Shiro Ameko! (White American)

18 06 2008


One of the first people contacted after starting MonsterFresh.com, was our writer known as D.W. Patton.  It may have been the last time that I saw him face to face when we were sitting at the China Town bar in Olympia, Wa.  We traded manuscripts.  I gave him a 19 page paper I had written about my theories on time travel and Satan while he gave me a copy of a play that he had written entirely of Elizabethan dialogue involving a half-man/half-woman Brian Bosworth separated vertically down the middle.  He is currently teaching children in Japan and has written 3 articles for the site about his experiences living in the Island Country.  He has covered such topics as spending the 4th of July in a foreign land, Japanese Porn, and even cultural transplants such as McDonalds.  I had hoped to receive more content based around these observations from an outsider and have had occasional emails with Patton pertaining to such aspirations.  He had planned to send an article to me about the bar scenes and drinking in his current location but it has yet to happen for one reason or another.  There was even hope that I could get the Zomba group to grant him free access to a Backstreet Boys concert in Japan so that he could report on the continued boy band frenzy and the juxtaposition of the two pop cultures coming together, but that didn’t work out either.D.W. has been very busy with work and other responsibilities as of late.  I was recently thinking about him and his work.  I had thought to contact him about possibly writing some more facinating content for us when I noticed a message in the MonsterFresh email account.  Somehow during a correspondance with a friend of his, their email conversation was accidentally forwarded to me.  Although I still hope to receive some material tailored specifically as an article and/or to work with him more in the future in one form or another, I quickly realized that the email that I had in my posession  was a genuine article that represented some very deep and honest feelings for him at the time it was typed.  It was written from a sincere place of evaluation for both his environment and his place within it.  I know that he holds his time and experiences in Japan very dear, and that he truly does have respect for the culture and opportunities that he’s had over there, however, if I plan to print honest unfiltered material on this site, and I do, I felt that I could not overlook what I had read.  I contacted him and Patton agreed to let me post his letter without hesitation.  I hope, as I’m sure that he does, that this is read, not as a document of slander for a place and its people and culture, but as a look into the effects of culture shock on one’s psyche and emotional health and well-being.  He has confirmed that this letter accurately represents his recent feelings as a foreigner living in a distant and very different land.  Hopefully, this will further help those of us who read it, to re-evaluate the way that we too treat and view people around us who have ventured outside of their own cultural safe-zones with adjusted and more conscious approaches to what they may be experiencing.  Below in bold type is that letter. 

 Thank you,
-Dead C
Read the rest of this entry »





The Grey Market & The Online Digital Camera Hustle

15 05 2008



When I started MonsterFresh.com, I didn’t expect it to receive the amount of traffic that it did and I definitely didn’t expect it to arrive so quickly.  I know that most people would view this as a positive dilema to be in, as do I, but I was left unprepared in a few areas.  I am still trying to taper down the responsibilities that I have outside of the site and to lock down a consistent writing staff.  Considering that I have been doing almost all of the writing, editing, photo imaging, research, etc. by myself lately, it has understandably affected the regularity of content.  Fortunately, I am more concerned with consistency of quality, rather than with having a consistent amount of content.  If that was my priority I could just swipe AP articles, turn MonsterFresh into a dump site for links, or, do what most of these internet “bloggers” do, which is take some bullshit photo of a celebrity from somewhere else and write a worthless dated comment underneath it.  Trust me, I don’t handle the site the way that I do because I am unaware of the traffic possibilities of a site like I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER? but, allow me to finally and clearly state my feelings officially: “As far as I am concerned, that site can suck the stripes off of a zebras cock.”  I find staring at kitten calendar images and eating Nilla wafers in gem sweaters to have the same emotionally diluted creepiness of Misery’s Annie Wilkes and to be born of a perversion that parallels taking whip-its in a terry cloth bathrobe to nugget porn.

The main issue that I am currently concerned with trying to remedy for the site is technological.  I tried to keep my life as low-tech as possible for years, and that’s part of why the internet medium and its possibilities are still fascinating to me.  I always hope, especially with the interviews, that the following messages come through of, “We don’t do anything outside the realm of attainability.  We don’t have any previous elite credentials.  We don’t even have access to very high-tech equipment, but we do care about real interactions and in representing and in writing from viewpoints that the majority of readers aren’t already drowning in.”  Sure its validating to try and successfully build a shelter out of gum wrappers and have it shield you from a tornado, but eventually you might want to get some fucking wood, maybe even a little paint, and throw something together that you don’t have to hot glue or duct tape every other day just to keep it functional.  If I’m going to get photo passes for a Ween concert, I should be able to use that opportunity to get some choice shots fired off , if I want to throw it up on the site conveniently, I should have a decent digital camera, and, if I get a nice photo, I’m going to want the resolution to be good enough for me to be able to enlarge and mount the image.  I knew that I would be receiving a $500 check in the mail soon and that I needed to utilize the opportunity to help step it up in the technology department. Read the rest of this entry »





Songs of Pain: Daniel Johnston Interview

25 04 2008

So it’s about 20 minutes before I’m supposed to do my interview with songwriting legend Daniel Johnston when my girlfriend Kim walks into the Comet Tavern.  I’m drinking a Mac & Jacks African Amber and trying to get all of my notes and shit organized because I’m still under the misguided idea that I may actually be able to gear the upcoming conversation with the manic depressive musician into some direction of my choosing.  Already, nothing is going as planned.

I hand Kim a DV camera and inform her that she will be filming the interview and then ask her to watch all of my equipment and notes while I run to QFC to get film.  I found out the day before that I would not be recieving the Digital SLR camera that I had ordered weeks prior (this situation will be covered in another article) and so I brought an old manual Cannon AE1 for which I had accidentally bought the wrong film, in my frenzy to reach the venue on time.  I purchased new film and rushed back to the bar only to find out that the Camera battery was dead anyway, so I was fucked.  No camera to go with the photopass.  Another opportunity lost, but such is the way of MonsterFresh.    

As soon as we walk across the street to the venue, Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room, I spot Daniel’s brother/tour manager, Dick Johnston whom I recognized from the documentary.  I shook his hand and he led me around the building so that we could get things rolling.  If you have seen the film The Devil and Daniel Johnston, you may remember Dick as the brother who’s ribs were broken by Daniel on Christmas.  He set up the interview for me and is working as Daniel’s tour manager.  Their father is Daniel’s manager and their sister Margie Johnston has been known to help with the management of his art.  The family is very involved in Daniel’s finances in such ways as insuring that he is paid sufficiently, that his rent is paid, that he has groceries, etc.

We turn the corner and I see Daniel with his head lowered to the ground and smoking a cigarette.  The front of his hair is yellowing from nicotine, he is wearing a faded black Spiderman T-shirt and a windbreaker, and he seems to be oblivious to who he is and what that actually means.  He is standing very nonchalant outside of the building, as if he were unnoticible, when we approach.  An employee of Neumos asks Daniel if he and/or Dick need anything in the way of food.  Daniel has mentioned in the past that he is trying to lose the weight that he has gained over the years, no doubt due to his medication, so he makes sure to specify a “DIETCoke in his request for a cheeseburger and fries.  She says that she will go get some from a place down the street and, when Daniel implies that he will go up there himself, his brother/manager reminds him that he has a sound check to do and ushers him into the building as I follow behind. Read the rest of this entry »





Mitch Hedberg: Comedy & Tragedy

1 04 2008


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You may have heard of Mitch Hedberg.  It seems now as though lots of people have.  Hedberg’s comedy is like most great secrets: if it’s great enough, eventually every body will find out about it but, quite often, not until it’s far too late to do anything about it. 

Mitch died on March 29, 2005 with cocaine and heroin in his system.  He would have turned 40 years old just this last February.  It wasn’t until a couple of days afterwards, April 1st or so, that I found out about his death and I immediately called my friend Jeremy who was also a fan of his.  After looking into it a bit more, Jeremy informed me that there was some speculation that the whole situation could possibly just be a prank because of its timing with April Fools Day.  I knew that the only similarity to the news about Hedberg’s death and some Andy Kaufman-esqe scheme, is that they were both actually dead.  I had met Mitch Hedberg twice before and his death and, although it was beyond incredibly tragic and unfortunate, it did not come as a shock in the slightest.  Read the rest of this entry »





Wesley Willis’s Joyrides: Songs about Beastiality & Real Life

29 03 2008


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Either you know who Wesley Willis was, or you don’t. Maybe one of your friends told you about him, describing him as a “street-musician,” “schizophrenic,” or perhaps they even attempted to convey some sort of sample lyric from one of his songs. But you can’t know who Welsey Willis is until you have heard one of his songs and, after that, the name tends to stick.

I first heard about Wesley through my friend Aaron. He told me a story about some friends of his who had given Wesley a ride from a music festival in Minnesota back to his home town of Chicago. What I gathered from his story was that Wesley Willis was a 300+ lb. schizophrenic homeless man from Chicago who writes songs with amusing titles and lyrics (i.e. – “Suck A Cheetah’s Dick”).  I was intrigued, but the force of Willis’ impact did not reach full until I was actually played a few songs. “Chronic Schizophrenia”, “Rock & Roll McDonalds”, and “Outburst” all sounded the same, covered similar themes, and typified Willis’ stream-of-consciousness-rambling-verse followed by chanting-repetitive-chorus  followed back into, stream-of-consciousness-rambling-verse style. I was immediately smitten.  As were a number of us.

Sure, the irony might be lost on the numbest American drones, but those assholes don’t read MosterFresh.com (unless they’re visiting to read about Sarah Larson, George Clooney’s latest girl-toy). But the irony that has become a religion for my generation, as well as next week’s, is embodied in Willis’ music. Read the rest of this entry »





Dawson’s Crack (Interview w/Kimya Dawson)

19 03 2008


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The timing and content has been a bit erratic here on MonsterFresh.com, especially as of late, but that is primarily due to its organic development.  I use the term “organic” in much the same way that a crop yield can be affected by the refusal to utilize outside elements that, although have the ability to stimulate growth, will also undoubtedly effect the natural composition of things.  I only mention this because Kimya Dawson was actually one of the first interviews that I thought to have when I started this website.

I spoke with her at a show in November, but mostly just about Olympia, Wa (Kimya lived in Oly during the 90’s, I lived there from 2000-’06 and then she moved back after I had left)  She did, however, mention that some of her music was used to make up the soundtrack to a small indie film that was coming out called JUNO.  I recalled seeing a trailer for it before The Darjeeling Limited, and that was that. 

Jump to a couple of months into the future and JUNO is already an Oscar contender and the soundtrack, which is composed almost entirely of Dawson’s solo work and other projects (The Moldy Peaches & Antsy Pants) becomes the #1 selling album Nationally. Kimya’s schedule these days is hectic.  She tours with her family (husband/musician Angelo Spencer and their daughter Panda) and actually lists the days in which she is NOT doing a performance.  Fortunately for us, she played a benefit show in Seattle on March 1st for HollowEarthRadio.com, of which my friend DJ Knucklesupper hosts his own show.  She was kind enough to meet with me before her performance so that the interview could finally come to fruition. Read the rest of this entry »





Video of the Month (March ‘08)

10 03 2008

The site has been on hiatus for a minute but somehow the hits are still blowing through the roof so we appreciate the support.  There is a lot of content on the way so don’t worry.  For now we wanted to provide you with a new video of the month that we love like a bastard son who stole from us on Christmas and never calls.  This is a live performance by a Norwegian trio called Hurra Torpedo covering the Bonnie Tyler classic Total Eclipse of the Heart.  For those who don’t know, Max Weinberg was the original drummer on the studio version of that track, but we think that Hurra Torpedo does a more than adequate job with the percussion re-arrangements.  Peep game fools!





The Name of da Game is Slang

19 01 2008


Lot scene

A kind of Lot Dictionary, where all the words sound like they end in the letter “Y”

My friend Sleepy Matt and I were talking about the ridiculous amount of code words, nicknames, or special dialect that tours kids communicate with. I was telling him that I might be out of the lingo loop these days, but I was sure I could pull together a few words. Once I got started on this, it really didn’t have an end. A couple of my other friends also helped me out on this – Conbot and Genius (Dead C) – so I have to give credit where credit is due. With times always a changing, this is almost an implacable task. So, we decided to try and compile a list of words ending in the sound of “Y” that you will hear when you go to a super phat, heady, double terminated, enhydro, triple encrusted, ethereal show, brah.

Read the rest of this entry »





Rethinking the Process (Daedelus Interviewed)

7 12 2007


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Daedelus keeps himself busy.  Since 2001, the Los Angeles-based producer has released albums on underground hip-hop labels Plug Research, Mush, and Alphapup, experimental techno label Phthalo, German label Laboratory Instinct, and the prolific underground electronica giant Ninja Tune, amongst others.  In 2003, he collaborated with LA underground MCs Busdriver and Radioinactive for the childrens’ album-soaked “The Weather,” (Mush) only to release a completely reconstructed instrumental version later that year.  Upcoming projects include collaboration with his wife, Laura Darlington, a second collaboration with Los Angeles’ DJ Frosty (after 2003’s marine-inspired “Dreams of Water Themes“), and a full-length album for Ninja Tune.  And hot off the presses are the “Fair Weather Friends” EP (Ninja Tune) and “Live At The Low End Theory” (Mush) from LA’s new weekly home for underground hip-hop. 

I caught up with Daedelus on a recent tour with Busdriver and Antimc at The Great American Music Hall, possibly San Francisco’s best-sounding small venue.  Here’s what he had to say about creating music, distributing music, and, well, music. Read the rest of this entry »





Hella WEEN (Live / La Cucaracha)

1 12 2007


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I don’t think that I will ever forget the first time that I listened to the band WEEN.  I was in the back of a white 1980 Datsun 210 sedan with soft light blue interior.  I had recently ingested a plus-size hooker’s corpse-load of cubensis and, being inexperienced at the time, I was downing fistfuls of them like I was going head to head with Takeru Kobayashi at the Nathan’s on Coney Island.  Someone popped in a cd of Pure Guava and I was mesmerized.  Something about the sound spoke to me by emmiting 2 different, almost contradictory, vibes (sorry for lack of a better word but my mind had sizzling pop-rocks in it).  Part of the feeling that album seemed to give off said, “We love what we are doing, we care about this music,  this is how we make our art, and we are giving it every thing we have!” while the rest of it said to me, “Bloody cock!  We don’t even shit a fuck!  Lets steal your dad’s porn, drink his booze, tape ourselves rocking, and then set a golfcart on fire and push it into the country club lake” and ”Hey! Did you find my tape in my room?!  Turn it off and give it back, dick!“  Like I said, it spoke volumes to my teenage ears and its message was delivered with the fury of a taco truck burrito. 

The first time that I ever saw WEEN was in 2000 at the Showbox in Seattle.  I was tired of people flaking out at the last minute so I took a 4 hr bus ride from Olympia to get to the show by myself.  I was trying to “miracle” a free kick down ticket from someone outside but, at first, all that I got was a Big Gulp full of Bourbon and Pepsi and a “Good Luck” here and there.  I finally got a ticket and, as I watched the show, I had to avoid slipping on the Heineken bottles strewn across the venue floor.  The show was amazing and bizarre.  Some drunk broad hopped on stage and Gene waved security away to let her sing with them and, when they played Baby Bitch, sorority girls were singing along to lyrics like “Fuck you, you stinkin’ ass ho” while swaying their heads side to side with their eyes closed like it was one of Michael Bolton’sgreatest hits“.

Ween is currently touring for their latest release La Cucaracha (Rounder/Chocodog) and I was able to catch their most recent show in Seattle and to have a copy of the album sent to me to peep out for a review.  I have a quite a few opinions about each. Read the rest of this entry »