[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 55: JOHNNY PEMBERTON

Good afternoon. This week, we have a super cool chat with one of my favourite comedians/podcast hosts. If you haven’t listened to ‘Live to Tape’ before, I’d truly recommend it. It’s unlike any other podcast in terms of weird vocal effects, background music, samples, bleeps, bloops and random segues. It rules. You may also know Johnny from his work on Son of Zorn, 21 Jump Street, Ant-Man, Action Point...the list goes on. Here’s what he had to say!

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Johnny Pemberton. I'm a comedian, which means I do lots of things that all come together under the umbrella of comedy. I do not have a large intestine. 2. How did you get started in comedy? I got started by volunteering to open up for a taping of a web talk show. I had always wanted to do stand-up and this seemed like a great opportunity because it was for a paid audience. later I would learn this is generally considered the worst environment for comedy. it went terrible, but I was undeterred. I started writing more and had some help from a veteran comedian named Peter Spruyt, who was gracious enough to give me a 5 min spot on a show he ran in the belly room at the comedy store.  3. What was the worst gig you ever played? the one I just mentioned was pretty bad, but I wouldnt really consider that a 'gig', which to me means 'being paid'. the worst paying gig? too many to even remember, also if they totally suck I forget about them right after I leave the stage. the only one that still stands out was playing some funny bone in the mid-west in this sterilized brand-new franchise park. one of those places that's impossible to walk to. i was on this tour sponsored by a major beer company and this really popular comedy website. the beer company thought the comedy website was promoting the tour and the comedy website thought the beer company was promoting the tour. it wasn't until the first show we realized NO ONE was promoting the shows. so the audiences were super light. for this show at the funny bone in this sterile hellscape with tiny trees that will never get tall, they "papered" the show, meaning they did giveaways so the worst people on earth go to the show. not comedy fans, just adults who need babysitters. in the front row was a group of middle aged women who kept interrupting me during my set asking to see my ID. I joked about it a bit but they were too drunk and I was still too inexperienced to know how to shut them down properly. I picked up a stool onstage and threatened to throw it at them while shouting "here's my fucking ID". afterwards I saw the G.I. Joe movie.   4. How many records do you own? too many. prob about 2000. looking to sell at least half. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? thats tough. The best straight up "advice" i ever got was from comedian Michele Biloon who said "...sometimes you just have to shove your comedy down peoples throats". I've also got a lot of good advice in the form of watching people who claim to know what they are doing then fail miserably and realize that not everything works for everyone and there's no right way to do something in comedy except the way that works and is fun. 6. Last movie you watched? "Slow West" last night.  7. Why did you last cry? probably a few weeks ago while running. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? I did not lose it to a song. who loses it to a song? people have the time and forethought to set up a song?  9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? a massive BLT made by a Japanese chef.  10. You have a time machine; where to first? year 3000 or something around there. this is a hard question because every answer is good. there's so many cool things to check out.  11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? this changes all the time. at one point i would have said 'there's a riot going on' by sly and the family stone. another point I would have said 'giant steps' by John Coltrane. then maybe “Byrd in hand" by Donald Byrd. then maybe derrick harriot's compilation "i remember those reggae oldies", then maybe "Boogie Down" by John Wayne, then maybe "thee hounds of foggy notion" by thee oh sees (this would actually be much earlier), actually! i think my favorite album might be "Black Monk Time" by The Monks, its pretty amazing pound for pound, and so special because its their only album. i also have some super rare shit that isn’t worth mentioning because its so rare. there is one album though that’s pretty rare but not impossibly rare that i've never not liked listening to: "Say what you mean" by the Hot Dogs. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? prob the monks. or maybe the paragons. both are bands i've never seen and would love to see. that would be a good use of the time machine. would really love to see booker T and the MG's play live with Otis Redding or ANYONE on Stax during that period. actually just remembered: Harry Nilsson. he only played live a few times. would like to see that! 13. How is your record collection arranged? total fucking mess in the garage right now. the records I have inside are arranged by band. i have individual sections for: Toyan, Thee Oh Sees, Steely Dan, Swamp Dogg, Mississippi records releases, and Harry Nilsson. these are all groups/artists i have the most of. then i have a sliding drawer with newest purchases and lots of reggae and some miscelanoues stuff from the last few times I DJ'd. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? this is such an impossible question, so many variables. prob my fav record and maybe the weirdest is a 45 from a group called the small fries which is just sly stone. he records this song after breathing in a bunch of helium. I heard a british DJ in london playing it and ran up to him and asked him what it was. I bought it a few years later and play it every chance i can get. maybe its not that weird, but cool. thats the problem i think weird is cool, so how does something just stay weird? in my experience the weirdest stuff is made by people who think they are making something super normal and end up making something thats super cool and really different as a result. I think maybe the weirdest thing I have is this dillinger record that has all these strange sounds on it from scientist. its the 'cocaine in my brain' era, but a little later. there's lots of reggae that Scientist produced that have truly bizarre sounds hidden in plain site and he's the most normal dude ever. I think he's got a magic brain. 15. What is your most treasured possession? pretty much nothing. i have a lot of crap, but its all just trash. sometimes I wish everything in my house would be destroyed by a magical fire that left the structure unscathed. i had a bike i liked ALOT, had it for nearly 13 years, but it got stolen. I had a t-shirt i liked ALOT but Chris Pontius literally ripped it off my body at an Andrew W.K. concert. i was pissed about the bike for a while, shirt too, but those are just things i was overly attached to.  16. Green Day or blink-182? hmmmmmm, but Green Day.  17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Wand.

Jimmy Donely.

Barry Brown. 

18. What advice would you like to give to people? luck isnt real. BUT things that seem like "bad luck" are just chances to laugh and move forward. maybe even a sign that youre doing something right.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? thank you! seriously. your scorn drives me. also I know you just hate yourself and need love and help.  

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? trump drawing that extra part on the hurricane map with a sharpie. proof of absurd nature of "reality" :) THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 54: REBECCA VASMANT

Good evening. FIRSTLY, THERE’S A MASSIVE SALE IN THE WEBSTORE. USE CODE ‘GET75′ FOR 75% OFF YOUR ORDER AT http://blacklakerecords.net/store Secondly, I took a few weeks off this while I was back home for a wedding, in Russia for a little while and getting back to normal life thereafter. This week we’re back with a bang. This interview is with Rebecca Vasmant, a DJ from Glasgow. She’s just had a hectic summer with festivals and took a little time out to answer some questions for me. Here’s what she had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Rebecca Vasmant, I'm a DJ / record collector / music fan and producer. But music fan first and foremost. A little known fact about me : My grandparents had their own fashion brand called Vasmant in Paris back some years ago. 2. When and how did you start DJing? I did a radio production course back when I was 18 and I had been collecting records for a while before this and was always was fascinated by the concept of playing records to other people and would always imagine what it would feel like to play a record to a room full of people and see them reacting to that record. I decided to buy decks, and bought second hand belt drive monstrosities and starting setting out trying to learn how to mix. I don't come from a musical background and I didn't know anyone who was a DJ, so was not even familiar with what it was that I was supposed to be doing, but I just knew that when I got it, I would get it. I would just go on my decks and find myself in tears not knowing what to do and wishing I could make some sense of it. Eventually after at least six months of trying I started to get the concept and just kept practicing. It was not easy for me and took a lot of work, and it did not come naturally to me like some people. I just took it from there really. 3. How long have you been DJing live for? It's my ten year anniversary this year! 4. How many records do you own? I really don't know, I have two rooms in my house filled pretty much, my bedroom and my living room. I really don't know, I need to count one day. But a fair few! 😬😬 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? No relationship is ever perfect, and I apply that to my relationship with myself, and self confidence when it comes to music, gigs, and the rest of life too. It's really important to be happy in yourself, and give yourself a break enough to be able to be openly creative. And for me, my relationship with myself isn't and never has been perfect. I'm working on that all of the time, but to know it's ok for that not to be perfect really helped me a lot. 6. Last movie you watched? Tully with Charlize Theron, last night actually! I really like her she's great.    7. Why did you last cry? I actually had a cry of happiness when I played at Gilles Peterson's festival in Sete, in south of France after my set.. I got back to the hotel and just sat and reflected. I just played after Gilles to about 7 thousand or so people and I opened with a jazz track, after Gilles and the whole crowd cheered, it was a really surreal moment. It's really something I wanted for so so long, and the fact that I was able to play there, to that many people, booked by someone who's been a real hero of mine for a long time. Really was quite overwhelming. So yeah, I had a cry when I got back to my hotel thinking about that. And thinking about me and my flat mates listening to his show 12/15 years back, and then that all just happened. Yeah, I'm so grateful honestly. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? I don't think a song was playing! Good question though! 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? I'd have.. a Big Mac for starter, then a full seafood platter for main, from somewhere local and really super fresh.. then I'd have my mums chocolate mousse for desert. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? Straight back to the 60s when all of my favourite jazz records were made, so I could go and see them being played. Then fast forward 5 years so I could buy them all before the prices rocketed! 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? My favourite record of all time has to be Stan Tracey Jazz suite for the starless and bible black track. It's just a piece of music that means SO much to me. I think that's the record that got me properly into jazz, when I listen to it, it makes me feel all the positive emotions that the human brain can make all at once. It has the ability to completely reset my mood in about 3 seconds when I put it on. I'm genuinely so so so grateful for this record, and will never ever forget the first time I heard it. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? I'd have to say probably Bill Evans, or Amy Winehouse! Amy so I could hang out with her because she was awesome. And Bill Evans for the same reasons.    13. How is your record collection arranged? This is a bit strange.. but I keep my record in order or cities / shops and times bought, rather than in musical style. I know it sounds mad but I can immediately remember where and when I bought all of my records for some reason, so it works for me to file them like that. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? Strangest record I own is probably some mad free jazz (more than a section of my collection). Weirdest record I've heard? Probably my friend Matt DJ formats psychedelic records that I've only ever heard tiny clips of because he refuses to play them to me since he knows I won't like them 🤣 15. What is your most treasured possession? Strange answer but a photo of myself that my gran kept on her bedside table of me when I was tiny. I just love it because it reminds me of how much she loved me and how much I loved her. 16. Green Day or blink-182? None! 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? These bands come to mind from being blown away by seeing live at festivals I've played this summer:  Comet is coming

Alabaster dePlume

Aku

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Always be you. And don't ever change that for anything or anyone.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? I'd say I really wish you guys all the best, and hope you have love in your life. Usually people act out because they are unhappy in themselves, and id never wish unhappiness on anyone. I hope they do become happy ♥️

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? Most prices of records these days is the best joke I know of! THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 53: GILES WALKER

Good afternoon. This week we have an interview with Edinburgh-based DJ Giles Walker. I first met Giles I think through Tom Banks (Lockah, Tuff Wax, Donald Dust) but I couldn’t pin down an exact time or place. We also briefly worked together when he would DJ and I’d do the lights at NOX in Aberdeen. This largely involved me fannying about with the LEDs while Giles played Sexual by NEIKED. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Giles Walker, I am a dj, and I once auditioned to be The Milky Bar Kid. 2. Which projects/nights etc have you done/are you hoping to do? I am about to start a night to play darker, more gothy takes on contemporary dance culture, with my new DJ partner for this task, Sofia Stergiou. 3. How long have you been DJing for? Cripes, a long, long, long time 4. How many records do you own? Must be in the region of 6 or 7000, I always forget to include my 7”s 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? At or above the knee, That’s what we like to see, Longer than the knee, a Juggalo ye be 6. Last movie you watched? I watched the 1984 movie “Streetwise” to chop some dialogue out for a mixtape, but I remembered that it was a good documentary film, so I ended up watching the whole thing again. 7. Why did you last cry? Probably whilst watching the “Inner Light” episode of TNG, sue me. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? Whatever song comes in on the “Ill Communication” album after the dick in the mashed potato skit. 9. Death row last ever meal; what do you have? If I have done something bad enough to be on death row, probably an Ortolan to continue the trend. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? Maybe late 70s New York, as cheesy as that sounds. I could check out disco, punk, rap, early ballroom culture, graffito and other art etc… 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Changes all the time, but right now I am really into this 70′s album of Devo covers that a radio station in America pressed after running a competition for submissions. I, like most of the annoying dicks who have large record collections, love Devo as well. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Mr. De’ and DJ Assault, the music they made together was really fun. 13. How is your record collection arranged? By genre and then by decade 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I own this crazy Hindustani record from the late 70s/early 80s that is over this pulsating electronic beat and genuinely sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. 15. What is your most treasured possession? I don’t know if I really have a most treasured possession, but I have an original Janice Joplin tour t shirt. 16. Green Day or blink-182? My knowledge of punk sorta ends in the mid 80s, and I think both of these bands are from after that period. I honestly couldn’t say, and I don’t wanna be disingenuous, I have enough problems as it is, without adding that to the pile. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Oh jeez, I probably don’t have the same tastes as your readers so I apologise in advance. Samara Lubelski

Lake Ruth

Fenster.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? You lose 100% of the fights you don’t start.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? I am universally loved and admired by all, so I don’t know if I am qualified to give this advice either.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? A man walks into a bakery and picks up a Battenburg “This Rubik’s cube doesn’t look very difficult” he says. The baker replies “No, it’s a piece of cake!” THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords 

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 52: PATRICK KINDLON FROM SELF DEFENSE FAMILY

Good evening, all. That time again, my friends. This week we have a little chat with Patrick Kindlon of SDF notoriety. I first came across SDF back in like...2011? Before someone explained that they were previously called End of A Year. Maybe one of the most prolific bands in modern punk/rock, they are known for their extensive back catalogue and for singer Patrick’s lengthy monologues between songs. I caught up with Patrick who kindly agreed to answer these dumb questions. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Patrick. I sing in a couple bands. I write for money. I currently live in a garage, perhaps because of the singing and writing thing. 2. Where did the name Self Defense Family come from? A Texas prison gang. The name spoke to me and I'm glad the gang is no longer around to collect for copyright infringement. 3. How long have EOAY/SDF been active for? Gotta be over a decade at this point. My mental timeline for things like this is pretty poorly maintained. I'll often be off by five years or more on the date of a release. So it might be twelve or fifteen years, but if I say ten that's a safe answer. 4. How many records do you own? Three. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? There's prolly been more profound ones, but the most helpful to me was, "time passes regardless of what you do with it." Which is to say, if you put something off because you're scared of the time commitment you should consider that the time is passing no matter what. You can either be the guy who got something done in that time or the total fool who didn't. 6. Last movie you watched? Vice Versa (1988). A very middle-of-the-road body-swap comedy with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage. Not particularly funny or interesting, but a fun shotgun spray of 80s cliches. Maybe if you're over 35 and still smoke weed this one could have some value to you. For the rest of us, it's a pretty difficult watch. 7. Why did you last cry? My father went to prison when I was 12 and I felt very angry at him. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? I think it was just the sound of a skinny dude and a skinny girl slapping their lower halves together. So maybe an arrhythmic *smok* *shlmk* *pdunt* 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? A spicy chana masala with some roti and a cucumber salad as the side. Black licorice for the walk to the chair. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? I wonder if I'd have the strength to witness myself at various times in my life, or if I'd find it difficult to watch. Maybe I'd avoid it altogether. I'm really fascinated by eras where things went 'backward' so maybe the fall of the Roman empire. As I understand it, things became so decentralized that knowledge that was readily available suddenly became impossible to come by. Like concrete. Regions basically 'forgot' how to make concrete. That'd be something to see. 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Tough question. There's Lungfish albums and the Minor Threat discography that I'd prolly ask to be played at my funeral, but the record I've listened to most in life is the Little Feat album Dixie Chicken. So maybe that wins by default. I played it every day from age fourteen to eighteen. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? I missed seeing The Fall by a week. Mark E Smith died and fucked it up for me. So I guess that'll do. 13. How is your record collection arranged? Casually. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? The three I own aren't too weird. But heard? Some of the OG noise guys were actual weirdos. The new breed seems to just be doing an impression of those classic strange people. Don't get me wrong, very few people could tell the difference 'musically' between the two, but I have some respect for the first wave of guys to call songs things like 'I'm Comin Up Your Ass'. 15. What is your most treasured possession? I'm not sure I have one, currently. I am making a concerted effort to not lose my water bottle for a year. So that may count. 16. Green Day or blink-182? Green Day by a million miles. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? I really enjoyed the two Ekulu 7"s.

I was excited for the new Tau Cross, but the songwriter taking a turn into holocaust scepticism means that one may not be available any time soon.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Don't join.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? I'm not a celebrity so you can certainly just avoid seeing me if you don't care to and I have no impact on your life. Hating on me is silly.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? It's a really long one about ayahuasca, cosmic consciousness, and emergent spirituality, and still being a bigoted redneck. If I ever do standup, I'll bore the audience with it to see if I can't get the payoff to work when the joke ends. THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 51: MANDY CLARKE FROM BOMBSKARE/K.T. TUNSTALL

Good evening. This week we have a nice chat with Mandy from Bombskare, who is also the touring bassist for K.T. Tunstall! I first met Mandy through my friend Emma many years ago in Glasgow, but also briefly when she was playing bass for the formidable Shambles in a Husk. I saw in New Year 2019 at a Bombskare gig in Edinburgh, which was super fun! Here’s what she had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Hello! My name's Mandy, I'm a session bassist and I like all crisps. 2. Where did the name Bombskare come from? I definitely should know this but I have no idea, I think every ska band has to have 'ska' somewhere in the name though? 3. How did you get involved with KT Tunstall? I got lucky! My friend Cat has been her drummer for a while so that's the connection. It's so much fun! 4. How many records do you own? Not a lot, the only hard copies I have of anything are cd's I've bought at local gigs, everything else is digital. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Be nicer to yourself, pretty cliche but if you can't make time for yourself then you just end up a big mess 6. Last movie you watched? Abandoned, it was about a ship that got lost at sea, it was ok, one of the characters was a total dick I'd have pushed him off the ship in 3 days.    7. Why did you last cry? Watching that wee guy Alex get onstage at Glastonbury with Thiago Silva, I know grime isn't an emotional genre but it was just so exciting to watch it made me cry from absolute joy. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? No idea 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Nachos, millions of Prosecco, pizza with macaroni on it, basically as many carbs as possible. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? Donald trumps mum and dads house...   11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Probably Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins, it's probably the first serious record I really got into and it still stands up 20 years later. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Oingo Boingo! (Danny Elfman's band from the 80's) they are insanely good fun but also kind of sinister. The whole band are incredible and Danny Elfman might be the most engaging front person ever. Stomping around stage staring at everyone like a creepy great big ginger God. 13. How is your record collection arranged? It's not it's a shambles 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? Probably not a very original answer but Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart. I studied this album at Uni and listened to it constantly whilst reading up about how it was made. Some of the stuff he did to those musicians was a bit cruel but if you're going to play the wrong notes maybe you should get locked in a cupboard for a while? 15. What is your most treasured possession? My late brothers guitar, it's irreplaceable. 16. Green Day or blink-182? Fuck. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now?  Georgia

Romeo Taylor

Idles

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Stop worrying about what other people think of you, no one cares, in a good way.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? Why do you hate me? What have I done to deserve this?

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? Did you hear about the carrot that died? There was a big turnip at his funeral THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 50: GARY MUNDY FROM RAMLEH

It’s volume 50! A big thank you to everyone who has answered these questions over the years, and thank you to those who will continue to answer them in the future. It’s not much, my little weekly blog post, but I’ve heard some nice words about it and I’m glad it is something that people look forward to each week, even if it isn’t much. This week, we have an interview with Gary Mundy from RAMLEH amongst others. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Gary Mundy from Ramleh, Kleistwahr and Breathless. I play, guitar, organ and synth and sing/shout. People are always surprised when I tell them I don't like pasta. 2. Where did the name Ramleh come from? It's a town in Israel. 3. How long has Ramleh been active for? For 30 of the last 37 years. 4. How many records do you own? Maybe 4-5,000? 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Never ask yourself if you're happy. 6. Last movie you watched? White God 7. Why did you last cry? Watching the dogs die in White God 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? There was no music. A massive fanfare in my head but no actual music playing in the room. 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Something that takes a really long time to eat. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? Far back enough to prove the creationists wrong once and for all. 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Y by the Pop Group. The best record of all time is the record you thought was the best record of all time at the end of your teens I reckon. It's unlikely anything later will have the same impact, even if it is actually better. This has been my favourite album since I was 18. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? The Fall circa 1983 so I could see them one last time. 13. How is your record collection arranged? Loosely alphabetically. All artists beginning with the same letter are in the same section but not sub-divided within that section. Makes "S" a bit of a mess though. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? Circle X - Beyond Standard. I love it but no matter how many times I listen to it, I can't understand how they came to make such a record and I love that about it. 15. What is your most treasured possession? My guitar. Had it since 1986. It's not even a particularly good one but it's the only one that feels completely right when I play it. 16. Green Day or blink-182? Neither. Can I choose Void instead? 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Sun Kil Moon.

Consumer Electronics.

Puce Mary.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? If you really want to follow your dreams, be prepared. It's not necessarily going to be easy. Your parents might tell you you're the best but chances are you're not and you're going to have to work hard.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? "Yeah, I can see why you might think that."

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? A guy is at his mother's funeral in a church and sees the priest before the service and goes up to him and says "do you have wi-fi here? Can you tell me the password?", the priest looks at him and angrily says "have some respect for your poor, dead mother!" and the guy looks at him and says "Is that all lower case?" THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 49: BOCO JAKIN FROM EXTREME SMOKE 57

Good afternoon! This week’s interview is with Boco Jakin from Extreme Smoke 57. They are widely considered to be the first grindcore band in Slovenia. They rule. You should listen to their 10″ record “Corruption Deteriorates” I’m posting this on the sly from work so need to be brief. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Hey, my name is Boco and I'm the singer in band Extreme Smoke 57. I've been going around in the underground scene since late 80's, frist starting with writing letters to different bands in than Yugoslavian area, to the fanzine makers and individual persons in the scene. That's how it all become. Simply, i was just interested into music which still is my passion and life guide. Then we started with our own projects and bands in the late 80's and in 1990 we formed ExSx57 which is still going on...

2. Where did the name Extreme Smoke 57 come from? If i remember well the name came from Hadjo of Patareni. In fact there was some bloody interview in some fanzine where he stated EXTREME SMOKE KORONA. But just to let you explain what number 57 means - 57 are really horrible hard working class cigarettes. So it was Korona. And we found it really funny to name the band after this 57 cigarettes which at the time we all smoke it (the cheaper once). That's where the name came from heh. 3. How long has Extreme Smoke 57 been active for? We started in begining of 1990 and split up in the midlle of 1992. In 1994 we recorded another studio material for the 7'' EP ??Who sold the scene?!?''. In december 1998 our original drummer died in a car accident and together with his death we lost all the interest in a possible reunion of the band. It was not untill 2008 when the bass player came across with this crazy idea to reform the band again. So we got new drummer and new guitarist and to make the story shorter, we are still active and kicking.

4. How many records do you own? You mean my personal collection? Around 1000 LP's and 700 7'' EP's, tapes and CD's. With the band 9 vinyl releases and many other releases on cassettes and CD's.

5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Staying alive...

6. Last movie you watched? Can't say i'm a big movie fan, but the last i watch it together with my wife was Heavy Trip, an finish movie about a metal band in Finland filled with their typical humour. A nice one btw. 7. Why did you last cry? Don't remember. Sometimes i cry in myself without showing the tears...

8. What song did you lose your virginity to? No song. I fucked outside with some girl.

9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Nothing special come to my mind. Maybe Burek or something...

10. You have a time machine; where to first? Maybe in the future? Or in the time when dinosaurs walked the earth.

11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? It doesn't exist. There are too many good records to be only focused at one in particular.

12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Our old drummer Gogo...

13. How is your record collection arranged? Alphabethic, but there is some chaos too which only i understand where the exact record stands.

14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? Some of them. For example a 3'' vinyl by Chochos Y Moschas packed in an LP sleeve or a post card vinyl from Entrails Massacre. Also some 5'' or 6'' records. There are many weird records in my collection...

15. What is your most treasured possession? ''Deathcrush'' from Mayhem? Or Hellhammer and some 7'' EP's. And of course the loving memories of my dead sister!

16. Green Day or blink-182? Next question...

17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Nothing special comes to my mind right now...

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Live and let live. Or do whatever you want without hurting the others. You can also kill yourself if you feel like so.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? Fuck off!

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? Of course the yugoslavian jokes like: Fata asks Mujo: - Hey Mujo, what do you like more, my sexy body or beautiful face? Mujo is measured her from head to foot and he says: - Your sense of humor!  Mujo and Haso is walking down the street and Mujo asked: - Well, Haso, why did you call both your sons Haso? - Because when I say: "Haso, get me a beer," there comes two. THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 48: ASH GRAY FROM VENOM PRISON

A day late, a buck short, I’m writing, the report. I was at Fluff and then moved house so this is a day later than it should be!!! This week’s interview is with bombay bad boy Ash Gray from VENOM PRISON! If you haven’t heard Venom Prison, you’ve presumably been living in a bin. We first crossed paths when Clearer the Sky played with VP at The Old England in Bristol or maybe when Boak played with VP at the Temples replacement show. Either way it was in Bristol. They are unbelievably heavy and here’s what Ash had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Ash and I play guitar in Venom Prison, little fact, I paid £80 to watch Justin Bieber... and what? 2. Where did the name Venom Prison come from? I had this name for a while, I was still playing in other bands when I had the name but was waiting for the right band to use it on. It's safe to say I think it suits this band. 3. How long have Venom Prison been active for? 2015 we started, got a demo together, started playing shows, toured and wrote an EP "The Primal Chaos" shortly followed with our debut record "Animus" that was picked up by Prosthetic Records followed by more touring and then 2nd record "Samsara". 4. How many records do you own? That's a very difficult question, I have shelves and shelves filled with records in my living room. I haven't listed them which I probably should soon. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Just keep grinding at whatever you're doing, could be work related, could be something you're learning or studying, sometimes it feels like you aren't making any progression but usually that will be down to you being so focused that you don't take a step back to observe your work. It doesn't hurt to take a step back and admire your achievements, it's what motivates you to push harder and achieve higher things. That being said I understand how long winded that sounds but someone said this to me a long time ago and I've always held it very close to myself. 6. Last movie you watched? Oh fuck me, some Adam Sandler film called Murder Mystery I think. I wish I could say something a bit more exciting but TV wise Chernobyl & Black Summer which were both incredible. 7. Why did you last cry? Probably slightly more personal than expected but without going into details, it's been difficult for my family at the moment and seeing certain people would I've never seen in that emotional state before is very hard to process. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Vegetable Madras Curry, boiled rice and 20 poppadoms, chuck in a bottle of Dr Pepper as well. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? Probably see my grandmother and have a cuppa of tea n chat. 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Mike Oldfield - Songs Of Distant Earth. Yeah, I listened to this record so much as a kid, my parents had this on in the car, in the house, literally everywhere. I think it's a combination of Iron Maiden and Mike Oldfield that made me want to pick up a guitar. The dynamics and atmosphere this record creates is so impressive, I still listen to this regularly. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Leave them, let the younger generation have a chance, the artists and bands I'd bring back have already left their mark and influenced people. We need bands to start filling spots for bands like Slayer, Maiden etc when they move on otherwise we are going to really start having problems later date. 13. How is your record collection arranged? On shelves, all over the shop, arranged poorly, on my to do list to sort out. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I don't really know or think of things being weird musically, what I own though... somehow I don't even know where it came from but I have some mad packaged Elvis Presley greatest hits record, like I said the packaging is mad. 15. What is your most treasured possession? Probably mint condition Kid Chameleon on the Sega Mega Drive or... maybe OG Fleetwood Mac - Rumours LP that my mother gave to me. 16. Green Day or blink-182? I know it's probably right to say Green Day but old Blink wins for me and I listened to it a lot more as a kid. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Fit For An Autopsy:I mean you've probably heard of them but listening to that latest record and watching those songs live, the finer details and musicianship really shines. Flawless live.

Cruelty: Birmingham I believe? Fairly new band, writing the songs, doing the work, it's a band I've kept an eye on for some time. Would like to see them progress further and see where it leads them in the future.

Joy: American band, taking them out on our US headline run in September, met and stayed with the bassist the last time Venom Prison was in the US. Great band, I've noticed them getting more active lately which is a cool feeling, check out their latest record "No Light Below"

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Probably the advice that I was given, just keep grinding and I'll add personally if people mock you for it then tell them to get fucked, we should be encouraging people to want to achieve good things for themselves. Also understand competition and jealousy are two different things.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? I've probably said or have done what I wanted to those people. Defining haters for me isn't a comment left on a Facebook page or some dumb ass that makes a comment about you, it's the poisonous harmful people that need removing.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? What do you call a man with no shins? Tony.

THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 47: DJAMILA AZZOUZ FROM ITHACA

Good evening - it’s absolutely bloody sweltering, Boris Johnson is the PM and the shop was out of baked beans. What a day! This week we have a lovely chat with Djamila from Ithaca, maybe one of the best metalcore bands in the UK right now?!!?!?!?! We first met/spoke at AMONGST THE CHAOS in Southampton in 2016. I was also lucky enough to see them recently in Manchester with Leeched. They’re a hell of a band and you should definitely check out their LP on Holy Roar if you haven’t yet. Here’s what she had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Djamila Yasmin Azzouz. Vocals in Ithaca. Little known fact: NOT a natural blonde. 2. Where did the name Ithaca come from? It was already decided on when i joined the band. If you're a Greek mythology nerd you'll get, it's a cool story. These days we barely think about it. Rolls of the tongue though doesn't it? 3. How long has Ithaca been active for? We started up in 2012 but we didn't play a show for another year or so. We just spent a year writing and recording. Feels like forever and also no time at all. Maybe because we took so long to release an album! 4. How many records do you own? More than i can afford right now. Anyone wanna buy some records? Everyone expects musicians to have these huge, expansive record collections but let's be honest, if you're in a band you're more than likely broke as fuck. I can't afford this lifestyle. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Dress for success. Always wear earplugs. Pee after sex. 6. Last movie you watched? Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979). It was disgusting and i loved it. 7. Why did you last cry? I cry like eight times a day it's not even an event anymore. I cried in a Greggs the other day because they were out of vegan sausage rolls. Honestly, crying is a normal part of my life, people should do it more. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? The Simpsons Movie (2007) 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? MDMA 10. You have a time machine; where to first? My moment of conception. Save everyone the hassle. 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Can i not answer this? I hate this question. A Deftones album probably. They're just the best aren't they? No explanation needed. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? There are so many! My current gripe is bands reuniting and making a big fucking deal out of it on social media and then NOT ACTUALLY DOING ANYTHING. Maybe like a show or two but no new music. Torture. But yeah From Autumn to Ashes and maybe Lewd Acts? Underrated. 13. How is your record collection arranged? It's not. I'm a heathen. Normally it's alphabetically by artist but i've just moved house so right now it's BIG RECORDS TO little records. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I have a copy of the Popeye Soundtrack on vinyl. It's fucking great. 15. What is your most treasured possession? The mix CD my brother made me when i was thirteen. It was the first time i'd ever heard hardcore. 16. Green Day or blink-182? They're both fucking atrocious. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? The Callous Daoboys

Seizures

Vein.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Have your cervical/prostate exams done, don't be an idiot. Wipe front to back. Don't listen to what anyone says.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? Nothing to be honest. If they're hating on me they're automatically dunking on themselves. I win.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? My career.

Make sure to catch Ithaca at ARCTANGENT and BOOMTOWN this August.

THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 46: JONAH LIVINGSTON FROM RAMMING SPEED/LOUD NIGHT/ASYLUM

EYYYYYYY it’s Tuesday. Alright! This week we got a little interviewy with Jonah from Ramming Speed/Loud Night/Asylum. I first met Jonah when we stayed at his massive dreamy home in Boston on the Fifteen Dead/Population Zero tour. We then met at Fluff Fest 2015 when Ramming Speed were playing. We both did a “I know you from somewhere” for a while before it all clicked into place. Jonah is an awesome drummer and an even better guy. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. This is Jonah, I’m a bartender at a heavy metal bar and I have a large lump on my leg that a doctor thought was cancerous. It turned out to be a hardened blood sack from a stage diving mishap. 2. Where did the name Ramming Speed come from? We grabbed it from an episode of Mr. Show. It sounded fast and the TV show was hilarious! 3. How long has Ramming Speed been active for? Speed was a band for around ten years, but we stopped playing a bit ago. Three of us (me, Kal and Ben) have a newer band with our buddy Andy Horn called Loud Night. It's much more dbeat/rock n roll/punk kind of stuff, but still with Kallen's Judas Priest influenced shredding. 4. How many records do you own? Too many, but these days I've narrowed my buying to mostly Scandinavian hardcore/catchy punk/dbeat/"neo crust" and that sort of thing.    5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? My ex-girlfriend used to always say "theres always pizza" to cheer me up when things were shitty. 6. Last movie you watched? "Us" which was pretty mind blowing, and before that Hard Ticket To Hawaii, which I'd recommend for totally different reasons. 7. Why did you last cry? Probably at my friend Mariya's wedding 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? I have no idea, but for what its worth it was in a closet 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? An El Guapo burrito from El Pelon in Boston with no meat, add guacamole    10. You have a time machine; where to first? England to track down Motorhead in the late 70's 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? I don’t have one favorite, that’s kind of nuts, but "Ace of Spaces" was definitely a game changer 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Since I already hammered in the Motorhead thing, I'll switch it up and say Fela Kuti. His music is super vibrant and energetic and it seems like it would have been wild to see him and his band live. When I want a break from guitar based music he's one of the dudes I blast at home. 13. How is your record collection arranged? I have a 70's/80's hard rock/metal/punk shelf, a big 90's/2000's/current hardcore/punk/metal section, indie/post rock/noise rock, rap, a few electronic records and then miscellaneous (Polynesian themed lounge records, Japanese taiko drumming, whale noises etc). 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I have this LP that’s just the percussion from the movie Apocalypse Now. Some of the guys from the Grateful Dead made a maze out of instruments in a huge studio and wandered around banging on things. They wanted it to sound like you were lost in the jungle. Its super tense. A terrifying record on mushrooms. 15. What is your most treasured possession? My drum kit - It's an SJC custom kit that the company gave me an artist discount on when Ramming Speed was still touring a ton. My grandmother had just passed away and they engraved her name on the bass drum for me.    16. Green Day or blink-182? Oh dude Green Day ALL DAY. Dookie is unfuckwithable. Ultimate road trip record, or just summer time hanging with your friends. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Off the top of my head - Ursut (catchy dbeat)

Hard Action (catchy rock n roll)

and Hurula (post punk/gothy vibes).

If I can cheat and throw in a rap record to check out definitely Pete Rock and DZA's "Dont Smoke Rock" from a couple years ago - I can not stop listening to that no matter what I do.

I do a zine called Information Dominance (www.InformationDominanceZine.com) and you can read all about the bands I wish more people listened to in there.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Negativity is contagious, don’t be a dick.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? Why you mad?

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? What did the bra say to the hat? You go on a head, Ill give these two a lift.

The new Loud Night record will be coming out sometime this year and you can check out their demo here: http://loudnight.bandcamp.com/

THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 45: id m theft able

Howdy, partners. It’s that time again. This week we have an interview with a very unique artist (at least to my mind) by the name of id m theft able. He hails from Maine and performs sound art. I first discovered him through Josh from LIMBS BIN. You can check a live set at the bottom of this post. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Hi, my name is id m theft able and when I was in second grade I took a stapler and stapled my forearm in the middle of class just to see what it felt like. 2. Where does the name id m theft able come from? That's such a long story, so I'll be really succinct: the name was "Dick the Table". That was the name of my grandmother's table. Then the name was "i.m.f.", an acronym I've never divulged the meaning of. Then I combined the two for "i dick m the f table", which then, by moving some letters around and shaking off the "ick"  (and thus the dick) became "id m theft able". Why? That's a story for another time. 3. How long have you been performing as id m theft able? My first performances under that name happened in July of Y2K, so it's old enough to vote but not do drink. I'd been performing for a couple of years before I settled on that name. 4. How many records do you own? Between the cassettes, LPs, CDs, 8-tracks and Mp3s, easily multiple thousands. I haven't counted in years. Eventually one of the shelves will collapse onto me and you'll never hear from me again. "It's what he would've wanted." 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Don't shit where you eat?  Owner of a lonely heart, much better than an owner of a broken heart?  Watch your head? Just because you see muffins presented on TV commercials as being a part of a "complete breakfast" doesn't mean they're healthy? The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear so beat it, just beat it? I dunno. 6. Last movie you watched? I just watched a really, really, really poorly done stop motion movie I made in high school using several cat food cans and a copy of "Garfield" magazine. 7. Why did you last cry? I cry pretty often when I'm alone, maybe 2-3 times a week, and it's so common I don't always remember, but it may have been after I walked away from a panhandler I stopped and chatted with who as I was leaving told me "dude, you're awesome!" on a day when I'd just been feeling like absolute garbage.  I routinely cry or at least get teary when I think about a song I really like or a person who means a lot to me.  I cry more often at positive or poignant things than sad or negative ones, but that surely happens too. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? Ha!  I think we were in a room we weren't even supposed to be in so I don't think there was any music playing and we tried to be as quiet as humanly possible.   I can tell you though that my first ever kiss happened while Madonna's "Like A Virgin" was playing on the tape deck in my car. It was like a movie, she was saying things like "wow, you're really not like other guys, you listen to Madonna!" and then caught me off guard.  I'm not sure why that excited her or made me special (she loved Clutch, Tool, things like this, but, perhaps she secretly liked Madonna too?). I had another first kiss with another high school girlfriend to ANOTHER Madonna song ("Frozen", which no one remembers, but I sure do).   I told Dylan Nyoukis this and he asked me why I didn't just carry around a boombox playing Madonna all the time. He's right. It's time. 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? What? How the hell did I wind up on death row? I'm fucking innocent!! Oh, I ain't goin' out like that, I've either escaped or been shot to death trying long before then. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? I think I'd travel back in time to my early 20's, find myself, and warn myself about the myriad of ways in which I will go on to be an asshole, and give myself advice on how to be less of an asshole. Then, after that depressing exchange, I'd time travel back to, oh, i don't know, maybe 1983 and just drive around my home town to see what it was like. Maybe I'd go find some of my old, mean teachers and ask them not to be assholes? 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? It would be impossible to choose a favorite record, I don't think I could even narrow it down to 100. I'll say the specific LP that I have the warmest feelings towards is a copy of Led Zeppelin IV that I bought at a yard sale when I was a kid that my mother promptly wrote my name on in huge letters right above the hunched over old man in the picture frame, which, for some reason, I initially took as her thinking that I somehow resembled this old man, which made my early adolescent self feel a little upset and self conscious. I guess I do sort of resemble that guy now don't I? She knew. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? I know this isn't what you asked, but all I wanted to do is use the power of this question to bring a bunch of cats I knew when I was a younger back to life.   That could be a band, right? I did once or twice lay out a bunch of cheap keyboards and record the sounds of them walking on them while I fed them snacks. Fred, Ginger, Garfield, Homer, Sheba, Ben, Blackie Lawless, Cinder, Shadow...come back. 13. How is your record collection arranged? Anal retentively.  Alphabetically.  International music arranged by continent then country. Individual artists of all genres all mixed in one big alphabetical section. Compilations in one section. Compilations arranged by genre, then alphabetically.  I'm working on making alphabet tabs right now.   14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I'm going to give it to a cassette I found in a thrift store in New Haven labeled "Witch's Voice 1975" which is a maybe 30 or 40 minute long tape of a guy getting berated by his 100 + year old neighbor in both English and Italian.   Every once in a while the guy who's getting berated will chime in and tell a little story about the woman yelling, or he'll yell back at the woman "YOU'RE A WITCH, YOU'RE A NO GOOD WITCH!"  which, of course, only makes her laugh wickedly. It starts out kind of funny but by the end you realize this was a serious thing that routinely happened and...well, it takes a chunk out of ya. 15. What is your most treasured possession? I did a pretty sweet cut up using only that song "Cherish" by The Association.   This reminds me that I met somebody named Cherish once, which in turn reminds me that I met not one but two people named Destiny as a kid. Now I'm sitting here imagining naming kids things like "'Fate",  "God's Will", "God's Plan", "Inevitability", "Unavoidable", "Serendipity", "Time", "Kismet", "Prophecy", "Seer", "Eternal", "The Sands of Time", "Manifestation", etc. 16. Green Day or blink-182? During high school I got talked into playing bass in a band that did only Green Day and Nirvana covers for our friends' little sisters birthday party. I loved Nirvana but loathed Green Day and was probably visibly sulking while improvising the bass lines to their songs... I've never recovered from this, and because "All the Small Things" or whatever it's called kind of gives me a vaguely warm feeling, though I've never heard any of their records, aaand because someone told me one of the members was now a noted conspiracy theorist on the subject of UFOs (though I have no idea if it's true or not), I'm going with Blink 182. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now?  Three Portland, ME acts I really like: Glade Swope (check out his amazing music videos)

The Asthmatic

and I'll say Dinky Mirage because I like saying that name so much.

001 by Dinky Mirage

There's this guy in my hometown who's all decked out in camouflage that's been setting up his drum kit on the median near the Walmart and the Goodwill who mostly seems to just sit next to his drums and smoke rather than actually play them. I've been digging that quite a lot lately.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? For some reason this is the hardest one to answer.  Oh, I don't know, how about don't be afraid of sucking because everyone sucks if you're looking at them through the right pair of you-suck glasses, and you can't figure out how to suck less unless you find out how you suck in the first place. Of all of my creatively inclined friends fear of sucking is second only to simply not having the time or resources in terms of suffocating so many great ideas. Also, just because you think you don't suck doesn't mean you don't in someway, nor does it mean you now have license to be an asshole to people you think suck. If you do that, well, I think it's not hard for the rest of us to see who actually sucks more.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? Ooph, I guess I do have a few haters. Depends on the kind of hater. If you hate my music or art, that's hilarious, please keep doing that, but let me know that you're doing it so I can laugh to myself about it while I continue doing and enjoying what I do. If you hate me personally, you may well have a good reason for that but, hey, I'm an open book, if you want to, let's talk. I'd rather be talked to than talked about.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? For some reason it always makes me smile to remember the time I quit my job at 7-11, walked outside and a car full of teenage boys drove past me and shouted "YOU STUPID FUCKING HILLBILLY!"

THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 44: WILL BUTLER FROM TO LIVE A LIE

Hello! it’s Tuesday again - the weeks are fair flyin in, it’ll soon be Christmas etc. This week we have a nice little chat with Will Butler from seminal fastcore label TO LIVE A LIE RECORDS. I first came into contact with Will when he was to be (and subsequently was) the US label that released BOAK’s split with DEADBEAT. He is a lovely dude who loves fast music, which is absolutely fine by me. Here’s what Will had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Will Butler. A little know fact about myself is that I have only one "tattoo" and its a place in my arm where I was stabbed in my arm when I was young in probably middle school. 2. Where did the name To Live a Lie come from? The 90's were a strange time but you had to come up with a cool AOL Instant Messenger name. I picked ToLiveALie because it sort of hit me one night before going to bed at a very young age. I think I had some dumb ones before, like one was encased in X's and my very first one was a joke ska one, or as I'm not in my 30's I'm going to say it was definitely a joke whether that is revisionism or not. I booked a lot of shows under the TLAL name and then I started a distro which I named Stronghold Distro for some reason and it came down to picking a label name and I chose the name I picked out for a screen name at probably age 14   3. How long has To Live a Lie been active for? The first record was in 2005, with the release of the Godstomper/Magrudergrind split. Have been putting 5-15 records out a year ever since. 4. How many records do you own? I have probably about 8 Kallax cubes full so 400-500 personal records.    5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? My Mom told me not to follow music so that was probably the best advice I didn't follow. 6. Last movie you watched? Last movie I watched was Arctic. Movies like that always make me feel weird. Fighting for your life against nature is so insane when we live in cities and that is the last of our concern. 7. Why did you last cry? I don't cry often so I'm not sure I remember it. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? There was no music. 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? I'm a strict vegan but I'm vegan mainly for the earth and to be selfish as I'd be dying and who cares at that point, I'd break veganism and eat Cinnabon. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? Doesn't everyone go and kill Hitler first? 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? No question - the Minor Threat discography. I can't even break it down to Filler or Out Of Step, just the discography. Everything they did was a perfect punk song. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? These questions are always so odd. I'm a nostalgic person but so is are all the people my age so they are all putting the band back together. There are current bands that have reformed or rarely play I haven't seen that I'd like to still see - I, in some part of my life should see Skinny Puppy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Killing Joke, Lärm, Low Threat Profile (I feel like they'll play again one day), I could go on with this list for awhile so I'll stop. The real answer to this would be the same as the answer above, lets put Minor Threat back together for a show and make sure I get a ticket instead of it selling out in 60 seconds like the Avail show. 13. How is your record collection arranged? Newly bought records fill out the next cube pretty much. The only sections I've really pieced together is a hip hop section, and a box set section. I don't have time in my life to alphabetize. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I have all kinds of weird records, but the weirdest? Maybe the McGruff's Smart Kids bootleg tape, or I have some flexi of racecars revving their engines, or I have some tiny Septic Death flexis I've never seen anywhere else. All my records are weird. I just don't have that Weekend Nachos nacho chip record. I also don't have the Hatebeak/Canisis record, nor the Angry Snowmans. I do have the Crisis of Conformity EP but I feel like that is more justified because I saw Fred Armisen play it live. 15. What is your most treasured possession? I might be a hoarder, so everything. In reality I really like my guitar setup, my bass setup, and my bicycle. My car stresses me out. I get the most mileage out of my computer, do a lot of layouts, fliers, and sometimes work my day job from home. Also use it to run Folding@home to cure cancer so that is pretty important I'd say. The rest of my house is records. 16. Green Day or blink-182? Green Day, 100%, all day. Dookie was my first CD ever. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Going to try to not be too self gratifying here - Wound Man

Needle

Tired Of Everything

Welp I guess I was partially self gratifying.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Don't start a record label. Don't start a band expecting much and if you do, you better work your ass off. Don't even become punk, its a rough life and lifetime obsession.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? I like my haters, they keep me humble. Like Project Pat says, motivated by the haters. Haters, hate on.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? I only keep one joke in my head so no one better steal it even though I stole it from someone else. What is the difference between a crab with boobs and a Greyhound station where oogles hang out. One is a busty crustacean, the other is a crusty bus station. THANKS, WILL. XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 43: PEDRAM VALIANI FROM FRONTIERER/SECTIONED

Hello there, we go once again. Had some nice comments about Niko’s interview last week, so thanks for the kind words! This week it’s an interview with Mad Ped aka Pedram Valiani from tech/djent/downtuned monster FRONTIERER and similarly disgusting SECTIONED. I think I first met Ped when he was playing in We (https://wescotland.bandcamp.com/album/with-the-stars-as-an-audience) and then I used to see him every so often at DWELLER shows back in 2010-2012. He is an insanely nice guy, capable of writing the nastiest riffs going. Here’s what he had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Pedram Valiani, Electrical Engineer and guitarist/writer/recording engineer for Sectioned, Frontierer and Outlier Sound (my studio). 2. Where did the name Frontierer/Sectioned come from? Sectioned was our previous bassists suggestion (Mitchell) Frontierer was Chad's (vocalist) suggestion. He had the word Frontier in mind, so he just decided to make it grammatically incorrect and I went with it. 3. How long has Frontierer/Sectioned been active for? Sectioned since 2006/2007 and Frontierer since 2012/2013 4. How many records do you own? I own more of my own records than other artists as I don't really collect vinyl. 2 by other artists (Vasa's debut album and DJ Rashad – Double Cup). 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? If you don't ask, you don't get. 6. Last movie you watched? Avengers Endgame 7. Why did you last cry? Probably a news article with an animal cruelty video 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? Pass 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Chippy drowned in brown sauce (Gold star) 10. You have a time machine; where to first? 2006 so I can see System of A Down live again 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? There isn't a single favourite 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Let it Die 13. How is your record collection arranged? See above, I'm digital but I don't like streaming as much. I prefer having my music stored digitally on a device

14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? Probably something sent by Mitchell that I don't remember. Arca was weird first time I heard it 15. What is your most treasured possession? My girlfriend and my parents 16. Green Day or blink-182? Both. Green Day before American Idiot. Blink 182 including and before the self-titled. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Denzel Curry's latest record

Flying Lotus

The Armed

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Depends on the context. I'm told I have a habit of giving advice especially when it's not requested. It mostly comes from the fact I care about all of my friends

19. What would you like to say to your haters? What are you doing with your life?

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? Myself. 

THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 42: NIKO ZAGLARAS FROM LORD SNOW/GHOST SPIRIT

Howdy. This series turns 42 today, which is the meaning of life, therefore this should be the most profound 20 Questions you’ve ever read in your life. Who better to answer them, then, than Niko Zaglaras from Chicago legends LORD SNOW. Niko and I have been internet pals for years and years (probably from slsk) and luckily, we managed to meet up and hang out when Cavalcades (who I was on tour with at the time) played a few shows with them before Fluff Fest 2015. Each member of Lord Snow is an absolute delight as well as being implausibly good at their instrument so PLEASE listen to Solitude if you haven’t already! Best screamo release since the Beau Navire/Republic of Dreams split 7″. Here’s what Niko had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. niko zaglaras 2. Where did the name Lord Snow come from? when lord snow first started we were originally going to call ourselves foxtails. but then erik was like "lord snow" and we went with lord snow instead. this was before foxtails existed back in 2012.  its so fucking crazy that there is a screamo band named foxtails now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ***mind blown. also, i make techno/ambient under sienna sleep.  i wanted to call my stuff selfish sleep like the lord snow song, but sienna sleep sounded better and less negative so i went with that one.  i am getting tired of playing screamo because i feel like i have already made enough screamo tracks and i just want to make techno.  screamo, even though it is so good, it brings out a lot of negative emotions in me and makes me thingnk about things from the past that i try to forget.  i also am in ghost spirit in LA 3. How long has Lord Snow been active for? lord snow been active since 2012.  its really insane.  lol 4. How many records do you own? i think about 30.  i don’t really listen to them though.  i don’t have a turntable.  most albums sound better digitally or through cassette tape.  the only vinyls that sound amazing are classical, and opera.  THIS IS MY OPINION THOUGH. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? this too shall pass 6. Last movie you watched? this is is a hard one to answer because i don’t really like movies too much and i cant sit still unless someone is like dude just watch the movie with me. the last one i remember seeing was anti-christ and it really freaked me out lol and i don’t think i sat through a movie since. 7. Why did you last cry? this morning on my way to work 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? i don’t think there was any music playing 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? avocado burrito from tacos tu madre 10. You have a time machine; where to first? oh fuck i don’t know dude that’s insane to think about lolol     11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? aphex twin - richard d james album 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? human beast 13. How is your record collection arranged? my records are in a stupid box.  i have all my record collection on flac from redacted.ch (NEW WHAT.CD NEW OINK.ME) on a bunch of hard drives and iPods and cloud drives and google drives.  i also download a fuck ton of hard techno tracks off you tube and sound cloud with youtube.dl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? neon blud - whipps cassette (technically not a record but it is so fucking good) 15. What is your most treasured possession? my GPD win 2 which i cant find at the moment which is making me a lil worried lol 16. Green Day or blink-182? i dont know lol 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? nuvolascura

soul glo

dj speedsick

18. What advice would you like to give to people? ask yourself "what am i pretending not to know"

19. What would you like to say to your haters? "why do you hate me ?  what did i do wrong?" 

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know?  a man injures his hand and the doctor says that he needs surgery . the man asks " will i be able to play the piano?" the doctor says yes. the man says " that’s strange, i could never play it before"  THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 41: TYLER AKIS FROM SIXBREWBANTHA

Helloooooooooooooooooo sorry this is late. I was enjoying myself at Sheffield Doc Fest (the best week of the year!) This week’s interview is with Shrek-lover Tyler from Canadian grinders SIXBREWBANTHA. First met this sucker when we played together in Leeds on the run up to Chimpyfest 2017. We had a really nice few days playing with those guys and hanging out. Here’s what Tyler had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Tyler Akis and I live in Victoria British Columbia, Canada. I work at a grocery store and I put on a large portion of the punk gigs in our town. I play in a bunch of bands but my best known project is a grind/powerviolence band called SIXBREWBANTHA and I am the drummer in that band. Known to my closest friends but not to the masses I am obsessed with food and give way more fucks about whats for dinner than who's playing the gig. I've been able to try so much wild shit on my adventures with SBB over the years it fucking rules.

2. Where did the name Sixbrewbantha come from? SIXBREWBANTHA is just one of those (especially) terrible band names that you came up with when you're 17 but then you played a bunch of shows and tour a shit load and put out a bunch of records and then 11 years have passed and you're like "well I guess it's too late for a change". All negativity aside I actually really like our name! It's too be expected when you tell someone your band is called SIXBREWBANTHA they normally go "what?" but once they remember it it's the kind of name that sticks so FUCK YOU.  3. How long have Sixbrewbantha been active for? Mark and I have been doing stuff under the SBB moniker since 2007 but after Bryan our vocalist joined in late 2008 is when I feel the band really started to take shape. We straight up used to do this Jeromes Dream/Melvins/Charles Bronson via Canada type shit but as we ditched the skramz elements and focused on pure rage filled brutality SBB started to become extremely fulfilling musically and has continued to do so for the past 10 years. 4. How many records do you own, at a guess? 420. But probably less than 150 these days I've sold off a large portion of my records throughout the years so I could "go on tour" aka just buy weed and beer. These days when you flip through my records you will only find certified skull ripping bangers to smash cans with friends to. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? No Bad Days 6. Last movie you watched? Highway 61 a KILLER CANADIAN MOVIE everyone should watch.  7. Why did you last cry? Last week my partner bought a plane ticket to move away for two years. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? I am a virgin. 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? 3 Finnish Pancakes, 3 Fried Eggs, 3 Sausage, 3 Bacon, 3 Toast,Cheese Burger, French Fries, Coffee, Coke and water on ice.  10. You have a time machine; where to first? Getting older is sick so I'll use this time as a toilet but If you MADE me I would probs just go to fiesta grande #1 and drink mad king cans of Old English.  11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Rush "A Farewell to Kings" jk fuck a favourite album but Rush is one of the best bands ever. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? If you saw Infest at Maryland Death Fest 2016 you would never want any band to reunite ever again. But I did meet Chris Dodge and he was nice as fuck.  13. How is your record collection arranged? The rule in the record room is FUCK ALL THE RULES. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? My Sockeye and Fossil Fuel records are probably the weirdest shit in my collection. Midwestern nothing core with extremely tasteless lyrics and horrendous production. I can't even remember where I got my Fossil Fuel 7" but it's one record I will never part with. 15. What is your most treasured possession? MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. 16. Green Day or blink-182? BLINK MOTHER FUCKING 1 MOTHER FUCKING 8 MOTHER FUCKING 2 MOTHER FUCKAAA. I am 100% a pop punk head and play in a SICK pop punk band called POOCHED that everyone should listen to so believe me when I say Green Day fucking kills it so hard my buddy and we used to "stage dive" in our old big ass van while we cruised down the highway absolutely CRANKING "Dookie" but Blink 182 is extremely near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Mark from SBB and I would just chill in his room listening to "Mark, Tom, and Travis Show" for hours laughing our asses off while practicing our pop punk jumps and drinking non alcoholic beers because we were extremely stupid teens. Dude Ranch by Blink is 100% in my top 10 albums of all time and everyone reading this should start listening to the podcast BLINK 155 hosted by Josiah Hughes and Sam Sutherland. It's all SBB listened to on our last tour. Im actually listening to Blink right now. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Human Agony (Filthy as fuck bestial war metal hailing from Victoria, BC)

Outpatient (Killer melodic punk from Kamloops, BC)

Con Artist (Ripping PV from Victoria BC)

18. What advice would you like to give to people? The end is near, drink as much whiskey as possible b/w kiss your friends.  19. What would you like to say to your haters? Jealously looks bad on you  20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? Did you hear about the explosion at the cheese factory? De Brie was everywhere!THANKS!http://blacklakerecords.nethttp://blacklakerecords.net/storehttp://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 40: SPENCER HAZARD FROM FULL OF HELL

Gooood ebening. It’s been a brilliant week (aside from Arsenal losing the Europa League final rather spectacularly) but that’s fine. This week is a cool interview with Spencer from Full of Hell. I’m sure most of you will be au fait with FOH but if you are not, I highly recommend getting their latest record ‘Weeping Choir’ which just came out. It absolutely faackin rips. Here’s what Spencer had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. My name is Spencer Hazard and I play guitar in Full of Hell. I'm a private person for the most part.

2. Where did the name Full of Hell come from? We were listening  to a lot of Wolverine Blues when we first started the band so we thought Full of Hell would be the perfect name. 3. How long has Full of Hell been active for? 10 years 4. How many records do you own? Not many vinyl records but I think around 5-600 CDs. 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? Don't wait around for things to get done, do it yourself. 6. Last movie you watched? My Cousin Vinny 7. Why did you last cry? A bad breakup. Mainly sad about losing the dog. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? No music so extra awkward. 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Hot wings and a monster   10. You have a time machine; where to first? Probably to Japan in the 80s to see the start of all the amazing noise and punk acts. 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? I don't have a favorite record. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Harvey Milk. They're my favorite band of all time. Everyone who saw them around their first reunion about ten years ago said it was absolutely amazing. Plus their post reunion records are their best work. 13. How is your record collection arranged? By genre. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? I can't think of it off the top of my head. 15. What is your most treasured possession? Sentimental value things relating to old pets that have passed. 16. Green Day or blink-182? Green Day 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Pissgrave

Gas Chamber (R.I.P.)

Intensive Care

18. What advice would you like to give to people? Don't listen to the haters. 19. What would you like to say to your haters? Cut me some fuckin slack for once. 20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know?My lifeTHANKS! XOhttp://blacklakerecords.nethttp://blacklakerecords.net/storehttp://instagram.com/blacklakerecords

[blacklakerecords]

‘20 QUESTIONS WITH...’ VOLUME 39: ROB PIPER FROM LOCKJAW RECORDS

Hell yeah we are back once again with the goddamn fucking renegade master. Today we have an interview with someone I’ve actually not had many dealings with at all. Rob runs Lockjaw Records, based...all over Europe, really, but mostly in the UK. We have yet to cross paths but if you listen to any great UK skatepunk/tech punk/skate metal type bands (Fair Dos, The Affect Heuristic, Egos at the Door, Darko etc) then you’ll be more than familiar. Here’s what Rob had to say:

1. State your name, what you do & a little known fact about yourself. Hey my name is Rob Piper, I run Lockjaw Records with 4 of my good mates and play guitar in the band Darko with another 4 good mates. A lot of my other time is my other day job as a Guitar and Saxophone teacher. 2. Where did the name Lockjaw come from? Lockjaw Records was set up in 1997 by brothers Jack and Ben who named it, i inherited the label and name in 2011. 3. How long has Lockjaw been active for? Since 1997, I took over 2011 and we have just done a bit of a revamp in 2018 with a newly expanded sparkly team. 4. How many records do you own? I had a couple of hundred CDs that are now in storage and Vinyl wise? No idea...but not really huge amounts. It feels like too many, but they fit in my desk unit in my room. I do have another room in my house dedicated to storing boxes filled with duplicate band vinyl. Counting them, there are absolutely tonnes! 5. What is the best advice you've ever been given? I guess 'don't be afraid to give it a go', if you don't try things you never know if they would be successful or more importantly if you enjoy them. Sometimes it won’t be the right choice but the times that it works well outweigh everything else. 6. Last movie you watched? Pitch Perfect - o wait no Pitch Perfect 2. Pitch Perfect was the day before! It was a good week. Love a good vocal arrangement/comedy. 7. Why did you last cry? The time a specially remember well was finding out I lost a friend to a car accident. 8. What song did you lose your virginity to? Mmm i think the album was 'Punk In Drublic' I remember being well chuffed about that. 9. Death row last ever meal: what do you have? Death row! What did I do? hahah! Vegan Katsu Curry with a good variation of breaded vegetables. 10. You have a time machine; where to first? The 1950s and check out the Blue note record shows and the Jazz greats in their peak. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, etc. 11. What is your favourite record of all time and why? Time out by Dave Brubeck, got me into odd time signatures and solos at a very young age. 12. Which band/artist, living or dead, would you re-unite & why? Polar Bear club, I didn't see them enough when they were active and they are SIIIICK. 13. How is your record collection arranged? If at all. CDs used to be genre then alphabetical within genre, then I had other stuff to do. 14. What is the weirdest record you own/have heard? Too hard but the craziest I had at home is Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Middle of the Road! Or Popcorn on 12'' was a classic. 15. What is your most treasured possession? My memories, mainly positive but even the negative makes me a better person. 16. Green Day or blink-182? Tough one but old Blink 182.. faster innit. 17. Who are your top 3 bands to check out right now? Wolfrik

Burnt Tapes

Forever Unclean.

18. What advice would you like to give to people? The best advice i was given, see question 5.

19. What would you like to say to your haters? Are these the ones sending me to death row? I guess apologies if I've done something that makes their life worse but they should surround themselves with positive people and ignore me.

20. Lastly, what is the best joke you know? Brexit...wait thats the worst.  THANKS! XO http://blacklakerecords.net http://blacklakerecords.net/store http://instagram.com/blacklakerecords