#soft shells

i have this head canon where those little spikes on his back retract when he feels calm or safe, and extending when he feels threatened or excited.. i know soft shell turtles don't do that but hey! i rock the spikes. i wonder if raph can do the same.

In a visually hilarious yet brilliant series, Canadian photographer Libby Oliver showcases figures wearing every single piece of clothing they own.  Entitled Soft Shells, the series is deeper than it might seem, as Oliver describes the thought process behind the seemingly lighthearted project.Both a reflection of consumerism and a way to showcase the elements of a person’s style, the series Soft…

My first review, that I was proud of, was the 2013 barnburner Safe Space by Jaberi & Deutsch, a duo made up of two super sweet dudes from the Oakland DIY underground. Mark Deutsch is one half and I was lucky enough to get him to answer some questions about himself, creative expression and of course the J&D record I dug so much! Check out our email conversation and stay tuned for an interview from his other half sometime in the next week!

Where did you grow up? Did you play music a lot growing up?

I grew up in Irvine, CA among the surfer republicans etc.  I was inducted into cool music scenes early by my cool older sis.  I followed her through punk and ska into raverworld before I started branching out on my own.  In high school (late nineties) I played keyboards in a GWAR-influenced ska-metal band called Dr. Destructo & the Adaptoids.  That was the hardest working band of which I've ever been a member.  We did a pretty good job.  I was involved in the scene revolving around Koo's Cafe in Santa Ana 1999-2001 and I was privileged enough to see a ton of live music at that innocent age.  I also grew up in the world of Jewish summer camps where I learned to sling acoustic guitar and jam campfire $tyle.  I played a lot of music growing up, yeah.

Whats yer living situation like in the bay area? What takes up yer dayz besides music and hanging with friends?

Just moved into an apartment with my sweetheart in the San Antonio district of Oakland.  Happy to leave the warehouse/punk house spectrum behind for  now.  I'm an aspiring philosophy and humanities teacher you might say, but I don't feel like talking about it.  Trying to live happy life is hard.

What bands have you been in over the years, I remember seeing a real long list once..?

Yeah, I've been reflecting on all the different music experiences I've collected.  I've been so blessed in my life for being surrounded by amazing creative people.  Some notable bands I've been in: When I lived in New York I was in the Wooden Hills headed by Graham Brice who is now playing as the Hidden Wool.  When I moved back to California and I started working in earnest on a solo music project I also joined a fun loud band called the Most (very underdocumented era).  Then I was in a band called the Tea Set with my friend Jen.

I've been in a bunch of different bands, some short-lived and others ongoing.  I've been in an easy east bay soft rock super group called Soft Shells for years now.  But most of the time before David and I started working together I was working on solo music (sometimes called Moot though mostly not) partially archived here.

How did you meet David and start making music?

We kept connecting in different ways.  Our mutual friend Elias Reitz had told me that he wanted us to meet even before David moved to the east bay.  And then through fortuitous happenstance my friend (who had never met him) booked David to play at the opening of an art show I worked on with her.  (did that make sense?)  Anyway, we met by playing a show together! And then somebody else (not me) booked him to play a show at my house in south Berkeley.  After he played that night I asked him if he wanted to split a set with me on an upcoming gig-jobby.  It just felt really natural hanging out with each other and playing.  the rest is...  oh yeah, David made a comic about it once.

Some of the samples you chose on the Jaberi vs. Deutsch tape are quite recognizable classics from the 80s pop canon. How do you choose yer samples for songs?

No particular way.  I find samples to be a lot more interesting when people get the reference.  I choose to blissfully ignore the intellectual property legality buzzkill.  I figure I probably will never make enough money to give the lawyers a reason to hunt me.  My contribution to the Jaberi vs. Deutsch tape (the School Night Suite) was actually the first time I ever worked extensively with samples.  I took it on pretty intentionally as a sample-based songwriting project in order to teach myself and get better at using that computer shit.  The vast majority of the samples I used on that tape came from one record (Duotones by Kenny G, seriously some slamming smooth jazz, a really good record) that this dude that was crashing at my house brought home.

What kind of chips do you like (when you “got it all” and “can go buy chips” at the store)?

I like most chips.

You throw down some funny raps but you do get political and serious sometimes. What ills in the world scare you? And what kind of actions, political organizing and underground culture in the bay area inspires hope in you?

The world is bleeding ill and it's hard to name it all the time.  Commodification of everything more and more always more sellable objects even all the invisible objects like gene code, and the guitar riffs, and the source of the river water sellable making it possible for insanity to be normal i.e. endless war is normal, galactic empire wealth inequalities are natural, there's never a reason to stop or prevent suffering unless it is an opportunity to make profit for winners always a sleight of hand money only represents the real wealth of the Earth and her people which people give up because it's normal and always with the tired white supremacy values and patriarchy.  I don't know.  I want peace in the middle east and clean energy like every other kind person in the world.  All the stuff that went down when Occupy Oakland was strong warmed my heart like nothing else.  I used to ride my bike a little out of the way every day just to pass by the camp because its presence made me high and incredibly hopeful.  The first port shutdown was easily one of the most inspiring things I've ever experienced.  We'll see the future.

On the split tape, you cop some Bob Dylan with the acoustic guitar and political lyrics but throw in some futurism with the autotune. Is it easier to express explicit political beliefs working solo?

Yeah I think so.  David's writing is so personal and mine always reaches for big ideas.  He goes for the direct and I like multivalence.  Jaberi goes for familiar and I go for unusual.  Words are the only thing that David and I have an impossible time doing collaboratively.

Whats yer favorite vocal effect?

I'm not big on favorites.  I like options.

Did you and David talk about the political, social and moral values expressed on yer full length Safe Space?

Not really.  David cares a lot about identity and representation politics and I'm on the same page.  He tends to balk at anything that is too overtly political though.  You would never guess it but when he wrote 1% he thought he was making fun of OWS.  Of course, it came across as just the opposite.  I pointed out that the lyric "I got money so I pay my own rent" would only be written by someone in the 99%.  1percenters don't pay rent.  We have a lot of shared values though and I'm glad that comes through in our music.  We are definitely pro-positivity, pro-sensitivity, pro-fun, pro-queerness, pro-sincerity, and we strive to be good allies to women and people of color.

How do you feel about the ideas and ethics of DIY and DIT that is quite widespread in the bay area (and linked up with other regional scenes in places like Santa Cruz, Seattle, Chicago, etc..)?

I connect a lot with DIY ethics and especially all the friendly DIY punk undergrounds in the USA.  In terms of music, it doesn't even make much sense to think of a "music industry" anymore.  There is a music industry obviously, but there really isn't much money for musicians anymore and it's a bummer, but it's fine because people keep creating and sharing with each other anyway. The tragedy is just the normal fact that people have to sell their time to employers to survive.  If that wasn't the case everyone would want to DIT/DIY because all fulfilling work has some element of DIY in it.

Safe Space sounds like it’s influenced by 90s R&B as well as 80s hip hop. Do you have any favorite artists from these eras?

I'm not a connoisseur of the deep cuts.  Honestly, I know the hits mostly. Early TLC is sooo good.

How did you and David split the production and recording duties? Did you write verses and choruses together? There are some massively sugary hooks!

Thanks! We split it up pretty organically.  Some songs we wrote together and some songs David wrote and I added parts later.  We recorded most of the basic tracks together and then we would figure out what was missing.  I played a lot of the live drums, guitar, etc., but we both did pretty much everything from mic placement to performing to mixing.

Where do you get yer sweet get up? You always seem to be rocking a cool cap (usually in awesome colors) and scruffy flannels.

David Jaberi gave me 90% of my hat collection!

Name 5 books/records/stores/labels/restaurants/bands you’d like to recommend to readers!