M U S I C – The Gifted
Original submission to SUBSTANCE Magazine, November, 2007
The 68pornomags
BD Marie Hughes
Recently I sat down with the front man of The 68pornomags, Wes Ryan, and band drummer, Mike “Wally” Wallington, (absent, working late, Mike Wistuba, bass guitarist) in Mike’s downtown
BD: Nice to see you, Wes, Wally, as always. You have your band set up online with your own web page and a myspace page. They’re quite impressive in their content and layout. What can you tell me about them and your take on cyberspace? How does it work with music, specifically your band, and generally in music today?
Wes: Cyberspace has really leveled the playing field in so far as it is allowing unsigned bands to compete with major label bands that have considerable corporate backing. The internet has been a great equalizer. Myspace has been a useful tool. However, there are many tools online that allow unsigned bands to connect with fans they would otherwise not have connected with. Look at Radiohead, one of most popular bands in the last 15 years, essentially adopting the methods of “the unknown band”. They’re selling their music for whatever you, the fan, feel it’s worth – essentially it’s free, they’re giving it away. Radiohead will make their money on concert tickets, merchandising, and licensing etc. We’ve had our songs downloadable for about 4 years.
Wally: Cyberspace is an excellent tool and everyone should use it! (the 3 of us laugh, acknowledging Wally’s “myspace” stab)
Wes: It’s like with “indie” music.” In the 90’s,” indie” had an entirely different connotation. “Indie” meant independent. Since the 90’s, music has changed. The classic record industry has learned to watch the underground and find ways to infiltrate it. “Indie” has morphed into a buzzword, a marketing word. You have “indie” bands that are signed or dream of being signed to a record label. So “indie” no longer means “independent” in the traditional sense. I mean shit, they are selling cars and ipods with the “indie” esthetic now.
BD: You have described your music as a cross of rock, thrash, and punk for lack of better terms. Are you writing most of your own music? How do you 3 create your music, from ideas, to conceptualization, to encapsulating the whole thing, and then laying down a track? Describe your writing scenario.
Wally: We write all of our songs. Any one of us can start to play the music, then Wes slowly writes the lyrics to it. It’s usually done in one evening.
Wes: We don’t write anything down. We can do it in 15 minutes, sometimes longer, an hour or 2. The lyrics will be about what you’ve heard and read – current stuff.
Wally: (deadpans) His mind is like a computer, my mind is like a drain (points to Wes).
BD: Recently you played a venue where there were record label execs there to offer free critique about your talents. What was the feedback? How do you view the whole record label scene?
Wes: These types of events are done in every large urban centre in the country. It’s basically an entertainment event. It’s for the promoters – they get bands to come out and the bands bring their friends out. We don’t see it as our big break, quote unquote, so to speak. Again, music is now DIY. If you look hard enough you will find out what works. It was interesting though, I mean, to hear Roadrunner A&R tell us that the record company is basically trying to figure out how to get their CD’s under $10 so that they can compete with unsigned bands who own burners/printers. It was quite nice to hear. That part of it was interesting. You get the feeling that they are really trying to stop the coffin from closing and are quickly running out of options to block the lid.
BD: How do you feel about censorship? You had a show recently where the promoters refused to bill your band as The 68pornomags. They billed you as “Mags” or “The Mags”.
Wes: We don’t think anything about it. I mean it’s 2007 for christ sakes. If it’s OK to fight an illegal war and slaughter innocent civilians in the name of decency, I can’t really see how the word “porno” or “fuck” holds much power next to that…
BD: The obvious question is, “What are your music influences?” The not-so-obvious question is, “How do those influences reveal themselves in your music?”
Wes: We each listen to different types of music.
Wally: We listen to tons of shit as a band and tons as individuals. Some music I listen to, Wes doesn’t. Like Wes likes everything from Duke Ellington to Justin Timberlake to Beneath the Masses. I like Classic Rock, Jazz, a lot of 90’s music. Mike listens to Jazz, classical, old punk, Dave Matthews Band, Victor Wooten and so on. The sound of the band is a sum of its parts.
Wes: There are 2 kinds of music – good and bad. The only difference is how well it’s played.
BD: It’s quite apparent that all 3 of you are insanely talented, each in your own right. How do you, as a band, play to those strengths? Also what helps you develop your musicianship?
Wes: Playing in the band has been the most practice we’ve had recently, but in prior years we all practiced on our technique quite a bit. There is a prog-ish element to what we do.
BD: What advice would you give to young artists? We often read about musicians retaining control of their own music.
Wes: Don’t do drugs unless they are totally free or cooked into pastry. Don’t do what Cobain did.
BD: Your fan base is escalating really quickly. I’ve seen this first-hand in checking out The 68pornomags and the numbers of people turning up at many of your gigs. Are you looking to appeal to any specific group or are you going for that wide appeal? How is your reputation spreading and building momentum?
Wes: We just want to be loud and rock the shit out of people. Putting up posters is always a real drag so recently we’ve begun a new program.
Wally: Yeah, we are hoping to contract out a hearing aid company that can offer discounts for people who have attended our shows. Maybe get them to put ads up in the washrooms at venues that we are appearing at soon.
Wes: We’ve got a strategy in mind.
BD: What’s next for The 68pornomags?
Wes: We’d like to set out our critical path, get a series of ads out, really promote the band and the fact that we are worth at least $5 to see live. We’ve been songwriting and have half an album done already. We really like to think things through, take time so it sits right. I mean we looked for a drummer for 5 years and finally found Wally. We held auditions and all that, just to get the right fit. (Pointing to Wally playing Mike’s bass guitar) Wally’s a really, really technical player who’s played with no technical purpose for years – it’s going great!
REFS/Sources:
www.myspace.com/the68pornomags
www.68pornomags.com
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