Sara Cavic & Andy Borsz

Where do you live now?

SC: Brooklyn

How long have you been doing your project?

AB: Since around late fall of 2006. We were jamming acoustic a lot but then started playing in a band called John Wayne with our friend Mark Hershey, and things got a lot heavier sounding. We kept on playing after that and I'd say the sound got a lot less structured sounding.

How long have you known each other? How did you meet?

AB: We met on this great post Sara had in the musicians ads on craigslist, actually. I remember it specifically: "looking for an ape to twist and howl while I 'play' drums and guitar" I think the only musical references were about Hasil Adkins, Malcolm Mooney and Damo Suzuki, and the rest was irreligious and something hostile about trucker hats. Barbara Bush was mentioned, too.

Why did you pick Slasher Risk as the name of the band?

AB: We come up with a lot of two-word combos that genuinely crack us up. I think I proposed walking into some thick and brambly woods and Sara was all like 'ooOOOoo slasher risk' and that one had us laughing
good and sounded more badass than usual.

Has has your music evolved since you first started?

SC: Yes, definitely.

How?

AB: When we first started playing we went really very hard in kind of a pituitary kind of cave man thing and I guess now we're standing up a little straighter. We're definitely using more tools.

SC: Yeah, when we started out, it was more heavily guitar and drums based.  Gradually more samplers, drum triggers were woven in.  Also, we did more home-based and field recording early on.

What are the main themes or topics for your work?

AB: Probably, mojo.

What music did you grow up listening to?

AB: Oh man early nineties R&B and dance. Grunge, oldies.

SC: Doors, Zepp, Beatles, Fats Domino, Jesus Christ Superstar, Andy
Williams. (not necessarily voluntarily or in that order)

What's the first song you remember listening to or that sticks in your mind?

SC: Total Fred Rogers jamz all the way. And creepy lullabies.

Who are your influences in general, musically and artistically?

AB: The Stooges, Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators.

SC: Chris Burden, James Brown, Son House, Suicide.

Which influence does each member have that the rest of the band don't share and where's the common ground?

AB: Haha, Sara really dislikes any non Syd Barrett Pink Floyd and I dig that Animals era stuff a lot. Also she's a super hardline Ron Asheton go or no go on the Stooges and has no time for James Williamson but I really like Raw Power just as much as the proper albums. The rest is common ground.

What are you currently listening to that you're really into?

SC: Nothing, air conditioners, Caetano Veloso.

Are your sounds deliberately composed, is your work abstract, or a combination of both?

SC: We compose to a certain extent, but have always preferred to leave space for improvisation.

Where have you performed?

AB: Oh man lots of places.

SC: US, Europe, Japan.

What are your favorite and least favorite venues?

SC: Favorite, Lucrezia in Hamamatsu, Japan. Least favorite, Lit Lounge in Manhattan.

AB: Yeah definitely. I'd add Helbaard in Den Haag Netherlands as a definite favorite, and Reed Rosenberg's old apartment in Bushwick too. Least favorite is without question Lit Lounge. It's really funny
because everyone seems to have played there at some point but no one ever really has a good time.

Most embarrassing experience? Most awesome?

SC: Most embarrassing. I'm not embarrassed too easily, but one of the more embarrassing things was, after playing a really long set that was being professionally recorded on video, realizing that, not only had I
drooled extensively, but that I had been seriously flying low, probably for the entire set. Most awesome, there's been a lot of awesome. Can't really say.

Have any hobbies like stamp collecting or knitting?

SC: Lots, but, most recently, enslaving worms who will turn our food scraps into vermicompost.  We have about a thousand worms and we recognize each individual and they all have names. I'm a little concerned about them lately though because it's hotter than they prefer.

AB: We've been silkscreening too which is something that is a lot of fun when we have the time.

Do you collect anything or are you a minimalist?

SC: We have lots of strange vinyl and cassettes.  Things like '50s and '60's era weight loss hypnosis, workout records like the yoga one narrated humorlessly by a German chick named Ruth Bender.

AB: I have a predilection to pick up these eight track players and recorders too, lately.

What are you cooking tonight?

SC: Nothing; it's too darned hot.

What did you eat today?

SC: a vegan slice, a cheese and lettuce sandwich from our local bodega dudes, a few tortilla chips, a Brooklyn Summer Ale (I actually drank it - I did not eat it).

What's your favorite food of all time?

SC: That's reeeaaaallly tough to say, but I'd have to say sushi from Hatsuhana on 48th Street. Either that or genuine New England clam chowder made and consumed in New England, minus the pig fat.

What was the last book you read?

AB: Lord of the Flies.
SC:  Blood Meridian

Do you watch TV or listen to the radio at all? Any favorite shows or broadcasts?

SC: We're not really set up well for watching TV.  The one we have gets used for viewing movies from our VCR or DVD player, and it used to work for TV but it doesn't any more.

AB: Yeah we tried to watch this Jim Morrison documentary we heard was going to be on TV and totally had forgotten about the digital signal they're doing these days. Can't get it. We have all of Twin Peaks on
VHS though, best five bucks I've spent in a long time.

Where do you go to discover new sounds/music?

AB: Broad Channel.

SC: I don't try - it seems to happen okay by itself.

Been to any good shows lately?

SC: Faraday Trippers, Barn Owl, and others at Bottled Smoke Fest in Los Angeles.

AB: Hell yeah that was great. We met a lot of cool folks out there. The weather in Los Angeles is quite welcome compared to Brooklyn this time of year.

What does your family think of your art and do they support you? Do they have any idea what you do or what your project sounds like?

SC: They've been exposed, so to speak. My niece who plays fiddle very well said - not to my face - that she could "do much better". Haha!

AB: My family is pretty supportive of the fact we travel and play as much as we do, when it actually comes to the sound of what we're doing I'm fairly sure there's always been some confusion to say the least.

Any advice for people who are starting out creating music/noise/art?

SC: Enjoy doing it.  That's all that really matters.

Any upcoming shows? New recordings? Projects?

AB: We're playing with Blue Sabbath Black Fiji at Goodbye Blue Monday on June 15th. We're also working on recordings for a tape to be released by Durable Stimuli at Chamagne of Fests IV in Cleveland.

Can I see a current photo of the inside of your refrigerator?

SC: yeah.

Any parting words or pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with whoever's reading this interview?

SC: Be sure to eat a couple servings of both soluble and insoluble fiber daily.  Also, don't frown; it lacks charm.