An Interview with Andrew Necci of RVAMag

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Andrew Necci, Editor and Chief of RVAMag and RVAMag.com and we dished the dirt on Richmond music, Richmond life, and I learned a lot.   Seriously.  That dude knows a little bit about everything.  In addition to his vast knowledge, he happens to be super nice and super cool, and he didn’t care when I ordered the same thing as him at Sticky Rice.  Sorry, I’d only ever eaten the tots.  Here is the interview, the best I can transcribe it from my hastily-taken, teriyaki-splattered notes.

You’re from Warrenton, Virginia.  When did you move to Richmond and why?

I started out at Randolph Macon on a full scholarship.  I was pretty bored with Ashland, so I’d come into Richmond to see shows and visit people.  I dropped out with a year left on my English degree, and moved to Richmond for good in 1995.

RVAMag started in 2005.  The website says that there was a need for artists and activists to have a voice, but it also mentions that the magazine came about with the help of people who had “found themselves” in Richmond.  This indicates that a good number of the startup team were, in fact, not native Richmonders.  In this “new Richmond” the magazine envisioned, what of the “old” did the magazine want to promote and nurture, and what of the “new” excited the founders so much they decided to create this magazine, and later the media company? 

Some of the founding members are, in fact, from places other than Richmond.  They saw Richmond as a place with a good music scene, a good art scene, and a lot of potential.  I’ve only been there about a year.

What is your role with RVAMag?

I started out writing about music, and was then asked to be the music editor.  After I stared editing some pieces that weren’t technically part of my responsibility, and after we started doing the web stuff and I started editing that, the previous Editor in Chief quit and Tony offered me the job.  

Starting out as a music writer, I assume you have a musical background.  Am I right about that?  Plus, I looked at your Facebook pictures.

My first band was called Make Believe, and I was the singer.  We were in Ashland.  After I came to Richmond I started a band called Tri State Killing Spree, and we were together in some incarnation or another until 2002.  Eric Smith from The Catalyst joined the band when he was 15 years old after he answered an ad we put up at Soundhole.  Jason Steed (Tink) of My War and Mason Dixon Disaster was in the band as well.  

What are your favorite Richmond bands, past and present?

Back then, it was Avail, Four Walls Falling, Inquisition, Ipecac, and Action Patrol.  Now my taste goes all over the place – The Catalyst, Inter Arma, Hold Tight, NoBS!, The Greater the Risk, Long Arms, Worn in Red, Flechette, White Laces, Young Adult Fiction, Fight the Big Bull, the Spacebomb records crew – there are so many.

*At this point in the conversation, we went off on books, both being English majors and owners of far too many books.  This part of the conversation may or may not interest you, and may be available in my memoirs.  For now, I am skipping it because your brain might explode from how much awesomeness went down over bowls of udon teriyaki.*

What are your favorite things about Richmond?

The cost of living here is not prohibitive.   I have journalist friends in New York and they really struggle.  Here you can work part time, play music, and live in real house instead of some pre-fab condo.  Richmond also has a rich history – not just the Civil War stuff, but a solid history of music.  It’s a town with enough to do, but it’s not too big. You don’t technically “need” a car.  There is ample practice space, and winter is short.  There is plenty of nice weather.  

What are your least favorite things about Richmond?

You know?  I don’t really have any of those.

And now the question I ask everybody – if you had my job, and could interview anybody in Richmond, who would you interview?

1.  Greta Brinkman.  She’s music for life.  

2. Tim Barry.  I interviewed him in 1995 and would like to interview him again.  He’s been playing some acoustic stuff out, but I’d like to see where he’s been and what he’s up to and planning.

And that concludes a great interview with a great Richmonder (because he chose to be, like me).

 

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A Classic Richmond Shopping Institution – Regency Mall

When Short Pump Town Center and Stony Point Fashion Park opened several years ago, we thought it was curtains for Regency Mall.  Despite it’s central location, the stores inside it were failing, business was bad, and the Taco Bell even pulled out of the food court.  I actually don’t remember if there was a Taco Bell at Regency Mall. But trust me, it was that dire.  With the demise of Cloverleaf and the creepy dwindlingness (yes, I made that word up) of Willow Lawn, I feared for my favorite mall in a big way.

Today, however, Regency Mall is doing a lot better.  It’s hard to find a place to park near my favorite entrance (which is not, incidentally, The Food Court), I almost get mowed down by octogenarians in sneakers on a per visit basis, and the Chick Fil A always has a line.  Ah, commerce.

Some of the anchor stores are still the same as they were in 1975, when the mall opened its doors.  The JCPenny and Sears are still kicking, and Richmond Biz Sense reported in 2008 that Regency had the second-lowest vacancy rate among Richmond shopping centers.

With the addition of Texas de Brazil and Charming CHARLIE, I have real hope that this mall is going to thrive.  Granted, I am not anywhere near the age of 21 (and  XXI Forever just opened a huge store there), but there is always Macy’s, Williams-Sonoma, and The Body Shop to keep me happy.

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An Interview with Reggie Pace of NO BS! Brass and More

I recently had the opportunity to meet up with local musician Reginald Pace, co-founder of NO BS! Brass and a fellow who is involved in a staggering number of creative projects.  He was kind enough to meet me at Kuba Kuba, a favorite that I was SURE I’d reviewed before, but guess I haven’t.  It’s awesome.  You should go there.

Back to Reggie.  I first got the idea to interview Reggie when I saw NO BS! Brass play at Gallery 5‘s Halloween bash last year.   They absolutely rocked my face off.  I mean, I was so impressed I couldn’t stand it.  I talked about them for days.  I told my mom about them.  I was like a little geek fan girl all over again.  It was great.  It had been a long time since I’d gotten jazzed over a local band.

So I contacted the band, and Reggie wrote back.  Right away.  That was back in NOVEMBER, but we finally met up and he told me all about the band, his projects, and more, so here you go, Richmond – the sweetest guy in Richmond showbiz:

From the time Reggie was a small child, he has loved music.  He wasn’t like most kids, who jump on a musical bandwagon and later discover what their taste is really all about.  He started off seeing the beauty and complexity in movie themes, and Merry Melodies songs.  He discovered Hip Hop when he was in middle school, and his own style became a wonderful, crazy combination of Hip Hop, Funk, Prog Rock, Jazz, Metal, and movie soundtracks.  This style carries over into NO BS! Brass, a band he started with co-founder Lance Koehler in 2006.

NO BS! Brass is a 10-piece band made up of a group of friends who have a love for music.  Many of the members have conservatory experience, and the entire group practices one time per week.  That’s dedication.   The members knew each other through school – Reggie graduated from VCU in 2005 and went on to teach trombone, tuba, and trumpet at Richmond Music Center.  He still does that, in addition to directing the University of Richmond’s Pep Band, all the while keeping up with his independent musical endeavours.

In addition to NO BS! Brass, Reggie is involved in at least 5 other bands.  Glows in the Dark specializes in jazzy, experimental movie music.  The guitar player, Scott Burton, writes whole suites of music for movies he likes.  That’s Reggie’s kind of collaborator.  They play once per month at Commercial Taphouse – the next show is on September 19th.  Fight the Big Bull is an indie-ish Jazz/Southern Rock 8-piece that has a wild sound.  Fight The Big Bull will be playing September 17, 18 and 19 at Hayti Heritage Center in Durham, NC.

That’s not all.  The Big Payback is a James Brown tribute band that plays all over the East Coast.  The Trio of Justice is a roots experimental band that, to my chagrin, played just days before this post will go live.  Finally, ETAKA is an electronic/drum/trombone duo Reggie’s in as well.  There might be more.  There probably ARE more.

But what about NO BS! Brass?  Many of the other 9 members of the band have multiple projects going on at one time.  Lance runs Minimum Wage Studios, Taylor is a doctoral candidate, and Bryan is a professor at VCU.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  There is only so much information you can squeeze out of an hour long conversation, even when the interviewee is as easygoing and forthcoming as Reggie.

Despite the crazy schedules, the multiple projects, the crappy economy, the hot hot weather, NO BS! Brass practices every week.  They manage to bring a lively, honest party attitude to every show and they are, to quote Harry Kollatz, “sheer musical joy.”  Reggie says that they have fun playing together – that they are a bunch of nerdy music school people – and that they take that nerdy music school stuff and make it danceable – and therefore accessible.  Their music is about 95% original, and the covers they do choose to play are an absolute delight to the audience.  Put it this way, I didn’t expect to hear Led Zeppelin, but I was sure glad when I did.

A new, self-titled album will be released at a two-day event at The Camel, one of the band’s favorite places to play. It’s their third studio album, and the CD Release Party promises to be an amazing time.  It’s October 1st and 2nd, at The Camel.  Tell your friends.

If you want to see the band play before that, you can head on over to Balliceaux this Thursday, August 26th.  That’s another favorite venue of the band’s.  They also love playing outdoors (you might have seen them at Best Friend’s Day this past weekend) and they like playing Gallery 5, which is where I first saw them.  They are super good about posting their news on the NO BS! Brass blog, so bookmark that thing and get ready to rock out.

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