Mendocino County Today: Monday, Oct 6, 2014

• Third District Supervisor Endorsement
• Midnight Rambler Decision
• Classic Baseball
• Catch of the Day
• Odd Bodkins
• Free Eye Screenings
• Boonville Mini-Farm Workshop
• Request for Septic Delay
• Hank3 Interview
• Evolution

THIRD DISTRICT SUPERVISOR: Holly Madrigal. Seems like all the boys up in the North County can't bear the thought of a durn gurrrrllll sitting as their supervisor, but can any of you boys point to a single local issue that Woodhouse has taken a stand on? Sure, he's for more water storage, but who isn't? Monsieur Pinches, the present supervisor that Woodhouse and Mrs. Madrigal hope to replace, is now a Woodhouse man, without saying why. As is Clay Romero who got knocked off in the primary. And, natch, Mr. No Stance himself, Hal Wagenet, is for the No Stance guy, Woodhouse. (Entrenched local bureaucrats were so pleased that Wagenet had succeeded Pinches when Pinches ran for the State Senate, that they threw a welcome party for Wagenet who, predictably, always gave them everything they wanted.) A whole lotta guys are for Woodhouse, and not one has said why because all they know about him is that he smiles a lot and pats them on the head no matter what errant nonsense they come up with. Pinches came out late for Woodhouse, which indicates a lack of enthusiasm for the candidate. Can't blame Pinches since North County libs generally opposed him, and Holly is identified with that particular albatross, Mendolib. Mendolib always opposed Pinches, although he's been a very good supervisor, and much better on all the issues than the self-identified “progressives” of the Colfax, Smith, Hamburg type, all three of whom are fortunate not to be doing prison time. (Mendolib isn't generally interested in local. They're big issue people, like the Clintons.) Holly, as an elected Willits official, has had to take stands on a range of controversial issues while Woodhouse has yet to take a stand on anything. In fact, he's gone so far as to say he doesn't much believe in government, although I'm sure he'll cash his government checks if he's elected supervisor. Holly's entire political life has been focused on local issues; she's always taken intelligent, defensible stands even if we disagreed with her. We think she'll be a good supervisor. MADRIGAL for Third District Supervisor.

THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS might be re-thinking the outrageous pay increase for Acting County Counsel Doug ‘The Midnight Rambler’ Losak. The Board announced a couple of weeks ago that Losak (“Acting County Counsel” since February) was being promoted to “Interim County Counsel” and that his contract, along with a huge raise, would be on the October 7 Consent Calendar as if it should be a done deal and beyond discussion. Controversial moves the Supes hope will slip by without public notice are often hidden on the automatic consent calendar. But that hope evaporated the next day when Sheriff Allman showed up under public expression to denounce granting Losak a pay raise of a single dollar. Allman said the raise would be an insult to his deputies, who have gone without a restoration of the ten percent voluntary pay cut they took to help lift the County out of fiscal peril. Allman also pointed out that Losak was still on “searchable probation” for driving around with dope and a loaded gun two years ago.

LOSAK WAS BUSTED by one of Allman's deputies for transporting marijuana and a concealed firearm shortly after being named Acting County Counsel for the first time back when former County Counsel Jeanine Nadel was appointed to the Superior Court bench. Losak was forced to resign as Acting County Counsel but kept his well paid job as a County Counsel staff attorney. He was named Acting County Counsel for a second time following the resignation of his predecessor, Tom Parker. Somewhere along the way Losak found time for a romance with a highly placed county official who found herself under investigation by the County Counsel's office for inappropriate behavior towards her subordinates.

NEWS THAT THE SUPES, at least two of them, wanted to raise Losak's pay from $107,390 annually to $143,291, an increase of over 33% on top of a 10% increase Losak got when he was made Acting County Counsel in February, spread quickly. Every other county employee has been stuck with a 10% pay cut for the last several years. At $143,291 Losak will be paid way more than any other department head, including the elected Sheriff and District Attorney.

SUPES CHAIR JOHN PINCHES, in an interview with the Ukiah Daily Journal, said the huge increase was to pay Losak for the work he was already doing and that his work for the County had been “nothing less than extraordinary,” which it demonstrably has not been. Pinches also confirmed the pay increase would be on the consent calendar for the Oct. 7 meeting.

BUT WHEN the meeting agenda for October 7th came out, there was no mention of Losak's magic raise. Instead, there is a closed session item for “Public Employee Performance Evaluation — Acting County Counsel.”

ARE THE SUPES re-thinking the Midnight Rambler's raise and promotion to Interim? (As if there's a not even a semantic diff between “Acting” and “Interim.”) Or are the Supes considering only the outrageous and wholly unjustified 33% pay raise?

THE SUPES recently approved a one-time payment of $1,200 for County employees represented by SEIU and other bargaining groups. By contrast, Losak will get an extra $1,400 every pay period if his raise goes through. Did the Supes think about the impact on employee morale for the 1,000 other County employees, all of whom are all still living with a 10% pay cut? The announcement out of closed session will probably be the usual “direction given to staff.” And the direction will probably be “wait until the uproar dies down before we try to sneak it through again.”

FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR HAMBURG has been the beneficiary of special favors from the County Counsel's office. He, of course, is solidly behind the raise. Third District Supe Pinches, for reasons that escape us, seems equally committed to the proposed gift of public funds to Losak. But that still means one of their remaining colleagues would have to sign on for the raise to go through.

SUPERVISORS Brown and McCowen have generally been tight with a dollar since taking office right after the financial collapse of 2008. Fourth District Supe Dan Gjerde has been equally frugal, openly telling County employees if they want a raise, they need to give up some benefits. Does Losak have the goods on one of the three? It seems doubtful, but how else to explain why any of them (or Pinches, for that matter) would sign off on such a huge raise for this guy? Watch for this one to come back on a future agenda. But probably not on the consent calendar.

* * *

RAISE NOT JUSTIFIED FOR LOSAK

To the Editor:

To All Members of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors:

I apologize for not attending the upcoming Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, but I have a prior obligation which would not allow me to participate in person.

This letter is meant to not only memorialize the comments I made at the September 23, 2014 BOS meeting, but to expand Tuesday's discussion involving the interim County Counsel position. I have read Chairperson Pinches' thoughts, which were in the paper last week, and as usual, I find myself in agreement with Chairperson Pinches on several aspects of this case. I agree that when an employee is doing what is expected, the employee should be fairly compensated. While I strongly oppose Mr. Losak from participating in any legal matters involving the Sheriff's Office, I have heard that other department heads are satisfied with the service that he is providing.

While the Ukiah Daily Journal quoted Chairperson Pinches as stating “Losak's work for the county has been nothing but extraordinary,” I have not heard from any department head that this is a feeling that is shared by anyone else.

I find it interesting that a portion of the rationale for this increase is that the money was in the prepared budget and as such, he should be paid what is in the budget. The missing portion of this logic is that Mr. Losak was very involved in preparing his budget. Did he budget for his own increase? If so, what oversight was given to this obvious conflict?

Another missing equation to this logic is that all county departments have been encouraged to cut costs and return any unexpended funds to the reserve account at the end of the fiscal year. In other words, just because funds are budgeted, it does not mean that funds have to be expended. The “use it or lose it” strategy of governmental budgeting is a tactic which hopefully is part of the past. We, as government representatives, must realize that our primary function is to serve the public, not devise methods of expending money.

As I stated in Public Expression on September 23, 2014, my primary point of contention deals with the morale of the very hardworking and dedicated Deputy Sheriffs who have been working with a 10% reduction in their salary for almost three years. I respectfully request that, should you see it necessary to increase the salary of the interim County Counsel, that the Board of Supervisors, in a unanimous show of support for the Deputy Sheriffs, return the 10% to their salaries immediately.

While I have the personal opinion that Mr. Losak's criminal actions should disqualify him from his current position, I agree with Chairperson Pinches that, yes, there certainly is “rehabilitation in today's society.” With this in mind, please remember, the good, steadfast and patient employees in this county who are still receiving a 10% reduction in their salary had no need to be rehabilitated. It seems as if a mixed signal is being sent to our hardworking employees that their good behavior, and their ability to follow the law, is being ignored, while a department head's bad behavior is ignored because of the explanation of “rehabilitation in today's society.” This situation involves the same department head who is often the one who recommends discipline for employees who are accused of bad behavior.

Once again, please excuse my absence on Tuesday and I hope that your decision is one that we can all be proud of.

Tom Allman, Sheriff-Coroner

‘ONE OF THE VERY BEST GIANTS GAMES…’

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2014/10/4/6909765/giants-nationals-longest-postseason-game-baseball-history

NICE LEAD Sunday by Chron sports writer, Ann Killion: “It was one of the longest filibusters the nation's capital has witnessed. A war of attrition. Baseball's version of a government shutdown. The Giants and the Nationals played an instant classic. A throwback game of pitching and guts and determination.”

CATCH OF THE DAY, October 4, 2014

JUNE ANDERSON, Willits. Possession/under influence of meth.

WILLIAM BARRY, Ukiah. Drunk in public, camping, failure to appear.

ROBERT FICARRA, Redwood Valley. Resisting arrest.

GUADALUPE GONZAGA-ORTIZ, Clearlake. Burglary, Conspiracy.

CHAD GRIMM, Ukiah. Possession of meth, resisting arrest.

CORRY HANNA, Laytonville. Pot cultivation/processing.

CARMEN HERNANDEZ-MCCOY, Covelo. Resisting arrest.

VERNON KNAPP, Willits. Drunk in public probation revocation. (Frequent flyer.)

MICHAEL LAMADE, Hesperia/Willits. Under influence of controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, prohibited person with firearm.

WILLIAM LESCHKE JR., Willits. Driving without valid license.

CHASE MARTINEZ, Livermore/Ukiah. Drunk in public.

WILLIS MAXWELL, Willits. Animal cruelty.

JODY MCCOY, Ukiah. Possession of controlled substance, probation revocation.

SUNEE MITCHELL, Talmage. Failure to appear.

ANGELICA RAMIREZ-GONZALEZ, Clearlake. Burglary, conspiracy.

CRUZ REA, Ukiah. Drunk in public. (Frequent flyer.)

LOGAN SCHULZE, Willits. Domestic assault, probation revocation.

NICHOLAS WALSH, Ukiah. Drunk in public.

GUILLERMO VELASCO, Compton/Calpella. Driving without valid license.

STEVEN STEWART, Ukiah. Drunk in public.

FREE EYE SCREENINGS

The Anderson Valley Lions Club with be conducting Free eye screenings at the Adult School located to the left of the Elementary School. The dates are Oct 13 at 7:30 to 11:30 am, 1 to 4 pm and 7:30 to 8:30 pm. Oct 15th 7:30 to 11:00 am and 5:30 to 8:30 pm. If you want to make an appointment call Community HealthCorps members Matthew Tunzi (831-809-6462) or Brooke Angel (619-846-0167). The children at the Elementary will be screened separately.

¡Examen de la vista gratis! Fecha: Lunes 10/13, 7:30-11:30 am, 1:00-4:00 pm, 6:30-7:30 pm. Miércoles 10/15, 7:30- 11:30 am y 5:30-8:30 pm. Lugar: Cerca de la Anderson Valley Escuela de Adultos Si desea hacer una cita, por favor llame a los nuevos miembros de Community HealthCorps: Matthew Tunzi (831-809-6462) o Brooke Angel (619-846-0167).

CORRECTION: ON SATURDAY October 11 (NOT October 1), there will be a Backyard Mini-Farm Workshop at WildeAcre Farm in Boonville. We will talk about growing vegetables, fruit and herbs, composting, beekeeping, raising chickens and anything else that comes up. It will begin at 1pm and last as long as people are interested. Please respond to this message or call Cindy at 895-2949 if you would like to be involved. — AV Foodshed notice

MORE FROM MR. STEIN & MR. McCOWEN regarding LAFCO and the Caspar Water/Sewer District. (Mr. Stein provides some useful details in this one.)

Subject: Fwd: Request to LAFCO Board to postpone consideration of the CS final Service Review on October 5th until adequate notice can be given.

From: "Al Stein" <bugadi@comcast.net>
Date: Sun, October 5, 2014 3:11 pm
To: ava@pacific.net
> From: Al Stein <bugadi@comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: Request to LAFCO Board to postpone consideration of the CS final Service Review on October 5th until adequate notice can be given

* * *

Date: October 5, 2014 at 2:55:39 PM PDT
> To: John McCowen <mccowen@co.mendocino.ca.us>, greenlion@sbcglobal.net, david c eyster <eysterd@co.mendocino.ca.us>
> Cc: Linda Linda Danton <linddan@comcast.net>

> Mr. McCowen:

I’d appreciate it if you would introduce a motion to delay for 30 days a consideration of the Final Review of Caspar South, because the community was not noticed of the Draft Service Review comment period or of consideration of the Final on the 6th of October. I hope you will consult with the DA who advises LAFCO on the need to comply with adequate notice to the public and adequate opportunity to comment. No one will be harmed through a 30 day delay to afford the public in Caspar South to read the Draft and Final Reviews. On the other hand, consideration of the Final Review before the public has adequate notice of its existence can result in inaccurate information being approved and the continuance of bad policies and practices continuing at the District which will harm the sewage system in the community.

For instance, an adequate review of district records would have revealed the repeated recommendations of consultants that an additional 30,000 gallons of septic tanks be added to preserve the septic field. This fact was not mentioned in the Review. The current Board has not addressed this recommendation which has been made by several consultants and engineers over the last 15 or so years. In addition, while I was appointed to measure pumping I and a current board member recorded that the District exceeded its permit by 10-20,000 gallons a day. The Final Report says the District has been in compliance with its permit. I need time to find the documents which back up my claim and which the Consultant should have researched. There are additional safety and operational issues which will not be in the public record as a goal for the District unless the public has adequate time to comment.

Mr. Baracco sent me an email today for the record that indicates notice was not given:

[me]Did you ever provide me with a copy of the draft re Caspar South or notify me after it was prepared that there was an opportunity to comment?

NO I DID NOT. WE NORMALLY RELY ON THE DISTRICT TO DISCUSS THE MSR AT A BOARD MEETING, AND TO PROVIDE ANY COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS.

One of our fundamental rights is an opportunity to be heard and adequate notice. Given Mr Baracco informed me late on Friday and the community was not notified, adequate notice was not given.

I just opened your email requesting I provide you comments today. While I would like to do this, this is Sunday and I have other commitments and I need to review my email before giving an adequate written comment which I know is necessary, because the Review contains numerous factual errors.

While I will try tonight to cobble together a written comment, I do not want to compound errors by a hasty response which is usually at least 30 days on a public Draft Review.

Therefore, I’d very much appreciate you making a motion tomorrow to delay consideration of this matter for 30 days.

Alan Stein

* * *

On Oct 4, 2014, at 11:37 PM, John McCowen <mccowen@co.mendocino.ca.us> wrote:

> >> Mr. Stein, >>

I am one of the LAFCO commissioners. I am taking the liberty of responding to your email and am copying it to: Mr. Baracco; our Chair; and our Clerk (so she may maintain a record). I regret you received short notice of the Public Hearing. Unfortunately, your request for an extension of time can only be granted by the full commission after we convene the meeting on Monday. Frankly, absent extraordinary issues with the MSR, I would not count on an extension.

Therefore, I suggest you submit your comments either in writing, in person, or both. In my experience, if you are requesting extensive or numerous revisions, your best bet is to submit comments in advance. If you are able to send your comments anytime Sunday to the same list as your original email, then we will have a chance to review them

Written comments guarantee you will be able to make all your points without concern that you will not have enough time to present them. And of course you will still be welcome to address the Commission in person.

John McCowen

* * *

From: Al Stein <bugadi@comcast.net> 10/4/2014 12:20:27 PM

>>> Commissioners:

I have been informed by another resident in Caspar South that no notification was received (by him) for this Monday’s meeting on the Caspar South Service Review or on the opportunity to comment on the Draft version when it came out, whenever that was.

Given the apparent failure for timely notice, I and my wife are requesting that you postpone consideration of the Caspar South final Service Review until 30 days after a notice is given to all the members of the community for the opportunity to comment on the Draft version and the consultant has had time to consider the public’s input and made the necessary revisions based on new input. Alternatively, you could vote to send the Final Version back to the Consultant with instructions to take public input and incorporate input into the final.

Please let me know by Sunday, the 5th, if you will postpone consideration of the Caspar South Service Review Final Report when you meet this Monday, the 5th of October. This would save us a trip from the coast to Ukiah.

If you deny the request for postponement, please inform us whether you will allow ample time to comment in person before you this Monday on the CSSR and submit comments for the record then.

Sincerely yours,

Alan Stein, Linda Danton

We appreciate Bruce including Alan’s emails to Bruce into the record but feel the entire community should also have an opportunity to submit comments. Bruce’s notifying one person late Friday of a Monday meeting is not an adequate notice for the entire community.

AN INTERVIEW WITH HANK3

by Emily Hobelmann

Last Wednesday, I went to the second of back-to-back Hank3 shows at the Mateel. My date and I drank Jim Beam. He moshed in Chacos. Some hot country punk chick showed me the lacy lingerie hiding under her camo overalls, without any prompt at all. The stage was packed to overflowing with speakers and amps. The mosh pit had eau de B.O…. It was all very outlaw country cray.

And Hank3. He has no opening act. It’s straight up Hank3 and the various people that back him for the musical odyssey that is his 4-plus hours performance. For real, the show went from 8:30 p.m. till like 1 a.m., and from country to punk to doom metal. I’m pretty sure Hank3 himself didn’t leave the stage once that whole time. He’s got hella stamina.

I did a brief phone interview with Hank3 the next day. Here’s the meat of our convo, if you want to check it out. He talks Humboldt, he talks weed, he talks about the movie he plays during the doom segment of his performance and he talks about how he’s never been to check out “The Hill.”

* * *

OTP: I caught the show last night. It was awesome. I had a good time. Thank you. You have really nice hair.

H3: Ah, it’s hangin’ in there. My dad said it would fall out by the time I was 25. So, it’s hangin’ in there.

OTP: How old are you now?

H3: 41.

OTP: Alright. On this tour, Southern Humboldt is the only place you play back-to-back shows. Why two shows in Humboldt and nowhere else?

H3: Last year, I did two nights at the Observatory [down in Santa Ana], so there’s certain spots where I’ll do two nights.

And I know this time of year, everyone is really busy, for the locals. That’s one of the reasons, just because I know how busy everyone is… Just giving the folks that might want to come out and see the show an opportunity to. And it takes a lot to get here and to do what we do.

It also goes back to — there’s a certain vibe that the crowd has here. It’s really hard to explain. But that’s another part of it, the energy that people bring, all the good friends we’ve made, from the eight-year-olds all the way up to the 80-year-olds. Just got a little more of a deeper connection around here, compared to some of the other places we play…

I can remember my first time, playing at the Mateel. I’ve played some other places in Humboldt as well, on farms and stuff. But the Mateel seems like a good place where everyone can come out and have some fun, not too much trouble. There was maybe a little more trouble last night [Wednesday] than there was on the first show, just with kids pushing the envelope a little too hard. But it seemed like it went well. Had a couple of technical difficulties compared to the first show, but we pulled it off the best we could.

OTP: I thought so. You make a good point about people being busy this time of year. I know people appreciate the chance to come off The Hill to do something like this.

H3: Yeah, in reality, I wasn’t even supposed to be on the West Coast. Someone in my camp messed up, they took a show without my permission. So to be a professional, I had to book a whole tour. I don’t do fly-dates. I either do a whole run of shows or I don’t. So to not burn a bridge, I had to book a whole West Coast tour. And that’s why we’re here, just a little early for everybody.

But it made sense, and everyone was available. We always love the scenery around here and just a lot of the vibe. It’s like the last Wild West in it’s own way, when you talk to the people and everything that’s going on right now, if you really get in the political world, which I’m not that involved in. But to me, it just feels like the last bit of the Wild West that’s left.

OTP: It is an amazing place, I think. It’s raw. I love it.

H3: Definitely.

OTP: Weed in this area is a huge deal. For a lot of people, it’s their careers, their livelihoods. I’m going to ask you an open-ended question here. How do you feel about weed today, just off the cuff?

H3: Well, I smoked for 25 years and then I took a break from it, just for my voice, doing these super-long shows and everything. I’m saving it to get back into if I ever get to retire.

But my stance on it, always, from day one: It’s a no-brainer. It’s a way to keep farmers in business. It’s a way to keep everything more green. It’s got many more plusses than minuses. Jello Biafra sums it up very well in his speech, “Grow More Pot.” He definitely shows all the plusses and all the uses that can come from it, just what it can do for farmers throughout the whole U.S.

It’s a shame it’s where it is right now, how it’s been so complicated. Even though I’m taking a break from it, my stance will never change. I’m around the smoke and I’m around the alcohol basically every night that I play. And some bars are OK with it. And then some bars aren’t. I get to see both sides of the spectrum. But there’s definitely many, many more positives than negatives, if you were just to straight up compare it to alcohol. It’s a no-brainer… But I know there’s also a lot of people that don’t want to see it officially go legal as well. I’m sure it’s really tricky.

I’ve never full on gone and seen an operation, in-person, on The Hill, just because I’m here to play my music… And I would never want to put anyone in a bad position. Some people offer to take me up and show me what they’ve been working on. And, out of respect, I’m like, “Well, I know you’re working hard, I bet it’s beautiful, but just keep it in mind for me.” So I’ve never got to see it in-person. I just know a lot of people are here, and how much hard work goes into it and that it’s definitely not an easy job…

If I was ever up here and not on tour, it might be different. But when I’m running on tour, it already feels like we’ve got the big eye on us anyway. It’s just one of those things. I’ve never got to see Humboldt or The Hill when I’ve been on my own. So that might be something I get to experience in the future.

OTP: So you said you’re taking a break from cannabis, potentially till retirement. But in the past, did cannabis factor into your creative process?

H3: I mean, I used it a lot. Like I said, 25 years. It was everyday from the time I would wake up till the time I went to sleep. And definitely many, many songs been written on it. And many performances were done on it. I don’t think it ever hurt my ability, just as much as I have to use the voice. You can tell right now, my voice is kind of scratchy. It’s hard to hold on to the kind of voice that I try to present every night. For my chemical build, the way my body is, my lungs just had to take a break from it. I was also smoking tobacco as well.

So for doing the 4-hour shows, I had to change some things up while I’m running this hard. But it never caused me to miss a show. The only time I’ve ever had to cancel a performance in my whole career, more than twenty-plus years on the road, is [from] having the flu.

Just about every other musician I know out there usually partakes in it and enjoys it and gets a lot of benefits from it. Going back to Jello, he would say he’s not into the Dead Head, mellow vibe that might be for some people. But it does the opposite for a lot of people, it picks a lot people up. And it also calms a lot of people down. It just depends on the situation and which kind it is, and all that.

It’s an art form in its own way, just seeing it throughout the years. It’s like the Moonshiners that I know that take it real serious, it’s not an easy thing to do. It goes back to the hard work. And people are proud of their work. Time will tell what the future holds. It’s a weird time for everybody, seems like, right now. And the next ten years will probably be very interesting.

OTP: You’re right. And you’re right about cannabis being complicated. It’s all complicated.

H3: Yes. I’m not even that political, and I can tell how complicated it is. Where I come from in the south, Kentucky and places like that, [people] have their own little operations all around there. It’s a totally different world. But it is what it is. No matter how long or how hard they try to stamp it out, it will never go away. It’s just one of those things. It will never die.

OTP: The show last night was marathon, you went for a long time. Toward the end, you get into the doom and the metal music and you have a video playing in the background. And it’s a lot of male energy and it’s dark, intense, I thought —

H3: It is. It goes to the moods that’s coming off the stage. It’s like an experience, seeing the whole show. The first two hours is more of the happy-go-lucky kind of vibes, every now and then there’s a sad song. As the show goes on, it just gets a little more — how doom is supposed to be. A little dark and a little grim.

That movie that’s played is called Tribulation 99 and it’s made by Craig Baldwin. In reality, if you listen to it… he’s speaking in a weird voice and doing his own narrating. So it fits — if you watch it all and it’s all done right and I have enough time to do it — it fits well with the doom part and a little bit of what I’m singing about. And at the very end of the movie with 3 Bar Ranch (when we’ve got the cowboy hats back on), it has a lot of the cowboy images and the Marlboro man, and the ranchers and a lot of the hot rods and the burn outs and “game over” stuff going on.

The reason I have the movie up there is I’m up there for so long. It’s not like I’m doing a bunch of dance moves or being a full-on front man. I’m kind of limited since I’m holding a guitar. It’s another way to bring another element to the show and to bring another mood to the show. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing it.

I have some of the old grandmas come up to me and go, “How much longer are you going to be playing the weird movie?” It’s interesting to hear what some people get out of it and what others don’t. Every time you watch it you’ll see something different. And some people really understand it. They probably get it more than I get it. There’s a lot of things in it that I don’t historically know that other people do.

It’s just like in the 60s, they always had the trippy water on the backdrops. And Pink Floyd, using the lights and just the trippy elements to the show… It’s my way of making it more of an experience with the different generes throughout the night…

My stuff is a little light-hearted — 3 Bar Ranch, compared to most back metal and full on satanic metal. What I do is pretty light-hearted compared to a lot of those guys that take it so serious and try to put so much of the dark twist on it. What I do is more like the Melvins, how there’s a certain bit of anarchy that just naturally happens throughout the night of our shows…

It’s bringing the different moods, more than anything. That’s why I say, “Thanks for coming out for the country part of the show. Now we’re gonna be moving on.” And a good bit of people stick around here and watch the whole thing. In a lot of places, I’ll only have maybe 15-20 people left at the end of the night. So not everybody stays and watches the whole show.

Who knows how long I’ll be able to keep holding up with it? It’s definitely an intense thing, to keep trying to pull off every day.

OTP: Anything else you want to say to Humboldt, Emerald Triangle people out there?

H3: Yeah. Thanks for having us. Enjoy your last week of getting all your harvest done. And we hope to see y’all soon. I’m sure one day we’ll either try to do a Redwood Run or some different things.

I’ve only had one bad experience. We played somewhere and the security and the place it was held — it was just a little tricky. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about that, how it was a bad experience. So for those people that had a bad experience at that farm, just know that that was not my doing. That was rules and — it got tricky. I can’t remember if it was Ryan Creek —

OTP: Dean Creek?

H3: It might have been that one. Yeah, just so the people know, I did not try to put them in that position. It’s just one of those unfortunate things that happened. All the other experiences have been good around here. And sorry about that one. Some people were kind of mistreated… It had to do with alcohol. No one was supposed to drink. And when you put that combination with my kind of crowd, it puts a lot of people in a bad place. But this time it went well.

Enjoy the rest of the year. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks everyone will get to take a deep breath and relax a little bit. Thanks for having us.

And it’s hank3.com if [people] want to get tour dates or vinyl or t-shirts and all that stuff. Me and my mom running our merch… That’s the update that I’ve got right now.

Courtesy: LostCoastOutpost.com

EVOLUTION

Buffalo Bill opens a pawn shop on the reservation
right across the border from the liquor store
and he stays open 24 hours a day,7 days a week

and the Indians come running in with jewelry
television sets, a VCR, a full-lenght beaded buckskin outfit
it took Inez Muse 12 years to finish. Buffalo Bill

takes everything the Indians have to offer, keeps it
all catalogues and filed in a storage room. The Indians
pawn their hands, saving the thumbs for last, they pawn

their skeletons, falling endlessly from the skin
and when the last Indian has pawned everything
but his heart, Buffalo Bill takes that for twenty bucks

closes up the pawn shop, paints a new sign over the old
calls his venture THE MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES
charges the Indians five bucks a head to enter.

— Sherman Alexie