A DIY Guide to Creating Spaces, Hosting Events and Fostering

BUILDING:

A DIY Guide to Creating Spaces, Hosting

Events and Fostering Radical Communities

INTRODUCTION

“We have to invent a form of war such that the defeat of Empire will no

longer be a task which kills us, but which lets us know how to live, to be

more and more ALIVE.” - Anonymous

I run a website logging DIY venues and promoters all over

the world at DoDIY.org. Users of the website have frequently

asked me for advice on hosting DIY events and for years I

have hoped that someone would create a clear, concise,

and easily available guide. To the best of my knowledge that

has not happened and so I decided to create it myself. I don’t

consider myself to be an expert on “doing it yourself” and in

my opinion that would be contradictory to the entire idea, so

I asked as many people as I could to give me their input and

advice. All of the people who have helped with edits and

advice are credited in the last section of this book.

In an attempt to keep this guide interesting to read, I don’t

walk you through every single step of the process. I instead

try to focus on “bullet points” and ideas to spark thoughts

and conversation. Don’t depend on this guide. Do it yourself.

I’d very much enjoy receiving feedback about these writings.

You can email me at [email protected].

1st Edition - July 2012

DIY

DIY stands for “Do It Yourself.” As a general ethos, it’s about

taking direct action to live independently from capitalist

so-

ciety. Some of us are creating safer spaces for people of all

ages, genders, skin colors, sexual orientations, and abilities.

Some of us are creating spaces that foster community and

don’t operate solely on selling alcohol or acquiring assets for

already quite comfortable, rich men. Some of us are creating

art that doesn’t conform to whatever is popular. Some of us

are sharing skills and knowledge. Some of us are trying to

live freely and honestly. Some of us are trying to change the

way we act and live to be more proactive and thoughtful.

Some of us are actively working to dismantle and destroy

this society. Some of us believe that only nonviolent actions

can bring about positive social change and some of us don’t.

Some of us deal with sexism, queerphobia, and/or racism on

a daily basis and are fed up. Some of us aren’t allowed in

bars.

We are vast and varied. Some of us drink alcohol or do

drugs and some of us don’t. Some of us live in cities. Some

of us live in suburbs. Some of us live in small towns. Some

of us live in the woods. Some of us are proud to be outcasts

and criminals. Some of us are monogamous and some are

polyamorous. Some of us have been labeled as fat, ugly,

pimply, loud, crazy, stupid, faggy, smelly, too thin, hairy, or

sick. Some of us are brown and some of us are white. The

one thing we all have in common is that we want control

over our own lives and we’re doing something about it. We

don’t want to depend on experts or authorities. We are a

constantly growing community of artists, activists, musicians,

anarchists, punks, crafters, queers, writers, lovers, ﬁghters,

haters, and builders.

1 A few of the editors have argued that consumerism, not capitalism, is really the

biggest problem to contend with, but I do not agree and feel as if I should explain myself.

Consumerism is simply a result of capitalism. Because capital is what drives our society

in such a large part, businesses and governments spend considerable energy and time

to maintain a consumerist culture, through advertising and other forms of social/behav-

ioral manipulation. I’d rather look at the root of the problem, not symptoms.

SPACE

“DEAR SPECTACULAR CAPITALISM

i AM BORED WIitH MY

iMAgiNAtioN

I WANT MY

LIFE BACK” - Zach Houston

The most obvious place to host DIY events would be where

you live. A living room, a basement, a garage, a backyard,

a roof. I used to have shows in my 400-square-foot studio

apartment. We would push all of our furniture up against the

walls and ﬁt ﬁfty or more cozy, cuddly people in that place.

Be creative with your space and there’s a very good chance

that you can make it work.

If for some reason you can’t use your living space (or prefer

not to), there are endless possibilities. You could ask a friend

if you can use their house. You could ask around at local

businesses and try to convince someone to let you use a

space in their restaurant, gallery, coﬀee shop, bar, ice cream

shop, bowling alley, roller rink, or clothing store. You could

rent a space. You could host events in a park, on a beach,

deep in the forest, in a barn, under a bridge, in a parking lot,

next to a pool, or at the top of a mountain. The event could

be on wheels: in an RV, on the back of a truck, in a van.

You could build a secret tree house. You could borrow a

boat. You could ﬁnd an abandoned or empty building and

re-purpose it. If there’s no electricity and you need it for a PA,

ﬁnd a generator. If you don’t need electricity, use candles for

lighting. If you would like to lessen the chance of police in-

terference, acquire several buildings and move people from

building to building during breaks. You could even take over

a street.

Once you have found a space to host your event, it’s time to

get it ready. First of all, you might do a bit of cleaning. Then I

would think about things like lighting (e.g. placement, colored

bulbs, etc.), the best place to put the “stage,” chairs, a table

for the bands’ merchandise, a sign and receptacle for col-

lecting donations, signs instructing people where to ﬁnd the

bathroom or how to use your greywater system, extra toilet

paper, and putting together a basic ﬁrst aid kit. You could

consider providing instruments and gear (borrowed if nec-

essary) so not all of the performers have to bring their own

and to minimize their setup time. If you’re going to host loud

events, then you might consider soundprooﬁng your space;

mattresses and foam placed over your windows and walls

can really help to absorb sound. For outdoor shows, you

might need to post signage to direct people to your location

and also bring garbage receptacles.

SAFER

“When we talk about accessible or inclusive all-ages spaces, I think it’s

important to mention that those spaces don’t always need to be acces-

sible to everyone. It’s totally okay not to let assholes into your show. The

speciﬁc guidelines are up to you, but part of being a safer, inclusive space

is minimizing anxiety and safety concerns for the people that make up

your “community”, a community that is hopefully trans-inclusive, radically

feminist, anti-racist, non-ableist, body positive, non-heteronormative, and

that strives to make shows accessible to people from all diﬀerent socio-

economic backgrounds. No capitalists allowed.” - Jamie Menzel

There’s a lot of talk about “safe spaces” in the DIY com-

munity, but I don’t believe they are a possibility with all of

the rampant and misguided societal ideas of gender, race,

body image, family, and sex. We

can

create

safer

spaces by

being aware that we all have diﬀerent abilities, sensitivities,

and experiences and by actively maintaining a space where

everyone feels supported. You can’t promise to preemp-

tively mute insensitive people or their actions, but you can

let people know that sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist,

ableist and/or other selectively oﬀensive language and ac-

tions will not be tolerated. You may need to ask someone

to leave or even forcefully remove them from your space.

You shouldn’t be expected to do that alone; make sure you

have a couple friends to support you.

I’ve included some stuﬀ to think about below. If you don’t un-

derstand or if you want to know more about some of these

bullet points, do some research. Go to your local infoshop or

library, look it up on the Internet, and talk with friends. Please

don’t depend on others to educate you or call you out when

you’re being an asshole. Check yourself.

• Not many people feel comfortable in a dirty, cluttered

space.

• Events that only include white, cisgendered male per-

formers are boring and usually don’t represent the ma-

jority of your audience.

• Some people can’t stand for extended lengths of time

or climb stairs.

• Some people are uncomfortable around drunk people.

• Some people are allergic to fragrances, smoke, and cer-

tain foods or pets.

• Nobody likes to have your political or religious agenda

pushed on them.

• Some people don’t identify as their assumed gender.

• Some people have kids.

• Some people are very uncomfortable in small or crowd-

ed spaces.

• Some people can’t hear or see or speak.

• Good security culture is essential to many people’s safe-

ty.

• Sexism, racism, queerphobia, ageism, ableism, rape, and

the like are rampant and very much perpetuated in ev-

eryday life. Many people are fed up.

While you’re thinking about this, please don’t get discour-

aged and/or overwhelmed, thinking that you have to directly

address all these things in order to be “doing it right.” A good

ﬁrst step would be to open up conversations about all of

these things with your friends and/or broader community.

BOOK

“It is by doing things that need to be learned in order to be done, that you

learn them.” - Aristotle

There are quite a few reasons why you might want to put

together an event. Maybe there’s a touring band, punk circus,

puppeteer, poet, theatre or dance troupe, comedian, or au-

thor coming through your town. Maybe you play music and

can’t ﬁnd a place to play. Maybe you’ve been to a DIY show

and have seen that they can be really great. Maybe you

or someone else would like to do a presentation to raise

awareness about a political or anti-political topic. Maybe you

would like to raise money for something. Maybe you enjoy

hosting people in your home. Maybe you want an excuse

to cook a big dinner. Maybe you want to have an art show.

Maybe you’re too young to get into a bar or just would

rather not.

If this is your ﬁrst show and you’re not sure that you’ll be

able to draw a decent crowd, you might consider starting

with only local performers. It would be disappointing to have

someone travel a long distance and end up with an empty

donation jar.

If you are going to host some traveling performers, it’s a

good idea to just stick to one. It’s not likely that you’ll make

enough cash to pay two traveling acts very well. If you have

more than one traveling act, then you’ll have to have fewer

local acts (whom, often times, will draw more people to the

show). After you’ve done this a few times, the word will get

around that you’re hosting shows and you’ll probably start

hearing from bands on tour that want to play the same night.

Don’t feel like you have to help everyone and don’t be afraid

to say no. Focus on hosting events that you’re really excited

about and that you have the time and energy to promote

well. More people will consistently come to your events be-

cause they will expect a good show, and you’ll earn a repu-

tation amongst the tight-knit community of DIY travelers.

I think it’s wise to stick to

four or fewer acts per show.

Some people book events

under the logic of “the more

the merrier,” as they think that

will mean more people will

come. I understand that logic,

but don’t agree. From my ex-

perience, a long list of bands

playing on one particular day

makes people think, “I want

to go see [insert favorite

band], but I really don’t want

to sit through seven fucking

bands”. Concerning the order

of the performers or pre-

senters, it usually works best

to put a touring act some-

where in the middle and the

act who is most likely to

draw the most people at the

end of the night. It’s a good

idea to dictate approximate

set lengths to performers to

keep the event interesting

and moving forward.

If you are hoping to host

more touring acts but are

having trouble connecting with travelers coming through

your area, I would suggest submitting a listing to one of the

few highly traﬃcked websites, such as DoDIY.org. Once you

list yourself on one of these sites, expect to frequently re-

ceive a whole bunch of emails. This can sometimes feel a

little overwhelming, but keep in mind that it’s not too hard to

write back and say “Sorry, I can’t help out”. People will most

likely really, really appreciate

any

kind of response.

When communicating with the acts, be sure to ask what

they need and if there’s anything else you should know (e.g.

PA, number of mics, food preference, allergies, do they need

a place to sleep, etc.) and also let them know what to hon-

estly expect from the show, as well as any personal rules

that you have about your space (e.g. no drinking, no ass-

holes, etc.) and other important info (e.g. where to park, etc.).

Finally, tell the local performers that it would be really great

if they’d not schedule any other local shows around the time

of your event. Tell them that you asked them to perform be-

cause you really like them, but also because you’re hoping

that they can draw some people to see the touring act. Be

very clear with the performers about your expectations, and

I promise everything will work out much better.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT NOT TO

(ONLY) BOOK SHOWS FOR

STRAIGHT, WHITE, MALE-BODIED

DUDES by Jamie Menzel

It’s boring. And, it feels gross when

everyone outside of that descrip-

tion (straight, white, male-bodied)

gets allocated exclusively into the

role of audience member. It can

take extra encouragement to get

people who haven’t performed a

lot to want to get up on stage, but

I think it’s important; this shouldn’t

be done as some half-assed lip

service to social “justice”. Instead,

make an event deliberately inclu-

sive and accessible because it

will make for a more interesting

show, draw a larger crowd, and

help inspire other people to start

creating. It’s vital to the creativ-

ity of our various communities

to have people that look like us

up on stage. There are TONS of

amazing (queer, trans, diﬀerently-

abled, non-white, female-bodied)

artists and musicians all over who

just aren’t asked to play as much,

but whose talent and creativity

would add so much to the house

show & DIY communities if given

the opportunity. If you want less

bros at your shows, stop asking

them to headline.

EXAMPLE OF CONFIRMATION EMAIL FOR PERFORMERS:

DATE: December 25, 2012

VENUE: The Speakeasy

ADDRESS: 555 55th St

LOAD IN: Anytime after 5pm

SHOWTIME: 8pm

SET LENGTH: 25min

COVER: $3-5 Suggested Donation

COMPENSATION: All the cash goes to the touring band

AGES: All

CONTACT: NEIL at 666-666-XXXX

BILL (last to 1st): Remambran, Upside Drown, Real Live Tigers

FLIERS: Do you have a ﬂier? If not, I’ll make one.

SLEEP: We have 2 couches and lots of ﬂoorspace

FOOD: I’ll have dinner ready by 6pm. Any food restrictions?

ALLERGIES: Anything I should be aware of? We do have 2 cats.

PROMO

“We are too young, we cannot wait any longer.” - A wall in Paris

If you want people to show up to your event, you’ll need

to tell your friends about it and then remind them a couple

times. It’s a good idea to start promoting a month in advance,

promote it harder once it’s a week or two away, and then

send out a reminder the day before or morning of the event.

When promoting, be sure to include the time you’ll begin

to open your doors to the public, who’s performing, the ad-

dress, date, and any other speciﬁcs (e.g. BYOB, no alcohol,

bring a dish for the potluck, no assholes, walk around to the

back door, bring your swimsuit, etc.). Instructions on where to

park cars or lock up bikes are often a very appreciated “spe-

ciﬁc” to mention, especially if your neighborhood has strict

parking restrictions or it’s hard to ﬁnd a pole to lock a bike. I

usually like to also mention whether there will be pets (for

people with allergies) and whether the space is accessible

to people with certain disabilities.

If you don’t have time to promote the show, you probably

shouldn’t be hosting it. Don’t throw together an ill-planned/

promoted event just because you think you’re doing the

touring band a favor. Keep in mind that most touring per-

formers are on a very tight budget and traveling is expen-

sive. When I think back on all of the ill-promoted DIY shows

that I’ve played (which are too many to count), I deﬁnitely

would have rather had a night oﬀ or have had a chance to

ﬁnd a better show if I had known that the hosts didn’t have

time or interest in promoting.

Just be real and don’t make

promises that you can’t keep.

Before you get started, you should think about what would

be an appropriate level of promotion. What is the capacity of

your space? How susceptible is your venue to police inter-

ference? Are you hosting the event mostly for your friends

2 My biggest pet peeve of touring: “Sorry not many people came out, I’ve been

really busy. At least it’s better than nothing, right?”

or for the broader community?

Ways you could promote:

THE INTERNET

• Create a website

• Social networking web-

sites

• List your event on local

events calendars; some

towns even have a DIY-

speciﬁc calendar

• List the show on websites

traﬃcked by music nerds

or DIY-minded people

• Send an email to local

bloggers

• Create an email list

GET OFF THE INTERNET

• Make ﬂiers and post them

around town

• Tell local newspapers,

zines, and radio stations

about your event

• Create a snail mail list

• Call your friends

• Send out a mass text

message

• Pass out handbills at other

events.

• Make a “monthly events”

ﬂier that lists all of your

event

3 If you feel scared by the idea of

making a ﬂier because you’re not the “artist”

type, take note that really anyone can do

it. One idea for a very simple and engaging

poster would be cutting a picture out of a

magazine, gluing it to a piece of paper, and

writing all the details around the image with

a marker. Easy. If you don’t want to make

one yourself, then you could ask an artist

friend to help.

It shouldn’t be your sole responsibility to promote the show.

Make sure the local performers know that you expect them

to do their best to promote as well.

SOUND

“I used my mother’s radio as a PA system. I’d take the telephone, the

speaking part, and take those two leads oﬀ and lead them into the radio

and the sound would come out of the speaker.” - Les Paul

Be sure to ask the performers if they need a PA and, if so,

how many microphones. If you don’t own these things, ask

around and hopefully you can borrow one. Otherwise, get

creative. One example of a very simple DIY PA:

1 Microphone taped to a lamp post (acting as a mic stand)

1 Mic cable running from the mic to a small mixer

1 Bass Amp connected to the mixer (a guitar amp works too,

but bass amps usually sound better when used as a PA)

If you’ve never used a PA before, don’t be scared. It’s pretty

easy to ﬁgure out the basics; you just might want to mess

around with it in advance, so you have less technical issues

on the day of the show.

TIPS:

If you’re hearing a loud squealing sound (called “feedback”),

look at the following things:

• Your microphones should not be pointing at the speak-

ers.

• Turn down the overall volume and/or gain.

• Adjust the EQ; try turning down either (or both) of the low

and high knobs

You should check to see if the outlets are grounded in your

house or event space. If they aren’t someone could get re-

ally hurt when plugging in PAs and amps. You can get a

small tester that plugs into the outlet for fairly cheap at any

place that sells electrical supplies.

MONEY

“Money is money, so concentrate when you count it.” - Lil Boosie

It’s not fun, but you’re going to have to deal with money.

The touring performers need to pay for gas, food, and have

plenty of other expenses. After attending hundreds of DIY

shows, I can very conﬁdently say that stationing a volun-

teer at the door and asking each individual for money is the

best (and easiest) method. If you are going to do that, you

should have a sign that states that the money collected is

a “suggested donation,” as otherwise you might run into is-

sues with local business ordinances and laws (it is generally

illegal to charge a cover without a certain kind of business

license). It’s good to charge a sliding scale price (i.e. “$3-10

suggested donation, but no one is turned away

”). If you don’t

have anyone who can sit by the door all night or your space

won’t allow it, you can “pass the hat.” Be sure to make an

announcement and pass it around several times throughout

the night. This is even more eﬀective if you have a person

walk around with the container and ask each individual per-

son for a donation. Make sure to advertise the suggested

donation on your ﬂiers, so people are more likely to show up

to the event with cash. Please don’t make the performers

deal with the money themselves. Asking for money may feel

awkward, but it feels even more awkward to be performing

and asking for money.

I also know of a couple houses that have sold tickets in

advance. This can really help out how much money you’re

able to raise, but I would highly suggest that you keep this

sort of thing on the extreme “down-low”, as I can easily fore-

see some future problems with city ordinances.

At the end of the night, you’ll need to count and split up the

money. You could split it up between the performers, but it’s

common practice at DIY events to give all or most of the

4 You might also include something like “If you could aﬀord that beer in your

hand, you can aﬀord to help the touring folks.”

money to the touring act. This is done for obvious reasons

(they have more expenses) and also because many of us

like to operate within a gift economy. The idea is that the

people from out of town need the money much more, so

we give it to them. And when we’re on the road, we hope

that others will do the same for us.

Some people keep a small portion of the money to help

pay for ﬂiers, equipment, and other expenses. If you’re host-

ing shows regularly, you might even try to set some money

aside as an emergency fund, in the event of a legal citation,

your antique crystal lamp gets broken, a future show is less

successful and you need to give the touring folks some gas

money, or something else bad happens.

You’ll obviously have to decide for yourself how to handle

money. If you’re fair and very clear with both the performers

and audience from the very beginning, you’re less likely to

have any issues.

HOST

“But from the gloomy crackle of its livid ﬁres, it does not sparkle with

even a single spark of vigorous, innovative spirituality, whereas the blood

that it sheds transforms itself into wine that the forerunners of the time

silently gather in the red chalices of hatred, addressing it as the heroic

beverage in order to commune with all the oﬀspring of social sorrow

called to the twilight celebration of the dusk.” - Renzo Novatore

There aren’t many better ways to start oﬀ an event than a

shared meal. Your guests will feel more welcome and the

touring performers will appreciate it even more. Some cheap

and popular meals that are easy to make in large quantities

include chili or rice and beans; both are also very easy to

make vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free.

If you can’t aﬀord to buy food (or would rather not), you can

work that out. You could ﬁnd food in dumpsters (grocery

stores throw away so much food). You could “hook-up” the

travelers at a restaurant where you or one of your friends

work. You could get EBT (food stamps) or borrow a friend’s

card. You could shoplift. You could stop by a food bank. You

could maintain a garden.

If you want to be a good host, here is a list of some other

things that traveling folks really appreciate. Don’t look at this

list as mandatory at all; they are just ideas.

• A place to sleep

• Use of your kitchen, shower, and washing machine

• A towel

• A free or cheap oil change or tune-up for their vehicle

• A map of free/cheap/cool things to do in your town

• Beer

• Bikes

• Haircuts

• A secure place to park a vehicle and/or store gear

• A private room to sleep, have some alone/quiet time, or

have sex with a sweetie (privacy is very seldom on tour)

POLICE

“I was born into civilized society, and the priest, the judge, the moralist

and the cop have tried to weigh me down with chains and transform

my organism, exuberant with vitality and energy, into an unconscious

and automatic machine for which only one word was supposed to exist:

Obey.”” - Enzo Martucci

When I talk about police, I use it as a synonym for uniformed

cops, security oﬃcers, city/state/federal agents, grumpy

neighbors, and anyone else that might attempt to restrict

your activities. They might try to shut down your event, cite

you for being too loud or for violating a zoning or licensing

law, enter your space and harass attendees, or simply make

things diﬃcult. It’s not my intention to scare you, but it does

happen, and it’s a good idea to be prepared.

The very best thing you can do to avoid police is to estab-

lish a good relationship with your neighbors. Tell them why

you plan to host events and tell them all the positive things

it can do for the community. Respond to all of their ques-

tions and concerns. Give them advanced notice as to when

you will be having an event and tell them what to expect.

Invite them to attend. Give them your phone number and tell

them to call you immediately if they have any issues. You

might say something like “Hello, my name’s Neil and I live

next door. I want to let you know that we’re going to have

some people over next week; there will be music, a puppet

show, and we’re cooking a big meal. We want to invite the

whole neighborhood to come over and check it out, as we’re

hoping to really encourage more community engagement.

Here’s my phone number, in case you have any questions or

concerns.” When the date draws near, leave them a friendly

note with a reminder about the event. I knew of one group

of housemates that would even buy their neighbors movie

tickets and encourage them to have a night out when there

was a particularly loud show happening.

It’s also very important to maintain that you are not a business.

Like I said earlier, be sure that you have a sign that states

that the door charge is a “suggested donation.” If you’re not

keeping any of the money for yourself, you probably won’t

have to worry about diﬃculties with the IRS or local business

zoning oﬃcials.

The performers are responsible for report-

ing their own income, regardless of whether you counted it

and gave it to them. If you decide to keep a portion to pay

for your expenses and you fear the slim-chance of an audit

by the IRS, you could report via the Schedule C form, using

business activity code 711410 (“Agents and Managers for Art-

ists, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures”). There will be a

section to enter that income, as well as your expenses (e.g.

venue or PA rental, ﬂier printing, travel, etc.).

There are a whole bunch of other tactics that you could

employ to lessen and/or deal with police interference. You

could not allow alcohol or drugs at your events. You could

only host quiet events. You could only host events on week-

ends. You could limit yourself to one or two events per

month. You could create a phone tree of friends/supporters

who will come out and support you if you are bothered by

the police; they might be able to help intimidate the police

and, at the very least, they can copwatch. You could avoid

posting your street address publicly; tell people to email or

call for the address. You could do whatever you want and

tell the cops to fuck oﬀ (although you’ll probably be arrested).

If cops do show up at your door, be prepared and know your

rights! I would recommend that you read ACLU’s booklet,

“Know Your Rights: When Encountering Law Enforcement.”

It’s a really great resource, but here’s some basics:

5 Speciﬁc to USA residents. I’m not a lawyer or government tax expert, but I am

a resident of the USA and feel informed enough to speak a little about it. I deﬁnitely don’t

feel at all comfortable giving any sort of advice on tax or zoning laws in other countries.

If the cops show up and you

DON’T want trouble:

1. Ask everyone to be quiet

and stay inside.

2. Take one or two sober, ex-

perienced friends outside to

greet the cops.

3. Close the door behind you.

4. Be polite and avoid con-

frontation.

5. Your main goal should

be to get the cops to leave

without hurting anyone.

6. Do not consent to any

searches or let them in the

house.

7. If they try to enter your

space anyway, don’t stop

them (they could arrest you).

Say, in a loud voice, “I do not

consent to this search.”

8. If they are responding to

a noise complaint from a

neighbor, say “We will ad-

dress the problem.”

9. Once the cops are gone,

decide if and how you want

to keep going with the show.

If the cops show up and you

DO want trouble:

1. Do whatever feels good;

throw insults, bottles, what-

ever.

2. Be empowered, but also

prepared to deal with the

consequences and also

be conscious of how com-

monplace it can be for cops

to turn to violence. Keep

in mind the safety of your

friends and guests.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name is Neil Campau and, among other things, I some-

times identify myself as an artist, musician, anarchist, radical,

feminist, non-voter, anti-racist, queer-ally, punk, slacker, and

social agitator. I grew up in Alpena MI and, as of July 2012, I’ve

also lived in Adrian MI, Ann Abor MI, Chicago IL, Seattle WA,

and currently live in Oakland CA. I am white, male-bodied,

and usually straight. I don’t really do drugs because they

scare me, but I deﬁnitely drink too much coﬀee and beer

and currently smoke enough cigarettes to have a cough.

I was married for a couple years, arrested a couple times,

and am allergic to penicillin. I don’t believe in gods, ghosts,

or magic. I tried monogamy for a long time, but am no lon-

ger interested in it. I try to surround myself with people who

communicate thoughtfully and practice consent in both so-

cial and sexual relationships. My hairless pet rat, Alvin, died a

few years ago and I still cry about it sometimes. My favorite

physical activities are sex and walking. I am an introvert and

often crave more time alone. I used to have a music project

called “World History,” but now play as “Electrician.” I was

born in June of 1980. Since 1997, I have attended, organized,

and/or performed at hundreds of DIY events around the so-

called USA, Canada, and Mexico. This book is the ﬁrst writing

venture of any considerable length that I’ve attempted since

assigned papers in school.

EDITORS

185668232 - Philadelphia PA

Understanding is a choice; everyone is everything by some

degree.

ADAM BALBO - Oakland CA

AMY BROWN - San Jose CA

Designs and builds a variety of fabric sculptures including

hats, costumes, puppets and plushies. Jumbojibbles.com

BEN TURK - Columbus OH

Insurgent Theatre creator and Prison Abolitionist.

BRYAN FUNCK - New Orleans LA

I have been involved in booking shows, playing in bands, do-

ing zines, etc. 1997 until eternity.

CJ BOYD - Inﬁnitour Earth

“Maturity consists in rediscovering the seriousness we had as

children at play.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

DANAH OLIVETREE - Oakland CA

danaholivetree.com

DREW DANBURRY - Provo UT

I used to record songs and tour pretty much all the time...I

haven’t stopped recording, but now I cut hair and do straight

razor shaves at the Danburry Barber Shop.

DUSTIN GOLDKLANG - Guelph ON

Dustin sings short pop songs and enjoys running and loving.

DUSTIN KRCATOVICH - Ypsilanti MI

Nobody will be remembered (no matter how many friends

they have online), and this is ﬁne.

ERIN CASE - Midland MI

Hosts shows, runs DIY MI, and makes rad collages; you

should look her up.

FRED THOMAS - Ypsilanti MI

Everything that happens wants to happen again.

JAMIE MENZEL - Eugene OR

“And if our ideas are dangerous, it is because we are those

who love to live dangerously; and if our dreams are mad, it

is because we are mad.”

JANE APPLESAUCE - Seattle WA

JEF LOGSDON - Panama City FL

I BOOK SHOWS,paint paintings,Love Sake,and run a cassette

label called Whirlingcloud.

KEVIN CAIN - Buﬀalo NY

LOGAN W GREENE - Tucson AZ

Logan doesn’t think you should be worried.

MATT HALL - Plattsburgh NY

Hey all, if you’re ever coming through Northern NY please

visit me at the ROTA Gallery here in Plattsburgh, we have

art shows, music shows and more all the time, and if you’re

looking for some songs about industrial civilization and its

eﬀects on individuals and the environment, check out Marco

Polio at marcopolio.bandcamp.com!

MIGUEL @ PARADISE LOST - New Brunswick NJ

If you’re reading this zine, you’re doing it right. “learn to be

poor, yet dedicated, forever” - Jacob Bannon

MIKE SKIPPER - West Oakland CA

[email protected]

NATE ALLEN - Portland OR

PAT BELKEN - Yarmouthport MA

I run a record label called Cellar Hits, play music with The

Zookeepers, work with the Big Collage collective and deliver

pizzas.

RINNA V. REM - Madison/Seattle/PDXOXO

Radical librarian, 2nd generation Khmerican.

SHANNON CONNOR - Milwaukee WI

I live at a house show space in Milwaukee called The Laun-

dry Chute and set up shows there as well as other spaces

including Cream City Collectives, the neighborhood social

center.

STEPHAN DOBOSH - Auburn PA

ZOE BOEKBINDER - New Orleans LA

Available for weddings, birthdays, bachelor parties, and DIY

events (only not the ﬁrst three).

GLOSSARY

Most of these are from wikipedia.org, but I may have altered them.

ABLEISM: A form of discrimination or social prejudice against

people with disabilities.

AGEISM: Stereotyping and discriminating against individuals

or groups because of their age.

ANARCHISM: The political philosophy which holds the state

to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternative-

ly as opposing authority and hierarchical organization in the

conduct of human relations.

CAPITALISM: An economic system that is based on private

ownership of the means of production and the creation of

goods or services for proﬁt.

CISGENDER: A gender classifaction used when someone

identiﬁes with behaviors and roles considered normal and/or

appropriate for their body/sex.

CONSUMERISM: A social and economic order that encour-

ages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater

amounts.

COPWATCH: To observe and document police activity while

looking for signs of police misconduct (such as brutality).

GIFT ECONOMY (or gift culture): a society where valuable

goods and services are regularly given without any explicit

agreement for immediate or future rewards. Ideally, simulta-

neous or recurring giving serves to circulate and redistribute

valuables within the community. The organization of a gift

economy stands in contrast to a barter economy or a mar-

ket economy. Informal custom governs exchanges, rather

than an explicit exchange of goods or services for money

or some other commodity.

HOMOPHOBIA: A range of negative attitudes and feelings

toward homosexuality or people who are identiﬁed or per-

ceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

INFOSHOP: A storefront or social center that serves as a

node for the distribution of political, subcultural and arts in-

formation, typically in the form of books, zines, stickers and

posters.

MONOGAMY: The practice of maintaining a relationship with

one romantic partner.

POLYAMOROUS: The practice of maintaining multiple ro-

mantic relationships.

QUEER: A label setting queer-identifying people apart from

discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual) communities

as being oppressive or assimilationist.

RACISM: Behavior or beliefs motivated by racial stereotypes,

it generally includes practices of racial discrimination, and

ideologies of racial supremacy and hierarchy.

SAFE SPACE: A place where anyone can relax and be fully

self-expressed, without fear of being made to feel uncom-

fortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account of biological sex,

race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expres-

sion, cultural background, age, or physical or mental ability; a

place where the rules guard each person’s self-respect and

dignity and strongly encourage everyone to respect others

SECURITY CULTURE: A set of customs shared by a com-

munity whose members may engage in illegal or sensitive

activities, the practice of which minimizes the risks of such

activities being subverted, or targeted for sabotage. The term

is most often used in the context of activist and anarchist

groups, particularly ones that might be involved in direct ac-

tion. The main focus of a security culture is keeping inﬁltra-

tors and other potentially damaging parties out.

SEXISM: Prejudice or discrimination based on sex; or con-

ditions or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles

based on sex.

SOCIAL CHANGE: Alteration in the social order of a society.

TRANSPHOBIA: A range of negative attitudes and feelings

towards transsexualism and transsexual or transgender

people, based on the expression of their internal gender

identity

WHEATPASTE: A liquid adhesive made from vegetable

starch and water. Make wheat paste by whisking a few ta-

blespoons of ﬂour and a cup of water, while heating it on the

stove. Stop when it thickens. Add a pinch of sugar or corn

starch to make it extra sticky.