underground since'89

send vinyl, tapes and zines for review to:

tobi vail P.O. Box 2572 Olympia, WA 98507 USA

email mp3's, links, photos and flyers to:

jigsawunderground@gmail.com

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

why I haven't reviewed yr record yet

so if you are wondering why I haven't reviewed yr record yet...two years ago I quit the band I was playing drums in...deciding, once again, that playing drums is not an end-in-itself for me...then spider and the webs went on a semi-official hiatus and I decided not to start any new groups until I prioritized some shit...one thing I wanted to do is stop playing in bars...and stop going to bars...which led to not hanging out with people who spend a lot of time hanging out in bars...so I did that...and I'm still doing that I guess...but it sorta meant I stopped playing music for awhile...and then I stopped going to shows...I haven't played a show in almost a year and a half, which might be some kind of personal record for me...when I'm not in a group or when I'm in a group that is not playing out I really don't enjoy going to shows...I get bored and I start to hate all the groups...by nature I'm critical and I enjoy and value criticism...but this is different...so I've been doing other things for awhile...I still play guitar on friday nights, but I'm not in a group, I'm not playing shows...I'm gonna start working on it more over the summer and I think that will mean I'll be more receptive to what other people are doing musically...really the only music I feel passionate about right now is a box of reggae records we got in columbus, ohio over memorial day weekend and the dum dum girls. ok, I listen to dexy's midnight runners a lot at the gym...like every day...and there are a few bands I'm curious about and a few other records I've been listening to here and there...hopefully i'll have something to say about this all later...and thanks to everyone who has sent me stuff to review...I'm gonna start listening to it next week for reals, to go along with my summer regimen of playing guitar every day for three months no matter what.

in the meantime here are a few songs that are sounding pretty good right now:









6 comments:

Madison said...

Beta motel is my favorite crass song.

good choices girlie

:)

Lauren said...

The lyrics in bata motel are so special.
I think about them almost every day.

Unknown said...

I totally understand your need to stay away from bars and shows. Good work! The GYM a way better use of time! I often feel when I'm running in the woods that same "summer feeling" I got from great shows of my youth. Postive and physical.

diana said...

is it still the address above to use for sending you stuff?

Tobi Vail said...

diana, yes the address works fine.

hey aaron! I started running this spring and it's been great... I've been going to shows pretty steadily since 1983, whereas a lot of our friends have taken time out, have kids and careers...at some point, after touring in bars for a few years, I just had to question it! If I ever embrace the touring life again I really hope I get to play mostly all ages shows...it's been really weird to watch the Olympia scene go from all ages and semi-straight edge to becoming a town where people go to the bar every night, or use house shows as an excuse to get super wasted all the time...that was never what it was about for me and I found myself getting depressed, watching each generation of young people become cynical and burn out... it's like that comet gain line "all the kids at the club are all sitting in pubs/still looking for love/ as if that was enough"

anyhow, for an anti-social punk rocker, socializing so much just kills my inspiration... running has given me skills I hope to use to develop a routine to be more creative, which I think is a healthy, natural state

when I'm not writing songs, playing shows, participating in a group...I start to use aesthetic hatred/disgust as fuel...which is cool, but not a good time to review records. It's like I have to hate everything and then I can believe in what I do...maybe twisted but it works

Listening Black Flag works too! Even after all these years.

Best wishes
xo
Tobi

Shirley said...

Tobi have you ever heard of the band called Suburban Lawns? They're sooo rad! their song "janitor", is so addicting and the singer is one cool/ interesting girl.