Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
jigsaw's guide to ending the bar scene
1. Stop playing shows in bars when you can afford to - in other words - if you live in the NW don't play a bar here, demand to play an all ages venue instead. No excuses, please.
2. Stop going to bars you hate that you go to anyway because people you know will be there, Etc. There are other ways to be social and see your friends. If I go out to a bar for a drink it is ALWAYS at Ben Moore's because that place rules and if they went out of business Olympia would suck. When I go to The Reef it is for pie and coffee because that is what they do best. When I go elsewhere, reluctantly, I might have one drink but I might just have a cup of coffee and gorge myself on water or chips and salsa or something.
3. Make a point of supporting all ages shows by paying to attend them regularly. Do not try to get in free to an all ages show. Pay extra when you can afford it. Even if you are on the guest list. If there is a bar show and an all ages show on the same night, go to the all ages show before going to the bar show.
4. Try to spend large chunks of time NOT DRINKING on a regular basis - I celebrate sober February, June and October every year. For me this breaks the habit of drinking out of sheer boredom or whatever and goes along with a cleanse I do during those months. If you have trouble with this step there are resources that can help you quit drinking.
5. Start a regular exercise program that is goal-oriented. When you wake up early to run 5 miles on your day off you don't wanna be hungover (unless you are The Country Teasers, but that is another story). Likewise, you stop feeling tempted by happy hour after work when you know you have to be done at the Y before 9pm. Drummers are natural runners. We need to be in shape in order to play our best. Do it for the band.
6. Playing in a band, you end up at a lot of parties. As a general rule I try to limit myself to 7 drinks per week, which is pretty easy for me, except when touring in a band that plays bars/house parties every night. I am prone to drinking more than usual in social situations (the music scene, duh) where people drink a lot. I also have a lot of friends who are alcoholics (musicians, duh) so it started to seem normal to me to sit in a bar for hours. When I toured with The Old Haunts I made a rule where I had one drink before we played and one drink after. Every once in awhile I'd party (San Pedro comes to mind...) but I tried to keep it in check. As the drinking started to escalate on those tours I decreased my intake to less than one drink a day. I drink minimally nowadays - I'd say on average 2 or 3 drinks a week. I still like to celebrate birthdays and holidays and friend reunions with a party - but that's fine, parties are for SPECIAL OCCASIONS , remember? Like, hanging out in Spain or London on vacation or three day weekends or whatever. Not for everyday life. Everyday life is for writing songs and letters and reading books and going swimming and working on stuff. Creativity vs. destruction. We have to balance these forces.
7. DO NOT make the move from playing in a band to DJing in a bar. Nothing against DJing - it's just that I don't want to be a part of the reason why people come out to a bar to drink, EVER. DJ a house party, DJ your apartment, DJ the streets. Don't DJ in a bar (unless it's your job…but you know what? there are better jobs out there…) If you are a DJ-for-Life please make a point of DJing all ages events on a regular basis and please make a point of DJing sober on a regular basis. It sets a good example and it will keep you healthy and that will make you the best DJ you can be.
JIGSAW FANZINE SAYS:
END THE BAR SCENE NOW
BE GOOD TO YRSELF
DEVELOP HEALTHY HABITS
STAY CONNECTED
WELLNESS PUNKS RULE, OK???
DON'T DIE
Friday, January 18, 2013
best of 2012
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: DEXYS - ONE DAY I'M GOING TO SOAR
TAPE OF THE YEAR: STILLSUIT DEMO
FAVORITE SONG OF THE YEAR: FREAKAPUSS - HARRIOT IN HER CHARIOT (B SIDE RULES TOO)
BEST NEW GROUP: VEX
BAND TO WATCH IN 2013: MOON
FAVORITE LIVE ACT: Госкино BEST COUNTER-HEGEMONIC PUNK GROUP WHO FUCK SHIT UP: DICK BINGE BEST OUT OF TOWN SHOW: THE CORIN TUCKER BAND IN BROOKLYN
FAVORITE ART EVENT: FREAKAPUSS LIVE - EXCURSUS III (OOGA BOOGA AT ICA PHILLY)
RECORD THAT GREW ON ME THAT I DIDN'T LIKE AT FIRST: FRANKIE ROSE - INTERSTELLAR
FAVORITE BAND TO PLAY WITH: REYNOSA
RECORD FROM 2012 LISTENED TO MOST SO FAR IN 2013: DUM DUM GIRLS - END OF DAZE
RECORDS FROM 2011 LISTENED TO MOST IN 2012: BLEACHED 7"s
FAVORITE DEMO BY LOCAL PUNK KIDS: SPIRITUAL WARRIORS
RECORD THAT GETS STUCK IN MY HEAD THAT I LOVE/HATE: DIE ANTWOORD - TEN$SION
BAND I WANTED TO SEE LIVE MORE OFTEN BUT THEY MOVED AWAY: SEWN LEATHER
BEST NO RAVE BAND: UNCANNY VALLEY
FAVORITE SONG I WROTE: SPIDER AND THE WEBS - LEAVING LAWRENCE (TO HIS WAVES)
BEST FEMINIST ALBUM ABOUT GENTRIFICATION: GRASS WIDOW - INTERNAL LOGIC
KILLER POP ALBUM MADE BY A SINGER SONGWRITER: CAT POWER - SUN
BEST PUNK RECORD: WEIRD TV 12"
FAVORITE DANCE TRACK: MIA - BAD GIRLS
BEST INDIE RECORD: DEEP TIME - DEEP TIME
KILLEREST HIPPY JAM: THE FAMILY STONED - HIGH TIME WOMAN II
FAVORITE TOP 40 POP SONG: MADONNA - GIVE ME ALL YOUR LUVIN'
PUNKEST UNDERGROUND ANTHEM: HIVE DWELLERS - GET IN
FAVORITE FEMINIST POP ALBUM: COASTING - YOU'RE NEVER GOING BACK LP
CATCHIEST PIECE OF CULTURAL CRITICISM: CHAIN AND THE GANG - CERTAIN KINDS OF TRASH
FAVORITE RECORD GIVEN TO ME AS A GIFT: PATTI SMITH - BANGA
MOST MEANINGFUL SONG TO ME PERSONALLY: CORIN TUCKER BAND - I DON'T WANNA GO
PRETTIEST RECORDING BY AN AVANT INDIE ARTIST: BROKEN WATER - CHANTAL
FAVORITE BAND TO DANCE TO LIVE: NEONATES BEST NEW HARDCORE PUNK BAND FROM OLYMPIA: GAG FAVORITE WEDDING SONG: TED LEO'S DIGITAL LOVE (DAFT PUNK) FOR MOLLY AND ALEX
GREATEST NW PUNK GROUP: MECCA NORMAL
FAVORITE RAPPER: AZAELIA BANKS
FANZINE: NUTS! PUNKEST INDIE ALBUM: HUNX AND HIS PUNX - TOO YOUNG TO BE IN LOVE FAVORITE DOOMY AMBIENT RECORD: EARTH - ANGEL OF DARKNESS, DEMON OF LIGHT ii SHOW OF THE YEAR: GRASS WIDOW & THE RAINCOATS IN SEATTLE KILLER RECORD TO LISTEN TO ON REPEAT: SONSKULL - WIPED CLEAN 12" EP BEST NW GARAGE PUNKS: HOODED HAGS FAVORITE FEMINIST PUNK SINGER: MISH WAY FROM WHITE LUNG BEST ROCK MEMOIR: COAL TO DIAMONDS BY BETH DITTO (WITH MICHELLE TEA)Saturday, January 5, 2013
books I read in 2012
in chronological order, a selected list:
1. Out of the Vinyl Deeps by Ellen Willis
2. Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici
3. Retromania by Simon Reynolds
4. Witches, Midwives and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich
5. Flight by Sherman Alexie
6. The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc
7. Iron Man by Tony Iommi
8. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
9. The time of the Doves by Merce Rodereda
10. Double Happiness by Jason Shiga
11. Love Rock Revolution by Mark Baumgarten
12. This is How by Augusten Burroughs
13. Tattoo by Manuel Vasquez Montalban
14. How Should a Person Be? by Shelia Heti
15. Grow Up by Ben Brooks
16. Sonechka: A Novella and Stories by Lyudmila Ulitskaya
17. Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes
18. The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone
19. My Friend Dahmer by Derf
20. Farhenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
21. Coal to Diamonds by Beth Ditto
22. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
23. Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kates Shulman
24. _____________ by Lisa Carver
25. Reconsidering Yoko Ono by Lisa Carver
26. Green Girl by Kate Zambreno
27. Airless Space by Shulamith Firestone
28. Job Interviews for Dummies
29. Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel
30. Woman's Consciousness Man's World by Shelia Rowbotham
31. Promise of a Dream by Shelia Rowbotham
32. Swimming Home by Deborah Levy
33. Bossypants by Tina Fey
34. The Voyeurs by Gabrielle Bell
35. Dora a Headcase by Lidia Yuknavitch
36. Heroines by Kate Zambreno
Currently Reading: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy; Cecil and Jordan in New York by Gabrielle Bell
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
FREE KTEEO!
This young woman works as a waitress at my favorite diner in Olympia. I had no idea she had been in prison for two weeks for refusing to testify in a Grand Jury Trial. I believe that these folks are innocent. I believe that this trial is a witch-hunt. Please take a moment to read about what they are up against.
You can write to KTEEO here:
Katherine Olejnik #42592-086
FDC SeaTac,
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198
