Letters for July 17, 2008

Letter of the week
She’s no ‘dude,’ dude

I have a minor correction to make about an assertion made in one section, mainly because it’s personal: “Four punk dudes loaf at a merch table, looking stoic, perhaps miffed at the mainstream crowd.”

First of all, I’m not a dude. Yeah, I was one of the “dudes” hanging around the merch table. I was hanging out with my friends Larissa (also not a dude), Eion and Danny, and I guess collectively we were the “four punk dudes” mentioned in the article.

Second: I looked stoic? I suppose I can see someone getting that impression, but I assure you, I had fun with my friends that night. More importantly, the part about “miffed at the mainstream crowd” is mainly what pissed me off.

We don’t give a shit what people look like at shows—that I can say for all four of us. We don’t suddenly get sullen and depressed if we don’t see 10 other kids who look like us. The crowd wasn’t even mainstream—not when they were at a little show like that. (What makes someone “mainstream,” anyway?)

All I was concerned about was hanging out with my friends and seeing the bands I wanted to see. Little else weighed on my mind, especially the people who looked “mainstream” to you. Couldn’t you have talked to us before making assumptions? Nothing was stopping you. We wouldn’t have put our noses in the air and ignored you or anything.

You played the quiet observer well (besides the fact that you didn’t observe the genders of some people), but I don’t know what was stopping you from being a participant, too. You seemed to make a lot of assumptions about other people at other shows in the article as well, and it seemed really judgmental on your part. And I understand that people are naturally judgmental, but considering you seemed to pay more attention to the crowds than the bands themselves, again, I don’t know what was stopping you from actually interacting with the crowds. I suggest you get up off your ass and talk to everyone you decide to make assumptions about next time, especially if you’re going to end up writing about them in an article. Rather than sounding like an old fart who can’t be bothered to drive out to a show with bands who don’t meet your oh-so-high standards, you’d actually sound like you had fun and made an adventure of it. Because reading the article now, it sure as hell doesn’t sound like you had fun—it sounded the whole thing was a strain and a pain in the ass.

I know the Sac scene isn’t as vibrant and active as it really should be considering the talent we have here, but it isn’t as much of a snorefest as your article is—and that I know for a fact.

Alexis Baccus
Sacramento

Mo’ pomo than the shows?

Re “30 gigs, 30 days” by Josh Fernandez and Nick Miller (SN&R Feature, July 10):

Was this journalistic experiment as good as George Clooney and Julianna Margulies splashing around in a bubble bath? Almost.

Wisely following the regression towards the mean, only infrequently tripping over the availability heuristic and milking the freckled teat of the egocentric bias dry, these young dudes prove that Dunning and Kruger, as smart as they are, aren’t always right. You can employ your ludic fallacy and smoke it, too. Non-Gaussian, my ass!

Jeff McCrory
Carmichael

No show at this show

Re “30 gigs, 30 days” by Josh Fernandez and Nick Miller (SN&R Feature, July 10):

Hmmmm … in reading the “30 gigs, 30 days” piece, the writers refer to the Prince birthday show at Old I. Unbuttoned shirts and headbands? Mini-skirts and cellulite? Young Aundee?

I had to think about that for a minute; it sure didn’t sound like the show I stage-managed and provided the backline for. I had to check with the promoter to make sure I didn’t miss anything and yep, I was right. Young Aundee canceled the day of the show. That means that those mooks who wrote the piece probably weren’t even in the same zip code the night of the show. Perhaps they were sitting in another bar somewhere discussing next year’s Sammie nominees.

And the credibility of the SN&R music writers is what?

Warren Bishop
Citrus Heights

Editor’s note: Josh Fernandez was in attendance at the Prince birthday show. In his original draft, he wrote that he’d purposefully left the show before Young Aundee could take the stage, but the vignette was cut for space and the joke wound up lost in translation. We apologize. And Josh does acknowledge that he is a mook.

Righteous writin’

Re “What’s the time?” by Josh Fernandez (SN&R Arts&Culture, July 10):

Great story on Righteous Movement. I hope these guys make it big. It would be a great success story for this “cow town” of ours.

Better yet is that your publication is willing to always step out of the box and spotlight “real people with real stories.” Thank you! It’s good to know that SN&R and Fernandez in particular give people the chance to see the future stars of the music scene. I would be bold enough to suggest that this issue is a “must-keep.” These cats, Righteous Movement, are the future of hip-hop. I’ll be in line to buy the new full-length album.

Thanks for the article and for reminding me that we still have hope in Sac.

Felipe Villegas
Sacramento

Hey, G.W., read this!

Re “Crisis? What crisis?” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Feature, July 3):

This article is right on and I appreciate R.V. Scheide and SN&R for putting it on the cover. When I think about my privacy being invaded (the government looking at my e-mails to SN&R as I type, practically), it seems that George Orwell’s 1984 is coming to life.

I would like to encourage you and other writers of the truth to please, please, continue in your efforts. You are being heard and your readers appreciate your efforts. Perhaps articles like these, read in a coin-op laundromat, will enlighten more people, causing them to vote scumbags in the current administration out of office. Keep up the good work.

P.S. Hey, George and Dick: Have me hauled off to Guantanamo. I must be a spy.

Kathleen Haas
Sacramento

More Iraq news …

Re “Losing sight of Iraq” by Kel Munger (SN&R Frontlines, July 3):

No one I know is tired of news about Iraq. We want to know where the money goes, progress, exit strategy, etc., and I’ll bet the Iraqis want their country to remain on our minds, the sooner to depart.

Evan Jones
via e-mail

… especially since it’s so good

Re “Losing sight of Iraq” by Kel Munger (SN&R Frontlines, July 3):

I’m a reader demanding coverage of the war. Just because things are going amazingly well over there is no reason to abandon the story. Even John Murtha admits that, but refuses to apologize to the Marines he called “baby killers.”

From my perspective, it is evident that SN&R and the rest of the liberal media do not want to show anything positive as regards the war or the economy until after the election. If Obama wins, guess what? We will start hearing positive reports on the economy. The war? Maybe not, because I think he will totally botch that.

Don Marker
Alta