A Joyful Noise by Dan Swick

 I was working the door at a local show in Dover early last January. It shifted rapidly from the heat of the packed concert to the ice-cold air blowing in from the door. Scene kids in Fallout Boy shirts were everywhere; chatting on cell phones, bullshitting, and basically ignoring all of the musical aspects of the event, until a certain blonde figure entered the doorway. He came armed with nothing but speakers, a mixer, a couple microphones, and some pedals. His act started out as a merely audible hum, but erupted into a massive shriek. He succeeded in polarizing the audience: The people truly interested in music and sound were intrigued and focused; the scene kids headed for the door. It was a wonderful dichotomy. Dayton noisehead Jonathan Barajas chats about sound improvisation, Christianity, pop-punk, and playing inside of trash bags.

Dan Swick: Tell us who you are and what you're involved in.

Jon Barajas: My Name is Jonathan Barajas and I am currently a member of the Dayton, OH 'noise/ambient' band To-Night Golden Curls and a pop-punk band called White Dress Cigarette. I'm also a film student at Wright State University.

DS: Give us a little background on noise music.

JB: Noise is older than rock-n-roll. Technically, forms of noise have existed as long as music has existed, but most recognizably, noise in its most current form has existed ever since the industrial revolution and the invention of electronic sound. I'm reading this book called Audio Culture ñ Readings in Modern Music. I'm only about 23 pages into it, but its already the best resource I've ever seen on the theories of noise. I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in noise theory. Here's the quote from Mel Gordon that opens the book: "The Concept of noise was a by-product of the Industrial Revolution, there was a constant din of construction and pounding, of the shrieking of metal sheets being cut and the endless thump of press machinery, of ear- splitting blasts from huge steam whistles, sirens, and electric bells that beckoned and dismissed shifts of first-generation urbanized laborers from their unending and repetitive days. The normal sounds of rural life---the bleating of domesticated animals, the chirping of birds and insects, the ping of hand-held tools shaping wood and stone---whether pleasant or not, were all recognizable. Here, however, the cacophony of sounds in the nineteenth-century street, factory shop, and mine---seemingly random and meaningless--- could not be easily isolated or identified. They become novel and potentially dangerous intrusions on the overworked human mind." (The book also has an interview with Masami Akita.)

DS: When I saw your solo set last year, the response seemed very negative, save for most of the other musicians. I asked you about it and you told me your goal is to expose people to something they may have not had a chance to hear, rather than to receive positive reactions. Does that still hold true?

JB: Since that show in Dover, my perspective has changed a bit. My band (TNGC) lately has been playing a lot more shows than back when I was doing solo shows under the Kagome moniker. About 50% of these shows have been to dominantly 'college-type' crowds. We played a show about a month ago where we were actually heckled out loud from a majority of the audience. This isn't something I haven't experienced before, but now that I'm in a band with four other people, the emotions and politics get a bit more heightened. Since I consider the band more of a performance-art type of act than technical 'music', I think what's most important with our performances is that we (the band) enjoy ourselves more than anything. It's definitely a much more self-serving art than most forms of music. I guess the goal now is partially still to expose people to Noise (a VERY vague term), and don't consider it failure on our part if we don't get positive responses. Now that I'm in a band, however, economically it's harder for us to walk away from negative audiences unphased. Four of our members live in Dayton and one lives in Toledo, so selling merchandise (i.e. gaining gas money) and feeling appreciated is craved much more than when I was doing solo performances. I've never expected to get popular or even recognized, even within Dayton, so my perspective might be a little different from the other guys in my band. The other part of MY goal is to start the ball rolling with those crowds that ARE accepting and interested in what bands like us are doing. It's more selfish than just exposing crowds now. It's less idealistic and more realistic. Actually, that response I gave you last year might have been more of a defense-mechanism if I look at it honestly. My goal is to expose those kids that are now READY to be exposed to noise. These days, I tend to think of playing 'college crowd' shows as a 'throwing pearls before swine' scenario. It's basically become a waste of time.

DS: What kinds of visual elements do you include in your shows?

JB: This summer, Nick from our band made this inflatable bubble for us to play inside of; it was made up of about 66 white trash bags melted together. It was really cool; we'd inflate it with a small fan and three of us would play inside of it (sometimes with the lights out) and we'd have lights illuminating the inside. We did this for about five shows, give or take. It just became too much of a hassle to set up, having to run our cables into the balloon, etc. I'm all about fashion-over-function, but it just became a bit much. Currently, Nick circuit-bent a TV screen to fluctuate similarly to a pulse-beat monitor, I guess more accurately like the wave forms they represent. but other than that, our live visual is more like any rock band: just us playing.

DS: Are the entire performances improvised or do you have a basic framework you go off of?

JB: Back when we started we used to practice pretty often, but lately, especially with Nick living in Toledo, our shows are our practices. I wouldn't call us a true improv band, but it's at least 50% improvised. We know what we're doing and we know the general sound we want to achieve, but we never know how it's going to turn out. I love it. It's a really freeing feeling. Since we're not tied down by any real structure, we have to really be ON to do anything interesting. It's listening to each other and trying things. It's a calming time and a very stressful time at the same moment. If I'm trying too hard, it tends to come out very unnaturally.

DS: What have your recording methods been in the past and present, and do you improvise in the studio at the same level you improvise on stage?

JB: Hah; well, I've never stepped foot into a studio to record. All of my Kagome CDR releases were done using my computer. No analog at all. I used different programs, namely a Moog Synth simulator, and I used a program that would record every sound my computer put out for the source. On some of my first recordings, you can hear Instant Messenger sounds because I forgot to turn AIM off while I played. I didn't overdub or use something like GarageBand to record. It was a simple, pure recording process. As far as improvisation goes, though, it was to the same extent live as it was on recording. Probably the only difference was for a recording I could clip off the beginning and end to use what I liked best from a certain jam; live I didn't have that luxury. To-Night Golden Curls' recordings are simply live shows videotaped on MiniDV, then the audio is used for CDRs. Things always sound different live as opposed to the recordings, however. Part of the difference is the physical experience; you cant get that from a CD. It's sometimes harder for people to get the imaginative visual experience from a live noise show than what you can get from listening to it on headphones with your eyes closed. I tend to sit with my eyes closed for a lot of noise acts that I see; it can often help the music become more overwhelming to me.

DS: You've mentioned your Christianity plays heavily in your work. Do the rest of the members in your band have similar beliefs to yours?

JB: Well, Jon Lockhart from my band is a Christian too, and we both take our faith very seriously. But other than him, I don't know if any of the other guys are. They're not as vocal about it. I couldn't hide it if I tried; I have Jesus tattooed on my right forearm. Because of my very Zen-like approach to noise, it tends to be a very spiritual experience for me, but it doesn't have to be. We don't really talk about that as a band. Even if everyone in the band were a Christian, the band would never be a ministry. Since I'm a follower of Jesus, Jesus is bound to come through in every part of my life, be that music, art or whatever. I doubt that I would ever be in a ministry band, however. I prefer to live my life as a ministry.

DS: Is there a Christian noise "scene" or are you it?

JB: The only noise bands in Dayton are Ultra//Vires, Yes Collapse and then us. The only Christian noise bands I've heard of other than Blackhouse (of whom all I know is that their name was a play off of the band Whitehouse) are these more industrial influenced artists that I saw at Cornerstone í05 this summer. I saw Anaphylaxis and Azure Skies there, along with Mental Destruction from Sweden. They're the closest thing to noise I've heard from Cornerstone. I did a solo noise set there in '04. I played for five minutes, then I got kicked off the stage. We're gonna try and play at the Asylum this summer, though, if they let us.

DS: What groups of people do you feel are "ready" to be exposed to noise?

JB: Lately I've been noticing a rise in attention to noisy grindcore bands that are heavily influenced by breakdown-hardcore and punk-noise bands. I saw The Great Redneck Hope a few weeks ago, where there were all these young kids wearing straight-edge t-shirts and hoodies. I know that hardcore is huge in the Midwest, but I didn't know the same young kids were now getting so turned on to bands like Daughters (who basically sound like As The Sun Sets + Arab On Radar). When I was first playing Daughters to my friends, everyone was telling me how terrible it was. But, now it's getting attention. It's ugly and anti-pop enough that kids who are into things like Daughters and An Albatross could easily get into noise-punk bands like The Locust, Arab On Radar, Melt-Banana, and Lightning Bolt; then eventually get into things like Black Dice, Wolf Eyes, Merzbow and Daniel Menche. This subgenre isn't the only ready group, but they seem like the ones who most easily would pay attention. People who come from techno-raver, hip-hop, death-metal, free jazz, and punk of all forms have been getting into noise for years and years. But, I think that people who are into music with some sort of punk ethic are the ones who are the most likely to be ready. For example, I got into noise through artists like Norma Jean, Deftones, 90lb Wuss, Kid 606, Dillinger Escape Plan and Mike Patton.

DS: Grindcore's ethos is to push the limits of rock music to the extreme, which usually involves dissonance, oblique structures, and noise. I definitely see how they would be most open to more extreme sonic art. One artist you have cited as a major influence is Merzbow. Merzbow operates on a very different wavelength than you do, however. He seems to push to achieve maximum sonic density through his work, whereas your performances with TNGC and your solo act have a more spatial, ambient feel. Would you generally agree?

JB: Overall, I definitely agree, but Masami Akita has made so many recordings with such a wide variety in a relatively limited form. Some of my favorite Merzbow recordings have some very spatial and gentle focal points (Dharma, 1930, Amulux and Sphere for example). I made about five Kagome CDR releases and some of them were very harsh and Merzbow-esque. It actually wasn't until I got into noise that I was able to appreciate more ambient styles of music. I didn't start hearing grind bands until after I got into noise. I also got into Bjork almost at the exact same time I got into noise. Weird stuff.

DS: I got one of your CDR releases and found it to be very different from your live act. I also found it to be a great way to drive my coworkers absolutely insane. How is the Dayton music scene these days (what styles are prominent, what bands are doing interesting stuff, etc)? Is there an established noise scene there?

JB: I honestly don't go see too many Dayton bands play. Being a film student, I most often don't have the time to see any more shows than the ones I really crave to see. The strongest Dayton music scene is probably hardcore and punk, but other than playing local shows, I don't often see Dayton bands play. I'm sure there are really important things happening in Dayton, I just don't really know about it because of my own ignorance. I have friends in bands around here that I really like, but I cant truthfully say I think many of them are doing anything all that innovative. I don't even think my band is very innovative. We're just using the ideas that other bands gave us. We don't really sound like any noise band I've ever heard, but I don't really consider us all that original. Most of the shows I go to see are in Cincinnati. There's a thriving noise scene there and in Lexington. I'm probably more partial to Cincy than to Dayton since noise hardly exists here. I'm not cocky enough to think that noise is the only important thing happening, but I know my biases. It's still a small scene, but for noise it's got a pretty impressive amount of people involved. Here's some links: www.artdamage.org www.dronedisco.com www.geocities.com/morepunklessrock www.begoniasociety.com

DS: You mentioned you are also part of a pop-punk act, which seems to be at the exact opposite end of the musical spectrum. Tell us more about it.

JB: Oh maaaaaaan. I grew up on pop-punk and mid-90s depressing Alternative radio. My first favorite bands were Green Day, Offspring, No Doubt, Bush, Presidents of the USA and a whole slew of Tooth & Nail bands. My roots are in pop-punk. My first punk show was MxPx, with Good Charlotte opening for them about a year before they blew up. I learned to play guitar with my brother Mike and buddy Nate Duling. We started a band, practiced every week, and wrote a few dozen Blink-182/Slick Shoes/Get Up Kids rip-off songs. We played our first show with Troy, Ohio locals A Day In The Life (old-school Hawthorne Heights, around 2001). We were called AKA (and ironically, there's now a band called The AKAs). We had so much stupid fun hanging out in Nate's barn playing punk songs and making crappy recordings while I tried to learn to sing. Over the years of getting into hardcore, emo and eventually noise, I've never gotten that ashamed of listening to New Found Glory and Less Than Jake. I hate myself for actually liking the majority of the newest My Chemical Romance album. I cant fake liking that shit, but even as most of my friends have 'moved on' from pop-punk, I've never gotten over it. Ever since AKA broke up I've still always wanted to be in another pop-punk band. White Dress Cigarette wouldn't really exist if it weren't for GarageBand and Myspace. I started recording the songs on my computer using drum loops or the drums from a keyboard, then I made guitar lines. I was also really obsessed with Melt-Banana and Mindless Self Indulgence (that was a few months ago, so I guess I STILL am). My childhood friend Andy Lawrence goes to school in Chicago and I sent him the tracks along with my vocal parts, then he wrote his own accompanying parts. We've only played one show so far; it was just playing the instrumental tracks on my iPod over the PA while we screamed into mics karaoke-style. It's on all on Myspace too. I know it's lame, but I'm going to love pop-punk till the day I die. I still even like ska-punk.

DS: That's funny your musical roots are in pop-punk. I would dare say the (vast?) majority of noise fans are opposed to such market-friendly musical forms. I personally have just recently begun to discover that pop-punk and emo bands are not all necessarily crap. Have any comments on mass media-influenced music and how it affects peoples perception of so-called 'underground' or 'fringe' music (or even vice-versa)?

JB: I think our connection to pop music is a subject that most people within underground circles of music like to ignore. I was born in 1984, so I grew up with my earliest experiences in music being 80s pop. I don't love all of it, but it's such a nostalgic-driven thing, y'know? When I first discovered underground (essentially non-mainstream) music with Tooth & Nail records (then non-christian punk labels like Fat Wreck Chords, Epitaph, etc.), I had a level of pride whenever I discovered a new punk band that I loved and simultaneously a growing level of disgust with radio when, in fact, a few years before I listened to radio all the time and trusted it as my gateway into new music. A level of rejecting popular culture stared for me when bands I loved and found on my own started getting popular after the fact and getting played on the radio. I was listening to Linkin Park about 6 months before they ever started getting radio play. I saw Hybrid Theory in a CD Connection and liked the cover art and Chester's blue flame tattoos. I gave it a whirl and loved their hybrid sound. When they got popular, I was proud to be 'in the know' before everyone else, then later annoyed by how the radio was killing their songs. When you love a underground band you found on your own and it starts getting popular, you feel ashamed to be clumped in with the teenie-bopper fans. Its a difficult feeling. For a while I refused to listen to radio, watch MTV or pay attention to any bands that non-'punk' kids referred to me. Eventually I realized the dilemma that exists with popular culture and quality art. Just because something is popular doesn't guarantee that it is of quality or worth your time, but a lot of music is successful merely because it is wonderful music. Examples of this are Radiohead, Bjork, Sigur Ros, and Mars Volta as highly accessible artists that are absurdly experimental for how well known they are. One lesson that those of us who are into noise should know more than ANYONE is that music and art are completely subjective. Someone who loves Merzbow can hate another artist that sounds basically the same. I mean COME ON; we like listening to STATIC. Do we really have the right to turn up our noses to kids who listen to radio? I mean, true, we have personally developed and searched out our own subjectivity, but that doesn't make our love of music any more pure than someone who never really thinks about why they like what they like. The fact that a scene like noise can be downright snobby is just damn ironic. It's not a club. I hope nobody listens to noise to be 'hip'. In liking noise, we should've given up giving a shit whether people around us think we're crazy or not for liking what we like. This counts for noiseheads who still like pop music. We all have roots in less pretentious music. A true music fan does not 'move on' in phases of musical taste. If you like a form or genre, you should have sympathies in that area forever. I believe that a true music lover's taste will simply expand and keep growing. Maturing isn't denouncing your roots.

DS: I like your perspective. I must admit, there are a lot of bands I really enjoyed when I was younger I've "disowned," you could say. I don't think I stopped liking them because they got big; rather I think the most blatantly marketable elements of the music started to irritate me as I got into more non-commercial forms of music. Lastly, do you think there's any sort of "market" for noise music or will it forever remain an underground phenomenon? Furthermore, do you think there will be any sort of "acceptance" of it within Christian Music culture, such as the current-day acceptance of screamo and metalcore acts such as Norma Jean, The Chariot, Underoath, etc?

JB: Even though there is a growing noise 'trend' within post-punk circles, I still don't see noise ever getting any more popular than grind is now. That would still be a huge increase, but still comparatively tiny to the growth of metal and hardcore. Noise simply isn't marketable to a mass audience and I don't think it ever will be. The problem Christians had with metal is very different than most problems with noise. Christians used to think that rock-n-roll was the Devil's music. Since metal is inherently darker and more dissonant than classic rock, it took quite a while for it be okay for there to be Christian metal bands. Christians had enormous problems with Stryper, Mortification and Zao. But now with huge mainstream hard rock bands like P.O.D., Blindside, and Tooth & Nail's band roster, the church has pretty much gotten over it. My first metal album was Living Sacrifice's Reborn album. It was 1998 and I went to a Christian school, and I knew people who couldn't believe God could be in music that was that angry. The Christian music industry is just a mirror of the modern music industry, just different people making the music. Christians will be ready for noise when the rest of the world is.

(c) 2006 East-Midwest magazine.