The Obelisk Questionnaire: Scott Brenner of Haze Mage
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Scott Brenner of Haze Mage
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m a web developer, bassist (Haze Mage), amateur photographer, and occasional local show booker/promoter. Most of that has just come naturally from my life experiences, personal hobbies, and desire to help support our vast local scene. My band exists because John made a Facebook post saying “I want to drum for a stoner metal band” we responded, started meeting shortly after that and have been playing together ever since! This band has solidified my already long standing appreciation for the vast Baltimore music scene and it’s why we do everything to showcase the local talent with our shows & annual event, Grim Reefer Fest.
Describe your first musical memory.
HFStival ‘99 was the first real concert I remember attending. It was wild for my first show to be a stadium event with a ton of my favorite bands of the time. Experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of a large show for the first time was an eye opening moment for me. I’ve been hooked on concerts ever since.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Until recently I would have said opening for Acid King, who is one of my all time favorite bands but we just played our first show in almost two years with some of our favorite bands to a huge crowd and the emotions from that experience are completely unrivaled to anything I’ve experienced. I didn’t truly realize the size of the void in my heart from not seeing or playing shows for so long. We all needed it. It was almost a bit overwhelming to see so many people that we’ve missed for so long and to play for them. Everything about that night was perfect and won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I’m extremely non-religious and pretty much always have been. About 11 years ago I had a pituitary tumor diagnosis and needed to have that removed from my head (really not a fun experience, I don’t recommend it). There was a period before surgery where I contemplated death, God, etc., and perhaps looking for help from some sort of greater space deity but I didn’t and still don’t believe in that and never went down that path. I know that the only things getting me through that situation was the science, trusted doctors, and the will of my own body.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I would say artistic progression leads to exploration and challenging yourself. It’s an important thing to drive yourself to push your own limits, to find your next sound or motif or piece of inspiration, and not just rely on what you’ve already done.
How do you define success?
Setting a goal and achieving it, it’s as simple as that. There will always be things I wish I could’ve done better or differently but that doesn’t make the things I’ve done any less of a success. Even as a musician, playing a show that’s smaller than maybe we would’ve hoped for I would still call it a success because if I’m out there playing for anyone other than myself and if one person is there and enjoyed it then that’s all that matters.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I’ve seen a pig eat a man. In fact, I’ve seen many pigs eat many men. It was a bloodbath.
In all seriousness though I’ve given this one probably more thought than I should admit and nothing specific really comes to mind. I’ve seen so much good and bad, joyful and sad, and I don’t regret seeing any of it because it’s all helped me become who I am today.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I would like to create a platform for artists to share their shows, music, art, event photos, and live streams that doesn’t suppress everything the way some of the bigger platforms do these days. We should all do more to build our local scenes and keep them thriving.
Also I have a dream about turning the lore and story we’ve written into all of our music into a D&D campaign, because we’re that type of nerds.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To be enjoyed. Not everything has to be inspirational or have deep meaning (sometimes a song about a witch seeing the future in her magic bong doesn’t have that many layers to it) but as long as somebody out there enjoys it, even if it’s just yourself, is all that matters in the end.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
There’s this bridge between my house and my main route into the city that’s being rebuilt and has been closed for three years now that’s finally going to reopen soon and that’s such a grown-up answer to this question but it’s been a giant pain in the ass and I cannot wait.
Additionally, I’m looking forward to the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, more tattoos, the return of the Rattlesnake burrito, and Adam Page winning the AEW World Championship.
https://www.instagram.com/hazemage
https://www.facebook.com/hazemage
https://hazemage.bandcamp.com
http://www.grimoirerecords.com
http://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/GrimoireRecords
https://twitter.com/grimoiremetal
