FLESH AND BONE In pursuit of art and music VOL. 4
F&B
Submissions: If you are intertested in being featured in F&B contact: fleshbonemagazine@gmail.com All images copyright the respective contributor.
THE TEAM FOUNDER: Brandynn L. Pope DESIGN & LAYOUT: Brandynn L. Pope & Morgan Fraser COPY EDITOR: Donald Kimber WRITERS: Sara Almlah Angela Butler Ashley Houston Donald Kimber Brandynn L. Pope Heather Vermeulen
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Angela Butler Courtney Cook Christina Kelley Brandynn L. Pope Sami Wideberg
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CONTENT
SEPTEMBER, 2014 | VOL. 4
ALBUM REVIEWS COLOUR IN THE CLOUDS The first time I had the pleasure of watching this group perform live I was blown away by their presence and the music that they played. I grew anxious to see what they sounded like recorded. When their first single, “Seasons” was released, I knew that this was going to be a band that I would have to watch out for in the future. ALBUM: Colour In The Clouds RELEASE: August 12th, 2014 STAND OUT: ...Like Broken Glass AUTHOR: Brandynn L. Pope
Opening the record with “Dead Ground” sets up the rest of the album. The words, musicality, and delivery are powerful and weighted. Tracks like these have the power to stay with you even after you’re
done listening: a power reminiscent of many Alexisonfire songs. There is a narrative element to their music that pulls on your heart, such as the lyrics: “. . . so many sleepless nights, we don’t dream much anymore . . .”, in “...Like Broken Glass”. Dissecting the lyrics in each of their songs shows a tenderness and deep consideration of how the musicians are projecting themselves with both clean and unclean vocals. Their musicality ultimately cradles it together, and creates something both beautiful and aggressive.
DIET The track “Three” has a quiet nature that makes you wonder, “Am I listening to this because I’m sad, or am I sad because I’m listening to this?” It holds few words, but their power is undeniable: “I’m trying to be everything. I’m trying to believe in a god. I’m trying.” As the track builds near the end you can feel the angst as it progresses into the next track “Four”. ALBUM: Palindrome RELEASE: August 5th, 2014 STAND OUT: Four AUTHOR: Brandynn L. Pope
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As a whole, Palindrome shows a lot of influences from the Emo genres of the 90’s. Another defining feature is their reliance on on the music and
the listener’s visceral sensation to feed each track rather than lyrical content. Diet has proved that often less is more in this stripped down, honest, and emotionally swathed record.
FRNKIERO ANDTHE CELLABRATION
ALBUM: .STOMACHACHES. RELEASE: August 25th, 2014 STAND OUT: Stage 4 Fear of Trying
OUT THIS MONTH
AUTHOR: Heather Vermeulen
09.02 09.02 09.02 09.16 09.16 09.16 09.23 09.23
Going into this album, I can’t say that I wasn’t beyond excited. I don’t tend to hold high expectations for much, but in this case I knew this album was going to be great. Frank Iero throws around genres like he tosses raw, gritty and intense guitar into his tracks. The single “Weighted”, is definitely a stand out with its catchy and twisted tunes and its light, almost humorous, vibes. Truthfully, however, this is not a stand out track by my standards. Iero steals your heart with such tracks as “She’s the Prettiest Girl at the Party and She Can Prove it with a Solid
Code Orange Maroon 5 Youth Decay The Madden Brothers Sleepwave Texas In July Gnarwolves Matty Mullins
Right Hook”, a song Iero states is about his wife Jamia. He goes from half-hazed growls that rocket down your spine, to the tear-inducing track: “Stage 4 Fear of Trying”. Each song has it’s own unique pull: such as “Smoke Rings”, which throws the listener around like a brick in a washing machine. Despite the crude descriptors used on this album, it blends together into something distinctly “Frank Iero”.
I Am King V Older Fatter Drunker Greetings From California Broken Compass Bloodwork Gnarwolves Matty Mullins
XFest Over the Labour Day long weekend, Calgary, Alberta conducts a musical event that has become known as the X Fest. This festival has developed and changed into a two day gathering ultimately bringing popular music to a city that often does not get line ups of these musicians.
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THE LINE UP
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DAY Bad Suns Sleeper Agent The Mowgli’s Stars Airbourne Toxic Event The Smalls Fitz And The Tantrums Death Cab for Cutie Jack White
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DAY Until The Ribbon Breaks Dear Rogue July Talk MS MR Cage The Elephant Foster The People Serena Ryder Tegan And Sara Arctic Monkeys
Name: Brandynn Favorite Moment: The enthusiasm of the crowd during “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie. Hearing everyone yell “from Bangkok to Calgary” instantly brought a smile to my face. Favorite Act: Cage The Elephant Rating of Crowd: 3/5 Over All Rating: 4/5 As any festival that has a beer garden, there are those few select people that are able to alter your mood. Luckily, I did see more respectful behavour from those who chose to drink in the VIP section of the grounds. Sound quality was amazing, the schedule was on point, and I love the option to either join in the crowd of people by the stage or sit on the hill side to view the show. Beyond this, security was also friendly, helpful, and active in their role. I feel like that is often something that is over looked.
Name: Rosie Favorite Moment: “You’ve been Calgary, and I’ve been Jack White” or when Cage the Elephant had us all sit down in the crowd and then jump back up - it was epic Favorite Act: Arctic Monkeys or Cage the Elephant - both were epic Rating of Food: 3.5/5 Rating of Crowd: 4.5/5 Over All Rating: 4.5/5 I thought the line-up could’ve been better - last years line-up was crazy good and this year there were only three or four big bands, and only a few were famous internationally. Also I think that the headliners (Arctic Monkeys, Jack White) were so different from the rest of the line-up, it didn’t make a lot of sense. All the bands were fantastic nonetheless! The food was a bit of an issue though, with most of the food trucks shutting around 8 or 9. We were all starving before the last few bands and no one wanted to wait in line for the ONE OPEN VENDOR for over and hour to get a hot dog. Kinda ridiculous. The festival as a whole was pretty amazing though, everyone was nice and we all had a ton of fun.
Name: Lindsey Favorite Moment: Dancing along with Fitz and the Tantrums, they put on a very good show. Favorite Act: Arctic Monkeys, Fitz and the Tantrums, Cage the elephant Rating of Food: 4 /5 Rating of Crowd: 2 /5 Over All Rating:3/5 The performances were outstanding with a couple exceptions, but what really brings down the score is the crowd: too many people in my opinion, as well as crowd surfing... Lines moved quickly sitting and orderly, no one got overly rowdy and the layout of the grounds was well thought out. The bar would have been better if they served more of a variety, but all in all it was only the people that bothered me. Name: Kaesey Favorite Moment: July Talk’s over all performance, especially when they had that couple on stage for the proposal. Favorite Act: July Talk Rating of Crowd: 3.5 /5 Over All Rating: 3.5/5 The second day had a significantly better vibe overall. It felt like the days were divided between the mellow and the lively, which I felt should’ve been better integrated.
Misery Signals Misery Signals has become a prominent part of today’s music scene. Since 2002 they have inspired many musicians all while touring and releasing four full length albums. Now, as the ten year mark to their debut release “Of Malice and Magnum Heart” approaches, Misery Signals has decided to give their fans an anniversary tour: Malice X. This tour has created a stir amongst anyone interested in the hardcore genre, not only because it’s an anniversary tour, but because it features the complete, original, line up of Misery Signals. Jesse Zaraska and Stuart Ross join Ryan Morgan, Branden Morgan, and Kyle Johnson on the road performing their debut album in its entirety.
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With this being your 10 year anniversary for “Of Malice And Magnum Heart”, how can you summarize the change over that length of time? A lot has changed I guess. There’s kind of a lot more certainty and consistency with the band now that we are more established. Have a lot more expectations as far as what’s going to happen at a show, or like maybe people have heard the songs and are going to sing along and that kind of stuff, which we didn’t have at the beginning. Especially that first record, you know? It’s our debut, technically. We did an EP before, but that was just sort of self released through some friends. So that was the beginning of that era that has grown since then and set it off pretty quickly as far as us being recognized and attended by people who are going to just see our band not just, you know, happen to catch up because they’re seeing another band that we are playing with.
me on the path. It took me to wanting an electric guitar and to play loud distorted stuff. So that’s the beginning, the jump off. Recently there was a call out to people to join in on a game of Call Of Duty. Do you often do these little extras for fans? That’s Karl’s thing, our current singer. He likes that game and like, does game night with the fans sort of thing. I’ve personally never played it. I’m pretty behind on video games. If it wasn’t on a PlayStation One I probably haven’t played it. It’s where I peaked. How important is it to have time outside the band? It’s really important. Especially as I get older and have a family now. It’s the most important thing. You’ve got to have a balance too. There was definitely years where the band was the most important thing to me, but I don’t think it’s super healthy to commit all your mental, physical, emotional, energy into one single thing. Especially something that’s like, dark, in a way. Like music and a lot of the stuff that we do is. In a way it’s a release but it’s also a climate that you cannot always be in.
Is there anything you would do a little differently? Yeah probably, but that might ruin it, you know? Especially with the writing of the record and recording of it. Just the fact that it was done in a very care-free manner and not really over thinking it made it pretty And everyone is geographically immediate and made it kind of spread out which “helps.” special. It’s easier to spend time away from the band, but harder to do the Who influences you to keep doing band. what you’re doing? I mean, I kind of got to give it to Each place has its own unique Metallica because they are the qualities. Is there any specific reason that I play guitar, but I don’t place or show that has always rip off of Metallica songs to write stuck out to you compared to any Misery Signal songs. It just started others?
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One of the coolest tours we ever did was when we went to South East Asia. We went to Thailand and Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and a couple other places in that region. That was the most culturally different tour we have ever been on. Between the United States and Canada, the UK, and Australia, it’s all pretty similar in culture. There are lots of different cool things about each of those,
but on that South East Asia tour I felt like I was in a different environment: lots of different people, a very different world going on. It was cool. Are there any particular songs that you are excited to play live? Umm… I mean, my favourites for playing live are always changing. So, I like the stuff that is newer because we haven’t been playing
it as much. It’s come full circle now so that a lot of these songs we haven’t played much since they’re older and they sort of got retired early on or taken out of rotation or whatever. They’re sort of like, new to me but old. Some of the ones that we didn’t play live are the most fun for me because they are like a new challenge and I have to pay attention and dig into it. So yeah, whatever is kind of fresh still.
After the Malice X Tour, is there anything else such as a new announcement that people should be looking out for? Well, we are filming the tour. There will be some sort of film release documented with the shows and behind the scenes stuff. You have that to look out for. No other bombshells that are public yet.
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personal interaction and friendships go a long way
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As veterans of the music scene, what advice do you give to people who are in the earlier stages of their band? That’s tough, man, because I’ve produced for a lot of young bands where I arrive and they’re always just like “What do we do next? We’re recording, getting it out of the studio, it sounds good, we’re putting it out on the internet, but what’s next?” And I don’t really have a good answer because it’s changed since we did it. The band has been operating for ten / twelve years now. When we sort of broke the band and got signed and that sort of thing we were just touring and doing shows. It wasn’t quite as “Internet and social networking” in our days as it seems to be.
I don’t really know what the strategy is. Before it was just like: “play and get out as much as you can.” Now it’s just like: “cover a popular song and make a cool YouTube video.” Make something viral. I don’t really know because I didn’t really do it that way. For us, it was just get out and play as much as you can. I still think that’s a good idea, especially if you can travel. It’s expensive and hard to do, but like, if you can just be out there, create a discussion around yourself, meet people, make friends. Making friends is really important and I don’t think that will ever change. Meeting other bands that want to hang out with you, have a good time with you, playing shows. A lot of the bands that
are on these tours are friends of ours. Particularly, they are friends of Jesse’s that he picked to be on the tour for no other reason but that. Personal interaction and friendships go a long way, especially in this sort of umbrella of punk. It’s kind of a small world.
@MiserySignals
Jenna
Nieuwenburg
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How did you discover your passion for photography? I enjoyed taking pictures of my friends and family at special events or just on fun adventures. I never considered photography professionally until my high school offered a class for media arts. I was given assignments that seemed challenging at the time that influenced me to get creative. I loved creating colourful and random photo shoots with my friends. That developed into a passionate outlook on what I wanted to do with my life. Photography really changed the way I view the world. In a very positive way. Many of your photographs have a delicacy to them that comes through in the expressions of your subjects. How do you approach taking these photographs? Sometimes I have a plan but when I am I try to execute that plan I end up improvising. So in a way it’s a little bit of both. Not knowing how the image will turn out combined with what I want it to look like in my head. Who are some of your greatest influences, or favourite artists? I love Irving Penn. He didn’t stick with one subject and his point of view is so different and quirky, which I really value in an artist. A more recent
photographer, Flora Borsi, is another favourite. Her manipulations are beautiful and dark, yet so intriguing. I am really impressed with her work. Lastly, Amy Judd, a painter that features birds, butterflies and the woman figure in a surreal and seductive way. The paintings are also soft and whimsical: something I try to recreate in my own work. Your photography tends to balance itself between fine art, fashion, and conceptualism within the realm of portraiture. Is there a favourite medium that you like to explore? I prefer to work with people. So no matter what medium I want to explore, the main subject will feature an individual. Fashion is something that I am currently struggling with, but want to continue exploring it in a conceptual way. What sort of things do you look to for inspiration? I am inspired by people. Whether it be their physical appearance, their emotions, or just the overall energy they give off, it makes me want to capture their beauty in an image by using certain colours and environments to compliment them naturally.
of my “bestSome work has been when I ended up improvising.
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the image you have in mind? It really depends on the image I want to create. I am more drawn to natural environments and light, but I love how a single soft box can enhance the contrast that can’t be replicated easily with just natural lighting. Is there anything that you wish you were better at or want to explore further? I want to be better at my execution of my ideas. I have so many ideas in my head, but a lot of them are not fully being pursued sometimes because I tend to fall back to what I feel comfortable doing. I need to work on taking more risks without worrying about the outcome. I need to focus on what I want rather than what I think others want.
Do you have any “dream” projects that you want to pursue? I would love to work with the photographer Kirsty Mitchell. She has created her own wonderland with a team that builds props, costumes, make-up, etc. Her images are so enchanting and
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whimsical. If I could create an image with her it would be an amazing experience that I could learn a lot from. Do you prefer natural environments, lighting, and locations, or do you prefer building the environment to suit
What is the best advice that you have received? Don’t overanalyze. Some of my best work has been when I ended up improvising, and since I don’t expect it to be anything special in the end it becomes something way beyond my expectations. @facebook/JennaNieuwenburg
Amelia Fletcher PHOTOGRAPHER
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For as long as she can remember, Amelia has always been fascinated with photography and the opportunity to preserve a moment in time. She was raised in North Carolina, and will always be a Southern girl at heart. Her mountain upbringing has not only shaped her as a person, but in turn also influences what motivates her to create. Amelia says that, “It is impossible to separate my portfolio, and who I am, from my roots.” In 2011 she graduated with a Bachelor of fine arts with a major in photography and minor in Art History. On March 1, 2014, Amelia launched a campaign on Indiegogo.com to raise $1500 to go towards a road trip that would last 5 months, across the United States. Amazingly, within 4 days she reached that goal, and at the time of the campaigns end she had surpassed her goal with a total of $2900 fundraised. She has always dreamed of doing a long road trip through the States, but never had the resources available or the time with school and work in the mix. With the support of many, Fletcher was able to take this trip. She has been staying with family and friends, but mostly she has been living and working on organic farms through an international organization called WWOOF. In exchange for work, Amelia’s host family provides her meals and a place to sleep. Raised on a small mountain farm in North Carolina, Amelia is passionate about local food and sustainable practices. Along her journey she has had her camera in hand, and at the end of her trip, she plans to make a book of her travels to show the world. Since Amelia had a bit more money to play around with than expected, she made a detour down to Calgary, Alberta, Canada (and some other places too) and had a chat with me about how it’s all going so far. In an attempt to document the people and places of small town America, from the deep south to the northwest.
What inspired you to pack up your bags and leave for a cross country (USA) on April 18th 2014? The biggest thing that inspired me to do it was a sense of an adventure, and the desire to travel; it’s something I’ve always been interested in. I’ve dreamed of doing a cross-country road trip for as long as I can remember but never before had the chance.
The Map that shows the general trail of Amelia’s venture around the United States, including hours that it would take between locations. This does not include her trip to Calgary, Alberta, where Angela and her met and this interview took place.
Please tell us about WWOOF, and your inspirations and passions behind working with them! WWOOF is an organization that connects people who wants to learn about farming and/or travel with farms who are looking for help. So in exchange for the work, the farm offers meals and lodging. This is an international organization, so you can go anywhere with WWOOF. WWOOF is an acronym for World
ANGELA BUTLER Car Stickers
Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, and I grew up on a horse farm so I really wanted to learn more about the different aspects of farming. Especially things like bee keeping, and vegetable gardens and things of those nature. So it was a great way to travel, a great way to meet people, and also a great way to learn about something that I’m passionate about. This Summer was finally the opportunity to do it. It just seemed like the right time. How’s it going so far? I’m sure no day is average, but what are the days and weeks like for you? Overall it’s going really well! I’ve had a couple strange experiences but overall it’s been amazing and the time of my life. ““I’m sure no day is average?”” That is
the average. The average has changed! Every single day I wake up and figure out what things I want to see and do, or if I’m on a farm the chores need to be completed, but each day is completely different from the last. And that’s probably been the hardest thing to get used to, that there’s absolutely no routine…and a serious lack of sleep. Tell us about your editing process while on the road. I’ve been doing most of my editing with Lightroom. That’s been extremely easy to use, and also very convenient because I can batch edit. So if I take a bunch of photos at the same time that have the same light, I can edit one and then sync all of the others so the editing process/style is the same as that first shot. So Lightroom is amazing on the road.. but Photoshop is also great too.
Even still I am a month behind on editing, it’s touch to keep up. I’m super behind from where I want to be, but I’ve been able to keep up with at least a few photos a day and that makes me happy. They’ll all get done eventually. On the road do you find yourself using Photoshop much less? Oh yes definitely. My previous projects have been more fine-art, while this trip is more documentary. Less computer, more camera What have the highlights of your trip been so far? The highlights for me have been meeting new people and seeing incredible places. Before I left I felt really frustrated with the political problems in our country, my financial situation, stress... all of these different things. After leaving, I’ve since realized how lucky I am to live in a place where I have the freedom to travel. I’ve run across the kindness of strangers so many times, and seen such beautiful
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places. Those are the main highlights, for sure. I was at a laundromat in a border town in Texas one day and met a sweet mom and we got to talking. When I told her about what I’m doing she immediately invited me to her home for dinner and Bible study. It was so kind of her, I’ll never forget it. What else do you have left to do? And what things do you look forward to most at the tail end of your trip? (the last 6 weeks) I am really looking forward to going home, and getting back into that routine, and getting caught up on my editing! But I’m also trying to live in the moment and enjoy what I have right now. So right now I’m in Calgary, with Angela, and in the next 6 weeks I’ll go through South through Glacier and Yellowstone, East to Chicago, Northeast to Maine, New York, Boston, and then back home to North Carolina.
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It was also hard to develop these friendships, relationships, and bonds with people and then get up and leave a couple days later.
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I’ll stay on one more farm for a week, which I’m really looking forward to. I’m going to learn about bee keeping, which should be really cool! And I’m also going to spend a lot of time with some old friends in the next coming weeks, so it will be good to catch up with them.
What were some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome? I am really looking forward to going home, and getting back into that routine, and getting caught up on my editing! But I’m also trying to live in the moment and enjoy what I have right now. Right now I’m in Calgary, with Angela, and in the next 6 weeks I’ll head south through Glacier and Yellowstone, east to Chicago, northeast to Maine, New York, Boston, and then back home to North Carolina.
which should be really interesting! I’m also going to spend a lot of time catching up with some old friends in the next coming weeks. What were some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome? The first challenge was packing my entire life into my trunk. Second challenge was getting used to the changes that I previously talked about - the fact that no day is the same, and doing things I wasn’t always all that comfortable with. Such as milking a cow for the first time! All of these new experiences- some I anticipated and some completely unexpected. It’s all part of the adventure.
Another challenge was being alone all the time while driving. Even though once I get to places I’m hardly ever by myself, in between gets a bit boring sometimes. It was also hard to develop these friendships, relationships, and I’ll stay on one more farm for a week in bonds with people and then get up and Maine, which I’m really looking forward leave a couple days later. That’s been to. I’m going to learn about bee keeping the hardest part.
Were there any moments on the trip where you feared for your personal safety? There is a small community in northern New Mexico that is like something out of the movies. Back in the 1960’s a group of people made their way up to the top (elevation 7000 ft) to park their buses, trailers, or built homes out of whatever they could haul up there. Today there are still many of that original group, as well as their children and grandchildren. No education, no running water, no stores for at least an hour’s drive, no cell service, etc. Completely off grid. When I heard about it I knew I wanted to go explore and take pictures up there. So my friend Miranda loaded up her car, and I loaded up mine, and up the gorge we went. Switchback after switchback on a tiny gravel road overlooking the gorge while the thunder and lightning came down heavy as ever. About an hour later we arrived. It met every expectation I had. There are roads upon muddy roads of campers, trailers, buses, adobes, and every kind of shack you can imagine. We slipped and slid as far back as we could go while Miranda’s car waited at the entrance. With all the rain and lightning no one was outside but I knew I really wanted a portrait and a story to go with such a unique place. So knocking on some doors was the only option. After a few that went unanswered I pulled up to a place covered with metal art and furniture strewn about the front. When I knocked on the side of the camper a man yelled” Who is it?” and opened the door, completely naked. “Who are you?” He asked. “Amelia.. photographer… North Carolina…” “One moment.” Just long enough to second guess myself. But then the door popped back open and into the dark camper I went. John Lebleu explained that this is completely unplanned, he likes to know what’s happening
and when, he isn’t ready for pictures, etc. “I completely understand, thank you for letting me in.” I said. Then he asked if I had seen his comb, which I hadn’t, and he replied “Well I’m going to find my comb and you go get your camera.” It turns out that John is an “actor, an artist, and a Mountain Man, and is used to photographers.” Originally from Louisiana, he’s been living up there on the mesa for 37 years. After a few minutes of shooting he pulled out a giant knife and suggested we use that as a prop. Which was fine, except for the fact that I was now convinced I was going to die in New Mexico in the desert haha. But then Kaira and Chris came to check on me and we said our goodbyes. This might have been one of the crazier things I’ve done for the sake of a photo, and while John is completely harmless, I’m glad I had a couple friends looking out for me! What foods are you absolutely sick of after travelling for almost 5 months? I don’t care if I ever see a peanut butter and jelly sandwich again. I actually just ate my 100th a couple of hours ago. I’m sure a part of you feels sad, but are you looking forward to returning home? I’m definitely looking forward to returning home. I keep seeing things like dish towels, or a sofa cushion, and all I can think to myself is I can’t wait to go home to my place that I can fill up with silly things like dish towels. I can’t wait to have a closet, I can’t wait to have a bed to sleep in every night! Those little comforts are going to be so nice, and I won’t take them for granted :) Thanks for the interview Amelia :) We can’t wait for the book! You’re so welcome! I can’t either!
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Staff Gallery The mission of Flesh & Bone Magazine is to show off the passionate people of the world. Our team all have collectively agreed on the importance of art and music in our life. Each member has their own specialization in the field of art and would like to share their work with you outside of work in the magazine.
CHRISTINA KELLEY Will Ahrens, Nick Tangorra Photography
ANGELA BUTLER
Sometimes you get the best light from a burning bridge Model: Poison Ivy MUA: Jenni MacDonald Photography
In pursuit of art and music Do you want to join our team? You can contact us at fleshbonemagazine@gmail.com with your application.