| Damian Weinkrantz |
| 9.
How is being in Philadelphia these days? I'm not sure. I still feel hesitant about making a concrete opinion on the place. I think it's a really good place to live and be young because there is so much going on. At the same time there are not really great job opportunities and there seems something a little off with the kids who are around. The fact that there are so many colleges in Philly makes it a double edged sword. Again, a lot of young people, and therefore a lot of entertainment - but maybe too many of them are hung up on something or another and it comes off a little too strong. You know when these kids go off to college, they get their heads full of ideas and sometimes they are a little to eager to recite the ideas forcefully. Other kids are just unsure of themselves and it's evident by how unfriendly they act. But that said, there is a definite culture here, one that is utilizing the potential a city has to offer. It's really exciting, it's really refreshing. There's also the issue of safety.
I think I'm better off somewhere else. Somewhere I can leave things
unlocked, somewhere I can walk down the street and not be worried.
So... my barometer of a city has always been the summertime. It's
when crime goes up. People leave their windows open and houses get
broken into. Where you and I lived in New Brunswick the number of
rapes increased five-fold in the summer. People are out of their
houses, doing the things they were doing inside, outside. There
is always a penchant for trouble, bravado, violence. You have to
wait and see how a city's summer plays out before you can judge
its character. That's when all the bad worms come out of the apple. |
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10. How much do you want
to be famous? What kind of famous? |
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11.What are the gauges you
use to judge what you do (art-wise, that is)? What do you try to
avoid? 12. You seem to like messy,
rather than smooth, art and music production. Do you think that's
true? If so, why do you think you like it more? 13. Do you think your life
fits the romantic model of the young arteest? A2: I really, really, really hate the romantic 'arteest' idea, its so antiquated. Tortured, brilliant, poor. It's so hopeless and naive. I really have no intentions/aspirations of being any of those three things and anyone who tells you that you need to be tortured, poor, mentally disturbed etc in order to make good art is full of shit and hasn't matured past the age of 16. -Side note- I am however, at the moment, monetarily strapped, sexually bewildered and I've always been brilliant, so maybe I fit the model. Get your note cards out here comes a winner. 14. How much are you concerned
about sexy (looking sexy, producing sexy things)? 17. Why do you want to do
things in public? |
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18. Whose stuff do you like
these days? |
| 19.
Where do you put yourself on the socio-economo-politically spectrum? A: Economically, I am at the bottom of the scale. It's so bad I'm wishing, hoping on a job that will pay me 30k a year! What a horror! Politically I guess I am a conservative leftist. I feel at heart, the left's ideals are to care more about people than non-people. Though the major problems with the left have been: 1) being divisive -through the attempt to make every issue black or white 2) there's not been a party able to engage and retain the left's ideals and 3) outdated rhetoric- which just gets so old and stale and embarrassing. I was walking to the grocery store earlier today and there was this huge sign that read "Destroy the republicans!" and I thought: huh. 'Destroy'? Is that a word you want to use to intelligently debate your side of the issues? I also feel the left gets too caught up in the romanticization of the rebel, or this image of the rebel which is exactly where you get these words like 'destroy'. It was doubly embarrassing because the neighborhood I live in... its just doesn't make any real sense for that sign to been there. I feel I am pretty reasonable when it comes to my personal politics but I suppose so does everyone else. But hey, at least I vote. At least I am willing to talk and listen to other people and not just recite. I love to have my opinon changed, but intelligent discussion rather than informational 'facts' or another opinion, no matter how passionately offered, is better at getting me to flip sides. 20. What do you really want
to happen in the next few weeks? |
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| Damian lives in Philadelphia, which is where you can find his zine. He performs in Philly, New Jersey and New York. You can write him at: simplesemantics@yahoo.com |
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to read secret knock writings |