Tag Archives: politics

A Review of the HasanAbi Twitch Stream

 

 

 

            One of the nice things about social media platforms is the ability to find people who are like you. Weirdly for me anyways it makes me feel a little less alone when I come across people like Hasan Piker. I originally found him through the H3H3 production, The Leftist. He was somewhat of a replacement for Trisha Paytas in Frienemies, and by somewhat I mean Ethan Kline went a different direction, he went from talking about some of the Internets gossips to becoming a political commentator and replaced one of Internet's biggest trolling piece of trash. Don’t get me wrong I loved Frienemies, I appreciated that they were covering the David Dobrick stuff, but to see that more people of our millennial generation are coming out as being more of the socialist left was much more of a win.

     For the last few months, since like October I think, I have been tuning into Pikers twitch stream pretty regularly. I enjoy a crass human who tells people that he is going to drag his balls across their faces in the midst of an online debate. As an academic, there have been many moments in my life where I wanted to do the same thing. Since I am a fucking freak in about every aspect of my life and my not fitting into the academic world is just a part of it. Sometimes some of these people need to have a person stand up to them and put them in their place. I find it very funny but also needed.

     Aside from the occasional stream disturbance of a douche being put into place, Piker covers all of the main topics of the political world. There are two very important things that Piker is adding to the topic that no one is talking about in regards to topics like Roe v Wade, the Johnny Depp trial and school shootings. First, it is wonderful to see a man of his ranking on Twitch discuss, and yell at the fuck wad incels, about Roe V Wade. As someone who has been sexually harassed since I was 11, raped at 15, which was my virginity, and forced up against a wall for my first kiss, I have only made a few choices as to what I wanted to do with my body. Men have decided for me since the age of 11 how sex was going to be. That is pretty horrifying, yet men seem to try to skate away from this topic, or they say some of the absolute most garbage takes. Piker does not allow for any of that to slide by. He takes the time to discuss what is going on, and why these comments are ignorant and discuss the history and consequences of what will happen. Some of the things that we have seen are Vice documentaries that discuss what women are going through in Texas. As a female, I truly appreciate a man standing doing this. I do not think he understands the true magnitude that he is doing by talking about this subject. Additionally, Adin Ross joined Kick it with Twitch's streaming platform rival, starting this week.

    The Johnny Depp Amber Heard case is probably one of the most random and interesting things to have seen Piker cover. More so than that reality show, gay or not gay (definitely the wrong name). This case for the last couple of years has been a large topic of discussion for many people. Personally, my friend and I were pissed that they recast his role in Fantastic Beast because we being the nerds we are loved, Johnny Depp. Both of us have believed from the beginning that Heard was trash and it was an equally abusive situation. I have felt this way. After all, I grew up knowing that men could be abused just as badly as women because my dad would tell us stories about his first wife being so coked out she shot him with a gun and he jumped out the window. He has the scars to prove it. My dad told me that there were many ways in which Heard reminded him of his first wife from some of the mannerisms and the audio that has been out for years. Unfortunately for Piker, he too has gone through some similar things as my dad and Depp. As uncomfortable as it is for him to discuss (I can only assume), it allows for there to be more discussion and honesty about what men can also go through in a relationship. The man is massive; he is 6’4 so if he were to do anything he would cause damage. I stand at 5’4 and I couldn’t imagine someone that large coming after me and the power dynamic is not the same, if I were to have a scratch on me and pointed at someone that large, it would be assumed that he started it. It makes a person think and it is nice that he is saying something on these topics.

     My one criticism is a personal one. WHY THE FUCK DO YOU NOT LISTEN TO MUSIC! That is a huge blind spot in your knowledge of politics. My English Professor Music Journalist ass just wants to lecture him on the importance of the art he is not listening to or reading for that matter. So I have put together a political playlist of some of my favorite songs. Much like my article, If I was a playlist, I will be talking about each song individually and at they mean in the realm of music. Piker, this is kind of horrifying and I want to lecture you about Jazz, as that’s where it all starts, in Congo Square where the slaves met on Sunday to play music. And to through one of my favorite theory quotes that perfectly explains why he should listen and read books I am going to quote Ann B. Dobie’s Theory into Practice, 

              “Other Marxist, who assume that the superstructure is capable of 

               shaping the base, recognize that literature (as well as art, 

               entertainment, and such) can be a means for the working class

               to change the system. By promoting their own culture, they can

               create a new superstructure and eventually a different base.

               Even Marx and Engles admitted that some aspect of the super-

               structure, such as philosophy and art, are ‘relatively autonomous,’

               making it possible to use them to alter ideologies”

(Dobie 91). Overall I enjoy is content and have convinced many of my friends to listen to him because I play it for them when we are hanging out smoking weed. I think it is important that some of these things not only be discussed, but the knowledge that Piker provides in the political realm is needed. I certainly do not know all of it and I appreciate someone taking the time out of their life to try and make things a little better. You can catch him pretty much daily on his twitch stream HasabAbi.

 

 

These are some of my favorite songs when it comes to music; however, others are songs that I feel still have some relevance even though they have been released over 15 years ago. Music and people don’t change, just the style.

 

“Hooker with a Penis”, Tool Aenima

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=QOR0RilgO2w&feature=share

     One of the things that always comes up in the chat is people talking shit about the stupidest of things to Piker, like for instance that he bought a Hawaiian shirt or the infamous Gucci shirt. It is quite funny to watch a Leo go the fuck off on people. When I looked up who he was at first, I automatically knew it was going to be a firey time because as it says online his birthday is at the end of July, Leo season. Some of the best lyrics from the song easily apply to Piker, 

                 “And in between

                  Sips of coke

                  He told me that

                  He thought/

                  We were sellin' out/

                  Layin' down,

                  Suckin' up

                  To the man 

                  Well now I've got some

                  A-dvice for you, little buddy
                  Before you point the finger

                  You should know that

                   I'm the man

                  And if I'm the man

                  Then you're the man, and

                  He's the man as well so you can

                  Point that fuckin' finger up your ass.

                  All you know about me is what I've sold you

                  Dumb fuck

                  I sold out long before you ever heard my name

                  I sold my soul to make a record

                  Dip shit

                  And you bought one”

 

               

“Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums”, A Perfect Circle, eMotive

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hBy0dzUzHUk

     Appearing originally as “Pet” on Thirteenth Step, APC renamed and reimagined this song on their album of anti-war songs. This one is much more of a Tool style as it is much heavier than their typical sound. One of the important changes is how much heavier the drums are throughout the song. It is also much more chaotic sounding. As war has never been known to be quiet, this makes sense. War once upon a time also used to have drummer boys that were not allowed to kill in battle, although they were often the casualties of such atrocities. Our fashions of war have changed, some of it is done in computer rooms, as we can see from Ukraine though, many things don’t change and the sound of horror and chaos amongst the dying is one of those sounds that do not change. Maynard Keenan making this song more aggressive and chaotic perfectly fits the theme of eMotive as well as what the sound of panic and horror is.

 

“B.Y.O.B” and “Hypnotize”, System of a Down, Mesmerizeand Hypnotize

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=OMtq6JzREcA&list=RDAMVMOMtq6JzREcA

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pvP_YJTpt44&list=RDAMVMpvP_YJTpt44

       These songs are being written together because of how the two albums were released in 2005 and 2006. Originally written to be a concept album, they were split up because the band had decided that it would be easier for the “iPod generation” to digest the album in its full meaning.  Typically when a song is picked to be a hit, the band is picking the song they feel best represents the album. Both of these songs, like most System of a Down music, are highly political. Serj Tankian has even stated to Blabbermouth “To tell an artist that he should only play music and not talk about politics is like telling a journalist that they should only do interviews and not fix the — I don't know — toilet, or whatever," he explained. "It makes no sense. We're dynamic, sentient beings on this planet. We can be good at more than one thing. And if they're not, that's their problem." Much of both of these songs have specific moments of war or bombings that are being referred to that are subjects that have either never gained enough attention, or at the time, the current circumstances of war. However, both of these songs are still relevant to today’s political climate. “B.Y.O.B” also stands for bring your own bomb; a very telling thing about what the album stands itself.

 

“For Whom the Bells Toll”, Metallica, Ride The Lightening

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=eeqGuaAl6Ic&list=RDAMVMeeqGuaAl6Ic

    I won’t go too far into this because this was a part of my master’s project so wrote pages on this song alone. “For Whom the Bells Toll,” describes the moments of the war as men are working their way into the battlefield. Based off the war novelFor Whom the Bells Tollby Ernest Hemmingway and the novel is based off the Holy Sonnet, “For Whom the Bells Toll” by John Donne, both describe how man is not alone, and how we need one another to survive. The bell tolls for all who did not die in the war that they are fighting. Each of these pieces of work not only describes the men that have lived to hear the bell toll but the men that have died while the bell is going off and the horrors of war play out in front of them, some of the Metallica lyrics describe such things, 

               “Make his fight on the hill in the early day

                Constant chill deep inside

                Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey

                On they fight, are they right, yes, by who's to say?

                For a hill men would kill, why? They do not know

                Stiffened wounds test there their pride

                Men of five, still alive through the raging glow

                Gone insane from the pain that they surely know

                For whom the bell tolls

                Time marches on (what is it?)

                (For whom the bell tolls)

                Take a look to the sky just before you die

                It is the last time you will

                Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky

                Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry

                Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery

                He hears the silence so loud

                Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be

                Now they see what will be, blinded eyes to see”

 

 

“BBB”, How to Destroy Angels, How to Destroy Angels EP

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=y27mjl7iI1I

       “BBB”, or Big Black Boots, comes from the EP of the side project of Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor. Although the band has never gained the same level of mainstream success, for some of us we prefer them over Nine Inch Nails. With Reznor’s wife, Mariqeen Maandig on vocals, the band itself has a different type of industrial sound than the one used to from these creators. One of the fun things that come from this song is the clicking sound that war boots make when they are walking on concrete. This song is not a lyrically heavy song, however, Reznor has always been good at making his feelings known even with minimum lyrics. The way that the music flows through each stanza gives the right emotion of what he is trying to accomplish.

 

“Assimilate”, Skinny Puppy, Bites 

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=O1XGmYFPv_s&list=RDAMVMPjIjDlsdYOA

    Coming off of their first full-length album, “Assimilate” sets the tone for what not only became industrial but much of what the context of the band's music would be about. With the heavy sounds along with the political lyrics that so many industrial bands are known for, the band sings 

                “Oil remove shred and tear radiation vapor

                 It's the fear so unclear man in motion going nowhere

                 In our homes stuck in the face spread the word to the populace

                 Yellow journal yellow journal set the pace feel the rage

                  Manifestations of a sort so insidious off the point

                  Simple solution never confusion sport a gun kill a cop

                  Crazy world of weary thought so receive me had enough

                  Lock me up lock me up

                  Rot and assimilate so hot to annihilate

                  Deviation tonic mess prolonged existence innocence

                  Is he who speaks isn't weak wheelchair virtue so to speak

                  Bubonic plague the truth of aids immunity avoid decay”

 

The topics, which are addressed in the song, are still heavily relevant today. This album was released in the early 80s yet we are still fighting over all of these things. If there was a time when they wanted us to assimilate it is certainly now.

 

“Holiday in Cambodia”, Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables 

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=nrm2B0lhvYc&list=RDAMVMnrm2B0lhvYc

      One of the assume things about punk music and particularly this band is the blatant unhappiness with the world and being saying it out loud. “Holiday in Cambodia” is arguably one of the most famous Dead Kennedys songs and for good reason. The song details the story of a boy who has been in college for a few years and has decided that he knows what is best for the world. This song describes the ignorance that some fall into when they think that because they went to school they are more educated, and how some of these people think that the rest of the world should act as he does. This is a hot topic now, in fact, this song still has a great reflection of the pretentious attitude many “elite” people feel. Thank you Jello Biafra for being written on the money.

 

“White America”, Eminem, The Eminem Show

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=vxpeKhbeLm0&list=RDAMVMvxpeKhbeLm0

         I’ll be honest, this song doesn’t fit into the mix of this playlist, however, the lyrics themselves are super relevant and do fit the theme of this playlist. Eminem has never been one to mince his words and anyone who listens to his music is aware of his stance on many things going on in the world. This song is no different, one of the things that he discusses is how his music only started to matter when the white kids in the suburbs started to listen to him, however, his skin color had allowed him to get away with much of his antics, 

        “See, the problem is I speak to suburban kids

            Who otherwise would've never knew these words exist

        Whose moms prob'ly would've never gave two squirts of piss

            'Til I created so much motherfuckin' turbulence

        Straight out the tube, right into your livin' rooms I came

            And kids flipped when they knew I was produced by Dre

        That's all it took, and they were instantly hooked right in

        And they connected with me too, because I looked like them

           That's why they put my lyrics up under this microscope

           Searchin' with a fine tooth comb, it's like this rope

           Waitin' to choke, tightenin' around my throat

       Watchin' me while I write this, like, "I don't like this note!"

          All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy

        Sponsors workin' 'round the clock to try to stop my concerts early

           Surely hip-hop was never a problem in Harlem, only in Boston

           After it bothered the fathers of daughters startin' to blossom

           So now I'm catchin' the flak from these activists when they raggin'

       Actin' like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch or say "faggot", shit

          Just look at me like I'm your closest pal

          The poster child, the motherfuckin' spokesman now, for—“

 

“Five to One”, The Doors, Waiting for the Sun

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=oOzpncIHCLs

     “Five to One”, was created in the studio as a way to have more content for their album Waiting for the Sun. With the commercial success of their first two albums, The Doors were in the studio quickly because in those days the music industry ran the artist down to the ground to get the music they needed. However because the band did not have any stored-up material as they did with their first two albums, they were able to create songs that spoke about the matters at hand. The idea of “Five to One” is about the fact that only one in five soldiers came back from Vietnam. The Doors were openly against the war; the song “The Unknown Soldier” playing after this song only emphasizes their anti-war stance. Some of my favorite lyrics come from this song,

          “Five to one, baby

           One in five

           No one here gets out alive, now

           You get yours, baby

           I’ll get mine

           Gonne make it, baby

           If we try

           The old get old

           And the young get stronger

           May take a week

           And it may take longer

           They got the guns

           Well, but we got the numbers

            Gonne win, yeah

            We're taken' over

            Come on!”

 

“Won’t Get Fooled Again”, The Who, Whose Next

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=-iC9S-FwDSA

     Right before covid hit my dad took me to see The Who and I was super stoked because I lobe them. One of the things Pete Townsend said was that he was reclaiming this song because of the importance that it held to current day politics. This was right before the election, and Townsend stated that we needed to remember whom we were voting for because much of what they went through when they wrote this song in the 60s is going on today. The man is 100% correct. What did change once we had a new leader? Nothing. Some things got a little worse. And in no way am I saying that Trump would have been better, I am a huge Bernie Sanders fan. What I am saying is that abortion rights are about to be taken away and we do not have formula for our children. So with that in mind this is what the lyrics say, 

      “There's nothing in the street

        Looks any different to me

        And the slogans are effaced, by-the-bye

        And the parting on the left

        Is now parting on the right

        And the beards have all grown longer overnight

        I'll tip my hat to the new Constitution

        Take a bow for the new revolution

        Smile and grin at the change all around

        Pick up my guitar and play

        Just like yesterday

        Then I'll get on my knees and pray

        We don't get fooled again

        Don't get fooled again, no, no

        Yeah

        Meet the new boss

        Same as the old boss”

 

 

“Strange Fruit”, Billie Holiday, Various

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx_mOECjT_8

    This song is going last because it is not only the darkest, but Billie Holiday would always play it as the last song of her set. Originally written as a poem by Abel Meeropol, this teacher after publishing it composed it as a song, which was later passed to Holiday at her nightclub. This song reminded her of her dad and the lack of health care that black men have always gotten from hospitals. Holiday hated singing this song, but she knew it was important that someone was speaking the truth. However this song would become her downfall, the club owner did not like that she sang it, he had asked her to stop and she had refused so the club owner made she was caught using heroin which landed her in prison. Holiday did not last long off of drugs after prison because she had a traumatic childhood, having to work in a brothel with her mother, she returned to her drugs, which ultimately killed her. However her legacy has lived on and this song is a major part of it, it was declared the song of the century, and for good reason. The song in its entirety will be posted below.

           

       “Southern trees bear a strange fruit

         Blood on the leaves and blood at the root

         Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

         Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

         

        Pastoral scene of the gallant South

        The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth

        Scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh

        Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

 

        Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

        For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck

        For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop

        Here is a strange and bitter crop”

Work Cited

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-system-downs-mezmerize-and-hypnotize

https://blabbermouth.net/news/serj-tankian-refuses-to-shut-up-about-politics


https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-doors/five-to-one

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/robby-krieger-doors-waiting-for-the-sun/

https://www.biography.com/.amp/news/billie-holiday-strange-fruit 

 

Why We Shouldn’t Be Attacking Our Own Team

There is no surprise to what life after Trump has been elected has become. Most people are pretty upset still and much of what we have seen has been nothing short of a circus. However we have seen a surge of Republicans that have been on our team and  by team I mean they are also wanting to see Trumps tax returns and they want to know what the deal is with Russia. Having people like Senator McCain and former President Bush ask these same questions should make people think that even if they want to know, we should want to know just as much. Instead I have been seeing a surge of people from other magzines saying things like we can't trust Bush because while he was in office he was against gay marriage and don't let his grandpa act fool you. You know what shut the fuck up, just because you don't like what he had done over a decade ago doesn't mean that we need to kick him off of our team, the team that Bernie Sanders is on. It is incredibly important to see people like Bush saying that as the people of this country we have the right to know what is going on in that office.

     Sure it would be easy to discredit Bush because he was not the greatest of Presidents. Sure it would be easy to shrug it off because he is on a book tour for his book of paintings (which is by the way of 9/11 veterans so suck on that) but right now we need to stop pitting people against each other because of what their polictical standing. If one of Bush's daughters is fighting for Planned Parenthood, and he is openingly speaking out agianst Trump, something he never did with Obama, then why are we talking shit about him? With all of this chaos that is going on right now people need to get over their own personal shit from ten years ago and focus on the main point, what is going on all around is. I'm not saying to forget what he has done because that matters but what I am saying is to not kick off someone from your own team. 

Andrew W K past interview

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This is an article that orginally appeared on lifeabove11.com MArch 2012. 

 

There are no real words to describe Andrew W K’s show. His shows are one of those things that you need to see in order to fully appreciate the art, talent, songs, and anything else you can think of that describes a great show. I will do my best to give this show the justice it deserves. He had come out with full energy playing the song It’s Time to Party quickly followed by Party Hard. This was the best way to start off the show. There is nothing-but pure positive energy flowing from his band to the audience. Every single person was using that energy to really enjoy the show. Some of the fans were even allowed to stay on stage and rock out with the band, which is not something that you ever see. In between songs, Andrew W K would say something’s that were very inspirational to any person, one of those things was “Music is proof God wants us to be happy.” This isn’t just because he is a motivational speaker, but all that he does is enhance his stage presence.

During the performance, it is interesting to see all of the band member’s head bang at once, and for the most part throwing their fist out to get pumped up. At some point in time, W K had gotten his cord to his mic stuck around the stand and was fighting with it to get it free. This did not in any way affect his singing; although, he has a great stage presence I have never seen someone stick so much stuff down their pants. It was entertaining to see were he not only would put the mic, but also the jacket that he acquired from a fan. That of course was only a part of the true essence of what the band was like on stage. Every single person was everywhere and they did not allow the fans that were on stage to interfere with their performance. W K was all over the key board and I have never seen someone play an instrument so erotically that still sounded better than on the tracks he had recorder. This was definitely one of those shows that if you missed it, you would be missing out on something epic. Each song had more energy than the next; it was great to see a band that really wanted to be there. They wanted to play and it didn’t matter that it was small; they just cared about what they were doing. WK had managed to get one of the biggest pits I have ever seen at the Glass House. I was amazed that he was able to accomplish pretty much the whole floor. Not even Gwar had done that. That alone describe the impact that he has on his fans.

It is impossible to go into that show and not come out a fan. Even if you have never heard of their music, you can’t come out feeling anything but pumped. There is something to say about a band that makes you want to hear more music. Each member had kept up the energy the whole time. Cherie did not have to front; she wore a cute spandex suit with some tennis shoes because she was jumping all over the place. I would have worn those shoes if I were her too. Every song down to We Want Fun had made the performance better and better. It was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever seen. There is something about his presence that gets a person pumped and even after our interview I had so much energy I just wanted to go and rock out. It was the same way with the show, when the band comes back again I have to go see them perform and I would be privileged to be able to sit down and interview him again. I had to buy a shirt while I was at that concert, because they are the band I want to fully support. I want to wear one of their shirts because they are the band that deserves it. You can see why they have such loyal fans, and they treat their fans amazingly.

During his interview we really did talk about a wide range of things and it was nice to talk to someone who had a real opinion of what is going on and to be interested in learning something new.

 

L11- I was watching Destroy Build Destroy, this morning what made you want to host a show like that?

 

AWK- I liked game shows quite a bit growing up, I still do, but especially children’s game shows, like Double Dare, a show called Fun House. Those were really amazing, I always like those and I liked the host and how they sort of ran the show like a circus leader and getting to do what I have with music has given me some skills that go beyond just singing that I can entertain or host; to be able to use those announcers skills. When Cartoon Network asked me to be apart of the show I asked them what it was about. They had said, well its two teams of teenagers and a lot of explosives and I said well that sounds good to me. I realized that 1. It was a continuation of this great tradition of young people game shows and 2. It was completely unprecedented. It’s never happened before and I don’t think it’s happened since. To allow young people to be close to massive weapons and WWII tanks and TNT. I thought to be able to have this chance to be just around that just to get to see it was fun enough and to be in the middle of it, you know hosting and pepping it up, and acting as the ringleader, would be fun and it was. There are moments were I need to not pinch myself but scratch myself a little bit and say this is not a dream this is really happening. It was one of the great experiences of my life this far. I am very very thankful that I have been able to do all of this stuff so far.

 

L11- You also do motivation speaking, how do you feel about the it gets better movement that has been going on?

 

AWK- It’s fantastic actually my wife and band member Cherie Lily recorder one of those, when I first heard about it Perez Hilton I think had told her about it, and she could relate to it in terms of being bulled I think like anyone, she was a very staunch independent girl in her high school days and even before. I think she was one of the first competive female snow boarders in the world and not that she became hugely successful but she dealt with a lot of bulling from being a girl and doing things that girls weren’t suppose to do. So just the idea that life getting better in general I think is something all people can relate to whether it is from your own personal experience or life style. You want to understand you are always on the up and your building strength and composites that are always making you stronger. Life gets better and you become better with life. So yeah she made one of those videos, you can find it on you tube.

 

L11- Have you filmed one yet?

 

AWK- No, I haven’t yet that’s a great idea I don’t know why I haven’t yet but I will.

 

L11- I was thinking about filming one too, I was made fun of for being Goth and in theatre.

 

AWK- Of course it’s the classic things, wearing black and you know having long hair, I was made fun of for a lot for hairstyle choices. I grew up in a college town and there was a lot of frat boys sort of rowdy troublemakers that gave everyone a hard time and it really made me very angry and very motivated. I really needed to twist that motivation to get back at them and that was my initial reaction, to try and make them feel bad but in the end I tried to find ways to get along with them. But not just get along but to find some common ground as them and that was a big motivation to do this music. It was really to make music that would bring people together when we would think that we wouldn’t even like each other. I was also very influenced in that way by Kurt Cobain. He had the opposite reaction, he was very dismayed and upset that the people that bullied him growing up were now fans and he didn’t want them to be fans. I was very fascinated by that kind of out look. I could understand it but I wanted to do the opposite of that I wanted to make music that the people who bullied me would like. It worked.

 

L11- Do you think now because of the economic crisis as a country it is a good time to really be giving motivational speeches to college kids, with the student loans debts and such.

 

AWK- Oh yeah. Did you go to college?

 

L11- I am in college now.

 

AWK- Oh awesome, I haven’t gone yet but it is never to late to go. But I didn’t think about that till later. I remember my mom and dad worked to put themselves through college their parents hadn’t the money to pay for it and I was always impressed by their determination to make it happen. When there is will there is a way. Even if you get into a lot of debt the idea of course is to be able to pay for it through your great skills and to pay off the debt. But there is always a time and a place for some kind of motivation. It is great to be able to conjure up some energy for others and yourself as well. It can come from music or even talking like this and it is something that I have noticed over the years. I have meet people who said that they never really listened to rock music but they had read something an interview that had given them, something of value something uplifting, and empowering with it. And it encouraged me to think well I don’t want to limit myself to just one technique I want to get this energy, this possibility, this joy, using whatever methods I can. Talking is a very effected method.

 

L11- So they still use the cover for I Get Wet, it was very controversial when it came out. As the years go on, it’s not really that big of a deal anymore.

 

AWK- I would hope it would I don’t want people to be upset, it’s my logo at this point. I wanted to be the bloody nose guy, and in order to do that and be that I continued to use that picture and I want to use that picture and I think its identifiable and easy to remember for better or worse. I never wanted it to be upsetting, and it was upsetting to me when I found out people were. Everybody has had bloody nose, whether you were hit with a basketball, or the whether was to dry or even if you stuck your finger to far up your nose. I never meant for it to be a violent or disturbing intense image. I am real happy with it; it was one photo that happened to work out. It was all meant to be. People are defiantly more tolerant and less offended. As time goes on young people are taking over the world we spend less time worrying about a photograph, a drawing, a painting, a lyric. It is always good to keep moving past those kinds of offense. Because they are so many other things that are worth more energy rather then bickering about if you like someone’s painting.

 

L11- It seems like today we are more worried about a woman’s right to choose instead of worrying about the issues like the oil crisis, or how we could switch to ethanol.

 

AWK- Exactly. Not that those aren’t worthwhile discussions, people are obviously passionate but we should make a list of priorities, is this really the number one thing that we should be putting time and energy into. For some folks I’m sure it is to get a different perspective. It would be like donating a bunch of money to, no offense to animals, but an animal shelter and there’s some person or kids down the street from you that have no food at all. It’s good to be able to think and priorities when it comes to that and to really take care of what matters to you the most. But that’s the thing everyone has their own cares and their own passions. I figure if everyone does what they are meant to do things will be harmonies. Unfortunately people don’t do what they are born to do and that’s when conflict come out and they feel very depressed.

 

L11- It seems like sometimes the media will take something small and blow it up out of proportion so that people don’t really know what is going on. Kim Kardasions divorce is a perfect example of that. You have to think well what is really going on in the world if this is such a big deal.

 

AWK- There’s entertainment and then there’s the world events. There’s all kinds of different stuff and sometimes I think that it is a good stress reliever for people to think about a wedding or a divorce or something because it’s not these other stressful topics. Whether it’s good or bad I don’t know but I understand it. It’s like music, yes I could be going out and doing work all over the world but I like music. Does that make me a bad person because I am not using all of my time and resources to build houses where there are none and help get clean water and places where there isn’t any? That’s not my passion; I’m not motivated by it. I have met many people that are and that is what they are doing with their lives. I am thankful for them and everyone has their purpose in life. You can tell because it stirs their soul and if your not stirred by a particular cause, no matter how noble it is, it doesn’t mean you don’t believe in it. You can’t force yourself to follow someone else’s heart you have to follow your own path. Meaning, you should never do charitable work it you don’t believe in it. It’s the hypocrite do gooder and then those conflicts arise. Your pretty much better off just doing what makes you feel good and letting those people who have that dream or passion do that. That is usually how it goes. Sometimes though people get other people to do what they like because they like it and that’s what they like to do.

 

L11- But even in books like Brave New World, 1984, or even Watchmen, they try and make everyone think the same way. In Brave New World they give out soma pills, in 1984 they have people who watch you in your own house. It is just how society is sometimes. It seems that a lot of people want us all to think the same way. Galileo was thrown into a house because he said that we were not the center of the world and the Catholic Church didn’t pardon him to what the 2000s?

 

AWK- That’s very true. And while were addressing this, there has never been a formal apology to the Native Americans for what they have done; for anything that has happened. A lot of those issues come from the advancement of the human race it is very hard to see what that entails and whether it is a good thing for the human race to advance. How do you define progress? Is progress constantly expanding or is progress the opposite where it is shrieking down. You just hope that it is made my the human race as a group and not just by other people trying to tell others that they know better then them and that’s what I really don’t like. I like authority that’s fine; we need some people in authority. It’s when you have those people in authority that abuse it to further their own personal things and prejudice, in the worst case, they inflict them and impose them on other people. In the end it never works it has never worked in the history of the human race but they just want to keep trying.

 

L11- The senate alone is allowed to do insider trading. But if by some chance the secretary bought or sold some stock on that same day and they had no clue what was going on, they would be investigated for insider trading. We can only really change when we get the people in charge to change.

 

AWK- It’s true and you hope that you can rely on people’s personally integrity and there’s usually been those one or two individuals that ruin it for everybody. You have to trust people and if you set up systems that assume that people can’t be trusted, then you get what you wish for. The only way that I can figure out how to live is to hold myself to the highest standards and never expect people to be above that or below it. This is the way that I operate and learn from other people’s behavior for better or worse.

 

L11- What are some of the things you do to prepare for going on stage?

 

AWK- I do a lot of stretching. Especially of the neck because there is a lot of head banging and you don’t want to be all sore and stiff the next day. And no definitely eating at before a performance. At least not four hours before, because I might vomit, I can’t eat right after a performance either I might vomit then to. There has been a lot of vomiting and finding out when it is a good time to eat.

 

L11-Which do you prefer to play in a large arena or a small venue such as the Glasshouse?

 

AWK- I like playing in both. They are both different. I went on tour with Aerosmith and we were playing in big arenas, and I like to participate with the audience. It’s what I do and it’s hard to do that at an arena. I think about what Neil Young said and it was that if you play on big stages like that you need to be playing for yourself and that is very true. If you try and be active with the audience, it’s like singing to a big vacuum. Yeah it’s great to hear all of the screaming fans and knowing that they are there for you is also great but it’s just like singing to a giant vacuum.

 

L11- Are you a big Neil Young fan?

 

AWK- Oh yeah I think he’s great.

 

L11- How do you feel about his occupy music movement?

 

AWK- I’m not too familiar with it can you tell me about it?

 

L11- Well what it is is that we only hear about 5% of music now and he is trying to fix that because on vinyl you have almost absolute resolution and now we are changing what we think music sounds like. I guess he was working with Steve Jobs before he died to try and come out with an mp3 player that would only hold 30 cds but it had the best sound since records.

 

AWK- You know what I do know a little about that. And I know that he is re-releasing all of his albums onto a HD cd that is supposed to be of great sound. For me I can’t tell the difference, I can hear that song as clear as day in my head and be just as happy as hearing it on the radio or on my mp3 player. I just like to know I can hear that song because that is all that matters. It’s like I can look at a photograph of the sky and be just as happy as seeing the sky because I remember what it looks like and how it makes me feel and those happy thoughts are what stick around. I just like knowing that in my head I can still hear the song.

 

L11- Honestly I thought that too till I heard Yellow Card play at Musink. I thought that their sound was shit and they sounded terrible. I was going to give them a shitty review. Then I went to a party that night and I was talking about this same topic with my friend and I thought well I have only heard them on mp3 so I don’t actually know what they sound like. That isn’t their fault that I thought they sounded like shit, it’s my fault for not knowing how the band actually sounds. I only heard 5% of them and hearing it in person is a lot different then only hearing them on my ipod.

 

AWK- That’s a good example I haven’t had that example yet.