the small intestine newsletter (fwd)
th i ema nn . d re w.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 00:40:03 EDT
From: Go Sweater <GoSw...@aol.com>
To: Vin...@aol.com
Subject: the small intestine newsletter
here you go kids!
The Small Intestine Newsletter
the small intestine
4801 Belair rd.
Baltimore, MD 1/7/98
Upcoming Shows:
Friday April 24th:
Fields Lay Fallow (amazingly powerful hardcore, members of Car vs. Driver and
Spirit Assembly), North (powerful distorted melodic four piece), Bridgewater
(tight emo-core), The Calabash Case (disjointed rock from Sandy Eggo)
Saturday April 25th:
Estrojet (hypnotic distorted girl power, yeah), Third Harmonic Distortion
(melodic emo-torque four piece), Yum Yum Tree (don't call them girlie punk
rock because then they'd have to kill you), The People's Army of Rome (ex-
buttsteak, 2 piece band, so they must be cool)
Sunday April 26th:
Roads to Space Travel (fun indie mod type stuff), The Wrens (straight up indie
rock), Tugboat Annie (emotional big top records pop), (Chewing On) Foil (heavy
rhythmic indie)
Friday May 1st:
Emma (bottle rocket rock), Drone Theory (kinda like my bloody valentine, kinda
like a damn good band), Tom Lommaccio: The Deadwood Divine (super talented
acoustic singer songwriter), Vic Firecracker (indie pop from Boston)
Saturday May 2nd:
Antarctica (ex- Christie Front Drive), Cross My Heart (emo trio, who happens
to be ex-Blank), Wrong Button (heavy distorted emo rock, kinda like cursive),
Jupiter Red (poppy melodic rock)
Friday May 8th:
A Benefit for Formula Fanzine and The Devil's Other Story!!! featuring:
International Soundscape Internationale (crazy improv fright-core four piece),
The Day of Man as Man (art rock masters ex- behind closed doors), The French
Mistake (really innovate four piece not unlike Slint or June of 44), Drone
Theory (sexy sexy people who have that special "something"...for real
description see above)
Saturday May 9th:
JewChink (white man be very afraid, this Jewish/Asian Rap Fourpiece is out for
Vengance!), The Union of a Man and a Woman (imagine godheadsilo with a utility
guy running around playing keyboard, guitar, or just breaking stuff, totaly
amazing!), Crash Smash Explode (ex- Candyland Car Crash), Fatday (the fastest
scariest spazz-core out there)
The Weekend of May 15,16, and 17th:
No shows...So Everyone can go to 9 Fest!!!
9 Fest Features lots of great bands spread out over 3 days, as well as
activist groups, speakers, and games. It is at The Johns Hopkins University E
Level.
Friday May 22nd:
Bossman (to describe them would be an injustice), Peterbuilt (emo rock from
Florida), A Stoveboat (they play songs about whaling and look like real life
longshoremen, wow) The Cham City Suicides (snotty brat punk... 30 second
songs... rock on)
Saturday May 23rd:
The Ruby Dare (really tight really good, ex- Shivers), Tarot Bolero (satanic
circus music, ex- Antioch Arrow), The Assembly Line People Program (quirky
disjointed heaviness), Sonna (beautifully crafted songs made of gold)
Sunday May 24th:
Oura Charm (similar to the dirty three) Jenhitt (powerful pop with beautiful
vocals, solid bass, frantic guitar, and drums that make me want to stop
playing drums becuase andrew is so good.) Neptune (they build their own
instruments!) the Grand Island (solid NYC rock trio)
Friday May 29th:
Burning Airlines (ex-Jawbox is all that needs to be said), Franklin (amazing
distorto-pop music), El Guapo (Better Automatic rip offs), The Better
Automatic (el Guapo rip offs)
Saturday May 30th:
The Vehicle Birth (songs you can tell are truly written well, lots of catchy
hooks spliced with quiet dissonance), My Pal Trigger (fast paced emo-
core)...more soon
Friday June 5th:
I Farm (political punk similar to Propighangi), more Tba
Saturday June 13th:
The Small Intestine One Year Anniversary Show!!!
Tickets are $5, on sale at Reptilian Records and The Small Intestine, or call
410-444-6739. All of the proceeds will go towards a CD to benefit the small
intestine featuring 17 great bands, 3 of which, The Dismemberment Plan, The
Wicked Farleys, and Salahd Days, will be playing that night. Rock out!!!
Saturday July 4th:
End of the World (tight pop punk), American Steel (good ol punk rock from
Berkely)
Friday July 11th:
Drop Dead (legendary spazz punk band from Providence), Arab on Radar (be very
very afraid)
Saturday July 12th:
Traluma (melodic emo rock), Sweep The Leg Johnny (the sax is great...)
Send all tapes/promo info to:
The Small Intestine c/o Ben
3012 Echodale Ave
Baltimore MD 21214
ph:410.444.6739
Update:
The Small Intestine staff has now swelled to a massive 4, as we welcome
Dave Wright into the rather disfunctional family. Also there is a benefit CD
coming out with 18 amazing bands from around the country, coming soon. Please
come to more shows, we really want to invest in an air conditioner this
summer. Also the building is scheduled for a major facelift. Finally, the
small intestine has now cornered the 8-12yr old market with our very own
Simpsons video game.
Hopefully i can finish booking (it never ends) and get a more updated and
complete list of shows out soon. If you wanna play, call me, Ben Valis at
410-444-6739. Call if you just wanna chat about the place and upcoming events
or if you need any other info or directions.
The small intestine is located at 4801 belair rd. in Baltimore md.
Directions:
To get there from the baltimore beltway, simply get off at the exit for
US rte. 1 (south) (belair rd) which is exit 32 A. Head south for about 5
miles, the small intestine is on your left at 4801.
From the DC area and all points south...take 95 north, through the Ft.
McHenry Tunnel, and get off at the exit for moravia rd. Travel for about 7
lights, and make a right at the light for belair rd. The small intestine is
located 2 blocks up on the right, at 4801, on the corner of belair and
southern. It's across the street from Foreign Motors Subaru, who i must say
are the most cooperative people i know for putting up with the music all the
time. Buy a car from them if ya want...
If you're coming from the downtown area or hamden, get on coldspring lane
and head east. (a left if you're coming from the north, a right from the
south) it turns into moravia, and you'll want to make a left at belair, then
go up 2 blocks.
All show are ALL AGES and there are No Alcohol or Drugs allowed in or anywhere
near the club. Doors for all shows is 7pm and the first band is always at
7:30pm. It's almost always $5. We sell sodas and stuff and have a mini
record store/distro for your shopping convenience. We also have zines for
people to read if they don't like the band. Thanks for reading all this, and
please come support this venue and these great bands.
~ben
What's Hot on the Turntables of the Small Intestine Staff as of late:
(as if you cared a bit!)
Ben:
Bossman, Rainer Maria, Arab on Radar, Songs; Ohia
Ellen:
Promise Ring, Delta 72, Morissey (always), David Bowie(since she was 12)
Gary:
Jejune, The Elusive, The Vehicle Birth, Braid (always)
New New New
The Small Intestine "robot phone" 410-488-5554. It should be up and running
soon.
How it all got started.
by: Ben Valis
People always ask me how it got started, so i figured I'd tell the Small
Intestine story and how the name came to be. here goes...I did basement
shows for a while, but none of the bands that played are still around, so i'm
going to start from Hot Dog City... I guess my first introduction to doing
shows (and the original incarnation of the small intestine) was when I was 14.
It was at the ill fated and short lived but fondly remembered Hot Dog City.
U.S.A. There were only 3 shows ever, but they were well attended and it was a
bunch of fun. Basically it was this place that opened up in the neighborhood,
and every night after hoffman! practice we as a band would go over there and
eat. Well we became friends with the owners Al (karate champion from
Argentina) and Rosemary(the rational one) and they became friends with us, and
learned we were in a band and such...Well from the begining I kind of had
designs that we would do a show there. Business was kind of slow for them,
although they broke even. One day when I was feeling rather brash, I decided
to ask them if I could do a show there. I said that it would bring lots of
people and that we would love to do it, and I promised as always that things
would be calm and there would be no alcohol. Well, they being some of the
nicest people in the world agreed, and the show was set for March 2nd 1995
with compulsive behavior, hoffman! and the spontaneous gyrations. A sidenote
is that I met ellen flyering for this show...
Anyway the show was free, and about 75 people showed up, which suprised even
me! There was no problem with anyone bringing alcohol, and Al and Rosemary
sold much more food than they would have on a normal friday night, and even
the Revco employees accross the street didn't mind. So we decided to try it
again, and a date was set for Salahd Days and another band called Osh Kosh
Biatch about 3 weeks from then. Well, later that week I found out that the
Hamilton neighborhood association for some reason had found out that there was
a band playing at Hot Dog City and commanded that the practice cease. Because
of this, the Salahd Days show was not very well attended because of a "low
profile". Well I started up a petition which i proceeded to take around to
the businesses in the area. Every business in the area supported it except
for Laekins Jewlers and Dollar General Stores. Infact, Laekins went as far to
harass Hot Dog City and get the Baltimore zoning board involved. It became
obvious much to the shagrin of all involved that Hot Dog City was not going to
last long as a music venue. We planned to do one more last show with hoffman!
and emma. This show turned out to be one of the most enjoyable shows i've
ever done. hoffman! opened up, and played one of our best sets ever, a set
which turned out to be last with our original drummer tim. emma played last
and were the loudest band i've ever seen. I mean this was not the indie pop
emma we all know, this was the spacerock/noisepunk emma of the past. Anyway
there were lots of people there and everyone had lots of fun. this was when I
was first introduced to famous baltimore anti-scenester and all around nice
guy tony pence. He drove by the show and decided to stop bye, and i'm sure
glad he did. Anyway hot dog city never did another show, and a few months
later, the business itself shut down.
The next incarnation of the small intestine was a one time affair at the
Hamilton post of the American Legion on June 28th 1995. It was a show which
was presented by "the hot dog city kids" and featured The Dismemberment Plan,
hoffman!, beer, spunk repulsion, and salad days. About 120 people came to the
show, which was an amazing turnout. This is what convinced me that i wanted
to keep doing shows, it was a great experience. The thing was, it cost me
$500 dollars to rent the hall out for one night, and although i didn't lose
money, I didn't make any either. The plan rocked out however, and it was
super fun.
The Original Small Intestine, 3012 Echodale Ave.
The first time the name the small intestine was ever used were a series of
basement shows in which I did in the fall/winter of 1996. It was named "The
Small Intestine" because it was a small area that smelled funny (like a
basement) and it sounded neat. Thanks to ellen's dilligent cleaning and my
scrupulus scrubbing, it didn't smell that bad by the time of the show. The
first of these shows, sometime in november, featured emma, compulsive behavior
and the final performance (other than reunion shows) of hoffman! This show
was free, and a super success, as the turnout was good and all the bands
great. After a hyadus, emma convinced me to do another show on saturday
feburary 1st with Flush (now broken up) and The ebonics (i have no idea what
happened to this band) This show turned out to be one of my favorites of all
time as well. Also, it was how I first met Gary Barrett, Jr., proprietor of
full tilt distribution and drummer for the idea men. I still contend that
this was the best time emma ever played, and you could hear the vocals! The
cost was $2, but since it was a basement, I took the money and gave it all to
the bands, and what was left over I ordered pizza and bought two cases of
Stewart's Cream Ale and Key Lime for everyone to drink who came to the show.
These shows gave me the idea to pursue the idea of what is now the small
intestine. And after months of calls and looking at property, ellen and i
found the one where it is currently located, and set the opening date for June
13th, 1997.
The (recently updated) Top Five Shows Ever at the Small Intestine!
This is a totally impartial measurement compiled by the Small Intestine
staff...
1. Friday, Dec 12th: The Dismemberment Plan, Camber, Gift to the Greedy,
Seething Grey. 130 people! Great bands, lots of fun for all involved, people
singing along LOUDER than the pa, crowd surfing, a chanting encore for the
plan, any more description would do it an injustice. A true "rock" show.
2. Wed. Aug 13th: The Wicked Farleys, Intro to Airlift, The Vehicle Birth,
Emma, The Dismemberment Plan Well the turnout was no where near the largest
crowd ever, only about 55 people, but everyone was very into all the bands and
all the bands were very excellent. I was "all about" the music.
3. Friday Sept. 12th. Rhinovirus, Daybreak, Another Band, The Peaball
Saints.... A very close second. This show definately would have been first,
except there was a bit of musical inconsistency. The turnout was one of the
largest ever, and the place was packed for Daybreak, and absolutely out of
control during Rhinovirus. Everything ended up getting covered in shaving
cream, manekins were smashed and pigs feet were thrown. Wow.
4. Friday March 13th: The Dismemberment Plan, Most Secret Method, Vehicle
Birth, 30¢ Thieves, Perestroika. The biggest turnout ever had to put this
show in there...great bands, and great people)
5. Sat. November 15th: Rainer Maria, Another Engine (now Propeller Song),
The Most Secret Method, Wrong Button Despite some problems with the PA, the
turnout was great, the bands were super, and eveyone seemed to enjoy
themselves. What a good show should be.
Honorable Mention:
Sat. August 22nd: The Spontaneous Gyrations last show ever, with Radiovirus
and Mr. Belvadere.
Friday, June 13th. The first show ever at the Small Intestine with the Lee
Harvey Keitel Band, Rhinovirus, and Penry
Fri. Sept. 5th. Fun Size, New Sweet Breath, Wrong Button, The Kovac
Contingent, The Fuses
Sat Sept. 6th. The (young) Pioneers, Ruby Dare, The Uniform, Radiovirus,
Daybreak.
Sun. Nov. 9th The Need, The Great Unraveling, Patsy, Quix-O-Tic
Sat Dec 6th. Kerosene 454, Emma, Speedwell, The Wicked Farleys
Sat. March 21st: Arab on Radar, Landed, Press Gang, The 1985
p.s. Coming soon will be articles from Small Intestine staff *ellen* and
*gary*. Also an updated Small Intestine Web Site (yes it is true!) with a
complete list of all 147 bands ever to play and exerpts from ellen's brand new
zine, featuring a dismembermant plan interview! Also we should get a full
tilt distribution catalog in the newsletter and a pleem catalog and cool
stuff. Keep in touch!
~ben and the Small Intestine staff
