Had an awesome interview with local retro futuristic dance act Pig Out today for the beat dungeon show on Upfm.
I dunno if it’s the beer but I’m pretty fired up tonight.
Well it’s not only the beer, it’s spending the whole weekend in the studio, the whole year, whole last 2-3 years – and particularly the last 6 months mainly engaged in business affairs getting me feeling pretty cooped up.
It’s sad to have to choose to work and grind because there are no decent vibes around to really celebrate. That’s kind of been my sub conscious state. If there’s no vibes, I may as well make my cash. Do what I do.
Look, I don’t want to be this idealistic chump who’s got all these grand ideas that just aren’t real. I can’t build a vibe by myself. People are crazy, I barely understand them, I’m best to look after my own interests, if there’s no opening, if there’s no space, why try to force it?
I’m quite similar in my approach to these things, I get very impatient when things don’t work out, I guess what I’m saying is that I have pretty high standards.
I know that sounds stupid, but that’s what I’m saying, I can’t be holding out for good vibes and hoping thats going to somehow mysteriously come together when I know how to do other things I understand – like make cash.
But it’s true, it can’t make you happy. I fear turning into a square, y’know just this rich dickhead with nothing real going on. I also think I should be chasing more girls but that’s not really real either, it’s just an indulgence.
I was staring out my window today when two dudes just pulled up started talking to these girls and the girls jumped in the car and they drove off. I may as well have been on another planet.
I mean, pretending everything is good for one night or 5 minutes is not real to me but it seems it’ll do for a lot of people. I can’t stand it.
I know that the truth behind a moment is that it can never last, but I can’t just pretend everythings fine and accept mediocrity.
But when you meet some guys like the kids from Pig Out and you’re talking about music and your talking about gigs and parties and music from back in the day, you realise there are still people out there serious about this kind of thing and willing to make a good thing happen.
Otherwise it’s too many wankers who aren’t real that’s what I can’t stand.
I’m stuck doing this business and making that choice because it’s hard to discern whether there’s enough real people out there to make anything truly special happen.
It started with Kit from Pig Out talking about the Serato using DJ kids these days and I was talking about how different rave ideals fitted into what they were doing.
Was I talking about it here? At one point I was buzzing out because it’s not that the rave ideals were gone . . . but they were almost forgotten! At least back in the data:bass days 4-5 years ago . . . at least I still held onto the ideas of free parties, and bringing back rave ideals.
I see Fu and The Carpark and how full of dumb kids it is and I realise things haven’t worked out. What am I talking about here? Where is the scene which is real and enriched, because I’m stuck in the bullshit scene.
Everybody thinks hipsterrunoff is a big joke but there’s some stuff right there, y’know – there’s a reason it’s funny, because it’s true – about wanting authenticity. Something that’s real. I know that sounds all very esoteric but I do mean some thing.
You used to be able to go to a rave and buzz out and usually it was cheap or free and the vibe of the place was so much different from a club.The purpose of the party was real. It wasn’t just to sell beer and shots, I’ve known this for so long. Something changed when it went in the club.
And just getting drunk is dreary, taking euphoric drugs and getting uplifted is just so amazing, so instantaneously adventurous. Sorry for the blase endorsement but that’s me. There’s a reason I never did drugs all the time because it is a dangerous habit but it’s a hell of a good time too.
Am I going to have the party? Am I going to conjure up the scene to make it happen? I don’t know, all I know is that not accepting mediocrity or saying what we’ve got is okay is a good thing.
It’s worthwhile calling for a new underground, because Auckland has become a true international metropolis and now there is a need to create an enclave for people who aren’t sold on some ridiculous notion because they’re young and have no clue, or they’re stupid celebruty bottomfeeder types that need adoration.
Don’t get me wrong, I think this is about providing for young people and educating them into knowing that just because you wear a short skirt and pay $8 a drink that’s not sophisticated.
It’s a sell out.
Okay I think I’m calming down a bit. But I know I can come off as a bit of an upstart sometimes but it just comes back to having standards. Not just settling for whatevers available and going with that.
Sometimes I’ve been a big mouth and not thought through what I’ve had to say because I wanted to express a desire. And I wasn’t very pragmatic about doing it. It’s not enough to simply be unimpressed with thatever exist or is presented – that’s too easy – you’ve got to want to make a better alternative.
I’m not ready to let go of the idea that is . . . I can get closer to where I want to be. I can do something thats more important than business, it just takes some inspiration.
What’s inspiring about wanting to do something that impresses dickhead 21 year olds?
At least Kit and Marie from Pig Out gave me confidence that there are still people out there making music for the right reasons. There are still musicians who are artists who have a background and are serious about their art.
I’m still serious about my art, and my art is all about having these dreams about something more, and wanting something else, that’s why I run a business so I can afford for money not to be a huge issue, so I can afford to dream.
And though it’s not so lofty I do have a dream, sure I wanna be loaded and be a rich playboy, I’m sure that will be a lot of fun, but more importantly I want to be part of something that involves connections that will inspire me to be more than what I am now, to expand my art, to build something that is meaningful in a significant way.
Do I want to be a little mini star and star of my own little universe? Sure, but again if I realise my art and get somewhere in the end in terms of saying my piece, than anything else is just a bonus.
