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Photo: Harlee Ria DeMeerleer

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CHRIS BROWNPublisher / Creative Director

GUSTAV SCHMIEGESenior Photographer

CICERO DEGUZMAN JR., CARI WAYMANEditors-at-Large

CONTRIBUTING EDITORAlexandra Valenti, Mathew Foster, Fritz Mesenbrick, Jeremy Pelley

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSCicero DeGuzman Jr., Cari Wayman, Alexandra Valenti, Robert Kinmont, Patrick Wright,

Ginger Broderick, Tyler Manson, Harlee Ria DeMeerleer

ART DIRECTION + DESIGNChris Brown

Copyright © 2010-2011 by Refueled Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Refueled® is a registered trademark of Refueled Inc. Produced in the U.S.A.

Cover Photo/Spreads: Gustav Schmiege

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09 LETTER. 10 EXPLORE MY FAVORITE DIRT ROADS 1969. 14 IMAGES ALEXANDRA VALENTI.44 DESIGN OFFICIAL MANUFACTURING CO. 56 STYLE HIGH DESERT. 71 STYLE DENIM &BANGS. 86 ART WES LANG. 96 MUSIC ERIKA WENNERSTROM. 110 VISIONARY LIZ LAMBERT.116 AMERICA CARI WAYMAN. 137 RIDE SCOTT G TOEPFER. 142 LYRICS BOB DYLAN.

sanjosehotel.com

One that has included beautiful new friends, cool adventures, amazing oppitunities and new discoveries. In a way this issue actsas a continuation of the 2010 Spring/Summer issue - part two if you will. The Refueled team once again traveled West to the tinytown of Marfa, Texas - a artist community that has become our home away from home. We are constantly inspired by the highdesert, the beautiful colors of the sky and the people that surround the area. The issue contains incrediable contributors,photographers, artists, stylemakers and musicians. It’s always been my goal to present the “underbelly” of America. Hope youenjoy the ride.

Chris BrownEditor-in-Chief / Creative Director

Photo: Gustav Schmiege REFUELED FALL 2010

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And that’s a weird feeling to be judged soleyon that criteria. The photographer I workedfor, Sante D’Orazio became my dear friendand mentor. He taught me so much aboutlight. I was the worst assistant he ever had,i’m sure of it. But he liked having me around,we had a lot to talk about. And I was payingattention, given that I had no idea what I wasdoing when I first got hired. In fact, I lied myway into the job. Saying I knew way morethan I did about the cameras we were usingand a week later we were in Rome shootingfor Italian Vogue and I felt so fucked and inover my head. Still to this day, I’m not atechnical photographer, I really do wing itmost of the time. I make a ton of mistakesand just make those mistakes work some-how. Story of my life actually. Some call it“living”, some would call it “ a shit show”....whatever. it makes for good stories later onI guess.

I left that world and came back in my ownsubtle way after 6 or 7 years, after II figured

out what my own voice was in photographyand fashion. Although, I still don’t feel asthough i’ve found it. I hope to keep evolvinguntil I can’t press the shutter one more time.It’s hard to say what I hope to capture, otherthan that moment, when you look through thecamera and you just go, ‘ahhhh, that’s it’. Youknow in your heart, that you just got it. Youfeel that pulse in your chest, your adrenalinrises. Energy courses through you... it soundsso dramatic, but I really do feel it. I’m notlonger me, I’m just a conduit to capture amoment in time.

What makes shooting fashion satisfying, isthat fashion by it’s very nature is progressive.So creating images to represent what thedesigner has created is full of possibilities,and it’s way to subvert in any way youchoose. Because there really are no rules.Fashion is theatre. It’s entertainment.Shooting fashion for me is kind of like TheExquisite Corpse. You create where thedesigner left off and it’s melded together

to create another separate art piece. It’scollaborative... And that’s exciting.

I make lots of mistakes and try to stepoutside my comfort zone all the time. I haveto force myself to do something differenteach time, because each person is different.And sometimes I get stuck in a phase of whatI like and want to see or create... As for therelationship between me and the subject, thebest is when 2 things happen, either theyforget you’re there and they’re in their ownspace or when they’re completely with you,locked in with you... it’s too extremes andboth seem to work perfectly. I feel a littlepretentious for sounding like I know what I’mdoing, because really I don’t at all. I knowwhat I like and i just try to get there.

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As for a shoot, the inspiration comes from themusicians themselves as people. Not somuch their music. I’ve been pretty lucky toknow a lot of insanely talented musicians inmy life...they’re my friends as and the upshotis that I’m inspired by what they create...there are a few that haven’t moved me at all,and I just got hired to shoot them, I neededthe money... but that doesn’t happen toooften... and sometimes I was just at the rightplace at the right time... like years ago when Iwas with good friends who knew U2... wewere all in Italy at the same time, while theywere on tour. I had my 35mm point and shootwith me... we were all in a hotel room, and Isnapped away. Snapped The Edge on theedge of a balcony. And it was 6 in themorning. It was a pretty sweet moment.Probably never to happen again. I have to say my favorite moment was when I

was living in NYC and I was working as agraphic designer for a music magazine. (thejob I got after working for D’Orazio) I wasasked to go shoot a few pictures of Beck atLalapalooza. It was right after Odelay cameout I think. The one with Loser. Beck had justbecome huge. We went down there with HalWilner, legendary producer and musicsupervisor for Saturday Night Live. Hal wasfriends with Allen Ginsberg (had produced aspoken word record of his and also WilliamBuroughs) and had asked Ginsberg tointerview Beck for the article. I don’t get thatstar struck. But when I was at Berkeley goingto school, I read Howl and had my wholeBeats phase (that you kinda have to gothrough when you’re trying to be an intellectualand need a guide book on how to be cool)...so this was an EPIC moment for me.... Turnsout he lived right around the corner from me

in the East Village. We picked him up in Hal’sstation wagon and drove to the festival. I fellin love with him on the spot. He was the mostgentle, generous, curious man. Ginsbergknew Beck’s grandfather, who was a greatFluxus artist. So after Beck’s set, we all wentinto this tiny trailer, about 5 of us. And I tookpictures of them talking. Ginsberg, who wasan incredible photographer, gave me greatphotographic advice that day that I’ll neverforget: always include the hands. They tellyou everything you need to know about aperson. Basically, I got to spend the day withAllen Ginsberg. And it blew my mind to bits.It still does. I still can’t believe it happened. Ayear later he died.

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And we did. The first script we wrote, wesold. To Miramax. I remember HarveyWeinstien (then head of Miramax) telling meat a party after we sold it, “We’re gonna turnthis into a franchise!” It never got made.Surprise, Surprise! Looking back I feel likesuch a chump... cuz I ate it up with a spoon.The best part (after getting a sizable check)was the actual writing part. After work, we gohome, get stoned and write scenes and seewho could crack the other person up more.We knew nothing about screenplay structurebut we wrote some pretty funny stuff, at leastwe thought it was funny.

After writing 100 drafts of that script, it turnedinto an actual job and it was no longer fun.The studio wanted us to edit out all thesubversive parts of our script and dumbdown an already ridiculous premise. In the

hopes of chasing the rainbow and furtheringmy career, I went on endless and pointlessmeetings with studio executives to get hiredfor other screenwriting jobs... I becameincredibly disheartened out there... basically Irealized I was turning into a watered downversion of myself and plummeted into adeep vortex of depression.... that seems tohappen to a lot of people who are far toosensitive for a pretty vacuous and materialisticlifestyle....so I high-tailed it out of there andmoved to Austin, Texas The best move I evermade. Austin is relaxed and creative.. Theredoesn’t seem to be an air of the have andhave-nots like it is in Los Angeles. No onereally cares what you do for a living. And it’sso refreshing.

But while I was in LA, I made so many greatfriends and a lot of them were actors. I took

pictures of them all the time, not becausethey were actors but because that’s who wasaround me and they just happened tobecome pretty successful. After my fatherpassed away, I stopped watching movies.Literally. I just didn’t see the point in it. AndIpicked up my camera in a more serious way.I didn’t decide to become a photographer fulltime, it just happened very organically... andplus it doesn’t take a year to take a picture,like it does to make a film. I’m too ADD forfilmmaking. There are friends of mine whoare, 5 years later, still working on the samemovie! What a drag, man! Yeah, not for me. I want to see the results right away. And I want to move on to the next thing.

Photographing actors and being on set ispretty fun though. They’re goofy and animated.Which makes for great photos.

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I love the design process because I can havecontrol over the final product, or at least howmy pictures are being presented. That led tomaking more art, painting, collage and setdesign... I wanted to push myself and not justbe a known as a photographer... I have

always made a lot of art but never showedtoo many people. usually it’s paintings onwood, or sewing or collage or knitting... and Istarted to incorporate that in the CD designs,it was a place for me to showcase what I’d doanyway in my living room late at night. I feel

so new to design still, not really my forte quiteyet, I’m still learning... still investigating whatgood design means.. But like any craft, it justtakes time, you educate yourself and you justhave to keep doing it....

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And the people i gravitate towards are otherfellow artists... They inspire me, they pushme, they open my eyes to things I may nothave seen... and I hope I do the same forthem. So who’s ever around my, that’s whoi’m gonna be shooting and I shoot my friendsall the time... at BBQs, at the river, at home,

etc... Just ask my boyfriend. I’m sure he’snever been so well documented since he wasa baby! But he’s just so damn good looking, Ican’t help it! Shooting my friends... it’s anostalgic thing for me. I love them and wantto capture that moment, like everyone else inthe world.. but it becomes romantic after-

wards, the moment becomes dreamy andelevated, almost visually a better representationof what actually happened... I just like that it’snot planned like a regular shoot, I lovedocumentary photography and I especiallylove family polaroids... from way back when..

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But since I’m asked this question so much Iguess the simplest answer is, Golden Light isthe most beautiful light there is, in my opinion.it reminds me of summer, of my childhood, ofan analogue universe, of all things organicand pure. What’s more pure and organic thanthe Sun? And everyone, and I mean every-one, looks beautiful in golden light behindthem. All of a sudden, you’re glowing, you’reapart of that celestial ray of light, as new ageyas that sounds.... I’m a nostalgic person how-ever, I don’t like to talk about the past, but Ilike to make my present look warm andinviting, as if it were from a time when things“seemed” simpler and stripped down. And Ilike to live my life that way. Most people whenthey walk into my house, the first thing theysay is how much they love the feeling of thespace. They feel at home and welcome there.it’s peaceful and warm. Wood walls, sageburning, lots of dogs and chickens and andthe smell of yogi tea in the air.

I do remember the first time I realized I lovedphotography. I was about 9 or 10 years old. I

spent a lot of time with My sister’s best friend,who was 9 years older than me. She was likemy other sister. She gave me a book ofphotographs by Henri Cartier Bresson, thefamous french photographer. I had neverseen anything like it before. He’s famous forcapturing “the moment”... and man, He reallynailed it and even at that tender age, I alignedwith it. And I aspire to create images like that.In my own way, in my own world. Sometimes,most of the time, I fail miserably (but whatever!).There’s this fine line I want to create of capturingthat moment and completely orchestrating it.

Inspiration is all around me, all the time. Andmost of the time it’s not photography thatinspires me. it’s outsider art, Gee’s BendQuilts, train stations, tibetan and moroccantextiles, antique shops, flea markets, andBanyon Trees. Every seen a Banyon Tree?Good lord. My favorite word is wonderment.Childlike wonderment. When you no longercan see the beauty and wonderment aroundyou, the everyday things, you’re no longerliving. And believe me, I’m prone to not “see-

ing” my everyday environment, when i’mstuck in a rut. And that’s where alignmentwith your energy and those around youcomes in. I believe in the Tao. I studyBuddhism. I have an alter in my house withimages and objects that bring me back to thetruth of what is. The truth of who i am. And Ialso have a lot of love in my life. I have aboyfriend who blows my mind daily with hiscreativity and honesty, drive and Lust for life.And who challenges me when i don’t want tobe challenged. And opens my eyes to thingsI hadn’t even thought of yet... I think inspirationcomes from being humble. Having an openheart, having compassion, having willingnessto grow... And see things in a new light all thetime. And when you’re inspired you feel it inyour gut, your skin starts to tingle and youjust wanna make stuff all the time. At least Ido.

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Fritz Mesenbrink: Is this thing on?

Jeremy Pelley: Testies, Testies 1, 2, 3. Mornin’ fellas.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Starting it offwith a ball joke, the usual.

Mathew Foster: So Chris, inlight ofus needing to send you an interviewin the next hour (we’ve been busy!)We are IM’ing the thing and thensending you the transcript.

Jeremy Pelley: God, I don’t knowwhat we would do without balls.

Fritz Mesenbrink: I think he wantedus to talk about brands not balls.

Jeremy Pelley: Ah interviewing ishard.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Have you guysever heard of a flash magazine?

Mathew Foster: Like with tits?

Fritz Mesenbrink: I’m almost out ofcoffee, I need to get… Refueled.

Mathew Foster: It makes sense, right? It sounds a LOT cheaper than

printing the damn thing.

Fritz Mesenbrink: And yes with tits.Print is dead.

Mathew Foster: Long live print.

Jeremy Pelley: But tits live forever.

Fritz Mesenbrink: God save the

print.

Mathew Foster: Anyway, This makesme think of our AIGA “lecture”,Dumb+insightful.

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Jeremy Pelley: And talking witheach other while drinking whiskey.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Finally Jeremy’styping style of no caps comes inhandy for this chat interview.

Mathew Foster: Still drives mefucking crazy.

Jeremy Pelley: Laziness pays offeventually.

Fritz Mesenbrink: When do we get insightful?

Mathew Foster: That comes later.Let’s stick to dumb.

Fritz Mesenbrink: You’ve just got to wait around for it to pay off.

Mathew Foster: Like our company!We’re waiting for the pay off.

Fritz Mesenbrink: I like the delayedresponses. Especially with typos.Extra caps to make up for Jeremy.

Jeremy Pelley: Typos keep youhonest.

Mathew Foster: (Note: please leavetypos and Jeremy’s un-punctuation intact).

Fritz Mesenbrink: Otherwise thiswon’t make any sense.

Mathew Foster: Did we ever tellanyone the story about howJeremy’s brother wrote the“interview” text for that story that ran in the UK?

Jeremy Pelley: Might not make toomuch sense regardless, but might as well aim high.

Fritz Mesenbrink: IDK.

Jeremy Pelley: Let’s tell it!

Fritz Mesenbrink: Yeah! Triumvirate!

Mathew Foster: We were sentthose questions, which were prettystock and boring. From this designblog from the UK- The Import.

Jeremy Pelley: And there werewayyyy too many of them, and wewere busy

Fritz Mesenbrink: Like, “what areyour favorite colours?” I mean,“what are your favourite colours?”

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Mathew Foster: “What do you payfor petrol in your lorries?”.

Jeremy Pelley: (Note: the britspelling and the typo).

Mathew Foster: And we were like“bullocks”. Jeremy’s brother Jasonhasn’t lived in the US for manyyears now.

Jeremy Pelley: And he has never met fritz or mathew.

Mathew Foster: He’s off the radar, so to speak.

Fritz Mesenbrink: “Let’s take the piss out of this guy!”.

Jeremy Pelley: But he is a talentedwriter and has a lot of free time onhis hands.

Mathew Foster: A great writer- andhe just tooted out this amazingchunk of text about us. (insert saidtext, attached).

Jeremy Pelley: One of the funniestthings we had ever read regardingthe company.

Mathew Foster: OK. Next thing.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Word.

Jeremy Pelley: Um, we just openeda bar. That’s kinda relevant.

Mathew Foster: Should we talkabout our city? Or the bar? Thereyou go. the bar.

Fritz Mesenbrink: So Mathewshowed up to work with an amazingmustache yesterday, let’s talk aboutthat!

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Jeremy Pelley: Like your photo.

Fritz Mesenbrink: And yours!

Jeremy Pelley: Damn right.

Mathew Foster: …Let’s talk about the bar.

Fritz Mesenbrink: So yeah, Spiritof ’77!!!

Mathew Foster: Spiritof77bar.com.It’s a “Portland-centric bar for thesporting enthusiast.”

Jeremy Pelley: Free handmadebasketball arcade, called “th buzzerbeater”.

Mathew Foster: Reminding you to be the ball.

Fritz Mesenbrink: ))<>(( forever.

Jeremy Pelley: Tasty food, greatdrinks, huge 16’x9’ screen.Significant lack of douchebaggery.

Mathew Foster: So far.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Mostly.

Mathew Foster: We’ll see how long that lasts. (insert photos of bar).

Fritz Mesenbrink: Home of the Buzzer Beater.

Jeremy Pelley: Not with that atttudewe won’t.

Fritz Mesenbrink: This is stupid.

Jeremy Pelley: Yep, next thing!

Mathew Foster: This is so fuckingbad.

Jeremy Pelley: Keep it rolling!

Fritz Mesenbrink: We’re in thesame room and not talking to eachother.

Jeremy Pelley: Thanks, technology!

Mathew Foster: We’re in the sameroom, on our laptops, typing this bullshit out.

Fritz Mesenbrink: This would begood as a video chat.

Mathew Foster: It’d be less dumbto read, that’s for sure.

Jeremy Pelley: It’s a good thing wedon’t do interviews for a living.

Mathew Foster: Let’s wrap it upwith something good. Let’s get our ethos in here.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Stay in school!

Jeremy Pelley: Floss!

Fritz Mesenbrink: Both literally and metaphorically.

Jeremy Pelley: Don’t do it for themoney.

Mathew Foster: Moustaches arenot ironic when I’ll shoot you.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Say no to droids!

Mathew Foster: Do drugs respon-sibly.

Fritz Mesenbrink: M.A.D.D.

Mathew Foster: Work hard and benice to people.

Jeremy Pelley: Tell your mother youlove her.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Two in the hand,eye for an eye.

Jeremy Pelley: (I just told yours).

Mathew Foster: I love your mom,Jeremy.

Fritz Mesenbrink: Any port in thestorm. I love you guys.

Mathew Foster: Love you too.

Jeremy Pelley: Triple kiss!

Mathew Foster: Shit, our intern ishere.

Fritz Mesenbrink: This is the partwhere it gets gay.

Mathew Foster: Equal rights to allpeople. Even interns. OK, goodbye!

Fritz Mesenbrink: Shit, that soundedbad when out of order.

Jeremy Pelley: Goodbye, world.Apologies that we are so stupid.Didn’t mean to waste your time. (Jeremy logging out)

Fritz Mesenbrink: It’s lonely inhere.

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alabamachanin.com

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When's your next show?

November, but it's all stuff I had or stuffthat's getting made by other people so Idon't really have to worry about it. Then nottill the spring after that. I'll be fine by then. Iwas planning on sitting around and drawingfor a couple months anyway, so it's okay.

When you do those collage style drawings,do you make those with things you'vecollected for awhile, or do you drawspecifically for the new piece?

Anything that's drawn on them is specific forthat piece, but the collage stuff could bestuff I've had laying around for fifteen years-no real rules to it. That big one I just did, Ihad a couple pictures on another giant sheetof paper... and the piece of paper... I just did-n't like it, so I cut those out, but it was liter-ally like 10 things out of the 200 that were onit. I sat down and made that drawing in 10days. It was 4 x 6 1/2 feet. I can get going onit pretty quickly. I stopped doing the collagesfor awhile because it was kind of getting

boring, you know? Like, I knew how to do it.Then I painted for a long time, and then Idecided to do this big drawing for a gallery Iwork with in Denmark. They wanted a piecefor this art fair in Copenhagen and I only had10 days to work on it, and I made it andliterally stuck it in the tube and shipped itover there.

How long have you been showing?

First solo show was March of 2000. So tenyears. I'm usually doing like two solos a year,maybe sometimes three. I've done a lot oftwo man shows over the last couple ofyears, but I still make as much as I would ifit were just me, you know what I mean?

Yeah... What was your work like in 2000?

It wasn't so different really. Back then, I feltlike after they were done they were a littlenaive, and not so good, but then I see themnow and I see exactly why I was doing themand how they translate into exactly what I'mdoing now. It's not that much different, I just

got really good at getting really tight andbeing able to draw fucking anything.

Did you do the collage stuff back then?

I would do drawings that were like a bunchof little bits. That happened from looking atBasquiat drawings and how he did shit. Hewas a rad draftsman in a certain way, but Ijust knew I wanted to make things that weremore rendered, with finer details. Also,tattoo flash was a big influence on howthose came out, but in tattoo flash, theplacement is usually very much the same.There's just the same amount of spacearound everything, it's kind of boring, so it'sfun to do the clusters and have some openareas instead. I just bought a bunch of newsheets of paper the day before I busted myfoot. I hung those up and I think those aregonna have alot more negative space goingon with them. There's one piece... I justwanted to get all the dead people out of myfucking head and be done with it.

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When did you start making stuff and how long did it take before people noticed?

Not that long, man. When I was 26, I wasworking weird jobs. I had a sign paintingbusiness. I owned a furniture refinishingbusiness. I just made stuff but not for that.Then there was just this one day... I don'teven remember what happened, but I hadthis house in New Jersey with all this oldwood and shit in the backyard and I justwent outside and started grabbing stuff andI made a bunch of paintings and drawingsin my kitchen. Later, I moved to New Yorkand got a job at the Guggenheim doinginstallations. That was 97. I went on mylunch break to see a Francis Bacon show atShafrazi when it was down on WoosterStreet and when I was walking out the doorI asked the guy at the desk if they neededany help and he was like "Yeah, just give me your number, maybe we can use you."

So a couple days later... I remember I still

had a pager, I got beeped, and I called theguy back and he was like "Can you starttomorrow?" I quit my job at the Guggenheimon the spot and started working at Shafrazi.See, I didn't go to art school, and I didn'treally give a fuck about going to galleries... itwasn't a big thing to me, but at Shafrazi Istarted being introduced to like DonaldBachelor and Ed Rusha and people that Ihadn't heard of yet. I would just go in thebasement and look at all their shit that theyhad in storage, and I would go home andmake stuff heavily influcenced by what I waslooking at.

Then I made this one painting that just feltreally right. My direct boss was the artinstallation guy. I had him over to my houseand showed him this painting. He was like"Wow, that's fucking really good. I've beenthinking about opening a gallery, would youwanna do something with me?" I was like,fuck yeah! So he literally went and found thisspace on the corner of Suffolk and

Rivington, rented it, gave me the keys,$5000, a bunch of weed, and two months tojust fucking work... and then I had my firstshow at Mark Patchett Gallery.

So I sold a couple things out of that. EdwardAlbee the playwright bought one of mypaintings and he had this residency programout in the hamptons that I got into becauseof that. I met Donald Bachelor at that timeand I got to know him and he started buyingsome of my drawings. Shit just kinda hap-pened. I didn't really try, I just wanted to doit, so I did it. I put myself in a situation whereI was at least around the work and aroundthe people.

That seems key to the story. Not just as faras the business of making art, but even indriving you to make the art... like the partabout you hanging out in Shafrazi's base-ment and being inspired each day...

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That seems key to the story. Not just as faras the business of making art, but even indriving you to make the art... like the partabout you hanging out in Shafrazi'sbasement and being inspired each day...

Yeah, I got to see cool stuff because of that.The collectors would come in and theywould always ask me what I did, and nowsome of those same people own my work.I just put myself where I needed to be, butwithout a plan either. It wasn't like, "I'mgoing to work there so I can meet thisperson." There was no plan, I didn't knowwhat the fuck I was doing... I just liked makingstuff. I always have, since I was a kid.

Since that first show, how has the workevolved?

I don't know, I guess my style is a little moredistinct. My influences are still there, butthey don't show through. When I tell peoplethat I stole a composition from MartinKippenburger they look at it and say "That'scool" instead of walking up to it andimmediately saying "That's a Kippenburgerripoff." So... that feels good. I've beenshowing long enough that I guess peopleknow what I do... I'm suprised by it all thetime, to be honest with you.

So where do you think you are in yourcareer right now?

I'm 38 years old. For art that's pretty young,you know? I just wanna keep doing itforever. I don't see myself in any stage... Iam where I am.

I really like that you're doing well, andbeing positive and healthy... You know,just appreciating your shit.

There's been points in my life where I wasalot crazier. I've always had shows to do. Ihave to turn them down, and that's a greatposition to be in. I've got a cool chick nowthat I like alot. I've got good friends. Goodshit. I'm comfortable and happy with whatI'm doing. It can only get better. The ideas Ihave can go forever. I'm in a good place.

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What were you listening to growing up and when did youknow you wanted to be a musician?

Well I started out listening to music my mom listened to. Mydad didn’t really listen to music. I’m not really sure if he evenowns any records other than mine. My mom would listen toRay Charles, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, lots of jazz,and lots of random things. When I started school I wouldlisten to what ever everybody was listening to. I went toschool in an area that was primarily African American so alot of pop R n B, and rap like En Vogue, NWA, New Edition.I discovered rock in high school. I got really in to Joplin andHendrix. Midway thru high school I started going to a lot ofall ages punk rock shows. Seeing live bands motivated me to try to form one.

I have wanted to be a singer since I was old enough to thinkabout doing anything. Thru the years my ideas of the kind ofmusic I would sing morphed with my changing musical tastes, but the desire to sing was always there.

What were some of the early song about? Theirinspiration?

I just sing about my life, how I feel, and my hopes. Becauseof the personal nature of my songs I don’t like to explain anyfurther than that.

Bring us through some of Heartless Bastards first gigs.

Our 1st show was at a bar called the Comet in Cincinnati.We opened for The Legendary Shack Shakers, and TheHentchmen. We had a pretty good crowd in town right offthe bat. I bartended, and would give a copy of the demo Irecorded to anybody that walked in the bar that I thoughtlooked like they would even be remotely interested in themusic. I went thru 4 cd burners. I wanted to go out of townright away so we wouldn’t over play our town. I think a lot ofpeople make that mistake, and people begin to take a goodlocal band for granted. We’d play anywhere I could get us into. Lot’s of dive bars.

Your chance meeting with Black Key’s Patrick Carney ina Akron bar led to your label Fat Possum Records andthe release of your debut Stairs and Elevators. A lot ofthat album was described as sad & angry. Where did thatcome from?

I have some depression from time to time. It might come outin a song. I don’t know if I would say I’m angry though. Imight sing in an aggressive tone here and there, but thereare very few songs I have that express any anger. I’m definitely not an Ohio version of Alanis Morrisette.

Having come from Dayton, Ohio - what brought on themove to Austin, Texas?

I actually moved to Cincinnati when I was around 21, andspent 9 years there before I moved to Austin. Cincinnati iswhere the band formed. I moved there to live with myboyfriend, and we split up 9 years later. I thought a movemight help me deal with the break up better. That is whatbrought on the move to Austin. I had some family there, andmy manager lived there also. Mike McCarthy’s studio was inAustin as well, and I had already made the decision to workwith him on the album I was working on.

Has the change of scenery changed the vibe of yoursongwriting?

I already had the majority of my ideas before I moved. I justhad to finish them in Austin. I’m sure living in Texas will haveinfluenced my songwriting a bit for the next album I’m work-ing on. I’ve been turned on to a lot of music I was unfamiliarwith before I moved here. I’ve gotten in to Doug Sahm, RayPrice to name a few, and I have developed an extrafondness for Townes Van Zandt who I was familiar withbefore I moved.

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For the latest release, The Mountain, you worked withproducer Mike McCarthy. Walk us through the recordingof the album.

Well after the break up I moved to Austin and started over.My boyfriend Mike Lamping of 9 years had played bass inthe band. We tried to make it work, but it was too painful tocontinue working together for the both of us. So I didn’t havea band when I got down there. I tried looking for one, butnothing quite felt right. McCarthy had said I shouldconcentrate on finishing the songs. He had some people inmind, and he said if I didn’t think we were clicking, then wewould cross that bridge when got to it. I ended up reallyliking the guys so it all worked out. We didn’t really do anypreproduction. He liked my arrangements so we just wentright in and I started recording the 1st day. We started with“Early In The Morning”, and ended with “The Mountain”. Ibrought a friend of mine from Portland who I had known inCincinnati to play the violin on the album. I thought he’d beperfect for the parts. It’s hard to find classic string playerswho freestyle. My experience with making “All This Time”the previous album when I brought string players in was thatthey were only accustomed to sheet music, and it became adifficult process. Mike suggested putting pedal steel on“The Mountain” instead of guitar. I wasn’t sure at first, but Iended up loving it. It really makes that song.

The album includes mandolins, banjos & strings -Americana with a definite edge. How are thearrangements worked out? Do you hear those kinds ofinstruments while writing the tunes?

Well I usually set an arrangement fully ahead of time, butwith “Had To Go” it was a free form, or at least the endinginstrumental part. We recorded the song live all together inthe room. We never knew exactly when we were going toend it, and each take we did was different. We just kind of mutually knew when we had the best take.

I usually have a picture of where I want a song to go, andwhat instrumentation I want on a song. I never set that instone for myself. I’m always open to suggestions. I think try-

ing to always make an exact picture of what’s in your headcan limit the possibilities of where a song can go.

Let’s talk a little about the tiny West, Texas town of Marfaand the El Cosmico Trans-Pecos Festival of Music &Love. This is the Heartless Bastards second year to playthe festival, and you all have kind of become the official “house” band. How did you become involved?

Well I had known Liz Lambert from Austin, and she hadinvited us down last year for the fest. We had such a greattime playing it. There was such a great vibe all around. Wehad asked if we could be a part of it again this year. We hadall planned on coming to the fest this year whether we hadplayed it or not. We talked to Liz about it and presented theidea of doing something different with it so it wouldn’t be thesame kind of set we did last year. Like maybe doing thewhole show acoustic or something. Jesse Ebaugh from theHB’s came up with the idea of being a house band. And weall liked it and went with it.

What’s your impression of Marfa and El Cosmico? Doesit inspire you?

Oh definitely. I really think there is something special outhere. There is a calm feeling I have when I’m here so farremoved from the city. I think there is so much creativity inevery form out here. El Cosmico itself is a work of art. It’ssuch a creative way to do a hotel. Liz has put so much careand thought into it’s creation.

What’s in the works for you and Heartless Bastards?

Well I’m working on a new album. I’ve actually been out herein Marfa writing. It seems easier to focus out here. We aregoing to start recording some of the songs in a couple ofweeks. I don’t have any definite dates, but hopefully it will befinished sooner than later. I’m just truing to make the bestalbum I can, so only time will tell when it done.

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Made Out West, USA

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Above: Family snapshots from Liz’s youth in Odessa, Texas.

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Liz, what is it that harkens you back to the vibe of the 60’sand 70’s with your designs and lifestyle?

I don’t really know – I’m interested in handmade and hand drawn things, in things that are crafted instead of mass marketed . . .

Having grown up in the desert in West Texas, what was the music that you were first exposed to? And by who?

The first record I remember buying was Neil Young’s Decade – Iwas directly influenced by my oldest brother who played guitarin the bedroom across from mine late at night. Of course, Ilistened to a lot of country music. It was just part of the culture.

What was your first glimpse at rock n’ roll?

I actually saw Elvis in concert at the Odessa Coliseum when I was twelve or thirteen, not too long before he died.

How has music influenced your life, your hotel designs &your creative thought in general?

The same way it influences everyone, I think. It just becomespart of you and your sensibility.

You are always surrounded my musicians, actors, designers& creatives. They hang at your house and your hotels,soaking up this atmosphere you have created. How coolis that?

Pretty cool.

Let’s talk about Marfa, Texas. What is it that attracts you tothe area?

Well, my family ranches in the area, and I have been going out tothat part of the country as long as I can remember. Big sky, secret pastures.

A perfect place for a creative commune like El Cosmico,right?

Of course. There are a lot of creative people in Marfa and a lotof creative folks that travel there.

What was your vision for El Cosmico?

Let’s see. I wanted to do a combination of a campground and ahotel and a traveling circus, something that would evolve overtime, become more and more. Something where you could sleepunder the stars, something in the landscape.

How did the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music & Lovecome about?

We wanted to have a party, invite everybody out to El Cosmico.

The past couple of years there has been an “official” houseband develop. Members of Heartless Bastards. Do you seethat continuing?

Yes. Bands that have played there before often want to comeback and play again. So we just decided that we shouldcombine them all – make one big band every year on Saturdaynight. This year we had the Heartless Bastards, Amy, RossCashiola and Adam Bork all sitting in. The only rule about it isthat you have played El Cosmico before.

The Garuda, a creature from Hidu & Buddhist mythology,acts as the “deity” of not only El Cosmico but seems toappear throughout most of your creative spaces. Do you feela connection with the creature?

Well, most especially for El Cosmico. He’s an image that got megoing down a certain path in imagining El Cosmico, thatinformed things as varied as the saturated color on the trailers.

What are you thoughts and ideas for keeping the creativeprocess of El Cosmico alive and growing?

We’re trying to do some serious building and adding out there inthe next year – we’d like to add a number of creative spaces likea ceramic studio and a permanent stage.

Spread Photos: Harlee Demeerleer

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This day came together perfectly. I called a recent acquaintance, asked about the car tip she’d givenme a few nights earlier, and soon enough I was standing in a dirty alley of Venice Beach, pullingpolaroids in front of it. Days like that remind me of why I deserted my college degree in some filingcabinet years ago.

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As a professional photographer, it’s quite challenging towrite about a recent project and describe it as ‘fun.’ To saythis project was a perfect excuse to sit passenger in that car,or to photograph a 40 year old Harley Davidson in thefoothills of Ventura County, could be perceived as joy-ridingin my career. But in all honesty, we all need it from time totime. Fun. Having just finished the book publishing andpromotions for my most recent project, It’s Better in theWind, I felt like I needed to take a deep breath and have a

creative holiday.

I started in on this project thinking I was just going to try tofill up some wall space in my home with new polaroids. I hadbeen restricted during the work for It’s Better In The Wind,and wanted to get back to exploring creatively. It all startedout very loose, with mixed results, and quickly I began tochallenge myself to make the compositions more dynamicby playing with scale and multiple prints.

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Once I started adding people and organizing specific shootsin detailed orientations, I realized that I was ‘working’ again.Some holiday this project was going to be.

The subjects of these images carry their own aestheticweight, and a certain challenge involved with thesecompositions was to find a happy medium between thecreative imagery, and the viewer’s psychological acceptanceof how the subject should look. Everybody has a precon-

ceived notion of what a vintage Mustang looks like, but myjob was to author a photograph that makes the viewersecond guess the puzzle before him or her. By using a nearstandard lens, and moving side to side on a line (rather thanin a curve) I could minimize the spacial distortions involvedin photographing with a wide lens, but still use perspectiveto exaggerate certain dimensions of the subject.

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