MONDAY,AUG.20,2001
OFFTHEHILL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 13D
House: a home to more than tenants
CONTINUED FROM 4D
insistence of the city, which wrote the landlord a letter demanding their removal.
With couches visible on the porch next door and Christmas lights and neon beer signs on display throughout the neighborhood, it's hard for Strano and his house mates not to feel targeted. Even so, they removed the decorations and even volunteered to seal the new deck installed during the summer by the landlord and her two sons.
"The landlord's been supportive, but she doesn't want to get another letter from the city," Strano said. "It's really obvious to us the city considers us an annoyance. We're trying to build something different than this city."
Strano, 19, sports a goatie and earrings in both ears and usually can be seen wearing a torn black T-shirt and a black baseball cap with patches sewn to the bill. He works mornings at Einstein Bros. and spends his free time promoting shows and activist activities rather than going to college. The "something different" he talks about stems from a common interest his house mates share in music and politics.
"All of us more or less listen to punk rock," Strano said. "I'm not going to say we're all anarchists here, but we all share lots of anarchist ideals."
Strano said anarchism was about cooperation, not lawlessness and disorder. He said he thought society's emphasis on materialism and competition caused everyone to feel unhappy, regardless of status.
"No matter who you are, whether you're a rich white male or an oppressed Native American, it's pretty safe to say you're not happy with the way you're living," he said. "What anarchism means is a non-hierarchical cooperative way of living."
This cooperative spirit is most clearly manifested in the three word punk rock credo: do it yourself. or. DIY.
"Punk started out as a counterculture, so bands couldn't get shows a lot of times, so now DIY became more of an anti-capitalist thing." Strano said. He said DIY is exhibited beyond the punk scene, citing the hip-hop community of Kansas City as an example. The DIY ethic is shown in the house in the give-and-take relationship the residents have
with the travelers who come through almost every week. The residents give traveling bands the money raised at the shows and provide them with a place to sleep. The travelers, in turn, help out with dishes and cleaning.
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
On a Sunday night in late July, the only thing to do on the front porch was lament the humidity, so Strano, Desmond and four friends decided to make fliers for a house show that Thursday. Their first stop was Kinkos, where the group used a picture of a swimmer from last year's Lawrence High School yearbook as a backdrop for the flyer. Once the flyer was completed and 20 copies were made, the crew headed out to place them on bulletin boards and under the doors of local businesses.
On the way to Henry's, 11 W, Eighth St., a man who looked to be in his late thirties stopped Mike Wells, a 22-year-old from Olathe who hangs out at the Pirate House.
"Where's the big show at tonight? The Bottleneck?" The man asked.
Friends and fans gather outside the Pirate House at 14th and Kentucky during a break between bands inside. The Pirate House has gained national recognition as a music venue and attracts substantial crowds for the shows. This " it" he said. call the Math.
"No, we're just fliering for a show at the Pirate House," Wells said as the rest of the group went into the shop.
After the bombardment died down, the group moved one block north to another dumpster. Strano grabbed a piece of plywood from inside and jumped on to the corner of the dumpster, waving the plywood like a saber.
A foray of dumpster-divers continued all the way back to 14th and Ohio. At 2 a.m., the group returned home with a proud collection of books, silverware, an Alf Doll and a plastic art apron that read "Grandma Loves Me. She Gave Me
The man said good night and Wells went into the shop, where Zeke Altenbernd, a 16-year-old Lawrence High School student, was handing a flier to a girl with a pet rat named Mojo.
"I've got some friends at Fort Riley who always drive in to go to shows at the Pirate House," the girl said, with excitement as Mojo circled her neck. "I'll have to give them a call."
With most of the filers distributed, the small band headed down the alley behind Rudy's to look for discarded pizza. When they got there, the closest thing they found was a giant pile of dough in the dumpster. Desmond was quick to grab a handful, and it wasn't long before a full-fledged dough fight broke out in the alley.
Strano said activities like the potluck dinners, bike-fixing sessions and video showings helped give the Pirate House an open feel.
The evening's scavenging didn't yield much of practical use, but the house is filled with the products of dumpster trips that have. The freezer in the kitchen is filled with frozen dough, and a box of potatoes rescued from a dumpster sits in the corner.
"A lot of people get weirded out when you mention politics and vegan food, but when they realize it's just about having fun with good friends, they get into
Very little space, if any, is wasted in the house. The main room, which is usually dedicated to the bands, currently is covered with bicycles that were being worked on earlier in the day. Four more bicycles hang by their front tires in the main entryway. The room next to the kitchen, which residents have set up as a library, is filled with books and literature that have either been donated or found by residents and guests. The back porch is covered with cans and bins for recycling, and the tiny strip of a back yard has been converted to a garden.
Jen Pace, Liberty, Mo., sophomore, said that although she doesn't directly know anyone in the house, she feels comfortable bringing friends who don't usually listen to punk rock over to shows.
"It's different than the usual scene we've got at KU," she said. "It's a lot of fun there. Everybody's welcome and there are all sorts of different people."
The open-house policy, especially during shows, sometimes results in a party atmosphere where people drink outside rather than listening to the band. Aside from one instance in which there was a keg, members of the house never provide alcohol.
"I wish people didn't think of this as a party house, but I suppose it's inevitable." Strano said.
Though it might seem the house can't be any more active than it already is, Desmond said there were several things he would like to see happen, such as an art exhibit in the house or guest speakers on different topics. Lane, who helped start the Pirate House, is starting an infoshop in his new house at 1305 Tennessee. The house, which they plan to
call the Mother Earth Collective, will have literature, a screen-printing machine and be a place where people can have meetings. There will be no shows there.
For the time being, Strano said he had no plans to move on or change the name of the house.
"There's that big thought that I couldn't live any way else," he said. "I don't think I could ever change the name if I tried."
Pace said the house was a good place for people to overcome stereotypes.
"Everybody goes in with a few prejudices," she said. "Someone might never have talked to a person with a Mohawk before, but they'll find out that we all have a lot more in common than we thought."
Wetzel can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
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