Build Date: Fri Aug 14 00:40:15 2026 UTC
Listen to your inner SPOCK!
-- Head Freezin' Gene
Gilman St. In Trouble
1999-01-15 23:02:00
OK, so, if you're not from the San Francisco Bay Area, you may not know about the Gilman St. Project. It's the seminal club around here for the punk resurgence of the late 80's/early 90's. Hell, it's where GREEN DAY started! Woo-hoo! Anyways, it's in trouble.
I know, you're probably thinking, "Who the fuck cares? Another stupid club comes and goes." Or maybe you're like Flesh, and you're so Old Skool Punk that you don't think any club since the Ingrown Asshair in 1978 is worth even pissing on. [Flesh rebuts: "I not only helped raise money for [Gilman], I was one of the very first people through the goddamn door."]
Well, what makes Gilman important is that it's a) member-owned and -run, b) cheap and c) all ages. The people who wanted to hear music in Berkeley, but didn't have a venue, made one themselves, and they've kept it open through constant adversity, playing some pretty decent music in the process. It's another cool example of people making the shit they like happen for themselves and for others. It's like Free Software, or Burning Man, or whatever. And that's why it's worth saving.
Anyways, Gilman's in trouble with the City of Berkeley. Apparently the area they're located in -- a crappy industrial slum -- is zoned for "re-development", and the City and some of the high-teck businesses moving in are unhappy about having a bunch of punx walking around their new office parks on the way to the shows. So, they're trying to get the permit for Gilman revoked.
The Gilman St. site has a petition you can sign to tell the big bastards to keep their hands off small, non-profit venues. You should go do it, even if you could give a rat's ass about punk music or Berkeley or whatever. Just go sign the fucking petition, eh? SIGN IT!!!!!! OK? OK.
T O P S T O R I E S
John Dvorak has passed. I’m of mixed emotions. First off I’m more positive about his contribution to the overall technology journalism of the early PC days through the 90s, despite how many things he got wrong. He was a firebrand and commanded attention. (More...)
America's National Recording Registry Inducts Culturally Significant Artist - Weezer!
America's Library of Congress calls them "defining sounds of history and culture" and "audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Weezer! (More...)
The Crossroads are real and The Blues is a place; The enduring myth of Robert Johnson (More...)
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
Clowns Take on God in Mysterious Annual Ceremony
Last Sunday's (the 6th) Grimaldi Service at a small church in East London was a red-letter day for clowns worldwide. About a hundred old-school red-nosed clowns made the sombre trip to darkest Dalston to pay their respects to clowns who died in the last year and to thank God for the gift of laughter in a bizarre ceremony presided over by the eccentric Reverend Clown Roly, resplendent in a garish red lumberjack shirt with oversized gold lapels. (More...)
Juggler Vain attempts to wrestle with the issues around the KPFA shutdown; Big-time wrestling ensues. (More...)
A Nobel Prize-Winning Author Describes Liquor
Curled up cozy with a good book? All warm and snuggly and thinking about friends far away? So am I, reading the greatest story by the greatest writer -- when he suddenly starts waxing philosophical about liquor! (More...)
Paranoid Strippers & Psychotic Crack Dealers (Tales of Christmas Eve)
Christmas day, for the last 17 or so years has bored me. I find that the real fun and excitement always takes place on Christmas Eve. Every other year, it's the excitement of the metaphorical hunt instead of the kill. Otherwise, it's just plain bad craziness. (More...)
Put the "Life" Back in SF "Nightlife"
The Man is putting the hurting on San Francisco clubs, but some people are fighting back. Beajolais! Flesh interviews Leslie Ayers of the San Francisco Late Night Coalition. (More...)
We here in SMRL's Beverage Research Lab realize that there is more to life than just drinking spocktails. It's important to have other activities. One such activity that we wholeheartedly support is dancing six or more hours to Trance music. So we have designed a drink to accommodate this. (More...)
