Archive for interviews

INTERVIEW: Backup Ribbon Project

October 3, 2012 awesome!, interviews One comment

I came across the Backup Ribbon Project… I’m not honestly sure. One day they weren’t on my radar and the next they were. Since then I’ve done some digging and both them and the wider Backup Project do good work, and work that needs more of a spotlight shone on it. There are two people behind the Backup Ribbon Project though I don’t know who they are. I do know it doesn’t matter. They answer as one person, and it makes no difference.

For a bit of background on the Project though: In 2008 the two people who eventually started the BRP saw a woman being harassed at a convention and noticed no one was doing anything to help. So they did. And that got them thinking. They got involved with the overall Backup Project and started to print up ribbons – giving them away to people who requested them. As they say on their site:

If you take a Backup ribbon or you wear a Backup t-shirt, you are promising one very simple thing: You WILL help out anybody being harassed. Gender, orientation, presentation is irrelevant. You WILL find a way to help, whether by directly intervening, getting help from elsewhere, or simply listening the person being harassed. You WILL be there for them. You WILL accept that they believe they have been harassed. You WILL NOT question them or doubt them, You WILL give them whatever help they wish.

No judgment. No exceptions. We got your back.

So with that in mind, let’s talk to the fine folk in charge of the BRP:
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Interview: David Brothers

July 10, 2012 comics, idea file, interviews, music No comments

I’ve been a fan of David Brothers’ writing (about comics and music and, hell, whatever is in his brain really) for a while now (at Comicsalliance, 4thLetter and more). So, the other week, I decided the hell with it and asked him if he’d answer a few questions. He said yes, and so here we are. I’m really pleased I can present this interview with him.

Adam P Knave: There are really two things I’d like to focus on here: Your love of comics and of music. They’re different and yet the same. You talk about them both with such love and respect. What were some of your first comics and albums that you remember ingesting and thinking “Yes! This is something!” – the ones that changed you.

David Brothers: I don’t think I’ve had many of those lightning from heaven moments. I usually decide that something is ~something~ after reading and considering for a while. Though, in thinking about it… Emma Rios’s backup in Prophet 26 hit me like a ton of bricks, as did Inio Asano’s solanin.

But yeah, I don’t really have those moments where I sit down and realize that something is amazing and changed my life. The stuff that actually changed my life, like Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus, Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein, Nas’s Illmatic, Milestone’s Static, Spider-Man, all that stuff, I only realized it was life-changing and amazing in hindsight. They crawled under my skin and set up shop in my brain subtly rather than immediately.

The first tape I remember owning was either DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper, which I still spin every month or so, or one of those old Sesame Street compilations. I think it had Kermit’s Kokomo and It’s Not Easy Being Green alongside Big Bird’s song about the alphabet. The first comics were Amazing Spider-Man 316 and 317, with 321 and 322 coming soon after. They were great, in the way that everything that is yours is great when you’re a kid.
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An Exclusive Interview with Glee Band Member Scott Henson

April 4, 2011 interviews, tv One comment

If you watch Glee then you are familiar with the Glee Band. Well, a while back I wrote a bit of satire (I’m With the (Glee) Band) involving the Band and what they really went through. Just because it amused me. And that was the end of that.

Until the bass player in the band (Scott Henson) found it, and then it exploded. Both he and John Lock (the drummer in the band) were nothing but wonderful and so I, being who I am, took advantage of that and asked them for interviews. John Lock’s Interview is here. Scott Henson was still to come.

You see, I asked them to join me for crazy, silly, magical interviews asking questions you will see no where else, ever.

So let’s talk to Scott Henson, bass player, ninja turtle, Glee guy:
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An exclusive interview with Glee band member John Lock

March 31, 2011 interviews, tv 4 comments

If you watch Glee then you are familiar with the Glee Band. Well, a while back I wrote a bit of satire (I’m With the (Glee) Band) involving the Band and what they really went through. Just because it amused me. And that was the end of that.

Until the bass player in the band (Scott Henson (who is interviewed over here)) found it, and then it exploded. Both he and John Lock (the drummer in the band) were nothing but wonderful and so I, being who I am, took advantage of that and asked them for interviews.

I asked them to join me for crazy, silly, magical interviews asking questions you will see no where else, ever.

So let’s talk to John Lock, musician, funny man, Glee guy:
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Bits of biz and special book news!

December 7, 2010 administrative, books, interviews One comment

First of all, don’t forget you can click here on this text right here to find out how you can win the first three seasons of Mad Men on DVD, from me, easily. No lie.

Secondly, over at DNAinfo I talked to Carla Zanoni about books and writing and life. She called the piece Inwood Writer Bucks the New York Trend, Embraces Optimism and I really like the way it turned out.

But the most important bit about it is that it has exclusive news about my next solo book coming in Winter 2011. No one else has this one.

Adam WarRock and The War For Infinity

December 1, 2010 awesome!, comics, interviews, music One comment

Adam WarRock has been around for a while now, but recently his first full length album, The War For Infinity hit the ground with the concussive force of the Thing. WarRock’s cuts are all a wonderfully full and rich sound with lyrics to match.

The War For Infinity itself is a giant story, almost a graphic novel of an album that not only has a lot of comic book love but also general pop culture and hip hop adoration going on. This is a man who knows his roots and his loves and pays homage to both while whipping up something that is uniquely his own. It’s an impressive release. I got the chance to talk to man himself recently:

APK: When did you first see a connection between rap and comics?

WarRock: Honestly, I didn’t. I was doing this comic book podcast (as we talk about later), I was friends with a TON of people involved in making webcomics, or who were comics bloggers. And I just made a couple of songs as gags for the show, or to promote my friends’ properties. It never even dawned on me that this could be an actual thing. But when I started writing more, I just saw a lot of material to make stories out of, in song form. Or taking a theme, and splashing it across the canvas of an already recognizable medium. And after a while, it just becomes natural. You could probably hand me any comic book character or concept, and I could probably come back with some sort of organic theme to riff on in song form. It becomes an interesting literary exercise that I get to express in music.
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NYCC! Radio appearance! Stuff!

September 30, 2010 administrative, books, imaginary friend, interviews, pimpin' ain't easy, radio 3 comments

Hey kids, it’s almost time for New York Comic-Con! This year that means something extra fun as I will be sharing a booth with Attila Adorjany, artist extraordinaire! Attila and I have a lot of fun together, we actually have to be careful about calling each other because we have ended up chatting till 6am just having discussions ranging from here to there, near and far.

So if you come by the booth (Booth #349 which if you click this link will show you a map!) we will not only try and sell you things (he makes shirts that I love and toys and art that is amazing! I will have all sorts of books and things extra cheap!) but we will talk to you and ask you to hang out. Seriously, we are designing our booth to be able to hang out with people. So come by and say hello and buy some stuff if you’re so inclined.

I mean, Christ, he sells barfing rainbow shirts. You need these (If you won’t be at the show you can order them here) and you know it.

Anyway! NYCC! Booth #349! Come by! Books and art and shirts and toys and good times and laughter. Yup. Spread the word. October 8th-10th at the Javitz.

But and so also, the 6th of October, Weds, two tiny days before the convention, I’ll be on the Joe Conte show. I don’t mean calling in, either. I will apparently be in the studio for this one. I don’t know how long or anything, but the show is worth listening to, regardless. Funny fucking shit goes down there. It also has a chat room and you can listen live on the intardwebs and everything. All at the show’s site: www.thejoeconteshow.com which is pretty easy to remember.

So I would be quite happy if you listened in. I’ll be there to promote NYCC and I Slept With Your Imaginary Friend, my newest book of essays and short fiction. I think it is now a goal in my life to get Joe Conte to discuss Dazzler with me, live on air. So look for that.

And that’s what’s going on, kinda mostly, sorta. Woo!

An interview with Juliana Finch

February 11, 2010 interviews No comments

Juliana Finch is an infectious woman. She laughs with a room, and warms it with her smile. She’s the type of person who belongs on a stage. Luckily she’s also a singer/songwriter in the Atlanta area where she brings her guitar backed songs to life as often as she can get away with. She also fights crime. Or occasionally dresses up as a character from BSG. One or the other. Maybe both. She was cool enough to waste some time and share some thoughts.

APK: So something I’ve always wanted to ask a singer/songwriter… which did you start to do first – write lyrics or play music?

Juliana: I’ve always done both writing and music, but it took a long time before I realized they could go together. As a kid I was always in choirs and musical theatre, but I was also that poetry nerd kid scribbling in a notebook. I was writing poetry before I was playing guitar… so I guess I’d have to go with “lyrics”… though maybe I didn’t know they were lyrics at the time.

APK: Interesting. You’re also one of the musicians I most associate with writing. You tend to discuss the writing, lyric end, of things a lot in your blogs to the exclusion of the music writing it seems. Is that a conscious choice?

Juliana: Yeah, it is. I guess because there’s so much out there about the music part – chord progressions, tabs, lessons, etc… and so much out there about the “music business.” I think the readers I want to attract are the people who really care about words and realize that being a songwriter is a form of storytelling.
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An interview with Achariya

February 2, 2010 interviews 2 comments

Achariya is one of my oldest friends on the internet. Certainly one of my best. We’ve been through all sorts of personal crap together (not crap between us, but general life happens stuff), Tolkien craziness and the endless pursuit of hats. But these days she blogs about fashion in Second Life and I… well I tried Second Life once or twice, mostly to hang out with Achariya. I still don’t quite get it. So I asked her a lot of questions and she made me understand stuff. Now we share that conversation with you:

APK: What got you onto Second Life?

Achariya: My doctoral advisor said, “Oh, you like the internets. You should play this…mmorpg thing. It’s named Second Life. There are educational places there!” And I said: Oh no. I can’t possibly because then I’ll get sucked in and never finish my dissertation. She didn’t believe me, and I’m still on chapter 1.

APK: See when I was in school they warned us about MUDs and they were right back THEN. Good to know things don’t change too much.

Achariya: Absolutely. Second Life is like MMORPGs plus no monsters or leveling plus BARBIES. Obviously it’s instant crack to one such as I, who only cared about how pretty my armor was.

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Interview time.

November 20, 2009 interviews, stays crunchy in milk No comments

Christian Dumais interviewed me about Crunchy, writing and other such things. I managed to say something about … well… sleeping with your readers, kind of. I… sometimes these things get said.

Anyway! Enjoy!

You can read the full interview right here!

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