we can still learn, and inform, and preach.”
“Do you think it’s a hopeless situation?”
“It’s not hopeless, but we’re lazy. In my optimistic belief there’s gotta be 1 in 5 other
people here that know what’s going on. That we’re being lied to, that taxes are not used for what
we think. Our federal reserve is actually a bank in the UN. We’re not even legally supposed to
pay taxes. Then our tax money is used to pay the internal debt of the country. It’s not for building
roads. Fine, we’re going to conquer the whole planet. What are we going to get in return? ‘Cause
I’m not going to support you ‘cause ‘wow I love the flag.’ Fuck that. I’m not getting an education.
228
I’m not getting anything. The only way I think this will change in when you see 30 million
Americans in the street.”
“Do you think Bush would leave office even for that?”
“He would leave his office and they’d be more conscious of their actions. They’re free to
do anything they want because nobody can say anything. And if you say anything ‘well go move
to Puerto Rico.’ Come on man. The ones that are saying that the most are the ones that aren’t
getting anything. Especially education because our government wants us to be stupid because that
way we’re going to believe that Iraq had something with the 9/11 bombings.”
“What I’m surprised by is that the US government just didn’t plant weapons in Iraq
after the fact so they could say there was our proof. Why would they not even bother to do that?
Why would they be that lazy?”
“You remember when they were trying to get us into that mess there was this huge ad
going across the nation that said ‘lets support our president’ and said things about Hussein like
‘oh, he spends too much money on the military, he’s an evil tyrant.’ Wait a minute. We had an
embargo that went from 1991 until the day we invaded. With that embargo, that involved no
countries helping them. And if you went and helped them, you’re gonna be part of the embargo
too. How is he gonna spend money on the military? How’s he going to support his troops? That
invasion was well planned. Ok, lets starve him to death, invade him, 2 or 3 days that country is
ours. The second biggest oil reserve on the planet.”
“I have a USA Today printed right before the invasion listing the best/worst case
scenarios. Worst case scenario was 6 months of more of continued fighting with a 6 billion
dollar price tag. We’re up to a projected 3 trillion long-term and nearly 5 years in.”
“If we stay ignorant, they’re going to take advantage of us. It’s not about going in the
street and starting a war. Just be educated. Yes, we’re all gonna die, but why do it with that
humiliation? You died a dumbass. It’s not supposed to be like that. Everyone looks to America
like WOW. Everyone wants to move up here.
“But it’s a Big Shiny Prison.”
“There you go… You really think this thing about immigration? Let’s blame it on all
these people from Latin America.”
“The guest worker program is just legal slave labor.”
“‘Thanks, the apple picking season is over, go back to your country and do whatever.
You’re not allowed to come back by the way.’ Because once you get that you’re not allowed to
have it again.”
“It’s a one time only thing?”
“‘Thanks for feeding my people, now go starve somewhere.’ People that come here, they
don’t want to slack off. Nobody wants to live off welfare. I don’t think there’s a single person that
likes that. And here, this job is designed for Mexicans. This one is for Arabs. It becomes this
oppressed monopoly of things. I’m destined to work in a kitchen all my life just because my skin
is like this? Automatically I’m stupid? I don’t like that.”
“What’s the feud between Northern and Southern Mexicans? I know someone in
prison in California, which is a really racist prison system. Everyone is segregated to color, and
he says the Northern and Southern Mexicans hate each other for some reason…”
“It’s like this conflict of identity, more or less. The people that live on this side of the
border that are Mexicans, most of them are here very young so there is no nostalgic feeling about
their country. So Southern Mexicans don’t think they’re Mexicans. They think they’re
Americans. And these people are Americans no matter what their color is. Well they’re gonna
identify with people from their native roots. Because you cannot identify with white people.”
“I can’t identify with white people.”
“(Laughs) Then there’s this ingestion of ‘can you people live in this neighborhood?’ You
been to Chicago right? The South, predominantly black and Hispanic. Seattle, go to the south –
black and Hispanic people. Why is it always the south? I think cities are planned that way maybe.
229
LA, Southwest. I was reading that – this only belonged to Seattle – that only that side of the city
was destined for the non-white. Supposedly that law is gone, but the settlement has been there for
a hundred years. If they are coincidences they are very deep ones…”
SCORCHED EARTH AND THRASH HOLOCAUST
As appealing as Joe Grindo Fest sounds, I’m inclined to hit The Funhouse for the Sunday night
thrash show. Hatchet and Fog of War are on tour from the Bay Area, and local band Scorched
Earth is headlining. I’ve been in communication with Scorched Earth guitarist/screamer Terry
McCorriston for the past few months, who also happens to be Nihilist’s roommate.
I find Terry in the BBQ area after he recognizes the old Bethlehem back-patch. He’s a
classic metal guy with a PBR – tall, long black hair, leather biker jacket, sweet Lemmy facial hair
tribute shaved especially for the show. He is originally from Alaska, and talks in a slow,
monotone fashion that makes you think he might be a bore, but he has a surprising knack for gut-
busting pop culture references: “It used to be a pretty big scene here back in the day, before
grunge. B.C. – ‘Before Cobain.’ That’s my saying, copyright 2007 McCorriston Industries.”
“There was a pretty big metal scene here a long time ago. A lot of bands like
Queensryche, Metal Church, Forced Entry, The Accused, Bitter End. There was a pretty big
thrash scene but when grunge came along, everyone traded in their big Reebok high-tops for Doc
Martins and shit. The grunge scene here, I never liked it in the first place. I’ve been totally into
metal this whole time. There were virtually no shows throughout the 90’s.”
“How old were you when the grunge thing hit?”
Terry McCorriston: “I was about 17. I’m 32 years old now.”
“It just got totally overwhelmed?”
“Pretty much. There was also the ‘teen dance ordinance’ which didn’t allow all ages
shows for the most part. Like you needed a million dollars worth of insurance. They repealed the
ordinance in 2000. As a result you see more all age’s kids at the bigger shows. Around here
people generally will come out to support you if they perceive that you’ve been popular
somewhere else. Tonight I don’t know what to expect. It’s Sunday night, it’s a total thrash show.
Fog of War and Hatchet are from the Bay Area.”
“When did Scorched Earth form?”
“It goes back a long way. It started as a one-man band in 1994. We were called Nazgul at
the time. We have three albums now. They’re all self-released on our label Conqueror Worm
Records. A lot of bands don’t seem to get recognition out here by national press. We get letters
from all over the world, but we’ve never been signed to a decent label. Part of that is because we
read the contract and a lot of those you get totally fucked on. We’ve done it the DIY route, very
punk rock although I haven’t followed punk in decades. That’s what actually got me started
playing music.”
What’s the big metal bar?
“King Cora, Linda’s… The metal scene here’s weird now because you have a lot of guys
who come from the hipster aspect of it. Then there’s the guys that have been doing it all this time.
Then of course there’s guys who claim that they play thrash metal and it’s like dude, come on.
You said you sound like Sodom and you’re punk rock.”
“What do you think of Carlos The Jackyl?”
“He’s a fat guy languishing in France and he’s irrelevant…”
Terry excuses himself to grab another brew, and Scorched Earth drummer Josh Hanenburg
immediately sits down. He’s a jolly spazz with a shaved head & glasses, talking with his hands
like a frantic opera conductor: “The other day at practice we were talking about the good old
days. In Bremerton we had this really shitty club called Natasha’s. Everyone in Seattle was
forced to go to there. Slayer played there, GBH, the Accused, Forced Entry”...
230
“We were also remarking on how things were much more dangerous. Back then you see
a guy in an Iron Maiden shirt and you knew they were on something or they wanted to kick your
ass for money. Less then 10 years later everyone with a metal shirt is really cool, really mellow,
no one really dangerous. Back then it was a subculture that allowed them to pursue whatever
fucked up activities they were after. Natasha’s is now a junkyard. So I had to wait 13 years before
there was a scene again, before we had people we could relate to.”
“What other bands were you in?”
Josh Hanenburg: “I was in a really awful band called Suicide Culture in the 90’s. Like the
worst time ever to be in a metal band. It was impossible to bring people to shows and get them
interested. And you were always playing with the next Korn wannabe band, the next fuckin' Limp
Bizkit band. Everyone wanted to be Pantera back then.”
“Got any random, funny stories for me?”
“Ted’s a teacher in grade school. Asshole Ted will not sell our stuff to the kids who ask
for it ‘cause he’s worried about his job. We had these kids downloading his band, and they were
asking if I was the crazy one. I was joking around in one interview about being molested by my
uncle in front of the camera. I thought I made it obvious that I was joking but the kids blasted
him, it’s all they talked about. Kids will write on their homework ‘oh by the way Mr. Kohn, I got
$50, can I buy a shirt?’ He doesn’t want to hand out t-shirts with upside down crosses on them,
you know? It’ll piss off the wrong parent. We got a crop there, a lot of kids, just money waiting to
be had. Fucking let us play an assembly or something.”
“What you need to do is get a big choir of elementary kids like Therion.”
“I’m the proggy pretentious nerd, and they’ve trashed every idea I had about making
things bigger and more interesting. If it were up to me I’d have orchestras. Actual cannons firing
off. I like MANOWAR, but I also like YES.”
“What about ABBA?”
“ABBA is truly the devils music. As much as I profess to hate them, one second of their
music is firmly implanted in my brain for weeks. 70’s prog rock or modern black metal, that’s
what I’m into.”
“I love Seattle, I seriously want to relocate here and bring a bunch of people.”
“The guys in Skelator, their squat is called ‘Snake Mountain.’ They keep bringing up
people all over the place to live here. So we’re slowly getting this young crop of European power
metal guys. It’s really weird. They love Primal Fear, any band with a sword on their cover. I love
Rhapsody. See, that’s pretentious big-scope music. It’s the most idiotic fantasy stories I’ve ever
read, but when put to music with that kind of drive you’re like ‘YEAH, FUCK YEAH! THE
CRYSTAL SWORD!! THE WHITE EAGLE!! FUCK YEAH, AWESOME!!!’ And if you have
Christopher Lee narrating, anything that comes out his mouth is fucking cool…”
FUNERAL AGE OVER PEPPER STEAK (TAKE III)
Monday, wake up covered in cat hair at the Scorched Earth guy’s apartment. Last thing I clearly
remember is them destroying the place with a vociferous Bathory/Motorhead/Destroyer 666
assault, and Terry goofily stroking his “regenerating beard” onstage which had everyone rolling:
“It’s what gives me my metal power.”
Nihilist is absent, Terry is at work, Halloween masks & Lovecraft paraphernalia are
everywhere. I take advantage of the house line and call every band on my list. Whoever responds
first is the lottery winner of the afternoon… And the lucky contestant is…
Mr. Kevin Bedra, of the death metal band Funeral Age. Ironically, it’s the same group
that formed from the ashes of Hanenburg’s “awful 90’s band” Suicide Culture. Bedra picks me up
at the West Seattle library and by 3pm we’re gouging Pepper Steak at a Chinese restaurant called
HO-WIN: “I started listening to metal in 1983 when I was in 6th grade. The first album I ever
bought was Defenders of the Faith. In ‘85 I started to get into Metallica, Slayer, Possessed,
Venom. In the 90’s I was listening to Morgoth, a little Morbid Angel. You have to understand I
231
was raised in a home where if I didn’t go to church twice a month I couldn’t live there, and I
came home and all my metal albums were burnt.”
“Tell me some crazy stories about living in this town.”
“In the 90’s I worked at a Denny’s when all the wash-ups from the 80’s would play a
little club the size of this room down the street. I made breakfast for Quiet Riot, made dinners for
Sebastian Bach… One thing that always brings a bitter beer face to people is that our old
drummer went to prison. He… The PG-13 phrasing would be that he thought his daughter was
hot in a way that a father should not… Well, he raped his daughter, and he’s in prison for 15 to
life, because he had a prior that no one knew about, and I was in a band with him for 5 years.
That’s the mood killer right there... His wife and daughter did everything that they should. I
bought his drums from her, partly to help myself and help them out. They didn’t have anybody. I
call them every now and again and ask how they’re doing. Finally I just stopped calling cause I
think when I do it brings back a lot. I didn’t have anything to do with that, but it’s still being
respectful. I have not hea