This week we profile Ryan "Bulletstreet" Fairley, our first S-file Canuck (we here at Mewesnews.com forgive Mr. Fairley for any lack of knowledge pertaining to the Jersey number of the Great One)! Composing music, animating cartoons and raising funds for charity keeps him busy but Ryan always finds time to listen to SIR. Hell, the dude has even composed some tunes for Kev and Co. Have you heard that 80s flashback SIR hit Plus One (..."One dolla' a box"). That's THIS guy! Through his music, Ryan also is aiming to raise awareness and funds for Kevin and Jamie Walton's Wayne Foundation. Click the link to support the foundation.
Also, for more with Bulletstreet listen to Podstop: The Unused Mewes News Episode 4.
JMewesBusDriver: What’s your actual name and (cough cough…first Canadian S-File…w00t) full location (in this great land of maple syrup and Timbits)?
bulletstreet: My name is Ryan Fairley, and I live in Toronto Ontario Canada!
JMBD: Toronto, huh? I used to live there myself. Wasn’t it just film fest time? Check out anything of note?
bulletstreet: I’m not sure if it was part of TIFF but I saw “The Inbetweeners Movie” last week. It was a sneak preview, and if I talk about it they may, or may not come in the night and take me away. (It was amazing!)
JMBD: Toronto, I suppose, is the gateway drug to a lot of people traveling to Canada. If you could write a travel guide to promote only what you consider the best, not so publicized attractions in T-dot what would some of them be and why?
bulletstreet: I’m probably the worst person to ask this ‘cause I really don’t get out much. I’m usually in one of three places: Home, the Recording Studio, or Work. But…a few places did spring to mind. There’s a little coffee shop on Peter St. just south of Queen called “Little Nicky’s Coffee”. They make these little doughnuts - fresh to order….so addictive. One of the best Pubs in the world is on Parliament St. just south of Carlton, it’s called “House on Parliament”. Everything about that place is amazing, the food is top notch, the desserts are to die for, and the staff is the best. For guitar nerds there is a great guitar store called “Capsule Music” at Strachan Ave. and Queen. I want to buy everything in that store. I bought my 1000 watt Hiwatt amp there. It’s so loud I usually just turn the volume up to .5…maybe 1.5 if we’re playing a show!
JMBD: I read online that you are a musician/song writer. Is this what you do to pay the bills or do you have other jobs? I mean, I’d like to say I’m photographer/podcaster/filmmaker but that’s not putting the Glosette’s Raisins on the table.
bulletstreet: Sadly, music isn’t paying the bills at the moment. To pay the bills I animate cartoons for a living, which – if you’re going to have a day job- is a pretty awesome job to have. However, I am a musician, and I do write songs…so I feel no guilt calling myself a musician/song writer. Like it or not, you ARE a photographer/podcaster/filmmaker, and you SHOULD say that that is what you “are”. It’s what you’re passionate about ….whether you’re paid for it, or not, is irrelevant. Apparently Van Gogh was a failure as an artist while he was alive, and only sold one painting in his life time…just sayin. Give yourself credit where credit is due!
JMBD: When did you first start writing songs?
bulletstreet: I started writing songs around 1995, shortly after getting my first guitar. It was my parent’s idea to get me one. I guess they were tired of me jumping around air guitaring all the time, and figured I should learn the real thing. I would have settled for and acoustic guitar, but they got me an electric complete with a hand-me-down Traynor Amp from my cousin. Looking back on it, I’m glad they went the electric route. I was into a lot of loud grunge music at the time and would have lost interest pretty quick with an acoustic.
JMBD: Who are some of your influences and why?
bulletstreet: The Smashing Pumpkins were HUGE for me when I was a 15. I’d just got my first guitar and they had just come out with “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”. I had never really listened to them before that but, when I heard that they were coming out with a double record…it kind of blew my young impressionable mind. No body was putting out double records at the time, and for some reason, that really excited me. I ended up buying the guitar tab book for Mellon Collie and wrote my own songs based on the chords they used. Ha! I discovered, for that record, they all tuned their guitars to E-flat. The reason being, (according to Billy Corgan) is it gave the music a darker quality, and being a dark, gothy moody teen I did the same thing with my guitar. I still keep my guitar tuned to E-flat to this day. The other huge musical influence would be the Guitar work of Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney/Wild Flag/ Portlandia fame). She had a way of playing the guitar I had never heard before. Sleater-Kinney had no bass player (and no real rhythm guitar for that matter) so the band ended up creating this weird sound which focused more on melodic lines, and the interplay between the two guitars. Carries melodies were at the same time minimal, but also complex – she didn’t “shred” the guitar like Van Halen, but she would have a deceptively simple melodic line that would shift and morph it’s way throughout the song. It completely changed the way I played the guitar. You’ll hardly ever catch me playing a traditional guitar chord any more.
JMBD: Give me a song lyric that you find deeply moving and powerful?
bulletstreet: I’m not sure I can give you one lyric, but the album “Misery is a Butterfly” by “Blonde Redhead”, I’ve always found very powerful. Singer/guitar player Kazu Makino survived, and recovered from, a terrible horse-riding accident where her face was trampled. The album is full of imagery related to that accident. From the song Elephant Woman:
Elephant girl
It was an accident unfortunate
Angel threw me like a rubber man
Aiming for the ground
Why amuse yourself in such way
No don’t insist I’m already hurt
Lay me down on the ground softly softly
Don’t remove my head hurts much too much
You never return it
Well I wouldn’t miss it
I shed no tears for broken me
You never know it my peace of mind
Now inside and outside are matching
The album is absolutely haunting. It’s totally beautiful and lush, but with such chilling imagery. Speaking of influences, “Blonde Redhead” are pretty high up there on my list of influences as well. “Misery is a Butterfly” is one of my favorite albums.
JMBD: Okay, now give me one you find absolutely ridiculous!
bulletstreet: I’ve always liked the opening line of "The Magnetic Fields” song “Strange Power”:
On a Ferris wheel looking out on Coney Island,
under more stars than there are prostitutes in Thailand…
I think I did a spit-take the first time I heard that. Also anything by Weird Al...Saw him in concert a few years ago. One of the best shows I've ever seen!!! (Not kidding...so good)
JMBD:What’s your thought process when you sit down to write? Take me through a tune composing session.
bulletstreet: It’s kind of weird, I’m not sure I consciously write anything. Usually the song just gets “dumped” into my head without me knowing it. It’s sorta like when you get a song stuck in your head and it won’t go away…only in my case, it’s a song that hasn’t existed before. From there it’s just a matter of “learning” all the parts - which I usually screw up - and that’s when the song can evolve or change from what was in my head initially. Lyrics usually come afterwards, although some times a few scattered lyrics will be there when it first starts playing in my head.
JMBD: Tell me a bit about your work for the film Debt. How did that all come about?
bulletstreet: Debt is a Stop Motion short Film by the incredibly talented animator/director Mike Weiss. (http://vimeo.com/deliciousnougat/videos) The two of us graduated from Sheridan College, and have worked together on and off over the years. It was the first paid composing job I’d ever done, so that was really exciting.
JMBD: So, how did you discover Kevin’s work?
bulletstreet: I’d seen a few of his films over the years, but it wasn’t until my boyfriend sat me down and showed me “An Evening with Kevin Smith” that I became a FAN. I’ve since become a fan of his movies, but I remember thinking at the time, “he should do these Q & A’s for a living! This is way funnier!”…and now with SIR…he is!
JMBD: Ever check out a live show when he’s been up there. I heard he had an amazing run at the Bloor theatre one year that housed a week retrospective of his work.
bulletstreet: Yes! I saw him at Roy Thomson Hall (the show right after Zach and Miri came out, which he credits for helping to lift him out of a depression) and I was at the Bloor for the whole week of that retrospective. That was so amazing to be apart of. And most recently I saw him and Red State when it played at The Toronto Underground Theatre. Kevin delivered a beautiful love letter to the city of Toronto in his introduction…I got a bit misty eyed.
JMBD: How did you discover SIR?
bulletstreet: Once again, credit goes to my boyfriend. He was like, “Did you know Kevin has a podcast?”, and I was like, “ Pod…wah?” I had no idea what a podcast was.
JMBD: Favorite show on SIR and why?
bulletstreet: Oh that’s a toughie… I don’t think I can pick one, but my three favorites are Plus One, Hollywood Babble-On and the original SModcast. Plus one I like, because you get a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on, not just in Kevin and Jen’s lives, but Hollywood as well. Jen is also an amazing woman who, like Kevin, I find fascinating. I love the relationship between the two of them. HB-O Is my “working late” podcast. Whenever I’m stuck working late I throw on some Babble-On, and it’s like I’m at a party!...a drunk anger-fueled party. SModcast, I love because of all the little skits Kevin and Scott do. I think I laugh at this one the hardest. In addition I think they get even funnier when they’re turned into SModimations. Starktoon’s timing is Genius!
JMBD: You are helping raise funds for Kevin's Wayne Foundation. To readers who may not know about the foundation can you fill us in?
bulletstreet: The Wayne Foundation (http://the-waynefoundation.org) is a charity founded by Kevin Smith and Jamie Walton. The Foundation’s aim is to provide young women who have fallen victim to commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking with a means of leaving the sex industry for good. Their long term goal is to provide young women with a safe home environment that will empower them with the tools they will need to stop the cycle of abuse.
JMBD: How did you get involved with the Wayne Foundation?
bulletstreet: I first heard about the TWF from the SMinterview Kevin did with Jamie. Jamie was herself, a sex trafficking victim. After hearing the SMinterview I felt I had to contribute to TWF in some way (however small) and, since I’m crap at just about everything else, I decided to write some songs and donate the proceeds to the Foundation. I got in touch with Jamie and she warmly welcomed me into The Wayne Foundation family. I honestly don’t think there’s a better human being on the planet.
JMBD: Speaking of Waynes...have you ever been out to the Walter Gretzky street hockey tournament in Brantford?
bulletstreet: I have not! I hear it is amazing….but me and sports…well, we don’t see eye to eye.
JMBD: What would be your dream team starting line if you could cull from NHL past and present?
bulletstreet: Uh…Wayne Gretzky plays hockey right? Honestly sports is like a black hole to me. The only thing I know about sports is that my Uncles like to argue about it …a lot. Oh and…”don’t go where the puck’s goin’. Go where the pucks gonna be”. I know so little about hockey, when I was writing the lyrics for my song “+ 1”, I had to check that Wayne’s number was in fact “99”. I’m a Dork.
JMBD: You've written some tunes for SIR. How did that all come about?
bulletstreet: I was listening to Plus One at work, and Kevin played an R&B song on the program that he and Jen liked to have sex too. The song was hilarious. Really cheesy 80’s/90’s R&B..but kind of awesome at the same time. I thought it would be fun to write a song like that, and before I knew it, one formed in my head! Only this time there were lyrics as well: “You’re my Plus One, you’re my Fresh air policy…”. I fleshed out the song, and added some Plus One inspired “temp lyrics”, fully expecting to change them later on. The more I worked on the song, I realized, the lyrics were perfect for it! Because the song is very specific, and references the podcast quite a bit, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Then I heard Kevin’s SMinterview with Jaime. My brain put two and two together and I realized that if I wrote SIR themed songs, which has a built in fan base already, I might be able to reach more people, and raise more money for the Wayne Foundation. So I’ve written 2 more since then, one for Jay and Silent Bob get Old/Get Jobs, and one for Hollywood Babble-On. My Goal is to have 10 in total.
JMBD: Does writing SIR’esq tunes initiate a different process then your other songs?
bulletstreet: A little bit. Normally I follow the Neil Young School of writing. I just let the song tell me what it’s about. “The worst thing you can do is think about what to write”, says Neil. But in the case of the SIR songs, I’m specifically writing each song about one of the podcasts. The mixing process is also a bit different for the SIR songs. I mix the vocals higher than I normally would because the podcast related lyrics are the most important part of the song.
JMBD: What has been Kev’s reaction to your work?
bulletstreet: It’s been pretty good I think. Kevin and Jen played “+ 1” on an episode of “Plus One Per Diem”. You can here that episode here: http://smodcast.com/episodes/friday-may-20-2011/ It was great to hear them pick apart the song and get such a kick out of it. Hollywood Babble-On was played on HB-O as well! http://smodcast.com/episodes/6130 I don’t know if Kevin’s heard this one yet. He was out of town when Ralph played it. I know Kevin’s heard the Jay and Bob song, cause he was singing a bit of it on air once, but I don’t know if they ever got around to playing the actual song on the show. Still don’t know if Jay’s heard it yet…Mewes News topic?
JMBD: How much have you raised for the Wayne Foundation thus far with your SIR tunes?
bulletstreet: To be honest, I haven’t got a clue. Once I’m done with a song I send it off to Jamie and she puts it up. That way the money goes directly to the Foundation. I have a few things coming up that I hope will bring more attention to the songs, and to the Foundation, but they’re top secret for now!
JMBD: I’m going to canuck this usual question up: What Degrassi character are you most like and why?
bulletstreet: I guess I would have to say a mix of Arthur from Degrassi Junior High and …Marco from Next Gen? I guess more Arthur, ‘cause I’m socially awkward and a bit of a dork, but like a gay version of Arthur. Haha. I’ve never thought about it, but most of the characters on Degrassi are jerks. It was hard to pick one I didn’t want to smack! (Huge Degrassi Fan!)
JMBD: What are your future projects? Give us a lowdown.
bulletstreet: Well, in addition to Bullet Street, I’m also in a band called Radius and Helena. RAH is actually my main project, Bullet Street is more of a solo/side project. RAH will be performing at the TIFF Bell Light Box on Oct 1 as part of Nuit Blanche. We’ll be playing two sets of videogame music featuring music from Metroid, Mega Man, Zelda and lots more. We are in the midst of recording two full length concept type albums, we hope the first of which will be out by spring. We’re also in the middle of shooting a music video which should be out by the end of October I believe?
You can find RAH: http://www.radiusandhelena.com / @radiusandhelena
on twitter /or on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m22gU1NGqHA
I also edit, and sometimes guest, on the excellent podcast “Shrimpbum” staring my boyfriend Noel (@noelymoley on twitter) and my RAH band mate Irene (@shrimpbum on twitter).
You can listen here: http://shrimpbum.libsyn.com.
On the Bullet Street front I’m recording my first EP 3121, the first single “Android”, you can check out here: http://bulletstreet.bandcamp.com.
Or visit my website:
http://www.bulletstreet.com
@bulletstreet on twitter.
I’m also recording backing tracks for another SIR listener’s podcast called “Night and Day with Ruth and Jay”, which you can find here: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=112012&cmd=tc
And of course I’m also working on the latest SIR songs as well. The next will be a serious song about Red State…followed by one of the silliest songs I’ve done to date…but I cant tell you what that one is about yet. It’s a surprise for Kevin. You can buy my SIR songs, or make a donation to The Wayne Foundation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m22gU1NGqHA / or for SIR Song Lyrics go here: http://thewaynefoundation.bandcamp.com / Oh and in addition to all that…here’s my animation website: http://www.ryanfairley.com
Sheesh! I think that’s it….I’m gonna go to bed…
No comments:
Post a Comment