1. Please introduce yourself + give a brief history of A/V.
My name is Philip Clark and I've been playing as A/V for over
5 years now. For the first couple months it was me and my friend
Selwyn, but I have been performing solo since December 2000.
I'm 35 years old and I played guitar and bass in bands for
many years. I bought a drum machine in the early '90s, then a
roland jx-3p synthesizer, which blew my mind. A/V evolved gradually
out of all that science.
2. How would you describe your music to someone that has yet
to hear it?
A/V is a big pile of synths with a drum machine and a bunch of
stomp-boxes and a Behringer mixer and an Alesis sequencer to run
it all and I rock all this shit and sing over top. It's electronic
music but there are no laptops or samplers involved so hopefully
it's less boring to watch.
This gear was all made in the '80s which means it's going to
generate a certain type of noise. A lot of people want to compare
A/V to '80s new-wave but I try to keep things gnarly and chaotic.
I think of A/V as danceable punk rock music.
3. What are the goals of A/V?
My goal is to grab you by the hair and smush your face up against
a plate glass window, and I'm not letting go until I feel like
letting go.
4. How has the DIY ethic influenced your music and how you
go about living your life?
DIY has been the best and the worst thing that's ever happened
to me. Obviously being a one man band involves taking do-it-yourself
to an extreme. I do pretty much everything myself- the essence
of A/V is a shopping cart, a cd burner and a bunch of spraypaint.
I'm glad to be free of a lot of business bullshit but sometimes
it's difficult to conceive of projects that I cannot execute myself
using my own two hands. If anything I wish I were capable of being
more ambitious.
5. What bands/artists, past and present have influenced your
music?
Much of the inspiration for A/V comes from the gear itself rather
than any specific artists. Just trying to figure out ways to hook
all this shit up and make it go. As far as musical influences--even
though I use synths I'm mostly influenced by punk and hardcore
bands. Shotmaker, Fugazi, Black Flag. Joy Division, New Order,
The Fall. For electronic stuff I like minimal Detroit techno,
Plastikman, Basic Channel, Swayzak, as well as lots of '90s jungle
and drum&bass, congo natty ragga-beats, techstep like Ed Rush,
)E|B(, Technical Itch, Panacea...
I'm also inspired by anyone in a band who can't really sing
but doesn't let that stop them.
Mostly however, I like my friends and their bands.
6. What do you try to communicate through your music?
For most people life involves a lot of pain and suffering much
of which is caused by other people. Just try to have a good time
when you can because one day, you're gonna die.
7. I heard you played a show in an alley once, is this true?
If so, how did it come about? What's the strangest place you have
ever played?
I didn't have a car in Halifax and I'd move all my gear around
in a shopping cart. I used to take a synth and a drum machine
and a Peavey guitar amp and play outdoors all over the city. All
I needed was an electrical outlet. I played all the time down
on the boardwalk, in the parade square, in parking garages, usually
at 3 in the morning when no one was around, just to hear the sound
of beats bouncing around in a concrete urban space.
For example: http://swordfight.org/video/9_volt_garage.mov
Pretty soon I got a power inverter so I didn't even need a
public outlet and I could play pretty much anywhere. I did two
shows by candlelight in the north end after Hurricane Juan when
most of the city was blacked out.
Nowadays I'm a hermit and I live in the woods in Gaspereau
Forks, New Brunswick. When the weather's nice I set up in a clearing
in the woods and jam for the benefit of foxes and deer.
8. When do you think is the best time and situation to listen
to A/V?
In a live situation would be the best. or really friggin loud
in a packed, sweaty dance club. or on your ipod as you're walking
down the street after you've just got done dumping your boring
boyfriend.
9. What can we expect from you in the future?
The new cd is called 'Hot Action' and it comes out May 20 2006.
I'm also putting out a DVD of all the weird Swordfight art-videos
I've done. Then I plan on getting in my '93 Ford Tempo and touring
to the moon and back.
10. How can ppl reach you?
http://swordfight.org is my site for music, text, photos, video
or whatever I happen to be in the mood for on a given day. I'll
have a music myspace as soon as I can figure that shit out. philip[at]swordfight[dot]org.
11. Anything you would like to add?
I would like to encourage people not to hurry through their lives.
Take your time with things, relax. Take a deep breath. Life's
too short to be in a hurry all the time.
