Notorious recluse and punk legend Ben Weasel has taken himself out of his Chicago hideaway to play two shows on the east coast. One is Saturday April 24th at the First Unitarian Church and he is playing Riverdales songs. That in and of itself is pretty cool. But the night before, he is playing at the Trocadero and it is all Screeching Weasel songs. Tickets go on sale on Friday at noon and grab them quick because there are going to be people who travel for this show. Take the kids. For you Weasel purists, no John Jughead this time around, sorry. Apparently there was no burring the hatchet for those two.
Ben has a pretty interesting blog which is updated on a pretty regular basis, and he is more entertaining than I could hope to be. Check it out. And if you haven't read either of the books he wrote under his given name, Ben Foster, you should try those out too. Punk is a Four Letter Word is primarily a compilation of his columns for Maximum Rock n' Roll, but you'll learn tons about Larry Livermore and the 90's Lookout! scene, the "rules" of being punk and other amusing anecdotes. They range from violently sarcastic to shockingly sensitive and introspective. His other book, Like Hell, is actually a novel, but it is basically a fictionalized version of his life as a touring musician. Some of the imagery is pretty brutal, but there is enough insightful commentary to balance it out. John Jughead has his own book, with his side of the story, Weasels in a Box. I haven't read it, but from what I can tell, it is written from the perspective of Jughead telling himself a story. An interesting concept; if anyone has ready this and can weigh in on how successfully it is pulled off, please let us know. They are all available in paperback.
Don't forget what the doormouse said. Read:
There are links to buy Ben's books from Amazon on Weasel Manor. If you can avoid it, please do. Buy the books from an independent book seller or from someone like Interpunk. Interpunk was originally started, ironically, by two Screeching Weasel fans who ran a fansite. Their readers were tired of not being able to get a hold of SW merch, so they got in contact with Ben and Jughead and started marketing tee shirts. Ten plus years later, they still run a killer site with fair prices, excellent customer service, remarkable diversity in product and they sneak presents in with orders. Who wouldn't be excited to get a free button when they by a cd or sweatshirt? Point is, there are alternatives to the one-stop behemoths. Support them when you can.
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