The Obelisk Questionnaire: Barley Rantilla of Rebreather
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: Barley Rantilla of Rebreather
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I turn my guitar amps up and holler a bunch. It feels real good the whole time I’m plugged in. Super glutinous, masturbatory, self-serving… but incredibly cathartic. I’m going deaf, my head hurts when I stop, and sometimes I’m a little sad afterwards. But, while its happening, it’s the best and I never want it to stop. When I was a little kid, my cousin let me hold his electric guitar while it was plugged into some tiny practice amp and the amount of feedback and noise screaming out of that speaker completely captivated me. It would be years later that my dad ended up getting me my first guitar and several years after that I got ahold of my first tube amp. From that point on, it’s been a challenge to harness that feedback and noise and try to turn it into music.
Describe your first musical memory.
My parents were really into a wide range of music and my dad always had piles of records to dig through. On Saturday mornings, my brothers and I would wake up early and spin Nilsson albums or Rick Wakeman’s “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” as the soundtracks to us destroying our Star Wars action figures in the living room. I feel bad for how many scratches we probably put on all those albums. Fortunately, my parents were less concerned with the safety of the albums and more stoked on us enjoying them.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Too many “best music” memories.
Being a little kid and staying at my grandparent’s house. They had basic cable, so I was gonna get to watch MTV all day long… YES!!! So stoked on music videos as a kid. The Clash, Van Halen, RUN DMC, fucking Thriller! Michael Jackson’s Thriller! Holy shit! A horror music video… nuts!
Seeing my first “underground” punk shows in a dirty basement bar… crazy looking people everywhere… the smell weed, stale beer, and patchouli. I still wear patchouli because it reminds me of those nights.
Playing shows with my friends. Watching them go on stage and destroy the place… what could be better than that? I’ve been lucky enough to witness that an unbelievable amount of times. So crazy to be so proud and so jealous at the same time haha.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Anytime you see someone rise to the top after working themselves to death. Believing in yourself is the most important part. I don’t think you’ll get anywhere without that.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Man… ahhh… to Death. I think that’s where everything leads… haha. So… practice makes perfect, right. I think the more you do something, then obviously you should become more comfortable doing it. Therefore, I would assume that your comfort should allow you more freedoms with whatever you are doing artistically. So, hopefully it would lead to more depth, better expression, and more of an ability to convey whatever it is you are trying to convey.
How do you define success?
If you are happy and humble, then you have won. Feeling content is tough. If you can step back and be thankful for whatever you have, then you’re moving in the right direction.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Well, I took my daughter to see Justin Bieber for her birthday… that was pretty bad. Also, I got roped into seeing some bible thumping Christian rock band when I was a little kid. The Christian rock band kept asking the crowd not to have premarital sex. Justin Bieber just kept talking about how sore his ankle was. I wish I hadn’t seen either of them, but I guess the Christian rock band seems worse. At least my daughter enjoyed Bieber. But shit… if I hadn’t had premarital sex, then I would have never had to see Justin Bieber… those christian rock band might be wiser than I thought.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’ve had this idea for a board game floating around in my head for years. Someday I will for sure embarrass myself by mocking up a prototype haha.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To communicate emotion, mainly. It can be super subjective, but if you’re on the same wavelength, you can pick up on the intent, or even discover an intent that suits you. I think art can do a lot of things… it can teach, it can distract, it can provoke. But, in my opinion, inspiring some sort of feeling or emotion would be the most essential function of art.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I’m always looking forward to hanging with friends and family. Whether it’s a vacation, a party, a night out, or just a chat… I’m always down.
https://www.facebook.com/rebreather-372407815879/
https://www.instagram.com/rebreather_band/
https://rebreather-ohio.bandcamp.com/
http://www.stevewishnewski.com/rebreather
http://www.aqualamb.org
http://www.aqualamb.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/aqualambrecords
