Three years ago I did a bunch of interviews that got lost or deleted. Luckily Gregg Bielski behind Easy Bake Oven made this amazing graphic out from the interview we did together.
KITSCH MAGIK - What's your project name and how long have you been active?
Garret Bash-My
project is Cemetery Bastard and I’ve been active since late 2017.
KITSCH MAGIK -Where are you from? How did
the pandemic effect where your living right now?
Garret Bash-I live just
outside of DC and like every other major area, the DC area is shut down. I have
some family that live in smaller areas of the country and they haven’t been
affected by this whole thing as much as we have, but everything is pretty much
dead here.
KITSCH MAGIK -How are you doing during this pandemic? Has it made you more creative?
Garret Bash-The
pandemic sucks obviously, but I’ve been trying to use this time inside to focus
on things that I don’t always get to, like hanging out with my pets and art. As
far as what this has done for me creatively, I don’t know if has made me more
creative, but it has given me adequate time to work on my album, which I
appreciate since I am usually super slow when it comes to completing recordings
lol.
KITSCH MAGIK - There has been a sudden peek of live streaming of performances since
the COVID-19 pandemic started. Have you watched or played any? What was your
experience if you did?
Garret Bash-I have seen some of my friends stream live sets, but personally haven’t
streamed anything. I have a bunch of things not related to playing live that I
have put on the back burner, so I’ve been focusing on that while we’re all
stuck inside so I focus more on booking and playing live shows when this all
blows over.
KITSCH MAGIK - When did you notice people start to organize live streaming
events?
Garret Bash-When
things got serious here in the US a little less than a month ago I noticed people livestreaming, mostly as a reaction to having to cancel shows.
KITSCH MAGIK - Why do you think it took a global pandemic
for a shift like this to happen? You would think the noise community would have
jumped onto this beforehand, right?
Garret Bash-I have nothing against the fact that
people have been livestreaming their sets and think it’s a good idea, butI don’t think anyone would be doing
this if it wasn’t for the virus. My idea of the whole thing is that it’s just
something to hold everyone over until we can all play live in person again.
KITSCH MAGIK -Do you think that a need to live stream performances has helped the
noise community in a way, compared to other genres?
Garret Bash-I wouldn’t say that it helped the noise community per say, but from my
experience noise acts have always been easy to work with and have been more adaptable
than a traditional band or whatever, so I think the noise community in general
just made the most of what they were given.
KITSCH MAGIK - Do you think we are going to see more artists host live streaming
events after this is over?
Garret Bash-No, not very many at least. I
think once this ends everyone will be extremely eager to play live the regular
way again. For me personally I’ve never been happy with the sets I’ve played
where my volume has been limited. I can imagine there are other artists that
feel some aspect of their live set is lacking though a screen the same way I
do, but at the same time I feel there will be some people who take this on as a
new medium and do something with it even after the pandemic is over.
KITSCH MAGIK - How do you think this will change the landscapes of heavy/noisey acts?
Garret Bash-If this pandemic is more long-term, unfortunately I think we are going to
see some venues close and that is obviously going to make booking shows more
difficult for a lot of people. I also think, at least initially, that people
will be more willing to come to shows, even if it’s just because they’re tired
of being in the house.
KITSCH MAGIK -What is the first thing you
are going to do after this whole thing is over?
Garret Bash-Honestly, probably going
to a restaurant to get a real meal lol
KITSCH MAGIK -What release of yours do
you think best to listen to during all of this?
Garret Bash-That’s out now, probably
my split with Aether or Floating Skulls in an Artificial Ocean. I don’t want to
sound like I’m gassing myself up or anything, but if some of this new stuff I
have in the works ends up dropping while we’re all stuck inside that will
probably end up being the best stuff in my catalogue to listen to.
KITSCH MAGIK -Any other acts that you
should we check out during this time?
Garret Bash-Aether, Kil Gore Trout, Strange Noise
Records, Busey Teeth CDR, Heart Eyes, Pillars Of The Elves, Dead Squares,
Odium, Earthworm Von Doom, Poverty Line, Fiorella 16, Breezy Supreme,
Hallucionogenic Bulb, and obviously my boy MOYOGASH
