Mobdividual Interview

Over the past 10 years, I have watched mobdividual grow as an artist and it's been a fun journey. Brian has evolved his live show and recordings into an amazing and intriguing body of work. He's recorded several albums, EPs and other projects and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The music of mobdividual is meditative at times and thunderous noise at other times; mostly done on guitar and effects. Brian writes intricate music and I know this as I have had the pleasure of collaborating with him on several occasions now; including an infamous live show at an art gallery years ago in Manitou, Colorado. Brian also does an amazing amount of work supporting the art and music conmmunity here in Colorado Springs. Here's the man himself.......

1. We interviewed you years ago for this blog and you are still doing mobdividual. Talk about how this musical project has evolved over the years.

Not much has really changed in the grand scheme. as a concept it was fully formed more or less when i started - but it took me two or three years to figure out the arrangement of effects, amps and write songs that would work - emotional noisey abstract music with ebbs and flows of guitar and noise - i had a cellist for a short time who was really great. i recorded an album with a drummer and that was fun. ive provided background sounds for numerous art exhibits around town and a few in denver - really unique things too, like a guy who casts iron live so there's fire and smoke and melted steel everywhere, or that time a guy exhibited carnivorous plants he cultivates and sells, or that giant art thing that Itchy-O busted in on secretly at the end of my set - and my own "bring your own amp and effects" was super fun but probably needs its own question; i wanted to be the go-to for sounds you didnt know you needed, hehe

2. You seem to be doing lots of conceptual work with music/video. Tell the people about this process.

this is probably one of my favorite things to do. i have an old iphone 5s that still works and a macro lens for it. My family and i live in an old house in a historic neighborhood, so our yard is really old and really wild with plants and critters. i use my 5s and a macro lens to film critters and plants around the yard - using the slo mo setting - i record sound however i record sound - lately on my zoom 16-track - i upload all the videos and recordings to the cloud and combine them using my latest iphone in imovie and garagband (ive done this for a couple of iphone versions) in march of 2018 i had the chance to perform this as a live installation at the machine shop in colorado springs. there i used (3) projectors total and projected the films across the room so they were huge, like 8 feet wide and 3 or 4 feet tall and played music to them live - so i assembled 3hrs of 1-7 minute videos. i didnt want any repeats in footage over an hour performance - then i was able to do it again at cottonwood center for the arts where i used four projectors and was able to get them even larger, like 12-14 feet wide and 7 or 8 feet tall; using three walls and performed music live. again with no footage repeats (so four hours of footage, one hour per projector) - i call the footage/music combo STILL MOVING SOUND mostly when i perform it, cos its like silent movies with live music and slow moving still life photography all at once

3. With mobdividual, you are able to perform at many different types of venues beyond traditional rock-type places. What are some of your favorites?

generally the DIY spots are my favorite - I like playing art shows/galleries because there's a lot less pressure on me as "a performer" - cos people are there for the art or artist usually, and im just background. i can be more free and experimental and talk with friends as they come and go. i like playing bars too because there may be people there who dont go to DIY spots, but in bars, people often want music they can recognize immediately as "music". but the DIY spot / basement is what mobdiviual was created for. i can be as loud as i want, play really short sets (like 30mins) take ten or twelve minutes to build something up and tear it down, and everyone who is there is only there to see the music that nite; so its a more comfortable atmosphere for me. i generally get terrible stage fright. i dont know why. 

4. Have you been creative during these tumultuous times?

i have. its kind of the only thing i can really count on these days; the only thing i have control over, and the only thing i dont have to worry about - recording sounds. my live set uses a specific setup - and id perform two or three times a month so it was kind of pain to change my setup too much - but without the pressure of performing ive completely broken down everything and reassembled it in several different ways by now. 6 of my 7 EPs were all recorded at home, but over the years my equipment has crapped out in one way or another. so in april 2020 I finally found an affordable recorder that met my extremely specific needs for how i like to assemble sounds; seems to be very productive and inspiring for me. Ive aquired a few new pedals during pandemic so im trying to use new sounds in new ways, at least for me.

5. Do you enjoy recording at home? Do you prefer this or a studio?

I certainly prefer at home; my process is so time consuming (cos i experiment and search a lot) and very irregular (cos of my work:life schedule). when i was in bands with other people I mostly preferred studios. mobdividual recorded an album in a studio once - and it was a blast! but it also served as a reminder as to why i record at home - time and expense. i also had a drummer on that one (UNTITLED MONOLITH), so that would have been difficult at home. my work/life schedule is so crazy; i'll record 7 or 8 days in a row, then wont touch anything for two weeks, then do rough mixes of like 12 recordings on a weekend, then not touch anything for several days; so its tough to involve other people.

6. What are you listening to these days?

the same ol stuff i always listen to (mostly 90s rock - smashing pumpkins, nine inch nails,etc..), im not too focused on listening or finding anything these days im recording a lot and trying to get better at guitar, so im trying to learn a variety of songs and song parts and so that already takes my head away from finding new stuff. several months ago, and for several months i was looking for what ive categorized as "post-r&b" - i heard solange's "a seat at the table" when it came out and realized r&b had crossed over into a "post" world of r&b that simply would not have existed when i was a kid in the 80s or 90s. so i searched around and found all sorts of things like fka twigs, king (album: we are king), willow, alexandria, janelle monae (her three album series is the most cinematic r&b i think ive heard), how to dress well, abra, banks, lizzo 

7. Have you thought about putting out a box set of all mobdividual releases so far?

i think about this from time to time, but i dont know i have the fanbase to support the amount of effort id want to put into something like this. would be super cool though. id want to do something crazy like release all the EP's on 10" (most of my albums are formatted for 2X10LP - which his my favorite format, not too big / not too small - and then id have some noise re-releases (music ive made in collaboration with visual artists for various exhibits) on micro cassette and it would come with a micro cassette player - haha that would be nuts - and expensive! 

8. Favorite live venues to see shows and/or perform at?

my favorite venues are of course DIY places which are usually just no frills rooms or basements. but besides those i really like the smaller old school theaters like the bluebird or ogden (in denver); places like that - not a lot of people, and the people who are there are generally fans. I really like dcing background music for art exhibits, especially if its in collaboration with the artists or curator. sitting in the corner for three or four hours making noise is a lot of fun.

9. Once we get back to live performances in general, what will it look like?

no idea, really. i hope to get asked to play here and there. but im really not too sure what i would do... probably some of these new experiments ive been working on, but who knows. ive been enjoying the break from everything, quite frankly. im so much more of a hermit than i ever really thought i was. Id probably try to ease into it playing art exhibits. im going to be weary of traditional venues and crowds for quite some time.

10. Best Mexican food in Colorado Springs?

well, i love salsa latina downtown and rancho alegre on south nevada. i lived a block from salsa latina so id walk over all the time. and the other was by my daughters school, so id sometimes grab some tacos before i picked her up from school. 

11. Who are some local artists/bands you admire?

right now my favorite artist in colorado springs is Su Kaiden Cho. They do these very personal but abstract sculpture based, found object-esque installations. i've happened to perform at two different of their exhibits at two different galleries, and both exhibits have stayed with me.

12. Do you have any new releases planned for the near future?

i do. no release dates for anything yet. but im wanting to do a series of noisy cassettes based on an art project i did a few years ago - a short series of three tapes that has no indication of the beginning nor the end -  I'm hoping to finish our (with you, Glen) split or EP in 2021. and i'll keep kicking out some demos and nature films along the way.

13. What can people do to make the world a better place?

be more understanding to what someone might be going through and be more intentional about communicating with people. if what you are about to say has the sole purpose of making someone angry or frustrated or feel demeaned, dont say it; and you probably need to check yourself for even thinking it, haha

14. The mobdividual show works great with live visuals as well, any plans to do more of this in the future?

always, and i love doing it - there's only two things stopping me - one having my own projector (and the time to set it up along with all of my stuff) and the second (going back to when i started) was what type of visuals? its seems like every band has a wash of screensaver abstract visuals and they dont ever make sense - darsombra really blew that door open by having their music timed to visuals - but i didnt want to do that either. i want them to be more free from the music but still entertaining or engaging in and of themselves; but not anything with a specific narrative - like, my music has no narrative - so i got super excited when i discovered macro photography and slo-mo film. its the perfect abstract intensity i was looking for.

15. If you could meet any musician living or dead, who would it be?

Syd Barrett, the original founder of The Pink Floyd; John Cage, the Indeterminacy guy; and Duke Ellington, the Jazz great

16. What genre does your music fit into? And you know I hate labels such as genres for music. This is a question to describe your music to someone who has never heard it before. 

to answer the question directly cos i'm going to ramble afterwards, i finally thought of a way to describe my music - meditative music for sonic youth fans - one of my other favorite descriptors is "solo ambient doom" - i dont really hate labels for music. i dont mind labels, i say embrace the label and embody it to its fullest! I actually wish others were more into labels. ive been led down so many wrong paths via recommendations that were not at all what I expected from the labels i was given. i knew i wanted to make "emotional experimental post rock" but i didnt want to be any of the bands i liked. i wanted to find this average of slint, godspeed and mogwai - those are my personal defining post-rock bands - highly structured, predictably repeatable and powerfully emotional, but kind of rambly and unpredictable - i knew i wanted to make abstract music, but not so abstract that someone could think 'oh i could do that' - but i also didnt want it to be full of sonic guitar 'tricks' either - i wanted the power to come from the arrangements, the compositions, ideas that sound just as good acoustically. i also didnt want the music to indicate how to feel about it. 'oh this is a sad song, this is a happy song because the lyrics say so' - and is why i dont have any breaks between songs and you'll never hear me describe what a song is about from the stage - they arent about anything - im trying to channel raw emotions thru a noisey sonic experience. so i subtracted all these things i didnt want to be, added all the things i loved or hadnt experienced enough of, and am striving for somewhere in the middle. if it feels good, it probably is good.

17. Mobdividual music is unique, have you heard any other artists/bands that sound similar?

There's one person who is very similar, Labradford on Kranky Records - especially my earlier recordings. i had forgotten about him until someone at a show long ago dropped his name and our similarities. i dont think that cat has made records for years. i have a couple of his from before i started playing music (his 93 album and his 96 album, i didnt start doing music until i was about 21 in 97ish) and when I listened back, i can hear it. but when i play live, i really hope youve experienced nothing like it. i dont think i have. 

 

18. What does the future of experimental music look like?

 

it will continue to get more and more popular and we will see it in more and more places. even with my stuff, in the proper context my music is perfectly acceptable and pushes zero boundaries - but i guess thats the thing, i suppose. art is often less about pushing boundaries and more about making emotional connections. my main goal is to connect sonically with people in ways theyve never connected with sound before. thats kind of why i dont put pressure on myself to have always visuals or a speech or something extra as 'entertaining'. i dont really "perform" in the traditional sense. i want people to arrive at enjoying this music or experience for their own sake. the last STILL MOVING SOUND i did i had people almost twice my age and people almost half my age come away with the exact amount of emotional recharge i was hoping they would. my favorite thing to hear after a set is "man, i didnt even know i needed that, thank you" comments like that help confirm im doing what i'm supposed to be doing.

19. Any last thoughts or messages to your fans?

thank you. if youve ever seen me perform or listen to my music on your own time. there are so many hundreds of thousands of records to listen to and you listening to mine is just amazing to me.

www.mobdividual.bandcamp.com