Artifact: “Sounding Board” family newsletter, 1985 / masthead
My dear ole grandfather, Robert “Bob” Stevenson (rip), (one of many Bob/Roberts in our extended family), fired up a family newsletter for various extended cousins and uncles and aunts et al… Of course, this sort of project requires a lot of wrangling of assignments to generate content which he then dutifully typed, laid out, re-produced and distributed (yes i come from all this honestly). When he was expressing frustration about lack of input from various family members, brother Bob and I volunteered to guest edit an issue. Of course, we put our own style to the dispatch with mail bombs, clipped cartoons, corny jokes, plagiarized punk rock lyrics along with the various “scene reports” from extended family units.
Artifact: “Sounding Board” family newsletter, 1985 / (mildly condescending passive aggressive) letter from editor, Gramps
I’ve shared a few pages here – with some minor crops – to provide a flavour of the publication while retaining some semblance of discretion as to not shock or offend any family members (any further).
Artifact: “Sounding Board” family newsletter, 1985 / punk rock lyrics (stolen from Massacre Guys), corny jokes, a remixed punk rock sticker and possibly made up letter from RobbyArtifact: “Sounding Board” family newsletter, 1985 / “scene report” from our segment of the family including Andy’s love of He-Man and our choice for “2nd place” of the family crest (shown elsewhere in the newsletter but not in this review)Artifact: “Sounding Board” family newsletter, 1985 / fun page with sports items including instructions for a piledriverArtifact: “Sounding Board” family newsletter, 1985 / i guess this is really the masthead, is the masthead the part which tells who contributed? i should know this. Anyhow…
To me, there is importance in preserving the efforts of “small time“ artists putting in their goodness out into the world in a true DIY style. this stash includes:
* “Houseboat” and “Filterland” /4 track recorded cassettes (with a lot of doubling up and bouncing… really fantastic) by Chris Jacobson (who I met in Guam but he’s from Rhode Island and I’ve lost track of him)
* Chris Sullivan / who I played in a band with in Salt Lake City, he’s in Kentucky (i think) after going to Alaska to catch crabs (the kind from the ocean) or something like that… Fantastically versatile musician and charismatic front man
* “ARCO Hotel” by Joe Williamson who I knew in North Burnaby BC years ago. He’s a deep jazz and classical (mostly)!upright bass player with training at McGill. Cassette was recorded on New Year’s Day (I think) at eponymously they named a hotel in Amsterdam. Every once in while I see him pop up in European jazz circles doing important, eccentric things
* JahWah (demo), my pals from BC playing some funky punky reggae goodness / Chris Gee and renegades
* Metal Planet and Scandoll, a couple of metal bands – who shared members – from my first go around in Tottori, Japan in 1993
* Francisco Fernandez’s band “the ferocious few “ / purchased from him busking on the streets of Austin at SXSW. He’s still out there doing his thing, give me some support
* Stony Curtis and the pipe dreams, one of many submissions when I was making Hempen Road documentary film… This one didn’t get used but I appreciate the effort.
* Another radio show on which I talked about hemp cannabis somewhere someplace somehow, have a lots of these sort of things … and worth noting a lot of these tunes were used in my documentary films, various podcasts and pop up here and there, or sometimes not. 
Most of these, I suspect there’s very few original/organic/analog versions floating around, maybe a few others stashed in forgotten shoeboxes in various basements, attics and closets. Proud to be a curator.
And yes, I’ve course I have more, a whole box of cassettes and CDs labeled “dude, you got to hear my band…”
washoku (classic Japanese trad dinner) including: sashimi, ohitashi, hiyayako, pickles, etc. (umeboshi in the jar)
Just another food round-up from Tsuchida Cottage. Of course, we are cooking at home, groceries get delivered (and some from garden/yard). We have a little convection oven. Added in a few Japanese words just case PS “washoku” is word for traditional Japanese food – usually fish (grilled or raw) and various side dishes, while “yoshoku” is Japanese-i-fied foreign-inspired food which has become Japanese (i.e. croquettes, om-rice (omelette on rice), hamburg, fried shrimp, spaghetti). Also a few ramen, pizza and other hybrid style meals in here. Carry on. No big deal.
breakfast set with oranges, muesli, coffee, home-baked breadhouse-made ramen with mugi (barley) tealunch set with boiled eggs (and hot sauce), avocado, apples, etchousemade pizza with smoked duck, cheese, mushrooms
