Issue 2.5 interview with Virgil Dickerson.

Before we had headed out to Denver back in September for Suburban Home Record's 14 Anniversary, we put together a "Half Issue" of Lubricated that was all things good and great Suburban Home. We asked Virgil a few questions to include in the zine and our good pal, Kalvin Who Floats on Moonbeams created a killer Play Nice monster drawing on a photograph of Virgil.

Support one of the greatest labels ever...
www.suburbanhomerecords.com
Check out more drawings by Play Nice at...
www.myspace.com/istoletheinternet

Lubricated Zine: How did SHR get started (when and where)?
Virgil Dickerson: I was going to college at the University of Colorado at Boulder as a freshman in 1993. My new friends in the dorms turned me onto Punk Rock, Ska, and Indie Rock and it blew my mind. Up until that point, I was all about Hip Hop and R&B. I started giong to shows, buying records like crazy, and just jumping head first into independent music. This love of my local music scene inspired me to start Suburban Home September of 1995 which began as a fanzine. About a year later, we started releasing records.

LZ: What was the initial impulse that pushed you in the direction of starting your own label?
VD: When the label bean in the mid 90's, I only had ears for punk rock and pop-punk so nearly every release we put out fell under those 2 categories. It wasn't til I heard "hobos demos" by Drag the River that I realized there was Country music out there that didn't suck. Drag the River opened my world to a lot of other bands and are a huge influence in the Americana direction of the label. And Drag the River have been instrumental in many of the bands we have put out like Two Cow Garage, Tim Barry, Joey Cape, and even Ninja Gun who contacted us because they had played some shows with Drag the River. We still love Punk Rock and Indie Rock, but Americana/Alt-Country has been a big focus of ours.

LZ: What has been the most rewarding thing about SHR/VC?
VD: Going to a show with one of our bands, looking around and seeing everyone singing along, getting drunk, and having a blast. Getting the occasional letter from a supporter of Suburban Home saying they love what we do.

LZ: What is your earliest musical memory?
VD: I remember an REO Speedwagon cassette that was given to me as a kid that I wore out. I remember an HBO special with Olivia Newton John on her "Lets Get Physical Tour" that I taped onto cassette. And I remember "Mr Telephone Man" by New Edition bumping out a boombox somewhere.

LZ: How many friends through music do you have?
VD: I have no idea, but I feel confident that the number is in the thousands. I talk to people all over the world, on our message board, via email, and am sure I could travel the world and find a place to stay wherever I go.

LZ: What are some bands/musicians you would want to sign if they were still around?
VD: Lifter Puller (Craig Finn's band before Hold Steady), Slobberbone (who I heard just played a show in Chicago), The Snake the Cross the Crown, I Can Lick any Son of a Bitch In Town, The Beatles, Rhythm Collision, Jawbreaker.

LZ; How would you define success for yourself?
VD: I measure success as others should by happiness and by having fun. I can say that Suburban Home isn't the most successful business around, but we have a really good time and love what we do. By that measure, I like to think that I am successful.

On the road with the Revival Tour.

Here are just a few of the many snaps that I took on the Northern California leg of Revival Tour in November. So many memories were made, drinks were drank, songs were sung, new friends united, old friends re-united, and miles traveled Thanks to the Revival Tour for taking me in for a couple of days and thanks for doing what y'all do so well. I have been revived!

Daisy Mae Anderson of the Anderson Family Bluegrass Band also gets credit for some of these photos. I handed her the camera and told her, "The number one rule of photography is to always wear the camera around your neck. The rest is up to you." Daisy is 8 years old and pays the dobro in her family band of of 6. She is an incredible little girl with an old soul.

http://www.therevivaltour.com

Enjoy the snapshots.

Cheers friends,
Vanessa Jean

Possessed By Paul James, Digger Barnes, Chuck Ragan, Ethan and Mark Anderson, and Frank Turner at The Blank Club, San Jose.
Possessed By Paul James hitting the streets in San Francisco.
Jim Ward and Daisy Anderson backstage at Slim's, San Francisco.
Chuck and Jill Ragan backstage at Slim's, San Francisco.
The Revival Tour gang at Slim's, San Francisco

Lubricated Zine and Possessed By Paul James

Konrad Wert of Possessed By Paul James and I were fortunate to have been able to slip away from soundcheck and the hustle and bustle of Revival Tour for a bit to sit down and talk shop backstage at Slim's up in good ol' San Francisco. Before our interview started, Konrad was kind enough to take a request of mine and sing a song for Lubricated.

Lubricated's good pal, Jason Smith of Blackwater Production (who is an amazing film maker whom you may recognize from the Revival Tour documentary, Tim Barry's new video, "Thing of the Past", ect..) hooked me up with a killer set-up for my first very professional interview AND music video. Thanks buddy!

And a huge thanks to Konrad for sitting down with us to do this interview. What a treat it was to have you in the flesh and to spend some time with ya on the road. Good times.

*** You'll be able to check our interview with Possessed By Paul James in the upcoming Issue Three of Lubricated! ***

Cheers,
Vanessa jean

Enjoy Possessed By Paul James singing, "Take Off Your Mask"

City Slicker Coconuts by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano

City Slicker Coconut #5


This is one in a series of short films I have been making about the simple things day to day in Chicago. This one is called "Laundry Mat". It's about a laundry mat.

City Slicker Coconuts by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano

City Slicker Coconut #4


There's nothing wrong with riding bicycles. I think it's great that folks want to get outdoors, exercise and what not.

R.I.P. Jon "Baggage" Pettis

Friday morning we received the awful news that our dear friend Jon Pettis, aka "Baggage", passed away. We met Baggage through our Austin, Texas bastard family of friends and musicians. Baggage played in the insanely talented band, Bankrupt and the Borrowers. Baggage left us before his time was up... but he has left us with fond memories and beautiful music.

We miss you.
We're sorry.
We love you.



Please help Baggage's fiancee, family and friends who lost too much in the fire. Here is the band's official statement...

Bankrupt and the Borrowers official statement:
"As you may or may not know we lost one of our band-mates, Jon Pettis, early Friday morning due to smoke inhalation from a freak electrical fire in his home. His Fiancee along with his good friends and roommates lost everything they owned. We are raising money to get everybody who was displaced back on their feet. At the link below you can make a credit card contribution. If you are in Austin, you can swing by the "Bankrupt House" and make a donation with Cadge. If you want to send a check, send us a message and we will give you the correct address. Remember everything is appreciated and anything helps. Thank you for all the thoughts, love and support we have received."

John Pettis Benefit - Link to Benefit: http://bankruptandtheborrowers.com/c.php?p=349
http://www.myspace.com/bankruptandtheborrowers
http://www.myspace.com/jonpettis

And as Baggage always said, "never go to bed angry"....

two cow garage = no bullshit

we've been fortunate to be able to call many of our favorite bands and musicians our friends, and we especially love it when our friends from columbus, ohio come through town. two cow garage is hands down an amazing band composed up of some truly amazing guys. one word is prominent when talking about the two cow boys... integrity. on and off stage they are simply and completly stand-up men.

the boys just came through san francisco this past weekend on their suburban home tour. shane and micah had a one-off from the rest of the tour and i picked them up from the airport before they re-untied with the van for their show at thee parkside. we had several hours to kill and i got to play tour guide as we explored the streets of haight ashbury. of course we hit up amoeba records. shane bought me the ultimate cassette tape for a buck... country meets the nfl circa 1996. no shit. i'm talking brett farve and waylon jennings singing a duet together. horribly awesome. we grubbed down at a hippie cafe and micah even ate vegetables with his dinner. we grabbed a cup of joe and sat on a blanket in the panhandle park and watched the san francisco fog roll in as we discussed the title of one my favorite books, "live for a living" that i lent the two boys. we piled back in my car and headed across town to thee parkside for sound check and to meet up with the van.

per usual, they ripped it up on stage. they always play with such ferocity and soul that you would have to be a dead fish not to have your blood pumping and your feet tapping. i remember a "drunken clarity" of a conversation i had with shane down in l.a. last spring. i was sharing with him how much i appreciated their intensity on stage and how they perform the same in front of a crowd of 10 or 100, and that unfortunately seems more and more rare these days with bands. shane went on to explain how they place a lot of value on what they bring to the stage. if you are going to play, play hard. no bullshit. hence the inspiration for their song, "mediocre". and yet again, those boys played and sang their hearts out in the city by the bay that night.

we're truly looking forward to having these boys back in town sooner than later. and we're also super stoked for micah's new solo record to come out later this month on suburban home records. yet again, the fine gentlemen down in l.a. at thunder clap super genius (http://vimeo.com/tcsg) filmed another fantastic artist performing another fantastic song. this time, it's micah performing, "american static". check it out, and make sure you have all of two cow's records in your collection. an absolute must.

-vanessa jean

www.twocowgarage.com
www.myspace.com/twocowgarage
www.suburbanhomerecords.com

Two Cow Garage - "American Static" from TCSG on Vimeo.

Lubricated's Second and a Half Issue + Suburban Home's 14th Birthday!!!

We are proud to annouce that we will be coming out with Lubricated's "Second and a Half" Issue a week from today in Denver in celebration of the kick-ass Suburban Home Records 14th Anniversary of doing what they do so well.

We've got an interview with Virgil, a SH list of their favorite things to do in Denver, artwork by the SH contributing artists, a sweet SH band photo montage, and some words and short stories from some of our homies.

Thanks to our good pal, Lucas Andrews from one of our favorite bands, Anchor Down for supplying us with the sweet cover art!

Patrick, myself, and Bardell will be doing some renegade zine making this weekend that will include over-taking some photo copy machines, folding, staples, beers, and good times.

You can pick up this special one of a kind zine when the three of us arrive to Denver. We'll be in town for the fun and festivities Thursday, September 10- Sunday, September 14. Hope to meet a lot of friends through music while in town!

See ya down the road shortly,
Vanessa Jean

rock n roll is not a crime

www.stopthewaronfun.org

"City Slicker Coconuts" by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano

Play this while you read!!



City Slicker Coconut #3

A Waft of Chicago

As of today I have lived in Chicago, Illinois for exactly one year. Twelve months of walking and riding public transit and I still don’t know where I am going. There are things about this city that I have gotten used to and a lot I never will. I’ve gotten used to all the people everywhere all the time and that I will have to wait in line to do just about anything. I have come to terms with the fact that every time I leave my house twenty dollars seems to spend itself.

All the sirens in Chicago seem to head west. Lights of all kinds are always on or flashing in a city like this. I assume there are still stars in the sky, but I haven’t seen them for months. The birds can’t tell if it’s day or night so they sing all the time.

I will never get used to the smell of piss. Every town has a smell on the scratch and sniff card of important places and locations: Denver smells like dog food and exhaust, New York smells like a touring band’s van, Chicago smells like urine.

I try not to touch anything. I am still getting over the fact that I shared a train car with a dead man: Just me and him. Other than the smell of death and the puddle of liquid crawling up and down the aisle, I thought it a bit weird that there weren’t more commuters in the car during rush hour. Usually, it is hip to hip trench coats, ipods and stressed out faces. He rocked back and forth between stops. I stopped breathing, stomach churning. At each stop the doors would open and people stepped in off the platform, smelled and gagged , looked at me then looked at the man, exited and crammed into another car. Nobody cared, because they were making really good time getting home that night. I told a worker near the stairs and the turnstiles that there might be a dead guy on the Blue Line tonight. He pulled up on his utility belt, looked down at his walkie-talkie and said, “There always is . . .”

City Slicker Coconuts by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano

My life is full of a lot of coconuts. They are ideas, people, parades, history, songs, poems, social issues, meals and pulp happenstance I can’t break open with my bare hands. They pose the questions: what were they thinking, how did they do that and who do they think they are? "City Slicker Coconuts" is a weekly search and examination through stories and instant photos of life as it happens inside and outside of my coconut.

Click on play on the player and listen to the "City Slicker Coconut" theme tune by woMANgione while you read. We all need a soundtrack!




Coconut #1

Ever try to open a coconut? I went to the grocery store and just when I thought I grabbed everything I needed for the week, I saw a pile of coconuts.

“Wow! A fresh coconut that should be swell.”

When I got home I realized that I didn’t know how to break open a coconut. I turned on the television and watched a guy on a re-run of Hawaii 5-0 whack at a coconut with a machete, pop off the top with one even swing and tilt it back for a soothing swallow of coconut milk.

“Oh, shit. That looks easy,” I said to myself, “I don’t even need to put my pants on to do something like that.”

Whoops . . . I don’t have a machete.

I went outside and grabbed a piece of the porch steps that broke off during the flexing temperatures of the Chicago pre-spring thaw.

I took the small but sharp piece of concrete and hacked at the coconut. Through all of my curses, a bloody finger and the violent scene I made in front of the neighbors (and the mail lady), I only made a couple of dents.

I gave up and went inside. While I tended to the small wound on my knuckle, I heard my neighbor walk into his apartment and slam the door. I heard his back-pack hit the floor. He started pacing around and screaming about something. I imagined that he may have been going through the same thing as me. He had his own coconuts to deal with. . .

a man and the last 2 cans in the kitchen

chicken broth and kidney beans

he doesn’t have a can opener

his bare hands and a couple of metal coconuts

he grabs his tools

he’s going to break into dinner with a hammer, screw driver and Kung Fu action grip.

11 minutes of stab and smash

it’s calm now

a pot boils

he stirs kidney beans and chicken flavored water with a plastic spork

What do ya get when you throw 9 sweaty friends into a van in California?

A fuckin' good time!!!

On the road with some of our most favorite buddies to rock this earth - In The Red (Carpinteria, CA) and Anchor Down (PDX, OR).

From San Jose to Yuba City, to Sacramento to Martinez, and finally San Francisco. Penske moving trucks and vans, farm houses and California's biggest Oak tree, sunrises and bloody marys, Walmarts and ninja shoes, Kevin Seconds and zombie painted alleys, beers all day and whore baths in sprinklers, late night drives and In 'n out Burgers, sleeping bags and snore'chestras, homemade breakfast and "East Bound And Down", to San Francisco Mission burritos and g'byes.
We had one of the best weekends with our friends and I am having one helluva time adjusting back to "normal" life.

These guys have another week and some change on the road and you should definitely check them out. Buy 'em a beer so they can sleep soundly and buy some of their merch so they can fill up their gas tank. They're also on tour with The Bastards of Young (Sacramento, CA) who bring the rock as well. Get down.

Cheers,
Vanesas Jean


7/16/2009 Portland, OR @ Ash st. Saloon
7/17/2009 Seattle, WA @ Squid and Ink
7/18/2009 Bellingham, WA @ The Ground Floor
7/19/2009 Seattle, WA @ The Bit Lounge
7/20/2009 Spokane, WA @ Cretin Hop
7/21/2009 Missoula, MT @ Palace Lounge
7/22/2009 Boise, ID @ Gusto’s
7/23/2009 Salt Lake City, UT @ Taylorsville House
7/24/2009 Colorado Springs, CO @ Triple Nickel Tavern
7/25/2009 Denver, CO @ Thrifty Stick Stage at Denver Post Underground Music Showcase

Anchor Down.

Mike Hale and Kevin Seconds.

Mike, Matt and Lubricated Zine's Pat lovin' on the biggest Oak tree in California

Mike, Vanessa Jean, and Arman sweatin' it out.

Matt Glasgow... the world's tallest drummer.

City Slicker Coconuts by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano

Welcome to the second installment of "City Slicker Coconuts".

Click play on the player below and listen to the "City Slicker Coconuts" theme tune, by our good friends woMANgione while you read.



Coconut #2

Writer’s Block

Sometimes I get writer’s block. Folks tell me it’s going around this summer. When this happens to me – which has lately – it feels like I forget how to spell or even hold a pen.


When I get the writer’s block, I want to give the block back to the writer. It’s not mine.

When I get the block I watch hours and hours of television. Out of all the drive-through psychologists, faith healers and fitness gurus nobody has a cure.

I sent a text to jesus and asked him to heal me. He answered, “Writer’s block? What’s writer’s block? I am the Son of God, I’ve never had writer’s block.”

Wadding up paper and snapping pencils in half doesn’t help; neither does wearing black berets, lighting cigarettes with wood matches or writing in public. Never write in public. The first step to recovery is understanding that nobody cares.

Drinking makes things worse. Whiskey won’t cure clap and it won’t take care of writer’s block.

Smoking grass always leaves me covered in crumbs and reading the backs of cereal boxes.

Then all of a sudden, I hear something that sounds like a twig snap inside my head. It's so quiet I can hear new sunlight crawl through the curtains. I can feel the thud of the morning newspapers against door on the block.



Something happens during the nothing and I start writing again.

Lubricated's New Favorite Band... The Takers

Hailing from NW 4th Street down in Gainesville, Florida, The Takers have one of the few old school country western sounds coming out of a new band these days. There aren't a lot of bands out there doing what these fellas are doing and executing it so well. Not only does their frontman, Devon Vlasin write killer songs, but the six man band ties their sound together delivering a complete package of shit hot southern outlaw rock. Their griddy and smokey songs are drinking anthems for the working folk. It's a bold honky tonk sound that gets your boots tapping and liver salivating for some more whiskey. It's like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson drank a bunch of whiskey together, smoked every hobo cigarette in sight, and gave birth to a fat Southern rock 'n roll baby. I just cannot get enough of these guys and can easily say that I am just as stoked on these dudes as I was when I first heard Drag the River. Hook. Line. And sinker.

We are really excited to be interviewing The Takers frontman, Devon Vlasin for Issue No. 3 of Lubricated. Devon is one of those few people you come across in life when your paths cross you hit the ground running and just know that you're going to be buddies for life... especially boozin' buddies. Devon was kind enough to answer a few questions for me as a teaser as to what's to come in our interview together in Issue No. 3 of Lubricated.

Lubricated Zine: How did The Takers form?
Devon Vlasin: I was playing around town singer/songwriter style and found myself with the opportunity to open up for Willie Heath Neal, a kick ass outlaw country/western swing guy, in October of 2007. I was living with Chad at the time and asked him if he was interested in accompanying me on guitar since he was familiar with my songs and overall what I was about. He suggested that we call up a bass player and a drummer. Our first call was to Jon and he was busy with his other band, Towers of Hanoi, that night. I reached back to recall some late night after parties I spent shooting the breeze with Ronnie about country music, whiskey and women and mentioned in passing that he and I should work on some tunes, so we called him up and he was down. He brought it to our attention that Jerome had started playing bass for Savage Brewtality, and since at the time our only requirement was to have your own gear, we called up our hardcore bassist friend and asked him to play country music. Jake Crown, drummer for Rehasher and Savage Brewtality, said he was into it, so we all headed out to Chad's warehouse and, with Chad's help arranging, I taught them three of my songs and three covers. This was all a day before the show. Later on, but before we had a name, Jake and Jon swapped places. Our dear friend Mike Collins bought a pedal steel and asked if he could sit in with us at practice to get a feel for his new instrument and gradually became a member. It just so happened that we all lived on NW 4th Avenue here in Gainesville. So, I guess you could say we evolved out of convenience, or whoever answered the phone first.

LZ: What's the meaning behind the name, The Takers?
D: I'm not to sure of what other names we were milling around. I think we kicked around quite a few names actually. 'The Taker' is a song written by Kris Kristofferson, but made popular by Waylon Jennings. If you know me at all, you'd know that I'm probably one the biggest Waylon fans around. He is the Godfather of the outlaw movement, and people tend to say that our music lends itself to that genre. As far as music in Gainesville goes, we definitely push against the grain a little. All that being said, it's only fitting. My dad asked me what we are taking, and I said, anything we can get. That might explain the name somewhat too.

Releases: Taker Easy, Curse of A Drunk 7", Austin Lucas with The Takers 7"

Listening Recommendations: throw on this record when you're throwing 'em back all night into the wee morning hours. PBR and Jameson in the night time, and in the morning when ya come to, a man-mosa of PBR and Orange Juice. Get down.

http://www.suburbanhomerecords.com/
www.myspace.com/thetakershonkytonk

In the words of our dear buddy, Devon...

"Taker easy",

Vanessa Jean

all photos by Jana Miller

Suburban Home's 14th Anniversary Weekend

dispatch from our good buddy, Virgil over at Suburban Home...

The following Suburban Home artists have committed to performing: Joey Cape, Jon Snodgrass, Chad Price, maybe Drag the River, Austin Lucas, Two Cow Garage, Mike Hale, Jr. Juggernaut, The Takers, Tim Barry, Ninja Gun, Look Mexico, and the Revenge. We are still working on a few of our acts, but we will be announcing a few more shortly.

Mark the following dates on your calendar:

Thursday, September 10th – Suburban Home Anniversary warm-up show (either in Ft Collins or Colorado Springs)

Friday, September 11th – Suburban Home 14th Anniversary show #1 at 3 Kings Tavern (60 South Broadway)

Saturday, September 12th – Daytime- Garage Sale/Flea Market, Nighttime- Suburban Home 14th Anniversary show #2 at 3 Kings Tavern (60 South Broadway)

Sunday, September 13th – Suburban Home 14th Anniversary BBQ and Washers Tournament at Washington Park

There will also be an art gallery set up in the basement of 3 kings where our good friend Vanessa “Jean” Speckman and some other great artists will be showing their art. Know of a great artist who would like to show their art? Let us know.

And we have a group of hotels reserved for the weekend. Follow this

link to get a room at Towne Place Suites (a Marriott owned hotel) for $59 a night. The rooms are really nice and are only around 8 blocks from where all the shows are being held.

Tickets should go on sale this weekend for the entire weekend, we will post a link tomorrow with ticket information. Out of towners, come on out. Denver is lovely in September and you can see a majority of our bands and drink with your friends through music. It is gonna be a hell of a party.

I'm extremely flattered to be showing some of my artwork out in Denver that weekend in such good company of our friends. I'll be in tow with all new work and am very excited about what I have and will be working on. I'll also have old and new Lubricated goodies with me. Hope to see y'all there!

Stay well friends,

Vanessa Jean

the short of the long of it...

i've been getting really frustrated with the giant lulls in between issues of the magazine getting out for a multitude of reasons:

a. i'm broke. i work three jobs and don't get paid much (but these are very conscious decisions i have made, and for now i'd much rather be working where i find happiness and inspiration).

b. the economy is fucked (this we all know too well unfortunately) and are all affected by it in more ways than we'd like.

c. our magazine has thus been free and it costs a pretty penny from our thin wallets.

anyhoot, i had a good amount of time to kill at work while i waited for photos to upload and i had filled my stand-by time with reading the entirety of suburban home's blogs and just got really stoked on how intimate and "mom and pop" of a vibe virgil and the gang has got going over there.

i love reading about their drunken weekends at the rock show, or watching a silly video clip explaining the coming to life of snodgrass's t-shirt design, and just overall being kept posted on what the haps are with all things good and great at SH.

so i figured that is ultimately what lubricated is all about and i want to be about to transcend the vastness of the miles between all of us, as well as issues being printed through something that people would be entertained by, informed by, and be able to be a part of.

scene: enter me joining blogspot...

we've been blessed to make friends with some really amazing people all around the world, some whom i've never even met before. they are all very talented in their own right, and are someway or another plugged into the community doing what they do best. we'll keep y'all updated on all things lubricated and that we feel are worthy for your reading pleasure, as well as posting some other cool shit that friends are working on their respective neck of the woods. we'll also post some interviews and other materials here that didn't make it into an actual physical issue of the zine as well.

y'all can get in touch with us at the following sites:

lubricatedzine(at)gmail(dot)com

myspace.com/lubricatedthecultureboner

cheers,

vanessa jean