EarGoggles 6 - Back on the Scene!

It’s been over a year since the last installment of EarGoggles was released and creator, director, writer, editor and all around good guy Clayton Holmes has pulled out all the stops for the latest and sixth issue. 

dm: Give me all the background info on EarGoggles.

Clay: EarGoggles is more or less an excuse to play with my editing equipment and promote all the bands that I like. It was filmed at the Cobalt from June 2008 until the demise of the Cobalt in October of 2009. Since then, I’ve filmed at select shows and shot a few music videos. Paul Tryl, the singer for the Fight United, does all the cover art and there is usually a skateboarding segment, short film, photography profile and music video on each issue.

dm: What are some of the hilights that people can look forward to seeing on EarGoggles 6?

Clay: There are some pretty amazing bands on this issue. Bands people have actually heard of. I love OFF!, Toxic Holocaust, Fire Next Time have a great song, and just seeing how great the Cobalt was in general is a highlight for me.

dm: The intro to the new EarGoggles takes place in a nightclub with a DJ, is this a shot at Vancouver nightlife?

Clay: Yup. Fortune Soundclub. It’s funny because they’re like a totally different crowd than the Cobalt, obviously. But they’re catering to an alternative dance crowd, which even though I don’t understand it at all, is its own kind of counter culture. The vibe at Fortune is great actually. Fantastic room, amazing sound and lighting. The people running that show seem to be genuinely invested in the music too which is something sorely lacking from venues in Vancouver.  

dm: Any funny stories from your time spent up in da club?

Clay: Well I wound up having to play the part of “club guy” myself, but I’m a terrible dancer, a worse actor and just dreading the part where I have to step in front of the camera. So the camera rolls, I take a deep breath, put up my collar and start to dance like nobody’s watching. Meanwhile, this crowd of cute youngsters walk by and one of the girls looks over at me like I’ve got shit smeared all over my face. She scrunches up one side of her face, says, “are you kidding me?” and walks off. I said, “YES I AM,” but she wasn’t listening anymore. So as if I didn’t already feel like enough of an idiot, dressed up in club clothes and gyrating my hips like a rooster with down syndrome, this girl totally destroys the one bit of self confidence I have. We shot for ten more seconds and it took every fibre of my being not to break character with howls of obscenity and air punches. Good thing Melody Mangler is so awesome and distracted from my general awkwardness throughout the bit. 

dm: Since the last issue of EarGoggles your homebase The Cobalt has pushed out the punks for renovations and hipsters, so where did the latest installment of Eargoggles take you?

Clay: It took me to Pender Island for Winestock, the Rickshaw, Fortune Sound Club and Neptoon Records. Also there’s tons of live footage from The Cobalt.

dm: Seeing as you'll be bringing back the heyday of The Cobalt in video form let's do a little reminiscing. Did any talented bands ever play The Cobalt?

Clay: The guy from Anthrax is probably the most famous, if not talented. He’s also the only one who never let me film him.

dm: Anyone fall off the stage while playing?

Clay: The bass player from Devived was so drunk that he passed out while playing in issue 2. It was his birthday and I think the band fired him after that.

dm: What band puked the most on stage?

Clay: Cum Soc, no contest. They’re slated for issue 7.

dm: What band was the drunkest?

Clay: I’m assuming that Brewtality was really drunk. I don’t know if Doug Donut was playing in a band the night he passed out on the stairs leading up to the stage, but at one point I looked over at him and his hands were covered in blood. He was like, “I’m puking blood man! I’m pukin’ fuckin’ blood!”

dm: Sometimes the good stories from the night happen after the gig, any wild tales of excess?

Clay: Without mentioning any names, a dude chomping down on a freshly pulled, bloody tampon.

dm: Everyone loves a good Chi Pig story, got any?

Clay: I had the pleasure of watching the premiere of Open Your Mouth and Say, Mr. Chi Pig with Chi in the audience and he was heckling himself on screen! He was talking to me afterwards about how surreal it was to watch the story of his descent into addiction and mental illness while surrounded by everyone he knew in Vancouver.  

dm: How can you afford to give EarGoggles away for free?

Clay: I can’t really, but I would rather have lots of people watch it than have a handful of people pay to watch it so I decided they should be free like any other punk rag. The commercials help pay for the production run and are for cool local businesses. I also figure that some bands will eventually realize that I can shoot their music video for them if they get their shit together and hit up factor for a grant.

dm: After a long night of filming how do you unwind?

Clay: I get home fairly late and fairly drunk so I usually unwind by masturbating to profile pictures of girls I used to know on facebook.

dm: I heard distribution has grown, how far does it span? And where are some of the places people can pick it up?

Clay: I’ve upped the distribution to 2000 copies this time around and will try and get it coast to coast. There’s a list of locations you can find it on the website. In Vancouver you can pick it up at Bone Rattle, Dan’s Homebrew and every record store except for Zulu. Or you can order it along with lotsa other stuff at:

www.eargogglesdvd.com

       

www.bullterrierproductions.com