Writing is Fighting

Tombs, Vilipend, A Storm of Light and .....Ghost?

 

A couple of weeks ago I covered the Purity Control / Vilipend / Tombs / Storm of Light show for Exclaim! It was great, despite the lacklustre turnout. I've been to a lot of shows in Toronto, and most of the time I am a bit disappointed with the audience.  This evening was no exception.

Now, I'm an old fart and also have  delusions of grandeur - If I'm really reppin' someone, I expect everyone else to love them, too. Perhaps the promoters didn't do a great job, but more realistically, there was a lot going on in the city on the same evening and the show started early. Granted, the place (Sneaky Dees's which is a small to mid-size small venue) was full for Tombs and A Storm of Light, but barely anyone was there to see Purity Control and Vilipend, which was a shame as both bands were fantastic.

Maryland Deathfest IX: A Recap

Whoa, what a week. I just got back from Baltimore, Maryland a couple of days ago from Maryland Deathfest, and my head is still reeling.

Where to start? 

For the second year in a row, I drove down with my friend David Hall, who runs Handshake Inc., a film company that produces the Maryland Deathfest: The Movie. For the third year in a row, Dave and his crew went down to film the 45+ bands that performed during the 4-day festival.

Blackety-Black-Black: Don Lemon and Homophobia in Black Communities

I was talking to my daddy tonight about homosexuality and the church. Apparently, some in the United Church are considering whether to turn their churches into being labelled as a "open" ( I can't remember the exact name) church that would openly welcome GBLT folks and their families. I think that it is pretty cool, and we had a good discussion about it. My parents live in a rural area, very close to a small Eastern Ontario city, so it makes this project even more meaningful. 

This got me thinking about CNN Anchor, Don Lemon, who recently "came out" to the public. Good for you, my chocolate brother! Lemon has talked about some of the resistance from Black communities in relation to homosexuality, and has gotten some flak for it. I just read an article on The Root, and I really do think that some Black folks need to take a look in the mirror. 

Random Thoughts and Musings Pt. 27 (?) Rammstein, WNYC and Psychology Today

Okay....lots of news and views. First, I reviewed the Rammstein show for Exclaim!  here a couple of weeks ago, which was great. Granted, not a big fan of their music, but the show itself was impressive. Lots of pyrotechnics, the fans were excited, and my fellow photographers? A bit assholish, but what can you do?

What some people do when they are clearly sexist, is just pretend that you are not there, and proceed to step in front of you and even physically push you aside like an annoying fly to get those important shots. What I have learned is to stay back, relax, and as soon as the show starts, start tackling motherfuckers who try and block my view. I, like them, need good photos, and will be just as assholish when I need to be. So there. I don't fuck around.

Anyhoo, it was an interesting crowd: Old folks (I was surprised until I remembered how old I was when I first heard of the band), young people, Goths, some Nationalist Skinheads (?), and tons of rabid regular folk who dressed the part but were really psyched to see the band, the first time they had played in Toronto in over a decade. The singer, Till Lindemann is really fucking weird but with an amazing voice and persona. I wrote that he was so sexually charged in a S&M/sexually deviant way, which I found intriguing, and man, they really thought out their stage show. A bit too choreographed , but again, its a stadium show, and I'm used to tiny, smelly club shows. 

NYC Trip and an ode to Neurosis

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Last week I made a short trip to the best fucking city in the world, New York. I went for two reasons: my friend / writing colleague Daphne Carr  invited me to do a reading and participate in a panel at Housingworks Cafe in Soho/Chelsea, and to attend a one-day symposium on the writings of Ellen Willis, a noted feminist journalist / rock critic who passed away from cancer in 2006. 

Both events went well, and sandwiched between the two events was a party for Anne Powers hosted by NPR, celebrating her new position as Pop Music Critic for the station. Overall, it seemed to be a weekend of music criticism and seeing music journo rockstars, like Robert Christagau, Powers, Daphne Brooks, Joe Levy, Donna Gaines, my homegirl, Decibel's Jeanne Fury, Kandia Crazy Horse.... so much that by the time Saturday afternoon came about, I thought my head was going to explode. One of the highlights was not only meeting new people / contacts, but also seeing the elusive Ian Christe, my soon-to-be publisher (Bazillion Points) and metal journalist extraordinare. 

Random Thoughts and Musings - "Hit and Run" post, Pt. 2

Are you going to be in NYC this Thursday, April 28th?

If you are, come see me speak! I'll be at HousingWorks Cafe  (119 Chambers Street in Chelsea) with Daphne Carr, who is on a book tour for her awesome new book on Nine Inch Nails , Maura Johnson, who is the music editor at the Village Voice, and Raquel Cepeda at 7:00pm. There will be some readings and a discussion on music fandom. I think I'm going to read an early draft of a chapter from my book (without the parts that could get me sued, that is). But it should be cool. I'm really honoured to be included in this panel, and be with such talented people. I'm excited, but nervous as hell, as I tend to swear alot when I get nervous..........

Black Female Sexuality in the Metal Scene

The other morning, I logged onto Facebook and a friend of mine had posted some advice from her mother:

"Men don't marry women they use."

I read a lot of Black -centric / Black Feminist blogs, and I had never really grasped the meaning when they started a blog with "Trigger Alert," which means that the subject matter within the blog post was focused on something that might emotionally trigger people who had experienced the same issue: Incest, domestic abuse, rape, etc. But when I read that comment, it "triggered"  a couple of bad, humiliating and embarrassing relationships that I had that really did a number on me.

I've been in some pretty dysfunctional relationships which have led me to believe that I'll probably never experience the 'traditional' aspects of a monogamous relationship. Not only have I been burned; I've unwittingly let myself into some pretty messed-up situations. A few years ago, I decided that I'm probably better off being alone.  

Odd Future - Should We Be Scared?

(UPDATE: Sorry y'all, I realized this morning that the video is no longer available via YouTube so instead of starting at a black screen, I pulled it.)

When I was at SXSW I was talking to someone who had recently seen Odd Future's showcase. "It was crazy, a mixture of Hip-Hop, but the crowd was nuts," he said. "People were stage diving, moshing...there were people puking, blood....it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen."

I was intrigued. I had heard of the LA -based Hip-Hop group by reading an article in Spin a couple of months before, and even though I don't listen to much ( well, any) Hip-Hop these days, I thought that they might be a cool group. I liked the fact that they were young, and had this crazy attitude, even thought I wasn't a fan of their music. Too Eminem-ish, which I don't like (or get) at all. I was interested in their live performance, which to me seemed pretty righteous - a mix between the Hip-Hop scene and a real punk / hardcore aesthetic - Perhaps two cultures mixing together? Cool. 

After all, these are young Black kids who were  influenced by a myriad of music and culture, I hoped, so perhaps their crazy live show was a symptom of that. Who knows? If so, kudos to them, because I really promote the idea that just because you are Black, doesn't mean that you have to ascribe to a specific culture and / or musical preference. A sign of their generation / times? I hoped so.

Stay classy, Texas....well a few of y'all, anyway........*

So I finally decided to write about an incident that happened when I was at SXSW. At first, I really wanted to but then decided that I wasn't sure,  because there has been a bit more traffic here since the Festival that I didn't want new visitors to think that I was a nutjob...or a, ahem, "Victim" but in the past few days I've read a few awesome posts that made me change my mind. 

Here is one from one of my favourite bloggers, Womanist Musings.

And here is one from Depraved Mindset.

This is the one that really compelled me to write: This is Hysterical.

I've previously written about being a POC in the metal scene, not only here, (btw, that relationship is officially dead) but a few times over the years, and while thing haven't been so bad that I've packed up my leather and chains and decided to write about another genre of music, there have been times when I have simply felt so tired of dealing with bullshit, that I seriously contemplated my future. This particular experience isn't really one of them, but it has stuck with me since it happened, and I simply couldn't figure out whether to write about it or not:

SXSW Pictures and Audio for "Are Metalheads Smart Enough to be Online?"

I didn't go crazy with  shooting this year. I just didn't feel like fighting the crowds on this trip. Also, still struggling with my new lens, for some strange reason.........

Also, here is the audio recording of  the Panel. Enjoy!