[Glice]

 

You are, are you not, rocking the 'ageing page boy with an inability to buy belts' look to the right of this picture?

I mean, don't get me wrong, but it's going to be a real struggle for people to enjoy Scissor Shock if you don't sort out the sartorial aspects of the band. You could be playing the best music humans have ever heard, and yet any band with a grasshopper mask will always be shit. What are they teaching you people in school these days?

[Glice]

This counts doubly with a bandname referring directly to haircut related matters.

[atsonicpark]

Good advice, you're probably right, and maybe in the next 10 years of playing shows and recording albums I'll sort it out.

But these first 10 years went pretty well without the need to explain any of that stuff. I think I'm doing okay.

The hilarity is, you're probably right. I could probably attach some ridiculous sentiments to it, I could romanticize it some more, I could probably go "yeah I just spent 2 years perfecting this song" and appeal to people with some sort of gimmick. There'll always be a gimmick, I guess, if you're appearing to do anything beyond playing music. The thing is, I take songwriting really seriously, but I don't take the "band" aspect or the "live" aspect or the "audience" aspect seriously...

For example, I don't tell the members what to wear or whatever, I just tell them to show up and am thankful for it, they can do whatever they want. I like to pretend everyone is an equal intelligent person who can bring their own shit to the orchestra. I'm not there to control or conduct them and I get mad if they submit to me. I don't usually practice with people in the current incarnation of the band, telling them they can listen to the cd's and figure the songs out. This usually leads to frustration and hilarity, and leads to awkwardness -- awkwardness is pretty much the entire point of everything I do. You have to kinda look past that aspect to get it...

Now I've revealed too much.

But you know, the entire idea of everything, beyond the awkwardness, is the cutting and the editing. It's a band that exists entirely in edit, apparently, it's a band playing against itself, I don't like the idea of a band, I want it to exist in some weird vaccuum where standards weren't "set" for the roles of guitar and bass or and so on. I wish I could make music without notes. But everything has notes. So, beyond that, what's the next step? To play music that is impossible to actually "play", to appear to "play" it in a recorded context. How do you pull that off live? Simple. You do exactly what's on a record: You never repeat yourself. Leave them guessing or wanting "more", or "less", at least it's interesting. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference.

You can't even see my belt loops in my pants. Those are the only pants I own now btw.

Anyway, download the cd everyone, haha:

http://www.archive.org/details/Sciss...Existentialism



haha.

No honestly glice, the entire idea of the band is not to have an idea of the band, I haven't thought about any of this shit ever until just now.

There's a really really long interview with me in the new I'M ONE OF THE ODD FAMILY issue, # 4 that's a little illuminating, here's some excerpts:
http://blackguard23.livejournal.com/66408.html

[Glice]

Sorry, are you telling me that I'm the first person to point this out? I'm literally mildly surprised.

[atsonicpark]

You've put me on the spot, I just never think about anything other than doing what seems right at the time. I wish I could be a blank canvas or a walking shadow or a void or something but people already have preconceived notions based on everything, or nothing, hence my "nothing is more beautiful than nothing" idea because people are going to judge you for doing everything or for doing nothing, or whatever. Image is everything. Non-image is everything. People care about trivialities. Might as well exploit them, I suppose, in some ridiculous way. If anyone has any advice, lemme know.

No, in all reality, if a band wanted to be "successful", all they'd really have to do is call all their songs "BRITNY SPEARS' TAMPON STASH" or "CHRISTINA AGUILERA IS A CUNT" or stupid simplieminded shit. Works for Anal Cunt. And A.C. is my initialxzz PART DEUX?!

Drop-d? Check. Shitty song titles? Check. Explicit album cover? Check. Copies sold: 10,000,000. "integrity"? Well, I mean, you're playing music, maybe not the music you want to make, but YOU'RE PLAYING MUSIC FOR A LIVING. Selling out may not be too bad.

But it's like this... just by existing, jsut by doing ANYTHING, you're going to be "judged", by people who don't think you're "worthy", so you have to "prove something". It's all just funny to me. Who gives a fuck. I wrote a better riff on this song, then he or she or you or whoever will write a better riff on that song. So fucking what?

But yeah that mask wasn't my idea, I won't take "credit" for that one, man! haha.

[atsonicpark]

Anyway, and this is pretty obvious, but SS is probably sceneless, and will probably rather pruposely go out of its way to force people to not listen. The idea is to get more and more abrasive and absurd as time goes on, until even people that were fans at one point will no longer care. I want it to exist completely independant of anyone or anything else, because the exact opposite of everything most people hold dear is what compels me to keep creating.

The "difficulty" comes in how/where/who to advertise this to. How do you tell someone "listen to this -- even though it's not meant to be listened to"? Again, these are all questions I've never thought about till now.

So, thanks Glice.

Also my hair looks badass now, my mom'sb est friend is a hairdresser and she gave me a badass deal.

[Glice]

It's on my mind at the moment. I've been asked to join a band. They're good, great guys, good music etc. But they've got awful taste in shoes. I'm in a real bind.

[Glice]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Anyway, and this is pretty obvious, but SS is sceneless, and will probably rather pruposely go out of its way to force people to not listen. The idea is to get more and more abrasive and absurd as time goes on, until even people that were fans at one point will no longer care. I want it to exist completely independant of anyone or anything else, because the exact opposite of everything most people hold dear is what compels me to keep creating.

What if it's not abrasive? What if people just aren't that bothered? What if they would be bothered if you got some decent shoes? Integrity means nothing without decent shoes.

[atsonicpark]

can you even see my shoes? I always have worn converse one stars. chuck taylor is from my hometown -- my street, actually! I'm wearing.. hang on...

[atsonicpark]

 

I got these but with black shoelaces.

My ex made me a pair that was purple and yellow and black. They looked really cool.

I'm really into sauconies..

what shoes are you into glice, and what are the other band members wearing?

[Glice]

One of the band members is wearing Converse - he has a haircut to get away with it (one of those askance side partings with a shaved crown).

The others are wearing bad DMs and awful Nikes respectively. Might as well turn up in grasshopper masks.

I'm rocking Indian leather black brogues at the moment, though I have a few reserve shoes (pristine white Oxfords, f'rintsance).

Converse is wrong for your music. You're not a skate band or a punk band. You have chosen the wrong shoes. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But honestly, this is rudimentary shoe-ology.

[Glice]

Are your laces that thick, by the way? They might be at least passable with a slender black lace.

[atsonicpark]

they're actually really really slender.

what shoes do you reccomend a genreless band wears? Also am I supposed to wear a tie with my button up shirt?

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

There's a really really long interview with me in the new I'M ONE OF THE ODD FAMILY issue, # 4 that's a little illuminating, here's some excerpts:
http://blackguard23.livejournal.com/66408.html

What exactly did you have to say about ICP? I'm curious.. ha.

Oh, and just for the fun of it, I wear a battered-ass pair of these...

 

They're supposed to be licensed by Transformers or something... I dunno, I don't really care about any of that. I like 'em 'cause they look 90's as fuck, and can be worn even during the harshest Michigan winters.

They're pretty hideous though, and if it were up to me, I'd be rocking some standard black Adidas. But I don't care enough about shoes to buy a new pair. These have lasted me years. I actually get complimented on them a lot by thugs.

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

*cough*

[atsonicpark]

gotta buy the zine to see!


they ask me who's more annoying, icp fans or.. slipknot fans I think? And I just went off on a tangent how icp are the most brilliant independant artists working today, regularly making milliions of dollars of profit with no real "talent" -- which they'll admit to themselves, they don't know anything about music at all, yet they're technically musicians and so on... I said that's admirable, every indie band could learn from them.

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

Thank you.

As a rabid fan of both, I am very offended by that question. ha

[Glice]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

they're actually really really slender.

what shoes do you reccomend a genreless band wears? Also am I supposed to wear a tie with my button up shirt?

You're not a 'genreless band'. If I come across one, I'll think about their shoes based on the bands merits.

Regarding the tie situation, it very much depends on the social occasion. Formal event - definitely proper tie (not a clip-on); other events vary depending on context.

[Derek]

I certainly don't think about shoes when I see a band live. And have certainly never thought about it while playing live myself. Glice, are you sure you aren't overanalysing?

[Glice]

Pretty sure, yep. People don't consciously notice shoes, doesn't mean they're not important.