#I never see siksika art

[jackrabbit-jugs]

Someone draw Siksika Miku.

Someone Draw Blackfoot Siksika Miku.

Please.

Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

Please. Draw Blackfoot Siksika Miku.

[yegarts]

Celebrating 45 Years of the Alberta Film and Television Awards

The Rosies, otherwise known as the Alberta Film and Television Awards, are 45 this year. The awards, which celebrate Alberta-based screen industry professionals. will be handed out on April 27.

This year there are 323 finalists vying for 57 Rosies. The awards honour achievement in commercials, new media, long and short form film and television, screenwriting, costume and production design, cinematography, editing, directing, makeup, special effects, sound editing and mixing, and composing.

“In 1974 at the first annual Alberta Film and Television Awards, one feature film was nominated for ‘Best of the Festival’—Fil Fraser’s ground-breaking film Why Shoot the Teacher,” Alberta Media Production Industries Association’s Executive Director Bill Evans recalls. In 2019 for the 45th anniversary, we had over 10 feature films submitted for the Rosie Awards, of which six are finalists. In addition, we had more television series, documentaries, web series, children’s animations, immersive, interactive digital productions and commercial and corporate productions submitted than ever before!

Looking forward to the next 45 years in our industry and our province, we will continue to raise the bar for the outstanding media productions being made and the media professionals working in Alberta’s screen industries.”

EAC sat down with two Rosie-nominated and EAC grant-supported filmmakers ahead of the occasion – Alexandra Lazarowich and Justin Kueber. *** Alexandra Lazarowich is an award-winning Cree producer, director and screenwriter whose work has screened at film festivals around the world. She received the EAC’s Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund Award in 2017. Lazarowich is passionate about telling Indigenous stories, and her most recent documentary, the short film Fast Horse, tells the story of Indian Relay—an extreme horse racing sport. The film recently premiered at and won the Special Jury Award for Directing at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Fast Horse is nominated in multiple Rosie categories: Best Director- Non-Fiction Under 30 Minutes (Lazarowich), Best Editor – Non-Fiction Under 30 Minutes (Sarah Taylor) Best Overall Sound – Non-Fiction Under 30 Miutes(Johnny Bierot, Philip Dransfeld, and Iain Pattison) and Best Non-Fiction Short.

See Fast Horse during the Dreamspeakers Film Festival on April 28, or stream it on CBC Short Docs.

Director Alexandra Lazarowich on the set of Fast Horse. Photo by Alex Mitchell. EAC:  When and why did you decide to make a film about Indian Relay? AL: I was working with [producer] Niobe Thompson and [editor] Sandra Taylor at Clearwater on another documentary project, and that project fell through but Niobe called me and said, "Alex have you ever heard of Indian Relay? I met these young men from Siksika and I think you should come meet them at the Calgary Stampede." 

I grew up with Indian Relay, not on as big of stage as the Calgary Stampede, but it was something people did for fun at the rodeo. It was a historic event that I got to witness in person, the first ever Indian Relay event at the Calgary Stampede in 2017. I was behind the shoots standing beside aAron Munson getting the camera set for the first race, and I remember the crowd was so loud—about 70,000 people cheering for young Indigenous men, and in my 33 years I had never ever seen that. As an Indigenous person it felt like something I needed to capture on screen. The crowd was so loud my chest was vibrating, it was at that moment that I knew I had to make this film. I needed to share this experience and feeling with people. 

Fast Horse still by aAron Munson EAC: What have some of the responses been from audiences at the festivals you’ve screened at so far? AL: Fast Horse has been well received, and it has been a true honour to screen at as many film festivals as we have. EAC: How would you describe your experience directing this film? AL: It was hard, a whirlwind, and an honour. EAC: What did receiving the 2017 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund award mean to you? AL: I think that it helps artists continue to pursue their projects, which means that you can focus on your artistic practices and not be distracted by worrying about rent, or utility payments. With this fund, I was able to complete Fast Horse with total focus and I was able to take time to look after my father who has been unwell. In more ways than one, the EATF gave me time, and time is precious for artists and for families. *** Justin Kueber is an Edmonton filmmaker and the co-founder of Guerrilla Motion Pictures. His most recent project, a short film he wrote in 2014 and directed in 2018 called Black and Blue, is about a nine-year-old girl spending a day with her grandfather, who is blind and affected by dementia, who begins to recall memories from the 1960s. So far, the film is scheduled to screen at the Carole Film Festival in Venice and the Okotoks Film Festival. Black and Blue received four Rosie Award nominations: Best Director – Drama Under 30 minutes (Kueber), Best Original Musical Score – Drama Under 30 Minutes (Geoff Manchester), Best Costume Designer (Cherie Howard)and Best Screenwriter – Drama Under 30 Minutes (Kueber).

EAC: What did receiving an Artist Project Grant from the Edmonton Arts Council mean to you? JK: The grant from the EAC helped me bring this film to life. This film would never have been made if it wasn't for the EAC’s generous support. I am appreciative of the EAC and everything it does for local artists. It meant the world to me and my team to have that support.

EAC: How did you develop the story told in Black and Blue? JK: Not a lot changed from the script when I wrote it in 2014. The film is about this nine-year-old girl who spends time with her blind grandfather who has just developed Alzheimer’s. Through their interactions and music, it brings back some memories for him about his wife and their lives in the 1960s; they are an interracial couple and the movie addresses race tensions at that time, and there are some parallels to what’s happening today. The story is told through what he recalls hearing.

I loved learning about the 1960s in university, so I wanted to make a film that was set then. Part of the idea for the film was based off an article I read that claimed that music could possibly help with memory. At the time I wrote the script, my girlfriend’s grandmother had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, so memory loss was a topic that was close to home and I wanted to do something special to explore the subject.

EAC: How did you become interested in filmmaking? JK: I always loved making movies as a kid, and my passion for filmmaking always continued to grow. I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker after high school, so I went to University of Alberta to take a few film studies classes and also planned on doing a business degree so I could learn the business and financial side of the industry. But I fell in love with my film studies courses so I ended up taking an arts degree with courses in film and history, and now I try to incorporate art in all of my films. ***

The Rosie Awards take place on Saturday, April 27, with a gala dinner and awards ceremony. Click here for tickets and more information.

[shirttrendshoponline]

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt

That shift has allowed I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . Stars like Nu to break boundaries. As the first Asian curve model to appear in Vogue or Sports Illustrated, Nu knows she’s making history, but she’s more concerned with what her presence in fashion will mean for others. “I didn’t see myself when I was a kid. Not just my race, but my body type as well. There just wasn’t anyone on television or magazines who looked like me,” she says. “It felt like Asian representation was last on the list. Asian plus-size representation was unheard of back then in fashion. To represent a group of people who have never felt seen has been so healing for me and hopefully also for them.”I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

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Classic Men's  Nu’s heritage—she is of Japanese and Dutch descent—adds a layer to her experience as a plus-size woman and her career trajectory I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . “Within Asian culture, there is this pressure to be a certain size and the generational pressure of body shaming from our grandmothers and mothers,” she says. “ I’ve been telling my agents for years ‘I want to be on the cover of Japanese Vogue, I want to get into the industry in Asia and shake things up.’” Currently, Nu is studying Japanese to make that dream a reality. “I need to learn the language, put in the effort to understand the culture I’d like to impact even though it’s my own,” says Nu. “I’m half-white, and that comes with privileges, and I need to be conscious of that. One day though, I’d love to open a plus-size store in Tokyo.” On August 21, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Fashion Show — the highly acclaimed and largest Indigenous North American fashion event — celebrated its eighth year at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Produced by Canadian curator and art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe from the Siksika Nation, the occasion marked the first partnership between Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWTO), Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week (VIFW) and the newly established Supernaturals Modelling Agency, the all-Indigenous talent organization based in British Columbia. You Can See More Product: https://eternalshirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[funnyteeshoponline]

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt

That shift has allowed I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . Stars like Nu to break boundaries. As the first Asian curve model to appear in Vogue or Sports Illustrated, Nu knows she’s making history, but she’s more concerned with what her presence in fashion will mean for others. “I didn’t see myself when I was a kid. Not just my race, but my body type as well. There just wasn’t anyone on television or magazines who looked like me,” she says. “It felt like Asian representation was last on the list. Asian plus-size representation was unheard of back then in fashion. To represent a group of people who have never felt seen has been so healing for me and hopefully also for them.”I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Classic Women's

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Long Sleeved

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Unisex Sweatshirt

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Unisex Hoodie

Classic Men's  Nu’s heritage—she is of Japanese and Dutch descent—adds a layer to her experience as a plus-size woman and her career trajectory I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . “Within Asian culture, there is this pressure to be a certain size and the generational pressure of body shaming from our grandmothers and mothers,” she says. “ I’ve been telling my agents for years ‘I want to be on the cover of Japanese Vogue, I want to get into the industry in Asia and shake things up.’” Currently, Nu is studying Japanese to make that dream a reality. “I need to learn the language, put in the effort to understand the culture I’d like to impact even though it’s my own,” says Nu. “I’m half-white, and that comes with privileges, and I need to be conscious of that. One day though, I’d love to open a plus-size store in Tokyo.” On August 21, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Fashion Show — the highly acclaimed and largest Indigenous North American fashion event — celebrated its eighth year at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Produced by Canadian curator and art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe from the Siksika Nation, the occasion marked the first partnership between Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWTO), Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week (VIFW) and the newly established Supernaturals Modelling Agency, the all-Indigenous talent organization based in British Columbia. You Can See More Product: https://eternalshirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[usahotshirtonline]

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt

That shift has allowed I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . Stars like Nu to break boundaries. As the first Asian curve model to appear in Vogue or Sports Illustrated, Nu knows she’s making history, but she’s more concerned with what her presence in fashion will mean for others. “I didn’t see myself when I was a kid. Not just my race, but my body type as well. There just wasn’t anyone on television or magazines who looked like me,” she says. “It felt like Asian representation was last on the list. Asian plus-size representation was unheard of back then in fashion. To represent a group of people who have never felt seen has been so healing for me and hopefully also for them.”I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Classic Women's

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Long Sleeved

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Unisex Sweatshirt

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Unisex Hoodie

Classic Men's  Nu’s heritage—she is of Japanese and Dutch descent—adds a layer to her experience as a plus-size woman and her career trajectory I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . “Within Asian culture, there is this pressure to be a certain size and the generational pressure of body shaming from our grandmothers and mothers,” she says. “ I’ve been telling my agents for years ‘I want to be on the cover of Japanese Vogue, I want to get into the industry in Asia and shake things up.’” Currently, Nu is studying Japanese to make that dream a reality. “I need to learn the language, put in the effort to understand the culture I’d like to impact even though it’s my own,” says Nu. “I’m half-white, and that comes with privileges, and I need to be conscious of that. One day though, I’d love to open a plus-size store in Tokyo.” On August 21, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Fashion Show — the highly acclaimed and largest Indigenous North American fashion event — celebrated its eighth year at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Produced by Canadian curator and art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe from the Siksika Nation, the occasion marked the first partnership between Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWTO), Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week (VIFW) and the newly established Supernaturals Modelling Agency, the all-Indigenous talent organization based in British Columbia. You Can See More Product: https://eternalshirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[shirttrendingshoponline]

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt

That shift has allowed I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . Stars like Nu to break boundaries. As the first Asian curve model to appear in Vogue or Sports Illustrated, Nu knows she’s making history, but she’s more concerned with what her presence in fashion will mean for others. “I didn’t see myself when I was a kid. Not just my race, but my body type as well. There just wasn’t anyone on television or magazines who looked like me,” she says. “It felt like Asian representation was last on the list. Asian plus-size representation was unheard of back then in fashion. To represent a group of people who have never felt seen has been so healing for me and hopefully also for them.”I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Classic Women's

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Long Sleeved

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Unisex Sweatshirt

I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt Unisex Hoodie

Classic Men's  Nu’s heritage—she is of Japanese and Dutch descent—adds a layer to her experience as a plus-size woman and her career trajectory I only kneel for one man and he dies on the cross shirt . “Within Asian culture, there is this pressure to be a certain size and the generational pressure of body shaming from our grandmothers and mothers,” she says. “ I’ve been telling my agents for years ‘I want to be on the cover of Japanese Vogue, I want to get into the industry in Asia and shake things up.’” Currently, Nu is studying Japanese to make that dream a reality. “I need to learn the language, put in the effort to understand the culture I’d like to impact even though it’s my own,” says Nu. “I’m half-white, and that comes with privileges, and I need to be conscious of that. One day though, I’d love to open a plus-size store in Tokyo.” On August 21, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) Fashion Show — the highly acclaimed and largest Indigenous North American fashion event — celebrated its eighth year at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Produced by Canadian curator and art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe from the Siksika Nation, the occasion marked the first partnership between Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWTO), Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week (VIFW) and the newly established Supernaturals Modelling Agency, the all-Indigenous talent organization based in British Columbia. You Can See More Product: https://eternalshirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[doomedandstoned]

CANYON OF THE SKULL Premiere ‘The Desert Winter’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

Review & Interview by Billy Goate

The latest tour de force by Austin duo Erik Ogershok (guitar) and Adrian Voorhies (drums) is a sparce, forbidding, windswept landscape. I'm not sure what your experiences with the desert have been like. People go there for many reasons: to get away from it all, to find themsevles, to start a new life. For my own part, I've found always found the desert to be fascinating place, at once dangerous and renewing. There are moments when you are painfully conscious of your aloneness, surrounded by a feeling of real dread. Winters can be like this, where survival is not just escaping the heat, but finding warmth and shelter.

'The Desert Winter' (2017) is a monolithic 37-minute track that baptizes us into this environment. Howling gusts lay the psychological groundwork for a stern chordal theme that opens the work. I'm far from expert in Native American music, but from a listener's standpoint it's not difficult to hear Canyon of the Skull's affinity with the plainchant and ritual beats of desert tribes. We're given nothing in the way of lyrics to guide us through these moments (though the Apache proverbs in the accompanying CD booklet may provide hints). It doesn't take long for the evocative instrumentals to plant us roots and all into the limestone soil of the Chihuahuan Desert among tarbrush, cacti, and mesquite trees. The drums stir a sandstorm of rhythm and the guitar casts its damning gaze upon you like the sun. If ever there was a setting ripe for doom, this is it!

Fans of bands like North, Samothrace, and Neurosis will find much to love here, with its manifold tetures, lovingly developed minute upon minute with thoughtful variation. If I knew Canyon of the Skull was performing in my town, I would clear my calendar to see them. Feeling the rumble of the amps, the emotive sway of those dark riffs, and the heart-racing power of those drums is surly one of the most cathartic live eperiences one could be hope for.

The Desert Winter releases on August 19th in digital an CD format (pre-order here). Stream it right here, right now, in its fullness, exclusively via Doomed & Stoned (and be sure to check out my interview with the band below -- it's a good one).

Give ear...

The Desert Winter by Canyon of the Skull

Before my family settled in Oregon, I spent much of my formative years Texas. If there’s one thing the Lone Star State is known for its wide-open spaces. By contrast, I found the Midwestern US to be more congested, even depressing (based on a few years in Topeka). When Canyon of the Skull toured the Midwest sometime ago, it is rumored that something about that excursion spurred your creative urges, particularly an interest in fleshing out the band's "Abandon All Hope" theme. Was there a note of hopelessness you picked up on during that tour and, if so, how did that impact your writing?

Erik Ogershok: Our tour of the Midwest was a mixed bag, but other than a couple of lame things, it was an overall positive experience. I have never really found that region depressed or depressing, except maybe in the winter and I think that is mainly due to the flat terrain. Current or recent events don’t really influence my writing directly. If anything, they are a distraction. I draw most of my inspiration from history and the rest from my experiences in Southwestern environments. I do think that recent events such as that tour could influence future material, but their effect would be subconscious because I’m consciously drawing on other sources.

Adrian Voorhies: That's a great question and an interesting observation, glad it's coming from an “honorary” Texan. (laughs)   The flat answer is that that phrase “Abandon All Hope” was actually present before I joined the band in 2014 and was one of the few pieces of information regarding the aesthetic of Canyon that I had to go on coming into it. Not many people outside of Austin know this, but the band has been active since around 2006. So the hopelessness was already established when I showed up to play ball. I think Erik has had the aesthetic of this band in clear definition since the very onset and those three words reflect that pretty well. That being said, the tour was relatively symbolic in my eyes for numerous reasons.

Not to bore you with a history lesson or anything, but there was a point for a while there where we didn't really have a solid, long-term game plan for this band. I was asked to join, initially, to help achieve one single task- perform at a beer release Erik was doing with Real Ale Brewing Co. (Austin), Surly Brewing (Minneapolis-St. Paul), and Three Floyds Brewery (Chicago area) at one of our favorite local haunts, The ABGB. We did the gig and I guess Erik liked what he heard, so we soldiered on. When we put out the first record I was proud of the work and wanted to take it on the road to see how it would do. That journey wound up affirming my faith and dedication in this music.

Of course, large realizations like that do not come without their fair share of trials and tribulations. (laughs)   Regardless, we had a chance to grow and find each other more as both individuals and musicians. The “hopelessness” took on more of a recognizable color and meaning. I felt like I understood the philosophy in a deeper way and so of course that has impacted our writing in some respects, namely in that we both came to see each other as composers and partners and less as the “green” guy and the band veteran, which was a big step in our deciding to move forward.

In the panels of your new album, there’s an Apache saying: “It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.” What’s the significance of that to the two of you and how does it manifest in your lives?

Erik: That quote means a couple of things and is very important to me. I strive to have my actions speak rather than my words or at a minimum, to reinforce the things that I say. Anyone can talk, but do their actions support what their words? I think this is especially important with the advent of social media. Also, language can be twisted or misconstrued. Actions for the most part require no interpretation and are a clearer, more direct form of communication. The quote means more to me than personal accountability. It also applies to the founding philosophy of this band. We are instrumental, so our music does the talking. I think the music we play more directly conveys any message that I would want to pass on through lyrics. There is a slight contradiction regarding the band, as we intentionally leave quite a bit open to interpretation, but that is the nature of art to a degree. Also, I don’t want to spell out everything. That takes away from both the journey and the discovery.

Adrian: The Apache were most definitely a people of constant action and I always thought that was a beautifully poignant piece of knowledge to come from them. I think it's significance is slightly different to both of us, but the big thing I take away from it is something like: “Be about it, don't talk about it.” There's also a contradictory sort of phrase you might associate with us Texan folk: “It ain't bragging if it's true,” with the funny thing being that, yeah, actually, it absolutely is! That highlights one of the many differences between the two cultures. To me, they are good words by which to conduct yourself and a rare trait amongst the masses. Particularly in the day and age of social media, where a lot of folks feel the need to galvanize themselves by way of the image they put up or the words they speak. And that's not a direct attack, by any means, but just an observation of how behavior is changing in society. I'm certainly guilty of it myself, at times. I feel like that quote is also a nod to the instrumental aspect of our music. We don't really want anything to be spoon fed and we'd rather present a picture -- the “action” in this case -- to be perceived, rather than try to describe it with the use of lyrics.

There's another saying that you're fond of -- the one by Chief Crowfoot of the Siksika First Nation("From nowhere we come, into nowhere we go"). How does this idea of accepting one’s mortality (something few, I venture to guess, have truly been able to find peace with) feed into your compositions and perhaps even your performances? Am I right in assuming you’ve had a few brushes with death?

Adrian: I like this question, because it's so different for Erik and I personally; in particular the second part of the question. I can't speak too much on this topic but Erik has had a few close scrapes with death even before he was born, simply because of the history of his people and his family's role in experiencing that. Had things been even slightly different in the past, I imagine we might never have had the pleasurable experience of his company, which is not something I like to think about it, but it's absolutely true.

For myself, that acceptance of mortality that you're talking about is something I've been tossing around since I was old enough to comprehend the idea. I'll keep this short, but basically, in all practicality, I should have been fish food before I was born. My mother was involved in a horrible shipwreck when she was six months pregnant with me. She was delivering a sailboat off the East Coast in 1991 and a hurricane sank the boat. On a life-raft the size of a dining room table she (we, really) floated around for eleven days, no food or water save the few rare times in rained for half a second. In any case, on day eleven they finally found her and the doctors were flabbergasted she was alive. They were certain I was dead. Sure enough, I was born three months later perfectly fine.

That being said, I've always felt like I was on borrowed time and tried to appreciate and revel in every second. Which is not to say that when my time comes I won't be ready, the exact opposite actually. I think it is good to try not to help life along. To let it proceed, to not regret or resent change, is important. As far as our performances go, I do sense an air of that idea present. This new record reflects that well, with the ending of the piece coming as quietly as it began, with only the faint echo of Erik playing E-bow to symbolize the memory of what once was and is now not. That is a big part of The Desert Winter for me and I hope that our shows can reflect that in some way.

Erik: I have had my fair share of near catastrophic experiences, but none that I think have a pervasive influence on my world view. I think that this quote is about appreciating the moment and being present in it because life is short. I find the idea of accepting one’s mortality strange. We are going to die whether we accept it or not. That said, I do spend a fair amount of time contemplating mortality, but I don’t really think that it is time well spent.

There are a few ways that this predication of living in the moment applies to our music both in the studio and during live performances. Some of it applies to the band, to each listener, and some of it is shared. I can see how on the surface someone might consider our music entirely droning and even monotonous as our music is extremely minimalist, but there are subtleties within that require attention. That is one way that living in the moment manifests itself. If you are not paying attention, you will miss something. This is more pronounced in our studio work where we apply more layers, but it is still relevant to the live performance. In a practical sense, there are no vocal cues so you have to be present to know where you are in a given piece. It doesn’t necessarily require counting, but it does mean not thinking about whether or not you forgot to lock the van. There is another sort of immediacy due to the energy of any room during a live performance. If that energy dictates that a given part be shorter or longer, we will often play to that and we feel that this augments the experience for listener and performer alike.

Got to ask about one of the other quotes, as well, by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce: “We live, we die, and like the grass and trees, renew ourselves from the soft earth of the grave. Stones crumble and decay, faiths grow old and they are forgotten, but new beliefs are born. The faith of the villages is dust now…but it will grow again…like the trees.” It seems like at once nihilistic and optimistic. Do you see life as cyclical and, if so, where is the human being and nature on this continuum?

Adrian: To us, in the short time we are afforded, life is linear. In the grand scheme of things, it is more cyclical. And I think that's what Chief Joseph was trying to convey with that quote. When looking at a culture with a predominantly oral history, passed down from generation to generation, that's a pretty impressive observation for most westerners. But when you peel away all of the things that demand immediate attention in life, and pause just long enough to listen and see, I think that cyclical nature of the world is visible wherever you look.

Erik: I agree that it is both nihilistic and optimistic which I don’t necessarily find at odds. To have hope, there has to have been a measure of hopelessness and vice versa. I think this is the way of everything in life. How can you truly know joy unless you have known suffering? I believe how we feel these is similar to a pendulum on a continuum and that there is never a fixed point. Human beings, to varying degrees, are inherently tolerant of pain, suffering, and even joy so the continuum can widen and the pendulum swings to accommodate this evolution. The cycle of life is an interesting construct. Our individual place in all of this is inconsequential, really. This feeds into how I see this quote as an admonition to remind us of our place in the world. To put it colloquially, it says to get over ourselves because we are just blips on a radar that continues to run whether we are here or not. The world, Earth, or nature, goes on, but the individual human is transitory. Humanity is part of nature and will continue until we either destroy ourselves and nature or Earth evolves and humans become obsolete. For now, we have our place. We will be gone soon enough leaving only a trace of our existence and even that will be swept away in time. This can be a perceived as a grim world view, but I think it is the biggest argument for living in the moment.

You preface this near 40-minute hell-raiser with these words: “The Desert Winter is a journey deep into the psyche. Listeners are strongly advised to clear out all head space (and any earwax) and settle in for this existential Ride of the Doomed!” Are the aforementioned quotes there as hints for how we can get into the right frame of mind for this consciousness-raising trip?

Adrian: To me, yes; they can be used as guideposts, in a way. Almost more like footnotes to the actual work, in the sense that they generate smaller ideas which we find relevant to the larger concept. Of course, we want this record to be a personal experience for anyone who listens to it and that naturally implies that it will mean different things to different people. But, whereas on our first record we didn't supply any quotes or extra materials, just sort of a “here it is, do what thou wilt” kinda thing, with The Desert Winter we felt like there was a greater unified meaning and story going on and we wanted to lightly guide the listener in realizing that. I won't just out and out say what it means to me but those particular quotes can be read while listening to the piece to generate a basic picture that can be colored by your own imagination and perception.

Erik: There is a literal element to The Desert Winter that I wanted to convey similar to the way that Igor Stravinsky did with the Russian spring in the Rite of Spring. Not to compare myself to Stravinsky because he was a genius and I’m still stumbling half blind on my path. The word journey in that statement is important, but I think of each piece of music I write to be a journey and that journey can be different for each of us. I find that preface to be a bit cheeky honestly, but hopefully the quotes convey that there is a deeper meaning to the work than just a winter in the desert.

What was it like working with Geoffrey Sawicky on the production of ‘The Desert Winter’? I imagine he brought something special to the table for the recording? Can you give us a for instance of something he suggested or did that impacted the tone and tenor of the piece in any given section?

Adrian: Geoff, better known by his pseudonym Zawicizuz, is just an incredible guy to work with. It's hard for me to name someone with both the musical pedigree and the agreeable personality that he has in spades. We met years ago and became fast friends, partly due to his awesome and lovely wife Jackie. I really admired his guitar work on Absu's 2009 self-titled release and when he started his own band, The Black Moriah, I knew that was going to be amazing and I was right. Naturally all of that was on my mind when I suggested to Erik that we might want to work with him for our first record, though I didn't know how it was going to turn out exactly. It turned out to be one of the most natural and fun sessions I've ever done, and when Proscriptor lent his magickal touch for the mastering, I knew we had found a more than worthy team for the next record. As an engineer, Geoff has an unbending patience- there were many times we had a sudden in studio realization and wanted to try something on the fly and he was always there to make it happen or even suggest a new idea, most of which we liked so much they wound up on the record. He's a complete circuitry and board genius so his attention to detail is never far off the mark and his passion for finding the most economic mic positions to generate the largest sound is certainly unmatched in the State, at least. But one of his biggest assets to us is that, in the end, he's a player- one of the highest form. And so I think it was easier for him to delve into this very niche style of playing and understanding the concept a little more simply because he's a great musician in his own right.

Erik: Working with Geoff on the last two records has been great. He knows his studio well and knows how to get great sounds there. Geoff comes at things from a different perspective than I and that has made each record better. He is great at coming up with innovative solutions to the problems we throw at him and he is also good at getting a performance out of you even when you don’t know it. For example, there is downtime in the studio, or so it seems. So while waiting for Geoff to make an adjustment of some sort, I will often work on something that I intend to put down later. More than once while doing this, Geoff was recording me the whole time. He then asked me what that was and where did it go. Next thing you know it I have an inspired performance without any of the anxiety that can sometimes come when trying to lay down a track.

I have quite a love for instrumental metal projects; well, at least the ones that can pull it off convincingly – and Canyon Of The Skull certainly can. I’ve long admired the power of symphonic works and other classical compositions to say so much, to pin-point profound emotions, without so much as saying a word. Now into your second album, do you feel you have a better grasp on what it takes to pull this off in the medium of metal?

Adrian: First, thank you very much. We're getting there, or I am at least. It's true that The Desert Winter has more voicing present than the last record, there's a little more going on than just the meat and bone of the concept. Looking back, in composing the piece, I think we wanted to show that more can be said while retaining the instrumental quality than most people think. Thankfully many listeners have described the music as captivating and accessible, even without the all commonly used human voice, so we must be touching on something there (laughs). At the end of the day, that's just the way the music is composed and while we try to keep in mind the listener in a practical way, this music has always been and always will be a deeply personal expression. I honestly never expected it to be as well received as it has for that very reason and I'm very grateful for that.

Erik: If we are not getting better at our craft, I don’t know what the point of continuing is, really. My goal is to always improve and to write music that tells a story that I find worthwhile. With this record in particular, we wanted to display a wider vocabulary than we had previously and hopefully do something special in the process. We both feel that we have achieved that.

I have a lot of respect for two-pieces, especially when they’re able to pull off a sound that is grander than anything a four or fiver can project (I’m thinking Norway’s Hymn, Seattle’s Year of the Cobra, and Miami’s Cave of Swimmers – of which have very distinct sounds and play bring it with invention and conviction in every performance I’ve seen them in). What, in your mind, is the distinct advantage to a duo? What’s the “secret” to getting that “big” sound?

Adrian: All great bands you mentioned there! Bell Witch and Samothrace (at least for a time) come to mind as well. In our case, we kind of wound up as a duo by way of accident. I don't think there was ever a plan to format the band that way, it just kind of happened. After our first record, we started to play out a little more and we found the duo format worked better than we thought. There was a bit of shy reluctance but we said fuck it and went for it. Erik and I are very different players. I think that's obvious from the records (laughs), but we each bring a unique aspect in expressing the music so I'll think we'll keep it this way for the foreseeable future. Keeping in mind the way I look at it, I'm less concerned with “big” and more concerned with “clear.”

Erik: I will state first off that is easy for a two piece to sound huge in the studio, but is a much bigger challenge to pull off live. In the studio, I am able to multitrack guitars, add bass, and utilize other elements to provide that big sound. We view the live show as a totally different art form and do not even attempt to literally translate the record to the stage. Technology would allow us bring some of those extra elements in, but I think that would dilute the organic nature of live performing. A big sound live is more than just being loud although a good amp and quality drums are part of it. I feel that playing together as a unit and feeding off of the energy of the crowd, and each other, is key to why we sound big live. I would be remiss to not mention Adrian’s playing style as it is a huge part of our sound dynamic. My 200 watts of amplification certainly doesn’t hurt either. I think the simplicity of a two piece is it’s key advantage. From the practical, like coordinating rehearsals, etcetera, to the tightness of our performance, it is easier to get the things done with just the two of us. There are plenty of disadvantages, but we feel the positives outweigh those by far.

Any bands from your neck of the woods (or that you’ve encountered in your travels) that were particularly impressive to you? Always like discovering those lesser known acts.

Adrian: Absolutely. I'd like to take the opportunity to brag on y'all Indianans for a minute- our friends in Thorr-Axe and Archarus are doing great things. Tucker, and Drew, are both lovely and refreshing young composers. We played with a band in the Twin Cities called Maeth that I really love- it's a bit out of my usual range but they do brilliant work. A buddy of mine in Chicago plays in a sludgier act called Faces of the Bog that are pretty ripping, there's a Philadelphia black-death quartet called Surgeon that rules (cheers Shawn and Lydia!) and OKC's We the Undead (Phil, the drummer, used to play with Samothrace) are extremely punishing. As far as Texas, the talent pool is pretty insane. We have a very healthy underground and many musicians and fans alike still carrying the flame. I could literally go on for paragraphs but everything from Imprecation to Absu to Vex is incredible. The doom scene, in particular, is smaller but we have several bands holding it down as well as a larger number of more stoner-rock focused bands as well.

Erik: My favorite band from Texas is Absu, but it’s not like they are undiscovered and I think Dead to a Dying World are on most people’s radar by now. I’m a huge Krigsgrav fan and I just discovered a new band, Serpentian. I don’t get out as much as I’d like to these days so I probably am missing out on a ton of newer bands.

Alright, on the practical side, what can fans and bystanders alike anticipate form Canyon of the Skull in the months following the August 19th release? Is a tour in the works, perhaps?

Erik: The biggest thing for me personally is we are almost done writing the next record with another in its embryonic stages. More immediately we have a series of Texas record release shows in late August. Other than that, our touring options are being explored and we are looking at some festival dates, which a tour or tours would probably revolve around.

Adrian: Well, there's some things we have to keep under wraps and some things waiting to be confirmed, not to mention Erik working on getting his brewery up and running, but I'll give you one snippet. We are playing a very significant show to us in The Black Hills of South Dakota next summer for the Exalted Woe Records' Stygian Rites Festival and we will most likely have an accompanying tour for that as well. Keep an eye out. Thanks Billy, love what you guys are doing.

Erik: I also want to thank you and your readers for the support and we are grateful to have Doomed and Stoned debut the streaming of our new record. We’re very proud of it. I also want to thank you for the thought provoking questions. I’m glad that our music can inspire such introspection.

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