Patrick Sisson - Writer, Journalist, Cultural Documentarian, Music Lover

PATRICK SISSON

Smog Veil Records creating green digs in Chicago

Feature
Chicago Tribune
October 16, 2006

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The building at 1825 W. Wabansia Ave. looks commonplace by current Bucktown standards. A hollow two-story structure ringed by Dumpsters and construction barricades, it’s another example of the rehab frenzy that has brought million-dollar homes to this gentrifying bohemian ‘hood.

But that will all change once the wind turbines and solar panels are installed on the roof. Set to become a combined living space and label office for Smog Veil Records, which moved to Chicago from Reno, Nev. last year, the building will be an example of how small businesses can utilize sustainable construction. Designed with numerous eco-friendly features, the site will be the centerpiece of the company’s efforts to be greener, according to co-owner Frank Mauceri.

“I really want to be an example of sustainability in our business,” he said. “I want to prove that you can follow sustainable practices and not only keep your business going but possibly be more profitable than you were last year.”
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Westbam: Off The Wall

Interview
XLR8R
October 2006
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What’s in a name? Quite a bit if you’re 41-year-old Maximilian Lenz, better known as Westbam. The moniker–a combination of his home province Westphalia with that of his musical idol Afrika Bambaataa–dates him as a teenager of the ’80s, and suggests what he would eventually become famous for: being one of the first DJ/producers to incorporate hip-hop influences (especially breaks) into house and techno. Though the name Westbam may be dated, Lenz stands for ideals that are timeless. He’s a Berlin legend, channeling punk energy to the dancefloor with his Low Spirit label (founded in 1985), co-founding the Loveparade and Mayday raves, and even representing his country during a 1988 DJ performance at the Seoul Olympics. XLR8R spoke with Lenz about the effects of reunification on the club scene.

XLR8R: What was your first encounter with hip-hop, which initially got you into DJing?
Westbam: As a teenager, I was into punk rock. In the early ’80s, a lot of punk rock was new wave and electronic. It was about trying something new and innovative. So when I first heard hip-hop, especially tracks like Bambaataa’s “Death Mix” that focused on mixing, it struck me as a new form of minimal electronic music. It was hardcore and not commercial and appealed to me.
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Melted Mailbox: Singles Club

Story
XLR8R
September 2006
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Twenty-four-year-old Matt Kimmel gets a rush from discovering obscure bands. But he’s noticed that even in a hyperlinked world, deserving artists go unappreciated–hence the inspiration to start Melted Mailbox, a new psychedelic singles club. “It’s a low-tech solution to the modern problem of finding out about new bands,” says Kimmel. “If you like experimental music, and you like your mailbox, there’s no reason not to sign up.”

Becoming a Melted Mailbox member may seem expensive–$70 for U.S. addresses, $90 for the rest of the world–but it’s a bargain for those craving out-there audio. Special records are shipped roughly twice a month–each 12″ has art and etching on one side and a single (unavailable outside the club) from the likes of Keith Fullerton Whitman, Brooklyn noisenik Carlos Giffoni, or Ariel Pink (who submitted a 15-minute freakout recorded immediately after he found out about 9/11) on the other side.

Membership has other rewards, including surprise CD-Rs, a poster, unique artwork, and a handmade storage box for the vinyl. The first series, which started June 25, ends this month, but sign up soon for the second wave of this mind-melting sonic attack.

Psalm One: Something Explosive

Interview
XLR8R
September 2006
Link

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“You’ll never be more than that girl who raps good for a girl/But really those titties is giving wood to the world.”

As this line from “Rapper Girls” demonstrates, Chicago MC Psalm One (born Cristalle Bowen) is familiar with the disses thrown at female rappers. She’s heard the looks-but-no-talent teases, and she’s happy to throw some out herself (as she does repeatedly on this track)–but only if they’re accurate. It’s part and parcel of the blunt, crafty style that’s made her a rising star on the Rhymesayers label.

“If you’re different or stand out in any way, that’s what people latch onto,” she says. “I’ve always just tried to be just a good rapper, period. I’m a b-girl and tomboy and I just let my personality come through.”
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Sao Necessary: Brazil’s Best

Story
XLR8R
August 2006
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Every year, American music fans are hoodwinked into listening to the newest crop of over-hyped UK bands, slavishly championed by NME and rarely worth the time. Looking for some more deserving audio imports? Follow Diplo’s lead to Brazil, where a rich heritage of tropicália, samba, and funk has mutated into myriad new styles and songs. A new generation of artists is kicking out more than just baile funk–take your eyes off the Carnaval dancers and focus on these six acts.

Cansei De Ser Sexy (“Tired of Being Sexy”)
Latest Release: Self-titled debut on Sub Pop
How They Party: Over-sexed Brazilian art school students from Sao Paulo pump out snarky, sweaty electro-pop tracks like “Art Bitch” and “Meeting Paris Hilton.”
Interesting pop reference: “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above” is about getting busy to DFA1979.

Seu Jorge
Latest Release: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions (Hollywood)
How He Parties: A folksy singer-songwriter (who takes hairstyling cues from Coolio) with a strong samba influence, Rio-based Jorge pens sparse tracks that highlight his rich, deep voice.
Interesting Cover: He anointed himself the Brazilian Bowie after covering the legend’s songs in filmmaker Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic.

Curumin (“Little Boy”)
Latest Release: Achados E Perdidos (Quannum)
How He Parties: Born Luciano Nakata Albuquerque, this baby-faced musical prodigy updates swaying ’70s Brazilian sounds with flourishes of hip-hop and electronic composition.
Interesting Cover: A version of Stevie Wonder’s protest track “You Haven’t Done Nothing”

Bonde do Role (“The Rollercoaster Band”)
Latest Release: Self-titled EP on Diplo’s Mad Decent label
How They Party: The trio of DJ/MC Rodrigo Gorky, MC Marina Ribatski, and MC Pedro D’eyrot–hailing from Curitiba, in Southern Brazil–drops relentless speak ‘n’ shout Portuguese lyrics over boisterous beats and borrowed guitar riffs.
Interesting Pop Reference: They sampled Alice in Chains on the song “Melo Do Tabaco.”

Cibelle
Latest Release: The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves (Six Degrees)
How She Parties: Originally from Sao Paulo (now living in London), this cute and challenging chanteuse pairs nightclub-ready vocals with languid strings and atmospheric, Tom Waits-like production.
Interesting Cover: She performed Caetano Veloso’s “London London” with freak-folk king Devendra Banhart on last album.

Tetine
Latest Release: L.I.C.K. My Favela (Slum Dunk)
How They Party: Also living in London, ex-pat performance art punks Bruno Verner and Eliete Mejorado (who head up the Slum Dunk collective) mix baile funk beats with fat and filthy synthesizer squelches.
Interesting Pop Reference: They compiled The Sexual Life of the Savages, a set of ’80s Brazilian post-punk, for the Soul Jazz label.

War and Peace Movements: Documentary about GI war protesters doesn’t mention Iraq

Feature
Chicago Tribune
June 9, 2006

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Like many filmmakers, David Zeiger was inspired by the Iraq War. Between the questionable battlefield buildup and the current drawn-out conflict, Zeiger was driven to show how American soldiers cope when they’re sent to fight in a war that much of the public–and some of the soldiers themselves–consider unjust. The result is his documentary “Sir! No Sir!”

“The door was opening for this, and the need was there for this story to be told,” he said. “I knew I had to make the film.”

But “Sir! No Sir!,” which opens in Chicago Friday, doesn’t even mention Iraq. The film documents the unprecedented rise of the grassroots anti-war movement within the military during Vietnam–one that spawned protests, dozens of underground newspapers and a string of anti-war coffeehouses at army bases around the country. Since today’s soldiers in Iraq face repeated tours of duty fighting in a war that’s losing public support, the film is nothing if not relevant.
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Touch and Go Records: Born Free

Story
XLR8R
August 2006
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“When I got involved doing this stuff I never imagined that, 25 years later, we’d still be doing this,” says Corey Rusk, owner of influential Chicago imprint Touch and Go. The label, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in September, was started in late 1980; named after a Michigan music fanzine, its first release was a four-song 7″ by Rusk’s punk band, The Necros. The outfit slowly expanded, releasing other Midwest hardcore bands like The Meatmen, Negative Approach, and Big Black while Rusk gained extra experience running an all-ages club in Detroit during the mid-’80s called The Graystone, booking seminal bands like Black Flag and The Minutemen.

T&G remains true to punk’s ethic–and continues to offer artists an impressive 50/50 profit split–but has surprised everyone in recent years with a roster that includes Jesus Lizard, Slint, Blonde Redhead, !!!, Supersystem, and TV on the Radio. Rusk’s clearly got reason to celebrate, and if you’re in the Windy City you should join him. The label is throwing a weekend-long anniversary and block party at Chicago venue The Hideout from September 8-10, 2006, featuring 25 current and former label acts including Shellac, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, and Scratch Acid.

Sink It Or Drink It: Six-Thousand-Two-Hundred-and-Fifty-Two Plastic Cups, 521 Pitchers of Cheap Beer and One Plastic Flamingo Make for a Wild First World Series of Beer Pong

Feature
Playboy.com
January 2006
Link

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In the thick of the playoffs, the first World Series of Beer Pong was a cross between March Madness and a frat party, with the stink of cheap beer and testosterone flooding the nondescript convention center.

“It’s a pleasure to be around all these great athletes with swollen livers and steady hands,” commented Chris Cobb, a 29-year-old South Carolina paramedic and a member of the APA Boozehounds.

Flashing breasts, flapping frankfurters and the steady splash of ping-pong balls sinking into cups of low-cost brew: This was the first World Series of Beer Pong, held over three days in early January in Mesquite, Nevada, 80 miles northeast of Vegas. Played out on 14 custom tables set up at the Oasis Resort Casino, the event brought together 82 teams of (mostly) mid-twentysomethings from across the U.S. and Canada in pursuit of a $10,000 prize and North American Beer Pong championship bragging rights.

Beer Pong, a college party staple also known as “Beirut,” is a simple game. Pairs of players face off against each other across a long table, with each team arranging a set of beer-filled cups on its end. Shooters take turns trying to toss a ping-pong ball into an opposing team’s cup. Players must drink when a ball lands in their team’s cup. Whichever team sinks shots into all the opponents’ cups first, wins.

Defense wins championships; it’s a maxim applied to almost every team sport. So it made sense that defense was on the minds of many of the 164 players. Their strategies, however, weren’t lifted from any standard playbook.

“I’m total defense,” said Wesley Jowitt, a 23-year-old member of Hemogoblins, a team from Christopher Newport University in Virginia. “I shaved my head in defense.”
Read more…

The Real Moneyball: The Ballpark and Park Avenue Collide in Baseball’s High-End Luxury Suites

Feature
Playboy.com
April 2006
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You’ve been sitting in those same lame nosebleed seats at the ballpark since you were a T-baller. Maybe it’s time to improve your game and lounge for nine innings in style. If you’re looking for an amazingly posh place to watch a Major League game, many franchises have upscale options. Fueled by corporate sponsorships and a construction boom, big league parks have become bigger, grander and more luxurious. Today’s high-end suites offer special ticket packages that make guests feel almost as pampered as the players. Want to hang out with a Hall of Famer or trade in your hot dog for some haute cuisine? These are our picks for baseball’s best seats, available to anyone willing to part with some serious dough.

Boston Red Sox – Fenway Park – Legends Suite – Cost $15,00 a game plus catering
Few teams in baseball have fans as devoted and a history as rich as the Red Sox, a ball club that surmounted a seemingly insurmountable curse to star in one of sports’ greatest comebacks. There’s no way to experience the full extent of Red Sox mania in one game, but one day with the Legends Suite package will go a long way. On game day, you and up to 19 friends get a behind-the-scenes tour of historic Fenway Park, complete with a keepsake group photo in front of the historic Green Monster in left field. During the game, a Red Sox legend like right fielder Dwight Evans or Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski stops by your private luxury suite to talk baseball, take pictures and autograph a few balls. As the game progresses, you can dine on slow-roasted beef tenderloin and take a trip to the top of the Green Monster, where you and your friends have four reserved seats. You can even upgrade and reserve an open bar and bartender for $800 and enjoy top shelf drinks like Glenfiddich 12-year Single Malt Scotch. Thankfully for Yankees pitchers, this suite is nowhere near their bullpen.
Call (617) 267-9440 for more information.
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Douglas Coupland’s JPod

Review
XLR8R
July 2006
Link

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Vancouver’s Douglas Coupland defined youth in the early ’90s with works like Generation X and Shampoo Planet, coaxing deeper meanings from a tech-obsessed generation’s collective neuroses. Nearly 15 years later, Coupland faces the question: Will he become obsolete, or merely retro, like some adored but aging game console from childhood?

The author’s latest, JPod (Bloomsbury; hardcover, $24), clearly challenges his ability to stay current. A self-proclaimed update on Microserfs, Coupland’s 1995 look at computer-industry drones, JPod revisits familiar themes, chronicling six 20-something videogame coders looking for spiritual nourishment while building a corporate-controlled skateboarding game.

In many ways, it’s information overload. Never missing a chance to riff on trends and technology, the author relishes the chance to intelligently toy with marijuana co-ops, fast-food mascots, Chinese industry, and even Douglas Coupland, inserting a slightly sadistic take on himself–Charlie Kaufmann-style–into the novel. In an interview on the official Jpod website, he claims the self-inclusion is his response to Google and online archives that won’t disappear. But the whole novel reads like a response from an all-powerful search engine–it’s a set of searchword-connected storylines that cover exceptional amounts of cultural ground with very little depth. It all seems rushed and slightly shallow–then again, maybe that is the cultural zeitgeist, something Coupland has always captured.

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