Dino’s Journey: Three Decades of Experimental Sounds and Visual Art

Episode Overview

• Host Jeff Kaiser interviews experimental musician Dino Felipe, exploring his early artistic inclinations and rich family musical history in Miami.
• The conversation delves into the unglamorous realities of touring, contrasted with moments of community and connection on the road.
• Dino shares his unique and intuitive creative process, explaining how he channels inspiration from diverse sources like films, accidents, and even sickness.
• The discussion is peppered with candid and often humorous anecdotes about performance anxiety, memorable shows, and his eclectic approach to making music.

Key Concepts

• Early Life & Artistic Sensibility: Dino's first memory was disliking the "beige" color of his room, hinting at an early aesthetic awareness developed in his Westchester, Miami home.
• Family Musical Influences: He was surrounded by music, from his mother's eclectic record collection and piano-playing grandmothers to his grandfather, who was a composer for the Cuban singer La Lupe.
• Formative Experiences: His first concert was the Christian metal band Stryper, and his desire to be a drummer was sparked by watching Mötley Crüe's rotating drum kit on MTV.
• The Realities of Touring: The discussion covers the grind of constant travel alongside positive experiences, like finding communities in other cities that would support the band.
• Creative Inspiration and Process: Dino describes his method as being an "antenna" that channels ideas, often revisiting old concepts and "upholstering" them with new emotions.
• Performance and Stage Fright: He openly discusses his severe stage fright, which he manages by inviting friends and even audience members on stage to create a more comfortable, party-like atmosphere.
• Musical Versatility: Dino's work spans a wide range of genres, including pop, house, free-form electronic, folk, and cinematic soundscapes, reflecting his eclectic creative approach.

Quotes

• At 1:05 - "That's my first memory. It was being in a crib crying... because the room was all beige, and I didn't like it." - Dino describing his earliest memory, which reflects an early artistic and aesthetic awareness.
• At 4:17 - "I thought that was pretty punk rock." - Dino's unique take on the band Stryper stopping their concert to pray.
• At 35:35 - "...it was pretty gnarly, and I ran outside and I was just like a... exorcist vomit." - Describing a particularly bad experience getting sick on tour after eating canned beans.
• At 37:29 - "Oh, you miss the smell of your cat's urine, you miss the smell of your towel, no matter how it smells." - Dino passionately explains the feeling of returning home after a tour and appreciating even the most mundane details.
• At 39:18 - "I feel like that's how all my music is made. It's like I'm a co-writer. I'm like the thing that makes it, but there's something going through." - Dino describes his intuitive and channel-like approach to his creative process, inspired by David Lynch.

Takeaways

• Creative inspiration can be found everywhere, including in films, accidents, and even negative experiences like getting sick.
• Vulnerability can be transformed into a creative strength; Dino uses his severe stage fright to create collaborative and inclusive performances.
• An artistic sensibility is often an innate trait, present from a very young age, as seen in Dino's earliest memories.