Kitty Questions : LUNO

Sometimes the term Lo-fi doesn't quite cover an artist's approach to making music. Far across the Atlantic Ocean, a man strums a dissonant guitar, and sing-speaks his way through a slice of crackling American pie. Autumnal New England forests, a discarded private Polaroid on the cold ground, the sun is finally setting above the trees, as the city in the distance finally awakens...

He's LUNO!

1. What was the first record you personally bought?

Madonna's Like a Prayer. 20+ years later, the tape still smells of patchouli.

 

2. Which male musician is the most inspirational to you?

Roy Montgomery had a profound impact on me. His singles from the mid-90s are amazing, as well as the instrumental records he did around the same time for Siltbreeze. "Used To" (Wire Cover)

 

3. Which female musician is the most inspirational to you?

Polly Jean Harvey is one. She consistently delivers records that justify her lack of public presence and I think in this day and age that's so rare and confirmation of her brilliance. I don't need or want to know who a musician is with or what they get up to. I just like listening to records and hers have always been worth my time. "Uh Huh Her"...

 

4. Speaking retrospectively, which film do you think you could soundtrack with your music?

I love those American hygiene/decorum films from the 1950s, (i.e. brush your teeth, don't join a street gang, don't get the clap, etc.) I think my songs might work nicely in the scenes where the teens do the things they ought not do.

5. Show us the most recent photograph of yourself.

  

6. Can you sum-up your music with a photograph?

This photograph sums up a key period in my musical history. It was the cover of a record I made in 2007, which was certainly all about showing off how I was beating myself up at the time.

7. Imaginary dream dinner party / night out - who would you invite and why?

Maybe it's the city mouse/country mouse in me but I'd keep the two things separate. I'm a bit of a hermit, really, so a dinner party guestlist would be short, people I really like and find interesting, people who could all learn something from one another.
Ideally, for a night out, I head out alone, grab a coffee on the walk and collect people along the way, strangers, vague acquaintances, etc. (stranger the better...) and see where things go. I've found what can happen in reality on a night out or in, if one is open to the possibilities, can by far exceed imagination.

8. What are your top 3 songs on the theme of SEXUALITY? 

 "Fuck Off" by Wayne County & The Electric Chairs

"Cocoon" by Björk

"When 2 R in Love" by Prince

9. What's the funniest video you can find on Youtube? 

I love this girl:

She's preaching to the choir (or lack thereof) but it's nice to see Kirk Cameron is still around and just as brainwashed as he ever was.

10. Which 2 songs would you like played at your funeral?

"Afraid" by Nico

"Time" by Tom Waits

11. Can we have a photo of your record collection?

I switched over to one of those palm held digital things last year, so there isn't much to show. Instead, here's a photograph I took of a thrift shop window a few years back.

12. If you were a super-hero, what would you be called, what would you look like and most importantly, what would your super power be?
I think if I were a superhero, I'd be called Quiet Unassuming Fellow. I'd look just like I do, (except my trainers would be black instead of purple, more unassuming that way) and my superpowers would entail walking softly but nimbly and not speaking unless spoken to. Oh yes, and playing a mangled acoustic guitar very, very loudly. That's an important one.


13. Draw me a picture of a cat.
I'm such a disappointment in the picture drawing department! All my cat attempts turned out looking like pigs, so here's a photograph I took in my garden last summer.







14. Which song has the most positive and inspirational lyrics you can think of?
"Share the Good" by my friend Purrbot is one of the more genuinely inspirational songs I've heard lately.

Hear more of Luno's tracks here http://soundcloud.com/archivo-de-luno
or add him on twitter @nchaplin__

Kitty Questions : ROSCOE VACANT

There's something about a Scottish accent that will make your ears prick-up. Whether the Celtic-symphony is poetry, witticism or simply a well-ravelled story, you listen intently. Sometimes, the combination of this bold-brogue and an important message is the perfect cocktail for making the people pay attention. Roscoe Vacant is a true, bona fide bastion of social serenity. His lyrics and musical delivery is as unwavering as the boom-boom of your very own heartbeat, and the purposeful thud of the bass drum.

He's ROSCOE VACANT!

1. What was the first record you personally bought?

I'd love to say it was something really cool, but I'm fairly sure it was "Vagabond Heart" by Rod Stewart when I was 8 or 9. It's a lacklustre album at best, but at the time I thought it was amazing. Someone once said of him, "never has an artist so betrayed their talent" and it's very true.

2. Which male musician is the most inspirational to you?

For years I've been a huge fan of Jandek. He's one artist who for me has consistently failed to disappoint. His music is very experimental and improvised, but for me what has always been most important is the honesty and integrity of the music. A lot of the time when listening to music I feel manipulated, but with Jandek it's always seemed like all he's interested in is exorcising his own emotions and doing music for the right reasons.

3. Which female musician is the most inspirational to you?

I'd say Ella Logan. She was a Scottish singer who emigrated to the US in the 1930s. Her voice has such beauty to it and the first time I heard "How are things in Glocca Morra?" I couldn't believe a song like that even existed. It's almost perfect. I've heard lots of great people doing that song, but they never come close to that version.

Ella Logan - How Are Things In Glocca Morra? by Kittylickscd

4. Speaking retrospectively, which film do you think you could soundtrack with your music?
Again, I'd love to say something like "Orphans" but the reality is it would probably be more likely to be "Gregory's Girl"! I know my station in life! Our band (Roscoe Vacant & the Gantin' Screichs) is named after the band in an episode of the mid-90s Scottish sitcom 'The High Life', so soundtracking anything with Alan Cumming, Siobhan Redmond or Forbes Masson would be our dream.

 5. Show us the most recent photograph of yourself.

This is a picture of me playing a solo set at a punk gig in Cumnock last weekend. Oh dear.

6. Can you sum-up your music with a photograph?
I don't think I can! I am quite a visual person with my music though, and when I'm writing a song, I always have a particular image, location and memory or group of memories in my mind that the song tries to address. It's not a deliberate thing, I suppose for me music is so tightly tied up with how I'm feeling or memories of particular experiences, the images tied up with those memories just stick.

7. Imaginary dream dinner party / night out - who would you invite and why?

I'm not very good company, so I would invite people who would be able to keep things moving. James Keir Hardie and Alexander Peden would be at the top of the table, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Kaufman and Krzysztof Kieślowski would be in the middle and Kurt Cobain, Alex Chilton and Bob Dylan would be at the end of the table. I realise there may be some issues in assembling this cast.

8. What are your top 3 songs on the theme of NATURE?

"In Bloom" by Nirvana
"Point Judith" by Jandek
"This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie

9. What's the funniest video you can find on Youtube? 
I love this video, mainly because the song is so catchy...

10. Which 2 songs would you like played at your funeral?
"Take care" from Big Star's "Third" because it's one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I've also always loved Robert Burns' "Ye banks and braes o' Bonnie Doon", so that one would be fairly high up there too.

11. Can we have a photo of your record collection?
I don't have a picture of my record collection to hand, but here's a picture of some rarities I recently acquired by one of my very favourite bands, Nyah Fearties. They're from Kilmarnock which is near where I grew up, and they toured all over the world in the 1980s and 1990s. The music they made is so different from what's passed off as folk punk today. They made something completely unique and incredible, and I would recommend them to anyone.


12. If you were a super-hero, what would you be called, what would you look like and most importantly, what would your super power be?
I'd be The Man of A Thousand Faces, a dapper turn of the century Scottish scholar by day and a crimefighting master of disguise by night. Each week I would use a different guise (mostly copies of Lon Chaney characters) to bring down wrongdoers, mobsters and ne'er-do-wells.
13. Draw me a picture of a cat.
I can't draw, so please find enclosed a picture of my beautiful cat, William. He's six years old and his previous owner died, so now he lives with us. He's a really good natured cat who's sporadically very grumpy. He's a really loving cat, but likes his own space and wants to just do his own thing most of the time, so me and him get on a treat.


14. Which song has the most positive and inspirational lyrics you can think of?
"Light and Day" by the Polyphonic Spree. Unfortunately these days it mainly inspires me to shop at Sainsbury's. Aside from that I'd say "Keep on Keepin' on" by the Redskins - one band who never fail to inspire.

Visit Roscoe at www.vacantonline.co.uk

Kitty Questions : STE McCABE

Vibrant pop-punk politics glitter your ears, the candy-pink haze of a flailing Stratocaster catches the corner of your eye. Who could it be? He's the pro-feminist, cat-loving bubblegum-"queer" that you always dreamt existed.

He's STE McCABE!

1. What was the first record you personally bought?
Goodness, it was the debut album by Sinitta! I got it on tape when I was 8 and loved it for many years. I wish I'd have waited a few years to start buying music as answering this question is shameful.

2. Which male musician is the most inspirational to you?
Well despite the fact that Morrissey is slowly turning out to be a total wanker these days (did you hear those comments he made about Chinese people?), more or less everything he did with The Smiths and with his solo material I found to be the most beautiful inspiring pop music ever. Not many lyricists come close to his honesty and humour...and for that I have to continue to give him kudos for his past records. I just think in a personal sense he's let it all go to his head way too much and lots of his fans won't forgive that. Sadly I don't think I'll be supporting his new record.

3. Which female musician is the most inspirational to you?
Kathleen Hannah.  She made feminism something you can dance to, and her passion and rage is so inspiring to me. I have a lot of respect for her and give 10/10 for every single one of her bands and projects.

4. Speaking retrospectively, which film do you think you could soundtrack with your music?
I think 80's film "Who's That Girl" featuring Madonna. Fast paced, ridiculous and trashy. Despite my politics, musically that's a pretty good description of what I do.

5. Show us the most recent photograph of yourself.
This is me, my partner Lukasz and our friend Candy at Edinburgh Slutwalk last week.

6. Can you sum-up your music with a photograph?
Oh yes, this one was the cover of my last EP - sums it up perfectly I think!

7. Imaginary dream dinner party / night out - who would you invite and why?
I'd invite the girls (although I think women would be a more appropriate description now) from Shampoo, David Attenborough because I like his superior animal knowledge, Amanda Palmer because she seems like a laugh and Peter Tatchell to talk queer politics with when I inevitably got drunk (I have a habit of boring people with this last topic after 6 beers). I'm not sure they'd all get on but it'd be better than any Celebrity Big Brother ever was.

8. What is your top song on the theme of FOOD?

"Know Your Chicken" by Cibo Matto ("I know my chicken, you've got to know your chicken")

9. What's the funniest video you can find on Youtube?
This is surely the most ridiculous news story ever, and come to think of it, the news reporter is someone I'd like to add to the list of people I'm taking out on my dream dinner party/night out (see question 7)

10. Which 2 songs would you like played at your funeral?
 Well I've always said "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper is a must-have for any funeral, but I also think something depressing to make people wallow in their misery would be cruel but fun also, so I refer to an old Echobelly track about death called "Worms and Angels" here!

11. Can we have a photo of your record collection?
This is the bulk of my CD collection, although I have some vinyl and more CD's tucked away in another corner of the room.

12. If you were a super-hero, what would you be called, what would you look like and most importantly, what would your super power be?

Oh blimey, what a question! I'd be a great big fat swine called SuperPig, and I'd chase people down the road on my trotters, defecating pig poo at the speed of light at my enemies.

13. Draw me a picture of a cat.
My scanner is broke at the moment, so will this cute picture of our cats, Fox and Kathy, do instead?












14. Which song has the most positive and inspirational lyrics you can think of?
"Riot ladies, queers, let's fight. We won't judge but we might bite. Find a space with us tonight, find a space where we're alike"
(Faux Feminism by Manchester's best ever underground band, Vile Vile Creatures)

ARTIST BIO - Nicholas Ginbey

Known for his playful melodies and insightful lyrics about life and love, Nicholas is a true Austin artist whose proudest moment was performing with Daniel Johnston at the Parish.
Growing up in a home surrounded by art and music, Nicholas has been writing songs for as long as he can remember. As a solo artist and lead singer, Nicholas has written and performed with many of Austin’s finest musicians.
The consistent quality of his work has secured Nicholas’s reputation as one of Austin’s finest writers. His catalog contains over 100 songs that he has written from Americana to punk, each authentic and unique. Nicholas is currently the lead singer of the up-and-coming noise pop band, the Washed Away Stars.

ARTIST BIO - Your Yellow Dress

New project of OC’s The Paper Orchestra founder Alex Poska, Your Yellow Dress’s latest full-length, “Orange County, We’re Nothing At All Like The Shows,” was released May 2009.

Your Yellow Dress is currently embarking on a project to record some sort of release about every county in California similar to Sufjan Steven’s 50 States project. The releases will vary from full length albums to EPs to singles, and as of now there are only 56 counties left to write about.

ARTIST BIO - Schwervon!

Schwervon! is a two piece rock band. Nan Turner (originally from Washington state) and Matt Roth (originally from Kansas) met at the Sidewalk Cafe in downtown Manhattan in the late 90’s. At the time Nan was playing in Post Riot Grrl band Bionic Finger and Matt was performing as Antifolk acoustic troubadour Major Matt Mason USA. After a series of “Jam Dates” at the now defunct Context Studios a handful of lofi rock sketches formed based around such banal topics as arguing couples on the street and food. The music of Schwervon! grew to represent the celebration of imperfect love through jagged rock minimalism. They were DIY long before it was a marketing strategy, mixing and recording the bulk of their music in their apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where they live with their cat Gummo. They call it Olive Juice Music where Matt also produces music for other bands and operates an online indie music distribution center. Both of them continue to play and release music with other solo projects and collaborations: (Pantsuit, Kansas State Flower, Nan Turner, Major Matt Mason USA)

Together, Schwervon! has produced 4 full length albums and 2 seven inch vinyl only singles

ARTIST BIO - Evan Gumz

Amateur musician dabbling with noise rock and electronic music, and generally trying to make a good impression on the internet. Based in Philadelphia.