NOISE & COLOR Vol 1 issue 3

7/30/2019 NOISE & COLOR Vol 1 issue 3

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crewBryce Turcotte

Wayne Wilcox

Tylan Jones

James dean hickman

anna paige

peter tolton

Danielle Mccracken

zach Duval

bryce turcotte

addam john ostlund

david lee hall

Jody P Dirt

bryce turcotte

Benjamin cooper

anna paige senior writer

peter tolton

james dean hickman

hannah r jacobsen

kayla carranco

jody p dirt aka jodie tenicin smith

isaac guilforddavid hickman

douglas oltrogge

courtney donovan

kate olp

travis hunt

lissa laroche

}- writers}--- PHOTOGRAPHERS

}--- graphic designers

}-----Managing editor

}----- account executive

contactphone 406.647.0655

email [email protected]

www.noiseandcolormag.com

} ----- executive editor} -------------------------------------chief financial officer

}-----------------contributing editors

--

}-----------------copy editors


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no shave november

beer we wish we had

fashion:coatsfriendsgiving

jim heurtas comedian cop

The horde bikers with a caus

steve brown

video games livefranz nicolay

cursive

wet ink festival

rimrock brewers

delectable disquite


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no shave

november

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Iam a bearded American. And No Shave Movember (or November as its also known) is our holiday. A time to reect on

all things beard. Mustaches, goat ees, 5 oclock shadows, soul patches, and side burns. I was going to write a entirepiece on the history of this glorious month. But I suck at writing. So instead, to show my bearded pride, I took somephotos of some of my facial haired brothers. Some old friends, and some new. Also check out page 32 for another swee

mustache. I met the cowboy in the bottom corner on the sidewalk outside the studio. And I think we scared a beardedhomeless man when we asked him to come get his photo taken.

I have included a mustache cut out on the next page for those who are less fortunate. Enjoy responsibly. - Bryce

photos by

bryce Turcotte


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by christina evans

photos by bryce turcotte

Tasters: Lauren, Craig, Jake, and Eric


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We cant get that here. Sadly, I have grownaccustomed to hearing that response whenordering beer. Since moving to Montana fromOklahoma in October 2011, Ive had to not

only tailor my tolerance to cold, dry weather, but also facethe rude awakening that many pleasantries I enjoyed inthe Sooner state are not readily available in my new home.Chipotle Mexican Grill, large concert venues, Power Con-ference football games (BOOMER!) all reduced to fondmemories of my co-ed past. But it was a trade I was willing

to make to enjoy a new life and promising opportunity inBillings, Montana. Willing, that is, until I frequented my rst

bar.

May I get a Boulevard Wheat?

A what?

A Boulevard WHEAT.

I detected the bartenders puzzled annoyance with myquestion. I never once expected something so ubiquitous inOklahoma as Boulevard Wheat to be non-existent else-

where in the country, much less Montana. Over the nextcouple of months, I learned a large majority of the beer Ienjoyed in the Midwest and throughout my travels werenowhere to be found in my new home. But before I ex-pound upon this subject, I must give credit where credit isdue. The local breweries do a surprisingly fantastic job atsupplying this state with quality, delectable ales. Montanadid not clinch the #3 spot for State with Most Breweries percapita by lling their growlers with swill. It is a rightfully de-served position and Montanans love their local craft brews.

That said, nding myself in the state that I am in (pun

intended), I had to nd other means of satisfying my pen-

chant for rare and unique ales. The 2012 Great AmericanBeer Festival (GABF) celebrated annually at the DenverConvention Center was an obvious choice. Considered bysome the Mecca for all things beer, the GABF is indeednothing short of a religious experience.

If you love beer and are sick of the local fare, the GABF isthe treatment youve been looking for, boasting 500+ brew-

eries and 2700+ beers on tap even the most pertinaciousnon-beer drinker can nd something worth lauding over.

Earlier this year, I somehow convinced my boyfriend to at-tend this all-you-can-taste event. In the process of hypingup the experience, we realized how many delicious beersare not available in Billings. Imagine if, one day, all licens-ing restrictions are lifted and the shelves are stocked withRussian River, Dogsh Head, Yuengling, Three Floyds,

and Kettlehouse. My brewtopia was a reality for a coupleof days during our time in Denver. Sadly, as most good

things will and do come to an end I was left with sanguinethoughts of next years festival.

But somewhere in that crowded, raucous conventioncenter, between sips of Coop F5-IPA and Rocky MountainOyster Stout (yes, made from EXACTLY what you think)

we agreed we would bring beer across state lines andintroduce them to our friends in Big Sky Country. An activitynearly as exciting as the festival, the drive back to Montanawith our stash was intoxicating, though not literally. Likemodern day renditions of old Chicago rum-runners, minusthe illegal soliciting activity, we brought what we thoughtwas a decent selection of quality crafts. Nearing Fort Col-

lins, our last-minute stop for beer and Chipotle (!), I felt dis-gustingly satised with myself for owning an SUV because

I fully intended on loading it to the gills with beer. Side note:We visited 2 stores in Fort Collins, the second choice beinga nondescript liquor store about a mile off Interstate 25. Atcheckout on the cashiers counter rested 2 bottles of RedState and Blue State Whiskey. Its all the same whiskeythe cashier said. How cleverly symbolic, I replied.

From the cache of beers we smuggled, six were chosenfor this article. How difcult was it to acquire tasters? About

as difcult as losing all of your Tour de France titles. Not

very In the dimly lit back room of Billings Homebrewery

Supply, four beer enthusiasts congregated. Craig, the pro-prietor of the shop, his friend Eric, Jake Holshue, the Presi-dent of the Rimrock Brewers Guild, and Lauren, a pluckybeer enthusiast. These people know their stuff, but pleasedo not take their criticism as a lodestar for each particularbeer. If you can nd any of these beers, give them a try. We

would love to see them all available around these parts.

>>>


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Hades AleGreat Divide Brewing CompanyColorado

Belgian Strong Pale Ale7.8%

Craig: A Classic Belgian blondecrisp, clean, little fruity avor. My favorite beer so

far. Massive avor and very complex.

Eric: Ultra smooth all around, from start to nish.

Lauren: WHOA! I normally dont like Belgians but I like this! Tastes like Dimetapp

Jake: Belgian funky!

DeconstructionOdell Brewing CompanyColorado

American Wild Ale (Fermented with wild yeast)10.5%

Craig: Oaky, acidity cuts through sweetness.

Lauren: Sweet, good with sweet cream. Another good beer for non-beer drinkers

Eric: Lots of oak avors, good with vanilla ice cream. Overall its good.

Dogfish Head 90 min IPADogsh Head Brewing Company

DelawareImperial India Pale Ale9% ABV

Eric: Cloudy, bready and toasty avors

Jake: Zen

Craig: Crisp and light

Lauren: Like it as an IPA because its mellow and much easier to drink a whole bottle.

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Breckenridge Vanilla PorterBreckenridge Brewery

ColoradoAmerican Porter

4.7% ABV

Lauren: Very vanilla-avored and good for a non-beer lover.Very smooth and might go well with ice cream. My mom would love it.

Jake: Not overly bitter

Eric: Pleasant merlot color, ultra smooth with no bite.

Craig: Pair with chocolate cake. Reminiscent of a malted milkshakewith a hint of roast in the nish.

Cold Smoke Scotch AleKettlehouse Brewery

Missoula MT6.5% ABV

Jake: Peaty but not slapping you in the face with it. Sweet and delicious.

Craig: Hints of coffee, caramel, and toffee. Very clean.

Lauren: One would really have to like the avor of beer to enjoy this.

Eric: (before tasting) Hands down the best beer in the bunch. Taste of roasted peanuts. Notat all dry, very smooth. (Savors for much longer than necessary).

Firestone Union JackWalker Brewing Company

CaliforniaAmerican IPA

7.5% ABV

Eric: HUGE grapefruit avor. Fresh, clean, light, and well-balanced

Craig: Like fresh cut grass, light for 7.5% alcohol.

Jake: Pinnacle of IPA-ness. Not over-powering. If an onion had balls

Lauren: Dont let it hit the back of your throat for too long, youll start coughing.


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Ithink we can all agree that its high time for coats and all the warm clothing that comes with the changing season. Thiscoat season the fashion world is nearly split between throwback leathers (think bikers/bombers with a chic fashion twist)

and the sharp appearance of the gentlemans pea coat.

These looks dominate the fashion industry while being tried-and-true standards of fashion. Bottega, Marcasa, and otherdowntown boutiques are stocked with fall fashion and warm weather garb.

The featured womens coats are from Bottega Clothing, and the selected mens coats came from Marcasa Clothing.This month, its time to get your pea coat on! The chic English standard is again an instant classic, giving the allure of anoxford bloke. Theres an array of colors to select, but black remains timeless. Women, as always, have many more color

choices and should be excited to rock the pea coat in a plethora of colors from sexy to staunch.

Now, for the inner badass If you feel like you just havent lived on the wild side enough, or if you are a balls-out ba-dass, mindful of style, biker-style leather is back in a big way. It may be too cold to rock a motorcycle, but its not too cold

to rock James Dean-styled leather coats.

Leathers dominated the New York fashion scene and theyre perfect for a fashion-forward individual with a latent desire

to smash a car window with a logging chain.

Sons of Anarchy or Downton Abby? The choice is yours, though you can do both from one night to the next and no onewill think worse of you. As long as the logging chain stays inside and you dont refer to yourself as a Duke, these looks

are sure to turn some heads.

by Isaac Guilford

photos by Benjamin Cooper

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Doma leather

Yumi embossed black and gold top

Henry & Belle ginger supper skinny

(courtesy of Bottega)

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Howe Hellz Bellz leather jacket

AG denim jeans

(courtesy of Marcasa)


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Yumi Taylor Pea coat

(courtesy of Bottega)

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Howe Rose Royce peacoat

AG denim jeans

Life After Denim plaid button up

Scotch & Soda bow tie

(courtesy of Marcasa)

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Jalapeno poppersGrab as many poppers as you grab bacon. Try to use thinner sliced bato cut down on cook time. Cut the tops off the japs, cut them in half, aclean out the seeds. Leave some seeds if you want it a little more spiceFill the cut in half japs with cream cheese. Cut the entire package of bain half. Wrap half a piece of bacon around each jap half. Place on a panwith tin foil to catch all the grease. Put it in the oven at 350 for about 20min on the middle rack. Then move to the top rack and turn up the hea425 for another 5-7 minutes so the bacon gets crispy.

Green eggs and hamhard boiled eggs

avocado

goat cheesemayo

mustardBACON!

Pumpkin Pie lling:1 can or 15 oz of Pumpkin puree3/4c packed light brown sugar1T cornstarch1/2t coarse salt (I used kosher)3/4t ground cinnamon (I always use more)3/4t ground ginger1/4t freshly grated nutmeg1t vanilla extract3 large eggs1 can (12oz) evaporated milkI always add maybe around 1/4c maple syrup as well.

Whisk together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cornstarchcinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs and maple syrupfully incorporated. Pour into prepared pie crust and bakeminutes at 325 degrees.

A traditional Pumpkin Pie with homemade, not store-boughtcrust!

Crust:2 1/2c All-Purpose our1t salt1t sugar1c unsalted butter, cut into cubes1/4 - 1/2 cup water

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together AP our, salt, andsugar. Add cubes of butter and rub into our mixture untilits fully incorporated and mealy. Add enough water to form adough but not so much that it is sticky. Wrap dough and chilluntil rm. This makes it easy to roll out. When chilled, roll outinto an even circle to t a 9-10 pie pan and place in pan. Crimpyour edges. Bake for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees untiledges lightly brown. Let crust cool.

perfect pumpkin pie

asparagus1) Clean and trim asparagus

2) Preheat oven to 450 degrees

3) Place a teaspoon of brie on the stalk of 3-5 asparagus4) Wrap a slice of prosciutto around the 3-5 stalks over the brie

leaving the tops exposed.

5) Sprinkle with ground pepper and thyme6) Bake for 15 minutes

Grandma's Turkey Stuffing1 cup butter

2 cups chopped onion

2 cups celery30 sliced day-old dried bread, broken to bits

1 tbs. salt1 tbs. pepper

2. tbs poultry seasoning

2 tbs. chopped parsley2 cups broth

Cook onion and celery in butter till soft. Blend seasonings with bread. Add fat mixture andblend. Pour brother over mixture stirring lightly. Stuff turkey and bake.

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Bacon TurkeyPrepared a 16 pound turkey placed in a special brine for

2 days to soak. Then rub olive oil salt and pepper and

as much brown sugar on the turkey as it will hold (noskimping!) then place pepper bacon on every exposed

part of the turkey ( very important to cover everything!)and pin it with toothpicks and place more brown sugar

over the bacon.

Roasted roots

8 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 parsnips, peeled and chopped5 red potatoes, peeled and rough chopped or 8-10 ngerling potatoes,

peeled

2 celery roots, peeled and diced1 1/2 tsp onion powder or granulated onion

4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and rough chopped

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary1/4 cup minced parsley

Coarse sea salt

Freshly ground black pepperExtra-virgin olive oil

Trufe oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place all vegetables, minus garlic, into a casserole dish or roasting panToss with a generous dose of olive oil and herbs.

Season with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables evenly in casserole disassuring theyre evenly coated with oil and seasoning. Place casseroledish in the oven for 15 minutes. After fteen minutes roasting, add thegarlic and onion powder. Return dish to oven and cook for an additiona30-45 minutes until golden brown, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Once othe oven, drizzle lightly with trufe oil and serve hot.

olives

Homemade cranberries-one 12 ounce bag of cranberries washed-one cup of sugar ( I mixed agave nectar and fructose granules)

-one cup of water.

-boil sugar and water- add cranberries and turn heat down to medium

- allow to mixture to cook down and create jelly like consistency- remove from heat and allow to cool for about 20 minutes before

putting in fridge

- can make the day before serving

candy turkeysoroeoscandy corn

whoppers

mini reeses peanut butter cups

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Imagine this:

Someone calls 911. A physical ght between a wifeand husband has broken out and the wife is scream-ing for her life. A cop responds to the call and takes thehusband into custody. With the suspect detained at thedepartment, he gets a call from a man standing on abridge who wants to jump. The ofcer spends over anhour talking the man through his temporary crisis andeventually convinces him to agree to a trip to the hospi-tal. Later, on his way back to the detention center, hegets another call, this time to respond to a mother whodoesnt know CPR whose baby is choking . Back onthe road after saving another life, he pulls over one ofMontanas many DUI drivers for speeding. However, thisstop is DUI-Drugs, and the driver is in possession of il -legal substances with the intent to distribute. Finally offduty for the evening, hes headed to Bones Brewing tocompete in a comedy competition.

Welcome to a day in the life of cop-cum-comedian JimHuertas. After about a dozen jobs between California,

Alaska, and overseas, Jim is now settled in Laurel, Mon-tana, working as a city cop and using comedy to unwindfrom the day-to-day stress that comes with his day-job.

Jim grew up in Los Angeles, California and has been onhis own since he was 16 years old. As he grew up on thestreets of LA, his mentality for survival was, and still is,make success your only option. He eventually savedenough money to have his own apartment, and he wasable to maintain a 3.5 GPA. An outspoken personality, hewas immediately drawn to drama and comedy. With anoutgoing personality in high school, he was immediatelydrawn to drama classes, where a teacher asked him toperform stand-up comedy for a group of cafeteria work-ers. Hes egocentric, has a pretty decent wit, andloves to be the center of attention, and relished thechance to make fun of a bunch of lunch ladies with hairymoles on their faces.

He admits that while he doesnt have serious comedicgoals as an adult, his goal in high school was to auditionfor Saturday Night Live. Life became more serious afterhe had children, and Jim chose the mature road of get-ting a stable job and making money over the starving-art-ist lifestyle of pursuing comedy. Hes started businesses,such as Crytech, from the ground up, hes traveled theoceans as a sherman, and he has never-ending ideas

as an entrepreneur. Now, working as a police ofcer, hends solace in comedy and being a father of three. Adaughter and two sons.

Jim has been working for the Laurel Police Departmentfor six years, and he loves it. He is also a parent andtries to teach his children acceptance and that nobodyplays the victim. The family is very sarcastic with oneanother, and they nd humor in almost every situation

good or bad. While Jim might bring work to his com-edy, as a police ofcer its important for him to leave hispersonal life at the door. Allowing the drama of rais-ing teen children, having an argument, or just having atough day to distract him at work could have disastrousconsequences both for Jim and the people he serves.Response determines result, he said.

As intense as the hypothetical situations described inthe above introduction may seem, its a typical day forhim. Some days are worse no call is ever the same,and the outcomes arent always favorable. Any persondoing Jims job would need a way to unwind. Peoplecope with tragedy in very different ways, Jim says. Heuses his grandmothers funeral as an example to helpvisualize how cops and civilians are the same on the in-side. While one aunt cried over the loss of her sister, hisgrandfather stood in the background complaining aboutthe old furniture. Like humans anywhere, Jims copingmechanism is comedy.

He has performed on numerous occasions with LukasSeely Presents and through his side project The JokeStraps. Most recently, he competed in the Big Sky In-ternational Comedy Competition. Anyone who has seenhim perform is familiar with his unique on-stage per-sona: The Funny Cop. This character allows him a sortof catharsis a funny way to deal with the aggravationsand stresses of his career. I always nd Jim funny, buthe can sometimes come off a bit angry or moody. Thoseperformances might be the effort of a man who had a dif-cult day at work but still tries to nd the humor in everysituation good or bad.

At the end of the day, Jim is an average person who iseasy to relate to, so be on the lookout for his next per-formances. And if youre a victim of a speeding ticketor trafc violation, and you see him out and about, makesure to let him know you didnt deserve it.


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he Horde is not the kind of Motorcycle Club you

see characterized on TV and Movies. They arentthe gunrunning, drug dealing, party-all-night sort,Despite this, you still would not want to be on the

Hordes bad-side, Like any group of real friends, loyalty isstrong and if you have a problem with one, well, you havea problem with them all. But dont let this scare you. Themembers of the Horde are disciplined, community-focusedindividuals. This is mostly due to members of The Hordebeing largely ex-military and hardworking blue-collar types,the kind of folk that are used to more structured socialcircles, more brothers then mere friends. A lot of their timeis spent dealing with the fact that people just assume they

are outlaws. Too much time, said the leader of the localclan, Ken LT Hall. No matter what sort of positive differ-ence we make locally, there are still people still think weare no good and misinterpret what we do. The stigma ofthe leather bound nogoodnik is tough to shake; even whenthey teamed up with the non-prot Heart Hugs for a charity

car wash to raise money for local kids with congenital heartproblems they still got odd glances from passersby. Futureprojects include making a regular youth concert for local12-17 year olds. Long term the boys in The Horde want toestablish a community center for local teens. There is justnothing to do around here for them except get into trouble.said Hall.

Hall is an intense and charismatic man that doesnt like tomince words. He is one of 12 sailors and 2 marines thatfounded the MC club in San Diego April of 82. After gettingout of the navy in 1995, Hall came to Billings to start a newclan. Unlike most Motorcycle Clubs that are broken up into

local chapters, each with their own president and ofcers,

The Horde is essentially is one big chapter with a presidentwho is in charge of the lower 48 states. the US are split into 5

sections, each with a vice-president in charge of that sectionsaffairs and business. Under each vice president there can be

many clans. Each clan functions on its own.

As military men, we needed something that was similar to

military life that we could transition into. If you think aboutit, there are not a lot of options for that, so a lot of guys justturn to booze. Not to say the Horde doesnt like to drink,but they dont want to be the types who live at the bottomof a bottle. Riding motorcycles proved more fullling than

simple drinking culture. Living in the military often meansliving without your family. As such, the club quickly becamemore than just riding, it became family. We had to takecare of each other. All the sudden, my honey is cookingthanksgiving for 14-15 guys missing home. For the Horde,then and now, all they often have is the guy next to them.Nowadays, being out of the military and with new non-

military members, the sense of family is even stronger andthe sense of brotherhood remains. The Horde never forgotthat building family is core to their organization. Nowa-days, during Christmas, they nd families that need a little

extra help. They buy a big Christmas dinner, a tree, andpresents, leave it on the families doorstep, ring the door-bell, and run. We are not interested in bringing fear to theneighbors, Hall said.

The Horde is heavily involved with the local music scene.They provide their services as security and bouncers tolocal bands and promoters for a low cost. When workingsecurity, they approach problems with respect and disci-

pline and rarely have to put their hands on concert goers.They also have some big plans for the music scene here inBillings.

The Horde reminds us of the all too familiar aphorism,Never judge a book by its cover. The Horde arent thebad apple type but there not sweet either there the perfectcombination of badass and benecent, but most of all the

word that sums them up the best is brothers.

by james hickman

photo by Bryce Turcotte

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Steve Brown sat at the bar in the Yellowstone Valley BrewingCompany, huddled over a year-old copy ofThe Billings Out-

post, reviewing last years nomination page for the TuneyAwards. He was surrounded by a consortium of passionate,

like-minded individuals engaged in planning this years awards. A.J.Ostlund, from I90 Design Studio, sat working on logos and promosfor the event, effectively creating an identiable and unique brandingfor the ceremony. In turn, the branding and logos will help BryantMettler solicit sponsorships from local businesses. James Hickman,my editor, scratched madly at a notepad, trying to keep track of theideas springing up from around the bar. Juliet Parks and Rick Bakkohave offered their support with staging and coordination of theevent. George Moncure, who has shouldered much of the weight of

the event in recent years, worked his way to the table, carrying vepints of beer in a balancing act.

George, the gregarious and ever-present owner of the YVBC, of-fered words of encouragement: Anything you need, Steve, anythingI have, is at your disposal.. Steve nodded his head and ashed asmile of appreciation in Georges direction as the brewery ownerdropped off the pints.

First and foremost, were renaming the whole thing. Its The MagicCity Music Awards. Im trying to broaden the scope a little, make itmore inclusive, Steve Brown explains. Inclusive is a word easilyhung on Mr. Brown. He has been a a catalyst of inclusiveness inBillings and elsewhere for years. He contributes to countless bandsand performances, lending his voice, ideas, and passion to music

projects including The Steve Brown Band, Tyler Burnett Band, Sonsof Billings, the Peach Pickers, Goose, Roller Coaster Thompson,and most recently, Reconnaissance.

Steve has proven himself a constant gure at open mic sessionsthroughout Billings, lling slots at Bones, Mannys, YVBC, TheRailyard, and any other business willing to open its doors to Billingsmusicians. Steve has sat as a judge for the burgeoning slam poetryscene in Billings. He promotes live music downtown with this an-nual Montana After Dark concert series. He has taken to the stagein Venture Theatres production ofHank Williams: Lost Highway,where he ttingly portrayed Hank Williams. Steve has worked toexpand the reach of the Bill ings ArtWalk by showing his work andgetting more businesses, like Guidos, involved in displaying art andbecoming active participants. It is only tting that now, in the midst

of a thousand projects, Steve has decided to take the reins of Bill-ings longstanding award ceremony for community artists.

Okay, so, youre changing the name, but you can call the pigsprinces all you want. What are you actually changing about TheMagic City Music Awards? My question hovered for a secondbefore Steves eyes lit up.

For one thing, he said, Were getting rid of the concept ofBest of.Do you know what I mean, like BestCountry and Western Band, orBestMetal Band. Its like this, man: There could be, for example,the all-time bestpunk band in Billings, ever, but they havent pro-duced an album or played a show, or really been part of the growing

and developing scene for a year or more. Now, sure, theyre thebest, but are they playing? Are they growing as a band? Are theyinuencing the scene here in Billings in any other way? I mean, arethey moving ahead?

I see your point, I said.

So instead of the concept of the best,to promote growth andchange were going to go with of the year. You know, like Folk Actof the Year, or Punk Group of the Year. That way, it has the con-notation of a band or an individual actively engaged in the scene inthe past year.

Before I can breathe, Steve is on to his next point.

The other thing is were going to put in some, you know,term limits. We dont want the same band winning ev-ery year, over and over again. Nobody is going to deny it,ENDever is the best metal group to come out of Billings, andno one can take that away from them. But, if year-in andyear-out, they win the only award, the only form of publicaccolades outside of a screaming crowd, what does that doto promote or encourage other bands? Not a lot. So weregoing to spread the love around. We want to feature a dif-ferent band winning an award every year. Thats not to saythat ENDever can only win once, but they arent going to winevery year consecutively.

Im not trying to manipulate or burden the scene with my

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ideas. Im trying to throw the shackles off of the scene that al-ready exists. You know, free it. Im trying to free The Tuneysto rise to its potential as the The Magic City Music Awards.

Dear Lord, are you sure. You could be setting an identity-less Frankenstein loose. You have to help shape it, and holdits hand the entire way, I say, half joking.

No, Doug if it is Frankenstein, then it is our Frankenstein; itwas what we have at this exact spot. My goal isnt to upturn

the forest to plant trees -- its to work with what weve gotand to help it mature in tune with itself, not my ideals. If itis Frankenstein, then my goal is to help Frankenstein singlike an angel, not by force, but by example. This whole ideagoes far beyond The Magic City Music Awards, this is mywork within the artistic community of Billings as a whole. Theawards show is just the bow tie on the beast, but I am trulyconcerned and entirely invested in it all, body and soul.

Ok, I said. Steves passion showed, his face ushed andhands moved with force equal to his words. Then, at leastyour goal isnt to turn the scene loose but to help it to its feet,help it to walk, and then with time dance.

Steve threw his head back and laughed, his hands shoveddeep into his pockets, his newsboy cap pulled low to hiseyebrows.

I let the image of Frankenstein, now gone wild, sink in fully. Iget lost in the parallels between nearly-forgotten Mel Brookspastiches and the Billings art scene expressed in abstract,gothic terms. Ultimately, it ts. The Billings music sceneis a beast pieced together from countless other things: theragged torso of Country & Western stitched to the bangedand bandaged head of Heavy Metal, precariously standingon the kicking and jumping legs of a well-rooted punk scene,with sewn-on arms of Jazz and Folk bearing the callousedand picked-dry hands of Bluegrass -- all fueled by the sinis-ter heart of Rock and Roll. At the center of this image I seeSteve Brown beating the beasts chest, screaming at the topof his lungs, Live, damn you! Live!

And live it will if determination has anything to do with it.

Steve, these are good changes, and I totally dig what youreaiming at. But what are some other changes, more substan-tive ones? What can I tell the reader you are doing to makethese broader, philosophical changes resonate in the physicalrepresentation of the thing?

I am going to eliminate as much potential for cheating as Ican. He answers with his most serious look of the night.

Is cheating a problem?

Honest to gods truth, as a musician on the scene, Ive heardfrom other musicians, even winners, that there has beena long-running culture of cheating. Stufng the ballot boxwith photocopied nomination slips handed out by a band atthe door. It might not be all-out cheating, but it is powerfulpersuasion.

Were going to take nominations from the community, likealways. However, as a fail-safe against cheating, the winnerswill be determined by a panel of nine judges who will be keptsecret until the night of the awards show. I have hand-picked

the judges, and each and every one is a local expert on themusic scene in their own right. There are a couple of themwho have been part of the music scene for over 30 years.

This is a good idea, as long as the Judges are credible, Isaid.

I can say, with all condence, that there isnt a person whocan question the integrity of the judges weve got lined up.Im putting my own credibility on the line, and I take this very

seriously. If we do this right, were going to re-instill in thishumble award ceremony a sense of pride, but only by rsteliminating the aspects that have lent themselves to giving itan underlying sense of shame. If it is honest and fair, it willbe a point of pride.

In the closing seconds of our conversation, I shoot one morequestion. The question is a test, and sometimes the simplesttests are the most telling. So Steve, when the dust settles,when the 2012 Magic City Music Awards are a thing of thepast, how much money will you get paid for all this effort?

Pay? Steve asks. I am being paid only in stress. Helaughs and runs his boney guitarists hands slowly over hisface. Truth be known, if somewhere somebody offered mea paycheck for this, Id turn it down. This isnt about moneyto me, its about lifting up the arts in Billings in a meaningfulway. It is a labor of love. The Magic City Music Awards willbe another test of Steves ability to pull the varied and uncon-nected strings of a relatively quiet but burgeoning artisticscene together, pull them together tight with the intentions ofmaking them resonate with each other in a harmonious pitch.If he fails or falls short of his goals, so what? The truest andmost insightful forms of learning come disguised as failure. Itis from failure that we learn what is needed to succeed, andany failure in this rst attempt will certainly be corrected in thesecond. However, if his attempt to unite the music scene ofBillings, if for only one night, succeeds, and some foundation

for a symbiotic, self-sustaining, self-promoting scene forms,that which will or can be built on top of this foundation is nota reection of the work of Steve Brown, but rather a reec-tion of the Billings music scene as a whole. His goal is notto create something in his own image, but to encourage theformation of a distinct entity born from the collaboration of thecommunity.

The Magic City Music Awards is is designed for the public.It is a venue in which the audience gets a say in promotingthe bands that drag them from their air conditioning on hotsummer nights for Alive After 5, or the bands that happilypromote the cross-town trek to Mannys on a Monday night tosee local artists doing what they love.

The Magic City Music Awards will be held at YVBCs Ga-rage Pub at 2123 First Ave North on Sunday, December 2nd

beginning at 5 P.M. Steve Brown cordially invites you. Comedown, get a pint, and help the town raise a glass of local beerin support of local musicians. They deserve our support.

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Irst heard the rumblings two weeks ago that something special was coming to Billings and the noise is getting

louder. My gamer friends are jittery with this, and, as is the case when anything big happens in gaming, their fervorhouses a very specic sort of palpability. I heard rumors of classic video game soundtracks played live by an actual

orchestra in front of massive, synchronized screens. Dazzling light shows were also mentioned and the reviews, itseems, have been tens across the board. It all sounded very exciting, so I took a moment to do some reading on thisproject, and it does seem that something wicked is coming this way. To Billings, people. Can you hardly stand it?

Briey, Video Games Live is a tour developed by the gaming industry in 2005 to support the culture and art that is

video gaming. The intent was to bring something new to the masses of established gaming fanatics while also extend-ing a unique invite to the uninitiated. Family friendly and interactive, VGL is a concert for everybody, and its dressed

to impress. In essence, VGL features full symphonic renditions of classic video game music set to a huge, on-screen,

synchronized visual component.

Zelda, Final Fantasy, Myst, Castlevania, Metroid, and Silent Hill (shiver), to name only a handful on the astounding setlist Im seeing, will have selections from their soundtracks masterfully represented here. For those of you old enoughto remember, reading through these few titles probably bring back tinkling clips of wonderfully addictive music to yourskull. For those who arent, rest assured, these are some of the most underrated compositions in music and well worth

your attention.

But dont just lean on my wee blurb here while debating the ticket purchase, Ive barely scratched the surface. Getonline and watch their videos, bask in their accolades, and marvel at their passion. This projects waves are crashingworldwide, you guys, and we should be thankful that its landing here in our small city.

I think this speaks volumes for their direction and I hope to see you there. The Billings Symphonys Video Games

Live begins at 7:30PM at Alberta Bair Theater.

by travis hunt

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Multi-instrumentalist, Franz Nicolay, will return toMontana on November 12 to perform a solo showat Mannys. Nicolay travelled to Montana with theband, The Hold Steady, for a MySpace Secret

Show in 2008. Now, hes looking forward to coming backto the Treasure State. Montana has always sort of held aspecial place in my heart, he said. Its one of those placesI always fantasize about moving to after Im done touring.Nicolay started his music career early, learning violin at theage of 5. He went on to master several other instruments,including the accordion, French horn, and, most recently, thebanjo. Nicolay said learning new instruments helps him growas a song writer and composer. Theres something aboutlearning a new instrument every couple years that alwayssparks a real creative search for me and I write a bunch of

music because. For me, once I get too much technical facilityon one instrument, I start outsmarting myself in the compo-sitional department. Learning a new instrument helps himstart fresh and create a new musical sound. Its a way oftricking myself into simplicity and song writing, Nicolay said.His current favorite instrument is the banjo, but he admitshes still trying to master it, I only started playing the banjoabout three or four years ago so Im still guring out newtechniques. Part of the process of learning new techniques isI usually get a song or two out of it.

Nicolays broad musical career includes collaborations withbands such as Against Me!, the Dresden Dolls, and, more

recently, the gypsy-Balkan carnie group, Guignol and Anti-Social Music. On his upcoming trip to Montana, Nicolay willreturn as a one man band. He said working solo is a newstep in his musical career. Its more of a challenge and Ineeded more of challenge. When youre working with a band,obviously, theres a very communal feeling and theres a lotof energy in the room, and if one persons having a bad night,another person can pick up the slack. Whereas, to be a soloperformer, its really all on you to keep the attention, to keepthe energy and control the feeling in the room and that feltlike the next step for me as a performer.

Performance is at the heart of Nicolays shows. He hasworked with bands that draw inspiration from eastern Europe-

an cabaret and has included facets of this genre in his muas well as his onstage performances. Citing Vaudeville asa strong inuence for his stage presence Nicolay said, Ivalways felt a real afnity with cabaret and vaudeville, this of old-fashioned ideology of performance where youre tryto be as well rounded and entertainer as possible.

His latest solo album, Do The Struggle, feels like storiessung over large musical scores; standing alone, the lyricscould be a motivational motto or poem. When set to thetune of banjos and tambourines, it sounds like the life af-rming funk so many audiophiles love and crave. Electronsounds mixed with folksy banjo riffs rivet the listener to theclectic melody. Nicolay said his technical knowledge helhim incorporate so many different elements, My training

in composition and orchestration and arrangement and thsort of your pallet as a maker. Its like mixing red and yelloon a pallet and getting orange. You le away mentally whthe different shadings of those instrumental colors are. It jexpanded that premise to a huge pallet of instrumental coyou have available to you in a modern recording studio.

Although many of the songs from Do The Struggle areabout romance, Nicolays favorites are the titular track, whis an ode to political and social protestors around the worand Joy, a percussion- driven story of each day bringingnew opportunities to nd happiness. Nicolay aims to makhis music the best in any form, whether in music videos, E

and on stage. My personal philosophy is that I want to foon making the most interesting version of the song. Nicoadded that he strives to make professional recordings thebest he can, I know Im going to sing these songs a thousand times but you only have one opportunity to make theperfect version of the song as I hear it in my head, and thwhen I make the album.

Franz Nicolays newest solo album, Do The Struggle, is rently available for purchase on his website, http://franznilay.com/. He will be performing solo at Mannys in BillingsMontana on November 12. Reader tip- Do The Strugglelimited edition B-side tracks will be available from Nicolaytour merchandise.

Franz Nicolay

by Courtney Donovan


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Theres stillness in Montana that is like no other. Here

the expansive country unfolds like an artists palette,

spurring resourcefulness and originality within its

residents while allowing quietude amongst the rivers,

mountains, and roads.

Such a state has a magnetic pull, courting musicians with its

intimate setting and level of anonymity, if they so choose.

In the fall of 2010, Tim Kasher, frontman of the longtime rock

outt Cursive, left California for colder pastures. He relocated

to Whitesh, Montana, where he honed his songs at the local

open mic. Here Kasher was just a guy with a guitar, not the

high prole musician and founder of a cultishly popular indie

rock band.

A nomad of sorts, Kasher has traipsed the country for years

with his Omaha-based musical groups Cursive and The Good

Life. After nearly a year of touring in support of Cursives2009 release Mama, Im Swollen, which routed the band

through Missoula and Billings, Kasher spent a cold winter in

Whitesh writing his debut solo album, The Game Of Mo-

nogamy, a self-reective, unapologetic take on relationships.

Not one to stay in one place for long, Kasher currently re-

sides in Chicago and is on the road again with Cursive, this

time showcasing the groups latest release, I Am Gemini,

an ambitious musical tale inspired by the mythological Greek

tale of Castor and Pollux.

In Cursives version, twin brothers Cassius and Pollock are

separated at birth. One good and one evil, their unexpected

reunion ignites a mythological struggle, played out with a castof supporting characters that includes a chorus of angels and

devils, and twin sisters conjoined at the head.

Cursive is the longtime collaboration of Tim Kasher (vocals,

guitar), Matt Maginn (bass), and Ted Stevens (guitar, vocals),

who formed the band in 1995 in Omaha, Nebraska. Patrick

Newbery on keys and Cully Symington on drums nish out

the current group.

Released in February, I Am Gemini is the bands seventh

LP, and Kashers tenth album. Guitarist Stevens, who has

played with Cursive since the 1999, attributes the bands lon-

gevity to their love of writing and exploring different themes.

We enjoy that process, Stevens said. Like any relationship,

you learn how to communicate over the years.

Cursive has constantly reinvented themselves during their

career, starting circa the mid-90s when independent record

label Saddle Creek, home to indie rock peers Bright Eyes,

The Faint, Azure Ray, among others, was forming.

By the time Cursive released their signature album Domes-

tica in 2000, they were an underground success, but broke

into the national consciousness in 2003 with their fourth

album, The Ugly Organ.

Of playing music with Kasher, Stevens said, On the right

night in the right small room, things can get pretty dynamic.

He recalls the rst time Cursive played Billings, when Kasher

crawled into the rafters of the Yellowstone Valley Brewing

Company with his guitar, then came down to play in the cen-ter of the crowd, pulling his guitar, mic and stand with him.

Such shows feel like the old days, where wed play house

shows and small clubs, Stevens said. We still do that quite

a bit. It tends to pay off with a lot of energy all around, which

is fun.

Stevens joined Cursive in the early days of Saddle Creek Re-

cords and was part of a core group of musicians who helped

shape the Omaha music scene into a national powerhouse of

indie rock music. Yet Stevens doesnt view Omaha like that.

Maybe I need to, he said. I can appreciate the greater

Omaha scene, Saddle Creek, and beyond that now. Grow-

ing up with the Saddle Creek thingwe were in college andmade musical bonds that lasted a long time. We started this

thing, and helped each other out. Its turned into what seems

like lifetime careers in music for my peers. The scene since

then has become really incredible.

Catch Cursive in concert on Monday, November 19 in Mis-

soula and in Billings at Mannys on Tuesday, November 20.

Locals Brass Monkey Band and Reid Perry & the Montana

Avenue Band open the show. Tickets available at 1111pres-

ents.com.

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by kate olp

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Missoula may have started the craft brew scene, butBillings perfected it, Jake Holshue chuckled and swiggedhis pint glass. Jake is the president of the Rimrock Brew-ers Guild, Billings homebrew club. One evening, sit-ting on the porch of Angry Hanks, he and Kenny Utz,the Guilds secretary, gave the lowdown on the delightsof drinking beer, making beer, and why were lucky tolive here. Kenny is glad he moved here for a number ofreasons, brewing community among them. The brew-ing community here and in every other city in Montanais much more prominent than in San Antonio. There aremore breweries here than there were in San Antonio andthats a city of a million and a half people. Even the brew-eries there werent as good as the ones here.

Montanans (and the above former Texan) love givingcomparisons in favor of our home state and home towns.Maybe it stems from a fear of being forgotten. Its belittlingto watch some east coaster struggle to locate the Trea-sure State on a U.S. map. Or, our want to be known couldcome from a desire to distract from some of our less thanadmirable headlinesthe Freemen, Ted Kazinski, andDenny Rehbergs boat incident come to mind. The (Read:unfounded) notion that Billings is the meth capital of theU.S gets thrown around, unfortunately. Theres nothinglike wallowing in community drug crisis and bad statisticsin the same sentence!

Although, another statistic that gets tossed around bringsa glow a drinkers heart: Montana tops the country in mi-crobreweries per capita. According to the Brewers Associ-ation, were at number three, behind Vermont and OregonStrolling downtown and the edge of the North Side, theevidence is clear. Billings is home to six microbreweries.Plus, theres Fat Jacks in Laurel.

When it comes to MT, specically, the idea behind hand-made products originally started with the Made in MTlogo, Jake said. Every Montanan, everybody who hasvisited Montana, knows that logo, knows that hardwork-ing Montanans have put their blood, sweat, and tears intothat product, and their realize that Montanans will alwayssource their ingredients and their products directly from

Montana. Montana is a great grain producing state.

Its not all about local breweries; there is more to localbeer culture than high-volume batches and charging bythe pint. Beer brewing has roots that stretch far beyondcapitalism and far precede modern America. James Madi-son wanted to establish a secretary of beer as a cabinetposition. In September, the White House released therecipe for White House Honey Brown Ale after PresidentObama took a personal interest in homebrewing. This isthe rst alcohol brewed or distilled at 1600 Pennsylvania.On record, that is.

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But, you dont have to live in the Executive Man-sion to brew beer. Unbeknownst to the passerby,

any home could house a bubbling carboy, cook-ing up the next best batch. And, although small-time brewmasters have used the Billings Home-brewery Supply store as a make-do hangout forquite some time, there hasnt been a decent localcollective since the former homebrew club calledit quits about ten years ago. In July, the Rimrock

Brewers Guild got together to ll that void.

On the surface, the intentions are pure andsimple. We want people who drink good beer tocome down and try other good beer, Jake said.Between twenty and thirty people showing upto each meeting to brew, organize events, honethe craft, and, thankfully, drink beer. Ive had asgood homebrew as any commercially-producedcraft beer here in Billings and Ive had a lot betterhomebrew than commercially available beer.Kenny added, As home brewers, we love bigbeers, we love small beers, but we love avor.

Sitting next to one another, Jake and Kennylooked quite the pair. Jake is a big guy with darkbrown hair, an inexplicably red beard, and abroad smile. Kenny is thin and notably, well-kept.By day, he works as a pharmacist during the day.But off the clock, these fellows are hard at workover sinks and stoves crafting their favorite drink,always improving and ne-tuning their inventions.

That said, its not just for fun all the time. Wehave some competitions coming up, Jake said.

One of Jakes recent creations is called KitchenSink Porter. The ingredient list is enormous:oats, caramel malt, Munich malt, brewerslicorice, Mexican vanilla, cold-press coffee, andmore. The effect is intentional and intense. Apowerful, complicated beer, it would be difcult

to have more than one or two. But, thats not thepoint. Its all in the process for these guys. Everybrewer has his own intentions, Jake said. And,

my intention is to never brew the same beertwice. If I wanted the same beer twice, Id go tothe grocery store or one of the breweries.

If he went to the grocery store or one of thebreweries, hed be missing out on a tremendousbenet of homebrewing: cost. A ve-gallon batch

(thats over fty 12-oz. bottles!) comes out at

as little as $30. For even the occasional beerdrinker, the savings are phenomenal. But, itsmore than a cost-saver.

Homebrew is being able to create somethingon your own, Kenny said. You come up with

the recipe, you come up with the process, andyou share with everyone what you have Wereteaching people who have little to no experiencehomebrewing how to home brew, how to get intoit, how to improve their methods. Just like anyhobby, theres a trillion ways to cut the apple,Kenny said. Everybodys going to nd their own

way.

If youre interested in homebrewing, you can signup for the Guilds mailing list at Billings Home-brewery Supply, 1916 3rd Avenue North.


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Ive been waking up in darkness and trudg-ing through the fallen leaves to my car. AsI scrape that annoying layer of frost off mywindshield, my favorite hoodie begins to

seem a little too thin, and I try to convince my-self I am not a giant wuss for turning the heateron full blast. The chill of fall has ofcially setin. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and, aswe all know, pumpkin is a huge staple of the season.Its the time of the year where you will nd yourselfcompletely inundated with pumpkin. Pumpkin lattes,pumpkin-scented lotions, pumpkin candles, peopledressed as pumpkins, and piles of pumpkins outsideevery store. If you are a seasonal baker like me, therewill be pumpkin-avored desserts for at least threestraight months.

As a person who prepares food for others, I havecome to realize the importance of using local and sea-sonal items whenever possible. Because of this, I gotto thinking, Why would anyone use a seasonal item,such as pumpkin, from a can? For all we know, thatseemingly delicious pumpkin puree has been trappedin that can for years, forced into supermarket slaveryuntil that day you decide you are going to attemptyour own pumpkin pie to take to family dinner.

One brisk Saturday morning, determined to nd outexactly how much extra work it was to puree my ownpumpkin, I bribed myself out of bed with the promiseof a crepe and headed down to Farmers Market in

search of the ideal pumpkin. I settled on a perfectlyshaped, medium-sized pumpkin and skipped off towork. I cut it in half, gutted it, covered it in tin foil andthrew it in the oven for an hour. When the pumpkinwas fully roasted, soft, and the skin was easy enoughto pull away, I threw it in the blender until it wassmooth like the canned stuff, then ran it through astrainer to get rid of any stringy nastiness left behind.The rst thing I noticed about my puree was the color.It was vibrant and orange and healthy looking. When Icompared the fresh stuff to the canned, there was noquestion as to which one I would want in my recipes.

So, is that really all there is to it?

Oh, Lissa, I am just too lazy! You say?

I talked to my mother, who has a way to cook nearlyeverything in the microwave, and she informed me ofan even simpler method: poke holes all over a smallersugar pumpkin, microwave it for ten or so minutesuntil soft, then gut and puree it. Now, thats what Imtalking about producing a pumpkin puree that is soeasy, even a caveman can do it.

by lissa laRoche

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Out of Ideas?

Enjoy Unique Holiday Shopping!

ART FOR SALE

LIVE MUSIC

FREE TREATS

Free Admission Friday($1 on Saturday)

At theYellowstoneArt Museum401 N. 27th St.

NOISE & COLOR Vol 1 issue 3

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Transcript of NOISE & COLOR Vol 1 issue 3