Bands, Cops, and Beer Bottles

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Flack
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Bands, Cops, and Beer Bottles

Post by Flack »

By the summer of 1997, I had been living in Washington state for just over a year. During the day I was a computer specialist for the federal government, but my nights and evenings were spent immersed in the Spokane music scene. A few months after arriving in town I began writing concert reviews for a local entertainment rag, and a month or two after that, I had started my own. December, 1996 marked the first issue of In-Tune Magazine. Each month, I put out 1,500 copies of a sixteen page tabloid-sized 'zine on my own. My wife sold ads to local businesses to cover my printing costs, and I did all the writing, layout, and design. The pages were filled with concert and CD reviews, interviews, and music-related news.

Through the magazine I met lots of bands and made lots of friends, but the band I became closest with was named Oil Filter. They played a kind of music I had never heard before -- loud, heavy, slow, and more than anything, low. The guitarists tuned their guitars down an entire octave (which is unheard of), and used extra stacks of speakers filled with subwoofers. The lyrics to most of their songs weren't particularly deep (the entire lyrics to the song "East 45" are "Fuck you, that's where my friends are / motherfucker, that's where my friends are"), but they were fun. Also note that the song begins with (and contains) movie samples, something they incorporated into most of their songs.



Over the span of a year, I became friends with the band and formed an informal working relationship with them. I designed the graphics and layout for the band's debut CD, made flyers, and did some other computer-related projects. I even experimented with designing a system to play visuals through a projector during their shows, but it never really came to fruition.

In August, 1996, "some guy" (I don't remember who) organized an outdoor festival-style party on private property. There were kegs of beer, and more importantly, an outdoor stage. Three bands were booked to perform, with Oil Filter being the headliner. That's how I got invited. To get all the gear to the show, Matt (the lead singer/guitarist of the band) asked if they could put stuff in my car, and I said sure. The afternoon of the show, I arrived at the band's practice pad and they loaded my Dodge Neon with all the guitars and random cables it would hold. A couple members of the band jumped in, and we drove outside of town to the location of the party. When we arrived, a guy standing outside the gate hit us up for $5 each. "We're in the band," said Matt, and the guy gave all of us wristbands marking us as band members. If only for one evening only, I was a member of the band. :)

While the first band was playing, the second band pulled me aside to let me listen to their new demo tape. I, along with three members of the band, climbed inside a car where I listened to a few songs while three guys passed around a bong. By the time we had listened to the demo, I was already light-headed. Red Dixie cups full of cold keg beer were flowing (as were swigs of Jack Daniels). I don't remember everything I partook in, but during the second band's set, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I remember standing on a pile of rocks and listening to the music and wondering how the rocks felt about me standing on them.

After the second band's set ended, they began clearing the stage and Oil Filter began setting up their equipment. By now, the sun was setting and the air was beginning to cool. Before the band could play, we could all hear commotion coming from the front gate. Over the hill, I could see dust being kicked up. Moments later, I saw what had caused it -- stream of Spokane police cars had arrived, three or four of them in a line.

Two cops got out of the first car and started yelling at everyone that the party was over. There were two cops and a couple hundred people standing around. I -- a federal employee and average weenie -- was terrified, as it didn't look like anyone around me was making a move toward the exit. What started as a request from two police officers to vacate this field began to feel like a stand-off.

Back to Oil Filter for a moment. They used to end their sets with this song that began with a sample from True Romance. It's the scene at the end of the film (right before the big shootout) where the bad guy says, "I hate fuckin' cops." They would loop the sample over and over, and people loved it.

Here is a clip from the movie; the sample is just after the 36 second mark.



And, this is what it sounded like in the song.



All of us are standing in a field. It's dusk; it's not completely dark yet, but the cops have their headlights on. The two cops standing next to the lead car haven't moved, and neither have any of the kids in this field out in the middle of nowhere.

Suddenly, a noise comes from the stage. "I hate fuckin' cops."

And not just once. Over, and over, and over.

"I hate fuckin' cops."
"I hate fuckin' cops."
"I hate fuckin' cops."

Everyone in the crowd cheered, which was great. Then someone launched a glass beer bottle over the crowd, which hit and broke the lead cop car's headlight.

Not great.

To say "shit hit the fan" would be an understatement. In the blink of an eye, 200 people began running in every direction. The people who drove, like myself, ran to their cars. Those who didn't drive ran to any car that had an available seat. I ended up with two members of the second band, and one member from the third in my Neon. Because the dirt road was blocked by squad cars, people began driving all over the field trying to escape. Thankfully, the cops were more interested in chasing whoever threw the beer bottle than those of us trying to leave. Still, I watched the rear view mirror the entire way into town.

I dropped one of the guys off at his house, and the remaining three of us went to Waffle House where we ate waffles until I felt sober enough to drive the rest of the way home.

I don't remember how Oil Filter got all their equipment home.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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AArdvark
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Re: Bands, Cops, and Beer Bottles

Post by AArdvark »

What did I just watch

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