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FREE SOCIETY #16
REVIEWS
WHAT IS FREE SOCIETY?Free Society was started in June of 1998 as a way for some bored punks from Sarnia, ON, to express their ideas and feelings. When we started the zine we believed as I still do today, that the communication of ideas is important in punk rock, as well as the realization that punk rock is more than just fashion, token rebellion, music and consumerism. The zine has always had music, ideas and personal anecdotes in it and is not intended to be a specifically "anarchist," music or "personal" zine. I don't necessarily focus on any of these elements specifically because I think all of them are relevant to our lives. Free Society is based for the moment in Sarnia, ON, but soon will be back in Peterborough, ON. E-mail: freesociety@hotmail.com Website: www.geocities.com/freepunk_1999/ ANARCHISMThe philosophy of a new social order based on liberty unrestricted by man-made law; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence, and are therefore wrong and harmful, as well as unnecessary. - Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays QUOTE OF THE ISSUE"Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?" - Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (Wish You Were Here LP) INTRODUCTIONThe last issue of Free Society was the issue-to-end-all-issues for me. I was so excited about it and felt it would be the best I'd done in ages. Then I sent it to Maximum Rock 'n' Roll (MRR) and when I saw the review I was shocked. The reviewer tore the ass out of it. This is no different from any other time I'd sent issues in - and it was even the same reviewer I always get. But this time seemed slightly more hurtful and personal. Here it is: "The editor writes about assimilation, national cultural identity, and punk. It made me think about how much of this zine is taken from the internet, especially the international anarchist news/protest reports. Lots of publications (including MRR) do this, but I felt it made Free Society more generic. There is a lot of other writing too - it's a big zine with no ads - but even the local stuff wasn't so hot. A bunch of shows are reviewed, but there's no life to this writing at all. Nor was I impressed by Stuart's tales of his paying work or his "crazy dreams." He invests three pages in writing about his town, which was the highlight for me. Interviewed are two guys from Amebix and Brian ex-Catharsis. Brian's talk is from his band's European tour three years ago (Stuart got it off the internet); any Amebix interview is good with me but, that said, this one was ordinary at best. I hope the next issue is 16 pages, tighter, and more exciting." - Jeff Mason - Maximum Rock 'n' Roll #256, Sept 2004. Most of the stuff he said I could let slide right off my shoulders. First of all, only 12 % of the zine is taken from the internet. The events and the news pieces that comprise the first 10 pages of the zine were taken from various online sources. The reason I have included these in the past few years is that some people who buy my zine might not be aware of certain things that happen in the world. Many people who buy Free Society aren't necessarily as tuned into politics as other people on the international DIY scale. In fact, for many, Free Society may be the first zine they've ever seen. It's mostly consumed at a local level. I barely sell any internationally. It's true that MRR does the exact same thing with its news section, however, the reviewer doesn't need to feel anything about this since he has little personally invested in MRR. MRR is an institution somewhat separate from individuals, even though it is comprised of the collective work of individuals. His claim that I got the Brian Diablo interview from the internet is a half-truth. I think I said this in the introduction to the interview, but there was a message posted on the Profane Existence message board about an interview with Brian Diablo that had been done a couple years ago for a zine that was never released. The poster, Kjetil, of the awesome Norwegian band Summon the Crows was awesome to allow me to print this top-notch interview that had gone un-printed at this point, in my own zine. The thing that really cut into me was his description of my writing as lacking life. The whole thing led to me really think about my zine. Who do I do it for? Why do I do it? What purpose do I want it to serve? So this issue is the first issue with my restructuring of things. A suggestion that I have taken to heart is to shorten the zine. This will increasingly be the case as I start to publish more frequently (now that I have finished school) and it will allow me to really concentrate on doing a good job on what I have. The second suggestion is to address the presentation of other sources. This issue does still include material from other sources, however, I feel it's necessary due to the importance of the information. However, rather than printing this at the start of the zine, I am including it at the end. I also decided to address the review section of my zine. Now you will find a section similar to how I used to do reviews strictly for demos. There will also be random book, zine, movie reviews, if I felt like doing them. However, 'official' releases will be presented differently. I have decided to include a current, explained, personal 'Top-10' list. Aside from this, there will also be band and label spotlights. As for my style while writing, hopefully it will come across livelier, although I can't promise much. Maybe I'll get someone to read it before I print it for once. A word about this issue… This issue rises from the midst of chaos in my life. At this point, I'm extremely busy with various projects. As a result I've been largely neglecting some of my 'international' duties… Free Society's website, the distro, tape trading, and mail order… I'm completely inept at doing these right now. Currently, it's mid-July 2005 I'm preparing to move back to Peterborough again from Sarnia in September. I've got a place lined up there now, but I need to find a job. I am working 8-5, Mon-Fri at my current job, creating, performing, recording music with at least two bands (a third seems to be sort of up in the air?). I'm working on this overwhelmingly large project zine called Chemical Valley Hardcore Journal archiving the Sarnia, ON, punk scene over the time period 1999-2004. I've seriously been working on this for over a year now actively. It's really lagging… but it WILL get done sometime. I've been trying to organize shows and get some bands that I love down to Sarnia for other folks to enjoy. Some friends and I have been operating a little record label called Straight Outta Cobden. On top of all that, I'm still making time to attend shows, party/have fun with friends, thrash the local skateboard park, etc… etc… Oh yeah, I quit driving so I'm doing my life on a bicycle, feet and a skateboard now. It's extremely rad, but it's really annoying my friends with cars, and it's kinda harsh since every single day is a smog day. But that's one of the reasons I quit driving anyway… so yeah. Anyway, perhaps this issue will reflect the currently chaotic nature of my life and hopefully this will maybe inject some life into it. Hope you enjoy it. TOP-10 LISTIn no particular order… THE BLANK FIGHT: S/T CD (PLAN-IT-X RECORDS - P.O. BOX 3521, BLOOMINGTON, IN, USA 47402 - WWW.PLAN-IT-X.COM) I first heard this band when I borrowed a 7" called 'House Band Feud' from my bro Nathan. It was fuckin' amazing punk rock with harmonicas and kind of a folky undertone to it all. I taped this 7" but I started to crave the idea of having this stuff on a CD so I started looking into it and I managed to find some mp3s for a CD that consists of ALL Blank Fight material including the 'House Band Feud' 7". I listen to this all the time. It's happy, but also kinda sadly tragic at points. It reminds me a lot of my good friend and that's good since he's always far away travelling and living in cooler cities than our hometown and I like listening to it and thinking about him. If it matters to you… Aaron Cometbus (Cometbus zine, Crimpshrine, Pinhead Gunpowder, etc…) plays drums on it, and Rymodee (This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, solo shit, etc…) does guitar and possibly sings? I dunno… it's fuckin good. Check it out. SONG FOR TODD X - THE BLANK FIGHT When you drive down from Alaska to meet in Chicago I'll drive down from North Dakota and take you to a show We'll get beaten up in a bar get thrown through plate-glass windows I just wanted you to know Inspiration is a funny word. I wanna be by your side With us together we could destroy the world I wanna be by your side I'll knit for you together all my hopes and dreams And put them in yer pocket and sew up all the seams Sew up all the seams So you can take them with you all the days you roam From Gainsville to Austin to Portland, Oregon HELLSHOCK: ONLY THE DEAD KNOW THE END OF WAR LP (2004? - PO BOX 2626 PORTLAND, OR, 97208, USA) I don't really have to say much about this I don't think. They're all the rage I think… right? Well, if you haven't heard of Hellshock (Portland, OR, USA) they hearken back to the late 80's, specifically in the UK, when bands like Axegrinder, Amebix, Sacrilege, Hellbastard, Deviated Instinct, etc… reigned supreme. A lot of Japanese bands have been in love with this style. To make it simple, it's like punk rock and speed metal colliding, and in comparisons, it's like Sacrilege and Boltthrower (that's what everyone says anyway). This album starts with a disgustingly awesome assault that you won't forget. Also, more Rob Middleton cover art. Basically, check this shit out. It's amazing. STRAWMAN: S/T LP (1992 - ALLIED RECORDINGS - WWW.BROKENREKIDS.COM/SONGSFOREMMA/) No point in giving you an address because the record label is long defunct. This is the LP from one of my all-time favourite bands. Fronted by Tommy Strange, Strawman are to me one of the best punk rock bands ever. It's punk rock like the Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, The Jam, etc… were punk rock. On top of that Tommy's got some of the most unique vocals, and he sings passionately about life from an anarchist perspective. There's so much in this it's insane. Words can't do it justice really… Except the words of Tommy Strange. ENDURANCE Don't question my dreams and I'll never let you down Hold my hand and I swear it'll never turn into a fist Stand beside me and I'll always back you up Don't dull your heart and I'll never let you down Call it a test of endurance with our backs against the wall A badger cornered with our backs against the wall Call me comrade, friend and ally to the end If wealth is power we're all powerless But it shines more lucid, life's more than this Call it a test… We can't love anymore but I know trust I can't love anymore but don't doubt I know trust We can't hate anymore if hatred is all that's left I can't hate anymore if hatred is all that's left Don't question my dreams and I'll never let you down - Strawman: S/T LP (1992) THIS IS MY FIST: I DON'T WANT TO STARTLE YOU BUT THEY ARE GOING TO KILL MOST OF US 7" (LEFT OFF THE DIAL RECORDS - PO BOX 3941, OAKLAND, CA, 94609 - WWW.THISISMYFIST.COM) This 7" is spectacular. It's catchy as fuck punk rock with female vocals. The singer's got a rad voice. It brings to mind bands of old such as The Avengers. Lyrics are also really honest and well written and deal with issues from a personal perspective. I don't think I can recommend this enough. TEM EYOS KI: S/T LP (2002 - HARLAN RECORDS - 7205 GERONIMO, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR, 72116 - HTTP://WWW.SEEMYBROTHERDANCE.COM/ -WWW.TEMEYOSKI.COM) The culmination of a Tour CD, a S/T 7", and a split 7", this LP is a pinnacle of awesomeness. Imagine hardcore punk fused with elements of the first two Iron Maiden records in a more riff-oriented and manic way than what you're probably thinking of. Most of the time there's two-high-end guitars simultaneously pulling of riffs that compliment each other with the bass and drums carrying the rest of it. Beautiful female vocals that sometimes approach the operatic, with male back-up vocals. Songs are poetic and eloquently-written dealing with important subjects emphasizing a connection between ourselves and the Earth and all it's inhabitants. It comes with a beautiful lyric booklet with really cool artwork and interestingly structured lyrics. I've had this record for a couple years now and it's still on the top of my list. I think it's out-of-print, but if you can get it, you gotta get it. Also, e-mail Nate Powell at on that website listed and beg him to repress it if it's not. KYLESA: TO WALK A MIDDLE COURSE LP (2005 - HAVOC RECORDS - PO BOX 8585, MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 55408 - WWW.HAVOCREX.COM) The cover has a bunch of crows busting out of an hourglass. When you fold the cover out, it looks like a crow-filled night sky (?) with swirly points of light. It reminds me a lot of Van Gogh style stuff. Although this is a sweet, sweet album, I can't imagine this being my introduction to Kylesa. This is in the Top 10, but before listening to this, you must at least hear the self-titled LP with Pushead art on the cover (available from Prank Records), and the split with Cream Abdul Babar, which you should be able to acquire from Ebullition Records. Oh, and also get the No Ending EP also on Prank Records. After you've had your ass destroyed by these releases, pull out the latest release and sit back for a treat. There's a logical progression from one release to another. This one is extremely epic and the music travels all over the place. The entire release flows together through psychedelic guitar effects and cool percussion that connects the songs. My favourite songs on here are probably the last five: Bottom Line, Eyes Closed From Birth, Shatter the Clock, Phantoms and of course the instrumental outro. This is fuckin amazing and you should be able to get it in a store… since I saw an ad in Vice Magazine for Tower Records that had Kylesa on it *shudder*. SUMMON THE CROWS: S/T 7" (2004 - NAKKESKUDD PLATER: STIAN TONNESSEN, HUVIKVEIEN 30, N-3222 SANDEFJORD, NORWAY - WWW.NAKKESKUDD.COM) Ok… If you take me up on my demand that you buy this, and you don't agree with the following statement, sorry… but remember when you first heard Civil Disobedience: In a Few Hours of Madness 7"? I'm not saying it SOUNDS like this at all. But remember when you heard it and your world would never be the same? Well, it's my opinion that this 7" is in that realm of quality. It's fucking amazing from the second it starts. Musically, the closest point of reference is something intense like His Hero is Gone, but with some black metal and 80's HC influence. Lyrics are dark, at times positive and at times negative, but strong nonetheless. Sweet cover art by Rob Middleton. Serious, just buy the damn 7". COMPLICATIONS: DEMO CD-R (2004 - COMPLICATIONS.PUNK@GMAIL.COM - PO BOX 64, STATION C, MONTREAL, QC, H2L 4J7, CANADA) This opens with what could easily be a soundtrack for a movie like Mad Max. The creation of a heavy sound, without being a 'heavy' band, with heavy lyrics. The drums are driving and work with the bass probably how drums and bass are supposed to work together. Damn this is good. When I first heard about this band they were described as similar to The Mob (UK peace punk band) and early Killing Joke. I haven't heard much Killing Joke but I can see some comparisons with The Mob mostly in the darkness and personal honesty of the lyrics. The cover art is extremely stark: plain black with 'complications' scrawled diagonally across the top. I think if you're gonna check out any recently released demo this is one of them. ASUNDER: A CLARION CALL CD (2004 - LIFE IS ABUSE - PO BOX 20524, OAKLAND, CA 94620, USA - WWW.LIFEISABUSE.COM) Asunder are epic AND heavy, like a ten-ton bag of doom. Songs are slow, metallic and somewhat sad sounding. Heavy guitars are accompanied by other stringed instruments like cello (I think?). The voices go from distant moans to growling. Also, it must be recognized how far this has advanced since the previous split with Like Flies on Flesh. It's amazing - and I had already thoroughly enjoyed that release - on which, there was a hint of where they were going. On the CD version of said split, there is a track called Eulogy Part One which is like a demo piano piece, from which parts of the song Crown Of Eyes are taken. The lyrics are really abstract and don't seem to really say too much, but the music is extremely special. The artwork consists of intense photographs of natural scenes. SKAVEN: S/T 7" (1996 - MISANTHROPIC RECORDS - WWW.LIFEISABUSE.COM) This is another record I've had for a long time… and it stays awesome. I'm not sure if this is still in print but I don't think it is. It was pressed on the bassist from Dystopia's label. This is probably some of the best material by this band (although you should try to acquire all of it). They play more of that late 80's style crust with a heavy metal influence, but it's top-notch, not-to-be-missed style stuff. Both songs are extremely epic and will certainly blow your ass out. Go to www.lifeisabuse.com to download at least a couple sample songs by this awesome band. YOUR SHITTY BANDNew section. Just demo reviews. CHEMICAL VALLEY MUTANTS: PUBLIC DESTRUCTION (CD-R - SELF-RELEASED - K_LAPENSEE@SYMPATICO.CA - 2004) This is a 15 song full-length with 10 new songs and 5 re-recordings of the songs on the split with 69 Cent Burrito Sunday. This is hardcore punk rock with mostly female vocals. They sing some socio-political commentary but also a lot of personal stuff too. It's hard to avoid a comparison to Blatz, but there's a lot more fast parts than your average Blatz song. Overall it's tighter than the first release they did. A couple of the songs they re-did I enjoy the original recordings better (IE: Brainwashed Youth) but I prefer the revised version of Foster Wild because I think Kristen's vocals do the song more justice. The recording is relatively good too. My favorite song on here is Skeletons because it starts off really slow and quiet and kinda mellow. Then the pace picks up quickly, and seems to continue speeding up. Kristen's voice changes from a singing voice to a pissed scream. The lyrics to this song are fuckin' intense and well written too. This comes with a nice booklet with awesome cover art done by Cam. Booklet contains all the lyrics and some more artwork. CLOSED-CASKET FUNERAL: PROMO (CD-R - SELF-RELEASED - CLOSEDCASKETFUNERAL@HOTMAIL.COM - 2004) This is some extremely brutal death metal hardcore. Plenty of breakdowns peppered with guitar squeals, and interspersed with occasional blast beats and mid-paced metal parts. The time-changes are unpredictable and difficult to dance to (but enjoyable none-the-less). The vocalist mostly sticks to a low growl with some screaming thrown in for good measure. My only complaint is the lack of insert with lyrics or contact info or anything. I think I paid $5 for this too. Way too much for what I got. But I'm sure they have plans of releasing more official stuff soon. JAWS OF LIFE: SLIME TIME PROMO (CD-R - SELF-RELEASED - 2004) Jaws of Life are from Montreal I believe. They play fast angry hardcore with breakdowns reminding me slightly of Youth of Today. Vocals are screamy and angry but you can still hear what he's saying when reading along with the lyrics. The lyrics (included on a little insert) deal with the religious basis for human superiority (and the silliness of this), not selling out and leaving the scene, and not giving up until a positive change is made. This is a three-song promo of a yet-to-be-released full length called Slime Time. NO EXIT: NO TURNING BACK (CD-R - SELF-RELEASED - HTTP://WWW.NOEXIT.TK/ - 2004) This is some really fast punk rock in the Pennywise, early '90's Epitaph records tradition. They were one of my favorite bands of the local Peterborough scene but I'm not sure if they're still playing. All their songs have pretty good lyrics and when I looked at the insert that lacked lyrics I was disappointed. However, the singer's voice is so clear that you can easily get the gist of what he's saying. The recording is pretty top-notch and they're definitely worth seeing live because they're great guys and their music is fun to see. RAISE THE CURTAIN: RESPIRATION IN TIMES OF DESPERATION (CD-R - SELF-RELEASED - THEBOSTONMASSACRE@HOTMAIL.COM - 2003) AWESOME female-fronted hardcore from Boston. There are fast parts with desperate screaming as well as sick breakdowns with yelling and talking. Lyrics on this are really cool dealing with personal and political issues from a personal perspective. My favorite song on here is Rope Around the Wrists cause it's got cool group vocals and a super badass breakdown. Lyrics are about sex and self-esteem and seeking validation that one is attractive. It's neat stuff. I can't recommend this band enough. RESTLESS ARE THE DEAD: DEMO (CD-R - SELF-RELEASED - WWW.THE-DEAD.TK - 2004) This 3-song demo has a really eerie intro. Distorted moaning in the background over music that gets increasingly heavy. It has parts that are really fast and metal, but also heavy breakdowns, as well as some lighter parts. There's even a part in the second song that has an 80's metal feel to it. This is the type of band that I am ill equipped to properly compare to anything else. Certain elements remind me a lot of Converge but while this band is good, I don't think I could put them on the same level because of how rad Converge is - also, the music is not as unpredictable as Converge. Sound quality is damn good for a home recording. URBAN BLIGHT: S/T DEMO (TAPE - FEELIN' IT RECORDS - WWW.FEELIN-IT.COM - 2004) I picked this demo up at Keep It Up's merch table at the Bane show in London, ON. They're from Toronto and one of the members is involved in Feelin' It Records which has put out Keep It Up's 7" and some other stuff. Before I begin, I gotta say that you can download this for free from the label's website - I say this because I am not equipped with a repertoire to properly compare these guys to other bands. So with that said - this is fast, basic early NYHC. Lyrics deal with the monotony of daily living and how disappointing it can be, being pissed off, and people who do nothing but bitch about things, amongst other things. The recording on this is top-quality and the layout of the insert is straight to the point (without neglecting lyrics) with obvious homage to Urban Waste. CHEMICAL VALLEY MUTANTS/69 CENT BURRITO SUNDAY: WWIII SPLIT (CD-R - SKANK CITY RECORDS - CURLSRUS@HOTMAIL.COM - 2003) CVM are from Sarnia, ON, and have a pretty good debut for not being around too long. With the exception of the guitarist Doug, this band is all women and all but one of the songs has female vocals. All the songs are sweet, although I must admit I'm not as much into the vocal style on Foster Wild. My favourite song from CVM on here is Brainwashed Youth. Lyrics cover punk rock subjects, but also conformity and a division in the local scene. On this release, 69 Cent Burrito Sunday really come into their own. Personally, I feel like the songs on this release blow the previous CD out of the water, although the early ones were extremely fun live. This release demonstrates a refining of style and approach. If you want to hear some top-notch skacore/punk in the OPIV/East Bay tradition but with the DIY-as-fuck ethics of the underground, check this band out. RANDOM REVIEWSROLLINS, HENRY: EYE SCREAM (1996 - 2.16.61 PUBLICATIONS, PO BOX 1910, LOS ANGELES, CA, 90078, USA) If you ever want to hear the most intense piece of spoken word, check out 'Everything' by Rollins. If you ever want to read the literal version of it, look no further than this book. This was the primary attraction for me. Checking out the written version of the words that make up 'Everything'. This book is comprised of seven pieces of writing entitled: Mekanik, The Only Mother is the Mother of Lies, Suffocation and Solitude, Incinerator, Everything, Fear, and Nothing. Most of these are compilations of short entries that seem to compliment each other and fit the theme of the writing. However, Everything and Nothing take on a more poetic/spoken form. This writing communicates how truly damaged the author is by events that have occurred and life in general. Underpinning the entire book is the sense that life is worthless and meaningless, as well as an intense sense of rage towards humanity. This is exhibited in the description on the back of the book stating, "I got it from you. Your headlines and head lies. Your hate mail and red tag fire sales. Your justice and your jails. Your corruption that never fails to spit in the face of the one who knows but cannot say, who has no voice, no options, no choice. The one who has to pay the price for your greed and pride and all the fear you hold inside…" - H Rollins/Sworn Anti-Man This writing is certainly not for the faint of heart. Forget the bullshit about whether he is/was a sellout and check Rollins out as a writer. "It takes you awhile to see how much your parents mutilated you When you're too old to change You'll see that they wrecked you at the beginning I see it now You want to kill them But when they're old it's like drowning puppies Like I really want to waste my lunch hour Taking my father out to the sidewalk To break his skinny arms" - (Rollins, 1996: 147) KISS OFF FANZINE #10 FALL 2004 (CHRIS LANDRY - 140 BLACKBURN AVE., OTTAWA, ON, K1N 8A7, CANADA) This is a personal zine that I always enthusiastically look forward to reading. It's been a while for me since the last time I read it. This one picks up during Chris' trip to Australia back in 1999 after his band toured down my way. When reading I can't help feeling like I've read it before. However, when large changes occur in a person's life, sometimes it takes longer to acquire perspective on it and to go back to it again and properly speak of these changes is sometimes necessary. It's like how Nathan who writes Shoes zine is constantly returning to "Explaining Sarnia" in his zine. This issue of Kiss Off is in a smaller format than I'm accustomed to for this zine (it used to be ½ size). The zine ends on a depressing but well-written note… lyrics quoted from a rad Jawbreaker song from an album that is emotional enough to bring tears to my eyes. Then the friends are dropped off at separate locations, "Then we all disappeared." It leaves the reader with an interest to read #11 to find out what else Chris has been up to for the past few years. TELLEZ, ANTONIO: SABATE GUERILLA EXTRAORDINARY (1998 - AK PRESS AND DISTRIBUTION, PO BOX 40682, SANFRANCISCO, CA 94140 0682, USA) This book tells the inspiring biography of Francisco Sabate Llopart, AKA El Quico. It chronicles many of the actions he and others took against the fascist Franco State in Spain after the loss of the Spanish Civil War to the fascists. It tells the story from Sabate's childhood right up to his death January 5, 1960, shot dead in the street after a long and wounded trek. The most inspiring thing about this book is the unwillingness of the man to give up his fight against the fascist regime in spite of a lack of support from the CNT in exile in France, as well as the fact that he managed to maintain his principles while living the life of an outlaw. The part that moved me the most was reading how the wounded Sabate, whose comrades had all just been gunned down, managed to make his way by crawling through enemy lines impersonating a Spanish lieutenant, hopping trains and limping quite a distance almost reaching his destination of Barcelona. In the background I listened to a song by Storm the Tower with really intense lyrics. I highly recommend checking this out if you're at all interested in the Spanish Civil War, guerrilla warfare, or anarchist lives lived. THE GREATEST WEAPON We drink from empty hands that bleed The sweet taste of our destiny An endless struggle to be free To live without restriction, to fight for our convictions To speak a voice of millions for peace in our time The strength that lives within us will never be defeated The truth that lives between us will never be defeated We suffer at the hands of greed In a (nation) state of misery Destroying our capacity To live without restriction, to fight for our convictions To speak a voice of millions for peace in our time The strength is in our voice The truth is in our heart Victory is ours With hands in solidarity We seize the opportunity To make the change we want to see - Storm the Tower (from Split LP w/ J Church) RENDERED COW PARTS = ENERGYAs a result of all the animals the beef industry destroyed because of the madcow scare, slaughterhouses have had to throw away cow brains and eyeballs instead of using them to make feed for other animals to eat. This slaughterhouse operator had a 'brilliant' idea to burn rendered cow parts to create energy. It's not like they were ever living creatures. What a fucked up way of life we live. How can humans be so arrogant and disgusting? Imagine how we would appear to someone to whom this behaviour was foreign. Imagine the shock on someone's face as they watch an animal carelessly, pointlessly, and with zero recognition of the magnitude of what they are doing, mechanically destroying other species of animals. It's fucked up. I guess that's what happens when you completely devalue something - it's dehumanization - but it's not of other humans - it's of other species of animals. It's the same thing that enabled Germans to accept the mass murder of Jews during World War II - they were subhumans - below human - not human. Treated with the same respect we've afforded non-human animals for years. The hanging parts in a butcher shop that once comprised a living being. SPACEMENT RECORDS SPOTLIGHT5120 Idlebury Way Reno, NV 89523 USA spacementrecords@riseup.net Spacement Website DIY hardcore is alive and well in Reno it seems. I decided to write this after receiving a handful of records for the purpose of review in Free Society. Since I am restructuring the way I do things, I figured I'd do a little focus on this DIY operation. This all started when I received a pro-produced split demo tape of the bands Bafabegiya and Dog Assassin in the mail as a result of a review in Maximum Rock 'n' Roll I believe. I was extremely excited since this is not a common occurrence and furthermore, I'm super stoked on tape releases. So I reviewed the tape in the last issue of my zine and was happy to receive another 7" in the mail. This was the Bafabegiya/Arabella split 7". So with this piece I will review the releases that I have been sent. I'm not gonna lie - this writing is biased - and it's not because I'm being bribed with free records either. The whole spirit of this project is awesome. Joe describes Spacement Records as "a collective community of kids in the Reno, Nevada (usa) scene who are dedicated to the DIY ethic, all ages shows, releasing great music, and most importantly, having fun. We decide together what releases we want to do, and everyone chips in the money that they can to help put out the records. It is usually the bands themselves that put in a majority of the money. We started the label because we want there to be a local DIY label that will put out the music that we love. We started as a collective so we could disperse the financial burden amongst ourselves rather than just have one person pay for everything" (Interview done with Immigrant zine from Greece). To me it represents the potential contained within a DIY hardcore community just dying to be released - which it is in this case. Think what you could do in your own community! By checking out the website and judging by how many releases have been done since last March - this label has a lot of momentum and will only go forward. DISCOGRAPHY: SPC001 Bafabegiya/Arabella 7" (March 3, 2004) SPC002 Soul Émigré: 2001-2003 7" (June 1, 2004) SPC003 Disconnect: S/T 7" (June 12, 2004) SPC004 Bafabegiya: Those Who Die Dancing 7" (August 5, 2004) SPC005 Dog Assassin: S/T 7" (October 31, 2004) SPC006 Arabella: S/T 7" (October 31, 2004) SPC007 Greyskull/Bafabegiya 7" (December 17, 2004) SPC008 X-Wing/Prey 7" (July 10, 2005) SPC009 Rajbot/Aamir 7" (July 15, 2005) SPC010 Rajbot: Modern Complaints CD (Upcoming - August 15, 2005) BAFABEGIYA/ARABELLA 7" (MARCH 3, 2004 - SPC001) When this arrived in the mail I was pretty impressed with the packaging. It appears that the cover is silk-screened and it actually has a texture to it. Red and black with some crazy looking art on the front. Arabella are from Reno, NV, and play discordant hardcore with screamy male and female vocals, as well as a slight hint of Guy Picciotto in some quiet parts. I love the last song on their side, "A Drone in D" but it's hard to explain why. The lyrics are pretty abstract and personal so it's hard for me to really relate. Bafabegiya is also from Reno, NV. They play hardcore punk rock that is aggressive yet non-abrasive. The style of this reminds me of this band called Manner Farm from BC that I have a CD of. The lyrics are heartfelt and sincere. "Perfect love drives out all fear" celebrates the love that binds our revolutionary communities together and then relates these communities to some other movements that are fighting for freedom. "Advancement" points out the irony that while our society progresses, we advance the Earth further towards its demise. "Surrogate Life" rejects mainstream media as manipulative and motivated by profit and the desire to control. This came with a Bafabegiya sticker. BAFABEGIYA: THOSE WHO DIE DANCING 7" (AUGUST 5, 2004 - SPC004) This 7" starts out with a bang with 'High Fives, Stage Dives', a sweet song extolling the necessity of keeping the shows all ages and about the music and fun, rather than catering to those who just want to drink. Five more songs cover a variety of subjects. Ones that stand out to me are 'Farewell' because it's a celebration of the inevitable decline of a neo-colonialist, neo-imperialist, empire, and 'Better Dead than Domestic' for it's use of the wolf simile. Fuckin A. The artwork is rad and it comes with a crisp lyric sheet and a sweet sticker…not to mention on yellow translucent vinyl if that excites you. DOG ASSASSIN: S/T 7" (OCTOBER 31, 2004 - SPC005) Dog Assassin are from Reno, NV, USA, and play fast, explicitly anarchist, political hardcore. I read one of the reviews on the site basically saying this wasn't HC. I don't know… maybe if you have a narrow concept of HC based on a band like say… Hatebreed, this might not meet your expectations. But if you dig early '80's HC I don't see why you wouldn't dig this. Lyrics about dumpster-diving, the military, sexism, consumerism, unity, animal liberation, etc… Another well-packaged Spacement release. This one came in a cloth bag, silk-screened with cover art and song list. I'm not sure if all the releases came like this or if it's limited, but it's a neat idea. Also comes with a pamphlet about why you should stop eating/killing/exploiting animals. ARABELLA: S/T 7" (OCTOBER 31, 2004 - SPC006) A full 7" of emotive hardcore type stuff. Music has a lot of transitions - slow parts intermingled with frantic fast parts. Screamy female vocals with male back-ups that are sometimes reminiscent of Guy from Fugazi. Lyrics are extremely abstract for the most part, however side 1 makes more sense to me. The one I got had a piece of paper with text all over it, covered by an acetate sleeve with a cross-section of a fetus on it. The effect is really cool when combined. A couple small Arabella logo acetates were included as well. I presume this is so I can make patches or t-shirts if I want. Cool idea. GREYSKULL/BAFABEGIYA 7" (DECEMBER 17, 2004 - SPC007) Greyskull are from Tacoma, WA, USA, and this is their first release since a demo CD-r. Musically, they strike me as fast hardcore mixed with some His Hero Is Gone-y type riffs. However, the vocals really ground it in hardcore - desperate screams/shouts with occasional growls. Lyrics are poetic and emotive, while still expressing meaning. I think this is Bafabegiya's 4th release. More passionate hardcore punk with lyrics about revolution through life. Three songs about dodging the 9-5 in favour of real life, cycling as revolt, and finding true wealth in community. This 7" comes with a sweet little zine of lyrics, ideas and thanks, and a badass sticker. The artwork in this is really neat and the packaging is interesting as always with textured cover art. GRAND BEND VACATION JUNE 17-19, 2005Last Friday lagged to a close at work. The afternoon was spent sanding a pick-up truck box to prepare it for a spray-in bedliner and we couldn't leave until it was completely ready to be sprayed. We finally got to leave at quarter to six, but not without the foreman telling us we were working in the morning. He just does it to annoy and get me worked up. I went home and had a quick bath to cleanse myself of the impurities of work. I quickly created a mix CD... the "Holy Shit! Mix", for the weekend and packed my stuff that I wanted to bring with me. We were so far behind schedule it was pathetic. I had hoped to get out of town immediately but work put me an hour behind, then packing and all that... as well as an extremely slow dinner at Tim Horton's held us back until at least 8:00 or so. Grand Bend is only an hour or so away and the drive was uneventful. As night began to fall we passed around this corner near a town called Northville. At the side of the road we saw a couple of our friends who had decided to bike up from Sarnia. I declared that we would drive the rest of the way, drop our stuff off and go back and pick them up because they were still quite far away from the place. At least another hour's bike ride. My friend Doug and I headed back down the highway to find our friends. By the time we found them it was dark and they hadn't made too much progress. They were grateful for the ride because I think they were getting pretty beat. We got back to the cottage around 10:00 I believe and at this point, the relaxation began for me. People were playing guitars, hand drums, listening to Social Distortion on the stereo, drinking, talking, taking photographs, etc... In all there were about 14 people there I think. I wanted to go swimming but that fell through when one friend was way too drunk but still wanted to swim... we kinda had to drop the idea so we could prevent the insanely drunk friend from going near the water. People slowly drifted to beds and couches and floor space to sleep for the night. I was awoken briefly by my friend Dave showing up around 4:30 AM. He had biked from Sarnia and got off work at 12:00. Pretty impressive time. He stepped on a bag of chips as he walked by me and that's what woke me up. I woke up around 11:00 or 11:30 or so. Doug did a quick clean up and we all hung around in the living room and dining room while some worked on cooking potatoes for breakfast for everyone. Now that it was daytime I could see what the backyard of the cottage looked like. Two large windows covered the back of the house where the living room and dining room were, and these overlooked the grassy yard. Past that was some sand dunes covered in long grass, and beyond that was Lake Huron. It was beautiful and relaxing. Everyone seemed to be running on a different time frame. I went swimming, and as I went into the cold water, my other friends were exiting. I adjusted quickly to the water once I went completely under and then had fun surfing on the waves as they came in. It reminded me of a song I'd written called Journey to the Sea, but the mood was completely different from the song. After swimming for a while I decided to get my day going since I did want to take a stroll down to the main Grand Bend commercial strip. I hadn't been there in years and wanted to just see what was there. After I got back up to the house it became apparent that all the people who wanted to go down that way had already gone. I asked people if I was missing out on anything down there. Apparently, the only thing I was missing out on was a camouflage NWA shirt with Dr. Dre on it. Oh well. Doug, Cam and I went grocery and alcohol shopping instead. We had wanted to get a list of vegetables and groceries from people that we could pick up but a lot of people were missing at this point and most people left were not too picky. Doug and I went into the kitchen to take inventory of what we currently had. We were going to make pizza to begin with, but we ended up deciding to make pasta since people had brought a lot of noodles. We made a list and as we did the possibilities increased. Doug, Cam and I hopped in my van and drove down to No Frills. We picked up more romaine lettuce, carrots, eggplant, yellow zucchini, green zucchini... I can't remember the rest. After this we walked across the street to the liquor store where we bought a bunch of alcohol and I picked up a couple of beers called Hobgoblin. It said on the back that it had a "chocolate toffee malt" and that sounded tasty to me. We then drove to the beer store. While Doug was inside, Cam and I were parked in the car. This coloured rap-style dude came out from the beer store and was hangin' out by his friend's van. I said hello and we talked briefly about how nice the weather was. "Well, it's Canada," he said, "so it could rain at any moment." I laughed and he walked back towards the door. A siren screamed through the town and he put his back against the wall and his hands up as a joke. It was hilarious. When we got back, Doug and Cam began making bread because we were planning to make garlic bread with dinner. After they finished preparing that, I joined them in the kitchen to help make dinner. We all cut and washed vegetables and shared ideas for what to do with the sauce. We put two bottles of original spaghetti sauce in a big pot. Threw in a bunch of chopped up carrots. Let it heat up gradually and kept this cooking for the duration of the sauce. We put a bunch of TVP ground round in another pot with water and soy sauce and let it sit to absorb the flavour. Cut up herb tofu into little cubes and browned in cooking oil. Threw this into the sauce. Cut up two zucchinis into discs and then into fours and fried them with minced garlic and threw it in the sauce. Cut up a tomato and put that in the saucepot. We put in a bunch of other stuff as well. We also made a nice salad and some garlic bread with cheese on it. When we brought it out our friends loved it. Everyone had a heaping plateful and I think most walked away full. When we split the grocery bill up by the number of people who hadn't brought any food, it only cost us each $2.50. Doug or Cam (I can't remember who) sarcastically commented to me "I guess we should have gone out for dinner, it would have been cheaper." We laughed and enjoyed our huge meal that cost so little. James and Steve did all the dishes that hadn't been done by the people who ate on them, and the pots/pans and while they did that, we all relaxed in the living room with beer and other drinks, music, and these trivia question cards. When you answered correct, you drank. We sat doing this until the sun began to set. At this point, we all decided to go out and get the fire going for the night. When we got down there, we all sat around the fire drinking, while people played hand drums, sang, talked, took funny pictures and laughed. We hung out like this late into the night. The orange scar across the sky that was the sunset, and the beating of the drums, and the fire in front of us, I couldn't stop thinking about music. Specifically Neurosis. I started to hear in the drums what I hadn't before. It used to annoy me as sort of a hippie preoccupation, but when certain beats were played, it was undeniable that Neurosis, a favourite band of mine, was most definitely basing some of their songs on the hand drums. The tribal beats... Then another beat would play and it would make me think of this song by Catharsis. In fact, the lyrics came naturally to me as the beat happened and I remember thinking about the guitar riffs for that song as well. And then I thought of the inside of the gatefold for their 'Passion' LP with the people holding hands circled around a huge bonfire. It was crazy. SABBAT (Dervish Dance) Dance around the fires of a world spinning down Dance around the flames of a world burning Dance Poison overcast moon, watch over us in these last days As we descend to the lowest circle Insane Until we reach the final station of the cross Where faceless dancers whirl Dance (A fragile movement - a step, dancing) - Catharsis: Passion LP After a short time, Doug, Chelsea and I decided to go swimming. We all ran at the water yelling and then once in the water, I know I was screaming. It was bloody cold. "Everybody out of the water" we ran back to the shore shivering toweling ourselves off standing near the fire. Couples started to trickle away to do couple things and only a handful of us were left around the fire. For a short time, I was the only person there. I started to feel colder and I threw a bunch of wood and cardboard on the fire. It blazed upward and got extremely hot. I remember staring into the fire and watching the strong wind blow through it like the fire was breathing. It got me to thinking about the conception of Hell as being a raging inferno. Wondering how people would come up with that. Especially as being opposite to Heaven (conceived as a place of white clouds and blue sky). Humans are fascinated with fire. I can't help but stare at it. Wouldn't the ultimate be to experience the firestorm without being burned? Eventually, we all went back to the house. I went to bed around 1:30 or 2:00 or so, but I know others continued to party early into the morning. I woke up around 10:00 and couldn't sleep any longer so I got up and had an enjoyable shower. I only have a tub back at my apartment so it was luxurious to get to have a shower. Then I went back to my bed and packed my stuff up and made the bed. My friend Annette poked her head in. We were the only people up so we decided to start making breakfast. We chopped up an entire sack of potatoes and began frying them. As one batch would be finished, we'd put them in a pot and cover it up. I chopped up two blocks of tofu, one was cooked in Italian and French salad dressings, and the other was marinated in soy sauce, fried and then fried more in BBQ sauce. Halfway through, a lot of people started to wake up and grab cereal. Eventually though, we all had a feast of potatoes and tofu. It was a nice filling breakfast that wasn't eaten till close to 1:30. After this, Doug and I took the empties back and then I rounded up my passengers to leave back to Sarnia. When we were leaving, people were hugging and saying goodbye as if this was the last we'd see of each other for a while. This is not the case, and I didn't partake in the hugs. However, on the drive home, it was pointed out that while we would see each other soon, it wouldn't be the same. We wouldn't be living together in one big house. I guess this is part of what it comes down to... why I wrote about this weekend. We worked hard, schooled hard, whatever... all week. Friday afternoon, we all escaped that reality to Doug's cottage. At least I did. I did see one person doing some studying for exams or something. But personally, the weekend was so awesome. I was able to leave everything stressful about my life in Sarnia for the weekend and all I did was enjoy myself. Even cooking was more enjoyable than usual because we did it together, and there was no time-pressure to get it done. It was all free time. It was rejuvenation after being worn out by employment. As well as rejuvenation of ideals... that life together is much more fruitful than life apart. Rejuvenation of anger. How cheated we are by the individualized, compartmentalized, 8-5, 5/week, lives we lead. Strength to go back to the shittiness, and desire to be united again. SATANIC VEGGIE BURGER COMBOThis crazy thing happened one time. I was at Harvey's getting a veggie burger combo when I noticed something rad. If you buy a veggie burger combo and pay extra to substitute 'juice' (drink) for soda pop, the cost of this meal comes to exactly $6.66. I was fuckin pumped. I think I was with Scumbag and we both cheered at the awesomeness. THEN… the next time I was there and I got it, I was told I owed $6.65. I was confused, and then I heard a co-worker of the cashier say "you can charge $6.66 and just not take the penny," - the cashier responded, "I'm not charging that amount and you can't make me - it's the number of Satan," or something. I was shocked at the intense degree of superstition. It was amazing. "I CAN DO IT MYSELF"The reason I'm talking about this again is that I'm in love with the idea of it. It really is as simple as tying your shoes... it starts as necessity and has a bad reputation initially. The products aren't as polished as their mainstream counterparts. The recordings aren't always properly mixed. The spelling and grammar is wrong. So you go to a pro studio and pay hundreds of dollars for a 4 song demo shopping it around to major and large Indy labels hoping they want to jump on the punk trend, groveling and begging your way on to the bill with Epitaph and Fat Wreck bands. I don't want to be at the mercy of someone else, grateful for funding the recording of my album. I don't want to lack control of artwork and content based on someone else's subjective taste or morality. I don't want to play shows as the opening band no one cares about. I don't want to do shows with 'promoters', I want to play shows organized by friends and equals and people who are enthusiastic about music and counter culture, not motivated by profit or desire for success. I don't want to play venues that only want to exploit what we are doing. I don't want to play shows where the band is put on a pedestal untouchable by the audience. I want to build and create as part of a community, local, regional, national, international. I want to see spontaneity happen... bands forming on the spot for 1/2 an hour to play the songs we love. I remember the slow evolution towards DIY that I underwent. When I was first going to shows I didn't think at all about the organizational aspect because I was just happy enough to be there. When we started our first bands we had no hope of ever getting signed to any label. We weren't that talented, and our music wasn't the type that was popular at the time. I remember as we started playing shows we would be dealing with these people who owned establishments who would usually dick us around for money and scheduling. Up to this point, although we had seen DIY in progress, we hadn't really realized it. The older kids had been organizing shows, but it didn't totally occur to us what to do - we were merely consumers and passive producers if our bands were lucky enough to play. They were making demo tapes with covers and all that but we were so far from considering recording and embarrassed of our shittiness. DIY took form in clothing with making our own shirts and patches. Again, this was out of necessity since stores don't always sell the shit you want - they sell what will make money. An early step in our scene was starting an anti-racist organization. I wasn't so much involved in it, but I did give suggestions when friends were discussing it. My own first step, aside from starting my own band, was the decision to start a zine. The realization that we could publish our own ideas ourselves was a huge revelation. A giant leap was when a couple friends started a recording studio. My band was the first punk band they recorded. We were all quite pleased with this, and we went all-out creating a cover for our CD-r. We sold close to 75 copies of it around town. It was in conjunction with the release of this that we had our first propulsion towards DIY militancy. We played this show organized by a promoter called "ROR" (Roots of Rock). It was a battle of the bands with a ton of local bands playing at this lame bar. Each band was required to sell a certain number of tickets, and if that wasn't enough, they raised the price after we'd already been selling some. So bands were selling tickets, and if you didn't meet the quota, you weren't allowed to play. This created some competition between our bands especially since there was a lot of punk bands and we all shared the same friends. On the day of the show, we arrived with our bag of money. We couldn't sell enough to play so we paid our way on to the bill... Our bassist filled the bag with pennies he had emptied out of all these rolls of coin. We sat there laughing as the promoter emptied the money on to the table. We also prepared a song called ROR... Ripping Off Rebellion. Because to me, punk rock = rebellion, and this company was certainly exploiting us. From that point on we only played shows organized by friends, or by ourselves. That was when I really started doing shit. I organized my first show July 29, 1999, with my ex-partner. This gave us the opportunity to obtain as much control as possible over our shows and enabled us to put the money where we chose to put it... usually to worthy organizations and causes. We live in a capitalist society where exchange relations are encouraged. The attitude that everyone has a price they can be bought for is perpetuated... paying other people to do the things you should be doing yourself because you're too busy working. Too tired and burned out to cook... we pay others to do it. Boss pays me to clean his coffee mug out of laziness and convenience... It's fuckin simple. We don't need people from outside our culture exploiting us. We can do it all ourselves, for ourselves. We can own our own show spaces by buying or renting houses collectively, living together, and having shows in the basements using reasonable amounts of money to help pay the rent. We can start our own recording facilities. All we need is a computer, a pirated program and $35 worth of rented equipment... or have benefit shows and raise money to purchase equipment. We can release our own music ourselves, or on DIY labels operated by friends. We don't need to make much money, and any money made can be used to finance the operation, or other facets of the DIY conspiracy. We can create our own literature informing each other what is happening in other cities, regions and nations, or telling our own folklore. We can grow our own food in the backyards of our show spaces. Through DIY we can limit our own dependence on paid employment through sharing the costs of surviving together. We can brew our own beer, cider, wine, mead, etc... reducing our reliance on alcohol corporations. We can barter and share what we create, as well as the skills required to produce. The possibilities are endless. DIO FEST - JULY 15TH, 16TH, 2005The previous was a perfect lead-in to this. Back in February, my friend Brett from the St. Thomas band, The Suits (now known as Leper), put me in contact with a dude named Richard from Ottawa. Richard is in the thrashy hardcore band Take One For the Team and he was planning a tour down this way and wanted me to set a show up for the 16th of July. I had arranged for them to play at a local venue called the Trinity when this fell through when the Trinity decided they weren't going to do punk shows anymore. In conjunction with this problem, I also was contacted by I Hate Sally from Kingston who wanted to play down here as well on the 15th or 17th. I asked if they could play the 16th but they could not. Because I didn't want to let either band down, I decided the best course of action would be to do a fest. I consulted with my crew of friends who I felt I could count on for support, and they were very supportive. As such, I made the arrangements to make it happen. During organization, we had to come up with a name for it. Scumbag and I brainstormed ideas. I wanted it to represent steadfast dedication to independence from the mainstream. After all, we were competing with Bay Fest a local several day music festival this year consisting of bands like David Lee Roth, Staind, Billy Talent, Kid Rock, etc� For the most part, for people interested in punk rock, there should be no question of which event they'd be attending. However, Billy Talent would surely pose a threat amongst some of the younger crowd. Regardless, we wanted a name that would truly represent our ethos; D-I-O FEST, or Do-It-Ourselves Fest, really did the trick (it was Scumbag's idea). DIO was a term we had arrived at through discussions of how we should operate the Straight Outta Cobden record label ourselves and Dave Quinn had started. Basically the term means doing it independently, as well as doing it through community and friendship. Kind of the logical communal extension of DIY (do-it-yourself). We made 11 x 17 flyers for it and posted them up as soon as we could, we also made an alternate flyer to use as a handbill which were given out at a show that happened the week prior. We also began selling tickets as soon as we could because early calculations based on what we hoped to pay bands as well as all our other bills necessitated selling at least 60 tickets at $10 a piece. The first day of the fest stressed me out very little. I mean, I was concerned about making enough to pay our bills, but I got off work at 12:00 and went and picked up and dropped off the rental equipment at the venue. We then took our time getting to the venue later. We were still there quite early, but so were most of the audience. Things took ages to set up, but late in the afternoon, I had received a phone call from Dee from I Hate Sally that most of the band was stuck on the highway near Kingston. She said they would come if they felt they could make it in time. Later I found out that they could not make it and that they had decided to cancel all their shows that weekend. It was disappointing, but it was a relief financially. It wasn't until about 8:30 (doors opened at 6:30) that the first band Aqualung (the band I play guitar and sing in) started playing. It was just before this that the band Man With Target from Ajax showed up. A week or two before the fest, I Hate Sally had asked if their friends from Ajax could play the show as well. I was kind of worried about the financial aspect of things, but when it came down to it, I said "fuck it, the more the merrier". If we didn't make enough we'd cover it somehow. When I saw them talking to the people working the door, I knew it was them. "Are you the Ajax guys?" I asked and they said they were. I introduced myself and they started unloading equipment and doing other things while a couple of them watched us play. After my band, it was time for Arnold Palmer, local grindcore health-buffs. They ripped through an awesome set which I watched from my 'doorman' position. My other band SARNIA was playing next. I must say that this was probably one of the most intense sets I've ever been a part of playing. People were going insane singing along and rocking out. Honestly, it felt like we (both the band, and the audience) were an unstoppable force. Man With Target was even shocked and said they didn't want to follow us haha (even though their set was incredible as well). As I said, after us, Man With Target set up their equipment and rocked fuckin hard. They play heavy hardcore with metal influences. The vocalist has a diverse range as well. After the bands were done, we all started packing up and rearranging equipment for the night. It was nice cause the venue let us leave the stuff there over night. My friend Doug mopped the floor while I worked on how much money we had and other things. We then made arrangements for how/where we were going. I rode with Man With Target back to Joe's house where they were staying. When we got there, we just sat around talking about music and joking and eventually pizza was ordered. By 2:00 in the morning or so (I think?), Joe wanted to give me a ride home and we were all kinda tired. So I went home after making arrangements for the morning. In the morning, Joe appeared at my house around 11:30. I answered the door and the Man With Target dudes were in their van behind his car. We were going out for breakfast. We tried a local favourite The Cromwell Grill, but it was packed with Bay Fest concertgoers. I suggested this International Pancake place. We drove around the city in order to get money from a bank machine and then to the restaurant. As we did this, it rained� and rained� and rained� the roads were flooding where they normally didn't. Breakfast was awesome. I had pancakes with strawberries on them. It was also very funny. The guys were hilarious. After breakfast we decided to head up to Picker's Alley, the place we rented our PA System from, to discuss how the monitors didn't work. When we walked in, we were shocked to see the whole place flooded and the owners and employees scurrying around trying to soak it up. We knew we weren't gonna get much help because they had much greater headaches. We got worried and decided to go back to the venue and check on the equipment. We said our good-byes to our newest 'Brothers of Metal' and hightailed it back to the venue. When we got there we were relieved to find that none of the equipment was damaged and there was only minor flooding at the venue. We decided we should try to get the monitors to work, which we did (later they fucked up again), and we rearranged some of the equipment in a way that we thought might be better and then left again. We showed up a little late when we came back and this heightened the level of stress I was experiencing. Also, I was feeling very un-people-person-y. Other stress came in the form of some graffiti that someone did on the outside of one of the buildings of the Eagles' Club. However, I knew who the person was who did it and I had a discussion with them about it and how they needed to clean it off. As far as I know right now (July 20) it has been cleaned off and the person has posted on a internet guest book that they have dealt with the problem. It's right on that he actually did what he said he'd do and it speaks about his character. Just some FYI for other folks, it's good not to damage venues because we need to keep renting them, go ahead and destroy everything else though. If we had our own place to do shows, people could graffiti all they wanted. Maybe that's the next logical extension of D-I-O - Sarnia needs a punk-run venue. The first band to play was Dylbo's and Puppets. They were fuckin rad. A very sweet up and coming band from Sarnia. Glen, who is normally a drummer in bands such as Arnold Palmer and Rotting Hobo, is now doing vocals for this band since the original singer has other things that keep him away from his duties. I watched them from my distro table and they were awesome. Good fast hardcore punk, complete with Minor Threat cover (Filler) and Dayglo Abortions cover (Argh, Fuck, Kill). Next, was Sarnia again. It was strange for us to be playing once again the following night, but it was still fun. It was a bit disheartening because the previous night was so incredibly awesome, but we quickly got into it. We rocked through another set, this time with no Scumbag on vocals because he was conserving his voice for his other band 69 Cent Burrito Sunday who happened to be playing next. 69 BSD played a sweet set that included some of their newer songs that are featured on the split release with Leper that was released that very night. The new release is fucking sweet. Full-colour booklet full of lyrics and photos, good lyrics, and even better music. If you want a copy of it, e-mail: curlsrus@hotmail.com. Everyone was skanking around and having a good time. 69 is certainly a well-liked band. After 69, the Suits, now known as Leper, took the stage. They were fuckin rad. Another band the kids love. It's a shame they're moving out west to BC because it will be weird not seeing them around Ontario. Hopefully they'll come back next Summer or something. They played a raging set that included covers of R.A.M.B.O. (Wall of Death the System and U-Lock Justice). Then before one of their last songs, Brett allowed me to take the mic to make a request of the crowd. I asked everyone who was at the show to get on the stage in rows for a big grade 2-style class photo. I went and got Jerry the guy who ran the hall to get him to take the picture. It felt so good when I walked back in through the back doors of the hall and saw everyone all piled up together on the stage. To quote Youth of Today, "This is a time we will remember." I set the camera up so it would work right and gave Jerry the camera and I ran up and joined the bottom row. Jerry took a second picture and I yelled, "Say Chemical Valley Hardcore" and we all yelled and cheered. After the photo, we all rejoined the crowd and Leper finished their set. Next were the Maloney Crew from Ottawa, ON. They played hardcore in the tradition of bands like 7 Seconds (whom they covered) and they were really energetic. People were circle pitting like mad for them. They complimented us for being a good show, and also talked briefly about the disorganization of Punk Fest which they were supposed to play the day before but didn't once they arrived there. When they were done, Take One For the Team quickly set up (they really only had to change a couple members since they shared equipment and members with Maloney Crew), and Richard put on his Mexican wrestling mask. Goddamn were they crazy. I think the audience were probably momentarily dumbfounded with the hyper/frantic nature of the music. Fast as fuck hardcore thrash with yelling and Infest style shouts too. Richard was crazy - even on his fucked up knees. He moved around excited and pumped up, and when they played a Spazz cover he was goin' nuts too. They played a quick set, and when they were done� DIO Fest was over. We tried to arrange a place for them to stay, but Maloney Crew wanted to get a motel room and eventually, Richard was feeling like he didn't want to impose on Joe (my friend who was offering a place). I don't know where they went afterwards, but Richard came to my place, traded some records, and then hit the road. I am quite sure we were all exhausted by the end of the weekend. I know I took Sunday off from people. Just worked on my zine. However, I think and hope that DIO Fest will be something that can happen again sometime. FINANCIAL NOTES: Hall Rental $200.00 Sound $102.15 Man With Target $70.00 The Maloney Crew $60.00 Take One for the Team $60.00 The Suits $37.10 Promotion $15.87 Gas $15.00 One performer paid $5.00 TOTAL: $565.12 Money left after bills: $102.00 This leftover money will be offered as $6 to any person who played in a local band those nights. If you decline it, it will go to Straight Outta Cobden Records. E-mail me if you want this: rooster_111@hotmail.com (you have till August 31/05 to do so). So in closing, I have to give thanks to: Aqualung, Arnold Palmer, SARNIA, Man With Target (Ajax), Dylbo's and Puppets, 69 Cent Burrito Sunday, Leper (St. Thomas), The Maloney Crew (Ottawa), Take One for the Team (Ottawa), and Chris Long, Marcel, Glen and Kevin McPhail for jamming out between bands Saturday; bands that couldn't make it such as I Hate Sally (Kingston), Shantymosh and Das Studs; Scumbag Kevin for helping to organize, name, flyer and sell tickets for the event (not to mention playing in three of the bands) and also throwing down as an economic backbone should DIO Fest fail; Joe Soullierre for insane amounts of support and encouragement, playing in three bands at the fest, selling tickets, moving equipment for cheap bastards with no vehicles, having good rapport with Picker's Alley folks, welcoming 'brothers of metal' into his home late into the night, also offering financial support in the event of failure, as well as being a swell person all around; Dave Quinn for recording and doing sound as well as booking time off work to play in bands; Annette McLellan for helping me flyer, support, picking up rental equipment, working the door both nights, selling stuff at my distro table and being a good friend; Celeste Beatson for working my distro table and being a good future mom staying away from the pit and eating some healthy food; Doug Soullierre for mopping up the hall night one; Jen Lappensee for mopping up night two; Cam Village of Wolves for mopping up night two after a night at work missing most of the fun, but being a helpful friend nonetheless; Kurtis and Tyler from SARNIA for helping to move equipment on night two; every single person who came out and had fun with us and supported what we were doing; and last but not least, Jerry the dude who runs the hall for being really laid back. If you feel forgotten, I'm sorry, I tried to list everyone, but so many people were so helpful with this that it's almost impossible to remember everyone. This is the community that I'm talking about in the previous writing - everyone pitching in a hand to make it happen - DOING - IT - OURSELVES. I love you all. SPANISH TOFU BOMBSOk so yesterday I needed to make something to eat but I didn't know what to make. So I was like, "Fuck yeah, raw tofu is fiiiiiiiiiine." So I cut up this herb tofu into little cubes (broke it up) and put it in a plastic dish. Put soy sauce in and shook it around (for flavour). Then I broke up lettuce and carrots and put them in there too. Added some Italian dressing and shook that shit around. Voila. Tofu salad. It was excellent. I put most of it back in the fridge for future consumption. Tonight, I got home from work and didn't really want to cook. I thought, "Shit, I've got that tofu salad leftover," so I pulled out a frying pan and threw the whole works in lettuce and all. Fried that shit up with some Louisiana hot sauce, garlic/pepper spice and a little bit of olive oil and then threw it back in the plastic dish with a bunch of ketchup. It's tastin' excellent. I highly recommend it. Also - you gotta listen to the London Calling LP by the Clash while you cook this up. Because the name of this dish is... SPANISH 'TOFU' BOMBS - like the song on the London Calling 2LP. And you have to think to yourself about the brave Spanish anarchists who in the late 1930's, briefly liberated parts of Spain, and then fought fascism, only to be brutally crushed by the fascists, in collusion with the backstabbing communists. Holy shit, enjoy this liberating food. SKATE OR FUCKIN' DIEThis is the first time since the first issue of Free Society that I've written about this subject which is shocking considering how much of a role its played in my life. I started skateboarding when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Although I couldn't do any tricks back then, it was definitely more to me than just some bullshit toy to ride around on interchangeable with any other tool used for play. I was introduced to it through these three older kids whose parents had a boat at the same marina as my parents did. Mark and Brian Rogers who lived in Point Edward, ON, and Andy Wisely who was from the USA, used to kill time skateboarding in the parking lot while our parents all drank beer on the boats. This would have been around 1987 or so. In the late spring of 1988 my parents decided to move to this suburb of Sarnia called Bright's Grove. They were building a house out there and on one of our early visits to the place after the foundation had been laid there was a 1987 Steve Caballero Powell Peralta skate left sitting across the space where our chimney would be. Not only was I fascinated, but I also thought maybe I should own that skate since it had been left in our future chimney. Unfortunately, the boy who left it came back for it. Shortly after we moved into our new place I was out exploring the neighborhood and I came across the crew of skateboard kids in the Grove hanging out on this street around the corner from my place playing around on a wooden ¼ pipe. I remember convincing one of them to let me try and the moment I tried to ride up the ramp the board flew out from under me and I fell on my face on the ramp. By 1990 I was tagging along with these older dudes watching them bust cool tricks while remaining unable to ollie or do anything cool. I just rode around. It wasn't until 1994 when I started hanging around with some kids my own age that were into skateboarding that I started to progress. Most noteworthy was Chris Abram and his cousin Darcy. We'd encourage ourselves to try stuff and it was fun hanging around together. I've pretty much been a Spring� Fall seasonal thrasher ever since with the exception of a three year period where I allowed myself to suffer unnecessarily from a terrible ingrown toenail. At best I could cruise around like I did when I was a kid, and at worst the vibrations fuckin' killed me. So around Fall of 2002 I got this surgically fixed by this rad doctor at St. Joe's hospital in Sarnia and shortly afterwards I began re-learning how to skate for fun, not just transportation. Even after getting my toenail fixed I was still only skateboarding once in a while because I was absorbed in other things, at least while in Sarnia; and the roads in Peterborough, ON, are fuckin' terrible. The end of a relationship last May increased the amount of time I had to myself. When I moved back to Sarnia, I also didn't have many close friends to hang out with. Just like when I was 17 I found myself spending my time at the skateboard park skating and sitting around. In writing this piece, I wanted to discuss what skateboarding has offered me both positively and negatively. Since it's good to end on a positive note, first I'll discuss the negative. NASTY SPILLS All of my major wipeouts have occurred not as the result of any sort of badass trick. It's always been stupid shit. This goes way back to when I was seven-years-old pretending to ride a skateboard running up and down this angled grassy area by the parking lot at Bridgeview Marina in Point Edward. I lost it on one of my downward runs and fell right on my knees in shorts. The skin on my knees was scraped right off. Not literally I guess, but my knees were fuckin' red cherries. I had to go out for dinner like that. Then there was the time when I tried to ride up that ¼ pipe and immediately fell. I think I saw stars. My next major spill occurred when I was riding down this sidewalk on my first skateboard. I attempted to just ride off this curb and my wheels got stuck in the crack between the curb and the sidewalk. I flew face-first into the pavement and scraped my face/head. I went home and my Dad was pretty scared of how my Mom was gonna react. I think I may have been banned from the board for a short period. It couldn't last though. After these early slams I became familiar with how to avoid doing it again by learning the trouble spots in the areas I skateboarded and just some general commonsense not to mention switching from 42 mm wheels to fuckin 66's. It wasn't for years later that I had another one. I was doing something at the Harry Turnbull Skateboard Park in Sarnia when I somehow managed to hit my shin on the edge of the bowl. My shin swelled up and I didn't know what the fuck was up. I can't remember the outcome of this but I didn't lose my leg and I'm not dead so whatever. More recently, my worst falls have occurred in Peterborough… where I was unfamiliar with the territory I was skating. One time I was riding super fast trying to catch the bus up to campus and my wheel got caught in this unrealistically large hole in the sidewalk. I flew a very short distance, and I hit the pavement hard. It was like a belly flop on the cement. I got up and brushed myself off, looked around to see if anyone had seen it happen and yelled "FUCK!" My most recent and most damaging one yet (yeah, I've been lucky) was another riding calmly down a sidewalk style spill. I was again riding fast down this shitty sidewalk going to visit my friend for a night of horror movies or something. I was gonna go up to the Night Kitchen to get a slab of pizza hence the reason I was going fast. Suddenly I get hurled off my skateboard and I kinda rolled on my left shoulder. I could hear the studs on my vest scraping on the ground. Again I yelled "FUCK!" but with more frustration, conviction, and disbelief than the other time. When I got up I realized that my fingers didn't look right. The small one on my left hand was kinda pushed back and away from the one next to it. When I got to this store the lady behind the counter suggested that I'd broken it. I went to Gwen's place and asked her to take care of me cause I knew she had nurse training. She got me some ice and the next day I went out and bought this tensor bandage to wrap it up with so I wouldn't bend it. The area around my finger was bruised not only on my palm, but on the top of my hand too. This was a couple weeks before I was moving back to Sarnia and I remember rocking out at shows with this stupid bandage around my hand. My hand's still not normal and it has in some ways hindered my guitar playing. I should consider myself lucky though because I've seen worse. This kid - his first time skateboarding at the skate park in Sarnia - tried to drop-into the bowl. He fell on his ass immediately and when he got up his arm was hangin' downwards halfway through his forearm. He started repeating, "Guys, where's my board… somebody call a doctor.." etc… an older dude drove him to the hospital and I never saw him at the park again. Before that though, a couple of close friends of mine were bombing a huge hill in Northern Ontario. My one friend got speed wobbles and fell backwards. He hit his head on the pavement and had to be airlifted to London where he was in a coma for a day. When he came out of it, it took a while for him to be back to normal in terms of memory. He tried to start skateboarding again but I think the fall affected him too much (not surprisingly) and he eventually stopped skating. SKATEBOARDING CULTURE (NEGATIVE) From the very beginning of my involvement in skateboarding there was a heavy encouragement of consumerism. This was first manifested in the fetishization of the 'pro-model'. It was uncool to ride a skateboard purchased at a department store. You had to have a board that was made by a well-known skateboard company. Honestly though, the type of skateboards you get at these places ARE of substandard quality. When I was seven, they weren't so bad, but they lacked the cool concave that the pro-models had. These days, the boards are terrible. The shapes are wrong (too short and weirdly wide), the grip tape sucks and only lasts a short period, and there's something wrong with the wheels/bearings (?) that causes them to not roll worth a shit. Regardless, you wouldn't be considered a serious skateboarder without a 'good' board. This is how I ended up getting my first pro-model. I had to prove to my parents that I was into skateboarding enough to deserve them spending the outrageous amounts of money. After getting the pro-model, I was heckled because the picture on the bottom wasn't scratched up yet. You see, your board was supposed to look properly wrecked to prove you were an accomplished skateboarder. Right from the start there is an encouragement to wreck what you have to conform which increases the need to consume skateboards more frequently. This is still a problem to this day. In fact, only a couple of weeks ago, this kid asked me with plenty of attitude, "You're STILL riding THAT board?" The implication being that if I was a hardcore skateboarder I would have long ago broken that board and purchased another. I'm sorry kid but if I break my board Mommy's not gonna buy me a new one and I don't make enough at my shitty job to afford to buy a new skateboard once a month. Skateboard-related pressure to consume was increased as the shape of skateboards shifted from the old fat fish concave to the precursor for the current shape. If you were still riding the old style, you were also considered uncool because you were behind the times. I'm happy that the shape has stayed mostly consistent for the past 10 years. Further encouragement of consumerism comes in the form of fashion trends. You had to look the part to fit in by getting the right pants with the right logos and the right shoes, etc… This was the case back in 1990 and it's still the case today. The shit's still so expensive and it doesn't even make sense. In 1992, you had to drive over the border to Detroit from our small town to go get any sort of cool skateboarder clothes or decks. It was expensive mostly because of the exchange rate and the travel. Now you can walk into any mall and buy the stuff but you still pay ridiculous amounts of money. Connected to the consumerism is my hatred of having to purchase my skateboard stuff at a mall. This will be explained in more detail later, but on a practical level, the mall has fucking stickers in the window forbidding you to bring a skateboard into said mall… they'll sell you a skateboard though. Fuck them. I hate it but I still participate because the independent places are out of business locally. I guess I should mention I know people working at the local mall skate shop who are extremely helpful and good to me when I go in there. I'm not mad at you, just the concept of a skateboard shop in a mall. Of course, if I hate that skateboards are available in malls you can imagine that I hate a lot of the other shit that comes along with this. The reasons for this will also be evident in the next and final section of the piece discussing the positive things skateboarding has offered me. Now that I've blown off that steam that I've been building up for the past six years I can move on to the good things and the reasons I'm still doing it. SKATEBOARDING CULTURE (POSITIVE) I think my growth towards skateboarding as a kid came from my annoyance with, or inability to interact with other children. I don't really think this is my fault - I think the reason is other kids were mean and stupid. When it came to most sports, I didn't excel and it wasn't long before I lost the drive to keep trying, and eventually I became excluded because I sucked anyway. So I think there was something appealing about some sort of activity that I could do that didn't require anyone else doing it with me. There is an almost anarchic element to this in that any interaction you have with other skateboarders is negotiated on an equal level. There's nothing forcing you to interact with another skateboarder. External 'authorities' is another story… Which brings me to one of the major attitudes underpinning skateboarding: question authority. One of my earliest skateboarding-related memories is hanging out with Brian Rogers at his house one time when I was about 8 years old or so, and watching this skate video called Skateboarding Is Not a Crime or something like this. The video had a theme to it and hilarious poorly done acting getting across a message to the police and the system about skateboarding. Skateboarders were constantly being harassed and prejudged as criminal by 'normal' folks so there was a feeling of persecution and 'outlawness'. The interaction with so-called 'authorities' also relates to the anarchic nature of skateboarding. A crew of skateboarders consists of friends who have come together not because they need each other to do what they're doing, but just because they enjoy doing it around each other. This is different from your average team sports where the game is over if one person walks away. So when a pig (or any other authority figure) comes up to try to flex muscle about something they come at you as if you are an unthinking mass like a team or something (even though the lack of hierarchical structure is what might make a crew of skateboarders more threatening to straight society). The individualized nature of skateboarding highlights the absurdity of trying to pin wrongdoing on us as a group. We do what we want without compelling others to do the same. Basically what I'm getting at by discussing this is right from the beginning, for me, skateboarding was countercultural. It was in contrast to the team sports society encouraged us to partake in, and it was opposed to the mentality that participation in these sports encouraged. Which is partly why I always resisted competition with my peers when it started to seem unhealthy. It was also different in that it had no adult supervisor. It would be dishonest to say there was absolutely no hierarchy because certainly hierarchies develop based on things I discussed in the negative section such as skill or age. However, there is certainly the possibility for a lack of hierarchy in that everyone is a freely associating individual. Any projects (such as the building of a ramp or the making of a home video) that were taken up by a group were done so through cooperation and free association. No adult; no boss. When I think about skateboarding within these contexts, it leads me to believe that this was an early step on my way towards anarchism… and probably why I lean more towards individualist anarchism rather than more communist oriented forms of anarchism. Skateboarding can also be a haven from competition. Our society and capitalism itself is supposedly built around competition between us (just like our team sports). I have no desire to compete with anyone and skateboarding is perfect because the only standards I need to meet are my own. If I do chose to compete, it's of my own choosing, it's not written into the very nature of the game. For me skateboarding is about wasting time and loitering. Just hanging around in public spaces with friends having fun. Its reclamation of public spaces from being boring, sterile places to active, useful places. While planting consumerist seeds within me, the skateboarding culture amongst the Bright's Grove skateboarders also contradicted this although these alternate values were not realized until later on. I remember how Laurence, one of the oldest of the skateboarder dudes - the same dude who let me try his skateboard that first day on the ¼ pipe - would choose a lot of his skateboarding clothes for their functionality. Although he did have some old skate shoes, he mostly wore thick, high-top basketball shoes for skateboarding because they were more durable. I also remember standing and watching while an old, worn out pair of shoes were cut up to be glued on to a newer pair to increase durability even more. This inventiveness influenced my later tendencies towards mending clothes rather than buying new stuff. It's also through skateboarding and skateboard culture that I was introduced to the DIY ethic. Probably the greatest examples of this is the time one of my friends was building a half-pipe in his parents' backyard. I remember going over there and the whole community was there helping to lay down the plywood. Another time the crew of skateboarders made a video for a high school project. I got to be in it. They filmed me getting chased around getting tickled by the older guys. They even laid down some music on top. It's still probably my favorite skateboard video. Speaking of which… music was ultimately where I would come across DIY as values and ethics. MUSIC Although there were other areas where I was exposed to punk rock, I think without a doubt hanging out with skateboarders was where I really picked it up. I remember being fascinated by the band names and logos that my older friends had stenciled on their grip tape. It was the knowledge of the bands these older guys were in that I started grabbing flyers off of telephone poles. The Bright's Grove skateboarders almost completely laid the foundation of my Punk Rock 101. Bands like Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Exploited, Fugazi, Bad Religion, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Ministry, etc… I am pretty sure I would have got into punk rock as a teenager if I hadn't known these guys, but I think the particular bands I learned about shaped the type of person I have become. THE FUTURE I can't really envision where skateboarding is going right now. I think that there definitely seems to be an undercurrent towards the type of attitude that I am talking about. Films such as Dogtown and Z-Boys emphasize anti-commercialism, but the very medium of the film undermines this. I've also seen manifestos in skate magazines suggesting a return to the focus being on the skateboarder, not the professional skateboarder, or at least an equalization, and a rejection of the x-games direction skateboarding has taken. On the other hand, Nike has finally infiltrated skateboarding. I remember when I first started seeing that they were trying to break in when I was around 16 or so. It was at this point that these magazines ceased to have much to offer me so I quit buying them. Now I go back and there's advertizements for not only the Nike Skateboarding team, but for chewing gum and all sorts of other bullshit. And you have Nike co-opting the Minor Threat LP cover for an advertizing campaign which the riders apparently thought would be cool, completely missing the point of the music they were supposedly paying tribute to. Of course, they're riding for Nike so they obviously have very little scruples to begin with. After all of this, it makes one think, "how different are the traditional skateboard companies from companies like Nike?" Who knows really. It would be nice to see some synthetic skateboard shoes that are made in North America that are under $70. There's also been a positive trend within the DIY HC community towards the championing of skateboarding in a kind of celebration of the way things were in the 80's. In some ways it seems… well, trendy, but mostly, it's pretty rad. As for my own future in skateboarding… I am not sure whether it's something you can do forever really. I'm just gonna keep doing what I do: have fun skating where and while I can. NOTES: If you're ever in Sarnia, ON, Canada, or you live in the area, I highly recommend hitting the Harry Turnbull Skateboard park on the corner of Maxwell and Napier Streets and make passionate love to it. WHAT I'VE RIDDEN: 1988-1989 - Variflex Quasar (1987) 1989-1992 - Alva - Bill Danforth Skull Pile Model (?) 1992-1995 - 101 - Natas Kaupas Greed Model (1992) 1995-1998 - Plan B - Team Deck Pat Duffy model (1995) 1998-2001? - Plan B - Pat Duffy (1997) 2001-2003 - Think - Tom Boyle - Harder They Come Model (?) CURRENTLY RIDING SINCE AUGUST 2003: ATM Blank Deck Independent Trucks Ollie 66 mm/95 a wheels Random bearings DINNER AT A STRIP-MALL BAR WITH A FRIENDA friend and I went out to this bar in the neighborhood I grew up in. It was a strip-mall bar in a suburb of Sarnia and given this fact, it was near inevitable that I would run into some people I knew. When I walked in, I didn't think I could recognize anyone other than two of the waitresses. It was neat seeing them after a while. I shyly ordered my food with all my specifications to make the food without meat or other stuff I dislike. After I'd ordered, these two men walked in from outside. As they sat down, the one guy said hello to me. I didn't recognize him but I said hello back as friendly as possible. Immediately, he made a comment about my strange hair currently styled as half a mohawk (mullet) kept in dreadlocks. I expected a strange discussion, but not the one that would ensue. He commented that he liked the mohawk a lot himself (and surprisingly, the waitress commented similarly). He and his friend got up and walked over to me and started telling me about how he's seen me around the neighborhood for years and had basically watched me as I grew up. We also discovered that his friend, who was much younger (around 32 or something) had taught me swimming lessons when I was extremely young, most likely when I first moved to the neighborhood back in 1988 when I was a little 8 year-old. The older guy told me about how he had always noticed me skateboarding around the hood and felt that I always stood out. He told me how much he appreciated seeing me stand out in the crowd because he felt like he could never have done that himself. At the end of the conversation he got kind of serious and told me that he was old, probably double my own age (over 50). He told me that he's spent his life doing what others told him to do, and living up to what others expected of him. He said that if I want to be truly happy I should continue doing my own thing and doing what I want to do, not what others want, or expect of me. Obviously, there's a lot he doesn't know about me; how I do and have lived up to others' expectations, and how I have in fact made compromises the same as any other person. In spite of this though I don't think I'll ever forget that because I don't think I've ever had an adult talk to me like that before. Almost every adult I ever encountered has tried to get my to fit the status quo. RANDOM WRITING----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I just went to the corner store for some snacks and the storeowner always has something to say. The one day he criticized me for snacking. "Feering hongry?" with a sarcastic tone. "I don't intend to eat the whole box" (of Crunch and Munch) I said. "Sure," he replied. Today though was hilarious. I went in and he saw my Black Sabbath button. "Black Sabbath?! They gone." "Well, they're still on my turntable" "Nah... break it" motioning to snap the Black Sabbath records. Craziness. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THANK YOU!Bush came to thank the people of Nova Scotia for their hospitality to US citizens during the 9/11 attacks. Doesn't anyone find this to be ridiculous? It's been three years. I guess it's our nature to just quietly accept these thanks because I guess he means well. - December 1/04 CIRCUS SUCKSThe circus has this tactic for getting people to come. They mail out free tickets to all sorts of businesses before they come to town. The businesses are supposed to display the tickets so that people can get them and go to the circus free. Because they're free tickets, they won't mind if you take the whole pile. Or if you work in a position to intercept said tickets, it won't be a huge loss if you do so. Then you can use them to lay your zine out on. THE WITCHBURNERThere's this song by one of my favorite bands that I love so much. It's funny though because it's not because I relate to the person who wrote it, but I relate as the person he is responding to. It causes me to empathize with someone who I loved who could never understand certain things about me… at least that's what I think given their usual reaction to some of my feelings. It helps me to realize how unpleasant a person I can be and how thin the line between life and death can be. I feel like the one who doesn't want either because I'm so confused and saddened by the way I'm predisposed to live. 'Free in death if not in life.' Carve that in the tree that marks my grave. - April 16, 2005 TREADING WATERMy paycheque is close to bouncing. If it bounces, so too will my rent cheque. Every month, every week, every day, every hour, every minute... I feel like I'm treading water. I keep going and going out of the imperative to survive. Sometimes like tonight I want to let myself drown. No way out but death or lottery. - Mar 3/05 TERRIBLENIKE, NOT CONTENT WITH INFILTRATING SKATE-BOARDING AND OPERATING SWEATSHOPS, HAS ATTEMPTED TO CO-OPT HARDCORE CULTURE AS WELL "… they stole it and we're not happy about it. Nike is a giant corporation which is attempting to manipulate the alternative skate culture to create an even wider demand for their already ubiquitous brand. Nike represents just about the antithesis of what Dischord stands for and it makes me sick to my stomach to think they are using this explicit imagery to fool kids into thinking that the general ethos of this label, and Minor Threat in particular, can somehow be linked to Nike's mission. It's disgusting." - Ian Mackaye on Nike's use of their imagery So if you aren't already boycotting Nike for its sweatshop shoes (I mean… ALL shoes are made in sweatshops now I think), seriously, it's time to boycott. It's time for all of us to think more seriously about who we're fucking supporting when we buy shit. This goes especially for me. You know the system kills, so you try to take a stance - Boycott You speak up for the people who will never get their own chance - Boycott But are your views sincere? Do you practice that which you preach - Boycott Or are you just fooling yourself, the truth just out of your reach? - Boycott You don't support your enemy when you are at war - Boycott You're helping to enhance the rich while fucking over the poor - Boycott You've heard it all before and you know just what I'm saying - Boycott You hate these corporate killers but you fucking keep on paying For the products you don't need you share with them their fucking greed And responsibility for those who died, their exploitation and genocide All the shit you fucking hate, too blind to see that you helped create You're living proof that the system works... That the system works for them You spend your hard-earned money and help support their death Boycott big business because death is the going rate - Boycott You control who you support so why support what you hate - Boycott Multi-national companies are hiding under false names - Boycott To protect themselves from people who are unaware of their games - Boycott So fuck their games and fuck their lies instead just stop and think - Boycott Is all of their suffering worth your burgers and your soft drinks - Boycott When you buy their products you ignore the blood they're spilling - Boycott Reject this capitalist system and support the ones they're killing - Boycott Fuck convenience in their store, if it's important it's worth fighting for Don't you see you hold the key, throw out your fucking apathy Then start to spread the word around and help to bring the companies down You're living proof that the system works... That the system works for them You spend your hard-earned money and help support their death Our individual efforts is where our struggle begins To stand up and fight for those oppressed by politicians The companies condition the public through media bullshit All of this suffering is inflicted just to turn a fucking profit They stifle criticism with a cost of living raise Selling out the working class a million different ways The power that you give them is how they keep their control Don't support them anymore, it's time to take back what they stole Fuck the system, fuck it's views, it's the people they abuse Abuse of power and authority is the downfall of society But people never seem to listen, they're all brainwashed by the system You're living proof that the system works... That the system works for them You spend your hard-earned money and help support their death. - The System Works for Them by Aus Rotten (The System Works for Them LP, Not One Single Fucking Hit Discography CD - seriously one of the most crucial anarcho punk releases EVER) 'HAMMERING THE NAILS'The earliest memories I have of religion are seeing the movies that are constantly played around major religious events such as Christmas or Easter. Specifically, I remember my parents trying to rush me away from the television as the nails were pounded into Jesus' hands in some really old movie. I don't know what movie it was, but I just remember the camera focusing on the hand, nail and hammer, and then with every pound of the hammer, it would jolt to Jesus' face as he grimaced and screamed in pain. I think this must be my first memory of religion because I think this is what triggered questions for me and must have been what led my parents to tell me anything about it. I also remember watching some movie about David and Goliath. I think I remember seeing a strange contradiction that David was a hero who took down this big giant, and then by the end of the movie he was all corrupted. I think my memory must be bad. As I said, I must have started asking questions because I don't remember my parents ever trying to indoctrinate me. I must have just wondered because of the movies and also because of young peers referencing God or something. I must have been around five years old or less at this point. So in my neighborhood, there was an elderly lady whose house I used to go to. I would go there and put all these different types of puzzles together. It was good for my mental development I guess. I've always liked jigsaw puzzles since then. It was probably good for her too because it gave an old lady the chance to hang out with a little kid. I don't know how it came up, but she must have been talking to me about Church or God or something and somehow I became interested in going to Sunday School. My parents consented to me going so from then on I'd get in the car with this elderly neighbor and go to the United Church on the corner of Cathcart and Indian. So here I was given whatever stories they tell you at Sunday School and this formed the basis of my understanding of the Bible. I think it must have focused on extremely basic morality like how it's not right to steal. I'm not sure how long I went to this Church but it must have been at least for one season of Sunday School. At this point I was relatively carefree. I must have had a small sense of morality and the belief in the existence of a God. I remember asking my Dad one time when we were out sailing on his boat, "do you believe in God?" My Dad responded "The only god I believe in is the god of the sea". This was good enough for me and it made just as much sense as anything else I knew at the time. However, at the end of Grade 1, my parents had to remove me from my public elementary school because the teachers would only allow students who were bussed to the school to stay for lunch. Both my parents worked and they couldn't arrange having a place for me to be on lunch hour. So the decision was to transfer me into a Catholic elementary school. The rest of what I know about this time in my life, I know mostly through my parents. I know that I felt incredibly oppressed. What my parents told me was that shortly after going to Sacred Heart, I acquired an intense fear of death because I was being told I was going to Hell for not being Catholic. I remember feeling ostracized because I wasn't participating in the faith-based rite-of-passage-type activities that my peers were. I also remember having nightmares and waking up crying telling my parents I didn't want them to die either - fear that my parents would go to Hell for not being Catholic. Later that year my parents moved to a new house in another part of town so I finished grade two and moved on to a new school - this time a public school. This is where I stayed for the rest of me elementary school career. It was not long into grade three that I started feeling extreme guilt for my sexuality. I remember parts of this carrying on for quite a while. Like fear of Holy reprisal for jerking off on Sundays. In terms of encounters with other religions, my best friend - born a day before me in the same hospital - was a Jehovah Witness. I would sometimes end up sleeping over at his place on Saturday nights so Sundays I would tag along to the Kingdom Hall. I remember he and I taking turns going to the bathroom to escape from the two-hour sermons. It wasn't THAT bad, but I always wonder what kind of effects that may have had on me. In grade nine I started spending time around people who were questioning the existence of a god. By this point, I had certainly developed a hatred for organized religion in its own right for numerous reasons. However, on the question of the existence of a god, I copped out - opting for agnosticism because I figured that I lived a decent life that any god could appreciate anyway, choosing to ignore the question and the importance of the question of whether there is a god. Years passed, I grew older, began questioning a lot of things. Things happen in life that shake the foundation of questions like the existence of god. If there is a good god, why does he let bad things happen, etc…? People have answers for these questions… I call them excuses. I remember my parents fighting and yelling at each other like crazy - stupid goddamn fighting keeping me awake as a thirteen and fourteen year old; terrible things being said. I remember laying in bed and praying to something - to whatever - to make things end. I guess my prayers were answered when my parents finally split, but I hardly attribute this to any god. And besides, this change brought all sorts of fucked up things - perhaps 'He' put this shit on me to test me. But what kind of god does things to fuck with humans? Zeus - that's who. Not any sort of Christian god. The next time I prayed for something was later the night I found out that my Grandpa had took sick with some sort of lung problems they couldn't diagnose. Everything was going to shit in my life and my grandparents were the only constant thing that kept things somewhat normal. I prayed that he wouldn't die. Of course he did - about a month later. And it wasn't because God chose to take him, it was because he had managed to give himself cancer because of smoking. And he had ruined his liver with his decision to drink to deal with things that had troubled him (a problem that I have to fight with because I've learned it from my Dad, and my Dad's Dad). So I held his hand as he died - hand went cold, eyes became lifeless. There was no magic in that room - nothing miraculous aside from being a fifteen year old experiencing the death of a loved one. At this point, I was pretty sure there was no god, but if there was, it was one I would hold no respect for. I would hear bands, read writings, etc… that would question belief in, and legitimacy of, any god, and I remember feeling a twinge in the back of my mind of guilt and fear that I would be struck down by lightening. It was always hard listening to Reality Asylum by Crass because it is just so blasphemous. Everything came to a head one day. I was surfing the net checking out music and reading lyrics when I came upon a song that made everything click for me. I think I was probably 18 or 19 at the time. It spoke to the feelings I was having but could not put words to, and it connected with my anarchism. It concretized things… changed disinterest into conviction. And from that point I was free to question a million other things and further develop my own ethics and morality based on different standards determined by me.
Rise into the light, and set a flame to the night I hate the images used by the Church to impose guilt and shame, such as a bloodied Jesus. When I realized how superstitious and conned I was by the lies and shame of the Church I felt so much rage. To think that I would refrain from anything that felt good because of some mythology I was taught… It bothers me so much that I have been wrecked and affected so much. It bothers me to know that I have been baptized into a religion without being given a choice. It bothers me that I was 'Protestant' without ever even knowing what that was. It enrages me that the religious have always, and will always attempt to impose their superstition and morality on the non-believing. Religion is not something that can co-exist with anything else that is different because inherent in religion is the belief in one's own enlightenment being superior - and anyone else claiming enlightenment through a different path is either inferior, or completely wrong. Everyone else are sinners, heathens, infidels, heretics, etc… "God connotes the negation of liberty. And unless we desire slavery, we cannot and should not make the slightest concession to theology… anyone who wants to worship God must renounce his liberty and human dignity. God exists; hence man is a slave. Man is intelligent, just, free; hence God does not exist. We defy anyone to avoid this circle... and now let us all choose." Mikhail Bakunin (quote selected by Jack Control, SHOS Discography CD)
This is where I arrived, and this is where I stand currently. I'm still entirely opposed to religion, and I'm still completely devoid of faith. I haven't spiritually hoped for anything since my Grandfather died back in 1995. It doesn't even occur to me to do so.
HAMMERING THE NAILS WORLDLY OPPRESSIONSToday... an awesome slip-up on the radio. The announcer was describing how someone was driving a motorhome and noticed something strange happening. They pulled over and got out and it burned to the ground. The best part was when the announcer said that it burned to the ground "along with all their worldly oppress...possessions." - September 9/04 AN ENDLESS COMMERCIAL FOR AN SUV CALLED FREEDOMAdvertizements sell the illusion of freedom. The emphasis is placed upon the freedom to travel, the freedom to alter your features to meet the status quo, the freedom to create the identity for oneself that one wishes. This has the psychological effect of making those who cannot afford these products feel much less free. But this lack of freedom is only illusory, just the same as the pursuit of freedom through consumerism is only an illusory pursuit. People spend their lives aspiring to this standard of freedom and I can't see how they can feel anything. Between the rich and the poor, there is no difference in the quantity of freedom possessed by each. Each is subject to, and administer of coercion and oppression. I was listening to David Cross and he was ridiculing an article where people actually believed there are cars in heaven. People believe that in death, if they are good enough for heaven they will be chauffeured around by angels for the rest of eternity. Some people just can't imagine anything more than what this way of life has to offer. I still envision something more. I don't long for utopia: a place that has achieved a way of life and then remains stagnant, never achieving more. I've always just desired respect for the complete liberty I'm entitled to by virtue of existence. But it seems that so many feel the need to compel others to participate in fulfilling their desires. Consent is always manipulated by those with power, which is only recognized because of a socialized respect for those with this illusory superiority, and fear of the leverage points that can be exploited by those with power. Every human is interdependent but there's no reason why these relations must be coercive, and every reason why they should be freely negotiated. I don't want the freedom that money buys. It's false and depends on the oppression and coercion of others. LOVE AND CAPITALISMIn discussing romantic relationships with a friend of mine, I mentioned how when I can think objectively about things, I believe that people could best maximize human freedom through interacting and relating as autonomous individuals bound by friendship or association, not through traditional romantic bonds. With that said, I must admit that the only relationship I've ever had had no resemblance to this at all. Both my ex-partner and I were guilty of coercion and oppression and exerting power over each other. So I'm not trying to pretend to be righteous, I'm just exploring thoughts and ideas. In considering this, I started to think about individual autonomy in general, and more specifically, the myth of rugged individualism that accompanies capitalism. This concept has always bothered me because if you look at the capitalist system, its existence is dependent upon the work of everyone, but the organization of the system itself conceals the relations of production that create everything, and how interdependent we truly are. So the contradiction is that we hear that it's "every man for himself", "survival of the fittest" etc... However, it is impossible to disengage one person from another, and all are interdependent for survival. Another example of this contradiction is how the institutions of love and sexual interaction encourage pairing up. All institutions in capitalist society encourage human relations fraught with oppression and coercion. Wherever there is property and commerce, there is power and authority exerted by one over another. At this point I must clarify that I don't believe that this contradiction should be solved so that capitalism somehow makes logical sense and it truly is "every man for himself." For those who strive to realize an increased degree of freedom in their lives and lifetimes, I feel it's necessary that we strive to achieve a balance between complete individual autonomy, and involvement in a community. But this involvement must be free of coercion, and free of the exertion of power and authority. ON VEGETARIANISM, ANIMAL RIGHTS, ANIMAL LIBERATION AND VEGANISMI've never really written explicitly about my own introduction to these subjects. It's probably because in the beginning I wasn't sure that it would be a lifestyle change I would stick with. Since that time, I have written about protests, the Animal Liberation Front, and included essays on vegetarianism written by others, but not really discussed my own history or beliefs. I guess it all started when I was a little kid, well, even a baby. My parents had little trouble getting me to eat what they wanted me to. My Dad tells me though, that by the time I was old enough to consciously witness a chicken egg hatching on TV or at the local animal farm, I decided that eating eggs was disgusting and refused to eat eggs unless cooked in something else like cakes where it was covertly delivered to me. The years between were pretty much an example of successful conditioning with the usual destructive shit. But one day, the first seed of questioning was planted. I must have been fifteen or so and I was hanging out by myself at the skateboard park. This kid showed up who was skating as well so I made friends with him. He was wearing a Gorilla Biscuits shirt, was super skinny, and turned out to be from the USA. As we walked around downtown, he told me about how he was straight edge and about all the hardcore youth crew-related stuff he was involved in. Eventually, it came time to eat and the topic of animal rights came up. He was vegan and needed to go some place with a salad or something. He extolled the benefits of the diet in terms of health and how farming practices were cruel. We hung out together all day until his parents came and got him. I don't remember his name, but I owe my introduction to animal rights to him. Time passed and it seems like everything converged around the time I was seventeen. I started hearing music coming from bands I respected that seemed to recognize the inherent value of life in other creatures. I seriously started to think about the part I played in oppression. All the death my vanity and diet caused… I had already started to consider myself an anarchist. To me, this meant attempting to exist in this world without limiting the freedom and right to existence of others, as well as working towards the creation of a society based on respect and lack of government because government is not necessary. My complacent consumption maintained a system completely contradictory to my desire to live without oppressing others, and not being oppressed myself. This is the belief that truly brought me to my belief in animal liberation and this is the belief that maintains my path towards veganism. It was also around this time that I met this punk dude who was travelling through town. I'd never met anyone like him before. He was extremely carefree, and seemed honest (even though this was false) and he seemed incredibly dedicated to his beliefs. This was demonstrated one day when he ended up eating at my house with my parents and I. He argued intensely with my Mom and Stepdad about everything from poverty to animal rights. It was extremely heated, but as I choked down the steak on my plate, I decided that I should really look into giving that shit up. Around this same time, a few of my good friends went vegetarian. My friend Garrett went first. I guess it was just time to do it. Propagandhi had released their Less Talk, More Rock CD and Ed the travelling punk had a surprising impact on people. My other friend Jeff went vegetarian too, but I'm not sure he ever really said exactly why he did it. Long after Ed left town, I was trying to figure out my thoughts about him. He fucked over two people I really cared for, but this didn't seem to invalidate his ideas. As a result of what I had learned from Ed, I decided that the least I could do was lessen my own impact in minor ways. That June I cut off two of my three mohawks that I'd been using Knox Gelatine to hold up. I put the remaining middle one in dreadlocks. I immediately began monitoring the products I bought. I no longer wanted to torture and slaughter animals for my own vanity. That August (1998?), I believe it was around the 9th or 10th, I went to London, ON, to see Good Riddance, AFI (pre-Misfits imitation) and Ignite. The show was moving as fuck. Anti-racist and animal rights propaganda was everywhere and Ignite was talking about animal rights and environmental issues. After the show, I rode back to Sarnia in a car with my friends Neil, Nathan, and this woman Sarah who I had known as a child, and had supreme respect for. We talked the whole way about animal rights and vegetarianism. When I got home, I told my Mom about everything I had heard and showed her all the propaganda I had collected. We were talking and eventually, she said, "Does this mean you want to go vegetarian?" I responded, "No, I don't necessarily mean that, but maybe I should…" The way she asked me is what made things happen. That first week, I cracked and consumed a plate of chicken wings. Five months earlier, I had been getting the sick feelings from the thought of eating dead flesh. By this time, I had overcome them, but this made my transition to vegetarianism more of a conscious choice. After that first week, I stuck to my guns, aside from some oversights such as the accidental use of 'original' meat sauce, and the ignorance towards the fact that anchovy paste was in Caesar salad dressing. Of course, since the beginning and still, I endure criticism and questioning. Most of the time, the criticism is so basic that it's a waste of time to deal with. I don't feel I need to argue with every single meat-eating person about the legitimacy of my choice. The biggest criticism involves health. Most people are sure that a vegetarian or vegan diet can't offer certain things, although most have no idea what. They usually say protein. There's a neat book called, The Idiot's Guide to Vegetarianism (perfect for these folks) that explains everything. Mostly, people try to justify their own inaction. At circus protests, they point out minor flaws in the protesters (leather boots, etc…) to justify… Developments that occurred between when I started and now include my decision to stop eating meat broth, limiting dairy consumption, and occasional attempts at veganism. Veganism is a lot harder for me to do (although I don't intend to justify this since I really don't have a good excuse…). It was much easier when I had Marjie, my Vegan mentor with a black belt in vegan cookery in the same city. But someday I will make it happen. Now by what I say next, I don't necessarily want people to get all offended and up in arms, although I'm going to say it anyway. If you are a person who cares at all about social justice, human rights, anarchism, the environment, etc… you should really consider moving towards vegetarianism. Read up on the impacts of a meat-based diet. If you feel vegetarianism is too great a step, at least quit buying cosmetics and other types of unnecessary shit that is tested on animals. If you can't see animals as equal in worth to humans, you should consider reading Animal Liberation by Peter Singer. I know that if you're against vegetarianism, you will probably view all literature in favour as propaganda, and that's fine, however, you must bear in mind that every day, every media… everything is propaganda in favour of the meat and dairy industry. Look with suspicion upon everything you are told, but within either side there is some sort of truth to be discovered. Do you really want to be a complacent cog in a machine of death? Animals are living things that experience pain, both psychological and physical, during the process that leads them to your plate. If we truly want freedom, we must be willing to give freedom to those we are currently denying freedom for our own convenience. Bear in mind the biased nature of most media you are exposed to, and check out the viewpoint biased in the opposite direction: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (especially check out PETA TV's "meat your meat") Animal Liberation by Peter Singer Animal Liberation Front News Service Vegan Society EXTERMINATIONI'm having déj� vu right now. A few months ago, I woke up after having a dream where I was in my room working on some website shit talking to a friend about how equipment quality was increasing. In the dream, the room was not familiar to me and I had my makeshift table set up for my stereo. I went over and moved a stack of CDs and went back to the computer. I was intending to go to another friend's house. Not much in the dream made sense at the time because I was living in a different place. I was listening to a song by Axegrinder and it was a live song. I didn't know the song at the time because the live songs had not been put on the Axegrinder site yet. Once the songs were available, I realized that I recognized the song from this dream. The song is called In Death She Waits. This same thing happened right now. In the dream, when I leave to go to my friend's, I walk out my front door on to a street that is empty going north. A large fireball of an explosion rises in the north consuming everything travelling southbound towards me. I face into the light as we are all exterminated. CONTAINMENTIt's funny how I can be so filled with rage and bitterness right now and still put on an act… "Good morning - how may I help you?" Such is the nature of my job and life. Release is sacrificed so that business can run more smoothly. In every facet of life we are expected to avoid ever expressing our feelings and reactions. It results in people going nuts. Relationships, work, family, society, government… We're discouraged from ever really expressing our feelings. By expressing feelings, both rage, and sadness, we risk giving others the opportunity to recognize those things that cause us rage or sadness, thus giving them future opportunities to exploit these. As we attempt to control and constrain our reactions to the shitty things other people do to us, the rage and sadness builds up inside. We keep it contained, with the exception of solitary outbursts, until a day comes when we may explode uncontrollably. LOVEI MISS YOU SO MUCH IT'S STUPID. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY. I CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD. EVERYTHING REMINDS ME OF YOU RIGHT NOW. ALL THE THINGS WE USED TO DO TOGETHER. IT HURTS THE SAME AS IT DID YESTERDAY, THE DAY BEFORE, A MONTH AGO, SIX MONTHS AGO, A YEAR AGO. NOTHING REALLY MAKES SENSE. I'M STILL JUST DOING THINGS TRYING TO IGNORE THE GAPING HOLE IN MY LIFE. I JUST TRY TO IGNORE WHAT WAS. - JULY 19, 2005
YOU SAY YOU STAND BY YOUR MAN AND HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HEAR ‘LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT’ EVERY TIME I’M IN STAPLES… AND NOT THINK OF YOU. ON LEAVING SARNIA AGAINOk, so I gotta say at the end of August 2005 I'm leaving Sarnia, ON, again to move back to Peterborough, ON. For some, I imagine, this could be welcome news, however, I imagine some folks will miss me. I knew before coming back to Sarnia that my stay would only be temporary, however, I must admit that it feels weird to leave when the scene seems to have so much momentum. I hate aspects of Sarnia, but I love the Sarnia punk scene (for the most part - I mean, there's problems in everything right?), and I love the Harry Turnbull Skateboard park. The Chemical Valley scene is something worth having pride in and I'm proud to call this my hometown scene. If anyone wants to contact me after I've left for whatever reason (to say hi, questions, etc…), my e-mail's at the start of this zine. As for Chemical Valley Hardcore Journal it will be released sometime. It's just a matter of time. Straight Outta Cobden Records will be dealing with that when it's done so look to those dudes when the time is right. As for Peterborough, I've met a lot of really rad people there and since before I even moved back here I had plans of returning. It's a sweet city and I imagine that someday I'll see some more folks from here up there. Imagine a similar city to Sarnia, but with a Quaker Oats factory (with good smells) instead of chemical plants (with bad smells), and so much more cool cultural stuff and a thriving downtown. I'll miss a lot of folks here and it's been a blast meeting tons of new people here, and being involved again in such a sweet hardcore community. Lots of love to everyone who'll miss me. THANKS GO TO...SCUMBAG KEVIN FOR DOIN ARTWORK THROUGHOUT THE ZINE, G$ FOR FRONTING MONEY FOR ISSUE #1 WAY BACK IN '98, CAROLYN FOR KEEPING ME COMPANY LAST JULY WHEN I FIRST MOVED BACK AND I WAS LONELY AND FUCKED UP, AS WELL AS BEING A RAD FRIEND SINCE EVER, DARYL FOR BEIN THERE FOR ME AS WELL, ALL MY OTHER PEOPLE IN SARNIA, ON, FOR MAKING LIFE GOOD (THE COBDEN FAMILY), ALL MY BROS SPREAD SO FAR AWAY WHO I LOVE AND MISS SO MUCH (IE: NATHAN, MARJIE), MY FRIENDS IN PTBO WHO WILL BE WELCOMING ME BACK SHORTLY, STRAIGHT OUTTA COBDEN RECORDS, ALL THE FOLKS WHO KEEP PUTTING ON SHOWS AND PLAYING IN BANDS ALL OVER THE PLACE ('BROTHERS OF METAL'), ALL ANTI-CAPITALIST/ANTI-STATIST/ANTI-WAR/ETC WARRIORS, IAN MACKAYE, NOT-WORK, AND LASTLY, TO ALL THE KIDS WHO ATTENDED DIO FEST AND MADE IT SO AWESOMELY RAD - WHO'S SCENE? OUR SCENE! KEEP THE FAITH DIY OR DIE. CHEERS. - JULY 19, 2005 |
