Ev Gold; Five Albums, One Lifetime.

The "Essential Albums" list will definitely not win United By.. any points for originality considering the countless times it's been done in magazines, radio, television and just about anything related to music in general. It is however, something that continues to intrigue me. Asking the people who make music that moves you only adds to that intrigue.

In asking Ev to do this little piece for the blog I was looking to gain a little more insight into what musically brought him to where he is where he is now as a musician and as an individual. I've poured over Cinema Cinema's recordings and witnessed the band lay waist to clubs and bars alike. During the past year or so I've gone from a casual acquaintance to a good friend and what he refers to as "Family", Getting to know where he comes from musically can only add another layer to our friendship. James Damion

As we grow and evolve we often take time to look back at the people, places and moments that helped shape us along the way.

They say the body regenerates its cells every 7 years. 

Your tastebuds change. 

You change. Old is replaced by new. This is what they say. 

So, I say that if this is so - then our musical "taste-buds" must evolve as well.

I found it nearly impossible to craft this list down to five. 

As I rolled over ALL the amazing music that i have been blessed to hear and experience thus far in my days, I found a myriad different reasons to include specific albums.. to the point of WAY over thinking this! But I kept coming back to the realization that I would have to make this list based on my sensibilities TODAY and what records came to shape who I am and the music I help to create.

The essential records in my life are the ones that find my ears as fresh to them today as they were the day I was touched by them. Over the years of winding change and evolution, they still excite and move me deeply. They are the ones I always call back on. 

They transcend the moment, thus rendering them timeless to me. They allow me magic.

I’m a buoyant spirit, dancing and filled with joy when I put on each of the next five LP’s or CD’s (or, if need be - mp3’s) and press PLAY. Ev Gold

1. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (released July 21, 1987)

This was the Atomic Bomb in my little 9 year old life. Totally leveling the earth for me, totally enthralling me with its intense vibe. A sound like nothing else for my ears yet. I knew I wanted to be in a band, whatever that meant, immediately. It sounded like these guys didn't take shit from anyone. It seemed dangerous. They cursed!! a LOT. 

Let alone those vocals! Screeching at top level, full blast throat shredding - coming after you with vengeance... fukkin' behold AXL!!..And the dirt beneath the finger nails in all the grooves and riffs.
So defiant! And different..and just tasty all around. And great songs. The first album that I not only knew every lyric from the liner notes, - but I could actually recite ALL the production, engineering, mixing and instrumental credits. I listened to this thing so much and just stared at and studied the booklet. This was late 1987; there wasn't Google in my world, or content readily available to check out on a new band via YouTube.. just the CD and booklet. Ah, it excites me to even think of how it was... firstlove! Thank you Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, & Steve.

2. Neil Young - Decade (released October 28, 1977)

Another absolute life changer. In 1992 my father taught me how to playmguitar (for which I shall remain forever grateful). The method was, rather

than heavy theory or scales – just to get me sound & proficient with chords, playing songs early on to keep me focused and then learn the rest of the essentials along the way... in hindsight, it worked.
I am so happy it did.

He taught me
"Knocking on Heaven’s Door" by Bob Dylan first...then "Wild Horses" by The Stones. After getting those under my belt, for my birthday that year he got me the songbook (another pre-internet fashion!) to"Decade", a double disc retrospective of Neil Young's work between 1966 and 1977. The album itself had been on in my house growing up and just seemed to be one of those records that was gravitating toward me, as I toward it, from birth.

I immediately fell in love with Neil's vocals, so obtuse and unique.Fragile but cutting.. and so much staying power behind the words he'd choose for lyrics. So much weight. And his approach to the guitar when playing acoustic and then when playing electric, so independent of each other. Total master, in my opinion, breathing such deep life into his open voiced chord choices or feedback drenched electric smatterings. I could die with a Neil Young record playing and be OK with that. I learned all 35 songs and still run across them at points when practicing guitar as recent as last night. Get some DECADE in your life!

3. Fugazi - In On the Kill Taker (released June 30, 1993)

Ok, if "Appetite for Destruction" was the A Bomb, then I guess this is where it went totally fukkin nuclear for me. DEF one of those taste bud

changers... Burn away the old.. Explode the land.. Charred and tarred and gonna have to be repaved now...all new.

The intensity. The all out approach. The solid musicianship.
The awesome tempo shifts. 

The lyrics. The dual vocal attack!! Fugazi remains one of, if not my favorite band to this day. ..and, this was my total introduction into the whole Dischord DC punk sound and the idea of east coast hardcore and whatever else came along with reaching back to the start – which I did with fervor from that moment forward – all influenced by Fugazi.

I didn't know about Minor Threat first. I was like 5 when Minor Threat was out... so by the time I got to 15 and Fugazi released "In on the Kill Taker", my little mind was just ripe to be fukkkin exploded again, and so it was and so it is and so I am thankful to this record. It very much opened up a door to tons and tons of other deeply influential records for me.

Side note, - this specific record planted the seed in my mind to grow up and form a band with the goal of being serious enough to record one day at Inner Ear Studios. I don't think even in my craziest 15 year old cream dreams back then that doing so WITH Don Zientara at the helm (the guy who was listed as engineer on this record as well as almost every other record that this one would lead me to) would ever even be an option. But life is full of surprises! And I am ultra-grateful the opportunity came to be

reality years later.

4. Afghan Whigs - Black Love (released March 12, 1996)

I do not even know where to begin with this one.
The fact that it had a storyline and theme that was never made apparent or obvious running throughout the record, like an opera filled with rolling black out's.. Uneven and perfect, just like real life. Unexpected but right on time. It really blew my mind and inspired the fukk out of the songwriter in me that was emerging at that young age....And the vocals! Oh my GOD! 

The conviction with which Dulli attacks these songs and his vocal approach on this record, -where passion and feeling totally over ride all else, still chill me and move my ass to this very second.
They influence every vocal I’ve ever taken in a recording studio. Get fukkin naked. 

Get crazy. Go intimate. Float off key. Be unafraid. Just crucify it. Get bloody. 

Soul sing mutherfukker!!... That don't mean try to sound like Al Green - it means reach down deep and sound like YOURSELF!

Need I mention the closing three songs of this record are just far beyond cathartic and filled with bruised beauty and triumph and more bruises and victory?? A true over looked gem of my time and one that I will always value.. DEF the 1st record I play for my grandchildren - cause damn, the future gonna have to know about this one.

5. Black Flag - My War (released March 1984)

So terrifyingly brilliant that it still confuses me. Just like all the best Hendrix, you hear something new every time you listen to it. Overwhelming. Bewildering. Fukkin awesome. Greg Ginn is one of my favorite guitar players, DEF one of the biggest guitar playing influences on me and he really begins to break down barriers between ALL genres of playing with his approach on this record. In a time when the musical peers and

landscape that Black Flag trod upon was considered to be called "hardcore", this album came rolling along totally pronouncing 

LOUD and CLEAR that Black Flag didn't subscribe to any genre title or premeditated

idea of "punk" or anything else. I mean, shit - this is another record where the last three songs happen to be specifically over the top..  So heavy & slow in a time of everyone trying to prove how fast they could be. The Flag had been there and done that and in my opinion, invented the wheel and then destroyed it and reinvented it again and so on and so forth.

Honorable mention afterthought:

-Radiohead “Ok Computer”, -Sunny Day Real Estate “How It Feels To Be

Something On”, -Sex Pistols “Never Mind the Bollocks”, and -Frank Zappa

“Apostrophe/Overnight Sensation”.

An Interview with Ev and Paul of Cinema Cinema

After months of talk, scheduling and rescheduling, I finally got to meet up with Ev and Paul at their Brooklyn studio. We had wanted to talk about the band, music and life in general for months but just couldn't seem to find the perfect time or place to complete the mission at hand. Lucky for us, that time helped build a bond between us that allowed me to gain more of an intimate glance at the good souls behind the manic music I had grown with during the months that led up to our meeting. As we sat in the bands cramped, dirty space with the sound of music pulsating from the next room, I got a glance into the personalities behind the band. Ev, sitting on the edge of his chair was animated and articulate, all while remaining soft spoken and fluid. Paul on the other hand was shy and intuitive. He spent most of the interview sitting on his hands listening intently. Chiming in thoughtfully when the time was perfect.
A few months later their much talked about release "Manic Children and the Slow Aggression" is finally here and while Brooklyn's dynamic duo celebrate their success and hard work. I can finally sit back and say "Thanks guys, we finally got it done."
James Damion

James: How the band evolved. Did you originally set out to become a duo/two piece?

Ev: It all started back on January 11th of 2008 when we started doing Cinema Cinema as a two piece. That’s when we decided to play together. Everything everybody knows about Cinema Cinema started that day.

James: Do you go about creating the music differently when you’re a duo as opposed to if you were a trio or a quartet? How do you go about filling the sound?

Ev: I feel that we go about being a duo differently than a lot of better known duos. I think a lot of them decide early on that they’re going to play a specific sound. Regardless if it’s going to be Jazz, Blues, Garage or whatever, have made a decision to stick to one sound. They don’t broaden their palette. They bring their palette down to one or two colors and stick to that.
We approach it differently. I honestly don’t feel that being a duo limits us. I feel as if there’s an entire orchestra surrounding us. I don’t feel like I’m playing with one person. I feel as if this is a full band. I know how I need to play. I know how to fill that space. To properly use the bass drum and the pedals to present a fuller, more orchestral feel.

We approach it with a broad spectrum. What sets us apart is that we feel that every option is available. We want every part of every song to be anything it can be at all times.
We don’t want our music to be predictable where we’re throwing a mosh part here and a break there. Fuck that! I want to sound like Blag Flag and Queen fucking. Even if I never listen to those bands.
Whenever a group of people get together to form a band they have a vision and personal influences that they might want to bring to the band.

James: What were some of those influences and visions for you?

It was never really discussed between us.  As far as the direction we’ve taken and the sound we’ve created as Cinema Cinema. I would be lying if I said there was a master plan when Paul and I got together. It was this big, crazy, heavy improv, heavy but light monster/beast of switching tempos from Hardcore to non-core. It was a matter of us taking that approach in the realm of anything is possible in the song. Just that focus on the songs. That was the key. Even though we brought on this beast that was riff heavy.

Paul: The truth is that we just wanted to play with one another. I know I wanted to make music with Ev when I first learned to play the drums. It went beyond just wanting to be in a band. I wanted to be in a band with EV. It was exciting and organic playing with one another. I never thought I would be in a two piece Metal band. I like lighter music myself. Playing this kind of music with him has made me a better musician. It feels great.

Ev:  When you talk about influences; We haven’t really formed them yet. What influences this band is the relationship Paul and I have with each other. It’s rare when you’re in a band and you can be this freely creative. You can put everything you've got on the table during a practice or writing session and someone can say “Yes”  “Maybe that doesn’t work” “But what else do you have?” The openness of our relationship is what influenced us. Though we started in January of 2008, it wasn’t until mid 2009 until we started to sound like  what we are now. The music that I listened to along the way is the music that has always influenced me. I loved the serious nature of Fugazi when I first heard them. That opened the door for me to
Minor Threat, Dischord Records and SST. I was listening to all these records and my mind was blown. Now, do I want to sound like these bands? No. I don’t want to sound like anything but myself.

With Paul and I there’s a ten year difference in age. I started playing gigs in 1994 when I was fifteen. For as long as Paul knew me I had long hair down to my shoulders and was wearing Rock T’s while playing in bands. The fact that he’s been thinking about playing together for so long is incredibly flattering to me. This is how he’s always known me. It’s been eighteen years since I played my first gig with Rise at L’amours in Brooklyn.

James: How does the partnership run?

Ev: I manage the band and for the most part steer the ship. However, I don’t make any decisions without first going to Paul. As much as I handle things, I’d never do anything without first discussing it with my partner. It’s amazing but with that ten year age difference I’m amazed at the amount of things Paul comes to with zero motive and pure intention. He is pure of any interior motives when it comes to things. I became a musician in 1992 when grunge hit really big. Now when Nirvana said how important it was when Black Flag played in their town. Fuck Yeah, I’m going to go look into Black Flag. If Eddie Vedder was going to mention Ian Mc Kaye in a magazine article; Yeah, I’m checking them out to. I remember he had issues with having indie cred. He knew what he was doing when it came to working the media. You can’t play that innocent and act like a newb when you’ve got a huge corporation backing your record. He knew that if he dropped Mudhoney’s name he wouldn’t come off looking like the poster boy of some huge corporation. I mean give me a break. Look at Rage Against the Machine. They can talk all they want but they never made one independent record. What I’m trying to say is despite any calculations on the part of those bands; I always looked to explore the bands that influenced the one’s I was currently listening to. It’s been a blessing to know that the stuff Paul is influenced by now comes from such a true and honest place.

James: What was it that so compelled you to seek out Don Zientara?

Ev: Working with Don Zientera represented just how serious we were about our music.

Paul: He represents an ideal that we wanted to be a part of, or at least have present in our music. We have so much respect for him and his legendary work with so many vital artists over his career, he was
definitely at the top of the list of people we wanted to work with. Just the thought of getting to record where so many of our biggest influences created some of our favorite music...we knew it would bring a special quality to our record.

Ev: So we looked into his studio and sent him a detailed email explaining who we were and what we were looking to do “No holds barred” and to my amazement we got a response in forty five minutes. When I tell you it was a “jump up and down moment”. I'm telling you the straight up truth. I say that in all honesty because Don is who he is. He's a legend, he's sixty two years old and only works with people he really wants to. He can pick and choose the projects he wants to and at this point, he's pretty selective. Ultimately he got the hard copy of our material and referred to “Exile Baby” as a “Knockout”. I still quote his response on a regular basis. It meant that much to me. We started talking on the phone and he was every bit the awesome gentleman I had hoped he'd be.  He knew it was two cousins from Brooklyn and what we wanted to undertake. I told him we had twelve songs and and a thirteenth we wanted to improvise. Six songs for the first act, an intermission track and six songs for the second act. He quoted us a very reasonable rate for the amount of work we had. We didn't even have the money yet but we had the mission. We'd do whatever it took to complete that mission. We were broke because of it but Don let us live at the studio while we were recording. At the end of the day he'd lock us in the studio and go home. It wasn't until the last day that we got to go and take a shower. Before this all happened we really had no way to pay for the sessions. Not to call it luck or anything but a month before we went into the studio Paul's Uncle Tom died and left him an inheritance. He had no idea what that would be at the time but about a week before the recording sessions that inheritance came in. In a sense it was heaven sent.

James: What elements did he bring to the album that another producer may have missed?

Paul: I think the most important thing Don brought to the recording was a totally open mind. He really let us be ourselves in the studio and encouraged us to really go for it. He didn't try to over complicate things or file down our claws. Yet, he found a way to contain our craziness and channel us through a filter that was overall more pleasing to the ear.

Ev: He had us record to analog tape. That def helped to achieve more of an organic sound. He also helped us to realize that we just had to get out of the way of the songs and let our musical souls shine. I refer to Don Z, as "high priest Don Z", cause we went to him for counsel and he was able to guide the way with ease.

James: We mentioned the amount of shows and how you've built on them year after year. You've definitely earned your Road Warrior status. What is it about being out there constantly that drives you and makes you crave more. What are the sacrifices and rewards? How does it balance out in the end?

Paul: You don't really know what you're gonna get when you're a new & mostly unknown band on the road. Some of our out of town gigs have been the BEST we've ever played. Sometimes no one shows up or you find yourself on a bill of bands that don't fit well. But its always exciting, and its that excitement that really drives us to continue. There's something totally gratifying about winning over a crowd on the road. It's very addictive.

Ev: The road is what happens when you decide to "go live" life instead of "wait for" life to hit. It's an indescribable feeling. Traveling to share music and experience with people who would otherwise be strangers from far and wide but finding a way to agree upon the common denominator of music, sharing in its language is a gift. The rewards are unending in the way of how much you can learn about yourself and about life and the different ways which people choose to live it.

James: Tell me about how you met up and got to touring with Greg Ginn? How did
your personalities mesh?

Ev: in 2009, the second year we were a band, we decided we wanted to double the amount of shows we did our first year. In our first year (2008) we did about 30 shows. Many local (Brooklyn, NYC and New Jersey) But we did make forays to both Cincinnati, Ohio and up through New England. Playing both Connecticut, Vermont and Maine. We decided we would do at least sixty shows in 2009 and try to up the ante as far as how many states we could expand and travel to and through. By July 9th, we had done 60 shows, so the new goal became one hundred. We felt we had to do it.

So, in that crazed year of 100 shows we met everyone everywhere all the time. We played with a band with a dude who had been in another band who was on SST back in the day and it led to Greg & I My Space messaging and then meeting and really hitting it off and discussing maybe touring together. That was late 2009. Come 2010 we did a week and a half with him up in the North East and agreed that we enjoyed touring together so we would do it again if we could. So we did it again in August and November of 2011 and this past February of 2012 and we leave to go out with him July 17th for about two weeks in the
North East. So things are cool with us as friends and musicians who are comfortable working around each other.

James: What are Greg's least favorite topics?

Ev: Anything pertaining to the "old-school" or nostalgic talk about the past and/or "hardcore".
He's a very current person. Very of the now.

James: Are you planning on working with him or SST on future releases?

Ev: Well, we did spend a day recording at SST with Greg sitting in on Bass with us, this past February. It was pretty amazingly intense. Plugged into some real deep territory.
Very heavy. Very long jams.We did it ALL improv. About ninety minutes worth of music recorded. As far as if and when that will be released, that would be an answer that would be out of my hands and in SST's.  I do know that it felt really great working down there at SST, in the studio and with Greg's engineer (Mike Shear) - so you never know, anything can happen - as far as us maybe recording there more but we keep all plans fluid and see what happens as it happens.

James: I've seen you live enough times to see both sides of the coin. I've seen crowds that totally got the message. I've also seen the clasped ears and running scared types a la the Pianos show. When we last spoke you mentioned the term "Surrender to the Trip".
What did you mean by that?

Paul: I guess it pretty much means you need to come to a Cinema Cinema show with an open mind. If you're not willing to give to it, it's not gonna give back. You'll get nothing out of it, and that's ok! It's hard for people sometimes to let go of what they think a band should sound like or how their used to seeing a band perform live.

Ev: We are going to start to carry Cinema Cinema ear plugs at our merch table, this way even those scared by the crush of volume can give themselves a chance to
"surrender to the trip". I guess that really means, jump in the ocean with us.. we don't know which way its going to flow but we are willing to have a true experience with ya whilst we find out, so open up and get lost in the wash of volume and force.

James: On stage you (Ev) and Paul have very different persona's. Paul is animated and almost engaging. While you (Ev) seem to be locked in some spiritual possession on your own. What are you going through and how do you separate your very intense stage presence with the laid back, soft spoken Ev I've gotten to know?

Ev: The Ev that's on stage is the primal, "plugged-into" & "fully entrenched-in it" guy. He only can come out when I am at my most free in making music and with Paul I can get there. It IS possession or trance or whatever you'd call it. It is. It's not conscious, planned or derived/prepared in any way shape or form. It's my chance to channel the moment and vent all the stuff inside me that is at the forefront at that particular time. It's a bonfire, it rages.

The Ev you've got to know, and please - pardon me for third-person-ing this... I'm just trying to answer the question as directly as i can.. but the Ev you've gotten to know is just as intense and "plugged in" as the dude on stage but I'm not nearly as angry or crazy as I must seem to most seeing us live for the first time. They don't know that its basically like I am having an episode of sorts, one that I get to have enhanced to a fever-like state by playing highly improvised, crazy-train music with my cousin, drummer, and best friend. It's a highly personal and intimate version of Ev you witness live...one I couldn't be all the time cause I can't get to that frenzied state without being totally unplugged from the world and floating in the orb of music, in total freedom... I don't know. I mean, are you supposed to particularly like or want to hang out with an artist who's music you like? I have seen Swans and Gira's intensity was extreme. It kind of overwhelmed me and I loved him more for it afterwards. Same with Lightning Bolt. It brought something into my life that wasn't there before. It pushed me.  That's the power of music and especially live performance and band's choices made on how to express themselves. But to get back to the answer, I'd say my fun loving & comical spirit most likely doesn't show through too much when I play live and most people get there first impression of me in that atmosphere. But what can I say? the stage Ev and the non-stage Ev are both me just being myself in the moment at hand.

James: What are the expectations with the new album? How will you measure it's success?

Paul: No matter what happens with the record, I will feel as if it's a total success. We've learned not to have any expectations when it comes to this business. So, I just have a great sense of accomplishment already attached to the record. The fact that we got to work with a legend who we can now call a good friend, not much can top that! We made something that we all could be proud of and that's an achievement in itself.

Ev: The two of us getting this record made together and doing all the rest of the work involved up to now has already made this entire endeavor a success for us. We expect to continue to work hard and play as often as we can and know better than to expect anything more then what we earn.

cinema cinema;
http://www.cinemacinemaband.com
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Cinema Cinema - Shoot The Freak EP

On "Shoot the Freak"  Brooklyn's Cinema Cinema put forth three noisy yet diverse tracks that quickly make their way into your subconscious and ricochet around like a stray bullet gone mad. 
The EP opens with 
"Lady Abortion" a  song so dark and phrenetic you would think it was suffering from schizophrenia. 
I can't help but draw immediate comparisons to bands such as Unsane and early Helmet. 
"Please to Meet You, Anesthesia" is a much calmer offering with a chorus  that has you singing along almost immediately, showing the bands diversity and ability to shift gears seamlessly. 
The third track "Day Leash" 
by far my favorite, seems to capsulate the best elements of the first two songs to craft one excellent offering. There are lots of different sounds, angles and vibes on the track. 
None of which seem to prepare the listener for the descent it spirals towards in the end. 
It's eccentricities make for an epic ending. It's unpredictably is notable. 
Here is a band that really feels as if it is still growing and finding its sound. Something that I think most will really enjoy being witness to. Engineered by the legendary Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios.  The band plans on selling  physical copies at  shows while the realease will be available on itunes and all the major digital outlets as of Tuesday, 10/11/11. 
.James Damion


Cinema Cinema  Band Site
Cinema Cinema  Facebook

Upcoming Shows;

10/16/11 @ The Galaxy Hut, VA (Featuring Don Zientara)
10/18/11 CMJ Festival @ The Charleston.  Brookyn, NY