Icky Bob
Olestra, Divine Creator!April 15, 2008
Icky Bob's banana gun god shoots magic gold glitter and stars out of its ass! Its magicey glittertacular and its goldenish goodness will infuse you with more holy spirit than you can shake a stick at. And your pee will look like Goldschlagers, too.
nom nom slurp slurp nom! April 15, 2008
This notice is to inform you (King of Ickyness) that you are officially under Bear protection from M-F 9 to 3.
You are a beautiful Icky Creature loved by the Icky Icky Angels who watch over you, the Icky Mother Earth, the Icky YOOniverse, the Icky Spirit in Everything and of course... Sooper Bear! at your service! Love, Hugs and Icky Bugs! OOF OFF and away! January 3, 2008
Can you tell me where the three hole punch went?
December 12, 2007
icky licky licky!
July 22, 2007
Icky Bob sees beauty where many of us have missed it, enriching us.
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A Gland Lamentation
The Encroacher’s expression coils toward a conniving buttery derisive grin as a cavernous intonation cyst donates an admonition of menacing emergence. Host retreats towards preservation, Seeking port from immense knots of sturgeon barbs.
They teach us to crawl...
"Discolored Portal of Secrets"
"It opens the new mouth to feed!"
I AM MY OWN MOTHER!Age
65
Location
about me
I have an impressive used (horse) speculum collection.
In leisure time I enjoy receiving from generous destitute gentlemen, metaphorical malevolent punts to the groin and cranium, the treasured pastime of circulating downtown public restrooms and bus stops probing for superfluous clusters and wadded miscellaneous forms of discarded detritus. Urine is not always warm. Bathing or cleaning the body in any way is a sin in the eyes of my god(s), punishable by castration or death.
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Operatives of the Oscillating Lineage
Doggie Diner movie at Roxie Cinema!
( events » arts ) www.doggiediner.com/pages/Do...oxie.html
Head Trip previewed at Ryhmix! Doggie Diner movie at Roxie Cinema! Thursday April 3rd / 7PM SHOW HEAD TRIP (85 minutes) Theatrical Premiere A documentary film by John Law and Flec... read more
event starts Thursday, April 3, 2008 - 7:00 PM
This Saturday! Doggie Diner Movie (Alameda)
( events » arts ) DOGGIE DINER JAMBOREE
Rythmix Cultural Works 2513 Blanding Ave. Alameda, CA. Saturday, January 26th 2PM - Midnight Film shows twice, 4PM & 9PM $10 at door / $8 in advance - www.rhythmix.org/doggie.html World Premier: Head ... read more
event starts Saturday, January 26, 2008 - 2:00 PM
 (510) 893-5632 recommendation posted on Thu, February 16, 2006 - 1:27 PM
  people.tribe.net/ickybob/blog read more recommendation posted on Wed, February 1, 2006 - 11:25 AM
it's slow and ugly, but here I can be me. recommendation posted on Tue, January 24, 2006 - 1:36 PM
Writhing Organic Swab
Hi! I'm in a group show at Varnish fine art (This Saturday) if you have time and are in town, drop by.
Mon, April 14, 2008 - 10:40 AM
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Opening Reception Saturday April 19, 7-10pm Varnish Fine Art 5 Year Anniversary Show April 14 – May 31, 2008 Opening Reception Saturday April 19, 7-10pm The 5 Year Anniversary Show celebrates 5 years of contemporary fine art at Varnish Fine Art with new works by over 40 returning artists. Combined opening reception and anniversary party takes place Saturday April 19 from 7pm to 10pm. From artist debuts to a literary hoax enacted and revealed and from half-ton bronze sculpture to miniature scenes, Varnish Fine Art has enjoyed the whirlwind of San Francisco art, community and politics for the past 5 years. The artists whom owners/directors Kerri Stephens and Jennifer Rogers have had the pleasure to show, continue to impress while newer blood reveals itself. The 5 Year Anniversary Show is a group exhibit of new work by over 40 selected artists who have shown at Varnish since the Grand Opening Group Show April 19, 2003, including bronze sculpture, mixed media sculpture, paintings in oil, and photographic works. 77 Natoma St. San Francisco, CA 94105 laughingsquid.com/varnish-f...roup-show/ varnishfineart.com/ www.kevinevans.com
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 2:46 PM
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Fri, April 11, 2008 - 11:53 AM
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 www.doggiediner.com/pages/Do...oxie.html Photo: Scott Beale Doggie Diner movie at Roxie Cinema! Thursday April 3rd / 7PM SHOW HEAD TRIP (85 minutes) Theatrical Premiere A documentary film by John Law and Flecher Fleudujon. Produced by Central Services and Truth Serum Productions In affiliation with Laughing Squid www.laughingsquid.com Filmmakers, John Law & Flecher Fleudujon "LIVE" INTERVIEW / Q&A by V. Vale John Law: is an original member of the Suicide Club, charter member of the Cacophony Society and co-founder of thes Burning Man festival Flecher Fleudujon: is a film professional and co-founder of the The Yard Dogs Road Show & Review. Contact: john@laughingsquid.com 510-543-5054 FULL RE/Search Press Release: RE/Search Publications, 20 Romolo #B, San Francisco CA 94133. tel 415 362 1465. email: info@researchpubs.com www.researchpubs.com Subject: PRANKS FILM FESTIVAL w/Live Interviews/Q&As FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / Friday March 14th RE/Search Publications PRESENTS: The First Annual Pranks Film Festival April 1, 2, 3 at The Roxie Cinema 3117 16th Street by Valencia, San Francisco CA 94133 Tickets $10 per day for all shows. Ticket and other information: www.pranksfilmfestival.com Benefit for RE/Search Publications and Todd Blair of SRL. For interviews or more information please contact RE/Search Publications TEL (415) 362-1465 EMAIL: info@researchpubs.com TUES, APRIL 1, 2008: 5PM SHOW PRANKS SHORT FILMS: (100 min.) "Best of Faux" selected shorts for Pranks Film Festival Introduced by Faux Film Festival Director, Mike Shkolnik, Portland, OR Titles of films: 12 Hot Women, Jimmy's House of Hugs, Superciliary Exercise Program, !The Inedible Bulk, Truth In Advertising, The Strange Case of Ray Milland, Zombie Vegetarians, New Testament, Reemco Atomic Broom, Zombie-American, Torsten Kretchzmar - Entschlossenheit ------------------------------ 7PM SHOW MAL SHARPE PRESENTS: COYLE & SHARPE PILOT (20 min.)The Impostors TV Pilot 1965 with host George Fenneman (Groucho Marx's sidekick on YOU BET YOUR LIFE.) Coyle and Sharpe were the early masters of street pranks and puts-ons. Using hidden microphones, they clandestinely recorded their bizarre encounters with unsuspecting citizens on the streets of San Francisco in the 1960's. LIVE INTERVIEW / Q&A w/ MAL SHARPE by V. Vale (20 min.) ------------------------------ 8PM SHOW ABEL RAISES CAIN: a documentary by Jenny Abel and Jeff Hockett (82 min.) Long before the deluge of reality TV dolts who drum up media attentionwith acts of idiocy, there was Alan Abel, a culture-jamming comic wit a conscience. The director of the 1970s cult films IS THERE SEX AFTER DEATH? and THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT, Abel has made a name for himself several times over with media stunts that are just ridiculous enough to be believable – especially to a media that feeds on salacious, far-fetched stories. Abel's mock-moral crusade "Citizens Against Breastfeeding" stirred controversy in the late 1990s, just as his "Society for Indecency to Naked Animals" had in the 1960s. Both groups made asinine calls for morality in America, and while both were complete jokes, for long stretches the only one in on the jokes was Abel himself and whomever he had brought along for the ride. From time to time, that "whomever" was his daughter, Jenny Abel. ABEL RAISES CAIN is Jenny's film, and it is as much a biography of her father as it is an exploration of her family life. What was it like to be raised by a man who always had a trick up his sleeve, and whose tricks always brought the media vultures swirling? Jenny was ostensibly in on the jokes, but, as we see in this oddly poignant film, it was never easy being raised by the one throwing the punch lines. (Patton Dodd, IFFB) ------------------------------ 9:30PM SHOW PRANKS SHORTS From Faux Film Festival (REPEAT of 5 PM show - see above) --------------------------------------------------------------- WED April 2, 2008: 5PM SHOW: The Yes Men documentary (90 min) The story follows Andy and Mike from their beginnings with GWBush.com, and on to their tasteless parody of the WTO's website. Some visitors don't notice the siteis a fake, and send speaking invitations meant for thereal WTO. Mike and Andy play along with the ruse andsoon find themselves attending important functions as WTO representatives. Delighted to speak for the organization they oppose, Andy and Mike don thrift-store suits and set out to shock their unwitting audiences with darkly comic satires on global free trade. Weirdly, the expertsdon't notice the joke and seem to agree with everyterrible idea the two can come up with. Exhausted by their failed attempts to shock, Mike andAndy take a whole new approach for one final lecture. The Yes Men is directed by Dan Olman, Sarah Price, andChris Smith, whose previous credits include the 1999Sundance Winner "American Movie." It was released byUnited Artists. Shorts ahead of feature: San Francisco experimental films: "Nectar of the Cyclops" by Rock Ross, and "Hot Leatherette" by Robert Nelson (total time 10 min.) --------------------------- 7PM SHOW: BILLBOARD LIBERATION FRONT / CULTURE JAM segment CULTURE JAM: Hijacking Commercial Culture (50 min.) CultureJam: Hijacking Commercial Culture" delivers a fascinating rap on the 20th centurymovement called "Culture Jamming". Won the AudienceChoice Awards at both the Vancouver and AucklandInternational Film Festivals and was selected for over35 international festival screens. Nominated for theprestigious Donald Brittain Award for Best SocialIssue Documentary, it went on to win the Leo Award forBest Social Issue Documentary & Best Editing. Aired on CBC Newsworld and Vision TV, Canada and TRIO networking United States. Directed by Jill Sharpe. BLF Guests: Blank De Coverly (CIO for BLF), and Milton Rand Kalman (chief scientist for BLF) Live Interview/Q&A by V. Vale Will be followed by: PROGRAM OF SHORTS "Art of Bleeding" by REVEREND AL (L.A. Cacophony Society) (3 min.) "STINK" by DEAN SNIDER (5 min.) "Army Girls Gone Wild" by Jihad Jerry of DEVO (4 min.) PRANKS VIDEO from RE/Search: excerpt of Joe Coleman segment (8 min.) Plus additional local experimental shorts (total time: approx. 25 min.) -------------------- 9PM SHOW: CHURCH OF STOP SHOPPING Feature Documentary by REVEREND BILLY (85 min.) Produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Rob VanAlkemade, this docu-comedy follows our trials and triumphs across the country as The Reverend Billy and his choir preach and sing to help holiday-abused Americans find a new Christmas without products. The film has played throughout the US, bringing Fair Trade activists and Evangelical Christians together in darkened movie theaters, emerging with new tools to BUY LESS and GIVE MORE! Preceded by these short films: - Taking the Night by FRANK DISCUSSION (3 min.) - PRANKS VIDEO from RE/Search: excerpt of Frank Discussion segment (8 min.) --------------------------------------------------------------- THUR APRIL 3, 2008: 5PM SHOW: ST STUPIDS DAY PARADE shot by Marian Wallace (20 min) Joey Skaggs video collection from his press pranks (15 min) The Not-Yet-Ascended Master of media manipulation, who recently appeared on prime-time television for his invention: "The Bullsh*t Detector." Harmon Leon Show (25 min) Harmon Leon will appear in person presenting a representation of his media pranks. Harmon Leon is one of America's top infiltrators and media pranksters. His films have appeared at festivals all around the world. He is also the author of six books, including the upcoming Brother's Rjukerooka (RE/Search Books), and The American Dream Santa Rampage 95 (10 min) by CHUCK CIRINO A hilarious doc of the 2nd annual Santarchy event in SF. See the notorious event that launched a million Santa’s. See Santa drink, see Santa sing, see Santa cavort. See Santa arrested! CAR HUNT by CHUCK CIRINO (10 min.) Car Hunt is the now legendary event organized in 1995 where a group of friends took an Oldsmobile station wagon and added steel re-enforcements, setup a system where they could drive it via remote control and then "hunted" it down in a Nevada desert using an assortment of guns while riding in chase vehicles. PRANKS VIDEO from RE/Search, Karen Finley segment (8 min.) Plus MORE!! PRANKS! on SCREEN!! ------------------------------ 7PM SHOW: HEAD TRIP (85 minutes) Theatrical Premiere A documentary film by John Law and Flecher Fleudujon. Produced by Central Services and Truth Serum Productions In affiliation with Laughing Squid www.laughingsquid.com Filmmakers, John Law & Flecher Fleudujon "LIVE" INTERVIEW / Q&A by V. Vale John Law is an original Suicide Club member, charter member of the Cacophony Society and co-founder of Burning Man festival Flecher Fleudujon is a film professional and co-founder of the Yard Dogs Roadshow & Revue ------------------- 9PM SRL PROGRAM: **Todd Blair Benefit** MAKER FAIRE, 2007, SRL machine demonstration video (10 min.) SRL at LAB, 2003, SRL machine demonstration video (3 min.) PRANKS VIDEO from RE/Search, Mark Pauline segment (8 min.) -------- LIVE INTERVIEW / Q&A with MARK PAULINE or other SRL crew member TBA -------- UC Berkeley Art Museum, 2007, DUAL SCREEN video of machine demonstration (22 min.) ------------------------- CLOSING PRANKS / SRL PARTY Location TBA 
From Pete: "I could have a real good time if I had a gun"
Sat, March 29, 2008 - 1:02 AM
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here ya go. profile.myspace.com/index.cfm Plainfield. 
Continuing on in the theme of bay area nostalgia, I present this humongiod pile of Sister Double Happiness. A wonderful band that grew out of the ashes of “The Dicks”. I had the opportunity to see 'em countless times & one of the many local bands I loved.
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 12:06 PM
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Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch www.youtube.com/watch www.youtube.com/results Myspace: profile.myspace.com/index.cfm History: Sister Double Happiness formed in San Francisco in 1986 and immediately became the city's favorite concert draw before even releasing their first album of over-the-top, white blues-rock. Gary Floyd and Lynn Perko, who'd played together in the punk group the Dicks, joined with Ben Cohen (from Pop-o-Pies and Polkacide) and Mikey Donaldson on bass. The foursome recorded a self-titled album of hard-driving songs for SST in 1988, the bulk penned by Floyd and Cohen. Owing much to Floyd's Texas roots as a blues/punk belter, the band played a fiery mix of blues-inflected hard rock and punk, the likes of which were incomparable. Subject matter was primarily confined to the human condition and spirituality in the face of AIDS and urban decay. The band's promise earned them a contract with Reprise in 1991 for Heart and Mind, but failed to find them a wider audience. That same year the band won a Bammie (Bay Area Music Award) for Outstanding Club Band, and Jeff Palmer replaced Donaldson on bass. A Sub Pop single and two albums for the label's German arm, 1993's Uncut and 1994's Horsey Water, followed. Danny Roman was added as a guitarist, and Miles Montalbano replaced Palmer on bass.The video release, Greetings from Zurich, is a lasting testament to their live prowess.The band also contributed to a number of tribute albums that were popular in the early '90s paying homage to artists diverse as Roky Erickson, Dead Kennedys and Frank Sinatra. The band broke up in 1995 -- none of their recorded work ever quite captured the heat they were capable of live. Floyd immediately formed the Gary Floyd Band and records and tours, mostly in Europe. Perko is in Imperial Teen with Faith No More's Roddy Bottum, and Cohen works as a guitarist, currently with El Destroyo. The posthumous Stone's Throw from Love: Live and Acoustic at the Great American Music Hall appeared in 1999. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide Amazoon: www.amazon.com/Sister-Dou...m_m_title_3
it is good.
Thu, March 27, 2008 - 3:13 PM
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-IB "Conflict, drama et al" And now I feel the need to step up on a soapbox and do a little self righteous rant because something has been bugging me a lot lately... For many reasons this has been rolling thorugh my head over the last few days. Maybe it is all of the unfortunate loss (deaths, end of relationships, end of friendships, etc, etc) that have been going on lately that reminds me that life is just too short and too precious to waste on bs and drama and conflict... This thought has been rolling through my head as I watch (mostly read) about all sorts of drama's and conflicts that people have with one another or create for themselves with the way they chose to handle issues and/or the way people react to them, etc, etc. So much drama and conflict is unnecesary and a waste of time and energy, life is too short my friends to worry about being guarded, who can trust who, I can't be open because 'x' may use it against me... its all bs, its all a waste of time, seriously. A person can only have power over you if you give that power to them, let me say that again... A PERSON CAN ONLY HAVE POWER OVER YOU IF YOU GIVE THAT POWER TO THEM. It really is that simple. By saying things like I am guarded because of 'x' is just giving them power over your life, what you do, what you say, who you are. It is honestly one of the main reasons I am so open about my life, I have nothing to hide, I refuse to give anyone that kind of power over me. I am not saying that people do not do wrong or that there is not cause behind feeling whatever you may feel about a person, but if someone is causing you or has caused you harm in some way, then cut them out of your life and move on. Please do not give them power over who you are and what you do and what you say, that just drags out whatever bs/ drama/ conflict and keeps it going, and keeps you and whomever you are having the issue with locked in a perpetual conflict with each other. Unfortunately, it seems to me that that is what people want, to drag out whatever it is, to keep constantly reminding others that you are scarred and wounded and that someone did you wrong and because of that you are now forever broken in some way... Trust me, I know big damage and big hurt, I have my own wounds and scars, but I refuse to let them hold me back or to wear them like badges that say 'look at me I am a wounded victim that has been through so much damage'. Fuck that, I would much rather say, yeah, this shit happened to me and it sucked but I did not let it stop me or hold me back, I have thrived despite this opposition, after all, living your life well, being successful and happy is the best revenge as far as I am concerned. Nothing pisses off a person that doesn't like you more than you being genuinely happy in your life. To be clear, yes I know that not everything is black and white and not everything is as easy as I said above, some situations have very real complications that make it a lot harder to just cut a person out of your life, some situations are very serious and dangerous as well, I do get that and that is not the situations I am talking about right now. I am talking about the perpetuated social dramas, they are driving me nuts! Rise above it people! Let it go and move on! Things happen, people can disapoint you, nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes, we all have our low points, we do not all get along, it is ok if you never trust person 'x' again, but for chrissake make that decision and then let it go, if not then it is just self perpetuated drama, which leads me to my next point... I am so done with self perpetuated drama! People who create and perpetuate drama constantly in there lives... really, it is a waste of time and energy, not everything has to be a struggle or conflict or drama it is that way because you create it that way, because you crave drama, because you perpetuate it and it gets seriously tiresome after a while. Life is what you make of it, happiness is a choice, so is drama, it is your choice. CHOICE! I am not saying that I am free of drama or that I am perfect, I know I am not and if you think this is about you, it might be, but please let me reassure you that there are many situations, people and things going on right now that have brought about this rant, no one person or situation, but several, some very, very close to me, and others that I am just exposed to for one reason or another. I am not saying not to rant or talk or share if something is going on in your world, shit happens, by all means get it out, work it out, do what you need, but really, after it is done, let it go and move forward, perpetuating drama just takes valiable time away from better things in your life that you could be giving your time and energy to. Ok, that is all I wanted to say. For the record I think each of you are amazing and it just hurts my heart and head to see any of you wasting your precious time and energy on creating or perpetuating dramas, I really believe that each of you is better than that and worthy of more than you are allowing yourselves when you perpetuate dramas, hurt and conflict. Trust me, there is plenty of injustice out there in the world to be upset about, let the personal stuff go, learn what you need from it and then move forward, it really is not worth perpetuating, really... (From Taramonster's blog) 
From the link:
Tue, March 25, 2008 - 5:19 PM
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"~ 60 seconds of Buck/Philip Bury (from Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys) in the Berkeley Square kitchen - I was taping the band Christmas (which became Combustible Edison) and after the show drunkenly staggered into the kitchen and filmed about 60 seconds of Buck chatting with friends, Game Theory drummer Gil Ray, and brother Hector retrieving his drink" www.youtube.com/watch 
The entire interview is done as he eats a large delicious sandwich.
Fri, March 21, 2008 - 4:12 PM
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Part 1: tinyurl.com/233xvf The rest can be found here: tinyurl.com/yo6c4w Q: “What would you like to see happen that would put your faith back into music?” A: (Mike Patton) “I don’t know. People banging on dead bodies?” A prophesy of things to come? –Fantomas? He also mentions the (incredible) San Francisco band, Grotus. A band that should have never gone away… On a side note I was at a Grotus show around the time of this interview, they were playing the (old) DNA Lounge & Mike came out & did vocals for a few songs clad in a zippered leather mask (to ensure anonymity?) my friend Seb & I knew who it was because Juice (the drummer for Grotus) was a friend. I sort of recall something about Patton drinking a mysterious fluid from a woman’s shoe. Considering his reputation at that time, it wasn’t difficult to extrapolate what that liquid might be. But that was years ago, I was under the influence of many substances, it was the end of the show & my condition may have influenced what I thought I was witnessing. www.markprindle.com/kearney-i.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brandan Kearney - 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brandan Kearney is one of the great unheralded movers and shakers from the 80s-90s SF underground rock scene. He has played in such nationally known acts as World of Pooh (with Barbara Manning) and Caroliner (crazy SF freaks with handmade album covers), as well as oodles of other bands of every stripe and color (including Faxed Head, the Three Doctors and the Bon Larvis Boogie Woogie Blues Band, all of which also featured Zip Code Rapist Gregg Turkington and famed Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance), and best of all, he's the guy on the right on the cover of the Thinking Fellers album Mother Of All Saints! He has co-authored a record review guide with Gregg Turkington that will be published by Drag City in October 2002. But this isn't any old ordinary record review guide.. Read on for no details! We conducted our interview via AOL Instant Messenger - brought to you by AOL! My words are in bold, his are in plain text. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, here goes: You were part of an extremely cynical underground scene in early 90s SF, yet your philosophy seems completely different from that sort of "murder is cool, Manson is cool" stuff. Could you describe your philosophy and how it differs from a lot of the types of people that you used to play music with and to? I don't think I'd glorify what's in my head with a word like "philosophy." And most of the people I've ever played music with are just fine, ethics-wise...just like most people are. You could sum up what I believe in as "compassion." I can give of bunch of fancy intellectual justifications for that stance, but that sort of detracts from a position that would ideally be automatic and thoughtless. Can you elaborate? I remember you mentioning once that everywhere you went on tour, people wanted to show you movies of people dying and "edgy, underground" things like that. That detached "hip" attitude is so easy to fall into when everybody around you is into it, but you seem not to have fallen prey. I suppose I understood that evil was monotonous, and that the imagination that responds to evil is impoverished. It tries to make up for that by having grandiose dreams in which evil has actual power, but that doesn't help...any more than a drab little building would be helped by being made a hundred times larger. I think that for most of those people, it was just a phase anyway. I didn't get with that program, because I was old-fashioned enough to recognize the humanity of the people in those movies, and to believe that life is something that needs to be respected in and of itself. I don't get a thrill out of schoolyard fantasies of power and dominance. I'm not interested in power, and I'm not interested, especially, in asserting an individual consciousness. Basically, I try to live my life the way reasonable people always have: I try to be cooperative and fair and compassionate, and to put other people before myself to the extent that I can. And needless to say, I reached that point only through years of being a confused and confusing jerk, and being cruel to people I cared about. What I'm trying to say is that the right way to live, for me anyway, is neither revolutionary nor philosophically complex. People all over the world behave compassionately every single day. So I'm describing a process of arriving through great mental and physical toil at a philosophical stance that is really a human birthright...one which I always accepted as correct, intellectually, but couldn't always act on because I let stupid things get in the way. Tell us about this crazy town where you grew up (hippies, famous people living there). Jeez. Famous people? The Jefferson Airplane had a summer place there. We used to climb the fence and sneak into their pool. Hippies? There were a lot of hippies there. I don't know...Bolinas was Mecca for a lot of poets and painters and so forth. So you had artists, with all the usual flaws of the artist compounded by the use of hallucinogens and alcohol. And then you had the sort of naive wide-eyed hippies who'd flock around artists like those birds who pick flesh from the teeth of crocodiles. And they in turn attracted the sort of biker lunatics who'd prey on the naive for sex, drugs, and money. Oh, suddenly Jim Carroll of "Dry Dreams" fame isn't famous enough to be mentioned? Well, he lived down the street from me. We had the layout sheets for "The Basketball Diaries" littered all over the goddamn house, because he and my father had the same publisher. Can you talk about the nutjob stalker? Or would you prefer not to? I guess I'm trying to pull together all the crazy shit about your childhood and then ask you how you feel it affected what you are like now.. or something. Who knows what the hell I'm doing. Christ, I don't know. To make a long story as short as possible, one of the more aggressive lunatics out there burned our house down in 1979. We barely got out with our lives. After that he stalked us for--I don't know, a couple of years or so. He was camped out behind our rented house for a while. There was a lot of tension. When did you finally get out of that hellhole? And did you go straight to San Francisco? I didn't really think of Bolinas as a hellhole so much, believe it or not. What happened was I'd reached a pretty low ebb around the time I was 15 or so. I was an absolute mess. I'd flunked out of school, I was miserable about any number of things, and so on. So somehow, I pulled myself out of it, took the GED and started going to college. I met a girl there who had gone to school with me in San Francisco and we started dating. The catch was, she was moving to Canada in a month or so. I was pretty broken up when she left, so I hopped on a Greyhound bus and moved to Toronto for a while. Eventually, we both moved back to Bolinas. But we were always driving to San Francisco for shows and movies and whatnot, and it seemed sensible just to move there. Moths to the flame! What year this was, and what was going on in SF? Was Jello Biafra still "hot"? Who WAS hot? What was going on? And how did you, as a new kid on the block, assimilate yourself into the underground culture? I never did assimilate myself, I don't think. I couldn't give myself over wholly to anything. I never really dressed liked a punk or anything. I mean, by Bolinas standards I did and I got a lot of flak for that out there, but in San Francisco I probably seemed pretty tame. As for who was hot...fuck, I don't remember. At the moment, we're talking about the years between 1981 and 1985, excluding '83, which I spent in Toronto. Biafra was making a pest of himself, of course. There was a lot of death rock, precursors to the great Goth movement. Flipper was happening; I was a big fan of their brand of entertainment. I saw a show in 1984 with Caroliner and Glorious Din and Faith No More...that was a "formative experience," I guess. Oh! You weren't a founding member? Of Caroliner? Yeah, I thought you were. Oh, no. They were going for about three years before I joined. Was this when Gregg Turkington was still drumming for them? Gregg was drumming when I saw them in 1984, but I think he quit pretty soon after. But no records? The first record came much later, like a year or so before I joined. Probably 1986. What was the first record you were on? Hmm. I think it was this "To Sell Kerosene Door to Door" double-album that Eric from Glorious Din put out in 1987. It had Caroliner, World of Pooh, Archipelago Brewing Company, and Dog Food. You know, back then you could put out cassettes and still be valid, man. Were you on the first Caroliner LP though? No. That's probably why it's so good! HA! Which ones were you on? Because the others DON'T MATTER. Second through...tenth? Except for "Rings on the Awkward Shadow." They really didn't mind if I sat that one out, as Jethro Tull would say. Hey man, if you ain't on "Doots," you ain't on SHIT. That's one way of putting it. You've explained that Caroliner was really Grux's baby, as far as the songwriting and image and whatnot. What role did you play in the band? How do the non-Kearney records compare to the Kearney-era records? I feel bad even discussing this, really. The band was supposed to exist without personalities, and I still respect that to an extent, even though it was always kind of an open secret. As far as comparisons, I think people have given me way too much credit, because if you look at the first record, or "Rings on the Awkward Shadow," they're great, and I had absolutely nothing to do with them. I think if I'd never joined they still would have made good records...maybe even better ones. But my specific role had mainly to do with recording and arranging things...production, I guess you'd call it. I didn't write the songs, and I often played within the confines of what Grux wanted to hear...on record, at least. Getting away from the band itself, I'd say that of the things I've done, the Caroliner records are probably what I'm happiest with, artistically. But was the band qualitatively better with me than without me? I don't think you could necessarily say that. You seem to get involved in a lot of bands that "exist without personalities." Am I even allowed to say that you're in Faxed Head? Or the Bon Larvis Boogie Woogie Blues Band? You just did, asshole. OH NO!!!! Brandan signed off at 2:35:56 PM. Brandan signed on at 2:36:00 PM. Got cut off there for a minute. I have a shoddy modem held in with tape. Whew! For about four seconds there, I was afraid that that whole "Faxed Head revelation" had destroyed our friendship. But getting back -- What's with all the "joke" bands? Faxed Head? Bon Larvis Band? Three Doctors? Did you treat these as "serious" jokes? Or was it just all a goof? Or were you just following Turkington's lead? I never did understand why he spent so much money releasing albums that weren't even MEANT to be enjoyed. I guess they were "serious jokes," in that they were intended as a sort of commentary. (I think it used to be called satire.) And I don't see why I should be getting grilled about "joke" music by Mark Prindle. That's like being called a faggot by Freddie Mercury. Or being called a faggot by Mark Prindle! No, wait.. The financial thing needs to be put in perspective, too. For instance, how much would Sonic Youth or Sting spend on one of their albums? I think we're to be praised for making bad music so economically. And the money we saved went to support vegan restaurants. Actually, what would be helpful to the reading audience would be if you could quickly name all the bands you were in, with a short description of each one. How would that be helpful to ANYONE? Let me rephrase: I personally am very curious as to how you would describe all of the different work you've done. Because a lot of it is almost unclassifiable in |
