Layin' Pipe No. 1

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The Best Game On Grass

It’s stupid beautiful out, and Irv is on his way to play golf at Pine Grove.

First, he’s gotta grab some premium coffee from the gas station next to his shop.

This is where our paths cross.

“Walk with me,” says Irv.

As we step out into the sun, I follow him back around the car wash entrance, through the little gap between the fence and the wall, and into the adjacent parking lot. We come up on this giant green garage door that’s indented into a massive green building (I’ve always wondered what this place is).

“Grab that for me.”

Irv motions to one of his two coffees that’s precariously perched on a funky green metal protrusion. It’s a strange piece, but it must serve the building some structural purpose. When did he even put that there? Irv’s quick. He opens the door, flips on the lights, and disappears down a long hallway before I realize he’s gone. You can tell this is his home.

We’ve entered his wood shop. This place goes on forever. There’s a room for cutting, a room for sanding, a room for varnishing, a room for drying. He’s even got a screw-gun. That’s right; it’s like a nail gun…but with screws. Wild, eh?

Irv was born and raised in Westvale. And if he’s anything like me, he was probably wandering around the reservoir, swatting tennis balls at Cherry Road, and walking across the pipes. Still, he attended SUNY Potsdam, and that’s where his business was born: American Made Games, Inc.

The game at hand? ‘Original Washers’

Irv’s been crankin’ ‘em out for six years, and ships almost all of his product out-of-state. Only you have the power to change that.

Check it:

April 2013, 3

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Livin’ in the City

Mikey “Eyedea” Larsen said, “I’ve been a lot a places, and I’ve seen a lot a faces.” The people are different; the circumstances – the same. This tale shows that young Joseph and my close friend, who we’ll call Syd, share similar experiences, despite having no knowledge of each other’s existence.

Joseph is a fifteen year old year old Brooklyn resident riding the L-train with his skateboard and headphones. He’s on his daily commute back home from school in Manhattan. While here on earth, Joseph digs skating and riding his BMX bike with friends in McCarren Park. His musical interests include ‘Mac Miller’ and ‘Avenged Sevenfold.’

Joseph, have you ever been stopped by the cops?

Um…I got stopped by them…for – writing on the walls. I actually got arrested for writing on the train, and they told me that I gotta do – I was, um, on sixty day probation, so…they put me into the Pink Smith graffiti program. So, I went to Queens and – I joined the program.

What’s the Pink Smith graffiti program?

Well, my instructor, like, paints murals. She’s an artist. So we paint, instead of doin’ graffiti around the city. People express themselves in – in different ways so – it’s cool…I like tattoos. I – I wanna be a tattoo artist. I’ve been practicing drawing. I’d like to go to school for it.

Boom. Urban living put Joseph face-to-face with the police. Due to a well-implemented program and Joseph’s willing open mind, he is able to benefit and grow from his experience. Syd’s interactions with the police are less encouraging.

It’s ten o’clock on a warm summer night in The Deranged Year of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Four. Syd and his friends are standing out in front of Gotch Carr’s bar on Warren St. in Syracuse. The bar, named after a legendary Syracuse University athlete, is a popular spot for gay men to socialize at night. This is much to the dismay of the bar’s owner, but hey, he likes the money…The police pull up and demand that everyone get back inside.

This happens frequently. From time to time, “especially during election year,” Syd says, the cops even arrest and fine Gotch Carr’s patrons. They are charged with ‘loitering for the purpose of engaging in deviant sexual intercourse.’ Who the fuck are the police to determine whether Syd’s or anyone else’s consensual sexual intercourse is deviant?

Furthermore, Syd recounts multiple late-night weekend transactions between the bar’s owner and the cops, involving the hand-off of a brown paper bag. The whole circumstance is corrupt to the core.

Fortunately, Syd was able to channel his frustration at being persecuted.

He started volunteering for the ‘Gay Freedom League’ in Syracuse. After seeing an ad in the Syracuse New Times, he began spending three hours a week manning a telephone support line for gay individuals, despite prank callers threatening to kill him.

Joseph downstate and Syd midstate. Joseph younger and Syd older.

Both persecuted for being deviant. Merriam-Webster defines ‘deviate’ as: to stray especially from a standard, principle, or topic. If not for deviation, would not the world and every person, idea and song in it remain stagnant and unchanged, trapped in a box?

Thank you, Joseph. Thank you, Syd.

April 2013, 5

Habitual Line Crossers

On April Eleventh, Doug Aldrich (dougaldrichdesign.com) and Sam Octigan (samoctigan.com) pool their recent visual creations at ThreeNineteen Scholes St. in Brooklyn. We have to crunch to set up the space in time. The show is called ‘Crossing Lines.’

Doug cues up the music, and Sam starts to mop the floor. Back and forth, cleansing the space. Readying it to bear fresh ideas. He uses steady, even strokes. The work is going quick, but he never rushes.

“There’s gotta be a hammer in here somewhere,” Doug and I say to each other. We lift our feet into careful tiptoe position, getting ready to walk across the wet floor. My mind lags with indecision – ‘Should I fuck this floor up? We gotta find that hammer.’

Before we can make a move, Sam exclaims.

“Wait…just wait…wait.”

He’s right. Deep breath. One thing at a time.

When the floor’s done, we decide to go get bagels and coffee. Octigan kindly agrees to a little probing with the tape recorder: Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. Lived there all my life – except for a year when I lived in France.

What nationality is ‘Octigan’?

I’m pretty much like fifteenth generation Australian, so pretty – pretty boring.

I think, ah the name is, like, Irish. But I’ve got an uncle that’s really into, like, family lineage and there’s a few different theories on how the Octigan name

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came to Ireland. It looks like, I think Spanish settlers came to Ireland, and initially the name was ‘D – apostrophe – Octigan’…yeah, that’s pretty fucken boring (smiling). So I’m Irish, if anything.

How old are you?

Twenty-nine.

What was your family life like growing up?

Ah, pretty good, pretty standard, pretty suburban. I grew up in a cool place to grow up – always stuff to do, always kids to hang out with. Australia doesn’t have like a huge divide between the poor and the rich. So, the middle class makes up like, ya know, eighty percent of the population…Different from a lot of places, I think.

Are there any Australian food staples?

Well, Australia doesn’t really have it’s own cuisine, you know? Because it’s a country made up of all different nationalities and types of people, which kinda means that the food is really good because there’s a great selection. There’s a lot of, ya know, immigrants in Australia and they cook great food. For me, personally, some staples are, like, pub meals – chicken parmesan, burgers, steak kidney pie, that sort of thing. It’s good food. It’s not, ya know, fine dining, but it’s just what I like, really. There’s all kinds of great food, (especially) in capital cities…Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria. Canberra is the capital of Australia. It’s in between Melbourne and Sydney. So Melbourne and Sydney are kind of rivals, in a way. They created Canberra because they couldn’t decide on what the capital of Australia was gonna be.

You earned a degree in Multimedia Design from Holmsglen Institute in TwoThousandThree. What was that experience like?

When I graduated high school, I was really into, like, animation, and that sort of thing, but at the time there wasn’t really one specific course to focus on and Multimedia and Design was something that you could do and major in animation, so that’s what I did. It was a really great course.

Then, in TwoThousandSeven, you snatched a diploma of Graphic Arts and Illustration from Chisolhm Institute. What prompted you to go back to school for this degree?

After I graduated from the multimedia design course, I got a pretty good internship at an animation studio, and I realized from doing that that I just really didn’t enjoy doing animation. I was still pretty young and still sort of, trying things out. So I had worked really hard on like, getting there, and then once I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted to do, I was in a bit of, ya know, limbo so I took some time and worked odd jobs, saving money. I realized that illustration and fine art was more where I wanted to focus – a better way to get out what I wanted to get out. Animation is like, you’re working on one project for a long period of time – very technical, very tedious. It just wasn’t for me. And then, so, illustration is like the opposite of that. I mean, you can do a job in an hour and then move on to something else, if you want, ya know? You’ve got more power, more range, more options. So that’s why I went back and did that specific course

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in illustration. Did that, and since then, I’ve freelanced.

Two publications in which you have been featured caught my eye: Dazed and Confused Korea and Lost At E Minor. What can you tell me about these?

Dazed and Confused is a British publication and I’ve been featured on their online section a couple times. The Korean team, or whatever, used some of my work for their editorial pieces. I can’t read it, so I don’t know what the piece is about. Then sent me copy and it looks really cool. That was a bit of a buzz actually. It was like, my first like non-English speaking feature, or whatever. It was really cool. Lost At E Minor is an online blog content source. They featured my work once, and they’re kind of unique, in that they get basically anyone to write articles – to submit content. One of the guys there, he asked me if I wanted to write, like a top five Youtube video – like, find the top five Youtube videos and write a bit about them. And so, they’re based, really, worldwide. They’ve got an office in New York, an office in Melbourne, Sydney maybe…

How did you get linked up with Aldrich?

Yeah, Doug The Thug (smiles)…So, I play in a band in Australia called ‘Iron Mind’, and about just over a year ago, we toured with ‘Backtrack’ from Long Island, and Doug happened to be good friends with those guys so, yeah, that was a year ago, and a couple months after that tour finished, I came to visit New York for the first time. I already had friends who lived here, who I met in France so, I don’t know, I’d never been to the States before. I always really wanted to come, so I finally got out here.

You had never been to the U.S. before that?

It’s a long flight, man, you know. (laughing)…But so, I caught up with the guys in Backtrack who Doug is really good friends with, and so straight away we figured out we’re both like, pretty much (have) similar outlooks on work and art, and ah…lots of different stuff, really. And so we kept in touch. At the time he was, ah, creating his first show. So I was really interested in that. I had to leave before it opened, but we stayed in touch, and asked him how it went…

And then, like four or five months later, I hit him up again and said, you know, look if you’re gonna do something like that again, let me know in advance. I’d love to be involved in it – send some work over, or even come over for it, you know. And basically, this exhibition evolved from there. We talked more and more about it and figured a joint exhibition would suit. We just bounced ideas around and… here we are. So, it was a pretty organic process – no real dramas.

Basically, I think the biggest issue was like, locking down a venue. That was really where Doug came in. Really all I had to do was buy the ticket and, ah, make the work.

You recently toured with ‘Iron Mind’ throughout Australia. What was that like?

That tour, with Expire, was like two weeks only. There’s not that many cities in Australia, so that’s about as long as a tour in Australia can be…So, we started up the top in Byron Bay. And then from Byron Bay, we went to Brisbane. We played a number of shows in Brisbane. Then we went back down to, ah…

Sydney. We played a couple of shows in Sydney. Then we played some shows along the coast – sort of beach towns, which was cool. Then we went, ah, all

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the way back down to Melbourne which is where ‘Iron Mind’ is from. Then we went to Adelaide, and then the final show was in Melbourne…We had a twelveseater van and then we had a trailer attached to the back with all the gear inside.

Why did you choose Expire to tour with this time around?

The way it goes is um…you know if a band comes about – if you can do it, you should do it. From our perspective, it’s like, one of the premier tours. Like, when ‘Backtrack’ came out it was like (we did the same thing). The shows (around Australia) are guaranteed to be good. It’s great to watch a cool American band play every night. So, it’s not like we’re scratchin’ our chins goin’, ‘oh maybe we’ll do that, maybe we won’t’ – we DO it. Summer in Australia – it’s guaranteed to be a good time.

There’s one photo of you guys all crawling around on some rocks in your swim trunks; where was that?

Yeah, that’s Clamden Falls in Brisbane, Queensland, really nice spot.

It reminds me of these rocks I saw last October, in Jawbone Flats, Oregon.

Apparently in the summer, you can see topless girls sliding by. Did you see any topless girls?

Have I seen topless girls!?

At the Falls specifically.

No, no topless girls at Clamden Falls.

Any best / worst memories of a tour?

We’ve been pretty lucky – no break-ins, no stolen gear, nothin’ like that. Playing is always the highlight…meeting people, hanging out…Probably the best time the band has had together – we went to New Zealand last November, and New Zealand is a beautiful place, man. It wasn’t like, a rushed tour, you know. We had a lot of spare time and were really well looked-after by the promoter there.

So, yeah, we’d never been there before and being driven around, staring at the (land) – it was incredible. New Zealand was definitely a highlight.

There’s a photo of you guys spelling out Iron Mind with rocks. What’s the story behind that?

That was in New Zealand. In the center of Auckland, there’s a park called One Tree Hill. It’s basically the center of a volcano. So it’s all like volcanic rock. That photo was taken, like, twenty minutes after we landed. We got to the airport, we got picked up by the promoter, and we were driving back to his house, and he’s like, ‘We’re passing this great spot, you guys have to check it out.’ We could see that people had already spelled stuff out – someone had done a Slayer one – it was pretty cool.

Yeah, that reminded me of Andy Goldsworthy’s book ‘Time’. You should check it out.

As a visual artist, you are represented by ‘Just Another Agency’. Do they help coordinate and fund Iron Mind tours?

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No. We don’t work with any booking agency; we don’t have a manager; we do it all ourselves. We just work directly with the promoters.

What is ‘Suppression Records’?

It’s a small label from Perth, which is in Western Australia. At the time that they put out our EP, they were being run by a mate called Chris Borbidge who used to play bass in a band called ‘Blackout’. They’re worth checking out. They’re a really cool band, but he doesn’t play in them anymore, and he doesn’t run ‘Suppression Records’ anymore. Like, one of his – another mate, ya know, took over, basically…One of the first records that (Borbidge) put out was the first record that we put out so it was a new experience for everyone.

Why the name ‘Iron Mind’?

Well, originally, the band was called ‘Hold Up’…Um, sort of like ‘hold-up (with a gun), or like, ya know ‘hold up!’ (wait) – dumb name. So, over time our sound changed and ‘Hold Up’ didn’t suit it anymore. We had like, a heavier, tougher sound, and with the lyrics I was writing, ‘Iron Mind’ just kind of suited. I think it’s a good sounding name. People remember it; it reflects the band a lot better.

It’s tough but it’s…not like, corny. You look at it and like, it (can mean) having a strong mind.

What singers really inspired you, growing up?

Well, growing up, I don’t know; I loved Metallica. I wouldn’t say that, like, the sound or form of James Hetfield (directly influences my sound). But some of my favorite vocalists are like, H.R. from the Bad Brains, John and Joseph from the Ramones, a lot of Danzig – just guys that are animated and into it.

I noticed you’ve been reading the Neil Young biography, ‘Waging Heavy Peace’.

Can you relate to Young’s life as a musician?

I like Neil Young…I don’t know if I, um…I think anyone with like, liberal politics can relate to him…good musician – stuck at it.

Expire has more melodic vocals. Have you ever experimented with other vocal sounds in the past?

No. ‘Iron Mind’ is the only band I’ve ever been in. I’ve never really experimented, like, with different styles. My vocals have evolved over time.

Actually, we’re working on a new record right now…and I am trying to like, I wouldn’t say experiment, but trying to change things a little bit from last time – just so it sounds – just to give a little bit more depth to it…I’m always trying to improve on writing – better songs, better lyrics, more interesting vocal patterns.

‘Hell Split Wide Open’ was like, every song, every phrase, every word was just at like a hundred percent – a hundred percent…so this record I wanna kind of, um, have a bit more ebb and flow of the energy to kind of emphasize (songs) – nothing too drastic though.

What does the word graffiti mean to you?

Hmm, like, I know a lot of graff artists and I’m sort of on the peripheral of it, I guess. I’ve never written, ever. I’ve always liked it though. I guess I have a pretty good understanding of the culture, ya know, where it’s come from and

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what’s real and what’s not. I respect it. But yeah, I’m not a writer, myself. I like what I like…The politics and stuff don’t involve me, but I’m aware of it, you know…There is an aspect of vandalism to graffiti – real graffiti. It’s not about respecting other people’s property; it’s about getting your name up there. I mean, there’s an argument people can make. There’s some graffiti artists that don’t do anything illegal, you know what I mean. So, I guess there would be some people – I mean, I don’t really give a shit, but there’d be some people who’d criticize that and say, oh, that’s not really graffiti, ya know. Like, you’re not really a graffiti artist unless you you’re doing it a certain way.

You and Doug have designed some cool skateboards in the past, but a lot of your respective works are very different from each other. Has any of Aldrich’s work inspired you to do something different?

Absolutely. He’s really into typography. Type is something that’s always really gotten away from me, ya know? I mean, a lot of people really overlook type. A lot of the times, it’s considered an afterthought to whatever image it’s accompanying. To see someone that’s really got a strong grip on it – like with this collaborative piece that we worked on recently – just to see him free hand it – block it out – it’s really cool. I don’t think I’ll switch my major to type, but watching him do it was definitely inspiring, yeah.

Well, you guys, wanna blaze; wanna get outta here?

Yeah....You’ve got, what, three or four more pages there? (smiles)

April 2013, 11

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After much measuring and nailing (we found a hammer), six o’clock rolls around, and the show is born. The joint buzzes.

Doug Aldrich agrees to drop us some knowledge in between shaking hands and selling prints of his work. Aldrich is one of the featured artists and coconspirator of ‘Crossing Lines’. He is currently living and working in Brooklyn.

So why Brooklyn?

It started when I was gonna go to school at Pratt. And I did; I went to school there, but it was just more of a mecca of all the interests I had. Ya know, I was getting enough out of Syracuse, but I was finding myself having to travel more and more to seek out more events and more things I was into. So it all kinda just lined up. Then I ended up in school and then finished up school (and realized) here is kinda where I have to stay to put my mark in this whole art world. I don’t consider myself here for the rest of my life; I might move at some point, but it’s a good place to establish myself and start off.

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So what made you decide to do ‘Crossing Lines’ here and now?

I mean, I did a show one year ago at the same time, and was kinda getting my feet wet. My first time, I didn’t know what I was doing necessarily. It went fairly well, but I didn’t really branch out and reach a new audience. Ya know, I had hoped on doing another show in the future, and then Sam kinda just threw out the idea to me. You know, I humored the idea and we exchanged a lot of thoughts on it, went back and forth and ya know, it just ended up happening.

How do you go about making an event happen? What were some of your biggest snags?

I mean, it starts with – you gotta figure out a general time a year. Yeah you gotta get a space, but with a space, they wanna know when. You gotta get the availability. So we had to put down a general idea of when, and then we started just kind of, ah…we didn’t really throw out the ideas of what we were doing work-wise. We just made our own work and then started feeding each other a little more information on what we were each looking into. I had a venue – I was gonna use the same venue I had used before. I had that locked down, and then the owner actually lost the space so, it just kinda fell apart, and, ya know, it wasn’t his fault. I had to scramble to make up for that. I started with a lot of different searches. I was emailing a lot of places and not really getting back much. It’s a tough scene doing an art show. I hit up some old teachers of mine, people I knew and then I got forwarded some links of places to check out and eventually, ya know ended up with this place. I checked out a few others, but this one seemed like the most logical so I went with it.

How do you promote and event like this?

That’s one of the things I struggle with – maybe not struggle, but I’m learning.

I just do it all myself, ya know – handing out flyers in person and telling all my friends, posting on facebook, on my blog, other friends posting it for me, and you know I have a few friends with similar interest in creative outlets and they help me out in certain ways. It’s a lot of friends helping friends…I do blindly send stuff out, but more times than not it doesn’t really get me anywhere.

Most times people don’t really wanna look into something they’ve never heard of – they don’t have time to check out every person that says they wanna do something so, you kinda have to be aggressive and you can’t really expect things to happen – you have to just go and get it, and be in people’s face about it.

How did you meet Octigan?

Well, his band toured with a band from here that I’m good friends with. He was over here visiting for about a month, and we got introduced and realized we have a lot of similar backgrounds and interests. You know, we both checked each others work out and, ya know, it’s not every day that I meet someone that has the same mindset and the same head on, and outlook on their work and same quality even.

For the second year in a row, you’ve made a multi-artist show happen in April, in Brooklyn. Are you planning on making this an annual deal?

Yeah, I mean, I love keeping the whole idea of friends helping friends going. So, maybe not the same month every year, but I’d like to try to do it once a year – maybe more than that. We’ll see where it goes.

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You worked in a Mexican restaurant here in the city for a while. What did you like / dislike about that experience?

I like some of the people I worked with. I like the food…I also disliked some of the people…and disliked how bullshit it was – the feeling of knowing that I’m not really making anything that does anything for myself, I was just handing some snobby white person a plate of food that they were…not even that grateful for…I was balancing that normal job and doing freelance and it got to be too much, and then so I just hit the ground running with the freelance…I still have my ups and downs. There’s times where I’m doing well and then I hit a plateau where it just stops. You have to constantly be reminding people that you’re still making things and not just floating by.

You’re a Syracuse native. Tell me what you’ve done for the community there recently?

Recently, I painted a restaurant that serves gelato and coffee, called ‘Crêpe and Gelato Boulevard’ (ThreeFifteen S. Clinton St, Armory Square) I’m also teaching a small youth class on murals and graffiti. Yeah, it’s a two day event – two different classes, and the piece that the kids make will be in a children’s art show at the M.O.S.T. I’m really excited to give back in some sort of way with something that influenced me.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Brooklyn?

I’m gonna say, right now, ‘Pies and Thighs’…It’s all about the Southern comfort food. (smiling) (Note: You can usually catch Dougie at Dinosaur BBQ any time he’s in Cuse) What does the word graffiti mean to you?

I mean, it’s whatever it wants to be. I mean…I think ultimately it’s just painting things that you wanna paint without really any…ya know, you’re not really mindful of others and what you’re painting on – you’re just putting something in everyone’s face. It’s like self-advertisement…and that sounds kinda commercial and stupid, but essentially it’s just bein’ aggressive, and I think it’s bein’ a bad kid. I think real graffiti should still have some forms of doing something you’re not supposed to – something slightly criminal. There’s people that make it into a career and it’s a paid lifestyle and it’s more mainstream. Some argue that’s not graffiti. I think there’s a bad kid attitude that has to be associated with it.

Why visual art? What’s the attraction? Why not be an accountant for IBM or a regional manager of Aldi’s?

I mean, I like making something visually appealing that also makes someone think and appreciate my thought. I could have a thought, but how different am I from some other person that has the same thought. Ya know, there’s something a little more individual about expressing it in a visual way that I think is really important. I don’t think I’d have any really big impact as an individual if I was doing just a normal job as an accountant or something like that.

What’s next in the immediate future?

Makin’ more work, whatever opportunity comes my way, I’m open for it. I’m just approaching one thing at a time. Who knows…another show in the next year and plenty of other jobs in-between – just constantly creating work.

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What’s one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring artist – somebody trying to get their work out there?

I think hard work is most important. No one’s gonna give you anything in this world. You have to go out there and seek it. If you really want something, you have to show it. And you’re gonna get put down time and time again. That persistence is the only way you’ll ever achieve anything. It’s a cold world.

Tell me about ‘Eternal Power’. This piece really stands out to me.

That was actually the last piece I made and it was kind of…ya know, I made it pretty quickly. I based it on an original sketch that I already had that I really liked, but I never really had a use for. I had a really good talk with some friends of mine on the topic of religion and what it means, and it started with just Christianity and then the Bible and it spread from one thing to another. We had a really positive talk, I thought. I found a way to incorporate that into that sketch that I had. Ultimately, we came to a lot of different conclusions. It was a pretty long talk, but what I was trying to imply is the idea of religion being such an old thing, and there’s so many different outlooks towards religion. They all think that they’re the pure and almighty, yet they all have these special codes that seem to contradict each other time and time again.

That being said, it’s just about the stress. Like, this guys freakin’ out. What is the real religion – how do I know this one is the one that’s gonna bring me to the better afterlife or whatever they believe in. I think that it’s just such a twisted and big word, it’s funny how it’s such a big part of society and culture, and yet no one can really define it. And everyone only gives explanations based on their own research. And some are more knowledgeable than others. I think it’s really funny, when you start stating a fact, or say something that they can’t back up, their immediate response is that it’s taboo and they dismiss you and they get offended and that’s it. They don’t even want to question something. And I like to take a look at (topics) with open and critical thinking, ya know…I didn’t make

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the piece to bash any one religion or give off my political or religious views.

I just wanted to put it in a way to say that there should be open thought for a lot of things that are involved in religion. Ya know, things that were written in all these ancient books, where they came from and how they translate over time.

Society’s outlook and the ways of (the) times really change, and so do a lot of these laws of what’s acceptable and what’s not. Just an example is in Christianity with the Bible; It’s such an ancient old book. With how many changes and hands that it’s been through, how do we know that that’s the final word on (religion)…So I’m just very critical on that way of thinking. I think, really, religion should – to not bash it and to follow up with what I said – I think it can really be any person’s way of getting through life.

Everyone needs something to count on and rely on when life is really beating them down. So, religion can come in all kinds of forms. It doesn’t need to be that (specific). How I see it, it could be a music style.

The way that someone follows it and it influences their life and makes them think differently. I mean, that ultimately could be religion. You don’t have to believe in one person or X number of gods.

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Photos: Amanda Carnella

So…that’s how I see it.

It’s very open-ended.

What’s your favorite cartoon character? (laughs) Shit, all time favorite…Ah man – there’s just so many different – cause I have to think about what time period I have to narrow it down to…I’m gonnaI’m gonna say Mickey Mouse…yeah. Just in the sense of how he has stood the test of time, and he has evolved.

I really like his early stages, even pre – Walt Disney.

Awesome, thanks for your time, man.

Meanwhile…

K-Rad holds down the space’s back corner.

Here’s an eavesdropped excerpt from a conversation he was having with this other guy:

Photo: Amanda Carnella

Kid: “‘Spring Breakers’ is like a commentary on modern youth whereas ‘Kids’ is more like youth at the time that it came out”

True or False?

Ask your friends…ask your enemies…ask your parents.

April 2013, 19

K-Rad: What was that one movie that came out like last summer or last spring that was kinda like fake documentary setup where it was like this kid who has like a house party and shit got way outta control?

Do you know the answer to this question, reader? If you think you do, email me and I will pass the answer on to K-Rad, who is losing sleep as you read this.

Later that night, back at the house, we all enjoy some crosstalk and cheap jabs. The mood is galvanized by Reggie’s enormous dump that he proudly retrieved from the toilet to show everyone. “Look at the size of it,” he says before K-Rad smacks it out of his hand. I shamelessly pry Octigan with a few more questions: The track ‘Look Into My Eye’ off of ‘Hell Split Wide Open’ begins with a sample saying “Death is a million times preferable to one more day in this life.” What is that?

That’s from the Jonestown death tapes – Jim Jones, yeah that’s Jim Jones.

Can you tell me about an oil on canvas that you painted in TwoThousandTen called ‘Untitled’ The silhouetted figure reminds me of the image on Elliot Smith’s self-titled album. What’s the meaning behind this work?

I, made that – that was the first painting I did when I moved home from France – I lived in France for a year. Yeah, it was made for a group show…It was more of a study of posture and facial features and I just grew it from there. I really just liked the result and submitted to the show…There’s sort of different layers to it.

Around the new year, you did a project with Mike Danischewski at the Containers of Modern Art at People’s Market? What recycled materials did you use for the piece?

We mainly used a bunch of recycled gig posters – like posters for shows, that sort of thing. We clipped up a bunch of those and Mike – he’s a photographer

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An Aldrich Octigan Creation Check out Joe Hubbas video of how it was made. Go to Dougs blog at dougaldrichdesign.com

April 2013, 21

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April 2013, 23

North Korea Conflict Potential

Is North Korea going to bomb the United States? What’s the deal?

There’s tons of talk flyin’ around popular media, which Stza Crack tells us not to listen too, but then…who do we listen to? Or should we not listen at all? I’m almost as frustrated as Mike Muir in that Suicidal Tendencies video, ‘Institutionalized.’ Somebody get that dude a Pepsi…All I want is a Pepsi!

Connor Murphy took responsibility for this debate by asking a few questions to a well-respected history professor at his high school here in Syracuse: Does North Korea have nuclear arms?

Ah, as far as I know, it seems as though they do. I do believe that that has been confirmed – not on the ground, but they have actually tested them underground, I believe.

Do those missiles have the capability to reach the United States?

From what I have gathered and read, it doesn’t seem to be possible. They can reach some of our allies, but not the United States itself. They’ve had a few disasters – where rockets have gone wild – and have blown up, and things like that. So, I think they’re trying desperately, but I’m not certain that they’ve acquired the technology yet.

Has North Korea declared war on the United States?

Ah, nooo, not in so many words. They threatened us with attack, and, but they haven’t issued an official declaration of war – I don’t know if they’d do that anyway.

What is the status of the armistice that was reached at the end of the Korean Conflict?

It’s still in place – I don’t think they announced that they were reneging on it…but actually, they may HAVE done that. But, I think as far as the west is concerned, it’s still in place, and the Demilitarized Zone is still there and still very heavily armed.

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Do YOU think North Korea will try to bomb the US? I don’t think it would serve their purposes to bomb the United States; I think it serves their purposes to bluster against the United States. Their people are in such horrible condition, starving and all. I think the only solidarity they might have is in having an enemy. And they have a huge army, and I think that when the leaders bluster against the US, it’s one of the few rallying points they might actually have.

If you had ten minutes of Kim Jong Un’s time, what would you say to him?

(Throws his arms up, leans back in his chair) What the HELL are you doing! (laughs)…and why. I mean, the thing about the North Korean leaders, (that is) the present one and his father – they seem to like western things. They seem to like western film, and so, it’s very odd to me that they do what they do. It’s confusing to say the least. Again, I think it might be the only rallying point they have. I’m not really certain though.

Cool. Thanks, Mr. Conti.

So, the first person whose time I tap with this issue is the cute oliveskinned girl riding Greyhound.

Lucca was born and raised in Córdoba, the second largest city in Argentina. “It has almost two million people living in the city and almost five million in the whole state…so it’s really big compared to Binghamton,” she says, laughing. Her father teaches at SUNY Binghamton. So Lucca lived in the U.S. from ages fourteen to seventeen before she moved back to Argentina. After earning a Food Science degree from an Argentinean college in December, Lucca moved again – back to the good ol’ U.S. to work as a hostess at a ski resort restaurant in Idaho for four months. She is now on her way to New York City (in the same bus seat as me!) to visit some Argentinean friends who are traveling as well. “Argentina is not in a good place right now.

So, I don’t see a lot of opportunities there. So…I have no idea what I wanna do with the rest of my life!” Lucca recommends listening to ‘Soda Estereo’ – “It’s like…classic Argentinean rock.”

April 2013, 25

A smile never leaves Lucca’s face.

When it comes down to brass tacks with this month’s worldly question, she is earnest, but aloof.

Do you think North Korea is going to bomb the United States?

If I had to say…I wouldn’t – I wouldn’t think so, no. (laughs) If you had ten minutes of Kim Jong Un’s time, what would you say to him?

I really wouldn’t – I really wouldn’t know where to – to start – or what to say or anything, but…I get your point… I actually haven’t been on top of the subject a lot.

Just from a humanitarian standpoint though – don’t bomb people, right?

Don’t bomb people, yeah. (laughs)

One New Jersey resident who refuses to provide his first name (“I don’ even know you!’), responds with a firm “No,” as he frowns and shakes his head.

He wears a feathered fedora, a tan leather jacket, suit pants, and slick gangster shoes from the fifties. His elbows rest comfortably on his knees, as he sits in a corner chair of a forty-square-foot lounge within the bowels of Port Authority Bus Terminal. A tall can of Budweiser is casually nestled in one hand, while his other hand politely reaches up to shake mine.

It’s easy to see that he’s done talking.

“God Bless,” he says, as if to say “Fuck You” the politest way he knows how. I thank him for his time and turn to walk away.

Just then, the man sitting across from him desperately exclaims,

“They can’t reach us, though…”

I stop; look directly into his bugged drunken eyes.

“I hope not,” I say.

As I push my way out of the corral, I can hear him insisting repeatedly, “They can’t…they can’t!”

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Eerie…That feral bastard’s words echo for some reason. It’s as if he has gone from drunk, to insane, to unintelligible, and then he somehow pushed through to this even father out level of clairvoyant thought and communication that’s really fucking gripping.

Or maybe it was just his eyes.

The interaction with Nissa is much more comforting:

Can you spell that?

En – Eye – Ess – Ess – Ehe…It’s Scandinavian.

Nissa is an attractive young woman of Scandinavian, Hungarian, Italian, and German descent. She is a Syracuse native who attended Nottingham High School. While there, she enjoyed their rich art program and block scheduling. She also participated in cross country, indoor track, crew, and played the saxophone. When asked about her work experience, she said that she has toiled in the parking lot of the (Not So) Great NY State Fair, and worked at the Petit Branch Library, near where she grew up.

Overall, Nissa seems to have enjoyed her Syracuse adolescence, despite being a bit introverted. Even though she describes her high school as ‘the most suburban of the Syracuse City Schools,” it was still “a bit of a culture shock” for her when she began attending Syracuse University in TwoThousandEight.

“I’ve never seen so many preppy white girls in my life,” she says. Nissa notes that there is a large refugee population at Nottingham, and many people speak languages other than English. On this topic, Nissa recommends The World We Created at Hamilton High, by Gerald Grant. It provides insight into the social politics of high school. Furthermore, she believes this particular book was written about Nottingham specifically.

The opportunity to go to SU was made available by a reduced tuition program for city school students called the “SU challenge.” After a year there, Nissa decided to move on. “Syracuse is primarily a research school,” whereas “teaching is secondary.” So, she transferred to St. Lawrence University in the north country, where she graduated in TwoThousandTwelve.

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Currently, she is living in Wilmington, Delaware, working for the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry. Members of this ministry volunteer all over the community. Nissa’s niche is at the Creative Vision Factory (thecreativevisionfactory.org), where she helps people with behavioral health issues to turn their energy into art.

In the fall, Nissa will be attending even more school in Buffalo in order to obtain her degree in Library Science. Nissa recommends listening to ‘Mumford and Sons’ and Bachata and Merengue, which is some kind of Dominican music that definitely sounds worth checking out.

Today, Nissa is heading back to St. Lawrence University to chum around with college pals and likely eat a Mikey’s Special at Sergie’s pizza in Canton, NY. Mikey’s Specials are hand made with love and tenderness by homeboy extraordinaire Alex Bain. She will stop briefly in the Cuse to grab coffee with her mother (if the bus makes it in time!).

Ahh, Syracuse. A good place to be from, they say. “I never got to know the city because I just really wanted to leave,” she confides to me. You’re not alone, Nissa. I, myself, was guilty of this mentality at one point. I hope to make up for it. Right now. By Layin’ some Pipe.

Anyway, let’s get down to brass apes: Do you think North Korea is going to bomb the United States any time soon?

I really hope not. I really, really hope not, but you never know – ‘cause he seems really unpredictable.

If you had ten minutes with Kim Jong Un and an interpreter, what would you say to him?

That’s a question I don’t think anyone has ever asked me…Um…I would just wanna see his point of view, first of all, to see what I’d be going against. So, like, ‘how do you feel about us and why’. And, ‘this is why you shouldn’t bomb us’…’cause, ya know, it’s just mean.

Will is a middle-aged fella who lives, works, breathes, eats, and hypothesizes in Syracuse – often while wearing a Mario Bros. t-shirt and sporting a Zelda tattoo. He frequents the gas station where I work, and has a profound ability to balance simple perverted jokes with deep emotional puzzlers.

Will, do YOU think North Korea is going to bomb the United States?

Not at all.

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April 2013, 29

If you had ten minutes with Kim Jong Un and an interpreter, what would you say to him?

I don’t think I’m qualified to say anything to him. To be honest with you, I wouldn’t even know where to begin…My ten minutes with him would be more about questioning about his culture in general and learnin’ about his shit. Like, I wouldn’t even really be that concerned with the whole thing – like, I’d be like, ‘Ya know thank you for the time and by the way, ya know, please don’t bomb us…’ But, I don’t think that we, as a society, have a right to stop them from developing nuclear power plants, which unfortunately, can lead to nuclear weapons, but I mean, they’re just tryin’ to get by like us. I wish they weren’t aggressive, but who am I to say their form of government or their politics are wrong…I mean, look at the economy in our country. We’re kinda at the bottom of the barrel – just for the government to print money – they print it at a debt.

Like, they gotta buy it from the reserve. So, as soon as they print a dollar, it costs a dollar thirty five that they owe to private citizens that own the federal reserve.

Woah. That’s a lot to keep track of, Will.

Tom is an elder gentlemen who breezes around town sampling coffee and chocolates, and bestowing high-spirited wisdom upon everyone he meets.

He’s also funny as shit. Every day, he walks approximately five miles and believes firmly in Omega fish oils.

Having lived in Syracuse all his life, he will tell you about when the buses were cheaper, the movie theaters more prevalent, and downtown was alive with excitement.

So, Tom…Korea…the U.S…bombing in the future – what say you?

Nope. They’re playing Brinkmanship Diplomacy; Take it to the edge – take it to the brink – and then back down.

Hmm, Brinkmanship…I’ll have to google that later…

Let’s ask the dude from the Verizon store:

Verizon Store Dude: (shakes his head) No…no…just big talk from a little man.

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Okay, how ‘bout this guy? His name is Dan. He is a regular customer and a Syracuse resident. Dan enjoys Mountain Dew and Camel Crush Blues.

He feels that the North Koreans are going to set off a missile of some kind, but they will not fire it at the U.S. because they,

“Don’t have the balls to do something like that.”

Swayze Pat is a handsome six-foot-four Syracusean with an affinity for skiing, polo shirts, and Honda Civics.

It is three in the morning when I’m awaken by the weight of “The Walrus,” as some like to call him, bearing down on me. Apparently he is bestowing upon me some strange form of a late-night greeting.

Ah! Get off me, dude…Oh, Swayze it’s you…So, do you think the North Korean’s are going to bomb us?

Honestly dude, I don’t think whether or not they do or not – it’s not gonna matter…because we got sh – fuckin’ tankers – outside – just chillin’…well, I don’t know if they’re tankers necessarily, (laughs) but yeah. They have like missile interceptors and shit. We got ThirtyThousand troops over there, chillin’.

And ah…yeah, if anything goes down dude, we got the F-Sixteens just circlin’ around North Korea ready ta BOMB ‘em out…If they step, we’re about ta answer…We’re boutta swat ‘em off the boards – just hand through the glass backboard.

So, if you had ten minutes of Kim Jong Un’s uninterrupted time, what do you think you would say to him? (long pause) I – I’d prolly ask him if he played Pokémon when he was younger (laughs)…And then I’d ask him why he was so mad at us…um, and then, I don’t know, I’d prolly ask him how serious he was about bombin’ us, ‘cause of the fact that we would just straight, like, take out North Korea – a hundred percent.

I’m mean, it’s fucked, but we would. We’re in that age right now. I mean, all our money, all our funding, everything goes to the military, so we got mad loot invested in just blowin’ people the fffuck up…So, yeah if it happens, we’re just gonna decimate like a huge portion of North Korea.

Well, this has been interesting indeed.

Conclusion: Take that one extra skateboard ride and get that cute girl’s number, but don’t go bustin’ out windows and stealin’ cars just yet.

April 2013, 31

The Life and Times of Aaron

Everyone can relate to relationship problems. There are lots of people in the world, and we all like different flavors of Vitamin Water, smoke different cigarettes, worship different corporations, have different wallet-folding styles, and different ear shapes. It’s easy to see where problems can arise. One of my least favorite problems is when everyone else is acting, eating, sleeping, driving, watching TV, pushing things, walking, and sitting, in patterns that just don’t line up with the stuff I’m trying to do at that exact moment. Sometimes, I gotta choose what to do and who to do it with. Sometimes…I gotta bail on shit. What do you do when life gets like this?

Let’s ask Aaron…

Is it okay to stand your girl up at the mall?

Well, a couple things just happened with the family – is it already on? – whoops that’s gonna sound bad…ah…me and the family had a little bit of a dispute kinda thing – a little bit of an issue and a miscommunication goin’ on. I just happened to be late to the mall. Unfortunately she doesn’t have a phone. I couldn’t get a hold of her, or else, otherwise the situation kinda would have been a little more clear. So, I guess we’ve all made that mistake at least once, and we try not to make it again. I’m hopin’ she’s not mad at me at all in any kinda way.

I’m hopin’ she’s still ah, still tryin’ to work things out basically. I’m waitin’ to hear back from her as we speak, actually.

How are you going to hear back from her if she doesn’t have a phone?

Actually, ladies and germs, that’d be the funny part. We have only talked through facebook so far, so right now I’m actually a little fifty-fifty right now.

Tryin’ to do a little bit of the detective work – see if she’s legit or not…That’s pretty much alls I can gives right now…Yeah people, if you’re listening to this right now – or whenever the heck you do – I didn’t try to do it on purpose.

Everybody knows things happen. We’re all human. We’re all flawed at the end of the day. I wish I could go back in time and change this though. So, that way I wouldn’t have done this to her.

What do you plan on doing differently in the future to avoid a faux pas such as this one?

Well, what I plan to do in the future is definitely more or so obvious, ya know…

Make sure I, ah, straighten things out, and ya know, and communication can be more easier.

Well, Aaron, do you think North Korea is gonna bomb the United States?

I dunno, dude…I don’t know, the way it SOUNDS – it sounds like they will.

Sounds like they got those missiles ready to go off sooner or later. The question is when…

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So, if you had ten minutes with Kim Jong Un to present a case explaining why he shouldn’t bomb us, what would you say?

Who the hell is that, first of all?

That’s the dude in charge of North Korea.

Save those missiles for the ah, for the person that you’d probably need it more against than us.

The Rise and Fall of Recess:

A Drive with Paul and Kara from Syracuse

Recess Coffee, at OneTen Harvard Pl. in Westcott Nation, was established in TwoThousandSeven. They recently opened another location at SixOhOne Tully St…It is now defunct.

When did the Tully St. spot open up?

Paul: Ah, I wanna say eight months ago.

Was it a solid spot? You and Kara went there once, correct?

Kara: Oh, we went there more than once.

Paul: We definitely went more than once.

Kara: We went the DAY they closed…It was sad.

Paul: It was somber to say the least…ah, but it’s kinda always somber in there, a little bit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than one other customer in there –

April 2013, 33

maybe one time. I have to say, I feel like the level of awareness about that space is just not where it should be for a business to survive…even with a product as wonderful as Recess coffee.

Kara: And it wasn’t in a neighborhood where it could be successful…like that neighborhood isn’t…isn’t quite there yet. And um, I don’t know, even like their whole layout was kinda weird though. I mean, they didn’t have, ya know little coffee shop tables or couches – it was just like the two giant tables – Paul: They had two GIGANTIC wooden tables!

Kara: Like, ‘we’re all gonna drink coffee and eat together,’ ya know, they we’re like giant dinner tables. (laughs) Paul: Weird…

Kara: (laughs) It was kind of weird.

Paul: But the ambience was really nice. It was well-lit – Kara: There was art on the walls.

Paul: Art on the walls…they had a nice shelf full of games.

Kara: There was that phone booth book thing outside – Paul: Oh yeah, they had the book exchange out front! – If you have a book you don’t want, just put it in this old phone booth, and then you take a book…take a book, leave a book.

Kara: And Paul got a Hardy Boys book (laughs) Paul: The Mystery of the Mysterious Mystery, or whatever (laughs) Kara: (laughs) Damn, that sounds essential. It’s too bad that the spot didn’t survive.

Paul: Welll, I think another coffee shop actually had a similar problem. Another local fella couldn’t make it work there either.

I’ve heard about other activity at SixOhOne Tully. What can you tell me about that?

Paul: Well, it’s a two story building.

Kara: Is it?

Paul: Yeah, I think it’s a three story job, actually.

Kara: Really?!

Paul: Yeah, there’s a little staircase in the back, and there’s a well-informed bulletin board – I think they have pottery classes; they do sculpting and ceramics…There’s a community garden next to it – that’s just dead. Everything in there is DEAD. It’s awful; it’s depressing.

Kara: Yeah, it’s kinda symbolic of the whole place itself.

Paul: You could tell people we just SO PSYCHED about it for like a week, and then just, ‘eh.’

Kara: And again, it’s like, the neighborhood is not quite there yet.

Paul told me about something that they do where he used to live in California called a ‘block push.’ Take a weekend. Get your friends/enemies together and buff that dumpy part of town right around the corner. Mow the lawn, pick up trash, whatever. There is also a local volunteer group called Operation Northern Comfort who makes Syracuse nicer in lots of different ways. Email me to participate.

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Who is ‘The Citizen’

I’m in the back seat of Paul’s Neon. We are arriving at some random church in Webster, NY. Paul is parking while Kara sits shotgun. They are both guilty of helping to create a series of cinematic shorts that you absolutely must watch.

Paul: Ahhh, I don’t know; my head is like miles away from there right now. (sound of cigarettes packing) C’mon, I’ve got a few easy ones…When did you guys start making ‘The Citizen’?

Kara: Ehh, like, I think the initial conception was maybe – when we started talking about it was, what, like a year and a half ago maybe?

How many episodes do you have so far?

Kara: Four. We’re starting production on the fifth.

Who is the writer?

Kara: Ah, we all are. We all have written episodes. We’ve all directed episodes.

Who does the filming?

Kara: Um – Paul: (slightly irritated) That would be me.

Kara: Mr. Gonzales, our DP. Paul: I AM the DP, which stands for Director of Photography Kara: Yes, it does. It does NOT stand for Double Penetration. (laughs) So what’s been going on recently with ‘The Citizen’?

Kara: Well, we just released episode four online. And, we are tryin’ to make some moves on episode five, um – Paul: But there IS episode six that’s been written. There is an episode seven that is in the, sort of, outline phase – the script isn’t written. We try to keep at least three of ‘em in some stage of production.

Kara: Like, pre-production on one, production on another, post-production on another.

Paul: You’re writin’ one while you’re shooting one, while you’re editing one.

Where do you film ‘The Citizen’?

Kara: All over Central New York.

Paul: Anywhere and everywhere.

How much does it cost to make it?

Paul: Not a DAMN thing.

Kara: The cost of coffee.

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How can I watch ‘The Citizen?’

Kara: Just go to WEARETHECITIZEN.COM, friend us on facebook, and visit us on youtube…we will be taking a break over the summer on releasing episodes online, so we can kinda regroup and, ya know, keep on filming and get a couple in the bag before we start releasing ‘em again – HOWEVER, we will be doing a Kickstarter to raise some money for – we need some good sound equipment. We need a new lens, we need…more coffee. So, we’ll be doin’ a Kickstarter to try and fund our ventures – Paul: “kick-start” it, if you will Kara: Yeah, we can do some more cool effects and shit, like have explosions, buy some C-Four, you know C-Four’s not cheap.

Kara: Exactly…we will be starting (our Kickstarter) soon. We’ll prolly have details on the website and on facebook, so everyone go check that out!

Bus Talk Created by the bus, for the bus.

April’s bus-talk topic manifests as I ride the Solvay-Avery across Geddes, up behind Fowler HS. A young man and woman are barking and moaning back and forth. The issue? Could Jesus and the Devil actually have been brothers? Let’s ask the bus: Centro patron A is elderly. He rocks a cane and sports a ‘Walk With Jesus’ hat.

Patron A: I believe in Jesus. I don’t know about the devil, but I believe in Jesus.

(Note: this dude definitely believes in Jesus) So, what about them being brothers, what do you think about that?

Ahh, nah, no way…nope.

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Centro patron B sits behind patron 1#. He wears an orange Cuse tee shirt. He looks like Larry Bird at age OneHundredFourteen.

Patron B: No, they’re not – they weren’t. They weren’t brothers. Nope.

How do you know?

Patron B: Well, ‘cause I read the Bible. Devil was an angel who tried to take over and got kicked out. Read the Bible. It’s right in there.

Centro patron C sits nearby. She is elderly and plump with rosy cheeks and large facial features. She’s not quite glowing, but her eyes are warm. If I told her I was hungry, she’d probably invite me home for soup and grilled cheese.

Do you have an opinion on this topic?

Patron C: I dunno; I’m Jewish Patron A: (interrupts) The Garden of EDEN – with Adam and Eve – the Devil kept tellin’ ‘em to eat from the tree of knowledge and Jesus wasn’t even around then!

Where’d you get that Jesus hat?

Patron A: Regional Market…you know those Asian people that have all those boxes that sit out and stuff? They got a table with hats…I got another one that says ‘Jesus is my boss’.

Centro patron D is a young college student. He is intelligent and willing to talk, despite being slightly confused.

Patron D: Well, I’m Muslim, so I have no idea what the Bible says. I’ve heard though, that the Devil was an angel who got kicked out of heaven…do you know anything about this?

No, I just though it was an interesting topic.

Patron D: I wish I could be more help.

Centro patron E is a young woman with short blond hair wearing headphones and sitting in those roomy front handicapped seats.

Can I ask you a question?

Patron E: Is it the same question you asked him Yes. Patron E: I…don’t really know much about the Bible, to be honest with you.

So, I’m not really sure how to respond.

That’s okay. That’s valid.

Patron E: Can you – can you re-explain it to me again?

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Were Jesus and the Devil brothers?

Patron E: Jesus and who?

The devil.

Patron E: Ah…is it just my opinion or is it based on text or what?

Just your opinion.

Patron E: Okay, lemme think about it for a sec…okay, this is based totally on my opinion, not based on text or anything. Um, okay, so Jesus was kinda the duality of man and God supposedly. So, my opinion is that it’s possible because he was in man-form and we naturally sin, which makes us all at least somewhat related to the Devil. And the Jesus was also an image of God, which supposedly we are too, but he was…exploited somehow – like, he was the son, or God, or, I’m not really sure what he is…yeah I guess that’s my opinion.

Centro patron F is an attractive woman in her mid-twenties with tight fitting denim jeans, a tiny tan leather jacket, gold chains, gold rings, gold earrings, giant sunglasses, and a pink ipod cover. She sips an oversized Dunkin Donuts cup from a straw. She pauses for ten eternal seconds as she sucks on her straw before licking her lips and coming up with an answer.

Patron F: It’s possible…I can’t even – I have no comment…it’s possible, I mean – it’s funny. (smiles) Centro patron G is a rotund veteran who has been going to OCC on and off since the NineteenEighties. He is kind and willing to participate.

Patron G: Well I don’t know the history of the Bible, or whatever, but ah…I don’t think it’s possible, no. The Devil was an arc angel or somethin’ like that, and Jesus was born long after that. So, the Devil was around long before Jesus – so, yeah, it’s not possible. I don’t think it’s possible.

Centro patron H is boring and I can’t remember what she looks like.

Patron H: No. (shaking her head and scrunching her face) Centro patron I is the slightly more annoyed male version of Patron # 8.

Patron I: Ah, I don’t hav – I don’t care Centro patron J is very large, wears glasses, and has a head of thick braided hair.

May I have a minute of your time?

Patron J: No. Centro patron K looks like Patron J, but wears a big smile Patron K: (shakes her head)

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You don’t think so?

Patron K: I don’t think so.

How come?

Patron K: I jus’ don’t. (laughs) Centro patron L is middle-aged and sits in the back of the bus. She is very bothered that the bus is late and is sharing this fact at high volume to someone on the other end of her Cricket phone. She resembles a miniature Jack the Pumpkin King dressed in black shiny leather.

Patron L: Nope, nope. (shaking her head rapidly) Jesus KICKED the Devil ouuuttaa heaven. They ain’t brothers. (laughing absurdly) There’s no way… the Devil, he was the HEAD angel. In heaven…but he-he-he-he got MAD at Jesus…For puttin’ US…Aheada HIM… So – so, Jesus – Jesus knew dat he had, he had a, ah, he had a dark heart. So, he kicked him…outta heaven. And a bunch of the angels went with him that weren – that didn’t agree wit him – went with him. He whipped ‘em with his tail and they went wit ‘em…so. (nods her head rapidly)

Strange days, indeed. Conclusion: You decide.

Ishtar Eggs

Holidays. Work and school are often cancelled, family and friends gather in a central location, and ninety percent of the random people that you run into give you positive wishes stating the name of that particular day. Grammar schools practice and describe them to students, parents teach their young to participate.

Overall, they are a positive, unifying effort. But, they beg questions.

Derrick Jensen (DERRICKJENSEN.ORG) comes to mind, as he often talks about premises that are slipped by us. Who decided that Santa Claus was a Northerner? Why are certain holidays still around? Who can I write to about getting a Holiday started? Why isn’t Frank Zappa’s birthday on the calendar?

Questions…

So, Easter was technically in March, but my friend Nate has some interesting words about it that can’t wait until next year: Nate: Easter was – is – actually Ishtar. It’s a Sumerian goddess of the earth and fertility. And so, they celebrated it every spring. And the Catholic church decided, ‘well we gotta get these people away from this pagan holiday because it was a fertility holiday, so everybody’s hookin’ up and doin’ all this other crazy shit. They were like, ‘N-n-n-no, we’re gonna use this one – Jesus rose

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HERE. This is when Jesus rose.’ Most of the Christian holidays are based off of Christian holidays because, I mean, the actual dates of when they happened are no where near – like according to the Bible, the actual date of Jesus’ birth was some time in like late January? But they put it on December Twentyfifth because the TwentyFirst is the winter solstice so all the Pagans were celebrating the winter solstice anyway, so the Christians were like, ‘N-n-n-no, this is Christmas now – so you can still celebrate – but we’re making it so you’re celebrating Christmas, we’re not celebrating the solstice.’

Do you celebrate Easter?

Not really. (smiles) I didn’t like – ya know, my mom gave me a whole buncha candy and I was like, ‘oh, ah, that’s nice, you gave me candy because I broke my leg. That’s awesome.’ She was like, ‘No, Sunday’s Easter.’ I was like, ‘No, it’s Nate’s broken foot day (laughs)…No, yeah I can get behind the candy and shit.

Any holiday really; any chance to go celebrate. It’s like everybody’s gonna wish me a, ya know, ‘happy something,’ I’m like, fine, Ill take it!

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Longboard Term of the Month:

Theft, Rebellion, and WWE Moves‌ An Afternoon At The Trading Card Store With: Aaron Himself.

I try not to bring, ah, too much publicity on this, but ah – What was the name of the place?

Play the Game, Read the Story.

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That is at – I believe it is North Clinton Street. If most of you that are listening to this know where Spaghetti Warehouse is, it’s right next to it – it is in the same building – they are literally two seconds of a walk away from each other… ’cause they are (hand gestures) door-door. (laughs) When did the incident occur?

This was one week – er no – was it two weeks ago, pardon my French. It was one of the dates. Pardon me for my memory not being that great, but…but yeah this was one or two weeks ago.

What went down, exactly? Were you there?

I was there – yes. And I know the kid. I was actually, I would say, KINDA friends with him. I wanna more say acquaintances though, but, he seemed like an okay guy to me. Um, but, he got picked on a lot – got bullied. So, I’m not sure if his reason was vengeance – to get back at the people that tormented him…or if this was him showing his true colors – I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to the kid and apparen – we do know that he is banned for life. In Play the Game, Read the Story rules it is automatic life ban to steal let alone from the store, but from other people as well…It’s one of the golden rules, pretty much.

That’s why – that’s why they call it the AUTOMATIC life ban. Because as long as there’s evidence against that person, then, they’re pretty much out the door.

Tell me more about these golden rules.

Well this is one of ‘em, and I’m not really sure about the others because (smiles) these things don’t happen every week, ya know. They just enforced this rule as the kid was being escorted out. Basically, they told us, ‘Look,’ ya know, ‘This is an auto life ban,’ ya know.

Alright Aaron, let’s back up a little bit. What really went down two weeks ago at Play the Game?

Well, mind you, I was one of the, ah, first hand experiences – right there.

Because I happened to be friends with both the kid that got accused and I was friends with the guy that got stolen stuff from, as well as, I’m a fairly known, well-favorited customer at Play the Game. So, I was in a tough spot who to side with, but at the end of the day, I can’t, ya know, align myself with a criminal, I guess…I actually didn’t see half of it.

What DID you see?

Well, from what I was told that I DIDN’T see, a kid was asking to look through other players’ cards – Yu-Gi-Oh cards. A lot of people probably know about the game, and stuff. Basically, he took advantage of them, kinda being unaware, ya know – they were kind of being distracted by other players inside the store. He basically took the stuff, he went over to Spaghetti Warehouse as his temporary hideout. And he was actually un-sleeving their stuff and putting ‘em (the cards) into his own sleeves – makin’ it look like they were his. The other guys found out their stuff was missing and so everyone, ya know, there was a little bit of a – not exactly a search party – but three or four people were looking. A couple went into Spaghetti Warehouse itself, other people was going up and down the street, seeing if he had ran off, or he would have called for a ride or something.

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Turns out, they got him in Spaghetti Warehouse. They brought him back to play the game. That’s when I saw him coming through the doors, and everyone was trying to be peaceful. When he got approached by the employees, they tried to go easy on him. They actually tried to play good cop, bad cop with him in a sense. And, as soon as evidence wasn’t going in his favor because he couldn’t exactly back up his own word and plenty of people had proof against him, he just turned into this person that, ya know – he tried to act like the tough guy from that point onwards. He actually threw a fist at one of the employees, and this employee is not one to be messed with. He is a part-time bouncer, so, ah, he only did what he did outta self defense. They actually had to call the cops on him. (the offender) What kind of move did the employee pull on the offender?

Actually, if you watch wrestling, it’s called the DDT. Yeah, it was onto a shelf case. He (he employee) wasn’t charged of anything, though because it was out of self-defense, and he was also cleared on account of he is defending the store from larsony. So, he was in clear of doing what he did to defend.

Can you describe the DDT? You basically grab your arm around the other person, over the person’s neck and you get ‘em to kind of tilt their head downwards, and then you just kinda drive ‘em into the ground. He didn’t do this one into the ground though. He did it kind of in a sideways like way on a metal shelf. The kid was in pain…ya know, obviously.

Were there other customers in the store at the time?

Oh, of course, this place is constantly packed, ya know. You can actually sit there and hang out. This isn’t like most stores. It’s a place where people can actually be for, ya know, from the time they open ‘til the time they close, just sittin’ down, hangin’ out, eatin’, and havin’ a good time. It’s not a store where you gotta leave in a couple minutes (like the store I work in). You don’t have to be a patron either. You don’t have to buy anything. You can just walk right in there and just chill out, ya know. But, ah…basically, they were just tryin’ to keep order and maintain balance. Ya know, makin’ sure things don’t get outta hand.

So what happened next?

Well, the kid was already on the ground from the DDT and he was clutching his ribs in pain, and moaning in pain, so all the cops had to do from that point was just handcuff him, and then, ya know, take him away. He sounded like a pretty upset person because he actually screamed a famous line from the movies – I’m pretty sure you remember it.

What’d he say?

He said, ‘You will never take me alive!’ He yelled that throughout the whole store vicinity. I’m pretty sure even fricken Spaghetti Warehouse people and people outside the doors were catchin’ it. And yeah people, this is a famous line I’m pretty sure you can date back to ages ago. He actually said it (smiles)…ya don’t hear that too often in real life…In all seriousness though, it was a little bit of an awkward situation though because, ya know, how do you adjust back to

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normal setting? How do you get focused back on what you were doing when this whole thing disrupted you.

Do you think this will affect whether or not you hang around Play the Game in the future?

Oh, well to be honest, I only go there once a week on Saturdays. It’s only open to people that play my game (Yu-Gi-Oh) specifically on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but if I found a ride, I would go Thursday and Sunday. So, no, this will not affect my frequent going there.

Are there any changes being made to ensure that something like this won’t happen again?

Basically, people are keeping a closer guard on their stuff. The store’s possible getting higher security installed. They do have four to five people working there at a time. It’s kinda hard to picture, actually. How this kid was getting away with stealing…They may be getting security cameras; they may also be looking for people that have security or bouncer backgrounds so that they can help keep order in the store more often.

Do you think what this kid did was right or wrong?

Well (sighs), to be honest, ladies and germs, ya probably wouldn’t think of it, but maybe some of you probably would as a laugh…I was once a bullied kid, ya know. And this kid is fifteen, sixteen years old. So I know what it’s like.

He’s probably goin’ through a lot right now, and ya know, maybe it was just the whole being tormented – he just couldn’t handle it anymore, and he wanted to have his turn – his time for the spotlight. So, that’s the only reason I can justify this…ya know…as revenge…’cause I know a little bit about it. But, ya know, as much as I like to be empathetic, as much as I tried to show this kid sympathy – and he never harmed me, did me anything bad. We were on okay terms…but, I just can’t justify stealin’ from the store because the store didn’t do anything wrong.

Do you have any ideas on how to help people who feel they have to act out in this way?

I just think people need to talk to people like him, and understand the condition that he has is tough to deal with at times. And I just try to stress that that kid told me that he doesn’t really have a lot of friends and that’s all he was looking for when he was at Play the Game Read the Story. He was trying to go there to have fun. Alls I can do is just try to reach out to people like him on a personal level. Because when you bully and toment kidd, they do stuff like this out of anger and out of hatred.

This incident obviously hits home with you. Any last comments?

This one last comment’s a heartfelt one actually…I’d just like to say, Nick…

I’m pretty sire you know who you are, ‘cause you’ll probably remember this for a while, if not forever…if I don’t see you at Play the Game anymore, then I wish you luck on your future endeavors, and in life in general. I hope this doesn’t, ya know, affect anything. I always thought you were a good friend; I tried to steer – tried to teach ya the good stuff that I can…I know we had our times where we kinda picked on each other a little bit, but that was more so a friendly rivalry…but yeah…wish ya luck, man.

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AWAREHOUSE

A Tale From: Karl Parker At the New Badlands, or Badlands II—a warehouse off Genessee St. across from Wegman’s in East Syracuse (which was labeled “The Hive” when I went on April Twelfth; it’s just before the overpass), your encounter with cutting edge music will be up close & personal, raw & real & loud, almost definitely rewarding. Due to non-massive human error, I was late for the show but caught—in that relatively small space with awesome high metal ceilings and drywall reinforcements/soundproofing on the walls—two quite different bands you’ll want to check out. The first (really the second) band was Blood Money, a powerful, somewhat sludgy but rhythmic trio with often interesting time signatures and ways of attacking songs, building to moments that broke into others, as screams of word-rage went through our bones. Grunge thrusts, bass vibrations, fierce energy & focus bouncing off the drywall—Blood Money plays as a tight unit with no bullshit or frills, the bassist and the guitarist alternating vocals. At times reminiscent of Nirvana’s Bleach at its hardest/slowest, this Blood was definitely worth the scant Money we paid. Next was Kitty Little, an underground band among underground bands, having been together since TwoThousandOne, but only sporadically playing out—last time in Syracuse, or Sear/Accuse, or Sewercuse, was five years ago. Also a trio, reminiscent of and admittedly influenced by Superchunk & the Pixies—with a supercharged drummer, a female bassist/vocalist, and a somewhat higher-pitched but nonscreaming guitarist/lead vocalist—Kitty Little’s songs were occasionally harder-edged but were always melodic, tight, as genuinely catchy as your favorite gateway drug. Pop punk yes, but smarter & more interesting than

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Green Day. Where does post-punk end and pop-punk begin? Stylistic choices & commercial/marketing success, you say? At any rate, having a blast, Kitty Little got our limbs moving, with newer and older tunes (some from their first album Know No Shame), ending with the, well, utterly fucking delightful “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Seeing/hearing these bands in this space, we were right inside every second of what they made.

The Badlands Strike Back

It’s SevenThirty on a Sunday night. I’m standing in a full parking lot in front of a blue warehouse on James St. across from the Wegmans. I’m two hours and forty five minutes late according to the flyer.

But, wait. I hear crash. I hear ride. I hear fuzz. I smell bodies. I see smoke. Blood pumps. White Econo van. There’s some dudes. I’m looking for ‘Cavities.’ Pennsylvania plates. Could it be? Nope.

But here’s what they had to say:

Matthew: The name of our band is ‘AIIA’.

Alex: Ayahh!, Ayahh!

Who thoughta that?

Matthew: Alex came up with it. It’s a vowel.

And you guys are?

Matthew.

Joe. Mike.

Alex.

How long you been playing together?

Matthew: Well, these guys are our – Joe: I am NOT part of the band.

Matthew: Yeah, these guys are our friends. And um, Alex and I have been playin’ in this band since ’07, but these are our boys (nods his head, making eye

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contact with both) that came here to support us.

Alex: They’re both strapped.

Mike: I’ve known these dudes for a long time.

Matthew: Yeah – been hangin’ with these cats for a while…Our band started in OhSeven when I lived in NYC, and I would commute back and forth to Syracuse to practice, or we would practice in New York when we could.

Alex: Smash Studios (smiles) Matthew: But then I moved back to Syracuse.

Where can people go to find your music?

Matthew: Bandcamp. AIIA Bandcamp. Or the facebook.

Alex: Or, if anybody wants to, like, journey back in time, they can go to the Myspace.

Matthew: We have music for sale on Bandcamp. We have fifteen recorded songs spread out over three EPs that are available.

So do you guys remember the previous Badlands?

Matthew: Oh yeah. Played there many times. Many times.

Are you bummed that it closed?

Matthew: Well, I’m glad that there’s a place to have shows. This place is a little bit better, actually. There’s a place like this in Ithaca that’s a warehouse kinda like this and I like it. It’s pretty cool. There’s space to setup – in the fucking venue, so that’s cool.

What advice would you give to people playing in bands that are trying to get their music out there?

Alex: Move to a big city.

Matthew: (looks at the ground) I would just say ah…(looks up quickly, makes eye contact) Do whatEVER it is that you gotta do. And it’s different for everybody. There’s not like one plan or anything. You gotta figure out what works for your band.

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“Is that the door you go in?” I ask some guy.

As I pull it open, I am enveloped by ‘Blood Money.’ I get to catch thirty seconds of my favorite fucking tune that they always play last, and I am greeted warmly by Hardcore Joe. Somehow, I’m always in the right place.

I spot two fellas that I recognize from past shows. One is a sort of Ian-Mackayelooking dude with thick glasses and the other a furry guy with a mustached smile. After a moment of hesitation, they graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions.

What’s your role here at the Badlands?

Greg: Just volunteers, all around facilitators, anything that needs to get done, basically. Volunteers are people that paid the initial rent and then work a lot of the shows and do a lotta work on the space in between shows.

Ryan: And might I just add, ah, so far, Greg has done like ninety percent of it (laughs). He’s on top a shit.

Where are we exactly? There are a couple different addresses floating around.

It’s actually FourtyTwoTwentyThree James St. It’s across the street from Wegmans in East Syracuse, right next door to The Hive salon – in the same warehouse. There’s a few other local businesses in here.

Who do you guys rent the space from?

Greg: Um, we rent it from this – Ryan: Some guy (smiles) Greg: it’s called Horn Companies – they actually own the building. They’re located centrally just around the corner here. They just rent out all sorts of different properties, and I kinda like, told ‘em what we were gonna be doing

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here, and he just rented us the space. It’s commercially zoned for like storefront, basically, But we’re using it as an ‘art studio / practice space’ – that’s how we’re disguising it (smiles).

Do you rent it by the night?

Ryan: Well, for the venue, for promoters, it’s by the day, but I mean, we rent the whole space month-to-month.

Greg: Yeah, we’re on a lease for the year, for the actual space. For promoters, we do, it’s ah, thirty five percent of the door intake with a minimum of seventy five dollars and a cap at three hundred. So, you’ll never spend more than three hundred, but we won’t take any less than seventy five. And it enables us to work with smaller promoters. We’re not the kinda space that should be taking on shows where there’s gonna be two hundred kids at the door, ya know. We’re tryin’ to work with smaller bands and people who aren’t necessarily working

on a certain level to want to play in bigger venues in the city – ‘cause there are other places for those kinds of bands to go. So, we’re kind of filling a certain specific niche here. It’s not like, a VENUE – like, we get, we get like emails from bigger bands with promotional stuff all the time. And, that’s just not the kind of thing that we’re doing here at all.

What happened to the old Badlands on E Fayette St.?

Greg: Um, we just got a lot of negative attention from, ah…fire marshals scrutinizing (Badlands) and other venues in the area. The venue operating next door to us was pretty much like a free-for-all drug show art space, so that was giving us a lot of negative attention because we were associated with it, but we were also doing something totally different.

Ryan: There was a lot of work that needed to be done on that building.

Greg: Yeah.

Ryan: It was like, in really bad shape, and I don’t think the landlord wanted to put any money into it. There was like, electrical issues.

Greg: Yeah, that was the final straw. It was an issue of: WE needed stuff done to OUR space, but the neighboring space didn’t. So, he chose to – to boot us out…But, fortunately, there were apartments and everything upstairs, so it wasn’t really anything that could have really lasted much longer, I feel, with the complaints coming in from people and stuff.

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How do you promote shows?

Greg:We just have a blog and facebook for the space.

Ryan: Yeah, the venue doesn’t do…promo – Greg: Yeah, we actually only rent out the space, so any sort of promotion is up to the person putting on the show.

Ryan: I mean, like, I – Greg: Well, there’s no sort of built-in crowd, at all.

Ryan: I mean, I do all the web stuff for this space. And, like, I’ll list all the shows as they come up on our blog, just to like, have a list, and then on the facebook it’s just like, the day of the show. It’s up to the promoter to do the work on their own.

Greg: Yeah, absolutely, and that’s a big part of it.

Ryan: We want people to figure that out, you know, so people getting into DIY and into punk and into putting on shows to learn how to do that on their own – Greg: Yeah, it’s very much that – do it YOURself (laughs) Ryan: Not - have us do that for you.

Greg: We’ve done enough to provide the space and that’s really where we draw the line.

How does a band get a chance to play here?

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Greg: They really have to work with local promoters. Um, or book a show themselves. Honestly, I would say if a band wants to get booked here, they should book themselves; they should book bands that they like that are friends of theirs and invite all of their friends to come out.

So, bands should contact you guys directly?

Greg: Yeah, everything goes through the Badlands email.

Ryan: Yeah, if you’re like, a local band, don’t go to a show just ‘cause you’re playin’ it.

Greg: Absolutely.

Ryan: Go to shows because you wanna like, ya know, be a part of this.

Greg: Yeah, that’s a big thing, is coming out to shows, showing attendance, ya know, showing support for the DIY community because it’s not just about – ya know everyone’s in bands – everyone has something like that going on. It’s like such a common thing that you shouldn’t really be here just to promote your own band. It’s a whole lifestyle that you should be promoting, ya know.

When did Bandlands II open?

Greg: Um – Ryan: Now. (everyone laughs) Greg: Maybe like, two weeks ago. April first – Aprilll 3rd was our first official show, I think.

Ryan: Yeah.

Is there anyone else involved in paying rent, collecting money, and generally keeping the nuts and bolts greased?

Greg: Oh yeah, there’s – Ryan: There’s several other folks.

Greg: There’s like a good, like dozen, twelve or fifteen people who actually donated the first initial rent two years ago when we first started, and tehn helped out with rent when we got into here (Badlands II), as well. They’ll volunteer to

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work shows, um, anything we need in between, basically. There’s like, varying levels of membership. Some members just pay the membership fee and then they just use it so they can book shows here at a lower rate. And then there are people who are like – very active, who are like working the shows and helping to work the emails and stuff like that.

Is there room for other art mediums at Badlands II? Ryan: Yeah, man!

Greg: We’re absolutely open to anything. The only thing is, loud music can’t be until after seven in the evening, but, like, if we were to do an art showing, we could definitely do something all day. We’re definitely open to any kind of use for the space, as long as it’s all ages, for everyone, you know.

As if to accentuate that last statement’s all-inclusive ethos, AIIA blasts out a unifying chord. Heads turn. Energy is pooling as they gear up.

Ryan: Plus, there’s the two rooms back there (points to back of space). They’re going to be rented out as, like studios – art spaces.

How much does it cost to go to a show at Badlands II? Ryan: It varies. It depends on the promoter, man. The promoter sets the price.

Ya know, the more bands ya got – the more out-of-town bands that need money, ya know, will prolly get a lil’ more.

(Note: I paid eight dollars to see four mind-bending bands) Any music off the top of your head that you recommend?

Ryan: As far a Syracuse – like, ‘Blood Sun Circle’ – is awesome…And out of town…I’ve been really into, ah, let’s see, ‘Restorations’ is real good. I get a lotta reissues, so that’s old shit. I need new shit (smiles). ‘Restorations’ will be comin’ up at the end of May, but not here; they’re playin’ somewhere else…

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The house lights go off, and fluorescent red bulbs give the room a digital fuzz glow. People plug in and self-conscious thought melts. Any social nervousness briefly sizzles and evaporates. Music plays. And plays. And plays.

After one of the grimiest fist-clenching sets of the evening, there’s a chance to chat briefly with the vocalist. I can’t for the life of me remember this dude’s fucken name, but here’s the shit that counts: So, you’re not the usual vocalist for this band?

No, I’m not the normal singer, but, ah, some shit went down and I guess – I’m just testin’ the waters tonight I guess.

Will you continue with these guys permanently?

I’m feelin’ it so far, yeah, for sure.

And where are you guys from?

Rochester, NY And the name is?

Ah, ‘Burn Everything’ How can people find your music?

Psh, I think they got ‘Burn Everything’ Bandcamp, if I’m right I think it’s free too. You can just stream tracks or whatever, so…

(Note: This is true. If you do one thing today, listen to it) Cool man, thanks for your time.

Live music continues as people peruse fifty cent band buttons, tee shirts and old/new vinyl.

Outside in the parking lot, there is a chance to speak with two members of one of the most uniquely pleasing and eclectic outfits in contemporary music.

What’s your first name?

Ethan.

Who do you play with?

Um…’CounterPursuit’ How long have you been playing in Syracuse?

I guess since I was in high school probably. Like, eh, late ninties.

So what do you think of the new space?

I think it’s great man!

Just then, Ethan’s fellow ‘CounterPursuit’-ist Adam emerges.

What do you think of the new space, Adam?

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Um, really happily surprised. It’s pretty awesome. It looks cool. It smells good (laughs). It smells like wood, ya know? But I was surprised; Matt Jamie was tellin’ me about it and he said it had really high ceilings and it was kinda long and I thought, it sounds like it’s gonna sound like shit there, ya know. And he was like, ‘noo, it sounds good.’ And it DOES sound good. They did a good job puttin’ up the wood siding and stuff to kind of like take some of that roomy sound (dampening quality) out of it. But, you’re close enough in proximity to the band that you can hear the sound and there’s also a, because of the tall ceiling there’s a weird, like reverb that really helps…but that was just after hearing like only two bands…I think it sounds really good. What do you think?

This is my first time here, so I’ve only heard about two bands play, as well, but I agree.

Adam: Yeah, I’m excited to see more shows here. I was just talkin’ to Ryan Hex about it, getting’ the low down on everything…Between this place and GORHAM BROS. (OneEighteen Seeley Rd.) and the practice space, we’ve got some pretty cool places for shows right now.

Adam also plays in ‘Stonelord’ and ‘Spliffs Riders’

At the end of the night I am in the van, queuing up an ‘Organized Konfusion’ tape that I bought for a dollar NinetyNine at Savers in Webster, NY the weekend before. Another Adam, who sings in the band ‘Insufficient Funds,’ taps on my window. “Here ya go. It’s even clean!” he says, as he tosses an I.F. tee shirt into the van. He goes on to talk of an I.F. show in a barn in Earlville, NY at the end of June. Stayed tuned, folks; stay tuned.

Tanto Lives

The clock reads Twelve Eighteen and Fifteen seconds PM at Centro Hub in downtown Syracuse, and that scruffy dude sitting two seats up has got to have something underneath that two by three foot rectangle of sketch paper and masking tape. But fuck. The transfer that awaits is driven by a true boss. A man who never blinks. Never raises his voice. Never bites the curb. Never drives under thrity five. When he comes to an intersection, dump trucks yield and Escalades reverse. And his bus leaves at Twelve Twenty sharp.

Curiosity beats fear.

Hey man, what-chyou got there?

Smiling, he unveils his self-portrait.

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What’s your name?

Steven.

And youre a student?

Yes, I am.

Of what?

Of art. (smiles) Where?

OCC. Syracuse local?

Ah, I’m originally from Vermont, but now I’m – I’m here.

What’s the title of this piece?

It’s entitled ‘Tonto’… but, um…one person said, ‘oh you think you should call it that ‘cause of the Indian reservation nearby?’ but no one seems to be offended by it (smiles).

Where can people find more of your work?

Well, I don’t have anything online now, so…

Well, we’ll keep an eye out for you on the street.

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