RECORDS LiVE

Donna: Good evening, welcome to RECORDS LiVE. My name is Deviant Donna. Thank you so much for being here to celebrate music. We have been at this show for a year now. Ohh my gosh! Crazy how time flies when you are having fun. Thank you so much for being here and experiencing this with us. We are, I believe, the only live talk show that talks about musicians’ influences rather than the music that they make themselves. So, we are insanely proud of that. And thank you so much for being here to participate in that. We couldn’t have done this without you. So, give it up for yourselves! Thank you, guys, so much. Like always, I’m so incredibly stoked to bring in our guests and have a little chat today and…

*Doorbell Rings*

Donna: Oh, OK. Hi, Kris. OK, well, do you want to come in? The door’s open? I hope he’s still alive. Sir? Oh, there he is. He made it. Have a seat friend. Grab a mic, tell me all about it.

Kris: I made it. There’s some monster chasing me right now. I don’t know if you saw it, but I made it by the skin of my teeth.

Donna: I get how that is, man.

Kris: I brought some records.

Donna: Crazy. That’s amazing. It’s almost like you knew what we were going to talk about.

Kris: Pretty much.

Donna: Wow, it’s like we’re on the same wavelength, you know? It’s like you’re in my mind. That’s crazy. What did I have for breakfast?

Kris: For breakfast, you had avocado toast with a latte, let’s say, salted caramel.

Donna: You know what? Now I feel like you’re just stereotyping me. Alright, well, you know what? Let’s get over that because you brought me some records. So, I’ll forgive and forget.

Song Plays: Zapp – Heartbreaker

Donna: Dude, tell me about this band, Zapp.

Kris: These guys, they came around in like the late 70s. I like this song because it demonstrates a lot of what can be done with the Talk Box. There’s a lot of harmonies. Also, this singer’s death was overshadowed by the Columbine massacre. His brother killed him.

Donna: What?!

Kris: Yeah, it was his brother Larry. Larry Troutman was the manager, and he was doing some shit with money. Roger had to report $5,000 for every song he featured on. He would do shit for Tupac and he wasn’t making $5,000. He would make, like $35,000, but he had to report 5 G’s to his brother and his brother was like “This shit’s not fucking working out.” He killed him.

Donna: What?

Kris: And then he drove around the corner and killed himself. Now Roger Troutman’s a fucking legend.

Donna: That’s crazy, man! Oh my God.

Kris: See, that part right there? Those are the harmonies. Like the Beach Boys. The first time I heard the Talk Box, Peter Frampton and the dude from Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, they would use it. I’m a rocker, so I would go to like, I would hear it from those foos first. Then I was like “Ohh shit, this other guy’s using a keyboard instead of a guitar with the Talk Box. That was a model I could follow because I can’t sing good.

[Editor’s note: The Talk Box is a device that sends soundwaves down a tube that the performer positions in their mouth. The vocalist mouths the lyrics without singing and it sounds like the instrument going through the Talk Box is singing. You should look up a video of it. It’s super cool!]

Donna: Well, I think that’s really cool that you’re using all the tools at your disposal, that the people who you idolize and appreciate have used before you. I think that’s an incredible use of resources. What’s your favorite part about working with tech aspects like that?

Kris: With the Talk Box you’re going to be in tune if you sing a note. I’m not good. Like, I’m not a good singer. If I try to sing and I’ll have to have people to guide me or like, you know make me sound good. With the Talk Box, it stays the note you choose.

Donna: That’s awesome. What was your first inspiration to be able to use the Talk Box in one of your band’s songs.

Kris: When we started playing, people were like, “Hey, something’s missing, dawg, something’s missing.” I listened to them but I can’t sing. So, I was like, you know, my dad used to take me to cholo lowrider shows and I remembered Zapp and Roger.

Donna: You know what? That’s actually really cool, and I love that you were able to kind of, take something that you consider to be a weak point for yourself and turn it into something that’s become a strength for your band. I think that’s awesome.

Kris: But what did you have for breakfast, though?

Donna: All right, let me see if I can remember, actually, because this was a long time ago. This morning, I had a protein yogurt, a side of strawberries, some mozzarella with honey and coffee.

Kris: Oh, that’s good. Hell yeah. Coffee, you gotta do it.

Donna: That as well as protein When it comes to protein, I eat a lot. And when some people eat a lot, they like to have a cigar… Like my segue?

Kris: Oh, yes.

Song plays: Pink Floyd – Have A Cigar

Donna: Maybe it’s more of a post meal treat. Cigars, you know. I’ve only ever really smoked cigars when I was like in college, and I thought it was really cool. I was a freshman in college.

Kris: My friend’s dad was a doctor, so those foos were rich and we used to go to his house and steal all his cigars, drink all of his fucking whiskey, and fill it up with water and shit.

Donna: Did he ever catch on?

Kris: Probably, yeah.

Donna: You left your friend to take the heat?

Kris: We’d usually get the cigars and I remember I was like 12 years old and I’d walk in my room while my parents would go sleep and just like (mimics taking a drag from a cigar). But yeah, these foos; synthesizers, album cover with the man on fire, this is like a really big thing that really inspired me. Futuristic. It sounds futuristic still. Like, I don’t know, I’d be scared if I would hear this shit in the 70s.

Donna: Yeah, I think this was definitely a brand-new sound at that point. Synths kind of started coming out in the mid-60s and very few people used them.

Kris: These foos definitely used the technology that was coming out.

Donna: Yeah. What do you think inspired them to begin playing with the synths since they’re such a strong band as is?

Kris: Because they wanted to use new sounds. I heard that they would try to make a bass sound like a rubber band or they started doing all this shit that we’d think is crazy. The synthesizer can be made to sound like a trombone, or a version of a trombone, or a violin. So, I think that they used those synth tones instead of using a fuckin’ trombone, or whatever they wanted to make. It’s cool. Like it’s really cool because everybody can’t afford to use an orchestra. But those foos could, they could have done it.

Donna: Where else in your personal music do you put any of these other layered qualities?

Kris: Yeah, we’re starting to get into singing. My brother, Will, right here, we’re starting to bust harmonies and we’re starting to do it like this stuff. It’s pretty tough, singing is tough. You have to be really precise about everything. But with the vocals, there’s a lot of things that you can use it for. You can make different voices.

Donna: Right. When did you first discover this band?

Kris: I was a little kid and I heard that the singer fucking went crazy because he did a lot of acid and I wanted to be like that foo. I thought “Damn, that’s crazy,” because he was a painter too. He was like, “Let me just do a little rock band on the side.” He did that and he was like, “Whoa, this is fucking kind of weird.” And then he dipped out and he just kept on painting. It was such a fucking interesting story where I was like, “Whoa.” Like, I’m old. I’m fucking 44. So, when I was in high school, around 16, they had none of this shit. YouTube wasn’t happening and there wasn’t a way to learn about these bands. So, I mean, Syd Barrett was like a fucking legend.

Song plays: Sun Ra – I’ll Wait For You

Donna: You know, it’s actually interesting that you have a Sun Ra song because you’re not the first person to do so. Well, there’s something very interesting that piggybacks off of Pink Floyd. They’re almost kind of like two sides of the same coin in a way.

Kris: Sun Ra would wear those shoes (gestures toward Donna’s glittery Converse). He’d put those kicks up on the keyboard.

Donna: Haha. So, this is a mostly instrumental piece, correct? What is it about purely instrumental music that really calls to you?

Kris: The imagination, I guess. These foos are searching, so they’re just fucking going and driving around and it’s like, I remember thinking that there’s two different types of musicians. One way to approach music is like you’re an observer and you’re staring at a painting in a museum, and you could see that shit in the form and shape. But there’s also a way of looking where you don’t focus. It’s like when you’re a dog with your head outside the window, you know? And everything’s going fast. There’s a lamp post and there’s a tree and a mailbox and everything. And it’s constantly changing. But you have this destination where you’re going to and Sun Ra would have a melody, but it would transform into a journey and then it’ll go in back into the melody. Once they’ve explored, they would land back on the melody to for the ending. It’s really creative because it’s like a stream of consciousness. So that’s why I like jazz music. It’s going to change and it won’t be in the same way.

Donna: Yeah. To what extent do you think they totally just like, riffed off of each other on this and then figured it out later?

Kris: I don’t know. They’re good. So, they would just listen to each other. They’re listening to each other right now in the song and just reacting.

Donna: Can you imagine having to improvise this record and then have to go back and figure out what the heck they did?

Kris: Yeah. It was tough for these guys back then because now you can change everything and edit everything so well. These guys were locked into the tempo.

Donna: Yeah.

Kris: That’s why, the era of working like these guys is over.

Donna: Do you ever have any moments with your band to where you guys are just kind of like, “Hey, you know what? Let’s just mess around and see what comes out.”

Kris: Yeah, we have “Back to the Future” moments where we’re playing, and someone tries something new and moves away from the song. It’s like Back to the Future where all the kids in the future love heavy metal, but their parents have so much baggage they can’t enjoy the music and end up just looking at each other like, “Should we like this? It’s not the normal music that we play. We don’t have tattoos, we don’t have like, little V-neck tee, stained white shirt with like half hair. We ain’t fucking screaming. We’re like doing some other weird shit.” And so, it’s not expected. But their children will enjoy it. My dad was an artist told me that if you could get the kid, the kids or the inner child of a motherfucker, then you got it. It’s the art of child’s play.

Donna: Did watching your dad create art inform how you now create art?

Kris: Fuck yeah, that foo fucked me up. I remember when I was a little kid he goes “You could make a living off of fucking doing art bullshitting on some fools.” He would go to wine and cheese parties and talk to these fucking rich ass foos like, “Well, you know….” fucking whatever, and he got away with it. He’d be in magazines and when I found out that you could make a living off of doing art, my dad was mad. He said “You gotta work at the docks, work as an electrician, be a fucking plumber. Do something damn it. Nobody needs another musician.” It’s true, though.

Donna: Don’t you think everyone has something a little bit different they contribute to the music community? I think it’s really cool to see how many different permutations of the basics that we have, because really, we all start at the same baseline and then build up from there.

Kris: Yeah, you have to. Like when I was a little kid, I was a little chubby ass little kid, and I was just into metal. I wanted to be like one of those foos. Learn to play guitar like them and they’re going to think I’m fucking cool. But I was just chubby. I thought that if I could move out of town, I could become someone else. Have another identity. But I didn’t have money, so I had to kick with my friends and they’re just like, “Nah Kris, you fuckin’ suck.”

Donna: Well, apparently you did not think that this band sucks.

Song Plays: 2 LIVE CREW – Me So Horny

Kris: Who is it?

Donna: It’s 2 LIVE CREW.

Kris: Ohh 2 LIVE CREW! Brother Marquis, Mr. Mixx, Luke Skywalker, and fuckin’ Fresh Kid Ice.

Donna: So, you were pretty stoked off this bad when you were younger.

Kris: When I first heard 2 LIVE CREW, I was in the second grade and there was this little kid that would get good ass grades, and he used to have three different types of record collections. He had rap, butt rock, and comedy. And I remember when he showed this to me, he was like “Dude, 2 LIVE CREW!” And I was like, “Whoa, it’s a different world.” I was tripping out. It was a different era and I had to learn more about it. This music was fun. This is Mass Production. This sample is from a band called Mass Production. They fuckin’ busted, you know, synthesizers all that shit. And it took 2 LIVE CREW to bring more attention to Mass Production.

Donna: Do you ever use any like samples in your own work? Is that something that you’ve inherited as well?

Kris: Our drummer has a sample pad with whatever is relative to the song. He triggers the sample. (sings) “… a freak without warning… cuz me so hor-ny” This was crazy. I was a little kid in second grade and we would go into the fuckin’ clubhouse and we’d pass around the headphones and be like “Check it out!” At the end of this song they say some crazy ass shit like, “Suck my dick… eat my ass.” And it’s over music like this, and we were like, “Damn, this is crazy.”  We weren’t supposed to be doing that.

Donna: How did your friend have access to all of this stuff?

Kris: Because my friend got good grades so his grandma hooked him up with records. He’d get straight A’s and be like “Grandma, I need 2 LIVE CREW, Aerosmith, Eddie Murphy…” He would get all that shit. Then were at his house like “Boom N.W.A, 2 LIVE CREW.” Fuckin’ all the craziest shit. Like the craziest foos is what we would listen to even though we were little ass kids. It was a treat.

Donna: You discovered this band after classic rock, correct in the timeline?

Kris: Yeah, I grew up with my mom listening to Motown and classic rock and shit. My dad listened to jazz and funk. But this song is when I started to have musical awareness. Hip hop was still being developed at that time. It was something that would be considered a racket to a fucking 60-year-old. The samples over the repetitive beat were like insanity. It was fuckin’ tight.

Song Plays: Alessandro Alessandroni – Il Porto

Donna: Where in your timeline does this guy fit in? Because this is quite a change of pace here.

Kris: Alessandro, this is an Italian guy. This imaginative music too. Like, you know, standing there on a fucking hill. Then you look down and it’s like, “Look, I got more hills to climb. Boom! More hills.” But it’s just that imagination, these foos would do this is music movies. It’s really imaginative sound wise. These are all models for Chola Orange. We try to imagine ourselves as constructing a fucking subway sandwich or something, you know? With the different layers that happen. We wanted to do some 60s shit like this. Somebody said it’s not good enough. You gotta have the Talk Box or singing. This song is a mood. This is like that type of atmospherical music.

Donna: Do you find yourself often being attracted to wordless soundscapes?

Kris: Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Donna: What are the moments throughout your day or throughout your week that you feel most attracted to them?

Kris: All the time. I have a routine now. When I wake up in the morning and make music until I sleep. And so, when I wake up, it’s still like you’re problem solving. It’s all music and then maybe those the lyrics and words will work themselves out later. You can use what’s there. The attitude of the song. I’m not really a singer. There’s people that sing what they imagine like (sings improvised melody). Like they’re doing that and hear words melodically. I just hear tones. (sings along with horn part). That’s a synthesizer that’s supposed to sound like trombone or some shit.

Donna: When you listen to something like this, does the music inform your mood, or does your mood help you pick the music?

Kris: Probably, yeah. This is the perfect music for when you’re on your third or fourth drink. Like “That was good! Spent my last $14 on a fucking gyro.” That’s what I think. Fuckin’ dramatic heartbreak, sadness, hard times, pain. Yeah, but then these guys, the Italians, have their own perspective. These foos were looking at the fucking ocean. Like they see, like sailboats and looking like a little dog is right there. It’s fuckin tight. There’s a lot of shit right there.

Donna: Yeah. I feel like Miles Davis has a pretty extensive collection too, which we’re popping in next.

Song plays: Miles Davis – One and One

Kris: Yeah, I got the popular dudes.

Donna: This one’s a classic for sure.

Kris: When that foo was a pimp he used to be like “That’s heroin. That shit cost me $50.” It’s like 1950 or 1952. $50 is like $1,000 heroin habit. In ’52 this is what he was thinking about. But yeah, On The Corner is crazy. What’s tight about Miles Davis is that he had a mixed band. There’s a fuckin’ Indian in there playing tabla. And they had Michael Henderson who was in Aretha Franklin’s band. He played in Stevie Wonder’s band. He was getting paid way more to be in Aretha Franklin’s or Stevie Wonder’s band but played with Miles Davis just for the chance to play with a fucking legend. He was like “I’ll fuckin tour with you. I love you.” He loved to play with them. All these foos. They had Herbie Hancock. This is like chaos music. Like life. Like the birds going around. All that shit.

Donna: So, paint the scene for me a little bit more. What else do you see as you are listening to this? Just so we can all get an idea of how mentally the visualization works.

Kris: This shit is everything that happens in a day. Fuckin, these motherfuckers are dying. There’s people that are fucking working hard. There’s people that are succeeding, thriving. It’s just like the whole fucking shit of everything that you can think of. You could be happy, you could be sad. Everything is all happening at the same fucking time. Every little moment could be that feeling. That’s how I think about it.

Donna: When you move throughout your day, when there’s no music playing in the background, do you also feel your feelings come out as music in your mind?

Kris: Yeah, I look at shit as ammunition. Every experience I walk into, I try to look at it as ammunition. I walk into a room and see a person. It could be their attitude or the way they look. That could be a song. Everything can be used as ammunition.

Donna: But what I’m hearing is that you love being able to just observe daily occurrences and being able to use those as little bits of inspiration.

Kris: Everything is like a movie. Like I was working with this knucklehead foo. We went to go get tacos. He told a story like a little movie. He asked if I had ever been to jail. I said “Nah, foo.” Because, my dad told me “If you’re going to do something wrong, do it right.” Like if you’re going to steal, make sure nobody’s looking. If you’re going to do wrong, do it right. My coworker did not do it right. So, after I told him I hadn’t been to jail, he started telling me about his experience:

First time I went to jail, a guy tells me that an 18-year-old chubby motherfucker like me isn’t scary. He said “You ever been to jail before?” I was like “Nah.” Then the guy said “Jail’s a fucked-up place! I’ve seen all kinds of badass shit in jail, foo. You’re fuckin’ in for it.” As they slammed the gates behind me, the same guy said “Jail could be a nice place too. If you’re a badass, this is your town.” He left me with a little bit of hope. So, I started working out.

A couple years later he got out, had some scars, fucked some people up, and got fucked up. It’s like a movie. Know what I mean? I grew up with knuckleheads like that. Where foos are going to learn the pathways you can go. Like a good one or a bad one.

Donna: And on that note, everybody, that’s Kris from Chola Orange.

Kris: Also, I brought you one of our records. On the back cover we stab each other… check it out (see image below). We ate pizza. We stabbed each other with a little knife. We took mushrooms. We fuckin’ smoked a little bit of weed, had some beer.

Donna: Did you actually stab each other?

Kris: See that little knife right there? We’d throw it at each other’s legs, and each time you have to close your feet and get closer. I got stabbed in the leg.

Donna: Like till you bled?

Kris: They throw the knife at you and then. And then where the knife lands and you have to close the thing and then boom! And then ughhh (mimics getting stabbed in the leg).

Donna: That sounds dangerous. A game that I will not be participating in any time soon. Do not throw sharp objects at me. Only hugs. Thanks again to Kris from Chola Orange!