SHUSH! Magazine

RUBINCHAPELLE FASHION

Sonja Rubin and Kip Chapelle met in 1995 and later joined forces to create a line of clothing that is both avant-garde and yet eminently wearable.

THE CHIP TAYLOR INTERVIEW

We are born and we die a million times. Our lives take turns that we could never have predicted. For some this is an unsettling fact but in this uncertainty Chip Taylor finds the magic.

EVE SUPPER CLUB

I was lucky enough to score an invite to this chic, intimate, supper club by one of Yelp's rising stars, Mr. Ezra Hug, who lured me in with flattery ("perfect for someone who's a total foodie/connector") and promises of a chef's table experience.

INTRODUCING KIM JOSEPH

Curveballs and constant changes, my road seems so dark, no streetlamps, no flashlight, just my heart,
and my feelings, alone ...

BY REKA NYARI

I always wanted to be a painter ... I came to NYC when I was 17 to study Fine Arts at SVA... I sweated over large canvases, night after night, creating hyper realistic oil-paintings of nude men and women. I was angry, full of vigor, and aggressively against anything untraditional and "modern". In the haze of hand stretching my canvases and egg-yolking my oil paints, I swore my lone alliance against photography, computers, and and God forbid, Photoshop!

After traveling the World for three years as a model, I came back to NYC and discovered that I liked being behind the camera a lot more than being in front of it... and well, even more that I liked being behind a canvas board.

These days I view my photography as the best way to express myself. They are my paintings. The raw image is just a bare starting point to something different, just as a nude model in my painting studio once was.

www.rekanyari.com

Singer/songwriter, Chris Grace is about to set things on fire. With his full-bodied, charismatic voice and the dark, seductive undertow of his vivid lyrics Chris Grace is, as they say, the real deal. Once you've heard his music or witnessed one of his live shows, Grace's magnetism and star power are impossible to ignore.

Chris Grace was born in Detroit, Michigan, in the heart of the legendary Motown music scene. Doctors soon realized that he was not responding to sound on his left side and eventually determined that he was completely deaf in his left ear, a handicap that would not deter him from pursuing music. His father, an army lieutenant turned music man, and mother a former opera singer, led their family west shortly after Chris’s birth, only to return to the east coast settling in the suburbs of New Jersey. Because of his fathers’ career, Grace was constantly surrounded by music and musicians. He was especially drawn to the works of artists such as R.E.M, Nirvana, Leonard Cohen and Tool, citing their lyrical abilities as a key reason for his admiration.

At the age of 16, Grace learned how to play guitar and drums, and immediately began writing compositions of his own. “I realized that nothing I was going to feel in life could compare to the feeling I got from writing a song. It was a real turning point for me, it gave me comfort.” Beyond a natural talent for creating melodies, Grace developed a truly engaging ability to turn a phrase demonstrated in the luridly honest Edge of the Bed, “Please forgive me now but you'll never be the one I need, I'm so sorry that I used you while you were loving me.” and his politically primed Gloss, “Sometimes enemies provide identity in this life, so peace is slow to come cause life without a gun gets boring.” Focused on music and wishing to further develop his songwriting skills while broadening his world view, Grace left home and began touring on his own.

After playing shows up and down the East Coast, Grace finally settled in New York City, when in 2002, he was approached by Grammy Award winning producer Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Emmylou Harris and Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack). Together, they crafted Grace’s first record, Compulsion, which was released on his own label, Eucommia Records. It featured the disarming single Hush and showed off Grace’s ability to play with different types of sounds and genres: acoustic odes, modern rock inspired by the bands he admired.

Two years later, Grace hooked up with long time friend and Grammy Award winning engineer and mixer, Joe West and recorded an EP entitled, Evidence. It was self produced and recorded in 9 days and featured a more stripped-down sound. “Evidence was a solid progression for me,” Grace says. “Not only was I getting more confident in the studio, I felt I was getting closer to a sound that was identifiable to me, and compelling in its expression on stage.”

Off of the strength of Evidence, Grace was asked to join platinum-selling recording artists Michelle Branch and Gavin De Graw on the Virgin Mega Tour, which familiarized Grace with major touring and opened up his eyes to, “the drug of getting up in front of a thousand people and playing music.”

Now, after a time of reflection and preparation, Grace has re-emerged, armed with a collection of new material and plans to kick off a nationwide tour starting in March. He is only at the beginning of the next big chapter of his life and career. This is the time to watch him and see what he will do next.

“Please forgive me now but you'll never be the one I need, I'm so sorry that I used you while you were loving me.”

BY ALBIN SIKORA AKA THE YOUNG PHILOSOPHER

Katsuni won the award for BEST ACTRESS, Barcelona 2007. Katsuni is an actor, director, and journalist in the adult film industry. As in any field, there is the temptation to focus on being at the top or making a lot of money at any cost and overworking yourself, while neglecting your health and spiritual fulfillment. Katsuni talks about recognizing this temptation in herself and how ‘traveling’ helped her take control of her career and find greater balance in her life.

Katsuni is not along for the continuous ride of life as a passenger. She’s living, learning, and thinking for herself as she manages her career, her relationships, and her own personal needs through the experiences that have made her the unique and insightful individual she is.

If you’re interested in recognizing the life that you’re best suited for, instead of letting others dictate it to you; if you want to be doing more, in any capacity, listen to the words of someone who has done all this HER OWN WAY.

Young Philosopher: How have your travels changed the way you view yourself, others, and your place in the world? Travel doesn’t have to be exclusively space travel i.e. vacations or traveling for work.

Katsuni: Yes, of course my travels have a huge importance in my life, and as you say, to travel doesn’t mean only to get a flight ticket to Hawaii. Since I was a child I read a lot and traveled a lot in my mind. I like to be alone so I’m always dreaming, flying somewhere in my thoughts. I used to read a lot about mythology, Indians of North America, and the Egyptians and it gave me the will to form my own experiences. I started my career in porn with this goal: to learn a maximum of things, not only about this fascinating business but also about me. Sex is one of the best ways to discover yourself.

I really consider my life as a [continuous] travel on this earth and each thing I do or learn, each person I meet, is a part of this incredible travel. Each day is different and for whose who consider that I can say that only because I’m lucky, I will answer them that anyone has the choice to drive his life as he wants. It’s not just a question of job but mainly a question of the vision of your life. Of course I can’t say that I’m not lucky. I travel a lot and I have the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. It allows me to be more open-minded and less ethnocentric. It ‘s a way to not forget who I am, which is somebody who is unique, but also who is a very small ‘molecule’ in the universe who brings as she can her contribution in the world …and who, one day, will die like anybody! Traveling (in space or in your mind) helps you to situate yourself in the world and to appreciate your life more.

YP: When have you felt stagnate in your life and what changes did you make to get out of the rut you were in?

Katsuni: I think that twice in my life I really felt that I was stagnating. The first time was when I was 21. I was a student in literature and even though I’m fond of literature, even though the idea of becoming a teacher was exciting to me, I felt that I was missing something. My life wasn’t made to be in the same perfect way that any citizen who finishes his studies around 25, tries to get a job, dates for a few years, and gets married before 30, then works every day in the same place, at the same time, to be able to go to the supermarket on the weekend and have 10 days of holidays in August! Most people dream of this life; this is their main goal but for me it was just terrifying.

I was waiting for a sign of fate, I had this very bad feeling that I was losing my time and that my place wasn’t there. This is why I started to work in discotheques in France as a go-go dancer. It was a little way to escape from the rules of the daily life. And this is how, later, I said, “Yes,” to do my first porn. I’m the kind of person who says “Why not?” and I usually don’t say, “No,” as long as I haven’t tasted and done my own judgment.

The second time has been 3 years ago when I definitely worked too much. I was so much looking for money to save it, that I started to be in a painful routine where each day was only booked to make anal scenes and double penetrations. I came to a limit where I realized that even though I was making a lot of money I was still stagnate and I wasn’t in a good position to evaluate my life. So, I decided to have a break, rest for a few days alone and relax. Then I made the choice to take more control over my career, make better choices, and this is why today I’m still in this business and I’m happier in it and happier in my life. I managed to make the right choices for my job but most of all, for me.

YP: What people have or have tried to bring you down and why do you think they did this? What did you learn from these experiences?

Katsuni: When I started this career I wasn’t confident at all, and I wasn’t aware that I had any chance to be successful. The first companies I signed with were aware of that, and even though I can’t say that I regret signing with them, I know today that they hadn’t been very honest with me. They explained to me how lucky I was to sign with them, considering that I wasn’t so “unique” (laughs aloud). It was a way to bring the rates down and have more of an influence over me. By acting this way they knew that I wouldn’t ask for a lot as I knew nothing about the business and its rules. This is one of the main problems in this business: the younger you are, the better it is for your career, but on the other side, if you don’t have enough experience, if you’re too naive, it can be a dangerous world for you because people won’t be afraid to use you. And believe me, you’re alone to handle the consequences.

YP: Who reminds you what a wonderful person you are? In what ways does he or she do this?

Katsuni: Real friends are here for that and I’m lucky, I have very good friends. I would say that there are three main people who keep telling me that I’m ‘wonderful.’ The first is my mother. She doesn’t use this word but her love is so strong and she’s so sweet that I really feel wonderful with her. I’m her ‘little daughter.’ I’m unique for her and our relationship is also unique. Nothing can substitute it.
The second is my best friend, Nomi, who is also a French porn actress. She’s 10 years older than me and she has defended me since I started (in this business) when I was 21. She ‘s always been here to give me some advice, protect me, and behave like an older sister. When I don’t feel good she doesn’t stop telling me that I’m a good person and that I deserve the best.
And to finish, my ex -boyfriend always tells me how special I am. Even now that we are not together anymore, he says only good things about me. It makes me feel good; he’s very special too!

YP: What do you always bring with you when you travel?

Katsuni: As any woman, everything I need in the bathroom—shower gel, shampoo, make up. For me it’s important to feel comfortable. I always have my computer, I can’t survive without internet! My I-pod, my vibro, and a teapot, with little bags of tea and cappuchino! And to tell you the truth I still sleep with a stuffed-animal.

YP: What makes a good (travel) companion?

Katsuni: First, somebody open-minded and curious. Somebody who is looking for the same things as me. It’s not interesting to travel with somebody who just wants to have fun when you’re looking for culture, and in the opposite, it’s not nice to travel with somebody boring when your goal is to relax or have fun. It’s important to have a good chemistry. In fact, when you really feel good with somebody, you must be able to spend hours with him without speaking, because you know that you feel the same feelings.