Alice Magazine Chapter 6
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CHAPTER 6<br />
VOLUME 2<br />
APRIL 2017
BEBE BUELL<br />
AND HER REBEL SOULS<br />
~ BARING IT ALL ~<br />
April 4th and 5th at 9:30pm<br />
JOE’S PUB 425 LAFAYETTE ST. NY, NY www.joespub.com
www.zconnor.com
Editor in Chief<br />
Melissa Rodwell<br />
“Keep your cards close<br />
to your chest”<br />
Art Director<br />
Richard Ray Ruiz<br />
Managing Editor<br />
Kris DeVito<br />
Digital Director<br />
Jan Klier<br />
Digital Supervisor<br />
David Neilands of Solstice Retouching<br />
Cover Photographed by JOEL HODSON @TOPEPHOTO
SONNY<br />
Photographed by YOHANN TRUMINSKI<br />
Bag ESTARTE<br />
Fashion editor FANÉLIE PATRAS<br />
Make Up Artist OCÉANE SITBON GHOULA<br />
Hair stylist SADEK L.<br />
Model SONNY @KARIN MODELS
Shirt GARCON INFIDELE<br />
Jacket & pant HADIM ARIMI<br />
Bra BORDELLE by BRIGADE MONDAINE<br />
Coat IKKS<br />
Pant VALERIE KHALFON<br />
Heels GUISEPPE ZANOTTI
Shirt GARCON INFIDELE<br />
Glitter dress GRETA CONSTANTINE
Jumpsuit & Bag<br />
ELISABETTA FRANCHI<br />
Body PALOMA CASILE<br />
Legs choker BORDELLE by BRIGADE MONDAINE<br />
Sleeveless jacket SPRUNG<br />
Over the kneels TEXTO
BLACK<br />
Stylist ERI SOYAMA<br />
Model RENATA GUBAYEVA<br />
Agency MUSE MANAGEMENT<br />
Hair NERO AT VIJIN using Amika<br />
Makeup RISAKO MATSUSHITA using Chanel<br />
Hair assistant KENICHI NISHIDA<br />
ORCHID<br />
Photographed by GO MINAMI
Denim ELECTRIC LOVE ARMY<br />
Jacket & Stripe Bikini XULY.BET
T-Shirt & Lace Trousers ELECTRIC LOVE ARMY<br />
Dress SEARCH & DESTROY
Blouse KATIE
JASON<br />
NARDUCY<br />
Photographed by KEVIN NEAL<br />
Words by KRIS DEVITO<br />
Jason Narducy needs no introduction. Odds are even if you haven’t heard of his name<br />
directly, his musical genius has permeated many of your favorite albums and bands.<br />
Starting his career out with Verboten at the ripe old age of 10, his music roots germinated<br />
early. Moving on to being one of the founders of the 90’s alt indie darling,<br />
Verbow, Narducy played lead guitar along with singing and songwriting for two of<br />
their albums. Catching the attention of Bob Mould, he moved on to being the bassist<br />
and supporting vocals. He’s toured with Superchunk, Robert Pollard, and Telekenisis.<br />
With the inspiration of a close friend, he’s embarked on his first ever solo album,<br />
collaborating with Britt Daniel (of Spoon) and Jon Wurster (of Superchunk and the<br />
Mountain Goats). Solo may be uncharted territory for this music veteran, but with<br />
the musical chops to back it up, we are excited to see what comes next. Our managing<br />
editor caught up with Jason on a quick stopover in NY.<br />
ALICE MAGAZINE: You play so many instruments proficiently. What is the first song<br />
you learned to play and on what instrument?<br />
JASON NARDUCY: “All Day and All the Night” by the Kinks on guitar. On one<br />
string. I thought it sounded cool.<br />
AM: As a songwriter do you have a process you follow while you are writing? Do they<br />
come to you or do you dedicate yourself a certain amount of time locked up writing?<br />
JN: I’m definitely more productive if I delegate time, with a guitar in my hand. Sometimes<br />
I’ll be at a Starbucks and a melody will come to my head and I just get the<br />
phone out and I sing it into the phone. I always write the music and the melody first
and the lyrics last. Lyrics still come to me very quickly, so I don’t want to work hard<br />
at something if I don’t like the music or the melody. That’s how I listen to music. If<br />
there’s a song where the music and melody doesn’t move me but it had great lyrics,<br />
I’ll never listen to it. But if it has a great melody and not great lyrics, I’ll probably still<br />
listen to it.<br />
AM: Tell me about your solo endeavor. What’s the driving force behind Split Single?<br />
JN: Well, Split Single is our solo project with the band name. I was inspired to do<br />
it because almost five years to the day a friend of mine in Chicago asked me to play<br />
with him in a show and I was like, “You want me to play acoustic? You want me to<br />
play with a band?” He was like, “do whatever you want, I just want to do a show with<br />
you.” I had six weeks and I was looking at my old Verbow records and my old songs<br />
and I just wasn’t into it. I didn’t want to play any of those songs. They felt stale and<br />
I wouldn’t have felt inspired so my idea was to write ten new songs. This could suck<br />
but at least I am trying something new, and it ended up being…. Good. Not great, but<br />
didn’t suck. Three of those songs ended up on the first Split Single record. My friend<br />
inspired me. I’ve been a band person for a while now and I wanted to try and see<br />
what I could come up with. It was very rewarding to create something and, I mean,<br />
just last week during my shows, two friends of mine who are some of my favorite lyricists<br />
came to the Seattle show. I didn’t ask them to come out. Vick Bondi for Articles<br />
of Faith came and Ben Gibbard from Death Cab (For Cutie) came and it felt incredible.<br />
These guys, who I look up to, are coming to see my band.<br />
crowd will think.” And an official came in and was like; “we need to move this show to<br />
a different venue. This entire section of the city is being evacuated for floods.” Againit’s<br />
not raining nor is it flooding. So, we move to another venue that was this hilarious<br />
venue because it was owned by the Calgary Flames the hockey team and it just was<br />
not a rock venue. But it turned out great and sounded great. But, the floods were real,<br />
and there was talk about trying to get a flight immediately - that’s how serious it was.<br />
Instead we stayed at the hotel and got a flight for the morning. When we got up, all<br />
the power was out at the hotel and we went downstairs to get our van and it wasn’t<br />
there. Another band was with the John Spencer Blues Explosion. We opened the<br />
door and asked if we could jump in with them and they said “sure.” We get in, the van<br />
takes off, and - it sounds like I am making this up because it looked like a movie- we<br />
are going over the bridge and I’m looking to both sides of me and the water is above<br />
the cars and to the bottom of the bridge. The closer we get to the airport, I’m seeing<br />
cars getting washed away. It was a disaster movie. We get to the airport and we made<br />
the very last flight that got out.<br />
AM: You recorded with Britt Daniel and Jon Wurster. They won’t be able to do any of<br />
the tour with you. How do you find the talented musicians you play with on tour?<br />
JN: Friendships. Occasionally, I’ll reach out to someone and they won’t be able to, but<br />
they’ll say “but there’s this other guy who can totally do this.” And I have done shows<br />
where I am just meeting the person. You trust people. Sometimes you feel a personal<br />
connection with people you meet on tours and festivals and think, “it would be cool<br />
to play with this person someday” and this is the opportunity for that.<br />
AM: You’ve toured with quite a few bands, any “it’s funny now but it wasn’t then” kind<br />
of tour horror stories?<br />
JN: Plenty [laughs}. The very first Superchunk show I did was in Calgary. Calgary is a<br />
city in Canada that there are mountains that surround it and they had rainfall in the<br />
mountains and there was a flood warning. But in Calgary, there was no rain and it was<br />
weird to hear these flood warnings and you’re thinking “why,” if you don’t understand<br />
how those cities work. So, we are doing sound check and, like I said it’s my first show<br />
with these guys and even though I know them, I’m kinda nervous thinking, “this is<br />
the first time I’m playing with these guys. I wonder what they’ll think and what their
AM: Your parody on YouTube, Sexiest Elbows of Rock. How did that happen?!<br />
JN: A few things happened. I had finished the first Split Single record and I sent it to<br />
five labels that I liked and they all said no. That stung a little bit, but then I thought,<br />
how can I find an audience in a creative way. My dad used to make home movies with<br />
comedic ends and he would include me in that and it’s been something I’ve kind of<br />
done on the side for a while. “Sexiest Elbows” came about because I had just posted<br />
on Instagram when I found this old promo picture of me where I am wearing short<br />
sleeves and it looks like I am holding up the sleeves. So I just wrote, that I had a<br />
manager that thought I had the sexiest elbows and I had to show them in every photo.<br />
So, the next day I was at a fundraiser and Fred Armisen was there and Fred and I<br />
have known each other a year or two, not very closely, and he came up and said “your<br />
Instagram is so funny.” And he didn’t have to say that. So, I went back and was like,<br />
“what did I post?” I reached out to him, one of my favorite characters is Ian Rubbish,<br />
and I asked him if Ian Rubbish would like to make any comments about the sexiest<br />
elbows and he said yes! I just kept on asking people and everyone said yes. Not only<br />
did they say “yes,” they all happened to be available at the same time! We shot that<br />
content within a six week period. Somehow, we put it all together. It’s a nice way to be<br />
creative in a different way.<br />
Jason Narducy will be touring for his new album, Fragmented World for Split Single<br />
in the upcoming week. I mean, who doesn’t want to see a genius at work? Sign me up<br />
please!
JEAN<br />
GENIE<br />
Photographed by MELISSA RODWELL<br />
Styled by JESS MEDEROS<br />
Model JULIA MCGUIRE @ONE MANAGEMENT<br />
Make up RACHEL TOLEDO @ RAY BROWN PRO using MARC JACOBS BEAUTY<br />
Hair NIKO WEDDLE using BUMBLE & BUMBLE<br />
Stylists Assistants RENEE AROCHAS & CHRISTY GUILLERMAIN<br />
Make up Assistant ANDREA CODY<br />
SPECIAL THANKS TO TOMMY AT THE GOOD ROOM IN GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN<br />
Sequin Gown MALAN BRETON<br />
Metal Hoodie LAUREL DEWITT<br />
Stockings STYLIST’S OWN<br />
Choker HAUS OF TOPPER<br />
Earrings LARUICCI
Suit and Shirt MALAN BRETON<br />
Shoes VINTAGE<br />
Earrings LARUICCI<br />
Sunglasses STYLIST’S OWN
Metal Fringe Jacket LAUREL DEWITT<br />
Bodysuit REDWOLF<br />
T-Shirt SAINT<br />
Socks AMERICAN APPAREL<br />
Shoes DR. MARTENS<br />
Earrings HAUS OF TOPPER
Top NIKA TANG<br />
Fur Stole and Pant EV BESSAR<br />
Earrings LARUICCI<br />
Bracelets K/LLER COLLECTION
ASHLEY<br />
SCHULTZ<br />
Photographed by JOEL HODSON @TOPEPHOTO<br />
Make-Up & Hair KAYLE WILLIAMS<br />
Photo Assistant MATT TAMKIN
Ashley Schultz is the epitome of a true talent. The singer, songwriter, model, dancer<br />
and actress is a jack of all trades. After growing up in New England and lettering in<br />
3 sports, she moved to Hollywood, California to begin her career in entertainment.<br />
After early success modeling and acting in commercials and films, she shifted her<br />
focus to music. In 2013, Ashley co-created a music label and formed the girl group<br />
“Syd Youth”. As one of 3 members, Ashley propelled 2 singles to the top 10 on Spotify<br />
and earned millions of views on multiple music videos. She has performed on<br />
Los Angeles’s most historic stages and opened for major recording artists<br />
including One Direction. She has also been seen performing at KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball<br />
and Wango Tango, and one of america’s biggest music festivals, South by South West.<br />
The singer/songwriter is currently writing and recording songs for her first solo<br />
project and has released her first single and music video “Watch Me” in 2016. Ashley<br />
is on the brink of stardom. This rare young woman with brains, beauty and talent is a<br />
force to be reckoned with.
SHE<br />
DEVILS<br />
Photographed by KEVIN NEAL<br />
Words by Anonymous
You can hear The Doors and a little Mazzy Star but She-Devils sound is unique and<br />
mysterious. Vocalist Ann Audrey, who channels a bit of Su Tissue from The Suburban<br />
Lawns, mystifies the audience with a haunting voice and cryptic lyrics while “Sound<br />
Sculptor” Kyle Jukka lays down eclectic sounds that he samples from old tunes.<br />
Based out of Montreal, the band started out not having any of their music available<br />
online. Those days are over, thankfully, and now you can listen to them if you just so<br />
happened to have missed their multiple shows at SXSW. Taking the name of a film<br />
that Tarantino lists as one of his favorites, the band is quoted as being influenced<br />
by cinema. You can definitely hear the dramatic “soundtrack” feeling in their music.<br />
At any rate, there is a thread of dark mystery to their sound and it’s worth checking<br />
them out and taking some time to listen to their latest EP release.<br />
https://soundcloud.com/shedevilsinc
SLAVES<br />
Photographed by KEVIN NEAL<br />
Words by KRIS DEVITO
“Can you believe it? I got this from a street vendor with another one for $20! It’s an<br />
original.” Laurie Vincent says proudly the minute I have entered the green room at<br />
Rough Trade in Brooklyn, NY. He’s holding up a near mint condition Black Flag Slip<br />
It In album with an illustrated nun on the cover. “I mean, it even has the 1984 fan<br />
poster inside where you can send in cash to be apart of the fan club, can you imagine<br />
that? Sending money in to be a part of a fan club.” He muses. He’s seated on the<br />
couch of what may be the narrowest green room I’ve ever been in. He apologizes telling<br />
me Isaac has gone to get his haircut so it’s just him for the interview today.<br />
ALICE MAGAZINE: What’s the best dare that you’ve ever done?<br />
LAURIE VINCENT: [Laughs] I grew up in the countryside we have those electric<br />
fences that will send a pulse out that will stop horses from wanting to leave. I licked<br />
an electric fence once. It felt like a surge - it’s not a constant, when you touch it kind<br />
of goes (zapping noise). I definitely licked harder than I had to. It wasn’t that bad.<br />
That’s the only dare I can think of doing.<br />
AM: You’ve gotten a lot of unnecessary flak for your band name. Do you think people<br />
are just being too sensitive given the context you were going for? Set the record<br />
straight on what Slaves means.<br />
LV: When that happens to you, you do a bit of soul searching. If enough people tell<br />
you you’re a shit human, it starts to sort of make you question what you’re doing. You<br />
come back to the fact that yeah, it is hypersensitivity and you can’t give the word such<br />
power in the respect to saying it has this destructive quality. There are very few words<br />
that should be off limits, it’s a language. There are times when I can get your angle,<br />
but you cannot ban the metaphorical use of a word. I’ve never, ever, said my band’s<br />
name to someone, of any creed, and they end up being offended. We have all sorts<br />
of fans and our message is one of inclusion. It’s the original punk mentality. It’s not<br />
what it was in ’78 where they put a punk rock manifesto - it’s not that, it’s before that.<br />
The idea of inclusion and everyone who comes to our show is welcome, we are doing<br />
it out of a closeted place. And it’s also really negative when someone online essentially<br />
trolls you by saying, ‘two white dudes called slaves.” That’s just showing we haven’t<br />
gone anywhere by just immediately coming to “two white dudes” conclusion. Why<br />
should we be judged on the fact that we are white? You can’t have these opinions<br />
about people who haven’t struggled just because, yeah, there’s a lot of white guilt. I<br />
get where people are coming from.
AM: Explain where the name comes from.<br />
LV: What happens when you try and start a band? You’re with each other hanging<br />
out quite regularly and the band name is the hardest thing. And the thing you do is,<br />
you’re in the car and you text each other and you’re just going, “what about Domino<br />
100? No Smoking?” “No that’s rubbish.” You keep spit balling and you want it to fit<br />
what your sentiment is. I mean I was standing on a doorstep and I was like “how<br />
about The Slaves?” and the initial instinct was the sounds and the feeling. And then<br />
something kicked off in our first few months of our creation. I grew up with all the<br />
punks and reggae-heads and super left wing friends who were like- antifascist, go on<br />
marches that were so not from a place of bigotry. They just got up and went internet<br />
crazy- Slaves to the wage! Slaves to this, slaves to that… it all just gets taken out of<br />
context. Yeah, we worked dead on jobs, dragging ourselves around not knowing what<br />
we were doing. People like to think what they think and we aren’t going to change<br />
anyone’s minds. If someone wants to say we are this, we are that…. Part of me thinks<br />
it’s kind of exciting in this watered-down era that we can cause that much<br />
aggravation. There’s nothing worse than just being liked, sometimes it’s good for people<br />
not to understand. I’m coming to terms with that. It makes it part of the mission<br />
statement.<br />
AM: Craziest thing a fan has done.<br />
LV: In Russia, we turned up and it’s really weird because not a lot of bands go to Russia<br />
because there’s a lot of misunderstanding when you go to these places, they’re<br />
not places you go on holiday or visit. So you turn up and expect nobody to be at your<br />
show like most places the first time you play anywhere for about 20 people. So we<br />
turn up in Moscow and they’re like, “you sold out.” And it’s a 500 cap venue. We are<br />
like in complete disbelief. And we show up and there are kids queueing midday and<br />
we aren’t opening the doors until 9pm. And it’s cold. So we play this show and they’re<br />
all still there afterwards and we are walking to the van and they finally get their<br />
chance to give us stuff. And this person gives us this brown package and she’s like,<br />
“this is from where I am from.” And I was like, “OK, cool.” And we get into the van<br />
and we are like, “it stinks.” And we unwrap this package and she had just given us this<br />
fish. Some people gave us the best chocolate, and one girl just gave us a fish. I mean<br />
it’s not wild it’s just…. I mean she showed up to a gig with a fish in her bag. And then<br />
just gave us a fish. We left it in a taxi [laughs].<br />
AM: What are the first albums you bought?<br />
LV: The first CD I made a conscious, “I wanna buy this mum” was Limp Bizkit’s<br />
Chocolate Starfish and Hot Dog Flavored Water. I remember I used to get £10 a<br />
month pocket money and I was like, “Mum, I want this!” because “Rolling” used to be<br />
the The Undertakers theme on the WWE and I was like, I really want this CD. She<br />
got really annoyed and upset because I wanted this parental guidance [CD], I bugged<br />
her, we were in a supermarket- which is crazy the fact that Limp Bizkit used to be in<br />
a supermarket. She finally bought it for me and a week later she tried to bribe me to<br />
buy it back off me so I let her. She didn’t like the swear words. And then I went into<br />
her room and found it and I kept the money as well. Not very cool.<br />
AM: Pre/post show traditions?<br />
LV: We always hug before we walk onstage - it feels really important to regroup. We<br />
hug on and off. It’s kind of going in and out of the mentality. We have just always<br />
done that.<br />
As Isaac Holman enters, freshly trimmed, Laurie and I are talking about his own upcoming<br />
art exhibit in August in London and exchanging book suggestions, both of us<br />
being very into rock autobiographies. “I’m reading Anger Is An Energy by John Lydon,<br />
where he basically is just talking about his career and life. If there is a man that’s<br />
been persecuted for his art, I didn’t realize what he went through. He’s been in prison,<br />
people tried to stab him. He basically got exiled and he had to move to the states!<br />
” I immediately add it to my Amazon cart to read on my upcoming flight. I<br />
suggest Chrissie Hynde’s Reckless: My Life As A Pretender. Pizza has arrived and the<br />
two beeline for a slice. “This is the biggest slice I have ever seen!”<br />
Welcome to Brooklyn gents.<br />
Check out their newest album Take Control now available in the US. It’s catchy, its<br />
relatable, but most of all… it’s the essence of punk rock.
BILLY-<br />
BURG<br />
Photographed by PAUL GISLE<br />
Styled by JESS MEDEROS<br />
Top and Leather Jacket AUTIE<br />
Pant AMERICAN APPAREL<br />
Sunglasses PRADA<br />
Shoes ALDO<br />
Model BRIE HARDING @ MAJOR MODELS, NYC<br />
Make up MICHELLE WALDRON<br />
Hair NIKO WEDDLE<br />
Nails RACHEL SHIM<br />
Shot in Williamsburg Brooklyn
Dress NICOLE MILLER<br />
Coat VINTAGE<br />
Dress AUTIE<br />
Socks AMERICAN APPAREL<br />
Sunglasses VINTAGE<br />
Jewelry METALEPSIS
Top and Pant ZARA<br />
Fur Collar PIERANTONIOGASPARI<br />
Hat SAINT<br />
Shoes DR. MARTENS<br />
Coat AUTIE<br />
Stockings STYLIST’S OWN<br />
Shoes DR. MARTENS
Bandana Scarf SAINT<br />
Top VINTAGE
Photographer JOEL HODSON @TOPEPHOTO<br />
Photo Assistant MATT TAMKIN<br />
SHOT IN DTLA<br />
TEST<br />
Photographed by JOEL HODSON<br />
@TOPEPHOTO<br />
Words by CECILIA NAJAR<br />
Photo Assistant MATT TAMKIN
Fuck any punk band that didn’t come up from the belly of the beast. If you are going<br />
to play raw, crass, street music, it better come from a nasty urban monster with serious<br />
indigestion.<br />
Los Angeles is that beast and there’s no doubt you’ll find the fragrant stench of bile<br />
in Vernon, California, a cement flatland of hot asphalt, polluted air, meat by products<br />
and faceless warehouses twenty minutes south of downtown Los Angeles. Depressing<br />
would be the kind description. Shithole is more apt.<br />
For some reason, call it either Darwin’s effect or divine guidance, Wayne Maza (bass)<br />
and Blake Stokes (vocals/guitar) thought living, rehearsing and recording in a Vernon<br />
warehouse was a good idea. At least, they thought it would be better than their life<br />
in their hometown, Houston, but then again they had never lived in Vernon. Fueled<br />
after they left bands they hated, the two joined with another guitarist, packed up their<br />
gear, and found a new home in a windowless, airless box in the industrial mecca.<br />
Their more timid friend fled after two weeks of sleeping next to dirty amps and eating<br />
daily doses of Cup O’ Noodles. But Blake and Wayne hung on and hired a new drummer.<br />
This was art, right? Shit happens. Then Blake got a DUI but hey, that didn’t<br />
stop the band. Fuck convenience and short commutes. Like any righteous badass<br />
musician he found inspiration, not defeat on LA’s tormented public transport with its<br />
throngs of wacky characters and twitchy meth addicts.<br />
Their real luck came when their drummer bailed last minute, right before a gig because<br />
he was too ashamed to have his family see him play a show in their shithole<br />
warehouse/home. Blake and Wayne transformed the beast’s stomach acid into gold.<br />
They reached out to drummer Morgan Ponder to take over. Morgan fit the vibe like<br />
a ripped punk glove. The three musicians bonded over their love of 70’s punk and<br />
bands like Oasis, Blur and The Hives.<br />
What would have slayed almost any other struggling duo begat TEST, a hard thrashing<br />
proto-punk band that no amount of hard reality could kill. The band’s warehouse<br />
days are over (as of 2013) and their first EP, Tremble and Vibrate,” was released in April<br />
of 2016. This year two more singles were released, “7th Street Metro” and “Hallways.”<br />
The band’s better days haven’t taken any edge off their music. The energy is hard and<br />
strong. The melodies bounce off drums and guitar with controlled chaos and if you<br />
actually listen to their lyrics, well, just listen to their music, you’ll find out for yourself.<br />
The band’s abrasive sound and dark lyrics aren’t pretty but hey, look where it came<br />
from. Their new songs are gaining new listens, new fans and new shows. That’s what<br />
happens when shit doesn’t kill you. You tame the beast or the beast tames you.
TEST, clearly, cannot be tamed.
VISTA<br />
KICKS<br />
Photographed by HARRY CHANDLER<br />
Words by CECILIA NAJAR<br />
Shot in DTLA
Amanda has flown 1600 miles and driven another 90 in the pelting rain to visit the<br />
semi-comatose town of Santa Barbara where she’s landed in a crowded beer-soaked,<br />
tobacco-tainted juke joint. She isn’t here to see the headliner, a Ska one-hit wonder.<br />
No. The tall, black 23-year-old stunner with the perfect bow-shaped lips is here because<br />
she’s completely obsessed with a band. Vista Kicks.<br />
I do a double-take. Wait. What? Did you come from Kansas City just to see a band?<br />
She looks at me incredulously. Obviously I’m missing the obvious.<br />
“Trust me. They are going to blow-up,” she says as if she’s talking about Led Zeppelin<br />
in 1969.<br />
She may be right. The band’s first breakout single, “Make it Real,” chalked up almost<br />
1.7 million plays on Spotify before they even had management. “Marceline,” from<br />
the band’s second EP, “Chasing Waves,” spent four weeks at #4 on iTunes’ New Artist<br />
Tracks in 2016.<br />
We both turn to the stage as Vista Kicks bassist, Trevor Sutton, looking teleported<br />
from the pages of Cream <strong>Magazine</strong> circa 1976 thumps out a groove line, soon followed<br />
by drummer Nolan Le Vine’s beckoning beat. The cigarette deftly perched between<br />
his lips doesn’t move amidst the flurry of his arms and legs. Sam Plecker’s hardcharging<br />
guitar takes over, surfing between headbanger strums, sultry slides and fastfinger<br />
rock god virtuosity.<br />
Amanda and rest of the Vista Kicks mega-fans in the first three rows, hold their cellphones<br />
high, as Derek Thomas flips his hair back, sidles up to the microphone and<br />
sings the first lines to “Mona Lisa.” His commanding pop-hero stage presence seduces,<br />
sure, but it’s his voice that wins fans: smooth and confident, a hint of soulful jazz<br />
with undertones of rebellion ready to yowl with the ghost of Jim Morrison.<br />
The four friends have known each other since their childhood in Sacramento and<br />
their ease shows on and off-stage. Now based in Los Angeles, they live together and<br />
collaborate on songs with much of the music inspiration channeled through Derek’s<br />
piano wanderings and Sam’s guitar riffs. Their infectious melodies are brewed from<br />
a consistent diet of 1960’s and 70’s rock (heavy on the 70’s). Even the casual listener<br />
can hear the influence of Jan and Dean, The Beatles, Ramones, and Pink Floyd (throw<br />
in some Strokes and Arcade Fire too). The band’s recent collaborations with Buckcherry<br />
guitarist and producer Keith Nelson, and Motley Cru’s drummer, and producer,<br />
Tommy Lee, have resulted in new music due in the summer of 2017. In the meantime,<br />
Vista Kicks finishes their second national tour in March.<br />
Their set finishes with a passionate crescendo of Nolan’s drums. Amanda and the<br />
rest of the crowd scream their approval. Hardened roadies jostle me as the headliner<br />
readies to take the stage.<br />
“Damn. Those guys are good,” I hear a roadie say wading through the crowd.<br />
Listen. Amanda knows.
RUEN<br />
BROTHERS<br />
Photographed by KEILAHRI ANIOROSO<br />
Words by KRIS DEVITO
The first time I heard Ruen Brothers they were playing on one of my Spotify<br />
playlists. In between my usual heavy rock riff- out came the crooning voice of a man<br />
who reminiscent of an early Johnny Cash album. I was completely intrigued. I had<br />
what I will forever refer to as my “Rick Astley Moment”- when you hear a voice and<br />
have a particular image in your mind of what that person looks like, and the person<br />
ends up looking completely different (if you do not know what Rick Astley sounds or<br />
looks like, put this down and research immediately). In this case, the voice belonged<br />
to a skinny kid named Henry in his early 20’s. Much like Astley, brothers Henry and<br />
Rupert hail from the U.K. Growing up listening to their dad’s extensive vinyl<br />
collection, it’s obvious to see where they gathered their inspiration from. Spending<br />
some time creating new material in L.A., they have established their current residence<br />
in Brooklyn, NY.<br />
Fresh off playing the night before at Manderlay Bar where they are in residency, the<br />
lads were keen for a few Bloody Mary’s at a local spot in their trendy Brooklyn<br />
neighborhood where we met for a quick chat.<br />
ALICE MAGAZINE: Describe your sound and style.<br />
HENRY STANSALL: I guess our sound would be cinematic sort of feeling. Would<br />
this fit well alongside a movie trailer to a Tarantino flick? That’s how we write our<br />
tunes.<br />
RUPERT STANSALL: I don’t think that really classifies as a genre.<br />
HENRY: It’s always kind of hard to peg that, people ask “well what sort of genre are<br />
you” and I don’t really know too well. It’s a mix.<br />
AM: What platform of social media do you find most crucial when connecting with<br />
your fan base?<br />
HS: Instagram has been really good for us, Spotify, and Apple Music. Those three<br />
have really been very good. As soon as you release a song everyone wants to listen to<br />
it.<br />
RS: That being said though, when we released “Unknown” the music video, that is<br />
only on Facebook.<br />
HS: I think whatever platform you focus on utilizing and driving people to can be<br />
very helpful for whatever you’re doing. It just so happens that specifically, we<br />
uploaded our last single to Facebook and that was the platform we chose to drive<br />
people to check out what we’ve done.<br />
AM: Indie vs. Major label. Pros and cons. How did you choose?<br />
HS: It was really down to who was most passionate at the label. It was as simple as<br />
that. There was no real, “well we should go with this because these are bigger.” It<br />
really had to do with the individuals at the company and that’s how you should<br />
always look at labels. Saying that, there’s so much you can do independently now, you<br />
can do what a label does, you really can. There’s no laws for it anymore.<br />
RS: You’ve just got to be good, which we are still working on.<br />
AM: Top three records of all time- Go:<br />
HS: I’ve Got My Own Album To Do by Ronnie Wood, Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen,<br />
and Enlightenment by Van Morrison.<br />
RS: Exile On Main Street by Rolling Stones. Chuck Barry by Chuck Barry. Rumors by<br />
Fleetwood Mac.<br />
AM: Do you set time away for your songwriting or does it just come to you<br />
organically?<br />
HS: It just kind of comes.<br />
RS: Sometimes you’re put in situations where we do a collaboration with somebody<br />
and everyone has schedules so you feel a bit of pressure to get something out. Mostly,<br />
the good stuff comes when you’re having fun and you’re doing it because you want to.<br />
HS: Definitely organically. And then when we write something it’s kind of a process<br />
where we both we initially discern melody line and chord progression. There are no<br />
real lyrics to start with. The lyrics come after.<br />
RS: You tend to make vowel noises and that tends to crack the progression.<br />
HS: Then often we will start recording it while still writing it so we may not finish<br />
writing a song until two weeks later. Depending on how long it takes to record we’ll<br />
run in alongside our favorite trailers to see if they fit. We’ve been running a lot of<br />
stuff alongside Inherent Vice which it brilliant.<br />
AM: You moved from the U.K. to L.A., then from L.A. to N.Y. Explain this journey to<br />
me.<br />
HS: We had a lot of friends in Los Angeles and there’s a lot of stuff for us to do<br />
out there, we did some writing with a few different people, we recorded a bulk of<br />
new material and we did a few gigs out there. We had all this new material and we<br />
thought, “it would be cool to have somewhere to grow this from” and we’d come<br />
through New York from time to time, playing at the McKittrick Hotel at the Manderlay<br />
Bar. I called our buddy Jack there and was like, “hey we just finished up some new<br />
material, I know we talked about some residency stuff before...” and he came back<br />
with, “yeah man let’s do it! Every Friday and Saturday.” And here we are!<br />
AM: Favorite song to sing in the car.<br />
HS: Hall and Oates- You Make my Dreams Come True. Ultimate car grooving. I<br />
remember being in Los Angeles and in this car with the roof off coming down Sunset<br />
Boulevard listening to Hall and Oates.<br />
RS: That’s not mine though, mine is far cooler. Mama Tried by Merle Haggard. It’s<br />
an old country song we used to listen to all the time when we were driving between<br />
Stanthorpe and London in the U.K.<br />
HS: I bet Kevin Gordon- GTO would also be a great driving song.
AM:What’s something that’s always in your fridge?<br />
RS: Margarine.<br />
HS: Lettuce. There’s always a lettuce in the fridge. I really like lettuce. I’ll just cut up<br />
lettuce and a red pepper throw it in a bowl, dress it with some olive oil, salt and pepper<br />
and eat a fucking bowl of it. (Editors Note: The brothers are lifelong vegetarians)<br />
RS: We don’t really have much in the fridge.<br />
HS: Booze maybe?<br />
Check out the Ruen Brothers at their residency on Fridays and Saturdays at the<br />
Manderlay Bar at the McKittrick Hotel (home of the infamous Sleep No More). If you<br />
don’t manage to make it up to NYC, the guys will also be doing a bit of touring this<br />
summer including a stint at Bonnaroo in June.
BEBE<br />
BUELL<br />
Photographed by REBECCA ADLER<br />
www.rebeccaadlerphoto.com @rarphoto<br />
Wardrobe Stylist and Jewelry Designer by RAINA GIR<br />
@rainandrust<br />
Makeup LINDA ZIRKUS www.lindazirkus.com<br />
@lindazirkus<br />
Hair BOBBIE CHAVARRIA www.bobbiechavarria.com<br />
@bobbiechavarria_hairstylist<br />
Featured wardrobe designer ANDREW CLANCEY<br />
www.shopaoi.com @anyoldiron
Bebe Buell is no stranger to New York City! She was Queen of the Scene in the early<br />
seventies, hanging out with the cool people, y’know, like David Bowie, Andy Warhol<br />
and Mick Jagger. She’s lead an incredible life, she even wrote a book about it called<br />
Rebel Heart, a New York Times bestseller! Bebe is famously known for her<br />
romantic life, she’s had relationships with famed rockers such as Elvis Costello and<br />
Todd Rundgren and her most famed one with Steven Tyler which gave her a<br />
beautiful daughter, Liv Tyler. But we’re most in awe of her rock and roll! Bebe is a<br />
true powerhouse! Soulful, un-selfconscious, passionate and a history to write<br />
the hell out of a ton of songs! She is the singer and songwriter for her group,<br />
The Rebel Souls, and they are returning to NYC to debut “Baring It All” Join<br />
them Tuesday April 4th and Wednesday April 5th In NYC at Joe’s Pub! This new<br />
show is a unique blend of her music and her storytelling, Bebe will take us on<br />
a journey through her rock and roll life, an adventure all of us can be envious<br />
of! Her group features guitarist and husband Jimmy Walls and<br />
drummer Mindy Wright. Bebe’s rock and roll life was born in the<br />
streets of NYC but she relocated a few years ago to Nashville.<br />
Of course, she’s been killing it there, performing at such<br />
notoriously famous places like the Bluebird Cafe, but<br />
New York City is where she will debut “Baring it<br />
All”, a show she has been working on and<br />
rehearsing for for over a year. She’s<br />
“coming home”, to the place<br />
where it all started and<br />
we get the chance to hear her story and see her perform. We like<br />
to think of Bebe as the Queen of Rock and Roll so you know we’ll<br />
all be there supporting our Queen. Don’t miss out! Tickets can be<br />
purchased here:<br />
http://joespub.publictheater.org/en/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/Joes-Pub/2017/B/Bebe-Buell/?SiteTheme=JoesPub