another saturday night . . .
s.a. is chattin' and i am rummaging. . .
in the mid 80's my sis, angel, and her friend tim started this really cool underground mag, 'background noise'. it was written on the fly, printed on the sly, passed out at local gigs, on streetcorners and record shops ... and it carried on for a good couple of years.
everything was fun at that time, the bands in new orleans were many and diverse. and with a ton of great venues like the dream palace and jimmy's it had room to grow, altho like all good things, some good people died and the rest moved on.
but, from the straight-up rock of 'force of habit', the psycotic-pop styings of 'multiple places', the doomed 'outside children', the ex-patriot 'monsters' and the dreaming 'random sample' the whole scene had a very communal feel. everyone playing and writing with everyone else. very intoxicating times...
and not just that, back then the whole music scene was poppin'; the replacements and husker du, the paisley underground bands like the three o'clock and rain parade, the north carolina/georgia connection with r.e.m., let's active and love tractor.
well, i was a contributor for the rag and got to write basically whatever the fuck i wanted; interview bands, record reviews, write bizarre short stories, or anything that filled a space. so my bits were, well, a lot like this blog.
the stuff above is a song-poem that never got to be a song and a drawing i did for the cover of 3rd issue.
i kinda quit doing alot of that stuff, went to college to write for a college paper, then concentrated on music after that.
i should do more of it i know, but i guess it will have to wait for now, til we get back home.
a few mp3s from new orleans bands, 20 or so years ago (via yousendit):
multiple places - fistfull
outside children - no big hurry
the monsters - born erect
random sample - i saw the whole thing
beggarman thief - the black cat
(more about the children and monsters et al later) . . .
oh, i think this is prolly my ex-future-step-son-in-law
6 comments:
them were the good ole days! selling the zine for $1 a pop to buy beers for the night. I sure wish it could still be that simple.
yes they were, but so are these days, and those to come. thanks sis for the nod. can't wait to get home, keep the pool warm and the drinks cold. . . here we come!
i saw that ep, it looks real cool for such a cheap price, i think i'll nab one too! good to see you out and about.
and denver is a planned stop on the late summer exodus to the easy. . . you'll know!
Man, I bet this blogging really brings you back to your early writing days for that paper. One of the things I like about having the blog is being able to write anything I want. It sounds so simple but when you've worked for other people your whole life, the sense of freedom of expression is a wonderful thing.
Thanks for the kind words. Penelope and I had a blast doing the mag (or rag, if you prefer). It was a lot of work and a lot of fun all at the same time. What we were doing back then, and what you are doing right now, is exercising the greatest freedom in the world--freedom of speech. I don't think we realize how good we have it. Sure, Bush sucks donkey dick, but somehow, just being able to say that without fear makes it better. Now if I can just get more people to say it with me...
l.k., as usual this is the hardest thing i have to do, dredge up my oogly past, but it does feel good after having no outlet for a few years.
and tim, miss penelope musta told ya about the post. how ya been man? long time no see, we need to talk. we'll be back home soon, and i got a head full of ideas that are drivin' me insane!
it is so funny to see you on my blog!
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