Episode 165: Resist & Exist (A Eugene Celebration Part II)
(Featuring a selection of songs and recordings from the Icky’s Teahouse Online Music Library, The Panic On 13th Street Music Blog, & Local News Broadcasts relating to the Resist & Exist event from the mid ’90’s.)

In the mid ’90’s, a group of punky anarchists started a movement called Resist & Exist.  The goal was to put on music events, workshops, and allow attendees a chance to forge new friendships and contacts for ‘zine writers, musicians, artists and activists.  Primarily organized via message boards, newsgroups, and a variety of websites, these events were happening all over the US, and was rather successful for the simple fact that a lot of folks got to meet, watch a number of bands, and have a good time.  In spite of the fact that it happened in 1996, which seems like decades since people were first introduced to the concept of punk rock, a number of people freaked out in Eugene, leading to some of the most hilarious Local News Footage I have ever seen.

Trying to explain Eugene OR to people who never lived there has proved to be rather hard in the years that have passed since I lived there. The best way to make sense of it is to explain that the town is equally comprised of the Ken Keasy type refugees who were counter-culture, creative activist types, and on the other side, UofO Duck supporters.  The town was fueled equally by LSD and touchdowns, and this split seemed to run through the entire town to some degrees.  You could walk from The Whiteaker Neighborhood – where I lived – to the UofO campus, and you would watch as the weirdos became fewer and fewer, and you ran into more and more people wearing school colors, driving trucks, and were ready to beat the shit out of you.  I was lucky enough to never get jumped, but I had a number of friends who were not.

This split seems to manifest itself almost entirely when you listen to the news footage that was broadcast by KEZI, the local ABC affiliate, as they try to make sense of Resist & Exist.  As news casters struggle to decide if “punk rockers” or “punkers” is the more appropriate noun to be using, it starts to become apparent why neither side can see the other for what it really is.  The police are confused why there is no “leader,” and how something like this could be organized using “The Internet,” while it seems mind numbing to the other side how camping in public spaces, and trying to foster these kinds of workshops and music events, could be construed as “bad.”  All of this seems to have been repeated in a number of ways when thinking about the Occupy Movement that has been going on recently, though I worry that the comparison does not bode well for the Movement, considering how well Resist & Exist went in Eugene.

In the end, one person died, a large number of people were arrested or incarcerated for no good reason, a handful of violent assholes took advantage of the situation to beat the shit out of other kids who just wanted to participate in the event, and the city of Eugene provoked and manipulated anyone who wanted to compromise, to the point where the WOW Hall pulled out their support for the event, and everyone was reduced to putting on shows under bridges using generators, while dodging police the entire time.  As someone who fed out-of-towners with stolen food, and let a number of people camp in our yard, I was pissed.  Though, in hindsight, I’m much more angry that I worked the entire time, instead of participating. I guess my youthful enthusiasm seemed to think that there would be another time.

To go with the samples from the Newscasts, I’ve also selected more wonderful music from the fair burg in question.  I tried to focus a little more on the Icky’s Teahouse scene, as they were name checked several times in the Newscasts, as well as being the kind of music that was the backbone of the Resist & Exist Fest.  However, I also included a number of tracks from the fantastic Panic on 13th Music Blog, as well as selections from my personal collection of music.  I recommend that you check out both of these sites if you are interested in more music from this amazing town.  In the two episodes I’ve done, I’ve barely scratched the surface.  That being said: if you happen to have been in one of the bands that I’ve featured in these shows – or you were in a band in Eugene and you are noticing your music is suspiciously absent from these shows – please contact me!  I would love to expand the scope of these programs, and we can do it… together.

I also want to give a special shoutout to Josh Jones, who was not only in the band Artless Motives (and a number of others), but maintains the Icky’s Teahouse site (and the MyFaceSter+ Page).  It was on his Tumblr page that I was able to track down the KEZI footage, which I remember seeing some of when it was originally broadcast, and kept cursing myself for not recording it.  Fortunately, he did.  Josh was in a few of my favorite Eugene bands when I lived there, and continues to make great music to this very day.  I am making it my personal goal to get him on the show in the fairly near future.

Next Week: A Live Performance by Moth Hunter!  Fuck Yeah!  For those particularly observant folks who might have seen my posts when I accidentally tipped my hat earlier, there was some confusion as to when we would be able to record, how we would do it, etc.  But as of this writing, this is a guarantee, and we’ll be bringing it to you in the next program.  For those not “in the know,” Moth Hunter is one half of the duo Knuckle Children, and he allowed me into his private studio to record the performance.  I’m pretty stoked, as he has been a guest on this show before, and has only gotten better.  I’m really looking forward to doing more stuff like this, both with him and with other guests, as I work out the technical challenges that made this one hard to sort out.  I really appreciate his efforts to work with me on this, and I know that if you dig experimental, circuit-bent weirdness, then you will LOVE this show when it drops.

And, of course, we’ve got some other great stuff int he works, too.  Things are really shaping up here in Historic St. John’s, and we’re excited to bring it to you, one week at a time.

See you in seven!

Resist & Exist: A Eugene Celebration Part II

Introduction: Growing By The Minute

01.) The Punk Rocker Gathering That’s Growing By The Minute * KEZI Local News * 1996
02.) Headline News * The Readymen * Restless

Part I: Rape, Rob & Pillage

03.) [Live Excerpt] * Holy Rodent * 1993?
04.) Most Of Them Are Not Violent People * KEZI Local News
05.) This Fascist Thing * Bovine Impulse * Panic On 13th
06.) 12 Creeps Living In Here * KEZI Local News * 1996
07.) Lame Week * Not My Son * American Devil
08.) Rape, Rob & Pillage * KEZI Local News * 1996
09.) Cuddle * Bicker * Universal Choking Sign
10.) The Crowds Of Punk Rockers * KEZI Local News * 1996
11.) To Protect & Serve * Circus Tents * Circus Tents
12.) What The Threat Was Gonna Be * KEZI Local News * 1996
13.) How Many Pacifists Does It Take To Kill A Cop? * The Spoils * Live At Icky’s 1993

Part II: The Punker Convention

14.) Punker Convention * KEZI Local News * 1996
15.) Viva Albuquerque * Los Mex Pistols Del Norte * Esta Noche We Ride
16.) Officer Dick Grimes * KEZI Local News * 1996
17.) We Are Products Of * Products Of Society * Punk Out Of Springfield
18.) The Whiteaker Neighborhood Is Scared Of The Punkers * KEZI Local News * 1996
19.) Social Anxiety * Some Cheap Christ * Some Cheap Christ
20.) Police Are Already Here * KEZI Local News * 1996
21.) ?? * The Outclass * KWVA Radio
22.) Punkers, Elementary School Children, & Gay Pride Events * KEZI Local News
23.) Don’t Crowd Me * The Falling Spikes * 13th St. Revisited
24.) 500 vs. 30 * KEZI Local News * 1996
25.) Status Quo * Piglet * Not Ralphing At Your First Keg Party

Part III: Hopeless & Pathetic

26.) The Violent Nature Of Some Of Those Punks * KEZI Local News * 1996
27.) Death March * Pecus Gravitas * Eyeeee
28.) Every Day, More Punk Rockers Arrived * KEZI Local News * 1996
29.) Living In The Sewer * The Redundants * I Hate The Redundants
30.) Hopeless & Pathetic * KEZI Local News * 1996
31.) Too Many * Cap Gun Suicide * Bloodstains Across Eugene 2
32.) How Can Folks Get Involved? *KEZI Local News * 1996
33.) Killing Cops * Artless Motives * Everything But The Kitchen Sink
34.) What Is It That Makes You Think These Folks Are Dangerous? * KEZI Local News * 1996
35.) Barefootin’ At Yer Own Risk * Cathead * In Loving Memory Of Harold
36.) 500 Punks Rule *KEZI Local News * 1996
37.) Call In Dead * The Wristrockets! * Humans Are Stoopid

Part IV: Tips On Where To Shoplift

38.) A Man Dressed Like A Punk Rocker * KEZI Local News * 1996
39.) Track 22 * 200 Yang
40.) It’s Hard To Get Hard Answers * KEZI Local News * 1996
41.) Lucy * Billy Jack * Wrestling The Bald Headed Champ
42.) Drunken Chaos Fest * KEZI Local News * 1996
43.) What Makes * Johnson Unit * Panic On 13th
44.) Since The Punkers Came To Town * KEZI Local News * 1996
45.) Still Haunts Me * Snakepit * Soul Like A Goat
46.) Chaos Days Festival * KEZI Local News * 1996
47.) Love * KPANTS * “Love” b/w “Hospital”
48.) Tips On Where To Shoplift * KEZI Local News * 1996
49.) Todd Sparrow * Redmond Shooting Stars * Demo Tape
50.) Icky’s Teahouse * KEZI Local News * 1996
51.) It’s So Dark * Bottled Hungarian * Positively 13th
52.) Where Will All The Punks Sleep Tonight? * KEZI Local News * 1996
53.) No Role (In Society) * Pecus Gravitas * Eyeeee
54.) Broken Windows & Trespassing * KEZI Local News * 1996
55.) My Own Worst Enemy * The Hoogendoorns * We Are The Hoogendoorns
55.) It Should All End Sunday * KEZI Local News * 1996

Epiloge: Punk On Punk Violence

56.) Eraser * Oswald 5-0 * “Eraser” b/w “Felony Flats”
57.) Punk On Punk Violence * KEZI Local News * 1996