People have powerful feelings about the traffic in Los Angeles. It says something that local officials warned motorists about a temporary roadwork closure on the 405 last year by calling it Carmageddon. Angelenos took the hint, and this weekend they're expected to steer clear of the latest 405 closure, named, of course, Carmageddon 2. That's how it is in L.A., a snarl of overstuffed freeways and commuters who keep their cool, except when they don't. KPCC's Stephen Cuevas has this profile of a punk rocker whose music expresses the insanity of L.A. traffic while extolling the virtues of public transit. Couple of things you need to know about Eddie Solis. He lives in L.A., loves the band Kiss, and does not own a car. Being someone who's from L.A., born and raised, and, you know, having a few cars in my past, I saw the city much differently through a different perspective through the eyes of a bus rider. Come on, just all the way to the back. Look at the sheriff. Line 18, Wilshire Western Station. Just steps from the front door of his home, across the street from a tortilla factory in L.A.'s Boyle Heights neighborhood, Solis catches a bus that connects him with the city's subway, and the commuter train he catches to his day job at an indie record label in Hollywood. It just opened me up to, like, little neighborhoods, galleries, clubs, bars, just everything. Just seeing what's out there, little pockets of the city. Solis' journeys aboard L.A. buses and subway cars informs a lot of the material on The New Los Angeles Part One, Through the Eyes of a Bus Rider, the latest release by the singer-guitarist band It's Casual. The New Los Angeles No one has learned much In Solis' vision of a new Los Angeles, people abandon their cars, climb aboard public transit, and rediscover their communities. One song extols the virtues of the L.A. County Metropolitan Transit Agency's E-ZPass and the urban underbelly it introduces to the rider. And that's, like, a nod, an homage to, you know, the people who know, but you can even go cheaper and really beat the system and really steer away from spending money on gas and oil profits and all that. 50 dollars is all it takes for me to get to work 50 dollars is all it takes for me to get to work 50 dollars is all it takes for me to get to work to witness racial tension, for me to witness illegal aliens. It's not to paint a negative picture. It's just my perspective of what is seen. Off the bus and back on the street, we make our way past a jazz saxophonist playing for pocket change and down a long escalator to catch a train. So, where are we now? We're at the Red Line Station, the Pershing Square Station in downtown L.A. And what's our destination? We're going to go downstairs another tier, and in about five minutes, we're going to get on the Red Line going northbound. Okay, let's go. The Metro Red Line snakes from North Hollywood to downtown Los Angeles. It's the train that inspired its casuals' signature tune and spawned a viral Internet video. It was partly filmed late at night on a moving train as it hurtles from station to station. Solis thrashes away on his guitar and barks the lyrics. which celebrate the Red Line and call out the congested freeways that coil around Los Angeles. This is a Metro Red Line train to North Hollywood. The 210, 605, the freeways are not so nice. The I-5, the 210, the freeways are not so nice. The thread that comes out of the record that ties everyone together is just like, be alive, don't be a victim of having a car. The 210, the 605, the freeways are not so nice. The I-5, the 210, the freeways are not so nice. The Red Line. The Red Line. An MTA spokesman said he couldn't comment on Eddie Solis' furious pro-Metro message, but the Red Line video was a hit at the offices of Move LA. Eddie's done a good job. Thank you, Eddie. Thank you, Eddie. The public transportation advocacy group headed by former Santa Monica mayor Denny Zane, he liked the juxtaposition of Solis blissfully riding LA public transit in one scene with scenes of the band raging against those notorious freeway jams. Eddie is all frantic when he talks about highways and so mellow when he's like grooving on a skateboard and on the bus and on the Red Line. There's a metaphor for the transformation, you know, from the, oh my God, I just got to get out of the... traffic to, hey, this is cool. I can mellow out. Or you can blast the tune like too many people as you claw your way across Los Angeles by car, bus, or skateboard. Los Angeles There's too many people I want them to go away Even though I think they're so fine Too many people could also be a motto for its casualness. Over the years, the band whittled itself down to a power duo of Solis and a rotating cast of drummers. So you may think the burly, bearded punk rocker just can't get along with freeways, with people, or his native LA. Not true. I love it. I love everything about it. I've traveled throughout the U.S. many times, and I could never look forward enough to coming back. The weather, the different cultures, the landscape. I was just like, you know what? Now I know why everyone moves to LA. Solis will bring the love and the volume during a Redline mini-tour next month. Its casual will play a different venue within walking distance of several Redline metro stops from Union Station to West Hollywood. For the California Report, I'm Stephen Cuevas. I was my driver last night And that's the California Report, a production of KQED Public Radio in San Francisco. Our director this week is Nina Thorson. Seal Muller is our technical producer. We had additional engineering from Danny Bringer and Howard Gelman. Thanks to Hank Hadley at KCBX. Our online team includes Lisa Pickoff-White, David Marks, and Don Clyde. Our interns are Katherine Borgeson and Rachel Johnson. Tyki Hendrix is our elections editor with production help from Tina Lauberberg. We had editing support from Paul Rogers. Victoria Malione is our associate senior producer. Ingrid Becker is our senior producer. The news director is Bruce Kuhn. I'm Rachel Miro. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend. This is the California Report. Funds for the California Report are provided by... The James Irvine Foundation. Expanding opportunity for the people of California and supporting the California Report since its premiere in 1995. And the California Endowment. Health happens in schools. At Calendow.org. And Chevron. Investing in renewables, strengthening communities, and creating jobs. More information at Chevron.com. The James Irvine Foundation. The James Irvine Foundation. The James Irvine Foundation. The James Irvine Foundation. The James Irvine Foundation. The James Irvine Foundation. The James Irvine Foundation. The red light The red light Welcome to Los Angeles Nista episode 133 I am the show creator, producer and host Eddie Solis My co-host and in-studio guest for the first half is Ephraim Schultz of Death by Stereo and Manic Hispanic Also, he's a key component there at ASG Guitars In fact, you got a little story for us You had a little encounter with Scott Ian today, didn't you? Yeah, I had to roll over to Scott Ian's house earlier today To get him to sign all these guitars We made a really limited run of guitars That had the original Persistence of Time album artwork on them Yeah, let's take it a step back here ASG Artist Series Guitars That's a guitar manufacturer And your forte Yeah Is actually manufacturing guitars And licensing album artwork that belongs to bands Right And creating limited edition runs Right, not just album artwork But just a lot of album artwork But just special, whatever It depends on the group Everybody has different visions Some people want to do maybe original artwork The artists did themselves Or they want to go to classic artwork Either way, all the guitars are all limited They're hand numbered We treat them a lot like a collectible vinyl Or like a lithograph Right, and you've done a run of Motorhead guitars We're on the second Second edition now, new design Let's talk about the first Motorhead guitar you guys did That was exciting We did a hundred guitars per Motorhead They were all hand numbered They were all limited It was a variation on the classic Motorhead logo And I don't know, it's just unique A lot of companies are focused on selling 5,000 guitars We're focused on selling a hundred Right You know what I mean? Because we want it to be special And we want everyone to get something that they They want to get something that they want to get And they're going to feel like they're a part of And the guitars are at a pretty affordable price point So someone's getting a guitar at a good price But they're also getting something that's going to Immediately become valuable Because once they buy it It's just off the market forever Now what's some of the other band lines of guitars That you've made besides Motorhead and Anthrax? From anyone from A lot of hardcore bands Good Riddance Agnostic Front sick of it all we have actually we have a lot of hardcore releases on the horizon we're doing a Circle Jerks guitar that's awesome we're doing Biohazard I mean we have I mean artists all across the board we're doing another guitar with Aaron Barrett from Real Big Fish that's gonna look like it's full of beer that's awesome yeah we are doing gosh I mean so many Twisted Sister you got the Twisted Sister license is it the Stay Hungry album where you can't stop rock and roll we're doing I can't reveal what the guitar is but I mean we have Alice Cooper on the horizon Rob Zombie John Wayne Dolly Parton Dolly Parton dude yeah yeah that's serious I didn't tell you I wouldn't saw Dolly Parton play you wouldn't saw her and there was a sax solo involved right she had a blinged out sax and she did a sax solo how did it happen how did it happen well is she during the course of the Dolly Parton show I know there's a tangent everybody but I once saw Dolly Parton and it blew me away and we never talked about this this is she is dynamite man she probably played eight different instruments during the course of the night and did solos on all of them banjo guitar the what's it called the triangle thing with the strings that thing she was killing it she did a solo on a piccolo and she's what her late 60s yeah she looks great she looks like she's in her 40s let me blow your mind right now okay she got her saxophone out covered in bling and played yakety sax wow where was this show at it was at Agua Caliente out there in Palm Springs oh cool cool yeah it was dope we're gonna take a quick music break in a couple of minutes and we're gonna get our next guest on yeah Adam Murray the publisher of a new music magazine based out of Los Angeles called Heavy Cream yeah Adam also is the home house photographer for Los Angeles and he's still 133 hours he's been with me it's amazing and you know obviously you've joined us and you know you've brought the great guests here you know we've had AFI Cypress Hill Alkaline Trio Los Lobos Black Flag you know Christian Assoy Tony Alva Jason Jesse Jason Jesse Chris Pony is from Jackass so Adam is a component to the show and I can't wait to talk about all his work also before we get into that and take a music break and bring Adam on I want to talk to you about your band Death By Starry and I want to talk to you about Death By Stereo and the Hispanic I always ask you this because I always get a kick out of the knowledge that you have because you know what Death By Stereo got signed to Epitaph in what year? 99 or 2000 2000 2000 and I gotta know yeah 2000 how many shows did you guys play with Bad Religion worldwide? probably like 100 100 shows in one year I don't know in a year over time you know a couple years sprinkled shows here and there I mean we did like we probably did around 90 straight 90 straight with Bad Religion yeah 3 months isn't that crazy? I love it that's crazy I love it it's nice can we tell some of those stories that we were telling each other outside long time ago I'm old what's that? we should tell some of those stories that we were discussing outside last week after we had Dan Jacobs from Retrieve no that's that's kind of that should be on the DL that's pretty I can tell a few stories I can tell a few stories I let a few go alright alright we're gonna take a music break and we're gonna be back with Adam Murray hi this is Eddie Solis you're listening to Los Angeles Nista on skidrowstudios.com this episode of Los Angeles Nista is brought to you by Llamascota Bakery a family owned business serving the community since 1952 tamales and sweet bread made the old fashioned way daily street street Yeah Life is too short to not hold a grudge No concessions I will not budge Won't forgive, there'll be no compromise Feast you halfway, I'd rather die Love for a tone or make amends No surrender, we'll never be friends Be no peace, there'll be no love Life's too short to not hold a grudge You fought me over, you hung me out to dry You swept me under, you said goodbye Love for a tone or make amends No surrender, we'll never be friends There'll be no peace, there'll be no love Life's too short to not hold a grudge You fought me over, you hung me out to dry You swept me under, you said goodbye I feel no guilt, I feel nothing Holding drugs You fucked me over You hung me out to dry You swept me under You said goodbye I feel no guilt I feel no shame If I killed you now It would be the same You tempted my heart Until I died I hold my grudge Until the end of time I'll never atone Or make amends No surrender We'll never be friends There'll be no peace There'll be no love Life's too hard Life's too short To not hold a grudge You fucked me over You hung me out to dry You swept me under You said goodbye I'll never atone Or make amends No surrender We'll never be friends There'll be no peace There'll be no love Life's too short To not hold a grudge Life's too hard You fucked me over You hung me out to dry You swept me under You said goodbye Life's too short To not hold a grudge No concessions I will not budge I won't forgive There'll be no compromise Meet you halfway I'd rather die Meet you halfway I'd rather die Meet you halfway I'd rather die Meet you halfway I'd rather die Meet you halfway I'd rather die Grififif! Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif Grififif I jumped off of a cruise ship Into water like some man Broken eyes I slipped ashore Hey man, what'd you do that for? Time collapses Like a hit and run Bullets fired From your tongue When wild horse sustains The spirit is dead Death is their domain Get that in your head When wild horse sustains The spirit is dead Death is their domain Get that in your head I never had a plan B The only person I could trust was me Hugged it by what the critics say Fuck them, who cares anyway? Time collapses Like a hit and run Bullets fired From your tongue When wild horse sustains The spirit is dead Death is their domain Get that in your head When wild horse sustains The spirit is dead Death is their domain Get that in your head While you're here, Grififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififif In your head, when wild was some things, the spirit is dead. Death is their domain. Get that in your head. So, what do you have to say for yourself? What do you have to say for yourself? What do you have to say for yourself? What do you have to say for yourself? What do you have to say for yourself? Yes, violence. For violence. For violence. guitar solo Here I am I laugh at you All of your hatred What does it do? I'm a threat How ridiculous Try to bankrupt me You're a fool I don't need your blessing for anything Securing to compromise is everything Here I am As free as the winds I'm never about to You will never A sentence right away. Hey, welcome back to the 133rd episode of Los Angeles Nista. I'm the show creator, producer, and host, Eddie Solis. Co-host, Ephraim Schultz. What's happening? How you doing, man? Good. How's your weekend? It's always good. But you know what? I'm a forward-thinking kind of guy, so let's talk about right now. Just like Van Halen. Right now. Our in-studio guest, Adam Murray. Greetings. You know what? You are here under different circumstances tonight. You are representing your own publication. And I got to give you kudos and credit because that, my friend, is going against the grain because apparently print media is dead. That's what they say. And I want to get Jay Bennett, who is here today, his opinion and feedback and all that a little later. But, you know, God, I mean, look at the LA Weekly, the LA Times. I got to subscribe. I got to subscribe to the LA Times and it's going smaller and smaller and smaller and et cetera, et cetera. What was a catalyst for you to do your own publication? I don't know. I kind of got... I'm going to take these off. I kind of got bored with the internet and dealing with blogs and stuff like that. I was shooting... Oh, you mean the people that just copy and paste press releases? Exactly. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You like that? That's good, right? The internet? It's also true. Yeah, it's this thing where... I don't know. I already surfed there. There's a lot of... There's a lot of hardcore and metal blogs and rock blogs that just copy and paste... Yeah, that's all they do. That's all they do. The press releases and they're not writing. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I was shooting for various different things. I have my own photo blog and stuff, but it was all just kind of like it left like a little bit of an empty feeling in me. So, you know, like I would shoot like a show and it'd be like maybe 20 or 30 photos and I would bust my ass to get them looking just exactly how I wanted them to be like individually. And then they'd go up and it would be up for like a day and then it would get buried by more content. And maybe get like some shitty comments or whatever because like there's a lot of trolls on the internet and all that. And like I did that for years and it was cool. Like it got me exposure and all that. Yeah, yeah. Like Martin's probably one of them, but you know. Amazing. I think I've been one of them before too. It's just like what you do. Like sometimes you just like want to leave a shitty comment and like it's not about the comments, but you know, I just kind of got like bummed with like the disposability of everything. Like it just like, you know, like you put up like you spend all night, like six hours working on a full set. Yeah, yeah. Making them just how you want. And then they're just there for like... Yeah. A few, but you know, depending on the website, it could be a few hours or like a day and then they're gone. So I just wanted something that was like more permanent, more tangible. It's not unheard of, like a magazine that people like to look at, you know, like you sit on your couch, you drink coffee and you like read a magazine. And then like you pick like the one photo that is like the best one. It's like your favorite. And you like let people soak that in. Because naturally, and I do it myself on the internet, like if there's a set of photos, you just run through them. You look at them like one second at a time. Even if it's a nice one, I'll be like... Oh, that's nice. Anyway, keep going, keep going, keep going or whatever. Because it's just like part of that whole mindset that you have when you're like on the internet. Sure. So it just kind of got a little stale to me. And I wanted something that had like a little more meaning and like maybe like someone might find it a hundred years from now and be like, oh, like what was happening like right here or whatever. Like they still get to see what was happening. Like there's nothing tangible about digital media. You know what I mean? Yeah. I got a great source for that that I want to get feedback on is co-host Ephraim Scholls because you got signed to Epitaph. What? Late 90s, right? Yeah. Okay. So you, that's like you saw print leaving and the blogs coming in. I don't know if I saw the blogs coming in, but I saw the print leaving. I was pretty, I lagged on the internet. But no, no. But I mean, I mean, through your experience as a signed artist, Epitaph, you know, at that level, especially at that time, they were coming off like Rancid, Offspring, No Effects, all those huge bands. I was off the hook, dude. You put it on a record and they'd be like, all right, all these dudes are going to call you and people would call you. And talk to you and write down what you said. It was weird. But the whole thing is what Adam's saying is what I want your opinion on being that it's things are intangible. They're disposable, right? Yeah. There's going to be tons of zines, tons of zines. And a lot of these bigger labels supported all the zines too, remember? So you get these zines and you hold them. You could just write Epitaph and put it on your zine. And you kind of care about it more. Yeah, yeah. Right? Yeah. And then there's, so there's like a slightly more modern definition of a zine, which is kind of like an arty pamphlet, right? Which is cool. Right. And you know, dudes make like nice little zines. Yeah. Like nice little photo things. Like they're foldy and kind of trippy or whatever. So there's that. But then there's like the 90s version of the zine, which is like the Xerox, like tons of writing. Yeah. Like sometimes they'll have like a hundred pages or whatever. And those are great too. And I wanted to try to find something that was like in between those two things and like a regular magazine, like Bulldozer or Terrorizer or Decibel or whatever. Like something that kind of just like met in between. It was like a little bit sloppy, but kind of like free spirit or whatever, you know. But I wanted mine to be color, obviously. So it's like just fun. And then kind of just, you know, I don't know. I just want it to be fun, basically. You know, that's like basically the whole reason I'm doing it. And then give exposure to things that I think deserve exposure, you know. Very cool. Now, what's the vision? Is it like bi-monthly, quarterly, every four months, every six months? Yeah. I don't know. It's like it started out as quarterly and it might still, I'm going to try to make four a year, but it's just like, you don't like that? It's just, I don't know. I just want it to be what it is. It's going to be like, I'm kind of setting it up so it has a life of its own. Like it might grow or shrink or do this or that, but I want to make four a year at least, if not more, but I'm not against making side publications, like little things or just whatever happens, really. I want it to be like totally like its own living thing, you know what I mean? How long did you visualize it before you started to materialize it? I don't know. That's hard to say because like maybe it's like maybe the first concept came up with my first book. I was like, oh, I'm going to make a book about LA metal and everything else is kind of related to it. And then I was kind of, and we were going over ideas about that and I was like, that sounds scary. Like I can't really handle a book. Like I don't have the organizational methods to like be able to execute that. And I was like, why don't we start with like a magazine and then eventually make that into a book or something like that? And he's like, yeah, that's cool. So that's kind of how it formed. But before then I've always like somewhere in my mind always wanted to make some sort of magazine on my own. It's just a matter of like having the right idea and like knowing what I wanted to do with it, you know, but I've always been into like the design thing. Like I used to make flyers and stuff. Sure. You know? So let's talk about your photos, Adam Marie photography. You must have, I mean, what, I met you in LA through your photography and over at the Relax Bar and I think it was Torch, something like that. Yeah. It's a Monday night show. I remember that night clearly. Um, you have gone to many shows and have been very, uh, you know, you're like a, a curator of the scene because you just take the photos, you manifest them and you have all this, uh, content. Um, what's, what's the one thing that's lacking in Los Angeles for heavy music? Uh, venues. Nothing's changed, man. Martin, it looks like you and I are going to have to stick our necks out again. I just 86, all the amateurs. Oh dude. You ready? Yeah. Totally. We're going to combine forces. Watch. Yeah. Yeah. That's yeah. Right. You always need, there's always an open space for a venue just like waiting to happen. You know? Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's the, uh, the, I think the main, um, void. Yeah. Music in Los Angeles. There's like, there's nothing in between like a shitty warehouse and the sunset strip. There's like, there's nothing in between that. There's a million record stores. Five star bar. The record stores are doing well. Yeah. Five star. There's a few places right down and out or whatever. Uh, there's a few of them, but like, there's a million record stores. There's a million record stores. There's a million record stores. But like, they don't always necessarily last that long. We like to think that they do. Do you think that, that this publication is filling a void for LA? Like for things that aren't being talked about that should? Uh, maybe. I don't know. It's filling a void for me. Like that's really, most of the reason I'm doing this is like selfish. Like there's things that I personally would like to see happen that don't. So I just like try to do it myself. You know what I mean? Now, um, let's talk about one of the bands that have a feature in this publication for the first, the first issue, uh, Harasser. And you brought a, uh, a member. A member of Harasser. We've got Sandor GF here. Howdy, Sandor here. Should I call you Sandor or Sandy? He goes by Sandor. What you like. What you like? What I like. Go for Sandy. I'll call you Sandy, man. Let's go. I'll call you Sandy. So I got to ask you, you know, um, you have a feature in the new magazine. I've seen your band. I'm very aware of the band and the content. It's California. It's, it's sun and sand. It's Beach Boys. It's, you know, it's all that stuff. How do you draw? From the negativity to do authentic. Negativity. That's the positivity. Yeah. How do you, how do you draw from, from, from any negativity in this beautiful landscape we live in to make black metal? That's more like an internal thing. So regardless of physical environment or surrounding, I think that's comes, comes from within. So I think evil music and messed up music is kind of, it comes from an internal, personal place. You could be in sunny California or Alaska. It's still the same hatred. It's still the same anger and disgust. But humanity in large, I would say. And you know, the ugly elements of humanity. But in any case, yeah. Now let's talk about the ugly elements. To me, the ugly elements of humanity are people having tons of kids that shouldn't be. And you could see them at Walmart playing games at one in the morning. Yeah. With their kids still awake, eating at McDonald's. Wow. That's rough. Well, you're. I laid it down, homie. You're definitely laying it down. That's going to the core of the problem. But yeah, that's, that's the essence of evil. Humanity breeding over and over again and multiplying. But anyhow. But let's talk about the other 75%. What's the other 75%? Yeah. Yeah. Um, it's just creativity. I mean, you know, we just, we happen to be in the metal game, but it could be something else and it would keep me equally happy and satisfied. So, you know, I just appreciate, you know, the stuff we do. It might be evil and ugly and dirty and, and, and, you know, scary, but. But there's a level of love going into it, you know, and you're just like any kind of creative artist and musician. It's just a natural inspiration. So. And that's, and that's what comes out. That's. That's what, you know. Things resonate and that's how you release it. I think it, a certain focus goes into it that way. So the more, you know, more passionate you are into it, more focused it is. Absolutely. Has Death by Cereal done a lot of like, you know, festivals of black metal bands? We always say that it sucks to get destroyed by black metal. You cannot play if you're not, but you know what I mean? Well, I mean. In Europe. Festivals are so mixed. So it'll be like a bazillion bands and we're so stoked to see them all. And we're like, dude, we're going to fucking eat shit today. Like, everybody fucking played so good. Yeah. But you know what I mean? They're so good. So fast. But perhaps too good. Too sterile. Doesn't have the hardcore energy that you guys would have. Sort of like that, you know. More, more animalistically driven. More primitive. Exactly. And that's my favorite black metal band is Dissection. Cause it's like, there's like primitive. It's like skills. But ferocity behind it and a heartbeat. It's not so sterile. Of course. Yeah. You know, confined. My favorite black metal band is any black metal band in the catering tent at the festival. Cause like everyone's in line and you're getting like, you know, oh, the dip's great. It's dope, dude. You know, to me. But it puts a human side to people you see on stage that are so menacing. You know what I mean? Absolutely. And that's, you know, there's always a, just a natural bloke behind the scenes. Behind every damn weird metal band. No, totally. But that's, it's kind of awesome, right? I mean, the one thing that I appreciate about Harasser more than anything was one show you were playing with your back towards the audience. Is that how you always play drums? I used to do that all the time. And it's specifically going out of my way to show my crack. And that's like. Really? That's like the biggest middle finger to everybody. It's the biggest middle finger. And you're wearing a pink t-shirt. Yeah. It's, I'm a pretty evil fuck, really. And Pete, in one show, while you have that happen, and he's all dressed in white with corpse pants. That's the main thing. Remember that? Yeah. It's pretty damn improvised. So we're not a, you know, we're not a professional metal institution. We do what the hell we want. And that's the difference. I like that. I like that. That's the way to do it. That's the way to do it. Most metal bands are controlled, well-oiled machines. Much like a pop band. What? I feel like mainstream metal is like pop music, just a different musical element. It absolutely is. Just different. It's the same framework. You hear some of those mainstream metal bands. It may as well be, you just put a drum machine in it, and it's a Britney Spears song. Yeah. Or whatever, you know? Adam, why don't you introduce our next guest here that you brought with us? Well, are you speaking of Martin DiPedro or Jay Bennett? Let's talk Jay. All right. Hi, Jay. Jay's a world-renowned metal and music journalist. He's been in numerous- Let's not get carried away. I can't name how many publications he's written. Google Jay Bennett decibel. I need- Oh, okay. You had to add decibel. See, if you just put Jay Bennett, you'd get like the old Surgeon General William Jay Bennett. Oh, awesome. Google Jay Bennett Massachusetts. Like, this guy used to be the Surgeon General? Damn. Yeah. I'm that good. He's also has a couple band projects, Eyes of Gemini, Black Mare recently, which is excellent. Killer bands. They're both great. He's got a little- He's got some making me blush, man. Thank you. He's got a little tape label going on. Oh, yeah? Hey, Jay, let's talk about your roots. You're from the East Coast, right? Yes. Boston, Mass. I'm a Masshole. And when did you come out to Southern California? 2000. 2002. You got good Boston Mass stories? I have a lot of Boston Mass stories. Do they involve getting punched in the face by a guy in a Celtics jersey? That's how they all end. I'm speechless. That was- I got nothing. No, but yeah, I've had many great- Greats at Boston, man. So many good shows. Epic bands. Like, so many good bands from Boston. Like- Siege? Yeah. I don't even know where to start. The Cars? Like, yeah, exactly. From like that- Boston? From like 80s to just- Gnarly hardcore to metal to fucking everything. When did you fully commit to like metal? Like, did you grow up with it? Or was it in your life that left and you just grabbed onto it in your early adulthood? Fully committed? You're committed, man. I think I fully committed somewhere between 7 and 10. I was full commitment. But I mean, by full commitment, I mean like, I was really into Def Leppard and White Snake. Hey, dude. And Black Sabbath. That is a very full commitment. The first time I saw- You saw the Fulin video? Fulin? Fulin? I was- Yeah, sure. I mean, that's- That's metal. Those are the gateway drugs. Those are the marijuanas of- That's how you- When you're a young child living in rural New England. I really respect- That's what you hear first. I really respect your early commitment. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Well, you know, we've had a lot of professional skateboarders on here. Hassoy, Alva, Jason Jesse, Steve Alba. Santos. Yeah, Fabrizio Santos. Fabrizio. Derek Fucahira, Mike V, Salman Agha. You, actually, I want to talk about this because being so in deep with the skate world these days, the show is, a lot of people that listen to this or already know you before meeting you through the show will know you that you do music journalism, mostly heavy metal, metal, and all the subgenres, hard rock, et cetera. But you actually were brought out here because of a job in the skate industry. That's correct. Yeah. I got a job with Transwork. I was, when I lived in Boston, I was freelancing for them in a bunch of places. They had a magazine, a very short-lived magazine called Stance, which was sort of like a teenage version of Maxim, I guess. And Thrasher's answer to that was Slap. Slap. Yeah, yeah. Like they each had their sub-subsidity, you know, like a sub-magazine. That was one of my first skate magazines. I wrote for Thrasher for years, too, actually, up until like just a couple years ago. Oh, really? Yeah. Very well done. So, yeah. I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like the non-skate guy who's been involved with the skate magazines. And I don't, I don't, I don't really know. I mean, I know all the big skate names, but I'm not really, like, I know almost nothing about that culture. Gotcha. Gotcha. So, so, when, when did you start writing and getting yourself published and writing about metal? Uh, I started, uh, in Boston when I was like a, maybe 18 or 19. And there was a, I think it still exists. There's like a free local paper called The Noise in Boston. And it's, uh, you know, it covers the local bands and stuff. And, uh, I started writing show reviews for them for free. You know, they don't pay you anything. Um. But you were probably really young at the time. Yeah. You were really stoked to get, to get the byline, right? Yeah, of course. Yeah. You're psyched. Yeah. And then I just kind of did more. Yeah. It starts off, you do it for free for years. Um, and then, you know, finally someone hires you and you start making a little money. Yeah. Well. Well, enough money to pay your bills, barely. And, uh, and that lasts for the next, uh, you know, and then you get to be my age and you still barely make enough money to pay your bills. How did you get, uh, involved with Decibel? Uh, the editor and founder of Decibel Magazine, uh, Albert Mundrian, uh, saw some of my reviews in Alternative Press and wanted to hire me. Uh, and which was surprising because at the time, what I did for Alternative Press, I performed a very specific service for them. They had metal albums that they had to review for whatever reason. Ads. I, I didn't, I didn't say that. But, but, but, but, they're, you know, they, they have a certain, they, you know, they have to, uh, review some stuff from Decibel. And they don't, they, I, my impression was, I could be wrong. My impression was they didn't really have anyone who was qualified to do that. So they, they, so I started doing it. But, but they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, the records they would pick to be in Alternative Press, the metal records, not all of them, but a lot of them were bad. So they, they wanted someone who was qualified to kind of be the sniper for these things. So I was surprised when Albert contacted me because I was the guy who was kind of like shitting all this stuff on the, all this stuff that, you know, he had a magazine that took a lot of this stuff seriously, some of it, but not all of it, you know? So I was very surprised. Wait, did Albert work for Alternative Press? No, no, he, he worked for, he works for a company. The parent company of Decibel is called Red Flag Media. And they have a bunch of, or they did, I don't know if they still do, these sort of like free in-store magazines that are like local independent records. Oh, so they're just regional? Yes. So they have one for the West Coast, East Coast, Midwest. Sure. And I don't even know if those magazines still exist. But he like ran those. But he's also like, this is before Decibel, but he's also like the metal guy. Like that's his thing. So he started like a metal section that would be in each of these local things. And then he convinced the owner of Red Flag to let him break off and do the Decibel thing. Now I got to ask you because you're so seasoned and you've been immersed in journalism for such a long time, you know, obviously print. There's no beating around the bush that print has gone away in many ways except for the staples, right? And even, you know, the staples, you know, got to work harder to get to sale. Everyone's working harder than ever to get the same, you know, working harder to get the same business basically. Or less business. Yeah, or for less business. Like what do you think? I mean, you're not a staff writer to anybody. You're a freelance journalist, right? Yeah. And you do that and you make a living from it. What do you think a publication, not speaking for any publication, but what do you think a publication that's print has to do to stay relevant and to keep ads coming in and keep, most importantly, moving on the shelves? So you don't get returns. Covers? Is it all about the covers? No. I mean, that helps. But I think part of it is you end up catering to an audience who grew up with magazines and they want the physical thing. Like my impression is, I mean, I'm sure there are young people who read, you know, younger metal fans. I mean, I know there are that read Decibel. But my impression is that the bread and butter are people who are my age, you know what I mean? Or older. Yeah, or older and who grew up with magazines and that's what they're used to and that's what they prefer. Me, I don't want to read a, like, for instance, a cover story in Decibel is like 5,000 words. I don't want to read a 5,000 word article on a computer screen at all. Like not even sort of, you know what I mean? Like I want to, you know, and believe me, I have no illusions about what gets done. People are sitting on the toilet and that's fine. That's just the way it is. But, you know, you could drop your phone in the toilet, you know what I'm saying? And then that's a problem. And last week. Right. And then there's remedies for that now. You just, what, you get rice? The best. The best. The best. The best. The bag of rice. Now, one more question. Regarding, what was I going to say here? I drew a blank. The bag of rice. The bag of rice. Regarding the bag of rice. No, I was thinking ahead of myself. I added, oh, oh, oh, I know. Because I'm trying to pull out interesting information out of you because not, you know, not everyone. I have no interesting information. Not everybody knows what it's like. to do journalism and... I barely know what it's like. I don't know anything about it. And deal with publicity departments and publicists. Overall, I mean, that's pretty much a walk in the park, or is it really hard with some publicists to get what you want out of them, even when you have the portfolio and a great publication you're going to take it to? Well, I mean, you know, I think within... The metal world is so... It's such a small pond, really, for that sort of thing that I think the advantage of working for a place like Decibel... I mean, it is. It's like the biggest metal magazine that comes out every month in this country. It's widely distributed. Yeah, it is. So, I mean, I think when you're... I have the advantage of when I'm approaching someone from Decibel, you know, as a representative of Decibel or the Thrasher or I read for Revolver as well, I think when you... When you have that name behind you and you're approaching a publicist and you say, this is where it's going, usually, I mean, you don't have... There aren't a lot of roadblocks that they would throw up. You know, I mean, depending who it is, you know what I mean? Danzig. Yeah. It's another comedy. It's a whole other show. That's a whole other situation. Have you ever experienced any backlash from, like, any bad reviews or anything? Oh, yeah. All the time. Really? Oh, yeah, yeah. Anything interesting? The drummer, my bet, it's casual. You know, he's... Which one? Yeah. The guy I do all the records with. The guy that does all my records. He was the editor-in-chief for Mean Street. Remember Mean Street? That was a regional... It took over BAM Magazine. Yeah. And this is like... BAM? Oh, yeah. He was there at 13 Errors. And he got death threats. Yeah, I got a couple of those. Did you really? Really? Yeah, one... Well, one death threat. I don't want to go into this story too much. There's actually two death threats. There's, like, His Hero's Gone, Tragedy 1, and the Big Bangers one. So, what? So, one death threat. Well, it was more like a beating up death... Beating up threat. It came through another person, but I've since, you know, made up with that person. But, like, who's going to kick Jay's ass? I mean, really. It's like 6'100 or something like that. So, no death threats. Just kick your ass threats. Just tragedies. Yeah, I mean, I just... I assume that any death threat coming from someone who's reading a metal magazine isn't... It's an empty thread. Maybe they just put their video game on pause. What about Columbine? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well... Luckily, I'm not a high school student or a high school teacher, so... Now, now... Yeah, now... Not yet. Now, the whole Dan's again... I can see... Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. I was going to ask you. Go ahead. Who put a death threat on Waleed? English teacher. Oh, what was some local band from Riverside? Not even a big band. Like, E4, I'm going to come down there with my cousin and he's going to fuck you up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't even matter. Yeah, that's... Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Like, someone... No one even read that review because they don't care about that band. I'd be more nervous about that than the stuff that I've got. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. Because that guy's cousin will probably come down. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Now, Martin is part of the Adam Murray Heavy Cream entourage. It should be, like, clearly stated that everyone here has contributed to issue number one of Heavy Cream. Exactly. That's awesome. We all... Everyone understands that. Exactly. You know, we don't just piss into the wind at Los Angeles and East. We do our research and we keep things very cohesive. Right, right. So that's the reason why these people are here. Now, Adam, go around the table and explain how everyone contributed. Okay. Explain. Explain, man. Explain. Jay Bennett, who was just speaking, he did a great, long, in-depth, excellent interview with his band, VOOM, who is a psych noir band from around L.A. And they've been coming along, and coming up pretty quickly. I think they're pretty great. So, and Jay introduced me to them, and we think they're both great. So I asked him if he wanted to interview them, and he did. So that was great. I said yes. He said yes. And then Sandor, who just stood up and traded places with Sean Skillet. Sandor did some record reviews, which were very great. I loved them. Martin DiPedro, who's still on the mic, laid out a couple pages. He laid out Sandy's interviews, and he also laid out, the pigeon wing pictorial of them tracking at Seahorse Down Studios. Very cool. Sean Skillet just sat down. He did the beautiful, enticing cover. Good job. Get this on camera. Good job, good job. Designed several logos, and did like an overall. Can everybody see that? I don't know. Adam, you better get a close up of that. We can see it. We can see it. Oh, wait. There's another camera here. Never mind. Yeah, yeah. There we go. Seriously, it's amazing art. He was a big help with laying out, like to get ready for print, and he made. To me, the printers, specs, and all that. Yeah, yeah. And he did a billion different logos, which were all fantastic. And then we've got Aaron Larivier here. What's happening? He's not on the mic yet, but we'll get to him. Hey, girl. Yeah, yeah. What did Aaron do? How was he involved? He did a very beautiful, tasty write-up about Lord Time, which is Sandor's side project. He's also, he spent about a year or so as chief editor of Invisible Oranges, which is like a gigantic metal website. Yep. And then now, he's a regular contributor to Stereo Gum. Yep. How are you, man? Doing well. How are you doing? Good to meet you in person. Good to meet you, too, in person. Absolutely. This is Afram. Oh, we've met. We've met. I wanted to bring this up before. Oh, no. Speaking of Boston and Death by Stereo, Aaron is from Boston, and he's seen many Death by Stereo shows. Oh, really? Is that right? Many shows. Warped Tour back in the day, all that stuff. You've seen me at my best. What years are you talking? What years are you talking? That's like 2002, Warped Tour of Boston. Yeah, I was in Boston from 2000 to 2004. Wow. I was only like 38 then. Was that for college? That was for college, yeah. That was for college. I was still in college, too. Are you from California? Nope. Where are you from? Massachusetts. Fellow Massville. Oh, nice. Yeah. All right. Here's the deal, man. I got to get into it with Martin here because Martin is one of my favorite people in the scene. Maybe he was. I don't know. He was. Martin, you're so ahead of the curve. I think that you've created a lot of framework for what's going on in L.A. You used to throw free shows. Yeah, yeah. And bands would get paid. Yeah. And I have experience with this through different perspectives. As a customer, I'd go to your shows at the Mountain Bar. I would play there with my band. And you provided a platform. And then, you know, so did Scion. Yeah. And I just think that you're... You're... You're... You're a bag of ideas. And I think that you should get the credit where credit's due. I appreciate it, man. I totally appreciate it. He's actually the reason that I started shooting in the first place. Metal, anyway. Because he was consistent. Because of Martin. It's not just that, man. We're really kind of here because he exists. Just to put that out there. You know what? I'm not trying to dump a bunch of stuff onto you or anything. But basically, that's like... When the 666 show happened, I was on the road with Macedon. I got to interject for a second. Jay Bennett's like the only person that gave press coverage to that in Decibel. Are you serious? Yeah. He wrote about that. I mean, he mentioned it, you know? But anyway... I missed the big 666 show. You were on tour, though, dude. Yeah. Yeah. But, I mean, that's... I could, you know... You could have flew home for the night. Jeez. No, no, no, no. But Eddie played the Boulevard, the sort of like redo. Oh! Oh, when you... Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we're black cover to get to play, and I got punched in the face by that chick. Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Yeah. Rewind. You got punched in the face by a chick. Yeah. Wait. Wait. Come on. You also explaining to the... Okay. It's not that interesting. It's not that interesting. Actually, it is, but... How is that not that awesome? Okay, you don't want to derail the heavy cream, so... I don't want to derail heavy cream either, but you got punched in the face by a chick. I need to know. At your own show. Yeah, it was at the community show, though. Like, yeah. And it was Cole 45's show, too, actually. Billy D. Williams. Zach? I blame Cole 45 for that. I blame Billy D. Williams for everything that happened to you that night. Okay. Let's get back on track. Let's get back on track here. Let's get back on track. Yes. Yes, sir. Okay, you... So you got punched in the face by a girl. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Tell me the first time, Adam, you met Martin. Oh. That's weird. But not in that way. Basically, it was at Neil's house, I think. Yeah, yeah. We're friends with this dude, Neil. It's like... He's in a... Like... You know how there's these people in L.A. that, like, one week they, like, Interpol, and then the next week they, like... Earthless. They're earthless. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, but that's like a phase. Yeah, yeah. But... But... But yeah, yeah. No, I'm earthless. It's great, but it's just also where I found... It was like new music. It was like you're around a bunch of, like, fucking American Apparel-type people. They describe every band as, like, those are crazy. And Adam was like, yeah, dude, you like... You like Slayer, right? And I was like, oh, my God. This is so rad. So anyway, but I'll... I can thank Slayer for that one. Actually, it was that one, like... Yeah. Basically. I think we should all thank Slayer right now. Martin. Thank you, Slayer. Martin, about how many shows... How many shows did you put on as a promoter? Several hundred. Several hundred. Easily, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I want to do more. I'm totally down to do them at the bar next door. Now, really quick. The 666 show. Yeah. Let's talk about the components, because that was a huge thing for L.A. Come on. Absolutely. We're still talking about it, okay? Yeah, I'm glad you are. And Jay wrote about it. I was like, yeah. High on fire. What was that, eight years ago? Oh, no, no. I actually remember the last time. It was funny, because it was High on Fire, Chrom, Oxbow, Lighting Swords of Death, Saviors. Yes. Knock Misty. And it was free. It was free. And then Indian Jewelry, Bastard Noise, Zoroaster. That's huge. I played it. Yeah. Sandor played it with Bastard Noise doing vocals. Oh, that's cool. Ambient Dude, Greg Kowalski, and then I think I mentioned Indian Jewelry. It was cool. But it was cool. The cool thing about it is it was at the Vanguard, and there was just obnoxious bouncers in suits with too much cologne. That was the best part. Yeah, like it was a Power 106 night somewhere. At the same time, across the street, there was the Stanton LeVay. Stanton LeVay. Anton. Like 45 gray. Oh, Stanton. Like he got married or whatever, dude, or his sister or something like that. And then, but Hank's replayed. No, I mean, I liked other people that played. So, I mean, you know, I want to articulate, you know, like what Martin has contributed to the LA scene, because he's- It's hard to measure, really. It really is. It really is. We're having fun with it, but seriously, I'm trying to bring it to light, because I want people to know. I'm glad you want people to know, and I want people to know, too, but Scion did pay me some money. Like, I mean, not anymore, but it was good for a while. And that's cool. They've hired Jay a couple times. I don't want to totally, like, knock them, but- No. I mean, they do good things. No, no, but actually, you know what? Fuck it. All right. But, actually, I kind of went south when, like, when the venues all stopped doing shows. Like, one of my last shows I actually, like, did at three clubs was because, like, Eddie played there with, like, Gypsy Hawk and stuff like that. But, like, the owners of that bar were like, we don't, we just don't like this metal crowd. And then they, like- All they drink is Pabst, and they want to sell, like- I remember they had some- Bottles of Cristal. She, she, she, she, like, like, sound man there that was just totally like, dude, your dude in that band totally, like, threatened to kick my ass. And it was Eddie, and it was, like, totally- But, you know what? He didn't. I think he just told them how it was, you know? Yeah. Well, yeah, I was just telling them, don't be a dick, or I'm going to fucking hit you in the face. Yeah. Well, yeah. But that was one warning. It's not unreasonable. But, like, no, no, it was, but the fact that, like, that place is, like, transvestite prostitute adjacent, and they think that, like, metal is too sketchy for their bar is pretty weird. Right. It's a little backwards. Yeah. If there's any bar owners listening and they want to throw metal shards- Yeah. Let's dig deep real quick. You have a really big art background. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. I mean, I actually got a bunch of, like- And where'd you go? I went to Art Center in Pasadena. Yeah. Yeah. That's killer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How was that? It was cool, man. It was cool. And the thing is, though, is, like, man, it's, like, when I went to school, there was, like, a ton of financial aid and stuff like that to go. There was more money available. More. And I really- It's getting depressing already. No, because I get- Because I'm an alumni there, and, like, people ask me, like, if they're thinking about going to school, and I just tell them, like, dude, go to community college and then, like, get transferred into, like, a UC school or something, because, like, there's nothing to, like- There's no backbone supporting that stuff. There's nothing. And it's, like, in terms of finance and, like, people are taking out these, like, loans for, like, hundreds of thousands of dollars to get degrees. And then they're in debt, you know, in debt until they're 50. Right. But, I mean, we got people going and going to law school and stuff and not necessarily being able to, like, pay those loans off, and that's, like, a whole other discussion. Yeah. But, Adam, I was going to ask you, actually, because Adam's a killer photographer. Did you even go to school for any of that shit? I did, like, half of a photography degree. Of course. Oh, half of a degree. Yeah, at Santa Monica. Which was a beautiful- It's a great school. Santa Monica College is a good program. That's- SMC is a program because they have all the old cameras there, right? They're basically one of the best in the country, really. I'd actually like to give a shout out to, like, Pasadena City College and Santa Monica College and Glendale College, because I actually have two degrees, but I went to tons of community college, and I even went to school, like, in Latin America for a while, but, like, just all the kids out there, you don't need to go to some, like, fancy private school to get, like, an art education. And I know I went to one, but you don't need to. That's all I have to say. Yeah. It's not about- When it comes to art, it's not about- Yeah. It's not about- When it comes to art, it's not about, like, getting placement in a job or something. It's just about learning. If you, like, have the desire to learn about art, you just learn it from whatever way you can. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's also- We got Jay here, and he's also a pretty great photographer. I never even asked you. Did you even go to any, like, photography school, or is it just something you just did? Photography school, non-journalism school. Just, like, jump in there and start swimming. Just go for it. Jay didn't have the mic, but he said he didn't go to school. I just do it. Yeah. That's great. No, you just gotta go for it. So, we're gonna take a music class. We're gonna take a music break. Adam Murray's personal playlist for the show, and we're gonna come back. We have some more guests to speak with, but this episode of Los Angeles Nista 133 is brought to you by El Cholo Restaurant, Cold Cock Whiskey, Amoeba Music, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Flood Control Skateboards. Jarritos. Program Skate and Sound. Jarritos. And Music Revolution and Whittier. Okay? Let her rip. Have a- Have a- Have a- Have a- Tear her down Good man makes a life Love of man Love of man Time to let her go Time to let her go « « « « « « « « « « « « I will learn the wrong place With the man I became This is where the war now ends Waiting for the last revenge Every year I learn the wrong place I will learn the wrong place With the man I became While waiting here While waiting here Take my life And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone And I'm gone Get left, don't slide Get left, don't slide Bye, boom. No goodbye. Shred the lie. Go fucking skate. Shred the lie. Hate and destroy. Shred the lie. Go fucking skate. Shred the lie. Hate and destroy. Rock and roll. Rock the fake. Hack a ball. All right, late. Shred the lie. Go fucking skate. Shred the lie. Skate and destroy. Shred the lie. Go fucking skate. Shred the lie. Skate and destroy. Go. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. Go fucking skate. I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith I'm a man of faith Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. End of the race, who says I ain't new to the match? Find me on the air, I'm on the floor, I'm on the floor And again, I think, I'm a repeater Who made me sweat, just to take my life It's now repeater It's now repeater It's now repeater It's now repeater It's now repeater It's now repeater Grifififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififififif We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. our staff photographer and his new published physical magazine, which is extremely rewarding to see out on the streets. It's called Heavy Cream. Look at these posters, Eddie. Look at this art in a larger format. They're tasty. It's really amazing. Is it getting in there? Yeah, yeah. We're putting it on video right now. Now, listen, you brought a component to Heavy Cream with you, Sean McElhenney. That's right. Mr. Sean, he's been a big help. Skill it. Skill it. Yeah, that's my name. That's your name. Don't wear it out. My art name, yeah. Art name. Now, let's talk about your art background. I mean, how long have you been an artist? Oh, I've been an artist since I was six, I guess. Yeah, I've been doing it for probably 10 years now. How'd you meet Adam? Wait, you're 16? Exactly. Yeah, this guy's killing it. I met Adam through this thing called social media. No way. Do you have MySpace? No. Friendster. Friendster, for sure. Friendster? Through everything else. We were online wired together. What is this social media thing? Everyone keeps talking about it. It's this thing where you take pictures of yourself. Yeah, it was called Snapchat. How did you get involved with this magazine, Happy Cream? I've kind of known of Adam for a while. Sorry if I'm not on the mic. I've known Adam for a while, of him. And he just asked me to help out and took it from there. You know, texted or sent me a direct message or something. It was probably a text. Yeah, probably a text. You don't mind me asking. You didn't possibly work at a restaurant. You didn't. No, I did not. When you guys first met, did he send you dick pics too? No comment. Adam's the only lady that ever sent dick pics to. No one else sends them. Via social media. Well, I was on that thread, but deleted by mistake. You were blind. Unfortunately. You were blind and cc'd on that one. Actually, my Google backup has all your photos. I have a question really quick that I think needs to be answered. How does someone get a copy of your magazine? Oh, you have to sacrifice a goat. Yeah. That one that's floating around. That's the only one in existence right now. It's number zero. Oh, wow. That's number zero? But next week. Oh, so you're taking his back? Oh, yeah, yeah. That's going home. I want to look at myself all night. An Instagram video. No. You're going to have to wait a week. And Instagram photos. That's what I do. But there's a scavenger hunt. Me, me, me, me, me. I, I, I, I, I. There's going to be an Easter egg hunt. Yeah. Hashtag. Open Pasadena. I'm just kidding. It'll be at some stores. Amoeba and Vacation have already agreed to carry. And then Amoeba and Hollywood. Hustler Hollywood. Vacation Vinyl and Silver. Hustler Hollywood. Hustler Hollywood. Hustler. Yeah, yeah. Circus of Books will have it. Oh, dude. And Cats. Circus. Right next to the Poppers. Okay. And Skate Shop. And Fullerton that would love to carry it. Okay. Oh, yeah. I mean, I should go down to Fullerton and shop around a little bit. Like sell it around town a little. Wahoos. Yeah. Wahoos. Wahoos. Wahoos. He's all tired from saying that. I love it. Action sports and metal. Action sports. And monster energy drinks. It'll be played against Sam. I'm just kidding. And monster cables. Play it against Sam. Okay, listen, listen, listen. If anybody from monster cables is listening, we'd like an endorsement. We want, yeah. Endorsement from Toilet Paper, Papatio. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay. I want to get endorsed by Toilet Paper. That'd be sick. Listen, listen. Heavy Cream. Okay, Sean. How long ago did you start working on this with Adam? Yeah. Like December. December, I think. Yes. He kind of, you know, said, hey, man, I got these ideas and can you shoot me some sketches? And I did. And I kind of went overboard. So we have like. They were beautiful. We have logo ideas for the next two decades. Yeah, it's like pooping. Yeah, but it was fun. Yeah, I just started throwing some stuff out there. And then he said, can you add like LA to below the logo and create the cover? And I did. And that's, but yeah. There it is. It's LA like in a weird twisted way. It's like. Oh, so unlike LA. Yeah. It's like a storm of like all of the elements. Yeah. Descending on. Nothing is in geographic. It's like a topic LA. Just throwing it out there. I got to ask you. Was this done with through clear and, you know, clear vision and clarity? Was there, was it drug induced? Oh, it's probably a little bit. Fully clear wired sprint endorsed, dude. What kind of drugs induced this? Oh, you know, stuff you might find around, around town. PCP? Where do you find that these days? Seriously. What did you smoke? Two guys. Two guys. You found around town. It was London. I've been looking. Nothing that you can't, can't buy in LA at a shop. You can't buy PCP. It's like only like, like for public service. Oh, so like medical angel dust. I think it's. I've got my card for that too. Medical angel dust. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've got my card, man. It's totally cool. It helps a lot. It really helps with my anxiety. No, I mean, I mean, this is. That's at the hospital. And I feel like I can fly when I, when I take it. How many different, uh, like submissions were there? Before you came up with this? I don't think there was any. It was like one. Well, one main submission, you know? But, uh, yeah, like I kind of just had like, I drew out like a really ridiculously bad retarded sketch of that. You know, I was just like, can you put this? That was pretty good. I mean. I think it's probably more of a collaboration, man. But if you look at it. Is this a collab magazine? Yeah. Just kidding. Definitely a collab magazine. Oh yeah. I mean, yeah. If I didn't have other people doing stuff for the magazine, then I wouldn't have enough shit to fill it up. Yeah, if it wasn't for you, it never would have happened. That's why we're all here. Exactly. Now, how did you come up with the name Heavy Cream? Because I think of a lot of different things. I know. I know. Do you think it's Heavy Cream? It's open to one's own individual interpretation. You want to know what I'm thinking? Yes. I want to know what you're thinking. You want to know what I'm thinking? You want to know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking about going to Starbucks and saying Heavy Cream. Oh. The clean version. Wow. Out from my field. What about Aaron? What do you think Heavy Cream? What does Heavy Cream mean to you? Semen. Oh, I don't know. Wow. All right. That didn't take long. It reminds me of the ocean, too. Sailors and semen. Navy. Yeah, the Navy. Anyone else? Anybody? Anyone have a... Yeah, Efrem, please. What does Heavy Cream mean? What are those words? What's the first thing you think of when you hear those words together? Like a really creamy big dude. All right. We're on the same tip. Okay. Sandor? We are on the same tip, literally. I don't have my own, but Jay, you got to rephrase this one. Heavy Cream. It reminds me of when Eric Clapton was good. Oh. On that note. On that note. On that note. There was this magazine called Cream. And I had an issue that had... Heavy Magazine, yeah. It had Gibby Haynes on the cover and Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. And then it had like an interview with Morbin Angel and it had an article like right about Gigi Allen's last show and it was a Cream Magazine issue. That's a great magazine. That was Heavy Cream. No, that was a great issue of a magazine. I don't know if it was a great magazine. Well, not all the way through, but there is some good stuff. No, it was a pretty good one all the way through. But, but... Stone Temple Pilots stuck. I just want to get that out there. We're all getting worried for a second. Is he going to come back? No, what? Is there a punchline in Stone Temple Pilots? Let's talk about like, okay, the layout. All right. Now, how did you decide to like just go with what you had to go with? I mean... Well, the one you're showing me actually is, that's Martin's layout. It's fantastic. I think it's super, I don't know what to call it. Actually, I don't think it has a lot of words. Like, it's fucking modern. Basically. I don't know. Whatever you want to call it. Post-modern, actually. Yeah, well, post-post, you know. That's like a good example of like post-post-post art, you know. But, just kidding. But... Oh, yeah. So, it's like open format, basically. Right. So, it's got like a lot of, it's like basically like whatever it needs to be. Like, it's going to grow in size or it'll shrink or it'll... Well, I got to tell you. Like, every page looks different from the last page. And that's like the whole point. Like, I get bored with magazines that have the same format and the same font on every page. Yeah, they're just plugging it in the office. So, I... You take the content first. That's it. And then you think about what it should look like on a page. And then you make that. You know what I mean? Yeah. So, like the band, like... It's living. It's breathing. Yeah, yeah. It's its own thing. It's just like free to walk the earth. You know what I mean? Well, you know what's crazy is the skate magazine, Big Brother, was owned by Larry Flint. Yeah. And that's where Jackass spawned from. Right. Okay. We all know the story about that. Yeah, I grew up on the magazine. I love that shit. You grew up on it, right? Yeah, yeah. Well, the first Big Brother magazine was this big. So, I got a good gut feeling about you. Oh, shit. Now, all you have to do is have a feature called Poo-cano, and you guys will be just like Big Brother. Or a cougar-pellant. I mean, yeah. I don't know. Does Huster even exist in print anymore? I think so. I don't know. But I've been Poo-cano. I don't know, man. I don't look at porn. I mean, I do, but I just like that clear history shit. That's like... I don't know about myself, but like... Let's get back to more art and Sean McElhenney. Sure. Let's do it. So, you bought... You bought... You bought drugs from a shop, and you got motivated? I'm just kidding. No, no, no. Let's be honest here. So, like, did you know right away after seeing his sketch, like, okay, this is what needs to happen, and you nailed it? Or was it just like kind of like, I'll stand up at wee hours, and I got to get this right? How was it for you? No, it was kind of just like go off the cuff. I've been trying to get more abstract and weird with the art. So, if I could just kind of throw stuff in there, have a good time, you know? Adam said it's kind of loose. Yeah, yeah. I want people to do what they'll do. If you look at it, it's L.A., like, rearranged. It's like kind of like... It's kind of silly. It's like turned around a little. I don't know. Yeah, it's like a tourist map that you might find, you know? Like a tourist guide. But, like, the river runs through where West Hollywood should be. Yeah. That's pretty bad. I'm on duals too. So, it's like, I hate that side of town. There's a river? There's a quarter pipe in there too. Is there? There's a quarter pipe? Wow. It's the size of a building. There's a lot of stuff that was cut off, but there's half pipes and quarter pipes. That's pretty dope. Random shit. You said pipes like three times, dude. Is there going to be a heavy cream launch show? Yeah, there is. And it's going to... We're going to have to throw it because I already promised them I'd do it. So... There you go. Under Skate Shop. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. It'll be it. We can't do it in Fullerton, dude. This is an only thing. That's just the second launch show. The second... Oh, the second opening. It's a tour, actually. Yeah. Oh, it's a regional tour, right? It's the pre-post launch party. I mean, I'm half joking about that. Wow. That's why it's printed. I nailed it. And there's more than one. You know what? For some reason, by seeing how there's like a half pipe hidden and, you know, you're just like Disney West Hollywood with the river, it seems like your skateboarding enthusiasm is cutting through. Yeah. Well, I mean, honestly, those weren't my ideas, but I think maybe that enthusiasm cuts through so far where Gil just picked up on it. He's just kind of like, I don't know. Adam seems like this kind of guy. Adam just learned how to ollie a curb like two weeks ago. Yeah, that's like off of the curb. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Technically, congratulations. He's like rolling off of a curb. He's like rolling off of a curb, but it feels like an ollie. But I just picked that up. Oh, you roll off a curb, but it feels like an ollie, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rad. It's a pretty good video. But yeah, it just kind of got the vibe. I used to skate as a kid, you know, back in the 80s, Thrasher and all that stuff. 80s? You're 16. And you're like, all right. I'm like a... I aged a long time. What was your first board? Dude, Jim Phillips did it. It's like a bunch of rad. Mad skates. It was like a... Screaming hand? No, it was part of a series where there's all these mutant weird things and like five came out and it got bigger. And the hand, maybe the hand came out. The hand coming out of the target. Yeah, yeah, the target. I had like number three out of five or something. Was that Santa Cruz? Oh, that's Rob Roscoff. That's Rob Roscoff. That was Santa Cruz. Yeah, the target and the arm hanging. They recently did that with Bart Simpson's arm. Oh, that's rad. Jim Phillips is a huge influence. They can redo it a bunch of days. He's rad, man. He wasn't asking that. We get him on the show. Where does he live? He lives like Santa Cruz or something. Like the city? Nah, like, you know, he's got a bungalow probably. I was not going to joke. Okay, so as far as your influences with art, it's Jim Phillips. Jim Phillips, huge, yeah. And that was very subconscious. Like it took somebody showing me his stuff like 10 years ago. I was like, oh, yeah, I had that board. That's what I'm going to do. That's why I like that. He was a skater too, right? Or no? He definitely surfed. No, he didn't. He surfed. I have a book. Well, he may have skated for recreation, but not like on a pro level. Yeah, but what was one of the- His son probably, for sure. Yeah, did he have a son that was- Jimbo. Yeah. Yeah, Jimbo Phillips, who kind of does similar art. But yeah, I was into comics, you know. Wait, wasn't there Jeff Phillips, the skater? Did he do art too or no? No. All right. No, I'm sorry. There was Wilson Phillips, the group. Dude, Beach Boys, Spawn, or something like that. Brian. Yeah. Hey, don't talk shit about the Beach Boys. Dude, don't talk shit about Wilson Phillips. I've never talked shit on the Beach Boys ever. Good. Good. Well, look, I got to ask you, because part of Los Angeles Nisa is showing people and telling people where you go to get your favorite Mexican food. And I tell everyone how to get through that a car. Car-free LA. I feel like this is a test almost. It's a test. It's a curriculum. Yeah, it sort of is. It's a damn curriculum. Dude, the food is in a car. Say that right now. That's how we get paid by these companies. I mean- This is a curriculum. What you got for us? Favorite place to eat in LA? What city? I don't even know, man. What part of the city, I mean? I used to live out here on the east side, and now I live in the mid-city, so there's nothing out there. What, Koreatown's nothing? You don't like- No, I live mid-city. Like, the mint. Like, Larchmont or something? Or like, west side? I got one. Yeah. What you got? What you got? What you got? What you got? There you go. Please. What? Wait, where? What is that? Yucca's. Yucca's. Oh, Yucca's on yours. That's good, yeah. Yeah, across you from the old vacation, right? I like Yucca's, but it's still soupy. The other one, up north. Yeah. Yeah. All right, well- Take the number two from downtown. I was really into La Paria, I guess, on Sunset. That place rules across most globals, right? But then they closed, and now it's El Diablo or some shit. No, that's not good. That place is chattel. It's all urban taco fabricator. I drove by there and got so angry. Yeah, me too. You have the new college restaurant, urban taco fabricator. I'll save the place next door, El Cierta Mares. El Cierta Mares. El Cierta Mares. That's what you're talking about, yeah. Cheap as possible. Yeah. Fish tacos, even though they raised the prices, it's still the cheapest possible. It's still awesome, yeah. On Kickstarter. On Sunset. Yeah, right next to the- Right next door to Diablo. I just went to- Cheeseball fabricators. Diablo. If you're coming from UCLA, you take the number two. If you're coming from downtown LA, you take the number two. I'd just like to take a second- The number two is like- Oh, yeah. That's a vertebrae. Gets you from everything to everything. Yeah. By El Diablo's, those globals are these people that cook these things called bacon wrap hot dogs, and I'd like to take a second- Man. Man. Don't they travel? The nameless, like, uncelebrated bacon wrap hot dogs. That's more of a franchise. Did you know that they're selling pre-packaged- Very celebrated. Bacon wrapped hot dogs, and no one's getting any kickback for that? Yeah, but I still buy them. You know? What, the pre-packaged? I'll buy them both, man. Really? Just pre-packaged ones? Yeah. Oh. Whoa. Yeah, they even have ones that have, like, chili inside the hot dogs. Just wait till Trader Joe's starts selling the veggie pre-packaged cruelty-free bacon wrap hot dogs. Cruelty-free. Right? Bacon wrap hot dogs. No gluten. And it's all meat substitutes. No gluten in the bun. Gluten-free bun with chunks of peach in there. Like, Trader Marquis decides, like, to immerse my whole person in gluten. Extreme, like, vegetarian hot dog. A veggie hot dog? Extreme, though. It's extreme. Extreme. And it's cruelty-free and extreme. What are- Let's go back to- What is it? Like a Mountain Dew? No, it comes with a Victory Records 7-inch. Left field. Dude, I love it. He's fucking stoked. It comes with an Earth Crisis 7-inch. Dude, totally. But it's actually a Girth Crisis 7-inch. Girth Crisis 7-inch. No, dude, what about an Aiden 7-inch? Can I get an Aiden 7-inch? Yeah. An Aiden 7-inch? That's pretty good. I'll trade you. Brotherhood. Hey, that dude was here last week. He was here last week. That's rad, dude. It probably brought the ratings up, so I'm all for it. Dude, he rips. Yeah. No, dude, totally. Okay, I gotta ask you, what are the specs of this magazine? Because it's not a tabloid size. Right. It's 8.25 by 5.25. The 8.25 is high. For mature readers only. Yeah. And it's gonna come sealed in a bag with a sticker and a poster. The poster's like a teenage bedroom wall poster. It's very nice. What if somebody listening was like, that was a deal-breaker, man. The size just wasn't what I was hoping for. The tough shit. Yeah! That's a magazine. Yeah. It's a zine, it's not a magazine. Yeah, it's a zine, exactly. So, what's your Instagram? heavycremesigne, at instagram.facebook. And is there any other... Wait, what? What? You know what's rad, you should have... Grown up in Los Angeles, there was a gang fanzine. Gang fanzine. I love that. Teen Angels. That's so rad. I want to find some. It was a big scene, man. Grown up in Los Angeles, there was a gang fanzine. Grown up in Los Angeles, there was a gang fanzine. It was called Teen Angels. No, I think that's amazing. And it's fucking amazing, dude. You can Google it, Teen Angels magazine. Okay. Junior High. Dude, you'd open it up because they would thank all the party crews. No, every gang would be there. You got your name in there, you know. You're like, I got my name in there. That party was dope. I'm so good at parties. And everyone would have a message to the other gangs. Like, fuck you, this and that. And like, yeah. Yeah, you sent in your actual developed photo. It was monthly, dude. A monthly gang fanzine. I think that's great. It's pretty great. You gotta Google it. It's like a really interesting culture right there. LA had so many. Well, hold on. I mean, the amazing thing was like every gang, like they would put where they're located. Yeah. Like the editor or whoever was putting it together would put that, okay. Yeah. This is underground subculture stuff. Pre-internet. Yeah, pre-internet. And pre-internet gangster. Yeah, that's true. And it would be a Polaroid. Pre-blog Del Narco. There would be a Polaroid. There would be a Polaroid of the gang. And then there would be like letters from the guys in the gang that are in jail. They like wish I could be there. What the hell? That's amazing though, man. Amazing drawings, dude. I want to do like an interview with a male from like a band, a dude from a band that's in jail. Gigi Allen made a record from jail. Yeah. Dude from Fane. He's not in jail anymore. Oh. That brains. Yeah. Okay, so how do we get heavy cream? So that's the only one that exists right now. But when it's available. Yeah. It'll be at Amoeba. Amoeba. Vacation vinyl. Okay. Awesome. You have to bring a canned good. Oh, there's a place called Slow Culture, I think, in Highland Park. It's like a gallery. Kind of skateboard infused. And then whoever else is interested. I'm just going to start shopping it around. Those are like the three places. Well, that's good. And then of course online. There'll be like a web store. It isn't going to exist online though. No, it's not going to exist online. You can't read it online. You can buy a print one online. So there won't be a digital copy online? Nope. Fuck that shit. Are you sure? Yes. No way. Are you positive? Only if people blue leg it. If I make another issue and then someone's like, dude, do you want- If you make another issue. They'll be like, do you want like- No, no. It's backtracking. If you make another issue. When you make another issue. When I make another issue, the second one, someone's going to be like, that issue's cool. Do you want like $4,500? I'll be like, uh. You're going to be like, uh, yeah. Yeah. I'm just kidding. No, I'm just going to keep making them until like whatever. Yeah, but it's not going to be online. And it's not going to be online. And I don't make any fucking money either. It's not about that. I just want to make it. Well, you should make money off it. No, if I break even, then I'll be like- I'll be even, Steven. That means I already sold out, actually. No, I mean, and you're saying the specs can fluctuate. Yeah, yeah. I mean, right now I like the way that looks. I like that size. So I'm just going to do that. But then- Makes my hand look bigger. Yeah. See? It makes you feel better about yourself, you know? And then like, uh, if I get like some sort of content where I think it should be bigger, then I'll make it bigger. Yeah. I'll make it bigger, you know? But that's the whole point is that I get to do whatever the fuck I want. And it's huge in Japan. Yeah. Totally. Like in more ways than one. I'm told. All right. Well, that's Los Angeles. Is that it? Oh, wait. Hold on a second. Yeah. There's one more person in the room that we never got to. It's a lady, Jennifer Mie. She's been very, very supportive. What up, Jennifer? She's helping with a lot of stuff. And we're actually developing- She's going to have a column, too. We're going to probably start at number two about various- Interesting health rituals, I guess. It's called What It's Like Dating a Hessian Dude. Yeah. Yeah. So. Very cool. So, Jennifer, so you have your own column. Living in sin with a Hessian dude. There's a lot of extreme health things like sauna blankets and shit like that. Is that what both you guys practice? Like you guys- Vitamins. I kind of watch her do- And sometimes I try to stretch her. I'm not that good at it, but- Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. And then- And there's various- Everyday? Like earthly seeds and- What's a sauna blanket all about? Dude, it's a sauna in a blanket. You put it on like a fucking turtleneck with a sleeping bag and it like vaporizes you and shit. Yes, it vaporizes. All right. That's a wrap. That's a real thing. Thank you very much. Heavy cream. Thank you, Eddie. Thank you, Eddie. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!