Benjamin Francis Leftwich has been touched by the music gods. They not only blessed him with a talent for penning and playing beautiful songs, but they also sprinkled in some bonus qualities like humility, grace and gratitude. They added one final ingredient and perhaps the most important when creating a tour de force, they instilled in him a profound love of music. Leftwich lives and breathes music. And you know what? We do too. It soundtracks his life, just like it soundtracks ours. He’ll watch movies and run home to find out what song he just heard. Yep, us too. (For the record, the Welsh lullaby Suo Gan in Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun was his first audio/visual slap in the face). He has music idols (Bruce Springsteen), favorite songs (currently anything by Tallest Man on Earth), favorite parts of songs (Phoenix’s Love Like a Sunset when Thomas Mars’ voice comes back in), favorite parts of the part of the song….you get it. Yep, us too. So when we sat down with him a week ago over some beers before his show, we knew right away this interview would be different. This was not going to be your standard question/answer affair, this was going to be an hour (and subsequent hang outs) of sharing stories, swapping bands and geeking out over what we all love most. Yes, music.

If you are new to him, you should know he came out with his first full length album last June, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm. It’s a very beautiful album, both lyrically and musically. It’s laced with delicate harmonies and has a nice fluidity from start to finish. Wonderfully dreamy and at points dripping with melancholy, Snowstorm also feels very inspiring and hopeful. When we mention this to him, our opinion of his album and how we’ve absorbed it, he lights up. “Thank you, yes I completely agree. Sometimes lazy journalists think that if a record is acoustic and slow it’s like cutting your wrist depressing music. I don’t believe the sound of a record depicts the nature of the feeling.”

We tell him that we find ourselves listening to the record when the sun is setting on the beach or while waking up with a tea in hand. So where does Leftwich listen to it? Or where does he want us to listen to it? “I’d like people perhaps to be on a beach with their friends at night time, maybe stoned. I also like the idea of driving down a motorway when it’s raining, maybe at night. I think that’d really be cool…” At this point he puts his beer down and laughs. “But it’s hard for me to really answer that properly because I’d never put on my album and listen to it. I haven’t listened to it in 2 yrs.”

The conversation moves into lyrics or lack thereof. What about a lyric he’s written that he loves? Surely he’s thought to himself “nailed it” after writing something profound, yes? Again, he laughs. ‘Well, I’ve never thought that. Ha, yeah, BOOM! (his finger mockingly hits the table, then a pause) No, but Butterfly Culture and Pictures I really like…especially Pictures. I kinda know what the song is about but there’s still a level of ambiguity that I really like. When I’m listening to music, I love that. I never watch interviews with artists where they explain in detail what the song is about. I like that tension in songs when you’ve got your own idea of it.”

We then delve into the idea that some people connect with lyrics first in a song and others get hooked on the melody. Where does he find himself in the spectrum? “I think the two things are so intertwined. Some of my favorite songs, if I read it as a spoken word poem, I’m not sure I’d be that mad on it. But, when you hear the melody and where it takes you in combination with the way the words land…wow…and Tom Petty is a master of that.” Petty has been on his ipod consistently during the West Coast leg of the tour (along with Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, The Boss and Bon Iver). “You know that song ‘It’ll All Work Out’?..(he sings us a bit of it at the table)…amazing.”

How about lyric-less songs? The instrumental? Leftwich lights up again, excited to go down this alley of thought with us. “You know, music for me is just a big mix of everything in the world, just coming together in those 3 minutes of a song. I love classical music too. I think sometimes as well as the lyrics, the actual melody can tell a story. If there is this major moment (in a song) and then it goes into this minor thing where like the string section gets really dark …and you really don’t know what it means…there’s no lyric… but you know the guy that wrote it was obviously thinking something when he made it up.” We go on to discuss our top instrumentals of all time before ordering another round. Clearly, we’ve got more to cover.

Having mentioned earlier that he hardly ever talks about his own songs meanings, it’s surprising that he’s game to talk about “Shine,” one that lyrically moves us. “That’s one of the ones I feel good about. I’m feeling a cool vibe here and I never really talk about what songs are about but I had a special cigarette earlier and a little bit of beer so I can talk now. It’s about a girl I was with…” He goes on to talk about the fast and furious nature of the relationship and then the abrupt ending. Now in looking back, he’s glad he chose respect over ego. “It’s just that vibe of ‘let’s forget all the bullshit.’ A lot of people think all my songs are about girls but that is the only one that’s specifically about a girl.”

The Thong Song comes up. “By Cisco? That’s a great song.” Laughter followed by us requesting that he cover it tonight. Speaking of, what about covers? He has a cool one of Rebellion by Arcade Fire, Atlantic City by Springsteen and When You Were Young by The Killers. In terms of who he’d love to cover him…Phoenix. A band we can all agree is one of the greats of our generation.

We touch upon some highlights from his tour, like playing the Bowery Ballroom in NYC where he was able to pull out the plug on his guitar and play an acoustic set. Or when he ran this competition on fb where they picked a lucky fan to come play for privately in their living room. “I love doing stuff like that. In the UK, when we do festivals, besides playing on stage, my tour manager will meet a fan by the guest area and I’ll go to the tent afterwards and play a couple of tunes for their friends. I prefer doing that. Doing a gig with a big PA is one thing, but I write the songs when I’m sitting on my bed chilling with my guitar so it’s nice to keep doing it like that. It’s a nice feeling.” It’s also nice to hear that he has such a great (unique) relationship with his fans. “I genuinely care. If someone bothers to write to me, I take that as the biggest compliment in the world.” He reflects a minute on some of the letters he’s received, the impact he’s had. He’s being modest but we can tell he’s really helped some people get through tough times. “In general my fans are really cool. We always come out to the merch stand after the gig. We always come and say hi and it’s a nice vibe. I care. If someone has bothered to spend money and driven to see me, I’m going to be there for them. It doesn’t feel like an effort to chill with people.”

At this point his tour manager calls again to urge him to come back to the venue and he still asks for more time with us. We have just gotten to the meat of it all. But alas, he does have a show to play in an hour. We hit upon a new song he’s written that he really likes, discuss the perks of vinyl, the challenges of record labels, the never ending debate of hippos vs elephants (he’s an avid collector and even has an elephant tattoo) and things he’s learned from the tour. All in all he says, “It’s intense but it’s a fucking pleasure to do. It’s good for writing as well because you meet so many people…” Well, we’re glad to have met him for certain.

Leftwich played to a sold out crowd at The Troubadour. A few days later he treated us to an acoustic set at the edge of the stage at The Hotel Cafe. He played favorites ”Box of Stones”, “Atlas Hands”, and “Pictures” off of his debut album. He also played an oldie called “Maps” that was incredible (especially lyrically) and his brand new one “Is That You On That Plane?”. As I’m reminiscing right now, I’m overwhelmed with just how good he really was both nights. It was like the most relaxing massage. If only the venues had given the audience personal hammocks in which to relax and ‘special cigarettes’ to enjoy…that would’ve been heaven.

Check out more videos here.
Buy his music here.

By Lindsay Colip
Photos By Douglas Heine

Her work makes us want to travel, to be lost in Europe among the youthful energy of cobblestone streets, bus stops, and train stations.”I began film photography 6 years ago, & I have not stopped since ! I was only working with black & white films, that I developed myself in the lab of my art school in Lyon. Now I shoot with color film.” she tells us. 

Margot speaks as though she has been photographing for fifty years even though she is only twenty. Her comprehension of film and light and movement reminds us of painters we know from a different era, from a different country and that thought makes us feel romantic, as these images do. ”I always have one or two cameras with me so I did not choose my subjects or my site, everything is spontaneous, true. These are incongruous, pleasant, surprising moments of my everyday that you will see on my films.”

see more of Margot’s work here: FLICKR
and follow her on Facebook here: MRGT Photography

These are the opening words in Ian Ruhter’s new video illustrating the early stages of his journey. The first few scenes lead you into a deep dark world emulating that of an addiction at its highest magnitude; a series of chemicals are mixed by a hooded figure as he works to create a perfect chemical reaction.

His project is honest, his work is inspiring – Ruhter demonstrates the human soul at its highest capacity, when one has found that passion and connection to something, enabling them to take their truest form and surpass everything else.

“It’s about doing what you love. If you had been searching your whole life for something you love, and you found it, what would you be willing to sacrifice?”

All images courtesy of Ian Ruhter Photography.
]]> http://witness-this.com/motion/ian-ruhter-silver-light/feed/ 0 http://witness-this.com/genius/franz-aliquo/ http://witness-this.com/genius/franz-aliquo/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 14:00:34 +0000 Luke http://witness-this.com/?p=13479

Words and interview by Jennifer Smith

Initially, Franz Aliquo may have been late to respond to my request for an interview, but holy hell, was it worth the delay.  After being introduced to his work through a mutual friend, I quickly became aware of his ferociously interesting ideas and projects.  I couldn’t wait to pick his brain and expose his talents.  Franz launched several concepts that have spread like a plague including Streetwars, The Rental Car Rally and as I soon found out through my interview, much more than I could have anticipated.  His wit and intelligence have captured not only my attention, but “The Supreme Commander” as he is often called, has caught the attention of people across the globe.

So, where I’m from, NYC. I was born here, when it was dirty. Grew up on Roosevelt Island, exploring the myriad of abandoned structures on the Island, being a kinda weird kid and getting beat up a lot. Went to Stuyvesant High School, where I was surrounded by even weirder kids, which made me kinda normal in comparison. During high school, I passed through a crap-ton of cultural scenes, never really finding a single one that felt like “home” – I was in the metal scene, ska scene, NY hardcore scene, hip-hop scene and eventually bottomed out as a raver. (He pauses to laugh at himself about this). After graduating, I spent 2 horrible soul-destroying years at SUNY Albany and then transferred to NYU.. After graduating with a double major in Philosophy and Sociology – and a minor in Psychology – I went to law school, and hated it. That said, my disgust with the schooling pushed me to find other ways to cater to my personal interests. During my time in Law School I founded a tech company that did SMS marketing and one that brought ghetto b+w porn to Palm Pilots (SkyHampton and PornAgo). I also had a short-lived Public Access show called The Manhattan Project, which chronicled underground NYC culture and events. And I started a food “zine” of sorts called No Reservations – the articles came printed on stuff that looked like old school recipe cards, image on one side and article on the other.

Already, you seem to have had some accomplishments underway…

I’m a Cultural DJ. Maybe that’s not the right term really but, it gets to one of the things I’m good at – taking pieces of pop culture and remixing them. Most of my projects come from pop culture and making that more accessible to people or putting it in a more open participatory format. It’s not culture you consume, as much as it is culture you experience. That’s one of the things that pushed me to doing what I do. I was sick of being a passive consumer of culture. Watching TV or playing video games or even reading are all passive activities. I feel that people get the most value from an experience the more they are actively involved in it. The crap I create is predicated on giving people a memorable, active experience – one that will teach them something, help them grow as people and maybe change the way they think or interact with the world.

Which brings us to Streetwars

It’s a citywide water gun assassination tournament. The playing field is the entire city, the game is on 24/7 and lasts 3 weeks. Basically, it’s like living in an action movie for a month.  You are tasked with hunting someone, while at the same time being hunted by someone who you don’t know.

Street Wars

Are you kidding me? An entire city as the playground, people getting “hit” in their office by someone dressed up like a Fed Ex delivery person, going out on fake dates, car chases, rooftop jumps all with little to no injuries (knock on wood) and taking action in places like New York City, Vancouver, Vienna, San Francisco, L.A., London, Chicago and Paris.  Different methods of killing depending on the city, makes each experience unique on its own, and lucky for us they are organizing another LA Streetwars game this summer.

Let’s talk about Rental Car Rally, since that is coming up first.

It’s a 36-hour city-to-city road trip competition between 50+ costumed teams. It’s like Halloween on wheels. Specifically, an overnight, backroads-mostly driving competition between crazily-festooned teams competing for cash prizes and a golden gas pump, Halloween. There are usually between 25 and 60 teams per event. It’s ballerhouse tits-out crazytown. If you’ve ever seen the movie Cannonball Run it’s also kinda like that, but with better mustaches and even less respect for nuns.

Rental Car Rally

Coming this June as a matter of fact, RCR is pitting two cities against each other for the very first time- and making them fight to the high-octane death! Two starting lines: One in SF and one in LA.  This is surely one not to be missed.

Not only has he helped to create the ridiculous and outlandish acts we just discussed, but his talents are not limited to said games.  A few months ago he made a Kim Jong II shirt because he was his favorite dictator.

“Like bugs bunny cartoon type dictator.  Thought it would be funny to imagine what he would look like in heaven now.  Found a propaganda image he used to use, repurposed it as a Tshirt.  Created pop culture.”

As you mentioned earlier in your career, there was a time when food was involved in the mix.  And apparently, it has never really left the picture. I heard that you have some crazy “douche”  burgers that you sell… Can you tell us a little about them and what makes them so G.D. good?

666 Burger

666 Burgers are made with a meat blend of sirloin, brisket and short rib, and spiced with salt and pepper.  They are cooked medium rare, which is the only way to cook a burger made of good meat.  Our burgers are served on a toasted potato roll, with a dab of ketchup. Fuck brioche buns.

That’s it. That’s all you need for an amazing burger eating experience…anyone tells you different and they’re hiding something wrong with their burger. Our meat is locally sourced from cows that have been raised humanely…fuck that actually, humanely is a common word used by every motherfucker that makes “high end” burgers nowadays – it means nothing.

Our cows were treated fucking awesomely. They ate grass to their hearts’ content, they freely roamed fucking picturesque scenery and chilled hard. They became delicious. Basically, they led a great, comfortable life and when time came for them to die, that was done with respect for the animal and painlessly. No fucking around with meat processing plants – this shit was like a religious sacrifice – the comfort and psychology of the animal was first and foremost.

From animal to meat to burger, we respect the sacrifice the animals make on our behalf…that’s why we highlight the beef, not tainting it with tomatoes, lettuce or other toppings. Toppings are a sign the burger is lacking, that it needs more flavor. Here’s a fucking crazy idea: how about you just make a burger that is amazingly delicious in and of itself? No need to throw crap on top – it will blow your mind solo.

Crap to know before ordering:

1. Don’t ask stupid questions.

2. No special orders or requests.

3. Know what you want to order. It’s not like we have a crap-ton of options…

4. The customer can often be wrong.

5. There are no vegetarian options (by definition a burger must have meat in it).

6. We reserve the right to ignore our own rules.

Hmm… are we channelling a little  soup nazi here?!  Franz, you have several specialty burgers to choose from on your menu,  including the 666, the Satan, the Beelzeburger and the Rotating Regional. The two that have peaked my curiousity and I have to ask you about specifically are the 666 and the Douche Burger. 

The 666 Burger is a custom locally sourced grind, grilled to juicy, mouthwatering perfection. An extreme level of deliciousness that all burgers should strive for, but which only 666 can attain.  The Douche Burger costs $666.00 and consists of a fucking burger filled and topped with rich people shit.  Kobe beef patty (wrapped in gold leaf), foie gras, caviar, lobster, truffles, imported aged gruyere cheese (melted with champagne steam) kopi luwak bbq sauce and Himalayan rock salt.  It may not taste good, but it will make you feel rich as fuck. Douche.

As if you do not do enough here, you also host events called Flavor Tripping.  Tell us what this is all about?

Flavor Tripping is an ongoing series of Bacchanalian food tasting smackdowns that occur about once a month, beginning in February ’08 in NYC and SF. Our events are smallish affairs held in an undisclosed location – not (only) because we’re wanted international criminals, but because we dig switching things up and matching the spaces to the events we’re hosting. The first series of tastings center on miracle fruit (Sideroxylon dulcificum if you want to get all scientific about it), a cranberry-sized West African berry that that numbs your sour and bitter tastebuds for a couple of hours after eating it. That means that everything that used to taste sour now tastes sweet. Fo’ reals. It’s like a candy Willy Wonka would have invented – after eating one stout beers taste like chocolate milkshakes, grapefruits taste like pixie sticks, cheeses taste like frosting, it will make even the crappiest tequila taste like lemonade (and strangely enough, it will make all wine taste like Manischewitz).

That sounds like some fun, and next time I am back in NYC we better do EVERY one of these activities.  Maybe we should start organizing now. What can we expect from you in the future?

The apocalypse. Hopefully. In terms of the art/business I make, I expect to grow a lot more. I think until recently I didn’t really have a focus or foundation. It was just a bunch of different crap I was doing with no stated theme. This past year, I’ve spent a lot of time doing research on political and philosophical movements, as well as alternative art…and form that I feel like I’ve finally found an anchor for my work and, more importantly, an overall theme/guide/aesthetic for what I do. I’m still trying to come up with a proper name for the universe I’m in but, at least now each of my projects has an umbrella under which it operates, that guides its message and aesthetic. For example, Streetwars and Rental Car Rally and, to a lesser extent, Gunz n Chikn, are what I term Pervasive Reality Games.

It has been quite a pleasure to interview Franz, as he has so much going on it makes my head spin  (in a good way.)   Between the Rental Car Rallies, Street Wars, Flavor tripping, and Satanic Burgers, he is certainly considered one hell of a creative genius.  I know I speak for everyone when I say we are excited to see where you take things next. I’m just going to go out on a limb here,  but I do hope to see some boats involved…  Don’t forget to sign up for Streetwars & RallyCar Racing LA!!!  Happening SOON.  As for the rest of you, and in the words of the late Notorious B.I.G., “If you don’t know, now you know.” – Jennifer Smith

San Diego pop duo TV Girl shows that internet mixtapes aren’t just for rappers and DJ’s.  This is one of the more fun and intelligent projects I have seen a band undertake in quite some time.  The mixtape perfectly captures the essence of the pop culture that band members Trung and Brad grew up in.

“After the success of our first two short EPs, we wanted to make something completely different. Something that was sprawling and ambitious and conceptual. So that’s what we did.

This record is our farewell love letter to sampling. As an unsigned band, we are in a unique position to take advantage of this legally nebulous practice, and we wanted to push that particular aspect of our songwriting to its logical extreme before changing courses. There are around 85 sampled elements in the mixtape, not including individual drum hits (but including full drum breaks). It’s a tribute to the music, TV, and Internet ephemera that has captured our hearts and minds as we composed it in our various bedrooms over the past year or so.”

Download it in free internet mixtape fashion here.

Show your love by checking out TV Girl on tour this summer.

words by freshair

I think it is pretty fair to say that Washed Out’s ‘Within and Without’ soundtracked a majority of the Summer of 2011. With the the sunshine and longer days right around the corner, I’m pretty sure we may just have found our band of the Summer for 2012. Summer Heart (appropriately named I should add) is the solo project of Sweden’s David Alexander. Beginning in 2009, he just dropped his first album “About A Feeling” on April 25th and we think this guy has an extremely bright future.

A blend of electronic lo-fi sunset summer bliss, this record recommended by our music nerd friend Sarah (thank you Sarah), is exactly what I was looking for to compliment my ambient but driven need to exist in the realm of music and life. “About A Feeling” is exactly where I want to be right now, promising greener pastures and sun-kissed souls. If beats, remixes and electronically driven up-tempo tracks are my Yin, this is my Yang. The perfect harmony of oneness and progression, this one will be on rotation for awhile. Damn…this one is GOOD. Summer Heart…I heart you.

Buy it here…listen here…

follow them on facebook. We love them and are massive fans. SUMMER HEAT FACEBOOK