THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2002
LOCAL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3
Anarchists'home shows groups'organization
By George Schulz gschulz@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
The residents of the Black Cat Collective, a Lawrence anarchist group, keep a clean and well-organized house.
The bathrooms are spotless; the floors are swept; the couches and tables are free from clutter. A mass of books, videos and independent, underground magazines is neatly organized by literary genre on stacks of shelves casing the living room.
Suggesting that organization is antithetical to anarchist theory is exactly what advocates of the philosophy resent the most.
"If you want to see anarchism in action, just take a look at our kitchen," said Dave Strano, a resident of the house.
Indeed, the kitchen is spotless. No dishes are in the sink, the counters are wiped clean, and the floors are thoroughly mopped. Everyone in the collective at 1305 Tennessee St. works together to keep it that way.
The house serves dual purposes—quarters for four residents, including two KU students, and a collective for political and social activists in Lawrence.
Everyone, including the residents of the house and members of the collective who visit the house regularly, works to keep the
"If you want to see anarchism in action, just take a look at our kitchen."
Dave Strano
Resident of the Black Cat Collective house
house organized. They say anarchism is the belief that hierarchy in society is nonessential and that cooperation is the best alternative.
"Higher authority actually makes things less cooperative," said Nicole Burton, member of the collective and student at Lawrence High School. "By eliminating hierarchy, you actually promote cooperation."
Residents and members of the collective admit the house doesn't always function as planned, but they say they're doing their best to implement their cooperative beliefs into the collective's structure. Everyone involved with the collective contributes to consensus votes on decisions that impact the entire house.
"Responsibility is delegated, including house chores." Strano said. "We're trying to evolve daily, but it takes a while to unlearn behavior patterns."
Chantel Guidry, a New Orleans graduate student and member of the collective.
Jared Soares/Kansan
Members of the Black Cat Collective play Twister. The Black Cat Collective is an organization of local anarchists based in the Lawrence area. Their library on 1305 Tennessee is full of activist literature and books, its also open to the public.
said the house had originally been known as the Mother Earth Collective from October 2001 until July 2002. She said the former residents had established the foundation necessary for the Black Cat Collective to thrive by leaving the book and magazine library in the house.
WEEKLY EVENTS AT THE BLACK CAT COLLECTIVE
Tuesday: 7 p.m. anarchist study group
Wednesday (second and forth of month):
6 p.m. women's health group and 6 p.m.
library general meetings
Thursday: 7 p.m. prisoner writing circles
Strano said a lease for the house would last until August, and the current residents had no plans to move after that.
"We pay our rent on time, and the landlord likes us," he said.
Even if the collective did shut down on a short notice, residents and members said they wouldn't have any trouble finding places for the mass amount of material in the house's lending library.
"Anarchists are some of the most resourceful people." Strano said. "There would be no lack of energy to find space for this stuff."
— Edited by Amy Schmitz
Trucker rocks without any stereotypical titles
By Amy Kelly
By Amy Kelly akelly@kansan.com Jayplay writer
A pissed-off R.E.M. An angst-free Nirvana.
Trucker doesn't know exactly how to describe itself, but the aforementioned titles will do just fine.
"I think we're a normal rock 'n' roll band," singer Todd Johnson said. "We don't fall into the stereotypical Lawrence bands like hippie or emo rock."
The seven-year-old band is gearing up for the release of its first full-length record in January.
The band says the record is like a map of its growth.
Although Johnson writes the majority of Trucker's material, drummer Barletta contributed on a song called "Monoloid Pitch"
"It's a collection of all the songs we've played for the past five years," drummer Tom Barletta said. "They're pretty solid. The thing is, if you like one of them, you're going to like all of them."
to the latest album that might catch listeners off guard.
"It's kind of like 'Green Onions,'" Barletta said. "It almost goes off time, but then it comes back around again."
The Trucker sound is undeniably all its own — combining the energy of bassist Wayne Rasmuss and Barletta's rhythm section, with the honest lyrics and signature twangy vocals of Johnson.
Despite the obvious Southern feel, Johnson said Trucker's music was never intended to sound like Lynyrd Skynyrd in overdrive.
"It was just developed over time," Johnson said, adding that his band mates' musical influences revealed the truth of the matter. "Wayne listens to Steely Dan and jazz, and Tom hasn't listened to a band since 1970."
When Barletta met Johnson at a film school in Florida, the two relied on just their guitar and drum set to create the ideal sound.
Coordinating the instruments allowed Barletta to create new and interesting
sounds, compensating for the lack of bass.
"I had to learn how to make the most out of a song," Barletta said. "I was pushed to go off the singing and the guitar. All my cues are really vocally."
Johnson had the idea of moving to Lawrence, which was a nationally praised and thriving music scene at the time.
Lawrence has proved somewhat of a discouraging place for the musicians in Trucker. In the past, they have even been paid with a case of beer.
"We've been through a lot in the past couple of years," Johnson said. "You have a limited audience and it's a new crowd you have to work in with students leaving every year."
The days of waiting for a major record label to sign new bands are in the past and Trucker is motoring toward the information superhighway.
In March the band is planning on attending the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, but for the present is concentrating on releasing its record and playing live.
For the Trucker novice, Barletta said that his band was for those who basically wanted to rock.
One recent development in the band's career may be paving the way to success. In September, American Music Awards named Trucker one of the top fifty bands in America, at the annual Coca-Cola New Music Award Competition.
"The way I see it is that Trucker is three guys who get together and write some pretty damn good songs," Barletta said. "And more than musicians, we're there to entertain."
"We've been using the Web and MP3s visit www.truckerrocks.com more," Johnson said. "We have had really good luck putting out our music digi- Edited by Chris Wintering
tallv."
Trucker plays tonight at the Jazzhaus. For more information about the show, call 749-3320. To learn more about Trucker, visit www.truckerrocks.com