Dave Markey Day

 

‘As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, David Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which have been self-funded. His work is also noted as documenting the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s, growing to find a larger audience in the 1990s while continuing to produce work throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Markey has worked with Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr, Mudhoney, Redd Kross, Bob Mould, Circle Jerks, The Ramones, Black Flag and the Meat Puppets.

‘Markey made his first film in 1974 at the age of 11 with his father’s hand-wound 8mm Brownie camera, cast from the children of his Santa Monica, California neighborhood. He soon discovered the burgeoning LA punk scene a few years hence through bands like X, Black Flag, and Redd Kross in 1980. Markey was driven to form his own band, SIN 34, in 1981 as well as Painted Willie in 1984. He also started We Got Power fanzine in 1981 along with Jordan Schwartz, spawning Markey’s cinematic Super-8 cult punk scene document The Slog Movie in 1982. Following closely behind was Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (1984) and its 1986 sequel Lovedolls Superstar. These films were distributed underground and critically well-received, putting Markey on the cinematic punk map before he was of legal age.

‘Markey’s work has since been exhibited internationally, including theatrical release in the US and Canada of 1991: The Year Punk Broke, followed by a VHS release by the David Geffen Company. In 2011 Universal Music Group re-released the film in the DVD format with an hour plus of bonus material produced by Markey. Theatrical screenings of his work have taken place in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and elsewhere. His 2008 documentary The Reinactors was included in international film festivals in Argentina, England, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, Angola, China, Korea, Italy and The Netherlands.

‘David Markey has appeared in the documentary films American Hardcore, We Jam Econo and was interviewed for the 20th Century Fox re-release of Russ Meyer’s Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls Special Edition DVD in 2006. He played a bouncer in the 2007 film What We Do Is Secret. He is also seen as an uncredited extra in Penelope Spheeris 1983 film Suburbia and the 1984 film Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

‘In October 2012, he became a published author as Bazillion Points released the critically acclaimed hard bound book We Got Power: Hardcore Punk Scenes From 1980’s Southern California consisting primarily of the photographic work of Markey and his longtime collaborator Jordan Schwartz. The book’s release was timed with a gallery retrospective of the duo’s photos from the early 1980s to the early 1990s entitled “We Survived The Pit” at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica, just mere blocks away from where Markey and Schwartz grew up.’ — collaged

 

____
Stills

 

____
Further

Dave Markey @ IMDb
Dave Markey’s YouTube Channel
David Markey’s 1991 Tour Diary
DM interviewed @ Subterraneo
Dave Markey: We Got Power!
DM @ MUBI
Book: ‘Party With Me Punker’
WE STILL GOT POWER: THE FILMS OF DAVE MARKEY
Podcast: Dave Markey on THE FILM CULT PODCAST
In Praise Of Dave Markey
Just Getting It Out There: An Interview with Filmmaker David Markey
Nirvana, Sonic Youth and the cult grunge film that shook up the music industry
Inside Sonic Youth and Nirvana’s Epic 1991 Tour
Interview: Dave Markey
We Got Power: The Halcyon Days of Southern California Hardcore
Dave Markey: cineasta punk
Monday Exclusive: Q & A with Dave Markey

 

____
Extras

Dave Markey promoting “1991 The Year Punk Broke” on TV

Dave Markey interviewed by Michael Des Barres

WE GOT P0WER! Reading @ Book Soup

 

______
Interview

 

It’s the 25th aniversary of the documentary “The Year Punk Broke” Did you imagine that 25 years later it would be a cult movie?
​
25 years ago I was dealing with making the movie, and that pretty much consumed by that for the better part of that year. I didn’t think that far ahead. When the word came that it was getting a theatrical release, that was very exciting. I had pretty reasonable expectations.

In your movie, between so many musicians in the dressing rooms we see a funny Nirvana with Krist Novoselik and Dave Grohl throwing food and bragging. How do you remember this young Dave Grohl that today is Mr. Foo Fighter and a retired Novoselic?

I remember Dave and Krist as being young and totally gung ho for the experience. There was fair amount of partying going on, a lot of drinking and late nights. Everyone was happy to be there and enjoying themselves. Some of the stuff we see is influenced by this fact. I may have egged on their backstage food platter scene.

In her book “Girl in the Band” Kim Gordon said that she remembered Kurt Cobain in those days as a joyfull and fragil Young man who awakened certain maternal feeling in her. How do you remember him? Do you have an anecdote about Nirvana that you would like to share?

I recall Kurt being a quiet guy offstage, but just the opposite on stage. Definitely the artist-type. He had a sense of humor, which I don’t think he is well known for. He really liked the stuff that I had shot of the band and he asked me if he could use it in a music video (“Lithium”). He had me come in and sit in on the edit session for it, in which I recall him making most of the creative decisions. It was interesting to see.

I was also around for the “Unplugged” sessions, and a series of blistering shows in NYC around that time. I was also there when Eddie Van Halen showed up backstage at the LA Forum, asking Kurt if he could jam with the band. Kurt refused. That was nuts.

How did you start your fanzine (today your film company) WE GOT POWER? How did you get to do it?

I just did it. That was the thing about being young (17) and in that time that I sometimes miss. Just the sheer audacity and will to do stuff. Making films, producing ‘zines… But actually I had been doing this kind of stuff since I was 12, pre-punk. So I already had an aesthetic and some experience in place.
Do you have a precise motive or was it rather spontaneous?

I was just into shooting film. Much of it was spontaneous. Some of it wasn’t. Depends what was going on. My narrative films are fairly different from my documentaries.

What do you remember about the time when you were doing “The Slog Movie” and “The Omenous”?

I was young, a teenager, but I remember a lot of that stuff fairly well. “The Omenous” was the last film I did (at 15) that stayed inside my Santa Monica neighborhood. By the time I was doing We Got Power (‘zine) at 17, I was getting out of my surroundings. That was important, and crucial to my filmmaking.

Is there a political reason above aesthetics why you use little HD in your achievements?

High Def? Well, I’ve produced work in HD recently, like music videos for Bob Mould, Heyrocco and The Black Lips. The reason why most of my work exists in standard def, is that this is the format and technology that was available at the time. I worked with what was readily available to me, which was primarily Super-8 film.

Could we say that you are a cultist, master or purist of the analog?

It’s probably it’s just a matter of what I had to work with. But yes, there is a certain feeling from analog that is rather nice. That said, I’m not opposed to digital, or shooting in digital, and I have. I like the way The Reinactors looks. That’s digital.

You have witnessed and documented a part of the history of contemporary music of the twentieth century. You know the backroom of it, I suppose you know many artists who have not transcended and have been forgotten. Like in your movie THE REINACTORS… that shows the celebrities doubles living that same movie every day. What can you tell us about that?

That film basically tells a century-plus-old story about Hollywood and the people that come here to work in it, no matter how small or diminished that may be. It’s basically “Day Of The Locust”, but with people that would have never read the book, or even seen the movie. It’s a documentary, but since the people in it have immersed themselves so deeply into Hollywood on every level, that it plays like a scripted movie. Is it life imitating art, or the other way around? That is what made it interesting to me.

How do you feel when someone from another country wants to see your work, in this case SUBTERRANEO and for a matter of copyright, etc. a company like YouTube doesn`t authorize it for that country?

I hate it when I can’t see something I want to watch and it’s unavailable. But there’s other ways of seeing things. You Tube is convenient, but it’s not the end-all. I still have a large collection of VHS!

How do you manage to maintain yourself solid in a culture so changing in a country and capitalist power as the United States, cradle of marketing, I mean, where everything is business and even more today with the culture of entertainment?

Patience and instinct have seemed to work for me. I just did the things I was interested in doing, my own thing. Maybe this is the heart of the matter. Artists who are busy creating their own work. Business is the reason Hollywood films are less interesting these days. I think the last time there was a healthy ratio of business and art was the golden age of the 1970’s (cinema), where art and commerce intersected. It’s not the same world now in the least, however this is certainly one model to look at. But then again, I have never really worked “In Hollywood” outside of the geographical location. I never would claim to “work in the business”, as I was always outside of it.

Knowing your personal work history, the trajectory with rock history heavyweights, hardcore-punk pioneers, alternative rock, etc. How did you earn your place, to transcend your work in the passage of time, Survive and stay active with your ethics intact?

I don’t know about how I fit into all of that, I never really concerned myself with that. I just stuck to it. I did my work, did the things I was interested in doing, and carried on.

That said. No one really cared about the underground in the US in the 1980’s at the time. The mainstream could have cared less. It was a very real and organic thing because of that. Things clearly got strange in the 1990’s, when suddenly this stuff that was going on beneath the surface and cracks in the 80’s, became such a thing. But so it goes…

Our current president profile is very similar to Trump in terms of crude neoliberalist policies, responding to corporate interests and entities that go beyond the governments like the IMF, etc. Are you aware of the situation in the country, and South America?

Somewhat, but by no means am I an expert. I am very unhappy with the fact that a total asshole is the figurehead for my country at the present time. I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone less qualified to be in that position in my lifetime. It is scary. It feels like the world is laughing at us.

Being part and survivor of the Punk-Hardcore scene in Los Angeles, a boy who started filming in an autodidact manner with an urgency to capture what was happening in his city, his group of friends, favorite bands, context, etc. Do you see something similar happening in California today?

There is a lot of music going on currently in Los Angeles, and I do see a younger generation being clearly impacted and influenced by so much of this music and culture. Some bands have the sound and attitude down pat. Check out The Side Eyes. I am not really up on all of it, I just don’t have the tenacity to get out there and check bands out like I used to. That said, I still do see a fair share of live music. But really, this is such a different world… Comparisons are not really fair, or even that interesting. But I will say the music here is thriving right now.

It were Ronald Reagan’s years, against whose conservative policies teenagers rebelled, the counterculture gave beautiful gems such as punk, hardcore, fanzines, DIY culture, and a long etc. that many young people inherited in subsequent generations. Do you think there is a musical scene today that is worth documenting for its spirit and ethics?

While it’s true that Reagan helped spread Hardcore across the continental United States by default, I heard rumblings around the time of the latest election that this Orange Buffoon was supposedly going to make punk rock great again, or some such nonsense. I’d rather not have to deal with this on any level. It’s not worth it, and it’s not going to make anything great.

You came to the country in 2005 under the festival Bafici in its seventh edition … What memories do you have of that visit?

I really enjoyed myself. I would have never imagined screening something like “The Slog Movie” for an international audience, so many years after it was made. I was very pleased and surprised with the audience reaction to my films. The Lovedolls films especially seemed to go over well, I returned again to BAFICI in 2008.

How does it feel to be part of an entire artistic-musical scene, of a generation that managed to reflect a cultural brake in your country? Did it get to be a burden? Do you think about it?

I don’t think of my work in relation to someone else’s. It was interesting watching the culture in the 1990’s, and all that happened there. But now, all of that is so far away in the past. It’s almost like it never happened, in a sense.

With a brief appearence of Babes in Toyland and a little bit more of protagonism of Kim Gordon at The Year Punk Broke (that appears more in the sequel “The Blue Scale”). How was it to see a woman in a band between so many men? Do you remember how the audience behaved? How do you see Kim Gordon’s rock influence in the girls of today?

Well, Kim definitely is a huge influence on me. But the music I know and love, women have always been directly involved. I myself (as a musician) have been in bands with girls. And girls invented punk rock, so…

 

______________
21 of Dave Markey’s 28 films

______________
The Slog Movie (1982)
‘The original version of the 1982 Los Angeles hardcore punk scene document by Dave Markey, shot on Super-8 film for We Got Power Films. Filmed over the span of a year or so (beginning in June 1981), The Slog Movie captures many a So Cal hardcore historical moment including Henry Rollins’ first show with Black Flag; West Hollywood Sheriff’s busting up another night at Oki-Dogs; Circle Jerks and Wasted Youth at the Whisky, Red Cross (before they became Redd Kross) and Sin 34 live on the Santa Monica Pier; TSOL, The Cheifs (intentionally misspelled), Fear and Circle One (featuring the late John Macias) all shot at Bards Apollo. Also includes homespun sketch comedy and a commercial for the original Black Flag / Ray Pettibon skateboard.’ — WGTP

the entirety

 

_______________
Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (1984)
‘In the mid-1980′s Dave Markey and his WE GOT POWER crew were an unstoppable force in the Los Angeles underground scene. Armed with a Super-8 camera, together with the brothers MacDonald and their band Redd Kross Markey made what can only be described as a monument to the rough and tumble lifestyle that the genre embodied – DESPERATE TEENAGE LOVEDOLLS. A fiery tale of the meteoric rise of a group of all girl shredders known as The Lovedolls and, of course, their subsequent plummet back to the unforgiving streets. All told at a breakneck speed and accompanied by a fistful of hits for a soundtrack.

‘When Kitty Carryall and Bunny Tremelo decide to comb the mean streets of LA looking for a drummer to complete the line up of their band The Lovedolls, they have no idea what’s in store. With their pal Alexandria busting out of a mental institution to join their ranks, the girls think they have it made. But trouble strikes in the form of none other than Kitty’s mom when she comes looking for her dear lost daughter. Ms. Carryall has her own run in with a gang of street toughs and is quickly dispatched with by one Patch Kelly who will become their third member. Trouble rears it’s ugly head once again when sleazeball mogul Johnny Tramaine signs the girls and they learn the true price of fame.’ — Spectacle

the entirety

 

______________
Lovedolls Superstar (1986)
‘Not two years later, Markey and company were back in action and managed to outdo themselves in nearly every area with the follow up LOVEDOLLS SUPERSTAR. Bigger gigs, higher stakes, hotter tunes, cults, assassinations, and more. Rising from the their own ashes like a filthy gutter pheonix, The Lovedolls return! Patch Kelly has turned Patch Christ and together with her acid-casualty followers she rescues Kitty Carryall from a boozers life of on the street. Teaming up with Alexandria Axethrasher they reform and begin their climb back to the top. But the obstacles start mounting all around them. Relatives of enemies previously squashed come out of the woodwork to settle the score. Be on the look out for appearances from Jello Biafra and Sky Saxon, too!’ — Spectacle

the entirety

 

_______________
Macaroni and Me (1988)
‘Short film from 1988, originally created for a concert introduction, showcasing Los Angeles rock band Redd Kross. The title is in reference to the 1988 film “Mac And Me”. Features cameos from Ann Magnuson & Jennifer Schwartz.’ — DM

the entirety

 

______________
w/ Raymond Pettibon Citizen Tania (1989)
‘Raymond Pettibon and David Markey collaborated on this 1989 shot on video feature film. Ray’s version of Patty (or Tania) portrays her as a brat who welcomes her induction into the SLA whole heartedly. Cast includes Shannon Smith, Pat Smear, Dave Markey, Jennifer Schwartz, Joe Cole, Dez Cadena, & Tuesday Deneuve.’ — DM

Excerpt

 

_____________
Sonic Youth ‘My Friend Goo’ (1991)
From the album Goo

the entirety

 

_____________
Reality 86’d (1991)
‘While Black Flag has yet to see the full-scale documentary treatment, too much bad blood I expect, David Markey from Painted Wille did make a documentary on the band’s final tour called Reality 86’ed. While it’s far and away my least favourite phase in the the band’s seven year career, it’s a fascinating document for sure. The documentary has never been officially released and Mr. Ginn frequently has it pulled down.’ — Music Ruined My Life

the entirety

 

_______________
Sonic Youth ‘Mildred Pierce’ (1991)
‘One of the first songs Sonic Youth ever wrote. In fact, it’s in standard tuning. Lee mentions it in a 1984 Forced Exposure interview: “We’ve got other songs, like ‘Mildred Pierce,’ that could be strictly commercial.” Thurston’s scream on the LP version is actually lifted directly from the original demo (released on the “Goo Demos” CD). Name taken from the Joan Crawford film “Mildred Pierce”. Performed live in August 1990 specifically for the Dave Markey directed video. Sophia Coppola also appears.’ — SY

the entirety

 

______________
Sonic Youth ‘Cinderella’s Big Score’ (1991)
‘This song and video is the true dialogue between Kim Gordon and her little brother who disappeared for many years and was living on the streets.’ — Juan Fifarek

the entirety

 

______________
1991: The Year Punk Broke (1992)
‘Once in a while, there is a documentary that manages to capture a special moment, just before a great cultural revolution. David Markeys 1991: THE YEAR PUNK BROKE is one of them! A raw, off-the-cuff, 8mm recording of a euphoric tour of European summer festivals (including Pukkelpop) by Sonic Youth. And in their wake, the guitar violence of support bands, like Dinosaur Jr, Mudhoney, Babes In Toyland and the then-unknown Nirvana. Three months later, Kurt Cobain and his buddies let NEVERMIND loose on the general public, at which point “grunge” conquered the music scene.

‘Headliner Sonic Youth dominated the on-stage component (it was the time of their most grungy album Dirty), while Nirvana still swaggered around without the immense pressure that would destroy them in three short years. Off-stage, director Markey paints a truthful picture of boredom, drink, nonsense and one-liners, such as OUR AUDIENCE IS EXPANDING; MY MIND IS TURNING INTO A FINE GELATINOUS BALL OF PEPPER.’ — Hendra Sihombing

the entirety

 

_______________
Grunge Pedal (1993)
‘Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Julie Kafritz and Mark Ibold try out a new effects box called “The Grunge Pedal” and make all sorts of knowing faces then make sarcastic comments about it. They also do some other stuff.’ — The Essayist

the entirety

 

_____________
w/ Spike Jonze, Lance Bangs, Steve Paine, Angus Wall Sonic Youth ‘The Diamond Sea’ (1995)
‘This is one of those songs that you can just turn out the lights, lay down and close your eyes and just let your mind drift away.’ — GmJunky87

the entirety

 

______________
Meat Puppets ‘Scum’ (1995)
‘Music video directed by David Markey from the Meat Puppets underrated 1995 album “No Joke”.’ — DM

the entirety

 

______________
Blast off! (1997)
‘Travel the USA with Osaka Japan’s beloved Shonen Knife, and see the sights through their eyes and hear the band at their best. Dave Markey hits the road with the band on their 1997 US tour and documents an amazing assortment of concerts, record in-stores, plus tons of behind the scenes footage. Join Naoko Yamano, her sister Atsuko Yamano, and Michie Nakatani on stage and off, performing “Explosion”,”Wind Your Spring”, “E.S.P.”, “Fruits & Vegetables”, “Frogphobia”, “Buddha’s Face”, “Lazybone” & more. Watch them win over American fans, and play to the biggest audiences of their career stateside.’ — WGTP

the entirety

 

______________
(This Is Known as) The Blues Scale (2004)
‘While the doc 1991: The Year Punk Broke originally saw limited release in 1992, legal disputes with Nirvana’s estate kept the film from making its way onto DVD – that is until 2011, when Universal coincided the release with Nevermind’s 20th anniversary. Eyeing its eventual reissue, Markey began to assemble a postscript companion piece made up of unused outtakes and other footage from the documentary, titled (This is Known as) The Blues Scale. The name originated from a statement that Cobain yelled to Markey while ripping through a guitar solo on stage.

‘Since it is all b-side material, the film presents a unique look at another side of the tour – more-so how these performers were ‘performing’ offstage. There are a few live cuts, but since they were originally excluded from the opus concert doc, it’s more focused on the hijinks and personalities of the tour. And in that sense, Blues Scale is an even more raw and honest look into 90’s rock history. Like, for instance, there’s a story about how Nirvana got kicked off MCA after Kim Gordon wrote “Fuck You” on a card the label left in their dressing room. Or that Kurt Cobain thought up a gimmick that involved him hanging himself onstage. There are also scenes with Sonic Youth at an amusement park, a giddy Cobain playing spin the bottle, Thurston Moore’s take on emocore (“Mick Jagger is the king of emocore”), and cameos by Courtney Love, J. Mascis, Epic Soundtracks, and longtime Black Flag roadie, Joe Cole.’ — Dangerous Minds

the entirety

 

______________
Stoner Park (2006)
‘Short film by David Markey from the DVD “Cut Shorts”. Satan Teens versus the mellow Zeppelin Stoners in a battle to the finish. Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?’ — DM

the entirety

 

_______________
The Reinactors (2008)
‘Director David Markey’s entry into the 2008 International Film Festival of Rotterdam, “The Reinactors” follows the lives of individuals who perform as film characters on Hollywood Boulevard. Freddy Krueger works alongside Superman, Marilyn Monroe, Shrek, Lucy Ricardo, Batman, and Borat. Competing Chewbacca’s, Spidermen and Captain Jack Sparrow’s vie for a spot on The Walk Of Fame. These street characters have big dreams of breaking into the big-time, in the meantime they forge a living one-dollar at a time, posing for photos with tourists. These characters are literally right out of the movies, yet the unforeseen drama of the people underneath the make-up eclipses the Hollywood film icons they appropriate.’ — WGTP

the entirety

 

______________
Dinosaur Jr ‘Bug Live at the 9:30 Club’ (2012)
‘Through an online contest, six fans are selected to film Dinosaur Jr. performing “Bug” in its entirety at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, June 2011. Experience the fans’ joy as they witness a classic performance and meet their heroes face to face in an exclusive interview with the band. Under the awesome direction of Dave Markey (The Year Punk Broke), “In the Hands of the Fans” brings the fans closer to the band and the music closer to you. Includes bonus footage of Henry Rollins speaking candidly to Markey about the the band, and interviewing them on stage before the show.’ — inthehandsofthefans

Trailer

 

_______________
Circle Jerks – My Career as a Jerk (2014)
‘Dave Markey of We Got Power films/zine has dusted off his camera to make this documentary and he did an excellent job with it. The film tells the entire history of the Circle Jerks from its inception and what the band members were doing leading up to the band forming, right up until what the status (or lack of status) of the band is now. This documentary is told first hand through current interviews with almost all the key surviving members that have ever played in the band. Band members that were interviewed were Keith Morris, Greg Hetson, Lucky Lehrer, Earl Liberty, and Zander Schloss. Keith, Greg and Lucky were 3/4 of the original band (the fourth being Roger Rogerson who died of a drug overdose many years ago), Earl played bass with the band for a couple of years after Roger left the band and Zander replaced Earl when he left and has been the bass player of the band ever since (and was a co-star of the legendary movie, Repo Man). In addition to the band member interviews there are interviews with people from other bands as well as Lisa Fancher who owns Frontier Records which was the label that put out the first (and best) Circle Jerks album, Group Sex.

‘The movie goes in chronological order telling the story of the band. They go through the bands formation, the history the members had with other bands before starting this one, the heat they got from their peers for “stealing” parts of songs, recording their various albums and playing shows and touring. They give great detail the how and why various band members left the band, the substance abuse problems some members had, and they even are quite honest about what did and didn’t work in the band and their various recordings. Interspersed with the interview footage is a ton of live footage from over the years including some really old stuff from the early years which was pretty amazing to see considering how expensive and uncommon video cameras were back then. Some of the footage is of questionable quality and some of it is surprisingly good.’ — Punk Vinyl

Trailer

the entirety

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Shane Christmass, Hi, Shane. Yep, I sure did. No, I haven’t read ‘Something Gross’. I’ll find it, thanks. ** G, Ha ha, no, but I did declare his toilet piece to be too ubiquitous for my blog, I guess. Whew, relieved that you like ‘Gone’. That was a close one, ha ha. Oh, is my Gysin piece not in ‘Smothered in Hugs’, I forget? I just checked, and it doesn’t seem to be online. Oh, well. Thanks about the post. My weekend was much less eventful than ‘Gone’, ha ha (for the third time, yikes). xo. ** maggie siebert, Aw, that’s so nice of you to say. Well, you wrote a fantastic book, and I’m just bright enough to recognise that, I guess. No, I was super honored to see that you mentioned me in that interview. Thank you. Yes, see/meet you in NYC whenever that time comes very happily. Love back. ** Misanthrope, Thanks. That is a fine, fine feeling, for sure. Yeah, so awful about Chris. Hard to know what to say. ** Bill, I think they are relying on you, Bill, so you had better figure that out. Yes, about Chris, very very sad. ** JM, I loved your piece in SCAB, and very excited for the totality. Great lit is really erupting, yeah. Well, I loved ‘Bonding’, like the post said. Oh, man, so great that your novel is imminent. Late this year brings such an avalanche of exciting books it’s almost unbelievable. Hooray, pal! Love, Dennis. ** chris dankland, Howdy, Chris, so lovely to see you! Thanks about the podcast. Paul is a wonderful host and conversationalist and dude. Yes, about the publishing talk. I think increasingly fewer writers are dead set on major publishers, but that’s been the predetermined goal for so long that it’s not surprising it has to be unlearned or whatever. I think your and Jennifer’s answer to your question is basically right, although presses have always needed to survive financially so I’m not sure why they’ve gotten more cutthroat about that. But then again presses didn’t used to be corporations, did they? It wasn’t that long ago that even a corporate owned place like Harper Perennial was publishing oddballs like me fully knowing I wouldn’t make them rich and au contraire. I don’t know. Anyway, I like your guess. I don’t think the really big publishers stick with non-selling but critically acclaimed writers anymore. That’s really different from the days when a publisher would stick with an author either for the prestige or because some big wig there personally loved the writer’s work. I can think of two recent writers whose first novels were critically acclaimed and buzzed about, etc. but who were dropped by their major publishers afterwards anyway due to said books having not brought in sufficient buckage. Not sure about the second edition question. The trend is towards print on demand so, theoretically, books wouldn’t go out of print. Xray publishing books is an exciting idea, obviously. Cool! I hope you like ‘I Wished’, and thanks a whole lot of coming in here, my friend. All the very best. ** Dalton, Hi, Dalton! Ugh, yeah, hopefully yours will fade like mine did, although you might have to skip hot, spicy food eternally or something. Of course your interests sound like they match mine. Which, naturally, I applaud. Such tastes have served me very well, at least. That’s very cool that you’re interested in writing novels. It’s a good time to be a daring novelist. And totally understood about not feeling right talking about it. I’m not either, actually, it’s just that once you start getting published, you’re kind of forced once in a while to figure out an acceptable (to you) degree and style of doing that. I’ve generally found that the fear of sounding like your influences is mostly just a fear. That’s the weird thing: it’s hard to recognise your own voice’s distinctiveness. One good thing about getting published is that others clue you in about that. Anyway, I would say try not to worry about that. If you’re excited and inspired by what you’re writing, it’ll be original at least in some way. Otherwise, you wouldn’t get such a charge out of writing. I think that’s how you know. I look forward to reading your work at whatever point that becomes possible. I’m happy you found this place. Please do hang out and talk whenever you like. Great week’s start to you. ** Dominik, Hi!!! My pleasure. I loved Josiah’s piece, and I liked the other one a lottoo. Kudos and thanks galore! I ended up walking to the health food store, and, of course, it was pleasant. I think my malaise was a quickie. You’re writing! Ooh! That’s excellent news! Are you still? Your love was both canny and kindness incarnate. Your love’s friendly competitor selling very realistic looking and wildly popular gigantic gravestone costumes that fit over tall buildings and skyscrapers, G. ** James, Hi, man. Thank you for the good vibes. My pleasure on the successful love I showed to those oh so worthy books. Thanks about the podcast. Paul’s great, yeah. I’m a total fan/addict of his podcast. I think there are some amazing writers published by major presses, but I guess they do seem like the exceptions. Expat is super exciting, that’s for sure. Thrilled to be among their beneficiaries. Take care, pal. ** jamie, Ah, you saw that Akerman film. And in Brussels itself even maybe? It is a real drag getting all the great US-born books over here. I’m lucky because publishers and writers sometimes kindly send me them or pdfs of them, but there are still lots I have to order and then hope make it through the eccentric, let’s say, French postal system. My weekend was nice, good weather, talked to friends, made plans, did my biweekly Zoom bookclub thing, etc. Yours sounds lovely and lively, a combination that is increasingly realistic! I’m pretty sure the Eno demos are real. I remember reading an interview with Verlaine where he talked about how unsatisfactory they were, so I assume those bootlegged recordings are the real deal, but of course I don’t know. And may your Monday be perfection-transcending, man. Love, me. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, B. Yeah, tell me about it. Hey, I’m guessing your second jab was a flying colors kind of experience, yes? ** T, Hi, T, good to see you! My blog so appreciates the poetry it inspired in you. As do I, natch. Congrats on finishing the uni course. What now? Apart from hanging out here, I mean, I hope. Thank you for the kind words about Chris. Yeah, it’s tough, as it would have to be. That said, Happy Monday to you! ** Jeff J, Hi, Jeff, really great to see you! Thanks about Chris. Oh, man, yeah, ongoing best hopes and hugs about the stuff with your dad. The print we saw of the Akerman wasn’t new, but it wasn’t too bad. A little faded, but almost charmingly so. I don’t think think it’s becoming more available. It was a fairly thorough retrospective, and it got shown for that reason, I think. It was a real find, though. Are you writing? What’s going on? ** Steve Erickson, Hi. At FSG? I don’t know. The Originals series was what was exciting to me about FSG’s goings on, and that’s because of Jeremy Davies’s editorship, but they ‘let him go’, so that can’t be a good sign. I’m not sure which Bing films are playing. Zac knows. I’m planning to see the related exhibition and find out there. People seem to be returning to movie theatres in pretty big numbers here, from what I’ve seen. No real fear of them apparently. ** Paul Curran, Thanks, Paul. Amazing indie lit windfall going on, for sure. Are you writing on your tome? Ah, you know about the Chris circumstances. Yeah, sad is definitely one word for it. Take care, pal. ** Brian, Hi, Brian. Cool, glad the book array intrigued. ‘Jeanne Dielman’ is a good place to start with Akerman. Her work’s so great, and you’ll be in for a treat when you dive in. No weekend booty for me either, if that helps, ha ha. I haven’t seen ‘8½’ in years. I can believe that your assessment is sensible. I guess I never expect a whole lot of depth from Fellini. When he does go deep, it tends to get a bit sentimental for me. ‘Satyricon’ is by far my favorite. Thank you about ‘Frisk’. Well, yeah, I’m long since accustomed to people having content-blinded, misconstruing responses to my books. I don’t like it, but I’m powerless to change that. Thank you for saying that, man. My weekend was pleasant but no big treasure-filled whoop, I guess. This week could get busier and better, or it’s possible. Here’s me waving the chequered flag in hopes yours will zoom into existence. ** Okay. Today I present to you the films and videos the often post-punk and grunge associated filmmaker Dave Markey. Have fun. Fun is up there if you want it. See you tomorrow.