Interview with The PeaBrains by Ezekiel "Zeke" Wateley; Edgar Valencia & Hektor Plasma

INTERVIEW BY ZEKE:

OKAY. YOU THE PEABRAINS ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BETTER PSYCHOBILLY BANDS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. YOU HAVE A GOOD SOUND, HAVE A GOOD BASE IN ROCKABILLY, AND GOOD SONGWRITING ABILITY- ALL VERY FRIGGING IMPORTANT THINGS FOR A BAND. YOU RECENTLY FINISHED RECORDING YOUR FIRST LP, “IN THE HANGMAN’S SHADOW” FOR CRAZY LOVE RECORDS WHCH HAS SINCE BEEN RELEASED IN EUROPE AND IS SOON TO BE RELEASED IN THE U.S. TO YOUR LARGE FAN BASE WHO HAVE BEEN EAGERLY AWAITING A FULL-LENGTH RECORDING FROM YOU FOR YEARS. LET’S GET TO KNOW YOU GUYS. YOUR NAMES…WHAT YOU DO IN THE BAND…? 

Rob: I’m Rob. I play the double bass. 
Abe: Abe. Play guitar and vocals. 
Alex: Alex. Drums. Adrian: Drums 

WHERE ARE EACH OF YOU GUYS FROM? 

Adrian: I spent most of my life in Chino…in California. 
Rob: San Pedro, California. 
Alex: I’m from Lynwood, California. 
Abe: Lynwood.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BAND. FROM THEN TO NOW…ANY CHANGES…IN PERSONNEL…ANYTHING.

Abe: Well, we started out in 2007. I have always been on vocals. I started on bass and had a guitarist. We went on like that for maybe two years…? And just decided to change it up. Decided to part ways. I got on- I was still on bass for awhile and then we got George from Los Mumblers.. 
Adrian: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Abe: …And he was playing with us for maybe two years. And me and Adrian were playing for HIS band- for Los Mumblers- so, I was playing bass- 
Adrian: Yeah, we were doing two shows for them… 
Abe: Yeah, so he was playing drums for Los Mumblers, I was playing bass, and George was still on vocs and guitar. Then about 2009, I decided to jump on guitar because I couldn’t really find someone to play the way that I wanted them to. 

YOU HAD A VISION IN MIND AND YOU COULDN’T FIND ANYONE TO MEET YOUR VISION. 

Abe: Exactly. I started off playing guitar as a kid. I was never any GOOD at it…but I enjoyed playing bass a lot better, a lot more. I met Robbie through a mutual friend back in the day..

WHAT YEAR WAS THAT? 

Rob: I met him in 2008? Abe: 2006. 
Rob: 2006, Yeah. I roadied for them and then what happened was that they switched guitarists and I ended up- I had a bass and I used to just fuck around with the bass and that’s when he started playing guitar (in the band) and he asked me to start jamming on bass. And since I was a roadie I was already familiar with the songs, we were already good friends- going to all the shows together…He just had me back him up since then. Adrian: I remember the day. We just said started dicking around and Abe said “Let’s write something” and I said, “Alright. Cool!” and..uhh…he said “You need to get some drums.” Abe: I basically talked them both into it. 
Alex: He’s a sweet talker. Abe: He (Adrian) didn’t play drums before and he (pointing to Rob) was only messing around on the bass, he never tried to do anything like learning notes and stuff like that… 
Rob: He taught he how to go along with the guitar and figure it out from there…Fuck, that took years. 
Abe: Yeah, I started teaching him, like, notes and how to tune it and stuff like that and slowly but surely he started progressing. Slowly! (Abe laughs) 
Rob: So, I’ve stayed with it over the past few years. For five years I’ve been solid (with the band).

AND, ADRIAN, YOU’VE BEEN SOLID WITH THE BAND OR YOU’VE BEEN ON-AND-OFF WITH THE BAND? 

Adrian: I was solid with them, and I was filling in with other local bands. But then I stepped back about 3,4 years ago. Still doing fill-ins with other bands, but doing my own thing. I’ve been back with the Peabrains for a good solid year now. 

AND ALEX WHAT IS YOUR HISTORY WITH THE BAND? BECAUSE YOU WERE THE DRUMMER AFTER ADRIAN AND NOW HE’S BACK IN THAT SPOT. 

Alex: They just needed me to fill in and I came in. I didn’t wanna step on anybody’s toes because Adrian’s my friend…I took a lot of influence from him, so anything that I did play was whatever HE did. 

HE WAS YOUR INSPIRATION AND REFERENCE POINT. 

Alex: He’s the originator and I gotta give props to him. 
Abe: And did you know that Skum (The Vectors) started playing drums because of Adrian? NAH! 
Alex: Adrian’s energy is just different. He’s gotta lotta off-the-wall fucking energy. And that’s one thing that I really admired. When I was just a kid watching The Peabrains, roadie-ing a little bit, you know- helping ‘em out…? The way I came in- I smoked out with Abe…I smoked out with all of ‘em, actually…at the Mad Monster Party… 
Abe: I didn’t like this guy when I first met him! (Everybody laughs) Alex: The Meteors came and they didn’t fucking play…I smoked a joint with them- I snuck it into the Vex(?)- and that’s how I met them. Abe: That’s when I was like, “Oh, he’s cool!” (All laugh.)

SO THE BAND HAS BEEN TOGETHER FOR HOW MANY YEARS? THEN TO NOW. 

Adrian: Since 2007. 
Abe: Twelve years. 
Adrian: From what I remember, around 2007 was our first official shows. 2007, 2008 when we had our first gig. Awful. (Laughs) 

HOW LONG WERE YOU PLAYING BEFOREYOU PLAYED YOUR FIRST GIG? 

Adrian: I think that was it. Maybe a year while we put together those first three or four songs. 
Abe: Nah, it was a few months, dude. I don’t think it was a whole year before we started playing. 

 IN THAT TIME, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHANGES IN THE SCENE YOU HAVE OBSERVED? IN THOSE 12 YEARS, WHAT HAS CHANGED? 

Adrian: Goddamn. Well…how people get along with it. For awhile, there were a lotta people trying to dress to impress. People trying so hard has died out a little… 
Rob: I’ve just seen changes in styles, influences…new music being brought into the scene. You get the waves that go by…like the hardcore psychobilly style and then later a more surf style will get big. Right now the scene’s doing good- seems like every week we have a show. 
Abe: I think the main thing and the main reason why the whole scene started changing was the bands and their influences. I feel like there was a major shift- I’m not sure what year- from just shitty music…That’s the only way I can say it. All the music coming out was just no good, and I feel that maybe the internet had a lot to do with it…people started coming across better music and so the bands started CREATING better music…which influenced the AUDIENCE, and the audience started creating better sounding bands. VIA INSPIRATION. Abe: Well, I don’t know about via inspiration, but maybe via asking us what we listened to or by shit they would see in posts or on shirts or…who knows? “Inspiration” is a little far-fetched. Like, I don’t think I inspired anybody. Know what I mean? I feel like I might have influenced them through my 

MUSIC… THAT’S WHAT INSPIRATION MEANS. DON’T UNDERSELL YOURSELF. 

Alex: I was in the audience ‘cause I wasn’t playing with you guys yet, and I can tell you that I saw a lot of bands that…I didn’t know what they were selling. 
Abe: That’s the point- they were trying to sell something, you know. 
Alex: They were trying to be like somebody else. 
Abe: They were trying to push omething.
Alex: Whoever was making it “corporate”, they wanted to be like that. 
Abe: To “make” it.
Alex: They wanted to be like Zombie Ghost Train, they wanted to be like Nekromantix… 
Abe: Tiger Army. A
Alex: Tiger Army…and they weren’t playing anything that was psychobilly at all. 

WHICH IS INTERESTING BECAUSE MY WHOLE TAKE AWAY FROM THE PEABRAINS WAS THAT YOU CAME AROUND AT A TIME WHEN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCENE WAS OBSESSED WITH THIRD-RATE HARDCORE BANDS WITH UPRIGHT BASSES… 

All: Yes. Rob: Exactly. 

 AND IT WAS ALL JUST METAL RIFFS, SOMETIMES A DOUBLE BASS PEDAL… 

Rob: Just fast. 

AND JUST FAST. AND IT WAS MISSING THE POINT. 

Rob: It was punk rock, metal, not really… IT WAS A GIMMICK. 
Adrian: Like wrestling.


INTERVIEW BY EDGAR & PLASMA

SO, IT’S KIND OF A CORNY QUESTION, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW IN MOST INTERVIEWS- WHAT JAS INFLUENCEDYOU TO MAKE THE MUSIC YOU MAKE AND TO LIVE YOUR LIFE THE WAY THAT YOU DO? 

Adrian: The music me and Abe grew up on…rock’n’roll…what was happening when we were kids…I hate to say “folk music” too… 
Alex: For me it started with Black Sabbath, Christian Death…and then we can say, for psychobilly, The Peabrains, man. Honestly. I like The Meteors, I like psychobilly in general, but once I saw them (The Peabrains) it was like…And The Grims too, man, and Cannibal Madmen. Once I saw those three fucking bands, that’s when I knew, that’s the shit that I wanna move forward. And it started off with something that’s not even related to that at all. 
Abe: Like Ade just said, I grew up listening to what my parents were listening to, obviously, and the area where they were raised- they were basically, like, ten years behind the United States, so their heydays were about the sixties and seventies. In THOSE days, there were a shitload of Mexican bands that were covering a bunch of songs from the fifties…

AND WHAT PART OF MEXICO WAS THAT? 

Abe: Jalisco. In a little town called Acatlan de Juarez…This was a little village- cobblestones, dirt roads…It was tiny. And, they were ten years in the past…so all the music coming around was from the fifties. Fifties, early sixties. So, you had all these bands that were doing nothing but covers from the U.S. and that’s what I was raised on. That’s the first time I ever heard, like, Suspicion, or like a lotta shit from Creedence, from the Rolling Stones, a lotta stuff like that. The first time I ever heard it was in Spanish. And then I hear as I’m growing up, I hear it in English and it just blew my mind! I was trying to figure out who did what first…NOW, obviously, I know…But even still, as a kid, I had older sisters. They were listening to roc en español, which is in a lot of Spanish-speaking countries, but that was from the eighties. Now the first time I ever heard “There is a Light That Will Never Go Out” by The Smiths it was a Spanish version by Duncan Dhu. And then as I was becoming a teenager I heard The Smiths and I was like ‘What the fuck?’. Mind fucking blown. My godfather, he would listen to more rock- more “mainstream” rockabilly, like Elvis, the Big Bopper, and all that. So, I was like five, six, seven- that’s what I grew up on. So just the whole music style, the whole scene, the whole…how people looked back then, that was just a huge influence on me growing up, and it just stuck with me. 
Rob: Myself, I found rock’n’roll and psychobilly in my high school days. I got interested in it with Frenzy and Meteors and since then haven’t looked back. Up until today I feel like it’s been a part of me and won’t leave! And for any mood I feel, I can find psychobilly, I can find that music to fill that mood. And I don’t have to go just to psychobilly- I can go reggae and rockabilly. But I don’t have to go that far to find that mode of music that I wanna hear for that shitty day, for that fucked-up day, I will find psychobilly to fit that mood and fill that need.

WHAT KINDA REGGAE DO YOU LIKE? 

Rob: Traditional. Sixties. I don’t really care for that second- and third-wave…2-Tone…I just like the first- the early shit. 
Abe: Ska, rocksteady… 
Rob: Yeah, I get really into it. First wave. But anything after that, I don’t really care for it. It’s cool when you listen to it in the club, but personally I’m not really into it. Alton Ellis, Desmond Dekker, Ken Boothe…I like Prince Buster…!

ABSOLUTELY! THE PRINCE, BABY, THAT’S THE MAN! 

All: Yeah!

YOU JUST FINISHED THE RECORDING. LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT. HOW MANY RECORDINGS YOU HAVE OUT SO FAR? 

Abe: Oh, man…We have…We have a lot, man, we have a lot. The first time we recorded was in 2007. That was a little five-track demo, EP little thing. But nothing ever really happened with that. It was just to hand it out for a buck or two, y’know? We’ve given out CDs at our shows…Even to this day it’s never been about trying to make a buck, publicity, or…If you hear it. It’s because you wanna hear it, you had to look for it, but if you stumble upon it, that’s great too. I’ve never been one to push our music on anyone, really. As far as recordings go, we probably have about…seven different recordings? And each recording has been between five and fourteen tracks.

HAVE THEY ALL BEEN DEMO RELEASES? 

Abe: Yeah, there hasn’t been anything official until now. 
Adrian: I was trying to figure it out…There’s been two LPs or just one LP? Like, demos with enough tracks on them to make an LP…There’s been a few. 
Abe: Technically there’s been nothing official until now. All that stuff that we recorded has been self-produced and self-promoted. Only released through us. So the only way to get it is at a show. This is the first time anything’s ever been pressed to vinyl.

SO, YOU HAD TO RECORD SEVEN TIMES UNTIL YOU HAD SOMETHING THAT MADE YOU SAY ‘OKAY, I’M GONNA RELEASE THIS’…

Abe: It’s never really been a choice or a decision. If we woulda been approached back then, we woulda released it. This is just the first time we’ve been approached. And I’ve never been one to go out there to try and find somebody to press my shit. Y’know?

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING ON AN ORGANIZED ALBUM? 

Abe: It was great! It was a lotta fun, there’s a lotta new songs…Some old songs, but they all have a new different energy, which I really enjoy, and, out of all these recordings I’ve ever done- twelve years now- this is the only time that I’ve been 100% satisfied with the way that they came out and the way that we performed them.
 
I WANNA HEAR ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT YOU USE TO PLAY. WHAT DO YOU ALL USE? BESIDES TALENT, WHAT DO YOU USE TO GET THE PEABRAINS SOUND? 

Adrian: Shit, man, if I gotta piece together my main traveller kit, it was a Pearl kit that I traded for a bump. Abe: The first thing that you started upgrading was the snare and cybals. Rememeber that you started getting different types of snares from pawn shops and shit? 
Adrian: Now I am using a Zildjian ride and Zildjian crash, Pearl Rhythm Traveler kit…Uhh…that’s my kick drum…Floating tom, floating snare, Pearl pedal…I like the sound everything gives out now.

AND YOU WERE THE ONE ACTUALLY PLAYING DRUMS ON THE ALBUM. WHAT WAS YOUR SET-UP FOR THAT? 

Alex: A big, fat fucking ride…a 22-inch ride. I need it to get that sound- it has to be nice and clean. The one that I have is Paiste, but you can get any one as long as it’s huge. As far as a snare, the one that I have, we call it “The Boobinka” (laughs). It’s made outta wood from Africa or some shit. We decided that a wooden snare would be a lot better than a steel snare. And the rattle is a big fucking thing because they got that one that has only twelve strands. I don’t know how much (mine) has, but just get fatter than twelve. We tone it down low, we want it to sound like that; that eighties snare that sounds like you’re hitting a barrel of acid in a big warehouse. (Demonstrates sound.) That’s exactly what we fucking did. We didn’t want it to sound like that high-tuned..like that crust-punk snare? That’s just what we didn’t want. 
Abe: That tight… 
Alex: Yeah. So, get the fattest fucking snare that you can. Widest too, as well, y’know? And that’s pretty much it. The rest is some shit that I got when I was in 4th-grade, when I was, like, nine years old. It’s been sitting out, it’s got mold, it’s got rain…It’s got new skins, but it’s the same shit that I had when I was nine years old. Rob: At the moment I got a generic bass, K&K preamp which is Abe’s, um…Vics Pickups- really good stuff, right there. For bass amp I have an Avatar 212 cab and a Hartke head. Still trying to find my sound basswise. 
Abe: That’s like a lifelong journey type of thing. That’s how it should be.

(TO ABE.) WHAT’S YOUR SETUP? 

Abe: Well, to contradict myself, I’ve been using the same guitar for twelve years. (All laugh.) Rob: Nah, you had the acoustic… 
Abe: Well, I was using the acoustic in the beginning when I first started playing guitar for the band. This old, shitty Yamaha and I just took off a pickup from another old, shitty Yamaha ELECTRIC guitar and I just jury-rigged it onto the acoustic in the hole, and it souded alright…Because it wasn’t electric, it couldn’t plug it, but I drilled a hole, I did all this shit and said ‘Now I can plug my acoustic guitar into an amp!’ 
Alex: Didn’t you fucking record with that shit too? 
Abe: Yeah! We recorded a COUPLE times. That worked for a little bit, then I decided to just go with my electric guitar…that I’d had since high school. This old Epiphone Les Paul. And I was using the same setup for years, up until about maybe four or five years ago when I started to upgrade it. So, I put a bixby on it- did it myself. Put some new humbuckers on it- me and Mondo from The Grims put ‘em on there…Just upgraded the guitar, but it’s still the same one that I’ve had since I was seventeen. And as far as the amp? Yeah, Ive gone through a bunch of amps. Right now I’m using an old eighties English KMD. It gets the job done. I like the way it sounds. I think that’s the point, y’know? Just ‘cause one person gets a certain sound out of their setup, it’s not gonna sound the same way when YOU play it. 

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG OF YOURS NOW? 

Adrian: “Into The Sun”’s fucking great. Um..You can’t do that to me, you asshole! 

IT’S HARD AND I’M PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT THAT’S WHAT I DO! 

Alex: “Duranged”. 
Rob: “Duranged”. 

WE GOT TWO VOTES FOR “DURANGED”! 

Rob: It’s fucking fast and it’s, like, half instrumental. 
Alex: You just close your eyes and go wild. 
Abe: That song does sorta induce auditory hallucinations at a certain point when you’re playing it. That’s what I enjoy about playing music. I don’t think I could really be in a band if it’s not like that; to the point when you (are playing)

WE GOT TWO VOTES FOR “DURANGED”! 

Rob: It’s fucking fast and it’s, like, half instrumental. 
Alex: You just close your eyes and go wild. Abe: That song does sorta induce auditory hallucinations at a certain point when you’re playing it. That’s what I enjoy about playing music. I don’t think I could really be in a band if it’s not like that; to the point when you (are playing and) you feel like you don’t need anything and you have this sense of euphoria just from playing with your band mates. Nothing comes close to it- no drugs, no alcohol, no women- there’s just…complete bliss when you’re in the zone. My favorite song right NOW…probably…”They Say”. It always just hits the spot. 

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST STYLISTIC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHERE YOU STARTED OFF AND WHERE YOU ARE NOW? 

Abe: That’s been affected by…Mainly just the way that I perceive the world in general. The way I perceive life and what I’ve been through so far. All of my songs are based off of life experiences, except for maybe one that’s based off of a movie- “Leon”, based off of “Leon, the Professional”. Other than that, my changing life experiences affect that style- I start going through some shit, I start wriying about it, and…it turns into a song. Sometimes it’ll be years later after I wrote some shit down, and then I come up with the melody and I just put it together. Years between each of those things individually sometimes.

AND THAT’S BEEN A CHANGE FROM WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED WRITING TO NOW? IT’S LIKE A DIFFERENT PROCESS? 

Abe: That sort of has always been a thing, that very unorganized type of writing. At the same time, sometimes I could sit there and…there’s certain songs where I sit there and write the whole thing- the melody, leads, and the lyrics. 

AND YOU ARE THE PRIMARY SONGWRITER FOR THE BAND. Rob: He’s the ONLY… 

Abe: I write everything. I give them the (song) structure and then give ‘em artistic freedom to do what they do whatever they want. If I don’t like something I let them know respectfully…constructive criticism sorta thing…But pretty much 100% I am the songwriter, composer.

WHAT DOES EACH ONE OF YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE DIRECTION FOR THE PEABRAINS? 

Adrian: Travelling, if we could. Going anywhere that they wanna hear us. I love making music with these guys and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 
Rob: We have more music to record, definitely. We had many ideas for this album that’s coming out within a few days or weeks and we’ve been working on a whole ‘nother album already. With Adrian AND Alex. A mix of semi-old and new stuff. A lotta new stuff that’s still unheard…I wanna tour with these guys. We’re older, we have families now- some of us- and I wanna enjoy the time with my boys, going to Europe or Japan and see what the world has for us. After being in this band for ten-plus years we barely got an album coming out…it’s like ‘Oh, shit, we still gotta lotta shit to do as a band!’ A lot of stuff that we all can go through- all four of us here. 
Alex: I just wanna keep having fun with these guys who are now my brothers, and that’s all I could ask for. Just to keep jammin’. That’s our main excuse to get fucked up together. 
Abe: I think that’s been the major problem with the band’s progress- it’s that I never really had a goal. Never had any expectations, never had any direction. The main thing for me- and I’ve told all three of these guys- as soon as it’s not fun, there’s no point. There’s really no point. At least not for me. I’m here to enjoy myself with my friends, with my brothers, and uhh…just…Not that I don’t care about anybody else’s opinion, but I’m not doing it for nobody else. I’m doing it for me and to have a good time. So, it’s hard to say “directions and goals”. There is really no LIMIT, you know? I want it to go as far as it can, but at the same time it’s not really a goal. It’s not something that I hope for or something that I wish for..It’d be cool, but I just wanna have fun and… 

AND LET IT GO WHERE IT GOES. 

Abe: Exactly. But still being true to ourselves. To myself. 
Adrian: Not doing it for any reason besides that we want to. 
Abe: And that’s the only reason we’ve ever done it.
Alex: A lotta this (indicates the conversation)

 The PeaBrains

Interview with Randy from Diabolic Events by Edgar Valencia & Hektor Plasma

1. What was going through your mind the first moments you heard Psychobilly and what caught your attention about it?

I thought it sounded badass! I listened to The Meteors & Batmobile! I really didn’t know there was a local psychobilly scene

2. What motivated you to throw your own shows? What did you find the most difficult about them?

Ink n iron 2014 gave me influence to throw shows it was such a badass lineup My first show was a backyard & I wanted people my age or younger to show up mostly because all the good shows were 21+ Most difficult part was to make sure the event was well promoted & making sure people showed up as well as finding venues

3. Why “Diabolic Events”? Anyone helping you out?

Before Diabolic Events it was Eskabronados but I wanted a more of professional name. Thanks Edgar from (The Autopsies & Lost Boys) for making my First logo I have a few buddies In which we all help each other out like Checko, Uptown Psychos & Slapaholic

4. What were some of the first Bands to work with you?

The Grims The Dead Ricardos Radarmen The Autopsies were the first psychobilly bands I booked

5. What do you think is unique about Southern California Psychobilly compared to the rest of the world?

That it was small but everyone goes to shows for one main reason to have a good time

6. Have you worked shows out of the state? work with other local promoters?

Not yet but I’m promoting a show for Degenerated & Retarded Rats December 8 in Las Vegas I’ve worked with ska promoters to Von Badsville Checko presents Uptown Psychos & Slapaholic

7. What are some of the bands you wish you could work with in the future?

I’ve always wanted to work with Damage Done By Worms Celtix The Frogs The Rusty Robots Gorilla

8. What are some of the most memorable bands you have hosted?

For sure The Grims Radarmen The Autopsies The Dead Ricardos The Radios The Spastiks Bad Luck Gamblers Degenerated Retarded Rats Devil Wrays & all the bands in Los Angeles that have played a small show

9. What do you think the future holds for Psychobilly?

The Future is The Kids that show up to All Ages Psychobilly shows And the newer bands coming up like The Deranged & Lost Boys In my opinion it’s a very underground genre in Los Angeles but I hope it stays constant.

10. You think Southern California is able to host a “Psychobilly Meeting” type event?

Anything is possible it may never be hard to try may be expensive but it’ll be worth seeing a lot of people having a good time.

I’m Randy Padron & I’m 22 years old.

I’ve been doing shows since March 2015

Corrections:

Answer for Question 5

It is everywhere in a sense. Some people find out about psychobilly in LA, either by friends, going to a show & finding a band they like. But Los Angeles is unique to me because there’s a lot of newer bands & bands who are coming back. As of newer bands Lost Boys & Deranged. Both have great sounds. Bands who have came back or planning to would be , Uptown Psychos, Zombillyz, Los Difuntos, The Riff Raffs, Uhh Random Bunch.

Answer to question 6

I haven’t had the chance to work with promoters in other states but I’d love to, so hopefully soon

Wednesday 18th of June:

Quick question the interview will be released today?

Randy Padron Diabolic

Diabolic Events

Diabolic Events 

Diabolic Stomp 2020 

El arte de Bruno Raskólnikov + entrevista - diciembre 2019

Byam Sham - Omphale (1914)

Abraham Janssens van Nuyssen - Heraclitus (ca 1609)

Carel Willink - Simeon de pilaarheilige (1939)

Charles Napier Kennedy - Perseus & Andromeda (1890)

Frederic Leighton - Antigone (1882)

Girolamo Forabosco - Diogenes drinking (17th Century)

Pedro Américo - Cristo morto (1901)

Rita Vega - Madre Vida (2012)

Sebastian Evans - The Ancients of the World (1870) I

Sebastian Evans - The Ancients of the World (1870) II

Wilhelm Trübner - Gorgonenhaupt (1891)

The Demon Pitch

The Monkey King

Ultradirty I

Ultradirty II

Ecce Chewbacca

Esta entrevista la hemos preferido hacer anónima por varios motivos.

  

Hola, ¿te haces llamar Raskólnikov verdad?. ¿Porque?

Hola. Sí, bueno, es solamente el nombre que he adoptado para las redes sociales. Es por Rodión Románovich Raskólnikov, el prota de "crimen y castigo". Cuando leí ese libro quedé impactado, es muy intenso y por muchos puntos ese personaje me pareció muy penetrante y me enganchó.

Ahora vives en algún lugar de Russia. ¿Que te hizo emigrar hacia el Este?

Sí, aunque antes de vivir en Badia mi familia y yo vivimos en Barcelona varios años también. Pues la verdad es que de haberme sentido con el valor y haber visto la oportunidad me hubiese ido a Plutón, pero mi compañera me ofreció una mano y el empezar algo aquí en Rusia y aquí estamos, ella es de por aquí.

Por lo poco que te conozco e visto que de siempre te a gustado el arte y hacías graffitis firmando como Zone, que es un nick bastante demandado. ¿Has tenido problemas con ostrxs Zone(s)?. ¿Porque firmabas tu como Zone?. ¿Que es para ti el Graffiti?

Sí, con el arte es una especie de relación amor odio, pero al final sí que me acaba gustando. Sí, solamente con un chaval de barcelona hace algunos años, vio algunas fotos mías publicadas en alguna red social y me escribió para amenazarme, que me cambiase el nombre o me iba a venir a matar decía, pero ya está, no pasó de ahí porque no cambié nada y tampoco vino ningún chaval a matarme, el que yo empezara a firmar así fue por una tontería, cuando empecé los primeros tags (que eran horribles) allá por el 2000, empecé a firmar como "Treak" que era un nombre que me cedió un colega de aquel entonces, pero luego entre que yo era bastante malo con esto de los rotuladores y los sprays creí mejor buscar un nombre más facilón y una tarde apareció ese nombre, sin más. Pues no estoy seguro, siempre he creído que el graffiti era revuelta, vandalismo y nada de agradar a los demás, aunque ese rollo de "no me taches que te mato" o "mi crew es más que la tuya" y toda esa mierda me aburre un montón, así que durante los últimos años cada vez le iba aislando más, iba a pintar cuando quería y simplemente me dejaba llevar, los colores dependían de mí estado de ánimo y cosas así, ya me daba igual la firma, tapar o que me tapasen, así que supongo que a fin de cuentas para mí es una forma más de liberarse, expresar lo que piensas, sientes o quien eres, como toda forma de expresión artística, ¿no?

Desde hace un tiempo compartes obras de arte del tipo Glitch. ¿Puedes explicarnos en que consiste este tipo de arte?. ¿Porque haces este tipo de arte?. ¿Hay muchos artistas de Glitch hoy en día?

Pues sin tener ni idea te diría que es el arte del error, el de distorsionar imágenes, el de crearlas incluso, abstractas y surreales, distorsionar caras, edificios, paisajes, mezclar una foto con otra a veces rollo collage, sí eso el arte del error va. Simplemente me gusta eso de poder distorsionar y romper por así decir las imágenes, es casi crear otra realidad. Sí, creo que hay una gran comunidad.

He observado que usas obras de arte de artistas del barroco y el neo-clásico y transformas sus obras al arte abstracto. ¿Esto es una corriente que se práctica entre varios artistas o eres tu solo el que hace este tipo de arte?. ¿Porque lo haces?

No creo que sea el único que lo hace, aunque lo que más he visto que sea parecido es usar imágenes de esculturas de líderes romanos y cosas así, aunque como ya he dicho antes, hay mucha variedad en las creaciones y ediciones. Lo hago simplemente porque me gusta y me es más sencilla encontrar una obra de arte que me gusta y que pueda ver de una forma distinta como para editarla que ponerme a hacer o buscar fotos jajaja

¿Escuchas musica mientras creas arte?. ¿Cuales son los artistas con los que mas inspiración tienes para crear?. ¿A que crees que es debido?

No lo tengo como norma pero a veces sí me pongo algo de música, lo que mejor me va es ponerme cosas del rollo Chu Ishikawa, Hijokaidan, Esplendor Geométrico y algunas cosas que encuentro a veces de casualidad pero también rollo noise, industrial y experimental, aunque a veces estoy más sensiblón y me pongo cosas rollo John Cage o algunas piezas de piano. También hay un par de cosas de rap que casi nunca fallan, que son el Insulino, ya sea solo o con la Troika y el Amokh/Lander.

También haces capturas de fotogramas de películas y haces Glitch sobre ellos. ¿Esto es obra de origen tuya o sigues una tendencia?. ¿Las películas de las que escoges los fotogramas que importancia tienen para ti?

Sí, dudo que sea solo cosa mía, lo de las pelis creo que se usa más para hacer alguna edición de vídeo, pero habiendo eso seguro que hay muchísima gente que lo hace con capturas también. Pues la mayoría son simplemente de películas que recuerdo que me hicieron gracia o que me gustaron mucho por algún motivo, pero la mayoría son por lo primero. Tengo por ahí alguna captura de Otto el piloto automático, Bigfoot y chorraditas así.

¿Que intentas transmitir con tu arte?. ¿A ti que te hace sentir tu arte?.

La verdad es que nada, quiero decir, lo hago por y para mí y si alguien lo ve y siente algo con ello será cojonudo, pero todo el mérito será de esa persona tanto si le inspira como si le da diarreas. A mí me hace sentir de puta madre, de puta madre mientras pienso la imagen y durante el proceso, aunque a veces acabe con un dolor de cabeza terrible, pero al acabar ya no es nada, ya está hecho y casi podría decir que lo odio.

¿Has hecho ya alguna exposición de tu arte en algún lugar o a habido alguna revista digital o física que haya plasmado lo que tu haces?

No, la verdad ni se me había pasado por la cabeza que pudiese pasar algo así jajaja.

Muchas gracias por confiar en Sesión de Plasma webzine, puedes añadir lo que quieras o algo de lo que nos hayamos olvidado.

Joder, nada...muchas gracias a ti por darme la oportunidad de hablar y explicar un poco mi mierda.

Entrevista a The Vectors por Edgar Valencia - Diciembre 2019

Con motivo de celebración, hoy podemos decir que tenemos un nuevo colaborador en SdP.
Se trata del valedor Edgar Valencia, de el sur de California y estuvo platicando un ratito largo y tendido conmigo en Pineda de Mar, en la costa catalana de España, con motivo del Psychobilly Meeting, este mismo año.
Edgar por entonces me habló de su banda de Psychobilly que se llama Lost Boys y no dude en entrevistarlos cuando tuve tiempo y predisposición.

Ver entrevista a Lost Boys aqui 

Edgar, que antes de ocuparse de la parte mas ritmica de Lost Boys había tocado en The Southern Wolves, se caracterizó, desde hace años, por ser una fuente de Psychobilly de cualquier tipo de variación, demostrando que el gusto esta en la diversidad. En su canal de Youtube podréis encontrar muchas muestras de Old School Psychobilly, así como Neorockabilly, Modern Psychobilly o como dice el...

Fuckabilly

Con su ayuda vamos a tratar de llegar a todas las bandas de Psychobilly y derivados que podamos de los Estados Unidos de América, porque ya lo hicimos con la escena Psychobilly méxicana, con la ayuda de Kat, Kumo, Lluvia, Rod, Viry y Fiambre y el bueno del Pep Rdz, como no decirlo, esta vez también nos vamos a valer de ayuda para acercarnos a los Lobos que acechan en el lejano oeste.

Ver especial Psychobilly en México aqui

Acabamos de llegar a EEUU y que mejor manera que tras pasar por los Lost Boys, Radarmen y Uhh Random Bunch? cómo los grupos que han tendido este puente entre España y Estados Unidos, sigamos conociendo tan espectaculares como The Vectors y su Rockabilly castizo mal intencionado.

Ver entrevista a Radarmen aqui

Ver entrevista a Uhh Random Bunch? aqui

Hi, who is in “The Vectors” and what instrument do you each of you play?

Watts: My name is Watts and I play guitar.

Skum: I’m Skum, I play drums.

Zeke: Zeke, I do the vocals.

Gretch: I am Andres a.k.a. Gretch and I play the upright bass. 

What is the musical genre or sound of the group?

Zeke: Early-‘80s rockabilly…uh…style.

Watts: And more rockabilly.

Zeke: (Laughs) And more rockabilly.

New-wave-abilly?

Why “The Vectors” as a name?

Zeke: That name refers to vector line graphics video games from the early ‘80s, like Asteroids and Tempest. When we started the band, I told the other guys to come up with a name, but after a few weeks, they still had nothing, so I made a list of examples just to give them some ideas. “The Vectors” was the first or second name on the list and right away they said that they wanted to use it. I tried to read them the rest of the list, but they didn’t wanna hear it. I told them that there has been at least one punk band and one garage band with the name and they didn’t care. So here we are.

Where are you guys from?

Zeke: I’m from New York…I live here in L.A. and have lived here for four years.

Skum: I’m from the Valley…Van Nuys…Born and raised.

Watts: Born and raised in L.A.!

Gretch: Boyle Heights, east of the L.A. river.

Zeke: As opposed to IN the L.A. river. 

 

When did you start playing as “The Vectors”?

Skum: I’ve been playing a year now with The Vectors. I was their third drummer.

Watts: I joined the Vectors about a year ago, I took a leave of absence and I’m back now. I answered a Craigslist ad and here we are.

Zeke: I think each of these guys is underselling themselves. I think…Skum has been here almost two years- almost the whole time the band has been together. And you been here (points at Watts)…almost a year-and-a-half.

Watts: My memory’s foggy.

Zeke: Yeah, mine too. But…whatever…We’ll figure that out later. Skum replaced two previous drummers, neither of whom lasted more than a single practice, so he is, in effect, an original. I’m a founding member of the band, been doing this almost two years. Gretch was the first guy I asked about staring the band, so he’s a founder too. 

Are any of you in other groups or projects?

Skum: I also drum for two bands…uh…One called “Tres Muertos”; psychobilly, and another one called “The Devil Wrays”; psychobilly.

Watts: I’m in a rockabilly band called “The Vargas Brothers” and a rock’n’roll band called “The Rip ‘Em Ups”.

Zeke: I got a band called “Mania” with some local punks in East L.A. I’m sure they’re nice people. 
Zeke: They’re very nice boys.

Gretch: I also play upright bass in a band called “Spectre” which is more psychobilly-influenced, we have a self-titled EP on Killjoy records.

Spectre en Killjoy Records

What are your influences? (Musical, literary, film, etc.)

Skum: I mostly listen to jazz and swing for…uh, Vectors drumming.

Zeke: What are other influences you got?

Skum: You mean specific names? Vectors. (all laugh)

Gretch: Early rockabilly, ‘60s garage, and psychobilly.

Watts: As for me, uh…all roots music in general. For this particular project I really like early-eighties/mid-eighties neorockabilly like uh...Restless, Nitros, etcetera.

Zeke: Yeah all that- Polecats, early Stray Cats…We’re not trying to sound like any of them particularly, but that is definitely…where those guys were coming from is definitely…we’re coming from the same spot. With the same sort of influences, the stuff that was around at the same time, the stuff that influenced them- the stuff that they came out of and the stuff that was around at the time, even in the popular culture…All that stuff is stuff that we feel and that influences us. But also I read a lot, write a lot, collect toys and music and other things, and a there are aspects of each of those things that influence me, but we ain’t got time to mention them all here. 
 

For each of you, what are your top three bands?

Gretch: The Cramps, Kittyhawk Bomber Billies, Torment…

Watts: Oh. That’s too hard to answer. Mainly guitar players for me, I have too many favorite guitar players. I can’t possibly have…a favorite.

Zeke: Yeah, that question is a little silly. Like, who cares? It’s not the silliest question, but it’s silly.

Skum, what are your three favorite bands?

Skum: I don’t know. I…

Zeke: Yo, you like MF Doom.

Skum: But that’s not really a BAND…

Zeke: So what?

Skum: You want psychobilly? I guess The Krewmen. I got ‘em tattooed on me…

Zeke: You got Shark Bait tattooed on you too…

Watts: Ricochets, Ricochets, aaaaaaaand Ricochets.

Zeke: Mine? I want Sigue Sigue Sputnik in there somewhere….Three of my favorite bands wouldn’t even register as rockabilly bands. I like stuff like Rudimentary Peni and Septic Death and new wave and old hip hop and hardcore, power pop…You want three favorite rockabilly bands? Charlie Feathers is on there, Johnny Burnette… Carol Burnette. (All laugh)

Zeke: Yeah. That’s a hard one to answer. It changes all the time.

Do you have something recorded and are you guys going to record something new soon?

Zeke: Funny you should ask, because we just finished doing a bunch of recording today! In our man Bobby’s studio- Minor Chord Studio. So, all the people who read this, come to California and record with Bobby. Drop everything and come here now, you humps.

Gretch: Hopefully, we’ll release something ASAP. We have options open. What do your songs talk about?

Watts: Oh, wow. Love, travel..No, I don’t know.

Zeke: You guys can put your two cents in.

Watts: You! You write ‘em.

Zeke: What do our songs talk about? Anything from emotion to…uh…monsters. (Watts laughs)

Watts: Mythological creatures.

Zeke: It depends on what we feel at the time…We try to make them not about stuff so much on the silly side.

Skum: Mostly lyrics are the last thing that we do. The music is what we write first.

Zeke: Yeah.

Skum: Lyrics come later, so I guess it depends on the mood of the music.

Zeke: Absolutely. We definitely don’t just say ‘This is what we’re gonna write a song about’ and then just make it fit the next thing that Watts comes up with or what Gretch comes up with. We write lyrics to an existing piece. “Lost In the Storm” is about being emotionally battered in a relationship, and “Untamed” is about just going out at night and wilding out. But we don’t know what they’re gonna be until the music is written. Any notable bands you’ve shared the stage with?

Zeke: Fuck, that’s a gay question. 
Watts: We’ve played with a LOT of bands. I dunno… 
Zeke: Who cares? It don’t matter what bands we’ve played with, it matters what we do…What are we gonna say? That we played with such-and-such or so-and-so? So what? There are are a lot of shitty bands playing with a lot of good ones, so who cares who they’re playing with? If you’re a shitty band you’re a shitty band and who you open for does not make you a better band. I agree.

Do you have any upcoming shows?

Zeke: Upcoming shows?

Skum: Do we?

Zeke: Actually, this is the first time in a year or so that we DON’T have anything booked. We WERE doing back-to-back gigs for a while, but we haven’t taken any shows in a month or two because we knew that we had to record and write new stuff. We are back on track, though, so we are taking bookings again now.

Any new bands emerging out of your area? In your guys opinion what is unique about the Southern California Psychobilly Scene? What do you guys think the future holds for psychobilly in your area?

Zeke: That’s a good…

Gretch: As of recent, I would say there’s been less shows than in previous years, but that hasn’t stopped more bands from popping up randomly, each with a unique sound. As for the future of the scene and the music, I have no doubt it will continue strong. I never fail to see new faces and meet new people. It’s a genre that is constantly evolving.

Zeke: Listen to you.

Skum: I’m not saying anything because will pay for saying anything. Take it away, Zeke.

Zeke: There are a few guys who I have seen improve over the years here. The Sindicates are a 100% better band than they were when I first heard them four years ago. Those guys are dope. We like The Lost Boys…They are coming from a good place and they are probably going to a good place. Grims and Peabrains are dope. Daffys would be dope if they gave a shit. But newer bands are hit or miss.

Skum: Deranged is coming up. They just got a new drummer.

Zeke: I ain’t heard them, I don’t think.

Skum: I haven’t had a chance to hear… at least a full song yet, I’ve just seen videos on Instagram. I haven’t had a chance to catch them live

Zeke: But you like what you’ve heard.

Skum: Yeah.

Zeke: Okay, dope, dope. Our boy Ben’s band Jesse & the Rock’N’Roll Three are killer. And we just saw Watts’ other band The Rip ‘Em Ups play last night at the Cochran Club and they are mint. (Guys start talking about some unrelated stuff)

Zeke: Last thing is, uh, I’ll say this about…the Southern California psychobilly scene is very active, but you gotta separate the psychobilly bands who are good from the fucking haircuts. ‘Cause you got all the “haircut” bands who just think that an upright bass and a wedge all of a sudden makes you into a good psychobilly band. But 90% of those bands are shit, because they don’t know how to write songs and they’re just about image and they’re not about sound, or quality sound, at all. You gotta have both. You gotta have everything. If you have one and not the other, well, then you’re not gonna be successful. People wanna see crazy people making good music. If you’re not that crazy and you make good music, people are gonna be like…ehhh, maybe…But if if you’re crazy and make good music, people are gonna be all about you. A lot of people (bands) think you gotta just LOOK crazy and not BE crazy and not show and prove and be a shit band and it just doesn’t matter and I’m tired of seeing shit bands- I’ve been seeing these shit bands for decades in every genre and I’m sick to death of it. There’re good bands in Southern California, there’s good psychobilly bands, but too many people just, like, latch onto psychobilly like it’s a gimmick and not a workable genre.

Watts: I agree. I concur.

Zeke: Psychobilly is big, it’s not as big as it was, but that’s because there’s not as many posers out there. People who just jumped on it ‘cause it was a new thing, and now they’re fucking Soundcloud rappers.

(Skum laughs)

Zeke: It’s not as big as it was, but it’s got a lot of potential. That’s what I gotta say about that.

The Vectors en Facebook