Philosophy & Music & Drug
Distort Archive: Dribble / Gutter Gods, Lakes, Puce Mary, Oily Boys, Low Life, Vanessa Amara, and author S.T. Lore.
Reverse Evolution is writing and broadcasting from life of dilettante: passion, obsession, conflict and leisure. The supremacy of music. WWIII. The Age of Quarrel. Modern Horror. Psychotic Sci-Fi. Television OD. Laughing at The System. Kvlt HC. True Romantic. Kvlt HC. Noir Future. Tekno Acid Beat. Plus a history of Distort mag and other print publications. - DX, Sydney, Australia
This is an extract from a book compiling all the better parts from Distort mag. You can read more from the series below.
Foundation subscribers to the Reverse Evolution substack get a lifetime sub to the Distort PDF Archive, or you can purchase that separately here.
DISTORT #43 (2013) - Interviews and conversations with Dribble / Gutter Gods, Lakes, Puce Mary, Oily Boys, Low Life, Vanessa Amara, Lucy Cliche, Prolife and author S.T. Lore.
You can purchase a PDF edition of this Distort here.
Ten years ago! This is my favourite Distort cover, photo by Guy Vinciguerra, design by Jame Vinciguerra.
This period was soundtracked by Total Control’s Typical System LP, characterised by a rediscovery of joy in music and what I enjoyed about creating it. I invested energy into exploring sounds and styles I had previously overlooked. I also resumed reading Nietzsche, which invariably brings a degree of self-excoriation. This issue marked the final run of Distort in this style, primarily featuring interviews with writers, artists, and musicians. At this juncture, my energy for writing was dissipating. I recall being in a creative slump, uncertain about my direction and aspirations. I was torn between settling in Melbourne or relocating to Berlin. Ultimately, I decided that moving overseas was the best path for me. Physically, I was also in a decadent state, amphetamines and wine.
I have always been interested in manners, tact and decorum, the unspoken rules of social interactions. I love handbooks for manners and rules about silverware placement on the table at an anglo meal or the best way to toast sake in Japan or who is responsible to hold the door open in Atlanta, Georgia. This piece on tact was written in a frenzy after leaving a show early due to being piledriven by conversations with mentally fragile social media addicts who were responding to the influx of information and the chore of self-creation by ingesting obscene amounts of amphetamines and lecturing me, a stranger, about their experiences with self-harm, or their hot take on the Taliban.
This was the point before I started using social media and it was pretty clear from spending 5 minutes in public at a punk show that these people were not handling the technology and were falling apart.
The interview with Sean (Lakes) was conducted outside a café one day. I had interviewed Sean multiple times and was a strong supporter of his project. He continues to make music with Phantasm, and he just posted images from his recent exhibition, which were quite fantastic. I’ve always found his dedication and trust in his intuition inspiring.
I lived with the writer ST Lore, and was deeply impressed by his dedication and discipline to the craft of writing. Beyond that, he was my favourite person to discuss reading and writing with. We spent countless hours drinking coffee and talking about stories we had read or intended to write.
Whatever direction Distort went in, I always wanted to honour that it started with hardcore and the mindset of hardcore - animalistic impulse and action - contrasts a little too harshly with the reflective, critical, and ponderous nature of these conversations about art and literature. Around this time, I entertained the idea of starting a literary magazine completely separate from Distort. I’m grateful that I didn’t pursue this, purely out of protection for my time, but sometimes I am struck by the harsh contrasts in content in these later issues.
This exchange with Frederikke (Puce Mary) was based on some emails we exchanged about poetry, film, music and art over a period of months. I first watched Bergman’s Persona on her recommendation and it remains one of the most brutal experiences watching a movie, I think of it and I’m drenched with anxiety.
This Oily Boys piece was written by Max Easton (Barely Human).
And… this Low Life piece was also written by Max Easton (Barely Human).
This was one of two parts of an interview I did with Nathan Williams about Dribble / Gutter Gods, we talked a lot about philosophy and music and drugs.
I remain in awe of the Vanessa Amara records, maybe you listen.
***
This is an extract from a book compiling all the better parts from Distort mag. You can read more from the series below. Foundation subscribers to the Reverse Evolution substack get a lifetime sub to the Distort PDF Archive, or you can purchase that separately here:
Distort Archives: #7 2005 - Integrity, Abraxas Annihilation, Anton Szandor Lavey
Distort Archives: #8 2005 - h100's, Top Ten Unreleased HC records
Distort Archives: #9 Chris Colohan re: Left For Dead / Japanese hardcore rumourmill
Distort Archives: #10-12 10: Interview with Luke Dolan re: Arms Reach / writing on Schism Fanzine and racial politics and hardcore. 11: Masstrauma / Regulations / Thought Criminals / writing on 60's punk, Warning Fanzine, Peter Laughner, Hassan-I-Sabbah 12: Annihilation Time / Formaldehyde Junkies / World Burns To Death / Pisschrist tour photo diary
Distort Archives: #13-14 13: Extortion / The Mormons / Bill Bondsmen / Voices Wake Us / Cardiac Arrest / Out Cold 14: Cold Sweat / Subversion / The State / Distroy / bullshit on Black Flag
Distort Archives: #15-16 #15: Sex/Vid, Voorhees, Smash N Grab, Disclose / GISM collector scum guide by Spider. #16: Fucked Up / Writing on Clockcleaner, Draft Dodger, Poison Idea lyrics
Distort Archives: #17 Gag Reflex, Homostupids, Puncture Wound, Darvocets... and a couple lost notes on Darby Crash
Distort Archives: #18 (Straightjacket Nation US Tour Diary / Interviews with Condominium, Brain Handle
Distort Archives (#19, 21): #19 - Interviews with Lebenden Toten, Blank Stare, Homosexual Tourists, Napalm Hearts / a Hardcore 2008 rundown / RIP Ron Asheton and Lux Interior *** #21 (2009) - Interviews with Sex/Vid, Shock Values (Split with RATCHARGE fanzine)
Distort Archives: #22 (2009), #23 (2010) #22: Writing on the Christian hardcore of Dry Rot / loads of reviews #23: Interviews with Waste Management, Watery Love, Wasted Time / writing on Straightjacket Nation tour of SE Asia (Indo, Malaysia, Singapore)
Distort Archives #24 (2010) – KVLT SKRAPYARD - Ephemera related to AMDI PETERSENS ARME / ROKY ERICKSON/ LIPCREAM / VINNIE STIGMA / STOP AND THINK / NEGATIVE APPROACH / LARISSA STRICKLAND / THE STALIN / CRAIG SETARI / CHEETAH CHROME MOTHERFUCKERS / DISCHARGE / FLESH EATERS / SEX/VID
Distort Archives #26 (2010) Rikk Agnew
Distort Archives #28 (2010), #31 (2011) - #28: Royal Headache, Lou Barlow, Born Bad, Scarcity Of Tanks, Criminal Damage, Video Disease, No Tolerance, Rival Mob, Home Blitz #31: interview with Iron Curtain, Poikkeus / writing on Flesh World, Inmates, FU's, Black Flag, Condominium, Crazy Spirit, Nightprowler, Waste Management, Sweet Tooth, Royal Headache, William S Burroughs, Dennis Hopper, Siltbreeze, Pisschrist
Distort Archives: #32 (2010) & #33 (2010) h100's / Integrity / Left For Dead / Formaldehyde Junkies / Mormons / Lebenden Toten / Sex Vid / Fucked Up
Distort Archives: #36 (2011) Naked On The Vague / Crazy Spirit / Negative Guest List / Puffy Areolas / Rival Mob / Mike Rep / Billy Bao / Boston Strangler, etc.
Distort Archives: #37 (2013) - Interviews with: Eddy Current Suppression Ring / Brainwashed Youth / Lakes / Bloodclot Faggots / the Inmates / Stab / Negative Guest List Writing on: The Stains / the Kinks / Folded Shirt / Iron Age / Degreaser / Kriegshog / Artificial Peace
Distort Archives: #38 (2013) - Writing on Mugger / Ilegal / CCR / Rule of Thirds / Peste / Absurdo / Holy Terror (Gehenna / Catharsis / Inside Front) / Ausmuteants / Discipline Mag / Low Life / Peacebreakers
Distort Archives: #41 (2013) - Featuring interviews with The Hunches, Night Prowler and Aaron Aspinwall. Writing on Harry Crews, Repairs, Lost Domain, Waste Management, Factorymen, Jackman, Harald Grosskopf, Whores, Inservibles, Vile Gash, Schizophasia, Bits of Shit, Salvation, No Balls.
DISTORT Archives #42 (2014) - Features interviews with Omegas, The Throb, Beastianity, Red Red Krovvy, Drew Gates and NS Mayhem. Writing on E.M. Cioran, Justin Fuller, Oily Boys, Wet Cloth, Soma Coma, Hyperspace Vision, Croation Amor, LR, X-TG / Throbbing Gristle, Lakes, The Clean, Constant Mongrel, U202, Destruction Unit.