Me, Dec. 2015
Happy holidays everyone! I sincerely hope the new year brings you comfort and calm, or intense energy, if that’s what you seek instead! I just finished some new copy edits on my book The Politics of Punk, which is due out soon. If you would like a discount coupon upon its release, let me know. Also, if you are a fan of the Big Boys, be sure to follow me on Facebook, where I have been celebrating “120 Days of Randy ‘Biscuit’ Turner,” which I previously neglected to mention. For months now, I have been curating tons of incredibly surreal, obscure, and wonky gig posters, hand-made art, and rare photos to honor Biscuit. Ten years have passed since he left us for a punk-soul drenched, candycolored heaven. In fact, Artcore, the longtime fanzine from Wales, just featured a four-page spread of Biscuit’s work alongside an essay of mine (previously printed in Visual Vitriol but newly re-edited and expanded).
Artcore, 30th Anniversary Issue, Part 1
Editor Welly, who also sings for Four Letter Word (BYO Records) brought us over the pond for a UK tour in 2004, so he has been an ally, comrade, and friend for years. You can purchase a copy here and enjoy the free 45 record with Oi Polloi too!
This week I published a fascinating interview in the Houston Press with Michael Stewart Foley, whose svelte new book for the 33 1/3 series explores Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables! We explore San Francisco’s tumultuous history and politics, the rarely explored deep bio of the band, andcontemporary issues that make the Dead Kennedys still seem “fresh” (wink), so make sure to read it here.
Update 1 Jan. 2016! My interview with Foley has been picked up by the OC Weekly, where you can also read it, so click here.
Yesterday, I finished a new photo book entitled An Other America, which has been sent to the printer. Since it is a very, very limited archival run and features 21 pages of photos taken during 2015 in Texas, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Illinois (landscapes, band pics, and portraits like the one that leads this entry), let me know if you would like a copy — signed, $40.00 ppd. in the states. leftofthedialmag@hotmail.com
Also, many thanks to Jimmy Alvarado at Razorcake for publishing a keen, positive, and thoughtful review of my book Mavericks of Sound. I am super-stoked the book still has traction months after its release. I have attached it here, but of course you should visit Razorcake and contribute to their indie media struggle as well by visiting here.
The Center for Punk Arts 