When my friend Sali, who some of you know as Ratty-Patty, was murdered this past September in Oaxaca, Mexico, it was a bolder smashing through the thin ice of my heart. Sali, who is from Eugene, and whom many know because of tree sits and other radical activities in Oregon, was a dear friend of mine… it really affected me a lot when she was murdered because she was doing the same thing that so many strong, radical women, like myself,  are doing right now. She was travelling the world by train or thumb, seeking something she felt passionate fighting for. And weather orchestrated by the incredibly corrupt Mexican government or merely used as a convenient tool of fear mongering, her murder was physically and sexually violent, heartbreaking, perverse… but also heinously common. I don't want to make her a martyr or a saint... I am an anarchist and this sort of elevation of death has no value to me.... But it is defiantly a really powerful and impacting thing to maliciously loose a loved one and think, "Fuck, that could have been me, on a different day." This raises many fears and many questions.... and forces those of us in radical communities, especially women, to seek affirmation of who we are. Though I do truly hope and believe that we will one day overcome the challenges that face us.... I often feel so frustrated and angry at what radical women are up against. It is a scary time for all of us.... I am tired of losing people this way and I am tired of feeling constant fear. The political powers of every Capitalist country, like Mexico, have clear threats for women: Stop supporting liberation movements and stop implementing radical feminism in your communities, or suffer violent acts of repression.

One thing that stands out to me is the response of people who were never blessed to know Sali personally, when hearing of her death. Everyone from the bigoted asshole at the Plaid pantry to my moderately-liberal mother to many of my anarchist friends had the same things to say. "Was it political?"  And "Those things happen when young women travel in dangerous areas."

First of all, I refuse to validate a complacent "that's just what happens"-style response to the horrible murder of a member of our community. There is no logical reason that a woman should not be treated with the same sort of dignity and respect as a man when she chooses to stand up and fight for what she believes in. If a young American woman feels motivated to work in solidarity with people in Oaxaca, or any other community in the world that is faced with violent oppression, we must empower them, not expect them to be destroyed. But there is an incredible imbalance in the treatment of women when it comes to the warfare of the capitalist system. In grassroots uprisings across the globe, especially in Latin America, you hear the same stories over and over: When a man is murdered it is normally in some riot or they are "disappeared", but when a woman dies she is first raped and humiliated, beaten and mutilated. Then it is used as a method of intimidation. Often times, the killer is not even state-sponsored, but merely one of the innumerable sexual predators that are created by patriarchal societies such as ours and Mexico’s. Either way, when a member of our community dies, it is horrible and sad, but the fact that rape is such a widespread and convenient methodology of war is truly disgusting.

WHY is rape a tool of war? Is it because war is typically treated like capitalist sport.... only to be played by the strongest, toughest, and most heartless of men? When women stand on the front-lines of resistance movements, they are not only challenging the state control and corruption, but also the social control of patriarchy. They are inspired to be strong and seek equality, and they create support systems that are maintained long after the violence stops (or "decreases"). They are challenging a system that is often in place within their own ranks, often calling out sexual predators and abusers in their own communities. Sali's murder, and many, many others, are gruesome examples of  the obstacles and dangers facing women who choose to live their lives for something other than what these capitalist cultures are feeding us; who choose to not let the fearful reality of patriarchy overpower them. And we should not be invalidating the lives of those who have died with a shoulder-shrug and some cop-out of "that’s just what happens." We should be creating systems of support for those who are grieving or those who are afraid, and we should be upholding the support of the struggles that our dead were a part of, especially the support of communities that are still suffering this same form violence, daily.   In Sail’s memory, I could not write this without also speaking of the hundreds of women and indigenous people who live under tyranny daily in Oaxaca and of the repression and violence that all radical women face, both due to their oppressors and within their own communities. As an anarchist one of my goals is to be a threat, but as a woman, I am doubly threatening…. And I face the threat of sexual violence daily.

Secondly, I want to address the question, "Was it Political?"
Truly, I think we will never know completely what happened to her a week before her body was found raped, torn, bruised, burned and abandoned in an empty house outside of Oaxaca City. The official cause of death was a deep machete wound in her chest, but there were several other ways her body was mutilated, none of which was in the autopsy. The Mexican government refused to allow a second autopsy by a non-state authority on Sail’s body, although she was only recognizable by of her tattoos. The man who killed her, Omar Yoguez Singu, is being charged with “accidental Homicide”. He is former “activist”, a punk, and a squatter in Mexico City. Comrades from Oaxaca and Mexico City had to deliver him to the police and insist that he be arrested, after getting him drunk and beating him up to keep him held for at least a day after he was accused of Sali’s gruesome murder. … He says that they had consensual sex after doing cocaine (or mushrooms. He changes his story in each interview) all night and that he accidentally killed her when they got in a fight while they were high. Reports of any chemicals in Sail’s body did not show up until weeks after the autopsy, and none of Sail’s friends remember her ever being much of a user. Almost every media outlet in Mexico reported the chain of events from the perspective of her Murderer, who could potentially serve minimal time and be released on bail as soon as next year.

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Eva Bartlett writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 30 January 2009

There are many stories. Each account -- each murdered individual, each wounded person, each burned-out and broken house, each shattered window, trashed kitchen, strewn item of clothing, bedroom turned upside down, bullet and shelling hole in walls, offensive Israeli army graffiti -- is important.

I start to tell the stories of Ezbet Abbed Rabu, eastern Jabaliya, where homes off the main north south road, Salah al-Din, were penetrated by bullets, bombs and/or soldiers. If they weren't destroyed, they were occupied or shot up. Or occupied and then destroyed. The army was creative in their destruction, in their defacing of property, in their insults. Creative in the ways they could shit in rooms and save their shit for cupboards and unexpected places. Actually, their creativity wasn't so broad. The rest was routine: ransack the house from top to bottom. Turn over or break every clothing cupboard, kitchen shelf, television, computer, window pane and water tank.

The first house I visited was that of my dear friends, who we'd stayed with in the evenings before the land invasion began, with whom we had huddled in their basement as the random crashes of missiles pulverized around the neighborhood. I worried non-stop about the father. After seeing he was still alive, I'd done the tour, from the bottom up. The safe-haven ground floor room was the least affected: disheveled, piles of earth at bases of windows where it had rushed in with a later bombing which caved the hillside behind, mattresses turned over and items strewn. This room was the cleanest, least damaged.

Upstairs to the first level apartment, complete disarray. Feces on the floor. Broken everything. Opened cans of Israeli army provisions. Bullet holes in walls. Stench.

To the second floor, next two apartments, all of the extended sons and wives and children's rooms. More disarray, greater stench. This was the soldiers' main base, as can be ascertained, from the boxes of food -- prepackaged meals, noodles, tins of chocolate and plastic-wrapped sandwiches -- and the clothing left behind by the occupiers. A pair of soldier's trousers in the bathtub, soiled with shit.

F. tells me: "The smell was terrible. The food was everywhere. Very disgusting smell. They put shit in the sinks, shit everywhere. Our clothes were everywhere. The last time they invaded [March 2008], it was easy. They broke everything and we fixed it. But this time, they put shit everywhere: in cupboards, on beds -- my bed is full of shit."

She is strong and has handled the invasions before, but the desecration of her house has got her down.

"A minute ago, Sabreen opened her clothing cupboard: there was a bowl of shit in it! They used our clothes for the toilet. They broke the door of the bathroom and brought it into our room. I don't know why."

The door lies sideways on the floor of her bedroom, which itself looks like a tornado has taken apart. "They took out my lingerie and left it lying everywhere," she goes on, listing the personal grievances which are more hurtful than the financial wreckage.

As F. continues to clear the soldiers' mess, she talks about her family's state of mind. "Abed [her young nephew] is very afraid, he wants to leave because of the zenana," referring the drones which fly overhead despite the ostensible ceasefire unilaterally declared by Israel on 18 January and violated by Israel since then.

"A professional army"

When I visited two days later, the house much tidier but still soured with the clinging stench of the soldiers' presence. "We've cleaned as much as we can, but it's so difficult. We still don't have running water, we have to fill jugs from the town water supply." From walking the sandy track, I know how hard it is even empty-handed on foot, let alone laden with heavy jugs or trying to navigate any sort of wagon to carry large amounts of water. The track had been more of a proper dirt road before it, and the land around, was torn up by Israeli tanks and bulldozers.

From the kitchen balcony I look out and see razed land below, bombed houses, the jumeiza tree beyond, burned but somehow still standing amidst the ruins. The cement water tank that had survived previous raids and that was there last month was finally gone, destroyed by aerial bombing.

From the living room window we look out on the hilltop area behind which F. had already explained had hosted invading Israeli troops in the past. This time tanks not only amassed but created a massive earthen arena in which Israeli soldiers brought detained Palestinians. One neighbor, F. tells me, was taken there. He, 59, and his son, 19, were led there at gunpoint and stripped to their underclothes. The occupying soldiers surrounded them in tanks, in a circle. "We hadn't done anything wrong," they told F. later. They were detained in Israel for three days in solitary confinement, blindfolded, handcuffed, intermittently interrogated, beaten and interrogated again, asked "Do you have tunnels at your home? Where are the fighters? Where are the rockets? Do you know anything about Hamas? We will destroy your house if you know anything."

F.'s sister, A, describes their 17 days at the Foka school, after evacuating their al-Tatra home. The schools which were to be a safe-haven (but were in reality not, as seen with al-Fakhoura and the other UN schools that were bombed and hit with what is almost certainly white phosphorous) were no YMCA, not even with the most basic of amenities, certainly not warmth, hot drinks, restful nights.

"We couldn't sleep at all at night, we were very frightened. There was no security. Where could we go? We had no where to go. We were 35 people in one small classroom. There weren't any mattresses, no covers. It was cold, very cold, at night. No electricity. No water. The few bathrooms in the school had to serve hundreds of us; they were overcrowded, filthy. Our relatives were able to get us blankets after the first four days, then it was better. But we didn't have enough to eat, only a little bread, not enough for a family, and canned meat."

The usual perspective and gratitude for surviving overrides what is her right to be indignant, depressed, to cry and lament their suffering.

"Thank God we have a room in our house. Many people's houses were completely destroyed," she says of her own seriously-damaged house. The soldiers who ransacked, destroyed their clothes and shelled the home also stole a computer and 2,000 JD," she tells me. Why would she lie? I know the family to be honest, not deceitful. They have no reason to fabricate the thievery. And theirs is not an isolated case.

Amnesty International sent a fact-finding team to Gaza following the Israeli attacks. Chris Cobb-Smith, also a military expert and an officer in the British army for almost 20 years, said "Gazans have had their houses looted, vandalized and desecrated. As well, the Israeli soldiers have left behind not only mounds of litter and excrement but ammunition and other military equipment. It's not the behavior one would expect from a professional army."

And that was just one family's story.

Psychological terror

Two of her boys worked to pull pieces of clothing, books and anything reachable from under the toppled cupboard. Every item is sacred. The mother led me through her house, pointing out the many violations against their existence, every graffitied wall, each shattered window, glass and plate, slit flour bags -- when the wheat is so precious -- and the same revolting array of soldiers' left-overs: spoiled packaged food, feces everywhere but the toilet, clothes used as toilet paper. The same stench.

"They broke everything, broke our lives. That was the boys room." We continue through the wreckage. "Look, look here. See that?! Look at this!" This is to be the refrain as we step over destroyed belongings into destroyed rooms.

It isn't only the destruction, defiling, vandalizing, waste. It's also the interruption of life, a life already interrupted by the siege. She held out school books, torn, ruined, and asked how her children were supposed to study when they have no books, no power, had to flee their home, are living in constant fear of another bombardment of missiles (from the world's fourth most powerful amilitary).

Some of the graffiti reads:

"We don't hate Arabs, but will kill every Hamas," and "IDF [Israeli army] was here! We know you are here. We won't kill you, you will live in fear and run all your lives!"

For the rest of the story, go to: www.awalls.org

(top)

Hammered Grunts Interview

<<<Names, instruments, ages, and why you chose your instrument>>>

Geremy Grunt, 21 and I play base… I began playing base because my buddy had one for cheap and I wanted to learn how to play an instrument. It was easier than the guitar at the time.

Thaddeus Hammered, vocals, and I’m 22... Uh, I started writing lyrics when I was locked up for a year and I told myself that I would get In a band one day and start a band and that’s just what I did.

Matt Reckless, 27 and I play guitar… I stared when I was like 13 because I couldn’t play drums so I started playing guitar… (laughs)

I’m Brandon Old Skool, I’m…(82... The guys interrupt…) 36!! (he says louder) I started playing drums because the band that I was in needed a drummer… so I went to the pawn shop and bought a set.. I’ve been playing like ten years or something .. And I ended up playing by default.. And now I prefer playing drums over anything else because… I have control issues… (the guys nod) I set the tempo, I start the song, I speed it up and I slow it down. I drive the band.

<<<So, the band name… Hammered Grunts… where did it come from?>>>

Brandon: Well its funny because up until a couple months ago I didn’t even know what the band name was! I’ve been in the band for over three years!! (wow) yeah so its all Thad on that one…

Thad: Well what I wanted when I made the name was a name that was kind of original also kind of a pun you know… so you could use it for other things in the scene… a lot of kids drink and that’s where I got Hammered…but I threw in the name Grunts because its you know more working class and kind of shows a little of army stuff in it… so it really means multiple things…

<<<mmm ok so how long have you guys been together? How did you start?>>>

Thad: well me and Geremy have been in it for four years so…

Matt: I just joined in march of last year…

Brandon: Yeah they picked me up three years ago… they did a whole bunch of member shuffling… I think the line up now is fantastic… Its… when matt joined he put the energy back in the band that we were kind of loosing… its really fantastic at this point…

Matt: Yeah I’ve known them for a while, like I’ve know Thad far a long time, I used to skateboard with him. I met Geremy and we always hung out so at first when I heard they were looking for a new guitarist I was like.. Yeah ill try out… but… cause I’ve always wanted this band to do big things so I just really tried hard and not a lot of people know me in the scene because I kind of fell out of it a long time ago. But I love punk rock music and I love playing and this band is great so I thought id give it a whirl…

(the guys echo … give ‘er a whirl!!!)

Brandon: The comment on the band name though, its real funny because Hammered Grunts kind of puts the visual that we are drunk punks of whatever but the irony is that three out of four of us don’t drink or do drugs…

<<<Yeah that’s what I was about to ask about…>>>

Matt: Yeah we act like we are drunk a lot though… were good at it (he jokes)

Thad: Yeah its really funny because we definitely get different people that are like oh Hammered Grunts! They must be a bunch of alcoholics!!

Brandon: Well we are a bunch of alcoholics… we just don’t drink anymore!

Thad: well also, because I got Hammered Grunts spray painted on my car I had a dude come up to the counter when I was at work and ask the lady who’s car it was… she told him it was mine and I was like .. Oh no here it comes… he walks up to me and growls…sssthat yur car?!…. I was like yeah! Why? And he was like .. Marine corps.. Love it. So you know its just a different meaning to everyone and that’s what I was going for..

<<<yeah I found the name interesting when I heard that the band was majority straight edge…>>>

Brandon: it’s a lie… yeah we’re selling a lie…

Thad: Well Geremy drinks enough for the band…

Brandon: Geremy is practicing it… yeah, Thad’s got five years sober… I’ve got seven… and Matt’s got two…

Matt: Yeah but if I were still drinking I wouldn’t be here…(Band agrees…)

Thad: yeah if I was still drinking this all wouldn’t be here.. So ya know it might have the term hammered in it and maybe we don’t drink, but the thing is we did drink…

Geremy: Yeah ironically if I hadn’t started drinking I wouldn’t be here… (laughs)

<<<Ok… so a bit of a subject change… what is your favorite place that you have ever toured?>>>

Thad: San Diego and Tucson… Those are my two favorites…

Matt: My favorite is Bodville…

<<<Bodville??>>>

Matt: yeah it’s a club in Tucson AZ… they are awesome and the kids go ape shit!!

Thad: Then the pirate punks in San Diego hooked us up with a sewer show… we actually played in a sewer!!

<<<yeah I heard about the sewer show… Tell me about that…>>>

Brandon: Yeah that’s my vote is for San Diego because… you could write about it… but until you have actually experienced it you cant believe it. Its so organized the way that they get the equipment.. The way that the kids get together… the way everything falls together… and it falls under the radar of the police.. And you literally go through a labyrinth of… of… you know.. Water drainage sewers with a guide.. If not you just get lost and wonder around until you die of old age or something.. Its crazy!! And then everyone in San Diego knows about it and they keep it hush hush.. And once you get there, there’s like hundreds and hundreds of kids just packed and the place is… I don’t even see how they could pull it off…

Geremy: Its like something you would see in one of those early 80’s punk movies like Suburbia or something… its just like how that show was, just take that and put it in the sewer, and so many different types of people came out… not just punk rockers.. Or metal head kids you know… just .. You have all these different kids coming out supporting the scene.. Its not their specific scene but they like it for what it is.. And its weird because we’ve played Portland, Seattle… we haven’t been all around or anything .. But that’s probably the biggest scene of mixed people coming out and just checking out the show. That and Salem was Pretty, diverse, I guess you could say…

Brandon: Diversity.. Yeah its cool.. Crowd numbers are great… I mean everyone likes to play to a big show, but playing to a diverse crowd you get to get past your typical box or you know your categorized type people that will come listen to you play…

Geremy: Yeah its like they say.. Oh these people look like this band so they probably sound like them so I’m gonna go to the bar and get a drink… no its different and its nice to play to a bunch of different people who are really just there to listen.

Brandon: And another thing… The Hammered Grunts… we play lots of different venues and I think its unanimous we decided that we have a preference to play to all ages…

Thad: we don’t work in bars… at all..

Brandon: Yeah we’ve tried it, and its not that people aren’t appreciative and stuff.. But the under 21 all ages shows… the kids are still.. and I hate calling them kids… but they are still angry and they are still full of angst… they are really there to see music… and when you play bars and stuff, especially the type of music that we play… people are more concerned with getting their drink on or socializing, chatting and stuff like that… and if it at all possible we just avoid playing bars at all.. Its just shooting ourselves in the foot.. We like to play to people that want to hear music.. I’d rather play to twenty people that are involved with music than to play to 200 people at a bar that are just there to pick up on chicks… they didn’t even come to see a show…

Geremy: Its pretty much is like one of those things that can be a toss up because sometimes if you are playing a cool punk rock bar you just get stoked and then you show up and its like they are not there to watch you.. They are there to drink and meet their friends.. They are there for the scene.. Its just not as genuine as a show to all different types of people of whatever.. For us.. It works a lot better when there are the kids and the people and whoever that go and are just there to watch it.. I remember being a kid and saying hey I wanna see this band and not hey I wanna go to the bar and drink..

Thad: I will sat this though, when you’re on the road, and even though we are a punk band and its not about having so much money and stuff but when you play the bar… the bar is kind of what makes the money… so bar shows are good because maybe they do stand back and watch stuff but I think they still do appreciate it. And maybe when they are really into it they might buy a CD or whatever to help pay for gas.. I think that there is a certain responsibility to the tour…. But we definitely prefer playing to the kids..

Matt: My favorite part about a show is when you’re up there and you look out and people are just screaming in your face and its all pumped up.. It just makes me feel good and play better because that’s the shit that I do to people… before I was ever on stage seeing people that I looked up to and stuff that I would get to meet sometimes after the show and they turned out to be dicks… and then you stopped getting stoked to see them… that’s why its fun to meet people now after shows because I get the opportunity to treat people good, and everyone just gets stoked on your music…

Brandon: and that’s why Vegas is never a good stop.. Yeah Las Vegas… I mean… we had a good time.. But lets just say that we are going to skip that stop this year…

Thad: The thing with Vegas is that I heard that they do have things like punk rock bowling and stuff and double down and if you hit it up right it could be fun.. But our experience was not good.

<<< So describe what a car ride on tour with you guys would be like?>>>

Fucked off!! Just Fucked off!! (excitedly)

Matt: we are just a bunch of retards who get geeked out on energy drinks and coffee…

Thad: Me kicking Brandon’s seat cracked out on coffee…

Geremy: Imagine you’re in a car with one adult and a bunch of little kids…

Matt: Yeah a bunch of out of control little brats!

Geremy: Yeah a bunch of seven year old little brats… Brandon would be the adult going … DON’T TOUCH THAT!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! QUIT THAT FUCKIN SHIT!!

Thad: His driving cracks me up too though…

Geremy: Yeah he cant drive anywhere with the radio on because he might miss his turn that’s like five miles up the road that he knows he has to take a right at… but he might miss it anyway… that’s actually happened before… um I’m not making that up…

Matt: Either you are going to like it and have a blast or you’ll be pulling your hair out begging to escape just screaming.. Fuck! Someone throw me out of the van!! Please!!!

Thad: Yeah we also play games to wake each other up…

Geremy: Yeah me and Matt like to cuddle…

Matt: sometimes you gotta stay warm in the van man… and its easiest to wrap on to…

Geremy: It happens man, I mean you’re in the middle of freaking Nevada in the middle of the night… You’re gonna get cold… there’s only one way to keep warm…

<<<So what’s your favorite things to do on tour other than play shows?>>>

Thad: ooo! I like going on adventures with Matt… well and of course Geremy too but me and Matt go on adventures to get the coffee fix that we need and we don’t know where the fuck we are of where we are going … we just start walking looking for a coffee shop…

Geremy: Its fun because I recently just got to leave like this area and its pretty cool to see all of the different places like San Diego and the beaches and people were pretty cool.. And San Francisco was fun except for all the fucking hills.. Oh my god.. Oh and me and Matt got to see the Full House… house…

Matt: Walking up hills in San Francisco fucking sucks! I’m too out of shape for that shit!

<<<How do you choose where to tour?>>>

Thad: We look at a map and whatever has the darkest letters…

Geremy: Wherever the dart hits…

<<<ok… lets ask a hard question…what is your opinion of the Portland punk scene in general?>>>

Geremy: oh Portland’s really cool but everyone knows its really clicky and you cant avoid it.. When you get large amounts of people together its going to happen. You’re not going to be able to have everybody on the same level and it sucks because its all about unity and shit but you get some people who are like oh punk rock is about just drinking and fucking squatting and blah blah blah… or like its just about playing rock and roll and doing coke or being straight edge or whatever but there are always going to be those constricting factors.. Its never all going to be the same

Thad: I will say this… Portland Pirate Punks which Geremy and I are in, which is being started back up…we really try hard and do that especially after going on tour and being on the road.. Its like when I was younger I didn’t realize… I’d love a band and go to see them and be like why does this CD cost so much and shit but its like you know if you want to go on the road you gotta make money and with the Pirate Punks what we do is we help support traveling bands.. We get them a place to sleep, we get them food you know.. But also it brings some really great bands who get booked by the pirate punks so its bringing new bands and new shows to Portland:

Geremy: and plus its trying to bring that unity back to like I was talking about and getting all of those people out of their comfort zones and say ok.. You are a straight edge and you’re a drunk punk but there is no reason why you should hate each other.. We all make different choices..

Thad: its all support…

<<<Just like you were saying with the sewer show? Where so many people showed up with different backgrounds but they are all just there for one thing? For the music really?>>>

Geremy: Yeah exactly…

Brandon: I will say this about the Portland punk scene… Its just so fantastically big and huge that people have become jaded to a certain extent. Meaning like on any night of the week there is some fantastic band playing in Portland and there are so many unbelievably killer bands that the scene just gets jaded… like oh.. Who’s playing tonight?… oh saw them last week.. Its almost like Portland, we take ourselves for granted and all of the different music and venues..

Thad: I do like Portland, if I didn’t I wouldn’t live here and definitely from being on tour and stuff everything about Portland like Brandon was saying … we do get a lot of great bands and stuff but.. Like in Salem they can come here to play because they do not have a place to play in Salem… so I mean its great that Portland’s got all that but like he says.. People take it for granted…

Geremy: it seems like sometimes its really hard to get bands to come to Portland.. Especially if they are younger… because people are like oh I don’t want to watch this band because they are a bunch of little kids…and they are playing…

Thad: That’s what we are trying to do with the Pirate Punks..

Geremy: its like dude! Come on man!! You were fucking 13 once and in a band…

Matt: dude I love the younger kids bands dude… they just kill it every time all the time…

Geremy: Yeah its not supposed to be about ages and stuff but once you turn 21 and Brandon said this before.. Like there are kids and there are the bar punks and then you start hanging out in bars and you don’t go out to all the shows anymore because you don’t want to deal with all the stupid kids and shit and I feel like that’s a crock of shit because with out the kids there wouldn’t be punk rock.. Or heavy metal or any music.. Because they are the ones who are perpetuating it.

Thad: people were kind of like that with us when we first started.. It wasn’t Portland because we started in Vancouver and Brandon and Geremy still live there.. There was a great scene there at the time but it was kind of the same thing, like we had to fight to get on the bill you know? On to shows… at first and I just remember some of the stuff that was said because we were the younger band and its like.. Who’s band is still around now? So its all about helping out the kids too you know?

<<<so do you guys have any goals as a band? What do you hope to see within the community in the future? In what ways are you working towards making those changes happen?>>>

Geremy: I think again that’s where the whole Pirate Punks thing comes in.. I mean that’s such a huge part of our lives… I cant speak for all of us but I just want to see the scene I guess become one again and be able to get back together and everyone hang out and be united.. I just want to play music and I want other people to be able to play too if that’s what they want..

Matt: I just want to be as good as Matt Branard.. Some day.. That would be my goal as a guitarist… cause that mother fucker can rip..

<<<Hardest obstacles to overcome as a band?>>>

Ohh we got a lot… .A LOT A LOT..

Geremy: being from Vancouver that was one of them…

Brandon: we got lumped into the chaos between Portland and Vancouver that had nothing to do with us…

Geremy: we got lumped into skin head politics and we are just a bunch of little punk rockers…

Thad: From what we remember and I mean at the time… I’m not saying years ago there wasn’t a Vancouver band that played Portland… but around that whole fighting that we caught… and I mean the fighting went on forever… but we were from what I remember one of the first bands to come over here and finally the other Vancouver bands began to start playing over here which is cool and I think that all the fighting started to fade out over time… but that was one of our first biggest obstacles as a band.. And then after that was trouble with getting a new guitarist…

Geremy: Yeah past members…

Matt: yeah I wasn’t here for any of that…

Geremy: its just so hard because its one of those situations that when we started the band we were all friends and we got together for lack of nothing better to do really… and to be able to play music and be a part of the scene… But eventually we all began to grow up and go our separate ways… and they wanted that… and we wanted this… so we had to come to a crossroads and decide on which way to go.. After that things because so much easier getting matt in the band and having like Brandon said that spark to it an don’t think that we could ever replace anyone who is in the line up now and have it be the same…

Brandon: Oh! You threaten me with a drum machine all the time!!!

Matt: I think my biggest obstacle was joining a band that were well known in the community here and I just didn’t want to come in and set them back… so I worked really fucking hard because I was dealing with a lot of distracting life challenges at the time… so I made sure to practice three or four hours every day.. To try to learn all of the songs and get shit going… and now I’m hella stoked because people are saying the band is really coming together and that gets me stoked because its like I’m helping to get the ball rolling in a new direction instead of being a set back… I think I even played our first show after only three practices or something like that,…

Geremy: yeah well we threw him right in there… I mean when we kicked our old guitarist out or parted ways with him or whatever you want to say, we all sat down and were like who can we find that we will get along with really well and who can play guitar…

Brandon: I didn’t even know he could play that well either…

Geremy: well we’ve known him for a while, and so I gave him a CD and we were just blown away for him just playing those first four songs!! <<< I do believe Matt Reckless is blushing >>>

Brandon: Well we have a split coming out in about two months or so with Rum Rebellion… and the contrast between our full length and this split coming out is Matt will be on this… and it night and day…

Thad: You’re gonna see more energy in the recording we’re putting out in this…

Brandon: As I was saying I think with this one with Matt there is going to be more energy on it … I think its just going to get better and better… as far as my personal obstacles with the band… back when I was drinking I stepped on a lot of toes and my behavior wasn’t exactly one that I’m proud of… eventually most of my friends abandoned me so when I stopped drinking I kind of hid from the scene time and when I hooked up these guys that kind of threw me back into it… and that was a huge obstacle to try to shake the negative image that I had built… I had to present myself as this is I’ve established myself now, this is how I behave now… for a long time I didn’t even want to play shows.. And for a while I’d play a show and id get the heck out of there because oh so and so might recognize me.. Or I know that guy and he hates my guts… and that was a pretty big deal to me… but I think its going pretty good at this point…

Thad: conservative punk rock 101... (laughs)

<<< so what is your message? If you have one?>>>

Thad: I think that everyone in the band has a completely different idea about the message… I’ll let them answer that how they want… but for me personally I feel that I’m constantly trying out new voices, I’m constantly writing different types of lyrics,.. Originally I was 17 and I was just writing about fighting plus unity… unity… yeah … and then I wrote about coming out to all the punk shows and got into the unity thing some more… I went through a little phase where I wrote about getting older because that’s one of my weird little fears…

Brandon: Fear of your own mortality…

Thad: yea so I was writing about getting older.. But lately I’ve been.. And you wont see it on our split coming out but on our second CD…but I got this song called high speed car chase that we are constantly working on that is more about my past crimes.. Like when I was drinking and stuff… because there are not a lot of artists who do that and if they do its not usually true you know? So I’m trying to write as truthful as I can… so my message Is just try and keep it legit…

Brandon: I still have a big passion for social and political issues but what I like about the Hammered Grunts is that we’re not out to change the world… we’re not out to throw something in your face and say this is what you gotta think and this is how you gotta believe it… its more of a reflection.. And honest.. This is my situation… this is what I don’t like about it and this is how I’m gonna change it… it doesn’t promote laziness and its not you know fuck the world or anything… its just a presentation of this is what’s going on with me…

Geremy: sometimes you have those days though…and I think it shows a lot in our music… but we all have different views on different things.. What’s great about this band is that we can all sit down and compromise about what we are going to say… If I give a song to Thad that I’ve written.. We will all go over it and see if that’s what we are actually wanting to say… and usually it turns out that way…

Brandon: I gotta go back to work…

Thad: write down Brandon leaves and you just here footsteps walking away…

Brandon: no! Brandon has to go back to work!

<<< Do you have any last words?>>>

Brandon: umm…

Thad: oh yeah!! Call yourself a hypocrite four our song On Call which will be on the split… but you are going to the same job you wrote about!!

Brandon: yeah I wrote a song about a job that I absolutely hate and that I would quit it and here I am back with the job…

Geremy: didn’t you write a lyric in there somewhere… tell your boss fuck off… did you ever do that?!

Brandon: … (laughs) … um I forget…

Geremy: well like I was saying about the lyrics and stuff…

Thad: well I feel like everyone has their own ideas and experiences to contribute.. Which is important… but mostly what we are writing about is always changing based off our life experiences at the time…

Geremy: Now our songs have matured a lot since we first started four years ago just because we were younger… and when you’re 16 you just write about different things… but Now, Thad’s lyrics are just awesome and we’re trying to perpetuate that with the music that we play and try to match it up with the intensity…

Matt: I think that the new stuff that we’re writing is a lot different than the CD because I’ve sat down and worked with Thad a lot with cadence.. He is bringing lyrics and instead of just singing straight to the drum beat its like he flows his lyrics so it makes it that much better and catchy.. Its kind of weird… I cant write lyrics but ill try and write rifts that will make the crowd just go nuts…

Thad: I like to try to keep my lyrics general too sometimes so that the meaning of the song can work differently for everyone… so sometimes I’ll write stuff that you really gotta think about… and you might not realize because not everyone reads lyrics… but other times I keep them really simple and really basic.. Same ‘ol shit different day.. If people want to change.. How far will they go…

<<<so what would you say your band is? Influences?>>>

Matt: we let it be a combination of whatever we feel like…

Thad: I think people make what we sound like to them…

Geremy: well we’re not trying to sound like we’re saying that we’re original.. I mean we are a punk rock band.. Or a rock and roll band..

Matt: I just tell everyone when they ask what we sound like.. Ill just say.. Pretty fast..

Thad: I feel like we are influenced by street punk, a little bit of oi, and some thrashy shit…

Geremy: I feel like all of our influences are different…

Matt: yeah that’s why it works great…

Geremy: like I’m into everything.. I mean good music is good music… and then Matt’s into hip hop… and that kind of stuff…

Matt: yeah my main influences as far as guitar goes are Slayer, GBH, Dog Soldier, Driller Killer… all that shit.. Its fucking great and if you make a song that you can take everything you like and put it into one thing its fucking awesome…

Thad: I’m not saying I sound like any of the bands that I’m naming here but they are bands that I like and that I’m inspired by.. Bands like CockSparrer, DR. No, Toy Dolls.. I just have a bunch of different weird ones that I like…

Geremy: That’s another thing like I was saying… I’m into so much…

Thad: he hates Toy Dolls…

Geremy: I Hate a lot of stuff… (laughs) I cant be a musician and be closed minded.. Because you are not going to get anywhere or advance… like I like a lot of old country, old pop and rock and roll, and I don’t want to narrow it down… and some of my influences when I first started playing….. Honestly… bands like Rancid because they were around and that’s what I saw.. As I got older I progressed and I saw new stuff and there are now so many great bands out there that its hard just to name a couple….

<<<After you four finished your first song together, what were your first thoughts?>>>

Thad: I think our first song with Matt was On Call or no ambition…

Matt: Yeah with that song the goal of that little ditty was like bringing it back to back in the day shit … it was just cut and dry.. It wasn’t like long drawn out intros or bridges it was just boom! Boom! Boom! boom ! In your face!! I mean it had some build up in the beginning, but it was straight basic to the point fast energy shit.. And it just got me more stoked to write shit…

Geremy: it was cool because at that time it was for Matt about two months in and to see him coming to practice and saying ok I got this.. Its just so refreshing because before we were just playing the same 12-14 songs over and over and after two or three years it gets a bit monotonous… when we got matt it became exciting again…

Thad: yeah I think Matt was aggressive and lately I’ve been noticing with Matt that he has been getting into some of his more metal influences.. Like with the song Hostile Takeover you will see that in the new CD… but yeah I think that’s cool too.. And Geremy with his song Monotony he brought in some Swedish style base rifts…

Geremy: it all comes back to our different influences and interests…. Its for me really easy though to click with Matt and that’s hard to find

Matt: also I feel like being on tour really helped because I had only played six or seven times with them before we left.. But playing everyday on tour with them really helped to inspire me to write and helped me to improve my skills at guitar.. When we got back I immediately wrote that song Hostile Takeover and once we heard Brandon’s drum beat to it… I mean… we were all… we all just felt it..

<<<so what’s your idea of a perfect show? To play or see..>>>

Thad: I think that sometimes you’re having a show and then all of the sudden the spirit is just there and you’re having a good time and you notice everyone knows and feels all of the good vibes that are going around.. And it doesn’t matter it could be a super great band or…

Geremy: yeah it could be the biggest band you can think of and it would be great or it could be more of the home town heroes getting together and it could be great… its just one of those things I like about punk rock is that it could be one of those bands that nobodies heard of and people could be going ape shit over the show..

Matt: as for as shows I saw… GBH and Circle jerks a while back and that place was fucking nuts and that would be my idea.. Just play the show and look out and seeing the whole entire place just going crazy.. Just freaking out… having a blast just loving that shit.. that’s my favorite… seeing kids just plying through the air and going crazy.. Its just bad ass i get stoked and I cant even play without a smile…

Geremy: I feel like for me the show we played with Mouth Sewn Shut.... There were a lot of people there.. It just really sticks out to me..

Matt: I wanna play a show with Dog Soldier..

Thad: the first annual punks unity fest last year was crazy… there was not one band that did not get respect from everybody….

<<< so what would be your favorite punk event?>>>

Thad: I’m getting pretty excited for the second annual punks unity fest coming up…

Geremy: yeah Dave from Rum Rebellion is putting it together and he always puts on really good shows…

<<<is that a pirate punk event?>>>

Thad: I think he might have said… um… yes..

Geremy: I just like going to all the house shows but I feel like as of late there are a whole bunch more punk events going on with the whole Defectorcon and Summerfector.. There is just a whole lot of stuff going on that was cool to see happening in the community… I guess just when friends are getting together…

<<<Thad and Matt are wrestling and smacking each other with a paper…>>>

Matt: im trying to cut him with his razor blade earring…

Thad: oh.. no… don’t look at Matt wrong…

<<< hmmm…Thad says DO look at Matt wrong…>>>

Matt: Hey man!! I CAN RUN!! I can run…

Thad: you cant walk up a hill? But you can run?!

Matt: yeah! I cant walk up a hill for shit but man when you’re running off of pure fear and adrenalin!!! Fuck man!! (laughs)

<<<so final thoughts about the new split? >>>

Thad: the split we’re stoked on…

Geremy: yeah we’re coming out with a split with our good friends Rum Rebellion and its going to be awesome…I mean if you don’t listen to those guys you should give them a chance because they are probably one of the best Irish punk bands I’ve ever heard… there amazing..

Thad: I’m stoked for that and I’m also stoked for our second full length album which will have all the new songs we’ve been working on…

<<< when will that be coming out?>>>

Geremy: well I feel like we have been working really hard writing stuff for it and once we get this split out of the way we will be able to focus on it… its just hard doing it on our own and it would come out a lot sooner if we would get on a label of some sort to help us with distribution and stuff… I seriously hope and think it will come out soon though…

Thad: oh! And now that we’ve got THE SPARK… yeah! We should call him that!!! MATT SPARKS!! Yeah dude!! (laughs)

Matt: that’s right… enjoy it dude…

<<<Matt’s final thought>>>

*******hey KALEB!!… I’m SOO HIGH RIGHT NOW!!!!…. You don’t even know!!!…. SOOOO… GOOOD!!!…********

Dispatches From Iraq

By Dahr Jamail, Thursday January 29

Baghdad today, on the eve of provincial elections, feels like it has emerged from several years of horrendous violence, but do not be misled. Every Iraqi I’ve spoken with feels it is tenuous, the still-fragile lull too young to trust.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provides recent statistics showing that more Iraqis continue to flee their country than are returning. Two Studies show the number of dead Iraqis to be between 1.2-1.4 million, and the times of those displaced to be nearly five million, or one in six Iraqis. During 2006 and 2008, scores of bodies were found on the streets of Baghdad and fished from the Tigris River as death squads and sectarian militias raged. All but one of my Iraqi friends and translators have either fled the country, or been killed. It is nearly impossible to meet a family that has not had a family member killed or wounded.

Only within the last half-year has violence lessened, and street life returned to something akin to “normal,” which means that as opposed to 50-250 Iraqi being slaughtered each day, now it is an average of one, sometimes two dozen per day.

The relative lull has allowed me to travel around Baghdad with relative ease, eat at restaurants, and even conduct interviews on the street; all of which was unheard of during my last visits to Iraq. I’ve been taking stock of what has changed, and what hasn’t.

One of the first things I noted that has not changed did not occur in Iraq. Rather, when arriving in Amman, Jordan and exiting the airplane, I strode into customs to find a Jordanian man holding up a Black Water sign, to be met by four rough looking middle-aged men. The next day, whilst flying into Baghdad, the commercial jet did a “soft-spiral” descent into Baghdad airport, unlike the hard corkscrew descent that they all did when I was last in Iraq, so as not to be shot at by resistance fighters just outside of the airport perimeter.

The infrastructure remains in shambles. The generator at my hotel is running more than it is shut off. Throughout Baghdad, there an average of four hours of electricity per 24 hours, and people left with no choice but to drink tap water, when it runs - water heavily contaminated by waterborne diseases, fuel, sewage and sediment. Jobs are scarce, and people are suffering greatly. The anger about this seethes just beneath the surface everywhere I turn.

Previously, while these conditions were similar, there was still some hope that things might improve. That hope has shifted into a resignation of what is. A surrender into a daily life of trying to find enough money to buy food.

“In 2004 it cost me $1 to fill my car,” my interpreter Ali told me yesterday as we drove to Fallujah. “Today it now costs $35. It used to be in Iraq a family could easily live off $500 for two months. Today we are lucky if that lasts a week, because the prices of everything have gone so high.”

Beggars are present at most intersections. Where they are not, Iraqi children walk between the rows of cars carrying cigarettes, fruit, or sweets to sell to drivers stuck in the ever-present traffic.

Salah Salman, a day laborer in Sadr City I spoke with the other day, raged against the upcoming elections which are set for January 31. He spoke with me while we stood near a street strewn with garbage near a busy traffic circle.

“I’ll not be voting for anyone. We cannot trust any of the candidates, just like during the elections of 2005. What have they done for us? What services have they provided our country? They have achieved nothing for us!”

Like the 2005 elections (and most elections across the globe, for that matter), there are thousands of politicians running on various platforms, from unifying Iraq, to bringing electricity, to improving security, to promoting reconciliation. Most Iraqis I have spoken with about the elections are not holding out much hope.

“New thieves will replace the current thieves,” an Iraqi refugee in Amman told me before I flew into Baghdad.

Obvious differences are present. The most evident reason for the decline in US military casualties in Iraq over the last year is that there are clearly far fewer patrols being carried out by US forces, whereas before patrols roamed the streets incessantly. The patrols I do see are carried out in the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, which are mine-resistant beasts that slowly crawl through the congested streets of Baghdad.

Instead, Iraqi security forces abound. Speeding through the streets with blaring sirens are Iraqi Police in huge, brand new Ford and Chevrolet trucks, which have clearly found their new market since the US has tired of the gas-guzzling behemoths. Further, Iraqi military abound, roaming around in brand new Humvees of the ilk traded in by the US military’s upgrade to MRAPs. So much security is deployed on the streets of Baghdad it is impossible to travel more than 15 minutes without finding another checkpoint. To live in Baghdad, like it is to live in many other Iraqi cities, is to live in a police state.

Contractors are visible flying overhead, often in their two-person Kiowa helicopters. They are running the security at the airport and in the Green Zone, which has been called the International Zone for some time now. The mercenary company Triple Canopy employs former Central American death squad members and various nationals from Uganda, a now mostly de-colonized country, to check ID badges at the countless checkpoints I walked through to obtain my mandatory press card inside the heavily fortified compound. Thus, the changing of the face is complete - Iraqi security forces and private contractor mercenaries are now the face of the US occupation of Iraq.

The political divides across the country run deep, and this thin, fresh, external skin of the lull in overall violence camouflages the plight of the average Iraqi. Prices of everything from bottled water to tomatoes have skyrocketed, while jobs have become increasingly scarce. While the major US news outlets have downgraded their staff in Iraq, or pulled out entirely because they feel Iraq is no longer an important story, for most Iraqis who remain here, there is no other option. Flee with no money and become a refugee, or remain and try to survive.

Will the elections bring a lasting stability? Or will groups who feel entitled to power that don’t obtain it democratically resort again to violence that will shred what is left of this shattered country?

We shall soon find out.

NAMES, AGES, INSTRUMENTS, CURRENT/PREVIOUS BANDS

RD: RICK, 36, BASS & VOX. I WAS IN HARDSHIP, STARVED AND DELIRIOUS, ONE ARM AND DEAD, DISTRAUGHT & THE CULPRITS.

NL: NOAH. THE PISSFUCKS, THE FILTHY FEW, THE UNITED (ALL NM BANDS) MOLLY BANG, ACCIDENTAL GUN DEATH.

TR: TUCKER. I’M 23 AND PLAY GEETAR. I USDA BE IN OFFENCE & NO HEROES.

WHAT STARTED THE CRAWLERS?

RD: BOREDOM, CAUSE THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH OLD SCHOOL HARDCORE BANDS THESE DAYS. I REALIZE IT'S DEAD TO SOME PEOPLE, BUT I'M STILL ALIVE.

NL: BUD, WEED AND A.D.D.

TR: THE MEMBERS OF MINE & RICKS PREVIOUS BANDS EITHER BECAME DADS OR STOPPED TALKING TO ME. SO WE COMBINED OUR DISGRUNTLED FORCES.

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SOUND LIKE?

RD: CATCHY, FAST, HEAVY AND DARK AT TIMES. I WANT TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL HAPPY AND UNCOMFORTABLE AT THE SAME TIME.

NL: FAST PUNK... EVERYONE FASTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.

TR: THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY WEEK IS WHEN I’M SWILLING OLDE ENGLISH WHILE DOWNSTROKING BAR CHORDS AT TOP VOLUME AND HIGH SPEED.

WHAT ARE SOME COLLECTIVE INFLUENCES BOTH MUSICALLY AND WHATEVER?

RD: FAST MUSIC AND AGREEING THE MEAT INDUSTRY IS WORTHLESS AND WASTEFUL. I THINK WE ALSO ARE BORED WITH THE PORTLAND SCENE.

TR: PEOPLE I KNOW, USED TO KNOW, CHEMICALS. TOURETTES Guy.

YOUR NEWEST RELEASE IS CALLED I HATE MICHAEL VICK, WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT? WHO IS MICHAEL VICK AND WHY DO YOU HATE HIM?

RD: MICHAEL VICK WAS A FOOTBALL PLAYER FOR THE ATLANTA FALCONS. HE ABUSED PIT BULLS FOR DOG FIGHTING AND GAMBLING PURPOSES. I HOPE HE IS KILLED BY A FUCKING POODLE. I HATE HIM 'CAUSE HE IS THE LOWEST FORM OF SHIT ON THE PLANET.

KNOWING YOU GUYS, IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR BAND MIGHT BE INTO STIRRING UP A LITTLE CONTROVERSY ONCE IN A WHILE (E.G. “SUPPORT ANIMAL TESTING” STICKER ON TUCKER'S GUITAR), SO WHEN I FIRST HEARD OF THE I HATE MICHAEL VICK 7” I ACTUALLY THOUGHT YOU WERE MAKING FUN OF ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS FOR CONDEMNING MICHAEL VICK. THIS IS NOT THE CASE, BUT WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THAT?

RD: PEOPLE LOOK INTO THINGS TOO FAR. IT'S HARD TO JOKE ABOUT SHIT IN THIS TOWN, ALL THESE EMO-FAGS GET SO OFFENDED. JUST GO HANG OUT AT THE NEAREST COFFEE SHOP AND WAIT FOR THE NEWEST TREND TO COME TO YOU.

TR: TWO WORDS: SHOCK VALUE.

WHAT'S THE SONG I KNOW HIPPIES COOLER THAN YOU ALL ABOUT?

RD: READ THE LYRICS. IT'S TRUE A LOT OF CRUSTYS WITH FACIAL TATTOOS AND BEGGING FOR CHANGE ARE MORE ANNOYING THAN ANY HIPPIE. THE BLACK KID ON THE BUS TALKING JIVE TO ME IS NOT AS COOL AS A HIPPIE ETC ETC...AT LEAST HIPPIES HAVE A PASSION AND SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR.

TR: WELL WHEN YOU RIDE PUBLIC TRANSIT LIKE I DO (AND LOATHE IT) YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH EVERY BOGUS SUB-CULTURE AROUND. AND HIPPIES ARE JUST MORE PLEASANT TO DEAL WITH THAN THE WEENBAGS DECKED OUT IN BONDAGE BELTS OR GANG BANGERS. ALTHOUGH THEY SMELL LIKE DEATH & MUSIC BLOWS ASS, THEY’RE NICER THAN CRUSTIES. CUTER, TOO.

IT SEEMS LIKE THE PORTLAND PUNK SCENE IS KNOWN FOR SCENESTER TENDANCIES AND SNOBBY CLIQUES, ALTHOUGH WE ALL KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T TRUE FOR EVERYBODY. HOW HAVE THE CRAWLERS BEEN RECEIVED IN PORTLAND? HOW ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE ON TOUR?

RD: SNOBBY CLIQUES? I WOULD SAY THAT IS VERY ACCURATE. A FEW PEOPLE WHO BOOK SHOWS, THINK THEY RUN THE WHOLE SCENE. I DON'T THINK ANYONE IN PORTLAND KNOWS WHO WE ARE. THE ALL AGES SCENE LACKS VENUES AND THE 21 AND OVER CROWD IS USUALLY PATHETIC. IT'S REALLY BEGINNING TO BE A HASSLE TO PLAY OUT MORE THAN IT IS FUN. WE ARE LOVED ON TOUR, NOW THAT'S FUN.

TR: THE PORTLAND PUNK SCENE HAS MY PO BOX AND THAT’S ABOUT IT… FOR THE PRESENT TENSE. THE PAST WILL ALWAYS HAVE MY HEART. I’D RATHER JUST PUT OUT RECORDS, SAVE SOME CASH & GO ON TOUR. WE DON’T GET ASKED FOR LOCAL SHOWS ANYWAYS.

RICK, YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PORTLAND PUNK SCENE FOR A LONG TIME, HOW HAS IT CHANGED AND HOW HAS IT STAYED THE SAME?

RD: AT LEAST YOU USE TO HAVE THE X-RAY CAFE, I CAN'T NAME A COOL ALL AGES VENUE. THE 21+ SCENE WAS WAY BETTER 10-20 YEARS AGO. IT'S PRETTY MUCH THE SAME EXCEPT PROMOTERS ARE ELITISTS NOW.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS LOVE AND HATE ABOUT THE PORTLAND PUNK SCENE?

RD: I LIKE THE FACT IT'S A MELLOW TOWN SO NEIGHBORS DON'T GET PISSED ABOUT BAND PRACTICE. WHAT I DON'T LIKE IS THE FASHION PUNK SHIT.

NL:I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!! WHAT SCENE?!!

TR: EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

ANY FAVORITE LOCAL BANDS?

RD: MAYBE LIKE 2 OR 3.

NL: I LIKE SUPERBAD AND LORDS OF LIGHT.

TR: ACCIDENTAL GUN DEATH. I JUST PUT OUT THEIR 7". 12 SONGS MUTHAFUKKAZ! EMPTY VESSEL GET MY APPROVAL AS WELL. THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER WORTHY ONES BUT I’M KINDA OUT OF THE LOOP.

PLAY WITH ANY OTHER COOL BANDS ON TOUR? ANY COOL TOUR STORIES?

RD: LOTS OF GOOD BANDS ON TOUR LIKE: BAD REACTION TIPPER'S GORE, CRITICAL PICNIC, BAD ANTICS, TIMEBOMBS, C.O.P., FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS ETC. ETC. TOO MANY GOOD STORIES TO TELL... I MAY GET US IN TROUBLE, SO I WON'T DARE.

NL: WHILE ROADYING FOR THE CRAWLERS, I WITNESSED A NIGHT OF PROLONGED PSEUDO-PROSTITUTION IN SACRAMENTO AFTER A GIG, WHERE OUR FRIEND JONNY AND HIS FORMER GIRLFRIEND WERE A PORN DUO. WE WITNESSED DILDOS SOAKING IN THE SINK WHILE MAKING COFFEE IN THE MORNING. THEIR FRIEND TRIED ALL NIGHT TO GET THE PANT'S OFF THE BARTENDER OF THE VENUE THEY PLAYED. HE HAD TIPPED HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS TO PERSUADE HER TO COME BACK TO THE "LOVE NEST" WITH US. THEY EVENTUALLY STUMBLED INTO THE APARTMENT'S "STUDIO" TO GET SOME QUALITY FOOTAGE, BUT I THINK THE GUY COULDN'T PERFORM AT ALL.

TR: THE LAST JAUNT WE TOOK TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WE STAYED WITH MITCH FROM TIPPER’S GORE. HE HAS A REAL SWEET GOLDEN RETRIEVER NAMED BEAR…HE’S UP THERE, LIKE 12 YEARS OLD. ANYWAYS, THIS DOG HAD A BLANKET THAT IT WOULD HUMP ALL THE TIME, AND ON A NIGHT OFF EVERYONE WAS PARTYING THERE AND PATTERSON (BASS PLAYER FROM THE LATE GREAT CRITICAL PICNIC) STRIPS DOWN, WRAPS HIMSELF UP IN THIS GROSS, HAIR COVERED BLANKET, THEN GETS ON ALL FOURS ON THE FLOOR & PRESENTS HIMSELF TO THE DOG. WHAT DO YOU KNOW, NATURE TAKES ITS COURSE & BEAR MOUNTED PATTERSON! FUCKIN RED ROCKET POKING OUT & EVERYTHING. I THINK SOMEONE VIDEO TAPED IT!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE BAND TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE FUTURE?

RD: MORE TOURING...ESPECIALLY EUROPE.

TR: FOR SOMEONE ELSE BESIDES ME TO PUT OUT OUR RECORDS! EAST COAST & EUROPE WOULD BE NICE.

WHERE DO YOU EAT?

RD: IL PATO FELIZ (BEST MEXICAN IN PORTLAND), FRANKS-A-LOT (KICK ASS VEGGIE DOGS), OLIVE GARDEN, VITA CAFE ANYWHERE WITH GOOD VEGETARIAN FOOD.

NL: MY KITCHEN.

TR: YOUR MOM’S.

WHAT'S THE COOLEST MOVIE IN THE UNIVERSE?

RD: RIVER'S EDGE.

TR: THE BIG LEBOWSKI.

NL: HALF BAKED!

OKAY, BEST VIDEO GAME IN THE UNIVERSE?

RD: DIG DUG.

NL: WHAT

TR: THE ONLY ONE I EVER PLAYED MUCH OF WAS 007 GOLDENEYE FOR THE 64. IT’S FUN TO KILL COMMIES. HAR HAR.

BEST TOOTHPATE?

RD: DON'T HAVE A FAVORITE.

NL: YOUR DAD.

TR: AQUAFRESH.

BEST CEREAL?

RD: I DON'T EAT CEREAL, I GUESS LUCKY CHARMS.

TR: ANYTHING BUT CAP’N CRUNCH. SHIT CUTS THE ROOF OF YOUR MOUTH. IF GENERAL MILLS HAD A BUTT PLUG HE’D PROLLY PUT IT INSIDE THE BOX AS A SURPRISE. WHAT A WAY TO START YOUR MORNING; A CIVIL WAR VET’S SEX TOY IN YOUR CEREAL BOWL

NL: I WON'T VALIDATE THAT WITH AN ANSWER, AND I'M STONED.

OH, JUST LIKE YOU VALIDATED EVERY OTHER QUESTION BEFORE? REALLY? THAT'S THE ONE QUESTION THAT YOU'LL PUBLICLY REFUSE TO ANSWER? THIS GUY'S REALLY SENSITIVE ABOUT HIS CEREAL.

BEST FAMILY GUY EPISODE?

RD: I DON'T KNOW. I RARELY WATCH CARTOONS. BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD WERE THE BEST.

TR: THE ONES WITH SWASTIKAS ARE USUALLY GOOD.

FAMILY GUY VS. THE SIMPSONS, WHICH IS BETTER? WHO WOULD WIN A CAGE FIGHT TO THE DEATH, HOMER OR PETER?

RD: I LIKE FAMILY GUY BETTER, I GUESS PETER WOULD WIN...HE'S MORE AGGRO.

TR: THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING THAT FOX WOULD HYPE UP A BUNCH AND THEN BE A TOTAL LET DOWN.

IF YOU COULD BE ON ANY COURT TV SHOW, WHICH ONE AND WHO WOULD YOU SUE?

RD: THAT ONE LATINO BITCH, SHE'S MEAN. I WOULD SUE TACO BELL.

TR: JUDGE JOE BROWN. I’D DO MY HAIR IN CORNROWS, WEAR SOME BLING & A GRILL IN MY TEETH. PIMPIN’ AIN’T EASY!

ANY FINAL COMMENTS?

RD: YEAH, OUR NEW LP IS CALLED "LEVEL THE FOREST". IT SHOULD BE OUT SOON AND IT'S THE BEST RECORD I'VE EVER BEEN ON. IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU ARE PROBABLY READING IT TO EITHER FIND FLAWS ABOUT US OR ARE PLANNING A RIFLE ASSAULT ON US LIKE CHAPMAN DID TO LENNON.

TR: SKATE TO HATE MASTURBATE….DAMMIT DEAN!