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By Rob Lee By Randy Hess

A D A G a l l e ry

At ADA Gallery on June 6th, a skate art show curated by Rob Lee,

featuring the work of local and national artists who skateboard.

Come shred the mini ramp installation.

Anthony Pappalardo - Jerry Hsu - Jonathan Mehring

The Spahr Brothers - Mickael Broth - Randy Hess

Josh Bennett - Adrian Meyer - Jim Callahan - Rob Lee

ADA is located at 228 West Broad Street (corner of Broad and Madison). For more information cal l (804) 644-0100 or go to www.adagal ler y.com.

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By Josh Bonne t t

1 4Ho l l y Camp www.ho l l ycamp.comBar r y Br uner www.bar r yb r uner. com

Richmond Illustrators Club Second Annual Juried ShowOpen ing Recep t ion Fr iday, June 6 th , f r om 7-10pm a t Ghos tp r in t Ga l l e r y 220 W. B road S t . R i c hmond , VA 23220www.ghos tp r in tga l l e r y. com (804) 244-1557 1pm-7pm Wednesday -Sa tu r day o r by appo in tment

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Andr e w Wr igh t www.andr e wrwr igh t . com

1 6S te ven Wa l ke r www.s te venwa lke r s tud ios . com

T hea Dusk in www.ghos tp r in t . com

This year’s show had 183 entries from 49 different illustrators from all over the country. 45-50 pieces will be on display. The Richmond Illustrators Club co-chairs, Holly Camp and Katie McBride, curated the show.

Participating local illustrators will include: Barry Bruner, Eric Col-lins, Doug Thompson, Steven Walker, Holly Camp, Katie McBride, Chris White, Andy Parrish, Kelly Alder, Raven Herrera, Neal Iwan, Kevin McFadin, with non-local illustrators Andrew Wright, Seounghyon Cho, Brooke Olivares and Angela Dominguez also participating.

The Richmond Illustrators Club is a non-profit organization that provides information and promotion for the advancement of freelance illustrators and the illustration profession. The club has been in existence for almost 20 years, and if you’re a work-ing illustrator in the Richmond area, odds are you’ve been in-volved with the club at some point. The members have worked in various aspects of the communication arts field, from edito-rial illustration to graphic design to fine art. Some of the club’s clients include National Public Radio, Christian Children’s Fund, NASA, Virginia Living Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Raven Tree Press and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The club provides an opportunity to maintain and create con-tacts within the communication arts community, both in Rich-mond and with members of other regional illustrators clubs; it also offers members’ shows, juried shows, group promotional projects and a website to host portfolios and club news.

For more info about Richmond Illustrators Club visitwww.richmondillustratorsclub.blogspot.com

1 7K at i e McBr ide www.ka t i emcbr ide . com Seounghyon Cho www.cho i l l us t r a t i on . com

I f ir st came across Mickael Broth’s wor k when I star ted seeing his now infamous “Refuse To Be Smar t” st ick-er s and rol ler pieces pop up around Richmond in the ear ly 2000s. I t was a simple, stenci led visual image of a f igure looking straight at you often accompanied with the tagl ine. To me it was a beauti ful but aggres-sive statement that made you ponder an interpreta-t ion of the meaning. It gave you a wink, grabbed you, pried your eyes open a l i t t le wider and made you want to look deeper into the wor ld around you. “Refused To Be Smar t” reiterated my refusal to be stupid by not being a spoon-fed, cookie cutter, robot content on swal lowing al l the bul lshit society was tr ying to feed me and think for myself. Mickael was ar rested in 2004 for his “crimes” and had to spend 11 months in the slammer. He emerged with a new direct ion for his ar twor k, star ted Wilted Roses and is constantly com-missioned to do mural/poster/graphic design wor k. His wor k is now shown in gal ler ies around Richmond (and beyond). With no slowing down in sight, Mickael Broth has become one of the hardest wor king and most talented ar t ists in the city.

Pa r k e r What’s new with Wi ltedRoses? Any big things coming up on the horizon?

M i c k a e l B r o t h Wel l Wi ltedRoses as a company has pretty much changed. Brionna (my wife) star ted teaching last fal l and wi l l be going back to school to get her master’s degree this fal l , so she doesn’t have much t ime at al l (much less for making pur ses), and I am tr ying to make ar t my actual job so I ’m not as into print ing shir ts lately. I ’m sure we’ l l st i l l make shir ts in l imited r uns from t ime to t ime, but basical ly Wi lte-dRoses has just become the name of my ar t website.

P The last t imes we hung out, we discussed the abuses of power, l ies, cover-ups and cor r uption our govern-ment (and a cer tain organized rel igion) are involved in (I watched ZEITGEIST the next night.. .WOW!). Some of your new pieces are visual ly less complicated and blatantly more pol it ical…sor t of a singular symbolic visual punch. Is this something that you are going to explore more?

M B Yeah, the “haloed” pieces are par t of a series I ’m wor king on cal led “Bringer of Greater Things”. The t it le comes from a Propagandhi song with the same t i-t le. That song addresses al l of the “wonderful” things that “civi l ized” cultures have brought to the wor ld (environmental destr uct ion, enslavement, genocide, to name a few). The series I ’m wor king on focuses on some of America’s contr ibutions to the wor ld (from secret prisons to Thickburger s).

A n I n t e r v i e w w i t h M i c k a e l B r o t h

B ri n g e r o f G re at e r T h i n g s

P I f you could say anything to George Bush r ight now what would it be? Should I get the boxing gloves pre-pared?

M B Honestly, I wouldn’t know how to express my ha-tred in single syl lable words, which after al l is the only way he would be able to under stand me.

P Some of your other new pieces are extremely col-orful and seem to be a progression of the f lowing, car toonish style you’ ve been perfect ing over the last couple of year s. Care to discuss these new experi-ments?

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By Par ker

M B Yeah. Basical ly I just needed to add something and ink washes seemed l ike a way to expand my wor k. Technical ly, ink washes are great with pen wor k, and it helps to bring out cer tain detai ls that I think might get lost otherwise.

P I know you are probably sick of talking about this but how does it feel to go from a “graf f i t i vandal” (no-t ice the quotation mar ks) to someone who now does signage and commissioned murals for businesses as wel l as being shown in gal ler ies?

M B I t feels l ike a pretty natural progression to me. I love graf f i t i and wish I could st i l l be involved, but I ’ ve got too many awesome things going in my l i fe that would be put at r isk for a relat ively small reward. I love paint ing wal ls and doing large wor k so that’s the main reason I do signage and showing in a gal ler y is fun, too. It feels good to have people appreciate your wor k, but i t ’s def initely a ver y dif ferent feel ing from graf f i t i where the satisfact ion came from knowing your wor k pissed people of f. . . I guess I ’ ve got to wor k on doing that with my gal ler y wor k.

P You just won a Virginia Museum Fel lowship Award recently (only 31 ar t ists across the state receive the award). How does it feel for your wor k to be rec-ognized by such a “prestigious” entity such as the VMFA? See any irony in the situation?

M B I t feels fucking awesome to get the recognit ion and the money from a cool museum. It felt even better to get letter s from government of f ic ials thanking me for being a valuable par t of the ar t ist ic community. As par t of the award, I got to go to the General As-sembly and be recognized by al l those scumbag l iar s. I thought i t was pretty great that three year s ago they passed a new law in response to my ar rest, and now they invite me there to be honored as an outstanding member of the community. Now I just need to piss them al l of f again. I think I wi l l have achieved success when they haul me of f for being a “freedom hater”.

P Why do you think Richmond, as a city that has so many talented ar t ists and a rapidly growing creative community, is so intent on prosecuting street ar t ists to the ful lest extent of the law? Do you think Richmond wi l l ever have “legal wal ls”?

M B Because assholes l ike Steve Nuckols and the rest of the Fan Distr ict Associat ion are intent on control -l ing ever y aspect of their environment and they have the money to hold sway with pol it ic ians. I could go on for a long t ime about how there are plenty of more impor tant problems these people could address, but i t al l comes down to the fact that those with money get their voices heard (and stamp out the voices of those who they disagree with).

As far as the “legal wal ls” business goes I don’t get i t . There is no such thing as “legal graf f i t i” and legal wal ls general ly tur n into a shitty mess of wack ass kids tr ying to act l ike they are thugs. Commissioned murals (whether graf f i t i or otherwise) are great for the visual appeal of a city, and we could def initely use more.. . but interesting murals, not just some giant paint ing of the Jamestown landing (8th and Main.. . not that i t ’s ter r ibly executed, i t ’s just fucking boring).

P I t seems l ike there has been a growing popularity over the last few year s in former (and cur rent) street ar t ists. Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Dalek and other s are

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now big player s in the ar t “game” where a few year s ago they were viewed as criminals. Gal ler ies wouldn’t have touched them. How do you see the ar t wor ld changing as far as trends and what’s “acceptable”?

M B I guess it ’s tr ue that people love a rebel and despite “street culture” having been co-opted by corporations, tr ue vandals st i l l funct ion outside of the law and against the framewor k of society. That sor t of renegade l i fe is excit ing to most people and by suppor t ing it they get to feel l ike they are par t of i t . The people you named (along with plenty of other s) are incredibly talented both as legal and i l legal ar t ists, and thankful ly their ski l l and determination are now helping them pay the bi l ls. The ar t wor ld seems just l ike any other mar ketplace where trends come and go so maybe in a next season “street ar t” won’t be such a good “investment”. I think the tr uly talented people who are able to translate their l i festyle and bel iefs into their ar t wi l l always be creating great wor k no what the mar ket is cal l ing for.

B r i n g e r o f G r e at e r T h i n g s

New Wor k by Mickael El l iot BrothOpening Reception at ADA Gal ler y on Saturday, June 14th, from 7pm-10pm with the show r un-ning through July 19th

ADA is located at 228 West Broad Street (cor-ner of Broad and Madison). For more informa-t ion cal l (804) 644-0100 or go to www.adagal-ler y.com. To see more of Mickael’s wor k go to www.wi ltedroses.com

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Photo by Adam Wa l cav a -

Time and MoneyGWAR’S BIGGEST ENEMIESBy Browning Keister photos by Coy Koehler + Adam Walcavacae

Ou r mode r n soc i e t y i s i n d i r e need o f a un i f y i ng my tho l o g y. T h i s i s a un i que pos i t i on t o f i nd ou r se l v e s i n . Un t i l N i e t z s c he dec l a r ed God t o be dead w i t h an au t ho r i t y ye t t o be se r i ous l y c ha l l e nged i n ph i l o soph i c a l c i r c l e s , peop l e and cu l t u r e s a r ound t he wo r l d fo r med v a r i ous s t o r i e s and gods t o exp l a i n t he wo r k i ngs o f t he wo r l d a r ound us and t o i l l u s t r a t e t he fo i b l e s and fo l l i e s , a s we l l a s t he compass i on and k i ndness i nhe r en t i n human na t u r e . T he gods came t o i n s t r u c t , no t me r e l y t o exp l a i n o r condemn . Howe ve r, a s we de ve l oped , ou r gods became an t i qua t ed , and t he i r i n s t r u c t i ons became ou t o f t ouc h , w h i c h made t he i r exp l ana t i ons l ud i c r ous and t he r e fo r e t he i r c on -demna t i ons i r r e l e v an t , a t bes t . Fo r a l l bu t t he mos t f undamen ta l , phy s i c s and b i o l o g y have supp l emen ted , i f no t comp l e t e l y supp l an t ed , r e l i g i on i n i t s c a pac i t y o f exp l a i n i ng t he t r a pp i ngs o f na t u r e . P s yc ho l o g y has p r ov i ded a s im i l a r e f f e c t ( and pe rha ps a f f e c t ) t o r e l i g i on i n t he a r ena o f exp l ana t i ons o f human na t u r e . Ye t j u s t a s mank i nd ’ s des i r e fo r t he r i t ua l o f r e l i g i on has no t s eemed t o v an i sh because o f ou r d i sbe l i e f i n t he gods , ne i t he r has ou r des i r e fo r t he i r s t o r i e s d im i n i s hed because o f ou r w i desp r ead a t he i sm .

A t t he same t ime a s t he gods be g an t o be sub j e c t s t o t he wo r ms o f t he g r ound , ne w and ex c i t i ng de ve l opmen t s be g an t o o c cu r i n t he many f i e l d s o f a r t s & en t e r t a i nmen t . A s o f t en a s no t , t he se r e vo l u t i ons we r e caused by, c o r r e l a t ed t o, o r co i n c i ded w i t h pa r a l l e l de ve l opmen t s i n s c i ence . Re -co r ded mus i c , f i lm , com i c books and t e l e v i s i on have t r ans fo r med how w ha t w as once ou r o r a l t r ad i t i on i s handed down t o u s . And w h i l e t he r e pe r cus -s i ons o f t he I n t e r ne t on s t o r y t e l l i ng has ye t t o be comp l e t e l y f e l t , t he r e i s a dea r t h o f t r u l y l a r ge r t han l i f e en t i t i e s w hose ve r y be i ng i s r e l e v an t t o ou r e ve r yday l i f e , no t t o men t i on he l p i ng t o i n s t r u c t , exp l a i n and , ye s ,

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e ven condemn ou r behav i o r. T h i s i s no t t o s ay t ha t t hese med i ums have no t made t he e f f o r t . Fr om Supe r man t o S t a r Wa r s , f r om Wa gne r ’ s R i ng C yc l e t o t he Wo r l d W i de We b, we f i nd a r t i s t s and s t o r y t e l l e r s a sp i r i ng t o t a ke t he i r p l a ce i n t he now v a can t pan theon . Ye t t he c r y con t i nues t o i s sue f r om t he masses – t o p r ov i de t hem w i t h some th i ng somehow l a r ge r t han l i f e . Many have be gun t o f ee l t he i r c r i e s a r e i n v a i n .

Bu t , Lo ! T he Ca l l o f t he Masses i s Ans we r ed ! A ne w a ge o f hope i s a l r eady upon us ! Fo r t he r e ex i s t s i n ou r own f a i r l a nds someone w ho ans we r s . A vo i c e c r y i ng i n t he w i l d e r ness , p r o c l a im i ng t he good ne ws o f f an t a s t i c a l i n t e r g a l a c t i c p i r a t e s ben t on des t r u c t i on , s t u c k on ou r p i t i f u l , d e so l a t e r o c k , despe r a t e t o e s ca pe , ye t a t l e a s t m i l d l y amused w i t h ou r weakness and i gno r ance , m i l d l y p l a ca t ed w i t h ou r g l o r i ous i n t ox i c an t s and m i l d l y a p -p r e c i a t i v e o f ou r m i nd l e s s subm i s s i on . A vo i c e ans we r i ng ou r c r y w i t h t he i r own , w h i c h i s t o “ . . . g i v e t he peop l e w ha t t hey w an t . . . t he sense l e s s s l augh t e r o f t he gu t t e r s l ime . . . be cause w hen you r l i f e a i n’ t s h i t , you a i n’ t go t muc h t o l o se . . . ”

Fo r nea r l y 25 yea r s t he a r t i s t s a t S l a ve P i t , t he h i gh p r i e s t s o f GWAR , ha ve “ l e f t t he i r b l oody ma r k a l l o ve r t h i s t own” . T he i r pe cu l i a r b r and o f “mu l t i -p l a t fo r m , mu l t imed i a ” commen ta r y comes c l o ses t t o r e p l i c a t i ng t he nume r -ous w ays t ha t ou r o l d t ime r e l i g i ons u sed t o pass on t he i r mo r a l i t y p l ay s . None o f t he mode r n med i a have been l e f t un touc hed by S l a ve P i t . And a s ne w fo r ms de ve l op, you can coun t on S l a ve P i t t o i n j e c t t he my thos o f GWAR i n t o ea c h and e ve r y one . Fue l ed by c r a c k co ca i ne and f r e sh sou l s f o r t he Wo r l d Ma g go t , t hey pe r se ve r e i n de c ima t i ng ou r popu l a t i on , de ca p i t a t i ng ou r l e ade r s , and ens l a v i ng a l l w ho r ema i n .

Bu t i n a l l s e r i ousness , S l a ve P i t ha s been p r ov i d i ng ou r pos tmode r n cu l t u r e w i t h a t r u l y pos tmode r n my tho l o g y s i n ce t he i r i n ce p t i on . T he i r modes t s t u -d i o space i n An t a r c t i c a…er, Manc hes t e r, qu i e t l y hums w i t h subve r s i v e a c t i v -i t y s t i l l . S t a r t i ng i n an a ge w hen mus i c v i deos we r e u sua l l y t he a po theos i s

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o f exp r es s i on fo r mus i c a l g r oups , GWAR be g an w i t h b i g ge r t a r ge t s i n t he i r s i gh t s . O ve r t he i r c a r ee r t hey have been r e spons i b l e f o r mus i c , pa i n t i ngs , i l l u s t r a t i ons , s cu l p t u r e s , f i lms , com i c s and t hea t r i c a l pe r fo r mances . T hey have a ppea r ed i n TV, f i lm and v i deo g ames , showcased t he i r a r t i s t r y i n smok y ba r s and h i gh c l a s s g a l -l e r i e s and i n f l u enced B r endan Sma l l and Lo r d i a l i k e .

R i c hmond has i n r e cen t yea r s i n c r eas i ng l y be come a me ta - t own . Wh i l e t he me t -r opo l i t an popu l a t i on o f R i c hmond has g r own t o 1 .3 m i l l i o n peop l e , muc h o f w ha t we speak o f w hen we t a l k a bou t R i c hmond i s t he unde r g r ound cu l t u r e we have c r ea t ed he r e – one t ha t l a r ge l y s e r ves a s a fo i l t o t he “ r ednec k , ba c kwoods , h i c k t own” gen t r i f i e d R i c hmond t ha t we a l l d e sp i s e . And am id t he mu l t i t ude o f t empo r a l

t ouc hs tones o f ou r cu l t u r e he r e , f e w ca r r y t he we i gh t t ha t GWAR ca r -r i e s . I t wou l d no t be hype rbo l i c t o s ay t hey a r e a s i n t r i n s i c t o R i c h -mond a s Pa t r i c k Hen r y o r J e f f e r son Dav i s , a s w h i t e f l i g h t o r co r r up t counc i l membe r s , a s Chu r c h H i l l o r t he J ames R i v e r. I r e cen t l y had t he c hance t o speak w i t h Dave B r oc k i e , and a g a i n w i t h Bob Go r man and Ma t t Ma gu i r e o f S l a ve P i t , a bou t a l l t h i ngs GWAR i n an t i c i pa t i on o f t he i r May 30 th show and t he i r upcom ing 25 th ann i v e r sa r y. A s a bonus , I w as l u c k y t o ha ve my l i f e spa r ed by t he f ea r ed Ode r us U r ungus , w ho vouc hsa f ed my l i f e on t he cond i t i on I r e l ay h i s d r ead r eques t s t o t he “human f i l t h ” r e s i d i ng i n RVA .

Du r i ng 25 yea r s , mos t bands come and go. Any mus i c f an , e spec i a l l y w hen h i s t a s t e s r un t ow a r d t he unde r g r ound , w i l l f i nd no p r ob l em r e ca l l i ng an enc yc l oped i c l i s t o f bands t ha t ha ve come and gone f r om t he i r own home town . RVA i s c e r t a i n l y no ex ce p t i on . T h i s t r ans i ence i s a s t a r k con t r a s t t o t he “ r oad k i ngs” o f GWAR . I a s ked Ma t t Ma gu -i r e nea r l y two and a ha l f yea r s a go w ha t he t hough t o f t he cu r r en t s cene , and he t o l d me , “ T hey ’ l l f a l l o f f. And we ’ l l s t i l l b e do i ng t h i s . ” H i s r ema r k s become on l y mo r e a pp r op r i a t e w i t h ea c h yea r. Wh i l e c u r r en t a r t t r ends seem t o nudge e ve r c l o se r t o a comp l e t e and t o t a l emu l a t i on o f t he i r s t y l e , t hey r ema i n t he f i r s t , t he bes t , and t he mos t c u t t i ng edge o f t hem a l l .

When a h i gh f a l u t i n mus i c c r i t i c t e l l s me damn nea r any t h i ng a bou t a band ’ s “ a r t i s t i c me r i t ” I w an t t o sh i t . When any o t he r band p r o f e s ses t o have t he mos t ex c i t i ng show i n r o c k and r o l l , I e i t he r g i g g l e o r c r i nge , de pend i ng on t he i r mea ge r t a l en t s . Bu t GWAR has ea r ned t he r i gh t t o t he i r b r a v ado. Who e l s e w i l l s t and up t o p r e s i den t s , t e r r o r i s t s and t a l k show hos t s? Who w i l l k i l l i nd i s c r im i na t e l y ? Who w i l l dump hund r eds o f g a l l ons o f b l ood , u r i ne and semen on to t he hudd l ed masses?

T he a b i l i t y t o s e r i ous l y c a l l GWAR t he bes t show i n r o c k and r o l l

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comes w i t h a he f t y p r i c e . “P r oba b l y t he mos t phys i c a l l y demand -i ng t h i ng i s a c t ua l l y do i ng t he show. . . you ’ r e wea r i ng 60 pounds o f b l oody l a t ex , and I ’m t r y i ng t o be l l ow l y r i c s and f i gh t mons t e r s , and t hese guys a r e r unn i ng a r ound , go i ng c r a z y bac k s t a ge , j ump i ng i n and ou t o f c o s t umes , t a k i ng ca r e o f exp l od i ng compr esso r s , f l a i l -i ng spe w l i n e s , and kee p i ng t he c r ow d unde r con t r o l , ” Dave B r oc k i e no t e s . Bob Go r man f i nds i t d i f f i c u l t t o k ee p a no r ma l l i f e . “When we we r e younge r, do i ng t ha t [GWAR] and j u s t do i ng t ha t w as f i n e . Bu t a s you ge t o l de r, you know, hea l t h c a r e . . . s h i t t ha t no r ma l peop l e [ have ] , you know, we don’ t ha ve any o f t ha t and , you know, you s t a r t t h i n k i ng a bou t t ha t mo r e . ” He a l so f i nds t ha t h i s “ l o ve o f l i v e mus i c has been c r ushed” f r om h i s yea r s i n GWAR . “We spend se ven mon ths ou t o f t he yea r, on a good yea r, i n c l ubs . When I ge t home peop l e a r e l i k e ‘Oh , t he r e ’ s t h i s c r a z y k i d band ’ . . . I don’ t ha ve i t i n me . We ’ l l h a ve t o s t op t ou r i ng fo r a coup l e o f yea r s be fo r e t he des i r e t o go i n a ho t , s t eamy c l ub and be su r r ounded by peop l e comes bac k . ” Dave does f i nd he i s a b l e t o make an ex ce p t i on fo r F i r s t Fr i day, a l t hough i t i s n’ t f o r t he a r t o r t he bands a s muc h a s “w a t c h i ng t hese c h i c k s w a l k a r ound i n t he i r l i t t l e s und r esses” .

T he t ime and e f fo r t S l a ve P i t pu t s i n t o GWAR i s nea r l y s upe rhuman , and nea r l y a s s t r enuous a s t he phys i c a l s hows . “GWAR t a kes up so muc h o f ou r t ime . I t t a kes so muc h t ime j u s t t o do t he t h i ngs we ’ r e ge t t i ng pa i d t o do r i gh t now – bu i l d a ne w show, make a ne w a l bum , and ge t r eady t o go on t he r oad a g a i n , ” Dave op i nes . “We ’ r e p r e t t y muc h doomed t o suppo r t GWAR no ma t t e r w ha t , t o t he ex c l u s i on o f ha v i ng any t h i ng e l s e go i ng on i n ou r l i v e s , and t ha t i n c l udes r e l a -t i onsh i p s . When you a r e ens l a ved by GWAR you t r u l y a r e ens l a ved by GWAR . ” T he r e ’ s c l e a r l y a r eason t he i r p r oduc t i on company i s c a l l ed S l a ve P i t , I n c . Fo r t y hou r s a week seems t o be a ba r e m i n imum w i t h t hese guys , i f no t mo r e . S t i l l , a l l mana ge t o f i nd some l i t t l e amoun t o f t ime t o pu r sue t he i r own i nd i v i dua l a r t i s t i c i n t e r e s t s . Dave does

cus t om pa i n t i ngs , d r aw i ngs and t a t t oo des i gns , t hough he ’ s no l onge r a c ce p t i ng r eques t s due t o a huge bac k l o g. Ma t t does some mov i e and t hea t r e wo r k , and Bob we l d s and wo r k s on b i k e s . “When you pu t a l l o f you r t hough t and c r ea t i v e j u i c e s i n t o [GWAR] , you ge t d r a i ned . You w anna ge t home , d r i n k a bee r and w a t c h a mons t e r mov i e , ” Bob say s .

GWAR has seen p l en t y o f c hanges ove r t he yea r s . T he ea r l y yea r s we r e c hao t i c , a s S l a ve P i t had w ha t t hey say we r e t oo many a r t i s t s , e a c h t h i n k i ng t he i r i d eas we r e bes t . T h i ngs we r e r a r e l y done t he same w ay tw i c e . Pe rha ps t he i r f i nge r s we r e i n a f e w t oo many p i e s . W i t h t he a r t i s t s t r y i ng t o bu i l d cos t umes , make mov i e s and com i c books and w r i t e mus i c a l l a t t he same t ime , t he mus i c qu i c k l y de vo l v ed

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Howe ve r t he f u t u r e s t i l l ho l d s muc h poss i b i l i t y. S l a ve P i t owns a l l t he i r i n t e l l e c t ua l p r ope r t y, and soon w i l l h a ve t he r i gh t s t o t he i r en -t i r e bac k c a t a l o gue . A s Dave exp l a i ned , any o f t he non -band c ha r -a c t e r s c an be fo l ded bac k i n a t any t ime t hey p l ease . Fans w i l l b e de l i gh t ed t o know o f t he r e t u r n o f S l eaz y P. Ma r t i n i t h i s f a l l . T he r e i s t a l k o f a GWAR v i deo g ame , an on l i n e i n t e r a c t i v e GWAR wo r l d a l a Wo r l d o f Wa r c r a f t o r Se cond L i f e , and t he on l i n e r e t u r n o f S l a ve P i t f unn i e s . Wh i l e t he a ge o f d i r e c t t o v i deo r e l eases w i t h e ve r y a l bum i s o ve r, GWAR a c know l edges t he poss i b i l i t y o f mo r e ha ppen -i ng i n t he f u t u r e , a l t hough t hey wou l d r a t he r ha ve t he budge t t o do i t f o r a t hea t r i c a l r e l ea se . T hey s t i l l wou l d l i k e t o do a B r oad w ay show. A co f f ee t a b l e book shou l d be com ing i n 2009 . And t hen t he r e a r e p r o j e c t s so supe r s e c r e t t ha t t hey c anno t be men t i oned . I n t he mean t ime , Ode r us U r ungus w i l l b e hos t i ng t he Me ta l Hammer Go l den Gods A w a r ds i n London , “w h i c h i s l i k e t he Emmys o f me ta l . I ’m gonna announce t ha t GWAR w i n s i n e ve r y one ! ” O f i n t e r e s t t o R i c hmonde r s , ou r own Mun i c i pa l Was t e i s nom ina t ed fo r bes t unde r -g r ound band , and GWAR u r ges you t o vo t e fo r t hem on t he Me ta l Hammer we bs i t e . I n sho r t , GWAR i s con f i den t t ha t t he i r e f f o r t s w i l l b r i ng t hem t he r e co gn i t i on and r e spec t t hey dese r ve , a l t hough Dave a c know l edges pe rha ps t h i ngs cou l d have been eas i e r “ i f I h adn’ t gone t h r ough , you know, t he l a s t twen t y - t h r ee yea r s w i t h my coc k hang i ng ou t , bu t I f e l t i t w as impo r t an t . ”

S l a ve P i t i s open a bou t t he i n f l u ence R i c hmond has on i t s o r i g i n s . Bob c r ed i t s R i c hmond ’ s f e r t i l i t y t o t he a bundance o f bands , c hea p w a r ehouse space and t he cons t an t supp l y o f VCU g r ads and d r op -ou t s . T hey l o ve p l ay i ng w i t h “ s t r a i gh t up me ta l bands” and f i nd g r ea t p l easu r e t ha t RVA i s f u l l o f t hem . “Peop l e a r e l i k e ‘ R i c hmond? Wha t t he , w ha t t he he l l ? Why do so many g r ea t bands come ou t o f t h i s t own? ’ ” Dave say s . Howe ve r, don’ t ques t i on w ho i s t he mos t “R i c hmond” o f t hem a l l . “We ’ r e t he u l t ima t e R i c hmond band , ” Dave

i n t o pop -punk s l a ps t i c k , and t he membe r s be g an t o t a ke no t i c e t ha t t he qua l i t y o f t he o t he r p r o j e c t s w as be g i nn i ng t o s l i p. A r ound 2000 , t he dec i s i on w as made t o make a “ l e ane r, meane r ” GWAR , t o fo cus on w ha t t hey d i d bes t and w ha t w as bes t r e ce i v ed by t he i r f ans . T hey be g an t o r ea l i z e t ha t t ime and money we r e muc h mo r e p r e c i ous commod i t i e s . A s Bob say s , “ t he o l d GWAR d i ed i n 2000” . O f cou r se , you can’ t p l ea se a l l t he f ans . An ema i l t hey have pos t ed i n t he i r o f f i c e i s t e l l i ng :

i ha ve been a gw a r f an fo r 10yea r s and i j u s t w an t ed t o say t he ne w a l bum sux donkey d i c k . i h a ve l o ved e ve r y one o f gw a r ’ s cd ’ s . V i o l ence has a r r i v ed bu t no t gw a r.O h by t he w ay w he r e a r e a l t he o t he r band membe r s . you have l o s t you r f unny edge . we l l a t l e a s t i go t one ne w gw a r a l bum o r i s i t DBX? - s ad l ong t e r m f an

exp l a i n s . “A bunc h o f f r u s t r a t ed and f a i l ed a r t i s t s i n t he i r own we i r d l i t t l e wo r l d t hey ’ v e c r ea t ed fo r t hemse l v e s – t ha t ’ s v e r y R i c hmond . GWAR cou l dn’ t ha ve ha ppened anyw he r e e l s e . ”

F i na l l y, “Ode r us wou l d l i k e t o t a ke t h i s oppo r t un i t y t o announce t o t he peop l e o f R i c hmond , t he bac kw a te r, r ednec k , h i c k t own t ha t i t i s , t ha t he i s s uppo r t i ng D i r twoman’ s c and i dac y fo r mayo r ; and i f D i r twoman i s e l e c t ed a s t he mayo r, I w i l l l e t D i r twoman suc k my cu t t l e f i s h i n Sha f e r Cou r t f o r e ve r yone t o see . I ’m bac k i ng Donn i e Co r ke r, a . k . a . D i r twoman ; I ’m head o f Sex cu r i t y f o r h i s c ampa i gn . I ’m t a k i ng t h i s oppo r t un i t y t o u r ge t he peop l e o f R i c hmond t o vo t e fo r D i r twoman…f ina l l y ge t some body compe ten t i n t he o f f i c e o f t he mayo r, and Ode r us h i s M i n i s t e r o f Sexua l A f f a i r s , t o d i s t r i bu t e A IDS and f r ee c r a c k t o anyone w ho da r es t o vo t e fo r h im . ”

GWAR u r ges you t o vo t e fo r Mun i c i pa l Was t e fo r bes t unde r g r ound band i n t he Me ta l Hammer Go l den Gods A w a r ds . GWAR a l so u r ges you t o v i s i t t he i r we bs i t e , www.gw a r. ne t .

T he A r t i s t s o f S l a ve P i t , I n c . u r ge you t o a l so v i s i t t he i r we bs i t e , www. s l a ve p i t i n c . com and t o v i s i t t he pe r sona l we bs i t e s o f t he a r t -i s t s , w h i c h c an be found by fo l l ow i ng l i n k s f r om t he S l a ve P i t s i t e .GWAR i s o f f e r i ng ha l f o f f adm i s s i on t o anyone w ho b r i ngs t hem t he head o f Pa pa Uk r op o r Daddy Lov i ng t o t he i r s how a t T he Na t i ona l , May 30 t h , a t 8 p.m .

T he Na t i ona l i s l o ca t ed a t 708 E . B r oad , R i c hmond , VA 23219 .B r own i ng Ke i s t e r wou l d l i k e t o t hank Dave B r oc k i e , Bob Go r man and Ma t t Ma gu i r e fo r t a k i ng t ime ou t o f t he i r bus y s c hedu l e fo r t h i s i n t e r v i e w and a l l o f t he a r t i s t s o f S l a ve P i t f o r a l l t he i r ha r d wo r k en t e r t a i n i ng u s ma g go t s .

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C r a i g P f u n d e r f r o n t s t h e d a n c e p u n k b a n d V H S o r B e t a . F i r s t e m e r g e d a s a n o i s e p u n k b a n d i n L o u i s v i l l e , K e n t u c k y i n t h e 9 0 s a n d n o w s i g n e d o n t o A s t r a l w e r k s , t h e b a n d r e c e n t l y r e l e a s e d B r i n g o n t h e C o m e t s ( 2 0 0 7 ) , a n a l b u m c o n s i s t i n g o f s o n g s t h a t m i x e d t w o w o r l d s o f m u s i c – e l e c t r o n i c d a n c e a n d r o c k – t h a t n o o n e b e l i e v e d w o u l d c o l l i d e i n t h e 1 9 9 0 s . V H S o r B e t a o f f e r e d u s a s e t o f i n t e n s e l o v e f o r m u s i c , f u n a n d m o v e m e n t a t t h e To a d ’ s P l a c e i n R i c h m o n d ’ s S h o c k o e B o t t o m o n A p r i l 1 2 , 2 0 0 8 .

B e f o r e s o u n d c h e c k , P f u n d e r s a t d o w n w i t h m e a n d s p i l l e d d e t a i l s a b o u t h i s b a c k -g r o u n d a n d i n s i g h t f u l t h o u g h t s o n t h e c h a n g i n g s o c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l l a n d s c a p e o f i n d i e r o c k . H e t o l d s t o r i e s t h a t v e r g e o n b e i n g a s o c i a l a n d h i s t o r i c a l s c r u t i n y o f i n d i e m u s i c . C r a i g P f u n d e r ’ s s e l f - c o n s c i o u s , c r i t i c a l l e n s b r i n g s o u t i n d i e r o c k m u s i c ’ s c u l t u r a l e b b a n d f l o w w i t h c o n v i n c i n g f r a n k n e s s .

Wendy Hsu Te l l m e a b o u t y o u r t r a i n i n g o r i n f l u e n c e s .

Craig Pfunder I n e v e r r e a l l y h a d a n y f o r m a l t r a i n i n g . T h e o n l y f o r m a l t r a i n i n g I h a d w a s w h e n I w a s i n m i d d l e s c h o o l . I w a s p l a y i n g s a x o p h o n e s w h e n I w a s a k i d . E v -e r y t h i n g i s p r e t t y m u c h s e l f - t a u g h t . I g o t m y f i r s t g u i t a r w h e n I w a s i n s i x t h g r a d e a n d j u s t k e p t p l a y i n g , p l a y i n g a n d p l a y i n g s o n g s . A t s o m e p o i n t I r e a l l y w a n t e d i t [ f o r m a l t r a i n i n g ] , b e c a u s e I w a s r e a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e t e c h n i c a l a s p e c t o f m u s i c . I s t i l l t h i n k t h a t h a v i n g a b a c k g r o u n d i n s o m e s o r t o f m u s i c t h e o r y i s g o o d , b e c a u s e I s t i l l r e t a i n t h a t , a n d I w a s t e a c h i n g m y s e l f m u s i c t h e o r y w h e n I w a s i n h i g h s c h o o l .

Loving His Black T-Shirts, Metal and the World through Music: An Interview with Craig Pfunder of VHS or BetaBy Wendy Hsu Pho tos by Cameron Le w i s

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WH T h a t ’ s r e a l l y c o o l a c t u a l l y. W h a t d i d y o u d o ? D i d y o u f i n d m u s i c t e x t b o o k s ?

CP Ye a h , t e x t b o o k s … t e a c h i n g m y s e l f c h o r d s , t h e o r y a n d s c a l e s .

WH D o e s t h a t a f f e c t w h a t y o u d o n o w ?

CP We l l , h a v i n g t h e k n o w l e d g e , t h e f o u n d a t i o n a l k n o w l e d g e o f t h i n g s , c a n h e l p . A n d I t h i n k w i t h m u s i c , s o m e t i m e s p e o p l e g e t o v e r - s c h o o l e d . S o m e t i m e s t h e y h a v e a t e n d e n c y t o l o s e t h e i m a g i n a t i v e p a r t o f m u s i c . I k n o w a l o t o f p e o p l e w h o c a n s i g h t - r e a d a n y t h i n g . T h e n w h e n I a s k t h e m t o c o m p o s e a s o n g , t h e n t h e y s a y, “ I d o n ’ t r e a l l y … ” I g u e s s i t b o i l s d o w n t o t h e p e r s o n .

WH W h a t a b o u t i n f l u e n c e s ?

CP E a r l y o n , I w a s j u s t i n f l u e n c e d b y a l o t o f d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s , a l m o s t a n y t h i n g t h a t m y e a r s g r a b b e d o n t o t h a t I c o u l d l i k e . I g u e s s w h e n I f i r s t s t a r t e d p l a y i n g m u s i c t h e r e w a s a l o t o f w e i r d m e t a l i n t h e 8 0 s . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , I w a s l i s t e n i n g t o c o l l e g e r o c k , o r t h e m u s i c t h a t w a s b e i n g c l a i m e d a s c o l l e g e r o c k a t t h e t i m e l i k e R E M . I r e a l l y e m b r a c e d t h a t k i n d o f m u s i c a s w e l l . I t h i n k I e n d e d u p g o i n g m o r e o f t h e a l t e r n a t i v e e n d , i n s t e a d o f t h e m e t a l e n d . Yo u k n o w, w e w e r e p l a y i n g e a r l y M e t a l l i c a i n t h e b a n d t h e o t h e r d a y. T h a t k i n d o f m u s i c s t i l l r e s o n a t e s w i t h m e , a n d I e n j o y l i s t e n i n g t o i t . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , I j u s t g o t t h e n e w R E M r e c o r d .

WH I t o t a l l y h e a r R E M i n y o u r m u s i c .

CP S o r t o f m y e a r l y i n f l u e n c e s . I t h i n k t h e y ’ r e p r o b a b l y i n m y t o p 1 0 b a n d s o f a l l t i m e .

WH W h a t d o y o u t h i n k o f i n d i e r o c k i n g e n e r a l ? W h a t d o y o u t h i n k o f t h e s c e n e ? W h a t d o y o u t h i n k y o u r r o l e w i t h i n i t i s ?

CP I n d i e r o c k h a s t a k e n s o m a n y f o r m s a n d m e a n i n g s . F o r a w h i l e , t h e r e w a s a s t r o n g s e n s e w i t h i n i n d i e r o c k t h a t y o u ’ r e d o i n g i t y o u r s e l f , y o u ’ r e i n d e p e n d e n t , a n d t h a t y o u ’ r e f r e e o f t h e m a j o r l a b e l “ c o r r u p t i o n ” ; a n d t h a t , I w o u l d s a y, e x i s t e d m o r e i n t h e 8 0 s a n d 9 0 s . Yo u k n o w l i k e , “ We ’ r e i n d e p e n d e n t a n d f u c k a l l t h i s , l a b e l ’ s m o n e y a n d a l l t h i s s t u f f . ” B u t n o w, i t ’ s s o e a s y t o b e i n d e p e n d e n t b e c a u s e y o u h a v e b l o g c u l t u r e , I n t e r n e t , M y s p a c e , F a c e b o o k , a n d y o u h a v e a l l t h e s e t h i n g s t h a t c a n h e l p y o u e x i s t w i t h o u t c o r p o r a t e d o l l a r s .

I t ’ s d i f f e r e n t t o b e i n d i e r o c k n o w t h a n i t w a s 1 0 y e a r s a g o . We l l , t h i s b a n d [ V H S o r B e t a ] h a s b e e n a r o u n d f o r o v e r 1 0 y e a r s . We d i d e v e r y t h i n g o u r s e l v e s , d o w n t o p a c k a g i n g t o t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e m a s t e r s t o f i n a l v e r s i o n s , t o b o o k i n g o u r o w n s h o w s a n d t a k i n g o u t p e r s o n a l l o a n s f r o m b a n k s o r b e g g i n g o u r p a r e n t s j u s t s o t h a t w e c o u l d b u y a v a n s o t h a t w e c o u l d t o u r a n d d o a l l t h o s e t h i n g s . N o w t h a t w e h a v e a l a b e l , I d o n ’ t k n o w w h a t p a r t w e h a v e i n i n d i e r o c k . I f e e l l i k e , t h o u g h , t h e r e w a s a p a r t o f t h e i n d i e r o c k s c e n e t h a t w e d i d n ’ t w a n t t o b e a p a r t o f . I t h i n k t h e 9 0 s h a d a s t a l e n e s s i n t h e i n d i e r o c k s c e n e , a t l e a s t w h e r e I w a s . A l o t o f i t f e l t d a r k a n d j u s t t h a t p e o p l e w e r e n ’ t h a v i n g a s m u c h f u n a n y m o r e .

WH B u t t h a t w a s k i n d o f t h e z e i t g e i s t o f t h e 9 0 s , w o u l d n ’ t y o u s a y ?

CP Ye a h , m a y b e t h e r e w a s a n a t i o n a l c l o u d t h a t w a s j u s t l o w e r i n g o v e r t h e a u d i e n c e s o f i n d i e r o c k , a n d w e k i n d o f w a n t e d t o g o i n a d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n . A t t h a t p o i n t w e h a d r e a l l y f a l l e n i n l o v e w i t h h o u s e m u s i c , r a v e s , b u t m a y b e n o t r a v e c u l t u r e p e r s e , b u t l i k e g o i n g s o m e w h e r e l i k e a b i g f u c k i n g p l a c e w i t h a b u n c h o f d i f f e r e n t r o o m s , a l l t h e s e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f m u s i c , a n d a l l t h e s e d i f f e r e n t l o o k i n g p e o p l e . I t w a s n ’ t f o r u s s o m u c h a b o u t t h e d r u g c u l t u r e a s m u c h a s i t w a s t h a t o u r e a r s w e r e h e a r i n g t h i n g s t h a t w e h a d n e v e r h e a r d b e f o r e . T h a t w a s e x c i t i n g a n d p e o p l e w e r e i n v i t i n g u s t o b e a p a r t o f t h a t i n a w a y t h a t i n d i e r o c k n e v e r r e a l l y f e l t . I n d i e r o c k r e -a l l y, i n a w a y, f e l t e x c l u s i v e . I w a s g o i n g t o t h o s e p a r t i e s a n d t h o s e n i g h t s f e l t r e a l l y i n c l u s i v e . I t h i n k t h e b a n d s o m e h o w w e n t k i n d o f a n t i - r o c k f o r a m i n u t e , y o u k n o w, a n t i - w a n t i n g - t o - g o - h a n g - o u t - a t -t h e - h i p s t e r - b a r s , o r a n t i - w a n t i n g - t o - b e - a - p a r t - o f o r, - b e i n g - a w a r e -o f - w h a t - w a s - o n - t h e - r a d a r s - f o r - w h a t - w a s - c o o l .

I ’ m n o t a n t i - r o c k a t a l l . Yo u c a n l i s t e n t o o u r r e c o r d a n d k n o w t h a t . B u t I d e f i n i t e l y f e e l l i k e I ’ m a t t h e p o i n t w h e r e I ’ m n o t a s c o n c e r n e d a b o u t i n d i e r o c k a n d c o o l n e s s . T h e r e ’ r e a l o t o f b a n d s c o m i n g u p , n o t t h a t I d o n ’ t l i k e t h e m o r w o u l d l i k e t h e m . I f e e l l i k e I u s e d t o f i n d o u t a b o u t m u s i c i n s u c h a d i f f e r e n t w a y t h a n I d o n o w. N o w a -d a y s i t s e e m s l i k e i f I w a n t t o f i n d o u t a b o u t s o m e t h i n g , t h e r e ’ s g o i n g t o b e a f l o o d o f p e o p l e t e l l i n g m e a b o u t i t b e c a u s e t h e y r e a d a b o u t i t o n a b l o g . N o t t h a t t h a t ’ s b a d , b u t t h i n g s a r e d i f f e r e n t .

I t h i n k w e ’ r e a t a w e i r d t i m e i n m u s i c w h e r e w e f e e l l i k e i t ’ s h a r d f o r a n y o n e t o i n v e n t a n y t h i n g n e w. Fo r m e , i t ’ s l i k e , i s t h e p r o d u c t g o o d ? I s i t d i f f e r e n t e n o u g h t o c a l l i t g o o d ? I f e e l l i k e a l o t o f t h e P i t c h f o r k - y l i k e p l a c e s r e a l l y l a t c h t h e m s e l v e s o n t o b a n d s b a s e d o n t h e q u e s t i o n o f : n o t i s i t g o o d - b u t i s i t n e w, o r d o e s i t f e e l n e w t o l i s t e n t o ? L i k e Va m p i r e We e k e n d , i t ’ s k i n d o f A f r o Po p i n f l u e n c e d ,

k i n d o f i n d i e r o c k , l i k e F r e n c h K i s s , k i n d o f Wa l k m a n i s h v o i c e , b u t i t ’ s g o t t h i n g s o n t h a t n o t a l o t o f b a n d s a r e d o i n g r i g h t n o w. S o i t g e t s p r a i s e d f o r t h a t . N o t w h e t h e r i t ’ s g o o d o r n o t , b u t i t ’ s j u s t d i f f e r e n t e n o u g h t o a t t a c h t h e m s e l v e s t o . T h e r e a r e s o n g s t h a t I e n j o y, b u t I d o n ’ t t h i n k t h e w h o l e r e c o r d d e s e r v e s t h a t m u c h a t t e n t i o n .

WH S o n e w n e s s i s n ’ t n e c e s s a r i l y g o o d .

CP I t d o e s n ’ t m e a n t h a t t h e p r o d u c t i s b e t t e r. I t h i n k t h e r e ’ s a b l a c k t - s h i r t s o m e w h e r e a t a t h r i f t s t o r e t h a t I w i l l l o v e j u s t a s m u c h a s a n y o t h e r t - s h i r t s t h a t I o w n . I d o n ’ t n e e d t h e n e w c o l o r. A n d i f i t f i t s r i g h t a n d f e e l s r i g h t , j u s t b e c a u s e I h a v e 8 m i l l i o n b l a c k t - s h i r t s , d o e s n ’ t m e a n t h a t t h e r e i s n o t a n o t h e r b l a c k t - s h i r t o u t t h e r e w i t h m y n a m e o n i t , j u s t p e r f e c t . A n d t h e r e a r e r e c o r d s o u t t h e r e I k n o w a r e p o p r e c o r d s . I k n o w t h a t t h e y ’ v e b e e n d o n e t h a t w a y a m i l l i o n t i m e s , b u t I l i k e i t , t h e n I l i k e i t . I d o n ’ t n e e d t h e f i l t e r o f w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n w i t h m u s i c , w h e t h e r i t i s s t a m p e d w i t h a p p r o v a l b y [ P i t c h f o r k ] o r w h o e v e r.

WH O n e l a s t q u e s t i o n , y o u g u y s h a v e p l a y e d w i t h M e l t B a n a n a , h a v e y o u g u y s t o u r e d A s i a ?

CP We j u s t g o t b a c k f r o m J a k a r t a , I n d o n e s i a . I t w a s g r e a t . I t w a s a w e -s o m e . We h a v e p l a n s . We ’ r e g i g g i n g i n B a n g k o k . We ’ r e h o p e f u l l y d o i n g s o m e t h i n g s i n p a r t s o f C h i n a a n d m a y b e S o u t h K o r e a , w h i c h i s w h e r e I ’ m f r o m , s o i t w o u l d b e a b i g d e a l f o r m e b e c a u s e I h a v e n ’ t b e e n b a c k t h e r e s i n c e I w a s a d o p t e d . We c o m p l e t e l y w a n t t o a p a r t o f a m u s i c s c e n e t h a t e x i s t s . We ’ v e d o n e J a p a n . I w o u l d l o v e t o g o b a c k . I w i l l p l a y a n y w h e r e . B u t i t w o u l d b e s p e c i a l f o r m e t o a t l e a s t b e a p a r t o f s o m e t h i n g i n A s i a , b e c a u s e I ’ v e a l w a y s l i v e d i n t h e S t a t e s , a n d i t w o u l d b e n i c e t o s p e n d t i m e o v e r t h e r e . A n d i f m u s i c i s t h e w a y I c a n d o t h a t , t h e n t h a t ’ s a w e s o m e .

C o n t r i b u t o r ’ s n o t e : We n d y H s u r e s e a r c h e s , t e a c h e s a n d w r i t e s a b o u t c o n t e m p o r a r y p o p u l a r m u s i c w i t h a f o c u s o n U S - A s i a n s o c i a l l a n d s c a p e . S h e a l s o b l o g s a n d r a n t s a t w w w. Ye l l o w B u z z . o r g .

3 5

a history of

Fun S ize s ta r ted mor e or less in 1991, in R i chmond, V i r g in ia . A l l en and I had been f r i ends s ince I was four, and he had come back f r om a four-year s t in t in Wiscons in w i th a ska teboard and a Descendents tape .

KC (aka Br ian) came around when A l l en and I bu i l t a ha l f p ipe in my backyard , and sa id he had a gu i ta r. When we f i r s t go t together we p layed what any ear ly -teenage suburban k ids wou ld p lay on Sunday a f te r noons in the i r par ents ’ gar ages, name ly “House o f the R is ing Sun” and “Wi ld T h ing” . I sw i t ched f r om keyboard to bass, because we d idn’ t have a bass p layer, and once we lear ned how to tune our ins t r uments we s ta r ted wr i t i ng our own s tu f f.

We had a s inger fo r a b i t and p layed under the name Gr een Room, but changed i t to Fun S ize because Gr een Room sounded too much l i ke Gr een Day (who was one o f our f avor i te bands, o f cour se) . We r ecorded our f i r s t demo Gobbsh lop-per in 1993 and s ta r ted p lay ing (s ide no te : my f r i end Jonathan s t i l l t e l l s me tha t th i s f i r s t demo was our bes t s tu f f. I don’ t know i f tha t ’ s a good th ing or no t…).

Enter Or i ce Co l l i ns : Or i ce was a f r i end o f our s who s ta r ted hang ing around our pr ac t i ces , and who d idn’ t e ven have a mus ica l i ns t r ument (he wou ld jus t pu t a c ymba l on h is head and ye l l “We lcome to Samur a i T heat r e ! ! ! ” be for e bash ing h is b r a ins out…of cour se we thought he was a gen ius) . Be ing one o f those

by J a m e s M e n e f e e

a history ofguys who can p i c k up any th ing and master i t qu i c k ly, Or i ce s ta r ted g i v ing us four- t r ac k r ecord ings o f songs he was wr i t -ing. When we heard what tu r ned in to “Abacus” we wer e b lown away. I wro te ly r i cs to i t , and Or i ce jo ined the band .

We r e leased our f i r s t 7” in 1996 ca l l ed B ingo K ing and went on our f i r s t tour tha t summer. We a lso r e leased our f i r s t CD, Pop Secr e t , i n 1996, on our f r i end and mentor Dave Tr iano ’s labe l Bob Records. We went on tour aga in tha t w in te r w i th our budd ies D iscount , and then aga in in spr ing 1997 w i th A lgebr a 1 .

By then , I had g i ven Roger f r om Less T han Jake a tape o f Pop Secr e t and he passed i t on to the i r d r ummer, V inn ie , who was th ink ing about s ta r t ing a labe l . He phoned me and sa id he dug i t and sa id h i s l abe l was go ing to be ca l l ed Fue led By Ramen, and he asked us to r e lease a 7” . We ca l l ed i t T he Process o f Se l l i ng Out , a p lay on the B lac k Flag r ecord T he Process o f Weed ing Out , and a lso pok ing fun a t Less T han Jake fo r r ecent ly s ign ing to Cap i to l a f te r V inn ie to ld me about a l l the undeser ved f l ac k the band was ge t t ing fo r s ign ing to a ma jor.

In the w in te r o f 1997/98 we went on tour w i th Ben Gr im, f r i ends o f A l l en’s f r om Wiscons in who ended up be ing some o f our bes t f r i ends and mus ica l a l l i es. Man tha t tour was fun . A t th i s po in t we wer e spend ing a lo t o f t ime p lay ing shows up and down the Eas t Coas t on the weekends s ince most o f us wer e a t schoo l and book ing tour s fo r the w in te r and sum-mer br eaks. We had never made i t ou t to the Wes t Coas t , and wer e t r y ing to f igur e out how to do tha t , when the Par as i tes asked us to be suppor t fo r the i r fu l l U.S. summer tour in 1998. Fue led By Ramen had dec ided to do a fu l l - l ength w i th us , and we went

in to the or ig ina l B ig B lue Mean ie s tud io in Hackensack , New Je r sey w i th Je r r y Jones f r om one o f our f avor i te bands, T he F iendz , as producer.

A t th i s po in t we had accomp l i shed way mor e than we ever thought poss ib le as a band , and as th ings s ta r ted ge t t ing comp l i ca ted we s ta r ed dr i f t i ng apar t . Myse l f, Or i ce , KC (Br ian) and A l l en wer e 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 r espec t i ve ly, and dec ided i t was t ime to move on . We p layed our f a r ewe l l g ig a t Tw is te r s , our home base , on December 10 , 1998, and i t was an amaz ing show.

I w i l l never fo r ge t how packed i t was, see ing a l l my f r i ends in the aud ience , and look ing over a t Br ian and smi l i ng, th ink ing how gr ea t i t was to spend my teenage year s in a pop/punk band w i th my bes t f r i ends. T ha t was the par t about Fun S ize tha t mat te r ed most : be ing in a band w i th your bes t f r i ends…and grow ing up together, l i s ten ing to and p lay ing punk rock , tour ing in your mom’s conver s ion v an , and wr i t i ng songs about soda and g i r l s .

Fun S ize w i l l p lay a r eun ion show on Fr iday, May 30th , a long w i th Ne ighborhood Fr iend ly, Love and Rever ie , and Us and Chuck (Knuck le Hed member s do ing Knuck le Hed songs) . $8 in ad-v ance , $10 a t the door. Door s a t 6pm. T i c ke ts on sa le now a t P lan 9 and www.a l l eyka tz r v a .com. Check out an exc lus i ve in te r v iew w i th James Me-ne fee on RVAMag.com. A l l ey K a tz i s loca ted a t 10 Wa lnu t A l l ey in the H is tor i c Shockoe Bot tom D is -t r i c t i n R i chmond, V i r g in ia . Mor e spec i f i ca l l y, you can f ind us be tween 17th and 18th S t r ee t o f f o f Ma in S t r ee t . Jus t look fo r the w ide cobbles tone a l -l ey near the 17th S t r ee t Far mer s Mar ke t pav i l i on . For mor e in fo go to www.myspace .com/ funs izer v a

thankgod for

4pulptones

By Landis Wine

mental illne ss

T h e m o s t p o i n t e d l y d e p r e s s i n g m o m e n t i n m y h i s t o r y w i t h m u s i c o c -c u r r e d d u r i n g m y f r e s h m a n y e a r o f c o l l e g e a t M a c R o c k i n H a r r i s o n b u r g , V i r g i n i a . I w a s k i l l i n g t i m e i n t h e h a l l w a y s o f t h e i r e v e n t c e n t e r w h e n I o v e r h e a r d a p r o m o t e r a n d m a n a g e r d i s c u s s i n g t h e c u r r e n t s t a t e o f t h e n i g h t ’ s h e a d l i n e r, We s l e y W i l l i s , w h o w a s c u r r e n t l y a t t h e h o s p i t a l u n -d e r g o i n g t r e a t m e n t f o r h i s r e c e n t l y d i a g n o s e d c a n c e r. Fo r t h o s e o f y o u n o t f a m i l i a r w i t h W i l l i s , h e w a s a n e n t e r t a i n e r o u t o f C h i c a g o w h o w a s e s s e n t i a l l y h o m e l e s s b e f o r e h a v i n g h i s t a l e n t n u r t u r e d b y n o n e o t h e r t h a n J e l l o B i a f r a a n d h i s A l t e r n a t i v e Te n t a c l e s l a b e l . A f t e r q u i t e a f e w f r a n t i c p h o n e c a l l s , i t w a s m a d e c l e a r t h a t We s l e y w a s n o t , u n d e r a n y c i r c u m s t a n c e s , g o i n g t o m i s s t h e p e r f o r m a n c e t h a t n i g h t , a n d w o u l d p e r f o r m f r o m a w h e e l c h a i r i f n e c e s s a r y.

N o w, a f t e r d e a l i n g w i t h b a n d s f o r a n y p e r i o d o f t i m e , y o u c o m e t o u n -d e r s t a n d t h a t n e a r l y a n y t h i n g c a n c a u s e t h e c a n c e l l a t i o n o f a s h o w. A d e a t h i n t h e f a m i l y, a s o r e t h r o a t , a b a d b a g o f w e e d , b a d v i b e s , e t c . c a n r u i n m o n t h s o f p l a n n i n g a n d p r o m o t i o n , y e t h e r e w a s a 3 5 0 p o u n d s c h i z o p h r e n i c m a n w i t h w h a t w o u l d t u r n o u t t o b e t e r m i n a l c a n c e r r o l l i n g o n s t a g e t o p e r f o r m t o a g r o u p o f r o w d y h i p s t e r s a n d p u n k s , s i m p l y o u t o f o b l i g a t i o n t o h i s f a n s . T h r e e s o n g s i n , v a r i o u s k i d s i n t h e a u d i e n c e b e g a n h e c k l i n g a n d y e l l i n g “ f a t r e t a r d ” a t t h e o b v i o u s l y i l l m a n o n s t a g e . I t w a s a t t h i s p o i n t t h a t I d e c i d e d t h a t I w o u l d e i t h e r h a v e t o w a l k o u t i m m e d i a t e l y o r t r a m p l e t h e i r p e r f e c t l y a l i g n e d t e e t h w i t h m y h e e l s .

E v e r s i n c e t h e n , I h a v e h a d a n e x c e p t i o n a l l y l o w t o l e r a n c e t h a t b o r -d e r s o n p h y s i c a l d i s g u s t f o r t h e a b u s i v e n a t u r e w i t h w h i c h s e e m i n g l y c o m p e t e n t f a n s t r e a t p e r f o r m e r s w i t h m e n t a l i l l n e s s . T h e p a s t s e v e r a l y e a r s h a v e s e e n a s m a t t e r i n g o f d o c u m e n t a r i e s a b o u t p e r f o r m e r s s u c h a s W i l l i s ( w h o h a s h i s o w n t o b o o t ) , w i t h t h e l i k e s o f R o k y E r i k s o n o f t h e 1 3 t h F l o o r E l e v a t o r s , D a n i e l J o h n s t o n , A n t o n N e w c o m b f r o m T h e B r i a n J o n e s t o w n M a s s a c r e , h a v i n g t h e i r m y t h s c a r e f u l l y t e a s e d a n d

p r e s e n t e d t o a n a u d i e n c e t h a t i s b e g g i n g f o r t h e s p e c t a c l e o f s e l f -d e s t r u c t i o n ( a n d d e s t r u c t i o n b y p r o x y o f t h e i r i l l n e s s ) . A l l o f t h e s e a r t i s t s , s a v e W i l l i s , w h o h a s s i n c e p a s s e d a w a y, a r e s t i l l p e r f o r m i n g t o s o m e e x t e n t , a n d t h o u g h t h e i r d e g r e e s o f i l l n e s s v a r y g r e a t l y, t h e y c a r r y t h e c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r o f h a v i n g t h e i r m u s i c b e i n g a f o o t n o t e t h e i r m a l a d i e s .

I f y o u d o n ’ t b e l i e v e m e , t r y g o i n g t h r o u g h a n y n u m b e r o f a r t i c l e s a b o u t D a n i e l J o h n s t o n , w h o h a s r e l e a s e d a f o r m i d a b l e b o d y o f w o r k t h a t c o u l d t r o u n c e a n y n u m b e r o f s o n g w r i t e r s , a n d h a s b e e n c o v e r e d a n d r e - w o r k e d b y t o o m a n y a r t i s t s t o m e n t i o n . L o o k a t e x a c t l y h o w m u c h p r i n t i s d e d i c a t e d t o h i s m u s i c a n d c r a f t . T h e m e a t o f t h e s e a r t i c l e s g e n e r a l l y c o n s i s t s o f g r o t e s q u e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f h i s p h y s i c a l a n d a b r i e f h i s t o r y o f t h e m o s t d e v a s t a t i n g m o m e n t s o f h i s l i f e c o m p l e t e w i t h a l a u n d r y l i s t o f p h y s i c a l a n d m e n t a l a i l m e n t s . T h i s , o f c o u r s e , i s w h a t i s d e e m e d a c c e p t a b l e w h e n w r i t e r s a r e t r y i n g t o f r a m e t h e a r t i s t s u f -f e r i n g f o r h i s w o r k a n d p r o d u c i n g d e s p i t e a m y r i a d o f o d d s , b u t t h e m o m e n t t h a t t h e m u s i c b e c o m e s s e c o n d a r y o r t e r t i a r y t o t h e s p e c t a c l e o f t h e a r t i s t , i t b e c o m e s s i m p l e e x p l o i t a t i o n . T h i s i s t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h p e o p l e w h o o f t e n c o n s i d e r t h e m s e l v e s a b o v e s u c h t h i n g s c o n s i d e r i t j u s t i f i a b l e a n d e r u d i t e t o a m a s s c o l l e c t i o n s o f t h i n g s b a s e d u p o n t h e m o n s t r o s i t y o f t h e a r t i s t . I ’ m s u r e t h a t e v e r y r e a d e r o u t t h e r e h a s h a d a t l e a s t o n e e x p e r i e n c e w i t h a f r i e n d w h o h a s p r e f a c e d a s o n g b y s a y -i n g , “ T h i s g u y i s t o t a l l y f u c k e d u p … ” f o l l o w e d b y a w i l d a n e c d o t e t h a t c o m p l e t e l y e n g u l f s a n y p o s s i b l e i m p r e s s i o n o f t h e s o n g b e f o r e t h e f i r s t n o t e i s s o u n d e d . T h i s i s e n t i r e l y s e p a r a t e d f r o m t h e s e l f - d e s t r u c t i o n t h a t i s o n e o f t h e t e n a n t s o f r o c k m u s i c , b u t I a l w a y s f i n d i t c u r i o u s h o w e a s i l y p e o p l e c a n s l i p f r o m o n e d e f i n i t i o n t o a n o t h e r w i t h o u t b a t -t i n g a n e y e . I n r o c k & r o l l , t h e a c i d b u r n o u t i s f o r e v e r t h e e q u i v a l e n t t o s c h i z o p h r e n i a a n d b i - p o l a r d i s o r d e r. S u f f e r i n g w i l l a l w a y s r e m a i n a v i r t u e i n a r t , b u t i t ’ s c e r t a i n l y n o t a f i r e t h a t n e e d s t o b e f e d b y t h e d i s g u s t a n d i g n o r a n c e o f t h e f a n s .

thankgod for

4pulptones

By Landis Wine

mental illne ss

Image by Br andon Pec k3 9

Murder By DeathRed of Tooth and ClawVagrant Records

Murder By Death has a

history of changing their

sound, be it slight or

extreme, from record to

record. Beginning with a

sound much akin to Cursive

(and often compared to), by

the time they had released

their third album, In Boca

Al Lupa, their sound had

changed so much, it was

difficult to recognize

them as the same band.

Trading in their disjointed,

awkwardly timed indie rock

tunes for Johnny Cash-

esque down tempo ballads

and sea shanties, Murder

by Death had reinvented

themselves.

This time around, the

formula hasn’t changed all

that much. Still intact are

the pirate tunes and low

rumbling vocals, but this

time with more ferocity

than ever. These songs

all tell stories of the old

days, drinking and sailing,

love and loss, crime and

punishment. It’s a beautiful

record, swelling with

intensity at all the right

moments, calming and

soothing at others, and

is a testament to the fact

that this band will continue

to change but never

disappoint.

- Brandon Peck

V i v i a n G i r lsS/TM au led By T i g ers

Vivian Gir ls are a trio of

gir ls from Brooklyn that

are going to be one of your

favorite bands. The band’s

sound is an authentic

incorporation of elements

of 60s garage surf and

modern day punk, and it

doesn’t sound cheesy. The

most impressive aspect of

this record is the vocals.

The gir ls do a lot of

harmonizing, and it has a

natural sound to it (if you

get a chance to see them

the vocals sound just as

good live). Think the Sonic

Youth track “Little Trouble

Gir l” that has Kim Gordon

and Kim Deal doing vocals

together; imagine a whole

record sounding that cool.

The songs feel laid back,

kind of shoegazey, but the

bass and drums hold it

down keeping the record

energetic. With so much

stupid shit coming out

these days it is comfor ting

to know that there are still

good bands like the Vivian

Gir ls dropping killer records

like this one.

- Cur tis Grimstead

T h e B lac k A n g elsD i r ect i o n s to S ee a G h o stLi g h t i n t h e Att i c

I could make this brief: buy

this record immediately,

and I’ ll explain why. You

see, Austin’s psych-rockers

extraordinaire, the Black

Angels, have made what I’d

be willing to call album of

the year, thus far.

I’d been dying to hear

this album since, well, the

release of their exceptional

debut, Passover. As good as

that album was, Directions

to See a Ghost blows it

out of the water. It’s mind-

bendingly good; the drone

is hypnotic, and the whole

4 2Bands i n RED a r e l oca l

thing is an explosion of

a dizzying wall of noise

straight out of 1968. Or it

is 2068? They don’t seem

to belong here, this is a

band born both out of the

past and the future.

Opening track “You on the

Run” is awash with the

heady guitars and ghostly

tambourine that hallmarks

the Black Angels sound. As

with many of their tracks, the

content is pretty politically

charged. “Mission District”

wouldn’t be out of place

on Passover, molasses-like

at the star t and crackling

with distor tion. Standout

track “18 Years” has one

of the sexiest bass lines

I’ve ever heard. The song

is off the char ts. Alex Maas’

passionate indifference is

perfect for lines like “she’s

got control of you and you

love it”, and “she’s got

control of you and you need

it”. It’s life in slow motion;

the consummate song to

cast burning glances at

the object of your affection

across a smoky bar. There’s

an undercurrent of Native

American sounds in the

Black Angels’ music, and

you’ll hear it all over the

place. On “Vikings”, it’s

present in the hauntingly

tribal backbeat, the perfect

foil to Maas’ tinny voice

as he sings about German

warplanes and bombs. “You

in Color” sounds at times

like Black Rebel Motorcycle

Club, and while both bands

share an affinity for the

Velvet Underground, the

similarity is temporary.

This, and much of the

album, is the sound of

Dennis Hopper and Peter

Fonda driving through

the deser t in their drug-

fueled daze. It’s heat

waves and coiled snakes

and peyote and bones and

all things dry and burning

and otherworldly. It’s that

moment on a plane when

you hit that first patch

of turbulence and your

stomach drops out from

under you. It’s pure, classic,

hot damn rock and roll.

Whether it’s the dawning

of the Age of Aquarius

one more time, or a point

in history so advanced it

doesn’t yet exist, the Black

Angels are there. They’re

really fucking good, and

they’re only getting better.

So, in closing, buy this

record immediately.

- Megan Petty

P et e & t h e P i r at esLi tt le D eat hSto len

As the temperature heats

up, so too does the libido.

As summer approaches,

if you’re anything like

Reading, England’s, Pete &

the Pirates, you’re probably

feeling a little frisky these

days. Little Death marks the

Pirates’ first foray into full-

lengths, and they’re making

quite a splash with their

sexed-up and more than

a little poppy jingling and

jangling. Even the album

title plays homage to the

big “O”. Watch out, ladies,

they’re (possibly) single

and (definitely) ready to

mingle.

Right away, you’re made

aware that there’s a par ty

in the Pirates’ pants that

you’re invited to. Sure,

4 3

they’re a little superficial

(“your smile is fake/but I

like your face), and a tad

selfish (“I messed up your

bed/I mixed up your head”),

but they’re pretty likeable

all the same. Taking cues

from the Buzzcocks and

ear ly Supergrass, Pete &

the Pirates embark on a

baker’s dozen tracks that

intoxicate and captivate. The

entire album is ridiculously

listenable, and falls under

the category of inescapably

catchy.

“She Doesn’t Belong to Me”

is an ode to an unattainable

lover, showing off the

cheeky harmonies that run

rampant on the record

(along with all those raging

hormones). On “Lost in the

Woods” the Pirates get a

little metaphorical (“it feels

so good/when I’m lost in

the woods”). You know

they’re not talking about

their neighborhood park.

The guitars are as wicked

as the lyrics, adding to

the undeniable charm of

these saucy lads. The sexy

talk doesn’t stop there; on

“Moving” we’re serenaded

with “knocking boots/and

we’ll make the car horn

toot/and the neighbors

stop and stare”. The big

single from the album,

“Knots”, is dizzyingly

frenetic, the taut guitar

and rapid-fire drumming

reminiscent of the halcyon

Britpop days gone by. Lest

you think it’s all casual sex

‘round these par ts, well,

you’re almost correct. But

the Pirates do a lovely

little balladesque number in

“Eyes Like Tar” that show

a somewhat deeper range

of emotion than you might

have expected. Only just.

Sure, they’re not breaking

any new ground, these

Pirates, but sometimes

making a record like this is

good enough. These Pirates

can pillage my house any

day. - Megan Petty

T h e B r eed ersM o u n ta i n Batt les4A D

This is a good album. I

want to star t with that,

because nothing else I write

should detract from the fact

that this is a good album.

The problems arise when

The Breeders put out two

amazing, nearly perfect

albums, nine years apar t,

and then take six years

to drop this. It’s a little

disappointing.

Last Splash is, among other

things, a road-trip essential

due to its beginning-to-end

excellence. Title TK excels

in the same way, but with a

totally different feel. There

is not a song on either

record over which you want

to skip.

The first two tracks of

Mountain Battles will

reassure you that Kim Deal

hasn’t spent the past six

years writing lyrics. And I

agree that one of the most

winning attributes of The

Breeders has been their

ability to write freakishly

great songs while obviously

lacking in technical

proficiency, but the guitar

solo on “It’s The Love”

does not sound like sloppy

pop brilliance, or even a

loving tribute to the songs

original authors. It sounds

like a 12-year-old who’s

4 4

been playing guitar for a

week showing off to his

parents. There are places

on this album where the

not-trying-too-hard sounds

a lot like they’re trying too

hard.

There are, however, several

songs on here that are

good and sound like The

Breeders that we know. I

would actually say that

the majority of these

songs sound like familiar

Breeders. But I think that’s

why I’m bored with them.

This album doesn’t sound

like it’s own entity. Songs

like “Istanbul” and “German

Studies” stand out as

interesting, and “Regalame

Esta Noche” can’t help but

sound different with the

Spanish lyrics and a guest

guitarist.

Fans of The Breeder’s first

album, Pod, will probably

like this album a lot more.

But I have been let down.

It’s still good. It’s just not

as good as I hoped it would

be. - Nathan Joyce

N ow S leepy h ea dN o ct u r n ePo p Fact i o n / Exot i c Fev er

It has been nearly four

years since Now Sleepyhead

formed as a two piece

between Michael Otley and

Karen Creighton, which was

the first and last time I saw

them. Since then, they have

added two other versatile

musicians, Phil Barbato and

Oura Sananikone. I had my

misgivings about reviewing

their new album, Nocturne,

as it had been so long since

I’d heard their music and

wasn’t quite sure that I was

the man for the job I was

being asked to do.

As it turns out, Now

Sleepyhead has created a

beautiful album full of lush

sounds that ebb and flow

from beautiful acoustic

melodies to screaming

guitars and orchestral

crescendos. The way that

Otley and Creighton’s voices

play off of each other is

perfect in most instances

and easily brings to mind

the likes of Carissa’s Weird

and Stars at separate

times. In the song “Who the

Fuck”, the song is capped

off by a chorus of voices

that it would be difficult to

define as anything other

than breathtaking.

From the most modest and

simple track, to the loudest

and most complex, the

album never misses a beat,

and by the time it is over,

if you are anything like

me, you might be asking

yourself where you’ve been

for last four years. Bravo,

Now Sleepyhead, bravo.

- Brandon Peck

T h e K i llsM i d n i g h t B o o mD o m i n o R ec o r d s

In the past, it’s been easy

to dismiss The Kills’ music

as pretentious hipster

music, especially if you

were a fan of Alison

Mosshar t’s previous band,

the pop punk Floridians

Discount. At the same

time, it was hard to ignore

the fact that the music

being created between

4 5

her and counterpar t, Jamie

Hince, was pretty goddamn

innovative. Combining

dance grooves with the likes

of grunge rock and 70s era

British mod rock, it was only

a matter of time before they

would release their magnum

opus.

Three albums and numerous

singles later, this London

based duo has released

what may be one of the best

pop records to come out this

year. Staying true to their

lo-fi approach to recording,

these two have managed

to release an album that

simultaneously sounds dir ty

and beautifully produced.

From the disjointed opening

track “U.R.A. Fever” (whose

music sounds to be created

by a bass guitar, a dial

tone and an electric drill)

to pure indie rock gems

like “Tape Song” and “Last

Day of Magic” to the more

quiet numbers like “Black

Balloon” or the closing

track “Goodnight Bad

Morning”, this album is a

testament to the pursuit

of creativity in pop music.

One of the most impressive

things about this album is

that it can easily be listened

to passively, but when you

pay close attention to it,

you will begin to discover

little nuances in the songs

that didn’t appear upon

ear lier listens. If this is just

the beginning of things to

come, I hope the end never

arrives. - Brandon Peck

D ea d G oatsT en n ess ee P eo p leS elf-R eleas ed

The first time I heard the

Dead Goats was during their

sound check at Hyperlink

Café. I set up a show for my

band at the time, Fuck if I

Know. I asked my friends,

Kemper Blair and Stuar t

Holt, if they were up to

anything new musically since

the disbanding of their old

group, the Rabbits. They

made claims of having two

projects, Rhinoceros and

Cubscout (which would later

be renamed to the Dead

Goats). Cubscout would

also feature ex-members of

the band, KeyOns.

Not knowing what to expect,

except the simple definition

of their sound as “sloppy

guitar rock”, I went in with

no expectations. I was

floored instantly by the

infectious simple chorus of

“Stayin’ Up All Night”.

Since then, I have been

a diehard fan and on

occasion, the sixth goat.

For their first release

Tennessee People, they

have compiled eight

demos of whiskey-soaked,

cocaine-whiffed, heavy

rock anthems. Taking their

cues from classic rock

staples, punk sensibilities,

and modern rock ar tists

such as Against Me!, they

have developed a familiar,

yet distinct sound that

demands the listener to pay

attention.

There are many standout

points to this release.

One that comes to mind

is the incredible vocal

dynamic shared by Blair

and tambourine player

Chris Ramming. Throwing

in as many “whoa” par ts

as possible, they provide

the perfect setting for the

4 6

best sing-alongs. The best

example of this being in

their song, “Cemetery”.

Besides having fantastic

sing-along par ts, they

dabble with topics like the

par ty lifestyle (“Stayin’ Up

All Night”), holding out for

the best dreams to come

true (“Yer Ma and Pa”),

and just being a rock band

in general (“What Don’t

You Go” and “Oh Yeah”).

The subject matters

don’t demand too much

interpretation, but they do

offer a universal appeal to

audiences of all kinds.

The music, which may be

sloppy at times, is engaging

and full of high energy.

The combined forces of

guitarists David Rohrer

and Jason Detzel help build

foundations of ridiculous

guitar solos and clever

chord progressions that

are as familiar as they are

unforgettable.

The only downside to

this release is that

their new songs are

even better. They find

themselves incorporating

more ambitious ideas

into the fold, as well as

adding Ramming’s input

as songwriter and third

guitarist. What the future

holds for the Dead Goats

is exciting to say the least.

If there were one band not

to be missed in Richmond,

it would be this band. The

Dead Goats continue slaying

nightly.

-Shannon Cleary

W h eelb i t eD i s c o g r a p h y 1 9 9 8-2 0 03Flats pot R ec o r d s

It’s hard to believe that

in ten years since the

demo was recorded,

Paul has grown the most

fantastic beard. Anyway,

while most of Wheelbite’s

contemporaries were aping

the posi-core revival of the

late nineties, or fist fighting

kids outside of Twisters

because they were from

Virginia Beach, Wheelbite

was more concerned with

talking shit, making jokes,

throwing dar ts, listening

to Infest and Breakdown,

and watching The State.

Listening to the CD now I can

understand how we were

overshadowed by bands

like Witness and Time Flies.

We didn’t have the hear t, or

the right moves, and I was

really drunk. Completely

oblivious to “scene unity”

and overwhelmed with the

number of our friends who

had been stabbed in the

back, Wheelbite instead

focused our attention on

three things: Skate,

Punk, Fuck. 21 songs

and each one a milestone

in musicianship and lyric

writing. A legendary piece

of Richmond hardcore/

punk history that rivals

the Fun Size reunion.

- Adam Juresko

47

image Adam Ju r esko

The Sanest People On Earth By Tyler Bass

Believe what you want. No, seriously, in the words of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, “If it’s not true for you, it’s not true.” The rest of this ar ticle is a mere caveat.

By 11 a.m. on April 12, a variety of sunglasses-wearing characters had showed up, only nine in

number perhaps, but persistent nonetheless. Their handheld signs dispar-aged the tax-exempt status of the Church of Scientology for various reasons,

including its use of private investigators and what some have considered to be practices physiologically predatory in the pur view of mainstream culture.

Famously, as the result of a landmark South Park episode, the church has been the subject of all manner of ridicule, par ticular ly for its myths about

the origins of human strife. In the words of Hubbard in the Operating Thetan level three technical bulletin:

“The head of the Galactic Confederation (76 planets around larger stars visible from here) (founded 95,000,000 yrs ago, very space opera) solved overpopulation (250 billion or so per planet - 178 billion on average) by mass

implanting. He caused people to be brought to Teegeeack (Ear th) and put an H Bomb on the principal volcanoes (Incident 2) and then the Pacific area ones were taken in boxes to Hawaii

and the Atlantic area ones to Las Palmas and there ‘packaged’. His name was Xenu. He used renegades. Various misleading data by mean of circuits, etc. was placed in the implants. When

through with his crime, Loyal Officers (to the people) captured him after 6 years of battle and put him in an electronic mountain trap where he still is. ‘They’ are gone. The place (Confed.) has since been a deser t.”

Last month was RVA’s first official inter view with church officials, and the whole rendezvous answered few questions and provoked insulting lies on behalf of both par ties. Sophia Alvarez is not the real name of the woman who accompanied me into this inter view.

Carol Down th r ough h i s to r y, man has been t r y i ng to so l ve h i s p r ob lems. He ’s done a l l so r t s o f t h ings. And many men , i nc lud ing [Ar i s to t l e ] , have found p ieces to the puzz le . I t ’ s no t un t i l Mr. Hubbard d id the r esear ch and found D iane t i c s d id he f i nd a l l t he p ieces and a l i gned them. T he on ly way you know tha t ’ s t r ue i s when you r ead i t because i t ’ s based on the phys i ca l l aws o f t he un i ve r se . I t ’ s no t mys t i ca l . I t ’ s no t pos i t i ve th ink ing. I t ’ s no t any th ing tha t ’ s mys te r ious. I t ’ s based on phys i ca l l aws. So when app l i ed to a human be ing, i t wor ks un i fo r m ly on ly i f t hey have had d r ugs. When you wer e i n to the r apy, d id you have d r ugs?

Sophia Alvarez: No.

Carol Good . Abso lu te ly good fo r you , o r some k ind o f e v as i ve t r ea tment tha t psych ia t r i s t s do – lobo tom ies and shoc k t r ea tments , o r th ings o f t ha t na tu r e , i s t he t ime tha t D iane t i c s w i l l no t wor k fo r you because they have des t r oyed the pa r t s o f t he m ind to t r ac k wha t has occur r ed to i t .

Tyler Stephen Bass: We l l , I de f i n i t e l y used a w ide v a r i e t y o f phar ma-ceu t i ca l agen ts o f f e r ed by psych ia t r y myse l f, when I was a c h i l d . A who le coc k ta i l .

Carol Wha t was the r eason?

TSB: Uhm, I suppose the i n ten t was to t r ea t depr ess ion , to say no th ing o f Sc ien to logy, bu t I wou ldn’ t say tha t they wor ked , the d r ugs. I was a l so g i ven Ader a l l , abou t psycho logy, and I t h ink they a r e we l l adv i sed . Oh , a l so Pax i l , espec ia l l y t ha t one .

Carol A l l o f t hem, s i r. A l l o f t hem.

I do have to concede to Sc ien to logy some r igh t fu l d i sda in fo r a phar maceu t i -

ca l es tab l i shment tha t ac tua l l y mar ke ts an t i -depr essan ts on te l e v i s ion . I f t hose med i ca t ions wer e so essen t i a l , t hen why wou ld they need to make g l i t z adver t i sements? For an i n te r es t i ng po in t o f compar i son , imag ine i f g r oce r y s to r es s ta r ted to r un adver t i sements fo r f r u i t s : “Come down to K r oger and t r y bananas , by Do le . Po tass ium: i nv a luab le to b r a in f unc t ion ! ” Ca ro l commun ica ted he r f r us t r a t i on w i th how she per ce i ved psych ia t r i s t s con -fus ing mat te r w i th the m ind . “T he b r a in , ” she sa id , “ i s l i ke your l e f t l e g. I t has no mor e to do w i th the sour ce o f your p r ob lems, than i f you had a b r oken l eg. ” J ane t Re i tman a t Ro l l i ng S tone wro te an exce l l en t a r t i c l e two year s ago i n wh i c h she ac tua l l y go t an answer abou t Xenu f r om Sc ien to logy. Fr om tha t i s sue :

” [Sea Or g member, M i ke] R inder has f i e lded ques t ions on Sc ien to logy ’ s be -l i e f s fo r yea r s . When I ask h im whe ther the r e i s any v a l i d i t y to the Xenu s to r y, he ge ts r ed - f aced , a lmos t go ing i n to a t i r ade . ‘ I t i s no t a s to r y, i t i s an aud i t i ng l e ve l , ’ he says , ne i the r con f i r m ing nor deny ing tha t th i s theo logy ex i s t s . ” However, appar en t l y the c hur ch i s no t w i l l i ng to keep i t s s to r y s t r a igh t on th i s po in t .

TSB:: I was r ead ing an a r t i c l e . Sc i en to logy a l l owed a PR per son to i n te r ac t w i th a r epor te r f r om Ro l l i ng S tone l as t yea r (memor y was no t p r ec i se ly se r v -i ng) . T hey i nv i t ed h im to one o f t he i r cen te r s i n Ca l i fo r n ia , and he asked Sc ien to logy wha t was up w i th the Xenu s to r y.

Carol Wha- Wha t?

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Her e , Ca r o l ’ s eyes na r r owed in wha t was a ha l fway honor ab le bu t f a tuous a t tempt , none the less , to deny hav ing heard o f t he name o f the fo r mer i n te r -ga lac t i c r u le r p las te r ed coun t l ess t imes on the pages and b logs o f ne ws mon -keys , pa r t i cu la r l y th r oughou t tha t month and the p r e v ious Febr uar y, when an In te r ne t -based g roup ca l l ed “Anonymous” o r ches t r a ted p r o tes t s to i nc r ease Xenu awar eness. By th i s j unc tu r e i n the i n te r v i e w, I kne w tha t a l l fo r th r igh tness was abou t to sha t te r i n to a thousand p ieces on bo th s ides , t ha t i s apar t f r om the f ac t tha t I had g i ven phony names fo r myse l f and A l v a r ez on the way i n . T ha t b l i p f r om Me l B rook ’ s f i lm Rob in Hood : Men In T igh ts wher e a l l o f Rob in Hood ’s men a r e s imu l taneous ly “bu l l sh i t ” - cough ing, p layed on loop as Ca ro l began a ca t and mouse game fo r the r es t o f t he i n te r v i e w wher e she l i ed , kne w I kne w she was l y i ng, ye t t r i ed to g i ve me an answer w i thou t g i v i ng me an answer. T hank you fo r tha t l as t pa r t , Ca r o l .

TSB:: T he Xenu s to r y.

Carol I don’ t know wha t tha t i s .

TSB:: T he per son r ep l i ed tha t i t i s no t a s to r y, i t i s an aud i t i ng l e ve l .

Carol Xena? TSB:: Xenu . Yeah , th i s was a PR per son fo r Sc ien to logy. I am no t mak ing th i s up.

Carol Yeah .

A f e w moments l a te r, a f t e r she ex t r apo la ted fo r a wh i l e on the na tu r e o f t he Sc ien to logy ’ s o r gan i zed , the r apeu t i c h i e r a r c hy, Ca r o l l a id down a t r ue gem

o f a quo te tha t shou ld i n a l l r i gh tness se r ve as an e te r na l l andmar k to the b leach-s t r ong b r and o f cogn i t i ve d i ssonance av a i l ab le to a l l i ns ide the wa l l s o f Manha t tan’ s Sc ien to logy c hur ch .

Carol I am go ing to te l l you , anybody who wou ld r e vea l – o r, r e vea l i s t he wrong word – say th ings such as tha t , i t ’ s k i nd o f l i ke , my t r y i ng to ve rba l l y exp la in wha t LRH was tak ing some four o r f i ve hundr ed pages to de l i ve r to you peop le . I t wou ld be l i ke my t r y i ng to exp la in i t t o you . T her e a r e such f a l sehoods. None o f i t i s t r ue . T he on ly way to know wha t i s on th i s OT3 l e ve l i s by do ing i t . T hen , he knows wha t ’ s on the r e .

So, i n a way, my ques t ion was answer ed , as she r e fe r r ed to OT3 , wh i c h I had no t p r e v ious ly assoc ia ted w i th c hur ch-o rda ined know ledge o f Xenu (a l though i t ce r ta in ly i s ) . T he k ind o f ve rba l r unaround r egard ing the name o f Xenu , however, i s be low mocker y a t th i s po in t . L . Ron Hubbard had no ab i l i t y to p r ed i c t t he e f f ec t the I n te r ne t .

TSB:: He r e ’ s wha t I know – i t cou ld be j us t a comp le te fo r ger y, and I cou ld be j us t a foo l , bu t , I mean , the po in t i s th i s – you know, the peop le who r each tha t l e ve l a r e to ld no t to d i sc lose any o f i t .

Carol We l l , I wan t to say someth ing to you . Her e ’ s the t r u th o f i t : un less you have done these g r ad ien t l e ve l s , and I cou ld commun ica te to you wha t I have go t ten ou t o f [ the aud i t i ng l e ve l ] C l ea r, i t m igh t no t be r ea l to you . So fo r me to te l l you wha t I am exper i enc ing tha t i sn’ t r ea l , o r i sn’ t r ea l fo r you , bu t r ea l fo r me , wou ld be l i ke a d i s to r t i on o f wha t i t i s to be C lea r. I can com-mun i ca te to you tha t I have bur s t s o f pe r sona l f r eedom, tha t – I can desc r ibe i t i n ce r ta in ways i n wh i c h you have some r ea l i t y on i t , bu t i f I we r e to te l l you tha t I con tac ted a pas t l i f e – now tha t may be t r ue o r tha t may no t be t r ue – bu t wha t a r e you go ing to th ink? ‘ I s she a nu t? ’ Eve r y pe r son shou ld seek i t ou t fo r themse l ves .

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At th i s po in t , I adm i t ted to hav ing r ead OT3 ’s techn i ca l manua l . She ac ted l i ke she was comp le te ly su r p r i sed , e ven though i t i s av a i l ab le a t coun t l ess des t i na t ion spo ts ac r oss the In te r ne t ’ s to r r en t under g round . I t i s d i f f i cu l t t o desc r ibe the immens i t y o f t he tempta t ion a t the t ime to pu l l ou t my l ap top and show her a l l o f t he copy r igh ted f i l e s , bu t these Sc ien to log i s t s a r e f amous fo r the i r copy r igh t l aw voodoo. I had ne i the r the means nor the w i l l i ngness to dea l w i th the f ac t tha t she m igh t have had some r appor t w i th the po l i ce a t the door to dea l w i th r esear cher s such as myse l f. I he ld o f f ex t r ac t i ng a money sho t o f he r f ace when she saw Hubbard ’ s own handwr i t i ng spe l l i ng “Xenu” on th i s mon i to r i n the i n te r es t o f avo id ing a tang le w i th the Chur ch .

Carol You have r ead un t r u ths . To ta l bu l l sh i t . I t ’ s d i s to r ted . I t ’ s mean t to make us l ook l i ke imbec i l es because o f one r eason a lone , one r eason on ly, and I am go ing to te l l you th i s : t he r e a r e fo r ces ou t the r e – d r ugs , b i ke r s . . .

–B ike r s? T ha t i s comp le te ly i nsc r u tab le . P lease , S l augh te r ama par t i c i pan ts , w i thho ld wha t wou ld have o the rw i se been your mer c i l ess r e ta l i a t i on–

Carol . . . o i l monger s , t he r e a r e a coup le o f o the r s , t he med ia , who t r y to ens lave our soc ie t y by the i r l i e s . T h i s o r gan i za t i on i s the mos t e th i ca l , t he mos t sane , the mos t suppor t i ve , has the too l s tha t can a l l ow peop le to have some per sona l f r eedom.

SA: So many peop le don’ t go tha t way.

Carol I ’m te l l i ng you because , i f somebody pu ts , he says , con f iden t i a l ma-te r i a l f r om upper l e ve l s and pu ts i t on the In te r ne t – f i r s t o f a l l , anybody who wou ld a t ta in th i s s ta te o f awar es , wou ldn’ t do i t . He wou ldn’ t do i t . He j us t wou ldn’ t because he has compass ion to r each the s ta te wher e he wou ld i nc lude mank ind r a the r than i nd i v idua l i ze h imse l f.

Wh i l e I am too o f ten a f an o f f l a t t e r i ng myse l f as an i n f l uen t i a l member o f t he ne ws med ia , my agenda to ens lave you , the r eader, has no t been wor k ing ou t so we l l l a te ly. I have been r esear ch ing Sc ien to logy fo r yea r s and have r egarded Oper a t i ng T he tan documents f r om a v a r i e t y o f sour ces. Someone , somebody w i th in the c hur ch has no t on ly r e leased these documents , bu t i n a l l se r ious l i ke l i hood th i s has happened r epea ted ly. I n th i s r espec t , Ca r o l i s e i t he r s ince r e ly dup ing he r se l f o r l y i ng ve r y ha rd . Essen t i a l l y, she pos i t s tha t someone wou ld take the t ime to fo r ge wha t a r e thousands o f pages o f docu -ments . Wha t I l eave open fo r a l l o f you Sc ien to logy ha te r s ou t the r e i s th i s – wou ld Ca ro l ’ s i ns i s tence tha t the documents I saw wer e f ake on the bas i s o f t ha t “ f ac t ” tha t no Sc ien to log i s t wou ld e ve r d i s c lose them prov ide i n the cour t t he l ega l f r ame wor k to end less ly d i s t r i bu te Sc ien to logy ’ s copy r igh ted i n te r na l documents on the wor ld w ide web? I f Ca r o l wer e r i gh t , t hen the r e wou ld be no ha r m because the documents cou ld no t conce i v ab ly be long to the c hur ch . T he i n te r v i e w w i th Ca ro l had numerous o the r b r i l l i an t moments o f m isd i r ec -t i on , p r e v a r i ca t i on and avo idance on he r pa r t . (Our ove r lo r ds and s lave mas-te r s , psych ia t r i s t s , somet imes r e fe r to th i s as “b loc k ing” . ) T hese i nc luded her deny ing hav ing heard o f t he te r m “Fr eezoner” to desc r ibe the c hur ch ’ s debased Hubbard i t e r e l a t i ves p r ac t i c i ng i n the Eas te r n B loc and Ger many ou ts ide o f t he f i nanc ia l t r i ang le o f Chur ch Pr es iden t Dav id M iscav iage . S imu l -taneous ly, she t r ashed the Ger man gover nment who has c r im ina l i zed Sc ien to l -ogy as “oppr ess i ve” ( thus d r i v i ng the under g round Fr eezone movement ) . So i n a supr eme ins tance o f i r ony, she expr essed r esen tment o f t he pe r secu to r and the pe r secu ted , who when p r essed she wou ld ac know ledge mer e ly as “no t p r ac t i c i ng Sc ien to logy. ”

PART 2 NEXT MONTH

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EDO’S GIANT SQUID SET TO OPEN IN MAYTALES FROM TOBACCO AVENUE

Image by An t and Chr i s t i an De t r es

T h e o w n e r o f I t a l i a n r e s t a u r a n t E d o ’ s S q u i d s a i d t h e f i n a l t o u c h e s a r e b e i n g p u t o n a s i s t e r l o c a t i o n t h a t w i l l s e r v e s i m i l a r d i s h e s , o n l y p r e p a r e d w i t h a m u c h l a r g e r p o r t i o n o f t h e e a t e r y ’ s n a m e s a k e s e a f o o d .

E d o ’ s G i a n t S q u i d w i l l o p e n o n M a y 2 5 , o w n e r a n d a c c l a i m e d l o c a l c h e f , E d Va s a i o , a n n o u n c e d t h i s m o r n i n g . T h e r e s t a u r a n t w i l l b e h o u s e d a t a f o r m e r w a r e h o u s e i n J a c k s o n W a r d l a r g e e n o u g h t o a c -c o m m o d a t e s e a a n i m a l s t h a t w e r e o n c e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e o n l y m y t h o -l o g i c a l b u t h a v e s i n c e b e e n d o c u m e n t e d t o r e a c h u p t o 7 0 f e e t l o n g , n o t i n c l u d i n g t e n t a c l e s .

Va s a i o , a l s o t h e m a n b e h i n d f a m e d l o c a l I t a l i a n r e s t a u r a n t M a m m a Z u ’ s a n d t a k e - o u t h o t - s p o t 8 1 / 2 , s a i d h e ’ d a l w a y s p l a n n e d o n e s -t a b l i s h i n g a f o u r t h e a t e r y i n t o w n t h a t w a s b i g g e r t h a n t h e o t h e r s . “ W h i c h i t i s , a n d r e a l l y, h a s t o b e i n o r d e r t o f i t t h e s e t h i n g s i n s i d e , ” h e s a i d , r e f e r r i n g t o w h a t h e c a l l e d “ f e a r s o m e w a t e r b e a s t s . ”

E d o ’ s G i a n t S q u i d p l a n s t o o f f e r m a n y o f t h e s i g n a t u r e d i s h e s t h a t h a v e m a d e t h e p r e v i o u s v e n t u r e s s o s u c c e s s f u l ; f o o d t h a t w i l l b e s l i g h t l y m o r e c o s t l y b u t c o m e w i t h t h e a d d e d t o u c h o f a c r e a t u r e l a r g e e n o u g h t o d o b a t t l e w i t h a s p e r m w h a l e .

A p p e t i z e r s w i l l i n c l u d e t h e j u m b o c a l a m a r i ( $ 4 2 , a s i n g l e f r i e d r i n g r o u g h l y t h e s i z e o f a n o f f i c e c u b i c l e ) a n d t h e G i a n t S q u i d w i t h w h i t e b e a n s ( $ 6 8 , i n c l u d i n g t h r e e p o u n d s o f w h i t e b e a n s a n d a r u g u l a ) , Va s a i o s a i d .

E n t r e e s w i l l a l s o b e s e r v e d f a m i l y - s t y l e , h e s a i d , w i t h d i s h e s a b l e t o s e r v e 5 0 0 p e o p l e c o m f o r t a b l y o r g r o u p s o f f i v e w i t h h e a v y l e f t -o v e r s .

R i c h m o n d a r e a r e s t a u r a n t c r i t i c s w e r e d e l i g h t e d b y t h e a n n o u n c e -m e n t .

“ C o n s i d e r i n g w h a t E d o ’ s S q u i d a n d t h e l i k e h a v e g i v e n u s i n t h e p a s t , w e ’ r e e x p e c t i n g b i g t h i n g s , ” S t y l e W e e k l y w r o t e i n a p r e v i e w , “ a n d w e d o n ’ t j u s t m e a n p l a t e s t h e s i z e o f a n S U V. ”

M u c h l i k e t h e e x p e r i e n c e a t a l o b s t e r r e s t a u r a n t , Va s a i o s a i d p a t r o n s a t E d o ’ s G i a n t S q u i d w o u l d b e a b l e t o p i c k t h e i r o w n d i n n e r f r o m a n a q u a r i u m f o u r c i t y b l o c k s i n s i z e , s t e e r i n g a w h a l i n g s h i p t o t h e m i d d l e o f t h e t a n k a n d u s i n g h a r p o o n s t o c a t c h s q u i d .

Va s a i o – w h o t o l d r e p o r t e r s t o “ C a l l m e E d ” – s a i d t h e h u n t f o r t h e g i a n t s q u i d s h o u l d n o t b e v i e w e d l i t e r a l l y a s o n l y s p e a r i n g a d i n n e r, b u t r a t h e r, a m e t a p h o r f o r s o m e t h i n g m o r e d e e p l y p h i l o s o p h i c a l : a v a s t a l l e g o r i c a l s t u d y i n t o t h e u n i v e r s a l c o n c e p t s o f c l a s s a n d s o c i a l s t a t u s , m o r a l v a l u e s , r e l i g i o n , t h e e p i c f i g h t b e t w e e n g o o d a n d e v i l a n d t h e i n e v i t a b i l i t y o f f a t e .

To b a c c o A v e n u e i s R i c h m o n d , VA’ s m o s t a c c u r a t e s o u r c e o f m i s i n f o r -m a t i o n . G o t o t o b a c c o a v e . w o r d p r e s s . c o m f o r m o r e d e l i c i o u s s a t i r e a n d w a c k y e n t e r t a i n m e n t .

EDO’S GIANT SQUID SET TO OPEN IN MAYTALES FROM TOBACCO AVENUE

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Salvia Divinorum EXPERIMENTS WITH THE DIVINER’S SAGE

Researcher s R. Anthony Har ris and Al Har ris Writer Al Har ris Documentar y f i lmmaker Ben Muri

For countless centuries, Mazatec shamans of the Oaxaca region of Mexico have used a rare species of the mint family as a key to opening wide what Aldous Huxley dubbed “the door s of perception.” The plant, Salvia Divinorum, is perhaps the most potent hal lucinogenic known to exist in the natural wor ld. Smoking a small amount can induce visionar y states, obl iterat ion of ego, over lapping real i t ies, dis-tor t ion of t ime and space, and encounter s with entit ies from other dimensions.

Unti l recently, salvia has been legal in most states and easi ly obtained over the Inter net or at local head shops. Now Virginia has joined the growing l ist of states with salvia regulat ions on the books.

Beginning July 1, a law passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Tim Kaine wi l l go into ef fect that makes salvia a Schedule I dr ug, meaning possession or sale of the divine sage wi l l be a crime.

Delegate John O’Bannon, R-Henrico, introduced the legislat ion at the request of “concerned law enforcement of f ic ials.” He bel ieves salvia is a dangerous drug and considered the bi l l one of his health care priorit ies.

“I ’m respectful of individual l iber t ies and the tension between individual l iber t ies and publ ic good. I think what’s happening is this is becoming a drug that can be misused,” O’Bannon said.

Salvia’s ef fects usual ly last between f ive to 15 minutes, and produce ver y l i t t le to no after ef fects. O’Bannon, who has never used the drug, says the ef fects are

simi lar to LSD, but salvia researcher Daniel Seiber t of Mal ibu, Cal i for nia says that comparison real ly isn’ t fair.

“It ’s l ike saying a Fel l ini movie is l ike a Francis Coppola movie, they are both mov-ies, but they are obviously dif ferent kinds of movies,” Seiber t said.

Seiber t star ted the Salvia Divinorum Research Center as an educational resource for people to f ind out about the plant. In his opinion, salvia should have some regulat ions, such as restr ict ions to minor s, but says an outr ight ban of salvia is a “crime against nature.”

“When used responsibly at appropriate doses, for therapeutic reasons, in the appropriate environment, there is no evidence it is harmful in any way,” Seiber t says.

Delaware banned salvia several year s ago after the suicide of teenager Brett Chidester, whose parents c laimed the intense experience induced by their son’s salvia use contributed to his death. She said in news repor ts that descript ions of his intense tr ip found in his diar y, led her to conc lude that the drug fractured his fragi le mental sate.

Seiber t says he has witnessed a ful l range of emotional responses to salvia over the cour se of his 20 year s of research, from ir r itat ion to relaxation, but never suicidal tendencies.

“I would say anyone who has any kind of histor y of mental abnormalit ies or mental i l lness should probably not do salvia or any other psychedel ic ,” Seiber t said.

So, is salvia real ly a dangerous publ ic menace or a harmless plant that of fer s a f leet ing diver sion from real ity?

We ask several f ir st-t ime salvia shaman scouts to share their experiences with the so-cal led “shepherdess” and their opinion on the state’s new law.

01 Joe AGE 24

Effects Feel ing of heaviness, sweats, mild laughter, relaxation, warmth, dis-tor ted f ield of vision, slowed verbal response, separation of ego from physical self, spatial distor t ions

“The corner s of my vision are al l going wawawawawawa, but that’s about it”

Second dose administered 8:53 after initial dose

“For a minute there, i t felt l ike who I am, or ever ything that makes up me, went back a foot, and I could st i l l see through my eyes but ever ything was ver y removed and it was kind of cur ving around. It continued to feel that way but my f ield of vision came back.”

What was your emotional state during the salvia experience?

“Felt ver y c lear, c larity of ‘ I shouldn’t have done this.’ I t wasn’t a feel ing of dread or anything, i t was l ike I feel sweaty and I shouldn’t have done this.”

How did the actual experience compare with your expectations?

“It was kind of a let down in that I had heard a lot of people say crazy things, that they’ ve been on their beds seeing spir its from beyond, and this was not l ike that.”

Would you try salvia again?

“Yeah, possibly. I don’t feel a need to buy some salvia, and that’s what this weekend is going to be.”

Do you think salvia should be banned, regulated, or left legal?

“Left legal. I don’t think that’s something the kids are going to be saying, ‘Let’s go smoke the salvia!’”

TOTAL DURATION 16:30 minutes

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02 Caitlin Age 20

Effects Laugh te r, f i dge t i ng, t i ng l i ng sensa t ion

“ I f e l t a l i t t l e t i ng ly, and my hands wer e mov ing, I f e l t f unny, bu t i t wasn’ t any th ing c r azy a t a l l . ”

Second dose administered 5:00 after initial dose.

“ I cou ldn’ t s top s ta r i ng a t the spo t the r e , i t was k ind o f ge t t i ng b igger maybe , bu t I cou ldn’ t t e l l . ”

What was your emotional state during the salvia experience?

“ I f e l t good .”

How did the actual experience compare with your expectations?

“ I t h ink I heard mor e than i t ac tua l l y i s . ”

Would you try salvia again?

“Yeah , I t h ink so. ”

Do you think salvia should be banned, regulated, or left legal?

“ I t ’ s go ing to r egu la te i t se l f. I t h ink mak ing i t i l l e ga l i s no t go ing to s top peop le f r om t r y ing i t . ”

TOTAL DURATION 10 :00 m inu tes

6 0

03 Tyler Age 25

Effects War mth , d i s to r t i ons o f phys i ca l se l f, l augh te r, ex te r na l i zed d ia -logue , heavy sensa t ion , pe r cep t ion o f mov ing l i nes , phys i ca l man i f es ta t i on o f mus i c

“ I f ee l l i ke my head i s tu r n ing s ide ways , l i ke I f ee l l i ke my j aw i s com ing i n r i gh t now.”

Second dose administered 4:00 after initial dose

“ I was look ing a t th i s a r ea a l o t , and fo r a wh i l e I cou ld see l i nes ou t l i n -i ng a l l t he d r esse r, t he we igh t , t he f an , and i t was k ind o f mov ing l i ke th i s , s ide ways. ”

What was your emotional state during the salvia experience?

“ I f e l t good fo r a wh i l e . ”

How did the actual experience compare with your expectations?

“Not as c r azy as the s to r i es I heard . I ’ ve heard peop le say they t ime t r ave led and s tu f f l i ke tha t . Maybe they j us t smoked mor e than I d id . ”

Would you try salvia again?

“Yeah , i n the fu tu r e . ”

Do you think salvia should be banned, regulated, or left legal?

“ I don t th ink 15-year-o ld k ids shou ld be do ing i t . T he th ing i s now I ’m com ing down , w i th weed you a r e h igh fo r l onger, w i th th i s you come down so eas i l y. I n the p r i v ac y o f your own home I t h ink i t wou ld be to ta l l y coo l , I wou ldn’ t oper a te a veh i c l e on i t . I ’m no t su r p r i sed they a r e go ing to make i t i l l e ga l , t hey don’ t wan t peop le to have fun . ”

Total Duration 14 :00 m inu tes

04 Laura Age 24

Effects War mth , heavy sensa t ion , bod i l y d i s to r t i ons , i n te r na l i za t i on o f se l f

“ I t f ee l s l i ke my fee t a r en’ t a t tached , l i ke the r e i s a b ig gap be tween my fee t and my knees. ”

“ I f ee l l i ke I ’m mor e i n i t , I f ee l l i ke I ’m r ea l l y i ns ide myse l f, phys i ca l l y and menta l l y. ”

What was your emotional state during the salvia experience?

“ I ’m l i ke ‘wha t the fuc k? ’ ”

How did the actual experience compare with your expectations?

“ I don’ t know wha t I expec ted . ”

Would you try salvia again?

“Yeah , i n the r i gh t s i t ua t ion o r se t t i ng, then aga in maybe no t . No tbecause i t ’ s a bad fee l i ng, bu t i t ’ s i n tense . ”

Do you think salvia should be banned, regulated, or left legal?

“ I don’ t t h ink i t shou ld be banned , maybe r egu la ted l i ke e ve r y th ing i s r egu -l a ted . I cou ldn’ t see myse l f smok ing and go ing to wor k o r someth ing. ”

Total Duration 9 :00 m inu tes

6 2

CONCLUSION

As you can see , sa l v i a p r oduced a w ide v a r i e t y o f e f f ec t s i n the sub jec t s , w i th some exper i ences be ing mor e i n tense than o the r s . T he sub jec t s se l f -adm in i s te r ed low doses o f sa l v i a and exper i enced th r esho ld e f f ec t s . T he an -c ien t shamans bur ned ba les o f sa l v i a l eaves i ns ide o f sea led ten ts wher e they wou ld immer se themse l ves i n smoke and r ema in i n a v i s ionar y s ta te fo r l ong per iods o f t ime . Even though the sub jec t s on ly exper i enced a mer e f r ac t i on o f sa l v i a ’ s f u l l b lown po ten t i a l , t hey a l l ag r eed tha t i t was un l i ke any th ing they had e ve r t r i ed .

I f you i n tend to t r y sa l v i a wh i l e i t i s i s s t i l l l e ga l , be su r e to do your r esear ch . Sa l v i a can be a ve r y power fu l and unse t t l i ng exper i ence fo r the unpr epar ed . Do no t t r y sa l v i a unsuper v i sed , o r i f you have a h i s to r y o f men ta l i l l ness .

Comic Book HeroesBy Brian Visaggio

Po w ! A s i n g l e p u n c h f l e w, a n d I w a s r i g h t t h e r e , a s S p i d e r - M a n m o v e d i n

t o d r a g t h e d e a d l y e n e my t o t h e g r o u n d . H e w a s f i g h t i n g f o r h i s m i n d , f o r

h i s i d e n t i t y. Tr i c k e d i n t o a m i s t o f i l l u s i o n by t h e a p t l y n a m e d , M y s t e r i o ,

t h e w e b - h e a d p u n c h a n d k i c k e d a n d s w u n g h i s w ay b a c k t o l u c i d i t y, s t r u g -

g l i n g t o c l e a r t h e m i s t i n h i s h e a d . A l l h i s d o u b t s , a l l h i s s e l f - h a t r e d w a s

p o u r e d o u t i n f r o n t o f h i m , t h e i l l u s i o n s o f h i s f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y t e l l i n g

h i m , “ D o n’ t b e a h e r o ! B e t t e r t o u s e yo u r p o w e r f o r yo u r s e l f – ge t r i c h !

G e t w o m e n ! ” B u t h o w c o u l d t h a t b e t r u e ? S p i d e r - M a n h a d d o n e s o m u c h

f o r s o m a ny. I s n ’ t t h a t w h a t h e r o e s h a v e a l w ay s d o n e ? A n d I w a s t h e r e f o r

i t a l l , f o r e v e r y p u n c h i n t h e t h i c k a n d s w i r l i n g f o g .

I t w a s We b o f S p i d e r - M a n # 9 0 , o n e o f my v e r y f i r s t c o m i c s . I ’ d b e e n

r e a d i n g t h e m f o r m ay b e f o u r o r f i v e m o n t h s a t t h a t p o i n t , a n d h a d m a d e

t h e t r a n s i t i o n b e t w e e n t h e S u p e r m a n b o o k s my d a d h a d b r o u g h t h o m e f o r

m e o n e n i g h t , a n d t h e S p i d e r - M a n a n d X - M e n b o o k s o f my c o n t e m p o r a r i e s .

I d i d n’ t h a v e v e r y m a ny, a n d t h o s e I d i d h a v e w e r e s o s t r a n ge , s o c o n f u s -

i n g . T h ey w e r e t o o w r a p p e d u p i n t h a t t h i c k , e n d l e s s c o n t i n u i t y, i n s t o r y

d e t a i l s , i n p l o t f o r a n i n e - ye a r - o l d t o f o l l o w ; t h e S u p e r m a n b o o k s h a d

h i m s t u c k a s a t i m e t r a v e l i n g a m n e s i a c f o r s o m e go d a w f u l r e a s o n , a n d i n

X - M e n t h e r e w a s a l l o f t h a t a n d m o r e : h i d d e n i d e n t i t i e s , c l o n i n g , m i n d -

t r a n s f e r. A n d s o m a ny h e a v y q u e s t i o n s , w h i c h a l l b a s i c a l l y c a m e d o w n t o

“ w h a t t h e h e l l i s go i n g o n ” , h u n g o v e r t h e b o o k s . B u t I w a s s t i l l s o yo u n g

t h a t I d i d n’ t e v e n k n o w h o w t o b e g i n f o l l o w i n g t h e s e s t o r i e s , a n d I k e p t

r e a d i n g , a n d r e a d i n g , a n d r e a d i n g t h e m . I p i c k e d t h e m u p i n l i t t l e d r o p s ,

a n i s s u e h e r e f r o m U n c a n ny X - M e n , o n e f r o m E x c a l i bu r , a n o t h e r f r o m We b

o f S p i d e r - M a n . B u t I k e p t r e a d i n g , a n d o n C h r i s t m a s 1 9 9 3 , b e f o r e I w a s

o l d e n o u g h t o r e a l l y a p p r e c i a t e t h e m i n d - b o g g l i n g g i f t I w a s b e i n g g i v e n ,

my d a d b o u g h t m e t h e f i r s t t w o i s s u e s o f A l e x Ro s s ’ s M a r v e l s .

M a r v e l s , yo u h a v e t o u n d e r s t a n d , i s a m a s t e r p i e c e , a n d I a p p r e c i a t e d i t a s

m u c h a s I c o u l d . I h a r d l y k n e w w h a t t o m a k e o f i t . F i r s t , t h e b o o k d i d n’ t

l o o k l i k e a ny t h i n g I ’ d e v e r s e e n b e f o r e . I t w a s p a i n t e d . I t w a s l i f e l i k e .

I t w a s 1 9 9 3 , a n d i n 1 9 9 3 a l l c o m i c b o o k s l o o k e d p r e t t y m u c h t h e s a m e

– u n r e a s o n a b l y bu l g i n g m u s c l e s o n d a r k , u n s h a v e n , g r i t t y a n t i h e r o e s i n

b o dy a r m o r c a r r y i n g P 9 0 s u b m a c h i n e g u n s , o r c o v e r e d i n s p i k e s a n d a r -

c a n e c l o a k s , o r i n h i d e o u s s i n g l e - p i e c e s p a n d ex s u i t s i n e x p l i c a b l y t e a m e d

w i t h t r e n c h c o a t s . B u t M a r v e l s l o o k e d t o t h e p a s t ; t h e s u p e r h e r o e s l o o k e d

l i k e , w e l l , s u p e r h e r o e s . A n d n o t o n l y t h a t , bu t I w a s n o l o n ge r a c c o m p a -

ny i n g t h e m o n t h e i r a d v e n t u r e s . I w a s n’ t a p a r t i c i p a n t a n y m o r e – I w a s

a w i t n e s s , o n t h e s i d e l i n e s , w a t c h i n g w i t h b r e a t h l e s s a w e , o r w i t h h e a r t -

s t o p p i n g f e a r, a n d I c o u l d b o t h s e e t h e d e s t r u c t i o n t h e y c a u s e d a n d t h e

s h e a r p hy s i c a l b e a u t y o f t h e b a t t l e s t h e m s e l v e s , w h i c h o n l y m a d e i t s e e m

e v e n m o r e r e a l . A n d t h o u g h I d i d n’ t k n o w i t a t t h e t i m e , i t r a i s e d s e r i o u s

i s s u e s a n d q u e s t i o n s a n d go t m e t h i n k i n g a b o u t s u p e r h e r o e s i n a v e r y

p a r t i c u l a r w ay.

T h e s e e d s w e r e p l a n t e d b e f o r e t h e n . C o m i c s a r e s u p p o s e d t o b e f u n ,

6 4

r i g h t ? A n d w h e n I w a s a k i d I c o u l d r e a d t h e m f o r f u n . I w a s n’ t t o o c o n -

c e r n e d a b o u t s t o r y a r c s o r c r o s s o v e r s o r c o n t i n u i t y. I t w a s t h e c h a r a c t e r s

a n d t h e i r a d v e n t u r e s a c r o s s t h e p a ge . I c o u l d n’ t w o r r y t o o m u c h a b o u t

h o w t h e s e s o a p o p e r a s r e s o l v e d t h e m s e l v e s , a s l o n g a s I k n e w t h a t G a m b i t

l o v e d Ro g u e , bu t c o u l d n e v e r t o u c h h e r, o r h e r p o w e r w o u l d k i l l h i m , o r

t h a t n o b o dy c o u l d r e a l l y t a k e d o w n Wo l v e r i n e – t h e l i t t l e f u z z b a l l h a d t h e

m e t a l s t r i p p e d f r o m h i s s k e l e t o n a n d s u r v i v e d ! B u t i t w a s n e v e r o n l y f o r

f u n , b e c a u s e , yo u s e e , I r e a d M a r v e l c o m i c s , a n d M a r v e l ’ s b o o k s a l w ay s

h a d s o m e s o r t o f o v e r a r c h i n g s p i n o r t h e m e . S o f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g I w a s

t r a i n e d t o l o o k a l i t t l e d e e p e r i n my b o o k s – a t X - M e n’ s f a b l e o n t o l e r a n c e ,

f o r e x a m p l e , o r a t S p i d e r - M a n’ s b i t t e r o b l i g a t i o n – “ w i t h g r e a t p o w e r

c o m e s g r e a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ” . B u t i n M a r v e l s , A l e x Ro s s t r i e d t o t a k e t h e

w h o l e i d e a o f t h e s u p e r h e r o , t h e r o m p i n g m a d m e n w h o t r a i p s e d a b o u t i n

c o l o r f u l s p a n d ex d o i n g go o d d e e d s , a n d t h i n k a b o u t w h a t i t m e a n s .

W h e n yo u ’ r e a k i d , m ay b e yo u d o n’ t t h i n k a b o u t m e a n i n g t o o m u c h . I

d i d n’ t , a t l e a s t . S u p e r h e r o e s s p o k e t o s o m e t h i n g i n m e , bu t I c o u l d n’ t

p u t my f i n ge r o n w h a t i t w a s . A p p a r e n t l y, n e i t h e r c o u l d t h e c o m i c b o o k

bu s i n e s s . S t a r t i n g w i t h F r a n k M i l l e r ’ s T h e D a r k K n i g h t Re t u r n s ( 1 9 8 6 ) ,

w h i c h i m a g i n e d t h e B a t m a n a s d e s p a i r i n g a n d b r u t a l , t h e r e h a d b e e n a

s p o n t a n e o u s r e b e l l i o n a g a i n s t t h e a g i n g , s t a n d a r d s u p e r h e r o s t o r i e s a n d

t y p e s . M ay b e S u p e r m a n w a s j u s t t o o m u c h o f a B oy S c o u t f o r t h e h a r s h

r e a l i t i e s o f t h e 1 9 8 0 s , bu t w h a t e v e r t h e r e a s o n w a s , s u d d e n l y c o m i c s w e r e

p a c k e d w i t h c y n i c a l a n d v i o l e n t c h a r a c t e r s c l a i m i n g t o b e t h e h e r o e s o f

t h e n e w ge n e r a t i o n . T h ey k i l l e d . T h ey c a r r i e d b i g g u n s . T h ey w e r e S p a w n ,

a n d Ve n o m , a n d C a b l e , m e r c e n a r i e s a n d d e m o n s , a l l I D a n d n o s u p e r -

e go. T h ey w e r e c o m p l e t e l y u n r e s t r a i n e d a n d u n r e s t r a i n a b l e , u n s t o p p a b l e

f o r c e s o f w i l l a n d i n d i v i d u a l i s m . T h ey w e r e v i c i o u s , p u n k r o c k h e r o e s f o r

t h e g r u n ge a ge . U n l i k e S u p e r m a n , t h e y d i d n’ t f i g h t f o r a b e t t e r w o r l d o r

f o r a b s t r a c t v a l u e s . T h ey f o u g h t t o f i g h t ; t h o u g h I d i d n’ t k n o w i t a t t h e

t i m e , c o u l d h a r d l y b e a w a r e o f i t , t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e o f t h e s u p e r h e r o w a s

b e i n g q u e s t i o n e d .

S o , w i t h M a r v e l s , a n d l a t e r K i n g d o m C o m e , A l e x Ro s s t o o k t h a t q u e s t i o n t o

h e a r t , a n d s t a r t e d a t t h e b e g i n n i n g .

N o w, f o r l i t t l e n i n e - ye a r - o l d B r i a n , t h i s w a s n’ t i m p o r t a n t . I d i d n’ t k n o w

a ny o f t h i s . H e l l , a l l I k n e w w a s t h e g r i m - a n d - g r i t t y h e r o e s . M a r v e l s m e t

m e t h e r e i n my i g n o r a n c e . S u d d e n l y h e r o e s w e r e c o m p l e x a n d l a ye r e d .

S u d d e n l y t h e i r a c t i o n s h a d c o n s e q u e n c e s . S u d d e n l y, h e r o e s w e r e p e o p l e

a c t i n g i n a w o r l d I c o u l d c o m p r e h e n d . T h a t w a s p r o b a b l y t h e b i g ge s t l e a p

Ro s s m a d e f o r m e – by p l a c i n g t h e f o c u s o n t h e s t r e e t r a t h e r t h a n i n t h e

s k y, t h e s e e v e n t s w e r e n’ t c o m p l e t e l y s e p a r a t e f r o m my e x p e r i e n c e . M y

G o d , h o w w o u l d i t f e e l t o s e e t h e H u m a n To r c h a n d t h e S u b - M a r i n e r b a t -

t l i n g i n t h e s k i e s a b o v e m e ? H o w c o u l d I r e a c t ? H o w m u s t I ? T h e s e w e r e n’ t

t h e p u r e , s u g a r y h e r o e s o f s t e r e o t y p e , n o r w e r e t h e y t h e o v e r w r o u g h t

c h a r a c t e r s I ’ d k n o w n ; t h e y w e r e m o r a l a ge n t s o f c h a n ge , b o t h p o s i t i v e

a n d n e g a t i v e .

I o n l y e v e r h a d t h e f i r s t t w o i s s u e s , a n d I l o s t t h e s e c o n d o n e w i t h i n a

y e a r. T h e f i r s t , t h e n , s t u c k w i t h m e t h e m o s t , a n d I s t i l l f e e l l i k e I ’ m n i n e

ye a r s o l d w h e n I s e e t h e m a n o n f i r e f l y i n g t h r o u g h t h e s k y, o r t h e t i d a l

6 5

w a v e f a l l i n g o v e r t h e B r o o k l y n B r i d ge . I a p p r o a c h e d t h e s e r i e s a g a i n

t w e l v e y e a r s l a t e r, w h e n I w a s t w e n t y - o n e , a n d c o u l d l o o k a t i t m o r e c r i t i -

c a l l y. W i t h l i t t l e m o r e l i t e r a r y e x p e r i e n c e u n d e r my b e l t , I c o u l d s e e i n

M a r v e l s , i f n o t a d e l i b e r a t e r e j e c t i o n o f s e l f - c o n s c i o u s a n t i h e r o e s , a t t h e

l e a s t n o s t a l g i a f o r t h e o l d t r a d i t i o n s . I t s e e m e d t o m e t h a t Ro s s w a s d e l i b -

e r a t e l y l i o n i z i n g t h e c l a s s i c h e r o e s o f h i s yo u t h i n a p u r p o s e f u l c o n t r a s t

w i t h t h e v i o l e n t , s e l f i s h h e r o e s o f t h e e a r l y 1 9 9 0 s .

O v e r t h e c o u r s e o f t h e f o u r - p a r t s e r i e s , Ro s s go e s f r o m t h e f i r s t h e r o e s

i n t h e S e c o n d Wo r l d Wa r t o S p i d e r - M a n i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s , a n d o u r p o i n t o f v i e w

m a n s p e n d s t h e w h o l e t i m e t r y i n g t o f i g u r e o u t w h a t i t m e a n s f o r a m a n

t o l i v e w h e n s u p e r m e n s e e m e d t o b e s e i z i n g t h e w o r l d , a n d w h a t i t m e a n s

f o r t h e h e r o e s t o b e h e r e a t a l l . O u r p r o t a go n i s t , P h i l S h e l d o n , m a i n t a i n s

f o r m u c h o f t h e l a s t i s s u e t h a t h e r o e s e x i s t t o p r o t e c t t h e w e a k , bu t i s

c r u s h e d a t S p i d e r - M a n’ s f a i l u r e t o s t o p a yo u n g g i r l f r o m b e i n g k i l l e d .

L o s i n g h i s a b i l i t y t o k e e p s e a r c h i n g , h e d e c i d e s t o p a s s o f f t h e q u e s t i o n

t o t h e n e x t ge n e r a t i o n ; t e l l i n g l y, t h e yo u n g b oy i n q u e s t i o n w o u l d g r o w u p

t o b e t h e v i o l e n t , d e s t r u c t i v e G h o s t R i d e r.

W h a t go o d i s p o w e r i f yo u c a n’ t s a v e t h e i n n o c e n t ? I t ’ s t h e s o r t o f m o r a l

q u e s t i o n I ’ d b e c o m e i n t e r e s t e d b e t w e e n 1 9 9 3 a n d 2 0 0 5 , w i t h a s t a r k

d e l i b e r a t e n e s s f u e l e d by a d v e n t u r o u s f o r ay s i n t o C h r i s t i a n a n t h r o p o l o g y,

t h e t h e o l o g i c a l s t u dy o f m a n a n d m a n’ s r o l e a n d p u r p o s e . I n my o w n c o m i c

w o r k , I ’ v e a t t e m p t e d t o r a i s e s o m e o f t h e s a m e q u e s t i o n s . I b e l i e v e v e r y

s t r o n g l y t h a t Ro s s a n s w e r s t h e q u e s t i o n w i t h s o m e f i n a l i t y i n K i n g d o m

C o m e ( D C C o m i c s , 1 9 9 5 ) , h i s f o l l o w - u p t o M a r v e l s .

I f yo u d o n’ t k n o w t h e p l o t t o K i n g d o m C o m e , I ’ l l s u m i t u p f a i r l y b r i e f l y : t h e

w o r l d i s a w a s h w i t h v i o l e n t a n t i - h e r o e s w h o h a v e t a k e n t o s i m p l y f i g h t i n g

a m o n g t h e m s e l v e s f o r f u n . L e d by a c y b o r g n a m e d M a go g , t h e y i n a d v e r -

t e n t l y c a u s e a n u c l e a r a c c i d e n t , w i p i n g o u t K a n s a s a n d b r i n g i n g S u p e r -

m a n , b e f o r e c o nv i n c e d t h a t t h e w o r l d n o l o n ge r n e e d e d h i m , o u t o f r e t i r e -

m e n t . H e bu i l d s a c o a l i t i o n c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e c l a s s i c D C H e r o e s – Wo n d e r

Wo m a n , t h e F l a s h , t h e G r e e n L a n t e r n – t o c o nv i n c e t h i s n e w c o t e r i e o f t h e

o b l i g a t i o n t h e y h a v e t o t h e p u b l i c go o d . H o w e v e r, S u p e r m a n h a s l o s t h i s

s e n s e o f m o r a l s t r e n g t h , a n d e v e n t s s p i n w i l d l y o u t o f c o n t r o l , a n d b e f o r e

l o n g , A r m a ge d d o n h a s b r o k e n o u t ; a t o w e r i n g b a t t l e b e t w e e n t h e t w o s i d e s

t h a t t h r e a t e n s t o e n g u l f t h e w o r l d . S t o p p e d o n l y by a n u c l e a r d e t o n a t i o n ,

S u p e r m a n c o m e s t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h e i r r i g h t f u l p l a c e i s t o w o r k a l o n g s i d e

m a n , n o t r u l e o v e r t h e m ; t h a t , i n t h e e n d , t h e y a r e n o t go d .

M ay b e I ’ m b i a s e d . I ’ m a c o m m u n i t a r i a n , w h i c h i s t o s ay t h a t I b e l i e v e i n

t h e c o m m u n i t y go o d o v e r t h e i n d i v i d u a l go o d , a n d i n f i n d i n g s e l f - i d e n t i t y

i n r e l a t i o n s h i p t o o t h e r s . M a n’ s g r e a t n e s s a n d m a n’ s p u r p o s e a r e b o t h

o r d e r e d t o c o m m u n i t y l i f e . I t ’ s w hy w e h a v e f a m i l i e s a n d f r i e n d s , a n d

e v e n t h e m o s t c y n i c a l o f u s ge t s l o n e l y. S o w h e n I s ay t h a t Ro s s s e t s u p

K i n g d o m C o m e a s a b a t t l e b e t w e e n c o m m u n i t a r i a n i s m , t h e o r d e r o f s e l f -

s a c r i f i c e a n d g r e a t e r go o d r e p r e s e n t e d by S u p e r m a n , Wo n d e r Wo m a n , a n d

t h e i r i l k , a n d l i b e r t a r i a n i s m , t h e r a d i c a l , s e l f - ge n e r a t i n g i n d i v i d u a l u n c o n -

s t r a i n e d m o r a l i t y, i t s h o u l d b e c l e a r w h o I ’ m r o o t i n g f o r, a n d w hy. I t ’ s t h e

N i e t z s c h e a n s u p e r m a n v e r s u s t h e S u p e r m a n h i m s e l f . W h a t ’ s a t s t a k e i s

w h e t h e r S p i d e r - M a n’ s o l d t r o p e a b o u t g r e a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s a n d c a n b e

p r o v e n t r u e . Ro s s t o o k t h e p i v o t a l i d e a a b o u t s u p e r h e r o e s a n d h e r o i s m ,

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t h e s a c r i f i c i n g , i f s o m e t i m e s m i s g u i d e d , f o r c e f o r p u b l i c go o d s o p i v o t a l t o

M a r v e l s , a n d p u t s i t i n t h e c r u c i b l e t o s e e i f t h e r e ’ s a ny t h i n g go o d t h e r e

a l l . To s e e i f i t c a n s u r v i v e . K i n g d o m C o m e i s t h e c h e m i c a l r e a c t i o n . T h e

t r a ge dy a n d b e d l a m i s t h e h e a t o f t h e c a t a l y s i s .

I t h a d t o h a p p e n . T h e c u l t u r a l m o v e m e n t t o w a r d s t h e c o m i c b o o k a n t i h e r o

w a s l o n g , a n d h a s r o o t s e v e n i n t h e e a r l y w o r k o f S u p e r m a n c r e a t o r s

J e r r y S i e ge l a n d J o e S h u s t e r, w h o f i r s t t o ye d w i t h t h e c o n c e p t i n a s h o r t

s t o r y c a l l e d “ Re i g n o f t h e S u p e r - M a n ” . T h e w r i t i n g o f n o t a b l e b e a t a u t h o r,

J a c k K e r o u a c , g l o r i f i e d t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d t h e i n d i v i d u a l ’ s q u e s t a b o v e t h e

c o m m u n i t y o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h e i m m e d i a t e l y p r e c e d i n g ge n e r a t i o n , a n d t h e

a u t h o r i t y t h a t f o u n d i t s c h a m p i o n i n S u p e r m a n w a s i n t e n s e l y s c r u t i n i z e d

d u r i n g t h e N i x o n ye a r s . B y t h e t i m e t h e 1 9 8 0 s h a d r o l l e d a r o u n d , p o s t -

m o d e r n i s m f i n a l l y r e a c h e d c o m i c b o o k s . B u t t h e o l d b r e e d a n d n e w e x i s t e d

s i d e by s i d e e v e n a s t h e l a t t e r r i d i c u l e d t h e f o r m e r a s b e i n g o u t d a t e d a n d

n a ï v e . E v e n C a p t a i n A m e r i c a b r i e f l y t u r n e d h i s b a c k o n t h e f l a g .

S o t h e c o n f l i c t i s a l s o o v e r m e a n i n g , a n d w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e r e i s s u b -

s t a n c e t o i d e a l i s m a n d s y m b o l s . T h e s e a r e q u e s t i o n s t h a t m a t t e r t o m e ,

a n d I b e l i e v e s h o u l d m a t t e r t o e v e r yo n e . A s l o n g a s I ’ v e b e l i e v e d i n G o d ,

I ’ v e b e l i e v e d i n s y m b o l s a n d i n i d e a l i s m , s o t h e f i g h t , t h e c o n f l i c t , t h e

d e b a t e m a t t e r s . I n M a r v e l s , Ro s s p r o p o s e d t h a t h e r o e s a r e h e r e t o b e o u r

p r o t e c t o r s , bu t i n K i n g d o m C o m e , w e s e e t h e c o s t o f t h a t . S u p e r h e r o e s

a r e u l t i m a t e l y t h e v i c t i m s o f t h e o r i g i n a l G r e e k t r a g i c f l a w : h u b r i s . F r o m

S p i d e r - M a n o n , t h o s e w i t h p o w e r s h a v e s e e n i t a s t h e i r v o c a t i o n a n d d u t y

t o p r o t e c t t h e w e a k . B u t t o t h e m , e v e r yo n e i s a n d m u s t b e w e a k . T h e p o w -

e r s e l e v a t e t h e m a b o v e m a n k i n d , a n d i n K i n g d o m C o m e , m a n k i n d r e b e l s

a g a i n s t t h a t p a t r o n i z i n g c o n d e s c e n s i o n . B y t a k i n g t h e m s e l v e s a s t h e

p r o t e c t o r s o f t h e p e o p l e , t h e y t a k e f r o m t h e m r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e i r o w n

l i v e s . T h ey t a k e f r o m m a n , m a n’ s d e s t i n y. T h ey t a k e m a n’ s g r e a t n e s s .

T h a t ’ s t h e p r o b l e m . T h a t ’ s t h e p r o b l e m Ro s s w a s l o o k i n g f o r i n M a r v e l s

bu t n e v e r q u i t e f o u n d , a n d e m e r ge d i n s t r e n g t h i n K i n g d o m C o m e . T h a t ’ s

t h e p r o b l e m t h a t I s p e n t y e a r s w o n d e r i n g a b o u t a n d h a v e s t r u g g l e d t o

r e s o l v e i n my o w n w o r k . S u p e r h e r o e s a r e n o t go d s . I f t h e i r g r e a t p o w e r s

g i v e g r e a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y, i t i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o i n s p i r e . I n S u p e r m a n ,

a l w ay s t h e a r c h e t y p a l h e r o , I t h i n k I ’ v e f o u n d t h e m o d e l o f e v e r y t h i n g

t h e y ’ r e s u p p o s e d t o b e , t h e r e s o l u t i o n t o t h e q u e s t i o n t h a t h a s d r i v e n

m e . I ’ v e a l w ay s b e l i e v e d t h a t S u p e r m a n’ s g r e a t e s t a b i l i t y i s n ’ t h i s s u p e r -

s t r e n g t h , o r h i s h e a t - v i s i o n , o r h i s a b i l i t y t o f l y s o f a s t t h a t t i m e i t s e l f

m o v e s b a c k w a r d s . I t ’ s h i s m o r a l s e n s e , h i s h u m i l i t y, h i s c l a r i t y o f v i s i o n .

A n d t h e s e a r e a l l t h e h u m a n v i r t u e s h e l e a r n e d f r o m h i s p a r e n t s b e f o r e

h e c o u l d d o a ny o f t h o s e t h i n g s . A l l o f t h o s e p o w e r s b e l o n g by r i g h t t o

C l a r k K e n t a n d t o e v e r yo n e . S u p e r m a n’ s h o n e s t v o c a t i o n , t h e n , i s n o t t o

f l y a r o u n d t h e w o r l d i n b l u e t i g h t s , bu t t o b e , a n d I d o n o t e x a g ge r a t e

h e r e , h o l y.

A l e x Ro s s a n s w e r s h i s q u e s t i o n . W h a t a r e s u p e r h e r o e s f o r ? I n o u r w o r l d ,

t h e r e a l w o r l d , w h e r e t h e y e x i s t o n l y i n c o m i c s a n d o n f i l m s , j u s t a s m u c h

a s i n t h e i r o w n , t h i s q u e s t i o n n e e d e d t o b e a n s w e r e d . A n d w h o k n e w t h e

a n s w e r w a s s o s i m p l e ?

S u p e r h e r o e s e x i s t t o i n s p i r e m a n t o s p i r i t u a l a n d m o r a l g r e a t n e s s . I n t h e

e n d , t h a t ’ s a l l a n y o f u s h a v e t o b e .

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www.worldofmirth.comwww.bryanandkathrynharvey.net

Mon-Sat 10am-7pm • Sunday 12pm-6pm353.8991 • 3005 W. Cary St. in Carytown

Tiki Madness! Kid Robot UglydollSanrio Strangeco Paul Frank

ERA of RECONSTRUCTION7 0

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The Aught ies opened up wi th a s ty lebook that celebrated deconstruct ive fashion. Take a per fect ly good pair of jeans, tear them apar t and sew back together wi th embel l ishments, inver ted seams and wicked corrosive t reatments galore. How i t ’s done has taken a newer high road to add the “re” and drop the “de” for more f inished, upscale looks using the best of recycled fabrics, s i lhouet tes and color palet tes. The Empties wi l l soon give way to the Teenies, and wi th i t new trends and re - imaginings of couture f rom before wi l l abound.

At the head of this movement is the Brooklyn, NY house Mandate of Heaven. Their Vaudevi l le dressing-room playsui ts , jumpers and separates caught my eye and made i t gleam with the potent ial for a new direct ion in summer s t reetwear. Breezy, feminine and sexy to the nth, Mandate’s fashions are r ipe for making a scene whi le making the Scene. Each out f i t is hand-made and one of a kind. Their out f i t s are designed for the alpha female, but special s ize orders and requests are more than welcome. Check out the fu l l l ine at their Myspace page: www.myspace.com//mandate_of_heaven.

CREDITSAr t Direct ion – Chris t ian DetresPhotography – Sarah WalorSty l ing – Chris t ian DetresHair/Make-Up – Dayna of Vampsandvixens.netModels – Claire Tui te, Tyler Wil l iams

Special thanks go out to Bygones Vintage Fashions ( in Carytown) for the majori ty of the accessories you’ l l see here. Need Supply, always a fr iend of RVA in ever y way, is responsible for the f resh gi lded plaid shir t in the las t panel of this shoot. Of course, suppor t comes from many di f ferent places, so Todd at the Byrd, John wi th the record player, Sarah’s roommate wi th the c lean bed, Doc at the Fountain Bookstore - you al l make i t happen.

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