FFG - INTERVIEW/INFO #1 - TOM LEACH

We here at the FFG were able to wrangle an interview/info session with country singer Tom Leach.
At an interview/Information session we ask questions
and then ask recomendations. ok. cool.



For those who don't know,
we snatched this quick catch-up info off Mr. Leach's internet site:

Atlanta-bred tom leach has written hundreds of songs recorded primarily on 4 track tape. words and melodies praised by publications such as mojo, the village voice, no depression, cmj, and the wall street journal among others. a singer-songwriter embracing old and new styles in the country vein(excepting the mainstream "beer commercial" sound that currently rides the top of the charts), lo-fi honesty prevails. a voice capable of cash lows, tear-inducing hank highs and beyond. occasional pop melodies and acoustic laments. formerly with slow river/rykodisc where he released a self titled debut, a live set and a 7" duet w/vic chesnutt(featuring the starroom boys) on his own "doris days". new self-released cd ep "7 song tape/thank you for the coffee" available now at cdbaby.com.



Here we go:

FFG: What made you want to play music?

TL: Depression.

FFG: What was it like after you had written your 1st song?

TL: I felt self-indulgent.

FFG: are you a fan of monster movies? if so, what are your favorites? If not, what is your favorite documentary movie?



TL: Im a fan of horror movies- Italian/giallo, zombie, Japanese, low budget seventies, found on DVD at the dollar store, Hammer Studios, Romero, Argento: Deep Red, Dont Torture A Duckling, Audition, God Told Me To, Rabid, Zombi 2, Last House On The Left, Schock, Dont Look Now, Texas Chainsaw, Suspiria, The Brood, Suicide Club, Embryo. My favorite monster movie would have to be Larry Cohens Q: winged serpant lives inside the Chrysler Building. Favorite documentary: Dont Look Back.



FFG: What has been the best place to play a show & why was that?



TL: The Plough and Stars, Cambridge, MA is my favorite venue of all time because theres no stage, no worries, and I dont feel used.

FFG: Do you remember the 1st hip hop song you had ever heard? How did you like it? What did it make you think?



TL:Probably something by Kurtis Blow? I dont know from hip hop.


RECOMENDATIONS SECTION...

eight Country CDs Im Listening To Right Now In No Particular Order*



1. Waylon Jennings: Waylon Live The Expanded Edition
Blueprint for knowing what youre doing and what youve done. Waylon at his prime, the Waymors are amazing. Nothing sounds as good as this. The live record for one who dislikes live records. Do not settle for less than the 42 track double cd version. Trust me.



2. Kris Kristofferson: The Silver Tounged Devil and I
Travis Bickel got this as a gift on his date with the campaign worker before they went to the porn movie. Lovin Her Was Easier Than Anything Ill Ever Do Again. Leonard Cohen with jeans on. Youll forget the Blade movies.



3. Johnny Paycheck: The Real Mr. Heartache
George Jones says the guy taught him how to sing. George Jones never sang Pardon Me, Ive Got Someone to Kill. Irony-free.



4. Connie Smith: Connie Smith/Cute and Country
Her first two records from 1965, one cd. The only time I wish you werent gone is once a day, every day, all day long. Sounds from the studio that simply cant be replicated today, great voice and pedal steel. Best of all, shell never reach icon status.



5. .Freddie Hart: Juke Joint Boogie
Dont go for things with juke, joint, or boogie in the title, but. 53-59, sides cut under Ken Nelson (Capitol), and Don Law (Columbia). This guy didnt have a hit till the seventies (Easy Lovin). Drink Up And Go Home, The Keys In The Mailbox, Blue, My Last Dime. A voice to admire.



6. Eddy Arnold: The Early Hits Of The Tennessee Playboy
I Couldnt Believe It Was True and lots of others like it. Not his country-politan shit.



7. Gene Watson: Because You Believed In Me & Beautiful Country
Because You Believed In Me the better of the two albums. Let it play till track 10, then start skipping. Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall, Larry Gatlins finest (only) song. Best on Beautiful Country would be Cowboys Dont Get Lucky All The Time. Her Body Couldnt Keep You Off MY Mind is especially warm.



8. Carl Smith: The Sixties Hits Of Carl Smith
Having memorized The Essential Carl Smith(fifties hits), Ive moved on. Kisses Never Lie, You Better Be Better To Me, Triangle. Solid honky-tonk in stereo with some listenable duds.

*Two More I Never Stop Listening To



Roger Miller: King of the Road: The Genius of Roger Miller
Three discs. Always in rotation. Much more than You Cant Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd. Try Husbands and Wives, Absence, or A World So Full of Love. Skip to end of disc two, to the fadeout of Pardon This Coffin. Let play, unlisted ten minutes of studio outtake fascinates. Also: My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died.



Don Williams: 12 Greatest Hits
The real deal: Come Early Morning, Amanda, Atta Way To Go, Shes In Love With A Rodeo Man, Down The Road I Go, The Shelter Of Your Eyes, We Should Be Together, I Wouldnt Want To Live If You Didnt Love Me, The Ties That Bind, Ghost Story, Dont You Believe, I Recall A Gypsy Woman. Find all these songs if you cant find this and you will have a satisfied mind.


Check out -> http://www.tomleach.com

FFG - FUN TOY #6

BOSCH's Bird Letter is out to getcha, all you urban vinyl suckas!!
werd em up..
this guy is made by Big Blocky..

FFG - MASK #2

A hand made Moldovia mask.
Made of wool,leather and other stuff.
wild,

FFG - PACKAGE DESIGN #1

FFG - PWL #1

EDIE!








We here at FFG are very big fans of Edith Massey,
her portrayal of the Egg Lady was classic.
If you have any fond memories of Miss Massey,
please email us.

FFG - FUN TOY #5

The artists Reas and Kaws made these Glittery Girl Dolls.

FFG - PORTRAIT #1

Fast Man.....

FRANK BLACK FRANCIS KITRIDGE THOMPSON IV
photographer: unknown at this time

FFG - FUN TOY #4

SQUBEZ by FERG
produced by JAMUNGO
4x4x4

three hundred fifty black ones made
one hundred clear ones
fifty green

http://www.jamungo.com

FFG - TRIBUTE #6

goodbye mister buttons...

FFG - MASK #1

a nice NECKFACE mask
homemade masks are the best.
photo credit: GLOB (one of our favorite internet blogs)
go here & see it: http://www.anewyorkthing.com/wp

FFG - TRIBUTE #5

a true punk...
SYD will be missed....

FFG - FILM STILL #3

FFG - INTERVIEW #4 - CUPCO

We had a chance to repsond with the very good and great doll maker CUPCO.
Please Read:



FFG: Einstein, Zombies, Vikings, Frankenstein, Bikers, Native Americans, Gandhi & Chinese Army Men: what do they all do which appeals to you at Cupco? What brings them together? if anything? How do you go about choosing your subject folks?



CC: you forgot suicide bombers and terrorsits and members of hamas and jesus and the devil and fidel castro and osama bin cupco. i usually choose people or subjects that i admire visually and/or politically. there are some subjects that id like to do which just wont work visually within the template that i work with. the basic design i use is pretty constrictive some people or characters are just not doable. there are other people i would never do because i hate them. i dont want to make george bush because he is a cunt and such an easy target and totlly overdone. really ill make any person if they have a distinctive look and i like or admire them.



FFG: Werewolves. Please pass on your thoughts.



CC: of course i love werewolves. who doesnt? i also love penguins. ive never made a werewolf but i have made a wolfman and also a loarge sized limegreen radioactive wolfman. whats the difference between werewolves and wolfmen you ask? wolfmen wear pants.





FFG: When did you make your first stuffed doll? How did it feel holding that first finished doll in your hand? It has been said that with many creative souls, when the first of something artistic is finally done or made that it holds a certain spirit in it. Did you sense anything with your first doll? Where is that doll now?



CC: i made my first doll about 2 and a half years ago and im up to about 150-170 now. ive totally lost count and various dolls have been sold and lost and given away around the world. the first one i made was a little evil cowboy and then i made jesus and the devil. and then i wanted to make more and more some evil ones and some cute ones and some ordinary ones. i realize at that time that if i wanted to make some kind of extreme dolls like suicide bombers and terrorists that it was necessary for me to balance those dolls with more cutesy and mundane dolls. that way it puts all the dolls in a certain context and they are all a big family. also, for that reason i didnt sell any dolls for a long time and hoarded them all together so for my first solo show in australia i could show all the dolls en masse and people could understand the whole dealy a bit better.





FFG: The CupCo Taxi Driver set has to be the best best dolls we have seen in a long while. Any interesting stories on this project/idea? Specific scene in the film which really effected you in a powerful/meaningful way?



CC: ummm. the taxi driver doll kind of looks like me a bit because ive been rocking he travis bickle mohawk for a few years now. also the medallion around the neck of the pimp (sport) is a very special medallionn that i got from the kyoto tower. when i gave it to the doll it was very tough for me! the movie was powerful for me because it was on of the first films id seen when i was a kid that seemed to treat violence in a very real way. i remembered being shocked that there was alot of blood in that movie. once i saw a man being stabbed in the paris underground when i was about 6 years old. that was scary too.



FFG: Tell us more about the world known as CupCo, new projects? next steps? future fun times?



CC: i just finished the CUPCO WORLD SAFARI here in sydney which was a big success. lots of people came and money was made (which is very rare in the world of CUPCO!) so we will be doing another safari next year at the Damien Minton Gallery in Redfern, Sydney. The next project is a show at the Super 7 store in San Francisco which is a city in the United States. That show will possibly be called "the Seven Sins of Cupco"and will start from September 1st. Im currently working on a
series of seven samurai dolls taen form Akira Kurosawa's classic "Seven Samurai". Check out Super 7 here:
http://www.super7store.com/ These dudes will be super detailed with cool swords and whatnot. The first Cupco! vinyl will be out in the near future through RedMagic: http://www.loveoriginal.com/index.jsp


photo by vinylpulse.

FFG: Do you rememeber how old you were when you saw your first real horror movie? How did it change your life, if at all?



CC: I remeber i saw someone get stabbed with a pencil in the achilles tendon in an evil dead movie and i was very scared and i ran and slept in my mums bed.



http://www.cupco.net/
http://www.cupco.net/cupcodolls.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cupco