photograph of the band Joesph by First Last
Stephen Guidry
MUSICIAN / FILMMAKER / DESIGNER
Joey is a gem. There's really no other way to put it. He's a guy who's talent is matched only by his sincerity and sense of humor. I first met Joey when we decided to work with his then band, Pomegranates. The music was love at first listen. Joey's voice has this vintage, timeless, otherworldly quality to it. You can't not like it. I dare you. He's gone on to do a lot post-Pomegranates, putting out records under the name of Joesph, creating indie record label Eyebrow Palace, and making really wonderful art. Joey is just one of these people who's alive and his enthusiasm and heart is evident in everything he touches.
What's new?
I am actually taking somewhat of a break from music. Well, that's a lie. I am always thinking about music and writing songs in my head, but The Torches are in a state of flux. Our recently-added horn player just moved to Oregon and our oboe player (Jocelyn, one of our original members) is moving to Minnesota, so there's a bit of a practical lurch happening. But I've never considered The Torches as a group whose existence is dependent on specific members. Heck, if the other folks in the band all wanted to play a show without me, it'd still be The Torches. So, we still exist, we just need to figure out how we exist.
What have you been working on?
I've been trying to practice my visual art skills, mostly sketching and playing with some watercolors that I inherited, and very loosely working on some unfinished Torches material, lyrics and the like. Not very exciting, I know. But I also finished editing a music video for DC band, The Aquarium:
Last year, I did the sound and some graphic work and design for this video game Death of the Corpse Wizard. It's inspired me to push a bit more into game design and hopefully, one day, I'll put some of my own ideas into reality.
What are you excited about?
I am excited at some activity from Lujo, honestly! I've always been a creative collaborator and energized by the energy of others, etc. So maybe this'll get me to get off my bottom and make some more music!
What are you listening to?
Saw Sorry for Bothering You last night, and now I have been listening to The Coup album with the same name (that was released 6 years ago) and I wish I listened to The Coup more. As its summertime, I've been mostly listening to Piero Umiliani (Italian composer who you probably know from the amazing "Mah Nà Mah Nà") and the like, exotica and cinematic jazz scores. I also very much like the recent Amen Dunes album, although I know almost nothing about them. This winter, I was listening to the Natural Snow Buildings quite a bit. Although, when the weather begins to turns cold again, I'll probably go back to obsessively listening to UHØRT Hørslev/Mechlenburg and my favorite song from it, "Jarl Friis Mikkelsen". I saw them play by chance Denmark and I've been listening ever since figuring out what they were called.
What else?
That's all!