286 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
286 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
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Diary Of A Rock Critter
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1989 New Music Seminar
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by Jim Testa - Jersey Beat Fanzine
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The first thing you have to understand about the New Music
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Seminar is that it doesn't really have anything to do with
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music; its purpose is to provide a forum for the discussion of
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the business of music, and that's a whole 'nother thing. So if
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there's a panel on songwriting, it's about "how to write a
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Number 1 song." The "fanzine panel" wasn't called that; it was
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called "The Selling Of The Underground - An Overrated Market?"
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I had never realized before that's what I've been doing for 7
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years. Live & learn. Yeah, I certainly got my money's worth from
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NMS.
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This obsession with turning punk rock into dollars creates
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some weird scenarios - this year best exemplified by Old Skull.
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I'm sure you've heard of Old Skull by now, the 8 and 9 year old
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hardcore band from Wisconsin. Old Skull were feted and praised,
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interviewed way past their bedtimes. They played the Ritz and
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the Rapp Arts Center, they got on MTV. They are a hype, and
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anyone even remotely associated with them should be ashamed of
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themselves.
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Okay, let's look at it this way. Let's say you're not Old
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Skull but one of the other acts on the Restless Records roster -
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Electric Love Muffin or 7 Seconds. Here you've been sleeping on
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floors, eating bread sandwiches, and generally devoting your
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every waking hour for 6 or 7 or 9 years to your band - and along
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comes a bunch of 9 year olds who can't even play their
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instruments, and your label goes ga-ga getting them all the
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publicity, tour support, and promotion that you've been begging
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for. Nobody said life was fair.
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I am not going to mention anything else about NMS, except
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maybe for my visit to the Giant Records booth, where the new
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label manager told me, "It's a whole new label, we got rid of
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all that hardcore stuff." Debbie, I liked all that hardcore
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stuff. Well, they did sign the Slickee Boys and Peter (Squirrel
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Bait) Searcy's new band, so maybe...
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Herewith, the diary of a Rock Critter during 5 frenzied
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nights on the town, the only really worthwhile part of NMS
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anyway...
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Friday, July 14: Big show at the Ritz. Old Skull (sheesh!),
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Laughing Hyenas, Mudhoney, and Sonic Youth (celebrating their
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signing to Goofen, excuse me, Geffen Records). We walk in as
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Old Skull is winding up their set, the singer/guitarist
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destroying his ax Pete Townsend-like (sure bet he didnt' have to
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pay for it) while the "bassist" sits on the floor banging on a
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metal plaque with a hammer. Punk rock, man. Don't trust anybody
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over 10, ok? Laughing Hyenas are loud but one-dimensional, a
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non-stop drone that sounds like one long interminable song thru
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the first 3/4 of their set until they finally change tempos.
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Mudhoney pretty much get the crowd riled up, goofy and fun,
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"Touch Me I'm Sick" sounds pretty cool even in a mausoleum like
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the New Ritz. Next come Sonic Youth, tongue in cheek as always,
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playing a ton of old shit and goofing on Geffen (playing Madonna
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1
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and Guns 'N Roses samples 'tween songs, fr'instance). Will
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success spoil Sonic Youth?
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Naah.
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Saturday, July 15th
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Check in at the Marriott Marquis. Going up the escalator to
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pick up my badge and bagful of goodies and within 5 minutes meet
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Jad Fair, Mike Gitter, half of Alice Donut, Agnostic Front's
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Steve Martin, and Old Skull (who are skateboarding thru the
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hotel giving out flyers for their next show). Show business is
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my life.
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4 p.m. CBGB Hardcore Matinee. Jerry's Kids are a no-show but I
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stay for Head's Up, John Bello's newest signing to Hawker
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Records. Funny, funky Chili Pepperish punk rock, don't tell
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anybody but I was actually dancing to this. Gitter sidled over
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and says they sucked, a sure sign Bello has a winner.
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9 p.m. For no good reason, go to Bitter End to check out Those
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Melvins from Connecticut. Actually, I had a reason - their cut
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on the "No Milk" compilation pushed all my power-pop buttons.
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Turns out the Melvins are a frat band, 30ish dudes with beards
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and Bermuda shorts who look like they'd be comfortable doing a
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whole set of Poco covers. With the exception of one or two cuts
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(they've got one grabber that sounds like a lost dB's classic),
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their nerdy organic poptoons don't impress. Lead singer has the
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set list scribbled on successive layers of t-shirts, which he
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keeps peeling off to reveal the next song. Cute.
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10:30 p.m. Toddle over to Gonzalez Y Gonzalez, a Mexican
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restaurant pressed into service as a club when Downtown got
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padlocked a week before NMS. Turns out Enigma is having a pre-
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show party to which I wasn't invited, but Brian from Electric
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Love Muffin sneaks me in anyway for some free beer and nachos
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(this is called "networking"). Next stop is Under Acme, a non-
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Seminar show with Friction Wheel, who just keep getting better
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and better. Bob Mould, who produced their single, is there, also
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not wearing an NMS badge.
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Sunday, April 16th
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9:30 p.m. Toxic Shock Night at the CBGB Canteen and House Of
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Large Sizes opens the evening. I didn't much care for their lp
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but live they're a lot better, more forceful and less
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archaically "new wave." Next door at CBGB it's Homestead Night,
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and I keep shuffling back & forth. Happy Flowers turn out to be
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a lot younger and a lot more normal than I had pictured them
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(with names like Mr. Anus and Mr. Horribly Charred Infant, I was
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expecting two burnt-out 30ish ex-hippies, sorta Shimmydisc
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material, if you wanna know the truth). Giant Sand are every
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bit as boring live as their record. Death of Samantha rocks but
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I have to leave.
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1:25 a.m. Speed The Plough finally go on for the "11:30 p.m."
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2
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showcase at the Bitter End. It has been pouring all night and I
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spent most of the evening trudging up & down Bleecker St. from
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CBGB's waiting for them to go on, so even tho' they're as
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transcendently tuneful as ever, I am wet, tired, and too cranky
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to have any fun.
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Monday, July 17th
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9:30 p.m. I've heard a lot about Too Much Joy from California,
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including a rave mention of their 2nd lp by Dean Christgau
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(during his keynote speech at SXSW, no less). Said lp is
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nowhere to be found anywhere in Manhattan, by the way; I tried 6
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different stores, incl. Pier Platters in Hoboken, Tower,
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Bleecker Bobs, Sounds, and a few others. Great - they travel
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3000 miles to showcase their act and their label doesnt have 1
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copy of the record in the biggest market in America. I kept
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trying to convince myself these gomers were actually as wacky
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and zany as they were trying to come across on stage, but it
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didn't wash. The songs aren't bad but I could do without all the
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mugging, jumping, and corny choreography. Next up is Fabian
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Blue, a teenager from the South Bronx with an 8 piece band,
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fuck-me good looks, and massive soul/crossover potential, kinda
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like a younger, male Whitney Houston, or Robbie Rosa with better
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material. Next door at the Canteen, the Jacklords were opening
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up Skyclad Night. With 2 ex-Splatcats, they were expectedly
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60'ish garage, plenty of strong hooky tunes and some neato
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surf/gtr breaks. Now I know why Yod Crewzy quit the Splats - he
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sings and plays guitar better'n the
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other 'cats and never got to take centerstage.
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11:30 p.m. A quick trip over to the Rapp Arts Center - a
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converted schoolhouse and an ideal venue to fill the vacuum left
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by the death of Irving Plaza - for Nice Strong Arm (manic psycho
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Gerardmetal) and Naked Raygun, who ripped the place in two.
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Turns out this was also the farewell performance for Raygun gtr
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John Haggerty. They closed with a tribute to Government Issue,
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covering "Where You Live." Bitchin'. Word came out later that
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their label decided at the last minute not to pay their airfare,
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so the Rayguns had to fly in from Chicago, rent a car, pay for a
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hotel, and fly back all out of their own pocket.
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Tuesday, July 18th
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9 p.m. Started the night off at the Philadelphia Booth party,
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hosted by Carol Schutzbank and featuring various Love Muffins,
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Orifices, Zooboys, and others. Lots of demo swapping and
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whatnot. Then we all subwayed over to CBGB for one of the
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weirdest bills of the week: All, Bullet LaVolta, and the Swans.
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All did a long set full of slower, more tuneful songs - probably
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glad they weren't playing to a roomful of 16 year olds - while
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Bullet LaVolta rocked per usual. I didn't hang around for the
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Swans but crosstowned it to Avenue A for Ultra Vivid Scene's
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show at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. Rumor had it that Kurt (Mr UVS)
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was offered a chance to play the big opening night party with
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George Clinton but opted instead for this postage-stamp sized
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3
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venue; it couldn't have been more than 105 degrees inside,
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packed shoulder to shoulder, everybody swaying to the band's
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hypnotizing melodies and offbeat instrumentation (cello,
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keyboards, minimal drums, distorto gtr). My notes say "Hank
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Williams" after that but I have no idea why.
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Wednesday, July 19th
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Went to bed at 10 p.m. and lapsed into a coma.
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It should probably be noted (again & again) that the bands are
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the most exploited aspect of NMS - they usually don't get paid,
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often travel across the country to play these showcases, and the
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bands who wind up on those NMS Unsigned Bands cassettes even
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wind up paying big bucks for the privilege. The clubs rake in a
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fortune from the bar (NMS'ers are, after all,
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conventioneers...and drink like longshoremen), even the taxi
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drivers make out like bandits.
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But then, just think of the souvenirs that Old Skull will
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have for show 'n tell in September. Was it worth it? You
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betcha.
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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If you liked this, might we suggest you send $2 and check out an
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entire issue of Jersey Beat Fanzine?
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Send to: Jim Testa, 418 Gregory Ave, Weehawken NJ 07087
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This column will appear in the Sept. 1989 issue.
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Taipan Enigma 510/935-5845
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408/363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510/527-1662
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 801/278-2699
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The New Dork Sublime Biffnix 415/864-DORK
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The Shrine Rif Raf 206/794-6674
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Planet Mirth Simon Jester 510/786-6560
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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