Flesh & Bone Vol. 5 by OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE

FLESH & BONE In pursuit of art and music VOL. 5

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

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Angela Butler Christina Kelley Brandynn L. Pope Sami Wideberg

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CONTENT

SEPTEMBER, 2014 | VOL. 5

ALBUM REVIEWS EMAROSA

ALBUM: Versus RELEASE: September 9th, 2014 STAND OUT: I’ll Just Wait AUTHOR: Brandynn L. Pope

I hesitated to approach this album simply because of the constant comparisons made between Emarosa’s current vocalist Bradley Walden, and their previous frontman Jonny Craig. Glancing even briefly at the comments posted on their YouTube channel is painful. Yet, with all of this in my mind, I was pleasantly surprised with their release of “American Déjà Vu”. The album is beautifully crafted, and layered to create a soulful sound, distancing itself from previous albums that had a “heavier presence”. Versus has a lot of slower, softer, tracks with melodies that pull at your heart. Tracks such as “I’ll Just Wait,” follow a rhythmic

pattern that helps lace the lyrics with romance. Nevertheless, the opening track, “People Like Me, We Just Don’t Play”, shows us something closer to their two previous offerings, and is easily among the album’s standouts. Seemingly spontaneous and interruptive line “ah, fuck it”, appearing in the in the second verse has a raw edge to it that instantly drew me into listen to the full album. Each sound Emarosa has exhibited is beautiful, and has its own unique qualities, but with the melodic tones that permeate this entire album it becomes clear that all the songs on Versus belong solely to it.

Heffron Drive. It’s hard to explain exactly what type of music they play: Indie pop, pop rock, or maybe even “pop punk” as their lead singer Kendall Schmidt believes. Currently based in Burbank California, Heffron Drive formed in 2008, and after nearly 7 years as a band, Heffron Drive is finally releasing their first album. Their debut Happy Mistakes is coming in both a deluxe addition as well as a regular version, with the deluxe containing 16 songs (including remixes + interludes), each unique and unbelievably well puttogether. My personal favourites are

‘‘Everything Has Changed”, as well as “That’s What Makes You Mine”. These two have some of the slower tempos on the record, which always seem to appeal to me more. They both have deeply poetic lyrics, and their rhythms radiate calming vibes, unlike the song “One Track Mind” that is on the deluxe version. That track has a new beat every second, and the song is all about being stubborn! Overall, this debut album was definitely worth the wait for fans who have been yearning for a full-length record.

HEFFRON DRIVE

ALBUM: Happy Mistakes RELEASE: September 9th, 2014 STAND OUT: Parallel AUTHOR: Sara Almlah

LIGHTS

ALBUM: Little Machines RELEASE: September 19th, 2014 STAND OUT: Running With the Boys

OUT THIS MONTH

AUTHOR: Ashley Houston

10.07 10.07 10.07 10.14 10.14 10.14 10.21 10.21 10.27 10.28

Lights is back with her third LP Little Machines, and while I questioned at first if this offering could be counted among her best works, after looking at her progression over the past six years, it’s not that hard to agree it truly is. Little Machines takes us back to this musician’s debuting style, as opposed to the sound she’s delivered in Siberia. However, fans of The Listening should be eager to get their hands on this gem of an album. While she may still be in her 20’s (27 to be exact), age clearly has nothing on Lights! Now married with children, Lights has a

Weezer Yellowcard New Found Glory Jesse J Stars You + Me Set It Off T.I. Taylor Swift Pianos Become Teeth

number of experiences that inspire songs that might appeal to older audiences as well. Lights is able to stay true to herself while adapting to some newer sounds within the evergrowing “dubstep-pop” genre. This is definitely an album that everyone should considering picking up and giving a listen.

Everything Will Be Alright In The End Lift A Sail Resurrection Sweet Talker No One Is Lost Rose Ave. Duality Paperwork 1989 Keep You

Architects The Architects could not have picked a better line-up of bands to join them on the northern leg of their tour. There was not a single moment throughout the show that each-and-every band did not step up to the plate and perform their hearts out. For bands such as My Ticket Home, it was their first time in the city of Calgary, and the city welcomed them eagerly. Being As An Ocean is reputable for interacting with the crowd and creating a show worth remembering as well, and their performance at The Gateway was no exception. Joel Quartuccio walked right into the crowd, singing with all that surround him. Even when he was actually on the stage, he often found himself on the very edge of it, in order to be as close to the crowd as has he possibly could be. Floods of people were constantly belting lyrics back at them as their enthusiasm spilled over the stage. At the end of the set the room chanted for, “one more song” with the hopes that Being As An Ocean would be able to continue. Quartuccio had to come back to the stage to say that this

was not their show, and that tonight it was all about the Architects. Stray From The Path was up next, moving all over the stage. They jumped towards the crowd, and interacted with many different people as they came onstage to join them. Each time someone was able to reach him, their vocalist Drew York would sling his arm over their shoulder before letting them dive headlong back into the crowd. Finally the headliner Architects (UK) came on stage, welcomed by the echoing cheers of their fans. People continued to jump onstage with them as they performed tracks from various albums, being sure to return to older songs. The new track, “Naysayer”, garnered a particularly enthusiastic reaction from the crowd, with its popular line, “sick of the sound of people giving up” resonating throughout the entire venue. Architects have come through the city multiple times and are always able to attract a crowd of enthusiastic fans. Finally headlining their own show, they were able to sell out.

REVIEW

Jake Miller I never knew how much I could enjoy a concert until this one. Each act was so different, yet worked together so well. Starting with the opener, The Karma Killer’s performance was just exhilarating. They performed all originals, which is quite risky for a band on the rise if you want to connect with an unfamiliar audience, but everyone still enjoyed themselves. There was no silence. Nothing but loud, good music. The Karma Killers are great with crowd interaction: everyone singing (even if they didn’t know the songs), laughing, dancing, and just overall enjoying themselves with this New Jersey band. It is definitely worth seeing them again. Then came the co-headliner, the oh-so-wonderful Nick Tangorra band, with help from the musical ensemble Black Tie Brass. Nick Tangorra put on the kind of performance that I haven’t seen anyone do in a really, really long time. The whole band is put together so well: Nick Tangorra on vocals, Nick’s brother Rafe Tangorra rockin’ out on the drums, Gus Kalin playing bass, and last, but not least, the incredible Will Ahrens jammin’ on the guitar. Nobody gets as involved with his instrument and the music as Rafe, and then you have Gus, who’s performance never disappoints. Whether it’s an acoustic, or full-band performance, you’ll have the best time of your life watching these boys perform. They play a mix of originals and covers, (which they definitely make their own), and truly show they’re having the best time of their lives on stage. Lastly, you have Jake Miller: a pop-rapper from Florida who has built himself up from the bottom. His music is unique, every song, (and each lyric even), having a different and heart-felt meaning. Jake made every single person in the audience feel like they were on stage with him. I even saw quite a few tears flowing from some of his supporters! He then ended the show with his turn at the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, done on stage in a kiddie pool. Overall, the show was quite the experience, and I would recommend any one of these three artists.

WITH APPROXIMATELY FIFTEEN YEARS WORTH OF SONGS TO CONSIDER, HOW ARE THE SET LISTS ORGANIZED?

We kind of have a good idea of what people want to hear from each record, so we try to include a little bit of that, and then we try to work in as much of our new material as possible. But we know that not as many people have heard the record Happiness Is and our self-titled, so we try and put in the songs that we really want to play live and introduce people to; we spread those around through the set amongst the old stuff. It’s a good rounded mix that keeps everyone happy.

RIGHT, ‘CAUSE PEOPLE LIKE TO HEAR THOSE OLD ONES AS WELL.

Definitely. And we understand that because when we go to shows we want to hear the hits too. So if you want to play everything from the new album, it’s interesting and stuff, but it’s not exactly why people come out to shows. When people come

out to shows they want to party, they want to forget about what’s going on at home. If you got a problem at work, if you got a problem with your wife, your kid, or school, whatever, you want to come out and have a good time and sing along to the songs you know.

ONE THING THAT I CONSISTENTLY HEAR FROM PEOPLE WHO ATTEND YOUR SHOWS IS THAT THE STAGE PRESENCE IS UNREAL. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT INSPIRES THAT, OR IS IT YOU LETTING EVERYTHING OUT? I think it’s just the passion we have for what we do. We really believe in the songs. We believe in what we’re doing. We never have anything contrived. Everything we do is a honest show of presentation of the five of us. So when we get up there we are just having a really fun time, and we’re feeling these songs, and just expressing ourselves through the songs and playing them.

INTERVIEW

We just believe in them so much and we feel good when we play them. We feel excited and it naturally comes out.

PEOPLE RESPOND TO THAT BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

Yeah, I mean I think there’s definitely bands that, you know, I go and see and their music’s a little more laid back and they don’t move around as much on stage, but we’re not that kind of band. If we were just kind of standing there playing heavier stuff it would be kind of weird I think. That’s just how we feel. And it’s good to get out a little aggression on stage. We spend a lot of the day cooped up, sitting around on a bus among eleven other dudes, and when we get out there we try to get all that pent-up energy out on stage. It feels good for us, very therapeutic I think.

HOW DID THE HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR SHOWS HAPPENING THIS DECEMBER COME TO BE? DID IT ORIGINATE AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR SOME FANS?

I don’t know. I guess it’s more of a Christmas present to ourselves because we get to play shows. We did something like this a couple of years ago: we played some shows, one on Long Island, and one in New Jersey around Christmas time and it worked out really well. It was something to do. So the idea came up again, we had the time to do it, and we were like, “Hey, let’s go for it, this will be a fun thing for all of us.” I

never think of it as us giving a present to the fans or anything like that, they’re still paying for a ticket. If anything we get the present. We get to play a show in front of a lot of people close to home.

YOU HAVE BEEN TOURING WITH THE USED FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW. HOW DO THESE TOURS WITH THEM COMPARE TO OTHER ONES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN A PART OF?

There’s a lot of mutual respect for each other. Both bands kept trekking along through a bunch of ups and downs. We always respected each other musically, and personally, and everything, so you start to form a real bond. We’ve had a really fun tour with those guys. We’re kind of old men. No one really parties like idiots. No one’s really late to the van-call to get to the airport. Everyone just kind of wants to get on and get to the show. No one is screwing around and messing things up. We really like that about those guys.

PLUS IT’S NICE TO BE FRIENDS WHILE YOU’RE TRAVELLING SO CONSISTENTLY.

Yeah exactly. It’s nice to see everyone, and we have a whole crew that’s out with us as well, and it’s nice to just see everyone. Plus our crews usually help each other out because they respect each other too. There’s a bunch of them that have been working in the music industry for a long time. So we’ve got a good gang out here.

WITH EVERYONE BEING IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, HOW IS THE PROCESS FOR WRITING NEW MUSIC? I think it’s good to have a little space. We can go home to our families, relax, take a breather from the band, and then we’re excited to meet up again. We’ll fly to a mutually chosen location: like for the last record we went to a house in West Virginia, and another was on Long Island. But I mean, it’s kind of good because we have that space, and because we have that space we look forward to getting together and getting those creative juices flowing again.

WHAT BANDS HAVE GOTTEN YOU EXCITED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS?

There’s this band, and I think they are playing on one of those Holiday shows with us [The Menzingers]. They’re one of my favourite up-andcoming punk bands and they put just a bunch of great records out. Their last record, Rented World, was a big leap forward, and that’s from the fan who has loved everything they’ve done, so I’m excited about them. There’s a band, Pup, who I think is really cool, that’s doing really great things. There’s this rap group called Black Knights, they have a record called Medieval Chamber that I just started listening to. Those are the three newish bands that I have been listening to.

SO YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING TO THEM ALL ON THE ROAD AND SHARING THEM WITH EVERYONE? Yeah, yeah, yeah! That’s the thing, where sometimes on the bus at parts we don’t get the

satellite TV so we listen to records all day long, so that’s what we’ve been doing. I’m also listening to Frank Iero who is out with us. His band Frank Iero And The Cellabrations sound fantastic. Their record Stomachaches is great. I can’t, not name my tour mate and old buddy.

AS A PUBLICATION THAT FOCUSES ON ART OF EVERY MEDIUM, IS THERE ANYTHING PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT ABOUT YOUR ALBUM ARTWORK FOR HAPPINESS IS?

Just the panther in general has kind of become our thing. Our guitar player Eddie Reyes had a panther tattoo just for the hell of it and it was cool. So we were like, “Hey, we’re going to make that mean something.” So we all eventually went out, I came back into the band, and the first tour we did together we all got this panther tattooed on us. It’s kind of become our symbol. We just think panthers look cool so we want to make that into our album artwork, and when we saw that cover come through with the digipak on the record, and it gave that weathered kind of look, we just thought that it was really cool and kind of eyecatching.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE THAT YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED AND WOULD RECIPROCATE TO SOMEONE ELSE?

You know, I don’t. . . there’s nothing I can specifically remember being told, but if there’s one thing that I like to say, it’s that persistence pays off. If you’re persistent and love what you do, don’t let anything stop you. I think also, that for a band that has been around as long as us, you need to

have a group of like-minded individuals with that same type of persistence and belief in what you’re doing if you’re going to do anything. That’s most important. If you believe in yourself and you’re persistent then good things will tend to happen.

RIGHT, AMBITION MEANS EVERYTHING. Absolutely. I mean, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Sometimes the most talented people, for whatever reason. . . it doesn’t take off. It’s unfortunate. But, you know, where there’s a will there’s a way. Even if you play music on a lesser level you can always find a way to. . . even if you have to work a regular job or something while you’re playing music. If you’re good then you’re good and people want to see it.

AFTER THIS CURRENT TOUR WITH THE USED AND FRANK IERO AND THE CELLABRATION, WHAT IS NEXT?

We’re taking a little breather for a few weeks and then we’re heading over to Europe. We’ll be doing about four weeks in Europe before doing those holiday shows, fly home right before Christmas, hang out with the family for a couple of days. Then we’ll be off to New York, hang out, and then play some shows in Jersey. We’ll have a little bit of time off in the New Year and then we have some big plans some: big extensive plans in the New Year. So a lot more touring, and we want to show some more of Happiness Is to people. We’re really proud of that and want to do some more touring on it.

facebook / instagram @takingbacksunday twitter @tbsofficial takingbacksunday.com

Shane Arsenault YOU HAVE AN IMPRESSIVE BODY OF WORK RANGING FROM PORTRAITURE, EVENTS, AND INTO ARCHITECTURE, YET THEY STILL FEEL LIKE A COHESIVE BODY OF WORK. ARE THERE ANY CHARACTERISTICS OF WHAT YOU DO THAT YOU FEEL MAKES IT APPARENT THAT IT WAS WORK CREATED BY YOU? It has taken many years of practice, schooling and mentorship to get to where I am now – and there is still a ways to go. I am lucky enough to be surrounded in an arts community where we can all build off each other’s work and accept honest critique on an honorable level. That being said, as my photographic practice has developed, certain aspects of my work may be apparent to people. When I shoot, I find my execution is very formal and traditional in nature, which allows me to focus on the details of an image, followed by symmetry and form.

ARE THERE ANY THEMES THAT YOU LIKE TO EXHIBIT IN PARTICULAR?

Currently the work I enjoy showing most is my architectural work. I find that I have gotten nothing but good response with it, which becomes inspiring to keep moving forward with it. Furthermore, anything shiny, symmetrical and clean – I enjoy.

IS THERE ANYTHING OR ANYONE THAT PARTICULARLY INSPIRES YOU AS WELL AS YOUR WORK?

As stated, I’m lucky enough to be thoroughly involved in the arts community, but there are a few people that really stand out when I was starting out as a young photographer. First and foremost, the one person to whom I would say I owe the most to, would be Craig Richards. Craig is an amazing photographer, mentor and friend. Coming up to two decades almost, he has been running a program out of Canmore and Banff (also involving Calgary and Morley) called “Through the Lens”, which is an outreach photography program. The programs mission is to teach high school students the basics of black and white photography – everything from exposing your film, to developing it, to making a positive print in the darkroom. This was a crutch for me at a young age, to find myself

a voice and create myself a future, to which I owe that program. Furthermore, it was also through this program where I got to meet new artists and friends – most notably Edward Burtynsky and George Webber, who have most definitely affected the kind of work I create.

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO APPROACH YOUR WORK OR A PROJECT?

Generally, I can’t say that I am much of a director, but I can say that I typically will get the shots I want. When it comes to my architectural work, I may scout a location downtown or take note of a certain place I would like to come back to in the future. As for my approach to that particular project, I’m never in a rush to create the work… it’s not like the buildings are going anywhere soon (I hope). For any of my other work, whether it be still life, set making, portraits, ect – I like getting to

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JUST THIS WAS A CRUTCH FOR ME AT A YOUNG AGE, TO FIND MYSELF A VOICE & CREATE MYSELF A FUTURE.

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my shoot knowing exactly what I want to achieve and getting it done the way I envisioned. I do this by creating multiple sketches of my planned shots, and also having a premeditated plan of what my lighting set up will be – even if it’s natural light.

YOU HAVE A FEW GALLERY SHOWS UNDER YOUR BELT. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT DOING THIS WITH YOUR WORK AND HOW HAVE THEY BEEN FOR YOU SO FAR?

Ultimately, I think that any artist wants to be part of a show. Whether it be a solo show or a group show, it is the opportunity to share with people around you the work you do and, most importantly, why you do it. People will always come together, but it’s the art that forms the glue.

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU? I hate the laces on sweaters when they are uneven…

OF ALL YOUR PROJECTS WHICHI S THE ONE THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY CLOSEST TO?

As of late, I have finally finished construction on a 16”x20” hand made wooden large format camera. This has been a project for me for the last 4-5 months and I am now ready to start shooting with it. I have done some preliminary tests with it and the images are turning out great. October 4th is the official day when I will be making new work with it.

facebook @shanearsenaultphoto shanearsenaultphoto.com

Mark Schmidt ILLUSTRATOR

HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE ILLUSTRATIVE CHARACTERS?

I’ve got a few different approaches I like to use depending on what I’m drawing. When I was doing Adventure Time-style characters I’d paint a solid black shape of the pose I was imagining and then refine it from there, adding lines afterward. With something I already know how to draw, like Terry, I’ll just draw the lines as with a pencil then add color on a layer below. If it’s a very specific pose and needs to be realistic I’ll often gather some reference of real people in roughly the right pose to get the basic proportions, then put my own spin on it from there. I think you can do a lot with line work to take realistic proportions and enhance the look into something more interesting. Just line weighting or shading with gradually tighter lines can give something ordinary a great look.

WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND TERRY?

I think I was looking at a collection of Tim Burtonstyle Pokémon characters [editors note: created by Vaughn Pinpin] one night and thought, “I’d like to try drawing something like that,” and Terry was the first thing I drew. I was also working on drawing in perspective at the same time and added him

into that project, so he was this organic creature in a geometric scene of floating shapes. It ended up being a theme, where every time I’d draw geometric shapes in perspective I’d add Terry, and vice-versa. I started thinking of it as an alternate universe he lived in and just kept imagining things about him and his world that I could continue as a theme from one picture to the next. He always looked stressed out and terrified, so that’s where the name Terry came from. I imagined he lived in a constant state of paranoia about the world around him, because in his world everything appeared dangerous. The geometric shapes seem orderly and safe while the organic things are disorderly and terrifying. I guess it’s sort of a visual way of thinking about paranoia and feeling like everything is out of your control. You can try to arrange it all into organized little boxes but there’s this huge organic world out there that you’re always going to be afraid of.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC THEMES THAT YOU LIKE TO PURSUE?

I really like pattern and detail, and just the mechanics of what makes art pleasing to the eye. I get excited about techniques and other peoples’ art, not because of what they’re trying to say, but

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JUST CREATING SOMETHING ORDERLY & BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE IT’S A NATURAL HUMAN DESIRE IS FASCINATING TO ME IN-AND-OF ITSELF more the tone of voice they’re using. I guess I’m more excited about what’s going into it than about sending a message or fulfilling an idea. So if I have a theme it’s that the beauty is in the craftsmanship and that you don’t need to force an idea on people to connect with them emotionally. Just creating something orderly and beautiful because it’s a natural human desire is fascinating to me inand-of itself.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO ARTISTICALLY EXPLORE IN THE FUTURE?

I’ve always been interested in character design: being able to draw humans and monsters that have emotion and impact. It’s really crazy to me seeing some creature from someone’s imagination that has emotion and makes you feel something just looking at it. I’d like to explore that because I feel like my art lacks a human feel sometimes. I get obsessed with the details and miss that connection in the overall picture.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC ARTISTS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR CURRENT STYLE?

I’d like to say Pat Perry, but that’s a dream I’m still pursuing because I can’t do his style even when I

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try. He’s like the opposite of what I naturally draw, so it really helps me think of things in a different way and go, “Oh, that’s a powerful way of drawing that I never would have thought of, maybe I can do something like that in my next drawing.” His art is just so human and genuine: the essence of someone sitting down with a sketchpad and drawing the world in an organic way. More recently I’ve been studying Tom Strom’s art, especially how to draw monstrous features like teeth and eyes. I like his line work and how he illustrates scary things.

For Japanese things Shigenori Iwasaki’s work blows my mind, just how he fits huge images to the body and blends the best parts of traditional Japanese tattooing with modern techniques. I think he just takes it to the next level without losing what makes it great. John Dyer Baizley’s art is a big influence on me too, but I try not to copy it too much because there’s a huge number of artists doing it already, especially in the music world. I really like it, but I figure there’s no need for yet another person doing the same thing, so I try to limit my influence from that even though I think it looks amazing.

OUTSIDE OF ART, WHAT OTHER INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE?

I would say music is the other biggest thing in my life and what I generally go to when I need a break from art. When I have no creative energy I enjoy gaming and following sports. They occupy my mind and kind of let me recharge and enjoy other people’s creativity and performance. I also love going for walks or running, just to get off the grid and experience life outside and get some perspective. It’s funny when you’re all caught up in your little bubble of indoor worries, then go for a walk at night, look up at the stars and think, “Wow, there’s an infinite universe right up there and here I am worried about what might happen if I run out of pen nibs.”

RECENTLY YOU’VE STARTED ON A TATTOO APPRENTICESHIP. HOW

LONG HAS THIS BEEN A VISION FOR YOURSELF?

After spending some time there I actually decided it wasn’t the right path and that I missed working in different mediums and doing different things. I’m still glad about what I learned and the perspective I gained though. Tattooing is something that I’ve been around for so long it was like this inevitable force pulling at me: just the logical thing to do when you’re an artist and also love tattoos. I got asked so many times if I’d be interested in it, but after working at a couple tattoo shops and being friends with various tattoo artists, I just knew there’s so much more to it than making art. It’s very much a “business”, and so much of your time is spent trying to make things work that really don’t work. You’re trying to take often non-artistic ideas or images that aren’t right for the medium, and make it work on the body with

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NOW I’M OKAY WITH FAILURE AS LONG AS I’M LEARNING, & I TRY TO TAKE SOMETHING AWAY FROM EVERY EXPERIENCE limited tools, and it can be a real battle. People are usually more interested in the meaning than the image, and that’s just the polar opposite of how I approach art. As an artist you’re compelled to make the best image you can, but at the same time you’re providing a service and working with a lot of limitations when you’re tattooing. Working in a busy shop like I was apprenticing in, it can feel like an assembly line. People come in with the same design off the internet every day and often the artists only have an hour to piece something together in photoshop and cram in all the elements the customer wants added. Infinity symbol, baby’s hand prints, names, a quote, specific flowers, all squished together and needing to be done in a small size in a short amount of time. You set up your workstation, apply your photoshop stencil, and try to get through it before your next appointment then quickly tear down, set up, and you’re doing the next one. At the end of the day you open a folder and see 3+ work orders for tomorrow’s tattoos and you don’t have any time to design something, you just piece together what they asked for, apply stencil, and you’re tattooing again. Unless you’re already successful and can set aside large chunks of time for big design projects, the odds are just stacked against you to really do something artistic. I felt like I was training to become a human printer more than an artist. I really missed the limitless possibilities of working in other mediums and having the time to come up with a good design instead of just cranking out the same stuff over and over like a machine.

YOU’RE ALSO INTERESTED AND TRAINED IN MUSIC. IS THERE ANY OF THAT, THAT CROSSES OVER INTO YOUR ILLUSTRATIVE WORK? I definitely love the crossover between art and music, especially album art. Have you ever listened to a song and felt nothing, then seen the art that goes with it and suddenly felt a huge connection? I love that. Just seeing a beautiful, complex image in addition to the music awakens all these things you never would have imagined otherwise. Suddenly the song sounds different and you just get such a deeper appreciation of what’s going on. Sounds that seemed bland before are seemingly from a different world when you’re there visually too. It also works the other way around; listening to interesting music can make you draw interesting things. I love listening to bands like Mastodon, Pallbearer, Agalloch, Cult of Luna, stuff like that, because it feels like going on a journey.

As far as the creation process, there’s a lot of crossover there too. With guitar or any musical instrument, you’re always practicing and trying to learn mechanical skills for the purpose of being able to express yourself. I think in a way you learn how to learn. Patience, dedication, perception, effective practice methods that work for you, so much of that can apply to everything in life. I suppose the most important thing I ever learned was how to learn, because I used to be very stubborn that way. Now I’m okay with failure as long as I’m learning, and I try to take something away from every experience. I’m just as interested in the journey as the goal now.

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WHAT OTHER ARTISTS’ WORK DO YOU ENJOY VIEWING?

Anyone who conveys emotion or draws things that aren’t “fan-arty” is interesting to me. I think growing up we all just naturally draw whatever we think is awesome. Celebrities, fan art, sexy stuff, our favourite brands, crossovers - we’ve all done stuff like that. I still do stuff like that sometimes, but anyone who’s moved beyond that and goes, “Okay, I’m going to dig a bit deeper and maybe draw something uncomfortable, complex, or unpopular,” gets my attention right away. I like seeing stuff that makes me go, “Whoa... what would possess someone to draw that? I’ve never really seen things that way before. They’re doing more here than just serving their own emotions or fantasizing about what they like most.”

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHEN SOMETHING IS FINISHED?

I struggle with that a lot! Sometimes I’ll be feeling good about a piece and think it’s finished but fiddle with it for hours adjusting and tweaking things until I end up hating it. It’s easy to fall into the trap of staring at something until you hate it and can’t figure out why. I often want a project to be finished so bad that I’ll just rush the end of the process and not be happy with it later. Now, even if I think something is done, I like to leave it overnight and come back with fresh eyes the next day. Most of the time I’ll see all kinds of things that can easily be improved that I was completely blind to the day before. Once that’s all done, I’ll still look as closely as possible at every line and try to touch up any mistakes I see. It gets ridiculous, but it drives me crazy to upload something then see a horrible line or blob of color out of place the next time I look at it. Once in a blue moon I’ll dig up something I did many months ago, like “Ghost Town”, and just redo all the things that still bother me. I find the more detailed the piece, the harder it is to call it “finished.” When it does work out though, and I finally get there, those usually end up being the ones I’m most proud of!

tumblr & deviantart @vinnythecake

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