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WTUL: Free-form Community Radio since 1959

the VOX: MARATHON ISSUE

A Publication of: are you?

FREE
• WTUL Marathon Schedule and 24 Hour DJ Weekend
• Is RIGHT WRONG? by Tom Connor
• Interviews with Statutory Triangle and Fisher Cat Winter/Spring 2010
• Jail Time: Written from Behind Bars by Karl Lootens
wtulneworleans.com
Letter from the General Manager PEOPLE
Hey Loyal Listeners, community, and getting ready for another
exciting Marathon! I’ll keep this message
Sponsors
Its Patrick the GM again, introducing your short since I know its time (har har) for you Andrew Bizer, Attorney at Law
favorite VOX periodical. As you may notice, to read the rest of the Vox.
The Mushroom
this issue’s theme is “Time”. Aside from the
corny jokes (“it’s Time for you to donate Sincerely, Skully’z Recordz
to WTUL!”), the theme really is central to
whats happening at the radio station you Patrick Townsend Contributors
know and love. We’re on the cusp of digitiz- General Manager
ing our music, changing our programming WTUL New Orleans 91.5 Tom Connor
schedule, getting more involved in the
Deborah Dixon

Myrna L. Enamorado

Chris Holdgraf

Ray “Moose” Jackson

Karl Lootens

Brian Zeigler

Fan Mail Associate Editor


I read the Vox today while at work. I felt oddly... encounter could turn into, I felt like the Vox was
reconnected to this city. WTUL is my favorite reaching out to me. I’m not a target, not a de-
Perrey Lee
thing about New Orleans; well, that and La Divina mographic, not conspicuous enough for a label,
Gelateria’. This issue made me feel still isolated but not so bland I can’t be sold. I’m just in my Assistant Editor
and kind of fucked up, but I’m not the only one twenties, looking for something to read for a short
who feels that way. So, maybe there’s hope, right? time, and maybe drink a cup of coffee. Thanks for Myrna L. Enamorado
Whether it was feeling like almost 70 of the 83 being there. Thanks for being.
who were socially deleted- being rejected over Editor-in-Chief
and over again by people for whom I feel the
same way- or nearing a panic attack at the thought Much Love, Peace, Kyle Barnett
of someone more socially awkward than myself Eliza T.
whom I almost want to meet but fear what that

Corrections Address
Our featured poet lasst issue was credited
WTUL New Orleans, 91.5 FM
as Stacy Balkun, whereas it should have
Tulane University
been Stacey Balkun. Sorry Stacey!
New Orleans, LA 70118-5555
Office: (504) 865-5885
Studio: (504) 865-5887
www.wtulneworleans.com
voxwtul@gmail.com

Tells us what you think. Send comments to voxwtul@gmail.com.


(Cover Design by Myrna Enamorado.
Table of Contents
1 – Letter from the General Manager and 8 – 24 Hour DJ Profiles
Fan Mail - List of Contributors
9 – Interview with Fisher Cat
3 – Merchandise Page (Please support us!) by Myrna L. Enamorado

4 – Letter from the Editor 10 – Spring 2010 Programming Schedule



“Pheonix Rising” 11 – Beautiful Freak
by Deborah Dixon by Chris Holdgraf

5 – “Is Right Wrong?” 14 – Hole (poem)


by Myrna Enamorado
by Tom Connor

15 – Bitter Ink (cartoon)


6 – Interview with Statutory Triangle
by Ray “Moose” Jackson & Brian Zeigler
by Myrna L. Enamorado
7 – WTUL MARATHON SCHEDULE Jail Time by Karl Lootens
WTUL’s 2010 Special Gift Catalog
WTUL New Oreans 91.5 FM is New Orleans’ only free-form non-commercial radio station. We’ve counted on you for 50 years to make donations.

Make a Donation to WTUL. Get a gift.


Your donation helps to keep WTUL going. The more you donate the more you receive.
Get the total package of everything WTUL for only $200.

(Donate at least $25 for this gift)


WTUL Songs from the
Basement, Vol. 8 Compila-
tion CD
Our annual local
compilation CD
(donate at least $50 to be eligible for this
gift + Compilation CD)
WTUL 2010 Marathon T-shirt
All orders over $50 will also receive
(not as pictured) WTUL buttons and bottle openers

(donate at least $150 for this gift + old school block (donate at least $200 for this gift + old school block
(donate at least $100 for this gift + marathon t- logo shirt + marathon t-shit + compilation CD) logo shirt + marathon t-shit + compilation CD)
shit + compilation CD) WTUL Messenger Bag WTUL Looking Back on 50 years Coffee Table Book
WTUL Old School Block Logo NEW!! Non-woven gray messenger bag w Photos, stories, etc. collected from alum and current
White Logo on Blue T-shirt ith headphone design WTUL staff compiled in full color 7x7 coffee table book

Contribution form:

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AMOUNT CONTRIBUTED:
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☐ $500 ☐ $250 ☐ $100 ☐ $50 ☐ $25
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Please send to: The Vox


WTUL New Orleans 91.5 FM ☐Other: ____________
Tulane University Box 5069
New Orleans, LA 70118

Or Donate online @ wtulneworleans.com


Pheonix Rising
A farewell by Deborah “Lady Iyann” Dixon
I lost a good friend today. understand what happened. I know chemo had been dealing her some serious
blows, but if I had really thought about it, maybe I would’ve created an op-
We’d never met. Yes, I am one of those weirdos that lives on online forums. portunity to say goodbye. But I didn’t, and after missing her, that’s what hurts
Real-life people suck. Anyway, I happened to stumble upon one of these fo- the most. I’m trying to remind myself that she’s doing much better wherever
rums, a roleplaying one, late last May. I was totally new at roleplaying (yes, she is now- no pain, no need for oxygen or morphine. But, of course, I’m
I am one of those weirdos too), and she helped me get acclimated, taught me selfish enough to make this about me. I miss her so much.
the do’s and don’ts. Given that most people sink or swim at this, I thought it
was really sweet of her to take the time to do that. The point of this bloggy essay thing is that none of us have the sort of time
we think we do. I once read an email that said, “Life is not short. Life is the
Well, maybe I love too easily or she just has one of those lovable personali- longest thing that can happen to you.” That’s true, but that doesn’t make life
ties, or more likely a combination of both, but I grew irreversibly attached long. That doesn’t make sitting on a death sentence any better an idea. That
to her over the ensuing months, and I presume I earned at least her respect, doesn’t give us the right to waste time, to watch if flit away, to assume that
because it takes an iron will to stick with someone like me for this long. the doctors are right. As my friend said, “The greatest gift any of you can
give me is the gift of living your lives to the fullest, of letting as much joy,
Anyway, a couple of months ago, she told us (me and our newly mutual love and laughter into your lives, day in and day out, as possible given the
friends) that she had been diagnosed with a ridiculously rare form of cancer. circumstances of the day. Be happy, enjoy your lives, not make the best of
The doctors gave her five years. I actually told her not to grieve about five yourself, but what makes you the happiest.”
years, because after all, five years is a long time, and technology makes huge
strides in that long a period. I’ll have to try that, though the world seems a little emptier of happiness
these days. Take care, my friend.
Of course, it hasn’t been five years. As I write this, I still don’t entirely
Letter from the Editor: Another Year Passes
by Kyle Barnett
So here it is…time to fill a space. A
blank space. Like the VOX editor
space before I inhabited it. Like the
universe before there was a universe.
The unwritten page has so many pos-
sibilities in comparison to the written
one. But that doesn’t make emptiness
a virtue.

So, don’t let your response to the con-


tinual calls for donations to WTUL
be a blank one. Just go to www.
wtulneworleans.com and fill out the
blank donation form. Don’t forget to
fill in the credit card info. In turn we
will send you some of the stuff on
the previous page. Cool stuff. Right?
Plus you’ll just have the satisfaction
of supporting the only relevant radio
station in New Orleans.
To contact the editor
send an email to:

voxwtul@gmail.com
Is Right Wrong?: Struggling with Mardi Gras Etiquette in a Hot New Orleans Summer
by Tom Connor

I reached the second floor of the bar, and as was usual for ing me, but I wanted to rectify the situation as gracefully as or Hildegard, but hey, you can’t have everything. As I stood
this time of night on a Saturday, it was packed. I paused at the possible. there with the fact that, by some definitions, the name was
top of the stairs and scanned around for my friend, Leigh, and The normal remedy would have been to clear the air, or in the second most personal piece of information I knew about
in the process I took in the whole scene. My lungs hated the this case bring it up to the girl and repay the beads, but I would this person, I felt a bump on my shoulder and turned around.
smoke, but the rest of me loved the place. Not only was it one have to make sure to do so in as casual and un-creepy a way Amanda and her half of the table were heading off to another
of the less pretentious bars on Magazine Street, it was also a as possible. Maybe lead with a compliment? I pictured myself bar and were saying their goodbyes.
great place to drink when in warm weather. The prices could walking up to her one day, maybe on a quiet Sunday afternoon, With blood full of liquid courage and taurine, I saw an op-
have been better, but I could forgive them for that. and introducing myself. “Hi, my name is Tom. I saw your left portunity and decided to break the ice once and for all. Review-
I had only reflected on this for a moment when I saw the boob last Mardi Gras, and I just thought I’d let you know I ing my previous options, from completing the collection to
group I was there to meet, clustered as they usually were thought it was top notch. Oh, I also owe you this,” I’d say, and expressing aesthetic appreciation to simply upholding tradition,
around a table in the corner. I started walking over, winding as I produced a string of beads from my pocket I’d continue, I decided to again utilize my original strategy and pretend the
and twisting around people as I went, but after about ten steps “anyway, so, what’s that, Faulkner you’re reading there?” whole thing never happened.
I froze, my eyes locked on one of the girls standing with my It was a decent plan, except that even in my head it usu- “Did we meet?” Amanda asked as if seeing me for the first
friend. The night had taken a turn. ally ended with me attempting to explain social niceties to a time, and I could tell right away she was even drunker than I
Standing roughly five-ten (plus heels) she was hard to miss uniformed police officer, so I decided that probably wouldn’t be thought she was. Either her eyes weren’t focusing on me, or
to begin with, and her curly hair, made gigantic by the August the best approach. Facebook, with its lack of any actual interac- each had suddenly become interested in a different one of my
humidity, only increased her visibility. Still, even without those tion, was an even worse option, and stymied at an impasse I ears.
markers, my eerily-good memory for faces had set off the decided to simply do nothing and pretend it hadn’t happened. “We actually met before, awhile ago,” I said, grabbing her arm
first alarm and I briefly considered a full retreat to avoid the Sure, I was bucking tradition and still hiding what I knew, but to steady her as she started to list dangerously to one side.
awkwardness that was sure to come. As I weighed my options, I was also avoiding a restraining order, and that outweighed “We have, where?” she asked, steadying herself and squinting
I reviewed the case in my head. all other considerations. Over time I fell into a habit of just right at me.
I had first met the girl that stood before me, a friend of another avoiding eye contact, and after some time I stopped seeing her “Well, like I said, it was awhile ago. Sorry, I’ve got a weird
friend, several years prior, at one of the uptown parades during altogether. In a triumph that would give hope to sloths every- memory for faces,” I said, and continued on to name our other
Mardi Gras. I should clarify that I use the term “met” loosely; where, lack of action had solved my problem. mutual friend, but I decided to leave it at that. After a moment’s
what actually happened was that I happened to be looking in That was all undone that Saturday night, standing there in conversation, it turned out neither of us really talked to that
the right direction as, beset with a drunken bloodlust for beads, that smoky, crowded bar, looking at that same girl standing particular person anymore, though we were both pretty sure
she pulled the left side of her shirt and bra halfway to the bot- there talking to my friend. To make matters worse, since I was that she still lived in New Orleans. These realizations together
tom of her ribcage, exposing a part of her anatomy I’d normally already a little drunk, I didn’t fully trust myself to handle the amounted to a set of facts that neither Amanda nor I found
have to pay for dinner to have access to. Not that I was com- situation without saying something stupid, so I decided to exit particularly interesting, and when her friends were ready to go,
plaining - at the time I was pretty happy with the situation and as quietly as possible. As my leg muscles began to shuffle my so was she.
mentally high-fived myself in celebration, then went on with feet backward , my friend Leigh saw me and started to wave “Well, we’re leaving now,” Amanda said, swaying toward her
my night and forgot about it. me over. With retreat impossible, I brushed my hair off of my friends, “nice to have… met you… again.” She blinked at me,
It was the following weeks and months took the situation into forehead and started walking over with a casual smile on my then turned around and walked away with short, choppy steps.
the weird category. As it turned out, this particular flasher was face. The issue had been forced. “You too,” I said to the back of her head, and turned back
not only a Tulane student, but apparently had the superpower of Or so I thought, as fate decided to go easy on me. As it turned around. Years in the making, the conversation was short,
booking all of her classes in the same buildings and at the same out, the girl I was ready to run screaming from the room to pointless, and entirely uninteresting, the type that is replicated
times as mine. I was literally seeing her four and five times a avoid was so completely plastered that she could barely stand, millions of times every day by those waiting for their friends
week, and it began to feel like I was being haunted by the ghost and was largely being baby-sat by the others around her. to find their purses and close their tabs before moving on to the
of titty past. The strangest part was that the more I saw her Conversation seemed as if it would have been a miracle since next venue. Still, I was grateful for the anticlimax, and for the
around, the more I began to feel guilty. At the time I couldn’t standing up straight seemed to be enough of a challenge, so I fact that I had finally broken ice that only I was aware of and
explain it, but it amplified a small amount every time I passed decided to play it cool. We stood facing perpendicular direc- only I even cared about. Having a personal piece of informa-
her in a hall, even though I was about 99% sure she had no idea tions, and two red-bull-and-vodkas later, I had reinstituted my tion about Amanda had created a very strange and involuntary
who I was. It was the type of quietly nagging shame that comes strategy of ignore and evade, but the humor of the situation was intimacy, and I was happy to have mentally dismissed it. To
from getting away with something, like cheating on a test and too delicious not to bring up. have done so without being arrested made me pretty proud of
then setting the curve. I couldn’t understand why, but the whole Once I was sure the girl behind me wasn’t listening, I leaned myself, and I ordered another round.
thing was bothering me. in close to Leigh and told the story, in its entirety, directly into As I leaned against the table playing with the ice in my drink,
Then one day, out of nowhere, it came to me. I didn’t feel bad her ear, as quietly as possible. I was about halfway through I was suddenly sure that though I probably wasn’t the first per-
about the flash itself, but rather I felt incredibly awkward that when I started to realize again how strange I sounded for hav- son to have been in a situation like that, I was almost certainly
there had been zero acknowledgement of the situation on my ing paid as much attention as I had to the whole thing, but after the first to have put that much effort into it. I took a sip, looked
part, so the whole thing felt like a secret I had to avoid bringing I finished Leigh looked at me, looked at her friend, and started around, and realized that I had answered my original question
up. To make matters worse, I had also failed to hold up my end laughing. I took the fact that a well-adjusted adult female also (the correct answer was to do nothing), but I was troubled by
of the showing-your-tits-contract, which dictated that I give her found it funny as a good sign. the implications that it carried. To do nothing meant that sim-
some beads, and in some ways that made the situation worse. “So, what are you going to do?” Leigh asked me. ply ignoring a flash would release one from any expectation,
Before me was an etiquette problem unique to New Orleans: “I don’t know, I’m not really sure how to bring it up. Probably including throwing beads, and I realized that my trek had lead
what, if anything, should you do when you’ve seen the breast nothing.” I took a sip of my drink and had an idea: “Maybe me to a conclusion that could tear at the heart of Mardi Gras
(not both, just the one) of someone loosely connected to your ask her to see the right one? It seems like such a shame to only itself. I pictured legions of beadless women and disinterested
social circle and did not provide the requisite beads, if that have half the collection.” men wandering aimlessly around Bourbon Street like zombies,
person has no idea who you are or that you have that kind of We laughed together and I was reminded of why I love hav- while frightened and confused police stood dumbstruck and
knowledge? ing Leigh as a friend – as someone who could be a little weird called for backup. It was a terrible reality, one that I didn’t want
I was sure this had to be something others had experienced, or herself, she always seems not just to understand, but to appreci- to live in, and I was at a loss for a way out.
at least that’s what I started telling myself in an attempt to mask ate odd situations, which I tend to have an abundance of. Her Of course, it was equally possible that I had learned nothing,
the fact that I was vastly over-thinking the issue. Still, seeing advice isn’t always sage, but it is always practical: “Yeah, if was overthinking again, and would be in another situation like
as how New Orleans, and Uptown in particular, is such a small you had the full set, the eBay value would probably go up,” she it before too long. Either way. I took another sip of my drink,
community that you’re bound to run into the same person again replied. mentally high-fived myself in celebration, then went on with
and again to begin with, it did make sense that there should be Out of curiosity, I asked Leigh what the girl’s name was, and my night and forgot about it.
a right and wrong way to handle this kind of thing. I felt better found out it was Amanda, which I thought was disappointingly
having finally been able to put my finger on what was bother- common. After all that buildup I had been hoping for a Dagmar
Interview with Statutory Triangle
ME - So I saw you at your debut show at the Spell- ME - You changed your name from Statutory Tri-
by Myrna Enamorado
Rhodes - Devo, Magas, and Juvenile.
caster and you made quite an entrance.  There was angle to Statutory  
fog everywhere and you came down from the ceiling Pancake. Is that a reference to Voodoo? ME - What is the best thing that happened to you in
while the papparazzi took pictures with big mechani- the last decade?
cal lenses. Stevie - We changed our name to Statutory Pancake?
Did you feel that something historic was happening That’s also news to me. We are changing our name, Stevie - Let’s see…trashing posh hotels in the CBD
like you were being born? but haven’t settled on anything yet. Everything is a with aging celebrities, dining at Red Lobster, and
reference to Voodoo. Voodoo Fest 2006...I can’t elaborate upon that one.
Stevie -  I felt like drinking a tall glass of milk. Rhodes - No it’s a reference to breakfast. Sorry.
Rhodes -  Yeah, i felt like i was dropping out of Rhodes - Graduated High School, ‘09. Katrina.
Lady Gaga’s birth canal. ME - Are you religious or just suicidal? Discovered pharmaceuticals. I got a furby one year. I
  don’t know, a lot of great stuff happened, its hard to
ME - Do you ever get fazed by fame? Stevie - Yes, I’m suicidal...somebody get me a shot- pin point just one.
gun and I’ll blow my fucking brains out for the me-
Stevie -  I’m famous? That’s news to me...I paid my dia to lap up like a sick dog. Isn’t everybody suicidal ME - Geographically speaking your identity is very
water bill in change last month. at some point? Bottom line is this: if today I feel like tied to the South and New Orleans specifically.  Do
Rhodes - Yeah but then i just leave the you feel mystically tied to this place?
6 block radius of the bywater where
nobody knows who i am. Stevie - No, no, no. I don’t feel attached to
any particular place, save for Michigan or
ME - How far would you go to protect Chicago (in a fucked up way), much less
your privacy? ‘mystically tied’....but yes, I am partial to
the South.
Stevie - Pretty fucking far. Rhodes - Yeah, I feel pretty “mystic”. I re-
Rhodes - Missouri. cently discovered how hard it is to live any-
where that drinking in the street is illegal.
ME - Today is your 83rd birthday and I lived in Missouri for a year and had an
you are still going strong. identity crisis. I don’t want to be in a place
Can you share some words of wisdom that doesnt have drive thru daiquiri stands.
with your audience that looks up to So yeah, I always end up being pulled back
you with blood smeared eyes? into the swamp.

Stevie - Be on time…punctuality is ev- ME - What about your environment has


erything.  Strive for perfection. Less is shaped your music?
more. Also, if you have ‘blood smeared
eyes,’ you aren’t getting enough iron. Eat a couple jumping off a cliff, tomorrow I’ll be sitting in the lap Stevie - Poor nutrition, abject poverty, corrupt politi-
handfuls of raw spinach. of God. That’s life. I sold my religion on Ebay. cians, tourism, fashion that fell straight out of the
early Nineties, inclement weather, violence, vio-
ME - You’re such a newband and you already got Clark - Those two things have nothing to do with lent hippies, funky Jazz, fire, rampant drug abuse,
signed.  Can you tell us how that happened? each other unless you’re Dostoevsky. the lack of any truly good record stores, marching
What are the benefits to being on a label as opposed Rhodes - Why does it have to be one or the other? bands, Elysian Fields, and Mardi Gras. Need I say
to self releasing   more?
your music? ME - What music did you listen to in 2009? Rhodes - Its the jazz. What is in the future for Statu-
tory Triangle?
Stevie - We’re not signed. People like Neil Young Stevie-  Kap Bambino. French ‘electro’ band I’m Stevie - The cover of Rolling Stone.
are signed and have 5 year contracts and that sort of quite fond of. I saw them in Chicago with Magas Rhodes - Don’t know about that one you’ll just have
thing. Have you ever heard the story about how he and my friends, Lazer Crystal...totally psychotic... to wait and see.
fucked over Warner Brothers by making a Rocka- Bad Party--from Detroit, MI. CHECK OUT all these
billy and Electronica album in the Eighties? Pure bands, they are the shit. Other than that, modern ME - Are you gonna live forever?
genius. I think somebody is putting out our record in music is quite dull. That King Khan show was a hoot
the future, quite possibly very soon.  though. Ever drink liquor out of a purse? I did that Stevie - Of course!
night. I listen to A LOT of talk radio, specifically Ra- Rhodes - With all the recent medical breakthroughs
Rhodes - It happened because of the aforementioned dio for the Blind…88.3 FM, WRBH. And of course, I feel like I might truly be part of the generation that
birth canal show. There are no real benefits. Just the Gun Club. The lead singer died in 1996. They stops aging after 27. So yes, I will live forever, un-
make weird music that will appeal to Austrians. are my favorite band of all time. less I get cancer.
WTUL 2010 Marathon Schedule
March 12-14; Foburg Fest March 20; One Eyed Jack’s –
WTUL co-sponsors the first Foburg Festival with NOIR Col- QUINTRON
lective with WTUL sponsored shows are at La Maison at 10pm
each night: Ballzack and Oddoms and Madd Wikkid open for Quintron and
Miss Pussycat.
Friday, March 12 – Blue Party, Gamma Ringo, New Grass
Country Club and Wazozo.
March 20; Pocket Park– 2nd
Saturday, March 13 – MyNameIsJohnMichael, Sun Hotel,
Reno Bo and Booty Trove. Closing out the Frenchmen Street
Annual Vinyl Fair – 10am-5pm
festival on Ballzack and Oddoms and Madd Wikkid open for Quintron and
Miss Pussycat.
Sunday, March 14 – Silent Cinema, Dr. Manhattan, Chris
Rehm, Oso Closo and Meg Roussell.
March 22; Rocco’s (11pm)
March 18; Rocco’s (11pm) –Throbbing Thursdays
–Throbbing Thursdays (18+ show) WTUL DJs spin live at Rocco’s on Maple St. from
11pm-close.

(18+ show) WTUL DJs spin live at Rocco’s on Maple St. from
11pm-close. March 27; Whiskey Dix –Songs
from the Basement Vol. 8 CD
March 19-22; 24 Hour DJs
Release Party –
(See profiles on page opposite.)
We Landed on the Moon, Jak
Come to Pocket Park, nestled in between the Lavin-Bernick
Center and McAllister Auditorium, where three DJs will post 24
Locke, Sick Like Sinatra
hour live-sets back-to-back and will be asking non-stop, over the Release party for WTUL’s annual compilation CD featuring lo-
air and to passersby, for donations for WTUL. cal artists. To procure this CD just flip back a couple of pages
and send in the form with $25 or go to wtul.fm to donate.
Please come out and support them.
. Or...just show up to the party. Whiskey Dix (1753 Saint Charles
March 19; Flying Dutchman Avenue b/w felicity and polymnia)

Co-hosting night of entertainment with New Orleans Opera As-


sociation at the Flying Dutchman.
March 28; Maple Leaf (5pm)
.

–Hootenanny
The Howdies, Luke Winslow King, The High Ground Drifters.
WTUL Marathon 24 Hour DJ Schedule
Your 24 HOUR DJS
Each year in an attempt to raise funds for the station three WTUL DJs are elected
by popular vote to serve as WTUL’s sole on-air representatives 24 hours straight.
24-hour shifts begin Friday March 19 at noon with Rachel Wenzel. Listen at 91.5
FM or on our webstrem at wtulneworleans.com.

Friday, March 19 –Saturday, March 20


DJ: Rachel Wenzel, WTUL Assistant General Manager

Years on WTUL: 4 years

Favorite Bands/Musicians: So many


favorites. I do the Americana Show.
Sunday, March 21 – Monday, March 22
I also love Sleater-Kinney, Sufjan
DJ NAME: Hunter King; Program Director
Stevens, Bound Stems, Tegan and
Sara and Dirty
Favorite Band/Musi-
Projectors. Plus so many more.
cian: It’s probably
Bo Diddley
Most Hated Band/Musician: There
is no music I hate, but I really don’t
Most Hated band/
understand jazz or Britney Spears.
Musician: oh jeez,
I don’t know. I’ve
Hobbies: I love to travel and want to
always wanted to
see the world. I dance like a fool. I
turn NOFX off when
also like to try all kinds of arts and
I hear it. Counting
crafts, but I always seem to
Crows kind of hurts
start a project and can’t seem to finish it. I finished knitting a
too.
scarf once, that was a nice feeling. I enjoy chasing boys in plaid shirts. . . . with
beards.
Other Hobbies: I got
in a shouting match
about the how the
Saturday, March 20 – Sunday, March 21 ipod touch’s solid
state hard drive has no effect on sound quality at a high-end audio store yester-
DJ: Da D-Train day. I want to do that again.

Years on WTUL: 4 years

Favorite Bands/Musicians: A Tribe Called Quest, Iggy


Pop and/or The Stooges, Lou Reed, and Outkast.

CALL THE DJs


TO DONATE @
Most Hated Band/Musician:NICKELBACK, EMO
GENRE, AND JAMES TAYLOR

Other Hobbies: Finding great tracks, Checking out live


music, eating slimjims, making fun of hipsters..........,
rooting for the Florida
Marlins, cooking up some mean ass garlic fries!
504-865-5885
Quote: “The person who knows how to laugh at himself or online@
will never cease to be amused.” ----- Shirley MacLaine
www.wtul.fm
Interview with
Fisher Cat invited me to their practice space before
Fisher Cat
Nathan- Which is the most publicized because indie
by Myrna Enamorado
Perry - It’s like a whole like a whole experience
the big books to prisoners benefit show at Allwayz rockers control the alternative media. it’s not just like a show at a bar or at a venue it’s an
Lounge and we had a little conversation…..it fol- And then there is a drunk punk scene which is pretty event.
lowed as goes….. crusty which mostly hangs out in the 9th ward and Jackson - And you don’t have to have some spe-
the bywater. cific draw because the idea is not to make money.
ME - If you could ride on the back of an animal Perry- And there is a Bro metal scene which hangs The ideas is to have a good time If people come and
what animal would you ride on? out in the hiho. don’t pay it’s not an issue.
Jackson - And the Saturn bar Normally you don’t pay at all. So it’s just for fun.
Perry - A Fisher cat. Probably a whale because it Perry - And it all comes together sometimes in Perry - There was the one show that home boy put
is so big and powerful and benevolent and it would interesting ways. on and everybody got sick afterwards
probably just be rad. Jackson - Every-
Jackson - I don’t know. body was inhal-
I would be into a sloth ing toxic fumes.
possibly because they Nathan - “It
don’t move very fast so was one the best
it wouldn’t bother you nights of my life
in doing what you’re Perry - Yeah to-
wanting to do in your tally. There were
time because sometimes candles and a gi-
you don’t want to be ant spray painted
riding on the back of an bird.
animal. Nathan - They
Perry - Well in this spent like a
case you do. A cheetah month or two
that is the fastest. months just
Jackson - Antelope painting and
cause they jump really clearing out this
good too warehouse for
this show.
ME - What is your Jackson - Yeah
favorite movie? it was beautiful.
Perry - It was so
Perry - Tampopo is a much more than
Japanese movie that is a show it was a
really good and it’s all happening
about ramen. And the
Battle of Algiers is also ME - Do you
a really good movie hate porcupines?
about the Algerian revo- Jackson - No
lution. It’s brutal. we don’t hate
Jackson - I like Dirty porcupines they
Work with Norm Mc- just happen top
Donald and Chris Farley. be one of the fisher cats natural prey. Prey doesn’t
ME - Do you ascribe to one of those scenes? necessarily entail hatred.
ME - What do you think of the New Orleans music Nathan - We try to do our own thing Perry - We eat porcupines.
scene? It’s hard to say what the music scene is like because Nathan - We happen to be the only thing viscious
it is so varied and so fragmented. enough to take on a porcupine.
Nathan - I think that there are many scenes includ- But mostly we try to avoid playing bars because We are hard-wired to jump out of a tree and flip it
ing but not limited to what you might call the native they are kind of boring sometimes, but we will play over and disembowel it.
music scene, which also coincides with the tourist a bar we’re not dogmatic
music scene, but not entirely cause you got your sec- Perry - Or snobby. ME - Do you have any rituals before you perform
ond lines on the one hand and you got your French Nathan - But mostly we just play generator shows live?
market bourbon street voodoo zydeco jambalaya on in abandoned buildings. Perry - Jackson smokes a lot of pot. We are all re-
the other hand. Jackson - And that’s more fun because you have ally stressed out and something breaks.
Perry - And there is an indie rock scene. more control of what you are doing.
WTUL SPRING SCHEDULE 2010

You can see this issue of the VOX and past issues on our website at wtul.fm
Beautiful Freak: New Orleans City Park by Chris Holdgraf
Beautiful Freak a cereal bowl), even walking paths have swelled and burst as you see fit. Within its vast boundaries lies a plethora of
In terms of dollars and cents, New Orleans’ City open to reveal steadfast roots of mighty southern oaks. lush green and thriving wildlife that serve as an hom-
Park is expendable. It is not essential to the streets and Such reclamations possess an eerily powerful beauty and age to the muggy swamps and snaking bayous that once
houses that skirt its boundaries. The Park’s borders aren’t reminds us that if we think we can do whatever we please covered all of Southern Louisiana. With wide-open fields
characterized by towering walls inscribed with the names without a thought for what we have displaced, we’d better of thick grass, perfect for an afternoon football game
of multitudinous companies and benefactors that con- think again. or a family picnic, the park seems to invite everyone to
tribute to its commercial success. It isn’t a giant revenue One begins to question whether this plot of land come and enjoy the natural beauty it has to offer. Passing
machine, nor a tourist trap that will bring in customers is really City Park, or if it’s actually the Park’s City, a through the grandiose front driveway lined on either side
from all over the world. To someone who would judge sprawling landscape that surpasses the gray in a defiant with newly-planted saplings and ending in the famous
the prosperity of a city by the amount of cash it is able to testament to the once natural landscape of New Orleans. New Orleans Museum of Art, the front drive immediately
generate, City Park isn’t much of anything, really. And A half day’s work of fifty people may result in a barely- branches into a multitude of possibilities. Take a left to
yet, to anyone who’s seen its expansive territory, this gi- recognizable alteration of the land, and as if such indis- the tennis complex, the single largest group of public
ant plot of land elicits a strange compulsion to ensure its cernible progress wasn’t enough to deter the ambition of courts in the city and host to events and training for both
future, to fortify a prosperous and generously long life for the workers’ daily grooming and upkeep, it is an altera- inexperienced and seasoned players. Take a right, and you
its green and oftentimes chaotic wander into a cleared field that
tenants. The Park stands for doubles as a cross-country
a commitment to something circuit and on to the green-
that has deliberately avoided house dedicated to growing
the “progressive” and lucra- plants for distribution to New
tive path towards tourism and Orleans schools and other
modernity that the rest of the locations that don’t have the
city has adopted. green participation that City
The heart of City Park Park enjoys. These examples
feels like making your way are only a small sampling of
through a battle between two what is available, plenty more
distinct enemies. The crisp, opportunities for leisure and
clean, well-groomed beauty utility can be found in these
of the face of City Park versus areas near the most accessible
the aberrant vibrancy of an southern edge. However, if
unchecked Southern wilder- you’re looking for something
ness. The casualties of this more adventurous, more ambi-
continuous struggle can be seen tious, more “wild,” venture
all over the park – one-time straight ahead into the heart of
picnic areas are now overrun City Park.
with weeds and vines, resting Making one’s way North
areas have been distorted and through the inner core of the
unevenly thrust towards the park, one can walk the wind-
sky by the constantly shift- ing hiking trails through dense
ing Louisiana soil, buildings forest, search for unique and
show their age prematurely dazzling insects and animals
as they continue to fight back native to the park’s grounds,
the encroachment of creeping relax by one of the serene
vines and steadfast roots. For lagoons skirted by stretching
instance, City Park Botanical bushes and creeping vines,
Gardens was constructed in the even bring the binoculars and
1930s as one step in a multi-faceted approach to beau- tion that will be lost to the growth of plantlife in just a scout out what is still called “the best birding spot in New
tify City Park and create much-needed jobs, the Botani- few weeks. This imbalance of power is disconcerting to Orleans.” All of this doesn’t come close to uncovering the
cal Gardens initially served as a testament to the city’s humans (and certainly to a city planner). We’re supposed vibrant life to which the park serves as home. The mas-
ability to keep the overgrowth of nature to a minimum. to be dominant. We’ve got the concrete, chisels, chain- sive expanse of land is riddled with beautiful explosions
Straight and narrow paths were lined from one end to saws, trucks. Hell, we’ve even got dynamite, but we find of sprawling southern live oaks that serve as a symbol
another, blotches of trees and shrubbery were confined ourselves in a stalemate with the flora and fauna of City for New Orleans and its dazzlingly erratic beauty. Reach-
to the garden’s exterior, even natural water formations Park. Why not just end this everlasting battle in one fell ing far past the base of their sturdy brown trunks, their
were harnessed into a pristine rectangular pond, under- swoop and be through with it? Such questions constitute branches dart to and fro, zigzagging along the ground
scoring the ordered logic of the new gardens. However, another battle that is going on in the communal mind, in as if on a mission to explore, to seek out an unattainable
such picturesque formality was naive in its ambition to lawbooks, and in business contracts. It’s a simple ques- goal that is forever destined to lie just outside of the tree’s
change the Southern Louisiana natural landscape. Now, tion. Why not just raze City Park, clear off the land, and perimeter.
it is difficult to tell which areas of the park are for people build a nice combination of housing and business, create For those that wish to get to know the city of
and which are for wildlife. Park benches swell with the jobs, encourage commerce? Sounds great, sounds like New Orleans without being required to give anything
extra pressure of vines and flowers creeping through their progress, but then you stop and a little voice in the back in exchange, City Park offers a beautiful alternative to
wrought-iron sides, stone man-made ponds show the wear of your head quietly protests. Look at the magnificent and the frenzied consumerism of the New Orleans you see
of being subject to countless floodings over the years fragile creature with which you are dealing. in tourist brochures. Hidden away in the back alleys and
(commonplace for a city located in nature’s equivalent of City Park is the perfect place to enjoy your day shadowy doorways of our disheveled city streets lies a
side of the city that exhibits a different personality than With all of the benefit that makes the park open, usefulness, current condition, faults, or frailties, it is still,
that of the national icon that is “The Big Easy.” It is a it also shoulders a heavy burden. The park’s position in at its core, a vital organ of New Orleans.
face borne out of the collective realization that often- the public sphere brings with it both the good and the One comes away from City Park with an urge to
times the only people you have to count on are those who bad of collective ownership. Just as it does not cater to go out and celebrate what it means to be beautiful, use-
suffer the same slings and arrows that life in a city that’s any one particular type of individual, City Park does not ful, meaningful. It stands as a challenge to the generally
supposed to be submerged will throw at you. It is not have an overreaching protector to ensure its success. In- accepted notion that nature is a nuisance to be put in its
a dependency on business or industry, but on the kind- stead, the longevity of the land and its services is wholly place while the rigid lines of concrete and metal are what
ness of strangers, on those who are situated right next to dependent on the public’s ability to see to its upkeep and really connotes “progress.” After getting to know City
you. This mutual reliance is seen in the openness of City provide support wherever possible. Maintenance such as Park’s delights as well as its shortcomings, after learn-
Park’s borders and its continued insistence on being a groundskeeping and planting of trees is largely depen- ing what it means to fight a battle that you cannot ever
public good that is offered, without charge, to the entire dent on volunteerism and philanthropy, and the continued hope to fully win, one cannot help but feel humbled in
city of New Orleans. Maybe there really is no such thing existence of its many events relies on fund-raising efforts their previously uninformed assumptions about man’s
as a “free lunch,” but City Park can certainly provide a and pledge drives such as the annual “Celebration in the place with nature. It is not above or below (or barreling
fantastic location to enjoy it. Oaks,” a month-long festival in which the park sheds through), but at its side, bumping shoulders, stepping on
Constructed during the depression as a part of the its green and brown exterior for the white and red of one another’s foot without retaliating, but playfully smil-
Works Progress Administration (WPA) project’s attempts Christmas decorations and holiday spirit. Although often ing and returning in kind. It is a special type of oddball
to curb unemployment and a plummeting economy, City resulting in an abundance of creativity that is seen in such pairing you might make a sitcom out of and also beautiful
Park was constructed with the New Orleans’ citizen in festive events, such a precarious balance between survival and infallible and even humorous at times. Possessing the
mind. Serving as a point of convergence at the intersec- and accessibility gives the park a vulnerability that is power to sway our hearts as well as our minds, the combi-
tion of several disparate neighbor- nation stands as a testament
hoods, it is impossible to say the to our roots in this earth.
park belongs to any one neighbor- Unfortunately it is also
hood. It rests as a kind of anchor fleeting, vulnerable, and
between a panoply of communities utterly dependent on man’s
that range from the ornate splendor ability to loosen up the
of Esplanade Avenue to homes that tightly-packed walls of its
are marked with the destitution insular fortress and begin
and decay of poverty. Existing as a to allow natural chaos back
commonality that draws all of Mid in. Walking away from
City together, the park gives off the City Park’s interior the
feeling that it is not the property dire circumstances really
of one neighborhood or one group becomes obvious – how
of people, and that it has no owner close we are to pushing our
unless that owner is all of New green friends out to losing
Orleans. their salient presence in our
The wide-open nature of lives forever.
city park creates a mixmatch of Nearing the edge of the
economic, cultural, and ethnic park requires a second
backgrounds. As a city that prides glance at the run-down
itself on its blend of Cajun, French, nature of man’s once proud
Spanish, and African culture, the constructions. Strangely
daily interaction of people from enough, it may begin to
completely different backgrounds look different. Not old
is an integral part of life in New and dilapidated and use-
Orleans. Littered amongst the less, but with a kind of
towering mansions of uptown’s subtle resilience to it, that
fanciest districts lie the dilapidated, regardless of its ostensible
run down remnants of public hous- weaknesses and frailty,
ing projects and low-income homes. Passing through often glossed over by the city. In this delicate position, it it possesses a unique liveliness that speaks to the heart
the busy night air of the French Quarter floats the smells possesses a gritty beauty and unique ability to exist in a and the soul. This quiet vibrancy is nothing new, not a
and sounds of the blues, jazz, reggae, salsa, even punk national culture that places so much emphasis on paying product of time or work, but simply the same view from
culture, all existing side by side. Just as these cultures for what you get. Unfortunately, this also brings with it a different perspective. To love City Park is to celebrate a
meet and play off of one another in the dazzling lights the weakness of dependence on a populace that undoubt- different outlook on life from the activity of downtown or
of the quarter and Frenchman street, the open grounds edly has significant problems of its own. the French Quarter, to rethink your priorities and to take
of City Park allow a place where all walks of life come Such is the ultimate problem with which City part in the intrinsically New Orleanian practice of seeing
and enjoy all it has to offer. This combination of diverse Park is confronted. Our city is riddled with increasing beauty where it is least expected. Next time you are there,
backgrounds serves not only to humanize those whom crime, extreme poverty, and a continuous cleanup act. give it a try. Take a look at the still ponds now teeming
we see less often than we should, but also to foster the What is the place of freely accessible, but ultimately un- with insects and foliage, the overgrown and unkempt live
feeling of unity among the patrons of City Park. Regal- necessary entities like City Park? There are many per- oaks showing their oddly natural kind of order, the scores
ing in the lush grandeur of the majestic southern oaks, spectives to take when considering City Park’s usefulness of land that could be used for a thousand different profit-
peacefully relaxing by the serene lagoons, stewing gumbo to the community and to New Orleans at large. Should seeking ventures, but are instead dedicated to a celebra-
in the warm fall air, such experiences at City Park are not it be an untended wilderness? A corporate village? An tion of life and nature. Look at those mangled old stone
simply enjoyable, but also represent dispelling the differ- idyllic theme-park? Such questions permeate the debate buildings and see the arms of vibrant green encircling the
ences of your income or your family name or your neigh- surrounding City Park’s uncertain future. However, one crumbling stone walls in an embrace of partnership and
borhood and feeling, above all else, a New Orleanian. simple fact cannot be forgotten: regardless of the Park’s natural flux. You may feel the urge to smile.
Hole by Myrna Enamorado Words of Wisdom

Whole in my heart
Where my love leaks
Flooding
Suffocating me
He who would heal
The shamen
Valentine
Sullenly
Staring
While rapid clouds
Sheathe to unclothe
The moon
Over blue balconies
This surreptitious stolen soiree
We held to the awnings
Grasping at cat’s claws
You like my tits
You like my ass
Grasping at cat’s claws
Swaying to wind pavement
Almost falling
Succumbing to the street
Smashed smusshing
One wheel follows the others
Shedding vitriolic spit
Oh honey.
With snot dripping on my arm as
We roll over
I taste your blood
Be with me in this silent
Pity shame
O can never say it again
I have cotton on my moth

The VOX is seeking contributions for the Summer/Spring issue, due out April
2010. We publish submissions from aspiring writers and artists throughout the city, as well as frequent
contributions from WTUL staff and DJs. The VOX is looking for writing interesting enough to be
memorable. Although we mainly serve as a conduit for relaying the voice of WTUL, anything works:
misconnexions, show reviews, interviews, album reviews. And any other views including “My Best
MixCD,” photographs, feature articles, anecdotes, jokes, poems, short stories, creative non-fiction,
short plays, political and cultural satire, comics, photos, art slides, etc. Really anything that can be
viewed 2-D or smashed under the hood of a scanner or photocopier to
make it 2-D. Anyway, when you find out what it is that you want to do send it to:

voxwtul@gmail.com.
Bitter Ink by Ray “Moose” Jackson & Brian Zeigler
Bitter Ink is born of an aber-
rant gene shared by two cousins,
both exiled from Detroit. One
went to the land of good gro-
ceries in Vermont and the other
to New Orleans. Mostly Brian
draws the pictures, mails them
to Moose and he comes up with
the goofy aphorisms. Except
when they’re together, downing
pints and passing notes back and
forth and giggling like school-
bus drivers on acid. A recent
compilation of Bitter Ink has
recently been released by local
publisher Press Street. The book
can be purchased on their web-
site:

press-street.com

Jail Time by Karl Lootens


I learned from clever adver- “I’m ready.” Thus informing from the onslaught of times and she would be in kindergar-
tising that “Life is short, Play the dues es machina (slightly up unwavering progression was ten, finish War & Peace and
Hard.” I don’t know whether and stage left) that I believed I the open-eyed view of my she would be graduating high
it was Gatorade or Nike (any was already weary of the time daughters life, and enjoying¬– school. But if I never enjoyed
difference), much less if a regis- I was spending on the earth. honestly enjoying–my family her life I might as well be dead.
tered trademark is needed. That Through ecstasy, crystal meth, and friends. I didn’t, and don’t As I am released, this time, her
way of thinking did well for me and glue I found no drug com- want to enjoy them without the 6th birthday is tomorrow. I will
as is it in the Pettis County Jail pares to you. I found that this aid of something further short- be there, alive and well at her
in Sedalia, Missouri, sobering was my daughter. ening my time here. Drugs and birthday party.
up, watching time stretch out The elasticity of time is situ- the related lifestyle are pull- Conclusions, I have none, ex-
before me. ational. Drugs, drinking and ing me closer to the dirt from cept that honest sober time with
I was always an angst-ridden women have worn me out and whence I came. family and friends is far more
kid; I always wanted a tattoo took years of–off of my life. I I was told when my daughter rewarding than a short life filled
on the top of my head that said have found the only reprieve was born that I would blink with short, blurry memories.

Why don’t you quit staring and buy an ad already?

contact us @ voxwtul@gmail.com

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