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Entries tagged with 'Interview'
Posted Jul. 24, 2007,
Reality Bites: Top Chef's Camille Becerra
By Jon Boschetto
Welcome to Reality Bites, our new blog feature in which we'll be checking in and catching up with some of our favorite stars of the reality television circus. For this first installment, PAPERMAG roving correspondent Jon Boschetto interviewed Top Chef's Camille Becerra. Bon appétit!
Camille Becerra, one of this season's recently eliminated contestants on Bravo's Top Chef, is one tall glass of water. A tall glass of pretty, cool, and sometimes tart hibiscus-scented water. The Elizabeth, NJ, bred chef-entrepreneur fumbled this season with a bite-sized pineapple upside-down cake, but lucky for us denizens of New York's outer boroughs, Camille is back in the kitchen at her urban American boîte Paloma in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Camille took a few minutes from her busy schedule to dish out some goodies to PAPERMAG about her time in Miami, what she's up to now, and her take on the Brooklyn scene.
Jon Boschetto: Hey Camille, thanks for talking to us!
Camille Becerra: Of course, I love PAPER!
JB: And we love you. And reality TV. I heard that you never watched Top Chef before you were on it. That's crazy!
CB: Yeah, it was a surprise. It was a whirlwind. It started off with just getting a phone call from a friend who works the velvet ropes at Marquee, and he told me all the producers were in the club. And the next day I was talking to the casting directors about food and television, I went to LA for a couple more interviews, did a short film, and then I was in Miami, surrounded by cameras and all the other chefs from Top Chef!
Posted Jun. 22, 2007,
The Real Dirt on The Real Dirt on Farmer John
By PAPERMAG Editors
Text and photo by Phil Smrek
For farmer John Peterson, the road to redemption was not though a tunnel with a light at its end, but rather right around the corner. A documentary about his life, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, opening this weekend at the Lincoln Plaza and Quad Cinemas, eloquently tells his tale: a farm boy from the Midwest, who saw the rise, fall and ultimate resurrection of his family farm. At the age of 18 in the mid-'70s, Peterson took charge of his Illinois farm, ascending his tractor with pride and an eccentric flair. While attending a local community college, and running the family business, the farm became a Warhol-ish “factory,” replete with poets, musicians, filmmakers, hangers-on and other assorted artists. It as was an island of creative misfits that had the community talking of devil worship and orgies.
By the early '80s, the party was over. Peterson, like many American farmers at the time, struggled to maintain his farm, and due to collapsed commodity prices and over-extended loans, the bank shut him down. An auction ensued. Peterson was left with a little more than 20 acres of what was once a thriving 350-acre farm. Broken and utterly destroyed, “Farmer John” traveled -- to Mexico and points beyond - and this ultimately resulted in the rebirth of his farm through organic practices and the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) business model. By the mid-'90s, Peterson hit the jackpot when he found himself in the forefront of the “slow food” movement, which he quickly realized was something better than what he had lost.
Posted Jun. 11, 2007,
James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand Interview
By PAPERMAG Editors
James Jackson Toth is Wooden Wand. After the June 12th release of James & the Quiet on Ecstatic Peace!, the name and the legend will be no more; this, after a slew of studio albums recorded with the Vanishing Voices (and one with the Sky High Band) and countless self-released CD-R's and audiotapes. Fresh off his last tour with the Vanishing Voices, PAPERMAG's Justin Goncalves phoned Toth and talked about titular phallacies, working with members of Sonic Youth and growing up in Shaolin land.
Justin Goncalves: I remember getting a press release a few months ago with some pretty forceful language about your retiring of the name Wooden Wand. Rather than asking why James & the Quiet will be the last time you use the name, I'm more curious about the origins of the name.
James Jackson Toth: It's not too interesting a story. I’ve been asked this question before and I never know what to say. It just popped into my head one day. Since then, people have drawn into the phallic implications, which is fine with me. It's not like I hadn't seen them.
JG: You're fine with the phallic implications?
JJT: Yep.
Posted Jun. 6, 2007,
Miranda July Talks to PAPER TV
By Alexis Swerdloff
PAPER TV's Natalia C. Leite sits down with Renaissance Woman Miranda July, who just released a new book of short stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You.
Posted May. 21, 2007,
iLiKETRAiNS Interview
By Shanon Kelley
I wrote about iLiKETRAiNS, the quintet from Leeds with a flair for the dramatic, a while ago. Since then my love for them has grown and grown. Their romantic, history-themed ballads sound like a cross between Explosions in the Sky and Interpol. But that's really just a simplified way of describing a sound that is actually quite unique and luminescent. Plus, they all dress in matching British rail uniforms and sing about dead people (for more information, please check out the obituaries page on their website). In other words, iLiKETRAiNS aren't your ordinary indie rock group, yet they've got quite a following and are mere moments away from breaking out on our side of the Atlantic. So naturally, I had some questions which bassist Alistair Bowls (the one being pointed to by the yellow arrow in the photo at right) was kind enough to answer.
NY Doll: I'm sure you guys get this all the time, but why the strange capitalization in the band name?
Alistair Bowls: To be honest, there's not really much of a story there. It just looks better written that way. And it makes the name stand out.
NYD: Do you consider yourselves part of a musical movement?
AB: "Musical movements" seem to be things that other people group you into. We are not really interested in following the "scene," which is why we try to do something a bit different, but we don't really think of ourselves as being a part of a particular group of bands, although we have had comparisons to bands like British Sea Power and the Decemberists.
Posted May. 16, 2007,
Fifteen Warholian Minutes with Christopher Makos
By PAPERMAG Editors
Text and photos by Phil Smrek
Multiple films (I Shot Andy Warhol, Basquiat, Factory Girl), a myriad of books and countless magazine articles have all tried to capture the essence of “Warholia.” Few, save for The Andy Warhol Diaries, actually have. That is, until photographer Christopher Makos placed Andy Warhol in the context of his own life with his latest book, Warhol/Makos in Context (PowerHouse Books), and an exhibit “Warhol: Vintage Portraits” at Yancey Richardson Gallery through June 29.
With In Context, Makos presents, in chronological order, an unexpurgated visual review of his days as Andy’s collaborator, sidekick and close friend. Via never before seen contact sheets reproduced in full, and prints from parties, events, projects, behind the scenes hoopla and trips the two made together, one is afforded a rare look into the circumstances surrounding the images from the final decade (1977-1987) of Warhol’s life.
“Vintage Portraits” is an exhibit of the Warhol-in-drag series Christopher and Andy teamed up on over a two-day period in 1981. They used May Ray (with whom Makos earlier apprenticed)'s portrayal of Marcel Duchamp as Rose Selavy (wearing a woman’s hat and dress) as a starting point and explored their own ambiguous sexualities with the help of eight different wigs and two different make-up applications, juxtaposed with the shirt, tie and jeans Warhol was already wearing. The result was 349 images of Warhol’s “Altered Image,” a highlighted selection of which are on view at the Yancey Richardson Gallery.
Posted May. 15, 2007,
Mark Smith from Explosions in the Sky: 10 Questions
By Shanon Kelley
By now, you must all know that Explosions in the Sky is one of my favorite bands in the history of all time. Seriously. This Austin-based prog-rock quartet is quite possibly the most inspiring band out there at the moment -- and they don't even sing! What's more, their fans have grown exponentially over the past few years to incredible proportions that I doubt even the band expected. I just saw them (yet again) at Coachella a few weeks ago, but as of right now EITS has put their worldwide tour on hold and are back home due to a family illness. These are strange times for them, in other words, but guitarist Mark Smith (the one who's being pointed to by the yellow arrow in the photo above) was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for me.
NY Doll: Why did you choose "Explosions in ihe Sky?"
Mark Smith: It just seemed like a very apt name for what we wanted to do -- a simple straightforward descriptive and concrete phrase -- and also it's a name that's thousands of times better than the name we first picked (Breaker Morant).
Posted May. 8, 2007,
Ed Droste (from Grizzly Bear) Video!
By Shanon Kelley
Ed Droste (pronounced "toasty") from the band Grizzly Bear is one of my favorite musicians. Here's an interview I did with him a little while ago over wine, cheese, and pickled sides. It was so much fun! But also a bit nerve racking -- Ed and I had just met for the first time and I was so nervous. In any event, I hope you enjoy this first in a series of NY Doll band interviews!
Posted Apr. 12, 2007,
Peter Bjorn And John Interview!
By Shanon Kelley
As it tends to happen nowadays, Swedish-based pop-rockers Peter Bjorn and John became the Next Big Band of 2007 virtually overnight. In 2005 they put out a self-released record and distributed it here and there, but suddenly 2006 rolled around and they had a hit ("Young Folks") a record deal (with v2) and worldwide distribution (including Japan). Then it became 2007 and "Young Folks" was playing on Grey's Anatomy. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've surely heard the catchy whistle intro and adorable boy-girl duet featuring Victoria Bergsman of The Concretes. I recently chatted with frontman Peter Moren from his home in Stockholm about PB&J's rapid rise to fame, the markedly personal content of his lyrics, what it's like being defined by a single song and where the band wants to go next -- the answer might surprise you.
NY Doll: Writer's Block was a pretty huge break-out hit for you guys. What came before that and how did it lead to this gem of an album?
Peter Moren: We did another album that I still love. I think it's almost as good as the new one and even better in some ways. That album actually came out in the states in 2005, and nowhere else. It was just Sweden and America and we didn't go on tour in America or anything. It was released on a small label and nothing much happened. We've had to jump labels for each new record and record everything by ourselves so we never had any budget or anything. Every penny that we earned went into the next record. In the summer of 2005 we started to work on [Writer's Block] by ourselves and then we started to play a couple of songs for V2 in Sweden and they were interested.
From there we licensed it to Whichitaw Richards' label and that was why it was released all over Europe and it started to pick up in August 2006. Everyone else came afterwards. It was released in Japan in December so it's kind of been progressing. I guess it makes a big difference to have the proper distribution and the chance to get it across different countries, which is something that we always really wanted but never really worked hard to get. And now it's happened. And of course we have a hit, which makes it easier -- it opens the audience's ears.
Posted Mar. 21, 2007,
Top Design's Goil Amornivivat
By PAPERMAG Editors
By Laura Perciasepe
Top Design’s Goil Amornivivat is the designing dynamo behind the show’s deluxe dog beds, high-concept light installations, and multi-colored glasses. Goil, a New Yorker with architecture degrees from both Carnegie Mellon and Yale, has a quick way with a hammer and a delightful sense of space that has led to some of the most interesting and whimsical rooms on the show (big red pepper as floor adornment, anyone?). Despite struggling to work in a team in last week’s episode, Goil’s still in the game and we can’t wait to see what this Parsons teacher comes up with next. He sat down to answer a few of this interior design fan’s questions about what his post-show plans are and how Tim Gunn is one of the last remaining true gentlemen.
On last week’s episode, you struggled to work in a team and felt like your vision was compromised. How much was that a feature of the show and how often does that go on in real life design?
Episode 6 broke my heart especially considering my respect for Erik and Andrea. It was a time in the competition when everyone was truly exhausted. I never cracked like I did in that challenge. In real world collaboration, one has more time to work out ideas and deal with group dynamics. If a team in a situation like this pauses, we risk not finishing. My real-life practice is a partnership. Everything I do is collaboration between my partner, Tom Morbitzer, and our client. Under normal circumstances, there is more time (more than 30 minutes) for discussion, and ultimately the work benefits.
Posted Mar. 20, 2007,
Panda Bear: Ten Questions
By Shanon Kelley
Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) may make up one-fourth of Animal Collective, but on his own he's a veritable wonder. Despite his move to Lisbon, Portugal, Panda Bear still creates music with his Animal Collective breathren as well as with Scotty Mou (DJ Casio) in the band Jane. And despite those impressive projects, it's still his solo work that I love the most (although I do love that Animal Collective). On his latest album, Person Pitch (out today), Lennox creates etheral landscapes that sound more dreamlike than tangible. Repetitive and hypnotic melodies are coupled with light-hearted chanting and sampled beats which include children laughing and ocean sounds. Sound familiar? Sound like Animal Collective? Well it's not and it is. In other words, it's Panda Bear. Here are 10 questions which I posed to Lennox which he was kind enough to answer back:
NY Doll: Why did you choose to become Panda Bear?
Panda Bear: It happened kind of by accident I suppose. When I was a lot younger I used to make tapes of my songs and on the first couple of them I drew panda bears because they are my favorite animals and the name kind of just held on after that.
NYD: If you weren't a panda bear, what would you be?
PB: Its hard to say I guess and I've never really had to think about a different name. I was thinking Mr. Noah would be a sweet name for a band but kind of just in a funny way (for me).