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: Dalton Huskin of Smoke & Sun Years

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

In its simplest form, I create. Anything I can build, make, paint, or design, I’m in. Building a fantasy world within the confines of the physical reality around us, that’s my whole goal; to play an exaggerated character of myself. I spent a lot of time in my own worlds as a kid, and I don’t think I ever stopped doing that. I think I just have a better ability now to make the world around me seem like my childhood dreams through creating, building, painting, and music. I still haven’t figured out making dragons yet, though.

Describe your first musical memory.

Listening to “These Eyes” by The Guess Who in my mom’s car. Every time I hear it I play air keyboard and push a fake button when that little guitar clank hits at the end of each phrase.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I was playing in a metalcore band when I was 18-ish at this little coffee shop venue. It’s the middle of the afternoon, so people are just walking around the stores of the strip mall. This kid sticks his face through the gate of where we were playing and he just goes totally wide eyed, and we kind of see each other looking at each other. I like to think that was his first musical memory and he grew up to be Uli Jon Roth or something. He might have just thought we sucked and he knew he never wanted to do that, either way it’s great.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Recording the latest Smoke single, I realized that I didn’t have to fight myself if something was just coming easily. I always had this concept that to make something worthwhile, it took hours of over thinking and work, but I had to take a step back and tell myself that simplicity is equally valid.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

For me it’s just being able to laugh at yourself and never taking what you did, or do, too seriously. I have developed what I’ll call “Bagger Vance Syndrome”. If you’ve seen the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance you know it’s an absurd plot but still a tear jerker… great actors doing a transcendental film about golf, set in the great depression era south, where this guy teaches life lessons to a World War I vet through the beauty of the game. At first watch, it’s a great underdog story, but when you take a step back it’s just gobbledigook. I always had that fear when it came to my own art… that someone would see it as shallow attempts at saying something profound, or worse, it’s seen as the gobbledigook it truly is. My own personal artistic progression is being able to say that yes, The Legend of Bagger Vance is a truly great heartfelt film, but also a shallow attempt at saying something profound, and gobbledigook. Being able to take a step back from something and laugh at how serious it is has been my great revelation. Make the profound, pompous claims of your art being great and important, and then laugh at how ridiculous it is to attempt to make those claims. You gotta be able to be so far up your own ass that you giggle at all the shit in there.

How do you define success?

My father and I have a running joke about how I would say, “I just want to sit in a field and be, man.” through the clouds of teenage dirt weed smoke. I didn’t realize then that I’m too manic to just sit in a field and be, but I think having the option to turn the ol’ brain off for a day and just be present without worry is my form of success. That, and a Harley pan head chopper, those are rad.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The Legend of Bagger Vance. I can’t sleep at night. Is he a ghost? An angel? Some sort of astral projection of Peter J. Carrol, come to ramble the hidden knowledge behind Liber Null? Who knows.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’ve been working on songs with a new project called Sun Years, and I’m really excited about the direction that’s going. Smoke has another concept album I’m working on, so the nights of yelling nonsense in my basement and writing are always something I look forward to, too. I plan on making a lot of music this year. The feeling of staring at the rabbit hole and knowing I’m about to jump makes me happier than a pig in shit.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

I’m not sure that there is one. I mean no offense to the question when I say this, but when I’m asked a question like this I want to give some lofty answer, or at least something meaningful, but I’m not sure I’m the person that could do that. This question made me think a lot about what function art serves me. Creating art is just a way for me to escape the fact that I’m going to die, and there is eternal nothingness at the end. You fight to make something meaningful, something that will live on past your death, something that says, “I was here and I mattered! It wasn’t meaningless!”. I put on my music hat and do my little dance, playing a character of myself. I get wrapped up in this fantasy world of being a great artist, and jump down the rabbit hole. Do the bit so long you forget it’s a bit, lose yourself to it entirely and then laugh at the end of it.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I’m getting married in October and I’m really looking forward to being at that place, at that time with everyone that I love in my life.

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https://sunyears.bandcamp.com/

Smoke, “Scavenger” (2023)

Sun Years, Sun Years (Demo) (2022)

So it starts out super nasty on guitar like some weirdo Butthole Surfers fuckall rock that still swings, and the bassline hits and it’s like Helmet but heavy and then the vocals are harsh while the guitar pulls Kyuss leads in the background and then they slow down like the stoner rock meme brought to life and remind what everybody liked about sludge rock in the first place: that it could be both. Virginia’s Smoke continue to intrigue as they follow-up their 2022 debut album, Groupthink (review here) with the new single “Scavenger,” the roughly five-point-five minutes of which are not to be fucked with. The Bandcamp page says it’s been there since Feb. 10 but I just got the email that the song had been released, so whatever, if it’s brand new or not, it’s new to me and it’s killer and that’s good enough.

Today is Bandcamp Friday and no fees and blah blah, so the timing is good, but I’m more drawn in by the shift in style from where they were on the album less than a year ago and curious as to what “Scavenger” implies as regards the progression of the band. At best, its turn toward aggressive vocals and harder-edged riffs — coinciding as they do with the bone-picking theme of the lyrics you can read below — means Smoke are even more multifaceted than they showed before and that much stronger as a band for being that much less predictable. At worst it’s a one-off and still a cool heavy tune. In other words, you don’t lose either way by checking it out.

The stream is at the bottom of this post, and all the text below comes from their Bandcamp as well, so, you know, feel free to head that way when you’re done here, if you haven’t already done so:

SMOKE – Scavenger

Scavenger starts as a high-velocity death rattle as vultures pick bones clean, screeching vocals and guitars carry the song, finishing with a slow grave-digging riff. An ode to consumers of carrion everywhere.

lyrics

Hyena walk with a vulture taste
Always the aggressor but only agitates
A fungus mind preys on the weak
Always the victim but inherits the meek

How much should we give?
Everything we have
How much should we give?
A little more than that

Scavenger

A psychic drain while the vampires feed
Our bones are gnashing against hyena teeth
Appearance over passion, dagger over sword
None of the work, but all of the reward

How much should we give?
Everything we have
How much should we give?
A little more than that

Scavenger

Written by: Smoke (2023)
Lyrics: Dalton Huskin
Art: Dalton Huskin
Mix: Ben McLeod
Master: Mikey Allred
Recorded at Fainting Goat Studios in Bedford, VA

Smoke:
Dalton Huskin – Guitar/Vocals
Ben Gold – Lead Guitar
Alex Thurson – Drums
Stephen Tyree – Bass

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Smoke, “Scavenger”