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By JessPublished: January 2, 2010
Updated: January 2, 2010
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EmailUpdated 1-30-2010 JP Anderson has chosen a new name for The Shizit. It will now be known as "The Named". There is a new myspace page for the project as well. It's located at http://www.myspace.com/xthenamedx
Phoenix Always Rises: It’s been a few months since our first interview, and you’ve been a very busy man. For those who don't know, what have you been working on?
JP Anderson: During the summer I completed a brand new full length release for my old band The Shizit. It's a free download http://www.glitchmode.com/the-shizit and probably the heaviest and most focused work I have ever produced. Since it's free, it's definitely worth downloading and checking out. I've also been working on new tracks for Wolves Under Sail (with plans to release an EP this year) and the final installment of Project Nonagon, Rabbit Junk's free MP3 releases based on the theme of the last Rabbit Junk Full Length record, This Life Is Where You Get F*cked....The last three tracks for Rabbit Junk's Project Nonagon will be available for download by Spring.
Phoenix Always Rises: What made you decide to bring The Shizit back?
JP Anderson: I never let go of the project in my heart. I always felt bitter that I let it go after Brian and I had a falling out, and I never felt that Rabbit Junk could escape comparisons to The Shizit. So it was time to take it back. Also, the political climate motivated me to write some very political lyrics, and The Shizit is the best forum for me to express those ideas.
Phoenix Always Rises: What would you say is the biggest difference between the new Shizit material and the old?
JP Anderson: I decided to drop the loopy programming and just go for a very heavy, slamming drum tone - very much influenced by the latest efforts in drum and bass that focus on driving intensity versus complexity. I also used some analog hardware for key sounds. These two things together give the record a much more organic feel than previous Shizit releases. Personally, I think it's a step forward, away from what was happening 10 years ago. I didn't just want to repeat.
Phoenix Always Rises: One of my favorite songs on the new album is Young Broke Pissed. In the lyrics I see that it was originally titled “I am the fuse”. What prompted the name change?
JP Anderson: That was a suggestion from Sean of Cyanotic. He pointed out that "Young Broke Pissed" was really going to connect with the way many people feel right now (it was certainly how we both felt at least). It was a good call. It's difficult to do absolutely everything on your own when making a record. A fresh perspective is essential. But I decided to leave the original title in the lyrics because the point of that song is to examine our own minds/bodies (if such a split does even exist) as a starting point of cultural change. Human instinct to resist authority is the light, I am the fuse, community is the fuel - start a fire. Something like that.
Phoenix Always Rises: I’ve noticed that you are a voracious reader, and your taste in books is very vast. What are you reading now?
JP Anderson: I just read "Will To Change" by Bell Hooks. The title would make you think that it's some shitty self help book - don't be fooled. It's probably one of the most radical things I've ever read. And it's radical without ever using that stereotypical language. The book examines Patriarchy as a system, value, and cultural force. If you think patriarchy has not shaped your life, think again. This book is very worth reading and it is sure to trigger allot of discomfort. Currently I am reading another book by Hooks "Where we stand: Class Matters". Hooks doesn't pull any punches.
Phoenix Always Rises: Do your reading habits ever affect the mood or your music, or vice versa?
JP Anderson: Oh yeah - when I was recording the last Shizit record, I was reading The Invisible Committee's "Coming Revolution", which was very motivating, even though it reads like a crazy rant. Some very interesting ideas of work and wage system being the greatest method of social control in modernity (echoing the European feudal system) are presented within that rant. Makes a track like Young Broke Pissed and Break Out just pop into life. Likewise, what I'm working on musically can easily frame the books I read. For instance, when I'm working on WUS, Scandinavian Sagas are fascinating, while Working on Rabbit Junk draws me to fiction.
Phoenix Always Rises: You’re a college student juggling class and about a half a dozen projects at any given time. How do you find the time and the energy to balance it all?
JP Anderson: I just have to work on one project at a time with a very disciplined schedule. And I have to try and not rush and get overwhelmed. Just do 2 hours every day for a month and I'll have a few more tracks done. Or, do an independent study project like I did this summer) and get full time credit for recording an album - pretty nifty eh. But it's really hard. And I'm a Dad too, which really takes allot of time and energy. So I have much going against me in terms of making music, but I am determined and I truly love doing it. Especially now that I'm giving it away.
Phoenix Always Rises: You’ve been making music for about a decade now. How would you say your music has evolved in that time?
JP Anderson: I took the hard road and taught myself production (which is why so many of my releases don't sound that pro). Now I realize I could have learned everything I know in about 2 years versus 10, if I had just let someone show me. But I've had a real go-it-alone approach until very recently. So I've made slow but steady progress in the realms of production and song writing, with this last Shizit record being very intentional in both sound quality and song writing. That's all I've been going for really, just the ability to realize a vision, to know production and writing well enough for what I produce to be completely intentional, rather than the product of experiment.
Phoenix Always Rises: What are you listening to lately?
JP Anderson: New prodigy is good. Been listening to some drone/ambient stuff that my drummer from RJ has lent me lately. I think I'm a little bit of flux regarding personal music tastes though. I need some new tunes!
Phoenix Always Rises: Most people have at least one or two bands they can listen to on a pretty regular basis, without ever tiring of them. Do you have any? If so, who are they?
JP Anderson: Yeah, um, I can still listen to that straight metal stuff like Black Dahlia Murder, COB, In Flames, and folk metal like Finntroll. My son (who is 20 months old) loves that stuff too, so we bond while head banging - pretty cute. He has a pretty good metal scream going, it's insane.
Phoenix Always Rises: You’ve been working with Sean from Cyanotic a lot this past year. You released the Cyanotic Vs. Rabbit Junk E.P, and he did some work on the new Shizit CD. Are you two planning to work together more in the future?
JP Anderson: Yes, Sean is a good friend of mine and I'm lucky to have him around. I will certainly be sucking him into future Shizit and we will definitely be touring again together.
Phoenix Always Rises: I see that you mentioned Subcomandante Marcos in one of your MySpace blogs. Reading about the Zapatista rebellion was one of my first introductions into world politics and events. What was yours?
JP Anderson: WASHPIRG, a chapter of the Public Interest Research Groups. I ran across some pamphlet about water pollution they had published and it spurred me to investigate the world around me with a critical lens. Soon after that I read "People's History" and the like, and then witnessed and participated in the WTO protests of '99. Once you know something, you can never un-know it.
Phoenix Always Rises: What are you working on now?
JP Anderson: Project Nonagon: This Death...II. 3 more free tracks from Rabbit Junk. They have a poppy almost classic rock feel, very different than the last two installments of Nonagaon (which can be downloaded here: http://www.rabbitjunk.com/nonagon/nonagon.htm). For fans of "In your head" and RJ tracks in that vein.
Phoenix Always Rises: Any touring plans? If so, where will you be touring?
JP Anderson: Summer. For sure. Not sure on how many dates, but I'll be doing a Shizit/RJ set on the road with Cyanotic. Probably midwest/east coast this time with a show in Seattle and Portland.
Phoenix Always Rises: Any final words for your fans?
JP Anderson: I just want to express my gratitude to you all, for your support, enthusiasm, and continued interest. Sometimes I feel like if no one listened to my music, I wouldn't exist. So that gives you an idea of how important you all are to me. Big hugs!
Be sure to check out all of JP’s KICK ASS bands!
The Named
Rabbit Junk
Fighting Ice With Iron
Wolves Under Sail
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