Let's be uncertain for a second.

No really,
Let's be uncertain for a second.

I think that's when the best stuff happens...

Isn't it weird how the wrong people are always certain? It's always that dude whose CERTAIN that the world is going to end or CERTAIN that their fantasy football team is going to win or is CERTAIN that their neighborhood is the best in Minnesota that is rubbing you the wrong way.

Maybe it's because uncertainty is scary, and not many people are willing to be brave on a regular basis.

Also, there's a distinct alpha-male/power aspect that goes with being certain. With KNOWING. Like you are the sole person that is blessed with a certain knowledge. It makes it easier to judge, and categorize and lead and argue when you are certain. You don't have to be moral to be certain, hell you don't even have to be right!

And when you don't know....

Well no one is going to pay for that advice! No will put that in a textbook, or on a resume! NOT being certain is just about the biggest faux paux you can commit in our society!

GOD FORBID asking a question!
GOD FORBID having a doubt, or a new idea that may or may not work.

Or hell, even a hypothesis!

no.... it seems that there is only room for those that are certain. and guess what, no one is.


The only people who are certain are paid to be that way or are trying to be paid because they are that way.

I'm certain of it.

LifterFaller

Culture is a big word.

We are constantly and automatically analyzing and making judgments about other peoples cultures. Whether it's down the street, across the country or even on different planets. We learn this from the process we instinctively go through to map our environment internally with our fears and gauge how well we trust our environment and how we can safely interact with it. This simple process is the root of xenophobia, homophobia, racism, and many other fear based reactions people have to the differences we have in between each other.

As a swim instructor, I work with children and get to see their fears and their reactions to them all the time. I see them make justifications, excuses and distractions in order to make themselves feel in control and safe when their in the water.

It is only when they free themselves from their defense mechanisms and develop trust with me and the rest of their environment that they actually learn to swim. That's usually when they start having fun too.

Artwork by my lovely sister Hannah Fligel

With the development of the ego, people have forgotten their higher interconnectedness with all nature. With the development of language in the form of words, we have forgotten truer languages. Many of us no longer hear the whispers of the wind. We treat our animals like objects, our environment like an object, and this makes it easy for us to treat each other in the same way.

You are the river, the fish, the bait, the fisherman and your children will be the same. No matter can truly be  destroyed or created. We are all part of an infinite recycling process and we're only always in the middle.

Nothing real can be destroyed, nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of god.

If we work daily to be mindful of these facts then we can begin to be aware of our own culture. The inability to free ourselves from the chains our minds, cultures, and habits create is why we are plagued with endless wars, obesity and addiction. We have many addictions we don't always allow ourselves to see.

By the way, I put out an album on my 20th birthday the other day.

Here- http://besoreallmz.bandcamp.com/album/sympathetic-vibrations

Do something fun today. 

Not Another BOMBA interview :)

I'm not sure what you believe in.

Chances are, no one is. But that's fine. I like to believe I live a very blessed life, or maybe a lucky one. Maybe it's actually shitty one, or maybe its pretty average. Regardless I think that it often falls into my own hands to decide.

Today I feel pretty (lucky/blessed/whatever) because I had the realization that my couch often becomes a net for some of the greatest artists of the area and if you ask me, of our time. Today I happened to come downstairs to the members of one of 2012's biggest break out bands in the Twin Cities: Bomba De Luz.

They are already featured in many various interviews that are probably a lot more structured and formal and you can learn a lot about all of the cool things they are doing. Here are some of them:

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2012/07/bomba_de_luz_rhymesayers_interview.php

http://garagemusicnews.wordpress.com/tag/bomba-de-luz/

Here is some of their music:

http://www.facebook.com/Bombadeluz

http://www.npr.org/event/music/160943458/bomba-de-luz-high-school-heroes

http://bombadeluz.bandcamp.com/

Now when I happened to come downstairs this morning, Lydia Hoglund made the complaint that the interviews they were getting were seeming redundant and there was not a lot of depth being reached. In the glossed over wasteland of the media today, the nearly lost art of journalism is a big problem to me. So I will attempt to ride the gravy train of honesty to the pearly gates of wisdom and share that experience with you.

I'm sitting down with three of the four members; Evan Slack (guitar), Lydia Hoglund (guitar/vox) and Gavin Taylor-Stark (bass) as well as Judah Mccoy of Crossjoints http://crossxjoints.bandcamp.com/album/cxj-tape and also the drummer for Allan Kingdom http://allankingdomforever.com/. Check all of this shit out because these kids are all doing really cool things.

Our conversation started out by discussing interesting people from other countries we've "celebrated our green culture" with and late night trips to white castle. You'll have to ask these stories from them yourself because soon after we started we reached some interesting places in the BDL universe.

I began by asking them what Bomba De Luz Really meant to them and what role it played in their Lives.

Lydia: I think that Bomba De Luz is... my sanity... it's what... maintains my existance. It's less a band and becmoing more a new way of life. I can really express myself, I can step on stage and really be the MOST myself. Otherwise i'd feel like a LOSER :) It's becoming the reason I want to walk the planet.
Gavin: It it the nuts and bolts of my life. Because I'm such good friends with the people I play music with some of the bigger relationships of my life are because of the band. Bomba De Luz is the biggest branch and it effects all of my other priorities.

Me: That's really cool that you guys feel that way, what are some of the bigger changes you've felt in your lives because of the band, internally and externally?

Evan: It's taught me a lot about being punctual and actually really caring about something. There's no show that I'm not looking forward to. It's taught me there's things that you can change your behavior for out of sheer enjoyment.
Lydia: That's so true! We played at the ice house last night with Brian Laidlaw and Chastity Brown. Brian Laidlaw actually used to be my teacher (at Mcnally Smith). It's crazy because now I get to... Share the love! It's like I went to YOUR songwriting class and wrote THESE songs after what you taught me.

Me: Are you feeling yourself more like a teacher or student now that you are rising up into a new role? What is the balance like between those relationships?

Lydia: It's definitely both dude. I'm constantly learning and I am always a student. You know when you're young and you feel like you're lesser than everyone? It's like now I'm finally at a place where I'm confident in my existence and we are learning from each other. We're way less afraid to talk to other artists now. We feel like we're being taken more seriously but we're also humbled and honored because we feel that way.

Me: What are some of the more fulfilling and important relationships you've developed because of this? Any that you didn't think that were possible?

Lydia: Honestly the Current and Lauren (BDL Manager) and... just SO MANY local artists!

Gavin: Obviously social media has made it so a band like us can communicate with anyone in the industry pretty easily. If you have some kind of record of what you do and it's good and people appreciate it, it will spread.

My favorite thing was going to Soundset in 7th and 8th grade and now there's acually a high possibility that I am going to be able to do that. I work so hard but it's actually almost unintentional. It happens because i just.... love it so much. And people see that so they say, that's cool lets do something together and fucking kill it! the POS thing is definitely one of the weirdest and coolest.
But we're actually friends, and i genuinely respect what they are doing and want to learn. It's so hard to show that and balance it with people thinking you're clinging on to these larger artists.

POS, he said fuck it i'm going to push it and just have fun and expanded and exploded. He says: Lydia write what you want, fuck what I think, I don't give a fuck if anyone else likes my lyrics because I like my lyrics.

I love Dessa and her lyrics so much. After one of her shows she told me to avoid adverbs at all costs and put as much imagery and visuals as possible, and Joe Horton said that too. Though sometimes I think that things might even be going too fast. There is a lot of pressure coming from all over the place.
Evan: That being said, we are still trying to expand as fast and as much as possible so that hopefully one day this can be ALL that we're doing.
Also, thats one of my favorite things about the Twin Cities. People are recognized for true artistry.


Me: What do you guys want to get out of everything that your doing now and this entire experience?

Gavin: This is how I choose to learn in life. Everything you do in life is you learning. If you learn the most from a certain area it will probably either be a huge hobby of yours or grow into a career.
Lydia:  We're really trying to just say fuck it, lets push it now. No matter what I'm just going to go ham. There's no way to do anything without risking anything.
Though sometimes I think that things might even be going too fast. There is a lot of pressure everywhere.
Evan: That being said we are still trying to expand as fast and as much as possible so that hopefully one day this can be ALL that we're doing. We want people to hear us and want to see where it goes.
Lydia: Yeah but even if I have to work some shitty job and still be able to play shows at night I would love my life.

Gavin: But It doesn't have to be shitty though, you know what I mean?
Lydia: Yeah positivity!
Gavin: Don't force the positivity just realize it. 

Lydia: What really made me believe and be inspired to be a musician was Rapfam. It was this amazing creative energy and all of a sudden we were all at each others shows and supporting each other.

Me: Whats the funnest shit that you guys do?

Lydia: Band Practice when we fuck around and make our songs really hilarious. Also on stage when you're lacking energy and you make a conscious effort to push yourself and make yourself REALLY feel good.
Gavin: What I think about that is that whenever I get in a bad mood on stage, I just let myself fall into the groove and that becomes my antidote and I began to really start to feel it.

Me: This has been an amazing conversation. Can't wait to hear more from you guys. I need to go to the bathroom and we've been going on for a while, any closing thoughts?

Lydia: Yeah me too...

Me: Does all of Bomba De Luz want to share the toilet?

Everyone: Yes.



-Namaste 

Calling in Sick to work because you Don't have any Gas Money

Life is full of Paradoxes. Paradi?

So is this video of Dustin Thomas playing a beautiful song in a south Minneapolis Church. I think its really an amazing video. Dustin is one of those songwriters that is instantly timeless (another paradox?). I feel like his words were written a thousand years ago yet they could be specific enough to be about my own life. That is what great songwriting does. That's why no ones going to stop listening to Bob Dylan any time soon. That's why no one is going to remember who the Jonas Brothers are in five years. Do you even remember Now?


Once one is able to unweave some of the paradoxes that confront a person and cause so much cognitive dissonance and inner conflict he can begin to be free. This is the point of meditation, to slip past tension your physical and material wants create with the state of your spirit.

Meditation does not have to be practiced by sitting there chanting ancient mantras in full lotus. It can be achieved in conversation, snowboarding, playing the piano, making love, working your job, washing a dish, reading a blog.

Actually I take that back, it CAN'T be achieved. Because there is no achievement. There is no end goal. there is no start or finish or now or later loser winner about it.
Picture that.

I'm listening to...#1

Listening to http://happyimpresent.bandcamp.com/?group_id=0 by the dude you know you've heard about Metasota.

This is one of those albums that the lyricism is so good that its hard to be able to think your own thoughts while listening because you want to hear every word. That's the thing about hip hop music....

If you strip away the beat...

If you strip away the production and the dope effects and "that crazy pitch shifty thing" people often so get caught up in all you got is

THE WORDS.

That's why I love doing this, I'm just freestyling without having to rhyme and being able to post links for you guys to let you get a closer look at my thought process.

Because maybe it makes you... think or mad or run or fucked up or realize that the internet sucks or that you want to write yourself or whatever that thing is

It's that universal OH MY GOD feeling when something plucks a heartstring and you realize that this everyday shuffle pattern your stuck in is meaningless and THIS is what truly matters. THIS internal, intangible beautiful thing that we create between each other when we create each other.

That's when the WORDS come in.

Because to a human, there is no sweeter sounding instrument than a human voice,
and to a human, there is no truer sounding vibration than that of someone speaking your language.
and that MC or that opera singer or Frank Sinatra or your girlfriend singing in the shower reverberates within  you in a way that creates this internal paradise where we can understand each other and stand together and be one. You become the words you hear when you believe in the words you hear. And you believe those words when they speak of the things you deal with on a daily basis. That daily shuffle pattern you sometimes forget to get sick of.

Poetry is not a lost art.

That's why people are never going to stop listening to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z43SmPpMVQc

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P51FLeSq_k

Because after all of the glitz and glam of the hoi polloi fades away all your left with is what's honest.
Love is honest. No one's honest all the time these days, and we spend so much energy trying to pierce the heart of what's real and what isn't. We are surrounded by the ocean of Samsara and addicted to our illusion's. So often I have a hard time trying to pull honesty out of myself in times that it is most important to do so.

When you hear something honest, something true, you fall in love with it. You feel one with it.
That's why our words are so powerful. (Though action's can be honest too and are even more powerful)

So Meta is honest. The beat's are beautifully minimalistic and weird in a slimy way that reminds you of the cosmos, and they are reminiscent of shit like Homeboy Sandman  (who writes for the huffpost sometimes and says some pretty insightful shit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homeboy-sandman/industry-lie-4080-not-bad_b_2000515.html )
as well as Shabazz Palaces. That's the west coast, midwest and east coast all having characters rise up with similar styles that people are really vibin with and enjoying and finding fulfillment with.

That is the new generation that we are rising up in.
It's not that the east is doing something different from the west, but there are just people from all over tapping into the medium in similar, astonishing ways. Whether it's Japan or Duluth. That's the internet. That's what our grandparents didn't have and what we have at our fingertips 24/7.

The Times are always changing.

So listen to good music:

Beauty is Connection | Celebrating Something Sacred

Oh My God.

What does that mean?

I was a child who grew up in a loosely Jewish household, but throughout elementary school my best friend was raised by strict Christian, conservative parents. This was never a problem by any means, but it forced us to grapple with the concept of god from a very early age. I couldn't understand what was truly different about the way we believed and lived and why there were these boundaries that were put up between how we do things. Not to mention, what in the world is God?

Whenever I said Oh My God around them, they were very offended. They told me not to use the Lord's name in vain. In vain?

In this beautiful TED talk with the beautiful soul Louie Schwartzberg he says:

OH- Is catching your attention, you have started to experience something that is worth your energy and you focus on it
MY- Is you finding that thing is resonating inside yourself, and you feel connection to it
GOD- Is the personal journey that we all want to be on, and that we are all on constantly


How could there be anything in vain in finding a moment of god within something beautiful happening at the present moment?

I think that beauty is god, because the wonder that comes from seeing something new and truly beautiful connects you to that moment and experience, and can open your eyes and see how everything is connected in one brief moment of clarity. This is why I highly recommend trips to the Grand Canyon. Make em car trips, and stop as much as possible in places you didn't plan. Bring your whole family, even your bratty little brother and your condescending sister and share the backseat with them for 13 hours. Go far away from what you know and see something new together.

When you get back, it may matter less who left the toilet seat up. You may mind helping your brother with his homework a little less. They might actually even start to like you a little bit. Who knows?


On 12/21/12 Lifted Mindz released a brand new EP that we have been working on for many months and has been highly anticipated (by us at least :)
The EP is titled Something Sacred and you can catch it all here-
http://liftedmindzlmz.bandcamp.com/

This is our most light hearted project yet and I couldn't be more in love with it. Not just because I think we're the shit (my friends really are though) but because we were able to really get down to the core of this concept in very simple ways.

"If I survive, I'll Dance in the Moonlight, If I'm Divine, I will rise today, I can see the sunshine, If i'm alive, I'll dive into the tide, I will rise today" - Logoz, Wolphe and Eloda on the first track "ChirpChirp"

The whole point of this work is to illuminate the daily lives of our younger selves and our projected selves at the same time in order to capture some of the beauty in the daily grind that we live. From parties under the moon in the summer time, to being a little kid running around with a cape on, the beauty within these events connects us. That is Something Sacred.
To me, that is God.

(Un)fortunately I am cut short today and have to go do some growing up with the help of my family. I am looking forward to it.

Blessings to all, Much love, Happy ChrismahannuakwanzaaRamadan or whatever the hell you feel like celebrating at the moment. Life is light is love and I love you. Grab your christmas present and download Something Sacred for free.

Oh yeah, heres our first ever music video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfuXiu7ikv8

New projects, new releases, new perspectives.... I sit down and interview the boys from Silknote!

Silknote Release Show!Whats really cool about this show is that though LMZ isn't officially on the bill, you'll see different sides of every member of the group doing their thing. You'll have to come to know exactly what I mean, but I guess my point is that art is all about expansion of boundaries. 

For me, the entire creative process is about looking for those walls in your mind and society and taking them down however you can. Too often I see so called "artists" who have been doing the same thing for so long. It's easy to tell that they are comfortable, they aren't bleeding the inspiration that comes from bashing your head into the window of perspective until it cracks... 

So push yourself. Do something that people like and then match that with something you love until people hate it. At that point, practice and practice and practice until it becomes something new that people love.  

That is the key.

Key to what?
Success? Maybe... depending how you define it. 
Money? Maybe... if you put it enough practice
a better understanding of self? Yes.
A true journey into that self and the constant rebirth to create a feeling of being "new" every day, thought of by some as enlightenment? Hmmm.... well thats the journey isn't it?

You can find out a lot more about this process in regards to art, communication, and daily life in Kristoff Krane's book The Other.

Today I'm going to sit down with these homies to try to grasp an understanding of their perspective. Maybe we can feel "new" together by looking at things from their eyes. I want to find out how other people approach their creative process, especially working with new people. 

 I'm very lucky, because my lifestyle choices have led me to be surrounded by amazing musicians almost all the time. Today is a really cool day because a couple of my best friends are releasing an album and having their release show. Now I'm not going to go on with shameless promotion cuz that shits boring, so all the info you need you can find here:http://www.facebook.com/events/249351288527885/

Antioch about to take flight

For those who don't know, Silknote consists of these three dudes

Antioch: 
http://antiochmusic.bandcamp.com/

Eloda:
http://eloda.bandcamp.com/

Wolphe:http://wolph3.bandcamp.com/

Wolphe and Eloda are both members of Lifted Mindz. We do this whole music thing too.

I asked these dudes all kinds of questions, ranging from personal hygiene to the Antioch's signature stage tactic best known as the "man pussy." Shit was bananas....

Me: When was the last time you washed your pants? 
Wolphe: ugh.. Never.
Eloda: What?

Me: dope man, so tell me, What is Silknote? What are you guys all about?

Wolphe: Silknote is our idea of silky hip hop. We wanted to take that underground jazz smoothness thats happening and make it hip hop and jazz at the same time. Ya know, sing a lil bit, rap a lil bit and feel really free about it.
Eloda: We wanted to make real melodic and not just rap. Nice melodies and cool sounding parts that are really emotional. It's like jumping into a melodic river of brainwaves.
Antioch: So I started talking to these cats... dogs... and Wolphe. At first I was sending Ape [Eloda] beats and sending Joe [Wolphe] a few as well and then one day he's like "yo Erik, why don't we just make an album together?!" We started off in my garage and all the beats are produced by me except for Phaethon which was a collaboration between all three of us.
Eloda: It was originally called fellatio...

Me: I know you guys have group releases as well as solo releases, what was the difference between this project and others you guys have worked on?

Wolphe: I think the cool thing about it is the first time we got down we all went to [Antioch's] house and went through like 100 beats if not more and were really selective about it. It was not just that we liked this one or that one, but we had something that we were going for that it had to fit.
Me: like a common vision?
Wolphe: Yeah exactly and it had to fit a certain mood.
Eloda: We had to have a mutual brain light switch that flicks on

Me: What exactly is Heliades? What does that mean to you, how did you think of it?

Eloda: It's a story about the sons of Apollo. He tries to teach them how to fly the sun across the Earth but basically they fuck up so Zeus throws a lightning bolt at em and they spend the rest of their lives grieving until they eventually turn into trees. I think the overall tone of the album is darker, grieving and emotional.
Antioch: It has it's lighter moments though!
Eloda: Yeah right before the chariot gets struck from the sky...

Me: Did you guys think of that before or after you started thinking of these songs?

Preach to the people, Wolphy 

Wolphe: Right in the beginning. Before we had recorded any songs actually.
Antioch: [Eloda] just threw it out there and we were like "fuck yeah."

Me: Did that play a part in your creative process? Is that something that your music embodies? Having that huge responsibility and carrying the sun but ultimately fucking up and having to live with those consequences?  

Antioch: The whole recording process and the whole way we went about it was kind of us being fuck ups. A lot of goofing around and not getting work done...
Wolphe: As these guys were writing lyrics I was photoshopping a picture of Ape with boobs. That's going to be the album cover... and possibly my profile picture on facebook so look out for that.
Eloda: That's not photoshop, I actually have boobs. 
Me: So this process that you went through, were you not used to that style? How did you feel about it being more of a jamming, goofing around atmosphere as opposed to sitting down and working for works sake?

Antioch: I like the way it was all done. It was fun and it sounds fucking sweet.
Wolphe: The first night we recorded we had nothing ready we just sat down and started writing and were like whatever comes, comes. That's whats cool about this project.

Me: Thats real dope. What is next for Silknote? Is this something that's still growing in your minds?

Eloda: The next Silknote project, whenever that's going to happen is going to include Lydia Liza (of Bomba De Luz) on all the songs.
Wolphe: We're just trying to keep that silky, jazz influenced vibe and grow around that.

Me: Are there things that you are doing differently from other projects? What ways are you pushing yourselves or finding areas where you feel comfortable and sticking with them? Anything new or interesting that you havent tried before?

Wolphe: I've tried some newer styles of rapping. I've tried to take the inspiration of all the hip hop I've been listening to and try to take that on. Before a lot of stuff is really simple and I'm trying to add to that and make it more complicated.
Antioch: For me, I listen to these guys styles, with a lot of half singing-half rapping and I tried to hold myself to that too so that was fun to do.
Eloda: This is really my kind of style. It's right in the core of the kind of shit i feel comfortable doing.

Me: What can we expect from the release show?

Wolphe: a good time!
Antioch: Hyphy!
Wolphe: It's got its ups and downs in an emotional way.
Eloda: [Antioch]'s gonna make a man pussy.

Me: I'm not sure what that is... 

Eloda: I have a video of him tucking his wiener in.
Wolphe: OH!

Me: I really hope that's not a true story...

Eloda: It is...
Wolphe: everyones gonna see it!

Me: Are you gonna do that live?

Wolphe: we should probably do that live... do it on the last song though because we'll probably get kicked out. He never goes anywhere without his vagina.
Eloda: Concentrated pussy grease is actually the name of the album.

Me: How about this lineup? We have Sector 7G, Dem Atlas, Christopher Michael Jensen, Nico (Crocodile Grin) and Logoz the Kritick.
How did you guys come up with it?

Eloda: Everyone who is playing is like our closest family. It's the people who we've been doing shows with for a while and have been with us since the beginning.
Antioch: With the added exception of Sector 7G.
Wolphe: hes the shit
Antioch: I saw [Mike Shank] online one day and thought, fuck it why not try it? and it worked out!

Me: That's whats up!

Antioch: It'll be a nice little family thing at the family location!
Eloda: but don't bring your family...

Me: cuz it is 18+....

Wolphe: and we will fuck your daughters.

Me: and you might see Antioch's vagina...