Gossip [&] the Devil

Kindle is a program sites like Amazon.com use that allows you to download e-books and read them on devices like your iPhone or iPod touch.

(This is the continuation of the interview I’ve conducted with singer/songwriter Jessica Allyn. This is part 3 of 3. Part 1 can be found here. and part 2 can be found here. Once again, I’d like to thank Ms. Allyn for taking time out of her busy schedule to do this interview and wish her the best of luck in the pursuit of all of her dreams.)

Part 3 | Technology and what it means for artists (present and future):

JMT: It’s no secret spoken word and writing have been dying a slow death since the invention of internet slang, texting, Twitter etc. While the internet is a great tool, a lot of meaning can get lost in the mix of today’s give-it-to-me-now-in-140-characters-or-less-attention-span. You almost have to capture your entire message in one song in the hope to hook your audience to come back for more. Do you agree and, if so, does this put more pressure on you as an artist to deliver?

JA: Look, I’m addicted to Twitter and blogging just like everyone else. But I cannot convey my essence in 140 characters or one song. The same way you can’t meet a person one time and know their whole life story. The record is only 6 songs for a reason; I knew a person’s attention span wouldn’t last through an entire musical. So I ended up having to try and cram 15 years into 20 minutes. There was a lot of pressure in that respect.

(It’s sort of like walking into a room of people and not having the bandwidth or the time to figure out which ones you want to deal with. But if you find those one or two people wearing Cure t-shirts you can make an educated guess and walk over fairly confident you’re going to have a decent conversation. – J. T.)

JMT: The art of buying a record is on life support, complete with a doomsday clock ticking down to the day when we’ll all be pouring out 40oz of malt beverage in remembrance. It’s sad since tangibility is part of what makes records really great—actually holding them and seeing the effort in the packaging and artwork. I think this goes back, again, to the “gimmie” attitude of society. CD and record collections aren’t practical anymore when you can download 5000 songs to your iPod. This makes things much easier when trying to get your work into the hands of an audience—but at a price. That being said, do you feel giving up the tangible part of a record is a necessary sacrifice to reach an audience these days?

JA: I actually have a hard time swallowing the reality of that. But, unfortunately it seems necessary to make such sacrifices these days. There was so much more I could have done with I Am a Camera had I not been so restricted by the rules of digital music sales. The artwork, the notations, the lyric sheets all lost to a 600×600 (pixel) front cover and a “buy now” button. I remember reserving copies of records in stores, waiting for the release date to rush out and get it, holding my own copy, cracking it open and pressing play. I definitely miss that. It makes me sad that this generation is growing up and will never have that experience; they don’t cherish it. Everything is handed to them on a silver platter, everything is quick, easy and one click away. It (the generation) lacks appreciation for the art itself. As an artist you quickly realize the sacrifice might be necessary. The reality is painfully present. At the same time there are still ways to showcase “the art that got away” as I’ve started to call it. But it’ll never compare.

Jessica Allyn (Taken from her Facebook page)

The Artistic Temperament:

JMT: This final question is asked mostly for my sheer morbid enjoyment, as I’ve been immersed in literature about manic-depression and the artistic temperament for months now. George Gordon Byron (Lord Byron) once remarked: “We of the craft are all crazy.” And in fact many of history’s greatest poets, painters, architects and composers have been afflicted with some type of affective disorder. Presently I’d extend the definition of Byron’s “we” to include lyricists as well who’ve been “touched with a fine madness.” Based either on personal experience or from observation does that sound like an accurate assessment?

JA: Of all the artists I’ve known, myself included, that statement is so true. I once read a book that said: “People who are often depressed usually have a more realistic perspective on things, than that of a ‘happy’ person.” I don’t think that is true all of the time, or for everyone. But for me it’s a fact. They call it “Depressive realism:” “People without depression are more likely to have inflated self-images and look at the world through rose-colored glasses, because of cognitive dissonance and other defense mechanisms.” I also believe being “touched with a fine madness” allows you to go deeper when creating, you’ll go to the edge. You’re more willing to be brutally honest, because you’ve got nothing to lose.

(Jessica Allyn resides in New York, New York. While nothing is “official” yet, she is currently in talks with one of Long Island’s oldest lesbian bars for a possible residency and will be doing open mic nights all around the NYC area this Summer. Visit JessicaAllyn.com or her Myspace page for details and tour dates as they become available.)

Cover artwork for I Am a Camera.

(This is the continuation of the interview I’ve conducted with singer/songwriter Jessica Allyn. This is part 2 of 3. Part 1 can be found here.)

Part 2 | I Am a Camera and the writing process:

JMT: As mentioned before, you said that Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood inspired the concept for I Am a Camera. Do you have special preparations when writing lyrics for an album?

JA: I was lucky with this record. There wasn’t that much prep involved. I had always wanted to write a rock musical, but it seemed so far out of reach. And then one day everything fell into place by accident.

JMT: Personally I’ve always written extremely concrete and detailed stories, at times bordering on over-saturation. I like my reader to be fully aware of what is happening, usually because I’m fixing to make them uncomfortable. I noticed the majority of songs on I Am a Camera were written as almost mini-stories. Do you prefer to write in stories/specifics or leave them more ambiguous?

JA: I generally don’t have a plan when I sit down to write. Sometimes I just play, ad-lib and see what I come up with. For the most part it ends up in story form but I find that you can still be ambiguous (if needed). I am definitely an over-sharer and I have to agree with you; I often push it to the uncomfortable edge. Whether it’s in writing or performance I want the audience to feel everything.

JMT: I feel loss and anger are capable of creating much more colorful metaphors. Every artist that’s ever existed knows pain, anger and loss are classic lyrical and poetic themes. You’ve seemed to focus on anger and loss in particular for this record. Do you find those particular emotions to be more conducive for writing?

JA: You are not wrong. I don’t want to sound emo—and I know I’m going to—but anger, loss and abandonment are running themes in my life. I often feel like it’s all I know. I cannot write about something I don’t recognize. Happiness and love (whatever that word means to you) are almost foreign to me. That’s not to say I’m never happy or in love. I just don’t write about it. I don’t know that it’s the healthiest way to go about things but I just get more creative fuel from negative experiences.

JMT: Are you of the mind that a writer has to actually experience something in order to make the story they’re writing believable?

JA: For me, yes. I think some people can be inspired solely by their imagination and I think it’s incredible. But I know I get fuel from real life experience. It feels honest and I like that. So that’s how I write.

JMT: Have you always felt a drive to write down the things you observe? Moreover, observation doesn’t necessarily equal personal experience. You said that writing from real-life experience makes for better writing. Does being so close in perspective ever pose a problem?

JA: I’ve documented just about everything I’ve experienced (personal and otherwise), completely oblivious to fact I was doing it. It wasn’t until a year ago that I realized I had been living my life as a camera. But I’ve been journalistic and writing poetry since I was a child. I think having a tormenting and often lonely childhood provoked the writer in me. It was a way to release. I’ve spent a lot of my life behind a bedroom door just writing. I think I often found myself appalled by human behavior and wanted to express it, but never had anyone to talk to. Writing became that shoulder to cry on in a way. It does become difficult at times to have such an “up close and personal” perspective when writing. It’s hard to not sound biased or cross the line sometimes. I’m still learning how to make it work.

JMT: For an album does the theme usually come first or does your writing tend
to dictate the theme?

JA: My writing definitely dictated the theme of this record, although I generally don’t like to pigeonhole myself to one specific theme or concept when writing an album. With I Am a Camera that Christopher Isherwood line described me perfectly and a few days later I found old scraps of paper with lyrics on them. Thus the concept was born. I was going to go in chronological order, a timeline of my life from age ten to current day, as a camera. This was a very specific project; I don’t think my future projects will be as one note.

(Follow-up: Jessica has since said that I Am a Camera is the first half of what will be a full rock musical: “I think in this case it’s truly concept alone. It’s a rock musical. Or, the first half of what will be a full musical. I really wanted to try out a few songs, see how people reacted and then build from there. So, this was definitely in all it’s insanity and glory, a full concept album. There is possibility of a part two.”)

JMT: Ironically, on your website you mention your attention span is quite short. Does that affect the recording process?

JA: Oddly enough, no. When I’m passionate about something, when I say I’m going to do something, I do it. I immerse myself in it. It becomes my life.

(part 3, including discussion on technology and how it affects artists as well as mental illness, will be posted tomorrow, so check back!)

This first post will be a bit lengthy, but my agenda is simple: I want to use my art to create a sort of positive symbiotic relationship with other artists. If I can use my continuing dream to support and learn about other artist’s dreams then the creative circle lives on. I’m more than convinced this needs to happen if our society and culture plan to have any sort of longevity throughout this growing technological future. Something tangible you can wrap your hands around, something you can feel from the audience. Something you can read and see in your mind, something that leaves a lingering taste behind. Reactions. Revelations. Appreciation.

While I am a born author I also have a scholastic background in journalism, ranging from radio and broadcasting interview work to print and freelance work with bands, poets and teachers. As poetry can be a rather isolated and lonely little island I find myself missing the brilliant back-and-forth interaction between people who share a similar dream. Given that most of my creative inspirations exist within the magical world of sleazy guitars and heart-cracking lyrics, similarly many musicians cite life-changing books and works of poetry as Mecca’s for inspiration.

One of these people is Jessica Allyn, a 25-year-old singer/songwriter from New York whose voice could have come straight from the 1920’s. (Listen to her song “Professor Harold Hill” and you’ll see what I mean.) As of this interview she’s flipped the bird to her civilian job in order to focus on her craft full-time.

Jessica Allyn (taken from her Facebook page)

I first discovered Ms. Allyn via Twitter when our mutual love for Amanda Palmer/The Dresden Dolls crossed paths. I approached her with the idea for an interview in order to explore other artist’s inspirations, creative processes and methods of writing. As I’ve come to realize, just because you practice a particular craft doesn’t mean you have to operate exclusively within those lines.

Case in point, Allyn’s latest effort, a concept album titled I Am a Camera, was brought to life using a line from a Christopher Isherwood book called Goodbye to Berlin: “I am a camera, with it’s shutter open, quite passively, recording, not thinking.”

In this sense she has managed to capture the marrow of any artist’s body of work; their unique mental snapshots brought to life. From the downright rock and roll crunch of “Standing O” to the ukulele-decorations on “Kayla’s Song” (titled after a ukulele designer for the artist collective Post War Trade) I Am a Camera is the musical equivalent of flipping through a strangers scrapbook.

In the following paragraphs I’ll discuss with Ms. Allyn creative inspirations. Parts two and three, to be posted Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll discuss the creative process behind I Am a Camera, and technology and madness, respectively.

Part 1 | Inspiration:

Julie M. Tate: For inspiration, do you seek it, or does it usually find you? I’ve found that inspiration usually finds me, solicited or not.

Jessica Allyn: It definitely finds me. And, it’s usually when I’m not looking for it. It’s a gift and curse. I usually go through the motions. Months later I’ll write about it and think, “Well thank you (and sometimes fuck you) for the inspiration!”

JMT: Does what inspires you stay the same or mutate every few years/weeks/days?

JA: It mutates every few hours, to be honest. Life is ever changing and it’s hard to keep up at times. But I have always been overly sensitive and affected by things, so I’m constantly inspired.

JMT: I find it very difficult to “make time” to write, though I’ve been told countless times in as many creative writing classes that writing every day is essential. It’ easier said than done in my experience. Are you able to make time to write or must the muse “hit?”

JA: I used to be able to pump out one song after another. Now I am seeing a change. I rid myself of 15 years of baggage on this record. It was cathartic and beautiful but left me somewhat empty. I’m finding that I have less time to write these days. But I keep my eyes wide open for inspiration anyway.

JMT: Many great artists of our past would be considered obsolete now but not because they weren’t great. I’m convinced the majority of the population isn’t equipped anymore to recognize a truly great artist, be it musician, painter, poet etc. Do you think artists should study those that came before or try not to be influenced and do it on their own?

JA: I think an artist should allow themselves to be influenced by other artists. The history of Art, Music, and the like speaks for itself. Everyone is influenced by something, or someone, else. That goes for any profession. I went through an arrogant phase where I thought I was being innovative and ended up coming across several artists who did what I was doing, did it better, and long before I was even born! It was a slap in the face but a wake up call. I think the key is to learn how to balance both your own quirks and that of your influences. Then find a way to fuse them without being a carbon copy of someone else. Find yourself first.

JMT: I agree. I’m of the mind that it’s impossible to completely “do it on your own.” In most cases you’re sorely disappointed and embarrassed when you inevitably do stumble across that someone who’s done it better before. You could have learned something if you’d only studied a little research. That being said, are any current musicians/lyricists impressing you?

JA: I’m rather under-whelmed with most of the music out today. I find myself rediscovering old favorites these days. Still the reigning queen being Amanda Fucking Palmer. She’s got it down to a science, lyrically. She’s just absolutely brilliant and uses sarcasm and wit in the right places. Musically, her compositions are heart-breakingly beautiful. Other artists/bands that never fail to impress me lyrically: Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Muse, Placebo, Morrissey, Robyn Hitchcock, Neutral Milk Hotel, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, and PJ Harvey.

JMT: What about favorite authors and/or life-changing books? (Other than Goodbye to Berlin, which we’ll get to in a moment.)

JA: My favorite author would have to be Hubert Selby Jr. – He wrote Requiem for a Dream and Last Exit to Brooklyn. His books definitely changed my life. They were so descriptive, so poetic, so brilliant. He found a way to make the grotesque evils of the world almost beautiful. That being said, Requiem for a Dream is still my number one favorite book. I could read it over and over.

(Part 2 which includes discussion of I Am a Camera and it’s writing process will be posted tomorrow, so check back!)

What started my old perfume line, Lascivious XIII. They've been packed away for years and after much digging have been found.

From the mail bag:

Q: “How do you make your own Angel by Thierry Mugler?”

A: Its very, very difficult to make the scent match perfectly–its so fucking complex. Since everything I do is basically so D.I.Y. it hurts, I used to try and duplicate my own version of Angel oil before I could afford my own. Oil stays on your skin much, much longer than perfume. The alcohol in perfume evaporates quickly so your scent doesn’t last throughout the day. (FYI: As a little tip, buy perfumes labeled eau de parfum rather than eau de toilette as the former is made with a higher concentration of scented oil and will last much longer. “Angel” is an eau de parfum, as are most designer labels.)

For a bit of narcissism/background:

I used to make and bottle my own line of scented oils way back in college under the name Lascivious XIII, which focused on dessert themed scents. I’d sell them for $8 a piece from my Angelfire website (yes, ANGELFIRE) which was less than enough to break even. I “did it for the art” which means I had to give it up after about a year because I was broke between buying the scented oils, blending oils, label supplies, paints and paper for the special edition bottles, the bottling supplies and not to mention the time it took to blend a single scent.

(The lesson here kids is “doing it for the art” sounds awesome, but the reality is you’re probably going to regret it. If you want to keep making art, find ways to fund it. Don’t be afraid to charge your audience a reasonable amount for your product, in my opinion.)

Anyway, Angel is a musky, delicious and complex perfume–groundbreaking in terms of gourmand scents. Since it’s launch in 1992 women the world over have rejoiced at the notion that you don’t have to smell like a fucking bouquet of flowers. Personally I’ve been wearing it for over 6 years.

To replicate takes the following scented oils: (Bottom notes) – dark chocolate, caramel, patchouli, vanilla.  (Middle notes) – passion fruit, peach and/or apricot. (Top notes) – bergamot and mandarin. (I used to buy these from a seller on eBay named abippert and the prices were unbeatable.) I used to blend with grape seed oil since it was lighter and absorbed easier than avocado or almond oil. These can usually be found at Bath and Body Works. As far as the ratios go, its trial and error. Sucks I know, but I never wrote down a concrete formula. My organization then, like it is now, was less than stellar. Obviously you want to build from the base up and go easy on the top notes.

For me, making huge batches of oil from the floor of my walk in closet (no lie, my ex-boyfriend at the time used to call me a dwarf) I hurt more batches than I helped. Its difficult to finally find the right ratio and then blow up the measurements. It sounds like it should be simple, but some of the heavier notes, such as patchouli, can’t be raised from 2 to 4 because then they just start overpowering the entire batch. Once that happens you’re basically fucked as no amount of dilution will save something like that or not that I’ve found anyway.

If you manage to scare up something similar to Angel, siphon it into any of a variety of roll on bottles (I bought them for fairly cheap from a seller on eBay named seattlle_4) and you’re good to go.

found these in an old backpack. remnants of days long past.

For even more information that you didn’t ask for:

I used to make little oil limited edition packages in which I’d decorate the bottles by hand and pair it with a matching piece of jewelry. For example I had a small line based on the My Ruin side project called The LVRS, which was scented like dark chocolate covered cherries. I’d pair that with a black wire ring decorated with black beads, garnets and pink quartz. There was also a line I called Agent Orange which smelled like ginger, dark chocolate and tangerine. Those rings were black, gold and cats eye. Etc. Etc. The rings I made were inspired by My Ruin lead singer Tairrie B[M] and her rock candy rings. The necklaces were handmade rosaries and chokers using old war and religious medallions I’d find at thrift stores and catholic shops.

Q: The world is vast and wide. Why do we put on our robes at the sound of a bell?

A: Buddhism is too mild mannered for me. In short: because you get paid to do so.

Q: Ever consider G[&]D t-shirts? Stickers? Spoken word downloads? Podcasts?

A: Yes and yes. I’m considering making a shitload of stickers and sending them out for free with the stipulation they’re put in a public place. Maybe send in a picture and I’ll make a special section dedicated to pictures. (Does this sound good to anyone? Yes? No? Let me know.)

As far as t-shirts, funny enough the [m.o.d.] link on the right is for my modern.orphan.designs. page which I haven’t had a bit of time to launch, though many of the prototypes have been made. At the moment I’ve given many of them away as gifts to test their wearability and market. I’ve been making and deconstructing my own clothing since high school.

As for spoken word I haven’t the gadgets yet to record myself and stick it on the intranets. If there’s a demand for it then I’m all in. The more content the better. It’s all up to the audience.

(If you have a question you’d like to ask, or a comment you’d like to make feel free to email me at julie [at] devilgossip [dot] com! Conversely, I have a background in journalism and interviewing so if you’re an artist (musician, painter, photographer, boutique owner, poet ect. ect.) and would like me to consider you for an interview to appear on this site, shoot me an email (subject: INTERVIEW REQUEST) with your name/website/examples of your work/info. (I research all requests carefully, that way if I do decide to pick you up for an interview I know what I’m attaching my name to. Similar influences and/or a clear agenda help.) I’ve recently interviewed New York based singer/songwriter Jessica Allyn in an article to be posted soon.)