A couple of years ago Xavier was driving down Highland Blvd, looking at the people on the streets, perhaps contemplating his next move. The next moment he found himself waking up in a hospital bed. He had been in a coma for over 3 weeks. It turns out he was in a devastating car accident that barely left him alive. It was then that he realized he needed to make the music he wanted to when he wanted to. Life was too short to be limited by the type of music people projected on him.

You see Xavier had been writing / performing music all throughout his life. He was signed to a major label and spent over five years being unhappy with his situation. Fed up, Xavier decided to leave his label and the half million dollar advance it came with.

“I went into deep depression, grew a beard, and slept on this floor in this house of this Norwegian dude.”

It was during this low point that the accident occurred.

“What that did, is that it really acted as a catalyst to propel me back into wanting to do music.”

Since then Xavier has been Chocolate Butterfly, Me and This Japanese Guy, Blood Sugar and now Sol Pony. The different names were accompanied by different sounds varying as widely from R&B Soul to “Afro Punk”.

For example compare this:

To this:

Though diverse and always changing, Xavier stays consistent through the Blackball Universe. What is the Blackball Universe? A base for operations, a club, a lifestyle, a former butcher shop… it’s a little hard to grasp. Here Xavier explains a bit and gives us a tour:

In fact anything can happen here, from discussions of the social climate…

To a spontaneous dance off -

Xavier has been though a lot, but his passion for life and the arts seems to only grow stronger. His interest in society and the direct community around him is genuine and his d.i.y. lifestyle is enviable.Wrapping up a two day session, Xavier sees me off while assuring me that South Central isn’t as bad as they say it is. Maybe if more people were in near fatal car accidents we would have more great music.More features: As Cities Burn, Drowning Pool, Erfan, FM, Lifehouse, The Pink Spiders, Restitution Press, Vans Warped Tour, Zune Presents Live at the BBQ