope i’m a good idol for my kids
WHEN YOU ARE YOU TRULY SATISFIED WITH YOUR WORK? WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA IT SHOULD ANSWER ACCORDING TO YOU? mostly the things i’m working on right now are the once that i like most but after a couple of years my view changes if i look back on my development i can understand myself better but i’m glad it’s all a process and i’m developing
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