Strawberries! Growing your own fruit and veggies is so incredibly rewarding. Nothing beats being able to walk out to the garden to pick some produce to make salads and delicious home cooked dishes. I’m currently growing strawberries, bananas, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, shallots, chili, parsley, basil, chives and more.  

Vincent is one of my best friends. She’s a fourteen-year-old mini fox terrier that loves hanging out and lapping up the sun when I’m out gardening. She even pitches in and tries to help me pull out weeds sometimes. I love animals, all they ever want to do is play and be loved.

JR’s art. I love my home so much! Lots of art all over the walls made by JR adds loads of character and interest to the white walls. Homemade art is the best! This photomontage is one of my favourite pieces.

Interview cassette tapes. I started to go through all my interview tapes from the last 17 years which is no small task! I have shoe boxes full of tapes & discs from all the chats I’ve had with punk rockers & hip hoppers. One day I hope to digitalize them all and make them available for you to listen to. (Pictured: Cyco Miko; No Doubt; Bouncing Souls; Hepcat; Toe to Toe; Voodoo Glow Skulls; Unwritten Law; Snuff; Pennywise)

Interview mini-discs. I’ve been finding it harder and harder to find blank mini-discs to record on, all of my usual stores have stopped stocking them. I’m on the lookout for some new technology to record my interviews, if you have any ideas please let me know! (Pictured: Marky Ramone; The BellRays; Conor Oberst; Danzig; The Scare; I am Ghost; Kill The Music; Dropkick Murphys; Good Charlotte; Pennywise; The Living End; Raised Fist; Avail; The Falcon; Royal Crown Revue; The Distillers; AFI; Less Than Jake; Mike Muir/Suicidal Tendencies; The Unseen; The Bronx; Henrey Rollins; Strung Out).

Mini-cassette tapes. These are so cute & tiny! (Pictured: The Transplants; The Offspring; Duane Peters; Tsunami Bomb; Sick Of It All; The Slackers; Ted Leo; Tilt; AFI).

The Nunnery. This is the view out the window of the guesthouse I stayed in while in Melbourne. My room looked down onto a quaint little courtyard. The Nunnery has such a rich history. The building was first built in the 1800s for a prominent Melbourne physician; he’s son was a pioneer of x-ray technology in Australia—x-ray equipment was installed on the premises in the early 1900s. Later it was taken over by religious group the Daughters of Charity and was occupied by nuns carrying out pastoral/parish work in nearby churches. For a time it also housed borders – young women from the country who came to the city to work and study. The nuns living there also fed the homeless and took in refugee women from Vietnam and Cambodia. Finally in the late 1900s it was purchased by a family that turned it into a backpackers and B&B style accommodation. Visually it was a lovely place to stay and conveniently located between the arty area of Fitzroy and the city but, honestly I wouldn’t go back there due to the rude staff on the front desk that acted as if providing (the most minimal) service was an inconvenience to them. Overall: pretty building, good location, unwelcoming bad service.

Jhonny Russell & the Mystery School @ The Penny Black. This was one of the funnest shows I’ve been to in ages. Three very different bands on the bill, JR&tMS (lo-fi-electro-rock-pop), Bits of Shit (punk rock) and Ally Oop featuring Noize Bunny and Ice Pick (hip hop). I’m forever being told that different genre bands don’t work on the same bill, this show proved that very wrong! I was thoroughly entertained by each set. JR & I also finally got to meet our pal Trav from great Australian band Wet Young Dolphin who made it out for the show. The Penny Black was such a great venue too (love the red curtain!)

The best macarons in Australia. I walked forever to find La Belle Miette ‘a small patisserie for small patisserie’ but it was well worth it. Hidden away on Hardware Lane in Melbourne’s CBD I found the best macarons I have ever eaten! I indulged in some of the most amazing flavours (pictured) lemon, cherry blossom & sake, olive oil & vanilla, rose and violet & blueberry—I also had a 72% cocoa single origin chocolate one that I ate before I took the photo! :)

Conversations with Punx #5 ‘Creativity’ limited edition zine. Finally zine #5 orders have been filled. They have hand drawn covers and are bound with rainbow yarn. If today goes as planned Conversations with Punx #6 ‘Faith’ will be finished ready for printing tomorrow. And in case you’ve missed my earlier post I have been nominated for Australian Zine Maker of the Year for CWP. Please take a moment to vote for me here: The Golden Stapler Awards.

Altar. To me, this is one of the most important places in my home. This is the first thing that gets set up in any new place I move into and the last thing that gets packed when moving on to the next place. It’s the spot where I do my daily meditations (though I haven’t been meditating as much as I would like lately). It’s a place where I keep my ‘specials’. I got the little doll on one of my trips to Mexico, having it there reminds me of my heritage. The Kuan Yin statue was purchased at my favourite eatery Tian Ran, I’ve been going there for almost a decade – they have the best Asian vegetarian. The mini teapot was a purchase from Prague. The tiny jar of pink fairy dust is a present from my best friend Dannielle. And, the photo is of my mother and father.

 I hope you’ve had an enjoyable week so far.

All the best,

What is art to you? How do you or don’t you define it personally for yourself?

I think art is a hard term to put into words, but basically most things that involve creating and expressing are art to me. I sort of think its best not to analyse these things too much. You start to think about it too much and it starts to mess with your creativity.

Is art cathartic for you?

No. I don’t really feel like I get any kind of release of pent-up emotions or anything from making art. Though I can see how creating things could be helpful in letting go or addressing issues bothering you. It’s more about just creating something that didn’t exist before rather than releasing emotions for me. I don’t really take much seriously.

What’s the feeling you get from drawing or making music?

To be honest, I don’t get any “feeling” from it myself. I mean, I really enjoy it, but I see it more as I try and think as little as possible about it, and just make what’s in my head in a sort of almost meditative state. I think it’s up to someone else viewing it to be thinking about the feeling they get from it.

How would you describe your art?

It’s always hard to describe for many reasons. For one, I do a lot of different things that come into that category. Painting, illustration, producing and performing music, sculpture, designing, photomontage. So, I’m not really sure I could describe my art. As Frank Zappa once said, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.” I think he’s pretty right. I don’t necessarily think art should be described or critiqued.

Is there a particular movement, period in art or artist that has greatly inspired or influenced your work?

I think Marcel Duchamp and a lot of ideas of the Dada artists really kicked me in the head and taught me alot. The rejection of any rules. Not doing what’s expected. As well as the satiric side of making fun of ‘serious’ art.

What were you like growing up?

I was a little skinny nerd. Nothing’s changed. I was totally obsessed with music and art.

Your brother is also an artist and you both have a band together, tell me about your relationship with him. What’s something important you’ve learnt from him?

Andy and I grew up discovering music and art together so obviously i can relate better to him than anyone, so he’s the perfect person for me to collaborate with. When I try to think of something I’ve learnt from him, there’s one moment in my life where one sentence changed my outlook forever.

I remember being about 8 years old and making something to eat, and turned to Andy and said “Do you think it’d be ok if I put this kind of sauce with this?” or something like that. He just smiled and said, “Dude, as long as YOU think it tastes ok, there’s no rules, do whatever you want.” Now, it probably sounds silly, but as a little kid, that blew me away. I applied that to a lot of things in my life, especially my art and music. Fuck music theory, just as long as you think it tastes ok.

Has art always been a really big part of your life?

Yes. I know alot of people are like, “Music is my life” and all that bullshit, but I really haven’t thought about much else since I was 7 or 8. Even when there’s no music playing, I find myself processing the noises from traffic, wind and birds and things as if it’s music. It’s hard to explain. But, yeah, it’s constantly on my mind.

What contemporary artists have inspired you lately? What is it about their work that you enjoy?

I find that the amazing quantity of really horrible stuff that gets made in the mainstream inspires me to do things almost more than things I like.

What’s your preferred medium of choice and why?

I don’t think I have a preferred medium. I would get really bored if I only did one all the time. But I’m most comfortable with just a lead pencil.

What are you working on right now?

I’ve been working on photomontage a lot. Two of the biggest artistic influences on my life are John Heartfield (german dada artist), and Winston Smith (who worked with Jello Biafra a lot). They were both photomontage artists. And I became obsessed recently with finding old 60′s and 70′s reference books, so I’ve been at ‘em with the exacto-knife. As well as combining them with spray paint and mixing it up.

I recently finished my 2nd solo CD and a new Hobo Obituaries EP, so have been having a break from music production. But will be back at it real soon to complete the 2nd part to the Future Champions EPs as well as a fairly orchestral-style instrumental solo disc and a collaborative EP between Californian musician Shmoe and Hobo Obituaries.

Photo by Mischa Photography

What have you found to be your greatest challenge as an artist?

Getting any kind of support is by far the hardest thing. I mean, you don’t ‘need’ it and that’s not what it’s about, but at the same time, when you get no support it’s very discouraging. Even if you aren’t out to impress people, you get the feeling of “why do I bother?” a lot…

What do you do to keep things fresh and interesting for you?

I rotate what I’m working on from drawing, to making music, to carving, to whatever, and back again. So if I get bored with one, I’ll do another for a while, and wait to be inspired to want to go back.

Who or what compels you to keep drawing?

I’m not sure. It’s always a struggle to stay inspired but I couldn’t imagine what I’d do otherwise. So I guess boredom is what compels me.

How, if at all, does living on the Gold Coast, Australia influence your work?

I really hate to say it, but if I was being honest I would have to say really negatively. There is absolutely no creative avenues here, and very little support for anyone doing anything interesting.

You’re also a musician. What is one of your first musical memories?

As a child the first two cassettes I got of my own choosing were a Paul McCartney double Greatest Hits and Big Audio Dynamite II’s The Globe cassingle. Both huge influences. I heard The Globe come on the TV just the other day and stopped to think about it, and it really has so many elements that make it the right starting point for what I do. It was mixing a traditional rock/pop band with sampling, electronics and some hip hop / techno sensibilities. Definitely an area I have dedicated myself to since.

What are your top 5 albums and why?

‘Faith No More – Angel Dust’
My forrae into alternative music was ‘the Real Thing’ LP but I remember anticipating this release and not being disappointed at all.

‘Ramones – Rocket To Russia’
The band that taught all of us “un-co losers” to play guitar.

‘Solex – Low Kick and Hard Bop’
I really appreciate DIY. And for that matter, one person who does it all is even better. Like Solex. The one woman sampling machine.

‘Ween – Pure Guava’
I could write an extremely long essay on why Ween are the best. Not the kind of band you can paraphrase here.

‘KRS One – a retrospective’
I remember taking a tab each and then everyone left to go paint trains.. I stayed behind and tripped balls on this disc alone in the dark.

The majority of your friends are artists and musicians, is there any people from that network that has really inspired you? How so?

The people who inspire me the most are the ones who do it themselves. And there’s a big difference between what I mean by doing it yourself and doing what most people do. I think too many local peeps concentrate on being “picked up” by a label or something, and what they do is to impress these people, rather than just doing it yourself, and that’s it. It’s like the “doing it yourself” part of it is a step to making it. Where I consider doing it yourself and making your own disc or whatever, you HAVE made it. You’re not making this to submit to labels and things, you’re making it and giving it to people to listen to. And that’s it.

Have you ever had a really life changing moment?

Ever since I could remember all I wanted to do was be a children’s book illustrator. But that all changed in a creepy instant. I was about 12 or 13 and on a school trip to Sydney. We were in the middle of the city and stopped for lunch. Me and 4 or so other kids broke from the group and went and got some burgers and fries. We were from a small town and were really sheltered little kids, so we had never really been exposed to homelessness before and there was a lot of people there who were in that situation. We ended up sitting down to eat and made friends with one of the hobos, Maurice. We gave him one of those old Maccas calendars with all the vouchers. He was super stoked on it. My friend Mitchell tried to
give him a bunch of money but he refused, so we hid some at the bottom of the chips we gave him. We were talking to him for a while and he was a really nice, smart dude. Then he started asking us all what we wanted to be when we grew up. We went round the group and all my friends were saying they wanted to be a doctor or lawyer and fancy things, and he was encouraging them and telling them “that’s great!” and to work hard. When it got to my turn, I told him I wanted to be a children’s book illustrator and he totally lost it. It seemed to really anger him, it was bizarre. He told me to give up and that it was a bad idea in a very serious tone. His demeanour totally changed and he wasn’t kidding. It freaked the hell out of me. I still feel really weird about it. So basically I gave up on that idea. I still secretly wish I could, but don’t tell Maurice.

You can find Jhonny at:

http://jrmysteryschool.wordpress.com/

http://jhonnyhobo.tumblr.com/

http://www.gcbands.com/profile/jhonnyhobo (there’s 50 different tracks to listen to!)

http://jhonnyhobo.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://www.youtube.com/user/JhonnyHobo

Who or what has been inspiring you lately?
Have a super productive day lovelies!

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