Ear Goggles: The Final Chapter

   When I started writing the Vancouver Vengeance article for Absolute Underground Clayton Holmes of Eargoggles and Cobalt bartending fame was one of my first interviews. He invited me into his home, showed me how his keg worked and showed me a little hole in the wall pub close to his house. During this time we consumed way too many beers, and I may have even conducted an interview. Not sure how it turned out, but I do remember the bartender thinking twice about serving us that last one. It was a hilarious night, and when I heard that Clay had finally finished putting together the latest installment of Eargoggles I decided it was time to resurrect the blog to try and help get the word out.

   In the past every issue of EarGoggles was free to the public if you knew where to find it. Just giving DVDs away? Is he mad? Maybe. This go around Clay decided to fire up a kickstarter page to raise the funds to make EarGoggles 7. "I was hoping to get $1000 to help me make a ton of copies, but have pretty much given up on it. $168 so far with three days to go out of a month." Clay said, little did he know by the time I'd actually get around to finishing this article the kickstarter end date would have come and gone. "I was posting it for a week, but got frustrated and felt like I was pestering people. I hate promoting. This will be a relatively small run of the last issue as I don't want to lose money like I did on the last six issues."

   So it didn't quite pan out. To be honest I meant to have this article done before the kickstarter expired, but that thing went off faster than a carton of milk. The only difference is you'll give the carton of milk a shot, a sniff at least, but once kickstarter is done it's done. They don't even hand out the money that you did bring in if you don't reach your goal. I guess they can't all be potato salad. Luckily Clay still has the showing of EarGoggles 7 to promote and I might still actually pull this article off in time, as long as this spoiled milk I drank doesn't send me back to the bathroom with the squirts.



                                        


Vancouver Underground: Explain to the uninitiated what exactly goes into making an issue of Eargoggles.

Clayton Holmes: Well, first I built some housing at the Cobalt to protect my cameras from shitwater. Then I put locks on the housing to protect my cameras from crusties. Then I would hit RECORD and bartend all night. A few months or years later, I capture the footage which takes a few hours. Then I think of and make an intro for each band. After there are thirty or so bands done, I harass Hippie Mike for some skateboarding footage, random Vancouver photographers for pictures and whatever else I feel like putting on. Then I see if any of the local businesses I shot commercials for want to run their ad and help out with production costs. Finally, I ask Paul Tryl to make me a dvd cover. Then I start the shitty and obsolete process of compressing and printing dvds.

VU: Why have you decided to stop making EarGoggles? And how long was this latest issue in the making?

Clay: This is the last of the Cobalt footage so it makes sense to me that it’s the end of EarGoggles. EarGoggles was intended as an homage to the Cobalt more than anything else. It’s been three years since the last EarGoggles but I spent two of those years immersed in VFX school. I’ve spent a solid year taking what I learnt there and putting it into the latest incarnation.

VU: What are some of your favourite moments from EarGoggles past?

Clay: Nobunny, Hibria and Hardcharger come to mind. The Rebel Spell music video was a highlight for me personally.

VU: What are the craziest moments on EarGoggles?

Clay: Johnny Matter punching out a random psycho from the crowd was pretty funny. I have some things that I recorded after hours that I don’t dare touch.

VU: Have you ever been back to the Cobalt?

Clay: I’ve never gone back to the Cobalt and never will.

VU: What's the story behind your latest gig poster?

Clay: It’s a play on an NYB poster that got some punks upset. Punks get upset a lot these days. I see emo making a comeback.
                               

VU: What's your favourite intro from Eargoggles past?

Clay: The Banned. I took an interview clip from The Last Waltz, the wicked concert film about the Band’s last show, and added audio for a fake question that I made up: “Now at a Thanksgiving day concert, you told the audience you were thankful for statutory holidays, because you get to have sex with minors?” I dunno, I just love that line. I’m as proud of that as anything I’ve ever written.

VU: How is being a bartender treating you? Where have you worked since the Cobalt?

Clay: I worked at the Rickshaw for a while in the dark days of David Duprey, then over to the Wise Hall where I’ve been ever since. The Wise Hall is great and I’ve traded working at the Cobalt with Wendy13 to working at the Wise with her daughter, Seleighne14. Bartending allows me to do silly things like EarGoggles during the day and still make a living at night. It's a good career choice for the artistic survivalist.

Eargoggles showing takes place on FRIDAY JUNE 5TH @ Funky Winkerbeans. The movie starts at 9pm and is followed by three kick arse bands. Clay will have all back issues of EarGoggles for sale as well as a live Rebel Spell DVD!

                                             
And be sure to check out http://eargogglesdvd.com and http://bullterrierproductions.com for more info.