Check out the process behind our 4-Year anniversary cover by Caesar Meadows!

Interview by Leo McGovern.

One of my early interviews for ANTIGRAVITY was with Susannah Breslin. I’d heard she’d recently moved to New Orleans from Los Angeles, and was anxious to interview her and help promote the New Orleans Bookfair, which she had a scheduled reading at in late-October 2004. We sat in the back courtyard at the old Z’otz in the French Quarter. Her short story collection, You’re A Bad Man, Aren’t You, had recently been released.

****

ANTIGRAVITY: When did you move to New Orleans?

Susannah Breslin: September 2003. My intention was to stay here for a year, but now my guess is I’ll stay for two years. The weather here is unbearable. I can’t live here permanently, but it’ll be longer than a year.

AG: What made you decide to move to New Orleans?

SB: I was tired of being in Los Angeles. I’d never been to the south before. I knew it was warm and cheap. It had a seedy reputation. When I figured out the abbreviation was “No L.A.” it seemed like it was divine. [Laughs] It was a way to get away from the competitiveness that was L.A. and just try and focus on writing the book instead, rather than keeping my head above water as a freelancer.

AG: You’ve said that instead of “feel good” movies, you prefer “feel bad” ones. What exactly are “feel bad” movies?

(more…)

I’m a fan of “process” commentaries, where people go through the steps of how a project evolved into the finished product. Our June cover is a celebration for AG’s 4th anniversary and is drawn by Qomix artist Caesar Meadows, so I thought I’d post some of his sketches how the ideas evolved into the actual cover. (more…)

June is ANTIGRAVITY anniversary month, so to help celebrate we’re blogging some more classic AG pieces. This one is our first ever cover story, an interview with Glorybee from June 2004. Glorybee was the perfect choice for our first cover, as they were well-known around New Orleans and certainly visually interesting. A side note is that they were my first choice to be the musical headliner for the first Alternative Media Expo (in June ‘03) but had an out-of-town show on that day. The first year or so of AG isn’t available in .pdf format, as I lost the computer they were stored on in Katrina (and stupidly hadn’t uploaded them to our website), so we’re having notable pieces like this re-transcribed. Which is nice because they can also be re-edited—keep it a secret, but I don’t think I knew as much as I think I did when this whole thing started.

Anyway, where the magic began…

****

Glorybee is a trio of musicians based in New Orleans and own a sound best described as “rap/electronic/sonic death on helium.” Their live show is a unique spectacle, one where the unthinkable not only can happen but usually does. Be careful if you see one of them, even on the street, as their soldering banter can easily suck you in, after which you’re stuck like a fly in the proverbial web of Glorybee. Featuring three main members (Nasty Burga’ Kang [Bass/vocals/percussion], Lord Hoffa [vocals/keyboards], and Masta Boink [keyboards/programming/drums]), Glorybee is one of the truly unique bands in New Orleans, relying not on horns and someone else’s name to carry them, but on their own ideas and techniques. Their new CD, GYB: The First Power, is set to hit the streets June 1st, with the GYB CD release parties on June 25th at Dragon’s Den and June 26th at Chelsea’s in Baton Rouge. (more…)

In a special artist-on-artist chat, The Junior League’s Joe Adragna talks with Sloan’s Jay Ferguson.

I will not pretend to be non-partisan when it comes to Sloan. They are, to my mind, one of the best bands ever and one of the few bands that, since their inception in 1991, have consistently created strong albums and have avoided the usually-inevitable weak one. The Toronto-based four piece, fresh off my favorite record of 2006 (that would be thirty-track epic Never Hear The End Of It), are back with Parallel Play, the latest release in a career that’s flown under the radar of the U.S. mainstream.

The group has four distinct songwriters and multi-instrumentalists: Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, and Andrew Scott. Each member contributes at least three songs to Parallel Play (Scott clocks in with four), and their individual songwriting styles are well represented. The great thing about Sloan’s White Album approach is that it’s kind of like getting four different flavors of ice cream—it’s all tasty, and you don’t have to decide between cherry vanilla and rocky road. Ferguson, the band’s resident pop confectionist, delivers one of the album’s high points with the melancholic (but bouncy) “Cheap Champagne;” Murphy’s clever lyrics and gifted melodic sense shines on “All I Am is All You’re Not;” Pentland brings his brand of the rock with the catchy lead-off track, “Believe;” and Scott blasts through the garage-like “Emergency 911.”

Of course, I could go on about really geeky production points or fantastic parts on Parallel Play—like the great chorus of “Living The Dream,” with its fantastic ascending bass line; or maybe the “You Keep Me Hanging On” guitar part on “If I Could Change Your Mind;” perhaps I could discuss the echoy, Moby Grape-ish shuffle of “Down in the Basement;” or I could go on about the fabulous harmonies on the chorus of “Believe.”

Instead I’m just going to tell you to go get Parallel Play and enjoy the latest release from a band that will earn an honored place on your turntable/CD player/MP3 player. (more…)

Lil’ Doogie Meet-And-Greet, Color Bar Salon (2039 Magazine St.), 8pm, FREE; lildoogie.com. From a string of laugh-inducing, real-life videos (like meeting Endymion parade goers and talking to local ABC affiliate Channel 26, taking his first trip to the East Bank and throwing television antennas around the room after arguing with his roommate) to a Dirty Coast t-shirt featuring his likeness to the release of the fledgling rapper’s first EP and his appearance on this magazine’s cover (April ’08), Lil’ Doogie has confounded online philosophers with the only question worth asking: “Brah, I’m real?” Philosophize further at Color Bar Salon, where Doogie celebrates the release of Thoughts From My Mind and his first music video, for Thoughts track “Lil’ One.” You’ll have a chance to make a film with Doogie (not of the porno kind, unless that’s what you’re into) and take photos like you did at your Senior Prom. —Leo McGovern, Photo by Dan Fox.

Settly, One Eyed Jacks, 10pm; settly.com. Settly has been all over the music business. He’s been in bands like Raw Youth, Multiple Places and ZOOM. He was the house recording engineer at NYC’s Tin Pan Alley Studio (where he worked on the Beastie Boy’s Ill Communications). He also recorded and co-produced Railroad Jerk’s One Track Mind and The Third Rail. All that considered, the most notable thing about Settly may be his solo music. When I say he went solo, I mean he went solo—he mixed, recorded, produced, wrote the lyrics and music to all the songs, all on his own. Now that’s independent music! However, as he can’t play every instrument by himself live, his backup band is either his old buddies ZOOM or The Disappointments. While Settly kicks ass on the record, his live shows are where it’s at—his music has just enough pop to draw in different types of people and rocks hard enough to keep everyone engrossed for the entire set. But, make no mistake; he isn’t a pop-punk wonder. He plays really good, old fashion, rock and roll, filled with riffs and hooks in all their glory. His songs are glorious little gems that will keep you humming for days to follow, so don’t miss the former One Eyed Jacks soundman on a rare return to New Orleans. —Caroline DeBruhl, Photo by Art Boonparn

When I saw David Lynch’s Lost Highway for the first time, I drove myself nuts trying to understand the film’s every twist and turn. I instead should’ve sat back and absorbed the experience, waiting till later to ask the whys and the whos and the “why did that house just implode?”

It’s best to use the same approach for local rock group Good Guys and their new first full length, The Social Engagement. Like Lynch, they specialize in dark, strange, abstract and schizophrenic works of art that don’t ask the consumer to entirely understand their madness. One second its doo-wop, the next Tropicália, the next Mike Patton-inspired avant-metal, and the next a lullaby. Fans of film scores and classical music, Good Guys thankfully always come back to a recognizable common ground in their songs, similar to how Tool has approached their last two albums.

Formed in 2004, Good Guys are led by vocalist, melodica and theremin player Jeremy Johnson and vocalist, guitarist and pianist Tom McLaughlin and rounded out by synthesizer player and trumpeter Greg Beaman, drummer Kyle Sharimataro and bassist Greg Smith.

The Social Engagement is more mature and thought-out than the band’s previous two EPs. Simply, it sounds like they killed themselves working out the absolute best arrangements. Produced by Mike Napolitano and augmented by Mike Dillon and Skerik, the album becomes better the more you listen to it. It’s a hard-worked triumph, to be sure. ANTIGRAVITY sat down with Johnson and McLaughlin at Mojo Coffehouse, just as a cop was about to mow over a pedestrian at Race and Magazine, to talk about Ennio Morricone, Kathleen Turner and, of course, their music. (more…)

Worn Again II: Friday June 27, Republic

Team Worn Again sticks with the old adage of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” or in this case, runway-worthy high fashion. With their 2nd annual “recycled” fashion show, Worn Again NOLA II, Team Worn Again challenges artists and designers to what founder Garyt Shiflett calls an exercise in “controlled creative recycling” at Republic, who has donated the space for the evening.

Proceeds from the event will restock the storefront for Recycle for the Arts, a “trash-to-art” organization that provides low-cost art materials to the community.

Worn Again NOLA II contestants who are 16-years-old and older receive a randomly assigned bag of fabric and clothing and have just fourteen days to turn their nothings into somethings and model them on the runway at the June 27 event. “You get what we give you, but you have the creative freedom,” Shiflett says. The top three contestants will receive top-notch designing supplies, including a new sewing machine. Registration is $10.

Worn Again NOLA II will feature three other contests, including Worn Again Jr., featuring designers between 8 and 15 years old, who, after a few sewing lessons, have six weeks to work on their submission before it hits the runway. Winners receive a cash prize. Registration is $10.

The Thrift Store Art Edit gives artists two weeks to “edit” an assigned thrift store-find—the artist can either be inspired by their find or create something completely different. Registration is $5.

Finally, ten teams of four to six dancers will compete in the Recycled Dance Competition. The dancers will be randomly assigned a music video with three weeks to learn its respective dance routine. The event crowd chooses the winner. Registration is $10.

On June 7, Shiflett and his Team will hand out anything-goes grab bags of fabric to the competing designers.

Instead of relying solely on donations and help from CraigList ads and classifieds, Shiflett searched for a few generous fabric stores, finding upholstery scraps and clothing beyond repair. “I try to find homes for clothes not even a thrift store would want,” he says. Fortunately, Shiflett grabbed plenty of raw materials from a charitable fabric store and also filled two trucks worth of fabric from a store closing in Elmwood, saving mountains of fabric from a landfill and putting it all into the hands of recycle-savvy designers. “I hope they come up, like, ‘Hey, I really made something out of that pile of shit you gave me,’” Shiflett says.

This year’s sign-up sheet already surpasses last year’s total, with more than thirty designers registered before the deadline. Karen Kempf from Recycle for the Arts anticipates more than fifty total registered designers by the June 7th deadline.

Shiflett and Kempf, the newest member of the Team, joined forces in 2007 when Team Worn Again adopted Recycle for the Arts as its non-profit of choice. But the Team first stitched together as an assignment Shifflet received in class while in college in Virginia. His art direction professor asked the students to develop an event to support a nonprofit. After presenting his idea for the proto-Team, Shiflett’s professor pulled him aside and told him to go for it.

Co-founded with Anna Virginia in 2005, the Team’s fashion show proceeds benefited the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation. But in 2007, Shiflett moved to New Orleans, leaving Anna in control of the Virginia Team. Finding kinship with the Green Project’s Recycle for the Arts, Team Worn Again, along with Kempf, launched their first event at the Green Project in 2007.

Shiflett plans to turn Team Worn Again into an official New Orleans nonprofit with a storefront and basing its efforts around a local creative community and its vendors.

“It’s not just deconstructing, it’s turning it into something else.”

TEAM WORN AGAIN PRESENTS: A NIGHT OF RECYCLED CREATIVITY, the 2nd annual fundraiser benefiting Recycle for the Arts, Friday June 27, The Republic, 828 S. Peters New Orleans
Worn Again Jr. Runway Show - 6pm
Worn Again NOLA 2 Runway Show - 8pm
Recycled Dance Competition - 9pm
Thrift Store Art Edit - all night

—Alex Woodward

The June issue of ANTIGRAVITY is starting to hit the streets! We have a special cover celebrating our 4-year anniversary with several local characters from our history drawn by Caesar Meadows. Coverage includes local artists Good Guys and Robin Boudreaux and we have two artist-on-artist chats: one with Ballzack talking to local cult icon Biff Rose and the other with The Junior League’s Joe Adragna and Sloan’s Jay Ferguson. Plus, coverage of Worn Again II, why Chris Paul should’ve been the NBA’s MVP, previews of Settly, Zydepunks, Mudhoney and others, reviews of Indiana Jones, the new Nine Inch Nails, The National’s DVD, our statement on The Gray Ghost vs. NOLA Rising, the last Rock & Roll Confessional, and way, way more.

Don’t forget to check out our 4-year anniversary party on Saturday, June 21st over at Handsome Willy’s. It’s free and the festivities begin at 7pm—come see us before you go out for the night!

Download the issue here or pick it up soon at an eatery/coffeeshop/hedonistic place of fancy near you!

June content (and some exclusive stuff–whoah) will start to hit the blog on Monday, so keep an eye out!