Four Years Later
By Jason Pancake
Since the Iraq War began in March 2003, over 3200 American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq, 800 private contractors have been killed, well over 100,000 Iraqi citizens have died due to the occupation, and thousands of Americans and Iraqis have been injured. Billions and billions of dollars have been spent, while private contractors like Halliburton and Blackwater have made ridiculous amounts of money by ripping off the government. A solid majority of the nation thinks the war is not going well and people support a withdrawal 59% to 33%. Despite a slim majority of Democrats in the House and Senate, what is there to show for people’s frustrations? Only a resolution to slowly start withdrawing troops… in August 2008 . This bill doesn’t really mean much because it barely passed the House (218-212) and Senate (50-48) and everyone knew that the President would veto it.
Howard Zinn, author of important books like The People’s History of the United States , has written a nice article about this withdrawal debate and arguments about why this timetable means little. Indeed, even though many politicians acknowledge that something different needs to be done, we are still continuing to do what we are doing. It is like a cartoon where we are in a boat in the water with a bunch of holes, and we are trying to plug the holes one by one with our fingers and toes. Of course, the water keeps pouring in because there are too many holes and not enough fingers or toes. Zinn’s article can be found at http://www2.blogger.com/www.progressive.org/mag_zinn0507 Zinn makes the point of how the general public has to make the difference and take action because “we are not politicians, but citizens. We have no office to hold on to, only our consciences, which insist on telling the truth.”
Indeed the outcome of this war, as with past wars and injustices and civil rights, will be up to us, the citizens of this country. The only reason the concept of withdrawing troops even got this far is because the people of this country made their voices (and votes in November) heard that they wanted a change. Unfortunately, it wasn’t loud enough to cause real action to be taken. While it’s true that we should be upset that elected representatives (especially Democrats) are not more assertive about standing up against something that evidence has shown to be wrong, but we have to look at it from their side too. Politicians need a lot of things in addition to voter support to preserve their jobs (money, political allies, etc.), and the anti-war members of Congress and the Senate are still not the clear majority. There were massive protests that eventually helped end the Vietnam War, but there just haven’t been the widespread outcries here with this war. In polls, people state that they are against the war, but the action hasn’t been there. This can partly be due to how today’s armed forces are “volunteers” that make up a relatively small portion of the overall population, and there is no draft that directly affects the average citizen. Many people don’t really realize how much sacrifice and hardships fall on a small percentage of the population. The extent of many people’s sacrifice has been $3.95 they paid to slap a yellow sticker on the bumper of their car. Also, even though the country is racking up a major deficit (that will eventually need to be paid off), there has been hardly any financial sacrifice required of the average person. No taxes have gone up to pay for this war and people have been told that we can beat those insurgents by buying more stuff at the mall. Watch this video as the President literally says to go shopping more. Here is the transcript: “As we work with Congress in the coming year to chart a new course in Iraq and strengthen our military to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we must also work together to achieve important goals for the American people here at home. This work begins with keeping our economy growing…And I encourage you all to go shopping more.”
The administration still makes the same old arguments that leaving Iraq would “embolden the terrorists,” but what does it tell the “evil doers” when we continue to stubbornly do the exact same thing by sending our young men and women to their deaths and burn through billion dollars a month with no clear intention of what our solution is. The evidence is clear that so much of what the public was told was wrong: Iraq had WMDs, Saddam was involved in 9/11, we will be greeted with flowers and chocolate, we don’t need 100,000’s of troops, the insurgency is in its last throes, the troops don’t need fancy armor, and the list goes on. At the same time, what does it tell the Administration (and the “terrorists”) when a majority of the American public claims it is against the direction of the war and voted for a number of new Representatives, yet the Congress, Senate, and the American public still can’t take action amend these mistakes? As Howard Zinn says in his article: “It reminds me of the physician in Europe in the early nineteenth century who decided that bloodletting would cure pneumonia. When that didn't work, he concluded that not enough blood had been let.” The blood is still flowing.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
SXSW Report : Checking Out and Checking In
by: Siria
Oh my Texas!
This year my patner in crime 74associates and I took the Kiss or Kill motto to heart when heading to Texas/SXSW "arrive early stay late," and instead of driving out we flew. Thankfully I had no showcases to put together and would get to be on my own time schedule. We had a lovely 25 minute stop in Albuquerquee where people more people boarded and some people actually (imagine that) got off in what appeared to be a small airport in the middle of nowhere. Then back in the air until our 2 hour layover in Dallas (we originally thought it was Denver and didnt get it) where we ran into many groups of women clad in denim from head to toe (I exaggerate not, and wish I had taken pictures), cowboys, and the McDonalds was having some sort of big gaudy purple and gold celebration (something I hope to not witness again - we saw a woman in panic mode over not getting her southern chicken sandwich in a timely fashion). When we finally headed back to our gate we learned that we had to wait longer due to our plane not having a gate to board through. There were also some other Austin bound people who had been waiting for hours for the apparently turbulent flying conditions to be cleared up, thank goodness we didnt have to wait too much longer as we all know how much I love to wait. The thing that struck me as odd were the number of people that appeared to know each other in our waiting area, it was a little disturbing.
Finally we arrived in TX and hailed a cab to our first hotel (while BSB and Silver Needle were on their "Blind in Texas" tour we went on our very own of the hotel circuit which we will call "Checking in and Checking Out" yeah... double entendres...bring 'em). We didn't head into the city as we were pretty wiped so we decided to just wait until Wednesday to start terrorizing the streets of Austin.
Wednesday
It begins...
Wednesday we had to check out of our first hotel and head to the second one of our "tour". So we checked in and headed back out to Austin in the gray drizzly weather. For some reason I can't recall what we did for the first few hours :(. I know that later in the evening we caught Silver Needle and BSB at the Blind Pig during one of their showcases of which we literally followed the sound of their music until we got to the venue. This is where we learned of the infamous "Blue Steel" (special powers that we witnessed first hand) and about "Winner" :). We spent part of the evening hanging out at The Blind Pig, then paid a visit to The Apple Bar where The Viper Room/Swinghouse/Hell Ya (etc.etc.) were holding their showcases complete with Casper (the Viper Room doorguy) working the door, followed by some time spent at Uncle Flirty's with more cocktails and beer Johnny99 style. Then 99 left us and Andre, Chris, Cooper, Greg, and Matt found us and off we headed to another party with the promise (the beginning of a string of many broken ones) of free alcohol. We got there and of course no free alcohol but there were still bands playing what felt like a house party (I think I feel like we kept going in the back way everywhere). We're sorry to have missed KorK but when I checked in on it everything was going just fine! This is the night that I referred to days later as the night where I wasn't really drunk (witnesses say otherwise). I almost got Andre in a fight (thank you and I'm sorry...Amanda would be proud) with a silly white suit wearing wannabe rock star who had decided to get a little too close (by this I mean pretty much kidnapping) a little too often for my liking. After this we were walking back down the streets of Austin where we ran into the fun boys of the Prix! They were heading back to their hotel and it turned out they were staying at the same one we were staying at(until checkout time the next day that is), we stayed out after they hailed their cab then finally the Silver Needles, BSBer's, and us parted ways and went back to our hotels. Who knows what time it was.
Thursday
More "Checking Out and Checking In"
After checking into our main hotel (where we would be spending the majority of our trip). We spent an hour at least possibly two waiting for a freakin cab...and ended up sharing a cab with two of the organizers (and djs) of that nights NASA Party. They are also opening up a new venue in downtown Santa Ana in the Arts District, they were on their way to set up for gig. We were on our way to the IndyHits/Band Promote Party at Guero's Taco Bar to support Mr. Mike Galaxy, we stayed long enough to say hi to all the right people and trick people into thinking we were staying for the show (we would've loved to but there was no free food nor alcohol and we were starving and lacking intoxication). The Weather Underground among other bands were scheduled to play. We made our way by walking (a looooong ways) to the Filter Parties back on Congress and Fourth (a ways away from Guero's to say the least) where along the way we ran into a guy (Austin native who looked familiar to us) who tried to coerce us into going to see a free off the beaten path performance from the Cold War Kids, which after some deliberation we had to turn down, since we were trying to make it to Cedar Street (Filter) in time to see Aqualung. We finally made it to the venue and caught up with Shameless Andie (who is the photo editor at Filter and my partner in Shameless Ent.) but realized we had the date wrong and Aqualung would not be taking the stage until the next day. We caught the end of Midnight Movies, The Besnad Lakes, Kenna, Youth Group, and Badly Drawn Boy. Zack Galifianakis was the MC. After we ate at a sports bar, and discussed the art of a sport bar and tried to think of different activities the bar could have. Next we went to our safety spot for the past two years the bar who's name I can never remember (Something like El Capitan, Conquistador, or Cabo... something along those lines) It has a great patio and Martin from the Letter Openers knows the owner from a while back. We then spent a long time being bored and listening to a boy and his dreams about being a firestarter who works at a flower shop and a girl who is in the Austin Roller Derby league who's boyfriend djs at the Roller Derby Events...EXCITING!!! We couldn't take it anymore and left spending more time being bored and just standing in one place waiting (for nothing in particular) and refusing to move. Then we ran into the Randies or rather I spotted them and yelled at them/for them/towards them, where they confused our kazoos for vibrators (I guess some company was giving away vibrators) then we finally left I think...fast forward to later that night where rejoined up with Shameless Andie and her friend Jamie at the Apple Bar for Valient Thorr (who were awesome!) and then headed to the NASA Party which was a trek and a half we made half the journey and then took one of the bike buggys the rest of the way (we were wearing heels and didnt know how much longer the place was). We got there in time for Spank Rock and again no free alcohol. We ran into the guys who we'd shared the cab with earlier, Andie and Jamie left after a little while, we met some guys (Austin Natives) who knew everyone at the party that we didnt really care to know. One kept a loaf of bread in commemoration of meeting 74associates, the party turned into a pumpkin at exactly 2 am, and they gave us a ride back to our hotel (we had them drop us off at the wrong hotel so they wouldnt know where we were staying) after that we called it a night.
Here is a video from Valient Thorr
Friday
No more checking out and checking in! Yay! This day we headed straight to the Vice Party to pick up our laminates for the Vice After Party on Saturday Night. We got there and had no desire to stick around despite the promise of Bloc Party, The Melvins, etc.. We made our way back to Cedar Street to ensure not missing Aqualung (74associates' dreamboat...sigh...) but not before stopping by a BBQ joint that had grape kool aid and sweet tea as their beverage options, their food was not great but maybe I had the wrong thing, I don't recall the name but think it was Ben's I can totally show you where it is though. We had a bout of deja vu while waiting to cross a street when we ran into someone we met last year in strangely enough the same way we ran into him last year who we will call Mr. Glitter from Roadrunner Records, who assured us they are still doing well and the signings continue. We made it in time to catch the Panda Band (who I don't really remember), Money Mark (from the Beastie Boys), and finally Aqualung. Next we wandered around for a little while and found nothing overly interesting so went to The Belmont where I lost my heart in TX to the upstairs patio where we sat watching the sun set with a crowd of rock star looking people and Tommy Sunshine djing behind us in between and after bands and saw MEW perform. I wanted to stay there forever but then it got dark and people left and it got cold so we left but not before being joined by BSB and Daniel and Andre of Silver Needle. I think after this we tried to make it to Public Enemy but thought better of it when we realized how far it really was. Mr. Matt Southwell was the voice of reason on this night. So the "voice of reason" +4 went back to their hotel and we kidnapped the Silver Needle frontman and went and got something to eat and then later did some barhopping and some catching up. We later caught up with Chris (drummer of Silver Needle aka Blue Steel who had come from the Public Enemy show) at The Blind Pig and were later joined by Johnny 99 who dropped in only for a little bit as he was on his way to see Sloan, we later parted ways with Dan and Chris and were leaving when I heard my name being shouted by "Hi It's Me Paul Palacios" and entourage who had just come from the iHeartComix Party that got shut down and we got lured back into hanging out some more, we then re-united with Johnny99 and we closed the night out at the bar who's name I forget.
Aqualung pic stolen from 74associates
Saturday
SXSW was taking its toll...we headed straight to Cedar Street for the free BBQ that we'd missed all week long. I really wanted to see The Fratellis and Mando Diao there but also wanted to see
The Walkmen at another party...I finally reasoned that I would pay to see The Walkmen anytime (plus who knows how their set went as their lead singer had just gotten out of jail after his late night arrest a few hours before their performance that day) but probably wouldnt pay to see the other bands so there we stayed the WHOLE day! We caught The Pipettes (who were totally entertaining and just plain cute and fun girls), Mando Diao (who were amazing live), Mew (who we stayed inside for as we'd just seen them, I imagined ways of making the bathroom line more exclusive and for VIP only while 74associates slept). Then the Fratellis took the stage. I have loved "Chelsea Dagger" for months now and so does anyone else I play it for. They were great overall but I would rather see them at night in a seedy bar with both me and them more intoxicated. They were followed by a special performance by Thurston Moore and friends that we didnt stick around for. We later went to a place called Noodleism with which I do not recommend you ever visit (their food is fine but their service...HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE!!!!), we got kicked out of there pretty much, seriously :).
We finally went back to the hotel room to get some rest before heading to the Vice Party later that night.
Here is a video from the Pipettes and they were just as fun live (if not more so)
Saturday Night - Part Two
Vice Saves Texas...
We aren't sure from what...possibly from old men at the Elks Lodge gawking down at passer-byers from their rooftop patio? We got to the Vice Afterparty at about 1:30 am (give or take an hour). It was in full swing and Against Me was on the stage. There was free Dewar's and we ran into Kiss or Kill's own Phi Phenomenom Zach (our visuals guy) who was hanging out with the peeps from Good Magazine, and Bedtime for Toys. Ran into a few other people as we pushed our way to the hard to get to rooftop patio and were just getting settled in and trying to get away from boring conversations when all of a sudden it sounded like a few people fell off the roof. Thankfully, noone did go over but the whole guardrail and brick wall did fall over. I guess people were trying to climb the wall to get to the roof and into the party as they were being hardcore about having the laminates to get in. In the end the roof was no longer safe and the police and firemen were called and the best party of all of SXSW was shut down for the second time that day (the first time is too long a story to get into). So approx. 400 people were stuck waiting for Taxis at this out of the way Elks Lodge. We were smart and walked away from the party not before taking some pics and saying some so longs to those we knew and found a cab rather quickly.
Here are some pics from the Vice Aftermath (photos by me and 74associates)
Sunday
We checked out and took all of our luggage (and made quite a scene) to have breakfast at the IHOP along with every other person staying near it. The manager had to watch our luggage while we ate, but he loved us and asked us to come back next year. We then were waiting for our cab to take us to the next hotel when I decided to try one final time with the hotel we had been at to give us the same rates as the next hotel would be and thankfully they did. We were sooo tired so we stayed in all day and watched way too much reality tv, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and E! and caught up on emails. I thought the Girls Next Door were supposed to be way hot? They look like a lot of other girls I know.
Monday
Spent like 4 hours at the Austin airport and finally flew back to LA.
There were many more crazy characters along our trip but this is long enough as it is! Next year we are def. staying downtown (we get better and better at maximizing our trip each year)! Everyone into music should make it to SXSW at least once to experience it firsthand.
Oh my Texas!
This year my patner in crime 74associates and I took the Kiss or Kill motto to heart when heading to Texas/SXSW "arrive early stay late," and instead of driving out we flew. Thankfully I had no showcases to put together and would get to be on my own time schedule. We had a lovely 25 minute stop in Albuquerquee where people more people boarded and some people actually (imagine that) got off in what appeared to be a small airport in the middle of nowhere. Then back in the air until our 2 hour layover in Dallas (we originally thought it was Denver and didnt get it) where we ran into many groups of women clad in denim from head to toe (I exaggerate not, and wish I had taken pictures), cowboys, and the McDonalds was having some sort of big gaudy purple and gold celebration (something I hope to not witness again - we saw a woman in panic mode over not getting her southern chicken sandwich in a timely fashion). When we finally headed back to our gate we learned that we had to wait longer due to our plane not having a gate to board through. There were also some other Austin bound people who had been waiting for hours for the apparently turbulent flying conditions to be cleared up, thank goodness we didnt have to wait too much longer as we all know how much I love to wait. The thing that struck me as odd were the number of people that appeared to know each other in our waiting area, it was a little disturbing.
Finally we arrived in TX and hailed a cab to our first hotel (while BSB and Silver Needle were on their "Blind in Texas" tour we went on our very own of the hotel circuit which we will call "Checking in and Checking Out" yeah... double entendres...bring 'em). We didn't head into the city as we were pretty wiped so we decided to just wait until Wednesday to start terrorizing the streets of Austin.
Wednesday
It begins...
Wednesday we had to check out of our first hotel and head to the second one of our "tour". So we checked in and headed back out to Austin in the gray drizzly weather. For some reason I can't recall what we did for the first few hours :(. I know that later in the evening we caught Silver Needle and BSB at the Blind Pig during one of their showcases of which we literally followed the sound of their music until we got to the venue. This is where we learned of the infamous "Blue Steel" (special powers that we witnessed first hand) and about "Winner" :). We spent part of the evening hanging out at The Blind Pig, then paid a visit to The Apple Bar where The Viper Room/Swinghouse/Hell Ya (etc.etc.) were holding their showcases complete with Casper (the Viper Room doorguy) working the door, followed by some time spent at Uncle Flirty's with more cocktails and beer Johnny99 style. Then 99 left us and Andre, Chris, Cooper, Greg, and Matt found us and off we headed to another party with the promise (the beginning of a string of many broken ones) of free alcohol. We got there and of course no free alcohol but there were still bands playing what felt like a house party (I think I feel like we kept going in the back way everywhere). We're sorry to have missed KorK but when I checked in on it everything was going just fine! This is the night that I referred to days later as the night where I wasn't really drunk (witnesses say otherwise). I almost got Andre in a fight (thank you and I'm sorry...Amanda would be proud) with a silly white suit wearing wannabe rock star who had decided to get a little too close (by this I mean pretty much kidnapping) a little too often for my liking. After this we were walking back down the streets of Austin where we ran into the fun boys of the Prix! They were heading back to their hotel and it turned out they were staying at the same one we were staying at(until checkout time the next day that is), we stayed out after they hailed their cab then finally the Silver Needles, BSBer's, and us parted ways and went back to our hotels. Who knows what time it was.
Thursday
More "Checking Out and Checking In"
After checking into our main hotel (where we would be spending the majority of our trip). We spent an hour at least possibly two waiting for a freakin cab...and ended up sharing a cab with two of the organizers (and djs) of that nights NASA Party. They are also opening up a new venue in downtown Santa Ana in the Arts District, they were on their way to set up for gig. We were on our way to the IndyHits/Band Promote Party at Guero's Taco Bar to support Mr. Mike Galaxy, we stayed long enough to say hi to all the right people and trick people into thinking we were staying for the show (we would've loved to but there was no free food nor alcohol and we were starving and lacking intoxication). The Weather Underground among other bands were scheduled to play. We made our way by walking (a looooong ways) to the Filter Parties back on Congress and Fourth (a ways away from Guero's to say the least) where along the way we ran into a guy (Austin native who looked familiar to us) who tried to coerce us into going to see a free off the beaten path performance from the Cold War Kids, which after some deliberation we had to turn down, since we were trying to make it to Cedar Street (Filter) in time to see Aqualung. We finally made it to the venue and caught up with Shameless Andie (who is the photo editor at Filter and my partner in Shameless Ent.) but realized we had the date wrong and Aqualung would not be taking the stage until the next day. We caught the end of Midnight Movies, The Besnad Lakes, Kenna, Youth Group, and Badly Drawn Boy. Zack Galifianakis was the MC. After we ate at a sports bar, and discussed the art of a sport bar and tried to think of different activities the bar could have. Next we went to our safety spot for the past two years the bar who's name I can never remember (Something like El Capitan, Conquistador, or Cabo... something along those lines) It has a great patio and Martin from the Letter Openers knows the owner from a while back. We then spent a long time being bored and listening to a boy and his dreams about being a firestarter who works at a flower shop and a girl who is in the Austin Roller Derby league who's boyfriend djs at the Roller Derby Events...EXCITING!!! We couldn't take it anymore and left spending more time being bored and just standing in one place waiting (for nothing in particular) and refusing to move. Then we ran into the Randies or rather I spotted them and yelled at them/for them/towards them, where they confused our kazoos for vibrators (I guess some company was giving away vibrators) then we finally left I think...fast forward to later that night where rejoined up with Shameless Andie and her friend Jamie at the Apple Bar for Valient Thorr (who were awesome!) and then headed to the NASA Party which was a trek and a half we made half the journey and then took one of the bike buggys the rest of the way (we were wearing heels and didnt know how much longer the place was). We got there in time for Spank Rock and again no free alcohol. We ran into the guys who we'd shared the cab with earlier, Andie and Jamie left after a little while, we met some guys (Austin Natives) who knew everyone at the party that we didnt really care to know. One kept a loaf of bread in commemoration of meeting 74associates, the party turned into a pumpkin at exactly 2 am, and they gave us a ride back to our hotel (we had them drop us off at the wrong hotel so they wouldnt know where we were staying) after that we called it a night.
Here is a video from Valient Thorr
Friday
No more checking out and checking in! Yay! This day we headed straight to the Vice Party to pick up our laminates for the Vice After Party on Saturday Night. We got there and had no desire to stick around despite the promise of Bloc Party, The Melvins, etc.. We made our way back to Cedar Street to ensure not missing Aqualung (74associates' dreamboat...sigh...) but not before stopping by a BBQ joint that had grape kool aid and sweet tea as their beverage options, their food was not great but maybe I had the wrong thing, I don't recall the name but think it was Ben's I can totally show you where it is though. We had a bout of deja vu while waiting to cross a street when we ran into someone we met last year in strangely enough the same way we ran into him last year who we will call Mr. Glitter from Roadrunner Records, who assured us they are still doing well and the signings continue. We made it in time to catch the Panda Band (who I don't really remember), Money Mark (from the Beastie Boys), and finally Aqualung. Next we wandered around for a little while and found nothing overly interesting so went to The Belmont where I lost my heart in TX to the upstairs patio where we sat watching the sun set with a crowd of rock star looking people and Tommy Sunshine djing behind us in between and after bands and saw MEW perform. I wanted to stay there forever but then it got dark and people left and it got cold so we left but not before being joined by BSB and Daniel and Andre of Silver Needle. I think after this we tried to make it to Public Enemy but thought better of it when we realized how far it really was. Mr. Matt Southwell was the voice of reason on this night. So the "voice of reason" +4 went back to their hotel and we kidnapped the Silver Needle frontman and went and got something to eat and then later did some barhopping and some catching up. We later caught up with Chris (drummer of Silver Needle aka Blue Steel who had come from the Public Enemy show) at The Blind Pig and were later joined by Johnny 99 who dropped in only for a little bit as he was on his way to see Sloan, we later parted ways with Dan and Chris and were leaving when I heard my name being shouted by "Hi It's Me Paul Palacios" and entourage who had just come from the iHeartComix Party that got shut down and we got lured back into hanging out some more, we then re-united with Johnny99 and we closed the night out at the bar who's name I forget.
Aqualung pic stolen from 74associates
Saturday
SXSW was taking its toll...we headed straight to Cedar Street for the free BBQ that we'd missed all week long. I really wanted to see The Fratellis and Mando Diao there but also wanted to see
The Walkmen at another party...I finally reasoned that I would pay to see The Walkmen anytime (plus who knows how their set went as their lead singer had just gotten out of jail after his late night arrest a few hours before their performance that day) but probably wouldnt pay to see the other bands so there we stayed the WHOLE day! We caught The Pipettes (who were totally entertaining and just plain cute and fun girls), Mando Diao (who were amazing live), Mew (who we stayed inside for as we'd just seen them, I imagined ways of making the bathroom line more exclusive and for VIP only while 74associates slept). Then the Fratellis took the stage. I have loved "Chelsea Dagger" for months now and so does anyone else I play it for. They were great overall but I would rather see them at night in a seedy bar with both me and them more intoxicated. They were followed by a special performance by Thurston Moore and friends that we didnt stick around for. We later went to a place called Noodleism with which I do not recommend you ever visit (their food is fine but their service...HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE!!!!), we got kicked out of there pretty much, seriously :).
We finally went back to the hotel room to get some rest before heading to the Vice Party later that night.
Here is a video from the Pipettes and they were just as fun live (if not more so)
Saturday Night - Part Two
Vice Saves Texas...
We aren't sure from what...possibly from old men at the Elks Lodge gawking down at passer-byers from their rooftop patio? We got to the Vice Afterparty at about 1:30 am (give or take an hour). It was in full swing and Against Me was on the stage. There was free Dewar's and we ran into Kiss or Kill's own Phi Phenomenom Zach (our visuals guy) who was hanging out with the peeps from Good Magazine, and Bedtime for Toys. Ran into a few other people as we pushed our way to the hard to get to rooftop patio and were just getting settled in and trying to get away from boring conversations when all of a sudden it sounded like a few people fell off the roof. Thankfully, noone did go over but the whole guardrail and brick wall did fall over. I guess people were trying to climb the wall to get to the roof and into the party as they were being hardcore about having the laminates to get in. In the end the roof was no longer safe and the police and firemen were called and the best party of all of SXSW was shut down for the second time that day (the first time is too long a story to get into). So approx. 400 people were stuck waiting for Taxis at this out of the way Elks Lodge. We were smart and walked away from the party not before taking some pics and saying some so longs to those we knew and found a cab rather quickly.
Here are some pics from the Vice Aftermath (photos by me and 74associates)
Sunday
We checked out and took all of our luggage (and made quite a scene) to have breakfast at the IHOP along with every other person staying near it. The manager had to watch our luggage while we ate, but he loved us and asked us to come back next year. We then were waiting for our cab to take us to the next hotel when I decided to try one final time with the hotel we had been at to give us the same rates as the next hotel would be and thankfully they did. We were sooo tired so we stayed in all day and watched way too much reality tv, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and E! and caught up on emails. I thought the Girls Next Door were supposed to be way hot? They look like a lot of other girls I know.
Monday
Spent like 4 hours at the Austin airport and finally flew back to LA.
There were many more crazy characters along our trip but this is long enough as it is! Next year we are def. staying downtown (we get better and better at maximizing our trip each year)! Everyone into music should make it to SXSW at least once to experience it firsthand.
Advice for SXSW first timers - Stay as close to downtown (6th St.) as possible (or all your money will go to cabs), take the personal cell phone numbers of cab drivers and rickshaw guys, do try to get to the places with free food and free alcohol early (it doesn't last long). have a plan but don't expect to stick to it, RSVP to everything even if you think you won't attend them.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Eddie OAOT's East Coast Report
Hey Kiddies,
Long time no KOK blog.
I have been going thru some shit lately, but have worked thru it and am living more and more like a rock and roll god in new york city every day. The OAOTs are rocking a sweet Tiki Bar in the ultra cool lower east side for Streetwave which Shawn Christ Man and I have been running lately, booking lots of shows and bringing lots of hoes. Soon I will write you guys with more and more bands, because there are a lot of them out here. and lots of good ones. So here is, one month later, the awesomeness that was Mardi Gras 2007. The Imperialists and Screaming Females opened up, but are not in the video. It opens up with the Hungry Marching Band, then the NY Howl (with some extra brass) and closing up are my new roommates, Eisenhower with some lovely ladies dance dance dancing. WIth pasties!
Enjoy!
Here is footage of the Mardi Gras Festivites
The OAOT's played tonight as part of Streetwave.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
IAMX at Kiss or Kill!!!
Tonight a Special Installment of Kiss or Kill!
IAMX will be taking over the Kiss or Kill stage as well as The Screeners (from the UK) and our own March Resident Band The Mulhollands (check out their interview in this weeks newsletter and blog as well)
As always it goes down tonight Wednesday Night at:
Safari Sam's
5214 Sunset Blvd.
Free Parking, $3.50 PBR
Discounted Guest List for Kiss or Kill Regulars email your names to kissorkillnews@yahoo.com to get on the $6 list.
For those of you who want a double dose of Kiss or Kill we also have another special show at KSCR lined up for this Saturday at Ground Zero at USC. It will be a free show and feature: Get Set Go, Underwater City People, Silver Needle, Bang Sugar Bang, and The Waking Hours.
IAMX will be taking over the Kiss or Kill stage as well as The Screeners (from the UK) and our own March Resident Band The Mulhollands (check out their interview in this weeks newsletter and blog as well)
As always it goes down tonight Wednesday Night at:
Safari Sam's
5214 Sunset Blvd.
Free Parking, $3.50 PBR
Discounted Guest List for Kiss or Kill Regulars email your names to kissorkillnews@yahoo.com to get on the $6 list.
For those of you who want a double dose of Kiss or Kill we also have another special show at KSCR lined up for this Saturday at Ground Zero at USC. It will be a free show and feature: Get Set Go, Underwater City People, Silver Needle, Bang Sugar Bang, and The Waking Hours.
A SXSW TALE: BLIND IN TEXAS
BLIND IN TEXAS
by Johnny 99
SXSW 07' was by far the most interesting, bizarre, & confusing of my last 3 trips down to Austin. If you are a live music lover, it is definately a must see event.
On our way down to SXSW we had a great series of club dates with our pals Bang Sugar Bang. The most memorable was staying at a cat named Winner's house after a gig. Winner seemed like your average beer guzzling Johnny Cash lovin' Rockabilly sort with a fondness for the Muffs, which was cool. He had Hot Wheels laced all over his wall, which I found interesting. I passed out - the Iron Needle & Twang Sugar Twang singing angel's wrote a song about me snoring while Daniel conducted the piece. Apparently shortly after Winner brought out a horse whip & started whipping everybody. I guess there was a lot of testosterone going on. Again, I am still sleeping during this. Later that night a member of Silver Needle passed out & woke up in the gentle arms of Winner "spooning" this member which apprently freaked this person out. Thank goodness Winner didn't get creative with his Hot Wheels collection & we would have had another Mr. Slave & Lemmiwinks on our hand.
My favorite gig was at the POD in Amarillo which was a youth center which was BYOB. The kids dug the needle so that energy was amazing.
On Monday I had to fly to New Orleans for work & worked 16 hours straight for Monster, at 12:46am I found myself parading down Bourbon Street with 12 Monster Promo Girls, Wee Man, my buddy Poncho & capped off with a riding of the Budweiser Clydesdales down the street. True story. That night, my friend Patrick & I met 4 co-eds from North Carolina on Spring Break, we ended up partying & they convinced me to take them to the Live Sex Show on Bourbon which I told them was a tourist trap. They didn't believe me. Southern Girls usually can talk me into anything, that drawl from a hot girl is my kryptonite. Again, same thing. Tourist trap, nasty girls dancing, no live sex, girls bummed, onto dance club. We ended up at a venue accross the street with a cheesy cover band doing classic rock covers. I hate it when people cover Journey & they can't sing it. It's a challenge, don't even try if you can't hit those highs. I needed several shots to bear with the cover band. Ditched co-eds to get some sleep.
Before I flew home, I hit Marie Leveau's House of Voodoo, I bought Austin. Hit the seminars & convention with Cooper. I realized that the world is open to the Independent Musician, they are a lot of opportunities out there. The big issue now is that the music world is flooded with tons of sub par bands vying for attention. It's not really a competitve marketplace, but oversaturated. I sat through 3 demo critique sessions to hear what was out there & in the audience was the guy that wrote "Doing Da Butt" by EU, a band from Estonia, & a couple of kids with stage moms. It took 3 sessions to finally get Silver Needle heard. Out of that we were approached by a label that has interest. Every song I heard was a singer/songwriter, a pop-punk copy, or a bizarre jokester Frank Zappa type. It's really a challenge to be heard.
One panel member stated an interesting statistic that 20% of music is downloaded, 80% is still bought on cd, What is hurting the industry? File Sharing, weak acts, etc? I think it's a combination of all. The industry gatekeeps acts that will not sell records in the midwest. All the hot acts that I heard about still have limited audiences. Every industry panel said they want good songs with interesting character, but I think they either put out intersting character acts because they are too geeked out on following the hip or they put out the mediocre to hope to gain the general market. It's a real Catch 22. When the Arena acts such as the Chilli Peppers, AC/DC, etc. stop touring, there will be a huge void to fill in all those ampitheaters & large clubs that popped up in the 90's. Who will take those reigns there are maybe just a few that have the catalog to keep the attention of music lovers. We need true rock stars again. They don't have to be pretty, they just need heart & substance & the ability to write songs that connect.
I did catch 3 great shows - Sloan. The Stooges were raw & I love Mike Watt in the act. I did miss some classic Iggy solo stuff, but it's so cool to see Iggy upstage the whole festival with his raw energy. Sloan was a classic power pop act that I always dug. I also saw the Good the Bad & The Queen at the Levi's party. Very interesting & carefully articulated music from Paul Simonean from the Clash & a member of Blur in the mix. One really bad show that I walked out of, at the Blender Bar - I saw a "Rock" hipster act which was so lame & going through the motions, that had that 70's tip without the madness or balls of a Joe Walsh lick. It was like taking Mother Tongue, adding a lame hipster element to it & mixing it with Milwaukee's Best. Long live the "Buzz" band.
by Johnny 99
SXSW 07' was by far the most interesting, bizarre, & confusing of my last 3 trips down to Austin. If you are a live music lover, it is definately a must see event.
On our way down to SXSW we had a great series of club dates with our pals Bang Sugar Bang. The most memorable was staying at a cat named Winner's house after a gig. Winner seemed like your average beer guzzling Johnny Cash lovin' Rockabilly sort with a fondness for the Muffs, which was cool. He had Hot Wheels laced all over his wall, which I found interesting. I passed out - the Iron Needle & Twang Sugar Twang singing angel's wrote a song about me snoring while Daniel conducted the piece. Apparently shortly after Winner brought out a horse whip & started whipping everybody. I guess there was a lot of testosterone going on. Again, I am still sleeping during this. Later that night a member of Silver Needle passed out & woke up in the gentle arms of Winner "spooning" this member which apprently freaked this person out. Thank goodness Winner didn't get creative with his Hot Wheels collection & we would have had another Mr. Slave & Lemmiwinks on our hand.
My favorite gig was at the POD in Amarillo which was a youth center which was BYOB. The kids dug the needle so that energy was amazing.
On Monday I had to fly to New Orleans for work & worked 16 hours straight for Monster, at 12:46am I found myself parading down Bourbon Street with 12 Monster Promo Girls, Wee Man, my buddy Poncho & capped off with a riding of the Budweiser Clydesdales down the street. True story. That night, my friend Patrick & I met 4 co-eds from North Carolina on Spring Break, we ended up partying & they convinced me to take them to the Live Sex Show on Bourbon which I told them was a tourist trap. They didn't believe me. Southern Girls usually can talk me into anything, that drawl from a hot girl is my kryptonite. Again, same thing. Tourist trap, nasty girls dancing, no live sex, girls bummed, onto dance club. We ended up at a venue accross the street with a cheesy cover band doing classic rock covers. I hate it when people cover Journey & they can't sing it. It's a challenge, don't even try if you can't hit those highs. I needed several shots to bear with the cover band. Ditched co-eds to get some sleep.
Before I flew home, I hit Marie Leveau's House of Voodoo, I bought Austin. Hit the seminars & convention with Cooper. I realized that the world is open to the Independent Musician, they are a lot of opportunities out there. The big issue now is that the music world is flooded with tons of sub par bands vying for attention. It's not really a competitve marketplace, but oversaturated. I sat through 3 demo critique sessions to hear what was out there & in the audience was the guy that wrote "Doing Da Butt" by EU, a band from Estonia, & a couple of kids with stage moms. It took 3 sessions to finally get Silver Needle heard. Out of that we were approached by a label that has interest. Every song I heard was a singer/songwriter, a pop-punk copy, or a bizarre jokester Frank Zappa type. It's really a challenge to be heard.
One panel member stated an interesting statistic that 20% of music is downloaded, 80% is still bought on cd, What is hurting the industry? File Sharing, weak acts, etc? I think it's a combination of all. The industry gatekeeps acts that will not sell records in the midwest. All the hot acts that I heard about still have limited audiences. Every industry panel said they want good songs with interesting character, but I think they either put out intersting character acts because they are too geeked out on following the hip or they put out the mediocre to hope to gain the general market. It's a real Catch 22. When the Arena acts such as the Chilli Peppers, AC/DC, etc. stop touring, there will be a huge void to fill in all those ampitheaters & large clubs that popped up in the 90's. Who will take those reigns there are maybe just a few that have the catalog to keep the attention of music lovers. We need true rock stars again. They don't have to be pretty, they just need heart & substance & the ability to write songs that connect.
I did catch 3 great shows - Sloan. The Stooges were raw & I love Mike Watt in the act. I did miss some classic Iggy solo stuff, but it's so cool to see Iggy upstage the whole festival with his raw energy. Sloan was a classic power pop act that I always dug. I also saw the Good the Bad & The Queen at the Levi's party. Very interesting & carefully articulated music from Paul Simonean from the Clash & a member of Blur in the mix. One really bad show that I walked out of, at the Blender Bar - I saw a "Rock" hipster act which was so lame & going through the motions, that had that 70's tip without the madness or balls of a Joe Walsh lick. It was like taking Mother Tongue, adding a lame hipster element to it & mixing it with Milwaukee's Best. Long live the "Buzz" band.
It's an interesting time & a time to find out why you play music in the first place, for the love of your art or your ego. Art will prevail if you the individual is satisfied & you can touch people no matter how big or small the venture. After all the bullshit, it comes down to good music.
Long Live Spoonin'
J99
Long Live Spoonin'
J99
As we all continue to recover from the mayhem that was SXSW in TX, we will post our stories throughout the week. So stay tuned for all the dirt...
Kiss or Kill Spotlight - The Mulhollands
Get to Know...
The Mulhollands
Sarah Jeanette and Jeremy James of Kiss or Kill's March Resident Band The Mulhollands took some time to answer some of our questions on the history of the band and their involvement in our scene.
Band Members
Sarah Jeanette - Vocals, Tambourine
Jeremy James - Guitar, Vocals
Jeff - Bass
Dave - Drums
Check out their video for their song, "Baby It's Alright"
The Mulhollands will be opening up for The Screeners and IAMX tonight at Safari Sam's!
1. Where are you each from originally, and what brought you to Los Angeles?
Sarah Jeanette - I am originally from West Chester, PA. I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue music
Jeremy James – Originally from Nashville . Moved to LA to play music and surf
Jeff and Dave are from LA
2. How did the name The Mulhollands come about?
Jeremy James would often go up to the top of Mulholland Drive to write our songs...so it just seemed to fit.
3. How did the current line-up meet?
Upon first moving to LA, Sarah Jeanette heard Jeremy James playing guitar by the pool at the apartment complex where they both lived. They started working together and seeked other members to form the Mulhollands. Then they found Jeff pretty quickly and just recently added Dave to the group as drummer.
4. Were any of you involved in other bands before forming The Mulhollands?
Jeremy James was in Nashville punk band PLASTER for 9 years before starting The Mulhollands. Sarah Jeanette was in a couple local bands in Pennsylvania . Dave is also in L.A. band The Quirks
5. What instruments do you each play?
Jeremy James plays Lead Guitar (Fender Strat, Gibson SG) Sarah Jeanette sings and plays Tambourine, Jeff plays Fender Jazz Bass, Dave plays drums.
6. What made each of you get involved with music?
Sarah Jeanette - Having been born into show business with an actress for a mother (Susan Richardson from Eight is Enough), I have been singing since I could walk, constantly doing charity work with my mom, singing in retirement homes and hospitals. I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Pretenders and Heart. At 16, I started playing guitar and formed my first band. After college, I decided to move to LA to pursue the life long dream.
Jeremy James – It wasn’t much of a decision. I saw Everclear when I was 15, went home and never put the guitar down again. Not to mention the whole Nirvana and Green Day thing. I had about 30 Beach Boys tapes before I was eleven.
7. What has been the craziest show you have played to date?
We played a Kiss or Kill show opening for Winger and Metal Skool which was probably the craziest show to date. The crowd was amazing and yeah, its Winger...enough said.
8. Are there any plans to go on tour in the near future?
We hope to tour later this year, hopefully in the summer.
9. What has been your favorite venue or town/city to play so far?
We love playing Kiss or Kill the best because it has a family type vibe. There are so many regulars and everyone is so supportive
10. How did The Mulhollands involvement with Kiss or Kill come about?
Well, we started hanging out at Kiss or Kill and really loved the scene. So Johnny decided to book us an opening slot and it went really well, so we continued to play pretty regularly.
11. When did you play your first Kiss or Kill show?
April 21, 2006
12. What do you feel makes Kiss or Kill different from other nights in Los Angeles/Hollywood?
Kiss or Kill is different because as mentioned above, it has an awesome vibe...it is its own little community, like a big family of musicians and genuine music lovers. Thats hard to find in LA.
13.You all are part of your own little music community as well, describe that?
Outside of the Kiss or Kill Community, we have a group of LA bands we have formed a community with...Automatic Music Explosion, Ok Stranger, Spycamera, The Scene, The Ringers, American Eyes etc.
14. Will True Romance be your first full length CD? Who did you work with that on and how was that experience? What is the release date?
Our first release is going to be "With Our Eyes Closed" a 4 song EP. We worked with Producer Biff Vincent and engineer Joshua Williams who did an amazing job.
15. You guys seem to have a great following by other local LA bands what do you credit that to?
We have been lucky to meet some amazing people out here in local bands. We all support each other.
15. In your own words how would you describe The Mulhollands sound?
The Mulhollands sound is indie pop...The kind of music you want to drive along the Pacific Coast Highway with the windows down.
16. Jeremy James recently had the chance to tour with the Pink Spiders, how did that come about and how was that experience for him?
The Spiders were fans of PLASTER and then The Mulhollands. The tour was amazing, I got to see ever city in America and become friends with some of my favorite bands.
16. How has the sound evolved since you first came together?
The music has evolved quite a bit. It took us a while to develop exactly what The Mulhollands sound is.
17. What bands have influenced you personally?
We have been influenced by The Beach Boys, The Pretenders, Smashing Pumpkins, The Ramones, Gram Parsons
18. What advice would you give to bands that are just starting out?
Be original, network, and don’t give up
19. What would be your dream bill to play on?
Coachella
20. If you didnt reside in the Los Angeles area where would you live?
Sarah Jeanette - I would live in Corsica...an amazing Island just off the coast of France .
Jeremy James – Chicago or New York
The Mulhollands
Sarah Jeanette and Jeremy James of Kiss or Kill's March Resident Band The Mulhollands took some time to answer some of our questions on the history of the band and their involvement in our scene.
Band Members
Sarah Jeanette - Vocals, Tambourine
Jeremy James - Guitar, Vocals
Jeff - Bass
Dave - Drums
Check out their video for their song, "Baby It's Alright"
The Mulhollands will be opening up for The Screeners and IAMX tonight at Safari Sam's!
1. Where are you each from originally, and what brought you to Los Angeles?
Sarah Jeanette - I am originally from West Chester, PA. I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue music
Jeremy James – Originally from Nashville . Moved to LA to play music and surf
Jeff and Dave are from LA
2. How did the name The Mulhollands come about?
Jeremy James would often go up to the top of Mulholland Drive to write our songs...so it just seemed to fit.
3. How did the current line-up meet?
Upon first moving to LA, Sarah Jeanette heard Jeremy James playing guitar by the pool at the apartment complex where they both lived. They started working together and seeked other members to form the Mulhollands. Then they found Jeff pretty quickly and just recently added Dave to the group as drummer.
4. Were any of you involved in other bands before forming The Mulhollands?
Jeremy James was in Nashville punk band PLASTER for 9 years before starting The Mulhollands. Sarah Jeanette was in a couple local bands in Pennsylvania . Dave is also in L.A. band The Quirks
5. What instruments do you each play?
Jeremy James plays Lead Guitar (Fender Strat, Gibson SG) Sarah Jeanette sings and plays Tambourine, Jeff plays Fender Jazz Bass, Dave plays drums.
6. What made each of you get involved with music?
Sarah Jeanette - Having been born into show business with an actress for a mother (Susan Richardson from Eight is Enough), I have been singing since I could walk, constantly doing charity work with my mom, singing in retirement homes and hospitals. I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Pretenders and Heart. At 16, I started playing guitar and formed my first band. After college, I decided to move to LA to pursue the life long dream.
Jeremy James – It wasn’t much of a decision. I saw Everclear when I was 15, went home and never put the guitar down again. Not to mention the whole Nirvana and Green Day thing. I had about 30 Beach Boys tapes before I was eleven.
7. What has been the craziest show you have played to date?
We played a Kiss or Kill show opening for Winger and Metal Skool which was probably the craziest show to date. The crowd was amazing and yeah, its Winger...enough said.
8. Are there any plans to go on tour in the near future?
We hope to tour later this year, hopefully in the summer.
9. What has been your favorite venue or town/city to play so far?
We love playing Kiss or Kill the best because it has a family type vibe. There are so many regulars and everyone is so supportive
10. How did The Mulhollands involvement with Kiss or Kill come about?
Well, we started hanging out at Kiss or Kill and really loved the scene. So Johnny decided to book us an opening slot and it went really well, so we continued to play pretty regularly.
11. When did you play your first Kiss or Kill show?
April 21, 2006
12. What do you feel makes Kiss or Kill different from other nights in Los Angeles/Hollywood?
Kiss or Kill is different because as mentioned above, it has an awesome vibe...it is its own little community, like a big family of musicians and genuine music lovers. Thats hard to find in LA.
13.You all are part of your own little music community as well, describe that?
Outside of the Kiss or Kill Community, we have a group of LA bands we have formed a community with...Automatic Music Explosion, Ok Stranger, Spycamera, The Scene, The Ringers, American Eyes etc.
14. Will True Romance be your first full length CD? Who did you work with that on and how was that experience? What is the release date?
Our first release is going to be "With Our Eyes Closed" a 4 song EP. We worked with Producer Biff Vincent and engineer Joshua Williams who did an amazing job.
15. You guys seem to have a great following by other local LA bands what do you credit that to?
We have been lucky to meet some amazing people out here in local bands. We all support each other.
15. In your own words how would you describe The Mulhollands sound?
The Mulhollands sound is indie pop...The kind of music you want to drive along the Pacific Coast Highway with the windows down.
16. Jeremy James recently had the chance to tour with the Pink Spiders, how did that come about and how was that experience for him?
The Spiders were fans of PLASTER and then The Mulhollands. The tour was amazing, I got to see ever city in America and become friends with some of my favorite bands.
16. How has the sound evolved since you first came together?
The music has evolved quite a bit. It took us a while to develop exactly what The Mulhollands sound is.
17. What bands have influenced you personally?
We have been influenced by The Beach Boys, The Pretenders, Smashing Pumpkins, The Ramones, Gram Parsons
18. What advice would you give to bands that are just starting out?
Be original, network, and don’t give up
19. What would be your dream bill to play on?
Coachella
20. If you didnt reside in the Los Angeles area where would you live?
Sarah Jeanette - I would live in Corsica...an amazing Island just off the coast of France .
Jeremy James – Chicago or New York
At Home He's A Tourist
Suburbia vs. Living in the City (Part 2)
By Jason Pancake
This week continues with the theme of how population changes in America’s big cities and suburbs have affected politics to people having to choose how they want to live.
Throughout modern history, especially in the U.S, there has divide between the city and the countryside. You have the urban areas, the suburbs, rural areas, and now things in between like exurbs. Part of what makes government so difficult is that the problems, opinions, and lifestyles of people in urban areas vs. more isolated places are often totally different. In fact, the changes within cities have made this divide even greater. When trying to decide whether you want to live near a major metropolitan area or out in the suburbs, your personal, social, and political views and goals can have a major impact. For example, if you are interested in buying a larger house with a yard, but aren’t a millionaire, you most likely couldn’t afford it in L.A., but can easily afford it in many other states. The median home price in L.A. was $438,000 and $738,000 in San Francisco, but only $107,000 in Ft. Wayne, IN or $138,000 in San Antonio. As you can see it would be really easy to give up having the excitement and many activities/restaurants/entertainment of a city, if you would prefer a bigger house. In addition, a smaller city/state probably has lower taxes, lower cost of living, and a more “traditional” way of life.
Over the last few decades, a lot of people are choosing to make the move to less expensive areas. Even if these people who moved aren’t mainly Republican or mainly Democrat, they still impact places like Florida, Texas, and Arizona by increasing the population and political power (electoral votes) of those Republican states. Between 1970 and 1997, Arizona grew by 257%, Florida grew by 216% and Texas grew by 74% as more people moved to these places. Even though California has also grown quickly, it only grew by 62%. New York, a Democratic stronghold, meanwhile decreased in population by 6% between 1970 and 1997.
Recently though, it appears like some Democrats have been pushed away from cities and into suburbs that Republicans once moved into, but had now moved out of. This article on Ohio, discusses how some suburbs in Ohio that had voted for Bush in 2004 seemed to turn Democrat for the 2006 election, while the Republicans there moved to other newer suburbs.
Overall though, when you look at the way Americans vote, urban areas (many being in the Northeast and West Coast) are much more likely to vote Democrat, while the rural and less urban areas are much more Republican. It is no coincidence that more Republicans than Democrats support socially conservative ideas, are white, and enjoy the old idea of living in a small town.
And just for fun, according to a voting research group study, here are some lists:
The Top 10 Most Conservative Cities
1 Provo, Utah
2 Lubbock, Texas
3 Abilene, Texas
4 Hialeah, Florida
5 Plano, Texas
6 Colorado Springs, Colorado
7 Gilbert, Arizona
8 Bakersfield, California
9 Lafayette, Louisiana
10 Orange, California
The Top 10 Most Liberal Cities
1 Detroit, Michigan
2 Gary, Indiana
3 Berkeley, California
4 Washington, DC
5 Oakland, California
6 Inglewood, California
7 Newark, New Jersey
8 Cambridge, Massachusetts
9 San Francisco, California
10 Flint, Michigan
As you can see, the conservative cities tend to be suburbs, while the liberal cities are more urban and have many more minorities. Gary, IN may appear a little out of place on the liberal list, but actually it’s only 25 miles from Chicago and the population is 84% black. Looking further at the lists, the top liberal cities list is full of more metropolitan areas like Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Chicago and Boston. The conservative city list is filled with places like Simi Valley, Oklahoma City, and Garden Grove.
This week continues with the theme of how population changes in America’s big cities and suburbs have affected politics to people having to choose how they want to live.
Throughout modern history, especially in the U.S, there has divide between the city and the countryside. You have the urban areas, the suburbs, rural areas, and now things in between like exurbs. Part of what makes government so difficult is that the problems, opinions, and lifestyles of people in urban areas vs. more isolated places are often totally different. In fact, the changes within cities have made this divide even greater. When trying to decide whether you want to live near a major metropolitan area or out in the suburbs, your personal, social, and political views and goals can have a major impact. For example, if you are interested in buying a larger house with a yard, but aren’t a millionaire, you most likely couldn’t afford it in L.A., but can easily afford it in many other states. The median home price in L.A. was $438,000 and $738,000 in San Francisco, but only $107,000 in Ft. Wayne, IN or $138,000 in San Antonio. As you can see it would be really easy to give up having the excitement and many activities/restaurants/entertainment of a city, if you would prefer a bigger house. In addition, a smaller city/state probably has lower taxes, lower cost of living, and a more “traditional” way of life.
Over the last few decades, a lot of people are choosing to make the move to less expensive areas. Even if these people who moved aren’t mainly Republican or mainly Democrat, they still impact places like Florida, Texas, and Arizona by increasing the population and political power (electoral votes) of those Republican states. Between 1970 and 1997, Arizona grew by 257%, Florida grew by 216% and Texas grew by 74% as more people moved to these places. Even though California has also grown quickly, it only grew by 62%. New York, a Democratic stronghold, meanwhile decreased in population by 6% between 1970 and 1997.
Recently though, it appears like some Democrats have been pushed away from cities and into suburbs that Republicans once moved into, but had now moved out of. This article on Ohio, discusses how some suburbs in Ohio that had voted for Bush in 2004 seemed to turn Democrat for the 2006 election, while the Republicans there moved to other newer suburbs.
Overall though, when you look at the way Americans vote, urban areas (many being in the Northeast and West Coast) are much more likely to vote Democrat, while the rural and less urban areas are much more Republican. It is no coincidence that more Republicans than Democrats support socially conservative ideas, are white, and enjoy the old idea of living in a small town.
And just for fun, according to a voting research group study, here are some lists:
The Top 10 Most Conservative Cities
1 Provo, Utah
2 Lubbock, Texas
3 Abilene, Texas
4 Hialeah, Florida
5 Plano, Texas
6 Colorado Springs, Colorado
7 Gilbert, Arizona
8 Bakersfield, California
9 Lafayette, Louisiana
10 Orange, California
The Top 10 Most Liberal Cities
1 Detroit, Michigan
2 Gary, Indiana
3 Berkeley, California
4 Washington, DC
5 Oakland, California
6 Inglewood, California
7 Newark, New Jersey
8 Cambridge, Massachusetts
9 San Francisco, California
10 Flint, Michigan
As you can see, the conservative cities tend to be suburbs, while the liberal cities are more urban and have many more minorities. Gary, IN may appear a little out of place on the liberal list, but actually it’s only 25 miles from Chicago and the population is 84% black. Looking further at the lists, the top liberal cities list is full of more metropolitan areas like Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Chicago and Boston. The conservative city list is filled with places like Simi Valley, Oklahoma City, and Garden Grove.
(We apologize for the gap in between bringing you Jason's regular column, all technical newsletter issues have been resolved and we should have it back on a weekly basis)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Free Stooges Show?
YEAH WE MISSED IT...
Did anyone make it to the Free Stooges Show last night here in LA? If you did we want to hear about it. Unfortunately, we heard about it too late to pass it on or take advantage of it ourselves so we hope someone we know made it so we can live vicariously through you...
In the meantime visit the Brooklyn Vegan Blog (http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2007/03/free_stooges_sh.html#more)to listen to the Stooges live on KEXP during SXSW.
Did anyone make it to the Free Stooges Show last night here in LA? If you did we want to hear about it. Unfortunately, we heard about it too late to pass it on or take advantage of it ourselves so we hope someone we know made it so we can live vicariously through you...
In the meantime visit the Brooklyn Vegan Blog (http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2007/03/free_stooges_sh.html#more)to listen to the Stooges live on KEXP during SXSW.
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