Ha! I've lived a pretty interesting life, as it turns out, and I think I still have a long way to go. Every day is a little bit of an adventure, even reminiscing about my own life. I really think that if you don't understand yourself, you don't understand anything at all. Everything is filtered through you.
I'm not sure how many folks moved to Richmond for the music scene before me, but I know a bunch did after! I'm not implying I was a trendsetter, mind you - but RVA was a pretty great place at that moment in time, certainly compared to where I was coming from.
And no, I actually haven't lived in any part of the South. I visited VA once during college. But I grew up in California, went to undergrad in Boston, grad school in NYC, and now I live in MA with my husband in a big old house in a quintessential New England town. 😊 Please forgive my ignorance! lol
No sweat! I do think some stories about Richmond could be really cool. I am going to let this idea simmer in the back of my mind for a while, but as I write more and more about my own past, I think it's inevitable that I'll write about the city I deliberately moved to in order to start my life over, in a way.
Hell yeah! I enjoy the misfits, but they really stood out in my childhood. My dad was a huge punk back in the day and he talked about them all the time. He handmade a leather jacket and painted their logo on the back. I used to wear it for Halloween, and man that thing STANK from all the concerts it survived. As usual, always love your interesting take on Macabre Monday, Andrew.
I think it is blasphemy as a punk to get rid of your leather jacket, even if you have moved on from those days. Was The Misfits your favorite punk band, or was there another?
That might be interesting for you! I talked a bit about my musical tastes, although of course they have evolved a lot since back then. Still, Misfits were always in the mix!
I still love the Misfits, 25 years after first listening to them after reading their name on an older kid's battlejacket (that's how we discovered music in rural Ireland, ya see). I never quite adapted to Michale Graves as the 'new Danzig' though, despite Famous Monsters being an absolute belter of an album. I keep going back to 'Static Age' and just straight-up listening to Samhain. Hope ya find those lost pages. I wouldn't mind a read!
Thanks, Ben! I'll almost certainly take a look in my old chest of drawers I've had since I was a kid. That thing has moved with me from early evangelical household to punk rock squalor, to business ownership and middle class life.
The Misfits' earlier stuff continues to grow on me as I get older. I still love Walk Among Us, but the stuff they recorded before that, including some demos that ended up on that album, have been among my favorite listens this week as I reminisce.
Thanks for the name-drop, Andrew...as a longtime misfit, myself, I'm much appreciative to be recognized and amplified! Mad props for a finely-crafted article, too!👏 I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd like to see more of your Misfits interview!🔍
Oh yeah, there are people who hate any version but the Danzig years! But I've liked just about everything they've put out, including Jerry's solo. Call me easy to please, ha.
I'm crossing my fingers that, since they're getting along enough to do shows for the last couple of years, they might record.
I have a good friend who loves all Metallica, including their newest stuff and everything in between their old stuff and today. It blows my mind, but to each their own!
But "hate" is a funny word, and I've come to realize that I had a lot of knee-jerk overreactions when I was much younger.
I love the Misfits. My friend Sandy turned me on to them, listening to his album on my record player in my back bedroom. And, still have my full set of very heavily used AD&D books (as well as the original D&D booklet set!).
What does "Goatfury" refer to? I wrote about Life As a Goat (as in... mountains) recently:
Small world! Name-wise, it's a pretty long and anticlimactically boring story, but I promise to tell it one day anyway (and hopefully make it interesting!).
I have all those old D&D books in my garage, inside a chest of drawers!
Forgive me for being such a millennial, Andrew - but not only was this an excellent read but this post was also a treasure trove!!
1) Moving to "RVA for the punk community" (People actually did that?!)
2) Finding a "rare VHS tape... from a show in 1983" (Hehe, VHS. Hehe.)
3) "Working on a zine" as a 20 year old in 1996 (Good god, man. You're ageless!)
4) "Being in a punk band" in college (Should have seen that coming.)
That was awesome. May I admire you today? *takes a deep bow*
Ha! I've lived a pretty interesting life, as it turns out, and I think I still have a long way to go. Every day is a little bit of an adventure, even reminiscing about my own life. I really think that if you don't understand yourself, you don't understand anything at all. Everything is filtered through you.
I'm not sure how many folks moved to Richmond for the music scene before me, but I know a bunch did after! I'm not implying I was a trendsetter, mind you - but RVA was a pretty great place at that moment in time, certainly compared to where I was coming from.
VHS tapes were a big part of my life.
Wise words, my dude.
Have you written more about your time in RVA?? That would be amazing to read!
VHS, RIP.
Not a ton, unfortunately. I think it's usually tangential, like this: https://goatfury.substack.com/p/developing-permission-to-be-curious
Did you live in Richmond for a few years?
Ah, well, I would be stoked to if you did!
And no, I actually haven't lived in any part of the South. I visited VA once during college. But I grew up in California, went to undergrad in Boston, grad school in NYC, and now I live in MA with my husband in a big old house in a quintessential New England town. 😊 Please forgive my ignorance! lol
No sweat! I do think some stories about Richmond could be really cool. I am going to let this idea simmer in the back of my mind for a while, but as I write more and more about my own past, I think it's inevitable that I'll write about the city I deliberately moved to in order to start my life over, in a way.
Hell yeah! I enjoy the misfits, but they really stood out in my childhood. My dad was a huge punk back in the day and he talked about them all the time. He handmade a leather jacket and painted their logo on the back. I used to wear it for Halloween, and man that thing STANK from all the concerts it survived. As usual, always love your interesting take on Macabre Monday, Andrew.
I still have my leather jacket! And, I had a patch, so I don't think I ever painted the logo on it, but those memories are just too fuzzy now.
I think it is blasphemy as a punk to get rid of your leather jacket, even if you have moved on from those days. Was The Misfits your favorite punk band, or was there another?
They were probably like top 10. I did a little piece w/Brad K :
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/bleating-gums-goatfurys-proto-punk
That might be interesting for you! I talked a bit about my musical tastes, although of course they have evolved a lot since back then. Still, Misfits were always in the mix!
I still love the Misfits, 25 years after first listening to them after reading their name on an older kid's battlejacket (that's how we discovered music in rural Ireland, ya see). I never quite adapted to Michale Graves as the 'new Danzig' though, despite Famous Monsters being an absolute belter of an album. I keep going back to 'Static Age' and just straight-up listening to Samhain. Hope ya find those lost pages. I wouldn't mind a read!
Thanks, Ben! I'll almost certainly take a look in my old chest of drawers I've had since I was a kid. That thing has moved with me from early evangelical household to punk rock squalor, to business ownership and middle class life.
The Misfits' earlier stuff continues to grow on me as I get older. I still love Walk Among Us, but the stuff they recorded before that, including some demos that ended up on that album, have been among my favorite listens this week as I reminisce.
Thanks for the name-drop, Andrew...as a longtime misfit, myself, I'm much appreciative to be recognized and amplified! Mad props for a finely-crafted article, too!👏 I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd like to see more of your Misfits interview!🔍
Thanks, Brad! Keep doing what you're doing! I think I'll work on finding those missing pages. Pre-digital!
Oh yeah, there are people who hate any version but the Danzig years! But I've liked just about everything they've put out, including Jerry's solo. Call me easy to please, ha.
I'm crossing my fingers that, since they're getting along enough to do shows for the last couple of years, they might record.
I have a good friend who loves all Metallica, including their newest stuff and everything in between their old stuff and today. It blows my mind, but to each their own!
But "hate" is a funny word, and I've come to realize that I had a lot of knee-jerk overreactions when I was much younger.
This will make someone yell at their screen, but I've loved every version of The Misfits. There, I said it.
I didn't love what they became, but I can appreciate it today. It's just that it wasn't the same band; I think that's why so many folks get upset.
I love the Misfits. My friend Sandy turned me on to them, listening to his album on my record player in my back bedroom. And, still have my full set of very heavily used AD&D books (as well as the original D&D booklet set!).
What does "Goatfury" refer to? I wrote about Life As a Goat (as in... mountains) recently:
https://bowendwelle.substack.com/p/life-as-a-goat
Small world! Name-wise, it's a pretty long and anticlimactically boring story, but I promise to tell it one day anyway (and hopefully make it interesting!).
I have all those old D&D books in my garage, inside a chest of drawers!