UNCONOMIC CLIMATE

Rita: Pay is slim when you have 200 guitarists in a band. But even if you have to split the pay four ways, band members can barely afford a Happy Meal. Lolita, go ask our rock ’n’ roll friend what they do differently now that the economic climate is so uneconomic. Lolita: Yeah, sure. I have noticed that money has been warmer lately. I didn’t know that global warming would effect the economic climate. LINDA VIENS (Angeline): With less cash in hand I am spending more time outside. Swimming, biking around the city, running, playing basketball. Hanging on porches with friends. Cooking-in more. Relating more. Sitting by fires. Being in the world and in my home, grateful that there is so much around that is free: conversation, books to read, films to see. Meditating. Yoga. Love. *** RICK BERLIN (herself): Nothing. I still don’t take vacations. I still buy five for $20 T-shirts at some butt ugly shoe mall. Going out to dinner is still take out at Food Wall. I still drink the cheapest beer at the Behan six nights/per. I still hope my cat doesn’t get kidney damage and have me question whether I should eviscerate my wallet or buy her six months of diminished kitty life. I still wish I could call my mom to bail me out when I’m desperate. *** MONIQUE ORTIZ: I haven’t changed how I spend my money, but I have changed how I spend my time: I’m spending much more time at home, working on the new record, doing a lot more writing, recording, and painting, putting more focus than ever on staying fit and living as healthy a lifestyle as I can (the raw diet has proven to be pricey but worth it). *** PETE CASSANI (the Peasants/ Beefy DC): I work in a real estate office and rentals are down forty percent, so while we are all grateful to still have jobs, we are working longer and harder for almost half the money. Also, since the economy has tanked I don’t tour Europe. Small clubs are closing down or struggling to stay alive. Therefore they are no longer able to offer guarantees to touring bands, SO unless you are wealthy and can afford to fly over to Europe and tour for nothing, there’s no touring. This is what happens when you invade other people’s countries and slash the taxes of the wealthiest one percent of the population. We will be paying for GW’s total failure as a president for many, many years to come. *** DAVE TREE (Superpower/ Drugwar): As a starving artist/musician the economics of these troubled times don’t really effect me at all, I am used to living with nothing but hopes and dreams in my pocket, poverty is no stranger to me or most of my friends. I work for myself by taking nothing and making something out of it for sale or barter. I laugh at those that once laughed at me for following my dreams—well whose laughing now? *** STUART FREEDMAN (Nuggets): I now realize how exciting eating a 99-cent meal at McDonalds can be! *** WILL DAILEY (Will Dailey): I no longer go to the dog track and I only smoke a pack a day now. And for some weird reason I feel like I save money by taking shorter showers. I still smell the same though. Like a leather-bound book mixed with warm apple pie. *** PETE SUTTON (Temper): Due to a recent five percent pay cut across the board at my company, I’ve had to scale back on some of the finer things in life, i.e. booze consumption. Miller instead of Amstel in the keg... and three-buck chuck from Trader Joe’s instead of those $20 bottles of Ridge/Geyser Peak luscious reds (sigh). *** STEVE PRY (My Own Worst Enemy): Taking advantage of the downturn in the real estate market, turning a negative into a positive, we took the plunge and bought a place of our own. Now, My Own Worst Enemy is headquartered in the Winter Hill section of Somerville. Lolita: Okay, we know where the party is and who’s supplying the booze and entertainment.