I have nice hands, and no, you can't have them.

I sat down with Jonathan Visger, lead singer of Ann Arbor-based Mason Proper to discuss their new album, Olly Oxen Free, which is now out on Dovecote Records.

How do you think this album is different than the EP you released?

The EP was four songs that we kind of worked into our set to make it fresh for ourselves when touring for [There is a] Moth [in Your Chest], which is an old record for us. You know, we released it twice. Those songs were scatter shot, but people liked the songs. We didn’t want to put them on the new album. We wanted to make the album over the course of a small amount of time to give it a focus that you can’t get otherwise. Moth was written in two or three years, and then it was just choosing the songs, and it feels like that. It feels like we were into different things when we wrote different songs. I think the Shorthand EP sort of feels like that, kind of all over the place. With the new album, to my ears, it feels more cohesive. The arrangement style is pretty consistent from song to song. It really feels like an album, where as Moth sounded more like a singles band. ‘Oh, you don’t like this crazy, wild rocker? Well, here’s a slow ballad for you.’

I kind of liked that about Moth. It made it very interesting. What made you do four videos?

We just wanted to do something that was a little more interesting than, ‘OK, here’s four songs that, to our ears, didn’t go together that well. We had our friends, Hott Garbage, who I saw your interview with. Quite ridiculous, they are ridiculous people. Was that an e-mail interview?

It was.

I could tell they poured over their answers.

It took them a good two weeks to respond to my questions, yeah. I was, like, ‘Seriously? I asked you what kind of pizza you liked.’

But yeah, we knew them and they had always said they had wanted to do videos with us. They figured out how to manipulate a very, very, very small amount of money, like a ridiculously small amount of money to make four music videos and make them look pretty good. They worked their magic on that. They came with a lot of ideas, and then we collaborated from there. The execution was all up to them. But, yeah, we decided to do that because we like video in general. You can listen to a band, but until you see a reasonable amount of video of them… Like, the people on the west coast haven’t seen us, and if they listened to us, they would have no actual concept of us as a group of people. The example I like to use is the Pixies. I listened to the Pixies forever before I had any idea of what they looked like. And when I finally saw a video, it completely changed how I felt. All the songs sounded completely different, knowing it was coming from those people. It meant something different.

So true. It’s funny that you should bring up the Pixies. They woke me up this morning on my alarm clock.

That’s cool. Depending on the song. (laughter)

It was Gouge Away. That’s not so harsh. Do you have any favorite local bands?

I really like Javelins. I mean, there are always a lot of local bands that I like, but I don’t want to ramble off a huge list. I always liked the Mighty Narwhale. It’s always fun to see them. That’s a band that you can always count on to have a good time. I think the band Starling Electric is really impressive.

They did that whole re-releasing an old record like you guys did with Moth.

It almost seems like if you are from the Midwest, especially Michigan, if you get on a label, you are going to have to release a CD you’ve already released. No one is going to find you if you don’t release an album. It’s not going to have reached a lot of people because you are from the Midwest. I remember a similar thing happened with Tally Hall. It kind of sucks because we already went through all the hoopla, and literally, I think it was a year after, and we had to pretend that it didn’t happen before. Let’s get people to try to celebrate the same thing again.

Like a birthday party!

Yeah!

Let’s talk about the band history for a bit. It’s a little ambiguous. Your Wikipedia page is kind of vague. That’s where I get all my information for interviews.


Every time I make our Wikipedia accurate, someone goes in and makes it inaccurate. There are people who remember the previous groups we were in, and they go in there and put that it was an early version of Mason Proper, but those were completely different bands. The last time I changed something, someone wrote that we had had, like, fifty name changes. We have only had one name change, but people think that every band we’ve ever done was Mason Proper.

Where did you meet? Did you all live in Alpena?

Let me think about this… Four of the current members are from Alpena originally. Our bassist, Zac, we met when we were down here. We’ve been through several drummers. Out of four of five drummers, including our current one, were from Alpena. Our current drummer, Garrett, graduated from high school when we were losing a drummer again. His sense of humour is right. He fits.

Do you guys live together still?


No, we did for two years, but we have separate places now.

I think that would piss me off. Living with my bandmates.

It’s good when you are starting out. Even after the first six months, we were like, ‘hey, we are all getting along.’ It was clear that at least we were going down a path that, whether or not it was successful, we weren’t going to end up hating our friends. Starting a band together, on some level, is a business. At least an intense activity project. We’ve been lucky.

Speaking of Alpena, I looked that up online.


Yeah, it’s a pretty interesting place to talk about. Not at all.

It has the world’s largest cement plant.


That’s all it’s known for, yeah. It’s pretty up there, it’s on the water. The only good reason I could think of living there is for sailing. There is a bay. But you can do that in other places too.

Did you have any guest musicians on the album?

Yeah, we had a trumpet player. It was one of Zac’s friends. He’s from the Ann Arbor Dub Project. He basically plays his trumpet in an improvised kind of way, through delay effects. The trumpet is in three or four of them. One of the songs, I don’t know how it would have finished without it, because the entire end of the song is all about the trumpet. That’s the only guest musician.

Will Yates isn’t on the album?

No, he isn’t, believe it or not!

That’s crazy. I am going to get him to play on the rest of my albums.

He has the golden touch. Perfect pitch, I hear.

I did that photo comparison of you and Graham Coxon. Have you ever gotten that before?

No. My pet peeve, in the past, has been at shows when people would yell, “Rivers Cuomo!” somewhere from the audience. At first, I didn’t really care, but then it got old really quick.

I don’t think I’d be too pissed if someone compared me to Coxon. Wait, no, I would be. He’s a dude. I’m not.

After a while, what really bothered me was that during the Moth touring, people would say we sounded like Weezer on crack. They would only say it if they saw us live. So they were saying what we sounded like based on my glasses.

Sometimes, I get the Brit pop vibe from you guys.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Blur is a huge influence on the band. The guitar style, mostly the stuff with Blur, not Coxon’s solo stuff.

I’m a huge Britpop nerd. I have also compared you to Jarvis Cocker in the past.

I didn’t get that too recently. I think it was from you actually.

What do you guys do besides music? Do you have any real people jobs?

I would say that no one really has a job that we aren’t interchangeable at. Like, ‘we could train any monkey to… take money from a cash register, or stack apples a certain way, or wrap cheese.

So you’ve wrapped cheese before?

No, not me personally. But all are examples of things currently being done by this band. It’s not like anyone’s doing anything really noteworthy, like making their money selling severed hands on eBay.

That’s creepy.


Yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.

Well, you did have that song about the fingers (Friendship).


I have this thing about severed hands.


Oh god, I’m hiding mine.

(laughter)

That’s a creepy song, but I kind of like that it’s creepy.

Yeah, I like the sing-songy children’s melody with that.

What kind of pizza do you like?

At this point, in this past year this has been a development, my first choice on a pizza would be pineapple and pepperoni.

That seems to be a big trend right now.


I don’t know. There is something about it. That’s where it’s at.

What would you say your influences are?


I want to be honest. This is one where you can easily play cool cards, or you can be honest, or you can give away things and people will be like, ‘oh, you ripped that song off from that person!’

It doesn’t have to be music. It could be anything.

OK, well, then Edward Gorey is a big influence. He has a really good dark sense of humour that Matt (sound manipulator) and I really got into when we were making Moth, actually. A lot of that materialized on Moth. David Lynch, as well. If you think about the way his movies are, they will often times will give you a lot questions and not quite answer them all, but perhaps raises new questions. You are able to pull your own opinion from it, and that’s one of the approaches we take with the lyrics.

I don’t think I have any more questions for you.

Have you thought of anymore in the course of talking to me? I’ve always curious about that. You write out all these questions, and as they are answered, more questions come to mind?

Well, I think that’s the mark of a good journalist… If they can think of more questions. (oh snap!)

(more laughter)

From point A, to point B, to point C.

Oooohhhhh, Detour posted my review of Mason Proper's new album, which comes out TODAY! Actually, I didn't write that. Jonathan Visger wrote it. /joke.

Still to come:
---Interview with Visger.
---A very old interview with Champions of Breakfast that I found while cleaning out my apartment.
---More Shia Labeouf updates. Who wants to go see Eagle Eye with me? Anyone?

Still no word on Shia Labeouf filming in Michigan.

BUT, there is this really funny video where Seth Green tells Shia to "eat a dick."

OK, I am officially tired of trying to write about Shia in hopes that he Google Blog searches his own name and comes across this site. I have written a lot of CD reviews in the last week, and I will post them here if Detour doesn't use them. Woo-hoo!

CD releases galore this week. Did anyone else get through the entire review by Deep Cutz Charlie about the new Mason Proper album? Yeah, I didn't either. I think Olly Oxen Free is actually shorter than that review. Dude, we get it, you are a writer and you know lots of crazy big words. But you lost me after the first paragraph. Then again, I graduated with a degree in Communication... But maybe I can run for VICE PRESIDENT some day, right? RIGHT?!?!?! AWESOME! Thanks, Palin!

Take a page out of the lolcat bible.

Mason Proper's vid for "Friendship" may or may not have been on Fuse.

Champions of Breakfast were doing a show with all cover songs on Saturday, but that has been cancelled and rescheduled for September 5th at the Elbow Room.

Brandon Wiard (Pretty Suite Media, Cerberus Records) has a new studio in Ypsilanti, last I heard.

Paul (The Looms, Sea Turtle Restoration Project) and friends (maybe?) have started a label. It's called Sonic Lullaby, named after the Sonic Lullaby Festival, which is run by Paul (and friends?) as well. Indian Guides. Kindle. STRP. Awesome.

That's really all the news I have.

But then again, I am living in a bubble. An "indie"-rock, self-induced bubble.

I'm sure there is something to report on the metal front. Anyone? How about the crust punk scene? No? Polka? Alt-country? Christian Rock? Are there any Christian rock bands in the area? How about Scientologist rock bands? Nothing?


Srsly, doodz, Tuesday's are a draaaag. Go read the bible, as translated into Lolcat-speak.

Putting the 'Garbage' in 'Hott Garbage'

The title for this article was going to be "Hott Garbage: Putting the 'Hott' in 'Hott Garbage'"
I mean, look at these guys!

But I decided against that title because I didn't want Mike Berlucchi and Rick Boven, the brains behind the Michigan-based production company, to start getting death threats from my stalkers.

Hott Garbage is serious. Seriously awesome. These two young men don't fuck around when it comes to making videos. I experienced first hand how talented and serious they are when it comes to their videos at the recent Mason Proper shoot for "Safe For the Time Being." It reminded me of all the "Making of..." documentaries that I used to watch on MTV. Lots of lights. A fog machine. Lots of crew members. Free pizza for the extras... A make-up artist! On hand! Ridiculous!

According to Wikipedia, my only source of information, Hott Garbage also produced four music videos for the Mason Proper "Short Hand EP" which were free with the purchase of the EP off iTunes. I have seen two of the videos. One of which is posted at the end of this (so you can skip all the boring words).

I tried to do some more research of these two dudes. Mike has, like, a million pages on the Internet. Rick does not. If this were a Local Celebrity Challenge, I think Mike would win it. Sorry, Rick.

Please state your names and your titles.

Mike Berlucchi - Nice Director of Photography, Producer Ass Hole

Rick Boven - Director...(?)

Where are you from?

MB: Brighton, MI forever

RB: Alpena, MI.

Where did you go to school?

MB: Hawkins Elementary School

RB: 95% of my education came from chain book stores that provide plush furniture and exorbitantly priced caffeine. College is a myth.

What got you into video production?

MB: In 2005 I was at a roller skating competition and saw a man with a large camera, I said to myself "I want one of those." So I saved up and bought one, it ruined my life.

RB: Mike Berlucchi.

As trite as this might sound, what is your inspiration?

MB: My inspiration is money, I'm saving up to buy a Land Rover. But seriously, money is only 75% of it, the other 25% is because I love it, the traveling, the people, the product, it's all very wonderful.

RB: Bringing work into this dimension and affecting others, and not really being conscious of it. My little cousin still shows her friends 'Tiger Dance' at sleepovers. Somehow, the things we do sprout legs and create worlds of their own. And Land Rovers.

What is the best part of shooting a music video, in your opinion?

MB: The best part of shooting a music video is making someone look much more attractive than they actually are. Have you ever seen Jon Visger in real life?

RB: Hott Garbage is one of the few projects that I've worked on that I can create what I want and actually pays rent. That's a new thing for me. I've had a long career in retail, landscaping, nursing homes, etc. etc. So sometimes when I eat dinner I think, "Yeah. Music Videos."

Favourite director?

MB: Currently, Nima Nourizadeh.

RB: Godfrey Ho.

What is your current favourite local band?

MB: Supercontinent

RB: This guy comes over to my apartment sometimes and mows the lawn but he leaves his two yippy dogs in the cab of his truck. I think they're really pushing the boundaries of music and are what this community really needs.

I have noticed a reoccuring theme in your music videos: Dave Kloc. What's the intrigue there? Is he just really photogenic? Or just always available for music video shoots?

MB: Superstition, videos always turn out terrible if Dave is not within 100 ft of the camera at all times.

RB: I used to visit Ann Arbor long ago when I was just a baby. Nick Vandermolen and I would bounce around town with artists like Jason Polan and Jake Brege. (They did the "Ants" mural by the Parking Structure, and a few other ones about town) I remember the energy and insanity of those times and redefining what I knew art to be; organic, uncomfortable, and mesmerizing. These are qualities that I see in Dave Kloc. The last of a by-gone era.

If you could make a video for any artist/musician who has ever lived, who would it be and why?

MB: Danzig, because he's Danzig.

RB: I don't tend to work with artists based on who they are as musicians. I tend to work with them based on how much they will let me get away with. So, probably Boney M.

Rick, are you really a flamenco dancer? You had some pretty killer moves at the Mason Proper video shoot.

MB:No, he's not, he's fat.

RB: I read that John Frusciante kicked heroin by dancing to The Cure for something like 36 hours straight. I just want to be able to kick cigarettes.

When you both aren't making videos, what are you most likely doing?

MB: Petting my dog Riley or reading books.

RB: Graphic Novels. I've linked up with a few artists/writers that I like to sell our books and we call ourselves the Ballum Rancum.

And lastly, and most importantly,

what are you favourite pizza toppings?

No joke. Your fans neeeed to know.

MB:My favorite pizza topping is oreos. I had one of those in Kansas and my head about exploded.

RB: Ham. Pineapple. Onion. Bacon. Rarely do I find anyone who will go halfsies with me.

To date, this is one of my favourite music videos put out by Hott Garbage. Please enjoy.

MASON PROPER - "FRIENDSHIP" - Music Video from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.

Oh. My. God.

Javelins were amazing last night. But I don't need to tell you that because I am pretty sure you were all there. If you weren't, it was awesome and Will Yates played with them. Everything is better with a little Will Yates. I think Kevin Bayson played on stage as well. I just assumed it was him. I did no actual research. That could be a total lie.

I didn't take pictures because this guy's brother did, and I wanted to dance.

Today, I did something I never thought I would do: wear white leggings and white teeshirt in public. And I didn't wear any makeup.

Why, oh why, did I something so out of character? For Mason Proper. They were filming a music video for a single off their new album, Olly Oxen Free, at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit.



Refused, "New Noise." The video for "Safe For the Time Being" will kind of be like that. Mason Proper is a hardcore band now, btw.


I was told to wear light colored clothes for the shoot, and I think I was the only one there in light colored clothes. Note to self: other Mason Proper fans are not as smart as me.* These two people were friends of directors**:


Rachel and Dave and some pizza.
Dave is a huge fan of pizza. He is also the bass player for Empty Orchestra for their upcoming tour. His friend, Rachel, is really funny and has some amazing dance moves. She also loves pizza.


Scary mask. Jonathan from MP even said he was afraid of the masks at first.



The new Mason Proper CD comes out September 23rd. I will be reviewing it! Maybe I will convince them to do an interview. I tried to talk to Zac Fineberg in the hallway, but his mouth was full of pizza.

That's really all I want to say about the video shoot. It's going to be an amazing video. These folks are pros.

I wish I could find someone in the Detroit area who I could do a photo comparison to Dennis Lyxzén with. Anyone? Anyone?

*In case you didn't know, I am joking. Sort of.
**Hott Garbage, who also made the EO vid for "It Gets Better" and the Mason Proper vid for "Friendship."

Weren't you in that Blur video with the cute milk guy?

Oh, photo comparisons. I think I might just do these from now on. No one really reads this blog, do they? I mean, there are so many words... At least I am not throwing around "ubiquitous" or "endemic."

So here is another photo comparison so you don't have to stare really hard at the words that I write trying to figure out what the hell I am talking about.

Today I present you with Graham Coxon and Jonathan Visger. Both are in bands, respectively. Both play Telecasters, respectively. Both have glasses and the same hairdo, respectively. Both write awesome songs that I like to sing along to in my car, respectively. Coxon hails from England, Visger from Alpena, MI. So, they both speak English, respectively. OMG Elle, stop writing, start posting the pictures already!


click for a bigger picture. All Mason Proper pictures stolen from karlyherron on Flickr.

With all of that being said, I would like to remind you all that the Mason Proper CD is done and will be out by the end of this summer. Score. I am excited about it, obviously.

Annie Palmer, revisited. Plus Mason Proper puts out... a CD.

BREAKING NEWS STORY!
From teh Myspace bulletin board:
Annie Palmer
"Hi. I'm going on tour. I'll be in these places on these days.

june
27 - mt pleasant, mi
28 - marquette, mi
29 - minneapolis, mn
30 - bismarck, nd

july
1 - billings, mt
2 - missoula, mt
3 - seattle, wa
4 - portland, or
5 - arcata/eureka, ca
6 - san francisco, ca
7 - los angeles, ca
8 - phoenix, az
9 - albequerque, nm
10 - lubbock, tx
11 - oklahoma city, ok
12 - kansas city, mo
13 - chicago, il

let's hang out.

xo
ap"

AND MASON PROPER NEWS:
"Finally! We made it!

We have escaped countless destroyed vans, broken equipment, beaten and bruised bodies post-show, and hid in a small empty house to record our second album, Olly Oxen Free!

It will be out on September 23rd on Dovecote Records, but in the meantime, we will be posting new songs every two weeks. We're starting off with "Safe for the Time Being" and a brand new one called "Lock and Key."

Please post them to your profiles so your friends will check them out too! And check back in with us frequently, we have a lot of devious things planned you might enjoy. Especially if you're a filmmaker or work with music, ahem.

(And if you aren't already on iLike, sign up and get the toolbar. It's a great way to find new music you like.)

If you want more music in the meantime, check out secret tunnel group for a free song from a mason proper side project. or check out our shorthand video ep on itunes if you haven't already"


Wooo! All Right! Party time! Yeah!

The end of Detour.

Ohmyfuckinggod, I am tired as hell and sick of watching bands. I don't ever want to see a live show again as long as I live.

Next Friday, I will be going to Alvin's to see the Word Play and Sea of Japan.
The Word Play: This is a band I would like to make-out with. That stays between you and I, Mr. Blog. Don't tell anyone.



I passed out a lot of business cards today. I only found one crumpled up on the ground.

So the beginning of the day started off with a bang. I went to the CAID to see some bands. It was fun. I took pictures. I ate a fake hot dog with mustard and ketchup on it.

The Mahonies are rad. They write funny songs and do silly things on stage. I have nothing bad to say about them.


I watched the Pop Project play. They even said they weren't a real band. They didn't even have a real drummer. It was some dude from the Jackofflins. Fuck that shit. I hear the Pop Project is totally illiterate anyway. Which is good, because I don't want them to read this. I am not going to lie, though. I actually enjoyed their set. Mostly because I was wasted.



After the Poop Projkt played, I stood in the shade for a while. I don't like the sun, and I don't care who knows it. I continued to stay in the shade until some magical creatures took the stage. They called themselves Serenity Court. I think at this point I was hallucinating. I also did a lot of drugs before I went to the CAID. Not a good idea. So, Serenity Court, right? I dug them. I really like the lady who was playing the keyboards though. Her voice was faaaaantastic. I thought about stealing her so I could make her sing to me whenever I wanted to hear her, but then I realized that was SUPER FUCKING CREEPY.



Is this blog post over yet? I am sick of writing already.

So, after the CAID thing went down, I went home and took a nap. It was a horrible nap. I had napmares about blogging. Then I traveled back to the Majestic Garden Stick. I wandered around for a while. I knocked over some dude's beer, and threatened Zach Norton with the broken bottle because he made fun of me. It was intense. I was embarrassed, so I left the Garden Bowl. I wanted to see Mason Proper anyway. I like the Nice Device and all, but I heard that they were serving free beer at the Majestic. THAT WAS TOTALLY A LIE BY THE WAY AND I WAS VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS.

Mason Proper's lead singer is a dancing machine. He moves his feet a lot. I dig that. He also looks like Graham Coxon. I love Graham Coxon. I met a dude that looked like Jarvis Cocker at the CAID. It was Brit Pop Day in Detroit.

So anyway, back to Mason Proper. They are pretty fantastic, but they only played six songs. Here is my theory about the short set: that's all the songs they knew. Now, I own their first CD, but the more I listen to it, the more I realize that it is too good for a band from Alpena to write. Srsly. Maybe they had the same people who wrote the Pop Project's music write their music. Maybe they are illiterate too. That is too bad. I actually wanted them to read this blog.

Before I left (I left before Sloan went on, I only know that one song by them with the siren at the beginning), I ran into Melody from the Sirens and Riff2 fame. I told her about my blog, and she wanted me to give her a shout out, and to let everyone know that she is moving to Alabama soon. It's really too bad. Who the fuck moves to Alabama, besides that lead singer from the Weakend? Maybe her and him have a 'thing.' SCANDALOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Detour, Detroit, Day Two.

I have a lot to say and very little time to write it.

Here are some pictures from last night's Detour Rock City Fest: My Flickr.

I am going to the CAID in a bit to see Serenity Court, the Pop Project, the Word Play, and GLMS. I'll be at the Majestic FOR SURE when Mason Proper hits the stage.

One thing I would like to say before I head out is that I was incredibly disappointed with the way people acted when the Von Bondies took the stage (not that you care). See my previous post about haters. Screaming "you suck" and "get off stage?" Come on (come on). Love 'em or hate 'em, whatever. You are bitter, and that is obvious.

We're all human, lest we forget.

And Leann Banks stole the show (that's just my opinion, but that's what you're here to read, right?).



I am listening to the Zoos of Berlin EP. I am going to write about it tomorrow. I might overuse the words "dreamy" and "epic." Just a fair warning.

Flint.

Flint is the largest city in the United States with a one-syllable name. But that isn't it's claim to fame. The most well-known fact about Flint is that it is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the United States (#3 to be exact).

Now, I definitely don't want to start shit with any bands from Flint. Especially, Empty Orchestra. They are badasses to the bone. They played at a metal festival last month, and I am SOOOO glad I wasn't there. They probably would have beat me up or something.

I'm going to be quite honest with you, zombie movies scare the shit out of me. Most horror movies do. Creepy music also does. Their song "This Heart is a Monster" sends chills up my spine. All joking aside, it'll hook you in and eat you alive.

They recently released a music video for "It Gets Better", directed by Hott Garbage (who also directed a stunning, yet creepy vid for Mason Proper for their song "Friendship"). Would it be corny of me to say that this music video couldn't get better? Yes it would. But I am going to say it anyway. The music video for "It Gets Better" couldn't get any better, because it is already pretty damn amazing. The song is good too.

What is even scarier is that this band boasts over fourteen members (rotating, of course). Sounds like a gang to me. Their leader, Stephen, looks like the kind of guy that would murder you if you spelled his name with a "v" instead of a "ph." No lie.

These badasses play a lot of shows (mostly because they are such tough muthafuckas). So, uh, check them out.