Mastodon + El Myr + Newmerica = This

So it’s no small secret that the folks at Newmerica were instrumental in helping us achieve our ambitious Kickstarter goal last fall. They’re funny. They’re inventive. They’re our kinda people.

Well, here’s their newest project featuring Brent Hinds from Mastodon, To those that live outside of Atlanta, this should serve as Chunklet’s Chamber of Commerce obligation for the year. And for those that are from around our parts, well, we all know Brent, Tom and El Myr. Congrats to all involved.

(And y’saw it here first, kids.)

Knodel – The s/t & 1985 EP

The late 90’s were kind of a blur to me. Mail and email were keeping neck and neck and there was never a lack of people turning me onto new artists. In addition to this, I was booking a club here in Atlanta five nights a week and working for an ad agency during the day. So yeah, I was burning it at both ends. And really, it was kind of a blast.

Jonathan Kreinik (Trans Am’s touring sound man and studio engineer) told me repeatedly to check out this band that had been at his studio recently…and well, that band was Knodel. Knodel was one of those bands that at the time I was really excited about. It didn’t take very long for me to ask them if I could do a couple limited CD-R releases with them. Both in numbered editions of less than 200. And you know what? The EPs are still pretty darned great.

Okay, sure. The band was clearly geeky. Clearly aspiring to be those bands that they loved (Man or Astroman? and Trans Am come to mind). But man, doing Basic programming as lyrics for a song? Yeah, sign me up.

The first CD-R (edn of 100) was later paired up with more material to make up the 1985 EP which I still love listening to. It’s so late 90’s it hurts.

I was lucky enough to see the band perform once at the club I booked in Atlanta in ’99 (I’m thinking) opening for Man…or Astro-Man? and they were kind of a mess. Not bad. Just not that well formed. Then again, they were kids. I also remember their show as being the first time I saw VHS or Beta who, coincidentally (at least at the time), were mining the same musical terrain as Knodel. VHS and I were actually discussing releasing a record. I dodged that bullet.

Knodel went on to release a full length called "Black Hole" which I thought was an overwrought step backwards. Then again, maybe I’m just a softie when it comes to demos. They just come closer to what the band was doing.

I’m including the ten closest "songs" from the two CD-Rs on the site. However, if you want the entire shebang (in lossless format), just click here.

Postscript:
I’ve got a couple copies of these here. Want ’em? Email me and we can work something out.

Knodel – We’re Knodel

Knodel – Knodel World

Knodel – Knodel Dance Party

Knodel – Milk of Mares

Knodel – Black Hole

Knodel – Tricky (Run DMC cover)

Knodel – Yar’s Revenge

Knodel – Basic/Mr. Scientist

Knodel – Dance Factor

Knodel – Do It

Man…or Astro-Man?, Liner Notes & Their First Recording

Over a year ago, Man or Astro-Man? asked for me to write the liner notes for their reissue of their "Your Weight on the Moon" 10" on One Louder. Of course, nothing has happened (yet) so I’m including this along with MOAM?s very first tape from the fall of ’92.

Also, to all Astro-fans, it’ll do you well to go check out James Bennett’s meticulous blog regarding the band’s discography. Recommended.

And finally, I’ve encoded some early video of Astroman from ’92. Darnell’s in Auburn!

LINERS:
Second only to five inch records, ten inch records are the pinnacle of collecting fetishism. Fact.

I’m certainly not trying to pick a fight with this broad statement, but it’s true. You, the reader, know it’s true. The labels that put them out know it’s true. Hell, everybody that’s ever collected records knows it’s true. It’s the vinyl equivalent to the dollar coins that the US Mint has tried (repeatedly) to adapt into the American currency. No matter how much they’ve been pushed on the general public, they’re just met with a polite level of interest followed by an oppressive level of apathy. This is fact. The sooner you come to realize this, the sooner your record collection will be able to muster a sigh of relief.

I’ve had extended conversations discussing the fetishistic nature of 10" records over and over again, and when pressed for a counter-argument, the same examples are brought up to champion their validity. The Oblivians. Slint. Teengenerate. Pavement. And then there’s Man…or Astro-Man? They didn’t put out one 10" record. No, no, no. They put out THREE and one of ’em was a double! Pack that in your space bong and smoke it.

1994 marked only YEAR NUMBER TWO for Man…or Astro-Man? in their search to fill record store bins across the world with their absurdly prolific output. The band came out of the gates so fast in 1992 that it became almost impossible to keep up with what they were putting out. As a fledgling music writer in Athens at the time of their first demo tape called "Supersonic Toothbrush" (not to be mistaken for the 7" of the same name) was released, I felt fortunate that I was able to plant a stake at ground zero of the swelling Astro-mania that would swell throughout the decade.

Just to put things in perspective, perhaps it would be best to explain exactly just how prolific Astro-Man? were. In 1993, their first full year as a band, they put out five singles, a flexidisc and their first full length album, Is It… My iTunes library tells me that’s over a full 90 minute mix-tape of exclusive material. An hour and a half! In a year! Perhaps it would also help to understand that when the band wasn’t writing and recording these releases, they were burning out axles and flinging Little Debbie snack cakes all across the Southeast United States. And to top it off, to varying degrees, all four of the Astro-kids were all in school. And let me tell you, as somebody that is all but a few years older than they are, they were kids. But they were kids that were chomping at the bit to get out of Auburn and out to clubs to slap their stickers on any available condom machine, sound board, backstage club door or cocaine mirror they could get their post-teenage hands on.

Man…or Astro-Man?’s visits to Georgia were alarmingly steady in those early days before the rest of the planet fell prey to them. By looking at my dusty tape collection, the band played no fewer than six venues in Georgia that first year. The Star Bar, The Point and the Grooveyard in Atlanta and Club Fred, Hoyt Street North and the 40 Watt Club in Athens. And on top of it, they performed in the Omni Hotel lobby at DragonCon to unwitting comic book and scifi nerds on a Saturday afternoon. You could say that the band was hungry, but so quickly? And so…..I don’t know how else to say it…..CRAZED?!

Their live shows were always a hodgepodge of whatever far-fetched ideas that came out of their collective noggins. Performed songs that were flubbed were met with push-ups. Coco’s brilliant, yet some would say long winded, on-stage rants were met with abuse from behind Birdstuff’s drum kit. Hecklers were met with Tang powder poured over their heads. Unsuspecting audiences were blindsided by Little Debbie snacks hurtling out the Snackzooka (™) at 100 miles per hour. Coco The Electronic Monkey Wizard would ride his trusty Big Wheel around the crowd, and of course, the show was never truly complete until their trusty tour manager Bookman would come out to shake his hips doing the "Bunny Foo Foo" dance during "Reverb 10,000." Those were good times, I tell you. Good times. And don’t let nobody tell you otherwise.

Which, in a roundabout way, takes me to fall of 1993. Birdstuff and I had become quick pen pals in those halcyon pre-internet days where stamps on postcards announcing tour dates were king and our early hang times were spent hovering over the merch table after their sets. Birdstuff would routinely push Astroman?’s newest sellable gimmick on me. Whether it was Astro-Teethpaste (read: a push-tube of Crest), Galactic Fruit Meteors (read: a standard issue fruit cake) or Space Dust (read: dryer lint) they all had an ersatz Man…or Astroman? sticker slapped on it and made their own….and available for only five bucks!

The band played that night with the Smugglers and the Subsonics above a Jamaican restaurant on Peachtree in Atlanta at a club called The Grooveyard. This is back when downtown was still fraught with chances for a small town kid such as myself to get mugged (or worse) on a night out. I vividly recollect Clay from the Subsonics warning me to look out for the heroin needles in the men’s bathroom. Yeah, it was that kind of place. That particular night Birdstuff plopped the "Call of the Wild" flexidisc and Mission Into Chaos single into my hands (along with the newest obligatory Astro-shirt and stickers) before I left for my 2am drive back to Athens.

Getting a copy of those early Astro-Man? singles was palpably exciting. The songs were still fresh. Still new. Still raw. Not obsessed with studio time, they were cranking the jams out at a furious clip and Mission Into Chaos was no exception. Astro-Man? was still around eighteen months old, but learning what they wanted from their records at an excelled rate. As with all their singles of this era, it was recorded out past the train tracks in Wetumpka, Alabama at Jim Marrer’s converted house/studio in a day. The guitar tones were starting to drift away from the clichéd Ventures sound and getting a more punky attack. The ambient drones and howls were more deftly mixed into the songs.  The samples were getting more abstract. The 4-color die-cut sleeve (their first for a 7") was far more mysterious and less literal than previous releases (thanks to graphic design master Art Chantry). The band was growing stronger by the day and Mission Into Chaos proves it.

A mere couple months later in December, Astroman? were playing the 40 Watt in Athens on some random Friday night. All of the band were gearing up for their first trip to Ol Blighty and showed up to the club with differently colored Manic Panic-dyed neon hair. I distinctly remember Birdstuff’s electric blue mop as he handed me their (fifth!) newest single of 1993, the vs. Europa UK tour single on Homo Habilis. Again, and I’m not trying to belabor the point as much as make this abundantly clear, this was a band that had started a little over a year before their first European tour. Wrap your head around that.

The winter and spring of 1994 progressed with their same seemingly effortless level of aplomb. And, as had become tradition by that point, Astroman? were hitting Georgia on Fridays and Saturdays amidst their furious school, recording and tour schedule. Amidst the calamity, Astroman? wrote Your Weight On The Moon in a week. Yes, seven days. Following that, the band was holed up at Zero Return for another three days to record and mix their debut 10" record.

note the Cliff’s Notes sport coat!

Your Weight On The Moon signaled the waning days of this first (and some would say "classic") line up of Astroman?. Dr. Deleto’s days were counting down and so was the band’s more elementary approach to songwriting. However, this isn’t to say that Astroman? didn’t have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. As performances around this time would prove, many of these songs became staples of their set for years to come. "Special Agent Conrad Uno" and "Electrostatic Brain Field" were always to be expected for the next year. The Rezillos song "Destination Venus" was too eerily similar to the Astroman? songwriting style of the time (except for the addition of vocals, obviously) and "Rocketship XL-3" became the routine opening number to their shows for most of 1994 and well into 1995.

The 10" quickly became ubiquitous with record stores and collectors alike. Of course, the sign of the diehard fan was easy to spot by owning a glow-in-the-dark copy. And yes, I would turn the lights out in my living room to watch the record dimly glow while "Space Patrol" blasted out of my stereo. Remember what I said about the 10" being a fetishized format? Well, keep in mind that when said format glows, it ramps the record to legendary status. No question.

The band would take a more distinctly post-punk direction over the course of their next lineup which featured Captain Zeno. But really, Your Weight On The Moon is a crystalline snapshot of a young and prolific band writing, performing and recording at a furious pace. Musically, the band never stayed in one place for very long, but after all, these were kids from outer space.

Upon discussing Man or Astro-Man? with a fellow long-tenured fan, we kept revisiting how the band was always on display. This was actually a band whose packaging matched (or even exceeded) their on-stage personas, and you’d always wait with anxious anticipation what the band would bring out. Whereas some bands would have cool looking records, their songs sucked and what’s worse, they sucked live. Or, what would be more painful, their songs were killer, the packaging was killer, yet the band just weren’t that great on stage. But then there was Man…or Astro-Man? who masterfully did all three. They always came up with something fun (and usually funny) for almost ten years. TEN YEARS! Although this might sound brash, I’ll publicly debate anybody that can find a band with such a spectacular track record for an entire decade. Yeah, long live Man…or Astro-Man?

Henry H. Owings
Chunklet Magazine
Atlanta, Georgia
27 January 2010

Man…or Astro-Man? – Invasion of the Dragonmen (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Organ Smash (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Nitrous Burnout (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Adios Johnny Bravo (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Cowboy Playing Dead (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Alien Visitors (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Sadie Hawkins Atom Bomb (first demo)

Man…or Astro-Man? – Taxidermist Surf (first demo)

Poly Styrene RIP (1957-2011)

Poly Styrene died Monday after a battle with cancer. I know I’m just one of countless who were affected by her music with X Ray Spex. We were all Germfree with Poly singing.

Back in ’96, I interviewed her via email (which was revolutionary back then) for issue ten of Chunklet, and I’m publishing it here for the first time since it was originally published. At the end of our email exchange, I asked her for an autographed photo and a week later, one arrived in the mail which I still cherish to this day. Goodbye, Poly. You will be missed.

Name:
Marian Joan Elliott
Birthday:
3rd July 1957
Height:
5 ft. 2"
Shoe size:
4 or 37
Prescription Lenses:
None but I like wearing shades
Other:
36" 26" 36"
What sort of background do you come from?  Positive family environment, etc?
A slightly unusual one I have seven different races flowing through my veins. I had lots of fun & love as a kid, mum was quite strict, I have fond memories of British life.
Before the band started, what did you do?  School?
I was designing wacky clothing and had a small unit in the Kings Road, Chelsea called Poly Styrene. Vivienne Westwood was just around the corner.
What were the first records you bought?
My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, Aretha Franklin’s first gospel album, Holidays In The Sun by the Sex Pistols.
X Ray Spex formed in what year?  What was the impetus for the band’s creation?
1976, I wanted to have fun with some kids my own age. I also wanted to communicate with the rest of the world.
How did you all meet?
I put an ad in Melody Maker for young punx who want to stick it together. Paul Jak came B.P. & Lora came later Lora left and then Rudi Tompson came over from Australia.
When the band initially formed, what was the most musical training any of you had?
Everybody had some training, Paul & I had the most, Paul played clarinet and guitar as well as bass. I was trained classically at Wigmore Hall and my singing teacher wanted me to sing opera soprano but I had other ideas.
Given your ages at the time, how did you  fit  in with other contemporary bands of the time?
We were babes compared to bands like the Pretenders. We said hi to everybody but kept a respectable distance.
What was your take on the whole punk scene?
A new attitude, we wanted a new world order.
Do you believe that punk is still a viable movement?
Yes, but it needs to evolve from self imposed negative nihilism to positive thinking. It could also do with a spiritual injection.
Did punk mean anything to you?  How about now?
It meant a lot at the time for lots of people, and now it’s up to capable individuals to build on what was started.
How did the lyrics for songs come about?
Divine inspiration, I hope? And of course wordly experience.
What about your music?  How are songs written?
Something fires or triggers my imagination, then words, concept & melodies flood my consciousness then I express this to the people I work with and they become a tangible reality.
Were you ever turned away from a club you were playing at because they wouldn’t allow minors in or they didn t believe you were in the band?  Please elaborate.
No because I always drank orange juice or Perrier at the bar and my braces and clothes made me very recognizable.
I know you played America in 1979.  What was your initial impression of America and Americans?  Has it changed?
I loved it and the positivity of American audiences was ab-fab.  I have some frends in the USA in a band called Shelter and they’re absolutely brilliant.
What have been the most pivotal moments in the band’s career?  In your life?
Playing Victoria Park, East London Anti Nazi League rally, for Rock Against Racism. It was a real political-musical high, thousands and thousands of people marhed and of course making "Conscious Consumer" was a giant step into the 21st Cetury.
What was (were) the reason (s) that the band dissolved at the end of the 70’s?
I wanted to continue my education and I needed to grow spiritually.
How did you initially get involved with Krishna?
Singing and dancing with them in the early seventies at various pop festivals in the UK. I also read a book called Easy Journies To Other Planets and when I ate some halava I was hooked.

Was your involvement with Krishna part of the reason that  Germ Free Adolescents  became the collector’s item that it became (due to going out of print)?  When did you decide to allow the first record to be rereleased?
I guess you could say Krishna had something to do with the band’s current underground cult status, 1991 we allowed Virgin to rerelease Germfree on CD. Of course there’s been lots of bootlegs which we knew nothing about.
Why did you finally allow it to happen?
I wanted to continue to communicate with the rest of the world.
Have you found X Ray Spex’s popularity to have risen over the band’s hiatus during the 80’s?
Yes it has especially in the USA and Japan.
Describe what it was like to reassemble the band and record this new album.
Great fun.
Your lyrics have definitely changed….how do you comfortably go from  "I’m a Cliche"  to songs about cows and their religious significance?
Quite easily, why not? I’m certainly not bound by my own myth, as my consciousness evolves so my songs naturally evolve.
Does the Krishna organization encourage your musical endeavors?  Please elaborate.
I have lots of friends that are Hari’s, but there’s no great plot. Sure they like my music, and true friends are always supportive. Sometimes I might get inspired at a lecture or a love feast to write a song.
What is the current status of X Ray Spex?
You tell me, I’m a little detached from that side of things. I think we’ve got some cred though.
Will America ever see you playing here again?
I should most definitely say so – and I hope it’s not in the too distant future.
Do you have any suggestions for 13 year olds trying to do what you did 20 years ago?
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy, don’t eat dead animals, have fun with your music and keep some straight-edge principles.
How has the electronic/cyber revolution changed the way you do things?
Artistically, not a lot, but it’s been great for communications and maybe we will utilise it a bit more on future albums.
Parting words?
Peace, Love & Blessings.

(originally published in Chunklet 10, 1996)

Indie Cred Test Press Has Begun!

So I’ve been busy changing diapers and dealing with the bang and clang of construction here at Chunklet HQ, but the press juggernaut behind the Indie Cred Test has begun!

CMJ
Spectrum
The Daily Swarm
Stereogum
Blurt
Audiojerks (podcast)
Two Thousand (Australia)
The Agit Reader
Refinery 29
The Reader
The Hairpin (Indie Cred Test for girls)
The Indie Reader (if you consider a ‘sentence’ restating the cover a ‘review’)

….from Filter

I’m also including an interview I did this past week with the kind folks at WREK here in Atlanta. In the ten years since the last time I was at their studio (MOAM? did a radio session), they moved. So I was late. Instead of an hour long interview, you get 30 minutes. In those 30 minutes, I fire across a local music scribe’s bow, explain who Nirvana is/was and get to hate on Perry Farrell. I know, far too easy.

Chunklet on WREK (April ’11)

True Widow

So I’ve been in pretty hardcore daddy duty these past couple weeks, but I’m still listening to new jams. Often.

True Widow is on Kemado and are a self-professed "stonegaze" band from Dallas. The kind folks at Aquarius have been championing them for a while, but yeah, I guess I’d have to read each and every update they do in order to catch all the great stuff they recommend.

Other than this, the new Milk Music LP…..well, it’s just about the best damned thing I’ve heard this year so far.

More updates on the site forthcoming.

The Indie Cred Test & Fucked Up LP Are Go!

After a year of fussing and a few months of Kickstarting, the indie Cred Test is ready for preorders! (which will ship in mid-March)

This sucker clocks in at almost 200 pages and is a fine addition to any bookshelf that might have back issues of the mag or our other two books.

How would I describe this new book? In a word: dense. In three words: heavy ink coverage. In a nutshell? Imagine a standardized test that grew a pair.

Written by the staff at Chunklet, designed by Aaron Draplin and yrs truly and illustrated by the world-famous Jesse LeDoux. Like, whoa!

I’m anxious for all to read this behemoth.

Also! The new 12" by Fucked Up is also ready for preorders. Test pressings have been approved and we’re just waiting for copies to show up from the plant. Heck, the band even covers a Chain Gang song on the encore! And as always, there’s a few different colored vinyl editions. They will go fast, I’m sure.

And if’n you wanna buy both together and save a few bucks, just click here. Obviously, if you would like to purchase anything via Paypal, just contact me. And also, if anybody knows of any distributors (if there’s any left), let me know, okay?

Hop to.

Chunklet Invades Pukekos (Yet Again!): HURL

A massive and comprehensive blog posting. A year in the making. This great Pittsburgh band’s singles, a few radio sessions, live video and even a live show mixed and recorded by Mr. Bobby Weston.

Hurl were always like the baby brother band to Don Caballero. Kinda forgotten over the years, but the kind folks at the incredible blog Pukekos were kind enough to allow me to do an exhaustive feature on them. Mr. Jencik now performs with Kranky recording artists Implodes. Enjoy!

The Embassy Tapes 1990-1992

When I moved to Georgia, one of the big promises I made to myself is that I would stop driving to shows hours away all by myself. When living in York, I’d always borrow my mom’s car and hop to Philly and Baltimore or lesser boros like Lancaster and Harrisburg. Almost always by myself and almost always just dragging ass on the return drive home so I wouldn’t miss classes at 8:00am the next morning.

However, the more memorable drives I’d make were to shows in DC. Always. I lucked out and would always get tips on shows at the Wilson Center, DC Space and 9:30 Club. My energy level far exceeded any rational person’s and well, I went routinely. As in once per week. For years it was like that. No joke.

The Embassy Tapes J Card/credits, etc

Thanks to time and/or gentrification (or both), trying to explain how dangerous some of these neighborhoods were is next to impossible. But the parties at the house called The Embassy? Well, those still stand out as the shows that I still really can’t explain. Not only was the neighborhood just absolutely 100% life-threatening (reminding me of the neighborhood at LA’s Jabberjaw) but it also served as the club house for Nation of Ulysses. Yeah.

The shows I saw at the Embassy were just ridiculous. Part of this was because I didn’t know anybody at the shows. I’d just lurk in the corner, drink beer outside or just sit in the car. There was always tons of free time and well, this was pre-cell phones so texting friends or playing Angry Birds would hafta wait twenty years. But let’s face it, house shows are always legendary, right? No real PA. No real stage. No real anything if you think about it. And well, watching bands perform amidst that sort of limitation was something I’d relish as I moved to Athens.

The Embassy Tapes isn’t a collection of live performances at the house, but rather a collection of recordings that were made by all the usual suspects of early 90’s DC. Circus Lupus, Bratmobile and a myriad of Ulysses side project bands. I purchased this copy via Simple Machines the week it came out and have made countless copies of it over the years.

NOU performing their last gig at The Embassy

As time progressed, I became friends with Tim Green (later of the Fucking Champs). Not only was he in Ulysses, but (I’m guessing) he recorded a good chunk of the material on this tape and released the tape out of his bedroom. When asked why he’s never made more copies of this, his response is that he got worried about how to pay everybody which is a pretty understandable concern. But man, what a great release all the same.

So here are the ‘dank nugs’ of the release. Be sure to also check out the Primal Scream demo by Nation of Ulysses and two Circus Lupus demos elsewhere on the site for more sonic enjoyment.

As a final aside, I can’t recollect which neighborhood The Embassy was in, but I do know that somebody from the DC scene now owns the house. Maybe somebody from The Apes or Faraquet owns it? Leave any info in the comments section.

The Embassy Tape, er, uh, tape

Andycane – Embassy Tapes

Billy – Embassy Tapes

Circus Lupus – Embassy Tapes

Nation of Ulysses – Embassy Tapes

Nero – Embassy Tapes

Tim Green – Embassy Tapes

Wonder Twins – Embassy Tapes

Bratmobile 2 – Embassy Tapes

Bratmobile – Embassy Tapes

Steve Kroner – Embassy Tapes

For Those Just Now Joining Us….

THIS is how it was done in 2010.

Mayyors. An absolutely magnificent band. Now no longer. But good god, I defy anybody to find a better live band in the last few years.

And here’s parts two and three of their final gig. Brilliant.

Mayyors – The Crawl

Mayyors – Ghost Punch

Mayyors – Clicks

Mayyors – Deads

INTERVIEW: Earles, His Comedic Pursuits & Becoming Matador ‘Alumni’ (Pt 3 of 3)

Andrew Earles first book, Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock, is available now.

I noticed an occasional dip into a joke (for levity) here and there, but did you ever have to consciously divest your comedy alter-ego while writing or interviewing people for the book? Were any interview subjects aware of exactly who you were as a writer and comedian?

My comedy alter-ego? At first, I was a little put off at the suggestion that I have a “comedy alter-ego” – like my girlfriend is constantly forcing me to leave the portable P.A. system at home because of a personal tendency to do stand-up in the middle of a restaurant, or as if I carry a rubber chicken around in my back pocket. But then I realized that I did treat my work in the comedy field as a secret life whenever I did work on the book. My comedy album and what I’m known for relative to the comedy genre…none of it had any place in my work on the Hüsker book, and I consciously tried to separate the two. I had two sources mention it during phone interviews, and I was mortified when they did. I tried to promptly change the subject. Those two worlds felt like different planets, and the Just Farr A Laugh 2CD set was released by Matador when I was five months into working on the book! The color probably drained from my face when Lori Barbero answered the phone one morning with, “I know about yoooooooouuu…..” I mean, the year before I got the book deal, you and I were on the “Comedy and Indie Rock” panel at SXSW! Most of my book work was done in a mindset that had no room for humor, for both obvious and not-so-obvious reasons, and I felt like it attached an unprofessional feel to my demeanor if my sources knew that one of the largest and most successful labels around had released a double CD and massive booklet based around prank phone calls I’d done with a friend (Jeffrey Jensen). When the phone call 2CD set was released in May of 2008, the whole world seemed to act like it was covered in feces and live ants, and it went on to be the worst-selling release on Matador in the past ten years, I think. If not the worst, then close to it.  I guess it speaks to my supreme failure in the comedy genre that I was able to keep these two worlds separated….for the most part. So the really short answer to your question is….no, it was not hard to turn off that part of my life when I was doing book work.

To address the question as to whether or not it was a challenge to silence my usually uncontrollable irreverence, or whatever, while writing the book, I will admit to having a small handful of barbed sentiments were poo-poo’d by my editor, but they were directed at entities removed from my subject. More genres and demographics than specific bands or artists, really.

Is there anything you want HD fans to take away from this book that they wouldn’t get from anywhere else?

Meaning, the stuff they can’t get from the other books written exclusively about Hüsker Dü? I’m not sure I understand this question. At least 80% of the text between the two covers comes to mind…excluding some of the info at the end of the book, which is available in another form and presented in a totally different fashion on Paul Hilcoff’s Hüsker Dü Database.

HD backstage at The Channel, Boston, 1984. c Patrick Smith

Other than Bob Mould and Greg Ginn, are there any other principal interview subjects you wish you could’ve reached?
 
Reached? Oh, I reached a lot of people, including those two, I think; it’s just that they decided not to participate. Jello Biafra would have been a nice interview, and he was one of the few that actually reached out to me before I had attempted to reach him. Problem was, he only wanted to do it if all three members were involved, and I can respect that decision. I had a rather awkward experience with Henry Rollins. I found his manager, and sent her my request for his participation…..via e-mail. She called me up. Let’s just say that very few personalities have actually made me feel like the naive bumpkin stereotype that shrewd movers-and-shakers from the West Coast and NYC might associate with this part of the country. This was like trying to talk to a character from a Neal LaBute movie about entertainment managers, if such a movie were to exist in real life. It was clear that she didn’t read or didn’t consider anything I’d written in my e-mail, or her brutally-toned questions would have been rendered unnecessary. And the incredulous undertone, like I was some unpublished dipshit writing about Hüsker Dü in a spiral notebook. Also, all of the "What exactly do you want to ask my client?" and "Why do you want to interview my client?" -style questions imply that she knew nothing about her client. She would ask me to explain the connection between Henry and Hüsker Dü, then cut me off after I got four words out of my mouth….with another question that was either obvious, or covered in my e-mail. After we got off the phone, I got an e-mail within five minutes. "Henry won’t be participating in your book." So here’s the funny part: Two days later, my editor at the Memphis Flyer assigns me a preview of the Henry Rollins spoken-word performance that’s coming up in town, so I had to get back in touch with this woman and ask for a totally unrelated interview. I went ahead and preemptively stated that I wasn’t going to disrespect the decision to remain uninvolved with my book while I was conducting an interview for my Alt-Weekly about a completely different and removed subject; something I felt stupid clarifying, as I was basically saying "Oh, and by the way, I’m not an integrity-challenged weasel." When it comes to ease of acquiring sources, my book had two major attributes going against it: It was about Hüsker Dü, a band comprised of three people who are more-or-less unfriendly or uncommunicative with one another, so you automatically have three camps of sources who could conceivably have a problem with discussing the subject matter. And it should be clarified that Greg and Grant are not unfriendly with one another, though they only speak over the phone about Hüsker business. The other red flag for potential interviewees was, of course, not having Bob on board. I made sure to tell all of my prospective sources about this on the front end, within the invitation. In hindsight, there’s no telling exactly how many potential interviewees this cost me, because there were a lot of people who simply didn’t bother to respond to my request. That was a little irritating, but hey, these folks don’t owe me anything. Lastly, I must issue a terse comment about the people who agreed to participate, seemed fine with the dynamics of my book, and received a list of questions only to give me the silent treatment when I attempted follow-ups. I was not using a stock set of questions, and put a lot of time and thought into each individual interview. To not have the grapes to say, "You know, I’ve decided I’m not comfortable with this" or to just blow me off due to laziness or apathy? You shouldn’t do people like that. Is it not somewhat flattering that a writer deems you worthy of quoted commentary in a published biography or historical text? Oh, there was a third factor going against this book: Previously-published books or other examples of music press that I had nothing to do with. I had one very, very important source turn me down based on a bad experience with previously-published book that will always be associated with my book. I shouldn’t elaborate on this one, but it wasn’t the only book that indirectly costs me a source or two. One book guaranteed that an entire band wasn’t going to speak with me, and it would have been nice to get at least one of these guys on the horn. Lastly, I’d like to drive something home: If an excluded source pops out of my book and bothers you, dear readers, please understand that there is a really, really good chance that I contacted this person and their absence is based upon a personal choice. Sadly, a reader’s, or a critic’s, first impression tends to be that I didn’t even know to get in touch with certain sources or that I did know but made no effort. ?

Were there any people you interviewed for the book who despite giving plenty of good information were just not able to be used?

No, I used at least one or two quotes from everyone I interviewed, unless I’m forgetting someone. It is entirely possible that I’m forgetting someone. Now, there are hours of unused interview content when it comes to the frequently-used sources, like Mike Watt and Grant, and I wish I could have used more of Ray Farrell’s excellent interview.

(Another) recent photo of the author

In retrospect, looking back at your time on this, your first book, what would you have done differently? What could you have done better?
 
Ask me this in nine months. This isn’t where my head needs to be at the moment, though I will say that I will make more of an effort to guarantee that my personal life isn’t in a tumultuous state. Pretty tall order, considering the unpredictable nature of several key factors. I know that I will be more financially secure when I’m writing my next book. Terrified and broke is not a condition that I find conducive to creativity/productivity. I had a large percentage of my side work disappear due to the economic downturn in the fall/winter of ’08 and into the first half of ’09.

And about nine months into the book-work, I suffered an acute case of appendicitis that was the single most traumatic situation I’ve ever experienced. The offending organ actually ruptured a few minutes prior to surgery, which occurred a short 12 hours after the first pangs of pain became noticeable. I was told that I would have been dead within two or three hours had the surgery not happened when it did, and I was in the hospital for almost five days of post-op recovery. Prior to any notable medical attention, I was kept in a room for several hours, delusional from the worst pain I’ve ever known. It was during this time that I became convinced I was going to die. There were other complications, too, but this isn’t what anyone wants to read about. Nor do they want to read about my mom falling ill, which also happened while I was writing this book…

Do you have any future writing plans you can discuss? Are you anxious to start working on another book or did this one cure you for a while?
 
I am very anxious to start work on another book, or two books at once, depending on what type of book we’re discussing here. I am tightening up the proposal and putting feelers out for a book that I’m afraid to explain. I really don’t want someone to steal the idea. Elsewhere, I’m carefully deciding whether or not it’s a wise idea to start proposing a biography of an particular artist who is no longer with us, I’d love to write an encyclopedia or history of the independent label that began a quarter-century ago and went up to present day, then there’s a book about how eBay has altered if not become the gold standard by which vinyl worth is now determined (or basically a history of the vinyl record’s relationship with eBay), and I’m trying to settle on an angle re: a book about deregulated "extreme"/underground metal. Oh, since other factions of 90’s hardcore have gotten book or large-scale bio treatment, what about the crust or metallic side of things that had nothing to do with NYHC meatheads or sports jerseys…the early part of the d-beat revival, huge riffs courtesy of Neurosis, His Hero is Gone, etc, power-violence, you know what I mean. No one’s done that book, yet. One idea I’m pretty excited about is a book telling the recent history of the budget-level guitar and how many such brands/models now feature a quality-level that rivals guitars costing much, much more, starting in the early-90’s with the Yamaha Pacifica and moving forward to present day. This book would also serve as an expose of some expensive brands that are now coasting on the power of their name yet building decisively shoddy products, not to mention the powerful strain of now-unjustified snobbery shown by guitarists and magazines that snub brands like Squier and Epiphone and invest so much importance in the name on a headstock, thus promoting some dubious rip-off schemes on the part of mid-to-high end manufacturers. I’m also starting to compile either one or two volumes of my own writing as it was done in a certain tone and published for several years as a column and in an entry-based section of well-known alt-weekly, and this is to be combined, somehow, with the content created by Dave Dunlap and myself for our late-90’s zine (1996 – 2000), The Cimarron Weekend. Finally, I still believe that my life’s work will be an epic-length biographical treatment of the man who is perhaps my biggest hero, if not the strongest interest I have in a single personality, the untouchable Bill Drummond.
 
This is what I do, and I’m not doing any other type of work at this moment. I have to keep an eye on my mom, whose health is worsening, and up until recently, was splitting my physical work areas between the makeshift office I made in my mom’s guestroom and my office at home, in the house I share with my girlfriend. Trying to do writing work in two physical places is a fucking nightmare, and it automatically creates this default third workplace known as "the automobile". Point is, I wasn’t sending out pitches at the rate I once was (or should be now), and I have less work in the pipeline than I’ve had in years. That doesn’t dance with having a recently-published book, especially one that’s getting some attention, and the irony is painful rather than funny.

What about Earles and Jensen? Are you two still recording phone calls?
 
On Christmas Eve of last year, Jeffrey sent me an e-mail encouraging me to take a look at the Matador home page, where ‘Earles and Jensen’ had been removed from the "Current Roster" drop-down menu and placed in the "Alumni" drop-down menu. As a result, our 4LP/Book/DVD conceptual set entitled "The Blues 2" has no home. Jeffrey aligned with American Apparel to create an album of prank phone calls to AA locations, which he did with the help of East Village Radio (each call was done on the air). To explain it further would only serve to confuse readers, but the calls are brilliant and can be found online by searching the archives for the "Gay Beach" program, I believe. He invited me to contribute, but I could only manage some creative consulting long-distance, as book-work didn’t allow anything more involved at that particular time…I was trying to remedy a content dry-spell and get up to Minneapolis for some face-time with people. Someone should release those AA calls, though. Solid stuff. ?

Care to elaborate on anything?
 
You sure you want me to do that?

Free Shipping For The Next Month!

It’s been a hectic month so far, and I’m only now getting around to offering this.

Artwork by Lauren Gregg!

Any domestic orders include free shipping for the next month. Overseas orders can have discounted shipping if we arrange it through Paypal, but it’s just too tricky to deal with on the Chunklet store.

FATAL OUTLET: Ted Hafer’s Cinematic “Triumph”

So the Final Outlet movie is something that I don’t know if anybody outside of Athens or the stars’s circle of friends will either ‘get’ or ‘enjoy’ but whatever, it doesn’t hurt to change things up a bit. Shot throughout the mid-’90s, Fatal Outlet is in dire need of an edit job. However, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have its moments. Ted Hafer was the gent behind this and he personally gave me the copy you are going to watch and even he thought it needed to be redone.

Regardless, the list of Athens ‘celebrities’ starts to get dizzying after the first few scenes. However, I just always thought highly of most of these folks when I first moved to Georgia so maybe that has something to do with it. Paul and Creston from Harvey Milk, Amber from Jucifer and Ballard from Roosevelt/Hayride/ElfPower/Vic Chesnutt’s band appear along with probably the entire working staff of The Grit from ’93-’97 and every regular at the Manhattan from the same time period.

I know, I know, this will probably fly over the head of most, but I thought it best to throw it up here before YouTube wises up and takes it down due to some seedy language.

One aside, this movie rests in its entirety on YouTube and can be watched in 10-15 minute segments at my ‘channel’. I just can’t figure out how to make one vid flow into the next. So deal with it.

Ted Hafer RIP.

INTERVIEW: Earles & (Revisionist) American Hardcore (Pt 2 of 3)

What was initially going to be a brief interview has blossomed into a 6,000 word behemoth which I didn’t dare edit by even one word. Andy is just always such a treat to read. So here, dear reader, is part two (read part one over yonder).

Andy Earles’ book, Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock, is now for sale.

You delve into correcting several books about hardcore (generally) and HD (specifically).  Most importantly, you heavily criticize "American Hardcore". Was it merely your opinion that Blush’s book was off base or was this an overall sentiment that was shared by folks you interviewed?
 
I wouldn’t say “opinion” had much to do with it, nor did anyone else’s commentary about Blush’s book because I rarely brought it up to my sources, if at all. Sadly, the second edition of American Hardcore hit shelves between the time that I made the last changes to my book and its publication, which makes me look like an asshole because I don’t specify that I’m referring to the first edition of his book because a second one didn’t exist when I was writing that. Blush added almost 90 pages of content to the second edition, and removed several passages that I would hope any reasonable person would take issue with. To avoid this answer growing to novella-length, I will point out three examples which will more than sufficiently prove my point. And let it be known that I extended an invitation to Blush – to have himself heard in defense several passages I’d be taking to task in the Hüsker book – and never heard back.

The ‘IQ 32 (MIDWEST FUCK YOU)’ chapter itself is seven pages longer in the second edition than it is in the first. About halfway through the Hüsker Dü section, there appears this sentence at the beginning of a paragraph:

“The trio were all gay men hung out with outcast teenage boys.”

Aside from the fact that Greg Norton is not a homosexual and the third grade-level grammatical error (the exclusion of ‘who’ between ‘men’ and ‘hung’), I don’t think I need to elaborate on what is fundamentally wrong with this sentence.

The sentence was entirely removed from the 2nd edition, but the rest of the paragraph remained largely unchanged and reads as follows:

“All who knew the Dü say their gay predations with all these alienated young boys were discreet – and they basically were. But a creepy memory persists of a barefoot, drugged-out Grant Hart, on the prowl for young meat after a show.”

Really? Did Grant say, “Now let me state the age requirements for tonight’s drugged-out trolling session…” So, he’s a gay man looking for some company after a show. This is probably what Blush witnessed, if he witnessed anything at all. What’s that got to do with hardcore’s important stamp on culture? Why am I pointing out what’s wrong with this passage? It’s obvious. Other hardcore homosexuals like Gary Floyd, the late Biscuit Turner, and MDC’s Dave Dictor are not shown such disrespect.

The book is full of loaded speculation, like stating that Gibby Haynes became such a notorious crack smoker in the late-80’s and early-90’s that Mexican drug dealers called their extra large baggies of crack “gibbies.” And the definitive nature of so many claims; it seems like he credits each hardcore scene as rising in opposition to one regional entity, such as Austin hardcore happened in opposition to the cosmic cowboy, Jerry Jeff Walker hangover suffered by the town. No, Austin hardcore happened because hardcore was HAPPENING EVERYWHERE.

H?D? live in ’81 – Photo by Greg Helgeson

In the 2001 introduction, Blush claims that during the five years that went into “writing” American Hardcore, he has had to…..

“…distinguish fact from opinion, forcing myself to rethink preconceptions. I’ve tried to purge myself of all of the punditry, stereotyping, sloganeering, gut feelings, and knee-jerk reaction developed over the years, and I’ve quit trying to defend my personal tastes. Plenty of petty attitude persists among Hardcore participants to this day, but I strived to avoid adopting the bad vibe.”

Really? Because I know of no officially-published (not iPublishing) book so saturated with everything listed above.

In the 2010 introduction, Blush wastes no words before diving headfirst into the nonsense. This is the first sentence:

“Here’s the Second Edition of American Hardcore, the book that set the record straight on American Hardcore Punk music.”

Did the record need to be “set straight” or did the scene simply need to be documented? He goes on to describe the “five-year pre-internet research” he conducted for the original book, a book that was published in 2001. Did he finish his research in 1997, do something else for four years, then say, “oh shit, I’ve got this book I need to try and get published….” No, because in the intro to the American Hardcore discography section, he states that…

“Every piece of information I’ve seen posted on the Internet regarding American Hardcore is wrong, so I’ve chosen to totally ignore it.”

That statement was written in 2001. And if it wasn’t ridiculous enough, check out this follow-up in the same section of the 2010 edition:

“In the first edition I wrote… ‘most piece of information I’ve seen posted on the Internet regarding American Hardcore is wrong, so I’ve chosen to ignore it’ A decade later – due to this book’s influence – the Hardcore info posted online is far more complete.”

Wow.  Hopefully readers noticed that Blush changed “Every” to “most” and removed the “totally” in the process of QUOTING HIMSELF, if they were not blinded by the absurdity of this claim. 

I do regret that I allowed myself to come across as a hothead gunning for Our Band Could Be Your Life and tried to dial down some of the more ham-fisted quips in my final edit, but I had a short amount of time to comb through the entire draft. Along with Paul Hilcoff’s exhaustive Hüsker Dü database, the band’s chapter in Our Band… was an obvious cross-referencing point for chronological conundrums, of which there seemed to be an unending barrage. When I pointed out discrepancies or claims that differed from what my sources were telling me, I wasn’t in the mindset I’m in presently. Now I have a book out, and my book contains some honest mistakes. Look, Our Band… was the first time most of that subject matter had been discussed in such an official and widely-read forum, not to mention the fact that the book was the seed that grew into the one and only true miracle within the history of seminal band reformation: Mission of Burma.

Bob Mould will undoubtedly read your book. In a perfect world, what would you like to happen?
 
Why does it have to be a perfect world? That suggest that he will automatically hate my book if we’re speaking in terms of the world we’re living in. I wanted Bob to be a part of this book. Bad. I took the proper channels and invited him, and he respectfully declined. The book didn’t magically transform into an anti-Bob venture at that point, which really seems to blow some minds. There was a lead review of my book in the Star Tribune, and the writer got in touch with Bob and interviewed him about my book. I don’t want to assume anything about this writer’s motives, but this move suggests that I purposely excluded Bob, like this writer purposely excluded me from an interview about my book. Or perhaps it’s saying, “Look how easy it is to get an interview with Bob” ….for a book review. I think that people are assuming I didn’t even ask Bob to participate. Our culture is so irreparably fucked in that it’s geared towards the negative these days, but that’s a can of worms for another time. My editor put this gem in my head: “On the internet, it’s either shit or sunshine.” I couldn’t agree more, but I’d expand that sentiment to include every other format. I feel like people think the moment after I got the news of Bob declining, I exclaimed, "Who the fuck does he think he is?!? I’m gonna lay waste to his entire career!!! [Sound of me dialing phone] Grant? Commence with Operation Bury Bob!" I was attempting to be facetious just now, in case some dipshit takes that seriously. I was writing a biography about a band that practically built my record collection, indirectly, so to speak. 

A recent photo of the author

You’re very cautious in that you refrain from talking about business dealings between HD and SST in the book. You talked to Joe Carducci (long time SST employee) at length, but couldn’t get Greg Ginn on the horn (not a surprise). If you could look into a crystal ball, what do you envision will happen to the SST-era HD recordings?

Exactly what should happen to them, it’s just going to be a bumpier road than, say, what it took to rope in the Sonic Youth albums on SST. One thing complicating matters, besides inter-band relations/communication, is that the SST albums, barring some represses on colored vinyl that appeared in the late-80’s and early-90’s, have remained in print on vinyl and CD, just like the Black Flag and Minutemen titles have remained in print, more or less. Now, a warning to any individual record buyers that take this as an invitation to personally order from the SST superstore, the second edition of my book will probably be published before you receive your order in the mail. But any store or distro that orders weight will get their factory-sealed copies of Zen Arcade or Flip Your Wig the next week. Go any deeper than this, and it gets confusing. How does one explain the sudden appearance of long out-of-print Saint Vitus LP’s earlier this year? I bought a couple, then did some research on eBay as to what differentiated my factory-sealed copies from original presses, and found that it had to do with the inserts found inside. I opened both of my records and it turned out that I had one original press and one “repress”. I’d always wanted these records, but they were fetching serious coin online. But on the subject at hand…I will say that talks are currently happening for the best of this cause, and a label is involved in these talks. Terry Katzman has been working on some archival releases for several years, too, for he has a great deal of the live recordings and demo recordings. He was the band’s real-time archivist, and a better, more stand-up guy doesn’t exist. I feel like I owe Terry Katzman my firstborn, and probably do.

You know that Warner’s did a toe-dip into reissuing Hüsker product at the beginning of 2009, when all of the sudden Candy Apple Grey appeared as a 180-gram Rhino reissue (vinyl only). Now, that’s a record that did go out of print on vinyl, technically, though it was never hard to find or expensive. This reissue hit stores in March of 2009. There was no fanfare, no announcements, nothing in the way of promotion. It was just in the bins one day. Now, the Warner’s royalty situations are supposedly on the up-and-up, and I heard nothing to speak to the contrary. But something did happen, or didn’t happen, relating to this reissue that I found immensely depressing. Six months after its release date, in August of 2009, I was on the phone with Grant, and this is when I was trying to sort out the Hüsker + major label situation and present it in a readable manner. This was the hardest part of the book to write, by the way, but that’s for another time. Anyway, I casually mentioned the Rhino reissue for whatever reason, and Grant had no idea what I was talking about. I mentioned it with the impression that he knew about it and had copies, mainly because I had left him a phone message back in March when I saw the thing in the bins. He doesn’t check his phone messages. “What reissue?” I explained what I was referring to, my voice losing more and more life as my short description of the reissue reached silence. He responded, “Let me call you back in ten minutes.” This was the one time in which I got a little critical over Grant’s insistence on living a computer-free life, which he was doing until very recently. Grant was never preachy or critical of my use of a computer, so why should I weigh in on his abstinence from it? Because it was costing him money and it was costing him show patrons when he started touring his most recent record.

(End of part 2. Part 3 discusses Andy’s comedy pursuits, even more about SST and Bob Mould and how Earles & Jensen are now Matador Records "alumni".)

INTERVIEW: Andrew Earles, His First Book & H?sker D? (Part 1 of 3)

This is one of those weird introductions that I don’t know where to begin. I met Andy Earles via his fanzine Cimmaron Weekend in 1996 or ’97. I immediately found his writing to be arresting and he, too, was from the South, and well, a quick friendship was formed. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to have Mr. Earles contribute to each subsequent issue of Chunklet along with our two published books. Andy’s prolific writing career is in tandem with his equally prolific career as part of the Earles & Jensen comedy duo which was originally a self-released CD (Just Farr A Laugh) which has since been paired by Matador along with their second CD. Recommended? Uh, yeah.

To say that I admire and respect Andy as a peer is to put it mildly as I’ve watched him steadily climb his way up the freelance writer ghetto to a full-fledged author of his first book: Hüsker Dü: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock. I remember when Andy and I originally discussed his pitch to do a 33 1/3 book about Hüsker Dü and it was shot down. Of course, that didn’t come as a surprise, but what I loved is that Andy repackaged his pitch and got a book deal out of it. Well, that phone call and pitch was over two years ago (possibly three?) and now Andy has his first book out and, man, is it a doozie.

What had originally started as me thinking of a casual interview turned into a behemoth of an email discourse between us two. Andy went to town with my questions and this being one of Andy’s first homes, I feel obligated to let you read everything he wrote back to me. What follows is part one of three delving into his debut book, the obvious questions about Bob Mould and Greg Ginn, his comedy pursuits and well, everything in between.

It’s my sincere pleasure to present this to you.

It takes a brave designer to use Courier in 2010

After reading the book, I was impressed by how you deftly were treading a tightrope between three very sensitive, and separate, camps (Grant, Greg and Bob) while only two (Grant and Greg) were willing participants. Was the temptation ever there to dip into the more scandalous aspects of the band? Were you, in a way, trying to stay true to all three in the band by being both passionate and objective in your writing?
 
Thanks to Paul Hilcoff’s excellent Hüsker Dü Database site and the absurd amount of music-based non-fiction (zines/magazines, books, saved clippings, etc) that I’ve amassed since succumbing to “the disease” at age 16, I have probably read and attempted to process at least 95% of the preexisting music journalism/criticism/coverage relating to Hüsker Dü in some way. I guess every band, once you hit a specific level of exposure, becomes a magnet for dumb questions, but wow…I learned that it may seem like people don’t pay attention these days, or that we’re in some era of the short attention span, yet this has always been a problem. Writers were asking Bob and Grant about hardcore, in the present tense, when Candy Apple Grey was out. I think the smarter the band, the dumber the questions seem to be during an interview. Or that’s an automatic illusion for a third party who’s privy to how smart band members happen to be, as I was with this band. What I’m getting at is…this band has always had, to this day, a uniquely negative relationship with music writing/journalism/criticism. So here I come along with such a project, and it’s of massive scale, and my unconscious inclination from the get-go was to distance myself from the past quarter-century of writing about Hüsker Dü. I’ve already been accused of a journalism no-no when I admitted that I considered Greg and Grant to be “friends” in my intro. That’s relative usage of the term; of course, I didn’t go golfing with Greg. I didn’t help Grant restore one of his Studebakers. But these guys don’t let you in unless some sort of friendship is developed, some degree of trust that goes hand-in-hand with the applicable degree of friendship. But that’s not why my angle at the band is different from past angles. That has more to do with me as a person, two very bad years of my life having coincided with the writing of this book and my natural approach to writing, meaning, if I’m able to (control-wise), I will hopefully create something that doesn’t get lost in the mire of mediocrity that is music writing as a whole.

Some people actually thought I was writing some critical beat-down of the band. I got an e-mail asking if I was going to "let ’em have it, Street Team-style, or at least bag on Grant and Bob’s solo careers." Why would the first book about Hüsker Dü be irreverent and negative, exactly what a historically neglected and misunderstood band doesn’t call for? What Hüsker Dü‘s music did for the past quarter-century of whatever-you-want-to-call-it rock music cannot be overstated, yet it was never even STATED to begin with because irresponsible writers and editors went with the easy hook. I really enjoy being ass-deep in the virtual (online) and physical clutter of research, reading zine interviews from almost 30 years ago, following the band as they reach one tiny achievement or hurdle one massive obstacle at a time, watching the amount and type of music press change as the band builds a following, hearing live clips from 1982 of the band playing freshly-written content that wouldn’t appear on record until two or three years later, and I should stop before I lose the plot again. My point is: This band broke way too much ground on way too many levels, and the casual but curious future-fan only knows them as the band that didn’t get along, or the band that was gay, or the band with a drug problem, or the band that did Zen Arcade, or the band that’s suing their old label, etc. There are so many reasons why I either didn’t want to be a part of that, or wouldn’t be a part of that without even thinking about it.
 
Early on in the book, you say something that HD fans have probably not considered which is that before the band even entertains reuniting on stage, they need to sit in a conference room with attorneys and settle the business side of things. Providing that happens, do you think the band could pull a Mission of Burma and record new material that is as fresh and new as, say, Metal Circus?
 
That’s in the intro, and it’s in reaction to several e-mails and a couple of ridiculous phone conversations. And I should clarify that in no way was I wishing for or advocating the reformation of Hüsker Dü. I was stating that another type of reunion would be much more important and rewarding, both for the band and their fans. Someone’s living room, hotel conference room, or a Food Avenue inside of a Target location, the point was…in the same room. And I was not implying that lawyers would need to be present for the purpose of inter-band moderation, they would need to be present so that no game plan misunderstanding or miscommunication took place outside of that room, once an agreement is reached as to how the back catalog can move into the hands of a label capable of a proper repackaging/reissue campaign. There are other important parties that have to be involved in this, too, like Terry Katzman, who is quite literally the friend that was there at the beginning and who will be there in the end. Terry is the closest thing that Hüsker Dü has in an archivist, especially regarding the first half of the band’s lifespan. Also, since I have already read several complaints about my dismissal or exclusion of information about SST’s or Greg Ginn’s control over the band’s most important and best-known albums, and past issues centered around the non-receipt of regular royalty statements/payments, my decision to more-of-less bypass this situation was one made with the band member’s best interest in mind. I also refused to report on this in any detail unless I was able to get Ginn on record, explaining his side of things. This is not the black and white, label-screws-band problem that it’s been painted as. Ginn, or someone affiliated with SST, has been sending statements and payments to the band members in the past couple, three years. I could not get an accurate assessment of the regularity or the amount paid out, but it’s important to note that an effort has been made to deal with what must be a monumental clusterfuck. After I made a couple of e-mail attempts at contact, Ginn happened to come through town with both of his improv/jam-type bands. I wrote a preview of the show for The Memphis Flyer, then attended out of curiosity and the faint hope that I might be able to get him on board in an official capacity. About five people showed up. Ginn was walking around with his pre-performance glass of red wine, all chatty and in the best of moods. We spoke briefly and the guy was disarmingly nice, and I just didn’t feel right about getting all up in his shit about participating in my book, like it might steal his mood away right before he was to get on stage. Not my place. Grant once said that it was unfortunate how each time Hüsker Dü and SST are discussed, the heyday years are always overshadowed by the negativity of the royalty/money issue. I simply didn’t feel like being "another one" at that moment in time, asked for a primary e-mail address that he checks most often (the same one I had on file), and left it at that. Maybe I’m not cut out for this shit.

The author

You delve into the band’s live set lists which I don’t think I’ve seen before in a band biography. The band was legendary for performing material before going into the studio, but what was the main motivation behind including the set lists?
 
Meaning, did I have some hidden agenda? No, my point behind doing that was the point that you just made. Oh, and the point that I made in a previous answer. To younger readers, or those just now getting into and trying to understand music from or related to what’s known as "the underground", the idea that a band would get in front of an audience and knock out half of the record after the next record….is a bewildering one. It’s expected of bands today – even those considered to be embedded in an untouchable sheen of scene-cool or those rocking a willful dance with obscurity – that there should be an unspoken or understood call-and-response with their audience based upon released recordings. Bands have moved away from unleashing hair-parting new material upon unsuspecting patrons just to show they’re good enough to produce a positive reaction that’s wholly unrelated to fan familiarity. The reason for this is too depressing to pinpoint for readers. It’s a fact that, live audiences of over 15 years ago, in a punk rock, underground, indie, post-hardcore, hardcore, whatever sense…had a larger percentage of knowledgeable fans. Today it’s sub-literate halfwits with their beautiful faces lit up in iPhone glow, who can’t process a brand new musical experience without knowing how their peers feel about it first.

Bob Mould’s book that’s being wrangled by Azzerad, did you or the publisher look at its release as a threat or an opportunity for both books to sister each other?
 
I’m not going to speak for my publisher, but I will say that I never viewed Bob’s book in a negative or threatening way. I adopted an idealistic view of the future that saw my book existing harmoniously with Bob’s, and who finished first was never a concern of mine. Doing the best I could do given the circumstances….that was my primary concern. Again, this is the ground I personally held throughout the writing of this book. I do not have a gun to my head as I write this answer – it’s the honest to god truth, despite its resemblance to the text found inside of a Hallmark card or on a Successories poster.

A stranger sent me an e-mail saying that there was a rumor flying around about Bob and Michael ceasing work on Bob’s book until mine came out, so my book could be eviscerated within those pages. This is outlandish.

(End of part one. In part two, Earles delves into American Hardcore, revisionist history and why he doesn’t have a comedy alter-ego.)

Thee band

FLOOR “Sight & Seen” Teaser Trailer

For those that are skeptical of the release of "Sight & Seen" here’s a trailer (resplendent with a typo and all!) so you can see and hear what you’re getting. It really is a beast of a release for fans and newcomers alike.

Paypal orders? Email henry at chunklet dot com, ay?

Man…or Astro-Man? Release First 7″ in Ten Years To Support New Book

Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-Inch Records from the USA

I think I’ve obsessed about records since I bought my first one in the 70’s. And fortunately, I’ve been able to witness the growth of the 7" record subculture from the 80’s to now. And well, the new book "Touchable Sound" is exclusively dedicated to the special obsessives that make buying a 7" such a pleasurable experience. In other words, people that put out a piece of art and not just a sleeve and a record. Over a year ago, I was asked to write the foreword and introductory paragraphs for the book that is now out. Read about it here.

And so I was talking to the publishers about doing a release party in Georgia and an upcoming show with Man…or Astro-Man? seemed like an obvious event. And well, as a long time friend of theirs, I asked if they’d be interested in releasing a specially packaged record for sale with the book at the show. And wouldn’t you know, they said yes.

The record features the songs "Earth Station Radio" and "Updated Theme To Supercar". The packaging is pretty maddening. Encased in a static shield bag, the record is paired up with an honest to god circuit board and the bag is sealed with a sticker. Edition of 300.

Now, for those that don’t live in Georgia, there’s hope. You can purchase a bundle featuring the book (a $45 value) and the 7" for $39ppd in the US. I’m sure it’ll cost extra for Europe, but just contact the publisher and I’m sure they’ll sort you out. But hey, the book is a sight to behold and the record is……well, a sight to behold too!

Paypal $39 directly to mike at soundscreendesign dot com (obviously take out the ‘at’ and ‘dot’ and replace with ‘@’ and ‘.’, skeezix) and, hey, don’t say that Chunklet never did anything for you.

by Jay Ryan

FLOOR “Sight & Seen” 2xDVD – preorder

After years of toiling away in obscurity, followed by years of escalating interest during their hiatus, the legendary Florida band Floor reunited for a handful of shows in April 2010. Three different drummers. Three different sets. "Sight & Seen" is over two hours of material spanning their early dirgey/noise singles to their landmark psych/drone/pop self-titled masterpiece. Filmed over two nights at the EARL in Atlanta, Georgia, "Sight & Seen" is truly something that needs to be seen to be believed.

A multi-camera performance coupled with professionally recorded and mixed audio, "Sight & Seen" is an enveloping, droning wall of guitars. Floor’s two guitarists, Anthony Vialon and Steve Brooks (of TORCHE fame), spend over two hours on stage with their various drummers. Their three drummers, Betty, Jeff and Henry, rotate through the band’s lineup: crashing through their early singles, smoking the viewer with their mid-period haze and ending with the cathartic and anthemic final album.

Disc #1 of "Sight & Seen" also includes a 20 minute featurette that documents the band’s history with never-before-seen live footage, photography and interviews.

Disc #2 is intended lure in both massive fans and completists alike. A data disc (which means you pop it in your computer), it includes:

–high quality audio files of both Atlanta shows (not just the one shown on disc #1) –the complete and edited film of Floor that ended up on the cutting room floor (which clocks in at over 2 hours of video)

And in addition to this, the band has opened up their video vaults to include:

–over an hour of archival footage spanning Floor’s career from 1993 at Churchill’s in Miami to their final shows in 2001.

"Sight & Seen" is also housed in an elaborate package which was initially used on Chunklet’s landmark "Anthem" 2xDVD release by Harvey Milk in 2006. All designed by Chunklet’s in-house designer, Henry H. Owings.

Mail order copies will be available on a few different ‘colors’ (in editions of 50…at no additional cost) and "Sight & Seen" is a one-time release of 700 never to be reissued.

All orders will ship the first week of December 2010.

Kickstarter Successful! Buy Overrated Book for $9.99!

Well, we’ve got a few more hours left on our Kickstarter campaign, but it’s looking like we did it with some room to spare. Man, over $19K in six weeks? Golly, you like us. You really do!

Since the Indie Cred Test is written, proofed and edited, now all we’ve gotta do is lay it out, send it off to get manufactured, get records pressed along with shrits and sweatshirts printed. Yeah, nothing big. But seriously….

A sincere thank you (yet again) to all of you that believed in this project and donated, tweeted, facebooked and anything else you could do to help. An additional special thanks to Newmerica who have cranked out the vids you’ve seen in an attempt to help generate interest in our special project. So to them, a robust thanks.

As a reward to all of you that have liked (or maybe even loved) our writing in the past, we’re offering up the first Chunklet publication, "The Overrated Book" for $9.99. Get in on it…

Wow. Thanks, Mark!

To all that have contributed to the Kickstarter campaign, expect updates over the coming weeks and months. And on a personal note, my wife and I will be expecting our first child in April so trust me, I’ll be wanting to get this behemoth out of my in-box and into your mailbox sooner rather than later.

And now that I’m done with this campaign, this blog can go back to being obsessive and nerdy. But apart from the Indie Cred Test, expect a 2xDVD by Floor by the end of year! Yeah, Floor! Get pumped!