Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce MANGOPEELER. Sometimes called Jeff Garcia, this talented Toronto artist does all kinds of neat stuff. Of particular interest to the Make Some Noise crew however, is his frequent collaborations with members of the local music scene. As a member of the arts collective Exploding Motor Car, he's contributed to music videos for bands like The Acorn, Slim Twig and Ohbijou (among others). His screen printing skills have been employed by many Toronto musicians too, and he's been involved in image installations for Toronto's Wavelength Music series.
(FUN FACT! If you happen to bump into Drake at the Drake, there’s a good chance he’ll be rocking one of his Mangoness’ awesome Aaliyah T-shirts).
Jeff took a few minutes to answer some questions about his collaborations with members of the TO music scene.
Why are you so drawn to working with other artists, and across artistic media?
Keeps me fresh and other people too. Jamming with people usually brings out the unexpected. Its humbling and breaks me down if I get used to making things in a fixed way. I grew up reading Bruce Lee books, can you tell? I like to keep it Halo Halo (its a filipino dessert but also the name of my studio translating into 'mix-mix' in English). From kids, to my contemporaries, to grocery store clerks I'll jam with anyone. I was just in Fiesta Farms this morning and did a great piece with the a girl putting away some eggplant. Its just about playing!
What’s the most interesting project you’ve done with a Toronto musician?
Oh man, too many to think of! My friends are my favourite artists. From throwing free outdoor shows at my house and studios to working on handmade posters, its all interesting or I wouldn't do it. Man Made Hill wearing a cd-vest during a classic set at Halo Halo Village for VCR Dungeon- a show celebrating all things analogue, until the cops showed up. Fleshtone Aura opening for I D M Theftable at my Earthship with my cat Shouty, then recording a contact mic cactus the next morning. I used to have a
music project with Andrew Zukerman and Amy Lam called 'Hard Love in Times New Roman'. I think there are more words in the name than the number of shows we played. I think I hadn't even met Amy and we were already in a 'band' together. She ended up living in my old room on Major St where I used to throw house shows with my 3 good bros and our cat Boaba, the Admiral, RIP. Masked Bruho performances in the alleyway, Nacho Man of the Utah Jazz solo vomit, The Pink Noise living room light show, Shazaam on the rooftop, oh man, legendary era! Oh yeah, doing shirts for Drizzy Drake, and driving in a Black Range Rover with his bodyguards at 3am so they can give me a 'stack of cash' to help pay for my Life Insurance was also topps.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to find a musician to collaborate with?They are probably your friends so just ask them to jam on something. Put out a cassette tape together, do a gigposter for one of their shows. Go to the park or the train tracks and do some field recordings. Throw a party in your living room or garage and put them on the bill. Do a residency with them to learn more about their music collection and rare LP's. Go for a late night bike ride to the beach, spark a fire and viiiiiiibe out.
Just ‘cause this is the library’s website after all, what’s the last really good book you’ve read?
I read how I collage, a few books and source material at a time. I'm reading Biospheres- From Earth to Space, a book that inspired my current self-imposed residency at Halo Halo Village. It was printed in 1989 and hopefully it will help me build an independent, living biosphere here. I'm also reading Come Alive! The Spirited Art of Sister Corita. Its about one of my favourite artists, a radical screen printing nun from the 60's that organized colourful marches, taught art through workshops and bringing in her friends as guest speakers, like John Cage and Charles Eames. I'm teaching a Sister Corita Printing workshop in October using old screen printed methods so this book is perfect right now. I also hit a little snag recently and my good friend Andrew lent me John Cage's biography and
Stan K gave me a vintage Golden Book Encyclopedia he found on the street on his way to school. I'm cutting that one up. My favourite book of all time is Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe.
We’ve heard through the grapevine that you make fine fruit juice. What musician (living or dead) would you like to make a beverage for, and what would you put in it?
My shipmate Mairi Greig, is a dancer has a fancy juicer that we call the Flux Capacitor for the Earthship. I think if Sun Ra came by for some hangs I'd brew up a Space is the Place for him. It would include my Spaceways Kaleidoscope Syllabus of intergalactic Nutrition, Astral Perversions, Psych Bikes, Cosmic Soba, a seed of Musique Concrète Teleportation, Sponge Bob, Third Eye & Animal Cracker Finders Keepers, Shooting Stars shots, Subterranean Found Object Finders Fees, Trips to The Crystal Cave and through The Secret Portal!!!!!!!! It would look a lot like a ripped off version of that drink Orbitz. Remember that one hit wonder?
I'd also make my girl, Aaliyah, a lovely mango smoothie under moon on a beach....... RIP Babygirl xo
