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Huge thanks to Sick Symphonies
for taking time out to answer the questions fans wanted to know. (Interview was done by camcorder in
June 2005)
Questions Asked By :
LatinaBeatz
Filmed by:
LatinaBeatz
Watch the interview by clicking below:
Sick Symphonies Dubcnn Video Interview (50MB, High
Speed)
Watch exclusive show footage of Sick Symphonies by clicking below:
Sick Symphonies Exclusive Performance Footage (160MB, High
Speed)
dubcnn.com: Let’s talk about some of the new stuff you
guys have going on with the Mixtape.
Jack: Well it started out as an idea to do a Mixtape, [but] when the
market starting getting saturated with them, when we got in the
studio, actually started creating it, it just ended just being an
album. It went from starting out and doing a promotional mixtape
over other peoples beats, to us just having beats and saying well,
"let’s do a song to this, and let’s do a song to that." So it
actually became an album, a record. It features Psycho Realm and
Street Platoon together on a record, it's the newest project we got.
Crow: We were actually going to do 2 mixtapes rappin’ over other
peoples beats. A West coast one and then there was going to be a
East coast one, but like what Jack was saying, we just decided to go
the other way and actually just record a new album.
dubcnn.com: So this is all new songs?
Crow: All new songs.
Jack: All original music.
dubcnn.com: All original, is it like the same style as maybe
Book 1 or Book 2 or going back from the past?
Crow: Mix of both, mix of Street Platoon sound and Psycho Realm
sound.
Jack: I mean the difference is that the Psycho Realm projects I
produced like 95% of it. This one is produced by all of us. I only
have 3 tracks on the record; FM has 2, Crow has a couple and Cynic
has the rest of it. TRT has 1.
dubcnn.com: Oh wow you guys brought it back with TRT…
Jack: TRT still around ya know.
dubcnn.com: I've been seeing him at a lot of shows.
Jack: He's all over.
Cynic: TRT is part of the Drug Lab.
dubcnn.com: And the Drug Lab is?
Jack: A production team.
dubcnn.com: And what about Sick Symphonies?
Jack: Sick Symphonies is our label. What we did with this record was
Sick Symphonies presents: Psycho Realm and Street Platoon on one
record. When that accident happened with my brother, these guys
started helping me doing all the shows. So for the last 6, 7 years
we been doing shows together. We decided to just finally put it on
record, do an actual record together, as opposed to just doing a
combined Psycho Realm, Street Platoon show.
dubcnn.com: How did you meet up with Street Platoon?
Jack: I've known Cynic since he was a kid running wild on the
streets of Pico Union. And Crow I met when we were teenagers through
Transcend from Global City. He used to go to school with him and
that's how I met Crow. FM we met cause he was down here staying with
B-Real for a little bit trying to launch the Black Havana Project.
We ended up just kidnapping him and taking him on tour.
dubcnn.com: So is it maybe when after what happened to Duke,
is that when you got more involved with Street Platoon?
Jack: Well Street Platoon, we were always doing shit together. We're
the kind of group that likes to keep a group a group. So Psycho
Realm, we never had features on it. They only came on a song or 2
and they did the same shit with their album. So we always gave them
the freedom to do, or they always had the freedom and ability to do,
their own record. So the only reason we became more involved
together is because now we’re doing the touring and all that.
dubcnn.com: What did you see in Street Platoon that, I mean
not so much to put down other artists, but what did you in Street
Platoon that you brought them in as a family, as a group?
Crow: Cause we're not that good ya know…
Jack: There's a bunch of different characteristics that we look for.
Number 1 of course is talent, skill, you got to have a certain
strength. You got to have a certain ability to carry yourself and
not be dependent, because we don't want to baby-sit no body. When
Crow came and approached me, after me knowing that he rhymed and
everything, he never wanted to show me anything till he was ready.
So one day he came, brought a tape, brought a song that he produced
and he recorded he just brought it to me and was like “look check
this out.” The song was ridiculous, he has his own voice, his own
style, he could make a beat, he could rhyme, his content, everything
was on point.
So I mean that's the kind of thing that we look for. Even Cynic was
working with my brother, so my brother obviously saw the same
potential in him. We introduced them and they started doing their
thing, they could take care of themselves. I don't want to take care
of nobody. The same time a lot of people give us demos and want to
be down and everything. A lot of times music ain't that good, a lot
of times music is good but we just don't have anything to offer
anybody right now. It's just this is the only group we took just
because we've known them for along time, and it wasn't even like we
took them and signed them or anything it was just like, “ey check it
out we got the studios, you guys do you thing, whatever you guys
need from us it's all good, we got shows you guys come perform,” but
that was it.
dubcnn.com: Let's talk about the Black Havana Tribe, is that
something new?
DJ F.M: Basically it's a project that I'm trying to put together.
Me, Jack, both of our vocals and production mixed with live
instrumentation mix. It's more of a Rock project, it's a live
influence thing, live drums, live guitar, bass all that. It's a
little bit different than anything we've done in the past. It's
heavy and hard…
dubcnn.com: Is that including Street Platoon too?
DJ F.M: Yeah All of us, any and all of us.
Jack: We are all Emcee's, we're all producers so we all have
projects that are just like ideas.
Cynic: We Produce on each others album, feature on each others
album, whatever we can do. I'll have a beat that would sound dope
for his project, that would be dope for his shit, however it works.
We have a good ear for shit, so it's like, that can go for that
right there and stuff. So we help each other out whatever way we
can. No egos and no fucken how much am I gonna get out of it, none
of that shit.
Crow: We all know we have projects we want to do and put together.
We have the Street Platoon album, Black Havana album, Jack wants to
do a Spanish album we got all these side projects. We just don't
make beats, if I make something… Cause the way we work is concept
based and we look for certain sounds for our albums. Jack might be
wanting a certain sound for his album and I might produce something
that sounds like it would fit his album, so it's passed on to him,
it's how we work together.
dubcnn.com: Let's talk about Street Platoon for a minute.
Crow: We are working on pre-production of [the new album] right now.
Like I said we are trying to go for a certain sound so it takes a
little bit longer cause we been, before we had a chance to record
this album, we were building our studio. And it took us a couple
years to do, so we really didn't have a studio to record in. We were
focusing on building it and we actually built it ourselves, with our
hands. And we did everything painting, drywall, everything so that
took a lot of time. And then we got into this new album that we did
together and now we're focusing on. We finished that, and now we are
working on the Street Platoon album which is just in pre-production
beats.
dubcnn.com: Just getting it together right now
Crow: Yeah trying to get the right sound for this album, the last
album was really dope to us but this album we're really trying for
that classic type album.
dubcnn.com: Even though it's in pre-production…
Crow: Even though it's in pre-production, we got the concepts there
and the beats, it's just trying to get it to line out right.
dubcnn.com: Let’s talk bout also with El Chavo y El Ferruco.
Jack: El Chavo y El Ferruco is a Spanish project that I'm doing with
Joe, who's an original member of Psycho Realm. And we kind of put
that hold while we were doing the Sick Symphonies record. So that's
kind of still on hold right now…
dubcnn.com: Lets talk about B-Real, I know you performed with
him at the Vault, and I know people were shocked, I know I was, at
X-Mas in the Hood.
Jack: People were shocked when we brought him out at the Knitting
Factory.
dubcnn.com: Did that bring back like memories or flashbacks
when you guys were on stage?
Jack: I mean in a way, but at the Knitting Factory I didn't really
get to perform with him like it was in Long Bong. Knitting Factory
was his first time coming out with us and I don't know if he
figured, I mean he didn't know if he was going to be accepted or
not, ya know. So he wasn't really there as much as he was in Long
Beach, when we came out and a did song. When Cynic came out and did
a song with him, and then we did “Psycho City Blocks” with him. He
was more into it then cause he was more comfortable but I mean it
was just, it's just he's doing his own solo stuff now. He did his
mixtape, we did a couple songs on the mixtape. Cynics featured on
one, I'm featured on one, B-Real’s new mixtape.
dubcnn.com: Gunslingers.
Jack: Yeah, that's how we been doing the shows, kinda helping him
promote his mixtape.
dubcnn.com: Let's talk a little bit about B-Real, I mean we
all know in music or any industry there's always going to be talk. I
mean since I've been a fan for a long time it's always, B-Real this
and B-Real that. Can you set the story straight, I know he's not
here to share his side…
Jack: Yeah, we never made the story with him public cause it was
really nobodies business, but a lot of people go and make their own
stories up, do the whole beef issue and all that. There was a point
when he had to do his Cypress stuff and that's why me and my brother
kinda dropped off of Sony we decided, “ey look you go ahead and do
the Cypress thing and let us do our shit.” So we went independent
and did Book 1 and Book 2. B-Real did a track on Book 1 but Book 2
was all us, so it was kind of we wanted to establish ourselves as
ourselves. And not have people say this is the Cypress Hill family
or this the Cypress Hill camp.
We wanted to be Psycho Realm and Psycho Realm only, we don't want to
ride nobodies coat tails but that’s the way it is when you’re with a
label and a big artist is on your record. They are going to want to
push it and push it. And for a while there we just did our own thing
and it's only till recently that he stopped doing the Cypress thing.
And now he's doing the Solo thing and he's like “hey ya want to do
this mixtape with me, wanna do this, let's do some shows.”
dubcnn.com: He has more freedom basically.
Jack: He has more freedom to do stuff.
dubcnn.com: Is he still on the label or is he doing it Indie?
Jack: I think he's off of his deal with the label. That's why he has
more freedom now because when we went independent, and we were
trying to do other things, the label wouldn't give him permission to
do shit either. So it was a lot of stuff involved but it's not,
everybody thinks, a lot of our fans kind of turned and picked sides
were either like “fuck B-Real” or “fuck Psycho Realm.”
dubcnn.com: So there was no beef.
Jack: Naw.
dubcnn.com: There wasn't at all. We'll get back to B-Real but
lets talk a little bit bout Duke, after his unfortunate accident and
all that shit, Is Duke still active?
Jack: Duke's paralyzed from the neck down but he does, he runs the
website he makes sure that every things cool on the website. Ya know
a lot of the shit on the website is kind of, I don't know if it's
slow, I don't really get on the website, but a lot of people on the
street tell me "what's up with this, put some new pictures, put some
new that." And it's like he can't do shit as fast as a normal person
but he does what he can. Like I said earlier he's trying to get back
into recording and do all that stuff.
dubcnn.com: Any new vocals we can ever hear on future tracks
maybe?
Jack: There's some stuff but it's not, I mean…
dubcnn.com: Concrete?
Jack: Yeah, nothings happening right now with that. I have a Spanish
verse on him I have a couple other things on him, but I don't, he's
trying to do something new. So I’m letting him, see what he's going
to do with that.
dubcnn.com: So he's in good condition for his state?
Jack: He's healthy yeah, he's trying to have a kid. He's living his
life.
DJ F.M: He gots something in the works.
dubcnn.com: Going to be sick?
Crow: Of course.
dubcnn.com: Comeback or something? He never left…
Jack: He deals with his situation how he can. And I think he's a
strong person just for the fact how he takes it and deals with his
life everyday. Sometimes you take it for granted, what you do on
daily basis. You see somebody, and he's my brother, so I'll go to
his house and I'll leave and I'll come and I'll go, come and go, and
never really. I look at him like he's my brother so I take it for
granted but sometimes I'll sit there and hear my mom talk about what
he has to go through. And he has to go through a lot of shit
everyday surviving so he's doing good for being in the situation
that he's in.
dubcnn.com: Does he ever produce?
Jack: He's working on something, last I talked to him he was working
on writing something, he's trying to write either a movie or a book.
He's trying to do a record that he's trying to executive produce and
he asked all of us for tracks. Then he picked the tracks, and let me
come up with the concepts and me write the hook. I'll have my little
brother rap it how I want it and then you guys just run with it. So
he's trying to have that be his project, let me do the concept, let
me direct the album and you guys just be there to help me out. So he
has ideas and he has things, but he just needs to get on it and do
it.
dubcnn.com: Everybody asks about him and all our prayers are
with him, he's definitely a living legend to a lot of us.
Jack: It's all appreciated.
dubcnn.com: How was it after his unfortunate accident, did
you still think you could carry on the name Psycho Realm?
Jack: Naw, there is no Psycho Realm without Duke, ya know Book 2,
the only reason I put out Book 2, was because he was on me to put it
out, there wasn't going to be Book 2.
dubcnn.com: The release party for it…
Jack: He was there, and it was like, I mean it wasn't going to go
on. To this day I won’t put out a Psycho Realm record just because
he's not going to be on it. He's 50% of the group, so without him
there ain't no Psycho Realm. I'll move on and do something else… As
far as carrying the name, naw! Back to the same shit, it's not
Psycho Realm without him. So I’m just going to do what I can do and
keeping with my music and lucky for me I got these dudes with me.
dubcnn.com: So would you be still called Psycho Realm or Sick
Jacken of Psycho Realm?
Jack: I don't know. I mean when I get to a solo project if I ever do
one I'll think about it, I don't know what I'm going to do yet.
DJ F.M: Ya know the interesting thing about this album is that it
seems like the labels approach us kind of like we're Sick Symphonies
as a group, we're as we said it's actually a label that Jack put
together.
Jack: We put together.
dubcnn.com: And that's Indie right?
DJ F.M: Yeah, but they are looking at it like since we all 4
produce, 4 emcee, we all 4 put this album together. It's almost a
new group as all of us, we all have different backgrounds, different
influences musically, as well. So you can tell my beats sound more
like some Rock or PortisHead, European thing. His is, you already
know the Psycho Realm/Street Platoon. So it's a mesh of all these
things. So we're kind of putting it out like it is a new group, we
are, this is a new thing between all of us. We have all thrown into
it, even TRT. So it's an equal balance of all our elements, it's
pretty cool.
dubcnn.com: I think that's dope.
DJ F.M: Sick Side Stories.
Sick Side. Where did the Sick Side come from anyways?
Jack: Sick Side was a just a term we use to use to not be thrown in
with the whole politics of the gang issue. The minute you start
saying South Side you start getting into the politics of people
trying to tax you, and this and that. So we just said Sick Side and
Sick Side kind of stuck. It's like a universal issue where people to
identify themselves in that way coming from whatever neighborhood
their coming from.
dubcnn.com: Being that you guys are from, to me I think and
anybody else, you guys kind of put Pico Union, that’s Downtown L.A.
that’s the heart right there practically. So is that where your
influences and your styles of like Book 1, Book 2 the whole War
theory with songs like “Enemy of the State?”
Jack: Yeah that was the concept that Duke had, was the whole war
story thing. We had like, I don't know how many, songs recorded for
that. And it got to be too many songs for the story that he wanted
to tell that we just ended up dividing it into 2 records. But yeah
all of our stories are from our neighborhood, we don't really talk
about anything that we are not to familiar with or we didn't go
through or people around us didn't go through. Pico Union is
definitely an influence and that's where we came from, so at the
same time just on the whole Hip Hop thing, we just wanted to put our
city on the map.
dubcnn.com: Lets take it back a little bit to with you guys
were first called Natural Herb, Chicano Pride.
Jack: Those are just, ya know, you start coming through with a bunch
of different names. Chicano Pride was a thing that when we started
doing shows… It was just me and Ferruco right, my partner. We were
about 14 and we started doing shows, because my brother used to go
to CSUN. Duke used to go to CSUN, and he was talking to some broad
that was in MECHA and all that. So when they started saying they
needed groups or acts to perform, he started throwing us in the mix,
without us even wanting or even thinking of doing it on stage or
anything. And that's how we started. So when they asked us for a
name my brother put Chicano Pride, because it was relevant to what
they were doing. And when it finally came time to think of a real
name is when we came out with Psycho Realm and that was like few
years after.
dubcnn.com: And the whole Psycho?
Jack: Yeah Psycho was just, I mean the way we went about it was when
we were thinking of a name, at that time, everybody that was hitting
was crew, posse, tribe all these little words to describe their
crew. Me just being a brainiac and reading, I told my brother Realm.
And as soon as I said Realm, he said “Psycho .”
dubcnn.com: Who are your influences?
Jack: My influences? Aside from just being in the studio and having
these younger guys coming up with dope shit, that I don't want to
stay behind, is as far as music goes…
dubcnn.com: Who did you grow up listening to, who influences
you?
Jack: The music I grew up listening to was because my dad, while he
was drinking with his homeboys use to pay money to run his turn
table. So I grew up listening to everything from Spanish music to
Funk to Rock, to The Beatles to everything. There wasn't nothing I
didn't hear. I mean I didn't listen to Country or Classical music,
just because my dad wasn't into that kind of crazy shit, but I
listened to everything. When I started listening to my own music, I
got into the whole old soul thing. That's really mainly what I
listen to now, old Soul, old Rock old Hip Hop. I like the old shit,
I like the classic shit. I like the shit that sticks for more than
10 years cause it's sticking for some reason, but that's what mainly
my influence is. I like the old, I like people that structure their
music right, people that have concepts. I like albums, I don't like
singles.
dubcnn.com: Who do you guys listen to?
Crow: Everything, same thing Jack was saying about growing up with
your parents and just putting different records on. It stuck with
you and I think it stuck with all of us. And then when we got into
like making beats, me and this guy, we'd go to like Downtown and
we'd just find crates of records for like 10, 20 bucks. And just by
listening to all that, it developed us into listening to everything
and trying to figure out how other musicians did their music… And
trying to turn that into our music. So it went from Classical to
whatever we would find. Music from Middle East, music from Soul,
Classic Rock too. So the way we programmed ourselves was that
anything we hear is sampled first before we enjoy it. We would be
listening to something and be like, “let's sample that, let's sample
that,” that's just how it is. T.V., we hear some background music in
a movie, let's rent that movie so we can take that off that movie.
That's just how we think and that's what influenced us. Just by
everything that's around us, instead of seeing it and letting it
pass by, we pay attention to everything cause we might be able to
use it in our music.
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Sick Symphonies
