On Hiatus (already)

So, I haven't been updating very much at all, for the couple of you who read this ;)

I have been deeply covered in work and responsibilities lately, and my time has been sorely needed by friends and such.

I promise to come back to this sweet little blog spot in due time

till then, check these bands out:

The Trophy Fire
The Last Shadow Puppets
Dusty Brown

12 Little Monkeys - Interview with Vincent Do

I got the pleasure, recently, of talking with local musician Vincent Do, who is slowly rising up in the local south bay music scene.Far more matured than his peers, let alone elders, and very intelligent, Vincent Crafts delicate and granite hard melodies, creating not just fantastic acoustic music, but sonic poetry. We talk about his current work, future goals, and time travel all together.


B-Sides:So explain a little about how you started music? was it the basic scenario of starting young, or did music hit you in a different way?
Vincent: It hit me freshman year of high school I just really enjoyed listening to it all the time,
until I felt the desire to play along to the stuff I was listening to, and it just went on from there

B-Sides: So what did the desire spring from? was it out of curiosity, or reach for fame?
Vincent: Curiosity if I could reach fame (laughs)

B:Now lets talk a little bit more about your music as a passion. Where did you start playing music publicly , and where has it brought you now?
V:I always wanted to play publicly, but it wasn't until early 2007 that I played for a real crowd. I entered my school's talent show to get some experience and to give it what I had, and the praise I got for my performance, and the 1st place award really got me to thinking that I should play for audiences more. It's brought me to writing songs and playing music for enjoyment and in preparation for my shows and recording releases, which are few and far between
B:So are you playing mostly locally then?
V:For the most part. I have a 45 min set at barefoot on June 27, but other than that, I’ve only been doing charity stuff every now and then for the past 6 months. I’m so bad at promoting, I swear.

B:That brings me to another question. I noticed that you gave away a lot of your music for free from your myspace. A lot of bands are doing that now. What was the idea behind doing that?
V: I just wanted people to be able to listen to my music where ever they liked. A few friends/fans have told me that they've let their friends listen to my music on their ipod to positive responses. So the benefit of that outweighed the loss of profits. I’ve made about 80 bucks off donations from selling about 35 demo CDs anyhow, and its all in house production, so its not too bad

B:Thats actually pretty exciting. So you do all your recordings at home?
V: Yup
B:So what have you been listening to lately?
V:Feist .Her new album. The reminder. She is amazing, and I feel that her guitar playing is underrated.
B:I agree
V:And for the most part, I’m just trying to catch up on newer releases. I was already a fan of Feist before the reminder came out, but I just never got around to listening to it till now.
B: So, what is your take on this whole "indie" craze thats been so talked about and represented in the press? Its also kind of been tying into the whole "hipster" idea too.
V:I think people just like to label things. I mean a hipster used to be a cool title to have
. Well, more so than now I suppose, but as its elitism grew and more people seemed to conform to it (whether intentionally or not), it just started to lose its appeal and I guess "indie" is going that way too at the same time. Everything seems to be indie now, it's unclear whether indie is
represented in the sound or recording quality or record label size. I mean when indie can be slapped on Mogwai AND belle and Sebastian, it gets me confused; essentially it's become an umbrella term.
But all of that may have been neither here nor there and as for the indie craze, it is what it is I suppose. I don't really think about it when I play/listen/write music. Whatever people like, people like

B:What are some of the visions of Vincent Do? How would you like direct yourself in the future?

V:Well, I’ve been really distracted for the past 6 months, but I just graduated from high school and I'm really going to set goals and get stuff done this summer, like release an EP. A full one
where each track is fully thought out and produced, like with my song ”Retreat”, and play more show. Just get my name out there.
B: I was going to say, that track was well produced.

V:Thanks. I did it with Audacity too. I spent something like 20 hours just EQ’ing things, and double tracking this and that. Completely trivial, but it made enough difference. That’s pretty much all I have to say about my music goals.
B: So, to be cheesy for a second and "delve into your mind", what have your thoughts been mainly concerned with lately?
V:I’ve been listening to Jeff Buckley "Live at Sin-E" for weeks on end. For a time I was really into 12 monkeys. The sc-ifi in it was really well thought out, like the character started to doubt the reality of his time traveling, and the events that took place are realized to be part of a loop.
B: So, to wrap this up...any last words or comments?
V:I hope a large portion of what I just said will be edited out

Flow Like A River - Interview with Bay Area Locals Ambience

1. You guys have been around a lot longer than I think people realize.
Can you talk a little bit about the bands history?


Kayhan: Ambience started back in high school 2004. Antrom and I would
jam to old incubus stuff back in the day, it was really just for fun
and to learn how to play our instruments. We heard that Chris was
looking for people to jam with, and we all met up one day and played
some cover songs. We kept meeting up and eventually started writing
and recording our own music together. There was always a very strong
chemistry between the three of us.

2. When did you guys start to incorporate singing? I maybe just have
been out of the loop, but I remember at one point you guys were purely
instrumental.

Kayhan: none of us sang when we started so naturally we just let the
music take its path. I think thats a big reason how we developed the
sound that we have. We let the instruments speak. Last year we
collectively decided to take our music to the next level and
en-corporate vocals... some how. We went out on a limb and put an add
for a singer... we had a song (death of disco) up for people to record
whatever they wanted and send it to us... Eric Carlos wrote his piece
and we met up... it was love at first sight :)

Eric: singing for Ambience had been a very different approach to music compared to past experiences with other endeavors. It all seems more organized and put together in a more delicate manner.

3. If there was one word that you could use to describe your band,
what do you think it would be?
Kayhan: Creation
Eric: Pure

4. Talk to me more about your guys focus as a band. It seems to me
that a lot has changed, and I'm sure your goals, and ideals as a band
have changed with it.

Kayhan: starting off we just got to know each other, I had no idea it
would become a major driving force in my life. Every new song we write
is a new chapter for us. Our writing process eats up so much of our
time so each song represents a period of time for us all. We continue
to grow together... and push our selves to create something new and
dynamic from the last. As far as goals... we obviously want to share
our music with everyone out there... but beyond that I want to meet
all kinds of musicians and travel the world. Playing the European
summer festivals is something I have my eyes on.

Eric: I am on the same page here at Kayhan, traveling and meet great people,
unique and creative. I personally am interested in the thought of opening the eyes of people around the world with meaningful words and serenades through this genre of music we create.


5. What is your view on current music right now? How do you see music as a whole in this country, or even around the world?

Kayhan: I think music today has a huge amount of potential. While the
music industry is going through some major changes, i think music has
remained constant. Maybe not in a popular sense, but there are a lot of
people that are ready to embrace change. Much like the 60's and
70's... hard times economically and globally spark an energy that
fosters change... with that comes amazing art and music. Basically i
think music is constantly evolving... and the times certainly reflect
what people listen to.

6. Who are some people who really influence you? Not even just a
musician...an author, a poet, a painter..anybody that drives you.

Kayhan: Sigur Ros and Radiohead have been a major inspiration for me
to have a career in the music industry.
Eric: Clint Mansell, Darren Aronofsky, and many other film score composers

7. So personally, what have you guys been up to? Reading anything
good? spending time out doors?

Kayhan: playing music constantly, and enjoying the weather... Hiking

Eric: enjoying the outdoors for sure, writing lots of poetry.

8. Tell us about any shows or events you guys have coming up.

Kayhan: A summer line up of shows... the next being on June 20th.

You can check out Ambience's music and show line up for this summer on their myspace at www.myspace.com/ambientwaves

-bsides

Interview with Pericardium - E40 for Prime Minister

With the rise of their first full length entitled "Apartheid of The Mind" , Pericardium has cemented themselves as a local staple. They are the groove and progressively fueled band that we see today. I sat down with Sean and Dave of Pericardium to talk about everything from E-40 to Politics.


This is the lame cliche question , but how did you guys get your name?

Sean: Actually, I came up with the name. I was honestly, straight up, in a physiology class my senior year, I was looking through this book and I found the word "Pericardium," which is the membrane that surrounds the heart, and I felt that what Brooke and I were trying to do was write lyrics that were relating to the heart. I wanted to do things that were close to me, really relevant.
That's really it. We're surrounding our heart. We're writing about things that we think are important.
Dave: As corny as that may sound.
Sean: Yeah, we're trying to write about real shit.

Every band has goals. Some don't, but where do you guys see yourselves in 6 months?

D: I think one thing that would be really good for us, would be to at least have an EP, but I think it would be even cooler to come out with a full length in six months. It'd also be nice to go on a small tour within that time period.
S: It'd also be really nice to get enough money, and face the current gas epidemic.
D: Yeah, or figure out a way to teleport.
S: Maybe even visit the states that are close to us.

So, do you guys see yourself trying to expand your sphere of influence as a band, or your fanbase?

S: I suppose. Honestly, I guess, for a larger goal for myself, I want to wake people up. I want to see people start caring. I went to this show last night with all these trendy electro scene bands, and it just made me so disgusted that this kind of stuff was bringing 100 people for a band at the door. It's this total crap music that has no political, social, or introspective relevance what so ever, and I just want to see people care. I think part of what made the 60's and the 70's so damn good is that people really cared, and were united for a cause. If you aren't alarmed by what is going on right now, then you are sleeping.
D: If you're talking about fanbase, I feel that we would be a lot more popular with an older crowd. I felt like we were getting a lot more positive attention when we played in San Fransisco as opposed to San Jose. I just felt that we fit in better in San Fransisco.

So you are aiming for an older audience?

D: I think that they would understand, more maybe, what we're trying to convey.

So here are two questions that I'm going to tag onto that; one being, do you guys feel like you recieve criticism for having a political message? Do you feel like that's kind of over looked, or do you feel that people are being critical of it?

D: Maybe not being critical, but maybe just not caring. Maybe just saying, "Thats another political band!"
S: I think we just have mixed responses. I mean, I've actually talked to a number of young people. More young girls than guys. I think that young guys are still in the aggressive state of mind. It seems that a lot of young girls are more into the idea of trying to change the path of this country. But a lot of people just entirely over look it. I think it's a difficult market to please with what we're doing.

You mentioned before that you were disgusted with what the bands were doing, or maybe at least the message they had. Do you feel that musicians have an obligation to bring morale or political issues up? Or do you feel like its a good idea, not an obligation, to speak out?

S: I don't think they have an obligation, but I think if you're smart, you'll take your position of authority and reach and do something with it. If you feel like you have the ability and gift to want to get up in front of a bunch of people and sing, I think you should try to convey things that are important.
D: It doesn't just have to be pushing a message if you're making music, to make people feel a certain way. Make them feel happy, or bring them up when they are depressed, as opposed to violent messages. I guess there's just some music out there I don't care for.
S: For example, not every band needs to push a political message, but one of the bands I saw last night was these three girls dressed up in these skanky outfits, and their chorus to one of their songs was, "Lets get fucked up! Lets get fucked up!" And there are all these 13-16 year old girls in the crowd, who don't need to hear this stuff. What if they heard, "Respect yourself"?
D: But that's not cool! (laughs)
S: Right! But that's only because of the big huge propaganda machine that is the media in this country. We need to distance ourselves from that, and we need to put the cosmopolitan down; we need to close the Fox News Portal of Whatever. Get yourself reaquainted with yourself, and the people around you, instead of this crazy consumer driven machine that our country is.

Kind of tying into that idea of propaganda and what revolves around that; explain to me why you titled your album, "Apartheid of The Mind." That's kind of an interesting phrase. People think of South Africa when they hear the word 'Apartheid'. That's not a word that is normally used, so what was your reasoning behind it?

S: The whole reasoning behind AOTM was making a draw to the South African Apartheid, as well as the situation in Israel. Basically, when I hear the word Apartheid, I think of black and white, like the segregation of South Africa. Essentially what is happening in this country, at least in my eyes, is that the media machine is trying to segregate us into the idea of black and white. Like dave was mentioning before that certain things aren't cool, I feel like we are being made to think a certain way; we are made to be divded.
D: Even in politics, with the Democrats and the Replublicans, where it's a two party system.

So, the government is kind of saying, "You have to think: you're on our side or you're against us?"

D: Well there's that, but also politically, you have to think that you're either a Democrat, or a Replublican, or you're either this or that.
S: You're good, you're bad.You're black, you're white..
D: Even with gender. I took a socialology class, where they said that people think in terms of, "you're either gay or straight!" When in reality, there are a lot of little things that go in between.
S: You're either a man or a woman.
D: America is so much about labels. We always have to label everything! "I am a vegetarian!" or "I am gay!" What makes this? Who decided whether this was wrong or right?
S: So, the reason that it would be, "Apartheid of the Mind," is because in this country, obviously Apartheid was a really violent thing when it was going on in Africa, and the Israeli - Palestinian conflict is very bloody, but in this country, I feel like they aren't doing things to us physically; they aren't saying, "You have to use this bathroom, and you have to use this bathroom." They are doing it to our minds. They're making a young girl think, "I'm pretty," or, "I'm unatractive." They're making a young guy think, "I'm either full of testosterone," or, "I'm weak." Really, thats not what it is. There's a whole lot of leverage in between that. We're really being brainwashed by this system. Althought we've had the civil rights movement, blacks have rights, and women have rights, and we all have our rights; we still perpetrate stereotypes on television, and we still use derogatory language as our humour.
As far as the Western World, I really feel like there is an Apartheid going on in our minds. That we aren't allowed to freely think, and that we are totally being segregated as what we see as being good and bad.

I agree with that, more towards the idea of stereotypes. People get so riled up about gay rights and how we need to respect gay people, but then you have shows like, "Will and Grace," that totally portray gay people as a big joke. A big walking stereotype. Gay Jokes are now a brand of humour.

Now to jump more towards music, what are some of your musical influences? Or more, really, what were the things that influenced you to play music at a young age?

S: Well, for dave and I especially, Pink Floyd is a really big influence for us. For more modern bands, Porcupine Tree is a really big influence for me, and Dave, and Brooke.
D: What about what got you interested in singing and playing guitar?
S: So, those kinds of bands would definitley be in the more progressive genre, but I've always been infatuated with music since a young age. When I was in 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade, I took piano lessons. Then, in 5th and 6th, I played percussion. In 7th grade, I had a friend who played guitar, and I said, "Damn that looks really cool." In about 8th or 9th grade, I started picking up guitar. At the time I was into more nu metal stuff like Slipknot. I started to really get into Pink Floyd at the start of 9th grade.

It kind of mellowed you out.

S: Yeah, seeing guitar in a different light I guess. Seeing music in a different light. More so than a guitar player or singer, I see myself more as a songwriter or visionare. I see songs. I see the things that make sense, and I hear things a certain way. I feel that the music is both something that is in your ears; it's an audio presentation, but it's also a visual presentation. Alot of times, if I sing, I see and feel different colors. Music's really in me. It's totally a part of me, and actually music never stops running through my head, constantly. So when I hear it, it's almost orgasmic.
D: Do you ever get, like a tingling feeling when you listen to music, like on your back?

Yeah, especially if I'm listening to a piece of music I find moving, or sometimes certain classical music will do that for me. What about you, Dave?

D: So, my mom always played guitar. She was always this trippy, wierd kind of lady that did a lot of drugs when she was younger. She always played guitar when she was young. My mom and grandmother and sister all played piano, so music was around me a lot when I was young. There was also this time that my grandfather took me to his homeless friends house.. er.. well, it was more of a shack, and had me try out this guitar, and I really liked it, so for my birthday he ended up getting me that guitar. I liked guitar, but I wasn't so sure it was me, so in the 6th grade I had some lessons, but I still didn't really know about it. Then, I tried bass when I was in 8th grade, so I sold my guitar and got a bass. Started taking lessons for that. I loved bass, and I really could tell that this was me. I've always liked lower sounding instruments; I remember I always wanted to play a saxophone. Then, I met Sean in 10th grade, at Lincoln Highschool, and started hanging out with this mother fucker. He really got me into Pink Floyd at this time. I already knew some tracks off of Dark Side of the Moon, but I was curious about what other Pink Floyd albums there were, so he ended up burning me about four of their albums. He also got me really into Porcupine Tree. Before that, I was listening to grung. My depressed middle school days. (laughs)

So, Sean, have you ever written any songs that have just come to you out of the blue?

D: Sometimes you'll start jamming on something that sounds good, and pulling words out of your ass that are really good too.
S: Typically, the words I pull out of my ass are for the melody, and then I'll go back and start writing words. I don't ever just sing, "My heart is broken!" It comes along differently. We were actually headed up to Tahoe one time, and I was writing this poem, or lyrics, or whatever you want to call it, and I already had this riff, and he had this bass line. We started to play it together, and it sounded really good, and I said, "Shit, this might actually work."
D: Well, we were also on shrooms at the time. (laughs)

Do you guys think you might write or sing about things besides politics?

D: Oh, for sure! I'd love to. I was thinking about this a little while ago. We're Pericardium! We should sing about everything that goes on in ones life.
S: Well, yeah, thats how the first album was actually.
D: We should definitely continue in that later on.
S: The first album only really has two political songs on it, "White Phospherous," and, "Apartheid of The Mind." The rest of them are about..
D: One is about ecstasy..
S: There're things about addiction, drugs, eating disorders, apathy, and sleep.

Then, do you think that the face of Pericardium will change; because a lot of people see you as a very political band? I mean, you open up your sets with the political samples. So, that definitely tunes people on to politics. Do you think that the focus for the time being will change then?

S: I think that the new songs that we have all have a political element.
D: But they're not saying, "THIS is a political song." It's not like Rage Against the Machine.
S: I guess it's just the current state of this country has made me write lyrically, because I'm pretty frustrated with the way things are. I could sit down and pick apart what each song means, but since most people haven't heard them, it would be irrelevant, but there is definitely a political face, because there has been a lot of political strife. But these new songs are going to be a lot of things based on how I'm feeling.

So, then would you say as a band you're very extroverted, or very introverted?

D: I would say that we're trying to become even more broad.
S: One of our songs, "Unattainable," is partially about how we lost two really good friends this last year.

Yeah, I heard about that. I understand they died in a car accident?

D: Yeah, they fell asleep at the wheel going about 100 mph.
S: They had been working construction, and they were driving really early in the morning. When I had first started writing the song, I just had the first part, and then this happened. That's what's really unattainable. These guys are gone forever. We can never see them again. That has a really personal aspect for us. We have gotten personal, but as far as specific things, it just depends on how things progress for us.

We all have people that we look up to, and I think that musicians get pigeonholed into being seen as only being influenced by other musicians, but who are some of the people that influence you besides musicans?

S: Hunter S. Thompson is a really big influence for me. I actually started reading him in my Junior year when I was into journalism. I saw him as doing something outside the box. If you read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, he was given $300 dollars to go to Las Vegas and cover this race, but instead of using it to get a proper hotel, he uses the money to buy drugs, goes there, and then trips the fuck out. He goes and writes his thing, but he didn't give two shits about this race cause he was taking the system and then taking advantage of it.

He actually did it, but he just broke the bounds of reality in how he did it.

S: I totally relate to him. I feel like what we're doing breaks the bounds in San Jose, because no bands really have a message. They are about superficial things.
with anything in life, you should push the boundaries, and see what's going on. Also, my family influences me alot. I have a lot of crazy people in my family. My grandfather on my dads side, he was an intelligence officer in Vietnam. He's written two books, seen the world. He's coming to Mexico so that the family can see him, because he doesn't want to come back into America. I look at that, and I wish I just had the balls to do that. My grandfather on my moms side, is a Vegan Buddhist Jew, who is directing low budget stuff in Hollywood, doing what he wants to do. Following his dream, whilst staying true to his values and what he believes. And everytime I have conversations with either of those guys, it's enlightening.

Would you say they are your gurus for life?

S: They are just impressive ass people who have always meant something to me. It's always cool to look at people who have been in the lime light. I think it's cool to look at people around me.
D: For me, my family to a degree. So, for myself, it's really taking bits and pieces of people I meet along the way, and taking what I like.
S: Also, E-40, for telling me when to go.
D: Britney Spears also.

Any plans or shows coming up?

D: Getting addicted to heroin.
S: Buy our merch and suck our dicks!(laughs)
D: Talk about Fast cars and fucking bitches.
S: Go to Walmart; buy all our meals at McDonalds. Get McCain up in office!(laughs)
D: Actually get our EP going.
S: Yeah, work on maybe getting 6 or 7 songs going for our next release.
D: Maybe have a retarded song on there too, just to make people question whether we're a real band or not.

I wish I knew what that means! I wish I was that profound.

S: I guess it's just a matter of time. We have the funds, but we want to be prepared.

So, finally, a lot of people throw out the phrase, "The Scene is dead." What does that mean to you? And if that's true, how do you feel that the scene has been killed? If not, how do you think people buy in to that if it's a myth?

S: If that is true, it's the fault of the musicians, it is the fault of the people not demostrating enough interest, and the bands not demanding enough interest in the people. I feel that San Jose was really driving. We had the brutal hardcore scene, and the pop punk scene, but I think what we have now are some really good bands, who just need to relocate themselves to San Fransisco, or focus on SF as much as possible.
D: The scene isn't really dead; the scene to us might suck, but there is the san jose scene, which is screamo, hardcore, lets kill everyone music. If people like that kind of music, then the scene isn't dead, but for people who don't enjoy that kind of music, the local music scene is going to seem void of life, because the type of music they don't like isn't around.

So, it's very relative?

D: Very much so.
S: There're some really sick bands that have come from this area. Strata came from here, Dredg came from here. Day one Symphony, Delta Activity, which is now Good Hustle.
D: Well, all those bands are gone though now.
S: Well, not entirely. Dredg is about to release a brand new album. David Knight is still in the area, from Day One Symphony. New things are coming up as well.
D: So to sum it up, the scene's not dead. There're a lot of bands out there, and they might not be good in our eyes, but they are out there doing their thing.

Well thank you guys for the interview, and we'll hopefully talk to you soon.

You can check out Pericardium online at myspace.com/pericardiumband!

Till next time!

B-Sides

Fuzz and Drums - Meet Casy and Brian

Welcome to San Fransisco. Its full of bands. Left and Right. Dare I say, an Indie epicenter at the moment.

With such saturation, its beginning to be a huge blur to me. But one band steps out into the clearing just out of pure originality. That band is Casy and Brian. Filled with audio fuzz, happy up-beats, and a dynamic dual vocal technique verging on hype-man rap jams, Casy and Brian , in every meaning of the phrase, tear it up.

With down and dirty over-driven jams like "nocturnalfsunited" and technical anthems such as "deuxdrumbaclots" , they bring a sound all their own, as cliche as it sounds. If you're a fan of spaz masters like Blood Brothers , or want to hear a grittier version of Hadouken then these lads are your boat to float!

Check them out at myspace.com/casyandbrian

Interview with Ashes Ashes

B-Sides :First off, one thing that I think a lot of people are curious about, is the recent update about working on a new EP. What were your guys reasons to going back to working on another record?

Ashes Ashes: Aries is a collaboration of songs we wrote over the last year and a half and our music has changed a lot since we wrote some of the songs. We have been playing these songs for a really long time now and its time for us to put out something fresh.

B:Can you guys give any info on the EP? Working title? Musical Focus?

AA:No real info on the EP yet, just that it is currently being written. It sounds similar to some of the stuff on our first EP like "Travelers" or "Step Left" as well as a couple of songs on the new album like "Airplane"

B:A lot of bands do what they do, and that might be a political message, a message or social justice, a message of hope etc. Do you guys feel like you have a message of sorts?

AA:When the band started out we all had a common goal of just having fun and writing music. As we wrote more and more we began to develop a message to kids to be above the influence, as cheesy as it sounds. Thats where we still stand.

B:While Writing new material, is there a usual strategy that you guys approach writing with, or does it come from left field? a little of both?

AA:One of us will come up with an idea and we just bring it to practice and jam on it. We all play guitar so we always have something to work on. Sometimes Eric or John will bring in a fully written song and teach the rest of us.

B:I understand that you guys took up a rather lengthy tour a month ago. Tell me a bit about the tour, and how that went for you guys.

AA:I don't know about lengthy, but you could say we went on tour. It was ten days long and we had a blast. It was nice playing for a bunch of people we have never seen before and playing in some new venues.

B:What are some bands, new and old, that you guys are listening to at the moment?

AA:Lately it has been a lot of Dallas Green, As Cities Burn, Annuals, and Josh Rouse. As for oldies we are constantly listening to Mr. Big.

B:Explain a bit about how Ashes Ashes formed.

AA:I was in a band called Aim for the Eyes with John and my brother Corey was in a band called Sevenson. Corey and I wanted to be in a band together so we started this. Before we asked John to join the band we found Nic our singer. We were sorta friends with him but to cut the story short we saw him at a local show and he was singing along to whatever was playing and we thought to ourselves "this is our guy" We then asked John who said yes and then about a year later we asked Alanna to join. We knew her because she played in a jazz band at my old high school.

AA:This is something I've been asking a lot of the bands lately, but we hear that phrase "The Scene is Dead". What does that mean to you, and do you believe that this is just a cry baby defense on the part of fans or local music listeners, or do you think there is credibility to that phrase?

AA:I don't think the scene is dead, it just seems the bands aren't working as hard. Kids aren't coming to the shows as much as they used to and I think its partially because the bands aren't promoting as hard. It also might be tough because there are at least 3 shows every night of the weekend that the kids can choose from.

B:How do you, personally, see the scene changing our growing?

AA:I think that bands and artists are starting to write music for themselves rather than the listeners. For a while there it seemed that all bands wanted to sound like the band that was popular and I have seen less and less of that recently. More people are taking risks.

B:Read any good books lately? Seen any good movies?

AA:I just finished The Beautiful Boy and I have about 20 pages left of Tweak. The Beautiful Boy is about a fathers journey through his sons drug addictions and it was written by the actual man. Tweak is the journey through the sons life throughout his drug addictions and its written by him. And its all a true story.

B:What is the bands main focus right now, besides just an EP?

AA:Getting back on track.


Alright, that wraps up our first post for B-Sides. A big thank you to Ashes Ashes as well! If you're interested in checking out Ashes Ashes, please head to myspace.com/ashesashesmusic.

Let your summers run free!

-B-Sides