--JENNIFER MAERZ
What's happened to the underground scene? Is it too deep to find? Do the cliques in every booking town control the crowds? Artists like JESUS LIZARD, BIG BLACK, BLONDIE, RICHARD HELL, SONIC YOUTH, AND MUDHONEY show proof of underground movements in the past. So what's wrong with Blink 182 and the Green Days of today? Everything! They're proof that dinosaurs are still at the helm of most big-label record companies. They're on a quest for the next big thing and of course it doesn't matter if it's good, it just matters if it sells. Why is our underground scene at a loss in the Northwest? Is it the people, or is it who controls what the people see?
From your angle of this situation, you'd think we were mad and don't get a lot of shows in the Northwest. Nope, our band does just fine, but I know how it is when you need that first chance to shine. If the powers that be reject your sounds in this region, just become friends with them, then they'll let you play at their club. Then this is where you come out as a G. G. Allin tribute band and fuck up everything in the club (a G. G. Allin tribute band.... This could be a great idea for the Northwest music scene). Start your own scene. Forget the bookers whose egos blow their heads around this town. If it weren't for our sounds, they'd be pushing some carts downtown looking for somewhere to pee. No one can control music or what people want to listen to. It's the power of music. It will outlast your friends, your pets, and hopefully this planet. So when they say, "Call next week," go punch out their teeth, 'cause they're robbing us of a scene that we so badly need. TOM BARRETT (Singer/Guitarist for Neb!, Proprietor of I'll Sue Ya If Ya Use It Music!)
Look for Neb!'s demo CD Revo at Sonic Boom or Cellophane Square. New full-length due out in June.