CreditsI would like to give a big thanks to CJ Draden, Shock to the System, DJ Rottin, and you, the reader, for making this issue happen.

Right now, I, Francis Leonard, the person behind FML Art & Design, is putting this whole publi-cation together by myself.

In the near future, I hope to have some more individuals adding in the assitance of bringing you a fresh, new spin on local and national art, music, and things of the interweb.

Until then however, this page will merely be used to help order the following pages in a way that makes sense as far as presentation is concerned.

Letter from the (acting)Editor

I have always felt that artists can use life as a me-dium to create their art. They are not limited to paint or design software or graffitti.

This periodical is a homage to that phylosophy, and will be using the interactions, experiences, and ran-domness of life as content to fill it’s pages.

I am not going to take all of the credit, I will just try to make sure I continue to be in the right place, at the right time, and forever a student of the universe.

Enjoy this ‘pilot’ issue of Perception: Art & Culture Magazine!

Francis M. Leonard(Acting Editor-In-Chief)

Art by FML

Issue #1, May 2013

It used to be that social media served a purpose. Not to sound old but I remember when Facebook just started and the whole point was to meet people in your school that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Of course, even older people would think that de-fense is weak as weak can be, but in all honesty I don’t think you CAN defend the onslaught of what is known as a MEME.

Forget the annoying game invites that used to hap-pen, or even the ancient art of poking, MEMEs are both as redundant AND as annoying in most cases, and here is why:

Aside from the fact that we all know how to take a picture and add words over top of it because soft-ware

has become so easily accessible, everyone now thinks that almost any little stupid thing can be funny, and even worse, has to post it and let ev-eryone’s eyes see it. This pretty much makes sites like Facebook seem like a labyrinth of photos and re-posts that the average person DOESN’T want to see.

I will admit, the gag of MEMEs has its potential, but it is more like the potential of a firework rather than the psuedo-movement it has become. Therefore, everyone posting and sharing their favorite MEME is doing the equivalent of running around with a burnt out, smelly firework.

I mean really, how much good can we be doing in the world and our communities if we weren’t sitting around typing our own inside jokes on copywright-ed material? Anyone? -FML

KB PhotographyPhoto:

SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM has almost 2,000 fans on Facebook. All of them were hand built by relentless touring and for just being a beast when it comes to live shows.

There is no one, other than himself and a few peo-ple here and there that know he is destined for big things, my self included, getting him to where he needs to be.

More so, STTS gets remembered wherever he plays. One time at some random place in Gainesville, FL, this girl just shows up out of nowhere while we were setting up and just goes on and on and on about how she told everyone she knows about this DJ that was jumping around and head banging to the tracks and going pure ape-shit.

That’s him. Give her a prize, like a repeat prefor-mance perhaps.

The machine that is becoming known as SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM is not running across a third of the US for the hipster status. This guy is a true fan of music, and has the old band photos to prove it. Not just school band either, like, rock band proof.

Mostly though, he is a good-hearted dude named Jake Dubber who somehow became friends with me on a random night in 2007 at a place in down-town Sarasota that isn’t even open anymore.

From what I have witnessed in his steady rise to fame is that this guy has more energy than anyone I have ever met. He is all about what he does to the fullest extent and can hold his piss from Florida to Indiana if he had to.

I caught up with him-kind of-while he was out on the road for his self-booked BLAZED & AMUSED tour. One day soon I will be able to get a full interview in, but this is his life now. Once he does make it I am sure the ‘big time’ won’t be much of a transition.

I went on the road with you in 2011 and things were pretty crazy with just a small following. How insane is it out there on the road now?Its pretty crazy. Starting to see a lot of familiar faces in places I’ve played before. Its grown into a huge family, which is amazing.

How do you keep yourself focused on the music when touring?We listen to a lot of random stuff on the drive, which kinda keeps me on my toes. I try to work on new stuff whenever I have enough down time to set up my gear.

What do you do to stay current with songs? Or do you just have a set batch of tunes and only play those out?I read a lot of Edm blogs and follow charts on beat-port.

What awaits for you when you get back home? What can we expect?I’ve already started on some new material, and I’m looking forward to finishing it next month.

soundcloud.com/Shock-to-the-system Search: Shock To The System(Live!)

the-grease-trap.tumblr.com

I saw this skinny kid at a show last year and talked some bullshit with him before the show started. Aside from the fact that there was the funny observation that his first name and my first name combined made ‘Dillon Francis’(his is spelled Dylan), I had no idea what the total surprise and delight I was going to hear when his set began.

I think a being a DJ is played out. The whole idea of some-one standing there making one song go into another and then getting credit for being ‘good’ is played out.

DJ Rottin, thankfully, makes the effort to take chances in his mixes. The song selection and random mash-ups(the Ludacris and Feed Me one in particular) that I heard that night kept me interested to the point that when he posted the mix on soundcloud, I didn’t think twice about down-loading it.

I acually didn’t even think about it at all it just naturally made sense to grab it be-cause it was that good.

Come to find out, Rottin was just getting warmed up. The kid isn’t even old enough to drink but definitely has the age and refined skills to make an event full of run of the mill preformers and DJs take a back seat in your memory banks.

Also, he is the perfect speci-men for the young and the reckless.

I always felt that if you were going to try and do something you should go all the way with it. Don’t get into anything unless you are going to try and become something worthwile and memo-rable.

Florida will be missing out on this guy soon, as he is going to be taking his talents to the pacific time zone and really give Califor-nia a run for it’s money. I know he will fit in well over there as it seems he eyes the prize of being a disciple of his craft. And what better way to take that leap than putting yourself in one of the most recognized places and scream, “DJ Rottin is here!”

How did you get started DJing?Well just like many musicians, it started with a friend. He was re-ally into it and a very good DJ and one day, while practicing at a park, he asked me to “take over”. I had no idea what I was doing. I remember pressing random buttons just to see what they did with the music. After that, I was instantly hooked. I managed so save a little money, bought my first controller (which was a M-audio xsession Pro, terrible), and spent many long nights and hours perfecting my newest addiction.

When did DJ Rottin start? It started in the Fall of 2010. After a few months of practicing and learning the basics, I wanted to make a name that could represent myself. So I took my long-time love for horror movies and incorporated it into making a name that was unique, and could catch the eye of anyone that might share my love for the... Grotesque? Yeah, that works...

What is the thought process behind your mixes? Coming from a strong background of music the-ory and an avid player of multiple instruments, I try to make my mixes flow together. One minute I could be playing something really heavy, and bassy. Then the next I’ll throw in something really melodic and sensual. I never make a setlist before any show, and I try to mix different genres together so I can get everyone dancing and in the mood.

How wild and crazy are you?Normally, not very. However, on stage is a different story. When I’m in front of a crowd I become my “DJ Rottin” persona. Just come to one of my live shows and you’ll be amazed.

I saw you live last year and you stood out from the other DJs because of your song selection. Talk about which tracks make you excited. Well I can’t talk about too many tracks without giving away some secrets, but there will always be artists out there that I will play because of my love for them.I listen to a very wide variety of music and I’m constantly hunting for tracks, or keeping up with music blogs to get my tunes.It’s a job in and of itself.

Craziest moment? I once watched a DJ set two broken keyboards on fire and wave them around. My whole setup almost got covered with molten plastic as did some of the crowd.

Whats on the horizon? Fame. Glory. And the Olsen twins.

MUSIC

soundcloud.com/djrottin

Justin Timberlake-Suit & Tie (Dillon Francis Remix)

Two out of these three songs I didn’t really get into the first few times I heard them, I will be honest. Being that this song is pretty ‘simple’ for a Dillon Francis remix, the growth factor it bestows on you is no simple task.

DFran has come a long way in a very short amount of time since his Something, Something Awesome EP blew minds across the globe. This official remix is a shining example that requires it’s own suit and tie.

Rustie-Slasherr

The first track off of the Diplo and Friends March 16th mix has this track starting from the beginning and playing pretty far into it. I have never heard of Rustie, but this track captures old school sample hip-hop and still has a very fresh trap take while not being so overbearingly trapped out as most songs are right now.

This UK kid might be able to show Kanye West a thing or two(possibly) in the studio, and this track makes me think of the 2003-05 period in rap where the songs were actually kind of good.

Zedd feat. Foxes-Clarity(Brillz Remix)

Here is the second song that really did not do anything for me the first few times I heard it. It was when Shock To The System pleaded that I give it a real chance that I opened up a little and really tried to let it get into my soul.

All I can say is once you do that, it will be there and it will stay there for quite a long time. The use of the original track and the mix of chill trap and that epic middle part with the chanting is just beautiful.

If you are like me, you will be singing it when no one is around.

You have to hear these...

To put it mildly, CJ Draden is the last of a dying breed. I think even he would put it that way, and like it. In fact, I think he would prefer it that way to add to the immensley dark and twisted yet amazingly beautiful and mysterious nature that surrounds everything he creates.

You want credentials? How about a huge following around the US, almost every ‘Con’ you can think of under his belt, and oh yea, he has the god amung men, aka, Stan Lee’s stamp of approval to boot.

But behind all of that is a guy who honestly re-spects the artform he has sold his soul to be a part of. It might scare away the average person but hang around a while and you will learn that the creepy and dim world Draden inhabits has many sources of light within it. He just chooses to not pay the electric bill.

PAC: When did this twisted rise to stardom start to take place?

CJ: I dont really view it as stardom. Im just very open and honest with my passion and emotion towards what I do and how I work and folks re-spond well to that. Ive always been this way and it has got me into trouble but i stayed the course of being extremely open and honest with my self so the the benefits of self discovery and purpose were revealed to me. As an intellectual myself I know that people what something truthful to believe in, and in the entertainment industry there are so many fake impressions of personality that people can see right through. I never liked that. I wanted to inspire people to be able to rise from any circumstance and communicate to the world with their work the same way I had risen from nothing and no one. Its just takes honesty and the ability to face the soul and know you are probably not going to like what you see, but if you can endure, then there is literally nothing you can achieve. Stardom is for amateurs, truth is for the visionaries.

PAC: How do you fund your never-ending trip across the country to these events?

CJ: Ive gained a large following through the work I produced. I’m very grateful for the support folks have shown me. My funding comes from the the sales of my work and the support i get form the folks that follow my vision. Hopefully when I begin to release more of my personal work ill receive the same content.

PAC: Most memorable event?

CJ: The Moment Stan Lee approached me about my work. So surreal.

PAC: What is Stan Lee like in real life?

CJ: Stan’s a gentleman. There’s no other way to say it. I don’t get star struck becasue I’m aware for the il-lusions people put on to sell their bullshit. Stan hides nothing. He is exactly the embodiment of an ideal that I told myself back in college of the would remain the course even when criticized for it, truthful. I be-lieve this is why he approached me about endorsing my graphic novel. He saw a piece of me in my work that lies cant hide. I was never looking for an en-dorsement or to be recognized by big shots, in fact i try to stay away from popularity and industry beca-sue of the false egos and nonsense that is covered over art and soul making aspect of creation. Its sup-posed to be about the art not the popularity and i just wanted to connect with folks with my work and it just so happens that emotion and truth speaks volumes and can be heard to even the people standing at the top that never really hear the screams of individuals yelling for a hand out and its takes an honest person to respond to. Thats stan real to the core.

PAC:Tell us about that Pinocchio thing everyone keeps talking about.

CJ: Pinocchio is a project I put together to rationalize with a lot of the problems I dealt with as a child grow-ing up with out a father. It wasnt the easiest thing to deal with. The fathers I did have were abusive and alcoholics.

I dealt with this for years and it all kinda came out in college and i suffered from alcoholism and depres-sion becasue of it. Really i just needed a person to stick by me and help me through it and i didnt get it, it was actually quite the opposite. I felt a lot of myself inside the gepetto character and wanted to write a tragedy about a man enduring an event that would change his life forever and eventually cause to build his son. Its such a crazy thing to want to create life, and only the darkest people on the planet believe they are they can achieve this god like status and create life, be it music, or a painting. As I grew i kept writing this tragedy and it slowly became more of a “non literal autobiographic esque” tale about what it means to endure darkness and create from that can-vas of blackness and pain. That’s the over all theme. What it takes to find yourself and ultimately what it can do to you in the process. Its an extremely sad story and it one ive lived with since childhood

and writing it has help me move on from child-hood abuses. Stan Lee has officially endorsed this and after all the lack of support from loved ones for my artistic endeavors that was the beacon of light that has set me on the path of feeling that i am on the correct one.

PAC: You actually have fans. What is that like?

CJ: I dont see them as fans. again i dont buy into my own hype, thats for fools and celebri-ties. I dont really care for that. I see them as family. they support my passion the way a blood family should. I love them for caring about what i have sacrificed everything for.

PAC: What are you working on now?

CJ: My current projects are my pinocchio book “Pain from the Scar on a Wooden Heart: A Pinocchio story by CJ Draden” and another book i just finished writing called “The Sublime Nature of lifelessness: A Frankenstein story by CJ Draden”, which is a dark romance about personal vulnerabilities when we fall deeply in love and the monster inside us when we feel heartbreak.

PAC: Finally, what is your motivation?

CJ: Anything that enables me to feel connected to people, and darkness, and love. I’m very obsessed with melancholy and depression, its a strange fetish but its always been comfortable for me it holds equal power to me as love does. the reason for this is it enable me to feel like i need improvement and keeps my mind ques-tioning its intent and purpose. I dont ever want to feel complacent, becasue I don’t ever want to stop probing the depths of how my mind body and soul fits in this universe among so many others. and love becasue its allows me to know what to strive for if i ever fall to far inside my own black chasm of chaos and mental instabil-ity when diving inside myself to write a book. when i write.. im so honest with myself and my surrounding and this causes so much sadness. so i strive to stay grounded for what I want to exist in and what I want to achieve. the finality of goals are illusions, the journey is the destina-tion. I stay on the path of finding myself.

search: The Art of CJ Draden

Being that we live in an age where music can be ob-tained and found so easily, I think that the idea of making a website in which one stays current on such music so alive and fresh as Dancing Astronaut is a nice change of pace.

To post the info about a track and where to down-load it is all well and good, but giving yourself an identity graphically is just a huge step up from such sites as say, ThisSongIsSick.com.

Sorry, TSIS but DA has you beat in presentation and it actually has more news articles about artists as well. Not to mention the awesome logo.

Check this site out, it is Perception approved.

Let’s face it, GMail has the email account provider game on lock. However the new layout that has been long overdue for what is also known as Hotmail makes Outlook a new/old face making a huge splash in the internet realm.

Emails feel cool and hip, they go into an almost pipe-line animation when you click send kind of like at the bank drive thru when you send the canister to the clerk. The font is fun and big and the simple yet sleek design of the page format is down right bad ass.

Yes, you read that right. I just described an email website layout as ‘bad ass’.

If you don’t have a hotmail account or one that hasn’t seen the light of day in the last few years, I would recommend asking for a password reset and logging in. This isn’t like MySpace trying to reinvent itself.

It is way better.

It’s a pilot issue, and with that comes a bit of an obligation to flex that opinion muscle and let everyone know what time it is when it comes down to views on the world and other things. The goal with this section is to get other people to chip in on something they feel strongly about. But for right now, I, the ‘Acting Editor-In-Chief’, will assume the role(and guinea pig status) of ‘that person who just HAD to say something’.

The world today is a very crazy place. I think being a child of the mid eighties, and more so of the early nineties, gives me a slight advantage in credibility over these new kids who were born in the mid nineties just now reaching adulthood. I know we always say we’d never be like our elders, but the truth is that history does indeed repeat itself, whether you realize it or not.

Thankfully this repetition isn’t something so obvious although there are a lot of dirty hippies around who seem to think that they can smoke their weed and fight their ‘war’ despite the fact that they have no war to fight but a whole lot of pot to ingest. With that being said I guess I should clarify by saying that we as humans now feel so aware of the world that we must take note and expose it on a minute to minute basis. Our struggles and our successes are too important to wait for the day in which they write about it in the history books. We need to tell our stories now.

A part of me really misses that mystique and allure when it came down to how someone got so famous or amazingly successful. When they talked about Bill Gates back in the day it was like a fable or a myth on how one person could be so rich and influential.

Now we have outfits such as Forbes who name someone like Tim Tebow the most influential athlete and all I can do is groan because it isn’t like I haven’t heard about every little twitch or spasm he has had over the last year and a half. Everything is way too out in the open.

News media thinks that everything needs to have a light on it and then they turn right back around and give themselves a pat on the back for being ‘good’ when it comes down to re-porting. I don’t think you can pry away at something that was otherwise private and none of your business, and then come back and say you accomplished something major by telling the world about it.

I believe we have all forgotten that old saying of ‘mind your own business’. Everyone is all in each other’s shit but each person has no idea what THEY are doing about THEMSELVES. It gets worse the younger the people that are in our current time are. Way worse. No social skills, but can you blame them? Their parents didn’t want to put them into public schools because the schools all get shot up.

Before this becomes reminiscent of an old Tupac song or anything, I would like to say that there is a lot of great things happening right now and hopefully we hear more about them some time soon. For whatever reason we give more emphasis on death and carnage over humility and good natured people but you can’t get those rating from Nielson Group unless you give a little shock value.

We-like it or not-are all a part of this sphere drifting through space on what may or may not be a divine plan or blueprint. Should we choose to just pass the time with our own goals in life or decide to leave a lasting impression, I think we all need to take a minute each day and just stop trying to get noticed. Most of the time no one really cares anyway so save some memory on your phone and stop taking pictures of yourself in that new outfit. Get some exercise or something.