What’s the best thing about living in Los Angeles? If you guessed Amoeba Records, you were close (we’re second-- actually first, according to LA Magazine). The correct answer, or I should say, the appropriate answer, is the surfeit of open-minded music aficionados that breathe and walk the streets every day. Being able to find inspiring and mood altering music readily at your disposal is the sweetest candy; being able to share it with like minded individuals who will appreciate it and celebrate it as much as you is priceless. That is why I heart Stones Throw. The air over at the Stones Throw headquarters is thick with bubbling ingenuity and relentlessness blended meticulously with an appetite for exploring outside the box. With artists like Madlib, Aloe Blacc, Damn Funk and Mayer Hawthorne leaving the swagger and overactive egos at the door, Stones Throw has singlehandedly redefined the definition of cool.

Giles Peterson dubbed Aloe Blacc’s last album, Shine Through, as simply “brilliant” and I agree 110%. It's R&B, it's hip-hop, it's in two languages, and it's magic to my ears. I was fortunate enough to catch up with the bilingual, multi-instrumentalist crooner and emcee to ask him about his relationship with Stones Throw, his love for music, his upcoming album, the return of Emanon, and some of his favorite new artists.

Miss Ess: You were in the studio in Feb recording -- can you tell us a little more about what you were recording and how it's sounding? What's coming up next for you?

Glen: Yes -- we [Marketa and several Frames members] were in the studio in February and March and April and finally it's done. I'm in New York right now mastering the final sequence; I'm happy with it. I'll go back to Ireland for a few days after this, then [Marketa and I] go to Korea and Japan to follow up on a tour we did recently that went well, so they invited us back to do some follow up dates. After that I think I'll rent a place in New York for the summer before going back on tour proper in late August early September.

Jon Moritsugu is an American filmmaker who's enjoyed a long career of critical acclaim and underground fandom. Many of his films feature actress/wife/Scumrock co-writer/sometime bandmate Amy Davis. Although best known for his cult classic Mod Fuck Explosion, he's consistently and constantly made films that challenge and entertain with his unique style. As part of a series of interviews with groundbreaking Asian-Americans in the entertainment industry, he graciously agreed to be interviewed.

Travis Graves is the one and only member of the musical act known as Mt. Egypt. His latest album, III, is out now on vinyl only from Secret Seven Records and available at Amoeba. Airy, cyclical and sweet, nature seems to surround the album. Its acoustic songs are confessional and simultaneously sunny- sounding. The record kinda makes me want to go to the beach but maybe for a good cry down near the crashing surf. Mt. Egypt's music has beautiful harmonies and gorgeous moments of sonic intensity. This all seems strange perhaps, coming from a formerly sponsored skateboarder who mostly listens to hip hop, but welcome to the enigma that is Mt. Egypt -- read on for more about what makes Travis tick, how his new record III came to be and also his brushes with greatness, including tours with Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson, Cat Power and even...The Osbournes!


Where does the name Mt Egypt come from?

Travis: The name Mt. Egypt came from an area in rural North Carolina out by my father’s house. It’s an homage to him, his songwriting and to spending long periods in the wilderness with little to no human contact.

When did you pick up the guitar?

Travis: My old man got me playing guitar when I was 12 or 13.

How did you start writing songs?

Emily Ryan is an artist/actress/DJ/musician who, in 1994, formed possibly the first all female Asian American rock group, Emily's Sassy Lime, with sisters Amy and Wendy Yao. In 2002, she played James Duval's girlfriend in Jon Moritsugu's underground classic Scumrock.

Eric Brightwell: Question 1: what other all Asian-American rock bands were there before Emily's Sassy Lime?
 
Emily Ryan: J Church, Seam, aMiniature, Slint… I suggest you peep the (seminal) Ear of the Dragon comp… Versus… no all girl ones however! They would sprinkle in one here or there…Skankin’ Pickle.

EB: I had no idea that half of those bands were comprised of Asians! They weren't really getting a lot of play on Friday Night Videos.

ER: Exactly. I’ll correct myself; those groups were LED by Asian Americans… as in "not just the bassist.” I want to say that I recently met the drummer from an old Matador band, Chavez – James Lo...Tae from Kicking Giant...Steve Gamboa from Nation of Ulysses, Cupid Car Club, and Make-Up.