http://www.glwdrk.com/coffeeandghosts/
http://www.glwdrk.com
http://glwdrk.blogspot.com/
Please introduce yourself. Tell us something about what you did/do/are planning to do.
My name is Thomas Reitmayer. I live and love and work in Wien. That's in Austria. I am - for lack of a better term – a graphic designer and/or "visual artist". I draw, paint, take photos, write, print, publish a magazine, and do small zines on my own or with friends. I eat, sleep, drink, skate, and read. I used to run a small record label back in the day, I co-own a record store and skate shop, I did some art shows, and I fucked up a lot of times. My plans… well, there will be a children's book in the near future that I am doing together with my friend Jo Snyder, based on a song by her old band Sixty Stories. More screenprints. More zines. More t-shirts. More travels. But above all, my biggest plan is being a good person and not an asshole.
What does your workplace/desk/... look like?
That depends on the day really... sometimes my desk looks super clean, like straight out of a designer furniture magazine, but mostly it's just a big mess. Right now, there's my keyboard, monitor and scanner on the desk, pens, a lot of books, magazines, a cup of coffee, an ashtray, envelopes and parcels, photo prints, negative strips, a lighter, more pens, a couple of CDs, and stacks of papers including (but not limited to) unpaid bills, to-do-lists, sketches, letters and just random doodles. There's a skateboard on the wall right above my monitor, some photos my friends took, and my mom's old typewriter and cans of spray paint next to me.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
This is a question I ask myself all the time. It usually has something to do with books and coffee. Old Blue Note jazz covers inspire me a lot, 60s advertisements, 70s porn mags, old shop signs on the street, found or stolen black and white family photos, abandoned buildings, long walks at night, travels, my love, my friends, my enemies, the list is endless and constantly changing. Oh, and no matter what anybody else says: skulls are always good!
Give us your top 5 artists.
Definitely Patrick Jilbert, an amazing human being, a great friend, and one of the very very few artists who can make me laugh. I just love this man. On the very same level: Elías Martínez, douchebag extraordinaire, and more punk than 99% of the world's population could ever hope to be. Apart from my friends, someone who has influenced me a lot has to be John Heartfield. I think it's safe to say that without him, there would be no such thing as "punk art", and not only because Discharge stole his stuff. Pushead. Todd Bratrud. Florian Bertmer. Above. Art Chantry. Michael Sieben. Sean Mahan. Apetown. Faile. John Yates. Sorry, that was more than 5...
You are quite busy with band and live photography and published a photobook. There's tons of people taking pictures at shows. But what makes a photographer a good photographer in your eyes?
Yes, I did a photo book with music photography. Not to sound like a jerk, but: been there, done that. I have been taking photos at shows for almost one and half decades, and it really bores me to death these days. There is only so much excitement you can get from looking at pictures of people holding instruments, and in most cases, these people and their music are completely random - and yes, I do miss charisma and personality. That said, I'd much rather take pictures of real people with real stories these days. Or buildings. Or things. But to answer your question, I really don't know what makes a photographer a good photographer. I have no clue. A good photo is a photo that moves me, that makes me feel something, whatever it is. You don't have to be technically perfect to take a good photograph, it's all about heart and soul and the way you look at things. Cell phone "photos", however, are a load of horse shit, just like "punk" kids taking a gazillion pictures with too much flash at a show, without even looking at who or what they are even shooting. You don't record an album without knowing how to play your guitar, so why would you take photos and not have clue how to handle the instrument that's your camera?
How important is DIY for you? What do those 3 little letters mean to you?
Very important! This is where I come from, this what shaped me, this is what made me the person I am today. Punk and DIY showed me a new world, made me do things, made me live and laugh and learn, and if it wasn't for the glory of DIY culture, I would probably still be working a 9 to 5 shit job. But it also is a question of getting older and re-evaluating your ideas and ideals: I have become both more and less radical. While I think my art itself has become more radical in the sense that it is uniquely my own and I have developed my own style, my ways of looking at certain things have definitely changed over the years. There is nothing wrong with creating pieces that are simply "good enough" if the client wants it this way, there is nothing wrong with making money, showing in galleries, and working for "the man". Everybody needs to pay their rent, but nobody will pat you on the shoulder and congratulate you for not "selling out" after you got your eviction notice. To get back to the point, I eat, sleep, breathe, and shit DIY on a daily basis, it's in my flesh and blood. But DIY does not and should not have to mean something looks like crap, DIY doesn't mean that you fuck over people and don't pay them, but if DIY is all about doing fun stuff on a grass roots level, giving away your stuff for cheap or free just to help someone or make them happy, if DIY means that you can go to a foreign city andbe able to sleep on complete strangers' floors just because you have something in common that's more than musical taste... yes, then this is my idea of DIY, and that will never ever change.
What's up with GLW/DRK?
I am putting the finishing touches on the layout for the new issue as we speak. I have been thinking about this time and time again, and everybody knows that these are bad times for the printed matter, but fuck it. I love paper. So, to let the cat out of the bag, GLW/DRK #5 will be two magazines packed together as one issue: a photo issue, and an interview issue. No columns, no articles, no reviews, no nothing, just the very core of it all. There are five interviews... Scott Bourne, Ed Templeton, Patrick Jilbert, Shelby Cinca, and Vic Bondi. If you don't know who these people are, look them up. Or wait until you read what they have to say. I am very fucking proud of these interviews, as they go way beyond the Q&A formula.
It's very "coming of age", trying to get to the human experience of it all, talking about real life and it's hardships and it's benefits, and not any superficial tour stories or bullshit like that.
Let's talk some Springsteen to close this short interview. What are your 5 favorite songs by the man and why do you love The Boss so much?
It's kind of ironic that I am answering this question today, which is Springsteen's 61st birthday. Why do I love the Boss so much? Well, this is maybe a question of getting older and growing up. I mean, one of the first albums I ever bought was "Born In The USA", and I still have it to this day. But - with a capital B - I didn't learn to appreciate the glory and genius of this music until only a couple of years ago to the full extent... let's be honest: Springsteen is punk, and Springsteen is emo, just like Dostojevski is emo, and just like Bukowski is punk. The Boss is unmatched when it comes to lyrical content, a love for words and language, and for amazing storytelling in 4 minutes or less. It has just to be said that Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen might be the most gifted lyricist of the 20th and 21st century, and yes, I am keeping giants like Woody Guthrie or Hank Williams or Johnny Cash or Joe Strummer in mind when I am saying that, and shit, I'll even stand in front of Chuck D and tell him the same thing. And dear sir, it's more than hard to name only five songs, because - in my book - at least 25 of the greatest rock and roll (or related) songs of all times are Boss songs, but there you go, in no particular order: "Born To Run", top of the list. Hands down THE best song ever written, performed, and recorded... and I mean in the history of music itself! "The River", any version, any time, simply mindblowing. Of course "No Surrender". Lyrical genius! Then I'll take "Atlantic City", which is maybe the most calm punk song I know. Listen closely, and you'll know what I mean. The fifth one is a very close tie, but "Hungry Heart" just has to be on the list, for purely personal reasons. I wouldn't be the same person without this song.
(Interview by Thomas - Pictures by Daniela Rotheneder-Stari)
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