Interview with Mike Arsenault
1) A group of people living in freedom and co-operating as equals without any one group or person in power. This is just one persons vague definition though, people use this word in a variation of ways. But in a nutshell I guess that's what I would describe it as.
2) I don't think anarchy does define me, and for the record I don't consider myself to be an anarchist, although I may have some of the same ideals as an anarchist in the sense that I strive to live as freely as I can someday without supporting corporate department stores, fast food chains, factory farming, and any other organizations that take advantage of and or exploit people, animals, and the environment. I wish I could say that I lived that way now but that would be anything but the truth, It takes a lot of willpower and self control which I struggle with everyday.
3) I don't think I'm educated enough on the topic to even try and answer this question but I'm glad to see young people like yourself asking it. If I had started asking questions like that when I was 16, I might have some kind of an answer for ya
4) Well I've got to give alot of credit to good old buddy ole pal Mark Leonard on this one. The first few folk punk shows I saw were at Sam Ventura and his place in Norwich years ago which they called 'the Cubby Hole' .I had played in bands and been to punk shows before but seeing him play along with Riki Rocksteady, Eric Petersen, Bread and Roses, Brownbird Rudy Relic, and other amazing acoustic acts was really inspiring and opened up a hole side of punkrock I'd never seen before. Which then led to epic (to us anyway) summertime camp fire jams and singalongs till stupid o'clock in the morning down at the falls ( Indian Leap) also in Norwich. Since then I've really fallen in love with the songs, d.i.y. ethics, intimacy, and sense of community I feel being a part of it!
5)I don't read as much as I'd like to say I do, but one of the last books I read was called 'On the Lower Frequencies, a secret history of the city' by Eric Lyle and that really inspired me to learn the different ways people live and survive without slavin away at a job they hate and at the same time getting so involved in their own communities. As far as music,I'm really into alot of artists on Plan-it-x records like ghostmice, ramshackle glory, Andrew Jackson Jihad, spoonboy, and onsind to name a few. I love their dedication to what they do, their convictions to what they believe, their positive message, and just the way their songs/music makes me feel. They make me want to be a better person, get more involved with my community, and practice my song writing.
Interview with Pat The Bunny: Never Trust a Man Who Plays Guitar
What was going on during Wingnut Dishwasher Union? Tell me what you feel necessary!
1) Wingnut Dishwashers Union was a project that reflected a
developing sense that drug and alcohol abuse were seriously affecting my life
in negative ways. The nihilism and self-destruction that I pursued in
my earlier life were killing me, and making it impossible to develop
a life of joy, freedom, or connection to the people I loved. A lot of
the songs have to do with thinking about responsibility as a component
of freedom. I was also discovering that I was unable to stop or
moderate my drug use, even when I wanted to. I became heroin dependent
during the time I was writing Wingnut Dishwashers Union songs. Correspondingly, my sense of despair and hopelessness deepened as I
slid into escalating cycles of addiction and misery. That continued
until I ultimately got sober.
Johnny Hobo is about an old way of living, Wingnut Dishwashers Union
is about questioning that way of living but not being able to do
anything about it, and Ramshackle Glory is a point of departure into a
new way of living.
Do you think your perspective of Anarchy has changed from Wingnut to Ramshackle Glory? What differences in your life make that different?
2) My perspective on anarchism isn't very different, there's just more
space for that perspective to influence my actions. I was very
unsuccessful at putting anarchist principles into practice before I
got sober, because I am a drug addict and an alcoholic. It didn't
really matter what I believed in; the only way I could do what I
needed to do was through domination and manipulation of the people
around me. The difference in being sober is that I'm capable of a
wider range of behavior, and more if it can be in line with
my interpretation of the anarchist spirit: living as much as
possible without dominating others or being dominated by them, and
attempting to dismantle everything that forces us into relationships of
dominance and submission.
Can you describe your entrance into the Punk Scene? How did you find it? Why did you stay with it?
3. I became interested in punk because someone mentioned offhandedly to
me that there was a connection between punk and radical politics. I
don't remember who it was, but it must have been an adult--maybe a
college student who was interning in one of my Junior High classes. I
saw a flyer for a punk show in the next town over and decided to go.
At the time, the person who was booking shows just happened to book a
lot of political crust punk bands. There were people distributing
literature at the show. The bands talked about what the songs meant in
between playing. It was really cool. I didn't know anyone else around
my age who had political opinions, so I was pretty excited just to be
there reading the zines. I'm not a very outgoing person, and at
that age I was actively nervous around people, so I don't think I even
met anyone. I just knew that whatever I had just seen was where I
wanted to be.
It was my first show, so I just thought all punk shows were like that.
I went to every one that I could. Pretty quickly I found out
that a lot of punk shows don't have anyone distributing literature, a lot
of bands don't sing about anything important, and a lot of punks
aren't very interesting people. I stayed in the punk scene because I
found people in it that I related to more than anyone I knew outside of
it, and over time the set of aesthetic and cultural values I had in
common with those people solidified into an increasingly coherent
identity.
I remember I was seventeen or eighteen, feeling angry and sorry
for myself because I always felt uncomfortable around people and
didn't think anyone liked me, and in a conversation with my friend Johno
I said something about how I wasn't a punk. I was feeling really
bitter about punk at that point in my life, both for not
being "revolutionary" enough and for not making me feel more
comfortable personally. Johno raised his eyebrows a little and started asking
me about who I was friends with, what music I listened to, what
literature influenced me, etc. I was very stubborn, but he patiently
demonstrated to me in that conversation that most things about my life
were heavily influenced by my connection to punk. I could no more deny
being "punk" than being my parent's son.
That transformation isn't all good. I've spent so much time
in this specific subcultural context that I have a hard time relating
to people outside of it. That's a really small world to inhabit, and
over time I think it's crippling. I need deep ties to things outside
of punk in order to be reasonably happy or well-rounded. Getting
sober brought a lot of those kinds of relationships into my life. A lot
of people I know the best in Tucson I only know because we're in
recovery. We don't have anything else in common. I think that's really
important, to find common cause with people I don't necessarily agree
with about anything. Going to college brings me out of punk world a
little bit, although not as successfully because I don't actually have
any friends that I met through going to school.
Besides Punk, what else has inspired you? (Music, Literature, People)
4. The people in my life inspire me, primarily. Undertaking common
projects of our own determination with people I like is my favorite
thing to do. At my house we raise chickens and grow vegetables. We fix
the stuff that breaks, because we don't have a landlord and otherwise
it stays broken. We share food. We work out in the back yard together
listening to pop music. I love all that stuff. Our lives are not a
collection of separate intentions that happen to sleep in the same
building. They are a common project, in many ways. Obviously we are
all individuals, doing the things we want to separately from one
another. But we are also together, and part of something that is all
of ours together, in very real ways.
My friends are brilliant. Most of them are braver than I am. When I am
walking with them and they get catcalled or queer bashed by passing
cars, they scream back. I think I would be too afraid to do that. Some
friends have taken risks and caught charges that put them at risk for
prison. I think I would be afraid to do that. I don't know why people
want to interview me about anything. The things I do meaningless next
to the danger that many of my friends face for who they are, and the
punishment some have faced for what they were willing to do.
Letters of Insurgents by Fredy Perlman is a book that inspired me. The
Dispossessed by Urusla LeGuin is a book that inspired me. Debt by
David Graeber is a book that inspired me. I play in a punk band, so I
hope we get to play shows that are fun for us and the people that come
to them. It's pretty straightforward. There's not a grand vision.
5. What was your childhood like? Has anything from your childhood affected your music?
My childhood was rural and middle-class. My parents are really nice.
My brother is really nice. Most of my early problems were related to
school, difficulty integrating into it either socially or
institutionally. Longstanding feelings of isolation and rejecting
authority certainly affect my music. Obviously my social, racial,
economic, and geographic background influences who I am at every
level. That would be a lot to sort through, and I'm sure I wouldn't
catch most of it anyway. My dad is a musician, so that probably made
me more likely to play music. It certainly meant that I had access to
instruments and recording equipment growing up that most people
wouldn't have.
Interview with Ramshackle Glory: The Best Punk Rock on the Planet
In your own words, define Anarchy.
Anarchy is life without dominance or submission. There are a lot of
forms of domination in the world right now--governments, capitalist
economies and systems of property, patriarchy, white supremacy,
homophobia, transphobia. Anarchists believe we shouldn't have any of
them. ("Government" is any political system where a centralized group
of decision makers pass laws that are enforced by violence and the
threat of violence--i.e. police, prisons, militaries. "Capitalism" is
an economic system where the rich gain social and material power by
owning the property the rest of us need to survive. "Patriarchy" means
male dominance of society in general. "White supremacy" means white
control of society in general. "Homophobia" is fear and hatred of
homosexuality. "Transphobia" is fear and hatred of people who do not
identify with the gender they were assigned by society. Do a google
search for any of these terms to learn more about them.)
The anarchist project is to construct a world without enforced
hierarchy, to the greatest extent possible. This project has many
components. Some of the components are more traditionally and
recognizably "political": demonstrations, strikes, tree sits, breaking
stuff, people defending themselves from or attacking the police. Some
of the anarchist project is still publicly visible to some extent, but
may not be recognized as something being done by anarchists or in ways
inspired by anarchist principles: opening radical community centers
and music venues, feeding people for free, running community bike
shops. Other parts of the anarchist project are not publicly visible
at all: learning some of the ways that living in a patriarchal and
white supremacist society negatively affects how I treat people,
trying to treat people in a less sexist and racist manner as time goes
on, and talking to the people in my life about those things.
I consider all of those things (and others I am not thinking of or
aware of right now) to be ways that different anarchists are moving
towards anarchy in the best way they know how. Some anarchists would
emphasize some pieces of that picture as being "really" anarchist or
reject others as being "not" anarchist, but I think it's all
important. (As you might guess, anarchists tend to disagree with each
other about almost everything. Ha!)
Why do you feel Anarchy is important or the best form of government?
Anarchy is important because it speaks to the part of the human
spirit that holds freedom as the highest value.
Anarchy is not a form of government, though. Anarchy is society
without government. It may or may not be the "best" society, depending
on what you think makes a society "good." By some measures, anarchy
could be the worst form of society. If variety of consumer goods is
extremely important to you, for example, it seems very possible to me
that anarchy would be the worst society. If there were no police, we
would have to directly handle some of the dangerous situations
currently handled by the police, either alone or with our communities.
That sounds scary to me, but it is an implication of what anarchy
would be like.
I personally think freedom is the most important thing. That's why I'm
an anarchist. Anarchy is freedom without restraint; by that measure I
think it is "the best." But a lot of people don't think that freedom
is the most important thing, for good reasons. To them, anarchy could
not possibly be the best form of society, because it requires great
risk to reject so entirely the way we live now in order to try
something largely unknown. You would only take that risk if you think
freedom is worth any cost, or if you think you have little or nothing
to lose from the collapse of what exists now.
What is the overall message of your music?
I hope the music I write doesn't serve a single overall narrative.
On a personal level, I think a lot about what I am doing in light of
what I say I claim to believe. Most of my songs are probably about
that, either directly or indirectly.
If you ran this country, what would you do?
I'm an anarchist. I wouldn't run the country.
In your own words, define Anarchy.
Anarchy is life without dominance or submission. There are a lot of
forms of domination in the world right now--governments, capitalist
economies and systems of property, patriarchy, white supremacy,
homophobia, transphobia. Anarchists believe we shouldn't have any of
them. ("Government" is any political system where a centralized group
of decision makers pass laws that are enforced by violence and the
threat of violence--i.e. police, prisons, militaries. "Capitalism" is
an economic system where the rich gain social and material power by
owning the property the rest of us need to survive. "Patriarchy" means
male dominance of society in general. "White supremacy" means white
control of society in general. "Homophobia" is fear and hatred of
homosexuality. "Transphobia" is fear and hatred of people who do not
identify with the gender they were assigned by society. Do a google
search for any of these terms to learn more about them.)
The anarchist project is to construct a world without enforced
hierarchy, to the greatest extent possible. This project has many
components. Some of the components are more traditionally and
recognizably "political": demonstrations, strikes, tree sits, breaking
stuff, people defending themselves from or attacking the police. Some
of the anarchist project is still publicly visible to some extent, but
may not be recognized as something being done by anarchists or in ways
inspired by anarchist principles: opening radical community centers
and music venues, feeding people for free, running community bike
shops. Other parts of the anarchist project are not publicly visible
at all: learning some of the ways that living in a patriarchal and
white supremacist society negatively affects how I treat people,
trying to treat people in a less sexist and racist manner as time goes
on, and talking to the people in my life about those things.
I consider all of those things (and others I am not thinking of or
aware of right now) to be ways that different anarchists are moving
towards anarchy in the best way they know how. Some anarchists would
emphasize some pieces of that picture as being "really" anarchist or
reject others as being "not" anarchist, but I think it's all
important. (As you might guess, anarchists tend to disagree with each
other about almost everything. Ha!)
Why do you feel Anarchy is important or the best form of government?
Anarchy is important because it speaks to the part of the human
spirit that holds freedom as the highest value.
Anarchy is not a form of government, though. Anarchy is society
without government. It may or may not be the "best" society, depending
on what you think makes a society "good." By some measures, anarchy
could be the worst form of society. If variety of consumer goods is
extremely important to you, for example, it seems very possible to me
that anarchy would be the worst society. If there were no police, we
would have to directly handle some of the dangerous situations
currently handled by the police, either alone or with our communities.
That sounds scary to me, but it is an implication of what anarchy
would be like.
I personally think freedom is the most important thing. That's why I'm
an anarchist. Anarchy is freedom without restraint; by that measure I
think it is "the best." But a lot of people don't think that freedom
is the most important thing, for good reasons. To them, anarchy could
not possibly be the best form of society, because it requires great
risk to reject so entirely the way we live now in order to try
something largely unknown. You would only take that risk if you think
freedom is worth any cost, or if you think you have little or nothing
to lose from the collapse of what exists now.
What is the overall message of your music?
I hope the music I write doesn't serve a single overall narrative.
On a personal level, I think a lot about what I am doing in light of
what I say I claim to believe. Most of my songs are probably about
that, either directly or indirectly.
If you ran this country, what would you do?
I'm an anarchist. I wouldn't run the country.
Interview with Mark Leonard: Musician and Anarchist
In your own words, define Anarchy
Anarchy to me is more a state of being than a political ideaology. moments of anarchy exist when we are in tune with our surroundings and in control of what we want in this world. it's kind of like being lost in the revelry of a great concert or the madness of a protest on the brink of chaos. any system of control, including ones own second-guessing, can only attempt to control these moments, and for me that's what's important. i don't really believe that on a large scale an anarchist society is possible, but these moments can and do happen anytime. they are worth building on and they are worth fighting for. passion and self-determination are my real goals, not some utopian vision put into words by the great radicals of the 19th century (though they are of course still valid). i guess to me, anarchy isn't even worth defining, because defining it is an attempt to box it and label it. i'm not some chaos punk junkie that thinks anything goes, but i don't believe there is one politically correct way to look at it either. so fuck the police and all forms of hierarchy, but also fuck the notion that anarchy should be defined in some two dimensional one size fits all kind of way too.
Why do you feel Anarchy is important or the best form of government?
I don't think anarchy is the best form of government, it is merely, if i'm gonna define it, the absence of government. therefor anyone can take what they want from that definition to suit their viewpoint. during the spanish civil war, anarchists played a huge part in unions (as they did in the USA in the Industrial Workers of the World) and fighting the dictatorship of Franco. anarchists in Russia after the revolution fought both the armies of the czar and the red Bolshevik army as well. anarchist played a large role in everything from the Paris Commune to the Occupy movement today. in my opinion, it's not necessarily that it's the best ideology, compared to socialism and the green party, etc... it's just that no state or system of government can ever fully give you freedom. anarchy and anarchism as a philosophy are important because, despite all its faults and sometimes serious lack of organization, it inpires the best in all humans when confronting power and state violence. you can thank anarchists for everything from the 8 hour workday to the model of consensus decision making. it's really important to know the history and how it's grown over the centuries. an anarchist assasinated a U.S. president. and somewhere right now, anarchists are plotting an attack on some fucked up corporation somewhere that profits off of misery. anarchy is important because it is ever evolving; because it is not one size fits all.
What is the Overall Message of your music?
I would say it's to follow your own heart and desires. i don't have as many topical political songs on specific issues as i have songs just about the oeverall frustration and drudgery of everyday life, espceially if you're radically minded. apathy is everywhere and motivation can be really hard to come by. inspiration in our circles (the DIY punk community, for example) is very important to keep fueling our efforts. so even with the all the hopelessness there is, i like to infuse each song with that riled up excited spirit, cause i know i need it to keep me going as well.
What about American't?
American't is the louder, much more pissed off alter ego i guess. it's more about what pisses me off than what gives me hope. work, police, personal demons and self-loathing and society as a whole. trying to channel my anger and sometimes hate into something i consider positive. and sometimes just fun and ignorant, like our song "fiend for nicotine". i do write most of the words, but everything we do as a band we agree on or it just gets tossed aside for another time. but for me, especially since i get to scream it out, it really is kinda my fuck you to everything. i guess it's better to scream it out than to go postal.
I must say that My favorite song of yours is They Still Ignore Peaceful Protests. What would you say is the message of said song or maybe the point you were trying to get across?
glad you dig it!!! the title is based off of an Aus=-Rotten song from the 90's "the Ignore Peaceful Protest"... a continuation of that theme: that the powers that be are granting us the "right" to "protest" while business carries on as usual... i was inspired to write this one because the Occupy movement was heating up, especially in Oakland, CA, where activists were actually defending themselves from police violence and fighting back. and anarchists and activists ALWAYS have these debates on tactics when this happens. i think the pacifists' main fear is that the chaos and property destruction steer mainstream society away from the message of the protest. myself, i believe that if you're getttin your ass kicked by pigs while the banks and wall street and politicians are laughing and doing what they want anyway, maybe sitting down and just taking the mace in the eyes isn't working. i give shout outs in the song to Czolgolz who shot president McKinley and Alexander Berkman who went after Henry Clay Frick because, though it was a different time, they believed in what they were doing and felt all other means of action had failed. it's a controversial subject and a neverending debate, and whether these kinds of tactics are good and valid should always be discussed. this is just my tw
If you ran this country, what would you do?
that's fuckin silly. if magically it happened someday i was in power like that i have no idea. too much responsibility with too many lives at stake. but you don't get to the top of the shitpile without kissing so much ass, taking so much shit, and being such a piece of shit.... so if i was that person who worked my way to the top, knwoing what i know, i would hafta blow my fuckin head off knowing the misery and harm i've done to the planet. terrible question.
Hey Thanks for the Interview Mark
Cheers!
Anarchy to me is more a state of being than a political ideaology. moments of anarchy exist when we are in tune with our surroundings and in control of what we want in this world. it's kind of like being lost in the revelry of a great concert or the madness of a protest on the brink of chaos. any system of control, including ones own second-guessing, can only attempt to control these moments, and for me that's what's important. i don't really believe that on a large scale an anarchist society is possible, but these moments can and do happen anytime. they are worth building on and they are worth fighting for. passion and self-determination are my real goals, not some utopian vision put into words by the great radicals of the 19th century (though they are of course still valid). i guess to me, anarchy isn't even worth defining, because defining it is an attempt to box it and label it. i'm not some chaos punk junkie that thinks anything goes, but i don't believe there is one politically correct way to look at it either. so fuck the police and all forms of hierarchy, but also fuck the notion that anarchy should be defined in some two dimensional one size fits all kind of way too.
Why do you feel Anarchy is important or the best form of government?
I don't think anarchy is the best form of government, it is merely, if i'm gonna define it, the absence of government. therefor anyone can take what they want from that definition to suit their viewpoint. during the spanish civil war, anarchists played a huge part in unions (as they did in the USA in the Industrial Workers of the World) and fighting the dictatorship of Franco. anarchists in Russia after the revolution fought both the armies of the czar and the red Bolshevik army as well. anarchist played a large role in everything from the Paris Commune to the Occupy movement today. in my opinion, it's not necessarily that it's the best ideology, compared to socialism and the green party, etc... it's just that no state or system of government can ever fully give you freedom. anarchy and anarchism as a philosophy are important because, despite all its faults and sometimes serious lack of organization, it inpires the best in all humans when confronting power and state violence. you can thank anarchists for everything from the 8 hour workday to the model of consensus decision making. it's really important to know the history and how it's grown over the centuries. an anarchist assasinated a U.S. president. and somewhere right now, anarchists are plotting an attack on some fucked up corporation somewhere that profits off of misery. anarchy is important because it is ever evolving; because it is not one size fits all.
What is the Overall Message of your music?
I would say it's to follow your own heart and desires. i don't have as many topical political songs on specific issues as i have songs just about the oeverall frustration and drudgery of everyday life, espceially if you're radically minded. apathy is everywhere and motivation can be really hard to come by. inspiration in our circles (the DIY punk community, for example) is very important to keep fueling our efforts. so even with the all the hopelessness there is, i like to infuse each song with that riled up excited spirit, cause i know i need it to keep me going as well.
What about American't?
American't is the louder, much more pissed off alter ego i guess. it's more about what pisses me off than what gives me hope. work, police, personal demons and self-loathing and society as a whole. trying to channel my anger and sometimes hate into something i consider positive. and sometimes just fun and ignorant, like our song "fiend for nicotine". i do write most of the words, but everything we do as a band we agree on or it just gets tossed aside for another time. but for me, especially since i get to scream it out, it really is kinda my fuck you to everything. i guess it's better to scream it out than to go postal.
I must say that My favorite song of yours is They Still Ignore Peaceful Protests. What would you say is the message of said song or maybe the point you were trying to get across?
glad you dig it!!! the title is based off of an Aus=-Rotten song from the 90's "the Ignore Peaceful Protest"... a continuation of that theme: that the powers that be are granting us the "right" to "protest" while business carries on as usual... i was inspired to write this one because the Occupy movement was heating up, especially in Oakland, CA, where activists were actually defending themselves from police violence and fighting back. and anarchists and activists ALWAYS have these debates on tactics when this happens. i think the pacifists' main fear is that the chaos and property destruction steer mainstream society away from the message of the protest. myself, i believe that if you're getttin your ass kicked by pigs while the banks and wall street and politicians are laughing and doing what they want anyway, maybe sitting down and just taking the mace in the eyes isn't working. i give shout outs in the song to Czolgolz who shot president McKinley and Alexander Berkman who went after Henry Clay Frick because, though it was a different time, they believed in what they were doing and felt all other means of action had failed. it's a controversial subject and a neverending debate, and whether these kinds of tactics are good and valid should always be discussed. this is just my tw
If you ran this country, what would you do?
that's fuckin silly. if magically it happened someday i was in power like that i have no idea. too much responsibility with too many lives at stake. but you don't get to the top of the shitpile without kissing so much ass, taking so much shit, and being such a piece of shit.... so if i was that person who worked my way to the top, knwoing what i know, i would hafta blow my fuckin head off knowing the misery and harm i've done to the planet. terrible question.
Hey Thanks for the Interview Mark
Cheers!