Featured Artist: Kaylan Rexer - 5.4.2009

Interview by: Gian Hunjan 

Age: 20
Specialty: Singer/Songwriter, Music Production 
Institution: Salisbury University 
Equipment: Fender California Series Acoustic-Electric Guitar, my words, my voice
Preferred Pudding Flavor: With out any hesitation, CHOCOLATE! 

Q: Kaylan, I like the fact that you play guitar while singing. So many artists just jump around on a stage flailing their arms. Sometimes it is easy to forget the meaning behind music. When did you start playing, writing and singing music?
A: I know what you mean with the flailing, I don’t know what I would do with my arms if I didn’t have my guitar… maybe learn to juggle?

I have been writing music since... well forever. The first song I remember writing was around age 7.  The first instrument I took up was the drums at age 4.  I bought a guitar in early High School and taught myself to play; everything else just came together from that point.    

Q: Which artists do you try to take from? I am no expert, but I get am getting subtle hints of UB40 and Shaggy?
A: I wouldn't say Shaggy, although I think his song Wasn't Me taught us all valuable life lessons.  I love all music, but I think the artists I find myself listening to the most are singer/songwriters.  I don’t try to take from them, but I admire them and relate to the music they produce.  I have way too much Alanis Morissette on my iPod, one of the first live shows I ever saw was Tracy Chapman - she rocks.  

A lot of musicians I play with inspire me as well. My friend Chelsea Peters, when she plays piano and sings I melt.  My friend Teddy Savaki is so talented and enthusiastic; he brings so much of himself to his music.  They are both really inspiring to me.

Q: I am checking out your web site and see that you played at SXSW. That must have been an extremely gratifying experience seeing as you shared the event with such talented musicians. How was the experience? What did you learn from it all? Nervous?
A: It was extremely gratifying and unbelievable. I never expected to play at SXSW this early in my career. I brought my friend Teddy Savaki with me to play lead guitar to my rhythm guitar.

The three shows we played were so much fun and the people I met were amazing.  I did get nervous, but not the way I used to.  Not a shaky “get me off this stage” kind of nervous, its more of a “I'm really excited” nervous.

Being surrounded by so many musicians, creative souls and music lovers was amazing. The experience has definitely helped me grow as an artist.  I also learned how much I love Austin; I could move there in a heart beat and be very content.  I'm from New York, I never ever thought those words would come out of my mouth. 

Q: How did playing SXSW come about? 
A: It all came about it a funny way.  I got the 3 SXSW shows after playing at the bar Cafe No Se in Antigua, Guatemala.  No Se is a very cool environment and hang out for musicians and artists and I'm not just saying that because my uncle owns the bar.  This past November was my second time in Antigua and my uncle was helping the production company Planeta En Ritmo put on a show to benefit the NGO Ninos De Guatemala.  

I was there for eight days and played almost every night at his bar with great musicians from all around the world.  The producers of the benefit concert saw me play. Luckily they loved the music and Jeff Anderson, one of the producers, really pushed for me to play and get the shows at SXSW.  Thanks Jeff! 

Q: Right now I’m sitting in a public computer lab rocking my head off to your song Shut Up and Use Your Hands and getting dirty looks. In the song you sing “I don’t want to talk about it, I’m so sick of using my words, why does there have to be definition? I just want to feel your touch.” This particular song has some happiness behind it, but as it picks up I can sense some frustration for sure. What was the inspiration behind this song Kaylan?
A: The inspiration behind the song is, bunnies, cupcakes and everything PG rated. I think people can see I'm joking from the name of the song.  The song definitely has feelings of frustration in it… people can be frustrating.  

Shut Up and Use Your Hands is about wanting what you want. I'm not going to go into details about the inspiration behind writing it.  Readers will have to listento get the full affect. 

Q: What is your process for writing a song? When inspiration suddenly strikes do you try to write down your thoughts as quickly as possible? What if you don’t have something to write on?
A:  I guess it usually happens when I'm by myself thinking. I never sit down and decide "hey I'm going to write a song today." The process is very natural and always has been for me.  

I used to write in marble notebooks and have stacks of them filled with different poems and songs.  The wonderful thing about cell phones these days is if you don’t have a pen and paper it is really easy to type on the phone.  

If it’s late at night (3:00 am), then I occasionally record from my phone so I don’t lose the idea of the song in my sleepless delirium. 

Q: Where are you trying to take your music Kaylan? To what level do you hope to achieve through your music? Is there a specific following you hope to develop or are you welcome to any and all?
A: Around the world and as far as I possibly can.  This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.  I hope to produce more in the future as well.  No following in specific, I'm a hippie so everyone is welcome to enjoy! 

Q: When I listen to your song I Think It’s Sweet I think of a field full of daisies swaying in the gentle summer breeze. Do you think it is important for artists to paint mental imagery through their music? What kind of image do you get from I Think It’s Sweet?
A: That's funny that you think of daisies in a swaying field.  I can see how the music does paint that image, where the words are actually a contradiction and very sarcastic.  
I do think its important for a song to have meaning behind it.  As a songwriter my music usually comes from an emotional place or experience.  So I think my music usually does paint a picture for people.

When I think of the song I Think Its Sweet, I think of the beautiful suburbs of Long Island where I grew up.  The song is about people getting stuck in their hometowns and having dreams but not working hard enough to reach them.

The music is happy, upbeat and represents beauty, but the words play off the beauty and represent something completely different.  

Q: Instead of serving alcohol at one of your post-show parties, would you ever consider serving pudding?
A: Can't we have both? Pudding bar and alcohol bar, I think that would be a brilliant idea.  I don't recommend wearing white though, it might get messy after a few drinks. 

Q: Striving musicians are everywhere. Many choose to take the chance of pursuing their dream in university. You have clearly extended your outreach outside of school and onto broader avenues. Can you touch on the amount of dedication and work you have put into reaching the point you are currently? And how much effort you feel is still needed to achieve your ultimate goals?
A: There are lots of things I have considered doing with my life.  I'm not a music major at college, but about a year ago I realized how much I have made music a part of my life and how I'm happiest when I'm creating and playing.

So at that point my dedication is 100%.  I'm graduating a semester early in order to be able to put myself in a position to focus my time and career.  I think that in order to make it in this industry talent of some sort is obviously required, but dedication is number one.  

This is not work for me; I’m doing what I love and striving to create opportunities that will enable me to create music for the rest of my life.  There is not one second where it feels too hard, and there is not one second that it seems impossible to keep moving forward with my career.   

Q: Thanks so much for being The Pudding’s first featured musician Kaylan. We hope to hear from you soon and maybe see you on TRL? Where can our viewers find some more of your work and what can we expect from you in the very near future? Maybe an underground Mix-Tape featuring Weezy?
A:Thank you so much for asking, I'm honored to be The Pudding's first featured musician.   I think every college environment needs a venue like this to showcase the talents and culture of an area.  

Currently Weezy and I are in cahoots but I think my music is a little too explicit for his style. Ha.

You can buy two of my songs I Think Its Sweet and Was It What You Wanted on iTunes.  I will be playing the live radio show, Live Lixx @ 6 on W.O.C.M Radio, May 11th from 6-7 pm, it streams live on the radio station’s website.  You can get more info about that show as well as my upcoming show dates on my web site: www.kaylanrexer.com.  

Video/Image Key:

1.    Same Fight
2.    Hold the Light
3.    Was it what you wanted?
4.    Live Lixx @ 6
5.    Kaylan & Teddy – Live Lixx @ 6
6.    Kaylan - SXSW
7.    Kaylan & Teddy – SXSW
8.    Kaylan & Teddy - SXSW
9.  Kaylan & Lauren Graham – Guys and Dolls Broadway opening
10. Kaylan – Guys and Dolls Broadway opening
11. Kaylan – Café No Se
12. Kaylan – Café No Se
13. Kaylan – Photo Shoot

Featured Artist/Pudding Professional: Justin Warias - 5.11.2009

*Justin's work is underneath his interview, please check it out*

Interview by: Gian Hunjan

Age: 28
Specialty: Film and Photography
Institutions: BFA in Film Production – 2002: University of the Arts
MFA in Film Production – 2005: Loyola Marymount University
Equipment: Lots of cameras – Hasselblad, Nikon FE2, Nikon D700, Holga, Panasonic HVX200, Sony VX1000, Red, Flip Mino HD, etc.
Preferred Pudding Flavor: Bread pudding

Q: Hey Justin, thanks for taking the time to answer some of our questions. First off, where are you from, and how long have you been shooting photography & film?
A: I am from a small town in Central New Jersey, about half way between Philly and NYC, called Pennington. It’s a good rural escape from either city but close enough to get into them when I need to.

My dad has always been really supportive of my interest in photo and film and pretty much let me take over any camera we had in the house since I was 10 yrs old. So, I have been shooting for a pretty long time. It’s interesting to see where technology has been taking the direction of both of these crafts lately. The learning curve is getting so much smaller due to the immediacy of the digital formats. I’m glad I was able to get the background in working with actual film stocks, though.

Q: I know for a lot of my friends – myself included – skateboarding has always provided the initial outlet for film and photography. Was this the case for you? Or did skateboarding act as more of a bolster to your career? What are some of the aspects of skateboarding that draw you into its visual documentation?
A: Skateboarding has been a huge influence on my work from day one. I’ve been shooting skateboarding for about 18 years now, and I am still finding it very inspiring. It’s been a great arena to experiment and just shoot the things I have in my head. Even as I am getting older and can’t really skate the way that I used to, I am finding it just as much fun to shoot photos and film stuff. It’s a great way to stay in the game and, at the same time, help out your friends by shooting photos or filming them for sponsors.

Also, being a skateboard videographer or photographer, you are always shooting stuff, so you get to know your camera very well. The more you shoot, the better you get, and every time you go out to film or shoot a photo of a trick, you can try different things – angles, lighting, camera movement. It’s an amazing training ground.

It’s also great for me because skateboarders are so used to having cameras in their face all the time. I can pretty much convince my friends to do whatever I want when I have personal projects; they are always down. They are all great subjects, and I can’t thank them enough. I also find skateboarders to be very creative people, so it's also inspiring to just be around them.

Check out njavengers.wordpress.com, and you can see some of the stuff we’ve been doing. It’s a site to share our stuff between friends, but there will be some bigger updates coming soon. You can also add us on our Facebook page, NJAvengers, to stay posted on our updates.

Q: A constant that I notice in your work is your ability to capture children in a way that depicts them as much older. Everything from the pictures of the child in a gas mask to the simple portrait of the boy with green eyes, the children have a strong sense of maturity about them. Is there a specific way you like to capture children, or do you just try to catch them in their natural moments? Do you find it easier to shoot younger kids as opposed to adults or teenagers?
A: No, shooting younger kids can be really difficult and, at times, is very frustrating, but when you manage to capture a certain sense about a young child, the photo or film can be extremely powerful. I think the sense of maturity that you are seeing comes from me being the oldest of four siblings by a large number of years. My oldest sister is eight years younger than me, and the difference between my youngest brother and I is 23 years. I think that I try not to approach them like little kids, and I try and find out who they are and what they're like. The little boy you see in most of my child photographs is my five-year-old brother. We have a very interesting friendship that definitely helps my comfort level in working with other kids. It’s fun watching him grow up and getting to capture that while having fun with different techniques in the photos. It’s funny; he had a great time shooting the smoke series that is on my site, but he didn’t really understand what was going on or what the final images were going to look like. I don’t think I’ll show him those photos until he gets a little older. He is a pretty accomplished model, though – that photo has been published as the cover of a magazine.

Q: For a lot of artists, their goal is to evoke some type of feeling in the viewer, yet so many forget that humor is one of the strongest feelings to be felt. There is a lot of humor behind your work, which is definitely apparent in the amount of pictures you have of your friends and the videos you create. Would you say that a smile or hardy laugh is a feeling you strive for through your art?
A: Definitely. Every time I go out with my friends, I have fun, and hopefully that translates to my work with them. In the little skate videos I’ve been making lately, I’ve been trying to focus more on documenting the day and experience rather than just going out and filming a trick. It’s been more fun for me. The latest video I did with them is called “The Battle.” I saw what was going on while filming that trick, and I wanted to tell that story to the audience. I like this video because you don’t have to like skateboarding to appreciate what you’re watching. If you can tap into some kind of emotion, it always translates well to your work.

For my commercial work I am just drawn to subtle jabs of humor. I always try to come up with an idea and then think about how I can push it in a little bit different direction.

Q: I’ve been checking out videos on the film section of your Web site and really like the clean simplicity in your messages. For example, the Doritos, Post-it notes and Klondike commercials. Each commercial has very little dialog, a lot of subtle, physical comedy and hilarious endings. Do you think too much in a short time period can convolute the point behind a project? Sometimes, it is better to just keep everything simple?
A: Absolutely. If there is anything that I have learned from my experience with commercials, it is that the simpler you keep your ideas, the better. I actually feel like I’ve tried to pack too much into a lot of the work that is on my site. I think the ideas could be simplified even more. Having a strong photo background influences me to try and tell the story more visually rather than through dialogue.

I work at the commercial production company Hungry-Man in NYC, so I get to see hundreds and hundreds of scripts. The best ones always have simple stories that don’t try and cram too much information into one idea. Of course, in commercials, the most important factor is the client – it’s not always easy to have an interesting story while still sending the best message for the brand.

Q: Justin, you are the first featured artist we’ve had that pursued a master's degree in your field. For soon-to-be undergraduates, would you elaborate on how higher education has helped you progress in film and photography?
A: People have different opinions on getting a master's degree in any art field. I think it’s great for some people, but others can benefit just as much from going straight into working in their professions. For me, going to grad school in Los Angeles was one of the best things I have ever done. I went to undergraduate school at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia for film, where my education was more focused on experimental and abstract filmmaking, which was interesting at the time but not necessarily the best preparation for a commercial career. At Loyola Marymount University, I met a great group of friends and professors who were extremely talented and motivated, which only added to my own motivation. In my three years there, I worked in key crew positions on about 20 short films, shooting on 16 mm and 35 mm film. I really tried to be as involved with as many projects as I could, concentrating heavily on being a director of photography. It was very intense but a great learning experience that I feel has prepared me greatly for working in the industry. Instead of going into working as a PA after my undergraduate degree, I feel like I have the knowledge to be the one directing.

Q: What was it like producing the music video for Tay Dizm ft. Akon? How did you end up finding yourself in that position? Did you crash at Akon’s place? How long did it take you to film the video? Is the hip-hop lifestyle accurately depicted in the media, or did you find yourself playing chess rather than popping Moet?
A: HA – I like the questions. Shooting the music video was a great experience. I’ve been directing a lot with a friend of mine, Chris Morgan, who was on tour for T-Pain shooting some behind-the-scenes footage. He managed to get our work in front of the right people, and they were impressed at what we were pulling off for such little amount of money. They asked us to write a treatment for a music video idea for the song, so we put a concept together, bid the project against a couple other directors and ended up winning the job.

We shot the video in Atlanta at one of T-Pain’s empty mansions. We ended up crashing on blow-up mattresses on his floor, and showering in huge bathrooms with chandeliers. It was an experience. Everyone was super friendly and appreciative of our efforts. I can’t say enough nice things about the whole Nappy Boy family. I really didn’t know what to expect going into it, and neither did some of my crew. I even brought along an amazingly talented Italian D.P. named Luca Fantini who two days before the shoot was still calling Akon Acorn. But I think that’s the best sometimes; you get a fresh perspective on a highly saturated market.

There is definitely a truth to the image of hip-hop, but deep down, we were all just working together to make the best video we could. Everyone was really motivated, and I guess you have to be to get to the level they have reached. The house was packed with all kinds of people, a huge entourage. They were shooting interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, publicity shots – at times, I almost felt like our shoot was secondary to everything else going on.

Shooting music videos is always tough, especially when you are dealing with high-profile talent. You usually get a limited amount of time with them and have to make sure your shoot is right on schedule. We shot one long 20-hour day, trying to pack as much in as we could. In the end, I think the shoot was a success with all things considered. I’m ready for the next one.

Q: On a final note, could you offer up any advice on the importance of hard work, especially for film and photography prospects? What are some of the rewards you are seeing from your efforts, and what you plan on accomplishing in the future?
A: My advice would be to go out and shoot as much as you can. If you have an idea, get out and shoot it – it will only help your next project be stronger. Find someone whose work inspires you, and get as much information from him or her as you can. Also, stay focused on your ultimate goal, and do whatever you can to get there. I think a lot of times in this industry it’s easy to get sidetracked from what you want. If you feel yourself getting comfortable in a position, you’re probably not pushing yourself to the fullest. These industries are hard to get into, but if you feel like its what you really want, work hard, and you can get there.

* Please check out Justin’s comprehensive Web site for the rest of his photography, bio and film work. 

Featured Artist: Lucy Perluck - 5.18.2009