THE OUTLIER Deviating from the Mean with Actress PAULEY PERRETTE

THE OUTLIER

Deviating from the Mean with Actress PAULEY PERRETTE

By Jonathan Metzelaar
Spring 2013
(As seen in PMc Magazine, May 2013)   
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The fact that I knew who Pauley Perrette was despite never having watched the show NCIS is a testament to just how popular and, consequently, how recognizable a figure she’s become. According to her Q Score, which is used to measure the popularity of celebrities, television shows, and brands, Perrette is the most popular actress on American primetime television. This is in large part due to the cult-like following that has developed around the character she plays on NCIS, Abby Sciuto. The appeal of Abby is manifold, but a lot of it surely has to do with the fact that, in a television landscape that is sorely lacking layered, interesting characters, Abbey is an outlier.

In analytics, an outlier is defined as, “that which appears to deviate markedly from other members of the sample in which it occurs.” In other words, it’s something that stands out among the others because it’s different. It’s a term that Abby Sciuto would be familiar with, given her forensics background. But it’s also an apt description of the character Perrette is portraying through Abby. Every television crime drama has its own iteration of the forensic scientist. But all too often they seem to have been pushed through the same mold. Perrette broke new ground with Abby though, who’s a young, brilliant, female forensic scientist that loves tattoos, choker necklaces, loud music, and decorating her lab with dolls and stuffed animals. She’s a nice splash of color in a generally drab genre of television, and it’s in no small part because the woman playing her is as eccentric and interesting as she is. Pauley Perrette brings life to Abby in a way that’s hard to imagine anybody else even coming close to replicating, and fortunately I was able to talk a bit with her about both the fascinating character she is, and the fascinating character that she plays.
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Jonathan Metzelaar: Your character on NCIS, Abby Sciuto, is considered one of the most well-liked characters on television. What do you think it is about this character that is so identifiable? How much of Abby are the writers responsible for, and how much of her is a reflection of your own personality?

Pauley Perrette: Abby is one of those iconic TV characters that comes along every once in a while. By combining her role as a genius scientist with an alternative style, a genuine sense of self, and a great sense of humor–along with the fact that she has such a huge heart–she has become one of the most unique television characters ever.  Abby is adored by people of all ages all around the world.

She was an amazing character from the first time I read her in a script 11 years ago, and over the course of 230 episodes the writers, the wardrobe department, and myself have added even more flavor to this eccentric little being.

 

JM: Are there any ways in which you, as Pauley Perrette, ever feel confined by Abby Sciuto? Do you ever feel any pressure to live up to this big public persona that’s been created of you, whether in terms of your personality or your style?

PP: Abby is way more awesome than me. She’s very well put-together, very focused, and very neat–all characteristics I personally do not embody.  I have to remind people that I am not actually Abby; I’m just an actor with an awesome job. I am a huge Abby fan though. I love her. But I’m not her.

JM: You’ve got a tremendous following of passionate fans. In fact, during my interview with your friends Darren and Matthew over at Donna Bell’s Bake Shop, a group of your fans came in looking for you, and said they traveled all the way from Arkansas. Have you ever had any crazy encounters with a fan or group of fans? On the flip side, were there any particularly endearing moments you’ve shared with your fans?


PP: NCIS fans are the best. Abby fans are very passionate. Because Abby is such a big hugger, I often have fans just come throw their arms around me. One of the best things is getting my fans involved in the causes and charities that I support. They sponsor me for AIDS walks, we collect money to buy kevlar vests for police and military dogs–all kinds of things. My favorite fan is a young boy who saves his allowance all year then sends it to the animal rescue I work with.

JM: Speaking of Donna Bell’s, was cooking a big part of your life growing up? How has the experience of lending your mother’s name and likeness to the bake shop been for you so far? Do you offer any input to the guys with regard to future menu items or anything like that?

PP: My mom was always cooking and baking. She, my sister, and I were always baking and decorating cakes. It is wonderful having such an amazing homage to her in Donna Bell’s Bake Shop.
Ironically, I don’t eat sugar or white flour, so Matthew [co-owner of Donna Bell's] makes me awesome whole-wheat and fresh berry muffins. Yum!

JM: You’re probably best known for your acting, but you’re also a writer and a musician. Do any of these passions take precedent over each other, or do you enjoy them all equally? Have any of these artistic endeavors ever directly inspired one of the others, and if so, when?

PP: I love my job, and it’s super important to me that I do a great job at it every time I hit set. My job as Abby is my priority; they pay me for that. But my other little piece of heaven is in the music studio. It’s my happy place. I love writing and recording music. I’m not interested in performing live, just getting music out there.

JM: You’re featured on DMC’s song, “Attention Please.” How did that collaboration come about? Do you have any plans to collaborate on any other musical projects, or any plans to release any of your solo work?


PP: My awesome drummer Veronica Bellino wrote that DMC song, and they had this great idea for our collaboration. I adore DMC, and I love the track. We had a blast.

My new record is almost finished. I am so excited about people hearing it. I’m just trying to figure out how I want to distribute it and get it out there. I can’t wait.

 

JM: Do you have any projects coming up that you’d like people to know about?

PP: Just continuing to work with over 30 charities and non-profits. I’m also planning on getting this record out, as well as finishing my documentary, Citizen Lane, which is about the life of legendary civil rights attorney Mark Lane.

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Pauley Perrette is an actress, best known for her role as Abby Sciuto on the crime drama NCIS. She was also featured in Dawson’s Creek, 24, and the film Almost Famous, among other projects.

LINKS:
NCIS Official Website
Donna Bell’s Bake Shop Official Website
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Written and Edited by Jonathan Metzelaar
Photography by Patrick McMullan, Andreas Branch, David Crotty, Brian Lindensmith and Joe Schildhorn
Design by Lulu Vottero
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Captions:

Page 1/Cover:

Pauley Perrette, HEART TRUTH RED DRESS 2010 Collection, NY Public Library, NYC, February 11, 2010, Photography by Patrick McMullan for PatrickMcMullan.com

Page 2:
a. Pauley Perrette, 12th Annual Golden Heart Awards, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, Ca, May 7, 2012, Photography by Andreas Branch for PatrickMcMullan.com
b. Pauley Perrette, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT EMMY After Party Vibiana, Los Angeles, Ca, August 29, 2010, Photography by David Crotty for PatrickMcMullan.com
c. Pauley Perrette, THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES celebrates the 2013 GENESIS AWARDS BENEFIT GALA, The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, CA, March 23, 2013, Photography by David Crotty for PatrickMcMullan.com
d. Pauley Perrette, HEART TRUTH RED DRESS 2010 Collection, NY Public Library, NYC, February 11, 2010, Photography by Joe Schildhorn for PatrickMcMullan.com
e.  Pauley Perrette, The 2011 ET Emmy Awards After Party, Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, September 18, 2011, Photography by Brian Lindensmith for PatrickMcMullan.com
f. Pauley Perrette, The Paley Center For Media’s PaleyFest 2013 Honoring THE BIG BANG THEORY, Saban Theater, Beverly Hills, CA, March 13, 2013, Photography by Andreas Branch for PatrickMcMullan.com
g.  Pauley Perrette, LA Zoo Elephants of Asia Under the Stars, Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, Ca, December 15, 2010, Photography by David Crotty for PatrickMcMullan.com

Page 3:
Pauley Perrette, HEART TRUTH RED DRESS 2010 Collection, NY Public Library, NYC, February 11, 2010, Photography by Patrick McMullan for PatrickMcMullan.com

Page 4:
Patrick McMullan and Pauley Perrette, Bryan Rabin Birthday Party, Chateau Marmont, LA, March 5, 2005, Photography by Patrick McMullan for PatrickMcMullan.com
Page 5:
Pauley Perrette, Club USA, New York City, 1990/91, Photography by Patrick McMullan for PatrickMcMullan.com
Pauley Perrette, HEART TRUTH RED DRESS 2010 Collection, NY Public Library, NYC, February 11, 2010, Photography by Joe Schildhorn for PatrickMcMullan.com

PUSHING THE MEDIUM My Own Private Dialogue with Director GUS VAN SANT

PUSHING THE MEDIUM

My Own Private Dialogue with Director GUS VAN SANT
By Tyler Malone
Spring 2013
(As seen in PMc Magazine, May 2013)  
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Great artists are often those who push their respective mediums into new directions, questioning, through technique and tropology, that which came before. They needn’t necessarily invent whole new ways of thinking about or experiencing art, but it is important that they slightly fray the edges of the tapestry that makes up the “canon” of their artistic discipline.

When I spoke with director Gus Van Sant, I was pleased to learn that this concept of pushing the boundaries of cinema was an idea that was on his mind. Whether he makes big Hollywood movies or small indie films, Van Sant as artist is always interested in the “art” of cinema.

While Van Sant certainly has some stylistic idiosyncrasies which the discerning viewer can pick up on from film to film, the uninitiated might find it surprising to realize that the same guy who made My Own Private Idaho went on to make Finding Forrester, and that the guy who made Milk had made Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.

His resume is long and impressive: Drugstore Cowboy was his early critical success, Good Will Hunting his biggest from a commercial standpoint, but later it was the small film Elephant which won him the coveted Palme d’Or (the top prize at Cannes).
Some of Gus Van Sant’s films, admittedly, work better than others–some are praised, some are not–but most critics can agree that his films are always interesting, the work of a true auteur. For someone with such a varied career, I was surprised to discover the endearing fact that Van Sant claims he loves all his films equally–though he has no pretense that they’ll last forever. Celluloid isn’t stone, and digital files even less so.

Tyler Malone: Ever since I visited Thomas Jefferson’s grave at Monticello a number of years ago, and the glaring omission in his epitaph was pointed out to me, I’ve been intrigued by what great people and great artists want to be remembered for. [Jefferson doesn't mention his presidency, nor any accomplishment he achieved during it, on his gravestone--just that he authored the Declaration of Independence and the Statute for Religious Freedom in Virginia as well as that he founded the University of Virginia.] Do you have a film or a few films that you really want to be remembered for? Ones you personally think stand above the rest regardless of whether or not they’re the ones that get the most critical or popular acclaim?

Gus Van Sant: I like all of them, so I don’t really have any things that I want to stand out. I always figure that the things that remain, if they are like tombstones, will be things like car keys, or ripped shirts, probably not films of mine. Maybe a few frames of one of them, but judging by what we have left over from the past, most of it is made of stone, so film probably will not last.

TM: You’ve made big Hollywood films and small independent films, and continue to kind of vacillate between the two worlds. Do you prefer one or the other? And what do you think is the benefit of being able to move between the two?

GVS: Some of them are made in collaboration with others, which are the Hollywood ones, then the other ones are coming from me alone, and those are the smaller less Hollywood ones. I haven’t yet made a really big Hollywood film on purpose, but that’s what I’d like to do next if I can.

TM: In addition to being a filmmaker, you’re also an accomplished painter. How does your painting influence your filmmaking? And vice versa?

GVS: I guess it relates in a visual way. I have in the past taken images from the paintings, like the barn crash in My Own Private Idaho is from a painting, or floating images in Drugstore Cowboy are also from paintings. But there isn’t too much of a relationship, at least that I know of…

TM: I know you’re friends with Harmony Korine, and he’s the one who got you interested in Alan Clarke’s Elephant, which I’ve read had an influence on your Palme d’Or winning film of the same name. I’d be curious to hear what your thoughts are on Korine’s newest film Spring Breakers…

GVS: Yes, Harmony had told me about when he saw Elephant and said it was his favorite film. And Harmony was supposed to write the script to my film, which was only called Elephant because Colin Calendar of HBO who produced the film, who had previously worked at BBC, referred to Alan Clarke’s film as a work that commented on Northern Ireland violence right during the time when it was at its height in 1989. He said he couldn’t do “Columbine” (he meant making a direct dramatic unfolding of the Columbine events) but he could do “Elephant” (by which I think he meant a more universal comment on high school violence). I actually didn’t see Alan Clarke’s Elephant until later, after we had made our film. I was influenced by the long tracking shots because of Bela Tarr, a Hungarian filmmaker, who himself may have been influenced by Alan Clarke’s filmmaking, so the greatest influence was just the title. I used the title because Colin would refer to our film as Elephant, and so I asked Danny Boyle, a producer of Elephant, if he though it would be okay. But there have been a few red-faced Brits who feel I ripped off Alan Clarke. Harmony never made a script and I wrote it later after a few years of procrastination.
As far as Spring Breakers goes, I have seen it, and I thought it was a pretty nice cautionary tale…

TM: Another 2013 film that I wanted to ask you about is the much-talked about Paul Schrader and Bret Easton Ellis collaboration, The Canyons, starring Lindsey Lohan, which you’re also an actor in. Tell me a bit about your role, and about how that opportunity came about. Have you seen a cut of the film? Any thoughts on the production?

GVS: I haven’t seen The Canyons yet. I played a psychiatrist in it, and I knew the producer, and he and Bret Easton Ellis asked me to play the role.

TM: You’re well-known for great casting decisions, for picking the perfect person for the right role, whether they are big name movie stars, lesser-known actors, or even untrained high school students. Is there an actor or actress you’ve been dying to work with but haven’t yet because you just haven’t found the right role for them? Or for some other reason you’ve just never been able to collaborate with them?

GVS: Not so far. I would ideally like to cast unknowns, but it’s not what I’ve been doing, I use a lot of well-known actors, but the ideal to me is an unknown actor.

TM: Speaking of perfect casting, your use of River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho still is one of those phenomenal choices that comes to mind. What a great film and what a great performance! This Halloween will mark the 20th anniversary of his passing. Do you have any thoughts on River Phoenix looking back two decades past?


GVS: Yes, he was great, and he is very missed. He was the one person that in my life, it just seemed impossible that he would stop being, like JFK.

TM: On Milk and on Restless, I read that, inspired by Terrence Malick, you did a lot of silent takes. You even released a “silent” version of Restless on the DVD stitched from those silent takes. Is that something you now do with all your films or does it just depend on the story you’re telling whether or not you would film silent takes of each scene?

GVS: It is a way to have material where there is no dialogue, sometimes the scenes don’t need dialogue–and if the script has a lot of dialogue, you do some takes without, just to have some choices later on.

TM: As a filmmaker who oscillates between directing your own material and directing others’ scripts, what draws you to a script and makes you decide that it is the next film you should make? And also, what makes you decide you want to write for a specific project as opposed to having someone else write it?


GVS: It’s mostly an artistic inspiration, not something that you could explain, other than an irrational compelling reason to propel yourself into a particular project for reasons you can’t quite understand to yourself. I can write some things, but I can also be limited as a writer, so I sometimes want other people to write for me.

TM: I know Milk was in the works for years before it finally came to fruition. Is there any other project you’ve always wanted to make work, but that has still always continued to elude you?
GVS: There are a few projects that have never been made, some are just thoughts. There was one recently that just came back into being, and it’s always interesting when an old idea becomes fresh again..

TM: In an interview with Bruce LaBruce a while back, you were talking about your interest in challenging the narrative techniques of film, and you said: “Otherwise I might as well be directing Superman or X-Men. Either go for the money or actually try to question the medium.” Could you ever see yourself making a superhero film? Couldn’t you “try to question the medium” in the context of a bigger Hollywood production (which I think you’ve certainly done, but obviously not in a superhero film, or a big tentpole style franchise film)?

GVS: Yes, I think that you can do big projects that are pushing the medium in new ways, that would be the ultimate. It’s just that the audience has to be able to, in some ways, catch up to you. Otherwise, you can lose them quite easily. When you go a little too far, there is trouble, which is what some artists are pushing for, and sometimes what I’m pushing for. Yes, I could do a big film and would like to.

TM: I always love the THR Oscar Roundtables, and in the directors’ roundtable this year, you quoted Dennis Hopper saying that something harder than making a movie is not making a movie. You went on to talk about those odd moments between making movies, where you’re happy to be done with a film, and yet you’re happy to get to your next project. I feel like I’m potentially interviewing you at an interesting time in that context. Are you between projects right now or are you already on to your next project? If so, what stage are you at and can you talk about it? We’d love to know what you’re doing next…

GVS: Not sure what is next, but yes, Dennis [Hopper] was probably saying that it is nice to be working on something, to be able to direct your energy someplace, to ward off boredom.
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Gus Van Sant is an Academy Award nominated and Palme d’Or winning director. He has made such iconic films as Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, Elephant, and Milk.

LINKS:
Gus van Sant on IMDb
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Written and Edited by Tyler Malone

Photography by Patrick McMullan, Andreas Branch, David Crotty & Nicholas Hunt for PatrickMcMullan.com

Design by Marie Havens
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Captions:



Page 1/Cover:


Gus Van Sant, SUPRA Footwear Presents the SPRING BREAKERS LA Premiere and After Party, Arclight Cinemas and Emerson Theatre, Hollywood, CA, March 14, 2013, Photography by David Crotty for Patrick McMullan.com

Page 2:

Ryan McGinley & Gus Van Sant, The Cinema Society with Dior Homme & GQ host the after party for “Restless,” Electric Room at Dream Downtown, NYC, September 14, 2011, Photography by Nicholas Hunt for Patrick McMullan.com

Page 3:

Gus van Sant, Greg Gorman, & John Waters, Ed Ruscha PSYCHO SPAGHETTI WESTERNS Opening, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, February 24, 2011, Photography by Patrick McMullan for Patrick McMullan.com

Page 4:

Juliette Lewis, Gus Van Sant, & Kyra Sedgwick, Sally Singer and Jacob Brown host the T: The New York Times Style Magazine pre Golden Globes Party, Garden’s of Taxco, West Hollywood, CA, January 13, 2011, Photography by Andreas Branch for PatrickMcMullan.com

Page 5:


Gus Van Sant & Ron Howard, GAGOSIAN GALLERY Opening of GUS VAN SANT and JAMES FRANCO’S: Unfinished, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, February 25, 2011, Photography by Clint Spaudling for PatrickMcMullan.com

Page 6:

Gus Van Sant & Usher, THE CINEMA SOCIETY with DIOR Homme & GQ host a screening of “Restless,” Landmark Sunshine Theater, NYC, September 14, 2011, Photography by Nicholas Hunt for PatrickMcMullan.com

IT’S NOTHING, IT’S MY LIFE: A Spotlite on RADIOMAN

IT’S NOTHING, IT’S MY LIFE

A Spotlite on RADIOMAN
By Chiara Spagnoli
Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, November 2012)  
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Radioman, born Craig Castaldo, has had an extraordinary life: a spin on the classic rags-to-riches story, he started out in the streets of New York as a homeless lost soul and became the darling of filmmakers.

Tom Hanks and Joel Schumacher defined him as a landmark of New York City along with the Statue of Liberty and the Empire Stare Building. Johnny Depp wonders if he’s an alien from a distant planet or an eccentric billionaire, or both. Helen Mirren, George Clooney, Meryl Streep have known him for decades, and Robin Williams is flabbergasted by Radioman’s friendship with Scorsese: “He calls him Marty, I can’t call him that!” This extraordinary and amusing troll is the contemporary superhero of the silver screen, with cameos in countless films.

Chiara Spagnoli: You have acted in over 200 movies, how does it feel to have an entire film retracing your life?
Radioman: Miserable–no, I’m joking–it’s very bizarre and awe-inspiring to have anybody really care and think that my life is so interesting. It’s all about me, I don’t understand the reasoning behind it. People like it, they seem to adore it. I was in England, and Scotland, and they loved it, I never expected to get that kind of reception.

CS: How do you feel about being the lucky charm of filmmakers?
R: The movies that I’m in do well in theaters. and also when they’re released on DVDs, they tend to make money. Most of the films I’ve been in have been successful and in some of them I was just background. I think I may be some kind of a catalyst and make it happen for them.

CS: How did you start going on film sets? Do you remember your first one?
R: My first movie was with Bruce Willis in The Bonfire of the Vanities. I yelled at him in a high-pitched voice: “Bruce Willis your movie looks like an animation, it looks like a cartooooon, you don’t know how to act!” And I didn’t know what this guy was about, he had a bag with a bottle in it, and I thought he was a drunk, like I was at the time. I asked him if he wanted a beer and he told me he was an actor and that was a prop. Bruce said to me, “I’m just playing a part, but I’ll tell you what: when I finish the shoot I’ll have a beer with you!” So we had beers together and started talking.

CS: At the time you were homeless?
R: Yeah, I lived in the streets, in parks, down in the subway tunnels, on track 17 next to the men’s room at a low level of the Long Island Rail Road. A lot of homeless guys were there, at that time we were known as ‘bums,’ there was no word to define ‘homeless’ yet. You were either a bum or a derelict or somebody on the street nobody cared about.

CS: You also had a very rough time in a psychiatric institution, what do you recall about that experience?
R: I was there for two months or so. I was internalized for addiction even though I never did drugs or strange substances, it was just beer. One day I was on the set of a movie called City Hall and I didn’t realize there was a holiday. Al Pacino wasn’t there–he starred in the movie with John Cusack, Al played the mayor of the city of New York–and I said to everyone “Hey, I know Al Pacino, I know all these actors, and I’m friends with them all, they know who I am!”

They thought I was a nut and pushed me away. I spoke back to a cop who handcuffed me and gave orders to take me to Bellevue. Someone from the crew tried to say, “he really does know all these people,” but they took me away anyway. They kept me there, strapped me to a chair, brought me to the 24th floor of the observation room, and gave me some kind of drugs to try to mellow me out. I was screaming and yelling, saying: “I don’t belong here, I should be where they’re making movies.”

CS: How is it that you manage to find out the locations and schedules of the shootings?
R: Sometimes it was word of mouth. I would just ride around with my bike, and I would see the schedule signs of different permits, and I would put two and two together. Or I would ask one of the attendants about what was going on. They would tell me the call time, so sometimes I found out what was going on that way. I used to drive around a lot, day and night, I basically never used to go back home, I spent my time dwelling.

CS: Where does your passion for films come from?
R: My mother used to like to watch the old movies with Myrna Loy and Olivia de Havilland, Gone with the Wind and all these different films. My father would go for John Wayne and Ronald Coleman and stuff like that, Lawrence Olivier too. He also liked westerns and all the Italians, the old films on channel 9 with the subtitles, with Anna Magnani and all the old Italian actors.

CS: Why did you choose the radio as your symbol and why do you carry it around with you?
R: I always wanted to be a radio announcer, besides wanting to be a movie actor. I loved the movies, I used to watch them on television with my parents, but I always liked music, rock n’ roll. Before I was Radioman, I was known as Aqualung. I loved to show off, I always did it in school. I wanted to be the center of attention, and I didn’t really realize it, I was just being me. That’s the reason I have the radio around my neck, and because when I used to hold it in my hand, they tried to steal it–this way no one can take it away from me.

CS: Do you feel you’ve pursued your dream?
R: Yes, the dream just came to me 20 or 30 years later. I’ve been doing this for a long time. and I never expected it to be like this, have fame and recognition from people. I’m loving it. People love the documentary on Radioman, but to me it’s nothing, it’s my life.
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Radioman has been in countless films throughout the years, and now there is a documentary about his life.

LINKS:
Radioman – IMDb
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Written by Chiara Spagnoli
Edited by Tyler Malone
Photography by Jimi Celeste for Patrick McMullan.com
Design by Marie Havens
—
Captions:

Cover:
Radioman, FOCUS FEATURES Presents a New York Special Screening of TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, Landmark Theater Sunshine Cinema, New York, November 30, 2011, Photography by Jimi Celeste for Patrick McMullan.com

THE EXCITEMENT OF THE UNKNOWN: An Introduction to Actress and Model KATIE CHONACAS

THE EXCITEMENT OF THE UNKNOWN

An Introduction to Actress and Model KATIE CHONACAS
By Owen Hoffmann
Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, November 2012)   
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Katie Chonacas is a fresh new face in the acting world. Not only does she have talent, but she loves a good challenge–she’s excited by the unknown. As her career begins its ascent, I decided to sit down and have a conversation with the model, actress, and artist.

Owen Hoffmann: I’m always interested in people’s stories on how they made their way to the Big Apple. Tell me your story…
Katie Chonacas: I have always wanted to live and thrive in NYC. Thank goodness I am finally here! Two summers ago I did a TV show in Brazil. My episode was all about fashion. O’Neal McKnight was on another episode devoted to music. We didn’t shoot together, but the producer of Noble Exchange, Tamara Park, thought it would be a grand idea to connect us. O’Neal had a project going on with Diddy, so he flew out to California and we connected over the summer. His uncle’s 50th birthday party was being held the following month in New York City with Diddy hosting. O’Neal invited me to come, and I obliged. I bought a round-trip ticket, visited my family in New Jersey for a week, and then went to the city for the birthday party. I decided ahead of time I wanted to stay in NYC for a week to take some meetings and see what opportunities could arise. Right away a modeling agency said they would start working with me, so this was great news. At the time, my sister, Anna was living in the city working for a PR company. We were downtown outside relishing in the moment on Lafayette Street having Greek gyros when it suddenly dawned on me: my return flight was that day, and I had already missed my departure by an hour. We were laughing and in shock, and I just never returned to LA! I went to New York on a round-trip ticket and never left.

OH: When did you first start acting and feel the need to pursue it as a career?
KC: I started professional acting when I ventured west to California. I knew only one person in the acting business–honestly, that is all you need: one person to help and direct you when you first start. I was led into the William Anderson acting studio under the Meisner technique. While studying, I was networking non-stop and found a firm to represent me. Finally, after going out for a constellation of projects and then landing a spot on CSI: NY soon after, I started to book more TV shows and feature films. Beginning in childhood I always knew I wanted to be an actor. When I accomplished my goal, I was full of love and excitement, and it thrilled me to entertain people and make them laugh.

OH: Who has been your inspiration?
KC: Inspirations for me have been Reese Witherspoon, Madonna, Winona Ryder, Andy Warhol. I admire Evan Rachel Wood, Sean Penn, James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Stiller, Johnny Deep, Judd Apatow, James Mangold, David Lynch, and Amy Heckerling.

OH: What has inspired you to keep acting?

KC: My passion, my love for God, and my love for living–for the excitement of the unknown–to be able to create and make something out of nothing, this inspires me to keep going. I love to push the limits. What are limits, really? It’s exciting to challenge yourself and push others to challenge themselves as well. There’s so much going on in life I want to experience, and when I’m exhausted I love to sleep and dream in the heavens, treating myself to bubble baths and massages. I love going to art shows, galleries, and the Met. I feel much love for the theatre as well.

OH: You also are very talented in other areas of the spectrum; tell me a little about this love for art and music, and what roles they play in your life.
KC: Well, thank you kindly. I have been writing since I was a pre-teen. I found myself writing all these deep, emotional thoughts and experiences. Not knowing where this writing would lead me, I just knew it was important to write. I have turned some of my writing into spoken-word poetry. I record in the studio a cappella. I met this amazing producer, Ronnie Beck, who has done all the beats for my spoken-word poetry. Ronnie says he has never created the way we have created. Normally a producer gives an artist a beat and they lay vocals on the beat, but with us it’s the other way around. Ronnie listens to the message in the poem, and interpolates the beats around and within my vocals. It’s pretty exhilarating and exciting to create something no one else is creating. Since then, we have done more traditional radio-ready tracks. Our first single is “Fresh Louboutin,” which can be found on iTunes under Kyriaki Sunday. Last week, I flew Ronnie here to NYC, and we recorded the sister track titled “Paris Fashion Week,” which I dedicated to my BFF and fashion stylist extraordinaire J. Logan Horne. I am obsessed with fashion, so I have incorporated within the lyrics my love for style and the experiences in the fashion world I see and admire. I have decided to call this “fashion pop.” My follow-up track is titled “Rockstar Legend.” I am also very blessed and pleased to announce I had my very first art show in New York City for six weeks at Pie in the Union Square area. The artistic reception for me in the Big Apple has been a grand welcoming. Since then, I’ve been commissioned in a couple of cafes and coffee shops with plans to have more exhibitions in New York and around the world. The pieces can be viewed at KyriakiSunday.com. and soon Artspace.com.

OH: How has social media affected your career?
KC: Social media is the 21st century’s way of bringing back care for one another on the hierarchy of what’s important in our daily lives. The ability to socialize and connect a little deeper with fans domestically and internationally on such a personal level is rewarding because I can instantly see my positive impact in the lives of others. Twitter is especially good for metering that impact and deepening social connections. When my fans feel that personal connection with me, they love me even more, which in the end, has inspired me to heights I never could have imagined. When it comes to Instagram, I am enchanted and enamored; sharing one’s best life experiences through pictures is really the sweet spot of the social media revolution. You can find my twitter and Instagram at KYRIAKISUNDAY.

OH: How do you see your career playing out in the future?
KC: I am a powerful creator. Having built an empire, I am really excited for the present and the future. I love predicting the future by creating it now because the future is a flowing continuation of “nows.” Looking back, I have been blessed with childhood and ten years of delicious experiences in LA and around the world. I am taking all that I have learned, and I’m applying it here in New York. It’s so exciting to see and feel all the dots connecting with aplomb. I know as long as I feel good and stay healthy, things that come into my experience will continue to please me. I am ready for my pleasing future, for I am so pleased with my “now.”
—
 Katie Chonacas is a New York based model, actress, and artist.

LINKS:
Katie Chonacas – Official Site
Kyriaki Sunday – Official Site
Twitter – @kyriakisunday
Instagram – @kyriakisunday
Check Out Some BEHIND THE SCENES Clips of this Interview
—
Written by Owen Hoffmann
Edited by Tyler Malone
Photography by Owen Hoffmann
Design by Marie Havens
—

Captions:
Katie Chonacas, 2012, Photography by Owen Hoffmann

TOP TEN : PATRICK MCMULLAN’S FAVORITE CURRENT TV SHOWS

PATRICK MCMULLAN’S FAVORITE CURRENT TV SHOWS

The Founder of PMc Mag Lists His Favorite Shows

By Patrick McMullan

Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, November 2012)   
—
1. The New Normal
2. Homeland
3. The Walking Dead
4. Survivor
5. Law & Order: SVU
6. Project Runway
7. Revolution
8. 30 Rock
9. Criminal Minds
10. Hoarders
—
Patrick McMullan is an American photographer, columnist, television personality, businessman and documentarian. The premiere nightlife photographer in New York City, McMullan’s work seems infinitely pervasive. It appears regularly in his weekly New York Magazine column, “Party Lines.” His other columns include: Allure, Interview, Hamptons, Ocean Drive, Gotham and Art & Auction among others. In addition to the publications which feature his columns, his photography has been featured worldwide in publications such as the New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Wall Street Journal, New York Post,  Harper’s Bazaar, Details, In Style, Cosmopolitan and Out…just to name a few. Patrick McMullan is also a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He has published five books of his photography: Secrets of the Riviera, Men’s Show, so8os: A Photographic Diary of a Decade, Kiss Kiss and Glamour Girls. His latest venture is PMc Magazine, which you are currently reading.

LINKS:
Patrick McMullan’s Official Site
PMc Magazine
Patrick’s Tumblr
—
Compiled by Patrick McMullan

Edited by Tyler Malone
Photography by Shaun Mader for PatrickMcMullan.com
Design by Jillian Mercado

—
Captions:
Patrick McMullan, Victory for Women Photoshoot for the National Hemophilia Foundation, at Pier 59 Studios, NYC, August 24, 2010, Photography by Shaun Mader for PatrickMcMullan.com

YOU KNOW ME ! : Dj Enferno

DJ ENFERNO

Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, October 2012)     
—
1: How do we know you?
You’ve probably seen me on Madonna‘s 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour, or you have seen my live remix videos on Youtube or heard my work on iTunes. In any case, nice to meet you!

2: What is your latest project?
I’m about to release my first original track alongside Mickey Fortune called “Cavaricci” and I also just finished an official remix for the Linkin Park song “Powerless.” Both will be available soon!

3: Where are you living?
Fairfax, VA. It is near Washington, DC. The suburbs are my sanctuary.

4: What don’t we know about you?
I once jumped out of a plane voluntarily.

5: What is your favorite travel destination?
Secluded beach trips with my family.

6: What inspires you?
Those moments when I feel like I’ve experienced something for the very first time.

7: If not yourself, who would you be?
Thomas Edison. Although it’s never too late for that.

8: What book is your bible?
The dictionary.

9: What is your favorite word?
Unlimited.

10: Who is your biggest hero?
My wife. She is Superwoman. Literally, she has a cape, spandex, and wristbands.

11: How would you define success?
Success is when you feel happy without having to do anything. If you wake up in the morning and you are happy, then I believe you are successful.

12: What would the last question of this questionnaire be if you were the one asking?
How can we find out more about you? Glad you asked, you can find out all about me at: DjEnferno.com, Facebook.com/DjEnfernoFanpage, and Twitter.com/DjEnferno.
—
Enferno is a DMC USA Champion (2nd in the World), and a certified gold remixer for LMFAO who has recently been named #1 on Billboard’s Next Big Sound chart. He is also the creator of the next progression of live DJ performance called the Live Remix Project (LRP). Enferno was Madonna’s 2008-2009 Sticky & Sweet World Tour DJ, as well as the DJ and programmer for Michael Jackson’s The Immortal World Tour and Rihanna’s Loud Tour. Today, Enferno is busy balancing studio time with jets-setting around the world for his own tour.

LINKS:
Dj Enferno

Facebook Page

Soundcloud
Twitter: djenferno
Youtube.com/djenferno
—
Questions by PMc Magazine
Edited by Ceara Maria Burns

Photography by Douglas Sonders Photography
Design by Jillian Mercado
—
Captions:
Eric aka DJ Enferno, Photography by Douglas Sonders Photography

CONTROLLING THE MOMENT: A Glimpse into the Life and Work of Photographer NANCY ELLISON

CONTROLLING THE MOMENT

A Glimpse into the Life and Work of Photographer NANCY ELLISON
By Jonathan Metzelaar
Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, October 2012)    

—

Photography is so pervasive these days that it’s remarkable how personal of a medium it still is. Almost everybody on the street has access to a camera now, whether it’s a point-and-shoot, a professional piece of equipment, or just a cellphone camera. Factor in wildly popular photography websites like Flickr and Instagram, and it’s clear that photography is being done pretty much everywhere, by pretty much everybody.

And yet each photograph is still unique, still comes out branded, in just the slightest way, by how the photographer sees the world. You tell twenty people to all take a picture of the same building, and you get twenty different shots, twenty different interpretations of how people feel an object is best represented. There is something of the photographer inside each photograph.

This is especially true of the professionals. One glance at a photograph by Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz and, without any other clue or indication, you just know who took that picture. It is ingrained in the colors, the subjects, the focus, the style.

Photographer Nancy Ellison is no exception. Her theater and dance photographs capture the beauty of movement, hold it still for us to marvel at. And her portraits are intensely personal, each capturing the subject in what seems like a moment of contemplation or reprieve, each giving the viewer a rare glimpse into what seems like a person in his or her natural state. Despite the wide range of subjects and categories her photography deals with, there is a unique thread to Nancy’s work that ties it all together, that makes  a person automatically think, after they see a photograph of hers, “Now that’s a Nancy Ellison.”

Jonathan Metzelaar: You grew up in Los Angeles, in pretty close proximity to Hollywood and the movie-making process. How much of an impact did growing up there have on your eventual interest in photography and producing? What did you see growing up that made you realize this is what you wanted to do?

Nancy Ellison: Most importantly I saw celebrities–often out-of-work celebrities–in daily life.  I saw the effects of the Hollywood blacklist on the lives of school friends.  I was witness to the complete reality of celebrity.  My awe was slowly replaced by sympathy.

I trained as a painter and art historian, and that clearly influenced my sense of aesthetics. But shooting on movie sets lured me back to my “Hollywood” childhood, and it was enticing.  Aesthetically, my Hollywood influence would have been similar to anyone who saw films.  I loved Hollywood Art Deco–George Hurrell’s Jean Harlow reclining in a bias-cut white evening dress on a polar bear rug comes to mind–and I loved the lighting used in black and white films.  It is worth studying.  The great lighting cameramen lit men and women quite differently; women were lit in glowing but selective lighting, literally blocking out anything that did not play to their eyes and to their mouths, while men were given the craggy shadows that brought out their masculinity.  Black and white film gave drama and focus to even the slightest frame.

It was fun visiting movie sets as a child. I loved that secret, magical world in which the “adults” got to play, and I still do. Working on somewhere around seventy films as a “special photographer” has given me a superb education on lighting.  Watching the best cinematographers, like Connie Hall,  Vilmos Zsigmond, and Haskell Wexler, light a set and their stars was my ‘graduate school’.
As for producing,  I just enjoy being part of any creative process.  Producing “America’s Voices” in Berlin back in 2000, with my husband, Bill Rollnick, was an honor and an opportunity to be a representative of our country while having a lot of fun doing it.

JM: What would you say was your first big break, and how did it come about?

NE: During the filming of The Day of the Locust, I became friends with Mary Ellen Mark.  At that time I was known primarily on the east coast–and exclusively as a painter–but she graciously posed for me. One of those photographs was used as her portrait in the book Masters of Contemporary Photography.  Not only did she gift me with that inclusion, she helped me with my portfolio and gave me advice about photo editors.  Quite honestly, I did not realize at the time just how unique her generosity actually was. I have since found that most photographers–with a few wondrous exceptions–react to someone starting out in the same photo-world with either suspicious indifference or behavior bordering on actual sabotage.  I have tried to follow her example.

JM: I thought it was interesting that photography and dance seemed to be your two main areas of interest, since dance is an art concerned with movement, and photography seems to be just the opposite. How did you come about being interested in these two areas of art, considering how different they seem on the surface?

NE: Well, to begin with, photographing young, beautiful, and disciplined dancers is simply a treat, and classical ballet has created a world equal to that reality. Just showing up will give one breathtaking images.  But stopping the dancer’s movement, catching the timeless and gravity-free moment of a jump, or defining harmony with a perfectly balanced arabesque, is splendor–spiritual in every way. The conceit of the photographer is sustained in conquering movement and making it still.

JM: You’ve photographed a wide range of people, from dancers to writers to politicians. Is there a particular group of people you enjoy photographing more than others?


NE: Starlets, presidents… kinda similar.  Everyone I shoot wants to be loved and admired. The vainest man I photographed was Boris Yeltsin, who was quite infatuated with his pompadour hairstyle; surrounding my lens with a mirror guaranteed that I would get a perfect expression from him.

I am generally sympathetic and pretty patient with eccentric behavior, and I love shooting interesting people, but I do have a problem with overblown self-importance, and that certainly transcends any single group of celebrity.  So it is not so much the group but the individual. I have to love, at least for the moment, the subject I am photographing, but if someone is behaving like a brat, I simply walk away.

By the way, the person who is actually important and powerful usually isn’t inclined to act self-important. They intuitively understand the symbiotic reality of the photo session.

JM: What goes through your mind when you’re photographing your subjects? Are you interested mainly in capturing an image that’s aesthetically pleasing? Are you trying to tell a story? Are you trying to capture the essence of whoever or whatever you’re shooting? Some combination thereof?

NE: Yes, all of the above–most of the time. For example, my session with concert pianist Lola Astanova became a spy novel.  Every shot I took of her had a covert, seductive energy to it, but that is what I saw in her private beauty.   If you think of photographers like Annie Leibovitz or Helmet Newton, the first thing that comes to mind would be their iconic branding of their style, which consistently overlays their subject. Very powerful images.  My curiosity about my subject dictates a more intrinsic image, which means the subject often defines the style.  Occasionally I achieve an iconic image and I am thrilled, but ultimately I am more interested in seeing one of my portraits and thinking, ‘there is something learned’. I love beauty, and I love finding a primordial sexuality in my subjects, but neither of these elements should overlay the essential reality in front of me.

JM: I’d imagine that growing up around so many celebrities would make you immune to it, but was there ever a photo shoot where you were starstruck by your subject? If so, did it make it any more difficult for you to do your job?

NE: Not starstruck, but I have been struck on occasion by the moment.  When I was photographing the extremely distracted Nazi-hunter, Simon Wiesenthal, on assignment for US News & World Report, I had a major shy-attack, feeling that I was taking up his time. I became more focused on releasing him than getting his attention and finding some insight into him.   The results were professional but unfulfilled.  A photographer has to control the moment–even if it is only in his own mind!

JM: I know this must be a difficult question to answer, considering how prolific you are, but what photograph (or handful of photographs) are you most proud of and why?

NE: Not difficult at all. The photographs that I am the most proud of are the ones I took when I gave birth to my daughter. After twenty hours of labor, I became re-energized when my doctor made a bet with the nurses that I would succeed, and I managed about five images of her crowning before the doctor suggested he get on with business.  The crowning image was like an Imogen Cunningham or Georgia O’Keefe magnolia blossom–breathtakingly beautiful, organic, and caressed by joy.

JM: Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like people to know about?

NE: I am preparing for a retrospective exhibition of my work that will open at the Pacific Design Center, aka The Blue Whale, in West Hollywood this coming March, 2013.  At last I am organizing my archival work.

—
Nancy Ellison is an acclaimed photographer and producer.

LINKS:
Nancy Ellison’s Official Website
—
Written and Edited by Jonathan Metzelaar
Photograph (Page 1/Cover) by Bill Rollnick

Photography (Page 2 & 3) by & Courtesy of Nancy Ellison
Design by Marie Havens
—
Captions:

Page 1/Cover:
Photograph (Page 1/Cover) by Bill Rollnick
Page 2:
Mick Jagger, Photography (Page 2 & 3) by & Courtesy of Nancy Ellison
Page 3:
Pierce Brosnan, Photography (Page 2 & 3) by & Courtesy of Nancy Ellison

TOO GOOD TO IGNORE: A Conversation with Rock Stars TOMMY LONDON and TOMMY MOKAS of THE DIRTY PEARLS

TOO GOOD TO IGNORE

A Conversation with Rock Stars TOMMY LONDON and TOMMY MOKAS of THE DIRTY PEARLS

By Jonathan Metzelaar
Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, October 2012)     
—
If you want to make a name for yourself as a musician in New York, you need more than just musical talent. It sounds trite, but for people to take notice of you or your band, you’ve got to have that little something extra, that one thing that pushes you above the sheer volume of talent out there. When you look to some of the musical acts that made it in New York, more often than not you can see that distinguishing characteristic. Bob Dylan had the inimitable falsetto and the generation-defining lyrics. KISS had the face paint and the personality. The Strokes had the attitude and the charisma. Here it is not enough to simply be good; you have to be exceptional.

Enter The Dirty Pearls, a New York-based band with the attitude and the stage presence that rock and roll has been sorely lacking for a while now. Watching them perform live, you can sense them feeding off the enthusiasm of the crowd and channeling it into their music. These guys pretty clearly love doing what they do, and they’ve got the musical chops to back up their enthusiasm. Their brand of rock is gruff and manic, but instrumentally tight, a sound that is quintessentially New York. With their first full-length album, Whether You Like It Or Not, having just been released, and a potential cross-country tour on the horizon, these guys have been very busy, but lead singer Tommy London and guitarist Tommy Mokas still found the time to sit down and answer a few questions.

Jonathan Metzelaar: How do you view the New York music scene right now compared to other cities? How do the audiences, venues, and musical talent compare? What are some of your favorite New York-based bands and venues, and why?

Tommy Mokas: I think the New York scene is very volatile in terms of its perceived popularity, but always very vibrant in terms of the participation of the musicians themselves.  It may go without saying, but New York City is probably the most difficult place in the country to be a successful, functioning unit.  Every single factor about existing is against you, but I firmly believe this is what makes it exciting as well.  Being a band in New York has changed significantly these past twelve years in terms of the scope of requirements for both the individual and the band, but what hasn’t changed is the amount of crazy you have to be to even try.  I think it’s a bold statement to even be a band in this city at all.  There is a vast amount of talent here, and because the pool is so vast, sometimes your “average” band doesn’t get very far here, when it would likely succeed in another place due to less competition.  Other cities have the advantage of being cheaper, easier to get more space, easier to have a vehicle, etc. But none of those other places are New York.  If it wasn’t such a drug, there wouldn’t be 8 million people trying to be here!

Venues in New York have gotten better over the years, but I think the more venues we have, the less of a scene there is. It’s been quite a while since a scene was centralized around a couple of key spots.  I personally believe this makes it harder for a scene to grow.  In other cities, you only have a few choice spots to frequent if you want to see live music, let alone good music.  In New York, you have the choice of hundreds of venues on any given evening, and you rely largely on word of mouth as to where you’re going to go to enjoy yourself.  You could go out to a venue, really enjoy it, and never go back there again before it closes up for good.

The last place that I feel had a really rabid and vibrant scene in New York rock was Snitch. The stage was shitty and narrow, there were barely any stage monitors, and it had a crappy sound system, but fuck, the crowds!  The Monday night party was the place to be, because you could step on that stage and rock a full room. Even if nobody knew you, they gave you a chance just for having the courage to try. That was the last time I felt that sort of energy from a venue and a scene.
As for NYC-based bands, there have been a lot of good ones in recent years, and the range covers it all: The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, The Walkmen, Ryan Adams, Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, Holy Ghost… I mean it’s all over the place.

Tommy London:  Yeah, there are a lot of great bands on the NYC music scene right now. It reminds me of when I read about the NYC rock scene from the 70′s, where all these bands were different in their own way, yet they still shared a core audience and were part of the same scene.  You had The Ramones, Blondie, The Talking Heads, New York Dolls, and many more all coming from a different place, but still part of of the same scene.  I feel that is the strength of the downtown rock music scene at the moment.  It’s not like a Seattle scene or hair band scene, where all the bands were cut from the same cloth.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking those bands. I purchased all their music and still love it today.  I’m just saying that the rock scene in New York has always been an eclectic one, and it still is.  Though I think it’s more of a “community” than it is a “scene”.  We have a strong community of rock music enthusiasts who just live and breathe rock ‘n’ roll.  That’s what its all about–keeping the spirit alive.

And whenever we play out of town we always discover that small community of rockers, just like in NYC.  They are just as passionate about rock ‘n’ roll as us and our friends in NYC.  It’s pretty amazing.  Sometimes I feel as if they are seeking that larger community of people that they can relate to, and when I sense that I always tell them they need to come to the the city for a week and experience the bars, parties, and venues that cater to their taste.  Then they will see why New York City truly is a drug.

As for venues, we’ve played most of them in New York, like Irving Plaza, Gramercy Theatre, Bowery Ballroom, etc.  They all have their own history, which makes them special to play.  But I have to say the one that really did it for me was when we first headlined the Bowery Ballroom.  That was our first venture into a large venue.  On the NYC rock club scene, the Bowery Ballroom has always been considered the “Madison Square Garden” of the scene.  They never booked bands from the rock scene.  So when we landed our first headline show there, it not only represented the fact that The Dirty Pearls had arrived, but it also gave a lot of attention to the scene that we came from.

JM: You’re new album, Whether You Like It Or Not, was just released.  In what ways would you say this album is different from the music you made prior, and which songs do each of you guys enjoy playing the most on the album?

TM: When I joined the band, I had every intention of making it a decidedly more hard-hitting band, but expanding on the pop sensibility.  In my previous band, Nova Clutch, I was influenced by a lot of heavier and more progressive bands like Muse, The Mars Volta, and Soundgarden, but I was always rooted in bands like Aerosmith, Guns n’ Roses, and The Clash.  Playing with The Pearls made me get back to my roots and start thinking in a simpler, more straightforward way about songwriting.  I think the songs which best portray that spread of influence would be “Who’s Coming Back To Who” and “Mayday”.  Those also happen to be my favorite to play live.

TL: Yeah I have to be honest, when Mokas and I got together and started writing, the band started shifting in a different direction–in a good way! The songs I wrote in other bands before The Dirty Pearls were cut-and-dry, fun rock tunes. But when I got together with Tommy Mokas the songs took on a whole different life of their own.  To be honest it was pretty magical.  We pounded out a bunch of killer rock/pop songs with strong hooks, melodies, lyrics, and riffs.  Then when Sunny Climbs joined the band we hit the songwriting trifecta.  I’m looking forward to the three of us writing some new songs.

As for performing live, my favorite songs to perform live are “Who’s Coming Back To Who,” “Sucker For A Sequel,” and “New York City Is A Drug”.  There is just an energy behind them live that makes me want to jump into the audience and put my fists in the air with them.
JM: How do the songs you guys write typically come together? Is each band member responsible for coming up with their own part, or does one of you kind of give the others direction? And is Tommy generally in charge of lyrics since he’s the one who has to sing them, or is it more of a collaborative effort?

TM: Because I’ve been a recording studio owner since 2003, I can safely say I’ve forced my influence on the parts in the songs that I’ve helped write.  I would generally demo out the songs in my studio, playing all the parts and getting the ideas out of my head.  But in the hands of the other members, they have been allowed to come alive.  This became even more true under the direction and wisdom of Mr. David Kahne, who took our piece of granite and chiseled a nice group of songs from it.  His ear and ability to edit tightened the songs even more, both musically and arrangement-wise, and the songs are better for it.  Lyrically, London and I work out the initial ideas together, but I’ve always allowed him the space to sing whatever he’s gonna sing.  I know from years as a singer, you have to believe what you’re singing, so I tend to be slightly hands-off in that respect.  But I give my input when I feel it’s needed or helpful.

TL: A lot of the songs actually start with a chorus melody and chord structure, and then we build around it and see where it leads.  But as Mokas said, it was our producer Daivd Kahne, who has worked with Sublime, The Strokes, and Paul McCartney, that really helped mold the clay and make our songs just pop even more. After we get the initial demo down with melody and structure, we take it to the band so they can help develop it even more, and that’s when the song starts to come to life.  That’s actually the best feeling in the world; coming up with an idea with a guitar and a vocal, getting the band involved, and then starting to feel it come to life.  The icing on the cake, of course, is when you perform it in front of an audience to see their reaction.  It’s amazing, I can’t even describe it.

JM: The illegal downloading of music has been a pretty big issue in the music industry for awhile now. As a band trying to make a name for itself, I’d imagine it’s pretty frustrating to lose out on some of the profits you could make in music sales, yet some musicians look at the silver lining and say it’s okay as long as their music is getting out there. Where do you guys stand on this issue?

TM: As the owner of a studio, and a lifelong musician, I say stop whining.  It’s over.  It’s been devalued, and it ain’t ever going back to the way it was.  Figure out new ways.  Its called the music business.  It always changes, and it always will.  It isn’t profitable to sell typewriters anymore, but people still write, don’t they?  Someone made money when the trends changed, and it wasn’t cause they lamented the death of the typed word on paper. If you want to be financially successful in music, which, for the record, is not a God-given right, then you have to be an enterprising individual.  If you want to be a musician, make music.  They are two separate things to me.  I treat them as such.  You think Hendrix was thinking about how to market “Foxy Lady”?  No, he was too busy being Hendrix.  As Steve Martin said, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”  That is how I believe you have to be to win.  Oh, and have a good manager!

TL: I think Mokas just said it all!  I mean the internet became a double-edged sword for a lot of things, not just music.  But let’s be honest, an unsigned band like us have the opportunity to be seen and heard all over the world by just the touch of a button.  That’s pretty amazing and special if you ask me.  You have to learn to market your music as a way to sell your live shows and merchandise.  Plus, there are many other avenues to make money with your music besides downloads.  Commercials, TV, and movies are still profitable venues for you to make money with your music.

JM: The Dirty Pearls have a very distinctive sound, kind of a gruff-yet-polished rock and roll. Have you guys ever felt confined by that? Were there ever any songs you wanted to include on an album that you had to exclude because they didn’t really fit? And do you envision yourselves experimenting with new things on future records, or are you guys devoted to the sound you’ve got?

TM: Personally, I’m making all different kinds of music all the time.  I’m a composer, it’s what I’ve been doing since I was 13.  So for me, The Pearls is an outlet for making the kind of music that I really love, that I might not make to this extent on my own.  I don’t think it would be wise to say we’re devoted to the sound we’ve got, but I’d say we’re devoted to the feeling we’re trying to create.  I’ve seen how crowds react to us when we hit them over the head with a set, and that’s an energy I want to expand on.

TL: We never felt confined at all to be honest.  We did have a few songs that we recorded for this album that just didn’t blend with the songs on the album as a whole.  But that’s not to say we won’t be performing them live, or that we won’t consider them for the next album, or even that we won’t release them as an individual single online.  We have a few demos we’ve written that are experimental in sound and groove that will definitely show our growth as writers and musicians, which we will showcase on the next album for sure.  But at the end of the day, it will always be rock ‘n’ roll.

JM: What upcoming events or projects are you working on that you’d like people to know about?

TM: I’ll let you answer this one, London.

TL: We just released our first full-length album, Whether You Like It Or Not, which at the moment is only available through our website, but you can also purchase some of the singles from the album on iTunes.  We have generated a lot of major interest with the album, and that’s why we haven’t released it fully on digital outlets… yet.  We’re playing regional dates in support of the album with some national acts, as well as our own headline shows.  We are lining up a big NYC headline show for the end of the year, and we’re hoping to take the band cross-country soon, especially due to the fact that a lot of radio stations have recently started to spin the songs from the album.

A few of our songs have recently been picked up by the popular video game Tap Tap.  As far as I know, we are the first unsigned band to be included in this game, so it’s a really big deal for us.  Metallica, Lady Gaga, Green Day, and many others are included in the game, so I’d say that’s pretty good company.  We have a lot of other things in the works that involve tour support slots, film, and television, but it’s too premature to discuss them just yet.  But you can always find all the updates on everything that’s happening with us, from tour dates to news, on our facebook, twitter, and of course on our website.
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Tommy Mokas and Tommy London are both members of New York-based rock band The Dirty Pearls, whose first full-length album, Whether You Like It Or Not, was just released.

LINKS:
The Dirty Pearls Official Website
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Written and Edited by Jonathan Metzelaar

Photography by Coco Alexander

Design by Marie Havens
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Captions:
Pages 1-7:
The Dirty Pearls in NYC, 2012, Photography by Coco Alexander

ROCK-N-ROLL IN HER DNA: Talking with Rock Goddess BEBE BUELL

ROCK-N-ROLL IN HER DNA

Talking with Rock Goddess BEBE BUELL
By Lori Zimmer
Fall 2012
(As seen in PMc Magazine, October 2012)    
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Bebe Buell is one of those people that makes it so you can’t help but smile when you have the luck to be in her company–and I’m not talking about her amazing rock-n-roll making, rock star dating, Liv Tyler parenting, Playboy modeling past. So incredibly grounded and humble, her lust and passion for rock music has made her a rock-n-roll missionary–the exact opposite of the groupie stereotype that the media has consistently pegged her as.

At first, I didn’t even want to mention the word “groupie,” as if its utterance would give it some sort of validation, but it is relevant since Bebe has been accused of being one for much of her life. Contrary to the “groupie” stereotype, Bebe’s life-long obsession has not been with rock stars, but with the music itself, with rock-n-roll. Yet the stigma has stuck, which after only a few moments with her, I found totally infuriating, and unfair. She speaks of her musical experiences with excitement and fervor, inviting others to join her enthusiasm rather than alienating them with elitism. She’s the kind of person you want to be around, first to hear her fascinating stories, but then because she just makes you somehow feel included in them.

Her involvement in rock-n-roll over the last forty-plus years was founded on a deep connection to music–even now she lives and breathes rock-n-roll with every breath. Her relationship with husband Jim Wallerstein is heavily steeped in music, the pair have been steadily making it together for over ten years, partnering in both love and art. The Bebe Buell Band continues to thrive; their latest album, Hard Love, kicked off with a video for the track “Devil You Know.” The track features Bebe’s signature raspy voice fused with powerful rock and an appearance by the Power Animals that climb and claw throughout the vid. The band continues to play the New York area, and headlined the CBGB’s fest at High Line Ballroom this summer.

The face that launched a thousand rock-n-roll ships, Bebe’s influence has helped inspire and shape friends and lovers like Todd Rundgren, Stiv Bators, Steven Tyler, Joey Ramone, Iggy Pop, John Taylor, Rod Stewart, amongst dozens of other rock-n-rollers that her life has touched. Her commitment to rock has been a force in its longevity, glamour and appeal. Rock-n-roll will never die as long as Bebe Buell is at the helm.

Lori Zimmer: You’ve been called a groupie, but anyone that really knows of you knows that even muse is an understatement, that you’re more of a rock-n-roll catalyst. Does this negative connotation of women who influence musicians bother you?
Bebe Buell: It has gone on since the beginning of time. I’ve just chosen to voice my distaste for labeling another person for their personal life experience. I’m more like Forrest Gump with a high IQ than a vixen. I don’t like getting called names period! The term “groupie” is not a job discription–it’s more of a taste description. But sadly it has gotten tarnished by those that drive the pop culture bus. It went from being something kind of cool and innocent to being something focusing on sexual exploits. I’m not very sexual–I’m more cerebral. I have sexual energy as an entertainer, but it comes from the music. I move the way the music makes me feel.

LZ: Being a musician yourself, do you think it is an unfair double standard?
BB: Again, that’s gone on since the beginning of time–but I have never let my sex get in the way of my dreams. I’ve had to work harder, prove myself a little more, but in the end, I am doing what I want to do. I’m the lead singer in a rock band. Double standards will always exist–it’s how you let it affect you that matters.

LZ: I don’t want to dwell too much on the past, but your life and experience with some of the world’s most iconic musicians is hard to entirely gloss over. When looking back, what spurred your heavy involvement in the rock-n-roll scene?
BB: Basically I’ve always just followed my heart, and my heart beats for music–all kinds of music. But rock-n-roll is in my DNA; I have a connection to that kind of music. I’ve kept the bloodline alive with the birth of my rock-n-roll love child. Birds of a feather flock together. In my life, I am ruled by chemistry. I go where I’m comfortable and where I belong. I feel blessed to have known so many talented, interesting people, and to still meet people every day that fascinate and elate me.

LZ: When did you realize that you’d made it beyond the average fan and into the inner circle?
BB: Probably around the same time anyone who comes to NYC at 17/18 years old and is accepted into the inner circle. I felt like I belonged almost instantly after getting here. I imagined all of it, visualized all of it, starting at around 10 years old. When I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, I just knew those were my people, HA! We are rock people!

LZ: Do you remember when you first met Patrick McMullan?
BB: I could never pin down the day because I feel like he has been a constant in my life for the last four decades. He’s one of those people who has been an important part of the entertainment scene in NYC since the 60s. No one like him. I adore the guy!

LZ: How has raising a daughter changed your interaction with the music world / fame monster?
BB: I could never measure it because I was so young when Liv was born. She has always been part of my life and career. She’s in it. And I in her’s. It’s a legacy, a family business at this point. Look at my mother, she’s our matriarch.

LZ: In a world of egos, the impression you give off is a down to earth, breath of fresh air. Taking that ego into consideration for a moment, how have you managed to not only keep it at bay, but to encompass the humble yet confident way of life that you live?
BB: Spiritual practice–keeping myself in check with a higher power. Never letting pain stop you from loving. I try not to give haters power.

LZ: Your new video just debuted earlier this summer–how did you come up with the concept  and working with the Power Animals?
BB: I saw them around NYC and in a clip somewhere. I knew I wanted to have them in there in some capacity. Aren’t they fabulous?!

LZ: You’ve been married to a musician (and collaborator) for the past ten years. Do you work together as a couple in the studio, or do you leave your love out of the workplace?
BB: It becomes second nature. Jim plays in my band, co-writes my music, produces me, helps get the bands together. He’s my musical partner. We have date nights and go on vacations to keep the romance alive, but basically music is our lives. Full-time. All the time.

LZ: You kicked off summer with a show honoring CBGBs, with your new music in tow, can we expect more shows this fall, or a tour?
BB: Touring is costly and of course we want to tour. We are seeking sponsorship as we speak. But we do play regionally and will play in NYC again before the end of 2012. As soon as the new Cutting Room opens, we will be doing a residency there. It’s been a long wait for this state-of-the-art new place, but it will be worth it in the end. The place is gorgeous and the stage is heavenly! Can’t wait to grace it. I’m also working on a one woman show. I will always consider NYC my home, the place I unveil my projects. I can’t wait to do a run here, a weekly thing. That’s what I’m working towards right now…so stay tuned…
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Bebe Buell is an American fashion model and rock star, not to mention Playboy magazine’s November 1974 Playmate of the Month.

LINKS:
Bebe Buell Band – Official Site

Bebe Buell Band – Twitter
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Written by Lori Zimmer
Edited by Tyler Malone
Photography by Jonathan Grassi
Makeup and Hair by Natalia López de Quintana (Twitter/instagram/Tumblr: duchessnatalia)
Style by Delvin Lugo
Stylist Assistance by Rasaan Wyzard
Male Modelling by Dan Morris
Design by Marie Havens

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Captions:
Pages 1-5:
Bebe Buell, 3 of Cups Lounge, New York City, July 7, 2012, Photography by Jonathan Grassi
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Clothing:

Look 1: (pie)
Jacket by Marc by Marc Jacobs
Blouse by Zara
Fishnet Glove by LaCrasia

Look 2:
Jacket by Calvin Klein
Tshirt by Bess NYC
Pants by Zara
Necklace by Alexis Bittar
Look 3: (on the bar)
Same as above
Pumps by Christian Louboutin
Look 4: (at the door)
Knit Bolero Jacket by Cheng
Pants by Zara