Rag Mag 14

Hey Punk, are you on the rag? May is finally here and really appreciating Spring this year. Even if the world is scary right now, there’s still the simple joys of life like having a nice drink with friends outside in the sun on a beautiful day. Those moments are what I’m fighting for in the first place. Keep sending in events, flyers, art, columns, etc. We love seeing new stuff coming in. Let’s kick this week off with another great issue featuring new art from Mr. Mittens, Film Freak with Coco A Go-Go, Wasteland Chick reviews The Nubs - Dog, and Creature’s Double Feature.

Art by Mr. Mittens

Happy spring film freaks!

Hope everyone is surviving out there. This week we’re going back to some of my Brooklyn days at Outpost lounge ( RIP). Casey and I lived and worked there together ( we love our quality time) It was down the street from our apartment. The bar / cafe felt like its own universe. I miss it a lot, but am lucky I still keep in touch with everyone.

Matty and Ariana , Outpost Lounge , Brooklyn, NY , 2011 , 35mm

I love this pic a lot because it was such a fun night. I was moving from Brooklyn and about to go on a big US tour with Gone Bad and we had a going away party at Outpost . Outpost is where I worked while living in Brooklyn and its still one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever had. Colin and Gary the owners made us all feel like family and supported / encouraged us all to pursue whatever art and dreams we had. This particular night we closed the bar and made a makeshift karaoke machine with a projector and laptop. I wish I could remember what Matty and Arianna were singing in this. I don't know why I keep picturing boyz 2 men or bone thugs but that could be wrong. It was a beautiful night so between songs we’d all spill out to the backyard so everyone could smoke.

Gary and Colin , Outpost Lounge, Brooklyn , NY , 2011, 35mm

This is Gary and Colin who I worked for at Outpost. Still hands down some of my favorite people to work for. They lived above the bar which probably was convenient and a nightmare ha. This photo is from the same night I was describing above. Outpost had a beautiful backyard , a treasure in the city. It was one of my favorite places to sit and hang out. One time I was outback having a coffee before I started my shift and Colin started calling me. I picked up and he’s like “look up to my window” so I did just to see his ass cheeks pressed against it. He also one time pretended to fall down the stairs and I raced to the basement to see if he was okay and he was just just mooning me from the bottom of the stairs. I LOVE THESE GUYS.

Caitie and Matty’s arm , Outpost , Brooklyn , NY, 2011 , 35MM

This is another one from that same going away night. I always loved Caitie’s expression but how the background looks like its spinning. As you can see we’re outside which means everyones getting some air between karaoke songs.

Emily G. In my apartment , Brooklyn, NY , 2011 , 35mm

This is my girl Emily G. We’ve been friends since Mass Art days. We also played in a band called GONE BAD together . You can see my cat Dee Dee poking out in the background . Dee Dee was so sweet and snuggly. I’m not sure what we were doing but It looks like we got takeout so I hope it was good. I lived a short bike ride away from her at this time so we were always at each others places. I even picked up shifts at her job with her sometimes. How did she not get sick of me ha.

The glory of the flea market photo by Creature

Every weekend this Spring has been rainy meaning only one thing, NO FLEA MARKET. Finally, we were able to hit our first one of the year! Sunday morning was sunny and warm and me and Wasteland Chick woke up early and hit the Seekonk Flea Market. Always end up finding something here every weekend until it gets too hot to go in July. While Wasteland Chick was off looking for survival gear, I dug around for records, comics, books, and “cool stuff”. Flea market was pretty hopping and everyone was in a good mood. My usual vendors weren’t there yet and more tools/household stuff than usual from the one-off vendors. Wasteland Chick ended up finding some FNAF and Sailor Moon figurines and yr ol’ pal Creature scored some dirt cheap pulp paperbacks and a platter pak full of motown soul as well as couple random 45s including the Boys Life - Two Doors Down.

I first heard this 1981 Malden, MA powerpop group on one of the Teenline CDRs on Chuck Warner’s amazing Hyped to Death label (and the messthetics/homework/hyped to death comps too!, so much good music on those comps). Solid powerpop with a downer/post-punk vibe on Two Doors Down. Cool record and always exciting to find anything punk related in the wild.

After I bought the Boys Life 45, I noticed the guy was also selling pulp paperbacks. Most were in rough shape, but I found several Mike Shane books by Brett Halliday and a Thongor book from Lin Carter’s series. I always enjoy old pulp fiction crime and detective paperbacks. I always liked the Mike Shane series about a red-headed private detective in Miami Beach who keeps getting set for murder every book when all he wants to do is sit down and drink Cognac alone. The seller was telling me that another guy had bought a stack as well because he liked to paint the covers. Hope I run into that guy because I would love to see his paintings.

Records of the week are hard for your pal Creature this week because my stylus broke this morning and that means no Sunday punk listening party. Boo. So up first is what we listened to on family game night, a great comp of Algerian proto-Rai music on Sublime Frequencies called “1970’s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground”. This is a collection of underground 45 from the early 70s showing the formation of Rai music as a protest against government censorship.

Up next is a record I still haven’t grabbed a copy of yet, but without a record player I stumbled onto the album Music to Guts LP by Judy and the Jerks. Love the snotty vocals and this album is so fucking fast. Makes me want to smash shit, which what more can you really ask of a punk/hardcore record? California is a sick song and then comes “I Lost My Feet”.

Soul song of the week is the banger Want Ads by Honey Cone. Just an all-timer. When they get to the extra extra line, Mr. Mittens always makes a little fist. So good.

Wasteland Chick

Salutations, fellow Wasteland Chicks. Welcome back to issue 14. Or 15, I’ve lost count. School’s almost out and my brain is slowly frying. Today we’ll be reviewing a favorite of mine: “Dog” by the Nubs. Ah, this is a vibe. It always makes me think of Spots from The Isle of Dogs, one of my favorite movies, and rain-soaked pavement for some reason. Anyways, let’s start with the rhythm and melody, which I give a 8.6 out of ten. It’s pretty vibe-able and cool, with a kind of beeping alarm beat under it which is interesting. I especially like the chorus parts where the guitarist just kind of goes to town on the fuzz, giving a funny and upbeat feel to the song. Next we have the lyrics, which I give a 9 out of ten. They’re funky, cool, and fun, describing how the singer identifies as a dog. I like the chorus lyrics especially, since they are very sing-along-in-your-car-able, and cool, and I really like the lyric of “They don’t know what causes me to say bow-wow,” which is just addictive to the ears. Perfection. For the overall review, I give this song a 9.7 out of ten; The rhythm and melody are synth-style ear candy, the lyrics are sing-along-able, and cool with an awesome chorus. Also, this Wasteland Chick’s birthday is in 5 days, so maybe next issue you might see one of W.C. 's classic picks! Hopefully there’ll be no need to snap anybody in the following months, fellow Wasteland Chick’s. Grab your thunder sticks and rev’ up. Bye!

Sincerely, Wasteland Chick. (Don’t forget to join the club!!!)

That’s it for Rag Mag this week punks. Check out the events below and hope to see you there.