INTERVIEW w/ David C. R. Pollock

Though it may have been a lot longer than expected, I finally got around to compiling this email interview I have with David of DCR Pollock. Check out what he has to say about his inspirations and future plans! Visit his website for more information.

With the release of the new DCR Pollock album, what did you look towards for inspiration?

Oh, man. An awful lot of things. This question came up so often that I actually made a list of them available on my website. It is at the bottom of any page under work-cited. But here are some of the few that stand out:

Musically:

Hiatus Kaiyote 

D’Angelo

James Blake

Sufjan Stevens

The Candle at Jon’s Studio. I think it was Cedar scented

Lyrically:

Conor Oberst

Broods

Keaton Henson

Noah and the Whale

And a number of historians, philosophers and theologians

I see you have released tracks before, including a full length Letters to Forgotten Friends, why aren't those songs available now that the new album is out?

To be honest, I released Letters not expecting anything from it; it was more of an outlet than anything. So when I began to get serious with the solo stuff and began promoting myself I wanted most peoples first experience with my music to be more refined and thought through. I may re-release the older stuff as a Rarities Collection, but we’ll see. You can still find it on Soundcloud, I think. 

You collaborated with a lot of other artists to make this record. Can you explain how they contributed? (writing, recording, mad chills, etc.)

Yeah, there were a number artist that helped with the process. Jon Joseph, my brother, is probably worth mentioning first. He encouraged me to do the full length, produced it, provided a living space while I was in LA, provided musicians, played bass on everything, bought me lunch probably 5,000 times, etc. I wouldn't be having this interview without the guy. Not to mention he's the best hang I know. Most days it was just Jon and I in the studio, but a number of times we had people in the studio with us. Jon didn’t like the place crowded, so we kept it minimal to who would join us. The more frequent guest were my dear friends Jordan Ruiz, Kevin LeBar, and Savannah moon. With out the three of these people I don’t know if the record would much. They contributed everything from guitar, piano, vocals, cello, etc. to THE "maddest of chills”. Not only were they incredible players, but also the best of friends. We also had some guests such as Dan Bailey. He came about twice during the process of the record for drums, but he was an incredible support through the entire production. He would contact me frequently to see how the record was coming along and to just talk life sometimes. A number of the conversations contributed to quite a few lines on the record. I brought up a good friend of mine, Christopher Caron, for a day to co-write and play piano on St. Joseph. To be honest I don’t give the guy enough credit. Put aside the fact the he took my ex to prom back in high school, he has been absolutely incredible in helping me through a lot of the stuff in and outside of the writing process. But I think the most notable guest we had in the studio was Michael Gungor. I wasn’t actually even in the studio when he tracked, so I can’t say much about the guy except that he’s a real pal for tracking on some no-names record. 

Are you planning any shows in the near future?

Yes. There are four or five shows in the process. I took July off to work with the new band and focus on the publicity side of things and it has been rewarding. Stoked to introduce people to the new trio set up Im working with. Less people, fuller sound. Be expecting some rad things comin’ soon.

It's rumored you change lyrics when performing. What happens that makes you decide it necessary to change them? How do the new lyrics differ from what is recorded?

Yes. Part of being an artist is hating your own work. I cringe at some of the lyrics I wrote. We recorded as I wrote, so I didn’t sit on the songs a whole lot. Some song even I wrote in the studio. Probably the longest I got to sit on a song was a month, but that was rare. I mainly wanted to tell a story, so on a number of songs I sacrificed content for clarity. I don’t regret doing so, but it doesn’t mean I enjoyed it. I see live performances as an opportunity to change the record now that I’ve sat on the songs. I often change lyrics to Love in a Zoo, Sad Francisco (The title alone is cringe worthy), and Los Angeles. I don’t usually change the meaning of a song when I change lyrics. I’ll just reword things to make them sound more fluid or bring more depth to the work.

Are you working on material for another album release?

Always. It just a good habit to always be writing, even if its just a line or two a day. The only thing preventing me from taking it to the studio is the lyrical content. The issues I wrote about in the first record are still fresh, so I still find myself still writing about them. If I released what I’m writing now it would just be a B-side to the debut. People would just be like, “We get it, Dave. San Fran sucked. Get over it.”

What other projects are you currently working on?

Yes.

Was your goal to release the album before adulthood? How does it feel being an 'adult?’

No. I just did it when I had the opportunity. It just happened to be before 18. And in regards to “Adulthood”: The only thing that i’ve come to feel about being an “adult” is that now when ever I feel like a loser I can’t pull the “It’s ok 'cause I’m still young” card. Adulthood is just wallowing in self-pity until your phone is charged. 

Anything else you would like to add?

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The Stanford Prison Experiment (film) review

Kyle Patrick Alvarez's The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) was no experiment, it was a simulation. A simulation of how a [faux] authorial gap can influence power, perseverance, and identity.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Billy Crudup) was (and still is) a psychology professor at Stanford University. He decided to run a summer "experiment" on how the different roles of guards and prisoners can influence the behavior of the subjects. The participants are all male Stanford students. They are young, healthy, smart, privileged American youth. But, if you have ever taken a psych 101 course, you have probably heard that is not how these students act once they are tossed into the basement of Jordan Hall.

Zimbardo's call to subjects as it appeared in The Stanford Daily in 1971.

As an aspiring scientist, I like to side with Professor Jim Cook (Fred Ochs) when he comes across Zimbardo outside the hall where the simulation is taking place and asks, "What's your independent variable?" Zimbardo skirts the question and scowls that he doesn't have the time to explain his research. This is bad science. There was no proper experiment, it was just a simulation. In the same way that Whiplash was not a music-movie (despite critics saying the musicianship was inaccurate), SPE is not a science-movie. This should not turn you away from the story.

Zimbardo (center) with his graduate assistants.
Mike Penny (James Wolk) - left
Paul Vogel (Gaius Charles) - right

The themes of the SPE rise beyond the story of a prominent professors' research. The themes venture to the dark corners of human experience that lurk within all of. A love of power, a hunger for control that most people hope they never seize. If this simulation says anything about humans, it is that we all have a capacity to abuse power (especially when given the appropriate uniform), even when we clearly have not worked towards it or deserve it in any way.

"Prisoners" and "guards" in the simulation.

With all the buzz about power abuse within our current police force and prison systems, this movie was released at just the right time. It puts perspective on how these environments may actually be conducted. The SPE is just a simulation. All of the subjects enter at a level playing field. The guards and the prisoners are all averagely healthy and sane Stanford students, yet chaos still erupts. Imagine, within the justice system of our government, the events that could be produced out of people who have already been labeled as "criminals" or "enforcers." This gap of power is even wider and the implications that Zimbardo's research provides does not shine a positive light on the possible outcomes.

I am not in any position to propose a call to action or even provide a response to all the seeming corruptions that have taken place in our justice system in the news lately. But as someone who has stayed very neutral on these issues, the SPE has really sparked my interest on this matter.

As a reader, you may be thinking, "it was a cinematic work of art and was dramatized." Zimbardo himself has made comments about that sort of criticism to The Stanford Daily and I encourage you to read about it here.

Would you rather be a guard or a prisoner?

This film is not light. It will have your heart pounding from the opening scene, all the way to the final interviews. It begs the question, "What would you do?" It appears that humans have a hidden character within them that is revealed when repercussions are apparently eliminated and power is limitless. With discontent in our veins, and regret in our hearts, hopefully you can go back to being comfortable knowing that the Stanford County Prison is now closed.

Post script: There are so many scenes that agonize the viewer. They feel like a lifetime long. As Zimbardo watches the simulation progress, he becomes a part of the whole scenario himself. Further, the viewer watches Zimbardo conduct the whole experiment. You are constantly answering, "Well, this is exactly what I would do!" in your head. The voyeurism is magnified. Never have I been as engaged in a film as I have this one. 

My emotions turned physical. Even as I sit at home writing this, four hours after the film has ended, I still feel jittery. That painful sensation you get in your stomach after you've gone hungry for too long persists. The fragility you feel in your limbs when you are opening doors, or bumping your knee on the corner of the bed, it sends me to a chair whimpering. A few paragraphs ago, I accidentally bumped a mug of green tea off my nightstand onto the floor causing the ceramic handle to crack off. This nearly sent me into tears. I was worried my downstairs way be disrupted and I was ashamed to tell my girlfriend that I had broken her hand-me-down, shoddy appearing mug. Every train whistle has me jerking my head towards the window and my stomach twisting with anxiety. These were the sorts of sensations the film brought about.