I Surrender, But I'm Never Giving Up!

Just writing this because I have doing research online instead of talking to real people and it is not getting me anywhere. If anyone reading this can contribute anything to my little Will book, please contact me. That's it, I really haven't anything new to add right now. Maybe soon, though.

Books About SF Punk and Hardcore

Punk ’77 (RESearch Publications) by James Stark, is not only a great-looking book with excellent photos, it is also a fantastic look at the golden age of San Francisco punk. I initially picked up this book while researching my now back-burnered Flipper book, but noticed it has some great pics of Will Shatter from when he was in Negative Trend and Grand Mal.

Gimme Something Better (Penguin Books) by Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor is an exhaustive look at the San Francisco underground scene from 1976 all the way up to the late ‘90s. There is included a chapter on Flipper and it is a very interesting book. Tons of information.

I would recommend both books for anyone interested in San Francisco underground music history. Both use a lot of quotes from people who were there. In fact, Gimme Something Better is virtually all quotes, while Punk ’77 uses both quotes and narration by Stark.

Shed No Tears

"The pain of life is great/And some will find it sweet/To rot beneath the earth/As we rot and live an breathe" -- Will Shatter.

Awake at 4 a.m., I had trouble going back to sleep. I admit to not thinking about anything but how disappointed I am by life right now. I did a little crying, then fell back asleep. Why is doing what I want to do so hard? Am I afraid to fail? Of course. But that is only one small part of the story. If I could get my ego out of the way I could just forge ahead without reservation. So be it.

"Get Away"

I remember my band Noise For Nothing opening for Fugazi at Tacoma's Community World Theater in 1987 I believe. I wore Flipper pants -- pants I had drawn the Flipper fish all over, and I mean, all over. We did a cover of Flipper's song, "Get Away" and other songs to a crowd of fifteen. I don't remember a lot of that show but do remember singing that song. Oh, and rockin' out to Fugazi when they played. Danger Mouse also played, and tried to have pizza delivered onstage. I don't remember if they succeeded. It was not long after that I was kicked out of my own band because I couldn't really sing... it devastated me. Go, go get away

Life Is The Only Thing Worth Living For, Part Two

There is no doubt that Will Shatter, Gemini that he was, had at least two sides to him. One side was a drugged-up nihilist; the other, a hopeful anarchist. That hopeful side was illustrated in songs such as "Life", where Will sang about finding out "what living is all about". "It's life, life, life is the only thing worth living for."

This would be good for me to remember as I struggle through these days of depression and ennui, unemployed, unmotivated, just "un". Especially now that it may be a couple of weeks where I will be stuck without any money, unless I pawn something. So, along with my inspirational readings and cds, I can go back to Will Shatter's song "Life" for some additional comfort and strength.

I Should Be Working On The Book

Instead of doing this blog. It's the beginning of another month. My goal this month is to complete a chapter, maybe two, and contact some more people I need to interview. I am feeling rather down lately, not very inspired, but I think about working on it every damn day. We'll see how far I get.

Team Falconi

While some "Twilight" fans are either Team Jacob or Team Edward, I have put myself on Team Falconi. Ted Falconi's guitar-playing is absolutely one of my favorite things in the world. When I listen to the song "We Don't Understand"on the "Public Flipper, Ltd" album, I feel a sense of orgasmic bliss unlike any other, due mostly to the guitar feedback that introduces the song. So, though insane to some, I must admit publicly that I am on Team Falconi. Don't laugh. Just listen and learn to love him/it.

Still Plugging Along

The book is taking shape. Some far off "angels" are helping me (Thanks Jeri and James!). I'm working tomorrow but Saturday will be another writing day for me. June 10th is coming up, which was Will's birthday. Gonna do some writing, listen to some songs, and have a seance (just kidding). Bye for now!

Some Lyrics By Will Shatter

In Your Arms
Will Shatter

I want to be with you
I want to hear your breath
Keeping time with mine
I want to hold you
I want to smell your body
Blending into mine
When I reached out for you
You could not be found
When I needed you to comfort me
You said you were too busy
You were already holding
A needle in your arms
Oh the needle in your arms
It left you breathless
It’s fluids rushing to your heart

To use is no vice
Look at my life
I would never try to judge you
I hate to play the fool
But when one pleasure
Excludes, dilutes, and pollutes
All the others
I don’t find that any fun
No not any longer
When I reached out for you
You could not be found
When I needed you to comfort me
You said you were too busy
You were already holding
A needle in your arms
Oh the needle in your arms
It left you breathless
Its fluids rushing to your heart

Black beauties,white cross, white tops, dexadrine, methadrine,amphetamine,preludin, disoxin, chicken crank, benzadrine, bennies, speed, coke, snow, blow, cron, codeine, morphine,percodan,heroin, H, horse, dilaudid, dope,PCP, Angel Dust, STP, DMT, MDA, Anything! Everything you got

Yeah the needle in your arms
It left you breathless
Its fluids rushing to your heart

© 1982 Will Shatter Insect Music/BMI

Subterranean Subversion (draft)

In August of 1979, Steve Tupper made a decision that would carry Flipper’s (along with many bands’) music to the hinterlands of America and cause their influence to spread. He was hanging out with Mike Fox, the guitarist for the Tools, discussing the difficulty for underground bands to get records out. Fox was ready to release the first Tools single (“Smoke-Filled Rooms”) , which he had recorded on his own 4-track. He had already recorded other bands’ demos, but this was his first attempt to make a record. Steve Tupper said, “I had long been thinking in terms of a better distribution network for new punk records, as well as how music, visual art and design and social change worked together, so we decided to start a label”. Thus, Subterranean Records was born.
Mike suggested Steve check out Flipper for possible inclusion on their first project, “S.F. Underground”, a four-band 7” compilation. Steve “cornered” Ted Falconi after the show about making a recording. “A big ear-to-ear grin is what I remember”. Flipper recorded a demo session in Mike’s garage, and the result was the song “Earthworm” being included in the first Subterranean release, which was actually recorded on an 8-track in a rec room studio in El Cerrito.
After the 7”comp. Flipper had three songs included on a live lp, “Live at Target”, another compilation. After that came out, the band asked Steve Tupper to work with them on a long-term basis. No contracts were signed back then; it was all done in good faith. Steve would take care of all the label type chores, and in turn have “exclusive license to the recordings”.
The first Flipper 7” record, “Love Canal” (b/w “HaHaHa”) came out February 1981 to rave reviews in the underground rags at the time. October of 1981 saw the release of the “Sex Bomb” (b/w ) single, followed by Flipper’s first full-length album in March of 1982, referred to as “Generic”, but simply titled “Album”. The rest of Flipper’s releases on Subterranean are as follows:
December 1982 – “Get Away” single.(b/w “The Old Lady Who Swallowed The Fly”)
August 1984 – “Gone Fishing” LP
October 1986 – “Public Flipper, Ltd.” Double live LP
September 1988 – “Sex Bomb Baby” LP
January 1991 – “Some Day” single
Flipper sold well for an underground group, especially “Generic”. The first 5,000 copies sold out, and Subterranean had to “scream at the pressing plant to make another 5,000 in record time to fill the demand”. After “Generic”, sales of Flipper slowly declined over time, each release selling about half of what the previous did.
Steve spent a lot of time with Will, even outside of recording. “He’d come over to the Subterranean storefront on Valencia to work on the game cards for the live album” or to hang out. “He was somewhere between total, tear-your-hair-out screwup and total genius, in some ways unpredictable and in others totally predictable”. Steve also wrote that Will was “almost always very relaxed and friendly. He seldom took offense at anything though he could also easily just sneer at a person or situation he considered contemptible for one reason or another.” Will sneered a lot, but not necessarily in anger.
“One thing though is that he did think quite deeply about what he was doing and how it fit into life in general; he just neglected to follow his own advice.”

RE/Search Visit With V.Vale

Met V.Vale, RE/Search Publications' publisher at the office in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco (right across from City Lights bookstore) The apartment building at Romolo Street was covered with black plastic sheeting so I wasn't quite sure it was the right place. Vale buzzed me in and met me at his door.

Right away he remarked that he was glad I looked like a librarian/writer type. He offered me a chair at his dining room table. His flat was one connected room -- living room, dining room, kitchen, all kind of hooked together. There were RE/Search's books lining the walls on bookshelves. It was cluttered yet tidy and organized.

Vale pulled out a large ledger book and had me sign it. When I told him I had no tape recorder or camera, that I just wanted to meet him and maybe interview him later, he remarked that he may not be around then. Then he laughed, but he was also serious, "you never know what could happen". We started chatting and he said, "you know what, I could tape this and send you the tape" and I was very grateful he offered to do so. He then started talking about Will, who was not his friend at all. "Will didn't like me", Vale said flatly. He went on to talk about Will's apparent discipleship to a guy named John Zerzan, an anarchist philosopher who fashioned himself into a sort of guru to Will. Will was shy and humble around Zerzan, but Vale raised Will's punk ire because Vale was a "journalist" ("Search & Destroy" fanzine). This was back when Will was in Negative Trend and was only around 19 at the time.

While Vale and I talked, we sipped some really good tea. He was such a gracious host I felt very comfortable. It was apparent he didn't really have much us for Will, either, as Will had come along in the second wave of punks (1978 or so) whereas V.Vale first saw a punk show in 1976. Will seemed to him just a middle-class kid posing as a punk yet not embracing the open-minded spirit of true punk.

While I was visiting, a couple more people showed up, including a guy from Oklahoma. By that time I felt it was time to leave, but Vale insisted I at least finish my tea.

After I left his place I walked upstairs to see the apt. (or at least the door to) where Will died. #5 or #6? I don't know. I felt a little voyeuristic yet fascinated at the same time. (Quotes attributed to V.Vale were how I remembered what he said, not actual verbatim).

My Visit To Subterranean Records

Behind a black iron gate at the dead end of a street, in a nondescript building next to a highway, lies Subterranean Records. Steve Tupper, the owner/operator, meets me at the gate and lets me in. The warehouse itself is a controlled chaos of boxes, papers, records, dvds, cds, and old files. There is a layer of dust on almost every un-used surface, and even the cobwebs have baby cobwebs. There are flyers on the walls, and an old computer sits on Steve's desk. Next to the desk is a scanner/copier, a printer, all well-used. When Steve makes me a copy of something, he remarks at how well it turns out, surprised that the old gal works so well.

I admit that I am flustered, but Steve's demeaner is calm, retiring almost. I want him to feel at ease so don't take many notes or actually interview him. I ask some questions,but not a whole lot, as I'm more interested in what he has to show me. Everything he unearths from his filing cabinet and from under the large shelves (he had to use a flashlight to find the right stuff) is like diamonds to me. I don't think he realizes this.

He shows me the "Will" file. It includes clippings from when Will died, letters people wrote about that, checks from Will and his partner Janette that were never cashed, "I knew they didn't have the money in their account", and a business card from the woman who wrote a profile of Will after his death for the San Francisco Examiner.

Steve also shows me a file of A3I stuff. It is fairly thin, just a few flyers, photos of the band, and copies of lyrics for the unreleased ("there are test-pressings floating around") A3I album, "Ruins Of America".

Steve and I head over to the "archives" where a lot of photos are stored, and he needs the flashlight to find the right ones. He finds the one for Flipper and it turns out to be a treasure trove of pictures of the band. I want to take them with me and copy them, but don't want to ask to do that -- it's not like Steve knows me. Instead I write down the respective photographers' info.

I wonder if Steve even realizes what he has in his dusty warehouse. He holds some real history there. I wonder if the stuff will just molder forever in the warehouse, or will anything more be done with it? And I wonder where else Flipper's legacy hides -- what other basements or attics in this city and others?