Not so much a letter this go-round but... a guest appearance via e-mail interview this week from acclaimed author and entertainment attorney Donald Passman (REM, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, etc.). Holy beans, even we can still hardly believe it.

Don's latest version of All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Seventh Edition includes all kinds of Music 2.0 updates and is MANDATORY.

Take it away Don....

OUTLANDOS MUSIC: Radiohead, Trent Reznor, Jill Sobule... with historically built-in fan bases, these artists make giving music away for free, DIY fundraising packages and social media marketing look easy. But what if you're a complete unknown? Where do you start?

DONALD PASSMAN: MANY ARTISTS ARE NOW STARTING WITH A VERY GRASS ROOTS LEVEL. THEY BUILD A FANBASE BY GIVING AWAY THINGS (PINS, STICKERS, ETC.) AT THEIR SHOWS IN EXCHANGE FOR AN EMAIL ADDRESS, THEN THEY STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEIR FANS ON A REGULAR BASIS, BUILDING A FOLLOWING UNTIL IT REACHES CRITICAL MASS.

OM: Because so many artists have been quick to attempt the above model, “free” may, in fact, be dead. Now that we expect it; where’s the value in that? Which then begs the question [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Out ‘n’ about in the City of Angels with Blurt’s roving shutterbug (10-20 – 11-2)

By Scott Dudelson

(above) Monsters of Folk (full band) - Live @ Greek Theatre (www.greektheatrela.com) - 10/20

 Monsters of Folk (Jim James) - Live @ Greek Theatre (www.greektheatrela.com) - 10/20

Monsters of Folk (Conor Oberst) - Live @ Greek Theatre (www.greektheatrela.com) - 10/20

Marc Broussard - Live @ The Mint (www.themintla.com) - 10/26

Pete Wentz (of Fall Out Boy) & Gabe Saporta (of Cobra Starship)- Doing something fittingly phallic @ Club Nokia (www.clubnokia.com) - 10/27

Ace Frehley - Live @ Nokia Theatre (www.nokiatheatrelalive.com) - 10/28

Alice Cooper - Live @ Nokia Theatre (www.nokiatheatrelalive.com) - 10/28

Alice Cooper Setlist @ Nokia Theatre (www.nokiatheatrelalive.com) - 10/28

Trey Anastasio & Mike Gordon of Phish @ Phish Festival 8 - 10/30

Mike Gordon of Phish - Live @ Phish Festival 8 - 10/31

Phish - Live @ Phish Festival 8 - 10/31

Phish Fest 8 Best Halloween Costumes - 10/31

***

Scott Dudelson is a music journalist and concert photographer based in Los Angeles.  Scott is also the Chief Operating Officer of Prodege, LLC, the company behind www.swagbucks.com.

My fellow Americans,

I bring you great tidings of tremendous jubilation! Fear no longer, for everything they have written is true, and I have found salvation!

Yes, my friends, I am becoming a responsible citizen.

How you may ask? Well, these things go in stages.
First things first, I AM GETTING MARRIED.

Let the angels rejoice! The Devil has been tamed! Hallelujah, hallelujah!

Now, before we say amen, and break off into the who-what-when part of this, let me clarify a few things.

Most of you are aware of my sublime, decadent Libertine indulgences that have made me somewhat of an outlaw in the Los Angeles social scene. I've never denied it.

Monogamy was for suckers. I was living the lawless life of an ambitious bohemian, always on the hunt for something fresh, something exciting, that "New Car Smell".

I thought of myself as a noble savage.

I wasn't committing moral turpitude nor had I pledged myself to some vast Lesbian Jihad (as some have charged) - I was simply obeying my fundamental instincts, "When you are hungry, you eat".

But not everyone can handle the weight of this kind of freedom, so it was understandable when folks like George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, Chris Brown, and Mel Gibson all engraved my name in their Enemies List for the repeated (and salacious) incidents where upon their girlfriends found their way to my den of sin and were left comatose in the twisted sheets of my dark-wood, crimson draped, Hindu bridal bed.

Of course, it wasn't always actors and singers that I inadvertently touched; indeed, I am the scourge of the corporately powered publicity agent charged with keeping America's cinematic sweethearts squeaky clean.

Many have cursed my name with pox and plague after discovering that their clients were photographed shoving their slippery tongues down my throat.

But why should I say no when an A-list actress decides she wants to walk on the dyke-side and engage in the dark Sapphic arts? Why should I care if she was dating someone, or how this might affect her career?

Well, I didn't then, and I don't now.

Kissing a girl is a career killer? For who?  It worked out all right for Katy Perry. Ah, good point, she didn't really kiss a girl - she just used the imagery to give chubs to all her pre-teen emo-hipster fans in their tight white jeans and fluorescent multi-belts so she could sell a bajillion records.

Remember, this is America (goddamn it!) and our hypocrisies are rich, bold, and full-bodied!

We encourage our women to be hetero-flexible as long as they are college-age-unknowns and appear on tacky, tug-job DVD's you can buy at 3AM for $9.99 while watching ADULT SWIM on Sunday nights.

Or so I'm told.

Well, that life is over and I am done with that savagery. Be brave O'Hollywood! Your women are safe! The menace is no more!

I am madly in love and there is no going back.

Indeed, a couple of weeks ago I decided to make it official. I proposed on the lawn of the ritzy beach house I rented just as the sun was setting over the mighty Pacific Ocean.

Her hands trembled, tears burst from her eyes, and she blubbered a messy, "YES!" We kissed and spent the night coiled like serpents, making love, and imagining all the silly details of spending our old age together.

The next morning she called her mother to share the good news.

The shit-storm was immediate and devastating.

I could hear her mother screaming from the phone, "Your father didn't fight on the beaches of Panama so you could marry a lesbian! Besides, your eternal soul is at stake, and what would all of our friends say? No. This is madness! I forbid it!"

To her, this was a slap to the face of the baby Jesus and a full frontal assault on the very foundation of American moral fiber.

For the next 20 minutes she blathered on and on about how it's illegal for "queers" to marry in California, and how she wasn't homophobic because the whole family votes Democrat, and blah, blah, blah.

Her mother hung up and that was that.
All seemed lost.

Now, remember folks, this is the love of my life, THE ONE, I would die for her.  If her mother, the laws and Gods of this nation, will not recognize our love as we are, then something will have to change.

Drastic times call for drastic measures.

I am an American. I love this country. And I realize this decision might cost me my career, the respect of my peers, the love of my own family - but I see no other way.

In order to legally (and morally) marry the woman I love - I have no other choice but to ...become A MAN.

Yes, sexual-reassignment surgery.
No, I am not kidding.
I am buying a penis. A real one.

Oh, how I will miss my magnificent breasts and elegant vagina!

But say good-bye, I must. The doctor assures me that my metamorphosis will be a masterpiece that will shame Michelangelo! I will be fitted with two perfectly plump and proportioned testicles and (as the centerpiece) a beautiful, robust and veiny, 8-inch peen.

As an added incentive, they are going to install a free iSex Kit^TM (with optional interchanging LED lights) that uses sensors implanted in the shaft to transmit data to my iPod during coitus so that the speed and rhythm of the music will match the speed and rhythm of the fornication.

As convincing as my surgeon might be, I remain disturbed and concerned. But, ah L'amour, my heart screams that all this is worth it!

My transformation will authenticate my citizenship as a REAL, honest-to-goodness American!

No one - not the church - not the government - NO ONE - can deny me the right to marry as long as I have a peen in my panties.  

Does it matter that my "Patriotic Penis" was made in a sweatshop by slave labor? Not in the slightest.

The only thing that matters is symbolism.

No dick? Get a dick. Bingo. You are on the B-squad. Your woman may hate it, she may hate YOU, but what matters most is, America will LOVE it.  

The majority has voted to destroy the lives of our fellow citizens based on what they believe is a choice. (Just like religion) And though there is no prerequisite in the Declaration of Independence that requires Americans to be heterosexual, wealthy, white, Christian, or male, the vote to deny Gay Rights is the asterisked footnote our forefathers meant to add but obviously forgot.

Besides, if the MAJORITY can vote to take away the rights of other tax paying citizens - what is to stop them with the Gays? What's next? Atheists? The Disabled? The Obese? The Different? YOU?

Depends ... Are you one of Them?
No? Then who are you?

Well, I don't want to find out. I'm tired of fighting the soggy masses and I'm ready to jump on the winning side.

The procedure is scheduled. The Amex has been charged. Tiny Indonesian hands are already hard at work on my squeaky new silicone-slick testes and powerful prosthetic prick.

I have consulted with my lawyers (and their rabbis) - it is official.

With a little money (and a lot of medicine) a Gay woman can surgically become a Man and LEGALLY marry her Lesbian fiancé.

Ah. That New Cock Smell.
Unmistakably American.

Vivian Weathers' Bad Weather

By Carl Hanni

Here's a question for academics and true-blood music lovers alike: how important  is biography and contextulization to fully appreciate an artist's work? Or can the work simply do all the speaking for itself?

Consider Vivian Weathers. His recorded output appears to be limited to a single solo album, Bad Weather, a couple of singles, a track on a dub compilation and playing bass and some guitar on dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson's epochal first three records. This little burst of activity all took place between 1978 and 1980; he seems to have evaporated since then. Biographical information? I heard he was a school-mate of LKJ; other than that, good luck.

But Weathers' one album is so solid and in the pocket that that's all he needs to have left a foot print on lover's-rock reggae. Released on Virgin's Front Line imprint in 1978, Bad Weather proffers a British Jamaican take on roots reggae steeped in American soul and blues. It takes about 20 seconds into the first track, "Going To The Blues," to realize that here is, quite literally, a unique voice. Against a slippery groove Weather's sweet falsetto slides in like a whisper in the ear. Weathers can express pleasure and pain simultaneously; his voice mirrors two sides of the human equation, sweet and sultry while also melancholy and blue. This duality plays itself out over all ten tracks of Bad Weather. "Hip Hug" is as as sexy a slow jam anything cut in a British or Jamaican studio, but again with the push and pull; Weathers sounds both ecstatic and tortured. Same with the sizzling, slow burning "The Way You Walk;" you almost fear for Weathers, he seems so vulnerable and wrapped up in a tenuous lovers embrace. He broadens the palate to include social (in)justice on and racial identity on  "Street Talk" and "Star of Sufferation" with no loss of intensity.

Weathers band, including several of LKJ's key players, lays down a tight, smoking groove. Guitarist John Varnom is the ringer, and his slinky, almost verbal leads wrap each song in an outrageously sexy soul-blues embrace. Vivian Weathers struck gold in 1978, and anyone lucky enough to locate a copy of Bad Weather can share the wealth.

***

You can leave comments below or e-mail them to me directly at modmedia@theriver.com .

Carl Hanni is a music writer, music publicist, disc jockey and vinyl archivist living in Tucson, AZ. He  hosts the vinyl-only Scratchy Record Show every Tuesday night at the Red Room in downtown Tucson, and spins records wherever and whenever he can. He believes that in a better (all analog) world all records would be released on vinyl, but takes good music from wherever he finds it--even on CD. His feature piece on legendary bass player/record producer Harvey Brooks was recently published in Goldmine.

How difficult is it for the Hollywood studios to come up with an original screenplay, script or clever idea?  Or is it far easier to steal a film that's been done before (and so much better!) and do it again?

This remake crap just has to stop!  There ought to be a law against it.  Take, for example, "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3."  It was a pretty good crime drama released in the late seventies.  So why bother updating the story of a crew of gents who decide to hijack a New York subway train full of folks for ransom?  Maybe the meeting went like this:  "Okay, we replace the train detective" (originally played by Walter Matthau) "because who wants to see a frumpy actor like that today.  Instead, let's put in someone like Denzel Washington--he's box-office gold!  And, instead of an understated actor like Robert Shaw (sure, he was good in "Jaws," but we're talking about a subway train, not a blood-thirsty shark!), let's have John Travolta play the leader of the gang taking the train.  The guy ain't Vinnie Barbarino anymore!  No, he's proven he can play a greasy hit man with Tarentino in "Pulp Fiction."  And maybe we can get him to do a little dance to make the ladies hot?!  Yeah, we'll see some big numbers on this movie!"

But, here's the thing:  Having a great, unattractive character actor like Matthau as the dude who saves the day was a prime move on the casting director's part because Walter is a whole lot more believable in the role than a toned-up, brown-eyed, handsome man's man like Denzel.  That's why the seventies were an incredible time for movies. You could never make a film like "The Deer Hunter" today because the average movie-goer (or Netflixer) will not sit through a three-hour-plus drama. But, oh, sure, they will suck down their large sodas and chomp on that fake butter-flavored popcorn with the whole family watching some slick car-commercial chock full o' CGI disguised as a sci-fi action film called "Transformers" 'cause Things Get Blowed Up Real Good!

I could've never imagined in a zillion years that the classic Hitchcock horror film "Psycho" would be remade, but longtime indie-film director Gus Van Sant took the plunge.  Gus, baby--what the f' were you thinking?!  Nobody (are you listening, Brian DePalma?) can be the genius that Alfred Hitchcock was.  And placing comedic wise-ass Vince Vaughn in the brilliant killer role that Anthony Perkins so sublimely made iconic couldn't possibly work.  The fact that the original was done in black & white was perfectly chilling, but Van Sant decided to remake it in color.

Rocker Rob Zombie loves old horror flicks and figures that some of them, such as "House of 1000 Corpses" and "Halloween" could be done with even more background story plus gore, so he's making his own versions.  The multi-pierced, tattooed youthsters have gone simply psycho over Rob's "Devil's Rejects" remake and even dress up like the nasty characters at screenings a la "Rocky Horror Picture Show."  No matter how much the critics tear his films apart, Rob's reworks have their cult following.

Even Hollywood directors have done their remake-nasty all over popular French movies such as "La Femme Nikita."  They thought:  If we can dumb it up for an American audience with big U.S. stars, then it will be cha-ching! at the box office.  They called the American version "Point of No Return."  The original is a stylishly uber-violent film about a female criminal trained to be an assassin for the government, and it's got a smokin' hot babe named Anne Parillaud in the title role.  The remake?  It put Bridget Fonda in Anne's stiletto heels and Harvey Keitel as "the cleaner" killer.  Harvey was passable, but he was definitely no Jean Reno!  And, please, Bridget Fonda?  No way, baby.  But the joke is on the Hollywood assclowns because "Point of ..." bombed at the box office, while "Nikita" soared.  And the French original had a limited release in art theatres, to boot.

Here is a list of movies that never needed to get the do-over treatment but did anyway:  "Lolita," "The Manchurian Candidate," "Wings of Desire," "Cheaper by the Dozen," "The Out of Towners," "The Getaway," "The Haunting," "War of the Worlds," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "The Day of the Jackal," and "Bad News Bears."  If all this isn't enough to make you want to burn, Hollywood, burn, how about this:  I heard that L. Ron Hubbard-following, couch-jumping, acting fool Tom Cruise bought the rights to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and wants to play Robert Redford's part as "Sundance."  Hopefully, the (L. Ron) Hubbardship beams his ass up before the whole fiasco goes into production.     

Even Donald Passman agrees, "the common denominator to all successful people is a blend of talent and drive, with (frankly) drive having the edge." Translation: just like any entrepreneur, you've got to drive the ship. You've got to lead the way.

The question then is... how? That's what everyone wants to know. For sure, owning a compelling product is only the beginning. What you do with it is then the challenge, creating a sense of more-than-music for your fans, leading them to/through it.

So, how do you attach meaning to your music? How do you assign value to it, above and beyond the music itself?

The easiest answer: exploit like-tribes. Your first instinct here might be other artists (co-bill, both sets of fans get introduced to your respective bands, etc.). Fine. That works [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing." -Muhammad Ali.

I have spent the better part of my youth trekking around this great big country of ours hauling around songs and wearing out the soles of my shoes, and I believe I have seen the light, many times over. I've seen it in the eyes of young kids screaming back at me they're belief in a song, I've seen it in the middle of Texas broken down and lost, and I've seen it in my own sleep deprived eyes, to name just a few. Its been the darkness, though, as of late that has got me crowing. The darkness of my country lost and my place in it.

I have written song after song about this and that; fuck the war, fight the power, kill your scene, and all that and such. Most of it has been a reaction to what I felt powerless over or just tried to understand. Now in a time of rebuilding and introspection we seem more lost than ever, though. Yes, I've seen more depression in cities, boarded up metropolis and jobless eyes than ever before, but most of all I've seen this complete void of any kind of cohesive unity. Now maybe I sound a bit naive and it never existed in the first place but only in idealized speech and song.

Today more than ever, I feel a country without any kind of identity. I mean we are all from the same place just different worlds, right? Economics are the religion of the day, the bankers are the clerics and god is a fleeting, vague image of comfort and a new car. I was born of a generation that grew up punk as fuck. We were the evil empire, we lost Vietnam and then started a bullshit war in the Middle East and murdered for capitalism and this "ism" and that "ism," and blah fucking blah fucking blah. Where is the love I ask myself ? What do I latch on to as 'culture'?

Skateboarding and the underground music I loved was the culture of my youth. To you it may have been school, or fashion, or art, but what has grown from that? How has that culture rich in creativity, innovation, and spirit failed us so? I mean, who the fuck are we? Are we merely surviving our parents mistakes only to repeat them? I sing in a Punk Rock band and don't think for a second. I don't look at bridge or beautiful piece of architecture or artificial heart and go "damn, am I doing enough?". What am I doing to further not just my country, but my generation?

All these things I write will just help me better understand my feelings and probably just tangle my head even further. I do love being alive and I love this country. We created Blues, Jazz, Country music and Rock and fucking Roll for god sakes! I want to be this country, I don't want to kill for it or die for it. I want to create it from the ground up again and stand beside and be proud of it... Anyone else in?
      

Your friend,

 Jason Cruz 

Out ‘n' about in the City of Angels - and Memphis - with Blurt's roving shutterbug (11/2 - 11/15).

By Scott Dudelson

(above) Neko Case - Live @ Minglewood Hall (in Memphis, TN: www.minglewoodhall.com) - 11/04

Ian McLagan (of Small Faces / Faces) - Live @ Hi-Tone Cafe (in Memphis, TN: www.hitonememphis.com) - 11/05

Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull) - Live @ The Wiltern (www.myspace.com/thewiltern) - 11/06

Widespread Panic - Live @ The Orpheum (www.laorpheum.com) - 11/07

Dave Schools (of Widespread Panic) - Live @ The Orpheum (www.laorpheum.com) - 11/07

Eleni Mandell & Inara George (of Bird & The Bee) - Live @ The Bootleg Theater (www.bootlegtheater.com) - 11/10

Fu Manchu - Live @ The Troubadour (www.troubadour.com) - 11/11

Huey Lewis & The News - Live @ Club Nokia (www.clubnokia.com) - 11/12

Chris Barron (of The Spin Doctors) - Live @ The Mint (www.themintla.com) - 11/12

The Raveonettes - Live @ Henry Fonda Music Box (www.henryfondatheater.com) - 11/13

***

Scott Dudelson is a music journalist and concert photographer based in Los Angeles.  Scott is also the Chief Operating Officer of Prodege, LLC, the company behind www.swagbucks.com.

Been digging through the holiday stacks here at Outlandos HQ, getting ready to program THE DAILY DOSE for December. I tell you, it nearly killed me trying to figure out what to play next to the McKenzie Brothers doing the 12 Days of Christmas. But it's my favorite holiday song so I have to have it play it for you guys. Be sure to check in each day to see what we've got cookin’ for the holidays along with our hand-picked wine and cheese recommendations to go with each song. Yes, we are bonkers.

That said, if you haven't already, join THE DAILY DOSE on Facebook and become our friend (it still always feels sooooo high-school asking that). We'll look forward to checking out pictures of you when you were 12... or whatever it is you've got posted there.

Now for what's been playing at Outlandos HQ so far this month:

1. WDST's Unleashed



One of the best new music shows out there. Mostly new but they pipe in some older gems as well. Sound familiar? Ida and Dave have killer taste [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Carrie Prejean is just what the Republican party needs and I love her for it. Mind you, this isn't puppy love. This is an unabashed, honest-to-God, slap-me-I'm-seeing-fireworks-kind of love. Where do I begin? That flowing mane, those vixenish blue eyes, fluid hips (more on those in a second) and that fearless intellect of hers. After all, it's about time we had somebody speak their mind under the Miss America stagelights--no more of the usual "I-just-want-world-peace-and-to-teach-the-illiterate children-of-the-world-how-to-read-the-bible" pap from Prejean. She spoke from her heart (or at least something resembling a heart--at press time, we're not able to confirm its existence). And although she's now a disgraced former beauty queen, her popularity (and my love of all things Prejean) continue to grow exponentially. 

The news last week of the leaking of several sex tapes have led to further controversy. Said tapes reportedly have Prejean in sizzling solo bedroom performances--with Lee Greenwood's searing "Proud to Be An American" as musical accompaniment--each of which end in crescendos that would move any real American who chooses to watch. These private recorded moments portray a woman's love for her man (whom they were clearly intended) and the freedom she has to record them in The Only Country That Matters. Unlike those Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian sex tapes, where the sex is hedonistic, dispassionate and clearly immoral, Prejean's celluloid debut should reaffirm her allegiance to God, Country, and No Gay Marriage. 

Clearly, the Republican Party needs their own Paris Hilton (who, when contacted for this story, wasn't familiar with the term "Republican", but did perk up at hearing the word "Party"). Having their own sex tape celebrity could potentially elevate their image with the college-age fence-sitters afraid of the parties extreme right wing. Look, if the Elephants in the room were to ask me, I'd say allow heavyweight porn distributor Vivid to release the tapes and let the world see what a red-blooded American girl is capable of when she puts her, um, mind to it. Why not drape Carrie in an American flag on the DVD cover, and pass them out free at every Tea Party event from Bakersfield to Birmingham? 

With each passing day, my hope for Prejean's popularity and further ascent into the ranks of fellow A-list conservative celebrities like Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Meghan McCain, Jessica Simpson and Wilford Brimley stays strong. After all, a woman is only as good as the company she keeps, right? Carrie, I love you--and all of the embarrassment you bring to the party that wanted nothing more than to make you one of their own. And I love you most of all for offering them more of what they know best--shame.

There's a whole generation of little punk rockers that would put Green Day and Blink 182 on their Mt. Rushmore of punk rock.

But there's a whole slew of stellar punk rock vets out there that paved the way for today's spiky haired rebels. One of the most important, but underrated of that group, is Southern California's Channel 3.

Founded by Mike Magrann and Kimm Gardener in 1980, the band found a way to mesh both hardcore and the more melodic punk rock of bands like The Ramones and The Clash.

After a number of releases in the 80's - including the song "You Make Me Feel Cheap" - the band kept a low profile for most of the 90's. Thanks to a new documentary on the band, a release of their early demos and some recent touring, the group is back.

Magrann was kind enough to put up with some questions recently.
 
Let's start from the beginning. What inspired you guys to start a punk band in the early 80's?
 Well, the old cliché' about hearing The Ramones and deciding, "Hey! We could do that!" It's true. We grew up listening to all those nutty 70's mega groups and the live music experience was about sitting a half mile away from a stadium stage.  So to be able to finally see a band close up, in a club or garage, inspired us to pick up the guitars as well.

You've guys saw a lot of prejudice from being punk rockers. You talk about that a bit in the documentary.
Yeah, honestly I am surprised. It was a violent, underground thing that seemed to burn out after the late eighties, but the Internet and teen cash changed all that. A lot of guys will rewrite their history and say, "Hey screw that man!  Punk never died, look at all these poseur kids now, we've been in the squat the whole time, blah blah..." But we never had a chance to play proper shows and tours, and get paid a fair amount from what the clubs were making off us.  So, yeah, pleasantly surprised at the chance to play the music for people that would've written us off before.
 
So what are your thoughts on the contemporary punk rock scene?
You can really make or take the scene in any way you care to, really.  Some kids identify themselves as punkers, and think Blink and Green Day is old school hardcore. Some kids are full on crusties that know their Crass history way better than we do!  I guess the blessing and the curse of the instant information age is that all things are available to all people.
 
TKO just put out your early demos. How long have you talked about doing that?
I'd have to give Mark Rainey at TKO and Kimm credit for the idea--I would've never thought there would be much interest in hearing the stuff we did so long ago.  I mean, this stuff was written and recorded before we hit drinking age, and before the Posh Boy hit making machine took over. But we are getting some really nice responses to it.

You kind of kept a low profile through most of the 90's. Did you officially break up or just take some time off?
We did take a bit of time off after the whole bloated five piece thing fell apart in the late eighties... But Kimm and I got back to the four piece structure pretty quick and kept playing in the garage for laughs... venture out now and then for a little gig.  It was really the CD reissues and Web site launch (www.chthree.com) that brought us back to a full time touring outfit again.
 
How many original members are still in the band?
Just me and Kimm, that's all you really need right there.  We've always had a pretty high turnaround rate with drummers and bass players, so it's nice now that we have the longest lasting and hopefully last lineup in place!  Alf Silva's been on the drums for years now, same with Anthony Thompson on bass. 
 
Have you been working on new music? Any plans to record again soon?
Yeah, we always have some new tracks floating around, though it's hard to figure out what to do with them, you know?  We just did a cover of the Nils' "Scratches and Needles" for the BYO anniversary compilation, and have a lot of loose tracks out there, so might be time to wrap up an album's worth and throw it out there, eh?
 
How did the documentary come about?
Seems like you have to have some video presence on the market, but we really weren't interested in just doing a stock concert DVD.  We met Erik Carreon, the director of the DVD, and he was really interested in the story of Kimm and me growing up together and staying pals against the backdrop of the So Ca hardcore scene.  There's a lot of in depth stuff about what it takes to stay in a band when you're growing ever older, but lots of rockin' in there too!

You know the drill. In Short this week at Outlandos focusing on, surprise surprise, thanks.

For most of us, it's easy to remember the big things: life, health, happiness, friends and family, the end of Oprah, leftover turkey sandwiches. But then there's the day-to-day and the people who help us retain basic sanity.

So I'm going to get all touchy-feely on you. Take a moment to thank the people who work with/for you. From your postman to your VP. Without them, you'd likely be screwed.

1. Interns I don't know what I'd do without them. These guys do all kinds of banal stuff for me and in exchange, I pledge to give them as many free concert tickets as I can and someday plan to write them a recommendation that hopefully lands them their dream job. Mostly, I tell them how friggin spectacular they are ad nauseam. John, Jay, Elijah: I can't thank you enough. I'm incredibly fortunate to have you on the team and am grateful every single day for the outstanding work you do. Without you, I would most certainly lose my mind (even more). I owe you like, forever.

2. Partners People helping people. Oh boy, I told you, it's like I'm my own Oprah. But seriously, we're all stronger together. So it only makes sense to partner up with people who get it. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. It's all in good faith and Outlandos has some amazing partners. In part because we're such glass-half-full, anything's-possible, nothing-to-lose folks [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.

Lately, I grumble a little less every time a school loan payment is due --- even though, nearly 15 years later, I'm still paying the bugger off.

Who knew that a degree in Fiction Writing would be so handy? Not just English but English with a relatable plot, a storyline rooted by emotion/connection?

Now that everything's online, compelling equals currency. Suddenly, we’re all micro-broadcasters. And writing counts. E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, newsletters... the clever manipulation of the written word, when used to communicate both information and persona --- i.e., meaning --- has become increasingly valuable. Not only do you have to make great music, you have to learn to write about it.

Four overarching writing components to keep top of mind:

1. Present valuable information/idea [...]

A Triple-A radio programming veteran, Kate has served as Music Director of the Loft at XM, Midday Host at WYEP, Evening Host at both WNCS and WUIN, as well as Content Supervisor for Pump Audio. Currently, she's the CEO of Outlandos Music, a new-music discovery service for grown-ups. Kate has been nationally recognized for her ardent presentation of music and her ability to champion talented, compelling artists.