It's always inspiring to see a hometown homie make it.
I first began to notice my friend 'Rude' Jude popping up on the TV screen
during the heydays of The Jenny Jones show.
Since 2005, he has held it down proper on SHADE 45.
He has also been known to appear in the occasional Frank Henenlotter film.
So it came as no surprise to me when I heard that JUDE ANGELINI had recently published a book.
When I actually sat down and read HYENA, I was blown away.
Inevitable comparisons will be made with Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson.
If you are looking for a great new book, don't hesitate, I can't recommend HYENA highly enough.
Luckily for us, Jude was able to take some time out of his very busy schedule,
sit down with Beats and Blood, and answer some questions.
I first began to notice my friend 'Rude' Jude popping up on the TV screen
during the heydays of The Jenny Jones show.
Since 2005, he has held it down proper on SHADE 45.
He has also been known to appear in the occasional Frank Henenlotter film.
So it came as no surprise to me when I heard that JUDE ANGELINI had recently published a book.
When I actually sat down and read HYENA, I was blown away.
Inevitable comparisons will be made with Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson.
If you are looking for a great new book, don't hesitate, I can't recommend HYENA highly enough.
sit down with Beats and Blood, and answer some questions.
BEATS: We first met via your sister, I remember you showing me Biggie's 'Ready To Die' cassette tape. I immediately liked you.
Back in '93, did you have any idea you were going to be famous, or have you always known?
JUDE: Shit if we were talking about Biggie, it had to have been '94, that's when that dropped - that and Outkast and Illmatic to name a few. We were spoiled back then.
As far as being famous? I didn't have a clue. I knew we were weird. Like I knew my family was different, we were some hippies in a working class neighborhood. I remember going to school when I was little eating rice cakes and peanut butter and cats thinking I was eating Styrofoam.
That was like '82.
I never really wanted to be famous though. My old man was a struggling actor and we were dead broke most the time so that entertainment life didn't seem that appealing. But to be fair, I'd watch shows when I was little like Kids Incorporated and be like, "Fuck them, what they got that I don't got?"
BEATS: I just read an interview with you yesterday, you mentioned being in remedial English in High School, and then being influenced by Bukowski.
When did you first realize that you wanted to write a book?
JUDE: First lemme clear some shit up. I've only read one book by Bukowski. He inspired me to write. But the shit I actually read is Elmore Leonard and medieval fantasy. My influences are Elmore Leonard, music and I like the matter of factness of the Russian literature I've come across.
I actually stay away from beat writers cuz I deal with a lot of that same underbelly type subject matter and I don't wanna bite on accident.
I decided I'd write a book when I was doing a blog. At first I was gonna do a Graphic Novel because I wasn't confident in my writing. But I just kept working at it and got better and I released the book.
BEATS: You seem to have found your niche with the All Out Show on Shade45. Do you feel like you could do this for many years, like a Howard Stern or Larry King?
JUDE: I'd love to do more of a talk thing. My show has a mixture of music in it. I'd like to do longer talk breaks and really let the breaks breath.
BEATS: You were in the award winning (Best Feature at the 2008 New York City Horror Film Festival) 'Bad Biology', written by the amazing R.A. The Rugged Man and Legendary Film Maker, Frank Henenlotter.
What was it like working on a film with R.A. and Henenlotter?
JUDE: That was a weird time for me. I had accidentally gotten this chick I knew pregnant. I was rocking Magnum Rubbers when I ought nott'a been. And that shit came off in her and poof. So that whole time on set, whenever they said cut, I was on the phone in her ear talking to her about getting an abortion. I don't remember a damn thing I did except be in the hall way talking.
BEATS: How did 'White People Wednesdays' originate?
JUDE: I was calling the customer service and kept getting bitter incompetent black ladies answering the phone not helping me. I'd talk to them for a while see that they weren't gonna do shit to assist and hang up. Then I got some bubbly white chick and she handled my problem in 2 minutes. So I got on facebook and said, "white people are the best at customer service."
You shoulda seen all the little bitter butt hurt comments. So I said what if I say some fucked up shit about white people and see what cats say. So I posted, "white people are the best at slavery." cats were fine with that. then I kept posting more shit. This was on a Wednesday so I hash-tagged #whitepeoplewednesday and the rest is history.
BEATS: You must be ecstatic about the reception you book 'Hyena' is getting. Are you surprised? Or did you expect this?
JUDE: I liked the book. It was my voice, my vision, I self published it because I didn't want some suit telling me what part of my life should be in there. But books aren't selling that great so I tempered my expectations of what kind of sales I was gonna get- A self published hip hop dj? c'mon.
Well so far, I'm just blown away. By the sales, the reviews.... Shit is crazy. I won't publish a kindle version, I won't do an audio book. It's being sold as a book. That's what the fuck I wrote. I keep releasing small batches with different colored covers. I want people who got in early to have something to show for it.
I've had Sea foam green which is rarest and no longer available. That's the first one, I had a run of purple with minor changes from the first- no longer available and now we're onto orange.
Right now I'm doing this shit like if you cop 5 books, I'll send you a home made numbered mix CD that's got all music from the book on it. A Hyena soundtrack if you will. It's just something cool to collect. That's the fun shit you can do with self publishing. You gotta grind harder but I have more freedom and control over the product.
BEATS: When can the people expect to see you doing a book or spoken word tour?
JUDE: I haven't lined anything up but I'm down to do some book tour shit so if there are any book stores out there, get at me. I'll come to you.
BEATS: What do you think about all these fake ass rappers?
JUDE: I don't.
I listen to old shit now man. Fuck these lames, none of them last more than 3 years out here anyway so why bother?
When I was piecing together Hyena I looked to classic albums for inspiration. You know a good record that just flows? I wanted my stories to flow like that. So I'd do a bunch of Ketamine every night and zone out. I listened to Abby Road, Fleetwood Mac - Rumors, Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother The Mountain, Kraftwerk - Transeurope Express, Bjork - Post, Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the Western World, and Scarface - The Diary. I'm listening to too much real shit to bother with these lames.
BEATS: If you had to make a sex tape with any celebrity or music maker, who would it be?
JUDE: Probably some petite chick that would make my dick look bigger than it is like Michelle Pfeiffer. But on the real I don't know if I'd be able to perform knowing everybody was gonna be watching. Shit I was pee shy for a couple years after working bathrooms at the gay bar....
BEATS: What does the future look like?
JUDE: Bright my friend, bright. Hyena go hard buddy, Hyena Go hard.
Gigantic thanks to Jude for sitting down with Beats and Blood.
If you don't already, follow THE FOREALLY SHOW podcast (Jude + Senim Silla from Binary Star).
I said it before, but sometimes you people need reminders.
Support the Arts.
Support self-publishing
Support Books + Writers.
Put your money where your mouth is.
Shit, pick up 5 copies and get that dope Hyena Soundtrack!
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