Seein’ Double: An Interview with Patrick Moore of Gemini Mag
By Ryan Pangilinan

Technology can spurn inspired ideas and damn a medium. The affordability of digital cameras coupled with the internet has everyone going out thinking that they’re the next Cobrasnake or Terry Richardson.

Patrick Moore, the eye and mind behind Gemini Mag, bucks the stereotypes of neo photographers by sticking with the film medium and distributes his pictures in collections as a bi-monthly zine in addition to running a corresponding site.

Ever the polite Canadian, Moore sat down and answered some (not so) tough Totally Crushed Out questions:

How did you get interested in photography?

I got interested in photography growing up in the 90s, through skateboarding and music videos. I would buy skate mags every month and I’d always be watching the Canadian version of MTV, Muchmusic, that played music videos 24/7.

I bought my first camera while I was in high school and I played around with photography, but I was too busy learning how to play guitar and skateboarding to get super into [it]. I’ve only been consistently taking photographs and progressing in the last 18 months, I would say, but I’ve known a little bit about photography since high school.

When we first met, you talked about your preference for using film instead of digital. What is it about the traditional methods that you find more beneficial versus the digital medium?

Well again, growing up in the 90s, a lot of stuff that influenced me to pick up a camera in the first place is that visual style of the 90s, everything was shot on film then and I like the nostalgia that comes along with using film. Digital photos seem so intangible and forgettable. I would go through shoeboxes of photos my parents took on vacations etc. There’s just something about it that’s better than going through iPhoto.

The other reason is a bunch of technical stuff, the gear is cheaper and I prefer it, I can shoot fully manual quicker than I ever could using a digital camera, shooting film makes things more exciting, you have to wait to see your photos, there’s no instant gratification of seeing the photo you just took, but you also need to know exactly what you’re doing so that you actually have photos once you develop your roll. I also just prefer the look of film to digital, the colours, tones, grain.

On a related note, do you think that the ease of digital cameras added with Photoshop or other imagining manipulating software has allowed people to consider themselves “photographers” without learning the fundamentals of visual technique?

There’s a lot of digital photographers that know what they are doing, I just don’t like seeing “comped” photos, where 5 images with the help of a computer turn into 1. I understand the industry standard is digital for a lot of reasons, like turnaround time, it’s cheaper and if you fuck up, Photoshop will save you, it’s just not what I’m into, but I also don’t shoot ad campaigns. In turn though, there’s also a lot of kids that get a DLSR for Xmas and think they are instantly entitled to getting paid to take photos. It’s like anything, there will be professionals in the industry and there’s people who fake it everyday thinking they know what they are doing and or assume they are the “best” at what they do.

What do you use for gear when you’re shooting?

I shoot with a 1970s SLR for about 85% of my work. I also have a rangefinder and a point and shoot that I use from time to time but I mostly stick to my SLR.

Gemini Mag, both the site and the zine, has a really raw aesthetic and captures folks from all walks of life, what do you look for when you’re shooting people?

I’ll shoot anyone I find interesting; really I’m just down to shoot hot girls and hood shit haha. Mostly I just shoot my friends and people within my network of friends. I’m lucky to know so many different types of people with all kinds of different backgrounds. All the photos on my blog or in my zine are my friends or friends of friends that I’ve met. It’s not like I get a call from someone that’s paying me to take photos and meet up with people I don’t know at all. I like it that way

What do you have in store for future projects?

In the future, I’m just going to keep putting out the zine, new issues every 2 months. I’m working on a book project and trying to do a gallery show sometime this year. We’ll see what happens.

You can check out Gemini Mag here.

Daikon – The Radish’ers that You Should Know About
By Ryan Pangilinan

My awareness of Daikon first surfaced on hardcore wunderkind Comadre’s mixtape, “Volume 3,” last fall. Their song, “Sink Ships,” was this poppy number that stood out among the other pop-punk and hardcore bands that took up space on the mix.

To call Daikon a pop-punk band, however, would be pretty unfair. Recalling the heyday of labels like Big Wheel Rec, Polyvinyl and even early Vagrant, Daikon’s debut full-length, “Lose Your Confusion,” plays with great melody and indie pop sensibilities.

Totally Crushed Out got a little curious with the guys and gal of Daikon and Eric (vocals/guitar), Shaye (bass/vocals) and Jerry (drums) were cool enough to entertain said curiosity.

How did the band get together?

ERIC: We’ve all known each other for about 10-11 years through our various bands playing shows together.

I was a music hermit and sat around recording and doing nothing with any of it. I got bored, or drunk, or both one day and made a Myspace of some of the songs.

SHAYE: Jerry found Eric’s Myspace page and sent it to me one day to check out. We have both always been a fan of Eric’s musicality and song writing but this stuff was a lot different than what I had ever heard from him. Jerry was the one to pursue Eric about trying to take these songs and adapt them to an actual band and voila 2 years later we are still rocking together.

JERRY: Ya, what they said.  I was in my first real band with Eric a long time ago, and I have tried unsuccessfully to do another band with him until now.  

The lyrical content of Lose Your Confusion isn’t as dumb as other indie rock bands and the aspects of a relationships seemed to be dealt with in an adult way. Was this a conscious effort?

E: Lyrics and music in general is therapy. What ever was bothering me isn’t a problem when a song is finished. I’m also 30 and I’m not writing songs to get girls to sleep with me. I think if any girl actually listens to my lyrics she will stay the hell away from me for fear of me writing a song about her (HA HA). In general, if I don’t get the flow of a song going within a minute or so, I stop trying to write it and do something else. Most of our songs took about an hour or so to write. I try not to force anything. A couple songs initially had absolute shit for lyrics so at a later point I rewrote them. The melody of the song and the rhythm really dictate what the lyrics will be. I just have to make a few editing changes at the end.

I really admire what hip-hop does with language. There are a ton of people who take language and just play with it from every angle. I’m now trying to consciously have a little more fun with language in some songs, ill iteration, dialog, tools like that. I’m really jealous of people who have mastered language and can just really use it in a creative way. The people who can sum up a complex idea about human existence in a couple lines of poetry or a song are amazing. I have problems with metaphors and I usually use them to keep lyrics from getting too personal. I don’t like talking about myself so I’ll make a lyric about something else when it’s supposed to be about me.

When I first heard the record, I heard a lot of the poppier-Jade Tree, Polyvinyl influence in the songs, but maybe I’m just projecting. Are there any bands or artists that have inspired the songs on the album?

J: The Cap’n Jazz LP is one of my top favorite records, which I guess counts as a Jade Tree album.  I dig a lot of the Kinsella Bros and related bands.  Mike Kinsella is a phenomenal drummer who does not get enough credit.  I would point anyone to the Owls album as proof of that.  I’ve read interviews where he says he doesn’t like to practice though, which is a bummer.  He should drum more.  As far as direct influences for me in this band; I’d have to cite Jon Wurster from Superchunk, Adam Phaler from Jawbreaker, John McEntire’s work in the Sea & Cake, the Buzzcocks, Husker Du, Built to Spill’s “Keep it Like a Secret” album and the first two REM albums as being key influences.  On our newer record I’ve been into a lot of mid-80’s stuff from Washington DC, which is more influencing the sound of the record more than the actual playing.  This band called The Mice that a good friend of mine turned me onto is big in the mix as well.  I can pretty much take up the rest of this interview with this kind of talk, so I’ll shush now.  I like a lot of stuff.

E: I listened to a lot of American Football and Ida. That would be the Polyvinyl I got into. I listened to a lot of J Church in my tender, formative years. They put out something on Jade Tree I think. Lance Hahn’s lyrics and singing over very simplistic guitar really worked for me. They’re one of the long list of bands I regret never seeing live. I think song-writing wise, for this band at least, I’ve been most influenced by Built to Spill, J Church, and Karate.

The influences are of course everything I’ve ever listened to and if all of us list every band this is going to be the most tedious interview to read. Nothing any musician does is terribly original. It’s one big dialog of sounds shifting slightly over time based on who each musician listened to before them. Other bands that have changed the way I approach music were Fugazi, Crown Hate Ruin, June of 44, Three Mile Pilot, and Faraquet. TV theme songs would also be a huge influence. Punky Brewester, Perfect Strangers… I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. It’s definitely embarrassing that’s for sure. Fraggle Rock was a huge influence for me. The first music album I owned was a Fraggle Rock tape. The second was the Back to the Future Soundtrack. 

For a long time I tried not to make pop music. I looked down on it a lot. I always tried for the dissonant chord or the minor key, change the time signature to 5/8 then into 6/8… pretentious musician things. I think I’m genetically disposed to write pop music. I just had to admit it at some point. The one band I really don’t care for that I know I’m supposed to like, that every band I like probably loves, is the Beatles. I don’t know what it is. I feel absolutely nothing when I hear them. I really tried but I can’t do it. I don’t get them.

S: Ha Ha, it’s funny because I have always been a fan of the Beatles and them along with the Beach Boys have really influenced all of the backing vocal harmonies that I like to add to the songs. I  also have a great appreciation for late 70s early 80s Pub/Punk influenced bands like Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Jam and The Jags that had catchy songs with killer bass lines. Im also really into the first Joe Jackson album “Look Sharp”. A lot of the bands in that genre played semi aggressive pop songs which is definitely something you can hear being influenced in our songs.

As I stated above, I first came across your band on the Comadre mixtape, but obviously, you guys don’t sound anything like Comadre or a majority of the bands on that comp. Is the Bay Area that tight knit where bands who don’t necessarily fit the same genre have that kind of support?

J: I have to say first off that Jack Shirley (of Comadre & the Atomic Garden Recording Company) is one of the most supportive folks, period.  Its his fault we ended up on that mixtape, and as a result why we are talking to you right now.  He recorded the album and I guess he likes us.  So thank you Jack!  But overall the Bay Area scene can be very supportive of diverse music.  There’s a long history; Spazz played their first show with Rancid (!?), Hoover, and John Henry West - now that is a fucking diverse show!  I feel like it does not always live up to that potential, but the potential is definitely there.  As with any other place, things ebb and flow; right now there seems to be a bit of a poppier punk and indie renaissance going on, which is nice.  Diversity always lends itself to the exchange of fresh ideas, and that dialog is crucial to any kind of cultural progression.  This is especially true in the underground where change and new things come from “the bottom”, if you will, whereas in more mainstream culture you see the “new thing” being handed down to you from “the top”.  Oh great, now I am using quotation marks. Please forgive me.

S: I definitely feel that the Bay Area is a tight knit place. Take the Comadre kids for instance, these are people that I have known now for almost 11 years though playing shows together. The Bay Area has made it easy to build a nice musical family. Just because we dont sound like a lot of the people on the Comadre mix tape that doesnt mean that people wont enjoy us as a band. It actually shows how much support  the Bay Area  and Comadre specifically have of their friends bands and how even though we play different music styles now we all still support each other. 

E: Yes and no. My experience has been that hardcore kids are the most supportive and least judgmental music fans you’ll ever find in your life. Not the “frat-bro pound your chest and throw poop at people” hardcore kids but the “bike riding vegan get drunk and have a sing a long” hardcore kids. Indie rock can seem like it’s really pretentious sometimes but I think that’s just because everyone is socially uncomfortable. The internet has really made that worse. No one knows how to talk to anyone anymore. I think a lot of community in music scenes has disappeared because of that.

Musicians are also really supportive and open. Most music fans here are musicians themselves. Everyone else is a computer engineer. The DotCom bubble really decimated the music scene here. In the South Bay Most people moved to Portland or Austin because of the absurd cost of living. If you don’t make more than 50k a year it’s really hard to just live and pay rent.

Are there any plans to tour in the near future?

S: YES YES YES. Right now we are trying to just get our record pressed (anybody?) so that we can have something to help us fund our way once we are on the road. At this point though we would be super stoked just to get some more shows outside of San Francisco (again, anybody?)

E: Hopefully. We’re still trying to get money together to press our record. I think we’re all itching to tour. We really want to go back to Japan. That place is fun and the people are sweet as shit and super excited about everything. Plus you can buy a jug of beer from a vending machine! I’ve only been up the west coast. I would love to go to the Midwest, East, even parts of the south.

J: YES.  That is one thing I don’t think the internet (sorry, internet) can ruin or remove from the underground - the power of experiencing music in person.  I hope we can do that soon, we are working stiffs with a lot of vacation time saved up.  Definitely after we have a physical record to bring along with us.

And on a related note, what are Daikon’s plans for continued releases or labels (if there are any interests at all)?

E: If someone wants to front the money for us to press stuff that would be magical. We’ve got 1 album completed that we just need to scrape the money together for. We’ve got a split 7” with another band, Sterling Says (amazing guys), ready to go. We’ve recorded another 8 or 9 songs in our practice space that are getting polished up.

S: Like Eric said we are really focusing right now on the getting the first album pressed. We are lucky and have a pretty easy time getting new songs together so I think we are really trying to not getting ahead of ourselves as far as recording goes right now.

J: Indeed.  We are steaming ahead on a second album right now, but the priority is getting the first one out there so we have a clean slate.

Daikon on Myspace

Daikon on Bandcamp

Liam Wilson of Dillinger Escape Plan vs Totally Crushed Out

By Dave Woods

It was at the tender age of 17 that I received an audio lobotomy from Calculating Infinity by The Dillinger Escape Plan. I liken the experience to that which takes place between Sloth and Chunk in The Goonies; both initially scream in terror at the completely alien form in front of them, with the screams eventually giving way to nervous laughter and a lasting friendship forged over a candy bar. Or something like that. DEP has since represented a pinnacle in artistic expression, refusing to kowtow to trends and continually producing music which simultaneously pushes boundaries and synthesizes influences.

Recently, I had the privilege of bouncing a few questions off of DEP bassist, Liam Wilson. Band interviews tend to be mundane PR in most cases, so the level of thoughtfulness with which Liam provided responses is definitely a pleasant surprise. He addresses everything from the upcoming DEP album to being a vegan on tour, as well as dropping a rad Andrew WK anecdote – all with the unparalleled insight and wit expected of one who plays in time-signatures only calculable by a TI-83 Plus.

TCO: 
Ire Works could be characterized as a more streamlined combination of the chaos of Calculating Infinity and the pop sensibilities of Miss Machine. How would you compare the new record, Option Paralysis, with such previous work?

Liam Wilson: I agree that there are definitely a few “streamlined” themes present as you telescope forward through the records. Certain characteristics are compressed while others expanded on and further explored. I think people were surprised to hear some of the more melodic stuff that Miss Machine and on had to offer, but when you go all the way back to the beginning, the very first track off the self-titled cd is a melodic, latin-y piece called ‘Proceed With Caution’, which is something we’re often reinventing, and songs like ‘When Good Dogs Do Bad Things’ from the Irony Is A Dead scene ep was what really opened us up in the vocal department. I think Ire Works certainly prepares the audience for what Option Paralysis is offering; its seeing that bid and raising it. For us as players as well as listeners, the ‘writing, recording, touring and repeat’ process changes you. All that building up and tearing down as a band through all that affects the way we sound. This record more than any recent effort has had the least amount of excess band drama as anything before. We feel like that inter-personal “streamlining” has also delivered amazing results onstage, at rehearsals and in the studio. This being our first record to write and record entirely with a new drummer since the band’s conception, there were high expectations both inside and outside the DEP camp. I think that healthy-pressure also helped pull us into some fresh and more twisted directions.

DEP has worked with producer/engineer Steve Evetts on every release. How integral is he to the formation of each album? Does he provide any creative input to the songs? Or is he solely concerned with the recording? Have or would you ever consider working with another producer?

Steve’s definitely been a pretty major factor in the Dillinger “sound” on our recordings. From my experience with him, at least while we’re in the studio, his opinion as a producer and engineer is as much welcome and respected as any of ours, if not more so. He’s one of the only people I think I’ve ever met who just understands music instinctively. His imput with things like harmonies, tone, dynamics is always right on. He’s primarily a bass player, so for me, I look at recording like its a few weeks of private lessons. He’s critical, almost menacing while you’re in the hot seat with him (especially when the Phillies were playing well), but he knows what he’s talking about, knows what he’s looking for sonically, and pushes each player to their respective edge. He brings old-school studio skills and doesn’t let anything ‘slide’ along the way. He approaches engineering records like its an instrument, a craft. That sensibility is getting more and more diluted these days with all the studio plug-ins, vocoders etc. If all our album credits don’t say something about how much we respect and appreciate his knowledge and know-how, I’m not sure what else I could say that would?

Though an extremely technical band in nature, it seems like the high instrumental proficiency of DEP is often taken for granted by the fans. That is, it’s just assumed you guys shred without the slightest problem. Have you ever had a hard time learning a DEP song? Has Ben ever come up with a riff or part that’s made you say something to the effect of “hey asshole, other people have to play this shit too”?

There are a few parts in songs like ‘Jim Fear’ and ‘Perfect Design’ that are really difficult for us to pull off, or were really difficult to pull off for months at a time. After playing for 18 years or so, I’m confident enough of my abilities on my instrument so that if what I’m playing during a particular part is too hard to pull off or doesn’t feel right during rehearsals, then I know I won’t nail it live and I’m probably approaching it the wrong way and playing the wrong thing. I guess that’s where the personality of the player comes into play, knowing when to work harder, and knowing when to have restraint; being able to listen to the song and be honest about what the song truly needs from me. I think all of us have a pretty hair-trigger gag reflex to things that simply sound too much like an exercise pulled from a book. The technicality is a means to an end, a tool to communicate complex feelings. We’re not trying to be the best at moving our fingers weird ways really fast. We are trying to be crafty and clever and write music that sounds fresh and sophisticated to our ears.

In general, the role of the bass player in rock music often feels like an afterthought. How would you characterize your role in the band when it comes to making decisions concerning such aspects as songwriting and management?

For whatever reason, in my opinion, the best bass players in most musical efforts are often flying under the radar, happiest to be the unsung secret weapon. I think the quintessential role of the bass player is to be the unconditional “less is more” team player - the lineman blocking, not the dude throwing or running the ball downfield for a touchdown. Its a subtle and intrinsically supportive, esoteric and thankless role. We’re there to sync up with the drummer like Voltron or something, to bring the rhythm into the third dimension, make it bigger and give the music a sense of motion on every aural axis. To marry the melody and the rhythm together with something singular that retains qualities of both while showcasing something unique yet always unifying. “Afterthought” sounds like such a dirty word. For Dillinger, even though I’m a bigger part of the writing process than the vocals, I usually opt to record my tracks last as opposed to second after the drums like most bassists and the majority of bands. We’ve discovered that when the rhythm guitar tracks are recorded first, the bass is free to explore more, to support more. When the vocals or electronics are already in there, I can anchor those down, and play off them in ways I couldn’t otherwise. I get to come in and just sorta mortar all the musical bricks together, I put the flesh on the bones, I’m the breath in the lungs.

I don’t think a bass player is simply the dude playing the bass so much as the dude thinking like a bass player on and off their instrument. I tend to be the guy dragging the waters for ideas and options, possible solutions, in business and song-writing, more so than making the final decisions. Always supporting, always measuring twice and cutting once, the anchor, the humility.

I’ve seen enough Earth Crisis live footage to gather that being a vegan on the road can definitely put a strain on the human body. How do you maintain a healthy diet on tour? Or is it more matter of “getting by” until you’re home?

I certainly have a level of ‘acceptance’ in regards to my diet that flip-flops between “home” and “on the road” but the vegan aspect never wavers. Being vegan on the road has as many pitfalls as it does perks, as with all things its an exercise in smart compromise. Honestly, its as hard or as easy as you want to make it, sometimes I travel light, other times when I’ve got the space for it, I’ll bring a rice-cooker and a hand-blender. Pre-packing a certain amount of easy-make snacks and meals for those ‘stuck in the middle of nowhere’ gigs is second nature at this point. In the last decade or so since I started touring the world has certainly become remarkably more vegan friendly - I’ve had some of the worst and later the best vegan meals in places like Warsaw, Poland. I’ve also read enough recent articles about how most people are probably eating more calories than they need on a daily basis, and that raw fruits - which you can find pretty much anywhere - are the best things to eat anyway. Veganism has also become a bit of a universal secret-handshake - when I meet other vegans in other cities, we become like a network of gastro-intestinal sherpas…Going foraging for vegan-friendly restaurants and markets forces me to explore and interact with the cities I’m dropped into, which always has its benefits. When I don’t have anyone giving me first-hand recommendations, I turn to happycow.com. Drinking a lot of water and simply giving each show my physical all covers most of my daily aerobic and cardio needs…and whenever possible I try to find Bikram Yoga classes to attend, in every country, in any language.

In Frodus, you have the reputation for being quite skilled in dealing with hecklers at live shows. Some bands/members actually enjoy playing for hostile crowds, in a way feeding off it. Is this the case with you? What are some of your rebuttal tactics?

With Frodus, I can’t exactly claim any sort of tenure, but from the handfull of shows I played, I quickly learned that the heckling was very much like the school-yard teasing your mother always mentioned - it was always more flirtatious and playful than insulting, and with everything Jason (Hammacher, drums) dishes out, we better be thick-skinned enough to welcome anything anyone is going to throw back at us. More often than not, maybe because we’ve got the microphones, either band always seem to get the last, and rightful, words in. With Dillinger, I’ve become more accustomed to the other kind of heckling, from the somewhat clever “Play one the drummer knows”, to the atypical “You guys suck!”, or “Freebird” stuff. Again, when we encounter someone bold enough to verbalize their negative opinions, we deliberately single them out and take it to them…usually quite literally and superficially - which is only fair, considering. If we can convert that person, or the rest of the crowd against them, we’re able to maintain some sense of hierarchy and command over the situation, and regardless of the outcome, that transaction certainly stokes our coals…Humor seems to work best, and our wit has been sharpened into a rather incising tooth over the years. I don’t think there’s anything we haven’t heard, can’t handle or instantly recycle into something of use to us. When you’re your own worst critic, everything else feels downright pervertedly pleasurable.

Who are the pitchers in DEP? Who are the catchers?

You volunteering to find out?

I’ve heard you’re a Carcass fan. So… Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious or Heartwork?

Necroticism. They stopped the double-vocal assualt, the solo-titling…that was the death knell. For those of you who don’t get the inside joke humor of this question - A few years back Andrew WK was hosting a SXSW Showcase DEP were performing at. While changing my strings, AWK walked up to me, introduced himself to me, and I do him, and without a second of hesitation or consideration as to what my musical tastes were he asks me what my favorite Carcass record was…As far as I’m concerned, that dude was forever frozen in a Han Solo-like Cryogenic freeze of “coolness” from that moment on.

Who is your favorite character from the Police Academy films?

How can you pick just one?

HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO: The movie Judgment Night II comes to fruition. It’s terrible, as was expected. But the soundtrack has potential, following the same formula as the original: metal/rock bands are matched up with hip-hop artists. Converge is already on board working with Old Dirty Bastard, and Isis with Mos Def. DEP is fortunate enough to grab a spot for a track. What rapper would you choose to do a song with?

Tough call, either Ice Cube or Biggie Smalls?

Check out upcoming tour dates and preorder Option Paralysis here.

All photos stolen from Liam.

Joe Dunn vs. Totally Crushed Out
By Ryan Pangilinan

As newspapers start to taper off at an alarming rate, the Internet has been a haven for comic artists who are bypassing the traditional publishing route. Comics such as Penny Arcade and Nothing Nice to Say have all found solid niches online. One such artist is Joe Dunn, the man behind the hilarious comics Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Another Video Game Webcomic, two strips that take to task the film and video game industries respectively.

Dunn’s bright use of colors and matter-of-fact sense of humor (check his Kate Hudson-Grimace comic) make his comics some of the funniest in Internetville. Recently, Dunn sat down and answered some questions that were burning in our pantalones.

TOTALLY CRUSHED OUT: What initially captured your interest in being a cartoonist?

JOE DUNN: It’s hard to say really. I’m going to give you one of those cliché answers that says, “I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember.” It’s the truth though. I sort of always knew I would eventually be drawing for a living and in a certain way that makes me lucky. I know a lot of friends and family that struggled to figure out “what they wanted to be when they grew up.” I was on the artistic path pretty early on.

Like a lot of comic creators, I grew up on comic books both as comic strips and superheroes as well. At one point or another we all have lofty dreams of drawing Spider-man but a lot of us find that we have our own stories to tell. That was the beginning of what lead me to the strips I’m working on today.

Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Another Video Game Webcomic are steeped in other media. How did you come up with the idea to mix being a movie/game reviewer with comics?

Well it started with a love of movies. I found myself watching movies constantly always with the desire to discuss with others. I knew I wanted to make my own little commentary on film with a webcomic but I also knew that it couldn’t just be the comic. We’ve got enough of those on the internet. It wasn’t worth doing unless I was adding something.

The comic/review combo felt like a good fit and it offered me a variety of ways to talk about humor and film. I like to say these days at conventions when I’m trying to attract new readers that “I make fun of the movie in the comic and completely over analyze it in the review.” It’s an exaggeration but there’s definitely some truth to it.

Another Videogame Webcomic came on years later when I persuaded my good friend and writing partner Phil Chan to take a similar comic/review approach to his passion of gaming. It’s been going for about a year and has come along pretty well. Even though I’m only the artist on that strip I’m proud of what we’ve developed in such a short period of time.

There are elements, it seems, of your personal life that work their way into the comics. Has anyone ever objected to the way they were portrayed, or situations becoming embellished for comedic purposes?

I try to be fair when I use the people in my life in my comic world and luckily most people have been totally cool with it, which is a little surprising considering some of the terrible things I’ve had the character Irv do in JLCM. Real life Irv is a pretty easygoing guy though. True friends will show their true selves when you draw them into a comic dressed as a hooker.

My wife has taken issue with me a few times, usually when I portray her in a sexy way. She has every right to feel uncomfortable with me sharing that aspect of our relationship but I make an effort to make it less about her sexuality and more about my obsession with her sexuality. When all else fails, make yourself the punch line. Self-deprecation will always win out over targeting others.

Have you thought about compiling any of your comics into a collection?

As a matter of fact, collections of JLCM as well as two other comics I’ve worked on are currently available online or at any of the many conventions I travel to over the year. Putting together a book with comics, reviews, commentaries and sketches was a daunting task but very rewarding. It’s a unique thing to hold something that you created.

In the past, you’ve collaborated with Mitch Clem (creator of Nothing Nice to Say and My Stupid Life). Are there any other artists you’d be interested in working with?

Tons. I’ve met so many great people that I would love to work with someday. In fact, I’d love to return to working with Mitch. I had a blast working on his Coffee Achievers series. Sadly like a lot of folks I’ve got a lot going on and certain priorities take center stage. The problem is that we’ve all got stories we want to tell and it sometimes leaves no time to tell all the other ones.

What are some movies that are coming out this year that you think would make prime candidates to be Crappy Movies that you love?

That’s a tough one. I like to keep an open mind when it comes to any movie. I strongly believe that there is some good in everything, but there’s a ton of crap on the horizon. It’s one of those things though where the crappy season will be over soon. Before you know it we’ll be into the summer blockbuster season and at least then even the crappy movies have big budgets.

What plans do you have for 2010?

2010 will see a collection of year one of Another Videogame Webcomic as well as the first trip for my company (DigitalPimp) to San Diego Comic Con. We’re a bunch of east coast boys so it’s an exciting opportunity to cross the country and meet a whole new potential audience. Plus it’s comic con: comic, movie and video game heaven. Should be a good week and hopefully an even better year!

See some of Joe’s work on Digital Pimp Online

Super (Duper) Genius: Suzanna Fisher vs. Totally Crushed Out
by Ryan Pangilinan

I’ve known Suzanna Fisher for the better part of a decade as we worked together at an unnamed video chain store in the early aughts. After we both escaped the dreaded corporate video environment, Fisher went on to greener pastures, first as a University of Washington graduate, then as a tattoo artist at Seattle’s popular Supergenius Tattoo shop. I have the utmost confidence in Fisher’s ability – as she’s tattooed everything that’s on my right arm, as well as Totally Crushed Out’s Janice Benton and Michelle Morris – so I thought she should kick some raps about being an artiste in a male dominated industry.

TOTALLY CRUSHED OUT: You’ve been illustrating for as long as I’ve known you. What first piqued your interest in art?

SUZANNA FISHER: I have been interested in art for as long as I’ve been able to grasp a drawing utensil. There is no point in my life that I can remember not doodling or being the “arty person” in school or in my social circle. The more I’ve done it, the better I get, which makes me want to make more art. It’s a never-ending cycle.

How did you get into tattooing?

When I was 11 or 12, I watched a Discovery program on tattooing and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Being a tattooer was next on my list to being an actress, both of which were professions that I mentally filed under “probably not going to happen but it would be cool”. My dad wanted me to go to college, which I did, but I didn’t discover anything that interested me as much as tattooing. I ended up getting tattooed, hanging around shops, asking a lot of questions and eventually getting a job running the front counter at a tattoo and piercing shop. This led to an apprenticeship, which led to a professional tattoo job at Supergenius, and here I am:)

What is your favorite medium to work in?

Of course I love permanently marking folks, but man, a pen or pencil and a piece of paper can make me really happy. I also enjoy making three dimensional art: jewelry design (mostly in silver) and woodcarving are some mediums that I get a kick out of. I like materials that are unforgiving; when you make a mark, you’ve committed and there’s no turning back.

Do you ever get hit on by random dudes that you end up tattooing?

Haha, yes I do get hit on by random dudes I tattoo, but being situated right next to The Wild Rose (a rather infamous lesbian bar) opens up the field for every gender. Usually the most forward folks are older women or drunk men. I don’t really get cute young groupies like the boys do, but someday when I’ve attained cougar status, that may change;) I like this industry because if you are inappropriate and I don’t like you, I can tell you to fuck off and it’s perfectly ok.

Who are some artists that you’re inspired by at the moment?

Well I like to be inspired but the folks around me, so my coworkers at Supergenius are always pushing me to do better. As for other visual artists, I currently, and have always, adored Robert Crumb. I also am a fan of Tim Burton, Ramiro Rodriguez, Audrey Kawasaki, Gustave Dore, and El Greco, to name a few. Lately I’ve been inspired in my tattoo work by other tattooers such as Jeff Gogue and Darcy Nutt. Music is also always inspirational and necessary for me to make art, and my tastes run the gamut.

Suzy’s Facebook Page

Joe Kimmel vs. Totally Crushed Out
by Janice Benton and Ryan Pangilinan

Mixing pop culture and a self-referential style, Joe Kimmel is an artist who is more precocious than pretentious. A rising name in the Portland art scene, Kimmel has had a few showings in the Northwest and recently chatted with Totally Crushed Out to discuss his inspirations and what he would save from a burning building.

TOTALLY CRUSHED OUT: How did you know that you wanted to be a professional artist?

JOE KIMMEL: Art began for me when I was little, and it befriended me and gave me some kind of a relaxing state. Today, I was looking at a large sketchbook that I had just finished within two months. Looking at each picture, I can remind myself of what I was thinking and what I was being motivated by, however, I don’t know if I could tell you where I physically was when I was working on them. I do have a art studio in Southeast Portland that is my escape location, but not all art happens in the office.

When you ask me how did I decide to become a professional artist, I am taken aback because, although my heart is fully genuine and professional towards art, I do not feel professional in art. Ha.

My main inspiration or rather what I am propelled by seems to be states of wonderment and questions…. I have heard a amazing quote somewhere about the power of asking questions, but it is beyond me now. I have been bulking up on my reading recently, and I am amazed at the base ideas of the reading topics. I have been reading [a science] fiction story [that] is based on a “What If ?”question on life. Taking inspiration from the “What If ?” storyline and crossing it over into my artwork.

If I had to save one piece of my art from a burning building? Well, I wouldn’t risk my life on that attempt. I have a lot of wonderful connections to my life written into my artwork, but I hope that I am not so stuck on a past success that I cannot go to the future challenge with a clear mind. The painting that has been following me around for a long time is a painting of a break up between me and a girlfriend. I love it a lot, because I put my feelings into it, and than I showed it to everyone at a art show and acted like it was not really my pain in front of them.

What other interests do you have?

I am loving making stickers. I have always loved stickers and have tried to make one of a kind stickers over the years. It was not until I arrived in Portland that I found a formula of material and products to make stickers that I love. I am trying to put together a art show comprised of stickers. I still have not found the location that I want however, so I feel like I am dragging my feet on the follow through. The sticker show would be my interpretations of the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories of Tarzan of the Apes. I have already made a wonderfully large Tarzan sticker and an ape sticker as well. My goal is to cover the wall with the floating images, displaying key points of interest and conflict in Tarzan’s life.

Do you have any upcoming shows or projects?

Currently, I am…working with a guy who is making bike bags. I am doing all the original art to decorate the bags. big production of those will not begin till summer. Did I also say that my day job is making feather earrings? I lose my heads most days on it, listing to large playlist and popping Tylenol to [hold] my headaches.

With art, I am waiting for direction. I am waiting for childlike wonderment to take over. I fill a lot of my time up with reading and I don’t know that all my reading is helping my current art, but I know that it is required to further my schema and my filters of my thoughts in art. Art is a living journal so often for me. I have [moved] to a new city and I don’t really know anything for a certainty right now. I am not complaining, I am just gathering. Take courage, you know.

Joe Kimmel on Facebook

There’s No Wah-mbulance Here: The Ambulars vs. Totally Crushed Out
by Ryan Pangilinan

I first came across Washington DC’s The Ambulars through I Could Die Tomorrow, one of the best mp3 blogs on the internets. They wrote up this great description that piqued my interest (as all pop-punk bands that don’t sound like Fall Out Boy are apt to do). What I ended up with were two really great EPs that played non-stop on my iPod for nearly three weeks. When we decided to start Totally Crushed Out, The Ambulars were on my short list of bands I wanted to interview. I reached out to them via their Myspace and they were all cool enough to answer my questions.

TOTALLY CRUSHED OUT: How did the band get together?

MIKE: The three of us have known each other for a long time, though we had never played music together. Jen and Andy approached me at a show with the idea of doing an Alkaline Trio cover band just for the summer. It quickly evolved into an actually band with our own songs. The idea was to do an ephemeral summertime pop-punk band before Jen moved to Chicago.

The sound of the Ambulars has very little in common with contemporary pop-punk and seems to take a cue bands like The Promise Ring and Weston. Was this a conscious decision to not latch on to what kids consider “pop-punk” these days?

M: I think this is more of a product of our influences. We all grew up listening to pop punk bands so we have that common vocabulary, but I know at least my writing influences were not pop punk bands. They were more along the lines of 80’s and 90’s indie rock and shoegaze bands and K-records-type indie-pop, not that we necessarily sound like it. I think we all approached the songwriting with different musical points of reference, but we still had that shared common ground. I think “pop-punk” to us means something different than what it refers to nowadays in its current form.

JEN: That’s true, for me personally, when we were starting up I’d been listening to a lot of the type of pop punk you’ll hear at Insubordination Fest mixed in with a couple 90s favorites like Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience, Dinosaur Jr, and tons of Jawbreaker. Super summery driving sing along music.

ANDY: Our influences seem to come from all over the board, and for me this band is kind of a great attempt to balance the old with the new. The influence of pop punk and emo bands that I loved when I was a bit younger, like Saves the Day and Lifetime, has been really present for me in the writing process, in addition to music that is more currently relevant to me right now, like Bruce Springsteen and Dinosaur Jr.

The “Summer Fling EP” and “The Summer of the Ambulars” are sonically different in terms of recording and the stylistic approach to the band, but they still share a vulnerability. How did you choose which songs from the acoustic EP to record electric?

J: We wanted to represent as much of our whole range as a band as possible when we did the acoustic EP, so we each have at least one song on it where we do the main vocals.

M: “Summer Fling” was recorded more out of necessity than anything else. We had already begun to record “Summer of the Ambulars” [and] it was taking longer to record and mix than we had budgeted for. We wanted to have some sort of release for when we played a pair of out of town shows so we recorded an acoustic EP. Two of the songs were already electric live songs, we just decided to take a few and strip them down for a quick release. These two songs were recorded acoustically after a band practice. I think we just picked songs that we thought would make interesting acoustic versions. The other two were written and recorded at home specifically for the EP.

A: I read an interview with Thurston Moore where he said something like “if you can’t play it on the acoustic guitar then it’s not a real song.” While that may not be totally true, I do see what he means, how you should be able to strip a song down to its barest parts and still find something there that is tangible and relatable. That’s been the cool thing about this acoustic EP, is discovering the songs below the loud crunch of the guitars and the drums.

Are the writing duties split individually or is it a collaborative effort?

M: One of us will show up to practice with an idea or rough skeleton of a song. As a band, we build upon it and all contribute to it until it’s done.

J: We noticed right away that writing music together was totally not stressful and actually a lot of fun. I think the lack of pressure to be a certain way or fit into a certain genre or to have only one lead vocalist or whatever led us to explore our various interests together while writing and try combining different/new things that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise. Also, because we work on all the songs together (including some lyrics), I think thematically everything became really intertwined. Practices became times for us to sit and talk about all the huge changes going on in our lives and around us at the time, dredging up old memories but also looking forward to making new ones. So dealing with change/growing in general is probably the hugest common thread in what we’ve written so far.
I noticed that the band is split up by cities, does this limit your touring time? M: Well, we don’t really tour. The distance thing is still being worked out. The plan was to have the band just exist for one summer and then break up (thus “Summer of the Ambulars”) but we all had too much fun to let that happen and our friends supported us. We play shows when the three of us are in town together, though the band is not constantly active.
A: It would be cool to tour…one day we’ll rent some old station wagon and tour around like National Lampoon’s Vacation.

There’s a real DIY sensibility that the band has that aren’t really present anymore. Would signing to a label be in the cards for you or even something that you’d welcome if given the opportunity?

M: The three of us met in a DIY punk scene, putting out zines and playing in hardcore bands so it’s natural for us to continue with that sensibility. I think we would be open to working with a label in some capacity, though it would obviously need to be the right label and the right kind of relationship. I think we are happy with our station as a DIY pop-punk band, and getting signed isn’t something we’ve really talked about and it certainly hasn’t been a goal of ours.

A: it would all depend on what we have time to do as individuals in the future. i would certainly welcome the chance if it was presented. being DIY doesn’t mean instantly turning down potentially neat opportunities when they come your way. but it’s hard to tell if it would permit in our life schedules at the moment. in your early to mid twenties life changes a lot very rapidly i am discovering, and commitments take you different places, both geographically and mentally, and you have to stay true to your path. you never know what’s coming down the road though, and I’d like to think we’d be open to many different possibilities.

Finally, what do The Ambulars have planned for the future?

M: We plan on playing shows whenever we can and possibly writing and recording a 7”, though all plans are purely speculative. This band quickly outlasted its life-expectancy so we still don’t know what we want to do yet.

J: We’d also like to do a longer tour, since we only had time to play local shows and a very small weekend tour this past summer. Since we’re all so busy with various things (grad school, other musical projects, multiple jobs, etc) the likelihood of us even attempting to make that happen before summer ‘10 is pretty slim, but you never know!

A: The future won’t know what hit it. we’re already constructing a practice space fit for underwater environments for after the polar ice caps melt. i guess that’ll make our station wagon obsolete but we’ll get some underwater hovercraft like in “Life Aquatic” and tour around to the different underwater punk houses and play cool shows.

The Ambulars Myspace

Download The Ambulars EPs Here and Here

by Ryan Pangilinan

Dan Meth can be best described as a kid in a candy store who has run amok by sucking all the color out of Red Hots and Twizzlers and using his saliva to paint pictures on the walls. Though the bulk of his work is seen online (check any one of the Gawker sites), Meth’s talent transcends codes, wires and dot coms and brings a little bit of smiles to everyone’s hearts.

TOTALLY CRUSHED OUT: Can you briefly talk about some of your early dabbles in art?

DAN METH: The first artistic thing I ever did was a really swell birth-fluid fingerpainting on the doctors smock when I was born. Then i didn’t do much for a year or two until I got really into crayons. From then on I pretty much was drawing nonstop. The progression of subject matters was roughly as such: monsters, dinosaurs, sharks, miners, spies, spaceships, knights, heavy metal dudes, superheroes, naked chicks, and now I’m back into monsters. The cycle begins again.

I watched your Influences video and there’s so many such as Harryhausen and Henson and many more staples. Are there any newer artists that have wowed you?

Some new artists that I really love are Tim & Eric, Brad Neely, Benjamin Marra, Marc Bell, Paper Rad, Matt Furie, Rad Rox.

Based on your bio, it seems that you’ve been able to make a go with being an artist in several mediums on a platform that is pretty fickle (aka the Internets). How have you avoided that weird internet limbo that many memes and trends fall into?

Well, I have a sort of ADD about material and style. I find the idea of just doing cartoons about the same character in the same style for years and years would be really boring. I can’t really even stick with one visual technique. Although it’s more fun for me to switch it up all the time, it would probably be a better business method to just come with something marketable and milk it for decades like Garfield.

A good chunk of your work takes its cue from pop culture references and absurdity (one of my favorite examples are the Beach Boys shirts). When you’re coming up with ideas, do you ever wonder if people will have some of the same reference points so it’s not just something that visually interesting, but also something that engages the memory as well?

Well you kinda have to have two categories for your work: The stuff that everyone will understand and the more esoteric stuff that you are really passionate about but few will understand. The best is when you hit that middle zone, where it’s not embarrassingly broad but it’s also not so obscure that it hits the audience like a dull thud. I get a real kick out of making many people laugh but I also have many interests that aren’t exactly mainstream.

I realize that a majority of the work that people know you for is largely satirical, but when I saw the “Untitled” painting post recently, it was an image that struck me as being a little bit more personal and haunting. Are there any other experimental pieces that you’ll want to share on your site as time passes?

Yeah, I think I will be posting more personal stuff occasionally dispersed with the “crowd-pleasers”. Abstraction and experimental work is always kind of personal since it’s rare to get a huge response from the audience with it (unless your name is Jackson Pollack and it’s 1949). You aren’t concerned with how many re-blogs it gets. Of course, my whole career is based on re-blogs so I’m not going to suddenly drop the humor anytime soon.

Is there a particular medium that you favor over another?

I guess my favorite medium will always be good old paper and pens. Its the purest for me to express myself. I have stacks of filled-up sketchbooks. Making animated videos is such a bulky process and it requires so much time, people, and software. There’s nothing as free as doodling on paper.

In the past couple years I’ve gotten really into collage and drawing in collaged books. You get a lot of ideas when you find yourself drawing on any color but white blankness.

What are some of your plans for the near future?

Alot! Music videos, new animation techniques, an encyclopedic book about a country I created, a comic book about spies, some collage posters, more and more Tumblr hits, T-shirts, and more. Keep abreast of it at danmeth.com

Better than On Your Knees: At Our Heels Unplugs the Bright Lights of Nu-Hardcore
by Ryan Pangilinan

“I really wanted something that was just our logo and people would see it and recognize it as our thing,” said Alex Pulisci, the man behind Bay Area thrash hardcore outfit At Our Heels.

In a day when punk and its subgenres have turned into theme songs for movies and commercials (has anyone seen the Johnny Rotten butter commercial?), it’s quite refreshing to find a band like At Our Heels, a DIY group with limitless potential.

Coming from a situation with a rotating lineup, Pulisci found himself at a musical crossroads and started At Our Heels.

“We had, like, 15 different members or something,” he said. “I was doing the bulk of the writing and my writing style kind of changed, so I figured that starting a new band would be a good idea. Start fresh with new songs, a new name and new members.”

When the dust had settled, Pulisci’s project became more of a solo endeavor than anything else.

“The member situation didn’t work out so well and it ended up being just me. It ended up that it was a better way for me to work.”

Calling on friend and Heartsounds’ Ben Murray to man the drums, Pulisci wrote and recorded 2009’s self-titled seven inch (Heart in Hand Records).

Taking cues from the likes of American Nightmare, The Misfits and (early) AFI, At Our Heels’ doesn’t let up for a second and runs through six tracks in a little over seven minutes.

The band’s rampant, non-stop sound has also put them on the same bills with likeminded acts such as Trap Them, Verse, Final Fight, Lewd Acts and Pulling Teeth, to name a few.

Currently, Pulisci is splitting his time between school and a new At Our Heels full-length on Creator-Destructor, which he hopes will be finished next year.

“I’m trying to use my free time to polish up some songs…. We have three new songs that we’ve been playing live. We’re going to have a 10-13 song full length coming out,” he said.

“I’m pretty stoked on the new songs,” Pulisci added.

If their seven inch is any indication, then naysayers should take note: people may like their ‘core watered down or cut with neon colors, but for kids who still jam out to “Astro Zombies” before heading off to work or school, At Our Heels is the best band out there.

At Our Heels Myspace

Hair Today… Alanah Bruce vs. Totally Crushed Out
by Janice Benton

For a number of years, Portland, OR-based stylist Alanah Bruce has been putting her spin on cutting edge hair styles. Bruce is currently working at Akemi (3808 N. Williams Ave Ste. D, Portland, OR) and “sheared” some of her thoughts with TCO.

Totally Crushed Out: What sparked your interest in being a hair stylist?

Alanah Bruce: Honestly, it was people. I love being around people and being involved in something that shapes them and molds them into who they are. I believe a person’s self image is rooted so deeply into what they portray to the world.

Is there a particular style that you adhere to or favor?

Not particularly, I enjoy anything that is “cutting edge.” I like taking people out of their box, but at the same time taking them somewhere they feel comfortable and a place where they can still be who they are.

Where are you currently working now?

I work at an amazing salon called Akemi. It’s a vegan salon, all our products are free of animal testing and have a lot of amazing healthy ingredients that are great for your hair. I love all the people who I work with, I am so fortunate to have found a salon where I can honestly say I enjoy every minute I’m there.

What direction do you think the industry is heading in the near future?

I really think people are realizing that we have such influence in peoples lives as stylists. I have clients who the moment they sit in my chair they talk about so many details of their lives that so many people would never know. I enjoy being able to speak into my clients lives not only in a physical sense but in an emotional way as well.

What are your ultimate goals, career-wise?

I want to continue to do what I’m doing, make people look like who they are inside, bringing people out of their shell, and making them realize who they are. And above all, I want to be a full time mom!