I hate when I do this...

I hate when I take too long between blogs. Now I have too much to say and don't know where to start. It's kind of like how you can talk to someone you see everyday for hours on end. But someone you only see once a year, all you can say to them is, "So whats new?" To which, we all know, the only reply is, "Nothing much." There are a few important things.

We are playing 3 shows in New Brunswick in Dec. Ouch! This destroys our general rule of one show in New Brunswick a month. But it is all extenuating circumstances. I bunch of killer touring bands needed shows and after having setup tours you get a soft spot in your heart when it comes to that. So how are we going to get you to all three shows? Well we have a plan. The vinyl release of Baby Teeth should be available in the near future but until then we are going to be giving away 3 super limited edition hand decorated test pressings of the album; one at each show. Test pressings are what the factory sends you to give final approval before they print it up for real. There are only 5 in existence. They have only blank labels and no jacket but Marissa is going to be drawing all over them and making custom jackets. Misfits test pressings sell for thousands of dollars and thats only The Misfits, this is freaking Screaming Females!!! At each show there will be a competition to win the album. The specific events in said competition will be announced prior to the shows.

We had two recent blogs about us. One over at Sceneless.com and also Jersey Beat. Check those out. Pretty sweet to have the two Jersey Music blogs that I regularly read covering Screamales in the same week!

Some heavy hitter punk rock friends have been coming out of the wood work to help us out with contacts for tour. So things are looking up in that part of the world. We will be playing at least a weeks worth of shows in Jan and I wouldn't be surprised if we managed to fill up all the days.

Recently at a show I spoke with some New Brunswick people about how they have been feeling as though aggressive masculinity, racism, homophobia, and sexism are being excepted in some circles around here (related to the 'scene'). I just wanted to say that I love my friends, my extended community, and the people that come out to our shows. My pure disdain for the traits listed above, along with others such as superiority complexes, has brought me to a place where I am comfortable. In my daily life; with the people I regularly associate; there is very little hate in my world. There are very few moments where I feel like I don't belong and I'm not cool enough. I may be lonely sometimes but I have managed to steer clean of pretension and bigots. I feel as though Screaming Females is a home for my kind of crowd. We aren't cool. Our shows don't make you feel like you aren't cool enough. We love everybody. Music should be for everyone. Anyone who is willing to expose themselves to local and nonmainstream art should be able to. A community that defines itself with barriers is not a community I need to be involved with.

The people I spoke with were inspiring. It is interesting how much bullshit people can get away with when they claim, "Its a joke" or, even better, "I was drunk." I've seen it happen. Ten, maybe fifteen people that claim to be open minded and aware will sit and listen to someone spout racist or sexist or just plain mean comments under the guise of "a joke." And they will just let it happen. I'm not going to say that I haven't just let it happen here and there in my life but I can tell you multiple stories were I have put my reputation and my friendships on the line because I had to stand up and say something. "I don't care if you think you are joking. This world doesn't need those thoughts acted upon." Sure, you have to be able to make light of serious situations. It is a good way to deal with difficult topics while not ignoring them. Also the satirical observation is a powerful tool. But at some point it crosses the line. The people I spoke to decided that it was time to stand up. They looked around and realized that a good portion of them didn't want to hear it any more. They didn't want to have to deal with ugly masculinity. So they started talking about it. Right there, out in the open. They decided that they would risk being outcast, being labeled too serious. That takes guts.
-Jarrett Scott