METRONO.ME interview with Bob Bellerue Your name, name of project members/collaborators and ages Solo mio.... the name of Bob Bellerue is Bob Bellerue, i also go by Diablo and (formerly) Redglaer and Halfnormal. i'm 42 years young (this one goes out to all the punks who think they are gettin on when they hit 29. you're older than i am!!). i also play in KILT with Raven Chacon, Terrier with Wm Berger, Jest Droga with Todd Brooks, and just did a collaborative show with Z'EV under our own names. Birthplace and current place of residence Born in Los Angeles, currently living in purgatory (Bushwick), waiting for what i don't know How long have you been doing audio experiments and noise? I started working with junk metal percussion, world music, and acid punk around 1987. i soon got into booking shows at the Che Cafe, learning who to run live sound and basic recording engineering, as well as college radio at KSDT. somehow i started doing soundtracks for performance work around 1989, and then started doing tape collages in 1992. much later on i began doing solo music performances in 2001 which were strictly noise / experimental and that's that thus far. Has has your music evolved since you first started? How? I've moved towards near-complete electronic instrumentation. any instruments i use now are mainly employed to create drones and gnarled textures, or to affect electronic drones and standing waves (like how blowing on a mic disturbs the pressure zone around the mic). What are the main themes or topics for your work? A new recording i just finished is Le Big Bang, and that pretty much encapsulates it Describe your music/art. How do you describe your music to people? Take the music of Jimi Hendrix, get rid of all the notes and rhythms, song structures, melodies, and identifiable instrumental sounds, and just harness the pure energy of feedback. the discovery of chaotic harmonies married to loudness What music did you grow up listening to? Hendrix, the who, the beatles, dead kennedys, crass, the dicks, MDC, germs, bad brains What's the first song you remember listening to or that sticks in your mind? The first song that really hit me was Dead Kennedys "Holiday in Cambodia". i wrote about it for Brandon LaBelle's Radio Memory project (http://www.brandonlabelle.net/radio_memory_ir_dk2.html) "...a transcendent sonic assault, beyond the writing, the licks, the chops, names, ideas, it was a revolt of feeling, a kind that rose through my skin.... before the DJ gave out their name (still surprising that she would have played it at all), before i had time to wonder if this would affect the course of my life, before words came back to hold meaning, i was only aware of sound washing over me, through me, cleansing, purging, pulling me out to deeper waters and bigger waves than i had known before, a cliché now, but visceral and provocative then, sharpening my edge, nudging me towards cutting through conformity and commercial culture, pushing music where it had not gone before in my 15-year-old suburban heart and mind." What are you currently listening to that you're really into? Dave Phillips "They Live" on RRR is on top of my pile and it is amazing. waiting to receive Joseph Hammer's "I Love You, Please Love Me Too" LP on PAN. Fela Kuti should be the DJ music for all noise shows. i've always been really into extreme world music like Samulnori, Gnawa, Jajouka, Balinese Gamelan. oh yeah the Mortika album on Mississippi records is amazing: Music for a Greek Underworld!!!!! i love the Folkways Anthology of American Music and things like that. lately been listening a lot to Grandmaster Flash (White Lines and The Message, i need more SugarHill stuff and am going to this guy's house on 140th this weekend to look through his records!!!), and will always want to have these albums near me: B52s s/t, Pretenders s/t, The Police "Synchronicity", Dicks "Kill From The Heart", CRASS "The Feeding of the 5000", the list goes on.... Who are your influences in general, musically and artistically? I try to seduce the listener the way i do my ladies: bring them in nice and sweet with pillows and flowers, and take them out wailing in ecstasy drooling in the gutter. not sure where that came from. David Tudor is a huge influence, his concept of composition as a circuit, and riding the moment without specific tonal or rhythmic forms. Cage's idea of everything being music, that "mistakes are really an inability to keep up with the present moment." i've been very influenced by the LA noise canon - Damion Romero especially, who always uses the best equipment to blow minds, from minimal drone to maximal defenestration. Which influence does each member/collaborator have that the rest of the band don't share and where's the common ground? My id and my ego don't get along, but then the superego takes over. What got you into making harsh noise in the first place? Just interested in soaring beyond punk rock and metal, starting from an intense place and going further, beyond the limitations of physical touch to make sound Are your sounds deliberately composed, is your work abstract, or a combination of both? There is rarely pure improvisation, but there is never pure through-composition. Do you rehearse or plan your performance in any way, either in your heads, on paper or in a studio, or do you just wing it when it comes to performing and recording? I usually have a loose structure and then go with it. i only have one memory of being totally free of any idea of what i was gonna do - as i approached the mixer i had my fingers out stretched and this sense of "what's gonna happen?" the first thing i touched is what i started with. Could you briefly describe your music-making process? I set up drones and textures through feedback and dense layers, modulate it, thicken it, make it as gnarly as i can. i pretty much always use the same setup for my electronics, and vary the source objects, the overall intent, or the various fixed points. Where do you record? Mostly at gigs, but i can jam at work after-hours on the big PA and that has proved to be the best option right now. i need to have good room dynamics to work with the feedback, and so i need to record in a good sounding room, no matter what size it is. the same setup that works perfect at one place might suck somewhere else, so it's always somewhat site-specific Do you have a home studio setup? I rarely rehearse at home, but i do all of my mixing there Can we see a picture of your work environment/studio setup and a brief description of it? Mac computer, audio interface, headphones, stereo system - what's there to see? Are you prolific? i've got a ton of things coming out right now for some reason, so it feels like there is a lot more activity. i gig lately a bunch more too but it's burning me out a bit. but i used to gig a lot more and i used to always record my shows, so i ended up with a shitton of recordings. i still sift through them occasionally, which is kind of a waste of time. "oh yeah there is this one from 2006 i haven't heard in a while, i wonder how that one sounds..... (an hour later) oh yeah i hate this one." i think i ought to start throwing files away that i don't like. back in the old days, when you were done with a project you could erase the tape and reuse it. now i have 2-3 duplicate copies of the same shitty recording in various places on my handful of hard drives etc. but i don't have the drive to produce more and more and more recordings. Are you constantly cranking out new stuff or does it take time to get it right and done? I tend to sit on recordings for 2-4 years and then get them out. occasionally something comes out right and i'm ready to use it within months. just about every day i listen to various recordings again and again to get a sense of something that makes their timing clear. when i send off a master it feels like the best thing i've ever done. when i get the tapes or records back it sounds alien and i have to play it to see what it is and where it goes. Who does your artwork? I'm always ripping off photos from various sources for my artwork, but i do all the layout and design. occasionally other labels will have an artist make something for me - Nate got this guy ****** fill in name ******** to make an original piece for the Radioactive Concept tape. or i'll use photos by various people - Wild Don Lewis in LA has been very supportive over the years, and my old roommate let me use some of her photos for the Petals & Scars tape. Are your live performances structured in any way or are they freeform? I usually know where i want to start at least, and some things i want to hit along the way. lately with Diablo i've been planning stuff out more and rehearsing specific progressions, which has been great. i like having a general idea of where i'm going, so that i can wing it in the moment and then move with intent. i'm always listening a lot to what is happening, in a sense of discovery and then like a captain steering towards the wind.... into the Bermuda Triangle!!! What can you tell me about your instruments? If you have anything custom built, who makes them/designs them? I mostly use commercial pedals, a laptop with either a pd or Supercollider patch, homemade contact mics, handheld guitar pickups. i've made some kits (radio transmitters etc) but generally don't have anything truly handmade from design through completion. i'm working on some items now however... it's more about rearranging things towards my own combination and using things backwards or in very different ways they were intended What made you choose the particular pedals/effects/instruments you have now? Sound, usefulness, portability, reliability Are you subject to any kind of brand loyalty or will you play with whatever you come across/what is available? Whatever sounds good Favorite distortion box? I don't have one, but i have a bass overdrive which was the only pedal i had for 15 years Favorite delay? I have a dd-6 but i like the oscillating delay lines in my Supercollider patch better Favorite piece of gear? My gf's ass. it makes great sound. hers is louder but mine is gnarlier. Can we see a current photo of your live/performing setup and could you let us know what's in the photo/what you're using live? Sure here: click Where have you performed? Lots of places, but always in my head What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Favorite - some kid's living room in the middle of nowhere at 3am. least favorite - places run by assholes. a real venue with a nice PA and an acoustically-tuned room can be amazing. but they also may have arrogant engineers who don't like the tunes etc. Most embarrassing experience? Most awesome? The Il Corral encapsulates both. it was my warehouse venue in LA during 2005-2007. we started out booking shows once a month or so and quickly grew to 10-15 gigs per month. the existing noise scene had a radical new place for performing, and a lot of new people got turned on to noise by going to shows there. then when i got tired and wanted to leave LA, i threw a temper tantrum with my roommates and lost friends in the process. building a community resource is totally awesome, destroying one over piddly shit is pretty embarrassing. like Grandmaster Flash said, don't do it. What other live performances/events do you do besides halfnormal? I do sound scores for performance art and dance, and i want to do some film scores Do you book shows at all? Yeah now and then, mostly in my neighborhood where it is easy for me to get to and the people are nice. i miss having a venue and want to do that again, but it's nice not having the expense, and not living in a shithole Do you have a day job? What is it? I'm the Technical Director at The Kitchen. i'm like the sound engineer, video tech, building super, and answer man all in one. i rarely have to work any events which is great for my ability to play gigs and have a life, but i can't do any extended tours which really sucks. it's my first real job ever, and the people are totally rad so i got no complaints. Have any hobbies like stamp collecting or knitting? I like cooking. i collect merch that i often don't listen to for years. i adore my dog. Do you play any other instruments besides the one you play in Diablo? i used to play percussion, but i haven't done that in 10 years. the instruments that i use include: piano, hollow-body guitar, javanese rebab, balinese gambuh suling, chinese marching cymbals, indian shanai, brazilian gourds and samba whistle, cheap electric air organ, slide whistles, a large whisk (my first noise instrument, got it in 1992), a large sheet of glass, floor drain..... Do you collect anything or are you a minimalist? I have shoe and hat fetishes, tho barely spend any money on them cos i have an even bigger gear and record-releasing fetishes What are you cooking tonight? I'm trying to come up with a good carne enchilada recipe, since i already know how to make carnitas. oh wait my gf cooked salmon that came out perfect with burned veggies and rice. What did you eat today? Black tea with milk, bagel and cream cheese, coffee, rice crackers and peanut butter, large salad, apple, banana, polish sausage, the worm from the mescal we just finished, red wine, carne enchilada quesadilla, swiss chocolate (my gf's friend brought it intending to take it home to give to her bf but she forgot it!!!), a burger from Chelsea Carwash (best in town!!! $4!!!), a plate of pernil from Taza De Oro, a BLT from Northeast Kingdom, a plate of pulled pork from Smoke Joint, gnocci and osso bucco from Rocco Restaurante, a $2.50 falafel from that place on thompson in little italy, a pastrami sandwich from Katz when i want to attempt bulimia. What's your favorite food of all time? It's hard to pick but the quesadillas at Tortilleria Tres Hermanos near my house are pretty much the perfect food. i love the pakistani places down on church and over on houston. i use to think pizza was but i'm not that into breadstuffs anymore. Cereal? Favorite drink? It's a tie between good tequila and good rye whiskey (always neat), with good espresso a close second Mac or PC? I have both, but i'm more familiar and comfortable with Mac computers, even tho the road to hell will be paved with iPhones If you had to eat one food 7 days in a row, what would it be? Man you are really into food!! i would say - banana / yogurt / soy milk smoothie, followed by a carne enchilada quesadilla (see above) If I came to your home and looked in your refrigerator, what would I find? Right now it's pretty empty. my gf and i are super busy and can't get to the store on a regular basis. when we're on the ball there is lots of fresh produce, man i can't believe i'm describing all of this. What was the last book you read? Nic Collins "handmade electronic music" Do you watch TV or listen to the radio at all? Any favorite shows or broadcasts? I hate TV and rarely watch it, but my gf got me hooked last night on "Real Beauty" where they videotape all the nasty things beautiful people do to get what they want. radio i rarely get WFMU at home so i listen to the archives of Wm Berger's shows at work when i can, and WKCR is cool too. Where do you go to discover new sounds/music? Mutant sounds, WFMU, academy records, hospital records, free/cheap shows that my friends put on (math bill's broad channel, goodbye blue monday, death by audio, port d'or, party expo, zebulon, matchless) Been to any good shows lately? I'm one of those buddhist hippies who feels like the best show i've been to is the one i'm at. Justice Yeldham and Dave Phillips just came through and they RULED it (tho Dave has done the same vegan propaganda video performance nearly ever time i've seen him since i met him in 2003, and i love the music but i'm a little tired of that video, tho i watch short bits out of respect to him, and since i'm a carnivarian i ought to confront images of dying animals with my intake. the only part i could actually watch with curiosity was when an elephant went nuts at the circus, stomping baby elephants and people before they spent 10 minutes shooting rifles at him. truly sad but for some reason he was empowered so it was tolerable. otherwise i don't go for faces of death kind of footage, clubbing baby seals etc. god this is AWFUL why am i talking about this? I'M NO LONGER HUNGRY). This guy Jeff Carey did an amazing set the other night at Party Expo. Combining Supercollider and analog electronics to get the best of both. Always stoked to catch Telecult Powers, Hex Breaker Quintet, Chaos * Majick, Honed Bastion, any of the Red Light District dudes and their many gnarly projects (they are the Men Who Can't Love of the Rockaways), and many many others. miss the LA and Portland crews - you know who you are (if one of them reads this, please drop me a line, it would be nice to hear from you!!) Describe a day in the life of Bob Bellerue. Ocr man come on, it's not very romantic. i spend too much time in front of the computer and don't clean the house or go shopping. then i have a quesadilla. the only thing i do everyday is walk my dog Hazeltine Apocalypse, and most nights i smoke a spliff or have a nip of the lord's jizz 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? yeah they are very supportive, they are happy i'm doing what i want in life and am not a wage slave trapped in a career to pay the bills, even tho they were. They know my music is pretty extreme, they saw a performance of "Threat Level Charlie" back in 2002 and then i think a halloween show in 2005 where i amplified a shopping cart. my dad might have even dialed in the WFMU show i did a few months ago.... tho he didn't know if he had connected correctly or if there was something wrong with the speakers Any advice for people who are starting out creating music/noise/art? Anything goes; be honest; do what you are called to do; keep it radical; don't wait for permission to create a new sound; learn your equipment, but don't let your equipment or your learning dictate your creativity. no one asked how to make "Rid of Me" or "Terraform" or Drive Like Jehu's s/t debut. or "Spiderland" or "Burned Mind", "Gluey Porch Treatments", "Electric Ladyland", "Vincebus Eruptum", etc, they just fucking followed their gut, played a lot of music, kept working it til they blew open the world, and then moved on to more amazing work. or, move to new york and make visual art, do a lot of blow and fuck all the right losers, and then people will buy your shitty cdrs because you will be MADE. Any upcoming shows? New recordings? Projects? Gotham mini-blitz with KILT at the end of June, "Appenzeller" performance piece with Wanda Z Gala at Highways in Santa Monica in July, Terrier at Dept of Human Resources mid-July. break on solo gigs til Aug for Justice Yeldham's visit to NYC. building a small amp for feedback circuits, finishing some other projects including a tube amp i built that is broken, a noiseswash that has been half-built for 3 years, and a hand-drawn distortion circuit by Ex Jesus that i have yet to build but will apparently ruin your gear. continuing the slow-going documentary about the LA Free Music Society. getting trained at WFMU to engineer. KILT has some epic sessions to undertake for an album i'm calling thus far "Santa Muerte". i want to go back to working with the sample layering techniques i designed in Supercollider for dance scores and combine them with seductive overload systems ala American Masonry - an early version of this came out as Maltcrook on EMR. Any parting words or pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with whoever's reading this interview? Get a bike. put down the TV remote. log out of facebook. break a sweat twice a day for health. meditate. stay young. buy some merch. send anonymous donations to artists who you download. go make some noise.