Illinois Entertainer February 2020 | Page 47

continued from page 44 damage that blue is the only color that comes through. It’s this faded blue thing that’s just beautiful. IE: Like Alexander weeping because he had nothing left to conquer, what fields do you have left? Movies? CP: I would absolutely love to. But I have so many ideas for potential records that I want to make; I’m just looking for the time to get on to them. I have two concept records that I would like to make, but it’s all about figuring out the order of events. I also have a lot of material from around the time of Pang — it isn't rejected material, it just feels like another project, so I’m look- ing to get into that, as well. And I don’t paint, but I do draw. I really love drawing, and it comes in handy — I end up sketch- ing a lot of concepts for costumes, set design, cinematography. I can be a perfec- tionist, but I think more than anything, I’m able to communicate with other people just what I’m seeing. IE: Like, “I’m wearing cowboy boots and dancing like an Egyptian in this “So Hot” video, and that’s that?” CP: I have a story about those cowboy boots, actually. They’re not a fashion item — they’re thrift store cowboy boots. And I rehearsed in them but planned on getting nice ones the day before the shoot. So I took an hour-long Uber to the biggest cow- boy boot shop in the Los Angeles area, out- side the city, and I got there, and I didn’t like any of the boots as much as much as I like my shitkickers. So I was like, “Alright — I’ll take another $40 Uber ride back, and I’m just gonna wear my shitkickers.” But, as I said, I was just traveling around Poland, and I visited Auschwitz while I was there, which is important to me because my family is from Hungary, and they left just before WWII. So I was wear- ing these boots because they’re warm and comfortable for this day-long trek around Auschwitz, all the different parts of it, and I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. But these boots started falling apart while I was there, and it was because we were walking through a lot of mud, and it was raining that day. But the boots just started disintegrating, and I got back to my hotel room that night, and they were just cov- ered in mud from Auschwitz. And I could- n’t stop thinking about what was in that mud — there must be ashes of human remains in there, some trace of Zyklon B. It made me really think about what the fuck I was doing. These boots were worn in this music video, which was a very lightheart- ed depiction of something that was sup- posed to be hell. And then these boots actually go to the very real vision of hell that we have experienced in the last centu- ry. Those boots had been to hell, and then to hell again. IE: Humanity is living through its own hell right now. Please keep making art to divert our attention. CP: I know. And that’s world-wide. And who knows if great art is just diverting your attention? But I’ll do what I can. I’ll do what I can. 116 N. Broad St. Griffith, IN 46319 (219) 924-7868 www.dynamite-music.com LESSONS • BUY • SELL • TRADE february 2020 illinoisentertainer.com 47