Home Is Where The People Are

May 25, 2022

I’ve been a huge fan of Matthew Urango, aka Cola Boyy, since I saw him hit the stage at Beach Goth in 2019. As you can imagine, I was pretty stoked one afternoon when my phone beeped and saw he started following me on Instagram. We have mutual friends in the music scene and we instantly started chatting about a collaboration. In the sea of ‘not enough’, Matthew rises above with his laid-back personality and lifestyle.

His comfortability in life and music was refreshing and inspiring in so many ways. As a Ventura County native, Matthew has the essence of a chill beach dude, yet the backbone and edge of a blue-collar community organizer and activist. As someone who left a blue-collar farm community at a young age to “reinvent myself”, Matthews’ love for where he’s from offered me a fresh perspective. Bottom line, you’ll always be where you're from, so why not embrace the parts you love?

Check out Cola Boyy on his upcoming tour, starting July 24th.

Interview and photos by Ericka Clevenger
Lighting by Lori Howe

I met Cola Boyy in his hometown of Oxnard, CA with my good friend Lori Howe. We ate bomb Mexican food and shot photos at a private airport, thanks to a cool dude Matthew went to high school with. Cola Boyy guided us around his community and played us some of his new music while showing us his favorite spots. His music transcends genres in a cool, yet unpretentious way. He has this effortless ability to fabricate wholesome punk, through amalgamated sounds of Disco, Soul, Funk and Latino Rhythm.

With everything going on in the world, I’m sure his new music is going to be something special. Do yourself a favor - check him out and I promise you won't be disappointed. Matthew has an unapologetic way of expressing himself and I walked away from our day together, with a newfound appreciation for my hometown and how it’s shaped me. Cola Boyy was just as cool as he is talented and I feel lucky to have met and spent the afternoon with him. After the shoot we went back to his house and met his girlfriend and dog. It was a really lovely day.

What are you up to right now?

I was just sitting on my back porch with my twin brother drinking a coffee and watching bugs buzz around the garden. There's a lot of wind today which I'm not happy about, but at least it's sunny.

You seem to have your hands in a lot of things, music, activism, creating a vision of kindness and connection to your roots. What is the driving force behind all of that passion?

I would say the driving force for me is a mixture of things. More consciously it's a love for the people and more specifically the working class that I have. This love influences my actions and forces me to be more aware of the things I put out in the world as an artist. Another driving force is self-expression. There's something in me that always feels the need to be expressed. I think this can be a selfish thing or one that serves a collective purpose. It's definitely changed at different points in my life. I don't think this trait is rare either or that I'm extra special. I believe being physically disabled has made me more expressive, as a way to make up for the things I was unable to do.

What was the best thing that came out of Covid for you?

Well first off, I'm grateful that I, nor any of my loved ones died. This was a time I learned a lot about sacrifice and risk. Towards the beginning of the pandemic, my first feeling was to isolate and protect myself from catching it. But this lasted a couple of weeks before I started volunteering with community organizers in Oxnard. People realized that the most oppressed in society couldn't afford to hole up at home during this, they still were working, going to the store, etc. So why would I, as some sort of revolutionary artist, divorce myself from the struggle out of fear for my own life? I saw that as selfish and pushed through! it made me stronger, and closer with the people and I'm still here to tell you about it.

I think it's really cool that you still live where you grew up, yet you have managed to really carve out an awesome name for yourself. How does your neighborhood inspire you?

All the memories I have are from growing up here. The friends I made, the family who I love. Those are things about this place that have shaped me. What's exciting is I know more memories, struggles and experiences will continue to be made. I'm looking forward to them.

What is home to you?

Wherever the people are is my home.

I think we live in a society where we are constantly trying to reinvent ourselves, yet you really focus on where you came from. That’s a really refreshing outlook and was wondering if you have any insight on grounding yourself?

I think the grounding part is again, in the people. A place can be repainted, torn down, or built back up. But it's the people who make it what it is. Those who built it, live in it and tear it down. The same I think can go for reinventing yourself. At the end of the day I can switch up genres, outfits, whatever, but it's still me there regardless and that can't be taken away. It's impossible not to adapt. We have no choice, whether through hardship or victory. It’s how we survive, and transform the old into the new.

Where did you come up with the name Cola Boy?

I used to be addicted to soda, and so I made it my Instagram name. Once I started doing music, I needed a name and my homies sort of forced it onto me as my legit artist name. It worked out, I think people like it haha.

Did your parents play a lot of Disco, or how did you find yourself being drawn to that vibe/sound?

I mean, no more than anyone else. My parents were never the type to listen to deep cuts of any genre. They mainly listened to stuff that was popular in the late 70s and 80s. MJ, Prince, UB40, Phil Collins, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley. Just typical shit u can imagine coming out of a parent's boombox at a family picnic in the early 90s. I got into disco on my own, I think at the time I decided to make disco music I didn't really think much of it. It just interested me and I wanted to try it out. I had no clue what I was doing haha.

Do you prefer touring and performing or the songwriting process more?

I love performing, but it's exhausting at times, to be honest. My favorite part of it is making the crowd dance and sing along. Touring is a fun adventure, it's hard to compare it to anything else. I think I like songwriting the best. It's what you do after processing an adventure or experience. You write about it, you reflect and tell the story. It's really fun. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I need to have some new experiences and find some inspiration.

I know we talked about this, but you have such a unique voice. Your music is so wholesome yet, cool and badass and that's a pretty rare thing. How did you find your musical voice?

I'm not sure, I think it took two years of songwriting for me to stop trying to imitate who I was learning from, and I just began to be myself because I just stopped putting a barrier on what I was recording. I kinda just hit record and went. I think I was learning to make songs at the same time as finding my voice. As for the instrumental part of it, I approach music like a collage, putting different pieces and snippets from different things together to create a new thing. Whenever I keep this in mind the music usually stays kinda interesting and fun.

What's your musical process like?

It changes depending on where I am at, who I am with, and what tools I have at my disposal. I probably have three different processes and I couldn't tell you which one has worked best. I really like writing songs on the piano.

What is your favorite show you’ve ever played?

Hmm either my show at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center back in 2019 or a few weeks back at the Ventura Music Hall. Nothing compares to the vibe your hometown brings.

What do you like to do when you aren't playing music?

I like watching movies, drinking coffee, playing chess, backgammon, or any other board game. Dive bars are fun to go to also. I love people watching, and socializing. I use to write a bit, I'd like to write and act someday so anyone wanna put me in their movie or show hit me up.

What's your favorite band or song?

Paul McCartney & Wings.

Favorite person you’ve ever met?

I’ve met a lot of amazing people, but it's still too early to pick a favorite.

Favorite movie?

I'm not joking, my all-time favorite movie is Rush Hour 2. I'm also a big fan of the new Dune film, Midnight in Paris is great, and Vagabond by Agnes Varda is another classic that I love. I wish I had more obscure titles for you but these are what I like. I just watched the movie "Mank". Historical dramas about the 1920s are dope. I hope people can recommend some good ones.

If you could create a new flavor of Ben and Jerry's Ice cream, what would you call it?

Haha this is the toughest question yet. I must admit I'm a simple guy, I like vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. maybe there could be an ice cream that had chocolate syrup at the center? I don't know!

When will you be touring next?

I have a short tour coming up in July. Other than that, no plans really. But who knows what the rest of this year will bring.

When can we hear some new music from you?

Hopefully by this summer.

Music

Jesse Jo Stark Is in a Genre of Her Own

April 19, 2024

In the midst of a total solar eclipse, I got the chance to talk about music and style with Jesse Jo Stark.

As I’m on the phone with her from New York, Stark is on a tour bus with The Veronicas, driving through the Colorado mountains to enjoy some time off in between shows. The Veronicas have just started their Gothic Summer North American Tour, and Stark is opening the show. What’s special about this tour for the lifelong music obsessive is the sense of powerful feminine energy encapsulating the tour. “We just started [tour], but it’s been really lovely. I’m obsessed with the fact that we’re all women — it feels like a very powerful crew. The Veronicas are lovely, the crowds have been so fun, and the venues are beautiful. It’s gonna be a good month.”

Photography Sophia-Liv Maguire
Styling Marc Eram
Interview Angelina Hazzouri
Talent Jesse Jo Stark
Hair Antoine Martinez with PARADIS using Roz Hair
Makeup Sydney Szramowski
Photo Assistants Mia O’Neal, Rashaun Richardson
BTS Ms Josephine
Creative Producer Olivia Roper-Caldbeck

This is Stark’s second time touring since the release of her full-length debut album DOOMED in late 2022, which was very well received and led to Stark’s first sold-out international headlining tour on behalf of the album. Previous to her solo tour, she’s opened for various notable acts, such as Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction. I asked Stark, who’s been writing and playing music since age 11, what it was like to prepare for her first sold-out headlining tour. Unsurprisingly, before any tour, Stark goes into what she describes as “bootcamp mode” — dancing every day, vocal training, rehearsing with her band, and of course, working on her outfits. “That’s the sort of homework I love,” she says, smiling. (Even though we’re on the phone, I can tell she’s smiling when she talks about the outfit part. I’d smile too if I had her tour closet.)

What’s unique about Stark as a musician is that she has ultimately created her own universe by embracing every aspect of her creative upbringing, her raw talent, her fascinating influences, and her unwavering beliefs in not needing to fit into a certain box when it comes to her art. She creative-directs and styles all her own looks, referencing an ever-evolving list of influences that range from Vegas showgirls to Halloween to old films to her parents in the 90s. “I think when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from,” she tells me, “but now it’s just my blood. I constantly reflect on my childhood and everything I was taught and everything I saw. My brother and sister and I are constantly pulling influences from our parents from the past. I think, more than ever, I’m heavily influenced by them.”

Stark, the daughter of founders and owners of the self-made American fashion brand Chrome Hearts, and now its creative director and designer, is someone who always knew what she liked, but as she describes it, had to ‘go through the motions’ that come with growing up and knowing one’s identity. Today, her self-efficacy is palpable — and it’s inspiring.

...when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from, but now it’s just my blood.

When she’s on tour, Stark is growing with herself and with her art — she’s not afraid to take life as it comes and learn through the process. With every show, regardless of whether it was on her DOOMED tour or this tour with The Veronicas, Stark understands the importance of human connection through music. Seeing faces of music lovers like herself, meeting those who have traveled to see her, and visiting familiar and unfamiliar cities has reminded her that she loves being on the road. “The growth that happens on tour is so important to me as an artist.” Sometimes we have to leave behind what’s familiar in order to rediscover what’s important, and Stark is a proponent of this growth mindset.

Growth doesn’t just happen on tour with Stark — this evolution of herself happens within genre as well, and for Stark there’s no such thing. Since her first release Driftwood in 2017, the artist’s sound has shifted year after year, but in a harmonious way that still feels central to her gothic Americana roots. When asked if she’ll experiment with genre in the future, Stark confidently answers, “I think I’ve only experimented with genre. I don’t think anyone knows what genre I am.” (She calls herself a “horrific hillbilly” — a perfect descriptor.) Steadfast in her belief that we as humans can constantly evolve in our work, Stark thinks it’s antiquated to fit yourself into a certain box and focus on one specific trade in order to succeed. “If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time. I want to experience different things.”

Since Driftwood, a two-song EP rooted in rock and country, Stark has experimented with more robust beats and 808s on DOOMED, and her most recent single “skeleton” features a softer, grungier punk sound. Without fitting into a specific genre, Stark’s music is undoubtedly and wholeheartedly her own, transcending the boundaries of what many artists struggle with when finding their sound. “I don’t think we should have to label ourselves in any way, shape, or form; so I’m not going to. I will continue to make all types of different music.” Fuck yeah.

If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time.

This goes beyond just music — in terms of her personal style, the same mentality applies. We discuss the idea that clothing and dressing is a sort of playground, and personal style comes from within. Stark isn’t about following trends, but rather, she thinks it’s important to tap into different stylistic elements that amplify who we are at our cores. On her DOOMED tour, Stark wore a lot of leather and stuck to a fairly dark color palette. Right now, she’s into more bourgeois satin and lace, experimenting with different textures and wearing things that feel slightly daintier and more delicate. On this current tour with the Veronicas, Stark is making it more of a point to take everything in — absorbing inspiration from every city, writing songs on the road, recording video on a friend’s super 8 camera, styling and wearing new outfits, learning and performing new covers — ultimately growing through the whole experience.

It’s endearing and inspiring how well Stark knows herself. A Los Angeles native, she proudly tells me that the tour finishes on May 5 in her hometown, a show that she’s especially excited for. While we can’t predict what thoughtfully-curated outfit she’ll wear or what songs will be performed, with new music already underway, one thing is clear: Jesse Jo Stark is just getting started.

Music

9lives' Latest Single Continues to Push Sigilkore

April 19, 2024

The versatile artist, producer, and pioneer of the sigilkore genre, 9lives, has recently unveiled his latest single "CANADA" featuring jnhygs. In less than two years since his emergence onto the music scene, 9lives has carved out an impressive niche for himself as a prominent figure within the digitally-driven sigilkore movement. "CANADA" sees him teaming up once again with experimental dance artist jnhygs, following their successful collaboration on "XTAYALIVE".

With aspirations to establish himself within the mainstream arena of experimental music production and artistry, 9lives is blending his distinct dark production style with collaborations with a diverse array of influential artists who trust him to create innovative sonic landscapes. "CANADA" marks his second release of 2024, as 9lives continues to champion the burgeoning sigilkore movement, pushing the boundaries of genre, evolving into a multifaceted artist, and solidifying his status as a rising star with an expanding audience.

Image by Connor Pritchard

Reflecting on their latest project, 9lives shares, “In early 2023 jnhygs found my music and we started chatting through TikTok, releasing our first song together called "XTAYALIVE"." He adds, We’ve been friends since this song had a viral moment, and fans have been heavily requesting for us to work together again all over our videos.” Describing their creative process, he explains, “I sent a bunch of new ideas to jnhygs via Discord and she sent back vocals to “CANADA”, which I then used to create melodic layers and extra percussion to complete the song.

Music

Eclipsed at Vampire Weekend

April 16, 2024

It had been about a week since the goosebump-inducing communal howls at the moon, as it covered the sun through a cloudy Austin, Texas sky, left me needing to take a seat—suspended in awe of the totality of the event and the synergistic break from routine. I overheard someone say, “I mean, it feels like we’re all going to die, but in a way that’s okay, you know?" under the shadow of the eclipse's peak, ceremoniously brought in as the band performed “Jonathan Low,” (in Vampire Weekend's familiar ironic hue) a track they wrote for the third movie in the Twilight series, Eclipse.

It had been five years since the band had released an album. In celebration of their latest album, "Only God Was Above Us," ticket holders wrapped the streets in blocks outside the venue for the band’s first Stateside show in about two years. Event managers searched to replenish the venue’s stock of eclipse glasses, while the band prepped a show reminiscent of 'getting the boys back together again'.

Words and photography by Rianne Akindele

In between newly released songs like “Classical” and “Capricorn”, the boys filled the almost two-hour-long show with old favorites like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Diane Young” and a genre evolved rendition of “Sunflower” as the crowd danced barefoot feeling the Earth’s energy intertwined with their own and the vibrations from the amps on stage. People stole glances at the imminently darkening sky, artists doodled, friends grabbed onto each other to scream the lyrics in each other’s faces, and onlookers from the highest level of the parking garage across the street cheered on in a symphony of nostalgia and anticipation.

Adding to the layers of the celestial afternoon, the band invited to the stage the likes of Thomas Mars from Phoenix, Dave 1 from Chromeo, and guitarist Brian Robert Jones, inducing further levels of indie revival euphoria.

As the show drew to its close, and the zydeco/country-rock “Cocaine Cowboys” medley fiddled through the air, a conversation could be picked up between two sisters in search of their Lyft driver through closed-off streets,

“I wish this happened more often.”
“Eclipses or shows like this?”
“Both.”

It’s moments like these that remind us of our shared humanity and the power of collective experiences; a gathering of souls under the same sky, sharing the joy of music and a wonder of the stars above. Perhaps it’s the rarity that allowed such transcendence, reverence, and gratitude to be felt. Either way, what a beautiful moment in time it was.

Here are a few shots from the Monday afternoon: