I accidentally looked at FB in a browser on a computer for a moment, and I think something has permanently burned into my retinas. Yikes. You can that UI? Ooof.

Back in the spring I printed my own Mutated Money, that I included inside the second printing of my record, “The Fictional Quality of Money.” Over the summer I started offering the money at shows and though the mail (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2488196254564363&set=a.106985469352132&type=3). So, for Black Friday this year, I figured it was time to do a set about the joy of Printing Your Own Money. So here’s a little “How To” song, for people who are curious.

Audio / Video tech issues continue to plague my more recent shows, so I did as much as I could to massage the audio a little in post. It sounds okay, but I can tell where it should have sounded a little different, and it’s not the performance. (Though that was also not entirely as planned.) And I botched the video, so what you see here is a creative product, an attempt at creating a pseudo “kaleidoscope” effect, but done manually. (I added the effects to a number of individual layers, and rendered those, then layered those rendered files, and rendered that, etc.)

Shortcomings aside, this performance got one of the best crowd reactions I’ve ever gotten in recent memory, and the show itself was a lot of fun. Eugene continues to be a place where I do better, and get more positive responses, and get more people to come out, than almost anywhere else I play (Corvallis being second.)

I handed out some Mutated Money, and only allowed people to get merch for trade after the show. And I reconnected with some old friends I haven’t seen in years.

There’s also a DEATH MUTATIONS set that is coming your way soon, which I think came out great. So hopefully that will be available soon, too.

Enjoy!

I played a show last night about one block from the old location of Icky’s Teahouse, with with a band that used to play there, with a crowd of folks who used to attend Cathead shows, with at least one friend who I haven’t seen in at least 10 years, probably more. It was very surreal; driving around that neighborhood, looking at the house I used to live in, driving past old memories, it was so weird. The show was a blur. I was so fixated on who used to do what, where we used to all be / go / etc, it just felt completely surreal. Some part of me couldn’t fully loose myself in the music, which is fine. You try as best you can, and sometimes you can loose the moment, which seems like the goal: to feel like, somehow, the music is just coming out of you effortlessly, and time sort of stops.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, time was streaming at me from the past, invading my thoughts here and there, trying to offer some super-context that may not have ever been there in the first place.

I try to remember: the nostalgia I have is for a place where I had to learn who to stand my ground with weird junkies demanding cigarettes, and that I was egged one night waiting for my mom by frat boys who made a habit of doing shit like that. I was in terrible relationships, with awful people who were manipulative and unkind. And I was so god-damned poor.

So why is it that, if I even catch a whiff of some crummy evening in 1995 where I embarrassed myself in front of everyone on acid, I go into some narcotic bliss like nothing else can evoke within me?

Eugene does weird things to me. But there’s something weirder in that neighborhood, even. Having spent so much time, and put so much energy into it… it’s hard not to feel it all come back at you, a million miles a minute.

As the kids say: “All The Feels.”

Thanks again, Ellen Klowden, for offering another trip down memory lane.

Woke up with this in my head. “Damn.”

I think that’s what they’re afraid of.

So, it’s Buy Nothing Day, Black Friday, etc. And while I do sell art under normal circumstances, it seems a little silly to hock my wares today, especially given some of the subject matter I tend to tackle in my art. “Fuck the man! Systems are stupid! I hate Capitalism! Buy my record?” Seems awkward, at best, and shady at worst.

But something I’ve been curious about is the stuff YOU make. Why not make a trade? For Buy Nothing Day, I’m opening up everything in the Merchanbox and in the online store (wtbc.bandcamp.com) for trade. Let’s make a deal!

I have ‘zines, tapes, CDs and records available, along with buttons, stickers, patches, and other goodies, too. I assemble mail art, so maybe we can just send nice postcards to each other? Whatever!

While it is nice to make a little dough now and then on this stuff, I’d rather interact with all of you, and put some of this stuff in the hands of people who actually want it.

So yes, for Buy Nothing Day, let’s Barter! Let’s Trade! Let’s do anything but spend money. And, most importantly, let’s trade some art.

Because I bet you have some beautiful stuff that I would enjoy.

Happy Black Friday Everyone. Fuck Capitalism.

Candleshoe is on Disney+, so yeah, they’ve got me by the peg leg now.

Happy Holidays, Betty & George. I miss you, George. (I never knew Betty, but I’m sure she was amazing, too.)

Yum.

I’ve been fascinated by this for years. I’m a huge Max Headroom fan, and a huge comics fan, and I love the idea of people hijacking / taking over TV / Radio for nefarious purposes.

Today, instead of going over what I’m thankful for, I will instead acknowledge my incredible privilege as a White Male CIS man:

– I have social, economic, and educational advantages that others simply do not

– I am in a non-toxic relationship with someone I love, who supports me.

– I get to work as an artist and, for the most part, take on other work that I enjoy, without the burden of needing to do something I hate, and without the concern of supporting others that need that income.

– I have a social network of friends I get to spend time with, and who contribute positively to my life in ways that are rewarding, and I get to see them often.

– I can drive and go almost anywhere and do almost anything, after certain financial considerations are weighed, and for the most part, almost no one will ever stop me from doing something I want bad enough, as my privilege usually gives me a pass in almost any situation.

There are times I feel like I’m downtrodden, that I’m a victim, that I’m at the wrong side of injustice. But look at that list above. I’m better off than most, and those who have it better sometimes don’t know the joys that I do, because they are insulated from the world at large.

I’m a very privileged person in this world, and I must own up to it. There are many who have almost none of the privileges I enjoy, and today I will be thinking about them. Hopefully I lend my voice to good causes. Hopefully my art addresses issues that are thought provoking and draw attention to those who suffer. Hopefully I can be of some help in the world, and not a burden on it.

Hopefully I am not someone who wields their privilege like a weapon, constantly looking for ways to keep myself at the top and keep everyone else beneath, and instead, uses it to help lift up anyone else who needs it.

Fingers crossed.

Happy Holidays.

Anyone have a local lead on pocket protectors? I’m down to one and it’s my “Weird Al” collector’s item, so I’m nervous about ruining it.

Remember The Crow?

I’m starting to.

20 year Challenge. Kyle, Sierra and I were three of the 17 roommates that called The Blitzhäus their home in the late ‘90s. I saw Sierra a few weeks ago, and now I’ve caught up with Kyle. The Blitzhäus began as a place that Lyra, Kris, Josh The Hippie and I started. I was supposed to fill a room for a couple months until Brandy could move in. By the time Brandy moved in, the other roommates had all left, and I stayed for three years. Kyle stayed through the end of his college courses, then moved on to the rest of his life.

We catch up from time to time, like today. It’s always good to catch up. I saw Brandy a few weeks ago, so now I just need to catch up with the other 13 people who lived there…

Who were they, again?

I think I’m ready for Friday’s show.

Now I just need to finish up Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s shows.

While not as prominent as some of the other Holiday Radio we enjoy doing, over the years we have managed to assemble a number of great Thanksgiving programs that we think you will enjoy. There’s a slew of old radio in here, with shows dating back to 2006! That turkey has a bit longer to brine, and today’s a half-day anyway. Binge on some Food-themed radio, and enjoy!
https://midvalleymutations.com/category/holiday-memories/thanksgiving/

If you missed yesterday’s program, here’s a podcast version of Mid-Valley Mutations, now available for stream or download. (Or: click through, and watch the video.) This show has a traditional DJ set, a Drone mash-up set, and Noise mash-up set, and all sorts of fun in-between. Tunes by Sir Richard Bishop, Art Of Noise, Parousia, The Ether Creeps, L.A. Lungs, Men’s Recovery Project, Blood of Chhinnamastika, Ornette Coleman, Brown, Neu!, Nicole Panter Dailey, Bruce Haack, False Figure, Walls Of Genius, endometrium cuntplow, June of 44, Deejay Embryonicpetitsac, The Puppies & Guyve! Join us as we get ready for the holiday madness that begins sooner than any of us can wrap our brains around! It’s time to drink and eat too much as we start Preparing For The Holiday! (A pre-Thanksgiving jam.)
https://midvalleymutations.com/2019/11/26/preparing-for-the-holidays-176/

Huh. The Graveyard was open for business tonight. Wonder what’s up with that.

I find this infuriating, as a new driver. I will try to re-park about 30 times if I need to, mostly because I feel like every time I try to park, everyone everywhere I go have parked terribly.

If I could change one thing about the way people learn to drive, I would require some sort of parking endorsement. I have seen some astonishing parking, and can’t fathom how hard it is for someone to not re-do it.

“It’s gettin’ Xmas in here / so take out all your ho-ho-ho’s.”

In complete darkness and silence. For at least another hour.
https://manusanu.com/2019/11/nap/

Ranch Records – Cds, Lps, Vintage Rock Art, Dvds haul today. When I was a kid I watched a magic routine set to the Art of Noise version of, “The Peter Gunn Theme,” and fell in love with it. But I never got a copy until today. Ditto for, “Paranomia,” because I was obsessed with Max Headroom, but never got the single.

I’m a Nilsson nerd, so duh. And X is X, so I had to buy. The Puppies was a total longshot, but I figured that a Stiff Records single from 1981 was a safe bet, and I was right; they’re a more English Devo, in a way. A good slice of New Wave. Thanks Ranch!

Last night’s show – Dryad Drone Fri 11/22 9p$5 MiniMutations, Land, Patrick Haenelt – was excellent, and I got to check out a very cool spot that I’ve never seen before. (Azøth, which is very hard to find, so be warned.) Mini-Mutations kicked things off, Land followed, Dryad Drone and Patrick Haenelt closed the show. (Someone I haven’t seen since the Ganesha Column days back at Icky’s Teahouse.) Made some dough, sold a little merch, and got to see Tara, Jessica and Tom! What a cool night.

A great start to my winter tour!

You two were the best. I miss you.

Ouch.

Here’s a PDX experience of which I was lucky enough to be a part:

After a harrowing drive, I got to endure the age-old question from a very friendly, attractive, many-years-my-junior male bartender (when pressed about non-alcoholic options):

“Kombucha, or La Croix?”

Which, I believe, will be on New Portland’s tombstone.

What are you up to today?

I need to get out of the house this afternoon.

Portland Friends: I’ll be visiting your fair city. What are you doing later?

First airport run to pick up a friend from PDX and deliver them home safe.

I’ve also been to Keizer and back a few times, but that’s a little boring, don’t you think?

Was this from some video game or something? It’s bugged me ever since I moved to town.

Hell yeah!
https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/11/20/male-birth-control-thats-injected-groin-could-available-seven-months/

I should say aloud about 1/3 of the things I think I should say.

(And about half as much as actually comes out.)

We drove around today, running errands, shopping for comics, and she picked out a DC Superhero Girls book, and she told me she likes The Gun Club and Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet, and I started crying.

She’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met.

Favorite Salem / Keizer daytime kid-friendly activities?

“Disney’s ‘Song of The South’ will go into public domain in 2039, and Disney will lose all copyright to the film, if they don’t ever release the film physically or digitally in that time.”

Who do I know in New York City who books experimental music, and will be around in the middle of July?

Who do I know in Denver who books experimental music, and will be around in the middle of May?

Who do I know in LA who books experimental music, and will be around at the end of March?

2007-ish. New house with Sierra and our cat.

This made me think of Sach & Royal.

What a day.

Who wants to tag each other in stupid memes for the rest of the night?

If you spend the day duping tapes, you invoke the tape fairy, where an excellent cassette arrives in the mail for you to enjoy!

It’s true!

Anyone got any good guesses how much this is? I’m trying to decide if this savings plan is working or not.

On my mind this morning.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Germinal_

“Hello, my name is Billy Bob and I don’t give a damn
I got myself some white sheets straight from the Ku Klux Klan
I got myself a daughter and she’s a Mongoloid
Because I married my sister and our gene pool’s been destroyed
Let’s do it!

This is a tiny town
And we don’t want you comin’ round
This is a tiny town
And we don’t want you comin’ round

We got ourself a sheriff and his name’s Bobby Joe
One day he said to me “Them punk rockers gotta go”
So we hopped into his pickup truck with a gun rack on the back
And we beat up on them punks and we beat up on them blacks
Because

This is a tiny town
And we don’t want you comin’ round
This is a tiny town
And we don’t want you comin’ round

So if you should happen to come to our little town
It might be wise if you didn’t hang around
‘Cause we hate blacks and we hate Jews
And we hate punks but we love the F.U.s
Let’s do it!

This is a tiny town
And we don’t want you comin’ round
This is a tiny town
And we don’t want you comin’ round.”

Sometimes you have to do difficult, scary, and unexpected things that don’t always make sense at first. But the reasons that any of us do anything are often quite difficult to pin down, and sometimes, we have to just go with the flow. To that end: I will be teaching two classes at Autism House beginning in January of 2020 (autismhouse.org). Autism House is a place dedicated to offering classes for anyone on the spectrum, and up until now, only had courses in filmmaking, taught by William Davenport.

In 2020, I will be teaching two new classes that they have not previously offered: “Radio & Podcasting,” for people who want to learn how to produce a radio show or a podcast, and a classroom “Driver’s Education” course, where we study the drivers manual, take mock tests, and discuss the finer points of learning to drive.

This is probably going to be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. But I think this is important. Learning to drive has really opened up my life in new ways, and radio has been my lifeline for over 20 years, and is incredibly important to me, in any form. So if I keep that in mind, my enthusiasm should help make this easy. But I’m also scared, as this is a big change for me, and will probably take up more of my time that I initially think it will. Which is probably a good thing, as I’m feeling listless and need a challenge.

I will be teaching on Thursdays, at Autism House in Springfield, OR. My hope is that we have fun making radio and podcasts, and that those who really want to pass that test can have a leg up on achieving that. If that’s true for even a few people, then I will have been successful.

This is going to be a big and important change coming up, and my life will probably be different in ways I’m not sure I’m going to be aware of until after I start doing it. But I think I’m ready for a change. A few months ago I would have never said that I could drive, let alone that I was going to be teaching classes about it. And I would have never imagined teaching classes like this at all, back then, either. But when opportunities like this comes your way, it’s worth it to say yes, and find out where it takes you.

It’s time to take a deep breath, now, and see how this all turns out.

I’m ready. Let’s go.

Data Management

We finally have Thanksgiving Decorations.

You ever fight with a duvet cover, and lose?

The woman yelling at the cat meme is from May.

It’s only six months old.

I feel like I remember seeing it in the 90s.

At some point, I have to look out for myself, too.

America: “You can do the right thing, or the wrong thing. Your choice.”

Me: “But in both scenarios I still have to use money.”

America: “Oh, wait, I gave you two choices? I’m sorry, my dude. That just slipped out. I meant that you can choose any phone carrier you want.”

Me: “They all suck.”

America: “Freedom of choice, man.”

Tonight, on the program: are you ready to enter The Land of The Lost? Two hours of podcast-only experimental jams, post-punk fun, and live music joy, from our house, to yours. Check out tunes by Codine, Dylan Houser, Alien Sex Fiend, Major Hex, the Cloaca Sisters, JUICE MACHINE, Unwound and more! In hour two, there’s a live Mini-Mutations psyche-out, and we announce a new direction for the show, and the return of something that we’ve fallen behind on. This will be something you won’t want to miss.

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, but I would probably go to see a show every day if I could. The Scanners were better than we deserve. City of Pieces brought the local flavor we all need. Thank you, Joshua & Obadiah for making me go. I’m reeling…

Holy shit! The best thing I’ve seen in Salem in quite some time. You need to see this!

What are you doing tomorrow?

Tomorrow is #CardiganDay. As someone who has been called, “The Mr. Rogers of Noise Music,” I find it easy to meet the bare minimum requirement for cardigan day. But wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone you saw tomorrow had Grandparent style? Let’s add a sweater layer tomorrow, and show our love for a true fashion icon.

I don’t scroll FB; I hunt for Sponsored Ads, and go through the process and filtering them from my feed forever. ‘Tis the Season.

I feel like I need to say something. About driving to Portland and back on my own, about seeing June of 44, about how much Portland has changed in ways that feel strange and difficult to process. Why does everything disappear and become something else with a maudlin, cold center to it?

But occasionally, there are these moments: wandering around with old, close, friends, scarfing down pizza slices and cocktails at your favorite haunts, reliving old adventures.

Why can’t this one be the dominant memory, instead?

There is something incredibly satisfying about screaming along in the car by yourself with a punk song with the chorus, “fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, FUCK YOU, RONALD REAGAN! Fuck you!”

I’m a simple man.

Holy cats! Cleaning my office I found these, two packs I have saved for “sentimental” reasons. There is actually one stale cigarette left in each pack. The first is the exact pack seen in this photo, from a previous post. The second is not coming to mind right now, but was a gift from a friend, who brought it back from somewhere, in a similar spirit. (I was into funky, off-brand cigarettes.) I’ll probably toss the Belmonts, but I’m sure the “Filter Oriental” is just as good as it was back then. To the right person, this might be a treat.

I miss you.

Grandpa & Great-Grandpa.

Sometimes, the muse moves through me.

Boomers: “Don’t trust anyone over 30!”
Gen X: Eyeroll. “My name’s Doug, and I’m outta here.”
Millenniums: “WTF, my dudes?”
Gen Z: “OK, Boomer.”

History repeats itself.

(Thanks for the tip, Obadiah.)

I love visiting friends, but I’m in it for the dogs.

How cool. Fargo has some excellent radio, apparently.

Yep.

Are you ready for Radio KREP? I was supposed to interview The Ether Creeps, but instead… uhm… THIS happened.
https://midvalleymutations.com/2019/11/08/radio-krep-w-the-ether-creeps-174/

This is about to kick off soon. You should tune in.

I was listening to this album in the car, as I was driving to Eugene, and I started bawling. It was really strange; I would never have imagined this record would have that effect on me. I certainly like it, and I listened to it endlessly as a younger man, could sing every word.

And yes, it’s a great album. But with all the layers of irony that they tend to wrap themselves in with everything that they do, I wonder if it’s even possible to have that kind of relationship with this album?

Because apparently I love this pile of musical eye-rolls and snark more than I could have imagined.

> First Round Trip commute to Eugene and back on I-5, all in one day.
> Didn’t make a stop in either direction.
> Got bored while driving. Because: I-5.

So, it’s all coming together, I guess?

I’ve found that I love Nation of Ulysses more as I get older than when I was a young man. I think “13 Point Plan To Destroy America” is probably one of the most important pieces of music, right now. The lessons in their songs seems not only relevant, but vital to our future survival.

The lessons learned from them are still relevant: fashion and esoteric culture are the only things we have control over in a world where our politics have gone off the deep end. We must declare each other cool because no one else will, and we must continue to speak in codes so the Boomers don’t catch on to the power of too much coffee and forging relationships that don’t conform to what’s expected of us can really offer.

But there’s something more important about this album: it declares, in no uncertain terms, that the world the adults created is bullshit, and must be torn down and dismantled, by any means necessary. I wish there was more music like this, made by beautiful men who are screaming their hearts out, about how the world could be a better place and we could finally fall in love, if we only destroyed those who rule over us.

How could that not be the best album ever made?

What’s the most pretentious / hipster quality to your lifestyle?

Mine: Record collector with TOO MANY music opinions.

The most important album of 1994 was Pavement’s “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.”

What’s on YOUR mind?

“Orson Welles stated that his goal with the film was to infuriate the audience with the plot, in much the same way that Howard Hawks did with ‘The Big Sleep’. The story became even more confusing once the studio re-cut the picture.”

“The title is based on a phrase from the Dashiell Hammett novel ‘Red Harvest’, in which ‘blood simple’ is a term coined to describe the addled, fearful mindset people are in after a prolonged immersion in violent situations.”

Put on my Tombstone:

“Seriously unserious, reverently irreverent, and an amoral moralist.”

It’s the only code I can live by.

Time to celebrate Nun-vember.

1999: Yay! I love making breakfast!
2019: Meh. I LOVE making BREAKfast.

We’re getting ready to go live on Mid-Valley Mutations at 10, sharp! We’re taking calls! Do you have a story about a supernatural experience, or a ghostly encounter? Give us a call!