Sole has got to be one of the most dynamic front men for a band I have seen in quite sometime.  He is currently on tour with the Skyrider Band in support of their self titled remix album.  I got a chance to ask him some questions.  You know you want to read it!

HW: Ok lets get somethings out of the way.  Your currently touring with the Skyrider band. How did that come about and why did you choose to move towards a band atmosphere rather then a cd/dj setup?
Sole: because rapping over freeze dried music is boring to me.  every once in a while i like to rap to an instrumental but it gets old quick to me.  i like the energy of working with musicians.  i have never performed with a dj, but if i met an able and creative dj i think tht would also be fun.

You newest project is a remix album of the self titled ’sole and the skyrider band’ why did you decide to remix this album and release it?
because it didnt get its proper shine the first time around and all the words on it have now become prophecy.

Now being as your with Anticon and have some say in overall operations.  How did Sage Francis become apart of the early days and have Personal Journals release? And what’s the story of your first encounter with him?
my first encounter with Sage is funny.  he used to be a dj and i had friend Sin providence who hated him.  they always wanted me to battle him, this was when i was 17-18, so i always disliked him from what they told me about him.  but then when i met him i got along really well with him,  and we’ve been friends ever since.  when Sixtoo was living with me he wanted to produce/record a record for sage, so i went around to the other anticon guys and see who wanted to put up beats for the project and everyone came through and gave him beats. he stayed with us for i think a month to record that, but it might have been only 2 weeks.

Now if I am right you had lived in Spain for awhile but currently your back in the states. Why did you move out there and why did you return.
I moved out there for something different.  i needed to clear my head of all that bullshit that was going on around me and in America in general.  i needed some perspective and joy.  i wanted to focus on living a nomadic life and getting married and trying something crazy and new.  around the time of New Orleans i had decided i really wanted to get back to the states, then sage offered to bring me on a tour, so those things combined made it an easy impulsive choice to get back to the empire to do the good work.

Ok I’m going way back with this one. But what ever happened to 45 below?
alias, mayo, moodswing, and even pedestrian were all involved with 45 below.  it turned into anticon.

And why did the live poets group in a sense disband?
because live poets was more of a collective really.  anyone in 45 below who wanted to do songs ended up just rapping with live poets, but it was me moodswing and towards the end alias who were the most driven.  so for a while live poets was moodswing, alias, mayo and me, and then when we got out to oakland moodswing stopped making music with me so i went solo.    when you’re young and enthusiastic there is this desire to just get anyone who shares similar interests involved in whatever you’re doing.

Being as you tour quite a bit what has been your favorite tour experience to date?
hmm.  i dunno.  probably the craziest most dangerous places i’ve been, like israel, serbia or moscow.  they stand out to me because there is an element of uncertainty and danger but then once i get there and its over its kind of an added joy of “that wasnt shit, im going to rwanda next.”  its always traumatizing seeing how other people live outside of the safety of “the developed west,” especially hanging out in warn torn countries listening to people’s stories…. we really dont realize how good we have it in america.  for now anyway.

What project are you most proud of out of your catalog?
sole and skyrider.  i love that shit.  to me forming a band and creating something new like that has been the most artistic growth i’ve been fuckin with for a minute.  when i listen to bottle of humand or selling live water i get psyched though.  so whatever, different albums for different days.

What was the idea behind ‘da bablonians’ project?
blunts, booze, and christ.

What ever happened with deep puddle dynamics? And will there ever be another so called artists album?
deep puddle was made when all of us were young in music.  once we developed our egos & aesthitics properly it made another project like that impossible. no there will never be another so called artilsts album.

How long have you been vegan and why did you make that choice?
ive been vegatarian for 20 years.  vegan for 6.  i didnt want to go vegan, but when i tried it one summer it really helped my asthma and allergies, i could breath better and i lost weight.  it made me a better rapper.  all humans are lactose intolerant except for babies.

How do you feel about the state of the music industry being an artist?
its fucked.  but it presents new opportunities for artists to read the shifting sands and plan accordingly for the future.  if they wish to stay in it.  i think labels are being outmoded and its gearing more towards artists, in 5 years as long as your stuff is in itunes and you get decent myspace traffic you wont need a label.  of course thats terrifying and disgusting, but such is life.

If there was anything to change, what would it be?
in the music industry or the world?  well middlemen are being phased out of the music industry.  but middlemen in general are a huge problem.  bankers, all this economy shit gets thrown down the pits cuz of middlemen.  get rid of the middlemen and let the world become more localized, less global.  you get motherfuckers eating from some farmer and butcher down the street.  riding around on horses and steam, digging wells and growing your own food.  thats all you need.  some solar panels and a wi-fi connection.

Thanks for your time. Anything else you want the 401 community to know?
check out my website.  www.soleone.org .  i got lots of new things to buy.

Sole will be playing AS220 on October 18th Tickets are $8