Beuyscouts.com Virtual Field Warp Series 1

Post Shock and Awesome: Lust for Life Marketing Presentation (PDF) has found a new place to dwell over at http://beuyscouts.com as part of their Virtual Field Warp series (check out the Anal Acrobatics piece by writer, Harold Jaffe while you’re there). The Illustrations for the piece were done by troop leader, Norman Conquest.

This insurgent text, guerilla prose piece re-imagines (re-images) life as an IED and a Drone.

Here’s a screen cap.

Click on image to read full PDF text of Post Shock and Awesome

I also received my lifetime membership in the Beuy Scouts. Check out this nifty membership card!

Take some time and point your browser at http://beuyscouts.com/.

About Beuyscouts:

Beuyscouts of Amerika is an international activist art collective founded in New York City in 1989 by artist Norman Conquest. It was initially a response to the Republican attack on the National Endowment for the Arts—spearheaded by the late right-wing Senator and reprobate from North Carolina, Jesse Helms.

To learn more about Piss Bush and how to signal ‘fuck’ in semaphore,  visit http://beuyscouts.com/about/

San Diego Indie Music Fest!

Get Ready to be completely underwhelmed!

Its almost that time of year again when the best in the ‘Indie’ world descend on Northpark for two days of music and mayhem! Who? That’s what I thought when I got an email from Citybeat, directing me to the Indie Music Fest website. Hey, I know who James Marsters is! He’s Buffy’s other boyfriend from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, his character, Spike made watching Buffy worth every minute of pain I endured during season 4 when Buffy started dating the Initiative guy, Riley [what a total douche nozzle that guy was]. Spike was delightfully manipulative and you could see his budding obsession with the Buffster. Apparently he’ll be performing with his band. I wish it was a different famous actor turned musician, like Zooey Deschanel and M Ward instead, but I’ll settle for Spike.

The Indie Music Fest ‘performer’ list reads like a whos who of who. I guess that is the point at an Indie Music ‘fest’. Though Kid Beyond would be worth seeing, he’s a genius using live midi-on the fly samples. I’m wondering where all the San Diego Bands are though? No Prayers, Muslims, Vultures or Transfer? What about Grand Ole Party? Why the fuck do these great San Diego bands always get passed over? How about Weatherbox, one of the best melodic hardcore bands to come out of SD in years?

People get so bummed out when talking about the local ‘scene,’ and I can guess why. Scolaris will now be the exclusive bar of the new world order in North Park. All those bourgeois 30-thousand dollar millionaires will need a watering hole closer to their prefab domiciles across the street and Bar Pink Elephant is thankfully too ‘weird’ for those gaslampers. The Alibi won’t be having shows in the near future or possibly ever again. Beauty Bar and U31 have cornered the asymmetrical haircut movement and don’t even get me started on Soma or the Che where exclusionary IS the norm.

Even Music Fest sponsor 91x treats their Loudspeaker show like a shameful experiment by having it air from 1am to 3am monday mornings. I guess that ensures that the only people who’d listen and be interested are fast asleep. In the interest of full disclosure my brother is a DJ for the loudspeaker show so yes I’d like to hear loudspeaker ‘live’ and not through their podcast monday afternoons.

It boggles the mind. But maybe it is too early to assume there won’t be any bands there that I’d like. Or maybe my discriminating tastes are too music snob and not quite Joe Public enough. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, or more so than last year when Fishbone was one of the few attractions.

Here’s who I’d pick for a ‘Locals Only’ Stage, if given the chance.

Grand Ole Party
Archons
The Prayers
Get Your Death On
Hostile Combover
Joanie Mendenhall
The K23 Orchestra
Weatherbox
Some Girls

Shirts for A Cure: Austin, TX with Hot Water Music

This show was made possible by Marc Beamer and the Shirts for a Cure Folks. Please go and visit them, buy a shirt of your favorite band and help them spread their message of hope.

About SSE:

The Syrentha J. Savio Endowment (SSE) was established by punk-rock photographer Mark Beemer in 2002. SSE provides financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford expensive breast cancer medicine and therapy. The Shirts For A Cure Project (SFAC) was launched by SSE to give voice to the social concerns of punk bands and their many fans as well as to raise awareness about breast cancer prevention.

When a band donates a shirt design to SFAC, the design becomes exclusive to SSE. We sell the shirt and use the proceeds to help women fighting breast cancer. If you would like to support our cause please take a moment to peruse the more then 150 shirts we offer. All shirts are printed on 100% pre-shrunk cotton unless otherwise stated. For a donation of $12 (plus shipping and handling) you will be helping someone who is in need as well as receiving an exclusive shirt from your favorite band.

Better Sense

Our Own Way

At the End of a Gun

Gaslight Anthem “Ida Called you Woody Joe”

Hot Water Music: Live at Shirts For A Cure sxsw 2008

Love those “Trusty Chords”

South By Southwest: Day 3.5

Hot Water Music

This air-conditioned, embalming chamber of temporary habitation has made my face grow haggard and the 3-day stubble and pale early spring skin makes me look about 10 years older than I am. I fit in well here. All these industry folks are handsome in the half-light of dingy clubs around the city. There is that warm booze glaze wherever one looks, from the spring break college kids projectile vomiting in overstuffed trash bins to pint glasses sweating in the Austin humidity.

Perez Hilton waits for his car at the Four Seasons, his showcase this weekend with N.E.R.D is one of the highlights and a fascinating point about ground swell popularity in the music business. He may dish about the worst dregs of celebrity like Britney and Lindsay but an endorsement from him for a band is an olive branch to popularity. It was reported recently by the New York Times that he might have an A&R deal with Universal by the time you read this it might have already been signed. Good for him.

On the other hand you’ve got cheap meals maven Rachel Ray with her own showcase with the Raveonettes where a fair share of bloggers, music leeches and others ate Yum-o! amounts of spicy shrimp and cheesy orzo while gagging down new songs from Holyfuck. If you want to have influence in this town just get yourself some friends together, hand some indie bands some cash and throw a party. If she gets an A&R deal watch out for churning seas, black sun and swarms of locust (not the good kind in suits that play grind core either).

Today is a special party though. One I’ve been anxiously anticipating for a few months. The Shirts for a Cure Project is hosting a FREE party at Red 7 with recently reunited Gainesville punk outfit, Hot Water Music as the headliner. Started by rock photographer Mark Beamer in 2002 the project has bands donate shirt designs to the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment (SSE) which helps give assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford expensive breast cancer medication and treatment as well as spreading awareness about breast cancer prevention (if you’ve got a facebook account, go sign up in the causes application).

I made it there at noon, a few minutes before doors opened. This looked more like my kind of crowd. Not too many asymmetrical haircuts or pseudo hip-hop garb. Quite a few beards and some Converge t-shirts. Yes! My peeps and no one in a sport coat with jeans anywhere near. The line stretched around the block and there was some worry on my behalf that I may not get in but when I approached, handed my ID I heard them say they’d only let 200 more in, so I could have slept another 20 minutes and made it fine. I’m glad I got in though. I waded my way through the indoor ‘bar’ stage where some bands like Envy On the Coast where about to play. They’re mid level Warped Tour style screamo-whatever-they-call-it-now type of music that I’m just too old to get into.

It is approaching 90 degrees. The outdoor stage area has a bar at the back, large open space, stage and a 12 foot brick wall where just on the other side is another showcase that elicit a few hilarious comments about the quality during the long day. Jersey based band Drive By opened the set with some searing four on the floor Lifetime-esque punk rock and consistently plugged their Jersey neighbors, Gaslight Anthem who had just finished playing a few blocks away at their new label showcase for SideOneDummy Records.

Gaslight Anthem was definitely a highlight among many for this particular show. They played a good cross section of songs from their Sabot debut, Sink or Swim peppered with tunes from they’re recently released EP Senor and the Queen. Where Against Me went the route of more Billy Bragg/Replacements style rock, Gaslight Anthem proudly wears their Springsteen roots on their sleeves (singer Brian Fallon sports a Tramps Like Us, Baby We Were Born To Run sleeveless black Tee). They’ll be in LA the last two weeks of March recording their full-length follow up before heading out on the road with former Avail singer turned solo alt country singer Tim Barry and hometown bros, The Bouncing Souls.

San Francisco punk band Dead To Me tore things up and chaos ensued when Paint It Black warmed the concrete with their Slapshot style hardcore. Hot Water Music opened with “Alachua” and it was like they had never stopped being the same hard working, hard drinking, poor passionate traveling bards they started out as in the early 90’s. Singer Chuck Ragan and Singer Chris Wollard both have such similar voices its hard to believe they’re not blood relatives, however that dynamic bit of genetic difference makes what HWM so unique. They are doing a national tour and this was a somewhat unofficial kick off for it, its great ‘no surrender rock and roll.’

heres a set list pic from Colin over at punknews.org

The end of this ridiculously long day saw a performance by MXPX and a stumbling swagger down 6th street with the Fat Wreck Chords crew, ending in a cocktail at the Omni and a planned stroll to see Fucked Up across the Congress Street bridge that had to bow out of. I turned and went to my room where I fell asleep wrapped in my street clothes with one shoe off so I could get a few hours of sleep.

Gaslight Anthem

South By Southwest Day 2.5

Naked Raygun

Yes day 2.5. The days go from about noon to 3am. Or that’s when I start realizing I’m seeing some band I should be writing about and scratch some notes in my book with a some note that says “remember this,” and nothing else to reference what I’m supposed to be commiting them to memory. Day two began in the hotel restaurant/bar where I ordered a salad and a bloody. The salad was terrible, big chunky unripe avocados instantly turned my stomach. Who needs food when you’ve got the unsullied dreams of thousands of musicians filling every nook and cranny of every place you turn right?

I headed to the convention center to see if I could get a press tag for my video camera since I got denied at Van Morrison the night before. Inside the Austin Convention Center is where you will find the ‘Exhibition’ space for SXSW. It’s a veritable who’s who of ‘who cares’ with the exception of some amazing guitar companies, like Taylor Guitars (plug). Companies that have 10×10 booths selling everything from something called an iStick, which is a portable video device to Armed Forces Entertainment who book bands to perform overseas for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You’ll also find some panels taking place; usually the good ones are at the same exact time, early in the morning when most musicians present are still asleep. Useful panels about getting signed to record labels, licensing music, working with brands to supplement your bands income, ASCAP talking about industry health insurance. Incredible panels that folks can take advantage of if they shelled out 400.00 dollars for a badge in October of last year, or the ‘Day of’ price of over $600. Wow! What a deal for that little band from Jersey who spent 1K on a Van Rental to drive all the way here to play two little clubs without being able to book any shows on the way since every band in America has booked up clubs and venue’s east, west and north of Austin.

Thursday evening I moseyed over to the Texas Rock Fest sponsored by Guitar Hero III stages. The Texas Rock Fest is in its 3rd year and used to be held in an empty lot that had been dubbed ‘Beirut’ for its urban warfare visage. Newly situated in a giant parking lot, Rock Fest is free and open to the public and all ages. With its central location on 7th and Trinity it is an easy place to find and if you are local or a band without money it is a good place to end up, drinks aren’t cheap though so make friends with a stage hand and soak up the free ones back stage. The Normal Kids from Evergreen, CO played a ripping set with a stand in singer named Travis who belted out each tune like they where his own.

I attempted to make it to the Anti showcase later that night to catch Billy Bragg again and The Weakerthans but I ended up at Vice watching Fucked Up. The problem with this behemoth of a festival is that you will ‘attempt’ to make to as many things as possible but end up straying and getting pulled into some vortex watching another band. Getting pulled in to the Fucked Up vortex was well worth the distraction. Singer Damian Abraham stalked the stage like a polar bear, moving his considerable mass gracefully through the raised fists in front of the stage, raining spit and sweat on the first 3 rows. Take one look at their wiki entry and you’ll get an idea for their brand of irreverent punk rock.

That concludes day 2.5. Day 3.5 soon to come (with pics and vids!).

Billy Bragg 

South By Southwest Day 1.5

Dub Trio live at Red Eyed Fly

The key, when entering this particular environment, is to avoid spirits, sticking to beer will save your life at the end of the night. I’ve seen those who decide to walk the path of shots and mixed drinks. They’re ugly man. They get carried out by their slightly embarrassed friends who, I’m sure are making excuses for the friend who can’t hold his or her booze while shuffling pass the tsk-tsking security. Touched down in Austin yesterday afternoon.

On my airplane was Jon Foreman from Switchfoot, Grand Ole Party and a fellow in the row next to me that was dressed like he could be in a band—or gay. Point is there are just under 20 bands from San Diego this year like Earthless, The Muslims and an entire Swami (John Reis from Rocket from the Crypt’s label) showcase. I kept my mind nimble as I maneuvered through the thronging mass of revelers, slowly making my way to where I would be seeing Dub Trio at midnight. Stopped in a couple different bars, including Headhunters where I saw Cory and Pat from Vena Cava. A fantastic punk band was playing by the name of Watson. Great songwriting. Lots of energy on a stage that barely fit the entire band. It was cramped. Next I hoofed it over to Stubbs. Saw Michael Stipe and the other dudes from REM mingling with the crowd. A few bands from Athens were playing and REM was the headliner. I didn’t stay but a friend of mine said they were great, played a lot of new up-tempo tunes that rocked. That’s cool that REM rocks.

After spinning my wheels and lubricating my main frame for a couple hours I hit the ground running at the Red Eyed Fly where I patiently waited through two super shitty bands. One of which had a guitar player that didn’t have much restraint. He smashed his SG on the ground. From the stage. No one was in front of the stage. It didn’t break the first time so he picked it up and hurled it from the stage again, headstock first. Douche nozzle. His backup guitar was a Reverend. They make neat little guitars for under $1K from plastic with wood necks. Great guitars for playing surf rock. It’s the kind of guitar you would smash and not feel bad about, but he killed that Gibson.

Dub Trio went on at about 12:15am. What an amazing show. They played some songs from their new record as well as from their debut, New Heavy. When they come to your town please go see them. I took some pictures but I failed to bring the chord to transfer them to my computer. Go figure.

Naked Raygun closed the show. Quite a bit of drunken moshing took place which was good to see to a normally ‘I’m so fucking cool I don’t dance’ kind of crowd. Limped back to my room at about 2 and hit the sack.

This morning was amazing. Lou Reed was the keynote this year (Pete Townsend was the keynote last year) and he was mesmerizing. Hal Willner, a music producer who has worked with Reed and Marianne Faithful and dozens of other notables moderated. They knew each other so it was comfortable and relaxed but Reed is a thoughtful speaker and Willner made a joke about trying not to cut him off. Not that Reed talks like Captain Kirk but he takes his time to answer things and usually what he says is great, like his songs. They discussed the new performance film of Reed’s album Berlin, directed by Julien Schnabel called. The most interested aspect of the discussion came about when they began to talk about technology and music. Reed said, “People have to demand a higher standard (for recorded music). People that like good sound will (some day) be looked at like some strange animal in the zoo.

Adding, “[technology] is making it easier to make things worse.”

Yes he collects records. He likes to listen to Melt Banana in small doses and even entertained the idea of resurrecting some of his old albums like he did with Berlin. Some assholes cell phone kept going off during the interview and Reed, frustrated by this point, mentioned that they should shove that phone up a cow’s ass, being in Texas and all. He was funny, intelligent and well spoken. It was the highlight of the day [though the day is still young at the time of this writing].

I caught Thurston Moore and Steve Reich in the afternoon. Suffice to say it was a learning experience. Reich and Phillip Glass are pals and used to have a moving company called Chelsea Light Moving where they would go around and pick up smelly old couches then dump them or sell them. Music ain’t all about the glamour right?

Billy Bragg closed out the SESAC Day Stage. I’ve got footage and will post it soon. Now I’ve got to go eat some food and drink another dozen Lone Stars. There is a reason you can only really find Lone Star in Texas, its like Pabst but not as good.

Fucked Up: Live

FEAR on Saturday Night Live 1981 (Thanks J Belushi)

Yes. John Belushi was fucking cool. He tried to get Fear to do the entire soundtrack of his movie Neighbors but the studio nixed it, so to make up for it he put some pressure on SNL to let the band appear. I looked for this all during my lunch break. This chaotic little exhibition is inspiring. That danger. That feeling that most people don’t understand because they want to feel so safe when they go to a rock show is embodied in this little clip. By the way, go sit down in front of your TV and watch some Repo Man when you are done, followed by a Suburbia (written by Penelope Spheeris who also did Decline of Western Civilization AND Waynes World!!!) chaser. Now enjoy it!

FEAR – Live 1981 SNL

(sorry, stupid embed code wouldn’t work)

Google “Bike There” Petition

Hello. Do you ride a bike? You may or may have ridden one in a while but chances are you know how, or learned at some point and have been languishing in your car since you turned 16. If you live west of the Mississippi you DO live in Car Land, where working buses and subways are so gauche, and rare as buffalo. So if you do ride a two wheeled vehicle more than just on weekends to the beach or bar Swrve makes sweet gear for the urban cyclist who doesn’t want to look like a total douche nozzle. I just got this from my new favorite bicycle clothing company Swrve, who are based out of San Francisco and make affordable COOL looking bike knickers and jackets. NO SPANDEX ZONE!

we don’t usually send out mass e-mails (this is in fact our first!) but the impetus for sending this mail seems worthy. we just heard about a petition to encourage Google to include a “bike there” option in addition to the already-existing “drive there” and “take public transit” options. it seems like a great idea so we thought we would send it along to all of you.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/bikether/

This is a pick of the ones I bought. They are great, durable, breathable, but if you have cats, like I do, these knickers (shants) are instant fur magnets.

Propagandhi: An Interview with Todd Kowalski

(This was one of my most exciting interviews. Once I had established some full time writers for themusicedge.com I was able to secure interviews with some of the bands that informed me as a person and as a musician – this was one such occasion.)

Arrhythmias in Music

So you may be wondering, “Why the nine-dollar title?” Well, it’s quite simple really. Manitoba’s powerhouse thrash-punk trio (Glen Lambert-vox, guitar, Todd Kowalski-bass, vox and Jordy Samolesky-drums) has been shredding wicked riffs while ripping to shreds everyone from Bush to organized religion to COINTELPRO for the past 13 years. They are the irregular beat in the black heart of punk rock, eschewing pop affectations and single-minded punk politics (they don’t give a fuck if YOU don’t think they’re punk enough), fashion and desire to sell more units and make tons of cash. They don’t even get along that well with their record label (Fat Wreck Chords), which isn’t entirely true but what’s entertainment without some controversy?

They represent the elephant in the corner that no one wants to talk about. I mean, who wants to be in a circle pit when some guy is singing about sticking an American flag in an uncomfortable place, especially some guy from Canada? Next thing they’ll do is make fun of “Freedom Fries” and all the hard-working Americans who make up the McDonald’s labor force.

Propagandhi has put out several significant albums in its decade-long history. Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes saw the band grow and mature while still maintaining its tongue-in-cheek humor, and its Fat Wreck Chords debut, How to Clean Everything, took the ‘Jock’ out of punk rock, while nodding to SNFU, Venom and Iron Maiden. Their latest pièce de résistance, Potemkin City Limits, is a drastic evolution in musicianship, songwriting and unfettered aggression.

We recently caught up with Propagandhi bassist Todd Kowalski who answered our email questions faster than any interviewee for The Music Edge in our two-and-a-half-year history.

Oh, and we finally got the skinny on the whole Chris Hannah/Glen Lambert thing. Intrigued? Read on.

Shane: Aside from being in Propagandhi, what do you do employment or career-wise? I’ve read that you don’t consider yourself a full-time musician-what do you do to keep sane when not playing music?
Todd Kowalski: I think Glen/Chris is going through a whole-life crisis. Actually, believe it or not, we are full-time musicians. Haha. We all practice really hard and spend a lot of time writing songs, etc. I like to play all kinds of music. I’ve started taking jazz guitar lessons. However, my heart lies in the thrash! When not playing music, I spend a lot of time fighting Jiu jitsu and boxing. That’s a lot of fun for me. I draw and paint all the time. Someday I’d like to draw my own comics. I also want to be an astronaut, form my own space traveling company. Or maybe swim with the fishes.

SR: One of my fondest memories of Propagandhi was the show at the VFW in Denver in the mid-nineties. I had patiently waited a few years to see the band play live and then never got the chance because the promoters oversold the show; then the cops showed up and started tear-gassing everyone. What really happened?
TK: Well, I wasn’t in the band at that time. From what I’ve heard, the cops went out of control when a kid threw a chair at them or something. Yeah, I’ve been tear-gassed a couple times also. It burns like hell. It can’t be good for you. Imagine a bunch of cops gassing kids at a show. That is assault. No one should have to tolerate that.

SR: In regard to the San Fran show, was the “McShit Shake” costume appreciated overall?
TK: Shitty McShake never really made it to the stage that night. He just hovered along the outskirts of the stage. After that show he kept turning up the juice! Shitty was a great addition to the band and a great sponsor for us. I’d like to thank McDonalds, Burger King, Vans, Schneider’s Wieners and Krusty Burger for sponsoring the tour.

SR: How did you decide on the opening acts? (Greg MacPherson, Western Addiction, etc.) How did the crowd respond to someone as diverse as Greg Macpherson?
TK: The crowd was really into MacPherson. He’s a great performer and really honest. I’d rather take people with spirit and a drive to communicate [on tour] than just bands that will help sell a lot of tickets to the show. We’ve been friends with Chicken and the fellows from Western Addiction for years. They’re great! I thought it’d be nice to have them along. We then added Toys That Kill because they are very old friends of ours as well. Todd from TTK put out the Propagandhi/I Spy split 10″ back in the day. They kicked ass as well.

SR: Concerning the new album, Potemkin City Limits, how long did you spend writing it? Did you have a specific vision for this album?
TK: The record took a long time to make. A lot of riffing and lyric-writing took place. The vision for the record just comes naturally as the songs are made. The theme of the record came when we saw that the lyrics could all fit in some way to the idea of a Potemkin City or Village, which is a facade. Four more years of Democrats or Republicans makes me depressed and angry enough to keep the tunes coming.

SR: What do you want people to take with them from this record?
TK: I want people to thrash and to feel something. I hope they can identify with the despair we feel/felt about the world and we can help them get through it. For me to help someone out and help myself get through life using music is my only goal. Many musicians have done the same for me, that’s for sure.

SR: The artwork is pretty incredible as well-how was it chosen?
TK: We’ve known about those artists, Eric Drooker and Sue Coe, for a long time. We chose their art because it’s great and really emotive. They have something good and honest to say. I painted the CD face as well. I wanted a photo of those kids on the CD but figured I’d paint them so it looks a little different than just going to copy a photo into a CD.

SR: What would you tell people who are concerned about the well-being of animals? Is there something people can do right now to stop animal suffering (aside from not eating them of course)? (In fact if you currently live in California you can help in the fight against farm cruelty. Signatures are being turned in Feb. 22 so next time you are going to Whole Paycheck or Trader Ho’s stop and talk to those friendly hippies out front and sign your name! Learn more from this PDF; The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act.
TK: There’s a lot of organizations that help animals. You could donate money to them or volunteer. Everything we do affects animals–be that urban sprawl, agriculture, war, etc. The more we think about where we spend our money, the things we eat, where and how we travel-all those things affect wildlife and animals. If we recognize that they are vital to our own well-being, mentally we will be much better off. We need them physically as part of our ecosystem as well. The first easy, easy step is to stop eating and wearing them, of course.

SR: Does the band plan to tour a lot during 2006?
TK: We’re heading off to Australia in 2006. After that I’m not sure what the plan is. I’d love to see South America or Africa. We have been offered an opportunity to play shows there. It would be great to go to these places and see what’s going on. I think that would be a huge benefit to us so we understand different shit and meet lots of different people. Touring other cultures is so great. I make a point to support world music as well, so I’m not always the one blabbing and not listening to what other people have to say lyrically and musically.

SR: Do you consider yourselves a band first or activists first, or do they go hand in hand?
TK: I think they go hand in hand. We have a good situation where we can actually support things we believe in and have our say and some people will listen. There is a lot of people saying and doing a lot of great things, but they aren’t allowed to break through to people. We are very, very lucky. It would be a hard world to live in if I had no outlet to get my opinion out. It is great to play music, I love it.

SR: For people just starting to play music, what advice can you offer?
TK: The advice I would give is to just worry about the songs and what is truly in your heart. Whether that is political music, instrumental or love songs, just go for it! Don’t worry about the media and magazines too much. Just play for yourself. People will recognize this. Music first- posing, bullet belts and stupidity second.

SR: When did you first pick up a guitar or bass or drums?
TK: I started playing guitar in grade five. I sucked for years and years. I always played just by ear. Now I’m learning theory and stuff. I like both ways of playing. I started playing bass when I joined Propagandhi. Haha.

SR: There is a beautiful mixture of punk and thrash on Potemkin City Limits.
Aside from some of the more obvious influences (Venom, DRI, Slayer) what are some other musical influences you pull from? What is the lyric-writing process like?
TK: I pull a lot of influences from African music-Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, etc. I like all honest music. There is a great, great, great Canadian singer named Garnet Rogers who I love. I love the death-metal band Immolation and the Brazillian band Krisiun as well. A Canadian Rapper named K’Naan is also among the great finds lately. He’s got amazing lyrics. There’s a lot of rad sh*t out there, almost all of it not found on any major radio station or T.V. show.

SR: Which way do we go from here?
TK: I think we have to wake up before we get eaten by the world we live in. We are either at the point of doom or the turning point. The world is crumbling before my eyes. As I travel around I can see that we’re in a worse environmental state than we were even five years ago. We can only send out our own ideological transmissions to each other and do our best to live our lives in a way which is sustainable, just and reasonable. We have to live as though we are not disconnected from all other beings and our environment. If our amnesia doesn’t go away, we will be beaten back to earth by our “Mother.” Ha.

SR: Is there collusion between world power and the international news media to keep information at a drizzle? Are there alternatives to corporate media and journalism available? Are they viable sources?
TK: Yes. I think there is a lot of sources-a hell of a lot more viable than the major media outlets. Fox News advertises their news hour with a “sexy” anchorwoman with the voiceover saying, “Wouldn’t you like to tune into this every night at 10:30?”

That says to me that this is the most bogus news station in the world. I like to check out news from all types of sources: Znet news media from the regions that the news is happening in, Al Jazeera, CNN, local papers. It’s good to check out what all sides are up to. There is definitely a lot out there for honest journalists and other types of people trying to tell the real story. I find books are the best way to get a deeper understanding of something.

SR: Did Chris [Hannah] record any vocals on Potemkin City Limits? (In usual irreverent fashion, the singer/guitarist changed his name on the release and all the subsequent PR that accompanied the release.)
TK: Chris sang about eight songs. Glen Lambert is his, believe it or not, less weird alter-ego. Even if he was shape-shifted into a different form, the smell of toilet paper and vitamins would definitely give him away.

SR: The Propagandhi/I Spy split 10″I’d Rather Be Flag Burning is probably one of my most rare and cherished records. It’s even cooler now that you are in Propagandhi since you were in I Spy. (Yeah, this one is a classic. If you’ve got it on vinyl you’re super fuckin’ lucky. I’ve got my eye out for it every time I go blast through some cash at the local wax mart.)
TK: Haha! I’m glad you like that record. It was a cool period of time. I would never want to go back and relive it but it had its charm. Embarrassing charm, anyway.

SR: When are you going to put out another Propagandhi record? Will it be in five, seven or 10 years?
TK: I have no idea. When the tune-age flows, I too will flow with it. I’d like to do it faster. I have ideas starting to formulate in my tarnished nugget right now. I shall let my fingers dance along the strings until I find salvation. Ha.

(The band is currently working on the followup to Potemkin City Limits, check their site for more news and a bunch of awesome agit-prop style rants)

Thanks to Todd and Vanessa from Fat for setting this up and jumping through major hoops to accommodate us.
http://propagandhi.com/