Cicero Interviews Monchego

Writer Noah Cicero Interviews Vic Monchego about “The Zamfir Project” at Monkey Tree Cafe

NC: So you think you’re an artist, do ya?

VBM: (laughes nervously) I dunno. Are you going to eat the rest of that coffee cake?

NC: Tell me about the origin of the Zamfir project.

VBM: Sure. Around Christmas time I was thinking about George Bailey and Pottersville and Bedford Falls. Pottersville doesn’t look so bad. The restaurants and clubs are full. People are out on the streets having fun. They still have a library. I think many dying American towns would kill to be as lively and exciting as Pottersville. Take Youngstown, Ohio as an example.

NC: Are you picking on Youngstown? If you are, I’m going to punch you in the head.

VBM: Ever been to the Jolly Bar? Youngstown is a blight, a boil, a bubo on the butt of the Buckeye State. Dusk in Youngstown smells of perpetual despair.

NC: So you wanted to re-make downtown Vashon into a Pottersville?

VBM: Something like that. These are interesting times. A period of anti-gentrification. I think that is a good thing in the long run. We were all getting too uppity, too concerned about aesthetics.

NC: Ramos is the cousin of Gheorghe Zamfir, Master of the pan flute.

VBM: I love Zamfir’s music. Especially when you hear it in an unexpected context. ‘The Lonely Shepherd” song in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill is brilliant.

NC: So Ramos is Romanian?

VBM: In hard, economic times, immigrants always get vilified. I wanted a Balkan. Nobody understands the Balkans. But Ray embodies the American dream. He escaped Nicolae Ceausecu’s Romania, came to America penniless and built an empire of pawn shops and cash centers.

NC: How do you feel about punking the local paper? Feel guility?

VBM: (laughs nervously) Actually, yes. A little bit. I’m not sure we really punked the paper. I hope at some level they knew a hoax was in the air and they were just playing along. I didn’t mean to be deceptive, manipulative. I just wanted folks to laugh. The paper can be kind of dull sometimes, especially the crime report. Besides, the article was well-researched and accurate. I think Leslie did a fantastic job. I’ll bring her some flowers. I hope there are no hard feelings.

NC: What happened to Ramos Zamfir?

VBM: He is being detained in Dresden after smuggling counterfeit cigarettes into Germany.

NC: What’s in the suitcase?

VBM: It’s a valise.

Noah Cicero is a writer and cultural critic. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio, and is the author of four books of fiction.