tara angell: autumn shade fanzine interview by kristin angelique, 2004

JANUARY 2004, INTERVIEW WITH TARA ANGELL

by Kristin Angelique, autumn shade fanzine

[Tara and I corresponded by e-mail for this interview.]

tara angell, sidewalk cafe, nyc

june 23, 2004

photo credit: kristin angelique

KRISTIN: Your management kindly fulfilled my request for a press kit. As I was reading the literature, I learned that you were "born in New Jersey and attended a Quaker boarding school in upstate New York before settling in New York City."

Q: What part of New Jersey are you from? Are your parents Quakers? How long did you attend boarding school? If you are willing to share this part of your life in an interview, what was that experience like for you?

TARA: I grew up about right outside of Manhattan in suburban North Jersey. I was fortunate enough to be sent to a Quaker boarding school after having differences with my public school. I went there for two years and graduated there. There were no TVs there and we worked very hard, but the respect I got from my teachers was far greater and attention much more individualized there. I studied ecology, art, literature and music. It was basically a customized education.


Q: What were your significant interests before you got into music? Did you once have other professional goals? How did music inspire you?

TARA: Music was important to me from the very beginning. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a mechanic. My grandfather was a mechanic and so was my Uncle Lee.

My parents played music in the house since I was born. My father used to listen to WCBS FM, which played Bobby Darin, Elvis, Little Richard and stuff like that. He always collected 45s, some of which I still have My mother was an ER nurse and worked the nightshift when us kids were little. My father used to play records and we used to dance until really late just before she came home we would run into bed.


Q: What were the first bands that made you care about music?

TARA: I was pretty obsessed with Elton John when I was around 8 or 9. I had all of his records. My sister had every Neil Young record and we used to listen to him all the time. My brother had a shrine in his room of Jimi Hendrix. I was fascinated by Jimi. He was like a God that I always tried to figure out.


Q: When did you begin to write songs and play guitar?

TARA: I honestly wrote my first song when I was five. I was inspired by "You're So Vain." Mick Jagger sang back up vocals on that record. I wanted to be him.

I always sang. It was always just inside of me. I never had to learn it. My brother helped me learn guitar first when I was about 15. He was already playing amazing guitar and I thought I would never be as good as him.

So I just strummed the acoustic for a few years. Then I dropped it for a while and didn't seriously start playing until my twenties.


Q: When did you move to NYC?

TARA: The first time I moved to NYC I was 20.


Q: Did you have dreams you hoped to fulfill there or was there no master plan and you just let things happen? If I understand correctly, you have worked really hard to get as far as you have and you still are working hard trying to get your music heard. If you were to map out your path so far, how would you describe it?

TARA: It's actually quite complicated how it all happened. I basically lived a couple lives before I actually started to write the caliber of songs that are on "Come Down."

There was a time when I wanted very badly to be a jazz singer. I went to school for jazz. My college years were all about be-bop. My classmates were so into be-bop that some of them never even listened to the Rolling Stones. It was too extreme. It wasn't enough for me to sing standards and I finally dropped out and started writing my own songs.


KRISTIN: I love really great punk music, and I was ecstatic (but not surprised) to read that you have some punk roots! I think your music is very unique and that it has a far-wider appeal than most punk music does. I expect it will reach a lot of different audiences as more and more people hear you and spread the word about how amazing your music is.

I also read that you were bartending on NYC's Lower East Side (where so much cool music has emerged from) and that you hung out with bands like Murphy's Law and the Cro-Mags.

Years ago, I hung out for two, half-days, with the Cro-Mags. I had first seen Harley Flanagan (Bass Guitar) on a special edition of "Phil Donahue" - about the NYC hardcore music scene. Soon after that episode aired, I met Harley in Portland on the "Age of Quarrel" tour and he and I became friends.

So, it seems we may have some common ground here. I was hoping you might share a story or just talk about stuff from your adventures in the underground NYC music scene - whatever you want to talk about - as it relates to your music if you prefer. Anything at all...

TARA: Back then Murphy's Law, were like my brothers. We used to have so much fun. There was once a time when you could do practically anything you wanted in NYC. Those times were reckless. It was like another lifetime.

Harley was one of the reasons I picked up the guitar again. I was bartending at a place that was a huge hangout for all those hardcore bands.

Harley and I used to go to my apartment and jam and I started playing my songs, which were really just ideas at that time, and he really encouraged me to keep doing it. He was a real inspiration for me.

I used to hang out a lot with my friend, Mackie. He was once the drummer for the Cro-Mags and also played with the Bad Brains towards the end. Mackie was my first drummer. He had this friend Chuck Doom who played bass.

We had a trio and actually got a demo deal from Walter Yetnikoff's label, Vel Vel. We did gigs and recorded four songs, which were produced by Jimi Zhivago. The recording sounded huge but I don't think the songs were that great.


Q: What other music, art or significances have influenced your music, or your love for music?

TARA: I went through so many phases in music, art and books. People like Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell really gave me tons to think about. The first record I ever bought was "Desire," by Dylan. It still remains one of my favorite Dylan records. Flannery O'Connor and Martin Scorcese opened up a whole new world for me. David Lynch is also one of my big heroes.

These people taught me simplicity and honesty (which is not always pretty), but they also created a bizarre world that lured me in. It's one thing to be brilliant at something - but for me - you've got to take it to another level to really knock me out. Anyone can write a songbut to write a song that people want to hear is a whole different thing.


Q: When and where did you play your first show?

TARA: My VERY first show was when I was still in high school I think. I played in some bar in NY State. I don't really remember much about it.



Q: When did you start playing regularly?

TARA: Somewhere around 1997 but there were some dry periods since then.


Q: I read that you first self-released a demo. When was this?

TARA: My great friend Kenny Lienhardt was the soundman at the place I worked. He heard that I was writing some songs and encouraged me to record them.

He had a studio down on Broadway and Houston. I found this guy Ben Shapiro who played guitar like David Gilmour and I brought him in and we recorded together. This great cello player Leah Coloff came in also and did all the bass on her cello.


Q: What songs were on the demo?

TARA: We did three songs: "People Only Want One Thing," "So Hard He Cries" and "Nothing." That demo got into the hands of Gary Katz, who produced all of those Steely Dan records. He ended up putting me into the studio with the rhythm section of The Roots and tried to sign me to his label, which ended up tanking. That whole thing took a lot of energy and was a big let down for me. We all were going to make a record together and I ended up waiting a whole year on a handshake with Gary. It took me awhile to recover from that whole ordeal but I learned a huge lesson from it.


KRISTIN: The songs on "Come Down" carry a lot of weight. You've written some of the most powerful lyrics I've ever heard, Tara. It seems as if this has to - in some way if not many ways - represent you putting your whole life and soul into these songs. Whether you wrote these songs in a matter of weeks or years, I don't know - but the imagery and the emotional energy invested indicate the great passion and dedication you must have given to this creation of yours.

Q: Can you tell me about the creative process of this album, from the songwriting to the production? Like, for instance: What was the first song on it that you wrote and when was that?

TARA: Well, first of all, thank you. I really appreciate anyone who not only can love my record, but also express it the way you do.

"Hollow Hope" was written years before we recorded "Come Down." I Probably wrote that song back in '96 or '97 - it was originally a blues tune written after I saw Chris Whitley play at the Continental in NYC.

I wrote, "When You Find Me," behind the bar on cocktail napkins back around 1999 at the Bowery Ballroom. The rest of those songs were written in 2001, I suppose. "Untrue" was also an older song. "The Big One" was the last song written before we did the record. I actually wrote that during the pre-production of "Come Down."


My Hollow Hope
The tales of the truth
aren't ripe for the knowin'
'cause they're tall
and they're still growing
The balls of my stare
aren't there as you know it
isn't there
'cause I don't show it
My Hollow Hope
My Hollow Dream
I will confess that it is
what it seems
The dust of my song
has blown away
a trail of a miracle minute
The pillows on my face
they embrace in the shadows
and in sleepy broken arrows
My Hollow Hope
My Hollow Dream
I will confess that it is
What it seems
My Hollow Hope
My Hollow Dream
I will confess that it is, yeah
I will confess that it is, yeah


When You Find Me
When you find me I won't be waiting
I won't be waiting when you find me
When you find me I won't be lying to myself
I won't be lying to myself
When you find me
I am never gonna love you
I am never gonna love you again
In the springtime when you come callin'
I won't be fallin' in the springtime
In the springtime when you come knockin'
I won't be rockin' for you in the springtime
I am never gonna love you
I am never gonna love you again

Untrue
Slowly numbing myself out of devotion
I am half-hearted
No more warm and understanded
now underhanded
where I landed
I am untrue
Near the bone is where I'll be
and I"ll be free
I'll be free
Gone from all the analyzing
is where you'll find me
womanizing
I am untrue

The Big One
I don't tell my friends
When I go down with you
I don't tell my sister
What I like to say to you
But Oh, this is a pretty big one
This is a pretty big one
I keep my worries to myself
Never make a sound
But Oh, when you're six feet down
It's gonna be hard to turn around
When you're six feet down
It's gonna be hard to turn around
It's gonna be hard to turn around


Q: Are your songs all autobiographical, mostly autobiographical sometimes fictional?

TARA: They all start from somewhere inside of me. I studied hard to find the perfect marriage of fiction and truth.


Q: How did your collaboration with Joseph Arthur begin and evolve? When and where did you record "Come Down?"

TARA: We recorded the record in September 2002 in a studio in Catskill, New York. It was recorded and mixed in 5 days. Working with Joe was like playing a song with a knife in your heart and getting it on the first take.


Q: Is Temple Drake a label - or is that you self-releasing your album?

TARA: Temple Drake is my publishing company and my studio. Anything related to my music is Temple Drake. I did a limited release of my record and put it out under Temple Drake.


Q: You just accepted representation by Rykodisc! They are a first rate, excellent label. That's really cool, Tara! I hope they will be wonderful to you. Rykodisc are very lucky, too. What is the anticipated release date of "Come Down" for the U.S. and Internationally?

TARA: I'm going to find out the release date within the next couple of weeks.


Q: I am really hoping to see you play in person. You've earned an impressive reputation for your amazing live shows. What, are your upcoming tour plans?

TARA: I am just waiting to see what Ryko has in store for me. They generally like to market a record for 3 months before the release date. We will probably do a promo tour in February, March and April I am doing SXSW with a great band from Austin. So I know for sure I'll be doing that. I might do a NYC show with a full band in early March or late February. But other than that I'm just laying pretty low until this spring, when I know I'll be traveling all over.


Q: I imagine everyone whom you talk to, that has heard your album, has reacted very positively. You must be very happy that soon many more people will hear your music. Having worked so hard for this great accomplishment, what is it like for you on the dawn of your worldwide release?

TARA: I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now. I don't know how to prepare for what's going to happen. I just work really hard and have the greatest support from my family, friends and management. And everyone at Rykodisc is incredibly supportive and seems very excited about this record.


KRISTIN: Tara, thank you so much for doing this interview! I have so much admiration for you and this is a great honor for me. Not only as a writer, but also, as a music fan.

Congratulations on your exceptional album, and your great new label. I commend Rykodisc for many things, but especially for recognizing and appreciating greatness when they see and hear it.

Best wishes on your upcoming grand entrance into the music world. A work of this magnitude - of such incredible beauty and devotion - deserves great rewards.


TARA: Thank you Kristin!!


For more information about Tara, her new album and upcoming appearances, please visit her official website @ www.taraangell.com

tara angell, sidewalk cafe, nyc

june 23, 2004

photo credit: kristin angelique

Interview conducted/written by Kristin Angelique.
Copyright Kristin Angelique and Tara Angell.

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autumn shade fanzine tara angell picture album (it's really cool!)

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thurston moore: autumn shade fanzine interview by kristin angelique, 2004

Interview questions for Thurston Moore
By Kristin Angelique, autumn shade fanzine

thurston moore, northsix, brooklyn

september 2004

photo credit: kristin angelique

This interview took place via e-mail around December 2004.


1. Where were you born and where did you grow up as a child?

Born in Coral Gables, Florida - kinda lived there then upstate Florida and then northwest Tennessee and then back to Florida, this time south Miami all this before I was even ten - and then to New England - Connecticut until I moved to NYC in 77. My dad was a school teacher that's why we moved around.

2. What are some early musical experiences that you consider significant - for any reason, but for example - one which made you first think, "Music is cool"?

Hearing Louie Louie by The Kingsmen and then hearing about the Beatles and then hearing about the Monkees - they were probably the most exciting cuz they had a TV show and we kids in the neighborhood related to them more cuz they were more like USA fun and , hell, they had a TV show every week - cool songs.

3. What was the first record you remember buying?

I had my mom buy it for me - it was the In A Gadda da Vida LP by Iron Butterfly - there were a couple of singles before that like Get Together by the Youngbloods and In the Year 2525 by Zager & Evans.

4. Please list, in any order, some of the bands you have especially liked when you were first really getting into music.

I like the Dave Clark 5 cuz I'd see them on this show called Where the Action Is and they had outfits and were rocking and having fun. I dug the Monkees as I said. I was into The Archies too even though they were fake. I liked the fake bands like them, the Hardy Boys (they had an LP) and the Harlem Globetrotters (awesome). When I got older I got into more heavy stuff like the Beatles and the Guess Who and then of course Kiss and Iggy and the New York Dolls and then forget it...

Since I was at least 6 - I've had this record by The Archies, "Everything's Archie" (I think). I used to sing to it all the time; it has "Sugar, Sugar" on it - which is a great song - but I also really liked "Bicycles, Roller Skates and You."
I couldn't hear so great, but that night at Northsix when we were both watching To Live and Shave in L.A. - I think you said, "This is better than The Bay City Rollers." I used to watch their show every Saturday. They were cool and fun, too. I never knew The Hardy Boys had a band; sweet.

5. How did you come to play an instrument and what was your first instrument? When did you first begin playing guitar?

I played flute in grade school and got an A+ but I quit when they said I had to wear a bow tie at the concert - I got a guitar but couldn't figure it out but my brother did so I learned watching him. I really got into playing electric guitar after hearing Sex Pistols and Ramones and I could actually sound like them and I totally dug the way they sounded.

6. When did you start writing music? What was the first song that you remember writing - lyrics and/or music - and how old were you?

I started writing about 1976 - 77 when I got into punk and some of the riffs were used in the first band I was in called the Coachmen

7. Were you in any bands before Sonic Youth and/or were you doing any solo stuff before Sonic Youth?

Yeh the Coachmen - we existed downtown NYC in 1977 - 80. Then I started playing with Kim and this other girl named Ann and we had a couple of different names before SY.

8. As briefly or at as great a length as you are willing - please tell me about the history of your band - how and when you first got together and when and where you played your first show and made your first recording and who all the members have been...


Omigod - I've done this so many times - I think maybe you can crib this off some SY site somewhere - I don't have the sanity to type it out right now...


9. How would you describe what Sonic Youth were doing musically when you first started?

We just wanted to play the most avant-garde rock because that was the scene we were way into in NYC but we also wanted to not get too far from classic rock ideas like a lot of the artist bands had been doing

10. Was experimentation part of your vision from the beginning or is this something that you just found yourself doing and it evolved from there? Please describe - at any length - how you came to love guitars and experimenting with noise.

After the Coachmen I had the idea that the guitar could just be a wild sounding tool and songs could be anything you say they are - it was a weird epiphany and I started to employ it by just crashing around the guitar - it was confusing to people I was playing with at the time - but it turned into SY.

11. I remember the day I was at Second Avenue Records in Portland, Oregon (circa 1996) and joyfully discovered that you had released a solo album - a vinyl double album - "Psychic Hearts" - which I bought and took home and fell in love with. I especially love the (title) song "Psychic Hearts", which I've replayed at least 500 times in the last 8 or so years. I made a cassette copy of your album for my Walkman and I would listen to it all the time when I was skateboarding. Oh and I love the artwork for the album cover. I will always love records the most. Your record is a good example of why (I especially love the green vinyl). Have you released any other solo albums where you also sing like you did on "Psychic Hearts"?

There are other songs from around that period that have existed on spurious b-sides and comps and some that were never anywhere - I've been planning on releasing them as Psychic Hats. I'm doing a new solo LP in February with Vincent Gallo producing.

That's so fucking killer. I am so psyched


12. Your song - " The Diamond Sea" - is one of my very most favorite songs ever. For me, it's significant that your lyrics feature the words "looking glass girl" - words that I once wrote in one of my poems circa 1993 (which evolved into a monologue for my movie and even became the film's working title for 6 years). But as personally cool as this is for me, the most special thing is having seen you perform "The Diamond Sea" live in 1995 (at the Roseland, in Portland). Your never-ending-like performance of that song totally blew my mind and it was quite possibly the most awesome musical moment I have ever witnessed. I don't know whether you have a story or not about writing that song or what it means to you - but I would love for you to tell me anything about it.

We haven't done that in a while - it was our big closer on the Lollapooza 95 tour. It's basically a song in dialogue with a woman as she falls in love with a man and its right at that magic moment - with all the evocation that surrounds such a momentous happening.

13. Although I am a fan of yours and of Jack Rabid's - I actually first heard of Even Worse because I was in the process of learning about Jesse Malin's first band - Heart Attack (which was when he was like 13-years-old) - who, to the best of my knowledge, released the first NYC "hardcore" 7" (in like 1981). [Oh - and I know that once when I was talking to Jesse about Heart Attack that he mentioned that they had played (at least once) on the same bill as you. Do you remember this, too?] I actually only recently learned that you played for a time in Even Worse and at some point, so had John Berry (Beastie Boys). Who else was in the band when you were? Please tell me anything about your experience as a member of Even Worse.

I was into the new hardcore scene at the time but I was a little older but I met Jack and Tim Sommer and they were doing Even Worse and they needed a guitar player and I said I would play - this was at a Nihilistics show.-- so I learned the tunes and we played a few gigs - I liked playing with them because it got me into gigs free to see bands like Minor Threat and Faith who I totally liked. But it was short lived. - I thought Heart Attack was the best NYC band and their 7" was the best of its time NYC style - it really inspired me - still does.

I loved The Faith. I never saw them, but I have their split LP with Void (Dischord). I also never saw Minor Threat (or Fugazi either), but I've always been a big fan of Ian's. Because they share the same last name, I have always assumed Ian and (?) were brothers, is this the case?


14. I think there's a 7" with "Leaving" / "One Night Stand" that Even Worse recorded live in 1983 (released or re-released in 1988?) - that I unfortunately don't have and have never heard Is there anything else that Even Worse recorded and do you have any advice for tracking this stuff down?

The 7"s by Even Worse are kinda lame maybe - the one I'm on is where its live and I don't think I'm really on it as I was stuck in California - but I'm listed - there may be a later one that I am on - some live jive.

I was forgetting about it before, but there's this great ROIR compilation "New York Thrash" with a lot of cool bands on it. It was originally a cassette but I got it on CD when it was reissued. It has Heart Attack and Even Worse and Beastie Boys and Kraut I did get to see Kraut, when they toured through Colorado in like '83 or '84. I have only seen Beastie Boys once and it was in like 1987 when they opened for Run DMC.


15. I don't think I know all the correlations between Sonic Youth and Beastie Boys - only that you both come from New York City and formed in the early 1980's, that both you and John Berry were once members of Even Worse and that you and Mike D. collaborated for a group called Puzzled Panthers. Are there any other coincidences like this? How did Puzzled Panthers form and what has become of this band?

I saw Beasties when they were a hardcore band and then they started going rap and that was kinda funny - no one thought it would hit big - Cookie Puss was great but even still -- but then Rick Rubin put em into the context of new hip hop which he had his ear on and it was perfect.. -- they blossomed into real artistic freaks. -- I kept in touch with Mike D. -- I interviewed him right after Cookie Puss came out for my fanzine I had called Killer. -- they became huge - they had SY play a few dates with them after they aligned themselves with our management team out west - the same ones that had done Nirvana -- -- Puzzled Panthers was the ad hoc group I threw together in order to record a Germs song for this Germs tribute LP --- I was in cali and got together with Mike and Mike Watt and Kira and Dave Markey - fun time --- plus I always thought Mike sounded like Darby Crash early on.

What is this LP called? Is it still in print or has it been reissued? I really need to hear this. The Germs ruled. Rocked and ruled J


16. What are some other side projects you have been involved with in the past and currently? Please tell me some things about these projects.

oh god - again - so many and I can't even begin to lay it out.

17. I was telling my friend Bob how excited I was that I was going to interview you and he mentioned Arthur Magazine and how you are a regular contributor and that I should ask you about this publication and your involvement with it. I haven't tracked down any issues yet (I did go to the website) but I am interested in what you have to say about this project. Also, I purchased an issue of what I think was a Sonic Youth fanzine, last January at St. Mark's Books in NYC. Unfortunately, it's packed away in storage right now and so I can't really reference it, but I mostly remember that it featured art, pictures and poetry and I think a nude photo of Debbie Harry. I also recall that you wrote an "Op/Ed" for the New York Times (April 08, 2004 is the one I am aware of). I think that all these writing and publishing projects sound cool and I'm interested in learning more about any or all of them and also I am wondering what other publications you have contributed to and/or are involved in.


Yeh I get asked to write all the time - I was brought up as a writer and have always entertained the notion of being a writer but rock n roll got in the way.




18. Backing up for a moment to further comment on Jack Rabid, mostly because it feels remiss not to mention The Big Takeover I just want to say that I think The Big Takeover is such an admirable and meaningful project and probably the coolest music magazine there is. It's pretty amazing to me that Jack's been putting this out for more than 20 years. I guess if you were playing in a band with Jack in 1983 that you've probably known each other for a pretty long time. Just because you used to be in a band together doesn't necessarily make this a good question for me to ask you - but I was wondering if you had anything to say about Jack Rabid and/or The Big Takeover.


Jack is awesome - I hardly ever see him - but I respect the hell out of the dude.


19. It's not often that I get to talk to someone who was also a part of that scene let alone someone who was in an awesome band that was hugely significant to that era as well as peers with all the great bands making music then. There were so many! I have so much nostalgia for that time but also - it really was an amazing time. I wasn't as discerning as some of my friends and I liked anything I liked whether it was really deep or super silly. Also, I'm less critical of bands that others may criticize for being imitators vs. innovators; but at the same time, I've always appreciated when someone is doing something really special and/or different that sets them apart from those that are pretty much all doing the same thing. Your band deserves a lot of credit for creating sounds and writing songs that are very unique and while you weren't the first band to use distortion - your way with distortion and creating art out of noise is brilliant and you have been incredibly influential on so many bands and a whole generation of music fans 10 years ago and now 20 years later For along time now, you've been both an observer of and a contributor to rock 'n' roll history and there are probably at least a thousand specific questions and/or thoughts I might ask you - and I am interested in all of your ideas and perspectives - and I realize that in a way it may seem like I am asking you a thousand questions disguised as one, but I'm just hoping you will say some things - anything - about your reflections on both the early days of punk rock and music in general over the last 25 years.

punk is soul power vision rock


20. Are there any bands from the last 10 years that you consider especially innovative and/or likely to be influential on the future of music and/or whom you just really like a lot.

yeh
hair police
charalambides
wolf eyes
magik markers
the donnas
double leopards
nautical almanac

thurston moore, northsix, brooklyn

september 2004

photo credit: kristin angelique

(o: have you seen this :o)

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Interview conducted/written by Kristin Angelique.
Copyright Kristin Angelique and Thurston Moore.

thurston moore - autumn shade fanzine picture album (it's really cool!)

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adam green: autumn shade fanzine interview by kristin angelique, 2004

autumn shade fanzine

cover art by toby goodshank!

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adam green, age 17: courtesy of adam green

In a town
In a city
In an eyeball
On a rock
In a fence
Where a goat
Was alone by himself
There was a boy
Who was there
A boy who built a snowman
Out of himself

[Excerpted from "Can You See Me"; Lyrics by Adam Green]

adam green, artland, brooklyn

september 2004

photo credit: kristin angelique

An Interview with Adam Green
By Kristin Angelique

On the phone, before the show - June 29, 2004


Kristin: I really like the new songs you played at your Mercury Lounge show the other night and I am wondering if they're all going to be on your new record.


Adam: Yeah.


Kristin: Where are you in the recording process right now? And/or, well, maybe just tell me lots of stuff about your new record


Adam: I'm almost done with most everything, except for the strings right now my strings arranger is Jane Scarpantoni, who is the same lady that did the arrangements on my last album.


Kristin: They were awesome.


Adam: She's working right now on the arrangements, and I don't knowit takes a while so we're probably not going to be able to record that she's going to be away on tour for a little bitthat's going to take some time so we'll probably be finishing up the record in September.


Kristin: I really like the way you use strings now; it sounds really awesome.


Adam: Thanks.


Kristin: Who is playing with you on this album?


Adam: It's Steven Mertens on bass; Parker Kindred on drums; Nate Brown is going to play the Wurlitzer and piano; and Chris Isom on guitar.


Kristin: You have a truly unique writing style. In many ways, at times, your writing reminds me of word puzzles - particularly acrostics - especially in your fanzine but your writing is often very profound, so I'm guessing that there is much more of a method to your madness than word substitution. Your phrases remind me of these word games from when I was a kid ("mad libs") where there's like a story with all these blanks that you fill in with randomly chosen words well, your writing reminds me of this - but you choose very good words - it doesn't seem random

And I feel really stupid Um, never mind I guess all I'm really trying to ask you, is - when did you start writing and what's your process?


Adam: I guess when I was 12 is when I started writing songs. Um, sometimes I do that but mostly, it's just you know, making it up while singing.


Kristin: It's good that I read that you carry a tape recorder with you. That's really smart. Because, I'll think of really great songs, or things and then (I forget them and) they're gone


Adam: Yeah yeah, it's like good for short-term memory to use a recorder. And, yeah, so for me, I'm making up the words while singing You know, it's like a song for me, starts with like a feeling and then, I guess, the words become all the associations I have with the feeling and then allowing the emotions to shape the words into a melody.


Kristin: That's a really good answer! Hey, do you listen to Frank Sinatra?



Adam: Yeah.


Kristin: Frank Sinatra's awesome. [Um, I really digressed here for a while, being a huge Frank Sinatra fan]


Kristin: You feature four of your videos at your website and I guess I'd like to know the names of all the directors you've worked with but I also am interested in one video in particular, so that will be my next question


Adam: I think that all the videos on my website were directed by Galen Pehrson, my friend, except for the "Jessica" video, which was directed by a team of people, like sort of a company - called Mission but all the others I did with Galen.


Kristin: Didn't he (Galen) also do like art design for you, like on your CD?


Adam: Yeah, he helped me design the Friends of Mine cover and different things he did the cover for the "Friends of Mine" single, oh, and he helped me design the cover for the "Jessica" single - yeah, he's done a lot.


Kristin: He's really talented!


Adam: Yeah he's really good on the computer.


Kristin: How much of a part do you play in the creative process of your videos?


Adam: Oh, so much.


Kristin: Cool.


Adam: Yeah, very much, a lot


Kristin: I especially love your video for "Baby's Gonna Die Tonight". The photography is excellent, that video is super creative.


Adam: Yeah.


Kristin: Those shots from outside - is that a window? Or like, you know, where there's kind of like lights around it - and it's black and white at that point - that's awesome


Adam: Oh yeah, yeah - it's a store window.


Kristin: That looks so cool.


Adam: Yeah, (Galen) was good.


Kristin: When did you make that video?


Adam: I don't know we made it a year ago?


Kristin: I was just showing that video to one of my friends last night - Danny, who just turned 16 - and he thought it was really cool, too and he was asking me, "why isn't that on MTV?" And I told him - I was just taking a guess, but that it's, "presumably, because MTV are idiots"


Adam: (Laughing at this statement) Well, I don't know


Kristin: It's, I don't know, but it's REALLY good.


Adam: Thanks.


Kristin: And I think more people should see it. It's really creative and I really love all of the photography and there's a lot in there! And you're on the subway, too that's really cool. What train is that? Do you remember?


Adam: Yeah, it's the N/R.


Kristin: You just recently returned from another tour in Germany, so I thought maybe you might tell me about that?


Adam: What aspect?


Kristin: Anything, I don't know, maybe this is not a good question


Adam: We play a lot of festivals, and a lot of theaters, sit down places that were really nice pretty much every night we had a concert in a different city. So, a lot of travel we stayed on a night liner bus, so I slept on a bus the whole time


Kristin: You have a lot of fans there, don't you?


Adam: Yeah, there's a lot of demand for me to go to Germany. That's why I keep on going. And, you know, they speak really good English over there.


Kristin: That's good to know, especially if you don't speak German, I know I'd be lost otherwise

I wanted to ask you about your songs, and when you sing; it's kind of a long question

Your lyrics are very thought provoking. Even when you are being humorous (which is quite often) you are also usually pretty deep You have an amazing (and very nontraditional) way, with imagery. There are a lot of your songs that I love and am very interested in hearing you discuss, but because we probably wouldn't have enough time, I chose just one of them, my very favorite song of yours - "Can You See Me" This is a really wonderful song! I think it's beautiful. It also seems really personal. Maybe you'd rather not comment on it, but if you don't mind - I'm really interested in hearing whatever you have to say about it, like even, just when you wrote it


Adam: Yeah Let's see, I wrote that maybe 4 or 5 years ago, when I'd just moved to my parents had just moved to the city. So, I didn't really know anybody yet, you know, and I'd just sort of wander around just looking for something to happen. You know? Maybe bump into somebody. I was playing in the subway a lot. I just didn't really know anybody, and I don't know, I just found myself making up that song.

[During one of our follow-up sessions, Adam told me that he was 17 when he moved with his parents to NYC (circa 1998) and from around that time up until some time in 1999, he performed in the subway.Mostly, at the 8th Street N/R (Uptown) station and, mostly with his friend, Turner Cody. They'd take turns. ]

Kristin: It's a really good song, Adam. And even though it's simple, it just says so much it's so perfect.


Adam: Yeah, I like playing it. I mean, I still play it a lot, you know, these days.


Kristin: When you played it at your last show, I was really excited, but also I was taking pictures and when you went for the guitar, I was even more excited and I also thought that would be great to photograph but it's such a quiet, pretty song - and it's my favorite - so I was just waiting and listening I'm used to hearing it on the CD - and I was expecting noise towards the end and that's when I planned on taking the picture, because I was right in front of you and I was worried about my camera being too loud and I didn't want to distract you but then you suddenly finished, and I was like, "Oh, no!" and then you put the guitar away


Adam: Well, that's very considerate of you.


Kristin: Oh, yeah, thank you. (Being considerate) seemed more important than getting the shot

I love that song! Someday, I hope to make more movies I've been working on one for a long time. It's called "Child of the Moon" and maybe some day when it's finally ready, I'm going to ask you if I can put "Can You See Me" on the soundtrack.


Adam: Oh, Ok.


Kristin: (Laughing) I'm not expecting like an answer now! It's just, I totally have visualizations when I listen to that song and it speaks to me a lot

[I digressed again]

Kristin: I have the Jessica EP, although I don't have your cover of (The Libertines') "What a Waster" on my version, even though it's supposed to be an import from England, so I don't know what happened


Adam: You can get that on the Internet I think it's on www.babyshambles.com.



Kristin: Oh, OK! Cool!

I thought it was really cool that you put those songs from 1989


Adam: Oh, that old song?


Kristin: Yeah!


Adam: Yeah, I was 8 years old. I found this tape recently I do remember making it. I think, you know, I was just wandering around my house, you know, up and down the stairs and I think we'd just gone on a field trip to The Bronx Zoo, and so yeah My dad bought me a tape recorder and so I was just, like, making up this song and I thought it was pretty good.


Kristin: It is!


Adam: So, I thought it'd be cool to put it as a B-side. It's like the first song I ever wrote I guess, when I was 8


Kristin: It is very good. I'm very impressed.

I know you get this question a lot - but I was hoping you would tell me about starting The Moldy Peaches, just like any history about your band


Adam: Like how it started?


Kristin: Yeah, like I've read that you were 13 and that Kimya was your baby-sitter that you met at a pizza place, that you took in a tape you made to a record store


Adam: Yeah, well, it's all like the same I worked at a pizza place (Pizza Pizzazz) when I was like 13, and then, down the street was a record store (Exile on Main Street Records); it's in Mt. Kisko And Kimya worked at the record store - and unfortunately - that store just closed this year, went out of business


Kristin: Oh, that's sad


Adam: Yeah So, on lunch break I'd go over to the record store and hang out. But, Kimya was so much older than me; she was 9 years older than me. At the time, that age difference, you know, was more significant, because we couldn't really hang out so much, like friends so what we did mostly was like write songs. And, also, like, I wanted to go and see shows in the city, and Kimya would sort of, my parents would, like give her money to buy us both tickets and take the trainand so you knowin that sense, she was sort of my babysitter. She'd sort of get me there and back safely, and I was like 13 and 14


Kristin: That's really neat. She's really amazing.


Adam: Yeah.

the moldy peaches, the hook, brooklyn

october 2004

photo credit: kristin angelique

[This information came from our follow-up session: How, The Moldy Peaches were first formed, by Adam and Kimya - "We'd written and recorded a bunch of songs, in my parents' basement" The 1st Moldy Peaches tour was Adam and Kimya only, supporting The Strokes on their UK tour (circa 2001?). The 2nd Moldy Peaches tour was supporting The Strokes on their (2002) U.S. tour and the lineup for that was Adam and Kimya with Aaron Wilkinson, Jack Dishel, Steven Mertens and Strictly Beats. The longest standing lineup of The Moldy Peaches as a full band - was Adam, Kimya, Jack, Steven, Strictly Beats and Toby Goodshank.]

Kristin: I believe that in your "official bio" - it says that you watch a lot of movies, and since I'm a filmmaker - I really wanted to ask you about that if you really do like movies and do you like certain movies, filmmakers

Adam: Yeah. I don't know, I like the video store that I rent movies from, is sort of organized by individual directors or movie stars. You know?

Kristin: Yeah

Adam: So a lot of times, I'll just watch like every Woody Allen movie or every Marlon Brando movie or every Francis Ford Coppola movie It's just like sort of organized that way And I just make my way down the section. But, I can't really say that I think too deeply about movies. You know, I mostly just watch them to pass the time and I don't usually end up watching them over and over again. So, I can't really say that I have a lot of opinions about movies - for me it's just - you know, I watch them.

Kristin: Well that's a very good answer I very much love everyone's work that you just mentioned.

Kristin: Do you plan on still putting your fanzine out? Like, will there be more issues?

Adam: Oh yeah. Well there's a publisher in Germany - SUHRKAMP VERLAG - they're going to publish a bunch of stuff that I wrote, including the magazines, all in a book.

Kristin: Oh, COOL! Will it be here (in the U.S.)?

Adam: Uh, well it won't be I mean I'm going to try to get it so that they can sell it at stores here but in general, it won't be released here.

Kristin: But you could, like, order it from somewhere?

Adam: Yeah, I'm going to try and get it so that specific stores can, like, order it from them It's going to be bilingual - all of the left pages are going to be English text and the right pages are going to be translated in German.

Kristin: That's a cool idea.

Adam: Yeah. Well, you know, that's because it's going to be mainly released in Germany. So, hopefully I'll be able to sell it at my shows and to get a few boxes of them and hopefully distribute them in New York.

Kristin: Like, at St. Mark's Books? (They sell Adam's magazine.)

Adam: Yeah, hopefully there and a few other places

Kristin: Has there been anything since issues 1 and 2?

Adam: No because You have the one that ends with "The Flowers of Capitalism"?

Kristin: Yeah.

Adam: That's sort of there was 1 and 2, and then I made a bigger one that had 1 and 2 and "The Flowers of Capitalism" and then this one - the book is (also) going to have another poem that I wrote.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

What Adam told me about his original magazines and the new book during our follow-up session:

Issue #1 was written over a long period of time; stuff I'd written and collected (notebooks and diaries) for a few years, in chronological order. Issue #2 was a culmination of writing - every night - for two weeks, then edited - in chronological order - there's more flow "The Flowers of Capitalism" was written as a whole, as a poem. (The new poem, which will appear in the new book) "8 Pages for Allah"* was more of an idea - of writing a poem - the most cohesive piece of writing I'd ever done at the time, up to that point

[*8 pages on the computer, may be different in the book]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Special Guest question - by Christopher Robin Donaldson, age 14, Denver Colorado

Christopher Robin: Do you base your disturbing phrases in your songs off of your own experiences?

Adam:  Yes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Interview conducted/written by Kristin Angelique.

Copyright Adam Green and Kristin Angelique.

autumn shade fanzine adam green picture album (it's awesome!)

http://facebook.com/autumnshadefanzine

(an open letter to new seasons market) god may forgive you; but i won't

*this is the story of kim and tim* (part three...)

GOD MAY FORGIVE YOU; BUT I WON'T (AND I WON'T EVEN TRY)

[Part Two of Part Three]

...part one of part three (first published 01/23/12) follows this...


LINKS to part one and all of part two (plus subsequent parts) are near the end of this page.

February 4, 2012:

OK! This is what is left for me to do in keeping my promise to follow through with this documentation of how I came to be fucked over by New Seasons Market.

YAY! I am so finishing this story!

Part one and part two -- to the best of my knowledge -- cover all of the relevant back story to the events leading up to (and, to an extent, I went well beyond that) the day I began my formal protest against New Seasons Market's fraudulent logoing and obvious hypocrisy. What follows here is a general timeline of what has led to my ongoing protest; which now is most focused on New Seasons Market's blatant corruption and unforgivable infringement on my CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS:

1. On May 19, 2011: New Seasons Market's Seven Corners store manager, Miguel Rosas-Baker failed to make the right decision after I told him the absolute truth about an incident involving myself and the girlfriend of an employee on duty there -- who I truthfully shared a more than year-long friendship with: his name is Tim -- an incident which was instigated by and, in my opinion, is 100% the fault of his girlfriend.

I admitted to Miguel that I was doing all I could to protect my friend's privacy, but I was always totally honest about the incident involving my friend's girlfriend. My friend's girlfriend volatile-ly approached me where I was sitting and writing (as a customer) in the store's dining area/community room... She screamed at me, verbally harassed me, and made physical threats against me: I am convinced that she had ulterior motives; but regardless of my opinion -- she was making false accusations against me pertaining to my friendship with her boyfriend and she was calling me names and doing her best to spark a confrontation with me in hopes of getting me trespassed from the store -- she was explicit about her intent to do that...

...I remained uncharacteristically calm throughout this ordeal as I truly cared about my friend and worried that this scene she was causing would harm his job security (at the very least)... I kept my cool and did not take her bait; this infuriated her even more and so she chose to make a dishonest report about our interaction to the management and drawing from her own behavior attempted to spin this incident as being my fault, due to my actions (rather than hers), etc... I made every effort to defend myself against these false charges but was so focused on defending my friend that I volunteered to leave in hopes that this would be the end of it...

While waiting, peacefully (but with a breaking and heavy heart), at the bus stop outside the store front: I was re-approached by Miguel Rosas-Baker who condescendingly and unsympathetically announced to me that a decision had been made to formally trespass me from returning to the store and informed me that "should I return: the authorities would be called and I would be arrested!" ...I found this reaction to be unfathomable as I had -- not only done nothing wrong; I had also made a tremendous effort to quell the situation out of a desire to do what was best for both my friend and the business -- and had voluntarily excused myself from the drama instigated by my friend's girlfriend inside the store...

Miguel Rosas-Baker replied to my dismay by telling me: "We don't actually need any reason (to trespass you)..." Right at that moment, as I began to cry -- because this was so cruel and unfair and my heart was breaking already from having just witnessed my friend do nothing to defend my honor and feeling as if he had just thrown me under the bus -- the bus I was waiting for pulled up and I excused myself and boarded that bus...

As I rode that bus a lot of thoughts were spinning in my head and I felt the greatest sadness... I decided that I could not let my special friendship with my friend end in this way and it felt impossible for me to wait it out... I got off the bus, walked around for awhile (to adjust my timing) -- and then returned to the block of the Seven Corners store -- and, standing about half a block away; I waited on a corner in hopes of my friend skateboarding home in that direction when he finished his shift...

...That wish came true -- and my friend, though understandably alarmed at first (I had many reasons to be angry with him; but I only wanted to talk to him and try to make peace with him and work this out between us; and I desperately wanted to make certain that he knew my side of the story; that the earlier scene at his work was due to his girlfriend and not me) -- after he heard me call out to him and saw me trying to wave him down, Tim stopped and came to where I stood near that corner, next to a tree, on some grass by the curb... We had just begun talking, he didn't even seem angry with me, and it felt like we might be able to come to an understanding...

Then, unfortunately, Miguel Rosas-Baker happened by us on his walk home... Miguel asked what was going on -- he seemed accusatory in his questioning of Tim -- Tim responded to him, saying: "I guess we're talking it out..." (See my open letter to Miguel, in the following segment below, for more about this; but my specific conversation with Tim -- however transformed it was by Miguel's presence -- is something I wish to try and keep private...) I believe that Miguel, who refused to give us total privacy and uninvited-ly hovered nearby us, whether he selfishly grew impatient or thought he was doing Tim a favor only he knows, but he appears to have called in reinforcement from his cell phone (...Though considering that he hadn't left his phone at home as he coincidentally had told me earlier, before anything involving the incident ever took place, makes him an even bigger liar... FYI without digressing too much.) -- before Tim and I were finished talking -- somebody magically appeared in their SUV; and calling to Tim through their passenger side window: asked Tim if he was "ready to go" -- but Tim ignored this person for a time and continued to speak to me... Tim told me: "I'm sorry it had to end this way."

The driver of the SUV (I never took my eyes off Tim and so I only knew from the voice that it was a girl, I later put things together and realized it must be a co-worker prompted most likely by Miguel) then called out to him again: "Are you ready to go now?"... Tim hesitated but got into the vehicle and I walked in the opposite direction/turned the corner and continued walking away, with tears flowing from my eyes...

2. An exchange of e-mails between Tim and I followed that last peaceful conversation we had, and it became clear to me that Tim had been dishonest with his girlfriend about his friendship with me and in backing up his dishonesty (at least for this reason) he had also been dishonest with his workplace about the "nature of our friendship"...

3. I was distraught for those weeks that followed, and the lies about me seemed to be getting more and more out of hand... I honestly tried to "take the high road" -- and out of loyalty and devotion to my friendship -- I had written Tim regarding my intentions to walk away from the terrible injustices being inflicted on me and leave him to his own conscience with the dishonest and inconsiderate choices he was making regarding me...

4. On June 10, 2011 -- which happened to also be my birthday -- I was riding a bus down Powell Blvd. when Tim's girlfriend boarded the same bus about 20 blocks after I had... I attempted to talk to her -- I wasn't gracious; but I didn't attack her either... However, she went in to her self-destructive (IMO*) mode and tried to humiliate me in front of the other passengers... Calling me names and again making false accusations against me: The driver ignored her attempt to have me evicted from the bus -- and the other passengers seemed to be rooting for me -- I spoke the truth and stated what really happened on May 19 -- I then voluntarily exited the bus at the next stop...

[* If not for her repeated verbal assault against me; I probably would have let things go as I had just told Tim I planned to do on June 6! She blew it for him again...and again...]


...Following that altercation with Tim's girlfriend -- I gave everything a lot of thought -- I concluded that I wasn't going to be able to live with myself if I let Tim's girlfriend get away with her scheming and bullying and total dishonesty... Furthermore, very sadly, I came face to face with the underlying distressing (but now pretty obvious) other fact of the matter: Tim had been setting me up for this, not intentionally I hope, by way of something he must have said that was untrue -- presumably long ago and I only now was putting all these pieces together. This hurt me the most...

5. I slept on all these things -- for about two weeks -- and finally concluded that I wanted to make sure that everyone knew the truth and to stand up for myself with regard to all of these cumulative injustices...

On June 21, 2011: I called the corporate offices of New Seasons Market and said only that I had a serious grievance against one of their stores and upon my referral to a "Customer Advocate" >> I set up a meeting at these offices for June 23...

6. I have covered this already, but to be thorough in this timeline: I will restate that I attended this meeting with Mary Alison Leatart and we were soon joined (previously unannounced to me) by an "upper-management representative", Claudia Knotek... I told Mary Alison and Claudia -- as much as I could in the two hours we spent in that meeting -- about the history of my friendship with Tim; but with a sincere attempt to deflect any intentional wrong-doing on his part regarding this friendship, which took place most often when I visited with him during his shifts at work -- but I also alluded to the ongoing correspondence Tim and I had had outside his workplace, via e-mail, for more than a year...

My main goal was to state that whatever was being said about me, if it in any way suggested that I was at all at fault for the incident on May 19: that this was all untrue; that I was innocent in that regard...

...Both Claudia and Mary Alison assured me that they would look into the situation: "...speak with Miguel and see what could be done to restore me to being a loyal and trusted customer..."

7. The following week I received an e-mail in reply to that initial promise, which was incomprehensible to me -- and I have written here at this blog and elsewhere: so much about that injustice being served to me in such a disingenuous manner -- but to wrap that part of this summary up: I did not take this injustice lightly -- and though I initially sought to work out this new and greater grievance peacefully with Mary Alison/New Seasons Market management -- she stated their intention to uphold their fucked-up decisions and basically blew me off!

After my repeated attempts to work things out with New Seasons Market, and my great effort to put everything into writing to avoid any possible ensuing misunderstandings -- and their subsequent refusal to budge -- I thought of how I could lawfully seek justice... I published Mary Alison's fucked-up e-mail to me (the only personal reply to any of this that I have received thus far) at portlandindymedia.org and then printed it out, mass-duplicated it -- and beginning on the afternoon of June 29, 2011: from a public sidewalk -- I distributed this published e-mail to customers exiting the Seven Corners store and also around the neighborhood...

8. Within just a day or two of launching my formal protest (July 3? I'll consult my notes and follow up on this IF I am mistaken) -- New Seasons Market called the police on me and attempted to have me arrested; but I was not breaking any laws; and the police officer who arrived to take their complaint: conceded that I was within my rights to protest in the manner which I was -- and despite Miguel's futile attempt to get the officer to reconsider -- the officer left me in peace to continue my protest...

9. July 9, 2011: Day 11 of my protest -- I was in the midst of placing informational flyers on the windshields of cars PARKED ON THE STREET -- which now stated: "Open Call to Boycott New Seasons Market" [and listed the 9 most commonly heard complaints pertaining to New Seasons Market's unethical practices (as reported to me by the community during my "public outreach") -- as well as a 10th reason: my personal grievance against them for their arbitrary decision to have me trespassed due to an incident for which I was not responsible -- but furthermore I was the one who had been victimized!...] At this time is when Tim came rushing out of the store (via the Division Street entrance/exit) and he began screaming at me that I had better stop my protesting, etc... I was startled by Tim doing this but not enough to stop what I was in the middle of doing; this seemed to greatly insult him and so -- without guessing what he was actually up to (at the time) -- I finished that single task and then met him on the sidewalk where he stood seething with a seemingly affected rage...

It was (from my perspective) pretty funny: Tim was throwing a tantrum -- and it reminded me of the arguments I've witnessed young siblings have with each other -- except that I didn't match his rage. Rather, I was amused/bemused and I couldn't help but laugh at him -- and unable to resist -- when he stood as close as he possibly could to me and tried to make himself taller (it appeared to be his intent) by standing as straight as he could and doing his best to appear intimidating (he failed miserably at this): I reacted by flicking his baseball cap off; Tim replaced it, and I flicked it off again -- :o) -- at which point Miguel came out to supposedly intervene -- at that moment just before he reached us where Tim and I stood by the telephone pole -- is when Tim said this to me: "You hit me."

Seriously, Tim! WTF?!

Tim then repeated that bullshit accusation louder to Miguel: "She hit me; did you see her hit me?" Before Tim finished that full statement/question Miguel began to answer, "Yes" -- but upon hearing Tim's full accusation he then responded -- "Well, no... I saw her knock your hat off..." -- to which Tim dishonestly reaffirmed: "She hit me."

...That wasn't the full verbal exchange between Tim and I at that time (nor Miguel and I; he seriously pissed me off with shit that he also said to me and Miguel clearly was still missing the point of my protest! This was not about my relationship with Tim! This was about his own actions towards me along with New Seasons Market's upholding of his fucked-up decisions pertaining to me!): but that's the summary...

I DID NOT immediately leave; I still had a few flyers left (o: ...But once I gave the last of these away, I began to walk away... I had crossed the street, and looking back, I saw both Tim and Miguel had returned to that sidewalk outside the store (on Division Street); I flipped my middle finger at them -- and simultaneously I suspected I had just been set up and that the police were most likely on their way -- sure enough!...

...I was about three blocks away, walking down 21st Avenue and approaching Clinton Street when I heard and saw a police car -- with its siren blaring and lights flashing -- drive past me... Wow. It was that moment when I sadly began to lose any last remnant of the once tremendous respect for Tim that I had ever had -- and I can't begin to overstate how depressing that was for me -- and still is...

10. I might be able to attribute this to my (possibly but quite likely) having what is sometimes referred to as "Asperger Syndrome" or it might just be that I so loved Tim (I still do but that's another part of the story) that it didn't fully sink in yet that the whole reason for that scene he staged outside the store was a premeditated tactic to make a charge against me for which I could be arrested (I was also, and this is important:  innocent!) -- and so: I unwittingly returned to the Seven Corners store to continue my protest, on the following Saturday...

[OK: Stupidly might be more accurate... Especially since just a short while before this event -- I had been warned by a concerned citizen at a General Meeting for portlandindymedia.org -- that New Seasons Market would likely find a way to have me arrested! I was in agreement with this advice, but having broken no laws, I didn't worry too much I guess...]

...On this particular day: JULY 16, 2011 -- I had only been absent from this daily protesting for 6 days because I had been tending to other areas of my personal life, not because I had been scared away -- and as I am trying to make clear, I did not suspect that I would be in any trouble for returning to continue my legal protest... Therefore, I was in the process of again distributing protest materials on the public sidewalk between the store and Division Street, when Miguel came out -- AND POINTING TO WHERE I WAS STANDING, HE TOLD ME: YEAH, YOU ARE OK THERE... JUST MAKING SURE YOU STAY ON THAT PORTION OF THE SIDEWALK (designating the "line" between the two concrete sections closest to the store, and the two sections where I stood, which were closest to the street)...

...My immediate thought was: WELL, DUH!

I knew I was OK; but I also didn't give a flying fuck how Miguel felt about it!...

I started to get a bad feeling about Miguel's true intent for telling me that; I wrapped up my sidewalk protesting for the day and had begun to walk away, when: police officers appeared and ordered me to halt...

...I "obeyed" (not out of any respect; but because I know the best way to avoid arrest is to cooperate...) their command; I stated that I was within my rights to protest, etc... One officer stayed with me -- and he listened to me narrate the reasons for my protest, etc -- while the other officer went into the store and presumably listened to Miguel lie his ass off... Moments later, that officer emerged -- and announcing that I was under arrest; handcuffed me, and led me around the corner to the parking lot where two police cars were parked....

I cooperated with both officers; but I reminded them that I wasn't trespassing, nor breaking any other laws -- that is when one of the officers informed me that I WAS NOT BEING ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING! BUT RATHER FOR AN ALLEGED ASSAULT AGAINST AN EMPLOYEE THAT TOOK PLACE ON JULY 9...

...My heart shattered in that moment: how could Tim go so far over to the dark side; how could my special and wonderful friend be capable of such a crime against me?!

I clearly stated to the officer: that this was not at all true... I tried to say what had honestly happened between us that day of July 9: that I had been in the street when Tim came out of the store and that Tim had confronted me - and that I had joined Tim on the sidewalk - and during Tim's rant I had humorously knocked his hat off - and nothing more!

...The officer replied: "That's why we have courts and judges" -- and dismissing my denial -- that same officer (I think, but it's not important which officer) apparently made a phone call to Tim and then came back to the car (where I was being detained by the second officer) and told this other officer that: "I guess Shipp (Timothy Ryan Shipp) doesn't want to press any charges after all -- BUT! ...New Seasons would still like to press charges for trespassing..."

[WTF?! I was just moments before -- informed by the police -- that "trespassing" wasn't the charge! Yet here they were -- deciding to make it the charge -- when Tim (gratefully) withdrew his allegations against me! ...In remembrance of this; I honestly don't know why I didn't vocalize my acknowledgment of this bait and switch tactic... I suppose that I just felt helpless -- and understandably, I continued to see it in my best interest to comply with the officers, and like they said: tell it to the judge...]

I was taken to the Central Precinct: I was booked, photographed, and fingerprinted multiple times (whatever!)... After a long wait in a lobby-like area, but in the main area of their operations -- I had my turn speaking to the Recognizance Officer -- it was fortunately agreed upon that I could be trusted to go free, and to show up in court to face the "Criminal Trespassing" charge against me by New Seasons Market...

[The charge was reduced to a "Violation" and the case was later dismissed: by the court.]

11. At about 5:30am, I was released on my own recognizance (or whatever: they let me finally go)... There was not any bus service at that time, as it was Sunday morning; so I walked from Downtown to Southeast Portland -- and without thinking if it was wise to do so -- even though Tim had dropped the charges (the charges were fucking fake and he had been a fucking jerk to make them in the first place!) -- I walked right up to the front door of Tim's apartment and rang the bell twice...

...Tim opened the door, he had most likely been sleeping, and he was shirtless. I noticed Tim's tattoo, which I never knew he had before then... Unless I am mistaken: it was a tattoo of a heart -- with a dagger in it -- and that seemed pretty fitting for my state of mind; WOW...

[As does the song which Tim wrote and shared with me (circa May 2010) seem quite profound in retrospect: "I dreamed I was a pack of wolves..."]

...Tim was -- understandably -- freaked out to see me at his door. Also, it had started raining as I'd walked there, and so by then I was dripping wet... Tim quickly shut the door in my face; but I expected that... My only intention for arriving there when I did: I had come there to show him I had rightfully been set free -- and most of all -- to tell him this:

"I HOPE YOUR CRUELTY, DISHONESTY AND HYPOCRISY HAUNT YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!..."

12. I appeared in court on July 19, 2011... Due to poverty, and the fact that no attorney would be appointed to me by the court because I was being charged with only an apparently very minor misdemeanor; I willingly bargained with the judge for my freedom and accepted the only choice which guaranteed my case would be dismissed... I was told I could plead guilty in exchange for the dismissal (huh?) -- in addition to performing 4 hours (I think he said 4 hours...) of "community service".

...I don't know what the official record shows; but this is how I handled that preposterous offer: I stated that I was definitely "NOT GUILTY" -- I made my official statement about having been falsely arrested, describing how the charges had been switched after the initial charge had been dropped, that even so -- I would, with pleasure -- perform the assigned community service as I personally have great respect for serving one's community -- and for the record; I also added this: That it is my personal belief that my protesting has been in itself: community service! ...That I have felt it to be my civic duty...

(o: Soon after leaving the courthouse, I returned to the Seven Corners store and continued my perfectly legal protest, with an even greater passion than before BOOYAH! :o)

13. I was offered a fair amount of time to perform the assigned community service -- but I requested to do it as soon as possible; the day after the next -- as if angels were looking over me through all of this; when I reported for that assignment: the crew leader had failed to show! I was told that I was free to leave  -- and that by just showing up -- I had fulfilled my obligation! The court officially dismissed the case New Seasons Market leveled against me on August 16, 2011.

So this is where I want to say -- "Na na na na na" -- to New Seasons Market; but absolutely with this caveat: None of that -- Tim dropping those fake charges, the court dismissing my case, nor my never having to perform the assigned community service -- NONE OF THIS: exempts you from your crimes against me! Nor my wrath against you! -- where your corruption is concerned: WORD!

But still >> New Seasons Market: Yay for my freedom and yay for your failure and yay for this one true justice prevailing in this huge ordeal for which your corruption is fully to blame!

I now rest my case against you; but my protest lives on...

I FUCKING HATE YOU NEW SEASONS MARKET!


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This next segment was previously published (as noted above at this specific blog) on January 23, 2012:

i wrote these open letters on October 12, 2011. i had been waiting to publish them along with some other previously written (and as of this moment unpublished) segments in what would most likely become part 3. i guess this can still be designated as part 3 - but trust me, new seasons market - this is so not over yet. i promised myself to make further progress on my blogging project today: feeling that addressing these grievances is long overdue; i am choosing to publish these particular excerpts at this time.

...to be continued!

-- kimberly kristin angelique, january 23, 2012

(o: Editor's Note: The above segment, which I added on 02/04/12: That's my continuation :o)

GOD MAY FORGIVE YOU; BUT I WON'T (AND I WON'T EVEN TRY)

[Part One of Part Three]
...part two of part three (published 02/04/12) actually precedes this...

MIGUEL! Let me start with you – I’m quite sure I will not be done saying shit to you anytime soon – but for now let me say this: I hate you Miguel Rosas-Baker. I know that hate is a very strong word – but in my opinion it is too weak a word for how much I truly despise you. You are a super lucky guy that I am not the violent sociopath that Jennifer tried to tell people I was – and while I can’t be certain what you told the police – I am guessing it wasn’t very nice and I know it wasn’t true or they would have never FALSELY arrested me.

I don’t even know where to begin with you – obviously you were a total asshole on May 19 and you upset me greatly when you dismissed what I was telling you but took every lie that Jennifer was spewing at you like it was the voice of God – guess what – God knows I was telling the truth and that you heard the truth from me – I don’t know exactly what that will mean for you karmically but I believe that it will come up for you– maybe it already has...

You are a fucked-up jerk for making your decision so fast – you should have gotten all the facts and waited on it and thought it over long and hard before you told me what you did. You cursed yourself for life when you failed to do that (in my opinion and I plan on holding you accountable for as long as I live) – and God knows how terribly fucked up you behaved following May 19 – for instance July 1, 2, 9, 16…

But for the record: the thing that I hate you the most for – and for which I hope you suffer the greatest for – is your interfering in my private conversation with Tim after he was off-duty, when we were not on the premises of New Seasons – and just because you happened to walk by us on your way home from work – you should have kept on walking.

Tim works for you and had just totally lied to you – to protect his job – how can he then be expected to tell you to leave us alone? Tim did tell you we were talking it out – he did not ask you to stay...

I asked you to leave. You tried to play God that night and for that I hope you pay a terrible price because you are not God Miguel – you are a fucking grocery store manager – you were not still on duty and you were not even still at work!

Hate is way too fucking weak a word for how I feel about you hovering by us – but OMG how I fucking hate you for that!

That moment – was my one and only best moment to talk this out with Tim – to hear his side of things and for us to try and come to some resolution – or at least to be on the same page – and you destroyed that moment. If you would have left Tim and I alone to talk – there is a very good chance that none of what is happening now or since then ever would have happened.

We will obviously never know.

Perhaps I am wrong to think that Tim and I would have reached a solution to the mess he unintentionally got himself into and which his girlfriend set fire to at work – it’s just speculation – but before you butted into our private moment – Tim was talking to me.

...Tim got off his skateboard and had walked over to where I stood and we had just started talking. Once you showed up – and remained – Tim put on his mask and I wasn’t talking to my friend any more – I was talking to your employee who was freaked out about losing his job, which he desperately needed.

You blew it Miguel; you fucked it all up. Don’t fucking try to defend yourself by saying it was your job to interfere or moderate – it was not – you weren’t at work any more. I know for a fact from our other encounters how you power trip – this was you power tripping – you helped nobody that night – if New Seasons Market Corporate wants to find the best person to blame for all this – it is all you.

I am pretty certain you already know how I feel about you setting me up in July and arranging for my false arrest. I hope you go to fucking hell Miguel.

Mary Alison: I have already told you in my July 5 e-mail what I think of your disingenuity, dishonesty, and puppetry. But I forgot to tell you this: FUCK YOU!

Claudia: FUCK YOU!

Marta: I don’t like you very much; you could have actually done something right and at least attempted to make things better – but you actually seem to be a pretty decent person. I maybe resent you interfering with my free speech to the extent that you did and your tearing down my flyers – but you somehow managed to be nice when you did all that and you didn’t come off as phony. I appreciate that. I think there is hope for you: I hope you find a company to work for where you don’t have to sell your soul.

Trisha: What the fuck?! I had no idea until it was too late what a fucking bitch you are. On April 22, 2011 – did you know all the things that I did not know yet when you set me up to speak so honestly with you that morning at Sanborn’s? Did we meet there by accident? Was it just a coincidence? Did Adam not show as some part of a conspiracy? My guess is that it is just a coincidence – but I sure as hell can’t be positive.

What I am positive about – is that I felt like you were fishing for information – and you kept asking me all those questions about Tim and because I was trying to balance being honest with not telling anything about Tim that might get him into any trouble at work – you upset me because talking about my conversation with Tim which had occurred following my recent tragedy – brought up that pain for me all over again (about that tragedy) and when I started crying – suddenly you had to go like I was making you uncomfortable. I know you mentioned you were planning to go get your son – but I could still tell that you were judging me poorly – and yet you were the one pumping me for all that information!

I wish I hadn’t been so gullible and I wish I knew how to just shut the fuck up when I only know how to be totally honest. Tim told me – after it was too late – about you calling him into your office to discuss that conversation you had with me... You were wrong to do that; but you were even more wrong to ask me the questions you asked and to trick me into thinking you cared about me when you obviously don’t...

When I tried to talk to you about that outside the Seven Corners store last summer, when we crossed paths – you wouldn’t even look at me! You are a fucking jerk. You totally suck and I sincerely hope the very best for your child – but I hope that someday you personally will get fucked over in some way comparable to the way you fucked me over – then perhaps you will come to understand just how unethical you have been.

For the record: Tim and I were special friends. You played a willing part in destroying that friendship – you may be one of the people who is least to blame – but you definitely share some of the blame.

...Perhaps if you could at least admit you were wrong to act as you did, to mess with things the way that you did and truthfully tell me that you are sorry – that might go a long way – but if you just let your unethical behavior and insincerity and being a total bitch stand as they do – you will pay some price – because you must know on some level that what you have done is terribly wrong – and when you do things like that knowingly – you fall from grace – is that the example you want to set for your son?

* * *

[Editor's Note, March 21 2012:

Trisha Shozuya: Yeah you. I know your last name now. Nice to put a full name with someone who totally screwed me.

You are at Food Front NW now, Miguel? Did you quit Seven Corners or were you finally fired? Either way - you will always suck wherever you are - and I'm still blaming you for so much; especially your crimes against me. In case you were wondering.]

kristin's BOYCOTT NEW SEASONS MARKET page

https://www.facebook.com/boycottnewseasons



kristin boycotts new seasons
http://kristinangelique.blogspot.com/p/kristin-boycotts-new-seasons-market.html

[Not the end!]



* * *

link to *kim and tim* part one: excuse me while i break my own heart

link to (part one and part two of) *kim and tim* part two: i am the platypus in a walled city (what is and what if)

link to (part three of) *kim and tim* part two: new seasons market is not friendly... new seasons market totally sucks...



dear new seasons: it would be in your best interest:
to retract your false accusations and other slanderous remarks directed at me.
i highly recommend that you make a formal, PUBLIC and ideally, sincere, apology to me.
i've been waiting for almost 2 years now; hurry up already...

. . . peace . . .

kristin angelique


* * *

My Thesis, Postscript

My main purpose is twofold:

To demonstrate how I was unjustly trespassed by a New Seasons Market Store Manager and subsequently victimized by the Upper Management while attempting to seek resolution with them. During the course of this procedure (which was verbally provided to me by the corporation’s representative, to whom I first inquired), I found myself placed in the harrowing position of enduring further humiliation: I believe that their suppression tactics were deliberately employed to traumatize me;  I know that I was intentionally, falsely arrested. This business which markets and promotes itself to the public as being genuinely progressive and “the friendliest store in town”, purposely lied to police.  

An equally important purpose for this presentation is to defend myself against, and prove myself innocent of:  the slanderous, disparaging untruths and false accusations targeting me during New Seasons Market’s failed public relations attempt to blame the victim; portraying me in an intentionally scathing, negative light – on the global internet – as if to suggest that, were their statements actually true;  the conclusion should be that I am deserving of the punishing acts and consequently unworthy of justice.

This public relations statement had been openly published in July 2011; authored by the same “Customer Advocate” who disingenuously represented herself as being my actual advocate when we first spoke on the phone, and again when I met with her at the Corporation’s Headquarters (a meeting she arranged for me).

I further assert that – even if their character assassination of me were not a deliberate fabrication – nobody deserves to be treated as grievously as I have been by New Seasons Market. It is significant that they were dishonest, and therefore, I am certainly not deserving of such severe treatment; I maintain that New Seasons Market’s bullying, intimidation tactics and harmful actions – aimed at anyone – is telling evidence of their corruption.

* * *

…I did not draw up a blueprint of how to best defend myself in a way that might hopefully assure me of immunity from all future embarrassment. If anybody has any sage advice for how I might better go about doing this, please send me an e-mail, no matter how far down the road it gets to be…

I never considered not defending myself – no other option seems acceptable to me – but, I did not immediately rush to tell the whole truth while carelessly tossing others and their presumed desire for privacy aside. 

Although the best course of action for me instinctively involved telling the truth at all times – I did sincerely try my best to leave other involved persons out of the story as much as I could without not telling the truth at all times. My aim was not to make anyone else suffer along with me – even if they were among the primary instigators of this snafu. So as not to be remiss – I admittedly felt no sympathy for New Seasons Market as a corporate entity, and I clearly stated that, more than once, but I did not feel vengeance toward their employees or other customers. For the longest time, I limited any exception, to the two main perpetrators who began this whole ordeal with their dishonest acts.

Having said that: I harbored strong, personal, romantic feelings for one of these individuals and the other one I wanted to give a good kick… But, to tell the truth about either of them involved telling the truth about both of them, and it quickly became successively more complicated.

My overall objective had been that, ideally, once I told the whole truth – that all of my detractors, even the management at New Seasons Market, would clearly see how/why all these misunderstandings arose in the first place: How one employee’s lie – which had led to another lie (this lie was then repeated to others; spreading about as it grew) –  had brought all these different people to be misled, to jump to false conclusions, and consequently, to make mistakes in their judgment, causing them to behave badly...

I had taken this approach from the beginning – when I first open-published to the internet, the official ruling by New Seasons Market (as stated to me in an e-mail they issued a few days following our face-to-face conference) and from then on – earnestly trying to uphold this ethic – as I replied to the combative and/or taunting comments in reply to my post, and/or other comments which I’d posted in response to someone else’s comment... My efforts produced disastrous results.

Some of these antagonists may have been legitimately random people who found the discussion interesting enough to participate, with or without good intentions; but it seemed to me that these comments were deliberate attempts to get me to back down, rest my case, and bail out… While others seemed intent to personally hurt me with their remarks.

This was both before and after New Seasons Market erred in posting a hurtful comment which, while meant to smear me, reflected more negatively on their public image than my personal character, in my opinion. I believe that it was a bad move for them to have made, and it came with consequences. But I did not retaliate by squelching my own ethics, nor did I regard the other persons most closely involved as being collateral damage. Instead, I pleaded once again for these individuals to take their share of responsibility in the greater misunderstanding and particularly, own up to the full-blown lies which they had constructed in an effort to make their invented story stick together. I pleaded to no avail.

In conclusion:

This is my truthful account – at my own personal website; no outsider comments permitted – of how this whole mess got started. This is my side of the story. I decided to start at the very beginning – not with the purpose of boring anyone to death – for the purpose of attempting to eliminate any ambiguity.

It should be noted, however, that while the need for more revisions will become more and more apparent, should you continue to read further: At this time, I am done.

I have long ago moved on: Today, upon revisiting a rule-book for writers; I thought of this work of mine, how three years later it remains here in cyberspace, still not meeting all the set standards… I had a nice laugh. Then, quite spontaneously, I declared that I might at least finally state my thesis: this is that effort undertaken and hopefully achieved. Thank you dearest reader…

P.S. New Seasons Market totally sucks! 

--Kristin Angelique, 14 September 2014

[Posted here today, 15 September 2014]

au revoir!