THE DAY THE MUSIC DIES

Sometimes, I got to say, the people who run this city are morons. Worse: morons who scramble in fear at the feet of mainstream media controversy. Every day for about a month now, Channel 9, Channel 4, Channel 2, Channel 31, Channel 7 (especially), and the Denver Rocky News Mountain Post have reported on the sudden life-threatening rise in use of ecstasy. Whatever.

The response to the sudden spike in media coverage has been to blame music. Blame art. Blame Canada. A new law has been put in place to ban the sale of alcohol at all-ages events. Never mind the fact that X users and drinkers never mix the two-- it's counter-intuitive: alcohol makes you feel social and heavy; X makes you feel tingly and giddy ... an X user simply doesn't crave alcohol, and vice versa. Whether the law is logical or not isn't important, however. What's important is that it will squash the Denver music scene just as things were starting to get good.

There are so many stupid things going on here, it's hard to know where to begin. The crusade against X is misplaced and misguided, just like every other drug war crusade. This magazine does not in any way condone the use of ecstasy (I feel a little sorry for anyone who needs a drug to have fun at a raging party), but curtailing alcohol doesn't affect ecstasy use at all, and punishing musicians won't solve whatever problem the soccer moms perceive is out there. The solution to the X problem is the same solution as every other drug problem: education, parental involvement, and plenty of sources of legal entertainment.

If Denver's skittish parents are really concerned about their kids using X, they'd want more music events open to all ages, not less. And they'd talk to their kids about the dangers of drug use instead of talking to their lawyers about the dangers of going to a concert.

Financial reality dictates that alcohol sales keep concert venues open. Drinkers pay the musicians in this town, not ticket buyers. It's a messed up system, yes, but one created by market economics and unlikely to be changed anytime soon. In order for venues to succeed at holding all-ages events, there must be a way for those venues to get alcohol to the adults in attendance. Until now, the simple separation of balcony from floor seating has worked reasonably well, subverted only by fake IDs, and venue managers can hardly be blamed for the propogation of fake IDs in America.

You know what would really solve some problems? Lower the drinking and smoking ages to 16, and raise the driving age to 21. Make people learn how to handle their liquor before they learn to handle a car. Once you turn 16, cigarettes and alcohol are relatively easy to get (and pot and X for that matter), so open it up ... just keep all the little drunk-n-high kids off the road where they can do damage to other responsible people. But that will never happen, because parents don't want to be bothered with driving their kids around in high school, and the taxpayers don't want to be bothered with efficient public transportation systems to get kids in and out of the city (or adults for that matter). Still, think about it-- what's more dangerous to an innocent bystander: vodka breath, second-hand smoke, or a two-ton SUV? The answer is obvious, and yet we give kids access to the most dangerous thing first, the next dangerous thing second, and the nearly-innocuous thing last. Brilliant.

Kids seek entertainment; they need it, they will get it, and the best way to keep them out of trouble is to give it to them. Music is perfect-- it's rebellious, defiant, loud, parents hate it, and it doesn't harm anyone. That bears repeating. Music doesn't harm anyone. This new law, despite the misguided good intentions behind it, hurts musicians and musicians only. Is this what the drug war has come down to? Hurting artists because artists are traditionally equated with rash behavior? Are the musicians selling X to kids, shoving it down their throats, requiring fans to come high to the show? Are the musicians even using the drug? (See our interview with Nigel Richards on page 6: no.)

Boil this argument down, and here's what you get: drugs would go away if we could just get rid of artistic expression. Not only is that ridiculous, it's scary.

Underage kids will get drunk and/or high before the show anyway. Adults will simply take their hard-earned dollar to the bar and plug quarters in the jukebox, wondering when they'll be able to enjoy a buzzing head and buzzing eardrums at the same time again. Music promoters will lose money, and either go out of business or pay musicians less. And Denver's finally flourishing music scene will be squashed, overnight, by the very people we pay to make this city great.

I appeal to the other media outlets in this town-- call off the dogs. Your nightly demonizing of ecstasy might be good for ratings, but it's dangerously close to killing the spirit of this town. Stop directing bad publicity at the promoters and venues: it's not their fault. Stop claiming that dance music or rock music or rave music or any kind of music is driving kids to use drugs: that's ludicrous. And if you really want to perform some civic duty by helping clean up the streets to make them safer for the future leaders of tomorrow, support an artist, support a musician. Musicians are the only ones the kids really listen to, anyway.

KEEPING UP THE GOOD WORK

In your Issue #5, Vol. 3, [ www.gogo-magazine.com/0305] you managed to illustrate some of the inevitable inherent contradictions of living in the U.S.A. today. Mainly, in the review of the movie Monkeybone the writer mentioned that one of the underlying literary (or "moral") messages of a portion of the movie was that "making money is wrong"-- a sort of pallid aesthetic that pops up from time to time-- that anyone who has or is making lots of money is a "sellout" and corrupt, greedy, etc. The writer's angle was that this is a tired and shallow message, subtly implying that it's not true anyway-- especially in a democratic free enterprise society. Like someone should feel guilty for having or making money?

On the other hand, on page 26, in the calendar listing for Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, the writer states that, "This group plays for the sheer love of the music"-- apparently, thereby avoiding falling into the trap of "wanting to make money." Since they play only "for the sheer love of the music," they must be real true-blue good souls. But what keeps their tour on the road? Revenues from recycled toilet plungers??

I don't expect you to answer that, you're just doing your jobs. I'm sure everyone at Go-Go is there because of their "sheer love for rag journalism." Heck, you may even be mostly volunteers. For example, the cartoonist Tim Winkleman (on page 32). Man, that guy is talented! He must be making quite a comfortable living from nothing but his artwork.

Go-Go is such an excellent paper. I think in some ways, the Denver Music Scene was nothing until you came along. One of my friends once complained about Go-Go-- he thought you were actually including subversive comments in your paper about one of his friends and making it look like they were just random nonsense comments. Like some wink-wink conspiracy or something directed at some harmless weirdo. What a namby-pamby!! I told him, Hey, it says right in the front in the small print that their ideas are all their own and not directed at anyone unless they say so. Get over it!

You rock. Keep up the good work. --t_sublett via the Internet

First of all, congratulations on working so hard to find hypocrisy in our magazine. What a feat. Especially since a) hypocrisy is everywhere, and b) you were comparing the ideas of two entirely different writers and 'gasp' found a contradiction.

The quote you refer to is, in context, clearly a sarcastic jab at Monkeybone and other movies (How The Grinch Stole Christmas particularly comes to mind) which preach an anti-capitalist moral whilst reaping in merchandising dough from fast-food restaurants. What the writer is attacking is not the act of making money-- he was pointing out the hypocrisy of making money while preaching that making money is wrong.

Let me state, clearly and for the record, we at Go-Go do not believe making money is wrong. In fact, a quick poll of the office just revealed that we are all in this venture for the money. We like what we do, sure, but that's just a tangential by-product of the job, a nuisance really. In fact, we welcome anyone to come to our office and give us money. We'll take it. Really.

As for Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, I don't need to call and ask to know they love playing music. They make money at it, too. What's the problem again?

Tim Winkleman: I'm not sure of his exact situation in life, but I do know he does make money drawing cartoons. If this upsets your sense of justice, I suggest you draw something and send it in. If it's better than Tim's work, we'll pay you for it. If it isn't, we won't. That's the way it works.

Your friend's belief that our page footers are subversive comments meant to degrade his comrade is indeed wrong. Those sentences have always been-- and will always be-- directed at you. Now you know. You rock. Keep up the good work.

THE GREAT DOMO CONTROVERSY

The first time we ran Bobby Black's scathing review of Domo, nary a peep. The rerun, however [ www.gogomagazine.com/0306/ dining.html] caused quite an uproar, which just goes to show that if you want to print something controversial, sometimes you have to do it twice. The unedited letters below pretty much speak for themselves, so all we'll say is that Bobby did live in Hawaii for a number of years, and so he's certainly qualified to judge Japanese cuisine, tattoos and all.

Dear Go-Go Magazine,

I pick up your free magazine because I had never seen it before. As I flip the pages it looks like your trying to be trendy. I usually read the food critic ads and come across the tattooed food critic (tattooed jerk) :). As I read on it's obvious that this guy knew not-a-thing about Japanese food, but went on to put down a place called Domo. I have been there my self with friends and the ones that like Japanese foods love it. It's just the people that have never eat anything but beef & potatoes that are not informed or cultured do not like. I feet [sic] it is very distasteful to have a tattooed guy as a food critic. When I think of tattoos & food together it make me want to throwup! What about you? If I owned a restaurant I would not even let this guy in door. This food critic may be best in reviewing pizza shops and fast food restaurants, but is poorly suited for any fine dining restaurant.

Your newspaper critic. HA HA :) Best of luck to you guys. --Concerned Reader

Dear Mr. Magyar and Mr. Black,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your pointed article about Domo Restaurant in the March 15-28 issue of Go-Go Magazine. I would like to address some of the issues you mentioned in your article.

Concerning customers with cell phones and screaming children, we also get annoyed, but there is not a lot that we can do. Thank you for bringing it up, maybe someone will hear you. As the owner of Domo Restaurant, your concerns about service are important. We reviewed the security camera tape for the evening you had dinner at Domo to see who it was that waited on you. I have worked directly with those who served you and hope that communication problems have been corrected. As far as the food is concerned, everyone is entitled to an opinion. It is regrettable that the food did not serve your particular taste.

After your article came out, we have had so far about ten mocking calls from your readers, and the other morning someone banged on our back door asking for food and money. One of my employees politely refused, but his reply was that he too was a "tattooed guy" and that he had read your article. He frightened my employee to the point that the police were called. I do not wish to see any young people in jail. My employee is still scared but I reassured him that the United States does have a justice system. I guess that is proof that the pen is mightier than the sword. Being part of the press is a big responsibility!

I wanted you to understand that Domo Restaurant rents space from Nippon Kan Culture Center, and that there is no relation betwee Aikido students and Domo Restaurant. I think you were joking about Aikido students coming after you, but I can assure you there is no Aikido student like that at Nippon Kan. If someone does contact you and claims to be an Aikido student from Nippon Kan, please contact me driectly on my cell phone, [number left unpublished].

I am over fifty years old, and am aware that people have many different options, lifestyles and values. I respect all people's rights to have what is important and valuable to them. I strive to work in harmony with all I come in contact with. I invite you to come back to Domo, and we hope there will be no mistakes this time. Sitting on Domo's patio on a warm spring day can make even not so good tea delicious. Thank you again for your opinion, sorry you did not enjoy yourself. --Gaku Homma, Domo Owner & Head Chef

Recently I read the review of Domo Restaurant in the March 15-28 issue of Go-Go Magazine and I am addressing this letter to you Mr. Magyar as the editor and to you Mr. Black as the reviewer. First to you Mr. Black, I am wondering if I am to take your views as representative of those of the entire Colfax/tattoo culture. Can you tell me, would everyone you address (when you in your review call for "--every tattooed freak--") feel as you when visiting Domo? Would they not know that Domo presents country Japanese cooking and that the whole concept of country Japanese cooking was born of necessity and imagination in order to survive? Would they not know that many of the foods discovered in this process of survival have curative power for the human body? Would they react as strongly as you to the foreign smells knowing the history and health incorporated in those very smells? And would they not know that the proportions in which the dishes are presented reflect that survival history and, even more, have been shown to promote maximum human health? Would they know of the Eastern concept of balance and its importance to life? Would they not appreciate the subtleties of the different sauces and the explosion of the myriad textures and tastes of the foods as they are eaten together, as is the custom, in one mouthful? And, concerning subtlety, would they know that "Saki" is spelled Sake and means not only the liquid to which you refer but also means salmon and that the meaning is determined by a slight difference in pronunciation? And in regard to the surroundings, would others of the tattoo world dismiss these with one short paragraph, or would they know the relics by which they are surrounded are exactly that-- relics-- and that these relics exist due to the owner's history as not only a chef but as a museum curator? Would they dismiss in only a few words the thatched bamboo ceiling above them, the brown-paper light fixtures framed with branches, the burned tree trunk standing bare and strong against the east wall-- a branch of which holds one of the light fixtures, or the door above them with no stairs to it, along with the stone slab tables supported by tree stumps which you did mention? Would they know that the door with no stairs represents the construction of older homes in northern Japan where, when the snows build past the lower level door, this upper door must be used for entry into the home? Would they walk through the museum set up to replicate a room in a country house and know they are observing the place where all the cooking was accomplished in these dwellings? Would they be aware of the traditions involved with this room and the delegation of responsibility associated with the positions surrounding the cooking area? And when walking through the garden, would they see the intricate balance achieved by the placement of complimenting plants, wooden bridges, running water, stone walkways and boulders? Or see the pine needle necklace draped around one of these boulders that has religious significance? Would they not think that the layout of these surroundings was as true to art and expression as the tattoos they wear upon themselves and which you, yourself create Mr. Black? And lastly, Mr. Black, do you not personally realize that you insult the cultural tradition of the Japanese the most not by your words, but by your failure to address the owner personally with your concerns over the food and service instead of making light of them with the jesting cowardice you use to conclude your review?

And to you Mr. Magyar, I am curious as to why you would choose to rerun this review. Am I to take it that the Colfax image to which you dedicated this issue of your magazine would be one that would ignore all the beauty in this particular restaurant and instead be entertained by this review that you consider a nugget from the past?

As I write this I realize that it was a member of the Colfax/tattoo culture that first took me to Domo. We had been researching pictures of scarabs to use as an example for her tattoo artist to use in the application of the tattoo she has since had applied. I think you both have created an injustice not only to Domo, but to the culture you portend to represent. I am wondering what fuels your points of view as I have encountered similar views throughout my youth being dragged around the planet through many cultures. It was this same view that caused cultures to dislike U. S. citizens because these citizens thought the world revolved around them instead of seeing the beauty and intricacy that surrounded them in their foreign settings. And it was continually necessary for those of us who lived among these cultures to break through that view in order to develop a respectful relationship with not only the members of the cultures whom we were fortunate to get to know but with ourselves as well. It was this same view that has caused many wars throughout history. Now, only a short time after such a devastating world war where the Japanese and ourselves were killing each other, I consider the fact that we have a cultural example of such depth in our own backyard a blessing.

I am left wondering how each of you will respond to this letter. Will it be a response of defense, of anger, one made in jest, one intended to set up a conflict as did your comments about yuppies? Will you even respond? --jmaffia via the Internet

So many questions. So little space. All we can do, jmaffia, is answer with a question: do you talk like that, too?

--Chris J. Magyar