An Interview: Jorge Arana of the Jorge Arana Trio

What feels like quite awhile ago, I was sent a track by Jorge Arana called "Peanut Butter," and its jazzed-out chaos had me pretty excited. When I finally heard the Jorge Arana Trio's full album, Mapache, I wasn't let down, and I couldn't wait to talk about it with Jorge. Mr. Arana was nice enough to answer some questions, which you can read while listening to the album.

Who from the KC area are you listening to right now?

Ambulants, Fiat, Gemini Revolution, Janet the Planet. They all have albums less than a year old.


What national/non-KC acts are you listening to?

Got the new Zazen Boys album. And the new David Byrne + St Vincent. As for dead folks, I've been listening to some solo Monk and there's a Schostakovich quartets boxset that I always have in the car.


Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

Not sure if KC is an anything town... I don't mean that in a bad way. Of course it has a long history of black American music... I'm sure that plays a part of it.


What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?

Maybe the facility to catch a wide range of music, not unlike any of the big musical cities. Whether it's a punk house show, a modern chamber piece at UMKC, a jam at the Jazz District, a metal show in Westport, etc. And having time to do so, since it's fairly cheap living here.


I know KC Psychfest seemed to generate a lot of good feedback. Do you feel like the band identifies more with a psych, experimental, jazz, or metal scene locally? 

That's hard to say. Experimental, maybe? I do know the Trio seems to resonate well with other musicians with more adventurous inclinations.

"Adventurous" is a good word, because aside from some more of the mathier metal bands and jazz bands I hear a lot of in your music, some of the tones and structures remind me of the Minibosses [who if anyone doesn't know, are a rock band who cover video game music]. Are there any not-directly-musical or not-conventionally-musical places you pull from when writing or arranging?

Funny you say that. I did grow up in the NES days, so I do know a lot of those old Castlevania and Megaman tunes very well. Some of that's ingrained in my brain, for sure. A bigger influence though is the music from animation. I grew up in Mexico in the early 90s. Back then, they used to broadcast a lot of awesome 80s anime dubbed in Spanish, like Mazinger Z and Queen Millennia. The music from Saint Seiya is still a favorite of mine. I probably have around a dozen different soundtrack disks I've imported or bought at random comic-cons.


Does the size of the KC music scene generate "bands we get along with" associations rather than loose genre associations?

It used to be mainly bands we would get along with, even back in the days of Pixel Panda, but there's been a rising amount of really awesome mainly-instrumental acts recently. All with a very different approach.


This album's really, really good. And tight. Was recording meticulous or was there room for improv? Were there many takes or rewrites during the recording?

Thank you, man. Most songs have very set parts, but certain sections are open for transformation. A few others only have one part set while everything else is different every time.

We recorded it all (except vocals) live in one day. Having always done it at my place, the studio made me a little nervous, which led to somewhat of a rough start. Once we got over that initial hump and fixed a couple technical problems, we got most of it down in one or two takes.


Why do you think there was that nervousness? Extra people, different environment, formality?

Knowing we had to get everything done in one day was the big one. Then, some initial problems with my amp sucked a good chuck of time too, which was worrisome. But once we got into the swing of things it started to go pretty quickly.

Are there any differences in your live arrangements vs. the recording?

Other than the freer parts, we tried to keep it pretty close. Though live, you'll hear a few more wrong notes... played purposely and otherwise. Plus a bit of grooves Jason and Josh like to throw in between songs.

What other bands have you guys played in?

I played in Pixel Panda, and a little project called Cliff of Fame. Josh has been with an assortment of groups... Latin, Maps for Travellers, Pixel Panda, Wad, Savitar. Jason plays in Fat Bobba, Various Blonde, and a new group with me tentatively called "Parents".


What's Parents sounding like so far?

It's sort of a mix of dark surf and noise rock. I'm playing drums; Jason from the Trio's on bass; my brother, Luis, on guitar; and Doby Watson on vocals. I'm looking forward to start playing some shows.

Could you talk a bit about the release of Mapache and the decision to release it on tape?

We're self releasing the album. My friend Andrew Heuback suggested the cassette route. He ran a cassette label called Overland Shark that put out a lot of cool stuff. CDs seem to have kind of a bad stigma at the moment, and you generally have to make about a thousand copies to make get them for a good price. Though with cassettes you can make high quality small runs, package them with a download, sell em for cheap. Made a lot of sense. The natural compression and hiss you get from the tape is quite fun to listen to as well.

Thanks again to Jorge for taking the time, and to the Trio for releasing a killer album. Stream it, buy it, order the tape, buy your friends copies. Honestly, a fantastic album, and I look forward to seeing it on my year end list, and if there's any justice in this world, everyone else's.

Also while I have your attention, go over and check out #KillYourTV, organized by Internet Friend and great local musician William Chaffin. They also liked Mapache, and keep a solid focus on all-things KC music. We don't always agree, and that's a good thing.

An Interview: Brock Potucek of Lazy/South Bitch Diet

In what I'll describe as the most-my-fault delayed interview ever, Brock Potucek and I've been passing questions and answers back and forth for a little while. Brock's a member of Lazy, who released Obsession this year. His solo project, South Bitch Diet, recently played KC Psychfest, and has a self-title album circulating. Brock was nice enough to put up with my questions and talk about both projects.

Who from the KC area are you listening to right now?

Ghosty, Scammers, Nature Boys, Ssion, Fag Cop, Pizza Party Massacre, Witch and Hare.

What national/non-KC acts are you listening to?

La Dusseldorf, Pangea, John Maus, Toupee, White Fence, Tame Impala, Polyrock,

Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

Every town is a hip hop town. Every town has local music of all sorts. Hip hop wise, I like Stik Figa, Team Bear Club, Tech N9ne, Pocket Change. . .

What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?

Resources: like available venues, record stores, musicians, scenes to play with/at. Also, the time to work. KC is relatively inexpensive to live at.

What gear are you using live in both projects?

Brock - A yellow Danelectro 59DC guitar with a Fender Front Man 212 amp with Electro-Harmonix big muff and a cheap chorus pedal from Target.

Zach - A sunburst Fender P bass with vintage Sunn Coliseum 300 and Electro-Harmonix big muff.

Sarica - An Epiphone SG Cherry Red with Fender Front Man 212.

Billy just got a new drum set. I think it's from C&C Custom Drum.

What's the cassette scene like in the area? Could you talk about your relationships with Whatever Forever and Manic Static?

The cassette scene started for me in Lawrence. Lillerne Tapes started there in 2006 by Gabe Holcomb, who later moved to Chicago. He made a few tapes and zines and it was inspiring. Shortly thereafter I, along with Drew Gibson - who is in Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk, Boo and Boo Too, and Katarina Stoneheart - started Solid Melts Tapes in 2008 in Lawrence, KS. I got too busy to do it but Drew moved to Chicago where he keeps it up. As time goes on I found out about other local tape lables, like Overland Shark, Beer on the Rug, XO Press. I think that people started to notice cassettes as more than a kitsch market and they saw the potential of its medium as a cheap and viable product to make. As for Whatever Forever and Manic Static - They were both interested in working with us. Whatever is from Lawrence and Manic Static is from Chicago. We have worked with other small run tape labels before too, like the Tape Machine. They all work hard at what they do, and have a passion for it. It's definitely more than just home dubbing.

Does the live setup for South Bitch Diet include extra people?

All South Bitch Diet shows have involved more people, with the exception of the last Psychfest. That was the first one I performed alone. Members of Lazy come in and out for the performances depending on availability. We've performed as large as a four piece before.

The South Bitch Diet songs seem to focus on big change ("New Job Blues," "New City Blues," I guess even the name "Lottery Money" implies either a quick payout and dynamic shift, or spending your money to hopefully win and make a quick change). Which end do these fall on: wanting to change or changes you've made?

Neither. They are not about change, but about longing and the understanding of place. New Job Blues is about labor laws or hating your boss. New City Blues is about dreaming of a better world to be a part of, and Lottery Money is about knowing when to move on or build up. Also, if this may be helpful for understanding, I formed the release on a country theme. Most of the song titles are references to classic country albums/movies/songs, as is the design and layout. I was playing with themes like loneliness, lost love, new love, fights for justice, giving up, good times- The songs lyrics may or may not match the song titles at all. The titles are there to create a cohesive package visually and contextually within this outsider country idea that I had. 

In regards to the SBD tape having a country theme: Is the entire project confined to that country-aesthetic, or do you have different overall themes planned/foresee different themes for future releases?

Art wise, album layout wise, I was going for a country inspired them. Musically, it's all over the place, being garage, lo fi, synth pop, psych, punk. I love the designs of classic country records, by their simplicity and I was going for that.

With Lazy, all the members have great creative art directions, so it's hard to say what future Lazy releases will look like. I can say that a great deal of thought will go into it!

How exciting is KC Psycfest? Have their been any other local-centric showcases like this, and do you think it fits SBD pretty well? [note: our asking/answering period overlapped Psychfest. Greg at RiotOnThePlaza.com had great coverage]

I'm glad FOKL is doing it and I'm happy it's coming into fruition. It's influenced, in part, by the Austin, TX festival of the same name. The Monta at Odds guys are doing a ton of the planning too, so props to them. There have been local showcases like this in the past - to name a few: Center of the City Fest, Troost Fest, North By North West, Noise Fest, Chomp Womp Fest. There have been house show festivals like this in the past in both Lawrence and KC. And yes, I do think that South Bitch Diet fits it. To me, Psych is a varied term with multiple applications of meaning - like drone, experimental, lo fi, noise, chill, electronic, industrial, shock, so forth. It also means whatever you think it does, but that's how I feel about it.

For being recorded fairly lo-fi, I think Lazy's Obsession sounds pretty big. In general [I think] it's a more fun album than SBD, sound-wise. Does the lyrical content fit that?

Obsession was recorded/mastered/produced professionally in a studio with Ashley Miller, who also plays in Ssion, Snuff Jazz, and a list of other projects I can't keep track of. It took a week to record, three weeks to mix, and one to master. All the songs on Obsession were made within the last year. I don't think that Obsession is as "fun" as SBD. SBD to me, is more whimsical and has more humor than Lazy. South Bitch Diet [the self-titled album] was all recorded on a Fostex Four Track within a five-year timespan. I write a lot, and I record nearly all my songs on a four track first. Where they go from there varies. All the songs on Obsession were made on a four track first. The SBD [album] is a compilation of some of my favorites that didn't make it into the Lazy sound bank - and I have a large amount of songs to choose from. To re-record them in a studio seemed unfitting for the South Bitch Diet style I desired. I purposely wanted South Bitch Diet to sound Lo Fi to an audience cause that's what it is. I write nearly all the material for Lazy and all the material for South Bitch, so I'm sure they have same lyrical themes. I create lyrics after I write the song. And usually, I just try to find a theme and make it fit the structure. 

Regarding Obsession's studio recording: are you happy with it? I think it's great, but I know musicians who have a hard time calling a recording/album "done." Are you like that, be it with Lazy or SBD?

I think that what has been recorded and mastered thus far for Obsession is done. We do what to add more songs to it though. But take all the Obsession songs and add it to another six or so to make it a full length. With that said, Obsession is basically an EP released as a LP.

Recording for Lazy isn't as hard for us as mastering and mixing. We can do that forever. It comes to point though where enough is enough!

South Bitch Diet is on the inverse. Recording can take a long time but editing is hardly an issue.

Would you say the style of Lazy is based more around retro-fitting a style and asthetic or personal nostalgia?

I've gotten this question before - and neither. When people ask what my band sounds like, I say X, Crass, Germs, and Pere Ubu. All artists have influences, all take and form from old styles and place them into new styles. All is regenerated. Lazy has punk influences, but it's not a punk tribute band. I'd like to think that it has it's own fingerprint.



Huge thanks to Brock again! I appreciate his patience with this. Go pick up the Lazy and SBD stuff on your preferred physical or digital media, and check out the Whatever Forever and Manic Static releases, as well.

An Interview: Cool Calm Julio

Earlier this year, Cool Calm Julio put out a self-titled EP that was as smart as it was relaxed as it was fun. The references jump from Kansas City to professional wrestling to infamous big music biz stories that aren't well known outside of their immediate scene. And all that's just the first track.


Cool Calm Julio was nice enough to answer the following questions.


Who from KC are you listening to right now?

Naturally all of the current Vital Nerve releases are in heavy rotation as well as Greg Enemy, Stik Figa, DR+2,and Dom Chronicles. Very talented cats, yo.

What national/non-KC acts are you listening to?

I can’t lie, I listen to my fair share of Waka Flocka Flame, 2Chainz, and Spaceghostpurrp but every now and then my ears just need to chill to Moka Only or Teebs.

Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

Kansas City is dead center in the middle of the map, which means were pullin’ musical influences from all angles as well as our jazz grassroots. Those key factors form together like Voltron to make some slick ass joints from our emcees that just has that uniqueness you can’t find from the east or west coast.

What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?

Definitely the diversity. I could be chillin' in Waldo, then take a 20 minute trip to Midtown and get an entirely different atmosphere. I was raised around different parts of Kansas City and some areas and my interactions within them played a part in my life, which is directly linked to my material.

Many of your songs on the Cool Calm EP tend toward the shorter side, which I like versus (for example) the bloat of the last Kanye album. I also think it's kind of punk as fuck to drop a chain of shorter songs, which might sound like a contradiction given your demeanor on tracks. Could you talk a bit about what influences the composition?

I like to keep my delivery unexpected and unique when it comes to projects. I like to think it makes for a more interesting experience for me and the listener as opposed to tapes with a bunch of hooks.

Who all is involved with Vital Nerve, and what are the end goals for what's produced? Is it limited to musical output?

Vital Nerve is an underground artist collective that consist of myself, Unlucky Menace, Missing Link, Dead Bent and Logikally Speaking. We set up, promote, and put on shows pretty regularly around the KC area with some of our affiliates to promote the scene and gain exposure to other fanbases. All of the crew each have their respective projects and dope music you can check out on vitalnerve.com [note from kcmj: do it!] but there's more to it than that. We own all the equipment we use for live performances, record, mix, and master our vocals and utilize social network sites. Its definitely an investment on all sides,

You've indicated that you're a mixed media artist on your tumblr site. Do you currently have or do you have a plan to incorporate any art into live shows?

I’ve been into the arts for the majority of my life and consider myself to be an artist first over an emcee. I do create the fliers, video, website design, branding, and some album artwork for Vital Nerve. In earlier shows I would incorporate live video projections of old kung fu/ninja films and 1950’s anti marijuana propaganda I edited into our earlier shows, haha, just because I had the resources, haha.  I just really like to let my creativity run within the crew and I haven’t had any complaints.

The line "... like Universal did to After the Smoke" is one of my favorite references from any song this year.  Do you make your own beats, and is what they did with that Yelawolf track something that you and/or the local KC music scene worries about happening?

Ha, thanks! I’m glad you noticed that. I do a little beat making every now and then, but those and staying in my secret stash for the moment. I left the beats on the Cool Calm EP to some of my very talented peeps, Osiris-1 (“Sonar”) and Wise Enough (“Dividends”). However, that After the Smoke and Universal fiasco (no pun) was a modern day “David vs. Goliath” story. It's always nice to see the indie groups triumph over the major labels in cases like those and gives me hope for the industry. I think with the social networking era playing a part in musicians fanbases, there's too many voices that can’t possibly be unheard.


Thanks to Cool Calm Julio for taking the time to answer my questions. Any interview that contains a Voltron AND a Waka Flocka Flame reference is an A+ in my book.

A Small Bit About Local Christian Albums

Before you ignore this, there's very little regarding content, and more about bandcamp distribution.

If not obvious already, I love bandcamp as not only a discovery tool but as a barometer of local trends. Having the opportunity to preview music for free levels a lot of preconceptions I'd otherwise have from other local music blogs. I'm not immune to the ingrained idea that "if it costs more, it must be better." I've done a good job shaking it off, but as long as it's a cultural trait, I'm sure I'll struggle with it.

So this brings me to the crux of this baby rant, which is: what's the deal with the Jesus-y albums being so expensive? I promised when this started not to post long form reviews, so bands here will go unnamed. That said, I've noticed that content doesn't reflect price as far as quality goes. And not just song-quality, but production quality. I refuse to believe that some of these people giving music away for free incurred less cost than some Christian albums going for 10 bucks a pop.

And does that money go to them or their church? While I don't care, it technically might. Churches generally have bad ass sound equipment. I wouldn't put it past some to run their own recording studios. Actually, I'd totally consider recording in one. If there are any entrepreneurial churches out there, make a note of that.

Also, there's a lot of it out there. As a barometer, I can't tell me if that indicates religious tendencies in the KC area or an actual musical preference. There may be a bazillion Christian acts, but do they play out? Do they just play at churches? I know one particular act that seems funded by a predominant Protestant branch, but I couldn't tell you if they end up at any venues. It's not my scene, but if you have a built-in audience through a congregation, maybe these album prices are justified to them because they actually move volume every Sunday. I tend to believe this is more smart than dubious, unless their music is filled with hate-filled rhetoric (and there's one particular 0-receiving band I'm thinking of).

I wouldn't mind hearing from some Christian bands to find out what they're basing their prices on, how they record, and if their church is running a sweet studio. Feel free to drop me an email or leave it in the comments.

Reviews 2012

New post coming soon. In the meantime, Here's a list of everything I've reviewed this year.