Going Out Is Such A Chore

The run of the mill places that I used to be so fond of no longer hold my interest. Broader horizons abound, I’ve no interest in those places that I once called home or viewed as some sort of security blanket. The smokey haunts that I used to frequent now just make me feel nauseous…quite literally. My social life, in a manner of speaking, has fallen by the wayside. It’s not as though I’ve no desire to leave the house, but in lieu of going to a place I’ve been 100 times before filled with people I’ve really no interest in spending time with, the couch and a few good books seem to offer me something a bit more inspiring.

I must admit, it is easy to become disenchanted. It is easy to look around at people and places that have seemingly not changed in the last 12 or so years (That I’ve been “legal”) and question what the fuck, doesn’t anything ever change? Doesn’t anyone ever step outside of the lives they’ve created for themselves, and do something…anything different? I guess it is easier to follow the path of less resistance. Set in their ways. But, what happened to the excitement and creativity? Though the area has not necessarily been a bastion of creativity over the last 10 years, I look around at cities that have less than we’ve ever had and have seen how those folks create something from nothing. What’s the difference then?

For me, it boils down to a simple statement: Give me something different or exciting. I don’t need something new or innovative, I just need something to get the blood coursing through my veins…a reason to do the things that I once was so enamoured and fond of.

Distractions

I must admit, I’ve been extremely distracted lately. That’s how I am, easily distracted; I’ve been this way as long as I can remember. Some people take this as me not paying enough attention. But this time I have a valid reason to be distracted.

This is a hard time financially for everyone, and some things have to be put by the wayside in lieu of more important, and crucial things. Unfortunately one of those things being put on the wayside happens to be the school I work at, as well as four other elementary schools.

The school-boards decision has been, to an extent, made. They will vote one more time in January yet I have no hope, due to their lack of public discourse on the matter, and what can be seen as a pacification of the teachers and parents alike by listening to our comments on the matter yet not taking those comments into consideration (note: lip service). I am shocked to say the least.

Pt. Two and A Half

In 1899 Henry W. Hibbs, a native of Newport, North Carolina, established his wholesale fish business at the end of Peter Demens’ railroad pier, thusly establishing one of the first real industries in St. Petersburg next to the agricultural and tourist industry. It stands to reason after all, there are miles and miles of water surrounding the area. Arguably, that was the turning point for St. Petersburg. Sure, the city could have sustained itself as a tourist destination, as it has in some way shape or form since its inception. But what would the tourists have to entertain themselves with? Miles of swamp? Roaches the size of small dogs? Two hotels, a train, and a wholesale fishing business? As with any other city, with the visitors came the prospectors, and with the prospectors came the businesses.

Eventually, more and more businesses set up shop in and around what would become downtown. More so, a good amount of those businesses were founded on Central Avenue, the main east-west thoroughfare of the time. It’s still one of the main thoroughfare’s today, separating the city into north and south and traversing the city from bay to gulf.

Now obviously I am oversimplifying the evolution of St. Petersburg more than just a tad. I mean come on I’ve gone from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s in a few mere paragraphs. The point is not to tell the whole story of St. Petersburg, especially when there is already a ton of academic study and documentation on the subject matter. Rather the point is something else. What exactly? I guess you’ll have to keep reading, after all, half of the thrill comes from the journey.

Pt. Two, From the Bureau of Vital Statistics

St. Petersburg sits at the tip of Pinellas County which is a peninsula. To the west of Pinellas County is the Gulf of Mexico and to the east is Tampa Bay. Hillsborough County, and its largest city Tampa, sit just across Tampa Bay. Travel south from Pinellas County (over the Sunshine Skyway) and you’ll end up in Manatee County. These three counties make up the Tampa Bay area, or as it is lovingly referred to as the Crotch of Florida. Picture with me if you will, a view of the state from outer space. Now imagine that Florida is a gentleman having his picture taken from the side, or the profile. If Tampa Bay is the Crotch of Florida, by means of reasoning, Pinellas County must be the…well, the wang. Great.

Pinellas County is 38 miles long and 15 miles wide, and covers an area of 280 square miles. Crammed into that 280 square miles is 924,413 people, making Pinellas County the most densely populated county in Florida. By the way, that number is growing. On average, there are 3,339 people per square mile. Likewise, there are 4,521 miles of paved roads in Pinellas County, a number that is growing as well. Gone are the expanses of wilderness that I so fondly remember as a child, replaced with strip malls and urban sprawl gone mad.

St. Petersburg is Pinellas Counties largest city with somewhere around 250,000 inhabitants. St. Petersburg covers approximately 60 square miles, and at its height is *43 feet above sea level, leaving most of this fine city just above, at, or below sea level. Trust me, I’m going somewhere with this.

Imagine with me the nightmare scenario that has been talked about and mulled over for years; the same scenario that every citizen of this city, myself included, has been threatened with at the beginning of every hurricane season. A category three or four hurricane is at the doorstep. Since the majority of the city sits just above, at, or below sea level, most people have to evacuate. Most of those people will opt to leave the city, and honestly, who can blame them? Now imagine the throngs of people trying to cross the four bridges that lead out of the city into the surrounding areas. When the hurricane finally hits, the city is completely inundated with the waters associated with the storm surge. Most of the city, with the exception of the area 43 feet above sea level, will be underwater. On a more positive note, I’ve always wanted water front property. Think how exclusive my neighborhood will be! St. Petersburg: Florida’s New Orleans.

*To say that the high point of 43 feet is the highest point in this city may be a bit misleading. Actually, the highest point is 100 feet above sea level, and is found at the city dump. Yes, if the nightmare hurricane were to hit, the only areas above the water would be the dump, and the area that I mentioned before. For all intents and purposes, St. Petersburg would be reduced to an isle of trash. I like that description more than St. Pete’s current distinction as the Sunshine City.

Pt. One, A Brief History

Peninsula

pen·in·su·la noun 

:a portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body by an isthmus ; also : a piece of land jutting out into the water whether with or without a well-defined isthmus. Accepted definition by me: An area of land with almost all of the emotional and geographical isolation of an island, with a very limited amount of escape routes.

In a nutshell, the peninsula of Florida was formed when the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico subsided after the last ice-age. Some have called the land left in the wake a gift from God. I call their bluff, but I digress. Most of Florida’s populated history finds it inhabited by  many diverse indigenous groups; that is until the Europeans “discovered” this land of many swamps, heat, and mosquitos. I like to call this the beginning of the end, but again I digress. Hundreds of years later, land developers discovered the peninsula within the peninsula that would later become Pinellas County.

*”In 1875, General John Williams came down from Detroit and bought 2,500 acres of land on Tampa Bay. He envisioned a grand city with graceful parks and broad streets, the trademark of today’s St. Petersburg. The city’s first hotel was named after his birthplace, Detroit.

Thirteen years later, Peter Demens, a noble Russian aristocrat, brought the Orange Belt Railway to St. Petersburg. On June 8, 1888, the first train arrived, carrying empty freight cars and one passenger, a shoe salesman from Savannah. Built one rail at a time, with unpaid laborers and creditors threatening to lynch Demens all the way, the railroad finally chugged to St. Petersburg. Demens named the city after his birthplace, St. Petersburg, Russia.”

Because of the warm and humid climate, St. Petersburg was founded with intention of becoming a tourist and agricultural mecca. Essentially, with the exception of the agriculture and tourist industry, the confines of the Sunshine City have offered nothing to the world with regards to culture; that is unless you consider the stereotypical St. Petersburg (and the surrounding areas) beach bum as a definitive form of culture. If so, I now have shivers traveling down my spine.

*Content taken from www.stpete.org 

Who are Thorns of Life?

What do you get when you start a band with Aaron Cometbus and Blake Schwarzenbach? Thorns of Life (the band I was hinting at above) played a secret house show in Brooklyn not too far back. Suffice to say, I am incredibly excited about this. I think it’s fairly safe to say that there are high expectations for what will come in the (hopefully near) future.

I mean honestly, how couldn’t there be high hopes? Look at the track record: Crimpshrine, Pinhead Gunpowder, Blank Fight, Astrid Oto, Redmond Shooting Stars, Jawbreaker, Jets To Brazil…the list goes on. Two amazing lyricists and song writers, two people that had a hand in defining what (arguably) a melodic punk band could (and possibly should) sound like, two people that in their own way explemplified the DIY ethics that we as a subculture hold sacred. In a Nutshell, I haven’t been this excited about a band in years!

Nauseous Indigestion

I’ve come to the conclusion that I fuck up more times than not. You’d think that because it happens so often I’d hardly even bat an eye, and to a certain extent I don’t even think twice. Accept your faults and move on. But, I get a horrible unsettling feeling when those fuck ups come at the expense of the ones I love the most. I obsess over ways to make things better, and what I realize I make myself sick in doing so.

I dropped a bowl in my kitchen today and it broke into a million little pieces. I got my broom and dustpan, and cleaned the mess up. I threw what was left of the bowl away. Out of sight, out of mind. How I wish fucking up with matters of the heart was the same. I wish that after  saying sorry I could just forgive myself, and forget that the whole thing ever happened. Out of sight, out of mind…right?

Life is never that easy.

That stupid bowl had no emotional investment in me, nor did I have any in it. That stupid bowl did not depend on me to look out for its best interests. That stupid bowl is in the trashcan, but my screw up is on my mind. Oh how I wish something could make this sinking, disconcerting feeling go away. At most, I have to accept the nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Perhaps that’s my penance?

Diphenhydramine Vacation

This morning my eyes just wouldn’t open and my legs just wouldn’t work. Heavy and sluggish; lumbering out of bed became a task that I did not want to deal with. Warm, comfortable, in good company and content; dragging myself into the early morning sun was the last thing I wanted to do. But at least my sleep was nice.

Last night was the first night in quite some time that Diphenhydramine did not enter my system. In short, I didn’t need to take Tylenol PM to go to sleep. That felt nice; made me feel relatively normal for once. Maybe I need to go to baseball games more often? Or maybe the horrible nachos consumed at said baseball game did enough of a number on my system, enough to zonk me out by 11:00. I’m not really in the mood to philosophize the why’s an how’s beyond that. Besides, doing so might make me superstitious or in the least as dependent on my new found tiring activity as I am with Tylenol PM.

Leaving the house was even harder. It’s quite an understatement to say that I am not acclimated to the early morning sun, nor do I think I ever will be. With the sun in my eyes and listening loudly to Broadcast Oblivion, I made my trek to work. Damn, I wish I hadn’t broken my sunglasses.

Driving up to work found me regretting the fact that I woke up. One day I’ll have the courage to just turn around and go home even if it’s just for one more kiss or or another hug goodbye. One day I’ll have the courage to realize the beauty in a day and just go to the beach or skip town. Ever watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? There’s the moment in the beginning of the movie where Jim Carrey’s character decides to cut work and make his way to the beach. One day that will be me. Responsibilities be damned, I need some “me” time. Until that day comes I’ll just be greatful for a night of sleep in hopes of it beinging followed by many others.

American Steel Interview Part Deux

 

 

Back when I originally did this interview, a conflated situation occurred; both John and Rory responded, presumedly without the knowledge that either had. But all is well that ends well, I figured that I may as well upload both interviews to show you oh valued reader their independent answers to the same questions.

Who am I speaking with? 

John. 

How and when did you become actively involved in music? 

I bought a guitar at a flea market when I was 8 and started playing soon after… and all through high school I was in various bands (or more accurately, various forms of the same band) that didn’t take ourselves very seriously but had a lot of fun. If you mean active in the sense of playing shows and touring, it wasn’t until after high school, when we started American Steel, that we got more serious. 

One thing has always impressed me with American Steel (and extending to Communiqué) is that on the outside, from the fans’ perspective, friendship seems to be the foundation of the band. How important is friendship to the band? 

Ryan, Rory and I started playing together as friends, and it wasn’t until after a few months that we decided to even play a show, let alone tour and make records. I think bands that start out of fun and spontaneity have a much longer life expectancy than those that start with professional ambition. When things get bad for us, we can draw on our history together and loyalty to each other to see us through. 

 

Take me back to 1995 when American Steel first started. Beyond the obvious (progression of songwriting, etc), how have things changed for you as a band? What effect if any has that had on your personal life? 

I think a lot of the ways we’ve changed have been the direct result of changes in the worlds of music and touring, which would include everything from gas prices to the rise of digital music. In an economic sense, it’s no longer possible to just hit the road aimlessly and piece together a few modest shows (if you’re talking about anything longer than a week and covering more than a few states). There’s a picture of me from the first American Steel tour standing in front of a gas station where gas is 79 cents per gallon, and I remember staying in lots of hotels during that time that were between 15 and 30 dollars per night. At this point, those prices have basically quadrupled, which means we have to be much more discerning about which tours we take. We’ve had to start turning down way more tours and shows than we play, just to avoid losing huge amounts of money.   

To tie that thread into the rise of downloadable music, you could say that touring used to be a way of promoting a record, but with record sales decreasing every year, that becomes less and less of a justification for tour. So with the cost of touring skyrocketing and the rewards diminishing, it’s something of a vicious cycle. The insult to injury is that more and more venues now take a percentage of all the merchandise a band sells at their show, which makes it even harder to break even. 

Musically, not too much has changed, other than the addition of some truly unnecessary subgenres – emo/screamo is essentially the glam rock of our era. When you hit the road and play a different city every night, you see a few great bands and a lot of horrible bands, as it has always been and always will be. 

 

Photo by: Chrissy Piper

Back in 1995 did you ever think that you would get the opportunity to record three EPs and four LPs, and go on countless tours all over the place playing with some really amazing bands? 

Not at all. It’s pretty incredible to see the country as thoroughly as we have, to have a web of close friends spread all over the place, and to play with a lot of the bands that inspired us to start playing in the first place.  

Initially American Steel ceased to be after you had gone on some pretty high profile tours namely with Murder City Devils (who were at their height of popularity) and Hot Water Music. When you reformed under the American Steel moniker was there a conscious decision to pick up where you left off, or did you go into things with an attitude of whatever happens happens, and let’s just take things as they go? 

Much more the latter. Our main approach with the current incarnation of the band was to keep it fun and simple. We’ve always thought of ourselves as a very self-sufficient band, but near the end of the first American Steel and our entire time as Communiqué, it became harder and harder to separate our own internal professionalism from the expectations of the music world. We got to sort of a bad place a few years ago, where we’d worked hard to get highly-regarded management, and we basically wasted a lot of time waiting for them to make things happen for us. That, coupled with Lookout Records essentially going bankrupt, really left us treading water for the better part of 2005 and 2006. The lesson was that we could make decisions about the direction of the band better (and much more quickly) on our own. Currently, we’re lucky to have a great label and a fantastic booking agent, which is all the outside help we really need at this point. 

All of you have been playing music for the better part of your lives. Are there any drawbacks to being a musician? 

Again, not to be too cynical, but it’s a great way to lose money, especially if you live in the Bay Area. I remember Tim from Avail talking about how he only got through their first few tours because his rent was 85 dollars a month, which is close to what my electric bill was last month. So to be a musician here, you somehow have to be a touring musician with a job at home – both to pay the rent, and to have any hope of having health insurance. 

 

Photo from Fat Wreck website

Being in a band can make you feel the highest of highs and sometimes the lowest of lows. What keeps you going as a band? 

If a band is representative of the people in it, then it becomes a real source of pride, and that pride can see you through a lot of hard times. Our records sound very different from one another, but each one was an accurate representation of what we were feeling at the time, and I’m proud of our entire output as a band.  

What was the last ingenious thing that you’ve done? 

On our way down to LA a few weeks ago to play with Social Distortion, we pulled over to buy gas and discovered that one of our trailer tires had almost sheared off. Within about 45 minutes, we’d found a Uhaul center, flipped our trailer hitch, picked up a new trailer, arranged a tow and repair for our old trailer, and got back on the road – and we were still on time. I can’t imagine any band has had more vehicle problems over the years than we have. We go through transmissions the way some people go through tires, and we can have a really grim, road-weary efficiency when it’s called for.  

You all seem to be big soul fans like myself. What underdog groups/artists do you think more people should know about? Personally I think more people should listen to Frank Wilson, Mary Wells, and the Velvelettes. 

There’s now a clear break in my mind between bands I like on record and bands I enjoy live. As I get older, I think of my collection of recorded music (LPs and CDs as well as mp3s) as more of a library, where I want to be discerning about what I own, and seek out stuff I’ll want to hear many, many times. In a practical sense, that means a lot of the music I own is from older artists like Velvet Underground, The Band, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Leonard Cohen, and so on. Every year I also have an increasing number of old classical, jazz, and blues LPs. 

Live, I’m much more into newer and louder stuff… on this last tour, I loved watching the Lawrence Arms every night; they definitely have a much more manic stage presence than we do, and Brendan Kelly can be downright hilarious. I saw a show with the Arrivals and Triclops in New York that was amazing. NoMeansNo is my favorite live band of all time; I never miss them when they come through town. 

This question might be a bit cryptic, but what song would you want to be played at your funeral? 

“Bird on a Wire” by Leonard Cohen for the memorial, then “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC when my ashes are launched into space. 

Any last words of inspiration or comments? 

Everyone should read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Everyone of the gamer ilk should play Portal. Myspace is going the way of Friendster. Thanks for the thoughtful questions.

Cometbus #51: The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah

Sorry to who I took this image from!

My cousin lent me* my first issue of Cometbus. When she lent it to me and what issue it was is now a cloudy memory, but really that’s not important. What is important is that after that moment, my life was changed forever. Yeah I know that sounds as cliche and trite as every other statement from someone on when they came of age, and music saved them, blah blah blah. Regardless, since that moment I’ve scoured far and wide for any issues that I may have missed, and I’ve made sure I’ve purchased any issues that may have just come off of the press. And over those many moons that have passed since that first issue that my cousin has lent me, I’ve watched Cometbus expand from just a zine to something else. Something more sizeable than a zine. Something more important.

This time around Aaron threw a slight wrench in the gears. Instead of writing in the style that he is most well known for; that is to say realistic fiction, The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah, is a non fiction novel about Berkeley. More so, it’s about the rise of many pivital businesses (used paperback bookstores, used record stores, poster shops, etc) and even potentially yuppies, stemming from an argument between two bookstore owners in 1963. Though this issue not loosely about his life, you know where the names and places are changed, the relatability factor is not missing. In fact, this issue makes me want to go out and find out more about the city I call home. That Cometbus inspires many people to find themselves (geographically or otherwise) is a testament to how important this little zine is to the people that read it.

Aaron must have spent tireless hours compiling a great number of interviews with Berekely locals; the friends and families of the business owners that have passed away, current business owners, and other notable people integral to the story herein. As with every issue of Cometbus, Aaron offers insight on many things discussed. It definitely helps that he is not an outisder looking in on Berkeley, making this story far from dry or boring.

Cometbus has always been important to the punk rock subculture as it stood, and still stands, as a historical document of the last 25 years. Though this issue is not focused on punk rock or the trappings of life surrounding it, The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah, is no less important or significant. I’ve always felt it to be important to find out the history of where you come from before you put it down, and with this issue Aaron has done just that.
Available from No Idea Records

*Sorry I never returned that issue Chrissy, but surely you understand!