The Fine Print » Culture

Sounds of Cassette

Chelsea Hetelson — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:35:05 +0000

Though band practice takes place in a storage unit like most other Gainesville bands, Cassette’s space is unusually clean.

The floor is patched up in a dumpster-dive-turned-Tetris masterpiece, with L- and rectangle-shaped pieces of carpet that cellist Marc Hennessey collected and pieced together. The ground is litter-free and newly vacuumed, cluttered only by cables, power cords, amps and other equipment. Small triangular mountain ranges of foam blocks with vertical valleys match their horizontal partners hanging parallel from across the wall, a trick used in recording studios to improve acoustics.

“Aimee,” says Collin Whitlock, pianist, “When Marc’s bow starts moving, that’s when you start.”

“No, no,” says Aimee Gonzalez, violinist, holding her knees to her chest and smiling. “I’m asking you to give me the signal.”

Aimee wants to hear the song they’re practicing without her and Marc’s string section in the beginning. Collin, a Kanapaha Middle teacher, wearing a white T-shirt on his head like a well-structured turban, is over-explaining it back to her.
The song begins and then abruptly cuts out. Everyone looks at Aimee. Aimee looks up from hugging her knees and Collin laughs.

Despite continuous tangents about drummer Kevin “K-Flow” Clark’s gallon of vodka and water (just water), toothpicks up Collin’s nose and an impromptu jam session of easy listening for the over-40 crowd, this practice is serious business. Cassette is flying to Chicago in a little less than two weeks to record in the famous Engine Studios, recording space to Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Broken Social Scene.

“We are turbo-writing [the new record],” said Samantha Jones, guitarist, vocalist and overall mastermind of Cassette.

In between the banter and teasing, all four progress and collaborate on the songs planned for the upcoming record.

“We definitely relate differently at practice than we do at any other time,” Sam said. “I think we’re a lot more frank with each other, a lot shorter with one another; we’re bossy. But we get shit done.”

“We all know what the song needs to be in the back of our head, and we’re just trying to get to it,” Marc adds.

The current multi-minded Cassette wouldn’t recognize itself in early releases. Five or six years ago, the band was just Samantha Jones and, yes, a cassette player. The idea behind “Cassette” was that she would record “ambiance for the songs” on a cassette player and play it back while she performed live music. At the time, though, Sam was already a member of a few other bands, and Cassette became more of a fun and “simple side project” rather than a full-blown band.

Sam first moved to Gainesville 16 years ago from Pensacola, not for any other reason but to straight-up rock out.

She was drawn to the city by the “Gainesville sound,” which she describes as “that calm, sneakers-and-T-shirt sound that comes from bands like Radon and Less Than Jake and those old school bands.” And of course, she just “loved to play punk rock guitar.” She did end up putting herself through college at UF mostly by happenstance.

Her main interest was the music, and the feeling was mutual. Over the years, Sam has played in notable bands and genres, including Rumbleseat with Chuck Ragan from Hot Water Music and, more recently, the orchestral Deep and Holy Sea alongside Aimee and K-Flow, now fellow members of Cassette.

As other bands and projects fell away, she drew herself closer to Cassette and what she wanted it to be. She realized her cassette player, although beloved for its retro-cred and feminine-sounding name, would have to go. The “feminine anachronism” stayed.

“Whenever I wanted to go on tour, I would just go,” Sam said. “I would take my dog, I would take my best friend, whatever, and I would just get in my car and go and I really liked that it was that simple. But I knew that to get the sound that I wanted, I needed more people.”

So she began to recruit.

Aimee had already been aggressively recruited, practically tricked, into playing in the Deep and Holy Sea by cellist Brian Hennessey (no relation to Marc Hennessey, though strangely both play cello) and drummer David Turbeville, now drummer of Felice Brothers. Aimee, who has since graduated from the School of Music with her bachelor’s in violin performance, was reluctant to join Deep and Holy Sea because she had never improvised and played with a band outside of class before. If it weren’t for Aimee’s unguarded reply of “just bored” to Brian’s, “What are you doing now?” one afternoon, Aimee might never have been caught without an excuse and learned to love an aspect of music she had never experienced before.

“I seriously had no idea how to play without music in front of me, but David was really encouraging,” Aimee said.

Everything Cassette does now, “Aimee dips into gold veneer,” Sam said.
K-Flow was recruited 10 years ago at a house show first as Sam’s friend and then as band mate in Holy Sea.

Since both K-Flow and Aimee were in Deep and Holy Sea, it was a natural transition for them to join Cassette. By now, Cassette had become a “snowball avalanche gaining momentum, getting bigger and creating a gravitational force with the size of it,” Sam said.

Collin, pianist and vocals for Shoddy Beatles, was Cassette’s first pick-him-up and run.

“I was watching them play one night, and I thought, ‘That guy, he will be mine,’” Sam said.

Marc’s pick-up also began with a mutual show. Cassette played a show at Common Grounds with Marc’s band, To All My Dear Friends, but this time Collin was enchanted along with Sam.

“I was sitting by myself and I was writing in my journal when he started playing. I stopped mid-sentence…and I wrote, ‘Oh my God, this guy is ridiculous. He’s really good.’ And then when Sam came in, I grabbed her and I was like, ‘We need this guy!’ and Sam’s like, ‘I know!’” Collin said, nearly jumping forward.

Now fully assembled with its collection of precision, genius, gold veneer, beat master flow and country-tinged mastermind, Cassette fits into their own genre of “somber pop.”

“I wanted to draw everyone together [because] I really just wanted to have a sound,” Sam said. “The same way when you smell a strawberry, you know it’s a strawberry. [I wanted] something going on beneath the actual songs, [where] there’s this cohesiveness that brings it all together that when you hear it, it’s distinct even if you don’t see it or don’t hear the name of it. That’s what’s important to me.”

Cassette has grown from a small tape deck to a five-piece “dark and glittery” ensemble mixing backgrounds and genres to create melodic pop with a somber twist.

Listen to some of Cassette’s music here.

ClearChannel Ain’t Gonna Like This

Tommy Baker — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:02:35 +0000

Radio can be a special place to escape the monotonous and overreaching world. A place to listen to the strings of a banjo pluck the blues from under our tired eyes. A place where beats fall like leaves from a dancing forest of culture. I turn on the radio in Gainesville, in search of this special place, hoping to find something worth listening to…

Nope.

I am hounded by car commercials, religious preaching and rightwing fabrications. I find myself listening to elevator jazz, the unchanging classic rock stations, overplayed corporate post-grunge rock and hip-hop that has lost its original appeal. Turn on the radio right now and listen for yourself. With just a few community stations barely getting through to Gainesville, and I am not talking about NPR, it is time for the community to take back radio for themselves.

“Community radio is important,” says Bill Bryson, founder of Grow Radio Gainesville, an online community radio station. “It coalesces a community. It gives people not only communication, but a rallying tool; it gives people something they can identify with in their community.”

Before Grow Radio and WGOT 94.7, which is Gainesville’s only community station on the airwaves, there were countless battles for those trying to make a community/alternative station in Gainesville. Community stations are found all over the country, but Gainesville has been missing out. It is baffling to see that UF, the sixth largest university in the country, still doesn’t have a student-run college station.

“One of the most interesting things to see not happen is the students pushing for their own station with the administration,” Bryson says, “The administration has deflected those calls for a student-run station by saying we have Rock 104 and AM 850, but it’s not an answer. A student-run station is a whole other entity. It is free-form radio; it’s fluid, it’s dynamic; it changes from generation to generation of college students. ”

The music the University of Florida broadcasts does not represent the multiplicity of culture found in the UF student body. It is also true that almost all the stations in Gainesville do not represent the broad interests of the town. There seems to be countless stories of stations trying to provide something for the community and being shut down as they gain listeners.

One the most dramatic endings was that of 97X in the late 1990’s. 97X built its reputation by playing an “eclectic variety” like REM and Ani Difranco, “that didn’t follow genres as much as instruments,” said Joe Courter, longtime Gainesville resident and radio buff. “They supported acts that would come through Gainesville. They were a community-minded station.”

The owner of the station completely changed the programming to make more money, and overnight 97X became 97 The Sky – with Rush Limbaugh and other rightwing talk.

“It was very painful” says Courter, with a puzzled look to the ground, “to see it go from one of the best stations to one of the ‘not best’ stations.”

Free Radio Gainesville sprouted in the ‘90s with the infamous Free Radio movement that sparked pirate radio stations across the country. Riff Raff the Radio Rat was one of Free Radio Gainesville’s unique anonymous spokespersons. He says Free Radio Gainesville’s mission was to “put quality music and information on the airwaves in Gainesville from progressive and radical points of view.”

As the Radio Rat talked about how the station was run “in a tool shed and an antenna on a pine tree in the student ghetto,” I was shown the antenna and touched its chrome finish, with marks from torn off tape and scratches from an assaulted past.

“We got chased around by the FCC, federal marshals, and eventually harassed by GPD. We moved around. Federal marshals raided our studio and took all our equipment and left us with $11,000 in fines,” the Radio Rat says. With a legal team, Free Radio Gainesville defeated the charges but ended up shutting down anyway.

“The government wore us out,” the Radio Rat says. “People got tired, burnt out, and scared.”

Grow Radio is taking advantage of the new technological age and freedom of the Internet by streaming their radio online. Bryson, who listens from his iPhone, through Bluetooth, to his car stereo system, says the Internet is a powerful tool for community radio. “Grow Radio is focusing on being local. Hopefully college students and the community will identify with that. We’ve got local people on the air playing music they are interested in and the community is interested in.”

Community radio is in its infancy in Gainesville. WGOT 94.7 (the same frequency as Free Radio Gainesville) received its low-powered license after years of waiting and hard work. The station is shared with two churches however, so be aware of its schedule.

Jimmy Schmidt of the Civic Media Center who helped start WGOT 94.7 says, “I thank the volunteers who make community radio work. It is when people try to be a part of radio that it becomes successful.”

The community must stay involved if these stations are going to last; after all, they are supported by the community. Either students bring about the change on campus or the few stations in town hit it big with the community. Gainesville community radio is in need of a promising future.

“Real community radio is inherently noncommercial” Jimmy says. “The next step is to reach more people and get more people involved.”

Welcome to Gaynesville

Fine Print Staff — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:02:38 +0000

The Struggle

By Erin Cass

Although Gainesville was named the 11th gayest city in America, don’t let these social venues distract you from our struggle for civil rights. While we live in a city with a gay mayor who has voted to protect LGBTQ people in the workplace, there are still many discriminative federal policies in place that affect us here.

Statewide bans on gay adoption and gay marriage are still in place in Florida, and there are no statewide employment protections.

In order to better protect yourself by learning about what rights you actually have and fighting for those you don’t have, get involved with a group that educates its members about the political status of LGBTQ people.

There are a few groups in Gainesville that do this now, the most active being the Queer Activist Coalition and the International Socialist Organizations. Both of these organizations are affiliated with Stand Up Florida, one of the largest gay rights groups in Florida along with Equality Across America, the group that organized the National Equality March last October in Washington, D.C.

Luckily, we live in a city where the LGBTQ community is very diverse, but we must still remain active to extend these rights outside our city limits.

The Scene

By Ricky Carter

In January 2009, I arrived in Gainesville fresh out of my private Catholic school, where I had been one of the lone “out” gay students. Because of this, during the college selection process, I focused on attending a school boasting of a healthy gay community. When I arrived in Gainesville, I was shocked to find that gay culture in this city was even more prevalent than I thought.

Immediately I joined Pride Student Union, which hosts different people from all walks of life in engaging conversation, education and entertainment. I joined the PSU executive board and got involved with Pride Awareness Month, which happens every year in April.

This year, Pride Awarness Month had its highest attendance ever, with packed houses at all its events. I was also co-director of the tenth annual drag show, Fierce and Fabulous, which brought the likes of Mimi Imfurst and Ongina from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve also found the University Club downtown near Main Street and University Avenue. Thursday night is the biggest night for the club, with drag shows and packed dance floors until closing time. There’s also an amateur drag show on Wednesdays, which I, as my drag queen persona Sunset Marmalade, take part in.

So welcome, or welcome back, to Gainesville. Don’t be afraid to explore this wonderful city.

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Oil, Ride Your Bike

Chris Cano — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:02:20 +0000

In the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the transition to cleaner modes of transportation has never been more urgent. Although Congress is currently on recess without so much as an oil spill response bill, there may still be hope for moving away from fossil fuels. One way to help is to call and write legislators and wait patiently for them to implement clean energy policies. Another is to take action right now and ride a bike.

More than 6,000 Gainesville residents ride a bicycle, and the city was rated the 16th most bike friendly city by Bicycling Magazine in 2010.

Bicycle commuters make a powerful statement about the world in which they wish to live. As stewards of this movement, we have a responsibility to commute in a way that is not just safe, but considerate of fellow community members.

Bike commuters who disregard the rights of other road users will foster driver distrust, make the roadways more dangerous and hinder progress toward a more bike-friendly city. To play a part in building a more bikeable Gainesville, follow these guidelines for safe, sensible and sustainable bike commuting:

1. Know the rights-of-way. In most cases, Florida law requires that bicyclists who use the road abide by the same rules and regulations as motorists, but bicyclists who ride on the sidewalk are considered pedestrians. Cyclists should recall what they learned in Driver’s Ed about the rules of the road, since most of the same rules apply. Signals and signs dictate the right of way in most situations, and pedestrians have priority at all crosswalks and intersections. If in doubt, consult the Official Florida Driver’s Handbook.

2. Ride on the road. As motorists pull out into the road from a parking lot or side street, they often fail to notice bicyclists that are approaching on the sidewalk. Riding on the road ensures that you are in the field of vision of drivers who are looking out for oncoming vehicles before pulling into the roadway. Although it is legal for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk, doing so may risk not only your safety but the safety of pedestrians. Use your best judgment as to when riding on the sidewalk is safer than riding on the road.

3. Ride on the right-hand side. Whether riding on the road or on the sidewalk, it is always safer to ride on the right-hand side, along with traffic. If you are moving with the flow of traffic, it is more likely that motorists and other bicyclists will see you.

4. Make eye contact. Always make eye contact with motorists before crossing in front of them. Failing to do so could land you on the windshield of an unsuspecting driver’s car. If you are not sure a driver has seen you, yield or stop until they clarify their intentions.

5. Ride a safe distance away from parallel parked cars. Street-parked cars pose a safety hazard to bicyclists riding on the road, since car doors can open unexpectedly. Prevent car-door collisions by riding far enough to the left of the lane to avoid open doors.

6. Signal. Few bicyclists signal when approaching intersections, but making your intentions known can go a long way to easing tensions with motorists who often view cyclists as unpredictable. To signal, simply point left or right when you are within 100 feet of a turn.

7. Take bike-friendly roads when possible. Some streets are safer to bike on than others. For example, SW 2nd Avenue features spacious bike lanes, good visibility and large roundabouts that make collisions unlikely. Gainesville’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Board is currently working to convert more streets in the Northwest part of town into “Bicycle Boulevards” that are optimized for safer cycling.

8. Say thank you. When a motorist yields the right of way to you, show that you appreciate their patience by putting up your hand and thanking them. This is a simple way to establish a more friendly relationship between bicyclists and motorists in Gainesville.

9. Visit local bike shops. If you can, avoid the temptation to snag a cheap bike at Wal-Mart and make an investment in a reliable bicycle from one of Gainesville’s many local bike shops. Make it a point to find a bike that suits you well, both physically and spiritually. Check the local Craigslist or visit a bike shop around campus, whether Chain Reaction, Mr. Goodbike, Spin Cycle, Recycled Bicycles or the Schwinn Shop.

10. Enjoy the trails. Other than transportation, the bicycle offers opportunities for exercise and enjoyment, especially in Gainesville, which is home to several trails converted from train tracks through the Rails-to-Trails program. Trails include the Waldo Road Greenway, the Depot Avenue Trail and the Hawthorne Trail.

11. Stop at Stop signs. Running a Stop sign is a ticketable offense in Florida, where a motorist and a bicyclist face equal fines for failing to stop completely. Nevertheless, repetitive stops are draining for cyclists who lose balance and momentum, and the energy required to regain them. Many cyclists treat stop signs as yield signs if only to preserve the small amount of forward motion required to maintain efficiency. The Gainesville city commission is considering a proposal for a “Bike Stop Ordinance,” which I am working on, that would make it legal for a bicyclist to approach sign-regulated intersections by slowing down, looking both ways and proceeding if there are no cars or pedestrians. Failure to yield would remain a ticketable offense under the ordinance. A similar “Stop Law” has been in effect in Idaho for 27 years with no increase in cycling accidents.

12. Don’t drink and bike. Though it may be tempting to ride a bike instead of drive home from a late-night party, be aware that drunk biking is considered drunk driving under Florida law, and either offense could get you arrested and charged with a DUI.

SG President on Being Vegan

Ashton Charles — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:02:29 +0000

Far too often, people are pigeonholed. I am a blond-haired, blue-eyed, Catholic, Cherokee Indian in Student Government that just happens to be a vegan. Does that define me as a person?

Since my decision to become a vegan in fall 2006, I have been bombarded with questions like: “What can you possibly eat?” and “Can vegans eat animal crackers?”

I’m here to clear up the misconceptions associated with veganism.

As a vegan, I have eaten more delicious food than ever before. Even on a college budget, vegans can not only eat well but also have a variety of options to choose from.

By definition, a vegan diet is a vegetarian who consumes no animal products, including dairy. Before I made the transition, the thought of giving up cheese, Funfetti cupcakes and meat seemed like it would be too difficult.

But once I officially made the switch, not only did the cravings subside, but I felt the healthiest I had in years. That being said, you can still indulge: Oreos and French fries are both vegan.

From Andre 3000 to Zooey Deschanel, more people are making the transition. The negative connotation associated with a vegan diet is simply outdated.

And, yes, vegans can eat animal crackers – when they are made without milk or eggs.

Hidden Vegan Treasures to show how easy it is to find good, vegan food in Gainesville (and, to be completely honest, it was difficult for me to narrow the list down to 10 options):

Gator Dawgs and Karma Cream
Those that know me know that these are paired for a reason, seeing as how I can’t go to one and not the other. They are next door to each other and are a vegan’s dream. Gator Dawgs offers a wide variety of faux meat that taste so real I literally had to ask Otis, the owner, if the Veggie Chili was truly veggie. He also offers a variety of options that you can convert easily into a vegetarian or vegan option. My favorite is a derivation of the “Tater Dawg,” namely the “Ashton Dawg” topped with Tater Tots, (veggie) chili, and the optional cheese for non-vegans. The perfect post-dawg treat is next door at Karma Cream with a daily selection of always-vegan cupcakes that Betty Crocker would envy.

Chopstix
If you are a fan of Asian cuisine, this is the place for you. There’s an entire page of vegetarian dishes to choose from. Do not fear tofu. When done right, tofu, seitan or tempeh can be the best dishes you’ve ever eaten. My younger brother, the world’s biggest carnivore, chooses General Tso’s tofu every time he is in town.

The Top
The eclectic decor and delicious food options are the perfect Gainesville dinner combination. You can start off with Buffalo Tempeh appetizer that my non-vegan roommate craves on a weekly basis and try out a vegan special or the Vegan Seitan Philly for an entree. Once you’ve had your meal, you have to save room for the Vegan Chocolate cake.

The New Deal
Typically, I prefer tofu when prepared well or seitan, except at the New Deal. This is the perfect restaurant to taste tempeh if you are tentative about trying it out. The Sloppy Tempeh Joe would make the lunch lady from Billy Madison ashamed to ever serve anything else.

Book Lover’s Café
Another local favorite, Book Lover’s is a vegetarian restaurant and has a wide variety of vegan options. While the daily themed specials, ranging from Greek to Ethiopian to Southern dishes are truly phenomenal, I order the Vegan Quiche every time I go. After your dish you should enjoy a dessert, especially on Vegan Cupcake Monday.

43rd Street Deli
Longing for a homemade breakfast for this Kentucky girl ends here. Vegan biscuits and gravy or a weekend pancake or French toast special will knock your socks off. While the specials are out of this world, you have to make sure to get a side of tofu.

Leonardo’s By the Slice and Bistro 1245
Located in the same building and equally vegan friendly, this is the perfect stop for vegans near campus. Not only do they provide a daily vegan pizza that is truly delicious, but their salads and rolls will keep you coming back for more. If you have more time, Bistro 1245 has a Spicy Tofu Melt that satisfies all hunger needs.

Green Mango
A newly discovered hidden treasure, the Green Mango is worth the drive. Just past the mall, the Green Mango has the best authentic Indian food in town. The samosas, chana marsala, and naan will transport you to India.

Farrah’s
Vegans and vegetarians alike: If you have yet to venture into the realm of Mediterranean cuisine, you need to drop existing dinner plans and get to your nearest hummus source.

La Tienda
A hidden treasure worth finding, La Tienda is an authentic Meixcan restaurant off of 13th Street with unbelievable guacamole and vegetarian options. Although the guacamole is worth the trip, the burrito de arroz y frijoles (rice and beans) with a side of guacamole has me coming back for more.

Media (r)Evolution: The Future of the Fourth Estate

Jessica Newman — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:53:26 +0000

Bill Bryson is one of the founders of Grow Radio, an online Gainesville community radio station with both musical and non-musical programming, as well as the former publisher of Satellite Magazine. He moved to Gainesville in 1992 and opened the Covered Dish, a music venue that operated for eight years. He was involved in college radio in North Carolina before moving to Gainesville and has always had an interest in music. Grow Radio went live in 2009 and has been gaining popularity ever since. Bryson talks about his involvement with the station and how it will play a role in shaping the future of alternative media.

Jessica Newman: What is Grow Radio, and where did you get the idea?

Bill Bryson: Well, going way back, I was involved in college radio in North Carolina and got my taste in radio from that. Music has always been my passion, so it was just a natural outlet for me. Then I moved to Gainesville to open up a live music club. Then over the years, being in concert promotion and publishing a magazine, I kind of evolved into radio as the next wave of what I’m doing here. I moved here in ‘92, and between ‘92 and 2008 or 2009, there wasn’t a lot of success with alternative radio in town. There had been pirate radio even long before I was here, coming and going. You kind of had to be in the know to get them. Then I helped the Civic Media Center get their low-power FM license, which has its limitations, as well. Then Kiss 105 let Wayne Erwin run their AM signal as an alternative community radio in the mid-’90s, as well. It was successful enough to indicate to me that there was demand for it in the community. Over the years, there have been a few attempts to get a student-run station going, but it’s never really gone anywhere. Then Classic 89 has always been an option, I thought, that could have really taken advantage of community resources to create more locally generated programming because they had a couple of shows like that. But it was limited in terms of the air time they were getting. They could have dedicated a lot more energy and effort to that for minimal input expense-wise and probably maximum output.
Grow Radio has evolved out of a combination of all those things. I want to make it into a hybrid in terms of the model of the station between community radio and student-run college radio. I’m going to try and fill the daytime shifts with college kids and give them as much of an educational, as well as an enjoyable, experience with it. We’ve also gotten started just by me tapping some of my immediate resources as far as people in the music community. We’ll have a good balance of community members who aren’t necessarily affiliated with the university and students that are affiliated with the university. Commercial radio now is very automated; program selection is very much determined from the top down. There’s very little DJ input in terms of what you’re hearing on the air, if there’s any DJ at all. Sometimes it’s all just computer-generated. So my point with this is to get human beings back behind the media. With that in mind, even though we’re using the Internet as our medium, we are operating as a local radio station. I think we can have a small but relatively significant impact as a local station, just in a different medium as opposed to FM. I believe in the power of radio; I believe radio can really reach people, even without visuals. Having a real person talking to you, especially someone that’s from Gainesville, presenting a very Gainesville perspective on what they’re broadcasting, creates the locality of it and creates the uniqueness of it that hopefully people will embrace here.

JN: Why did you decide to do Grow Radio online?

BB: Over time, the benefits of being on the web are just going to expand in terms of: if people are listening to this radio station while they’re living in Gainesville, and they move someone else in the world, they can still tune into their Gainesville station. And you talk about the Gator Nation; it’s all over the world. So eventually Grow Radio could have an expansive audience all over the world. It’s not our primary focus, but I think that’s just, down the road, what’s probably going to happen. The technology of podcasting just creates lots of options for the listener in terms of how they want to receive their radio, as well. So I think all those things combined are kind of what is creating Grow Radio. It’s still very much embryonic right now, and it’s going to evolve based on who gets involved, what kind of community support comes forward and so on.

JN: What kind of a business model are you using?

BB: We’re setting it up as a 501(c)3, so we’ll operate on the same model as public radio. We’ll be reliant upon listener donations for support, as well as grants and any other kind of sponsorship money we can get.

JN: When did Grow Radio go live online?

BB: We went live about a year ago. This past year has been kind of an experiment to see with very little promotion whether this idea would get legs or not, and it seems like it has.

JN: What kind of success have you guys had so far?

BB: I’m very encouraged. We’ve noticed a lot of people listening from work. And I think, once students become more aware and interested, that we’ll see a lot more listeners coming from UF.

JN: What kind of programming is there on Grow Radio, and what kind of people are on the air?

BB: Right now it’s mostly music, but we’ve got a couple of monthly shows that are not musical right now. I think they’re kind of figuring out what they’re doing as they go along, and that’s great. That’s sort of what this is about — teaching people who have an interest in creating something within the community. They can learn something from it, as well as get some reward by contributing something to the community. A few people have been on the radio before. But for the most part, it’s starting from scratch. So our production side of things is a little bit clunky and pretty loose. But personally, I find that charming. It keeps it fairly organic and grassroots because we’re letting people do this regardless of their experience. If they have the passion and the interest to do something like this, then here’s the platform for it.

JN: Why does Grow Radio need to exist, and why is it important to Gainesville?

BB: It’s real personal for me. Music has always been a really important part of my life, through both my personal and my business life. I think through both of those avenues I’ve learned that I’m not the only one. It can help a community flourish, not just by adding to the musical culture, but also creating a platform like I’ve been describing where the community can actually get involved with this and give people the opportunity to create a creative culture within their own community without having to be a performer or a filmmaker or a writer.

In the Red: So Long, Gainesville

Joe Richard — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:36:38 +0000

Gainesville, it’s been a long time coming. We both knew it was going to happen. We’ve known each other for years now, always with the thought that, one day, our two lives would cease their parallel course and veer in wildly different directions. But at this moment of our nearing departure, I’d like to raise a toast to you and all you’ve come to represent to me.

Gainesville, you’ve been a real son-of-a-bitch. But I love you. We’ve had good times and bad times. You’ve been a dependable friend and a reliable crutch. You’ve been a jealous lover and a vicious monster. You’ve been a sage advisor and a snotty brat. You always wear black shirts and blue jeans. You always have a bike messenger bag full of tallboys. You always invite me to vegetarian potlucks even though I hate the food you make. You always want to ride your bike. You’re always awake. You’re always down for a beer on a Tuesday night.

Gainesville, do you remember that night when we stayed up till dawn listening to zydeco and drinking buckets of iced beer on my front porch, raging all night and planning our lives? Do you remember the spontaneous trips to the beach at five in the morning? Do you remember vandalizing that fraternity house? Do you remember that night on the roof of the Thomas Center? Do you remember when we occupied the Alumni Hall for justice? Do you remember that fist fight on New Year’s Eve? Do you remember when we made love in the middle of the afternoon and slept the rest of the day? Do you remember when you’d give me free coffee or pizza or beer in exchange for groceries? Do you remember strong-arming that Danish guy into leaving my brother’s girlfriend alone? Do you remember the insane poetry jams? Do you remember the Shamrock? Gainesville, Deja Brew lives on in our hearts.

So here’s to the road trips and the house parties. Here’s to arguing about Marx at Cuban restaurants. Here’s to Pabst Blue Ribbon (I still have the letter they sent me). Here’s to swimming in the pool in our underwear. Here’s to the CMC. Here’s to Crazy Greg. Here’s to sweaty summer nights and the drunken perfume of gardenias in the moonlight. Here’s to 3 a.m. booty calls. Here’s to nighttime union house visits. Here’s to the National Labor Relations Board. Here’s to Red Seder dinners. Here’s to the Suwannee River. Here’s to cold fried chicken (doused in hot sauce) with beer at the springs. Here’s to singing around backyard bonfires until late in the night. Here’s to the night they burned a couch in the middle of Third Ave. Here’s to the workers.

There are a few things you should always remember Gainesville. We’ve spent enough time together that I know some of your bad habits. Stay away from hard drugs. No one ever seriously expanded their consciousness through controlled substances. Don’t smoke weed every day. Biking will not bring down capitalism. Neither will dumpstering food or shopping at thrift stores. Don’t let your righteous anger and thirst for action blind you to reality on the ground. Study. Theorize. Fight. Study again. Fight again. Fight hard. Direct your struggle against those who have the power to change things. Go to meetings. Speak up in meetings. Join a movement. I don’t buy for a minute your bullshit about “not being a joiner.” Have no illusions about voting. Or the Democratic Party. Build a power base. Don’t be afraid to argue about politics. But don’t think you have all the answers. Have fun. Lots of it. Throw parties on weeknights. Never let school interfere with your education. If you graduate with a 4.0 GPA, you didn’t do enough activism. Leave the drama at the door. Sneak into apartment complex pools in the middle of the night. Have sex. Lots of it. But wear a fucking condom. Put yourself out there. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Learn how to cook. Read Neruda. Read Galeano. Read Marx. Read Lenin. Don’t be exclusive. Don’t be insulated. Create meaning wherever you go. Go to the beach. Go to protests. Learn public speaking. Get a job. But never work too hard for $8 an hour. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for your friends.

Always remember that a better world is possible. A world that is not scarred by hunger or fear or poverty or prejudice or the most horrific attacks on the dignity of human life. If you’ll stand with the immense majority of humankind in this fight for a better world, I’ll meet you farther on up the road. History is ours.

The Southernmost Point

Cody Bond — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:20:01 +0000

If I die in Key West, there will be a party. There will be drinking and sunburns and sex. They will toast me at sunset in Mallory Square, and they will play up and down Duval Street, shouting into shop corners as their hats fill with pocket change. Everyone will dance. And in the morning, when the sweat has dried, they will forget. The roosters will crow, and the cats will yawn, and the breeze will blow in from the Gulf and carry my soul away.

At least that’s how I imagine it. Like every other night here. Seamless, sticky hours of loose tongues and rowdy sidewalks. Christmas lights in the banyan trees. Long legs, bleached hair and teeth, and the collared boys who love them. This island is a hideout. The beginning and the end. Mile 0. Time passes only as a series of classic rock covers and vague impressions.

Duval is just like any other Spring Break street, with the doors flung open and the tanned shoulders spilling from their halter tops. The girl on the bar is too young to know the songs she’s dancing to. Hungry faces slouch at her feet, suck down pints and slide dollar bills beneath her garter. Outside, the pedicabs and taxis hustle by. The cops grope their belt buckles and lean in the alleys to spit.

Everyone is on vacation, even the locals. They carry their drinks from corner to corner, scream and lust and vomit, and no one notices. The spiky-haired hippy chicks with the homemade tattoos and the banjos on their backs, the Navy boys on their scooters, the bikers and sailors and fishermen all struggling to hold their liquor and let everything else go. They’re escaping something, searching for a way to lose themselves in this tropic limbo and linger like another grain of sand, another buoy tangled in the mangroves.

No one wants the story to end. They drink enough to forget what they have read or tear out the pages and tuck them away. Paradise, after all, is a matter of perspective. It lasts only so long as there is ice for the rum.

Coffee Project

Chelsea Hetelson — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:12:01 +0000

Powering through with Gainesville’s new folk-ska-punk band

The acoustic guitar and trombone may seem like an unlikely pairing for a band, but the combination is somewhat organic, mixing Gainesville ska and Gainesville punk to create Coffee Project’s unique sound. And though the two-piece outfit didn’t plan on becoming a band, let alone staying a two-piece line-up, it turns out that a trombone and a guitar were all they needed.

In yet another Gainesville homage, where so many great things begin and end, Coffee Project began on a back porch at a house party.

“There were a bunch of people over there [at the party], and we just nerded out,” guitarist Jake Crown said. “We wrote a song in his little room, which we call a studio, which is as big as a closet… and that was really fun.”

Jake Crown, of punk bands Rehasher and Hometeam, and trombonist Buddy Schaub, of PB&J, Black Ice and most notably Less Than Jake, originally met in the late ’90s when Jake was recording in Roger Manganelli’s, also of Less Than Jake, studio with Hometeam. A few years later, Roger’s side punk band, Rehasher, formed with Jake as the drummer. But it wasn’t until almost a decade after their first meeting that Jake would get together with another Less Than Jake member, Buddy, to form their punk ska duo.

Although they didn’t consider themselves an official put-together band just yet, their unique sound of acoustic guitar, folk punk lyrics and vocals on top of trombone melodies certainly sets them apart from other Gainesville-based bands. Jake’s lyrics describing heartbreak, growing up and moving on, and the general hopes and disappointments of life, are cleverly written and catchy. But the lyrics about ungrateful cats, the abundance of 21st birthdays every time you go out and living in a small town with a main street are especially entertaining to Gainesville locals, as well as the direct invocation of Gainesville itself several times in different songs.

“My songs are honest,” Jake said. “I don’t know how to write fairy tales…There have been times when it’s hard to live in this small, little town and find work. I’ve left a few times and come back, and that’s just what it is.”

But it took Vinnie Fiorello, drummer of Less Than Jake, for Buddy and Jake to realize this was more than just their own pet side project. Vinnie wanted to put the first Coffee Project record out on his new vinyl-and-art-based label, Paper + Plastick.

“That made it easier to have someone say, well, I like your band, and I want to put it out on vinyl, [and we said] OK, we’re going to do it for real,” Jake said.

Finding the time to practice and record the songs wasn’t as easy, however. Jake works full time as a sous chef in a fine dining restaurant, while Buddy keeps infinitely busy with his full-time commitment to Less Than Jake, as well as with various video editing projects.

It was in the early mornings when Jake and Buddy found themselves together, downing coffee, writing, practicing, recording and just “powering through” together in Buddy’s home studio where they recorded the first 10″ and EP. From those sunrises and pots of coffee is where the name “Coffee Project” was first conceived.

“Buddy laughs at me because [coffee] is like my nemesis,” Jake said. “If it were a real thing, we would be called Beer Project because I love beer more than coffee.”

Jake wrote enough material for their first eight-song 10″ vinyl record titled “Easy Does It,” released in January 2009. They followed up in June 2009 with their two-song EP simply called “Pickle.” Both were released on the art-focused label Paper + Plastick.

Since forming in 2007, Coffee Project have performed at Fest 7 and 8, as well as this year’s Harvest of Hope Fest. Jake became involved with the Harvest of Hope Fest last year when he volunteered his time to manage a stage and do some sound work, in addition to performing with bands Hometeam and Rehasher. Buddy also performed in last year’s Fest with Less Than Jake. This year, Coffee Project played a set on the Paper + Plastick stage the last day of the festival.

This spring, Coffee Project are releasing their first full-length album titled “Moved On.” Once again, “Moved On” will be released by Paper + Plastick, a label founded with an appreciation for the physical qualities of art, like vinyl, CDs, and liner art. The album art for “Moved On” was done by Peter Wonsowski, who also did their previous album art for “Easy Does It.”

“He is a good friend of ours, which makes him really understand what we are looking for,” said Jake of his relationship with Peter.

The physical CD for “Moved On” will include an art spread by Peter, which is previewed as a banner on the Coffee Project MySpace page.

To promote their new release, Coffee Project will be going on an East Coast tour with labelmates Blacklist Royals and Greenland is Melting, who also just debuted their first Paper + Plastick release. As outlined on the Coffee Project MySpace page, a few of the venues aren’t really venues at all, but houses or warehouse spaces, not for lack of available space to play, but more for the all-ages shows, an accessible intimate space and a BYOB atmosphere that can’t be offered by any bar or traditional venue.

“It’s really hard to find all ages venues in big cities,” Jake said. “So for example, instead of playing Pittsburgh, we’re playing in a little town right outside of Pittsburgh where we have an art space and so we’ll play there…and one thing you know is great people and a full house are fun to do.”

The spring tour kicks off on May 12 at the 1982 bar with NoMore, Lindsey Mills and Greenland is Melting.

Citizens Co-Op

Fine Print Staff — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:55:05 +0000

Bridging the gap between the farm and the table

Elizabeth Nesbit went on a tour of the U.S. with her husband and two young children in 2007 in search of a new place to live. What she found were co-ops.

When her family decided to stay in Gainesville, she couldn’t stop thinking about the food cooperatives that inspired her and made her feel connected to the communities.

“I was determined to start one in Gainesville, especially if we were going to stay here,” she said. “We wanted to make this thing happen.”

Nesbit later ran into Gretchen McIntyre, her high-school friend, who was a member of a food cooperative in San Francisco before she moved back to Gainesville. Nesbit told McIntyre her plan to start a co-op in Gainesville.

“She had the weirdest look on her face, and she said she wanted to start one too,” Nesbit said.

The work took off after that.

Citizens Co-op, a community-owned market that will soon be open to the public, has been organized by co-chairs Nesbit and McIntyre for the past two and a half years. A co-op is a voluntary association that organizes to meet cultural needs and aspirations through a community-owned and democratically controlled enterprise like a market.

“We’re not starting up a storefront; we’re trying to build a community around local food and a network of support,” McIntyre said.
Building support and members for the co-op was not easy.

During the first year, community interest spread by word-of-mouth, environmental festival tabling and fundraising concerts.

But interest and community support has taken off in the past six months. Recently, the co-op received a few grants and bought a store space in February.

“I think because we have a physical space now, people are giving more donations and are excited to see what will happen,” McIntyre said.

The members voted on the space at 435 S Main St., and volunteers are helping to renovate and set up. While Citizens Co-op is scheduled to open in May, the organization must first finish construction and receive the proper state permits.

Before opening, there is still a lot to do. Electrical, structural and building work still need to be finished, along with hiring a general manager and staff. The co-op needs to recruit more growers and suppliers and organize administrative operations.

Although the Citizens Co-op newsletter says the store will open on May 1, McIntyre said her goal to open would be anytime in the month of May.

An important motivation in opening the co-op is to facilitate eating locally. Providing a center that has fresh and locally raised foods is a way to ensure more money stays in the community and supports Alachua farmers’ and neighbors’ livelihoods.

According to McIntyre, about 1.7 times more money stays in the community if spent at a local co-op instead of a corporate franchise.

She said about 95 percent of the food supply in Alachua County comes from outside markets, where customers have little more information about the products than where they were grown, which may be as far as China.

Eating locally is a way to ensure security of safer farming practices. Members can drive a few miles away to learn about how their food was grown, if any chemicals were used and when the food was picked.

A big part of the co-op is to educate people about where their food comes from, Nesbit said. Not only would there be better quality food, but more money to stimulate the economy and support local growers.

“We’re just trying to add something to the community,” she said. “I think we have enough diversity and demand that we can do that without causing harm to other parts of the community.”

Local farmworkers struggle to compete with produce that is perfectly shaped and colored at corporate grocery stores. The co-op would provide a way for its members to go to a store and buy locally grown produce with the same convenience as going to a corporate grocery.

There are more than 500 members and investors in Citizens Co-op. And more support is still needed to allow the co-op to reach as many people as possible and to nurture new projects like opening up a kitchen to serve local food recipes, McIntyre said.

A lifetime membership costs $100 per household and can be paid in quarterly installments. For low-income homes, the membership cost is $25. Investors pay $500.

Members and investors enjoy the benefits of electing or running for the board of directors. They also receive a portion of the profits at the end of each year.

“I think the coolest thing is people will feel a really direct connection in it,” Nesbit said. “The community will feel like a part of its growth and how it develops.”

Before thinking about profits, McIntyre said she is focused on just getting the store open and building a supportive and creative environment. After the construction and organization is complete, McIntyre said she hopes the store will be a central hub for the community to cooperate and serve as a platform for people to launch other businesses.

“We are building a community center where people can hang out, get engaged, care and get motivated to do other projects,” she said.

For more information or to join the co-op, check out the Citizens Co-op web site, www.citizensco-op.com.