I apologize for this issue not yet being HTML-ized! I will
get to it eventually, I hope!
-jon
Date: Thu, 5 May 94 03:07:42 -0400
CRAW / CHOKE, INC. NEWSLETTER VOL. 1 #5
CHOKE, INC.
1376 W. GRAND AVE.
CHICAGO, IL. 60622
To open with, thanks to everyone who replied to my questionaire. As
per usual, opinions varied greatly, but a majority of people
contended that so long as a band doesn't sign unless they are
guaranteed everything that they want, the greater distribution that
a major label has is worth it. Lets just hope that bands who are
doing just this do not allow it to go to their heads.
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On a brighter note, craw's new bass player, Zak Dieringer, is working
out wonderfully. We've played two live shows with him and have 7 new
songs. He is finishing school at Marshall in Huntington, WV and will
be moving up to cleveland the week of May 7th. June recording at
Albini's still happening.
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Alot of you have mailed me asking why the hell the Milkmine and
Morsel CDs aren't out yet. They were still on the 18 wheeler at the
plant being held up by the strike until yesterday (4/26) when the
Choke, Inc. strike busters Brendan and Phil drove down to the plant
and picked up all 1000 lbs. of CDs and brought them back safe and
sound to Choke, Inc. headquarters. Be in stores next week.
- Note before mailing 5/2 - I have both cds in my hand now so they
are out.
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Choke, Inc. finished up a distribution deal with Southern Studios
USA, the US division of Southern Studios out of England. This is the
kind of distribution that will get all of Choke, Inc.'s stuff out all
over. WITHOUT major shit.
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It was Champaign, Il. week here in cleveland last week. Steakdaddy
Six, Mother and Honcho Overload were all scheduled to play the Euclid
Tavern. Honcho, the pussies:), jumped out and cancelled at the last
minute. Some crap about other shows falling through so it wasn't
worth it to come to cleveland. Lets get one thing straight. Its
ALWAYS worth it to come and play the Euclid Tavern, and I'll see to it
that they never play another show in this town again!;) So there.
Anywho, Steakdaddies crunched very hard and Mother smoked. Apparently
Mother is now on Captiol. Don't let that deter any of you die hard
indie folks from checking them out, though.
I'll be honest, I didn't very many shows that I liked this month,
other than the above two and Ed Hall. It was a bad music month. We
had a kicking show in Pittsburgh with Karma to Burn. Sorry if any of
you in Pitt didn't know about that show. I slacked.
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FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS
WRUW in cleveland here is accepting submissions for their annual
Studio-A-Rama outdoor music festival held this summer on August 27th.
Usually 8-10 bands play from 2 pm til midnight and it is a free show.
Naked Raygun, Wreck, Didjits, Craw, The Quakes and many others have
played in the past. THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS JUNE 30TH 1994.
Please mail submissions to:WRUW-FM Cleveland Attn:Studio-A-Rama 11220
Bellflower Rd. Cleveland OH 44106 Phone:216-368-2207 Fax:216-368-5414.
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Very appreciated in this issue is the start of people contibuting
little tidbits to our nifty little rag here.
My close friend from high school saw milkmine recently in Atlanta and
had this to say about them :
... as their set moved on, this image lodged itself in my head and simply
wouldn't leave: you're running through the woods butt-assed drunk.
its hot out. no really hot. oppressive. like a georgia summer.
stumbling through the woods trying to find a place to shit. not just
any shit. this is the kind of shit that hurts your gut and you have
to clench up real tight to keep it back. stumbling, falling confusion.
finally you decide to just drop 'em and go right there. the problem
is that you're too drunk to get your pants down so you just fall over
and shit yourself. wet smelly runny shit, and lots of it.
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Mr. Vacek from Athens, Ga sent some ripe dreams for us.
Dreams are weird things. I had a couple really interesting ones last night.
--
In the first one, Oh Soon had read in Cosmopolitan that extramarrital affairs
could really spice up the love life of married couples. So she got me really
drunk one night to lower my inhibitions, and take advantage of me. The best
part about this dream was that it was from a morning-after perspective.
>From my point of view, I woke up in bed at my parents' house, with Oh Soon
beside me. She proceeded to remind me of what had happened the night before
since I couldn't remember. Oh, and apparently she succeeded too well in
getting me drunk, as I was not able to perform. She wanted to try again, as I
was obviously capable now, but everyone in my family kept walking into the
bedroom for stuff.
--
So I wake up from that one, wide awake at 5.30am, and wondering if I should
get up, but decide to try to sleep a bit longer.
--
I'm in some rolling mountains, maybe Appalacia somewhere, and observing
the goings on at the home of some back-country white trash. Apparently I've
been dropped right in the middle of their little soap-opera, as I have no
clue what is going on, but to them some big drama is happening. It culimnates
in someone driving off the farm in a grey Porsche, with one front fender
smashed. Gravel from the dirt driveway flying up as whomever does a 360
and then drives off.
And the Mr. turns to me and says, "So you'll be wanting a room for the night?"
Appently the place is an inn or something, and I'm there because of a chemistry
conference. The cost is $10/night, but the idea is that I'd sleep in the
hayloft of the barn with the other patrons of the "inn". As it turns out,
those include David Sherrill and, I think, Peter Schreiner. We decide to
walk out the way that the Porsche went, under rumour that another hotel
exists, and it couldn't be worse. We walk over the hill and through some
trees, and there it is. It's a large brick building and much better looking
than the farmhouse, at least from the outside.
We go in to get a room, and find the prices are $25 or $29 a night, depending on
the room. The $29 room is described as a "Presidential Suitte" so DS and PS
each get the common room for $25. But I'm looking around, and see these great
big common rooms, like boot camp residencies, where there are a couple dozen
single beds all in one room. And the entire place is fillled with noisy
teenage boys (god I'm getting old). So I get the Prez Suitte, sight unseen.
DS is quick to point out to me that the CCQC can't reimburse me for the extra
$4, but I just laugh, cause I don't think he realizes that he's sharing a
room with 20 others.
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Jen Engel, editor of Fucktooth 'zine, sent me a fuckload of reviews.
Here's a sample. And get ahold of her to get the 'zine.
jen-angel / fucktooth 'zine / pob 43604 cleveland oh 44143 /
aa704@po.cwru.edu
Zine reviews
Asian Girls Are Rad #3 (The zine with mucho clout!): David Harrison O'Dell,
707 W. 21st, Austin, Tx. 78705 // half size, $2, or 1.50 and 2 stamps,
20pgs // An entertaining read. Especially good when the editor talks about
the Asian girl that he's in love with. Funny articles on the use of the
word chicken in rap lyrics, and how to balance a salt shaker on it's end.
Some slick computer graphics and some handwritten stuff. Obviously, not too
serious, but nevertheless, a fun read. (SW)
* Dishwasher #11: Pete, POB 4827, Arcata, CA 95521 // half size, 40pgs, $1
or trade // I love this zine. You join Pete on his quest to wash dishes in
all fifty states. He has a great narrative style that is easy to read.
Dishwasher never fails to be the most entertaining zine, a well needed
departure from all of the bad-religion-sucks-punk-is-dead music based zines
that i read most of the time.
* Greedy Bastard #9: Bill Florio, POB 1014, Yonkers, NY 10704-1014 // full
size, nice cover, $1, 24pgs // Interesting interview with Tony Victory
with questions like: Have you ever felched? Have you seen people fuck cows
and shit? (the answer was YES). Other interviews with Aussie Punk, Chicken
head, Jay of THD. Some other stuff crammed in there, and a hilarious phone
poll at the end that makes the whole zine worth it.
* Simba #5: Vique, 20 Brandwyn Way, Brighton. Sussex. BN18XA England //
half size, $3 ppd., 40pgs, copied // Another great issue of Simba, with
lots of personal writings. An interesting article on volunteering in a
hospital for handicapped teenagers. Plus writings on eating disorders,
societal standards behind women shaving their legs, and too much more to
mention. Glossy cover. The layouts are a tad bland, but all in all an
inspiring read. (SW)
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Music Reviews
Brainiac: Smack Bunny Baby // Grass Records // 11 song CD // When i first
put this in, i thought it sucked. All noise, nothing else. The kind of
music that gives you a headache before you learn to listen to it. When i
listened to it more, i found i actually liked it. Sure they're loud and
they do weird electronic things that sound like your phone ringing in the
background, but they have a good vocalist and they're even melodic in their
own fucked up kind of way. "Get Away" is a the best song in my opinion,
one of the most melodic / lesser noisy ones on the album. Brainiac is a
departure from the kind of thing i normally like, but maybe i need that
once in a while. And they're from Ohio too! "I could own you but I don't
want to."
* Chairman of the Board: Interpretations of songs made famous by Frank
Sinatra // Grass Records, 2xCD // You have to hear this to believe it. I
love it. All those classic songs by the likes of Samiam, Jawbox,
Treepeople, too many to name. The Mind Over Matter cover of "New York, New
York" makes the entire things worth it. Benefit disc for NARAL and another
group whose name i can't remember.
* Haggis: When You Cry.... You Die Alone... // Screwball Productions: POB
752, Boise, ID 83701 // $3 ppd, 2 song 7" on yellow clear vinyl //
"Cornfield Girl" is surprisingly catchy, and if you didn't know the story
behind it, you might think it's a love song at first (Lisa, Lisa.. I think
I love you). At first i didn't like the return to the slow beginning
"theme," if you will, at the end. I felt it the momentum of the song short,
that it was kind of misplaced. On the other hand, i can see why you do
that. It provides a "non typical" ending and also ties the beginning and
end together, making a complete circle. Does that make sense? And, well,
it grew on me. The second song is more of the same heavy, driving sound but
the lyrics aren't as good. We hear backing vocals for the first time, they
need a little work. This is a good 7", can't help wishing the vocals were
clearer though. Oh and i really like the cover art too.
Stop Homophobia Compilation // Turkey Baster Records 6403 Johnny Morris
#12, Austin, Tx 78724 // $3 ppd, 4 song 7", booklet // Okay, i'll tell you
right off that i wrote for the booklet and that's probably why i like this
7". Or maybe i like it because it starts out with "My name is Paul Bonomo,
and I'm a Fag!" Overall the production is pretty bad but I'd be surprised
if it wasn't. The first two songs by Fagbash and Black Angel's Death Song
are fuzzy, 80's style (at least in my opinion) punk rock. "Brothers and
Sisters" by BADS seems like it should be a song out of the 70's. Pansy
division is next, and i think the only reason i like them now is because
I've seen them live and can appreciate them. "Cowboys are frequently,
secretly fond of each other" is one of the better songs that I've heard.
Those three songs are relatively good and pretty catchy. The last one,
however, sucks. Sorry to be so blunt, but it does. "Toast Fire" by Happy
Flowers is basically just some guy screaming over feedback and noise. Maybe
someone will like it and i don't.
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We're coming down to the wire for artwork submissions for the next
craw CD. We'll be deciding in about 2 weeks. Send something quick if
you want.
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Again, feel free to send the choke inc guys demo tapes, etc. and
please feel free to send me articles for this - reviews, fiction,
whatever - i don't give a shit. I'd like to try and make this a
little more interesting.
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Back Issues at FTP 141.214.4.135 under the directory /docs/choke. WWW
stuff located at http://zapruder.pds.med.umich.edu/uwi.html under the
'UWI Shopping Maul' section ... Thanks Jon.
--
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R. Brockway Computer Security & Virus Specialist
rockie@neurosis.wariat.org PGP2.3a key available upon request
- Internet Training, Emergency Recovery Services, Craw -
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Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of
life as an inexistual well, where everything happens only
a certain number of times, and a very small number, really.
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