Untitled - BREAKS Magazine

CLEAN AIR TO SKATE, CLEAN WATER TO SURF,
SNOW TO RIDE, ROOM TO THINK
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//MATT MCCORMICK//
12
14
36
// SECTIONS //
//Cover photographer//
Colter Johnson
//Back photographer//
Herman Jimenez
16
//Photographers//
Herman Jimenez,
Colter Johnson
Hamish Humphreys
//Interviewers//
18
Elsv
//Thank You//
ARBOR,
MATUSE
22
OLD GLORY
HECHO EN VENICE
CARAPACE
Chris Talley
The Hated
28
Garut Widiarta
Natalia Barulich
The Flush
J.Pinder
Tom Curren
//Editor//
32
C Monk
word@breaksmagazine.com
//Founder//Publisher//
Eugene Lee
eugene@breaksmagazine.com
VOL.3 ISSUE 4
book #16
// CHRIS TALLEY //
//Interview// Elsv
//Photo// courtesy of Old Glory
//BREAKS// Thank you for taking the time to talk today. Could you give us a quick
intro?
//CHRIS// My name is Chris Talley. I own Old Glory Barbershop and Tattoo Parlor. I
have two partners, Barry and John. We bought the shop and took possession January 1st,
which is the 10th anniversary to the day.
//BREAKS// As the new owner of OldGlory, I see the shop has changed quite a bit. A lot
more product oriented?
//CHRIS// Yep.
//BREAKS// You are taking it to a new level?
//CHRIS// Definitely, it’s very important to us that we have real babers. There is a big
difference between a stylist and a barber, even in licensing and training. We really, really
like the fact that we have barbers that do straight razor shaves, old school fades, and all
of that stuff right. We’ll always have that. I also like the fact that we have a stylist in the
shop as well, so we can do longer hair, colors, and stuff like that which sets us apart from
other barbershops. It makes us more versatile, and we can service the community. That’s
pretty much why we bought the shop. We love the shop. Why we’ll never change the
shop. You mentioned product. It had no product in it. At one time it did. When you are
getting a hair cut and you care enough about your hair to come to a place like Old Glory,
where we really care, it’s good to have options of what to put in your hair, what works
for your hair. Stylist and barbers know what will work for their clients. We have that
available for them, and that is what is important for us. We also have out own products as
well. We have our own pomade. There are three types of pomade. So we are expanding
on the brand. I think it’s now a mature brand of ten years. It’s hard to build a brand
and keep it going that long. So, we will respect the past here. I respect the barbers and
stylists that kept this place going. I respect the original owner that kept it going. And so
we’ll never forget that, and we’re all locals so, that’s the most important thing.
//BREAKS// When I think of old vintage barbershops, I imagine it to be about a culture, a
lifestyle. Now a days, with some of them Mcbarbershops that are all over town. How do
you set yourself apart from them?
//CHRIS// Sure, there is a big resurgence of barbershops right now across the country.
It’s really focused on Los Angeles. There are a couple documentaries that just came out
that are really, really cool. There are some really great shops that are beautiful, but they
are men’s only, club style. It’s for guys to come out and barbershop talk. It’s like the
old times. We’re a little different. We welcome everybody. We have those old school
chairs rom the 1920’s, but we have boosters covered in red glitter for the kids. This is a
neighborhood shop, and we want to keep it that way. We are no way exclusive to anyone.
Whoever wants to come in for a hair cut can come in and get a cut. We want to service
everyone in the community because of where we are located. Our lack of parking, we are
definitely for the neighborhood. We are not gonna move or change.
//BREAKS// That’s cool! What about the tattoo parlor. Is that part of the culture?
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//CHRIS// For sure, it’s something that
sets us apart. Barbershop and tattoo,
we are not the only one. I found a
couple other places that do that as
well. But, we are probaby the original,
cause the shops been around for ten
years. We re-did the tattoo room when
we re-did the shop. We made it into
an amazing little tattoo area. We have
all new furniture. We had the floors,
walls, ventilation all re-done. We had
the glass painted as you saw. And that
is something that is very important to
me and my partners. We want to keep that going. Finding tattoo artists, it’s hard to find
one as a resident artist. But what we would like to do is to have guest artists for two
weeks at a time. So you will always have a well known artist here at the shop. So we are
still finding our way. The most important thing is that we give good quality. So, if you
don’t see a tattoo artist in there on a day, that means we couldn’t find one high enough
quality for our customers or for us. If they don’t tattoo me, they don’t work here.
//BREAKS// Interesting.
//CHRIS// Right, if I wouldn’t take a tattoo from somebody, I wouldn’t give that to my
customer. No way.
//BREAKS// You seem to be about quality, not quantity.
//CHRIS// We go to the beat of our own drum. With my product background, it’s really
important that we keep the brand name. We have the beer coozes and mugs. We give
those away, and we occasionally give t-shirts away. Whatever it takes, you know. If
they want it, we make sure they take it home. We hit it so hard. We cut no corners. We
stayed open so that people could still get their hair cuts. So, we had crews come in from
7pm-3am for twenty days straight. To tear the place apart and put it back together. We
did it right. We didn’t have a long term plan. We had a short term, lets do it. Lets do it
right. I’ve a real strong attention to detail. I had a lot of things re-done over. When a
lot of people come in, I ask them do you see a difference? They say, “no it just looks
cleaner.” That’s cool you know! That means we didn’t change it at all. But, we actually
did a lot of work. There’s no big plan. We want to promote the integrity of the shop for
the community. We want them to know we are here for them. We want to be a part of
the other merchants in the area. We cross promte a lot. So we bought the shoes from
the Ave. We put their flyers up. Animal House, we promote them. Sole bikes. Anyone
we come into contact with so that we can continue growing. I’ve talked to Hotel Erwin
about doing a package for the people out of town who visit Venice. Who want a real
tattoo. They will get a credit in the store when they arrive, a bottle of tequila in their
hotel room, and they can walk into Old Glory whenever they want. And get a good
quality tattoo.
//BREAKS// How about getting an appointment, walk ins ok?
//CHRIS// Walk ins are totally cool! Non exclusive! I don’t like the appointment vibe.
Just cruise in, we’ll get you to sit down and get a hot shave, cut, or tattoo, whatever.
//BREAKS// The free beers are cool!
//CHRIS// The old concept was to have free beers. When we took over, there hadn’t been
any beer for a longtime. Lol. So, now, we have plenty of stocked ice cold Pabst Blue
Ribbon. We throw it in a cooze so it stays cold while you get your hair cut.. We’ve been
working with Groundwork coffee. We make Groundwork coffee one cup at a time. We
don’t just keep a pot sitting there all day. Fresh, hot, and tasty. And that’s also a local
company which is very important to us. We don’t want any other brands that are not
local. And for those that don’t drink beer or coffee, we have water.
// THE HATED //
//Interview// Elsv
//Photo// courtesy of The Hated
//BREAKS// You guys all from Byron Bay Australia?//THE HATED//Kent// Yeah we all
grew up here and were proud to call it home. When I was younger my mother moved me
around a lot but the Bay is home to me. All of us have a solid community of family and
friends here, so it will probably always be the place where we end up growing old.
//BREAKS// How did you guys meet? //THE HATED// Leeze and I, had some mutual
friends growing up and that kind of pushed us together. We eventually moved in together
and that sparked us writing music and eventually formed The Hated as a two man rap
group haha. Griffin had been traveling around the US and Canada playing rap shows, but
we didn’t really know him at that point. When he moved back to Byron about 3 years
ago, we met him through another rapper by the name of Peezo and eventually asked
him to join TH. We have been tight ever since. No turning back. //BREAKS// Hip
hop, kind of underground culture in Byron? //THE HATED// There has been a heap of
groups formed as garage projects, more so when we were younger. Byron has produced
a heap of creative artists and musicians. probably because our parents where all hippies
pushing open minded living and a think outside the box attitude. As far as hip hop itself
goes though, there is not much of an underground scene just the one we are working
on building. //BREAKS// Skate culture? surf culture? inspires or not? //THE HATED//
Surfing and skateboarding have been a massive part of our up bringing. The waves in
the Bay are usually pretty good, and I spent most of my free time as a youngster rolling
around the local skateparks with Leeze. Most of the homies are surfers, skaters, punks
and misfits so I would defiantly say that the lifestyles around them inspire us and our
music everyday. //BREAKS// Style is where in the importance of the music and the
group? Do you guys think of yourselves as a brand or if not explain? //THE HATED//
TH is defiantly a brand, everything we do is for The Hated. Its a movement and a
lifestyle of its own. You know, we have websites and can be found on just a about every
social network possible. The idea is to leave TH in the mind of every single person we
meet, from the clothing we wear ourselves to the marks our homies leave on the streets.
//BREAKS// Whats going down for you right now, just released an ep? Free download
ep or Itunes? //THE HATED// There’s so much happening for us at the moment. We just
released our first all original EP called “LORDS LIFE” produced by our friend and beat
slaying producer from Melbourne C1. We just started working with a booking agent, and
he is in the middle of booking us an EP release tour around Aus as well as hopefully a
bunch of festivals next year. That shits gonna get wild. You can download the EP for free
from our bandcamp page thehated.bandcamp.com. Not on iTunes just yet. //BREAKS//
What were some of the processes that went down to create this ep “Lord’s Life” //THE
HATED// Haha a heap of weed and a lot of time listening to the same beat over and over
again while writing bars. We recorded all of the vocals in my home studio and sent them
down to our producer in Melbourne to mix and master. It’s amazing what to do with
the internet these days, although next time I would like to stay down in the big city and
work hands on with C1 for the full writing and recording process. //BREAKS// What is
Lord’s Life mean? //THE HATED// Lords life is a way of life. Similar to the lifestyle I
mentioned all of our friends living. Surfing, skateboarding, parties, tattoo culture, music,
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weed, haha it’s all a Lord’s life. We’re all kings. //BREAKS//When you call ya homiez
“Lord,” it’s a friendship thing, I get it. When did it start? Who started it? When I first
visited Byron back in 2002 they were not using it. I first heard it used amongst crew in
2007 or something? Is that right? //THE HATED// There has been some debate about this
over the years. One of our homies “Minky” is like the king of creating calls. This guy
cannot be beaten in a verbal, and he likes to take credit for the creation of a heap of The
Bays slang. He will tell you a story about some cat that brought it up to the Bay from
Sydney. I’m not going to argue that point and I’ll go along with it for now. For years
and years we all called each other “Lad” and that eventually got killed by a stereotype
surrounding what now know as a lad. The wear Nortica, bent brim hats and bum bags,
sports runners. Not our style. I guess calling my friends “Lords” is a way of letting them
know that we are all kings, all on the same level. It just grew to where it is now and really
locked in. //BREAKS//What are you guys like live? Do you play all the instruments?
or is it a dj mixing or both? //THE HATED// Live, we have the 3 mc’s (Leeze the Kid,
Griffin Brain and myself (Vitals), and we run our beats through the house backline. At
the moment we don’t have a live DJ, but we usually just get one of the Lords on the DJ
table with our laptop to work the beats. The plan is to have a live DJ working with us
soon. It’s the next step. //BREAKS// Who are the different inspirations that the group
listen to? //THE HATED// So many inspirations, pretty much all of hip hop. At the
moment though we have been listing to a lot of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, A$AP,
Juicy J for that ignorant ish haha. We’re on the other side of the world to you guys, but
we grew up listening to all of that Dre, Snoop, NWA, Wu-tang ect. //BREAKS//What’s
the typical day in the life of The Hated? or maybe the make believe typical life of The
Hated?
//THE HATED// Ok, The typical day would be, get up early, bake if thats
where we want the day to go, get a coffee somewhere, go to the beach and then head
to the Dojo to do some work with the Ninjas haha (go to my home lab and write music
with the lords).. Then when it starts to heat up, we pack up a few cars and hit waterfalls
out in the hills behind the Bay. The make believe day would probably include all of
that expect we might be driving a new Buggati and probably do a few other seriously
expensive things. //BREAKS// Where have you performed? //THE HATED// We have
played just about everywhere you can play in Byron and surrounding areas. The shows
that our agent is booking for in April will be our first interstate shows. Can’t wait to pack
up and skate, smoke, surf and party our way around the coast. //BREAKS// Afends, are
you affiliated with them, I know Kent you have history with them. //THE HATED// At
the moment TH isn’t officially affiliated with the brand itself and that’s mostly because
AFENDS is heading a different more rock n roll direction than the hip hop movement we
are pushing. I was the 3rd guy in on the business when it started, and I guess that makes
me a co-founder of the brand and that won’t change. We’re bound to be decked out in the
threads haha. I was the marketing manager of the brand, but I have decided to have some
time away to really focus on the music. The brand is going nuts though! //BREAKS//
What’s the wildest night you have seen out in Byron. I’ve seen some crazy shit, but I
bet you have a better story. //THE HATED// Dude, Byron nightlife is wild. It’s a really
small town full of crazy mother fuckers! People love to party here and that can bring
everything else that goes with partying. Sex, drugs, violence it’s all here and sometimes
not so glamourous. There was an article on Aus news last night stating that Byron Bay
was the most violent town in Australia…. I’m not going to say that it’s not violent at
times because that goes hand in hand with alcohol but thats a pretty bold statement.
I’ve had plenty of wild nights here though and my friends love to party. We never sleep
mayyynnnee….. We trippy. haha. //BREAKS// Any new Byron Bay Australian slang
that I might not know? //THE HATED// Its funny that you ask that because Byron pretty
much needs a dictionary of its own. People have been talking about writing one for
years. Haha this is fucked but see if you can get these //Crill-Food // Desmond-Someone
that sucks// Tides-good// Bushy-Gronk like female// Kettle-Bong// Lordsword - Joint //
BREAKS// Last shout outs! //THE HATED// Our producer C1! All of our Melbourne
connect Peezo, Ry, Allday, 23. All our families and everyone of the Lords because we
would be nothing without them. Iggy Azalea haha she’s from right near our town..
Philboys, The dune rats. Eli and the guys at Skullcandy for hooking us up. Dave and Nick
at Mr Simple and Super Awesome for hooking us up with threads. Our publicist Liam for
hooking us up. Pretty much anyone that has ever hooked us up at all. Anyone that hasn’t
help. GET FUCKED. Peace
// MADE “GARUT” WIDIARTA //
//Interview// Elsv
//BREAKS// Garut!!! Wazzup homie! Last time we chat, I got fucked
up starting at Halfway Kuta! Waves were fun that day! What type
of bike are you riding? That shit is dope! Hybrids? Def custom shit?
//GARUT// I ride a couple, but my favorite is the honda tiger 200cc custom made , it’s
dope !!
//BREAKS// Motocycle culture and the surf culture seem pretty
tight in Bali? No? Talk about how motorcycle culture inspires you?
//GARUT// Well pretty much, using a motorcycle it’s the best transportation for surfing
with all the traffic here in Bali. It’s much faster way of getting around, so hectic here !!
//BREAKS// You got a bunch of tats. Who tatted you up? Talk about each one?
//GARUT// A friend of mine he’s one of the best tattoo artist here in Bali. My first tattoo
was of a koi fish because my star sign, and I just love fish since I was little. I got an
owl on my arm combined with Balinese carvings. I got an octopus wrapped around my
shoulder coz I love the ocean, and I think that the octopus is one of the greatest creatures
under the sea. I got my sister and my dad names on my left arm. Two of the best human
beings in my life.
//BREAKS//Parties are crazy in Bali! No really. It’s paradise. Growing up here? Talk
about your growth. When and where did you start surfing, and when did you realize this
is my job or this is my future career?
//GARUT// Kuta was such a fun place to grow up, so crazy. I started my surfing when
I was nine years old with all my uncles and cousins. I live just round the corner from
the beach which encouraged me to go and practice every day. I competed in my first
competition when I was ten years old, and I placed 2nd and was given a radio tape as my
prize. I kept continuing the comps till I made it to the pro division, and I realized I could
make some money out of this. That was the time when I realized, if I kept doing this I
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//Photo// Hamish Humphreys
could get paid to do what I love, better than working my ass off in a restaraunt or hotel
with no tips!!
//BREAKS// Your sponsors are Rip Curl and Oakley retail? It’s mostly been retail
that has been driving Professional Surfing. Energy drinks are now driving a lot of
the marketing campaigns. Soon, alcohol, food and beverage companies will jump on
board the sponsorships. Do you want pro surfing to be a retail sponsored sport or an
anybody can sponsor me sport? Less tennis, I’m thinking more like formula one racing?
//GARUT// I would be stoked if any big company would sponsor me to help get my name
out. I have recently started taking protein shakes to help strengthen my body. Sucks how
here in bali we only have a few to choose from and there not all that great. If I was to be
sponsored by a top brand, I could get better results from it.
//BREAKS// If I could grant you one new non retail sponsor who would
be the other choice, could be BMW or ROLEX? Would you want that?
//GARUT// I would be happy if anyone would like to sponsor me , but could be better if
red bull would sponsor me I would be so happy. I would have so much more energy and
plus would give me wings ahhahahhaah.
//BREAKS// Free surfing is the life! No matter what, the contest stress has
to suck. Worrying about getting points and rankings. Girl friends living with
you. Too crazy. What’s your work day like? Tell me a day in the life of Garut?
//GARUT//My daily routine is, I wake up, have my coffee, make a few phone calls to
find out where the best waves are. I then surf for a few hours, go get babi guling for lunch
ask around if theres any more good waves. If there is, surf for a couple more hours and
then hang out with friends enjoying a few Bintang’s while watching the sunset. If good
feeling, go party at night, if not have an early one.
//BREAKS// Pro surfing and with the internet, Vimeo and
Youtube, what are the boundaries for being a pro surfer? If
you get stuff for free and get money to? Sounds pretty pro
to me? So, do the tour guys get less popularity now? How
do we catagorize pro surfing now? What does pro surfing
mean to you? //GARUT// To me, pro surfing means that you
surf as your career and at the same time with no stress or
pressure your just doing what you love and enjoying surfing
the perfect wave.
//BREAKS// Kuta Halfway Boardriders? Talk about
that? Did that have to do with the WCT coming to Bali?
//GARUT//No, it’s nothing to do with WCT, Kuta
Boardriders is a new group to help out the groms in
the area and to try get the grommets involved in our
social group and sharing the love with each other.
//BREAKS// WCT coming to Bali is a big deal! It
means revenue for the country and more visits by people
from elewhere. Is the country ready for that change?
//GARUT// It would change for the young upcoming surfers
over here as they will see all the top surfers from around the
world and will get the chance to be like them in the future.
//BREAKS// Name all the members please?
//GARUT// There’s more than 50 surfers so far, I will let
you know next time haha!
//BREAKS// Garut,what are you up to theses days? Projects?
//GARUT// I just keep filming for some web project called
talesfromparadise.com check it out hahahah.
//BREAKS// Last surf trip. Where did you go?
//GARUT// My last trip was to China for the WQS contest
was at the Hainan Classic. It was nuts, no one spoke english
or bahasa so hard to communicate even just to order food or
to get around. The beach was pretty nice I thought, the first
thing I imagined was about all the amazing chinese food I
thought I was going to be eating. Wish I knew what to order
I couldn’t read the menu should have learned some of the
language before I went hahaa. By the way, I was stoked
with my end result even surfing one foot wave I came out
winning third place and brought some good cash home baby,
so stoked.
//BREAKS// So,Garut, what are you planning for the future?
I know you are still young, more surf, more money! Do
you have an exit plan after surf, having Bol as a cousin must
help a lot. Plus the family has restaurant owners as well.
//GARUT// I was thinking about opening a surf school or
a warung , selling traditional indonesian food because now
days many tourists are curious about trying our traditional
dishes, and much cheaper.
//BREAKS// Last shout outs?
//GARUT// Keep it up! check out talesfromparadise.com
and don’t forget to follow me on instagram @garut_widiarta
yewww!!!!!!!
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//Photo// Hamish Humphreys
// NATALIA BARULICH //
//Photo// Herman Jimenez
22
//Photo// Herman Jimenez
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//Photo// Herman Jimenez
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//Photo// Herman Jimenez
// THE FLUSH //
//Photo// courtesy of Pitchblend
//BREAKS// I’ve been listening to your music for a while now and had no idea it was you
guys producing it. Thank you for talking with me today. How did you guys meet?
//THE FLUSH// Jeron Ward// It was mostly because we were all kind of on the same path
as being musically driven. We all come from similar backgrounds. I was working for
Big Boi’s label. It was then, when I met Rick. I was roommates with Dreamer. That is
how we all kind of crossed paths in the beginning.
//BREAKS// So, it’s you three that create THE FLUSH?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Yeah.
//BREAKS// You guys are producing for people all over the world., Little Dragon, Big
Boi, Kelly Rowland, Big Pooh, etc. How does it all happen?
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// Basically, we have a unique sound. Not one of our tracks
28
//Interview// Elsv
sound the same. I guess at the end of the day, the beats speaks for itself. The grind pays
for the peoples’ rent. It’s always a common thing, one artist listens to a track, and then
when we work or collab with another artist, that furthers our genre of music, and it just
happens. I guess you would have to say it’s God willing.
//BREAKS// The sound has a lot of electronic influences?
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// Yeah, it’s considered electronic funk, but it’s 2013, very
progressive. The root, as far as it comes to our production, the key is, as long as it’s
jamming, whether it sounds trap, whether it sounds c.p.u., rock, country, or r&b, as long
as it’s jamming, a jamming effect to it, it works.
//BREAKS// Do you all listen to the same music?
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// We all enjoy the same music, but we are all different
individuals. Everything is like gumbo with us.
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// It’s definitely some of that. We all look at it like we are
fixing some gumbo. We all come from similar backgrounds. We are on the same page.
We all have our own little musical inputs that we provide that makes THE FLUSH such
an unique sound. As far as artistry, Dreamer, he’s good at writing hooks and coming
up with different melodies that can provide direction for a lot of the tracks that we
do. For example, “CPU”, he wrote the hook on that, and that was able to be translated
over to Panagram. And that worked out really well. Rick is really good with drum
programming, samples, and stuff like that. For example, on “Royal Flush” our first
track that we ever got played, which OUTKAST got us nominated for a Grammy, he
programmed a lot of that production on there. Myself, I’m pretty melodic, in the sense
of I play the piano and a couple different instruments. I like to provide the melodic
instrumentation to a lot of the music we do. At the end of the day, we are all throwing
our hats into the same pot. To come up with something that’s really unique. And like
Jerome said, it’s very innovative as our songs go.
//BREAKS// Let’s talk about “CPU”. I saw the Jimmy Kimmel Show. You guys had a
fucking orchestra! I think of hip hop producers as movie directors. The artists are the
actors. Is that fair to say? Do you guys see yourselves like that? Do you put the picture
together?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// I can agree with that. The way we can all look at that it’s
very cinematic in how our sound goes. Dreamer and Rick were saying, we really are
about the pursuit and timeless quality of music. That is something that is beginning to
separate us from your common basic hip hop beat maker. We really do aspire to get
to that level that these individuals have. Like Quincy Jones, Barry White, and Stevie
Wonder. The list goes on from there. We see them as our inspirations. We see them do
orchestras, score movies, and jams. We aspire to be even close to that. It was a great
experience to see that live, and to translate so well! It was a huge blessing.
//BREAKS// With all the technology going down, computer programs. Is it getting
harder or easier for you guys to make music?
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// Actually with us, we are always up for a challenge. We
never back down from a challenge. Whatever comes out new, dabble in it. Our thing
is, what sets us apart from the cut trends of Pro Tools, Logic, whatever, we are always
going to add the “live” element. No matter how much you program it, without that live
element. It’s like a mechanical heart beat. You cannot re-duplicate the heart. It’s its own
machine. We are the heart and soul of anything you put us to it.
//BREAKS// Can you breakdown the way a song gets made or produced.
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// There really is no formula to it. It being the samething
everytime. We follow the inspiration. We follow the vibe. Most of the time we do start
off with like drums or the actual rhythm of the track. And then, we begin to add the
melodies. I’d be working on or collabing on a beat and then the artist would walk in and
the artist would hear it and instantly catch a vibe for it or catch an inspiration for it and
then we bring that in and we’ll go back and kind of produce the track with the additions
the artist vocals and really just slow cook it and marinate it to make the best possible,
or until we feel good with it and then when its ready, we give it out so people will have
the chance to experience what we’ve been working on. Really, it’s wherever the music
takes us is where we go.
//BREAKS// Where is the music taking you? Electronica?
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// We’re gonna continue to expand more. The sound is
always gonna be rooted. You’ve already heard that from us. You’ll see the growth at the
same time. See the wideness or the variety of where we can go when it comes to creating
projects.
//BREAKS// The list of artists you guys have already collabed on is lengthy! Raekwon,
Outkast, Big Pooh, Thurz, Little Dragon, Kelly Rowland, etc. Is there some artists that
you really want to work with?
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// Justin Beiber, Beyonce, Jay Z, Kate Bush, the list goes on!
//BREAKS// Wow!
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// If you are gonna start the question with the list we already
have, lets set the bar really high.
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// I’m gonna throw out a random name, Gwen Stefani, man.
I was listening to her jam the other day. It would be dope if we could get to produce a
Gwen Stefani or No Doubt. With our differences, we go wherever the music takes us.
And the gift that we have is that we can be extremely professional, you know what I
mean. We can do a “C.P.U.” track and then turn around and do a Sparkz track or Thurz,
Tippa Mike, 9th Wonder. We can go to the highest of top, do a jam and then go to the
most urban of hip hop and make that jam to. You know what I mean. We would really
like to work with, if you could put in bold letters SILVERSON PICKUPS.
//BREAKS// Who is that? Rock n Roll?
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// It’s like Nirvana, Green Day meets like No Doubt. They
are like a really dope indy rock alternative progressive band. Once you listen to them,
everything about them, the drums, the tone of the lead singer, it’s like you never heard it
before. You go from high to rough to low monotone quick in an instant.
//BREAKS// So you guys have a serious wide diverse taste in music.
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// We make music for music lovers. That’s what we do. We
don’t look at music as short sighted or short term thing. We are all going to be collecting
for the rest of our lives. Why stop at just Atlanta or Georgia or why stop at America. It’s
being played in Japan. It’s being played in Australia. And it will be all over the world.
We just want to touch all of that. We want to experience all of that. I think one of the
biggest joys that we get is to travel with the music. You know what I mean, so...jumping
on a plane to go to Tokyo to make music is like a dream come true. It’s where we want to
be. Where we are headed. It doesn’t end at our driveway.
//BREAKS// Do you guys have a studio that you call home?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Home base is Stankonia. Yeah, that’s were we are gonna
cross paths. Growing from there, we all make moves man. I know we all have our
mobile setups. All we need is 2 sets of plugs man and some electricity.
//BREAKS// Nice!
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Just some power and some plugs man. And somewhere to
sit down. All we need, then we will be making music.
//BREAKS// What was your first track that you guys did together?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// I’d have to say “Royal Flush”.
//BREAKS// “Royal Flush” is one of my all time favorites, Outkast and Raekwon!
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Ah man, I just found out today that James Blake sampled
that song. Yea, yeah. Oh brotha!
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// What? I didn’t hear about that?
30
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// It was in a group text.
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// I didn’t get that one?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// James Blake sampled “Royal Flush” on his up coming
album. He just released the stream of it today over Fader. We use to sit in the studio
listening to his most recent album all the time. Having him sample us? I was like whoa,
that’s pretty cool! That’s actually really dope.
//BREAKS// Yea, so that’s coming back in the form of green paper right?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Definitely!
//BREAKS// Do any of you guys have a formal musical education?
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// Jeron grew up playing piano. His father taught him. I was
brought up in the church. Got tired of that. Drums became my thing. Dreamer, is an all
around musician, vocalist, whatever. That’s just Dreamer.
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Just to add to what Rick said, I studied a lot of classical
music. That’s where I got a lot of my foundation. I did that for awhile.
//BREAKS// To Go Dreamer, man I love your music brah. Your videos are crazy dude!
Crazy!
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// Ahahaha. Thanks man, appreciate that!
//BREAKS// For my audience out there wanting to become a music producer. What kind
of advice do you have for them?
//THE FLUSH//Rick Wallkk// Never limit your listening to just one type of music.
Always push yourself and your album as far as you can push it. When you have gone so
far, go farther down for something else. Like, music is like our soundtrack. It’s our life
soundtrack. That’s what music is to me. I’m pretty sure that you won’t find us satisfied
with only one, just one, so we keep going.
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// One, be consistent. Stay true to yourself, that’s real key
cause, with the internet age, it’s kind of hard especially when you are into something
and then there is like, damn someone comes out with something that’s similar to yours.
But, it’s really finding your sound. That’s the biggest thing. That’s what makes a super
producer.
//BREAKS// What is the next project I should be looking out from you guys?
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Coming up next, Tomorrow we are releasing another record
Spree Wilson “All I Need”, features Go Dreamer. Spree’s project will be out called “Life
in Technicolor.” It’s pretty much a re-interpretation of Atlanta Base music for the modern
day society. Dreamer’s project is growing and evolving pretty much everyday. We just
added some legends for his project, so that’s being cultivated now. We have two concept
projects on the way. They are all entirely produced by The Flush. So it will be more
variety. It will give our audience, our fans, a chance to see what it’s like when we get a
project that is all us. What we do, when we control the sounds, where we can go with it.
It’s always going to be an experience when it is completely produced by The Flush.
//THE FLUSH//Go Dreamer// Treie’s project is gonna be out in June. He’s from Virginia.
He’s dope man. He did a couple collaborations with Big Boi as well.
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Our Twitter accounts are @theflushmusic, that’s our
homebase. Also go to our Soundcloud. That’s where the bulk of our music is housed at.
Soundcloud.com/theflushmusic. We are on Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud.
//BREAKS// Thanks guys! I am a fan of The Flush! Blessed you guys took the time to
talk with me today!
//THE FLUSH//Jeron Ward// Echo this, we are throwing an idea around of putting a
compilation of all our tracks that we produced, because we always been studio rats. We
are always in a studio, we are always working. So there are a lot of tracks out there that
people still haven’t connected the dots on as far as being known as The Flush music. So
we are thinking about putting everything on a one album, so our fans, our supporters can
really put the joint on in the car and enjoy our whole entire collection of music. And of
course, it will have a huge variety on there. R&B, Hip Hop, to Pop or whatever. That’s
probably something that we will do.
// J. PINDER //
//Photo// courtesy of Pitchblend
32
//Interview// Elsv
//BREAKS// How’s it going man?
//J.PINDER// Going pretty good!
//BREAKS// I noticed this area code is 206? Seattle?
//J.PINDER// Yes sir!
//BREAKS// Is that where you are from?
//J.PINDER// Yeah, It’s one of the dopest places I’ve ever been really. It’s grey a lot, a
whole lot, but it doesn’t rain as much as people say or think it does. It rains a lot at night
when people are a sleep. You wake up and the grounds still wet. But it doesn’t really
rain hard or anything. Actually, it rains more in Atlanta, New York, and other places than
it does in Seattle.
//BREAKS// Seattle being famous for grunge music. Bands like Nirvana, did they
influence you?
//J.PINDER// Yeah, definitely the whole grunge, rock, and indy scene in Seattle is
definitely an influence on the hip hop. I think that is one of the things that separates us
from any other regional sound. We’re musical. I’m inspired by a bunch of music. Jazzy
Kenny G is from Seattle. There’s so much cultural influence here. We are pretty diverse.
//BREAKS// Do you play an instrument or have a music background?
//J.PINDER// I don’t play any instruments. I have two older siblings, my brother and my
sister both had piano lessons, instruments and stuff growing up. They didn’t like it so
when it was my turn, my Mom didn’t think I was going to like it either, so I didn’t get to
do it so..., but I turned out to be the musician. I grew up singing in the church, and that
was my thing. I still sing on a bunch of my records. The microphone is definitely my
instrument. My voice.
//BREAKS// Nice. Your music is very positive, even with the songs about heart aches.
//J.PINDER// That’s one of the biggest reasons for making music. I feel like Hip Hop is
at a stalemate. We haven’t grown much as people in Hip Hop. The world is changing.
Perspectives are changing. We are more cautious now, more understanding. Things
can be better. Things can be different, and I try to reflect that in my music. I’m from
the same environment as most rappers. I understand that rapping about certain things in
certain ways affects the listener. I have two nephews that listen to my music heavily. I
have a bunch of people who listen to my music, and I see how it affects people. If I can
affect people positively, why wouldn’t I do that to the utmost that I can. The “Learning
Game” video we shot it down the coast of California. We started it in San Francisco all
the way down to L.A. Shot two videos at once, the “No Fault of Mine” and “Learning
Game”. Filming that video for the “Learning Game” was fun. It comes off my album
“Careless”. I’ll be working on a new album in the next couple weeks. I’m excited about
that. The music is sounding good in my head, you know, we haven’t started putting much
down. I think I’ve recorded one song.
//BREAKS// So you are conscious about your lyrics and its influences?
//J.PINDER// I think a lot of people under value hip hop. Psychologically, hip hop raises
the world. It’s like the most influencial genre of music in the world. There’s no way
that can’t affect people. I know, me personally, growing up in hip hop, not to be cliche,
it made me who I am. It saved me. A lot of the music that I grew up listening to, I look
at it now, I’m like, what the hell were they talking about! Why would they tell me that?
That’s ridiculous! I feel like it’s a good thing you know. It’s my job to take what the
blueprints that the rappers and singers before me have laid out and make it better. Usher
in a new generation. That’s what it is when I sit down and write, I’m thinking how can I
progress as a person first and foremost. How can I progress the music.
//BREAKS// How do you feel about the technological advancement of music? No more
record stores, everything is online?
//J.PINDER// Like I said, the world’s evolving. The worlds changing. Historically
in the music business, we’ve always rejected change. Vinyls to 8 tracks, to tapes to
CDs. Everytime something new happens, industry wants to say it’s a bad thing.
Everything progresses so we have to change with it, and adjust with it. You realize that
what the generation before you talked about how the youth are up to no good. We are the
next generation to say that about the next generation. We are repeating that same cycle.
We have to change with the world and learn how to work with it instead of trying to go
against it.
//BREAKS// Do you produce your own music or do you have a favorite producer that
you work with?
//J.PINDER// In the traditional sense of the word production, I do arrange, write, coproduce, but I’m not a beat maker. My producer from the past ‘til this day is Kuddi
Fresh. One of my best friends. He does the majority of the production. Also Jake One.
This record that I’m working on. The majority of the production is coming from Focus
and Kuddi. Focus is originally from New York, but he was Aftermath in house producer
for three years. He still works with Dre. Kuddi is from Seattle, currently in Atlanta.
Jake One is from Seattle. Vitamin D is like the foundation of it all. My mentor. He’s the
godfather of Seattle hip hop. Macklemore, Jake One.
//BREAKS// Is there a favorite club or spot that showcases new talent, so people can
hone their skills?
//J.PINDER// Seattle is like an island. Seattle has a huge music culture. The city is
very supportive of the arts. So we have a million venues where live music is played.
A million rappers that are popular that fill out the venues. It’s really a different world.
That’s one of my goals this year, is exposing that to the rest of the world. There is
something special going on in Seattle, and people need to know about that. It is truly
unique, and I think that hip hop needs something different.
//BREAKS// I 100% agree.
//J.PINDER// It’s been the same old, same old. I was saying the other day, we put our
support behind people that aren’t about progression. Aren’t realy thinking progression,
recycling the same material that we saw on TV as kids. We need to move past that and
the perspective in Seattle is so weird. We’ve always been, “how come nobody messes
with Seattle?” That we are so far away? We always got trends later or whatever. We
had our own trends or what not. With technology now, we are catching up or the world is
catching up to us. It’s naturally a progressive place. Weeds legal, gay marriage is legal
stuff like that, so it’s interesting. The music reflects the culture of course. Progressive
people make progressive music.
//BREAKS// You sound extremely educated.
//J.PINDER// I appreciate that man. Being an artist, I’m kind of an introvert person. I
spend a lot of time making music and thinking about things. Past couple years, I’ve been
about information. What’s what? Reading books and doing research on certain things
that I’ve felt all my life. Trying to figure out if I’m crazy or not. I realize that there are
a lot of people out there that are thinking the same things I’m thinking. That’s when I
switched my musical content. When I realized that it’s the same material that we’ve been
recycling the same thoughts that we’ve been recycling over these years have been doing
nothing but keep us in the same place. So if we were to move on to something greater,
something better, we have to have a vision for it. That’s where a lot of people go wrong,
when there are people with crazy dreams. I’m not a crazy person, wasting or dreaming
big. It’s just about understanding that it’s possible. Keeping my focus. That’s what it is
about. That’s what I’m about.
//BREAKS// Cool. Last drops for the fans?
//J.PINDER// The new album we’ll be releasing it end of September. I released a project
with DJ Skee back in November “Careless Redux”. Soundcloud.com/jpindermusic,
jpinder.com. The new record is underway, exciting! I’ve been working a lot with
Jazzy Jeff on things. It’s gonna be a big year! My goal this year is to big Seattle to the
forefront of the music industry. Show what we have.
34
//Photo// courtesy of Pitchblend
// TOM CURREN //
//Photo// courtesy of PMK.BNC
36
//Interview// Elsv
//BREAKS// Big fan! Thank you for taking the time to talk today.
//TOM// Ah, thank you.
//BREAKS// How do you start the music making process for yourself?
//TOM// Actually, I’ve been kind of working on different kinds of ways to do that. But
em, the songs on the CD, they pretty much started on the guitar, ideas, and then some of
them just never got finished. So, that is where all the songs are and some have new lyrics
and old music, so I have to mix and match a little bit. I guess.
//BREAKS// Do you know how to write and read music?
//TOM// No, I write the chords and sometimes if it’s like a half chord with an extra note,
I’ll try. I’m sure it’s not the correct way to do it, but I half to put a note out. Usually, I’ll
take the A minor and I’ll put a flash down like a B on the base or something, just kind
of. And then I’ll go back later, and I’ll try to figure out what it was, and kind of be slow
on that, and I have Pro Tools, so I can put down rhythms and stuff. Work that way to, so
that’s pretty handy.
//BREAKS// So you primarily write your music with your guitar? I know the drums was
a big part of your childhood?
//TOM// Oh yeah. Yes, primarily guitar. I’ll try sometimes to play drums first if I know
the tune. And if you have a good track, you can play the song on the drums. Your
arrangements are all done that way. I’m gonna try and do more that way. Two times I
did that, it definitely worked.
//BREAKS// When you were a competitive pro surfer, did you perform music and write
music during that time?
//TOM// Yeah, a little bit. In fact, that was probably kind of what distracted me from
competition, but I was still surfing, but I was, you know, learning something new. So it
was kind of becoming more of a purpose I guess.
//BREAKS// Was that the reason for leaving the tour? So you could concentrate on
music?
//TOM// Oh, um, well it was part of it. Yeah.
//BREAKS// Really?
//TOM// But not the whole thing.
//BREAKS// Ok.
//TOM// A part.
//BREAKS// Since we are on the topic of surfing and you being a former WCT champ, do
you like where the sport of professional surfing is going?
//TOM// Surfing is becoming more popular. That’s great, I guess. It’s fair that everybody
wants to surf. It’s making the sport grow. We just have to share. Share the waves
I guess. I’d like to see it go faster. Change more, you know. Bigger. Some ways,
structuring the events. The sport itself hasn’t changed at all. It’s still you know... I’ve
been watching competition at Bells Beach. That style of surfing, it hasn’t changed really,
I would say. Are you watching it at all?
//BREAKS// Ah yeah! I have been.
//TOM// Big carves no doubt, but it’s not much different overall. So it really hasn’t
changed, you know, that much.
//BREAKS// Would you ever consider becoming a sports commentator for the WCT?
//TOM// I’d probably like to do it, but I feel like I’m not that good at it so, I like watching
it. I like hearing what they have to say. Occy is a good commentator. They feel like, it’s
great to hear a surfers view, in the English language for a change or whatever. Well, a lot
of it is too redundant. It’s a bit grading you know. You get some good ones occasionally.
//BREAKS// Judging a contest really seems so subjective. How can it be more fair?
//TOM// There has to be more judges. The judging pool is too small. You have to have a
bigger judging pool, I would say.
//BREAKS// The judges travel with the pros, I wonder if any become a little to friendly
with a competitor, making it bias and one sided sometimes?
//TOM// Oh yeah. Some of them are really rooting for one of ‘em, if one of the guys is
having a tough year. It’s all underneath. It’s a potential problem. Yeah.
//BREAKS// Your music now.
//TOM// It’s mostly been a hobby, but up ‘til just recently, I actually made some
commitments to do music. Mostly, it’s been about being able to travel and surf, not
competing, you know. Play a few shows here and there. Trying to write songs as a
hobby. It’s only kind of recently that I got some type of schedule.
//BREAKS// Why do you think so many pro surfers are so musically inclined. Some are
actually very talented to the point of career musicians? Why is that?
//TOM// That’s a funny thing. Kelly Slater is actually a really good musician. No one
really knows that. Rob Machado is really good. I don’t know? It’s kind of like in a way
you would think the best music would come from the poorest ghettos because it’s where
the real expression is from. It’s hard. It’s not on a beach, you know. Maybe it’s the salt
water?
//BREAKS// Yeah.
//TOM// It’s calming. It’s energizing. So maybe?
//BREAKS// What are you listening to right now?
//TOM// I was just listening to Pat Metheny.
//BREAKS// New album coming out?
//TOM// Yeah, yeah. The album is “In Plain View.”
//BREAKS// The video of “Summerland” was shot by Chris Malloy. You guys grew up
together?
//TOM// Yeah.
//BREAKS// Is this something you guys will continue, videos and stuff?
//TOM// Actually, we don’t have plans.
//BREAKS// When did you start working on this new album, “In Plain View”?
//TOM// I think it was March of last year.
//BREAKS// How many members in your band?
//TOM// It’s a three piece right now. When we have a full band it’s a five piece.
//BREAKS// You’ve played together long?
//TOM// I’ve known Chris since ‘95?
/BREAKS// He plays?
//TOM// Bass, James is the drummer, precussionist, and he’s been around for six months.
He’s good. And Wiliams is on guitar, and I’ve known him since ‘95 as well. The
keyboard player I don’t know that long.
//BREAKS// Any future projects?
//TOM// No, nothing specific yet.
//BREAKS// How about surf trips?
//TOM// Yeah, I have some trips coming up this year. Trip to Asia.
//BREAKS// Sweet Asia!
//TOM// Yeah, Indonesia, and then further up.
38
//Photo// courtesy of PMK.BNC