Tribal Night @ Tantra with Cassandra Belle Lien
W: Welcome to Weird Magazine Cassandra. Tell us about Tribal Night at Tantra. CBL: Thanks so much for having me! Tribal Night is an event that we host at Tantra every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. We feature bellydancers of various styles, a vast array of fire art, and a community drum circle. It is always free and open to the public, and any dancers, spinners, or musicians are welcome and encouraged to join us.
W: How long now have you been doing this event? CBL: We started Tribal Night almost two years ago. It started out as a rough and vague concept between Nate Wilson of
Interstellar Transmissions and I; we were looking to create an event at Tantra for the gypsy/ circus art community of San Marcos. Tantra provided the space, Nate rounded up the musicians, I reached out to the bellydancers of Gypsy Hips with whom I had been learning to dance at the San Marcos Activity Center, and the fire spinners managed to find us; it was almost mystical. Eventually we started getting more obscure instruments involved in the drum circle, like the trumpet, accordion, and violin. After the first few months Tribal Night was self-sustaining, and people started to filter in from Wimberley, Austin, and San Antonio to drum, dance, and spin fire.
W: When is the Next one coming up in JULY/AUGUST 2010? CBL: Tribal Night is every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, and anyone can keep up with Tribal Night on www.facebook.com/tribalnight. We post dates for Tribal Night and any other happenings that might be applicable to people who love the tribal/ gypsy atmosphere.
W: What can folks expect from the festivities? CBL: We lovingly refer to Tribal Night as
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“Open Mic for the Indigenous,” and perfomers and spectators alike are always dressing elaborately, so expect a lot of people in costumes. Sometimes we have guest performers who will do a bit more of a structured show for the first half, but it’s very open and informal most of the time. If you want to drum, you drum. If you want to dance, you dance. If you want to spin fire--and you have experience--you spin. If you don’t have enough experience with any of these, there are talented, humble, beautiful people here who will take you under their wing. We just want everyone to have as much fun as we do, that’s the mentality we strive for. The dancers are beautiful and vibrant. The fire art is breathtaking and there’s always a rotating cast of talent: fire poi, staff, fire hula hoops, and so much more. The drum circle is the musical backbone for the whole event. You are the instrument,
Tantra is the speaker, and Tribal Night is the cord... amplify yourself! W: So it’s 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month, from 9pm to Midnight? CBL: Correct. I also teach Beginner’s Bellydance at Go2Danz Studio every Monday at 8pm.
W: Where does tribal night have it’s roots? Is this Celtic in tradition? CBL: Tribal Night is as eclectic as the people who come to it. Getting into roots, it’s a patchwork quilt of culture. Bellydance can be found all over the world in different countries and styles; Middle Eastern dance, Eastern European gypsy dance, Bollywood-style cabaret, Native American dance, American
Tribal style...the list goes on and on. Spinning poi is allegedly native to New Zealand; they used it as a form of meditation. Fire staff, however, is a little closer to martial arts roots; I’ve seen people who do martial arts staff for years light up for the first time and look amazing...they just needed someone to light up the ends for them! The cultural influences of the music of Tribal Night combine elements of traditional Middle Eastern beats, indigenous ceremonial music, Gypsy music, circus music, and freestyle drum work. It’s also a rotating cast of musicians, so it can sound completely different depending on the night. We also try to keep it as acoustic as possible. All styles are accepted as long as it doesn’t disrupt the ambiance of what’s already there.
W: How can readers get in touch with you Cassandra for more information? CBL: I can be reached via Tantra Coffeehouse (512.558.2233), by email (Cassandra.Belle. Lien@gmail.com), or by facebook (www.facebook.com/tribalnight). You can also find me
teaching at Go2Danz Studio, or dancing/spinning fire at Tribal Night!
W: Thanks Cassandra, any more details you would like to community to know about Tribal Night? CBL: At the moment, in addition to putting on Tribal Night, we are looking for bellydancers, fire spinners, and musicians who would like to be in a bellydance troupe, fire troupe, and/or gypsy band to start expanding and having something similar to Tribal Night in other places... something of a Gypsy Circus. We’re looking for dancers, fire artists, drummers, accordion, mandolin, sitar, violin, cello, and anything else we can get our hands on. The gypsy culture is being revived, and we want to be part of its resurrection. Come one, come all!
Geeks who Drink
W: Welcome to Weird Magazine Geeks! Tell us
about “Geeks Who Drink”? We’ve played a few times over at Treff’s. Looks like fun! GWD: :“Geeks Who Drink” is a pub quiz that started in Colorado and has branched out all the way to Texas. It’s definitely an experience. It stems from an Irish tradition. Nothing wrong with that. We are hoping to promote friendly competition and social drinking within a relaxed and healthy environment. So no Scottish soccer hooligans are allowed. Okay, they can come but only if they play nice and make fun of Mel Gibson’s accent in “Braveheart.” W: Tell us about the Pub quiz. GWD: A lot of people hear pub quiz and think Trivial Pursuit. They couldn’t be further off base. Our quiz is more about performance and the thrill of being a team full of knowledge. It consists of eight themed rounds that can range in topics anywhere from The Big Lebowski to athletes who Twitter. Throw in a visual round, two audio rounds focused on music, TV and film and you have a great quiz. W: It’s free to play and what kinds of prizes can
people win?
GWD: The quiz is free to play and teams can consist of up to six people. In the event we have a special themed quiz there is sometimes a fee so that we can offer a cash prize to the winning team. We recently had a “LOST” quiz and it was epic. Prizes vary from bar vouchers for the top three teams, free pints of beer after almost every round to crazy gifts like Edgar Allen Poe action figures. W: What other topics are there? I see one online called; “Country Music That Doesn’t Suck.” GWD: Haha, that would likely be an audio round where you had to guess country artists and the songs they sang. I’m guessing anything by Miley Cyrus didn’t make it into that round. A few rounds I have personally written deal with famous horror film scream queens and a round about the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and L.A. Lakers called “The Axis of Evil.” We try to keep a wide spectrum.
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W: How long has the Texas State branch been up
and running?
GWD: : We have been running strong since May, 2009. It’s awesome to get to feel like you’ve started something special in the San Marcos area. The response we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive. W: Where in San Marcos do you guys do this? GWD: : We have a quiz on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in The Tap Room and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. at Treff’s Tavern. I have been lucky enough to host both of them. W: What kind of response have you gotten from bar
owners and people who play?
GWD: The bar owners love it. It packs the bar on nights that might otherwise be lacking patrons and that is always a good thing. Many of the people who play it have become part of our community. That’s the beauty of the quiz. You can actually make an impact by offering suggestions and contributing. It’s all about the people who come. W: When is your next big event in July? GWD: We will be doing two quizzes a week in San Marcos. You can always show up and play for free. I will be glad to get whoever comes situated and ready to kick ass. Don’t worry, we won’t bite. With the Twilight saga and tons of vampire TV shows, there is enough of that going on as it is. W: How can people get in touch with you guys? GWD: You can go to www.geekswhodrink.com to find out more information, whether you are interested in playing or want to discuss us hosting a quiz for an event or venue you have. We also have blogs on the site that will give you an idea of what the quiz looks like. W: Anything you’d like to tell people about GWD
that they may not know.
GWD: They should definitely give the quiz a shot. I’d suggest coming out on both a Tuesday and Wednesday quiz to see which venue they prefer. Both are different in their own way so you can’t really go wrong.
FCC’s Stealth Plan to Censor Internet Content Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com In order to control the internet and do so without much notice, the FCC has rolled a censorship plan into its Net Neutrality scheme. Under the fallacious rubric of “consumer protection,” the FCC is calling for the regulation of television and internet broadband.
Kelly William Cobb, writing for Americans for Tax Reform, says “the FCC would begin regulating Internet access for the first time under a completely new regulatory scheme (even though they lack the authority to create it). Meanwhile, the FCC would push regulations – cloaked in the heart-warming language of competition and innovation – mandating that your cable box (known as a set-top box)
become a ‘broadband gateway device’ controlling access to your Internet, TV, and phone. The FCC has already started looking at set-top box regulations in their National Broadband Plan.” On top of this, it would open the door for the FCC to begin monitoring or censoring content on the Internet (in addition to your TV), something Free Press and other progressives, as well as the White House regulatory czar advocate. The Songwriters Guild of America has a great op-ed on why government censorship is entirely possible if the Internet becomes regulated. (Emphasis added.) Under the FCC’s regulatory control consumers would be forced to buy an Internet/TV/Phone connectivity box that the government approves. “Everyone will pay rates for service that the government sets. And everything passing through your Internet, TV, or phone would become subject to
the FCC’s consistent regulatory whim,” writes Cobb.
The FCC has controlled television content for decades. If you want to know what the heavy hand of government will do to internet content think of the absurd Janet Jackson nipple incident and the government’s response. The government wants to make sure the flow of information is safe for consumption by the plebs. Broadcast and cable television do not offer an alternative to news and information pro-
vided by the corporate media. The FCC plan and government oversight of content would effectively kill off alternative news, information, and commentary. If the FCC gets its way Obama will not need a “kill switch” installed in the Oval Office. The internet will ultimately become a pale reflection of corporate-dominated television where there are hundreds of channels and nothing on — that is nothing that challenges the government and offers an alternative to the corporate media.
BRAVE NEW BOOKS spans from alternative nutrition and health practices (and actual health products) to suppressed science, free energy, and Nikola Telsa’s genius inventions, to information on governmentbacked coup d’etats, false-flag operations and covert espionage, to survival, self-sufficiency and sustainable gardening practices. We try to cover so many topics because, really, there is so much information out there that the general public just isn’t aware of. We try to present our customers with a “fuller story”, which we hope will spur them to examine current events in a new light. And yes, we’ve been in existence, in Austin, for four years. We’ll be celebrating our anniversary on Saturday, August 28; we’ll be having a “birthday party” here at the store. Come one come all!
W: The store really is opening up the minds of people. Is that fair to say?
W: Welcome to Weird Magazine guys. Introduce yourselves? BNB:We’re Brave New Books, a small independent bookstore based in Austin, TX. We opened at the end of the summer of 2006 just south of the University of Texas at Austin. The location is fitting; we’re literally underground, which matches the ‘underground’ subject matters that we deal in. We like to say “underground and unafraid since 2006”. .
W: Weird Magazine loves Brave New Books in Austin! I had a blast at the JFK Birthday party with Jim Marrs one of my favorite Authors and frequent guest on Weird Radio. BNB:Glad you were able to make it! We had a blast that weekend; it was a fun way to get info out there and also honor one of our
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truly great Presidents. We are lucky enough to live in the same state as Mr. Marrs, so we get to have him out for most new books he authors, which is a real treat. Mr. Marrs is so knowledgeable that he has probably forgotten more about conspiracy theories than most people will ever know! He actually just wrote a new book, called The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy, which gets into the bail-out; whose interests it actually served, is serving, and will serve, and how most of America isn’t included at any step of that process.
W: So tell us about the bookstore, I understand there is a birthday of your own this August. BNB: Well, we’re an Austinbased bookstore that specializes in information; mostly of the alternative, suppressed, or difficult-to-find nature. We really try to expose people to the history of suppressed ideas and information not present in today’s media. Our catalog
BNB: Many people in Austin are already aware of a lot of the information that we carry; that’s one of the great things about this town, and probably what allows us to stay open. Not everyone’s mind is open, however, some people come downstairs and walk right back out. For those in the latter category, we try to penetrate the fog of pop culture and media manipulation with free literature and free DVDs to plant a seed; it’s up to them if they want to water it or not.
You may recall the posters up around town saying something like “BEWARE! BRANDON DARBY, FBI INFORMANT RAT LOOSE IN AUSTIN!” W: Austinites really come out to support the service that Brave New Books offers don’t they?
BNB:Absolutely. The city of Austin has made it possible for us to stick around for 4 whole years now; I don’t think that could happen in just any city. We’ve got a great crowd of regulars that come in week after week; we’re really lucky to have such loyal fans and supporters. We see the store as a sort of sanctuary for alternative ideas to flourish, a place where people can come and not feel marginalized for simply discussing these ideas, or wanting to learn more about them. We try to be a nexus of ideas and activism, where newbies and activists alike can come together in the same place and exchange information and lessons learned.
W: What was the deal I heard about the FBI plot to bomb your store earlier this year? BNB:Well…there was a guy named Brandon Darby who was heavily involved in the anarchist-activism circles here in Austin, and who also did work in New Orleans, who turned out to be an FBI-informant. You may recall the posters up around town saying something like “BEWARE! BRANDON DARBY, FBI INFORMANT RAT LOOSE IN AUSTIN!”; the circles of activists that he was working with were, obviously, pretty pissed, and spread the news of this far and wide. Mr. Darby was, apparently, also planning a fire-bombing for yours truly back in 2006 according to Scott Crow, one of Darby’s fellow activists and cofounder of the activist group Common Ground. Yeah. We were surprised too. What gives further credence
to this is a bit of precedence: Darby was also involved in facilitating the arrest of two individuals up in Minnesota during the RNC in 2008 by encouraging, and helping them make Molotov cocktails to use in some way at the convention; he outed himself the following January, in 2009. Obviously neither fire-bombing ever took place (whew). Scott Crow’s testimony shouldn’t be taken lightly though, as he worked very closely with Darby on a number of projects; Crow even said that he would take his testimony to court, which is a compelling statement to make. For those readers that may be confused as to why the FBI would be paying anarchist activists and attempting to facilitate violent action, we would ask that those readers look up information on the cointel-pro program, agent-provocateurs, operation Mocking Bird, and the long history of activist-group infiltration by “agents” throughout the 60’s and 70’s, and still to this day. For the most recent example of FBI-sponsored pseudo-violence, we would ask all readers to Google former radio-show host Hal Turner. Pretty ridiculous that this stuff is actually going on.
W: What are the biggest sellers at Brave New Books in recent months?
Coninued on the next page . . . .
BRAVE NEW BOOKS INTERIVEW how-to-make-your-own-farm guide.
W: Jack Blood once asked me; “What is it in the Water here in Austin that makes us question authority or rebel against the establishment?” I said I wasn’t sure if it was the water in Barton Springs or the college culture or something else. What say you guys at Brave New Books? BNB:Well…there is fluoride in the water, which isn’t helping anyone’s thinking abilities (it is a neurotoxin, after all). We think a lot of it has to do with the local alternative media, which people can catch at 90.1FM on the radio dial, or on Austin access-TV, as being some of the main reasons that Austin is such an alternative-thinking hub. Jack Blood has had a lot to do with that, Alex Jones too, and everyone that has participated in the local broadcasting. The university culture, in general, is a departure from the typical status-quo mindset, but the radio station has done so much to graduate the city of Austin into a whole new paradigm of understanding of world events and politics. There is also a great local-business culture here in Austin which I think helps make a rich bed for alternative thought. Adding historical perspective:
BNB: It might be a little surprising, but our health and cleaning products are the bestselling. True, some books and DVDs are right at the top alongside, but few perform as consistently as our more general products. Enerfood, a ground-up mish-mash of dozens of types of plants and herbs is our #1-seller, dwarfing any other product we’ve ever sold, people love it! Berkey water filters and Cal Ben soap products also seem to fly off our shelves… The Creature from Jekyll Island, by G. Edward Griffin, is always a top seller; it is usually lauded as the exposé on the Fed because it helps explain the role of central
banking and how economies are built and destroyed by central banks…like the Federal Reserve. Presently, people are more concerned with the economy and are trying to understand why the nation is in its current state, so we’ve seen a surge of interest in Mr. Griffin’s work. We’ve also been getting into gardening lately, and have been lucky enough to catch John Jeavons’ book, How to Grow More Vegetables, which is a fantastic title for anyone that wants to learn a holistic approach to gardening and growing food. A great companion to the Jeavons book is DVD called Food Production Systems for a Backyard or Small Farm, which is a great
he’s here in Austin, broadcasting from his “Central Texas Command Center”. He’s really one of the strongest nodes in the world-wide liberty network, and some people really celebrate the work he does and the message he has. We sell his whole catalog of films, and his broadcast can be heard quite frequently here in the store. By talking about suppressed information so boldly Alex makes it easier for everyone to discuss topics like fluoride in the water, vaccines, Bilderberg, and falseflag terror.
W: What is the Three Biggest Conspiracies in your opinion? And I mean . . . Of all Time? BNB:First off, we think people often use the term “conspiracy theory” as a cognitive dismissal mechanism to immediately discard information, or alternative viewpoints, without actually investigating them and forming their own conclusions.
9/11: the event that continues
to be the foundation of justification for the faux War on Terror and shapes our foreign and domestic policy to this day. Sorry everyone, the official story is simply not true, and no true investigation has taken place (see Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup).
Federal Express.
Business Plot: in 1933,
former Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler was approached by various businessmen (allegedly from Standard Oil, Ford Motors, and Prescott Bush personally (W’s grandfather) amongst others) who promised him the support of thousands troops and the mainstream media as he lead a fascist-coup over FDR. Don’t believe us? The McCormack-Dickstein Congressional committee found Butler’s claims credible (see: Invisible Empire, or Major General Butler’s antiwar classic War is a Racket).
W: Talk about some of the events that you have had or offer there. I understand that you also have music to now. BNB:We’ve had all kinds of events: lectures by the big names like G. Edward Griffin, Jim Marrs, Alex Jones, Woody Tasch, and Michael Tellinger, who will be doing an event this coming Fall. We also have hosted a number of appearances from local activists: John Bush from Texans for Accountable Government, Dan Simon who does a traffic-court-dismissal class, and many more! continued next page . . .
Texas was the only state that was its own independent republic The Federal Reserve: a nonbefore joining transparent, quasithe United States, governmental, unelected cartel of and Austin was banks that control its capitol. So be- our nation’s money supply. The Federal ing independent Reserve act was is in our blood. passed on ChristW: Is Austin Texas prone to conspiracies or are we just more intelligent than other cities? What makes Austin the Conspiracy Capital of the South? BNB:I’d say it has a lot to do with Alex Jones. Everyone knows
mas Eve, in 1913, on a nearly empty Capitol hill; crafted at an elite get-away off the coast of Georgia called Jekyll Island (see The Creature from Jekyll Island). The Fed is as Federal as
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bRAVE nEW bOOKS cONTINUES . . .
BNB: Also, events are usually free, with very few exceptions, so come to as many as you can! And yes, we’re also hosting musical evenings now; we had some great SXSW performances this last year from Sun Araw, Prince Rama, Eternal Tapestry and some others. There should be a lot more indie-greats coming through our venue-space, so look out for a lot more Brave New Music… If anyone is interested in booking anything (bands, lectures, presentations, etc.) write our booking agent at brave.new.jon@gmail.com
W: What is coming up in August and Sept of this year? Any speakers there on Sept 11th? BNB:At the moment: 8/28: BNB 4th Anniversary Birthday bash! 9/12: Michael Tellinger presentation and book signing For August we also might be having a Berkey event, a Food Production Systems event, and another Lucus presentation on Nibiru. We’ll definitely have something for 9/11, probably all-day screenings of some of the myriad of 9/11 documentaries we have. We also have We Are Change Austin meetings every Saturday at 11:30am, Jurisdictionary (a class on legal language and knowing your rights) every Tuesday at 7pm, and TAG (Texans for Accountable Government) Talks every 2nd Monday of every month.
W: How can folks get in touch with you guys or learn more about the bookstore? BNB:Brave New Books is physically located at 1904 Guadalupe St, downstairs; basically on the NW corner of MLK and Guadalupe. We also validate a free hour of parking in the parking garage behind the bookstore, located at 1904 San Antonio Street (since parking downtown is not-so-fun). BraveNewBookStore.com info@bravenewbookstore.com 512.480.2503 brave.new.jon@gmail.com
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W: Final thoughts to Weird Magazine readers?
BNB:We weren’t going to mention it earlier, but it would behoove your readers to know that President Obama is the clone of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Akhenaten; the world’s most elite and wealthy people are alien, reptilian shapeshifters from another dimension; hot dogs come in packages of eight and hot dog buns come in packages of ten, it’s a culinary conspiracy!
Ok, but seriously: we are trying to prevent people from remaining in fear-based mindsets by encouraging them to become more active and start fixing the problems they can help solve, rather than just continually learning new information and staying focused on the message. Getting politically active by getting involved in local issues and elections, where a single person’s efforts are most effective, is a great first step. Applying that same assertiveness to one’s personal life, like growing your own food, can be even more empowering and can really help ease the feelings of hopelessness that often accompany learning some new, terrible conspiracy. This empowerment philosophy is carrying over into some of the products that we stock, some of those being: Food Production Systems (DVD), How to Grow More Vegetables, Power vs. Force, 18 Steps to Win a Local Election, and the classic Be Here Now.
Hits from the Gong with HELIX was amazing, got to listen to those guys for free every night. Twas Phenom! W: Where are you performing in the next few
weeks and in the Summer?
Helix: We play July 13th at Triple Crown with Del Feo. July 29th at Ruta Maya with 6’s and 8’s, and the 31st at Tantra with Are You Crazy? W: Carnival Clowns on Acid, or rugburns on your
knees at aunt Ethel’s trailer?
Helix: Yes. That sounds good. By the way great deal’s at showdown. You can find us there. W: What inspires the band? Or Motivates you guys? Helix: Neal has a leather whip that he cracks when we don’t show up to practice. Other than that, Johnathan Foster’s pants, dancing fans, and a real desire to bring music we enjoy to everyone around us. W: Do you have a favorite venue that you play regu-
larly?
Helix: Triple Crown. They treat us mighty fine, the bartenders are amazing, and they really know how to treat people. We also like to play 2 to 3 songs at a house party before getting kicked out. W: Welcome to Weird Magazine. How goes it? Helix: :It goes how. Just ended our Fourth of July tour. (*Nick never stops playing sax the whole time, and Neal keeps pouring whiskey). W: What up guys? Patrick. Matt and the gang. Tell
us about the Helix Experience
Helix: We’re thinking about calling it Kaleidoscope Groove: a mixture of funk, gypsy, latin, and reggae. If you didn’t come to get down, you are in the wrong place. W: Introduce the Band members and the instru-
ment each perform.
Helix: The Helix experience takes place in a post apocalyptic war torn environment of the Radio Wars, where music has become dominated by corporate interests of control. Our band seeks to release beautiful tones combating this force and seeks escape from Queen Robyn and her ninja brothel cohorts. Neal—Bass player archivist firing heart shaped rockets, discovers the long lost vinyl records and seeks to bring them to the world. Jason—Conga’s player and Neal’s boss seeks council from Hunter S. Thompson, Jim Hendrix, and Jerry Garcia to find a record player.
samurai sword Nick Stegar—(only known as T) plays sax, but is a post apocalyptic war vet with an eye patch and scars with a bandolier of shotgun shells Talley Barnes—(Count BoomBoom) a high stakes gambling addict whose only escape from the clutches of certain death is the sonic boom of the Trombone. Patrick Montgomery—the stoic drumming healer whose magical powers heal Matt after an attack by Robyn. Also, an extraterrestrial who helps people find housing before 2012. W: Sounds trippy and Ska. Name some of the
(Coughs) . . . . So where can folks hear your music online? Helix: (Bryce): I am to blame for that characterization of the music. www.myspace.com/musicbyhelix W: Want to be guests on The Weird Show? Helix: Uhm…hell yeah fuck yeah! (Neal): Can we bring whiskey? W: Chile Con Carne o Arroce con Pollo?
bands influences?y Music That Doesn’t Suck.”
Helix: Los dos.
Helix: Budos Band. Gogol Bordello. Street Light Manifesto. The San Marcos River. Dancing Fans. The Pants! Sex Before Marriage. Tokyo Ska. Happy Minutes. Nomo. Hard Drugs. Augustos Pablo. Mad Caddies. Wide Spread Panic
W: What or Who was the inspiration for the song
W: How long has Helix been playing together? Helix: : We all joined up to help Neal take the archives and release them to the masses to stop the tyranny of oppression in the post war environment in August 2009. Patrick joined our heroes in June
Bryce Gorski (aka Col. Doniphan)—guitar and vox still on a quest for manifest destiny joins the crew with a luchador mask in tow.
W: I understand you just got back recently from a power road trip. How did that go?
Matt Schuster—Guitar/vox pirate radio-smith with a
Helix: : It was a great learning experience getting to play in a bunch of different cities. Touring with Del Feo
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W: Polka Funk! Yea! (Ohh was that outloud)?
Mangos?
Helix: (Neal): I was eating this tropical fruit and was like BAM! Mangos. W: Favorite Beer? Band? Bud? Helix: The beer we drink the most? Lone Star. Live Oak Big Bark, Dog Fish Head. Favorite band as a collective is by far Del Feo. Purp. W: Any final thoughts to Weird Magazine readers
about the band.
Helix: Look for the CD coming soon, as well as the graphic comic of our exploits against radio tyranny. We look forward to seeing you at the shows, come dance
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Shamus The Leprechaun at Shenanigans W: Years Bartending?
Shenanigans Irish Pub
samantha W: AGE? S: 21
S: 6 months W: Your Favorite Night local band? S: blue finger disco (austin tx) and A.O.V (harlingen) W: Best part about working at Shennanigans? S: getting to be around my friends and good people . . . W: Worst part about working at a bar S: to try and reason with a drunk, not so much fun, but sometimes funny. W: Contents of pocket? S: lipgloss, bar key
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W: Your signiture drink and or shot? S: drink acapulco twister ,shot kryptonite W: Favorite Quote of the night? S: beer not just for breakfast anymore. W: Are you single? S: Yeah, I’m single! W: Have you seen Shamus the Leprichan? S: yes! once in the girls restroom stall i saw his buckle shoes with his little pants at his ankles
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THE WEIRD SHOW TAKES OFF! After several shows in the summer season at SMTX.TV THE WEIRD SHOW gets ready to launch a variety of musical guest with a twist of paranormal and conspiracy that are similarly the twisted style of the print version Weird Magazine.
This show is in HD and offers an INTER-ACTIVE experience for viewers with live phone
calls, Video Skype from Guest around the globe & a Chat Room feature online coming soon.
So far on the guest that have been on are all national guestfrom all over the country. Heidi Hollis from Chicago, Jeff Grimshaw from Washington DC, Aaron from Ghostland Observatory Skyped in from his tour. We’ve had Alejandro of Open Minds Magazine Skype in from Phoenix AZ. The show has also taken phone calls from all over the country allready as well. The Ghostland show generated calls from Memphis, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles California. Some of te guest The Weird Show are currently working on
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are Jim Marrs, Stanton Freidman, Comedian Dave Attell, Cassandra Peterson, aka ELVIRA mistress of the dark; Tommy Chong & Cheech Marin will be visiting Via Skype soon to talk about the up-coming tour they are currently on. Jesse Ventura, Dean Haglund and musical guest Moby are
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MRUFO Timothy Green Beckley Interview W: : Welcome to Weird Magazine Tim. For our readers who may not know who you are or the books that you publish, please tell us a little about yourself and your background. TGB: : I have to admit I have had a varied career – so varied that even my girlfriend doesn’t understand what I do for a living. I started reading up on UFOs when I was a mere tyke. There were books by Major Donald E Keyhoe like Flying Saucers From Outer Space, and for the more extreme minded George Adamski’s Flying Saucers Have Landed in which the author actually claims to have met a being from another planet and gone for several rides into space. When I was in the third or fourth grade I had to do a book review. I selected a volume by Gray Barker entitled They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers. This was the first book about the Men in Black who were going around threatening and silencing those researchers who had come too close to the truth about flying saucers. The book gave me the willies. I got a B on my review (a good grade for me). Little did I have any way of knowing that about 8 years down the road Barker was to publish my first book. The Shaver Mystery and the Inner Earth has gone into numerous editions and has been translated into Korean and Japanese. It details the experiences of one Richard Sharpe
Shaver, who says he was held captive below the earth in a vast cavern system by a group of demented beings he identified as the Dero. As an aside, when Barker passed away I purchased the last 50 hard covered copies of They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers. You see, I have been plagued by “coincidences” or synchronicities throughout my career. Some absolutely amazing ones which cannot be superficially explained and which lead me to believe there might be some sort of super intelligence that co exists alongside us in nearby dimensions, unseen realms or whatever you want to call these regions. I can’t say for sure – only give my impressions of what I am prone to believe. Back to my career. I have edited around 30 nationally distributed newsstand magazines with such catchy titles as Front Page Disasters, Future Fantasy, Moped Action. My best known would be UFO Review: The Official UFO Newspaper in the 70s and UFO UNIVERSE and its spin offs which ran for eleven years. I have also been a stringer for the Enquirer and the Globe, promoted rock and roll bands, put on seminars and conferences, and have done a series of horror films under the monocle of Mr. Creepo, with such star studded B movies under my belt as Skin Eating Jungle Vampires, Sandy Hook Lingerie Party Massacre and I even did a
slightly risqué parody of Michael Jackson’s Thriller which was called Driller: It’s a Thriller. It played the last of the drive-ins and a few midnight shows and was the number one adult video for a number of weeks in 1985. It is being re mastered for the first time onto dvd and will be released again around Halloween. One of the highlights of my career was being invited by my friend the 8th Earl of Clancarty to speak before the House of Lord’s private UFO group. W: The first book of yours I read was Psychic & UFO Revelations in the Last Day: What other books have you written, and more recently? TGB: My favorites that I have
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either written or edited would include MJ 12 And The Riddle Of Hangar 18, Mysteries of Mount Shasta, Kahuna Power, Timothy Green Beckley’s Big Book Of Werewolves, Revealing The Bizarre Powers OF Harry Houdini, The American Indian UFO-Stardeed Connection and, just out, Secrets Of Death Valley: Mysteries and Haunts Of The Mojave Desert and Disclosure: Breaking Through The Barrier Of Global UFO Secrecy. Amazon.com lists 215 books that we’ve published and I have had a hand in most of them. We have the works of T. Lobsang Rampa, whose best selling The Third Eye was a ground breaker in that it was written by a British plumber who was the first publicly acknowledged “Walk In,” whose spirit and body was taken over by a Tibetan lama who was a great mystic. We have also published books by the late John Keel, the fabulous Brad Steiger, Sean Casteel, Tim Swartz and the always mysterious Commander X a former military intelligence operative. I have also written several books on rock music, and am mentioned in a book just penned by David Bowie on his interest in UFOs and witchcraft, as well as an entire chapter in a book by Curtis Knight the original bass player in Jimi Hendrix’s first band The Squires. Oh shit – I almost forgot my all time favorite. The UFO Silencers: Mystery of the Men In Black. More on that a bit later. W: How did you begin this
journey into the Paranormal and Conspiracy? TGB: Going back to when I was three, my parents were driving down to see their folks in Kentucky and I was in the back seat all the way. As my mom told it, somewhere after nightfall they encountered a fairly thick fog bank. My dad wanted to continue driving. My mother said to stop immediately. He did! When the sun came up and the haze parted they realized that they were clearly on the edge of an embankment. Another couple of feet and I would have been food for the buzzards instead of the other way around. At the age of ten I had my first of three UFO sightings. It was a warm summer evening and we were sitting on the stoop when someone pointed out a bright light across the street over an abandoned factory building and a second directly overhead. These things – these lights, these objects -- circled overhead for quite a while, then the one across the street vanished as if someone had pulled a light switch. The authorities said they were weather balloons. Not! To me, they seemed to to be more or less under intelligent control. I also had a couple of out of body experiences. Went out and purchased a mimeograph machine at the age of 15 and started publishing the Interplanetary News Service Report. Built it up to 1500 subscribers.
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MRUFO Timothy Green Beckley Photo Credits by Charla Gene
DAWN OF THE NEW MILLENNIA
Did all the work myself. . .pretty much like today. Eventually, I Sold the publication to Jim Moseley who combined it with his Saucer News. And when he folded the magazine, around that time I started one of the first metaphysical groups in the country, the New York School of Occult Arts and Sciences. I also made a name among members of the media who called me frequently to do guest spots on the Comedy Channel, the Regis Philbin Show, Out And About In LA, Fox’s Mid Day Live, as well as radio talk shows hosted by the likes of paranormal pioneer Long John Nebel, the man of a million words Barry Farber, mind control victim Candy Jones, and more recently Kevin Smith, the Paracast and George Noory on Coast to Coast Am. So I guess you can say I’m generally very busy. W: I’m always hearing about weird stuff going on
at Mt. Shasta in California. Are there really blue alien beings that dwell inside the mountain as I have often heard over the years? TGB : There are certain spots, certain areas, some of them very sacred or spiritual going back hundreds of years when only Native Americans walked the plains and mountainous regions of the land, where the strange and unexplainable happened more than anywhere else. Mount Shasta in northern California would be one such locale. The mountain reaches far up into the sky, and the higher up you go the spookier things get. There is even said to be an entrance to a vast underground city inhabited by peace loving people who live extended lives and communicate telepathically with those advance souls living on the surface. I don’t know if these folks are blue or not. There have been so many reports of UFOs around Mount Shasta that you can’t rule anything out. Count Saint Germain the man who lives forever can be found wandering around the timber line from time to time and a musician friend, Blue Ocean who is a native American, says he has heard the shouts of Bigfoot or other mysterious creature. His and other fascinating speculative accounts can be found in my book Mysteries of Mount Shasta: Home Of The Underground Dwellers And Ancient Gods. W: Your Favorite Book or story you have heard in the last 40 years? TGB : There are just so many that it’s hard to know where to begin. UFO wise I like the experience of Carl Higdon who was out Elk hunting in the wilds of Wyoming when he saw a square shaped device in a glade alongside a short being who had hair like a punk rocker. When he tried to shoot an Elk the bullet came out in slow motion and hit a force field twisting it almost inside out. This bullet was part of the impressive evidence available to
prove the legitimacy of the case. Eventually, Mr. Higdon found himself inside the craft. It seems like maybe he teleported aboard as he doesn’t remember walking onboard. Not only were there several of these strange beings inside, but also several of the Elk he was hunting who were being kept in a separate compartment. They took him to some “other place” maybe another world, maybe deep inside earth. Who the hell knows? He was given a medical examine and looking out the window of some tower he said he saw people milling around down below on the “street”, including earthlings who were mixed in with the aliens. When he was returned to earth his pickup truck had to be pulled out of a marshy area by the police tow truck because it was impossible to drive or steer by itself because of the location it had ended up in. The police said he couldn’t have possibly driven it back where the vehicle was found because there were no tire marks and no roads. It had to be teleported maybe. Taken to the hospital and examined and x rayed, it was later discovered that a long standing scar on Carl Higdon’s lung had vanished. Very substantial verification in my eyes. I also like some of the spook lights where they keep appearing in the same spot for years and years. Like the Marfa Lights down your way, where these strange globes and flashing lights sometimes get so close it looks like they might crawl up your butt. My buddy Joshua Warren who is a frequent guest on Coast to Coast AM and has his own show Speaking Of Strange on WWNC AM in Ashville, NC every Saturday evening is the local “go to” guy on the Brown Mountain Lights. He’s actually taking video footage which the experts on the National Geographic Channel couldn’t even explain. The legends of these lights go back to the early days of the American Indian tribes in the area. I myself spoke to witnesses who saw the objects come out of the ground and approach, but when the witnesses tried to “close in” for a better look the objects would vanish and reappear in back of them. Similar spook lights can be found in Washington State, Norway and are often seen before natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. My book Our Alien Planet: This Eerie Earth describes the terrestrial origins for some UFOs. But they are not mundane objects – these spook or ghost lights are highly intelligent and can have amazing powers of mesmerizing mind control. I also am hooked into synchronicity that goes beyond any sort of coincidence. For example, once I was giving a lecture for a group in San Francisco and we were having brunch at a place we picked at random before getting back on the plane to return home. While waiting for our Bloody Maries I happened to mention that I should have called a couple of friends who had once lived in NYC but had moved to the City by the Bay. I mentioned this one guy in particular who was a psychic and a friend. Allan Vaughn had given classes at our School of Occult Arts and Science, but had moved to become editor of a journal on parapsychology. Five minutes after I mentioned his name he walked through the front door of the same restaurant – where he had never been before. We had a good laugh and I asked him what he was working on in addition to editing the magazine. It turns out he was finishing up on a book about synchronicity and if you can find the paperback our chance meeting in a San Francisco pub is a case study in the book. I have had some pretty far out coincidences which just can’t be accounted for. But what does it mean? Hell if I know!
W:With all the strife and hardship facing our geo-political climate as a species Tim, will the human race make it? TGB : TGB: I would think so, though we are going through a lot of shit now. There are some forces it would seem who would like to see this rock we reside on blown into a thousand pieces; though for what gain is hard to say. You can’t be rich or powerful if you are dead. Though there is a feeling fostered by such offbeat books and movies like Alternative Three and Iron Mountain, that maintains that the elite on our planet are planning to speed off into outer space or escape to massive underground bunkers. There is a prevailing attitude of screw you in favor of me that seems to be everywhere among all classes and groups. But one thing I know, I DON’T believe in the end of the world arriving on December 21, 2012 or the incoming collision of Planet X. We can all have a long tall one on the date in question as absolutely nothing will happen that will be earthshaking. There are always those willing to predict doom and gloom. Many religions are based on the End of the World philosophy and every New Ager is waiting for the three days of utter darkness and the arrival of the Space Brothers. My last dollar says the sun will rise and fall on the date in question without anything dramatic happening. I take that back…on any given day there is bound to be something you would like to forget about. . . W: Have you heard of the theory of Non-Interference by Extra-Terrestrials right? TGB : I know about the closing ET segment at the Olympic Games. A lot of rock shows have saucers as part of their backdrop. Jim Dilettoso out of Phoenix has worked with bands like Electric Light Orchestra who one toured with a huge flying saucer prop . I saw the deflated version after the tour was over in Jim’s yard. UFOs are always a great way to draw attention from a crowd. There could be something negative here to contemplate overall. But some people just want to put a spin on things to jerk other people off without offering any evidence to support their claims. Sure I know Norio. He is a friend. He has done some tremendous work recently on the weird phenomenon going on in Dulce, New Mexico. Supposedly, there was an ongoing hand to hand battle in
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MRUFO Timothy Green Beckley DAWN OF THE NEW MILLENNIA
Glenmont, NY the man disappeared! Just blinked out. GONE. This really got me going, so I went online to see what it said about the cemetery, and lo and behold the cemetery is haunted by vanishing black vehicles, mysterious men in black, a big black dog and a couple who fly over the headstones at dusk in their pajamas! Two weeks later, still thinking about this and quite excited by it, I went to the Delmar Plaza with my mother to a dollar store.
the underground chambers between grays and our own military troops at Dulce, located on an isolated Indian reservation in New Mexico. Some say on level seven of this underground base the ETs are creating hybrids in tanks. Ugly stuff. Norio puts a different spin on the situation in Dulce espousing the theory that the government is trying to cover up some toxic tests involving the locals and trying to place the blame on any poisonings or disappearances on aliens rather than to admit the involvement of the military. We recently put all the evidence together in an exclusive work titled Underground Alien Bio Lab At Dulce which includes the Secret Papers of Paul Bennewitz, who maintained until his death that he knew about the skullduggery at Dulce, which he blamed on extraterrestrials holding forth inside the mountains outside the town. Some say the government tried to set him up to look ludicrous when he produced a series of photos purported to show space ships streaking into the mountain through movable doors. W:You took a picture
with Jim Mosley of a Man In Black back in the 1960’s. John Keel made popular the term “men in black” to describe the mysterious figures said to harass
UFO witness.
Are there still MIB’s out there today ? TGB: There sure and the hell are. I am putting together a new offering to update my classic UFO Silencers: The Mystery Of The Men In Black. I am calling it UFO Terrorists: Return of the MIB. Here is a typical example of an MIB encounter that was sent to me after my appearance on the UFO Hunters: The Silencers episode where I showed the photo of the MIB Moseley and I took for the first time on national television. INSERT: Mr. Beckley: Long ago I bought your book, UFO Silencers, which I still have. I’ve always been hugely interested in the MIB and it always made my skin crawl to think these things are out there. About six months ago my friend Linda visited Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, NY, supposedly haunted. She drove her car up a hill, the cemetery is a massive city of the dead, with many twisting and turning roads, large mausoleums and shadowy areas, very scary! Anyway, she went over there to go on a historical tour. It contains the bodies of Pres. Chester Arthur, illustrious Albany, NY historical figures like mayors and governors and Charles Fort! I need not explain to you who that was. Up the hill she went and around a curve. She stopped. The day was a very nice one, sunny and warm, but those little milk weeds were
blowing in the air and her car was covered with them from the field next to the grave yard. She had the windows down and if anyone was approaching she would have heard. The roads are gravel and the sound of tires coming up the hill would have been heard. As she pulled over to stop, she was astounded by a MASSIVE black SUV, almost looked military like, so close behind her it could have parked in her rear seat! NO milk weed was on the car, but it was shiny and new looking, like they had just pulled out of the showroom. She didn’t hear a thing, it made no sound at all.
As I got back in the car we noticed a really big black SUV next to us. I joked that it must be the vechicle Linda saw, only the windows were down and it looked pretty normal inside. BUT around from the back came this creepy little man ALL IN BLACK.
Linda, who is a fan of the unknown, like me very slowly put the car in forward and crept forward, waiting to see if the SUV would follow. The windows were completely black and she had a very strange feeling from the thing. It didn’t go after her, but backed up and Linda watched it go down one of the side roads that would take you back to the main entrance on Broadway.
He looked like that picture you have in your book only he had a black leather cap on, short sleeved black shirt that looked brand new, black pants, black shoes and black sox and black glasses. As I watched him he walked in front of our car and very deliberately turned slowly and looked at me with a smile that was a kind of knowing smile like, “Yes, here I am”. I really believe it was an MIB. I should have followed him or waited to see where he went but we left.
She followed it! ONLY THERE WAS NO ROAD WHERE THE SUV DISAPPEARED INTO, only a chain link fence!!! She went back down the hill the way she came in and the thing was parked next to the office in the middle of the road, “like they were waiting for me.” She slowly pulled up next to it and saw a man all in black, strange looking, standing next to the drivers’ window like he was talking. Only the window was up. Linda gunned the car, watching all the time in the rear mirror and
My niece lives in an apt. building with one of the caretakers at the cemetery and he confirmed that he’s heard all the stories, but has never actually seen anything himself. Anyway, that’s my story, and it’s all true, Mr. Beckley. Just wanted to let you know the MIB are still active in the Albany, New York area. Claudia Cunningham,
W: The Shaver material and
the DERO seems to be a hot topic in Paranormal lore. Anything new come to light on this subject? TGB: Here is something most people might not realize. It’s that even though the extraterrestrial origin for UFOs gets the most attention in the national media like on the Larry King Show, there are two other theories that appear to be more popular among those who order the literature we publish – and we run the gamete of possibilities in our work. One explanation is that UFOs come from somewhere here on earth. I am not talking about a secret government project, but are either piloted by an underground or an undersea race…or maybe some group that that developed right along side of us who would rather keep their existence to themselves for fear we would corrupt their society like we have messed up our own. They may be invisible to us or maybe they are like shape shifters who can take on different forms. Another theory is that some of the craft were actually developed by Nazi engineers and . . .
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Tim Beckley Interview scientists who were treated like royalty and brought over to America on a red carpet after the war to work on our early rocketry program. Better to think that a crashed saucer at Roswell is piloted by little gray beings with six fingers who are under four feet tall, than to acknowledge our complicity with Nazi scientists. Those with their head in the sand should Google Project Paperclip. Some of these good ole heil Hitler clones were ultimately escorted to what became Area 51. These Nazis might have developed their own propulsion system out of step with our own solid rocket fuels. But don’t worry friends of ET – some UFOs could still be from outer space. I never discount anything out of hand, especially when it comes to UFOs. W: Ray Palmer co founded
FATE Magazine and Amazing Stories. As a Publisher yourself, is there a lack of Pulp publishing these days on esoteric subject matter or is it growing? I like to call it “Fringe Publishing” that I do here at Weird Magazine. Expand on 21st Century Publishing of all things odd or weird. TGB: : Honestly, I would have to say there is a lack of quality as far as publishing in general goes. Many marvelous publications have hit the skips in the last couple of years. The internet has its good points, but a lot of the material especially in this field is very repetitive. You go to most of the sites and they are just rehashing the same material everyone else has. Every week it’s the same ten stories making the rounds. Lack of originality could easily prevail and to be perfectly honest since good writers aren’t as a rule getting paid these days, the really good writers will have to find something else to do for a living. They could unwillingly be leaving the writing profession to those who might be just a bit below average in
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their capability to tell a decent tale – fact or fiction. How do you get compensated for your work on the internet? Not very easy with the sharing of information. I cannot possibly be happy with this trend and I don’t think a lot of professional writers who have to feed their families are either. W: 3 Biggest Conspiracies
of All Time?
TGB: :Topping off the list would be the lack of UFO disclosure! Then the Lincoln and Kennedy Assassinations. . . especially when you include the list of synchronicities involved in both incidents. Wow weee! Oh yeah another favorite of mine is the notion that we are running out of oil in the ground and that our fuel comes from fossils. To me that’s akin to telling someone to believe in Santa Clause. Listen to any of the video talks by Lindsey Williams and you will quickly agree that this concept of where energy comes from is totally, totally, bogus.
The powers that be just spoon feed us crap from the day we are born. The government is in the hands of Big Oil and Big Business these days. Even President Eisenhower warned about this on the last days of his administration. W: What are your thoughts
on 911 and the Controlled Demolition conspiracy?
TGB: 911 freaks me out. I am almost afraid to talk about this because it stirs up such a can of worms.
It boggles the mind to think that our own government could have a hand in this terrific disaster. How could they do this to their own people? But I remember the killing that went on at Kent State during the 60s so nothing should phase any of us. I don’t know much about the demolition of buildings . But here is something I do know about. I was editor of a magazine called Front Page Disasters and part of my job was to go through photographs obtained from the various wire services of airline accidents. Planes that exploded in mid air. Planes that were shot out of the sky. There were always body parts on the ground and even sticking out of trees for miles around. Flesh could usually be seen everywhere. Debris covered the ground, the tops of roofs , it could be seen absolutely everywhere . No matter how high the intensity of the explosion or the heat caused by the crash the flesh did not dissolve like it seemingly did when Flight 93 fell from the sky in rural Pennsylvania. Something is amiss here. There is nothing but a hole in the ground. I just watched some footage of the crash posted on You Tube, and everyone Fox News interviewed
admitted they did not see very much in the way of either wreckage and no body parts. I am not making this up. Do your own research if you don’t believe what I am saying. Also it seems to me to be highly unlikely that all those phone calls could come from the downed airplanes before they crashed. Most of the calls were as clear as a bell. Normally, you can’t even get through to anyone if you are calling from your seat by way of one of the phones that the airlines provide, the ones you have to swipe your credit card in that are lodged in the back of the seat in front of you. They hardly ever work, much less during an emergency. And a cell phone from 30,000 feet seems even more unlikely. But you have to shut off your phone, so you might be arrested if you try to experiment and call someone on the ground to test the validity of the claim. W: Tim how can readers get in touch with you online to read your books? Also, how many books have you authored or cowritten? TGB: Amazon lists 210 titles from Inner Light/Global Communications my book publishing arm. Most of them I’ve had a hand in. Even when the books are not ones I have written or authored, I still have a heavy hand in their completion. I usually come up with the title and the back cover blurbs, as well as cranking out the ads that appear in the publications we advertise in. Other than that, I would say my name appears as author, co-author or editor on about half of the printer works.
Other authors would include
Tim Swartz, Sean Casteel, Commander X, T Lobsang Rampa, Brad Steiger, John Keel and reprints of classics by the likes of George Adamski, George Hunt Williamson, Orfeo Angelucci, these would be among the most famous early UFO contactees. As far as getting in touch with me – I sure in the hell am easy to find. Anyone wanting to get a free subscription to our two publications – the Conspiracy Journal and Bizarre Bazaar need only drop me a line at MRUFO8@hotmail.com and we will take care of the rest. We have a printed version, a pdf version and a weekly newsletter. And if you mention WEIRD I’ll even mail you a free dvd as we have dozens of inexpensive videos in addition to all the books we publish. If you’re into the weird, we have just about anything you might need for your research. Our mailing address for those without a computer is Global Communications, Box 753, New Brunswick, NJ 08903 And for God sake keep looking up!
Ghostland Observatory Interview Russell Interviewd Aaron Behrens of Ghostland Observatory recently on June 23rd on the The Weird Show and took phone calls. See the Show online at WWW.SMTX.TV
W: What type of equipment does Thomas use to get the sound that makes up Ghostland Observatory? GO: He’s got all kinds of crazy stuff man, alot of it is top secret matierial we’ve stolen from Area 51. You know we got top black ops secret clearence for that thing. It’s alot of crazy analog synthesizers, modulators, frequency benders, and he is very comfortable in that place. He really is the electronic octopus of our sound. W: Well where is Thomas I see he couldn’t be apart of this interview. Is he in outer space right now ? GO:Yeah someone has to man the Observatory when one of us is gone. So he’s up there right now pullng levers and letting steam out now and all that stuff. W: Tell us how the name came to be Ghostland Observatory? GO: Honestly at the time I had a friend that worked for the Church of the Friendly Ghost, it’s a really cool art space in Austin and he wanted us to do this music for this play by August Strindberg called Ghost Sonata so alot of references to ghost there and then National Geographic just came out with it’s Hubble Telecscope pictures and stuff like that. So it really just kind of ran together in my brain at work one day and Ghostland Observatory just popped in my head there and it really just came together well. I was using the restroom, which is a wonderfull place to think, and I came running out and everything and I was jusy like Wow this is it!
W: Welcome to Weird Magazine & The Weird Show.
But Thomas and I are both into this strange supernatural mysteries, I’ve always been into this every since i was a kid. I love this stuff!
GO: Hey No Problem at all glad to be here! I like it, I’m being schooled in all this new technology! Really Cool!
W: Where did the name of the new CD come from? Codename Rondo.
W: Describe the Music of Ghostland Observatory for me Aaron? GO: It’s definitaly part of the moment wherver we are mentally, metaphtsically,metabolically, whatever you want to call it. We pretty much create albumns whereever we are at the time in space. We dont really ever plan anything too much, you know Thomas is really heavily electroniclly influent in the electronic as well. I bring to the table my influences of Jimi Hendrix, Queen James Brown, Prince, RATM, Deftones, I love all those guys, you know so, we get into all kinds of styles of spectrams of showmanship and agressivness. W: Speaking of Showmanship you really go all out there when you on stage. Where does that come from? GO:Well Its defintly the most comfertable I ever am in my life, is when i’m on stage. I feel a very presence and power above and around me. It’s where I love and want to be.
GO: Honestly I have no idea where that came from? It was one of the long late nights while writing interesting music for the new albumn , heavy doses of caffine and dark rooms with red lights, and it seeeped into my brain somewhere in there. I cant really tell you how it popped in there bit it did. So, everything is always a mystery with us Russell, you know that. W: Name some of your musical influences? GO:Ohh man I grew up, my Mom was kicking around Bruce Springsteen, Dad playing Led Zepp, Cheech & Chong on 8 Track which was really cool too. James Brown, JB was a big influece, Prince Purple Rain was a huge influence on my life. Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard everybody that’s got soul and grit to what they do. And that working man ethic, you know I love the people who sweat on stage! Thats what i like to see and thats what I like to do. W: It really shows in your performance, you really
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feed off the crown too right? GO: Ohh dude yeah. It’s definatly a give and take relationship. I give a super amount of energy when we are practicing, but it’s on another level when the crowd is giving it back and it’s definityl a ping pong affect when performing live so yeah! W: Well we had fun checking you guys out live at the Whitewater Amphitheatre on July 16th & 17th in New Braunfels TX. What can readers expect from a Ghostland Observatory show ? GO: You can expect some top notch entertainment you know at every show; you’ll get your money’s worth, you going to sweat, your going to loose a couple of pounds, you gonna feel good about yourself, and you’ll feel better about your life when you leave, your whole life is going to change honestyl! We’re going to be bringing new tunes off the new album which is wonderfull and you know it will just be a breath of fresh air to people. W: Where are you guys from originally inknow the band is out of Austin? GO : I’m origonally from the gateway of the Hill Country from a little place called San Saba Texas! Thomas is from the gateway of Texas ranks from the hierarchy of the desert which is Fort Stockton Texas. W: (Laughs). . . Very cool. Where did Thomas and you The Dynamic Duo of sound meet up to form the band?
Ghostland Observatory Interview GO: Actually it’s funny, we met through the papers of the Austin Chronicle. I was playing with another band called The Waking Helix and we were looking for a SoundScapist and we got a SoundRapist instead . . . (Both Laugh). . . . W: Sound Rapist? I like that one. GO:We got him instead and you know me and him made really good friends and we both shared the desire to push musical limits to create somthing tangible and yet able to still take people “Out There”. W: Well I think out there is an understament. Where do you come up with the inspiration for some of these songs because the music is psychadelic? Describe the song writing process. GO: Well it’s a mutual thing really, there is no plan or anything like that. You know he will come up with some sounds playing with a loop or doing something and then i’ll kinda catch onto that. I really feed well off of him, and we kind of inspire each other type of thing. Thomas really builds these great walls of sound that is refered to as Psychadelic and I love you refer to it as Psychadelic because that’s what we believe it as. It’s not just electronic dance music but also a new wave of Psychadeic music as well. W: Does the music come from inspiration from anything other than coffee? LOL GO: I have bought the ticket and I have taken the Ride!
Well i get recognized alot more for things than I used to. And it’s for better things too, you know i used to get recognized by the police alot, but now i get recognized but Civilians. so It’s THE GOOD KIND now! W: Talk about your tour. GO: We’ve played all over man. We just did the Whitewater show we got one coming up in Detroit soon. It’s alot of fun performing for all of our GLOW HEADS out there! All of Texas, Oklahoma, Midwest, all the major cities in ht US, a Dirty South tour, I cant name em all. I’m not that great at geography, Laughs . . . If they are big cities or small venues we will be there, we plan to dominate the US this year! W: How has any bit of your life changed with the success if any? GO: Well i get recognized alot more for things than I used
to. And it’s for better things too, you know i used to get recognized by the police alot, but now i get recognized but Civilians. so It’s THE GOOD KIND now! W:Any weird stories out there on the road traveling? You can devulge all things strange here in WEIRD MAGAZINE. GO Well we were in Oregon one time and I was half asleep and we were driving in the middle of the night and I wake up to Thomas he’s driving and he called in to Coast to Coast AM I think, and he called in on the show and talked to this real strange seductive oriental sounding lady creature The Dragon Lady. So she was playing this strange music, but Thomas had the radio on still and there was this feedback, and then all this echo wild sounds started coming back out of the radio, and I woke up to Thomas screaming into the phone to make the sound go even more louder and I freaked out hearing him scream into the radio like that, plus we were nearly going off the raod at the time! But there are alot of WEIRD things that happen on stage every night we do a show. W: What is trashy moded? GO: Wells that is our Record Label and you know that’s Thomas’ baby and since we are INDEPENDENT you know the Trashy Moped site is where you can find out all things Ghostland and what we are up to manning the Observatory from Space. So check out GhostlandObservatory.com orTrashymoped.com for more on what we are doing next. Also, there are some strange things appear-
ing for people that want to just look at weird, strange things. (LOL) W: Do you guys have a favorite place to play in Austin? GO: Stubbs is great but you know we play everywhere man, I dig Flamingo Cantina, Red Eyed Fly, Redrum when it was still going down on 6th street, Mohawk, we played so many cool little places in Austin, but I just dig the vibe there in town, I dig music and I dig expression, so anywhere is good for me man, we got all the fixings, all we need is a place to cook!
I dig music and I dig artistic expresssion, so anywhere is good for me man, we got all the fixings, all we need is a place to Cook! You can View the Interview online at WWW.SMTX.TV The just look for The Weird Show and play the Archive file. Thanks and Enjoy! Ghostland will return to The Weird Show soon . . . . So stay tuned!
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The Organics INTERVIEW
Texas Hip Hop Evolve - The Word Nerd Interview By Leo Krayola Texas Hip Hop Evolve - The Word Nerd Fwd by www.DJBookclub.com Evolve is not Just Another Face In The Crowd on his second independant release which is a visual soundscape of beats. Classy and unique are the first two words that come to mind when trying to pin point the wide variety of influences and styles combined seamlessly for this Boom Bap Masterpiece. Donna Texas native Sergio Hernandez aka Evolve told us he started trying different directions, production styles and working with different subject matters which is evident in songs like ‘Chemical Reaction’ and ‘Flow Unorthodox’. The lyrics to Chemical Reaction can be defined as post-apocalyptic hip hop talking about unearthing new species and subterrainian dwellers, it will rap around your
brain and will do it with ease. But don’t think he’s stayed off the streets this man is made from scratch he is hip hop’s Frankenstien with praise for ‘Culture Kings’ and a distaste for ‘Deception’, stand out tracks include the boom-bap ballad ‘Zion’s Theme’ (Always Coming Home)’ and my favorite ‘Some People’ “ We’re all people we all make mistakes, see life in a different way, need different things and go our own seperate ways”
W: How old were you when you get involved in Hip Hop/music and what music inspired you growing up? Evolve : Hip Hop has always been a part of my life .I was about 8 yrs old when my parents bought me my first boom box and 2 tapes(fat boys and run dmc)from then on i was an addict.some of my influences
early on were public enemy, krs one ,de la soul, and then my taste shifted to atmosphere,mf doom,shapeshifters,wu-tang, rage against the machine, radio head, local h and the list goes on .
W: Tell us about the production of this cd, I see UK, Italy, Norway, Germany, etc etc how did this come about? Evolve:Most of the production on the new album is global. This came about from producers hitting me up interested in working on something with me cause they heard some of my music on myspace or whatever. I told them that i was working on a new album and with out asking for them to contribute these cats just hit me with some of the illest beats they had ,so i got busy penning the new L P.
W: This cd came with a b-sides cd right ?
Evolve : Evolve- the b-sides cd is basically all the leftovers from the recording process.not to say the songs aren’t good ,but i felt like those tracks on b-sides wouldn’t fit the albums direction.so i decided to compile them and put it out as a bonus cd. it’s all new music ,so i didn’t want it to just sit there and collect dust.
W: Where can someone check out your music online & buy it locally? Evolve :Visit some of my music out @www.myspace. com/evolve1980 . if you wanna purchase my music you can get it @ havok records in mcallen, waterloo records in austin, it’ll be available for digital download on itunes next month! or get it from me directly .
W: Tell us about the future of Evolve, upcoming shows, tours, etc ? Evolve :You can catch me & dj myke nyse live @ mezzanine downtown on jul. 27th, and house of rock in corpus on aug. 20th . theres more shows coming up ,were just working on details,oh and i’m also releasing a 12” vinyl e.p @ the end of july. shout out to my wife tina ,my baby boys tage and zion, daddy j fez, myke nyse, illfisto and everybody that supports what we do. we truly appreciate it,and thanks to Weird Magazine I’ve been a fan for years. What up Russ?.
I was about 8 years old when my parents bought me my first boom box and 2 tapes(fat boys and run dmc)from then on i was an addict.some of my influences early on were public enemy, krs one ,de la soul, .myspace.com/evolve1980
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Skateboards Transportation or Toy? in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle or similar device to go upon any public street, except while crossing a street in a crosswalk.
(code 1970, SS 29-11) What is the Deal? As we understand this code IT IS ONLY
LEGAL TO SKATE WITHIN A CROSSWALK? WTF?
This means it is ok for you to enter into a crosswalk with a skateboard but not anywhere else on public streets in San Marcos. Correct? Assistant City Attorny Sam Agurrie office has been contacted several times for comment on this matter but as of print deadline no calls have been returned to Weird Magazine. The next issue is how the City of San Marcos classifies skatboards. According to the code skateboards fall under to catagory of a coaStEr/ toyvEhicLE. We believe that skateboards are a legitimate mode of transportation and should fall under regular vehicular laws. You’ve seen the signs all over town and mainly in the Downtown Business Disctrict of San Marcos, and if you get caught skateboarding you will be ticketed and pay a fine. But where does this apply? Is it all of San Marcos? Can you skate on the Street in front of your house? Code for the CBA (central Business Area). Sec 82.269 Riding on Sidwalks:
(Sec 82.269 Riding on Sidewalks)
(a) It is unlawful for a person to ride a bicycle, adult-sized tricycle, roller skates, in line skates, skateboard or any similar device or vehicle on any sidewalk within the CBA Central Business Area zoning district. Peace officers and park rangers are excempt from these ules to the extent these rules conflict with the discharge of their official duties. We decided to talk to local Skateshop Owner on this Issue.
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“I understand why we are not permitted to skate on the sidewalks, because it can deter the flFlow of business and affect the safety of pedistrians. What I would like to see happen is to have skateboards legal in the streets and required to follow normal traffIc laws” Cody Hobbs Texas Skate Boards & Apparel. Does it apply only to the Business District? Or everywhere? Enter the Second Code: Sec. 82. 004 Use of Skates, Coasters or Toy Vehicles on streets.
It is unlawful for a person apon roller skates, in-line skates, a skateboard or riding
Why is it illegal to skateboard is our question? Have there been high numbers of traffic accidents related to skatboarding to justify this law?
Why have skateboards been singled out, while mopeds and bicycles are allowed to folllow regular traffic laws? Are unicylces also considered a toy? Do they get ticketed under this law? The bottom line is that the City of San Marcos has built a public skate park to promote skateboarding in the community, but by law, we are not even allowed to skateboard to the facilities!
Skateboarding is a multi-million dollar enterprise nationwide and has a huge influence on San Marcos culture. Will the City embrace this lifestyle?
$KATE CULTURE REVENUE’ IN TOWN: Texas Skate Shop, Rukus Boardshop, Vans Outlet, Zumies Outlet, Pac-Sun, Hot Topic, are just a few stores locally that embrace skater lifestyle.