punk rock

Flashback: Alzo Boszormenyi and the Acid Achievers show at Galaxy Hut 1997

Satan joins Alzo Boszormenyi and the Acid Achivers live on stage!

One song excerpt from a “legendary” Alzo gig at Galaxy Hut (Arlington, VA) on November 16, 1997. The one where Satan plays guitar with a copper pipe. Costumes, props, improvised rock jam, a horn section…a sample of the chaos of a typical Alzo show. Galaxy Hut was kind of our HQ, as it was the only place that would let us play regularly. We played all over the DC area, even the Black Cat, but only once at each venue. For the record, I’m the bass player in the far right corner, wearing a kachina mask hood. Well, it was supposed to be a kachina mask. Love how Alzo strolls through the door in Kerouac drag.

Watching this recently I noticed the paintings on the wall above the window. The one most clearly in evidence is part of my own collection of thrift store art, a piece I call “Two Indians Sneezing on Each Other.” So this video represents two flashbacks in one, as it also documents the Thrift Store Art show I curated at the bar, mostly featuring paintings from my collection. It took a long time for the “signature scent” of the Galaxy Hut (cigarette smoke and French fry grease) to dissipate from the art.

Flashback: “The Real Revolution” in Flipside

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That time my poem “The Real Revolution” appeared in Flipside #85, from July/Aug 1993. When their poetry editor Pooch accepted it, he said he liked it because he wasn’t into Bikini Kill.

I’ve always thought they were a great band, and their  concert in a park near the Capitol in DC was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Kathleen Hanna was looking pretty good in a tight t-shirt and a black miniskirt, but as a married man and a feminist, I wasn’t there to watch cute girls, just to see a great band play great music. There’s no denying that sexuality was part of their presentation. But what if (male) audiences rejected sexual posturing and just viewed people as people, regardless of gender?

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Flashback: One poem in Flipside

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That time my poem “Alicia” appeared in Flipside #81, from Nov/Dec 1992. This piece is a true story based on a coworker when I worked at the American Psychological Association as an abstractor for their academic database. One of the nicest people I met there, Alicia endured the regular stream of attention rather graciously.

For those who never saw it, LA-based Flipside was a massive newsprint fanzine that chronicled underground music and culture. They ran two pages of poetry during the 90’s era when I was subscribing and submitting work to them.

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