This event is finally HERE! It's on Sunday. On Encina street in Visalia, next to the Fox Theater (off Main St) The street will be closed off from 2:00-10:00 for a great cause and fun FUN fun! So please put it on your calendars and plan on showing up. It’s a great cause and besides .. it will be tons of FUN. Did I mention FUN?
It's going to be an awesome event! Different style bands are playing from Reggae to Punk, to Latin Soul... The flyer attached was the original flyer sent out. More bands of different types of music have been added since. Plan on dancing the evening away from 6:00- 10:00 with Mezcal and Grupo Califas. Rock the day away with a bunch of other awesome local bands!
There will be art on display, donated art for sale, the raffle donations are turning out to be awesome AWESOME! ( I won't tell you what they are ... you just GO and find out for yourself)
Please forward this email to everyone in the Central Valley that is on your friends list. You may not be interested... and you might think your friends won't be either but if even just ONE of your friends shows up... that's one more person that would have known about it if you didn't repost! I’ve heard a few of these bands perform through their myspace profiles, and believe me… there is something for EVERYONE! You’ll feel like you’re at some cool trendy beach town’s farmers market…. With tons of food booths! ART! Raffles! FUN!
This wire just in... *'Credible threat' closes Delano schools *Posted 3/30/07 *BAKERSFIELD - *Hundreds of parents are removing their children from Delano schools at this hour as rumors sweep the city that Los Angeles area gangs are planning violence aimed at Delano.
There have been no reports of violence, but students are being released from school early -- except students who walk home and who are wearing red or blue clothing. They will not be allowed to walk home today because of the possibility that those colors might be mistaken for a gang statement.
''The Delano Police Department received what is believed to be a credible threat of violence directed toward our schools. Information was received by way of e-mail that southern gang members from Los Angeles were coming to Delano to shoot at schools,'' according to a report being released by Delano police.
''This is supposedly in retaliation regarding a MySpace Web page notice from Northern gang members to unite in certain areas of their cites to honor Cesar Chavez,'' the report said.
Channel 17 and TeleMundo Channel 11 have crews in Delano and will have a full report this afternoon.
Now I know Jason Sperber is looking up Bakersfield blogs to write about. But now there's one less. Heath Dobbler of the band, The In-Denials has hung up his blogger belt.
Why? Is he dead? No, just his blog. Ahh farewell, farewell...
I have no idea why he truly ended Dobbler's Drunk Corner, and whatever he says he's full of shit. It was a great blog, one people loved to hate. We had great battles. I even had great battles with local punks on it...
Ahh farewell, farewell...
And then there was the political rants, the Steeler fan blogs, and all the punk talk.
And now it's gone.
OK, Heath did write:
Just wanted to let you know I pulled the plug on the O'l blog page today. I'm trying to lighten some of this creative hobby load, so that I'm not so scatterbrained with countless projects all of the time. Not that I was ever truly guilty of spending too much time on the page, but my energy is better wasted on other things right now. Keep fighting the good fight with your own page, and I'm sorry for all of the unfair competition my page was causing yours (hahaha). Maybe I'll write some shit from time to time and use your portal as my bulletin board.
And just so you know. He's not dead. He wasn't even dying. Hell, we all spend too much time on the blogs...
Ah farewell, farewell...it's still a death of sorts. Although future historians won't be able to pull from his wittiness. Heath's reply?
...future historians can meet me at a bar somewhere.
My final eulogy? Ah farewell, farewell... I must ponder Heath's final words on his blog:
Aliens. If for one second any of us truly believe that were the only form of thinkable civilization in this universe, then we are pretty small minded as a whole. As fucked up as we are, there has to be an existence somewhere to compensate for balance... it's universal law.
I'm going to bed.
And Heath? I can hear him now. His words strong through his typing with those big stubby fingers of his:
I'm going out for ketchup, who's coming with me...
Could this be Sarah Thyre without her dashing blonde wig?
Sarah Thyre is an actress/writer from the deep South, practically from the bayou itself. She's appeared on Conan O'Brien and has just released her first book, Dark at the Roots. It's the story of a kid you might not trust, living life to the fullest in the throngs of dysfunctionality. For some reason I gravitated more to Thyre's depiction of her own youthful years: unpredictable, hilarious, and sympathetic. I found myself reading portions out loud on a road trip to L.A., mesmerizing the driver and crew with a particularly crazy scene regarding a cat and an ice cooler. Thyre's teen years read a bit like other memoirs I've been tearing though: a bit predictable though still worthy of a good laugh.
I caught up with Sarah recently to ask her about her new memoir. Of course we'd done a little spying on her...
Interview:
Noveltown: Sarah, we’ve been spying on you. We’ve seen you on YouTube and on myspace where you’ve been doing a little bit of networking—all for the release of your hilarious just released memoir, Dark at the Roots. In a way, reading your book was like spying on your entire childhood. Or should I say, peeking in on the childhood of a bad kid. Were you a bad kid and how do you feel about Noveltown spying on you?
Sarah: No! I wasn't a bad kid! Manipulative, yes, but I had to do something to get ahead. I craved approval from people too much to be "bad." Also I knew I had to keep my permanent record clean if I was gonna get into college and escape.
Spy away!
Sarah Thyre seen with Bakersfield filmmaker, Rickey Bird of Hectic Films
Noveltown: Dark at the Roots gives insight into your literary interest as a youth. What made you write your memoir as opposed to a movie script, fiction novel, or Lemony Snicket-ish series of diatribes to your dark beginnings as a kid on the loose?
Sarah: I've always wanted to write a book. I love books. I'm too self-absorbed to write anything but a memoir.
Noveltown: To help writers out who can’t get past page two in their own books, tell us what motivated you to follow through with your memoir. Did you have a book deal before you finished your manuscript?
Sarah: I sold the book based on a proposal and the first three chapters. For years, I'd been writing and performing stories for free, but it took getting an advance to make me sit down and put an actual book together. I could also justify getting a regular babysitter since I was making my own money and not just mooching off my husband.
Noveltown: What does your family think about the memoir? Are they gathering up copies for a Southern-style book burning? We want juicy details please.
Sarah: My siblings are all fine with it because they're fame whores who are looking forward to lower-mid-range wine and pre-cubed cheese parties. Little do they know the only thing they'll be eating is my dust!
Noveltown: Did you emulate any particular comedic writers/personalities in creating Dark at the Roots?
Sarah: David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs are of course inspirations for me, as someone who takes shit (sometimes literally) and makes it funny. I think I have a voice of my own though, which says: It's true people DO suck.
Noveltown: Sarah, I have to ask about when you literally caught us spying on you. What was going through your mind?
Sarah: As long as I wasn't plucking nipple hairs when you were watching, I don't mind. Not that I have any nipple hairs to pluck, mind you. What do you think, I'm some sort of hairy monster?
Noveltown: Aside from all the comedy in your book, there’s a tone of seriousness about dysfunctional families being normal. Care to comment?
Sarah: The title Dark at the Roots is tongue-in-cheek and what I call a lie that happens to be true. There was some bad stuff in my past, but it could've been a lot worse. I think when you're a kid in a dysfunctional family, you find out about it in bits and pieces, like if you see your friend's mom and dad kiss each other and smile like they enjoy each other's company, you realize there's something wrong in your house because your parents NEVER do that, unless they've drunk several highballs. Lucky for me, no matter how dysfunctional we were, my family prized having a sense of humor, which is probably the ultimate survival mechanism.
Noveltown: We think your memoir should be a bible for kids with your personality type. Describe your personality type.
Sarah: My personality type? I hate labels!
Noveltown: Thanks for hanging out with us.
Sarah: I think I'm lost. Do you know the way to Memoirtown?
The real Sarah Thyre's promo pic after make-up and airbrushing
Do bloggers fit in with the elite D.C. media circle?
On a day when Lithuania bloggers made news in America, I can’t help but think fellow bloggers might be interested in an overlapping tale.
I’ve never considered myself a journalist, though I did recently try to join the highly touted National Press Club in Washington D.C.
Seems the Lithuanian parliament isn’t the only entity saying bloggers aren’t journalists by refusing accreditation to applicants. Last November I applied to the National Press Club on a tip from a friend of a National Press Club VIP who thought bloggers might be allowed into the fold. I would have never tried on my own. But I figured, why not? It was a friend who brought up the idea anyway.
I’d already been beating the local paper to minor news stories, even provided fodder for news junkies interested in stories that made national headlines out of Bakersfield: creationism courses making headlines in nearby Frazier Park, immigration marches on the streets of Bakersfield, political prop 85 protests, and the bombing of children on Maple Street just one street away from where I live in Bakersfield’s Oleander area.
So I spent a hefty $100 and went through the National Press Club’s application process. Easy enough. It was a simple online procedure that took just a few minutes. I was asked to follow up. I did that in a lengthy email.
I didn’t hear anything back.
Four months went by and I had pretty much forgotten about having applied. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. Besides, I was still going to do what I was going to do—be a feisty blogger—with or without the consent of the National Press Club.
About week ago I inquired again. This was a non-refundable hundred-dollar investment on whether I could label myself a journalist by National Press Club standards—literally a hundred-dollar question. I thought those were only in the movies.
So the National Press Club lost my follow-up email. No big deal. Could happen to anyone. I found the message and resent. I linked up to my Emilio Estevez article on the film premiere of Bobby. There I had been standing with the press, a holy monk, a seer along with the rest of the mystic gathering in the press room. I not only asked Estevez a poignant question, I even took video. I thought it was journalistic; blogger meets journalism meets novelist. Maybe I should have sent them the Modesto Famous piece. Talk about some digging for that work of blogospheric art!
Maybe that article would have failed me too. Am I really just a citizen with a blog? Just… a… citizen?
OK, I’m joking. I know I’m sort of a soloist in a sea of media.
Hey, there are a lot of people who fly solo. The media farms stories off non-accredited sites, buys film footage from others. Yet these people aren’t considered journalists. What are they, we, me? Hackers? Who is this journalist locked up for his San Francisco protest video? Did he even have a blog? Is he a journalist?
I’ve never called myself a journalist, so I’m not worried. I have used the term ‘citizen journalist’. And I have had articles in trade journals, and magazines.
Doesn’t matter. The Paperback Writer blog eventually got rejected. Case closed for now as they say in the Anna Nicole diaries…
I did receive a nice rejection:
The Membership Committee reviewed your application again after receiving the additional information you submitted and unfortunately they concluded that you do not currently qualify in any of the membership categories. We thank you for applying to the National Press Club and hope that you will continue to utilize our services as a guest.
Once again, since my blog isn’t newsworthy to the National Press Club in Washington D.C., it shouldn’t matter that I reprint a simple rejection, right?
Yet I can’t help to wonder how many already in the National Press Club write blogs or are affiliated with them… And what was it about Paperback Writer that made them toss me in the bin of rejection?
Is it because I’m in Bakersfield, or maybe it’s too much Op. Ed., or the big baby blue background? I wrote the National Press Club to find out what they thought.
No response yet.
So I went to some people who I thought might give me some opinion…
I asked Howard Owens, Director of Digital Publishing at Gatehouse Media, Inc. if he considered bloggers as journalists. He gives a lot of credit to self-made bloggers out pounding the streets with narratives and digital media blogs:
Bloggers can commit acts of journalism. Anybody who finds something out and reports it is being a journalist. You don't need credentials or a paycheck to do journalism.
If a blogger does journalism and calls himself a journalist, I would consider him a journalist.
Yet Howard recognizes that some bloggers don’t want to be held accountable in the crossover to what some like the National Press Club might consider as legit media. According to Owens, “Not all bloggers want to be journalists. Some are just journalers and happy to be so.”
Owens goes on to say:
All people, whether you call them journalists or not, who self publish, have the same and equal right to free speech and all government protections for protecting sources, gathering data and asking questions.
You don't need a license to be a journalist. You only need the first amendment (and outside the US, as a matter of morals and ethics, you only need its spirit).
I asked Matt Munoz, fun-loving Product Manager of the big Bakersfield blog community, Bakotopia, if he considers bloggers journalists. He says, “Sometimes, but then again it all depends on their mood.”
But what does Owens considers N.L. Belardes and the Paperback Writer blog? Citizen journalist/blogger/novelist? Or... Owens says, “Mostly what you do on your blog I would consider journalism.”
And King Bakotopian, Munoz? His answer reverses that of Owens, “Blogger, but then again it all depends on your mood.”
So really it’s just a matter of opinion even between journalists and journalist organizations. The National Press Club didn’t actually say, “No, Belardes, you’re not a journalist.” Yet I failed in qualifying. So I suppose take that how you want. All that can be said in the end is the National Press Club has a particular exclusivity regarding joining and taking part in their club and club benefits.
And bloggers from Bakersfield might just have a tough time getting in…
I was honored when LA Times Bestselling author Brad Listi asked me to join his growing community over on www.thenervousbreakdown.com. The subject is creative non-fiction. So I kicked it off with a little talk about cancer clusters, a strange river and Hollywood's Backyard. I even included a series of photos taken just for my kick-off piece titled, "Hollywood's Backyard, the Mighty Kern, chingpea and Deconstructing the Mamao".
Here's an excerpt:
As river systems flow, the Kern River is one of the mightiest in California. A star of films in the early 1900s, John Wayne stepped into its waters to shoot Injuns and fist-fight villains. The river lapped at his feet, sparkled, smiled, shone its teeth, and wore its own watery cloak like a glittery dress. If it could have walked the red carpet in hundreds of premieres starring itself, it surely would have. Fatty Arbuckle, Gene Autry, William Fairbanks, Rin-Tin-Tin, Gabby Hayes, Rex the Wonder Horse—they were all in the Bakersfield area, Hollywood’s backyard, just 150 miles northwest of a big fat Chinese theatre, and digging their claws and hooves into the succulent waters of the Kern. That’s just before it flows into the lands of the Great Central Valley.
The Kern River moves from high in the Sierras, performs a glacial dance that wiggles into a Tina Turner shivering storm of water that flows from mountain valleys, through a man-made lake that once drowned the tiny town of Kernville, and bursts from a deadly canyon into the valley hinterland. Sonnenreise. What’s that fragrance in the valley, the smoggiest place in the nation?
I'm in great company. I'll let you know each time I post. It's a bit different style than you would see on the Paperback Writer blog. Much more of a fusion with the literary/historical/commentary...
It seems like I'm gone, but I'm not. I've been drafting a letter for days. I'll post it later.
In the meantime I've also been on a voyage of discovery. Myspace has truly been working wonders, connecting Noveltown in new directions, both geographic and otherwise. I'll be posting so much in the coming days, this is just the calm before the storm. I'll introduce you to some cool people; people who want to make a difference in the literary world. Those are the people Noveltown has to connect to: readers, publishers, writers, do-ers.
To prepare for one of my new personal ventures. OK, well this is good for Noveltown too, I was asked to do some writing for another blog. I'll announce that on Monday or Tuesday.
In the meantime, I took some photos for that write-up yesterday evening. Here's a few extra I thought you might enjoy:
This beaver was spotted on the grass near the Kern River
He wandered away when I stepped into his comfort zone
He took a fat leaf and dove into the river and munched on his prize
Here's a segment from a letter Matt Munoz of Bakotopia recently sent me... following is my response...
Do the separate entities that make up Noveltown…and their partners follow the same "unifying" mission as stated at Noveltown.net, or does each have their own unique belief system?
Please clarify the goal of Noveltown and / or its parts.
First off, I can’t speak for partners. Those are loose partnerships at best, with common interests and some cross promotion. For instance, we’re going to start selling hockey CDs at Condors games again. But we don’t share the same company philosophy by any means. As far as the parts of Noveltown: Independent Literary Press, Media Blog, and Literary Magazine, and The Noveltown Review, readers can expect the same independent spirit as a common thread that questions social consciousness, supports community, and more… Our goal?
Every aspect of Noveltown is meant to gain Web traffic and help sell Noveltown products.
Matt brought up great questions. Because of his letter we added a slight disclaimer to our blog: Blogs may or may not reflect the full opinion of Noveltown. You decide.
Who is Noveltown? What services does Noveltown provide? Did Noveltown go over the line with a recent article about a local vagabond musician? Maybe, we took those blogs down, not because we don’t want to be controversial, but because we listened to the comments. Sure, we may have recently lost some readers, but we also gained the knowledge that we need to take a step back from some of the local Bakersfield art scene and go a more national route. That doesn’t mean Noveltown isn’t grounded in Bakersfield. Just means we need to focus on where our company can reach its potential.
Does controversy serve a purpose on Noveltown’s official blog, Paperback Writer?
Noveltown is a complex entity. We have a literary magazine coming out. It has a multicultural Independent spirit. That magazine (as well as the blog) is part of a literary fight, a battle against some of the commercial publishing world. Do we hate commercial publishing? No. We want to help market commercial books. Do we support commercially published authors? Yes. But we aren’t afraid to take the reigns, take control and state our opinions along with a group of literary folk who walk the fine line of the Indie/commercial world. We’re not afraid to create complex marketing that can appeal to both, since Noveltown isn’t just about promoting its own books/mag authors.
With that said, Noveltown runs a media blog that serves several purposes. It’s important to keep in mind that 99% of what is written on the Paperback Writer blog serves a spirit of independence, which often embraces controversy, and fiery controversy at that. It’s a narrative style and written by me, a novelist. The blog thus has a literary narrative feel. And, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s also like an OP. ED. column.
We’re literary, but I write a lot about real life drama and issues. Part of what brings readers back to Paperback Writer is because of its soap opera nature. “What’s N.L. Belardes going to write about next? Who will he piss off as he dramatically writes in his own unique style about the world around him?”
And yes, that incorporates a real everyday life feel.
Readers of the blog have always had a difficult time separating controversial blogs when they’re in any way related to the story. I could go on and on with topics that include: Jerry’s Pizza, Dim Reunion Show, Vesper rebuttals, Filipino Community Event…
Now, go into your local bookstore. Is there not controversy from the very pages of the books you see on the shelves? If you’re not interested in one controversy, surely you have the right to go read another title, support some other author, read some different controversy… Community libraries and bookstores are filled with it.
The trend I noticed in Bakersfield regarding the Paperback Writer blog has been to support the blog as long as it didn’t affect readers and their circles of friends.
If readers get pissed off, then they are simply not understanding that Paperback Writer blog writes whatever is on the mind of novelist N.L. Belardes. Is it any worse than Heather King’s topic of drunkenness, Jack Kerouac’s debaucherous nature, or worse? What if Bukowski wrote a blog? Would he make everyone happy around him? Or would the blog sometimes be the dark place of a novelist’s mind? You decide on whether you would support that take on life or not.
Noveltown is not about a corporate fluffy style, though we find great interest in corporate community-building, networking, and marketing.
There are journalists and writers who want to please everyone around them. Then there are writers who only want to connect to the human consciousness everyone shares.
The recent blogs taken off the website represent one topic in a stream of topics everyone at Noveltown has felt passionate about. Why take them down?
Evolution of Noveltown. Learning from experiences.
Noveltown doesn’t plan on becoming CNN, and we don’t worry about being controversial. Noveltown makes people think critically about themselves, about community, about each other, and isn’t afraid to be controversial. It keeps readers coming back.
The same passion behind controversy is behind the people and ideas Noveltown promotes.
As an Indie press, our Lit magazine will be critical of the commercial publishing industry not marketing the books it publishes to a full extent. Authors are now required to find their own publicists. We think we can be supportive too. Yes, it’s possible. Authors are people who need promotion. The commercial publishing companies aren’t helping the very people they’re signing to contracts. So we help. And we don’t mind being a little feisty along the way.
And so Noveltown’s blog will be critical of social consciousness and of publishing consciousness.
People don’t know what to expect on blogs, just like they don’t know what’s coming from news sources. Images on CNN of a 101 year-old-lady getting clocked by an asshole mugger not supportive of society’s rules is far more controversial and worse than Paperback Writer publishing a video and negative thoughts on the negative energy of a vagabond artist. Yes, I too finally broke down and watched the 101 year-old woman get clocked. It was terrible.
The blog aspect of Noveltown (Paperback Writer) definitely blends with my personality: fiery, passionate, unpredictable at times, sometimes defensive, analytical, narrative. That’s an author for you. Go read John Gardner’s On Becoming A Novelist. You’ll get a good understanding about who writers are and what makes them tick.
All of those qualities authors can expect from how we market books, back authors, and back our own company. We’ll get defensive for our authors, we’ll do unpredictable marketing, and we’ll be fiery and passionate…
Yet, Noveltown is tame in my opinion.
Just walk into your local bookstore and library. You’ll find topics far more fiery than on Bakotopia, Bakersfield.com, and Paperback Writer.
Sure, we’re about community and a community spirit. But we’re also about blogging Bakersfield news. We’ve been doing that. It’s a fine line. On one hand we promote the Bakersfield music and art scene. On the other hand, I’m not afraid to be critical. Though I am much more critical of people and actions than art and music. Does that mean I post all the gossip I know? No. I post 2% of what I know about musicians, writers, and more…
Noveltown has integrity. Some people might think that’s some kind of false heroic mission. And people can disagree. We still reserve the right to squash any comment we don’t like. Bakersfield.com has big rules about comment moderation.
Matt recently loaned me American Hardcore: The History of American Punk 1980-1986. Those punks who said on the video, “DIY” and who lunged out at society through music, craziness, and in a spirit of independence didn’t sit idly by, diplomatically, with a tame gurgle in their bellies. They spoke what was on their mind. They rocked out. They infected the country. They were hardcore. But they said what they wanted to say and still supported a community of believers. Noveltown isn’t punk rock except for the cool music on the hockey album. But we’re DIY, fiery, and building a community that hopefully, in the end, will get people fired up about books.
When publicist Karin Tobiason sent me a press release about the U.K. band AntiProduct passing out 5000 vibrators, and lead man A. Product nearly getting arrested in Austin’s SxSW festival, AND their strange on-the-streets interview with The Tonight Show, I instantly had to see who this band was, and what the story was all about.
In this case I’ve narrowed it down to punk make-up karma and the idea of DIY on the rampage. Let’s get straight to the punk make-up. I’m talking about a lead singer who claims shades of Kermit the Frog with a dastardly smile. And you know this just means more ties to Bakersfield with the idea of make-up. That’s karma. There was the recent Marilyn Manson make-up artist in town for Halloween, the hairdressor of Anna Nicole Smith who told all to Matt Munoz of Bakotopia, and Matildakay’s punk make-up envy article that still gets traffic.
AntiProduct is a fun-loving multicultural U.K. band of misfits who are into DIY, into causing a ruckus, and into reaching out to share their behavior for those like me who are willing to tell their tales of on-the-streets debauchery.
I listened to some of their tunes. It’s not metal. It’s not punk. Or is it? It’s not Spinal Tap, though this band mocks the very fabric of rock and roll through leather, face paint and self-declared demi-god status. Wait, Spinal Tap didn’t do that. They say they are “Kiss meets Abba”, but I think they’re just crazy rockers wanting to achieve every form of Rock God status they can get their hands on. Not a bad thing to wish for when you have two hot babes in your band.
AntiProduct and their legion of followers on the streets of Austin, TX
Did I mention the two very HOT babes? They’re untouchable though. Only look from afar or the lead singer will threaten you for your thought-crimes.
And A. Product. He seems to be the glam king, and sings a little Bowie-ish if you ask me. Their last album came out in 2003. But they’ve been in the States for two months stirring the pot of American culture as they go. They’re sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts and an adult toy company. It’s dildos and donuts, people. They’ve had their music in film, on the radio, but now they’ve been in Bakersfield via Paperback Writer. Will Buck Owens turn in his grave? We can only hope.
I wonder if Borat is an inspiration?
Either way, giving away vibrators is a definite trademark of this band. They want their lady fans pleased. Either that or they don’t trust the libido of their male fans. They’ve given away carloads over the radio and on the streets.
If I were a lady fan I would write the band and demand one. Hell, do it anyway even if you’re not a fan.
So here’s the email I got from Karin (By the way, I hear Karin is a budding author?):
I thought you may be interested in this SxSW story. British Indie exports AntiProduct, and their US Street Team, took to the streets for Austin's annual SxSW music festival, giving away over $5,000 worth of vibrators in 15 minutes and barely avoiding jail. (Having more than 4 vibrators in your possession is a felony in Texas) After their close call, they found themselves interviewed by Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as part the legendary program's coverage of the music event. Get more info about the band and their exploits at www.myspace.com/antiproduct
So I called their lead man. I pictured him in a bathtub, only his face paint on, trapped in an L.A. hotel, and ignoring the screaming hordes of young ladies demanding batteries for all the vibrators the band has been handing out.
AntiProduct did something right, because their gimmicks got them an on-the-streets interview with The Tonight Show that airs this Thursday night. Here’s some of what A. had to say as I heard water splash from his hotel penthouse. He spoke about commercial labels, DIY, and all the attention seeking mayhem at SxSW. Keep reading because it gets funny:
Don't mess with Texas unless you're wearin' green
We went down there as a DIY Indie band in the truest sense of the word. I saw friends with record deals. But we were the ones cleaning up on the press in the street. We made the cover of the Austin Statesman. That’s the equivalent of the L.A. Times for the area…
So we get invited to SxSW and everyone is telling me it’s such a zoo… Most were scrambling to get press and using that event to generate PR, trying to get people to know they’re out there. ‘Just do what we do,’ I say. Walk down the middle of the street. ‘Here comes the green guy Gene Simmons with jaundice!’ Clare was there like a 6’5’’ lightning rod for attention…
If you follow the pack you’re just going to be your relative position in the pack. By pack I mean there were 1700 bands there doing it the way the labels say…We’re not keen to do what others do. We literally had a pack of 20 kids… 13, 14, 15, 16 age group, got them all painted up.
I have a lot of faith in the kids… kids need to hear they’re not alone… anyone can be Lincoln Park… it’s that market of kids… they’re extraordinary and so smart… and a sense of wonder in their eyes…
We gave them our song “bungee jumping people die”…
So we’re marching down the street. The kids have these 99-cent tambourines… Some dude comes up…‘Mind if we videotape you?’ I look at the name tag and it says, ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’… and I’m quickly thinking, I’m your bitch what do you want…So we re-enacted with an army of kids, and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips interviewed… as good as anything, right? We talk, do our thing… don’t want to ruin it…you’ll have to see the show this Thursday night. Didn’t cost a penny, just add the power of the kids…
All these bands and here’s a spectacle of a green man and his giant henchman and chanting kids… this is the new business model!
I was getting recognized by the third day there…
We don’t mind working super hard and enjoy talking to people…Go betweens and middle men feel the heat. It’s the ambitious artists who make a difference…If you have myspace and you can type, you can book a tour…
On Indie 103.1 we were on the show and announced that the first ten people to myspace would get a free vibrator. We had our guy moderating… you gotta work harder if you’re Indie… So we sent everyone their vibrators… I never thought being this militantly Indie taught me so much about social dynamics… Now if you’re in England… the women have no compunction about robbing you to get one. It actually does say many negative things about the prowess of English men… Moms and 18 year olds and emails in droves… the dudes want nothing to do with it… this attitude is why your British girlfriend wants to be my friend to get my American made vibrator!
Now in Austin I had my requisite megaphone. I got a tub 3ft by 2 ft… There were 20 kids running up the street. The adult toys: You can’t call them dildos or vibrators in Austin…they were ‘personal massagers’.
So I have this huge ass trunk…
I was screaming my ass off let alone the make-up and costume… it’s getting more comfortable than normal clothes…
‘Free personal massagers!’
…not vibrators or dildos. I’m not holding them, or possessing them. Flipped them open like Zombies, dawn of the dead. I thought would be a little polarizing… a lot of visual information to take in…And then there they were: homeless guys, old ladies, hip trendy guys, big fat Mexican mamas, and lifted the lid off, got 3 feet away and all was gone…Only in America! ‘I want you to think of my face!’ I screamed…
It’s good fun… but also can’t take too seriously… the business end is a big circle jerk… trendy is uptight… make a fool of yourself because you don’t know when you’re going to die…
Antiproduct jams at SxSW
Now about the policeman. It wasn’t contributing to delinquency of a minor or public inciting a riot or dressing goofy… It was having a megaphone without a permit… It was going to be a night in jail. He didn’t see the humor in the presentation. I gave zero attitude… he had a choice… he used an existent law to take away my right of free speech…So it was squeaking past a near fucking catastrophe…
It’s not kids we have to watch out for. It’s their grandparents. The bankers and politicians… The most exciting revelation? If you’re not afraid of doing things to make your ambitions known to many… Everyone else is towing a company line. You have to get out and meet the people… We literally got over here in America in beginning of the year… It’s two months later… and on commercial and on Leno… It’s because we’re not afraid to make stuff happen.
The new Silence Club video is definitely worth a look. I get a cameo and so does Black Dog. The funniest part is not that The Silence Club invites a bum to the show. What cracks me up is that very morning (Saturday) I was out on a bike ride and the pedal snapped off my bike as I was going downhill on Chester Avenue near 34th Street. I was headed to the Kern River Recreational Path. Well, OK, that part was funny, but that's not what I meant...
I ended up in the parking lot of the burger joint on the corner of 34th and Chester. After a little while the very same bum in The Silence Club video walked up to me and said, "You found it!"
"Oh yeah?" I had attached the pedal and pedal arm back on the bike but couldn't tighten the bolt even though I tried with a rock, caveman style.
"You found your pedal. Oh man I saw you. I used to have a bike. But they stole it."
"Oh man. Sucks."
"You should go across the street and have them fix it," he pointed to a car body paint garage.
"Nah. I'll just take it to the bike shop."
"OK, well I'll see ya," he said, staring at my bike.
"Later, man..."
Who would have thought the same bum would be less kind to Aaron on the same day? watch:
Lit Chicks: Tess. and poets Andrea Quaid and Teka Lark
I love discovering literary communities and creative media entities, especially online. Whether large or small, sub-alt genres or commercial reader groups, I admire what such groups are trying to do: gain readers, build community, and provide new views and outlets for writers to connect.
Enter Media Cake, brand new on the L.A. scene. Spit Poetics reviews, angry rants, discussions of adolescent and political bullies. And more, there’s film criticism, columns and even a travel narrative.
My favorite piece is a complete twist, an academic look at the Great Gatsby from an alternative perspective. Contributor Mandy Kronbeck writes in her Media Cake slice, “Why Won’t Nick and Jay Just Get Together? A Queer look at The Great Gatsby”:
Sexual subversion, or queerness, in canonized literature may not be easily detectable to the modern reader, but it certainly abounds in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It is possible to unearth some of this queerness by examining the individual lives of, and the homosocial relationship between, the two main male characters in the novel, Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby. Moreover, the queerness, or sexual and gender fluidity, that is demonstrated through various signs in these two characters helps to undermine the heterosexual relationships in the story; Nick’s queerness undermines his relationship with Jordan and Gatsby’s queerness ultimately undermines his relationship with Daisy.
I recently got together with Tess. Lotta and ask her a few questions about Media Cake.
Tess. with Gretta Harley and DJ Kat Corbet
Check it out:
Noveltown: Media Cake. You have your cake and eat it too? A mixture of raw materials all built into one finished product? Just what does Media Cake mean to you?
Tess.: Totally built on raw materials, but this is just a start.
What does it mean to me…well, for me, media is an exchange of ideas; I love examining ideas, especially stuck ideas, and I value the investment that it takes to really understand what you are reading, hearing, or seeing. And, as the assault increases, I am equally blown away by the potential of media to fuck with its own destination. I very often find myself shaking my head with a mixture of horror and hilarity at TV commercials, for example. The really telling ones lately have come from the fast food giants that are targeting hetero-identified men. The message is that only manly men can handle the power of a gianormous hamburger. Big meat equals man (let us just ruminate on how many levels that plays on). These marketers are trying so hard to pimp phallic-centered machismo as a selling point that the ad actually parodies the very customer it wants to attract! Not only is it insanely hilarious and pathetic that a burger signifies manliness, but scary that the idea is bought into on so many levels. Media Cake is a way for media makers to either examine stuff like this or start a discussion with their contribution: it is about ideas, discourses, images, notions, and cultural mandates and how these produce or identify stagnancy, disruption, or (re)creation.
Self-portrait with hubby Dave
Noveltown: Who started Media Cake and where do you see it headed a year from now?
Tess.: It is really a community effort—meaning, I conceived of and started Media Cake, but it would not exist without the contributors. It is as much about their voices, brains, and time as it is mine. It is also about generosity because it is a labor of love for anyone involved. In a year? Well, still out there and more involved by incorporating more tech-geekdom, so to speak. I have visions for it as a multimedia site and look forward to that day. I hope to take it to print, too, with at least one annual print issue. And, at some point, if the Universe is smiling, I hope to be able to offer stipends to the contributors (cross fingers here).
Noveltown: You're working on an MA in English, you teach high school creative writing, edit a poetry site, and now Media Cake? What are you, a workaholic or a write-a-holic? And tell us more about your poetry editing and high school gigs...
Tess.: I’m something…a total spaz, probably. My brain is always going, and I need the space to spill or insomnia sets in, and that sucks. So, writing and music have always been there; poetry as more of an ongoing discussion with myself (and writing groups); music and freelance journalism as the main outlet. I was a working musician (meaning, I was working hater jobs while pursuing the indy rock dream job) until I started grad school, which I just always wanted to do. Poetry began taking over as the main creative outlet soon after that. Editing has been there all along and is just fun as hell. I’ve edited creative writing, zines, journalism, music and culture sections, academic stuff…just fun. Right now, it is limited to poeticdiversity.org, Media Cake, and friends' work when they ask. The high school gig is through an amazing program called Spoken Interludes, which puts creative writers in small group mentoring settings with at-risk youth. We work on fiction writing basics, and, at the end of the 8-10 weeks, they read their finished story to parents, teachers, and friends. Totally amazing experience—such great people and the kids have taught me so much about life and being a stand up person.
Noveltown: Tell us something about the people you're working with at Media Cake. Can I trust these writers and photographers in a dark alley?
Tess.: Yeah, if you met John Gerlach, Gretta Harley, Dan Krejci, or Tonja Renee in an alley each of them would probably invite you to the local pub for a round of Guinness and a good argument. These four are politicized artists I’ve worked with in some form, and all of them are wonderfully talented, hopeful, and kick ass people. Gretta is an activist, musician, and composer; John is a musician, father, and screenprint artist; and Dan is a musician, writer, academic, and audiophile. Tonja Renee Hall is a yogini-traveler, multimedia artist, and singer. The folks that submit their work open up and expand the dialogue, like photographer Giuliana Maresca and Mandy Kronbeck.
Noveltown: You're really looking for a wide range of submissions, both academic and creative. Why such a broad range?
Tess.: All media—art, academic, advertising—reveals a critical frame, an idea available for examination. Corporate advertising, poetry, an academic paper, and a rock record are all saying something, adding to the broader discourse with an agenda colored by certain influences. It is important that we get familiar with as many of these discussions as possible not just as consumers of media, but as discerners of the messages. So, I not only want to attract poetry fans with poetry that pushes on established thematic and poetic borders, but tempt them to read a review about the agenda of feminist sex workers. Gretta Harley’s column pushes on conservative politics by exposing the pathology of bullying. In his piece, John Gerlach uses a book review as way to historicize current US imperialism. Mandy Kronbeck’s research essay on The Great Gatsby is doing something similar. She took a canonical piece of American literature, which is a tell in itself about what voices get heard over and over (being that Gatsby is written from the point of view of a white privileged racist and misogynist narrator), and she used the discourse of Queer criticism to open up another discussion. Good stuff—it shouldn’t be hidden away in an academic journal where the only people who get to read it are those in the tower. So, I hope this inspires other media makers to get in the discussion.
Noveltown: Can writers submit articles that they've written for other sites or that they have posted on MySpace? I guess what I'm getting at is, do your writers need to submit articles exclusive to Media Cake?
Tess.: If it has been published in print only, send it and include the previous publication info. We prefer stuff not previously published online, generally, but I’d say send it and we’ll see. Also, if we like the piece and where it is going, we may suggest edits to get it there. We also welcome comments / letters to the editor. And, as an artist who pimps her work out there, I know the game of the submission process and rejection is part of it. Not everything will get in, but it does not mean it is not good or worthy. I know many editors, and I include myself here, that have gotten hate mail from people whose submissions we’ve rejected. I’ve seen some really ugly shit come back to editors that are doing what they do for the love of indy media, small press, and art. I say on behalf of all of us that it is nothing personal and keep submitting elsewhere. It is part of the game, and online journals, mags, and zines are a great vehicle for getting your work out there to lots and lots of folks.
My bird, Angus Bird Young at bath time
Noveltown: Is Media Cake anti-blog? I mean, I wanted to post a comment on an article or two but couldn't. It would also be cool if I could subscribe to regular contributors. Do you see Media Cake ever transitioning to a blog format?
Tess.: I’m totally into the blog—what an amazing medium for real time exchange. I’m not sure yet how it will all play out in terms of the site, but I want there to be an interactive element, yes. Part of it is that I am learning the tech piece as I go.
Noveltown: What can people do as readers to be a part of Media Cake? And are you on MySpace.com? Oh, and thanks for doing this interview!
Tess.: Thank you very much. I really appreciate the support.
MySpace is coming. For now, I am hoping readers get fired up and submit, submit, submit.
In a revealing blog, N. Frank Daniels reflects on his novel Futureproof, which garnered some recognition in 2006 from Entertainment Weekly, New York Press and as being one of the top five finalists for the coveted Needle award on the PODdy Mouth blog (a blog that reviews self published books).
Noveltown reviewed Futureproof last year declaring it: “… a book I consider the most important of 2006. What does his book mean to the average American? Perhaps what Jessica Cutler’s trashy novel Washingtonienne says about the state of America’s post-Millennial sex-warped political machine, N. Frank Daniels society numbing book Futureproof says for an entire generation with slacker origins: there’s a slow numb, what should we do?”
Even though Futureproof didn’t win the coveted Needle award Daniels states: “Hope of the American Idol flavor still reigns in my bloodstream. As in, many of the AI runners-up have found record deals despite not having won the title, most notably Jennifer Hudson, who just won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the movie Dream Girls. Not bad for having lost what was surely in her mind her one shot at a career in entertainment. So here's to perpetually crossed fingers.”
Daniels also talks about his DIY journey as a self-published author.
“I had more than five opportunities to sign with top-tier agents in 2006 but in the end chose not to because I was too stubborn and "married" to the book as it is. My rationale was that it wouldn't have been able to gather as much support from readers as it already had if it wasn't good enough to be published as is--with possibly a few minor changes. But when I was asked to change entire story lines and themes, on down to the point of the book in the first place, I respectfully declined. Now I'm not so sure that was the best choice. As a first novel, and as a first time novelist, I should have realized that when one is trying to break into such an exclusive club, one almost always has to compromise.”
The DIY journey involves a labyrinth of decisions that every author has to make. Without a guidebook or the advice of literary agents, DIY authors make these decisions the best they can. They don’t always make the right decisions, but they follow their hearts and their dreams and what they feel best represents their work.
The same can be said of DIY Indie publishers like Noveltown. While there may be more of a guidebook or direction an Indie publisher follows as we learn from the commercial publishing industry and other Indie publishers; the whole idea of DIY or Indie is to carve your own niche and follow your own dream. Noveltown is doing just that.
Daniels garnered advice from established writers along the way including: LA Times Best Seller Brad Listi, Susan Henderson of LitPark and N.L. Belardes of Noveltown among others. In a similar effort, Noveltown is building a literary community befriending the commercial publishing world, Indie publishers and writers. Noveltown wants to be your friend, join us on myspace and on Paperback Writer. We have a lot to discuss.
Daniels DIY journey, which he shared in part on the Nervous Breakdown site, is an important one and one that he’s decided to turn into a memoir. He’s also currently working on a memoir with Deena Neville and a sequel to his novel Futureproof, as well as a complete revamping of his writers collective site RiotLit, which he hopes will be online again soon.
Noveltown is a big supporter of N. Frank Daniels. His work is being featured in our upcoming inaugural edition of The Noveltown Review. He’s a fabulous writer with a DIY riotous attitude that Noveltown loves. If you haven’t read his novel Futureproof yet, you need to buy it.
Kevin Bronson of the Buzz Bands blog on the LA Times is talking Ozomatli. I think it's a great opportunity to go and comment and talk about your favorite Latino band from California. I mentioned Mento Buru. Maybe you can mention the Bakotopia CD and their new song, or talk about another band you like, or just talk Latino cultural music...
It's Saint Patrick's Day in Bakersfield and that means two big music shows. Show #1 is actually part three of the Bakotopia CD Release Show, and features Fatt Katt, The Silence Club, Black Dog, Safe Sounds Crew, Seed, Jane Friday, Mento Buru and more! Read more...
Now, I will be at the Bakotopia party most of the day, but in the evening I will be at the only Irish music gig in Bakersfield. The Belardes Boys, featuring Kenny Mount will be performing tunes from The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, and more!
Kenny Mount plays a violin?
Oh yes!
************************************
Bakotopia CD Party 1 exclusive mosh pics:
You can see Jordo from Black Dog's hand wrapping Kenny Mount
************************************
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE SILENCE CLUB:
***********************************
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO OF BAKOTOPIA SUPREME SKA-LEADER!
***********************************
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS OF BAKOTOPIA CD RELEASE PARTY 2!
T-Sack from Krotch prepares for a dirty night
Matt Munoz of Bakotopia pauses for a breath of bakotronica
Matt from newly formed band, The Dewskies
Dillon chokes Jorge! Film at 11!
Emily and her friend talk feet and 80s bowling
Uriah (Upper left), Kris from Dirty Spanglish (Upper Right). Bottom Row: Lando and Shaun from Dirty Spanglish and Austin from The Dewskies...
The Silence Club ROCKED! Aaron has a great voice and fun melodies to his songs
This is Aaron. He's cool
And he has cool hair
Noveltown was on hand to sell Hockey CDs and a few books
Tekwiz tests the sounds!
Jordo and his uncle Kevin. They arm wrestled. Jordo barely lost
Dirty Spanglish!
Whoah!
Ya ya!
Seed performed. So did From Ritual to Romance. I was sad I missed Big Daddy Ruben Val Verde and company... I also missed Krotch. Lando and the rest of Dirty Spanglish stayed. He says about Krotch, "It sunk deep into my memory..." Lando also said about From Ritual to Romance, "They're one of the only Screamo bands I like."
