I’m not a person that takes to being censored in any way very well. The muckity mucks at BeatRoute don’t like when I go off the musical beaten track in my columns but how can I not when all this shit is happening around us. How many times can I discuss shitty turnouts, poor stage changeover manners or cross booking newbie promoters.
I was looking over all my articles since October 2011 when I started writing for this paper. I touch on political issues a lot. I’m a punk. A lot of activists are punks. It’s my salute to their tireless work. Someone has to give a shit about the ‘man’ running civilization into the ground. I had written about music in reference too. I had lamented about the former shitty DJ at hockey games and people potty training at the bar. I had given up the idea of ever starting the Hellhole in this gentrification-obsessed city and wonder why I can’t sell off the Cobes fixtures I have in storage. I talked about my pickled liver and quitting the booze. I memorialized those that have passed.
I was stoked about the brief opportunity Fortune Sound Club gave me putting on free big punk shows. Soon a big name promoter stepped in to book those same bands as monied shows. It was great while it lasted. We celebrated as the Feds finally allowed foreign bands into the country with way less red tape, although the scrutiny is still there. Baby steps. I was excited to bring art and music together in a show called Subculture. I am grudgingly doing #19 after a long hiatus. At least the artists give a shit. The general public is fairly uninterested.
I would rather write about how disgusting Beyonce’s new music video is, and the way it is encouraging the sexualization of the young girls who idolize her. There she is, clad in lingerie, writhing away on a chair and then dry humping some dude in the next scene. Fucking ridiculous. Pay attention women who are letting your tween daughters believe this Pop Star style shit is all that women are about! It’s playing with fire right into predators’ pockets.
BeatRoute would like me to write about the music scene more. In a mag that’s already full of band articles, album opinions and show reviews, I say redundant.
I’m really not into gushing up what’s going on at Funkys. I find that pretentious. We already have ads in BeatRoute and the Straight that contain our band listings. My job is being a venue booking coordinator. I’m only a promoter these days on occasion. You’ll notice on the posters I whip up for the venues advertising and event purposes that I don’t have No Bollocks smeared all over them. In listings I use the promoter tag to try to get music editors even remotely interested in local music. Ha! Good luck unless you’re the latest hipster trend these days.
So the Georgia Straight is not taking emailed music listings any longer. They are switching to an annoying tech form system. They are following the lead of what the Westender did a couple of years ago, and has been looking emaciated ever since. I wonder if Steve Newton will still have a job if an online form is replacing his major duty.
I think local bands have to step up pumping their own gigs. There is a real laziness that sets in with the tech age. Promoters and venues can only do so much with an apathetic local music audience.
I need a photo too. Above is a collage of me doing a bunch of shit in the city.
- by wendythirteen
