Subhumans on Youtube (plus me in the audience)

Well - I've always wondered how silly I look when moshing. Not that I'm really moshing here - just sort of nodding my head and bouncing around a bit.

Thanks to Susanne!

DOA and the Subhumans fuck up my film festival

Brian bursts, alien-like, out of Gerry's chest; photo by Allan MacInnis

The most horror-movie shot of Joe imaginable. Photo by Cindy Metherel


Dear Subhumans:

Dear DOA:

Look:

I don't get paid for 99% of what I write. The only meaningful perk I get, for all the writing I do, is my VIFF media pass. which I must earn with meaningful coverage of film events. I am currently busy planning a two week orgy of film. I've even taken time off work to maximize film viewing (which actually means that I'm paying indirectly for the pass, but fuggit).

Yeah, yeah, I know - I sometimes get on the guestlist to shows, and I sometimes get cool CDs as swag. It's not that big a break, believe me. Get me on the guestlist to see Ornette Coleman, THAT's what I want to be guestlisted for. Punk gigs and CDs I can AFFORD.

So, like, from my point of view, since your performance schedule really should revolve around me, it's in very bad taste to schedule gigs that I want to see in the same fuckin' week as the VIFF. I will have to MISS MOVIES to see you play. And of course, the chance to see you both play within two days of each other is not-to-be-missed. Subhumans, you guys in particular I'm choked at, because if memory serves, this is the second fuckin' time you've done this to me. Us under-appreciated media whores need to feel like we're cared about TOO, y'know. Stroke our egos. Tickle our expansive bellies. Don't crack jokes about the bald spot.

Like that.

- Allan

P.S. Those of you who, like me, can't watch films ALL DAY, can come see two historical Vancouver punk bands play Thursday and Saturday:

DOA plays September 27th at the Plaza; the Jolts open. I'm told DOA have a new drummer, James Hayden from the Von Zippers.

The Subhumans play September 29th at Pub 340 (at 340 Cambie) with Motorama and Betty Kracker. (Can I humbly request you include "Moving Forward" in your set this time? That's a great goddamn song!).

Subhumans in Punk Planet #80

My Subhumans article has finally come out in Punk Planet #80. It is the FINAL ISSUE of the magazine - it is gone. The reasons why are best explained here, I'm sure, on their official site. It has much to do, if I recall, with the collapse of their distributors, and I'm sure the uber-Darwinistic, culturally impoverished social climate doesn't help. All the same, given the following -:

a) their lack of enthusiasm about the Subhumans (the word count was ridiculously small, given the band's significance and the sort of material I had, and they stalled the article twice and plum forgot about it for awhile) -

b) their frequently irritable demeanor whenever I pitched things at them or had questions

and c) the fact that only 3 of 12 articles in the magazine are actually about bands - which was much the same last issue, as I recall -

- I'm not that surprised. I'm DISAPPOINTED; whatever my gripes, they're a good, solid, serious magazine, and it's sad that they're going down. It's also sad that I won't be paid - this is the second time that this has happened to me, in fact, since I had a piece on Zev Asher's Casuistry in the final issue of Terminal City. I don't actually care about the money - I have done HUGE pieces of writing about subjects and bands I love for free - but it's still irritating; the money (small, but symbolically a nice token of respect) was, I admit, one slim factor in my not giving it to a very different and much better US punk zine I sometimes write for, so it's annoying to see the promise of cash turn to shit... Tho' in a way, given my unpunk cash grab, I suppose its fitting (sorry, Todd!).

In a way, though, I'm happy for the Subhumans - because I suppose the fact that this is the last issue might just draw a bit more attention to THEM. Which is what this SHOULD be about. Let's just hope they're still planning on playing/recording together again... great fuckin' band.

PS: Punk Planet, if you're unhappy I've borrowed your banner, do let me know. It's good advertisment for your site, but if you want, I'll take it down if you pay me the sixty bucks you owe me. Or whatever it was I was gonna get.