Interview with Psalm One AKA Hologram Kizzie, Performing at CIMMFEST on May 4, 2014 at Subterranean

Interview with Psalm One AKA Hologram Kizzie for CIMMFEST, 2014

Performing on Sunday, May 4 at Subterranean (9 pm show)

For more on Psalm One visit www.regularanddope.com

Interviewer:  Melody Perpich, blogger and writer for CIMMFEST

Q:  Tell me about your new Moniker Hologram Kizzie. How did you choose it?

A:  My name represents the futuristic daughter of a slave.  The trappings of the things we can be enslaved by.  My name was actually Kizzie Tangents before I was Psalm One.  The name Kizzie, for me, was looking back to the past and Hologram represents the futuristic approach to looking at images.  The ideal of the future, like “flying cars”.  We don’t have those yet but we think we are getting there.  Being the person that I want to be but centering me to be the person that I am now but also parts of the past, present and future.

Q: You have also said that you are a rapper, mentor and lady and that you feel empowered as a woman to write about issues affecting women.  Does this affect the ratio of men and women in your fan base?

A:  I have not assessed the dynamics of my fan base.  Considering my skill set, men are interested.  Coming from the perspective of my stories, this attracts women intrinsically.  I would say that maybe 60%-70% of my fan base are women.

Q: You went to highly regarded Whitney Young for high school and attended The University of Illinois, Champaign majoring in Chemistry.  How did you become interested in science and chemistry?

A:  My interest in chemistry was academic.  I got excited by “Science Guy” and I took biology at Whitney Young during my freshman year and hated it!  I got discouraged from science until one of my teachers encouraged me to take honors chemistry.  I did well in that class and went on to take AP Chemistry.  It took me 4 and ½ years to get my chemistry degree at U of I but I really loved chemistry! After I graduated, I moonlighted as a rapper until I found a job as a food chemist and worked in food quality at a lab in Chicago Heights.  Eventually my moonlighting took off and I started getting recognized by some local labels.  It was tiring leading a double life – getting up at 4am, working until 1pm, taking a nap and then spending time in the studio, writing sessions and rapping at shows. I finally quit my chemist job in 2005.

  

Q: You grew up in Englewood, in the hood and now you are mentoring at-risk youth.  How was your childhood in comparison to these kids and did you have specific mentors or role models that helped you to become the person you are now?

A:  I am mentoring kids that range in age from 10-14 years.  My mom was a huge positive force in my life.  I learned how to persevere through education.  My mom lost her job when I was young so she decided to get a scholarship and went back to school to become a journalist.  We actually got to do homework together.  She started freelancing and made a career for herself.  I had no real mentors otherwise.  My father died when I was 2 years old.  I came to realize that my ability to write comes from both my mother and father.  I found some of my father’s journals and it was uncanny how similar our writing styles are.

Q: When did you decide that your dream was to write and perform? How old were you when you knew this was your passion?

A:  I wrote my first rap age 9.  There was unspoken pressure from my family to succeed in high school – it was super competitive.  Once I was in my bedroom playing Outkast vinyl and was rapping and my grandmother yelled at me from the other room “what are you doing!?” and so rapping was a secret hobby at first.

Q: You have said that you are a “college educated female rapper from the hood that is a productive member of society that does this edgy art”.  This sends the message that kids can become what they want and be productive despite growing up in a bad part of the city.  Is this the message that you try to promote?

A:  You can let economic circumstances drive you to do things but I was always taught that education was a viable option.  I was able to get a scholarship to U of I based on grades and my socioeconomic status.  My mentoring program stems from tutoring in science and math to make extra money.  It was a turning point for me when one of my students recognized me as a rapper and performer.

Q: How did you meet Fluffy?

A:  Fluffy is art director.  We went to high school together and are best friends.  She has taught me how to manage myself and helps me with management details that are needed.  She is a great artist in her own right.  She does back-up vocals and helps with the business end of things.

Q:  You talk about street music having it’s place but that you strive to write about more positive things.  Do you feel that your writing is different from other rappers and hip-hop artists our there in this regard?

A:  I am not going to glorify being disruptive to people’s lives.  People are getting paid for rapping certain gangs but there is a lot of bloodshed from the music.  People are getting killed due to activity based on music and rapping.  There is a mentality like  “hey I can do illegal things and rap!”.  A lot of successful rappers coming from dire straights is rare.  Maybe you should stay in school. You won’t benefit from gang banging.  I am not saying that what I am doing is better.  I came from Englewood.  There is a street savvyness but I rap more about being female, growing up in hip-hop, being a vegan.  Things that are important to my being.  My unique views through rapping.

Q: I read the lyrics for “Open Relationship” and it seemed very real and personal (not to mention rated X!).  I still felt that the relationship seemed one-sided although declared as “open”.  Almost like it was not a mutual decision to have the relationship be open.  Am I off base?

A: My intention with these lyrics was not to “slut shame” me.  This is more likely a fantasy rap but if I was sleeping with all these guys it would put me in that category.  R.A. the Rugged Man is a raunchy dude that never does it with girls unless it is like a B movie.  Freddy Fox, who played my boyfriend in the video, is a legend in the hip-hop industry.    In the reality of this song, I was just seeing Freddy on the side, not multiple guys.  There is a thin line between sexual liberation and being a slutty slut slut.  Being approached by Rugged Man to do this was an honor.  Women who have interesting voices in hip-hop are hard to find.  It is so rare to do this kind of project with him.

Q:  Tell me about your latest release “Hug Life”.  Do each of your albums have a theme?  What is the theme for “Hug Life”?

A:  The artwork of “Hug Life” mimics a famous Tupac photo where his head is down and you can see his tattoo of “Thug Life” on his abdomen. The artwork and the lettering on my record uses the same style.  The theme is conjuring up that being a thug isn’t normal and Chicago has a violent reputation.  In contrast, how can you get anything bad out of a “hug”.  This record for me represents coming out of a haze and not knowing what my next step or musical move will be.  It is embracing my next step as a musical artist coming into my own.

  

Q:  I loved the concept of your “Child Support” album, charmlab.org and the Rhymeschool.  Tell me about these connected projects and do you plan to keep the school going indefinitely and remain personally involved?

A:  I have a tour coming in June but I am committed to the Beethoven School in Bronzeville for a full year program.  One of the classes is thirty 4^th graders as young as 9 years old.  It is rewarding to show them someone who is not “famous on TV” but can teach them life lessons.  In my absence, Fluffy will be involved and I will look for new instructors who have the balance between having interesting back-stories and a willingness to work with kids.  We are involved with 3 different schools and are getting more funding to continue.  Cool rappers have now visited the school and continuing is now a “sure thing”.  We want to expand and continue to keep the high caliber of instructors.  At Beethoven we were able to take over the music class based on the willingness of the music instructor and being a good fit for the school.

Q:  How did you decide to do your “Memoirs for Haiti” Project?  Tell me more about how this is going and how it will be released.

A:  The idea, working with the Carrefour Collaborative  (a 501(c)3 charitable organization in the State of Illinois) by going there was to help artists there to get industry quality music out to the marketplace.  It is very challenging to get one song done.  Here, every 3^rd apartment has a recording studio.  In Haiti they are creating great music but needed help to get resources.  We visited a facility funded by Francis Ford Coppola.  The students there were able to do production by filling in beats and I wrote vocals on the spot.  We gave them stuff to produce and arrange.  We discussed the global marketplace for hip-hop.  “Memoirs from Haiti” is being released in blogs, we are on the 5^th now.  There are three trailers and we are working on a music video.  We are trying to touch on all different aspects of what happened there.  Part of our mission is to reintroduce people to Haiti – by coming back years after the earthquake and seeing the devastation.  There are so many stories to tell.  There is no rush on rolling these stories out.

Q:  You have remained on your indie record label “Rhymesayers Entertainment”.  Have you ever struggled with deciding to go commercial?

A: I am the 1^st lady of that label.  They put out my debut album.  There have been challenges but I have also been able to work with the Bonafyed Records label.  “Hug Life” is my emancipation from a certain sound.  “Hug Life” is not indicative of the Rhymesayers sound.

  

Q: What do you think of female rappers like Iggy Izalia?  Do you agree with others who say that she is a young white Australian girl struggling to be taken seriously?  Do you have to “sexualize yourself” like she does to be paid attention to?

A:  She is playing up the sexiness and she does not look like she grew up poor.  She sounds pretty street, black even.  That whole “sounding black” does not seem genuine.  When I grew up, I was given a hard time for “sounding white” because I spoke correctly. I took issue with that.  Iggy has a couple of jams but she talks extra street urban black girl and you wonder if it’s an act.  She is not hard on the eyes.  She is hot! Do you have to sound like a black girl?  Take Nicki Minaj on the other hand.  She is a great commercial success but she talks like a Valley girl and is not even embracing her “black side”.  Personally, I found her last two rap tracks (“Lookin’  Ass Nigga” and “Chi-Rac” to be disappointing.  Once you perform with Rihanna, you can’t go back!

Q: I read that Ryan Seacrest and VH1 is doing a show that follows five up and coming white female rappers trying to establish credibility.  Do you think participating in this show discredits them or could they become recognized for their craft by being on a reality show?

A: For get the white thing. Going on a reality show would work if you write a character and play it out.  I was approached to be a female rapper on a type of reality show and I was advised not to do it because I would never be able to sell a record.  Even if you are talented, the talent is marred by drama. Picking five female white rappers is good for ratings for the show but hard to sell records.  Seacrest is a media mogul.  If he wanted to help promote me I would let him, but not on a reality show.

Q:  Who are your favorite artists, rap or otherwise?

A:  Stevie Wonder is my all time favorite artist.  I have also had huge life moments with Michael Jackson, Prince, Janice Joplin, Bowie, Jay Z, and Snoop Dog.  I am lyrically influenced by hip-hop artist Black Thought from “The Roots”.  Jean Grae is my biggest influence as a female rapper.  She does a lot of speaking engagements now where she does mostly comedy and a little rapping.  She is smart enough to know that you gotta diversify!

Q:  Do you have any other amazing projects planned?

A:  Coming up there is the “Memoirs from Haiti” roll-out and then I am working on an album with producer, Oh No, who scored the last “Grand Theft Audio” video game and is a huge hip-hop producer.  Traditional hip-hop fans will be excited!  I am also working with rapper Prob Cause, my label mate, on “Running from the trap” which is a commentary on steering away from the drill scene and trap scene – bass heavy music that talks about selling or doing drugs.

Interview with the band Tall Walker performing at CIMMFEST on May 1, 2014 at Subterranean

Interview with Tall Walker for CIMMFEST, 2014 conducted by blogger and writer, Melody Perpich

For more information about the festival go to https://www.facebook.com/CIMMfest

For more information about Tall Walker go to http://tallwalkermusic.com

Who is Tall Walker?

The musicians are Ben Johnson (drums), Chris Hershman (bass) and Nick Bays (vocals, guitar).

MP: Hey guys so nice to get a chance to talk with you before your gig at Subterranean on May 1^st.  I’ll just start off with a couple of easy questions first before I start getting personal.  Where did you all meet? I know that Nick is from South Carolina but you did not all grow up there right?

Chris:  I am from Munster, IN originally and have now been in Chicago for 7 years and Ben has been in Chicago for 9 years.  The two of us first met at the City Church of Chicago.  We eventually met Nick at the church in 2012.  I just looked at him and thought that he was a musician.  We got him on board to start playing with us.

MP:  What were you all doing before Tall Walker?

Ben:  I played with a couple of bands before but nothing as committed as Tall Walker.

Chris:  I played in smaller Chicago bands and toured with some other more well- known bands but I really was looking to create something original instead of just being a “hired gun”.  I did learn a lot from playing with bands like Empires and Seabird.  That experience helped me to be ready for something like Tall Walker.

MP: I have to admit Tall Walker had me sold when I listened to your gorgeous cover of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” from your Fearless Radio gig on YouTube.  The raw emotion and soul was undeniable.  You really made the song yours Nick! I am not sure I want to hear Drake’s version now.  How does this song’s R & B flavor translate for you to the music that you are writing and your self-titled Tall Walker EP, which is classified as more Indie rock?

  

Nick:  I heard that song, the instrumentation and the arrangement and it just makes you want to bop your head.  I loved that it was a simple arrangement and a straight- forward love song.  I really connected with it.  My voice lends itself to the soul side based on my own experience growing up in the church.  I sang from a very young age and sang mostly gospel and hymn style music.  More soulful vocals and songs have a sense of home for me.  Some of the aspects of growing up in the church can’t help but filter into my writing.

MP:  Do you all hold day jobs or does the music sustain your lifestyles?

Nick:  I work as the Music Director at the City Church of Chicago which allows me to write, arrange and organize music from 9 to 5!

Ben:  I am a music producer and song-writer and I work with various artists.

Chris: I am a filmmaker.  I work with the Chicago Music Exchange specializing in music videos.  We have been collaborating and have a close relationship with Nikon  camera company which has allowed us to create and film a video about Tall Walker.  This is a unique project in that it features Tall Walker behind the scenes and is about the actual shooting of a music video.  This has allowed me to bring my passion for our music and information about the band into my “real job”.

MP:  What advice do you have for other music artists who are thinking about making music as a profession?

Chris:  The key to success as individuals and as a band is staying loyal to what you want to accomplish and our instruments.  Building a life based on music being part of your identity and lifestyle.  Nothing is overnight but it becomes easier over time.  The main thing is being committed to your instrument and to playing with other musicians.

Nick:  I agree with what Chris said and would add that you have to devote the time to writing music.  You have to choose to spend time writing music above anything else.  I personally choose not to have cable or Internet in my house.  Any free moment I have is spent picking up the guitar or sitting at a computer to work on songs.

  

MP:  Well that answer lets me segue nicely to my next question!  Since music comes first and can really be all consuming, do you have time to have relationships?  Is it easier to date other musicians or performers?  The girls want to know!

Nick:  Well I am single and I would not say that my music and being in the band gets in the way of meeting girls but it depends on how much you can juggle.  For me it is refreshing right now to focus on my craft.  I am not shut off to dating but I would say that there are different seasons.   Some seasons there is time for work and other seasons, time for play!

Chris:  Right now I am the only one in the band in a relationship.  She is a theatre actress and is constantly at rehearsals and shows so she knows and understands the life and touring demands.

Ben:  Since Nick and I are still available we will set up a kissing booth at the end of the show!

MP:  What are you working on now?  Do you have plans for a full-length album?

Nick:  We are recording our second EP this summer and plan to release it by the end of summer, 2014.  We are discovering new creative sonic elements with the new project.  The rock element has already been brought out.  We are now looking to embellish the elements from the first EP with new production elements.

MP:  I have noticed by listening to your EP that your lyrics are somewhat contemplative and melancholy, tugging on the heart-strings.  Will your new EP have the same tone or do you plan to change it in any way?

Nick:  The new music continues to blend the lyrical and musical writing together.  The new EP will still have contemplative lyrics.  This is who we are, still heartfelt and anthem-like, music that is “heart on our sleeve”.  The main difference will be sonically.  A first pass through on these songs will add new elements that will make them more fun to listen to.

MP:  When I listened to the song “Clouds” the lyrics made me think that it was about death or loss.  Am I on track or off base?

Nick:  Lyrically this song is somewhat ambiguous.  I wrote it during a time in my life where I was wrestling with faith and the definition of truth.  Trying to find self-discovery in other people but people change and waver.  The lyric “punching clouds” represents taking it up with yourself or a higher power, more of an internal truth found in yourself.  Ultimately you have to ask yourself about our truth.  This song is very personal.

MP:  In contrast to “Clouds”, the song “Stay” seems to reveal that a partner is straying or cheating and you have a willingness to forgive that person.  Do you find this to be a new twist since most songs about cheating are not about forgiveness but about revenge or anger?  For example, Miley Cyrus wrote the song “FU” about her break-up, which is the opposite of forgiveness.

Nick:  This is a heart on your sleeve song.  It tells the story of being in a relationship and not necessarily dealing with someone “stepping out” or cheating.  It is more about releasing doubt and “what if” this is happening.  I started writing this song in January and one night after drinking way to much bourbon, the lyrics “Lover stay where you are” just bled out of me.  These are very honest lyrics.  It was just processing and openly saying what I was feeling about what was going on in the relationship.  There is a redemptive quality to the song.  The “let’s just get this out on the table” idea.  If the person works through it and you put it behind you and go the distance.  Many songs don’t have this aspect.  This reveals the despiration in the song and gives it tension.  I think it’s a very real situation.

MP:  Do you have bands or other artists that inspire you?

Nick: We really enjoy the musical arrangements and sonic textures from bands like M83, Washed Out, and Snowmine.  I like more of these types of production elements and want to marry this aspect with the rock n roll element that we already have.   I want to watch the sound evolve and think we will enjoy playing this new music live.  It will be more fun.

Chris: Switchfoot also really encourages us as individuals.  They have been very kind to us, have taken to our music and have been nice to give us props for our music.  I see them as kind and real people that have a great attitude and have not become jaded by the music industry.  They inspire me to want to make money in the music industry while still loving it.  They are balanced between their music and family lives too.

MP:  I have to ask the obvious question:  How did you come to name the band Tall Walker?

Chris:  One of the songs we played in a previous band that I was with was called “Tall Walker”.  “Tall Walker” was performed by a friend in this other band.  She has remained involved with Tall Walker, on the creative side designing the graphics for the band.

MP:  What is your favorite venue in Chicago to perform at?

Chris:  We love Schubas, Lincoln Hall, Subterranean and most recently The Whistler.  Love that place!  I have to say that there is something magical about Lincoln Hall but at the same time, when we released our EP at Subterranean it was the most electrifying performance between the crowd and the band.  We are so very excited to do the show for CIMMFEST at SubT and we plan to be bringing out tricks!

MP:  What kind of stage do you see yourselves performing at in 5 years and where do you see yourselves in general by then?

Chris:  I want us to be funded by our music in 5 years.  We have the potential to be a band like Wilco.  We have albums of music that we want to be enabled to make.  We want to play and network our way up.  We’d like to tour constantly with acts that we are in love with. We plan to be around for at least a decade.

CIMMFest Chicago May 1-4, 2014

From the CIMMfest website:

"CIMMfest, the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival—is a four-day showcase of outstanding films, energetic concerts, visually stunning VJ/DJ sets, lively Q&A’s, daring live score performances, industry panels and presentations…anything to show just what movies and music mean to each other.

Each Spring filmmakers, musicians, and their passionate fans alike, descend upon Wicker Park and Logan Square, two of Chicago’s most eclectic, vibrant neighborhoods. That’s where CIMMfest takes place—the films by day, the live music by night—at theaters, galleries, bars, concert spaces, and some of the city’s most storied venues.

The films come from all countries and cultures, and range from documentaries to fiction to concert films to shorts to music videos. They just have to be about music and/or use music in a creative, integral way. The live performances are inspired by film or feature visual accompaniment.

In 2013, CIMMfest expanded its music section to include more than fifty bands, twenty venues and a footprint along Milwaukee Avenue that stretches nearly two miles. CIMMCon also made it’s debut in 2013, bringing together nearly sixty innovators, tastemakers, industry leaders and more in a series of fifteen free panels exploring everything from State of the Recording Industry to how to Kickstart your Film."

This year, headliners include Yo Lo Tengo and Escort.  Tickets are $75 for a 4 day pass which get's you three top choice venues and the ability to get into all the rest, first come first serve.  Individual venue tickets can be purchased also.  Truly an amazing music culture event that we are lucky to have in our own backyard.  A full schedule of music, movies and events are listed at the CIMMfest website: CIMMfest

My recommendations so far include  the band Tall Walker at Subterranean on 5/1 and Hip Hop artist Hologram Kizzie AKA Psalm One at Subterranean on 5/4 for starters.    I need to peruse the schedule and find others that will get my 5 guitar rating!  Check out their YouTube videos posted below.  See you there!