Access Point

Local punk journeyman Blayer Pointdujour bares his soul.

by A.D. Amorosi

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Published: Jun 8, 2010

Neal Santos SOLO BRAINS: After years playing with The Ghouls, Miss Argentina and Kid Kreyol, Blayer Pointdujour is putting out an album under his own name.

[ punk/soul/dub ]

At 29, Blayer Pointdujour has lived several lifetimes inside local punk-rock circles. The Newark-born/South Philly-residing vocalist/multi-instrumentalist laughs easily about being one of few black guys in a primarily Caucasian scene. He drummed for Miss Argentina, recorded with Fugazi/Minor Threat producer Don Z, and rocked out with Kid Kreyol and The Ghouls (later known as Hate and War). His brand new debut solo jawn, the sweet-spirited Access Card, is his most dramatic stuff yet: sample-heavy punk and dub, with spacey soul elements. Add in his angelic voice and poignant lyrical sensibility and the results are akin to Gnarls Barkley meeting Big Audio Dynamite. We caught up over e-mail.

City Paper: I know you commuted from Jersey when you were in Miss Argentina. What lured you to the Philly scene for good?

Blayer Pointdujour: Around that time my work ethic with Kid Kreyol wasn't syncing up with everyone else's, so we decided to part and I went strong into the scene with The Ghouls. I was living at Sixth and Tasker and met some South Philly Punks [his capital letters]. I'll never forget the first day. I was walking down Wharton with my friend from Syracuse. We saw a bunch of brightly colored people grilling on the street, and as we walked past they asked us to join them. So we did — that was seven years ago and I'm still down wit' SPP.

CP: Some of what you're doing on Access Card stems from your Kid Kreyol years, does it not?

BP: When I was in Kid, I'd play samples between songs. I wanted to do something that was 100 percent samples; a completely digital project. I can play drums, bass, guitar and piano, so it's a cool change of pace to just sing and play samples. Bands are a lot of work, dealing with people who might have good or bad attitudes. Now I just sample, do a bit of pre-production in GarageBand and write lyrics. I write a song a week now, instead of practicing with a band and working on a song for a month.

CP: Was making this record an accidental/organic thing? Or something you needed to get off your chest?

BP: Organic. I'm 100 percent Haitian and grew up listing to gospel kompas when at my Haitian church. So, kompa, or island music as I call it, has long been ingrained in me. Kompa isn't popular in America because Haitians like to keep their culture to themselves, but I've loved it. I've wanted to do a kompa project for a while but I could never find a drummer that could play a good rock-steady beat. But, I've been really inspired by this new wave of roots music by Kano, Buju Banton and Burial. All of this was happening when I was playing in bands, and when I was teaching a digital recording class at the Honickman Learning Center in North Philly. After learning how to record on my own, I stopped playing with Hate and War, and lost my job so I had plenty of time to craft music that had been on my mind for some time.

CP: Are you over being in bands forever?

BP: I'm playing drums in a hardcore punk band called Population Zero. Drums are my favorite instrument so I really enjoy this band right now.

CP: Serious question: What's it like being a black man making rock music Philadelphia?

BP: It can be a very interesting line to walk, being a black guy in the mostly white music community. It really used to bother me ... but then I met Phil Moore Browne and that all went out the window. I've never met more talent-y, driven and blessed musicians. They made me realize I shouldn't hold back on something I love because it's branded "being white" by ignorant people. It's crazy to me how the black community has completely forgotten that rock 'n' roll was started by black musicians. At times I feel like I'm a soapbox preacher if I mention Bad Brains to my family members. But I love blowing the minds of white people in the music community. A lot of people assume a lot of things about me because I'm black and I have dreads. I try to use it as an opportunity to show people something amazing.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

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