Hello friends. I am Dee Putman and today I am speaking with Ian Vanek. Ian Vanek was one-half of New York punk duo Japanther. The music of Japanther feels like a living breathing thing. It takes elements of hip hop, noise, punk rock, electronic & experimental music and creates a sonic organism that rattles and riots in your head everytime you put one of their records on. Japanther married their street knowledge style punk attitude with the New York art world, they played at many art galleries and their sets have been accompanied by synchronized swimmers, giant dinosaurs, BMX stunts, & puppet performances. I have been a huge Japanther fan for years and it was a great pleasure speaking with Ian.
What have you been working on while qurantined?
I’ve made a new 16 song demo for a Howardian album called “Too Big To Be Quiet” due out in 2021.
What are your earliest art & musical memories? What initially attracted you to making music & art?
My Dad gave me a drum set when I was five. I remember him coming back from the thrift shop with a sparkly blue Japanese drum kit from the 60’s.
In these fucked up times with police inflicting violence on civilians and a deadly worldwide pandemic, what is the most important thing young artists can do right now?
Make art free of censorship or cooperate influence. Banks and debt are bad, self sufficiency is good.
Japanther opened up for the Misfits a while back. What was that experience like? What was your favorite moment on the road with Japanther in general?
Opening for your heroes is strange and funny. Hurricane Sandy stopped the first show we were supposed to play with them. The second one was at a corporate venue and Japanther was the best band on stage that night. Being on the road with Japanther was pretty ridiculous 80% of the time. A lot of adventures surrounding art, aliens and comedic settings with some shows mixed in to fund the trip.
