The Best Punk Records You've Never Heard Of--Part 2 -- Rites of Spring, "End On End"

Rites of Spring were:

Guy Picciotto -- vocals, guitar
Brendan Canty -- drums
Mike Fellows -- bass
Ed Janney -- guitar


            Rites of Spring were a D.C. band from 1985-86 (dates not confirmed). Their album End on End hit me hard in the heart and broke me open emotionally from the first time I heard it. The songs on the album were like little a-bombs dropped on my world. (In 1987, I got a homemade Rites of Spring tattoo).
            Caught at a distance from myself
            And there was noone there to know
           What could I do?
            Sometimes a need can run too deep
           And we throw away the things
            We most wanted to keep
                                       -- "Spring"

           Well I woke up this morning
           With a piece of the past caught in my throat
           And then I choked
                                     -- "For Want Of"

                 Guy's lyrics were both personal and passionate. I responded to them with a fervor I hadn't felt in a long time about a band. I loved how the music would swell and crash like monster waves. This is an album I will always be thankful exists. It is not just a great album, it is beautiful. 

The Best Punk Records You've Never Heard Of -- Part 1 -- Embrace (D.C.)

"You know I thought that my eyes they would be dry/ But now I see and know, the movement has a bitter taste/ I will not have my statements spit back into my face/ We all wait so long for our dreams to be realized/ They end up objects of our own despise" -- "Dance of Days" Embrace

Embrace was a Washington, D.C. hardcore band consisting of  Ian MacKaye (ex-Minor Threat)--vocals, Michael Hampton--guitar, Chris Bald--bass and Ivor Hanson--drums. Their self-titled album came out in 1987.

"In the summer of '85 there was renewed spirit in D.C., often referred to as 'Revolution Summer.' This 'Revolution Summer' included a handful of bands that preferred smaller more intimate venues and focused on a more personal and introspective interpretation of punk rock. Embrace, which was formed by ex-Minor Threat member Ian MacKaye and three of the former members of Faith, was part of this renewal. The band played shows from the summer of 1985 until the spring of ’86"
-- from the Dischord Records website.

I first got the Embrace album in 1987. Not only was the spirit of hardcore broken then, but my personal life seemed quite an unknown at that time. I had spent so much time on punk rock that I didn't quite know what to do when the scene in Seattle was fading. Post-punk and pre-Grunge, the feel-good times of the Metropolis had given way to a kind of malaise.

The Embrace album was the perfect companion to the pain I was in. Ian MacKaye's prior band, Minor Threat, was a positive influence on the whole punk scene and my own life. I looked forward to Embrace and thought it would pick me up with a feel-good kind of message.

I was wrong.

The album is a raw, personal look at Ian's bitterness and rage at the way hardcore had changed and disappointed him. Just as I and many others of his generation were feeling it, he put it all on record.
The music is hard-charging but melodic.

In spite of the bitterness, there is resolve, if not hope. One only need listen to the song, "No More Pain" to recognize this wasn't the end of things, but a new beginning. After Embrace broke up, Ian formed Fugazi with members of Rites of Spring.

No More Pain

No more lying down
We've got to speak and move
No more righteousness
Everything is far too wrong
No more selfish tears
You haven't paid for them
No more dressing up
Please leave your costumes home
No more looking down
You might just bump your head

The purpose is within yourself
The movement is within yourself
Your emotions are nothing but politics
So get control...


"No More Pain" is a powerful statement. Ian sings about loss, friendship, greed, violence and suicide in the songs on this album. I highly recommend it.

Happy New Year 2018

Dear friends,

              Last year is last year now. Just a quick post to let you know I am back and am going to attempt to blog more regularly.

Just Records...Or Not Part One

Last  Friday I sold the majority of my last remaining records (along with some books), to Singles Going Steady record store located in downtown Seattle. The records were not ones I wanted to part with, but I am in a position right now where I need money more than I need objects that are put away where they had no use. A few of those records I have had since 1980, rare punk gems. The books and records netted me almost $150. Still, as  I left without my records and books, a sadness came over me. I felt lost, uncertain, and almost grief-stricken. I also felt relieved, joyous, and free. These mixed feelings were caused by the war inside me between who I was, and who I am today. I am still trying to figure out what to do about my war.

Getting Ready To Perform Again

    I've been thinking about turning 50 next year, and what I haven't done that I would really like to do. One thing that I want to do is perform spoken word/poetry live again. It would give me great pleasure to actually publish a chapbook of poems again and go on a little tour doing readings. My tentative goal is to make that happen by the Spring of 2016. In order to do this I will need to focus on these things:
1) Attend open mikes around town.
2) Host a gig myself
3) Finish my poetry chapbook
4) Publish my poetry
5) Practice self-promotion of some kind.
6) Blog


Ok, now I have put it out there. Let the magic begin!

I Had A Poetry Teacher Once

     I had a teacher once. She lifted me out of my creative poverty. The poems came more easily then, and I judged them less. Shelley Tucker (Writing Poetry) was that teacher. She welcomed a motley group of poets and potential poets into the gorgeous studio behind her house in Ballard. We removed our shoes and drank "poetry tea" (Good Earth's original -- or maybe decaf) -- it's earthy, cinnamon sweetness delighting our tongues. She also had a second teapot, usually filled with a ginger tea that left a tang on the tongue. Hot tea for hot poems. There were between 8 and 12 of us gathered around a large table. We had the freedom to write whenever we wanted, and were urged to be as generous with praise as we wanted to be, leaving heavy criticism (unless the poet asked for it) outside of the sacred space.
       Shelley became my mentor. Her workshops were magical because she had an abundance of love, not just for the craft of poetry, but for the energy and beauty that lived in the "ordinariness" of our words. Her workbooks were not necessarily  only templates, and the exercises in them were not required -- but were places to jump off from, maps to the landscape of our souls.
       Shelley gave me permission to use her materials (Write From The Source workbooks) in my own workshops, and I did use them a couple of times, but haven't yet had the COURAGE or space to do so again. I can come up with all kinds of excuses why, but the main reason is that I doubt I can carry it off as brilliantly as she did. Hopefully, though, one day I will give it a shot.
         Looking back, Shelley's workshops saved me for many years. I feel so grateful to her for showing me how abundant creativity is, if I just take that first word and put it on the page.

Starting The Old Blog Up, All Rusty and Falling Apart

Went to the gym today, at 5:30a.m., and walked on the treadmill for about 20 minutes. I am 45, out-of-shape, with high cholesterol. I then went to Fred Meyer and bought a cheap "analog" scale, to track my weight loss (or gain). I never thought I'd be here, at this point in my life, all rusty and falling apart, like this blog. But here I am. I am in desperate need of a makeover, or something, because my way of doing things hasn't been working.  I mean, I no longer have a job, never set foot in my so-called home office, and get winded climbing the library's few stairs. Yet, in two weeks I'll be starting school to get into a new "career", and it has nothing to do with my passion, but everything to do with bringing home a higher paycheck than retail can bring. Meanwhile, I'm still hoping for a gig, a job, something to help me out.

I was also searching online  to win a makeover, because I need new front teeth, and some nice clothes for interviews, etc. If I ever get another interview. My affirmation is: "The perfect job for me is already mine. It is right and fun, and has many benefits." This is Rusty Roxy signing off for now.