Skip Fiction Zine

INTER-
2018
SKIPFICTION ZINE
LUDE
Page 1

Letter
From The
Editor
content
4
8
15
16
An Interview With Miles Coleman
AKA Wing Vilma
American babylon: snapshots of
A diy festival
Mismatch
Proving Grounds Sojii on the Perils
& Triumphs of DIY Touring
SkipFiction is more than a Magazine. It is a collective of writers,
artists, and amazing individuals that see artists and
musicians getting skipped over. It is a collective of community
members who see their friends and neighbors doing incredible
things and making jaw-dropping art and they want to share what
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SkipFiction was founded as an internet blog focused on showcasing
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making huge contributions by the way of expanding their view of
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keep the ball rolling, expanding SkipFiction to include a website,
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We believe that the closer we bring each other together, the higher
we bring each other up.
Turn the page. This is SkipFiction.
Schyler Perkins &
John Akers
25
22
27
32
36
42
How to say amen
Herm Baker Talks Vertigo Music
& Inevitable Retirement
the death of the death house
cant stand the midwest
MY VERSION OF AWESOME KARATE IS
JUST EATING POPCORN ALONE IN A
SEWER WITH MY DAD’S OLD CATCHER’S
MITT FOR A BOWL
A note of thanks
PAGE 2
Page 3

An Interview
With Miles
Coleman
AKA Wing
Vilma
By: Zac Abid
Miles Coleman’s Wing
Vilma project has been
a long-time staple of
the Grand Rapids music
scene, at least for me.
Wing Vilma performs
a heavily layered,
groove-driven form of
electronic music, that
never sacrifices its sense
of wonder as its strives
to create dense, mystical
soundscapes. It’s also
nice to hear exceptional
electronic music in
a scene so populated
by rock bands. Miles
released his first album
as Wing Vilma, Safe By
Night, this past February.
Since then, Miles
has been incredibly
active musically and
personally. I talked to
Miles about his album
release and recent tour,
as well as moving to
Detroit and working
for music label Young
Heavy Souls.
So you released your debut
album Safe by Night,
on Young Heavy Souls in
February. I’ve watched
your project grow for
a while now, and this
is a long time coming
for you. Do you want to
tell me a little bit about
what it was like to make
this record, and how you
feel about its reception?
Miles Coleman: “So this
record was really something
I’ve been working
on for… 2 or 3 years.
I was sitting down one
day about a year ago to
look through what I’d
made and try and figure
out what was going to
become “Wing Vilma”…
I realized I had a whole
record. Without thinking
about it too much I
had created something
pretty comprehensive
and expressive of the my
influences at the time.
There was a long time
where I rejected the
idea of including music
I’d made with vocals in
my electronic projects,
but as I realized I was
trying to find a new title
for my work I realized it
didn’t make sense to put
limitations on what this
project can be.
“Wing Vilma” as a title
is sourced from the
mind of a child, and I
want the music to reflect
the borderless frame
of mind a child sees
the world through. I’m
hoping that as I keep
working on this project
I remove more and more
of the mental blocks
brought on by social
conditioning of adulthood.”
So you’re on tour right
now. How is that going?
How did that tour come
about? What’s it like
presenting your music to
people who have never
heard it before?
“Tour is sick!! I love getting
around and gigging
more than I ever have
before. I’m finding the
confidence to play shows
in unpredictable spaces
and under unpredictable
conditions and it’s been
so fulfilling to rise to
that challenge. When
it’s just me going out to
play these shows, I can’t
think about it too much.
I’ve just been booking
myself as many gigs as I
can, but I didn’t even set
out to be having a tour
initially. I just booked a
bunch of gigs and before
I knew it I was traveling!
It’s been great getting
around the Midwest. I
love playing small towns
and meeting people
who’ve never heard of
my music…. Playing
New York last year was
fun, but that’s like… the
idea of a show, almost.
There’s real traction
in playing small town
house shows. People
genuinely care.”
You recently moved to
Detroit. How did that
move come about? How
has that change affected
your musical endeavors?
“Moving to Detroit has
been an idea since I
graduated high school,
but I’ve never been
ready until this year.
Leaving home is hard,
but so necessary. I feel
more potential here,
because nobody knows
me. In Grand Rapids I
had found myself at a
PAGE 4 Page 5

point where I was working
in the schools and
museums I went to as a
kid, and the staff hadn’t
necessarily changed
since I was a kid and it
made me feel crazy hahaha.
So, yeah, Detroit
is wonderful. I’m feeling
very driven to focus
on my passions here. I
might even go to school
again, who knows.”
You work for Detroit-based
music label
Young Heavy Souls now.
What’s your role like
there? Similarly, what
do they do for you, as
both your employer and
your music label? What’s
it like working for the
label that also publishes
your music?
“Sometimes working
or the label I work with
can be hard. It’s not
always easy to draw
concrete lines on what
is paid label work, and
what is unpaid creative
work for myself. I’m
learning a lot about
what it takes to promote
and run a healthy label.
Knowing that so many
artists other than myself
are relying on the work
we do to make their
releases successful is a
demanding idea, but it
feels good to hear artists
we work with express
confidence in the way
we show their work.
Branding is wild, but
also fun. I’m so excited
about the upcoming
releases we have been
working on, and without
saying too much… we’re
going world wide this
year.”
You recently announced
preorders for the vinyl
edition of your album.
What does it mean to
you to have your music
released on that format?
How did that opportunity
come about?
“Vinyl has always been
a goal for us, and the
level of support this
album has received on
bandcamp has been so
tangible and has felt so
grassroots that we just
felt confident that people
who have been enjoying
the record would
want to own in physically,
and that the people
who catch me on tour
would too. Vinyl feels so
much more tangible to
me than anything else
and I’ve always loved
picking up a record I
love, handing it to a
friend and just saying
“take a look at this”
or “let’s spin this one
I think you’ll love it”.
Like… that’s amazing!
That’s how I connect
with something usually.
I’m excited to think
people might have the
same experience with
what I’ve made, and the
design is gorgeous too
so I really can’t wait to
get my hands on it.”
I saw that you also recently
had the opportunity
to curate a mix for
Slow Breathing Circuit.
How did that opportunity
come about? How did
you select the music you
wanted to feature?
That mix was a great
opportunity to showcase
what I’ve been listening
to, and premier some
amazing new music
from my friends. I also
leaked a recording from
a band I previously
played keyboards for,
but which had never
been heard by anyone
but us. It’s almost irrelevant
if it means anything
to anyone but me, but I
think it does honestly.
Slow Breathing Circuit
reaches out to me and
specifically asked for a
mix, and the direction
I took it in felt like the
most exciting way for
me to give them something
comprehensive.
I love making mixes.
Hopefully someone else
asks to hear what music
I like sometime soon.
You’ve been making
music for a long time
but ‘Wing Vilma’ is
a newer moniker for
your work. What does
the future hold for this
project? Where do you
see yourself a few years
from now?
I feel good about this
title. I feel confident it’s
a title I could use for
years and years without
feeling constrained
by my past works. It
goes back to what I was
saying earlier. The name
represents something
bigger than myself. It’s
an expression of child
like thinking, and that is
what makes the possibilities
feel so endless.
Hopefully I do something
I don’t yet expect.
PAGE 6 Page 7

AMERICAN
BABYLON:
Snapshots of a
DIY Festival
By: Jess Kwiatkowski
PAGE 8

When you think about
North Carolina, you
probably think about
Charlotte, Asheville, and
Raleigh. Some of you
might even think about
Charleston and Myrtle
Beach, even though
those cities are actually
located in South Carolina.
It’s okay; it happens
more often than you
think. The “Old South”
possesses its own connotations
for the world
at large, and perhaps
those biases come to
mind as well. What you
do not think about is a
little place called Rocky
Mount, NC.
In this nearly abandoned
place, where entire city
blocks are up for sale,
Ryan Patrick O’Doud
has taken up residence
to fight the good fight
that is establishing and
maintaining a regional,
eclectic DIY scene. I
introduce him simply as
an artist who previously
powered an entire house
show via solar panels
attached to his van,
and whose mathemati-
cally-driven electronic
music, as Bitter, Inc.,
blends the existential
questions of a generation
with sharp anti-capitalist
satire. In May of 2017, he
took a leap of faith and
brought American Babylon
into the world.
When I asked Ryan
what inspired American
Babylon, he reminisced
about the now-defunct
Port Shitty Antifest in
Wilmington, NC, where
I first met him, and
which had taken place
the year prior: “In June
2016, I worked sound
and managed the schedule
while my then-partner
Murphy did most of
the booking and entertaining.
I loved the DIY
spirit, the willingness to
work cooperatively, and
especially the cross-pollination
between artists.
I found the experience so
inspiring that I decided I
wanted to try to organize
a multi-day fest myself.
Rocky Mount, which is a
tabula rasa, seemed ideal
to co-create a new type
of culture.”
American Babylon,
a seven-day festival
featuring a vibrant
arrangement of regional
musicians with a thick
underlying theme of
community and cooperation,
took place at
a single house in that
small town called Rocky
Mount. Pilgrims to
this event were invited
to sleep in the various
rooms of the house or
pitch tents in the yard.
Having personally made
the trip from Charleston
with now Grand Rapids-based
band, Another
Man’s Trash, we opted to
set up outside with other
acts including the folkpunk
Pokin’ Holes, and
southeast phenomenon
The Emotron.
While there are plenty of
“scenes” in North Carolina
and the surrounding
states, Ryan and Bitter,
Inc., along with many of
the American Babylon
acts, are part of what
he calls the “Outsider
scene.” Since we cannot
focus too long on
the individual bands,
Ryan gave me a general
description of the sort
of people that he works
alongside; “The Outsider
scene,” which is what
American Babylon is primarily
focused on, is one
of the most generous and
forgiving groups of people
that I have ever met.
Most of the acts are in it
primarily for self-expression
and the stage high.
Money doesn’t seem to
be the primary mover for
these people. They want
to make art. They want
to have an opportunity to
perform. All of us seem
to be a bit off from neurotypical
too, so there’s
a healthy community of
strangers and weirdos
working together. It’s a
really great thing to be a
part of.”
It suffices to say that each
performance brought its
own unique energy to
the warm kinship which
illuminated the entire
week.
My party remained for
the first half; relocation
to Grand Rapids,
unfortunately, prevented
us from witnessing the
climax of American
Babylon. On any of those
given nights, roughly
twenty to thirty people
remained for a space of
days while others left
this, frequently described
as, magical place to
attend their personal
obligations.
During our time, food
donations rounded out
by dumpster diving
provided breakfast,
lunch, and dinner for the
visitors. I took my turn
cooking for everyone
on the first afternoon,
but only a few rotations
passed before one artist,
James, dedicated himself
to preparing our provisions.
Fruit smoothies,
tacos, stews, and plenty
of rice fortified us, and
there was always a vegetarian
option. Drinking
and merrymaking
overlaid the event, and
early afternoons before
the shows featured artists
plucking instruments
into song and coaxing
tales into tapestry. Burning
incense perfumed the
air. The yard where we
stayed accommodated up
to twelve tents at a time,
hackneyed in their alignment
yet navigable.
Campers, like myself, assisted
in various odd jobs
to upkeep the property.
From cleaning counter
“The Outsider scene,” which is what
American Babylon is primarily focused
on, is one of the most generous and
forgiving groups of people that I
have ever met.
tops, to collecting beer
cans, to sweeping and
mopping, everyone
pitched in. As a result,
despite crowds sometimes
surging to upwards
of 60, the house never
looked much worse for
the wear as the days
progressed.
These illustrations
arrive at expense of
sentiment. It is easy to
write how, in a botched
train hop, more experienced
punkers carefully
PAGE 10 Page 11

andaged up our friend
by picking the gravel
embedded in her knee
and washed the wound
before wrapping it, yet
their easy, chuckling
rapport confounds a
journalistic observation.
Likewise, the reading of
an ad-libbed book that
took a whole morning to
complete and filled the
yard with gales of laughter
is near intangible in
its hilarity.
Other scenes include
the first night of the
event. Many of the artists
caroused late into the
night, but Ryan had taken
his leave to get some
rest. We all followed
him into the stage room,
where he laid down,
and we sang his praises
on guitar. It made him
smile, but as the night
wore on, someone finally
pointed out that he
needed real sleep without
being surrounded by
acolytes.
On the third night,
Ryan received his first
stick-and-poke tattoo
from Blake, a member of
performance art group
Dumpster Cookies. The
process of finding the
thread, distilling the
could not make it. Under
Ryan’s direction, musicians
collaborated with
each other and utilized
“Heartfelt farewells and wishes for
safe travels ushered our departure. The
glow of that experience remained luminous
within me for months afterward.”
pen ink, and finding a
needle in the haystack
of pleasantly inebriated
attendees took an
hour on its own. Dirt,
of Pokin’ Holes, played
guitar; I was responsible
for holding the ink, and
Blake carefully prodded
a design into tattoo.
Again, my narrative falls
short to express the lively
fraternization of these
memories, but take my
word: each experience
overflowed with ecstatic
conviviality uncommonly
captured among
artists.
American Babylon
did not occur without
hitches, yet we all rose to
meet the challenges. A
moderate issue became
band dropouts as several
confirmed acts suddenly
those freed spaces as a
canvas for unique, experimental
sets.
Every day of music began
at 4pm and lasted until
midnight. For ninety
percent of those sets,
every single participant
returned indoors to the
blacked out and dimly
lit room where Ryan and
his co-conspirators set
the stage. The missing
ten percent caught a
handful of people resting
for short intervals. Sometimes
dancing; sometimes
cross-legged on
the ground and swaying,
everyone’s fierce appreciation
for this singular
event forged deep and
impactful relationships.
I say so on personal experience,
and any of my
party, and those friends
that they made over
those first four nights
at American Babylon,
would attest the same.
By the time headliners
rolled around, a workday’s
worth of music
carried the audience over
the edge into a frenzy
of dancing, arms ’round
one another, laughing,
singing along, and
accidentally partying
to the most thorough
support of an impromptu
collective that I have ever
witnessed.
For Ryan, the experience
of orchestrating such a
huge event catalyzed his
own artistic ambitions.
He said, “American Babylon
was transformative
for me. It taught me that
I could put something
grandiose together and
pull it off. It also taught
me that if you envision
something and work towards
it in earnest, it can
manifest. This unwavering
belief in manifestation
has allowed me
to organize other fests,
tours, a magazine, and
several albums under the
Bitter, Inc. name. American
Babylon exceeded
my expectations. I look
forward to doing it every
year until I croak.”
As we prepared to take
our leave from Rocky
Mount on a humid
Thursday morning, like
only the south knows,
the imprints of our
tents were overlapped
by the weekend bands
happily staking out for
the latter half of American
Babylon. Heartfelt
farewells and wishes for
safe travels ushered our
departure. The glow of
that experience remained
luminous within me for
months afterward. Even
now, the inspiration of
that dedicated collective
is an uplifting thought
when making new connections
flounders due to
self-interest.
It is 2018 now. American
Babylon: END TIMES
revives from the ashes
burned by Bitter, Inc. and
JC Meyers on that last
Sunday in May of 2017.
It will be just a 3-day
festival, but the essence
remains the same. He
explained the leaner
mechanism of END
TIMES for these reasons:
“In the first year, a few
artists cancelled last
minute which created
timing issues. Also, the
sheer quantity of actsover
80- made it difficult
to pay everyone. In the
end, we did make a
decent amount of money,
and every act received a
check, but the funds were
split up in so many ways
that people received $16
each. We also wanted to
focus our energies more
effectively. This year, it is
a 3-day process with 33
bands. It’ll be tighter, and
each performer will walk
away with a little more
money.”
The invitation to sleep in
an open house, to play
with old friends and
carouse with new, to provide
a haven for women,
LBGQT, and POC artists,
maintain the anarchistic
spirit, and to, as Ryan
O’Doud might say, “DO
A GODDAMN THING!”
is extended to all– so I
PAGE 12 Page 13

hope to see you there.
American Babylon: END
TIMES takes place at the
Rocky Mount Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship
Church, June 7-9, 2018.
Preparing for END
TIMES is just one of
many projects for Ryan.
Aside from publishing
a monthly zine, IS-
SUES, Bitter, Inc. will
be embarking on some
mini-tours. Bitter, Inc.
features Ryan O’Doud
on vocals and Echo
Redmond also on vocals
and live sound manipulation.
When I asked
Ryan about the future of
Bitter, Inc., he answered
with plenty of big plans.
“In April, Echo and I are
touring to New England
and hitting several cities
on the way including
Portland, ME, Norfolk,
VA, and Burlington, VT.
We are recording and
performing songs from
our upcoming fourth
album (debuting at END
TIMES): A Love Song
(To the Apocalypse).
We have another tour in
May. We’ll be recording
in Echo’s uncle’s place
in Chicago; after that
is END TIMES. This
summer we are planning
on doing a full US tour.
Echo arranged for Bitter,
Inc. to perform with a
film installation artist
named Amanda Beech.
She’s going to record our
performance in LA and
edit it into some of her
installations throughout
the globe. It’s a great
opportunity.
To summarize, we’re
working to get better at
everything we do. We’re
booking everywhere
we can. We’re traveling,
recording, and performing
as much as possible.
We love to make art for
the people, and we hope
to see you at a show
sometime.”
On a final note, Ryan
generously named some
influential and inspirational
artists in his
region. Some of these
will be playing American
Babylon: END
TIMES. Others, like
Ryan himself, will travel
into Grand Rapids or the
There’s a tumor in Kevin’s brain, and
he’s sitting in the grass with his back
against a
boulder. He’s been watching the hawk
circle through the same motion for
hours: a figure eight,
crossing over where it thinks the sun
may be. Kevin wonders if he’ll see the
sun again, and
wonders if the hawk ever thinks the
same. The sky is milky, it looks untouched.
It’s convincing
to Kevin that gray is how it should be.
When Kevin was a child, he swore he’d
never kill an
Animal.
Kevin looks at the wind and wishes he
knew less about himself. Kevin would
love to
have the wings of the hawk and glide
home. He wants nothing more than
to lay his head on straw and stick and
mismatched parts of the world. Kevin
MISMATCH
By Maria Mckee
wonders about the family dog from
way back when.
“What about him?” Kevin asks out
loud.
Kevin has never felt anything unexpected
or painful. He used to drink
milk every day and
wore suits on the Sabbath. His mother
would call him handsome, his aunts
pinched his cheeks.
When Kevin looks up the trees pulse
like wounds on his body. Can Kevin
cry? He wiggles his
fingers and opens his mouth, screeches
as the hawk would.
The hawk descends and Kevin’s been
waiting, back against boulder shoes
rimmed with
mud and the gun has been ready for
quite some time.
PAGE 14
Page 15

Proving Grounds:
Sojii on the Perils
& Triumphs of
DIY Touring
by: Zac Abid
Grand Rapids self described “trench-funk” veterans Sojii are about
to embark on a 5-week coast-to-coast DIY tour of the United States.
Talking to the band, the tour feels like a culmination of sorts; or at
least the next step towards something bigger. I talked to the band
about what it takes for local musicians to execute a large-scale DIY
tour.Sojii has embarked on ambitious tours before, often side-byside
with fellow Grand Rapids punk band Ape Not Kill Ape, who
are also joining them on this 5-week trek. Sojii have been to the east
and west coasts, and most everywhere in between, but this is the
biggest tour they’ve ever done by far. Of their next trip, guitarist-vocalist
Valerie Salerno says, “we’re going to be playing almost every
night…We’ve never played that much.” The band plans to head
down along the East Coast into the Southwest, where the band will
be stopping by SXSW. After that, the band will head for the West
Coast, and then back through the Midwest before heading home.
"Now that we have an album everthing
is so much easier because people are
like oh they're serious,"
PAGE 16

It’s not easy to prep for a large-scale
operation like this, but the band
members have learned from previous
smaller excursions the proper steps
to take. “It’s like half money, and half
mental,” drummer Donny Olin tells
me. “The act of doing it is not challenging,
it’s making sure that you
are ready to go, because if you’re not
ready to go, you’re not going to have
a good time, or you’re going to run
out of money and fuck yourself over
somehow,” he adds. Money is a huge
concern, and being ready can mean
preparing months in advance. “We’re
going for 5 weeks, which is an entire
bill period basically, so you have to get
all that shit squared away, water bill,
rent, car insurance,” Olin continues.
For bands thinking of making similar
treks themselves, he suggests the $10
rule. “You can get by in most parts of
the United States on 10 bucks a day,
and it’s a really good yardstick for you
to use to be like oh my god, maybe I
should slow down before I’m begging
for change in Tulsa,” he adds.
The band also have to prepare themselves
mentally. For the inevitable
downtime, Olin plans on doing a lot of
reading. For musicians like Sojii and
ANKA, listening to music is obviously
a given. You also have to be mindful
of the stress incurred by being stuck
in a van with the same people for
weeks on end. “I feel like the part that
sometimes breaks people is the fact
that Allen and Brett (drummer and
guitarist of ANKA, respectively) are on
hour 36 of Bob Dylan and the Band…
We all obviously love Bob Dylan and
the Band, but like, there’s something
about a really high pitched harmonica
at 3:30 in the morning,” Olin quips.
‘If you’re in a car with somebody for a
long time you’re gonna get pissed off
at least once,” Salerno explains. Sojii
understand that the occasional spat
is inevitable, and that they try not to
take anything to heart. “We’re all going
through the same thing,” Olin says.
It’s not all personal preparedness, however.
The booking and organization of
the tour are just as important. Salerno
booked nearly all of the dates on this
tour. “I used to book shit tours because
I wasn’t that organized…. I’ve gotten
so much better,” she explains. The key
thing for organizing such a large-scale
DIY tour is writing everything down.
It looks like this, she says: “for every
single date, keeping track of the steps
you’ve taken… we have 36 dates so its
like 36 different situations that I have
to keep up on the steps of.” The process
takes time. “I started booking this one
4 months before the tour… and we’re
still finishing up, we have 9 more dates
to go. Today we got another one,” she
continues. Salerno explains that the
booking process for DIY shows isn’t
so straightforward either. “It’s not all
start looking and then get a date same
day, or even in a couple days. A lot of
its like ‘Who knows, I don’t know, talk
to this guy,” she says. Often the process
comes down to “relentlessly hounding
people,” she adds with a laugh. Two
things have helped ease this process,
however. “Now that we have an album
everything’s so much easier because
people are like oh they’re serious,”
Salerno explains. Another crucial
factor has been having a press kit and
a professional bio. “Almost 90% of the
time I’ll get an answer back, and it
used to be like, 30%,” This process has
paid off, too. “This tour we’re getting
really cool dates,” she tells me. The date
the band is most excited about is a
SXSW spillover show in San Antonio.
“We’re the opener for the main band,
like we play right before them,” she
exclaims to her bandmates’ astonishment.
Salerno points out that while it’s
important to book solid shows, it’s
also crucial to prepare for being on
the road. “I have a whole itinerary…
part of the organization is like, leaving
times, when do we have to leave by this
date… what’s the time zone change for
that,” she explains. The band learned
the importance of keeping track of
time zones the hard way. Salerno
recalls one instance in particular. She
explains,”we didn’t factor in the time
change from Denver to Davenport,
Iowa so we were like fucking two
hours late and we didn’t have bass
strings.” Their solution was to call in
a favor from the people hosting the
show. “We had to call them and be
like, can you guys go to Guitar Center?”
Salerno says.
Guitarist Danny
Sein agrees on the importance of
preparedness, but adds “I think it’s
also okay when you’re not because
like, once you start going … you just
develop this kind of like family pack
mentality.” Salerno concurs, adding,
“you want to help them out, when one
of us is broke the other one will step in
and not let you starve. Financially and
emotionally we support each other a
lot.” While Salerno is the only original
member of Sojii, she expresses that this
lineup of the band has proved itself
time and time again, both as a touring
act and a recording act, but also as a
group of people who can rely on one
another. “I’ve been on tours before
with people and the tour is how I find
out that I shouldn’t be in a band with
them,” She tells me. “I think our two
week tour was make us or break us,
because that was a show every day… I
think two weeks is breaking point, and
PAGE 18 Page 19

"A tour is just fucking heaven for me,
even if I don't have like a lot
of money."
I think now that we’re beyond that,
we’re so close,” Salerno says.
While the camaraderie shared among
the members of Sojii is palpable, so is
the relationship the band shares with
ANKA. “They’re ride or die just like
us,” Salerno tells me, adding, “we’re the
little spoon to their big spoon.” I ask
if that’s something they kept in mind
as they’ve booked other bands across
their tour. “Spooning?” She quips. The
band mention Chicago punk band
Drool. “They’re definitely our little
spoon,” Salerno adds.
Speaking to the band, the force that
compels them is apparent. Of the thing
that motivates him, Olin says, “It’s
like a job… I don’t want to say a job
because it’s nothing like a job, but it is
like… it’s the same kind of dedication
and it’s the same kind of ‘I need to
do this’.” Describing her anticipation
Salerno says, “that’s what’s so amazing
about tour, that you’re with a bunch
of people, you were all born for this…
so like a tour is just fucking heaven
for me, even if I don’t have like a lot
of money. It’s just so exciting to wake
up in a new place every day and get
to meet new people and do what you
love, and share your shit, to people
who are interested… or not.”
PAGE 20 Page 21

Herm Baker Talks Vertigo Music
& Inevitable Retirement
by: Zac Abid
If you’ve ever talked to the man most often behind the counter of Grand Rapids’ Vertigo
Music, you may have found someone who’s friendly, affable, and extremely knowledgeable
of music. This man, Herm Baker has been a quiet force within the Grand Rapids music
scene for decades. Interviewing Herm Baker reveals a personality not necessarily betrayed
by his easy-going demeanor, one that is both hard-headed, observant, and clever, a personality
that has allowed him to maintain his business even as the musical and economic
landscape has remained in flux around him. Despite these circumstances, Herm Baker has
managed to forge Vertigo Music into West Michigan’s premier record shop.
When asked what led him to try his hand at the music business he tells me, “same thing
as you… voracious consumption of newer music.” Baker explains, “the music we liked we
couldn’t find in Grand Rapids… We wanted a store that had more underground stuff in it.”
This was in 1986, when Baker’s first record store Vinyl Solution, opened at its first location
on South Division Avenue. “We started off as a vinyl store,” he says, one that always stocked
smaller indie punk records. When the CD format took off the store “kind of morphed into a
bigger thing,” he says. “CDs really dominated.” The store’s business grew so substantially that
they relocated to a larger location on the corner of 28th and Breton. Vinyl Solution had its
biggest year ever in 1995, doing $1.6 million in sales largely on the back of its CD stock. This
success was short-lived, however. By 1999, Vinyl Solution had been put out of business by
larger retailers like Best Buy.
The years leading up to Vinyl Solution’s demise were hard on Herm Baker. Just coming off
a divorce, the end of Vinyl Solution saw Baker go bankrupt and lose his home. “One of my
darkest years on Earth… all hope and self-confidence had been beaten out of me” he recalls.
Improbably though, Baker was back in business by the next year. Vertigo Music opened in
2000, only a block away from its present day direction. While Baker admits he did consider
moving on from the music business, his stubbornness kept him in the game. Baker was
unhappy with the way that Vinyl Solution ended: “It did not end on my terms,” he says. He
is determined to not let his new store suffer the same fate as his former one.
In the wake of Vinyl Solution’s end, Baker saw the opportunity to reinvent his business. He
kicked off Vertigo Music by buying the remainder of Vinyl Solution’s inventory back from
PAGE 22 Page 23

the bankruptcy court, but that’s where the similarities end. He moved his business away
from the suburbs and onto Division Avenue, which put it much nearer to the colleges and
Heritage Hill area. Baker hoped that his store’s vicinity to these neighborhoods would attract
the kind of people he had originally entered the music business to serve: young people
with voracious appetites for music. Moving his business to Division also allowed him to
decrease the overhead costs of running his business by spending less money on rent. Baker
also cut back by living on next to nothing himself.
Baker’s strategy worked; Vertigo moved to its current location a few years later to decrease
operating costs even further, and he found that he and his business were getting by. At
the time, Vertigo was still banking on CDs. However, he remembers ten years ago “there
was one distinct Christmas where I remember a bunch of kids were looking at vinyl, and
I thought we need to get in front of this… I saw what the Corner Record Shop was doing,
and I said lets be that store that has that new indie rock vinyl.” Baker has consistently been
ramping up the store’s vinyl selection since then. When the store opened it had around 2000
new and used vinyl records. Currently, the store boasts about 26,000 new records alone. It is
this shift towards vinyl that has allowed Vertigo to survive the decline of the CD and the rise
of digital music platforms like iTunes as well as streaming services like Spotify. Baker says
the LP offers a visual appeal due to its size that CDs and digital products cannot compete
with. “It’s aesthetically pleasing, and it sounds great if you have a good turntable,” Baker
says. “It’s just a better package than CDs.”
While Herm Baker still loves music, he admits “The fires have dimmed… a bit.” He says
there’s music coming out today that he loves, “but not like how I loved when I was 23 years
old.” Baker has other aspirations in life as well. “At some point I’d like to get away from
this… I’d like to travel,” he explains. He sees that at this point in his career, his time at Vertigo
is likely to end sooner rather than later. “I’d love to sell the store to somebody and slowly
transition it over a period of a year, or two years maybe,” he reveals. Unlike Vinyl Solution,
Baker is determined to end Vertigo Music on his terms, and as long as Vertigo remains
Grand Rapids go-to record store, he seems poised to do just that.
My sister pockets dead robins,
lets ant-infested insides fall deep into her.
I watch flies swarm her midsection and pray
over the oozing of death.
How to
Say
Amen
By Maria mckee
You are not like them, I’ve told myself
most days since the last fly dropped
to her feet. She is more than a shrine,
more than a collector of matted feathers and keratin
smudged with blood and Catholic school plaid.
But at night I sneak into her closet,
weave baskets out of blood vessels,
sink my teeth into whicker fibers
that collect dust between each crevice.
I press my forehead to the sticky remains of a rotting bird,
wash my feet clean of sin.
PAGE 24
Page 25

The Death Of
The Death House
By Guadalupe Olgine Jr.
The Death House. You know, that
dingy, dark and raw but unequivocally
most popular underground GR music
venue that had a fucking skating ramp
in it. I covered this gem almost 2 years
ago, but wasn’t technically “allowed” to
talk about it. Until now. Because the
Death House is now, well, dead. And
to quote the 2013 album title of Drake,
the human pudding popsicle himself,
“Nothing Was The Same.”
So we decided to put this out and
revisit a time when I hit up local
GR bar The Meanwhile with the last
two people involved with The Death
House. We discussed in detail what
was actually happened with The Death
House, and clicked-and-clanked over
rap, race, and dranks. (Circa 2016)
In 1929 Author and Poet Frigyes
Karinthy popularized the 6 degrees
of separation theory with his novel,
Chains. We are all connected by less
than 6 steps, or “chains” of interaction.
Tell anybody in West Michigan and
they will easily say “cut that number
in half.” Seemingly everyone knows
someone who knows everyone; we’re
all connected in strange ways. For
most people here, it’s something
petty, like, “Yeah, they work at (insert
mediocre craft brewery here).” For
myself and my interviewees, the chain
is rooted in the local music scene.
Dante Cope, a fixture in Grand Rapids
hip hop since Myspace was a thing,
co-founded a recording studio that I
ended up working at years later while
he pursued other endeavors. I met
Brandon Sykes because he ended up
taking my room in a house I vacated.
“Oh yeah, he raps too”, I explicitly remember
my old roommates telling me
whenever I came back to stomp them
on 2k. “Cool,” I nonchalantly replied,
as 70% of my friends are rappers. I later
went to a show he performed at and
immediately regretted my initial indifference.
“You were right,” I declared.
“This dude raps.“
Dante Cope is no stranger to the hustle.
Besides constantly creating music
for himself, he has also produced and
engineered for countless other artists.
He promotes shows for his Beat
Suite series, as well as who ever he is
bringing in at The Death House, but
more on that later. Despite all that,
it seems as in 2016 he’s been a man
possessed. He recently returned from
New York assisting GR Poet Fable with
his Mental Health Awareness speakings.
Earlier this year he was in Flint,
assisting residents with the water crisis.
On any given night in the city you can
catch him rapping at Eastown venue
staples Billy’s or Mulligan’s, playing
sax at Founders or Pyramid Scheme,
or jamming out with a 7 piece band at
Mexicains Sans Frontieres. All while
continuously dropping #truthbombs all
over Facebook, ruffling feathers with
statements such as “in America everyone
is born a slave. You have to buy
your freedom.” Or, “most artists in this
city shouldn’t call themselves as such”.
Page 27

First and foremost, formal introduct…”Dante
mother fuckin’ Cope, and
motha fuckin’ Sykes.” “Yup, Brandon
Sykes!” Between the two of them I can
hardly get my questions in. “ I do rap
music for rap heads, jazz music, for
jazz heads, and music for anti-fuckboys”
states Cope. Sykes has a more
bookish approach; “I do Lit-Hop. LIT,
DASH, HOP, not hip-hop, Lit-Hop, I
do that shit.”
I fire off my first question: “Do you
guys feel like Dutch white people and
solely Dutch white people run this
city?”
Sykes answers first: “Gentrification is
funny as fuck. You wanna go somewhere,
and take it over, and the people
that were already there, don’t act
they’re foreign, of course. So, like, you
got people coming in from the country
and from the suburbs…” and Cope
can’t help but point out the obvious:
“Right now there’s a white chick walking
a little ass dog, down Wealthy St. 5
years ago, that shit wouldn’t happen.
Sykes cuts back in to say “It’s not about
that, though, it’s about the treatment.
They treat us like we’re the foreigners
when in all actuality we’ve been here
the whole time. It’s really…” As the
bartender approaches I cut them off to
buy drinks, “what do you guys want?”
Cope: NOT Tequila
JR: Tequila? “3 shots of Tequila”
Cope: No he said NOT Tequila.
Sykes: You almost had me fucked up!
I order three shots of fireball, we clink,
tap, and drink.
Speaking of Death House, I know
that’s your guys’ joint venture, a fan
favorite of locals. How did you guys
link up for that?
Cope: “I knew the punk (rockers) that
had it before, and nobody else really
jumped on it… kinda fell into our lap.
We just wanted to bring live-ass shows
in a different type of setting.”
Sykes: “You got the bar shows out here,
and those shows be wack, well not
wack, but weird. Cuz Everyone that
performs is trying not to piss off the
venues, or the owners, so it’s not about
the music first.”
I know that both of you, especially you,
Sykes, have rocked plenty of stages in
Detroit, lately. I’ve lived all over this
state. I’ve found the “east side” doesn’t
even consider it as such, it’s just Michigan,
while here in GR everyone is so
determined to separate themselves, as
“West Michigan“. Do you feel a divide?
Sykes: “It’s open season messing with
Detroit artists that come here and
vice-versa. It’s dope going over there
and messing with some legendary
artists. Sometimes people here are
passive-aggressive.”
Cope: “That’s the main thing.”
Sykes: “They’re about movement. They
won’t stand there your whole set, cross
their arms, nod their heads, then tell
you “you’re dope” after you get off
stage. If they think you’re dope, you’re
gonna feel it. It’s not the, uncomfortable,
lean against a wall and look at me
funny then tell me 20 minutes later I’m
dope. That’s not cool.. I mean, it’s cool,
but..”
Cope: “Grand Rapids is conservative.”
*laughs* Sykes is outnumbered (as a
GR native).
Point being, you guys have ran
through a multitude of shows through
numerous scenes, and cities. There’s
no mistaking The Death House is
a culmination of sorts exhibiting
those experiences. Do you feel you’ve
accomplished what you want to, with
this endeavor?
Cope: “There’s a lot more political
work to do.. like Detroit has a bunch of
underground venues. In Grand Rapids
you can count them all on one hand
type shit. The city doesn’t embrace it.
It’s not the people. It’s the actual city
that doesn’t embrace it.
I feel like you guys have done well with
the Death House. Lots of people have
been there. I’d say even more don’t
know where it is, but have definitely
heard about it. You’ve kept things
pretty low key, to the point where you
almost didn’t even want to be interviewed
about it. Is this all for a reason?
Cope: “Yeah, that was on purpose.
And that’s why we’re shutting it down.
Because A, too many people have been
putting the address out online, B, everytime
we do a show, some young cats
break somethin’, or fuck up somethin’.”
People don’t know how to act.
Cope: “See… motha fuckas just don’t
appreciate shit. Even before we got it,
they were doing mad punk shows, and
none of them hit us up after we took
over. They never ask to book a show,
they never ask to do shit.”
Do you think it’s a jealousy issue, or a
fuckboy issue?
Sykes: “It’s cuz we’re black, dude.”
Cope: “I think it’s a politics issue and
race issue. People in West Michigan
are just gonna do some shit they’re
used to doing all the time.”
How will you guys remember this
experience, running your own venue,
“Detroit has a bunch
of underground venues.
In Grand Rapids
you can count them
all on one hand type
shit. The city doesn’t
embrace it. It’s not the
people. It’s the actual
city that doesn’t embrace
it.”
throwing your own shows, when bars
and clubs around town wouldn’t let
you?
Sykes: “WE MADE SHIT LIT!”
Cope: (laughs) “Shit was lit. But
now I’m just focused on music, and
putting out all these projects for The
Dante Cope Experience. I have some
shows coming up as well, May 14th
at Mulligan’s, and in July we’re gonna
do the Vinyl release for Vivat Lupas at
Founders.”
I actually wanted to touch on that
record, which, in my opinion was
vastly underrated, dare I say slept-on.
It’s a record that, sonically, is all over
the place. Do you feel GR has it’s own
sound, or are you trying to create one?
Cope: “Grand Rapids doesn’t have
a sound, but that’s why the music is
good here. I have my sound, Sykes has
his sound, Rick Chyme sounds totally
different, we have WuZee, and it’s all
GR. We have diversity.”
That’s why I was initially surprised
to see you and Sykes collab, you guys
have completely different styles.
Cope: “The music brings everybody
together. Even our band, our band has
a bunch of different people from dif-
PAGE 28 Page 29

ferent eras. Hugo is older, he’s seen like
multiple eras of art in the city, underground
venues and that. Then we got
Ari, who’s young, knows a bunch of
stuff that I don’t even know about. It’s
all about the music.”
Any new projects we should be on the
lookout for?
Sykes: “Well I just re-branded myself
as Belve, so be on the lookout for that,
also the Belve and SEVENth joint, I got
a couple tracks with Nick Speed out of
Detroit, a producer, fuckin’ dope. He’s
worked with Danny Brown, 50 Cent,
Lloyd Banks. I also just worked with
L.A.Z. of Clear Soul Forces, they’re
dope as fuck, be on the lookout for
everything, I’m sitting on bombs right
now.”
Cope, are your feet permanently rooted
in GR or are you do you aspire to
move anywhere?
Cope: “I dunno yet. I may move to
New York. I’m going to NY with Fable
the first week of May, that’s coming up
soon.”
Do you feel like you’re at the crux of
your career? You’re young enough to
do anything but also at that age where
a re-invention could be too late. It’s a
tricky spot.
Cope: “I’ve done everything I could (in
GR). I’ve performed in every venue..
if I’m here, I’m helping out the scene
more than it’s helping me.”
I feel like a lot of artists do that, but it’s
not necessarily by choice.
Cope: “Yeah, and if I stay here, it’s by
choice. There’s a lot of dope artists in
the city coming up, that don’t have
an outlet, or don’t know how to put
their stuff out because the city has no
infrastructure. There’s no ‘this is how
you do shit here’.”
Do you still produce for others?
Cope: “Very rarely. I produced for
Rosewood, there’s gonna be another
Brickstreet Project coming out soon, I
produce for Suport, and that’s about it.
There’s one other artist I produce for
but I can’t tell you who that is.”
Wale?
Cope: It’s Future. I’m producing for
Future. If Metro Boomin’ don’t trust
you, I’m gonna shoot you.
I know you engineer, is that strictly for
yourself?
Cope: “I do that for a couple people,
but that’s not what I’m trying to do. I
recently moved into a new space, and
actually I’m not even trying to engineer
for myself anymore. So like, my
roommate owns one of the best studios
in Grand Rapids. I’m trying to have
him record my stuff now. We recorded
the Extra Texture album together, so
I’ve worked with him before. Put this
on record, Dante Cope is recording
at least 3 of those 8 (aforementioned)
albums at Amber Lit Studios. Awesome
shit.”
Anyways, now you essentially live with
a bunch of musicians as roommates.
Do you feel like that helps cultivate
your music at all?
Cope: “That’s the plan.”
Editors Notes:
Since the last interview, Belve has since
moved to SW Detroit, where he says
no one is afraid of Pit Bulls there but
him. He’s recently become a first time
father and his new album BELVE is
out now. The official music video for
“Crem De La Crem” by Belve featuring
The SEVENth, on Belve’s 2017 self titled
EP, available on all major streaming
platforms.
Since the interview, Dante Cope has
been kept in full grind mode with
his 6 piece fusion Jazz and Hip-Hop
band, Les Créatif. Check out Cope’s
DEEP BLUES, off his brilliant and
latest release Jasmine in the Brave New
World. Available on Spotify, iTunes,
and bandcamp.
PAGE 30 Page 31

Cant
Stand
The
Midwest
Erik Nervous – Assorted Anxieties LP (Neck Chop/ Drunken Sailor)
Erik Nervous is from Shipshewana, but relocated to Kalamazoo to attend college.
While most bands tend to take time to find their sound, Erik knew exactly what
he wanted to sound like when he began recording. New-wave influenced punk
songs for people with a short attention span. A genre stupidly called “Devo-core,”
for people still mourning the loss of bands like CCTV and THE CONEHEADS.
He has released material on many different labels, including TOTAL PUNK,
NECK CHOP, DRUNKEN SAILOR, and DISCONTINUOUS INNOVATION.
Keep in mind, he plays every instrument on each of his releases.
Finally, we have Assorted Anxieties, a collection of all of his material to date and
an unreleased track. I’m pleased to have the long player, because I was honestly
getting tired of flipping over his 7” releases repeatedly, due to the addictive
nature of his short but perfect punk songs.Themes of boredom, working mundane
jobs, and having no money, which most people can relate to. If you haven’t
already heard of him, he must be the best kept secret in the midwest. He will be
back on tour this year with DATE NIGHT from Nashville. Live setup includes a
full band which features Jeff Mahannah on drums, who is known for his artwork
(EAT TO SURVIVE) and perfect timing. They will be playing in Grand Rapids
on August 18th along with THE RESOURCE NETWORK, DATENIGHT, and
LOST SYSTEM.
By: Michael McFarlane
PAGE 32 Page 33

Dark Thoughts – At Work LP (Drunken
Sailor/ Stupid Bags)
I am not going to lie to you. I hate
almost every pop-punk band I have
heard. Even saying the name of the
genre leaves a bad taste in my mouth,
but to each their own…I guess. DARK
THOUGHTS, a trio based in Philadelphia,
are the one and only exception
for me. “At Work” is their second
album released by Stupid Bag Records,
label which is ran by former Grand
Rapids resident Jeff Bolt, who now
lives in Philly.
He has also done some Radiator
Hospital releases, if that’s your thing.
There is clearly a RAMONES influence
to Dark Thoughts songs, but they find
a way to make it their own instead of
trying to recreate arguably the most
well known punk band’s songs. This
Philadelphia trio uses the same formula
from their first LP, and produces
another album that should be the
soundtrack to your summer. Oh yeah,
their album cover also resembles THE
RAMONES second LP Leave Home,
which means you could say they wear
their influences on their (record)
sleeve.
Sex Tourists – S/T LP (Drunken Sailor)
I am always impressed by the amount
of incredibly talented post-punk
bands that reside in Australia. TOTAL
CONTROL, LOW LIFE, THE SHIFT-
ERS, ORION, I could keep going, Sex
Tourists are my new favorite. This album
was actually released in 2017 but
now has been repressed by DRUNKEN
SAILOR due to popular demand. It
reminds me of NEW ORDER, especially
in their peak era (think Power,
Corruptions, Lies). The songs are very
catchy, driven by synths and drum
machines, but also have a melancholy
feel once the vocals come in. Songs
about disconnect, that feel more relevant
than ever in a society that is so
connected by our smart phones that it
seems like real life conversation is a dying
art. Summed up best by their song
“Guts”: “I’m staring at my phone, the
signal tells me that I’m all alone.” This
will sell out, so go buy a copy while you
still can.
Aquarium – S/T LP (LUMPY)
Debut album from the Minneapolis
band AQUARIUM, released on
LUMPY RECORDS. It’s obvious at this
point, that anything Lumpy (frontman
of Lumpy & The Dumpers) puts out,
should be on your radar. This is right
up there with all of my other favorite
releases and if you don’t know who I’m
referring to, well, do your homework.
Aquarium creates infectious, quick
punk songs that will keep you coming
back to this record. The vocalist sings
in German, which may sound odd but
the delivery is always on point and it
makes this band stand out even more.
Their drummer is also in URANIUM
CLUB, which is one of my favorite
bands coining the new wave punk
sound since THE CONEHEADS or
CCTV. For fans of the Jimmy Youtube
Channel, which is now back with a
new name of ANTI. One of the best
places to keep up on weirdo punk.
Stand out track for me has been “Hospital”
which reminds me of the band
PATSY -who released one of the best
12’s last year.
Gen Pop – (2) 7” (Feel It)
One of Olympia’s finest bands, GEN
POP, is back with their second 7” on
FEEL IT RECORDS. Their first 7” also
came out on LUMPY RECORDS,.
PAGE 34 Page 35

That’s a hell of a start for a new band,
and two labels that I constantly keep
up with. Gen Pop’s ability to switch
tempos at the drop of a dime, along
with the ability to cover several genres
while retaining punk roots, makes
this record very satisfying. Even when
you think, “oh this must be their slow
song,” they blast back into a frenetic
riff with the rhythm section relentlessly
keeping pace, leaving the listener disoriented
and ready for more. I’m ready
for a full length, myself.
Gen Pop – (2) 7” (Feel It)
One of Olympia’s finest bands, GEN
POP, is back with their second 7” on
FEEL IT RECORDS. Their first 7” also
came out on LUMPY RECORDS,.
That’s a hell of a start for a new band,
and two labels that I constantly keep
up with. Gen Pop’s ability to switch
tempos at the drop of a dime, along
with the ability to cover several genres
while retaining punk roots, makes
this record very satisfying. Even when
you think, “oh this must be their slow
song,” they blast back into a frenetic
riff with the rhythm section relentlessly
keeping pace, leaving the listener disoriented
and ready for more. I’m ready
for a full length, myself.
Chain Cvlt – Demo MLP 12” (La Vida
Es Un Mus)
Chain Cult is a post-punk trio from
Athens, Greece. Their demo tape sold
out so quickly, that it’s already been
pressed to vinyl by the best label in
the business: LA VIDA ES UN MUS.
Post-punk is sometimes hard to define,
which is why the genre has always been
fascinating to me. Chain Cult creates
urgent and energetic post-punk, in
the style of WARSAW. The bass lines
set the tone for each song, along with
sharp guitar lines, and pissed off
vocals. Songs such as “State of Fear,”
“Black Hole,” and “Lost Signal” take a
hard look at the current state of world
we now live in. “We are in a state of
fear, It seems so far but it’s very near.”
Blink and the demo is over before you
know it.
Vile Spirit – Demo cassette (Quality
Control)
After my favorite hardcore band ANX-
IETY broke up recently, I was hoping
to find another UK band that could
match their intensity. VILE SPIRIT
is here to fill the void. Only a demo
tape to their name, made up of four
songs but as far as demos go, this is
on another level. Every time I put this
tape on, somebody asks “who’s this?”
I’ve found this to be a very good test to
see if something will stand the test of
time, or just be shuffled in with the rest
of the music I’ve bought lately. This is
absolutely brutal hardcore, not for the
faint of heart. They beat you down with
every track, and never slow down. Lyrically,
the four songs show the vocalist
self-destructing, contemplating past
relationships, unable to relate to people
he knows, and taking everyone down
with him.
Litchics – Mating Surfaces LP (Kill
Rock Stars)
Lithics are from Portland and make
the kind of post-punk that seems
to be thriving in the underground
punk scene. For fans of SHOPPING,
GAUCHE, and THE WORLD, but
for me, they are easily the best of this
group. That’s not to take anything away
from the bands I mentioned before
them, they are all incredible. If you
haven’t heard any of these bands, well
it’s time to change that. Maybe a better
reference to older bands would be AU
PAIRS or KLEENEX. That’s for you
to decide. Minimalistic perfection on
guitar, combined with a tight rhythm
section and detached vocals. What
more do you need?
Snob – S/T LP (La Vida Es Un Mus)
It’s crazy to me that Snob has existed
since 2014 and have only self-released
two 7”s. Well the full length released
by the Disco Punk label LVEUM was
well worth the wait. This has been by
far my favorite release so far this year.
Tense hardcore that is made up angry,
snotty vocals, frantic guitar riffs, and
a rhythm section that is going to beat
you up from start to finish. The lyrics
stand out the most for me, short and
sweet, but tackling social issues in a
clever, sometimes humorous way.
Beta Blockers – Stiff Prescription (Static
Shock)
Beta Blockers create the kind of fast
paced hardcore music I love, mixed
with industrial elements that only add
to the chaos. The debut LP from this
Leeds/ Sheffield band might not be
an easy one to stomach for the average
listener. Seven songs clocking in
at a mere eighteen minutes, the kind
of basement set that leaves everyone
yearning for more. Beta Blockers
consist of members of THE FLEX, NO
FORM, WHIPPING POST and COM-
MUNITY. I could try to describe this
band by telling you it’s a bizarre combination
of two bands you might already
know, but instead I am just going to
say this is by far one of the best new
hardcore bands I’ve heard in awhile.
STATIC SHOCK records from London
never disappoints, consistently putting
out the best current bands. Limited
pressing of 300 on white vinyl, get your
hands on this one if you still can.
PAGE 36 Page 37

i think that this summer
will be really really really
something to write home about.
maybe i’ll wear some purple sweatpants or win a can of baked beans
MY VERSION OF AWESOME KARATE IS JUST EATING
POPCORN ALONE IN A SEWER WITH MY DAD’S OLD
CATCHER’S MITT FOR A BOWL
for guessing correctly
about just how miserable i am.
sometimes i look at my wife’s new idea
about how to sell life insurance
to dead turtles and think
“okay i get it. we’re not a real couple.
so let’s just divide up our lawn full of dandelions civilly
like a herd of muskrats would.”
actually, we’ve never met.
actually, she’s just someone i saw on a hair care commercial
when i was bored and sad and lonely, so i said
Kyle Flak likes tall emus and sparkly shoehorns. He often performs
his poems while covered in waffle syrup. His most recent book is
called I am Sorry for Everything in the Whole Entire Universe (Gold
Wake Press, 2017). Some of his poems have been in jubilat, Mudfish,
Poetry East, Spinning Jenny, Whiskey Island, and various other literary
magazines. He wants to become a pinball machine or an oak tree.
His next book is supposed to come out sometime in the year 2019.
“okay, we’re married now.”
then i fell asleep on my little bean bag chair from fourth grade
and don’t remember what all happened after that, so
probably i am dying from many horrible things right now
like: enthusiasm for yo yos, pajama deficiency, hot air balloon drama,
PAGE 38 Page 39

and goat envy.
i might wanna look all that up
on the speed stick deodorant website later on
to see if there’s a kind of deodorant that can cure me.
but also, i’m allergic to all good things.
that is, i’ve never had quote “a good thing goin’” unquote.
i don’t drive convertibles down to the beach
and lick ice cream cones mischievously
while suggestively petting my own moustache.
actually this is a love poem
for a very tiny stapler i once met.
one of those little tiny baby staplers.
the kind that always get lost in backpacks
or just thrown out
on the last day of school.
“who needs this?”
“oh! me! me! me!”
“okay, in the trash with you!”
and then it’s all over:
this poem, other poems, romance,
maybe life itself
PAGE 40

Contributors
Zac Abid
Jess Kwiatkowski
Michael McFarlane
Guadalupe Olgine Jr.
Photographers
Zac Abid
Jenna Pewarchie
a Note of
THANKS
SkipFiction is bigger than any one person. A lot of
hands and heads help to do what we do every step
along the way. From writers to photographers to
designers, everyone in the community has taught us
something along the way, and all the artists who their
art - the reason we’re here in the first place.
These are the people that helped us
create this issue.
Featured Musicians
Sojii
Wing Vilma
Dante Cope
Belve
Featured Poets
Kyle Flak
Maria McKee
Zine Designer
Jenna Pewarchie
Editors
Schyler Perkins
John Akers
PAGE 42 Page 43

want
to
pitch in?
Writing We’re always looking for contributors,
and accept submissions the range from album reviews,
to artist interviews, to researched articles.
Creative Writing Submit your fiction,
nonfiction, or poetry for publication on the site! We are
starting a writer’s workshop group in August.
PhotographyDo you have photos of artists,
or want to take photos of our shows? Please reach out!
We meet (nearly) every Wednesday at GVSU’s Pew campus, in the Atrium.
Feel free to drop in anytime to talk to us; or reach out online.
contact@skipfiction.com | Schylerperkins@skipfiction.com | johnakers@skipfiction.com