Q1: When did you first learn that you had a love, niche for music? What was your first favorite style of music (NKOTB obviously)? When did you get your first guitar?
“For niche music I would say when I became a teenager. I got into BMX and would buy BMX videos and the soundtracks to them would be a lot underground music, mostly punk rock. I just went down the rabbit hole from there. I made friends in with people in high school that also liked punk and we started going to pretty much any local show we could; most of which consisted of punk, hardcore and metal. I later got into lots of other styles of music but that was where it began. My first favorite style of music when I was a little kid was probably classical. I loved Tchaikovsky, particularly Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. As a teenage when I would say punk rock had a life altering impact, particularly Black Flag. I got my first guitar when I was in 3rd grade but I didn’t really have to focus you need to learn an instrument then (what 3rd grader does?). I’d much rather play with Ninja Turtles at that age. I later started playing guitar more obsessively at 13.
Q2: What made you lean towards learning production, engineering side of music? Was it out of necessity, or did you study/learn from others?
initially when I was a young teenager I just wanted to record my own music. I recorded my first bands album on a cassette tape answering machine. I later got a cassette 4 track as a teenager which I recorded the Sludgephone album on (Rebore’s first release). When I was 18 I had the classic ultimatum of going college or get kicked out. A nearby college had Audio Engineering as a major. That sounded less scary than being homeless. So I went school for that. I used the loan money to buy recording equipment. I also figured if I was charging money to record people I should get good at it so I started obsessively studying it. Recording my own band for free was also a big motivation.. I mostly learned from just doing it first hand, and reading books and internet forums; more so than college. I eventually dropped out of college and just pursued recording on my own. So It was a little of both out of necessity and learning from others, and just trial and error.
Q3: I have most of the Stationary Odyssey stuff, and fascinated by the strange visuals in the videos. Who came up with the strange visuals such as Zombie-Santas and such in the video “My Baby is Black”
I believe that was our friend Shawn Knight’s idea. He in an amazing band called Child Bite (as well as a few other rad projects coming out). He also released the very first Stationary Odyssey album on a label he ran called Boy Arm Records. Super talented dude!
Q4: Tell me about Rebore Records. When did you first establish the label. Discuss some of the artists who have recorded under your label. I guess this isn’t much of a question, as it is giving you the soapbox on your label
Rebore Records was established in December of 2013. I was doing a similar thing called Dyspepsidisc with Aaron Tanner previously but that dissolved and I started Rebore up with my buddy Nick Schenk. It’s a home for my friends and my recordings. Luckily my friends are super talented! There’s no real theme genre wise for the label. I trust and respect my friends as people and artists. I just want to help them and be supportive.
Q5: I know you have also done some acting in movies, have you explored doing more acting, or do you see yourself as more of a musician than an actor? What do you enjoy doing more
That all came about after befriending Mitch Massie. We had similar taste in movies (both of our favorite movie is Gummo) and he was very supportive of my bands I was in at the time of meeting him, Gratis and Stationary Odyssey. He asked if I want to be in a movie he was making called The Anathema Report (the soundtrack is released on Rebore and is one of my favorite releases on there). That started a 10 year relationship of acting in 3 full length movies and somewhere around 60 music videos he made! He is extremely talented and hope to work more with him. Plus, he is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. I worked on a few other peoples things here and there but 95%
has been with Mitch. I’ll be in something my friend Zach Zint is making starting this weekend. I mostly see myself as a musician, but I do think I started getting good at acting after doing so many videos. As far as what I enjoy more…I just enjoy creating in general and being apart of things that I cool so I enjoy both.
Q6: I know you are more into the music side of songs & musicians. I know that you are a big punk, metal, alternative rock fan. However, being this is also a Poetry & Art Magazine, what are some of your favorite lyricists or lyrics? Is any Fugazi related?
Fugazi has amazing lyrics! I think Tom Waits is a great lyricist. Dennis Lyxzen lyrics off of Refused “Shape of Punk to Come” are excellent. Jello Biafra’s work in Dead Kennedy’s and LARD. Dimtri Minakais and Ben Weinman’s lyrics on Dillinger Escape Plan’s “Calculating Infinity”. I’ll give examples of lines that I really like by each artist. Fugazi: “You hear something outside? It sounds like a gun Stay away from that window, boy It’s not anyone that we know Only about ourselves and What we read in the paper Don’t you know ink washes out Easier than blood?”
Tom Waits “T’aint no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones” (William S Burroughs song that song, not sure if he wrote those lyrics or if Tom Waits did.. Burroughs rules)
Refused: “I got a bone to pick with capitalism and a few to break Grab us by the throat and shake the life away Human life is not commodity, figures, statistics or make believe”
The Locust “Is this the dumpster of your dreams?”
Jello Biafra “Peeling back the foreskin of liberty”
Dillinger Escape Plan “Alfresco slapsticked Foam mouth sunshine”
Q7: How do we get out of Evansville? Let me word this differently. Evansville, Indiana hasn’t always been known to have a huge art, music & poetry scene. What can small cities such as Evansville do to be more proactive in creating opportunities for bands, poets, art in whole? It always seems once we have a decent venue for music or poetry then it disappears rather quickly.
That is a big and hard question. I think one thing that is stacked against Evansville and cities like it is, it is economically depressed. Most people here don’t have very much money and are usually working some shit job. Music and art programs are usually the first to be stripped from schools, so there isn’t much education on music, art, poetry; so, there are going to be less people interested in it. Evansville is also very isolated. Culturally there isn’t much emphasis on being creative. It’s mostly focused family, Christianity, work. The reason a venue disappears rather quickly is because it gets crushed by the economic realities, we all have to deal with. I think without the material infrastructure to cover even just basic needs it is very difficult for there to be a sustained art scene.
Q8: Tell me about Plasticizer. How did this idea come up? Was it to see how fast you can bang out a good song? Plasticizer came up because all the bands I were in ended. I just started writing music own my own under that name. I was trying to impose a short time frame to finish a song at first just so I didn’t sit on the project forever. I hit a huge wall with that band because of a string of severe bad luck pretty much put everything to a halt. I was evicted out of my studio and living space then quickly moved into a place that caught fire and destroyed everything I own. I’ve spent the last three years working so I can get back to creating again. It’s been very hard. I hope to be able to get back to it very soon.
Q9: Everyone should listen to the Halloween Special from Rebore Records. Tell people how you can order music, your website, social medias, all the Brett Siler and Rebore Records people need to know. I agree everyone should listen to it! You can currently order our music from https://rebore.bandcamp.com/ , we are also the bigger social media site, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube Even better is if you sign up to our email list! ReboreRecords@gmail.com!
Q10: Are there any big projects you are currently working on, or just completed? Is there any colleague’s work you would like to promote? I’m currently working on finishing up a movie score that I am very happy with so far! Should be done with that very soon. After that I would mostly like to focus on Plasticizer,but I have a million side projects sitting on my hard drive, that I’ve collaborated with friends. Also have some albums from older bands I was in that are finally going to be released!
Q11: Talk about the music they play late in the Meijer. I know you have strong opinions on the Shania Twain, Edwin McCain, some current goof pop, or maybe out of nowhere you’ll hear that strange Benny Mardones song. Why is there no “My War” by Black Flag?
HA! One of the funniest/cringier song I heard there was some Reel Big Fish. I feel like people would get to amped hearing My War and trash the store and steal all the groceries.
Q12: Any writing contribution for this edition? Perhaps your own Canterbury Tale or such? *crickets chirping* I’m gonna write the Nu Bible
Fevers of the Mind 