Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Brian Chase : Brian's Blog

Brian's Blog

Live in it

Since becoming a vegetarian I've felt a new openness and lightness. Channels have been cleared and obstacles have been removed; energy is flowing more freely from top to bottom. An elimination of obstructions, both physical and spiritual. And with this I've discovered a new sensitivity. How do you know what it's like to not have something when you've had it all of your life? I've eaten meat for 29 years and I never knew what it was like to not eat meat. Sometimes the best way to know what you have is to take it away. I took meat out of my diet, out of my body, and I was able to see what was underneath and able to experience what I was putting on top. I became more sensitive, sensitive to the quality of food, the character of food, and the impact of what I ate. I developed a new awareness of my body as an organic being, realizing it's made of the same material as Earth and Nature. It seemed so simple and made perfect sense, a new understanding of what it means to live in accordance with the world around me.

I became vegetarian as an experiment, to see what it was like, and to do so without adhering to a hard and fast ideology. First it was a physical experience: I felt lighter, more open, and even stronger; more efficient. I developed an increasing sensitivity to the essence of what I ate: what was wholesome felt instantly energizing and life-affirming; what was unwholesome felt instantly empty and life-draining. I could feel the nutrients of various foods rushing to and kindling various parts of my body. The act of eating became even more pleasurable than before.

Then I understood vegetarianism on a moral level. Here was the way I approached it: To live in harmony with one's environment, there needs to be a constant sense of give-and-take, a mutual respect that promotes sustainability for eternity. Food is sustenance. Nature provides food for humans to live. It offers fruits, grains, plants. When we take of these things we must pay our respects with gratitude: "I am grateful for this food to have as my sustenance." In return for our gratitude, Nature replaces these simple things that we take; no harm done and the Earth is found as it was left. But with animals, there is no gratitude we could possibly pay that would replace taking a life. Once a life is taken, that's it, it's over, it doesn't come back. To kill an animal is the end, the animal does not grow back and it is not replaced. There is no sense of gratitude that can equal the taking of a life. In that regard, I don't eat meat because I could never be grateful enough for eating a life. This sense of gratitude promotes a strong sense of living in harmony with the world around me. If everybody functioned with gratitude, kindness, and respect, the world would be sustainable for eternity. My moral approach to my diet is that food is an offering from the Earth and for that I am grateful. The Earth regenerates its vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, nuts, etc., so therefore it is within my right to respectfully take from it for my sustenance. I, or Nature, could never replace the life of an animal so therefore it is not within my right to take from it for my sustenance. (In this light, eating animal products is ok with me since the animal is not killed for its offering. Milk is an offering from the cow, honey is an offering from the bee. I have moral issues with the way these products are sometimes obtained but I don't feel that there is anything inherently immoral with taking them for consumption. For me, milk and honey are very nutritious food sources that have prominence in my diet). I began to regard humans and other animals as co-existing on the same rung of the food-chain; to eat animals would be almost cannibalistic.

Tonight, I finally understood what it means to be a practicing vegetarian. Some vegetarians say it's 'wrong' to kill animals or use animals for food (as I did above). I see that as a matter of principle- and principles aren't necessarily true or real. It is almost always more powerful to have something be an innate experience, to feel it from your core rather than as an ideology. It finally made sense to me what it means to be practicing vegetarianism: it has to do with making the decision to willingly act for kindness and to renounce violence. To not eat meat, is to say to myself, "I will consciously make the decision to not eat animals killed for my sustenance." It is a choice- and that is the point. There is no wrong or right, good or bad. But there is, for me, a prolonged sensation that comes with acting for kindness, peace, and non-violence; with acting for openness. This type of consciousness broadens into every other aspect of life: personal relationships (hostility vs. compassion), attitudes towards one's self (acceptance vs. punishment), and approaches towards daily living (gratitude vs. selfishness). To practice non-violence, in any form, is a reward in itself, and it feels right and undeniably good. So, practicing vegetarianism becomes less about the ideological reason of it being wrong to kill animals for food; it doesn't bother me that other people are meat eaters and I believe people have the right to choose to eat meat if they like (whereas, nobody has the right to kill another human being, not even if they like). I do it as a way of practicing non-violence; it is a way of bringing peaceful consciousness into my life and a way of making choices that help me maintain that feeling from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. It promotes openness and the removal of obstacles as a means of developing heightened sensitivity and broader awareness; it affirms unity and coexistence; it is a way of acting and living for peace, sustainability, and eternity. For me, it has become a way of cultivating a sense of spiritual well-being, and that always comes down to Love, define it as you will. At the moment, this is the way that is working for me, as it feels right. It is a continual experiment.

In the end, I think too much importance is given to the debate between, 'is it better to have a vegetarian diet or is it ok to eat meat?' It can become a back and forth with many twists that won't lead to a sense of resolution. Really, in the end, I don't think it matters, though the pros do seem to favor vegetarianism. Vegetarians are certainly no better people than meat eaters. And, different diets work for different people. The real question should be regarding what will improve the quality of life- physically, mentally, emotionally, and, spiritually -for us as individuals and the world that we share with everyone else. And, once finding that, making efforts to move in that direction, and then to live in it.

Juncture

Posted by brianchase

I really don't enjoy politics, reading about politics, or following politics. It's all lies as far as I'm concerned. But, we're at a time now where I feel it is important to reflect and be engaged. This post is a general overview of where I'm at in this process and I share it with you only as a means of demonstrating part of my own way of thinking and how I've reached personal conclusions. This process is different for everybody and everybody has their own way of reaching their own conclusions, and it is all valid. I don't intend for this to be taken as a means for debate or as dogmatic in any way. These are my personal opinions and I expect you to have yours, and they may coincide with mine or they may not; either way, it is all valid. After all, America is a democratic country, right? Ha! But, at the least, the conversation and opportunity for personal reflection is important.

It's two days before the election to determine the next president of the United States. As a friend of mine said, "I'm nervous and excited." The climax is building.

The old administration is moving out and Americans have the opportunity to determine a new one to take its place. Now is the time to look back at the last eight years and assess where it leaves us; a chance to look forward to the future in hopes of where we want to go from here.

What condition is America in now? There is no doubt that the Bush administration leaves us in turmoil. In fact, its tenure during the past eight years can be summed up as making a mess and walking away, from national economic policies to international affairs to environmental issues. Our country is in a massive recession now, the result of this administration's ethos of greed and self-interest rather than regulation and accountability. Debt was accumulated on top of debt and money was borrowed on borrowed money. But that's ok with this administration; as long as those on the receiving end get more of what they already have they can walk away at everyone else's expense and let them struggle with the mess. It promotes devious and trickster business practices that favor the wealthy and further disenfranchise the underprivileged. This also brings to mind the neglect and debacle that was the shameful handling of the aftermath of Katrina, still a mess that needs to be cleaned up. Also leading to a mood of instability is the self-serving merging over the past eight years of church and state. Politics has been infused with "core values" that have become inextricably linked with the Bush administration's notion of religion and that of its religious-based supporters. It has become a facade of 'religious' ethics used as a tool to incite national fervor and alienate those who don't abide; it has become an unjust means of curtailing civil liberties and forming a culture of "either being with us or against us," roughly translated as "you are either American or anti-American."   In a true democracy, religion falls under the larger rubric of civil liberties, not the other way around. Also on the topic of alienation is this administration's approach to foreign policy. Global unity was fractured in favor of a 'cowboy' (or 'maverick') spirit of unilateral action; recklessly starting war with and within Iraq increased world hostility instead of peace; wars are being fought without effective means of resolving conflict. This is the result of arrogance, neglect, and an egocentric world view. Self-serving means without consideration of its impact leads to destruction and disorder. We are left with a quagmire that the one's responsible refuse to adequately address. And now, maybe most importantly as it looms over us in the near future, there is the impending environmental crisis. This problem is reaching a point that once it becomes too late, it's too late. The current administration neglects to see this as a problem and continues to have a permissive attitude of ravaging and devastating the environment and its resources. These are just a few of the issues among many others. At this juncture, the past eight years have left us hung out to dry, the result of an ideology based on greed, self-interest, lack of accountability, and dishonesty. A society led by these principles as its foundation will crumble under its own doing. I have a strong faith in the goodness of my community, the people around me, and the people of my country. At the end of the day, I believe the majority of us all want the same thing.

Going into this upcoming election, I reflect on where we are now and what is needed to carry us through in the future. It is really very simple: peace, honesty and unity are fundamental guiding principles. Which candidate has an attitude of restoring global unity and finding peaceful resolution to war and conflict? Which candidate do you trust as having prudent and practical means at handling economic policies, the federal deficit, and social concerns such as health care and tax reform? Which candidate has an outlook on civil liberties that promotes fairness and justice rather than narrow-mindedness and ignorance? For me, the next president and vice president will need to lead an administration that is intently focused on cleaning up the previous administration's mess and paving the way to prosperity for us all.

First Time - Part I

Posted by brianchase

Found myself crossing two rivers this afternoon (via bridge and tunnel) giving a friend a ride to Newark airport. It's not often that I'm in Jersey and, coming from Brooklyn, it always seemed like distant territory duly marked by the change in license plates. But, New Jersey is really very close, just as close to Manhattan as Brooklyn and Queens. I was sitting on pier 41 in Red Hook yesterday (finally made it to Steve's Key Lime Pies!) looking out over lower Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey. It all seemed so surprisingly close, especially when measured against my usual gauge for NYC distance: time spent in slow moving traffic (cars or people!) that's keeping me from where I want to be. New Jersey and New York share a similar space yet it's a rare instance when I'm in the former. After dropping my friend off at the airport, I thought I'd stay in the area for dinner.

I had heard great things about the Indian food in the South Asian and Middle Eastern communities of Northern Jersey. Having never been to any of them, I thought I'd pick a place and see where it lead me. I found myself this evening on Oak Tree Road in Iselin. Not knowing the area, I took the time to walk up and down the main drag.

There were three outstanding elements to my dining experience tonight, all of them notable for the same reason- they were EXTREME!! Extreme flavors, extreme ingredients, extreme tastes. I didn't expect it or see it coming. I stumbled upon it, or, perhaps, I wanted it in some way. Food is a drug and the chemical shifts that come from eating can change your whole outlook, mood, and perception for that moment.

1. Hot Green Chili Peppers in Spicy Gravy (picture 1)
Yes that is a hot green chili pepper wrapped inside my delicious paratha. I did in fact make a chili pepper sandwich. When I stepped into this Pakistani/Northwest Indian restaurant and checked out the selections at the steam table I was surprised to see this dish of hot green chili peppers in a spicy gravy. Here, the whole green chili pepper is used as the primary ingredient. This type of preparation is something I've known to be common in Hyderabi style cuisine but I've never heard of or seen it before in Pakistani or Punjabi cooking. Well, here we are! I've had a Hyderabi version of this dish and the biggest difference between that and this one is the sauce- the Hyderabadi one was thicker, creamier, and richer, possibly made so with yogurt or ground almonds, and this one was very thin, pungent, and sharp. Why would anyone use a hot green chile pepper as the main vegetable in a vegetable dish? Mexicans do it with Chile Rellenos. Also, the Japanese have grilled shoshito peppers and some Spanish tapas restaurants offer a similar version. But the Indians do it differently: in my experience the chile is hotter and meaner with a more robust flavor; it is anything but subtle, delicate, and tame and often stewed in an equally flavorful sauce. Why would anyone make a dish like this and what is the benefit of eating straight up hot green chili? When I eat broccoli or brusseles sprouts I can feel its nutritive properties giving my body what it needs. But what does a chili pepper offer? Speed, my friend. Speed, heat, and fire. I felt my blood turn hot, my heart rate increase and my veins bulge. Circulation was working overtime and blood and heat was rushing through my body, burning whatever came into its path. The only other example I can think of that had a similar effect was when I immersed myself in a room filled with ultra-violet light.

2. Sugar Cane Juice with Ginger, Lemon, and a dash of Masala Spice (pictures 2 and 3)
Sugar, straight from the source. No evaporation, no refining, no crystallization, no anything. Just pure, simple, sugar juice. Yes, sugar juice; direct from the cane, in its purest form. I've had sugar cane only once before. I bought it from a Dominican fruit stand that is only up during the summer, around the corner from my house. Not knowing what to do with it, I asked the guy there and he said just bite into it and suck out the juice. When I got home I took one of the cut stalks of sugar cane, held it over the sink and bit. Instantly, the juice flowed and for the first time I was experiencing direct contact with pure sugar. My teeth were clamped down on the stalk and they refused to let go. I felt like an ant sucking out every last drop of life-giving sweetness. It's a weird feeling. Now, I was confronted with a chance to experience that rush again, something that can only come from having a substance in its pure unadulterated form. The woman that prepared my drink put the cane through a press, squeezing out the juice. She then asked if I would like to add some fresh ginger and lemon. "Yes, please!" She topped it off with a few shakes of "masala spice." As she handed me the drink in a large plastic cup, she looked and said, "First time?" to which I replied, "Yes." She smiled back as if she knew something I was soon about to find out. I stepped outside and took a few sips. First of all, it is nothing like the sweetness of candy or of cakes. That stuff is a ruse, full of empty promises. This is entirely different. It was warm and had a surprisingly full body, a slight thickness. It had the stimulation and energy that comes with sugar but with a very gentle and nurturing quality to its sweetness (as opposed to the jolt and ultimately depressing nature of refined sugar). Instantly, my body absorbed this tonic of natural ingredients and my nerves and synapses and muscle tissue all fired off and hummed as I made my way to the bottom of the cup. Afterwards, I was buzzing and walked quicker than usual, as if on a conveyer belt moving in the same direction. My lips were tingling. The hyperactivity didn't last long and the feeling of the drink mellowed rather quickly. I never suffered a "sugar crash" and instead felt like I perked up for a bit but was then let gently down, invigorated and charged.

(Blog continues in the following post)

First Time - Part II

Posted by brianchase

3. Pan Masala Ice Cream (pictures 4 and 5)
I discovered pan, or paan, while walking through the Indian neighborhoods of Manhattan and Queens. Have you ever had it? I've pretty much only had the "sweet" kind. It's crazy and unlike anything else I've ever tasted. The flavors are overwhelming and can be too much to deal with all at once, at least with the sweet kind. I've had different friends on different occasions say that it tastes like somebody is taking a household cleaner like Windex or Lysol and spraying it directly into your mouth. I describe it as being 'severely refreshing.' Paan is a type of refreshment, of sorts, and is commonly eaten after meals to function as a palate cleanser and digestive aid. The paan itself is a spade shaped leaf (from the Betel plant) wrapped around a spice mixture. This forms a neat little package in the shape of a triangle. But, that spice mixture is anything but neat. In this one little leaf a variety of seeds, spices, pastes, plants, powders, nuts, and fruits are compiled. The combined effect is a big crazy wild party in your mouth but you don't really think anybody should be invited, for the sake of their own safety. Paan is something I actually do enjoy and look for, if it's around, at the end of a meal. I stumbled into this "Kulfi House," as the last stop before heading back home, with the idea of either getting a lassi or a paan from the paanwala stationed in front. Looking through the flavor selections of kulfi, I was very surprised to notice one called "Pan Masala." Pretty awesome! I asked the guy about it and he said that this is something they just tried and started doing, adding the sweet paan spice mixture to the ice cream. Brilliant! As I was in the mood for either paan or lassi depending on what seemed better, this was a fortuitous hybrid option. Also, I felt like I really needed to try it. Confetti and potpourri flavored ice cream. Its richness was a good balance to the acute flavors of the spices. Think kaleidoscopic bright rainbow flavors bursting out of soft, smooth, white creaminess. It was fun. And made me feel light-headed. Like sucking out the air of a helium filled balloon. Or like after you've been laughing too hard. It was comedy, really. It tasted great, too. Comedy in a cup. A perfect way to end a meal that started with hot chili peppers.

Shahnawaz Grill, 1380 Oak Tree Rd. Iselin, NJ
Jassi Sweets Center, 12 Marconi Ave. Iselin, NJ
Kwality Ice Cream, 1734 Oak Tree Rd. Iselin, NJ

Sec's on Wax

Posted by brianchase

Come on Come on Come on
Here It Is
the Vinyl release of
the Seconds
Kratitude:

1. Moving Slowly/Moving Faster;
2. Sister Ate My Son (Sister Ray my son?);
3. Standing in the back/outta sight. Fedempte Scheisse;
4. Sleeping on the floor feeling cold and tired;
5. Pee-ka-boo, who's-got-say?;
6. "The lady on the front has her mouth shut cuz her teeth are filed to points";
7. S&V (Descending whole tones, descending major thirds, descending minor thirds)
8. Dog, stick it in the dog;
9. Dha Dha, Dhin Dhin, Na Na (Tintal anyone?)
10. Dedicated to the one eye
11. GTR (Just- pun intended- guitar)

Once again and back again this time on the proper format. The record saturates, soaked up with sound and ready to burst. This is dirty repetitive punk rock. Ready to burst. It just needs a listener, an accomplice to help finish what is ready to happen.

The Seconds (Brian Chase, Zach Lehrhoff, and Jeannie Kwon) are from Brooklyn with roots in Ohio/Cleveland. Basements, house parties, and setting up on the floor with you in their face is what they like. This record, Kratitude, originally was released by 5rc (sister label to Kill Rock Stars) in 2006. It was important for the Seconds, as vinyl junkies, for this album to come out on Vinyl. And here it is, courtesy of Dress Up! records, for your listening pleasure, the vinyl release of Kratitude.

Kratitude is an important record. There has not been music like this that I've heard. It is punk rock at its heart- dirty, raw, rough, tender, brittle, bruised- but expressed through unique forms. The main distinguishing attribute of this music is the use of repetition. Repetition is a device that is perfectly suited for punk rock. It is simple. Simple simple simple. Punk rock is straight forward and direct. Here, I am Here. With repetition, you say it and play it and you keep saying it and playing it. Time keeps going on, yet through the repetition, tension and energy builds- working towards a climax - or tension and energy relaxes- easing into a mantra induced trance. That becomes the catharsis, the release.

The music on this record has many influences. Tracks 4 and 9 are influenced by ideas taken from North Indian classical music: the guitar part for 'Sleeping' is adapted from a lullaby-ish repetitive melodic line played by a sarod on a record that I have, and the drum part for 'Tintal' is exactly that, an adaptation of the tabla part that is traditionally played for the rhythmic cycle known as tintal. The track 'Say' is influenced by West African drumming styles and use of polyrhythms. The second track, 'Sister,' is influenced by common trends of some postminimalist classical composers of using very 'pretty' sounding repetitive intervals. 'Dedicated to the One Eye' is a cover of a Shirelles song, 'Dedicated to the One I Love.' Here, the Seconds's version employs a deadpan repetition that takes the emotive heart-on-your sleeve performance of the original and hangs it out to dry, which brings out a more yearning character to the lyrics. I almost cried when I once played the Seconds's version on the piano. Here are the adapted lyrics taken from the song:

Away from you, away from you, away from you, away from you;
You my baby, you my baby, you my baby, you my baby;
Ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo;
I know it's hard, I know it's hard, I know it's hard, I know it's hard.

Hard for you my, hard for you my, hard for you my, hard for you my;
You my baby, you my baby, you my baby, you my baby;
Ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo;
Because it's hard, because it's hard, because it's hard, because it's hard.

Hard for me my, hard for me my, hard for me my, hard for me my;
Me my baby, me my baby, me my baby, me my baby;
Ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo, ooo ooo ooo.

The darkest hour, the darkest hour, the darkest hour, the darkest hour;
Just before dawn, just before dawn, just before dawn, just before dawn;
Dedicated, dedicated, dedicated, dedicated;
To the one I, to the one I, to the one I, to the one I.

The concluding track, 'GTR', is a wash of guitar harmony. Instead of it being a wall of chaotic guitar noise, the guitars play very specific single pitches. The layers combine to form a very precise slowly shifting/churning kaleidoscopic sculpture.

These are some of the influences on the music of Kratitude, and, in spirit, I feel like it is strongly connected to that of the New York No Wave scene.

The artwork for the record is a collection of drawings done by a friend's son, Will Dubieniec. I believe he was around 10 at the time. His drawings were discovered while the Seconds were on tour in Europe when staying at his mother's house in Brighton. She showed his sketch pad and the brilliance of his drawings was apparent on first glance. The word 'Kratitude' is his invention. It is the name of a large snake-like monster (often covering the span of several pages) with a big mouth and sharp teeth. (The notion of 'sharp teeth' is a recurring theme in Seconds music and can also be used to describe the guitar sound on many songs).

The Seconds Kratitude is now available on vinyl. It is available on the YYYs online merch store and select retail record shops including the following:

amoeba (hollywood)

barn homes (japan)

generation (nyc)

hits and misses (toronto)

lunchbox (charlotte, nc)

mondo kim's (nyc)

record collector (iowa city, ia)

streetlight (santa cruz, ca)

warszawa (japan)

wax trax (denver, co)

The Seconds Kratitude is now available on vinyl.

BUY KRATITUDE ONLINE HERE!!