Cream Your Screens
Make no mistake, what you are reading is a fanzine. And I’m sure you’ve noticed that this isn’t the cut and paste, Kinkos copied format most music fans over the age of 20 are used to. We’ve traded scissors and rubber cement for our PC’s cut and paste function, we resize our photos in a graphics program rather than toiling over a photocopier or cutting board, and though we hope to reach the 50 or so kids who normally attend shows at the local art space, e-mail correspondence indicates that we have readers in Japan, Sweden, France and in dozens of other countries on other continents. Though our medium is different, I think many of the same skills are flexed here, namely graphic design, page layout, and amateur journalism. Most importantly, we’re hoping that our love for music and culture shines through despite the ease and opportunities Bettawreckonize has taken advantage of in the digital realm.

Though I have an intimate knowledge of how easy it is to put together a webpage that garners a couple thousand hits a month, as an avid reader of both print and on-line fanzines I’m still constantly impressed by the ways in which a couple of kids with a little ingenuity and elbow grease are able to push the medium. In the short lifetime of Southern California’s Light Up The Sky, which is overseen primarily by boyfriend/girlfriend team Mehran Azma and Lauren Noble, have put together a consistently progressive, humorous, and compelling read. Their keen eye for page design, photography and layout makes every click feel more like turning a glossy page of some four dollar newsstand magazine, than perhaps I’ve ever come across. Can you tell I’ve got a somewhat serious case of keyboard envy?

Though LUTS does much to establish credibility for the world of e-zines, there is something greater at work here. These music fans would rather lavish praise on their musical favorites than use the anonymity of cyber space to talk trash and their sincerity has obviously paid off. In a matter of months, they’ve covered dozens of underground music’s hardest-hitters, and haven’t let a misstep or two keep them from the aggressive pursuit of this badass endeavor.

Bettawreckonize had the pleasure of adding LUTS figurehead Mehran to our buddy list and ringing him for details about handling haters, his guilty pleasures, and their future ambitions. You have my permission to make them your second-favorite cyber mag.

Interview conducted via e-mail by Tim Anderl. Pictures provided by LUTS.

Name: Mehran Azma
Website: Light Up The Sky

Bettawreckonize: When did Light Up The Sky originate and how did you come up with the name?

Mehran: I guess it officially started as a webzine in January of 2003, but it all started way before then. I did a zine when I was in high school called Hate Your Friends, which was a lot of fun to do, but I then gave it up because I quit my job at Kinkos and could no longer do it for free. At around the same point I quit Kinkos, I started doing little fan sites on the Internet for some friends' bands. Eventually I got bored of that too and around the year 2000 I registered the domain www.lightupthesky.com so I could just have my own personal site that showed off my art junk and also included music reviews and occasional interviews. Then in January of 2003 I decided to just make it a full-fledged webzine because there was so much music out in the world that I felt wasn't receiving proper press and I wanted to remedy that.

As for the name, I basically had to think of something I thought was somewhat catchy and that could symbolize something to me. I really like the whole notion behind "carpe diem" and how it's such a powerful and simple phrase, so I basically just thought of "light up the sky" as my own version of that. It just meant "make a difference" in my own way. But, now I wish I thought of something shorter so it'd be easier to type and easier to remember.

BW: Where did LUTS find its staffers? Has anyone written anything you've refused to publish? Are there any topics that are hands off for LUTS?

M: Most of the staff members are friends or friends of friends. I'm really fortunate to have witty and talented friends who actually want to help out. More recently though, we've added staffers simply via email request. People will drop me a line saying they want to contribute and we'll just go from there. A lot of 'em flake out or just want me to send them free shit, but there are a few gems that've made it on board.

I've asked people to re-work certain things or haven't included something here or there because I just didn't feel it fit, but I haven't downright refused anyone that I can think of. With writers like Brett Ramone, Nicole Sonsini and Sid D. Licous, I have to be very careful what to publish since they're all so hilariously vulgar and crude. But they're also my favorite writers, so they can pretty much get away with murder. I basically draw the line when it comes to obvious stuff like racism or homophobic shit, but for the most part I don't turn any article topics away.

BW: Who is your favorite band that has been featured in Light Up The Sky?

M: Ohhh, that's a good one. I'd say the interview with Johnny from the Blood Brothers was the most fun to do only because I've become friends with those guys over the years playing shows together in bands, etc., so I knew I'd have a good arsenal of questions. They're truly a great band and they're still completely humble. As far as favorites go though, like which band I like most, I really can't say. I know that's a total wussy way to answer the question, but I genuinely love 80 percent of the bands we've covered.

BW: Are there any bands who you have yet to interview that you'd give a kidney to have a sit-down with?

M: Tons! I'd love to do an interview with Nick Cave, even though I know he'd be really awkward and difficult. I just love the man, what can I say? Same goes for Rowland S. Howard! They're both huge inspirations to me. I'd love to sit Ian MacKaye down or Henry Rollins, although I'd be way too intimidated to mutter anything logical to either. I've also always wanted to interview Paul Banks of Interpol, and I'm pretty sure I could, I just have opted not to because I don't want to ruin the impression of him I have in my head. I love Interpol too much to even risk tarnishing the image of them I have. Do you know what I mean? Oh, and Douglas Coupland! Even though he's an author, and not a musician, I'd love to pick his brain! He's one of my favorites.

BW: Have you ever been intimidated by a band?

M: No, not really. I've been intimidated by situations leading to an interview. Like with the band The Cinema Eye, I didn't really know much about them and I hadn't even really heard their music yet. I just knew they were in town and on Mikey's label, so I figured it was something I'd want to do eventually anyway. I basically had to hunt things down about them in order to come up with questions, which was sort of nerve-racking. But they were awesome kids and totally made me feel at ease. I am, however, always intimidated by power-happy tour managers for bands. They always make it impossible for you to conduct your interview. I hate bands who have to have a million people "OK" you interviewing them. It's always a downer and really makes me wanna shout things like "how very punk rock of you,” but whatever, I want go off on that tangent.

BW: People would be surprised if they new you listened to...

M: Ohhh shit! Hahaha... I've got some of the worst guilty pleasures. I listen to a lot of bad (but good to me) 90's alterna-rock. Geez, I know I won't hear the end of it but basically name any grunge band and I probably like 'em, even if they're from Australia *hint hint*. I also listen to some cheesy goth and industrial stuff, but that's a much lesser evil. I've also been into a lot of the swing-jazz of the 20's and I absolutely love all the shoegazer bands that most Brits hate. In high school I lived on a cross breeding of pop-punk and political-hardcore, so I'm pretty well rounded now. I still loathe 95 percent of country music through.

BW: What were your top five favorite moments in 2003?

M: In order from what I can remember off the top of my head...
1.) Getting accepted to Otis College of Design;
2.) My 23rd Birthday Party at a Rollerskating Rink;
3.) Hanging out with Radio Berlin and Prosaics in the same three day span;
4.) Seeing Pretty Girls Make Graves play in front of cheesy celebs for the elleGIRL party we snuck into;
5.) Seeing Lost In Translation in the theatre with Lauren, Will and Brandy.

BW: What are you most looking forward to in 2004?

M: I'm looking forward to hearing the new Interpol album, if it ever comes out, and seeing Prosaics blow people away if they too ever come out with their record. I also really want to go to Coachella Music Festival, but I don't know if that'll happen.

BW: What is the number one problem with the current state of punk/independent music today?

M: Elitism. I'm definitely guilty of it at times too, I mean no one's perfect, but overall it just seems like everyone thinks they're better than everyone else these days. It's sad. I remember when bands and fans were all super humble and dorky. Now it's all about playing the right parties, having the right asymmetrical haircut and being in the right group of friends. It's because of those reasons that I chose to stay home a lot. As cheesy as it sounds, I wish everyone could remember what "punk rock" was all about... to me it's about community and relating to one another for not being of the social norm, but now everyone just seems to wants to be famous. People seem to forget where they've come from or how they've gotten so successful and it bums me out.

BW: How do you feel about "indie" bands garnering so much attention in prime time television, and commercials?

M: I haven't really seen or heard too much of it. I'm not going to lie and say I don't watch TV or even MTV for that matter. I'm a sucker like the next guy, but I just don't think there's a ton of indie bands on TV. Sometimes I'll notice a little song blurb in the background of a commercial or TV show but I don't think it really does much for the bands except maybe gain them some extra royalty checks and excite or piss off their fans. When bands like Pretty Girls Make Graves or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs land on MTV with a great video I just get excited for 'em. They're good people and great musicians and if some 14 year old kid buys their album over Good Charlottes, I think that's terrific.

BW: Has licensing music for use in television negatively affected independent music?

M: It's an iffy situation. On the one hand if you're in a band and music is essentially your lives ambition than sometimes it helps to have financial security through those kinds of deals. However, if you start supporting all those corporations that are secretly (or not-so secretly) corrupting our world, you've got to feel somewhat guilty for aiding them. The Walkmen did a Saturn commercial and you've got to figure that by six degrees of separation they're aiding some wacked out drug lords somewhere. They're essentially making the rich even wealthier. I think it's awesome though when bands lend their music to things they really believe in or support. Johnny Whitney from the Blood Brothers told me they'd gladly license their music to promote Silk (a soymilk maker). I think that's what bands ought to do more often. But in the big picture I haven't really seen any serious negative impact to indie music because of bands lending their music to mainstream America. Sure, certain bands or genres may get popular for a bit and spawn copycat moneymaker groups, but generally things swell back down to the underground.

BW: You and your staffers take a lot of those Internet meat markets to task in LUTS. Would you ever, under any circumstances, have a Friendster, Make Out Club, etc. profile?

M: I hate all those sites the most out of all the staffers. I just have had nothing but negative experiences with them or people on them. If someone had a gun to my head though, obviously I'd make an account, but for the most part I feel it's just feeding this growing problem people are having of seeking out attention based on superficial or embellished facts. I think those sites feed people's egos, and like I said before, I'm kind of sick of people who've lost touch of reality and being humble. I've heard every reason in the book as to why people subscribe to those kinds of sites, but to me it all just boils back down to people needing to read how "cute" they are or to show off how popular they are.

BW: Has the internet help to vitalize or kill the spirit of punk rock?

M: Hmmmm, well I'd say a little bit of both. I guess it depends on whose definition of punk rock you're talking about. To me punk rock has always been about doing what you, as an individual, wants to do without the constraints or pressures of society getting in the way. In that sense, no, punk rock most definitely hasn't been killed by the Internet. In a lot of ways it's fostered it. For example, it's now so much easier to communicate with other people, bands, venues, press, etc. to get you where you want to be. I've been in bands and basically booked tours via email. It's terrific for that sort of stuff and in a lot of way cuts out needless middlemen!

On the other hand, the Internet has sort of killed the spirit of individuality to a slight degree. And being that individuality is a major facet of punk rock, it waters that down too. With all the Makeoutclubs and Friendsters and so on you start seeing this regurgitation of personality types. People nowadays name check bands they've never even heard of simply to gain some sort of indie cred. It's sad in a way because those people are so desperately seeking out approval when in reality they already have an inflated sense of it. A lot of people chalk it up to low self-esteem, but I don't buy that. If a person had low self-esteem they wouldn't even be comfortable posting their life story on the Internet. For most it's just an excuse to boost their bloated egos and I've always felt punk rock is about being humble.

All in all though, I'd say the Internet has way more pros in regards to promoting punk ideals. It's just an easier avenue to obtaining information and meeting unique people which would logically make people think more creatively. I read really inspiring interviews and writing on the Internet that helps me shape my own beliefs, and I've made some great friends through it.

BW: In October you ran a column called "Suicide Watch." How did you feel when you first heard about Elliott Smith's suicide? How did LUTS handle the fact that he was one of ten included in the column?

M: Naturally, I felt absolutely horrible. I took it down right away. I did a lot of thinking and after a lot of emails I decided to put it back up with that little introduction tacked on. I don't know... in retrospect, that whole article was a bad idea. It was in poor taste, which I'm guilty of having every now and again, and wasn't well thought out. But on the opposite fence, suicide is so glamorized by the media and the public, I thought a tongue-in-cheek article about it would've sort of pointed out how stupid and selfish it really is. I put it back up because people made the point that by hiding the article I'd only be drawing more attention to it and it would be spread by people who already saw it. I didn't want to risk peoples’ over exaggeration, so I put it back up. I was the only one who really had to handle the situation, as I was responsible for that article and the site as a whole. It really sat on my conscience for a while, and it still does to be honest, but it already happened and all I can do is learn from it now.

BW: How does LUTS handle haters?

M: We try to understand 'em if it's something serious they don't like about the site, but for the most part it's just immature 15 years olds mad that we don't like their favorite band or that we don't have time between school and work to come hang out at their friends' show. It's almost become endearing because people are actually taking the time out of their day to let you know how they feel, even if it is negative.

BW: Does LUTS have a "mantra" or "rule of thumb?"

M: Not really. I started it with the idea that I wanted to focus on helping bands and people who I thought were doing something valid and worthwhile and I'm trying to maintain that. I slip up every now and then do something stupid or slag a band, but my friends usually call me out on it and that helps.

BW: What can we expect from LUTS in 2004?

M: Well, Brett Ramone keeps telling to add a message board, but I've got a feeling that'll just create more problems. We've got more staffers now than before, so hopefully just better and more frequent updates. However, since school is so hectic right now, it's becoming really hard to stay on top of things. I'd say people can just expect more of the same, but in bigger doses and hopefully the design aspect will start getting a lot better.