Dog Chocolate and Ravioli Me Away Ask Each Other Questions
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Is ecstatic existential distress a thing? If so, can it be a good thing? For me, that’s the thing, or perhaps sentiment or spectrum, that best describes the music of both Dog Chocolate (DC) and Ravioli Me Away (RMA). I suspect spectrum is the best way to describe it, with DC maybe falling somewhere closer to “Oh my God, what is happening? What is this life even?” and RMA edging nearer to wherever an acceptance of our inherent ephemerality might lie. I know for certain that in both cases ecstasy [Not the drug. - Ed.] is involved--in abundance--and a certain exuberance rarely exhibited by rock bands these days, no matter how terrifically bent. The other thing I know for certain is both groups released fantastic LPs in 2016, each ranking among the year’s best.
When I first heard Dog Chocolate’s Snack Fans, it clicked immediately. Taking an erratic, DIY approach, DC chuck 40 years of rock history in a blender, blitz it up, and spill it all over a cigarette-burnt lino floor. I resolved to interview them, and questions were sent, but for whatever reason, it never happened. It became another sort of “thing.” You know, when something stretches out for so long that you just know it’s never actually going to happen? One of those things. An amiable thing, but a thing nonetheless.
Many months later, Ravioli Me Away released Living is a Myth. It hit me just as hard as Snack Fans, stirring many of the same feelings, although sonically, it’s very much its own animal--an art-damaged Godzilla stomper. I knew the groups had released a split LP, and thinking back to my abortive attempt at an interview earlier in the year, I thought, “Perhaps they’d be comfortable interviewing each other (for public consumption)?” They were! A WeChat was scheduled, and some months after that an e-mail appeared on my screen, subject: “Fwd: the whole thing.” Rarely have I been as entertained by anything in my inbox.
So, without further preamble, here it is: the whole thing.
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I. DC QUESTIONS RMA
Q. Andrew (DC): What can you tell us about making the choice to wear, like, proper get-ups? In other bands, we used to make headgear out of teddies, wear sequin dresses tucked into shorts, face paint, silver foil, but now D.C. is a proper t-shirt band, and you guys have largely gone the other way right?
A. Sian (RMA): The way we present ourselves on stage is an extension of how we explore the themes in our music--largely a political / comical investigation of the absurd things in life.
Q. Rob (DC): Last time I saw Ravioli play, you had a video of the daytime, fix-up-a-car-and-flog-it-to-some-mug TV program Wheeler Dealers playing on a screen behind you. While this was playing and you were singing "don't be scared because we're constantly dying," it instilled in me an unnameable existential unease. When the capitalistic, boring absurdity of everyday life meets a reminder of your own mortality, something really interesting happens. These clever moments feel very knowingly constructed and very "Ravioli". It's quite clear that as band you have a philosophy or at the very least a very particular shared sense of humor. But I was wondering if you ever made some form of manifesto to this end, or if you trade cultural references, make lists, or if you perform any kind of rituals? How did this very particular "Ravioliness" come about?
A. Alice (RMA): Great question, Rob, and funny you should ask. We haven't ever spoken about this in public, but we have been discussing something we call the Raviphilosophivision (RPV) over the past year.
Much of our ideas tend to emerge from political, philosophical, and often nonsensical discussions, thoughts, and shared experiences. I think we would agree that we have similar views, humor, and way of looking at the world.
So, RPV is an evolving and slow development that's come about though observations and shared anxieties about freedom, authoritative roles, social norms, and exploring the idea of conventionalism as something exotic.
Something we have also been thinking and writing about a lot in the last year is the theory that every moment is simultaneously “being born and dying” at the same time, and that once this can be realized life can be really lived. “Living is a Myth”--the song you're talking about--we think describes it best:
I’m nostalgic for now, I travelled far ahead
I’m looking back with great affection at this moment.
I could have waited 20 years or more to feel the joy that I felt before.
I read the lips on the mouths that swore…
The future marched through an open door
Although, having said all that about “similar views,” and, as you put it, being “very Ravioli,” I'd say we’re quite different from one another with a very different set of cultural references--I'd probably go as far as saying we are fascinated by each other. We find each other highly entertaining, and take great pleasure in testing each other musically and mentally.
Q. Andrew: The only thing we have to show for our attempt at answering Bernie's original questions is this playlist, he asked us to pick out some antecedents, seeing as we were getting all sorts of crazy comparisons when people reviewed Snack Fans. We went for particular songs that we feel have a whiff of what we go for/ what has added to the spirit of DC.
Would you guys make a playlist too? And who do you get likened to that you really don't get?
A. Rosie (RMA): OK LADS, SO HERE IS OUR PLAYLIST. IT IS A MIX OF STUFF WE WANT TO SOUND LIKE, STUFF WE THINK WE END UP SOUNDING LIKE, AND STUFF WE LISTEN TO IN THE RAVIOLIMOBILE.
YES INDEED, WE GET VERY MIFFED OFF WITH BAD AND LAZY COMPARISONS, TOO. I THINK OUR MAIN PROBLEM IS PEOPLE JUST THINKING UP THE FIRST GIRL BAND OFF THE TOP OF THEIR LITTLE HEADS AND SAYING WE SOUND LIKE THEM. I.E., WE HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO THE SLITS MULTIPLE TIMES. HOWEVER, WE SOUND NOTHING LIKE THEM!
Q. Matthew (DC): The DC songwriting approach comes from several sources. Sometimes one of us will have a full song worked out and bring it in. Sometimes, we bring in an idea of some music, or we mess around and Andrew adds lyrics. Sometimes, Andrew brings lyrics and we try to interpret his ideas. What is / are your approach/es?
A. Alice: Well, we walk into the practice room. We set our instruments up, and as we are doing this, we have a bit of a chit-chat that runs on a bit too long about what we have been up to, current feelings about things, conversations had, any funny things we have overhead or seen, current affairs, love stories, dreams. Sometimes, it will turn into a bit of role-play. (Sian and I might play "Louanne," where we are two old friends from Texas called Louanne that have a love / hate relationship, having a loud and hysterical conversation about packing the car or something. Rosie can't take it, and has to get us out of character.) By this time, we will only have about half of our practice time left in the room, so one of us will be like, "Oh, we better start doing some music now, we're paying by the hour for this chit-chat!" And we're all like, "Oh yeah, shit, HAHAHA!" And then we'll all start playing, making stuff up--maybe Rosie will start with a base line that's ridiculously complicated and difficult to play keyboard to, but I'll try to make a tune up to it on my keyboard nevertheless, and then she'll strip it down a little bit, and then Sian will add a drum beat to it and start singing any old nonsense words to it to get a melody, and then they will turn into real words that have come out of our chit-chat from earlier on, and I'll add some backing vocal / talking bit in response to this, and we'll all laugh and Rosie will be like, "OMG, hang on let me record this!" And we'll talk some more about what it's about, and all get our smart phones out and record it so we don't forget. Then, we'll carry on and it will have changed a bit because in that time we would have already forgotten things, but we carry on and on anyway until one of us says, "Oh no, we have two minutes left!" Then, we all leave and get on with our lives until the next practice where this happens all over again, apart from this time we start playing some improv jazz, and half way through someone will say, "Hang on, what were we playing last time?" And me and Rosie get our smart phones out, and try to find the track so we can listen to what we did last time and try to remember how to play it. Meanwhile, Sian will pull out a family pack of prawn crackers and a crinkled bit of A4 lined paper from her bag with some magically developed verses that go with it.
Q. Matthew: Are you up for instrument swapping, or do you rigidly stick to the same instruments as a rule? Are there any Ravioli "rules?”
A. Rosie: RIGHT, OK, SO WHEN WE DID OUR ALBUM RELEASE FOR OUR DEBUT ALBUM THE INEVITABLE ALBUM, WE DECIDED NOT TO PLAY ANY OF THE SONGS OFF THE ALBUM AND SWAPPED INSTRUMENTS AND ALSO DECIDED TO INVENT A NEW KIND OF MUSIC. THIS WAS SHIT AND WE WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN.
Q. Jono (DC): what would be your fantasy gig venue / location?
A. Sian: I think for me it would have to be the Cinderella castle in Disney World--would quite like to have Living is a Myth funneled out of there at ear drum bursting volume during the fireworks with Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse as backing dancers. Mind you, all the best shows I think we've played have been where the audience has been completely disinterested. So maybe the House of Commons or the Harlequin Shopping Centre in Watford. We'd probably play the gig of a lifetime in there.
Q. Rob: Which brand could convince Ravioli Me Away to enter into a sponsorship or corporate endorsement deal?
A. Sian: Werther’s Original.
Q. Rob: How do you feel about competitiveness in music or art?
A. Sian: This is relevant to the question you asked, I guess, as I think the secret to RMA’s creative progress and general well being / happiness is being supportive of each other and working as a team. There isn't much room for competitiveness, although we are all very opinionated and keen to make our personal stamp on whatever we make, so we have some healthy debates about what makes it into the set or onto a record. I think we are competitive with ourselves as a whole, i.e., we are more and more ambitious about what we want to do, but this doesn't really relate to anyone else, and I don't think we are interested in competing with any other musicians or artists, as we are so inwardly focused that we don't even notice what anyone else is doing half the time! We do like to collaborate with other people doing interesting things, though.
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II. RMA QUESTIONS DC
Q. Sian: Who's Lennon and who's McCartney and why?
A. Jono: i think Rob could probably ghostwrite something for McCartney (or the replacement?) if Rob wanted some extra cash.
Rob: I think we're more Monkees than Beatles, but if we had to be Beatles, then I'd imagine us on the Beatle-cynicism scale. Andrew has the most optimism, so he is Paul. Jono--next optimistic, plus a little bit magical, so he is George. I'm Ringo by default unfortunately, and Matthew is John cos he is most cynical. I have often thought about us as a "boy-band" in the classic sense, but we're probably closer to bands like 911, EYC, or maybe Blue.
Q. Alice: Since we're on the subject of questioning mortality, similarity, and difference; in your song "Everyday Is the End of the World for Someone," you say, "I have a hard time thinking about death," and then go on to ending the song, repeating the lyric "Death is not the end of your world" several times. What does this mean, and would you say this almost holds the opposite sentiment to our song “Living is a Myth?"
A. Andrew: On "Everyday," me, Matthew, and Rob all sing bits. Rob and I wrote our words based on the theme of Matthew's chorus, which is basically, “People die everyday, you could frickin’ die today, try to make the most of each day, and here's a list of possible crazy ways you could die!” The lyrics as a whole do end up as a bit of a discussion, rather than a united point of view. The first bit you mention is Rob's, the bit at the end is mine. Death is not the end of your world--what you create here, physical or not, the world around you as an entity, will live on, people will still experience "your world" when you go. The other line I repeat is “Life isn't just for the end of your week.” It just freaks me out that people "live for the weekend," but we all find it hard to really live in each moment. It's important to try, I reck.
Matthew: The whole concept of the song came about from the hysteria that surrounded the Mayan calendar ending in 2012, with a lot of people misreporting it as a prediction of the end of the world. It got me thinking about how every day someone dies, so in effect their world ends. But it's not the end of the world itself, and a lot of people won't be affected (depending on who it is). It's basically saying, “Let's make the most of the time we have because it could all be over any minute in any number of ridiculous ways.” Not being fully confident lyrically, I asked Andrew and Rob for verses to fill in the gaps.
Rob: As Andrew says, the song is a discussion between the three of us. We're not exactly disagreeing, but my verse is trying to challenge some of the points that are made earlier in the song, especially the idea of living positively in the moment--the full line is, "I just strive towards acceptance of future and past, but that's near impossible, it's difficult at best, I have a hard time thinking about death.” Now I'm wondering if I'm John and Matthew is George on the Beatle-cynicism scale. I'm fully into the the idea of "be here now" and "beginners mind" type things, but I find it really hard to implement on a day-to-day basis. In that respect (if I'm understanding correctly), I don't think "Everyday” is necessarily the opposite sentiment of “Living is a Myth” but it's not really saying the same thing either. I love the idea of each moment being born and dying at the same time, and I don't think it is so far away from some of the sentiments in our song.
Q. Rosie: A COMMENT UNDERNEATH YOUR “PLASTIC CANOE” VIDEO ON YOUTUBE SAID, “I DON’T KNOW WHICH OF THESE GOONS I WANNA FRENCH FIRST.” WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS? I THINK IT MEANS THEY WANT TO SNOG YOU. HAVE YOU HAD ANY OTHER “PROBLEM FANS?”
A. Jono: yeah, i think that person is talking about how they would like a bit more time to decide which one of us they would like to kiss (using their mouth and tongue). i'm pretty sure the person who wrote that is responding to a comment on a website called Brooklyn Vegan. there was a little article there to let whoever know that the Snack Fans LP was coming out. in the comments section someone said:
Hm. Not quite sure which one of these goons i want to kick in the face the most. Hm
so, i think that's about as problematic as it's been for us, so far. i don't recall any real problems. i think it's a problem when there is no electric fan in the practice room.
Q. Sian: If you could play a painting, which one would it be?
A. Jono: er.... i like some of the paintings that Chris Martin is making these days. not Chris Martin from Coldplay, another one. maybe this?
[Chris Martin image from Hyperallergic. - Ed.] it's not necessarily my favorite painting, but you know, it says “rock” or something with the death figure. but it has a nice bright border, so it doesn't get too maudlin. i don't think that person there is part of the piece.
Rob: It'd be good to play at this happening scene painted by Liz Arnold. Is it a festival?
Or somewhere busy like in a Bosch or Breugal or Where’s Wally?. I would like to play to animals or mythical creatures.
Andrew: Rob, the Q was about playing a painting, not IN a painting, m8. I'd be well up for playing in a Where's Wally?, though. Probs this one. I used to love this so much, especially the whiff vapors!
To answer Sian's Q, though, I'm having a really hard time picking just one painting by Misaki Kawai, but def one or all of these:
Q. Rosie: WORST LYRICS EVER PLEASE.
A. Matthew: There are so many to choose from, but I don't really want to defame anyone or start any beef. We often come into the practice space we hire and find some quite terrible lyrics scrawled onto the whiteboards. One time Rob and I arrived early (there's usually one of us who'll be half an hour plus late, and who this is varies week to week), and wrote some made up lyrics to see if Andrew and Jono would think it was real. I can't remember what those lyrics were, but they were very 80s power rock. Full of clichés about knights, maybe wind, and "woah woah yeah" type stuff.
Rob: I just looked at a few lists on the internet of "worst lyrics of all time" and I was a bit disappointed. I think the Des'ree lyrics about having a piece of toast and the ABC ones about apple crumble are really FUN! Not bad! There are so many pompous, "profound," "epic" lyrics to lambast that are much worse than that. You know the kind of thing I mean. Like that song by The Killers, that "Are we human or are we dancers?" song, which I find baffling and upsetting.
Jono: 'the worst lyrics ever' became a big question for me. for instance, the worst lyrics i've heard recently are:
Enemies of freedom face the music, c'mon boys, take them down
President Donald Trump knows how to make America great
Deal from strength or get crushed every time
the worst lyrics must be those that try to encourage hate, division and intolerance.
Andrew: Here are the full Matthew and Rob penned Rock Lyrics:
Ooh, Yeah
Like a vagabond
Like a stripe of light, baby yeah!
You're a wild horse
I'm a dark knight
Gonna take ya baby, wooah wooah yeah!
Light a flame for me
Come and set me free
No holding back tonight!
It's got the triple threat of lazy metaphor, aggressive sleaze, and predictable rhyming couplets delivered as if they're some puzzle never before worked out. Lyrics are shitty more often than not, right?
"Grab somebody sexy, tell ‘em hey. Give me everything tonight." Oh my God, I didn't even know that was Pitbull. He's the worst at lyrics and just everything. Also, “Rock DJ” by Robbie Williams.
Q. Alice: What is Dog Chocolate’s ultimate ambition?
A. Matthew: I don't know about the ultimate ambition, but Andrew says he wants to make a song called "Fun Is Always Brilliant" that gets into the Top 40 this year. We haven't written that one yet. Other than that, I think an interview with Nardwuar would be a cool thing. I also would like to make a “choose your own adventure” album with a book that goes with it, but I think we have other things on the boil before we'll ever entertain doing that. We're all pretty laid back about things, though, and if one of us doesn't want to do something, then that's OK. Keepin’ the atmosphere good. I think that's important.
Jono: as for ultimate ambition for dog chocolate, i can only speak for one quarter of the band, and i don't want to sound smug, but i just feel chuffed to be in the band. it's always been a pleasure, so: to keep going until we stop?
also: to have a dog as a manager. they wouldn't necessarily have to fulfill any administrative obligations, just be there for us--someone to listen to our thoughts. (any applications will be gratefully accepted.)
Andrew: Well, me and Rob found Snack Fans in a bargain bin the other day--that's always been an ambition for me! Other than that, just to, like, always be excited! Something specific: I'd love to do a tour, playing in bedrooms, to lovely people and animals who know how to go really bonkers in a bedroom but without damaging anything. And we would all get extra paid holiday time from our jobs to do this tour, so we could still go away with our girlfriends and be in nature.
Q. Rosie: WHEN DID YOU LAST FIND YOURSELF IN A SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY?
A. Matthew: A spiritual emergency? I'm not sure I have ever had one. I guess to have had one you would have to believe in something "other" and I don't really. Is this the John Lennon bit in me Rob was talking about? But then, John always seemed quite a spiritual type of guy to me, what with the robes and stuff, but maybe they were just his pajamas. To be honest, I'm still in a crisis about the Beatles question. Does this now count as a spiritual emergency?
Rob: I have had two major spiritual cataclysms in my life. The last one was about 3 years ago. Not fun at all, but brought me a more rounded and richer (but ultimately limited) understanding of myself and life on earth. See "I have a hard time thinking about death," etc.
Jono: listening to Living is a Myth.
Q. Alice: What's the worst / most annoying interview question to be asked?
A. Jono: i remember Dennis Pennis asking Steve Martin, “How come you're not funny anymore?”
Andrew: I think that being pushed to over explain stuff can be bad, but I also think that if I didn't like a question, I'd try to make it work better for me, rather than give an answer I felt weird about. I remember watching a bunch of Bjork interviews, and she seems to have a great way of getting the most out of whatever (boring / dodgy / difficult) question gets put to her. It's like, usually, the person asking questions actually just wants some interesting answers, that show something we didn't know, and there's more than one way of providing that (if that's what you wanna do).
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Snack Fans and Living is a Myth are available from Upset The Rhythm.
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Bernie Brooks is Ship’s editor-at-large and blog jammer. *Everything* he writes or compiles or otherwise makes–or has *ever* written, compiled, or otherwise made–for A Ship In The Woods is editorial content, and as such reflects his opinion alone, not necessarily that of Ship as an organization. Actually, this applies to all the content on look.shipinthewoods.com, regardless of who wrote or said it. Emails go here: bernie [at] shipinthewoods [dot] com
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Image designed by Dr. KGB using promo photos from the bands.
